Chapter 12

Kakashi looked up to the hallway for probably the hundredth time in the last hour as he sat at the kitchen island. It was well after ten in the morning and he had been up for a while now and Sakura still hadn't left her room which was highly unusual for her.

She hadn't joined him for their usual morning run together in his personal gym. He even lingered around for a while when he was done in hopes that she had just slept in late. It was something she often talked about doing, but never managed to follow through with. As the time slowly passed, he realized that she wasn't going to show, so he reluctantly left and made his way back to his room to shower and get dressed for the day.

He didn't like how much her lack of presence had bothered him now that he had admitted his feelings and wanted to be with her. The CEO reasoned that this was definitely a taste of his own medicine. He missed her and now he could understand clearly what Sakura meant when she said that him distancing himself from her had cut her deeply. He felt extremely guilty for forcing her through weeks of his selfish behavior and never once considered her feelings in the matter.

'You say you care, yet you ignored her! She was scared you hated her or something, you damned idiot!'

Kakashi eventually sulked his way into the kitchen and began making them breakfast and now he sat there at the kitchen island with one empty plate and one plate of now cold blueberry pancakes. His anxiety began to eat at him as the time passed and Sakura still refused to show herself.

'Oh god, I really really fucked this up. She's probably in there packing her bags and is gonna tell me she's leaving. I feel like such an idiot. Why did I have to go and kiss her?! Wasn't telling her you had feelings enough, you dipshit?!'

The sound of a door opening in the hall jerked him back to reality. Kakashi sat up straight as a board and watched the entrance of the hallway to see if she'd walk in. The next second he heard another door open and close and he slumped back down on the stool he was sitting on.

'She went into the bathroom…'

Suddenly an idea popped into Kakashi's head. Jumping up, he grabbed her plate of food and ran it to the microwave to reheat it. Turning away from that, he quickly rummaged around the cabinets and pulled out a mug and the box of specialty tea he had gotten Sakura last month.

'I need to show her how truly sorry I am for overstepping like that last night. Maybe this will help.'

He hadn't connected the dots at the time, but he realized he must've held some type of feelings for her for a while then since he went out of his way to make sure that he had some of her favorites things around the house.

He had spent two days searching everywhere online in his free time to find the specific tea shop in Konoha that sold the exact flavor and brand of tea she told him she loved the most and ordered her a couple of large boxes. He even structured dinners around some of her favorite dishes and recipes and had asked Choji to get her favorite chocolate and a couple of peaches whenever he went grocery shopping for him.

This was something he had never done before for a woman. He never made them breakfast. He never went out of his way to pay attention to their interests and actually get them things like this. Hell, he never even let any of them live with him. At most they stayed for weekends and that was that.

But with Sakura it was different. She came into his life with neither one of them having any intentions of developing feelings. She was hired by his company to protect him. She had to live with him. And, because of that, Kakashi believes that's how he fell in love with her. Kakashi figures that it was how he fell in love with her so fast. Maybe even at all. He saw her everyday habits and her changing moods. He saw more than just the bodyguard in her.

He saw the real Sakura.

The happy and silly Sakura who loved to read and watch reruns of the same sitcoms he loved. The sleepy weekend Sakura who exercised with him as they challenged each other with over the top scenarios then pigged out on chocolate and drank what seemed like gallons of her tea.

This is why him making this tea was his best and only possible attempt to show her he really did care.

Filling the kettle, he turned on the burner of the stove and busied himself with prepping the tea leaves while he waited for the water to boil. He had always just used the basic tea bags whenever he made himself tea, so he wasn't used to steeping loose leaf tea like this. He had ordered all the accessories so Sakura could make it easily and whenever she wanted and now he stood there unsure of exactly what he was doing.

He hoped he didn't mess up and it end up tasting bad. He had read and reread the extremely vague instructions on the box about twenty times at this point. He had even watched her make it a handful of times and it didn't seem that complicated.

"What are you doing?" the soft voice of Sakura spoke up from behind him.

Kakashi jumped slightly at the sudden presence of the bodyguard. He never heard her leave the bathroom and enter the kitchen. Just how long had she been there watching him? Turning around to face her, he saw that she was dressed in loungewear and her hair pulled up into a messy bun. It was a positive sign since it didn't look like she was preparing to leave like he had feared. He released the breath he didn't realize he was holding. She was half peeking around him to see what he had been doing.

"Sakura! I didn't hear you come in. H-how are you?"

The sudden ding of the microwave signalled her food had finished reheating, causing Kakashi to jump once more.

"That's your breakfast in there, by the way. I reheated it for you." he added quickly as she watched him curiously, a barely there smile playing on her lips.

He didn't know why he was so nervous suddenly, but he was. Sakura stepped past him and walked to the microwave to get the food.

"Thank you." she said quietly as she made her way to the island to begin eating, "And I'm fine too, thank you for asking. Sorry for missing our run and breakfast, I lost track of time."

Kakashi stood there in a stunned silence at how normal she was acting.

'Lost track of time? What does that mean exactly? Is she just going to ignore what happened?'

The sound of the kettle starting to whistle distracted him then. Pulling it off the burner, he poured the boiling hot water over the ball of tea leaves and let it steep. Kakashi kept his gaze fixed on the mug of tea brewing as he thought out his next steps carefully.

'I can't tell if she's still mad at me or not. She told me, well more like yelled at me, that she needed time to think. Has she made a choice or…? She said she lost track of time this morning, so that means she's been up for a while and didn't sleep in like I thought. I hope she's not nervous to be around me now. If that's the case, I'll never forgive myself.'

Pulling the strainer containing the leaves out, he grabbed a spoon and scooped two large spoonfuls of sugar into the mug and stirred it.

'I hope I got this right…' Kakashi thought to himself as he brought the hot drink over to where the pinkette, who had been silent for the last few minutes, was sitting.

"Here." he said softly as he sat the hot mug in front of her.

Sakura looked up from her half empty plate of pancakes and studied the mug for a second before glancing up to him.

"You made tea? You've never made me tea before. Why?" she asked while she quirked a pink brow at him and continued to eat.

"Peace offering." he shrugged in an attempt to play it cool.

Kakashi watched as she narrowed her eyes at him for a second and his anxiety of the situation skyrocketed then.

"Peace offering for what exactly?" she asked next as she popped another piece of the syrup soaked food into her mouth.

'She is ignoring this!'

The CEO sighed as he frowned slightly at her. He decided then that he wasn't going to beat around the bush anymore. He'd done enough of that and now it was time to properly deal with this.

"Sakura… about last night…"

"What about last night?" she spoke up before he could continue speaking.

Sakura suddenly stood and grabbed both plates that sat on the island and made her way over to the sink. Kakashi turned slowly and watched her as she rinsed the plates off before putting them into the empty dishwasher.

"I want to apologize for my actions."

"You already apologized though, so there's no need to apologize again." she deadpanned as she returned to the stool and took a tentative sip of the tea he just made her and smiled, "Oh, this is delicious!"

Kakashi stood there dumbfounded at how nonchalant she was acting. This was not the angry and loud Sakura that slapped him across the face last night for suddenly kissing her without permission. She just sat there nursing the beverage he made he like the conversation they were having was completely normal. He didn't know where he stood with her currently and he couldn't help but fear the worst.

"I just don't want anything to be weird between us. Well, any weirder than it already is. I mean if you don't feel th-" he started saying, but she cut him off with a raised hand before he could finish.

"Nothing has to be weird between us. It won't be weird if you don't let it."

Kakashi just stood there even more confused by her words.

"I don't know what you mean by that exactly…"

Sakura suddenly sat down the mug of tea and straightened up and face him head on. The sudden shift of demeanor put him on edge.

"What I mean is that I do in fact feel the same, I told you that last night. So there's nothing to be worried about. I just wasn't prepared to be kissed like that, that's why I reacted in that way. But you're going to have to work with me on this, okay?"

Kakashi's eyes widened as the weight of her words began sinking in.

"Wait, so you're saying…?"

A small smile came to the womans face as she watched him slowly work through what she said so far.

"I'm saying that you're going to have to be patient with me. Really, really patient. There's a lot of factors at play in this. I just need to make some things clear first, okay? I have some questions too."

"I can be patient, so no worries there. Have I told you how sorry I am already? I'm making that clear for myself. What do you need to make clear though? Ask anything." he said confidently as he nodded to her.

Sakura smiled bigger at his determination. So far it looked like he was being truly serious about all this.

'I really hope he can be as patient as I'm hoping for…'

"First and foremost, I'm your bodyguard. That trumps everything else right now. Everything. Do I make myself clear? I'm still responsible for your life, so you need to understand that, that is my job. I don't want you to put yourself in unnecessary danger if something were to happen again. You're still technically my boss too, so there's lots of questions of ethics in all this. But we'll get to all that later when we have too." she began explaining.

Kakashi just continued to nod along to what she'd said so far. His expression was a cute mixture of seriousness and excitement. It was a nice confidence boost since Sakura had been antsy all morning about coming to this conclusion. It was the main reason she didn't join him for their run or for breakfast like usual.

"Second is that I told you that you're going to have to be very patient with me, okay? I'm not used to things like this and I'm nervous. I'm really nervous, Kakashi."

"I'm nervous too." he replied softly.

Sakura bit her lip and looked back down to the cup of tea sitting between them. Kakashi hadn't moved an inch from where he stood next to the island and she remain fixed on the stool next to him.

'Oh, trust me, I'm sure I'm much, much more nervous…'

Sakura continued to stare at the swirling steam coming from the tea for a moment before she found her voice again.

"I'm not very comfortable with romance or all the things that come with it, it seems. I have my reasons why and I'll explain them as we progress together." she quietly revealed, "I still feel bad for slapping you last night, I hope I didn't hurt you too much. But, if you'll let me… Let me take the lead in this? I promise that if you're patient with me, that this can work."

When no reply came from him after a few deafening seconds passed, Sakura looked back up and found he was watching her closely. His brow was furrowed slightly as a small frown marred his handsome face.

'Oh god, he doesn't want me now after revealing all that. Who would?'

The same feeling of anxiety she felt last night began to work its way back into her then. She felt foolish to think that a man of his standing would want someone obviously as damaged as she was.

"Okay." he suddenly spoke up after another minute, "I want to make this work, so yes, please take the lead. You're in complete control. I have complete faith in trust in you."

The pinkette sucked in a deep breath then. When had she stopped breathing? A wave of relief washed over Sakura the next moment and she couldn't stop the grin that came to her.

"Really? You're fine that I'm asking so much from you?" she asked, unable to comprehend that he had agreed to her requests so easily.

Kakashi smiled big back at her and nodded a couple of times in agreement.

"On the contrary, I think you're actually asking very little of me. You're just asking me to be respectful to you and let you decide when you're ready to move forward with things. I don't think that's too much to ask for if it means I get to be with you. I'll agree a hundred more times if that's the case." he explained.

Sakura couldn't help the goofy grin that she shifted into. She had stayed up nearly all night worrying about this. She had laid in bed for hours after she woke up questioning whether she was making the correct choice or not. She had so many worries and fears about this that she figured he wouldn't want to deal with such trivial things.

She thought she wouldn't be worth his time. He obviously had the pick of the crop if his dating history had anything to show for.

"So you're perfectly fine with going slower than a snail's pace?" she asked again because she was still stunned with how well he was taking all of this.

Kakashi continued to nod at her as a small laugh came to him at her silly way of phrasing going slow.

"They say patience is virtue, right? Good things come to those who wait." he said as they continued to smile at each other.

Her smile fell for a moment when she realized she still had a couple more questions and concerns. Kakashi must have seen the brief change and his own expression changed into one of concern.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Sakura chewed at her bottom lip for a moment as she worked up the courage to ask the question that bothered her the most. She dropped her gaze back down to the tea that sat next to her.

"Are you going to treat me the same way you treated all the others?" she whispered.

There was a tense pause before he replied.

"What do you mean like the others?"

Sakura bit her lip then to control her flaring irritation.

"I know about your dating history, Kakashi." she stated firmly as she looked back up to him with a half dirty look, "I've read the interview transcripts of every woman you've been with in the last ten years as part of the investigation."

Kakashi's brows shot up at this revelation and he looked truly stunned for a moment before it twisted in something that resembled discomfort. This was obviously something he didn't know about with the investigation. Any person who he associated with within the last ten years was interviewed and questioned to help shorten the list of possible suspects. This included all twelve women he dated since he turned twenty years old. No one was overlooked.

"I'm assuming they didn't have anything nice to say, huh?"

Sakura just shook her head to answer his question. A long sigh left him then as he reached up and scratched the side of his head. It was clear he was nervous about being called out in such a way.

"I can't excuse or ever forgive myself for how I acted then, but I want you to know that I'm not that man anymore. I used to be an ass to everyone in my life, ask Shikamaru or Tenzo or anyone at the company if you want. I'm sure many still view me as one and I don't blame them…" he explained, "I decided to change, hopefully for the better, after the accident. I needed to change and I figured not being a prick should be one of those changes. I don't want anymore regrets. It was a wake up call for me. Being selfish doesn't get me anywhere."

The pinkette sat there for a moment processing everything he said.

"That doesn't really answer my question though." she pointed out.

He could say he's changed all he wanted, but actions always spoke louder than words. Her past had confirmed that.

"I have zero intention of treating this like my past relationships. It's cliche to say, but this is different for me. What I feel for you now is nothing like how I felt then for them."

Sakura couldn't help the small smile that came to her then. It was extremely cliche to say, but she was thankful he was at least trying.

"I'll never forgive you if you're lying to me." she said quietly.

"Then let me prove to you how serious I am." Kakashi spoke confidently, "I want to be a better man for you, Sakura. This isn't about me anymore."

Sakura reached out then and grabbed the hand by his side and tugged him over to where she was seated.

"Okay," she whispered to him, "Prove to me how serious you are."

Straightening up more in her seat, she let go of his hand as she reached to snake her hands up and around his neck. Kakashi quickly caught on and dipped his head down and captured her into another kiss and let his hands rest on her hips as he moved to stand between her legs.

Sakura felt like she would float away if she let go of him as she relished in how gentle he was being with her. She smiled into the kiss as she pulled him in closer and felt that one of his hands had slid around and rested onto the small of her back.

She couldn't believe that this was actually happening. This was the first, well second now, kiss she'd experienced in well over four years. It felt so right to be kissing him.

She had only planned for the bad and worst case scenario in this situation, so she had never fathomed that he would have wanted this as much as she did. She felt silly, because all the signs pointed to it. He really did care.

After a moment, they pulled back for air and Sakura felt him give her a quick peck on the corner of her mouth before he rested his forehead on hers. She never wanted this moment to end.

"I could definitely get used to this." he mumbled quietly as she stared up into the mismatched eyes he donned.

Sakura couldn't stop the small giggle that left her. She felt like a giddy school girl with how she was behaving, but she couldn't help herself. She hadn't felt that happy or comfortable in an extremely long time. She hadn't let anyone get this close in years.

They stayed like that for a long while. Neither one moving more than they had to.

Sakura let her fingers lazily play with the ends of his silver locks while he peppered her lips and cheeks with more kisses. Eventually she let her arms drop back down into her lap and Kakashi released his hold of her too and took a half step back and stood straight again.

"I definitely agree." she finally replied as she felt a blush come to her cheeks.

Sakura looked back down to the mug of tea and smiled bigger. Picking it up, she took a welcomed drink before smirking up to Kakashi.

"You made this perfectly by the way."

She laughed when he gave a surprised look.

"Really? That was the first time I've ever made tea like that. I remembered you had said "two generous scoops of sugar" too. It's not too sweet or bitter?" he quickly asked for more critique.

"Like I said, it's perfect." she reassured him.

"Like you." he shot back with a smirk and raised brow.

Sakura just continued laughing at his poor attempt of a compliment.

He was definitely starting to prove himself.

A/N: FINALLY. This chapter seriously went through like six revisions (and like two of them just today!) before I felt it was good enough to post! Hence the later than usual upload time, sorry! I hope it was worth the wait! Kakashi and Sakura are finally an item! How will this change things job wise for them?

Drop a review if you can! Your reviews are inspiration for me! Hit follow if you haven't either because now that we reached this point, I'll be shifting the story into more of the plot! And so it shall thicken, hehehehehehehe.

Thank you as always to my amazing friend and beta, Taytay95, for going through all 2384 revisions for me and letting me message her at ungodly hours with messages saying things like "I HAVE AN IDEA." or "DO YOU THINK THIS OR THIS AND THAT COULD WORK!?" She puts up with my crazy antics, lmao. xD You guys should check out her story To Love a Life, she's beginning to wrap that story up and just posted some GOOD ASS Kakasaku smut! ;)