"I know you're afraid, but we can't hide in this closet forever," Sakura said. She adjusted her limbs so that their bodies fit better together. If she was going to be here, she preferred not having his arm squished up against her stomach or her knee bent in an uncomfortable position. Usually, she rather enjoyed trying to remove as much distance between them as possible, but carnal thoughts were far from her mind at the moment.

"Why not?" Kakashi reached over her and plucked a can of beans off the shelf, shaking its contents while holding it up to his ear. "It's well stocked. Efficient use of space—why do people even need an entire apartment? Wasteful."

"There is exactly one can of beans—which I don't even know why it's in here because this is a utility closet. It's probably ancient and full of botulism," she huffed. Then she pointed to the light bulb which flickered above their heads like the eyelids of a drunk man about to fall unconscious. "And who knows how long that thing's going to last."

"Who needs light when we have our sense of touch?"

"Kakashi."

He put the can back and slid his hand down the curve of her hip. His voice became husky. "I don't need to see if I can feel you."

"Our friends probably have their ears pressed to the door," she replied flatly.

"It was obviously a warning." He glared in the direction of the unseen eavesdroppers standing outside of the closet.

Sakura let her forehead rest on his chest, sighing. "How long are we going to stand here?"

"How long until the sun goes out forever?"

She smacked him. "You haven't even answered me."

"There were a lot of questions since we entered. Be more specific." He played with the chain attached to the light bulb, tugging on it and turning it on and off.

He was avoiding looking at her, difficult given their proximity. The set of his shoulders were tight in his obvious discomfort. She knew it wasn't because of what she had asked, not exactly. It was more of how it had happened that made him instinctively go into hiding. At least he had taken her with him. Most of her irritation at his evasive responses melted away.

"I'm sorry I caught you off guard," she murmured, sliding her palms against his then lacing their fingers together.

The words had came out of her suddenly as he approached her so that they could go to lunch together, like he had so many times before. Like any other day. Ino was spying from around the corner, her blonde ponytail poking out. Sakura was just finishing her chat with Hinata, who was on her own way to find her husband. Shikamaru had been on his way out for a secret smoke break on the roof (that he thought no one knew about because he was supposed to have quit two months ago). In retrospect, she should have known that suddenly blurting out that they should get married while in the hallway of the administration building was bound to spook her boyfriend.

After Sakura's apology, Kakashi finally met her eyes, his lips quirking into a quiet smile. As handsome in a dimly lit closet as he was at home. Vaguely, she recalled the eyes of all the heterosexual women (and some interested men) turning to Kakashi when he made his entrance earlier. They had never seen his face before. Almost no one had.

She was certain about the way she felt about him and had been for some time now. She knew that this was the man with whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life.

So it was in the busy hallway, in front of dozens of people, that she had uttered those fateful words. He then grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her into the closet where they stood now.

"My answer is yes, by the way," Kakashi said.

She smiled, laughing slightly. "I turned this into a mess. You deserve better."

"No, you deserve better. I was planning to ask you next week." He pressed a kiss on the top of her head. "The ring is back at the apartment…I assure you it was going to be romantic beyond your wildest dreams. Now what am I going to do with the white doves I've been training for months?" He shook his head. "I made tiny tuxedos and top hats…"

"You surprised me enough earlier," she said.

"Hm. I suppose, the look on your face today was satisfying."

"Does this mean you're not going to wear the mask anymore?" She had never thought he would actually do it. As a joke, she had told him that if he ever got rid of it for good, she would have to marry him to keep anyone else from trying to make their claim. She wanted to kiss the bridge of his nose, right where his tan line sloped across his face, so she rose up on her toes and she did.

"We'll see. I might be too distracting to others." He encircled his arms around her waist, leaning down to press his lips onto hers.

His ass hit the shelf behind him ungracefully. When he straightened, he collided with the light bulb and lost his balance—a precarious thing to do in such a tiny area. He brought down Sakura with him and she grabbed for the first thing she could to try and remain upright. Unfortunately, this was the door knob.

They came tumbling out of the closet, a tangle of limbs. Kakashi had broken her fall and he was on the floor, wheezing after her weight had knocked the air out of his lungs. Sakura was busy trying to make sure that he was all right when she felt the burn of several pairs of eyes on her. She flushed, getting to her feet and helping Kakashi stand too.

"So, when's the wedding?" Ino asked, her lips stretched in a wide grin.

Sakura groaned.