A/n: This one-shot was inspired by the song "Happy" by Never Shout Never.

Happy

She'll never know. Naruto found himself staring fondly at his teammate, watching her graceful movements as he tore down a tree in her haste to punch Sai. Even irate beyond belief, seething, and with fire burning in her eyes; she was beautiful.


It'll never happen. Sakura glared at Naruto, muttering something under her breath as she stormed away. Once again, Naruto had said the wrong thing. He'd meant to say she looked pretty, in fact, that's what he had said...but why did she take it the wrong way?


He groaned, his back hitting the tree as he slid to the ground. He held his head in his hands. Even when I try to be nice, she treats me like her little brother. Even when I want something more than our simple teammate-relationship, she shuts me down before I can even bring up the topic.


The words were on his tongue, ready to jump forward. Sakura stared at him curiously, her pink hair no longer held back by the forehead protector. They were older, more mature, but still just friends. After thinking about it for years, Naruto was ready to tell her that his feelings hadn't changed since the day he met her. He had grown up...and had become someone that Sakura could depend on. So why was it so hard for him to tell her?

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, prompting him to answer. Even her voice had grown prettier over the years. "What did you want to talk about?"

Naruto chuckled nervous, scratching the back of his head. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

He wanted to punch himself, slap himself, kick himself...do anything to punish himself for letting the perfect opportunity pass him by.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked, her head tilting to the side as she studied her teammate. "It seemed like there was something on your mind."

"No, well, kind of..." Sakura continued to stare at Naruto, waiting for him to stop mumbling enough to form a sentence she could understand. "Um...well, y-you make me happy." Naruto smacked his forehead. It hadn't come out like he had wanted it to at all. He sounded like he was twelve years old again, way back when they first met.

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest, studying Naruto a little more before asking in a guarded tone, "Are you asking me out again?"

"No, I just wanted to let you know."

"Oh," Sakura's arms fell to her sides, her green eyes staring at her teammate before she finally shook herself out of her shocked-state of silence. "Oh, well, okay...you make me happy too, Naruto."

Not in the same way. Naruto knew what she meant. He made her happy like a brother makes a sister happy when they're not fighting...like a parent makes a little kid happy when they watch over their training and praise them on their hard work. It wasn't what he was looking for, but it was enough.