Author's note: My fourth kakasaku Valentine's fic. (Yikes!) Fairly graphic lemon herein. I procrastinated too long, so didn't have time to have it beta'd. So any mistakes are mine, alone. Happy Valentine's Day!

Friends with Benefits

A KakaSaku Love Story

For my dear friend, Ilaria

"You owe me dinner."

With a mighty pull that showed off her biceps, Sakura grabbed Kakashi's wrist and pulled him over the crumbling edge of the sandstone cliff that formed the rear face of the Hokage monument. A dislodged fragment of brown striped rock careened into the gorge below them, reminding them of the dangerous nature of their avocation.

But danger was the mistress of their profession, and how better to stay on top of one's game than to flirt with her every now and then?

The two collapsed on hair-soft grass poking up months early in response to the season's aberrant weather. It certainly didn't feel like mid-February. Indeed the winter had been milder than most, although a bit more rainy. It was warm enough today that Kakashi and Sakura had gone climbing in their usual late spring clothing: dark sweats and jounin vest for Kakashi, and red shirt and tan skirt for Sakura. Her attire was a bit different than in the past, however. The uniform of sorts that she'd worn for years was now accented with a garment of olive drab identical to his own.

Kakashi was proud of the new jounin and of everything Sakura had done to earn this rank. She was stronger– and smarter– than most, and unafraid to use either of these formidable traits to full advantage.

"So, what's for dinner?"

He should have known she wouldn't want to relax for long. He was exhausted while she was barely winded. This was the way it always was when they climbed together. Or ran. Or hiked. Her youth outstripped his maturity every time.

Sakura stretched as she rose from the precocious spring carpet and brushed soft fragments of grass and moss from her backside. Kakashi couldn't help but be mesmerized, although he had enough self-control to look away a split second before she turned to him.

"Kakashi?"

"Oh, right. Chicken, I guess. Baked?"

"How exciting," his date for the evening replied dryly. Not that it was in any way a "date"– not to Sakura. This day was too loaded with meaning for Kakashi to suggest anything so rash.

Sakura reached for Kakashi's hand but he ignored it as he pulled himself up from his impromptu bed.

"It's our anniversary, you know."

"Is it?" He stated this blandly, in a carefully practiced tone that was neither interested nor bored, just...present. As he always was.

"Uh, huh. Exactly two years ago you rescued me from the blind date from hell." She giggled as she patted Kakashi on the arm, and looked up at him with long-lashed eyes that she batted several times. "My savior."

"Hardly. You just looked..."

"Lost?"

He chuckled. "More like you were about to commit homicide."

"I wonder if Kenji realizes he has you to thank for his life?"

"Doubtful. He's not the sharpest chunnin around. I can't say you have the best taste in men."

"Ino's fault, not mine. She goes by looks, nothing deeper."

"Why did you trust her, then?"

Sakura shrugged. "Loneliness, I guess. It sucks to be alone on Valentine's Day." Her pace quickened as they approached the long, winding stairs cut into the face of the Hokage memorial. "But that's the last time I go on a blind date on Valentine's. Hell, that was my last blind date, period."

They took the stairs single file, a wise move as the cut stone was slick with damp and moss.

"I really don't want chicken tonight."

"We could eat out," Kakashi suggested.

"And run into Lee? No thanks." Sakura's head bowed.

"You want to talk about it?"

Sakura's head snapped to attention as her back went poker straight. She ignored his comment and attempted to put some distance between them.

But Kakashi persisted.

"Who dumped who?"

"Whom." Sakura's inner schoolmarm made a sudden, brief appearance. "That's hardly the kind of thing to ask your best friend." Her voiced dropped measurably and was almost carried away on one of the breezes that eddied in the carved depressions that separated the stone faces. "He dumped me."

"Oh." that was hard to imagine, but then again the thought of Sakura dating– and worse, sleeping with– the lesser green beast of Konoha was itself hard to fathom.

"I've never been dumped before."

Seventeen failed relationships and she'd always been the dumper. Her men were never quite right: too stupid, too egotistical, too macho, too arrogant. Not sensitive enough, not intellectual enough, not sarcastic enough.

"He said it wasn't worth it."

How could it not be? Kakashi would give his eyeteeth for the opportunity to wake up by Sakura's side. Not that she had any inkling of this. Yet.

"He said it wasn't worth it to love someone who couldn't love him back."

"That's harsh." Kakashi paused for a moment, as her words sank in. A lack of love meant a lack of rebound effect. This was certainly good news for him. "You don't love Lee?"

"I do. But not enough, apparently. Or in the right way." She paused at a landing carved just below the Third's chin. "He said I was settling."

"Were you?" Kakashi leaned against the rough grained rock wall and stole a look at her.

"I don't think I have it in me. To love that deeply, I guess. Not anymore."

Ah. Sasuke. His effect on the village continued to be felt, years after his final confrontation and untimely death.

"Kakashi... were you ever in love?"

"Yes." Thankfully, Sakura was starting down the stairs again, and therefore unable to see his face.

"And?"

"Well, the first time, death got in the way."

"So it was requited?"

"Uh huh. But not consummated."

"And the second time."

"Unrequited."

"We're twins."

"Guess so."

"What was it like?"

"The first time?"

She shook her head in reply.

"When it wasn't returned? Well... horrible. Every time I saw her it hurt."

"Did she know?"

"Of course not."

"Then..."

"It was obvious, Sakura. It wasn't worth talking about. I realized..."

That if I wanted it to happen, I'd have to be more...indirect.

"I don't see why love has to be so complicated." Sakura flipped her hair back indignantly, and slipped slightly on the next algae-slicked step. Kakashi grabbed the back of her vest just in time to save her from a well-placed bruise to the lower back.

"Thanks." Sakura pulled the garment down and brushed off her skirt. "It would just be better if people automatically knew. Like trying on a pair of shoes. If they don't fit, no big deal. Neither party is hurt, and neither dwells on it for an eternity."

"Life's not easy, is it?"

Sakura let out a dejected sigh as she reached the base of the monument.

"So why aren't you up there? In between Tsunade and Naruto."

"Same reason Danzo's not. It was an interim thing, nothing more."

"And you like it that way, don't you?" Sakura smiled in comprehension.

"The quieter things in life are more appealing to me, if that's what you're asking."

"No one would ever accuse the lazy Hatake Kakashi of career climbing. That's for sure." Sakura clapped him on the back, her dismal mood dispelled. "Race you back to your place. Loser's got dishes." She was off before he fully comprehended her words, and she reached his apartment a good minute before he did, once again proving her physical superiority over his rapidly aging body.

He was crazy to think he might have a shot with her. Absolutely nuts.

What would a twenty-two year old want with a thirty-six year old man? Yes, he had been interim Hokage, years before and he was still a top five ranked shinobi. But he was old for a ninja, and ancient compared to a woman in the early prime of her life. If his hair weren't already silver if would be greying by now. And his torso was like a relief map of the fire country, given its abundance of ropy scars and hollows.

Sakura could do better.

But apparently she'd given up.

This was to his advantage. Being one of the best strategists in Konoha meant Kakashi's brain naturally worked in a multi-pronged fashion, examining a problem from all angles. He weighed each potential move against all others and crunched the raw data of each situation until a plan and several fall backs were produced.

He had concocted such a plan in this case. He wanted Sakura, and he'd been waiting patiently for years. Ten years had passed since their first meeting, and five since he'd realized his feelings for her. Four since he worked out a scheme to make her his.

He hadn't wanted to make his feelings known at the start– not when Sakura was at the cusp of adulthood. Not only might Kakashi be accused of cradle-robbing– or worse– but she might later wonder what she had given up in pairing off with him.

Because give all others up she would. Once Kakashi had her, he was not about to share.

So he stood back as she dated unsuccessfully, and listened with feigned disinterest as she recounted each miserable evening to him. A smile lay under his mask, however. With each failed relationship and each hug of friendly support he was growing closer to her. She'd soon have tasted enough of the world to know what she wanted in a man, and Kakashi was confident he was the man with every attribute she desired.

He was patient, terribly patient– until Lee came along.

Lee was tenacious, unlike the rest. Kakashi worried that this might be it, that the two of them might pair off permanently. He kicked himself for not acting sooner. But he didn't interfere– Kakashi cared too much for Sakura to manipulate things that far. Instead he hoped against hope that it wouldn't work out.

And thankfully, it didn't. That love affair had crashed and burned like the others, although Lee's timing was admittedly the worst Kakashi had seen. Even the copy ninja knew a woman would not want to be dumped the day before Valentine's Day.

Lee's poor timing was to Kakashi's disadvantage, as well. He knew that he must move slowly and carefully for his plan to work. Stealthily enough that Sakura wouldn't immediately discern his intent. Valentine's Day was not the best day to implement phase two of his master scheme. The day was too drenched in romance to broach the topic of growing closer, if only physically.

But he didn't care. For once, Kakashi decided logic would take a back seat to desire. His patience had caused him to nearly lose her to Lee. There were plenty of men in Konoha who wanted Sakura. Kakashi was not about to let one of them scoop her up.

"So, I'm cooking and cleaning tonight," he said as he opened the front door. "Lovely."

She giggled in response. "It's your fault, slow poke."

He kicked his sandals off and did his best to look away as Sakura removed her own footwear, exposing her shorts-clad derrière in the process. When had that image first titillated him? On a trip to Sand. A pebble was caught in her shoe and she'd leaned over several times to fish it out. Each time he stopped breathing, although it took him several hours to figure out why.

"It's too early to start dinner, and if you don't want chicken I'll need to pull something out of the freezer. Want a beer?"

"That would be wonderful. I'm parched." Sakura flopped on the cheap leather sofa that dominated the living room and without ado propped her bare feet on the scarred coffee table.

"You might not want to get too close." she said as Kakashi joined her, a beer in each hand. "I probably stink."

"If you do, so do I." He handed her a beer, chuckling at the way she popped off the cap using only her little finger. Just like Tsunade, when she was laying off the strong stuff.

"To our anniversary." The thirty-six-year old held up his bottle and clinked it against hers. He knew wine would send the wrong signal, but beer? Nah. That beverage was for buddies, implying nothing untoward.

"To a beautiful friendship." Sakura downed her beer in two gulps, just as he expected.

She sighed as she leaned back against the worn ivory leather of the basement relic. "I'm tired. That climb really took it out of me."

"I know what you mean. I think I pulled something."

"Really?" Sakura's jade eyes lit with concern and the tiredness she just professed immediately dissipated. "Show me."

Kakashi pointed to his deltoid muscle and she immediately probed it.

"Not torn. Just stiff. You probably pulled it while you were dangling from the cliff face."

That was exactly correct. She didn't realize Kakashi had choreographed his near fall. He'd scaled that portion of the cliff face earlier that morning, tugging on each potential hand hold until he found one near the top that was cracked and half eroded, and another stable hold nearby.

"Better?" Sakura continued to massage the area, sending warm rivulets of chakra through his system.

"Take your shirt off and let me work on your back." He happily complied. "You're tight. Don't you ever go in for deep muscle work?" Sakura laughed at her own question. "Of course not," she amended. "That would require walking through the hospital's front door." She used her elbow to dig into a particularly stubborn knot. "But seriously, you need to take better care of your body."

Kakashi quickly pulled down his shirt. He did not like where this conversation was headed. Next she'd be suggesting he look into the assisted care facility for elderly and infirm shinobi.

"My turn," he said brusquely.

"You're familiar with massage?"

"You're not the only one with a modicum of medical knowledge, Sakura. Although in your case it's more than a modicum."

Sakura turned her back to him and slowly pulled up her red shirt.

"No bra? Really, Sakura." No bindings, either.

The kunoichi snorted. "It's not like I need one." She looked over her shoulder a smile upon her face. "You didn't know? I thought guys automatically noticed these things."

In truth, he had guessed. And fantasized, about the crooked, white zipper running down the length of her shirt suddenly unfastening itself. But she didn't need to know that.

"You're tense, too." he said instead. "Doctors are the worst patients, aren't they? Never following their own advice."

"Stuff it," Sakura muttered, although she didn't pull away. "That's nice," she intoned after a while. "I never would have guessed you had such gentle hands."

"Why not?"

"Natural born killer and all."

"I'm a man of many talents."

"That sounds like a pick-up line."

"I don't do pick-up lines."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not interested in one night stands anymore."

"Anymore. Yeah, I heard about your wild past. What changed?"

Kakashi shrugged. "I grew up." He could name the day– Sakura's seventeenth birthday, to be specific, as he walked behind her on that long journey to Sand. He'd suddenly recognized her as the woman she'd become, and the everything else faded to black.

"Besides, he added, "what kind of relationship starts off with a line like that?"

Sakura shrugged under his hands. "You might be surprised. Besides..."

"What?"

"Never mind."

"Say it."

"When was the last time you had a date?"

"I date."

"When? I thought we had no secrets from each other, Kakashi. Best friends and all?"

"Okay, so I haven't dated lately."

"But if you're interested in a long term relationship, shouldn't you?"

"It will happen if it's going to happen."

"Not if you don't go looking."

"I know what I'm doing, Sakura."

"Fine. But don't you..." He paused in his massage as he noticed that the back of her neck was becoming increasingly pink.

"Don't I what?" he prompted softly.

"Don't you ever get... well, um, wound up?"

Kakashi's hands froze. In all his planning he had not anticipated a conversation like this.

"Wound up?"

"You know. Randy. Horny. All hot and bothered."

"I understood you perfectly the first time, Miss Thesaurus."

"I mean," she continued, a fluster in her voice, "I mean you're a guy, and all, and everyone knows that..."

"That we think about sex twenty four seven."

"Yeah."

"Do you, Sakura?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you think about sex twenty four seven?"

"No. But I think about it more than you might expect."

"Twenty three seven."

" To be honest..."

"I'm all for honesty."

"That was the main reason I was going out with Lee."

"Sex?"

She nodded, her back still to him, her neck the color of pickled ginger.

"You were dating Rock Lee for sex."

"Uh huh." She whirled around to face him, without bothering to pull down her shirt. The small half globes of her breasts were partly exposed and Kakashi found that he couldn't stop looking. With great effort he straightened his neck and looked at Sakura's deeply blushed face. It grew an even brighter red as she realized where he'd been looking.

She looked absolutely adorable when she was embarrassed.

"Is that so hard to believe?"

Sexy adorable, with a hint of kitten.

"That Lee is some kind of sex machine? Frankly, yes."

It was even harder to believe that he'd dumped a woman so eager to have him.

"No, stupid. That I have..."

Kakashi lifted an eyebrow as he waited for her to continue.

"...needs."

It wasn't at all hard to believe. He just hadn't expected her to admit it. They'd talked about sex, before, lots of times, but always in abstract terms.

"I had to twist his arm, you know."

Probably literally. After prying off his green spandex superhero costume.

"To get him into bed. He wanted to wait."

"Until marriage?" Kakashi couldn't resist. He broke out laughing at the thought of a virginal Rock Lee on his wedding night, being schooled by his new wife.

Sakura smiled. "He's a traditional guy."

"But you seduced him."

"Fat lot of good it did me. It's Valentine's Day, and I don't have a date. No one even got me chocolate."

"I can fix that." Kakashi quickly left the room and returned with a rectangular, foil-covered package.

Sakura curiously lifted the lid, then frowned.

"Eww. You poked a hole in each of these." She handed back the box in disgust.

"I hate cream centers."

"This is hardly Valentine's chocolate."

"And I'm a poor substitute for a date, I know."

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she tried to read his expression, a very difficult task considering that he was still wearing his mask. He pulled it down, self consciously.

Her next words were reluctant. "Kakashi, have you ever...?"

"What's that?" His heart rate had increased by at least ten percent in the past five minutes. First in a burst of jealousy, and now in confusion. Was she asking what he thought she was asking?

It was his job to ask this question. He'd been planning the moment for ages, slowly constructing a labyrinth in which to catch her. She'd entered the maze just hours ago, turning several times in the direction he'd planned. Yet here she was, forging ahead wildly, as though she'd found the golden string leading to its center.

But Sakura had no idea what was lurking at the heart of his construction.

The copy ninja redirected his attention to the woman running pell-mell to the seat of his most hidden desires.

"Kakashi, you said you don't go in for casual sex. Well, one night stands. But what if..."

"Yes?"

"What if..." Sakura stopped again, and Kakashi realized she had no intention of finishing her questions. That was okay. He was more than ready to step in.

"What if two people who really cared about each other decided to... extend their relationship to the bedroom?"

Sakura nodded vigorously, her soft pink hair covering her face in a near opaque curtain.

"I think that's an idea worth pursuing."

She peeked out at him from behind the parted drapes. "Really?"

Kakashi nodded. "It would have its benefits."

Wonderful benefits.

The copy ninja was careful not to appear too excited. He didn't want her to get the wrong impression. He'd let Sakura think this was simply an act of convenience, as most fuck buddy relationships were. And in time, when their relationship deepened, as it must, they could put it down to simple evolution.

"It's a bit embarrassing."

"How so?"

"To suddenly share something like that."

"But we already know everything about each other, and have for a long time. Apart from the fact that you often go without a bra, of course."

"That's true. Lee didn't want to hear when I was on my period. But you always know."

Hell, Kakashi marked it on his calendar. Funny how she hadn't noticed that he was away each month for the three days preceding the glorious week.

Sakura smiled. "And I know some personal things about you. Tsunade, for instance."

Kakashi cringed. He never should have told Sakura about the topic of his first wet dream. He'd laid off the sake for a good month after that alcohol-enhanced conversation.

"We can take it slowly."

She laughed nervously. "I'm usually more of a dive-right-in kind of person."

"We can dive."

"It's just..."

He waited patiently for her to continue.

"What if it doesn't work out?"

"Why wouldn't it?"

"I don't know. Maybe we'll find out we're not compatible."

"In what way?"

"Duh. Sexually."

"How could we not be? You're a woman, and I'm a man. End of story."

"Please. That's not what I mean, and you know it. Not every couple has the same interests."

"I'm flexible. And what I've found is that it's all about listening to your partner."

Sakura bit her lip in indecision. He needed to close the deal, he realized. He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it.

"What if one of us finds someone else? What then?

That wasn't going to happen, no way, no how. But Sakura didn't know this. Nor should she, yet.

"Then things go back to the way they were," Kakashi replied evenly.

"We go back to being friends– do you really think that would work?"

"The alternative would be to lose your friendship. Do you think I'd let that happen?" Kakashi grabbed his intended partner's hand and looked into her troubled eyes. "This is your decision, Sakura."

"It's not yours?"

"I already know what I want."

"Well, so do I." She stroked his cheek, gently, and Kakashi was almost overwhelmed by the intense, electric current that rocketed through his flesh.

"I should shower. I stink." Sakura backed away from him nervously, and nearly ran to the bathroom. Kakashi waited until he heard the running of water and the telltale rasp of shower curtain hooks against the metal rod, then joined her in the small room.

In a moment he was naked and with her in the shower. She didn't see him: her eyes were closed, face covered in lather dripping from her shampoo-covered hair. But her chakra was as finely attuned as ever. Sakura felt his presence, and held her hand out as he silently offered her a bottle of conditioner.

"I thought this might be a good place to start. Less pressure than the bedroom. Would you like me to scrub your back?"

She nodded and offered her back to him, sighing with contentment as he rubbed circles of lather across her shoulder blades and down her spine.

Kakashi avoided the obvious erogenous zone of her lower back, despite the strong desire directing him there. He'd never seen a more sensual joining of flesh than the sinuous curve of the small of her back as it met the firm, sculpted flesh of her posterior.

But he could wait. He'd get there soon enough.

Kakashi knelt, instead, directing his attention to her lower legs and feet. Sakura giggled as he washed between her toes, and he tucked this scrap of information away for later use.

"Mind if I get a little more personal?"

She bit her lip again, a sure sign of anxiety, but nodded her head in acquiescence.

Kakashi moved the washcloth up her leg, stroking it first over her outer thigh, and then moving inward.

She parted her legs slightly as he focused on them, then surprised him by moving his hand northwards.

"You don't have to hold back, Kakashi. I'm not a virgin, you know."

"I thought you were feeling a bit nervous."

She smiled another lopsided grin. "I am. But it's not like I've never done this before."

A horribly detailed image of Sakura showering with a small crowd of men intruded on Kakashi's thoughts. Although the image was dredged up almost whole from Icha, Icha Violence, it failed to inspire him the way such scenes usually did. The replacement of the terribly sensual Junko with the even more sensual (and three-dimensional) Sakura was the reason. It was one thing to imagine a fictional nymphomaniac surrounded by eager lovers. It was another to imagine the woman of his dreams. Kakashi banished the offending image immediately. There was no reason to be thinking such irrational thoughts. Sakura might have showered with a past lover or two, but surely not two or more at a time. She wasn't like that.

He needed to get with the plan and focus on her.

Kakashi laved her, lathering the tender flesh between her legs with his bare hands, lingering as his fingers traced the outlines of her most intimate anatomy.

She shuddered slightly as he found her center, stroking her satin smooth flesh with a practiced touch. Kakashi knew what she needed: he'd been preparing for two years. He had knowledge of other women, of course: it was reasonable for a man of his age and occupation to have accrued a fairly deep base of information. But for Sakura's sake he'd delved further. It didn't bother that a rumor had sprung up about him in the past two years– that he intended to watch every film in Pink's considerable library– as this prediction only added to the eccentric hentai image he'd cultivated over the years. Moreover, this rumor was based in fact. But Kakashi discovered halfway through his pornographic odyssey that he was watching the wrong type of film. His preference– and that of most men– dealt in male fantasies, and therefore didn't shed much light on the intricacies of female pleasure. The girl-on-girl videos weren't much help, either, as long as they were intended for a male audience. But the movies intended for women, whether straight or gay or somewhere in between were endlessly informative. The copy ninja ate them up, memorizing the nuances of every trick and stratagem. And he didn't mind paying extra to special order them.

He was ready for Sakura. Absolutely ready.

"Kakashi? I think I'm clean, there."

He rose and washed the rest of her, tending to Sakura's arms first, kissing each place as he washed it and relishing the subtle differences in the texture of her skin. She lifted her arms over her head as he caressed the gentle, S-shaped curve that ran from her underarm to breast. Then he concentrated his efforts on those small but perfectly formed breasts, adorned with sandy pink nipples that seemingly begged for his touch.

He licked them clean, ignoring the heavy rivulets of water streaming from his hair and onto her face. She moaned as he tugged gently, urging each apex into turgor. He felt her hands on his back as she impatiently pulled him closer.

"You really do dive into things, don't you?" He murmured as he kissed her neck. The gentle throb of her pulse under his lips seemed to hypnotize him. Its steady beat guided him as his caresses moved along her jaw, eager to meet their intended target. But Sakura pulled away slightly, foiling the effort.

"I saw a movie. Called Friends with Benefits, I think. On cable. On the the Romance Network."

Kakashi was pretty sure he had seen it in his journey through the world of girl porn, although he did not mention this. It was soft-core, fluffy stuff. Informative, though.

"It was about two friends, kind of like us."

"Yeah?"

"It was a convenience thing, you know? So they put limits on the relationship. So no one would get hurt."

"Like?"

"No kissing."

"I see."

"What do you think about that?"

It sucks. Absolutely.

Kakashi wasn't about to voice this opinion, however.

"I'm willing to do whatever you want."

"That's not what I asked." Sakura eyed him critically.

"I want you to be comfortable with this."

"But what do you want, Kakashi?"

"Let's just see what happens, okay?"

Sakura nodded and grabbed the washcloth from his hand.

"My turn," she said as she ran the soaked terrycloth over his waiting flesh, following its winding trail with light brushes of her parted lips. "How's this?"

She was good with her tongue, so good. Her ministrations were as focused and deliberate as everything else she did, and ever so creative. Kakashi tilted his head back, resting its crown against the pale blue tile of the shower enclosure as his new lover caressed his neck with bites too soft to leave a mark, but just sharp enough to arouse.

She greedily ran her hands along his flesh, washcloth abandoned, and grabbed his eager length in one hand.

"May I?"

He didn't have time to respond. In an instant she was on her knees, and he was deep inside her mouth. She licked and sucked until he was rock hard, his flesh throbbing for more. Then she took him still deeper, moaning slightly as she did so.

Three minutes– only three minutes had elapsed since she had first touched him. Yet in that short time Sakura had brought him to the verge of exploding. A small part of Kakashi wondered why he'd ever waited. How had he thought it reasonable to deprive himself of these sensations, of this sensual dream of a lover?

She stopped as suddenly as she started, and brought herself up to full height.

"Well?" she asked quietly. "Shall we?"

Sakura held his hand, and led him, dripping wet, to his own bed.

He didn't expect her to take the lead. This was the point where Kakashi planned to lead her through an ever more intimate series of sexual positions, culminating in dual cries of pleasure and simultaneous orgasm.

Kakashi had to admit that the alternative was enjoyable, although he was finding it hard to fully let go.

Sakura mounted him with practiced ease, and another twinge of jealousy shot through Kakashi's consciousness. He had her now, he told himself. What did it matter? She'd come to him as he had predicted she would, and was obviously the better lover for all her adventures elsewhere.

"Mmm," his partner murmured as she moved slowly up and down his shaft. "I could do this all day."

"Be my guest." The copy ninja couldn't imagine a better way to spend the next few hours.

Sakura's flesh was slick against his, her muscles tight as they encompassed him. She leaned back, bracing herself against the bed as she ground against him, sighing as he moved his hand between the lips surrounding his flesh. She moaned as he rubbed her in time with her movements, and gasped as he lifted his hips to meet her increasingly violent motions against him.

"Are you okay?" She'd winced– for just a second.

"I'm fine. Great."

A moment later Kakashi was sure he caught a glimpse– only a glimpse– of sadness flicker across Sakura's face.

Maybe he was doing something wrong.

Kakashi pulled Sakura upright, and gently laid her supine on the bed sliding her to its edge, then knelt beside her. Only a thin line of pale pink hair greeted him as he spread her legs. She must have shaved that morning: her flesh was almost completely bare. Kakashi couldn't help but grin in satisfaction. The idea that Sakura had put some thought into the idea sleeping with him, that her words earlier were not at all spontaneous thrilled him, adding to the sublime sensation he felt as he pleased her. She pulled her legs back as he tasted her, spreading herself fully for him, writhing under him as he slowly brought her to climax. Then he entered her again, and she urged him on, faster and deeper, until both of them were on the verge of losing control.

Kakashi backed off and she joined him on the floor, eagerly taking his flesh into her mouth, but this time caressing him gently, softly until his crushing need for release subsided.

It was crazy to be jealous of the other men in her life, Kakashi realized. Because of them, he was experiencing this. Her tongue was driving him crazy, and for the life of him, he couldn't understand how she could take him so deeply while simultaneously managing to caress his cock's most sensitive region.

It didn't matter. She was doing it. To him. Finally.

He couldn't take anymore, and he certainly wasn't ready for this encounter to end. He gently pushed Sakura away, his lips longing to caress the ones that had just caressed him. But he held back. She'd made it clear she didn't want this.

"Get on your hands and knees," Kakashi directed, and his lover eagerly obliged, resting her forehead on the floor and gripping the carpet as she slammed into her once more. He quickly realized that he loved this position: not only was he treated to the unforgettable sight of her firm, heart shaped ass, but in this conformation he could easily fondle her breasts. In the shower he'd discovered these were one of Sakura's most erogenous zones. She'd come close to climaxing as he'd sucked them. Apart from this, Kakashi could reach the two places that would guaranteed her a deep, almost cataclysmic orgasm, if the numerous videos he'd watched were to be believed.

Kakashi raised Sakura from the ground, pulling her arms behind her and holding them with one hand as he stroked her clit with the other. She responded as expected to this change in position. With each movement she moaned, her cries increasing in intensity to match the meter of his thrusts. She came again, and Kakashi smiled.

He observed her carefully, half mesmerized, as she came back to herself. Never had he seen someone so beautiful as she. Sakura sated was a sight to behold, her chin-length hair tousled, her cheeks blushed, her eminently kissable lips parted as she regained her breath.

Kakashi opened his Sharingan eye. Here was a sight to memorize, although doubtless he'd see it again. Every night for the rest of his life, if he had any say in it.

"Finished?"

Sakura smiled. "Not until you are." She climbed onto the half-clothed mattress and beckoned to him.

He joined her, like a dog jumping onto its mistress's bed, and knew he'd be as loyal to her as any of his canines were to him.

Sakura lay on her back, legs spread invitingly, and he was inside her in a moment. His flesh pounded against hers mercilessly and he felt her ringlike muscles tighten around his once more. She was going to come again– he'd make sure of it. He caressed, then suckled her breast as he continued to thrust inside her, pulling gently but firmly against its swollen nipple until she began to cry out in unabashed pleasure.

Then she screamed– a glorious, lusty scream.

His name had never sounded so sensual. So primal.

His lips found hers. He couldn't resist. She clung to him, crushing him against her as she deepened the kiss, until neither of them could breathe.

And then he collapsed against her, spent. And hopeful.

Kakashi wasn't sure if he should hold her. His mind raced through a mishmash of films. Had the hero and heroine of Friends With Benefits embraced post-coitus? What was Sakura expecting?

He'd give her space, Kakashi decided. He casually pillowed his arms behind his head, and breathed an exhausted, satisfied sigh.

She lay beside him, back to him, absolutely silent.

That was fine, he decided. Not everyone wanted to cuddle and chat after sex.

But she was shaking, ever so slightly, although not enough to jostle the bed.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked quietly.

"Nothing."

"You're crying." She'd poorly hidden a jagged breath.

"No, I'm not. It's just... relief. Or release, I guess."

Kakashi eyed his partner carefully, although he couldn't glean much information from the sight of her tousled hair, nor from the curve of her back. Still, he knew something was wrong.

"You're upset. I can tell."

Sakura bolted upright. "What do you know? I'm fine, okay? Everything's fine." Her eyes were red, her cheeks wet. She covered her trembling lips with her hands and attempted to climb out of the bed.

The copy ninja grabbed hold of her, gently but firmly, mindful of the bruise a more effective grip would leave on her pale flesh. "Where are you going?"

"Home. I need to go home."

"We haven't had dinner. And... I didn't think we were finished."

Sakura escaped Kakashi's grasp and glanced around the room for something to cover her nakedness. The thin, crumpled coverlet at the foot of the bed sufficed. She held the impromptu garment close, and Kakashi couldn't help but notice how the indigo-dyed fabric clung to her curves. Even upset– and she was obviously that– she was beautiful, goddess-like, in her makeshift toga.

"Tell me what's wrong. Please. Did I do something?"

What could it have been? Everything went perfectly. Not exactly according to plan, but nonetheless perfectly.

"No. No, Kakashi. You were...wonderful. But..." Her tears were flowing freely now. "this was a mistake. A huge, horrible mistake."

"What we just did was horrible? I don't understand. I thought you loved it."

"I did! I did! But it's not enough."

"Huh? I'm not enough?"

Big enough?

His intended lover shook her head violently.

"I wanted this to be about the sex. I told myself that it was enough, that I'm a modern, twenty-first century kunoichi. But it's not good enough."

"The sex wasn't good enough? You just said it was. That you loved it. But if it wasn't– God, can't we talk about it? You can't expect it to be perfect the first go-round."

But it couldn't have been that bad. She'd come three times.

Sakura was making absolutely no sense, Kakashi decided, and his laboriously constructed plan was coming apart at the seams. He hadn't considered she might abandon him– in every scenario they slowly but surely grew closer. Not apart.

"Let me get this straight, Sakura. For whatever reason, you don't want to continue having sex with me. Is that right?"

"No. I don't want to be your friend."

"What? Sakura if this isn't working for you, that's fine. We don't have to do this. But please, please don't abandon our friendship."

"No. You don't get it. And you're going to make me say it, aren't you?"

"Make you say what? Honestly, Sakura, I don't know what you're talking about. The person I care about most in the whole world just told me she doesn't want my friendship and I have absolutely no idea why. No fucking idea. God, please tell me. Say whatever it is you're so afraid to say."

The kunoichi's brow creased as she closed her eyes and clenched her jaw. Her mouth opened, but no words emanated.

Finally, in a raw, cracked voice, Kakashi heard the words, "I love you."

"You love me."

He hadn't planned for this. He knew she cared for him. But love? Why would she?

" And that's why I can't be your friend."

"Sakura..."

"You get it, don't you? I don't have to spell it out any further, do I?"

Kakashi couldn't believe his ears. He'd never considered this eventuality.

"Please, Sakura. Tell me. Tell me everything."

"You're the one. The one I couldn't have. My unrequited lover. The person who never saw me the way I wanted you to. Apparently I'm good enough to sleep with, good enough to be your friend– your best friend– but nothing more. I thought it would be enough. That if I waited long enough things might change. But it's not enough. And honestly, neither is being your friend. I can't do it, Kakashi."

The copy ninja sighed. "Then don't."

"Don't?" Sakura cried incredulously. "That's all you have to say?" She pulled the coverlet more tightly around her and bolted for the door.

For once he made it there before her. He slammed the door shut and grabbed her tightly.

"Don't. I don't want to be your friend, either." He crushed her mouth with his own, binding her to him with a ferocity that surprised her. He refused to let go, holding her close as she struggled against him, and closer still as she relented. Finally he broke their embrace, but continued caressing her cheek and neck with a further peppering of kisses.

"Be my lover, Sakura. That's all I ever wanted."

Sakura pulled away from him in confusion.

"Then why did you agree? To this whole friends-with-benefits thing?"

"I thought it was all you wanted."

"And that was enough for you?"

"I'm a patient man. And to be perfectly honest, if you hadn't suggested it, I would have brought it up myself."

"God! You're an idiot!" Sakura collapsed against him, laughing as more tears streamed down her well-salted face.

"Yes, my love, but you are, too." Kakashi led Sakura to his bed– their bed– scooped her up and dropped her upon the still-damp mattress. "And if I'm not mistaken, we have some unfinished business to attend to."