Sometimes, being the Hokage was dull.
Naruto had achieved his dream; he had proven himself to be the strongest shinobi in Konoha, the best of everyone he'd trained with for years. He'd fought the Akatsuki, defeated threats to his home, and had paid off the biggest debt to a ramen restaurant that had ever been seen in Konohagakure. He had been given the prestigious title of Hokage, and he woke up every day proud of his achievement.
That is, until he was confronted with a stack of paperwork which was taller than he was.
As much as Naruto loved his job - and he did, he really did, he reminded himself – some days were just boring. Being Hokage meant that some days were spent discussing the village's sewage system with the elders. Other days were spent writing letters to the other villages to keep up good relations. And sometimes there were days purely dedicated to signing paperwork.
Today's paperwork consisted of approving missions assigned to Jonins and their new Genin teams. He'd already sent away Shikamaru and Hinata on B-rank missions without Genins, and had signed off most of his other friends to go on missions with their new ninja groups.
Naruto placed his head on the desk in front of him.
It was going to be a tedious week.
A knock on the door had Naruto sitting up straight in his chair, looking for all intents and purposes alert and interested in his work.
"Come in," he called out. The door opened a fraction, and a head peeped through the doorway.
"Are you busy?" Sakura asked, eyes glancing from the blonde to the stack of paper beside him. A smile broke out onto Naruto's face as he shook his head.
"Not really," he grinned. Sakura raised an eyebrow in disbelief as she ran her eyes over the paperwork again, nonetheless stepping into the office and shutting the door behind her. She crossed her arms, tilting her head at Naruto as she motioned towards the mountain of paper next to him. He shrugged.
"I'm never too busy for you," he said, winking at her. She blushed slightly, fighting a smirk as she moved towards the desk.
"Sorry Naruto, I'm here on official business today," she replied. Naruto groaned slightly.
"But that's the worst kind of business," he pouted. She folded her arms, and Naruto noticed the green flak jacket she was wearing. His shoulders sagged. "I'm guessing you're reporting for a mission, right?" Sakura nodded. Naruto frowned slightly, and flicked through a small folder next to him. "Wait, I don't remember you being put on a mission. I thought you had hospital duties?"
Sakura crinkled her nose as she grimaced. "Yeah, about that. You know you've put Sai's team on a mission to Sunagakure?"
"To relay information to Gaara, yeah."
"Well, he can't go. He's broken his leg."
Naruto gaped at her.
"When? Why did nobody tell me about this?" he asked.
Sakura extended her hands slightly outwards, gesturing to herself.
"That's why I'm here. It happened about twenty minutes ago, he's in the hospital now. He'll be okay, but he mentioned that the mission was time sensitive and would need to continue. As I'm the only available Jonin who can take on the mission, here I am."
Naruto placed his head in his hands.
"Oh no, that means more paperwork! Damn you, Sai..." Naruto moaned.
"Naruto, he's broken his leg," Sakura said, glaring at the Hokage's lack of sympathy. He waved away the accusatory tone.
"Right now, I'd happily trade him."
Sakura clicked her tongue, and he looked up at her wearily. "Sorry, it's been a long day," he said, rubbing a hand over his eyes. A frown fell onto his face and he sighed. "Oh, crap."
"What?" Sakura asked, her tone gentler at the sight of the tired man in front of her. Naruto smiled sadly at her.
"You're going to be gone for a while, aren't you?"
She moved to the back of his desk, placing a hand on his shoulder, which Naruto dropped his head onto, shutting his eyes as he did so.
"It'll only be a week, two weeks tops. You'll barely notice I'm away."
Naruto snorted. "Yeah, right." He turned his head so he could place a small kiss on the back of Sakura's hand, and all attempts at professionalism shot out of the window.
Sakura leaned over the back of Naruto's chair, draping her arms around his shoulders. She placed a quick kiss to the top of his head before resting her chin on it.
"Okay, you'll notice, but you'll be too busy worrying about..." her eyes scanned one of the forms in front of Naruto. "...the 'Increased Shinobi Intake Within the Village's Schools.' Wow, that sounds... really boring. What, do they want to cut down the number of kids who want to train as ninjas or something?"
Naruto's hands rose to softly clasp the arms embracing him, and Sakura felt his head shift under hers as he nodded.
"Something like that, yeah. It's pretty stupid in all honesty, considering everything that's happened in the last few decades. You'd think people would want more shinobi. I mean, there was so much danger for such a long time..." Naruto's voice trailed off, and when he spoke again Sakura could hear the forced casualness not quite masking the concern in his voice. "This mission... you will be careful, right? I know it's nothing compared to what you're used to, but carrying sensitive information is always a bit risky. I don't want you or the Genin to get hurt..."
Sakura swatted him playfully on the shoulder. "I'm going to be fine. It's a C-rank mission to give the newbies a taste of the wonderful world of being a ninja. It's incredibly unlikely something would go wrong," she said. Naruto leaned his head back, looking up at her incredulously.
"You remember our first mission, right?" He asked. Sakura chuckled, and tightened her arms around him.
"Well, okay, but we were a special case. But if you think about it, our first mission went really well!" Sakura said, forcing extra enthusiasm into her voice to try and calm down her boyfriend.
It didn't work.
"Sakura, we were stalked by a mercenary ninja, our Jonin was bedridden for a week, Sasuke nearly died, and the mercenary ninja did die!"
"...well, we got the old man back to the village. So it was a successful mission, at least," Sakura said, biting her lip. She felt Naruto push his chair back, and she moved so she could place herself in his lap before he could protest. She kissed him quickly, stopping any retort he had.
"Naruto, we'll be okay," she said reassuringly as she pulled away from the kiss. "They're good kids, and if by some freak coincidence a mercenary ninja pops up, I promise I'll call for back up." She frowned. "I don't really want to follow in Kakashi's footsteps and stay in bed for a week."
Naruto leaned forwards, wrapping his arms around Sakura's waist as he rested his forehead against hers, the metal of his headband cool against Sakura's skin. He let out a small sigh before grinning at her.
"As if you'd need back up," Naruto said, "Let's face it, any mercenaries after you will be the ones calling for help."
Sakura flicked him affectionately on the nose.
"Damn right they will."
Naruto chuckled.
"I know you're going to be alright. I just worry, you know?" Naruto leaned his head into the crook of her neck. "And I'm gonna miss you."
Sakura stroked the back of Naruto's head, smiling at him warmly.
"I'm going to miss you, too," she said, curling into Naruto as he nuzzled his head against her, his hair tickling her neck. "And hey, I get that you're worried. How do you think I feel when you go off to see the other Kages and take minimal security?" Sakura pulled at Naruto's Hokage cloak gently, causing him to lift his head up. She glared in mock indignation, poking the now-upright Naruto softly in the chest. "What if an assassin comes after you, huh?"
Naruto placed his hand on his chin, leaving one wrapped around his girlfriend's waist, and pretended to think.
"Well, I guess I'd have to call for back up then," he grinned. Sakura nodded firmly, her smile counteracting the severity of the action.
"I guess you would," she said. Her hands dropped to Naruto's chest, curling around the edges of his cloak. "Now, I have to get ready to leave in about five minutes. We can either sit here talking about how much we're going to miss each other, or..." Naruto's fingers swept across the back of Sakura's neck before sliding into her hair, and he leaned his forehead against hers.
"Or...?" he asked, raising an eyebrow knowingly. Sakura decided not to waste their limited time vocalising her response, instead pressing her lips firmly against Naruto's. One of her hands moved to the nape of Naruto's neck, pulling him as close to her as possible as the other grasped his cloak firmly. Naruto pulled away for a fraction of a second, whispering "I like or," against Sakura's lips before tightening his arms around her and kissing her again.
Naruto's chair wasn't the most comfortable place for the pair of them to be wrapped around each other, but neither of them really noticed whilst their breaths were mingling and their hands were tracing each other's face, arms, hips, everything they could in the five minutes allowed to them.
They certainly didn't notice the ticking of the clock, which moved through the five minutes quickly, too quickly, and neither of the couple noticed when five minutes turned into six, seven, or ten.
They did, however, notice the opening of Naruto's office door when Kakashi walked in with a wave and a smile.
"Hey Naruto, did Sakura talk to you abou- oh." The couple's sensei blinked as he took in the two of them. Sakura had leapt off Naruto's lap and was standing by the desk fastening her untied jacket, a blush staining her cheeks. Kakashi scratched the back of his head, moving back towards the door.
"Well, that settles that question. Uh. Sakura, you need to leave asap. I'll be outside. With the Genin." Kakashi edged out of the room, leaving behind an amused Naruto and a bemused Sakura.
"So we can catch him reading Go-Go Paradise when we're twelve and he has no shame, but this embarrasses him," Naruto noted. Sakura swatted his shoulder, albeit with a smirk on her face.
"I guess I better go then," she said. Naruto stood up, pulling her into a hug.
"Stay safe," he whispered as she stepped away.
"I always do," she replied, standing on her tip toes so she could kiss him one more time. She smiled as she moved away, stroking Naruto's face tenderly. "I love you," she said.
Naruto beamed. "I love you, too."
Sakura walked towards the door, leaving Naruto to retake his place at his desk. As she opened the door, she turned to blow a kiss at him.
"See you in a week or so!" she called, closing the door behind her. Naruto sighed contentedly as he shook his head, looking down at the pencil lying haphazardly across the paper on his desk.
At least not everything in his life was boring.