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Another branch and Kakashi moved further, scanning the area as best as he could without his sharingan. He hadn’t felt the loss of it that greatly over the years, but there were times when he was reminded how easily he could solve some problems if he still had it. Like now.
His foot got caught in a branch with his next step and he almost fell to the ground. He paused and tried to slow his breathing, to clear his mind. He tried to ignore his rising panic the best he could, but he couldn’t help but worry. Sakura had just been out scouting the area for their mission and was supposed to return to their inn hours ago. Kakashi had only been able to wait for her two hours after she said she’d be back, before he went looking for her.
Another hour passed and Shiba apparated beside him. “Akino found her, Boss. She’s alright.”
Kakashi sighed in relief and followed Shiba until they finally dropped to the ground. Sakura was sitting against a tree trunk, breathing heavily with her face buried in Akino’s fur as she clutched at him. Kakashi heard Akino mumble as his foot touched the ground, “Boss’ll be here soon, Sakura-chan.”
Sakura’s head snapped up when she heard him land and Kakashi watched as her hard gaze relaxed at the sight of him. She gave him a strained smile. “Kakashi. Fancy running into you out here. Out for an evening stroll?”
“Funny.” Kakashi huffed and went to kneel beside her, looking her over. “What happened? You were supposed to be back hours ago.”
He gently prodded at the leg she had laid out at an on odd angle and she gasped in pain. He moved his hand away and met her eyes. “Sakura.”
She swallowed thickly and a couple tears escaped her eyes. She jerked her head to a nearby bush where Kakashi could now see where a dead body had been moved towards. “Rogue nins. I don’t know if “ – She took a couple breaths, glancing at her leg with a scowl – “they have anything to do with why we’re here but they were more skilled than random bandits.”
Kakashi was still dealing with the fear that he wouldn’t find her, and his panic clouded his mind. He sounded far from kind when he said, “You should’ve sent for me. Katsuyu or – “
“You don’t think I wanted to?” Sakura interrupted him with a glare. She shook her head. “There were so many, Kakashi. I couldn’t – I could barely catch my breath let alone do a summoning. I’d barely finished that asshole off before Akino found me.”
Kakashi sighed and turned to Akino and Shiba. “Scout the area. See how many are left. Do not engage unless necessary. Report back to me soon.”
They nodded before bounding off and leaving him and Sakura alone. Kakashi gestured to her leg and asked her softer than before, “Is it broken?”
Sakura nodded and leaned her head back against the tree closing her eyes. “I’m low on chakra. It would be pointless to start to mend it without being able to finish.”
Kakashi moved to help her stand up, wrapping an arm around her torso and lifting her up. Her hands gripped at him tightly and she muffled a whimper into his shoulder.
“I’m going to have to carry you on my back,” he told her as he bent his knees so she could climb on. But it was more like she fell forward in exhaustion and left it to him to adjust her as he wished. She used her remaining strength to lock her arms around his neck and hook her good leg around his front.
She felt cold as she buried her face against his neck and Kakashi picked up his pace back to the village. She was quiet for a while until he heard her say quietly, “Thank you for looking for me.”
“I was worried.” He’d searched for her for what seemed like hours, but he felt more mentally exhausted than physically. Maybe it was his old age getting the best of him or maybe being Hokage and off the mission roster for so long had made him inexperienced. But he hadn’t been able to clear his mind today like he used to. He hadn’t been able to shove his emotions into a box to pick at later. The thought of him not finding her had ran in his mind on repeat.
Sakura tightened her grip on him. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m relieved you’re okay.”
Sakura didn’t reply and was quiet the rest of the way. The boys reported back to him that the enemy nin had retreated far enough that they couldn’t find them. They must’ve known to cover their scents which didn’t bode well for the future, but Kakashi was preoccupied with present circumstances.
It was more than a little difficult to sneak back into their inn under the aliases with Sakura so clearly injured but they managed to do so without being seen. Kakashi laid her on the bed and helped her out of her clothes until she was down to her spandex and bindings. She didn’t argue too much as she helped her clean up and stitch up random cuts across her skin. For the time being, they wrapped her leg as tightly as they could.
“I’ll send for a team to replace us.” Kakashi got up from her bed and went over to his pack for paper.
“Don’t. They’d have to start all over, and we’ll lose all the ground we’ve covered.”
Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose before turning back around. “Sakura, your leg is broken and you’re low on chakra. We need to be relieved.”
Sakura – quickly becoming the most stubborn woman he’s met – argued with a shake of her head. “Give me a night’s rest and my chakra will replenish. I can heal my leg in the morning.”
“Sakura – “
“Kakashi, I know you’re worried.” Sakura interrupted him with a gentle look. “But I’ll be fine. I’m a professional. I wouldn’t risk the mission for my pride. I don’t need to be relieved, though.”
Kakashi stared at her for a moment, weighing his decision and ultimately sighed. “Fine.”
Sakura nodded and pulled the covers carefully over her before turning into her pillow with a mumbled, “Good night, Kakashi.”
“Good night, Sakura.” Kakashi flicked the lights off and stopped by Sakura’s bed on the way to his own. She was already out like a light and Kakashi wondered how long she had kept up that fight before he found her. He tugged the blankets over her better but didn’t immediately move back to his bed.
Without thinking, he reached out to brush her hair out of her face and noticed the tear streaks that were dried on her face. His heart was heavy, and he wished he had wiped her face down earlier. He thought back to earlier and how she had clung to him as he carried her. He had the random thought to climb into the bed with her and hold her close.
He shook his head as it crossed his mind. That’s ridiculous. Kakashi had rarely been physically affectionate with anyone and Sakura hadn’t been any exception to that. It was just a bad defense mechanism he’d had as a child that he still struggled to shake off. At this point in his life, he worried he wouldn’t even be able to do it right.
Kakashi turned to his own bed and slipped under the blankets. He glanced over at Sakura, her back to him, his eyes lingering on her shoulders and the way she curled into herself. He wondered if she was as cold as earlier. It made him remember how she leaned into him the past winter whenever they were walking, her hands buried in her coat. It would’ve been so easy to reach out for her and pull her close, but he hadn’t. He wished he had.
Sakura being close had become a comfort to him, having her by his side, her support. They’d grown closer over the last couple of years after he’d resigned as Hokage. Though they’d always kept up with each other since the war, they hadn’t been as close as they are now. With Naruto off the roster and him back on it, they started going on missions together again and became better friends. She’d become one of his closest friends. It sometimes made him forget she was his student over ten years ago.
He probably spent more time with her than he did anyone else. Wanting to hold her felt out of the blue but it really wasn’t. He’d found himself wanting to reach out for her more over the past year but had held himself back. Like walking down dimly lit streets in the bleak of winter. His left side warm from where she leaned against him, laughing with him with rosy cheeks and a pink nose to match her hair…
He turned on his back and closed his eyes, trying to think of something else. His mind brought him back to earlier today. The image of her gripping on to Akino for strength as she tried to bear through the pain. Waiting for him to come for her. How relieved he’d been to find her and have her weight on his back.
Kakashi let out a sigh as some things started to stitch together.
Fuck.
***
“Funny I never pictured you as a Hokage who slacks off.” Kakashi lightly kicked Naruto’s foot, wondering if he was asleep under the Hokage hat placed over his face.
Naruto moved the hat off his face with a smile and placed it on the ground beside him. “I don’t think there will ever be a Hokage who doesn’t need a break every once in a while.”
Kakashi chuckled and moved to lay down beside him on the grass. “Think I’ll have to agree with that.”
“You know Shikamaru always likes to come out here and watch the clouds, says it helps him relax. But I don’t get it, it just makes me think more.”
“Everyone has their methods.”
Naruto shrugged. “Someone told me to try to just focus on my breathing and I think I like it. The hat helps.”
“Whatever works,” Kakashi replied and they went into a comfortable silence.
Kakashi glanced over at him after a while and tugged on his hair. “You’re starting to look like your father.”
Naruto turned to him with a cheeky grin. “Yeah? Think it suits me?”
Kakashi chuckled at his excitement. “If you like it, Naruto.”
“I’ll think about it.” After a pause, he asked, “Was there something you needed, Kakashi? Seems like you came looking for me.”
Kakashi shifted against the grass, deciding to hell with it. “Have you ever thought about seeing someone… older?”
Naruto thought for a moment. “Not really, but I don’t think I’d be opposed to it.” He glanced at Kakashi with a sly grin. “Why? Thirsting after Granny Tsunade?”
Kakashi rolled his eyes with a light laugh. “No.”
Naruto chuckled and then said more seriously, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. At the end of the day, we’re all shinobi and not many of us get the pleasure of dying in our beds. I think we should get to live however we want, be with whoever makes us happy.”
Kakashi didn’t reply, mulling it over. It was sound reasoning. Naruto had always been one to get to the heart of things, never doubted his own feelings about something. He had more empathy than most people he had met. It was why Kakashi liked to seek him out for conversations like this.
“There will be assholes who don’t agree, but it’s your life, Kakashi.”
“Thank you, Naruto.” Kakashi got to his feet and went to leave when Naruto’s voice caught him.
“If anyone gives you or Sakura any trouble, I will gladly kick their ass.” He had his eyes closed but opened them to wink at Kakashi when he turned back to him.
Of course, he knew.
“Not very fitting for a Hokage, Naruto-sama,” Kakashi teased him with a smile.
Naruto shrugged and closed his eyes again. “There are ways around everything, Kakashi-sensei.”
***
Kakashi hadn’t decided anything yet. He was a little surer but hadn’t done anything about it. Life went on.
Sakura appeared at his door a few days later. No smiles, just a jerk of her head and a request. “Let’s go for a spar.”
Kakashi recognized the hardness in her eyes, having been through the routine enough. He simply nodded without question and followed her to a training ground.
Kakashi would’ve gotten more sleep if he knew it was going to be one of those days, but it wasn’t like it was something he could plan for. Sakura was relentless. They fought for hours. The only sounds were the cracking of the ground beneath them, their panting, and whenever they came into contact. It was times like this that Kakashi was reminded how powerful Sakura had become over the years. He dodged as much blows as he could and dealt his own, but she eventually got the better of him with a swift kick to the stomach that sent him to the ground.
She was leaning over him in a second with her first inches from his face and then it struck the ground beside his head. There was no resounding crack, so she must’ve not used any chakra and Kakashi worried she might’ve broken her hand. But he knew it wasn’t the reason she rolled over and buried her face in her knees. He’d been here enough times.
He was still breathless from their spar as he nudged her up and towards the lines of trees. “Come on, Sakura-chan. The shade will feel a lot better.”
She flopped down against a tree and went to the same position. Kakashi sat beside her, his heart aching as her shoulders shook. He kept his distance though, not wanting to overwhelm her. Kakashi had always felt suffocated when people tried to hold him when he cried as a child, so he didn’t do that to his loved ones. Though looking at her now, he wondered if he had been wrong in doing that. He’d always stayed with her and talked her through it, but maybe she had been wanting more and didn’t know how to ask. He felt the same want to reach out for her and hold her as he did a month ago on their last mission.
This time he decided to act on it.
He hesitantly reached out for her vest and grabbed it, pulling her towards him. Sakura went more willing than he expected and Kakashi instantly felt guilty for never holding her like this. He wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his chest, her hands clutched at the fabric of his clothes. He leaned his head against hers and they sat like that in silence until Sakura’s crying slowed to a stop.
“Who was it today?” Kakashi asked her softly. Most of the time, she wanted to talk about it. Other times, she’d shake her head and they’d drift back into the quiet until they got hungry enough to leave.
“Hara Jun. Eight. Civilian.”
Kakashi tightened his arms around her in response, closing his eyes. He swallowed back a lump in his throat. “How?”
She chuckled humorlessly and shrugged. “He was just playing with his friends at the park. They decided to play tag. He ran down the stairs and tripped.” She shook her head, turning more into his chest. “There was too much blood loss by the time he got to me. I couldn’t… I couldn’t do anything.”
“That’s not your fault,” Kakashi reminded her.
She nodded and replied quietly, “I know.”
She didn’t offer anything else and they went back to their comfortable silence. After a while, he dragged her up and they grabbed a bite to eat before he walked her home. She gave him a thankful smile after saying goodnight and closing the door.
Kakashi walked to his apartment, hundreds of thoughts swirling through his head. He sighed as he looked up at the full moon, thinking back to Sakura laying against him. He could still smell a faint trace of her tears in his clothes and the phantom tickling of her hair against his chin. She’d seemed so comfortable with him.
He supposed if he was going to be in love with her, then he might as well act like it.
***
“Do you want to join me for a walk?” Kakashi asked her bluntly – probably out of nerves – as soon as she opened the door.
Sakura looked at him taken aback. “A walk?”
Kakashi shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets. “Isn’t it a nice morning for a walk?”
It wasn’t. It was cold and the wind was starting to pick up with clouds blanketing the sky. But he’d been missing her all week since she’d been stuck at the hospital while Shizune went on a mission.
Sakura glanced behind him and bit back a smile. “Sure, Kakashi. Give me a second to put something warmer on.”
She joined him a couple minutes later and he led her down a path by the training grounds. She leaned into him as they talked, mindless chatter about the hospital, a good book, or whatever they could think of. He shouldn’t feel as nervous as he did reaching out to wrap an arm around her to pull her closer. He’d held in her in his arms not too long ago, but something told him this was different. That it said something clearer.
He heard the short pause in her story as he did so but then she went on like nothing was out of the ordinary. She slipped an arm around his waist and he felt himself relax. He spared a glance at her and noticed the light dusting of pink across her cheeks. He couldn’t help but smile behind his mask.
After she finished her story, she looked up at him beneath her eyelashes. “Was there… something you wanted to talk about, Kakashi?”
Yes.
“Not really.” Kakashi shrugged. “I think I just missed you.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder. “I think I missed you too.”
He chuckled and she told him quietly, “Though you know, next time, we can probably just stay in if it’s this cold.”
“Am I not doing a good job of keeping you warm, Sakura-chan?” He teased her.
She squeezed at his hip. “You are.”
***
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you,” Sakura told him from her place at the table as she flicked through one of his books – one of the not pervy ones – as he stood at the stove with his back to her. He was cooking her buttered noodles with nothing else just how she liked it. He thought it left something to be desired but if she liked it he didn’t mind cooking it. “But I think I like it.”
“Mah, is it really so strange to want to cook for a beautiful woman?” He could practically hear her eye rolling behind his back. He’d been telling her stuff like that more often lately. She didn’t seem to mind – probably thinking he was joking – so he hadn’t stopped. She always had a faint blush and laughed it off, teasing him about trying to be smooth.
“Careful, Kakashi,” she warned him in a sing-song voice, “if you keep this up, I might think you’re trying to seduce me.”
His palms were clammy as he grabbed the wooden spoon again – even though he had just stirred the noodles – and replied, “What if I was?” Kakashi kept his eyes resolutely on the pot in front of him as it took Sakura a second too long to respond.
“Well then, don’t forgot my favorite treat is dango.”
He looked over his shoulder at her to see a warm smile and a knowing look. Kakashi chuckled, his chest lighter. “How could I? Tabachi-san at the dango stand probably sees you more than Ichiraku sees Naruto.”
A book bounced off his head not a second later.
***
Sakura looked at the plate of dango on her desk and then back to Kakashi, clearly fighting back a laugh. “You don’t even like sweets.”
Kakashi shrugged as he leaned against the corner of her desk. This was the most blatant he’d been since he started all of this, whatever this was. After last night’s conversation, he didn’t think Sakura wouldn’t have any doubt about his intentions towards her. He picked one of the balls off the plate and popped it into his mouth, his heart picking up the pace as he smiled at her. “They’re not too bad. Besides you like them.”
She rolled her eyes at him but had a smile on her face as she grabbed a stick. “Do you want to grab dinner after I get off?”
***
“Kakashi, can I ask you something?” Sakura looked over at him hesitantly as they walked down the street.
“Hmm?”
“Do you… have civilian clothes?”
He hadn’t expected the question and answered unsurely, “No?”
Sakura looked at him incredulously, but still not very surprised. Not many people had noticed that about him, and he had liked it that way, ignoring how it was probably unhealthy – like he was sure Sakura was about to point out. Gai had pointed it out before but hadn’t berated him about it. He rarely was out of his uniform, too, but Kakashi didn’t think that was a good defense for him with Sakura. Kakashi tried to defend himself. “Well, I have a couple outfits I guess, but they’re for missions.”
Sakura raised an eyebrow at him. “For missions? What about just going out? You have noticed how most shinobi own casual clothes, haven’t you?”
“I dress casually when we go out.”
“You take off your vest and headband. That is not dressing casually, Kakashi.”
Kakashi wrapped an arm around her waist in and in an effort to distract her said, “Mah, Sakura-chan, I wasn’t aware you didn’t like how I looked in my uniform.”
“I do – “
“Do you not think I’m attractive?” Kakashi bit his lip to keep from smiling under his mask as Sakura began to look more flustered. She didn’t embarrass easily, and he didn’t think she was now. But she had started blushing more the past few weeks. He guessed she was coming to terms that he hadn’t ever been joking with her – not that it kept the eye rolls and laughter at bay when he wasn’t as smooth as he thought he was.
“Yes, but Kakashi – “
“Mah, maybe my clothes are too baggy? Should I start buying smaller shirts, Sakura-chan?”
Sakura’s blush was beginning to spread to her neck and Kakashi made a silent vow to tease her more often.
“Kakashi! I know what you’re doing, and you are not going to distract me.” She smacked him in the chest.
“Does the thought of me – “
“Why don’t you like wearing civilian clothes, Kakashi?” Sakura interrupted him mid-sentence and he sighed watching her blush fade.
He was quiet for a moment, trying to put his thoughts together. It had been the way he lived for so long that he hadn’t questioned it in years. “I suppose… I would feel uncomfortable in them.”
“Why?”
He loved the way she softened her voice.
“When I was a kid, I wore them. But then, at some point I stopped. I didn’t… I didn’t really see myself outside of a tool and I treated myself as such.” There was probably more to it. His reputation as the Copy Nin that he had mixed feelings about. Changing aspects himself, even if for the better, after so long was daunting to say the least. Old dogs could learn new tricks, but no one ever pointed out it was more difficult for them.
Sakura’s eyes were steely when she met his and assured him, “You are not a tool, Kakashi.”
“I know,” he forced out. It was something he was still learning, but he’d get there eventually.
Sakura sighed and wrapped her arm around his, then asked what he was wanting to do for dinner. Kakashi wasn’t foolish enough to think the subject was really dropped, but went along with it.
***
Kakashi woke up in the morning to find a black sweater neatly folded on his desk. A note laid on top of it.
Love,
A Dango Addict
Kakashi snorted and ran his fingers across the fabric. It was probably the softest thing he owned.
The next time they had plans, Kakashi wore it without commenting on it. The soft look Sakura gave him when she saw him made his heart melt.
“Well, you look awfully comfortable, Kakashi.”
Kakashi glanced down at his sweater. “Oh, this? Some mysterious stalker left it for me inside my apartment.”
She raised an eyebrow at him, biting back a smile. “A stalker?”
He let out a deep sigh. “Yes. I worried what they would do if I didn’t wear it so here we are.”
Sakura turned her head to hide a laugh. “How troublesome.”
Kakashi laughed, putting an arm around her and leading her to the restaurant they were going to. “Mah, it’s not too bad.”
***
Kakashi came home one night to find Sakura cooking in his kitchen.
He looked around confused, spotting candles lit around the room and hearing the soft lull of a record underneath the sounds of frying food. He turned the corner to find Sakura standing at his stove with a red dress and apron on, humming along to a song.
Kakashi’s heart skipped and he looked back to his front door, contemplating if he had walked into a genjutsu.
“Sakura?”
At the sound of his voice, she snapped out of her focus on the food and music and turned to him with a smile. “Oh, Kakashi! I didn’t hear you come in. Welcome home.”
Kakashi let out a nervous chuckle and walked towards her. “Sakura, what… are you doing?”
“Well, the slow buildup has been lovely, Kakashi, really.” Sakura glanced back at the food as she jerked the pan, then turned back to him with a cheeky smile. “But I thought it was my turn at this whole seduction thing.”
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her, smiling behind his mask, as he stepped towards her and closed the distance. He leaned his hip against the counter beside her. “You’re seducing me?”
Sakura looked up at him and bit her lip. He could see the concealed nervousness in her eyes. Her voice was soft, but still had a lick of sass to it. “Do you have a problem with that?”
“Not at all.”
He watched as she relaxed and then leaned towards him. She whispered near his ear, “Then, go sit down at the table.”
Kakashi did as he was told with electricity running up and down his spine. He watched her cook for a minute, back to her humming. He glanced around the room again seeing how much thought she had put into everything; it warmed his heart. His eyes landed on the now dust free record player placed neatly on a counter. He was surprised she had managed to find his box of records – or maybe she had brought some of her own. Either way the record player hadn’t been used in years. He was rarely home enough to enjoy it. But he could see himself using it a lot more if he had this kind of a reason to be home.
His attention eventually went back to the beautiful woman cooking at his stove, his eyes tracing over the intricate lace pattern of her dress and how it showed off her curves. He thought he’d even seen a hint of makeup on her face earlier. He wished he’d had the courage to put on something like this for her.
They had time. He silently promised he’d try to do more for her in the future.
“Sakura.” Kakashi stood up from the table. “I’m going to change. I’ll be right back.”
She looked over her shoulder at him. “Oh, Kakashi, you don’t have to – “
“I want to.” Kakashi put his hand on her arm, red blossoming in her cheeks to match her dress as he met her eyes with a smile. “Maybe I’ll go put on one of those shirts my mysterious stalker gave me.”
***
Their conversation was light over dinner, even though they both could feel something in the air. Something tingling and running across their skin, electrifying their nerves.
Kakashi eventually poked at it when he told her, “I didn’t realize you were such a romantic.”
Sakura chuckled and pointed her glass at him before taking a sip. “And I thought you’d be more of one.”
He knew she’d meant it teasingly, but he felt that regret from earlier that he hadn’t done this kind of thing for her. “I’m sorry, Sakura.” He gave her small smile and gestured at the table. “This is all still kind of new to me.”
“Oh, Kakashi, no.” Sakura reached across the table and grabbed his hand. “That’s not what I meant. I don’t – I don’t need you to do all of this for me. I just thought it would be fun to do for you.” She brought his hand up to her lips and gave him that cheeky smile again. “I’ve been very happy with your seduction techniques.”
Kakashi rolled his eyes at her, his heart doing a staccato rhythm in his chest. He grinned back at her. “I thought I wasn’t as smooth as I thought I was.”
She took another drink with a shrug. “Oh, you’re not.”
Kakashi laughed and intertwined their fingers.
***
“I had no idea you had so many records!”
Sakura was sprawled out on the floor in front of a crate of records as she looked through them. Kakashi had his back to the couch, content to watch her switch record after record before a whole song could even finish.
They’d moved to the living room after dinner, bringing the record player with them since they were enjoying the music. Sakura told him that she had looked for his records but hadn’t been able to find them and since she’d already cleaned up the record player, she ran and borrowed a couple from Ino. Kakashi had found them hidden behind a pile of blankets under his bed.
“I haven’t listened to them in years.”
“Oh, I love this album! I used to play it all the time when I was little. It was my grandma’s.” Sakura sat up, putting the record on and then leaning back into Kakashi’s chest.
“Way to make me feel old, Sakura-chan,” Kakashi pouted at her, making her laugh and hit his arm.
“Oh, shut up. Your father probably bought this. Even my grandmother said she got it when she was a teenager.”
Kakashi reached around her for the cover and rested his chin on her shoulder as he read the title. “I think you’re right. I don’t remember buying this one.”
He leaned back against the couch and Sakura followed, laying between his legs and against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she placed her hands over his. With the soft music playing and her against him, he didn’t think he had ever felt so content.
After a while, he asked her, “How did you know my shirt size?”
Sakura snorted. “Kakashi, I’ve known your shirt size for years. Along with pants and shoes. Even where to buy your masks from.”
“Stalker.”
She laughed and elbowed him, making him chuckle. He sighed. “You’ve always been taking care of me, haven’t you?”
“I’ve always tried. When you’ve let me.” Kakashi winced, hoping he’s gotten better at not keeping his loved ones at a distance.
“I… hope I’ve been taking care of you just as much,” Kakashi admitted resting his forehead on her shoulder.
“You have.” He could hear the gentle smile in her voice as she told him quietly, “It’s why I’ve fallen in love with you.”
Kakashi felt like his airways had closed as he tensed up. Sakura must’ve felt it because she started stroking her thumb across his skin. “You’ve been there for me, Kakashi. For whatever I needed. A shoulder to cry on, someone to spar with, someone to make me laugh. I’ve become so… comforted by your presence over these past few years. When I’m with you, it’s like I can finally relax because I know you can handle me. I know you have my back.”
“Sakura – “
“I’ve always longed for you, Kakashi. It just took me some time to figure out why.”
He picked his head up and she turned her head to meet his eyes. His throat felt rough when he told her, “I love you. So much. I… am sorry it took me so long to get the courage to accept it and do something about it.”
She smiled, and her hand came up to hold his face. “I think we’re both guilty of that.”
“I don’t want to mess this up,” he admitted as she pulled down his mask.
She shrugged with a small laugh. “Me neither.”
Kakashi smiled and figured that was a good enough response. He leaned forward to kiss her as the record player hummed out its last song.