Next Time, Knock First [Kakami, Rin, Asuka]
[[backdated to the morning after this thread]]
After the... fascinating... conversation she'd had with Kureno the night before, it had seemed maybe the most prudent thing to do about the problem with Rin (well, the problem she'd sorta kinda at least had a hand in starting, maybe just a little) would be to... well, ignore it. That was her usual mode of 'dealing with things,' actually; just pretend it wasn't a problem long enough and eventually things would work out. Except, of course, for when they didn't, but if Kakami made her move on the medic like Kureno seemed to figure she would, then this time it really would work out by itself. Right?
Except Asuka was feeling rather guilty about the whole thing, and that feeling of guilt didn't go away. Work distracted her from it for a while - kind of hard to not be distracted when your opponent was throwing trees at you - but after it was over and the night was through and the sun was coming up again... so came back the guilt. And Asuka, well, though she didn't really feel guilty about things often, when she did she wanted to fix it pronto. Her and guilt just didn't get along for long periods of time.
So when the sun was coming up the next morning, the kunoichi went down to the hospital to make sure things got worked out. She knew Rin had the crazy early shift; surely he'd be there when everyone else was still working out how to turn their coffee pot on through a blurry haze of sleep. She might have to wait a while to actually talk to him, if he was busy, but hey, that was the price of making sure she got things straightened out and got a good night (day?) of sleep herself.
Except he wasn't in, and the hospital didn't know where he was. Which, of course, was odd. Rin was never late to work (he was, if anything, always early), and even if he was going to be, he'd at least call in. Or let someone know somehow. But he hadn't, and no one knew where he was, and they couldn't get in touch with him, either.
This was just a whole new drop of worry in the bucket. Maybe Asuka was just being paranoid, but after everything he'd been through - after him being gone and pronounced dead for so many years, after the problems she'd seen at least in part after he'd been brought back - she didn't think it was exactly unfounded paranoia. Normally she wouldn't go knocking on someone's door so early in the morning, but maybe this situation warranted it.
And so, after volunteering to find him herself, the jounin found herself on the front step of his home, knocking but not getting a response. He ought to be home - if not here, then where? Kakami's, perhaps? Though what he'd be doing there at six in the morning was questionable, especially after how he'd moved out. Maybe he was out training. Maybe some emergency had come up and he was off taking care of other things. Surely there was a good explanation and she was just being paranoid. ... right?
Asuka knocked for the third time, and this time, the latch came open and the door swung open just a tiny, tiny fraction.
... okay, good explanation for not showing up to work and not letting anyone know what was up aside, leaving a door unlocked and only partway latched equalled a very good reason for paranoia. How could a good ninja not be paranoid now? Putting aside any hesitations concerning breaking and entering or disturbing someone's home without prior permission, Asuka nudged the door open further and peeked inside.
Rin's home was very clean. The kind of clean that showed no one had lived there in a while, sort of like the kind of clean her apartment had. There was a light on around the corner in what she assumed was the kitchen or dining room, but otherwise everything was dark. Except... it wasn't dark enough to hide the fact that Kakami and Rin were curled up in a very embarrassing way on Rin's couch. Curled up in a way that was very definitely beyond any possibility of just 'cuddling.' The kind that screamed, oh thank god they're still wearing clothes.
... well, that was probably a good reason to not go to work or call in sick. She, uh, should hurry up and close the door and book it before either of them woke up....
Luckily for Asuka's sake, it tended to take a lot to wake Rin up - like maybe a small explosion. And lying sprawled half-under Kakami... legs tangled up in hers, arms wound round her back (though one of his hands seemed to have found it's way down to her hip... completely of its own volition of course), and with her head having shifted while they slept so that her hair brushed his cheek... well, his body was in no way hurried about waking him up this time. Nuh uh. No way.
He slept on oblivious under Asuka's shocked stare, an expression of complete peace on his face, not even waking up when he shifted again in his sleep to pull Kakami closer to him.
Of course, it wasn't like that wouldn't wake Kakami up.
Kakami gave an odd half sigh, half mutter. Her eye peeked open dazedly before she shot straight up. Or tried - instinct at least made her try to break Rin's hold because of a figure in the doorway that she wasn't sure she knew.
Of course. She was half asleep.
So a muffled "Oof..." came out as she blinked into Rin's chest and then turned her head.
Blinked again.
What the hell? "Asuka?"
Oh fuuuuuuck. This was not a good time to be caught peeping in someone's doorway. This was not a good time to caught anywhere near the two of them, especially if it looked like she'd been spying on them. Which she hadn't been. No, seriously. Trying to kick-start her brain into reacting, yes - spying, no.
There had to be some way she could salvage this situation while still keeping her now badly bruised pride (when this was put on top of the whole misunderstanding committed with Rin), keep her hide intact, and possibly salvage any of their pride, too. Though the light spilling into the living room from the rising sun probably hid the flush of embarrassment that made its way to her cheeks, Asuka nevertheless coughed into one fist in an attempt to hide it.
"You're, uh, late for work, Rin," she replied awkwardly to the unspoken question.
Rin didn't hear her, or had heard Kakami earlier, still completely asleep, but he did feel it when Kakami propped herself up a bit and it felt like she was going away.
Unconscious or not, none of him liked that idea. And it got expressed with an unbelievably sad sort of sound, like an upset puppy would make, rising lowly from the back of his throat. He frowned a little in his sleep, not happy with this change in developments even if he didn't know it.
Good grief, you'd never think to look at him he was a medic, a doctor or a ninja.
Kakami glanced at Rin and blinked as he made the noise before half yawning and beginning to shake his shoulders. "Rin. Hey, Rin. You have to get up now."
She looked over at Asuka again and frowned. "Did they send you to come get him?" Seemed an odd thing to do.
Asuka just stared for a moment, blinking at Rin before her eyes flicked back up (a little belatedly) to the other kunoichi at her question. Was that noise coming from Rin?
"Uh," she said intelligently, jabbing at her brain with a sharp stick in order to make it work quickly and not so damn suspiciously. "I um, stopped by the hospital this morning to talk to him, but he wasn't in and they said they hadn't been able to get through his phone." Did you two unplug it something? she wanted to ask - although she thankfully realized before she actually said it aloud that the hospital had probably been trying to call Kakami's, since Rin had moved out so recently... and since neither of them were there, of course the hospital couldn't get through...
Finally, Rin did manage to wake up. A bit. Kakami's voice and shaking his shoulders got him to yawn tiredly and eventually open his eyes.
"Hey... what's goin' on?" he drawled sleepily, rubbing a knuckle in his sleep-dazed eyes and catching a glimpse of Kakami's pale face as he tried to put a thought together.
His subsequent thought process was a bit of a trip.
Kakami? Kakami... on me. Me... on couch. Why couch? Where bed? Gone like oven? Kakami not gone. Kakami... Kakami... last night...
His sleepy eyes instantly focused, his whole being jarred into instant awakeness and he sat up - feeling cold suddenly where they were no longer touching (there had been touching!) and blinking in slow confusion that turned into comprehension at Kakami. At her. He loved her. He'd said it last night and she was still here and she'd said and...
...and he did the only thing you could reasonably expect him to do on waking up in such circumstances. Especially if he hadn't yet clocked that Asuka was there.
He kissed her. Just gently on her cheek, but he kissed he all the same.
Well, there had been a chance (a minuscule and oh-so-doomed one) that they could get out of this believing that Asuka didn't know anything besides a compromising sort of snooze had been going on. Not anymore. Just as well Rin hadn't realized that yet.
If Kakami's face had been pale before, it was a healthy color of pink now. She smiled at him and then almost awkwardly patted his shoulder before saying, "Um, Asuka is here. I guess she wanted to talk to you."
The slim woman carefully untangled herself. "I'm gonna...uh, yeah." More pink before she headed towards the bathroom.
Kakami did the only thing a sane woman could do in such a situation: get the hell out of there and go find some small room in which to pick up the pieces of her pride - or to just hide until she got over her embarrassment. Asuka didn't really blame her; she'd have probably done the same thing herself.
Although this still left her with the problem of Rin. A Rin who was clearly only just now realizing she was there, which was a little... awkward. Not that this whole situation wasn't awkward.
Silence reigned for a moment until the sound of the bathroom door clicking shut behind Kakami reached them. Then the kunoichi coughed into her hand again, shifted uncomfortably on the doorstep, and repeated: "You're missing your shift at work, Rin."
It was pretty much the only thing she could think to say besides I am SO sorry I swear I didn't see ANYTHING.
All poor, beleaguered, confused, semi-conscious Rin could do was get confused. Confused. And more confused. Asuka? What? He did not remember her being around last...
...and his train of thought skidded off the rails on that score as he found himself quite unable to stop looking at Kakami's hips as she vanished way too quickly out his line of sight. Quite unable to keep from blinking and flat-out staring and nearly falling off the couch as he leaned over to keep her in view.
And then he saw Asuka really was, entirely and utterly, right there and he did fall the couch. Onto the floor in a disorganized heap of limbs and rumpled jeans and t-shirt and muttering something that might have been a curse but was most definitely meant in the way you said something when you were quite so incredulous you couldn't compute it.
He blinked up at Asuka and made a concerted effort to get to his feet. Try to act normal, for once in his life.
"Missing work? Where'd it go?"
Yeah. Rin's brain did not function so good in the morning. Especially not this morning, when everything seemed to be very topsy-turvy.
Oh, good grief.
Asuka wasn't sure if she should laugh at him checking out Kakami's ass, smack her forehead, go help him up to his feet, or just turn around and walk away before she had to witness anything else. She settled for staying right where she was, primarily because of just how still asleep Rin was and how he'd likely just get more confused if she walked away. Did that man need some coffee in him STAT or what.
"It's almost eight o'clock," she said for his edification, wondering if even the ohshit of being late for work would kick start him any. "You're late for your shift."
Maybe it was the sheer volume of knowledge and thought in Rin's head that made it so hard for him to concentrate when he was woken up suddenly; like when you try to turn on a computer with massive memory banks and the best processors and it takes forever. Maybe.
Or maybe he just wasn't all that bright a spark when he woke up with Kakami on his chest, Asuka on his doorstep, and fifteen minutes to get to the hospital for his first surgery of the morning.
....SHIT!
He really DID wake up then, or some sort of responsibility-driven autopilot kicked brightly to life. His brown eyes went wide, his mouth fell slightly open in shock, and he looked out the window to see that the sun had indeed risen.
"Triple by-pass!" he yelped, hands flying to his mouth. "I've got a triple by--oh shit! Oh man. Asuka, come in. I-- what, where's--gyeh!?"
He'd just realized Kakami had wandered off to the bathroom and he cast a despairing look at that part of the house cos he needed to get changed and shaved and showered and show up looking like a doctor (cos, y'know, people expect that sort of thing when you're literally taking their heart in your hands) and he could do all that stuff in two minutes flat if he had the chance.
He turned to Asuka, back to the bathroom and tried to think of something to say, hand rising to ruffle up his hair at the back.
And then the door opened and he remembered that oh yeah, Kakami and... oh... yeah!
So Kakami couldn't see, he gave Asuka the brightest grin his face had ever held by way of unspoken "I've never been so glad we're both wrong!" and then sprinted into his bedroom and grabbed some clothes and could only manage a completely bashful smile to Kakami as he passed her and dove into the bathroom.
Kakami smiled back at him, feeling a little more awake herself. So Rin was late for work...
She couldn't cook but Kakami could boil water for tea or coffee safely enough. She walked back to the common room and nodded to Asuka. "You want some coffee?"
The other woman seemed....embarrassed. Kakami didn't blame her but after last night...nothing was really going to throw her off. She felt oddly and strangely calm. Happy. Almost peaceful.
Slender hands grabbed the kettle and filled it before turning on the stove, as she willed it to hurry up. Unlike Rin, she really didn't have to be anywhere soon -and people expected her to be late anyways.
Did she want some coffee? Fuck no she didn't want any coffee. She wanted some alcohol. Asuka didn't need to get any more awake than she already was right now.
She didn't really get a chance to react to that bright, happy grin Rin threw at her before darting away, but it was probably just as well. What would she have said anyway? Maybe apologies weren't needed, seeing as how clearly delighted he was, but... yeah. Maybe this was a mess that was clearing itself up without her needing to do anything, like Kureno had suggested might happen... and yet she really, really hadn't needed to be privy to that. It didn't matter that they'd been fully clothed and asleep - to her, it was no better than walking in on them necking.
But she didn't budge from her spot just outside the door, despite Rin's invitation and Kakami's offer. It was fairly apparent that even if she did still need to apologize to Rin, there wasn't any time for it now. If she was going to apologize, she might as well do it tonight after he'd gotten off his shift and she'd gotten some sleep. And, maybe, when Kakami wasn't around.
Well, at least she was guaranteed not to feel bad about saying anything that made Rin move out, now. Instead, she got to feel bad for walking in on a private moment. Smooth move, captain cranium.
"Ah, no, thank you." Asuka shoved her hands in her pockets. "I shouldn't stick around since... yeah. I've got to get some sleep soon anyway, so."
"Okay." Kakami came to the doorway of the kitchen and casually shrugged as she leaned against it. "Although I doubt Rin will be long. If you really need to talk to him, you can do it on the way to the hospital I guess."
Her hand brushed at the silvery mess that was atop her head and Kakami yawned a bit again. Then sighed as she looked at her tunic. One small droplet of blood from last night had indeed left a stain. She frowned and then inwardly hoped that Rin knew how to get it out.
Rin wasn't playing it up when he told himself he could get ready to go in two minutes (and a few spare change seconds) if he had to. Still slightly damp from the shower, hair towel-dried and sticking out randomly, chin remarkably un-nicked by any cuts (well hell, he was a ninja and a doctor - he knew how to handle a blade in a hurry), and doing up the last of the buttons on his shirt under his simple grey suit, he made his way back into the living room and cast his eyes around for his shoes somewhat frantically.
"Thanks for coming to tell me, Asuka. I-- well, uhm... thanks. Really important operation so thanks I--"
And of course his eyes didn't get much father than Kakami once they settled on her. Oh man. This... this was... well he didn't have words for it and it took a major effort to tear his eyes away and look down at the tie loose around his collar.
Oh man. Tying ties. Mortal nemesis to Rin. He was so distracted he could only sort of vaguely attempt the whole thing, and he'd never been much good at it.
Kakami pushed away from the doorway and walked over. Poor Rin - such capable hands when wielding a blade or a surgical tool but when it came to tying things, he was a little lost.
She'd used to do this quite a bit, a long time ago. She'd told herself it was because seeing his messy attempts had irked her - although she wasn't sure if that had been the whole reason or not. Her fingers were quite adept and tied it quickly and neatly.
"I think the water's almost done if you want coffee." Kakami smiled a bit. "I don't burn water anymore."
...... okay. Asuka had officially reached the point of information overload.
Walking in on them sleeping together? (Albeit platonically... as that could get.) Bad. Catching Rin smooching Kakami on the cheek and checking out her ass? More bad. Watching Kakami tie Rin's tie in a perfect moment of domestic bliss?
What. The. Hell.
Clearly she had already gone home and was actually dreaming right now. Because. Wow. Tiiiiime to go was like five minutes ago.
"S'okay," was all she managed to kick her brain into providing for her. "We'll... talk later. Don't want to keep you." Don't want to watch anymore and risk her brain exploding, either. "See you later, huh?"
And then she took a step back and turned and made her way out of there.
Geez. Konohako was going to feel like a normal occurrence after this.
It had been a long time since Kakami fixed his tie for him, and Rin couldn't keep the completely charmed smile off his face as she did. Everything felt so still and so fast at the same time; it was so strange to feel... to see that she felt...
Asuka said something-or-other and headed out the door. Rin lifted a hand and waved vaguely at her, having a hard time doing anything but fighting down the want he felt to...
...to do some things that would absolutely make him later than late for this operation. Taking a slow breath, he just lifted one hand and touched her shoulder. So grateful.
"I knew you'd get the hang of it, one day," he said quietly, pulling himself away. "And I'm... I wish I could but... y'know..."
Time to go. Time to run. Save the world or something... whatever was so important he had to go.
"Yeah." she agreed softly. She had glanced away just breifly to wave good bye at Asuka's back, but now her attention was all on him. Wow. It had really happened.
Deep breath.
"I'll see you later." she promised softly. A hesitant second before she leaned forward and brushed a kiss across his cheek. "Have a good day and...I...you're going to be late!" Kakami stepped backand gave a little sweatdrop. "I'll lock up, I promise."
This was just too surreal to be happening. Simple creature that he was, Rin hadn't ever thought to wish for more than simple happiness (and of course, promptly fallen for the most complicated girl on the planet) and here it was. Here they both were.
A part of him, still broken up and bruised inside, wanted to tell him this wasn't real. That this was just like all those awful times in the prison genjutsu... but it was drowned out by the rest of him. Because there was such a genuine touch of awkward, disbelieving honesty in the air between them that it had to be real.
He blushed slightly when she kissed him; and then grinned just a little.
"I'm destroying kitchens and turning up late... think they'd believe me if I said it's because I'm with you?" he murmurred, looking at her face and remembering more and more of last night.
And last night hadn't he told her he didn't think he'd believe this in the morning? Well he did. Third party confirmation could make sure of that at least. He kicked on his shoes and waved at the door, giving her one last look that would have come with a certain three words if he hadn't known saying them would mean he couldn't leave.
Kakami laughed at his comment and then gave a wry look. "Probably."
She watched him get his shoes and waved back at him as he left, then closed the door and leaned against it. She was still calm. Still...sure, but now...this was happening.
She'd spent a lot of time, figuring out what to say and what to do to get Rin to see that she was ready. And there was a grip of slight, momentary panic because....what now?
Kakami didn't date. She certainly hadn't been phsyical with anyone for....years. She wasn't even sure how you went about that now (although she had a feeling if she just marched up to Rin and said, "We're going to do this, this and this", he'd happily go along). Kakami took a breath, stared up at the ceiling and shrugged.
It would figure itself out.
After the... fascinating... conversation she'd had with Kureno the night before, it had seemed maybe the most prudent thing to do about the problem with Rin (well, the problem she'd sorta kinda at least had a hand in starting, maybe just a little) would be to... well, ignore it. That was her usual mode of 'dealing with things,' actually; just pretend it wasn't a problem long enough and eventually things would work out. Except, of course, for when they didn't, but if Kakami made her move on the medic like Kureno seemed to figure she would, then this time it really would work out by itself. Right?
Except Asuka was feeling rather guilty about the whole thing, and that feeling of guilt didn't go away. Work distracted her from it for a while - kind of hard to not be distracted when your opponent was throwing trees at you - but after it was over and the night was through and the sun was coming up again... so came back the guilt. And Asuka, well, though she didn't really feel guilty about things often, when she did she wanted to fix it pronto. Her and guilt just didn't get along for long periods of time.
So when the sun was coming up the next morning, the kunoichi went down to the hospital to make sure things got worked out. She knew Rin had the crazy early shift; surely he'd be there when everyone else was still working out how to turn their coffee pot on through a blurry haze of sleep. She might have to wait a while to actually talk to him, if he was busy, but hey, that was the price of making sure she got things straightened out and got a good night (day?) of sleep herself.
Except he wasn't in, and the hospital didn't know where he was. Which, of course, was odd. Rin was never late to work (he was, if anything, always early), and even if he was going to be, he'd at least call in. Or let someone know somehow. But he hadn't, and no one knew where he was, and they couldn't get in touch with him, either.
This was just a whole new drop of worry in the bucket. Maybe Asuka was just being paranoid, but after everything he'd been through - after him being gone and pronounced dead for so many years, after the problems she'd seen at least in part after he'd been brought back - she didn't think it was exactly unfounded paranoia. Normally she wouldn't go knocking on someone's door so early in the morning, but maybe this situation warranted it.
And so, after volunteering to find him herself, the jounin found herself on the front step of his home, knocking but not getting a response. He ought to be home - if not here, then where? Kakami's, perhaps? Though what he'd be doing there at six in the morning was questionable, especially after how he'd moved out. Maybe he was out training. Maybe some emergency had come up and he was off taking care of other things. Surely there was a good explanation and she was just being paranoid. ... right?
Asuka knocked for the third time, and this time, the latch came open and the door swung open just a tiny, tiny fraction.
... okay, good explanation for not showing up to work and not letting anyone know what was up aside, leaving a door unlocked and only partway latched equalled a very good reason for paranoia. How could a good ninja not be paranoid now? Putting aside any hesitations concerning breaking and entering or disturbing someone's home without prior permission, Asuka nudged the door open further and peeked inside.
Rin's home was very clean. The kind of clean that showed no one had lived there in a while, sort of like the kind of clean her apartment had. There was a light on around the corner in what she assumed was the kitchen or dining room, but otherwise everything was dark. Except... it wasn't dark enough to hide the fact that Kakami and Rin were curled up in a very embarrassing way on Rin's couch. Curled up in a way that was very definitely beyond any possibility of just 'cuddling.' The kind that screamed, oh thank god they're still wearing clothes.
... well, that was probably a good reason to not go to work or call in sick. She, uh, should hurry up and close the door and book it before either of them woke up....
Luckily for Asuka's sake, it tended to take a lot to wake Rin up - like maybe a small explosion. And lying sprawled half-under Kakami... legs tangled up in hers, arms wound round her back (though one of his hands seemed to have found it's way down to her hip... completely of its own volition of course), and with her head having shifted while they slept so that her hair brushed his cheek... well, his body was in no way hurried about waking him up this time. Nuh uh. No way.
He slept on oblivious under Asuka's shocked stare, an expression of complete peace on his face, not even waking up when he shifted again in his sleep to pull Kakami closer to him.
Of course, it wasn't like that wouldn't wake Kakami up.
Kakami gave an odd half sigh, half mutter. Her eye peeked open dazedly before she shot straight up. Or tried - instinct at least made her try to break Rin's hold because of a figure in the doorway that she wasn't sure she knew.
Of course. She was half asleep.
So a muffled "Oof..." came out as she blinked into Rin's chest and then turned her head.
Blinked again.
What the hell? "Asuka?"
Oh fuuuuuuck. This was not a good time to be caught peeping in someone's doorway. This was not a good time to caught anywhere near the two of them, especially if it looked like she'd been spying on them. Which she hadn't been. No, seriously. Trying to kick-start her brain into reacting, yes - spying, no.
There had to be some way she could salvage this situation while still keeping her now badly bruised pride (when this was put on top of the whole misunderstanding committed with Rin), keep her hide intact, and possibly salvage any of their pride, too. Though the light spilling into the living room from the rising sun probably hid the flush of embarrassment that made its way to her cheeks, Asuka nevertheless coughed into one fist in an attempt to hide it.
"You're, uh, late for work, Rin," she replied awkwardly to the unspoken question.
Rin didn't hear her, or had heard Kakami earlier, still completely asleep, but he did feel it when Kakami propped herself up a bit and it felt like she was going away.
Unconscious or not, none of him liked that idea. And it got expressed with an unbelievably sad sort of sound, like an upset puppy would make, rising lowly from the back of his throat. He frowned a little in his sleep, not happy with this change in developments even if he didn't know it.
Good grief, you'd never think to look at him he was a medic, a doctor or a ninja.
Kakami glanced at Rin and blinked as he made the noise before half yawning and beginning to shake his shoulders. "Rin. Hey, Rin. You have to get up now."
She looked over at Asuka again and frowned. "Did they send you to come get him?" Seemed an odd thing to do.
Asuka just stared for a moment, blinking at Rin before her eyes flicked back up (a little belatedly) to the other kunoichi at her question. Was that noise coming from Rin?
"Uh," she said intelligently, jabbing at her brain with a sharp stick in order to make it work quickly and not so damn suspiciously. "I um, stopped by the hospital this morning to talk to him, but he wasn't in and they said they hadn't been able to get through his phone." Did you two unplug it something? she wanted to ask - although she thankfully realized before she actually said it aloud that the hospital had probably been trying to call Kakami's, since Rin had moved out so recently... and since neither of them were there, of course the hospital couldn't get through...
Finally, Rin did manage to wake up. A bit. Kakami's voice and shaking his shoulders got him to yawn tiredly and eventually open his eyes.
"Hey... what's goin' on?" he drawled sleepily, rubbing a knuckle in his sleep-dazed eyes and catching a glimpse of Kakami's pale face as he tried to put a thought together.
His subsequent thought process was a bit of a trip.
Kakami? Kakami... on me. Me... on couch. Why couch? Where bed? Gone like oven? Kakami not gone. Kakami... Kakami... last night...
His sleepy eyes instantly focused, his whole being jarred into instant awakeness and he sat up - feeling cold suddenly where they were no longer touching (there had been touching!) and blinking in slow confusion that turned into comprehension at Kakami. At her. He loved her. He'd said it last night and she was still here and she'd said and...
...and he did the only thing you could reasonably expect him to do on waking up in such circumstances. Especially if he hadn't yet clocked that Asuka was there.
He kissed her. Just gently on her cheek, but he kissed he all the same.
Well, there had been a chance (a minuscule and oh-so-doomed one) that they could get out of this believing that Asuka didn't know anything besides a compromising sort of snooze had been going on. Not anymore. Just as well Rin hadn't realized that yet.
If Kakami's face had been pale before, it was a healthy color of pink now. She smiled at him and then almost awkwardly patted his shoulder before saying, "Um, Asuka is here. I guess she wanted to talk to you."
The slim woman carefully untangled herself. "I'm gonna...uh, yeah." More pink before she headed towards the bathroom.
Kakami did the only thing a sane woman could do in such a situation: get the hell out of there and go find some small room in which to pick up the pieces of her pride - or to just hide until she got over her embarrassment. Asuka didn't really blame her; she'd have probably done the same thing herself.
Although this still left her with the problem of Rin. A Rin who was clearly only just now realizing she was there, which was a little... awkward. Not that this whole situation wasn't awkward.
Silence reigned for a moment until the sound of the bathroom door clicking shut behind Kakami reached them. Then the kunoichi coughed into her hand again, shifted uncomfortably on the doorstep, and repeated: "You're missing your shift at work, Rin."
It was pretty much the only thing she could think to say besides I am SO sorry I swear I didn't see ANYTHING.
All poor, beleaguered, confused, semi-conscious Rin could do was get confused. Confused. And more confused. Asuka? What? He did not remember her being around last...
...and his train of thought skidded off the rails on that score as he found himself quite unable to stop looking at Kakami's hips as she vanished way too quickly out his line of sight. Quite unable to keep from blinking and flat-out staring and nearly falling off the couch as he leaned over to keep her in view.
And then he saw Asuka really was, entirely and utterly, right there and he did fall the couch. Onto the floor in a disorganized heap of limbs and rumpled jeans and t-shirt and muttering something that might have been a curse but was most definitely meant in the way you said something when you were quite so incredulous you couldn't compute it.
He blinked up at Asuka and made a concerted effort to get to his feet. Try to act normal, for once in his life.
"Missing work? Where'd it go?"
Yeah. Rin's brain did not function so good in the morning. Especially not this morning, when everything seemed to be very topsy-turvy.
Oh, good grief.
Asuka wasn't sure if she should laugh at him checking out Kakami's ass, smack her forehead, go help him up to his feet, or just turn around and walk away before she had to witness anything else. She settled for staying right where she was, primarily because of just how still asleep Rin was and how he'd likely just get more confused if she walked away. Did that man need some coffee in him STAT or what.
"It's almost eight o'clock," she said for his edification, wondering if even the ohshit of being late for work would kick start him any. "You're late for your shift."
Maybe it was the sheer volume of knowledge and thought in Rin's head that made it so hard for him to concentrate when he was woken up suddenly; like when you try to turn on a computer with massive memory banks and the best processors and it takes forever. Maybe.
Or maybe he just wasn't all that bright a spark when he woke up with Kakami on his chest, Asuka on his doorstep, and fifteen minutes to get to the hospital for his first surgery of the morning.
....SHIT!
He really DID wake up then, or some sort of responsibility-driven autopilot kicked brightly to life. His brown eyes went wide, his mouth fell slightly open in shock, and he looked out the window to see that the sun had indeed risen.
"Triple by-pass!" he yelped, hands flying to his mouth. "I've got a triple by--oh shit! Oh man. Asuka, come in. I-- what, where's--gyeh!?"
He'd just realized Kakami had wandered off to the bathroom and he cast a despairing look at that part of the house cos he needed to get changed and shaved and showered and show up looking like a doctor (cos, y'know, people expect that sort of thing when you're literally taking their heart in your hands) and he could do all that stuff in two minutes flat if he had the chance.
He turned to Asuka, back to the bathroom and tried to think of something to say, hand rising to ruffle up his hair at the back.
And then the door opened and he remembered that oh yeah, Kakami and... oh... yeah!
So Kakami couldn't see, he gave Asuka the brightest grin his face had ever held by way of unspoken "I've never been so glad we're both wrong!" and then sprinted into his bedroom and grabbed some clothes and could only manage a completely bashful smile to Kakami as he passed her and dove into the bathroom.
Kakami smiled back at him, feeling a little more awake herself. So Rin was late for work...
She couldn't cook but Kakami could boil water for tea or coffee safely enough. She walked back to the common room and nodded to Asuka. "You want some coffee?"
The other woman seemed....embarrassed. Kakami didn't blame her but after last night...nothing was really going to throw her off. She felt oddly and strangely calm. Happy. Almost peaceful.
Slender hands grabbed the kettle and filled it before turning on the stove, as she willed it to hurry up. Unlike Rin, she really didn't have to be anywhere soon -and people expected her to be late anyways.
Did she want some coffee? Fuck no she didn't want any coffee. She wanted some alcohol. Asuka didn't need to get any more awake than she already was right now.
She didn't really get a chance to react to that bright, happy grin Rin threw at her before darting away, but it was probably just as well. What would she have said anyway? Maybe apologies weren't needed, seeing as how clearly delighted he was, but... yeah. Maybe this was a mess that was clearing itself up without her needing to do anything, like Kureno had suggested might happen... and yet she really, really hadn't needed to be privy to that. It didn't matter that they'd been fully clothed and asleep - to her, it was no better than walking in on them necking.
But she didn't budge from her spot just outside the door, despite Rin's invitation and Kakami's offer. It was fairly apparent that even if she did still need to apologize to Rin, there wasn't any time for it now. If she was going to apologize, she might as well do it tonight after he'd gotten off his shift and she'd gotten some sleep. And, maybe, when Kakami wasn't around.
Well, at least she was guaranteed not to feel bad about saying anything that made Rin move out, now. Instead, she got to feel bad for walking in on a private moment. Smooth move, captain cranium.
"Ah, no, thank you." Asuka shoved her hands in her pockets. "I shouldn't stick around since... yeah. I've got to get some sleep soon anyway, so."
"Okay." Kakami came to the doorway of the kitchen and casually shrugged as she leaned against it. "Although I doubt Rin will be long. If you really need to talk to him, you can do it on the way to the hospital I guess."
Her hand brushed at the silvery mess that was atop her head and Kakami yawned a bit again. Then sighed as she looked at her tunic. One small droplet of blood from last night had indeed left a stain. She frowned and then inwardly hoped that Rin knew how to get it out.
Rin wasn't playing it up when he told himself he could get ready to go in two minutes (and a few spare change seconds) if he had to. Still slightly damp from the shower, hair towel-dried and sticking out randomly, chin remarkably un-nicked by any cuts (well hell, he was a ninja and a doctor - he knew how to handle a blade in a hurry), and doing up the last of the buttons on his shirt under his simple grey suit, he made his way back into the living room and cast his eyes around for his shoes somewhat frantically.
"Thanks for coming to tell me, Asuka. I-- well, uhm... thanks. Really important operation so thanks I--"
And of course his eyes didn't get much father than Kakami once they settled on her. Oh man. This... this was... well he didn't have words for it and it took a major effort to tear his eyes away and look down at the tie loose around his collar.
Oh man. Tying ties. Mortal nemesis to Rin. He was so distracted he could only sort of vaguely attempt the whole thing, and he'd never been much good at it.
Kakami pushed away from the doorway and walked over. Poor Rin - such capable hands when wielding a blade or a surgical tool but when it came to tying things, he was a little lost.
She'd used to do this quite a bit, a long time ago. She'd told herself it was because seeing his messy attempts had irked her - although she wasn't sure if that had been the whole reason or not. Her fingers were quite adept and tied it quickly and neatly.
"I think the water's almost done if you want coffee." Kakami smiled a bit. "I don't burn water anymore."
...... okay. Asuka had officially reached the point of information overload.
Walking in on them sleeping together? (Albeit platonically... as that could get.) Bad. Catching Rin smooching Kakami on the cheek and checking out her ass? More bad. Watching Kakami tie Rin's tie in a perfect moment of domestic bliss?
What. The. Hell.
Clearly she had already gone home and was actually dreaming right now. Because. Wow. Tiiiiime to go was like five minutes ago.
"S'okay," was all she managed to kick her brain into providing for her. "We'll... talk later. Don't want to keep you." Don't want to watch anymore and risk her brain exploding, either. "See you later, huh?"
And then she took a step back and turned and made her way out of there.
Geez. Konohako was going to feel like a normal occurrence after this.
It had been a long time since Kakami fixed his tie for him, and Rin couldn't keep the completely charmed smile off his face as she did. Everything felt so still and so fast at the same time; it was so strange to feel... to see that she felt...
Asuka said something-or-other and headed out the door. Rin lifted a hand and waved vaguely at her, having a hard time doing anything but fighting down the want he felt to...
...to do some things that would absolutely make him later than late for this operation. Taking a slow breath, he just lifted one hand and touched her shoulder. So grateful.
"I knew you'd get the hang of it, one day," he said quietly, pulling himself away. "And I'm... I wish I could but... y'know..."
Time to go. Time to run. Save the world or something... whatever was so important he had to go.
"Yeah." she agreed softly. She had glanced away just breifly to wave good bye at Asuka's back, but now her attention was all on him. Wow. It had really happened.
Deep breath.
"I'll see you later." she promised softly. A hesitant second before she leaned forward and brushed a kiss across his cheek. "Have a good day and...I...you're going to be late!" Kakami stepped backand gave a little sweatdrop. "I'll lock up, I promise."
This was just too surreal to be happening. Simple creature that he was, Rin hadn't ever thought to wish for more than simple happiness (and of course, promptly fallen for the most complicated girl on the planet) and here it was. Here they both were.
A part of him, still broken up and bruised inside, wanted to tell him this wasn't real. That this was just like all those awful times in the prison genjutsu... but it was drowned out by the rest of him. Because there was such a genuine touch of awkward, disbelieving honesty in the air between them that it had to be real.
He blushed slightly when she kissed him; and then grinned just a little.
"I'm destroying kitchens and turning up late... think they'd believe me if I said it's because I'm with you?" he murmurred, looking at her face and remembering more and more of last night.
And last night hadn't he told her he didn't think he'd believe this in the morning? Well he did. Third party confirmation could make sure of that at least. He kicked on his shoes and waved at the door, giving her one last look that would have come with a certain three words if he hadn't known saying them would mean he couldn't leave.
Kakami laughed at his comment and then gave a wry look. "Probably."
She watched him get his shoes and waved back at him as he left, then closed the door and leaned against it. She was still calm. Still...sure, but now...this was happening.
She'd spent a lot of time, figuring out what to say and what to do to get Rin to see that she was ready. And there was a grip of slight, momentary panic because....what now?
Kakami didn't date. She certainly hadn't been phsyical with anyone for....years. She wasn't even sure how you went about that now (although she had a feeling if she just marched up to Rin and said, "We're going to do this, this and this", he'd happily go along). Kakami took a breath, stared up at the ceiling and shrugged.
It would figure itself out.