Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

xXx

Showers, Sakura thought, were great. They always felt so wonderful. She loved the feeling of the water flowing over her, she loved the heat of the water, she loved washing away the last bit of sleepiness and getting ready to start the day.

Of course, now that she had moved in with Naruto, she had even more reason to linger in the shower.

Sakura glared at the unoffending soap bottle in her hand. That man just wouldn't get the hint. She'd gushed about her love for showers, walked around in her towel, left the door open and asked for him to bring her things. This had been going on for days.

Sakura was starting to wonder exactly how he'd been pinned as Hokage as the first place.

Pinned… mused the back of Sakura's mind.

Sakura shook her head and tapped the soap bottle against the shower wall. She had to get the man in the blasted shower first.

There was a tentative knock at the (open!) door.

"Ah," Naruto coughed self-consciously. "Can I come in?"

Sakura froze briefly, then grinned and set the soap bottle on the shelf. "Come on in."

And then Naruto was standing on the other side of the frosted glass. "Actually, I, uh, meant to ask if I can shower with you."

Sakura's grin widened and she pushed open the door with one hand. Steam billowed out. After all, Sakura did like her showers hot.

Naruto sighed (relief? Was that relief?) and stripped quickly, stepping under the shower head.

Sakura had never been more grateful that it was a shower-shower and not a tub. No, she would never complain about the size of Naruto's shower ever again.

And Naruto's gorgeous blue eyes looked at her -- his hair was even sexier when it was plastered down with water-- and he opened his mouth and said,

"Could you hand me the shampoo?"

Sakura startled. "Huh?"

"The shampoo," Naruto said again.

Mutely, Sakura turned around and took the bottle from the shelf.

Clean before dirty! Shouted the back of her mind. (Surely that was it. Surely.)

So she handed him the bottle and watched him wash his hair. Not for the first time, Sakura wished that he didn't use the normal scentless shampoo. The suds were nice, though, maybe she could work those in somehow…

Naruto turned his back to rinse the last of the suds from his hair as Sakura started to run a soapy washcloth over his shoulders.

Yeah, the suds were definitely in.

Naruto grinned and took the washcloth from her as he faced her again. "Thanks!"

As Sakura watched him wash the rest of his body, a cold feeling settled in her stomach and her eyes went flat.

"Naruto," she asked carefully, "Why did you ask to shower with me this morning?"

He looked confusedly at her. "I need to go to the office and you were taking too long."

Sakura closed her eyes and set a finger against her temple. "I was afraid of that."

"But I'm done now, Sakura-chan! You can keep taking your really long shower now!" He hesitated briefly. "Did I do something wrong?"

Sakura pasted on a smile. "No. Go to work, Naruto."

She supposed it was a testament to her skills that, despite her assurance, he left the bathroom rather quickly.

After she finished her shower properly (she did not linger unnecessarily, thank you very much!) Sakura dried her hair with the fire jutsu Shizune had shown her. Her control wasn't quite what it usually was, and she singed her hair just so slightly.

After she dressed, she dragged her lover's stash of Icha Icha books out from where he had hidden them under his bed. It was number two, if she remembered rightly.

Finding the passage she was looking for took a little bit of time, but Sakura couldn't deny that she felt much better afterwards.

She carefully marked the spot with a bright red ribbon and set it on top of the ramen on the counter.

She frowned as she caught a glimpse of the clock on the stove, then checked it against her watch.

Huh. She was supposed to meet her team an hour ago.

After a slight hesitation, Sakura grabbed the book again and flopped lengthwise on the couch. Carefully keeping the ribbon in place, she kept reading where she had left off.

Her team could wait.

xXx

Comments and critiques are appreciated.