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H O M E C O M I N G
In hindsight, he really shouldn’t have been all that surprised to find her in his apartment.
Sakura always had this funny way of showing up when he least expected it. Kakashi should have been able to learn to read the signs more clearly or at least be more prepared, but there is little that he – or anyone, really – can do besides go with the flow of her spontaneity. It was one of the reasons why he fell in love with her.
And yet, after all their time together, here Kakashi is, standing stock-still in the entryway to his home, transfixed by the sight of Sakura rolling around on his living room floor with Pakkun.
He watches them for a moment, not tempted to burst their bubble of contentment, and he drinks in the sight of her like a man starved.
Only after he’s had his fill and his perusal of her is complete does he state his greeting of, “I thought I locked the door when I left this morning.”
Kakashi shuffles himself through the archway, pressing the door closed and toeing off his sneakers. He doesn’t hesitate in pulling off the black medical mask in her presence, nor does Sakura have to pester him about wearing it indoors. They had a long conversation a few months back about his self-esteem, about the necessity for him to cover most, if not all, of the horrendous childhood scar that dissects the left half of his face.
Sakura insisted that despite his abnormality, she accepts all of him, and liked to periodically remind Kakashi that their group of friends felt the same way. She was empathetic towards his plight nonetheless, but that didn’t stop her from trying to coerce Kakashi into seeing things from her point of view. Let it never be said that he could be outmatched in stubbornness, however, and as a result, Sakura demanded that they come to an agreement.
The rule was as follows: Kakashi could wear the mask as much as he wanted in public, but never at home.
Not around her.
Sakura’s head shot up at the sound of his voice, fingers pausing in their tickling of a particular patch of fur on Pakkun’s belly. The pug whined at the loss, nipping at her hand in an attempt to make her start petting him again, but Sakura chose to ignore it.
Instead, she examines him, scrutinizing Kakashi in the same way he had done to her upon his arrival. Her study is slow and meticulous, staring at his toes and ending when their eyes meet.
“You did,” Sakura affirms while standing. She brushes off some of the dog hair that accumulated in her lap before adding, “But you always forget that I know where you hide the spare key.”
“There wouldn’t be a need for a spare if you would have told me you would be back,” He mutters. “I would have been here.
The grin she graces him with is equal parts warm and coy, and Kakashi is drawn in like a moth to a flame. It seems like Sakura must be under the same spell because she meets him halfway, her arms encircling his waist while Kakashi’s wrap around her back.
He holds her close, close enough to be considered suffocating, but Sakura voices no complaints and tucks her head underneath his chin.
“You didn’t tell me you were coming home.”
It’s more of a statement than an accusation, but Kakashi can’t help but feel a twinge of embarrassment by the whiny tenor in his tone. If Sakura noticed, she doesn’t pay it any mind, pulling back far enough so that she can look him in the eye with a sly smirk curling in the right corner of her mouth.
“I wanted to surprise you.” She leans up to place a kiss on the tip of his nose. “You know, for someone who’s seeing their girlfriend for the first time in months, you don’t seem all that excited.”
“Maa, would you be happy to see someone that’s going to eat all of your food and steal your dog’s attention for the next three months?” Kakashi questions playfully.
Sakura pouts, her cheeks puffed out and her mouth drawn down in a frown, but Kakashi distracts her by sliding his hands up and along her shoulder blades before he buries his fingers into the tuft bubblegum pink hair at the nape of her neck.
His thumbs press into the underside of her jaw, angling her face a certain way before he leans down to kiss her.
It’s chaste, something soft and sweet, and for the first time since Sakura left for medical school at the beginning of the semester, Kakashi feels whole again. He knows for sure that Sakura reciprocates the sensation because she sighs and practically melts into his embrace.
“That,” She whispers when she pulls away a second later. “Is more like it.”
Sakura presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth, then another right under his left eye where his scar is the widest. She leans back and looks like she's about to say something, but there’s a soft ‘yip,’ then a full-on bark followed by the pitter patter of paws against the hardwood floor.
Pakkun circles them twice before he forces himself between their legs, causing them to break apart. His head sways as his eyes flicker between them, tongue lolled out to one side. Whatever the dog’s internal debate was, it appears that Sakura was the better choice because he starts pawing at her calf, demanding to be picked up.
“See what I mean,” Kakashi mumbles with a roll of his eyes. “Stealing all of my dog’s attention.”
Sakura laughs, a bell-like titter that makes his heart flutter. He really missed that sound; there’s something about hearing it in person rather than over the phone or on facetime.
“He’s liked me better since you adopted him,” She corrects, bending down to pick up Pakkun. She cradles the dog against her chest with one hand, reaching out to tug on Kakashi’s sleeve with the other.
“Come on. You can welcome me home properly by cooking me dinner.”
Kakashi doesn’t protest because he knows when the time comes and he’s about halfway through stumbling, fumbling, and failing to make a decent meal for the two of them, Sakura will grant pity on him and offer some assistance.
-o-
Sometime later, after dinner is finished, the kitchen cleaned, and Pakkun walked, they are lounging on the couch, Sakura curled up against his side.
Kakashi is playing with the ends of her hair, pulling his fingers through the thick strands while halfheartedly paying attention to the movie playing on the television.
“Ino invited us on a road trip in a few weeks.” Sakura murmurs suddenly, eyes closed as her head rests on his shoulder. “Something about wanting to get everyone together to go explore the countryside before the summer ends.”
Kakashi snorts. “Why does that sound like the plot of a coming of age film?”
Sakura chuckles softly, and he doesn’t see her shrugging her shoulders, but he can feel her shoulders lift underneath his arm.
“It’s Ino. Do you expect anything less?”
No, no he doesn’t, and it’s not the first time Kakashi has wondered how Genma has put up with the boisterous blonde for as long as he has.
There's a short stretch of silence in which Sakura shifts her position, and Kakashi changes the channel before he asks, “Do you want to go?”
Sakura doesn’t answer his question right away, and Kakashi doesn’t press, allowing her time to weigh the pros and cons internally.
Eventually, she responds with, “Why not? It’ll be nice to see everyone. I’m sure Naruto and Sai are itching to see you.”
It is a tempting prospect, and though Kakashi would prefer not to be trapped in confined spaces with Naruto for extended periods of time, he knows that it would make Sakura happy.
And for Sakura, he was willing to do just about anything.
He leans down to press a kiss against her temple before coinciding with, “Sure, but you’re packing for the both of us.