update - the stuff of children's rhymes; naruto
Fandom: Naruto
Title: The Stuff of Children's Rhymes
Chapter: dinner, or interlude iii
Characters/Pairings: Kakashi, Sakura, Ino; Kakashi/Sakura
Genre: Romance, Friendship, Awkward Conversations
Rating: M/R
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I probably don't own it.
Notes: I have no real excuses for making you lovely readers wait over two years. It started off as procrastination and then just became outright laziness and I'm sorry. I'm trying to kick my butt back into gear and get this one finished for you guys.
--
What, precisely, Kakashi had been thinking when he'd invited Sakura back to apartment for dinner was a mystery. He just thanked his lucky stars it was tidy.
The food, however, was an issue. He hadn't gone grocery shopping in a while and all his produce was close to being rotten because, more often than not, he ate out - or he just didn't eat.
Sakura stopped without warning, jerking his arm - and him - a halt. He turned to her inquisitively.
"What's the matter?" he asked gently.
She hesitated for just a moment before squeezing his hand and looking up at him. "Do you mind if we make a quick stop before we go to your apartment?"
Kakashi shook his head and said, "No. I was actually going to ask you the same thing. All the food in my kitchen is bad."
Sakura laughed and tugged his hand and that strange tenderness was back in his chest, constricting his breathing and making his heart beat faster. He quietly followed her into the heart of downtown, to a quaint teashop where Ino sat wearing a scowl.
"Emergency cancellation, Ino," Sakura said. "Pressing business. I'll explain later." She leaned down and kissed the blonde's cheek. "Go home. I'm sure Shinju misses you."
Ino glanced between Kakashi and Sakura and he saw the way her eyes lingered on their joined hands. She smiled widely and Kakashi was led outside into the dusk of the Konoha streets.
"What should we get?" he murmured to her.
"Anything is fine by me," she answered. "I'm starving."
He agreed wholeheartedly. He'd barely eaten anything that day. So he took the lead again and brought her to a little diner just down the block from his apartment complex.
His palm was sweating inside his glove and he wanted to turn and kiss Sakura but he refrained as they placed their orders and paid. She had to carry the bag with their supper - Kakashi's hands were full.
He hated that he had to drop her hand to root around in his pockets for his key. He missed the warmth and the innocence of the intimacy.
"I love your apartment," Sakura said once the door was open. She said it every time she visited him here. It was usually about the only thing either of them said fully clothed when she visited him here.
Kakashi wasn't quite sure how to respond this time, though, so he fidgeted uncomfortably, glancing at her where she was hovering in the entrance and muttered, "Thanks. Kitchen's this way."
He quickly set them up for dinner after vanishing briefly into his bedroom to deposit the gift on his dresser. Sakura opted to settle on the sofa. No sooner had he handed over her plate and sat on the other end than she spoke.
"Kakashi," she began, hesitant and soft like she was talking to a cornered animal. "Back there, in the woods, what was that?" She put her plate on the coffee table.
It would be so easy to pretend like he didn't know what she was talking about. He could lie and say it was nothing and that she was imagining things - but she would never buy that. So he told her the truth: "I don't know."
Sakura was silent for a while, not looking at him. Finally, she said, "I don't know, either. But I do know...something just changed. Something huge. And it scares me a little."
Kakashi began to pick at his food, hoping to give himself a bit of time to come up with an answer. The truth was that he was scared, too.
"Sakura," he finally said, "I care about you. A lot. But I'm horrible at relationships..."
"I'm not asking for one!" she interjected. "I just don't know where we go from here."
"Me, either," he admitted with a laugh.
Sakura burst into awkward giggles, seeming relieved. "Well, that cleared up exactly nothing," she replied. "But that's alright. For now." She picked up her plate and took a bite.
Kakashi hummed around his mouthful of food and smiled.
Later, they would talk and figure out whatever it was that had changed, and they would adapt to those changes accordingly. For now, they ate.
Title: The Stuff of Children's Rhymes
Chapter: dinner, or interlude iii
Characters/Pairings: Kakashi, Sakura, Ino; Kakashi/Sakura
Genre: Romance, Friendship, Awkward Conversations
Rating: M/R
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I probably don't own it.
Notes: I have no real excuses for making you lovely readers wait over two years. It started off as procrastination and then just became outright laziness and I'm sorry. I'm trying to kick my butt back into gear and get this one finished for you guys.
--
What, precisely, Kakashi had been thinking when he'd invited Sakura back to apartment for dinner was a mystery. He just thanked his lucky stars it was tidy.
The food, however, was an issue. He hadn't gone grocery shopping in a while and all his produce was close to being rotten because, more often than not, he ate out - or he just didn't eat.
Sakura stopped without warning, jerking his arm - and him - a halt. He turned to her inquisitively.
"What's the matter?" he asked gently.
She hesitated for just a moment before squeezing his hand and looking up at him. "Do you mind if we make a quick stop before we go to your apartment?"
Kakashi shook his head and said, "No. I was actually going to ask you the same thing. All the food in my kitchen is bad."
Sakura laughed and tugged his hand and that strange tenderness was back in his chest, constricting his breathing and making his heart beat faster. He quietly followed her into the heart of downtown, to a quaint teashop where Ino sat wearing a scowl.
"Emergency cancellation, Ino," Sakura said. "Pressing business. I'll explain later." She leaned down and kissed the blonde's cheek. "Go home. I'm sure Shinju misses you."
Ino glanced between Kakashi and Sakura and he saw the way her eyes lingered on their joined hands. She smiled widely and Kakashi was led outside into the dusk of the Konoha streets.
"What should we get?" he murmured to her.
"Anything is fine by me," she answered. "I'm starving."
He agreed wholeheartedly. He'd barely eaten anything that day. So he took the lead again and brought her to a little diner just down the block from his apartment complex.
His palm was sweating inside his glove and he wanted to turn and kiss Sakura but he refrained as they placed their orders and paid. She had to carry the bag with their supper - Kakashi's hands were full.
He hated that he had to drop her hand to root around in his pockets for his key. He missed the warmth and the innocence of the intimacy.
"I love your apartment," Sakura said once the door was open. She said it every time she visited him here. It was usually about the only thing either of them said fully clothed when she visited him here.
Kakashi wasn't quite sure how to respond this time, though, so he fidgeted uncomfortably, glancing at her where she was hovering in the entrance and muttered, "Thanks. Kitchen's this way."
He quickly set them up for dinner after vanishing briefly into his bedroom to deposit the gift on his dresser. Sakura opted to settle on the sofa. No sooner had he handed over her plate and sat on the other end than she spoke.
"Kakashi," she began, hesitant and soft like she was talking to a cornered animal. "Back there, in the woods, what was that?" She put her plate on the coffee table.
It would be so easy to pretend like he didn't know what she was talking about. He could lie and say it was nothing and that she was imagining things - but she would never buy that. So he told her the truth: "I don't know."
Sakura was silent for a while, not looking at him. Finally, she said, "I don't know, either. But I do know...something just changed. Something huge. And it scares me a little."
Kakashi began to pick at his food, hoping to give himself a bit of time to come up with an answer. The truth was that he was scared, too.
"Sakura," he finally said, "I care about you. A lot. But I'm horrible at relationships..."
"I'm not asking for one!" she interjected. "I just don't know where we go from here."
"Me, either," he admitted with a laugh.
Sakura burst into awkward giggles, seeming relieved. "Well, that cleared up exactly nothing," she replied. "But that's alright. For now." She picked up her plate and took a bite.
Kakashi hummed around his mouthful of food and smiled.
Later, they would talk and figure out whatever it was that had changed, and they would adapt to those changes accordingly. For now, they ate.