Kakashi stared at her blankly, waiting for the punch line. When Tsunade just stared right back at him, he chuckled, "You can't be serious."

Tsunade rolled her eyes, looking down at scrolls on her desk, "Of course, I'm serious. Mrs. Tachibana is a customer and this is her request."

"Tsunade-sama, we're a jounin team, why are you assigning this mission to us? Isn't there a genin team that would be better suited for this mission?" Kakashi tried again. He was not going to chase after a cat.

"They're all busy," Tsunade told him, glancing up at him, "Look, the village has a shortage of teams since the war. Can't you just do what your Hokage tells you to without whining?"

Kakashi sighed, but nodded, "Yes, Hokage-sama."

Sakura who had been silent through the whole briefing, stepped forward and took the mission scroll from Tsunade, "Thank you, shishou."

Tsunade nodded at her and Team Kakashi stepped out of the Hokage's office. Sakura started reading the scroll out loud when they had left the Hokage Tower. She chuckled when she saw Kakashi's expression, "Kakashi, why are you so upset?"

He looked at her incredulously, "You want to spend the day chasing after Tora the cat again?"

Sakura snorted, "Well, no, but come on. It's not going to take the whole day."

Kakashi sighed as they walked towards the forest to look for this damn cat, "We don't even have a whole team. Since the others are already out on their own missions, better missions."

Sakura laughed, "You think we need a whole team to catch a cat?"

Kakashi shrugged, which just made Sakura laugh again. He glanced down at her, grinning back up at him with her beautiful smile. He felt some of his agitation slip away and he smiled back at her. He bumped her shoulder with his, "Why are you in such a good mood?"

She shrugged and Kakashi could see a faint blush on her cheeks as she answered without looking at him, "We just haven't been on a mission together in a while."

Kakashi's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, "Sakura, we went on a mission last week."

Sakura cheeks reddened, "I meant just the two of us. I mean, I love Naruto and the guys, but it's nice when it's just us. You know, it's less loud, less frustrating. It's nice."

Just the two us. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. He liked how that sounded, the way the words tumbled out of Sakura's mouth as she fought down a blush. He wrapped an arm around he shoulders, "It is nice."

Sakura looked up at him slightly surprised, but she smiled and leaned into him. Then, he told her, "But I'm still captain."

Sakura laughed and rolled her eyes, "Okay, Kakashi-senpai."

It only took them an hour to find the cat, lounging lazily on a branch near Training Ground 3. Sakura had lunged for it, but it had gotten away from her. Kakashi had caught it as it was trying to get away and Sakura realized why Kakashi had been so reluctant to do this mission.

He held the cat away from him and told her, "Here, take it."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "Why can't you hold him?"

Kakashi glared at her, "Sakura. Please take the damn cat."

"Fine," Sakura rolled her eyes and took the black cat out of Kakashi's outstretched hands. The cat purred in her arms and she scratched behind his ears. "Mrs. Tachibana must not be torturing this one with ridiculous outfits. He's so much nicer than her other cats."

She looked over at Kakashi expecting him to be next to her and saw him feet away from her. He was pinching the bridge of his nose and glaring at Toro. "Kakashi, what's –"

Her question was cut off when Kakashi suddenly sneezed. Then, he sneezed again and again. Sakura couldn't help it when a laugh bubbled over her lips. Kakashi looked at her annoyed, but a second later and he was sneezing again.

"This is the real reason you didn't want to do this, isn't it?" she asked him.

"There's a reason –" another sneeze, "I have dogs, Sakura."

Sakura giggled, about to take pity on him and offer him some allergy medicine from her pouch, when Kakashi pulled down his mask. It wasn't the first time she had seen his face. But she still had only seen it a few times, and they almost all had been medical emergencies or accidents. And she was mesmerized as much as she was the first time. Kakashi really was beautiful, handsome from the bridge of his nose to his charming smile. Even now as his nose was turning red from all of his sneezing, she still thought he looked attractive.

Sakura tossed the medicine to Kakashi and waited for his allergy attack to calm down. When he finally pulled his mask back up, he suggest they take the damn cat back to his owner. Sakura laughed when they started walking and Kakashi strayed behind her a few paces.

She looked over her shoulder at him as Tora nuzzled into her neck, "Something the matter, Kakashi-senpai?"

Kakashi glared at her, but really it just looked like he was pouting. Sakura chuckled and turned back to the road. They continued walking for a while and finally gave Tora back to Mrs. Tachibana. Sakura walked over to when Kakashi had been waiting a few dozen feet from Mrs. Tachibana's house. Kakashi stepped away from her and Sakura raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"You're covered in cat hair," he told her, taking another step away from her.

Sakura laughed when she stepped towards him and he walked backwards with his hands up, "Sakura."

She smiled coyly at him and reached towards him. Kakashi looked at her with wide eyes, still keeping his distance, "Do you want me to die?"

"Oh, come on, Kakashi, you're not going to die," Sakura rolled her eyes and took another step.

"Sakura –" but Kakashi's plea was cut off when Sakura reached him and tugged down his mask. She kissed him on the lips, not caring that they were on the edge of the village and anyone could see them. Kakashi was still beneath her lips for a moment and when she about to pull away embarrassed, he kissed her back. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, his other hand coming up to hold her face.

Sakura's hand released the grip they had on his flask jacket and started to travel up to his hair, when Kakashi pulled away from her. She frowned, "Kakashi –"

And then he turned his head to the side and sneezed. Sakura laughed and stepped out of his arms. Kakashi sneezed a few more times and then looked over at Sakura, who was chuckling behind her hand. He sighed, glancing at Sakura's red lips, "Damn cat."

Sakura leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek, then walked away from him, "I'll go home and take a shower. Then, you can take me out for dinner?"

Kakashi nodded with a smile and Sakura turned away from and began walking towards her apartment. Kakashi stared after her and sneezed again. He groaned as Sakura smiled at him over her shoulder, before turning out of his sight, "Damn cat."