Chapter Text
Kakashi and Sakura were drinking their evening tea, the house becoming colder as the night crept around the house. Kakashi did a great job of keeping it warm, but there was a chill that came with flimsy old walls and snow outside. It would be another good night to sleep together. And last night went well, they slept better together in a cramped space than she was expecting and even laid in bed together.
Tonight, she could work up the courage to ask Kakashi if she could sleep with him. It wasn't weird, she told herself. They did it last night. She laid her head on Akino's belly, snuggled with the dog and reached for her book, looking up at Kakashi. He was sitting at the table, reading with one hand and holding his cup with the other, totally engrossed. It was good to see him actually relaxed, his shoulders not so tight as he sat at the table. She smiled, settling in herself. This was nice. Being snowed in, having Akino to snuggle, lying in bed with Kakashi and gossiping about people they knew idly. It was maybe too nice–temporary and they both knew it–but Sakura was going to enjoy it as long as possible. She would give herself this while it lasted, then store it away as a treasured memory. There was no point in fighting it–he didn’t seem too bothered by it and the alternative was that the two froze on their side of the room. That would simply be ridiculous.Sakura watched him, watching him sleepily. He turned a page of his book, smiled slightly at what he was reading. There was nothing she found more relaxing than seeing Kakashi be at ease.
"Sakura," Kakashi called her name gently and she stirred, blinking and looking up at him. He had a quiet smile under his face mask, she could tell from the softness of his eyes. "It's getting late, I was going to bathe. Do you want to bathe first?"
"Did I fall asleep?" She muttered.
"Yes," he chuckled. "Do you want to bathe first?"
"No, I’ll just do it with you," she said, turning over.
Kakashi tapped her on the shoulder again. "Bath is ready," Kakashi told her. His face came into focus as she sat up–he took his face mask off and his hair was down, she noted as she gathered her bearings.
Bathing? Did he tell her about this before? She had a vague memory of sleeping on the dog and then waking up from him and telling him that she'd–her stomach dropped and her hands felt cold. Did she say that she'd bathe with him? Did he agree? She looked at him again and saw he was calmly sitting next to her. Was she the only one here who felt scrambled? She looked up at him, swallowed hard. She could just let him go first. Pretend that she had no idea what he was doing and just get in the bath and act appalled if he got in, too.
He looked oddly nonplussed about the whole thing, his mouth relaxed and his expressional minimal. Mostly, he looked like he was waiting for her to get off of the floor and do something. Do something, she reminded herself. Anything but lie here and just look up at him like a bug. I should tell him to go first. She hesitated. This could be her only chance to bathe with Kakashi and experience anything else that happens after. She hoped she wasn’t blushing. Kakashi stood and started to walk into the bathroom, moving slowly but clearly not waiting for her anymore. It was her move to make, he was going to get into the bath no matter what; she could join him like she said, or not.
"Be right there," she muttered, finding her now cold tea and greedily drinking it. "Be right there."
Kakashi was waiting in the bath, reading. He fit better than she thought he would, and there was even just enough room for her in it if they squeezed in. Taking a deep breath and hanging her towel up, she got into the tub with Kakashi.
It was a little anticlimactic, honestly, as when Sakura tried to get in she slipped instead of looking like a siren or maiden getting into the water. Kakashi didn't even look up from his book, grabbing her and steadying her with one hand as she lowered into the tub.
"Thanks," she said in a voice that showed how nervous she was. The only other time she was in a bath-type situation with a man was with Naruto a few years ago and it was both platonic and they had a lot of distance between them. This was…close, even if Kakashi seemed overly casual about it. Was he bluffing? Or did he really just not care about her being naked with him. Heat gathered behind her ears as she sat up to her chin in the hot water, sinking in and closing her eyes. He didn’t think that this was something platonic, right? If Kakashi felt like he was in a bath with his daughter or something she’d surely go lie down in the ice-cold river.When Sakura opened her eyes, Kakashi was looking down at her, over the spine of his book.
“You seem nervous,” he said in a neutral voice.
Sakura snorted. Of course she was nervous. She was in the bath with Kakashi, crammed into a bath so small that if she were to unfurl her legs they’d be draped over him. Practically sitting on his lap! This didn’t even take into consideration the somersaults her heart was doing right now. Just even looking at his beautiful, peaceful face was too much. But looking down at his chest, muscled and scared from battles and wet from the rising steam of the bath was even worse. And then if she looked way down, well–she closed her eyes, not going there.
“I’m a little tense,” she admitted, trying to sound like her heart was going to fall out of her mouth.
“It’s just a bath,” he told her and touched the top of her head. “Relax.”
Sakura snorted again; though comforted by his words they also took on a nonchalance that made her shiver. He was either exerting the most amount of self-control ever by keeping an even keel as the two of them were sitting here, or he really didn’t care that they were bathing together. Fine, she thought, opening her eyes. If he’s not worried about it, then I won’t be either. She turned and leaned over the side of the tub and pulled a washcloth from the shelf and dunked it in the suspiciously hot water (it was too hot to be heated just by wood, likely meaning that he was doing something with his chakra to keep the water this hot for the two of them), and put it on the top of her head.
“What?” She asked as he watched her.
“Just making sure you’re not going to slip again. Most household accidents happen in the bathroom.” He went back to reading his book, turning the page.
Sakura sank back under the water, stretching her cramped legs. She didn’t want to sit so huddled, trying to make herself small and hidden. Relax, Kakashi said. It was just a bath. Carefully, she put her legs over Kakashi’s and settled his hand above her knee as he didn’t stop reading. She exhaled tentatively and closed her eyes again, settling.
There was something nice about having been woken up on the coldest day of the year so far with a hot bath–and a gorgeous man in it, too. But even without Kakashi in the tub with her, the gesture alone was kind hearted. All of his actions were kind to her even before they came onto this mission which is why she fell in love with him. He never hurt her or made her afraid on purpose. Instead, he protected her and kept her safe and warm. Brought her a cup of tea when she felt lonely, kept her bath warm when she needed to get away from him after working at a damned restaurant. Let her fill his pockets with the medicinal and edible herbs they found on the way back. Kakashi was always moving in a rhythm that complimented hers, and was always there when she needed someone to depend on. I didn’t stand a chance, she admitted to herself. Even if I didn’t have feelings for Kakashi then, I would have by now. Living with him was one of the best things that happened to her–not just on a mission but at any point of her life. That feeling of dread and nerves she felt three months ago was gone, replaced by contentedness. She could do this forever if he wanted to.
Kakashi was rubbing a small circle with his thumb on her thigh. She opened her eyes to look at him. He was still reading, totally engrossed–did he even know he was doing it? She sighed and shifted in the water a bit more, leaning into it.
“Are you warm enough?” Kakashi asked, not looking up from his book. His hand was a little tighter on Sakura’s thigh and his thumb pressed into her leg comfortingly.
“Yeah, thanks. Are you manipulating your chakra to keep the bath hot?”
“Mhm. I don’t want to have to go out into the cold to add more wood.” He sounded almost bored as he told her this.
“That’s clever,” she muttered, impressed. “I should learn how to do that.”
“I’ll show you sometime,” he said absently.
"It'll be useful for when I'm working at the restaurant," she rolled her eyes dismissively. "It’s cold there despite the portable heaters. What other fun party tricks do you know?"
His eyes flicked up at her and he bit his lip. "I can shoot electricity from my fingertips like sparklers."
Sakura tried to keep a straight face like his but burst into giggles, covering her mouth with her hand as she laughed. Was he f*cking with her? His face was too neutral to tell but he was closing his book now and putting it on the little shelf behind him, hand still on her thigh.
"Sorry," she cleared her throat. "I just wasn't expecting you to say it with such a straight face."
He frowned. "This is just my face."
"I know," Sakura agreed quickly. She tried not to laugh at him. "And it's a nice face, just when you say things like that it's so much funnier." She blushed, realizing that she just admitted a bit of her feelings to him. "But, anyway," she tried to compare herself. "I–"
"Think my face is nice," he mused and raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed and looked down immediately.
"Yeah. I do think you have a nice face."
He made a noise of approval and touched her face. "I think you have a gorgeous face."
"Kakas–"
He cut her off with a kiss, leaning forward as his hand on his leg underwater pulled her closer to him. She flustered, unsure of what to do as she kissed him back. Between the surprise of the kiss and her lack of experience, she hoped she didn't read as painfully incompetent.
He pulled away long enough to smile at her and then kissed her again, pulling her into his lap this time. Kakashi's experienced, she realized nervously as he bit her bottom lip, making her gasp–he exhaled a laugh as he let go of the pressure, almost as if reading her mind. Was it painfully obvious that she felt lost right now, swept up in it at all? It was supposed to be natural, right, knowing how to kiss and hold and not feel like a vulnerable fool?
"Relax," Kakashi told her in a hushed voice, bending to kiss her neck. "Unless I'm reading the room wrong," he said, looking up at her with a mindful look. "Then I'll relax."
"No, you're not wrong." Her cheeks burned admitting it but she wasn't going to lie to him. "I've just never done this before and I feel a little out of my element here. But I want to do this."
Kakashi tilted his head and didn't speak for a moment. "We'll take it slowly," he agreed.
"Thanks," she flushed. "I do like this, though." She put her head on Kakashi's shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her in a hug.
"I like this, too," he told her. "But it's a little cramped in here. Maybe we should go somewhere we can spread out?"
___
There was no magic way to get from one room to the other in a sexy fashion. Sakura got out of the bath without slipping, wrapped her towel around her body in a fluid motion then dried her hair with another. That was sexy, she could tell by the way Kakashi was staring at her, still in the tub. He looked a little depraved when she turned around, biting his lip and staring at her so intensely she almost laughed. When they were in the tub a few moments ago, did he really kiss her and hold her like that? Maybe he was just hungry after all.
She walked into the main room and didn't know what to do, which is when her sexy act fell on its face. Where did she go, did she lie in bed and wait for him, naked? Her bed or his? Maybe she should get dressed, and that's what he meant by taking it slowly? Kakashi was getting out of the bath, she could hear him moving around in there and coming out of the bathroom with a towel tucked around his waist. His shoulders were a little damp and his hair was down, holding his book in one hand. He managed to look sexy coming into the room, but he was also beautiful and pretty much naked and wet. He would have to work very hard to not be the most gorgeous thing in the room right now.
"We can sit on my futon," he lazily gestured to it as he walked into the kitchen. Did he really put himself back together this quickly or was it an act? With him it was so hard to tell. "I'll be right there."
Sakura nodded and went over to her dresser first, taking out a large pink nightshirt (it had a fortune cookie on it, Ino bought it for her birthday last year and it made her miss her so much more in the moment as a childish part of her wanted to squeal and tell her best friend she kissed Kakashi–Kakashi–naked in the bath) and putting it on before sitting down. Despite just sitting down with him in the bath, sitting naked on his bed felt a little too much for her. Kakashi walked out a moment or two later with two glasses of water. He handed her one, put another on the table and then went to put on sweatpants before coming over to sit with her on the futon. Kakashi was sitting closer than he had in the past and the thought of that alone was making her feel giddy enough to squeal, but her heart was pounding too quickly in her chest to make her feel assured on what to do next. She leaned against him, sipping from her glass of water and listening to his steady breathing. Kakashi put his arm around her and pulled her close.
"Sleep with me in my bed tonight?" Kakashi asked her.
"Yes, please."
Kakashi smiled at her, kissed her forehead. "I'm going to take Akino out and get ready for bed, why don't you get ready, too?"
"Yeah," she agreed. Her heart was slowing down–this she could handle better– and she leaned up and kissed Kakashi's cheek. "Thanks."
He smiled and stood up, making a hand sign that Akino immediately responded to and followed him out of the house and onto the porch. Sakura finished her water and brushed her teeth, looking at herself in the bathroom mirror. Kakashi made a move on her, she thought excitedly. There was even a mark on her neck from where he bit her in the bathtub. Because they were in the bath together! Her heart was shaky again and she smiled at her reflection. She was hopelessly out of her league here but she couldn't have been more excited to be out of herelement.
