Hours later, she was exhausted. Physically? Sure, her chakra was shot working such long hours these past few days. But more so, emotionally. She usually didn't associate with people for so long and although she wanted to help anyone she could - she was helping everyone and she couldn't deal.

The balcony at the Hokage office had the best view of the city, of the festival she had set up that she had hardly enjoyed between worrying herself over everyone else. It was worth it, yeah - tonight just wasn't her night. It was Shika's, the village's, maybe even Sasuke and Naruto's.

But when would her night come?

The sun had set not long ago, but with it a slight chill overtook her. It wasn't quite summer yet, but they had dressed for it - her light yukata fluttered in the wind, rather drafty for such a cool night. Still, she would not trade her solitude.

It was only then that she didn't have to mask her mood, to hide how desperately she was seeking help that she refused to vocalize. She knew she needed it - but what she needed she couldn't just ask for. It was more than that. Maybe she wanted someone to just know. She always had to know about people. She spent so much time psychoanalyzing patients, saving self-righteous nin, helping her friends and her enemies alike. This was her path: She was supposed to give. And she had convinced herself a long time ago that it was incredibly selfish to desire so strongly the "get" part of that - even though now, as she "got" less and less, she was falling apart. Solitude was the only place she could do that in peace.

She had sensed him before he approached, meaning only really that he wasn't trying to conceal himself. Despite wanting alone time, she had not concealed her chakra, ducked out when she sensed him coming, or told him to go away when she felt him standing behind her. Staring out over the village, she longed for something indescribable. She wanted something she was fighting against wanting. She did not want to be herself. But then again, she never did.

However, despite noting his approach, the cool metal on her skin and his fingers tickling the back of her neck made her shiver in mixed surprise and nerves. Looking down, she was so befuddled - a necklace? It was beautiful, so gorgeous - but...

"A cherry blossom for the cherry blossom... in honor of the cherry blossom festival." He cleared his throat, realizing his words were not nearly as confident or smooth as he wanted. Moving quietly to her side, the quaint village so alive with colors and sounds, despite this building's silence. He could understand her desire to be away from it just a moment.

"It's... beautiful." She was staring at him while he stared at the town, confused just as much by her feelings about the necklace as to his intentions with giving it. She did not know what else to say.

"When I became Hokage," He pulled his mask down to let his cheeks soak in the cool air, a level of comradery between them she had never fully acknowledged and appreciated, "This village was still recovering, so many lost, so much lost... Sometimes I take peace for granted. As people regain their normalcy, their life... I feel... lost. A ninja, that was always my path. But... How can one even think such a selfish thing when nights like tonight unfold?"

"You have a lot of time with your thoughts during peace," She nodded to that, but couldn't agree with him. "You're so much more than a ninja though, you know that. You're a natural leader. A teacher. That is a Hokage's true purpose."

He gave her a kind smile, but she saw hollowness in the gesture. Yes, she had given that rosy grin too many times. It was meant to comfort the comforter.

"Don't give me that," She gave a soft laugh, though it was sad. But she didn't know what else to say, so she tucked her tumbling pink locks behind her ear and bumped him softly, "I mean you're an excellent jewelry connoisseur, for one."

He... blushed? "You like it?"

She turned shades redder than her hair. "Y-yeah, it's so pretty."

He laughed, pulling up his mask, perhaps to hide his glow. "I'm glad you think so, Sakura-chan."

Fireworks erupted down by the lake, exploding into colors that spelt out,

"Temari

Will you

Marry

Me?"

She smiled softly, hearing the whole town come alive with aws and cheers - if Shikamaru had planned on doing this intimately, Sakura had blown up his spot. But there was no bigger surprise than one that shined brighter than the stars. Any woman would want such a gesture. A soft sigh escaped.

"You did that?" He wasn't really asking, but laughed when she said "No, as far as I'm concerned, it was all Shikamaru. I just hope she said yes."

"You're always doing too much," He shook his head as if to scold her, "You're really something else."

If he didn't know, he was doing a good job at convincing her he did. It was like that cool breeze had been evaporated; Her skin hot under Suna sun with the way he looked at her. She didn't understand her desire to show her whole hand, or why she wanted to cry, or what any of it meant - and it all made her felt girlish and weak, and if she hated -anything- on this earth, it was being weak, and she just needed to, to...

"We should be heading back," She cleared her throat, regaining her composure, "My job's not done, after all. Smoozing with the important people from around the world isn't just the Hokage's job. The hospital always needs medical nin."

She was referring to the banquet they would be late to if they didn't hurry up. Kakashi felt like they had time, but she argued he was always late, and she simply wouldn't let a Hokage do such a thing.

He couldn't argue against that, and certainly wasn't going to sit here alone, though he wished she wasn't so eager to get back to the village center. It was all a little too much; Sensory overload, really. And the constant chit chatting - it was exhausting, to smile and nod and remember someone from ten years ago who knows exactly who you are.

Watching her at his side, seeing the way the necklace perfectly curled around her collar bones, it filled him with warmth. He only wished he could express that. Naruto's words had weighed heavily on him when he was left alone at the festival; All he had wanted was to see her, and he found his head swiveling, awaiting her return. When he saw Ino and no Sakura, he went to seek her out. When he tried to be normal, his words stumbled over themselves, and his stomach knotted at his fear she would be freaked out by his gesture. When she wanted to go back to the village he was sad. When he was next to her now, he felt pride that she was wearing something he gave her. He thought she was beautiful.

He thought he was stupid for thinking all of that, even if he could accept that's exactly what this was.

When they arrived, people were surrounding Temari, who's buns were draped in flower crowns and who's finger adorned a rock they could see from the edge of the room. Shikamaru looked like he was melting under the attention, but the smile on Temari's face kept him smirking ever so slightly.

"I've never seen Temari-chan so embarassed," Gaara mused to Naruto, "How excellent."

Naruto shot a knowing smirk to Sakura who blushed, but they wouldn't give up Shikamaru's secret. After all, all he had done was go to the experts. Rule number two of being a ninja: know when you're outmatched. Rule number one, of course, was never leave a teammate behind.

"The first course is being served!" A bell was rung, and people began scrambling to their assigned seats. She had put herself next to Naruto, but now that seat was occupied by Sasuke. "No worries!" Naruto had seen her dejection; Scrambling to go grab a chair and drag it... next to Kakashi. Kakashi's eyes twitched ever so slightly. "A table of team 7! Like the good old times!"

They sat and began eating their first meal in relative silence, until Naruto, mouth full of rice, exclaimed, "Hey Sakura! Nice necklace! Where'd you get it?!"

She blushed, looking to Kakashi for some help, unsure of why she couldn't bring herself to simply say it was from him? She wasn't ashamed of it, but...

"I bought it for Sakura," Kakashi had choked on his food, but caught himself quickly, wondering if Naruto really did have a death wish, "A fitting gift for someone who would put all of this together, no? She deserves some recognition from the village for putting on such a great festival."

The necklace was... Oh.

What had she thought the necklace could have meant?

Stupid girl, she scowled, you only pain yourself. Why did you think this would be any different?

Like he could ever see her as an equal. Why did you even want it to mean something else anyway?

An hour past. Kakashi had noted her silence, but any attempts from him to get her to talk seemingly went unnoticed, any from the others just as inefficient. Sasuke was staring her down, but she wouldn't make eye contact with him. What had he missed?

Silence left her learning a lot about her friends - mainly how much she had fallen out from them. Hinata had an obvious infatuation with Kiba, leaving her wondering when Hinata had abandoned her childhood admiration of Naruto. She supposed three years of no excuses or answers would leave her dejected too - or maybe, like Sakura, she knew Naruto well enough to understand it was simply never going to happen. Seeing through the french doors to the patio from her seat, she watched Anko invading Iruka's personal space to whisper something in his ear that made him shiver. Choji and Karui were conoodling in the corner - Ino was shamelessly dangling herself over Sai. Rock Lee would've been an excellent boyfriend - showing off TenTen to any one who crossed their paths, especially to Gaara who did not how to politely silence his friend.

She also noticed that she was the only one swimming in her lonely silence while surrounded by mutual happiness.

"Hey~ Space cadet!" Naruto waved his fork infront of her, "Sasuke-kun asked you a question."

She was not alone, no, but she surely felt it. He didn't force her to politely ask him to repeat himself. "Would you like to get lunch tomorrow? It is... shockingly... ramen." He shot the blond an eye roll, but he was too busy beaming. "It'd be nice to get the whole team together for once!" Naruto added, quickly changing her answer.

"I would love to," She was a rancid liar, "But... I have a girls night planned already, sorry."

Sasuke "hn"ed at the same time Kakashi "hmphed", and much like the balcony, air escaped her lungs and she sought relief on the patio alone.

Ino had put it bluntly a year ago when she was puking outside of a bar after sunrise, back when her friends still came to try and get her home - Sakura was fucked up. It wasn't until now that she could completely accept that, though the ones she chose to accept weren't necessarily the ones Ino had meant. Hot for teacher? Really Sakura? Could you get any lamer?

She had meant to be alone, but she was almost relieved to find Ino-pig enjoying a drink by herself out there. "We're getting lunch tomorrow, if anyone is smart enough to ask you."

A slender blonde brow peaked, "Where?"

"Not ramen," Sakura grumbled, resting her elbows on the rails and hanging her head.

"How about the new sushi place on the edge of town?" Sakura hadn't meant they were actually getting lunch tomorrow - but she suspected that Ino knew that, and was simply using Sakura's lie against her. After all, how could Sakura escape her forced hand? "Shall I invite Hinata?"

Sakura shrugged. It didn't matter - she was planning on being very hung over either way. She hadn't started drinking yet, but at this point, she was ready to be the Usain Bolt of shots. In fact, she grabbed Ino's melting drink and knocked it back in one swift chug, leaving Ino drinkless. "I didn't need that," Ino rolled her eyes, putting her elbows on the rail beside her friend.

"I haven't had sex in so long," Sakura was arguing out loud to herself, "I really need to have sex. Ino-pig, introduce me to someone."

"We're at a political banquet, not a dive bar," Ino rolled her eyes, but was met with the same look - Sakura knew that. Obviously. But she was desperate to rid herself of these thoughts.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around much," wondering if Ino's sugar-less delivery was out of animosity, "Apparently, you were right. I'm a little fucked up."

"Apparently," Ino smiled - supposed to follow it with a laugh, but it got stuck in her throat. "Sakura..."

She waved her off, "Let's not talk about me. You and Sai... finally happening huh?"

There was a long silence. "We've been dating six months."

Ah. Sakura shut her eyes. She deserved to be alone, look how she treated her best friend, being so selfish. "Well, I'm happy, I- uh, I'll see you tomorrow,"

Ino had went to grab her wrist, but Sakura pulled away, a small, sad smile on her lips. "Sushi right? I'll be there. Promise."

Ino had seen a glimmer this past week - a crack in the mud-crusted window that was letting the light out, showing her that her friend was still there - but tonight, it seemed as though the tenant had re-boarded her windows, shutting herself in and away. What had brought her out? What had pushed her back in? Was there a way she could help?

Kakashi's hands had trembled so badly at the table, he pulled a card from Sakura's notebook and ordered sake. To celebrate! Of course, yes, sure. To stop his racing heart, to relax his swollen throat, to stifle the incessant thoughts that kept telling him he had done something to make her look so ghostly when he had no idea what he had done wrong.

She had been so beautiful but moments before, so herself - but just as suddenly, she had vanished looking no better than she had a week ago. With her fleeing he felt vacant, and reminded himself that this is why he strayed from people for so long.

When Sasuke and Naruto both refused a second round, he ordered one for himself, sucking down the warm liquid until the burn stopped burning and his vision was blurring. Sasuke wanted to intervene, but the hostile air from early hadn't cleared, and he feared only agitating it by reprimanding a man who had once been his sensei. Naruto had abandoned them at the table sometime after Sakura left, and so they were stalemated. When Kakashi ordered another round, Sasuke indulged him - half a bottle better than a whole. Team 7's greatest weakness, and perhaps, greatest strength, was that no matter the situation, big or small, dire, frowned upon, or glanced over by others - they would always self-sacrifice for each other. Even at his worst Sasuke had come back to save Naruto from the Zero Tails. Even with blatant and confusing displeasure from the silver haired Hokage across from him, he would do what he could to save him from whatever had set him on this binge.

As Naruto would to save them both, sacrificing what time felt so precious for a man he never got to see, to try and salvage a situation they were royally fucking up. Funny how two of the people he thought were the smartest, greatest ninja, one of whom was literally responsible for a whole village, was too dumb to see the most obvious thing ever. Tch, and to think Sasuke always called him an idiot. Clearly he was a genius if those two couldn't see what was so apparent.

Sakura was at the bar doing a shot of something sweet, dreading her reality, when Naruto, tailed by Ino, came speed walking over to her. She hadn't gotten drunk enough in that window of time to deal with them, but when she went to leave the bar ahead of their arrival, Naruto called over, "The village needs you!"

Well, that atleast got her to turn around and raise a slender pink brow. He scratched the back of his head with a weak smile that said "maybe that's an exaggeration" but nonetheless, before she could change her mind, he pleaded, "Kakashi-sensei's one sake bottle away from making a total fool of himself, I think we should convince him to go before he does..."

She looked over at the table where Kakashi was slumped on one hand, sipping from the cup at alarming speeds. Sasuke seemed to be trying to take the bottle away, but he was being swatted at by a Kakashi who loudly proclaimed "Don't question your teacher!" and got many a glance his direction.

Oh, this was bad. And as she was part of team 7, she would sacrifice her self-preservation, the shutting of those feelings, and her desire to do the same exact thing, to save her teammate from himself.

"Let's convince him to go for a walk," Sakura responded quickly, trying to come up with a plan.

"He won't go," Ino sighed, "I mean, I can do this the easy way, but someone's gonna have to stay with my body."

"I'll stand watch," Naruto nodded, "Sakura, once you're far enough away and Ino transfers him out, will you do the pleasure of walking our hokage home, I'm sure Sasuke will come."

Naruto knew Sasuke wouldn't go. Sakura didn't, but she knew she didn't want him to. His night was already getting sidetracked as it was. Sasuke didn't know he was part of any plans until a seemingly sobering Kakashi looked up suddenly, and whispered, "It's Ino. We gotta go, now."

Sakura was there then, making small talk with Sasuke and "Kakashi" as they tried to make an Irish goodbye happen in a Japanese tea house. They escaped mainly with quick polite promises of being right back, but after heading to the patio, they quickly ducked over a gate and toward the town. "Damnit Kakashi," Kakashi, rather, Ino, muttered, "Know what's for your own good."

He was, no doubt, trying to shove her out of his head - Sakura familiar herself with the technique, knew it was less than pleasant, and had he been any less inebriated, it would've been easy for him to shove the blonde out. But as they left the main area of town, she began grinning, though commented nothing at all. "Adios," was all she said before Kakashi was back, much less sturdy and very disoriented.

In her own body, Naruto sitting next to her on a bench outside, she grinned at him, who already knew what she was going to say. "This has so got to happen."

"Sakura... Sasuke... I'm fine, I should, don't you- Ino should be in jai..."

Sakura shushed him, scooping one of his arm's over her shoulder, "She should win a medal for coming up with that plan," She corrected, "Sasuke, get going. I can take it from here."

"I'm a bit bigger," he offered, but she waved him off. She owed Kakashi, that much was sure, and she wanted Sasuke to go have his night. "Go. You have somewhere to be."

But Sasuke didn't get very far until Naruto caught up to him, informing him they had a secret mission.

"Sakura..." They were nearing his apartment, thankfully, as he seemed to be dozing off on her. She ignored him, knowing he wasn't going to be able to finish whatever he was trying to say, and she was busy ignoring his warmth and how comfortable he felt around her. "No, Sakura-"

He pulled away from her just in time to wretch up all his insides next to her shoes and not on them. A medical nin does not flinch at vomit, and so she held his hair and rubbed his shoulders while he threw up. "One time," she kept rubbing his back in circles, "Naruto got so drunk he went on such a long rant about Sasuke... We were with Hinata and... Shikamaru, right, yeah, and all of a sudden, Shikamaru goes "So why don't you go blow him then" and Naruto threw up in response - but like, all in Hinata's lap. To this day, I can't even imagine her depth of love for that boy, because white faced and all, she did nothing but politely excuse herself and go home without making a scene. We carried Naruto home that night, and he still almost threw up on Shikamaru after that."

Kakashi wretched again. "Another time, some hot shot from the Land hidden in the Mist was trying to smooth talk me, when I was way younger, and eventually I guess he got impatient, because he goes, 'I could transform into Uchiha if you want' and I round housed him through the wall. Needless to say, my team wasn't happy we were permanently kicked out of a bar letting minors in." She laughed at the memory. His hair was damp with sweat, but he had stopped vomiting.

"My point," She smiled, combing her fingers through his hair, "Everyone has those nights."

"Do you still like him?"

Her laughter cut, and she looked quizzically down at her former teacher. "Who?"

There was a long pause, "Sasuke."

"No," She chuckled, "That ship sailed moons ago. Though apparently you're not the only one who thought that was still a thing."

"Did he try... Cause I'll kill him if-" Kakashi couldn't finish a sentence, but he did pull himself to his feet, seemingly steady.

"No, trust me, no-" That had not been what she meant it to sound like, and she was caught off guard by his violent tone, the way his fists balled at his sides. "Come on, 'Kashi, let's get you home." He had shook his head, but she all but dragged him toward his apartment.

"No," He kept mumbling, and when they got to the door, he made no moves for his keys. "No, you can't come in," He muttered, when she reached for his keys, he grabbed her wrists. "Air."

She sighed. His face screamed desperation, and she was just as eager to dispel whatever troubled him. So they went, off toward the fields not far from his home. The second they entered the meadow, he sprawled on the ground, staring up at the stars.

"Why... have you been alone so long?" He was trying so hard to speak clearly, even with his mind a mess. "If not for...Sas'uke."

Leaning back on her palms, she wasn't sure what he was prodding at. "I don't know, Kakashi. I could ask you the same thing."

"I'm old," He shook his head, "But you're...you."

She didn't know how to take that, but thought maybe he just wanted to hear her talk about something, so he didn't have to do any thinking. Maybe he was lonely and wanted to understand someone else's loneliness. Maybe she knew telling him all this was a mistake, but she did it anyway, "I can't relate to too many people, and I pushed a lot of them away myself. I want to be with someone who can understand every side of me, but I have been fragmented far too many times to know if that's ever possible."

"You're not broken," He mumbled, trailing off as if he had more to say, but nonetheless silent. When she looked over, he was asleep. You're not broken, his words echoed in her head. She couldn't say he didn't know – he, Naruto, Sasuke, they were the closest people to her. His words had weight, and right now, it pooled in her chest where her breathing became that much harder. You're not broken. She took a deep breath. You're not.

What to do now? She couldn't leave him, so she guessed it would be time she returned his favor that had started this all off, and wait for him to wake up too. He was peaceful when he slept. He looked almost child-like, despite his scar. She could not escape him, even in accidental situations like this one.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Naruto angrily whispered, perched in a tree above the scene. Sasuke, rubbed his tired eyes. "Naruto, can we go home now that you're done spying?"

"No! I'm mad! Besides, we have to make sure no one finds them sleeping in a field together. That'd be a little scandalous."

Sasuke had not signed up for sleeping in a tree all night. He had done that for years and was finally home in Konoha, where he anticipated at least a couch to sleep on, if not a bed. He had anticipated some clumsy romantic evening, if not, atleast one where he could be close to Naruto, just the two of them, to gauge everything between them. It had been some time, and he missed the boy so much his bones ached for him. It took all his restraint not to 'accidentally' fall into his arms all evening.

"Why are we spying on them?"

Naruto was staring at him deadpanned, "Not you too. Am I crazy?! You're supposed to be a genius for crying out loud! How am I the only one who notices how into each other they are?!"

"Kakashi and... Sakura?" Sasuke's brows knit together. Had she been immune to him because she had moved on? But Kakashi was their... Well, he had been rather aggressive toward him all night, and he had walked into some playful banter between them... He supposed it made sense, but the option had never even occurred to him as a possibility before. They were adults, and intellectually, very similarly minded…

"I can't believe I get them alone, I work out this whole plan, and instead of confessing he throws up and goes to sleep?!"

All of a sudden, Naruto's dodgy behavior made sense – he had been trying to orchestrate something between the two. And his obsession made more sense because…

"Are you saying you're mad because two people obviously like each other and neither have made a move yet?"

"Yes! I-"

He had chased him all over the world. It was not like an Uchiha to run, and so he stopped. Naruto's whole body buzzed when warm lips enveloped his own, one hand finding his cheek, the other clutching to his waist, making sure the nin did not fall from the tree. Unlike the first two kisses the boys had shared, this one held no shock, no fear, no confusion in message. No, this kiss felt utterly right, like the culmination of their lives up until this point to have achieved nirvana, a true state of peace and comfort and love. If Sasuke had one wish, it would be to never leave this tree, to never lose the blond's warmth, to never ever, question whether he was loved.

When Sasuke pulled away, Naruto got a little misty eyed. "Sometimes, I wasn't sure if you... If we were just..."

Sasuke pulled him to his chest, holding him as close as he could, "Idiot."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Bet that wasn't the sweet lovin you thought you were getting ;) sorry, I'm a tease. Reviews make me very happy and create longer updates like this! Thank you for all the support so far!