One Day at a Time

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters and make no money from this. Masashi Kishimoto does.

Day Sixty: Because You...

Kakashi had some reservations about his plans for the night as he watch his little set-up. He was by no means a romantic man. If he wasn't the exact opposite, then he had no idea what he could be. It was a meager offering for the woman who had done the impossible and captured his heart, but it would have to do. Putting on a fancy show that he would never replicate was a useless gesture.


In the back of his mind, he wondered if it really was a good idea to try and start an actual relationship with his former student. Whilst he had openly proclaimed his love, she had yet to say a word about her own feelings. The kunoichi had agreed to having a date though, so it she had to be okay with this on some level. With a sigh, the jonin put his worries away and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, only to reappear at her doorstep.

A few knocks and breaths later, his favorite student opened the door.

"Yo." The silver-haired man greeted. For a moment, he almost felt guilty. His lovely friend was dolled up for the occasion, wearing what was surely her prettiest dress, while his well-worn uniform was his choice, minus the jacket. They were the only clothes he owned, goddamnit.

"Hi." Sakura returned, cheeks flushing as she took in her attire, most likely feeling she was far overdressed for this.

Before she could focus too much on the matter, he held his hand out for her to take, inwardly complaining at the obstacle his crutches proved to be. As soon as her fingers laced with his, he used the teleportation jutsu to transport them back to his apartment. His place was only a fifteen minutes walk away, but taking half an hour back and forth wouldn't do. Their food would be cold by then.

Kakashi watched with impatient interest as his date took in her surroundings, spinning on herself to see the whole view. On the floor, he had set small cushions and his foldable table to lay their meal on. The food, at the very least, he knew would be appreciated by his companion. It came from favorite restaurant, after all. He'd spread the candles around the room, barely enough to provide a decent amount of light to it. Only after opening the package and placing had he noticed that there were too few.

"You're taking me on a date..." The kunoichi started, raising an eyebrow. "In your apartment?"

"I figured you'd prefer the privacy." Her friend replied, echoing his thoughts. Maybe if she hadn't asked for him to leave any saucy details from the mission report, he might have gone about this otherwise.

"You're right." The girl chuckled as she sat down.

The evening didn't play out as he'd planned. They barely talked, even when he started pouring the sake in their cups. In truth, he hadn't thought of what would happen once she was there. He just knew it shouldn't have been like this. His only comfort was the shy smile that touched her lips every now and then, when their eyes locked for a second too long.

Yet, when the bottle was empty and their plates picked clean, Sakura surprised him with a plan of her own. After he'd swallowed the last sip of the warm drink, his teammate crawled towards him. Her cheeks were tinted a light shade of red from the alcohol, as his most likely were, and the timid smile replaced by her teeth pinching her lip. She climbed on his lap with no shame, straddling him and molding her body to his. If sending shivers down his spine had been her goal, she had accomplished it.

Her lips pressed against his in a demanding kiss, the bitter taste of the rice wine still prominent on them. Instictively, his own moved against hers and dominated the exchange while his arms trapped her in a tight embrace. Immediately, she tugged at his shirt, pulling it off when their lips broke apart. Before he could utter a word, she kissed him again, fingers busying themselves with the fly of his pants.

"Sakura." His baritone voice mumbled as his hands caught hers. "Don't be in such a hurry."

"Why not?" The woman whispered, tone seductive and low. "You want this, don't you?"

This wasn't what he had in mind, not in the least. Even if his body agreed with her words, he couldn't. Not when the expression on her pretty features didn't match the one in her voice.

"No." He muttered, frowning. "I want you to want this, to want me."

"You can stop talking now." His partner growled before pulling him in for another rough kiss. Begrudgingly, he grasped her shoulders and pushed her away to a safe distance.

"No, you're not doing this for the right reasons." He said, looking straight in her eyes. "I love you, Sakura." Even now, these sweet words were hard to let loose. He could pratically taste the upcoming rejection. "How do you feel about me?"

It took some time before she reacted, before her armor cracked. A scowl formed itself on her features as she tensed in his arms, gripping his arms almost painfully.

"Why do you have to ruin this?!" The pinkette yelled, jolting away from him to stand up. "Things were going just fine!"

"You know that's not true, Sakura." Kakashi replied bitterly as he hauled himself up on his bed, raking his fingers through his messy hair. He felt hollow already, any emotion drained from him.

"Like you'd know anything about that." The kunoichi spat as she fisted her hands at her sides. "You have no idea, do you?"

"What are you talking about?" The older jonin breathed out as he looked up at his companion, his chest tightening. Deep down, he knew what she was about to say. He'd always known, but preferred to ignore...

"You're an idiot!" She seethed, her body shaking uncontrollably as tear welled up in her beautiful eyes. "Being with you..." She started, pacing around the room for a distraction. "Being with you is the hardest thing to do! You know why?"

He remained silent, hands having dropped to grip the mattress a while ago already. Yes, he knew.

"You were no help back on that mission!" All the pain that she had kept hidden poured into her words, only adding to his own. "You had to to tell me then, didn't you? Why couldn't you stay focused on our objective?" She questioned, slouching against the wall opposite to him to slide down to the floor. "I couldn't even lean on you anymore, I had to lie to you on top of everything."

"Now I can't think of you without remembering what I hide to from, how I was alone to deal with all that shit." The pinkette finally sobbed, fingers tangling into her hair as tears ran freely down her cheeks. "I lied to you! I had to!"

He was tempted to cover his ears, to never hear what she had to tell him.

"He..." She hiccuped, fighting with her own voice. "He raped me, he ..." Sakura's voice was broken by an onslaught of sobs as she cried her heart out.

He could feel he was trembling, with anger or pain he couldn't tell. He yearned to reach out for her, to comfort her and take her pain away. But how could he, when he only added to it?