A/N: FYI hateful guest, here's some KakaSaku served extra fluffy just for you.
-OOO-
1.
Sakura woke to sun blazing through the blinds, a hot set of lips pressing open-mouthed kisses to her neck and a large hand squeezing her breast.
"Wah—Kakashi? What time is it?" she yawned.
"Late," he murmured, "You gonna wake up sleepyhead?"
As pleasant as it was to rouse to the amorous attentions of her husband, Sakura was planning a lie-in. She grumbled and promptly rolled over, though it was more of an ungainly 'flop' considering her condition.
"Sa-ku-ra …" he purred, nipping at her ear. "Kakashi Jr's waking up."
She snorted. "Kakashi Jr hasn't even been born yet you letch …"
She must've drifted off for a bit because she woke to find the light dimmer and Kakashi breathing steadily. The full solid length of him had curled around her form as they'd slept. She sat up craning her neck to see his face, a smile already twitching at her lips.
Always so protective …
His eyes flickered rapidly behind his eyelids and he'd kicked the blankets off on his side. Much to her continued disgruntlement Kakashi happened to be a 'kicker' in bed. Though, it was probably for the best he was the active sleeper, she'd feel terrible (and totally mortified) if she had to explain to her shishou how she'd broken her husband's ribs during a bad dream. No, she'd leave that to the training field.
Sakura eyed his face steadily. Kakashi looked tired. He'd been taking missions back to back ever since a freak typhoon took out their main trade route. Hopefully her shishou would give him some breathing room once the A-rank backlog petered out. Heavens knew they weren't cash strapped. Kakashi had a lovely nest egg from his ANBU days, not to mention the Hatake inheritance and she'd been saving ryo since she was old enough to understand what a bank was. Still … Sakura knew he wouldn't slow down for some time yet. She couldn't say she was an expert in ex-ANBU psychology, heck she'd despised her own psychiatric rotation as an apprentice, but if she didn't know any better she'd say Kakashi was scared.
The back-to-back missions, the constant ninken guard even if she was just out buying groceries, even the way he'd sink his chakra into her when he'd come home … Sakura nodded. He was terrified, maybe even panicked by her condition and he dealt with it by working himself to the bone. For such an elite shinobi it had to be very disturbing to see their precious person in a vulnerable state … She sighed and gently moved his tousled hair out of his eyes. The silver strands ran smoothly through her fingers and Sakura couldn't help but admire how soft they were, even as they revealed the jagged scar tissue bisecting his left eye. Her throat clenched. There was so much that went unsaid about his past and his teammates, both long dead now …
You take on too many burdens husband of mine.
Kakashi had stilled as soon as she'd touched him, his breathing was shallow and a certain tension in his body revealed he was awake and even now, in the comfort of his own home and private space, battle-ready. Sakura shifted forward on the bed, tracing her finger over his brow, softly outlining the almond shape of them. It was an odd thing to first notice about someone, especially when it was the mask that people usually saw, but twelve year old Sakura noticed his eye first. Heavy-lidded, dark grey, full of something …
Her mouth was dry for some reason.
She blinked the memory away, her finger taking a straight path over the scar, to rest gently on his cheek.
His eyes flickered open, one dark as flint, the other poppy-red, tomoe spinning lazily, and their gazes locked. Sakura wasn't sure what changed in that moment, but she suddenly found herself inexplicably, embarrassingly, wet.
What the hell?
She watched, enraptured, as his hand reached up and tugged on her fringe.
Maybe …
She smiled and pulled her hand back. Sakura was large for twenty-four weeks, but she could still comfortably do this … she shifted her weight, delicately lifted her nightslip and swung a toned leg over to straddle his lap.
"Sakura," he said thickly, eyes wide.
She grinned and slid a finger underneath one of her shoulder straps pulling down until one taut nipple sprung free. She took his hand and cupped her breast with it until he squeezed. He trembled and let out a soft grunt as she bounced lightly on his groin. She leaned forward, thighs clamping together, already feeling him growing hot and rigid beneath her.
Sakura shivered with excitement.
"You take care of me Kakashi," she whispered, trailing her lips down his ear, "you take such good care of me."
Kakashi blinked rapidly as his tomoe twisted and pinned to her form.
She laughed.
-OOO-
Later, they lay together for a long time, sweaty and out of breath.
"Kakashi?" she said, pressing a hand to her rounded stomach.
"Hmm?
"What would you be?"
"What would you be?" he repeated.
"What would you be, if you could choose …" she gestured vaguely in the air.
Kakashi turned to face her. "I think you'll have to be more specific, I'm still trying to regrow my brain."
"If your father had never pushed you into the Academy, if you'd been able to choose," she clarified, "what would you have been?"
Kakashi blinked. It was so typical of her to ask him a question he'd never actually thought about. Funny though, it was something she'd always tended to do, even when she'd been a genin.
"I've always been a shinobi; I can't imagine being anything else."
He wouldn't mention the dog-grooming phase he'd gone through as a kid, it didn't count … It was amusing though remembering the look on his father's face when he'd said he wanted to help the old Inuzuka dog-groomer oba-san when he was 'grown-up'. Good ol' Sakumo nearly had an aneurysm!
His wife rolled her eyes. "Bullshit."
"Nope," he said and crossed his arms behind his head.
"Well, I have," she told him, "and I think I would've made an awesome librarian."
"You a librarian?" he choked out.
She glared. "What? I love books!"
Kakashi shook his head, imagining Sakura scanning library cards, sorting books and shushing rowdy genin was too funny. He burst out laughing.
Sakura stared at him, seemingly struck speechless, as he howled with laughter.
Then seemingly out of nowhere came an image of Sakura in kunoichi heels and a pencil skirt that had such a scandalously high slit he could see her garter belt suspenders and thigh-high stockings. A slew of lewd fantasies then boiled in his mind, all variations on the Sakura 'librarian' theme, mostly involving stilettos, see-through blouses and dark library storage rooms.
Kakashi grinned. "Saa, maybe in pursuit of this goal, you could dress-up some time?"
She must've seen the perverted gleam in his eye, because the next thing he knew he had half a pillow in his mouth and Sakura's not inconsiderable strength (and girth) on top of him.
Sakura grabbed another pillow and whacked him over the head. "Last time you had that look on your face, you got me pregnant!"
2.
Kakashi soundlessly slid the bedroom window closed behind him, letting out a sigh of relief at the mass of undisturbed traps he'd left in his absence. Of course, he made no apologies for being cautious even when Sakura grumbled about 'obsessive compulsive tendencies' and 'long-standing patterns of pervasive distrust and paranoia'.
It felt good to be home. Better than good actually.
Even now he still couldn't articulate the feeling that sparked in his chest at the sight of it. That first night he'd come home off a tough A-rank to see the warm glow of lights through the windows and his young bride waiting for him …
There was someone to come home to now. And after what felt like years of soul-leeching missions, TV dinners and the dead silence of an empty house, there was nothing the universe could tempt him with to make him turn his back.
Not even—
Making a mental note to inventory his pack in the morning, Kakashi slid out of his dirty mission wear and padded down the stairs. Pausing at the bottom he frowned, realising he could hear the murmur of a voice. It wasn't the TV; it was late and definitely too late to have Ino and Sai over.
The first trimester had been particularly hard on Sakura; with near constant nausea, tiredness and insomnia, she'd gotten into the habit of going to bed early and sleeping late. Even now mid-way through what she called the 'honeymoon' second trimester, she still tried to keep to that routine.
It was strange for her to be up so late. The only chakra he could sense was hers, but his unconscious grip on his kunai tightened. A number of increasingly disturbing scenarios raced through his mind. He palmed another kunai and slowly edged around the corner to peer into the lounge room.
His eye widened.
Sakura sat under the kotatsu, one hand pressed to her belly.
Kakashi's grip loosened as he realised she was holding a small book in her other hand and was reading from it softly.
"The pig refused to let the wolf in saying: 'No, no, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!' The wolf became very angry at this and threatened him: 'Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in!'"
His breath caught in his throat. There was something about her ... that soft look on her face, a pink glow in her cheeks, the shine of light on her hair ...
Kami Sakura, you make me love you so much.
He must've made some sort of sound, as she turned quickly to look at him.
"Ah! Kakashi, you're home!" she said smiling, "He was restless tonight; I think he knows when you're away …"
Kakashi couldn't help but smile back.
3.
The first thing she noticed was beeping and that there was something pressed against her face. It was hissing …
Alarmed, she tried to lift her arm, tried to feel her face, but it was like someone had sucked the marrow from her bones and replaced it with concrete. Sakura couldn't move and it was the worst feeling in the world.
It was a shame … she'd been having such a lovely dream as well …
"Sakura? Sakura can you hear me? Sakura!"
She knew that voice. Where's she heard that voice before?
"If you can't calm down Hatake, I'll have Hawk-san remove you!"
"I just got back. What's wrong with her? Why's she—"
"Sit your ass down Hatake." There was a crash and then a thud. "There now, if you just let me speak, then maybe I'll be able to explain that your wife is going to be fine. She has a minor cerebral contusion but I'll be admitting her for the next week for observation."
"Our son—"
"Is also fine."
There was the distinct sound of another chair squealing across linoleum.
"Gai found her yesterday on one of his morning training runs. Seems she slipped and did a little tumbling act down near the Hokage Rock trail," the other voice says.
"What the hell was she doing there?"
"I suggested she start doing some walks to move the baby into an anterior position; stupid girl took it to mean doing a kami-damned daily marathon," the other voice scoffed.
Sakura was sure she knew these people. She tried to open her eyes but they were crusted shut. She choked.
"Sakura?"
There was something warm on her hand. What was that? She squeezed it.
"Oh kami … Sakura! Can you hear me?"
She hated how worried the voice sounded, hated it with every fibre of her being. She sucked in a breath and tried to open her eyes again. It was like trying to pry Kakashi away from his Icha Icha …
Kakashi!
Her eyes felt like sandpaper as she opened them, the lights, the hospital lights, she realised, made them burn even more. There was a blurred shape in her vision, but she'd recognise that hair anywhere.
"Kakashi?"
"Sakura!"
"Silly man," she said weakly, "that's my name don't wear it out."
His grip tightened and she realised he'd been holding her hand the entire time, all but crushing it in his grip.
"The house was empty when I got back and then Hawk-san came saying there was an accident, I thought—I thought—" he babbled.
Sakura's vision wavered for a moment and then she smiled thinking back to her dream.
"There was a girl."
Kakashi frowned.
"A girl?"
"Yeah, she told me I couldn't crash the party so early," she said slowly, trying to fight a sudden wave of exhaustion. "She said you and Kakashi Jr would get too lonely without me …"
The blood rapidly drained from Kakashi's face. Sakura patted his hand woozily.
"What—" he swallowed, "What did she look like?"
She squinted. "She had dark hair maybe?"
Her husband's chakra wavered.
"And kind eyes … like Ino …"
Her husband's chakra trembled.
"… and she had clan markings on her face like the Inuzuka, except pretty!"
Her husband's chakra spiked. She blinked rapidly trying to make out his pale face through the black spots in her vision.
"Did she … did she say anything else?"
Sakura cleared her scratchy throat, trying to think. "She said … she said … oh what did she say? I think she said something about classified information, her grave, and I think … I think she called you an idiot." *
Kakashi's form slumped backward and Sakura giggled.
What a lazy man.
4. Omake
Sakura observed the fresh set of senbon ringing her hospital doorway with a critical eye.
Inner smirked. Tch, thirty weeks preggers and we've still got it.
Sakura would admit—grudgingly—that medic-nin made the worst patients (especially the ones with chakra enhanced strength). Kakashi had taken to leaving what she could only describe as 'offerings' at her hospital bedside as one would do to placate a restless spirit or long-dead but troublesome ancestor.
Her cerebral contusion had left her dizzy and confused for the better part of the week. It was only within the last day she'd started feeling more like herself and therefore bored. How did her chronic patients stand it? It was driving her completely nutty! And where was her wretch of a husband? That man …
Talk about hormonal.
She pouted. "Be quiet, you."
Sakura grabbed the nearest elaborately decorated box and ripped off the wrapping.
"This better be sweet Kakashi, now's not the time to be stingy …"
So far she'd been gifted all her favourites: anko dango, anmitsu and even a jar of umeboshi. She was betting on some manju or botamochi even with spring well and truly over.
Batting the tissue paper aside impatiently she rummaged through the box her hands closing around a folded card and a curved … stick.
She frowned and flipped open the card.
My dearest blossom,
I thought you might appreciate this little culinary curiosity I picked up on my last S-rank. The country [REDACTED] holds a festival annually around this time of year. Had to spend [REDACTED] but they were happy to exchange [REDACTED].
Enjoy! (Or as they say here 'Meri Kurisumasu'.)
XOXO Your handsome and well-endowed husband.
Sakura scoffed and eyed the stick. It was wrapped in plastic and striped vibrantly red. Sakura hesitantly picked at one side and sniffed at it suspiciously.
Smells like … toothpaste.
-OOO-
Thought of by you all day, I think of you.
The birds sing in the shelter of a tree.
Above the prayer of rain, unacred blue,
not paradise, goes nowhere endlessly.
How does it happen that our lives can drift
far from our selves, while we stay trapped in time,
queuing for death? It seems nothing will shift
the pattern of our days, alter the rhyme
we make with loss to assonance with bliss.
Then love comes, like a sudden flight of birds
from earth to heaven after rain. Your kiss,
recalled, unstrings, like pearls, this chain of words.
Huge skies connect us, joining here to there.
Desire and passion on the thinking air.
—Rapture by Carol Ann Duffy
-OOO-
1. Adapted from my Day 13 KakaSaku Last Fan Standing 2016 entry. Prompt was - 'What would you be?'
2. Day 19. Prompt – "Then I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in."
3. Day 23. Prompt – 'Tumbling Act'
4. Omake. Day 26. Prompt – 'Candy Cane'
* Chapter 607, page 6 - Since her death, Kakashi would visit Rin's grave and share top-secret intel with her.
Had to post one last story for 2016 … it was a good year for me, the first one in a long time. I WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY NEW YEARS GUYS! And if 2016 wasn't the best for you, may 2017 treat you with better care, good health and happiness. ❤