Future

She knew something was up the moment he showed up in the hospital cafeteria. Normally, he couldn't be found anywhere near the hospital, but for some reason he was sliding into the seat across from hers?

Wary, she eyed him, chewing her sandwich slowly. "Kakashi."

"Sakura-chan," he replied, eye smiling in greeting. "You're looking lovely today."

She stopped chewing. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, she was exhausted and looked it (as she was currently makeup free), and she was wearing her usual scrubs that a patient had thrown up on earlier that morning. She hadn't even had time to take a shower, so she was sure she smelled like vomit.

Her emerald eyes narrowed. "What do you want, Kakashi?"

"Why do I have to want something?" Kakashi mused aloud. "Can't I just visit one of my closest friends on her lunch break?"

Sakura sighed, setting her sandwich back on its plate and giving the copy nin her full attention. "Can you just cut the crap and get to the point? I have to meet a patient in fifteen minutes."

"I had to meet with the Hokage today." Kakashi reached for her bag of chips.

Sakura batted his hand away. "Yeah, I remember. What did she want?"

The silver-haired jonin said nothing for a little bit, watching as the medic took a sip of her juice. "She told me that I need to continue the Hatake line."

Sakura choked, unable to stop the laugh that bubbled up her throat. "She wants you to have kids?" She was laughing in earnest now. "Do you even like kids?"

"They're becoming more appealing the older I get," he admitted, looking at the ceiling in thought. "Maybe because I'm gaining patience."

"So what's the problem then?" The rose-haired woman resumed her sandwich eating. "Shishou is right. Our population is down, and it would be a shame to let your genes go to waste. Go find a girl or two to knock up for the village."

He rubbed his neck uncomfortably. "I'm a little more traditional than that, Sakura."

"So you want a wife with those kids? I'm sure you can find some civilian who doesn't know any better," she joked. But her smile dropped slightly at the weird way he was looking at her. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What did you need me for? Did you need help finding candidates or…?"

He just kept rubbing his neck. "I was hoping you would do me a favor…"

And just like that, it hit her, and she was choking again. "No! No no no—"

"Am I that repulsive?" he asked, slightly offended.

Sakura glared hard at him. "I wouldn't know. How the hell do you expect me to marry someone if I've never seen their face?!"

Kakashi didn't skip a beat. "I'll show you."

"Oh thank you, you're so kind to show me your face before I pop out your children!"

The copy nin perked up. "So you'll do it?"

"That was called sarcasm," she snapped. "Why the hell would you choose me? You've never shown any interest in me before now."

He reached for her chips again, and this time she was too distracted to stop him. "That's not true."

Sakura felt her face warm at the sudden admission, but stuck to her guns. "How do you expect me to marry someone without even having a first date? That's absurd."

"Where do you want to go? Wherever you'd like."

"You didn't even propose properly."

He started to get out of his chair. "Would you like me to?"

"Sit down," she hissed, afraid he would start a spectacle. "And you can just forget it. I'm too busy right now to have kids."

"But you were saying yourself, Sakura. The village needs a population boost, and your good genes shouldn't go to waste either. You're not getting any younger."

"I'm twenty-three!" she snapped, appalled.

"And the clock's ticking," he said sagely. "You're always going to be 'too busy' in your line of work."

He had a point there, but that didn't make her any less angry. "Why are you even asking me this, anyway? Did everyone else turn you down?"

Kakashi crumpled up her empty chip bag. As usual, she hadn't even seen him eat them. "You're my top choice, actually."

She sputtered at that, bewildered. "Who else is on the list?"

"At the moment?" He pondered that. "No one. So I would really appreciate it if you just said yes."

She had to be dreaming. There was no way something this ridiculous was really happening. "Kakashi, are you drunk?"

He reached over and patted her hand, and she flinched in surprise. "I'll pick you up at seven."

Her face burned and her head spun. "You've got to be shitting me."

He was smiling at her, and it only infuriated her more. "You said you wanted a first date."

"That was not what I said—"

"Wear something nice!" He waved at her, then disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Sakura gripped the table so hard it started to crack. The nerve!

But she knew, just like he did, that she would be waiting for him. And that only made her more mad.