It was almost funny how every epiphany felt like the end of the world as she knew it, although some epiphanies certainly packed more of a punch than others.
For instance, when she was six and had come to the mind-boggling realization that the chicken her mother roasted Sunday nights was the same sort of chicken that the Eto family that lived next door had in their backyard. That had changed her life. She had refused all poultry for three months.
A smaller epiphany followed three months later, when her mother had handed her a fried piece of chicken, and six-year-old Sakura had come to the conclusion that the food chain was a hierarchy, and it was in her nature to eat a fried chicken wing. That epiphany had been glorious, but less life-altering than its predecessor.
Realizing—and admitting to herself—that she loved Kakashi was the chicken thing all over again. She knew what love was, and she knew how happy Kakashi made her, but reconciling that happiness with love…
In honour of her six-year-old self, Sakura thought it would be best to take her three months to process this news.
Unfortunately, Kakashi was hovering about a foot away, watching her curiously as life as she knew it went up in flames right before her eyes. The very last thing she was in a position to do in that moment was to calmly partake in what was actually a very pivotal conversation between the two of them, but the one thing she absolutely needed to do in that moment was calmly partake in the pivotal conversation between them.
What had she told Kakashi? That she wished he'd be more open?
Well, he hadn't asked the same of her, so she was taking that as the out she desperately needed.
She rose up on her toes and kissed him sweetly, hoping that, in his vulnerable state, he would be thoroughly distracted by physical affection and ignore the lack of verbal affection she was offering up. She was certain that her brain had just clocked out, and if she opened her mouth and tried to say anything now, all that would come out would be a horribly awkward confession, and neither of them was prepared for that.
"Thank you," she managed to say instead, after a kiss that had Kakashi blinking fuzzily at the space above her head. She bit her lip to keep her grin at bay. "For trusting me."
She breathed easier, watching relief slowly wash over Kakashi. She felt the scales of their relationship balance out again, as she shouldered some of that inconceivable weight he seemed to carry with him everywhere.
She kissed him once more for good measure; just a small, quick peck, one more fleeting taste of his lips. She knew she would never get tired of that.
He spent the next couple hours giving her a lot to be thankful for, and no, she didn't mean sex. She was just glad to be there with him; laughing with him, kissing him whenever the mood struck (which was often), teasing him, being teased by him, being absolutely, inconsolably annoyed by him and his smug smile.
And, yes. The sex. She was very grateful for the sex.
"Noooo," she whined, tossing her leg over him and clutching him for dear life when he tried for the third time to get out of bed. "Stay."
He rolled his eyes, but his lips tilted in her most favourite smile of his; soft and a little bit off-kilter, and entirely reserved for her. He domed his head toward hers, and she tilted her chin up, ready to receive another one of his kisses. Instead, he bumped his forehead to hers and backed away.
"Go to sleep," he commanded.
"You're honestly so arrogant," she complained, rolling her eyes right back at him. "You think you're so good in bed that I—I'll just—" She broke off with a wide, jaw-cracking yawn. When she refocused her gaze on him, his grin was unabashedly smug. "Fine, go," she grumbled, relinquishing him and burrowing herself under his sheets. She made sure to make eye contact with him when she reached over and stole his pillow for herself.
He chuckled softly to himself as he climbed out of bed, leaning over to kiss her forehead, which happened to be the only part of her available to him as she made herself comfortable under the blankets. She blinked at him, hoping her wide-eyed lash fluttering would convince him to rejoin her.
When he didn't, she let out a muffled harrumph.
"Are you mad at me?" he asked teasingly.
She continued to stare at him over the edge of his bedding, considering her options. Her insides were all sorts of warm and fluttery, buzzing in elation at her long-overdue recognition of her feelings for him, and she had thus far done an excellent job hiding that from him to give herself a moment to process it all, but now she was being given an opportunity.
She was not mad at him, and they both knew it. But a rare opportunity had been revealed, and it would be ill-advised of her to pass it up.
"I might be," she said vaguely, popping her chin out of the blankets so he could see her whole face. "But I'll forgive you if you agree to one little thing."
Kakashi looked wary, but his curiosity got the better of him. Brows pinched and arms crossed over his chest, he gave her one nod in agreement and awaited her conditions. When her owlish blinks turned to unadulterated wickedness, he knew he'd made a mistake.
Crisp December air and hot lattes were what dream mornings were made of, as far as Sakura was concerned. Mornings were usually not her thing, but the pleasure of subjecting Kakashi to one of her more out-of-control obsessions far outweighed the displeasure of waking up before ten. She also took immense pleasure in pointing out how red the tip of his nose was before he slipped his mask into place, sparing her an unhappy glance.
No matter. Sakura had spent way too much time with Sasuke to let a little ol' Grinch bother her now.
"You're not even going to be home. Why bother?" he asked with a tired sigh as she dragged him from aisle to aisle, carefully procuring prime decorations.
"Since leaving for college, I've never done my own decorations," she said, reaching up for a roll of red satin ribbon and accidentally toppling over three boxes of wrapping paper for all her efforts. "Oops."
"You are going to be banned from Christmas," Kakashi threatened.
"Bite your tongue," she hissed, accidentally hip-checking the fourth and final box of wrapping paper as she turned back around to face him. She watched as he did his best to minimize the havoc she wreaked and smiled in thanks before dumping her ribbons into the shopping basket.
"Why don't you bite it for me?" he asked, eyes crinkling with his undoubtedly suggestive smile. She ignored the heat that flared up in her belly, picked up her basket, and continued on through the aisles.
"I just— I go home every year for the holidays, but I feel like I miss the anticipation, y'know?" she said as roamed, keeping a keen eye out for the perfect glitter. "I used to decorate the whole house with my dad," she continued, plucking a jar of opalescent white glitter off a shelf as she reminisced. "He would put me on his shoulders so I could help string the lights up. One time, I tried to decorate the tree without him and surprise him, and I ended up knocking the whole thing over. You should have seen—"
She stopped, a laugh bubbling out of her that halted along with her words as he caught her attention. He was just watching her, following quietly as she rambled on and on.
"What?" she asked nervously.
His eyes crinkled softly in the corners. "Nothing," he said softly, nudging her to keep walking.
"Did you— Do you celebrate with the Uchiha family?" she asked, slyly watching him from under her lashes instead of minding the decorations, as she should have been.
He hummed wryly. "Not so much. The family mainly uses Christmas as an excuse for a slew of business meetings masquerading as parties, and I don't really have many memories of Christmas with my father," he admitted, fixing her with a knowing look. She pretended not to notice. "Rin and Obito are actually going away for the holidays this year. A pre-honeymoon," Kakashi said with a roll of his eyes.
Sakura giggled. "Don't be jealous," she chastised. "Wedding planning must be stressful."
"Mm," Kakashi hummed in agreement. "Especially in that family," he mumbled under his breath. When he looked up from the variety of festive gnomes he'd been admiring, he was met with her raised eyebrows. He sighed, recognizing that her nosiness was once again rearing its head. "Obito's mother had him out of wedlock, and his father—well, he wasn't in the picture. It was quite the scandal."
She was familiar enough with the Uchiha family to understand that. Sasuke dating a man was relatively well-received, but it was a new generation, and his father happened to be the one running things over there, so unless they all wanted to lose their stakes in the various Uchiha endeavours, they really had no choice but to accept the hand they were dealt. It helped that Sasuke was something of a PR godsend. Press loved him, and they especially loved Naruto.
Given different parentage and circumstances, she was sure things wouldn't have gone so smoothly for them.
"Anyway, Obito was never looked on very kindly by his aunts, uncles and cousins. The only reason he wasn't shunned along with his mother was because of Grandmother. Once I was thrown into the mix, we were just a little band of misfits," he explained. There was an edge of amusement to his voice as he did, as if he would have loved nothing more than to be the outcast of an affluent family such as theirs.
It made her smile. As someone who always yearned to belong, it was refreshing to have someone like Kakashi in her life; someone who just wanted to be himself, unapologetically. Someone who cared about who people were, instead of what they had to offer.
"But, of course, once he paved his own way and managed to make a name for himself outside of their interests, they changed their tune. Now, they couldn't be more excited to be a part of his life, and to have Rin brought into the Uchiha fold," he said, rolling his eyes and not even trying to disguise his distaste for the whole thing.
Well, that answered the question on why he'd never met Sasuke before. Still, while she could believe Kakashi missing another black-haired, dark-eyed boy in the room, she questioned how Sasuke hadn't noticed one little boy with silver hair. She would have to interrogate him on this, and if she found out he had known the existence of such a person, and had kept it from her, there would be hell to pay.
It was all very fascinating, and it left her in a whirlpool of thoughts, sinking deeper until she was as good as lost to the world. Not the least concerning of her thoughts was that, with the Christmas spirit generally absent for the Uchiha family, and with Obito and Rin gone for the holidays, Kakashi would be alone. She nearly impaled herself on a reindeer antler, and she would have if not for Kakashi catching her by her elbow.
"Are you okay?" he asked, eyes searching and suspicious above his mask. "You said you needed lights, and you just walked past two aisles of them without stopping."
"Oh. Right," she mumbled distractedly, turning on her heel and heading back toward the light displays. As she pointed out the box of twinkly white lights on the top-most shelf to Kakashi, she thought that it was a good thing she had guilted him into doing this with her.
It was never too late to start making memories, she thought.
"How are you so good at this?!" she demanded angrily, eyeing her messy hand-painted ornament in comparison to Kakashi's masterful one. He shrugged as he set it aside in his pile of other perfectly painted baubles and reached for another ornament that needed painting.
He spared the one in her hands a brief look, his lips twitching as he bit back a smile.
"This is bullshit," she grumbled. "Are you good at everything?"
"Of course not," he said with a laugh as he painted one smooth stripe around the ornament without hesitation or error. She growled softly to herself in frustration.
"I haven't tried everything," he continued with a cheeky smile, leaning his head towards hers and making her usually-steady hands shake until her own stripe was a zigzag. She glared at him in annoyance. "But I'm pretty good at the things I have tried."
"I hate you."
"That's not very Christmassy of you."
As annoying as his natural affinity for damn near everything he attempted was, she was still having fun. Her ornaments looked like a kindergarten class gone wrong and his looked like they belonged in an artisan shop, but she had every intention of taking credit for his work anyway, so it didn't really matter.
Ever since the mishap of knocking the tree over when she was ten, it was tradition in their house to make their ornaments. Naturally, Sakura's were a mess, while her mother's were beautiful (not unlike Kakashi's), but that was what made it fun. She never really had one of those perfectly cohesive trees, and she preferred it that way. That made the disparity between the quality of her ornaments in comparison to Kakashi's easier to swallow.
That didn't stop her from sabotaging his Mona Lisa when he wasn't looking, though.
She had only managed to place one, eensy-weensy dot out of place when he caught her in the act, and after that, all hell broke loose.
He lunged at her, paintbrush blazing and eyes alight with the promise of retribution. For someone so hunch-backed and droopy-eyed he sure had one hell of a look of determination when the stakes were high. He hadn't appreciated her assessment when she screeched it at him as he chased her around the couch in her apartment.
"Kakashi," she said calmly, trying to appeal to him as they stood on opposite ends of the coffee table, deadlocked. "Drop the brush."
"Why would I do that?" he asked, legs tensed in a crouch as he waited patiently, ready to dart after her in whatever direction she chose.
"You're going to regret this. Back down while you still can," she warned him, clasping the tiny jar of glitter she'd swiped off the kitchen island behind her back. It was a last resort; a kamikaze attack, because if she rained glitter down on him, they would both suffer. But it would be worth it, if all else failed.
The spark of determination in his eyes made her toes curl with excitement. Competition always had a way of getting her a little hot, but facing Kakashi—with his calculating stare, tensed muscles, and sly smirk—well, that really redefined hot for her. If she were anyone else, she probably would have combusted.
As it was, she was Sakura. And she'd be damned if she let him one-up her.
Thankfully, she was on home turf, and she most definitely had the upper hand (figuratively, because Kakashi was a head and a half taller than her and his hand was far above hers, wielding that paintbrush like a wand).
So, she faked him out and darted to the left, knowing for certain that when he followed her, and she suddenly switched directions, the rug beneath his feet would bunch and slip when he tried to follow after her. He hit the floor with a deliciously satisfying thud-and-oof. If she hadn't been too preoccupied with her cackles, she would have thought it was cute.
Unfortunately, she did not anticipate that he would match her dirty tactics with a few of his own. That wingspan of his really was a detriment to her, and she realized it belatedly when his hand wrapped fully around her ankle and brought her toppling down onto him, her forehead only narrowly missing the corner of the coffee table. This time, they chorused an oof together.
"You almost killed me!" she complained.
"Your elbow is on my sternum," he choked out. She moved her elbow hurriedly, smiling down at him apologetically, and then it hit her that she had her perfect opportunity to unleash hell in a bottle on him. She barely lifted her fist before the room was spinning and suddenly she was lying flat on her back on the hardwood.
She was going to complain about the cold floor beneath her, but she was finding herself heating up pretty quickly with Kakashi weighing heavily down on her, his hand clasped around both of her wrists and pinning them above her head. She kept her tiny glitter jar carefully concealed in her fist, but he wasn't overly concerned with what weapon of mass destruction she was hiding.
She gasped and arched beneath him when he suddenly captured her lips in a slow heated kiss; all teeth, tongue, and hunger. The more she wriggled under him, the tighter he held her wrists, which only made her more desperate to get her hands on him. She whined feebly into his kiss with the intention to convey how displeased she was to be denied use of her hands, but instead she only managed to sound incredibly needy.
She could feel him smirking into the kiss. God, he was so annoying— God, he was so hot.
"Kakashi," she whined breathlessly once more as he tore his lips from hers and trailed open-mouthed kisses across her chin and jaw.
"Concede," he whispered hotly into her ear.
She growled in frustration. She didn't care how horny she was. She would not do that.
"Sakura," he sang teasingly. "Think of how much better you'll feel once you give in."
Damn it. Damn him. Him, and his stupid, soft lips, and that stupid, deep voice, and those hands.
She gasped loudly when one of his hands snuck between them to lightly pinch at her nipple while he sunk his teeth into her neck. By the skin of her teeth, she managed to keep her jaw clenched tight enough around an admission of defeat that was threatening to pour out.
And then, as he licked a thick stripe up the side of her neck, something cold and wet traced a similar line on the other side, from her earlobe, down to her collarbone. She strained helplessly against his hands, humming a broken little moan while he had the audacity to laugh at her.
She flexed her hips up hard against his, surprising him enough to slacken his hold on her wrists. He didn't think there was any harm in it, clearly, because he released her hands and set his own to the very important task of wiggling beneath her butt and the hardwood to cop a feel.
The little growl he released into her mouth was almost enough to distract her. Almost.
She brought her hands into his hair, pulling his face firmly in front of hers, and she popped that cap off that bottle and let the proverbial chips fall where they may.
In this case, the chips were flecks of opalescent glitter, and where they fell was all up in Kakashi's hair. He pulled out of the kiss abruptly, staring down at her in question, but that little retreat was enough to send some of that glitter into the air, floating all around them.
He looked furious. She giggled maniacally beneath him. And then he started sneezing. It was funny until he sneezed in her face.
"Ew!" she cried, trying in vain to shove him away. He glared blearily at her through watery eyes as he desperately tried to hold back another sneeze, but through the ridiculousness of his incoming-sneeze expression and glittery silver hair, she could see he had vengeance on the brain.
And then that cold paint brush was swirling angrily on her forehead, and she was gawping at him, because she could not believe he had the nerve.
"My forehead?!" she wailed.
He had the single most infuriating shit-eating grin on his face. "Big target," he stated.
She let out an enraged snarl that had Pakkun whining and retreating into her bedroom to hide, but had Kakashi leaping to his feet and leaving her in his dust (glitter) while he went to replenish his paintbrush to undoubtedly unleash more horrible artwork unto her skin.
She was simply too slow. She had only just gotten to her feet when his sparkly red paint was flicking at her, leaving a trail of spots all down her neck and chest. She dove for her own brush, but he was quick to knock it aside. Thankfully, she wasn't above getting her hands dirty.
She planted one paint-covered palm right on his cheek, dragging her hands down his jaw and neck. The anger had dissipated from both of them now, and she found herself grinning and squealing out laughter as they painted one another, hands and brushes and lips all over, until they were left in messy heaps on the floor once more.
"I won," she declared weakly.
"Mm," he hummed wryly. "And your prize is more laundry," he said with a pointed pluck at her sullied sweater. She pouted down at it. They were both covered in paint and glitter (some more than others), and they looked positively insane, but she couldn't help but feel very pleased by it all.
And then her front door opened, and that contentment promptly flew out of her ass.
"Uh…you said you wanted some poinsettias?" Ino said awkwardly, standing in her doorway with two potted poinsettias and concern written all over her face.
Whether or not Ino believed that their out-of-breath, half-clothed state was a result of an arts and crafts war remained to be seen, but the poinsettias were lovely. Sakura didn't miss the way her eyes lingered on Kakashi's stretched out shirt and bare face, nor did she miss the less-than-subtle eyebrow wiggle Ino sent her on her way out. She had to agree with that assessment. Even covered in glitter and paint, Kakashi looked a little too good.
He looked even better in the shower, with her hands in his hair, trying her best to wash out the glitter while he meticulously scrubbed her body down with a washcloth. She'd be lying if she said that it was just an innocent shower, because there was nothing innocent about the way Kakashi "dropped" the washcloth and slipped his fingers into her, or the way she "lost her balance" and then found it by gripping a conveniently protrusive part of him.
But they were both clean by the end of it, and that's what counted.
Then, there was the matter of their clothes. Sakura had half a mind to just toss them out and take the loss, but Kakashi would hear none of it. Before she could even fix her cutest pout on him, their clothes were loaded into a laundry basket and he was waiting by the door.
"I hate laundry," she reminded him with a huff before heading down the hall to the elevator.
"Really? I happen to be a pretty big fan," he said vaguely as he followed behind. She sent him a dry look over her shoulder, not at all surprised to see his eyes firmly and shamelessly glued to her backside.
Okay, maybe she revived the spandex shorts on purpose, and maybe they made laundry days a little better, just to serve as a reminder of her and Kakashi's humble beginnings. Regardless, she rolled her eyes at him to let him know she found him insufferable, and he slipped his hand across her back and down to the curve of her ass to let her know he didn't care.
It had been a good four months since they had started…whatever it was that led them here, but she still got a little thrill whenever he touched her like this. Without hesitation, question, or qualm; like there was absolutely no doubt in his mind that his hand belonged on her, and she really had no argument to make, because every nerve ending in her body was telling her that his hand absolutely belonged there. She would fuse him to her side if it were possible, and if it wouldn't make him think she was even more insane than he already thought her to be.
No, the cat and mouse thing they did was definitely more fun. He wouldn't mention that he knew she secretly loved when he ogled and touched, and she wouldn't mention that there was still glitter in his hair. Maintaining equality was important in relationships.
Unsurprisingly, the building was pretty quiet. It was quite late, so the corridors, elevators and facilities remained empty except for her and Kakashi. That was fine by her because the only thing worse than laundry was having other tenants peek at her dirty drawers. And they did peek. She knew because she was also guilty of peeking.
Alas, the only peep she had to keep her eyes on was Kakashi, and he'd already seen most of what her underwear drawer had to offer. He did make it a point to complain about her detergent and softener going into their combined load because apparently hers had a lingering scent.
She had, of course, taken offense to that. How could she not? He would poke fun at her juvenile underwear and then insinuate she stinks, and she was supposed to take it lying down?
"You're a glorified schoolyard bully," she accused, launching herself to perch on top of the washing machine and landing herself at eyesight with him. "I didn't let Ryoichi Orio pull my hair in the second grade, and I am not going to let you tell me I stink."
He crossed his arms over his chest and regarded her coolly. "Is that so?" he asked.
"Yes," she declared, chin high up in the air, and legs swinging gently back and forth in the air.
"Alright," he conceded easily with a shrug, dropping his arms to shove his hands into his pockets. He leaned back against the row of dryers across from her, completely unbothered.
It left her deeply displeased.
"And, furthermore, if I smell so bad, what does that say about you?" she continued haughtily. "You spend an awful lot of time with me. In close quarters. You even used my shampoo today," she reminded him.
He shoved his mask into his pocket, watching her with mild interest as she launched into a full-blown tangent.
"And you sleep in my bed!" she continued. "Your sheets probably smell like me. You probably smell like me—"
She broke off with a splutter when he suddenly surged forward, bracing his hands on either side of her hips and hovering inches in front of her face, his presence both imposing and intoxicating.
"Do I?" he asked softly, the picture of composure while she gulped and tried to remember what her name was. "Do I smell like you?" he prodded patiently.
"Y-yes?" she said, because he did; she could smell her soap and shampoo on him, and the smell of her detergent was beginning to rise from the washer beneath her, engulfing them almost entirely. Almost. Because under all of that, she could still smell Kakashi.
She ducked her head under his chin and breathed him in. Under all the familiarity of her own products, she could still sense him; his warm, clean, crisp scent that always made her go a little gooey inside.
"Mmm," she hummed indulgently and entirely against her better judgement, and even though she could feel him quietly laughing at her, she didn't stop herself from wrapping herself around him and hugging him tighter, burying her face fully against his neck.
Her lips were pressed to his neck and her toes curling in her slippers before she knew what she was doing. When the washing machine below her started shaking in earnest, the vibrations rolling up her body and to Kakashi's, she realized the opportunity that had presented itself to her.
She kept her legs locked around him while she leaned back to nudge the lock on the door into place, much to Kakashi's confusion. His wariness didn't stop him from allowing her to drag him into a slow, heady kiss.
"Do you remember our discussion on dryer versus washer?" she whispered, her voice muffled by his lips. She felt his back stiffen but his hands curled tightly into her shirt at her waist.
"There are cameras," he warned, though he didn't sound very convincing under the influence of her nibbles and licks at his jaw.
"I have it on good authority that they aren't functioning," she cooed into his ear, smiling to herself when she felt his grip on her tighten.
She did have it on good authority. Tenzou had told her so himself, and she knew for a fact that more than one of the security guards had loose lips where he was concerned. So, if Tenzou was certain these cameras didn't work, that was enough for Sakura. And if Kakashi had any reservations, she had some pretty foolproof techniques to get him to relax.
"Shit, Sakura," he hissed when she slid her hand down to his pants and along his length, touching him until he hardened in her hand.
"Washer," she breathed out against his lips, smirking when she heard him gulp. The spin cycle rumbling beneath her was more pleasant than she'd imagined it would be, probably because she has Kakashi standing between her knees and his dick in her hand.
"I thought you said the dryer would get you there quicker," he quipped with a pointed pinch on her ass. She writhed in discomfort, rolling her hips forward and away from his pinching fingers, and coincidentally rocking herself against that steady thrum beneath her.
The quiet moan that escaped her did not escape Kakashi.
"I don't think speed is going to be a problem," she admitted, shimmying closer to the edge of the machine, closer to Kakashi, and bringing his lips back down over hers. When she moaned again, she could feel his resolve crumble.
"You just had to wear the spandex," he growled before he was hoisting her up and pulling her shorts down to hang around one ankle. She barely managed a sharp squeak as the cold of the machine hit her skin before he was sheathed inside her, hot and hard and making her feel unbelievably full.
And then the machine started rattling in earnest.
"Oh my god," she whined. He laughed into her, breathy and annoying, but so, so hot.
Her seat on the machine put her hips just a touch higher than his, and boy, was that working out well for her. She buried her face in the crook of Kakashi's neck to quietly sob while he fucked her hard. And she did mean hard.
The machine rocked and scraped on the floor below with his thrusts. Her nails bit and scratched into him with every thrust. She wondered how long this lust would go on for, because sometimes it really surprised her how badly she wanted him, and how incredible it felt to have him inside her.
She sunk her teeth into his neck and groaned as her walls clenched hard around him. God, that had to be some kind of record.
Kakashi didn't even pause to acknowledge it. The only indication he gave that he'd noticed at all was a sweet, breathy moan as he pushed deeper into her, making her gush around him. His fingers were pressing into her thighs, gripping her feverishly, no doubt leaving faint bruises in their wake.
It reminded her of their first night together, and of waking up with marks of him all over her body, and fuck, she was going to cum again.
Her cry was high, and wavering in time with the whirring of the washing machine when she did. Kakashi was close behind, coming deep inside her with a bitten off curse and a hard, open-mouthed kiss that was more teeth than lips.
He held her, kissing her gently until she stopped twitching. The load finished washing just in time for Kakashi to be inspired with ruthless cruelty.
"Kashi!" she squealed when he dropped to his knees and licked her; one long stripe, from entrance to clit, followed by a good, hard suck. She was twitching once more when he returned to her lips, kissing her to share the spoils of his exploration.
"Is this usually how you celebrate Christmas?" he teased.
Turned out the perfumes in her detergent made Kakashi sneeze. She learned that the hard way when he did so, right in her face for the second time that day, while helping her to her feet. Usually that would have left her miffed beyond belief, but her post-coitus high saved him from the brunt of her ire. She did have him make it up to her by hanging mistletoe above all the thresholds in her apartment.
"What's the point of this?" he asked as he hung the third sprig above the bathroom door.
"It's romantic."
"It's poisonous."
So, he was a bit of a Scrooge. Not ideal, but she was certain his condition wasn't terminal just yet. After all, he'd partaken in all her activities with minimal complaining, thus far. Granted, she'd strong-armed him into all of them, and Kakashi wasn't much of a complainer on any given day, but still. She maintained hope.
After all—at the risk of sounding like a cheesy made-for-TV holiday movie—that's what the season was all about. Hope and cheer. And despite how cranky she could get after a long day at the hospital in which every coffee machine in her wing was broken, she still held onto her shred of Christmas spirit.
And what better way to exemplify that spirit than with the quintessential Christmas symbol.
"You know, cutting down trees is generally not one of my preferred activities," Tenzou said with a sigh.
"But you look so cute with your flannel and your saw," she returned, leaning up on her toes to pinch his rosy cheek. "Besides, buying from local tree farms is actually the best option, environmentally speaking."
"Yeah, until you cut down a blue jay's home," he grumbled.
"I'll let you repurpose the tree once Christmas is over," she promised. That pacified him. Tenzou was nothing if not an avid believer of reduce, reuse, recycle. He also happened to be a gifted woodworker.
It didn't take them long to find a tree that pleased both Tenzou and Sakura. It was a pretty shape, per Sakura's request, and devoid of any bird habitats, per Tenzou's. It was also small enough to be comfortably strapped to the top of Tenzou's electric clown car, but mature enough that it didn't look bald. Perfect.
She was almost certain she saw Tenzou shed a tear when he brought his saw to the trunk, but who was she to criticize anyone on what made them cry?
"So, why didn't you ask Kakashi to do this with you?" he asked as she hoisted the tree up onto her shoulder and began the trek back to the exit.
"He's working out of town for the rest of the week, and my free time is rare these days," she explained. "I think I've been bombarding him with all this holiday stuff, anyway."
"But I'm free game?" he asked dryly.
Tree on her shoulder or not, she still had a mean hip-check, and she was more than happy to demonstrate that to him. A poof of snow launched into the air when he careened sideways into a big, powdery pile. He glared up at her, covered in snow and flat on his back, while she giggled, her tree bouncing in time with her laughter.
Things were less funny when a snowball hit her square on her chest.
"Hey!" she cried, only to be cut off by another hit, this one hitting the tree before spraying onto her face. "You are a feckless little shit, throwing things at me when my hands are full!" she shouted under the barrage of his snowy projectiles.
A handful of snow found its way to the top of her head, slowly falling down the back of her jacket and into her eyes. She desperately swung out with her one free arm, but she could hardly see and that tree was really making it impossible for her to keep her balance.
"Think of the tree, Tenzou!" she cried out. A snowball hit her open mouth. "Oh, you are so dead," she growled, dropping her prized tree to the ground and taking off after the large man-with-saw.
Their chase led them to a thickly wooded area, filled with towering trees that were well beyond house-sized trees. It was beautiful, really, but all she could think about was that Tenzou was hidden between the thick, bristly boughs, and sweet, sweet revenge would be hers once she found him.
"Sakura, we could end this here," she heard him call out. She whirled around, trying to follow the sound of his voice. "We're even!"
"Oh, look, a cardinal!" she cried, pointing to the top of the tree directly in front of her.
As expected, her sweet, naive lumberjack of a friend tumbled out of the trees, head tilted back for a peek of the bird she'd lied about. Poor bastard didn't even see it when she hurled a snowball the size of her head at him. He hit the ground with a low thud.
"I deserved that," he said weakly.
Her very own tree. Her first very own tree, in her own apartment in the city. It was important. It was monumental. It was…totally wrong.
"Ugh," she groaned, flopping back onto her couch to stare at the erect tree standing beside her television, all lit up and awaiting further decorating and looking so, completely wrong.
It wasn't the tree, per se. It wasn't even the placement, or the angle it was turned at, or the way her apartment was otherwise decorated. The corner it was in was optimal, viewable from nearly every area of her apartment, she had definitely picked the best side of the tree to be displayed, and it was proportionately perfect for the size of her home.
But it was still wrong.
She couldn't help but think that, as perfect as the tree was, and as hers as the tree was, it didn't belong here. In two weeks, she would be headed back to her little hometown up north to spend the holidays with her parents, and this tree would be sitting alone in her apartment.
So, the tree was perfect, but maybe it wasn't meant to be hers. Thankfully, she knew of someone in dire need of a little redecorating.
As much as she loved to clown on Kakashi for his horrible, ratty little couch, she had to admit, it looked kind of charming in front of the Christmas tree he never asked for. Less charming was the way Pakkun kept trying to pee on the tree. He was a good dog, though, so it only took a few horrified squeals from Sakura for him to break the habit.
It didn't stop him from trying to drink from the tree's water supply, but beggars couldn't be choosers. At least he wasn't tempted to eat the fallen needles.
It wasn't all bad. Once the lights were turned on, she had a feeling Pakkun would be too spooked to approach the tree, so for now, she'd just have to shoo him away while she decorated. He didn't like that very much, which meant she was in for a long night of belly rubs, but that was a price she was willing to pay.
She hoped gifting Kakashi her tree would be well-received. He may have thought of all this holiday stuff was stupid or lame, but it really was important to her, and she wanted to share that with him. Besides, she was really beginning to find it difficult to strictly define where home was. Was it across the hall, in the apartment she paid for every month? Was it here, with Pakkun pouting at her from that ugly couch with the holes in its cushions?
Maybe it was both. Maybe it was whichever apartment she found herself in at the end of the day, complaining about one thing or another while Kakashi dutifully hummed and hah'd at all the appropriate times, even though they both knew he wasn't actually listening. Maybe it was just Kakashi in general.
She nearly dropped her tree topper at that thought. She already knew she loved him, but all this internal waxing romantic was getting to be a bit ridiculous, even for her tastes.
But now, standing back and looking at the tree she'd put up in his apartment, decorated with choice ribbons, twinkly lights, and their hand-painted ornaments…
"Oh god, I'm in so much trouble," she moaned as she flopped onto the couch beside Pakkun, the springs creaking miserably beneath her and Pakkun climbing into her lap without delay, ready to demand his due reparations.
It wasn't just that she'd signed all her badly painted ornaments with Kakashi's initials so that people would think hers were the good ones. It wasn't the ugly picture of the two of them in face masks she'd stuck in a tiny, dangling golden frame and sneaked in toward the back of the tree where no one else would see it. It wasn't the glass pug ornament, or the silver star at the top of the tree, or even the one orb Kakashi had somehow managed to decorate with what looked suspiciously like cherry blossoms.
She was suddenly acutely aware that this was them. It was a silly holiday tradition, and a part of her had done this to get on his nerves a little bit, but it really was them. Stupid baubles and bits that sparkled and twinkled and made her feel warm inside. When she looked at the tree from afar, it looked like any old tree. Cute, a little kitschy, but just a regular Christmas tree. When she got up close, she could see the details. She could see which ornament had been Kakashi's first, she could see which one she had messed up when he dropped a kiss to her cheek unexpectedly, and she could see the last two that had been sacrificed to their paint-and-glitter war.
She was torn from her reverie by a commotion from out in the hall, startling both her and Pakkun into alertness.
"You know, you'd think he'd find a better place to hide his—oh, it's not even locked. Does he not lock his door? That's so dangerous, what is he thinking— Oh! Sakura!"
Sakura blinked at the whirlwind of a woman standing in Kakashi's doorway, bags upon bags dangling from her arms, her thick hat slumping down her head toward her eyes and her face bright and red from the cold.
Pakkun leapt up to greet her before Sakura could.
"Rin," she said weakly, "what are you doing here?"
"Kakashi said I could leave this stuff here until the wedding, you know, so Obito won't find it. Also so that his thousand-and-one cats won't dig their claws into it. I swear, I love that man, but the cats! Sakura, have you ever lived with so many cats?" she whined. "My house smells like tuna. All. The. Time."
"Gross."
"Yeah, tell me about it!" Rin grumbled, dropping her bags around the apartment. It wasn't until she draped her large garment bag across the back of Kakashi's bar stool that she took pause. "Whoa. What happened here?"
Sakura shifted awkwardly, glancing around the room, from the tree to all the boxes of leftover decorations.
"I thought it would be nice. Since, y'know, he's going to be home alone," she mumbled. She hadn't anticipated anyone seeing this before Kakashi did. Hell, she hadn't anticipated that anyone else would see it at all, at any point in time. Kakashi was hardly the type to entertain guests.
"Oh," Rin said softly, looking at Sakura with a soft smile and a look in her eye that made her deeply nervous. "I see."
What she saw, Sakura didn't know, but she wished Rin would close her eyes or at least avert them elsewhere.
"I know it's not really his thing," Sakura began, ready to make an excuse, or make a joke out of it, or maybe just tear it all down and cut her losses.
"I think it's great," Rin interrupted. "In fact, I think we could kick it up a notch," she continued, her alarmingly knowing smile turning wicked.
Sakura slumped over in relief. She always did have a good feeling about Rin.
When Rin said kick it up a notch, what she meant was, light that bitch all the way up. All the way up. Poor Pakkun was beside himself. Kakashi had gotten him used to a particular brand of minimalistic living, and an apartment loaded up with tinsel, garlands, lights and shiny balls was definitely not that.
"Where did you get this?" Sakura asked, looking at the three-foot tall nutcracker figurine that bore freakish resemblance to Kakashi. Rin's only response was a devious cackle.
"You and Kakashi aren't the only ones who have thrown a prank or two," she sang gleefully.
"Why does it look like its eye has been scratched off?" Sakura wondered vaguely as Rin hauled more items around the apartment.
"Cats! So many cats!" she wailed from the bathroom.
When all was said and done, Sakura had to admit it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be (barring that heinous nutcracker). Rin apparently had the same gift with cheap crap that Sasuke did; she somehow sprinkled it throughout the apartment until it was tasteful. Holly and jolly, and completely out of Kakashi's comfort zone, but tastefully so.
Perhaps it was all those years under Mrs. Uchiha's tutelage that leant her the ability. Sakura would have to see about spending some more time with her. God knew she was a tacky son of a bitch.
Kakashi would be back by the end of the day, and it would take her that long to sweep up all the glitter. She pretended not to notice that Pakkun's paws and butt were doing a lot of the picking up for her as he followed her around the apartment.
Potentially sparkly poop was the least of her concern. Currently, she was wondering what Kakashi would do when he saw what she'd done to his apartment. It wasn't even all those big emotions that were scaring her this time, but the knowledge that he still had not gotten her back for the pug mask prank on Halloween, and now she was pulling another holiday-themed stunt. She only knew that whatever he did, it would not be good.
So, she swept. For all her crimes, she would not add messy to the list.
Even when Ino video called her to gush about sneaking a peek at Kakashi's face (even though it had been covered in paint and glitter), Sakura had done her girlfriend-ly duty and hung up on her best friend. And one did not simply hang up on Ino without repercussions. She would pay for that.
There was just too much comeuppance coming her way. She could hardly keep track. All she had was her tree, her dog, and her broom, and that would just have to be enough to get her through.
She did have some fail safes in place; a little red hat for Pakkun to distract from the red glitter clinging to the fur around his butt, and little red panties for her to distract from everything else. She always thought she looked nice in the colour red.
So, she waited. It took her longer than expected to get the apartment somewhat decent, but then, Kakashi was nothing if not perpetually tardy. By the time he got home, she'd nearly forgotten that she was lying on his couch in a robe and underwear, the robe dangling open, barely covering her breasts and leaving the little red triangle of fabric on her crotch on full display.
She thought it would make the perfect view to come home to.
Unfortunately, she did not account for the view it would make for anyone else.
"Just let me put my stuff—" Kakashi stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide and fixed on her, but it wasn't his reaction that had her frozen in shock.
Genma poked his head around Kakashi and whistled loudly, not at all hiding his leering. Sakura bunched her robe up as quickly as possible, rolling off the couch to hide behind it, but it was too late, her pride was long gone.
"God damn, Pinky," he crowed. "What do I gotta do to get a greeting like this at my house?"
"Oh my God, get out!" she cried, peeking up at them from over the arm of the couch.
"But I—" Kakashi started. Genma was trying to see around the couch. Sakura threw a shiny red ball at them.
"Get out!"
Kakashi hastily dropped his things and skedaddled, rushing Genma out of the doorway, but not fast enough for Sakura to miss Genma's parting words.
"Was that a fur-trimmed thong?"
Payback wasn't a bitch, Sakura realized as she plopped her nearly-bare butt onto the hardwood. Payback was a cosmic ruler, and Sakura was her bitch.
"Genma won't mention it to anyone," Kakashi promised later that night, when he'd returned with a peace offering of spicy noodle soup and a healthy admiration for her undergarment of choice.
She scoffed in disbelief, sending a piece of noodle from her mouth to his bowl. He had the good grace not to mention it.
"You are a recluse," she informed him. "Every other day of the year, you are, for all intents and purposes, a loner. No guests. No visitors. No impromptu hang-outs," she rattled off, shoving a big bite of noodles into her mouth as she did. "So, please explain," she said, mouth full, "why it is that today, you have friends breaking down your door?"
"A cruel cosmic joke?" he suggested, hiding his crooked smile behind his chopsticks.
"I am never wearing lingerie for you again," she threatened. "Never."
"Not even the cherries?" he teased. "I know they're your favourite."
"They're your favourite," she grumbled unhappily, keeping her eyes firmly on her noodles and away from that slick, playful smile he had on. One look at that smile and her panties would be flying off, probably to Genma's house so she could suffer some more humiliation.
Kakashi hummed softly, his voice low and smooth and doing things to her. She continued to stare at her noodles, but the couch was moving, and she could see his hands entering her field of vision, grasping her bowl and pulling it away from her.
"Hey! I'm not finished—"
"You're finished," he informed her, leaving no room for arguments as he gripped her by the backs of her knees and pulled at her until she was lying beneath him.
"You cannot sex your way out of this," she said, though she could feel it was lacking conviction. He'd barely touched her and she was finding it quite difficult to remember what she had been mad about.
"Okay," he said, even as he continued to go about sexing his way out of it.
She had gone back and forth on whether or not to take that stupid red-and-white thong off, and in the end, that kinky bastard in her head won out, and she'd kept it on. Now, she was beyond grateful for that horny impulse.
There were few things that compared to the feeling of satin on skin, and judging by the appreciative groan Kakashi sent into her neck, she could only assume he agreed. Lucky for her, one of things she preferred to satin on skin was Kakashi touching her through and around that satin.
She could say all the hateful things she wanted about that couch, but at the end of the day, it felt good to be taken there; to be crowded under him, surrounded by his arms and legs, have him buried inside her, cling to him while he made the most of the confined space they were laid across. She could even appreciate the creaky springs and the symphony they created under his rhythm.
The colourful lights in the tree reflected in his hair and bounced off the planes of his face and chest, making him glowy and soft, and somehow even more beautiful. She could feel those three little words jumping up to her lips, charged by the heat between them and dying to escape, but she kissed him. Once, twice, three times, until she lost count. She kissed him until her words were the regular unintelligible murmurs that passed between lovers.
She was convinced that his hunched posture was courtesy of this couch, as he contorted to fit on it, squeezed between her and the back cushions. He could barely be bothered to reach behind him and pull his one and only throw blanket over them, probably to save Pakkun the sight of their bare asses.
False modesty intact, she fell asleep quickly and comfortably.
It didn't last long. Or maybe it did, it was hard to tell with the sun setting so early in the evening these days. She woke up slowly, groaning and stiff, but otherwise warm and reluctant to move. She blinked until her eyes focused.
Somehow, they'd shifted so that Kakashi lay beneath her, his head domed uncomfortably against the armrest, and when she glanced down to their feet, she could see his were dangling over the other end. Pakkun was snoring away in his bed by the tree, which was still twinkling softly down on them, casting a kaleidoscope effect over the room.
Kakashi was still asleep, which was surprising. She imagined that wouldn't last long, now that she'd awakened. Even in his awkward position, he managed to look peaceful. She didn't try to stop herself from brushing her fingers over his softly parted lips.
She lowered her head back down to his chest with a shaky breath. This was home; this tiny, cramped couch, that hodgepodge tree, the ugly nutcracker figurine, Pakkun's sleepy snorts, and Kakashi.
He was still asleep. She could let it slip, and he would be none the wiser. Maybe it would help to get it off her chest. If she said it now, would that take the edge off?
"Again, with the existential crises," he murmured groggily. She lifted her eyes to see him smirking, his eyes still closed.
"We should go to bed," she whispered, silently thanking herself for her cowardice.
"Are you uncomfortable?"
Just the opposite. She could stay curled up like this for a week and be content, but she had nothing else to say. Instead, she cuddled closer to him, curling her hand around his side and burrowing her face into his chest.
"Thank you, Kakashi," she whispered.
"For what?"
"Letting me do all this," she explained, gesturing weakly to the room. "I know you're not really into it. I just…" She trailed off, staring at her tree. Their tree. "I just wanted to share this with you."
Suddenly, her kaleidoscope world was spinning and the couch was squeaking beneath her as her back hit the cushions. She blinked up at Kakashi in a daze.
"If it's important to you, it's important to me," he said simply. "I could get used to this," he whispered, lowering his lips to hers in a sweet kiss before pulling away and calling her attention to the white-fur-trimmed satin thong dangling on his finger.
She flushed from head to toe.
"That is not a Christmas tradition," she asserted grumpily.
"I'm all for starting new traditions," he quipped with another kiss, his neck cracking as he domed his head toward hers.
She laughed airily beneath him, pushing at his chest until she could focus on his face. "Let's go to bed," she said once more, laughing and shoving until he relented and climbed to his feet. She didn't pretend not to enjoy the view, and Kakashi's smug smile told her he knew exactly what she was thinking.
"How does Christmas sex sound as another tradition?" he suggested, backing her toward the bedroom and dropping kisses on her lips, face and neck along the way.
"Shut up," she giggled, and continued to giggle until she only had enough air for breathless moans.
Who was she to say no to tradition?
Holidays were highly coveted vacation time. After years of taking the short end of the stick, Sakura was rewarded with a first-choice selection, and she did not hesitate one bit to take a week off to spend the holidays with her family. She needed that. They needed that.
Unfortunately, at the time of booking that time off, she had not considered that she might have a lonely boyfriend who would be left behind in the city with his dog. Kakashi didn't mind. Kakashi never minded, but that didn't make her feel less icky about leaving.
She had to console herself with the knowledge that it was only a week, and he had all the Christmas cheer he could ask for in his apartment. More than he could ask for, really. Besides, the universe had blessed them with smart phones, and she had every intention of using hers.
They agreed no gifts, which was fine by her. Her pending med school application was looming over her head, and it left little room for spending; money and brainpower. She needed to save up for tuition, sure, but more pressing was the way she was obsessively checking her mail. Acceptance letters for her top choice always went out before the holidays, and she'd yet to receive notice.
"Sakura, you've checked that pile three times already," Kakashi said calmly, taking the envelopes from her hands and setting them aside. "Your father will be here soon."
"What if I didn't get in?" she asked frantically. "What if no news is bad news?"
"You graduated top of your class. You have stellar recommendations, and I personally helped you with your admissions essay. You'll be fine," he promised.
"Are you on the admissions council?"
"Of course not."
"Then you don't know that!" she cried.
"Sakura," he sighed.
"What if it comes while I'm at my parents'?" she worried.
"Then, it'll be waiting for you when you come back."
"I can't wait that long," she babbled. "That's too long. What if I miss the deadline to accept?"
"They give you more than a week to accept," he explained.
"I can't go. I have to stay. I have to call my dad and tell him I'm staying," she decided. "There's no other option," she mumbled, scrolling through her contacts for her dad's number.
Kakashi pried her phone from her fingers.
"Sakura," he began slowly, "you are going home for the holidays. Your father will be here to pick you up soon. If the letter comes while you're away, I will get it for you."
"You will?" she warbled. "Will you open it for me?"
"If that's what you want," he agreed with a shrug.
"That's a felony," she whispered.
Kakashi's deadpan expression was amusing enough to ebb away at her anxiety. Then, her phone started vibrating in his hand, jarring them both out of the crisis mode they'd just been in.
"My dad's here," she said, reaching for her duffle on the couch. "You'll check everyday, right?" she asked.
"Everyday," he promised. Then, he hesitated. "You…you really want to leave something this important to me?"
"Of course!" she laughed out as she shrugged her bag onto her shoulder. "I l—" Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit. "I trust you," she choked out.
He was watching her carefully, considering her as he lifted a hand to her neck, brushing under her jaw with his thumb and making her skin tingle.
"I trust you, too," he said softly, staring down at her in reverence. Somehow, she got the feeling they weren't talking about trust.
She couldn't help but smile to herself. She let her bag fall heavily to the floor, wrapped her arms around him and brought his lips down to meet hers in a kiss so slow and sweet she lost track of time.
"Enjoy your holidays, Kakashi," she whispered, her lips brushing against his.
"You, too, Sakura," he said, his voice deep and gravelly. It had her rising on her toes to capture him in another head-spinning kiss.
She was suddenly feeling a little less excited about heading home for the week. She felt she might miss him more than just a little bit.
"So," he began slowly, his lips curving into a wicked smile, "you're going to keep up with tradition, aren't you?"
"Ugh," she groaned, stepping out of his embrace and rolling her eyes, but thinking that she had packed the perfect underwear for a very festive treat. And that he was entirely undeserving of it.
With one last infuriated snarl and a reluctant kiss, she left to meet her father in the visitors' parking lot.
