This shall be ...eenie meenie... Kakashi's POV. And imma gonna go get a snack since I'm hungry. Unfortunately you can't eat fictional characters. Hehheh. Well not in the way I'm thinking anywho. At the mo, I just want an apple. What naughty children for thinking that way! ;0

Oh, and longer chapter this time! By a fair bit. Aren't you lucky!

Bigs thanx yhoo 2 httporochimaru's cherry blossom, The wonderful person who reviewed xD

You get eternal loveXD

I glanced down to my left from the branch where I stood leant against the tree trunk with my recently acquired book in front of my eyes. It seemed Sakura preferred something slightly more... subtle. At least until I reached page 32 and my eyes reeled in an incredibly descriptive blowjob. My eyes widened as a couple of pages later I saw a much dog eared page.

"Sensei!" The shock caused me to flail my free arm at a branch to keep my balance. And alerted my teammates to my presence.

"You left first and you're still late!" Naruto's voice filled my ears as I landed lightly on the ground book still in hand.

"And if you have to steal from me, try and NOT flaunt it!" Sakura's voice filled my ears, quieter, but much more venomous than Naruto's. And accompanied by an expression to rival Tsunade's. Heh. She just didn't want me to find out how dirty her mind really was. Too bad. You can find out a lot about someone from their book collection, and riffling through Sakura's was something I did often. Her taste in books was similar to mine. Smirking under my mask, I put it back in my pocket, and it felt slightly wrong. Slightly unbalanced – it contained more pages than good old make out paradise. It wasn't right.

"You know, if it weren't for the constant porn, I'd think you were gay." Naruto smirked at me gearing up for a lovely 'wind up Kakashi' session. "Unless that's just a cover up?"

"Sorry, Naruto. Don't get too hopeful. I don't swing that way..." Though my voice was serious, I laughed under my breath and aimed my smile at the ground. "Any chance of actual training today?" Before they could answer, I swiftly turned and leapt onto the tree, my voice carrying behind me. "No? Too busy? I'll catch you later..." Ignoring their protests and inventive name calling, I sped through the greenery till I was clear of the training grounds before picking a comfy looking tree to slump in. After all, the sky was blue, the weather warm, and my house a mess. Wouldn't want to waste such a lovely day.

Shifting slightly, I swiped my book out my pocket and opened it to my page, settling down for a long stay.

...

As the first droplets of rain escaped their prison above, I turned the final pages. This novel was truly captivating. The plot was sufficient without being over the top, and the style was almost a clone of Jiraiya - the way the words were used could mean more than the actions themselves. Hopping up, I stretched, and returned the book to my pocket before the precipitation could taint a single word of this literary genius.

Knowing that even the rain would have little effect on my hair, I took my time walking to Sakura's. I wasn't a common thief – she was just good with books, and could introduce me to authors I would have never bothered to look at otherwise. After all, she's the one who always says it's good to broaden your horizons.

Using a tree as a spring board, I jumped through Sakura's bedroom window, knowing that she kept most of her more... adult stuff in there. Then I would try and find her for a chat before scouting out a reading corner.

Placing the earlier book on her bed, I scouted through her shelf. She had acquired a lot more since I last looked. Then again, I had just got back from a mission. Still, only two appeared unread, and to get through that she would have to read at almost the same rate as me. Not that she couldn't, but I would have thought she would have other things to do as well. Like hospital shifts. Leaving the two she hadn't read yet, I thumbed through a few before sticking one in my pocket, hopping over her bed and scooting out the door.

Hearing her delicate voice, I swept through down the stairs and into the kitchen as quietly as I could, not wanting her to notice. I wanted to hear what she was singing first.

"...And I can't do this alone.

Stay with me... this is what I need please...

This heart it beats, beats for only you..."

"Anyone in particular?"

I couldn't help but laugh as Sakura jumped about 7 feet into the air. And then cringe, as her fist met my face.

"No."

"I don't believe you!" I reached out to prod her cheek."You're blushing!"

"What would you know, oh eternal loner?" Crap. She'd got me there. But I could only hope it wasn't the Darth Vader wannabe again. I seriously thought that she had let that go, and my shirt didn't need the wash that would surely follow. Or my mind the constant battle. Knowing she would talk if she wanted to (and preferably to Ino rather than me) I turned my attention to the workspace behind her.

"Watcha makin'?" She smiled now as she turned back to the mixing bowls lifting the spoon from the mixture.

"Fruit cookies." She pushed the bowl into my hands. "You can help."

Well this didn't seem difficult. I'm not a great cook, but the flour just needed stirring in a bit. Placing the bowl on the worktop I started doing just that. But apparently wrong.

"No no no!" Sakura's hands were suddenly on mine, her body heat attacking my back. And it didn't feel bad...

What a fucked up thing to think. Am I really as perverted s everyone says? As my thoughts decided to complicate, my ears found out that Sakura was talking. And that usually meant it would be a good idea to listen.

"Stirring doesn't mean creating a goddamned tornado! Kami, Kakashi! You with a spoon is faster than the food processor!" Chiding rather than angry. I was safe. Her hands controlled mine in setting a much slower pace. "Don't you cook at all?"

"Yes, but I'm not exactly a world class baker. I cook when necessary." I muttered absent mindedly, feeling an odd sense of calm. I can't place why, but her presence is soothing to me. I relax around her in a way I don't with most people. Naruto, Sai, Asuma and Guy I am comfortable with, to an extent. But no one is as close as Sakura. I never really thought of many people as friends, it brought bad memories. I had teammates, comrades and acquaintances. Friends I wouldn't call friends, my mind still not fully trusting myself. It's no longer out of preservation, but instead an idea that I ingrained into myself so deep that it left an imprint. Even surrounded I could feel alone. Surrounded by people that I now know are friends. I'm better with that now, thanks to the guys, but Sakura takes that final ache away.

"Keep it like this."

Sakura's body moved away from my own, and suddenly I felt empty, like a million times before. The void that only she could fill, that I wouldn't really notice until it left, and like lightening returned. And I could never place why.

...

"Come on! You gotta eat one here! I wanna see what you think! Just take off the mask..." She laughed. She was just teasing, she didn't mean it. Unlike certain blond dunces, she respected my personal space. Even if it was something as absurd as wearing a mask 24/7. Of course, that's what made me want to. But I couldn't, she wouldn't expect me to. The atmosphere would become tense. We would talk. She might not like what I had to say...

...

We could become closer.

Shock set in with this thought, louder than all others, and the reasons behind it. Along with a longing. A yearning for everything I had ever wanted, yet never realised. Never been attached to material possessions, all I had ever wished to gain was self found, inner and outer strength, new genjutsus, any form of self contentment.

Until now.

Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by Sakura pressing a cookie against my cloth covered mouth. She was still just joking, expecting me to find some sort of comeback, laugh, and move on to some more open topic. But a part of me didn't want to.

So instead, I yanked down my mask and took a bite of the cookie. Which was actually quite nice. And I'm not usually a cookie kind of guy.

"Nice..." I mumbled.

Aww, coulda said something better than that.

Well, no. Better to stick with talking about cookies...

"Yh, exactly what I was about to say..." Sakura's voice was soft as her eyes slowly left mine and began to wander around my face, soon followed by her fingertips, wiping way most of the doubt I still had.

Am I really that vain?

Truthfully, I knew it was only because it was Sakura. Yet I felt disappointed with myself, like I had misjudged her. She didn't care about looks; she cared about personality, loyalty and trust.

Yet I had still tensed up at the thought of her reaction.

Curiosity flooded her features as her eyes met mine lingering before dissipating completely, leaving her with a slight smile, making her beautiful features so alive that I couldn't help but smile too.

"What?"

She smirked at my tone, I did sound a bit like a demanding toddler, or Naruto. Then shook her head and sadness lightly tinted her eyes.

"Despite everyone's guesses there is absolutely nothing wrong with you face." She paused and looked down nibbling on her lip. "So the mask must be there to hide something internal."

There she was again. Bull's-eye. I waited, but she didn't elaborate.

"You think...?"

"You wear it to hide your feelings... and ... shame?" The final word held a question, and was spoken quietly, as if in agony. But she had once again hit the nail on the head. She knew me so well; it alarmed me and at the same time filled me with happiness.

I smiled at her - her face was relaxed, and suddenly looked much more naive and innocent than she actually was. And it was stunning. I reached up and caught the hand that still rested on my cheek. It felt soft and small held in my own.

"When my father died I donned the mask - we looked exactly the same." I stated simply, my thumb tracing patterns over the back of her hand. Her eyes blinked slowly, never leaving mine, her lips slightly parted. "I'm not ashamed anymore... I'm proud to be his son... but..."

"A shinobi hides his feelings and stands his own ground."Sakura finished for me, her eyes flickering between mine, before darting over my face again. She understood. More than I could've ever hoped anyone would. "But Kakashi," She continued, holding my gaze. "Letting someone in is a choice, and not a weakness."

She looked down, blushing, and I knew she would not say any more. There was so much that I wanted to say, for her to understand. But she already did. Everything except the last part.

And it was once again a matter that she wouldn't press.

And her blush was something that hinted to why. Not that she would pry anyway, but it let me hope. More than I had allowed myself before. Because it had always been 'wrong'.

She had been my student, considered an inferior by everyone but me. Well not anymore. When she was 19 I realised that everything had been tipped upside down, and I thought nothing could fix it. I was wrong. She was too young, me too distant. Well not anymore. I didn't want her to see how I felt. I never let her see past the mask.

That's changed.

Because she's been the only person to want to be near me rather than just with me. She hasn't pushed, she hasn't pulled. She's been a constant, cared for my well being years before I would even respond. And eventually her actions changed along with my own. With her the actions themselves were no different. What changed was the manner in which she did them. When she looked after me in the hospital, it was with care, as well as concern. When I asked for a book while hospitalised, she found a new series by one of my favourite authors. She brought the book, but also the two sequels, knowing how quickly I would finish them.

She knew when my birthday was, even though I don't tell people. She knew this was probably for a reason, and didn't try to do anything huge. She did something better, she spent the day with me, like it was completely natural, and that's how it felt. Natural. Happy. She didn't even mention it until she left, passing the words over her shoulder. Because she knew I would at least feign grumpiness if she'd ran up and shouted it.

But that wasn't it. That just let me hope.

When she was worried, or tired and acted like someone half her age, she would still lighten my day, even an irritable Sakura was the most beautiful blossom on the tree. My gaze, usually on the ground, lifted when I saw her, my lips turned upwards if she smiled, my heart thudded if she was close to me.

And there was something in me that knew I wanted her. A need I kept buried deep inside. Because a rejection from her would break me.

If she said I was too old. If she said it would be wrong. If she loved someone else...

If she didn't love me.

But unless I made a move, I would never know.

"Sakura... I have let someone in." Pulling lightly on the hand I still held, I pulled her closer, felt her warmth as she fit into my arms. Felt how soft her skin was as I let my fingers trail her face. And felt true joy as I slanted my lips over hers and kissed her gently, my whole being healed as she reciprocated my movements her tongue gently moving against mine.

The main feeling that surfaced wasn't lust, wasn't pleasure, wasn't possession...

It was love, the need for her to know how I felt, for her to feel the same.

And when she kissed me the same way...

I was no longer empty, the ache was gone. And in its place was something much stronger – Sakura.

A/N ... I actually have nothing to say really. 'Cept sorry for such a long chapter. Nd since its Halloween as I'm writing this, imma gonna do a kakasaku Halloween oneshot. Yh... Nd I was being serious for a few paragraphs there. Honest to god. I must actually be growing up.

Ah well... Halloween does bring the unexpected...

I feel a bit lonely after writing this... /3 so shall include more of Naruto, and maybe Sai in the next chapter. Crack up the mood...

Reviewers are loved, guys. Eternally. XP And can have an imaginary fruit cookie XD