Don't Think, Just Feel

Sakura wasn't sure how much longer she could bear the uncomfortable silence. Walking awkwardly next to Kakashi, they both had just returned back to Konoha from a moderately easy B-ranked mission. It was rare they would ever get a mission together alone, but the Leaf was running at full capacity accepting requests, no matter how small the job. The war had made things tough for everyone involved, but especially for Konoha who was still playing catch up to what they once were. Fire country still had a strong hold as their place in one of the top five nations, but the damage they had sustained since Pain was still evident within the crater the village still lived in today. The will of fire was as strong as ever though, much thanks to Naruto's efforts in bringing all of the nations together to fight as one alliance. Sakura had no doubt that Naruto would make a great Hokage once Tsunade stepped down. He really proved that together anything was possible - even defeating one of the most notorious and evil men of their time, Uchiha Madara.

Still, without another word, Sakura followed Kakashi as they went past the entrance gates. She was half hoping he would at least say something to her before they went in to report at the Hokage's office, but the closer they came towards the tower, the more disappointed she was in not hearing his voice.

On their way home she finally found the courage to ask him in a round about way of going out on a date. They seldom had missions together and she decided it would be a good opportunity. It became more and more clear over the years how much she was truly attracted to him. She still didn't know what he looked like under that God forsaken mask, but knew how much she enjoyed being with him. He was funny and charming in his own way, and over time she had grown to want to learn more about him, but he was always so guarded when it came to his personal life. Every chance they had to go on missions together or train was always something she looked forward to. He was a good friend towards her and was a great mentor, but something clicked one day to make her start seeing him in a romantic kind of way. Since then, she couldn't let go of the idea until she had acted on it. Living through a war, you realize how much time wasn't on your side when it came to matters of the heart. Life was just too unpredictable and too short to keep waiting.

The hardest part of confessing was that she had no idea if he even liked her in that way. He never was openly flirtatious with anyone. Sometimes she would think she could see something in the way he looked at her, but as soon as it was there, it was gone. If it weren't for the rumors that would spread like wildfire in the village of who he was or wasn't dating, she probably would have thought maybe he didn't even like women. It made sense though. He was always tight-lipped when it came to his romantic life, either quickly changing the subject or hiding behind his book. All she did know was that it never seemed to last too long. She always wanted to know why, but never had gotten close enough to him to ask.

Whatever the reason was, it didn't stop her from wanting to at least try and admit her hidden feelings. She had no way to tell what he would say in response though. The thought even crossed her mind that he might even laugh at her, but any response would have been better than nothing at all, which was exactly what he did. He said that he would think about it. That's it. Since he last said those words, he hadn't spoken even one syllable to her the entire way back. She wouldn't have minded him keeping whatever thoughts he had to himself for awhile like he usually did - if it hadn't been eight hours since he last said something.

Sakura squinted her eyes, adjusting to the indoor lighting of the Hokage tower. Still, Kakashi hadn't looked her way as they walked up the creaky steps to the main office. Didn't he realize how much he was killing her by saying nothing at all?

Pulling a hand from his pocket, he quickly knocked on Tsunade's door.

"Enter," a grumpy sounding voice called from within.

"Tsunade-sama," Kakashi said briefly.

Inwardly sighing at how those were the first words out of his mouth since hours ago, Sakura stood next to him and crossed her arms, trying to fight the urge to look his way and glare.

"Hello, Shishou," she murmured.

"Ah, Kakashi and Sakura welcome back," she replied, still looking down at her work.

Tsunade looked irritated as she continued scribbling away at some document. Shizune was hovering close by and warmly said hello to them both. Sakura glanced at the clock and realized what time it was. She had no doubt Shizune was threatening to lock the sake away again if Tsunade didn't finish a certain amount of paperwork before lunch break. It was always a humorous tactic to Sakura that it was the only way to keep Tsunade from letting too much work pile up, but it certainly was effective.

Tsunade finally sighed as she placed another finished paper in the out box. Dropping the pen in her hand, she cracked her knuckles and stretched. She looked up at them both for a moment and furrowed her brows. "What's wrong with you two?"

"Um…" Sakura started to say, confused at first why she was asking. Looking at them both now, she didn't realize how tense she was. Uncrossing her arms, she relaxed them at her sides.

"Nothing," Kakashi replied in a calm voice.

"Uh-huh," she replied, eying back and forth the between them, unconvinced. "So, give me your reports."

After going over their mission details, Tsunade excused them both to leave and enjoy the rest of the day off. Sakura could tell her Shishou probably wanted to pull her aside to ask her what was wrong, but turned to quickly leave the room before she had the chance to. Tsunade was much like a caring mother towards her and through the years could always pick up easily when something was bothering her. She appreciated talking with her on that level, but she didn't want to lose Kakashi, who was quite talented at avoiding people once he was out of sight.

Sakura waited in the hallway until Kakashi stepped outside the office. He looked at her briefly before continuing to walk down towards the stairs.

"So, did you decide or not?" she asked quietly, hurrying down the steps next to him as they both pushed the double doors to the outside.

He sighed and stopped in his tracks after a few steps. Slowly, he turned to face her and lowered his book. "After thinking about it…"

"Yes?" she asked hopefully.

"We can't. I'm sorry."

Her heart dropped. He turned to leave, but she quickly grabbed him by the top of his sleeve. "Okay, so… can you least tell me why? I don't see why you had to think so hard about it."

He stood frozen in place and glanced at her hand. "Because…"

"You just don't like me?" she asked, slowly letting go of his shirt.

"Well, I do as a friend, but something more…"

Sakura looked awkwardly at the ground and asked, "You don't find me attractive?"

"It's not that," he assured, watching her blush the moment he said that. "I have a hard time looking at you as more than a past student of mine. I just don't think I can. That's just… too weird and probably isn't right to think of you… that way."

"That was years ago. We're equals now," she stressed, trying to recompose herself.

If that was really all that was standing in the way of giving her a chance, then it just seemed silly to her. He admitted he did find her attractive, so not all hope was lost. Of course he did used to know her from when she was twelve, but she was a completely different person then. Did he still think of her as that naïve girl?

"That may be so…" he started to say.

"Can't we just go on one date and see how you feel after?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I feel like that'd be a waste of time for us both."

"Come on," she pleaded. "At least humor me with a date."

He turned with a sigh and started to walk while pulling up his book again. "No," he replied unemotionally.

She grumbled and darted out in front of him, trying to poke her head around the book he was attempting to read. "Just give me one chance. If you still feel the same way then I'll drop it."

He groaned. "I don't understand why you're pushing this so hard…"

"Because I generally do like you… and I'd like to get to know you more and find out the real you. We've been friends for years, but I still don't know all that much about you besides what's on the outside. You don't know much about me, either."

He shrugged. "I suppose you're right, but it's not going to change my mind in how I see you right now. Everything that we've been through together… I still can't push it past my mind to see you beyond a former student of mine… and as teammates. I've known you for most of your life growing up. I just can't. I know I can't. I'm sorry."

"Let me prove to you I can make you feel otherwise," she said sternly.

Lowering his book, he asked, "And how you plan to do that?"

"Well, how about…" She pursed her lips as she quickly thought. "A… match?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "…Match?"

"You know, I fight you. You fight me. There's fists involved," she replied dryly.

He rolled his visible eye. "Yes, but how is that going to make me change my mind?"

"Doesn't matter. If you win, then I'll never bother you about going out on a date with me ever again, okay?"

He hummed in thought. "So, wait, if I win you'll drop it and never mention it again?" he asked back.

She slowly nodded in confirmation. "Yes…"

"Forever?"

"…Yeah."

"And ever?"

She stomped her foot on the ground. "…I told you, yes!"

His eye creased happily. "And… ever?"

"…"

She smacked his book from his hands, nearly causing him to drop it. He cradled it against his chest like it was a baby and then pointed an accusing finger at her. "Hey, this isn't helping your case in wanting me to date you. Not only do you abuse my books, but you abuse me for reading them," he scoffed.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't mind them except I don't enjoy talking to you while your nose is in one of those. It's kind of rude."

"Mm, but if you were to really fall in love with me then you'll just have to accept it as one of my quirks." He opened his book and flipped through a few pages as he started to walk forward.

Catching up beside him, she said, "I just think the way you've been hiding behind that book of yours is what's making you not see what's right in front of you."

"I can see just fine. I've yet to trip over anything," he mused.

She groaned. "That's not what I meant."

"Uh-huh." He flipped a page, ignoring her persistent stare. "So, when and where is this match going to be?"

Biting her lip as she contemplated, she said, "Now, if that's fine. How about at the lake?"

"Don't you want to rest up a bit after traveling back? And why the lake?"

"We're both tired from traveling and the chakra we have left coming back should be about the same. We being a little fatigued will just add to challenge. We'll just fight on top of the water and the first person who falls through is the loser. Nothing but taijutsu is allowed and no sharingan."

He flipped another page of his book. "This will be the easiest win ever."

"Don't be so sure," she murmured back.

Kakashi watched her happily skip ahead in front of him towards the lake. She clearly seemed rather confident that she was seriously going to win. He almost felt sorry for her. This was going to be easy. Too easy. After training together for many years now, he knew exactly how she would move and could always be one step ahead of her. Certainly she had to know that, but why did she seem so confident? No matter the reason, her determination intrigued him to give her a good fight at least.

Once they arrived at the lake, he placed his book into his back pouch and took a moment to admire the noon sun shimmering on the water as they approached the end of the dock. When they stopped, his eye curiously diverted to Sakura, who was beginning unzip the front of her Jounin flak jacket. After she dropped it to the wooden planks below, she started to pull up her long sleeved shirt.

"Stripping for me isn't going to help you win," he commented.

After discarding her long sleeved shirt, she smoothed out the revealed mesh shirt that clung tightly against her body and then narrowed her eyes at him. "For one thing it's hot. Two, I don't want to get all my clothes wet."

"Oh, right," he snickered. "Because you're going to lose and know you're going to get wet. It's good to plan ahead." He gave her a teasing thumbs up.

"No," she shot back. "I don't want to get wet from the splash you'll make when you fall through."

Chuckling at that retort, he really wasn't sure what to make of her true intentions of showing off her well defined body. Maybe that was the whole point. He couldn't deny that she was attractive. Studying the profile view up along her stomach, he couldn't pull himself away from staring as she began to retie her hair up into a pony tail. His eye lingered at her breasts, making him swallow hard and noting how the bindings beneath her shirt seemed like they could unravel at any moment from how tightly bound they were. Perhaps he wanted them to. He mentally sighed. Okay, she was really attractive, but that wasn't he issue he had between them.

To him, women were a dime in a dozen, but there was no one as unique as Sakura. They had a history together and much of it was filled with memories of her as a Genin. He literally watched her grow up right before his very own eyes and knew almost all there was to in terms of her personality and skill. He was her mentor and felt like he could only remain that way. He didn't have much to do with her training after she started to be Tsunade's apprentice, but perhaps that gap between then and now was what made it even harder for him to look past the little girl she used to be. The student she used to be. At least, these were the reasons he wanted to keep telling himself.

The fact was he did feel something towards her and it confused him. Was it a kind of love you felt towards a daughter or a sibling? Or was it something more? He wasn't sure and that was what he struggled with the most when he was thinking about her offer to go on just a simple date. He was afraid to find out that he really did want to be more than just a friend, but she deserved to be with someone her own age, didn't she? Someone who still had a full life ahead of him and wasn't afraid of losing someone he loved. That's what really scared him - getting too close to someone who did matter. He wouldn't want to be the reason to break her heart. No… the truth was he just didn't want someone to break his. In all the short relationships he's ever had, he never had the intention of making them last. He was always the one who broke it off first. It was easier that way, always making sure to do it before anyone got too attached to him or vise versa. If he and Sakura were together, he would be risking losing their friendship altogether.

Kakashi almost said yes in taking up Sakura's offer, but felt like he would just be doing it for selfish reasons. He couldn't give her what she needed in a relationship. Not with what she deserved. He was too afraid of taking the chance of him actually falling for her and having a real relationship based on something more than just being purely physical. She might even discover who he really was, and honestly he was terrified at that thought. To know who he really was as a person. Maybe she wouldn't like who he really was beneath everything? He didn't consider himself as special as everyone made him out to be. He was a skilled ninja and that was the usual extent people knew about him besides his choice of reading material. He would rather just live the rest of his life out serving his duty until he died an honorable death, but it never came. With each person he did love, in one way or another, died, his hope of ever loving anyone ever again died right along with them.

He shut himself away from everyone for a reason. Who would be interested in someone like him with so much baggage in his life? As much as he tried to avoid it, he still ended up caring more than he wanted to. He couldn't help it. He was human. Especially with Team Seven. Sakura had steadily grown special to him in many different ways. Her spirit, her physical and mental strengths, but how he ended up with her wanting to be more than just friends, he just didn't know how to respond to that. He almost wanted to give fate another shot. Maybe the pieces left inside his life could mend back together and maybe Sakura could be the person to do it. He felt numb inside when it came to the subject of loving someone and being loved. Maybe she could change all that, but it didn't matter. Some say it was better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, but he couldn't disagree more. He would rather not go through the heartache. Nothing was worse than watching a loved one die. A part of your soul dies right along with them.

It was just better this way in wanting to keep his distance from her. He didn't want to find out what his feelings really were towards her beyond anything but admiration of her strength and beauty. If doing a simple match was all it would take to drop any possibility of them being romantically involved, he wasn't going to take it lightly and give in. Sakura would only just be wasting away her youth with him if they were together.

Sighing, he unzipped his vest and shrugged it off his shoulders. Giving her a sideways glance, he pulled off his long sleeved shirt, revealing his sleeveless black shirt with his usual mask attached.

Sakura glanced back at him, trying hard not to stare for too long. Even though she still never had seen his face, it didn't take a genius to gauge how attractive the rest of his body was under that potato sack of a Jounin uniform. There were many scenarios that played in her head of how this little match could end up. All in her favor, at least she hoped. Standing at edge of the dock, she slipped off her shoes and dipped her toes inside the water.

"Cold?" he asked, approaching next to her.

"A little bit, but you'll be fine… when you fall in," she jested.

He chuckled. "Well, unlike you, I have no plans on getting wet."

"Oh, you definitely will be," she assured.

"Afraid not," he said with a hidden smirk.

Kakashi watched her carefully step on top of water with her chakra infused feet and make her way towards the center. After discarding his shoes as well, he soon followed her and joined her in the middle. He couldn't help but glance over the glowing sunlit curves of body. Her eyes had a fire within them, radiating a sparkling green that could easily take anyone's breath away. He smiled discreetly beneath his mask at the look she was giving him. She had every intention of taking him down. He would give her props for trying, but no one was going to be able to defeat him if he set his mind to winning, and he was going to do just that.

Cracking his knuckles, he adjusted his fingerless gloves and readied himself into a fighting stance. "Ready…"

"Set…" she replied, clutching her fists tightly as she prepared herself.

"Go!" he yelled, immediately running forward and ducking down like he was going to sweep his leg beneath her feet. He watched her easily flip over him, figuring she might do just that and grasped her wrist as she flew in mid air, yanking her downward towards the lake. Sakura managed to twist out of his grasp at the last second which made him curse.

"As if I would go out on the first move, sensei," she muttered as she landed with a half-hearted laugh.

He jumped quickly back from her powerful strikes as she advanced at him. On the defensive now, he tried to use as little energy as possible, encouraging her to keep coming at him in hopes of wearing her out even more. If her body was like his right now from their mission and travel back, she was no doubt just as tired as he was in not having any rest yet.

She knew what he was up to, but she wasn't going to be easy on him with each blow. Keeping up her stamina, she continued a strong string of quick attacks, forcing him to use a lot of energy trying to dodge before finally succumbing to one of them in the chest. He grunted, but took advantage of her hesitation to keep attacking. He used his right knee to kick her in the side, making her fly backwards from the force and skid across the top of the water.

From having grazed the surface of the lake from her roll, her pants began to cling against her long legs. Suddenly, he liked the idea of completely drowning her in the murky waters below. Perhaps for perverted reasons, but there was no harm in looking now was there? He didn't think so until she was on the attack again. His eye happened to glance on a water spot through her mesh shirt over her bindings. He could see a pert nipple. The small second of distraction was enough for him to get kneed in the stomach.

"That's what you get for staring," she teased, nearly missing him in her next blow.

Darting backwards, he kneeled on the water for a moment and steadied his breath. "You being practically topless is a bit unfair," he muttered with a pout.

From the smirk that was spreading across her flushed lips, he was pretty sure she was quite satisfied with herself in finding that she could distract him without trying. He mentally cursed at himself for seriously checking her out in the middle of a battle. That's not how a ninja should fight if their life was on the line. It didn't matter who your opponent was, you had to stay focused and keep your mind on the battle at hand. The only explanation was that she had been on his mind ever since she asked him out in the first place. She was getting to him. Thinking about what she meant to him and what it could all possibly mean if he agreed in trying to see her for what was in front of him, as a woman and not just a friend. Just the way she was looking at him right now was getting difficult to endure. It made him toy with the idea longer than he should have if they were really a couple, but he couldn't let himself give in to something that shouldn't be. Yes, she wasn't that same girl anymore. He knew that. She had grown up to be one of the finest medical kunoichi in the nation. Any man would be lucky to have such an amazing woman such as her. Just not him. It couldn't be him. He didn't have the heart.

Kakashi stood up and made up his mind to finish this match in his next move. He was going to do her a favor. Finish this quickly and let her move on from whatever fascination she had about him. It would pass. Just like the slight tug of fear he felt in his chest at the possibility of finding out what she really meant to him. They had known each other for so long. Taking it one step further was just something he couldn't do. They were already too close as it was.

Sucking in a sharp breath, he bolted towards her using one of the last bits of strength he had left to surprise her. He pulled her hips forward and quickly tucked a leg beneath her feet, making her fall backwards. He used the rest of the force he had left into a hard push forward against her sternum, ensuring she wouldn't be able to resist in being completely submerged into the water below.

To his surprise, she didn't even move her hands to try to slip from out of his grasp, which he was preparing for. Her eyes were locked with his as she fell, but there was something about the look she was giving him that made him glance at her lips, wondering why she was suddenly smiling.

Without warning, she yanked his mask down, completely making him freeze in shock. The moment his hands left her to try and pull it up again, she pulled at the loose fabric around his neck and forced him towards her. She twisted her body, making him roll beneath her. His hands grabbed her wrists to pull her away, but she used his grip on her to pull him towards her mouth.

The moment he felt her warm lips against his, all hope was lost in trying to keep himself from falling into the watery abyss below. At that moment, he couldn't even hold a single thought in his head, much less concentrate on whatever chakra he had left to keep him above the lake's horizon. He felt his back sting in shock from the cold water plunging against him, abruptly splashing high above them both as he kept falling backwards into the water's emerald depths.

Forcing his visible eye shut, he wrapped his arms around her lean waist and made sure to hold on to her tight. She squealed into his lips realizing he was dragging her down with him into the water.

Keeping her lips pressed against his, she held on tight against his chest, feeling the water crashing over them both. Completely immersed into the water now, they slowly drifted further down towards the muddy floor. She was almost afraid to pull her lips away from his at first, his still unmoving against hers. A thought ran through her that maybe this was all a big mistake. Maybe he really couldn't see her in that way after all. The heavy thud of her heart hammered almost painfully against her chest in fear as she held her breath. The instant she finally felt his lips respond back to hers, small bubbles tickled her nose as she exhaled in relief. His mouth was slow and almost careful at first, softly sliding his lips against hers.

It was like lightning had just shot through Kakashi's veins. He was stunned. The way he had felt her mouth against his was something he had never experienced before in his life, and then he realized what it meant. He did have feelings for her. The very same feelings he was afraid to confirm. At first he desperately wanted to believe in all the reasons he had been holding on to why he shouldn't feel this way. She used to be his student. She's a teammate. She's too young. She deserves better. He couldn't give all of himself to her. At least, something he had never done before with anyone… he just wasn't sure if he was capable.

But he loved the way she felt against him. It felt so right in a way that mere words couldn't possibly explain how and now he couldn't stop himself from kissing her back. Gently, he caressed the silky surface of her cheeks with his fingertips as pulled her in even more to explore her lips with his. The last bubble left of his breath forced him to break away and open his eye to give her one final look before resurfacing. He gently pushed back the pink floating strands of her hair away from her face. She opened her eyes and looked over him, smiling softly. He suddenly realized he had completely forgotten about his mask, but there was little point in hiding what he looked like anymore.

After a moment, both of them swam up towards the water's surface, gasping for air as they both turned to look at each other. Neither of them said a word. He wanted to say something, anything, but he was at a complete loss.

Slowly, she swam closer to him until she was only a few mere inches away. Her damp lips hovered above his. He could feel her breath and it was almost maddening, trying to stop himself from closing the gap between them.

"Kiss me," she pleaded.

His body pounced at her words, forgetting why he was trying so hard not to kiss her again in the first place. This time he couldn't resist the urge of deepening the kiss, his tongue hesitantly finding hers at first. She slowly responded back to his sensual teases, steadily becoming more forceful and sure.

The moment she began to moan, he tensed and pulled back. "S-Sakura," he stammered. "I just… I…"

She smiled at the blushed look on his face, wondering how many times that mask had hidden such a thing in the past. "You've already lost. We're going on a date no matter if you like it or not," she said with a grin. She pushed back the silver pieces of his matted hair against forehead.

"Technically it was a tie," he managed to say, glancing at her green eyes.

"Oh, don't you even. You fell in first," she scoffed.

He sighed. She got him there. "Alright, so I lost," he admitted, wincing slightly as he said that. "I can't believe you did that…"

"I wanted to change your mind in seeing me differently. So, it worked, didn't it?"

He reluctantly hummed in agreement. "To be honest with you, it's not that I didn't think I could look at you as something more… I'm just afraid to."

"I'm not forcing you to love me, Kakashi. I just want the chance to see where it all leads."

"Why me?" he asked.

She simply shrugged, grinning as if she was keeping a secret.

"I want to know," he added.

"Because… I think I…" She fell silent.

"Yes?" he said, eagerly wanting to know.

She grinned. "Maybe I'll tell you on our date, hum?"

He sighed at her playful stare and splashed her. She retaliated and after a few seconds of fighting back and forth between splashes, she broke into a laugh, making him start to laugh as well.

"You're so competitive," she giggled.

"So are you," he murmured, smiling.

"See, isn't this fun? We're already getting to know each other. Not so bad, is it?"

He grinned. "Can this just count as our first date then?"

"Absolutely not." She forced a pout and abruptly turned to start swimming towards the shore.

Swimming after her, he asked, "Why not? We've already kissed. Twice."

"That was different."

"But-" He groaned in frustration as he watched her dive underwater. He continued to chase after her until they both made it to the shore.

Sakura plopped down on the grass and let out a comfortable sigh after catching her breath. She leaned back onto her elbows, patting her palm against a small patch of grass beside her, and flashed him a mischievous smile.

"What?" he asked, wondering about her sudden smile. He slowly kneeled onto the grass next to her and searched the humored look in her eyes.

Glancing below his eyes, she said, "I don't understand why you've always hidden your face."

He leaned down onto the grass against his side and grinned at her. "Oh?"

"You know, Team Seven had a running bet that you had buck teeth…"

His eye went wide. "Seriously?"

"Or warts… or…"

"Rude," he muttered playfully, glaring at her for a moment and then turning away like he was offended.

"Well, what were we supposed to think?"

He sighed and studied the lake. "That I'm mysterious and sexy."

"Well, for the record, I think you're both," she gushed, glancing shyly at his profile. "But why?"

"I'll tell you on our second date."

"Second!" She groaned and poked a finger to his side, making him squirm. "Oh, is the great copy ninja ticklish?"

"No…" He immediately crossed his arms into his stomach.

"Uh-huh," she replied, quickly moving over him to attack his sides.

He laughed and tried to gently push her away, "S-Stop."

"I can't believe it. You're ticklish." She continued to try and pry his arms away in defense.

"Stop, stop, stop," he pleaded between laughs.

She halted and let him pull her arms far away from his sides, making her collapse on top of him. Slowly, he slid his hands down into hers, his face growing solemn again.

"I don't know if I can do this," he said softly.

Squeezing his hand, she asked, "Do what?"

"A relationship. I don't know if I can, Sakura."

"What are you afraid of?"

He sighed. "Everything…"

Her eyes searched his for a moment before saying, "Kakashi… I don't know what scares you, but… just don't think if you can or can't. Just feel. You felt something when we kissed, didn't you?"

"Yes, but-"

"So did I," she cut in. "And that's enough for now. Don't worry about all the little things and just take it one step at a time."

"I guess, but-"

Sakura crashed her lips against his, making him forget what he wanted to say again. He decided that she was quite talented at doing that. He couldn't fight the feeling of how anxious he felt the more he wanted to keep exploring everything about her. Knowing that something was on the horizon, but you just couldn't quite see it yet. Everything was just so new like he had never kissed anyone before. At least, not like this. Not with Sakura.

Kakashi had no idea what to expect in the future, but had a feeling it was something worth fighting for, no matter how afraid he was. How could something feel so good, like she did right now in his arms? If he kept following what his heart felt, maybe he could do this. He desperately wanted to try and so he decided he would do just that. Give love a chance.

The End

[ Author Note: This is a oneshot written as a prize for: Kagomaru. Here's the prompt guideline I was given:

"A story in which Sakura is interested in Kakashi, but he doesn't think he could ever see her that way. So Sakura challenges Kakashi to a 'game' that she thinks will change his mind. It's a battle of wits for Kakashi's heart, and both are confident of success."

I'm not very sure of myself when it comes to requests, so hopefully this wasn't too disappointing in whatever way. I enjoyed the prompt, so I do want to say thanks to Kagomaru for suggesting it. ^_^

Reviews are appreciated! It's nice to hear yalls thoughts. Thanks for reading.

Beta: CelestialCircumference ]