Chapter 4: Dinner

It was now quarter to seven, Kakashi would be arriving soon to pick Sakura up for their dinner together.

Standing in front of her floor length mirror in her room, Sakura stood there checking herself out.

She chose to wear a simple green knit sweater her mother gifted her for her birthday last month. Matching her eyes perfectly, it quickly became a favorite. She wore a simple red headband in place of her usual Konoha issued headband. Deciding on a simple pair of black leggings and flats, it pulled everything together. He did say dress comfortable afterall she thought.

'Simple and comfortable.'

Leaning forward and studying her face, Sakura noted how much it's changed in the last few years. Thinning out a bit, her cheekbones and jawline were more defined and delicate. Blinking a couple times she studied her eyes. She had touched up her lashes with a hint of mascara earlier, making her eyes pop more.

Glancing over to the clock on her nightstand, now showing that it was ten to seven.

Sakura's tummy started fluttering again and her heart began racing. Standing up, she placed one hand on her stomach and the other over her heart. She nervously looked back at her reflection.

'Oh my… This isn't going to end well for me at all… You're in way over your head, Sakura.' she thought, glancing over herself for the millionth time, 'No. It's just dinner! This is not a date! Just a casual dinner of friends. Nothing more…'

Turning away from her reflection, she wandered out of her room to the bathroom to put on some perfume before Kakashi got there. Sakura wore a light and airy vanilla perfume, complimenting her coconut scented shampoo and bodywash nicely. It was a perfect combo in her opinion.

*knock knock knock*

Zipping out of the bathroom towards her front door, Sakura saw the time on her stove showed 6:54pm.

'He's early for once!? Who would've imagined Kakashi Hatake arriving early for anything.'

Stopping in front of the door, straightening her shirt and taking a deep breath.

'Be confident, Sakura. Let's not have a repeat of what you did this morning.'

Putting on a warm smile, she pulled the door open to greet him. Standing on the other side was none other than the Rokudaime himself.

"Hi, Kakas…" Sakura began to say but losing her train of thought instantly. She couldn't help staring at the man in front of her.

He was wearing his standard issued black jounin pants, minus the usual weapons holsters, and boots. Instead of his usual Hokage black flak jacket, he wore a dark gray long sleeved pullover and no gloves. The only usual accessories on him were his Konoha headband and mask.

'Oh my god. He's handsome as hell.' she thought as she felt a blush creeping up.

'Oh my god. She's beautiful as hell.' Kakashi thought to himself as saw Sakura opening the door.

He felt his face get warm. He was blushing! Kakashi never felt more grateful for his mask ever before than he was in this moment.

He couldn't help himself as he stood there eyeing her, drinking in every inch. She was wearing a light green sweater that somehow matched her eyes perfectly. Instead of her Konoha headband, she chose to wear a deep red headband in its place.

Loving everything he saw in front of him, her smile, her blush, and her eyes. Oh, her eyes were so beautiful. Was she wearing mascara? Her lips…

Kakashi blinked a couple times to disrupt his thoughts before they could proceed any further.

'Get it together, Hatake. Don't go losing your cool now. She just thinks this a work related dinner.'

"Long time no see, Sakura. You're looking quite lovely tonight." he said, winking at her.

"Thank you. It's rare to see you in anything but your uniform. I feel honored." replying to him with a warm smile.

"Ah, felt the need to switch things up. Gotta keep you on your toes, ya know." he explained, "You ready?"

Sakura didn't reply to his comment immediately, only continuing to give him a warm smile. Kakashi suddenly felt the familiar tight knot form in his stomach as he smiled back.

"I am! Let me just grab my jacket and bag." she finally spoke, watching her turn around back into the apartment to fetch the items.

Slinging the bag onto her shoulder and hanging the jacket in her arms, together they left Sakura's apartment and made their way out.

"So… Where are we going for dinner? You still haven't told me." Sakura spoke, breaking their silence.

"You'll see soon enough."

She just hummed in acknowledgment from his side. Daring to peek at her, Kakashi found her staring ahead with a small smile on her lips. The knot in his stomach tightening further at the sight.

Arriving a few minutes later, they stopped in front a small restaurant.

It was a slightly more upscale barbeque restaurant Kakashi thought was his best option for tonight. He needed some privacy to speak with her, but not too much to make it awkward. It contained semi-private booths and offered a higher quality selection of food, the perfect choice for his situation he thought.

"Barbeque, huh? This is fancier than most other places. Pricier too in fact. Is this really where we'll be eating?" she asked, looking truly surprised at his choice.

"Ahh, Sakura, are you complaining about a man treating you out to a nice dinner? I figured I could treat us to something nicer than usual."

Her eyes widened at his response, blush returning per usual.

"Well, no… I just don't wanna inconvenience you or anything." she admitted, looking away from him shyly.

Taking a chance and stepping forward, he leaned towards Sakura. Stopping his head next to hers, his lips right by her ear, Kakashi whispered.

"You could never inconvenience me, Sakura."

An audible gasp escaping her lips, Sakura felt her entire body shiver and heat up at the same time. She watched as Kakashi stood up straight again, eyeing her with dark eyes.

'What is he trying to play at? Is he teasing me?'

Deciding instantly to play along with this game, she looked up to Kakashi to meet his heated gaze. She gave him a sly smile and a wink. Before giving him a chance to react, Sakura took a step around him.

"I see…" she whispered, walking towards the restaurant.

Kakashi stood there rooted in place, he was taken aback by the sudden confidence Sakura was displaying. She's a completely different person than she was this morning he thought to himself.

Shaking his head, he turned quickly to catch up with her before she got into the restaurant. Reaching from behind her, he pulled open the door, allowing her to walk in first.

During that motion he caught scent of her perfume.

'Vanilla… and coconut? Hmm…'

"After you." he spoke with a husky whisper into her ear.

"Thank you." she whispered back quietly.

As they stepped in they were greeted with a near packed restaurant. Kakashi stood there humming to himself in contemplation. He did not plan for it to be busy. With no back up restaurant planned for them either, he was getting somewhat anxious.

'Great…'

"Kakashi-sensei… I don't think we're gonna get a booth, are we?" Sakura spoke up from his side timidly. Their earlier teasing forgotten now.

"Please, drop the -sensei, Sakura. And I think you're ri-"

A waitress suddenly popped in front of them from out of nowhere.

"Oh! It's the Hokage! What a great honor! How many will be joining you tonight?"

Kakashi held up two fingers.

"Just the two of us here."

The waitress stood there eyeing the two of them for a quick second. She checked him out with a knowing look, lust clear in her eyes. He was used to women looking at him like that, more so since the war ended and him becoming Hokage. However, when she turned raising a brow towards Sakura, he knew immediately she was judging her.

'Don't look at her like that… Do you even know who she is? She could snap you like a twig if she wanted.'

He felt Sakura shift uncomfortably next to him, he turned to see her looking down at her feet. He knew she always struggled with her confidence and this waitress was not helping one bit.

He was not happy.

"Let me see what I have, Hokage-sama! As you can see we're very busy tonight. If we don't have anything right now, would you mind waiting?" the waitress spoke, acting as if she didn't just undress him with her eyes and give Sakura the stink eye.

"Depends on how much longer you're going to stand there staring at me and my date like that." he ground out to the women in front of him, annoyed.

The waitress froze in place, eyes going wide with fear. Completely blindsided for being caught eyeing them, she began panicking.

"I- Uh- I-I-I'm s-so sorry! I-I'm so sorry, H-Ho-Hokage-sama! I didn't mean to offend you or your date!" she apologized, stuttering profusely and bowing deeply, "Please, do not judge the restaurant because of me! Please wait here while I go check for a booth!"

Kakashi stood there watching her retreat into the dining area. He still felt some annoyance, but was thankful the young woman apologized. Realizing Sakura hasn't made a peep, he turned to look at her. She was frozen in place as well, still looking down at her feet with a stunned expression carved on her face.

"Sakura?"

She twitched at the sound of his voice saying her name. Looking up to him slowly, her eyes still wide.

"Are you okay? Do you still want to eat here? We can always go somewhe-"

"You said I was your date." she whispered, interrupting him, staring at him with her piercing seafoam green eyes.

Deciding it was easier to tell the truth than play it off, he replied.

"Yes, I did. I didn't make you uncomfortable by saying that, did I?"

'Shit! I totally messed this up. She obviously doesn't have feelings, you idiot. Just stop it now before you ruin it further.'

He watched her as she looked away from him, thinking over what he just said. He was getting more anxious as the seconds ticked by with her not saying anything. Suddenly smiling, she looked back up to him.

"No, you didn't."

Before getting get a chance to reply, the waitress returned. Worry, or was it fear he thought, written all over her face.

"Um, Hokage-sama, I don't have any regular booths right now. It'll be about thirty or so minutes before one opens up." she revealed, fidgeting with her apron, "But… We have a single booth available if you want to use that one."

"A single booth?" he questioned her, raising an eyebrow.

"Y-yes. It's just a booth that has one bench with the grill instead of two."

Turning to look at Sakura with an amusing look in his eyes.

"Do you wanna share a bench for dinner? Or do you want to go find something else?" he asked.

"Well…" smiling up to him, "We went to all the trouble of walking here, so I don't mind if we share just this once." she ended with, winking to him.

He smiled at her for a second before turning back to the waitress.

"We'll take it."

"O-okay, Hokage-sama. Right this way."

The young waitress guided them the short distance to the single sided booth. Holding the half curtain open for her, Sakura slid in first and Kakashi followed after, sitting down next to her. The bench was long enough for the two of them to sit comfortably apart without feeling crowded, but close enough to make it a bit more intimate than normal.

Handing them menus and taking their drink orders, the waitress scurried off to fetch them. Returning shortly after, they placed their order. Grabbing the menus from her and Kakashi, she was off once again.

Turning to face Sakura, she matched his movement.

"So how are you feeling? Rested up now?" he asked.

"Yes, definitely. I slept for nearly 12 hours! I haven't slept that long in ages."

"That's good, I'm happy to hear that." he smiled to her, "You should really be more careful from now on though. You really scared me last night, Sakura. Talking one second and the next you're just falling back?" blowing a breath of air out at his last sentence.

Sakura began blushing at this, feeling guilty. Looking away from him she spoke.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry for that…" looking back to him with an apologetic smile, "Like I said, with that expansion approval comes a lot of work. I'm just really excited to see this happen, so the shifts suddenly became longer."

Raising his brows, he nodded at her in understandment.

"So how's the expansion coming along? I know it's only been a week, but like I said, it's something I should probably check in on regularly."

Smiling, Sakura began explaining to Kakashi what has been done so far. She told him that the contractors have already drawn out a rough picture of what the expanded building will look like. Listing out the services they already provide and the new ones that we begin once the project is complete. She even went on to explain that the budget he saw listed was the high end budget and how they fully expect to fall under it, so he shouldn't have to worry too much about the final cost.

Their plate of meats and various sides and sauces arrived as she was speaking. Thanking the waitress, Sakura watched as she gave Kakashi another quick 'look' before leaving them.

'I don't like how she's looking at him… No! Stop that. Don't be jealous, he's not even yours to be jealous over!'

"Itadakimasu!" they said in unison before grabbing some meat to put on the grill.

Sakura made it clear that he was safe to pull down his mask to eat by facing forward again. Even after all these years, she still hasn't managed to get a glimpse of Kakashi's face. But now she respected his choice. He had his reasons for covering up and if he wanted her to see it he would let her know.

They casually talked about life as they began eating.

Kakashi spoke about some of his various meetings and how Shizune is constantly on him about sneaking out of the office. Sakura spoke more about the clinic, her rounds at the hospital, and how she goes to the academy now to teach basic medical ninjutsu to students.

Sakura was in love with the food. She couldn't recall the last time she ate such tasty barbeque. She sat there savoring each bite, thankful after all that Kakashi chose this place for their night out.

Feeling Kakashi shift beside her, she glanced over to see him fixing his mask back into its usual spot, signalling he was done eating and they could speak normally again.

"This was delicious!" exclaiming after finishing her last bite, "Thank you for bringing me here tonight, Kakashi." thanking him, giving him a big smile.

They continued sitting there for a while chatting. The conversation eventually steering towards their pasts, specifically the end of the war and adjusting to life afterwards.

"Have you heard from Sasuke?" he asked out of the blue, propping his right elbow on the table and resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

Sakura felt herself gloom up a bit at the mention of Sasuke.

'Why is he bringing him up?'

"No, I haven't heard from him since he left again. I know he's gotten in contact with Naruto a handful of times though. Why do you ask?"

Sakura hasn't thought about Sasuke in a long time she realized sitting there. After returning home, she was ecstatic, even pursuing after him like nothing changed. Soon however, she realized her feelings were not the same as they once were. Sure, she loved him and wanted him back home safely. But she didn't have that romantic love towards him anymore. She was sad to see him leave again to go on his journey, but life goes on she thought.

"Well, I know you've cared deeply for him since your academy days. Naruto recently got married to Hinata, so I was curious on how things are going with you two?" he explained.

'Is he seeing if I still have feelings for Sasuke? If so… then he's probably gonna like the answer.'

Smiling softly at Kakashi, Sakura answered him.

"There's nothing "going" on with Sasuke and I. I realized my feelings changed years ago. Plus, he never reciprocated back so I decided then it wasn't worth my time or energy anymore to wait. I still care for him a lot though, like I do with Naruto, and I hope he's doing well out there. But romantically? Those feelings are long gone."

Kakashi studied her for a few moments, mulling over her response. Usually in moments like this, Sakura would get anxious and begin blushing at his intense staring. But for some reason tonight, it felt alright. It felt right to her. She wasn't embarrassed about this confession.

Suddenly Kakashi began reaching his left hand out towards Sakura, surprising her. Gently moving his fingers, he tucked a piece of loose hair behind her ear, trailing his fingers down her cheek when he was done. She let out a small gasp at the contact.

Sakura suddenly felt hot all over, blushing madly no doubt. His delicate touch sending jolts of electricity throughout her body. Shooting her right hand up and capturing his hand in her own, she held it in place.

'So warm… He's always so warm…'

Still holding his hand in place, Sakura let out a soft sigh. Closing her eyes, she leaned her cheek into it.

"Sakura…" she heard him whisper.

Looking up, she was meet with a pair of dark gray eyes narrowing at the sight of her. Desire clearly showing, she couldn't look away.

She began to feel herself draw in, leaning closer to Kakashi. His hand following along, slowly guiding her towards him. Their faces growing closer together, inch by inch.

Sakura felt her heart beginning to race. Her face never feeling hotter before than it did now.

'He's going to kiss me… We're going to kiss…'

Mere inches from him now, Sakura let her eyes droop and gave him a hooded look. Parting her lips slightly, she caught a glimpse of him as he rose his other hand to his face.

Hooking his finger into his mask, he slowly started to lower it, matching her heated look with one of his own.

'This is really happening…'

A/N: CLIFFHANGER! Can you guys tell that I like cliffhangers? Cause I really like them.

Will they kiss? Will Sakura pull away? Will Kakashi stop himself? Will they finally give in to their feelings? Stay tuned for the next chapter!

Special thanks to my beta, Taytay95, for helping out! Go check out her own KakaSaku stories!