A/N: I *highly* recommend listening to Bad Idea! by Girl in Red while reading this chapter. It was a major inspiration 👌
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Some time later - much, much later - Sakura and Kakashi are sitting side by side at a bar.
Sakura's twenty-first birthday had passed some days ago, but she had been away on a mission, so now was the time to celebrate. Kakashi feels embarrassed that he's known her for half her life and only just now knows when her birthday is, but she doesn't question and he doesn't admit to the blunder, so it's fine on both parts.
Kakashi doesn't bother to order a drink of his own; after all, this is Sakura's special day, not his, and he doesn't want to take the attention away from the birthday girl.
And besides, he thinks. This is her first drink. He wants to see how well she can hold her liquor.
Sakura swivels in her chair with uncertainty, hands beneath her legs as she twirls from side to side and looks over the menu. Kakashi is immensely amused by this; it's downright adorable and just so...Sakura. This is the first time they've hung out in months, literal months, so he hardly feels the need to rush. The night is still fairly young, after all. He wants to savor this time with her while it lasts.
"So?" He pipes up after some time. "What are you going to order?"
Pink hair sways as she bites her lip. "Mmm...well...I...don't really know."
The way she deadpans causes him to bark a laugh, and Kakashi swivels his own chair to face her. "What do you mean you don't know? You've had your whole life to think about this moment. You mean to tell me that Sakura Haruno doesn't have a plan?"
She grabs the menu and swats him with it. "Oh, cut it out! It's not like I've ever had the stuff! What if I order something I don't like? It'll be good, hard-earned money wasted!"
Kakashi's eyebrows quirk up. "Is money really your only dilemma? Then here," - he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his wallet. "Now, before you say anything; You're good for three shots of whatever you want. No, I'm not going to take no for an answer. And it's your birthday, so it's my treat."
The way her mouth opens and closes like a fish is so satisfying that he smiles beneath his mask, and after moments of deliberation, she finally accepts that there's no way around his offer, and she graciously accepts the gift from him.
"Fine. Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."
She says it to annoy him, but in all honesty, it doesn't work. "Please. Is that the best you've got?"
He waves the bartender over and sets down the money on the counter. "Three drinks for the lady, Sarutoya. On me, please." He leans in as though to whisper a secret, and adds, "it's her birthday."
Sarutoya smirks and claps him on the shoulder as if to say 'nice job', and the pinkette crosses her arms next to him, face flushed with irritation.
After some help from Kakashi over options, Sakura is finally able to decide on her three drinks; a common Sake, a Rose Citrus Mix, and a Cherry Blossom Bouquet.
The three drinks are set in order from right to left in front of her, and Kakashi insists she try the sake first to see if she likes it, as it is the cheapest and most common.
As he suspects, she does not, in any way, shape, or form, care for the sweet, nutty taste of the alcohol.
For a second he thinks she's actually going to spit it out, but she swishes, swallows, and finishes, then scrapes her tongue with her teeth as though the action will actually get some of the flavor out of her mouth.
