Genre: Humor/Drama

Pairing: Kakashi/Sakura

Rating: T

Dates to Remember

He remembered November 25th, when it all started.

"What?"

But he didn't know when it became tradition, exactly.

"I said you missed Sai's birthday."

Maybe it was tonight…Yeah. Tonight was when the tradition started.

"What?" She rolled her eyes as she and the others pushed past him.

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei. What's up with that?" He heard Naruto say. Sai closed the door behind them.

But then again, they were never invited. And traditions are supposed to be welcomed…right?

Right.

"I know your anti-social, but you don't have to be rude."

So why they hell were they in his house, 10:00 at night, unwelcomed? Oh yeah. Sai's birthday.

"What?"

"Sensei, where do you keep your wine?" He watched baffled as Naruto started fishing through his fridge, then his cooler, and lastly his cupboards.

But that still explains nothing.

None the less, he walked into the kitchen after them to see the whole team seated at his small kitchen table. Uninvited. Yet they were looking at him like he was stupid because he forgot Sai's birthday, when the boy didn't have one.

"Never mind, I found it!" Naruto shouted across the room. He set a glass down in front of everyone and started to pour. Don't you dare get anything on my table, Naruto. I'll really—

"Oops! Sorry, Kakashi-sensei. Do you have any napkins?" He slapped a tired hand to his forehead. Naruto started looking through his cupboards again for napkins, paper towels, anything to get that nasty, red stain out of his new, wooden table. He felt a headache start to pulse behind his ears.

Naruto clumsily placed a napkin on the stain. Then he went back to pouring everyone's drink, remembering to hold the cup steady this time.

"Are you alright, Kaka-sensei?" It was Sakura. She got up from her seat and unsteadily walked towards him. It was the heels (that she didn't take off) he'd bet. And maybe the alcohol that she most likely had before coming here…Which was probably what gave her the guts to come here in the first place without the regular excuse.

Her and the rest of Team Seven.

"You don't feel alright…" She placed two fingers to his left temple and clicked her tongue. "Your vein is pulsing pretty abnormally. Do you have a headache?" He shut his eyes while exhaling a breath.

"No, I'll be fine." He took her fingers off of his temple. She shrugged and walked back to her seat. Her heels making a loud scratching noise all the way. That's why you don't wear shoes in houses. He thought annoyed. They might mess up someone's floor. He ran a tired hair through his silver locks.

He walked calmly towards his kitchen table and gripped the top of a vacant seat. He failed to notice the other participants in his house; they didn't really pop out at him because they were the ones that barely talked.

He took a deep breath before speaking. He had to, he really did. This whole thing puzzled him. He wasn't really one for entertaining. Actually, he didn't entertain at all. The only guests he got were either Anbu operatives dragging him to the hospital when the medics failed, or Sakura when both the former and the latter have given up.

"First off, Sai, happy birthday." If he didn't say that first, they probably would've chewed his head off for being "rude". He much appreciated the smile he got in return. "Secondly, I'm still a little fuzzy as to why some of my former-students are sitting at my kitchen table." He finished with a chuckle. But the matter was no joke. He was sleeping pretty soundly before he heard the knocks on his door that threatened to split the wood in two.

"Oh please, Kakashi-sensei. We were your only students." He ignored that comment. Naruto was next to speak up.

"Well, ya see, uh…Yes! We were at the pub, and it was…is, Sai's birthday. And you weren't there. So I said, 'Hey, where's Kakashi-sensei?' and Sakura said, 'I dunno, I don't think he was invited.' Then Sasuke said, 'Even if he was invited, he wouldn't come, Dobe.' Then Sai said—"

"Alright, that's enough, Naruto. I get it. So basically you're saying, since I didn't come to his birthday party, you brought the party…here." He still didn't understand their logical reasoning.

"Yeah, we felt you were a pretty lonely, anti-social old man. So we decided to brighten up your night." It was Sakura this time. He saw her cheeks were flushed, so he really didn't take her comment to heart.

"But why are you celebrating Sai's birthday…if he doesn't actually know when it is…" Nope. Still didn't understand.

"Well, last year today, November 25, we were celebrating Izumo's birthday." He remembers that…mostly because he wasn't invited. Maybe it was sleeping with his girlfriend that put him off… "And Sai said he didn't have a birthday. And I said, 'Not true!' and he said 'Why would I lie, dickless?' and Sakura said, "He probably doesn't remember since he was an orphan and Danzo warped his mind,' then I said—"

"Yes, yes, Naruto. I understand. So, Sai decided that on November 25, which is also today, he would make that his official birthday." But Naruto wasn't listening.

"Granny has all the records, so why don't you ask her?' Then Sasuke said 'Sai's not even his real name, so how would you find that out?' then Sakura said 'What is your real name?', and Sai said 'If I tell you, I'll have to brand a curse mark on your tongue.' We started to laugh, but he said he was serious." Naruto finished with a pout. Kakashi has long since given up trying to make Naruto understand, not to mention he's drunk, so that makes everything worse.

He grabbed the glass that Naruto set in front of the empty chair and started to walk back towards his bedroom.

"Have a nice night, everyone." He could've shooed them all out of his house, but being that it was Sai's "Birthday", he decided on allowing them stay. They could let themselves out. The headache that spread to the rest of head was telling him 'Just leave them, Hatake.'

So he did. He gave them a backwards wave and was determined to finish his once blissful sleep.

He remembered December 27th, when Naruto came in with Hinata and the rest of Team Seven. Naruto was unusually quiet and Sakura tried to start conversations to get him going, but none worked. He remembered hearing Sasuke 'Hn' every few seconds. And after the seventh one, he said 'Dobe, stop being such a loser and ask her out already.' He remembered Sakura coming to join him a few minutes after that. They stayed on his couch the rest of the time.

He remembered the 1st of January; he had to lock all of his doors and windows. He set up 14 different seals. It was Gai's birthday and he'd be damned if he had to spend it with him.

He remembered the 25th of January, Naruto came by himself. Kakashi was seated at his kitchen table with a bottle of sake when Naruto came and sat across from him. That night was filled with questions, answers, and reminiscence of Namikaze Minato.

The 10th of February he spent alone in self-loathing of Uchiha Obito. The best friend that Kakashi never really appreciated, but got to understand truly, in the last moments of his life.

There was the 28th of March which Kakashi could never forget, mainly because he was sent out at dark to find Sakura a gift. And it was a damn good one too. It better had been, or she would've beaten his ass to the ends of Konoha because he forgot her birthday.

"Where is it?" She said with a glare and a scowl as he locked the door behind him and walked to the kitchen table to give her the gift.

"Right here," He pulled a small box out of his pocket. Her eyes widened at the design of it. If he had known that she liked the box that much, he would've gotten her that instead of spending so much money on her real present. She finally opened it and her breath caught.

"Oh, Kakashi. It's beautiful." It was a locket made of polished wood with a glass casing put on the outside. On the casing were cherry blossoms and green leaves floating about each other. It was put on a simple silver chain. He took it from her hands and wrapped it around her neck.

When he was done, she looked down and admired the necklace. She jumped up from her seat and caught Kakashi by surprise. Her arms were wrapped around his middle while his were awkwardly at her waist. It felt like a few minutes before she let go, and when she did, he looked pretty uncomfortable. She sat back down and he took one of the empty seats.

That was the first time he sat at the table with them.

June 1st and June 9th, Sasuke was better left alone. On those days, he mourned his mother and his brother. He couldn't be found even if you tried. He just disappeared. But soon, they found it better to just let him.

On the 17th of July, he had Genma and Gai show up to his apartment. That night he got piss drunk. When he woke the next morning, he found three different sets of lingerie lying around his house and couldn't seem to remember just what the hell happened that night.

On the 23rd of July, Sasuke was dragged by Team Seven to his house again to celebrate his birthday. He forgot that one too, so when he offered a hug for good measure, he would have to say that was the first time he ever heard Sasuke scream.

"I didn't really know what to get you, seeing as how you don't really put your likes and dislikes out on display, so I just got you this pouch." It was a nice pouch though, made of black leather and went well with his outfit. He saw what looked like a smile on Sasuke's face…he couldn't really tell when he rarely made facial expressions. Then he turned to Naruto and held his hand out.

"What? I didn't get you anything! I think that would've been too weird…" Sasuke sighed.

"It doesn't matter. It would've been lame anyways." That reminds him of the day he first got promoted to jonin. Obito didn't give him a gift, either.

"Whatever." Naruto pouted. Sasuke turned to Kakashi. He scratched the knot of his forehead protector.

"Well, uh…I didn't get you anything. But," Kakashi smiled as he got up and walked towards Sasuke's side of the table. Sasuke looked wary of him. "Hug?" He had his arms extended and was just about to bend down to give him a nice, manly hug when—

"Ahhh!" Sasuke scooted his chair as far back as he could from Kakashi. They didn't make eye contact for the rest of the night. Sakura sat beside him and patted his knee in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture. He accidentally took it as something more. Her hand stayed there for most of the night.

September 15th, he was dragged out of his house to a surprise birthday party at the pub. He would have to say, it wasn't half bad. There was free beer, and Gai was locked up in a cage as a Go Go dancer. Then he remembers being kissed by a drunken Sakura. That's when things truly started to change.

On October 10th, he refused to let a drunken Naruto into his home again. Instead, they all went out. It was on that night that Hinata proposed to him. He accepted.

That was also the night that Sakura told him the thing that was happening between them couldn't work.

"Kakashi, I don't know when the boundaries between us started to blur. But if we do this, they'll talk. They'll all talk. I don't think I could take that. I'm—" He kissed her to shut her up. It worked. They started coming every Sunday night after that.

He remembers the second November 25th they spent together. He remembers it because it was the most embarrassing day of his life.

"Oi, Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei! Get a room!" Kakashi chuckled and ghosted a kiss on her lower lip. He shifted her in his lap as Sai started to serve the food.

"In the book I'm reading, their body language suggests that they already had sex. Or that they're going to do it soon." Naruto's eyes widened.

"Sakura-chan you're going to have sex with Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura blushed and looked away. He tightened his grip on her waist.

"He already had sex with her, Dobe." Sasuke smirked.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shook his head with a disgusted look plastered on his face. Kakashi started to make a trail of kisses down her neck as Sakura started to silently moan and Naruto started to groan in distaste.

" Kakashi…oh." It was Yugao peeking through the front door. Sakura looked at her with a confused look on her face. Kakashi turned towards the door. "I see you're busy. Well, I'll see you later tonight." And with that the door closed and he could faintly hear her footsteps down the stairs. When he turned his attention from the door to Sakura, he could see her face was conflicted.

Her emotions ranged from confused, to angry, to outraged in matter of seconds. He kept his hands on her waist.

"What the hell was that?" His face remained impassive. "'I'll see you later tonight?' What does that mean?" He sighed.

"It was nothing." Those were always the words spoken by a man who was cheating.

"Really. Really?" Her voice was dripping of sarcasm.

"Sakura, you're blowing it out of proportion." Wrong thing to say.

"I'm blowing it out of proportion? You have Yugao coming later tonight, and you said I'm blowing it out of proportion?"

"You're being irrational." He just couldn't stop himself, could he?

"Oh yeah. Because she's only five years younger than you, not fourteen. Tell me what you're doing with her tonight?" He looked to Sasuke and Naruto for help, but they looked away. Sai looked on cheerfully. Bastards.

"I…can't." Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"You can't." He decided she said that rather calmly. That was never a good sign with an ill-tempered Kunoichi.

"Sakura, I—" He didn't even see that coming. She smacked him and then released herself from his grasp. She stomped to the door and started to put her sandals back on.

"Sai, Naruto, Sasuke? Are you coming or would you rather stay?" Naruto quickly got up from the table and mouthed 'You're screwed' as he walked over to Sakura as Sai started to pack up the food. Sasuke followed after them.

She held the door open for them as they walked out. She turned back towards him and he could see her face was red.

"You filthy bastard. I knew I couldn't trust you." And with that, she slammed the door. He really couldn't save himself from that. Yugao came over later and gave him what he wanted.

But that was the last night that they came over.

It was a while since he'd seen her. He'd come to apologize many times, but she was never home. She was always at the hospital or out on a mission. But she'd stopped taking missions with the team a while after that.

Then on March 28th, he figured she'd done enough 'soul searching' and hiding, so he took it upon himself and waited for her…by staying in her house. He waited until 10:00 that night for her to come home. When she did, and she found him sprawled on her couch, she went into what one might call a temper tantrum, but it was hardly the word for it. She started throwing things at him and she had damn good aim. He almost got hit in the forehead with that last paperweight and she showed no remorse.

It was a while before he could finally get to her without being aimed at. When he did, he grabbed her and did the only thing he knew could stop Sakura from maiming him. He kissed her. She struggled for a bit, but then gave up.

Two minutes later when she came up for air, she remembered what she was doing and started to hit him. It was only when he bent down on one knee that she finally stopped and stared at him with her mouth agape.

"What the hell are you doing?" He pulled out a velvet box and opened it. He saw her anger didn't subside.

"This is why Yugao came over later that night. Her father knows one of the best diamond miners and got this for me. I got it made into a ring, and I was going to—" Again, not the reaction he expected. She had slapped him again, but she didn't put as much force into it as she did the other ones.

When he looked back up at her, her hands were covering her mouth and tears were coming down her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm s-sorry, Kakashi." Her shoulders were shaking now.

"I was supposed to be a surprise, but I didn't expect you to break up with me over it." He felt the feeling in his right leg start to wane.

"Well?" He asked impatiently.

"Well what?"

"Are you going to give me an answer or what? Your floor isn't particularly comfortable."

"Are you going to ask?" He sighed.

"All the damn trouble you put me through…" He muttered. "Sakura, will you marry me?" He said with hooded eyes.

"Yes, you idiot."

They started coming back to dinners after that. One specific dinner, he remembered, was on October 10th.

Sakura was again situated in his lap and they were singing Happy Birthday to Naruto. When everything quieted, Sakura held onto the hands that were wrapped around her middle and started to speak.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sai…I have an announcement to make." Naruto gave her a cheeky grin.

"You got me something even better for my birthday, Sakura-chan?" Naruto stood with his arms extended to give her a hug.

"Yep." She gave a knowing smile to Kakashi.

"Well, what is it?"

"I'm pregnant!" Sasuke's eyes widened, Sai still gave her that smile and Naruto fainted.

"Naruto!"

The next day, they went to Tsunade's office to find out the gender of the baby. When her hands started glowing green on Sakura's stomach, she frowned.

"Oh my," Sakura's eyes widened.

"Is there something wrong, Shishou?" Then she smiled.

"No, Sakura. It's just that…you're having twins." It was Kakashi's turn to faint.

"Kakashi!"

He remembered it being March 28th when things between them started to change. That would be the date that he remembered most.