Waffles
"Naruto?" A soft voice entered into Naruto's unconscious head like a far away whisper. "Naruto why are you staring at the pan?" He felt a small, gentle tap on his shoulder. "NARUTO!" The gentle tap became a short, painful slam onto his shoulder. Naruto jerked awake from his half-asleep state to find Sakura peering at him behind the refridgerator, the handle of a mop directed towards Naruto's face in defense.
"What are you doing?" he mumbled sleepily, staring blankly at the mop handle in his face. Sakura pranced out from behind the refridgerator and put the mop away.
"You looked like you were in a genjutsu. I was defending myself," she explained, a pang of innocent protest in her voice.
"With a mop," Naruto repeated tiredly. He stared at the empty waffle maker. He had woken up early that morning, tossed and turned for a little while until accepting that he couldn't go back to sleep, and then got up with a sudden craving for waffles. He had always loved them, he just never had enough effort or time to make them before a mission. But since his mission began at nine and it was five AM, he now found oodles time.
"So why again are you staring at the pan so intently?" Sakura came closer and trotted to the other side of the counter. She leaned against it and watched Naruto.
"I'm trying to make waffles for breakfast but I guess I fell asleep...what are you doing up? And why are you at my house?"
"I always wake up at five AM on a mission day. I like to watch the sun come up, it relaxes me," she explained cheerfully. Naruto looked outside at the dark, wet, overcast sky. No dawn to be seen. "And then I figured maybe I'd wake you up to do some training before we leave, but here you are...making waffles," Sakura peered over at the empty waffle maker. "Or lack thereof," she added.
"So you've been up all this time," Naruto stated incredulously. She nodded brightly. "You should have showed up earlier. Coulda used your help," he told her, pointing at the charred, pathetic-looking burnt waffles on a paper plate behind him.
Sakura rolled her eyes with a smile. She tossed the paper plate in the trash can. "Well I'm here now. Need some help?" she asked. She grabbed the bowl of batter and cleaned it out under the sink faucet. "I'm wide awake and I'm a pretty good cook if I do say so myself," she beamed. Naruto laughed lightly.
"Sure, Sakura. That'd be helpful," he said thankfully. "How about you try making some more batter? I've already gone through two bowls of it trying to get things right and I'm pretty sick of it." Normally, that would have sounded like Naruto was pawning work off on Sakura, but she knew better. He was far too tired to even consider that. Besides, Naruto knew how much she liked trying to be helpful. Just as he had anticipated, a glint in her eyes lit up.
"Sure, Naruto," she said happily. He smiled, feeling more awake now that she was here. "First I need flour," she began searching for the dry ingredients. He directed her towards which cupboards she needed to go to in order to get her supplies, and watched as she carefully measured each one before pouring it into the bowl. Naruto leaned back against he counter, gazing at her. She would narrow her eyes in concentration as she cracked the eggs, and scratched her head adorably when she was trying to figure out how to heat up the waffle maker. He suppressed a laugh when he saw that she had gotten some batter in her hair and on her chin. Sakura was the only one who could make him want to stand there at five AM making waffles; she was the only one who could make him smile whenever she quirked her eyebrow or wrinkled her nose; she was the only one who could make him feel so vibrantly alive. Naruto was so lost in staring that he hadn't even noticed her talking to him.
"Naruto? NARUTO! It's done, the batter's done," she stood in front of him, proudly holding out the bowl of batter, waiting for his inspection. He took it from her, and without thinking he reached out and brushed some flour off of her cheek. Suddenly he recognized what he was doing and nearly dropped the bowl. He speedily withdrew his hand away from her confused face, and turned his back to her, taking a deep breath as he felt his entire face go flush. 'Watch yourself, Naruto,' he told himself. 'You aren't thinking clearly. It's too early to think clearly! Ahh! Stop. Relax. Breathe.' Naruto did as his battling voices said and took a deep breath before turning around. Sakura went back to fiddling with the waffle maker.
"Now we pour it into the pan," he said. He heard his voice a bit gruffer than usual and cleared his throat and tried again. "Have you ever used a waffle maker before," he asked slowly, watching as she flicked the power switch on and off and let out a confused squeak. Sakura shot up upon hearing his question.
"What do I look like an idiot? Of course I know how to use a waffle maker," she scoffed and flipped her hair, looking nearly insulted, as if he had undermined her intelligence. Naruto mouthed an apology. Clearly she really didn't have any idea how to use one. She was staring at it and poking at it as if she had never seen one in her life. How could she have never seen a waffle maker before? Didn't she say she was good cook? Did she lie?
"Okay, okay," he handed her the bowl.
Sakura grabbed the bowl with a willing look on her face and began her task. Naruto stood closely behind her, ready to intercept in case she was in danger of burning her hands or dropping the bowl or even if the waffle maker was so tired of being prodded at by her that it spontaneously combusted. At this point, it wouldn't surprise him. Sure, all she was doing was pouring liquid batter into a pan, but Naruto felt the need to be protective. He peered over her shoulder and watched as she meticulously poured two small circles, allowed them to merge, and then connected them at the bottom to form a point. A heart. She admired her handiwork before gripping onto the handle of the lid and pressing down. Naruto pursed his lips to hide his smile. She stuck up her nose in triumph, as if she had defeated the evil waffle maker. Naruto didn't dare laugh out loud and explain to her that normal people just pour the batter in a circle and cook the waffle as that. Besides she wouldn't be the cute Sakura he knew if she did things typically. And whatever shape its in, a waffle is a waffle.
When her heart-shaped waffle was done, Sakura used a spatula to scoop it onto a plate, it's edges perfectly golden brown. Naruto started hungrily at the waffle as she went on and made another one. She managed to somehow pour five equal (for the most part) parts to create a perfect star. She pressed down on the lid and waited for it to cook. She let out a small giggle and clapped her hands together in success. She turned to face him.
"Naruto..." she trailed off, thrown aback by how close together they were. They were nearly nose-to-nose, their knees touching slightly. Her next words came out in a whisper. "How did I do?"
"Great. Best waffles I've ever seen," he told her seriously. He felt as if his entire body was blushing, but no blood ran to his cheeks. He screamed inside his head, demanding that he look away, or back up. His gaze and his feet remained where they were. His two favorite smells, waffles and Sakura, were mingling together and giving him a feeling like whiplash. He reached out and delicately pulled an eggshell out of her soft hair, lingering to brush her bangs from her face. He realized their faces were growing closer. He told himself repeatedly he had fallen asleep and was dreaming, and he tried desperately to cling to consciousness. He looked down at the lone heart-shaped waffle on the paper plate as the star-shaped one continued to cook under the waffle maker's lid. He looked back at Sakura, who was still standing in her place, a small look of awe on her face.
"Can I have the heart?" he asked, blushing as soon as it came out of his mouth. She was centimeters from his face now, and he clutched onto the countertop behind her for equilibrium.
"Yes, you can," she whispered. And then one - or both of them simultaneously - closed the distance between their faces and fell into a kiss. Sakura leaned back against the counter and Naruto's hands navigated their way to her lower back. She grasped his face and smiled against his lips as she felt his do the same. He let out a dreamy sigh, feeling the morning's stress and tension dissolved and be replaced by joy. Beside them in the waffle maker, the star shaped waffle burned to a crisp.