─The transition is very smooth and feels natural.
She comes back home from her ANBU mission and goes out for celebratory drinks with her team.
They all leave at some point and she's left behind, nurturing her last drink before heading home, when she spots him alongside his friends. His eye catches her as well and he comes over.
"Glad to see you're still alive," he says.
She smiles. "Wouldn't have it any other way."
She gestures to a bartender. "Care to join me for a drink in celebrating my alive state, Kakashi?"
Neither of them notices when she drops the suffix from his name.
─And this is how it starts, she thinks.
They are on a mission together. They stand side by side, his arm brushing hers.
"How about this," he says. "I distract him and you close the deal?"
Sakura nods her head in agreement and her heart swells at being recognized as his equal, his partner.
He knows her worth.
It feels nice.
─And it continues.
"Why would you not come to me straight after you came back?" she asks in an angry tone. "This is pretty deep, Kakashi."
His face contorts as she roughly peels off his shirt stuck to the dried blood from his unhealed wound.
"You're right," he admits. "Next time," he concludes and Sakura blinks at him, her hand stopping its movement on his shoulder. Her skin is a nice, warm contrast to his cold body. He shivers.
"Okay," is all she says.
─The change is very subtle at first.
It's her birthday and she heads back home after a night out with her friends.
He's at her door, holding a small package, neatly wrapped up.
"You remembered," she tells him.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," he teases.
She hugs him and if they linger a second too long, neither of them notices.
─It doesn't feel out of place.
They spar as if there's another war around the corner and they both end up breathless, sprawled on the grass. Between her missions with ANBU, helping around at the hospital and socializing with her friends, she has little time for herself. But when she does find the time, she likes the company she keeps.
"You know," Kakashi begins, offering her a hand to get up and she accepts. "You're not so bad."
Sakura laughs.
"We should do it more often."
"We should," he agrees.
─This time she does notice.
She's had a rough mission and it takes her a week to recover. He hasn't come see her even once and she only accidentally bumps into him on the street.
"Kakashi?" she asks and he looks angry.
"You should stop being so reckless for your own sake, Sakura," he tells her and walks away.
She doesn't see him for months.
She finds she misses the company she used to keep.
─This time he does notice.
He's been avoiding her because he didn't like the way he felt when he'd found out she was badly injured. She is his close friend, it's only natural for him to worry, but something about the way his heart sunk at the news, he knows it's best to stay away for a while.
So he takes a mission after mission and he doesn't see her for another three months.
Somehow, his heart still feels out of place.
He thinks he should stay away for a little longer.
─Their breakthrough moment is sad.
She stalks the Hokage Tower, hoping to catch him. She has no luck.
She stalks his apartment and he never comes home. She's not sure if he has moved.
She spends hours at the bar and he never accompanies his friends anymore.
It's Yamato who takes pity on her.
"He crashes at my place sometimes," he tells her.
And she finds him.
He looks caught off-guard when he sees her. Then he sighs.
"Hi," he says casually as if nothing is wrong.
"Are we friends, Kakashi?"
"Of course."
"Then why are you avoiding me?" she asks him and he can see the sadness in her eyes. He looks away.
"Because," he tells her, "we are friends."
Sakura closes her eyes, takes a deep breath. She understands what he means, but it doesn't ease the ache she feels in her chest.
She thinks that maybe he's right.
─This is the moment she starts to think that maybe he isn't right after all.
She's at the bar, drinks with her team after a successful mission.
He's at the bar, drinks with his friends.
Everyone around her laughs and cheers, but it all sounds distant to her ears. Her attention is focused on the figure across the room and he doesn't smile at her.
And she doesn't smile, either.
They both notice.
─Their breakthrough moment isn't sad this time.
Instead, it gives her hope.
She sees him at their usual spot they used to use for sparring.
He is just sitting there under a tree and she joins him.
"I miss you," Sakura says it out loud for the first time and lays her head on his shoulder. He doesn't stop her.
Kakashi hums in response.
And she understands.
I miss you, too.
─It must conclude at some point, she thinks.
She's just not sure when. Or how. Or which one of them is the braver one.
But she knows it's not an if.
"Isn't it beautiful?" she asks him, observing the firework show above their heads.
"It is," he agrees, looking straight at her.
He knows she noticed.
─She thinks he is the braver one.
It's Naruto and Hinata's wedding day. They look happy and Sakura wishes she can look like them one day.
Kakashi asks her to dance. She's surprised, but she accepts.
They sway slowly to the music and she feels warm in his embrace.
"Thank you for the dance," he tells her and kisses her cheek. Her heart skips a beat and she thinks that maybe one day she will be as happy as Naruto and Hinata are.
─He thinks she is the braver one.
He needs healing and he comes straight to her, like he promised.
Sakura's hand is gentle as she takes care of his wound and he hums in appreciation as the pain leaves his body.
Once she's finished, she leans over. "Thank you for listening to me," she says and kisses his cheek. Her lips are soft and he feels like someone cares.
He's always wanted someone to care.
─It does conclude and as it turns out, they are both brave.
She finds him in front of the Memorial Stone.
She walks up to him and takes his hand in her own.
"You know," she murmurs into his arm. "You can still be happy."
Kakashi turns to her.
"I know," he smiles. "And I am."
He kisses her and Sakura knows she's happy, too.