Roses {Kakashi Hatake}

16. Loving you

Kakashi found himself standing in front of the mirror three years after the war had ended. His nights were still full of nightmares with occasional good dreams, which mostly resolved around Akahana. Something about the girl was driving him mad as soon as he thought of her, why did she have to make him feel so weird whenever she was around him.

As soon as he saw her smile, he'd smile too and feel happier than before and whenever she complimented him on something, he'd feel much more pride than when someone else did. What was it that he felt for her? He had though it was just a friendship for the past years, but that was beginning to change.

"I love her..." he trailed off, looking at his face, the bags from not getting enough sleep making him look older than he was, "No, I can't love her, we're just friends..." He threw water in his face, hoping it would make him feel more awake. Maybe I do want it to be more... he thought.

He let out a scream out of frustation. Why was the mere thought of the girl enough to make him feel so conflicted? One part of him was certain he wanted more while the other half of him was telling him otherwise.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Hoping it wasn't Akahana because she would most certainly notice how awful he looked in an instant and try to do something about it, which would result in him feeling so weird yet again, he opened the door.

Luckily for him, it was only Gai standing in front of him, along with Asuma and Kurenai. Unfortunately for him, he did the exact same thing Akahana would do if she were there, "Kakashi, why do you look so terribly unyouthful?!" the fifteen year old boy asked him all too bluntly, "Don't tell me the force of youth has left you!" He then started shaking him around, thinking it would make him seem his youthful self again.

"Gai, I doubt that'll make him feel better," Kurenai stated, "He's seen so much in the war, he just needs a good night sleep without being terrorised by the memories."

Asuma pulled Gai off Kakashi, since he was reluctant to seperate from the said boy himself. "There's something else," he said, eyeing the silver haired boy, "What's wrong, Kakashi?"

Kakashi sighed, knowing they were not going to leave before they got an answer to his question, "It's Akahana, I think I may be feeling something for her." Gai raised his eyebrow, longing for more detailed information. "I think that I... uh... am in love with her."

Kurenai smirked, "Called it."

***

"Just tell him already!" Isamu told the red haired girl sitting on the other side of the table in the restaurant, "You know, it doesn't always have to be the male to confess first."

Akahana looked up from the menu for a moment, but quickly hid again when she saw Kakashi enter in the corner of her eye, "I don't know how."

Isamu sighed, "The key is to not be afraid of rejection," he said, "Then you can do anything."

"It took you long enough to confess to me," Katsuko retorted, who was seated next to him. She then turned her attention to her future cousin-in-law, "But he's right, you just have to walk up to him and tell him how you feel."

"But how can you not be scared to be rejected?" Akahana asked, "I mean, we've been friends for so long and I don't want to lose that if it doesn't work out."

Katsuko smiled, "You're not just a friend to him, you were the first one to make him smile and feel anything other than sadness."

"Are you sure?"

"One hundred procent."

On the other side of the restaurant, Kakashi was surrounded by his friends trying to convince him to tell her what he felt, "Put those charms to work, Kakashi," Kurenai said, "and I promise she'll swoon over you in no time."

Kakashi took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "Come on casanova, we don't have all day," Asuma stated as he pushed him towards Akahana.

He walked towards the two cousins and Katsuko and tried to get Akahana's attention, "Uhm..."

Akahana jerked up, startled by Kakashi standing so close. She had kinda been avoiding him for one reason; she felt like she'd mess up everything because he was often sort of a distraction in her mind lately, "K-Kakashi-chan! W-What brings you here?"

She immediately regretted ever asking such a stupid question, the reason for him being there was so damn obvious for crying out loud!

Kakashi opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything to the girl. Her emerald green eyes staring at him made him feel weak to his knees and they were enough to make him stand there, making him look like a fool, "I..."

He looked behind him, panicking and feeling like he was slowly dying on the inside, "Have a nice meal."

Just like that, he walked over to his friends, his cheeks burning red out of embarrassment.

"Baka, baka, baka!" Kurenai whisper-yelled as he sat down on the opposite side of the table, "You had the opportunity to tell her. So why didn't you?"

"I freaked out, okay?" Kakashi told her, "I didn't know what to say."

"'Have a nice meal'," Asuma quoted him, "Nice safe there."

---

The two didn't see each other for quite a while, which was partly due to Shikaku's marriage to Yoshino. "Took him long enough," the said woman told Katsuko, who was secretly hoping for Isamu to do the same too soon.

"I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up, failing in love countless times seems to be in his genes," Katsuko said, "I'm afraid Aka-chan inherited that 'talent' as well."

"What talent, ladies?" Aoi butted in, "Are you shaming the Kobayashi name?"

"Just stating the obvious," Katsuko told her hopefully future father-in-law, "You all suck at confessing."

Aoi gasped dramatically, until his own wife entered the scene, patting his shoulder, "Stop denying it, Aoi-kun," she said, "They're telling the truth."

"But I didn't have any problems--"

"I was the one to say it first," Mizuko countered, "I made it easy for you."

Aoi would have loved to say she wasn't telling the truth, but he knew that was exactly what had happened, "You've got a point there, but--"

"I was also the one to ask you to marry me," she stated, "I couldn't wait for you to get on one knee."

"I'm not the romantic type," Aoi then said, causing Mizuko to sigh.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, former hopeless romantic."

Aoi had absolutely nothing to say for his own defence, Damn it.

Akahana and Isamu joined the conversation, "Hello ladies."

--

Heya!

I know, long wait, short chapter, but I didn't want to let you wait for much longer. Next chapter will be longer (I hope) ;)

-x Crartistic