There was an odd, recurring dream she had at least once a week. In these dreams, Sakura still looked like herself, still lived in the same home she shared with Sarada and her often absent husband. Actually, it was inaccurate to call it a 'recurring' dream because it was never the same thing twice. Rather, the dream showed her later points in time, as if things kept happening while she wasn't there. She was having one of those dreams right now.

"Got the eggplant." Kakashi held up the plastic grocery bag that was suspiciously more full than it would have been with a single eggplant.

Sakura stilled her hands over vegetables she had been chopping, her head jerking up at the sight of her former teacher just entering her house like he belong there.

…Because he did belong there. In this dream.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." He chuckled, coming over and giving her a peck on the cheek.

She suppressed the flinch that came to her instinctively.

Kakashi's grin beneath his mask faded. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing." Sakura scanned the ingredients in front of her and the index card scrawled with her own handwriting of a recipe she'd copied down years ago from her mother. "Dinner will be ready soon."

"It's lunch…" He set down the grocery bag on the counter opposite from her then crossed his arms. "All right, who are you?"

Sakura whirled.

"Don't think I haven't noticed. Every now and again you come in and impersonate my wife, but you are not her. I've kept quiet trying to see what you wanted, but I'm getting sick of you playing games like this. You're usually only here for a short amount of time." He tilted his head. "You better not have done something with Sakura."

Her shoulders stiffened and she crossed her arms too. "I'm not your wife." She didn't know why she felt a stab of guilt when his brow creased at her declaration. "I'm Sasuke's. This is a dream."

All she did was describe the truth, but his eyes went dark with barely suppressed anger. He closed the gap between them in the small kitchen, caging her in with his arms on either side of her, hands clenched against the edge of the counter. "This is not a dream. This is my life. Get out."

Sakura gasped, sitting up in the bed, shaking. She patted the spot next to her before remembering that Sasuke had left again two weeks ago. What a strange dream. However it seemed that her subconscious had grown guilty about her living a life with another man at last. Dream-Kakashi had never questioned her before. But he had been furious. Far angrier than she'd ever seen him in real life, battles included.

She sighed, rubbing her face. These dreams left her feeling more drained than she was before sleeping. She was afraid to close her eyes again, in case she slipped back. 5:40 AM. Sarada must still be asleep.

Sakura crept downstairs. She could use the time to surprise her daughter with a nice bento to take on her mission today. There would be, of course, the standard issued packaged meals provided to the chunin going out, but they certainly couldn't compare to one prepared lovingly by a mother. She hummed to herself because that was the only way she could block out the dream.

It was so strange. It wasn't like she wanted to be married to Kakashi. She'd never even given him a second thought as a romantic partner. The dream world was incredibly detailed and elaborate too. She was amazed her mind could come up with such a thing. In the dreams, she felt she had been married to Kakashi for quite some time. There were photos, honest to goodness memories, of trips taken, life events captured. Sakura tried to keep herself from glancing up at the only family photo she had of the people she considered the most precious to her.

Real. This was real. She repeated the mantra to herself as she washed vegetables in the sink, concentrating on the sensation of water running over her skin.

In those dreams, Sarada was not there. Couldn't be there, because Sakura had never married Sasuke. That was something she could not accept.

Sarada later came downstairs, still in her pajamas. A stack of hotcakes greeted her, paired with butter and golden syrup. And some sausages. And scrambled eggs. "Mom how am I going to eat all this?" Sarada laughed as she sat down.

Sakura joined her daughter at the table with a plate of her own. "You're going to need a lot of energy for your big mission today."

Sarada grimaced. "It's just an escort mission. They won't let us go on anything really fun."

"You'll be getting the really hard missions soon enough, so enjoy these while they last." Sakura's heart panged, but she tried not to let it show, knowing how true her own words were.

#

"Yo."

Sakura sighed. "You're a retired man—how do you get hurt so often?"

Kakashi lifted and dropped his shoulders.

"What was the bet this time?" she asked without looking up from his chart.

"Gai wanted to see who could hold wheelies the longest on a wheelchair. Then a cargo wagon appeared out of no where." Kakashi widened his eyes. "Truly, the driver knew a very strong genjutsu."

Sakura kept her face blank.

He didn't say anything more.

She narrowed her glare, pinning him with it.

He tilted his head like a puppy wondering what was going on.

Finally, she snorted. "Stupid."

"I never claimed to be anything but what I am." He chuckled.

The quiet laughter faded and Sakura began to sterilize the scrapes running down his arm. The dream occurred to her again. Kakashi as her husband. What would he be like? At the moment, all she had to go on was her own experiences and the few glimpses from her dreams. In real life, he was generally so withholding and secretive.

"How come you never got married, sensei?"

"Hmm?"

"Was there nobody special in your life?" She finished healing the scrapes on his arm and the slight sprain in his wrist. She pointed to his knee as the next target.

"Ah. Well, I did almost get married once." Kakashi obediently stuck out his leg and rolled up the ragged cloth so that she could inspect properly.

Oh? He'd never mentioned that before.

He continued, "But it didn't end well because on the day of the wedding he found out I was a man infiltrating his family to steal valuable secrets."

Typical.

"I bet you were a beautiful bride," Sakura commented lightly.

"He will always remember me as the one that got away."

She shook her head ruefully at herself. Even if it were a possibility, Kakashi would be exactly like himself as a husband. Misleading as hell and tight lipped to a fault.

Why was she even thinking about it? She was a married woman for goodness sake. Damn her errant curiosity.

"Do I get a lollipop?" he asked hopefully when she was done.

She sighed, reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out a brightly green piece of candy on a stick. Just as he reached for it, she snatched it back, tearing off the plastic and sticking it into her own mouth.

He pouted. "That was mine."

She removed it with a loud smack, resting the candy against her lips. "Still want it?"

His brows lowered. His gaze lingered on the sugary treat before he dragged his eyes away, coughing. "It's got your cooties."

"Hmph."

#

"Happy birthday."

Sakura jerked, trailing earrings jostling against her head. She looked down at her hands, beautifully manicured with a gradient of shimmering gold. Her image in the red wine sitting in the glass reflected her impeccable makeup framed by a hairstyle that must have taken an hour at least to complete. She picked at the folds of the red dress she wore. She'd never seen this thing in her closet in her entire life, but she had to admit that her dream self had good taste.

"Sakura?" Kakashi spoke.

She sat back in her seat, taking in her surroundings. It was the Orchid, the fanciest restaurant in Konoha with a waitlist months long for a reservation. Sasuke had taken her there once, long ago, for an anniversary dinner.

"Ah. So it is you. I thought so," he said, sighing. "Tonight is kind of an important night so if you don't mind returning my wife…?"

"Look buddy, I can't keep waking up earlier than my alarm clock. I had a really late shift at the hospital today and I would appreciate all the sleep I can get. If I can dream about eating at this place again, then I'm staying." Sakura picked up her fork and stabbed the salad before her.

"Sakura, I know you're still there. Come back to me."

"I am Sakura."

"No. You're not." His jaw clenched.

"Believe what you want." She shrugged. "I know the real Kakashi would never take anybody out to a restaurant this nice and pay."

"The real…excuse me, I am the real Kakashi."

"Ha. Now you know how it feels."

"Why won't any of the tests tell us anything?" he mumbled to himself in frustration, running a hand through his hair. Then, to her, "Can you at least let her eat her dessert? She's been looking forward to it for weeks."

"Is it double chocolate mousse with raspberries?" She pouted. "But that's my favorite dessert."

"What is this? Are you secretly unhappy? Tell me what I can do—I'm begging you." He reached across the table for her hand, but she wouldn't let him take it.

"I appreciate the nice date, but I'm married to Sasuke."

"No, you are not. You are married to me." He took back his spurned hand, curling it into a fist. The gold wedding band glinted in the candlelight.

"Why in the world would I ever marry you? It makes absolutely no sense." She looked at him with genuine curiosity.

Kakashi flinched and she immediately regretted her bluntness. Rationally, she knew he wasn't real, but she didn't want to be cruel.

"If this will make you come back, I'll tell you." His gaze lowered to the small candle sitting inside its glass jar. "It was five years ago. You made me chocolates for the Love Festival as a friend. I gave you flowers as thanks on White Day. I said I really liked the ones with nuts in it and you offered to show me how to make it. I burned that chocolate, but it was on purpose so that we could try again.

After that, I couldn't stay away from you. Any excuse I could come up with to spend more time with you was good enough. I thought you wouldn't be ready to move on from Sasuke, but one day, caught in the rain, you kissed me first. It was the happiest day of my life—until the day we got married."

Sakura's fork had frozen midway to her mouth and she stared at him in shock. The lettuce dropped back onto the plate. "Did that really happen?"

"Yes. I won't let anyone, not even you, deny that it did."

"That's actually…kind of sweet. So, are you two happy?"

"I'd like to believe so, although these strange episodes you're causing her is really worrying."

"In my life, I'm married to Sasuke." She held up her hand when he tried to protest. "I have a daughter named Sarada. I only see you when you do something stupid and need some healing, but that's it. These dreams are incredibly bizarre to me—I don't want to be in them either."

"What's it like, being married to him instead of me?" He stirred his soup, now gone cold.

"He's kind to me." She smiled, but the happiness of speaking about him dimmed slightly when she remembered how often he was away.

"I hope that's enough."

#

She woke up later than usual. Her dream reminded her that it was indeed her birthday and she'd forgotten about it. The last three of her birthdays had been spent with just her and Sarada. Maybe they could go out to eat somewhere tonight.

Not the Orchid though.

Obviously not—only in her dreams could she get a reservation there.