She wasn't nervous, but she couldn't call herself calm either. Somewhere between getting dressed and putting on her make up the cherry blossom had settled into a medium between the two. There were still butterflies in her stomach but she was no longer worrying her lip every five seconds. Ino had wanted, insisted even, on being present to help her dress but Sakura was having none of that. Every time she let Ino dress her the medic-nin found herself shoved into a short skirt, knee high boots and some style of green top. It wasn't that she didn't like green, it went wonderfully with her hair, but she was tired of always wearing the color.

For tonight she had chosen a casual, dark blue dress of cotton. It had no back and the front was cut just enough to give a teasing view. Two strands of cloth tied around her neck to keep the garment in place and she accented the dress with a light blue sash tied just above her hips. Sakura was rather proud of her outfit, she looked formal enough for a fancy dinner but relaxed enough for a casual outing. Her make up matched the dress in hue and while it didn't exactly accent her hair, she loved the way the color caused her naturally pale skin to glow.

A knock against her apartment door snapped Sakura out of her reverie with a start. Glancing at the clock the young kunoichi was surprised to find it was six on the dot. Surely it wasn't Kakashi! The copy-nin was notorious for being late with no regards for the occasion. The butterflies in her stomach suddenly seemed to under go spontaneous reproduction as she made her way to the door. Peeking out of the eye-hole, her jade orbs went wide with surprise. There was no mistaking that shock of silver hair or those lazy, half lidded eyes.

Leaning her head against the door she closed her eyes and let the coolness of the grain sooth her frazzled nerves. How was she going to get through dinner if just the sight of him caused her to jump out of her skin with anxiety? Perhaps agreeing to this hadn't been the best of ideas. Regardless of how this came to be, Kakashi was standing on her door step at this very moment and it would reflect very poorly upon her character, and earlier claims of maturity, if she simply left him standing there.

"Just a minute!" Sakura called, hoping her voice didn't reflect any of her nerves.

Slipping on the heels she had left by the door, then taking a moment to run her fingers through her hair and fidget with her dress, the medic-nin finally stopped delaying the inevitable and opened the door.

"Yo" Kakashi said, raising his hand as he usually did when he greeted a comrade. The familiar gesture eased some of the tension out of Sakura's shoulders.

"Hello Kakashi, ready to go?" She smiled softly at him, taking in his outfit for the evening. He wore a pair of comfortable looking black slacks and a long sleeved, blue button down shirt. Sakura's eyes twinkled with amusement and she had to fight back the urge to giggle. It was almost identical to his jounin uniform, if it were casual dating attire. He had his usual mask in place, which she could only assume was attached to the shirt he wore beneath the button down.

"You look...stunning" Kakashi spoke and Sakura noticed he wasn't staring at her face. Instead, his eyes were traveling the length of her body, as if really seeing her for the first time. She felt flattered more so than uncomfortable. He wasn't eyeing her like some piece of meat, like the men at clubs often did. Rather, the look in his eyes reminded her of someone beholding a wondrous work of art.

"Thank you, you don't look half bad yourself." Stepping onto the porch, she closed the door to her tiny apartment and looked up at the jounin expectantly. "So, where are we heading?"

"Just a ways past the Hokage monument." He offered his arm to Sakura, who locked elbows with him happily. So far the night was going well.

Spring was just starting to blossom in Konoha, perfuming the air with the scent of fresh budding life. The night was warm, but not so much as to be uncomfortable. When the breeze blew, it carried with it the promise of a warmer day, hinting that summer would be a sweltering affair. The couple strolled down the streets in a comfortable silence, both content to enjoy the sights and sounds of the descending evening. Sakura was pleased to find he did not try to shy them away from the eyes of others. He lead them along the main streets and did not try to avoid the sight of someone who knew them. This was extremely comforting to the medic-nin, who feared Kakashi was merely trying to humor her in this situation.

It was not long after they climbed the Hokage monument that Kakashi veered them off the main road and into a park. This peeked Sakura's curiosity, she never heard of there being a restaurant in the park. But to her surprise, it was not to a restaurant she was lead but to a blanket laid out beneath the trees, complete with picnic basket. The cherry blossom was both shocked and touched by the gesture.

"I hope you don't mind," Kakashi started, "But I thought it would be more comfortable for the two of us to have a dinner in a more secluded area where we could talk freely and feel a bit more relaxed." Honestly, he was worried she would take this idea the wrong way, that she would assume he was trying to avoid being seen with her in public. A glance into her eyes revealed otherwise for they were a glow with delight.

"Thank you so much. This was incredibly thoughtful of you Kakashi. To be honest, I was a little nervous about the idea of sitting in a restaurant with all those other people staring at us and gossiping about why we were there. Did you make the food yourself?"

The copy-nin grinned sheepishly. "No, I purchased it pre-made from the store. My cooking skills are sub-par at best and I didn't want to ruin the night by watching you choke down one my brunt creations."

She couldn't hold it back anymore, Sakura let loose a loud, heart-felt laugh that soon degraded into a fit of mirthful giggles. So contagious was her merriment, that the usually stoic ninja found himself on the ground next to the cherry blossom erupting in euphoric laughter. The couple laughed away their tension and apprehension, they laughed until tears rolled down their cheeks and their stomachs ached from the prolonged activity. As the pair began to calm, Kakashi caught sight of Sakura in mid laugh, her eyes brimming with joy and her cheeks flushed from laughter. In that moment, he was able to view her as every bit the woman she had blossomed into under Tsunade's tutelage.

Reaching forward, he touched her rosy cheek softly and wiped away a stray tear with his thumb. They locked eyes with each other in that moment and Kakashi felt a jolt of electricity race up his spine. Perhaps...perhaps he wouldn't deny her 'request' after all.

"Well, I'm ravenous after that little fit. Shall we eat?" Sakura asked.

"That sounds like a great idea." Pushing himself from the ground, the copy-nin opened the basket and began setting out dishes. The ice had be broken and the night had already gone better than he had expected. It had also taken a surprising turn. After so many years of trying to ignore it, Kakashi was finally about to see that his former student had grown into lovely young woman. He wondered what other revelations he would have about her as the evening went one.

Author's Note:

Let me start out by saying how sorry I am for this chapter taking so long, but I've been rather busy with the holidays and work. I finally got a bit of free time to work on this and I wound up spending all day on just this short chapter. I feel terribly unaccomplished.

I must express much I hate my own writing. Really, I do. A lot of my friends say I have a talent but when I read my own reading it just seems so horribly bland and predictable to me. It's probably why I hardly post things in public view and most likely why I took so long writing this pathetically short chapter. I want to thank everyone who added this story to their alert list and left a review, but I feel I've let you all down. I can only hope some of you enjoy it and come back for the next installment.

Until then. See you soon space cowboys(and girls.)