(A.N. Oh my goodness! I can't believe how much faster the confession came out in this story, but...*dun dun duuuuun* does that mean anything? Mwa ha ha ha!)

"Uta. I love you."

Your world suddenly came to a screeching halt. Kakashi...loves you? But he knew what your thoughts on relationships were, so why would he fall for you? More importantly, why was your heart racing? Why did you feel so happy? Shouldn't you feel sad for him, and hope he was joking. After all, you'd always claimed that you and Kakashi were just friends, that you had no interest in ever being in a relationship again, that the thought of it scared you half to death. But right now you felt happy. So happy that you wanted to sing and dance and felt like you could fly. You wanted to cry with happiness.

How did you really feel about your silver haired friend?

You were about to hug him again, but froze as the memories of why you'd sworn off relationships flooded your mind. You never wanted to feel like that again. Sure Kakashi was your friend and sure he claimed to love you now, but in a few months he'd probably find another girl to love and he'd hurt you too. Men had no morals when it came to things like that! No! You would NOT allow yourself to ever give someone the ability to hurt you like that again.

You felt like your heart was being crushed as you made your decision, but you steeled yourself against your weak heart, "I'm sorry..." Kakashi's body jumped slightly, but his grip didn't release, "Uta...I know what you think of relationships and I know why you think that way, but I also know you feel SOMETHING for me other than friendship. I'm not asking you to be in a relationship with me at this moment, but I'm not going to give up either. I've loved you for too long for me to give up on you like this. And I won't ever hurt you the way he did." You were shaking now, trying to not cry, "Everyone says they wouldn't do it, and they never PLAN to cheat on the person they love, but all men cheat! So I can't ever-" Kakashi cut you off again, "Then I'll prove it to you! No matter how long it takes, no matter what I have to do, I'll prove to you that I'm NOTHING like anyone you've been with before! I'll prove that I'd never stray from you or hurt you like that. Because I don't just like you or lust for you, I LOVE you!" He put his hands on your shoulders and pushed himself back just far enough to look you in the eye, "I'm going to court you Uta. And I won't stop courting you. So be ready." Before you could react or say anything Kakashi pulled down his mask and placed a chaste kiss on your lips.

The kiss was brief, and he had leaned away and pulled his mask back up almost instantly. You turned your face to the floor and stepped back from him, making his arms slide from your shoulders, "Don't toy with me Hatake." You crossed your arms in front of you, attempting to get rid of the feelings of vulnerability. His hand reach forward and you squeezed your eyes shut. His hand gently rested on the top of your head, "I'm not." With that he turned and started walking towards your front door, "I'll give you some time to calm down and think about what I've said. You can have the chili since I know you like chili." He paused after he opened the door and looked at you over his shoulder, "And my name is Kakashi."  With that said he turned and walked out, shutting the door behind himself.

You sank to the floor (You do that lots btw...) and you allowed the tears to finally flow.

"Dammit Kakashi!"

~~~TIME SKIP~~~

After you had cried yourself dry, you had stood up and attended to the chili so it wouldn't burn. It would be a shame to let good food go to waste after all. As you stirred the pot your mind kept straying to Kakashi. If he hadn't confessed to you, the two of you would be making plans to go out and celebrate him becoming a teacher at last. The two of you would be eating this chili, laughing and trying to come up with positively evil plans for his students.

You made up your mind. Just cause it might be awkward, didn't mean you shouldn't help your best friend celebrate. You sent out one of your ninja dogs (Yes you have a contract with them too) to send an invite to some of Kakashi's friends to meet at one of the bars in town. You began packaging up the chili in a travel carrier then went to get changed into some nicer clothes.

After a few minutes you stood in front of his door with a giant container of chili. He had really made too much. You also had a couple bottles of beer that you'd had in your fridge. You took a deep breath and knocked on the door. You were fully prepared for Kakashi to turn you away and not want to see you for a while. You were also prepared for things to be somewhat awkward. What you weren't prepared for was a shirtless, mask less Kakashi answering the door and leaning against the frame seductively, "You're late." Your face immediately heated up and your mouth fell open. He gave you the sexiest smirk you'd ever seen in your life and he grabbed your wrist and tugged you into his apartment. You were completely taken by surprise.

He gently took the chili and the beers from you and headed towards his kitchen, "Make yourself comfortable." You shook yourself from your surprised daze and went over to the couch to sit down. After a minute or two Kakashi came back, with a shirt and mask on, carrying two bowls of chili and two open bottles of beer. Your face was still red from how he opened the door, so your hid your face slightly and braced yourself for his next move. But it didn't come. He simply flopped down next to you and held your chili and beer out to you, "I'm glad you brought the chili over. I was starving!"

He pulled down his mask and began eating happily and you began to relax. He didn't seem upset with you, and he didn't seem like he was going to be pressuring you or anything. You took a bite of the chili and smiled, "This is good Ha...Kakashi. I had no idea you knew how to make chili." He chuckled and you glanced over at him to seem him rubbing the back of his neck, "Yeah I got Kurenai to teach me, since I know you like chili, but nowhere in town makes it very well..." You giggled, "Well thank you for learning, this is delicious." You took another bite and the two of your fell into a comfortable silence. You smiled to yourself, you couldn't believe you'd been worried. Things weren't any different than before.

Kakashi got up to put his bowl in the kitchen when he finished. You sped up your pace of eating, not wanting to keep him waiting. When Kakashi came back into the room he sat beside you again, a little closer to you this time. He took a swig of his beer and you could feel his gaze on you. You were about to take another bite when Kakashi leaned forward. You felt something soft, warm and wet move against your cheek. You jerked back and whipped your head to look at Kakashi. He smiled slightly, "You had some chili on your cheek." He followed that by winking and you slapped your hand to your cheek, rubbing where he had just licked you, while your face heated up more than you ever thought possible, "You could've just told me!" He let out a laugh before he leaned back and took another sip from his beer. You slid as far away from him as his couch would let you go, and you jammed the last of the chili into your mouth as quickly as you could. You wanted to get out of here, being alone with him was basically an invitation for him to hit on you. Once you had him out in public he'd behave himself.

Once your bowl was empty you jumped up and ran into his kitchen to wash it. You were washing it when you felt Kakashi's presence right behind you. He trailed his fingers up one of your arms and you jumped slightly, "You seem nervous Uta...Is it because you're finally fully aware of me as a man?" He leaned close and blew a breath against your ear and you shivered. You threw the bowl onto the drying wrack and ducked around Kakashi, "Knock it off!" Kakashi leaned against the counter, "I told you that I was going to court you. That's all I'm doing Uta. If you dislike it then say so, but I'll know if you're lying." You pursed your lips. He had you there, cause you couldn't honestly say that you disliked his attention. You narrowed your eyes at him and he gave you a grin. He KNEW it. You huffed out an irritated breath and whirled around. You stomped towards the front door, "Let's go, or we'll be late..."

He chuckled and followed you closely, "Yes my dear."