Today is a twofer!

-BB

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The next day, Team Kakashi was called into the Hokage's office. Sakura was in a great mood. She'd just passed the Jonin exam. Anko, Genma, and Raido were on her board. She passed with flying colors, as it was well known that Sakura had been Jonin rank for years. She'd been given her new vest directly after, and she put it on over her hospital uniform. As she walked to the Hokage's Tower, she thought back to the conversation she and Sauske had. She closed the door after he entered and walked to sit back down on her couch. Sauske stood silently until she gestured for him to sit. "What do you want, Sauske?"

"What changed, Sakura?"

Sakura slowly sunk back into her couch and crossed her arms. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how you've felt about me for your entire life."

Sakura's eyes and jaw almost fell away from her body. Her hands clenched as she answered him. "You have a ton of nerve, coming into my home after all of the shit you've put all of us through, demanding answers. I don't owe you an explanation, Sauske. You're at least four years too late to get one anyway." She waved her hand dismissively as she rose to let him out of her home.

"You like them broken, don't you?" Sauske said dryly in response to her criticism of his past behavior.

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. She pivoted back to him, intending beat him until he bled. "Naruto…Kakashi…Sai…myself. It's a pattern. Well, not Naruto originally. It took me telling you how spoiled you were before you latched on to him." Sauske then stood. "Why, Sakura? What is it about us? What's the appeal? I left indefinitely, and you latched on to the older version of me."

Sakura froze and dissipated the chakra she'd built in her hands. She realized that Sauske… was hurt. Fuck. It sucked to be able to read him so well. Sauske loved her. Romantically. Since when? Was he expecting her to wait until he returned to start her life? "Sauske…" She said incredulously, "Why? Why are you doing this now? As you so crassly seemed to allude to earlier, I'm in a relationship with Kakashi… why would you do this to me? Fuck me, to him? Kakashi has always been there for you!"

"This isn't about Kakashi. This is about us."

"There is no us, Sauske! There never was! Did you think I'd wait forever? Indefinitely? I begged you to take me with you. And you left me. Again!"

"Sakura… I couldn't be with you the way I was. Itachi-"

Sakura put a fist through her glass living room table. "Goddamnit, Sauske! Even now you're playing the victim! Itachi did everything for you! He died for you! You found out the truth, and what did you do?! Play the victim! I don't know much about your older brother, but he chose not to be a victim of his circumstances. He did everything for you, until his last breath. Don't disrespect his memory that way."

Sauske's eyes dropped to the ground, and Sakura was panting through tears when Kakashi appeared in her living room. He put a hand on her shoulder, then addressed Sauske. "My office. Now." When Sauske disappeared via Rinnegan, Kakashi wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm okay, Kakashi. I'm assuming you knew this was coming?" Kakashi sighed and kissed her hair.

"I wasn't sure what he'd confront you about, but an ANBU agent informed me that Sauske had made his way here. Looks like I got away from that meeting just in time."

Sakura squeeze Kakashi as tightly as she could without breaking him in half. "I was mean…"

"I'm sure you were, Sakura. Unfortunately, that conversation was a long time coming."

She then looked up at him. "Did you know…?"

"How he felt about you? Yes. I've spent the last four years trying to convince him to tell you."

"But… we've been together for six months…all four years?" Kakashi let Sakura go, and went to sit on the couch. She straddled him, sensing he wanted distance, but she couldn't give it to him. Not right now, anyway.

He chuckled as he realized what she was doing. He put his hand on her hip and answered her question. "Yes, all four years. Sakura, you still care about him, otherwise you wouldn't be so upset."

Sakura looked Kakashi in his stormy eyes while she contemplated her response. "Of course, I still care about him Kakashi. But it's no longer romantic. I started to let go of him four years ago, and when we got together, I'd already been dating. I was ready to move on. I love you. I'm in love with you. Sauske's ill timed 'confession' has no bearing on that." She kissed his cheek and moved to rise from him, when he pulled her tightly to his body. She could feel him shaking, and quietly ran her hands through his hair until he regained his composure.

"Well, I guess I won't be coming back here tonight. I have to make sure Sauske's good, then get back to work." Sakura sat back, then kissed Kakashi sweetly.

"You're a good man, Kakashi."

Coming back to the present, she walked into Kakashi's office and was immediately picked up off the ground by Naruto, and quietly congratulated by Sai (who was already a Jonin), Captain Yamato, and Kakashi. Sauske was nowhere to be seen. "I thought this was a Team Kakashi meeting. Where's Sauske?" Sakura asked as she sat down in front of the desk.

"He's running late, but we'll begin without him. Kakashi said, trying not to laugh as Naruto cursed Sauske's name. "Orochimaru poisoned the hunting team on his trail and left them for dead. Luckily, Tsunade is still in the village, or they would be dead. The room went silent at that pronouncement. "Never the less, this confirms that yet again, Orochimaru is an S-Rank criminal. Tsunade is making antidotes and vaccinations for all of us against the poisons. That will be complete in about a week. Sakura, Tsunade said that you are expected to help in the poisons and antidotes department at the hospital until this is done. Due to the urgency, she's pulled you off the hospital schedule, and I've pulled you all off the active duty roster."

"Of course. I'll head there after the meeting."

"You'll head there in the morning. We're all taking tonight to celebrate you passing the Jonin exam." They all smiled at her, and she had to bite her lip to keep herself from bawling in the middle of the floor.

"You guys are literally the best." Sakura said in an emotional voice. Naruto started crying (naturally) while the others laughed softly at Sakura trying not to strangle Naruto out of pure embarrassment. "Naruto. I love you, but if you don't let me go, I will kill you." Naruto quickly let go of Sakura and moved to the other side of the room. Sauske showed up shortly after, and they finished up the meeting. They all headed down to Ichiraku to meet the rest of the group, then they all walked to a Karaoke bar in the civilian part of the village. They were thanked several times in route for their service, and it reminded them all why they loved their home so much. Sakura was standing at the bar waiting on drinks when Kakashi walked up beside her. She smiled at him and asked "What are you doing up here? It's my turn to get rounds."

Kakashi smiled back saying, "I'm paying for your rounds." This was like the fourth time this week that Sakura had almost died of heart failure.

Kakashi laughed heartily and followed up with, "Don't get used to it," and winked at her. She quickly downed the rest of her current drink, hoping that being drunk would cover up her continuous state of blush around her boyfriend.

Kakashi laughed even harder, understanding what she was up to. "Shut up," she muttered, leaving him to take care of the drinks.

When she came back, Ino asked her from Sai's lap, "Where are the drinks, forehead?"

"Kakashi's taking care of them." Ino winked at her, and unfortunately it was a wink most of the group caught.

"Why are you winking at Sakura while talking about Kakashi?" Sai asked simply. Their private karaoke room was deathly silent suddenly. Fuck me, Sakura thought, as she shot Ino a death glare. Then she put on a fake smile saying,

"Oh, he's taking care of my round, and Ino is drunk as usual. Ignore her, guys." Some people bought it, but people like Yamato, Shikamaru, and Shino looked like they were putting two and fucking two together. Sakura looked around the room saying "Guys, seriously. It's only because I got out of buying drinks tonight. She's jealous."

"Totally," Ino said building on the white lie. Sensing some serious discomfort, Hinata jumped in, asking her fiancé to sing something with her. Naruto, the next Hokage with ADD, was easily distracted, while others were watching her warily.

Sauske simply smirked as he realized Kakashi and Sakura's relationship was a secret. It couldn't be that significant if they were hiding it. As everyone made their way back to their district, they hung on to one another, some singing loudly, and others laughing loudly. They all split off to their prospective areas, and Sakura walked home alone. Kakashi had returned to Hokage Tower to see if there was an update on the Snake Sannin before promising to meet her at her place late to early morning.

Sakura was dead tired when she hit the sheets. She'd could literally only stand to take her clothes off and sleep in her underwear. Peace only lasted a couple of seconds, as she realized someone was in her apartment. She hopped up into a defensive stance, barely dodging the senbon her attacker tried to lodge in her neck.

Kakashi sighed as he listened to the report Genma gave about Orochimaru's movements. Once he'd returned with drinks, he'd noticed some lingering stares from the group, and Sakura slid him a concerned glance. Some, maybe all of them, had figured out something was going on between them. Sauske looked especially smug. After their conversation yesterday, Sauske didn't seem to think much of them as a couple. Did he think he still had a chance? But no matter, Sakura was his. And if they did know, it didn't really matter. He'd already told Sakura that it didn't and that was true. This was it for them, contrary to what Sauske seemed to believe. It was truly a matter of time. Kakashi wondered when he'd reached that decision. Probably after their first date. It was the most natural thing for them both. So natural, that Sakura was already on birth control before their second date. He wasn't planning on sleeping with her until they were both one hundred percent, and now that they were it was simply a matter of timing. Kakashi knew that Sakura was a virgin. He also knew this was a big deal to her as she'd vowed to be in love with her first, Sauske or not.

"Kakashi!" Kakashi was yanked from his thoughts when Shikamaru burst into the meeting with something akin to dread on his face. Kakashi's stomach did not like that look. "We've gotta get to the hospital." Kakashi stood and followed after Shikamaru knowing he wouldn't have interrupted had it not been one of their people.

"Who is it?" He asked quietly already knowing the answer.

"It's Sakura."