You guys, getting to this chapter was a freaking TRIAL. I've never been so emotionally drained. Thank you for your patience with me while I pulled arc 4, I was just fundamentally unhappy with it the way it was. In Arc 3, Kakashi and Sakura got to redeem their first kiss with a re-do. In a way, I got a re-do of my own.
Don't let mistakes hold you back, loves. Don't quit, wonderful things are to come.
With that, I give you your long awaited chapter. Only 2 more to go after this one. - XOXO, VB
- Homecoming -
Sakura bounces in and out of consciousness like a body bag hitting the ground from a high tower fall.
Oh no, THIS. This must be what Rock lee feels like after opening all of his heavenly gates. Dear merciful gods, what has she done?
She wakes up to a sky full of faces. This is not as pleasant of a rebirth as it sounds because everybody is really mad at her. One moment, she's staring up into Kakashi's shellshocked jawline, the next she has Ino screaming down at her in panic.
"Sakura, you can not die on me, do you understand!? Who's going to be maid of honor at my wedding if you kick the bucket!?"
Sakura blinks through her confusion. She focuses on the most important part of this sentence first.
"You're… getting married? Before me?"
"Yes I am, so get your SHIT together because I am not getting married in all black. I do not look good in mourning robes, Sakura-"
The next time she wakes up, someone is carrying her on their back and her face is full of prickly black spikes. The body beneath her is warm and familiar, and they smell like home. If she wasn't so busy violently dying, she'd probably be playing with their hair.
'Shikamaru.'
She looks around, taking in what she can. She finds a flash of white hair hovering over her right shoulder and goldenrod sunshine over her left. She turns first to Kakashi walking beside her, his shoulder so close they nearly brushing sides.
Ok seriously, this just can't be right.
"Kakashi?" She asks, squinting against the sunlight. When did it get so freaking bright out?
"In the flesh." He says, voice cracking. He sounds like he's been…crying?
"What…what are you doing here?"
"You told Ino to send an army...so I brought Naruto." Kakashi points across the road to where Naruto is carrying Utsuho, and then over to where Kiwa is limping, arm slung across Naruto's neck. Up ahead of them, she also sees Naruto carrying an unconscious Tayuya bridal style.
Her eyes cross. She blinks rapidly. She squints over to the blonde boy currently holding her hand. "Naruto…Do I have a concussion or are there lots of you?"
"Both."
"Both."
"Both."
Three sets of voices chime in unison. Shikamaru's timbre rumbles against her chest. By some miracle she hadn't deserved, she was going home with the three great loves of her life.
"Stop squirming, billboard brow."
Oops. Make that four.
Sakura realizes belatedly there are hands pressed to her back. Something warm is radiating through her body. She looks over her shoulder to find Ino following directly behind her, the green glow of medical chakra steadily pouring from Ino's hands. But turning her head makes Sakura wince, then it makes her want to throw up. Before she knows it, she's asleep again, drooling into Shikamaru's jacket collar.
Ultimately, it's her satellite clinics that save her life. If they'd had to go all the way back to Konoha, chances were strong Sakura would have died for real. Even with Ino dumping chakra into her by the bucket, they probably wouldn't have made it in time to reverse the damage to her vital organs. People can live with only one kidney, but livers tend to be kind of important…
Sakura feels for the poor chakra surgeon who, second day at his assigned outpost, has the misfortune of receiving the founder of his program as his first surgery patient. She could only imagine what it must have been like to have THE Haruno Sakura dumped onto his operating table while his boss Nara Shikamaru waited in the other room. Every seat in the clinic that day is flooded with Konoha elite, all of their elite eyes are on that poor unfortunate man.
Luckily, he's able to stabilize Sakura while Ino gets a chance to rest and recover. He works on Sakura in targeted bursts until she's healed enough to be transported again. But Sakura knows he's just a stop gap measure. Tsunade will need to do the real heavy lifting once they return to Konoha.
That night, their ragtag group sleeps at the clinic. Everyone piles into medical cots or pulls chairs together for their overnight stay. Thankfully, it's just Sakura, Kiwa and Utsuho in the med bay. Tayuya is sill in her induced coma, but she's being monitored by Kakashi in another room. Kiwa…isn't ready to face her yet. Utsuho probably never will be.
The clinic supervisor orders everyone else to leave the med-bay and give the patients room to rest. There was already too much congestion and fussing, even with the room dividers. At one point in the night, Sakura is awoken by Naruto's loud snores followed by several shushing voices. She wakes to find Kiwa's hand holding hers in the dark. Their cots are stationed side by side, just close enough to touch.
"You okay?" Sakura asks, squeezing Kiwa's hand.
"Yeah." She says quietly. "I just wanted you to know I was here."
They hold hands and share the moment. "Where's Shikamaru?" She finally asks. Her body hurts too much to look around.
"Ino's working on him while the doctor rests. They're taking shifts through the night."
"Makes sense." Sakura sighs. She still gets woozy every time she talks.
But then, Kiwa says the thing Sakura suspects she's been waiting all night to say.
"…You brought Utsuho back to me."
And despite all the hurt they've both just been through, Sakura will always remember this moment. It's a moment tainted by the memories around it, but a beautiful one on its own. She smiles to her friend, knowing just what to say.
"Mission souvenir."
She doesn't wake up again until they are back in Konoha. When she opens her eyes, she finds Ino sitting at her bedside reading a tattered magazine. She "fills Sakura in" on the rest of their trip back, which really just means they gossip like teenagers.
"Choji seems really interested in Kiwa, he hasn't shut up about her since they got back. Also, Naruto wanted to carry your unconscious body home, but Shikamaru wouldn't let aaaaaanybody touch you. He and Kakashi absolutely lost it when you died, you are never allowed to be so irresponsible again.
Naruto has likewise declared to never leave your side after this, so this next part is your own fault: I'm pretty sure he's currently hunting for bigger apartment units so you two can become permanent roomies. Also, I'm pretty sure saw Kakashi cry on the mountain, I hope you understand you've traumatized everybody all around."
Sakura can't tell if she's crying from the body aches or from just how stupid she'd been. She'd hurt the people who truly loved her, even if it had been in service of a worthy cause. Even still… she knows in her heart she did the right thing, if albeit the hard one.
Later that afternoon, Tsunade swings by to check on her idiot pupil. Her Shisho is obviously less than pleased with Sakura's vagrant disregard for her own life. She informs Sakura she's now on involuntary bed rest, and she'd better get comfortable because she's booked for three weeks. After more scolding and promises not to be a future idiot, Tsunade says something Sakura never thought she'd hear from her mentor.
Tsunade admits that she was wrong. She even manages to ground out an "I'm sorry". She says it was misguided to have put Sakura and Shikamaru in the situation she had.
But Sakura doesn't want to have this conversation. She wants to have another.
The next hour is tense, but important. They have a long talk about the Grass Prison, about lost causes and lost integrity. They talk about lost respect and the long road to forgiveness. They talk about Tayuya and what to do next. Sakura already has her own plans for rehabilitation if Tayuya is open to them.
"What about her crimes? We can't just forgive what she's done." Tsunade says. She means this as a rhetorical question, but Sakura doesn't treat it like one. She's already proven she's willing to die on a mountain. Here, she proves she'd also willing to die on this hill.
"Tayuya has paid for her crimes and then some. She was brutalized in that prison, and we need to fix it."
"Fine. Let's say Hitoshi is willing to grant her a pardon for her old crimes. What about the new ones? What about the lumber mill."
Sakura pauses, but the solution is already there. She doesn't know how, it just is. "She will pay for her new crimes, but she'll do it in a different way. Not execution, not incarceration."
"Then how?"
"Option 3: Service. I'll have to see if she's willing first but… I don't know. If she's willing to change, then we need to let her try. She's a victim of Orochimaru as much as we are."
Tsunade and Sakura talk late into the evening. Tsunade tells Sakura that the Grass Prison is already being dismantled as they speak. She tells Sakura about the mission she sent Kakashi on all those months ago and the inhumane conditions he found in the prison. He'd returned from that mission conflicted, but had given Tsunade an ultimatum of his own.
Hitoshi had been in deep negations with River and Sand on the day he'd sent Shikamaru to inspect the lumber mill. They were currently trying to determine where to move the remaining prisoners while the prison was being decommissioned.
It would be a long, uphill battle dealing with the blow-back from pissing off Grass, but Hitoshi was ready to fight that fight. He wanted to talk to Sakura too, once she felt up to it.
Finally, Sakura wakes up to find Kiko brushing her hair. She jerks up in her wheel chair when Kiko's brush snags on one of the multitude of tangles in her hair. It really was getting long again...
"You haven't had a shower in days." Kiko says. "You drool a lot in your sleep too."
"My vulnerability is temporary, but my memory is forever. You sure you want to say that to me?"
"….Sorry sensei." Kiko says, chastised, even though she's right.
She wheels Sakura to the public showers, making sure she doesn't slip in the bath. Sakura soaks for a long time, scrubbing and lathering until she feels brand new. Baths always did make her feel better. She almost thinks about manifesting some orange blossoms to perfume her bath….but ultimately she doesn't.
She's not ready yet, knowing what she now has to live without.
She isn't ready to accept the fact that Yume is really…gone. He'd given his life, just as she'd given hers. They'd truly died together on the same day. She knew there was a chance she could manifest him again, but it would likely take years of deep meditation on his image to make him anew. She knew she could summon him again, given enough time...
But she didn't think he would want her clinging to the past, not when she had a second chance at a future. A part of her deeply wanted to grieve him… but another part of her felt whole. She knew he would never really be gone. She'd found herself, because of him. He'd helped her get her family back.
Naruto. Kakashi. Shikamaru…Each of them were in her life again, all in some way thanks to him.
She takes a moment of silence in her bath to say Thank you and I'll miss you and goodbye. When she's finally able to stand again, there are words in her heart- A final, remembered 'That's my girl.'
There's a knock at her door once she's back in her room. Chisue's voice calls in a warning as she opens. "Oi… You have visitors-"
But Sakura doesn't have time to see who it is before she's enveloped in Naruto's arms. He doesn't care that she's in her wheelchair, he tackles her with the same energy he tackles everybody.
"You're awake!" He greets, pulling her deeper into the hug. They are a tangle of arms and misty eyes. She hates herself for having scared him so badly.
"I'm sorry…" She murmurs into his shoulder.
"You'd better be." Kakashi glares. "Also, why aren't you in bed?"
"Bed's lumpy." Sakura says.
"I don't give a shit, you need to be resting. And jesus, why haven't you touched your food tray?"
"The food sucks." She shrugs, smirking. Kakashi is fuming and she's loving every second of it.
"Oh! Can I have it then?" Naruto asks.
"Sure, but it's the green jello, not the red kind."
"Oh…" He says dejectedly. "Never mind."
Kakashi keeps his stern Sensei expression on just until Chisue leaves the room. Then, he gives her his best mischievous look. "What do you say we get out of her? Just for a bit. We won't go far."
Sakura is thrilled at the idea of getting out of her room, but she knows it would guarantee her death by Charge Nurse. "Chisue would be so mad." She says. "She already hates me for ditching her the last time I was bedridden."
"I know, she hates me too." Kakashi smiles, that secret grin chipping away at her resolve. "Come on, it will be great."
And because she can picture that smile beneath his mask, her teachers pet heart eventually relents. With a nod, Kakashi scoops her up in his arms and carries her gently out the window. He pours chakra into his feet and walks her up the side of the building, Naruto following moments later. They sit on the Hospital rooftop eating popsicles that Naruto swipes from the cafeteria. They talk about Tayuya and Sakura's Genjutsu.
"Creation of all things." Kakashi finally labels it. "Imagination and Chakra and an obsessive level of chakra control. Creation is the book end of all Genjutsu. It's how the nine tailed beasts were originally made, all those years ago." Kakashi had his suspicions about her Jutsu, but hadn't been sure she'd really been manifesting chakra until they'd returned home.
"It's a forbidden Jutsu for a reason, I think you understand why now." He says, frozen treat forgotten at his side. He's still looking at Sakura like she could keel over again at any moment. She weaves a hand into his, promising her Sensei she's not going anywhere.
"Does that mean…I can never use my Jutsu again?" She asks, popsicle juice dripping down her wrist.
"I wouldn't necessarily say that. But maybe start by manifesting small non living objects first, build your way up to bigger things."
Naruto sneezes and drops his popsicle off the edge of the hospital room.
'Small, non living objects, huh?'
"Sakura…" Kakashi warns, but she's already running through a sensory drill, imagining the brain freeze and taste of her treat. The curiosity is killing her…
She fixates on the popsicle still in her hand. The weight, the color, the temperature and taste. She pools the smallest bead of chakra into her palm, then sticks her hand behind Naruto's back where she can't see it. She reaches fingers through mid air, telling herself that her Jutsu will work.
Maybe it's because she's gotten so much stronger from drilling with Yume all that time, but her Chakra releases like a cold snap between her fingers. She pulls a popsicle out from behind Naruto's back the way magicians pull coins from children's ears.
Kakashi looks at her in horror, but Naruto looks at her with unconcealed awe.
"That's so frickin' sweet!" He cries, holding his fresh popsicle between sticky fingers.
He chatters on about what a cool roommate she's going to be while Kakashi glares daggers up at the sky. Sakura tries to downplay how hard she's panting. Shit, that took way more chakra than she'd anticipated.
Eventually, Kakashi stops being grumpy, his tense fingers relaxing in her hand. She knows she's in for a lecture later, but she doesn't care. '100% Totally worth it.'
As the afternoon creeps on, Team 7 talks about Sasuke and how they will get their last member back. Their family, while not completely whole, is whole enough for now. For the first time in their shared history, they make plans for the future instead of reliving the past.
If fighting Tayuya taught Sakura one thing, it was that she'd never be able to give up on Sasuke completely. No matter how much he hurt her, or how much she blamed him, she could never raise her blade to Sasuke in earnest. Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto… when it came to Sasuke, they would always be at a disadvantage. He might always strike to kill while they sought to wound.
But they would fight their corners anyway, ready to accept him when he was ready to come home. Until then, they would strengthen their bonds so Sasuke had something unbreakable worth coming back to.
- Idiot -
Shikamaru is already waiting for them when Naruto and Kakashi bring her back from the roof. Sakura blushes, realizing how she must look. She's burrowed into Kakashi's arms as he carries her in through the window like a toddler. Her eyes are suddenly glued to the floor as her Sensei sets her gently on the edge of her cot. She thinks Kakashi is about to leave without a word, but then he surprises her. He whispers a quiet, "Good luck," in her ear before finally pulling his arms away.
The whole time, Shikamaru just… stares at her. His ebony eyes are neither warm nor cool. They just watch her, endlessly observing.
Neither of them seem ready to speak up first, but Naruto looks back and forth, pointing to the both of them. "Wait…something feels different here. Did I miss something while I was away?"
"Naruto!" She lets out an audible groans, burying her ember face in her palms. God, and she was going to live with this idiot.
"Let's just…give them some space." Kakashi sighs, grabbing Naruto by the scruff of his jacket. Sakura think's he's going to leave, but he first gives Shikamaru a small pat on the shoulder. The two seem...amicable? What exactly had she missed?!
Kakashi drags Naruto out into the hallway, his voice trailing behind him as they leave. "You know, when people say to read the room, you're not suppose to do it out loud…"
And then… the door clicks shuts.
The noises of the outside world go quiet. Sakura's hospital room is now a party of three: Shikamaru, Sakura, and her stupid racing heart.
Because really, what are you suppose to say to someone after dying dramatically in their arms? 'Pretty cool how we both survived, right?'
'Sakura, stop being an idiot and say something-'
But still, apparently neither of them can find the guts to speak. They stand there for an eternity, Shikamaru staring at her while she stares painfully at the floor. When she does glance up, his hands are in his pockets. His body language is unusually guarded, posture curled into his iconic slouch. His hair pools around his shoulders framing his face, and all the while he just looks at her like he isn't sure he even wants to be here.
"I am so...unbelievably mad at you for dying." He finally says.
His tone says he means it as a joke, but the words still hit her like a punch to the gut. He had every right to be mad at her, she'd put him through unimaginable pain. The same pain that she herself had felt when she'd thought he'd been the body in the crater.
"I know." She says quietly, finally finding her voice. She swallows down the rocks in her throats, but they defy gravity and come right back up. It's almost impossible for her to speak, to breathe…
He's so close to her, and yet he's never felt so distant. She hates this, she wants her best friend back-
But she's wasted enough time second guessing herself, and second guessing them. They've orbited each other for years at this point. What if only thing standing in her way now is...herself?
She'd been given a second chance at life. She's not going to repeat her old mistakes this time.
And so, because she has nothing to lose, Sakura takes a breath and counts to ten. She takes strength from his umber gaze and rises from the edge of her cot. She takes a wobbly, tiny step towards a man she's always loved...
And maybe it's just her imagination, but it looks like Shikamaru takes a breath too. He meets her in the middle of the room, looking like he wants to say a hundred things. He stops and starts, and she waits while he tries. Her face is warm with all the love she's kept buried inside her all these years.
"…Don't ever do that to me again." He says quietly.
"I promise." She whispers. And she means it.
And then, because she can't stand his distance anymore, she extends a trembling hand up to his face. She pauses, giving him time to pull away, but he leans gently into her touch. She runs featherlight fingertips through his temple, brushing the hair back from the scars on his neck. He'd been bleeding badly when they'd fought together. Now that they are home, she can finally see why. The scars along his jaw are the twin to his fathers. Same side, same angle, nearly the same placement. She brushes his bangs even further back, taking in the full extent of his injuries.
He studies her expression as she studies him, eyes roaming every inch of her face.
She finds the results of Shizune's handiwork, the beginning stages of growing back his ear. "I'm really glad you're okay." She whispers, feeling him step into her chest. He's close enough that she can feel his heart beat, or maybe that's just her own stupid heart running sprint drills in her chest.
"Don't look at me like that." He says quietly, but he isn't upset with her anymore. Instead, he threads fingers overtop hers. He turns his face into her touch, burning her palm with the barest kiss. "The only thing I lost on that mountain was you...You're the only thing I can't live without."
Her breath flutters, thin and wild. An aching heat flips over in her belly. He…what did he just say?
"You know…I had a long time to think while you were healing. I've thought every second about what I would say to you once I finally got you alone."
Sakura can't tell if it's the fear or anxiety, or manifesting that stupid popsicle for Naruto. Which ever it is, her legs are about to give out. Longing for him coils in her belly as his breath washes down the sensitive inside of her wrist. She's desperate to ask him questions, but she's also terrified too. She wants so badly to spill her guts and tell him everything. That he's all she's been thinking about for months on end.
But in classing Sakura fashion, her tongue is glued to the roof of her mouth.
"I…I need you to know-" She tries, but he cuts her off.
"No. Let me get this out first." His voice is low, almost dangerous. It leaves no room for negotiation.
She knows he's preparing to babble. He steps fully into her space, pulling her palm down over his heart. His fingers wrap the narrowest part of her wrist, thumb brushing over her hummingbird pulse.
"Sakura…you found me when no one else could have. You found me because you knew where to look, because we know each other like we know ourselves. You spared my parents the immeasurable pain of having to burry their only son, and I'll never be able to thank you for that."
With every word, everything gets louder. His reassurance, her pulse, her need to kiss him.
"You saved Utsuho when I couldn't. You gave your life to save everyone."
She can't look him in the eyes, so she fixates on his mouth. On his lips that lean into her with every word, his hard frame towering over her with every passing second.
"Sakura...I know you, and I love you for who you are. But more than that, I love you for who I am when I'm with you. I'm just…a better man when we're together. So, I've decided. I'm not letting you go ever again, and you're just going to have to deal with it. I don't care what I have to do or who I fight to fight, you're my endgame. End of story. "
Her lungs puncture and erupt in her chest. She can't breath, it's all too much. There's no way he understands what he's saying to her, he couldn't possibly be saying what she thinks he is...
It's only now that she realizes what a fool she's been. She'd literally died without telling him she loved him. Three small words that could change everything, she just had to open her mouth and say it, Sakura-
Her breath comes out ragged, there's no turning back now. "Shika, my feelings for you-"
But something in him snaps. He doesn't need her words, only her. He drags fingers through her hair, pulling her face up to meet him half way. He imbeds himself upon her lips, taking her mouth again and again. She moans against his tongue like it's her lifeline. They taste like popsicles and second chances. Her legs buckle, breaking the kiss. She's weak with need and it makes her invincible.
"I love you." She whispers, tears burning the corners of her eyes.
"I know, you idiot." He whispers back.
It's the only reassurance Sakura needs. She crushes their lips together wildly, kissing him with years of pent up want. His response is just as fierce, dragging her body up into his chest. He drinks her in in every way, rough and messy, imperfect and wonderful. It's everything a kiss could ever be, and somehow it's also more. They promise each other hundreds of kisses. Hundreds of I love you's and a hundred Goodbyes.
When they finally part, she gasps for breath.
"I-…I love you, Shikamaru." She repeats again. She wants to say nothing but his name for the rest of her life.
His shoulders go rigid. She can still surprise him. He manages a small, "…Say it again."
But the damn has been broken, she doesn't need to be told twice. Her words no longer want to stay inside. She chokes out "I love you," and "I missed you so much-". He smothers her words with his firebrand mouth, kissing her dizzy and kissing her sane. His voice turns to a low growl, achingly dangerous.
"Again." He demands.
"I love you, Shika-"
More kisses. More fire.
"Again…" he repeats.
In the end, despite how much she's grown, Sakura still isn't good with words. But for once, she's okay with that. She was always better at showing her feelings anyway, and she has so much to show.
- Bossy -
"But what about the Daimyo job?" Sakura says, her lips now as bruised as the rest of her. She and Shika share her hospital cot. They lay on their sides, facing each other. She knows she's being clingy, but he's just as bad. He refuses to let go of their intertwined fingers.
"I accepted the job under the condition that I meet with Hitoshi first. I didn't go to the Castle to accept his proposal, I went there to negotiate."
"You…did what!?"
"It's something he told me the night after the summit: Never accept the first offer on the table, no matter who it's from."
Sakura stares at him, trying to follow. "I don't understand, what did you negotiate?"
"I told Hitoshi to give me three months. If I couldn't get the organization off to a good start, I agreed to take the position permanently. Still, my goal has been singular from the very beginning: Restructure the workload so I can operate from a distance. I finished most of my critical tasks within the first two months, everything left now is just paperwork."
"How did you manage to do all that in two months?! Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?!"
He narrows his eyes to a deadpan stare. "Sakura, I've studied your workaholic patterns for years. I knew exactly what I needed to do. Now, I just need to find someone scary enough to manage an entire health institution. They need to be someone who can manage the day to day, bossy like you but smart like me." He smirks at her when he says the word bossy, knowing she hates it with a passion.
She reaches out, fisting a hand into his collar. "If you were smart, you wouldn't be calling me bossy."
And because he's become obsessed with her mouth, he leans in to kiss her again.
The door swings open with a loud bang. Chisue storms in, face enraged. "Sakura I swear, if you don't get your teammates out of my cafeteria, I'm going to Tsunade's office and I'm going to quit. You can run this damn hospital by yourself for all I care. You know, I could be traveling and seeing the country right now. I did not put off retirement to babysit your minions!"
Sakura and Shikamaru stare blankly at Chisue, the answer to all of their bureaucratic prayers.
Shikamaru offers Chisue the job on the spot. She accepts the position immediately, unaware of just how rich she's about to become. Sakura just watches as the man she loves works miracle after miracle. He is a genius who turns time into opportunities. He manifests solutions out of thin air the way she can manifest popsicles and hope.
That day, he proves it's possible to be both highly motivated and lazy. That you could be of service and self serving at the same time. If you're Shikamaru, that is.
Eventually, he would be assigned his own private office on the second floor of the Hokage building. But, for two weeks every six months, he and Sakura would get to travel, inspecting clinics and refining operations. Not that they really needed to. Chisue loved handling the day to day. The woman had spent her whole life working as a charge nurse. She practically was the institution.
Now, Chisue gets grossly overpaid to run her own institution while traveling the country in style on the Daimyo's dime.
- Spring -
It wasn't all smooth sailing after that. Real life rarely is. There was work to do, but it was work worth doing. There was plenty of bad, but there was good in there too.
Once Sakura is released from the hospital, they hold a small funeral for Ruya. His memorial stands in a field among others, but to the gathered party, it is unique.
Sato Ruya. End of watch - November 3ed.
In December, Ino and Kiba finally announce their engagement. They share the news over New Years Eve dinner among family at the Yamanaka compound.
The crowd erupts violently with shouts of surprise. The entire extended Ino-Shika-Cho clan has been gathered for this special event. The floors nearly buckle as four sets of parents descend on the couple, offering congratulations.
Unnoticed at the back of the room, Sakura jumps for her own reasons. She sits cross legged beside Shikamaru, his fingers playing a dangerous game with the hem of her skirt. His hands are hidden beneath the dining table, but every time she squirms he brushes her inner thigh higher.
Sakura tries desperately to keep a neutral face, but he loves watching her cheeks burn pink. He's always touching her in some way; fingers on her skin or playing with the ends of her hair. If they aren't attached at the mouth, they're attached at the hip. At night, he touches her other places.
Ino and Kiba are barely better with their PDA. Even in a room full of Ino's family, Kiba kisses his bride to be with wild abandon. They count down the new year, smiling wide. It's the first new years Sakura has ever gotten a midnight kiss. She feels like Cinderella.
And then, before they knew it, winter had all but passed.
Finally, it was spring.