Title: Confession
Author: fantasticfoxkins
Characters/Pairing: Naruto, Sakura mentions of SasuNaru
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,615
Prompt: Confession, Prompt 20
Summary: "I may not be an expert here, Sakura-chan, but err... this is the part where you say something...right?" Implied SasuNaru. Rating for Cursing.
Disclaimer: If only they belonged to me. The manga would not suck so fucking much, at the moment.
Author's Notes/Warnings: The first in what will hopefully be one hundred one shots. This could have been serious and angsty but my brain simply refused to go down that route. Angst overload, blame Kishi. This is dedicated to Rikku and Ari who currently share my pain. This shot is also dedicated to the notion that the majority of the Naruto characters should keep their confessions to themselves. :P
"I'm getting married."
There -- he had said it. It was all out in the open now, for everyone to know. Sakura was regarding him with a shocked expression as though he had suddenly sprouted another head. So much for a tactful approach then but, then again, subtlety had never been one of his strong points. Nervously, he shuffled his feet and braced his hands on the railing of the bridge which they were standing on. It took a few moments for him to work up the nerve to look at her. Slowly, he turned his head towards his companion, teeth worrying his bottom lip to the point where he could taste the coppery tang of his own blood. The silence stretched between them and he wasn't sure if she had either been struck dumb with shock or if she had simply swallowed her own tongue. Was it really that surprising that someone would want to marry him?
"I may not be an expert here, Sakura-chan, but err... this is the part where you say something...right?"
As her arms entwined around his neck in what he was sure was some kind of death grip, he was forced to take a step back to rebalance himself so that they didn't end up in a heap on the floor. Okay...that hadn't been the reaction he had been expecting, not that he was sure what he had been expecting but he was certain that this wasn't it.
"Sakura-chan...Can't...breathe."
The kunoichi released her hold on him and took a step back, holding him at arm's length. A sheepish look crossed her face and she reached for a lock of her pink hair, twirling it gingerly around one of her fingers. It didn't seem to matter how much older he got or how much experience in life he received; Naruto was pretty damn sure that he would never be able to figure out girls and what they wanted.
"I'm just so happy for you. Hinata must be thrilled."
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and wondered how the hell Sakura had managed to make the simplest of tasks more difficult than half the ninja missions that he faced. Somewhere along the line it was clear that Sakura had added up two plus two and come to the illogical conclusion that the answer was sixty seven. What made her think that there was anything going on between Hinata and himself? It was true that the girl had possessed a gigantic crush on him when they were younger, but things had changed. Naruto had never possessed any romantic feelings for the girl; she was a friend and nothing more. Plus, he couldn't help but think that Kiba would kick his ass if he tried to marry Hinata. He could do without the hassle.
"...I thought Hinata was looking extremely comfortable in herself lately as though someone was giving her more confidence in herself. I was just saying to Ino how I thought she had this lovely glow to her skin and I was going to ask but..."
Naruto waved his arms and shook his head frantically in an attempt to grab Sakura's attention. Now what was she blathering on about? He decided it was better to not admit that he hadn't been listening and that he didn't have a fucking clue what she was talking about. Instead he focused on the fact that, for some unexplainable reason, Sakura thought he was getting married to Hinata.
"Sakura-chan? I'm not getting married to Hinata. I mean she's a nice girl and all but I've never felt that way about her. She's just a good friend. Hell, we haven't even been on a date before! I'm not marrying Hinata. Plus, I think Kiba would have something to say about that, and most of it would be considered unsuitable for under those under eighteen."
Sakura paused mid sentence, her green eyes widening slightly. It was clear that she was embarrassed because a faint blush covered her pale cheeks. To hide her embarrassment, she settled for punching Naruto on the arm and he could barely conceal the yelp of pain as she did so. Sometimes he wondered if she forgot her own strength or if she really meant to be that brutal. He had a sneaking suspicion that she knew exactly how hard she was hitting someone. She was too advanced at chakra control not to be.
"You jerk! You let me ramble on and let me make a complete fool of myself. Why didn't you tell me that you weren't seeing Hinata?!" Another punch on the arm punctuated her sentence. He was going to have multiple bruises tomorrow.
"Owwwwwww… Sakura! It's not like you gave me any chance to. And then you started doing that fucking weird thing that girls do when they ramble on about glowing skin and shit. Do you have any idea how confusing that is? How the hell am I supposed to know what you're talking about?"
For a moment, he thought she was going to hit him again, but she (thankfully) settled for folding her arms across her chest and huffing. Naruto didn't feel it was a good time to mention that she reminded him of a bull that could charge at any moment when she was striking that pose. He didn't think his arm would appreciate getting broken. Realising that she was waiting for him to talk again, he let out a sigh and scuffed a hand through his blonde hair. Well, there was no point beating around the bush now, was there?
"So who is she?"
Sakura had broken her silence to ask a very normal question, but one that sent a quiver of nerves right through him. He had been expecting it, of course he had, but now the moment was here and he was going to have to admit something to her.
"Who said it was a she?"
Her mouth resembled that of a gaping fish's or perhaps when Gamakitchi was practising fire jutsu and he had his mouth wide open. Neither was a pleasant thing to look at, so he averted his gaze for a moment to allow her to regain her composure. Why did this have to be so weird and difficult? If he hadn't been so insistent on being the one to tell her, he wouldn't be in this impossible situation. Out of the two of them, he had been the least likely to hurt her feelings so it had seemed like a good idea at the time, but this was just pure torture. Perhaps he should check behind the bush to see if Ikibi was there getting his revenge for being late for training the other day.
"So who's the guy then?" He was brought back from his thoughts of fishing out spies in bushes by a soft tug at his hand. To her credit, she seemed to have recovered from the revelation well enough… in fact he could detect a hint of mischief sparkling in her eyes. He resisted the urge to groan. Why did girls have to make such a big deal out of everything? In truth, he was slightly relieved that he was in love with a man. He'd never have to worry about figuring out the confusion rituals and how they came to think a certain way. They really did baffle him at times, especially when they got all giggly and silly over something so simple. He wasn't so sure she'd be this happy when she found out exactly whom he was engaged to. Truth be told, he wasn't sure if she'd be pissed off or upset. It wasn't as though they'd given her any warning that something going on between them, although the few people that did know thought it had been really obvious from day one.
"Sasuke."
And now he really was worried. She'd gone an odd pale colour and her fists were clenching at her sides. This couldn't be a good thing. He resigned to losing a good portion of his face, wincing as he ran a hand over his jaw and wondered how attractive he'd look without it. It was a well known fact that Sakura had been in love with Sasuke since they were children. And ever since Sasuke had returned from his revenge and finally been accepted back into the village, she had, at times, reverted back to that lovesick schoolgirl. This was exactly why they'd kept it a secret from her for so long.
"I guess I should have known really. I lost out on his first kiss to you and now..." She trailed off uncertainly and shook her head. "I suppose I should have seen it coming. I mean you obsessed about him more than I did… and when he finally did come back all he seemed interested in was training with you. If you were even training at all..."
And now it was his turn to blush. He could feel the heat escaping from his cheeks in hot waves. At least she was smiling at him, even if it was a little tense and as though she was forcing herself to do it. She was actually taking it better than he expected. Still being in possession of his face and jaw were enough to prove this, but she was making jokes as well. If she was really angry, she wouldn't be able to do that.
"Sakura?"
"It's alright Naruto. Like I said, I should have known. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go start my shift at the hospital."
Watching her retreating back, he sighed a little. Next time something like this came up it was so Sasuke's turn to deal with it.
Confessing just wasn't his thing.