A/N: to all my readers, thank you very much for your continued support! it really warms my heart that you support my work!

to guest: thank you very much for your feedback! :) i appreciate your criticism and i will try to give them more moments outside work :)

i accept constructive cristicism guys! i want the chance to improve my work :)

if anyone is wondering, kakashi and shizune's age are different from the Naruto/Boruto timeline. in my fic, kakashi's age is 35 and shizune is 34, a bit younger than what was on the databook :)

Shizune rubbed at the sore spot at the back of her neck. She'd been running around the hospital the moment she arrived and had not been able to sit down ever since. At the reassurance of her fellow medics that they'll be handling the remaining patients, she decided to catch some sleep in her office. She didn't have the time to sleep earlier that afternoon since she had to help Kakashi with the paper work and mission review that arrived.

She blushed at the thought of him and what happened in his office early this evening. She saw that he wanted to kiss her; she wanted him to kiss her, if not for Naruto and his friends arriving. It's been more than three months since she last kissed him, since she last felt his lips moving against her own.

She had noticed his odd behavior towards her for at least a week now – the fleeting glances and igniting touches – but she can't figure out what exactly is bothering him. She knows that he will tell her in his own time what's pestering him and she waited.

But that…

Shizune shook her head as she turned the knob of her office and locking it behind her.

She couldn't stop her undignified squeak when she saw him, sitting nonchalantly behind her desk. He was wearing his old, blue long sleeved mission shirt and he's not wearing his forehead protector. His mask was off, placed neatly on the desk, as if it was an everyday occurrence for him to wait for her at her office.

"Good evening," he greeted cheerfully, "Did I startle you?"

"Obviously!" she gasped, her hand clutched at her chest as she felt her still racing heart. She didn't move any further away from the door, "How did you get in here?!"

He pointed his thumb behind him, gesturing to her now open window, "Through the window, of course. Wouldn't want to alert the whole hospital now, do I?"

Her heart beat returned to normal and averted her eyes from him, "Why are you here? It's nearly midnight!" she demanded, still pissed at the fact that he broke in to her office.

He turned serious and stood up, walking towards her sofa and sat there instead. She stayed rooted on her place, not knowing what to do. He pat the space next to him as a motion for her to take a seat.

"There's plenty of space," he insisted. She didn't move.

"Can I help you with anything, Hokage-sama?" she said, managing to sound professional.

Kakashi didn't react to her tone, as if he fully expected her behavior, "We need to talk."

"About what Hokage-sama?"

He looked down for a moment, as if having an internal battle, before he met his gaze with hers, "I want to say I'm sorry."

Shizune stood, dumbfounded at what he said. That's not what I was expecting to hear.

"E-excuse me?" she asked, astounded.

He stood up again and walked towards her but kept himself at a distance, "I'm sorry," he repeated, "for what I did earlier. It was totally uncalled for and I'm so sorry if I ever made you uncomfortable."

Shizune cleared her throat to ease the rising tension between them and opened her mouth to reassure him but he continued speaking.

"But I'm not sorry," he said, his eyes burning with intensity that Shizune almost looked away, "for wanting to kiss you."

Her eyes widened and he chuckled lightly, burying his ungloved hands inside his pockets, "I know I said I wanted to take things slow, that I want to have the feeling again the same way that I did last year so I can remember properly. But, my god. These past few weeks, I realized that I want it now. Having you so close to me but not close enough. I want to be closer to you already, to know every single thing that I've learned about you from the past year that we were together. I want to relive everything now."

Shizune was gaping at him during his confession, but now she managed to whisper, "Kakashi… what are you trying to say?"

One hand came up from his pocket and cradled her cheek. She stopped herself from leaning against his touch as his thumb ran across her cheekbone. His eyes were shining, looking vulnerable, just as she had seen them many times before.

"What I'm trying to say," he whispered, taking a step forward, "is that I like you. More than a friend, more than I can even comprehend."

She took a sharp intake of breath, a hundred things running through her head but not knowing what to say exactly.

"I know this is sudden," he said lowly as he continued rubbing her cheek with his thumb, "I don't think my memories will be back anymore and I want to make new, more memories with you that I can cherish. I don't want you to feel any rush. I'd understand if your feelings had changed or abated. But, I will be right here, just as you were right there with me. I'm not going anywhere as long as you want me and I will be waiting for you."

She felt tears stinging her eyes at his words as she stared into his dark eyes. His eyes were swimming with relief, longing and adoration that it makes her want to sob at the intensity of his emotions. He had always shown her his vulnerable side and, tonight, he's not the Rokudaime Hokage; tonight, he's just Hatake Kakashi for her.

One of her hands moved of their own accord and wrapped around his wrist, keeping his palm against her cheek. The other moved to his cheek, their gestures now mirroring each other.

Kakashi smiled gently at her, his other hand cupping her opposite cheek and her heart almost burst with happiness. Oh, how she missed his touch, "Shizune," he whispered, "so much for taking it slow, eh?"

She chuckled lightly and, cautiously, she dropped her hands and wrapped her arms around his torso, drawing him in for a hug. She felt him stiffen at first but then slowly relaxed, wrapping his own arms tight around her frame. She buried her face against his chest, letting a few drops of tears fall from her eyes.

"Kakashi," she managed to choke out, voice slightly muffled, "Thank you."

"No, Shizune," he admonished gently, "I should be the one thanking you for being so patient with me. And for being right here."

She smiled against his chest and tightened her arms around him. She felt so happy, her heart could burst from all the emotions that's filling her up now. She began to giggle, which grew louder until she's laughing heartily against him.

"Hey, Shizune, are you alright?" he asked worriedly. He pushed her at arms' length, staring at her shining eyes and tear stained face.

"I'm alright, Kakashi. It's just… I'm so happy," she replied, still giggling. He smiled back gently, his hands once again cupping her face and thumbs wiping her tears away. He gave her a questioning look, silently asking her permission, to which she gave with a smile. He tilted his head to the side and slowly leaned closer, his eyes drifting close as the distance between their faces grew smaller. Shizune tilted her own head and closed her eyes, meeting his lips halfway.

And, oh, the relief.

The feel of his slightly chapped lips molding against hers, how she had longed to feel his lips again! How she missed his warmth, his lips, his touch. His lips moved gently against hers, kissing her upper lip first and then the bottom one before locking their lips firmly once more. She opened her mouth slightly and began kissing him deeply, more passionately and he obliged, his lips moving in sync with hers. His hands began to travel down the exposed line of her neck, down her arm and wrapped around her waist, pulling her body flush against him. She gasped, pulling away slightly and her chest pressing against his.

She opened her eyes and saw the dreamy expression on his face as he opened his eyes, a light blush spreading across his face and the tip of his ears.

He grinned, still with a dreamy expression, "Will you go out to dinner with me?"

She laughed and gave him a chaste kiss, "Sure."

He hummed and leaned in for another one, "Well, at least it's just one time, right?"

She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him down for another kiss. Neither pulled away this time; instead, they kissed deeply, slowly, as if they have all the time in the world to just kiss. Her hands drifted up his head, once again feeling the spiky strands beneath her fingers. His mouth opened and his tongue ran across her bottom lip. She gasped and he took the opportunity to plunge into her mouth, his tongue seeking out hers. She met his tongue with hers and they danced with each other, taking short breaths through her nose. He sucked on her tongue and she inhaled sharply, pulling away suddenly. She's all sensations now; she's feeling quite hot even with the air-condition, her skin flushed, breathing hard and her face felt hot. He's not exactly doing well either. He was also breathing harshly, his face also flushed and a bulge pressing against her abdomen. He leaned down and kissed along her jawline and neck, leaving open mouthed kisses on her skin.

"Is that a kunai or are you just happy to see me?" she joked breathlessly as he continued to pepper her with kisses.

He laughed against her skin, raising goosebumps along her neck, "Definitely the latter."

Shizune felt his hair tickle her chin as he leaned further down to kiss and lick her exposed collar bone, "K-Kakashi, a-aren't we moving a little too fast?"

His kisses moved up again until he reached her ear, his voice bordering on hot as he whispered, "Please tell me we've done this before."

She laughed again, "What, make out? Of course. Many times before, in fact."

He growled against her ear and she shivered, "That's good, right?"

She hummed and he pulled away slightly, taking her hand and dragging her to the sofa.

Despite his obvious excitement, they did nothing for the rest of the night but kiss and talk. He even let her sleep for a short while before sunrise and he had to leave through the window. Thankfully, no medic had come knocking at her door while they were inside.

Shizune went back to her apartment with a spring in her step and smile on her face. She couldn't get down from the high that she had induced this morning and she absolutely reveled on the feeling. On top of that, it's her day off today since she worked the night before. She can rest for the day and bask on the glow of this morning's events and revelation.

After eating a meager breakfast of bread and tea, she took a shower and crashed on her bed, easily falling asleep after all that happened since yesterday.

It was around afternoon when she awoke to the sound of her telephone ringing. She decided ignore it, only for her to hear a pounding on her door. She sat up, eyes still bleary with sleep and she glared at the door of her bedroom, hoping that the pounding would stop. It didn't and she grumpily got up and covered herself with her robe.

She was about to launch a tirade at the disturber when she opened her door and was met with the face of the Hokage. Her eyes snapped open, finally fully awake.

"Kakashi!" she gasped. He's not wearing his Hokage robe and hat today, instead his black flak jacket, shirt and pants. He's holding a plastic bag of take-out boxes on one hand and his mobile phone on the other.

He smiled behind his mask, "Good afternoon, sleepy head. Lunch?" He asked and raised the bag.

She opened the door wider to let him in and locked the door behind him, "What time is it?" she asked as she yawned.

"A little past five," he replied as he set the plastic on her center table and sat on the couch. She sat down beside him and rummaged through the contents of the bag.

"Oh, really?" She muttered as she settled on a box of Chinjao rosu, "What are you doing here, then? Please don't tell me you escaped work."

He laughed and picked the box of subuta, "Shizune, I'm hurt! How could you think that!" He mocked hurt and dragged down his mask to eat his fill, "Well, paper work's all done yesterday, little paper work was submitted for today, so, here I am. Shikamaru's handling the remaining emails that we received this afternoon."

"I see," she muttered between bites of her food, "Where did you tell him you're going, then?"

"I told him I'm going to bring lunch for my assistant slash girlfriend since she's tired from her shift last night to even think about cooking," he replied nonchalantly, still chewing his food.

Shizune almost choked on her tea.

She started coughing and his hand began to pat her back. Once she got her breathing under control, she managed to gasp out, "I can't believe you said that. I can't believe you said that."

He gave her a puzzled look, his head tilted slightly to the side and his eyebrow raised in question, "Why? You are my girlfriend, right?"

Shizune blushed at that word, "Well! I mean – yes I am! It's just… I thought you would want to… I don't know. Keep it a secret for a while?"

"Hmm, well…" he rubbed his chin in contemplation, "Maybe. But I also want the world to know that you're mine and I'm yours."

Her blush darkened at that. Kakashi was usually a reserved person and she really thought he'd want to keep things under wraps for a while.

"I know," she concedes, "It's just that… wouldn't it be shocking to our friends? I mean, we kind of broke up."

He chuckled and set his food down on the center table. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her to his side, fitting them snugly as he pressed a kiss on her forehead. "We'll tell them we got back together after a three-month lover's quarrel," he said, looking down at her positively red face.

She giggled and leaned her body against him, picking up her chopsticks again, "I suppose."

He smiled and picked up his food as well. They ate in companionable silence, broken only with small talk. As Shizune took the empty boxes to the trash, Kakashi settled himself comfortably on her couch, leaning his back against the arm of the couch and raising his feet to the couch. He removed his gloves, tossing it on the center table. Shizune sat on the other end of the couch, also leaning back and raising her feet, their legs entangling with each other.

"Shizune," he began as his foot settled on her thigh, "I want to ask something. About our relationship last year."

She raised her eyebrows, "Ask away."

His lips curled into a smirk and a devious look came over his face, "How was the first time we had sex?"

Shizune blushed bright red at that, "I am absolutely not answering that question!"

He laughed, obviously pleased with the reaction he got, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I just want to see you blush."

She kicked his shin, "That's not funny, Hatake!" she exclaimed, still blushing.

He laughed a little more before he pulled his legs back and started to crawl towards her place in the couch. Shizune was trapped as he placed one hand on the back of the couch and the other on the arm of the couch beside her body. He leaned in, his immaculately flawless face so close to hers.

"Fine, don't tell me," he whispered as his knees settled between her legs, "I'll just enjoy this for now," he mumbled against her lips .