Author's Note: Okay, so this is my first fanfiction, ever! I'd appreciate any comments, from compliments to constructive criticism. Let me know what you think.

Disclamer: I don't own Naruto. Also, this is yaoi, meaning boy/boy relationships. If you don't like that sort of thing, then read at you're own risk.

Time To Think

Chapter 1: Crying

The arms that tightened around her waist surprised Sakura. She hadn't expected to be nearly tackled when she had heard the knock at her door. Inwardly, she scolded herself for not being ready to fend off her attacker. She was a ninja, for Christ's sake! Ninjas were supposed to be ready to fight at a moment's notice, even if caught by surprise.

Then Sakura heard the sobbing, and was suddenly thankful that she didn't defend herself after all. She had a pretty good guess as to who was crying into her bosom, and why. She looked down at the sunny blonde hair to confirm her suspicions. Sakura sighed, and comfortingly wrapped her arms around him, like a mother comforting her child. And to think, six years ago when she first started training with the blonde, she would have pummeled him for clinging to her like this. She allowed him to continue crying without interruption, thinking it better that he just let it all out. There really wasn't much to say, anyways, so she said only one thing:

"I take it didn't go so well, huh?"

It was almost noon when Naruto finally came down into Sakura's kitchen the next morning. He had fallen asleep in her arms in the middle of his sobbing, so she carried him into her room to sleep, thankful for the strength training she had received from Tsunade. She didn't mind sleeping on the couch, as she had spent a few nights on it, even without guests. Sometimes the stress from her work at the hospital got to her, and couldn't find the energy to walk upstairs to her room.

She offered him a cup of coffee as he entered the small kitchen, but Naruto asked for some tea instead. Good. Naruto had been trying to give up coffee for the past three weeks, after he realized how addicted to it he was getting to the stuff, bordering on eight cups a day. At least he wasn't so distraught that he was giving up on his efforts. When Naruto gave up on anything, you knew something was very wrong. The kid just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, and, although no one ever really told him this, his determination had always been one of his most endearing qualities.

Naruto thanked Sakura for the tea she handed him, but only took a few sips before he began to look into the murky liquid, as if waiting for it to give him the answers to his problems. Of course, being only hot water and tealeaves, it did no such thing. Sakura watched him stare at his drink for about five minutes before she finally spoke.

"You wanna tell me what happened?"

The young kitsune-bearer winced for a second, and then his eyes began to soften. It took him about a minute to answer, but Sakura waited patiently.

"…I told him…everything. I-I told him about the Nine-Tailed Fox…about the seal and how it got there…and about what happened in the Valley. I…I even told him about the Akatsuki. Then, he just…he just left. He didn't even look at me! I begged him to say something, anything! But he just looked away, and then there has just a log where he was standing." Naruto's eyes began to well up again. " He just…just left me there, Sakura! He left me…he…he…"

Naruto broke down again, tears falling into his cup. Sakura just sat down next to him and let him cry, silently reminding him that she was there for him, just as she always had been and always would be. It tore at her heart to see Naruto like this. The boy who was always smiling, no matter how much trouble he was in. Who never gave up, and refused to follow even the basic shinobi tenets, particularly the ones concerning sacrifices and morals. Watching him in this state of vulnerability, Sakura found it hard to believe that this was the same Naruto that she hit over the head so many times when they were younger and had just started their training.

It had taken Naruto three days of internal debate to decide to confess his secret to the man he had fallen for, followed by two more to actually gather the courage to do so. Of course, when he had made the same confession to Sakura as they began their mission to save Gaara, he had done so with relative ease, but it was different then. Although he was nervous (a fact that Naruto admitted after the mission), Naruto knew that, no matter what, Sakura would accept him. After all the danger and the triumphs and losses the two had experienced together, the bond between them was stronger than any steel. They were not only friends, but were the closest thing to siblings that either had ever had. He could have told her that he was an alien, and she wouldn't have cared.

But this, this was different. This was the person that Naruto had fallen in love with, the person who loved him back. What he though mattered so much more to Naruto than what anyone else thought. He was even the one who told the blonde to give up coffee. While the two men had certainly gone through a lot together, it wasn't the same sort of familial bond that he had with Sakura. Naruto was afraid that, once he found out, his boyfriend would be scared away. After all, how could anyone stand sleeping next to one of the most dangerous and malicious demons that had ever entered the Village Hidden in the Leaves?

Apparently, they couldn't.

After Naruto had settled down a bit, he thanked Sakura and finally began drinking his tea. It had gotten a bit cold, but he didn't really mind. The only liquid that he liked hot anyways was the broth of his ramen. Speaking of ramen…

"Sakura, I'm getting kinda hungry. You got anything to eat?"

Sakura gave off a slight chuckle. This sounded much more like the Naruto that she knew. Of course, he hadn't eaten anything since he had shown up last night, and, with his nerves, who knows how long ago he had eaten before his grand confession.

"Come on, let's go grab something at Ichiraku. My treat."

"Great!" Naruto brightened up a bit as he got up from his seat. Sakura followed suit, and led him to the door, smiling. With most girls, ice cream was the comfort food of choice. With Naruto, it was ramen.

Just before her hand reached the doorknob, however, she felt Naruto embrace her from behind.

"Sakura," he said, almost in a whisper, "thank you. For letting me stay. For putting up with my crying. For listening to my problems. I'm sorry that I'm burdening you with all this."

Sakura turned around and returned her friend's embrace. "You're never a burden, Naruto. At least not when you're upset. You're one of my closest friends, and whenever you need help, I'll be here for you, just like you've been here for me all this time."

The two stood there for several minutes, until Naruto's stomach let out a low growl. The two let out a few short laughs, and then Sakura slung her arm around her companion's shoulders, and guided him out of her home and into the street towards his favorite ramen stand. Silently, Sakura made herself a promise to give a certain heartbreaking ninja a piece of her mind (and jutsu) the next time she saw him.

Just to be clear, I'm purposely not saying who Naruto's boyfriend is. Kinda want to see if anyone can guess. I would've written it so that you wouldn't know it was a guy, but I'm not good enough a writer for that, and I did want to warn you that this is a yaoi story. Once again, let me know what you think.