It starts out relatively innocent. Something he would never have suspected to grow into something so different from what it had started from.
They're on a mission in Mist, waiting up high in the trees as they size up their target and his entourage. Sakura is squatting next to him on a thick branch, her right knee bumping against his left as she shifts to get a better view. She makes absolutely no noise as she does this, so he's not annoyed; not that he could ever be annoyed with anything Sakura did anyway, it was the other two that exasperated him. She whispers quietly to him, and even his trained ears struggle to hear her.
"What do you think?"
His single visible eye stares lazily down at their targets. "Should be a piece of cake. Just remember to be careful."
She can't snort like she wants to at his comment, so she compromises with a short exhalation of air. "Please. This isn't my first rodeo, Kakashi-sensei. You don't have to keep acting like I'm twelve."
He mentally rolls his eyes. "Says the girl who insists on calling her teammate 'sensei' even after all these years."
Her head whips in his direction, and all he sees is a quick flash of pink in his peripherals. It's only been three years since Team Seven had officially disbanded, but he can't help but poke fun.
"What would you rather I call you? Old man?"
Her whispers are so harsh that he has to keep himself from chuckling beneath his mask. "Anything's better than sensei. That makes me feel really old."
He's not looking directly at her but he knows she's smirking.
"Okay then," she says, and he's already anticipating the mischief she has up her sleeve. She leans close to his ear, and he can feel the smugness rolling off her in waves. "Sensei."
He cringes as she finally pulls away, but there's something different about this one. Whereas usually they tease each other endlessly all the time - a friendly back-and-forth between comrades, if you will - there's something in her tone and the way her breath hits his clothed ear that he can't pinpoint. But he doesn't get the chance to analyze it, as the next moment she's nudging his arm and darting out of the trees.
"There's an opening, come on!"
He resists the urge to sigh and jumps down after her.
