Unexpected really. And a bit cliché if she were to be honest with herself. Sometime after the fourth great ninja war, Sakura had begun to see Kakashi in a different light. It happened slowly but surely, the way she started to notice little things like the way his eyes dulled when hovering over paperwork at his desk, or the way his smile widened under his mask when she would visit with a container full of warm eggplant miso. The Hokage title didn't suit him, she thought to herself amusingly. Not that he didn't deserve it or wasn't up to par for it, he was a genius and a hero of war, he earned the title. Kakashi was just too laid back in her eyes to be stuck in such a serious job. It was obvious he couldn't wait for Naruto to take up the mantle, to finally be free of the desk and responsibility. Sakura knew for a fact he loved Konoha and its people; the job was just too stuffy for him.

"Sakura-chan are you paying attention?"

She quickly looked up from her ramen bowl, only to be met by curious bright blue eyes and another set of dark charcoal orbs. It was her weekly ramen date with Team 7, sans Kakashi, Sai and Yamato. The Hokage was too busy with his duties to join them. As for the other two, she was practically willing to bet that Sai was holed up somewhere with Ino, and Yamato was no doubt trailing after the Snake Sannin. "Sorry guys, I'm a bit tired. Long day at the hospital."

"You should take a few days off.", Sasuke said as he placed his chopsticks beside his bowl. She looked down and felt her cheeks warm as she noticed she had let her ramen go cold, too preoccupied in her thoughts of Kakashi to enjoy her meal.

"Yeah Sakura-chan, Sasuke is right, besides, the hospital can't be that busy now that were at peace. Even our missions have been cut back a lot." She looked up at Naruto and couldn't help the smile that spread on her face as she noticed the way his face scrunched up in a pout. She knew for a fact all the good missions were very few to come by since the fourth great ninja war. Everyone was at peace, or at least seemed to be, and the hospital had certainly slowed down the pace as there weren't as many shinobi injuries as there used to be before the war.

"Fine, I'll put in a notice tomorrow, but I should definitely run it by Kakashi. Gotta go guys, thanks for dinner!" She quickly picked her bag up, blew them each a kiss, and hightailed it toward the hokage tower.

...

"Wasn't it Sakura-chan's turn to pay? She's been hanging around Kakashi-sensei so much that his cheapskate habits have rubbed off on her." Naruto exclaimed in between mouthfuls of Sakura's cold ramen.

"It is strange isn't it?" added the Uchiha. While the loudmouthed blonde next to him was oblivious to the things happening around him, Sasuke had a sharp eye, even without the aid of his Sharingan and Rinnegan.

The girl who once claimed to love him was no longer invested in him. He had noticed a change in her demeanor after what he had almost done to her when he killed Danzo. He had lost her affections and he surely had it coming, not that it bothered him. It was refreshing to see a side of Sakura that didn't cling to his very being, and while it gave him a feeling of relief, it also made him feel a bit empty, but Sakura deserved better than him, he was far too jaded and damaged by hate to be the kind of person she should be with.

"Huh? I don't think so."

"Of course, you don't.", and in a whirl, Sasuke was gone.

"Here's the tab Naruto-kun, I hope everything was great!" Ayame exclaimed as she handed him the bill.

"I PAID LAST TIME!" Naruto howled at no one in particular, as he pulled his frog wallet out of his pocket. The full frog was soon to be hungry again.

...

The sight of the village at night never got old to her. From the gates to the hokage tower, Sakura loved every bit of it. Yamato and the villagers had done an amazing job at reconstructing after Pain's assault, and the village was a sight to see. As she neared the hokage tower, she suddenly felt a familiar chakra approaching. He wanted his presence to be known.

"Sasuke-kun, it wasn't my tun to pay was it?", she asked, with a mischievous hint to her tone. She was toying with him, of course it was her turn. Things with Sasuke had been…complicated to say the least. Sakura had never fully forgiven him for trying to plunge a Chidori through her heart, but she tried for Naruto's sake, and for the sake of Team 7. The only person she was sure had seen through her true feelings was Kakashi, after all, he was the one to teach them to look underneath the underneath, and if Sasuke even had an inkling of doubt that she felt anyway other than how she presented herself, he said nothing.

"Yes, but that's not why I'm here Sakura. Don't think I haven't noticed." The playfulness quickly dropped off her face and was replaced by a scowl.

"Noticed what, exactly?", she asked with a bit of spike to her tone. 'I guess he has seen through you, Sakura.', she thought to herself. Surely, the fact that she wasn't acting as warm as Naruto was to him couldn't be keeping the great Uchiha up at night.

"This whole thing with Kakashi. It's not smart. Don't do this to yourself.", he calmly spoke, as if they had merely been having a conversation about the weather. The indifferent expression on his face was enough to get her blood boiling, and for a second, she debated to herself what the pro's and con's of smashing his pretty little porcelain-like face into the ground. He had really done it this time, after all Sasuke had put her through, he seriously had some nerve. She quickly gained her composure and let out the most sarcastic laugh she could conjure.

"You really have some nerve pretending to know what's best for me more than I do. There is nothing going on with Kakashi-sensei, and even if there was, it would have nothing to do with you, Uchiha.", she spat out venomously. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but you stopped being a priority to me the second you decided if didn't matter to you whether I lived or not, the moment you almost literally ripped my heart out. Don't you ever pretend to know me or my feelings again Sasuke, or I'll make sure you eat out of a straw for weeks!", she quickly turned on her heel and made her way to the hokage tower, leaving him completely stumped.

Sasuke had never seen her that angry before. He knew she still held some resentment towards him for the things he said and did before the war, but he didn't know just how bad it was, and what was meant to come off as caring had obviously came off another way to Sakura. For once, he wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't go to Naruto; he'd go straight to Sakura and blow things up a whole notch higher. He'd have to let things play out for a while longer, if he couldn't keep Sakura from making any mistakes, the least he could do was make sure Kakashi didn't give her any false hope.

...

"Sakura-chan, I could've sworn I sensed Sasuke-kun with you. To what do I owe the pleasure of having my favorite student visit her old sensei?"

Sakura scoffed as she walked up to sit on the empty chair across the desk from him. He had sensed them near the tower, which meant there was no way he missed the spike of her chakra as she angrily blew up on Sasuke. "Sasuke's an asshole."

"Surely, you haven't just now noticed, have you?", he replied, as he quickly scanned his eyes over a scroll. She couldn't help the laugh that erupted out of her, nothing like the sarcastic one she had given Sasuke just a few moments earlier, but a genuine one. She knew Kakashi didn't fully trust Sasuke the way Naruto did, but he was trying harder than she was for sure. He was done losing friends, and even after all the things Sasuke had done, he still considered him one, if not, even family. The thought quickly made her heart clench. Kakashi considered them all family. She couldn't let her feelings mess that up, especially not for him.

"I haven't, but that's not why I'm here Kaka-sensei. I was going to ask if I could have a week off from the hospital. It's not as busy now that the war has been over for a few months and I've been looking forward to some training and relaxing."

Kakashi set the paper he was studying down and ran a hand through his gravity defying hair. The way his fingers moved through the strands mesmerized her for a second, and she briefly wondered if his hair was as soft as it looked. She was quickly brought out of the trance when he spoke.

"Of course, just make sure you let your staff know when you're leaving and when you plan on returning. Don't strain yourself too much, Sakura-chan. Try to relax more than you train though, you've been looking a bit distracted lately." She felt her cheeks warm up at the thought of him scrutinizing her enough to be able to make that statement. Just how much of her did Kakashi pay attention to? Does he know of your feelings towards him? she thought to herself.

"Sorry sensei, I've just had a lot on my mind, is all." The nervousness her thoughts had brought on had her chewing on her bottom lip, but she mentally reprimanded herself and stopped before he noticed. "Do you ever feel like life is just playing a huge joke on you?", she couldn't help but ask.

If Sakura were to be honest with herself, that's exactly how she felt about her attraction to her former teacher, and Sasuke's intrusion was just the cherry on top. What was he thinking, confronting her about something so personal, and how had she made her feelings so obvious?

"One too many times to count." His answer was something she should have expected. After everything he'd been through, how could she ask him something so childish? He'd lost family, teammates, friends, mentors, all that seemed huge in comparison to her current predicament. Sakura was truly an idiot. The faraway look in his charcoal eyes made her heart clench and she thoughtlessly placed her hand on top of his, offering him as much comfort as she could without having him deflect. For a moment she wished she could do something other than heal physical wounds, his mental and emotional ones were far more taxing on him.

"I'm sorry, that was a stupid question, my problems are trivial compared to what you've been through sensei.", she apologetically murmured. He turned his hand over under hers, and she could feel his calloused fingertips brushing over her smaller ones. The lingering touch sent a shiver down her spine and caused her cheeks to redden. Sakura looked up, only to be met by Kakashi staring back at her with a deep look that made her want to wrap her arms around him and tell him everything was okay.

"It's not a competition Sakura-chan. Everyone's problems are valid and should be acknowledged. Feelings too. I should get back to my paperwork, enjoy your time off." He slid his hand out from under hers and quickly picked up a stack of paperwork. Just like that the moment ended, and for a second she didn't know how to react. Did he feel what she felt in that moment? She didn't want to linger, so she quickly hummed in agreement and made her way out of his office, resting her back on the closed door.

She was sure she made a fool out of herself, touching him so affectionately, even if as just to comfort him. Sakura had crossed a line, and Kakashi had pushed her back over it the moment he pulled his hand back. She was stumped, none of the time she spent hunched over books and scrolls would ever prepare her for something like this. Should she give up? Or should she keep trying? Hadn't she already been through this once with Sasuke? The thought of the stoic Uchiha made her shake her head. Kakashi was nothing like him, and with that, she gained her composure and headed to her apartment, intent on getting rest and coming up with a plan the next day. Kakashi Hatake would either reciprocate her feelings or at least acknowledge them.