"You really pack a punch," Kakashi chuckled, patting at his bruising eye in the reflection of the glass. "I got a little dizzy when you hit me. I was sure I was going to shit myself when you punched me in the stomach."

Naruto frowned, "Are you going to press charges on me?"

Kakashi turned to cast Naruto a look, "I should, technically. You did assault your boss on company grounds. Not only should I press charges and have you arrested to the fullest extent, but you'd be out of a job and banned from all architect jobs ever again—technically, anyways."

"Yeah, you should," he remarked, head hung low. "I made an ass out of myself, I..."

"Yeah, you did," Kakashi agreed, deepening Naruto's frown. "You not only made an ass out of yourself, you humiliated Sakura in front of the entire office and put her business out there for the world to see. So now, the whole office knows Sakura and I got a little nooky and they unfortunately won't let either of us live it down—at least, until this whole scene blows over. Not to mention, you very nearly laid one into her—and that would have gone south, fast, because I would have had to intervene and then I'd lose my job, as well."

"You're willing to lose all this for Sakura?"

Kakashi nodded, "Just like you are."

"You really care about her?"

Another nod, "I do. I'd consider myself a lover and not a fighter, but a little MMA here and there is good for self-defense should I need it. I was prepared to use what I learned on you like I have so many others back in the day."

"For Sakura?"

"For Sakura."

Naruto frowned, "So...you're not just using her for sex?"

Kakashi shook his head, "Sex was never on my agenda, as a matter of fact. It sure was on Sakura's, though. Not that what she does as an adult is anyone's business, Naruto. You should respect her space."

Fists clenched, "I know, I just...Ino called saying she saw you two and that you took advantage of her and-"

Kakashi held up a hand, "Yeah, I know. I get the whole understanding and miscommunication. But, instead of just settling on fucking me up, you could have simply asked Sakura herself if she was okay and expressed your concern before resorting to beating me to a pulp. Now, because of this, we have footage we'll need to get rid of so Kizashi doesn't see—because if he finds out you nearly hit Sakura I can assure you, you will lose everything. He will make sure of it."

"I'd lose his trust, too," Naruto remarked sadly. "I didn't mean...I mean, I just...I just want to protect her. Ino said you knew...You know about everything?"

Kakashi met Naruto's earnest gaze, "Everything."

"Even..." He held up his wrists.

Kakashi cleared his throat and glanced down, "Yes. I don't know the details of that night so much as I just know it happened."

"Ever since that night...Ever since all of this started, Kakashi, I—I can't help but feel like I have to fight to protect her. I was late to the bar when she got kidnapped. I was late to the house when she cut her wrists. I held her body while she bled out. I watched her die. I held her when she begged men who weren't there to leave her alone. I washed her scars, I heard her sobs, I..." He sighed, closing his eyes and wiping away a stray tear, "It's my fault she's been hurt to begin with. The least I could do is defend her and-"

"No."

Naruto glanced up, "What?"

"I said, no. It's not your fault. None of what happened to Sakura is your fault. People are late to things all the time—how would you know she was going to get kidnapped? I bet she tried to hide her suicide attempt from you—she told me the grocery store was her way to keep you out of the house so she could go through with it. None of this is your fault, Naruto. You're not to blame for those sick fucks, you're not to blame for her hurt, and you're not to blame for her trauma. You are, however, guilty of her healing."

"What do you mean?"

Kakashi took a step forward, one hand in his pocket and one hand on Naruto's shoulder, "You and Ino are the main reason Sakura is becoming healthy and happy. You kept Sakura safe when she didn't feel safe. You made her laugh when she couldn't manage to, and you brought a smile to her face when she was crying. Sakura thinks highly of you and she loves you very dearly. She's told me many of your childhood stories, awkward double dates, and movie nights you two have spent together. You are not responsible for her trauma, but I wholly blame you for her healing."

Naruto's lip jut out and, surprising Kakashi, he stood and pulled the man in for a bear hug; squeezing tightly and sobbing into Kakashi's shoulder, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you; thank you, thank you, thank you. I am so sorry for all of this, I'm so sorry for thinking you would take advantage of her, I'm sorry for-"

"Don't apologize to me," Kakashi replied, patting the man's broad back. "It's Sakura you owe an apology to. You humiliated her and invaded her space based off of pure assumption alone. She's the one who you should be hugging and apologizing to—not me."

Naruto pulled back, sniffing, "Why do you say that? I mean, I tried to fuck you up."

Kakashi sighed and shook his head, "Because, Naruto—had I been in your shoes, I would have done the same damned thing."

If anyone had anything to say about what happened, they were doing Sakura a favor about keeping their traps shut. Even Genma, who had no sense of boundaries, only seemed to communicate with Sakura about work and work alone. No one said a word to her about today's happenings, let alone look her in the eye.

She was thankful for it, but she hated it, too.

She was beyond mad. Beyond mortified, beyond humiliated, beyond enraged. At first she was willing to forgive Ino and Naruto—she understood why they did what they did on some level. But with Naruto's actions, knowing that they essentially planned to attack Kakashi—it made her so angry she couldn't seem to see clearly. It made her want to leave work, the way Asuma was giving her side eye.

On top of it, Sakura was absolutely sure that this was going to chase Kakashi away. The day after they agree to date and her so called "friends" are plotting attacks on the man? A man that, both Ino and Naruto knew, Sakura was obliviously in to at the time.

How could they?

Chewing on her lip, she was unable to focus on the blueprints in front of her. Instead, she pulled out her phone and shot Kakashi a text:

Still on for tonight...?

To her surprise, there was an immediate reply of:

I'm still on if you're still on...Have you seen Naruto? Cause if not, he's on his way to you.

Sakura scoffed, replying:

Of course I'm still on. No, I haven't- and I don't care to see him or Ino right now. I'm mad at them.

Instantly, he responded:

Well, if that's the case, would you care to stay the night tonight? Get some space?

Sakura grinned, typing back:

As long as it's space from them and not from you, I would love nothing more.

Kakashi texted:

My ride?

Sakura bit her lip again:

You or the car?

Several minutes ticked by before her phone buzzed:

Don't tease me or I'll be forced to take action here at work.

Sakura chuckled:

I could use some relief right now. I'm all tense. Do you think you can help me with that?

A quick buzz from Kakashi:

I can later tonight.

Feeling bold, Sakura made her own quick reply:

That's a shame. My shoulders are tense right now. I could use some deep pressure.

Five minutes passed, and Sakura's focus was long out the window. Her mind became hazy with the thought of riding Kakashi while he sat in his chair. Her hands flipped her phone back and forth until it went off with another text:

You're really horny after everything that happened today?

Sakura hummed, remarking:

I think it's when you stopped Naruto from hitting me. It was hot and besides everything else, I would much rather think about you than what they did.

Three seconds:

What are you thinking about?

Feeling victorious he took the bait, she began typing:

I have this scene in my head of you sitting in your chair in your office with me on top of you, riding you. I can almost feel your hands gripping my hips like you did the other night. It's crazy, but I feel like you unlocked some part of me. All I can seem to think about is fucking you, feeling you, tasting you...Maybe I'm crazy, considering everything. But I can't help it. You feel so good inside me, I want more.

Without missing a beat, he responded:

Ad office—five minutes.

Sakura felt her breath hitch, taking a moment to glance around to make sure no one could see her phone before she stood up; quietly making her way out of her office, down the hall, downstairs to the ad office.

The ad office was a small room where they kept big metal shelves of endless amounts of paperwork. Once a month old paper work was tossed and new paperwork was filed—it was like inventory, and everyone dreaded it. The thing with the ad office was everything was a tight squeeze; no one liked to go in there because it was so stuffy and there was really only room for one person to comfortably file work. It was also a place anyone seldom went to because no one liked it.

Sakura really surprised herself with the way she was behaving. The biggest drama ever just went down today, and while she was upset, it wasn't the main thing on her mind. She didn't want to think about how fucked up Ino and Naruto were being—she just wanted to keep feeling and be happy like she was hours ago. She was as happy as a clam before all the shit started, and for right now, she wanted to stay that way. She wanted to forget that some people only saw her as helpless and remember the woman she felt she was the other night. She felt assured and strong, bold and sexy.

She felt like herself for the first time in a long, long time.

She felt independent, like she had been before everything...

Shaking her mind of the dark thoughts, Sakura opened the door to the ad office to find Kakashi leaned against one of the shelves, gazing intently at Sakura. She closed the door behind her and grinned softly at him, raising her hand in a small wave, "Hello."

Kakashi wordlessly held out his hand, which Sakura took easily. He pulled her in close, wrapping his arms around her in a warming hug; one that made her heart clench, made her eyes water, and made her shoulders relax.

He kissed the top of her head, "Are you okay, Sakura? Earlier...that was all pretty intense."

Sakura sighed into his chest, arms still wrapped around his strong frame, "I think I am. It just upsets me and makes me feel like they only see me as helpless. I'm not helpless."

"No, you're not. You're strong and resilient, capable of making your own choices."

"Exactly!" Sakura exclaimed, brow furrowing.

"On the flip, however," Kakashi began, kissing her temple, "put yourself in their shoes. They have been defending you for so long, it's like second nature to them at this point. It's not that they see you as helpless, they just want to keep you safe—like they've been doing. It's going to take them awhile to loosen their grip on you and let you live normally again. Especially Naruto."

"Yeah, I understand that, Kakashi. But," Sakura pulled back from the hug to look at Kakashi, "they could have gone about it entirely different. They could have spoken to me. Instead, they wanted to fight you? And planned it? Without even using their heads. Without even talking to me first. Without anything. They saw us and they just charged. They don't trust me to make my own choices."

Kakashi shook his head, "Yes, they do. It's just that think about it—they saw Sasuke and charged. They saw time and time again your episodes—and charged. Naruto is used to charging to save you because he loves you...You know, he blames himself for everything that's happened to you. He thinks it's all of his fault—when in fact, it's not. He's so hellbent on redeeming himself that he's losing sight of it all. I think it would be important for you to talk with him and let him know that, even though you have every right to be angry right now, you don't blame him. He needs to hear it from you."

Sakura sighed, shaking her head and closing her eyes, "Why do you always have to make sense."

Kakashi chuckled lowly, "I'm just stating the facts here, it's not my fault you listen to reason."

"Fine, I'll talk to him. But not today- I just...I need some space. I'll talk to him tomorrow, okay?"

"You promise?" Kakashi hummed, running the tip of his nose along hers.

"I promise," Sakura remarked, standing on her tip toes to plant an indolent kiss on his lips.

Kakashi kissed back, lightly at first, before kissing again; slanting his mouth over hers, deepening the kiss and curling his tongue along hers. Sakura's breath caught and she kissed back, a small moan escaping her lips when his hand pressed along her lower back to tighten her body against his.

"You'll have to be quiet if you want to do this in here," Kakashi hummed, turning her around and facing her against a metal shelf; dainty hands gripping the metal, hips rolling back into Kakashi's own grinding hips. He circled his arm around her midsection, curling over her to rumble in her ear, "To be fair, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you, either. All I can seem to hear is your sweet little moans each time I thrust my cock into you."

Sakura gasped, her cheeks flushing, "Do we have time to do it now?"

Kakashi nibbled on her earlobe, "We'll find out, won't we?"

Left hand gripping her hip, he began to roll up Sakura's skirt to her waist; the sound of his buckle undoing, the feeling of her panties slipping down her hips to her ankles—leaving her sex open to the cool air of the room. A hand moved to the back of her core, cupping it as he hummed, "So ready..."

"Please, just do it," Sakura whimpered, jutting her hips back so he got the picture. "I need to feel you, I can't take it anymore."

She could feel the hot head of his cock bump her entrance; she could feel it slide in between her folds several times before he pressed into her slowly—grunting deep in his chest, squeezing her hips hard, tossing his head back and remarking, "Goddamn, baby girl. You're the one that feels good."

"Ah, fuck," Sakura huffed, loving how full she felt and how the tip of his cock was already rubbing a sweet spot within her. She leaned her lower body down and arched her hips back, pushing him in deeper, and crying softly when he pulled out and snapped his hips back into her.

"Quiet, baby," he cooed, thrusting into her with just the right amount of pressure that her eyes closed and she was biting on her lip to stifle the moans.

The bodies of lovers met, the puffs of their breath filling the room; the coils within them straining so tight that when Sakura came, Kakashi quickly followed; gritting his teeth, nipping her shoulder, hips pumping erratically until they slowed to a stop. Sakura turned her head to kiss him hotly, quickly pulling up her panties and rolling down her skirt; Kakashi tucking his cock back into his boxers and zipping up his pants, fixing his buckle. They kissed again, deeper again, embracing each other and giggling like teenagers.

"Can we talk about something really quick?" Kakashi spoke, causing Sakura to turn back to face him.

"Yes?"

"It's about something you said this afternoon," he hummed, twirling one of her pink strands in between his fingers.

Sakura blushed, glancing down, "Something I said?"

"Mmhhmm."

"What...What did I say?"

Kakashi plucked a shoulder and grinned, "You said-"

There was a sharp rap on the door, jolting both of them out of their close encounter and putting considerable distance between them. They glanced at each other before Sakura reached for a random stack of papers and held them between her arms, Kakashi turning to grab a box and dig around when the door opened.

It was Naruto, holding out her cellphone with a worried expression on his face, "Sakura...It's Mebuki..."

Sakura's brows ticked down, "Mom?"