Title: Remind me, love.

Synopsis: "You bastard! How dare you…" It was way past treading on thin ice, alright. Kakashi felt like he had broken the ice and fell right into an ice lake. Sometimes, love just needs a little reminder. [Kakashi x Sakura]

Written in response to Fanofthisfiction "Show Me the Love Challenge", please review if you can. If you are interested to pledge to review, please visit her fanfiction page and PM her.

Life used to be simple for Hatake Kakashi. Take missions, come back from missions, shower, eat, sleep, read Icha Icha novels and repeat.

Not any more.

A disturbing teeth-grinding noise had woken him up from his sleep again. It didn't help either that Kakashi is a light sleeper. He tilted his head and found a messy bob of pink hair snuggling up to his nose. Sakura's teeth grinding habit usually escalated when she was exhausted. Who could blame her? The pink haired medic had pulled another double night shift at Konoha Hospital the night before.

He could feel Sakura's warm and smooth skin pressed against his chest. Not that he was complaining about this. Life was definitely better when he was with her. But it has also become much more complicated. The silver haired ninja never expected to fall in love again, especially not with one of his former students. Their love was controversial even within the circle of ninja, which was usually quite open-minded when it comes to private matters. To the civilian population of Konoha village, it was downright scandalous.

Kakashi glanced briefly at the alarm clock besides his bed. 0429 a.m. It was about to ring soon. Quietly, he stretched out a hand and switched off the alarm clock before it went off. He didn't want to wake her up if possible. He masterfully shifted his weight and tried his best to sneaked out from bed without waking her up. Luckily for him, she slept like a log.

Just as Kakashi was changing his clothes, he heard Sakura murmured sleepily behind him, "Remember to show up early for tonight's dinner with my parents."

He hadn't forgotten it, of course. He wouldn't dare to.

"Yes, don't worry."

Kakashi turned and smiled reassuringly. Then he bent down and pressed a kiss on her forehead.

The pink haired medic smiled and went back to sleep.

His day of remaining a bachelor was numbered. Some might even say it is long overdue. And that night would be the night to announce their engagement to her parents. It was nerve-wrecking for him, to say the very least. There was no manual or guide book to prepare him for what was coming. The only one who could really speak from experience was Naruto. And he wasn't being helpful at all.

"Good luck, Kakashi-sensei." was probably the most helpful advice the blond ninja gave. Well, at least Kakashi's future father in law wasn't a Hyuuga.

"Thanks, it's encouraging to know that even you survived it."

Before his former student, now the Hokage, could say another word, Kakashi vanished from his sight in a poof.

That's right. He has survived two Great Wars; he would survive this too.

That night, Kakashi showed up fifteen minutes earlier at Sakura's doorstep in his best attire, with a bottle of expensive sake, no less. He was expecting a praise or a simple compliment for his effort. In contrary, his fiancée looked positively mortified upon seeing him.

"What did I tell you about losing the mask?" She yanked down his mask just in time before an older woman with signature pink hair showed up.

Opss… that was close!

"Oh, both of you don't just stand there. Come in, come in." Mrs. Haruno ushered him into the house. "Look who is here, dear."

Kakashi suddenly felt very conscious of himself.

"Good evening, madam. This is for you." He handed over the bottle of sake that he brought.

"Thank you. How thoughtful of you." Mrs. Haruno's smile was warm and genuine. It put him somewhat at ease.

"Dinner will be served soon. Just make yourself at home, Hatake-san. Sakura-chan, I need your help in the kitchen." With that, Mrs. Haruno excused herself from the living room, dragging her reluctant daughter along before the girl could protest.

Kakashi was acutely aware that he wasn't alone in the living room. A broody middle-age man was sitting on an arm chair across the room, holding up a newspaper that he was clearly not interested in reading.

"Good evening, sir. I am…" The Copy Ninja was interrupted abruptly before he could finish his sentence.

"I know who you are." The older man looked up from the newspaper for the first time and put down his newspaper, which meant he would now divert all his attention to the young man standing before him. If Kakashi was a lesser man, he would flee towards the door at once.

This would not be any easier than dealing with Hyuuga Hiashi. Kakashi mentally braced himself.

"Have a seat." At least the man was being civil.

Knowing that he would be sitting for a coming interrogation, Kakashi sat down dutifully like a brave soldier.

"How long have you been dating my daughter?"

Curt and straight to the point. Kakashi was not surprised that he asked though.

"I have been dating your daughter since November last year."

Mr. Haruno continued to stare at him intently in a way that would intimidate any average man. Not Kakashi. He had been through situation much worse than this, seriously.

It was a while before the older man spoke again. The next question, however, caught Kakashi completely off guard.

"Have you slept with my daughter?"

Kakashi coughed unceremoniously. He did not see this coming.

Thankfully, Mrs. Haruno saved him in the nick of time by announcing, "Dinner is ready! Please bring Hatake-san to the dining room, dear."

"After you, sir."

Needless to say Kakashi took the opportunity to divert than to fight. It was a battle he couldn't win.

Mr. Haruno said nothing and led the way grudgingly nonetheless.

"I hope this humble homecooked dinner will suit your taste bud."

The said 'humble' homecooked dinner turned out to be a feast. Kakashi was touched by the warm gesture – he wondered how many hours both women must have spent to prepare all these for him.

"Thank you. I have no doubt it will."

Food was delicious as expected and dinner was pleasant. More importantly, much to Kakashi's relief, the head of the Haruno family remained silent throughout the dinner. It was Mrs. Haruno who did most of the talking, mostly sharing amusing or embarrassing stories of her daughter when she was younger.

"Mom!" Sakura protested several times to no avail.

The older woman merely laughed in respond. Kakashi chuckled too, which earned himself a glare or two from his pretty fiancée.

Merry times seemed to fly by. In no time, Kakashi was stuffed so full that his stomach had no room for another grain of rice, except for sake, maybe.

The silver haired ninja did not fail to notice that Mr. Haruno had raised an eyebrow when he saw his wife pouring the expensive sake that Kakashi brought to the house. It was the older man's favourite brand of sake, thanks to Sakura's tips, of course. He was keeping his finger crossed that it would help to get him into the older man's good book, even for a little.

"Hatake-san," the older man finally broke his silence. Kakashi straightened his back unconsciously. Even Sakura who was sitting beside him seemed nervous.

"Sir?"

"You haven't forgotten the conversation we had earlier, have you?"

Kakashi gulped. No such luck.

"What conversation?" Sakura asked unwittingly.

He wished he could answer her that it's the kind of 'conversation' that every guy dread to have with his potential father-in-law.

"Sir, I would be lying if I say I haven't. I love Sakura and I will never hurt her in any way."

Another awkward pause.

"What makes you think that you are good enough for her?"

"Dad!" Sakura interjected in exasperation.

"Sakura, I'm asking him a question. Do not attempt to answer for him." Mr. Haruno gave his only daughter a firm stare.

Kakashi nodded, indicating that it's alright to let him handle the question.

"To be honest, sir, I don't think that I'm good enough (for your daughter). Nobody will be good enough for her."

All eyes were watching in anticipation on how the head of Haruno family would react.

"This I agree." Mr. Haruno finally said while refilling the sake in Kakashi's cup.

Kakashi let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. Finally, they agreed on something and it somewhat seemed like a truce. He had one last thing to do – to break the news of their engagement to her parents.

It's now or never.

He took in a deep breath and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Haruno, Sakura and I would like to…" The room temperature suddenly seemed to drop a few degrees but he needed to say it while he still had the courage to do so. "… ask for your blessing to get married."

Mrs. Haruno gasped in surprise while her husband could barely contain his anger.

"You bastard! How dare you…"

It was way past treading on thin ice, alright. Kakashi felt like he had broken the ice and fell right into an ice lake. The next thing he felt was a solid punch to his face. He could have easily dodged it if he wanted to but he knew that it would only make matter worse. So he chose to bear the brunt of it.

Amidst the chaos, he heard Sakura's voice loud and clear, "Dad, I'll marry this man whether you approve it or not!"

"Insolent child! We didn't raise you to be seduced by a man twice your age, who is supposed to be your teacher, and be impregnated by him before marriage!" Mr. Haruno was beyond furious. He was murderous at that point.

Wait… Say what?!

"Who said anything about being pregnant?" Sakura exclaimed in utmost disbelief.

This time, it was her parents' turn to be dumbfounded.

"Oh! You are not?"

"No, mom. I am NOT pregnant! Where did you get this idea?"

"I don't understand. Then why the appetite change, weight gain, fatigue…" Mrs. Haruno blurted.

"It's called stress, mom. Trust me, I'm a doctor, I would know better."

Mrs. Haruno's feeble attempt to laugh off her embarrassment didn't work as well as she hoped. While Mr. Haruno, although visibly mortified, chose to keep what was left of his dignity and left the dining room without another word.

Sakura sighed. "Let me get you some ice."

"So… more sake?" Mrs. Haruno offered apologetically.

"Yes, please."

After a few more rounds of sake, Kakashi politely bid his farewell to the Haruno family.

"That went well…" Kakashi teased as he was leaving. "How do you plan to make it up to me?"

Sakura gave him a mysterious smile and murmured to his ear, "Well, I have a few ideas but I'm open for suggestion."

Just like that, Kakashi was reminded why he fell in love with Sakura in the first place. Sometimes, love just needs a little reminder. And it was the only thing he ever needed to keep loving her.

A/N: Updated by fixing the tense problem as mentioned by fanofthisfiction and Tuvstarr's lost heart in their reviews.

Thank you for reading. I have not read or write fanfic for a long time. Hopefully, my writing had not gone rusty. Please review if you can, in the spirit of the Fanfiction Review Movement. Any constructive criticism is much welcomed and appreciated.