My Absolute Favorite

A/N: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Naruto, what happened to your necklace?

It had all started with that question, now that he reflected over it.

As the blonde man fiddled around with the green necklace on his chest, he smirked at how he had been a fool for not realizing it earlier. The frequent disappearances coupled with the hasty greetings and goodbyes were already a sign that something was certainly amiss; however, it was nothing like he had ever expected.

He turned his head to look at the pink haired girl sleeping beside him, still in her night attire. She was sleeping so soundly, and even the sound of him stirring in bed earlier as he woke up to reminisce over the happenings of a week ago had done nothing to disturb her sound slumber. Silently, he reached out one of his hands to brush a lock of her hair that had fallen across her face in order to catch a glimpse of her face. She looked so lovely that he found himself smiling fondly at her besides himself.

Last week, October 10

The whole of that week had gone by unexpectedly incredibly fast now that Naruto thought about it. Of course, that had mostly been the cause of one pink haired girl who of late was slowly dimming out her presence in Naruto's life.

Each and every time that Naruto had approached Sakura in order to strike a conversation with her or hope for a chance to hang out with her like they had always been, the girl would mouth a quick apology before saying that she was needed elsewhere. Naruto did not even have time to say anything back in response as she would hastily rush away from him to another area of the village.

This pattern had gone on for quite a while, and he couldn't even remember the last time he had had a proper conversation with the pink haired girl. He was growing increasingly disheartened with his standing about the pink haired girl, and there were times when he even feared that she was growing out of his life. Every time such a dreadful thought came to his mind, he had to shake his head to dissipate the negative thoughts and remind himself that he and Sakura had been best friends for a long time and it would take years before they even stopped talking to each other.

Sakura herself, seemed to be oscillating in and out of the village frequently as in of late, and the few times he asked her where she was heading to she would simply mouth 'Mission', before darting away in a haste. At one time Naruto had been so displeased with how she was constantly 'avoiding' him that he paid a visit to Tsunade to ask her just what sort of missions Sakura was going on that they took up all her time to do other things, but to his further dismay, the blonde woman refused to divulge anything, only telling him that everything would make sense in due time.

And so Naruto had decided not to pester any longer, although occasionally as he came from Ichiraku late in the evenings he would see his pink haired teammate walking in the opposite direction that he was heading to, accompanied by her blonde best friend, Ino. The two seemed to be deep in conversation regarding something, such that they did not pay attention to their surroundings. As much as Naruto told himself that if he just waited for her things would eventually go back to normal, each time he saw her without even saying a single hello made his heart ache with a slight pang of pain. He could deny it as much as he wanted, but the truth was that he sorely missed Sakura's company.

From the moment she had posed him that single question and he had answered her, oblivious to the huge rift it would cause between them thereafter, her presence in his life and the time she spent with him seemed to be waning constantly. But it was okay, he reassured himself. Things would become better soon. That would mean that he had to learn to keep himself busy to avoid missing her too much. It had been hard at first, but slowly by slowly, he had found other things to take his time as he waited eagerly for the day things would go back to normal with his teammate.

So it was with a huge surprise that on that particular day, when he heard a knock on his door late that night and went to check who it was visiting him at that ungodly hour, it was none other than his pink haired teammate. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that flash of pink hair before the door had been completely ajar, and even after he had registered it was her in the flesh; he had remained transfixed to the ground a few seconds afterwards.

Sakura was clutching a bag, and was clad in home garb, which consisted of a light yellow t-shirt and black pants that reached just below her knees and seemed a tad too tight for her body. She did not seem to express any discomfort in wearing them, however, as she stood outside Naruto's door with a slightly nervous expression on her face.

A few moments of silence passed between the two, neither of them sure of what to say to break the ice that had formed between them, but then Sakura stretched out her hand before her and said in an almost entirely confident tone.

"Happy Birthday, Naruto."

Naruto was dumbfounded, as he stared at the bag, then at his teammate standing behind it, his eyes having grown to the size of bulbs. He did not particularly know where to start in his remarks, so he did the only thing plausible at the time, inviting the pink haired girl into his house.

Once she was inside and she had made herself comfortable on one of the wooden seats in his living room, placing the bag on the table beside her, Naruto turned to face her, the astounded look on his face still there.

"You….."he started, trying to form a coherent sentence as he regarded the girl before him," how did you know?"

Sakura's confidence seemed to rise slightly high with that question, as she braved a smile and said," Remember the time when your dad was going away after the Edo Tensei was released in the middle of the war? At that time, I heard him saying," Happy Birthday, Naruto," so I made a mental note to remember that October 17 is your birthday. Kind of weird, right?"

How could he forget? That was the last time he had seen his dad, and it had happened over a year ago. The memory had lingered on fresh in his mind though, such that it seemed that it happened only yesterday.

Still, for Sakura to actually remember such a thing, Naruto was speechless. He knew that the girl had a special place in her heart for him, but even to remember something like his birthday. He felt his affection for the pink haired girl growing deeper with that.

He smiled. "Really, you're amazing, Sakura-chan." Placing a hand on his chin, something cropped up in his mind and he asked her," But then, why did you show up this late? You could have just given it to me in the middle of the day, right?"

At that juncture, Sakura stood up, resting herself on the side of the table where her bag was lying. She smiled again. She could see tears that threatened to spill out of the blonde's eyes glistening at the corners of his eyes. "Why are you crying? Weren't you the one who said that a hero always shows up late?" She followed this up by winking at him playfully.

Naruto did not know when or how he had done it, but the next thing he knew he was already where his pink haired teammate was standing, his hands around her as they caught her in a hug. His head rested at her shoulder, and his hands tightened around her, the tears on his eyes now falling freely. Sakura was nearly thrown back by the force that her teammate had caught her with, but she had managed to stand her ground. At first she had been surprised by his impromptu gesture, and when she felt her body caught in his, her heart skipped a beat. Only when she felt the cold feeling at her shoulder did she realize he was crying, and she felt herself glow with happiness. Slowly, she proceeded to place her arms around him, returning his fierce hug with as much affection as she could muster.

"Idiot, you didn't have to say it like that," Naruto spoke up in a tear stricken voice, once he had raised his head from Sakura's shoulder. He was simply too overwhelmed with happiness at that point, whether it was the fact that Sakura had remembered his birthday even when he hadn't told it to her, or by the fact that she used one of his own trademark lines to make the moment even more special, he could not particularly tell. All that he knew just then, was that there was no one else in the world he wished to share that joy with.

A few minutes later, Sakura gently pushed the blonde man away from her, relieved at having finally gotten a chance to breathe again and address what she had come there to do in the first place. Naruto still stood a few inches away from her, so when she ruffled into her bag in search of something; she glanced from the corner of her eye to tell her teammate one thing.

"Close your eyes."

Naruto tilted his head in curiosity, crossing his hands at his chest. "What for?"

She stuck her out in a playful motion. "It's a secret."

The blonde man's heart fluttered a little when he saw that gesture from her, and just then his heart swelled up with emotion. He realized just how much he had missed seeing that side of her, and surmised that if he wanted to see it a little more, he needed to comply with her wishes just then. He proceeded to close his eyes.

Sakura fumbled around in the bag a little, before drawing out something small. Satisfied that it was still in one piece, she turned to her teammate, who fortunately, had his eyes shut at that point. Standing on her toes as she regretted the fact that Naruto had to be taller than her at a time like this, she proceeded to place the present around his neck, and once she was done, she took a step back to see if it fit well. It was perfect.

"You can open your eyes now."

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, aware of the fact that there was something hanging on his neck, and when he opened his eyes, what awaited him was something he never thought possible. It had been something that he had destroyed over a year ago, when he was fighting the Akatsuki leader, Pain, when he had gone into his Six Tailed form, but in the present, a similar necklace hung on his neck. He was way too surprised.

"Sakura-chan, is this?" He had to ask since his mind was in a flurry at the moment.

The pink haired girl, visibly pleased by the look she had seen on Naruto's face upon witnessing the heirloom, could not hide her elation as she smiled back at him. Clasping her hands behind her back, she proceeded to walk a little, looking if the necklace fit Naruto as perfectly as his old one, before finally answering," Well, it isn't the one you destroyed, if that's what you're thinking. It's a new one I had bought for you.

Suddenly, everything seemed to click in Naruto's mind. The initial question, the occasional disappearances while heading out on missions, all of it was in preparation for this moment. A tinge of guilt hit in him as he realized how he had been a fool and not trusted in his teammate a little from when her odd behavior had started. Of course, he had learned to cope with it later, but if he made any wrong turns, he might have made a decision regarding Sakura that he would regret for the rest of his life. He mentally berated himself for a minute before resuming the conversation with his pink haired teammate.

"Wow, really? But….you really didn't have to," he said weakly, his good hearted nature getting the better of him before he could stop it. Ever since he had been a kid, Naruto had come not to see the fuss regarding birthdays, because he had never had a proper one his entire life. This was the first time anyone had given him anything for his birthday, so of course his first notion was to be modest. He was just that kind of a person.

Sakura cleared her throat before answering this time. "If you're talking about the birthday, then I don't think I'll let you get away with saying that. I know that your last birthday was spent fighting in a war for the sake of humanity's future, so I wanted to make sure that this time your birthday turned out to be perfect. It is your 18th birthday, after all. About the present, I know how much you treasured your last one, since Tsunade-sama was the one who had given it to you, and you just didn't seem, well, complete without it. So I wanted to get you one just like the old one."

Naruto adjusted the necklace in his hands, studying it silently. It was perfectly like his old one, a doppelganger of the First Hokage's necklace. From what Jiraiya had told him when they first met Tsunade, the necklace itself would be able to buy three mountains full of gold mines. So how on earth was Sakura able to get something like this?

Before he opened his mouth to voice the question, Sakura seemed to have already predicted what he was about to say, having read the look of confusion on his face just then.

"Sakura, how long have you been saving up for this?"

The smug smile on her face was all the proof Naruto needed to know that she expected him to ask that question at one turn of the conversation.

"For the last six months." She shrugged a little after that answer, bracing herself for the outlandish reaction that would ensue from her blonde teammate.

She was never wrong about things like this.

"Eeeeeeeeeh?!" Naruto exclaimed; his hands outstretched besides him in a look of pure astonishment. There was no way he would have expected such an answer from his pink haired teammate.

Sakura placed a finger on her lips to silence her teammate, knowing that it was already late in the dark and he would wake up the whole neighborhood if he wasn't careful enough.

Naruto managed to calm himself, but there was still a lingering look of bewilderment on his face. "B-but….how…." he stammered briefly, before Sakura interjected in his unfinished sentence.

"The reason I've been in and out of the village so much for the past few months wasn't because I was avoiding you Naruto. I was going on S-class missions, since I knew how much they paid plus how much the necklace itself cost. But since time was running out steadily and your birthday was around the corner in a few weeks time, I needed to handle more and more missions so as to be able to make the quota in the right time. Does it make sense now?"

Naruto had more or less come to this conclusion himself earlier, although the finer details eluded him. Still, as much as he appreciated the lengths that Sakura went in order to surprise him on his birthday, he still was not comfortable with the idea of her going on high-level missions with her life at risk.

"You didn't need to go such dangerous missions alone, Sakura-chan," he said as much to her when he had gotten his head around the entire thing. It still sprung worry in his heart thinking of the danger his teammate had put herself in, even if she was there before him as fit as a fiddle. "I could have come handle them with you," he concluded. He did not doubt the girl's strength for a minute; after all, he had witnessed for himself with his own eyes just how powerful she had grown from her feats in the war, but still it was quite a worrisome thing to hear.

Sakura had expected as much a reaction from him when she spilled the beans to him, but there was no way she was going to let it get to her. Placing her hands on her waist in a cross manner, she responded in an adamant tone, "And have you ruin the surprise? No way!"

Naruto was taken aback by the stern manner in which she had responded, although from the tone of her voice just then, he knew better than to disagree with her. He nodded his head in affirmation, deciding to change the tide of the conversation.

"Was Granny Tsunade in on this too?" He asked in a wary tone, careful enough not to say anything that would draw on any more of Sakura's ire.

Luckily enough, he saw her shoulders slump in relaxation, her hands falling limply to her side. She heaved a sigh of relief before continuing," I told her to keep it a secret though. She's the one who told me about the necklace, and somewhere where I could buy it, so well I have her to thank for this as well."

Naruto picked up the green gem once more, looking at his reflection in the crystal surface. "Hmm, I see, but well, truth is told, the fact that I got it from Tsunade isn't the only reason why I treasure this necklace, you know."

Curiosity welled up in Sakura with this reply, and she bobbed her head as she asked for an answer. "There's another reason? What is it?"

Naruto cast his gaze away from the crystal ornament, and looked at his teammate on the other side. Sakura could see tinges of faint red on his cheeks, and wondered what that was all about.

"I loved it because it reflected the color of your eyes," Naruto stated bluntly, after mustering as much confidence as he could in that one moment. It was probably one of the most embarrassing things he had ever said in his life to the pink haired girl.

Sakura stayed silent for a few moments, as Naruto's words rung in her ears. Slowly, as the words began to sink in, she found her cheeks heating up as they also began to be stained red, and she broke her gaze away from Naruto since it was growing increasingly comfortable to look into his cerulean eyes. Well, he did have a point, she thought, since the green color of the crystal was the same as her eyes, but even though, he didn't have to say it so directly! The shade of red on her cheeks deepened and she hoped that Naruto would not see it, although she had a feeling that he had already seen how much of a blushing wreck he was at that point.

She managed to recollect herself, clearing her throat as she answered in a husky voice. "W-well, if that's the case, then I want you to always think of me when you wear that."

As soon as the words left her mouth, a new wave of embarrassment washed over Sakura. She was not sure what exactly had possessed her and caused her to say such an embarrassing thing, although maybe it was the fact that Naruto had been brave enough with her to tell her one thing he loved about her. In that one moment, she wanted to be brave like him, although it came at the cost of a load of embarrassment.

"I always think of you, Sakura-chan," the reply came, soft and gentle like the man standing before her at the moment. Turing her head to look at her teammate, she was slightly dismayed to see that he was not feeling as embarrassed as he had been feeling earlier when he had confessed to her. It wasn't fair that she was the only one who had to feel that way in that situation, but then again, a small part of her was happy that he had told her such a sweet thing. His smile was definitely a wonder to behold, she thought, and slowly, she felt her own embarrassment dissipating, to be replaced by a feeling of warmth.

A memory prodded at Naruto at that point, and he asked Sakura before he forgot, "Wait a minute, Sakura-chan. If you didn't want to spend time with me because you feared you might ruin your surprise, what about Ino? You were spending quite some time with her in the evenings; does this mean she also knew about the surprise too?"

Sakura was brought out of her stupor with that question, and she turned to the bag resting on the table once more. "That's the other thing," she said absently, as she stretched out for the bag on the table.

Handing it to a now curious looking Naruto, she urged him on, "I sorta lied about the reason why I showed up so late tonight Naruto. The real reason is because of what's in the bag. Go on, open it."

The blonde man had a feeling that Sakura was not being entirely honest when she had revealed the reason why she had shown up at that hour, but he didn't let it bother him as such. Plunging one hand into the bag, it came to rest upon a soft surface, which he proceeded to pull out of the bag in one fell swoop. He was genuinely surprised for the second time that day.

In his hands right now was an orange cloak, similar to the one his father sported when he was the Hokage, although this one felt slightly heavier. The edges of the cloak had shapes that seemed like swirling flame patterns, and at the back of the cloak was the kanji for Seventh Hokage written in bold black.

Once Naruto had realized that he held a symbol of the village leadership, his earlier surprise turned into amusement. There was no way he could fail to react at this juncture.

"Sakura-chan, this is a Hokage cloak."

"Yes," she nodded in affirmation, "and Ino was helping me out with making it for you. Since well," her cheeks stained faint red once more," I'm not that good with needles and stuff."

Her embarrassing revelation just then went over Naruto's head, as he seemed too endorsed with the present he held in his hands just then. He giggled a little, "I can't wear this."

That struck a chord somewhere in Sakura. "Why not?" She asked in an icy tone that threatened to break any moment into a flurry of outburst.

"Do you realize how long it will be until I become Hokage?I might outgrow this thing by then!" Naruto stated in a matter of fact tone voice, intending to make Sakura realize the folly in her thought pattern just then.

Surprisingly, that did not faze Sakura even in the least bit. She still had that stern look on her face, but it soon gave way into a confident glare. "If that's the case then you don't have to worry about that," she said with an ever growing smirk on her face," I already accounted for that, so I made the coat slightly bigger than your size. Jeez, just who do you think I am, Naruto?"

That put the rest of the protests Naruto had lined up in his mind to rest, and explained the unusual heaviness he felt in the cloak. Realizing that if he donned it, of course, it would make him unnecessarily exhausted, he placed it on the table, promising to himself that he would go and put it in a proper place later on. His heart threatened to swell with emotion once more, as he took the cloak as a sign of Sakura's unwavering belief in him that he would definitely one day achieve his dream of becoming the village leader. It made him beam with happiness, and he could feel his resolve to become Hokage grow stronger. On that fated day, he knew that the pink haired girl would be there for him, as she always had been.

Shifting his attention back to the pink haired girl, he grinned at her once more, before telling her in an appreciative tone," Thank you, Sakura-chan. For everything."

Quite contrary to Naruto's belief just then, the pink haired girl was not quite done with what she had come to do that evening. Arching herself off the table where she had been resting her back on earlier, she shook her head. "It's not quite over yet, Naruto," she said in a calm tone.

That put Naruto at a loss. Clearly, he had underestimated his teammate more than he had thought. Just what else did she have up her sleeve? "Wait, there's more?!" He said in a slightly excited voice, but as his eyes surveyed the room he did not find any other bags he had not noticed the pink haired girl bringing into the room. Then did that mean that she had carried the present on her person? Perhaps, but before he could dwell on the matter anymore, Sakura's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Close your eyes, Naruto."

Trusting in her as he had the first time, Naruto proceeded to shut his eyes, his body conscious for any other signs that Sakura was planning to dress him with something else as she had the first time. It never came however.

Instead, what came was a warm feeling on his lips, accompanied by wetness, and his mind was suddenly reeling with what was happening just then. Opening his eyes, he was literally shocked to find out that the girl of his dreams was in front of him, her lips on his as she captured him in a warm kiss. His eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets, and he could feel every part of his body screaming out in delight. His insides were squirming with heat, and before he could get a hold of the entire situation, the kiss was already over.

Even then, Sakura did not break her close proximity from Naruto. Looking at him with her emerald eyes that made him feel as if he was about to drown in them, he saw her lips move to utter his favorite words that day.

"Happy birthday, Naruto."

That was all the leeway he needed, before he found himself capturing her lips this time himself in a heated kiss. The force of her kiss threw her off her balance as she had been with the hug earlier, but luckily enough, there was a table this time to break her fall. Her earlier kiss seemed to have sparked something in Naruto, because as she felt her lips on his, there was only passion there. There were no signs of embarrassment on his part, which was quite surprising, since in the past whenever he had to come to terms with the prospect of a romantic notion with Sakura, he would find himself a blushing wreck around her. But not this time. Things were different, and Sakura found herself liking this side of Naruto more and more.

His tongue slowly entered her mouth, swirling around as it tasted the insides of her mouth, before Sakura captured it with her own tongue. The two tongues danced awhile around each other, relishing in the taste of the other, as Naruto pressed his lips onto the pink haired girl's mouth. Sakura's hands slowly made their way upwards Naruto's shirt, slyly pulling up the fabric so that she could get a feel of his well toned body. She certainly was not disappointed on that front, and she could feel herself grow increasingly excited as her hands roamed Naruto's torso and his back. The blonde man shuddered a little at Sakura's initial touch, but his body soon eased into it as his muscles relaxed.

Likewise, his hands slowly travelled downwards Sakura's shirt, and when they reached the hem of the soft linen, he began pulling it upwards, and his heart rate grew erratic. Images of the girl's creamy skin popped up in his mind, and he knew that one more step away, was what he had dreamed of seeing on many a night. His fingers touched the skin on her waist, and she shuddered under his touch, although he did naught to release her from his touch. His kisses persisted and Sakura could feel her lips swelling a little under the pressure of Naruto's kisses, but she was not ready to relent any moment soon. She could feel the area between her legs grow increasingly excited and just then a thought occurred to her regarding something her mom had always told her. Was this where she was going to have her first time?

As if answering her question, however, Naruto's mouth suddenly released hers, and his hands removed themselves from under her shirt. Sakura was mildly surprised that he had stopped himself when he was the one that had taken her the second time, but when she studied his face from her position on the table, she saw traces of embarrassment on his face. What had brought them on at that point, she wondered?

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have. I don't know what came over me," Naruto began to apologize, in a tone heavy with guilt and his cerulean gaze not on the pink haired girl, but before he could continue, she placed her hand on his arm to calm him down. That did the trick.

Sakura had a worried look on her face. "Hey, don't say that. I didn't mind it at all. You know I didn't," she said in a serious tone. Her initial thought when he had stopped the advances, of course, was that he did not want her, but she pushed that thought to the annals of her mind. She knew Naruto better than that.

"I know, Sakura-chan, and trust me, you're all I've ever wanted," Naruto retorted, in a tone mirroring Sakura's," but I don't want to take you until we are married, is all," he confessed in a subdued tone.

Sakura's eyes widened in disbelief, as in all her life, she had not expected to hear such a mature statement from the blonde man. Of course, she knew that he had changed drastically over the past few months, although she had not been privy to just how much. It impressed her, if she were to be honest with herself.

Extricating the upper part of her body from the table, she folded her arms over her chest in a show of the pride she was feeling in her teammate in that moment. "Damn, when did you learn to be such a smooth talker?" She asked him in an amused tone.

Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, chuckling a little," He-he, since I met my mom. Well, when she told me of how she and dad met, I realized that they didn't engage in sex till they were married. I do want you, with every fiber of my being, but I believe that if we wait till we're married; it will be more special that way. Something like that, I guess?"

Sakura stared at him silently for a few minutes, growing increasingly impressed with the man standing before her. In all honesty, she did not think he had that sort of view on sexual relationships, but now that she pondered on it herself, there was truth in what he had just said. Earlier, when Naruto had kissed her and felt her a little, she was not sure she was just ready to lose her virginity there with him. It was reassuring to know that he was not in such a hurry as well with her, since they would have the rest of their lives together to spend.

She could not hide how impressed she felt at the moment with her friend."Wow, someone grew up when I wasn't watching." Still, this did not prevent her smiling at her friend in happiness.

"That doesn't mean that I'll pass up on the other good parts like kissing and….stuff," Naruto added on, scratching the side of his cheek in anxiety. The blush on his face that had receded earlier returned in full force.

Unsurprisingly, Sakura was extremely flustered by that confession as well, as her cheeks blazed red and she pushed the blonde man away from her a little.

"You little pervert you!"

Present

Ever since that eventful birthday, both Naruto and Sakura had come to acknowledge the fact that they both felt the same way about each other, so advertently they began dating each other and seeing each other as more than friends. They had soon fallen back into their old habits of spending most of their times with each other, although this time there was a tad more than it. Occasionally Sakura would spend the night over at his place, but true to Naruto's word, they did not engage in sex. It made him calmer when he realized that.

Beside him, the pink haired girl stirred slightly when his hand brushed over her face, and her eyes slowly came open. When her gaze came to rest upon the form of her boyfriend who was seating up in bed beside her, she wondered why he was not asleep like her.

"Is everything okay, Naruto?"

He smiled back at her, the events from his birthday having finished replaying themselves in his mind.

"It's perfect."

A/N: Okay honestly I just realized that this story went on way longer than I had intended initially. It was supposed to be around 2k to 3k words long, but damn it this is longer than I thought. At any rate, I hope that did not serve to dilute the story at any costs, and that you enjoyed the extended train ride from top to bottom.

Uh, and I don't know about you but I do not think I have any talent for writing smut at all. Like seriously what do you expect I have no sex experience at all and I feel as if you need to have had at least one sex experience in your life before pulling off smut expertly? Thoughts on this?

All in all, I hope this story turned out really well. It was originally intended for October 10th (Naruto's birthday), but I sort of delayed writing it so as to update my other stories, although well now the idea is done and typed.

Thanks for reading through!