Kakashi speeds across the village, bounding over rooftop after rooftop as he makes his way to the Hokage's main building.
He knows Sakura is most likely just now being released from her duties, as Tsunade usually keeps her after hours so she can further her medical training and help with her studies. If not, he can think of a handful of other places she might be.
God, he feels sick. What the hell was he doing, being out here like this? Racing towards his own failure?
Dammit, Guy...
No. That wasn't Guy talking. Guy had talked him up, given him a surge of confidence he'd thought had long since died. This doubt was all himself.
A few more yards and he sees her, as though by Fate, coming out of the Hokage's building. She must have just finished for the night. What were the odds that he would catch her at this exact moment? Kakashi leaps down onto the ground and comes out from around a corner, allowing Sakura to see him.
"Oh, Kakashi! Fancy seeing you here."
He looks at her, heart absolutely pounding. His first thought is of his drunken escapade two nights prior, and his feet want to leap off in the opposite direction at the thought of his pretty ex-student taking him home and having to put up with whatever words or actions he had subjected her to. He remembers Yugao, remembers Sakura paying for his tab, and something about being cold (or was someone else cold?) but beyond that, it's a convenient blur for him. Of course, it isn't for Sakura, who he's certain had been completely sober, and his stomach turns at the thought of her thinking of him differently or acting any way other than what she normally would around him as a result.
He sincerely hopes that the other night hadn't awakened any memories for her of her twenty-first birthday fiasco...God, the more his mind spirals the more he feels sick. Hatake's didn't 'get' nervous. Not around women. Never. So what the hell was this?
"Fancy, indeed. What's got you out at this hour?"
For some odd reason, it comforts him to ask a question he already knows the answer to.
Sakura twists around and looks up at the bulky building she's just exited from. "Oh, I was just catching up on some medical ninjutsu practice with Lady Tsunade. I'm trying to make sure I'm ready for the test that's coming up so I can become a full-fledged doctor instead of just a nurse."
He nods, but doesn't come any closer. "You'll get there. I have complete faith in you."
She turns back to face him and smiles, her demeanor far too bright for how late at night it is. "Hm. Thanks."
A few seconds of silence pass, and Kakashi, still feeling the burst of confidence that Guy had given him earlier, decides to speak before it becomes awkward.
"You headed home?"
Sakura nods, yawning and stretching her arms out. "Oh, yeah...I'm so tired..."
Kakashi finally makes his move, swallowing with a nervousness he's not accustomed to.
"Care for a tag along?"
She stops mid step, the expression on her face unreadable. For a moment he thinks she's going to rebuff him, but she finally opens her mouth, and all fears are dispelled.
"Don't mind at all."
He breaths a sigh of relief behind his mask, and he casually sidles up to her, and the two fall into sync beside each other.
It's a quiet walk, no words or conversation, just the gentle ambience of Konoha at night; crickets, moths fluttering endlessly towards street lamps, and the incoherent chatter of the village inhabitants who are out far too late for their own good. The air is warm and still, perfect weather for a night walk. Kakashi idly looks up to the sky as they walk; perfectly clear, not a cloud in sight. Just the moon and its endless halo of stars stretching out over miles and miles. It's nice.
