The summer night was heavy with cricket songs and stifling heat, and the air blew in through the curtains on a gentle breeze. It passed the hand-carved wooden cradle to the bed, where it caught in pink strands of hair and lifted them gently before passing and leaving them to settle haphazardly on the pillow beneath. There, Sakura lay dormant, with her legs wrapped around the cotton blanket and her arms holding tightly to her chest a soft down pillow despite the heat of the summer. Her hair, still damp from her evening shower, lay fanned out behind her but for a thin strand that lay across her upturned cheek, onto her lips, and waved up and down with her breath. Her face glistened with sweat in the yellow light of the night lamp, yet her face was the image of peace.

The hem of her silken nightgown was rolled above her swollen belly hiding most of the cherry blossom embroideries in loose folds. Every now and then her belly would move, small bumps appearing and disappearing as if by magic, and every time this happened, her eyebrows would crinkle in a small frown.

She had planned to stay up until her lover returned from his mission, but had been lulled into deep sleep by the rhythmic hum of the ceiling fan and the cricket songs. The book she'd tried to use as a distraction from her growing exhaustion lay open on the floor beside the bed, the pages crinkled beneath it from the fall. Just off to the side, a dark round shape rose from the fluffy carpet, the top of it rising and falling with shallow, heat-induced breaths. Every now and then, a small, sleepy whimper would come from its direction, only to dissipate in the humid air.

The hours ticked by in the silence, and just before the clock hit midnight the door to the bedroom opened with a low creak, causing the curtains to fill like sails on a ship and the breeze to pick up like a blowing breath before dying back down. A figure now stood in the doorway, features hidden in the darkness. It leaned on the door frame and cocked its head to the side as it took in the sleeping pinkette.

With one step forward, Kakashi came into the lamplight, his face taken over by the gentlest of smiles at the sight of his beloved. The mask he held in his hand fell to the floor, followed shortly by weapon holsters and the heavy flak jacket that was part of the Konoha ninja uniform. The black sweater came next, falling on top of the sweat-soaked pile on the floor.

The bed sank behind Sakura as Kakashi climbed in on his side, which caused Sakura to stir in her sleep. Kakashi watched fondly as her chest rose with a deep sigh and her arms tightened around the pillow – Kakashi's pillow. He scooted closer to her and tucked a rogue strand of her pink hair behind her ear before leaning in and gently kissing her shoulder, then her neck, then the tip of her ear. Sakura moaned lightly under his kisses as they slowly brought her out of her sleep.

Slightly more awake now, she leaned her back into Kakashi as he looped his free arm around her pregnant belly and settled over the spot where their baby was currently pushing its elbow into its mother's side. The baby immediately settled and Sakura's eyes groggily fluttered open. She turned on her back, a heartfelt smile blooming on her

"I'm home…" His voice came in ragged in a mix of raw emotion and sleepless nights catching up, but for all the exhaustion weighing him down, she managed to bring his world into focus, now as she always had.

"You're…late…" The whisper escaped her lips shortly before one of her signature room-swallowing yawns and Kakashi smiled sheepishly under her green-eyed gaze.

"Ah yes, there was a black cat…"

"Kiss me."

Kakashi stopped mid-sentence, cocking his head at her as if he was sure he'd imagined it. "…What?"

"Kiss me, you fool of a man." This time, Sakura didn't wait for him to process her request, and instead hooked her hand around the back of his head and pulled him down to her lips in a kiss that was hungry and gentle and all things at once. It was this part of her that Kakashi loved most, the one that boldly took what was hers. It awoke inside him something he'd thought was long-lost, something he'd never thought anyone would ever notice, let alone love so fully.

He didn't need any more of an invitation, and so returned her kiss with fervor. He lost himself in her passion, in the way her soft lips moved against his, in the way that she clenched her hands in his hair and pulled him closer as he returned her kiss. All too soon, she pulled away and broke the kiss, leaving them both gasping for air.

"Welcome home."

Kakashi brought his hand up to her chin and ran his thumb over her lips. They were hot and slightly swollen from their kiss, and softer than anything he'd ever felt. It amazed him to think that his entire world lay cuddled in his arms, soft and warm and pink-haired.

He'd spent his entire life belonging to so many things: to Konoha as it's protector and teacher; to the world as a warrior; to ANBU as its pawn; For once in his life he got to choose whom he gave himself to, and he knew with his heart and his soul that she was the one. With her hands, she nurtured fragile life back to health, brought people back from the brink of death, healed hundreds all at once, and took down the common enemy of the ninja world with one hit. With her hands, she held his heart.

"Sakura?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you let me be yours forever?"