Kakashi had Tuesdays off, so Sakura wasn't surprised to find Genma in the living room, a mug in his hand. Kakashi's dogs were laying in varying spots around him. She was relieved to see them looking well. Sakura sniffed the air.
"Tea?" She asked as she padded by him, still in her negligee. The dogs eagerly rushed around her feet, ears up and tails wagging. She greeted each with a few pets. She had grown quite used to their presence in a short amount of time, and she found that she was distressed when they weren't there. No wonder people loved their pets so much; they wiggled their way into a person's heart with no effort at all and left little paw shaped prints all over.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Lavender, to be specific. Kakashi's kitchen is stocked. Tsunade sent a bunch of stuff to keep you happy. She really spoils you." He commented.
Sakura stuck her tongue out at him as she passed, going into the neat kitchen and approaching the countertop where a Keurig sat. The spread there really was fabulous. That was the treatment deserved by the best idol in the country. She grinned as she picked up a packet of Sakura tea and put a kettle on to boil.
Sakura briefly considered her own narcissism as she watched the water in the kettle. She wondered if she should rein it in. But Sakura made more money than any other individual artist in the entire Land of Fire, so she thought her narcissism was justified.
"It's nearly noon." Genma said to her back. She only shrugged. It was Kakashi's day off, but hers too. "It's nice outside," He added when she continued her silence.
Sakura finally turned around, her nightgown swishing about her thighs. All eight dogs were seated around her in a ring, looking up at her with baleful and intelligent eyes. "Woof woof," She said to the dogs, whose tails wagged slowly again.
"Are you really going to do nothing all day?" Genma asked her, one arm thrown casually over the back of the couch.
"Are you really going to speak so casually to me?" She snapped at him. He smirked. Behind her, the teapot started to whistle. Disregarding him, Sakura turned back to the quick-boil pot, impressed by its speed. She read the brand name on the rim, and tipped her head side to side as she considered purchasing one for her kitchen. She found a cabinet of mismatched mugs, and she was pleased with the little spring colored one she'd selected. She poured a steaming cup over the carefully treated flower petals, watching the hot water turn pink below the strainer.
She made a small, contented sound as she picked up the mug and held it between her cold hands. She'd always had poor circulation, so she'd been enjoying hot drinks in her hand and thick socks for a long time.
She couldn't help but remember how hot Kakashi's hands always were, how warm he always was. She was a little pleased, deep down, that they could reach thermodynamic equilibrium together.
Sakura faced Genma again and rested her back against the countertop. She blew a bit on the steam rising from her mug and narrowed her eyes at him. He only grinned back and sipped his tea around his toothpick.
"Shall we take the dogs for a walk?" Sakura asked before taking a sip of the sweet tea. Genma choked a bit, sputtering. "Ah, how silly of me. Finish your tea, then we'll go." She waved a graceful hand at him, as though she had granted him a great favor.
She drifted by him again, back up stairs and into the bedroom, tea in hand. She sipped at it as she got dressed and did her makeup. She pulled her hair up into two small space buns, then dressed in soft pink joggers, and a light, nearly white, green top, and added a white windbreaker on top. She hesitated for a moment before slipping her engagement ring on.
She met Genma at the front door, where he was holding eight leashes. He handed her four: Pakkun, Bull, Uhei, and Bisuke. She took them from him gladly and led the way out onto the front porch. Asuma was waiting for them, an unlit cigarette in his mouth, seated on the steps down to the walkway. So she was to have two guards with oral fixations today, it seemed.
They followed behind her as they hit the streets of Konoha, making sure none of the gawking people were going to try anything. And they did attract a lot of attention as they headed for the nearest city park, Haruno Sakura, her two guards, and eight dogs. People whispered and snapped photos, but this was pretty mild compared to what it could be, so Sakura remained unbothered as they went. The lack of uproar was probably due to the time of day, regular people inside and working as usual.
Upon arrival at the park, Genma told her she could release the dogs from their leashes. Kakashi had trained them himself, and Genma was confident they would return when Sakura called. She gave each dog a warning look before releasing them. The dogs returned her look, then trotted off in different directions to investigate the park.
Sakura elected to wander as well, letting her worries sit on a backburner in her mind. Today she was not worrying about anything. The sky was clear again, but the air was chilled, nipping at her exposed cheeks and ears. Asuma and Genma chatted amicably behind her, their voices drifting off on the breeze.
Just to test it out, Sakura called out, "Guruko!" and waited. The small dog appeared beside her after only a few moments, quick to respond to the summons. Sakura grinned down at him. "Should we play?" Guruko yipped, excited.
Asuma and Genma stopped talking.
"Shall I call the others?" The dog yipped again. So, at just above a regular speaking volume, she called for them. "Pakkun, Bisuke, Bull, Uhei, Akino, Shiba, Urushi!" One by one they came bounding back to her, perfectly obedient. She posed to the pack the same question she asked Guruko, and received several enthusiastic barks and tail wags.
With a laugh, Sakura took off through the park, hunting for sticks and picking them up and tossing them. Playing with 8 dogs at once was like advanced juggling. Throw, receive stick, throw, throw, stick, throw, stick, stick, throw, throw.
She worked up a good sweat, no longer feeling the cold. She could tell people were filming, as they often were, but she ignored them.
"Big sis," A small voice said to her after maybe 30 minutes of this game. Sakura paused, panting, and turned to look. A small child, maybe only five or six years old, was standing there under the trees, holding a stick. "Can I play?" The little boy asked. He had cheeks rounded with baby fat, and large, dark eyes. Sakura smiled at him.
"Hmm, I think so. But we have to be safe first." She waved him over, then called to the dogs. She ordered them to sit and stay. They each obeyed. Sakura didn't know if Kakashi had ever socialized his dogs to children, and she wasn't just going to trust them implicitly. That got children hurt, or killed.
So instead, she instructed the boy to slowly hold his hand, palm down, to each dog to sniff. Sensing Sakura's care, each dog gently sniffed at the boy, slowly not to scare him, then wagged their tails just as slow.
Sakura was pleased by the response, so she encouraged the boy to pet the dogs. They were incredibly patient with him, so she let him throw his stick, watching closely all the while. The dogs all bolted from their spots, racing like they wanted to impress and please the child. It was Uhei who got there first and returned triumphant. He set the stick at the boy's feet, then sat with his chest puffed out.
Satisfied by their behavior, Sakura told the child he could throw it again.
She watched over the game, and all of the pets the dogs received from the boy. Only a few minutes went by before his mother came rushing up, eyes wide.
"Masamune!" The young mother knelt by her child and took his face in her hands, checking over him. "You can't just walk off! You know that." She scolded him even as she smoothed down his hair. Sakura averted her eyes from the tenderness.
The boy, Masamune, did not look chastised. "This pretty big sister let me play with the puppies." He beamed up at Sakura, who was struck by the joy there.
The mother was not interested. In fact, she glared up at Sakura, no recognition in her eyes. Through clenched teeth she said to her son, "Isn't that nice of her," but her eyes promised violence.
"Uh, sorry?" Sakura offered. When the mom looked likely to start smacking Sakura, she called the dogs away, and retreated to her guards, who were smothering smiles.
Sakura glared at them and huffed. "Come on, boys," She whistled sharply for the hounds, and marched off, unwilling to let the men see the embarrassment on her face. She never ran into people in the city who didn't recognize her, and certainly no one who looked likely to lecture her.
They were still 3 blocks from Kakashi's street when they ran into her. Cars were rushing by on the street, people coming and going from restaurants and places of business. They were stuck waiting for the walking sign on a cross-walk to light up. She came from across the intersection's perpendicular direction, and Sakura was too late to avoid running into her.
"Sakura." Karin's voice grated against her ears, as unwelcome as being splashed with drain water from a passing car.
Sakura took a deep breath to resist the urge to sprint into traffic. She might have tried it, if not for Asuma and Genma behind her, and the dogs around her ankles. The intrusive thoughts won't win today.
She forced a smile, though it looked like a grimace. "Karin."
The redhead's glasses glinted in the sun, nearly blinding Sakura. "I saw you got dumped by Sasuke and pity fucked your way into a rebound." Karin's lips tipped up at the corners, as though she had made a particularly funny joke. Sakura ground her teeth.
"I'm not sure that's what happened, but think what you want." she said through her locked jaw. Her fingers clenched around the leashes she was holding. The dogs picked up on the tension, ears laying back, tails down.
Karin gave them a disgusted look.
"At least poor Sasuke came to his senses. I have no idea how you spelled him into dating in the first place." Karin shook her head. Cameras were pointed in their direction from passerby, so she carefully kept her voice at a low decibel.
"Yes, poor Sasuke. Maybe he prefers his woman a little uglier. Like you, Karin." Sakura said, voice light with curiosity. As though she were posing an answer to a question in a class. She was in control, like she always was.
On cue, Karin bristled. "You- you pink haired, second rate-" She stepped closer to Sakura. At the same time, Genma and Asuma stepped between them, staring Karin down. She stopped short, practically steaming. She snorted and waved a hand with distaste. "You and your ridiculous protectors. Unbelievable. Do you have to sleep with them too, for their loyalty?" Her eyes could set a building on fire. "They won't always be around, you know."
"That sounds an awful lot like a threat, Karin." Despite the threat, Sakura grinned viciously at the other woman.
"You act like you're just so much better," Karin hissed between the men. Sakura smirked. I am better, she thought smugly to herself. She didn't usually believe in fighting with other women, but Karin got a special exception.
The light turned white, the little walking person blinking. Asuma and Genma bodily moved Karin aside so Sakura could walk across the intersection. "Maybe someday you'll be popular enough to need full time guards. It really just shows how different of levels we're on. Bye, Karin." She called over her shoulder, Genma watching her back.
She could hear Karin's hiss of outrage, but she just laughed, loud enough to carry back to the red head.
The Uzumaki woman (so distant in relation from Naruto it didn't matter) had hated Sakura for years. First, of course, because of Sasuke. Though Sakura had known him the longest, the first time Karin had met Sasuke while he was working on his first solo, she'd been smitten. And that made Sakura a competitor. Adding to that was the fact that Sakura got the prime spots: acting, modeling, solo deals. Karin was signed with the Infinite Dream corporation, and while they were powerful and huge, Sakura's stardom was at a different level than Karin's. They truly were in different leagues.
She straightened her spine, putting her shoulders back and her head high. She was Haruno Sakura. She was untouchable. It didn't matter what nasty things anyone said, fangirls or other idols. She was the best, and she did not care about what anyone else had to say.
Sakura came to an abrupt stop upon opening the front door, the dogs tumbling in about her ankles. Genma bumped into her back, and she shot him a dirty look over her shoulder.
"Sakura!" Naruto called from where he was seated on the couch of the living room. Sasuke was lounging beside him, looking bored. "You canceled on our recording today, so we went to ask Ino if you were with her. But you weren't. So, then we asked Hinata, who said she hadn't seen you. We called Kiba, to see if you were at the climbing gym, and-"
"Tsunade told us where to find you." Sasuke gave Naruto an irritated look. Naruto squinted back at him. The dogs sniffed at the boys, found them uninteresting, and went to nap.
Sakura caught herself, and entered the room fully, kicking her tennis shoes off in exchange for her slippers.
"So you hunted me down, instead of leaving me in peace," She accused, even as she joined them on the sofa, crossing her legs under her. The beginnings of a smile tugged at her lips. Naruto smiled back at her, blue eyes bright.
"How did you even get in here?" She asked, looking them over suspiciously.
They exchanged a look that made her narrow her eyes. "I still know how to pick a lock." Sasuke explained unapologetically. He must not just still know, he had to be actively practicing if he got into Kakashi's residence.
"And the gate?" She raised her eyebrows, prompting.
"I gave Naruto a boost and then climbed after," The Uchiha answered, crossing his arms casually over his chest.
"So I can expect the cops? Because a neighbor probably called and reported robbers." She leveled her bandmates with an unamused look. The men were unaffected.
"We're sorry about what happened, Granny Tsunade told us." Naruto leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers, all affection that only Naruto could give. She pressed into him for a moment before pulling back. Despite their trespassing, she was filled with gratitude for these boys-her friends-who would go to the ends of the earth for her. Her conversation with Karin turned to dust and floated away.
"Should we do something to take your mind off of it?" Sasuke asked with an aloof air. She knew it was a farce though. She could tell finding out about the attack has upset him. His eyes were a little tighter than usual. The cloud that he always carried around was darker.
Sakura wrapped an arm around his shoulder, this dark friend of hers. "Hmm, what should we do?" She mused.
"Let's play cards," Genma suggested. He was already reaching into the fridge and pulling out two bottles of sake.
"My man!" Naruto pumped a fist in the air.
"A drinking game?" Sakura eyed Genma warily. "Aren't you on duty?" Her voice held a bit of her usual bite. This was her little family, right here: her, Naruto, and Sasuke.
"I'm not drinking." He held her eyes, unflinching. She tensed up, prepared to order him out, but Naruto was already waving Genma over, excited.
Sakura scowled, but decided to let it go.
"Give me a few, I need to wash up." She stood and left the men together. She took a quick shower and changed into soft black leggings and a blue sweater.
Upon rejoining the others, she found them seated on the floor around the dining room table. Genma had a line of cards laid out in front of him. But Sakura considered the time, and shook her head at the men.
"How about instead of drinking, because it's only 2pm, we could watch a movie? Or play Just Dance?" She smiled hopefully at Naruto and Sasuke.
They softened immediately. "Of course, Sakura-chan. Whatever you wanna do." Naruto began to sweep the cards back into a stack. Genma shrugged, nonchalant. They followed her back into the livingroom, where Sakura had spied the Wii earlier, sitting proudly on the television stand.
Sakura swiped the Television remote from the table to turn it on, then she tapped through settings to switch to the Wii, pulling up the game by switching to the systems controller, and she turned to FireDrive, ready to go.
"How about one quick shot each?" Naruto waggled his eyebrows. Sasuke smacked him with a throw pillow.
"Weren't you listening? It's too early. Now pick a song." Sakura handed a white controller to Naruto. This was a game they had played together as kids, usually in Naruto's parent's house. They had always loved to play.
So that's what they did.
All four of them, Genma included, played, though Asuma remained on guard outside. Even Sasuke had never been able to resist trying to compete with Naruto.
They played several games together, laughing and bumping into one another. Sakura was gasping for air and happiness seemed to be bubbling through her body, lifting her up.
When Sasuke and Naruto did 'Rasputin', she was rolling on the floor, clutching her sides. Genma's head was thrown back, his laugh almost as loud as the music. The boys danced with vigor, holding nothing back as they followed the avatar on screen.
Sakura was disappointed when Naruto's phone rang, a death knell to their fun. It was his own manager, summoning him away for an event he'd promised to take part in. Something about guitars and underprivileged children.
Sakura tried not to be sad, tried not to feel the crash from the high. She reminded herself she was just happy her boys had come. She also reminded herself that she was enough for herself when she was alone.
She bid the boys a good evening as they left, giving each a kiss on the cheek to send them on their way.
Genma returned to his aloof guard expression, but Sakura would not be forgetting his dance moves anytime soon.
She hauled herself to the bathroom, determined to take advantage of the large bathtub. She closed the bedroom door, but didn't bother to shut the bathroom door all the way, since Genma wouldn't come inside the bedroom at all.
As she ran the waterfall faucet, she picked up different bubble soap options that were lined just outside the tub rim. Tsunade had sent them with the tea and snacks, and had spared no expense. Sakura selected a vial labeled 'EXTRA BUBBLES. LAVENDER.' and poured half the bottle into the filling tub. She lit several candles on the bathroom counter, and around the rim of the bath, and turned the lights off. She checked the water temperature one more time, then slid in.
As she sank down into bubbles glittering with candlelight, she released a long breath. This was the selfcare she'd planned on today, but the walk and dancing had been nice surprises. That mom who hadn't known her had been refreshing, too.
Sakura lifted one pale hand up and examined it in the low light. She was porcelain pale, as she always was. She watched the shadows dance over the lines of her palm, entertained for a while.
If not for the fact she had slept in so late that morning, she may have fallen asleep encased in the hot water. As it was, she remained alert and awake. With nothing to do but sit and breathe in the lavender scent or the bubbles that tickled her nose, she thought about her interview tomorrow afternoon. She felt pretty confident she knew enough about Kakashi now that it would be a breeze, and they'd even decided on details of their made up romance. It wasn't that difficult. They met when he'd become her security years prior, and had a slowly built attraction they eventually couldn't ignore. She made the first move on him, yada yada.
Regardless of feeling good about it, she still ran through her mental list of information she had taken care to memorize. She'd simply strung all of the facts together into a tune that was easy to recall. She could probably do it in her sleep.
Sakura wasn't worried about Kakashi, either. His retention of the details about her was immaculate. It would still be a leap to say he knew everything, but he knew most things the immigration agent would be likely to ask. Information further than that wasn't necessary.
Switching positions, Sakura crossed her legs under her and leaned her arms on the edge of the tub, resting her chin on top of them.
Bored again in minutes but unwilling to leave the water, she began to pull a melody together in her mind, notes floating behind her eyes. A melody for her feelings from yesterday, in the fields with Omoi.
She was really getting into it when the bathroom door opened all the way, letting in light from the bedroom.
Sakura looked up at Kakashi, who was frowning down at her. He was dressed casually, no guard attire in sight. Jeans, a t-shirt, and a leather jacket. His mask was in place as ever.
"You're back early," She mused, remaining in her position with her chin on her arms. She peered up at him under her pink lashes.
"It's 5pm," His frown smoothed out, and he cocked his head to the side. "Having a romantic bath?" The candlelight licked the angles of his face, an endearing distraction. His eyes flickered like the smoke over a bonfire.
"Yes, care to join?" She winked at him and watched pink crawl up his cheeks.
"I was actually going to ask you that question." He didn't avert his gaze as she sat back. Her body was covered by the plentiful bubbles, allowing her some modesty, and him to avoid feeling uncomfortable.
"Oh?" That piqued her interest. He'd never actually asked her to go anywhere with him. She felt herself straighten up, and this time he did avert his eyes as the bubbles dipped dangerously low on her breasts.
"You were right," he cleared his voice, eyes strictly on the hinges of the bathroom door. "About forgetting you're not...what I'm used to training."
"You mean a soldier." She said flatly, swirling her hand through the bath water.
"Yes, that." He replied, just as flatly. He took a deep, bracing breath. "I'm sorry. You're…more delicate than that."
She snorted. Cupping water in her palm, she flung it at him, hitting squarely on his neck and jaw. His eyes snapped to her, narrowed. When they landed on the bubbles covering her breasts, they flashed back to the door hinges.
"I am not delicate. I am a lady." She corrected him. "And a regular person."
It was his turn to snort. "You are not a regular person." He scoffed.
She raised her brows. "I guess not. I'm a star." She felt around with her feet for the plug of the tub and pressed once to begin draining the water.
Kakashi chuckled. "Yes, I realize. Hurry up and come out, the food is getting cold." He turned and walked out, tugging the door shut on the way.
Alone in the rapidly disappearing water, Sakura stood up and stepped carefully out to avoid slipping. She rinsed herself quickly in the shower, then walked out into the bedroom in a towel, having not thought through bringing in clothes, and retrieving the robe she'd left tossed over a chair in the sitting area.
Kakashi looked up at her as she entered and paused. He was sitting on the sofa with his book in front of him, which he quickly tugged higher to hide his face. He stood up like that, not looking, and sauntered out of the room down the hall.
Sakura rolled her eyes and dropped her towel, kicking it back towards the bathroom. She wrapped the robe around herself and tied it off, leaving a nice little tease of cleavage, then went to join Kakashi.
He was sitting at the dinner table which lay between the kitchen and living room, takeout boxes arranged in front of him. There was also a vase full of flowers in an elegant arrangement. Delphiniums, lilies, sunflowers, and roses, with baby's breath sprinkled throughout. Genma had disappeared.
"You got me flowers?" She was grinning despite herself, warmth spreading in her chest. She hopped a little bit and clapped her hands together.
Kakashi's eyes crinkled, smiling though she couldn't see it. "Come on, I bought all your favorites," He gestured to the seat across from him.
Sakura pranced over and took her seat, taking in the spread. He really had gone all out. He'd probably had to go all over town to pick everything up.
Her eyes sparkled at him over the table.
"I should probably buy my fiancé dinner at least once. Especially before our interview tomorrow." He picked up his chopsticks and split them, then opened a container of noodles.
Sakura groaned. It smelled heavenly.
"This is perfect." She smiled at him and then dug in. She'd pretty much forgotten to eat all day and was glad Kakashi had decided to be sweet at this moment.
"I heard you took the dogs out," He commented in between bites. Her eyes remained resolutely on her food, as she had taken to doing so that he could eat in peace.
Sakura nodded, too busy trying to taste everything to speak.
"And then you danced. With Genma." His tone held a little bite, which prompted her to look up at him. He'd somehow managed to put his mask back up, successfully hiding his face from her.
Her eyebrows twitched together for a heartbeat. "Um, yeah?" She gave him a weird look. "Why?"
"He was working." Kakashi sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Disapproval was written in every line of his posture.
Sakura took a bite from an anko dango. "He can't play Just Dance and keep me safe at the same time?"
Some tension left Kakashi's body. "Just Dance?"
"Of course. What were you thinking? Sasuke and Naruto were here too." He didn't seem to have anything else to say, so she shrugged and went back to eating. Kakashi finished well before her and remained sitting to wait. He rested his clothed chin on his palm, head tilted, watching her with something soft in his expression that sent a flush down her spine.
"How did you get that scar?" Sakura asked after swallowing a bite of tempura.
"Which one?" Kakashi responded blandly, his expression abruptly bored.
Sakura made a slashing motion down her left eye.
He released a short, quick breath. "Of course. Knife to the face when I had just joined the army," he said too casually.
"And the one on your collar?" She had seen that one several times when they practiced, an angry pink thing.
"Explosives rolled my truck." This line of conversation didn't seem very productive, so Sakura dropped it. This was another thing he clearly wasn't interested in diving into.
It surprised her when he said, unprompted, "Scars and bruises are just a part of life lived."
Sakura mulled that over for a moment, her thoughts sliding away from letting it touch anything too deep.
"I'm glad." She said at last, tipping her chair back to balance on two legs as she held his gaze.
"What?" One brow tipped upwards at her.
"I'm glad it means you lived." And she meant it.
"Hmm." Was all he replied.
Sakura changed the subject. "We have to pick a first dance song." She had been thinking about it for a few days now.
He hummed noncommittally.
"Is there anything in particular you like?" She pressed him.
Those steel eyes considered her heavily, flicked towards the ceiling, then back to her. "Can't help falling, Elvis."
Sakura stilled.
"Really?" Her voice was softer than usual, a betrayal of the sudden quiet inside of her.
"If you don't want that one-"
She slashed a hand in the air, cutting him off. "It's perfect." Maybe it was cliché, but as the lyrics streamed through her head, she was softly delighted.
When they were done eating they got to cleaning up, and Sakura took a moment to lean in and smell the flowers in the vase. She sighed, content.
It was still early, but she was tired again. The last week had taken everything out of her. She should probably put her pajamas on, so she left Kakashi to change, then she returned downstairs for him when she was in her nightgown.
"All good, if you're ready for bed. I guess you might not be tired though." He was a soldier. He probably could go for days under war levels of stress. She shrugged at him.
He caught Sakura's wrist as she turned towards the stairs, spinning her back towards him.
"What's up?" She looked up at him, only inches between them. The heat he constantly gave off washed over her. His gaze was smoldering in a way that made her insides liquify. He released her wrist to take her chin in his hand, his touch feather light. Sakura's heart reacted wildly, though she carefully kept her face blank and unaffected.
He leaned down towards her while tilting her face up and away. The thumb of his free hand stroked the cut at her throat. She froze.
"I am sorry about this," Kakashi whispered. Still holding her chin, he leaned in. She heard, but couldn't see, the fabric of his mask being pulled down.
Lightning shot through her as his lips brushed the small hurt, so, so gently. Her heart pounded in her ears, and heat flooded between her legs. The breath caught in her throat, right where his lips were.
His lips lifted. Just as quickly as he had slid his mask down, he replaced it over his face and pulled back, going so far as to step away.
"I hope it heals quickly." He said, then put his hands in his pockets and walked around her like nothing had happened.