A New Vice

Chapter 2

All Kakashi could feel was pain. His head was pounding, his mouth was dry, and his body ached like he'd gone ten rounds with a tailed beast. He opened his right eye, wincing as the bright sunlight shone from his window directly onto it. Why hadn't he shut the curtain last night like he usually did? He pushed himself up slowly, fighting the protest of his muscles. He squinted in the direction of his clock, surprised to find it was already one in the afternoon. He'd never slept this late in his life. Kakashi sat still as he tried to remember what he had done the day before.

The last thing he could recall was waking up, making coffee with rum, and settling down to reread some original Icha Icha. Glancing over at the coffee table, he noticed two completely empty liquor bottles.

Didn't he only have one bottle of rum in his cupboard? No wonder he couldn't remember much of the day before. With an agonized groan, the silver-haired jounin pushed himself onto his unsteady legs, vowing to never get drunk again.

…okay, maybe just not AS drunk.

Deciding to forgo the normal cold shower, Kakashi stepped into the warm stream of water and exhaled with contentment as his muscles relaxed slightly. He tried to call forth the events of yesterday again, and this time he drew a blank somewhere after buying the second bottle and returning to his apartment. He hoped he hadn't done anything terribly stupid. Maybe he had just stayed home all night? After all, he didn't see a new towel in the bathroom when he walked in. That must mean he hadn't bought it like he planned.

Even though he tried to reassure himself, something else was tugging at the back of his mind. It annoyed him that he couldn't figure out what it was.

He shut off the water after rinsing the shampoo from his hair and stepped out of his bathroom, naked and dripping wet. Scanning the room for the brown towel from yesterday, he noticed two folded green ones sitting on the coffee table across from the empty bottles.

Looks like he had gone out after all. The nagging grew stronger.

He picked one up and opened it, wiping down the moisture from his muscled body before running it through his hair. After wrapping it around his waist, he walked into his kitchen to find some pain reliever for his monumental headache. He filled a glass of water and gulped the pills down greedily, following it up with another glass. His hangovers were getting worse with age.

His stomach grumbled loudly as the liquid settled, notifying him that he probably hadn't eaten dinner. Cooking sounded like too much effort, so he decided to go out and purchase his food.

Dragging his feet towards the dresser by his bed, Kakashi finally noticed the white bandages on his sheets. He narrowed his eyes at them in confusion. Had he hurt himself? But then why would he have torn them off?

He changed the direction of his weary limbs and stooped to pick up the white cloth, turning it over in his hands carefully. There was no blood on them, and none of his joints ached like they had been sprained.

The nagging feeling was positively buzzing now.

Something was wrong here.

Tentatively, he pulled the cloth to his face and inhaled.

His mind was flooded with more memories almost instantly. They came in bits and pieces. Green towels, pink hair, emerald eyes, rosy cheeks, honeyed lips, and those subtle curves... The deluge of images stopped abruptly with Sakura under him and trapped between his arms, her hair fanned out around her head. Topless.

Kakashi's head was reeling.

"Oh shit."

Tap tap.

Sakura grumbled sleepily.

Tap tap tap.

Her room was hazy. Or was that just her vision? She blinked a few times, trying to clear the fog of sleep from her eyes. Really, she needed to get out in the field more. Staying in Konoha for nearly two whole years was making her feel dull. She shouldn't be this groggy from being woken up what she assumed was just a few hours earlier than normal. That could get you killed on the wrong mission.

So why did she ignore the vast majority of missions to devote herself to her medic side? For the slim chance her childhood crush would be coming back through gates to profess his undying love for her?

Hmph.

TAP. TAP.

"Oh, great," she mumbled to herself, "they wake me up and they're the ones irritated." She sighed. "I'll be right there!" she yelled this time, loud and obviously aggravated. She glanced at the clock to see it read four in the morning – only two hours before when she'd normally wake up, but still early enough to mourn. And early enough to warrant her upstairs neighbor making another noise complaint at her yelling.

With a sigh, she sat from her bed and pulled a large t-shirt that hung to her knees over her leanly muscled frame, sincerely hoping that the old cat lady upstairs hadn't been disturbed.

"Now you look here, you arrogant little-" she ground out lowly as she opened the door, intending to lay some manners into this person who dared to get impatient with her; she was the one who should be upset sinceit was her fantastic dream that had been interrupted.

Sakura paused her rant as she noticed that she was lacking the expected human audience.

"P-p-pun-puuun…"

Sakura quickly looked down towards the ground, feeling contrite as she took in the cowering form of Tonton.

"Oh crap, Tonton! I'm so sorry dear, I thought…" she trailed off, realizing that the explanation wasn't helping the little pig much. She kneeled down and slowly reached a hand out to pat Tonton on the head reassuringly, feeling a little bit better as the animal didn't shy away from her.

"Sorry, I'm not a morning person," she offered.

Tonton eyed the kunoichi warily for a moment before narrowing her eyes a little and replying with what Sakura assumed was meant to be a scathingly sarcastic remark. As sarcastic as a pig could get, she reckoned. The pink haired woman merely gave a nervous laugh in reply. Clearly Tonton wasn't fond of the early morning either. She noticed a small folded piece of paper tucked under the pig's necklace and removed it.

Sakura –

Something's come up and I won't be around until the afternoon. Could you help Tsunade while I'm gone? I'll cover your shift tomorrow.

-Shizune

P.S. She had a long night out.

Sakura frowned a little. Well, there went her day off. She thanked and said goodbye to Tonton, grateful that it seemed the pig had at least accepted her apology before leaving.

The kunoichi showered leisurely and allowed her mind to wander freely while she stood under the steady spray. She grew frustrated as it chose to linger on her ex-sensei, and their strange last couple of weeks.

Two weeks. For two weeks, Kakashi had been avoiding her like she was a leper. She wanted to strangle him, to say that they could just forget anything ever happened if it made him feel better.

One of the problems with that was she knew she couldn't say that honestly. There was no way she would be able to forget anything about that night. And if she was being truthful, a small part of her still didn't want him to forget either. That was why she had left the bindings, even if she regretted it a little now.

The other problem was that Kakashi was incredibly good at slipping away when she managed to finally find him. At this rate, she'd never get a chance to suggest they move past it, let alone make the effort. The man occupied nearly every waking thought of hers now, despite the fact that she hadn't properly seen him since that night.

Oh she had seen Kakashi, all right. She had seen mere bits of him as he blurred out of sight, that is. The top of his distinct silver locks as they disappeared amidst the crowd. The orange book that hung out of his back pockets as he dashed into an alleyway. His wrapped calves and black sandals as he jumped to a rooftop and bolted away.

She had no idea what to do with him now.

…well, besides jump his bones. But she doubted that would go over well.

Sakura shut off the water and exited the shower, feeling a little more awake than earlier. She dried and dressed quickly, knowing that Tsunade would be expecting her as soon as possible. Sakura was well versed in the woman's propensity to show up hungover and sleep it out on her desk. Shizune's warning was merely a hint that the pinkette would be forced to brave the wrath and drool that came with trying to keep her awake.

Her day wasn't starting out the greatest.

Tsunade yawned loudly as she scratched a sloppy signature onto the form before her. She wondered vaguely what she was signing, but was distracted as a sharp pain in her head flared up again.

Ah, screw it. Sakura wouldn't hand her anything that she might actually need to think about before approving. Not without telling her, and certainly not on a day like today anyway. This was the kind of day where Tsunade took it easy.

Said pink-haired woman placed a steaming teapot on the desk, followed by two small round and white pills. Tsunade instantly recognized them as pain relievers and grunted a thanks to her apprentice as she swallowed them down.

Today had been a rather easy day for the blonde. She had slept away most of the morning, only waking up to scrawl on the odd paper here and there. It was afternoon now, and Tsunade was finally fully alert. As alert as she could be with such an angry pounding in her head, anyway.

A knock sounded on the door.

"Come in," Tsunade said.

Sakura ignored the visitor, opting to arrange Tsunade's paperwork as the doors swung open. She was intending to give this meeting a minimal amount of attention, assuming that it would be over quickly. Shizune would be back soon, and Sakura had decided to make things as smooth for the woman as she could. However, glancing up to acknowledge the shinobi that entered made her pause in her self-given task.

Kakashi stood in the middle of the room, hands in his pockets as usual. To a stranger, he would look relaxed and almost bored. Unfortunately for him, the women in the room knew him very well. The tensed muscles in his back, and the way his one dark eye refused to look at Sakura gave him away just as well as if he had been shouting at the top of his lungs.

He was entirely uncomfortable, and it was clearly because of Sakura's proximity. She stiffened as well, but managed to return somewhat to her previous paper arrangement. Tsunade raised a light eyebrow at the pair of shinobi in her office, wondering what could have happened to make them so flighty around one another. Whatever it was, the tension that crowded the room was thick.

She found it amusing.

"Hokage-sama. Sakura," Kakashi greeted them. His voice was even and bored sounding, belying none of his discomfort like his posture had.

"Hatake. You're earlier than I expected."

Kakashi gave a noncommittal shrug and remained silent. Tsunade resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Sakura, his mission scroll is on that chair over there. Hand it to him."

The pink-haired woman clenched her jaw, but nodded nonetheless.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Her movements felt mechanical as she strode to the chair under the window, and she hoped she wasn't being as obvious as she felt. If Tsunade sensed anything amiss, there would be no end to the questioning.

She plucked the scroll from the seat of the chair and turned to hand it to Kakashi. His good eye flickered to hers to hold them momentarily, and she felt her stomach flutter again. The unexpected reaction from her own body caused her to nearly miss how he lingered a gaze on her chest for a brief second. He quickly looked down to the scroll and removed it from her hands, careful that their fingers never touched.

Sakura thanked her lucky stars that his covered eye was the only one Tsunade could see from her desk. Maybe her observant master would miss the improper path Kakashi's eye had taken.

She turned to move back to where her papers were and stole a look at Tsunade. Her heart dropped as she noticed the way her master's face was shining with hidden mirth.

Crap.

"Simple mission, Hatake. Sealed scroll trade with Suna at the border. Your contact will be Kankuro."

She looked between Sakura and Kakashi once more.

"I've decided to make a small change. Sakura, you will be going as well."

They both fidgeted slightly where they stood, and Tsunade felt her amusement grow. They made this too simple for her.

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama…" Kakashi began. Tsunade locked eyes with him and rested her chin on her interlaced fingers, making it clear he could continue. "A simple scroll exchange does not require two jounin level shinobi. I can do it alone."

She cocked a brow at him yet again.

"Sakura here was just speaking earlier about how much she missed the field. I think a trip to the border and back will be a nice warm-up for any missions she takes in the near future. Besides, it seems Kankuro has been asking about her lately."

Double crap.

Sakura cursed. Had she known she would end up in this situation, she never would have asked Tsunade to place her back as active on the field duty list. Now she had no way to decline without bringing more attention to their odd situation. And she knew that there was no way her master would change her mind anyway.

"You'll be leaving at first light tomorrow.

She had to see this through.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," both she and Kakashi said in unison.

Sakura told herself the apprehension she felt would disappear after they spent some time together again. They could move past it all and just behave like professional adults.

…oh, who was she fooling. Certainly not herself.

This was going to be awkward as hell.

"You're dismissed, Hatake."

He gave a bow just polite enough that Tsunade couldn't complain, but the forced nature of it didn't escape her notice. This entire interaction had been too entertaining. She almost wished she could watch how it continued tomorrow.

Sakura was so lost in her own thoughts that she missed the new look that Kakashi gave her before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

But Tsunade noticed it. She grinned. It really was a damn shame that she wouldn't be around to see what that was about.

Sakura angrily slammed her apartment door shut with her foot as she passed through the doorway, imparting everyone in her complex with the knowledge that she was home for the night as the walls and ceiling shook. A bit of drywall cracked above her and she felt the debris sprinkle down onto her head. She grumbled and rubbed the white powder from her hair before heading to the kitchen.

She made little effort to walk quietly through her ground level flat – it was the entire reason she picked the place, after all, having been evicted for noise complaints in civilian complexes before when she was younger. Sakura had mostly outgrown throwing tantrums… in public. At home, she found the freedom to stomp around and scowl at inanimate objects quite cathartic in its own way. She was certain it made her look like a crazy person.

Sakura tried to reign in her temper as she grabbed the handle of her teapot.

BANG BANG BANG.

The metal beneath her fingers creaked in protest as she squeezed it.

She frowned as she looked down at it and noticed the indentations she left behind.

Shit. She loved that thing.

She sighed and continued making her tea. She'd worry about the handle later. At least the pot was still functional.

BANG BANG BANG.

Sakura scowled. She had a feeling she knew who this was.

She walked back to the door and took a look through the peephole to see the shine of silver hair and frowned a little. Of course she would get no reprieve. She relaxed her face a little before opening the door.

It was her upstairs neighbor, the crotchety old cat lady, Sato Naomi.

Most everyone in this particular complex tolerated the occasional slam of a door from Sakura. She was well known in both the shinobi and civilian world by now, having been a major player in the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War. Having such popularity afforded her some liberties, as people tended to be more accommodating with her eccentricities these days. Just like they always had for Tsunade.

But this was Naomi – she was not the easily impressed sort of civilian.

The short old woman with the round face and silver hair frowned up at Sakura, her arthritic hands held on her wide hips. Scrutinizing dark brown eyes narrowed at Sakura almost comically from behind thick lenses.

Sakura immediately gave Naomi a smile. She truly did feel bad about slamming the door. She never tried to make a scene, and she had definitely been better about it lately. But with her current mixture of anger, confusion, and desire… she was surprised that an angry neighbor and a dented teapot handle were the only victims so far.

"Sorry for slamming the door, Sato-san" Sakura said pre-emptively, hoping to quell the fire while it was still small. "It was an accident."

Accident. Sakura scoffed at the half-truth. The slam hadn't been accidental, but she supposed the force of it had.

Naomi continued to glare.

"I don't know what's put a bug up your bonnet, young lady, but either get over it or take it somewhere else. You woke up poor Sophia with your shenanigans."

Naomi turned to the side and started to walk away, but thought better of it and paused to look at Sakura once more.

"And for the love of god, girl, go get laid."

Sakura's jaw dropped at the old woman's bold statement, and she opened and closed her mouth like a gaping fish. The kunoichi was at a loss for words.

A knowing grin crossed Naomi's face. "Sweetheart, I own nearly a dozen cats - I know sexual frustration when I see it."

Sakura's jaw snapped shut this time. Naomi chuckled to herself as she walked away, mumbling something about how 'the younger generation made it too easy.'

She had misjudged this old lady. Naomi was worse than Tsunade.

Sakura shut the door, being careful not to slam it this time. She had the beginnings of a headache now, and all she wanted to do was drink her tea and go to bed.

If only Kakashi would get out of her head and into her shee-

She frowned. Naomi hadn't made her wandering thoughts of Kakashi any tamer; they were more unruly than ever, if anything. Just how was she supposed to pretend that their friendship could be normal when she couldn't stop reliving that night? It followed her during the day, and visited her dreams.

The wall of denial she'd been trying so hard to build up crumbled with the slight breeze of her sigh.

She was so screwed.

"Damn it, Sato-san."

Kakashi approached the town gates at half past seven. Dawn had risen over an hour and a half ago, and he was sure that Sakura had been waiting for at least an hour of that by now. He'd spent the night previous trying to come up with a plan for how to interact with her on this mission. Eventually he'd decided that the best course of action would be to completely ignore everything and act as though nothing had changed between them, as if they were still just ex-student and ex-teacher.

It sounded immature, but he had no idea what else to do.

He supposed that, besides a few heated kisses and wandering hands, nothing really had changed. He knew they must have stopped before going all the way – his nose was keen, and sex was the first scent he'd checked his sheets for after he discovered Sakura's bindings.

He hadn't been sure then if he was happy or disappointed with the knowledge. He still wasn't sure.

And while that was part of why he had been avoiding her, it wasn't the whole reason.

Kakashi couldn't shake the hunch that leaving behind the bindings had been intentional, and his hunches were rarely wrong. She had been the sober one that night, but he couldn't recall a hint of hesitation in her once he'd thrown her on the bed.

She was sending a message, and he understood it clearly. Let's pick up where we left off.

Kakashi may be a disciplined man, but even he is not made of stone. If he had to fight off his desires and her advances at the same time, he knew he'd give in to both eventually.

He slipped into his normal eye crinkle as he approached the pink-haired woman by the gates. She was tapping her foot impatiently, ready to beat him senseless before they even began.

"Yo," he intoned casually. The even tone of his voice seemed to agitate her further.

"You're late."

"Am I? Hm, well you see, I ran into this little old cat lady on the way in. One of her cats was stuck in a tree, and-"

"You've used that one before, idiot."

He smiled genuinely at her this time. Maybe things would be easier than he thought.

"Have I?"

She grunted and rolled her eyes.

"You're awful. Let's just go."

He chuckled at her irritation, and the low sound of it caused a tingle to run down her spine.

"You got it, Sakura-chan."

She huffed at his sarcastic use of the chan suffix, but turned around and began to walk away regardless. For some reason, she didn't feel nearly as angry with him as she should. She frowned to herself.

This was going to be every bit as difficult as she imagined.

They had walked in silence most of the day, opting to enjoy a relaxed stroll down the merchant's road instead of a dashing through the trees of the forest. Their only conversation had been light and trivial in nature. There was no rush to their destination. Walking also allowed Kakashi to distract himself with Icha Icha somewhat.

It was still a little difficult to completely ignore Sakura's presence, especially since the wind had been blowing hints of her scent to him all day long. Every time he noticed it, he felt a little like a creep. Really, he wasn't trying to get turned on by her smell. He couldn't help that he had a good nose. Nor could he help that her scent was now permanently linked to an image of her trapped topless beneath him.

With no book to occupy her, Sakura was having a tougher time than her silver-haired companion. She was hyper aware of his every move, though she knew she was doing a pretty good job at appearing casual. At least he didn't seem to notice, anyway.

Thank goodness for minor miracles.

The wind ruffled her hair again, and Kakashi paused to look up at the darkening sky.

"Let's go off the road to make camp," he suggested.

She nodded, and they both changed direction to head into the tree line. They found a suitable clearing a few minutes later, and Sakura dropped her light bag on the dirt. She went the opposite direction from Kakashi in search of branches for the fire they'd be starting soon.

Sakura returned with a large armful of wood just as the last of the evening light dimmed from the sky. She dropped her bundle next to Kakashi's, satisfied that they had retrieved nearly the same amount. The fire wouldn't last more than a few hours, but they only needed it to cook dinner. Their bedrolls would keep them plenty warm while they slept.

Kakashi made the seals for a fireball and blew a tiny flame into a separate pile of wood. The fire grew steadily as the minutes ticked by, until eventually it crackled and flickered warmly. Sakura found peace in it; she always loved watching the fire as it danced.

Kakashi pulled two skewered fish from where he'd stuck them in the ground and moved them closer to the flames, attracting Sakura's attention as he moved into her field of vision. She smiled gratefully at him, and he returned it with a crease of his eye.

Their silence continued, and Sakura found it easier to take while in the orange glow of their campfire. She was surprised she was so relaxed now, considering her earlier nervousness at spending time with her ex-sensei.

"Kaka-"

"Saku-"

They paused upon realizing they'd interrupted the other, and both of them couldn't help but laugh.

"You first," Kakashi said with a smile.

She returned it happily, thankful that he didn't seem completely adverse to talking with her.

"I just wanted to say… about the night a few weeks ago," she began, looking at him carefully to watch his body language. His shoulders tensed slightly, and she was now acutely aware that he had been hoping to avoid this conversation. Or at least have it on his terms.

He nodded to show her that he was listening.

"I just wanted to say, let's forget it ever happened, okay?"

She gave him a falsely cheery smile.

There, she'd said it. It was out there, and she couldn't take it back. She just had to see what his move would be.

And though she was expecting it, she was still disappointed when she saw his shoulders relax. He nodded.

"Yeah. Let's just forget about it," he replied finally, returning her fake smile with one of his own.

It looked as though he was forcing himself to say it, though that could just be her own mind playing tricks on her.

"I wanted to apologize to you for it anyway," he admitted. "I'm sorry about… that. I had far too much to drink that night."

Sakura's gut wrenched. "No problem," she managed to say. Kakashi wasn't giving her outright rejection, but it stung regardless.

He pulled her fish from the fire to hand it to her, and she accepted it with a simple thanks.

They both laid out their bedrolls and settled inside them after they ate, letting the flames dwindle down on their own. They were still well within the borders of the Fire Country, and were thus more concerned with getting a full night of sleep than any wandering bandits. And with the forests of Konoha being known as a familiar haunt of the kyuubi jinchuriki, there weren't many bandits remaining around here now anyway.

"Good night, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said from across the dying firelight.

"Good night, Sakura."

They were asleep less than twenty minutes later, each dreaming of the other.

"Sakura? I didn't expect to see you here," Kankuro said as he moved closer to the two Leaf shinobi. "I was told it would just be Kakashi."

Sakura smiled warmly at the painted Suna puppeteer.

"Good to see you again, Kankuro."

He returned her smile with a small twitch of his lips.

"You too."

Kankuro had never been overly comfortable with showing positive emotions. Still, he had been intrigued by the pink-haired medic-nin ever since she saved him from Sasori's poison years ago. Hearing about what she'd done while the rest of the world was wrapped up in the Infinite Tsukuyomi had only compounded his interest.

Sakura was just happy that there was another person to distract her from her partner. Despite their agreement last night, Sakura had felt Kakashi's eye linger on her more than once since they woke up. It was starting to make her nervous again and, if she was being honest, excited. She cursed that stupid dream for showing up last night. Things were only more confusing than ever.

But she couldn't afford to act on anything. Kakashi had made a choice to ignore it, just like she had. They'd agreed to move past it.

The scrolls were swapped, and Kakashi waved a goodbye as he began to walk away, expecting Sakura to follow him. He stopped to glance behind him once he noticed he didn't hear her footsteps.

She stood between him and Kankuro, looking conflicted.

"Hey, isn't there a town around here? I could really go for a bath house," she suggested eventually. It wasn't entirely truthful. The journey to Konoha was only one night away, and she had no problem with waiting.

But after Kakashi's acceptance of her offer to forget their heated moment weeks ago, Sakura found herself wanting to spend time with someone she knew found her attractive. Part of her felt selfish and guilty for using Kankuro's interest in her as a boost to her self-esteem, but she stuffed that down. She would ask to spend time with him as a friend and clarify her lack of romantic interest later if it was necessary. Plus, she figured that she had grown to know Gaara and Temari rather well over the years as they liaised with Konoha. It was only about time that she got to know Kankuro as well.

Kakashi tilted his head at her, trying hard to control his annoyance.

"We'll be home tomorrow. Can't you wait until then?"

Sakura grinned at him.

"Sorry, no can do sensei. I'll be headed to the town for the night. A bed and bath sound wonderful. But feel free to show up and report to the Hokage without me," she said with a playful wink. She was not going to let him ruin this for her.

Kakashi resisted the urge to scowl at her. All he wanted was to get home, where he could go back to hiding in plain sight.

"Fine," he said without further argument. His quick agreement surprised Sakura. She had been anticipating he'd fight it more. He probably would have, actually, if he hadn't still been feeling extra cautious around her. He turned around to leave again, this time in the direction of the town Sakura was talking about.

One extra night wouldn't hurt, he told himself.

"Wanna join us, Kankuro?"

Kakashi whipped his head around to look at the two behind him as he heard Sakura invite the Suna nin along. Well, he certainly hadn't been anticipating that.

Kankuro looked just as shocked as Kakashi felt.

"I- uh- I should probably just head back to Suna. I'm expected home tomorrow," he finally managed to respond.

"Oh, nonsense!" Sakura shouted as she threw an arm around the painted ninja's shoulders. "Just tell them you spent some time with me. They'll understand."

Kankuro still didn't look convinced.

"Come on! I'll treat us to a few rounds at the bar," she offered one last time.

He furrowed his brow for a moment before finally sighing and shaking his head. This woman confused him.

"Sure. Why not?"

Kankuro and Sakura moved ahead of Kakashi as the three made their way to the town. She was talking animatedly about some new research she was involved in. The puppeteer asked casual questions occasionally, trying his best to appear invested in the topic at hand. Kakashi could tell that Kankuro cared less about the answers, and more about seeing Sakura's face light up with happiness as she talked about her favorite subject.

Kakashi had been guilty of using such a tactic on more than one woman in his life.

It bothered him slightly, but he kept his mouth shut. It was none of his business who courted Sakura, just as it was none of his business if she accepted their advances.

Besides, Sakura would never be interested in Kankuro. The Kazekage's brother wasn't her type.

He's not. You are, though, Kakashi's mind shouted back at him.

He frowned as Sakura turned her head and flashed him a tentative smile.

Just what exactly was she playing at?

"Ah!" Sakura exclaimed as she stretched her arms over her head. "That was just what I needed!"

"Yes. The trip out here was exhausting," Kakashi supplied sarcastically.

The pink-haired kunoichi stuck a tongue out at her ex-sensei. She was feeling much more relaxed around him now, thankful for both the chat she'd had with Kankuro and the warm water she enjoyed afterwards. She had been aware that Kankuro had little interest in the subject of conversation, but she still appreciated that he'd made an effort to continue it. And the fact that he'd managed to pick up and understand some of her medical jargon had been impressive. She definitely enjoyed his company just as much as she did his siblings.

"Time to drink!"

Kakashi grimaced. He wasn't eager to join them at the bar, but he found himself headed there anyway. As irrational as it was, he loathed the idea of the two young ninja spending any time alone together.

They sat down at a table after ordering their drinks. Kakashi had intended on just getting water, but buckled under Sakura's insistence that he have something a bit stronger. He sat brooding with his jug of sake, vowing to keep himself mostly sober for the evening. Thankfully, Sakura mistook his ill mood as his desire to be headed back to Konoha. He made no moves to correct her, deciding it was better to let her believe that rather than the alternative. Hell, Kakashi could barely admit the alternative to himself.

But as Kankuro continued supplying himself and Sakura with drinks, it grew harder and harder to deny.

Kakashi was jealous.

The Suna nin hadn't reapplied his face paint after the bath, and it was clear that Sakura found him much more attractive without it. Her entire attitude towards Kankuro had changed from friendly to nearly demure. Kakashi was sorely tempted to laugh at her; Sakura was anything but demure, and he had the scars to prove it.

On the other hand, Sakura was having an amazing time. She had been pleasantly surprised that Kankuro decided not to wear his face paint for the rest of the evening. The white and purple markings had always been a little intimidating, and it was much easier to talk to him without it. It didn't hurt that he was handsome in his own right. He reminded her of Kakashi, in a way. Their features were wildly different, but their jawline was near identical.

She found herself drawn to it as they talked, and he had caught her staring more than once. Kankuro would wink at her each time before continuing the conversation as if nothing had happened. Sakura would laugh nervously and blush in response, hoping he wasn't getting the wrong idea.

Ah, what the hell was she talking about. She was getting the wrong idea about both Kankuro AND Kakashi. At least she might be able to do something about it with one of them – the other was now completely off limits.

Unless he changes his mind.

She frowned at the thought. She needed to stop doing that to herself. She'd held onto her hopes and dreams about Sasuke for precisely that same idea; for the 'maybe', and the 'what if.'

And what had that even done for her so far?

She supposed the benefit to her heartache was that it had driven her to become the best kunoichi she possibly could be.

But everything else about loving and holding out hope for Sasuke had only brought her pain.

It was time to stop waiting on others. She was going to take charge of her own happiness. And if that meant indulging herself in willing company once in a while, then she damn well would.

The silver-haired jounin took another lightning fast sip of his drink and glared at his cup when he realized it was now empty.

"Finished finally?" Sakura asked him, and Kakashi raised his good eye to hers. He hummed his reply as he set the cup back down on the table. He wasn't quite drunk, but he was tipsy. He'd have to find a way to coax them out of the bar sooner rather than later.

"Good," she continued. "I'll go get you some more," she said as she stood up and walked to the bartender before he had a chance to dissent. Kakashi didn't like the way Kankuro stood immediately and followed after her.

He especially didn't like the way she blushed then giggled as said man slung an arm over her shoulders and leaned in towards her.

Sakura jumped a little as she felt the arm placed around her shoulders, but quickly smiled and blushed as she turned to see it was just Kankuro.

"Come here often?" he whispered into her ear. She returned it with a light laugh as she leaned into him, reveling in his warmth. He had been buying himself fairly strong drinks all evening, and it was clear they had helped him open up to her a bit more. She was sure Kankuro wasn't the type for public affection. Just like Kakashi.

Ugh. There she went again.

"That was terrible," she said, eager to think more about the man in front of her rather than the one back at the table.

Kankuro shrugged, but grinned at her light chiding. She found herself returning it easily. She really hadn't expected to enjoy his company as much as she was.

"It made you laugh though," he said before pulling her in a little closer. "So, I was thinking…"

Sakura cocked an eyebrow at him and felt the corner of her lip turn upwards as he trailed off. She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

Sure enough, Kankuro gave her a sultry smile. She melted a little at how it looked on his strong face.

She really was a sucker for that jawline.

"You want to head back to my room?"

Sakura gulped and studied his face closely as she debated. Isn't this what she had just been thinking she shouldn't deny herself?

She was tugged out of his arms and halfway out the door before she could answer, or even figure out what the heck was going on.

"Wha- KAKASHI!" she screamed out indignantly as she noticed the orange book sticking from his back pocket. He had her slung over his shoulder! "You bring me back there RIGHT. NOW." She pushed at his back to make her point, growing angrier with every second that he ignored her.

Eventually he tightened the arm around her hips until it was almost painful.

"Quiet," he grumbled as he ran, "you're making a scene."

Well, if he didn't want her to make a scene, she'd damn well make a scene.

"Oh HELL NO, Hatake. Absolutely NOT. You don't get to pull me from a good time and then act like I'm the one overreacting here!" She struggled again, this time pounding her fists on his back.

"You let me go you big… big… ASSHOLE!"

He scoffed at her as he stopped in front of their hotel door and unlocked it. Had he really gotten them back so fast? She hadn't even noticed they'd entered the hotel at all.

"Mature," he said as he closed the door behind them. He dropped Sakura on her bed and looked down at her. She glared back up at him. She was fuming.

"You don't get to do that, Kakashi. You have no right. You had your chance, and you ran away from me – literally. We agreed to forget it, remember? You said you wanted to forget."

He said nothing and stared down at her. He looked every bit as inscrutable as usual despite her angry words, and it only ticked her off further. She had to bite her tongue to stop from saying anything cruel.

She nearly choked when he finally spoke.

"What if I changed my mind?"