Summary: sometimes the leader, protector and father needed a little help too.

Age: 12, 16-17, 20-21

Category: T E A M S E V E N F L U F F. Mild SasuSaku and mentions of NaruHina

Note: sooooo this was supposed to be done on Christmas but this ended up way longer than I thought it would be. My oneshots are getting so long and storyline 🤭🤭 this one is uber long but worth the read bc it's so fluffy and wholesome and I think we all need that right about now yafeelme

Sorry for all the late updates, school's kicking my ass. Promise things will maybe probably be sorta more consistent maybe. I'm not done with this book yet. Many one shots to come. In fact, I have like 3 that I'm practically almost done with- one up next that is in the final editing phase before I post it.

Sooooooo expect more from me, and feel free to call me out on procrastinating.

Enjoy, loves ❤️

- Silverwolf12

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Christmas was a lonely time of year for Hatake Kakashi. Especially during his ANBU years, after the deaths of Kushina and Minato. His little group of friends would occasionally peer pressure him into coming to big parties, that he usually only stayed at for twenty minutes, before he had to go home. It was selfish, but the season of giving only reminded him of what was taken from him. His father, his whole team, and his happiness collectively.

Kakashi has always had blood on his hands, and when Rin died, it became physical. His mind loved attacking him with very, very vivid images that caused nasty panic attacks. No matter what time of day, or what he was doing, he could be assaulted. Kakashi occasionally saw it- the red substance dripping from his hands. Gushing. Blood that wasn't his own. He washed, and washed, and washed it off, but it wouldn't come off. A terrible metaphor his brilliant mind had chosen to capitalize on his mistakes.

His hands constantly had a sticky feeling, but no one else seemed to see the blood but Kakashi. He knew it was a hallucination caused by post traumatic stress disorder, but it felt real, and it was rather poetic that his metaphor for life had come to pass in his mind. He didn't know how anything could help him get away from it.

He had killed so many people, and he'd always known that would bounce back on him one day. His philosophy was: "if you live by the sword, you die by the sword." Except die went both ways- physically, yes, but also mentally. Any childlike innocence left in him after his father's death as gone because of the action of removing someone from existence.

During the dark, lonely, guilt ridden ages, he was accosted constantly by anxiety attacks. The smallest twitch from across the room could make him draw his weapon.

He always acted calm when he was around other people.

His Raikiri was a vicious weapon. One that demanded that you get close up, and watch the life drain of the victim's eyes as the electricity sword pierced their beating heart. His hands always came away bloody. Sometimes the blood came back in his memory. He never forgot one person that he killed. Every single human being he had slaughtered using his Raikiri was catalogued- their eyes before they died, their last words. How much blood spilled onto his clothes that day. He remembered that the easiest. They all deserved to be remembered, no matter what they'd done.

The blood belonged to someone different each time- Kakashi always knew who it was, without fail, even though there was no body in sight beyond his memory. There was no name written on the blood. It was just intuition. Sometimes it was Obito, and Rin, and his sensei and Kushina, who he couldn't save. His father, and the innocent souls lost in the war, along with the guilty souls just like him - the same blood on their hands - that he killed remorselessly. Guilt was a never ending punch in the gut that attacked him when he was alone.

His first Christmas that he'd spent comfortably with other people after the death of Minato and Kushina was with his little students. There had been no blood on his hands for months- it was almost as if his new students were helping him a little. The entertaining little distractions or their cute little quirks that guaranteed that Kakashi would absolutely adore them in the future when he knew them better.

They'd gotten trapped in a hotel together on a mission to the Land of Snow, but the four of them had been collecting presents for each other on the trip. The Land of Snow was famous for it's gift shops. All snowed in, and cuddled together on someone's bed watching TV with popcorn, it was semi-peaceful (Naruto and Sasuke argued like cats and dogs, so they had to be separated from each other) and a mildly therapeutic experience to not be alone on the holiday.

Until his hands started to bleed, exactly the way they used to. Kakashi's eyes dropped from the TV to his palms, knowing exactly what was happening when he felt his skin crawl. He itched at his hands, gritting his teeth. Sakura was sprawled over him and Naruto, watching a movie.

Not now, he chanted silently, not in front of my students. Please don't let my students notice. Whatever deity was out there was merciful, and his students didn't appear to recognize his odd behavior. Kakashi disentangled himself from Sakura, and claimed that he needed to pee. This got him two identical shouts of disgust from Sakura and Naruto, and a roll of the eyes from Sasuke.

His hands shook as he shut the door, the blood marking the door handle and everything he touched, before vanishing like it was never there in the first place. It isn't there, Kakashi reminded himself. It's just a figment of my imagination. Kakashi turned on the faucet sink right away, putting his hands underneath the water. The blood began to drain into the sink, but it didn't stop coming. Kakashi's breaths were coming shallower, and his eyesight was blurring. He pleaded with himself under his breath, because he really didn't want his temporary blackout to scare his students. Kakashi removed one of his hands from the water, and turned the knob so that the water was scalding hot. It made him wince, and his eyes water from the aggressive heat, but he persevered. However, like usual, the blood didn't seem to be washing off. It didn't go away until Kakashi was distracted from it, he fell asleep, or he conquered the panic attack. The last option was rare, but not impossible.

Kakashi groaned, grabbing a bar of soap and rubbing and rubbing and rubbing until his skin was raw. There was nothing else he could do until it went away.

A small sound of despair bubbled out of his throat as he rubbed his hands, wishing to God that the blood would just go away.

Then someone knocked on the door. "Kakashi-sensei, are you constipated? Cuz it's sure taking you a long time, 'ttebayo!"

Minato's brat. Kakashi remembered. In the panic, he'd almost forgotten himself and everything to do with him. Including his adorable, pain in the ass students. Minato-sensei would've loved that I'm teaching his kid. The thought was a little calming. Kakashi stumbled back, sitting on the outside of the bathtub. He dropped his head into his hands, letting out a sigh. Naruto's appearance had made the blood disappear, he noticed. Kakashi could still feel it bubbling underneath his skin, and shivered at the feeling. He'd scratched his arms raw, a few droplets of his own blood beading down the appendages. He didn't care, as long as he could feel that it was his, and not Rin's.

"I'm fine, Naruto, I just need a minute." He called out, removing his head from his hands, and briefly using them to support his neck.

"Sure, sensei, whatever you say. But hurry up, cuz you're missin' the best parts, ya know!"

"Okay." Kakashi said, taking a slow breath, in and out, before standing up and pacing back and forth in the middle of the small room. Naruto was gone, so Kakashi took slow breaths, before he opened the door again to rejoin his team. They were cuddled close on the bed, watching the horror movie. All three were freaked out, but none were saying it. They all looked at Kakashi when they saw him, three sets of doe eyes piercing him. "Aww, look at you three," he cooed, putting up a normal facade. "So cute."

Sasuke's nose wrinkled, and he roughly shoved Naruto and Sakura away from him. Kakashi rolled his eyes, before getting under the blankets as well, once again beside Sakura. He knew that the emo Uchiha kid secretly loved the idea of having siblings again, deep, deep down. No one had genuinely loved Sasuke in such a long time. Kakashi looked at his pink haired student and grinned a little. Sakura loved unconditionally, and he knew that if both students got their heads out of their asses, that arrangement could actually work. Sakura was terrifying, but she was genuinely affectionate with Sasuke and Naruto, and even with Kakashi. She was innocent, and untouched by pain, and Kakashi knew his two male students almost envied her for her normal-ness.

All three of the boys were subconsciously crowding her again, but she said nothing about it. Sakura was a rock for all three of her teammates, though only Kakashi could see that. Sakura wasn't bothered by the smothering, as usual, and kept watching the movie, snuggling into Kakashi's arm and Naruto's shoulder. Kakashi turned his attention to the movie, praying to God that having Sakura so close wouldn't remind his subconscious of Rin and blood.

A particularly wicked jump scare made all three kids jump, even Sasuke slid a little closer to Kakashi, and the kid has already lived through a nightmare. Sakura gasped when the main character died, and her little brother had to take her place. All three kids eventually piled up on Kakashi, who couldn't leave to go "pee" anymore. But there were no more panic attacks, because having his students close reminded him of a time where he had a team. A family.

When the movie ended, the four of them agreed that there would be no more horror movies without Kakashi-sensei.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura." Kakashi told the melodramatic girl, who was this close to a meltdown. "I'll protect you three if anything finds you."

Naruto scoffed bravely, his lip still quivering. "Whatever, old man, I don't need protecting."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. As expected, he was the one handling it the nicest. Kakashi almost didn't need to keep an eye on him. "Tell that to every time you almost die."

"Boys, stop fighting, please." Sakura shuddered, remembering a brutal scene in the movie.

They put another movie in, but before the movie was even halfway done, all three of Kakashi's students had fallen asleep on him. Kakashi gave them a soft smile. He could get used to this.

The next few Christmas' were pretty rough, with Naruto and Sasuke gone, but Kakashi and Sakura had always made sure to go out to eat on Christmas Day. This kept them close, and reminded them of the memories.

Finally, though, three Christmas' from the first Team 7 spent together, all of them were back. It was held at Sakura's apartment. Her parents were out of town, visiting a great aunt in Iwagakure, during the holiday, so the four of them were alone. Yamato and Sai were invited, but both of them were out of town on a mission, and would only be back the day after the holiday. Sakura saved gifts and food for both of them anyway.

Sakura made the food - which actually turned out really, really good - and the two boys helped set everything up. Both were adjusting to having one arm - though Naruto was anxiously thinking about the prosthetic that Tsunade was manufacturing - and were forced to lift things to strengthen the muscles. Sakura was their coach.

They shoved the coffee table to one side of the living room, which left room in the middle between the couches and TV, and Sakura declared that it was time for a contest of strength.

The three of them got down on their stomachs on Sakura's carpet and resolved that a planking contest was in order.

Kakashi tied Sakura's hand behind her back, to make it fair, and the boys (who were confident in their skills - they'd been doing one armed pushups for a long time now, and their endurance had always been admirable), started trash talking immediately.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at them, then looked at Kakashi, who had the stopwatch and was standing on her couch, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "You ready boys?"

"You're going down, Sakura-chan, 'ttebayo! I'm not going easy on you just 'cause you're a girl!"

"Good." Sakura smirked.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at both of them. "Can we just do this, so we can eat?"

Kakashi watched his students banter with an affectionate look in his eyes, before nodding resolutely. He had his own inner wager on who would win, and his money was on his strong female teammate. "Alright, ladies, calm down. Let's start, hmm?" Kakashi waved the stopwatch back and forth to catch their attention. "Ready, set, go." His finger pressed the button, and the three of them were up.

They planked for a good four minutes before Naruto's arms started shaking. He and Sasuke started letting out some pretty choice words. Sakura watched them, amused, but didn't appear to even be breathing heavily. The boys were pretty heavy, and supporting that extra weight on two arms was tough enough; the time was cut in half with one arm. They went on for five more minutes, to Kakashi's shock. Sakura hadn't started using chakra, like her teammates had, and still appeared calm and in control of the situation.

Naruto and Sasuke were both struggling, their already injured stature not helping their endurance much, but they pushed on. At eleven minutes, they looked like they were going to pass out. "I'm... n-not giving up, ya k-know!" Naruto's voice shook, but he kept going. And since Naruto did, so did Sasuke.

Fifteen minutes passed, and Kakashi was on his knees beside the three bodies, waiting for one of them to fall. Both boys were red and sweaty, their arms shaking. Amazingly, they made it to eighteen minutes before Naruto collapsed, and Sasuke collapsed seconds afterwards. Their incredible stamina had run out, finally.

Sakura looked at them, as they heaved on the floor, cursing their aching muscles, a smug smirk on his face.

"Holy shit, Sakura," Kakashi said, with the stopwatch still in hand. "You show no signs of stopping."

Sakura smiled, and the boys both looked up at her from their moaning stupor, eyes widened and mouths dropped. "I could probably keep going for another ten minutes."

Naruto and Sasuke both groaned, Naruto looking ready to cry. Naruto groaned. "That's insane, Sakura-chan~" he complained, still trying to catch his breath. "You gotta stop."

Sakura sighed, before she flipped herself upwards, standing upright and stretching, like she hadn't just planked for almost twenty-one minutes.

Kakashi gaped. "You're a machine."

"She's a beast!" Naruto exclaimed, gasping. Sakura left the room to get the boys water, and returned with two cups.

Sasuke shook his head as he lifted the cup to his lips. "I don't think I'd want to do that again if I still had two arms."

"That shouldn't have been physically possible for you two." Sakura told them, sitting next to their sweaty bodies and yawning, like she'd just rolled out of bed. "Stubborn bastards. I love you both for it."

Even in their delirious, sore heads, they were able to grin at her. She kissed the tops of their heads, and helped them to the couches. She put a blanket over them both, and they promptly passed out. She looked at Kakashi and grinned. "It'll be a bit before they wake up. Want to have some tea?"

Kakashi followed his female student into the kitchen, and she proceeded to make him a cup of tea. "That was incredible, Sakura-chan." He told her, sipping the tea, and setting it down, looking at the stopwatch. "Absolutely amazing."

Sakura blushed, sipping her tea to cover it up. "Thanks so much, Kaka-sensei, that means a lot coming from you."

Kakashi reached forward and put his hand in her hair. "Listen, Sakura, I know I don't say it a lot, but I am so, so proud of you. You've grown so much, and I'm so proud to call myself your teacher, even though I was pretty useless in that department. I always focused on the boys, and wasn't able to fully harvest your potential. Thank you for forgiving me for that."

Sakura frowned. "Kakashi-sensei, never think that again." She set her teacup down and wrapped her arms around Kakashi's waist, hugging him tightly. "You have taught me the most important lessons I have ever had to learn. You have made me who I am. Never forget that. I'm just happy I've made myself worthy of calling myself your student."

"You've always been worthy." Kakashi stroked her hair. Her shoulders started shaking a little, and all Kakashi could do was hold her.

"I love you, Kakashi-sensei." She told him, getting her face out of his chest and looking at him. "You're my family." Kakashi remembered the affection that he was feeling now. He could put a name to it. It was the love of a father for his daughter. Of course, he wasn't her real father, but it was still there, and both of them could feel it.

"I love you too, my dear." He said, stroking her hair one more time.

Just when they were about to go finish their tea, Naruto and Sasuke barged in all angry, Naruto demanding a rematch, and Sasuke telling him that he could go fuck himself, because he was not doing that again-

Sakura wrestled both of the sweating, sore boys into a hug, smothering Kakashi. But eventually they stopped fighting, and the hug was comforting. Kakashi was happy with his family. His surrogate sons and daughter.

Kakashi remembered the blood on his hands, and wondered if he was worthy of loving these kids. Rin, Obito, Minato, Kushina, his father, all of the innocents he'd killed, all the guilty he'd killed. He shouldn't even be touching these pure children. He was a monster. Somehow, as if they felt it, Naruto socked him in the shoulder. "Shut up, Kakashi-sensei."

"I hadn't said anything!" Kakashi said, affronted.

"You were thinking it." Sasuke rolled his eyes, nudging Sakura, who nodded seriously.

"Thinking what!?" Kakashi asked, eyes narrowing.

Sakura rolled her eyes, just giving him one last hug, before she let him go for good, and began serving them food.

The team spent all of their Christmas's together, Yamato and Sai dropping by when Yamato wasn't busy and Sai wasn't at Ino's. Hinata joined as well, when Naruto finally got his head out of his ass. Sasuke wasn't there a lot, but he always sent a hawk with a letter and a gift for all of them. Eventually Kakashi's little students had their own children, and he was obsessed with them. Boruto and Sarada were the object of his affections for a long time. Especially Sarada, who was possibly the cutest child he'd ever seen.

Not that Boruto wasn't cute, he was, but Sarada was the offspring of his beloved Sakura-chan. He was inclined to think that this baby was the most beautiful thing ever. Though the fact that she was also Sasuke's child was a little problem.

When Kakashi arrived at the Uchiha household, he greeted his beloved female student at the door. She was stunning as always, he told her, receiving a big hug and a smile. Kakashi went inside and sidestepped Naruto, eyes searching the establishment. Sakura had joined Hinata with Boruto in the kitchen.

At last, Kakashi spotted the one person in the room he really wanted to hang out with, sitting in a recliner with her father. Kakashi beelined for her, giving out crisp greetings to the other members of Team 7, and oddly enough, Lady Tsunade and Shizune. The Godaime, Yamato and Sai attempted to usher him over to where they were getting ready to start a card game, but Kakashi politely declined, not to be deterred from his goal.

When he finally made it to the person he wanted to see, he dropped to a crouch to look closely at her.

"Ahh, the little Uchiha!" Kakashi smiled, eyes sparkling. The little girl was in her father's arm, looking up at Kakashi curiously. Kakashi knew for a fact that Sarada liked him the most out of probably everyone here, minus her mom. And maybe her dad, too, because for some odd reason, she never did cry around him. (Kakashi couldn't understand what she found was so comforting about Sasuke- he was terrifying) She was nine months old, and the cutest child to have ever existed. Kakashi was sure of it. She reached for Kakashi, and Kakashi motioned to take her from Sasuke, but Sasuke pulled her away. Sarada looked up at her father curiously, but didn't cry. That was okay, Kakashi could cry for both of them. "What...?" He asked dejectedly, looking at his grumpy student.

Sasuke was wearing a black sweat shirt and sweat pants, and obviously couldn't be bothered to try to dress up for this occasion like his wife had. Kakashi could relate, as he came in his Hokage robe over his Jonin outfit. Sarada was adorable in a tiny blue dress with snowflake patterns on the hem that came to her elbows, and down to her knees. She wore tiny black leggings and black socks, and a little blue headband in her short midnight colored hair. She grinned at Kakashi when he made a face at her.

"I don't think you're mature enough to hold my daughter." Sasuke said coldly, voice devoid of any emotion. Kakashi was absolutely scandalized.

"Bullshit! I dealt with you when you were a moody little genin, that makes me qualified." Kakashi argued, reaching for the girl again. She looked at him with a happy expression, and honestly all Kakashi wanted to do was cuddle her. Sasuke swatted his hands away, glaring.

"It's my turn to hold her- this is the first I've gotten to see her all day. You kept making Naruto and I do all those stupid missions for you." Sasuke argued, putting his hand over Sarada's head protectively. The little girl's big black eyes peeked through Sasuke's hand curiously, and she giggled.

Kakashi frowned, crossing his arms. "Well this is the first I've so much as seen her all week!" He countered, looking back at the girl. "I'm stuck with you and Naruto, and don't ever get to see the girls."

"If you're looking for pity, get it elsewhere. You shouldn't be around children in general, much less my daughter. You read pørn." Sasuke said accusingly.

"First of all, it's not pørn, it's erotica. Second, she can't even read! Third, I literally love this child more than I love you. I wouldn't let her anywhere near it." Kakashi returned, holding up his fingers to match his argument, before reaching for the girl that was poking Sasuke's arm again.

"That argument is invalid, we all know Sakura is your favorite student." Sasuke leaned back again, and Kakashi's hands missed the girl again. "Kakashi, I said no."

"I'm your teacher!"

"I'm her father."

"This is my village!"

"This is my child."

Kakashi crossed his arms and huffed. Sarada cooed at him, giving him the cutest, toothless grin he'd ever seen on a child. "This beautiful angel came from you? I don't believe it."

"Well you'd better start believing it, because I know exactly how she was made." Sasuke smirked. Kakashi was going to rail on him for being a hypocrite, but the only person who could really subdue him came along, and Kakashi didn't have to do anything at all.

"Anata, if you two perverted old men don't tone it down, I'll be taking Sarada." Sakura whisked by, pressing a warning hand into Sasuke's shoulder. "Share her with Kakashi-sensei, darling. He's held her before, surely it will be okay?"

"Alright, Sakura, whatever you want." Sasuke sighed deeply, like this was causing him pain, and Sakura nodded sagely. Tsunade called her, inviting her to join the card game, so Sakura left. Sasuke's sad mug instantly turned to a glare. "You'll have to pry her from my cold, dead fingers." Sasuke said stubbornly.

Kakashi stomped his foot and crossed his arms, pouting like an actual child. "This is preposterous! You owe me this, Sasuke! I have a right to hold my grandchild."

"She's not your grandchild."

"Well she basically is, since I've been cleaning up her father's shit for years-"

"You're her uncle, idiot. I thought you hated to be considered old." Sasuke interrupted, making Kakashi's heart melt in affection for his student, before it froze again.

"I should still get to hold her!" Kakashi insisted, gesturing to Sarada.

"I don't let Naruto hold her, why would I let you?!" Sasuke asked. His menacing aura made a confused look come onto his baby's face, and she let out a puzzled gurgle.

Kakashi nearly let out an 'aww', but just barely restrained himself. "This is so unfair!" He complained. "You would let Itachi hold her!"

"Correction- Sakura would let Itachi hold her." Sasuke huffed indignantly. "So long as I live, no one will ever hold her but Sakura and I." He solemnly swore, then thought about it for a moment. "And Mebuki and Kizashi." Then he thought for another minute. "And Tsunade." He amended for the last time. "But that's it." He said, obviously making up excuses. He just didn't want Kakashi holding her. He let everyone hold her all the time.

"Well... you're gonna have to let SOMEONE. Yanno, to continue the Uchiha clan, 'ttebayo." Naruto butted in from where he was playing with his child, Boruto. "She's gonna want to date eventually."

"The Uchiha clan dies with her." Sasuke said with conviction, glaring heatedly at Naruto. Sarada giggled childishly, catching the attention of all three men and the baby boy. Kakashi nodded sagely. All of them had known that Sakura's child was going to be absolutely beautiful- and Kakashi had seen Sasuke's mother, so he supposed there were some good genes passed down through him. Sasuke had even agreed to start a protecting squad for when she got older. It consisted of her protective father and uncles.

"Awww, teme, she looks just like Sakura-chan when she smiles! So pretty!" Naruto cooed, extending a finger for her to grasp. Sasuke swatted it away with a warning glare. Sarada giggled at the sound, kicking her socked feet. Boruto gurgled at her, and she babbled back for a few seconds. They looked like they were having an entire conversation, before Sarada's brows furrowed, and she kicked rather violently in Boruto's direction.

"Now she looks like you." Kakashi noted. Her huge black eyes got squinty when she frowned. And her pouting face mirrored Sasuke's exactly. (Kakashi had seen Sasuke pout exactly once, a long, long time ago when he went to Itachi's house to pull him for an ANBU mission during times he was supposed to be helping Sasuke train, but he remembered the pout like it was yesterday, and it was the same)

Boruto frowned back at Sarada, and the two of them just pouted at each other for a good while.

"Makes sense that they would inherit that, too." Naruto sighed, nodding. Sasuke kicked in Naruto's direction, too and he yelped. That made both Boruto and Sarada giggle.

"Come on, Sasuke, what do I have to do to hold her?" Kakashi begged, knowing his student could be bribed for the right price.

Sasuke looked down at Sarada, who looked up at him and giggled childishly. He smiled lovingly at her, making Kakashi and Naruto both smile as well. Sasuke had never been as calm and happy before as he was in this time of his life, and his friends and family were reveling in the change. Sakura and Sarada were honestly Sasuke's whole life, now. His heart was given to them. His daughter was literally his entire being. He would die for her, and sacrifice anything for her future, and that was incredibly obvious. So giving her up even for her favorite uncles to hold was hard for him, probably. Or maybe he was just too lazy to actually pass the child to Kakashi, which was also a valid option. Sasuke looked at Kakashi, and narrowed his eyes. His daughter reached out and played with the collar of his shirt as he did so. "I'd be willing to make a deal under one condition."

As Kakashi predicted. He nodded. "Let's hear it."

"Midnight tonight, you take off your mask for twenty minutes." Sasuke said, his curiosity for once outweighing his constant need to hold his child. Naruto looked at Kakashi with wide, hopeful eyes. Boruto tugged at Naruto's scarf, but Naruto wasn't paying attention to the kid right then.

"For everyone?" Kakashi asked, ready to sigh. He wasn't self conscious or anything, he just didn't really like the attention it drew him. Plus, the mystery of it was half of his personality.

"For just me and Naruto and Sakura, if you want, but you owe us that." Sasuke insisted. Naruto whooped with joy, because there was no way Kakashi would refuse. Sarada giggled at Uncle Naruto's crazy dancing, drawing Kakashi's pensive eyes to her again.

She was too cute, really.

"Deal." Kakashi decided, biting his lip. "Twenty minutes, no more, no less."

"Fine." Sasuke agreed. "You get an hour with her." He decided.

"So what do I do to get a whole day? Sell my soul to you?"

"Oh, I already own that." Sasuke said like this was common knowledge, but handed the baby to Kakashi.

Kakashi cooed, and cuddled Sarada to his chest, rocking her back and forth. Her little giggles one hundred percent made his humiliation worth it. Then his eyes widened. "Hang on a minute," he said, as he processed what he'd just heard, narrowing his eyes at Sasuke. "Since when have you owned my soul?"

"Since we were Genin." Naruto butted in, obviously knowing exactly what event Sasuke was talking about. Kakashi was still in the dark, but Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah, don't you remember that one time that me and you bet our souls on where we were going to eat for Sakura's birthday that one time?" Sasuke asked, the memory obviously still fresh for him. "You said it was that new dango place she wanted to try, and I said it was Ichiraku's Ramen, because, let's face it, that's all we ate as Genin." He flashed Naruto an accusatory look.

"Hey, that's not my fault, 'ttebayo, you guys could've spoken up and said you wanted to go somewhere else!" Naruto deflected the blame, picking Boruto up so he couldn't get into Sasuke's drink that was on the floor.

"We did." Sasuke deadpanned, and Kakashi agreed with a solemn nod. Naruto had never allowed them to go anywhere else- even when they did, he'd whine about it the whole time. Eventually the team agreed to just listen to Naruto to avoid the whining. Not because they all suddenly liked ramen, or anything. Never.

Kakashi sat on the floor, holding Sakura's child in his lap, and smiled all night. Sarada babbled and pulled on Kakashi's ear. He held Sarada tightly, standing her up on his thighs and holding her shoulders to keep her upright, he sometimes played peek-a boo with her. Her face would puff up in concentration, and she would hit Kakashi's hands with her tiny fists. When Kakashi appeared again, she lit up, giggling and clapping her cute little hands together. After two times of Kakashi disappearing and reappearing, Sasuke's child figured out what he was doing, and would lean behind his hands to look at him, then put one of her own hands in front of her eyes. Sasuke watched with pride as his daughter beat Kakashi at his own game.

Naruto leaned close to give her his finger. She wrapped it into a tiny fist, and gripped so tightly that Naruto thought maybe she had gotten Sakura's super strength too.

Sasuke smirked quietly at that, very pleased. Eventually, Sarada fell asleep on Kakashi's shoulder, and Sakura and the other mothers tucked them in beds in Sarada's room. Sasuke kissed Sarada on the cheek before he gave her to Sakura, and Sakura did the same once she was holding the child. Sasuke gave his wife a genuine smile, and she disappeared with their child.

Sasuke sat back in his recliner, and looked at Kakashi with a raised eyebrow when he saw his teacher staring at him. "What is it?" Sasuke asked, sounding more like a doting father than anything.

Naruto leaned back in his own chair. Everyone else was outside, because (the extremely drunk) Lady Tsunade had dared Sai to jump off the roof and land on his feet during the countdown, and Sai was determined to go through with it. The rest of the Konoha 11 and their families had invited themselves over sometime during the night, so Sakura had been busy playing hostess all night long. No one minded- it was really rare that they all got to hang out. Naruto stayed inside because he was tired, and Sasuke didn't want to move. Kakashi just wanted to stay with them, because he did technically owe them a removed mask, and inside is better than outside. It was freezing anyway.

"Your daughter is a good girl." Kakashi informed him quietly. "And so's your son." He said to Naruto. "I'm so excited to watch them grow up."

Sasuke and Naruto gave him matching soft looks, though Naruto's came with a big grin. "You'll barely live that long, old man." Naruto joked, though he and Sasuke exchanging determined glances. Kakashi somehow knew that his students would move heaven and earth to keep him alive until that time.

Sakura came out of Sarada's bedroom, putting her hair up into a messy ponytail, somehow managing to look absolutely gorgeous even though she was so tired and run down. She gave them all warm smiles, and sat on the couch beside Kakashi. "So I heard a rumor that Kakashi-sensei's going to be showing his face." She wiggled her eyebrows mysteriously, elbowing Kakashi. Kakashi gasped and hunched over a the force of it, making Sasuke snicker and Naruto cackle.

When Kakashi could breathe again, he checked his watch, nodding. "Alright," he said edgily, looking up at his three students with a foreboding expression. "You all ready to finally see greatness?" He asked, making all three of them roll their eyes. "One minute. Make your bets on appearance."

"Buck teeth." Naruto said with determination.

"Lips like cod roe." Sasuke predicted, leaning forward in anticipation.

"Tiny lips." Sakura guessed, a wicked grin on her face.

Kakashi bit his lip to keep from grinning. He looked at his watch again. "You'll get to see in 5..." Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto leaned forward simultaneously, their eyes widening exponentially. "4..." Kakashi noticed the familiarity of it- having the onyx, blue and emerald eyes widen at him was nothing new. "3..." A smile tugged onto his face. "2..." Kakashi said, equally spacing his numbers, and placing his other hand over his mouth to pull down the mask. "1." Kakashi finished, ready to yank it down, but before he could...

... the lights went out.

Sakura and Naruto let out anguished cries. Naruto jumped out of his seat and ran a hand through his hair. Sakura slapped the side of the couch so hard, Kakashi heard a crack somewhere in the mechanism, but he couldn't tell if it was broken, it was so dark. Kakashi turned to his other student. Sasuke tensed, a move Kakashi recognized as one he made to turn on his Sharingan, but Kakashi shook his head at him before he could. "That's not fair, Naruto and Sakura can't see in the dark like you can."

Sakura stood up in a hurry, and ran to the light switch, flipping it up and down over and over. The lights didn't turn on- they didn't even flicker. "Damn!" She shouted, running into the hallway, and trying out the lights in there. Judging by the fact that there was no telltale stream of light, they weren't working either. "The power's out."

"Let's go out into the streets then, the lights there work," Sasuke suggested, standing up and slipping his sweatshirt off. He was wearing a long sleeved shirt underneath it, so he handed his already warm sweatshirt to Sakura like he'd been saving it for that exact moment. Sakura gave him a soft smile, and slid it on over her t-shirt, tossing a scarf at his chest. Naruto stood as well, reaching for his shoes. Kakashi sighed, but followed them and dressing up. "The time paused, Kakashi." Sasuke told him.

"Hai, hai. Whatever you say."

They went out into the snow, shutting the door quickly so the heat wouldn't get out.

"Hey, you guys!" Tenten shouted over from the side of the house. A group had gathered around in a circle by Sakura and Sasuke's backyard, and it looked like someone (probably Sai) was laying in the snow, on the floor. Kiba broke into a brisk jog, stopping in front of them. His breath came out in visible puffs.

"Any power in the house?" Kiba asked looking back at the beautiful building.

Sakura shook her head sheepishly. "Anywhere else?" She asked, looking around, but everywhere she looked was dark. The neighbors didn't have any power, and since the house was built on a natural slope, she could see the rest of the village. There were no lights on there either.

"No. It looks like the whole village is out of power." Kiba replied, looking out too. The rest of the group caught up with them. Sai looked considerably more snow covered than everyone else, and something told them that he'd probably jumped off the roof like he'd been dared to. Ino was supporting him, giving him an exasperated look. Shizune and Kurenai were supporting the drunk Godaime between them.

"Well, the heat's still working inside, so you should all probably go in." Naruto told them, ushering his wife, Hinata, and Shino towards the door. Kiba, Lee and Tenten followed, and soon everyone else did too. The four members of the Original Team Seven were now the only ones out in the cold. "Do you guys have candles, or flashlights, or something?" Naruto asked desperately, turning to Sakura, who would most likely know.

Sakura shook her head sheepishly. "We do, but they're in storage and all packed up. We don't use them often." She turned to Sasuke, running her hands up and down her arms rapidly. "Any chance of a fire style jutsu?" She asked hopefully.

"I could, but that wouldn't last for the full twenty minutes." Sasuke murmured pensively. "And I feel like we deserve to savor it for the full twenty minutes."

"Well, isn't this a crisis? I guess I'm just gonna go home then-"

Sakura grabbed Kakashi by the collar before he could slip away. "Did you have something to do with this somehow?!" She asked aggressively, shaking him by the collar a little. "Wow, Kakashi-sensei, we all knew you were crazy, but the lengths you'd go to keep your face a secret are honestly ridiculous." She let him go, shaking her head.

Kakashi shook his head in denial. "I wouldn't do this. All those things that somehow happen whenever you want to see my face are coincidence."

"Every damn time?!" Naruto asked, stomping his foot onto the snow stubbornly. "I call B.S., sensei. What's your secret?"

"It really is coincidence!"

"Sure, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura drawled his name, backing up to stand by Naruto and Sasuke and crossing her arms over Sasuke's warm hoodie. "Evey single time we've tried to see your face for nine years, you've thwarted us. Every excuse I make to check your tonsils and all those fake tests I have to run, one of my apprentices has run in with a medical emergency. Every. Time."

I knew those were fake... Kakashi thought, shaking his head in disappointment. A sudden Black Death outbreak seemed a bit extreme...

"Every time we invite you out to eat, something happens, and we NEVER SEE YOU PULL YOUR MASK DOWN, but your food's always gone!" Naruto threw up his hands, stressed out. "And any time we try to follow you, or see if we can pull your mask down, something happens. We can't ever get it past your nose!"

"I can't see past your mask with my kekkei genkai, for God's sake. I've tried so many times by now." Sasuke muttered, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I finally manage to trick you into showing us, and this happens?"

"There is absolutely no way this is all a coincidence." Sakura finished, looking around once again and hissing impatiently. "When is the damned power going to come back on?!"

Sasuke looked at Naruto, hands shoved into his pockets. "Is there any backup generators that you know of?"

Naruto thought about it, leaning heavily on one side of his hips. "I don't know, we'd have to see for ourselves. Wanna invade the Hyūga clan apocalypse bunker and check?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in determination, and he glared at Kakashi. "If we have to."

Kakashi sighed, tilting his head back to look at the sky. From the looks of it, it was going to start snowing. He also knew that his students weren't going to let him off the hook this time. They'd lost their patience with Kakashi's shenanigans- this was the straw that broke the camel's back. "If you guys are so determined, why didn't you just ask me to show you what's underneath the mask before?!"

"We have before, 'ttebayo!" Naruto reminded him, barely looking at him, before going back to thinking hard, muttering about a backup generator.

Kakashi looked puzzled, crossing his arms skeptically. "When? I don't remember that."

Sakura groaned, throwing up her hands in exasperation. "When we were Genin, we pretty much begged you to show us what was under the mask, and you were like, 'Okay!'" She mimicked a cheerful Kakashi.

"Then it was just another mask." Naruto deflated, remembering the disappointment he felt that day. "Totally unfair."

Kakashi grinned, remembering some of their hilarious attempts, then snickered evilly, remembering the time he went wandering around pretending to be a photographer. "You guys wouldn't believe it, but I've actually shown you what's under the mask before."

"No way!" Sakura shook her head, crossing her arms. "We would've remembered." Sasuke nodded in solemn agreement.

"Yeah, 'ttebayo!"

"I have, I swear." Kakashi said, running his hands up and down his arms from the cold, a smug grin on his face. He'd been so clever that day, dressed up as a photographer from out of town. He'd taken every precaution- worn a wig, changed his eye color, even his voice was different so his students couldn't recognize him. "You guys just didn't know what you were looking at when I did."

"Ugh! This is so unfair, Kakashi!" Naruto protested. "You know we can't remember everything from when we were genin!"

"I don't think Sasuke was even there at the time. I can't remember." Kakashi mused, making his student roll his eyes at him.

"Kakashi, we made a deal. You get to hold Sarada (for much more than an hour, I might add) and we get to see your face at midnight tonight for twenty minutes." Sasuke said patronizingly, taking a step towards his old sensei. "Help us figure it out, or you'll owe me for eternity."

"You already own my soul, what's the harm in owing you one forever?" Kakashi mused, pursing his lips as he waited for the outburst.

"The harm is you'll get punched in the face!" Sakura declared, stepping forward to stand beside her husband, crossing her arms. She had that sadistic grin on her face that told Kakashi that if she got her hands on him, there would be no escaping.

"What?"

"Yeah, 'ttebayo! We're not letting you get away this time!" Naruto punched his palm, stepping forward, standing on Sasuke's other side. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, the meaning behind his cynical expression exceedingly clear to Kakashi. Come on, Kakashi, you really want to get into a fight with us?

Kakashi looked at his three students, standing united as one once again, shaking his head in a subtle pride, and just a tad bit of apprehension. Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto were individually a hundred times stronger than him- a million times stronger when they worked together using that flawless teamwork Kakashi had seen before. If they had at any point wanted to hold him down and pry the mask off him, they probably could. But in the name of the competition, they hadn't, for a good nine years. Although it wasn't like Kakashi wasn't a master escape artist, because even Naruto wasn't as persistent as Gai was when he came up with a new competition. Kakashi sighed, deciding he didn't want to have to run when it was so cold out. "We have got to do the bell test again." He muttered to himself, though he suspected Sasuke heard it from the smug smirk on his face. "Well, I suppose I do owe you that, at least. But I'm afraid you won't be able to see anything unless you find a light."

"Good point." Naruto turned to his teammates. "Alright, let's split off, find someone that has a light, then we'll all go there."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows. "Breaking and entering, much?"

Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto all flashed him the exact same unimpressed face. Something told Kakashi that the face had originally belonged to someone- Sakura, maybe?- and the whole team just adopted it. Kakashi probably had subconsciously. It was still amusing to see on the faces of his entire group of students.

Sasuke turned to his teammates. "Who here's willing to break a few laws to see Kakashi's face?" He asked Naruto and Sakura, who both grinned evilly.

"I'd go full terrorist, sans the killing, to see Kakashi-sensei's face." Sakura confessed, giving Kakashi a determined look.

"Me too, ya know?"

"Good then. I'll meet you all here in ten minutes." He did the shadow clone jutsu, and multiple copies of him appeared, all of them turning on their Sharingan. Sakura did the same, and her copies ran off immediately. Naruto made around a hundred copies, sending them off into all different directions.

Kakashi leaned against the back of Sasuke and Sakura's house, and waited.

<>

As Sasuke said, they were all back within ten minutes. A Naruto clone and the real Sasuke had snuck into a couple of the Uchiha's old bases out of the city, searching for a generator, and came back lugging it. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him, because usually none of them really cared for lifting unnecessary things, though both were supremely good at it, somehow.

Sakura usually pulled off all the heavy lifting for all three of them. (she pretended to hate it, but she secretly loved the way their mouths dropped when she lifted a goddamn refrigerator like she was picking up a cup of water, I-) ((Kakashi dropped a couple well placed comments about Sakura 'topping' to Sasuke that got him a couple kunai aimed at his face))

"I mean, Sasuke's house didn't have a generator." Naruto's clone reasoned. "So this'll be useful in the future. You know, if something like this happens again. We don't want Sarada getting sick because of the cold."

Sasuke shot a glare at Naruto. "As if I'd let that happen." Sasuke threatened, and Kakashi knew that the man was one hundred percent serious. He'd quite literally move heaven and earth for Sarada if that was what it took for her to be comfortable.

"Shut up, man, I'm trying to explain to Kakashi why we needed this." Naruto's clone punched him in the shoulder. "You're ruining my vibe."

Sasuke kicked the clone in the shin, and Kakashi just shrugged, not caring either way. They were the ones that did the heavy lifting, in the end, not him. Sasuke and the real Naruto (who was really good with wires, oddly enough) set up the generator right as Sakura got there. She grinned, when she saw it, and nodded in approval.

"I talked to the people working on the electricity, and they said it should be back up tomorrow morning. Some kid snipped a wire on a dare, got electrocuted, but survived." Sakura shook her head, frowning.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Sasuke asked quietly. He supported his wife's profession one hundred percent. He was no chauvinistic pig like some of his ancestors, or other family, who thought women should stay home and bring up the children. If Sakura wanted to work, or do anything she was passionate about, by God she could make it happen. Sasuke would back her all the way. But that didn't mean he didn't miss her when she pulled long shifts. He got a little frowny face, but never once suggested that she quit. She loved her job, and he loved that she loved her job.

"Nah, my subordinates have it handled." She waved her hand dismissively. She turned to Kakashi, wiggling her eyebrows. "Let's unmask sensei."

The three of them turned back to Kakashi with devilish faces, making him swallow nervously and resist the urge to run. "So... we have the generator all hooked up and running?"

"All we have left to do is pull the trigger and hold Kaka-sensei down." Naruto shrugged, making a couple shadow clones that took a place in three sides- behind Kakashi, and holding onto both of his arms. He couldn't escape, this way, unless he went underground. But then Sakura would shatter the ground, and Kakashi would be in for the beating of a lifetime. Kakashi resolved not to do that.

They hooked up the generator, and the porch lights came on. The eerie glow reminded Kakashi of something but he couldn't think about it then.

Kakashi finally hooked his fingers around the top of his mask, and dragged it down. All three of his students gaped.

Naruto was the first to recover. He wolf whistled. "Damn, sensei, you're pretty hot."

Sakura burst into laughter at that exact moment. "I mean... he's not wrong." Sasuke gave her a scandalized look, and she patted his arm affectionately. "It's okay, Sasuke, being second best at something isn't that bad." Sakura was entirely kidding, but Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her and smirked, and Sakura's throat went dry. Something told her that she'd pay for that in some subtle way later.

"Yeah, though, why don't you have a girlfriend, 'ttebayo?!" Naruto asked. "You're pretty enough to get anyone to like you."

Kakashi opened his mouth to answer that, but all he could see was Obito telling him to get a girlfriend, suddenly. He froze for a moment, organizing his thoughts, before shaking his head. "Um... relationships are too much work. I'm content in watching you three be happy." He slipped the mask back over his mouth, his breathing suddenly coming heavy for some reason.

"Nuh uh," Sasuke wagged his finger, smirking. "You have to keep the mask down for twenty minutes."

Kakashi winced, having forgotten that part of the rules. But he humored his dearly beloved students, and dropped the mask again, pursing his lips. Sakura grinned, and sat on the front steps of the porch. Naruto and Sasuke followed suit, all three turning inward to face Kakashi as he took a seat in the rocking chair. It was still cold, but none of them could feel it. The porch was covered by a roof, so there was no snow on the ground. Sakura turned off the light on the porch, allowing the four of them to look out and see the stars.

"I really don't get it, Kaka-sensei," Sakura sighed. "Aren't you lonely?" She asked.

"Aren't you lonely?" Rin asked, her huge, pretty brown eyes seeming to sparkle in the night. Guy was asleep, and the two of them were talking quietly.

Kakashi didn't answer. "I wouldn't know if I was." He confessed. "I've never not been alone before." He lay back, staring at the stars. He clasped his hands together over his chest and looked up into the sky, searching for his people among the stars. His mother, father, and Obito were up there.

"You will always have us, you know." Rin commented, after laying down on her bedroll. "Me, and your friends. And Minato-sensei and Kushina-sama."

"I know." Kakashi said, even though he didn't. Nothing was permanent. Especially not happiness. He'd come to that conclusion early.

"You have the right to be happy." Rin told him, giving him a beautiful smile. That was one of the last conversations he'd have with his dear friend.

"Rin!" He shouted, watching his own arm go straight through her chest. His fingers brushed against her still-beating heart before stretching through to the other side. Despair almost swallowed him before he even knew what happened. He passed out soon later, but even after he woke up, he knew that happiness was no longer an option.

His eyes fluttered as he realized that his breaths were coming heavily, and his students were gathered around him, Sakura's hands hovering inches away from his chest. They were glowing green, so Kakashi got the vague idea that he'd passed out somehow. His rational side thought he might be having a panic attack, with weird hallucinations that were caused by the anxiety. His panicking side had no idea what was
happening, or how to stop the tidal wave that was coming down.

Kakashi looked down, and saw something that made his throat run dry. His hands hung loose on the sides of the rocking chair, but he still saw the blood dripping down the leg of the chair. His hands were bleeding again. The hallucination had come back to attack him once again.

He held his hands close to his face, watching the blood drop down his forearms. It had been a long time- almost two years, since this had happened. The marriage of his star crossed students was a momentous occasion, and a worthy distraction. Soon after, when his nephew Boruto and beautiful niece Sarada graced them with their presence, Kakashi had enough distractions. It was back, somehow.

Sakura looked at his hands, and grabbed them cupping them in between hers, and dragging Kakashi's eyes to her face. She was trying her hardest to get his attention- trying to get him to focus on her. Her scared expression was exactly the same as Rin's was. His mind supplied him with the disturbing image of his beautiful student with a massive hole in her chest- her heart in Kakashi's palm, and Kakashi felt himself begin to shake.

Naruto's blue eyes dropped into his view, and all he could see was Minato Namikaze, speared on a claw of the Kyūbi.

"No, no, no, no, no..." Kakashi whispered, slipping one of his hands from Sakura/Rin and put it on Minato's blonde head, dropping it to his shoulder. His mind was muddled- he didn't remember what was real and what was in his head anymore. There was no difference, as far as he could tell- his sensei was standing before him. "Please don't leave me, sensei. I don't know what to do."

"Kakashi, did you know that you are special?"

Kakashi nodded. He was considered a prodigy. A genius of his time- far ahead of his classmates. His skills were valuable to the village, which therefore made him special.

"No." Minato said, placing a hand on his shoulder, and looking at Kakashi in the eyes, as if begging him to understand. "I know that during the war time there is a great need for your skill set, and people will always boss you around. However, I feel like you need someone to speak life over you. You are an individual. You are not a weapon, you are not a machine, you are not a heartless monster. You are a person, with emotions and your own thoughts. You exist. When you follow orders all of the time, like you want to, sometimes you lose your sense of self. You become a machine. Learn to break the rules sometimes, for your friends and family. Remember that you are alive. You are not just a pawn for the village. You are a special, unique human being that isn't just a weapon. You are loved. Will you swear to me you will never forget that?"

Kakashi hadn't known how to answer him. Unconsciously, a tear slid down his cheek. How was it that Minato always knew exactly what he needed to hear?

"Kakashi, swear to me that you will not forget those words."

"I swear, Minato-sensei."

"I'm so sorry, sensei, I forgot what you said for a couple years." Kakashi's voice broke as he recalled his dark days alone in the ANBU Black Ops, washing and washing and washing his hands of blood that would never come clean. "I'm sorry I let you die. And killed Obito and Rin. And I'm sorry I was such an irresponsible teacher to your son and his teammates. I'm sorry I'm such a bad Hokage." His voice shook. "I'm so sorry I'm such a failure. I know you expected better."

His vision finally stopped blurring, and it was Naruto standing there, instead of his late sensei. Kakashi choked, realizing that he had messed up badly. He'd broken down in front of his students, like he'd sworn he'd never do. He wasn't wearing his mask anymore. Not the physical, or mental one. He was laid bare, and he waited patiently for his students to admit him into an insane asylum.

He'd never get to see Sarada and Boruto again, if his students thought the Hokage was insane.

He looked closely at his students, and he saw matching expressions of pain on their face. Sakura lunged forward and wrapped Kakashi into a hug.

"It's okay, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura whispered, rubbing her hands up and down his back soothingly. Naruto bundled both of them into his chest, and Sasuke clapped his hand over Kakashi's shoulder in a demonstration of silent support. "We love you." Kakashi sank into their touches, still shivering. He was emotionally exhausted, really, and he just wanted to sleep it all away.

"Kakashi's staying the night here." Sasuke decided, feeling Kakashi's forehead for a fever. "He shouldn't be alone right now."

"I'll take first watch over him, 'ttebayo." Naruto agreed, squeezing Kakashi and Sakura tighter.

Sasuke bristled. "Who said you're staying the night too?"

"You did, when you said Kakashi is! He's my sensei too, ya know? Lemme help take care of him."

"Absolutely not-"

"Darling," his wife interrupted, catching his attention. She was still holding their numb sensei, her green eyes pleading with him. "Please?"

Sasuke never could deny Sakura anything. He let out a long sigh, before sneering at Naruto, "You're sleeping on the couch, loser."

Kakashi only overheard some of the conversation, still locked inside his own head. Memory and imagination was overlapping, and he wasn't quite sure what was real or not anymore. He didn't hear when Sakura told everyone that Sasuke had fallen ill, and Team 7 was to stay over to watch over him. They snuck Kakashi into Sarada's room to hide him until Sakura and Naruto shooed everyone away, so Sasuke was in charge of looking after him.

Boruto was with Hinata, who was going home, so only Sarada was left in her crib. Kakashi stood over it, looking down at the sleeping angel, and calming his racing heart. She was absolutely the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He wanted to pick her up, but he knew she was tired, so he was content to just lean heavily on the crib and watch her.

Sasuke watched from the corner of the room, a concerned expression on his face. "Kakashi," he spoke up, catching Kakashi's attention. "You deserve happiness, you know that?"

Kakashi faltered at the familiar words, and just nodded. He had always known that deep down, Sasuke Uchiha had the sweetest, most loving heart. He rarely showed it, because he had a hard exterior; but it was there. Kakashi saw it, on rare occasions.  "You three are my happiness. You have been for a long time. This is naturally extended to your children. I'm so happy you've found your happiness." He told his student, looking back down at Sasuke's daughter.

Sasuke nodded in reply. Kakashi doesn't think of himself as often as we thought. Sasuke's lips pursed, and he sank into his thoughts. The two sat in silence for a few moments. "Are you going to be okay?" Sasuke finally asked.

Kakashi thought about it, pondering everything he had gone through and learned in his lifetime. After thinking, he gave a small nod. "I think so."

"You're always welcome here whenever you need anything." Sasuke said, his respectful and affectionate tone a far cry from the competitive one from twenty minutes ago. "You're family."

Kakashi's hands shook, but they weren't bleeding anymore.

A soft smile appeared on Kakashi's lips. He looked at the mask, hanging from his neck. His own family hadn't gotten to see the real him until now. What a waste of time. He resolved to never wear the mask again. The mental one, that shielded his students from his mind. The physical one would have to be put back up- the mystery was what made him an interesting person.

It would take a long time to fully recover, but he believed that with the support of his students, he could do it. He supposed that old man Third had been right to give him the most pain-in-the-ass team in all of Konoha's history.

Even after the long journey they went through, and The troubles of getting Sasuke back. Looking back on it, he realized that he wouldn't have it any other way. The pain in the assery had given him three kids to take care of, and two little babies to look after. Their success was his legacy.

They had taken the broken machine Kakashi used to be and given him a purpose. His purpose in life was to guide them and their descendants, and he couldn't be happier.

"Thanks."