Chapter 17

"You've got the list, right?"

"Yes, I didn't forget it." Sakura replied as they walked into the boutique.

It was the same boutique they went to before they got together.

Kakashi watched as she pulled a piece of paper out that she wrote out the night before. They were out and about getting a few things for their trip up to Sugi later that week and some warmer winter apparel was top on the list.

She had already tried arguing that she would pay for her own stuff, but he quickly won that battle. He reasoned her need to remain financially independent for the most part. They were still only dating, so he understood her reasoning.

But certain things he would argue against and have to basically tell her to let him spoil her from time to time. Clothes was an easy win since he knew she loved clothes and he loved spoiling her. He only wanted her to have the best if I could be provided.

"Welcome back, Mr. Hatake! You're back so soon! How can I help you this morning?"

It was the same exact blonde sales woman who had helped them last time they were there. He quickly glanced to Sakura and was pleased to see the eye roll that came from her as she easily ignored the woman and walked past her. Not like the sales woman was paying any mind to her to begin with.

"Just browsing the winter clothes for us." he quickly replied with a smile as he faced her again, "We already have a list made and will let you know if we need anything."

Before the woman could reply as she stood there stunned, he smiled again and dismissed himself and walked over to where his girlfriend was currently at.

"You know it's quite a turn on watching you do that." he spoke quietly to the pinkette when he got to her side.

Sakura paused looking at the winter coats and eyed him curiously.

"Do what?"

"Ignoring her like that. Rolling your eyes." he explained.

Sakura scoffed playfully and looked thoroughly amused at his answer.

"Rolling my eyes turns you on?" she teased.

He reached up and scratched the back of his head then as he realized he didn't explain enough and now sounded creepier.

"No, no. I mean your presence. You can spot a fake person a mile away and refuse to let them deter you. The eye roll and way you brushed her off are just added benefits. What did I say last time? Oh, yeah, a total "power move.""

She just shook her head with a smile then as she pulled out a dark brown bubble jacket and held it out to examine it.

"It's just history repeating itself. She tried kissing your ass again, Mr. Money Bags. Do you like this?" she said before turning and holding the jacket up to her chest.

Kakashi eyed the dark brown bubble jacket for a moment.

"I like it. And "Mr. Money Bags"?"

Sakura smiled as he watched as she checked the price tag and visibly cringe.

"This jacket is way too expensive…"

"Get it." he shot back immediately.

Green eyes looked up then in disbelief and she opened her mouth to argue, but he beat her to the punch.

"Get. It." Kakashi stressed again, "And anything else you want or need. Don't argue it further either, you know I don't care when it comes to you. We've had this argument already. Multiple times may I add."

Sakura just pursed her lips and handed the jacket over to him then. She pouted at him for a second as he smiled in triumph. She walked around to the other side of the rack and rifled through the men's section before pulling out an identical styled jacket but only in black and held it up to him.

"For you?"

Kakashi just nodded and smiled back to her.

"Looks good."

He smiled even bigger when she regarded him warmly.

"Okay. I'll take these up to the counter and then we can go look at some sweaters and then boots." she spoke softly as she stepped up to him to get her jacket and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

The couple spent the next hour wandering around the boutique as he watched Sakura shop and pick out various things for them and their trip up to Sugi in a few days.

It was nice being able to go out and spend time with her outside of his place and work. Ever since their little date night, Kakashi had been yearning to take her out again and again after that. He didn't particularly like shopping, but with her next to him to keep him company, he would go shopping with her everyday if she wanted.

Every aspect about them felt so normal and right, like it was always supposed to be like this.

He wanted nothing more than to show off the woman he loved to the world.

"What about this?" she heard her boyfriend say to her right.

Looking up from the list in her hands, she found Kakashi holding up a gaudy green adult footie pajamas that were patterned in christmas lights. She half snorted and smiled big at his over excited expression.

"Absolutely not." she finally got out in between giggles she tried to stifle with a hand.

The CEO pouted big then and gently shook the footie pajamas again.

"Mah, Sakuraaa. You never let me have any fun. They have your size too, we could match!"

Sakura furiously shook her head then as she waved her hands in front of her.

"Nope, double nope."

Kakashi finally gave up and sighed as he hung up the article of clothing and sulked back over to her.

"We're definitely getting them next year and we'll do a christmas card in them."

Sakura gawked up at him then as they slowly made their way to the counter to pay for everything. She was silently preparing to hear the ungodly high number he would be charged for. She understood his need to provide for and spoil her, but it baffled her when she saw how much certain things cost.

"A christmas card in those? Hell no!"

Kakashi simply hummed in amusement and she smiled to herself.

'Is he really thinking that far out? Next Christmas? I'd like that…'

Before she could continue her thought, a woman's voice called out Kakashi's name and jerked her back to reality.

"Kakashi? What a pleasure to see you here of all places. Oh, you're leaving? I just got here… Who is this woman?"

Sakura's eyes located her immediately and she nearly gasped at the sight in front of her. The woman looked like she just freshly walked out of a high end photoshoot.

"It's nice to see you too, Ino." Kakashi bit out, "This is Sakura. My girlfriend."

The pinkette jerked her head over and found his earlier smile was gone and replaced with a look of pure irritation. She didn't have time to enjoy the fact that he was publically calling her his girlfriend with her present, she needed to figure out who this woman was and her connection to Kakashi.

'Ino? Does he know her? Wait… Ino. Oh god, this is his ex.'

Sakura looked back over to Ino and couldn't comprehend just how beautiful the woman was. She had never seen a photo of the woman before, only have read the interview transcripts from when Sakumo died and the investigation began. This was really his most recent ex-girlfriend?

'He went from her to me?'

She had long platinum blonde hair that was styled simply yet suited her so well. She had a large bang that swooped to the right. The large diamond rings and earrings didn't go unnoticed. Sakura couldn't tell exactly what she was wearing under the oversized white fur coat, but judging by that and her dress pants and heels, it had to be expensive as hell.

'She's beautiful, my goodness. He definitely dropped his standards to be with me… She's a damn heiress for pete's sake!'

"Girlfriend? That's… nice." Ino replied with a half laugh before her tone changed, almost purring,, "I was just thinking about you the other day actually. You're getting ready to go up to Sugi for the holidays, right? I would've loved to have gone with you then. We would've had so much fun together, you and I."

It took everything in Sakura not to reach out and snatch the woman up in that second.

Her and Kakashi were obviously together, they did nothing to hide the fact as he kissed her a couple times as they shopped today. The piles of clothes and shoes at the register only proved further that Sakura would be accompanying him to Sugi too. Him literally saying that she was his girlfriend was the cherry on top, so these comments were obviously targeted at her.

Ino knew all this, but still had the balls to play dirty.

"Enough." Kakashi snapped before Sakura could say something back herself, "If you'll excuse us, Sakura and I are leaving. Now."

Before she knew it again, Kakashi had put his hand on her back and ushered her forward as they quickly walked past Ino and towards the counter.

"Oh, and I'm sorry to hear about your father. How unfortunate it was to lose a man of his status. He was taken away too soon." Ino added, "I'm sure you're doing a good job."

In that moment, the bodyguard side of Sakura flipped back on and she jerked her head around and looked back at Ino.

'Her voice. I've heard it before… Why would she say something like that?'

Sakura watched as the platinum blonde smiled sweetly back at her and a shiver ran up her spine.

After checking out and Sakura nearly fainting from the total yet again, Kakashi suggested they go out to lunch at a local sushi bar before going home.

He wasn't going to let running into Ino affect his mood or day. He was still irritated from her blatant comments towards Sakura about their old relationship.

'The nerve. How dare she be so vulgar. I can't believe I even dated her to begin with. Was I seriously that big of an asshole then?'

Lunch seemed to have went quite well, but the CEO noticed immediately that Sakura was quieter than usual. She seemed stuck in her head and thought and he prayed that the comments his ex made weren't getting to her.

It had been a few hours since they returned home and everything seemed to return to normal. Sakura had excitedly went off to her room to begin packing her bags for Sugi and he went in to his office to do some work before getting up to make them dinner.

Kakashi walked out of his office content with the work he had done and headed towards the kitchen to begin dinner, but stopped in his tracks at the end of the hall when he saw Sakura standing across the way in front of the floor length mirror that was next to his front door.

He opened his mouth to say her name but clamped it shut when he saw her suddenly frown at her reflection. He felt his heart break when he realized she was checking herself out and frowning more as she twisted around in front of the mirror.

'Why is she doing this? Is there something wrong.'

He stood rooted in place as he watched her lean forward and examine her face and puff out her cheeks with a sigh before bringing a finger up and poking around her eye. She stood up and he watched her raise her tank top to expose her stomach and cringed to himself when her frown deepened even at her reflection when she pinched some of her skin.

"Sakura." he finally called out as he finally stepped out of the hall and towards her.

He couldn't continue watching that scene unfold.

The pinkette jumped and yanked her top back into place and smiled at him. It hurt knowing that she had put that fake smile on for him.

"Hi, darling. Starting dinner?" she spoke as if she wasn't just picking herself apart seconds ago.

"What were you doing just now?" he asked without hesitation as he stood in front of her.

Surprise registered clearly on her face then before he shot him an apologetic smile.

"You saw that, huh?"

He only nodded before he replied.

"Why were you frowning at yourself like that? Is something wrong?"

Sakura looked away in embarrassment then, a small blush worked its way to her cheeks.

"No point in lying I guess… I was… I was comparing myself to Ino."

Now it was his turn to be surprised.

"What? Why?" he shot out before his brain caught up with him.

Sakura shot him a half dirty look then, as if the answer was obvious. Why would Sakura compare herself to his ex?

"How can you not?!" she replied, pain seeping its way into her voice, "Did you not see her today? She's gorgeous! The fact that you went from that to this is a major downgrade."

Kakashi was thoroughly confused at this point as he watched her sweep her arms around dramatically.

"What do you mean that to this?"

Sakura took a deep breath and blew it through her nose before she turned and faced the mirror again. He grew more upset when he watched her stare at herself with such a hateful look before she started speaking and pointing at various parts of her body.

"She's tall. I'm not. She's soft and thin. I'm hard and puggy. Her skin is radiant and clear. I still get zits. Don't even get me started on her makeup in comparison to mind. She's a literal goddess and I'm… I'm not. It's obvious she's made of money while I stood there in my old winter coat."

Kakashi stood there in disbelief as his girlfriend tore herself apart. This wasn't the strong willed woman he had fallen in love with.

"I offered to buy you a new coat after the other one got covered in blood."

"That's not the point." she bit out and made him purse his lips, "It comes down to money. She has it, I don't."

It was his turn to frown slightly. He knew Sakura didn't care about money like he did, but he knew her adjustment to a lifestyle she never experienced was causing some issues.

"Her boobs and ass are bigger than mine by a lot. She's curvy and I've barely got hips to show. Her hair was shiny and styled amazingly while min-"

"Stop." he demanded loudly and stepped around to block her from seeing her reflection.

Sakura jerked up to look at him then obviously not used to hearing him speak to her in such a tone.

"Stop." he repeated again in a much softer tone, "Don't you dare compare yourself to her. You and her are nothing alike and that's how I want it."

He couldn't tell what emotion she was feeling then as he looked into her eyes.

"It just feels like I'm such a downgrade in comparison. I have nothing she has, Kakashi. I feel very plain and boring." Sakura whispered back.

"I don't want anything she has, Sakura. You already have everything I want that she never had to begin with. She only wants to flaunt her wealth and we both know you don't want to be like that."

The pinkettes face twisted up in confusion then at his words. He needed to tell her exactly everything she had that his ex didn't. Stepping back around Sakura, he stood behind her as he made them face the mirror head on. He smiled warmly at her reflection since she looked so confused at his actions.

"Let me show you." he started as he rose a hand and reached around and poked the center of her chest, "You have soul, unlike her. You don't crave and constantly demand material things like she did. You appreciate the little things in life. I have investments in her family's business, so she has an idea of how much money I have. She always told me to buy things for her, but you, you try to pay me back for things. You two are so different in that aspect alone."

He moved his hand a few inches to her left and poked lightly again.

"You have a heart, unlike her. You care about others. You put others before yourself. You're selfless and will help those who need help. She thought charities were useless. You? You wanted to help and reach out. That's why we did those donations. It made me so happy to see the excitement in your eyes when I told you."

He smiled bigger when he saw the sadness begin to leave her as her blush returned and a small smile made its way to her lips. He moved hand up and lightly poked the side of he head and looked thoroughly amused when she looked confused again by this moment.

"You have a brain, unlike her." he explained, "You're so smart and quick witted. You keep me on my toes and I never know what's going to come out that mouth of yours. You went to college and have a medical degree. She had no degree because her goal is to only marry into another rich family and have an easy life. You read because you want too, she thinks books and articles are a waste of time. See what I mean about you two being different in all the best ways possible?"

The blush that came from her warmed his soul. He dropped his arm and snaked them around her waist. Sakura leaned back against him then and he felt her relax.

"Please don't ever compare yourself to others. I told you, you weren't like the others and it's still true. I want this. You have made me want to be the best version of myself because I see how you work. I love every single thing about you, Sakura."

Sakura perked up and twisted in his arms to face him.

"You love everything about me?" she asked half breathlessly.

Realization set in on him as he realized the weight of his choice of words. He nodded as she started smiling.

"I love everything about you. I love your eyes. I love your bed head when you wake up in the morning. I love your smile. I love how strong you are. I love your laugh." he continued listing as he brought a hand up and poked her nose which she scrunched up, "And I love the way your nose scrunches up dramatically sometimes."

A small laugh left her then as she trailed her arms up and around his neck.

"You love me?"

"I love you." he confirmed.

The bright eyes he fell in love with widen as he easily confirmed his love for her.

"You're not just saying it because I was dogging on myself, are you? Please don't blow smoke."

The CEO shook his head furiously then and shot her a half dirty look.

"I would never lie about something like that. I love you! If it makes you feel any better, you're the first woman I've ever said it too." he replied.

Her eye's only grew wider at this piece of information. It was true. Out of all the women he's ever dated since he even started dating as a teenager, he never once told him he loved them. He never did love them or reached the point where he felt he could possibly love them. However, with Sakura, he knew instantly. It hit him like a freight train when he realized it. Everything about her and their relationship was different that anything he ever experienced before.

She reached on her tiptoes and kissed him deeply then. He savored the moment as she pulled herself closer to him. He's mind went blank when he felt her tongue trail across his bottom lip and he quickly answered as they battled for dominance.

After a few heated moments, they pulled back for air and she smiled big up to him.

"You love me." she stated happily as she kissed his cheek.

"I love you. So much." he hummed as she peppered his face with a hurricane of kisses.

Sakura stilled suddenly and he pulled back enough to look down to her.

"Are you okay?"

"I realized I can't say it back yet. I'm… not ready." she mumbled looking away from him.

Kakashi looked at her confused before it dawned on him what she actually meant by not being ready.

"Oh, oh! No, don't worry!" he quickly reassured her as he leaned down and kissed her cheek, "Don't say it if you're not ready. Don't rush it. I promised to be patient and patient I will remain. Please take your time."

Sakura looked up to him with a warm smile and nodded a couple times. He leaned back down and captured her lips into a brief kiss.

"I love you." he whispered before he kissed her again, "God, it feels good to finally say it out loud. I'm going to annoy you with me repeating it over and over."

Sakura hummed a happy laugh as she let her hands fall down along his chest. Kakashi couldn't feel more content than he did then. He had finally admitted his love for her and she replied better than he could ever have expected.

He didn't care that she wasn't ready to say it yet. Her knew she needed time to adjust to things and he was more than willing to give her as much time as she needed. Kakashi loved her and knew that she cared deeply for him, so he didn't need to worry. She would tell him when the time is right.

He felt small hands slide under his shirt then as they trailed over his stomach towards his sides, causing him to half crash back down to reality. He groaned lightly as he deepened the kiss before he pulled her a little closer. Another happy hum escaped her as he felt his t-shirt ride up more as Sakura let her hands wander up his back. Kakashi relished in the pleasant shivers that ran up his spine from her nails trailing lightly over his skin.

The sound of his stomach loudly growling then caused them to pull away suddenly. Kakashi internally cried from the interruption as a small giggle left his girlfriend. He immediately missed the feeling of her hands on his heated skin and wanted so desperately to have them back there.

"I take it you're hungry?" she playfully teased.

He faked a pained groan for both hunger and being interrupted from loving on her as he half pouted at her.

"Means I got to stop playing around with you to go cook." he whined.

Sakura just laughed as she reached out and laced their fingers together and tugged them towards the kitchen.

"We can play more after dinner, how about that?"

A brilliant idea came to him then as he pulled his hand away from her. Sakura turned to see why he did that and squealed happily when he scooped her up bridal style and started walking towards the kitchen again.

"I love the sound of that. Now come, be my taste tester while I make tonight's dinner." he smiled at her.

Sakura had wrapped her arm around his shoulder to help balance herself and was smiling big back at him.

"What are we having tonight?" she asked, voice teeming with excitement.

"Chicken curry with rice."

He laughed when she did a half happy dance when he sat her on the counter so he could go wash his hands before starting the prep.

"I'll gladly be a taste tester for that!" she exclaimed.

Kakashi simply replied with a kiss before he started chopping up the vegetables.

A/N: Sorry for a late in the day upload. :( I hope you guys loved this chapter as much as I did! He finally admitted his looooooove. And we got to meet ex, Ino. *insert eye roll emoji*

Please leave a review. I love hearing from you guys! Next week is the final Sunday of June so I'll upload chapter 18 and for the month of July I will return to two week updates because I need to catch up on some writing and get a few things line up! Hopefully it all goes well so in August we can do another set of weekly updates. :D

Thank you to taytay95 for rocking out edits and being a beta dope beta.