AN: So, I am a recent Sakura/Kakashi convert and I just really want these guys to get together. I hope you enjoy this, I had so much fun writing it. Please, please comment and review, your feedback means so much to me! Thanks for taking the time to read! =)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Sakura smiled at Kakashi over the rim of her teacup. They were in her apartment playing cards and drinking tea as had become their routine. Every Sunday night, because Sakura had Monday's off, Kakashi would come over and they would play cards, sometimes have dinner, sometimes have tea and sometimes Kakashi would bring cake or other snacks. Once, a few months ago, Kakashi had brought sake and Sakura had been so elated to be treated like a peer by her former sensei that she had promptly gotten so drunk Kakashi had to leave earlier than usual, but not before he carried her to her bed.

That had been embarrassing.

Sakura couldn't remember the whole incident, but she was fairly certain she had ended up crying about Sasuke just before Kakashi decided it was time to call it a night. When she asked him about it later, abashed and unwilling to look him in the eye, Kakashi had said, "Crying? Oh, yeah, because I beat you in the last round." That had made her laugh.

Despite Kakashi's good-natured reaction to the drunken mess she had become, Sakura decided that she should probably save drinking for a little later. She was still a little raw about Sasuke's departure. Though, lately when she had thought about him it wasn't with the familiar longing and sadness, it was with anger and resentment. She still felt a pang in her heart when she thought about how easily he had dismissed her, but she was mad at him now and realizing this was always how he had treated her.

"Sakura-chan?"

Kakashi's calm voice broke her reverie and Sakura looked up at him in surprise.

"Did you say something?"

Kakashi smiled indulgently, at least Sakura was pretty sure that was his expression under his mask, "I said it's your turn,"

Kakashi had his cards in a neat pile on the table in front of him and patiently waited for Sakura to take her turn. She studied her cards seriously for a moment before deciding to draw another one.

"Yes! I win!" she said triumphantly throwing her cards down and sitting back in her seat allowing her grin to spread over her face.

Kakashi looked at her cards for a moment and then laughed softly, "Well look at that, I guess you did win, Sakura-chan." Kakashi turned over his cards and Sakura laughed joyously seeing that her hand really was superior. It had been almost half a year since they had started this "game night" and despite his apparent lack of effort, Kakashi almost always won. Naruto and Hinata joined them now and again, but Naruto usually gave his hand away early in the game making it less fun to play. Oh, man if I just had another 5…As soon as I get a 10 you're all going down! These games just weren't his thing.

Hinata had been invited to come without Naruto as she was quite a good player, but when asked she had just blushed and said, "Thank you," while looking up at Naruto through her eyelashes. He had beamed at her and Sakura knew that right now Hinata just wanted to be where Naruto was if she could.

Right now, Sakura just wanted to bask in the glory of her victory. She grinned at her former sensei sitting across from her and he smiled, his eyes crinkling happily.

"You're learning Sakura-chan, that's good. I guess I am a good teacher for some things, you should try to practice while I'm gone."

It took a moment for his words to sink in. Sakura's grin turned into a frown of confusion.

"What are you talking about, Kakashi?"

He smiled again at the use of his name without an honorific. It had taken him months of pleading and cajoling for Sakura to finally call him by his name only.

"Well," he said calmly, carefully avoiding her eyes as he gathered up the cards and arranged them into a neat stack in the center of the table. "I'll be going on a mission for two months, I leave first thing in the morning."

Sakura pushed herself forward in her seat, hands splayed across the table, "What!" she exclaimed in mingled surprise and not a little annoyance. "You're leaving? Tomorrow? Why didn't you say anything? Kakashi-sen-"

Kakashi cut her off with a look, "Sakura-chan," he said, his voice perfectly level, "first, please don't call me 'sensei' and don't deny that you were going to," he added, anticipating her protest. "And, second, you know how I feel about goodbyes. I didn't want to say anything and make a big deal out of routine work. Going on missions from time to time is nothing new; it's part of my job. Two months isn't a long time anyway, so there's no reason to act any differently. Also," Kakashi looked away for a second and then back, his gaze locking on hers and his voice becoming suddenly cheerful, "I think I've been monopolizing your time, Sakura-chan. You're young and it's peace time, you should be out enjoying your free night, not stuck inside babysitting an old man. Really this is a good thing, so there's no reason to be upset."

Sakura wasn't sure if she was angrier with Kakashi for not telling her he was leaving, his flippant treatment of his absence, or the fact that he seemed to be suggesting they stop spending time together. She decided she could figure that out later, what mattered was that she was angry and he would know it.

"How can you act like that and not expect me to be upset? And, what are you trying to say, you don't want to spend time with me anymore? Am I bothering you, Kakashi, because you don't have to take life threatening missions just to get away from me!"Sakura glared at him. His look of mild surprise irritated her, he was always so mild. She stood up abruptly taking her teacup and walked into her kitchen. The apartment was "open concept" so she could see her little breakfast table, where Kakashi still sat, from the kitchen quite clearly.

She slammed her cup down in the sink harder then she intended, a little crack formed in one of her favourite cups.

Damn, she thought. Aloud she said, not looking at Kakashi, "Fine, you want to just leave without saying anything? Fine. I'm used to people not caring enough to say goodbye to me, if you're going then just leave, I'll see you when I see you."

Sakura didn't look up when she heard the faint rustle of cloth and the almost silent scrape of chair that meant Kakashi had stood up. She looked resolutely out the kitchen window at the night sky, her face turned away from him. She listened to his soft footfalls as he walked to the door, she felt the rush of cool air when he opened it, but he didn't go through right away.

Kakashi stood in the doorway for a moment looking at his former student, her arms crossed over her chest, her jaw locked, her pink hair framing her lovely face.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Sakura-chan. And, I do care."

Sakura's anger lessened slightly, Kakashi sounded so sincere. She wavered for a moment; unsure if she wanted to forgive him now, but before she could decide she heard a soft click that told her Kakashi had left.

She looked at the door a long while and felt a familiar tightening in her chest, a sharp pain in her heart. Now he's gone too, she thought. Sakura sighed deeply and looked out the window regretfully. She should have said goodbye at least, she should have spoken to him like an adult, matched his calm speech, but instead she had wanted to pick a fight. She wanted him to get mad too, show some emotion.

They had spent so much time together, just in general, but more importantly as friends in these last few months and Sakura had thought it had made them a lot closer. Was this just Kakashi's version of closeness? Maybe she should have fallen in love and gone out with Naruto after all; he would never treat her like this.

That thought made Sakura pause. Why was she thinking about that right now? Whomever she fell in love with had nothing to do with the fact that Kakashi was emotionally stunted and couldn't even tell his friend he was leaving on a mission. Sakura shook her head in defeat and walked over to her bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment.

"Two months," she said aloud, "that's not so long, right?"