A/N: hi. another story for you all. This one's just a feel good, everything right with the world AU divergence at chapter 699 of Naruto. read: where Kakashi finally gets that happy ending he's been needing since day one. Enjoy my lovelies :)

I don't own Naruto.

Sakura raised the cup up to her lips and hiccuped, but it did not deter her from downing all the contents in it. Her cheeks were a rosy color, and Kakashi thought she looked lovely despite the noticeable clash of red with her pink hair. She swayed slightly, and he was thankful that she had sat so close. That made catching her easier, if she ever fell. Not that Kakashi wouldn't go greater distances. He'd fight Kaguya a thousand times over again. For Team 7. But, especially for her.

She hiccuped again, and he couldn't help but shake his head. The rest of the Konoha 12 and their remaining sensei had excused themselves long ago, leaving only the two of them left in the sake house, and Sakura was well on her way to being completely plastered. It would seem she had inherited more than her Yin Seal from Tsunade. "Maa, Sakura-chan, you know it's indecent to be so drunk in public," he said, watching her keenly, hoping to get a response out of her, maybe another pleasant flush along the apples of her cheeks. What he got was very different.

She turned to him, a strange fire in her eyes. "Kakashi, what the hell am I doing?"

Sakura was slurring her words by then, waving her sake cup in the air. "I mean, really. I have worked so hard to become what I am today and he doesn't even appreciate it! Its been years since we were genin, but he acts like he's got it in the bag! I am no trophy, really, and I did not waste so many years of my life trying to surpass Tsunade only to become a lonely housewife while Sasuke gallivants across the country singing the songs of his angst!"

Kakashi, who sipped daintily at his sake, nearly choked. He couldn't help but guffaw at her, as she pouted on her stool.

"What?" She asked defensively, arms crossed over her chest in defiance.

"Nothing, Sakura," he says, forgoing the suffix. He wondered briefly when she stopped calling him sensei, oh, that's right, after the war, and decided to return the favor. It was about time, anyway.

"I'm just glad you're finally seeing what we've all been seeing."

"What?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes in a good natured fashion. "For the brightest and best kunoichi in the world, you sure don't seem to connect the dots." Ignoring her loud protest, he went on. "You've been chasing after Sasuke for so long. He's your teammate, yes, but he'll never give you what you want."

And while Kakashi wasn't sure exactly what it was that Sakura wanted, he was sure that it was more than the empty corridors of the Uchiha Compound and raising children all alone, while her husband was more often than not a couple of weeks' travel away. No. Sakura belonged somewhere else, in a warm house filled with sunlight and surrounded by her children, with a man to give her what she needed, even though she was plenty capable of getting it all herself. Seeing her lost expression, Kakashi tried to condense his thoughts into something more tangible.

"You deserve better, Sakura." Plain and simple.

"Oh," was all she could muster, the hazy cloud of alcohol receding from her eyes just slightly.

"Yeah, oh," Kakashi said, knocking shoulders with her, careful not to tip her over. She had her head bowed, fingers fisted into her red shirt. Kakashi continued to nurse his sake cup, until she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Huh," was all she said behind a wide yawn. Fighting the urge to follow her example, Kakashi just chuckled. Placing an arm around her, he lifted her off her chair and cradled her close. Her head lolled to his chest and he let out a puff of laughter. "Let's get you home, now."

All he got back was a grumbled response. He carried her down Tea Avenue and towards her home. Konoha was being built around them, slowly but surely. With Tenzō eager to be back on his feet, the building process would surely progress exponentially, but all that in due time. The streets were the same at least, and it made navigating easy, after walking them and wearing them down for years.

Quick to disarm the traps at her window, Kakashi set the kunoichi on the bed and removed her shoes. He tucked her in and left water and a note, with his signature henohenomoheji. Leaving everything untouched except the bed with the sleeping woman in it, Kakashi returned to his own abode, unable to wipe the small smile off his face.

Only a few days later, there was a knock on his door. Kakashi figured it could only be one of a very select few individuals who would bother him around midday. That knock was certainly too polite to be Naruto, that was for sure.

He opened the door and looked down at a head of pink. "Maa, what brings you here so early, Sakura?"

The woman in question deadpanned. "It's half past noon, Kakashi. Come on," she gestured. "Let's spar."

Unwilling to decline an easy opportunity to get some exercise in, Kakashi placed his beloved book down and followed her out, slouching into himself. She eyed him from the side.

"Such a good shinobI. You have the worst posture I have ever seen, you're going to fold in half one day."

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Gotta keep up appearances, you know? How else will I scare away the crows?"

Sakura laughs and it is a bright sound, tinkling like bells. "Our resident scarecrow. Whatever would we do without you?"

"Starve. I keep the crops nice and fat, especially this time of year."

The two of them walked side by side, leaving the shinobi residential area and heading for the outskirts of the newly created valley, courtesy of Pein himself. Picking a simple training ground, one similar enough to their old one that it created a small sense of nostalgia, they began to circle each other.

Kakashi had years on Sakura, and that made him much more patient. She, on the other hand, was still filled with the restless energy of someone in their youth, as Gai would say, and she made the first move. Leaping at him, she careened forward with her fists ahead of her. God, those fists were terrifying. The two of them parried blows, making for a brisk but fun pace. Sakura had enough air to talk to him, at least.

"Thanks, by the way. You know, for carrying me home when I knocked out," she said between quick breaths and a sharp jab of punches in his direction.

"It was nothing," he replied, but he continued on, curious. "Do you remember last night?"

Sakura stopped, quickly stretching out her left knee before leaping back at him again, fist outstretched. He dodged it.

"Yeah, I did. Thanks for bringing me home," she said, continuing her assault on him, not letting up. He grunted in reply, too busy trying to play keep away. The two of them went on for close to two hours, keeping the fight simple; hand to hand combat, with no chakra. It strained their muscles and prevented the fight from getting repetitive, lest one of them exploit the others' default pattern.

Sakura voluntarily tapped out and fell to the ground with a gasp, limbs flopping and chest heaving with strain. Her entire body glistened with sweat and she was sure that Kakashi fared no better. He had the advantage of raw strength and a farther reach, but she was incredibly fast and quick to dodge. They were rather evenly matched when it came to taijutsu, although Sakura was sure that if ninjutsu came into play, it would've been a very different outcome.

"You're right," she said, out of the blue.

Kakashi quirked one of his eyebrows. "Am I?"

"Yeah," she breathed, still staring up at the sky. "I deserve better. I'm no housewife. I'm no matriarch. I'm sure I could be, but would it matter if he doesnt love me? Sure, Sasuke would love me, but never in the way I want."

She rolled into her stomach, staring at him with those green eyes of hers. "Thanks, Kakashi. Not just for this, for everything."

And Kakashi had to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. He nodded, not trusting his voice to stay that aloof indifference he had perfected so long ago. He didn't feel like he had done much for her, especially when she had been young. While she had been his best behaved student, he spent his time and energy on the boys, leaving her to her own defenses. But, that was the past, and if he learned only one thing from the most recent war, it was that the past should stay where it belonged: in the past. So he accepted her gratitude, and moved on.

"Maa, the war has made us all soft and emotional, Sakura-chan! That's usually Naruto's job."

Sakura snorted, looking at him from the pillow she made with her arms. "Naruto is running around like a headless chicken these days. Tsunade has him playing the role of diplomat, and when he's not doing that, he's with Hinata or training with Sasuke."

Kakashi observed the way she deflated a little at the end of the sentence. She and Naruto had been attached at the hip before the start of the war, before Naruto had to be taken to Genbu for his and Killer B's protection. He knew she must miss him, Kakashi missed him, too. The loud voice and Tuesday night ramen, sitting at the stall until the lampposts turned on and the stars twinkled. And Sasuke. Sasuke who, when not on house arrest, often went with Naruto. It seemed as if the last Uchiha couldn't even find it in him to stay in the village for more than a few weeks at a time, and while he and Naruto had that freedom to leave the village, the remaining members of Team Seven did not. Kakashi stayed in the village because there was talk, talk of new Hokage nominations among the jōnin, and he was needed to help stabilize the village in case of another attack. It was incredibly unlikely, but Konoha was freshly off the battlefield and riddled with wounds that only time would heal. He was needed to defend. And Sakura, she single handedly ran the Konoha hospital, taking care of shinobi and civilian alike. She couldn't afford to leave the village, even if Shizune helped. She had surpassed Tsunade, and it showed. But it wore at her, Kakashi knew that. Her whole shinobi career had been one disaster after the other. Wave, the chūnin exams, Sasuke, Naruto, Akatsuki and the War. She was used to going, going, going, and being kept in the village made her restless, when her teammates all seemed to be busy with their lives.

Sai was now managing the rehabilitation process for former Root agents, and it kept him very busy. Tenzō was still in the hospital, well on his way to recovering from the control of the White Zetsu's. Last time he visited, the man was leaning on Sakura, walking around the room with a cheerful smile on his face. And as for the rest of Rookie 9, well, they were keeping busy. Notably, Ino took over her father's position as head of the Intelligence Division, and Shikamaru was preparing for the mantle of Jōnin Commander. Chōji was another budding diplomat, and Hinata Hyūga descended upon her clan with a vengeance, quickly eradicating the main and branch families, unwilling to forget the memory of her cousin, Neji. Kakashi wasn't really sure what had happened to the rest of Team 8, but he knew Rock Lee spent much of his days by Gai's side, or helping Tenten plan for her new weapons shop. Everyone was busy. Despite the life that was lost, wars always made life bustle.

"I guess we hadn't met our quota for snappiness this month yet, but I think we covered it! C'mon Sakura, let's move, doesn't matter where, you're just starting to burn," he said, poking at the reddening skin on her shoulders. She startled at the touch and laughed, hoisting herself up, and holding a hand out to him.

"Hungry?" She asked him, laughing at the noise his stomach made.

"Yes," he sniffed, holding his hands to his stomach defensively. He began to walk away, leaving the training grounds and heading back towards the center of town. That's where all the food was.

"I can tell," she called, racing to catch up with him. Kakashi spared a glance down at her, only to see the top of her pink head. She came right up to his shoulder, when she wasn't wearing her heeled sandals. Sometimes he forgot how tall he was, when he wasn't slouching.

"Let's get something from the vendors, my treat," he said. That made her look up at him, eyes full of suspicion. "You won't foist the bill off to me, cheapskate?"

He pretended to be mortally wounded, clutching at his heart. "Oh, Sakura, your lack of faith in me hurts!" He cried.

"Okay, alright sensei," she laughed at him. "You're in the middle of the road, you're blocking people's ways. Stop being such a drama queen, that's Sasuke's job."

The two laughed again, and he didn't pay too much attention to the way Sakura's hand never left his arm. Instead, it was tucked neatly into the crook of his elbow, fitting quite nicely. Of course, he had seen Sakura do this with Ino many times, so he wouldn't overthink it. He had spent many years thinking about 'what ifs' and different outcomes, looking for a wisp of Rin, a glimpse of Obito, a shadow of his Sensei, and denying the ghost of his father. None of it ever did him any good. Instead, he had made his decisions to let it all be. It was all very nice, in its' simplicity, anyway.

The two of them waved 'hello' to Mitarashi Anko, who was munching on a plate of her namesake, paying the way she eyed them no mind, and ordered kakigōri. The shaved ice would be refreshing after their training session. Instead, they went to the bridge Team 7 always used to go to, and enjoyed their treat together. Kakashi still wouldn't let her see underneath the mask, but for once, she wasn't looking. The wind rustled through the trees. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough.

A/N; and that's a wrap folks! please review :)