Loving Her

She loved him as a brother but he loved her more than as a friend. One-sided NaruSaku. Slight SasuSaku. Oneshot. AU

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Loving Her

She treats me like her brother.

He recalled the countless times when the two of them got into petty arguments which in the end remained unresolved as they soon forgot about them. They would always quarrel like inseparable twins fighting over the television remote, making the people around unable to help themselves for smiling at their close relationship.

We are always together.

He knew everyone knew that they would not go anywhere without one another. It was rare to see either of them alone anywhere, except the bathrooms. Everyone used to tease them about it, but now they knew better. They were great friends.

She will always listen to my problems.

The empathetic look on her face fitted into his mind as he remembered the days she would listen to his problems and his fears. Though at times she uttered pointless words which could not soothe his troubled heart entirely, he felt peaceful in her presence.

And I will listen to hers.

The image of her crying form flashed through his mind as he recalled the times she would cling desperately into him, sobbing her heart out and whispered everything to him. Whispered things that were sometimes so sinister that it was impossible to believe that she was the same girl who always has a smile graced on her features.

She loves me as a brother.

She told him many times of her brotherly love for him, even though his heart felt as though it has been pierced by countless needles whenever he heard the dreaded word "brother".

But I don't love her as a sister.

I love her more than how I would love a friend.

Naruto turned to face the back of the classroom and found a group of girls deep in conversation before spotting the person he was thinking about. His pink-haired best friend, Haruno Sakura. He was always amazed by how her emerald green eyes always sparkle whenever she talked about her favourite things and the curve of a smile formed on her lips always made his heart pound faster than normal. She seemed to have noticed his gaze on her because she turned to meet his eyes before giving him a small wave, which he returned with a grin.

I love her as a woman.

They were walking home from school. She was walking ahead, smiling as she observed the beautiful surroundings. He watched her from behind. He could never be tired watching her do anything. It was like as though time has stopped for him when he watched her in admiration. He really loved her. His heart ached to burst his confession to her but he was afraid. Afraid that their current relationship would be ruined and that she would stop talking to him.

"Naruto?"

Her sweet voice snapped the blonde from his thoughts. It was then he realized that they had reached the park where they would walk in different directions home. He turned to the pink-haired girl to find her already waving at him and smiling. He momentarily panicked when she started to turn towards the path she normally takes home. Before he could think, one of his hands shot out to grab her wrist.

Sakura looked at him, surprised. Naruto himself was shocked by his sudden action. Unable to think up of an explanation for his behaviour, he decided that he would at last tell her how he felt for the past year.

"Sakura-chan..," the blond started, noticing his friend's curious eyes watching him. Exhaling slowly, he parted his lips:

"I love you."

The evening breeze suddenly blew hard on them, causing Sakura's hair to cover her features. It made him even more nervous, wondering how she would react to his confession. He held his breath and licked his lips slightly as the wind slowly died down.

Her reaction was not what he had expected. Instead of the shocked look he was unknowingly hoping for, he was surprised when he saw a soft smile on her lips and a warm glow in her emerald eyes.

"I know, Naruto… I know..," She whispered, taking his hands into her own, running her thumbs across his palms. She looked at him in the eye, still smiling. Naruto could not help but think that she was trying to thank him through her smile.

"No matter what," The pink-haired girl said, "There's always a special place in my heart reserved for you. As my best friend and loving 'brother'…"

She let go of his hands and waved once again before walking home. The blond boy watched her as she soon disappear from his line of sight and sighed. Then, unable to help himself, he smiled.

Although I knew that she doesn't love me in the way I do, I wish for her to find her happiness from the bottom of my heart.

She is one of the first to befriend me, and I'm grateful for that.

I'm glad to have known her.

However, I can't help at times when my heart pricks with jealousy knowing she had given her heart to someone else.

And the one who have captured her heart happens to be my best friend and rival…

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Sorry for not updating my other stories as I've been busy with school.