A/N: This is my first fanfic really, first one that I finished albiet short. It was actually longer than I planned out at first though. Please keep in mind that this one went unbeta'd because...well because I don't have a beta-reader. I've had this issue come up time after time regarding their ages in this story as well as this ship, so I will just answer them here before anyone asks me again. (1) Sakura is 18 in this story and Kakashi is 32. (2) Yes, there is a 13 year old age gap and no, I'm not and will never encourage pedophilia. If age gaps disturb you, then do not proceed with this story or this ship. Thank you.

"KAKASHI OJIISAN!" Naruto grinned widely, testing out his choice of words for addressing his former sensei for the first time.

Kakashi frowned, Naruto's screaming was about enough to remind him why he didn't like birthdays – well, his specifically.

A grin that would make a Cheshire cat jealous spread over Naruto's lips, wondering if Kakashi would whack him over the head for his teasing. But as soon as Kakashi continued walking along the crowded streets of Konoha, blending in perfectly with the night life, Naruto saw that more ridiculing is safe.

"Thirty two now, eh? Heeheehee..." Naruto continued, taking same sized strides as his teacher so he could keep up. His rather high pitched laughter reminded Sakura of a giggling man, a grown giggling man, oh the shamelessness of her friend. She trailed just behind them so as not to create a human bulldozer with the three ahead of her. The third unmentioned person that was walking with Naruto and Kakashi was indeed, Sasuke. However since he never really says anything in particular, he wasn't mentioned until now.

Ever since Sasuke returned from avenging his family and clan, which consisted of very grotesque details that Sakura never wanted to hear again, Team Seven started spending more time together – and Kakashi's birthday was no exception. Part of the reason was probably because Sakura and Naruto was afraid Sasuke would feel alienated for leaving the village, and another part of it was because they were also afraid of the possibility of Sasuke leaving again. They didn't want him to feel that he had no one to turn to. Not that Sasuke seem to need to turn to anyone though, besides the fact that he is a bit grouchier and colder than he used to be, he seemed peachy keen.

"Hai...hai," Sakura heard Kakashi answer in a weary voice as Naruto poked him with the question of his age as they settled down into the seats of a nice family restaurant. Can you believe that Naruto insisted on going to Ichiraku? Sakura told him it was a bad omen to give an aging man such unhealthy food. Of course she emphasized on the word "aging" so that Kakashi, who was standing nearby at the time, would overhear and raise an eyebrow. Sakura laughed inwardly at her own indirect way of teasing, she couldn't let Naruto in on all the fun after all. Naruto however, reported promptly that he had never heard of such superstition and received a swift blow to the head as a reward.

Once they had ordered, Naruto decided to stop bothering Kakashi about his age for the time being. Instead, he engaged in a heated conversation with Sasuke about the old Team Eight's latest mission. Sakura heard a lot of "teme" and "baka!" usage in their language, but did not exert much effort to pick up more than that. Instead, she glanced from Naruto to Sasuke, then allowing her eyes to fall on Kakashi. There she was, enjoying a night once again with three of the most important men in her life, besides her father that is. She smiled at the thought as she filled everyone's cups with fresh tea.

"What are you smiling about?" A voice interrupted her thoughts, but she did not need to look up to know who it belonged to.

"About how old you are...ojiisan," she replied with a tiny trace of laughter in the corner of her lips.

"Oh? Since when was thirty two that old?" He challenged in reply.

"Once you turn thirty, you're over the hill," she explained, looking up now and musing over how their light bantering happened so naturally. Six years ago, you would never see the pink-haired kunoichi talking so casually to someone so much older than her.

"I thought that was forty," Kakashi crossed his arms lightly over his chest, quite amused with the way their conversation strayed from Naruto's and Sasuke's. Over the years of being with them, he had found that Sakura was the easiest one to talk to. He also found that he was quite taken by his pupil, well former pupil. She had developed both emotionally and physically, giving him a sense of pride that the two boys in all their sheer powerful glory, could never give him. Not to mention that wit of hers that she had sharpened so gracefully over the years.

"Well you obviously thought wrong," she smiled happily at him, bringing her cup to her lips. He noticed the way the tea gently rippled across the surface as she blew lightly to cool the burning liquid down. Then he noticed that he noticed. Oh why does he have to notice so much? He shook his head mentally at himself and picked up his own cup.

However he couldn't help but watch her as she awaited his reply, watched as she planned her next selection of words to press on with the teasing when he couldn't give her more than a smile.

"You might be old Kakashi, but you aren't all that wise yet," she chuckled.

"Yet?" He raised an eyebrow simply, wondering what was going on in that mind of hers.

"I BET MINE IS BETTER!" The table suddenly shook slightly as Naruto planted his hand heavily against the well-polished wood. Before anyone of them could blink, Naruto whipped out a poorly wrapped box with Christmas wreaths printed all over. "Just because I couldn't find appropriate wrapping does not mean anything," Naruto's cheeks were bright red. But since it was Naruto, his cheeks were probably red because of excitement, not embarrassment.

"And what, might I ask, did you get him? A certificate for one year's worth of ramen? Or a Christmas tree?" Sasuke snorted. When did their conversation took a turn from missions to Kakashi's present, Sakura and Kakashi would never know.

"Naruto," Sakura said in a disapproving tone, wiping up the bit of tea that slopped over their cups when the table shook. Naruto didn't seem to care though, as he shoved the package into Kakashi's hands.

"Already?" Kakashi asked, usually gift-opening was saved until after the meal was done and the cake was cut.

"Open mine first, ojiisan," Naruto grinned, happy that he had another chance to throw in his new way of referencing their sensei.

"Ok, ok," Kakashi held his hands up in defeat before taking the gift, not wanting to give Naruto reason to shove the box down Kakashi's vest in excitement. Which unfortunately, Kakashi remembered, happened last year.

With deftly working fingers, Kakashi opened the gift without ruining much of the wrapping. Sakura and Sasuke wondered why he bothered though, not only was the wrapping not fitting for the occasion, but it was hideously fading in color too. Oh well.

"Oooh..." Kakashi grinned happily and his eyes lit up the corner booth that they were sitting in.

"Hn," Sasuke fought against rolling his eyes. It was another one of those Icha-Icha books of course, another one that was hot off the press, and unreleased till two weeks later. Jiraiya-sama was extremely useful when it came to situations like these.

"Why do you encourage him, Naruto?" Sakura said with slight agitation in her voice, trying hard not to show her real detest in those books. "Such things," she pointed her nose up in the air as she glanced at the cover, as if books of that genre were strictly beneath them.

"I don't think he minds," Naruto shrugged, watching their sensei as he read the prologue of the book. "Your turn, good luck getting his attention back though," he said, tossing Sasuke a taunting smile.

"This is not a competition, baka," Sasuke said simply, leaning back in his seat.

"Yours is that bad, huh?" Naruto inquired giddily, already proud of his accomplishment.

Without another word, Sasuke whipped out his own present for Kakashi. The box, Naruto observed, was slimmer than Naruto's. Sakura was sure Sasuke revealed his gift to shut Naruto up, but couldn't help wishing that Sasuke would have waited until after dinner was finished. That way she wouldn't have to feel too weird, or wouldn't have to feel weird for too long. She sighed, watching as Kakashi tore his eyes from his newfound love object, almost painfully and extended a hand to receive Sasuke's box.

With the same meticulous care that he unwrapped Naruto's present, he unraveled Sasukes present...and nearly cried. With joy that is.

"Huh?" Naruto's baffled expression fully equipped with his unquenchable curiosity surfaced and took over his previously pompous appearance. Standing up and bending over across the table to see what Sasuke could have gotten him that would match or even top his own gift, he quickly fell over.

"Advanced screening? HOW!" He called out, looking at the pair of tickets for the advanced screening of the new Icha-Icha movie.

"Connections," Sasuke smirked lightly. "You're not the only one who has them, you know."

Naruto picked himself up from the floor and sat back in his seat, trying his best to restore his dignity. "Well, Kakashi has read about the plots in the movie before. My book has brand new plots, with a special chapter on the introduction to new characters," Naruto boasted.

"Whatever," Sasuke sighed, tired of the useless quarreling already. It seemed as if Naruto was too, as he swept his eyes over to Sakura, wondering what her present was.

"What about your gift?" He asked, trying to glance down to her lap to scope out the other competition. Sakura noticed this and maneuvered her arm to punch Naruto on the back of his head. "Stop that," she glared.

"Ouch..." He held his sore spot and agreed to stop, fixating his eyes at the tabletop. "So? What did you get him?" He asked.

"I...I forgot it at home," she said sheepishly. "I'll bring it over later, if it's ok with you," she glanced up at Kakashi, cheeks blushing a light shade of pink.

"Don't bother yourself Sakura, it can wait," Kakashi waved his hand nonchalantly, though secretly wondering what she could have gotten him.

"Oh, it's not bother at all!" She replied quickly, almost too quickly now that she thought about it. However as Kakashi continued to smile and show no signs of protest, she relaxed.

"Maybe you're too cheap and didn't get him anything," Naruto muttered under his breath jokingly to himself. Unfortunately his words caught the attention of Sakura's ears. A few moments later, Sakura accidentally spilled tea on Naruto's pants with questionable agility. No one dared to ask though.

Dinner went through with a regular pace that most normal folks go at. However each minute seemed to be marked with wretched agony for Sakura, who was secretly wondering if her gift would be able to compare with her friends'.

"I'll see you in a bit then?" Kakashi's voice broke through her worries as the four stood outside of the restaurant finally done with dinner and the cake. Naruto in fact, had a bit of frosting on his face and Sasuke was wondering if he should let him know. He looked like a fool wandering around the street with the bit of creamy purple foam on his face, but since when was it Sasuke's job to make sure his friend did not look like a fool? He acted like one most of the time anyway.

"Yes, I won't be long," Sakura promised.

"Do you want me to go with you instead? That way you won't have to come over and waste more of your time," he offered.

"No, it's ok!" Sakura shook her head animatedly and smiled.

So the four took three separate ways: Kakashi back to his place to wait for Sakura, Sakura back to her own place to prepare her gift and Sasuke with Naruto to a pub where they were going to meet up with Kiba and Shikamaru. Sasuke finally decided against telling Naruto about the frosting, by the way.

Sakura made her way home in a record time of two minutes. The first thing she did was make sure the ribbon that she had tied around Kakashi's present was still intact. Her father had a weird obsession with unwrapping things, even things that he knew was not his. After noticing that it was tucked safely away and untouched in her room, she danced quickly to the bathroom to take a five minute shower. If she only knew a hair-drying jutsu, she would have washed her hair again, but alas, she did not and had to settle for the hair she washed that morning.

Stepping out of the bathroom, she glanced at the clock and pushed herself to pick up her pace. Carefully, she held her now past-the-shoulder-length hair up with a small butterfly pin. She had to admit that she wasn't very good with primping herself and grudgingly asked Ino for help a few days before. After basking in her own ego for a few moments, Ino gave her some quick and easy tips as well as the butterfly hair pin.

Finishing with her hair, she stepped into one of her mother's old dresses, owning nothing fancier than her regular red dress. Thankfully her mother had better taste than she has now. She slipped the pale pink straps over her shoulders and glanced at herself in the mirror. Ino had approved of this color, stating that it wasn't pink enough to clash violently with her hair yet had enough color to bring out the glow in her freshly scrubbed skin.

Adding a few final touches, she grabbed a raincoat to wear over her dress as well as the bag that contained Kakashi's present and dashed off to his place.

"Eh? Rain?" Were Kakashi's first words when he greeted her at his door.

"It was chilly, and I didn't find anything else," she told him with a light shrug, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible. The hammering feeling in her chest fought against her though.

Kakashi nodded, stepping aside to let her in. She noted that it was tidier than the last time she was there, but his book shelf was a bit of a mess. Perhaps he was readjusting and making room to add his newest book to the collection. She sighed at the thought, wondering if her present would be able to compare. She was definitely more self-conscious tonight than she had hoped for.

"Um, here," she handed him the festively decorated bag which held his present inside.

He received it with a smiling eye, walking over to his kitchen. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"Open your present, and no thank you," she replied, trying to keep her voice from being nervous. "I need to use your restroom though."

He nodded, trusting that she knew where it was. Even if she didn't, it wouldn't be hard to figure out as his quarters weren't all that spacious.

She walked in, watching as he took out the box and removed the wrapping as carefully as before. Closing the bathroom door behind her, she leaned against it and drew in a deep breath. Her eyes fluttered shut, telling herself that this was the right time, this was the right move. It has been six months since they almost kissed (even though it was over his mask and was caused by an accident that made that moment happen) during training and four months since she caught a split second glimpse of him under his mask when they went out to lunch while Sasuke and Naruto were away on a mission. And it has been exactly two months when she realized that for too long she has been pining over the wrong man. She had tried to make something over nothing with Sasuke, and tried to make nothing over everything with Kakashi for so long that it almost hurt when she realized it. Damn that Inner Sakura of hers for being slow, yes it was all Inner Sakura's fault. She took in another deep breath, and told herself that this was the perfect time, it was now or never. As she exhaled this time around, she noticed that his bathroom contained the wonderful aroma of him. She opened the door ever-so-slightly so that only her eyes could peek through.

"Done?" She asked.

"Yeah," he stood there grinning, holding up her present and inspecting the label of the wine bottle. "What are you doing in there? Remember to flush," he laughed lightly.

"I didn't use the toilet," she made a face at him, one that he did not see since she tilted her head so that only her eyes were visible. It amused him to be in a position that he usually put other people in, trying to guess the hidden facial expression of someone else.

"Then come out and you can share some of this with me, unless you want to request that I save it for a special occasion?" He asked, wondering why she was still in there. It was not like her to hide, she was usually so brazenly forward.

"This is a special occasion, no?" She said, revealing her face now, though the rest of her was still behind the door.

"Well I thought it was my birthday, but I guess it's going to be a let's-watch-Sakura-hide-behind-Kakashi's-bathroom-door day," he shrugged good naturedly, adding some tease into his voice.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Did you read the note?"

"Note?"

"Under the bottle."

Kakashi tentatively tipped the bottle sideways and lo and behold, a note. The corner of his lips curled upwards as he removed the note from it's place. Flipping the tiny card over, he read aloud: "Happy birthday ojiisan, this is your first part of your present." He shook his head at the old man reference, Naruto must have rubbed off on her.

He then raised his eyes to her. "First part? What's the second part?" The wine was one of the better ones out there, and he honestly did not expect anymore. Part of him wondered where Sakura got the idea since she hadn't started drinking yet like some of her peers. Never would he imagined that she actually got the idea from her parents who liked to give out nice winery once in a while.

"Um," he heard her say, or mumble rather.

"Sakura, are you ok?" He asked, as he heard some fumbling from the other side of the door. Unbeknownst to him, one of her raincoat's sleeves was stuck around her elbow.

"Yes! Hold on," she called out as she finally pulled off her jacket and tossed it on the ground. Damn jacket, she sure showed it.

"Ok," she breathed in from the exertion and Kakashi grew suspicious of the second part of her present. It would be wrong, oh so very wrong...but he couldn't help and wonder what she might be wearing underneath her raincoat.

"Sakura..." He said her name, not knowing what else to say.

"Come here," she ordered. It would be easier for him to come over than for her to go to him.

"Close your eyes," she ordered again.

"Commanding, eh?" He let out a small laugh, feeling the pulse within him quicken.

She shushed him and made sure that his eyes were fully closed. He silently wondered again if it would be wrong to think that she would appear in front of him in some form of lingerie. Jesus, that was wrong, but she was of age...

He was still engaged in a battle within his own head when he felt the cool touch of small hands over his eye and part of his forehead protector. He was about to say that she didn't have to cover his forehead protector, but decided that it might ruin the mood so he stopped himself. But hey, it wasn't like he could see through the protector in any event.

When he showed no signs of resistance she smiled more easily, though had to push herself a bit more to get over the anxiety residing in her stomach. "Are you ready for the second part?" She hadn't intended for her voice to be barely above a whisper, but that was just how nervous and shy she was feeling at the moment.

He nodded slowly, wondering how the dynamic of the team would change if she were to say, be naked in his living room right now. After feeling her hands lifting and a small giggle escaping her lips, he opened his eyes. The sight that greeted him was...not what he expected.

There standing a few inches from him was a pink-haired Sakura in a pink dress and...a ribbon tied around her waist that matched the ribbon from the wine box. He was glad he was right about deviating from her normal outfit, but was trying to sort out his feelings on being wrong about her baring more skin. Then again, Sakura was not the one to throw herself like that on someone. She was more of one to throw herself fully clothed. (Hey, she did throw herself on Sasuke, let's not forget that.)

"A ribbon?" He asked, though he really didn't need to ask.

"I give you...me," she held out her arms as if presenting herself. By now her cheeks were stained a color somewhere between her dress and hair.

He was speechless for a moment, debating what she meant by that. Debating to what extent she meant by that anyway. But one thing was obviously clear, the tension and fun teasing did not pass by her unnoticed as he had always thought they had.

"Hmm..." he smiled, knowing that her nerves were probably wracking while waiting for a proper reaction. And a proper reaction he was going to give. Slowly, his fingers traced around her waist before settling on the center of the ribbon. Just as carefully as he was with the other wrappings, he undid the ribbon and allowed the satin material to pool around their feet.

She looked at his hands while he did so, her eyes following the ribbon to the ground. One of his hands cupped her chin and lifted her face till their eyes met. Biting her bottom lip with childish mischievousness, she touched her fingertips where his mask started. Slowly and gently, she tugged the mask down, waiting for any signs of protest. However when he did not, she continued, showing the same care he had when he unwrapped the ribbon around her.

"Sakura..." He just said her name again, for the lack of better words. He pressed his lips to her forehead, taking in the scent of her. She used to remind him of Pakkun, though of course he would never tell her that. Now she smelled more like...he couldn't exactly place it but if he had to describe it, he would probably say the morning dewdrops of a clear dawn, except sweeter.

"Mm?" She wrapped her arms around his waist to pull him closer.

He mimicked her movement and traced his lips down her nose, making her giggle softly. It surprised him that this came even more naturally than their light banter, which made him wonder if they should really be sitting down to talk over everything first. What about Naruto and Sasuke? Oh hell, what about Sasuke? And then there were her parents, were they really ok with her being with someone so much older than their daughter? There was also the issue about the hardships of maintaining a relationship with the missions they were on – though that can be argued since they have been working on quite a handful of missions together recently. What about Rock Lee? Sakura might not have thought about him, but he was a nice boy with lots of...youth in him, he surely did not want to crush the youth. Gai might kill him.

As soon as the thoughts started to buzz through his head with unearthly speed, Sakura quelled them all away with one bold movement of her lips to his. Then just for the feeling of her lips on his, he realized, he would crush all the green spandex loving youth in the world.

"I think this calls for that special occasion wine, don't you think?" He asked her, once they pulled apart, each one submerging themselves in their own thoughts about what just happened.

She nodded and went over to the couch to wait while he went to get the proper glassware. Watching him as he returned and opening the bottle to pour them both an adequate amount, she curled up against him once he settled next to her with a newfound feeling of shyness. "So, which was your favorite present this year?" Sakura asked, turning her bright green eyes on him. Of course they both knew that it was a rhetorical question, but she just wanted to ask anyway, curious how he would phrase his answer.

"Hm...I don't know," he rubbed his exposed chin, which earned him a jab in his ribs. A loving jab, that is.

He laughed and held up his glass in toast position. "To me and my favorite gift this year," he grinned and kissed her on the lips briefly before taking a sip of the wine. He watched as she followed in the same fashion, but had to struggle not to laugh at the expression that marred her pretty face. Apparently Sakura was not a big fan of wine.

Taking both their glasses by the stem, he placed them on his coffee table and returned to wrap an arm around her. "So, by giving yourself to me...how much is that exactly?"

She gave him a puzzled expression before realizing in horror what he meant. She was giving herself, not her...virginity. Good lord, not that way, not that way!

"Not that much, you pervert!" She declared in her answer and gave him a good punch to the stomach.

He caught her fist just in time, chuckling in the process. "Just joking!"

She crossed her arms and 'humph' at him while settling a pout over her face.

"Say...remember the present that Sasuke gave me?" He asked her.

"Yeah?" She made a face that hinted at her disgust.

"It's rated R."

"I know, not suitable for young viewers."

"You're of age, and I've got two."

After a strangled moment of silence and disbelief from behalf of the kunoichi, she found her reply. "No."

"Why not? I was going to take Sasuke out of gratitude, but I don't think him scowling the whole time is appropriate," Kakashi sighed.

"What about Naruto?" She asked, arms still crossed over her chest.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" He asked her, not even wanting to contemplate on the obscenities that the loud ninja might burst out with during the movie.

"Well...what about Genma?" She asked. "Or Gai?"

"I don't think Gai likes Icha-Icha and Shizune would kill Genma if she found out," he replied.

"Asuma?" She asked.

"Kurenai would kill him." He didn't even have to think about that one.

"You know, those women have good reason for doing so," she sighed.

"Come on, you can at least give an effort to try and understand what I like," he grinned as he kissed her on the cheek.

"There is nothing to understand, I mean, it's...it's..." She was trying to find the right words when Kakashi trailed down and started nuzzling a bit on her neck.

"It'll be our first date," he said slyly.

First date. Good gracious, those words sounded so great. First date with Kakashi. Hey, those words sounded even better with his name in it.

"And we can go for sweets afterwards," he continued, smiling against her skin, and feeling as she exhaled deep in a surrendering sigh.

"Only for you," she said reluctantly. "Only for you."

• Fin. •

Note: Ojiisan: Grandfather or old man.