The blonde gentleman was wearing an impeccable navy suit, a newspaper in one hand and his phone in the other. He had an ankle crossed casually over one of his knees, relaxed like a man who knew he owned the world.
The cherry blossom haired woman beside him was dressed equally as well, in a smart dress with a blazer overtop, pearls shining at her neck. She was holding an iPad in her hands, tapping away with impressive speed. Both individuals had black earpieces sitting on the sides of their heads, important calls only ever a heartbeat away.
Kakashi was tense beside her, his hand finding its way back to her elbow. He certainly seemed a bit off his game, if he hadn't caught on to the intruders.
"Mother. Father." Sakura said, irritation and anxiety warring in her.
The couple looked up, surprised. Like they weren't sitting in her home, unannounced.
Sakura's mother split a wide smile, her father mirroring the expression. "Sweetheart!" She sprang up, causing the dogs to scramble backward, and pulled Sakura into an incredible uncomfortable side hug. "Surprise!" Sakura frowned at the display of affection, her eye twitching, arms limp at her sides.
"Yes, it is a surprise. You didn't tell me you even got my text." She ground out.
Her mother pulled back, holding her at arm's length. "Well that was the point, darling!" Sakura's father came up behind his wife, while her eyes scanned Sakura from head to toe, her smile dropping as she took in the costume which was disheveled and her extensions, which were a tangled mess.
"Darling, I hope you didn't go out like that. It's just so sloppy." Her tone was saturated with displeased judgment.
That was enough. 30 seconds? And it wasn't even a record. Sakura pulled back, stepping into the heat of Kakashi's body. She was still extremely unhappy with him, but he remained the safer option in the room. The idea made her want to snort.
"Sakura, we don't need to remind you that your reputation-" Her father started, but Sakura held up a hand as a stop sign.
"You do not need to remind me, Father." She struggled to refrain from spitting the words. Already, her temper was rising in her parents' presence. "It's late and I am exhausted. Why don't we have our reunion tomorrow morning?" she asked, her voice back under control.
Her mind skipped to the guest bedroom, where Kakashi's things were, including his stupid shuriken bed spread. "I need to change the sheets in the guest room. You should stay here while I get it ready." Sakura didn't bother to introduce her parents to Kakashi, instead turning away and striding down the hall, her guard's fingers slipping slowly from her elbow.
She heard the displeased murmuring as she grabbed fresh linens from the hall closet, her parents' voices pitched low. She glanced over her shoulder and found Kakashi standing where she had left him, a line between his eyebrows as he looked between Sakura's back and the people in her living room.
She huffed to herself and went into Kakashi's room. She made quick work of the bed, changing the sheets and replacing Kakashi's duvet with a soft white one instead. When she was finished, she waved for Kakashi to come down the hall, and shoved him into her bedroom.
"You guys can stay in this spare room. Kay, goodnight!" She called, and then slammed her bedroom door, closing off her parents who were coming in that direction, and locking herself in with the silver-haired liar behind her.
She stared at the grains of wood in the door, raking in deep breaths, before she turned to her room. Kakashi was standing by the foot of the bed, looking confused.
"We're 'getting married'. You'll have to stay in here while they're here. Which is just fucking perfect." She snarled.
"You just closed out my dogs," He pointed out, his voice perfectly level.
"Let them in in a minute." she replied, coolly walking into her bathroom and beginning to strip. Now that he had seen her scar, there was nothing left for her to give a shit about hiding.
Her gown puddled around her ankles as she stepped out of it, leaving her in only her black panties as she made for her closet and pajamas.
Her motions were robotic as she dressed and removed her makeup. She brushed her teeth and went back into the main room, finding Kakashi posted up on the floor with a pillow, his dogs piled on top of him. He must've quietly let them in.
Sakura walked right over him, flashing him a look right up her night gown's skirt as she crawled into her own bed. She sank under the covers, pulling them all the way up over her head, and disappeared into the dark.
No more thoughts. Just quiet and dark. She could hear Kakashi going into the bathroom and brushing his teeth. He must have pulled one of her spare toothbrushes from under the sink, or maybe he used hers. Gross, but she couldn't be bothered to investigate.
She heard his shuffling footsteps re-enter the bedroom and could feel him standing above her. The blankets were pulled down over her, slowly, like Kakashi was afraid she'd start yelling. She might.
She blinked her eyes open and scowled at him in the dim moonlight drifting through the skylight. Seeing him lit up in the soft light was so similar and a thousand miles different to the way she had seen him last night.
"What?" she snapped.
"That was. . . an interesting interaction. I've never seen your parents visit before." He sounded on the verge of concern. Sakura did not care.
"That's because they don't visit, Kakashi. They're much too busy. The Land of Rain can't afford to have them gone," She made a dismissive noise in the back of her throat and rolled away from him.
"Has it always been this way?" he asked softly. She looked over her shoulder at him, watching as he took another pillow and blanket to the floor. "They haven't been on the ruling council for too long. It looks like they love you a lot." The pain in his voice was the only thing stopping her from telling him to mind his own damn business.
"No," she took a deep breath, and let it out. "It used to be worse." She could hear the bitterness in her own voice.
After the end of the last war, with Rain being significantly weakened after, the country had been in shambles. And Sakura's parents had decided to step forward and lead the people to a better place before the Akatsuki could sink their claws in again. It was the only useful thing she'd ever seen her parents do. They'd suddenly found themselves a new life purpose.
"How so?" His voice was suddenly much closer, and when she rolled back over, she found his head over the edge of her bed, resting on his folded arms.
"Before the war… they were just administrative soldiers who were only home long enough to toss back a stiff martini and sleep for a few hours. Sure, they love me, but they had no idea how to balance their careers and raise a child. And after, they got sober and decided to do something useful. Unfortunately, that was also at my expense. The country and their duties to it take precedent. Always." Her voice had faded to a whisper.
Sakura had been offered up on the sacrificial altar of the greater good after having been offered up on the altar of careers. Like most war born children, she didn't have much of a childhood. She'd spent her formative years in an empty house, surrounded by the fallout of war. She was left scarred and adrift. She'd been forced to grow up way too fast, and it had left her a somewhat empty shell of an adult. And the change in her parents from absent career people who existed in the background to fucking national leaders? That'll mess a kid up. So, when the war ended 10 years ago, and her parents had suddenly found themselves full of a purpose at the expense of their only child, Sakura had run away. She had run to the Land of Fire and found her real family there, in her bandmates. She'd been deported more than once, to her parents' endless shame. By 12 she had figured out how to get student visas and visitors visas and became an expert at avoiding getting shipped home. Once Tsunade had found her, her visas became more permanent. Just not quite indestructible.
She both understood her parents' commitment to the Land of Rain and resented them for it.
Kakashi reached out, moving slowly in case she bit him, and pushed her hair, still weighed down by extensions, out of her face. She pulled back, mouth set in a determined line.
"And you're the same. The country takes precedence." He had used her for it, too. She knew that wasn't fair, knew he was actively trying to do something good and important, but it still hurt. The same way her parents hurt her. The job came first. And what a hypocrite she was; her job came first too. Her reputation.
He sighed heavily. "You're part of that, too, you know. I'm protecting you, too." He mumbled it, like she wasn't listening. Maybe that was true, but it didn't make her feel better just then. She didn't reply. "You have to believe they love you more than any of that stuff," He insisted quietly.
There was nothing left to believe. "The Land of Rain doesn't have much use for a musician, and neither do my parents." Not to mention they still treated her like she was twelve, likely because they had missed all of the parts of her life where she developed. She hated being treated like a child. She hated that when she had been a child, her parents had ignored and scorned her talents. Her relationship with her home country, and the two individuals who had raised her, was rather tense.
"It's a pretty utilitarian and conservative country." Kakashi noted. She heard him settle down on the floor again. He had no idea just how utilitarian and conservative. She'd hosted only a few concerts in her homeland, and while the younger generations were striving for more, more life, more art, its was a slow change. And the change in her parents was even slower. It had been the atmosphere of the Land of Rain that had allowed the Akatsuki to pop up there, take root, and rip the world apart. No, she wasn't very interested in a relationship with her home country. Maybe some day she'd tour there again, but not any time soon.
Sakura wallowed in her pillows for several minutes before exhaustion dragged her down.
She woke up horribly tangled in her sheets. A knock at her door had woken her, and she groaned and rolled over, uninterested.
"Sakura!" Her mother's voice rang through the room, sending alarm shooting down Sakura's spine.
"Shit," she whispered, rolling back over and launching a pillow at Kakashi on the floor. It struck him square in the face, and his dogs scattered back, their ears back grumpily.
Kakashi groaned in a noise similar to the one she had just made. He pulled the pillow down, revealing his glare. He had undressed last night while she was under her blankets and was laying on the ground only in his boxers, mask, and dog tags, blankets pushed off.
"Sakura!' Her mom called again. Kakashi's glare disappeared as his eyes went wide. Sakura jerked her head, a command. Her parents were government officials. It didn't matter that they were from another country. No way in hell would they let this marriage progress if they suspected it was for immigration fraud.
Kakashi sprang from the floor and dove in beside her just as her door handle turned and her parents spilled into the room. Kakshi managed to get an arm around her waist, creating an image of morning snuggles.
"Mother," She frowned at her parents, who looked at her bed with interest. "It's a bit early," She complained, turning her head and burying her face in Kakashi's neck.
"Wow, he even sleeps in the mask. How strange," She heard her father comment. Sakura dug her nails into Kakashi's abs, unseen. "And honey, it's already 6:30. This is a late start." She could hear the frown in his voice. This was another reason she didn't like to spend time in the Land of Rain. If her parents were at home and awake, she had no choice but to also be up.
"For the love of-" She pushed herself up, hovering above Kakashi, who watched on impassively. "Ok, we're up, Get out." She snapped.
A moment passed before her parents backed out and the door closed again, and she collapsed on top of Kakashi's chest, sighing.
He smelled heavenly, even in the morning when no one had any right to smell good. Leather and gunpowder, and him. She was still hurt, but she couldn't resist the urge to lightly sink her teeth into his collarbone. The same senseless urge she'd had since that first self-defense lesson. The weight in her chest was less in the morning light.
He had used her and lied to her, but fuck all, he made her insides melty. She licked the little hurt her teeth created. She felt him harden between her legs, and heat pooled low inside of her in response.
She bit him again, harder, and he groaned softly. She looked up at him through her lashes, meeting his dark gaze with her verdant one. The way he was looking at her could very well flood her panties. And any good sense she had left, not to mention her dignity.
Her phone began buzzing with a call, loud against the bathroom tiles where it had been abandoned last night.
Sakura smirked at Kakashi and pulled back from him, getting out of bed and heading for her cell. Let blueballs be part of his punishment. Groveling would be nice too, but she suspected she wouldn't get it from a hardened soldier.
Emphasis on hardened.
The caller was Shikamaru.
"Yo," she said by way of answering.
"Where the fuck have you been?" He asked, his voice pitchy through the speaker.
"It's 6:30 in the morning, Shika, what is the problem?" She rubbed her temples, a headache already forming.
She made for her shower, phone propped between her head and shoulder, and turned it on.
"Gee, I don't know. Could it be that the entire world is talking about you and Karin having a cat fight in the bathroom?" She could hear the exhausted irritation that was so central to his person. The cat fight with Karin could be bad, depending on what the public knew. How did anyone even know about that? There hadn't been anyone else in the bathroom… Right?
Kakashi sidled up behind her, reaching over and turning the shower off. She gave him a questioning look while Shikamaru went on. "It even overshadowed Infinite's new idol's debut. The internet is exploding."
Kakashi mouthed 'training' at her confused look, which brought a scowl to her face.
"Shikamaru, it's fine. Just…refuse to comment on it. How did this get out? How do you even know about it?" She waved a hand at Kakashi's raised eyebrows.
A pause on the other end of the line, and Sakura could have sworn she heard Temari's voice.
"Someone recorded and audio clip. Just a fragment of the argument with Karin. And the sound of a slap."
Sakura mentally berated herself for her lack of control. "Well that's not good for me, but it'll blow over-"
She heard her bedroom door open with such force it slammed back against the wall.
Kakashi immediately put himself in the bathroom doorway, a physical barrier between her and the aggression her father was giving off as he stormed into view, his dress shirt slightly wrinkled.
"Sakura," he looked past Kakashi like he wasn't there, zeroing in on his daughter. "Come join us in the kitchen. Now." He stormed out as quickly as he came, slamming the door again.
"Stop slamming doors! This is my house!" She snapped after her dad. Sakura met Kakashi's wary look with one of her own. "I wonder if these two things are connected?" She held her phone up and shook it.
Kakashi shrugged.
"Shika, I'm relying on you." she said and hung up as he began cursing up a storm.
With a sigh, she grabbed her robe and tied it around herself before trailing after Kakashi to the kitchen. She braced herself as they walked.
Both of her parents were sitting at the table, coffee mugs gripped tightly in their hands. Between them, her mother's Ipad was on, images looking out from the screen.
"Sakura, you need to explain this," Her mother ordered with barely constrained anger. The mug she was holding cracked as she said it, a testament to where Sakura's own strength came from.
She frowned at her mom as she and Kakashi got closer to view the images.
There were her and Kakashi on the curb, his costume hiding his identity, and her displeasure and shock written more apparently on her face than she cared for. Her hair and dress were mussed up. It did look like an unpleasant fight. But honestly? Who cared? She didn't even recognize the name of the tabloid, and there weren't that many views on the page. The fight with Karin was undoubtedly the focus.
Sakura put her shoulders back and glared out right at her parents. "We had an argument. Nothing more to explain." Kakashi remained silent but threatening beside her. Bold, considering he was facing down public officials and her parents.
"Oh no, look at how you put everything out for the world to see! What could have possibly-"
Sakura held up a hand. "The topic of the argument is private. I'm not discussing it further." She was rather impressed with herself for standing her ground so well.
Her mother's facial expression didn't change. Her father reached out and swiped down to the next photo.
It was Karin leaving the bathroom, the faint outline of a handprint still on her face.
Sakura winced.
"You got into a catfight with some other artist?" Her father demanded roughly. Sakura flicked her eyebrows up, as though to say 'obviously'.
He hit play on the audio bite, Karin's harsh voice penetrating the air of Sakura's kitchen, followed by the unmistakable slap.
It actually wasn't as bad as Sakura had feared. If anything, it made Karin sound awful, not her. Sakura relaxed.
"Nothing to worry about, now if you'll excuse me," She waved a hand dismissively, then slipped around the center island and made for her espresso machine.
Her parents continued to rage; she ignored them with a lifetime of practice. As her coffee brewed, she turned to Kakashi, who was watching her parents with vague disinterest.
"No training today." She said firmly, her tone offering no room for argument. She was at her limit. He watched her intently, his silver eyes tracing her face. She was calmer now than last night, but she realized she still couldn't trust him. He had his own agenda in their arrangement, and she had to accept that. It didn't mean she had to let him in. She didn't know if she forgave him, either. She was going to start stress breaking out if things didn't settle the hell down. Kakashi's expression darkened as he watched her retreat behind her mask.
Sakura went about putting her coffee together, taking deep breaths and trying not to let any of her emotions overwhelm her. She could handle this.
She could still feel the irritation radiating off of her parents, permeating the air like moisture before a storm. Fitting, for two councilors from the Land of Rain.
She took her coffee and returned down the hall to her room.
Sakura marched into her bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror, setting her mug down gently on the countertop. She reached up and carefully removed her extensions, the way the stylists had taught her, with pliers she took from a basket of tools under her sink. She sipped her coffee on and off as she worked.
When the last strand fell into the garbage can, she shed her robe and hung it up, then stripped out of her pajamas and underwear.
She stepped into her shower and cranked the heat to its hottest, letting the brutal temperature kill the equally brutal war in her heart. She was going to take a little selfcare time.
What a fucking mess. In a little over a week, her entire life had turned upside down. The life she had worked so hard to build for herself. The water pounded on the top of her head, plastering her now shorter pink locks to her scalp and face, down to just below her collar where it had grown to since she'd cut it. Her skin was turning bright red under the onslaught of the stream.
She couldn't afford to spend time feeling bad for herself. Not about her parents. Not about Kakashi. Not about the fact that Tsunade knew when Sakura had announced her engagement that Kakashi was lying to her. Not even about the Akatsuki actively trying to take her. Even as she thought about needing to pull herself together, she knew she was losing that battle today. She was calm, but not well. Her chest felt like an anvil was sitting on it.
After what felt like an age, Sakura dragged herself out of the shower and shrugged into fresh undergarments, a pair of soft leggings, and her favorite oversize U of K sweatshirt.
Feeling a smidge better, she ventured back out into her kitchen to make more coffee. Her parents were both on their phones, having conversations with whoever the hell needed them the day before their only daughter's wedding. Sakura took the time to text all of her friends back and respond to Tsuande and Yugao.
She glanced at Twitter briefly, seeing a war of fans and antis going on about the fights. People commented that Sakura deserved the words Karin had spewed. She also saw people comment that Karin was a bitch. Sakura made a face at her screen that said 'that's none of my business' and promptly got off the internet.
At noon, the doorbell rang, and Chiyo flitted into the entry hall, two garment bags held aloft over her head.
"Groom in one room, bride in the other," she said instead of a greeting, walking right by Sakura's parents without so much as a glance in their direction. A small smile tugged at Sakura's lips.
Sakura led the elderly seamstress into her bedroom and closed the door. Chiyo hooked the garment bag on a clothing rack Sakura kept against her bedroom wall for the aesthetic, and then laid her heavy seamstress bag on her bed, preparing.
Sakura stripped out of her clothes and stood in the open space in front of her bed, hugging her arms to her chest. She didn't bother fetching a stool from her closet, Chiyo didn't really need one.
They spent the next hour finalizing her wedding shiromuku. Sakura was more than happy to stand and let her small lady circle around her like a shark, measuring and poking, making adjustments and muttering to herself. This was a song and dance she was comfortable with, being fitted and having a gorgeous outfit made for her.
When Chiyo was satisfied, Sakura changed back into her comfort clothes, and sent Chiyo down to the library, where Kakashi was hiding from her parents.
Still unwilling to face them, Sakura called for the dogs, and followed them out into the yard. Guy and Kotetsu were watching the grounds today, their eyes sharp and alert.
"Good morning, Sakura!" Guy called to her with a bright smile. He was walking through the tree line in the front yard, his hands casually in his pockets.
Sakura lifted a hand to wave back, which was as much as she could muster. She idly tossed sticks for the canines as she wandered her grounds, breathing in the crisp air and listening to the grass and leaves crunch under her sneakers. The weather was turning pretty quickly. She was glad she'd already had her pool drained.
She couldn't believe that she was getting married tomorrow. To one of the country's deadliest men, at that. A snake in the garden she hadn't even been aware of. A rush went through her as she considered the man she'd been sharing a bed with. She'd known before that he was dangerous, but she'd thought he was retired black ops, not an active operative. He was presently hunting the most volatile organization in the world. And that organization was hunting Sakura.
At least she was being protected from them, if not exactly to the extent she had believed.
Reasonably, she didn't really have any grounds to be mad at Kakashi. She lied and fronted to the public all the time. Their very arrangement was a grand lie. She was no better than him.
So why did it hurt? Why didn't her heart care about how unfair it was to hold these things against Kakashi?
Because he lied to me, her traitor heart said. And I trusted him. Why the fuck had she trusted him? What was it about him that had made her so fucking soft so fast?
She and Sasuke really hadn't been broken up that long. They really hadn't dated that long, either. Sakura had pined after him for years, but as it turned out, they weren't very compatible. She was too intense, and he was too removed. And they both needed too much space, even in a relationship with one another. But Kakashi made her feel…different.
The dogs suddenly came to a halt, all of them turning towards the drive. Sakura glanced in that direction, a heavy sigh escaping her.
Kakashi was rolling his motorcycle out of the garage, dressed in jeans and a heavy leather jacket. Sakura drifted towards the front drive, the pack at her ankles.
She came to a halt before her fiancé, her eyes on the sleek beast he was pushing. Her anger briefly forgotten. He looked good as hell, standing there all biker-like.
Sakura trailed her fingertips over the glossy surface below the handlebars, fascinated. The paint was grey, but upon closer inspection it had sparkles in it that caught the light and glittered. It was beautiful. It was the kind of bike older motorcyclists and stuck up women scoffed at. A death trap. But Sakura could understand the appeal. It was the promise of flight, of speed and release. It was wings on the ground. Freedom.
"You want to take it for a ride?"
Sakura jerked back guiltily. She hadn't meant to get so distracted by the machine. Kakashi was watching her with a particular gleam in his silver eyes- eyes which shone like the finish on his bike.
Sakura stepped back, clasping her arms behind her to stop herself from reaching out to touch the smooth surface again.
"That's ok. I'm not equipped to ride that." She gestured to her hoodie and leggings. She shook her head and bit her lip, looking away, down the stretch of pavement leading away. Hitting that pavement at 60mph would suck. Really badly.
Kakashi wasn't deterred. He reached out and grasped the helmet he had left hooked on the foot peg, and held it out toward her, her reflection staring back at her from the polished visor. Her guard lifted one eyebrow in challenge. Did she still trust him with her safety?
It really wasn't even a question.
Slowly, Sakura brought her arms back around and reached out for the helmet. It was smooth and heavy in her palms, like the weight of the moment around them.
Kakashi stepped by her and threw a leg over the sport bike, pulling on his leather gloves as he settled onto the seat.
Sakura's eyes flicked from the helmet in her palms to the front door, where she could see her mother scowling at them from where she stood on the porch. The look on her face said it all: don't even think about it.
She lifted the round protective headpiece over her skull and slid it on, her fingers fumbling momentarily with the strap at her chin.
Kakashi swung a leg down and started the bike, the roar of the engine eating up any other potential sound around them. Something in Sakura's blood started thrumming.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mother take a step down the porch, disapproval etching deep lines into her stately face.
Sakura turned fully to Kakashi, and while he watched, she slid the visor down until it clicked into place, completely hiding her face from sight.
Kakashi's eye twinkled with a wicked kind of delight, the expression like nothing she'd ever seen from him before.
Balancing the bike upright, he shimmied forward a bit to make room for her behind him. Without giving herself time to rethink, Sakura grabbed onto his left shoulder for balance, feeling the heat of him burn through his leather jacket and into her palm, and swung her right leg over the seat, exactly the way she had watched him do.
She gripped both of his shoulders for balance as she settled herself in behind him, her thighs flush to his tightly from the angle of the seat. She took a heartbeat to adjust her feet on the pegs.
Kakashi reached one hand back and tugged her down towards him more, but she resisted, determined to remain upright. She saw him shake his head right before he hit the clutch and rolled forward a bit, causing her to lurch forward and slam her chest into his back. Heat flushed through her, and she was grateful for the helmet hiding her red cheeks. It appeared the physics of the bike was going to have her right on top of him, her determination be damned. She couldn't fight physics.
So, she snuggled up against him, wrapping her arms around his middle and holding tight, her head turned towards her house as her mother began shouting. That was useless, of course, her words swallowed up by the snarl of this glorious piece of engineering.
Kakashi peeled off, the sudden motion turning Sakura's grip into a python's vice, as he hurtled the bike down her drive and away.
Sakura could hear nothing but the roar of the bike and wind twining together, and her own heartbeat in her ears. Kakashi's muscles were tense beneath her, holding both of them up off of the composite body. He slowed as they approached the gate to the main road, and he slid them smoothly out onto the dark concrete when the gate opened.
Kakashi began to accelerate, the machine moving without any issue, the engine working with glorious ease.
Sakura had never felt anything so wonderful in all of her life, her stress forgotten on the road behind them as Kakashi urged the bike through the country lanes.
It felt like flight and freedom and danger, and Sakura loved every second of it. Kakashi said something, but she couldn't hear it. The only reason she knew he'd spoken was from the rumble of his chest under her finger tips. She didn't care what he was saying, nothing was important in that moment except for the feeling.
Sakura tipped her head back and laughed-really laughed-into the confines of the helmet. She couldn't believe he'd never offered her a ride before. She wondered if he'd known this was exactly what she needed. She also understood why some women found motorcycles incredibly sexy.
Kakashi drove safely, but not boringly. He was carefully conscious of the change in weight from his passenger, and made his turns accordingly. Sakura wasn't scared, not for a second. She was elated.
He took them down quiet countries roads and a lazy route back home.
But it was over too soon, and they were pulling back through her gate like it had never happened, the engine rumbling as though it too, knew the release was over. It was like every time they had kissed; a heart stopping rush that never went far enough.
As they approached, two cars were pulling up in front of her home, both of which she recognized. One was Naruto's yellow Camaro, the other she knew was Yugao's black Audi.
She was too tired to muster anger over the sudden influx of people in her space. What did it matter anymore if no one was allowed to come see her? Ah! Sakura's boundaries had been completely trampled since the first time the stalker had broken onto her property.
The flare of defiance inside her flickered and went out as quickly as it had formed.
Naruto stepped out of his driver side door, and Sasuke appeared from the passenger door at the same time.
Kakashi's dogs leapt forward, circling around her boys and sniffing at their fingers and wagging their tails hesitantly. They warmed up to Naruto immediately, but didn't seem to like Sasuke very much, even though they had met just the other day. Sakura thought that tracked.
Kakashi rolled to a stop behind the cars, letting her off and taking the helmet without a word, before walking the bike back to the garage. He didn't look back. Sakura's stress rushed back into her body like it had never left, the moment over.
Naruto and Sasuke were watching her with interest, Naruto's brilliant smile falling as he looked at her attire. Sasuke's smirk fell away as well, concern coming over both men like a sudden storm.
Sakura looked down at her oversized sweatshirt, lifting her arms a little to appreciate the loose sleeves.
This attire, this sweatshirt specifically, was Sakura's ultimate distress call. She only wore it when she was at her limit, when she was ready to shatter and be scattered to the winds. Naruto and Sasuke recognized it immediately.
Both men approached her quickly, their eyes tight.
"Sakura, what's wrong?" Naruto asked immediately, reaching out and gently gripping her elbow. Sasuke halted beside him, his mouth a thin pale line. "This thing with Karin really isn't that big of a deal." He said with unshakable certainty.
She couldn't tell them exactly what was wrong. Kakashi's activity with the ANBU was his secret. Her mouth trembled as she stood before her two oldest friends. "I'm just so overwhelmed." She said, her voice a whisper to keep it from breaking. She was overwhelmed. The men exchanged a look.
As one, Naruto and Sasuke swept her up between them, creating a warm bubble around her with their arms.
Sakura released a choking laugh, a few tear drops slipping from her eyes unbidden. Sasuke placed a kiss on her forehead, and Naruto echoed the action. They might not have been a good couple, but Sasuke was still there when she needed him.
"You're getting married tomorrow, Sakura. Everything is going to work out," Sasuke said in a sober tone. His breath stirred her hair at the crown of her head.
They stood there for a while, letting Sakura pull herself together in the safety of their little circle. This wasn't very glamorous of her, crying in her yard in grubby clothes. She should be sitting in a hot tub of champagne, not sniffling and feeling like a very normal, very un-glamorous 21 year old girl.
A throat clearing interrupted them, her boys stepping back.
Yugao had walked up from her car and was standing on the path to her door in a smart blue pants suit.
"I'm here to finalize some of the plans for tomorrow," she told FireDrive.
Sakura nodded and made for her front door. Yugao let her go first, and Sakura led the way into her home.
"And why are you two here?" Sakura asked over her shoulder. Not that she wasn't glad to see them, but she hadn't invited them, and they'd never sought her out at home before.
"We were worried after the news," Sasuke provided, his dark eyes flicking over her slim figure with concern.
"And?"
"And. . . Naruto wanted to see your house again," He admitted with a long suffering sigh.
Sakura wasn't surprised, though their timing was a little weird. He kicked off his shoes and stepped into her kitchen, coming to an abrupt stop.
Naruto leaned around his friend, peering curiously in at her parents. That explained the weird timing, though she had no idea how they knew they were here.
Sakura bit back a groan and marched into her living room. "Come on,"
Naruto and Sasuke greeted her parents swiftly, while Yugao actually stopped to chat with them.
Naruto flopped down on her sofa, making himself at home immediately.
Sasuke stepped up to her sliding glass door, eyeing her pool deck and the stretch of grass beyond, all the way to the woods.
"That's Nara forest, right?" Sasuke asked, jerking his head at the tree line at the back of her land. "I never really thought about it before."
"Yep," Sakura said, tucking her hands into the pocket on the front of her sweatshirt. "Shikamaru's family owns it. I had special permission to buy this little parcel." She shrugged like it was no big deal.
Naruto reached for her and pulled her down into his lap. Sakura didn't put up much of a fight. Naruto was a touchy feely guy, and much as she usually resisted, she didn't mind the comfort of being near her friend for a second.
After a moment, Sakura slipped off of Naruto's lap, instead sitting beside him and pressing her side to his. That way if her parents looked over, she wouldn't receive a lecture.
Naruto tipped his head to rest it on top of hers.
Sasuke finally came over and dropped down onto the sofa on Naruto's other side. "You do have a nice house, Sakura. You should be throwing parties." He said casually. Sakura snorted, which Sasuke had been going for with that comment.
Yugao finished speaking with Sakura's parents and made her way to the living room, pulling an iPad out of her briefcase.
"Sakura, I just want to solidify the schedule, and have a last approval on decorations, flowers, desserts. Moegi has really done a great job pulling everything together, I think you'll be pleased." she said as she tapped away at the screen. She offered the iPad to Sakura, who accepted it with quiet thanks.
The page pulled up was the beginning of an entire portfolio, with everything about her wedding contained inside. Sakura was happy with the neat layout and attention to detail. She clicked on the schedule first, which opened and filled the page. 5pm was the temple ceremony, which would be very small and intimate. Only Sakura's parents and one of Kakashi's friends were going to be present, and the immigration agent, of course. Then they would move to a larger reception at a vineyard and hotel outside of the city, to celebrate with some more people. It would be a simple and elegant affair. Only as simple as Sakura's stardom could allow, of course. They'd do pictures in between the ceremony and reception. There were times for getting ready, for their entrance to the reception, every minute was accounted for.
Sakura gave Yugao her approval.
She pulled up the decorations file next, looking through the designs they'd decided on for centerpieces and all other accents. The colors were Sakura's deep blue and Kakashi's emerald, which complemented one another more than she would have thought. The florals were delicate and gorgeous. They'd selected colored plate chargers to sit under the white china. Sakura couldn't have put anything together better herself.
"Oh, can we do silver accents, not gold?" Sakura asked, frowning at the gold. Silver was her color. She thought she had said that.
"Of course, of course," Yugao agreed readily.
Naruto and Sasuke leaned around her, nodding their appreciation.
"Sakura, don't you think those colors are out of season?" Sakura's mom's voice came from directly behind her, causing her to jump out of her skin.
"No, I don't" She bit, her jaw twitching. "Kakashi and I picked them, so they're our colors."
Her mother made a displeased sound but didn't push further.
They continued to work through the details, going by categories and sub-categories. Sakura's parents occasionally added critiques, though perhaps more politely than usual.
It took a few hours, until everything was as solid as concrete.
She clapped her hands and stood. "Alright, everyone get out of my house." she announced, stretching her hands over her head.
Yugao nodded sagely, collecting her iPad. "We'll leave. Everything is taken care of."
Sakura felt a bit lighter for it.
Until she looked up and found Kakashi standing in the kitchen, watching the group with an unreadable face.