Chapter 21

Kakashi and Sakura returned home a few hours later and Kakashi immediately notified Shikamaru and Tenzo on what had happened. It was noted that Tenzo was not happy that the CEO was not returning to work and would not be at the various New Year meetings. Shikamaru just told him to take as much time as needed and would be in contact with him if he needed his opinion on anything.

While he was occupied doing that, Sakura was in desperate need of a shower. She wanted the grime of the day, dried tears, and the stench of the hospital off of her as soon as possible.

She quickly realized that she couldn't get her shirt off without writhing in pain due to the broken ribs and intense bruising. Not even the pain killers she was on were helping. She stood there in the bathroom trying countless ways to get it off in the least painful way to zero success.

'Damn it. Nurses had helped me out of my clothes and back into them that I didn't notice my lack of range of motion. How the hell am I supposed to get undressed and dressed again if I can barely lift my arms?!'

Then it dawned on her that the only way she could get changed without bursting into tears was to ask Kakashi to assist her.

'Oh god… We haven't even had sex yet, let alone share a bed together and I have to ask him to help me strip down?!'

Intense anxiety overtook every other emotion she was feeling then.

Sakura knew she was being slightly irrational with her worry. She had told Kakashi about her traumatic past and he had accepted her still. He vowed with his life that he'd never do anything remotely like that. He knew her reasoning behind her behavior. Quirks and all and still loved her dearly.

Was it time that she began taking the steps towards having an even more intimate relationship with him? More than just hugs, kisses, and cuddles? She worried that she may be going too slow and he'd grow frustrated and end things. However, it was like he seemed to be able to read her mind at those times and would randomly reassure her that good things take time and that he wanted their relationship to be more than just physical.

Their emotional bond was unbreakable at this point, so moving forward was only logical.

It's not like she hasn't thought of him in those ways. She's even fantasized a bit about their eventual encounters when she grew frustrated with herself or during some of her showers. She had seen him in next to nothing and got excited every time. He was fit and good looking in every sense of the word.

Even with his occasional nightmares, she would sit with him until he fell back asleep. Often staying longer than necessary. Sakura always considered just laying down with him, but everytime she began the motions? She'd chicken out and retreat back to her room in defeat.

Sakura turned around and exited the bathroom and walked slowly towards his office. Standing outside the door, she strained her ears to figure out if he was still busy or not. When she heard no sounds of him talking on the phone she figured she was safe. Raising her small fist, she knocked a couple times as she opened the door and poked her head inside.

Kakashi had been occupied typing up a couple of work emails explaining his sudden continued absence before making Sakura and himself dinner when he heard a couple soft knocks on his office door. He looked up to find the head of his girlfriend poking into his office looking quite nervous.

"Sakura? Is everything alright?" he quickly asked as he made to stand up as she walked in the rest of the way, "Didn't you say you were going to take a shower a while ago?"

The pinkette blushed at his mention of her showering.

"That's sort of the reason I'm here." she spoke quietly.

Perplexed by her statement, he cocked his head to the side slightly and shot her a curious look to explain further.

"I need your help." she added, the obvious blush became darker.

Kakashi felt both of his brows nearly shoot up into his hairline at what she just said.

'She couldn't mean that…' his brain immediately went to that thought.

"Help…? With what exactly?" he asked cautiously.

Sakura fidgeted with her hands for a moment. She refused to look at him directly as she did so.

"I can't lift my arms up…" she slowly explained as she held her arms out barely, "The nurses had helped me earlier at the hospital, so I didn't notice until now. I can't get undressed without a little help right now because it hurts so much."

Kakashi was speechless for a fraction of a second before he physically shook his head and took the last couple steps separating him from Sakura.

'I knew it. Cool it, Hatake…'

"I can help you with that no problem!"

He reached out and with his finger, tilted her chin so he could at her more clearly. All he found was large, nervous eyes staring back at him.

"I know you have no problem. It's just that-" she started to say, but he cut her off by placing his thumb over her lips before she could complete that thought.

"I'm well aware of why you're so concerned. But I made a promise to you, didn't I? I wouldn't do anything to ever hurt you."

Sakura mulled over his response before pursing her lips briefly to only give him a small smile and a nod.

"You're right. Thank you." she whispered her thanks before she quickly kissed his thumb.

Kakashi dropped his hand back down to his side with his own smile and together they made their way out of his office and down the short distance to her bathroom.

"Alright! Let's get your stinky butt washed!" he boldly teased as they entered the spacious bathroom.

Sakura whipped around to scold and slap his arm on instinct, but stopped and hissed in pain instead. She had temporarily forgotten her injury and had twisted her torso too much. A small cry escaped her then.

"Oh, shit! Ah, I'm sorry!" Kakashi reached out to her as he spoke.

He gently cupped her cheek as she turned and fully straightened out again. He leaned down and gave her a quick apologetic kiss.

"It seems I'm free from your violent outbursts for a while, eh?" he dared teasing again and got an icy stare back.

"I'll smother you in your sleep." she bit out the thinly veiled threat.

"Bit counterproductive, don't you think?" he smirked back, raising a single brow.

She only groaned in frustration as she turned and faced away from him again.

"Are you going to help me or not? I'm pretty sure I can get my pants and panties off, I just need help with my shirt and bra."

Kakashi stifled a cough at her sudden subject change. Taking a step forward he gently reached out and grasped the hem of her shirt.

"Alright." he spoke softly, signaling he was going to start helping her.

Slowly he lifted the shirt up and with some help from her, then got her left arm out first since it was the least injured and pained side. He kept his eyes steadily fixed in the back of her head and made a conscious effort to not let his hands trail along or linger on her skin. Sakura was trusting him with every fiber of her being to do this and he wasn't going to let even a sliver of that trust to falter.

He may have seen her in next to nothing in her work out attire, but this was a completely and much more intimate situation.

Still moving slowly, he helped quickly pull the shirt over her head and let it drop as it slid off her right arm to the tiled floor.

Something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye and he quickly glanced down and loudly gasped at the sight.

It was Sakura's right side.

He knew it was bruised from what both her and the doctor had said, but nothing had prepared him for this much bruising. He doesn't even think he was this bruised from his own accident this past summer. He didn't remember much of his healing process though, but that's besides the point. Her entire right shoulder down to her hip was various sickening shades of blue, purple, and red. And, it would only continue to bruise more over the next couple of days.

'Just how hard did she hit the side of car?!'

His mind flickered back to the accident. Sakura had yanked him towards her as the SUV collided into the car and threw them both to the side. Sakura had taken nearly the entire blow to her body as a combination of both her weight and his weight on top had slammed into the door.

'I'm partially to blame since I basically body slammed her into the door…'

"Oh, Sakura…" he breathed out as he reached out and gently trailed a finger over the discolored skin.

She flinched slightly at the sudden contact. He saw that her head turned towards the right and he followed her gaze and found that she was looking into the huge mirror hanging on the wall above the vanity. He looked up from where his hand was resting on her bruised hip and met her eyes in the mirror.

"It's not that bad." she whispered.

Looking back down to her broken body he felt angry suddenly. Not at her, but at the situation. She only got this hurt because of him. Because someone wanted him dead so badly that they didn't care who they hurt along the way.

"No, because it's worse. Way worse than I thought…"

"It's just bruising. It'll go away eventually." she reasoned.

'But what about your ribs? What if you break a leg next time? What if you get shot? What if you die…'

Kakashi bit his lip to avoid making any other comments. He knew it would just spiral into an argument. He didn't want to do that right now. He had to focus on helping her in her time of need.

"Let's just get you showered right now, okay?" he told her.

With a silent nod from her, Kakashi reached up and unclasped the hook of her bra and she quickly raised her hands to hold the front in place lest she expose herself to him.

"Can you hand me that towel right there? Then turn around please and don't look. Just stay right there in case I still need you."

He obediently grabbed the gray towel from the rack and handed it to her and promptly turned to face away. He even decided to go the extra mile and closed his eyes and put his hands in his pockets for extra reassurance to her.

Seconds later he heard the bra drop to the floor and the sound of a zipper being pulled down and Sakura shimmying out if her jeans and panties. The sound of her bare feet on the tile signaled she had walked away from him and the shower curtain being pulled back next meant she was stepping into the shower.

"Okay, I think I'm good. Thank you, darling." he heard her quietly say from inside the shower.

"Just holler if you need anything, okay? I'll leave the door cracked and my office door too."

He just heard her hum from her spot as the sound of the shower head turning on signaled he could now leave. Opening his eyes, he couldn't help but glance down at the heap of laundry on the floor. He's eyes lingered on the red lace covered bra sitting beside her discarded jeans and shirt.

'She has good tastes. Lace is my absolute favorite.'

Kakashi just closed his eyes and smirked to himself as he exited the bathroom and wandered back to his office. He plopped down into his chair and let out a long sigh as he hung his head low as he rested his elbows on the desk and ruffled his hair.

'She's hurt a lot more than she let on… Those bruises! Either she has an insanely high pain tolerance or she's hiding that pain from me.'

He glanced over to the framed photo sitting by his monitor. Kakashi never kept any personal items like knick knacks or photos on either desk, home or office, until just a few weeks ago.

When him and Sakura had essentially "snuck out" of the building and went in their date, she had insisted they take a photo together. Kakashi tried to get out of it, but in the end she had won. They took the selfie after they finished up at the diner and headed back to the car to go home. Sakura reasoned it needed to be done to commemorate their first official date.

In the end, he was thankful for the photo. It was a simple selfie with both of them giving the camera big goofy grins. He loved it if he was honest, he loved the way the corner of her eyes crinkled and how her nose scrunched up in response to her over the top smile.

Sakura had two copies of it made and framed. One for both his home and work offices.

Whenever he got frustrated with work, he'd just glance over to the photo and instantly felt better. He silently noted that maybe he should arrange for them to get professional photos taken. Maybe even for her birthday in a few months. He hated getting his photo taken to begin with, but he was willing to put up with it if it meant that he'd get have those memories with her.

"Kakashi!" the sound of Sakura calling out to him ripped him away from his thoughts. He was surprised that he was able to lose himself in this thoughts that long.

Without a second thought he bolted out of his chair and out his office to her. He managed to stop himself before he barged into the bathroom and took a quick deep breath.

"Are you alright?" he spoke through the opening he left, trying to sound as relaxed as possible.

"Yes, I just need help with my shirt. I was able to get my pajama pants and panties on. You can come in." she spoke from the other side of the door.

Kakashi walked in to find Sakura standing in a pair of pink flannel pajama pants and the gray towel wrapped around her chest. Her pajama shirt in hand.

"How do you feel?" he asked next as he took the shirt from her and began helping her slip her right arm into the appropriate sleeve.

"A thousand times better." she revealed.

Kakashi just hummed happily at the response as he smiled down to her.

"Once we're done getting you dressed, I'll make us dinner and we can just relax. Sound good?"

"Sounds delightful. I'm due to take my pain meds anyway, and I have to take it with food." she said as he gently tugged the shirt down over her chest and she let the towel fall now that she was safely covered, "Can I ask one last thing of you?"

Taking a half step back to admire his handy work, he gave a single nod yes.

"I can do it, but I know I won't do a good job since I can't lift my arms all the way up… But could you help me brush my hair out? If not that's fine." she explained tentatively.

Kakashi couldn't help but laugh out loud. Sakura looked horrified for a few seconds before her expression changed into an angry frown. Before she could tell at him nevermind and to leave her alone, he had reached out and grabbed her brush off the counter and gestured for her to come stand in front of the mirror.

The next ten minutes were spent with Kakashi carefully brushing out her long pink hair. Many giggles, laughs, and smiles were traded as they looked at each other in the mirror before them. Kakashi even somehow managed to convince her to let him braid her hair even though he actually had no idea what he was doing and she had to guide him through it. By the end she had a half decent braid and overly smug boyfriend.

He made them a simple dinner of chicken and veggie stir fry and as promised they relaxed for the rest of the night.

Sakura had settled herself between Kakashi's legs and leaned back into his chest as he wrapped them in a oversized quilt to stay warm as they flipped through the channels for something to find. Once they settled on a reality show about extreme hoarders, Sakura cozied up further into his comforting warmth as he carefully wrapped his arms around her. For the first time since the accident earlier, she finally felt content and safe.

After watching an episode, she felt herself start to get sleepy as the pain meds started to fully kick in and decided to close her eyes for a few minutes.

"Sakura." Kakashi whispered quietly, eliciting a grumble from her, "Sakura, wake up."

"I am up. I've been up." she replied, yawning big.

She felt the rumble resonate from Kakashi's chest as he chuckled.

"I beg to differ, darling, you've been sleeping for almost two hours now. I've watched nearly four episodes without you. Plus, you just started snoring. Maybe we should get you to your bed?" he told her.

Internally cursing herself for falling asleep, she let out a defeated sigh.

"But I wanna stay with you…" she bargained as she nestled herself against him more, ignoring the dull ache from her side.

"Then why not just come to bed with me?" he bargained back.

Sakura instantly woke the rest of the way up as she turned her head to look up at Kakashi more clearly. He looked so nonchalant with his proposal.

"Kakashi… I don't think that's a good idea." she whispered.

His brow quirked up partially.

"Why not? I'd say my bed is quite a bit softer and more comfortable than this couch. We're basically half asleep out here, so what's the difference if we stay here instead of laying down in a proper bed?"

She couldn't argue with his logic there. What was the big difference between staying here or going to his bed? She knew the answer came down to the fact that the bed was infinity more intimate than a couch.

Her mind quickly flickered back to her earlier train of thoughts that evening. Should she begin to take the steps to a more intimate level of their relationship? Sharing a bed was a step in the right direction for sure. Kakashi had promised, multiple times, that his intentions were not purely physical. He had promised her that he would never make a move on her without consent.

"Sakura. You just have to say no and we can drop the subject. I can even help you to your be-" he started but she interjected him as she shifted to look at him more clearly.

"Yes."

"Yes?" he parroted back, not sure exactly what part she was confirming.

"Yes, I'll go to bed with you."

Sakura watched has his eyes grew big, he looked slightly stunned at how quickly she agreed.

"Really?" he asked, obviously wanting to make sure that she wanted to do this.

She just nodded with a smile at him before she shot him a serious look.

"But no funny business, you hear? Or I'll go through with that threat of smothering you with your pillow."

Kakashi just smiled and brought his hands up to signal his submission.

"You know I'd never lay a hand on you in any way you don't consent to." he spoke softly.

Her smile returned and only grew at his statement. Together they got up and off the couch, tossing the quilt off to the side and turning off the TV as they made their way down the hall.

It felt odd walking by her room with zero intention of going in to sleep. She silently wondered if she'd ever sleep in there again after tonight. If everything worked out, she'd love to go to bed with him every night. She wanted to experience a proper and somewhat normal relationship with Kakashi after all.

They entered his room and she felt her anxiety soar through the roof. Kakashi must have sensed it because the next thing she knew he had reached out and took her slightly trembling hand in his and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"So… which side of the bed do you want?" he asked cooly.

"Uh…" she started as she stared at the king sized bed.

Releasing his hand she stepped up to the bed and turned to face him with a look of concentration as she half simulated laying down on the bed.

"Hmmm, left side." she revealed she met his gaze and raised her left hand.

Another smile graced his handsome features.

"Alright then, left side is yours." he lightly teased as he turned and walked over to the right side as he took off his shirt and tossed it on the nearby chair.

"Do you always sleep without a shirt?" she asked as she walked over to her side and pulled the comforter back.

Kakashi looked up to her with a silly expression as he reached up to scratched the back of his neck.

"I always have I guess. Does it bother you? I can put it back on if-"

"No, you're fine." she interjected again as she felt a blush creep up, "I like it actually…"

If it wasn't for the three broken ribs and awful bruising, Sakura would have dove into the bed and hid under the covers after saying that. Since she couldn't dive in, she took the easier route of just easing in and scooting towards the center of the massive bed and played off what she just admitted.

The look on Kakashi's face probably said it all he thought. He was sure his face was mixed with surprise, amusement, and though subtly, something darker. Thankfully after Sakura said that and go into bed, she kept her focus on her hands that were sitting on her lap and didn't notice his whirlwind of emotions.

"I'll keep that in mind." he teased yet again as he gave the bodyguard a devilish grin when she glanced up at him.

Sakura just let out a small huff in response. She wiggled and laid down on her left side away from him as he settled in next to her. Kakashi reached over and turned off the light before rolling over to her and carefully wrapped an arm around her waist. He was rewarded with a soft sigh and her scooting back to lay more against his chest.

"Goodnight, Sakura." he whispered to her as he placed a warm kiss against her shoulder.

"Night, darling." she whispered back.

A/N: Hi guys... I'm so, so, so sorry that I basically fell off the face of the earth for the last month and a half. Life was sadly more important than writing and plus I had ZERO inspiration to write and it made me fell so bad. I hope you guys can forgive me! As a extra gift, I'll try to write up and get the next chapter up by this coming Sunday and I hope this can kick me back into my regular bi-weekly Sunday updates.

Okay, so sliiightly perverted Kakashi and snuggly Sakura? I love this chapter. It made me all warm and fuzzy to write. Also, THEY WENT TO BE TOGETHER. Yes, I FINALLY decided to go to the next step. Or is it a half step? Bahahaha. I wanted this to be a slow burn and actually explore them, but man did I go a little slow on the burn. Whoops. It should be a steady pace of their relationship and the plot from here on out. I promise!

As always, thank you to Taytay95 for being so patience and encouraging me to take my time and work on this chapter at my own pace. So thankful for her!