Author's Note: Prompt is 'I licked it, so it's mine."


True to Tenzo's prediction, no one raised an eyebrow at Kakashi and Sakura's relationship. At least, no one who mattered had done so in the almost six months since their first kiss. Tenzo had been a staunch supporter for the entirety of their relationship. Ino boasted about setting them up for weeks after she found out they were dating through a text that wasn't meant for her eyes. Tsunade had taken a bit more convincing. She'd lectured Kakashi about the dangers of derailing the woman's plans to become a doctor, especially with something as trivial as love. After Sakura aced her first clinicals exam, Tsunade relented somewhat.

Konoha University hadn't mentioned the relationship at all. When Kakashi finally brought it up in a fit of guilt, the ethics committee decided there was no conflict of interest since Sakura wasn't currently a student in the English Program. Once that was settled, Kakashi felt like he could finally breathe without having to choose between his job and Sakura. She'd simply rolled her eyes and told him that she'd always known it wouldn't be an issue.

There was one final obstacle to overcome: Kakashi still hadn't met Sakura's parents, at least not as her boyfriend. He had a vague memory of them from graduation, but that recollection left him feeling worse, not better. Honestly, the idea of meeting Sakura's parents terrified Kakashi, not because he thought their age difference was a problem, but because he'd done it only once in the past. There was a world of difference in talking to someone because a student was struggling in class and getting to know them because you were dating their daughter.

Whenever Kakashi thought about meeting Sakura's parents, panic gripped him. Despite that, he had insisted that they get the meeting over with soon. He knew that his relationship with Sakura wasn't a passing fancy on his part, and he wanted to be honest with them about it. Kakashi worried that her parents would raise objections, so he'd rehearsed dozens of ways to convince them that his intentions were pure. They had planned to have dinner over the weekend, and Kakashi still hadn't wrapped his head around it.

Kakashi's relationship with Sakura, however, came as natural as breathing. The woman had taken up residence in his life as if she'd always been a part of it. The initial infatuation period had given way to the steady sensation of getting to know each other better over the past few months. Kakashi and Sakura built their relationship on the common interests of reading, quiet coffee dates, and lazy nights together at Kakashi's house, or more rarely Sakura's apartment. As winter turned to spring and summer, they started hiking and enjoying the outdoors together, as well.

Over the past six months, Kakashi's list of dating rules had become a running joke in their relationship. Sakura constantly added new ones whenever she discovered them. Her list ranged from Kakashi's silly preferences, like no cell phones during dinner, to more serious things, like being honest about something, even if it was painful. The woman detailed each supposed rule that she found on a thick sheet of parchment paper taped to Kakashi's fridge. She'd found more than thirty in the past few months.

Tonight was no exception. Kakashi raised one eyebrow and frowned at the paper laying on the counter. "That isn't a rule; I never said that."

Sakura ignored Kakashi, continuing to scrawl her newest discovery across the page. Rule 34: Relationships are about sharing things, especially food. The woman hummed under her breath, recapped the marker, and threw it into the junk drawer. "I'm pretty sure that's what you said."

"I'm pretty sure I pointed out that you'd already had yours," Kakashi countered, crossing his arms over his chest with mock stubbornness. He didn't even want the rich, fudgy dessert that they were discussing, but he wasn't about to back down. "That one is mine."

"You don't really like sweets," Sakura pointed out, fingers inching toward the plate on the counter beside her. "They're so bad for you, and you've been doing all that extra training with Tenzo lately."

Kakashi slid the plate further away. "All the more reason to keep my strength up."

The pair had ordered dinner from one of their favorite restaurants and decided to splurge on dessert, mostly because Sakura had heard wonderful things about the brownie in question. Hers had disappeared immediately, leaving only a handful of crumbs scattered across the white plate. Now, Sakura eyed Kakashi's with a hunger that he found both adorable and worrying.

Kakashi made a shooing gesture with his hand. "Make up all the fake rules you want, but this is—"

Sakura slid forward, and the plate skittered and bounced across the counter as she pulled it from Kakashi's loose grip. Before he could say anything else, she ducked down and ran her tongue along one side of the brownie. "There, I licked it; it's mine."

"I," Kakashi opened his mouth to chide the woman, but he couldn't find any words strong enough for his shock. After a second, he laughed in disbelief. "Who does that?"

Sakura grinned. She moved the plate closer at her leisure, then took a bigger bite of the dessert. "People who really like brownies."

Shaking his head, Kakashi watched Sakura lift the sugary confection to her lips. She let out a soft moan of pleasure on the first bite, closing her eyes under the euphoria of brownie, caramel, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. When she lowered the treat back to the plate, Kakashi burst out laughing. A trace of white stood out on the end of her nose, while a smudge of chocolate remained on the corner of her mouth. Kakashi started to reach for the napkins, then had a better thought. Sakura froze, entire body going rigid when Kakashi laved his tongue across her lower lip.

"I licked it," Kakashi breathed, not quite pulling away. "It's mine."

A delicate shudder worked through Sakura's body when Kakashi reached for her hand to capture her fingertip between his lips. She followed every sweep and dip of his tongue. "Mine," Kakashi repeated, feeling a flush of warmth creeping into his cheeks. Kakashi tasted the sweetness on Sakura's palm, removing every trace of the dessert she'd sampled moments before. He kissed the cream away from the tip of her nose, echoing the word with every brush of his lips.

Sakura exhaled hard, eyes shining as Kakashi kissed her chin. Without breaking eye contact, she reached for the brownie on the counter. Kakashi frowned when the woman trailed a hand down her neck, leaving a streak of caramel sauce on her pale skin. Obediently, Kakashi ran tongue along the same path but his eyes were locked onto the fingers trailing down toward the v-neck of Sakura's shirt.

"You're making a mess," Kakashi tisked, lowering his mouth toward the offending smear.

"Am I?" Sakura brushed her fingers through Kakashi's hair as he moved further down.

Humming under his breath, Kakashi placed light kisses on the warm skin. You're making a terrible mess of me, he thought without vocalizing the sentiment. He glanced up to meet Sakura's gaze, and she held it for an impossibly long moment, like she was trying to read something in his eyes. She caught her lower lip between her teeth the way she did when she was uncertain about something.

Kakashi wondered if Sakura knew that expression made his knees weak, every single time. Bringing a hand up, he rested his thumb against Sakura's chin as his fingers caressed the side of her neck. Her lip slid free with the gentle pressure, and Kakashi caught her soft gasp of surprise in a second kiss. Sakura's tongue teased against his, encouraging him to lose himself to the heat of the moment. Kakashi willingly drowned in the sensation.

When they broke apart, the world spun and tipped on its axis. Kakashi exhaled raggedly at the juncture of Sakura's neck and shoulder, while she shivered at the heat of his breath on her skin. For a moment, time crawled to a halt under the bubble of intimacy they'd created. Sakura recovered first. "I got chocolate on my shirt," she observed, voice thick with emotions that Kakashi couldn't deny if he wanted to.

Nodding, Kakashi glanced at the spot of darkness on the pale fabric along the center of the shirt's low neck. Sakura reached for the hem, catching Kakashi's gaze for a second. He lost the ability to speak as she pushed him away enough to remove her garment. Sakura held it in two fingers before letting it fall to the floor. Crimson flamed in her cheeks. "Is this okay?"

Months had passed since Kakashi and Sakura's first date. They've lived through dozens of awkward encounters where the chemistry was almost too much to refuse. A couple of weeks into their relationship, Sakura had accepted that Kakashi would make the first move when he was ready. She'd apologized for pressuring him so much the first few days, but he'd understood that she wasn't used to dating someone who didn't use sex to test a relationship. They'd reached a comfortable middle ground, one that Sakura was flirting with when she started removing clothes.

"Is it okay with you," Kakashi asked, allowing his eyes to rove over the familiar curves that he'd felt pressed against him so often. He brought his hands to her shoulders, trailing along the supple warmth of her upper arm.

Hooking a hand behind Kakashi's neck, Sakura nodded. When she tugged him in for another kiss, he tasted the sweetness of sugar on her tongue. Sakura was intoxicating; she made his head spin more than even the strongest alcohol. They broke apart for air, and Sakura tangled her fingers in Kakashi's hair and guided his head backwards. Kakashi groaned at the feel of Sakura's tongue and teeth alongside his Adam's apple. She shivered and rose on her tiptoes to pull Kakashi into another time altering kiss that could have lasted minutes or hours.

Locking eyes with Sakura, Kakashi pressed his body flush against hers until the warmth of her bare skin bled through his t-shirt. Then, he leaned forward to clear the counter with his left forearm. Dishes, utensils, and the brownie skittered across the granite moments before Kakashi lifted Sakura onto it. Her knees opened to make space, and Kakashi took it without a second thought. Sakura opened her mouth, probably to complain about the ruined dessert, then lost the words in quiet moan when Kakashi traced one finger along the outline of her strappy, red bra.

"I like this," Kakashi murmured, kissing over the inner slope of one breast where the bra's left it exposed.

Sakura's chest heaved as she looked down at Kakashi, eyes intent on his. "Yeah?"

"Yes." Kakashi slid the cup lower still, marveling at the easy way that Sakura encouraged him to explore her body with tentative brushes and touches. Six months ago, she would have been undressing him in a rush. Now, she trusted him to control the speed. "Very much so."

Kakashi frowned at the front closure of the bra, trying to decipher how it unfastened. Sakura's hand unclasped it without waiting for him to ask. The sides sprang apart at the sudden release of pressure, but some magic held Sakura's breasts inside the bra. A bright pink stretch of skin revealed where the fastener had been digging into her skin. Pausing, Kakashi pressed his lips against the mark in a light kiss as his hands moved upward along Sakura's side and stomach. His fingers pushed beneath the band to cradle each breast.

When Kakashi dipped his head to kiss the newly exposed skin, Sakura's back arched. Her fingers fisted in his hair, tightening to the point of pain. He followed the pressure backward with a soft chuckle. "Easy there, I'm not a masochist."

"Sorry," Sakura answered, releasing her hold. She exhaled with a sharp groan when Kakashi's thumb circled one nipple. "I'm just really—"

"Enjoying this," Kakashi questioned, exhaling against the chill bumps that his words raised on Sakura's warm skin. "Wanted me to continue?"

Sakura released a soft curse when the flick of Kakashi's tongue replaced his finger. She shivered deliciously, entire body trembling against him. Forcing air through her nose in a show of self control, Sakura nodded. "Of course I do, but only if you want to continue."

"I've wanted to continue since the first night I walked you home," Kakashi confessed by Sakura's ear, catching the lobe with his teeth. "Since the night you showed up at my house with dinner. When you kissed me on the steps outside of your apartment. The first time I kissed you in my car."

Kakashi claimed Sakura's mouth again, deepening the kiss before she could respond. He felt the surprised, needy groan that rumbled in her throat. "That day we got caught in that rain storm," he continued, pulling back for a much needed breath of air. "Since that night at the movie theater—"

"Do you always talk this much," Sakura whined, interrupting the trip down memory lane. Her gaze was fierce and hungry as she watched the man in front of her.

Chuckling, Kakashi turned to kiss the palm of the hand that ran over his cheek. "Are you always this impatient?"

"I've been patient." Sakura reached for Kakashi, pulling him flush against her by the front of his shirt. "I've been so patient, so very patient. So very, very, very patient."

Humming in agreement, Kakashi slid his fingers to the straps that held Sakura's bra in place. She shuddered and raised her arms so Kakashi could pull it off. The crimson of Sakura's cheeks enhanced the emerald green of her eyes when they locked on Kakashi's. With a private nod of understanding, he closed his arms around Sakura's back and lifted her from the counter. She made a questioning sound that Kakashi's lips chased up her throat.

"Let me make that up to you," Kakashi husked, carrying Sakura toward his bedroom.