Sasuke stepped out into the cold night air, nervous and having doubts about his decision to accept Kakashi's invitation, but the moment his eyes settled on the older man standing next to him limo, smiling for Sasuke, all the doubts fled. Smiling himself, Sasuke tugged at the lapels of his new suit jacket though it wasn't out of place. Pulling the door closed behind him, Sasuke draws a deep breath and walks down the steps and across the short distance to the limo and his waiting date. He stops to give Kakashi a moment to have a good look at him since this was the first time Sasuke had worn the suit since Kakashi had bought it for him. Sasuke took the opportunity to let his gaze travel over Kakashi as well. Of course, Sasuke had seen Kakashi dressed up several times since he'd first met him, but he never could pass up the chance to really look at the older man.

"You look quite handsome in that suit, Sasuke."

Glancing up at Kakashi, Sasuke smiles again, then steps past him and slides into the limo as he replies. "Thank you, but I feel strange. I've never dressed like this before." When Kakashi slides in and settles next to him, Sasuke glances at him again, feeling a nervous twitching beginning in his stomach once again. "You on the other hand look amazing, as always."

Kakashi smiles at Sasuke, making his already twitching stomach do somersaults. "Thank you, Sasuke. Just give it time, you'll be as comfortable as I am dressed like this."

Sasuke frowns slightly and slouches in the seat, shoulders hunched, not caring if it wrinkles his clothes. "I don't know about that. I'm just not a fancy kind of guy. Besides, I don't think it's all about the clothes, I think a lot of it is nerves. I honestly don't know how comfortable I am about meeting a bunch of strangers. I mean, I'm just some street kid you picked up and took in."

When Kakashi reaches out and takes hold of Sasuke's chin, he allows himself to be turned to face the older man, and the look he sees on Kakashi's face stops his breath in his chest and temporarily blots out any doubts he had. "You are not just some street kid I picked up. You are the one I love, and that more than anything else makes you worthy of being in the company of these people and any others."

Sasuke blinks at Kakashi, surprised at the vehemence in his voice and the fierce look on his face. Feeling heat sliding up his cheeks, Sasuke tries to look away, but Kakashi's bright black eyes hold his gaze until he relaxes. "I'm sorry, Kakashi. Thank you."

Kakashi stares intently at Sasuke for a few moments longer, then drops his hand away from his chin, resting it on his shoulder instead as a smile spread across his face. "Don't worry so much, you'll be fine. I promise. Besides, don't forget the promise I made you when you agreed to go with me. We'll only stay for about an hour, then we'll leave. I've already made other plans for the rest of the evening."

"Really? What are we going to do after we leave this party, go to another one?" Sasuke asks with a laugh.

Kakashi just grins at him, sliding the hand on Sasuke's shoulder down his arm, taking Sasuke's hand lightly in his for a moment. "We'll call it a private party and leave it at that. You'll just have to wait and see."

Kakashi lets go of Sasuke's hand, making a pang of regret spike through Sasuke followed immediately by the awkward shyness he'd been fighting since he'd realized that he truly did love Kakashi. Kakashi reaches out and presses a button and music begins to fill the back of the limo. Sasuke sits back with a smile, content to listen to the music so he can settle his nerves. He decides almost instantly that he likes the song, and when he turns his head to ask Kakashi the name of the song, he finds the older man sitting sideways in the seat to watch his face intently as he listened to the song. Unable to think with Kakashi looking at him like that, Sasuke just sits back and listens. When it ends and the next song begins to play, he glances back at Kakashi, blushing faintly.

"What are you thinking, Sasuke?"

"Well, I was thinking that I liked that song, and I was going to ask you what it was called, but you were staring at me so intently I knew it had some meaning to you, so I really listened to it, to hear what you hear."

"And what did you hear?"

Sasuke shifts, suddenly nervous, not wanting to sound like an idiot if he's wrong. Glancing at Kakashi he has a spurt of confidence, just knowing that he's right about what he's thinking. "This song expresses the way you felt about me when I was still living on the street."

Kakashi studies him so intently for so long, Sasuke begins to feel nervous again, that earlier confidence slipping a bit until Kakashi smiles at him. The warmth of that one smile lights up Kakashi's face and warms Sasuke from his heart outward until his entire body is suffused in a warm glow that he now knew was love. "You're very perceptive, and even more than that, you're smart. It's just too bad you didn't have a chance at a proper education when you were growing up, who knows what you could have become."

Sasuke smiles at Kakashi, feeling pride join that warm glow of love. He shrugs his shoulders, then grins a bit slyly. "Actually, I do have some education. My mother taught me to read when I was really young, and I always enjoyed reading. I'd think that would be pretty obvious the way I'm going through your library. After what happened to my family and I ran off to live in the streets, I learned other hard lessons quickly. One of my first lessons was that you had to stay warm or you weren't going to make it. I saw too many kids that froze to death on the streets. But, when the shelters are closed or full, you have to find other ways to stay warm. It didn't take me long to figure out the best place to go, during the day at least, was to the library. It was open to the public and it didn't matter if I had money or not. I could stay there all day reading if I wanted, and I usually did. Basically, I taught myself anything and everything I wanted to know. It may not be a traditional education, and it won't give me a high school diploma, but it kept me happy and a lot of that knowledge was quite useful over the years."

Kakashi looks at Sasuke so intently he begins to squirm, wondering what the older man was thinking this time. As if he'd read his thoughts, Kakashi answered the unasked question. "That really does answer a lot of the questions I've had about you from the start. You've always seemed rather bright to me, and when I paired that with your grammar, spelling and punctuation in that note you left me in the hospital, I'd wondered how you could show all the signs of a good education when I knew there wasn't much of a chance you got an education living on the streets."

Sasuke shifts uncomfortably, unsure why Kakashi's praise suddenly made him so uncomfortable, when earlier it has filled him with pride. "Yeah, well, it may not have been traditional, but it was still an education." Clearing his throat, Sasuke changed the subject, suddenly not wanting to talk about his time on the streets anymore. "So, what was that song anyway?"

Kakashi smiles and leans back in the seat once more. "It's called 'Yours To Hold' and it's sung by the group Skillet. We'll add it to your MP3 player when we get home tonight."

Sasuke smiles and starts to answer, but feeling the limo come to a stop, he turns and looks out the window at the huge house they'd pulled up in front of. Shaking his head, Sasuke draws a deep breath and glances at Kakashi one last time for reassurance as the door is opened. Before Kakashi can slide out of the car, Sasuke reaches out and takes hold of his hand. Kakashi pauses and gives it one reassuring squeeze before stepping out of the car. Sasuke closes his eyes for a moment, then slides out behind Kakashi. He stands behind him until Kakashi reaches back and takes his hand, pulling him up next to him. Sasuke glances up at the house, then turns his gaze down to the ground in front of him, suddenly feeling intimidated by the large building.

After that everything seemed to happen in a blur. Sasuke never had a chance to be nervous, but he never quite managed to be comfortable either. He was introduced to their host and hostess, the Tezukas, and then to several other couples whose names he couldn't remember. Each time he seemed to have a moment alone with Kakashi and a chance to catch his breath, someone else would come along to be introduced. The last straw for Sasuke came when a woman came along and dragged Kakashi away by his arm, chattering on and on about the amount of time it had been since she'd seen Kakashi. Just before they got out of earshot, Sasuke got the impression that they'd known one another as kids and the loud blonde woman had been in love with Kakashi. Sasuke stood rooted to the spot he'd been left in, watching Kakashi across the room. When Kakashi turned and shrugged helplessly, Sasuke shook his head and turned, heading out of the room. He moved quickly through the house, backtracking to the front door.

Stepping outside into the cold night air, Sasuke pulls his cigarettes from the inside pocket of his suit jacket and flips one out. He pulls the cigarette out and sticks it in his mouth and slides the pack back into his pocket with one hand as the other pulls his lighter from the pants pocket he'd dropped it in. Once the cigarette was lit, Sasuke slid the lighter back into his pocket and left his hand there to keep it out of the cold. Stepping out of the entryway to the top of the steps, Sasuke looked out across the property to the distant horizon, his eyes moving from one bright spot to another that showed the lights of the nearby city. He's so absorbed by his thoughts and his contemplation of the lights in the distance, he doesn't hear it when someone moves up behind him. When a hand is placed on his shoulder, Sasuke utters a startled cry, jumping and dropping his nearly finished cigarette. Before he can turn around to see who had snuck up behind him, Kakashi speaks quickly from behind him, soothing Sasuke.

"Hey, hey! Calm down! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Are you alright?"

"Shit," Sasuke breathes out with feeling as he turns and looks up at Kakashi. "I didn't hear you come out." Closing his eyes, Sasuke leans against Kakashi's chest, relaxing when he feels the older man wrap his arms around him. Sasuke just stands there until his heartbeat slows back to normal, then steps back and looks up at Kakashi again. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"Looking for you of course. I saw you leave. I'm sorry about being dragged off like that. Kristin has always been extremely pushy. She's also one of those morons that refuses to believe that I'm gay. She thinks that I just need a good woman in my life."

Sasuke frowns slightly as he thinks about this, the frown slowly turning to a scowl. "And she wants to be that woman." It wasn't a question, Sasuke knew by the way she was acting that he was right.

Kakashi just nods, looking disgusted. "I never liked her much when we were kids, before I figured out I was gay. My coming out of the closet had nothing to do with that, but she refuses to see that point, or accept it." Kakashi shakes as if to rid himself of something unpleasant, then smiles down at Sasuke once again. "So, I think it's time we got out of here, don't you?"

Sasuke smiles back at him and nods. "Yes, I do. We haven't had our dance yet though."

Kakashi shrugs and steps back from Sasuke, taking one of his hands and leading him down the front steps to the waiting limo. "That's ok, you can't really dance to Christmas music anyway, I don't care what anyone says. I'll have to give you a rain check on that dance. Besides, I have something much more pleasant in mind. But first, we need to go home and change clothes."

"Change? Why? Where are we going?"

Kakashi grins at him then slides into the limo, pulling Sasuke in behind him. "Somewhere cold. We need to dress warmly."

Sasuke doesn't bother trying to get any other information, knowing he wasn't going to get any. Instead, he leans against Kakashi and listens to the music on the ride back home. When they step inside, he expects to find Naruto waiting, and when he doesn't he's confused until he remembers that Naruto had taken an extra shift at his new job. Sasuke had a feeling he'd done that so he wouldn't be in the way when he and Kakashi returned from their date. Shaking his head, Sasuke heads up to his room and changes out of the suit into jeans and a sweatshirt, trading the dress shoes for sneakers then heads back down to the entry all. Kakashi was waiting for him, coat in hand. Sasuke slips into the coat, then takes Kakashi's hand as they head back out to the limo.

Thinking for a minute that he'd find out what Kakashi had planned when he told his driver where to take them, Sasuke is disappointed when Kakashi doesn't say a word. Sasuke figures out quickly that Kakashi had told the man where he was to take them when Sasuke wasn't around to hear. He shakes his head, grinning at just how sneaky the man could be, admitting silently that the secret, while frustrating was kind of fun. It seemed they hadn't been driving long at all when Kakashi turned to him, holding up a strip of black cloth. Sasuke looks at it frowning, then glances up at Kakashi, waiting for the explanation.

"It's a blindfold."

"Blindfold? For what?"

"For you."

Sasuke sighs in exasperation, but smiles in spite of himself. "You know what I mean."

Kakashi grins at him and leans over, tying the bit of cloth over his eyes. "I told you, I want this to be a surprise."

Sasuke laughs, a bit giddy from excitement and settles back in the seat, waiting for his surprise. He reaches out toward Kakashi, and when the older man takes his hand, Sasuke twines their fingers together then lays his head back against the seat, eyes closed as he waits. When the limo stops an indeterminate time later, Sasuke lifts his head and turns to the left when cold air washes over his face. Kakashi's hand slips out of his and Sasuke hears the older man slide out of the limo. A few moments later Kakashi reaches back in and carefully guides Sasuke out of the limo. Catching a tang of salt on the air, Sasuke knows where they are before the blindfold is pulled away. He stands blinking for several long moments until his eyes adjust once again, then gasps at the beauty of the scene. The beach stretched out before them endlessly, the moonlight making the sand seem to shine like diamonds and dancing on the lightly rolling waves.

Sasuke stands taking it all in for several minutes, then turns to Kakashi, grinning. "Isn't it just a little too cold for a swim?"

Chuckling, Kakashi tosses the blindfold to the driver, then slides his arm around Sasuke and starts walking. They head down to the beach and stop just above the line of the tide. Drawing a deep breath, Kakashi lets it out in a sigh before he finally replies. "You can go swimming if you want, but I'm not crazy enough to. I planned on taking a walk in the moonlight, but I suppose I can walk alone if you'd like to take a dip."

Sasuke laughs and bumps Kakashi's side with his shoulder. "Very funny. I'd never dream of abandoning my date. Even if this is a rather corny idea."

"Corny?" Kakashi asks in mock derision. "Of course it's not! I like to think of it as ridiculously romantic."

Sasuke laughs again and shakes his head. "Where did you pick up that line?"

Kakashi looks down at him grinning, making Sasuke grin back. "From a TV show actually. It's quite good, I think you'd enjoy it. I've got the entire series on DVD, we should watch it some time."

Sasuke nods and stops walking, turning to face Kakashi and sliding his arms around him as he looks up into the older man's face. When Kakashi looks back down at him, Sasuke feels the awkward shyness beginning to take over him again and he fights it, not wanting to ruin this moment. He starts to say something to Kakashi, but realizes he has nothing to say, so instead he just stands looking up at the older man, letting his gaze trace every feature of his face, softened and silvered as it is by moonlight. When Kakashi begins to lean down over him, Sasuke's heart skips a beat then begins to thump rapidly in his chest. Knowing what's coming, he tightens his arms around Kakashi to keep himself from bolting, and when their lips meet at last, he feels an electric jolt that makes him jump. Kakashi hesitates, and fearing that he's going to pull back, Sasuke pushes up, meeting that kiss with one of his own, awkward as it was. When Kakashi relaxes again and begins to truly kiss Sasuke, he thinks he's going to melt from the pleasure of it. Following Kakashi's lead, Sasuke gives and takes, learning how to kiss, happy that Kakashi was his first, his teacher.

When the kiss ends and Kakashi draws back, Sasuke is breathing hard and the world is spinning around him. He steps back slightly, lifting a hand to his mouth. He presses his fingertips to his lips, smiling at the tingling sensation that lingers, feeling as if the kiss continued. He looks back up at Kakashi, and seeing his pleasure mirrored on the older man's face, Sasuke closes the distance he'd put between them, sliding his arm around him, holding him tightly once more. Any awkward shyness was now gone, leaving Sasuke unsure, but content to follow Kakashi's lead and learn from him as they went along. They stood like this, smiling at one another for several minutes, then in silent agreement, then turn and resume their walk down the beach. Neither speaks, not feeling the need to fill the silence with chatter, content with just being together.

It's the cold that eventually saps the joy of the evening out of Sasuke, and it's with great reluctance that he looks up at Kakashi. "I'm getting rather cold. As much as I'm enjoying this, I think it's time to get out of this cold"

Kakashi looks down at him and nods. "You're right. We'll have to do this again and again, but only after the weather warms up."

Sasuke laughs quietly and nods as they turn and head back for the waiting limo. "It's not so bad walking out here in the cold, we just can't walk as long in the cold as we could in a warm summer evening."

"Good point, but I'd still rather wait until it warms up before we do this again. I'd hate to give you pneumonia on one of our dates."

Grinning Sasuke nods and leans his head against Kakashi's shoulder. "True, I don't think I'd like to see you get sick either. So, in the interest of staying healthy, we'll go home and warm ourselves up and wait until at least spring to come back out here and stroll under the moonlight again."

Smiling down at him Kakashi nods. "It's a deal!"

AN: This is a warning for those of you reding this story. It will very likely be a week or so before the next chapter is posted. I have company coming tomorrow, so I'm not going to have much time (if any) for writing over the next week. Of course, I'll try to get a little here, a little there written, so maybe I can get chapter 11 to you sometime in the next week. The fact that I'm going on a mini-hiatus is part of the reason I let this chapter get as long as it did. When I edited, I added. As if it wasn't aleady long enough. lol There was just too much detail that I felt needed to be in this chapter to hide the parts I glossed over... like the party? XD I didn't want to go through a typical party scene with all the introductions because the chapter would have been boring and tediously long.

On a side note, the song mentioned in this chapter I highly reccomend, and it was the song that inspired this story.