KAKASAKU ;; (first) kisses

per the request of tumblr user treebrains & anonymous

Kakashi's first kiss was the byproduct of a mission when he was fifteen, which on its own was pretty terrible. Sakura had him beat.

"I've never been kissed," she said with wide eyes over a beer.

Oh, dear.

"Never at all?" Kakashi queried, mask down as he nursed his own drink. He wasn't much for alcohol and when he did indulge, he preferred sugary vodka concoctions that were only acceptable to drink in public if you owned a vagina. Kakashi just didn't care.

"Never," Sakura replied sadly. "These lips are virgin! Well... I mean, I did give Naruto mouth to mouth that one time, but that doesn't count... not really."

"No, I suppose it doesn't," Kakashi agreed.

The silence that fell between them after that was stifling. Sakura drank her beer more actively and Kakashi pushed his drink away. Naruto was a sore subject. Sasuke was a sore subject. The entire Fourth Secret War was a sore subject, and all three things had been brought to mind by Sakura's flippant mention of CPR not really counting as a kiss. They both knew that had Naruto survived, he would have kissed her in a way that counted. But Naruto didn't survive, and neither did Sasuke.

They let the subject drop without scratching the surface further.

"How was your first kiss, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked suddenly.

Kakashi leaned back and lied, "Oh, I don't remember."

Sakura giggled, "Too drunk?"

"Something like that," he agreed meaninglessly.

"That's unfortunate," Sakura purred, propping herself on her elbow against the bar. "Your nose is unfortunate, too."

"That's rude, Sakura," he said defensively. His nose was just fine, considering.

"When did you first break it?"

"I was eight."

"Mission?"

"See-saw."

"Ah," Sakura laughed. "That's silly. Is that why you wear your mask? Because of your unfortunate nose?"

Kakashi sighed deeply, "It's really not that bad..."

"Just a little crooked," she agreed seriously. "I don't know why you hide your face. You're handsome, Kakashi-sensei."

"It's because I can't take compliments," he replied awkwardly. "And without a mask, I just receive far too many compliments about my beautiful face..."

"That's ridiculous."

It was, but so was the fact he had worn a mask all his life for no real reason at all. Wordlessly he watched as Sakura finished up her beer with a good long chug. He grabbed her hand when she signaled for another.

"How many have you had already, Sakura?"

"Maybe four."

He considered her size and weight and stood, pulling her up with him. She'd probably had enough.

"Let's get out of here, Tsunade Junior," he teased. She swatted him.

"Hardly," she disagreed.

"If we leave now, I'll pay your tab."

"...Okay."

Sakura pulled his mask back up for him 'to hide his ghastly nose' and he walked her home. She wasn't nearly at the same level of vice as the Hokage, but he still felt wary for her. She was on a slippery slope; losing your teammates was hard. He should know.

He'd done it twice now.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," she told him at the stoop of her apartment.

He responded with a shrug, "It's fine."

"Thank you," she said again, and he knew she wasn't talking about a walk home anymore. She reached out and tugged his vest straight, closing up an open pocket where he had used a scroll from the pouch there earlier in the day. Kakashi stood up straighter and at the risk of her mocking his poor nose again, he pulled his mask back down.

And then he kissed her.

As far as first time kissers went, Sakura handled herself well. She followed his lead, moving as he moved in a gentle coax as she fell forward and into him. Kakashi had no explanation for himself as he held her, struggling to stop himself at what was still considered a chaste kiss. He pulled away.

"It's fine," he repeated and he wasn't talking about a walk, either.