Cherry blossoms paint the sky. Blowing in the light breeze, falling from the trees they grew on, covering every inch of Konoha in a brilliant pink shower. It was a beautiful picture, but he couldn’t help but think there was something missing.

Making his way through the streets, he watched as kids ran around trying to catch the falling petals and witnessed those precious sweet moments between lovers where they would stand toe to toe and gently brush their fingers through each other's hair while whispering sweet words while the cherry blossoms danced around them.

Those innocent moments he so often missed in his daily life.

Yet, that feeling still lingered. Something wasn’t right. The village was peaceful and beautiful, showered under a rainfall of bright pink cherry blossoms, but somehow incomplete. No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t figure out what it was that would pull everything together. Turn the scene from beautiful to jaw-droppingly stunning.

“Oy, Kakashi,” Gai stepped in front of him, annoyance evident on his face. “Are you listening to me?”

“Sorry?” Somewhere along the way, he had lost track of the conversation. Too Distracted by the beauty of the village around them to keep up with Gai’s words. “Ma, could you repeat yourself?”

His laughter was meant as an apology, but Gai didn’t seem to understand it because the only response he had for Kakashi was an exasperated sigh.

“Never mind,” he dismissed him with a wave. “You’re clearly too cool to hand out with your Eternal Rival today.”

There were no bigger warning signs in existence to tell him he had screwed up. Not correcting his mistake right away would be the worst thing he could do in this instance. A week of grumpy silence from his best friend would be his punishment, and that was never a pleasant experience. Even if he acted like he didn’t care sometimes, he couldn’t imagine his days without Gai’s cheerful voice in his ear.

“Gai, I-” before he had an opportunity to apologize properly, something caught his eye. A little flicker of bright red hair off in the distance. Small enough that he could have easily missed it, but impossible to ignore now that he had seen it. Everything else around them disappeared in an instant, only that singular spot with the most beautiful person he had ever seen visible.

“There they are,” a smile tugged at the edges of his lips. In the blink of an eye, Konoha was the most stunning place in the world. The picture was complete.

“What are you looking at?” Moving behind him, Gai scanned the area in search of what had caught his Rival's eye. When he found it the only response he had was a deep, exhausted sigh. A rare sound to hear from Maito Gai. “You’re hopeless, Rival.”

“Perhaps,” he would never deny that fact, but Gai didn’t need to know just how bad he had it. Secrets were good to keep sometimes, even between Eternal Rivals. ‘How about we meet for Dango in a bit? Then you can have my full attention. No interruptions.”

“Dango?” Gai perked up immediately. “You wouldn’t happen to be paying this time, would you Rival?”

His wallet screamed in agony at the thought of having Ryo taken out of it, but this was one of those rare occasions where he was willing to make the sacrifice. The prize was more than worth it.

“Deal.”

“In that case, I’ll see you in two hours.” With a pat on his shoulders, Gai vanished. No doubt off to pre-occupy himself with some extra training until they were due to meet.

With his attention no longer divided, Kakashi focused on the next big task. Taking a moment to calm his nerves he began to walk, destined for the large tree just beside the Acadamy where all of the Cherry blossoms seemed to blow.

Undernither that tree, with a stack of paper off to one side, sat the most beautiful person in all of Konoha.

Sage. Academy-Sensei extraordinaire and keeper of Kakashi’s heart.

The closer he got, the more gorgeous the scene became. With cherry blossoms dancing in the wind and that brilliant red hair shimmering under the sun’s light. There were even a few cherry blossoms that had settled into their hair, decorating it in a way that lit up Sage’s face perfectly.

If he wasn’t in love before, he certainly was now. Who wouldn’t be when someone as wonderful as Sage existed?

“You’re staring,” coming to a stop directly in front of them, he watched as they looked up from the paper currently sitting in their lap. “Let me guess. You want cuddles?”

Right to the point. He loved it.

“Only if you can spare the space,” he waved towards the paper in sage’s lap. “You’re also welcome to use me as a table if you would like to continue working.”

“Such a handsome table,” sage tapped their pen against their chin, smirking when they noticed Kakashi getting distracted by the tiny action. “How could I possibly say no?”

Taking the opening, Kakashi took a step closer and dropped into the space directly in front of sage. It took a little bit of maneuvering, but once it was done Kakashi had his spot. With his head on Sage’s lap and his body off to the side, perfectly set for use as a table, he closed his eyes and gave a happy sigh.

Tow hours. That was how long Gai had told him he had before they were due to meet. Surely it would be enough time for him to have a nap with the perfect pillow, comfortable and content.

If not, Gai was simply going to have to forgive him for being a little late. It was cruel to expect him to leave the comfort of Sage’s lap before he was ready. Downright evil.