Sakura stood, her tiny purse in hand as she left the restaurant she was only seconds ago eating in with her best friend: Naruto Uzumaki. Her eyes watered at the thought of him,…how he had just stood and left at something urgent…but she understood. He was Jounin now (She was as well, but she had the night off, and Tsunade had promised her a night of rest and relaxation).

Flashback (ten minutes before, up until now)

"Sakura-chan, thanks for inviting me to dinner." Naruto said, as he entered the small ramen shop. He put his arm casually around Sakura's waist, so she wouldn't be bothered by other men.

Sakura blushed at his sudden gesture, but noticed his wink, and realized his plan. "No problem, kitsu-chan. I've wanted to have a nice dinner with someone for a while."

"Heh, I'm glad you picked me then." He said, smiling warmly at her. "Why not Sasuke?"

Sakura frowned and furrowed her brow at the thought of their ebony-haired friend. "Sasuke? Please, Naruto-kun, you know he wouldn't have said yes."

"Well I don't know Sakura-Chan, he seemed pretty pissed at me when he called and asked if I wanted to go out." He said, smiling sheepishly at the pink-haired kunoichi.

"Oh…" she was surprised at her friend's actions, and felt a little guilty for not inviting him. "Whoops…"

They both laughed at this. She loved his laugh. Ever since they were kids, she'd loved to hear the blond boy laugh. It was so hearty and full, and always true. Subconsciously, she stopped laughing and smiled dreamily at the man next to her.

Naruto stopped laughing too, and looked confusedly at the tiny girl before him. "Sakura? Are you okay?"

She shook her head, and blushed, knowing that he had seen her little blank-out.

"Hey, Sakura," He said, making her look at him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah Naruto, anything." She nodded reassuringly.

"Do you know that I love you, Sakura-chan?" He asked, folding his hands under his chin and leaning his elbows on the table.

Sakura's eyes went wide, and she blushed. "Yes, I do Naruto. You have since we were kids." She remembered how she had always beaten him to a pulp every time he had hit on her.

"Well, I still do, Sakura. And I always will." He smiled at her as he took her hand in his, and rubbed his thumb over hers gently.

"I-I-I…" Sakura was at a loss for words. She knew that her blond friend had a thing for her, but she never thought that he could come out and tell her so blatantly that he LOVED her. Honestly, when she was younger, she had a few feelings for her friend. Her love for the blond had grown as she got older, her hormones growing wilder with her. "I really like you too, Naruto."

"But, Sakura, do you LOVE me? Do you wake up every morning thinking of me? Do you wish I was by your side at every waking moment, Sakura?"

She looked into his sky-blue eyes, and saw a glimmer. "Is that how you think of me?"

"Yes. I love you, Sakura." He gave her a small, sincere smile and leaned across the table that was separating them. She gulped nervously as she noticed how close he was, and in an instant, they were in a lip-lock over the table.

Her eyes were wide in shock, when she felt his tongue gliding over her lips. She pulled away, making him grunt in an annoyed tone. "Please not here, Naruto-kun. Can't it wait?"

Naruto frowned, but heeded the kunoichi's word. People were staring.

Naruto's beeper went off, and he pulled it out to look at the emergency. "Shit." He said clearly aggravated. "Someone's been spotted on the outskirts of town; he's got a Sound Village headband on. I have to go, Sakura."

"But can't the other guys get him? Please stay, Naruto." Sakura said, grabbing his hand as he stood.

He pulled away from her soft grip violently. "I HAVE TO GO!" he strode out of the small restaurant, and broke into a run when he got outside.

She watched her blond friend as long as she could before he and his orange outfit dissipated completely into the blackness of the night.

Tears came falling from her light emerald eyes as she heard his last four words echo over and over again in her head. She over-heard a woman close by say "Oh, that poor girl. She only wanted him to stay with her. She must really love him."

She looked at the older woman, and she looked at Sakura with kind eyes and a small sad frown.

End Flashback

She walked outside into the cool air of the Konoha night, and started home…alone.

She had just come out of the place when she heard a man say: "So the idiot walked out on you, huh?" She immediately knew who it was. The only person that would speak of Naruto that way. The only person to have that raspy, low, and barely used voice. Sasuke.

Her eyes welled with tears again. "Yeah…" Sasuke came out of his shadowy hiding place.

"I was waiting here…I thought he would. I heard about some Sound ninjas the other day and I wasn't surprised to see them come." He said, shrugging to the pink-haired girl.

"Oh, SASUKE!" She flung herself on him, her arms wrapping around his neck. Sasuke stiffened, but came to when the girl in his arms was sobbing into his shoulder. He was always a sucker for tears.

"He just left m-me…HE WALKED OUT ON ME, SASUKE! W-what do I d-do?" she slurred into his jacket, shaking furiously at her own crying and the cool winter air outside.

"What exactly happened, Sakura?" he whispered gently, trying to calm his friend down.

"He got a beep…then he said he had to g-go…and I only wanted him t-to s-stay…but he yanked away from m-me and l-left…" She said, squeezing the usually emotionless ninja tighter. "Oh, S-sasuke…"

"Sakura, let me take you home," He said, trying to lead the weeping kunoichi back to his home. "You can stay with me." He said, a cunning smile gracing his lips.

She pulled away from him to look confusedly at the ebony-haired ninja. When she realized that he wasn't kidding, she smiled and said, "Thank you Sasuke."