Disclaimer: Do any of you people here reading this actually think I own Naruto? If I did, tell me why, exactly, would I be here? I do, however, own my own sarcastic mouth....and the plot line of this story.

Okay, um..........well, this is a one-shot with my favorite pairing – Naruto and Sakura. It came to me spur of the moment one night, and it replaced me doing my Zoology homework.

I hope you like it. If you don't, go read something else, and don't flame me. No one is forcing you to read this. Flames are pointless and hurtful. Not to me, I don't care what you say; I know it's not true. But most people don't have that much self-confidence (or insanity, I haven't decided which) and it can really hurt them. In some cases, it has proven to make them burst out into tears. That's just not cool. Yes, I have a sarcastic mouth, but even I don't do things that hurtful, and sometimes scarring, to people. If you get some sick pleasure in doing such sick things to peoples self-esteem, I spit on you.

Now that I'm done spitting on people such as that, I will let you enjoy my story.

And if you don't, oh well, you can go read something else.

Salt Water Sand Castles

It started out just like any other normal day........or, at least, as normal as any day a ninja ever had. We had a mission that day, so we gathered at the bridge, just like normal. The annoying blonde was asking me to go on a date, as was usual. And, as was usual, I was ignoring him, preferring to attempt to get the beautifully mysterious piece of perfection to go on a date with me.........and, as was usual, he was ignoring...everything. But, as normal as that sounds for us, I had a revelation that day.

A revelation of heart and mind.

"Sakura-chan, do you want to go for ramen today after the mission?" asked the incredibly hyper Naruto for, like, the billionth time that morning.

And, for, like, the billionth time that morning, I ignored him.

"Sa-suuke-kuun," I said in what I hoped was my sexiest voice, "do you want to go on a date too-niight?", turning my left side, my good, sexy side, towards him.

I had been practicing all night, looking in the mirror, perfecting the sexy smile, sexy stance, and sexy voice. It seemed to be wasted time-he was ignoring me, and all the sexiness.

I just kept smiling at him, but it was really starting to hurt - the being ignored, not the smiling. Well, that was starting to hurt to, being sexy is hard, but that really isn't the point.

Being ignored for so long, it feels like someone is driving a stake into your heart day after day. I've always tried to tell myself that those were just love pains, that it hurt because I loved Sasuke so much.

And my traitor of a brain has always rejected the idea of that even being possible.

And now that very same god-awful, traitorous brain of mine was finally getting to me. For some reason, I just stopped.

I stopped smiling that sexy smile at Sasuke.

I stopped showing my left side, my good, sexy side, to Sasuke.

But most importantly, I realized I had stopped loving Sasuke.

A long time ago.

A really, really long time ago. Glad I finally got through to you about something, at least.

There goes that horribly traitorous – wait, no, not traitorous exactly, just annoying – brain of mine again.

But it was right. Looking back at these past years – the whole slobbering all over Sasuke like some sick, demented fangirl – I've been really weary of it for some time now.

It was like I've been on automatic, just doing all these idiotic things – like useless dieting I have no need of that starves me practically to death – simply because I had become so accustomed to trying to convince myself that Sasuke would someday love me back.

But he won't.

And I can move onto more important things in life – like food, for example. Okay, well, training, but I'm so hungry I can't think straight.

And speaking of food, Naruto was trying to again. "Sakura-chan, will you pleeease go out for ramen with me today?" he practically whined at me.

I turned, about to yell at him for making my stomach growl so, and stopped, starring at him. I'm pretty sure my mouth was wide open, a huge fly-catcher (although, not as big as my forehead), just waiting for the prey.

I had just realized that, for so long, I had given to him exactly what Sasuke had given to me: heartache.

I had been ignoring him for years.

And yet...yet the look in his eye told me he had not stopped loving me, even despite all the pain and suffering I had been causing him for so long.

Hmm, I wonder. Now shall we take a look at these, to refresh your memory a bit?

And with that incredibly ironic statement, my aggravatingly annoying brain started to replay all the things Naruto had ever done for me.

All the times he had been there for me, helped me, protected me, had faith in me even when I didn't, laughed with me, complimented me, smiled at me........and suddenly, I was watching a memory I'd forgotten I ever had.

I was six again, playing in the sand box at the park. Well, at least, I would have been playing, except for, well, the fact that I wasn't.

I was crying.

The bullies had been at me again, teasing me about my "freakishly and abnormally large" forehead. I ran off to make a nice little clump of wet sand, perfect for making sand castles.

Too bad you aren't ever in the mood to build a sand castle when you're sobbing your eyes out.

I don't know how long I'd been there, but, in little kid time? Nearly long enough to drain out most of the tears.

Most, but not all.

I was too far off in my own little world to notice the lonely blonde–haired boy, who looked like he was about to cry, sit down in front of me.

He just sat there for a while, staring at my nice little clump of wet sand, which was growing from the tears that were still flowing down my face.

I sill hadn't noticed him.

Then I suddenly realized my nice little clump of wet sand wasn't just my own anymore – the blonde–haired boy had started to cry, too.

He looked up at me, bright blue eyes full of hurt, pain, and loneliness. I looked back, knowing my own aqua reflected most of that back at him.

We both just stared at each other, crying, understanding each other.

It felt really, really good.

By that time, our nice little clump of wet sand wasn't very little any more. And it was perfect for building a sand castle.

Which is exactly what we did.

We built a really big one, as a team. We were a very good team, too, both of us seeming to have the same idea as to what it was going to be like, so we never had to argue over it. Not that I think we would have, anyways.

The blue-eyed boy scooped up some sticks and leaves from outside the sand box, and we used them for flags and such.

We both placed the last twig, which still had a leaf attached to it that waved at us like a flag, to the very top of the castle together.

That was the moment I decided that this was the boy I was going to marry.

It wasn't just one of those little kid's silly thoughts, either. It was like the women I was to be later in life had sprung up to tell me that one important thing, so I would remember it in the future.

We stood there, side by side, just looking at our sand castle made out of tears.

Then we hugged each other, as little kids will, and I kissed him on the forehead – I was slightly taller. Then we both walked off our separate ways, feeling better than we could have ever imagined.

Neither of us had said a single word the entire time.

We didn't have to.

And then, memory over, I was jolted back to staring straight at that same blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy I had made such a meaningful salt water sand castle with all those years ago.

He stood there, still waiting for an answer to his pleas, an expectant and hopeful look shining in his bright eyes in the present.

I smiled and opened my mouth (even though it was already gaping open like a huge fly catcher) to ask if he still remembered that special day, and the meaningful sand castle when Kakashi suddenly appeared, interrupting my inquiry.

As Naruto and I shouted our routine "YOU'RE LATE!!", and waited for the lame excuse we always got in return, I grinned and thought Well, that's okay. There is always tomorrow.

And then, that voice inside me that was the woman I would someday be yelped You're only twelve!

END

There. That was actually my very first attempt at any form of romance. And I liked it, even if you didn't. Please review.

And remember – even a flame counts as a review, so you are still helping me, even if I have to spit on you.