A/N: To the people who voted for this pairing, I give you this short story. R&R, I would like your opinion on it since I've never really ever written for this pairing. To those who are just reading this, all other pairings are personal favorites, you don't have to like them, so, please don't hate just because you don't like my choices. I DON'T OWN NARUTO!

'This is wrong, I shouldn't be like this, but I can't face her like this. Sakura… Why can't you look at me like you did him,' Naruto asked himself as he sat beside his too-large bed, his arms wrapped around his legs that were drawn up and resting his chin on his knees. This feeling, this sensation of pain was slowly rotting him away on the inside, leaving his optimistic shell intact. He hasn't felt like this since he was in the academy…that ever engulfing loneliness. He wanted to see Sakura, to have her yell at him, to smack him up the head, to do anything with him, but he didn't want to see her either, she was the reason he was like this. Well, was it really her fault that he was suffering? No, Naruto couldn't blame her, it was all his fault that his chance at happiness deteriorated before his eyes. Even now he could still hear her confession about how she liked him, but that was the extent of it. Like, what a horrible word it seemed to him. He didn't want fucking 'like,' he wanted love damn it! He rejected her and he was regretting it, but it was the right thing. He could still see those beautiful round, jade, eyes looking at him seriously while she opened herself to him; he shouldn't have looked. The look in her eyes were speaking the truth, but deep down he could still see the love Sakura had for Sasuke, and that love scorched him, leaving his soul charred. Because of that love, he couldn't accept her feelings; she was only giving him part of her when what he wanted was her whole self and love. That was nine years ago.

Lifting himself Naruto went to have a warm bath to help clear his mind, once done he went into his walk-in closet to search for his Hokage robes to at least seem presentable at the meeting this morning; after all he is meeting one of the world's most powerful men, the Kazekage. After locating the elusive robe and hat he marched into his kitchen and fixed himself a quick meal before leaving for the office, on the way there he saw no one, obviously as he now lived in the Hokage tower with a whole floor to himself; just knowing that he had it all to himself with no one to share it with made him feel all the more lonesome.

"Good morning, Naruto, uh, I mean Hokage-sama," Konohamuru greeted as he passed Naruto in the second floor hall, wanting to drop off some mission reports. "You look down, feeling your age, old man?"

"Cut that crap out, I've known you since you were ten, and I'm not old! I'm three years older than you," Naruto chided while the younger male just laughed at him. "So, Konohamuro, how's things going with your team," Naruto asked him as Konohamuru passed him his report on the solo-mission he sent him about a week previous.

"Not so bad, but that Mojoko-chan is a real nut, she beats the crap out of anyone who crosses her, and yesterday I had to haul the girl off of Minoto-kun for calling her, and I quote, a boy, but without a dick. That kid never shuts up; he just has to provoke her wrath one way or another! I can almost swear that he does it just to get her attention." Man, I know how that feels. "The only one she listens to is Sashi-kun, now that kid needs some serious help. He seems to hate everyone!"

"Enough!" Konohamuru shut up and stared at his idol, shocked at the sudden sound of his voice, but it didn't sound like it, it sounded like someone else had just shouted through Naruto's mouth.

"S-sorry, you okay? You don't look so good; maybe you should visit Saku-"

"NO! I mean n-no, I'm sorry for just now, I'm not in the best of moods right now, man. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay," Konohamuru answered, worried that whatever was up, it wasn't good if it had Konoha's ever cheery, optimistic, Hokage hurting like this. Promptly after Konohamuru left Naruto felt like banging his head against a wall, to do anything to ease the damn ache, anything that could dispel those loveless memories of his youth. At the age of twenty-five, and being the fucking Hokage, he shouldn't feel so vulnerable. He shouldn't be breaking into a cold sweet at remembering the time team seven was whole, not torn into indistinguishable tidbits. Some saki sounded good, yup, a nice warm cup sounded real nice, but he would tuck that idea until after his meeting with Gaara. Until then he would remain sober and acutely aware of Konoha and its inhabitants; but he really wanted that saki now. From the hall he ended up finding his office, the Kazekage already seated on one of the chairs in front of his desk with his wife to his left.

"Gaara, Hinata, how are you guys? I hope your stay has been pleasant," Naruto asked, pleased at the sight before him, his best work if he said so himself. He had Hinata be an ambassador for Konoha and she ended up in a strange situation, but after things just went smoothly from there, they had managed to hit it off, even if the circumstances were somewhat weird but he didn't want to dawdle on that. He smiled warmly as two of his friends addressed him with plans on having a get together of old and new friends, and that they wanted to host it in Konoha as most of their friends were here. "Hm. It sounds good to me, but we'll need to draw out a plan on how this is going to work. We'll need to write a list of possible guests, find a location for this baby, and we'll also need to hire a catering crew and shinobi as guards. It'll take three days, does that sound good to you guys?" When they nodded their agreement Naruto received and returned a polite bow from Hinata, leaving him and Gaara alone.

"Thank you."

"Huh, for what," Naruto asked the red head who gave him a simple smile that was just a slight upturn of the edges of his lips. Gaara didn't answer, but thought he understood anyway. Naruto would never fully understand the impact he had on the ex-jinchuriki(sp?), he would only be able to scratch the surface, and Gaara had no qualms with this, so long as he at least knew he was thankful for saving him twice. Gaara was about to leave when he felt this odd sensation coming from behind him, and what he saw made his sea foam green hues wide as he looked at Naruto's seemingly dead azure ones that looked blankly at the top of his empty desk. When Naruto looked up he gave him a large smile, as if his body needed to continue the façade of being happy, but that smile didn't reach his eyes. Waves of despair radiated off of Naruto's being, chocking the air with its gloom.

"Naruto, what are you trying to hide? If you're hurting, say it. You are withering on the inside," to anyone who heard the Kazekage they would have thought him harsh, but a closer look showed his face softening and his eyes compassionate, a look reserved to only his wife and dearest friends. "And don't deny it; it's obvious that something is troubling you. Tell me, what is it?"

"I-I don't… I feel like crap, Gaara, but it was the right thing to do! I k-know it was! I had no right to accept something that wasn't truly meant for me," the Hokage blurted out, his heart pounding uncontrollably, sweat beading his temples, his fist clenching and unclenching. "She doesn't love me, she still loves that ass!"

"I assume that by 'she,' you mean Sakura Haruno?" When the blond nodded Gaara continued, "From what you've told me, it is simple to see that you regret rejecting her feelings for you. Have you ever thought that maybe by now that her feelings for you have changed, that given the chance she could actually fall in love with you?"

"I can't do it, I see it every time I look at her, that love she had for Sasuke! He's gone, but he's still here in a way, keeping her from me. Her first love is keeping her away," Naruto shouted as he grabbed the edge of his desk, leaving welds in the wood from squeezing it too hard.

"Naruto, get over it."

"What?" Naruto was shocked at his friend's insensitive words. True, it was Gaara speaking but still…

"You heard me, so get over it. No matter how much time passes no one ever forgets their first love. I understand this because I saw that love Hinata had for you and I wanted to kill you for having that, she still loves you, but from her explanation she says it was a childish crush, and that that type of love is completely different from the love she feels for me. She loves you, but Hinata is in love with me."

"Oh…I, uh, think I understand what you're saying. Man, I still don't feel like it would work, like something's preventing me from approaching her, I haven't seen her this whole month!"

"The reason you feel that way is because you fear she'll tell you she still loves the Uchiha, that she'll reject your feelings the way you did hers. That or the Uchiha's spirit is haunting you."

"I wouldn't put it passed Sasuke to try something like that, that ass-hole was ruthless when you got on his nerves," Naruto joked, feeling lighter, livelier now that his hectic feelings were put into some sort of order. "Hey, thanks man. I really owe you one."

"You can repay me by bringing Haruno as your date for the party, now I have to leave, Hinata and I are meeting Neji and Ten-Ten for a family dinner," Gaara monotonously announced as he exited the Hokage's office, leaving a horrified Naruto behind. How the hell am I going to ask her to a party, he mentally screamed.

…

Naruto cursed at himself at the time limit he gave himself, he had only three days till the party and before then he has to ask Sakura to be his date! So far two have already gone, yup, they just went up and said sayonara to his sorry behind. Tomorrow was the party and he needed to tell her, now. Naruto had dressed himself into one of his casual orange and black robes, deciding against going in his Hokage attire since that would make it seem as if he were using his station to influence her decision. He didn't want that. Just as he was about to take hold of the door knob someone already forced it open, and since the door flung inward it smacked Naruto in the face to be flung backwards and black out upon impact. Ouch.

(An hour later)

Naruto's head throbbed and he felt a black-eye coming on, what the hell just hit him? Trying to get up he felt someone place a hand on his chest to keep him still, he hadn't opened his eyes but he knew who it was. He recognized that hard push against his chest and that flowery scent that penetrated his senses and made his lust rise dramatically. "Sakura."

"Idiot, what do you think you were doing allowing the door to hit you like that? Naruto, you're the fucking Hokage," Sakura shouted. She had come in to pass Ino's report to him since she was bed-ridden with a fever; that was the only reason she had risked seeing Naruto. The pink haired girl wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she was still hurting from his rejection, at the moment though she was concerned for the idiot she had fallen for. "Well?"

"Sakura, I was about to open the door when you flung it open."

"Oh…Uh, I'm sorry for hitting you with the door," she apologized, feeling a blush smear across her pale cheeks. "I guess I should leave no-"

"Wait," Naruto cried wanting to tell her that moment how he felt and why he had rejected her nine years ago. "I was leaving to go see you, I wanted to talk to you and, well, discuss that day." Looking up he saw hesitation and fear in her round jade hues, and he knew why, he felt the exact same emotions as she, but none the less, he needed to tell her. Everything was unimportant to him; the only thing that counted was her, Sakura.

"Naruto, I, please don't make me relive that. I know you no longer harbor such romantic feelings for me, I had treated you like crap and I deserved that rejection. I don't blame you." Naruto had stood up, Sakura was still kneeling on the ground, looking up at him sadly, and that tore his heart to shreds. Sitting next to her cross legged he wrapped his arm around her frame gently, holding her as if she would break like glass from the slightest pressure. When he did that Sakura couldn't hold herself together and she let the tears flow freely, letting them roll down her cheeks and gather at the tip of her chin and fall into her lap.

"Sakura, I could never hate you. I've loved you since the beginning and even now I still love you," Naruto whispered to her, stroking her arm soothingly.

"Then why did you reject me if you loved me so much?"

"Before I answer that, tell me, do you still love Sasuke?" Anger rose and died on his face before turning into an unemotional mask he rarely ever used. At first Sakura was shocked, but calmed down to think of a proper way of telling him how she currently felt for their ex-comrade.

"To be frank, yes, but not like what I feel for you. It's…It's a different sort of love, it's not as strong as the love I feel for you. Do you understand," Sakura asked, praying to the gods that he did. He only smiled at her.

"Yes, I understand now. It took a friend to explain to me to finally realize this." Naruto silently thanked Gaara as he pressed Sakura closer to him, his words replaying in his head. "I understand and I accept it, I love you. I love all of you, even the part of you that still belongs to him," he finished, kissing along her jaw and her cheeks. He removed himself when she leaned against him. "Sakura the reason I had rejected you was because I was frightened. Every time I looked at you, I saw the girl who was head over heels in love with Sasuke, and I was afraid that the only reason you wanted to be with me was to be some Sasuke replacement. I didn't want that, I didn't want to hear you say you loved me when you didn't really mean it, I didn't want to hold your hand or kiss you knowing you were thinking of that ass, it would have killed me. I wanted to tell you that I didn't reject you because I didn't love you that I did it because I didn't want love that wasn't meant for me."

"Naruto, I love you, and I think a part of me always has, that day you refused me had shaken me to my very core, and now that I think about it, you were right. If you had accepted you would have been Sasuke's replacement, but because of it, it also made me realize how much I really do love you." A warm feeling rose in Naruto's chest, making his heart pounding like it would bounce out of his throat.
"Sakura, you have absolutely no idea how much those words mean to me," Naruto said in a low husky voice, the hand that had been stroking her arm felt the chills go up Sakura's arms and it pleased him that he had done such a thing, that he could make her feel like that. Bringing her closer Naruto pressed his lips to her jaw, nibbling his way to the edge of her bottom lip and biting it softly. Sakura's nerves were on high alert, making her very aware of Naruto's lips trailing along her skin which caused her face to flush. She should tell him no, that it wasn't the appropriate moment for something like that, but she didn't. Slowly she wrapped her arms around him and sat on his lap, enjoying the way he left butterfly kisses along her neck and collar.

Naruto felt like he was on fire, his body felt extremely hot and uncomfortable in his cloths, and the cause of this was busy kissing him, her tongue fighting against his own as they tried to establish dominance over the other. His hand wondered up her thigh to caress the soft flesh, the other had found its way to her hair. They broke the kiss for much needed oxygen, with that small break they saw the lust in each other's eyes, and it was like a fire that threatened to burn them to nothing if they didn't fill their need. Quickly they both threw the disturbing clothing and continued to let their tongues dance. Sakura straddled his hips and pinned him to the ground, letting her left hand touch Naruto's firm tan skin while the other stroked his golden locks; it was as soft as she had imagined. Growling loudly Naruto separated them and lowered his kisses to the valley between her breasts and with each bite, lick and kiss he could feel the ache between his legs rising. Rolling them over he stroked her flushed skin, making Sakura emit soft moans, their breathing had become heavy and sweat was beginning to coat their flesh from the shared warmth. Chills traveled up Sakura's spine when she heard him pant her name and roughly kissed her lips again.

"Naruto," Sakura breathed, everything she wanted was said in his name; she wanted more. Thrusting her hips forward she stroked herself against his member making him moan her name aloud. Understanding her plea he spread her legs even farther and sheathed himself fully, regretting it when he heard her pain filled cry.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," he apologized, kissing her closed lids and the tip of her nose, patiently waiting for the pain to fade. Sakura winced when she experimented with a thrust, gaining another thrust from Naruto who moaned from the friction. Trying again she felt like she was melting, she moaned Naruto's name and he took that as a signal to begin moving. With a roll of his hips he felt the pleasure run through his body and press him for more, Sakura let her nails bite into his back as he continued his thrusting, feeling something inside her coil. Crying out for more Naruto increased his speed and laced their hands together, the end nearing as her walls constricted him tightly. With a few strong strokes he growled her name as he climaxed alongside her, letting her ride out her orgasm.

"Naruto, I love you," Sakura panted, sleepy from their love making. Leaving her and dropping to his side he wrapped a protective arm around her as she whispered the same sentence over and over.

"And I you; my Sakura," Naruto whispered in return, letting himself fall asleep, but not before locking the door and closing the blinds. He'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble if anyone found out what he had just done, but who could blame him. He had Sakura, and she had let him love her completely. Putting his large robe around them he finally let himself sleep; no regrets haunting him tonight.

…

"Naruto, Sakura, it is a pleasure to see you both could make it," Gaara greeted as the couple entered through the large double doors, earning approving glances from their friends.

"Sakura, I'm so happy for you," Hinata cheered from beside Gaara. Both females hugged and departed towards the female mob that had assembled as soon as Sakura and Naruto entered.

"Thanks for all the help, strange that I got romantic help from someone who didn't believe in such a thing thirteen years ago," Naruto chuckled as Sakura and Hinata went to go chat with the other women and they drowned her with questions and congratulations.

"Naruto, people change, they always do. It just takes someone to push you in the right direction," Gaara replied, watching his wife dance along with some of the children of old friends.

"I know what you mean; from now on it seems I'm going to have to work hard to drown that love she had for Sasuke with my own. And thoroughly enjoy myself in the process," Naruto laughed loudly at the face his red headed friend gave him, it seems he understood what he meant.

A/N: There it is! To all reviewers, please don't flame me for having Gaara and Hinata together, it is a personal favorite and am aware some people don't like it. I understand that, but please don't send hate reviews just because of it. IT'S A FANFIC FOR SAKURA/NARUTO, FOCUS ON THEIR STORY NOT THE OTHER PAIR. Thank you and I hope you enjoyed it.

-Baron