Kakashi could barely restrain himself as Sakura's fingers had skirted across his skin, every touch sending fire through him and right to his cock. With only the thin sheet pulled up around his hips, she was sure to notice the growing tent soon. She was perfectly safe in this room with him, the villa surrounded by guards.

So he figured, fuck it.

"Sakura?"

"Yes?" Came a soft reply, her voice more sultry than she probably even realized. Her finger on his chest froze.

"Would you like to learn something new tonight?" His voice was so low it was nearly a growl. He continued staring resolutely at the ceiling in an attempt to not jump on his new wife. He should've been used to sharing a bed with her by now, but he wasn't. He also still wasn't used to her skimpy little outfits, even after being subjected to them for three years. And those pajamas she had on that she called shorts? Left nothing to the imagination. "Would you let me make the overboard situation up to you?" He clarified. This was less about teaching.

He waited patiently—as patiently as he could—for her response, his cock aching.

"Yes," she said, her voice filled with that confidence that he liked.

"Sit on my face."

He knew she would be too sore from last night to have full sex again, but he wanted to make her feel good regardless. So, he would teach her this—the beauty of sitting on a man's face. Of sitting on Kakashi's face. Only his face. And his own release could wait. This was about her.

There was a rustling of sheets and the dipping of the mattress as she moved. Kakashi looked at last, and found her on her knees beside his shoulder, staring down at him inquisitively. He grabbed her right thigh with his left hand and tugged until she was positioned with a thigh on either side of his head, her knees brushing the sides of his ears, her bare feet near his torso. His fingers stroked gently over her smooth skin. She was marvelous, as soft as a petal. He met her gaze where she was staring down at him, her expression expectant. Demanding.

Kakashi reached up and tugged his mask down, freeing his mouth. He leaned up and nuzzled his nose against her satin-clad center, the smell of her wetness overwhelming. Now with a better view in the dark, he could see the damp spot between her legs, the slick beginning to run down her thighs. She was easily as turned on as he was.

Kakashi gently slipped a finger between her 'shorts' and her inner thigh and pushed it aside, leaving her bare above him. Thank God she was wet, because his mouth went dry at the sight of her perfect pink pussy hovering over his face.

With a hand on either thigh, he tugged her down until she was well and truly sitting on his face. No reason for her to tire out her thighs or for him to strain his neck. Right on his mouth was where he wanted her. The skin on her thighs was impossibly soft under his fingers, distracting him for a moment from his task.

He licked an experimental line from her entrance to her clit, wetness soaking his face. Sakura released a breathy moan that forced him to echo the sound.

"You're so wet already, pop star. You could have asked for help," he teased her with his lips over her clit, letting the sound vibrate through the most sensitive spot on her body. Sakura said nothing, only panted above him. He licked slowly again in the same path, teasing her now, his tongue tracing every millimeter of her folds. He wanted her to be shaking and begging before he finished her off.

"You said this supposed to be an apology for kicking me off of the yacht?" Her voice floated down to him, strained.

"Yes," He answered swiftly, not wanting to take any attention from the job at hand.

Each slow lick up her center made her shudder, and Kakashi was quite pleased with himself for that. He wanted to make her cum without using his hands, so this was a good start. On the 10th stroke of his tongue she made an impatient noise, grinding herself onto his face with her need. He liked that a lot. Ignoring her, he continued his slow, thorough job for a minute more, before switching his focus.

He could just sort of see her hand sliding slowly up her own stomach, bunching her camisole up, his fingers finding a pert, pink nipple. And playing. He'd never seen breasts so perfect; pink and perky and just the right size. Kakashi pulsed with need in response to watching her handle them. He would like nothing more than to watch her play with herself. Maybe tomorrow night.

Kakashi's tongue circled her entrance slowly, the taste of her overwhelming his system. Then he gently pushed his way inside, the muscles pliant for the intrusion. She gasped above him as he thrust with his tongue, her hands finding his hair and tugging, her poor nipples forgotten. How sad.

"That-feels-nice," she whispered brokenly, her nails lightly scraping his scalp. He couldn't withhold his smile, his tongue retreated momentarily while he did. He felt her tense above him, surprised, but he was already plunging back in, this time moving faster, his lips pressed firmly to her, his tongue stroking her inner wall as far as he could reach.

With wetness dripping down his chin, Kakashi moved his mouth up, pulling his tongue out of her, and instead began licking light, slow strokes over her clit, his tongue flat. She made a noise of protest and ground down onto him again. He slid his hands around to her perfect ass, handling it roughly.

Properly incentivized by the panting noises she was making, Kakashi changed tactics and began circling her clit with his tongue rapidly, the same way she likely did when she got herself off with her fingers. He applied a more firm pressure than he had been using before, and kept up a consistent pace on her clit. Her thighs started to shake in his hands, and her moans started to get louder. He hoped she didn't wake the others. He also kind of hoped she did.

Kakashi kept going, laser focused as his name began spilling from Sakura lips, the sound like water in the desert. He sped up, his tongue working as fast as it could, he alternated sucking on the sensitive nub and licking feverishly at it. Like a starved man. Sakura rode his face almost hard enough to suffocate him. If he died that way it would be an honor.

Sakura's body spasmed above him, and she came with a cry of his name, her voice musical in his ears. He slipped his tongue down to tease her entrance again as her orgasm swept through her, feeling the way it fluttered with her pulse.

After several minutes she straightened her thighs, her pussy moving away from his face, much to Kakashi's disappointment. He wanted to make her cum on his face until she was crying.

"I have to get up early," she said sensibly, looking down at him with glowing eyes, her face flushed. She leaned down and kissed his wet lips roughly, surprising him so much he kept his eyes open as she tasted herself on him.

"Thank you for the night cap." She practically purred for him, then snuggled down into the pillows and promptly dozed off. Kakashi laughed silently, his cock so hard it hurt but his wife's ability to sleep was just so cute.

Sakura took a deep inhale of oxygen from the air hose, filling her lungs to capacity before swatting it aside. With a flip of her tail, she was beside Temari, who was hovering a few feet off the pool floor, filling her lungs with another hose of air.

'Night High' was filming a number of beach episodes, and for this one they had been transformed into mermaids. Sakura had been oiled up and encased in a gorgeous pink mermaid tail from the waist down, including an enormous functional fin. A pink, starfish bra was affixed to Sakura's breasts, and her hair was loose in the water, beads of pearls mixed in the strands. Temari, her hair floating ethereally about her head, was in a purple tail and gorgeous seashell bra that matched.

Cameras followed them as they swam around the massive pool, pretending to point at things and communicate in gesture. Sakura acted until her lungs burned, gestured to cut, and took another tube from where it was floating above her and inhaled deeply again. Being a mermaid was easily one of the coolest things she'd ever done, but it was also an undeniable pain in the ass.

Getting into the mermaid tail had taken over 30 minutes and involved a humiliating amount of oil because of how tight the material was. Swimming around and taking puffs of air from a hose was also a pain. Despite this, Sakura thought she made a pretty damn good mermaid, and was enjoying her time under the water. They had all received an hour and a half long lesson on mermaid-ing safely, from a group of gorgeous women who worked for the resort. The cast of Night High got along with their instructors swimmingly, entertainers recognizing entertainers.

Somewhere above her were the cast and crew, plus Kotetsu and Guy and a number of other security. They'd cleared out the massive swimming pool of the resort for filming, taking up the entire surrounding area. Neji, Omoi, Lee, Sai, and TenTen were currently being mermaid-ed up, their scenes taking place separately from Temari and Sakura's. Their characters were having a special, bond growing episode, since they'd hated each other since freshman year.

Sakura had woken up in a great mood, a warm feeling wrapped around her for the entire morning. They'd spent the morning hours filming around the pool before moving into the water, and Sakura was at the top of her game, as per usual. As the red light on the cameras came back on, she smoothed her face and put on a perfectly cute and curious expression, befitting her character.

Another 30 minutes and Sakura broke the surface, gulping down deep lungfuls of air, sound filling her ears. Temari emerged next to her, her lips pursed.

"Excellent job, ladies!" The director called from his chair beside the pool. "I've got lots to review! Rest for now!"

Sakura lifted a hand in acknowledgment to him.

"Look at how pruney we are! Ugh!" Temari made a face at her shriveled fingers then held them out and wiggled them in Sakura's face. Sakura swatted the blonde's hand away.

"I think we deserve to dry off and chill for a while," she commented as she swam her way to the edge of the pool and grabbed the concrete lip. Black boots appeared before her fingertips, ending in dark grey pants. Sakura's eyes followed the long legs up to a long, lean torso, to wide shoulders, to a mask covered face.

"I thought today was your day off?" Sakura quirked a brow at him. It was Tuesday, and while they were married, he still technically didn't have to work.

Without answering her Kakashi reached down a hand, which Sakura took, and lifted her out easily, depositing her on the edge of the pool, her tail sitting in the water. Kakashi released her and stepped back, ever her loyal guard dog. She missed his heat the moment he was gone, regardless of the balmy temperature of the island.

"Hey!" Temari intoned indignantly. She hefted herself out of the pool and onto the edge beside Sakura. "No, I don't need any help. Why offer?" She huffed, flopping her tail out of the water and onto the pool deck. She looked like a caught fish, flopping about in a very undignified fashion. Sakura snickered.

A costuming crew member came rushing over to help Temari get out of her tail, a ridiculous game of tug-of-war unfolded while they struggled to get the costume off the Suna woman's lean legs.

Sakura mentally steeled herself to roll across the pool deck, or butt scooch, or whatever was most effective, but Kakashi was back, reaching down and scooping her into his arms soundlessly, her tail hanging over his bicep.

The water from her body soaked his shirt, and Sakura grinned down him wickedly. "Couldn't wait to get all wet with me?" Kakashi's face remained impassive. He was in full work mode. Sakura tugged lightly on the hair at the base of his neck. "No fun." she pouted dramatically. "So, what brought you out on your day off?" she asked again.

Kakashi sighed audibly. "Genma said I had to see what you were up to," He explained. Sakura tilted her head to the side curiously. "I think he meant 'what Sakura is wearing'". He pointedly dragged his eyes from her face down to her starfish-clad breasts, her bare stomach, and her tail, then back up. His ears turned slightly pink at the tops as he finished his assessment.

Sakura laughed out loud. "This is hardly the most scandalous thing you've seen me in." She paused as she considered her getup. "But…it does allow for a certain element of fantasy." Kakashi cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Sakura tapped her forehead playfully against his before straightening in his arms. It wasn't a lovey dovey act for those around her, either. The gesture was so natural she was shocked by it. "I'm sure you'd like to go back to your day off, so-" she raised her voice to the crew swarming around the pool and set, "-Someone bring me a towel and get me out of this thing!"

"You'd think now that she's getting some dick she'd be less of a bitch."

Sakura and Kakashi's heads both snapped in the direction of the camera crew. An audio tech was standing there, a snarky look on his face, the words still coming out of his mouth as silver and jade gazes honed in on him.

Sakura did not have the direct authority to fire someone on this crew, like she did in the Senju building, but she still had her ways. Before she had the opportunity to lay into the audio tech, Kakashi took a threatening step in his direction. As threatening of a step as he could take with a mermaid in his arms, anyway.

"Be careful how you speak about my wife." His voice was low and deadly, the sound vibrating through Sakura.

The words made her beam, her smile splitting from ear to ear as she looked down at the man holding her. Okay, the slight change in their professional relationship was well worth this. He wouldn't have let it slide anyway, but she was delighted regardless.

Smoothing her expression back into the storm that told people to fuck off, she met the audio tech's eyes, the temperature outside dropping with her change in attention.

"Your job is mine," she mouthed at him. His face paled, the boom in his hands dropping several inches as his grip loosened.

Satisfied, Sakura turned her attention back to costuming, who had frozen in their approach at this interaction.

"Come on, I want out of this sausage casing." She huffed. It was Kakashi's turn to laugh at that. She frowned. "You didn't see the struggle to put the tail on." She grumbled at him. His laugh washed over her again, the sound light morning sun.

A costuming crew member appeared at Kakashi's shoulder, eyes nervously avoiding Sakura. "You can set her on one of the pool chairs, and we'll take care of her," They squeaked out. Kakashi stared the crew member down for several seconds, drawing his discomfort out, before stepping over to a pool chair and carefully depositing Sakura.

The stupid rubber slats that comprised the seat pressed hotly into Sakura's miles of bare flesh, but she ignored it. Pool chairs, as a general rule, were uncomfortable. The fight to get the tail off was a bigger concern.

"Well," Sakura started, shoving wet strands out of her face as she tipped her head back to look up at Kakashi. She batted her jewel encrusted eyelashes at him. "Enjoy the rest of your day off," She dismissed him. Truly, she needed him to go before flashbacks from last night overwhelmed her.

"I will." He jerked his head towards the tent off to the side of the pool. "I left you a mocha by your chair, just like you like it."

Sakura inclined her head demurely, a gesture of appreciation for his diligence.

Kakashi held her eyes for a moment before nodding and walking off, hands tucked irreverently into his pockets. Sakura couldn't tear her eyes away from his back, even as the tugging on the tail began. She felt strange as he walked away, like there was a tug in her gut in his direction. Like there was no where he could go that she wouldn't be looking towards him.

Omoi stepped in to her line of sight, obscuring Kakashi and breaking Sakura's trance. "Sakura, aren't you worried about sunburn? Or wind burn? This place has all kinds of things that can get in the way of our ability to film," he frowned down at her, the stick of his sucker tilting sharply.

"Oh, Omoi," She groaned. "Just let us enjoy this, huh? Don't think too hard about it. We're doing beach episodes! Vacation is fun!" She held up a fist emphatically. Right as she did the costume crew on her tail tugged sharply, yanking Sakura right off of the chair.

She smacked into Omoi's legs as she went down on the rough pool deck. Sakura hissed in a breath as her elbows were shredded, Omoi barely catching himself above her.

"Sure are good at making men fall, huh?" Omoi frowned down at her. "Why am I always the one who gets the literal meaning of things?"

Sakura gave Omoi an apologetic look, then turned a fierce glare on the crew who had pulled her off. "For the love of God!" She frowned at the people around her.

"Sakura, are you okay? I knew something bad was going to happen today," Omoi bent down before her, checking her over for any more injuries aside from her scrapes.

"Damn it, Omoi," She snapped, pushing herself back up on to the chair behind her. Her elbows stung fiercely.

Temari and the director came rushing over, fluttering around like moths to the flame, the director's stress obvious in his rushed assertions that they would fix the situation. Sakura certainly hoped so. All this fuss and blood, and she still wasn't out of her tail.

"Someone bring her some bandages!" The director ordered, waving his hands erratically.

Sakura frowned at the blood slipping down the backs of her arms, the burn rushing through her. Seriously? And she was having such a good day, too.

"We'll have to fire them, I suppose." The director was muttering to himself.

Sakura put a hand on his arm, grabbing his attention. "No, no, hang on." He stopped muttering, turning to her, eyes wide with trepidation. Sweat gathered at one of his temples.

This had been an accident, even Sakura could see that. For once, she did not find this a fire-able offense. She was in a good mood, after all. Her nightcap last night coupled with the fact that Kakashi had come to set just to see her in her adorable costume, she was softened. However…

"They're fine. But there's an audio tech you do need to fire to make up for this." She tightened her grip on the man's bicep. "I can't forgive choosing to be an ass." Her eyes were green fire, leaving no room for argument.

The director patted her hand. "Yes, yes, of course. Thank you."

He departed as an assistant appeared with bandages and antiseptic, looking haggard. Temari took them from her and shooed her away, snapping that they should get filming the other scenes. Kotetsu appeared beside the blonde, his expression grave.

"I'll wrap her up," he offered, taking the bandages Temari had just herself taken. "Go…I don't know, sunbathe."

Temari gave him a flat look. "That wasn't clever or funny at all."

"That's not what I'm paid for."

"Boring." She sauntered away, hooking an arm around Omoi and tugging him along to film a different scene, her bare legs moving freely in nothing but her bikini bottoms now.

Kotetsu kneeled down before Sakura and hesitantly sprayed antibiotic on her elbows. He flinched harder than she did, the can nearly dropping to the ground as she hissed in a sharp breath.

"Sorry, Miss Haruno." He apologized. "It's a good thing Kakashi walked off first, or I think we'd all be out of jobs right now." He chuckled a little to himself and started wrapping her elbows in bandages. That fucking stung, too. She hadn't had scraped elbows since she was a kid, and you know what, childhood could keep that shit.

"I doubt he'd fire me," she smiled arrogantly down at her guard, white teeth showing. Kotetsu made a face.

"Yeah, somehow I think you'd get of scott free." He added quietly, "And I'd go home with less of my hide left than what you just lost."

Sakura winced sympathetically. Had she ever seen Kakashi lose his temper? She didn't think so. He'd even been restrained when he'd shot her attacker. No, no, she was good not seeing him mad.

"I'll let him know I'm fine, so you can keep your skin." She told him benevolently. He stood up and bowed his head in mock thanks.

"My hero," and then he walked himself back to the edges of the set, eyes alert for any potential threat.

Sakura waved for the costumers to come back and resume their tail removal, the sun suddenly too hot above her. They crew came back, and with much wiggling, cursing, and accidentally (maybe not) hitting people with the tail, Sakura's legs were free, the hot island air practically cool on her now bare legs. She checked that the high-waisted spanx she'd worn under the tail were in place, then stood up.

It really was a lovely tail. She ran her hand appreciatively down the material as she stood, not doubting she'd be back in it before they left. Probably when the director decided he hated the pool shots and wanted the ocean. Probably before the end of the damn day. He was both a perfectionist and an idealist, which made for dreamy cinema and headaches for actors.

Sakura hiked herself over to a shaded tent that had been pitched to one side and snagged the iced coffee Kakashi had left, the corners of her mouth ticking up. Then she picked up a script to refresh her memory while she waited for her next call. A standing fan had been set up nearby, and Sakura relished the wonders of modern comforts. She was hot here, and seeking cold air. When they returned to Konaha, she'd be freezing, and seeking warm air. Or a warm body.

A shiver ran down her spine.

"Hey, Miss Haruno, are you alright?"

Sakura looked up from the page she'd been staring at without reading, finding a cute, tan guy looking down at her. She did not recognize him, but he was clearly a local. He was wearing a ripped up short-sleeved shirt and board shorts, showing off a not-bad body. If she were Ino, she might have cared.

"I'm fine." She answered cooly and looked back down at her script.

"Those cement burns can be brutal," the guy said, not taking a hint. Sakura glanced back up, finding warm, gold eyes on hers. He held up his bare arms, revealing a multitude of scars, including what had likely been scrapes on the backs of his elbows. He pouted at her teasingly. "And now the scabs will be in all of your shots."

Sakura quirked one pink brow. "Fine, I'll bite. Who're you?"

He'd been allowed to approach her without anyone tackling him, so he must have clearance, but he wasn't the regular crew that worked on Night High.

He extended a calloused hand. "Ran." She took his offered hand, pleased with herself when he looked surprised by her own callouses. Ah, how silly people were when they thought being famous was easy. Like Sakura hadn't ripped and clawed and fought her way to the top.

"Pleasure," She looked him up and down again, trying to determine why he was there. He wasn't covered in makeup or pieces of costumes. He didn't have the sort-of hunched posture that cameramen had from bending over their view ports. She hadn't seen him clustered with the assistants of producers and directors.

He tucked his hands casually into his pockets. Sakura thought Kakashi did the slouchy look better.

"I'm working with you guys while you're here as a wildlife wrangler. Snakes, sharks, other poisonous and venomous things."

She nearly made a joke about herself, but held it in. He clearly wasn't aware she was one of the creatures he was talking about, and there was no reason to shatter his idea of her as the Land of Fire's sweetheart.

"Are there a lot of those things?" She was a little curious. She didn't know anything about the island's ecosystem, which meant she knew nothing about its inhabitants. Which she did know was potentially dangerous.

He shrugged, nonchalant. "Sometimes. Depends on where you are. Pulled a sea snake out of the pool this morning, but trust me, he wanted to be there less than you want him to be there."

Sakura shuddered. Snakes were not for her.

The director began shouting her name, then shouting about the ocean. "Oh, that's me. See you later." She stood up and cracked her back loudly.

"See you later." He replied with a knowing grin.

Ran hadn't been kidding.

After she and the rest of the cast had been wrangled, quite literally as they were all put into their tails once more, they'd been hauled offshore into shallow, crystal clear waters to film. The director had not been satisfied with the pool.

Fortunately, Sakura's elbows had scabbed over by the time they reached the cove to film, and she removed her bandages. With a little editing magic, no one would ever wonder why Haruhi had ripped up skin.

Along with the cast came a crew of divers to follow them around underwater, hoisting their own oxygen and the oxygen for the idols. With the divers was Ran, who must be along to keep them from bothering sharks or touching anything unsuspectingly deadly, like a blue-ring octopus. He laughed with the other divers, some of them his age—his friends?—as they waited to go into the water.

Sakura looked doubtfully over the lip of the boat, unsure.

"Isn't this a little dangerous?" She asked no one in particular.

"Yup." Omoi confirmed, shaking his head with dread. He was in a spectacular shark fin, his body dusted with silver and purple scales and glitter. He looked great.

"This is ridiculous." Neji added, looking just as unenthused.

It wasn't that Sakura was afraid of the ocean. She loved the sea and she was a great swimmer. But this was different from swimming for fun, or free-diving by herself. It seemed like a lot could go wrong.

"Now, Sakura," It was Ran who had come up behind where she was sitting on the end of the boat, his mask shoved through his dark hair. "That's what we're all here for. To keep you safe." He gave her a winning grin.

Somewhere down the deck of the boat she heard Kotetsu make a noise of annoyance. Guy huffed.

Ran gestured out into the protected cove they were floating in, pointing at a ring of buoys floating not far from shore, which had two other boats of cast and crew surrounding it. "We'll be working there, which is where we do snorkel tours. It's perfectly safe, and the beach is right there. No worries."

His confidence in the safety of the exercise did make her feel a bit better.

"Come on, Sakura!" TenTen went dramatically over the edge of the boat, her green mermaid tail flashing in the light. A somewhat haggard-looking diver went in after her, muttering something about young women.

Lee went in next, his tail also green. But where TenTen's was the color of sage, his was deep forest green. His head broke the surface beside the anchored boat, hair slicked back. "Water's great!"

"Oh, what the hell." She caved, offering Omoi and Neji a wicked smile and tossing herself overboard.

Hadn't she just done that yesterday? Oh wait, that had been her husband.

She hit the water in a whirl of white bubbles and resurfaced next to Lee, who high fived her. It was much better to fall off a boat of one's own accord.

"This will be fun!"

Six hours and not nearly enough breaks later, Sakura was sore as a motherfucker, maybe even slightly tan—Score!—and severely dehydrated.

Ran had been close by the entire time and had provided entertainment during their breaks by bringing up starfish and crab and octopi for the cast to coo over, the variety endless. He also kept them all from accidentally hurting any of the reef they swam not far from, his diver friends helping.

Sakura sat on the back of the boat, tail dipping into the water with Omoi beside her and Ran on a seat behind her, telling stories of life on the island. They were much more palatable than the one from last night.

She heard Temari groan from where she and Sai were still working in the circle of buoys. A splash and an indignant sound from Sai carried across the water to her ears, and Sakura knew they were done for the day. If the direct kept them out there any longer, he'd be mutinied.

"Good God, who knew it hurt so much to be a mermaid?" Sakura rubbed her aching calves through the material of the tail. She was fit, but fuck! That was a lot of physically strenuous work. Her stomach rumbled unhappily. It had to be dinner time.

"Okay, haul me back into the boat," she waved her hands at the crew standing on the aft deck, imploring them into pitying her in her tail. It was great in the water, but horribly unwieldy out. She was willing to bet she didn't even have toes anymore, just shriveled pickles from being in the ocean so long.

Ran and another crew member took her under either arm and pulled her fully into the boat, setting her carefully on a seat.

"Thank you," she said gratefully. The crew member, a regular on set, looked bewildered but walked off to help Omoi without a word.

"You're in a good mood today, Sakura," Neji commented from where he sat on the deck, a costuming hand helping him remove his black tail. He looked decidedly unrefined for a Hyuuga, squirming around and struggling to remove the prosthetic, his hair all over the place. "Have you ever thanked the crew before?"

She scowled at him.

"When you were sore and hungry?"

He had a point. She shrugged.

With a lot of squeaking material, Neji's legs were freed, revealing his compression shorts and a whole lot of leg. Sakura had seen it all. She wasn't interested.

"Me next!" She waved at the costuming crew member, smiling. "Neji, would you mind lending a hand?"

TenTen's head appeared over the swim platform of the boat behind them, and she hauled herself onto it.

"Come on, Neji. Help Sakura, then help me," She instructed as she wrung her hair out into the sea beneath her. Across the water, Temari, Sai, and Lee were picked up by another boat.

"Yeah yeah," Neji muttered, standing on shaky legs and coming to stand by Sakura. She pulled the latex that blended the tail into her skin off to make things easier. Neji slid his fingers between the tail and the right side of her ribs, the crew member taking the left.

More wiggling and groaning ensued.

"You guys sure are comfortable with each other, huh?" Ran asked casually, leaning against the railing of the boat. He'd ended up helping TenTen onto the aft deck and was just watching the chaos of un-costuming.

Sakura, Neji, and Omoi, who had replaced the costumer, paused their struggle. The costume crew member had gone to look for a lubricant, leaving the three of them struggling. Omoi had his arms around Sakura from behind, his hands locked together just under her breasts, and Neji's hands were all over her thighs, tugging the tail down while Sakura held the top of her spanx up.

The three of them assessed one another for a moment.

"Yeah," they said as one, and resumed the fight with the tail. Of course they were, they had been around each other and touching each other in pretty freaking intimate ways for years. The thing was, they were all so used to it, it caused no sort of physiological reaction anymore. Well, maybe when TenTen and Neji were touching each other, maybe when Lee touched Sakura, but other than that? Completely unaffected. Sometimes Omoi blushed, but this was not the kind of time that happened. This was work.

"May I?" And like a ghost, there was Kakashi, standing on the swim platform in dark grey trunks, his face dry and masked, but his bare chest dripping water.

They all jumped, Omoi dropping Sakura. She banged her poor, abused elbows on the deck, gasping from the pain of it.

"Fuck dude!" Omoi grabbed the rail of the boat, his hand over his chest. "What are you, a fucking ninja? Where did you come from?"

Kakashi lazily gestured to the beach they were anchored only a hundred feet from.

"You couldn't make any noise while you were swimming? I don't know, a splash?" TenTen grumped, her face red. He'd really fucking snuck up on them.

Ran tilted his head curiously at the silver-haired man, his eyes flicking over the scars and muscles and coming away unconcerned. Or was he unimpressed? Sakura couldn't tell, but she herself was always impressed as hell.

Sakura pouted up at her husband as he approached, her eyes watering from the pain of being dropped on her shredded skin, which was now leaking clear serous drainage again. Gross.

Kakashi, glorious, dripping wet Kakashi, squatted down beside her and took one of her arms, gently turning it over to inspect the damage.

"Kotetsu and Guy are dead men," he grumbled as he took in her sorry state.

"And what about you? You're the reason Omoi dropped me just now, are you a dead man?"

For half a second that distant look entered his eyes, but was gone in a second, replaced by teasing. "Not since I met you," he winked.

Sakura felt her face pink just barely, unable to stop the flush and the weird, full feeling in her chest, despite all her years of mastering the reactions of her face and body.

"That's so sweet!" TenTen gushed, then smacked Neji's shoulder. "Where's my 'you brought me back to life'?"

"That's not what he said."

"But it is though!"

Sakura turned a darker shade of pink. Her heart in her chest seemed to echo 'alive, alive, alive'. She told it to shut the fuck up and averted her gaze to her half-bare legs. The bridge to a song began writing itself in the back of her mind.

"May I?" Kakashi repeated his question from when he'd appeared, drawing her gaze back.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, real stunning chemistry they've got there," Neji muttered. TenTen smacked him upside the head, then kissed his cheek before he could make any more comments.

Kakashi, who held all of Sakura's attention despite her friends' commotion, tipped his head toward the costume.

"Oh, of course. By all means." She leaned back, bracing her weight on her hands behind her. He gripped one of her thighs tightly in one hand, then tore the tail the rest of the way off of her legs.

She would have been relieved to have the tail off if she weren't so busy staring at his hand on her thigh. The way his fingers indented her skin. Like they had last night. She wondered if those indents would stay forever.

Kakashi caught her gaze, and damn it all if her thoughts weren't apparent in her eyes, he winked at her again. The sound of his low laugh reverberated through her.

She was an actress, for the love of everything. Get it together, woman! You were literally just thinking about how unaffected you were by being touched!

But not by him, a part of her whispered back at the louder part of her brain.

Kakashi helped her stand, then she abruptly sat on a seat when her legs gave out and the boat started to move. Kakashi took a seat beside her, crossed his arms, and stared down Ran, who sat opposite them.

Kakashi didn't know Ran yet, of course he was suspicious. It was his job to be suspicious. She took one of his hands and twined his fingers through hers before resting their hands on her crossed legs. They were a married couple now; this is what people expected.

"I can't wait to eat," Omoi said, rubbing his stomach sadly from where he sat on Sakura's other side.

"You and me both." She agreed.

"I ate so well last night, I'm still satisfied." Kakashi said casually, leaning into Sakura ever so slightly.

So maybe things in their dynamic had changed a little.