They're not on a mission when he notices just how beautiful she is. Nor are they sparring, or even at Ichiraku or the Godaime's office.
They're reading together, side by side, under a tree in Konoha; home.
It's a nice, sunny mid-Spring day, with birds chirping and people out and about, shopping and traveling and doing day-to-day things. It's peaceful, and all is well. Moments like these are rare for shinobi, and though he can't quite speak for Sakura, Kakashi himself is immensely content. Dare he say happy.
The cold stone bench beneath the freshly sprouted tree at their mutually favorite park warms to their bodies with time, and they sit with their backs against its trunk as they engross themselves in their novels; Kakashi with Icha Icha (yes, he had since summoned the courage to start reading them again, with the exception of Jiraiya's volume previous) while Sakura happily engages in Miracles in Medicine: Volume 3.
Sketchy patches of sunlight sway gently across the pages of his book, and he lifts a finger to keep his place as the wind momentarily picks up. Being fully garbed at all times, the wind doesn't bother him, but Sakura bristles, shivering beside him.
"Brrrrrr...it's cold..."
Kakashi doesn't even blink. "Well, if you'd dress for the weather, maybe you'd notice a difference."
He knows better than to go the old 'if you'd just put some clothes on' route, but even this version earns him a glare. He smiles beneath his mask and pretends to keep reading as she huffs and puffs.
"Well, you know what, Kakashi? Not all of us are decked out for winter 24/7!"
He has a comeback - a really good one - but a flash of skin assaults his peripherals and his perverted brain instinctively forces his eyes from his book, and he is completely overtaken by the sight of Sakura's legs. She'd crossed them to try and preserve some of her body heat, and even though he's seen her like this a thousand times (because let's face it, they all wore the same clothes to work nearly every day), this time is different.
...Much different.
"Something wrong, old man?" She asks idly, not really paying attention as she slowly turns a page of her book and resumes reading.
He should look away. Preferably before he's caught. But they're just so...smooth and...soft-looking. Hell, they almost glow. He wonders-
"Woah, what the-!"
He's touching her skin before he even realizes it, but it only last a millisecond as he hurriedly recovers and redirects his intentions; he tucks his finger behind his thumb and makes a quick flicking motion with the offending hand, then hoists up his right leg to rest atop his opposite knee and goes back to Icha Icha. He all-too-casually turns a page that he hasn't even read yet, and plays the whole thing off.
"Bug."
Sakura's brows sink quite low over her eyes, but instead of confronting him about her suspicions, she simply goes, "Oh." and goes back to reading her tremendously thick book.
Both continue on for another 45 minutes or so, and Kakashi ultimately has to give up any notion of actually comprehending what he's reading when Sakura begins bouncing her foot and drawing his attention back to her (admittedly) creamy legs. He resists the urge to pull at his collar, knowing the action will only raise her suspicions even further, but God, is it hard.
He observes her out of the corner of his eye, taking note of her lovely arms and delicate hands and well-put-together appearance, of her pink hair falling into her eyes as she tilts her head a little too far into her book and then pulls back and tucks the strands behind her ears, and repeats the process.
She's beautiful.
She really is.
And he wishes she could truly see that.
By the time they get up from their bench, the sun has moved overhead and the crowds have died down somewhat.
Sakura is nearly finished with her book; Kakashi hasn't read a damn thing.
