What Should Have Been

Something Blue, Something Borrowed, & Something New

"...tie this tie without your help, Sakura." He unravels the silky, pale blue tie from his jacket pocket and holds it out to her. Embarrassed, he chuckles, ducking his head and rubbing his other hand behind his neck.

"Oh, Kakashi." Sakura speaks with an endearing tone, her shoulders relaxing from their tensed position as she gently pulls the tie from his fingers.

Kakashi takes this opportunity to watch her as she leans forward. He fights the urge to shudder at the slight brush of her fingertips when positioning the tie around his neck. He studies her expression – the slight crease of her brow as she concentrates, the way her tongue sticks out slightly and presses against one corner of her lips. He's always loved to watch her concentrate. He's always admired her focus.

As she tightens the tie into place, she can't help but to peek into his eyes only to find him already watching her intently like he's studying for some test. This makes her quickly avert her gaze. Instead, she focuses on straightening and smoothing his tie over his chest, attempting not to think about the firmness and warmth she finds there and failing miserably. "What are you thinking about?" She asks, mostly to distract herself.

Sweet, caring Sakura, he smiles warmly. "About how unprepared you are for this day," Kakashi answers. Sakura can hear the mischievous smile in his voice, and this makes her snap her head up to look at him once again. Her stomach flips a few times over. Can he see right through me? Is he mocking me? As her eyes settle on his, she realizes: No, that's not it. While his voice did sound mischievous, his eyes are kind and wrinkle at the edges in the way she so adores. She lowers her hands, now finished with his tie. "What... d-do you mean?" She asks shakily.

Kakashi can see that he's unsettled her somehow. Something's wrong. Maybe she's just really nervous and needs to be comforted or distracted for the time being. Kakashi decides to try and take her (and his) mind off the direct issue at hand: Her walking down the aisle and actually getting married. So many will witness that moment. He admits defeat. This is happening whether he likes it or not. He might as well make things better for her instead of ruining things like he always seems to do.

"Well, do you have something blue, something borrowed, and something new for good luck?" He asks lightly.

"Huh?" Sakura frowns, clearly confused.

"Well, it's sort of a Western tradition, just like the white dress and everything you're going with here." He explains, "For good luck, you wear one thing blue, one thing borrowed, and one thing new."

"Oh..." Her eyes widen, and she brings her finger to her chin to think.

Maybe I only made things worse, Kakashi begins to think. Way to go, Kakashi. Tell the bride she forgot something right before the wedding. Tch.

"Well... these hair pins have little sapphires in them."

"Something blue, check."

"And I borrowed Ino's... garter." She chokes out, her cheeks turning pink.

Kakashi blushes back. "Uh... something borrowed, check."

"And this dress is only a month old. Does that count?"

"Hm," He pretends to think, looking up and tapping his index finger against his chin. "I think you might need something much newer...."

"Then, I don't have something new." There's a bit of panic rising in her voice, and Kakashi can't stand it any longer.

"I was hoping you'd say that." He replies, and this time, his smile really is mischievous. He reaches inside his jacket and pulls out a small, white box with a light pink bow neatly tied around it. He hands it to Sakura. "For you."

Sakura's eyes widen in surprise. "Kakashi, you shouldn't have!"

"Well, I wanted to. It's just a little something for my favorite student on her big day." He says with fondness. "Go ahead; open it." He urges.

She pulls it open so slowly and gently that Kakashi feels the anticipation rise in his chest. He hopes with everything in him that she'll like it. He was so careful in picking it out, wanting to make sure he got what suited her the most and what spoke his sentiment the most. In fact, it took him a little over two hours to choose something. He kept finding nice things, but "nice" wouldn't cut it. He needed something truly extraordinary and one of a kind, much like Sakura herself. So, when he saw this, he just knew.

Sakura finally opens the box to find earrings, but not just any earrings. These are the most unique and beautiful earrings she's ever seen, suited perfectly to her. They're small-ish and made of glistening crystal. They shine from every angle. Inside each crystal earring is a small, preserved and crystallized flower. At further glance, she realizes that these beautiful flowers are cherry blossoms.

Sakura gives a small gasp, and her eyes glisten. She can't imagine what he must have spent, much less the lengths he went to find something like this. Buying gifts isn't something Kakashi Hatake does often, and receiving one like this from him makes her feel so special. "Kakashi... they're... perfect." She breathes. "I-I don't know what to say...."

He's suddenly shy but relieved that she likes them. "Say you'll wear them today." He replies softly.

"Oh, I will! I'll wear them always. I love them.... Thank you."

"No need to thank me." He blushes once more. Does she mean it? Will she really wear them always? For some reason, the thought makes his heart flutter.

Sakura carefully picks one up to put it on. Kakashi gently moves her hair aside so she can do so, and he repeats the motion with the other side, too. This time, he leans in a little, and he says it so low, it's almost a whisper, "There, Sakura. Something new."