Happy New Year everyone! This update is a bit risque, so skip the last half if that type of content makes you uncomfortable. It is a bit longer than the other sections, but I hope it's a good read. Thanks again to my lovely friend and editor treya-barton!

A month passed before they got their next real break. It seemed the only constant in the Hokage's office was how busy everything could be. But late one evening, work finished early and everyone took advantage of that to leave the office before nightfall for once. Shizune sighed contentedly at her desk and smiled. These were some of her favourite moments. Afterall, it was finally quiet in the tower.

She took a minute to do absolutely nothing. No work, no stress, no fretting over medicinal formulas. All she wanted to do in that moment was look out her office window and let the rays from the setting sun splash across her face, enjoy the way the leaves on the trees outside made changing patterns with their shadows on the concrete as they fluttered in the light breeze outside. Even nature was at peace that day.

Shizune was broken out of her reverie by the shuffling of a door in the hallway, surprised that anyone else was even still there. Her curiousity was quelled when she saw Kakashi leaning in through the doorway of her office with a frosted bottle and two small glasses in his hands.

"It's not much," he smiled that cheeky, eyes-closed smile of his, "but it seems we have time for that drink now?"

Shizu pondered for the briefest of seconds before getting up and nodding at his offer. Though she'd assumed the window for following up on his late-night proposition has passed, and this wasn't exactly what she was hoping for when he'd asked her out, she wasn't going to deny herself the opportunity now. It was pretty expected for Kakashi to propose something unconventional. And as much as she'd scolded Tsunade for drinking at the office, every now and then couldn't hurt.

It was awkward at first, walking through the eerily quiet halls to the rooftop deck, but Kakashi didn't seem bothered, so Shizune tried not to let her nerves get to her.

"You know," she began, grimacing slightly, "I should have expected something like this from you."

Turning his head, eyebrow quirked, Kakashi silently urged her to continue.

Sighing and catching him with an exasperated look, she proceeded, "A non-date date, I mean. This isn't exactly what I expected when you asked me out for a drink."

"Ah, so you were expecting a date then?" he responded, face falling back into his impassive expression. "Next time then."

Their drink went from one to two which turned into many. Kakashi had apparently found a few bottles from Tsunade's stash that Shizune had failed to sniff out. The first minutes of drinking were quiet and uncomfortable, but Shizune broke the initial silence by starting a conversation about work events and turning that into a conversation about general current events. Shizu couldn't help but talk about the goings-on in her own life as their evening proceeded, since she got chatty when drinking, to which Kakashi just hummed responses when required.

With darkness settling around them, and their inhibitions fading away, the duo decided to head inside. Shizune knew somewhere in the back of her mind that she should stop, that they were crossing a line that they probably shouldn't. She shouldn't be going inside; she should be going home. But here she was - boring, by-the-book Shizu - alone with the most eligible bachelor in the village, with her childhood crush, with the current object of her desires, so one more drink couldn't hurt, right?

Kakashi, on the other hand, thought he was perfectly in control. He could hold his liquor better than Shizu could, but not by the amount he would like to think. His steps were getting wobbly, and goodness help him if something happened in the village right now. He was in no shape to go saving the day.

So, they ended up inside, sitting in the Shizune's office which was decidedly more comfortable than Kakashi's paper-filled, bare-walled, almost-depressing-at-night room. Shizu sat in her cozy chair while Kakashi pulled up an ottoman as a makeshift seat. He'd placed himself quite close to her, and she found herself losing her train of thought in his visage. Even here, inebriated and fumbling, he still managed to look ever so cool with his strong shoulders leaned back, head cocked slightly towards her, a confident smirk evident from beneath his mask. His gaze on her was intense, or at least it felt that way to her.

Kakashi kept getting distracted by Shizu's smooth, dewy skin, the peaceful joy on her face, the way she giggled more at little things like the grumpy plushie on her bookshelf. Her laugh was contagious. Even the infamously stoic ninja couldn't help but carried away by her carefree demeanor, even though he was still more reserved with his emotions.

But Shizune couldn't stop herself from reaching out and running her fingers down his arms. Inhibitionless and giving in to her hedonistic urges, Shizune was following her whims, and they were telling her to just touch him. She was glad when her motions were reciprocated, and Kakashi moved closer, reaching out and drifting his hands down her sides, up the exposed skin along her thighs. Her forwardness was surprising but welcome, and he just wanted to feel her skin on his. The way his ever-so-subtle scent of sandalwood filled her senses, the way she shuddered under his hands every time he ran them down her sides, and the complete intoxication of his kisses provided the positive reinforcement they needed to keep going.

Almost enough for Shizu to forget that they were tangled together in her office, almost.

"Maybe we should do this somewhere else?" she breathed out, being the responsible one yet again, reluctantly removing her hand from his hair.

He slowly removed his arm from around her while nodding slowly, and they both tried to calm themselves down. Going to his place would be too obvious as they could potentially catch the eye of an ANBU or the Hokage's security detail.

Which is how they ended up in front of her apartment for the second time.

She hesitated in letting him in, the cool night air from their jaunt over waking up the sensible side of her mind, but throwing caution to the wind once again, she pushed the door open and allowed him to follow her into her place. Her home was generally clean, albeit with some papers on her coffee table and clothes in a pile in her bedroom, and her home smelled just how he'd expect of her. Clean, herbal, but faintly feminine. A variety of plants were placed around - many no doubt had a medicinal use.

"Well, this is home…" Shizune began, closing the door behind them and walking into her living room.

The awkwardness had begun to rear its head again, so Kakashi decided to take the lead, confidently covering the distance between them. He placed a hand on her hips and lazily drifted the other up her neck resting below her jaw. Kakashi paused for just a second, giving Shizune a moment to reconsider before leaning down ever so slightly to kiss along her collar bone. Shizu responded in kind, tangling her fingers into his long, silver locks and stepping closer, sliding her hand under his flak jacket while silently cursing the layers that he wore. Every other kiss was followed by the ghosting touch of his fingertips, amplifying the sensations cascading through her. Kakashi could smell the jasmine scent he'd grown so fond of dancing around him as they were pressed together, shivers from her hand meandering through his hair emanating down his neck and shoulders.

Impatience was gnawing at Shizune as her hand traveled from Kakashi's hair to the border of his mask, hooking her fingers under it before waiting for permission. She wanted to kiss him, to actually feel his lips on her skin, on her own, but she knew how particular he was when it came to that mask, so she gave him enough time to stop her if he wanted. When he didn't, she peeled it off slowly, admiring his flawless skin and classically handsome features. Shizune traced the scar on his cheek down to his lips, musing about how odd it felt to see his face unbroken and unbruised, but in this moment, he smoldered as the moonglow reflected off of his smooth, chiseled features. His body was lithe but she could still feel his defined muscles flexing beneath her hands.

Kakashi looked on as Shizu gazed at him, watching her eyes scanning his face, no doubt admiring his fortunate good looks. To him, she looked so unassuming in her long kimono, almost as if she was trying to fade into the backdrop of the night, but he found his gaze drawn to her, to how her midnight hair draped in front of her striking, lust-clouded eyes. He unhurriedly took in the artful curves of her body, the youthful sweetness of her features, the understated nature of her beauty.

Her soft skin was a plush treat against his battle-hardened hands, and the now familiar jasmine scent playfully meandered through his senses as they made their way into her bedroom. He expected her kiss to be timid and careful, but it was instead forward with a fervent energy, Shizune leaving little nips on his bottom lip. He pulled her close, unwrapping her kimono and expertly doing away with her netted layerings. Shizu, for her part, had efficiently removed his jacket and was exploring the firm stretch of his chest and torso with her hands. Kakashi stepped away for the quickest moment to remove his shirt and paused just a bit before placing his steady hands on her hips and leading her further into the bedroom. She began kissing along his shoulders, up his neck, across his jaw.

Kakashi was patient and deliberate in his actions, being ever-conscious of the physical cues he was giving and being given. Shizu was surprised at how compassionate Kakashi was being, as she hadn't expected such attentiveness from him, and while enjoying his motions, she decided to pick up the pace. After all, she'd waited long enough for this.

Following her lead, they found themselves losing track of time and sense of self. Shizune loved how his body complimented hers, and Kakashi was taken by this new version of Shizu that was unfolding before him. Hours later, thoroughly spent and satisfied, the pair lay sprawled unceremoniously in bed, hair a mess and bedsheets asunder.

Shizu sighed as she let herself enjoy the feel of his body against hers as he was lying next to her, his warmth emanating into her ever-cold appendages, and she decided that sandalwood was her new favourite scent. There was something so satisfying about being the recipient of affection from the most powerful shinobi in the village. Falling asleep in his arms felt safer than even travelling with a Sannin, and as Shizune burrowed into his embrace, she could have felt no happier.

"Oh, Shizune. You should definitely drop the '-sama' part now," Kakashi murmured, cheeky smile evident on his face even though she couldn't see it.

"Well, of course he would say that." Shizu thought to herself while responding, "I don't think that would be appropriate Hokage-sama."

Kakashi glanced down to see her smirking back at him and resigned himself to the formality for now. He did always appreciate a good challenge. Kakashi waited until Shizu had drifted off to sleep before quietly getting out of bed and tucking the covers around her. He carefully dressed, put his mask back on and crept out into the night to head back to his place. It was probably best to keep this new development quiet for now. Word travels fast in Konoha, no need to complicate things so early.