Okay y'all, lets try this again.

I'm gonna start off with a couple of disclaimers, this is my first fanfiction, this is unbeta-ed, nor am I looking for a beta. If you don't like my writing style or have problems with my grammar, then don't read. English is a hard language, so take it easy on the criticism.

Finally, I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters in this story.

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There were many things that Kakashi felt a lot of guilt over… almost too many to list. But there it was, in the back of his mind. Obito's death, Rin's death, Sasuke leaving the village... heck, he even felt a little guilty for always stiffing the bill, though he'd never admit it.

But the most recent additions to this list all had to do with one person. Sakura. God, how he wished that he could have made things right with Sakura. After he had been named Rokudaime Hokage his student had offered to take him out for a celebratory drink at the Shinobi Lounge, and of course he said yes, she was paying after all. Although Sakura had the ability to neutralize the effects of alcohol on her system, tonight was apparently one of those nights where she felt the need to put that off til morning. It started off pretty tame.

'To my genin sensei becoming Hokage! Kampai!'

'Geez Sakura, you're making me feel old.' He lazily scratched the back of his head as Sakura knocked down the first of many drinks.

As the night proceeded, Sakura got a little more talkative, and the more Kakashi felt guilt. Guilt that he didn't know that he should have felt.

'You know, after Sasuke and Naruto left, I wish you would have at least checked to see that I was okay,' she paused for a second. 'I almost gave up on being a kunoichi, my parents wanted me too at least… We were all that was left of Team 7, but it was almost like you forgot that I was still here, and that I hadn't left. I don't know what would've happened if Tsunade hadn't come back to become Hokage'.

He sucked in a breath. Fuck… 'Well, Sakura-chan, there's an easy explanation for this-

She cut him off, 'Very funny sensei, I know you were very busy, and that you were strongarmed into teaching in the first place. Once they left, I'm sure that you were anxious to get back to taking missions… especially since all that was left of your team was a little girl whose only particular skill was decent chakra control'.

'Don't call me Sensei, Sakura, if anyone here should be given the title sensei, it should be you after you got your position as the hospital director'...

She laughed, shifting slightly on her seat, almost to the point where he was worried she was going to fall over. 'Okay then, Hokage-sama.'

He groaned. "Just Kakashi, please dear Kami, if you continue to call me either Sensei or Hokage-sama, then I promise you I will-

"Promise you will what'? She rolled her eyes, 'You may be Hokage, but since Tsunade stepped down and retired, I'm the highest ranked medic in Konoha. You can't take me off the mission roster since I barely go on missions, and you can't ban me from the hospital otherwise your shinobi would die.'

Kakashi smirked under his mask. 'How about you become my assistant.'

'What? Don't you have Shikamaru'?

'He's my advisor, not my assistant. And besides, I need someone on staff that is able to interpret my handwriting.'

Sakura scoffed. "You know, that is why they brought in that computer for your office'.

Typing is a pain, maybe if I still had the sharingan, but I don't know where the letters are, and it's just so much slower than handwriting.'

'We'll work on that', she slurred. Okay, maybe it was time to take her home.

He kept his arm platonically on her shoulder as he supported her on the walk home.

'Sasuke is coming back.' she mumbled. 'I don't know what to do, he tried to kill me Kakashi. Tsunade never liked him, but now that you are Hokage he'll come back. Itachi is dead, so his only remaining ambition is to revive his clan… What if he asks me… you know, to be the person he does that with… Do I still want to be Mrs. Uchiha'?

Two blocks until he reaches Sakura's apartment. "I can't decide that for you Sakura. You need to find out what you want. You need to find out what he wants, and you need to decide for yourself if that is the life you want. I don't know what demands he'll make of you, but I want you to be happy. You were always my favorite student Sakura'. With that, he stopped in front of her apartment, unlocked the door with the spare key under the mat, and walked her inside. Toeing off his shoes, he looked to his right and saw that Sakura was half-asleep on his shoulder.

This feeling was new to him. It wasn't just contentment, or affection, it wasn't the comfortable platonic relationship that he had held with her since the war. This was more. And it was with this that Kakashi realized that he had feelings for his student… No, not his student, she was his teammate, his equal for longer than she had ever been his student. His… something?

But she wasn't his was she. Sasuke was coming back. Sasuke who she's been in love with since the academy. She expressed doubts, but the only fault he could ever find is Sakura's character was that she was too forgiving. Yes, it was best that he forget about this feeling, about his feelings. Just think, she's fourteen years younger than you, she would never consider you. You're her new hokage, people would just think you are taking advantage of her. And besides, you're an old man with nothing but ghosts in his past. You have nothing to offer her. Nothing.

He felt nothing but guilt over Sakura Haruno. Guilt for abandoning her when she was a genin, guilt for underestimating her abilities, guilt for not treating her better, for not trying harder to keep Team 7 together. Guilt, for having feelings he shouldn't have, feelings that made his heart beat faster, made him fantasize about the future. Not Icha Icha, no, Sakura was too classy of a lady for that. But a fantasy of silver-haired, green-eyed children. Of restoring the old Hatake estate, and of playing in the background with his ninken. And he was ashamed.

She was 19 when he had his first fantasy about her. She was an adult, but that didn't stop him from feeling dirty. The last thing he saw was her arching her back off his shuriken printed sheets… and then he woke up, shaking.

It was for the best that he forget about all of this. She was beyond his reach, too good for him. She deserved better. She deserved someone less broken, and it was for that reason that he was wary about Sasuke returning.

The troubled Uchiha reminded him too much of his past self. Sure, he hadn't joined a terrorist organization in his youth, nor had he abandoned his village, but he had his fair share of skeletons in his closet. He was Friend-Killer-Kakashi, the one who caused Rin's death after promising to protect her, who lost his sensei and teammate after they died protecting him and the village. His ANBU days were the darkest of them all, nothing to live for, everything to die for. He would have lied if he said he never considered seppuku.

But now he had something to live for. She was his sunshine, pink-haired sunshine, and he was determined to make her happy, even if it meant she wasn't in his life.

Kakashi set Sakura down on her couch as he untied her boots, knowing her pet peeve was tracking dirt into her house. Once her boots were off and sitting by the door he lifted her in his arms and took her toward her room. He set her down on her bed, her hair fanning out behind her as he laid her down. It was then that Sakura let out a soft snore. Kakashi chuckled to himself, and softly turned around to leave. It was about time for him to go home. Once he reached the doorway, he turned around one last time, and said, softly, more to himself than anyone else.

"I love you Sakura."

And with that, he quickly slid on his shinobi sandals, and left.

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Was that alright for a first chapter? I tried to publish a fanfiction about a year ago and it didn't turn out well at all, so I hope this is better.