Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.
Sakura rolled over onto her belly, with the Yellow Pages in hand. She propped her upper body onto a pillow before diligently thumbing through the pages searching for the letter 'H'.
'Home Builders, Home Centers...' She turned several pages at once.
'Home Security.' An unsatisfied smirk spread across her features. 'Too far.' She slowed down to flip a few pages back.
'Home Inspections... There it is. Home Improvements.'
Her index finger came to rest on the third listing, 'Konoha Contracting'. She overheard two women in the grocery store praise the work of this particular company just last week. Reaching over to her nightstand, she picked up the phone and dialed.
As the phone rang, her thoughts strayed back to last night. She could not stop thinking about the way Kakashi had touched her. She had known the man for eleven years and never witnessed any aggressive behavior toward a female from him. Then again, this was the first time she was ever on the receiving end of his attentions, so how would she really know how he was with any woman?
Sakura was pulled from her musing when a man answered on the other end of the phone.
"Good morning, Konoha Contracting. This is Masa speaking. How can I help you?"
"Hello. I was wondering if I can make an appointment for an in house consultation?"
"Alright. What sort of work are you looking to have done ma'am?"
"Well" she started, "I was hoping to have my entire house remodeled."
The man known to her only as Masa and for all of 30 seconds, paused for a moment before proceeding. It was not often that such an inquiry came in. Only someone with a lot of money could afford to contract a job of this size. Unless the house in question was a studio apartment. Which was likely the case.
"The whole house at once?"
"Yes."
Another lapse of silence ensued.
Masa went on gathering information. "Just how big of a house are we talking about?"
Sakura rattled off all the rooms of the house. "Two bedrooms, living room, dining room, den, kitchen.. Oh, and one and a half baths. I'm going to say approximately fifteen hundred square feet in total."
The man on the other end of the phone sat with his eyes wide. A home of that size in Konoha was considered large in comparison to the meager sized living spaces the village had to offer. With most citizens being professional ninja whom often were away on missions, the majority of housing was generally small apartments. A job of this size, depending on work detail, would pull in quite a bit of revenue and keep the company busy for a good month or so. It was an opportunity Masa did not wish to let his competition have a chance of getting.
"Are you available anytime today?" he asked, trying his best not to sound overly eager.
Sakura looked around her room. She could use some time to clean herself and the house up some. "It's 10:30 now. Would you be able to come over around 11:30?"
Masa smiled and silently pumped his fist in the air. He would be the first contractor to give an estimate. "Eleven thirty is fine by me. Will your husband be present as well, Mrs... I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."
"Husband?" Sakura stuttered slightly. Before thinking it through she lied hastily."He'll be here... My name is Sakura, by the way." She was unsure if Masa asked about her having a husband or not so he could possibly over charge the 'unknowing female'. She had heard on several occasions that some businesses try to do that, thinking that a woman is an easy target to collect a higher profit on.
"Great, Sakura. I'll see you at 11:30 then. I look forward to meeting you and your husband"
"Likewise." Sakura was mentally fretting over finding a fake husband. An hour would not be enough time to find someone to stand in and get over to her house. "Would it be a problem if we moved the appointment up to one o'clock?"
"Sure." Masa replied. "I'll see you at one then."
Her hand darted out to click the receiver and get a dial tone. The only guy she could think of off the top of her head was the one she spent last night with. After all, she would be spending the construction time living with him. It was a perfect alibi. Without any hesitation she dialed Kakashi's number; hoping not to wake him.
He had left around 4:00 in the morning. She was able to pull off winning the last game of the night after his handy instructions (and groping). Rather than gloat, she thanked him for always being so patient in offering instruction. She told him she would not have had been able to play so well without him.
She heard the line ring once.
He grabbed his vest as she walked him to the door. Before she could thank him for such a wonderful time, he was quick to say it first. She was grateful that he had as good of a time as she did.
With his mask still pooled around his neck, he leaned down with his eyes closed and place a chaste kiss on her cheek. Sakura immediately put her hand to her face, where his lips had just been. A slight hint of color graced her heated cheeks.
Kakashi smiled sweetly at her."You don't always have to be the one giving out the kisses."
With a poof of smoke he was gone.
The line rang a second time.
Now Sakura sat there wondering if asking Kakashi to play the role of her husband was over the top. Something definitely changed between them last night... or at least shifted. She could not deny that she spent the remainder of her time awake and this morning thinking about him. She thought about everything from the erotic lesson to the perfectly gentle kiss goodnight.
Would asking him to play such a part seem like she was rushing or desperate to get herself into... what? What would she be getting herself into by asking a simple favor? This is a man that would give his life to protect her. Asking him to play along as her spouse in order to get a fair estimate is nothing when compared to dying for her. But, he had also did the favor of offering her a place to stay. How could she ask more of him?
'One last ring and if he doesn't answer, hang up!' she bargained with her mixed feelings.
The line rang a third time.
As she lowered the phone from her ear, she heard his familiar voice answer.
"Hello?"
She fumbled the phone while bringing it back to her ear. "Hi Kakashi. It's Sakura."
He sounded groggy. She didn't want to wake him up and yet she did. "Hey. What's going on?"
"I hate to do this to you..."
"You're not having second thoughts about staying here, are you?" There was some concern of her backing out evident in his voice.
"No. No. Nothing like that. I have a contractor coming over this afternoon."
"Great. When will you officially be my roommate?" His place was neat and clean to the guest that drops by for a visit. It would require a deep cleaning to accommodate someone moving in. He made a mental note to do his spring cleaning sooner than later.
"I'm not sure yet." She wanted to get out with it already before she lost her nerve. "The guy that is coming over sounded like he might have been a little shady. He asked me if my husband would be here when he comes for the estimate. I told him that he would be, so that he would give a fair estimate."
Kakashi chuckled. He already knew where this was leading. "And you need a stand in to play the husband part?"
She sighed deeply, indicating some irritation with the entire scenario. "I really hate having to ask this of you, but..."
"What time, Sakura?" he intervened for the second time this conversation.
"He'll be here at 1:00."
"I'll see you then." was his final assurance before hanging up the phone. He hadn't even given her the chance to thank him.
With her shower taken and the house tidied, Sakura had nothing left to do other than wait. The time was five minutes to 1:00 and she knew there was no possibility Kakashi would be on time. It just wasn't in his nature to appease anyone by being prompt. She often had to wonder if his persistent tardiness came with the intent of making a grand entrance or that perhaps he found some sort of satisfaction in pissing people off. She asked him a favor, which in turn he volunteered to comply. It was impossible for her to be mad at him when he had been the only consistent factor in her life as of recently. Besides, she already expected this outcome.
A knock came from her front door. From the pattern and rhythm, she knew it was not Kakashi. She was well aware of who it would be just from glancing over at the clock on the stove.
'At least some people have their watches set for the same time.' She opened the door to a dark haired man who was likely middle aged and carrying a stack of papers.
"Hello. I'm Masa from Konoha Contracting. You must be..." his eyes nonchalantly gazed down to the writing tablet in his hand; hoping she did not notice. "...Sakura. A pleasure to meet you." He extended his arm to offer a firm handshake.
"The pleasure is all mine, Masa." she followed up politely while stepping aside from the door. "Please, come in. My husband is running a bit late, but he should be joining us shortly." She cringed at the latest title Kakashi had taken on for her.
Masa entered the foyer and took in his surroundings as Sakura stepped in front of him to lead him around the house.
"Can I get you anything? Perhaps a cup of tea?" she asked while motioning through the living room with her hands.
"Tea would be great. Thank you." Masa had answered.
The door opened before Sakura could turn from him and continue towards the kitchen.
"Hello sweetheart." In marched Kakashi, right past Masa and over to Sakura. He wrapped his arms around her neck and kissed her forehead. "So sorry I am late. Hope I didn't miss too much."
"Hatake Kakashi! I had no idea you had gotten married." The man from behind him exclaimed. "When did this all take place?"
Sakura's eyes open wide and stared directly into Kakashi equally stunned exposed eye. He could have warned her that he'd enter acting the part. The abruptly unexpected kiss was shock enough, but the fact they agreeably lied to someone that apparently knew Kakashi was an equivalent jolt.
Kakashi slid his arm around Sakura's shoulder while adverting his attention to the man. Astonishment plastered over what little could be seen of his face as he greeted the voice.
"Masa!" He removed his arm from Sakura to perform a half hug/back pat and hand shake combination on the man. "It's been too long. How have you been?"
"Everything has been great. Things have really taken off since retiring from ANBU and dedicating all my time to the business. I hardly have time to see my family... So, business has been good. How about you?"
"Things couldn't be better. I had no idea my wife called your company. I'm glad she did... It's really great to see you."
He smiled over towards Sakura, who was eyeing both men back and forth. She was trying to decide if this acquaintance Masa and Kakashi shared was a good or bad thing. When she weighed it out, it seemed useful, yet she had to wonder if lying about being married would have it's repercussions down the road. She had to trust Kakashi's instincts. If he felt saying they were married was a benefit, then who was she to argue? He must have continued playing along for a reason.
She flashed a quaint smile at both men. "I'm going to excuse myself and get working on that tea." With a bow she was gone.
Kakashi turned back to Masa. "Please, have a look around. I am going to ask Sakura where she put all the swatches we made, so we can talk about what we need done."
Sakura overheard Kakashi's remark to Masa. Therefore she was not surprised when he joined her in the kitchen. She knew that he was playing the role she had asked him to play, but between acting as his wife and last night, she could not help feeling somewhat confused. She had been around this man almost half of her lifetime and felt nothing but the utmost respect for him and now she had to question her own feelings (and his intentions as well). Second guessing herself was a habit she tried to toss aside so many years ago.
'Old habits die hard.' she thought to herself while looking to her former sensei, knowing what he was going to ask of her.
"I have Masa looking around the house. He'll likely take measurements and draw diagrams of each room. I figured I could lend you a hand in here and we could look over your swatches when the tea is done." She nodded at him, agreeing that was a good enough plan. "I know Masa from being in ANBU. He's a straight- laced guy. His work is amazing. I don't think you'll need to worry about him trying to.."
"Then why, Kakashi?" she muttered. "Why then would you have continued this facade of us being a married couple? If I was just your friend, would that have made him a less honest businessman?"
"If I knew playing the role of your husband was going to be such a problem for you, I would have never offered to take the part." He paused for a moment, trying to read her long face. "I was simply letting you know, of all the contractors in Konoha, you picked the best. You have no need to question his integrity."
"It's not his integrity I am questioning. I don't even know him to judge him." she replied hotly.
"I see. So, you found a need to question mine... If you would like me to leave, Sakura, just say the word and I'm gone." There was a trace of genuine hurt in his voice.
"No. It's not you I'm questioning. It's myself. Sorry if it sounded like I meant you." Sakura truly felt bad for upsetting him. She pointed over to the butcher block island at the pile of papers and fabric samples. "Just grab those and let's go talk to him."
She grabbed her tray filled with the teapot and cups. Kakashi observed her questioningly. "By the way, thank you. You never let me thank you earlier on the phone."
"You know I'd do anything for you, Sakura." he murmured with all honesty.
She walked past him, feigning as if she did not hear his truthful words. He had proven to her on countless occasions as her teacher that he would indeed give his life for her. Dwelling would only complicate things further for her. Living with him was going to pose enough confusion.
'Leave well enough alone.' she thought as she exited the kitchen.
A/N: I know this chapter was not fluffy or did much in the way of progression for the relationship. Well, it did a little... just not much. It had to happen though to move on to them eventually living at Kakashi's place. I will not be upset if you feel the need to tell me this chapter wasn't all that good. I'd rather you be honest and believe me, I can take it like a big girl. :)
I do want to thank all of you that took the time to read and review the last chapter. Your encouragement helps greatly in the motivation department.