Love You
As his feelings for her faded, her feelings for him grew, but by the time she realized how she really felt, he was already long gone. NaruSaku Oneshot Challenge Fic
Naruto wasn't sure why he let her keep crawling back into his bed every night, her soft lips placing burning kisses on his jaw, cheeks, and body until he grew aroused enough to give her the satisfaction she desired. Though she never kissed him on the lips.
He had known, right from the beginning, that even if she did lay with him, she did not love him. She loved Sasuke, always had, and Naruto was there to comfort her loneliness in any way he possibly could.
He didn't let her know how much it pained him when she screamed Sasuke's name while they were in the throes of passion instead of his. He didn't let her know how much he wished that she would leave one night and not come back to him. He didn't let her know how his love for her had long since faded. He didn't let her know that with every primal thrust, it killed him on the inside just a little bit more.
Outside of his bedroom it was as if their nightly encounters never occurred. They were teammates, friends, training partners… but that was about it. They never talked about their sex life or secret relationship and she never batted an eye when the subject of loveless relationships and one night stands came up.
He, however, winced at the very mention of the subject, looked away whenever Jiraiya asked if he planned on "getting any" before he died, and frowned when someone ignorantly made a jibe at his "sexless" life.
They never spoke during their "meetings." At first he would always hold her with strong, gentle hands, always muttering an "I love you" into her ear, hoping she would respond back even though she never did. But as time went on those words drifted away until there was nothing left between them but his hopeless attempts to comfort her through intercourse. The fact that Sasuke still wasn't coming back, even though he'd killed Orochimaru, didn't help at all.
They thrust towards one another in a blind haze, locks of pink clinging to her face as droplets of sweat tricked down his golden hair. He wondered exactly when the passion of sex had died away, leaving nothing but the feeling of duty. When did he stop enjoying the feeling of sex? When did the very idea become disgusting to him?
She screamed as she reached her peak, walls clenching around his member and he spilled inside of her with a pained grunt. He pulled out of her body and she sighed, rolling away and burying her face in one of his pillows. Beads of sweat trickled down her pale skin.
He sat on the edge of the bed, holding his elbows and eyes burning with unshed tears. Dirty, dirty, dirty… these sessions always left him feeling dirty. As much as he cared for her as a comrade and friend, he couldn't keep going as a replacement for Sasuke. He didn't want to be used. He wanted to be needed and loved by someone who felt the same.
He stood up, the bed creaking beneath him and gathered his clothes, putting the orange and black garments on with agonizing slowness. She looked up at the noise, sheets held to her chest and hiding her bosom.
"Naruto?"
He didn't respond, sliding vibrant orange pants over softly tanned thighs with cold silence. Her eyes shimmered fearfully. Was he leaving her?
"I love you."
He froze for several seconds as the three words she had spoken tumbled in his head. His shoulders slumped and he zipped his jacket up, lips pressed together thinly as he put his hand on the door handle. He didn't look back.
"I'm sorry, Sakura."
He walked out, closing the door behind him, and leaving her there to realize exactly what she had just lost.
End