Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. All characters, terms, and affiliates of Naruto are not mine, but belong to their respective owners, Masashi Kishimoto, TV Tokyo, VIZ &c.

Another old one.

Two

Kurenai stood upwind from Kakashi as he finished his cigarette, face turned away so that the flickering streetlight below barely outlined his jaw.

"I didn't think you were the type to remember him this way," she said, one hand rising to rub the growing curve of her belly. "It's bad enough that Shikamaru-kun's picked it up."

"We all have our ways of coping," he replied. He played with the still smouldering butt, pressing the tip into the railing he leaned against. The faint smell of burnt paper and wood and Asuma filled the space between them. "This just seemed the better option of the two."

"Two?"

A door opening a floor below them drew Kurenai's attention away, but not before she saw his shoulders stiffen. Looking down, she was not surprised to see Haruno Sakura step out with a fellow medic, white hospital coat folded over her arm. It seemed her shift was over—

Kurenai slowly pulled in a breath and turned back to Kakashi. His mask was back in place.

"Like I said, this seemed the better of the two," he explained quietly before stretching out a hand for the folder she held in hers. "So how did the ultrasound go?"