Sorry this chapter is kind of absurdly short... but it's sweet? I hope?

Act II, Scene II:

"Eggs for breakfast?" Sakura asked as she turned on the stove and pulled out a pan from Kakashi's cupboard.

Kakashi simply nodded from his place leaning against the doorframe as he watched Sakura scrape butter into the pan. Before she could ask, Kakashi had pushed himself away from the door and was opening the fridge to get the eggs for her. It was a habit she had, not getting the food before she actually needed it. It didn't surprise him really, how many of her habits he knew and how he compensated for them. Who knew what she did for him?

Sakura grinned at him as she took the carton out of his hands and popped it open, cracking three eggs into the pan and frying them just how he liked them. Kakashi got the bowls of rice and the ketchup and set them on the table. As soon as he had finished, Sakura passed him his plate of three eggs and then began frying her own.

Kakashi nimbly sat at the table and waited only a couple seconds before Sakura finished her own portion at the stove and she turned the knob with a click. She sat down in front of him with her own plate of eggs and immediately went for the ketchup on the table.

"What is your day at the hospital like today?" Kakashi asked as he shoveled some rice into his mouth.

"Well there are four planned surgeries, but of course there's always the chance that there will some emergency procedures that will have to be done. Some of the teams that you sent out should be coming back soon; it has been over a week. Other than that, I need to catch up on some of my filing, need to be meticulous!"

"You're always meticulous."

"Thank you."

Kakashi smiled as he used his chopsticks to break off a piece of fried egg, "And how are Naruto and Sasuke doing with being back?"

"Sasuke-kun is as unmoved as ever. I guess he's still riding that high from travelling during his one year of self banishment, but Naruto is definitely causing a ruckus."

"He's visited you… five times the last… three days?"

Sakura rolled her eyes as she stuffed a piece of egg into her mouth and inhaled it, "Yeah, he's wondering how fast we're moving but also doesn't want any details so…"

Kakashi chuckled, "I'm curious when everyone has their bets."

Sakura stared at him with the stink eye, "You know already don't you."

"Oh, yes."

Sakura snorted as she set her rice bowl down, "So… anyone looking likely to win?"

"I believe that it's too soon to tell," Kakashi teased, "Isn't it even too soon to say that we'll be getting married at all?"

Sakura simply rolled her eyes at him but her bright flush didn't go unnoticed, "Come on, at least tell me when shishou placed her bet."

Kakashi cocked an eyebrow at her obvious attempt to bury her mistake into the ground but let it pass because damn wasn't she pretty when she was embarrassed, "Oh you'll find this one hilarious."

"It wasn't today was it?"

"No… it was five days ago."

"Five days ago…" Sakura's eyebrows pulled together in thought, "Oh… when we started dating."

"Legendary sucker," Kakashi commended, "She's forfeited a fee though to place a second one, about six months from now. She's going to be disappointed when the news get's to her." Sakura simply laughed at the statement as she watched Kakashi stand up and take all of the bowls and plates away.

"You would think that she would put it later since there hasn't been an engagement announcement."

"I'm pretty sure she's convinced that we're going to elope."

"You would elope."

"I take insult to that."

"Really Kakashi, big parties have never been your kind of thing."

"Point taken."

Sakura turned in her chair to watch Kakashi wash the dishes, his shoulders bunching and relaxing as he cleaned the plates. "What are you up to today?"

Kakashi seemed to pause for a second before he said, "I'm going to see Naruto. He wants to send me on an S-class mission."

"Oh!"

Kakashi sighed, "I hope this doesn't…"

"Kakashi," Sakura sighed, "Just because we're uh… officially dating now doesn't mean that I'm going to expect you to change the way you operate your life. You've been dealing with my crazy schedule without fail after all," Sakura rubbed her forehead absent mindedly as she recalled the night that Kakashi had flicked her on the forehead for apologizing for being late after an emergency had caused her to work overtime, "And who am I to treat you any differently than you have me. We walked into this knowing exactly who the other person was and what they do. Of course I'm going to worry about you, but not anymore than I already do."

Kakashi smiled as he set the last bowl on the drying rack and washed the suds off of his hands. "I'll be seeing your face first thing when I return then?"

Sakura tilted her head, her pink hair falling over her eyes, "As always."

He had returned several days later, not any worse for wear and Sakura had dashed to his apartment as soon as she could. On the way she had picked up a couple groceries, knowing that he would be in want of a nice home cooked meal.

She walked into his apartment, turning the knob with no hesitation and dodged the mud that he had left in his entryway along with his stinking bedroll and discarded pack.

She could hear the sound of his shower in the background as she unpacked the groceries and began prepping them quickly on the counter. She was making a simple udon where most of the ingredients were pre-prepared and maybe it didn't taste as good as it could have, but speed was more of the essence.

Half way through chopping the vegetables, Sakura registered the presence of eight sets of eyes staring at her. She turned around slowly to see Kakashi's ninken ogling at her, drool dripping from their muzzles. Sakura laugh tinkled as she bent over to dig through her grocery bags, "Don't worry you guys, I have dinner for all of you too." The ninken chorused in glee as Sakura pulled out several boxes of restaurant left overs and opened them up in the living room so that the ninken could dine without the threat of her tripping over their feet.

Sakura was about to scoop the broth into the bowl of noodles when the shower turned off and she heard Kakashi riffling around in his bedroom. The door then creaked open as he emerged in just his boxers and a towel on his shoulders, part of which he was using to dry his hair. "Not too tired to eat at least a little I hope," Sakura chirped as she put down her ladle and turned to him, "Whoa!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her small jump when her eyes had met him, "What was that?"

Sakura giggled to herself as a blush crawled up her cheeks and down her neck. She looked up at him and grinned sheepishly, "That was new."

"What was?"

"Feeling hot and bothered at the sight of you."

Kakashi's eyebrow only sored higher as his lip quirked on one corner of his mouth, "I thought Ino said—"

"Oh forget what Ino said!" Sakura shouted in embarrassment as she placed the bowls of steaming hot udon on the kitchen table, "Just eat your dinner you ridiculous man."

Kakashi chuckled as he ambled over to his seat, purposefully flexing his arms as he dried his hair. He could only image that Sakura's blush was getting closer to the colour of her qipao rather than her hair as she stared at him. Of all the new things that their relationship was already bringing into their close dynamic, this was one of his favourites. If anything, he now felt slightly slighted that she had been so unfazed by his male physique before.

Kakashi jumped a little when he felt Sakura's hands on his shoulders. "Aren't you going to eat as well?"

He had to tense every muscle of his being to not shiver as her warmth breath caressed his neck, "Not before I check you for injuries." He stared at his food as hard as possible as he felt her chakra crawl into him, seeking any abnormalities and gently fixing them. He had never considered healing intimate before, and he was sure that if any other medic had done this, he would still not consider it so, but this was Sakura, so he felt like his skin was on fire, in the best way things could be on fire. "You're so tense Kakashi," Sakura whispered into his ear as she rubbed his shoulders and pressed the base of her hand into his sore muscles, causing him to groan. The sound of his voice seemed to have done something to Sakura, for she paused for a second before resuming her ministrations. "Your food is getting cold," Sakura said languidly.

"So is yours," Kakashi said aiming for suave and easy and probably coming off as anything but.

Suddenly Sakura's hands were no longer on his skin as she pulled out the other chair and sat herself in it, picking up the chopsticks in the same move, "You're right. Let's eat before you pass out."

Kakashi choked a bit, fighting down his growing arousal before he dug into his udon.

All of the ninken in the living room were jittery from all the sexual tension in the air.

True to tradition, Kakashi nearly passed out before making it to bed and Sakura simply washed the dishes to the sound of the man's quiet snores. Instead of following him into his bedroom right after, Sakura took a seat on his couch with his dogs and eased the tension out of their limbs, inquiring them about the mission. It wasn't exactly a surprise that Kakashi didn't wake up to Shiba's excited retelling of their adventure.

When it was time for bed, Sakura easily crawled into Kakashi's arms and he readjusted in his sleep to accommodate her. She held on to him tightly that night, having felt the emptiness of his lack of presence over the days he had been gone. She hadn't thought it possible, and she wouldn't let her stop him from doing what he did best because of it, but she had worried about him more than she had ever thought possible.

Thank you to all of those who reviewed last chapter!

Somber's Corner

This may be the moment a lot of you have been waiting for... the next chapter is SMUT. TIS NSFW. You have been warned. It's pretty vanilla and dorky... for now.