She wouldn't go so far as to say she was socially awkward. In fact, Sakura considered herself really good at meeting new people - not a charmer like Naruto but definitely far away from Sai's idea of a greeting. She just thought a lot, especially about how other people saw her or interpreted the way she acted. Besides that, she did plenty of interpreting of other people, too, to be honest. She thought a lot, worried a lot, was insecure a lot. A lot of things happened upstairs when she found herself talking to more than one person.
Walking down the dusty streets of Konoha, Sakura swung her arms freely as she made her way back to her apartment. The sky was already a dark blue, and the lanterns were beginning to flicker to life as she picked her way through the crowd, still thinking about the reports she had filled out with Tsunade. They had sat side by side, flicking through paperwork and discussing medicine, village life, and the shinobi life. She scanned the ramen shop, finding Naruto loudly talking to Teuchi.
Sakura pushed aside the hanging flaps, ducking into Ichiraku.
"Hey, Sakura-chan! Nice night, eh?" Naruto's wide grin shone up at her, strangely free of noodles and food.
"Yeah, I thought I would just go back and tuck in early, but I saw you in here, so…"
Naruto slapped the seat beside him, saying, "Come have a bowl, Sakura-chan - it's my treat!"
"And since when do you have the money to treat a girl like me," she retorted, smiling. "Low-sodium miso, please, Teuchi-san. I have to keep up my figure, as you know."
"Aw, Sakura-chan - you don't need to diet, you're already perfect in my eyes!"
Sakura laughed, shaking her head. She shook her head again. Some things never changed. She thought resolutely, however, that she had. She had wanted to change for the better, and that's what she did. Naruto had had his stint out in the world, training with the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya, while she sat at home. She watched him and Sasuke-kun from the back all her life and she wanted to do it too. So, with Tsunade-shishou's approval, she too went on a pilgrimage, going to as many districts and countries as she was able to without getting killed to add to her own personal medical encyclopedia.
Without keeping track of the seasons, she had traveled until she wasn't homesick for Konohagakure anymore. Then she traveled until she was tired of traveling and finally - two years later - returned to the village quietly one brisk winter morning, draped in some regional camel-fur cape. The first face to greet her was Naruto, who swept her up into a hug immediately, already miles ahead about Ino's new position, the latest baby, his new jutsu...and all she could see was his whiskered cheeks and bright blue eyes. Sakura had never thought about it, but the crushing homesickness was lifted with the sound of his voice and his warm hug. She hugged him back fiercely, then, fingers fisted in his orange jacket, wondering if it was the last time he would be like this with her again.
Whistling cheerfully, Naruto bounced beside her. "Sakura-chan, you okay?"
Sakura hummed. "Mm...yeah. I'm okay. I was just looking at the sky and I thought I saw a shooting star. I'm not sure, though." She laughed softly. "I don't really pay much attention to the sky unless I'm on the ground waking up from getting knocked out in a spar."
Naruto stopped suddenly, and said,"Sakura-chan, let's go stargazing - I know the perfect place!"
"What? Now? Naruto, you know it's late and you've got a mission tomorrow and -"
"- and if we don't go now, we'll never do it. I know you, and you worry too much Sakura-chan! Let's just go and see if we can't find some shooting stars."
"Okay, Naruto."
They smiled at each other for a brief moment, before Naruto turned back around and gestured forward. "Follow me to the top of Hokage Mountain. Last one to Sarutobi's head loses!"
Sakura had no doubt she'd be the loser, but it was alright. She had other plans. Her apartment was a bit away from the direct route to Sarutobi's head, especially since it was the most inconvenient and far away part of the monument, but she wanted to find the camel fur cape she'd gotten in her travels and reuse it as padding. Naruto would understand if she was late, anyway.
A minute or so later she was sprinting leisurely atop the roof tiles, taking her time and enjoying the breeze as it whipped past her cheeks. Hopping up the rocks towards Naruto, whose chakra thrummed healthily, she let out a greeting.
"Hey!"
"Sakura-chan, you finally made it - I hope that ramen didn't slow you down this much because you can't have lost that much speed traveling."
"Please, of course I trained hard. I was getting my cape!" She flattened her cape out, laying her torso and head down on it.
"Good thinking, Sakura-chan - I totally forgot about that." He moved to adjust himself onto the other half of the cape.
He had an arm behind his head, his eyes dark with the now black, black sky. There weren't any lanterns here, and the Hokage Tower was below them so it was completely black around them. The two could barely see each other, and Sakura could only feel Naruto beside her by his body and chakra. She clasped her hands over her stomach, staring blankly up at the stars. The stars didn't flicker often, and the whole of her vision was just filled with them. Naruto gazed quietly, not talking, watching for movement. Cicadas and crickets hummed loudly and the rustling of trees blended into the background as both became absorbed with the expanse of sky before them. Then, it flashed. Right there, for a moment, for a second - there. A meteor streaked past, eliciting a small gasp from Sakura and a grin from Naruto.
A while later, another one streaked past. It was so fast, so small. Just a line, right through the dotted map of stars and wide open stretches of blue and black. Sakura could have imagined it, it was so small.
"Naruto," she whispered, breaking the silence.
"Hm?" he said, his voice catching. He cleared his throat. "What?"
"Did you see it - the shooting star?"
"Yeah. I saw it, Sakura-chan."
"Isn't it beautiful?" Sakura turned to him. "It seemed so insignificant, but I'm so fascinated with it."
Naruto shifted, turning towards Sakura. They were so close, every intake was filled with the scent of her detergent. "Yeah, it's really cool."
"Naruto?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you stargaze a lot?"
"It's not insignificant, you know. The meteors. I'm not sure why they happen, but everything happens for a reason."
"Oh. I suppose you're right Naruto."
She blushed, turning back away from him. He was too close and she couldn't stay so close to him like that any longer. Naruto was always so generous and positive - she always wondered, when alone and confused abroad, if Naruto were here, what would he do? And then she knew what she should do, just like that. She looked up to him, understood him, and appreciated him much more after she herself had tried to make a name for herself.
"Sakura-chan, do you stargaze a lot?"
She started at his interjection. "No, not really. Like I said before, I don't pay much attention to the sky, but I'm glad I went tonight."
He was silent. She turned to him, cushioning her head on her arm and furrowing her brow. "Naruto?"
He faced her, shifting the cape about a little. "I'm happy that I went with you, too, Sakura-chan."
She fidgeted a bit, twisting her hands between them. "I...thank you for everything, Naruto," she burst out, her feelings overwhelming her.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, for being my friend, for supporting my dreams and...for being here for me when I needed it. I think it's really rare for a girl to have someone like you to hang around and get advice from for free." She considered her hands for a moment, still nervous. "I just really appreciate you. I wouldn't be where I am Iyou - a lot of people wouldn't be where they were without you, Naruto. I wanted you to know that." Her throat tightened with emotion, and she had to stop.
"Thanks, Sakura-chan. You've never really said that kind of stuff to me before so I guess it's a first."
She laughed a bit. "Don't get used to it, Uzumaki."
It was quiet again after that, and she stared into his eyes, mesmerized with him. Sakura's heart was so full, she thought, looking at him. Naruto cleared his throat again.
"Sakura-chan, you know how I've always felt about you, right."
She didn't say anything, her hand ceasing to pick at the cape.
"You always get annoyed when I ask you out and when I say so - I...I really like you. It's hard not to say it when I feel it so strongly. I've liked you for a really long time now. But we're older now, Sakura-chan - we don't have long. I...I just want to know it, the truth. From you. Say you won't and I won't bother you again."
Naruto grasped her hand with his between them - Sakura looked back up from their clasped hands and then he was so much closer. Her heart fluttered a fast tempo as he continued.
"Just - do you feel the same?"
"Naruto, I...I can't believe you still feel the same."
He smiled bitterly. "I've liked you for a long time, and it's always been you."
"I've always been so cruel to you…"
"It doesn't mean anything to me now. Do I have hope? Is there a possibility that all those propositions worked?"
"What I never told you, is…I've liked you for a long time, too."
Her breath stilled in the air as she finally laid her heart on her sleeve. Sakura couldn't breathe for the tension in the air. Naruto's hand slipped from hers and moved to tuck her hair back.
"Are you serious?"
Sakura looked resolutely down at her hand, which had resumed sifting through the rough furred cape. "I always respected you, and I guess I didn't know how much I would miss you until I was out there, helping people, and wishing you were there with me."
"And you...how do you feel about Sasuke now?"
She looked up fiercely at him. "You and Sasuke are different people. I can't say that I'll forget Sasuke, but you should know that I never compared you and Sasuke in my heart. You have different places in my heart."
"Thanks."
"I don't know why you still like me, or why you ever liked me, but I think you're really hardworking - I think your spirit is something else, and I love your smile."
Naruto looked back at her, countering, "I always thought you were the most hardworking, not having the lineage for shinobi life, and there wasn't any doubt about your spirit, either."
"My smile isn't impressive, Naruto?"
"I like everything about you, Sakura - you're beautiful to me," he said earnestly.
Sakura blushed, then, her chest feeling so full and happy - she had never felt so happy before, so much like soaring into the sky and flying and so much like wrapping herself up in Naruto's arms, all at once. She boldly rolled over him, laughing.
"Wha - Sakura-chan!"
She tucked her head under his chin, sliding her arms under his shoulders and holding herself tightly to him.
"You're so warm, Naruto."
"You are too, Sakura-chan."
Naruto lifted his head to look down at her, causing her to sit up slightly to face him. He moved with her, and they sat, Sakura's legs about his waist and Naruto comfortably sitting, nearly cross legged.
"Sakura-chan?"
"Yeah?"
They were getting closer, Naruto's hand somewhere in her hair tipping her head back, hers smoothing back his jacket over his shoulders to his back. She closed her eyes, tilting to the side as she lightly touched the side of his jaw. Their lips met, gently, then, more so. Naruto could have sat there forever, in this dream of a reality where he kissed Haruno Sakura without being booted to the opposite end of the village, with only nature as their witness. Her lips were moist with the kiss as they slowed to gaze at each other.
"I'm going on a mission tomorrow, but you'll wait for me, won't you?"
Sakura pressed another kiss to him, filled with wonder at the magic of the new sensation. She pressed another kiss to his jaw, smiling down at his chest. "Of course. I'll be here."
Naruto kissed her, lifting her lips to meet his. He just couldn't stop, now that he knew he could. Now that he felt the breathtaking security that she liked him and his kisses too.
"Naruto," she said softly, "I don't want this to have been a dream - I don't want you to come back and be different in two days. I want...I want you."
He gathered her tightly against him, heart fairly bursting with happiness. "We'll meet again, at your apartment or mine, or anywhere at all. Two days."
They stood up. Sakura patted the dust out of the cape, and Naruto stretched, yawning.
"I'll take you home, Naruto - you have a mission, after all." She chanced a look to the side. Naruto was looking right back, smiling confidently.
"Let's go, Sakura-chan."
And, hand in hand, they went.
About me:
I drew from a lot of personal experiences, but I totally made up the romantic part because I've never even held hands (and so on) with a guy romantically before. I was inspired by the Perseid meteor showers and my first shooting stars of the year.
Leave me a comment about my writing, characterization, shooting stars, love, your first love...anything you're feeling!