There were four holes on the ceiling; one of which had sparked his interest more than the others. Said hole was particularly larger – but only just, and Naruto imagined his own eye would conveniently been able to peek without much difficulty from the other side. He had spent most of the day lying with his hands behind his head, theorizing the possibility of someone spying on him, even though he was certain that the makeshift ceiling wasn't sturdy enough to hold a full grown man.

Then again who was he to say about what shinobi could really do, especially after what he had just witnessed during the war that had just ended. More than the life and death, it was all about the fight that everyone had become capable of. The things that he had done – that shinobi have done, from both sides, was not something he thought possible. Heck, his own heart had been kept beating in the palm of someone's hand. That someone thought it was cool to slice his skin and move her hand around his insides, to wrap her fingers around and press his heart so that blood would flow in his veins. Yes. It was the coolest thing he had ever heard. His thoughts wandered to the owner of those hands, a faint smile creeping on his face. Before he knew it, some hours had passed. He had come to a conclusion that one, he was hungry; two, there was no one spying on him and three, he was incapable of taking his mind off Haruno Sakura.

He got up to stretch his legs, gazing from the window at the expanse of small, makeshift houses that were lined up on one side of the village. A considerable part of Konoha was already being rebuilt, and for most of the shinobi whose home were lost during the Pein attack and the subsequent war, this small compound had become their temporary home. He was released from the hospital not too long ago, and he had to admit he was enjoying this prolonged state of inactivity due to the fact that he had simply never been this exhausted in his entire seventeen years of life. It was like being a kid again, where days begun late in the morning after a full eight hours of sleep, waking up only to eat or bore himself crazy- he was not one to complain. Especially because most of all he enjoyed the attention he had been getting from a certain someone; all pink-haired and beautiful face who at the moment was a few meters away from his place, slowly approaching with eyes on the ground, seemingly in deep thought. He moved away from the window and tiptoed back to bed, making sure to turn away from the door.

"Naruto?"

She hadn't dropped by in a couple of days and he didn't like it at all. He was getting attention all right; but to him it never seemed enough. He snickered and feigned sleep through the silent grumbling of his stomach.

"I'm coming in, alright?"

The door creaked and in she came, his heightened senses almost feeling the weight of her steps on the floor. Good thing it was easy to fake a yawn, which was why it was his first instinct as he pretended to jerk awake.

"Oh…" he managed in between another yawn. "It's you, Sakura-chan."

"I thought I'd drop by. How's your shoulder?"

He watched through droopy eyes as she grabbed the seat next to his bed. Failing to hide his excitement, he immediately sat up, feet dangling on the edge with all traces of fake sleepiness gone. "It's a bit…" he pretended to contemplate for a moment while giving his right shoulder a good rub. "Stiff."

Sakura stood in front of him and began pressing firmly on random points on his shoulder while he sat there, not really feeling anything in particular other than the euphoric buzzing at the back of his brain which came with her every touch.

"Here?" she asked, taking his left hand in hers while her other pressed harder on the spot where his fingers had been. Her brows furrowed in concentration while he egged her on, replying with a satisfied hum while he enjoyed the way her left hand seemed to unconsciously settle in his.

"And this one too," Naruto whispered, slowly entwining her fingers in his as he brought their hands to a region closer to his chest. Her trained eyes seemed to focus on his needs alone; her right hand following and pressing, his actions not getting the desired effect.

He tried again, squeezing her fingers and placing her hand just above where she could feel his heart. "I meant here, Sakura. It's feeling a bit weak and I can hardly breathe… I… I think I need…"

She raised her head to look at his face, and the amusement in his eyes quickly caught her attention as his little act had finally caught up to her. Idiot. She had been genuinely worried there.

"C…"

It was only then that she realized the pressure she was feeling on her left hand was caused by him.

"P…"

And he had the nerve to bring thatup! STUPID IDIOT!

"OW!"

His head fell forward as her fist landed on the top of his head, almost bumping into her shoulder. She purposefully moved back, except he was still holding her hand.

"Oh come on, Sakura-chan…" he whined, rubbing the crown of his head. "You'd think after everything you've done for me this should be a piece of cake." He emerged with big grin, obviously not sorry.

"Excuse me? What makes you think I can just administer CPR on a whim?"

"Why not? You did it for me once."

"You're life's not in danger."

"We can always pretend."

"Maybe I should beat you to a pulp. That way we won't have to."

"Except you won't be able to because you care about me a great deal I probably won't even get to the point of half beaten."

"My, you seem to know a lot about my feelings."

"Well you did prove it through your actions… and you did kinda confess before."

"Wow. You're certainly one to talk. Last I checked it was Sai who told me how you felt!" She suddenly pulled her hand away, more in shock at her tone and the words that had just come out of her mouth. They fell silent as a soft breeze entered the room, blowing her bangs aside to partially cover the seal on her forehead. She looked away, mentally cursing herself for her own audacity.

While he had a reply prepared beforehand, her sheer honesty had rendered him speechless. He never wavered in his love, not even once, but the simple truth began to sink in as he sat there, mouth agape, staring at the one person his whole being was devoted to – and the one person who had yet to hear from him.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I didn't mean to-"

"Don't."

Without another word, he got off the bed and picked her up in his arms. Ignoring her surprised yelp and tightening his hold, he stepped out the door with chakra-enhanced feet; bracing his whole body with the strength required, and ran as fast as he could to the top of the Hokage Mountain.

Naruto's eyes focused for a moment on the village below; noisy and bustling with life. The vast space around them was liberating, as the light of the sun contrasted the cold breeze flowing around them. Now that he stood at the highest point in his beloved village carrying the love of his life, he had never felt braver. He looked down at her and smiled, his heart welling as he leaned in to plant a kiss on her forehead.

"I've always wanted to do that," he whispered, his lips lingering above her seal. Their eyes met in a gaze of pure emotion, hearts unfolding before each other.

"I love you, Sakura-chan."

He let out a deep breath and watched her eyes widen in response, green eyes glistening with tears. He couldn't believe he had just said it, and maybe she couldn't believe it either, but now that it had come out of his mouth he felt more in love than before.

"I love you," he kissed her forehead again and she leaned onto him.

"I love you," to her nose.

"I can't hear you, Naruto,"she giggled.

"I love you, I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU SAKURA-CHAN!" He was so happy he felt like he could burst, and, at the top of his voice, burst he did. "YOU HEAR THAT KONOHA? I'M IN LOVE WITH SAKURA-CHAN!"

His voice rang loud and clear, and her heart wanted to keep hearing it, because his words felt like his warmth that surrounded her at that moment, and his voice like his strength that held her against the wind. She thought she had known love, and she thought she had felt it before. She was wrong. This was love, and this was nothing like she'd ever felt before. Her arms tightened around him and she drew him closer, lips curving into the most beautiful smile he had ever seen, she whispered in his ear.

"I love you too, Naruto."