Title: Flying Tables and Early Morning Denials
Rating: PG-13 (for a little bit of language)
Pairing: KakaSaku Summary: Kakashi is in denial. Or is he?
Disclaimer: I only own a Kakashi plushie. Please don't take him away from me.

No. He didn't want to see her.

He really didn't. It was just that Naruto was away on a mission, Sasuke was too busy brooding, Asuma was on honeymoon with Kurenai and Gai... well, he was Gai, and Kakashi would rather eat live snakes than spend one waking second with him.

So that's why he was swiftly making his way to her. Not because he liked her. But because he was simply out of options.

Kakashi liked to think that his frequent visits to the Hokage tower was just something that amused him. Ever since she took the position of the Hokage's substitute two weeks ago, he had started to look forward to the sole purpose of annoying her. She was too wrapped up in all the Hokage business that it was nice to induce some sort of emotion from her, aside from the straight-faced look she always had on recently. If you ask him, he was doing her a favor.

But not because he liked liked her.

No, of course not. That's completely ridiculous.

It was not his fault she looked too adorable when she was angry. Or completely shocked. The widening of those emerald eyes was always something of a spectacle to him. Which was why he became fond of thinking of a motley of ways to catch her unawares. He would spring up on her, when she least expected it, in places she didn't think he would be, and in ways she never thought he would do.

Waking up inhumanely early and sneaking into her office before she arrived is a good example.

Kakashi thought that she should feel flattered that he woke up at seven in the morning just to play a prank on her. He never woke up early to play pranks on anyone. Hell, he never woke up early, period.

As he reached the Tower, he expertly clung to the wall, using his chakra, and quietly made his way to the window of her office. Using his reliable lockpicking technique, he slid the window open and jumped in.

The room was cluttered, piles of papers, folders and scrolls were left lying around everywhere. Kakashi thought this was rather uncharacteristic of her because he knew her to be a neat freak. It only proved the point that being the substitute Hokage was being a wee bit too much for her.

After assessing the state of the room, Kakashi took his place beside the door, leaning on the wall to easily hear if she was on her way.

He did not have to wait long. A few minutes later, Kakshi heard her rather agitated voice through the wall.

"...but the agreement with Suna should take effect today!" He heard her say.

"Yes, but there were minor setbacks in the contract. The delegations they sent were not suitable for--- "

"That's no longer our problem, Shizune! Our job was to secure escorts, not to ensure an agreement between them!"

"Fine. I'll do what I can to appease those bastards. Just take these and sign them. Mission scrolls will be sent in the afternoon."

He smirked. Haruno Sakura was certainly having a bad day.

The sound of a key sliding into the lock told him she was about to enter the room, so he straightened up and tried to appear as nonchalant as ever.

A second after, he saw her, a dangerously high pile of papers in one hand and her substitute Hokage robes in another. Her shoulder-length hair was pulled up in a loose bun and a frown was etched on her face. She carelessly put down the papers she was holding on the table, and they joined the clutter from days past. Walking around the Hokage's desk, she threw down her robes at the back of the chair and sat down on it. With a sigh, she picked up a pen and started to organize the mess in front of her.

Kakashi chose this moment to make his presence known.

"You're not really going to finish all this, are you?"

Her head snapped up at his voice and out of reflex, she was halfway out of her chair before he reached out, his hand over hers, stopping her before she could call for back-up.

"Are you going to report me?" His tone challenged her. Only because he knew she wouldn't.

"Sensei," she breathed out. "For crap's sake, do you truly find giving me a heart attack entertaining?"

He grinned. "Of course not. Why would I want to harm my favorite student?"

The hand under his was gone before he could protest, and she sat back down heavily, the chair creaking dangerously beneath her.

"Stop calling me your favorite student," she said, shuffling the papers on the table. There was too much work for her, they both knew that. The both of them also knew she cannot concentrate on them while he was there. So he decided to stay a little bit longer.

He sat at the edge of the table, hovering over her like a nosy secretary. "So what's up?"

"Nothing." She pushed a strand of hair from her eyes. "Why are you here?"

"Always straight to the point, aren't you? Surely, the great substitute Hokage can't take a guess?"

A slight grin crossed her features. "To see me?"

At her answer, the smirk behind Kakashi's mask vanished. "Don't flatter yourself, Sakura. I'm not here to see you."

"I know that."

"Do you?"

"Yes."

"But what if I am?"

A sigh escaped her lips and she pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Seriously, sensei, why are you here?"

In true Hatake Kakashi fashion, her question was left unanswered. Instead, he busied himself with the apple paperweight he found on the desk, tossing it upward, watching it sail through the air and then deftly catching it with his left hand.

Toss. "You know, you're no fun at all, Sakura-chan." Catch.

He knew she was watching him from the corner of her eye, even though she pretended to take notes on some document in front of her. For some strange reason, he found it highly satisfying to know that he could hold her attention.

"I know."

"Do you? Why? Does your boyfriend always tell you that?"

Her grip on the pen she was holding tightened. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"That also validates the assumption," he joked. Toss. "I think it's because you seem so uptight all the time." Catch.

"Really?"

Toss. "Yes. Especially now." Catch.

"Hmm."

He spared her a glance. He could tell she was getting really pissed. And it absolutely amused him . "Actually, now that I think about it, I've never seen you relaxed." Toss.

"Sensei..."

Catch. "You're always busy with your medic work." Toss.

"Learning those jutsus---" Catch.

Toss. "---worrying about Naruto---" Catch.

Toss. "---healing people---" Catch.

Toss."---saving the world---" Catch.

"I wonder how you are in bed."

A split second before the Hokage's desk hit him in the face, Hatake Kakashi found out just how lucky he was to be him. If not for his shinobi reflex, he would have indeed suffered tha fate of the poor jounin standing guard outside the Hokage's office.

Getting violently hit with a wooden desk thrown by the second strongest woman in Konoha would have to hurt, he mused.

Perched on the rooftop of the Tower, he heard the object sail through three walls, before the din of fifty people inquiring about what the hell just happened burst throughout the place.

He could just imagine Sakura's face beet red with anger. Or was it embarrassment?

There was no doubt she was the most intriguing person he knew. He could spend his day knowing trivial stuff about her, or at least trying to know some, anyway. He knew she won't give things away easily. She was naive yet wise. Brave yet shy. Endearing yet terrifying.

Which was why he liked her.

But not really liked liked her.

Maybe just a bit.

It wasn't like she liked him, anyway.

The slight blush he saw on her face a millisecond before he poofed out of there made him smile.

Perhaps... perhaps it would be better to ask her personally tomorrow.

THE END

A/N: Be nice, this is my first KakaSaku fanfic. Reviews are as appreciated as Kakashi's kisses.