"I thought you were going to be Naruto," muttered Sakura, catching sight of her mission partner.
"Well, I'm sorry, Sakura-chan, but we don't always get what we want, do we?"
She assumed he was smiling under that annoying mask of his. Why couldn't he just take it off? Even when she kissed-
But no. Ex. No. Not going to think about that- a rather dark period in her personal history.
(It really hadn't been, though- the most fun she'd ever had. But really, it was over and it wouldn't do any good to obsess or anything or wonder what exactly was underneath that mask. Like she was doing right now. Stop it, Sakura!)
"Well, let's go," Sakura said, gesturing vaguely at the gates. Simple assassination, nothing more- it wouldn't even be an overnighter.
Kakashi made random chatter.
"And so, there I was, facing off against Gai in our last match of rock paper scissors, and-"
"SHUT UP!" screeched Sakura.
Kakashi blinked. Oh, yes. He'd managed it already. To annoy her. Ever since they broke up, it was all the fun he ever had.
"What is it, Sakura-chaaaaan?" he asked, drawing out the -chan suffix just to annoy her.
"I- argh- gah-" she spluttered, furious. How dare he treat her like she was a Genin again!
"Aw, were you rooting for Gai?"
A moment of absolutely blinding pain later- (for Kakashi, anyway)
Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.
"I feel better now."
Kakashi frowned. "If you're PMS-ing you should tell me now, before-"
Dodge the tree, Kakashi, or you're more dead than the leader of the bandits currently terrorizing Konoha! His mind screamed. He dodged, and smiled at her again.
"HOW DO YOU DO THAT?" she screeched again. "I HIT YOU AND NOTHING HAPPENS!"
"Ah, violence is never the answer, Sakura-chan. That's why Gai has never beat me. Nothing beats a cool attitude and sheer willpower. Not brute force, not brainpower, nothing." Kakashi nodded, satisfied with himself- until Sakura threw the blunt handle-end of a kunai at his head. "... Ouch."
Finally.
"I hate you. Hate, hate, hate," said Sakura, beginning to repeat it in sing-song to herself. Maybe she'd believe it then.
"Ooooookay, Sakura-chaaaan."
He rubbed his head and watched her skipping down the path to a sort of made-up song about hatred.
Ah... that's why I like her so much... She must've hit his head harder than he had originally thought, he supposed, because he hadn't felt like that in a long time.
Sakura was pausing to smell some flowers, hoping that the perfumey-ness would fog up her brain a little and perhaps hide some of her thoughts.
Kakashi teleported himself forward and picked a few up.
"For you," he said, presenting them with a flourish and a bow.
Sakura glared at him, then the flowers. "You're joking, right?"
"What, you don't like the flowers?"
Kakashi feigned a hurt face, and Sakura found herself taking the flowers out of his hand.
And that was all Kakashi needed. He grabbed her hands in his- they were so big, she thought to herself- so very... strong, and the leathery smell of his gloves was permeating the air between them, along with the sweet flower scent. All in all, a strange combination, but Sakura would always associate it with this moment.
"Tell me again why we broke up," said Kakashi, smiling.
"14 years' difference," said Sakura automatically.
Kakashi grinned. "I've seen worse. Why not?"
"Teacher and student."
"Not anymore."
"We're two shinobi, at least! There are missions- awkward-"
"Clearly, breaking up hasn't fixed that particular problem."
Sakura blinked. She was running out of reasons and it was so hard to come up with new ones... especially with the lack of space between them at the current moment...
"I- I-" She couldn't lie and say she never loved him... she couldn't say that they weren't right for each other, because they had been. Very much so. (And she didn't think it had changed. Especially not when he had her hands in his.)
"If you can't think of anything, well, why not?"
"Because... we can't!" she said desperately. "I don't want..." She couldn't finish that.
Kakashi shrugged.
"Don't know what you want? Well... I can wait. Figure it out quick, though. Please, Sakura, because we're shinobi and we don't have as much time as everyone else."
Sakura blinked. He never said "please".
He really meant what he said, then. Well, so did she.
And she... did know exactly what she wanted. Had known, since she woke up this morning and left for this mission. Had known since yesterday, and the day before... and all the days since she'd thrown it away.
And she knew what she didn't want.
"I don't want to lose you." She completed her sentence from before, knowing what she would tell him now.
He flung his arms out to the sides, dropping hers and jarring her back to reality. "And... guess what... you have me! Sakura, you've always had me... different ways throughout your years as a kunoichi, true, but... I've always been there. So... why not?"
She smiled. He looked confused. "You misinterpret the intent behind that sentence. That... is what I'm saying now. Why not?"
"Sakura..." he said. "I think... I think I know what you mean, but tell me more clearly. So I'm sure."
"I'm saying... yes, baka," she said, smiling.
Kakashi blinked. "You mean it? You won't... dump me for made-up reasons again?"
She paused.
"Wait."
Kakashi's visible eyebrow lifted. "Second thoughts, Sakura?"
"Your mask."
"What, this thing?" She could tell he was smirking. "What about it?"
"Take it off."
"Aw, why?"
"I want to see your face. I want to see you."
"You didn't need to before, did you?"
"This time is different."
He couldn't argue. He pulled down his mask slowly, revealing a mask-tan that would have made Sakura laugh in a much less serious situation.
Sakura took it in slowly, and put her hand to his cheek where the thin scar reached all the way down to his chin.
"My past hasn't ever left me... I see it when I look in the mirror, Sakura. That's why I cover it up. Do you see your past in your mirror, too?"
"I do," she murmured, not thinking much about what she said. It was true anyway. "But in my eyes... where it is less obvious than yours." Even with the scar, he had a handsome, thin, pale face. A straight, nicely sized nose, despite years of "battles" with a taijutsu user. High cheekbones. A good chin, even if it was sort of pointy. Lips neither too big nor too small- but she knew that already, she realized, smirking. Seeing her smile, his lips twitched up into a crooked smirk of their own.
She loved it.
"What're you smirking for?" he asked, breaking the silence.
"Your lips... I should have already known what they were like."
"True... Tell me, in your mind, were they better or worse than reality?"
"I don't remember... yet," she countered, flirtatiously.
"Perhaps an experiment would help?"
"I believe it would."
He kissed her.
"Well?"
She grinned. "I should have known the real thing would be better."