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Kakashi didn't think he'd ever start his own family.
Then again, there was a time when he didn't think he would live past twenty-five years old, truthfully. The longer he was in ANBU, the more he hoped that all it would take was for one dangerous mission to finally kill him off. Put him out of his misery. He couldn't bear to do it himself the same way his father did, but he was more than willing to die for his village. An honorable, noble death.
And yet…
He lived.
Kakashi never learned the reason behind the Third Hokage's decision to remove him from ANBU after being in it for over a decade, but in hindsight, perhaps leaving it was a good thing.
After all, leaving ANBU led him to become assigned leader of Team Seven.
To grow, heal, and make peace with the past. His father. Obito. Rin.
And eventually falling in love, long after the Fourth Shinobi World War was over.
Naturally, it wasn't easy for him at first. The slow realization that out of everyone in the world, everyone he knew, it had to be her. Sakura. His former student who he didn't acknowledge until later in life. He really was a terrible teacher, wasn't he?
Somewhere along the way, the line between them blurred. Crossed into something more. Something new. Something terrifying.
Something that he didn't deserve.
He didn't deserve to own Sakura's heart. Not like it was ever his to begin with anyway.
Still, there was only so much running away that Kakashi could do before Sakura—beautiful, strong, confident, stubborn Sakura—marched up to him, confessed, and gave him an ultimatum right in his office. The confession didn't entirely come off as a surprise for him. He wasn't blind to her lingering touches, the way she looked at him. He had his hunches. Neither was the ultimatum a shock; he supposed it was deserving given the number of times he fled to remind himself that he was her Hokage, and she was…she was Sakura. His subordinate.
Even though there were far more appropriate suitors for her that were closer to her in age—he could name a few off the top of his head—than someone like him who was much older than her, well, apparently, she wanted…him.
Him. Who kept people at arm's length. And was probably self-sabotaging his shot of happiness if he turned her down.
Although he didn't want to admit it, Kakashi was a selfish man. He didn't want to see her with anyone else. He had to live with his regrets once; he didn't want it to haunt him ever again.
So, they started dating in secret. It was on her terms until she was ready to reveal the truth to everyone.
In a village teeming with geniuses, it didn't take long for people to put two and two together.
It started with placing Sakura as his dedicated medic. As Hokage, he deserved the best and, out of everybody, she had the best touches. She knew his body intimately. Plus, she had been the one to heal him for so long that it was only natural she was selected for the role. Late appointments to discuss the hospital budget and protocols in his office. His walks which always happened to coincide with Sakura's lunch. Early morning training sessions where some people might have caught them in…questionable positions. With clothes on. Breathless.
The list went on and on.
And when he listed her as his emergency contact wife without thinking, leading to one very flustered, very worried Sakura to rush by his bedside after one particular incident…
Even back then, he knew that he was committed to her for the rest of his life.
There was no one else he wanted to sleep next to (despite her occasional kitten snores), wake up next to (even if she hogged the bed sheets), sexually frustrate, and annoy more than…well, her.
So, when she broke the news to him that she was pregnant—pregnant—with his child—twins—Kakashi's mind whirled with shock as he processed the news with several revelations all at once:
1) Logically, this was bound to happen.
2) He was going to be a father.
3) The Hatake line wasn't going to die with him after all. Not like he cared about it in the first place. He simply thought that it would end with him.
4) Sakura was having twins.
Kakashi could hardly believe it. He wanted to throw up.
He nearly proceeded to do just that as Sakura stroked his back in comfort. Equal parts excited yet terrified, he knew nothing about being a father, and the only people he thought of—the only people that he could have gone to about being a father and raising a child were all…dead.
He was used to being in charge of other people's lives and working alongside Sakura as a team, but this…this was different.
Now he and Sakura would be a team raising a child—no, two—together.
He remembered his ANBU days of watching outside by the window of Minato's house when Kushina was pregnant with Naruto. He had thought that having a family, a wife and kid, was something meant for other people. Not him.
While it didn't feel real, more like an abstract concept than anything, Kakashi was more than ready to make this work with Sakura and support her every step of the way.
They moved to the Hatake Estate located on the outskirts of the village where the land was lush and endless and overgrown. Thick layers of dust clung to every surface along with the ghost of long-forgotten memories. He hadn't been here in decades, not since he was a kid after he got his own apartment in the village. He told himself it was to be closer to the ANBU headquarters and the village itself, but in reality, he didn't want to be haunted by seeing his father's dead body on the kitchen floor.
But now that he had returned home, he was ready to make new memories here, together with Sakura and their babies.
The estate was still in good shape, untouched. Just needed a bit of tidying up. Yamato crafted two cribs for the nursery that Kakashi and Sakura had set up. As a shinobi, life was short and fleeting; Kakashi had to prepare for every possible outcome and variable. The lands that the Hatake clan owned dated back to when they first arrived in Konoha as peasant ninja farmers during the era of the First Hokage. In addition, he was careful with his money and had saved up a fairly comfortable sum over the years. In the unlikely event of his death, Sakura and their children would be well taken care of due to the minimum inheritance share set by statutory law based on family relations.
The reality didn't fully set in until Sakura's belly grew and grew. Eventually she went into labor nine months later and gave birth to twins. A boy and a girl. The boy had silver hair and bright green eyes. The girl had pink hair and dark gray eyes. Perfect combinations of him and Sakura.
And now here he was, holding their son in his arms. So small, so tiny. A sweet, mild-mannered boy—Takashi—who was blinking up at him slowly, suckling on a bottle of milk while Sakura was dozing in the living room. Their daughter was sleeping in her crib. The first few weeks postpartum had left Sakura exhausted and out of sorts; a hormonal wreck, as she put it.
Once the bottle was drained dry, Takashi let out a yawn and gave into sleep. Kakashi placed the container on top of the dresser and leaned down to place his son back in the crib, securing the green shuriken-printed blanket snugly over him.
"Good night," he whispered, his voice full of adoration, gaze sweeping over the two sleeping babies.
His heart swelled in his chest at the sight. Despite the years he had lost to grief and depression, it was possible to make a peaceful life for himself.
Mindful of the sleeping newborns, he silently retrieved the empty bottle and stepped out of the room to wash it at the kitchen sink before returning to the couch to join Sakura. She was awake, glancing up at him with half-lidded eyes and a tired smile as he settled beside her.
"Mm." She nuzzled into the crook of his neck. Shifting her legs across his lap, Kakashi began to massage her calves and feet.
"Did you have a nice nap?" he asked.
"I did." She yawned. "I had a dream."
"Oh? What was it about?"
Her face immediately flushed. She averted her gaze. "About you and me. I dreamed that we were getting married."
His eyes crinkled at the corners. "Ah, is that so? How did it go?"
"It was really nice. Everyone we cared about was there. Your ninken attended, dressed up in suits." Sakura laughed. "My parents were there, too."
"Sakura." He cupped her chin, steering her gaze to look directly at him. "Do you want us to get married?"
She sucked in a breath and nodded. "Yes, I do. It makes sense in the next step of our relationship, doesn't it? And I like the sound of Hatake Sakura. That way, instead of being your fake wife as your emergency contact, I can be your real wife."
"That is true." A smile tugged at the edges of his mouth. Dropping his hand from her face to her bare thigh, he hummed contentedly. "Hatake Sakura… it does sound nice."
He imagined her wearing the Hatake clan emblem—a sectioned out piece of farmland—on the back of her clothes, to replace the Haruno clan, symbolizing their union.
"When do you want to get married?"
"Let's see… I want to wait until the kids are a year old and when we're more settled in as parents. So, let's plan it for a year from now in April."
"Ah. During the cherry blossom season."
"Mm-hmm. It can be a private ceremony at a shrine. Nothing big or fancy. Just some family and friends."
"Hmm… seems like you've given this a lot of thought. It wouldn't be too difficult to get suits for the ninken, just like in your dream."
Sakura laughed again in sheer delight and gave him a playful smile. "So? What do you think?"
"Well, I'll do whatever you want."
She arched a brow and smirked. "Oh really?"
"Within reason," he added, pressing his lips to hers in a lingering kiss before she could make a sassy remark. He pulled back and cupped her face, sweeping a thumb over the curve of her cheeks. "As long as you're by my side, I'm happy, future Hatake Sakura."
