It has been a long time since I've written any fanfiction... and even longer since I've written KakaSaku, but here I am, still sailing with this ship. So let's get this show on the road!

But first, some notes:

This takes place after the Fourth War... most of the things still happen as cannon... just not you know... the whole SasuSaku bit... cause honestly.

This story... is pure fluff. Not the place to go if you want angst.

Act I, Scene I:

Sakura twisted her right foot, pressing the toes into the ground as she roamed her eyes across the expanse of Konoha that could be seen from the Hokage's office. The open window let in a light breeze and she sucked in a huff of fresh air to keep her impatience in check. Her medical coat fluttered around her, basically a part of her uniform now; she was often in the hospital and so forth rarely without it. "You know he's going to be late Naruto," Sakura finally breathed as she centered her gaze on the man sitting behind the Hokage's desk, idly writing notes on a mission report that he must have received only that morning.

Naruto set his pen down slowly as he leaned forward on his desk and rested his chin on his knuckles, an unimpressed frown on his face as he stared at the empty spot beside where Sakura was standing. "I even told him to be here an hour earlier."

"Can't you just tell me what I'm doing here? I need to get back to the hospital. I have a couple operations scheduled and some paperwork that I need to complete," Sakura sighed as she edged her gaze out the window again and to the tall white building that was situated only a couple blocks closer to the entrance of the village.

"The place isn't going to fall apart without you Sakura-chan," Naruto chuckled as he leaned back in his chair, "God knows that the medics and nurses in that building fear your wrath enough from afar."

"Well I like being there," Sakura muttered as she rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

"Oh, I know that all too well," Naruto chuckled again, "Do you ever take any time off?"

"I'm not there 24 hours a day."

"That really wasn't the answer that I was looking for Sakura-chan."

"Do you ever take any time off Hokage-sama?" Sakura replied with a raise of an eyebrow and a challenge in her voice.

"Mou, Sakura-chan, you know how much I hate it when you call me that."

"It's who you are," Sakura said in reply, a small smile spreading on her face despite herself.

"Yes, well, you're the one who keeps me grounded to the earth when my head gets over inflated," Naruto laughed as he leaned back on his chair and threw his feet onto the desk.

"Hmph," muttered a deep voice to Sakura's right. Sakura turned her green eyes towards Sasuke who looked infinitely more tired than he had years before, mostly from dealing with Naruto's shenanigans on a daily basis. Sakura laughed lightly but whole-heartedly under her breath as Sasuke glowered at her with no serious consequence. Everyone and their father knew that, as the Hokage's assistant, Sasuke had to ground Naruto the most. Usually Sakura would only have to step in when both of them got out of control, only causing the other to rise higher, and then she would send them crashing back down to earth. It was a monthly occurrence.

"Can't you just tell me what you want and he'll show up when he shows up?" Sakura murmured between giggles. Sasuke shook his head but his frown was no longer a frown.

Naruto sighed as he clasped his hands behind his neck and leaned further back in his chair, taking his gaze up to the ceiling, "You've always had an uncanny knack for finding him, how about you retrieve him?"

Sakura could feel the fire of annoyance burning in her stomach and her fist clench, ready to send Naruto flying to the other side of the village, Hokage or not. Her primary role for the last couple of years might have been the Director of the hospital but that in no way meant that she was out of taijutsu practice. Apparently Sasuke sensed the imminent danger before Naruto, for he gave a light cough and Naruto suddenly shot up and sat up straight again and looked at her nervously, "I mean, Sakura-chan," Naruto placated as he eyed her clenched fist nervously, "You're closer to Kakashi than any of us and since we're all tired of waiting for him, maybe it would be a good idea for you to deliver the message to him… on your own time… but still maybe tonight?"

Sakura sighed as her fist unclenched and she gave Naruto a light glare before it dissolved. She took a couple steps forward, her shoes clacking on the ground before she leaned heavily on his desk, facing away from him with crossed arms. "What are you scheming Naruto? I can tell you're up to something and you haven't once used the word mission, so…"

"Mou, Sakura-chan. How could you think so deviously of me? I mean…" Sakura turned to give him a hard glare before she turned around to give Sasuke an exasperated look, one he returned.

"He just thinks that you and Kakashi need a vacation," Sasuke said evenly.

Sakura's eyebrow shot into her hairline, "I need a vacation? What about you two?"

Naruto twitched and stood up to go to the other side of Sakura and stood beside Sasuke's desk, running his finger nervously on the hard wood edge. "We were hoping that when you guys got back from your vacation… Kakashi wouldn't mind uh… taking the position of acting Hokage and you as his assistant again so that Sasuke and I could you know… go have some fun."

"Go on an unranked mission," Sakura muttered deadpanned.

Suddenly Naruto was in front of her face with wide blue eyes and his hands clasped in front of his mouth. Interestingly enough her hands were within his without her having felt him grabbing them as his puppy eyes bore down at her on full force, "A really cool one! It just came in Sakura-chan and it's supposed to start in a week and take about two weeks to a month and I know this is asking a lot of both you and Kakashi, especially since Kakashi hated being Hokage with a burning fiery passion, but I was really hoping that as old friends that he and you would be willing to –"

Sakura laughed at his excited sputtering as she leaned forward and placed her forehead on his tall shoulder, thinking of when he used to be shorter than her all those years ago, and took one palm out from his grasp so that she could hold on to him like he was holding on to her, "Shh, shh Naruto. I would be happy to take Sasuke's place for a month. I'll see if the Rokudaime wouldn't mind taking up the mantle again for just a little while. Kakashi-senpai is immensely enjoying his freedom from paper work."

"Thank you so much Sakura-chan," Naruto breathed as he turned his head to bury his face into her hair. His white Hokage cloak fluttered around the both of them. Sakura smiled deeply at the way that the cloak fit him so well, looked so perfect on his tall frame, but she supposed that even a Hokage needed to return to the field sometimes.

"I'll find him tonight. This better be all expenses paid. You know how cheap Kakashi-senpai can be," Sakura murmured as she lifted her head and Naruto brought his face away from her hair.

Naruto grinned at her as he let go of her hands and rounded back around to the desk that she was leaning on. He rifled through one of the drawers and took out a scroll, "All of the details are in here."

Sakura turned around and reached out to take the scroll from his hands and slipped it into one of the pockets of her medical jacket, "Thanks."

"No, thank you. I wouldn't trust Konoha to anyone more than you two," Naruto grinned as he ran his hand through his golden hair. "Sasuke-teme, guess we're a go."

Sasuke scoffed, "You do realize it's more important that Kakashi agree to this."

"Yeah, but Kakashi always listens to Sakura-chan," Naruto chirped as he brought a fist up to pump it.

Sakura laughed while shaking her head, "I'll do my best to convince him."

"Thank you," Naruto repeated a bright smile on his face.

"Can I go now?" Sakura asked as she turned her eyes toward the hospital again.

Naruto rolled his eyes a bit, "Yeah. But remember to ask Kakashi tonight!"

Sakura waved him off, "I will. I will." And with a gentle swish of her cloak Sakura turned to the door of the Hokage's office and walked out, grazing her fingers on Sasuke's desk as a way of greeting before she pushed the door open and disappeared down the hall.

Sasuke stood up from his desk and joined Naruto by the window as they watched the pink haired medic rush down the street and back to her hospital. "Two birds with one stone," Sasuke muttered, "Can't believe that worked dobe."

"That's because I'm fucking clever teme," Naruto laughed, "It was really the only way to get her out of the hospital and I don't think Kakashi has ever taken a vacation. They'll have fun together and maybe make the other relax while they're at it."

Sasuke simply shrugged in response. Their eyes met before they rushed to the Hokage's desk together to go through the unranked mission scroll they had been given. "Ah," Naruto bristled excitedly, "It's been too long!"

"Hm," Sasuke agreed as he ran his hand down the side of the pristine parchment.

Sakura's shoulders ached as she stretched them on her walk from the hospital. The break that she had been forced to take at the Hokage tower had been nice, especially since she got to see her friends, but for her, the hospital was home and it had been good to return home.

She had informed the medics and the nurses of her imminent absence, all of them looking at her as though it was about time, and many had assured her that the building would not fall apart in her absence. Sakura laughed a little bit under her breath wondering if she should re-evaluate how she spent her time if everyone felt this way about her. But her spending all of her time in hospital was no different from those shinobi who spent all of their time out on the field; so really, the fact that she didn't sleep in her office was good enough.

But she did have to admit to herself that it would be nice to take a vacation, especially with her old friend.

Sakura's shoes scraped over the ground as she made her way to his apartment, a track that she had taken many times before after work. She made her way up the stairs to the third floor and, without the preamble of a knock, Sakura merely turned the door knob and let herself in.

As usual, after returning from a mission, his entry way was a mess of scattered objects, mud, and a half opened field pack. Sakura laughed quietly as she slipped off her shoes and made her way to the bedroom. Peaking in she smiled softly to herself at the quietly snoring man lying prone on his bed in only his boxers and mask; Pakkun curled up closely to his side. She had tended to him the night before, a ritual for when he returned from missions and it seemed like he hadn't moved ever since.

Sakura pulled away from the bedroom door, letting the man sleep for just a little longer as she ambled into the kitchen and turned on the teakettle. As the water warmed and then boiled, Sakura pulled out two mugs from his cabinet and dropped a tea bag in each. She peeked into his fridge, seeing that the groceries she had bought for him the previous evening were still neatly placed inside and pulled out a couple ingredients to make a simple dinner.

With the teakettle off, rice prepping in his rice cooker, and food cooking on the stove, Sakura walked with her steaming cup of tea to Kakashi's couch, pulled off her jacket, and sat down in the middle with her toes curled underneath her. Within moments a small pug ambled out of his bedroom, probably having just wrestled himself out of the sheets and easily joined her on the couch.

Pakkun immediately curled up in her warmth as clouds of smoke appeared all around her as Kakashi's other seven ninken summoned themselves and piled onto the couch with her. Bull placed himself in the empty space between Sakura and the armrest, a tradition that had been establish since the first time Sakura had been maneuvered out of the way, and Sakura leaned on the big dog, finding her comfort in his rumbling breaths.

Sakura giggled gently at all of the snouts that nuzzled her gently for pets as she took a sip of her tea. The dogs were content with the intruder in their home.

As the food sizzled and crackled on the stove, Sakura heard shuffling in the other room and soon enough the man himself appeared in the leaving room, loose, black jonin pants now on, and his mask pulled down around his neck. Without acknowledging her presence, Kakashi walked into the kitchen like a zombie and picked up his mug of tea. Taking a sip, a loud sigh of relief shook through his body as he stirred the contents of the pan and pulled out two bowls and a plate.

Loading the bowls with rice, Kakashi then poured the meal in the pan onto the plate and aptly juggled the dinner to the coffee table in the living room, "Thanks again Sakura," he sighed as he shifted Akino and Uhei so that he would be able to sit down, their heads reoccupying the space by lying on his lap.

Sakura smiled against her mug as Kakashi scratched his chin, the visible stubble causing feelings of itch, and began to eat his dinner. "You're welcome Kakashi-senpai," Sakura chirped as she leaned forward to set her mug down on the table and start on dinner herself. "You forgot about your meeting with Naruto today."

"He should know better than to request a meeting with me the day after I return from a mission," Kakashi muttered between bites of hot slices of vegetables and meat.

"I suppose not everyone has his energy," Sakura quipped with a laugh.

Kakashi simply brought his eyes to the ceiling in grievance before he continued eating his supper. "I suppose you've been sent to be the messenger then? Sorry, I mean… I would've eventually gotten there."

Sakura merely waved her chopsticks in the air, "It was no problem. I was also asked to be there as well."

Kakashi simply raised an eyebrow at this, "It's been a while since we've both been asked to go out on a mission together, what kind of tensions are rising?"

Sakura waved her chopsticks again, "No tensions…" Sakura thought back to the unranked mission that Naruto and Sasuke had been so excited about, "As far as I know. Definitely not something diplomatic if Naruto and Sasuke-kun want to go out and about themselves."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as he finished his bowl of rice. "They want to go out on a mission? Oh…"

"I know you hated it, but they need a break sometimes," Sakura laughed as she stood up to the chorus of whines from the ninken around her and grabbed Kakashi's bowl to go refill it with a second helping of rice.

Kakashi groaned into his hands, landing his elbows onto his knees as he remembered the mountains of paperwork that had once been his whole entire life. It really was something that he didn't want to relive. "Can't Naruto just leave a bunshin in his place or something?"

"You know it would drive you insane if a part of your mind was on paperwork while you were out on the field," Sakura replied as she popped open the rice cooker, "Naruto might be something else, but he isn't capable of ignoring that."

"Please tell me that you're the one replacing Sasuke at least."

"Yep! It'll be the return of Copy-Nin Kakashi and Tsunade Nigou Sakura, Konoha beware!" Sakura laughed as she scooped another huge helping of rice into each of their bowls.

"When?"

"A week from now."

"So we have a week to go missing?" Kakashi suggested playfully as he leaned back on the couch and pat Guruko and Bisuke on the head, of whom were resting on the back of the couch, paws hanging on either side and tongues hanging out in bliss.

"Actually we have a week of vacation," Sakura murmured as she placed the bowls back down on the coffee table and pulled out the scroll Naruto had given her from the lab jacket that was thrown over the couch armrest. Sakura passed the scroll to Kakashi who unrolled it with practiced hands and stared at its contents as Sakura continued to dig through her dinner flicking rice and meat every so often to Urushi and Shiba.

Kakashi hummed a little under his breath as he set the scroll down on the table, "Stop spoiling them Sakura, no wonder they beg at me all the time now. At least Naruto seems to understand that he is asking a lot out of us," Kakashi chuckled and resumed his dinner, "Still cheap as always though."

"Pot calling the kettle black. What do you mean though?" Sakura asked with creased eyebrows as she eyed the scroll wondering what Kakashi was getting at, "Where is he sending us on vacation?"

"An island in the south of Water, Alicante" Kakashi said casually, "One of those all expenses paid resorts that have taken over a whole island with the huts out in the ocean, luxurious sands just a swim away and amenities up to our eyeballs."

"That sounds anything but cheap, from what Ino have told me, those resorts are huge and the huts are actually really nice," Sakura recalled.

"Yeah well he only got one for the both of us."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Of course he did. I'm sure that after all those missions Naruto is convinced that it's normal to stuff four people into a tiny hotel room."

"Practically spoiled we are then," Kakashi replied drolly.

They looked at each other from the corner of their eyes and laughed until their bellies ached, "Hopefully there's enough room for the ninken too." A series of yips, barks, and howls chorused in agreement.

I hope you like it! Please review :D Reviews are life blood.