The next seven days passed by excruciatingly slowly for Sakura. The pink-haired kunoichi hadn't slept for more than a few hours at a time the entire week. What little sleep she did manage to get was invaded by more frequent nightmares. After each one, she would wake up with Kakashi's strong arms wrapped around her tightly, holding her close and whispering softly into her ear that she was safe and she'd let herself soak in his comfort, knowing that the older shinobi meant it. Once she would calm down, he would kiss her slowly and softly until her eyelids felt heavy again and he'd let her rest until another nightmare came, when they'd repeat the whole process over again; their own nightly routine.
In the mornings, once the sun was up and neighbors were starting to move about, they would start their individual days, going their own ways until in darkness they met again in the dining room to share a meal. Kakashi spent his days doing menial D-rank missions delivering letters or escorting merchants to the next town over. Sakura spent hers at her mother's shop, finding that the familiar room with its familiar patrons and familiar scents gave her eased her fears.
Their evenings varied depending on how heavy Sakura's heart was feeling. Some nights, they had sat together on the sofa, each on their own end as they read quietly until they went to bed. One night, he'd had Gai over, and the three of them had drank sake and played board games until the early hours of the next morning. Most nights, Kakashi would hold her on the tatami while she cried for her father.
On the morning of the seventh day, Sakura was as anxious as Kakashi had ever seen her. He could hardly keep focus as she moved about the apartment, attacking the granite counters with cleaning solution and rewashing every dish in the apartment, insisting they needed it. He had watched as she wiped out every cabinet, refolded everything in the closet drawers, and rearranged his bookshelf. It wasn't until he watched her move to her knees with a scrub brush and a bucket of soapy water to wash the floors that he stopped her, pulling her up gently by the shoulders.
"The floors are fine, Sakura."
Her gaze didn't meet his as she studied the bamboo planks. She supposed they were fine, but that hadn't been why she'd wanted to scrub them and she knew he knew that. He sighed, pushing a hand back through his hair, frowning. A thought came to him, and he smiled.
"Let's go take a walk," he suggested to her, reaching for her hand. It wasn't really a suggestion, he decided. He needed to get her out of this apartment and away from the cleaning supplies before her cleaning drove him insane.
She sighed, knowing she wasn't going to win this battle. "At least let me change into something that isn't dirty."
Kakashi rolled his eyes playfully as though it was the biggest inconvenience in the world and reached into his pouch for his favorite copy of Icha Icha to keep him occupied while she dressed. When she came back, Sakura was wearing a simple white tee with a pair of green athletic shorts and a pair of civilian sandals.
"You look nice," Kakashi told her, smiling at the light shade of pink that crept up her cheeks. He held his hand out for hers and pulled her to his chest, kissing the top of her head affectionately. She tilted her head, leaning up so that she could give him a proper kiss.
The older man smiled into her kiss, allowing it to deepen for a moment before he pulled back, brushing some of her pink hair away from her eyes. They stood there silently for awhile, Sakura's fingers interlaced with his. These fleeting moments of gentle affection had been her lifeline during the last seven days. Though they hadn't had sex since the night her father had left, Sakura felt somehow closer to her sensei now than she had even after their first intimate encounter.
"Let's get to that walk, shall we?" Kakashi finally spoke, stepping away from her before he opened the door, allowing her to step outside into the breezeway before he shut and locked the door behind them.
It wasn't until they were about three and a half miles down the main road leading into Konoha that Sakura stopped him, touching his elbow lightly.
"Isn't this a bit long of a walk, Sensei?"
He shrugged, not stopping his footsteps as he trailed ahead of her. Sakura ran to catch up with him before falling back in line with his steps, her feet crunching on the dirt path. Neither of them said a word as they walked, the sun making its daily dance across the sky. It wasn't until that same sun told them it was after noon that Kakashi stopped, leaning against a tree and pulling out the worn Icha Icha book.
Sakura grumbled, sitting down in the grass and pulling the sandals from her sore feet. "You could have told me just how far you planned on walking before you let me leave the apartment in those," she glared vehemently at the flimsy shoes.
Kakashi chuckled but didn't say a word as he kept his gaze on the book, though Sakura was certain he wasn't actually reading it. He had to have the whole series memorized by now; there was no need to actually read the material. She had been rubbing her feet for about ten minutes when movement at the top of a hill on the horizon caught her attention. She stared for a few minutes before three familiar tufts of hair sticking into the air told her it was her father.
"Haha-san!" She yelped, springing to her feet and running to her father. Kakashi's eyes glanced in Hizashi's direction, a smile hidden by his mask. Sakura had been so busy this morning with her cleaning that she hadn't noticed Pakkun hop through the balcony's door, informing his master that Hizashi's mission had been successful and that he would be back in the village by nightfall.
The silver-haired man waited until Hizashi and Sakura were only a few feet away to tuck the book back away, turning to face them with a smile. The pink-haired woman had her arm around Hizashi's shoulder, a smile gleaming on her face that met her eyes in a way he hadn't seen in seven days.
"It seems a stroke of luck that you would have been walking the same path as I this morning, Kakashi-sama," Hizashi spoke to his daughter's sensei before arching his eyebrow. "I wonder if that cute little pug I saw managed to get back before I did?"
Sakura giggled at the mental scenario of Pakkun hearing her father call him cute - because he was an elite ninja dog with serious battle chops, dammit - before she enveloped her father in a full on hug for the second time since she'd run to him.
"I'm just glad you're home," she told her father.
The three made small talk during the trek back to Konoha but Sakura knew better than to ask about mission details, knowing her father wouldn't tell her even if he wanted to. She discreetly watched him from the corner of her eye as they walked, searching for any hint of an injury he might have sustained. There were none, she decided after they were halfway back. She smiled, knowing that her mother would be relieved at that fact.
The sun had set by the time they reached the gates again; Izumo and Kotetsu in their normal spot, this time seeming to have an argument about where the duo would eat their supper tonight. Sakura had stopped hovering over her father by now and was instead walking behind the two men as they talked in hushed tones, likely about whatever it was that Kizashi had been sent to the Land of Waves to do.
They stopped at Kakashi's apartment, where Sakura hugged her father goodnight and told him that she'd stop by for lunch the next day. Kakashi's goodbye was more casual, a simple nod of his head before he started ascending the stairs to the apartment. Sakura followed behind him, shutting the door once they were both inside.
He barely had his flak jacket off before she was on him, her hands pushing him against the wall, knocking a picture frame off kilter. Her lips fingers ripped at the buttons securing his uniform, not caring as one went bouncing across the floor as her lips met his skin in a hot barrage of kisses before she looked up at him, her eyes dark with lust.
"No one's ever done something like that for me before, Kakashi," she whispered, tip-toeing up so that her lips were hovering over his masked ones. "No one's ever cared for me the way you do."
He didn't speak, letting her pull the mask down around his neck. She kissed each side of his mouth gently before covering his lips with hers in a kiss so sweet it could have given him diabetes. Kakashi groaned, his hands moving to the waistband of her shorts and pulling her closer. He didn't need words to show her how he felt; his fingers did all his talking for him as they slid up her arms and to her face as he deepened the kiss, letting his tongue meet hers.
Breaking the kiss for air, Sakura tugged her shirt up and over her head, tossing it onto the floor. Kakashi stopped her when she went in for another kiss, instead lifting her. He stumbled the short expanse to the dining room table, where he impatiently shoved a vase to the floor with a loud crash.
"You're cleaning that up," Sakura panted as she slid the arms of the uniform down, intent on getting the damn thing off of him so she could get him inside her already. He chuckled, stepping back and nonchalantly heading for the broom closet. Sakura growled, grabbing his arm and turning him so that he was back in between her legs again.
"You said clean it up," he teased her, his hands on her thighs, teeth nipping at her earlobe playfully. She shoved his chest before yanking the rest of the uniform down below his ass.
"And you know I meant later," she shot back, hands now working on pushing the boxers down. Kakashi chuckled, watching the kunoichi swallow hard as she finally freed her prize.
It was the first time Sakura had actually seen his cock, she realized. It was already rock hard and throbbing against Kakashi's stomach. She estimated it to be around eight inches; long, she thought, but not too much so. He was as wide as her wrist and she smiled - thick, but not painfully so. A glint in her eye told Kakashi that his student was up to no good.
Sakura stood and reversed their positions so that he was now leaning against the table. She gave him an innocent smile before dragging her nails down his thigh as she moved to her knees, her green eyes never leaving his.
Fuck.
That was all Kakashi could think as she took him in her mouth for the first time. She wasn't shy about it, wrapping her lips around the head and sucking firmly for a moment before gliding her tongue over the slit, elicing a sharp hiss from the older man. He gripped the table's surface, his knuckles clenching as she pushed further, not stopping until she was halfway down his shaft before she pulled off.
He couldn't stop himself from tangling his gloved fingers into her hair, pulling her back towards him. She giggled and it sent a chill down Kakashi's spine before she was working him again, using just the tiniest bit of teeth that actually made his thighs quiver. She went all the way this time, not stopping until she could feel the head of his cock pushing at the back of her throat, a slight protrusion outlining the shape of him in her neck. Kakashi growled, his fingers tightening in her hair.
"Kami," he hissed "Where did you-"
He wasn't given the chance to finish his question as he felt her start bobbing her head, a slew of gurgling and gasping sounds coming from her mouth. Her nails were digging into his thighs now, and it felt just as good as Kakashi had imagined it would. His head fell back, lips parted as she started massaging his ball sack with one hand.
She finally stood, her mouth sloppy with saliva that she wiped away with the back of her hand with a smirk. There wasn't much the woman was confident in, but she had always taken pleasure in the fact that she knew she gave a good blowjob. She would never tell whom her first had been, but looking at the pleasure on Kakashi's face now, she knew her sensei appreciated the knowledge she'd gleaned from that boy.
"Bedroom," Kakashi croaked out. Sakura shook her head, her shorts and panties already around her ankles.
"Too far," she replied, pulling him to the sofa. She landed on her back and he landed on top of her, the weight of him nearly smothering her before he propped himself up with one arm, using the other to guide himself inside of her.
He didn't move slowly; both of them needing it too desperately to take their time. Sakura's fingernails dug in to his shoulders so hard she could feel a trickle of blood but he only moved harder, spurred by her desperation.
"Fuck," he said through clenched teeth against her ear. His hips were crashing against hers with bruising force now, the slap of their sweaty skin meeting the sounds of their labored breathing to make an erotic soundtrack.
The sound of the child in the apartment next door screaming paused them, but only briefly before they were back at it, unable to cage their carnal desire for one another. Kakashi moved his head to her neck, kissing the skin he found there hungrily as she gripped his ass, adding more marks to his collection.
"I want to be on top," Sakura suddenly spoke, pushing him away so that he could meet her gaze. He didn't object but instead climbed off of her, leaning back so that she could take her position. He felt breathless as he watched her slowly crawl on top of him, her hands splayed out over his chest as she teased him by grinding herself against him.
He groaned, shooting her an impatient glare and she smirked before wrapping one hand around him, her fingers unable to meet as she guided him back into her. She gasped, the position a new one for her. He lifted his hands to her hips, helping her to lower herself before they both moaned when he was buried to the hilt.
"Fuck, Kakashi," she whispered huskily, leaning over him, letting her tongue run along his jaw before she kissed the corner of his facial scar. He moved one hand to her lower back, pulling her firmly against her before he began thrusting up. She gasped, her mouth now open against his cheek, and then began moving her hips faster, needing him deeper; needing him harder. He obliged, picking up the speed in his own thrusting. His fingers were slipping now and he took advantage of the opportunity to move one hand to her clit, rubbing hard, fast circles into the sensitive nub. She cried against him, her nails scratching down his chest hard enough to angry red welts behind as she lost control and flooded around him. Kakashi was right behind her and had barely managed to lift her off of him before he erupted between their stomachs, shaky gasps falling from his lips.
Sakura made no move to get off of him but instead laid there, her head on his chest, his hips between her knees as they breathed heavily together for a few moments. Kakashi's hand fell to the couch cushion and he used the other to push his sweaty hair away from his eyes.
"Now, bedroom," Sakura whispered to him after awhile, her voice heavy with exhaustion. He smiled, looking down to see that the pink-haired kunoichi was already fast asleep on his chest. He lifted her carefully, carrying her to the bedroom and tucking her in before he grabbed a pair of boxers and headed to the bathroom to clean himself up.
Kakashi had just stepped out of the shower when he stopped. The shinobi sensed a chakra signature approaching his apartment. He walked to the closet, pulling out a pair of sweatpants just as he heard a quiet knock on the glass of his balcony door. Sakura didn't stir from her sleep as he exited the bedroom, pulling the door closed behind him to protect both her modesty and their secret before he approached the balcony.
Genma was standing there, senbon sticking out from the corner of his mouth as usual. Kakashi slid the door open, allowing the other man in. He glanced at the couch, briefly wondering if his friend could smell the sex in the air as strongly as he could before the calm man's words told him that was the last thing on his mind.
"Lady Tsunade has ordered that you meet in her office."
Genma's face gave away no hint as to what this after-hours meeting was to be about, but Kakashi knew given the Fifth's penchant for gambling and barhopping after she left the office that it was serious. He nodded, heading back to his bedroom. Genma exited off the balcony again, heading back in the direction of the Hokage's tower.
He sighed, walking into the bedroom and over to Sakura, who had woken up a few minutes before when she'd heard the balcony door open.
"Tsunade has ordered me to meet with her right away," Kakashi explained simply as he pulled a fresh uniform out of the closet. He arched his eyebrow when he realized it was the same one he'd torn during training, now mended. "When did you fix this?"
"Chichi-san did when I took the laundry over," she shrugged, her eyes turning more serious. "A meeting? At this time of night?"
Kakashi nodded, his eyes just as serious. "You should try to sleep," he told her before he grabbed his summoning scroll and a kunai. He opened the scroll and pricked his finger, summoning Pakkun, who blinked slowly as he took in his surroundings.
"Hello, Sakura," the pug spoke politely to her before looking up at Kakashi. "How can I help, boss?"
"Stay here with Sakura," Kakashi told the small dog, pulling a biscuit out of his pocket. In spite of himself, Pakkun's tail wagged as he accepted the treat, swallowing it down happily.
"Sure, boss. No problem," Pakkun told Kakashi, who had already jumped out the window and was on his way to find out what Lady Hokage needed from him this late at night.
Sakura sighed and slunk back down in bed, knowing that sleep wouldn't come for her until Kakashi was back. She tried to ignore the sick feeling tugging at her gut, but something told her she was right to worry about this.