Hello Everyone! I think this will be a quick two shot piece… Lemony infused and full of holiday spirit. :3 This story is based on actual events. . . Well- not all of it..otherwise people may be pretty disgusted with the TMI. This is going to read off as a pretty rough piece at first..a little dramatic..but I promise a sweet ending. :3 I 3 You guys! Merry Christmas!

Hatake Sakura stared at the slightly tarnished ring on her left hand, a neigh invisible teardrop threatening to clump the lower lashes of her right eye. The left however, spilled first and she lifted her fingertips to wipe the offending moisture away. Sniffing deeply, trying to put free flowing mucus back to where it came from at least until she can find a tissue, the girl trudged on through the snow toward the Hokage tower Christmas night.

Sakura's marriage was experiencing…a few technical difficulties.

Hatake Kakashi was not a bad man or a horrible husband. He had not made any huge terrible mistakes so far, had not been insensitive or misunderstanding to the young woman, and he didn't have any glaring sins that desperately needed to be corrected. No, Kakashi was indeed sweet and generous, kind and loving, and the man who understood Sakura the most.

There just wasn't enough time for the pair here lately.

Sakura understood her husband's need to take and complete missions…. Hell, she made it quite clear that even after marriage; she was a shinobi before she was a wife. Even with the elder council discreetly pestering her to produce a Hatake heir behind Naruto's back, she was a rather famous medic-nin first and foremost. Kakashi didn't have a problem with that, as long as she understood the same was true of him. Sakura bit her lip, trying to keep it from trembling. She had no right to complain, right? This was what she wanted, right? He never asked her to stay away from work or not take a mission he was uncomfortable with.

A rolling clear as crystal tear gently dropped down her face.

At least Kakshi had come home for Christmas, even if it was only for a little while. That was just it, though. It was like… like he didn't know her anymore.

In the tearful woman's left hand was a velvet box.

Sakura didn't particularly find jewelry tasteful. It seemed like a fallout gift to her, who spent her spare time fighting rather than dressing up. Last year Kakashi had given her a beautiful pair of hand-crafted, chakra strengthened gloves that permitted the flow of her own Chi through the material. She loved them. Cherished them. The gift fit her. It was like he knew her more than anyone.

This year's gift was so much more expensive than last year, but she didn't give a damn about the price. It just didn't fit. Sakura felt like it wasn't her. Was this… really meant for her?

…

"Damnit!" She swore, bringing her empty hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose. She was fighting so hard not to think too hard. Fighting so hard not to have any doubts about her loving, generous, amazing husband. She wanted so badly to have one hundred percent complete faith in him. Once a person is hurt though, they are never the same.

Blind faith is an impossible gift to maintain.

What if this was meant for another woman? What if it ended up under the tree by accident? There was no name on the box…just the bag….

Sakura walked into the tower front, pausing at a decorative mirror hung on an almost empty foyer wall. She needed to put herself back together. She made sure her eyes weren't red and calmed down the swelling under her eyes. She could blame the runny nose on the weather.

Satisfied, the woman climbed the tower to quickly meet with the Hokage before he went home for the night.

"Sakura… You listening?"

"Nhn!" Sakura was shaken out of her thoughts by Naruto's waving hands.

"Sorry Naruto… I'm tired." She offered a weak smile and did her best to look sleepy. Naruto smiled back, a pitying look on his face.

"You've had more than your fair share of work here lately. Like I said earlier, you're only allowed to open this tomorrow, okay? Special mission- just for you… but for tonight, just go home." He grinned his usual cheeky smile, clasping arms behind his head.

"Go home to Kakaaashiiii… I have a feeling you won't get any rest tonight." The boy snickered and Sakura's cheeks went a light pink.

"Naruto!" Sakura sent a half-hearted punch in his direction before she bowed and took her leave. The pinkette walked through the door and sighed, unaware of Naruto's concerned face. Before the doors fully shut, the blond made a quick twitch of his fingers.

Genma and Guy greeted Sakura at the bottom of the stairs, facing the door and whispering quietly. The pair were Kakashi's best friends, if anyone beside Team Seven deserved the title. Furthermore, Genma was currently dating Ino, so the two saw a lot of each other. The men turned to face the girl.

"Hey gorgeous!" The infamous senbon chewer grinned and waved.

"Lady Hatake!" Guy all but shouted, causing Genma to cover his ears.

"How are things with you?" The Green Beast of Konoha was so enthusiastic that he could make using the toilet sound like a riveting experience.

"I'm well. Yourself?" Sakura countered that phrase like an automaton, too used to the same question over the past three months.

Genma frowned, looking into the woman's eyes. "Liar."

Even Guy tsk'd.

"Such dishonesty does not become your beautiful features!" Such a way with words. Even Guy's insults sounded...flowery.

Sakura's smile dropped. "Is it that obvious?" The pinkette bit her lip. I can't tell Ino this… She'd laugh at me….

Genma looped an arm about the woman's shoulders, looking Guy in the face. "Let's take a walk…and you can tell us everything you need to…."

"I'll sound so stupid…" Sakura complained, staring at her feet. The gentlemen were in "Uncle" mode. It didn't matter how old you were or what station you held, it was impossible not to feel like a four year old again under their care.

"You are not stupid…" Guy spoke seriously, dropping his usual speech, "And if it hurts, it isn't dumb."

Sakura bit her other lip as the men ushered her out of the door, springing up to the rooftops. It was easier to find privacy the higher up you went.

"Talk to us, Pinky…" Genma coaxed, lazily ambling across smooth roof tiles.

"I feel so stupid..and I have no right to complain about the situation whatsoever..and I think that makes it worse but…" Guy raised an eyebrow. Perhaps starting at the beginning would be a better idea?

Sakura sighed and started over.

"I'm glad he's home for Christmas. I've missed him so much...he's always gone. I know he can't change that any more than I can… we're both needed for what we do best. Though…he IS sent out more than any other ninja I know…"

Genma looked at Guy over her shoulder, a silent conversation between the two.

"And he's so very sweet…even remembered the occasion." She pulled the velvet box from her pocket, opening the expensive container in the moonlight.

"It's very pretty…" Guy countered in his usual enthusiastic manner.

"Yeah." Sakura didn't smile back.

"Guys… This isn't me…. I'm not complaining about the gift...having time to think of me at all is wondrous…but he's been so meticulous with his gifts in the past. He was always so careful. Getting something that is so…out of character is a little unusual for him."

Sakura thought back to her previous thoughts, wondering if they were for the right woman or not.

"I don't know…what to think…. It isn't possible he's forgotten the real me…right? It isn't like that at all…right?" The pinkette was once again locked into mortal combat with her tears, trying to hold her composure.

Genma sighed and signaled for the group to stop, parking his ass on a spot that had somehow lost its snowy cover. The group sat and huddled as close as was permitted, waiting for someone to say something. Genma tried to piece things together before throwing all tact out of the window.

"You know…. I often imagine Ino lounging on the bed wearing nothing but those light blue pearls that match her eyes…."

Sakura looked at Genma incredulously. "I really don't want to hear about your sick fantasies about my best friend."

Genma chuckled. "That's just it… it's not sick at all. See… Ino works in the torture division… How many people still look at her at the end of a rough day amazed by her beauty?"

Genma was getting oddly eloquent and Sakura fell silent.

"It's not that I want to DO anything to her while she's laying there… but the sight. She's mine. That is how I see her. She's a kunoichi… and one capable of terrible damage but she is my woman and I wouldn't have her any other way."

Sakura still looked confused and Guy put on his serious face.

"It is like… looking at art. Do you remember Sesshu?"

Sakura nodded. There were a few copies of his paintings in the Hokage tower. They were beautiful.

"There are people who could stand there admiring his work all day. He is a great priest but his art really calls to people. I think you are the same way to my great rival as Ino is to Genma and admirers are to Sesshu." Terribly complicated for someone who wrestles with rocks. And wins.

"It's how I see Ino..that causes those fantasies. You will always be a Kunoichi. You will always be a warrior. You will always be a bloody medic that terrifies your enemies by destroying cliff facings… but to Kakashi, you're his woman. To him, you're absolutely beautiful. Covered in blood or not."

Sakura let her tears flow, cradling the misunderstood box in her lap. Both Guy and Genma patted her back and shoulders.

"Now I feel like trash for doubting him so much…"

"It is not your fault, young Sakura!" Guy lifted his hand into the "Nice Guy" pose, teeth unimaginably sparkly and the moon somehow gleaming off of his upraised thumb. Did he wax his freaking hand?

"Yeah…" Genma countered and grinned, his senbon turning up with his smile dangerously toward his eyes.

"We're the ones who don't talk about this shit." Another point for the needle-chewer.

Sakura fingered the necklace inside, feeling sudden inspiration coming on. The girl wiped her eyes and smiled at the pair, standing up to tuck the scroll in her breast pocket.

"Thanks guys… I should be getting home. Someone is waiting for me after all!" And with that, the Kunoichi leapt out of sight.

Guy sighed, smiling at nothing in particular, "Young love…I'll let Naruto know that she's okay."

Genma grinned, "I'm going home to Ino."

Kakashi was frowning, tossing on the bed. Sakura was supposed to be back quite some time ago and Kakashi was irked that she was called out in the middle of the night to begin with. He really wanted to know what was wrong with his little wife and didn't have much time to console her before she had to leave. The man ran his hand across the silk blindfold covering his Sharingan, his usual lazy eyes hardened into slanted concern. A silent turn of the knob let him know that his beloved was home.

Should I go to her? Let her come to me…?

The scarecrow sighed, rolling over to face the window. What to do, what to do….

He heard movement at the foot of the bed. Time to face the music. He turned and sat up, greeted by a sight that he certainly didn't expect.

Sakura stood there, smiling, arms gripping a corner of their four poster bed. A naked knee matching a perfectly naked thigh rose to lift the girl onto the bed. A large, deep blood red drop nestled between her breats, the very drop that Kakashi had run by at least four different women before sitting the piece under the Christmas tree…all for this one moment. Astounded, speech-less, and taken by the sight of his beautiful wife, Kakashi smoothly lifted an arm to uncover the silk blindfold. He wanted to remember every second of this. Thank God his chakra was fairly full.

Sakura did not come out of the war unscarred, but such things didn't matter to the battle-hardened Shinobi. The gentle welts of her past scarring accentuated the moonlit curve of her thighs, the swelling of her hips, and the muscled slope that was a strong Kunoichi's stomach. Sakura's waist was slender and high-set before rising to hand-full mounds, just the right size for Kakashi's trailing fingers. The ruby drop he had agonized over in his fantasies caught what little light was in the room and cast a red-pink glow. Perfect for his pink haired beauty. Mis-matched eyes rose to catch the position of his beloved's arms, gripping the banister and finally, Sakura's smiling face. The soft gaze that entranced him so was almost tangible in its intensity. God, he loved this woman.

"You're beautiful…." Kakashi's voice broke, removing two-points from his manliness meter. So much for being smooth and suave.

Sakura slowly moved forward, sliding on her knees toward his lap. He lifted a hand to trail two exploring fingers from her knee to her chin, enjoying the sensation of the different textures along the way.

"Aren't you going to take me?" Sakura teased. "You're supposed to ravish me at the invitation."

"Not right away…" He almost whispered, clearing his throat before trying again.

"I want to remember every second of this…" He lifted his hands and trailed them from Sakura's chest to her face, pulling her to him for a slow, soft kiss. She was perfect, in every way. Being able to see her like this, just for him… he was going to memorize every inch- first with his eyes and again with his fingertips.

And soooo… next chapter –the final chapter- will be lemon scented. I like to give somewhat of a break between the two so that those who are more sensitive to such things can skip it all together if they so wish. That and I'm really sleepy right now…though I promise this will be done before Christmas on the USEast coast. :p

See you all for Chapter Two-! Ja Ne!