''Tell me a story?'' Sakura asked in a cherubic voice, sinking even further under the sheets as Naruto gently stroked her hair, his legs hanging over the side of the bed.
''A story? What are you, three?'' he chuckled.
Her scowl told him she was being serious. He leaned in.
''...Really?''
''Why not?''
He paused for a bit.
''All right,'' he said, turning his body so that he was sitting cross legged on the bed, facing Sakura. ''I'll bite.''
She smiled, laying in a more comfortable position, facing Naruto.
''...Once upon a time--''
Sakura rolled her eyes at the tired introduction. Though... she did think it was a little cute.
''There was a queen, and two kings...''
He paused, allowing her time to groan at the predictability. It was obvious who they were already.
''Ughh...''
Naruto chuckled and continued.
''The queen was...'' he sighed, ''in love with one of the kings, but he was a total prick-''
''Naruto,'' she interrupted, a tinge of annoyance to her voice.
''This story's dumb. I want another one.''
He scoffed.

''Oh-ho, do you? Fine, then.''
He took in a long breath and sighed deeply, putting his feet back down flat on the ground with his hands on his knees.
''All right, then... once upon a time... no, one day, in a... small town, there was... a little boy.''

''A little boy? How old?''

''...um... like, five?''
He continued.
''Anyways, this little boy... he had no friends... He didn't have a family either, so he always wandered around by himself, looking for... a friend, or something.'' He stopped talking for a minute, collecting his thoughts.
''...Well, one day, this little boy felt-''

''What's the little boy's name?''
Naruto threw his hands up.
''I-I don't know, uh, Maruto?''
He sighed, regaining his composure.
''One day, he felt compelled to go to the park, so he did. That's where he found this... little girl, crying under a cherry blossom tree.''
Sakura's eyes widened. She'd told him lots of things about herself, including how she used to hide under cherry blossom trees and cry alone. Though she never thought he'd paid attention, much less remembered.
''Well, he went up to the girl - her name was... Takura - and asked her why she was crying... she told him she was lonely. And this... little boy... he was so, so happy... He finally met somebody who... who was lonely, too.''

Sakura laid completely still, listening intently to Naruto's story.

''He... introduced himself. But he was embarassed, 'cause the whole time he was grinning like an idiot. He probably looked real dirty and scraggly, too... but she was so pretty. He asked her to walk around with him.''
He paused.
''Over time, they became friends. He really liked her... so one night, under the village -- uh, town gates...''

Her cheeks became heated. He was alluding to that night, the night of their first kiss, on the threshold of the village gates after they returned from a mission.

''...Unde those gates, they kissed...''

His voice trailed off. He gazed out the window, watching the moonlit trees' leaves rustle as they were caressed by the wind. There was a gentle, companionable silence.

''...Is there an ending?'' she whispered.
He drifted back into reality, turning his head to look at her. His normally cerulean blue eyes were aglow in an eerie silver shade in the darkness of the room, tantalizingly.

''...Dunno.''

He gazed at her, not looking away.
Her cheeks flushed once again.

''Wanna try and make one?''

-

-

The following morning, Sakura awoke to the dulcet songs of birds and heavy breathing.
Her eyelids fluttered open, her emerald gaze met by gentle beams of pale sunlight.
Yawning heartily, Sakura lifted her head off of Naruto's bare shoulder, giving him a quiet smile before wrapping the sheets around herself and sitting up. She looked around the small room. It was filled with sunlight.
Naruto groaned and mumbled in his sleep. Sakura giggled lightly.
She laid across his back, running her fingers through his golden locks.

''To be continued...''

Author's Notes:

(Not literally) Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed this, there's a companion fic to the story, describing what happened the night they kissed. It's a multi-chapter fic called ''Once Upon a Time.''