Sakura had resisted the urge to wallop both Kakashi and Shikamaru for their part in putting her in front of the Daimyō. Ultimately, it had been for the best, Kakashi had reasoned immediately after they left the meeting. He wanted the Daimyō to know who she was, and wanted her to remain part of the decision process. When she had asked him to clarify what he meant by that, he had waved it off with the promise he would elaborate soon.

As promised, at the end of the week Kakashi finally revealed to her what he had apparently been setting up since Shizune decided to take her temporary leave. Shizune was returning within the next few days, and that Monday was Sakura's last day filling in as an assistant in the office. It was still arranged that she would come speak on the sabbatical issue next week, but once that concluded she had no official standing in council affairs. Despite that, Kakashi wanted, and Sakura had agreed after some deliberation, the Medical Division to have a permanent seat at the committee table for important political matters. It was something Tsunade would have hated, but Sakura was very interested in.

And then he somehow managed to rope her into participating in the bi-annual report out among the seven nations.

"I know it's the weekend, but the meeting is this Saturday. Can you attend? Shikamaru won't be able to make it," he asked, giving her his best impression of puppy dog eyes. "And you'll get to talk about all the new projects going on in the medical division!"

Sakura sighed. She knew Kakashi preferred another person there so he could read and be lazy while the other person had to pay attention on the line.

"The Kazekage already asked me to report out on the upcoming plans for Suna's medical division, so why not," she agreed, then turned her gaze to Shikamaru. "Why won't you be at the meeting?"

"Heading out to Suna tomorrow," he offered vaguely, then glared at Sakura's knowing grin. "Shut up."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed—"

"Hokage-sama," a voice interrupted, causing all three of them to look up. A chunnin from the T&I division had entered, a sealed scroll in hand.

"Do you two mind stepping out for a moment?" Kakashi asked, beckoning the chunnin forward and holding out his hand for the scroll.

Shikamaru and Sakura were both quick to exit the room, Shikamaru tossing a silencing tag on the door on their way out. They stepped a few feet away out of respect but remained nearby in case they were needed.

Fifteen minutes passed, and the urgency of the T&I matter dimmed. If it were urgent, Kakashi would have made a prompt decision or left to deal with the matter. Sakura felt herself get restless with the idleness.

"I like the idea of being part of the meetings, especially with some of the decisions that were almost made without my input," she mused aloud while they continued to wait. "My only worry is the council may think I'm gaining too much favor due to being Kakashi's former teammate."

Shikamaru snorted, and Sakura frowned at him.

"What's going on with you? If you have something to say, just say it."

The smile that spread across Shikamaru's face confused her. "What?"

"That's the second time someone has said that to me."

"Well, out with it then," she urged, arms crossed and waiting.

Shikamaru shrugged, then pulled out his pack to indicate he was leaving for a smoke. "I'll miss having you around here, Sakura," he admitted as he tapped the pack against his wrist. "But he'll miss you more, even if he won't admit to it."

He twirled the pack in his fingers and gave her a wave. As he walked down the hall, he gave her a warning that left her heart beating wildly in her chest.

"You're going to have to show your hand first. Kakashi plays his too close to the vest to get anywhere."

Saturday

"Do you think he realizes he's been talking for twenty minutes straight?" Sakura asked Kakashi from where he sat at the other end of his table, his face stuck in his well-worn copy of Icha Icha Tactics. That Saturday morning's teleconference was with all seven nations, a bi-annual report out that they partook in to give updates on each nations' prosperity and challenges during peacetime. Basically, it was a means for them to flout some accomplishments without the added expenditure of inviting all the other Kages for a visit. Some of the Kages preferred to give the entire report themselves (like the Yamakage, who clearly loved the sound of his own voice), but more often the Kage invited prominent leaders in their nation to speak on their specialities. That morning, Sakura had the pleasure of offering reports on the medical expansions for both Konoha and Suna.

Under normal circumstances she would be at home still in her pajamas while waiting for her turn to speak, but Kakashi had offered to make them breakfast to "lessen their suffering" as they waited out the meeting. Knowing her mornings with Kakashi were coming to a close, she eagerly took him up on the offer. Unfortunately, filling herself on Kakashi's delicious offerings of onigiri, tamagoyaki, and daikon and carrot salad made it all the more difficult to concentrate on what was being said on the call. If Sakura didn't think so fondly of Kakashi, she would hate him: The nerve of the man being attractive, a tactical genius, and an amazing cook.

"Explain to me how Shika managed to wiggle his way out of this call?" Sakura asked, knowing that she was being childish trying to get Kakashi to pay attention to her instead of his book. These teleconference calls lasted three times longer because everyone was in the comfort of their own homes. The only saving grace was they were able to remain muted unless someone had a comment or it was your turn to report, so her and Kakashi were able to speak freely as the meeting droned on. However, they also had to pay attention so they didn't miss anything important-or, more likely, their turns to report out.

Kakashi looked up from his book and pretended to consider her question. "I suppose because it's good for Konoha and Suna relations?"

Sakura mock-scowled to show she was not impressed by that answer. "Naruto and Gaara's friendship has already assured our alliance," She dismissed, and began to pout when Kakashi put his nose back in his book. Speaking of Gaara, he hadn't said a word on the call so far, and Sakura was beginning to wonder if he had fallen asleep. Still, the Yamakage bloviated about the importance of the growing infrastructure of his nation. Sakura closed her eyes, considering what she would give up to not be a part of these. She knew Tsunade often hadn't shown up to them, even when she had stepped down as Hokage and was only the Medical Director.

"Maybe I should get involved with someone from another country," she mused aloud, a consideration without any real weight to it. She told herself she wasn't watching too carefully to see his reaction.

"As if there were anyone in another country worthy of you," was Kakashi's offhanded response, his eyes still glued to his book.

Her mouth opened, but before she could form a response, Kakashi glanced up at her and filled the space with a continuation of his thoughts. "You're already assisting Suna with their medical division. There's no doubt our allies will start clamoring for your help once they see it's success. There's no need to marry you off."

"Hmm." A little disappointed, she nudged further. "You could just admit you would miss me running the medical division," she chided.

"I would certainly miss you in ways well beyond your role at the hospital." Her brows rose in surprise as she took in the serious expression he leveled at her.

"Oh yeah? How?" she challenged.

Kakashi's silence dragged on for several moments as they continued staring at each other, and Sakura had an apology for teasing him on the tip of her tongue when Gaara's voice entered the line, cutting through the Yamakage's detailed report.

"I'm afraid we've run over."

And with that, the moment between them was broken. The both sighed and dropped their heads back on opposite ends of the table. The torture would continue then.

Kakashi stood up and moved to his kitchen with both of their mugs, presumably to get them refills on coffee.

"Ah, I see we're out of time, my apologies. We should continue this tomorrow," the Yamakage confirmed unhelpfully.

And then he kept talking.

When silence finally fell on the other end of the line, Sakura reached to the center of the table and slammed her finger on the button to end the call.

"And that's a wrap," she exhaled, allowing her body to melt further into the chair. "Until tomorrow, anyway. Breakfast at my place this time?"

"Sounds good. Cheers." Kakashi handed her back her mug and they clinked the two softly together.

Sakura took a sip, then hid behind the mug to cover her delighted smile. He finally made hers exactly the way she liked it. Three sugars, plenty of cream.

"To the future," she toasted again, tipping her mug in his direction.

Kakashi returned to his seat, looking back at her with something like fondness in his eyes. "To the future," he responded in kind.

Two weeks later

She missed seeing the inner workings of her homeland; missed being part of a leading unit instead of the sole decision maker in a leader's office. She missed the shared exasperation between herself, Shikamaru, and Kakashi and missed the inside jokes. She missed the quiet command that Kakashi held when he led meetings and put out political fires. She missed the way he was teasing yet courteous to everyone who entered his office, encouraging familiarity despite his high rank.

She missed him.

And that's how Sakura found herself on a Sunday morning with two large coffees, the two creamers she had poured having barely altered the color of the fresh, dark roast in one of them. Her feet carried her to the Hokage's lodgings instead of the Tower, knowing he worked from home on weekends unless an emergency occurred.

She nodded a silent greeting to the two ANBU on visible duty, and then went up the small flight of steps that led to his door. Once there, she balanced the two cups in her one hand and raised the other to knock. She startled slightly when he opened the door before she touched it.

She hadn't quite expected him in his usual Hokage attire, and certainly not his robes, but there was suddenly a lot more skin than expected. Kakashi stood in his doorway in one of his typical sleeveless undershirts, but the attached mask was pooled around his collarbone. He wore a pair of worn standard jounin blue pants, and his feet were bare. His hitai-ate was missing, and small wayward pieces of gray hair stuck to his temple, dark with perspiration.

Sakura had to remind herself that she had seen Kakashi in this very outfit in the hospital or post-workout many, many times over the years. This moment should not elicit a different emotional or physical response from her.

"Sakura?" There was surprise on his face, and she could sense he was trying to read her aura for any danger or concern. Then his eyes fell on the two coffees in her hand.

"..Hi." She held out his drink in offering, hoping her cheeks weren't pink.

"You miss being my coffee girl," he teased, eyes crinkling as he took the offered cup and moved aside to welcome her in.

"Ridiculous," she huffed in such an unconvincing manner she felt shame, but stepped inside.

"Do you mind if I wrap up my set?"

"Not at all," she encouraged despite her better judgement. Kakashi made quick work of easing to the carpet and resuming a plank position, likely about to continue with a set of push-ups. Uninterested in watching him show off through whatever modification he was going to perform, she amused herself by walking over and settling on his backside, her own coffee still in hand. She took a sip of her drink, pleased with herself: From this angle, she could watch and he would be none the wiser to the flush starting a permanent residency on her cheeks.

She heard his laughter as he continued the set, unbothered by her decision.

"It isn't going to make much of a difference," he assured her.

She made a noise of agreement, and as though of its own volition, her hand reached out to touch him, running her fingertips lightly along his upper back. She watched the muscles between his shoulder blades ripple in response as she traced them with her fingertip. Beneath her, Kakashi paused in his set.

"Sakura?"

"Sorry! I—" She rose off him and began to step away, but suddenly his hand captured her free wrist and tugged. She let out a small noise of surprise as she was pulled backwards and focused on not spilling her drink, knowing Kakashi would secure the rest of her.

When the world stopped moving, Kakashi was sitting upright on the floor, one arm secured around her waist. She glanced across at him from her new position in his lap, feeling completely exposed as he took in her reddened cheeks and dilated pupils.

"Is this really what you want?" he asked suddenly, his voice a mixture of bafflement and something more hopeful. And then he brushed his thumb against her cheek, the ghost of a caress sliding against her skin. She leaned into the touch in response but resisted closing her eyes, more interested in capturing the depth of longing she could see plainly in his. She stared back, unwilling to stand down and knowing her gaze mirrored his own.

"Kakashi…"

"You're going to have to lead on this, Sakura." She could feel that familiar tension in his body-the same tension she had noticed whenever they touched the last few weeks. She had assumed their new familiarity made him uncomfortable. But now she could see how the power dynamics of their roles, both in the past and even in the present, made him hesitant.

Emboldened with this new understanding, she tilted her head and pressed their mouths together. She smiled at the small whimper he exhaled, and then there was only the quiet exploration between teeth and tongues for several minutes.

"I'm okay with that, Hokage-sama," she eventually murmured teasingly against his lips, then lightly sucked on his lower lip until she felt the last of the tension within him ebb away. Once relaxed, he pressed his face into her hair so she could pepper kisses along his jawline and taste the light line of sweat that had traveled from his hairline.

"Then I look forward to whatever you have planned, Director Haruno," he encouraged, his familiar teasing lilt containing a new element of desire.

Ending notes: I had several different versions of an ending for this story, but the pace and behavior of the characters dictated that this is the way it would go. There is, however, an epilogue that jumps ahead in time and has a very clear M/E rating. If you're under 18 or don't like sexual content, you should stop reading here.

The first two chapters of Kakashi's POV story, tentatively titled "Caffeine Cold", is posted and more will be forthcoming. While it will have Kakashi's take on some of the most important scenes from this story, there are many scenes where Kakashi is talking/reflecting on or about Sakura with other characters, so it isn't a mirror image of this story.

Once I complete that story, I have another multi-chaptered Sakura-centric story with established KakaSaku in the works, and another chapter of my KakaSaku college AU, "Colleges and Copiers." I hope you'll join me for the fun!