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Sakura couldn't stop fidgeting. She licked her lips nervously, green eyes staring resolutely at her hands in her lap. At her side was her teacher and mentor, Tsunade Senju, who had no such awkward feelings; she easily addressed the man in front of them, who was clueless so far as to what he was doing there. While his slouched posture portrayed carelessness, the women knew him too well to be fooled.Sakura shifted in her seat, and Kakashi no Sharingan’s eye fixed on her.“Kakashi,” Tsunade said. "Do you want a drink? It’s good stuff.”Kakashi’s eye crinkled in a false smile, his gaze drawing back to the Hokage. “Aah, Hokage-sama, are you trying to get me drunk? I always knew you were a bad influence.”“Straight to the point, I see.”Tsunade’s voice was dry but her slight smirk betrayed her. She drank the sake shot herself, downing it in one, before refiling. When she offered the bottle to Sakura, Kakashi's eyebrow raised, just a little; Tsunade drinking was an everyday occurrence, after all, but Sakura drinking...?Sakura grabbed the bottle with unsteady hands and grimaced around a sip. Sake was not her drink, especially not in large amounts, but she took another few swigs, needing the liquid courage. As she drank, Tsunade cast her a look, and then turned back to Kakashi.“Hatake. Have you ever heard of the Haruno clan?”Although Sakura tried valiantly to ignore Kakashi’s gaze as it focused on her, there was no stopping the flush that broke upon her cheeks under his inspection. The alcohol was not helping matters.“Aah, no,” Kakashi replied. “I didn’t think Sakura came from a clan. Why didn’t you mention it?”This question was directed at Sakura herself, who was saved from answering by Tsunade. Sakura knew Tsunade intervened not for altruistic reasons but, rather, to keep the conversation moving.“She didn’t tell you because, for all intents and purposes, the Haruno clan doesn’t exist. What I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave this room—got it?”Sakura sneaked a peak at her old sensei through a veil of her hair. He was as nonchalant as usual: hands in his pockets, mask pulled up over his nose, hitai-ate slanted over his eye. And yet, despite his easy demeanour, Sakura could see the tension in body; the curiosity in his one visible eye. Then he smiled.“Maa, maa, Tsunade-sama, who do you take me for?”Unimpressed, Tsunade stared him down, a vein ticking in her forehead.“Aah, I mean—of course, Hokage-sama. I swear it on my blood, my father’s blood, and the blood of all my fallen brothers and sisters that anything you say today will not leave this room.”It was clear from the look on her face that Tsunade hadn't expected Kakashi to swear by an ancient clan oath, even butchered as it was. Still, she seemed placated, for she leaned forward over the desk, clasped her hands together, and explained: “The Haruno clan have a very special kekkei genkai. One that Konoha has protected for many years and will continue to protect. However, this particular kekkei genkai shows only in some of its members—about one in one-hundred people.”Kakashi hummed absently. “And… Sakura?”Sakura finally spoke, finding the need to clear her throat beforehand. Even still, her voice was hoarse from the alcohol and nerves alike. “I have it,” she said. “I’m the first in—years. The first in so many years.”“Why are you telling me this?” Kakashi asked. “Do you need help? Some protection?”Tsunade scoffed. “My apprentice is more than capable of protecting herself—but we do need your help. Sakura’s kekkei genkai is delicate, Kakashi. It’s unlike any other. Sakura, would you like to tell him, or shall I?”No, thought Sakura, I'd rather read Icha Icha Tactics aloud to him. Nevertheless, she steeled herself. Another quick drink of the sake—before Tsunade snatched it from her with a frown—renewed the soothing burn inside of her. Then, with resolve, she met Kakashi’s gaze, feeling her throat dry up all over again.“My kekkei genkai... makes absolutely no sense, " she began. "The best we can think of is that it ensures the survival of powerful clans—otherwise, I can’t imagine a single purpose it would serve. It—What I mean is… When we come of age, those with the kekkei genkai are forced to find companionship. Harunos who refused the call of the kekkei genkai went insane and slowly died. Others tried to satisfy it by marrying those of normal breeding”—she cringed on the word—“but the only way for the kekkei genkai to be fulfilled is marriage to a… to someone in a clan.”You could hear a pin drop in the room. With every new second that Kakashi was staring at her, expression open and searching, Sakura felt more and more like she was going to be sick.Then Kakashi said, “Well, that’s easy. I know all of Konoha’s suitable heirs are all engaged or otherwise taken but there are plenty of clans across the country—”“Hatake!” snapped Tsunade, while Sakura felt like she might faint. “Do you really think we’re just going to send Sakura off to some man’s home? Someone she doesn’t even know? How stupid and insensitive can you get?”“Maa, maa, Tsunade, please,” said Kakashi. “I care about Sakura just as much as you do, and I don’t want her to come to any harm, but all the eligible clan members in Konoha are accounted for. I just don’t see any other options…”There it was: the same silence that made Sakura’s very spine squirm, her toes curl. She reached for the sake again and Tsunade didn’t stop her.“Oh,” said Kakashi.“Oh,” said Tsunade, a smirk pulling at her lips. “You are the last applicable bachelor in Konoha, Kakashi. And the only one Sakura could possibly trust. Of course, you can say no… but if you do, there’s a very good chance Sakura could die.”Kakashi did not look at Sakura who was, at this point, entirely drunk. He simply nodded. “Well then, there’s only one answer, isn’t there?” He cleared his throat. “Why not just ask Naruto? Or Sasuke?”“Sakura doesn’t wish to break apart their relationships, and we can't risk revealing the information only for them to say no. As I said, we have thought through every possible scenario. The marriage—and the kekkei genkai’s requirements therein—mean Sakura will be extremely vulnerable to whoever she marries. I know relations between the villages are better than they have ever been but I will not send Sakura off to a foreign land, to a foreign clan, and leave her there to…” Tsunade’s fist clenched. “No, Kakashi, there is not another option. She's my apprentice, after all.”“Very well,” Kakashi said. “When’s the wedding?”That was when Sakura threw up all over the floor.✿✿✿They had the wedding the very next day as early in the morning as they could. Tsunade, as Sakura’s shishou, and Minato, as Kakashi’s sensei, were the witnesses. Sakura was dressed in a white silk summer dress she’d had since she was eighteen and never had the occasion to wear, while Kakashi wore his standard ensemble. Looking at him, Sakura felt a sadness deep inside of her, like stinging nettles entangling with her intestines.“And now,” said the officiator, smiling. "With the blessing of the Great Tree of Konoha and our forefathers, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”They were the words Sakura had always hoped to hear. Yet she had never imagined them resulting in her turning to her sensei and one of her oldest friends, and watching as he lowered his mask to reveal smooth, pink lips, and no hideous moles. She had especially never imagined leaning into him and kissing him chastely on those lips, only for fire to shoot up her spine and burn at her tailbone; for her vision to swim and her heart to flutter, as the rosebud seal marking their union burnt into her flesh.Sakura flinched, her knees buckling. Kakashi quickly caught her. She could feel her heartbeat elevating, her chakra fluctuating rapidly, her cheeks flushing.“Kakashi," she rasped, "I..." But it was too difficult to talk.She should have known that their union would be strong: Kakashi was the last surviving member of an ancient clan—the bond would have known that he, most of all, needed a loyal wife and children. That didn’t stop her from bemoaning her fate when she regained herself moments later, cradled in Kakashi’s arms.“Kakashi,” she mumbled, then abruptly realised she'd been saying it over and over since collapsing, her heart thundering against her breasts. “This is…”The seal was still scalding her skin, dancing up her spine. She knew, next time she looked in the mirror, she’d see a thick, thorny stem crawling up the length of her back, topped by the dark rose between her shoulder blades. On one of the leaves, the Hatake clan symbol would be engraved; that especially stung, because although sensation of the seal blooming on her back felt divine, Sakura had always imagined the Uchiha crest resting upon one of those leaves, signifying her union to Sasuke.But Sasuke had Ino. And Sakura was a Hatake now.As though triggered, Sakura was overcome with dizziness at the thought and squeezed her eyes shut with such force that she saw stars. She gasped and shifted in Kakashi’s arms, realising how hard his chest was against her; how his thumb brushed up and down her leg, cultivating goosebumps in her skin like she was nothing but earth for him to mould. She barely heard Tsunade order Kakashi to take her home before the world warped, and she was placed down on an unfamiliar bed.It smelled like Kakashi, she thought, turning her face into his pillow. She moaned as she inhaled, catching the soft scent of pine and nutmeg. Kakashi had been warned this would happen, but Sakura still felt the need to clarify: “I’m… I’m going into aphrodisia."Kakashi was looking down at her, eyes almost blank. “What do you want me to do?” he asked calmly.Her whole body screamed for her to touch him, for him to touch her, for them to come together and fuck like animals. Yet how could she even think of forcing Kakashi to do such a thing? Of getting herself to do it? Surely, sex wasn't that important to the bond...“I-It’ll pass,” she said. When she realised she'd starting touching herself beneath her dress, it was all she could do to wrench her hand away. She couldn't even feel embarrassed. “I’m sure it’ll pass.”“Sakura, I don't know if—"“No," said Sakura, not looking at him. Not looking at him. Not looking at him. Oh, who was she kidding? "Let me try. I can resist it. Please, trust me, Kakashi."Kakashi’s eyes shut, his expression closed. He turned from her, heading to the door. “I’ll get you some water,” he said.He did get her a pitcher of water, but he left again afterwards; Sakura just about stopped herself from calling him back. It was the hardest thing she had done all day—harder, even, than having the realisation that he would probably never love her.✿✿✿Huh, someone's screaming, thought Sakura weightlessly.She felt so calm. It was warm and steamy wherever she was, adrift and ebullient. Although she knew something terrible was happening, it was hard to feel concern, floating peacefully as she was. Was she in a pool, she wondered? The sun was bright above her, blinding in its brilliance. Was it getting closer? Was it getting darker? Sakura suddenly felt paralysed with fear.What was happening?She was screaming, she realised. Her throat was raw and bleeding. There was pain everywhere, slow-roasting her alive, disintegrating her bones... Then there was a cool, heavenly touch on her shoulder—a break in the surface of the boiling water she was drowning within."Fucking idiots!” Someone was shouting. “Look at her! How could you risk it after I explicitly told you—?”A low, rumbling voice came from above her. Sakura didn't hear a word it said but her entire body gravitated towards it.“I know it’s hard, but she could have died. Do I need to stay and watch, or do you promise you’ll do it right this time?”Sakura couldn’t get enough of that cool touch, that voice; but whenever she sought more, it kept away. It was only when Sakura heard a door slam shut that she was fully enveloped by that cooling, sensuous feeling. It was entirely too divine. Sakura couldn't help but moan, pushing herself greedily towards it, giving herself to it. It soothed every pain in her body while alighting every nerve—and suddenly, Sakura knew exactly what, or who, it was.“Fuck, Kakashi..."Kakashi inhaled sharply. His hands clenched around Sakura’s hips, squeezing until Sakura felt dizzy with want. “I’m here,” he said.Sakura’s eyes fluttered open. “I missed you,” she breathed.Her eyelashes were wet, her cheeks red from where she had been sobbing through the pain. She didn’t feel sexy. Yet, as Sakura looked up into Kakashi’s dark eyes, she felt a desire pulse through her down to her core. How was she supposed to resist it, she wondered? How was she supposed to resist him? Did she even want to? Especially when Sakura knew that he could be so good to her, that he was fit and healthy and could pump her full of children...As a shudder undulated across her entire body, Sakura felt some lucidity return. No, she didn’t want children, she told herself, despite how she burned hotly at the thought; but she wanted—no, she needed—Kakashi. The intensity of the feeling terrified her.“Kakashi,” she said again. Had he said something? “Please, I need you. I—I think I’ll die if you don’t fuck me. Please.”Before he could refuse her again, Sakura was pulling her dress off overhead, pressing her naked chest against his. The buttons on his shirt caught her nipples as she spread her knees either side of his trim hips, resting firmly atop his erection.It should have been funny, but Kakashi’s voice was so serious when he finally replied, “You will die if you don’t fuck me.”And then, like Sakura hadn’t been the one begging for it, Kakashi pushed her off his lap and pinned her down beneath his weight. His kiss absorbed every part of her; surrendered underneath him, clinging to his palliative touch, she could have completely lost herself. The bond’s mellifluous siren song was impossible to resist when she was wrapped up in Kakashi's arms, overwhelmed by the sights and sounds and smells and feelings that encapsulated Kakashi. She whimpered into his mouth as he opened it to her, slotting them more tightly together. One of his sharp canines tugged at her bottom lip and she keened, desperate to feel more of him.Finally, Kakashi was undressing himself, quickly and efficiently. For everywhere he had to stop touching her, Sakura’s skin blistered, but then he was back and rubbing his naked, muscular body against hers, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Sakura’s hands caught in his hair and pulled tightly; he palmed at her wetness, finger tracing the swell of her clit.“Aah!” Sakura wailed, her entire body arching off the bed and into his chest.Kakashi swore, repeating the motion and watching how she responded. A moment later, he was sitting up, jaw clenched, eyes closed. He had backed away from her completely. Only when he realised that Sakura was suffering did he lean back towards her, interlocking his fingers with hers.“Do you consent?” he murmured, eyes narrowed in focus as he watched her flushed face.Sakura didn’t know what he saw and she didn’t want to imagine. “Yes.”His large hands were on her thighs, were on her hips, were tugging her into his lap. When the head of his cock met her opening, he hesitated, and she almost broke down begging for him again. Then he eased into her softly, slowly, letting Sakura’s own weight sink her down onto the full length of his sex. All the while, she couldn't stop whimpering, her walls quavering around Kakashi as he got deeper and deeper inside of her. His cock dragged against her, a sensation so delicious that she gyrated intuitively, hungering for more.“Fuck,” Kakashi hissed through clenched teeth. He buried bruises into Sakura's hips like seeds with purple blooms, every one of his strong fingers dimpling her hot flesh.Sakura could hardly breathe around the pure satisfaction that overcame her as Kakashi guided her hips up and down, thrusting himself inside her. Using her, something tempted. She had to bite into Kakashi’s shoulder to stop herself from saying something she would regret, but the sting of her teeth only egged Kakashi on. His thrusts became less controlled, waxing into a harder and faster onslaught. When his hand left her hip to thumb at her clit, she came completely apart, her entire world bursting into light.She should have been so embarrassed by the sounds she was making, the things she was saying, but she couldn’t even hear them. The force of her orgasm swept her off her feet and, when Kakashi came inside her a moment later, lifted her away entirely. The feel of his hot come spreading inside of her was deliciously intoxicating, rendering her motionless atop Kakashi’s softening dick, even as she shivered uncontrollably against him.“I’m here,” he was saying softly, slowly lowering both himself and her to the bed. He pulled the sheets over them, then tucked her head under his chin, breathing in the scent of her flowery shampoo. “It’s okay. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”Sakura did feel safe. She felt at peace, in fact, entirely warm and cared for. Yet she spent the next few hours in febrile sweats, comforted only by the warm, hard body beside her. In her most stuporous moments, all she could remember was dragging her wet, searching mouth against Kakashi's blazing skin. When her sensibilities finally hit her, they came in slowly, a low tide that washed away her confusion. The more lucid she felt, the further her heart dropped, dragged by a riptide into deep, dark waters—like she was crashing, in slow motion, from a dreamy high.For how long had she been delirious, she wondered? And why ever had she thought she could hold off the bond? Even for Kakashi’s sake, it was a bad idea. She had almost died. If the great seal masters of Uzushiogakure couldn’t unravel the mysteries of the Haruno kekkei genkai, then what hope did Sakura have to resist its every whim?It was almost midday by the time Sakura felt finally aware enough to ask anything, but even then she was still trembling, unable to bear the thought of leaving Kakashi’s arms. Kakashi seemed to have noticed, as he'd stopped whispering indulgently to her. His gaze, when she met it, was calculatedly careful. His mouth opened as though to speak, then closed.All at once, Sakura was overwhelmed. She buried her head in his chest and sobbed unrepentantly. His touch sobered her as much as it branded her. Yours for life, and you don’t even want me. It didn't take long for Sakura’s crying to settle, for her breaths to steady into a deep, even metre. She fell asleep in Kakashi's arms, her entire body alight with the spark of his touch.✿✿✿“So, you and Kakashi-sensei, eh, Sakura-chan?!” Naruto asked one day when they’d all met up for drinks. His arm was looped over Hinata’s shoulders, who was smiling up at him. “I thought it was gross at first but Hinata told me she’d always seen it happenin’ and thought you guys had been having secret meetings ever since you turned eighteen.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Is it true?”Despite herself, Sakura blushed up to her ears and indulged herself in her cocktail.“Oh my god,” said Ino. “It IS true! No wonder your wedding was so secretive.” She huffed. “I wanted to be a bridesmaid.”Sakura looked her best friend and shrugged sadly. “Sorry, Ino,” she said, her heart aching. She had wanted that, too. “I promise to be there for your wedding.”“You better be!” Ino said. “Sasuke wants to get married as soon as possible to rebuild the Uchiha clan or something.” She rolled her eyes, but her smile was telling. “Figures.”“Yeah,” said Sakura softly. “Figures.”Her words went unheard, for Naruto said at that same moment, “Where the heck is the teme, anyway?!”Ino waved off the question, turning to Sakura with mirth in her eyes. “C’mon, Sakura, you’ve kept it a secret for years. You’ve gotta give us the juicy details. What’s he like in bed? Is he big? What’s he look like without the mask? Do you have a thing for authority figures or—”“Oh my god,” Sakura said. “I'm not answering any of those, but especially that one. Come on, Ino, you know I've never thought of him as my sensei. He barely taught me anything! Minato was way more my teacher than Kakashi ever was, and if anything that makes us more like—like—classmates, or something." Sakura realised she was rambling, and probably making things worse judging by the looks on her friends' faces. Panic rose quickly in her throat. "I mean—that isn't to say—”They were all staring at her: Shikamaru and Neji and Tenten and Ino and Hinata and Naruto and oh Gods, where was all the air? She pressed a shaking hand to her neck, feeling for her frantic pulse. They were throwing questions at her now, laughing and smiling and happy—happy in ways Sakura was not and could not be, not right now, at least.She pushed herself up from the table, head spinning. “Excuse me,” she said weakly. She was immediately piled with concern from Ino and Naruto but she simply forced a laugh and said, “Don’t worry, I think I’m just tired!” So the jokes started again, jokes about newlyweds and never leaving the bedroom; Sakura was all too happy to let them think whatever they wished as long as it got her out of there. She needed some fresh air.It had been about three weeks since her wedding, and things with Kakashi were improving—marginally. They ate dinner together now, unlike in the first week, and yesterday they had even laughed together as though nothing had changed. It was nice to think things were the same.Frustration rising, Sakura rose from where she was leaning against the wall of the pub and swore, fist connecting with the brick. Nothing was the same, she had to remind herself. She’d fucked her sensei and married him, and they were connected until the end of time, thanks to this stupid kekkei genkai…Cradling her bleeding fist, Sakura shot it full of some healing chakra, unbothered if she hurt herself. Maybe she was turning into a bit of a masochist.Maybe she just didn't care.It was in this state that Naruto’s father and ex-Hokage, Minato Namikaze, found her. She was ashamed to say it was not the first time he’d found her in such a state. “Sakura,” he said with surprise. “Why aren’t you inside with the others?”“I-I’m just....” Her voice cracked. She realised she was barely holding back tears. “It’s nothing. Please excuse me.”“Hey,” said Minato. He grabbed for her wrist and she flinched, so he held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, Sakura. It’s okay. I just want to help. You look ashen.”Well, that might have had something to do with the fact that her blood was pooling into her feet, but it was hard to tell. “I’m fine,” she excused, before realising this man had witnessed the only wedding she would ever have in her life—that miserable affair—and could no longer hold the tears at bay. “Minato-san…”He smiled kindly, blue eyes shining with concern. “Come with me, Sakura. Let’s make you one of the famous Namikaze hot chocolates.”Minato had always been one of Sakura’s strongest supporters and was the person she turned to for advice, other than Kakashi and Tsunade. He withheld judgement, made excellent conclusions, and had an airs about him that soothed Sakura’s soul. Whenever she felt she wasn’t good enough, staring at Naruto’s and Sasuke’s backs, Minato would be there to help her along. She felt even more at home in his house than she did her own, and that was saying something.“Now,” Minato started as they settled on his sofa, setting two mugs of hot chocolate on the table in front of them. “Want to tell me what this is about?”Sakura could not meet his eyes. “I don’t know if you’re the best person to talk to about this."His smile was soft as he put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his chest for a hug. “This is about Kakashi, then? Are you not happy with your marriage?”“That’s not it,” Sakura said. “Kakashi has been wonderful to me…”And it was true. He had given her space, helped her move into the building, and even allowed her a private bedroom—although it soon proved pointless when they realised how sick she got without him. Despite all he did to make her feel welcome and give her time to adjust, Sakura still felt so lost in his home, so lonely—but that wasn't his fault. She just had to remember that.“Then what is it?” Minato prodded gently. He handed her one of the mugs and she smiled gratefully, taking a sip.“Well… You know, about why we had to do this…” She trailed off, and Minato nodded. “Even though I never knew about my kekkei genkai, as soon as I found out, I at least thought I'd be able to choose who I marry."“You thought you would end up with Sasuke. Perhaps even Naruto.”“Yeah, I did. Either would have been a great choice but they both found someone before I even had a chance. Even Sasuke. I had loved him since I was a girl, but he never saw me.”Minato shifted on the sofa, slotting Sakura more tightly under his arm. For a second, Sakura wished so badly for him to be her real dad that she had to look away from him entirely, burning with thoughts unsaid. Thankfully, Minato had plenty to say in her stead."It’s not an ideal situation, I know, Sakura. But as far as husbands go—necessary or not—Kakashi is one of the better ones. He's a good man, and one you’re familiar with. He trusts you, and you him. I’m sure some aspects of this bond are trying for you”—Sakura shocked herself with a bitter laugh—“but they are also trying for Kakashi. All of this is.”“What?” Sakura shot up, spilling some hot chocolate on her dress without a care. “Has he talked to you?”“I’m his sensei, Sakura,” said Minato with a small smile. “Kakashi is finding this arrangement as trying as you are. I'm almost certain of it.”Sakura's relief melted away as she laughed again. It was just as caustic as her previous. “He doesn’t have to deal with the demands this bond is forcing on me,” she said. “The way it influences me... Sometimes I don't even feel like myself anymore. If I don't act how it wants, it hurts like nothing I've ever felt before. You know that month I spent as a hostage in Kiri? This is a much worse form of torture.”For a long while, Minato was quiet. He simply watched her like he could read the depths of her agony from her very skin. "Sakura," he started quietly, "I can't imagine what you're going through, what it feels like, but please believe me when I say that you're not alone. Kakashi feels drawn to you, unlike anything he’s ever felt. The bond is greatly influencing him.""Really?""Yes, really. I told him to tell you. The days where you tried to sleep without each other were extremely trying for him: he was restless, unkempt, jumpy. And when you rejected consummation”—Sakura blushed and turned from Minato—“Kakashi came here. He didn't trust himself around you. Mostly he was angry at the situation; he could see how much you were hurting, and he desperately wanted to help but not more than he wanted to respect your wishes. It was only when Pakkun reported that you were starting to blister from the violence of your chakra that Kakashi fetched Tsunade and returned to your side.”Looking back at Minato, Sakura felt the hurt in her heart ease. She blew out a long breath, her thoughts buzzing too quickly to make sense of. “He got Pakkun to watch me?” she asked. "The bond is really affecting him?”“He did, and it is." Minato was looking at her curiously. "Why didn’t you know he was going to be affected? Surely your family would have left you something about it?”“Well…” Sakura bit her lip. “After the Kyuubi attack, when my parents died, all the documents left from previous members with the kekkei genkai were destroyed in the fires. I only know what I do because my mum kept some notes on it in her bedroom. She was studying them, having realised that I had the gift because of my hair.” She shrugged under Minato’s inquisitive gaze. “Only Harunos with the kekkei genkai have pink hair.”“I see,” Minato replied. “Did you find out anything else from these notes?”“Only that there’s meant to be some sort of powerful advantage to the kekkei genkai, especially if the bond is strong"—as hers was with Kakashi—“but I don’t know what it is. It was only mentioned briefly. I'm sure Kakashi and I will figure it out."Minato knew her so well, having trained her almost single-handedly since she was a genin, that he knew what was bothering her without her needing to say. "I'm certain you will, Sakura. So, what's the problem, then? Have people not taken well to your relationship with Kakashi?""They have, I guess. Too well, maybe. Everyone who's asked me about it, even my friends, have thought that I got with him out of some sort of fetish. Meanwhile, the bond has been driving me to madness, and I've been all the while unaware that Kakashi has been similarly suffering. Gods, I haven't been this self-centred since I was a girl. I mean, he's probably getting more flack than I am, because he's supposedly the one taking advantage of me." Laughing wryly, Sakura cupped her face in her hands, trying to control herself. "If only they knew."Minato pulled her into another hug, both arms tight around her shoulders. "If anyone is looking at either of you unfavourably, it's because they don't really know you, Sakura. Either of you. Kakashi is not one to take advantage, and you certainly don't have a traditional student-teacher relationship, especially considering Kakashi is so young for one of his station. Tsunade would have never considered him suitable otherwise. She respected your wishes only because Kakashi was a good candidate. If he wasn't, Tsunade would have unreservedly ripped apart Sasuke's or Naruto's relationships to ensure your safety."Sakura bit her lip. "Maybe you're right," she said. "This all just happened so fast."Blessedly, Minato didn't say anything else. They sat side by side, pondering their talk, drinks slowly emptying. Conversation swayed away from Sakura’s troubles and she found herself simply enjoying Minato’s company, giggling and chatting with him. They talked briefly about his new genin team, who were apparently proving to be a handful, and of the tensions with Orochimaru’s last remaining followers. When it was time to go, Sakura stood, collecting her coat.As parting words, Minato turned to her with a serious gaze, hands on her shoulders. “Sakura,” he started. “I know you’re struggling, but try to give this thing with Kakashi a chance. You two are good friends and I’d hate to see your relationship deteriorate because of circumstance. Kushina was my greatest joy and friend. She was brave, and loyal, and fiercely protective of those around her. I see Kakashi in her, in some ways, but I also see her in you."You know he is a good man. He's not trying to take advantage of you, and it's killing him that it's come to this. Try to make the best of a bad situation, ne, Sakura-chan? A spouse is one of the best friends and lightest spots you will ever have in life, and I think that, if you and Kakashi try, you could really shine.”✿✿✿Sakura had been ruminating over Minato’s words for days. She reined in her hostility towards Kakashi, feeling guilty that she'd ever blamed him in the first place. As suggested, she really tried to make things better: she sought Kakashi out, playing games of shogi with him, or bonding over the Icha Icha books Sakura had gotten herself to read. They'd both been off duty since they married in order to let the bond settle into place but soon he'd be sent back to the field, and Sakura back to the hospital.It was approaching the end of the month when Sakura felt the same pull, the same heat, that she’d felt the day of her wedding with Kakashi. That meant only one thing: another aphrodisia was approaching. It must've been because they hadn't had sex since their wedding—the bond was forcing contact.Damn it, but Sakura didn’t know if she could do it again.It took hours to truly begin, but by the evening, Sakura was inconsolable. She'd been trying to hide it from Kakashi but the longer it went on, the more impossible that mission became.As though he felt it, Kakashi walked into her bedroom at that moment, mask pulled down. “Are you...?"Sakura nodded, gasping through a wave of potent lust. "Yeah."”I'm sorry, for what it's worth."“It’s fine, Kakashi,” Sakura said, although she wasn’t sure if it was true. “Please, just… Let’s do it, before the pain starts.”Kakashi skipped replying in favour of tugging his mask and shirt off. Although Sakura had seen him bereft of his mask before, she only really noticed it at that moment. He was mindbogglingly handsome, actually; the almost delicate look to his features was magnificently accentuated by the scar scoring down his cheek. She felt her mouth water, and she wasn’t entirely sure it was because of the aphrodisia.Either way, sex was inevitable, whether they wanted it or not. So, they did it as quickly and as quietly as possible and dressed in much the same fashion.Due to that occurrence, Sakura and Kakashi decided to have sex on a weekly basis to try and stave off the aphrodisia, although it was always mechanical and cold. The first time they did it, Sakura excused herself to the bathroom afterwards to clean up, and she was so sick of crying but did it anyway.She knew that being married to Kakashi was one of the best outcomes she could have hoped for at this point, but she couldn't stop resenting her situation. The bond manipulated her, took away her choices—no matter how desperately she tried to maintain the illusion that she was still a free woman. Most of all, she hated that she would never be able to fall in love, slowly but passionately, to a man who would propose to her and marry her because he wanted to, not because he was forced to.The weeks went on. Having realised they needed to be in close proximity of each other, Tsunade said that Kakashi could no longer take long missions away and had to remain close to Konoha. Oddly, he seemed relieved by the fact, and it was only in retrospect that Sakura realised she had actually felt his relief as if it were her own. In the middle of preparing dinner, she paused. She was gripping a plate in her hands so powerfully that it snapped it half, then crashed to the floor as she jumped.“Sakura?” asked Kakashi, rushing into the room. He ran to her and checked her over for injury, Sharingan on display. “What is it? Is it the bond? What’s happening?”“How long have you been feeling my emotions?” she asked, her voice hoarse. “A few days? Weeks? Since the beginning?”Kakashi crouched down, fixing his hitai-ate back in its place. “Well, you know…” he hedged. He started picking up the broken pieces of porcelain. “A week or two, maybe. Since we started having sex."“What, really?” Sakura thought on that. “You’re right. I’ve been getting faint feelings, and they always seem to come out of nowhere.”Kakashi wasn’t looking at her but hummed his agreement. “And just then, I felt this odd pain in my hand, like I’d been cut.” He stood up then, leaving the porcelain in a pile, and gently grasped her hand. “Did you know this happened?”Sakura looked down. There was a fairly large slice through the meatiest part of her palm, by her thumb. She frowned down at it, then looked back to Kakashi. “You felt that?” she asked.He nodded.“Huh,” she said.Maybe that was the power her mother’s old notes referred to. It was hardly anything exciting.✿✿✿A full four months after the wedding, Sakura finally saw Sasuke for the first time. She had just finished a shift at the hospital and was making her way home when she saw him in the distance, lingering near the entrance to the training grounds. As though he were waiting for her.“Sasuke!” Sakura launched herself at him, relieved and delighted when he caught her. She hadn't realised how much she'd missed him. "Where have you been!?”Sasuke’s dark eyes inspected her, then looked to one side as he pushed her back. “Hn. You’ve lost weight.”“What?” Sakura looked down at herself. It was only in the face of her childhood love that she saw what a mess she looked—that her figure had lost some of the suppleness it had when she last saw him. “Oh.”“Whatever.” He turned toward the training grounds. “You coming?”Of course she was. She followed him dutifully, although with a bit less enthusiasm. Her heart still felt light at their reunion, however, and she could barely stop the desperate urge to plough him with questions on where he had been. He stopped at the training ground they frequented when they were Team 7, and Sakura smiled at the rush of memories, looking out to the lake.“Not that it’s not lovely, but why are we here?”Sasuke glanced at her, lips pursed, then looked back out to the lake, which was glistening under the light of the late sun. “Kakashi,” he said, and Sakura’s heart jerked. “Why?”The one person that Sakura found it hard to lie to had to ask her that. None of the others had questioned her beyond the base story but of course Sasuke hadn't believed the rumours. Of course it was him that asked her this question.“We’ve been in love”—her voice wavered—“for over a year now. Since I turned 21 this year, it felt like the right time to get married.”It was silent for a moment as Sasuke considered her words, then at last he turned to her with a scoff. “Do you really expect me to believe you were falling in love with him while pining for me?”Sakura wriggled. A crow cawed overhead. “Well, I didn’t think I had a chance,” she said, albeit quieter than usual. “I didn’t think you wanted me. So I… I went to him.”As far as lies went, it wasn’t so bad; at that time, Sasuke had started pursuing Ino and hadn’t shown an ounce of interest in Sakura. It made sense for her to turn her attentions to Kakashi, one of the only other men she loved and trusted deeply.Yet Sasuke stared blankly at her, like he knew instinctively that she was lying. “You didn’t think you had a chance?”"Why are you saying it like that?" Sakura griped, suddenly so angry she couldn't feel anything else. She wanted to smash his stupid head into the ground and curse him for rejecting her, for not being her husband, for abandoning her to the mercy of her kekkei genkai. "Of course I didn't think I'd have a chance! You and Ino were fucking each other like wild dogs by the time I turned 18, after I waited years for you to return to Konoha. I—I saved myself for you for years, thinking you loved me, thinking we’d be together!”Sakura laughed bitterly. After her talk with Minato—and now this—she knew absolutely that she'd been fruitlessly blaming Kakashi all along; he was as stuck as she was. She'd been wasting energy hating him, when her true resentment should have been aimed at the absolute asshole in front of her, who let her love and pine for him for years then dropped her like a hat—for her best friend, no less! He broke her heart and yet she forgave him like it was nothing. And to top it off, when she needed her friends' support after her wedding, he disappeared.“You know what, Sasuke? Fuck you, and fuck off!"Sasuke’s eyes were burning bright as he looked at her. His gaze was fixed, his mouth upturned in a smirk. Before she could shout at him again, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in close.Sakura gasped, her heart thudding. She'd never been so close to him before. Not like this.“Now that,” Sasuke said, “was what I always liked about you.”Just like that, he was kissing her. His lips were as soft as Sakura had imagined. She melted against him instinctively, her pulse humming through her veins. The way he kissed her was harsh and insistent, as if he was fighting her. It was so different to what she was used to—but she was finally kissing Sasuke, and wasn’t that enough?In the same moment Sakura remembered her husband, a pair of hands ripped her from Sasuke, throwing her backwards. She was dizzied when saw Kakashi standing in front of her.“Sasuke,” he said stiffly.Sakura could only watch in mute shock as they stood off against one another. She looked up at Kakashi, at the strong set of his shoulders, and felt lust of all things shoot through her like wildfire. Kakashi must've felt it because every muscle in his body visibly tightened, although he didn't look back at her.“Sensei,” mocked Sasuke with a smirk. "I believe you’re interrupting.”Sakura felt sick. Had she really kissed him? Had she enjoyed it?"All I could see was you forcing yourself on a taken woman, Sasuke. Get out of here before I get really mad.”“Damn it, Kakashi, I can protect myself and my honour just fine!” snapped Sakura.Sasuke looked at her as though Kakashi wasn’t even there. “Yes, Sakura, you can,” he said. “That’s what I should have realised when I was trying to decide between you and Ino—but I realise it now. You and I would have heirs that'd make the Uchiha proud. Come with me. Leave him. And I’ll prove to you that I love you.”Kakashi’s grip on her arm tightened but he needn't have fretted: all Sakura felt when she looked at Sasuke now was sorrow."Don't lie to me," she said. "You don't love me. I don't know if you ever have. Just—just go be with Ino. She loves you, and damn it, you owe it to her to try. I hope that one day you truly do find love and peace—but it won’t be with me.”Although he looked like he wanted to protest, Sasuke said nothing as Sakura turned to Kakashi and grabbed his hand. Without a word, she whisked them away in a powerful shunshin. They reappeared in their house, smothered in uncomfortable silence. Sakura was flooded with shame. “I’m sorry,” she said. She took a calming breath. "I hadn’t seen him in months, and then he kissed me, and... And it should never have happened. I'm so sorry."“I don’t blame you,” said Kakashi.Sakura’s head snapped up, eyes reuniting with his as feeble hope bubbled inside of her. “You don’t?”“No, I don't. He came on to you. You've loved him well before we ever got involved, and you were forced into this marriage. If anything, I'm sorry for breaking you apart. I didn't intend to get possessive."There was a beat of silence. "You—you misunderstand, Kakashi. I don’t love him anymore.”Now it was Kakashi’s turn to be surprised. “What?”“I don’t love him anymore.” Sakura exhaled deeply through her nose, her long hair swaying by her waist as she took a step towards Kakashi, her husband. “I don’t think I’ve loved him since he chose Ino back then without even talking to me about it. It made me see that he didn’t care about me. I just didn’t want to admit it.”“So, earlier… That was…?”Sakura knew she was red right up to her ears but just thinking about how strong and protective Kakashi had been warmed her insides pleasantly. Her stomach tingled as she looked up at him through her lashes."That had nothing to do with Sasuke."Kakashi closed the distance between them, tugging down his mask. “It’s hard enough feeling your lust, but smelling it, too…”Displaying more hesitation than Sakura had ever seen from him, Kakashi reached up and cupped her face in his hands, carefully brushing her hair aside. His thumb drew across her bottom lip and snagged at the corner; with a pupil so large it all but overcame his eye, he watched every slight movement of her face as he gently pressed his thumb against her lip, then inside her mouth. The rest of his fingers curled around her jaw, tender and sweet.Sakura, enraptured by the shadows in his eyes, burrowed closer to him. She sealed her lips around his thumb, her eyes fluttering shut."Fuck, Sakura, what are you trying to do to me?"As fast as the lightning he wielded, Kakashi lifted her in his arms and planted his mouth against hers. The electricity between them jolted and surged as their desires met one another, so visceral that pain morphed into pleasure. His hands were in her hair, pulling, and she mewled, pressing closer. Her insides felt like they would burst, her blood charging through her veins. The bond seemed to reward her for enjoying such close contact with him, for the seal warmed pleasantly on her skin, eliciting a gasp.“Gods, you make such nice noises,” Kakashi said. “Sakura...”Sakura shut him up with another kiss, tightening her legs around his trim waist. Her clit was throbbing; she was already wet enough to take him. Her mouth trailed wantonly down his neck, where she bit at the junction of his shoulder, hard. Immediately, Kakashi thrust up against her, his back arching as he groaned. Feeling each other’s arousal licked the fire that was their own, and it was as agonizing as it was delectable. His lust was like a hammer knocking at her skull, insisting to be recognised, and Sakura welcomed it in.“Bed,” she gasped out between kisses that stole her breath. “Please.”With Sakura still held in his arms, Kakashi stumbled into the bedroom and dropped them both on the bed. He ripped off her tunic and tights, dragging kisses down her body to her heaving breasts, which were heavy with the weight of her desire. His mouth closed around one nipple, flicking it with his tongue, before finally moving to her most private area, whereupon he impatiently tugged her knickers aside and tongued at her clit.“Oh fuck, Kakashi!”Kakashi chuckled lowly, his breath fanning across her thighs. He tore her knickers off, uncaring where their remains landed, and sucked her clitoris into his mouth. Sakura’s thighs clenched on either side of his head as she moaned, bucking up into his mouth. He pinned her down, swirling his tongue around her clit over and over. He worked his mouth on her mercilessly, fingers teasing at her entrance, until Sakura’s orgasm hit her all at once. She saw stars through her blackened vision as she came crying Kakashi’s name, body tensed as it lifted from the bed. Kakashi seemed to feel her orgasm too, for he shuddered and moaned, and then he was pulling his clothes off and positioning himself at her entrance.“Wait!” Sakura said. Kakashi froze immediately, as though afraid, but Sakura simply flipped them over so that she was the one on top. She smiled deviously at his shocked look, wriggling against his erection. “My turn.”He slid in easily when she lowered herself on him. At this angle, he felt so much bigger, filling her right to the brim. Her lust returned full force and she moaned, long and loud, as she rested her palms on Kakashi’s muscled stomach and pushed herself up, then slammed back down.Kakashi swore and clutched at Sakura’s small waist, fingers digging in so tightly she’d bruise, and she loved it. He met her thrust for thrust as she curled her back and leaned down towards him, sensitive nipples brushing against his chest, their hot breaths intermingling. She could feel the way his heart hammered, saw the sweat that beaded on his forehead as he arched up towards her, growling at his lack of control.It was his turn to flip them then, and he remorselessly fucked her on her hands and knees. “You feel so good, Sakura,” he said, his voice low and ragged. “Fuck.”Sakura could feel her next orgasm coiling inside of her. She pushed back against Kakashi and reached down to thumb her clit, only to be swatted away by him with a possessive growl, who pinched and rubbed at it himself. Lost to their moans, they both came at once, Kakashi’s hard thrusts finishing them off. He pushed into her again and again even after he’d come, riding out the force of both of their orgasms. Then they collapsed together, Kakashi rolling to the side so as not to land on her.Sakura felt dizzy. Feeling yourself come was one thing; feeling the orgasm of another at the same time was extraordinary.“That was insane,” she said once her breathing had calmed down. Her hair was tangled beneath her, cheeks pink, legs shaking. “I felt everything you felt and—you were—”Kakashi laughed a slow and rumbly laugh, sending pleasant shivers up Sakura's spine. “Yeah.” He was quiet for a moment as he let the afterglow settle, but then said, “Aah… I am sorry for interrupting earlier, Sakura. When I saw you two, I just couldn’t help it.”“You’re affected by the bond too, Kakashi. It probably urged you to do something.” Sakura smiled. “Besides, I am your wife.”He laughed again. It washed over her like warm water in winter. “A married man, hm? Never thought I’d see the day.”“Yeah, well, if the women of the world knew what you could do…” Sakura cleared her throat, feeling somehow embarrassed. “With your tongue, I mean.”“Maa, maa, Sakura, you flatter me.” When he turned towards her, his gaze was sultry, lingering on her mouth. “I thought you would like that.”At his hot tone, Sakura felt her arousal rear its head, as if she hadn't just had one of the best orgasms of her life.Kakashi groaned, falling flat on his back. “Fuck, Sakura, you’re going to kill me,” he said, as though he wasn’t getting aroused, too.“Do you think…” Sakura licked her lips. “Are you up for a second round?”Kakashi grinned. “Well, since you asked so very nicely…”✿✿✿The nature of their marriage changed. They were still friends—and only friends—but they fucked like there was no tomorrow: hot and heavy, every single day. They grew closer, reading each other’s unspoken signals and acting as a single unit. And the bond seemed to be growing stronger, too.Sakura first noticed its strength when Kakashi had gone training with Gai, and she felt every hit that he took. It had fiercely interrupted her work in the lab and Shizune, with a roll of her eyes, told her to just go home—she couldn’t even pipette properly. Sakura herself had told Kakashi off for that but he had joked about being a distraction and, well, it went downhill from there. After that, there were many times where each other’s pain or emotions exacerbated even the simplest of tasks, but they soon got better at controlling themselves and learning to block it out when needed.Then the incident happened, and Sakura knew how Kakashi had felt all those weeks ago when he had seen her kissing Sasuke.It started when she was home alone one evening, reading a book. Kakashi had gone out to the pub with Genma and Tenzou a couple of hours prior, and Sakura was quite happy for some time alone, when the seal on her back abruptly began to tingle. It was followed by a horrible sickness—something malevolent churning in her gut—and an unbearable fury corroding her throat.In the mere seconds it took for Sakura to register the feelings, she was suddenly at Kakashi’s side, pulled there by an unknown force. The sight that met her made her blood rush hot. Suddenly, she was seething, hands clenched into fists at her side.Kakashi was sitting at the bar next to Genma, a drink in hand. He looked bored, and it may have been because of the woman who was standing in front of him, laughing, flirting, hand touching his bicep...“I’m married,” Kakashi said lazily, shooting a look to Genma.Genma chuckled and nodded, taking a swig of beer. “That he is,” he agreed.“So?” said the woman, a foreign shinobi from Suna. “I’m a big girl. I’m sure I could handle her. I am a jonin, you know…”Her hand was lowering, and Sakura saw red. She stormed forward, her pulse a booming war song, the seal on her back urging her to do something. The shock on all their faces when Sakura appeared and ripped the woman’s hand from Kakashi pleased her, but not enough. She found herself saying, “And I’m the Hokage’s apprentice, bitch, but you don’t see me throwing myself at married men.” Then she paused, and when she smiled, it was all teeth. “But I do threaten those who touch what’s mine, so kindly remove yourself before I do it for you.”The woman laughed. “You’re just a kid,” she said. “And a medic nin, at that.”Sakura tried to calm down, but the seal, it was burning. She wanted to be sick, and the rage inside of her was unlike anything she had ever known.“Listen—” she snarled. The seal blazed, and suddenly the woman staggered backwards, hand to her mouth. Sakura's grin was feral, unperturbed by the woman's response—but then Kakashi’s arms were around her, his breath against her ear.“Sakura,” he murmured. “Calm down. I’m safe, you’re safe, and nothing happened between us.”His words were a cooling wind. Even still, Sakura found herself scowling at the woman’s back as she scuttled off, only to realise the entire bar was quiet, staring at her.“What?” she asked, turning to Kakashi. “I only—”“You were glowing,” he explained. “Pink chakra all around you, your hair standing up as though electrified. Your eyes…” He looked at her, and she suddenly realised how dishevelled he looked, his eyes heavy with lust and inebriation. “Your eyes were pink, too. Dark.”“The seal…?” she said.“Probably,” said Kakashi. Behind him, Genma coughed, and Sakura turned to look at the man, flushing with embarrassment.“I-I’m so sorry for interrupting,” she babbled. “I just felt—I saw—” Everyone in the pub was still staring at her, so she turned to them, her vexation resurfacing. “What?” she snarled, and they all returned to their business, quickly resuming conversation.Genma whistled, low and long. “You are—something, that's for sure,” he said. “You should’ve married me, Sakura. I could show you a good time.”“Not a chance,” said Kakashi, guiding Sakura closer towards him. “But he’s right. You are certainly…” The rest of his sentence was left unsaid, but the desire that flared inside of him was unmistakable.Sakura's mouth went dry from the way he was looking at her. She licked her lips, eyelashes fluttering, and said, “Home…?”Kakashi needn’t be asked twice. “Later, Genma,” he said, and they were gone in the blink of an eye.Genma, left alone, huffed. That Sakura was crazy, he thought; but then he smirked, and found himself conceding that Kakashi sure was one lucky bastard.✿✿✿They spent many weeks at the training grounds after that, trying to replicate the effects from that day. Sakura attempted to mimic the feeling her seal had given off with little success, but she was getting there. It was on one of these days, wherein Sakura aimed punches at Kakashi with her unimaginable strength and he dodged while turning pages in his book, that Naruto and Sasuke appeared.Sakura didn’t sense them—tied up in trying to activate her seal—until there was a shout behind her. “Wow! Sakura-chan, cool tattoo!”Kakashi caught her wrist as she turned in shock, almost whacking him in the face. She had forgotten she was wearing a crop top, so her lower back—and thus, part of the seal— was on display. She suddenly felt as pink as the hair she released from its ponytail, using it to cover some of her back.“Oh, hey!” Sakura said. She was glad Kakashi was at her side. “What are you guys doing here?”Naruto shrugged. “Sasuke said he wanted to talk to you, so I said I’d come, no matter how many times he punched me for it.” His smile was beaming and, despite herself, Sakura laughed.Kakashi’s hand was trailing through her long hair which, in the seven months they had been married, had grown almost to her hips. His motion was out of sight of Naruto and Sasuke’s vision—for all they knew, Kakashi was just reading Icha Icha, as normal—but Sakura felt oddly nervous about it anyway.“Kakashi and I were just training. Weren’t we, Kakashi?” Sakura elbowed him discretely and he grunted.“Oh, yeah,” he agreed. “Training.”Sasuke looked unimpressed. “What’s with the tattoo?”“Oh, er...” Sakura looked at Kakashi, who was absolutely no help, then faced the inquisitive eyes of Naruto and Sasuke. “Well, instead of rings, Kakashi and I got—tattoos?”There was a silence in which Sasuke gazed at her incredulously and Naruto’s mouth flopped open. Then Naruto exclaimed, “That’s SO AWESOME! Maybe Hinata and I should do that when we get married, dattebayo!”Sakura laughed but Sasuke appeared to find no humour in Naruto's candidness. Instead, he harrumphed and said, “A bit permanent, isn’t it?”The laughter drained from the air. Naruto slapped Sasuke’s arm but the Uchiha was unrepentant, so Kakashi stepped in. “Maa, maa, Sasuke, I don’t think it’s more permanent than marriage, is it?”Sasuke flushed despite himself as Naruto cheered on his sensei, and Sakura smiled. She hadn’t seen Naruto or the gang as much since her marriage to Kakashi but it was to be expected—they were all busy with their own lives. Still, she missed them dearly, and made a note to talk to them more.“Sakura,” said Sasuke, interrupting her thoughts. "A word?”The forced casualness of their encounter thus far cracked a little, but Kakashi encouraged her with a push to her lower back. “Go on, Sakura. I’ll try not to get too lonely without you.”Sasuke snorted rudely but but Naruto said, “I’ll keep you company, sensei!”“Aah, my cute student! Thanks, Naruto.”As Sakura followed Sasuke off to one side, Naruto started barraging Kakashi with questions about his tattoo, and Sakura grinned. Served him right, she thought. Still, Sasuke was looking at her, having stopped under a tree about fifty yards from the boys, so she pushed her amusement down.“What?” she asked, arms crossed over her chest.It had been three months since their last encounter and, while they’d seen each other since, it had been as a part of the larger group. He hadn’t said a word to her apart from what was necessary and, while it stung, she treated him in much the same manner. He had been an unapologetic idiot, after all, and treated her like—“I’m sorry,” he said haltingly, and Sakura stood at attention.If she was gaping—well, it was hardly her fault. “You’re sorry? Really?”“Yes.” Sasuke’s jaw fixed as he looked away, just past her shoulder. “I disrespected you and your marriage, and I… wasn’t a good friend.”“And you cheated on Ino,” reminded Sakura helpfully.“All right. Look, I wasn’t thinking. I was just so angry that you married Hatake out of the blue, without ever telling us, telling me.”For a second, Sakura had no words. Then she found them, along with her indignation. “What?” she said. “You made your choice, remember? I gave you plenty of chances!”Sasuke was looking at her, red eyes blazing, lips down-turned. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it,” he said. “I thought you’d—”“What?” Sakura retorted. “You thought I’d wait around for you forever in case things with Ino didn’t work out? Throw myself into your arms and push out two pretty little Uchiha children at your behest?”From the way Sasuke’s jaw tightened, Sakura knew she wasn’t far off the mark. “Sakura, will you keep your voice down?”But Sakura shook her head, hair tickling her bare waist. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” she said. “I really thought we could have worked out, but you chose Ino without even speaking a word to me—without even telling me your decision! After you made me believe for years…” Her eyes were stinging, and she gripped her hair in frustration. “You don’t get to be angry because I didn’t wait my entire life for you, Sasuke. It doesn’t work like that!”Sasuke took a step towards her but she took a step back, putting a hand on his chest to keep him at bay. “Sakura, I’m telling you, I’m sorry. I should have seen what I was throwing away before. I was in a bad place, and I needed someone less familiar. Ino was that person.”“Well,” said Sakura. Her hands clenched into fists as she tried not to let her tears fall. “You’re too late. I don’t love you anymore, Sasuke, and I don’t think I have for a long time.” She turned back to Kakashi and Naruto, who were arguing about Jiraiya’s books, before saying, “You and Ino are good together, and I’ve seen how happy she makes you. Don’t ruin it.”“Listen, I—”But Sakura shook her head again and jogged back towards her friends, forcing laughter as she admitted that she had read every single one of Jiraiya’s books. Naruto moaned and said she was turning into Kakashi which, for some reason, made Sakura feel a bizarre sense of joy. Sasuke approached them all, then, mumbling something about Jiraiya’s books being nothing but a fantasy, but Sakura didn’t really hear him. She was too busy looking at her husband who, after a moment, smiled charmingly at her. Sakura felt herself smile back.It was time to begin again, she realised. And she already had a great head start.✿✿✿It was girl’s night. Ino, Hinata and Sakura were sat on the sofa, toenails freshly painted. They were buried under blankets, feet sticking out the end, as they listened to Ino chatter on about the latest gossip. It was nice to take their minds off the trials of everyday life, so they strayed far away from normal topics—particularly, the recent mission to apprehend a group of Orochimaru supporters that ended in tragedy—and focused instead on silly things.“Tenten’s got a new girlfriend,” Ino was saying. “Apparently she’s from Suna. Poison mistress.” She sniffed. “Perfect for Tenten.”“Yeah,” Hinata giggled. “Neji was muttering about it. I think he still has a bit of a crush on her.”“Oh, geez. He's the one that rejected her.”Sakura was happy to listen to them, keeping her inner eye on Kakashi, who at the moment was feeling contentment. He was having a bit of a guy’s night with Minato, Naruto and Sasuke, and she was pleased for him. She knew Minato still got sad about Kushina; after giving up his position as Hokage to properly take care of Naruto and help him deal with being a jinchuriki, he had a lot more time to think about her and, while Sakura was sure it got easier with time, it was hard to let go of someone as vibrant as Kushina Uzamaki. Especially if you had loved her as sincerely as Minato had.“What about you, Forehead? Would you bang Minato?”“What!?” Gods, Sakura couldn’t believe she’d checked out of the conversation for two seconds and missed such an important change in topic. “I—you do realise I’m married, right?”“Ugh,” said Ino. “You’re so boring.”Hinata laughed again, her cheeks rosy from the bottle of rum they’d been sharing throughout the night. “I’ve only ever loved Naruto,” she admitted, “but even I think his dad is sort of tasty.”Sakura’s mouth dropped open. “Hinata!” she said. She was scandalised. Who knew the Hyuuga had it in her?Apparently, Ino did, because she clapped Hinata on the back and laughed. “And I know he made a lot of fucked up decisions, but wasn’t Itachi just gorgeous? He got about 100 times hotter after the whole ‘I sacrificed my happiness for the sake of Konoha’ thing.”“Well, you do love a dark hero,” Sakura said wryly. It’s why Ino had always been attracted to Sasuke. “But you never would have had a chance. He was with Kisame Hoshigaki, who is decidedly more shark-like than you, and has a penis, to boot.”Ino laughed. “Hey! I could grow a penis.”“And become a shark?” asked Hinata shyly.There was silence, and then the three of them were laughing so hard that they collapsed into one another, Ino rolling off the sofa.“My nails!” she gasped, seeing how they had smudged, and began laughing all over again.It took a few minutes, but eventually the girls settled down. They had a good chat for a few more hours. It was nearing one in the morning when Sakura went to grab them more drinks from the kitchen. She was just in the middle of uncapping the bottle when a pair of arms snaked around her waist—but she didn’t panic. Something inside of her told her it was Kakashi. Besides, who else would approach her like that?Keeping her voice low so the girls wouldn’t hear her, Sakura resumed pouring the drinks. “When did you get in?” she asked.Kakashi hummed against her neck, nuzzling at her ear. “Just now,” he murmured. “Through the window.”His breath smelled of Minato’s Mojitos—a special concoction Minato created himself, and that Sakura had to admit was one of the nicest drinks she had ever had. “Can’t you just use the door?”"Hm. Not as fun."Kakashi’s lips were hot against the curve of her jaw. She felt him smile through his mask, pressing his hips into her backside.“You’re really drunk, aren’t you?”“Maybe,” was all he replied. He flipped Sakura around so that she was facing him, and she muffled her laughter, looking up at him with tired fondness.“Kakashi,” she said, “Ino and Hinata are still here.”He either didn’t hear her or didn’t care because, the next thing Sakura knew, his mask pooling around his neck and his lips were on hers, his eyelashes tickling her cheeks. Sakura made a startled noise but settled into the kiss, enjoying the way his arms pressed around her, caging her in.It had been around a week since they had last had sex, due to their conflicting and busy schedules. Aphrodisia had not yet hit but Sakura was starting to feel fidgety and unfairly aroused on a daily basis, getting distracted at the most unfortunate times by the tingling of her seal and a white-hot pulse of lust that licked her from head to toe. The more she touched and explored Kakashi, the more often her aphrodisia plagued her—but she couldn't say she minded as much as she expected to.Sakura was just starting to truly commit herself to the kiss—arms around Kakashi’s neck, mouth open, arousal cradling her like a hammock in springtime—when Ino shouted from the other room.“Sakura! Where the hell are our drinks?”Sakura withdrew as far as Kakashi would let her, ignoring his muffled chuckles. “They’re—they’re coming!” she said. “Just… need a little more time to… find the rum?”“Ugh,” was Ino’s reply.Thinking that was that, Kakashi swept her into another kiss, all teeth and tongue, settling pleasantly in Sakura’s stomach like warm tea with honey. She moaned quietly under her breath, her hands wading through the storm of his hair, tugging lightly at its tallest waves. Then Ino’s voice drifted through the doorway again.“So, seriously, Sakura, you’ve kept so tight-lipped about Kakashi,” she said.Sakura suppressed a gasp as Kakashi took her bottom lip in his mouth and sucked.“I’m so sick of waiting! I want all the details. I was never pissed about the fact you kept it all hidden and had some secret wedding." Sakura could hear the roll in Ino's eyes, Hinata snickering in the background. “But c’mon, I’m your best friend. That’s gotta count for something!”It took a moment for Sakura to pull away from Kakashi’s lips and, while he pouted, he took the opportunity to pepper kisses across her throat as she spoke. “Uh, yeah." Sakura's head was fuzzy as she tried to recall what Ino actually said. “What do you wanna know?”There was excited whispering, and then a wash of questions:“Is he big?”“What’s he like as a husband?”“How’s the sex?”“When’d you know you loved him?”Kakashi was nibbling at her pulse point, no doubt bringing all her blood to the surface. Sakura tried to suppress her excited laughter. “D’you really have to know?” she called back.There were some offended shouts and some guilt-trips, so Sakura pushed down her embarrassment and answered.“Okay, okay,” she said, “Ah…”Kakashi’s hands were hot against her skin as he reached under her top and smoothed over the muscles of her stomach, then glided a finger under the rim of her bra.“Yeah, he’s big, and the sex is great but"—she gasped as Kakashi’s chuckles reverberated down her spine—"but that’s all I’m saying on that. He’s an amazing and supportive husband, although an absolute shit sometimes." Kakashi bit her especially hard on the neck for that one. "But I’m lucky to have him. And Hinata, I… I guess I’ve always loved him, on some level.”That, at least, was true; despite Kakashi’s distractions, Sakura felt she’d given good answers, without having to lie—although saying such things in front of Kakashi made her feel dreadfully chagrined.Unfortunately, inebriated as the couple were as they returned to kissing each other fervently, they failed to notice that the two kunoichi from the lounge had made their way to the kitchen, fed up of waiting for drinks that never came. Kakashi had picked Sakura up and placed her on the counter, one hand tickling the skin beneath her breasts, the other drawing across the edge of her trousers as Sakura fumbled with his jacket, popping buttons despite the voice of reason telling her it was a bad idea.“Oh my god,” said Ino. Her voice was so close that Sakura jerked away from Kakashi, whose mask was already covering his face, as if by its own accord.There was a silence as Sakura righted her top and tried to jump off the counter; Kakashi, however, wouldn’t let her, and only smirked as she levelled him with her best glower.“I-I’m so sorry, Sakura!” Hinata squeaked. Her cheeks were dark, but her eyes were sparkling. “We didn’t mean to interrupt. We didn’t realise…”Ino had a completely different opinion on the events. “Holy shit, that was hot, Sakura! Where the hell have you been keeping that!?”Sakura tried to look as poised as was possible in such a compromising position. “You two should be waiting on the sofa,” she said, trying to emanate calm.Kakashi laughed. It was low and rumbled in his chest, and it made Sakura want to devour him. “Maa, maa, Sakura, I don’t mind putting on a show.”Oh, she wanted to hit him—but then Ino was talking and she instead glared at his innocently smiling face.“Well, Kakashi,” Ino said, flipping her hair flirtatiously. “I certainly would not be averse to a demonstration of your skills.”“Hands off,” snapped Sakura.Ino raised a wicked eyebrow, and Hinata giggled.Kakashi spread his arms wide, which Sakura took advantage of to jump down from the counter. “Aah, Sakura-chan, it’s so cute when you get jealous,” he teased. “Do I need to remind you again exactly who I married?”Under his intense eyes, Sakura felt herself shiver, her heart thundering in her ears. “I wouldn’t mind a refresher,” she croaked. Kakashi grinned, all sharp edges, and their observers fanned themselves. Realising they were still being watched, Sakura cleared her throat and looked to her friends. “Well,” she said. “We’re out of rum and… and it’s getting late.”“Yeah,” said Ino. She crossed her arms, daring Sakura to say it.“Maybe you should head on home?”Hinata and Ino shared a look, then turned to face Sakura with equal amusement. “One last question,” Ino bargained, “and then we’ll go.”Sakura tried the puppy-dog look, then tried weakening Hinata with her eyes, but neither worked. In defeat, she turned to Kakashi, who only shrugged.“Fine, fine, fine,” she muttered. “What is it?”She was surprised, indeed, when Ino turned to Kakashi with a smirk. “All right, fair is fair, big boy. It's your turn to talk." By her side, Hinata nodded, looking pleased. "So, what do you like most about Sakura?”Although Kakashi did well to conceal his surprise, Sakura could see he was still caught off guard, made all the worse by his intoxicated state of mind. He scratched the back of his head, and now it was his turn to cast Sakura a pleading glance, to which Sakura simply smiled sunnily. He turned sheepishly to Ino and Hinata.“Aah, well,” he started. “I suppose… her honesty.” If he thought that would satisfy the girls, he had another thing coming, for they kept looking at him with expectant eyes. He sighed and continued, “Sakura’s strength has always been in her emotions—she wears her heart on her sleeve, and instead of making her weaker, it builds her up.” He paused. “She can crush me in a spar, cry about it when she almost kills me, then heal me with more proficiency than anyone I know.” His cheeks were pink, and it could have been the alcohol, but Sakura suspected it was the sudden seriousness his tone had taken. “Satisfied?”It seems they were, for they turned and said their goodbyes over their shoulders, but not without a few innuendos. Sakura made certain to say goodbye and show them out, taking care not to reveal how affected she was by what Kakashi had said. He was drunk, she reminded herself, so it was probably an exaggeration. Still, Kakashi had always been an honest drunk, and he’d just said some of the nicest things anyone had ever said about her.Her heart beating in her mouth, Sakura turned to Kakashi, words piling up in her head. “Kakashi…” she whispered.But he was already asleep, passed out face-first on the sofa and snoring softly. Sakura tried to ignore the softening inside of her, but it was hard when all she wanted to do was cuddle up and join him.✿✿✿“Kakashi, get up.” It was incorrigibly early in the morning, and yet there Sakura was, shoving at her husband’s chest in a vain attempt to wake him. “You’ve got to leave soon, and if you’re late, Tenzou will have your head.”With a long groan, Kakashi buried his head under his pillow. Flicks of his silver hair stuck up every which way, and Sakura resisted a smile. “Five more minutes,” he muttered. “Gotta help this cat…”“I’m standing right here. Your excuses won’t work.”Kakashi grumbled but looked up at her this time. He was bleary-eyed, his cheek creased with pillow marks. “Why are you up?”Sakura rolled her eyes, trying to appear annoyed but missing the mark. Kakashi in the morning was unreasonably hard to resist. “I was packing a bag for you, baka. You’ve got a mission to get to. C’mon.”He blinked. Once. Twice. Then he sat up, slowly, and noticed the breakfast Sakura had prepared sitting on the bedside table. “What are you…?”“You’re always late,” Sakura explained, trying not to blush, “so I thought I’d make things easier for you. Get up. I’ve got to leave for work soon, and you’re meeting Tenzou at the gates in ten minutes. I’ve left you a bag by the door. It should have everything you’ll need.”“Sakura—thank you,” said Kakashi. He was finally sitting up, pushing himself out of bed.Sakura really did blush then, rubbing the back of her head. “It was nothing. You make breakfast for me all the time.” She tried not to think about the bento she’d prepared for him and tucked in his bag lest she make a fool of herself. Instead, she threw Kakashi his clothes and left the room, calling out behind her, “Fifteen minutes!”Kakashi, surprisingly, was dressed, fed and waiting by the front door in ten minutes, which was a miracle. It may have been because he didn’t want to make Sakura late for work, but she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.“Great!” she chirped. “Let’s go.”Konoha was bustling and bright, even as winter neared. Sakura was wrapped up warm in a scarf knitted by Naruto, who had not known what else to get her for her last birthday. It was lumpy, holey, and a lurid orange colour, yet she loved it all the same. It added a bit of colour to her drab uniform but clashed horrendously with her hair.“You look like a lollipop,” Kakashi said, hands in his pockets, bag slung over his shoulder. When Sakura squawked indignantly, he raised his hands in defence. “Maa, maa, a very pretty lollipop,” he said.Sakura’s lips pursed. “You’re lucky we’re married,” she said, “else I’d punch you.”“You punch me anyway,” Kakashi replied cheerfully.To punctuate his point, Sakura did punch him, and winced when she felt the force of her strength on her own arm. “Okay, ow,” she said. “That hurts.”Kakashi was chuckling, and Sakura resisted the urge to hit him again. “That’s what you get for hurting the person you share pain with.”“Yeah, yeah,” said Sakura, rolling her eyes. They reached the hospital so she turned to walk inside when Kakashi grabbed her wrist. Surprised, she looked back at him.“Sakura,” he said, “Thanks. I mean it.”Sakura gulped. She looked from his face to his hand wrapped around her wrist, then to the floor, unable to meet his eyes. “Y-Yeah,” she said. “Of course. You’re welcome.”Kakashi let her go. “I should be back by Thursday morning. Are we still on for dinner at Minato’s?”Sakura nodded, smiled, and forced herself to relax. “Yeah, of course,” she said. “I think Tsunade’s coming, too.”With a shrug, Kakashi waved as though to leave, then hesitated. He took Sakura by the chin, forcing her to meet his eyes, and kissed her softly. “I’ll see you soon,” he murmured.Lips tingling, eyes wide, Sakura only nodded, watching as he jumped up on the rooftops and walked away. With a deep breath, she entered the hospital and signed in, trying desperately to ignore the erratic thumping of her heart.✿✿✿Minato’s house was warm, much warmer than it had a right to be, considering the awful thunderstorm outside. Sakura was sat at the table next to Kakashi with Tsunade and Naruto sitting opposite, and Minato at the head of the table. They were mid-meal, laughing at a story Minato was regaling them with about his first few weeks dating Kushina; Naruto’s eyes were sparkling.Hinata was unable to be there because she had clan business to attend to and, while her presence was missed, Sakura was also glad for it. It meant she got to spend some private time with her most precious people, feeling safe and happy, munching contentedly on her yakitori and rice.“I remember that,” Kakashi rumbled, deep voice reverberating throughout the room. “Kushina could be insane sometimes, couldn’t she?”Tsunade snorted. “The woman wasn’t called the Red-Hot Habanero for nothing,” she said. “I think she’s found a spiritual successor in Sakura.”Sakura rolled her eyes. Kushina was a brave, amazing woman who gave her life for Konoha, and probably didn’t cry nearly as much as Sakura tended to. She doubted she was anything like Naruto’s mother.“Don’t look like that, Sakura! It’s true.” Minato was smiling at her over his glass of wine. “I bet if Kushina were here, she would have forced you on to Naruto, for all the good it would do.”Naruto made a face and Sakura laughed. Kakashi said, “Wouldn’t that be a disaster!” and Tsunade threw her sake back.Minato shrugged. “You never know,” he said.They continued talking as they finished their main course and moved onto dessert: a couple of daifuku each with a side of fresh fruit. Naruto scoffed his down, to Minato’s displeasure, and Sakura found herself laughing again, feeling lighter than she had all year. She finally felt like she was in a good place: her friendship with Kakashi was blossoming; she had just made a major breakthrough at the hospital; the almost-war with Orochimaru was over; and her relationships were strengthening each and every day. Even she and Sasuke had forgiven each other, chatting like they used to.“You did a great job on your last mission by the way, Kakashi,” said Tsunade suddenly, leaning back in her chair and cradling her glass. “Even Umino Iruka said your report was better than usual, and only a day late.”Kakashi hummed, swallowing a spoonful of fruit. “Well, I had help.” He winked at Sakura, who flushed up to her ears and busied herself with taking a drink. “Sakura may or may not have forced me into it.”Tsunade’s gaze was heavy as it fixed on Sakura, and she smirked. “Oh? That so? Didn’t pin you as an authoritative one, Sakura.”Sakura choked on her wine and rapidly turned purple in the face as Tsunade laughed obnoxiously in the background. Kakashi had to whack her on the back to help her cough it up.Minato simply sighed. “Naruto,” he said, “could you go get Sakura a towel, please? And bring out another bottle of wine.”“But—!”“Now, please, Naruto.”Naruto got up and did as asked, leaving the room. As he left, Minato turned to Tsunade, raising an unimpressed eyebrow, although his lips were showing the beginnings of a smile.“Really?” he asked. “You just had to?”Tsunade gave him an innocent look. “What? I’m sure Sakura doesn’t mind us talking as friends about her rampant sex life. Do you, Sakura?”Sakura was still coughing up wine, but squeezed out a, “I’d rather we not, shishou.”Kakashi himself even had a bit of a blush on his cheeks. “Maa, maa, we’re still eating.”“Yes, quite right." The sparkling of Minato's preternaturally blue eyes left Sakura feeling discomfited. “It’s a conversation we should have later.”“That’s not what I—”Naruto returned then, plonking the wine bottle in the middle of the table and helping Sakura wipe up the mess. He was mumbling something under his breath about not being a child, but he smiled at Sakura when their eyes met, and she smiled back.“Right,” said Minato, once everyone had finished their desserts and was sitting back contentedly. "If everyone’s done, I think it’s time we retire to the living room.”With a murmur of agreement, they all rose from the table as one—but Kakashi hesitated. It was only Sakura's watchful eyes that caught the slight wince he made as he stood, pressing a hand into his side. Sakura’s eyes narrowed as, with her fearsome strength, she gripped his arm.“Something the matter, dear?”Kakashi whistled nonchalantly. “Aah, no? Just going to sit down.”“You’re injured,” Sakura said.“No,” deflected Kakashi petulantly.Tsunade intervened then, shoving Kakashi out of the room and onto the sofa, with the demand for him to take his shirt off. He cast pleading looks at Naruto and Minato—neither of whom did anything but smile savagely—and then to Sakura. For the first time ever, she was immune to his puppy-dog eyes, so he sighed in resignation and began removing his shirt. Although she was extremely professional, Sakura sat back and let Tsunade do the work, aware of what Tsunade or Minato might say if she were to touch Kakashi’s naked torso in front of them.Tsunade was battering Kakashi with questions about the injury, which was apparently a broken rib he’d received earlier that day in a spar with Gai. Sakura wondered how she hadn’t felt it, only to realise he must have been suppressing their connection. They'd agreed to block each other out whenever it was necessary to stop from distracting each other, yet Sakura felt betrayed: he wasn't protecting her from pain; he was stopping her from realising he was in pain in the first place.Sakura must have been projecting something because Kakashi shot her a look, appearing as though he meant to approach her. He was quickly monopolized by Tsunade, however, who shoved him back down with a shout. Sakura took the moment to seal herself off from him, needing a safe, solitary moment alone with her thoughts.Apparently, the universe had other ideas.“You’re getting along,” Minato said quietly. Sakura hadn't even realised he was next to her. “You’re trying.”Sakura huffed. “He’s always been a good friend. I didn’t want to lose him.”Naruto was acting as Tsunade’s assistant, which really meant being her verbal punching bag as she healed Kakashi’s wound without pain relief. Poor Naruto had to hold out his hand, accepting the bone-crushing squeeze Kakashi gave it under the painful ministrations of the Slug Sannin.Minato looked amused. “Friendship? Are you sure that’s what it is?”“Well, what else could it be?” asked Sakura in confusion. “I mean, sure, we have to engage in”—her ears went red—"intimate activities for the sake of the seal, but otherwise our relationship is as it has always been.”Minato laughed. He had always had such a soft laugh, to which his bright eyes danced along. Truth be told, Sakura had a small crush on Minato when she was younger, swayed by his good looks and kindness. She always got caught up in fantasies about him, even as she pined for Sasuke. Even now she felt it, but it was just remnants of what used to be.“Look, Sakura, I’m not trying to tell you what you feel,” said Minato, “but you and Kakashi have been married for almost nine months now. Obviously, considering the grand scheme of things, that’s not much but…” He sighed, looking as though he was trying to piece the words together. “It’s hard to live with someone and have sex with someone you trust implicitly—as you trust each other—without starting to feel something. You guys are constantly around each other. Training, walking each other to work, talking way up into the night...”Sakura was watching Kakashi as he lay back on the sofa, muscles rippling as they clenched in pain. She found herself concerned as she watched, then laughed internally as he gave her a thumbs up, only to be whacked across the head by Tsunade.“See,” said Minato. “That, right there. That look. I know that look. I used to give Kushina that look all the time.”“Minato-san...” Sakura shook her head and took a grounding breath. “We’re friends.  We always have been. Closer than most, sure,” Sakura conceded, “but friends. Yes, we might find each other attractive and—and have sex more often than necessary, but Kakashi just…”What was she going to say? Kakashi drives me crazy? Turns me on? Helps me relax? Makes me laugh? Turns my chest all soft and heavy at the same time? Makes me feel one thousand times better whenever I see him?
Makes me happy I’m spending the rest of my life with him?
“Oh,” Sakura said, her voice shaky. She avoided looking at both Kakashi and Minato, instead taking a long gulp of her wine. She knew how she wanted to finish that sentence, but she didn't dare say it aloud.It needn't be said; Minato smiled, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Well, if you didn’t just realise that you’re in love with the guy, I’ll eat my own hat. You need another drink?” he asked, and all Sakura could do was nod, holding out her glass.Later that night, when all the goodbyes were said, Kakashi and Sakura began their walk home. Sakura was shivering, so Kakashi flung his arm around her shoulders to help keep her warm, pulling her in close. Now that she knew she was in love with him, it felt as though she responded even more viscerally to his touch, his voice, his smile. She closed her eyes and blocked her emotions from reaching him as she had done earlier that night, afraid of what he might find. How had she not realised before how lost she would have felt without him? They were a finely tuned machine, picking each other up and making each other shine.“What was that about, earlier?” Kakashi asked, his hot breath dissipating in the cold night air. The rain had stopped, thankfully, but the ground was soaked, and they had to avoid the bigger puddles as they walked. The wet leaves sloshed underfoot. “With Minato-sensei, I mean.”Sakura cleared her throat, turning away from him. “He was just giving me some advice,” she said. “Nothing to worry about.”“Aah.”They continued walking. If Sakura squeezed more tightly against Kakashi’s side and breathed in his smell, she would never admit it.“Listen,” Kakashi started again. “I’m sorry about blocking you out and not telling you I was injured. I didn’t want you to worry.”Begrudgingly, Sakura understood. She looked up at him through her eyelashes, green eyes wide as they joined with his. He was already looking down at her, mask up, hitai-ate covering his Sharingan. There was something about the look on his face that she couldn’t place.“I understand, Kakashi,” she said softly. “It just hurt, thinking that you’d intentionally blocked me out.”Kakashi hummed, looking forward. “Like you're doing now, you mean?”Okay, Sakura could see how she deserved that, but it still stung. “I just didn’t want you to… feel what I was feeling during my conversation with Minato. It was private. For him.”“Hm. And what about now?”“What?”“Why are your barriers still up now?” Kakashi repeated.Sakura tried very hard not to panic. “Oh. Well. I just… didn’t take them down?”Kakashi’s fingers were drawing circles on her arm, warm and enticing. His face was close to hers, close enough she could make out the tiny flecks of green in his dark eyes. She hadn't even realised they'd stopped in the middle of the empty street.It was late at night, and all the residents were asleep. The night sky was clear and unburdened as Sakura inched closer to Kakashi, trembling under the whip of the wind. He allowed it, embracing her close to his chest. She could hear his heart beat under her ear, strong and certain. It comforted and scared her all at once.How had she not realised? She loved this man. She loved him.“Could you take them down now, Sakura?” Kakashi asked lowly. The way he said her name—how had she never noticed it before? “I dislike not having you there. It doesn’t feel right.”It was hard to refuse such a sincere request. Sakura tried, but when he put his chin on the top of her head and kissed her there, briefly, she crumbled and opened up her mind to him. She hoped she was masking her feelings well enough, and that seemed to be the case, for Kakashi simply sighed happily and pulled her back under his arm, continuing their walk onward.“Thanks,” he said. “That’s much better.”His gaze was lingering on her, warm and searching, but when she turned to meet it, she saw nothing that made her panic. So, Sakura smiled back at him and, under the glow of the moon, allowed herself to have this moment. Just this one, where she could pretend that they married because they wanted to be, and that Kakashi loved her as she loved him: deeply and unconditionally.✿✿✿Sakura supposed it was inevitable that she would fall in love with Kakashi. She could feel his every pain, his every emotion, and their connection had gotten so strong that she always knew when he was nearby without sensing him with her chakra. Her body was attuned into him, and the seal rewarded her with pleasure for every new, tender moment they shared. They were irrevocably bonded, and Kakashi felt it, too.That wasn’t even considering the history they had together.Yes, Sakura admitted, it was inevitable that she should love him. That didn’t make the fall any easier, however, whenever she caught herself thinking about him at work and wishing for him to be there. She kept daydreaming about the way he touched her—not sexually, but sensually, just touching her because he wanted to. Sakura found that, with each and every day, she was craving that contact, that relationship with Kakashi. She wanted it so desperately some days that she could taste it, and she was amazed Kakashi hadn’t noticed—or, if he had, hadn’t brought it up. Perhaps he dismissed it as something else entirely. The thought was as relieving as it was disheartening.Whenever something happened, good or bad, it was Kakashi she wanted to tell. Whenever she had a bad day, it was Kakashi she wanted to turn to. She found herself looking in shops and finding things that made her think of him, and the ache when they were apart was getting worse. She was at his mercy, and it was so sweet. If she'd thought she loved Sasuke, it was nothing compared to this.“Hey,” said a voice as she stared out the window of her favourite tea shop. “Sakura. Are you okay?”It was Shikamaru. Sakura almost laughed for the irony of it. “Hey,” she said back, forcing a wan smile. “Haven’t seen you properly in a while.”“Yeah, not since you first got married.” Shikamaru inclined his head to the spare seat at her table and Sakura nodded, so he sat down, placing his own plate of dango in front of him, along with a cup of fruit tea. “How’s that going?”Sakura swallowed. “Oh. Good. You know.”Shikamaru was the smartest shinobi in the village, even smarter than his father. His eyes were penetrating, as though drawing her secrets out from her skin. For just a moment, his gaze was unsettling—then he blinked, and it was gone.“I like your hair,” he said. “You look happier.”“Thanks, Shikamaru. I figured I needed a change.”Sakura had taken to braiding her long hair into a plait. That day, she'd woven a dark ribbon from her mother’s old sewing kit through it, liking the idea of carrying a part of her mother with her. It was comforting to imagine her mother sitting at their old table, sewing jumpers and dresses and all sorts of wonderful things that she sold at the market. Traditionally, the Haruno were a shinobi clan, but faded into obscurity after the First Great Shinobi War that resulted in the clan being all but wiped out. For their survival, they turned to merchantry and lived simple lives.It hadn’t worked. Sakura was arguably the last of her clan and, if not, then the others didn’t know of their heritage.“So, how’s your seal doing? Did your marriage to Hatake work or what?”Dango half-way to her lips, mouth open, Sakura froze, her eyes upturning to meet Shikamaru’s. He was watching her closely but without care, hands wrapped loosely around his mug.“What?" she asked, dumfounded.Shikamaru rolled his eyes. “Troublesome,” he muttered. “Yeah, I know about your kekkei genkai, Sakura. When Naruto mentioned you had a cool new tattoo, I worked it out. One of the Naras down the line was married to a Haruno. Said they had a powerful bond, marked by a seal on the woman’s back.”Despite herself, Sakura’s lips twitched up into a smile. “Figures that you should work it out, Shikamaru.”He grunted. “So? Tell me about it.”With only a moment’s hesitation, Sakura explained everything that she knew. She glossed over some of the more private aspects but, by the end of it, Shikamaru appeared thoroughly interested, which was a rare look on the man.“So, if it’s all working out okay, and you’re trying to work out how to activate"—he smirked—“Super-Saiyan mode, why do you look so lost? Seems everything’s fine to me.”Well, he didn’t miss a thing, did he? “I’ve come to a… realisation. But I can think it through by myself.”"Forgive me for saying so, but if you need to talk about your marriage, who better than the man who took your virginity?”"What does that have to do with it? If anything, that might mean you're the worst candidate.”Shikamaru shrugged. “Maybe so, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to remind you that you once trusted me enough to give yourself to me. Whatever this is, I’ll keep it safe.”It had been years ago. Sakura was eighteen and Sasuke had shucked her to take Ino as his girlfriend instead. Shikamaru had caught her in a moment of rage; despite what people thought, Sakura was no shrinking violet, and she resented having saved herself for Sasuke only to be treated like crap. Shikamaru had sympathised, having never been fond of Sasuke anyway, and so it just fell into place.Shikamaru had been surprisingly sweet and thoughtful, so much so that they shared a bed together countless times. There was a point around her nineteenth birthday that she even considered approaching him and explaining that, at twenty-one, her kekkei genkai would demand she take a husband and that she wanted it to be him. Then Temari had declared her love and, since Sakura and Shikamaru weren’t serious, Shikamaru had accepted.“Well,” began Sakura, "I've gone and done the unthinkable and fallen in love with Kakashi.”Shikamaru didn’t look surprised. “Have you told him?”“No!” she said, horrified. “No, of course not. He entered this marriage to save my life, not to have a wife and fall in love.”“And the weekly sex?”“And the—the daily sex is just a bonus. What man doesn’t want to have sex?”Surprisingly, Shikamaru laughed, shaking his head. "Sakura, no matter how attractive you are—and yes, you are attractive—men won't have sex with people they don't want to. We're not mindless animals. Yes, Kakashi entered this simply wanting to keep you alive but, by the sounds of it, you guys realised you had a mutual attraction and began having sex not because you had to, but because you wanted to. And that whole thing with Sasuke?” Shikamaru rolled his eyes. “Sounds like Kakashi-san was attracted to you before you even realised you were attracted to him.”“Well—fine,” Sakura conceded because it made sense. "But attraction and lust aren’t the same thing as love. I feel so hopeless. There’s no way he loves me. I’m a train-wreck. He's ten years older than me and probably wishes he could be out there, having fun with experienced, self-assured women. And he’s stuck with me.”“Quite happily, it seems.” Shikamaru took a long drink of his tea, watching her closely over the rim. “Look, Sakura, I won't pretend to know what Kakashi’s feeling. I’d have to see him around you to know. Ino is convinced the man is head over heels for you, but even if he’s not, so what? You guys share a bond that you’re never going to get out of. You’re stuck with each other. Tell Kakashi how you feel, and maybe something will happen. Don’t, and nothing will ever happen.”Sakura pursed her lips. “I just—have to be sure. That I love him.”Shikamaru laughed again, this one a huff of disbelief. “Haruno, you were smiling out of the window when I came over, and even when you talk about him, you look all…” He cringed. “You love him, all right? Stop questioning it and eat your damn dango.”Although she was under no obligation to do as he said, Sakura followed his orders anyway, feeling somehow comforted by his words. After all, if Shikamaru—the smartest person she knew—said she was in love with Kakashi, then she had no reason to doubt it.She’d known it, anyway. She was just trying to convince herself otherwise.✿✿✿“I don’t want you to do this,” Sakura was saying, throat tight. “I know you’ve been dealing with them this entire time but—things change.”Kakashi sighed. They were in bed, her head on his chest, hair splayed across her pillow. They had just woken up from a nap after an intense round of shower sex when Kakashi mentioned that he had to leave soon for his latest mission. It didn’t involve leaving the Land of Fire, but it did involve dealing with an encampment set up by some of the Orochimaru’s last supporters; Kakashi was leading the team to apprehend them.“Sakura, please don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” He smiled down at her. “I'm not one of Konoha’s elite for nothing.”“I know, it’s just that”—since falling in love with you, I’m very hesitant to let you risk your life—“I thought we could do something together this week. I could ring in at the hospital, and…?”He smiled. “How about when I get back?”Sakura shifted, and huffed, and conceded defeat. He wasn’t going to let this go, not after he’d been working so hard on disbanding the remnants of Orochimaru’s influence these past few months. So, she nodded, and he kissed her forehead before manoeuvring out of bed. He was pulling on his trousers when Sakura turned to him, and she simultaneously felt aroused and disheartened by the look of him.Kakashi chuckled lightly. “Sakura, if you keep looking at me like that and feeling like that, I’m going to find it very hard to leave.”Sakura scoffed. “Is that supposed to be a deterrent?” she asked. Still, she tried to flatten her emotions, and didn’t stop him from putting on his top and pulling his mask up over his face.“Sakura…” Kakashi warned.“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered.She stood, pulling the covers around her naked body, and found Kakashi watching her as he tied his hitae-ate around his head. Pleased, she wriggled her toes, an enjoyable burn crawling up her body. Ever since she had resumed training every day and eating properly again, she had regained her lost muscle and weight, and was happy with how her body looked. Apparently, so was Kakashi, for his eyes were intense as he watched her.“When will you be back?” she asked.Kakashi shrugged. He began rifling through the bag Sakura had packed him that morning, making sure everything was there. “Aah, shouldn’t be too long. A couple of days maybe, a week at most.” When he felt her disappointment, he turned to her, hip pouch in hand. “We’ll do whatever you want when I get back. I promise.”With a resigned nod, Sakura followed Kakashi out into the main room, hovering close behind him as he checked himself over before opening the door.“Just focus on work,” he said. “Maybe go out with Ino. You said you haven’t seen her much recently.”“Yeah,” Sakura said softly. She swallowed around a lump in her throat, telling herself she was being ridiculous. “Please, stay connected to me. I couldn’t handle it if…”“I know,” said Kakashi. He took her waist in his hands and tugged her close. “I hope this is what you’ll be wearing when I come home.”Surprised, Sakura laughed, hugging him tightly. “Be careful,” she whispered.Kakashi said, “Maa, maa, Sakura, who do you take me for?” as though she were being silly, but then nodded and kissed her deeply, sealing a promise. “I’ll be back soon,” he said, pulling his bag up on his shoulder. “I swear.”Sakura smiled weakly. “See you soon,” she said.Kakashi gave her one last kiss before closing the door behind him. The apartment felt much emptier without him there. Sakura stared at the door through which he’d left, forcing herself to breathe.✿✿✿The night after Kakashi left, Sakura was lying in bed, reading a book, when she felt arousal that wasn’t her own. She gasped, overcome, as she let the feeling wash over her. No matter how many times it happened, she would never get used to the strength of Kakashi’s lust—the taste and feel of it. It was unique, and it drowned her thoroughly in her own desire.Closing her eyes, she could see images: Kakashi, sneaking away from camp for a bath in the river; Kakashi, thinking of Sakura, his hand down his trousers as he delectably pumped his growing erection; Kakashi, urging Sakura to notice, prodding her through their connection...Sakura gasped and moaned, her own hand travelling southwards, touching her clit. She rubbed it in circles, then on either side, imagining it was Kakashi touching her. She felt Kakashi’s pleasure as she reached out and connected with him, showing him exactly what she was doing, telling him exactly how she felt.Pinching one of her hardening nipples, Sakura reached under the bed for the box she hadn't told Kakashi about. She felt his curiosity then the jolt of his arousal as she brought out the dildo Ino had gotten her for her 18th birthday, rubbing it against her clit. In her mind, Kakashi’s hand tightened around his cock as he thumbed his slit, then pumped faster as Sakura pushed the dildo inside of her, gasping at the feeling of being full. It wasn’t Kakashi, but it was close enough, what with the both of them reaching out for each other as they were.“Kakashi,” she whispered, twisting the dildo with each new thrust. She felt another shot of lust down the line, as though he had heard her, and picked up her pace to match his. They came together, images flashing behind Sakura’s closed eyes as Kakashi’s orgasm erupted from him and he fell, weak-kneed, against the tree behind him.Sakura panted for breath, gently pulling the dildo from herself. She reached out again and Kakashi was there. It wasn’t a hug, not exactly, but they were there, feeling warm and sleepy together, and that was enough for now.✿✿✿Two days later, Sakura awoke in the middle of the night, her side searing with pain; the seal on her back pulsing. She gasped, back arching, tears flooding to her eyes. She was still half-drunk from her meeting with Ino that evening, and it took a moment for her to realise what was happening.Kakashi, she thought, terror spearing through her system. It had been four days since he’d left so she had gone out with Ino, trying to drown out the worry. Apparently, it was the absolute worst thing she could do, because now Kakashi was in danger and she was drunk, and she didn’t have the time to focus on speeding up her metabolism.“Shit,” she said, falling out of bed and quickly shoving on her gear. “Shit, shit, shit.”It was a good thing she kept an emergency pack; she pulled it on hurriedly along with her hip pouch  then tried to focus on Kakashi.“Please,” she begged, gasping as the pain in her side worsened. “Please, please, please!”She knew she should have woken Naruto or Minato or Sasuke or just someone, anyone—but she could tell the wound Kakashi had, whatever it was, would be fatal if she didn’t get there now. So she reached out through their connection, willing the seal on her back to do something.“Please!” she said again, falling to her knees, for the pain was getting worse. She felt like she couldn’t breathe—perhaps a punctured lung? “Please, take me to him, please…”One blink, and suddenly she was in the middle of the forest, drowned in darkness. Around her, Kakashi’s teammates lay dead, and there was Kakashi in the middle of the clearing, sword impaled through his body.Sakura was stupid. She was so, so stupid, she knew—but she ran in there, healing chakra immediately at her palms. “You’re okay,” she was babbling, pressing her hands to the wound to try and stop the bleeding. “You’re fine, you’re fine, it’s all fine. I’ll remove the sword in a minute just—just keep breathing…”Kakashi coughed, and Sakura gasped through the pain. “Ambushed,” he rasped. “Thirty of them. Way more than we thought.” Yes, and all of their bodies were littered around them. “Tenzou went for help…”“Shh, shh, it’s okay,” said Sakura. “Stop talking.”“Still one left... Second in command…”Sakura didn’t bother replying because she already knew there had to be one left. Whoever had done this to Kakashi was still there. They were either extremely opportunistic and struck when Kakashi was both caught off guard and lacking chakra—a dangerous combination—or they were so powerful that even Kakashi and Tenzou together couldn’t best them.As she healed Kakashi, ripping a slice off her shirt to bandage the wound, she made sure to keep her senses open. “Keep breathing,” she said sharply, because she could feel the pain fading and, while that could be a result of her ministrations, it was more likely that he was losing consciousness. The connection between them was growing weaker. “Stay awake, Kakashi, or so help me God.”The blood was lessening. She’d managed to heal the internal injuries but there was still the matter of the sword impaling him. It had definitely nicked a lung. He wouldn’t bleed out when she pulled out the sword now because she was padding his insides protectively with her healing chakra, but there was still a very real chance he could die.Sakura had just unleashed her Yin Seal, knowing she'd need the extra chakra to be able to heal Kakashi and fight, when she felt a presence step up behind her.“Step away,” said a surly voice from behind Sakura. “His heart is mine to take.”Sakura forcibly stopped herself mid-action, her hands slipping from the sword that still impaled her husband. Instead, she rose to her feet and turned to face their attacker—a tall, unsettling man with eyes not unlike Sakura's, wearing a dark cloak and an intimidating frown.“His heart is not yours," she said vehemently.The set of the man's body was relaxed but there was a dour air about him, as though he were bored. Just looking at him made Sakura’s jaw clench. This man had almost killed Kakashi, killed her husband, and yet he was bored? Her hands shook that little bit harder.Disinterested, the man barely glanced at her. “He took one of mine, and thus he must pay,” he intoned. His cloak was wet with blood. He smelled as though he was the one who died, and not all the men around them, who Sakura tried very hard not to look at. “His heart is mine. Step aside.”“No,” said Sakura. “His heart is mine. You want Kakashi? You’ll have to get through me.”Kakashi wheezed, “Sakura… don’t…!”His injury flared with pain. Sakura, feeling it like it was her own, hissed through her teeth and let it fuel the fire inside of her. "Fuck you and your pride, Kakashi,” she snapped back at him, eyes remaining fixed on the man in front of her. “Listen, Stitches, I’m not moving. And you can’t make me.”The man cocked his head. “You will die if you face me. I am Kakuzu of Takigakure.”“I don’t care who you are,” Sakura snarled back. For a moment her rage was so hot that she could feel it setting fires inside of her, felling all other senses. “You. Don’t. Get. Him.”It was said that a connection was shared between enemies as they stared into each other’s eyes and knew that one of them was going to die. Sakura felt no such connection with Kakuzu. Her only connection was her link to Kakashi, whose pulse was growing weaker.“So be it,” said Kakuzu. “It’s your life to throw away.”The fight was abrupt. Sakura ensured she made the first move, ripping up the ground before him in an undulating layer of dirt; Kakuzu jumped but Sakura flung it higher, wrapping it around his legs. He was freed when he kicked out and was suddenly upon her. He was annoyingly strong—almost as strong as Sakura—and fast. He knew just where to hit and with what, favoring his elbows and legs. Sakura dodged a well-timed kick to her shin as she aimed two fingers at his temple but Kakuzu ducked, slapping her arm out of the way and redirecting it with his elbow.However, all her time with Hinata had not been for nothing: Sakura swerved and jabbed right where Hinata had taught her to, just along his shoulder. The force of her strike launched him backwards but Kakuzu seemed unaffected. He stood there for a moment, both of them facing each other, then looked to his arm. It was hanging limply by his side.Sakura felt deliciously vindicated.“You are going to regret that," Kakuzu said darkly.His voice was deep even behind the bandages wrapped around his neck and mouth. Then he pulled off his cloak with a flourish, and Sakura saw one of the most hideous sights she had ever seen. She  thought she saw stitches on him before but nothing like this; it was as though his every limb had been torn off, shredded, and then reattached to his body. The stitches were thick and coarse—cables that ran through his skin like wide arteries. On his back were three masks, each with a different face, stitched into his dark skin.For a moment, all Sakura could see was the sheer ugliness of him—the horror—but she was brought back when she felt Kakashi’s faint pulse through their link, and then all she saw was red.“The last time I saw him,” she rasped, pushing her feet wider apart, dry dirt rolling. "He made me my favourite breakfast in bed, and told me he’d come home safe. You tried to take that from me—take him from me.”Kakuzu, for the first time, laughed. “And I will, little girl. I promise.” Then he was upon her again, faster somehow than before.Taijutsu was a dance, and Kakuzu was a master. Sakura was slower than him, and although she was stronger, he played with her like she was a beginner, hands whipping out and just missing, as though on purpose. Her lungs burning, Sakura feinted and struck but he was fast, too fast, and caught her fist, twisting her arm in his grasp until she was forced on her knees. Then he punched her, full force, in the side of her head.Sakura saw stars when her body hit the floor, falling not far from Kakashi. She gasped desperately, her wobbling legs forcing her back on her feet, pressing her hand into her head. Concussion, she realised. No blood. Good, that meant she could heal it there and then.“Disappointing,” Kakuzu said from where he was watching her. “I thought you would be more of a fight. The Copy-Nin was a disappointment, too, but at least he showed brains. He was smart enough to take one of my hearts.”“Don’t talk about him,” Sakura hissed, almost collapsing under her own weight. She called more healing chakra to her hands.Kakuzu approached her. As Sakura went to move, he caught her, shoving her back to the floor. She yelled out as he kicked her and broke ribs with the force of it.“You are nothing,” he said. “You do not tell me what to do.”Sakura watched with disgust as his stitches extended and his arm rushed toward to her, to her face and then—no, behind her, to…“I will have his heart. And then, I will have yours, too.”“No!” Sakura screamed as the coils wrapped around Kakashi’s body. “No, no, no, no, no!”Suddenly, Sakura’s seal scorched her skin, and she was back on her feet immediately. She tore the repulsive wires from Kakashi’s legs and crushed them in her palm. Although Kakuzu barely flinched in pain, Sakura felt the righteous anger ripple through her, bloodthirsty and not nearly satisfied enough.“That hurt?” she spat.She heaved on the bundle of wire in her hand, drawing Kakazu toward her. Kakuzu stumbled and resisted, snarling as his heels dug into the dirt, his limp arm hanging uselessly at his side. “What is this?” he asked.Sakura laughed at him, incensed and wild. “This is why you don't fuck with my husband.”When she reached for Kakuzu's neck, he took the opportunity to withdraw his wires, and she hissed as they slipped through her fingers. She had barely a moment to dive for Kakashi, shielding him with her own body, when the demon in front of her shrieked and burst into darkness. No, she realised, no, that wasn't him screaming.It was the masks.If Sakura had thought Kakuzu was repulsive before, she fervently took it back; the masks had ripped out of his skin, leaving gaping holes in his back. They formed black shapes that hovered behind him like an oppressing aura: fire, wind, and lightning—that must've been what they represented, Sakura realised. Chakra natures. She was proved right when Kakuzu shouted: “Katon: Intelligent Hard Work!” and the red mask leapt forward, a huge fireball shooting from its mouth.Sakura quickly brought up an earth wall five metres in front of her, on to which the fireball collided and erupted into a hale of licking flames. She quickly signed the only water jutsu she knew, but Kakuzu laughed as the water reached the fire storm, his wind mask rushing forward and—With a curse, Sakura dove for the mask, and crushed it into dust in the palm of her hand.“Oh, I will be definitely taking your heart, too."When Kakuzu struck, Sakura was faster. When he dodged, Sakura was faster still, her chakra regenerating at unreasonable rates—she felt invincible. The raging fire did not stop her, nor either of his masks: she destroyed them with her unholy power, her chakra flooding through her body like an endless river. She knew it couldn't have only been the Yin Seal, but at that moment, she couldn't have cared less as long as she won.“Got you,” she said, when Kakuzu was standing just centimetres in front of her, pinned by a tree she’d uprooted to crush both of his legs. She pulled back her fist, smiling victoriously, but was stopped by a hand that enclosed her elbow.“No,” said a voice. "Allow me.”Then Kakashi, made luminescent by a silvery shroud, his hair electrified, eyes glowing, pierced Kakuzu through the chest one last time. His chidori blade was brighter and mightier than Sakura had ever seen it. Neither of them paid attention to Kakuzu’s dying words, or how his stitches unwound, leaving only a pile of skin and clothes. Instead, once Kakashi extracted his hand from the dead man’s chest, they were upon each other.“What are you doing?!" Sakura croaked, realising at once that she was crying. “You were so close to—to dying—and I didn’t know if I’d be able to save you in time. How are you standing?”Kakashi held her close, hands on either side of her face. “Maa, maa, Sakura, you think a man like that could kill me?" His thumb brushed up one of her tears, smearing it into the rapidly-healing bruise at the side of her head. When he next spoke, his tone was much more subdued. “I don’t know what happened. All of a sudden, I felt invigorated. I looked over and saw you, glowing pink and beating the shit out of that missing nin."Sakura sniffled out a reluctant laugh. "But how?""The bond, I suppose. It was as though we were sharing chakra. The more of your chakra I had, the more I was able to replenish my own. And I noticed that you used a lightning jutsu—which you have always been unable to do.”Sakura frowned, remembering. “I think you’re right. That sounds—” She wobbled, and Kakashi caught her. "Whoops.”“You must be tired," Kakashi murmured, still holding her cheek tenderly.Instead of replying, Sakura felt for the bandages on his side as she hugged him. They were still wet with blood, and something inside of her broke. “Kakashi—I was so worried about you. When I woke up to that unbearable pain, I thought you’d died. I thought I’d failed you, and—and—”When Kakashi kissed her, worry Sakura hadn’t known was there fled her heart, and she stood on her toes to be nearer to him. He was real. He was alive. Her insides warming, Sakura felt more tears slip down her cheeks, forced to pull away when a sob pushed its way up her throat.“I’m sorry,” she croaked. “I was just… Gods, Kakashi, don’t ever do that to me again!”Sakura whacked gently at Kakashi's shoulder but he only laughed, perhaps as relieved as she was. He tugged her forward into another kiss, raw and tender. For a moment, it was like they were back home, wrapped up in each other. She melted against his body, her heart thumping steadily in time with his.“I’m sorry,” he murmured.There was a sound of disbelief near them as they resumed kissing.“Ah, gross! I thought you said he was in danger, Yamato-sensei, not…” The voice was, unmistakably, Naruto’s, whom Sakura saw shudder as she separated from Kakashi.Tenzou’s eyes were wide, mouth open. “They—he—Kakashi-senpai, what the fuck?”“Maa, maa, Yamato-san, not in front of the kid.” Kakashi motioned to Naruto, who squawked indignantly, while Sasuke, by his side, scoffed.“I’m so done with this team,” the Uchiha muttered. “I’m going home.”When Sakura looked up at Kakashi, he saw her looking and met her eyes, smiling in that way of his.“Yeah,” said Sakura. “Home sounds like a great idea.”✿✿✿Tsunade forbade them from having sex for a week until they could be sure Sakura’s kekkei genkai had not done them any harm, and that they were completely healed from the ambush. They both felt fine but did not want to risk the ire of the Sannin, so did as she said, certain that heavy groping and kisses probably didn’t qualify as strenuous sexual contact.Explaining what had happened to everyone was not easy feat but they managed. Soon there was a sound theory crafted by the Hokage and all those in the know on how the seal actually worked—what happened when Sakura achieved 'Super-Saiyan Mode', as Shikamaru called it. They thought it was triggered in emotional situations, called forward by the will of the user. They also gathered that it facilitated a share of chakra supply between the bonded, which allowed Sakura to use Kakashi’s chakra natures, and vice versa. The unnatural healing that had saved Kakashi from death was purely because Sakura was a medic nin, so her healing chakra flooded them both; if one was not trained to be a medic nin, the supernatural healing probably would not occur.There was still much to learn but there was plenty of time. After all, Tsunade was handing over the hat to Naruto soon, who had been groomed for the Hokage position for almost a year. Once he was Hokage, Sakura was sure she would barely be able to escape Tsunade’s lab, acting as lab-rat for the rest of her life.It was at the end of their week of forced celibacy that Sakura felt the familiar tingling in her loins. Combined with the prickling of the seal on her back, it could only mean one thing: an aphrodisia was oncoming. She tried to tell Tsunade but was brushed off and told to wait until Sunday or else. So, Friday came and went, then Saturday morning, and by Saturday evening Sakura was inconsolable.“I hate this!" she snapped, almost unseating Kakashi next to her. "Stupid shishou... Doesn't she get it?""I'll go talk to Tsunade," Kakashi said. "It's okay. She'll understand."“No! Stay. Don't you think—Can't we just—?"Kakashi hardly needed the persuasion. "Whatever you need," he agreed.His mask was already pulled down, and the sheer relief Sakura felt when he kissed her was orgasmic in itself. She moaned, back arching as her trembling fingers wound into his unruly hair. She loved his hair; loved grabbing on to it, feeling it against her skin as he kissed hungrily down her pale throat.“Your aphrodisia smells so good,” Kakashi mumbled, nipping playfully at the junction of her neck. “It was so hard to resist when we first married. The bond kept pulling me to you…”The thought of Kakashi struggling to hold himself back while Sakura touched herself in his bed, begging and needy, shot another sting of arousal through her. She palmed her breast and caught his lips in another kiss to stifle the noises that wanted to slip out of her. They kissed roughly, teeth catching lips, fingers digging greedily into each other’s bodies. Kakashi pushed her down on the bed, pinning her hands above her head as his mouth trailed across her skin, sucking possessive marks wherever he could. His light stubble tickled her as he moved.“Let me make you feel good," he murmured.With his hands swallowing her waist, Kakashi guided Sakura closer towards his body, nuzzling his nose into her inner thigh. Before he could get her underwear off, Sakura stopped him, sitting up to face him instead. For his part, Kakashi let her do what she wanted, but hesitated infinitesimally when she wrenched his trousers off."Are you sure that's what you want?"Sakura responded by pulling his underwear off too. When he was bared—shirt removed, trousers down, dick standing proud—Sakura almost lost control at the sight of him. How did he always look so mouth-watering? She took his cock in hand, shivering when he hummed happily. She loved the weight and size of him in her hand—but it felt even better against her lips, heavy and dribbling. She had only given him quick blowjobs previously, having lacked experience with someone of his size—a fact she excused when another wave of lust hit her, and she bent to take Kakashi’s cock in one quick gulp.“Shit,” Kakashi hissed when she swallowed around around him, her mouth uncomfortably full. “Breathe, Sakura. It’s okay.”She did, forcing breaths in and out of her nose. It was easy to relax with Kakashi gently petting her hair; rubbing the strands between his fingers; scratching at her scalp. His length inside her mouth was hot, pulsing, musky—she yearned for more of it, to taste all she could of him. When she felt she had control, she met Kakashi’s lidded gaze and bobbed forward once, taking him in so far that he hit the back of her throat, and tears sprung to her eyes. She didn’t gag although she felt the need; the sounds Kakashi made for her efforts were so worth it, and she did it again."Fuck, Sakura..." Kakashi's hand tightened in her hair. "That's my girl..."A carnal heat hit her as he spoke, murmuring sweet compliments that had Sakura's joints quaking with the need to touch him. She swirled her tongue around his length, dipped it into the slit—devoured him. When she moaned as he pulled her hair, he groaned in kind, and she swallowed desperately around his cock. Her throat bobbed as she pulled back and fucked him with her mouth until he was panting beneath her. She wanted him to come in her mouth so terribly that she couldn't be certain it was her own thought; but then Kakashi's hand slid to her cheek, his thumb caressing the bulge made by his cock, so Sakura upturned her eyes to look at him.“Now that,” he said, his smile wolfish and hungry, “is a sight I want to remember.”Sakura didn’t realise she was trembling until he pulled out of her mouth and climbed over her, hovering like a great storm cloud. She let him take control, snapping off her underwear and sucking gently on her nipples. When his fingers entered her, her back arched off the bed, feeling as blind with lust as she did the day of her wedding.“Oh, fuck,” she babbled. The aphrodisia was enticing her senses away as his finger crooked inside of her and stroked her walls. “O-Oh, fuck.”Kakashi’s laughter was dark as he slipped another finger inside of her. She was incredibly wet, so his fingers slid in smoothly, even as he added another, and another; but that meant Kakashi was doing this to tease her, and she abruptly remembered that her husband was a bastard.“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you—”Sakura lost her breath as his fingers left, replaced by his cock that pressed at her entrance, then plunged inside. All of time and space could have crashed, burned and been rebuilt, and the only thing Sakura would remember was Kakashi—his name, his laugh, his voice, his cock, the way he felt inside of her. She grasped frantically at his back, nails scoring lines down his tan skin, undoubtedly drawing blood.“How do you always feel so good?” Kakashi panted, flipping her on her side so he could fuck her at a new angle that made her hands clasp the bed sheets, and her toes tingle.When his length dragged up against her more sensitive spot, Sakura moaned so loudly the neighbour slammed on the wall, telling them to shut the hell up; but she did it again, even louder, as Kakashi bit down at her neck and sucked, relentlessly driving into her body, hard and fast. His hold on her hips began to tighten, his throat losing its grip on his restrained groans, as Sakura came so hard that her vision blacked out and didn’t return until Kakashi was nearing his own orgasm. He came after a few delicious pumps inside of her, groaning her name, then collapsed beside her.Sakura smiled as she snuggled back into his hot body, comforted by the rapid rise and fall of his chest. She was so happy knowing that he was hers, forever. “I love you,” she sighed sleepily, feeling warm, safe, and contented.But Kakashi’s body stiffened like a rod. “What did you say?” he asked lowly.It took a moment but suddenly Sakura realised exactly what she had said, and why she wasn't supposed to say it. Before Kakashi could recover from his shock, she darted out of bed, wide-awake and aching inside. "I—I didn't mean to!” she was saying as she tugged on whatever clothes she could find. “Gods, Kakashi, I didn't mean to!""What do you mean you—?"Kakashi couldn't finish his sentence in time. Just as he reached out for her, climbing out of bed, Sakura shunshin’d away. How the heck she ended up face-planted on Ino’s bed was anyone’s guess. Ino, thankfully, didn’t question it.“What bit your ass?” Ino asked, flipping through her magazine with practiced ease. “Marriage trouble?”Sakura shuddered. “I told him I love him,” she said, and saying it aloud made the truth of it even worse. She had royally fucked up. Despite what Minato had advised, she never planned on telling Kakashi her feelings. Yet now, because he was just such a good lay and a good husband and he made her feel safe and happy and sated, she'd ruined everything.Ino rolled her eyes. “Big deal. You’re married, genius.” She glanced up at Sakura for a mere instant, but that instant was all it took. Immediately, she sat up and closed her magazine. "Hold on. What's going on?”Oh, great. Sakura had just fucked up again. “I… Look, Ino…”“What the fuck is going on?”Sakura, under her best friend’s murderous gaze, quickly spilled her guts. She told Ino all about her kekkei genaki, the arranged marriage, and everything that went with it. “And now I’ve just ruined everything by telling him I love him!”For a while, Ino was quiet. Then she snorted. “Yeah, right. Look, Sakura, arranged marriage or not, that man is so in love with you, he’d burn Icha Icha if you asked.”Sakura laughed despite herself. “Yeah, right.”“No, seriously. What I’ve seen of you two—what I saw that day in the kitchen—that kind of passion can’t be faked, Sakura. And when he speaks about you, whenever you’re not around…” For a second, Ino looked sad, but shrugged it off. “That’s the kind of love I could only ever hope to feel.”Speechless, Sakura’s mouth flopped uselessly open and closed. “Ino,” she went to say, but then the doorbell rang, and Sakura stilled like a scared deer. “Gods, that's him."“You don’t know that. Could just be a friendly neighbour calling at half eleven at night.”“Distract him! Please!"And, because Ino was such a good friend, she did just that. Sakura could hear them talking downstairs as she crept out the bedroom window.“Sakura?” Ino was saying. “No, no, haven’t seen her…”The next closest house was Minato’s, so Sakura made her way there quickly. When she knocked, she looked around herself nervously, then pushed her way inside once the door was opened.“Oh, Minato-san, I'm so glad you’re awake,” she prattled, following him into the kitchen. “I just did the stupidest thing!”Minato chuckled. They were in the doorway when he turned to look at her, the room beyond him hidden. “Yes, so I’ve heard,” he said.When he stepped aside, Sakura wanted to scream. Kakashi was sitting at the kitchen island, sipping at a mug of hot chocolate.“Yo,” he greeted with an eye-crinkling smile.For a second, all Sakura could do was stare incredulously, mouth agape. Then she spluttered and said, “You were JUST at Ino’s. How the heck are you here before me, and with a hot chocolate?”Kakashi raised an eyebrow. “It was a clone,” he said. “I needed to draw you out somehow.”“You—but—” Indignant, Sakura turned on Minato, whose dressing gown was wafting around his ankles. “You didn’t tell me?”Minato looked far too pleased with himself as he settled into a seat at the island, wrapping his hands around his own mug of hot chocolate. That was when Sakura saw the third hot chocolate, prepared in her mug. Her scowl grew deeper.“I told you to tell Kakashi how you feel and, when you finally do, you run from the room?” Minato shook his head. “You’re right—that’s just about the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.”Sakura made a noise of protest that was strangled into silence when she realised Kakashi was standing in front of her. She didn’t know when he’d moved, but he was only a hair-breadth’s away. He must have dressed as quickly as she did because all he was wearing was a mask, trousers, and odd socks.Slowly, he raised a hand to her cheek and cupped it, his expression solemn. “Why’d you run?” he asked, his voice low, running like honey. “Did you not mean it?”Well, she was all in at this point, Sakura supposed. “Of course I meant it,” she croaked. “That’s why I ran.”And Kakashi, eyes sparkling, smiled. “Yet you’re always calling me an idiot. That’s no reason to run, Sakura.”“But you—you were shocked, and you were forced to marry me, and you—”It was infuriating that all it took was his kissing her to shut her up, but she supposed she was in love with the man, so it could be expected. “And you were forced to marry me,” Kakashi said, “but maybe I should change that.”Sakura’s heart thumped painfully. What could he mean? He wanted to end it? But they couldn’t! The bond was unbreakable; the seal was there, on her skin, vibrant and wild. How could he possibly think they could get out of this? Kakashi couldn’t know what hurt and upset she was feeling at that moment because she’d closed off their connection the minute she had said ‘I love you’. That also meant that he couldn’t possibly know of the confusion and rapturous joy she felt when he got on one knee, fished a hand in his pocket, and pulled out a beautiful ring.“Sakura,” Kakashi began, “I know you always wanted a proper wedding. You were denied that because of what happened. So, when Minato-sensei kicked some sense into me a few months ago and made me realise that I had fallen in love with you, I told myself that the second you said you loved me, I would grab this ring from the back of my closet and propose to you.” He laughed with embarrassment, his cheeks a little pink. “Aah, I might have gotten the idea from Icha Icha"—he hurried on—"but it doesn’t matter. Somewhere, along the way, you’ve become the most important person in the world to me, and…” He shrugged, shoulders straightening as he met her gaze. “I love you, Sakura, is what I’m trying to say. So, will you marry me? …Again?”Minato was sniffling. Sakura could hear it in the background, just over the sounds of her blood rushing too fast through her body. She could taste salt on her lips and knew she must have been crying but she wasn’t making a sound. She got on the floor with Kakashi, unable to describe what she was feeling.“Yes,” she whispered ardently. “I would love that very much.”Kakashi’s smile was breathless, and the ring fit perfectly on her finger. She just heard the words, “My mother’s ring,” leave his mouth before she smashed herself against him, kissing him passionately.“I love you, too,” she said emphatically as she pulled away. She was smiling so widely her cheeks hurt.“Maa, maa, Sakura, don’t you think you’re going a little fast?”When she whacked him, he took it with a laugh, and then they were kissing again.“Okay, what the hell is going on with those two? Why’d you always let them in the house, Dad? …Wait, Dad? Why are you crying? What’s going on?”Finally, everything felt right, thought Sakura. And dear Naruto, with his charming obliviousness, only made the moment all the sweeter.