A/N: This is the final sequel to "Afterschool Special." If you haven't read that story or its first sequel, "Afterschool Snack," you may wish to do so, although I don't believe it's strictly necessary for understanding "Commencement."
Warning: fluff and smut. This story does contain a LEMON and is not intended for underage consumption. All characters are over 18. I encourage comments, compliments, constructive criticism, etc.
The title, by the way, is a double entendre (as were the others, actually).
I do not own Naruto, nor do I make a profit from this story.
The last three weeks had passed uneventfully. Sakura had quit staying after school, so their only real interaction had occurred during class and was completely innocent (the few times that she let her legs slip apart so he could see her underwear didn't count, he maintained … nor did that time she swirled her tongue around her pen, sliding it slowly in and out of her mouth while gazing at him intently).
He mentally groaned at the memories and wished, not for the first time, that he was anywhere but on the stage at the commencement ceremony of the Class of 2010. In fact, he wished he were in another state, just so he wouldn't have to make the decision he was inevitably going to have to make before the day was up. He shook his head lightly and resolved to focus on the proceedings.
But, of course, Sakura was the next to receive her diploma. He had been so distracted by his thoughts about her that he hadn't noticed she was walking up to the stage until she was on it and shaking the hand of the school principal. Sakura turned her head and winked saucily at him as Tsunade-sama bestowed upon her the scrap of paper that officially relieved her of her status as Hatake Kakashi's student.
He could only hope that none of the other teachers had noticed the wink. Or the way his gaze traveled down to her ankles, the only parts of her legs uncovered by the black graduation robe.
After the ceremony, Kakashi stood with most of the faculty, parents and students on the lawn beside the school. Though he was ostensibly involved in a conversation with a few teachers, in reality he was keeping an eye on his pink-haired obsession. Said obsession was laughing while taking pictures with the school gossip, Yamanaka Ino, the school troublemaker, Uzumaki Naruto, and the school idol, Uchiha Sasuke, whose dark good looks and angsty air made teenage girls the world over swoon at his feet. After being momentarily mystified by the fact that Naruto had managed to graduate, Kakashi found himself thinking yet again about the one topic that had been bouncing around his mind nearly nonstop for the last month … Sakura. Or, more specifically, sex with Sakura. And whether or not he should engage in it.
As he contemplated the issue for the eight hundredth (or so) time, he watched her wave good-bye to her friends. It was a sunny day, and the bright rays of light shone on her hair and face, giving her a golden, glowing appearance that contrasted starkly with the austere black of her gown. She was so beautiful … He wondered where her parents were. Surely they had been to watch their daughter graduate? But he didn't see any adults who looked like they might be Sakura's parents, and Sakura herself was walking away from the crowd toward the parking lot. Alone. He excused himself from the conversation he hadn't been paying attention to anyway and followed her, catching up just before she stepped off the lawn and onto the pavement. He gently touched her shoulder so she would turn to face him.
She didn't jump or show any surprise at his presence, just smiled and said, "Oh, hey Kaka-sensei."
"Not 'sensei,' anymore, Sakura. Remember? You just graduated," he admonished with a crinkle of his eyes. But he wanted to kick himself as soon as the words left his mouth—he wasn't supposed to be emphasizing the loss of that title which had served to separate them; without it, he had nothing to hide behind, nothing to offer as an excuse for refusing her advances … and his own desires.
It wasn't that she was now completely available to him, no strings attached; there would always be the fact that they had first met as teacher and student, but as of that afternoon, there was no longer anything illegal in their pursuing a relationship. And, quite frankly, that scared him. He wasn't sure what she was expecting from this, from him, and he wasn't sure what it was that he even wanted. Did he really want to try a relationship, or did he just want to feel her hot, young body against his one time (… or maybe a couple of times)? Did she want a relationship? She had never indicated that she was interested in anything more than sex, but she was female—and a teenager at that. Wasn't it characteristic of her gender to want more than sex? He didn't know, because he'd successfully managed to avoid complications like that for the majority of his adulthood.
Which brought him back to the question of what he wanted. He had been happily single for years now, his interactions with women limited to one-night stands and the occasional blind date forced upon him by his friends. Why would he want to disrupt that easy arrangement? And for an eighteen-year-old, no less! What kind of self-respecting bachelor—
A soft, feminine voice broke in with a quiet, but decisive, "Ahem." He came out of his thoughts to see Sakura looking at him curiously and rubbed the back of his neck nervously … he really had to stop doing that around her!
"So?" she asked.
"So what?" he responded, not sure what she meant.
"So what do I call you now then?"
"Oh, eh heh, sorry. You can just call me Kakashi."
"Okay, then … Kakashi." Her eyes twinkled at him as she called him by his given name alone for the first time. "What do you want?"
He noted the teasing tone in her voice; though her words were dismissive, her intonation indicated that she didn't mind his presence. "I was just wondering why you were leaving. All of your friends are still here."
"Yeah, I know, but I'm not really in the mood for crowds right now," she answered, a shadow passing over her brow. For a moment, he thought she looked sad.
"What about your parents? Don't they want to take pictures with you?"
"Oh, um, no … they're not here. They had to go out of town for business at the last minute." Her gaze dropped to his shoulder.
"I'm sorry," he responded, not quite sure what to say.
"It's okay, I mean, it's not like this sort of thing hasn't happened before."
He wanted to say that she only graduated high school once, but figured that would only make her feel worse, so he found himself offering to take her out to a late lunch to celebrate instead.
"Really?" she asked, her green eyes lifting quickly from his shoulder to meet his own grey ones.
"Well … yeah." And suddenly, inexplicably, he was comfortable with the idea. "Why not? You should enjoy this day."
"Um, okay." A hesitant smile began at the corners of her mouth. "Are you sure you don't mind?"
"I don't mind," he reassured her. "Let's go then. What are you in the mood for?" He wanted to touch her, to guide her to his car with his hand on the small of her back, but he didn't dare. They were still too close to the school to risk someone seeing such an intimate gesture, even if there wasn't anything technically wrong with it.
"How about tempura?" she suggested. Kakashi made a mental face—he hated tempura—but told her that was fine.
After glancing around discreetly to ensure that no one was looking, Kakashi opened the passenger door of his car and invited her to get in. He walked around to the driver's side, and then they were pulling out of the parking lot, leaving behind the school—and their identities as teacher and student.