Enter standard disclaimer here. Nope, not mine, not mine at all…damn…

For LeafyGirl - the Genma/Sakura fic trade/challenge including the line "Black coffee in bed." It's extremely late and half a page short ::hides face and apologizes:: here goes nothing. --;;

Italics flashbacks to the night before.

About Last Night

By – Wicked Innuendo

The glow of the rising sun and the song of the wild sparrows lured the sleeping woman into consciousness. She was reluctant to wake; it had been an eternity since she had slept so deeply. She pulled the khaki comforter over her head and buried her face into the down pillow. The aroma of fresh brewed coffee wafted into the bedroom, tempting her to finally wake up. She could hear the rain like sound of a shower running; followed by the soft moan of old pipes as the water was turned off.

She slowly sat up; holding covers not her own to her bare torso. The relaxed feeling of good night's rest was ebbing away, replaced with the anxiety of waking in a strange place. Green eyes darted around the foreign bedroom taking in its masculine décor of dark wood, neutral beige linens, and the antique shinobi sword hanging above the heavy pewter headboard.

Sakura pushed a tendril of pastel pink behind her ear, straining to remember anything about last night; flashes of dark eyes, darker hair, and an irresistible little smirk came to mind. She tried to remember; a dull headache began to surface the more she attempted to recall the events that led her to wake in this strange bed.

Mint green eyes skimmed over pages of research data, rereading information she hand long since memorized. She glanced out the laboratory window; watching the last vestiges of dusk fade from periwinkle to deep blue. He was late. He was more than late; most likely he wasn't planning on coming in at all. Roseate eyebrows dipped into a small scowl. She knew he disliked the tests, but the decision wasn't his to make. The Hokage wanted work up done on every advanced bloodline clan within the HiddenLeafVillage, the Sharingan first and foremost as the clan had diminished to a tribe of one with no immediate prospects of restoration.

Sakura sighed, recalling the events of the past two years. If she had been asked on the day she graduated from the academy where she saw herself at age twenty, she sure wouldn't have said special Jounin medical nin under the tutelage of the Hokage herself. It was like a dream come true, she had been given the opportunity to apply the two things she excelled at, super smarts and near perfect chakra control, to make a difference in the lives of those around her. She spent her days practicing medical ninjutso and modern medicine at the hospital, although she did miss working in the field.

Her ears heard the hearty chuckle of a male voice stop and converse outside her lab entrance. She tilted her head to the side, trying better to hear the conversation. The talking subsided and the door to her laboratory swung open, a tall Jounin with a head full of silver rooster hair peaked around the door's edge, reminding Sakura of the first time she met her former sensei nearly thirteen years prior.

"I thought I heard your voice, how have you been Kakashi?" the twenty year old kunoichi rose from her seat behind the desk and walked across the expanse of the large room to greet the infamous copy nin.

"Sakura?" His visible eye widened in shock as he took in the sight of the girl child turned woman. It had been a few years since he saw her last. Team 7 had separated before they had even reached Chuunin level. Sasuke had become Anko's charge, Naruto spent his time training with Jiraiya-sennin, Sakura was rumored to be studying with Shizune and training with Tsunade-sama. He had barely seen the old Team & at all, Sakura the least of his three former students.

"Tsunade said I should stick my head in here and speak with the person in charge of research about the Sharingan. You're the only one here?" He asked, disappointed that he was too late, he was sure Tsunade would chastise him on his tardiness again.

Sakura nodded, a small smile played over her features, she had an idea what was coming next. It was a simple pleasure, she'd come to enjoy. She'd spent her Gennin and Chuunin years being underestimated. Seeing someone look up at her from the flat of their back or dumbfounded at her title, gave her a jolt of pride.

"I guess I missed him." And then he said exactly what she was expecting, sometimes men could be so predictable.

"Her." Sakura corrected, straightening the white lab coat over her snug red dress, looking like the cat that swallowed the canary.

"Sorry." She could see his visible eye crinkle, in the tell tale sign of a smile. "Can you tell her that I'll drop in tomorrow morning?"

"Or you can tell her yourself," Sakura smiled. It amused her to no end to see the reactions of people when they realized this young woman was responsible for such a large project. Kakashi's dark eye drifted to the desk in the corner and read the small plaque on the desk's edge, Haruno Sakura - Special Jounin Medical – Laboratory Director.

"I feel like an idiot." Kakashi half laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"You should, that almost hurt my feelings," she touched her hand to her chest, feigning offense in a hurtful tone.

"I'll make it up to you at pub. You're coming to the farewell get together, right?"

"Farewell get together? I'm not sure; I'm not a big drinker." It had been awhile since she allowed herself the luxury of attending a social event. Sakura had so dedicatedly thrown herself into her work that social invitations were becoming more and more sparse.

"A soda then or some milk." He added jokingly, amused at the quick scowl she gave him. "There's a little goodbye party of sorts for Genma, Neji, and Sasuke. They're leaving on an extended mission tomorrow."

"Sasuke's going to be there?" The wheels starting turning in her head. She was going to drag him back to the lab, attach him to her machines and take every imaginable and uncomfortable sample from every possible orifice from the uncooperative Uchiha. How dare he stand her up? This was work not a social call, he could be so frustrating.

"Yes." Kakashi confirmed, wondering what the young woman was planning.

"Well give me a minute to lock up the lab."

She heard bare feet on hardwood floors padding softly down the hallway. Sakura looked around the bedroom for her clothes, but didn't see them. She frowned and pulled the soft comforter tighter around her body. I swear, I'm never going to drink again?

He stood in the doorway, her eyes drinking in the sight of him; tall frame, dark standard issue ninja pants, lean bare chest, and wet chocolate hair. "'Morning beautiful," he smiled. He held two matching cups of coffee, one in each hand, one cup's contents black and the other content's was lighter with cream. "I wasn't sure how you took it." He nodded at each cup, stepping towards her to sit on the bed. Sakura looked at him skeptically and reached for the undiluted mug. "Black coffee in bed," he murmured just loud enough for her to hear.

The cup was hot in her hands; Sakura impatiently gulped down half the cups contents hoping that the induction of caffeine in her system might clear her hazy memory and burned her tongue in the process. God, could this be any more awkward? She set the half drunken cup on the nightstand.

Clear green eyes scanned the establishment for the last Uchiha. If he was here she was going to find him and drag him back to the lab. No way was she going to allow the blood limit upstart to set her behind schedule until he returned from some weeks long mission.

"Hey honey," a petite blond barmaid greeted Kakashi, touching his forearm familiarly. "A coke and rum tonight?"

"Two and can you make the second one without the rum."

The blonde's face twisted in thought, "I 'spose so. Anything for m' favorite ninja. I'll be right back, 'kay hon'."

"Hon'?" Sakura nudged Kakashi in the side, laughing. "I'm not even going to ask…hon."

"Thanks, there's Asuma and Gai, I'll see you at the table in a minute." Kakashi left and Sakura searched for Sasuke.

Sakura saw Neji sitting with TenTen in the back of the room. She had let her trademark buns loose; her dark hair fell well past her shoulders in loose waves. The weapon's specialist Kunoichi leaned into the Hyuuga, whispering something in his ear that caused that the faintest blush to touch his pale porcelain complexion. They were such a cute couple, Neji and TenTen. Most of the shinobi in her age group had begun to pair off. Hinata had finally won Naruto, Ino had given up on Sasuke to take a chance with Shikamaru. The most surprising of them all was the Sand's kunoichi ambassador, Temari and her ongoing relationship with Chouji. Not that anyone could really blame the desert blonde; the chubby Gennin had thinned into a tall muscular heartthrob of shinobi. Two summers ago he went to do intensive training in the mountains with an Anbu cousin; the simple caterpillar came back a handsome butterfly with a following of fan girls to rival that of Uchiha Sasuke.

Sakura looked around the pub, green eyes scanning for any trace of Uchiha. Sasuke should be here then, if Neji and Kakashi were already here. Sakura would bide her time and drag him back to work.

"Excuse me," A tall Jounin approached her. She had seen him around on several occasions, but had never actually spoken to him, his name was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't recall it for the life of her. "I just noticed you noticing me and I just wanted to give you notice that I noticed you too. I'm Shiranui Genma."

"Haruno Sakura."

That's right, Sakura recalled spending the better part of last night laughing with him. Her memories were still a muddled though, she talked and drank with him, she didn't remember drinking that much. She opened her mouth to speak then closed it; she repeated the action three times looking very fish like. "The first door in the hallway is the bathroom, there's a towel and a set of clothes for you on the counter," he chuckled, with his hands he gestured a slow upwards stabbing motion and made a ripping sound, "the clothes you wore here are well…in pieces."

They stumbled past the threshold to his second floor apartment. Her fingers were tugging the zipper down on his Jounin vest; she slipped her hands under his shirt, raking manicured fingernails over his chiseled stomach. She took the corner of his shirt, lifting it upwards and over his head. The leaf hitae came off with the shirt. Without the senbon and backwards forehead protector, Shiranui Genma looked like a different person. God, he was beautiful!

Her touches alone sent a jolt of electricity through his body, he paused, the zipper on her tunic was stuck, and the need to have her was overwhelming. He reached into the weapon holster secured on his leg, brandishing a kunai. Without asking, he cut the fabric of her crimson dress from bottom to top. The garment fell onto the floor beside the discarded vest.

"That was my favorite dress," her words were spoken in heavy breaths on the shell of his ear.

"I'll get you another." His hands slid over her hips to grip her thighs, he picked her up, her legs wrapped around his waist, and he pinned her against the wall.

"Liar, now what will I wear?" she whispered the question into his mouth. Jade eyes filled with lust stared up at him.

He smirked crookedly at her, as if he still held that damn senbon in the corner of mouth, replying simply, "Me."

Heat spread to her face and she couldn't meet his gaze. Sakura averted her eyes to his hair, still wet from his recent shower. A drop of water fell from his tousled chin length locks, paving a winding wet trail down his well defined chest over the soft skin of old scars then meandering lower to the sparse path of hair on his lower abdomen.

He reached out to her, his fingers rested gently on the back of her neck, his thumb smoothed over her cheek in lazy circles. She raised her gaze away from the lost droplet to find herself nose to nose with him, his lips easing closer to hers. He kissed her slow, as if he was trying to memorize the feel of her mouth. He was so familiar yet so foreign at the same time. He tasted like café au lait, the soft friction of his unshaven face brushed against her smooth skin.

She pushed lightly against chest, breaking the sweet kiss. "Genma, about last night."

She hooked her foot behind his ankle, she used her weight to push him and they toppled onto the floor, Sakura straddled his waist. They laughed between heavy pants.

"You have the most beautiful perfectly symmetrical breasts I've ever seen." He thought aloud, his hands on swell of her hips inched upwards over her ribs to her perfect attributes, and then surprisingly rolled them over so she was beneath him.

"Hey," she half screamed, half laughed.

Her hands slip into his pants to push them down, pausing at his bottom to give him a firm squeeze.

"Sakura, I want you so bad," his voice was heavy with passion.

"Here I am." She invited, pulling his face to hers.

He frowned, reaching past her to the night stand. She watched with curious eyes as his long fingers pulled a senbon from the drawer and tucked it between his teeth. "Real man's toothpick," he half laughed. "I think I know what you're going to say. I've been in your shoes enough to know what's coming. You're going to say that last night was a one time thing and no hard feelings."

"No, no. That isn't what I was going to say. Last night is a jumble of pieces and I've never done this sort of thing and I don't want you to think I'm—" the words flew from her mouth, a nervous habit she had developed in her youth.

"I don't think of you like that." He interjected. "To tell you the truth, my memory's is a bit foggy too. But, what do remember is that I truly enjoyed your company. Maybe next time we can go on a proper date."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Genma." Her fingers nervously fidgeted with a stray thread on the blanket.

He moved the senbon to the opposite corner of his mouth.

"Our conversation last night…was nice." Sakura began. "And to be honest, the only reason I let it get so far was to make another angry and I had been drinking and..."

His brow crinkled in frustration, "I know that. You told me last night at the bar that you wanted to piss him off. Then we left and I offered to walk you home and then you kissed me and said you'd wanted to walk me home instead."

He had asked Genma to stall her so he could make a clean escape. Not to get her drunk. She wasn't a drinker. She was Sakura, plain and tall. Uchiha Sasuke sat in the corner unable to leave, watching the pair laugh and talk. She smiled and it lit up the room and he sat besides her, hand smoothing over her thigh, drinking in the radiance she emitted like warm sunshine.

"Sakura? What are you doing here?" Sasuke approached her, faking forgetfulness. "I was supposed to meet you today at the lab. It must've slipped my mind."

"You didn't forget Sasuke, but that's alright. I've been chatting here with Genma." Her lilt was overly cheerful as she spoke; she took another swallow of her mixed fruit drink.

"How about some coffee and we can try to get some work done tonight?" he offered, feeling suddenly protective of his ex team mate.

"Not tonight, ain't enough coffee in all of Konoha to drag me back to work tonight." She spoke, half laughing and slightly slurring.

"Sakura let me walk you home." Sasuke suggested.

Genma sat wordlessly watching the two, finding it amusing. Any other time, he would've interjected, most likely saying something rude, but she had asked him not to and he respected that.

"No, Genma's taking me home." Ah, his cue.

He laid a few bills down on the bar's counter.

"Are you ready Genma?" she took his hand in hers.

"Anytime, beautiful."

She reached for the mug on the nightstand, taking a long drink. "Genma you're more than a decade and a half older than me. This just won't work."

"I didn't say I wanted to marry you, but I do want to see if this could go anywhere for us. Are you that concerned about what everyone else thinks? Damn it Sakura, I like you. I'm older, yes, I'm not ancient. I know what I want from life, after talking last night; I thought we wanted the same thing. Maybe I was wrong about you."

She wasn't sure what to say. Sakura had spent her whole life loving one man. The notion of caring for another was inconceivable even after a night of great conversation followed with even better drunken sex. What was there to say? She could see herself happy with him. The thought of a man returning her affections was overwhelmingly surreal. Her inexperienced inner hopeless romantic had always craved this type of attention, but from another. Would it be so wrong to fall into temptation and pursue something with Genma? The scales were tipping in favor of the older Jounin; he was too irresistible for his own good.

Head held high, she strode naked to the bathroom. His eyes followed her watching her through the doorway as she skipped the shower and slid on his too big pants and too big faded black Jounin shirt and closed the door.

They stumbled out the pub together, breathing the cool night air in gulps, and laughing as they turned the corner.

"Did you see his face," she was laughing so hard that her side hurt, "that was priceless. Thank you for telling me what he was up to and thank you for sitting with me, I really enjoyed myself tonight."

"It was funny, wasn't it? I hope he's not too angry tomorrow. I'll explain it to him in the morning." He draped his arm over her shoulder, "Let me walk you home, Sakura."

"No," she turned to face him, her expression becoming suddenly serious. Sakura reached for his face, her fingers took the senbon from his mouth. Her hands went to her loose hair, twisting the long roseate tresses into a sloppy bun and secured it with his senbon. "I think I'd like to walk you home instead."

She stood on tiptoes and pressed her lips to his, letting her intentions be known. She wrapped her arms around his neck; his slipped around her thin wrapped around her sides. She swirled her tongue around his, marauding his kisses in the middle of the empty street. He kissed like he wrote the book on it. Long, slow sweeps of his velvet tongue caressed her own. She had spent so much of her energy wrapped in furthering her career that she had forgotten how nice a personal life could be and how much nicer the feel of mans lips on hers could feel.

Genma knocked and waited by the bathroom door for it to open. Sakura cracked the door. He laughed to himself, that one was something else. Sakura had applied a generous amount of toothpaste to her finger and was using it as a toothbrush.

She spit in the sink. "Maybe you were right." Her hands were cupped under tap filling with water. She took a mouth of water to rinse the toothpaste from her mouth.

"What?" He watched her swish the water in her mouth and then spit again.

"We should go out on a real date." She helped herself to three aspirin from the generic bottle sitting on the counter.

"I'm leaving this morning for that extended mission; I'll be gone for a few months." He reminded her.

"That's not a long time." And she meant it, she had spent years chasing after Sasuke, followed by being so absorbed in her research for Tsunade-Sama that a couple months were a drop in the bucket and would be over before she knew it.

"I'd like that then." And he meant it, he wasn't getting any younger and he felt there was something missing from his life. He knew what he wanted from life now, hell, he'd been there and done everything else. The medical nin inspired qualities in himself that he wasn't aware even existed and the opportunity to pursue those routes with clever pink haired woman left him with a fullness where he'd felt like something was lacking before.

"Good." She smiled, removing his oversized shirt.

"Haruno Sakura, you're a confusing woman." His chocolate eyes widened as she slid the too big pants down.

"Confusion is a woman's prerogative." She reached behind the pattern less dark blue shower curtain and turned the shower on.

"I'd like to kiss you now." Genma took a step towards her and she took a step backwards, smiling at him mischievously.

"Tempting, but I can't." She shrugged.

He looked at the naked woman; his gaze started with her grinning lips, to her perfect breasts, and smooth belly. Sakura took his chin in fingers, tilting his chin up until his dark eyes met hers.

"I'm going to take a shower now, you should join me. And maybe, I'll let you have that kiss." She disappeared behind the shower curtain. Genma wasted no time shrugging of his pants and following her.

end

A/N – the characterization is off, but I tried. I wanted to make this with more angsty and sexier, I might add a 2nd mini chapter ending later with the smut and angst. I thank Squeeze's Black Coffee In Bed for keeping my muses in going. This was a fic trade of sorts, Leafy's ItaSaku fic for me can be found here –

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