They're sitting in a clearing right outside the village one day, a nice little field with soft grass and a perfect view of the clouds. Shikamaru sometimes frequented the area, and when he did, they usually joined him. This, however, was not one of those times.
Kakashi sits with his elbow propped on his knee, his other leg tucked beneath while Sakura leans back on her palms, cross-legged. Normally, they don't engage in much conversation, simply relax and enjoy the view. But Sakura is especially talkative today, and she voices her thoughts freely.
"Do you ever wonder what life would be like if you hadn't been a shinobi?"
Kakashi casually considers her question, watching a rabbit-shaped cloud slowly pass by. "Sometimes." They both know that 'sometimes' really means 'every day', but she respects that he's only willing to talk about Obito and Rin on very rare occasions. "Why?"
"Sometimes I just wonder how different things would be. How different I would be." she watches with him as the rabbit morphs into a sailboat.
He tears his gaze from the sky, analyzing her posture. "Different how?"
She shrugs, lowering herself onto the grass. "I don't know...sometimes I think I wanna settle down and...have a family."
He hadn't thought of this. All his life he'd been prepared to follow the ways of the shinobi, and therefore automatically expected the same from his students. He should have known better than to think a pretty girl like Sakura would want to be a kunoichi her whole life. Hell, she'd only even bothered with it in the first place to get closer to Sasuke, and that did her little in the ways of good fortune.
But if not Sasuke, then who? Who would she settle down with? It's too early for the thought of himself to enter his mind, but he quickly decides he doesn't like the idea of Sakura with anyone else. Certainly not romantically. Even as he stares at her now, she doesn't know how truly special and amazing she is; none could ever be deserving of the hand of the Fifth Hokage's apprentice.
"...I know it's stupid." she says after he doesn't say anything. Her laugh is short and bitter. "Should've thought about that before I decided to go off chasing Sasuke, huh?"
Something akin to anger sparks within him, and he decides to tell her what's been on the tip of his tongue since Sasuke left.
"No, it's not." Her wide eyes meet his, and he continues, knowing he has her full attention. "It's perfectly logical to want a family. Hell, even I wanted one. Once..." he clears the saddening images from his mind, keeping his focus on the present. "You didn't do anything wrong by following Sasuke into the ranks of shinobi. Nor did you do wrong by trying to keep him from leaving, or trying to get him to come back. That's not your shortcoming, it's his."
She stares at him, apple green irises delving into his single visible onyx one. Encouraged by her listening, he continues. "Actually, I think it was quite noble of you to go after what you wanted, and do anything necessary to attain it. It's a quality I've always admired in you."
She looks away from him then, suddenly interested in the countless blades of grass by her right hand; she sits back up and starts picking at them.
"Sasuke was lost to us the moment his brother left. He made the decision to leave down a path that none could follow, least of all those who truly cared about him. You've done nothing wrong, Sakura. It is he who is at fault. Not you."
Her hand clenches the grass by her side, her posture going rigid, and he knows that she's crying.
"..."
"...Sakura."
She swipes at her eyes with her forearm, hastily trying to act as though she's not bawling in front of him. "*Sniff*...*sniff*...Yes?"
He places a hand on her shoulder, his gaze soft and sincere. "You're an amazing woman. And I'm proud to know you."
She smiles through her streaming tears and trembling lip, and unexpectedly flings her arms around his neck and pulls him close. The shock staggers him a bit, but he doesn't miss any cues as he raises his hands to rest at her back and head, stroking her hair and soothing the sad gasps that escape her lungs.
"Kakashi..." she whispers. "Thank you."
He says nothing, but circles his arms tighter around her in response.
