Naruto scooted closer to the fire, his eyes lazily moving around, searching for imaginary foes.

He heard Sakura stir in her sleep and she settled down again.
Kakashi was silent in his sleep, as usual.

Naruto hated sentry duty, but didn't want Sakura losing her sleep as well, so he was mulling over in his mind excuses he could give to make her go back to sleep.

She stirred again, this time she sat up, gave a small yawn and crawled to sit next to Naruto.
"Ahhh-ah…hey Naruto-kun." She said with a yawn, rubbing her large emerald eyes.

"Sakura-Chan!" He said in acknowledgement.

After a while of silence, with Naruto lying back with a small smile on his face, Sakura asked;
"Um, it's my turn for sentry, you can go sleep now Naruto." She said with a puzzled tone.
"Nah, I couldn't sleep anyway Sakura-Chan, how about you go back to bed?"

"No, Naruto…you need to sleep, as a growing boy you should be asleep for at least 8 hours a day!" She said with an oh-so like Tsunade tone.

With a chuckle he replied; "Alright, Sakura-Chan." He rolled on his side, and muttered something like 'night…Sakura…Chan…"

Sakura gazed into his content face as he slept next to the fire.
More importantly, next to her.
She tried to drown out the screams of her Inner Self, telling her to join Naruto, she instead tried to think about things so she would not give in to Inner Sakura's demands.

Her gaze fell on the sleeping Naruto again, she admired his peacefulness, after hearing Naruto's story from Kakashi, who was first told by Sandaime, Sakura realized she knew nothing about the real Naruto, not the loud, attention seeking goof that they all knew, but the real Naruto.
The revelation of Naruto containing Kyuubi made Sakura see him in an entirely different light.

She pondered the subject and gathered she did know the real Naruto, she was just to arrogant to see him.
While she was chasing after Sasuke, Naruto would always be right beside her, he was always there to try and cheer her up when Sasuke was particularly cold on a rejection, Naruto would always compliment Sakura, when all the other kids cruelly pointed out her forehead, the younger Naruto would simply say he thought she was 'really really really pretty!'

She realized when Naruto asked her to go on a date he really only wanted to eat and talk with her, nothing more really, like a lunch meeting between friends.
This kindness and sincerity wasn't just to her; it extended to all, even enemies.
He befriended Gaara, even turning his whole philosophy and attitudes around; he treated everybody he met as a friend, because after meeting him, everybody was Naruto's friend.

Sakura felt horrible, Naruto was an amazing person, he never said anything bad about Sakura, he was always giving his humble and honest opinions of her, and he'd always be there to defend her (She ashamedly thought back to Gaara's fight with Naruto, how she thought it laughable that Naruto had stood and risked his life against a foe much stronger than Sasuke for her, and she never really thanked him properly for saving her life.) He was always there to help, if she asked him for a favor or help he'd do so unquestionably and with no thought of reward or something in return.

She realized he practically worshiped her, and every time he reached out to her, she'd crush him, she thought all the way back to their graduation from the academy, and what Sasuke said to her.
She was reminded of the emotional torture Sasuke's rejection inflicted, she felt even lower when the cold knowledge that she would always cut Naruto deeper than Sasuke had ever done to her.

She felt very, very sheepish for only just getting to know him after their best friend had abandoned them for Orochimaru.

Sasuke was still Naruto's best friend, but the only way Sasuke could express his brotherly affection for Naruto was in rivalry and snide comments, Sakura realized she too did this, treating him like her little brother, despite being annoyed by him, she did care for him, but her endless quest to impress Sasuke had blinded her to Naruto.

Love is blind; Sakura knew all too well it was in more ways than one.

Sasuke put her down, whereas Naruto always made a big deal of her accomplishments, and her talents; when she healed Kankuro from the deadly poison Sasori struck him down with, Naruto loudly explained how amazing and impressive he thought it was, that she could counter such a complex and deadly poison so quickly, when the Suna Medics could not.

Sakura broke her own promise, for the first time in years, she cried.

Her guilt and regret, even fear that Naruto wouldn't accept her, and in the end coldly push her out as Sasuke had, was too much for her.

Naruto awoke to his own broken promise, he saw Sakura shudder with something he himself experienced too much In his life, the wracking shudders of silent tears.
The low, agonized moans Sakura occasionally uttered stabbed Naruto to his very core, and the small shivers she had made her look weak, broken, and pitiful.

He quietly sat up, and moved silently toward her.
He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, he felt her stiffen at his touch.
She glanced at him, and he shook his arm so his sleeve covered his hand, and he wiped her eyes.
"Sakura, don't cry."
She could only stare at the ground sadly, she knew he was concerned when he dropped his playful suffix. Sakura was cold, she was shuddering from the cold as well as grief; she really wished she had a jacket or something warm to go with her outfit.

Naruto noticed this and unzipped his jacket and gently placed one half of it on Sakura, so they were both wearing the one jacket.
They were seated very closely together, Naruto's warm leg was gently against Sakura's fair, cold one.

He gently put an arm around her back to pull closer; "Sakura-Chan! You're so chilly, you'll get a cold!"

He gently slid out of the jacket while Sakura watched him glumly, as he went and got her a blanket from the other side of the camp, taking care not to awaken Kakashi, Naruto returned, and gently placed the blanket over her, after a little while (with much insisting on Naruto's part, and a lot of 'No, really Naruto-kun, I'm fine' he got her to sit close to the fire to keep warm.
he resumed his place next to her, one his genuine smiles gently slid onto his sleepy features, and he sat closer to comfort her.

"Sakura-Chan, what were you crying about?"
"N-nothing." She awkwardly avoided his question.
Naruto's eyes hardened and his tone became soft.
"People don't cry for nothing, Sakura-Chan. What's wrong?"
"It's just that…I always treat you like…well, like shit. I'd never listen to you, I always thought you were a complete moron and your only goal in life was to annoy me to death.." She went back to looking at the ground.
"I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun."
"Sakura-Chan," Naruto said, his voice still soft, but a little firmer.
"You have nothing to apologize for. It's hard when people tell you you're nothing, but it's harder when you tell yourself you're nothing, you were only trying to fit in, to make friends Sakura-Chan, to maybe please him, it's perfectly alright, if calling me an idiot or…or giving me a boff on the head made you feel a little better than that's okay by me. We were just kids back then anyway, I know what kind of person you really are Sakura, and a strong, kind, caring and wonderful person like you, has nothing to apologize for!" He finished by donning his little 'be happy Sakura-Chan' grin, again.

Sakura's eyes widened, she couldn't believe how much he knew about her, when she knew so little. Then it occurred to her that the abuse churned out by the village to Naruto made him that way, always hiding his real self, his real talents and intellect.
She was disgusted with the villagers and herself, but at the same time a little grateful that because of them, Naruto was a wonderful, almost angelic person.
She was supremely joyful that Naruto still held her in such high regard.

Sakura bit her lower lip as the last of her tears streamed down her face, Naruto zipped up his jacket.
With a yawn he formed a familiar hand seal and a clone puffed into existence a small distance away from them.
"N-Naruto? Why does that clone look like Kiba?"

"Oh, so enemy ninja can't easily tell its one of my Kage Bunshin." He said, drifting off and falling asleep on Sakura.

"He made a Bunshin to keep watch!? That's…clever!"

She looked wondrously down to the sleeping Naruto that now had slid down from her shoulder, his blonde head was now resting on her leg.
It reminded Sakura of the time she and Naruto fell asleep under a tree after the second bell test, it felt like she and Naruto had the entire Fire Country to themselves that time, like the gods decided to grant her a gift after waiting for 2 and a half years, until of course a certain Suna ambassador and her pineapple headed guide stumbled across them…

She watched him sleep, and gently place her cool hand on his warm cheek. Naruto smiled faintly in his sleep and made a small moaning happy noise at her touch.
"Sakura…cold….hands..."
Sakura had no idea he talked in his sleep.

It was either because she was on her period, or just tired, but Inner Sakura seemed very animated, with constant bellows of 'DO IT!!!' and other demands, usually ending with a naked Naruto…

With a yawn, Sakura gave into her inner self and lay down in front of Naruto, snuggled into his warm body, sighed happily, and drifted off.

"Pff, you liar! As if you and pinky there are 'just best friends'…" the bunshin scoffed.

Well, I promise it will get better, I have some ideas for this, I really do not want to mess up a NaruxSaku story, so lemme know what was crap and I'll edit

I MUST DO THIS RIGHT! Its my fave Naruto pairing and it must be AWESOME (hoping for a fluke here…)