"Do you think we should get married?" Masako said one afternoon.

Kakashi looked down at her in surprise. They had been drinking, lounging on her sofa, talking about his latest mission; he'd been a little insulted that they sent a team with that skillset after him. According to him, the decision was 'a little lazy'.

And then she'd asked that, as casually as if she was asking what was for dinner.

"I don't mean we should get married now," she added hastily, when he didn't reply. "But I personally think it would be nice."

"Where did that question come from?" This was the first time either of them had even brought up the subject of marriage – in fact, neither of them had even told anyone else about how serious their relationship was. Excepting her excellent mother, of course.

"Don't know," Masako said, sitting up in order to look at him better. "It just occurred to me that we're practically a married couple already, so I was wondering if we'd, you know, make it official." She wasn't wrong; he couldn't even remember the last time he'd slept at his apartment. They could get married and hardly anything would change.

Except we'd be husband and wife, he thought, and pride glowed in his chest at just the thought of it.

"It's not like I don't want to," he said, slowly. "But it's a lot of unwanted attention."

"We could always elope." Now there was an idea.

"And what would your mother say about that?"

Masako laughed. "She told me she didn't care, that we could get married in our tactical gear, if we really wanted to. Weird, the things she fixates on, right?"

That was also true – it had been a long time since Kakashi had given up trying to predict her mother. After finding out about their secret relationship, she'd given Masako such a vicious tongue lashing that she pouted for days. But when she walked in on them in an incriminating state of undress, Manami just laughed, apologized, and promised that she'd knock next time.

He'd never known that mothers could be so strange.

Getting up, she cupped his face and kissed him, gentle and sweet. "Like I said, I was just wondering. We don't have to get married straight away. We don't have to get married at all. But it's something we would've needed to talk about, sooner or later."

Before she could move away, he placed his hand over hers, wanting to prolong his contact with her skin. "I think it's a good idea."

"The marriage or the elopement?"

"The marriage. We'll decide about the elopement later," Kakashi said, pulling her in for a deeper kiss.

When they broke apart, some not-insignificant time later, her hair mussed and his breathing a little more erratic, they had somehow managed to shift so that she was straddling him. And just like that, talking was the last thing on their minds.

"Mm…I guess we'll have to continue this conversation later," she whispered, looking down at him with her devastating smile.

"Later," he agreed, not wanting to waste any time. It had been so long – they could have this conversation later.

Much later.

It took Kakashi over four months to propose. Being the person he was, he wanted to make it as close as perfect as possible.

But also being the person he was, he wasn't sure how, exactly, he could do that. He was loath to ask anyone else, because that involved telling them, and he might've been a famous pervert but spying on other people's proposals was a low he wasn't willing to stoop to.

Masako took pity on him one afternoon; he was very visibly, to her at least, showing signs of stress.

"There doesn't have to be a really complicated proposal, you know," she said, after watching him destroy yet another piece of paper that 'wasn't allowed to look at'. His desk was constantly piled with neglected paperwork, and but this was the first time she'd ever seen him actually sit there and write.

That's like the fifth one today. How many ideas can one person have about a proposal?

"It's not about complications," he said, a muscle in his jaw working. "But it's a proposal. It should be special."

"Special to us. And that can mean anything," was her reply, as she hugged him from behind. Masako also tried crane her neck for a look at his ideas at the same time – maybe there's a scrap I can read – and squealed as he pulled her forehead protector down over her eyes.

"You're not supposed to look," he reminded her, unrepentant as she had to let go of him to adjust the band. "You say that, I'm only going to be able to propose once."

"Kakashi, I'd say yes if you asked me to marry you next to an on-fire garbage can."

At that, he turned to look at her, getting out of the chair and took her hands in his.

"Masako…," he whispered, looking at her in the way he knew turned her mind to mush.

She wasn't fooled for a minute.

"That was an exaggeration," she said, poking him on the chest. "I didn't mean propose now."

"See? It needs to be special." With that, he went back to his desk, whistling to himself as he flipped over a piece of paper and started his planning all over again.

"I'm sure I'll be stunned," he heard her say as she hugged him, properly this time. "But for now, I'm going to go eat dinner."

"I'll join you later," he replied as she left the room. Looking down at his jumbled writing, he found himself relaxing despite his earlier stress.

That is, until he took a closer look which report, exactly, he was writing on the back of.

"Ah, shit. Iruka's going to be pissed off."

Shrugging, he figured he'd just say he lost it. This was more important anyway.

When she finally, finally accepted his proposal, Masako couldn't help but cry.

He had insisted that he carry her 'there' on his back, wherever 'there' was, and that she didn't open her eyes until they arrived. And so she went, heart beating so fast that she was sure he could hear it.

"Alright,' he said, as he slowed down. "You can open your eyes now."

When she did, she felt like she'd stepped into a painting. Kakashi had chosen this spot, a small clearing on the riverbank far away from the village, and he'd managed to time it so that it was bathed in the rays of the setting sun.

This…it's beyond beautiful.

"Do you remember?" He sounded nervous, like she could feel anything but amazement at this moment.

"Of course I do." Masako remembered it in vivid detail. How could she not?

"You said you loved me for the first time here." His voice was soft, watching her take in the whole scene. "After the Land of Iron mission."

"I called you reckless and ridiculous and then I said I loved you," she said, smiling fondly at the memory. "And hauled you back to the hospital."

"I should've told you I loved you too, straight away," he said, pulling his mask off; he never wore it when it was just the two of them, and this was their moment, and theirs alone. "It's what you deserved. I should've said a lot of things sooner, actually. That's why I wanted to do this properly."

"Sooner, later, it doesn't matter," she said, already tearing up. He hadn't even gotten to the question yet. "We're here now."

"Yes. We're here now."

And then he took her hands, looked at her like she was the only person in existence, and tears started trailing down her face.

"Masako, will you –"

"Yes," she said, managing to stumble over the single syllable.

He laughed, pulling her even closer. "I didn't finish the question."

"Finish it quickly, then," she said, feeling dangerously close to outright sobbing. "Because I don't think I'll be able to talk soon."

"Okay," he whispered, letting go of one hand to brush off the tears on her cheek. "Masako, will you marry me?"

The second time she said 'yes', the word was barely out of her mouth before he leaned in and kissed her thoroughly; they lost themselves in each other, determined to savor this moment, this wonderful golden moment, for as long as they could.

When he finally pulled away, he took a small pouch out of his pocket.

"I know you said you didn't want an engagement ring," Kakashi said, opening it. "And that we want to keep this a secret until our wedding. But I wanted to be able to give you something."

It was a thin gold chain, glinting even in the last rays of twilight.

"It's beautiful," she said. The word would've gotten old really quick, if it wasn't so true.

Everything about this is beautiful.

Beaming, she let him fasten the chain around her neck. Before she could kiss him again, however, he stepped back.

"Close your eyes," he said, with a smile that could only be described as 'besotted'. "I have one more surprise."

She didn't even question it, and waited patiently until she felt him kiss the tip of her nose.

"Whenever you're ready."

The riverbank had transformed again, this time surrounded by candle-lit lamps, with a picnic blanket and an obscenely large amount of food in the centre. If Masako was the type, she would've swooned.

I was wrong, this is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

"Our first meal as an engaged couple should be special," he said, taking her hand again. At her stunned expression, a hint of smugness worked their way into his features. "Amazing, isn't it?"

Masako smacked his shoulder lightly, but couldn't help laughing. After all, he'd earned the right.

This is perfect, she thought following, her fiancé - her heart sang at the word - as he sat down. It's all perfect.