I rolled over in my bed as I heaved another sigh. I'd been tossing and turning for over an hour, and by now, I knew there was no way I'd be getting any sleep tonight. I sat up in bed, staring at the wall across from me. That was it. It was going to be one of those nights.

I quickly got out of bed and changed out of my pajamas into clothes more suitable for daytime. After grabbing the bag I kept prepared for these specific occasions, which contained only a key to my house and an umbrella (just in case), I quietly opened my window and jumped out onto the ground. Since my room was on the first floor, there was no chance of me getting hurt. Of course, since my remaining family already knew where I was going and didn't care, I could've just used the front door, but this way I didn't have to risk waking them up. Recently, we'd all had trouble getting to sleep.

I readjusted the strap of my bag across my shoulder as I walked down the deserted streets of Konoha. The only sounds to be heard were my own muted footsteps against the dirt paths and the chirping of insects. I silently thanked the powers that be for the hanging lanterns that lined either side of the street; without them, in the pitch dark, this trip would've been much creepier.

When I finally reached the house, which had a light shining through the front window, I knocked softly on the door, not wanting to wake its occupant if he was already asleep. To my relief, the door was opened a minute later to reveal a sleepy-looking Naruto Uzumaki, dressed in a pair of pajama pants.

"Hey, Kaida," he said as he gave me a small smile and attempted to stifle a yawn. "Can't sleep?" He stepped to the side to allow me to enter the house.

I nodded my head and returned his smile, crossed the threshold with a quiet "thank you," and dropped my bag just inside the door.

Naruto shut the door behind me as I went to sit on his living room couch. Something about being in his home automatically comforted me. It felt cozy and safe, and one could always rely on the smell of ramen wafting from the kitchen.

Naruto sat down beside me on the couch a moment later, clasping his hands between his spread knees. He looked at me expectantly, yet patiently, as he waited for me to speak. Over the past month, this had become something of a routine of ours. I would show up at his house at some absurd hour of the night when my mind was too full for me to sleep. Life had been difficult for me and my family since my mother died on a mission. We were all ninja, and knew the risks associated with carrying out such dangerous work, but even now, it didn't seem real. I felt like I was stuck in a nightmare that just wouldn't go away.

"Did I wake you up?" I asked, turning to look at my friend. He shook his head in response. "Not tonight." I wasn't sure if he was being honest or not, especially since I knew he left the light on just in case I came over, but I decided not to push the issue.

"I'm sorry I keep coming over here like this," I began, "it's just that my father and brother are too upset to even talk about it, and I feel like you're the only one who can understand what I'm going through. I mean, I guess Sasuke might understand, but I'm sure he wouldn't talk to me about it."

Naruto nodded as he moved closer to me on the couch, a gentle smile on his face. "It's fine, Kaida. I really don't mind you coming over here. Besides, I know what it's like to be lonely with no one to talk to." He glanced around his empty house.

I felt a small pang of guilt at that statement, even though he'd been trying to make me feel better. "I know I've got no right to whine to you about this Naruto," I said, turning my face away from him as I fought back tears brought on by the thought of my friend's pain. "I know you've had it far worse than I have."

"Hey," he said, moving even closer to me and turning my head to face him. "That's not what I meant and you know it. I'm glad I can be here for you when you need me." He pulled me into a hug, my head resting against his strong, bare shoulder, as I regained my composure. From my position, I could hear the steady beating of his heart, and it instantly began to calm me down. He was so pleasantly warm that I couldn't help but wrap my arms around him in return.

After a few minutes, during which I resisted the urge to fall asleep against Naruto quite yet, I pulled away from him, holding back a sigh at the loss of warmth. He looked closely at my face for any sign of tears, and once he was satisfied I was okay, continued the conversation.

"So, how are things at home?" Naruto asked.

I shrugged. "Same old stuff, I suppose. We all try to go on like everything's normal and okay, but we all know it isn't... It's just tough to adjust, I guess."

Naruto nodded his head, a thoughtful expression on his face. "That's one thing I can say I never had to go through. With me, it happened when I was so young that I don't remember them at all."

I looked at him with a small, sad smile. Even though it was obvious that his situation was far worse, he was always worrying about his friends instead of himself. Maybe others just saw him as loud and hyperactive, but he was also the kindest, most caring person I knew.

"Thank you, Naruto," I said. "For always letting me barge into your house like this. I really don't know how I would have gotten through this without you."

He seemed a bit surprised by the sudden change of topic, but merely chuckled. "I don't do much besides listen, but I'm glad I could help." After sitting there for a moment in comfortable silence, he spoke again. "Do you want to stay over tonight?"

I looked at him gratefully. How was it that he always seemed to know what I was thinking? "If I could, that'd be wonderful." He nodded in reply. Like I said, something about being in Naruto's house and being around him automatically made me feel better about things. He stood up from the couch and stretched his arms above his head before walking into the hall, where he pulled an oversized blanket out of a storage closet.

Naruto turned the lights out on the way back to the couch, but thanks to the full moon and lanterns outside, my eyes quickly readjusted so I could see him again. When he walked back over to me, he spread the blanket out over both of us. I smiled into the darkness. This was the way we always slept when I stayed over at Naruto's house, since he knew it helped me to sleep better.

Before I could scoot over closer to Naruto to lean against him, as I always did at this point, he reached over and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. He flashed me a smile, and even in the dark, I could clearly see the way his brilliant blue eyes lit up. I smiled back at him, but as he retracted his hand, his expression fell and his eyebrows furrowed into a look of concern.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" I asked, my own expression morphing into one of worry. I reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned his face to look at my hand for a moment, but then looked back at me, his expression unchanged.

"I don't know exactly how to tell you this, Kaida..." he began slowly, "and I know that maybe, right now, this isn't something you need to be dealing with, but there's something I need to tell you..." By this point, his eyes had wandered from my face to stare down the floor in front of the couch.

"What is it, Naruto?" I asked softly, bringing my hand back from his shoulder. "Is everything okay?" He heaved a sigh, raising his eyes from the floor. He placed one of his hands on each of my shoulders and stared squarely into my eyes.

"Kaida, I know these past few weeks have been tough on you. And I know that it's hard to lose somebody you love who loves you, too. So, even if the rest of your family is being distant, I want you to know that you're still loved, a lot. I didn't mean for this to happen, Kaida, but I need you to know how much I love you."

I stared across at my friend in shock, reading his face in the dark as well as I could. Once I was positive that he was being serious, I reached up and took his hands off of my shoulders, holding his larger hands in mine between the two of us. Naruto only sat and looked at me in total silence, a solemn expression on his face, as he waited for me to process his words.

I certainly hadn't known that Naruto felt this way about me. The two of us had been friends for years, but ever since we'd started this routine and I saw a different side of him, I'd come to develop feelings for him. They'd been mostly hidden below the surface, since grieving had been taking up nearly all of my energy lately, but they were definitely there. Of course, in the back of my mind I had wanted to believe that his caring gestures meant he felt the same way about me, but I had never thought there was a real chance of it. Now, when I realized that Naruto cared deeply for me, too, I came to understood that my feelings were even stronger than I'd thought.

Naruto was my rock - the one person I could always depend on, no matter what. And now, I could finally see that he was also the guy I was in love with.

Naruto was still looking at me, his expression becoming more nervous by the second, when I realized how long I'd been silent. I smiled at him and copied his motion from before as I tucked a loose blonde spike behind his ear, taking a moment to gently stroke the lines on his cheek with my thumb. He leaned into the touch, which only made my smile grow. "I love you, too, Naruto," I told him. "I was just too stupid to fully realize it until now. But you truly do mean the world to me."

A huge grin broke out onto Naruto's face at my words, and he pulled me into a tight bear hug against his chest. I laughed for a moment, but when I couldn't breathe anymore, he seemed to get the idea and released me. We simply sat there grinning at each other like idiots for a few moments, before Naruto's face became serious again. Then, very slowly, giving me plenty of time to back away if I'd wanted to, he leaned in and connected his lips to mine.

I was frozen in shock for a second before my eyelids fluttered shut and I started to kiss him back. His kiss was soft and sweet, and much gentler that I could've imagined from someone with so much energy. Naruto lifted his hand up to cup my cheek briefly before pulling away from the kiss.

I slowly opened my eyes, only to be greeted by another of his blinding smiles. "I love you," I said to him again, leaning forward to nuzzle my face into the crook of his neck. He leaned his head forward to place a kiss on my hair, wrapping his arms around me to bring me closer to him. "I love you, too," he whispered.

After about ten minutes of resting in one another's arms, during which I let myself fully appreciate the warmth and strength of Naruto's body, he broke the silence with a yawn. "Well, I suppose that's enough excitement for one night," he said, pulling back just enough to look at me with another smile on his face. "Time for sleep." With that, he suddenly leaned back onto the couch, pulling me down and on top of him. I let out a small gasp of surprise at the unexpected motion, but then laughed as we shifted so that we could lay beside one another under the blanket. Once we were comfortably settled, Naruto kissed me softly on the lips once again.

"Goodnight, Kaida."

"Goodnight, Naruto."

"...Hey, Kaida?"

"Yeah, Naruto?"

"Would you consider... being my girlfriend?"

I smiled against his chest and then raised my head to look into his eyes. I planted a quick kiss on his cheek. "Of course I will, Naruto."

He smiled and wrapped me up securely in his arms, making me feel safe in a way that no one else could.

And for the first time in a month, I slept soundly all through the night.