Gravitation

When Kakashi had first been assigned Team Seven, he had been sure they would be like every other team from every other year. Meeting them did nothing to assuage that feeling: their introductions confirmed his suspicions. They were all far too self-involved, and their own goals would almost certainly take precedence over their teammates.

Surprisingly though, and although they wasted their morning focusing on their own agendas, they chose to unite and, more surprisingly still, it was the Uchiha who instigated it. They disregarded the rules in order to work as a team only a day after they had been banded together. In spite of himself, Kakashi was impressed.

In the months that followed, their growth was a joy to watch and the Jonin realised, with some surprise, that in many ways Team Seven resembled his own Genin team. Sasuke was so very like himself- everything came so naturally except, perhaps, the compassion and empathy that often seemed so unnecessary for a ninja but was in fact crucial for success. Sakura was almost painfully like Rin- a talented kunoichi when she wasn't fawning over Sasuke, full of the kindness, compassion and the love for her village that had ultimately cost his teammate her life and please, God please, don't let that be Sakura's fate. And Naruto reminded him so much of Obito- a knucklehead who acted without thinking, who wasn't naturally gifted at ninjutsu but tried regardless, who never backed down.

The sense of nostalgia was, at times, overwhelming and Kakashi found himself spending increasingly more time at the memorial stone, wondering what his teammates and sensei would have made of it- him looking after and training a team of Genin. It was like looking at what could have been, an alternative future. In some ways, he envied the bonds that they had formed, wishing that he'd had more time because the bonds he had formed came just too late and he had needed more time.

Yet there was more to the bonds of Team Seven, something he couldn't put his finger on. Team Eight were close, they worked well together- an ideal team for reconnaissance. Team Ten, the famous Ino-Shika-Cho combination that spanned generations, worked so well together and were able to back each other up almost on instinct. Still, Team Seven had something more, it went so much deeper, or was that just his own bias as their sensei?

He had to deal with the devastation when Sasuke left and acknowledge that he had been wrong. He had tried to make Sasuke understand but the Uchiha had left and taken on his quest for revenge, sought more power, dangerous power, and left his teammates behind, severing those bonds that Kakashi had envied so much.

However, Naruto and Sakura did not give up. They still talked of Sasuke as their teammate, defied anyone who called him traitor and, even when Naruto left to train with Jiraiya, their own bond grew stronger.

During the Fourth Great Ninja War, they united in a battle, the apprentices of the Legendary Sannin, his Team Seven. And the years apart meant nothing. Their teamwork was instinctive and seamless, and Kakashi knew he had been right after all.

His conviction only strengthened in the years that followed because they seemed to just know how and when to be there for each other.

Sakura would turn up at Naruto's apartment with a bag of groceries, healthy foods that the blond would never buy for himself. Yet somewhere in that bag, there would be an Ichiraku voucher tucked away, an incentive for him to eat the fruit and vegetables at which he would normally stick up his nose. Those groceries would barely have dwindled when she would return with another full bag.

Naruto would turn up at the training field ready to spar with Sasuke the day after the Uchiha had returned from a mission, ready to test their new techniques on each other. And at the end of the day, Sakura would be there ready to repair any damage they had done to each other.

Sasuke would arrive at the hospital injury-free and none of the staff even bothered to try and stop him as he marched into Sakura's office usually to find her semi-conscious or already asleep after pulling yet another double or triple shift and stubbornly insisting on completing her paperwork. He would carry her back to her apartment, feebly protesting if she wasn't already sleeping, and tuck her into bed. He always stayed until she had slept for what he deemed a reasonable amount of time, otherwise she would just sneak back to the hospital because 'they always appreciate the extra help'.

Kakashi couldn't help but marvel at them. How Naruto had become the strongest and most respected shinobi in the village. How Sasuke had learned to value his comrades, their well being and the bonds he had with them more than any amount of power. And how Sakura had realised her own potential, had formed the resolve not to rely on Naruto and Sasuke, and had pushed to become a kunoichi more powerful than the Fifth Hokage.

What Kakashi admired most was not their individual growth but how they had driven each other to grow and how they had grown for each other. Because back in those early days, Kakashi had been right. What held them together was so much more than bonds- it was gravitation. They gravitated towards each other, relied on each other, needed each other, and Kakashi was proud to have been part of that, an extended part of Team Seven.

Author's Note:I've gone down the route of Team Seven with this one but SasuSaku would not be what it is if it weren't for Team Seven so I've rolled with it. Hope you enjoyed it!