Lest I be Too Forward
The problem with childhood friends is that they remember when you were younger. This occurred to Naruto as he sat across a small coffee table from Sakura. It was a normal morning in their apartment. She was searching the classifieds for a job, he was eating toast that she made for him. Naruto glared at the machine, impossibly certain that it existed only to humiliate him. Thinking back, he couldn't find the one event that lead him to living in the same apartment with his childhood friend, crush, and adult something-or-other. Sakura wasn't comfortable with moving to the medical university's dorms, and Naruto had mysteriously risen to the position of is-a-brother-to-me, and thus she proposed the current arrangement.
As for Naruto, he couldn't say no to her, and he could technically write from anywhere. It was nothing less than a miracle that his novels didn't contain any of the smut his "mentors", those grey haired weirdoes who pretended to be gay to pick up chicks, specialized in. They called it "research", and admittedly they were the authors of a very successful "romance" series, for which they both used pennames. Naruto came into the picture as a boy they adopted for added appeal. The street never had a chance; Naruto learned everything at home. Not because he was curious or anything, but it's all the old guys talked about, though the boy had gotten a literary education out of it too, somehow. With the overwhelming influence at home, he had naturally developed a proficiency with the pen, but his subject matter was more along the lines of what normal boys are interested in: violence. Specifically ninjas, but he sometimes strayed into the life stories of delinquents.
There was no way he would do well in school, and he preferred it that way. He learned the life of punks, rebels, and freaks, making friends with a few of each. He began in slacker circles, but he had too much energy to fit with the particular set he encountered. Then one day he pissed off the little brother of a mafia hit man. Fortunately, Sasuke never got along with Itachi, so there was no doom looming on the horizon. In fact, Itachi sends him the occasional letter, which Naruto is simultaneously grateful for and disturbed by. Anyways, back in middle school, they would fight a lot, though over time the trash talking gained almost small talk undertones. About this time, Sakura showed up, making eyes at the brooding rebel. They grew closer as they tried to figure out just what was wrong with this girl who was following them around everywhere. High school brought its usual drama of hormones and boredom concentrated. For a brief time, Sakura had convinced Sasuke to date her; it lasted about a week. It wasn't much, but it did make Naruto look closer at the girl. Unfortunately, the break up numbed Sakura's taste for romance. She never dated again.
Naruto stirred from the past, seeing the furrowed brow under pink bangs once again. Sakura cast the newspaper at the table and leaned back on the couch with a groan.
"No luck?"
"It would take more than luck to get a job around here."
Naruto was momentarily caught up in the unfeigned beauty she exuded, then shook his head.
"I'm going to the grocery store. Do you want to come along?"
She shrugged, then smiled.
"Why not? I need to keep you from buying the wrong shampoo anyways."
"Hey, I don't do the girly stuff. All the pink bottles sort of run together."
Sakura grabbed her purse, then gave him an almost-disgusted look.
"Naruto, basic hygiene is not girly stuff. Once you figure that out, a girl might actually think twice about you."
'Did you only think once about me?' He kept a joking grin in place.
"See, I thought it was living with another girl that scared 'em off."
She paused out on the door step, a sad, guilty look on her face.
"It is my fault, isn't it? I'm so sor-"
Naruto placed a finger on her lips, ignoring how his heart sped up.
"I chose this, and I don't mind. All these doctor types are out of my league anyways."
His smile hid the painful truth of the last statement, something he wished he wasn't so good at. He was rewarded with a quick hug, and she was back to smiling.
"Don't think that Naruto. You're a great guy, and I doubt any of the lady doctors really want to talk about brains and livers all the time."
"My mind? Blown."
Naruto savored her laugh; it fueled his life like gasoline in a car, more or less.
The basket was getting seriously heavy. Naruto thought about getting a cart, but the shampoo was the only thing left to get. Every time he looked away from Sakura, her hair sort of blended in with the bottles. It was rather disconcerting, like those magic eye things.
"Sakuraaaaa, this is really heavy."
Her eyes were glazed over, blissfully she inhaled the scents of the aisle.
"Why don't you buy what's in the basket and toss it in the car? I think I'll be a little while longer here."
Naruto smiled at her in mingled exasperation and amusement.
"Will do."
When he returned, there was some poor guy trying to chat her up. Naruto saw his face, and the only coherent thought that emerged was 'Eyebrows' . Sakura saw her Naruto and burst out laughing at the look on his face. The unfortunate suitor stopped talking, wondering what could be so funny. Naruto recovered enough to come to her sort-of-rescue.
"Hi there, I'm Naruto. Congrats, you're the twelfth unwanted admirer since we moved here."
Eyebrows had a confused look on his face.
"Since you… both… oh, I apologize, I was not aware you were together."
The guy bowed to Naruto, then Sakura. She smiled a little strangely.
"It's alright, Lee. I just don't feel like being in a relationship right now."
Lee was confused, again.
"But you… you do live together, correct?"
Naruto shrugged.
"We're old friends, it works out."
Lee seemed to reach some sort of conclusion.
"It was a pleasure meeting both of you, but I must return to my job."
They waved as he jogged off towards the gym.
"What a singular person." Remarked Sakura.
"I know! Did you see the eyebrows? The hair?"
Sakura punched him in the arm.
"You're terrible." Naruto waited.
"But they were fascinating, like a car crash, only made of hair."
They spent the ride home trying to describe the eldritch horror that was Eyebrows.
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Naruto sat, typing on his laptop, a cup of coffee steaming idly by. The phone rings once, twice.
"Hello?"
"Naruto! Why are you at Sakura's apartment?"
"I live here too, Ino."
"Oh. Oh! Congratulations! I always thought you'd be good for her."
Naruto still formed the fake smile, even though there was no one to see it.
"No, we're just friends rooming together. It works out."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I can almost taste my foot."
He laughed. 'It's good to hear a friend from home.'
"Don't worry about it."
"So how's Sakura doing?"
"Twelve guys, all turned down."
"I knew she was pretty. What about school?"
"I think she's starting to feel the pressure, but she handles it well."
"Good, good. What about you? Any girl become 'material'?"
"I'm afraid not. Not a whole lot of lady ninjas out here, at least that I can see."
"That's the point, Naruto. We, er, they could be anyone, so get dating, chop chop!"
"That would be wrong, dating just to find a ninja. What about all the poor non-ninja babes? They'd have a taste of heaven, then it's gone."
"You are so full of yourself, but in a good way."
"Aw thanks, Ino. You too."
"Oh hey! We should date!"
"You're a ninja?"
"…maybe."
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Sakura felt like she was jumping into cold water, getting out, then jumping in again. Some part of her enjoyed Tsunade's class, but that part was the one that savored the soreness of her muscles after a workout. Which reminded her, she should start jogging again. She was starting to stagnate in project "Acquire a body you are not ashamed of and no, the morgue is not an option". At any rate, Sakura was taking notes as fast as she could, sacrificing penmanship, grammar, and occasionally, vowels. At the end of the hour long lecture, four pages were packed with wavy almost-words, and hastily drawn diagrams, labeled beyond the limits of aesthetics and ordinary legibility. Still, despite the cramps in her pen hand, Sakura felt like Knowledge had been Passed On. It was a heady experience, and the main reason she chose this university. She had attended one lecture as a prospective student, and she was hooked. Outside the lecture hall, Sakura checked her watch. Her afternoon was depressingly open. She decided to take the "scenic route" home. There weren't any trees or picturesque landscapes, but there was a gym, with its broad windows looking in on a pack of well muscled young men working said muscles. For some reason, Sakura found herself slowing down each time she passed the establishment. Today, she slowed down as usual, but she froze when Lee exited the doors and noticed her.
'I'm doing nothing wrong, this is just the way home, I'm doing nothing wrong…'
So went the litany in her head. Lee had a very bright, engaging smile, and he stopped in such a position that the sun glinted off his teeth, somehow.
"My fair lady, how fortunate I am to meet you again."
"Ah, yes, it's nice to see you too. I was just going home, so..."
"Of course! I would be honored to escort you to your place of residence. You can't be too careful in the city, especially near the University."
Sakura couldn't argue with him, he was so sincere.
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
They walked on in silence, Lee almost comically vigilant.
"So, Lee, what do you do at the gym?"
He brightened at the show of interest.
"I lead a very youthful group of jazzercisists! I am very proud of my students."
Sakura hesitated, but it seemed unlikely that she could offend him.
"Isn't jazzercise a little… old?"
He gazed at her with great solemnity.
"Healthy exercise is never old."
Silence stretched on for a bit, then Lee took a deep breath.
"Forgive me if I am too forward. I know you are not receptive to romance at this time, but I feel we could be at least friends. Even if it never progressed beyond that, I would be happy. Would that be alright?
He was just so… earnest. It was almost childlike. Sakura smiled.
"I would like that."
AN: Hey folks, I was listening to a song that will never show up in the story, and this was born. I'll be experimenting with posting shorter chapters, so this should progress faster than my other stories. We'll see.