A/N: Hello! I was recently reading some fanfics of Naruto and I just had a sudden urge to write a oneshot! It just happened! It's just a cute piece on Sakura and Kakashi's relationship with each other and where they stand. Hopefully you guys like it!

When the World Stopped

Team 7 had disbanded years ago, but all of the members still felt a special connection to one another. They always spent holidays together, they trained together regularly and they often made regular visits, just because. They were pretty inseparable. Their relationship and bond was strong. But unbeknownst even to them, it was going to change, for better or for worse.

"I want ramen!" Naruto whined as they walked from the training grounds. He had decided this morning that he was to have Ramen for lunch, and he wasn't about to abandon that commitment.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and ignored the blonde for the moment. Being older, unsurprisingly didn't improve his social skills.

Naruto pumped his fist in the air with new determination, "I'll race you all to the closest restaurant! I bet I can beat you Sasuke-CHAN!"

Sasuke twitched at the emphasized 'chan' and glared at Naruto, "You're on!"

"GO! C'mon Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled as he took off running along the dirt path, Sasuke slightly ahead of him.

Kakashi shook his head and ran a hand through his untamed silver hair. He looked from his Icha Icha Paradise, to his side. "Aren't you going ahead?"

The pink haired Kunoichi at Kakashi's side looked up and shook her head, "You serious Kakashi-sensei? I thought you would know me by now!" Sakura in her earlier years, would have gone after Sasuke, but she had realized that it wasn't what she really wanted. A girl could only go through so much rejection. Besides, she found she was a lot closer to someone else, even when it wasn't on purpose.

Kakashi gave a short laugh, "Of course I do my little Sakura-chan!" Kakashi laughed. He would have stuck his tongue out, but his mask was blocking the way.

"You know, you can stop calling me that now! 'Chan' just doesn't bode well now, ya know." Sakura said giving him a small smile and a shrug.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "What should I call you then?" He was amused yet still taken aback at her sudden need for a change. Maybe, she was growing up.

"Just, Sakura." The girl grinned, feeling extremely proud of herself for some strange reason. Kakashi always had that effect on her, she almost felt superhuman.

You could the see the corners of Kakashi's eyes twitch upward, he was smiling. "Well, then you can't call me Kakashi-sensei anymore. It makes me feel old." He said truthfully.

"Old? Really, I've never pictured you as old for some reason." Sakura mumbled while thinking "Anyway, I think just Kakashi is better anyway. Not that I don't love calling you sensei!"

Kakashi cut her off with a laugh, "You're so full of it Sakura." He couldn't help but try and hide a smile, although the mask wasn't helping much. Sakura always seemed to make Kakashi smile, even when the worst was about to happen.

"You know, I'm not really that hungry right now. They won't miss us." Sakura said tugging on Kakashi's hand. She detoured and pulled him along until they reached the familiar Konoha bridge. The Sakura trees on the sides mixed with the breeze blew pink petals around them. She hopped up on the bridge railing and took in a deep breath.

Kakashi leaned on the railing next to her and started to read the book that was still between his thumb and index knuckle.

"We've come a long way Kakashi." Sakura sighed, looking up into the sky at the cotton textured clouds, then over at kakashi. She watched the man next to her with soft green eyes. She looked away quickly as he met her gaze. There was just something that made her face flush and the insides of her collapse, when he stared at her like that. She felt her face getting hot and she looked down into the water.

Kakashi found it cute that she always seemed to look away as soon as his eyes met her's. He gave an absentminded nod as he realized, he was now looking at a young woman, no longer a girl of fourteen years. He hadn't missed a second, yet he still felt he missed everything. Each one of them had missions apart, but they rushed through them to get back to each other sooner. Sometimes they were even careless, well not Kakashi of course.

Sakura looked back at Kakashi and smiled, a silly grin plastered on her face. She gave a little giggle, not being able to control herself.

"What? Why are you smiling?" Kakashi asked, confused. He adjusted his headband to make sure it was over his eye and he tugged his mask upward, to make sure it was snug. He fumbled around with other articles of clothing and looked back at her. Sakura's Cheshire cat grin still adorned her face, "What!"

"Nothing!" Sakura said, biting her lower lip. "I don't know! I just- You make me smile!" She hit Kakashi on the arm trying to look angry and not laugh. "Stop it." She had a really hard time trying to control her laughter.

Kakashi shrugged, trying to hide his own smile beneath his mask. He knew Sakura could see it in his eye though, she always could. They would play games where she would guess what he was thinking by watching his eye. Sakura convinced him to use his sharigan eye in the game as well once, he'd never do it again though. She was so hypnotized by it she passed out and he couldn't wake her for two days. She kept muttering crazy stuff like chocolate and roses, but he would keep that a secret.

Sakura moved over on the railing behind Kakashi. She moved her hands to play with his silver strands of hair. It had become one of her favorite things to do over the last couple years. She found it extremely relaxing, and good for when she needed to get her thoughts out. "If I fell off this rail…would you catch me?"

Kakashi was surprised by the question, but he knew she was smart enough not to try anything stupid. "You can hold your own." He shrugged it off, but inside he was smirking.

Sakura hit him on the head, "Nice to know you care." She rolled her eyes and continued to play with his hair.

"But I do care." Kakashi stated plainly. If Sakura ever questioned their bond, he would let her know the truth…someday. The truth was that he cared about her more than anyone else. She was special to him and she should know that. Kakashi just didn't have enough courage to really tell her, knowing that she most likely didn't feel the same way. She was his junior by 14 years, another reason he should be quiet. But hey, anything's possible.

Sakura smiled at his response and stopped playing with his hair. She moved back to her original spot on the railing next to Kakashi, "Kakashi…why don't you ever ask us how much we care?" She tilted her head waiting for a response from her former teacher, ally and friend.

Kakashi looked away from his favorite book and up at Sakura. His face was expressionless, but not cold. It was like the game they always played, just them two.

Sakura watched his eyes carefully but couldn't figure it out. She leaned in closer to his face to make sure she didn't miss anything. Nope, nothing. "I don't know this time, tell me."

"I don't need to ask, I see it on your face every time I look at it. I can't say why you care, but you do." He gave a little wink that made him look like he was blinking. Sometimes he cursed his headband for not letting him show off.

"I can tell you why, if you want to know." Sakura whispered, her face still close to his.

Kakashi was curious, but also felt a strong urge to kiss her. It was so wrong, but their faces were so close…almost ther-

"I'll tell you anyway." Sakura said, breaking him out of his thoughts. "When you're happy, it makes me happy. When you're sad or depressed, I feel a need to make you happy again, even…when I know I can't. You make me feel safe, all the time. I could be facing 100 ANBU, but I would still feel untouchable if you were next to me. I care, because I don't care about what anyone else says. I care because I love you." Sakura gave a small smile and kissed the fabric of his mask that covered his lips. She jumped down from her spot on the rail and turned to leave.

'What the hell just happened?' Kakashi was wide eyed when the girl he had known since she was 12 years of age, kissed him. On instinct, Kakashi grabbed her hand to prevent her from leaving him. He knew he should be thinking about what just happened, but he really didn't care. He watched as Sakura's confused face peeked over her shoulder.

A million things were running through Sakura's mind when Kakashi held her back. 'Why did you do that! What's wrong with you! He's your old teacher! Now he's going to hate you forever! Nice job idiot!' Sakura was even more confused when she was gently pulled backward and had to turn around so she wouldn't run into him. She stopped when she noticed the smile underneath his mask. The corner of his eye was giving it away again.

Kakashi took her other hand in his hand and placed her fingertips on the edge of his mask. He didn't need to say anything, he knew that she would understand.

Sakura took a sharp intake of breath, finally, she would get to see what he had always hid. She felt bad now though, it was sacred to him and maybe she shouldn't be the one to take it off. A squeeze of her hand let her know it was ok, and suddenly she felt better. Her fingers traced the edge of the fabric then slowly pulled it down. Once the mask was taken care of, she lifted his forehead protector off of his sharigan eye.

Kakashi waited for her reaction, wanting to know who she saw. It must be a shock to a person when they never see your face and all of a sudden you hand it to them on a silver platter. He didn't care though, she was special and he wanted her to know it. This way, he could show her he loved her, without having to say it. He was slightly surprised when he saw a smile grace Sakura's lips.

She wanted to gasp at how gorgeous and smooth his features were. He was so amazingly handsome she was in awe. She took her hand and ran it over Kakashi's face. She noticed he had closed his eyes at her touch and she rolled her fingers across his eyelids. Touching his cheeks and finally his lips, she removed her hand slowly. She kept her smile and gave a wave, "Hey Kakashi." Sakura's smile widened as she watched Kakashi grin.

"Hey Sakura." Kakashi caressed Sakura's cheek, leaned down and…kissed her. Somehow the world stopped and nothing else mattered. Nothing but their love.