Disclaimer: No, I do not own the characters of Naruto. They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto :-p

Setting: During the 2 ½ year timeskip.

A/N: This is just a short one-shot that I wrote. I hope that you all enjoy it :-)

SakuBloss

Snowflake Kiss
"Hey, hey Sakura-chan! Are you afraid of ghosts?!" Naruto asked excitedly, as he and Sakura walked side by side along the path that lead back to the Hidden Leaf Village.

They had just come from the forest, where they had both been looking for medicinal herbs for the next part of Sakura's medical training with Tsunande.

Naruto had seen Sakura leaving the village earlier that morning, bundled up in her warmest clothes, and carrying an empty basket. That sly and mischievous fox within him had instantly gone on alert, and he had hurried up to catch her before she left the village without him.

Sakura had smiled at Naruto's excitement over going herb-hunting with her, and happily accepted his invitation for company. When asked why she was looking for herbs in the dead of winter, with powdery snow covering every inch of ground that they walked upon, Sakura's answer had been, "Tsunande-sama says that only certain kinds of herbs that are essential to the healing arts, grow at this time of year. And that my mission was to go out, find them, and then bring them back."

Then Sakura had continued with a self-deprecating smile, "She also said that it'll help me build character."

Naruto had laughed long and hard at that last statement, which had prompted Sakura to pick up a handful of snow, and stuff it down the front of his orange and black, winter jacket.

Naruto being the type of person he was, simply couldn't let such an attack go by without some kind of retaliation. So for the next half-an-hour they found themselves engaged in all-out snow fight, as they tried to bury each other in the powdery-white snow that surrounded them.

So by the time they found enough herbs to fill Sakura's basket, they were both soaked to the skin. But you'd never know it, as they both wore identical grins of pure pleasure from having spent a great day out in the forest together.

And as they passed through the front gates of the Hidden Leaf Village, Sakura thoughtfully considered Naruto's question before answering, "Ghosts? As in people-who-dress-up-in-white-sheets-and-try-to-scare-you-at-night kind of ghosts? Is that what you're talking about Naruto?" Sakura asked with a cheeky grin, as her emerald-green eyes filled with mirth.

"Ahh, Sakura-chan…" Naruto whine as he and Sakura continued to make their way through the village towards the Hokage's offices. "You know that's not what I mean by ghosts. I mean creepy, disgusting, flesh-falling-from-their-bones-brain-eating ghouls! You know…the creepy-crawly kind," Naruto finished with a satisfied nod.

"Naruto," Sakura laughed, as they came upon the front gate that led the Hokage's private offices. The two guards who stood stoically by the gate nodded slightly to Sakura, and scowled menacingly at Naruto.

Naruto laughed nervously when he saw the dark and dirty looks being directed at him, and self-consciously rubbed the back of his head. He had given most of the shinobi guards in the village trouble at some point or other during his life, and many of them still held a grudge.

"Naruto," Sakura said again, as she shifted her basket of herbs from one arm to the other. "Those aren't ghosts. I'm not sure what kind of things you've been watching lately to give you those particular ideas, but the ghosts that I know of don't go around eating the brains out of people's heads," Sakura said, a slightly amused smile crossing her lips.

"Oh! So you actually do know something about real ghosts then, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said with a mischievous grin on his face.

"You're so bad Naruto," Sakura laughed, as she lightly slapped him on the arm.

"Well…you know…I can be as bad as you want me to be, Sakura-chan," Naruto replied in a low and playfully-seductive voice.

"Naruto," Sakura said again, as a bright-red blush slowly began making its way across her face. "You really are quite troublesome you know."

"I know!" Naruto replied with a teasing laugh that instantly dissipated the slightly intense moment between them.

"Okay…well…I'm going to go inside now, and give these herbs to Tsunande-sama. I…I guess that I'll see you later, Naruto," Sakura stuttered, as she turned around and slowly began making her way towards the front gate.

For some strange reason lately, whenever she and Naruto were together like this, she would suddenly become nervous and shy around him. Her stomach would fill with butterflies, and her palms would grow damp with sweat.

If she only allowed herself to analyze these strange, new feelings further she would probably have already realized what her heart and body were trying so desperately to tell her.

"Okay Sakura-chan! I had a great time herb-hunting…and snowball-fighting…with you today!" Naruto cried, waving as he slowly began walking backwards. "Oh, and tell that old baa-san to continue keeping that Hokage's seat warm for me! It'll be mine someday soon!" Naruto continued, a cheeky grin on his face.

Sakura laughed cheerfully at Naruto's words, and then turned to continue making her way towards the front gate, when a light touch suddenly moved down the exposed part of her neck.

She shivered slightly in response, before quickly spinning around to meet warm, caring-blue eyes that were suddenly there, and looking deep within her own, as if searching for some deep, hidden meaning within them.

Those crystal-clear eyes must have seen something that they liked, for they somehow grew even warmer, and an emotion that she couldn't quite place, made those baby-blues light up like a Christmas tree.

Sakura then watched as Naruto slowly dipped his head…and as if in a trance…continued to watch as his face drew closer and closer to her own.

He then softly…and tenderly…placed a feather-soft kiss on her cheek.

Naruto then slowly began moving away, and Sakura could only stare at him blankly as her wildly-beating heart tried desperately to bring itself back under control.

"Hey Sakura-chan…are you feeling alright? You look a bit…flushed," Naruto said, as a slightly mischievous grin tried making its way onto his face.

"What? Oh yes! I'm fine, Naruto! Just great in fact. It's just...is it a bit warm to you? I mean…its funny how it suddenly became so warm…in this cold season," Sakura said with a slightly nervous laugh.

Naruto just nodded….a completely innocent grin now plastered across his face.

"Well…Tsunande-sama is probably wondering why I'm taking so long getting back with these herbs…so I'd better go. I'll talk with you later...Naruto," Sakura said softly, pushing a stray strand of coral-pink hair nervously behind her ear, before turning slowly to leave.

But just as she was making her way past the guards, who were pretending not to notice anything that was going on, Naruto's voice suddenly reached her ears.

Gulping lightly, then realizing that she was being silly, Sakura turned quickly, and in a slightly-annoyed voice asked, "What is it this time Naruto?"

But when she looked at him all she saw was that sweet, innocent smile and all of the annoyance that she was feeling melted away, and she returned his smile, while waiting patiently for him to speak again.

"Hey Sakura-chan! Don't forget to be on the lookout for those flesh-eating-brain-sucking ghosts! I hear that their favorite things to eat are girls with bright, pink hair!" Naruto cried, as the once-innocent smile on his face became a devilish-grin.

And before Sakura even had the chance to throw the basket full of hard-won herbs at his spiky-blond head, Naruto was already off and running down the street…the sounds of his mirth-filled laughter echoing merrily behind him.

The End…