What the New Year Brings

This chapter is dedicated to Sophie DN for her very kind PM that gave me the confidence and encouragement to keep going.

And thank you also to all of you who took the time to review. Your feedback is always much appreciated. ^_^

WARNING: This chapter contains explicit sexual content.

Chapter 49-Kakashi and Sakura's First Valentine's Day

In Japan, Valentine's Day is celebrated differently from the way Western countries do. Rather than it being about romantically involved couples exchanging gifts to express their feelings for one another, it's more about women giving chocolates to the men in their lives whether or not they think of those men in a romantic sense.

I actually enjoy the tradition which is also practiced here in Fire Country. It gives me the chance to show all the men in my life that I appreciate them and that they all have special meaning to me. And, because it's tradition and because of the way the chocolates are equally handed out, I don't feel embarrassed about approaching one of the guys and giving him a present which on any other day might bring about unwanted gossip.

In this manner, I have celebrated Valentine's Day with Kakashi before, but the same can be said about Naruto and Rock Lee and even Gai-sensei, my having given them all inexpensive giri-choco, or "courtesy chocolate," in past years.

The only person I had ever dared to give more expensive, higher quality honmei-choco, or "prospective winner chocolate," to every Valentine's Day, at least up until the year he defected from Konoha, was Sasuke. Yet although he, like all the other men I had given chocolate to on Valentine's Day, had reciprocated back on White Day in March by giving me white chocolates in return (hence the name "White Day") Sasuke never gave me more than what he was obligated to. Rather than elaborate or get creative with his reciprocal gift by adding flowers or a stuffed animal, he would simply give me 3 white chocolate bars back, effectively fulfilling sanbai gaeshi, or "thrice the return," without really putting much thought or effort into it. In short, whereas my gifts showed him that I truly had feelings for him, his gifts showed me that he was just paying me back because he was supposed to.

I've learned my lesson now, albeit the hard way, but this year will be different. This year, rest assured that all my honmei-choco is going straight to someone who deserves it, someone warm and caring and who has already proven that he feels the same way about me as I do about him.

~*~*~*~

I've gotten used to it by now. After all, it's been almost a month since I first moved in with him, but it doesn't mean I've stopped admiring it...

The room is infused with a soft, bluish-gray light, the kind that comes with early morning when the curtains are drawn, but the new day refuses to be kept out. It touches everything: the walls, the furniture...even him and me. I turn my head on my pillow to look at his dimly lit profile: a straight, well-defined nose, smooth, thin lips, a 5 o'clock shadow...

I'm used to it by now, seeing Kakashi's unmasked face, but even if I see it every morning until we're both old and gray, I still don't think I will ever stop admiring it.

His eye slowly opens and he turns his head to look at me.

"Morning," he says with a sleepy smile.

"Morning." I smile back. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy Valentine's Day," he says in return.

"I got you something. I know it's still early, but I've been waiting all week to give it to you." I say as I get out of bed to get it. Since my side of the bed is the one pushed up against the wall, I start to slowly scoot down the length of it.

"Sakura, you don't have to do that." Kakashi says, already getting up from his side of the bed so that I can get out that way.

"No, it's okay. That's where I'm headed anyway." I say, indicating with my eyes to the dresser opposite the foot of the bed. Once my feet touch the cold hardwood floor, I pad across the small distance between the bed and the dresser, open up the drawer that has since been designated mine, dig underneath my clothes, and pull out the present that I have hidden there. Then, I walk back towards the bed where Kakashi is and hand him the flat white box tied with a silver bow.

"Thank you," he says, both his eyes creasing upward as he smiles.

"You're welcome. Go ahead, open it." I encourage him.

Kakashi undoes the ribbon, opens up the lid, and gently pushes aside the wax paper.

"Oh, wow..." is his response.

"I had it special made." I say with a proud smile, for inside the box is a 6 inch square, 1 inch thick block of chocolate, but on top of it is a thin slice of white chocolate cut in the shape of a circle, and on that circle there's a smiley face drawn with dark chocolate syrup that has cooled and hardened so that it won't smear. It's the same smiley face seen on the back of Pakkun's navy blue vest and the one normally seen on scarecrows, Kakashi's namesake. The name of this particular smiley face is "Henohenomoheji" and it's made up of hiragana Japanese characters with each character making up a facial feature, like the "He" makes up the eyebrows and the "No" makes up the eyes, and surrounding the smiley face are cherry blossoms to represent my own namesake. Each flower has delicate pink petals which are actually made from white chocolate dyed with a bit of red food dye.

"The cherry blossom and the scarecrow. This is one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever received. I love it. Thank you." Kakashi smiles and leans forward to kiss me on the lips.

"You're welcome." I smile back at him.

"But you know what? It looks so good that I don't want to eat it!" he laughs.

"I was thinking the same thing, but it'll also be a waste if you don't. It's not going to last forever, so maybe you can take a picture of it and then eat it." I suggest.

"That's actually a good idea." Kakashi says, getting out of bed to grab his camera.

"Here, I'll take it so that I can take it with you holding it up."

Kakashi hands me the camera, picks up the chocolate, and poses with it.

"Smile!" I tell him.

By the time realization hits him, it's too late...The flash has already gone off.

"Oh, shit! You have to delete that!" he tells me frantically. "Here, let's do it again!"

"No! I like that one! We can see your perfectly straight, sparkling white teeth." I smile a big, mischievous smile at him.

"Which is why you have to delete it!" Kakashi says, making a grab for the digital camera in my hands.

"I said no! I like it and I'm keeping it!" I say, keeping the camera well away from his reach.

"Sakuraaaa..." he says impatiently in his sensei voice.

"Kakashiiii..." I say teasingly back. "Okay, what if we do this? We do take another picture with your mask on this time, but I get to keep this one as long as I'm the only one who sees it. Sound fair?"

"And how do I know that you won't use it as blackmail later and plaster my face all over Konoha if you get angry at me?"

"Gee, I wasn't even thinking about doing that, but now that you mention it-"

"Alright, that's it!" Kakashi says, making a sudden grab for the camera again.

"Ah!" I scream and pull it away just in time out of his reach.

"Sakura, give it here!"

"No!" I laugh.

"Sakura!"

"No!"

"You asked for it!" Kakashi says, tackling me down onto the bed so that I'm flat on my back.

...And my laughter quickly turns into a painful scream.

Kakashi's eyes widen in both fear and shock and he quickly gets off of me.

"Oh my God, Sakura, are you alright? I'm SO sorry, I completely forgot!" he says, fussing over me.

"I'm fine." I assure him, wincing. "Just...don't fall for that again!" I say, quickly slipping away from him.

"That was just wrong!" he says indignantly. "I seriously thought I hurt you!"

"I promise that I'm fine! Look." I say, lifting up the hem of my pajama top so that he can see the long, puckered pink scar running down the right side of my abdomen. "See? I'm healing faster than I normally would because of all the chakra Shishou and Ino have been pouring into me."

Kakashi looks down at my scar and follows the length of it with his fingertips. His touch is so gentle and featherlight that it tickles me and I can't help but laugh, but my laughter is cut short when I see the sad look in his eye.

"You're not fine," he says quietly.

"What are you talking about? Up until a few weeks ago I couldn't even walk properly and hobbled around like an old lady, but now I can dodge you without a problem. I'd say that's pretty good progress!"

"But you're scarred for life now and we both know that you'll never be as healthy as you used to be," he says miserably.

"No, I won't be, but I'm alive because of you and that's what matters. As for the scar, I'll just keep applying chakra to it so that it'll blend in better with my skin. It's not a big deal, really."

Kakashi doesn't look appeased. I can tell that no matter what I say to him that he's still going to keep blaming himself for not rescuing me on time, so I try a different approach.

"Have I told you how much I appreciate your taking care of me?" I ask him softly. "Because I really do. I know that it can't be easy having to suddenly share your home with someone else and then to have to take care of her every need on top of it."

"Yes, but if I had just-"

"I mean, sure, you're sort of obligated to take care of me since I'm your girlfriend, but it doesn't change the weight it puts on your shoulders."

"Sakura, after what happened to you it's the least I can-"

"But that's always been your way, hasn't it? To carry the weight of the world and say that you deserve it. It doesn't have to be that way, you know? You don't have to be the scapegoat all the time."

"I'm not trying to be the-"

"For once, Kakashi, just try to be happy without feeling guilty about it. If there's anything you deserve, it's that." I smile warmly at him. "You have been so much for me, not just now, but for as long as I've known you. You've been my teacher, my protector, my best friend, and in all honesty and from the bottom of my heart, I love you. Now just be happy knowing that and don't attach any guilt to it, or us, or your next gift."

"You have another gift for me?" he asks, his eye widening in surprise.

I say nothing and simply smile back at him as I get out of bed and make my way to the dresser once more. Once I find what I'm looking for, I hold it up so that Kakashi can see it.

"Sakura...What else do you have hidden in your underwear drawer and what the heck do you intend to do with that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know and it's not what I'm going to do, but what we're both going to do to each other. Just consider it my way of making up for not personally hand making your honmei-choco." I say, handing him the bottle of chocolate syrup and laying back down on the bed. "Happy Valentine's Day." I smile up at him.

I see arousal and then hesitation flicker in his eye.

"No guilt, Kakashi." I remind him. "Just. Be. Happy."

Slowly, the hesitation in his eye dissipates and the look in his eye softens.

"I guess that's just a lesson I've never learned for myself," he admits, laying down on his side facing me with his head propped up on his hand.

"How about that? I got to be the teacher this time around." I say amused.

"You did, didn't you?" Kakashi says, smiling down at me.

"But I have a feeling my job isn't over yet."

"It's not?"

"Nope. I've got my work cut out for me."

"How's that?"

"Because you, Sensei, have got a lot to learn about happiness, and I have every intention of teaching you as much about it as I can...through hands on experience with me, of course." I smile slyly up at him.

Kakashi laughs.

"God, I love you." he says.

"I know you do." I say softly. "But Lesson Number One: Don't just tell me, show me."

And with that, Kakashi puts his game face on and gets down to business.

The first place he decides to drizzle the chocolate on are my lips. He lets two small drops fall on them, smooths the chocolate across my lips with his thumb like lip gloss, first on my top lip, then my bottom, before slowly lowering his own lips down onto mine.

At first his kiss is light, slow, and lazy. The kind that makes your head gently bob up and down with each press of the lips. The kind where you take your time and truly enjoy it, but it isn't very long before his kisses become progressively deeper and hungrier. He starts to kiss me with open mouthed kisses under the pretense of sucking my lips with his own. Then, he lets his tongue slip out ever now and then, this time under the pretense of tasting my lips and the chocolate on them. At this point, I can taste the chocolate on him as much as he can taste it on me. And soon enough, he delves his entire tongue into my mouth and uses it to massage my own, letting our tongues do a dance of sorts with each other. We let them snake and glide hypnotically against each other for awhile, only parting when our lungs start to burn from lack of oxygen.

We take a few deep, refreshing cool breaths of air before Kakashi pours chocolate along the side of my neck. He licks it clean, licking me from my collarbone all the way up to behind my ear, making me moan in pleasure. I feel him smile briefly against my neck before sucking hard on it, making me moan even louder.

Raising the bottle up and squeezing it again, Kakashi pours chocolate into the hollow between my two collarbones. He dips his tongue into the chocolate pool he created there and laps it up as he carefully undoes the buttons of my pajama top at the same time. Once the last button is undone, he pushes away the two halves of silky, ivory fabric, revealing my nude torso to him. Kakashi pauses for a second, looking down at me with hazy eyes before letting a bit of chocolate drizzle on each of my nipples. He gently takes one of my breasts in his hands, squeezes it to make it pucker out even more, and wraps his lips around it, sucking it clean and quickly flicking his tongue against my hardened nipple before moving on to the other breast and doing the same things to it. He only stops when both breasts are completely clean of chocolate.

Raising himself back up, he pulls my pajama pants down and tosses them over the side of the bed. Then, lifting one of my legs up and resting it on his shoulder, he pours a thin trail of chocolate from my ankle to my knee and slowly drags the flat of his tongue up the inside of my leg to clean it all up. Then, lowering my leg back down on the bed and spreading my legs wider for him, Kakashi pours another thin trail of chocolate up my leg, this time from my knee to my inner thigh. Again, he drags the flat of his tongue against my flesh, following the trail he created. At trail's end, I feel the warmth of his breath against my panties. He pauses for a second, as if deciding what to do and ultimately decides to push the crotch of my panties aside to get to what's underneath.

With a light squeeze of the bottle, he pours just enough chocolate to coat my clit and to drip down my slit. Laying himself down on his stomach and making himself comfortable, he licks my slit from bottom to top before wrapping his lips around my clit and sucking and flicking his tongue rapidly against it, teasing it. Beyond my control, I start to moan loudly because what he's doing is causing a burning heat to build up inside of me, and that heat is causing a tingling sensation, and that tingling sensation is making me desperate for something to clamp my inner muscles around. Kakashi delivers...by plunging his tongue as deep as it will go inside of me, but it's simply not enough. Sensing this himself, Kakashi pulls his tongue out and puts it to better use by letting it continue to quickly flick against my clit, and the burning heat inside of me is better quenched by the three fingers he pumps slowly in and out of me. As his pumping gets faster, I feel the tension inside of me start to build up again, growing and growing to the point that I can't take it anymore. I feel the tension inside of me explode all at once, snapping like an overstretched rubberband and causing my inner muscles to contract and clamp down hard around his fingers like a steel vice. It's intense and so, so good all at the same time. A minute later, I collapse back onto the bed exhausted, but sated.

Kakashi pulls his fingers out of me and I see them soaked with my juices. Rather than wipe them off on a tissue, he wraps his hand around his cock instead, using my juices to lubricate his own sex and make pumping it easier. I put my hand on top of his and mimic his movements. Eventually, he gets the idea, removes his own hand, and lets me take over. I don't stop my pumping even as he shifts around on the bed so that I'm the one on top and he's the one laying comfortably on his back.

Not forgetting about the chocolate syrup, I take the bottle from his now tightly fisted hand and drizzle chocolate onto his cock, letting it dribble all the way down to his balls, but licking the chocolate up before it actually drips down to the white cotton bedsheets. I gently suck his balls clean, then lick his cock from base to tip, repeating the action until I've licked his cock on all sides. Then, for good measure, I open up my mouth wide, relax my throat, and take him completely into the warmth of my mouth in order to suck him completely clean. I suck him hard, letting my cheeks hollow, and slowly move my lips up the length of his cock as I do so. When I've sucked him all the way up to his tip, I lavish my tongue around the hypersensitive mushroom head and let his cock slide all the way back into my mouth again and start to quickly bob my head up and down on him, taking the time to stop and swirl my tongue around and around his tip and against the underside of his cock every now and then. I know he's enjoying all of it because when I look up at him, I see that his eyes are squeezed tightly shut and his mouth has taken on a grimace.

"Sakura..." he says breathlessly.

When he says my name like that, I know it's time to stop. It means that he's close and unless I want him to finish before I've even had the chance to get him inside of me, then I need to stop what I'm doing.

The second I let Kakashi slide out of my mouth, he jumps out of bed, hurries over to his desk, opens up one of the drawers, and pulls out a condom. I watch as he carefully tears the foil packet, pulls out the rubber, and rolls it onto himself. Then, he makes his way back to me on the bed, his erection bobbing along the way.

"So how do you want to do it?" he asks, standing at the edge of the bed.

"I think it's better if I'm on top. That way I have control and your weight won't be on top of me."

Kakashi nods his head in agreement, lays back down on the bed, holds himself in his hand to keep the condom in place, and waits for me.

This is the first time we'll actually be having intercourse since I moved in with him since my body needed time to heal. We had found other ways of satisfying each other, mainly through foreplay, handjobs, and oral sex, but this is the first time we'll be having actual sex.

I squat down over him, align his tip to my opening, and let him sink into me inch by slow inch. Once I have him completely inside, we both let out a pleasured moan. It's been such a long time since we've done this that I'm extra tight for him. I sit still on top of him for a moment, letting my body adjust and get used to his penetration. Then, I slowly lift myself up off of him so that only his tip remains inside, then quickly lower myself all the way back down. We both moan again from the pleasurable sensation the friction brings.

Wanting more of that wonderful feeling, I slowly raise myself up and bring myself back down again, and again, and again, to the point that I can feel the tension building up inside of me once more. I put my hands behind me so that I'm gripping onto his thighs, spread my own thighs wide open for him, and give him a clear view of his cock sliding in and out of me. Kakashi brings his hand to my exposed clit and quickly rubs the pads of his fingertips against it.

The combined sensation of him slowly sliding in and out of me and him quickly rubbing against my clit is too intense and I have to stop so that my inner muscles can contract and clamp down hard around him, shooting unbelievable pleasure throughout my body. When my inner muscles finally loosen around him and I come down from my high, I feel relief wash over me, like all the tension that had been building up had finally been released.

Kakashi gives me a minute to catch my breath, looking up at me in both triumph and awe at what he just made me do. I try to move again for him to let him have his turn, but I'm so exhausted that my entire body feels like jelly.

Probably seeing the exhaustion on my face, he places his hands under my butt cheeks to help me out and starts to move me up and down on top of him, making me go faster and faster, faster than I ever would've been able to on my own. I'm on the verge of being unable to take his insane pace any longer when his eyes squeeze tightly shut and he pumps me slower up and down on top of him, letting me milk him. Then, he pushes me down hard onto him one last time as he groans his release. He's pushed himself in so deep inside that it actually hurts a little.

I let out a moan of pain, but when it comes out, it sounds more like a moan of pleasure. That's another thing I've learned during our lovemaking: that when I let out a moan because what he's doing actually hurts, it oftentimes sounds more like a moan of pleasure, egging him on.

Kakashi swirls himself a last few times inside of me, then stills.

I collapse down on top of him, still straddling him with him still inside of me, and pillow my head against his chest.

We lay like that for awhile, sweat soaked, panting, and hearts racing.

"I want to stay like this forever." Kakashi says once our heart rates and breathing have somewhat returned to normal.

"Well, it's Saturday so we can stay like this all weekend if you want. It's not forever, but it's something at least."

"Sounds good to me." Kakashi says, lifting his head up from his pillow to kiss me on the top of the head before letting his head fall unceremoniously back down again. "Besides, if we went on for longer than that, I think you'd be the death of me," he says and then almost immediately starts lightly snoring.

I can't really blame him. I'm exhausted, too, and just as sex pumps our bodies up with adrenaline and endorphins to make us excited and euphoric respectively, it also pumps our bodies up with sedatives afterward, making us sleepy. So, resigning myself to the ways of nature, I also let my eyes slowly drift shut and, like Kakashi, fall back into restful, blissful sleep.

We never left the apartment at all that weekend. The on and off February rain made for a good excuse to stay inside all day, so we spent it making love, sleeping, and eating instead. And sometimes we even combined activities...and ended up using the entire bottle of chocolate syrup. Suffice it to say, it was the best Valentine's Day weekend ever!

To be continued...

~*~*~*~

Links:

- Valentine's Day in Asia:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_day#Asia

- White Day:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Day

- smiley face "Henohenomoheji" symbol:

leafninja.com/symbols.php

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! ^_^