If you read the summary then you already know that this is not entirely based on canon, so any inconsistencies in that regard are due to my preferences, not mistakes. The timeframe is sometime after the 4th Great War, but unspecified other than that. This should be a relatively short fic, maybe 4 or 5 chapters at most. As always feel free to review or PM, and enjoy!

...

Sakura shivered a little as she stepped out into a light breeze and the fading sunlight of evening. It wasn't quite winter yet, but these autumn nights were getting colder and colder. She huddled in her jacket and looked over her shoulder at the man following a half step behind her.

"Wanna grab some dinner? I could use some warm food, and it'll give us a chance to talk about the mission a little." Naruto Uzumaki smiled warmly at her and nodded his agreement as he tucked bandaged hands into his pockets. Sakura slowed a moment to match his pace as they walked through the courtyard in front of the Hokage's office and out onto the street. Neither of them had to say where they were going. Lately they'd found themselves eating together quite often and they always went to Ichiraku. At first Sakura had only really agreed because Naruto liked it so much, but the truth was the place had really grown on her over the last few months. Her mouth watered at the thought and she couldn't help but smile wryly. The two of them walked through the busy streets of Konoha at a mild pace, shoulder to shoulder, without a word. Once upon a time Naruto would have been talking her ear off, but nowadays they often spent long stretches of time together in comfortable silence. But she supposed that's what happens when people spend years together and know each other as well as they did. She glanced over at him as they meandered past market stalls closing up for the night. He had a soft smile curling the edges of his mouth, and those brilliant blue eyes had a faraway look about them that made her curious.

"What are you thinking about?" Naruto refocused on the present and turned to look at her, his smile widening.

"Hmm? Oh, I was just thinking that the Land of Rivers is probably beautiful right about now, with all the leaves changed and whatnot." She smiled back at him, returning to her musings about how much things had changed since they were kids. Naruto would never even have noticed the changing leaves back then, much less spent time thinking about how beautiful they were. She brushed a lock of hair away from her face with a gloved hand and wondered when exactly that loud-mouthed little brat and become this for-the-most-part mature young man. Her thoughts were interrupted when he leaned towards her and repeated her question back to her.

"Just...just about the mission." It wasn't the whole truth, but she also wasn't about to tell him she'd been silently admiring him. He wasn't so mature that he'd let that slide, and she wasn't about to have him teasing her all through dinner. Besides, if she confessed to it now he'd probably catch her at it more often, which would just be more trouble. For him. She smiled slyly at her own joke as he obliviously nodded.

"Mmm. It should be interesting, though I doubt we'll see much action. Then again, I haven't heard anything about this Princess Hitomi before. Have you?" Sakura shook her head as they rounded a corner and Ichiraku came into view.

"Nope, but then again I don't sit in on Tsunade-sama's meetings any more, so I haven't really heard of or met any of the important leaders in other countries." Naruto nodded and reached out a bandaged hand, pulling aside the curtain separating Ichiraku from the cold for her. She smiled gratefully and slipped past, delightedly sighing in the much warmer space. Naruto followed close behind, brushing against her.

"Welcome! Ah, Sakura-chan, Naruto-kun, back again so soon? The usual?" Ayame grinned broadly at them, waving them up to their usual seats. No one else was there at the moment, but from Sakura's experience she knew most of the seats would be full in an hour or so. The two stepped up, slipping off their jackets as they went. Naruto held out a hand perfectly in time to take Sakura's hooded jacket just as she folded it, setting it on top of his on the seat to his right. It was a routine of theirs, something she usually failed to even notice that they did. But her mind being half in the past tonight, she once again wondered about it as she settled into her seat on his left. The funny thing wasn't even that they had a routine, but that they had more than she could really consider. The way they walked together, where they went to eat, where they sat when they ate, what they ordered, the jackets, the days and ways they trained together...the list seemed endless. And it didn't bother her at all. She glanced over at him, watching him as he watched Ayame cook, and knew he didn't mind either. After a few short minutes, Ayame set a large steaming bowl in front of each of them.

"One Naruto Special and one Sakura Special! Enjoy!" Sakura rolled her eyes. Ayame always made the same joke, just like she always grinned at them when she dropped little hints about all of these "dates". At first they had both been a little freaked out by it, but eventually they had just let her go on with it. They weren't dates after all, just dinner a few nights a week. And lunch sometimes. And...well now that she really thought about it, she did guess they ate more meals together than they did apart, even taking into account when they were on different missions. Shrugging the thought away, she dug into her ramen with gusto. They ate quietly for a minute with Ayame watching on with that giddy grin before the curtain parted once more and a chill draft crept across Sakura's bare neck.

"Mmhhhmm, thought I'd find you two here." They both turned to look over their shoulders to find Ino Yamanaka pulling the curtain shut behind her. She spun back to face them, her hip-long braided ponytail swinging a bit wildly behind her. Sakura swallowed before greeting her.

"Hey Ino, I didn't think you'd be back already." Ino smiled at them and slipped her black jacket off. She set it casually on the pile, adjusting her intentionally too-tight purple shirt before settling into the seat next to Sakura.

"Yeah well it was a bit chilly on the road so I hustled a bit to stay warm. Apparently I just missed you guys at Tsunade-sama's." Naruto leaned forward as she ordered a diet ramen.

"Then you already got briefed for the mission?" Ino nodded at him, rubbing her hands together.

"Yep, Tsunade-sama told me everything. Land of Rivers, princess, escorting, all of that. I'll be ready first thing in the morning, though I hope HE can behave himself this time." Sakura and Ino both laughed at the grimace on Naruto's face and Sakura patted him on the back, her hand lingering for just a second longer than she originally intended.

"Don't worry, Naruto. Konohamaru's still scared of me from last time, he'll behave." Naruto sighed and returned to his food as Ayame set Ino's down in front of her. Sakura turned back to hers as well, less confident than she appeared. Konohamaru might as well be a Naruto clone the way he acted. It was true Naruto had matured a lot, but Konohamaru was a few years behind in both age and maturity. The last mission the four of them had went on, the little squirt had started a brawl with strangers in a restaurant over a simple misunderstanding. When it was finally over, Konohamaru was unconscious on the floor from one of her punches and Naruto was forced to shell out a pretty hefty sum to pay the owner for all of the damages. It had been a mess, but Sakura couldn't say she wasn't happy about the four of them being assigned another mission together. Despite his immaturity, she loved Konohamaru like a little brother and they fought well together. Then again, that's because he fought like Naruto, and her and Naruto fought so well together by now that they never even had to bother talking to know what the other wanted to do or was thinking. And Ino...well even though they were still rivals, they had never been closer as friends. Besides, she needed another sane woman around if she was going to be dealing with both Konohamaru and Naruto.

"Though we'll be gone for awhile, so I guess this is going to be your last date for a week or two. I doubt you guys will have a chance for a romantic dinner for two on the road, huh?" Sakura blushed and turned to frown at the grinning blond woman to her left as Ayame giggled. She didn't mind it when Ayame joked about that kind of thing, but somehow Ino doing it always made her embarrassed.

"We're not dating, Ino-pig. It's just dinner. You don't call it a date when you eat dinner with Shikamaru or Chouji." Ino smirked at her, eyes obviously looking at the redness of her cheeks.

"True, but I don't eat dinner with Shikamaru or Chouji every night of the week. I don't think I even spend as much time with Sai as you two spend together, and we live in the same apartment. You guys are always eating together, training together, walking together. You're like an old married couple trapped in young bodies." Sakura blushed even further, dumbfounded by the sudden bluntness of Ino's teasing. She turned to Naruto for help, but found him looking down blankly, stuffing noodles in his mouth and pretending like he couldn't hear anything.

"It's not like that. We're on the same team, you know." Ino scoffed at that admittedly pathetic excuse, still smirking.

"Please, you haven't been on a set team in forever, Sakura. And even best friends don't spend that much time…"

"Enough, Ino." Both women turned to Naruto, who had finally joined the conversation. He was frowning at them, a look in his eyes Sakura didn't recognize. Ino sighed but relented and went back to her food. Sakura gave him a soft smile which he returned. An older couple with a young daughter barged past the curtain a moment later and the three shinobi ate in silence as Ayame served them. Sakura entertained herself by listening to the girl tell a story about school that day as they finished their meal. Naruto paid for both her and Ino as well as himself and then handed Ino her jacket. He unfolded hers, however, and held it out for her to slip into. She did, thanking him, but didn't fail to notice the smirk return to Ino's face as she watched. It was another routine of theirs, another simple thing she normally took no notice of. Thinking about it as they said goodbye to Ayame and stepped into the now cold night air though, she did suppose it wasn't exactly a normal thing for friends to do. The three of them set off up the road together, all of them living in the same direction. Naruto and Ino talked lightly as they walked, a comforting buzz in Sakura's ears as she mulled over her thoughts. Before long they came to Naruto's cross street and he waved goodbye to them. She watched as he strode off, hands in his pockets and short blond spikes glinting softly in the light of a streetlamp.

"Sakura? You coming?" She looked around in surprise, almost having forgotten Ino was there. She quickly caught up to her blond friend who was already a few steps down the road.

"Geez Sakura, you sure are scatterbrained tonight. Though I guess I would be too." Sakura looked at her curiously as they continued to walk. Ino sighed and shook her head, blond braid wiggling behind her.

"Look Forehead, I know I'm always teasing you about Naruto, but it's because I love you. Despite all of your objections to the contrary, it's sooo obvious that you guys like each other. Neither one of you has been on a date with anyone else in who knows how long and you spend all of your time together. And when I said you're like an old married couple, I meant it. You guys do things for each other that even Sai and I don't. And I'm not teasing, I think it's really sweet. I'm just tired of watching you two pretend like it's not happening when everyone else can see it is." Sakura was stunned by the sudden outburst from her friend. She was even more stunned by the return of a blush to her cheeks. Her and Naruto? Yeah, they were different from normal friends. That much was obvious, but it didn't mean they were into each other like that. And to say it was happening even though they pretended it wasn't? You couldn't be dating someone with neither of you knowing it...could you? Ino was looking at her expectantly, but she didn't know what to say, so the blond just sighed again.

"Look, just use that big brain of yours, alright? Think about it. You'll see that I'm right. And if it helps at all, you guys are pretty much the cutest couple ever. Other than me and Sai of course! See you tomorrow, lover girl." With a laugh and wink she was gone, no doubt off to tell her boyfriend the day's gossip. Sakura simply stood in the middle of the road thinking until the cold night pushed her to hurry home. Lover girl?

...

Naruto walked along, silently lost in thought. Sakura was in her usual place at his left side, though she too seemed to be thinking about something else. A few paces ahead of them Ino and Konohamaru were arguing loudly about something or other. Those two were always jabbering or arguing about something. He honestly wasn't sure if they'd stopped talking once since they'd left Konoha ten hours ago. He glanced to his left. He and Sakura normally didn't talk much. They were comfortable just being, but something seemed off about her today. The silence between them seemed to have some kind of tension, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. He could ask her, but each time he'd tried the words had caught in his throat for some reason. A breeze pulled gently at him, filled with the growing chill and rustle of thousands of dying leaves overhead. A flicker of movement caught his eye and he turned his gaze left again. Sakura's hair had spilled out of the unused hood hanging from her shoulders and was dancing in the wind. He couldn't help but smile. She'd been letting it grow out again, saying she just felt like doing something different. He hadn't minded her hair short, but he thought she looked nicer the way it was now, more womanly he guessed. She noticed his attention and turned to him.

"Naruto?" He smiled softly and shrugged before looking ahead. He could feel her curious gaze lingering on him though. He thought he heard her start to say something quietly, but if she had it was interrupted by a yell from in front of them.

"Oi, Nii-san! It's almost dark! Are we gonna set up camp or what?" He turned his attention to Konohamaru, who was frowning at him with his hands on his hips. Looking up at the sky, Naruto realized it was later than he had thought. The clouds were already painted a ruddy orange and a hint of stars peeked out between them.

"Yeah, let's go ahead and call it a day." Konohamaru nodded and strode off the road and into the forest, Ino close behind. Naruto and Sakura followed, still side by side.

By the time the sun had fully set they had set up camp in a small clearing guarded from the wind by a fallen tree covered in a thick curtain of hanging moss. A roaring fire had warmed the densely enclosed space nicely. Two hours later Naruto lay on his bedroll using his bag as a pillow and stared absently at the dark foliage overhead. The fire was much smaller now, but still enough to keep them warm. Its crackling and the soft breathing around him were the only sounds in the night. The others had long since gone to sleep. The space under the tree was tight and he was very aware of Sakura's arm brushing his whenever she shifted in her sleep. He felt a little tinge of heat in his cheeks every time it did. He sighed and quietly got up, moving around the fire and leaping up onto one of the overhanging limbs. Between her arm and Konohamaru muttering in his sleep on the other side of him there was no way he could sleep right now. Sitting with his back to the clearing, he leaned his head on the trunk and watched the stars through a space between the branches. He hadn't been there more than a few moments when someone settled in next to him. Turning, surprised, he found Sakura watching him curiously.

"Sakura...sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." She shrugged and turned her gaze to the stars as she whispered back.

"It's ok, I wasn't sleeping that well anyway. Too much on my mind...I guess. Besides, it's a beautiful night." Now it was his turn to look at her curiously. She had her gloved hands clasped tightly in her lap and a small frown on her lips.

"Hey...you alright?" She turned back to him, smiling almost a little sadly. She didn't say anything for a few moments, but then pressed her hands to her thighs and sighed softly.

"It's just...I've been thinking about something Ino said last night...after you went home. And, well, the more I think about it, the more I feel like she's right, you know?" He frowned, confused.

"And that's a...bad thing?" Sakura shook her head, not meeting his gaze.

"No. At least, not if she's totally right. It would just mean things will be different, and that's...a little scary." Now he was really confused. What could Ino have said that would scare Sakura? She was like the toughest woman on the planet. He reached out and placed a hand gently on her shoulder.

"What do you mean? What would be different? What did she say?" Sakura's eyes looked at his hand, then met his once more. She reached up and placed her hand over his, holding it there and bringing that tinge of heat back to his cheeks.

"We'd be different, Naruto. She said she's tired of watching us pretend like there's not something...different, special, between us, when her and everyone else can see it plain as day. She said that she teases us about it so much because it's so obviously true…" Naruto was a little stunned. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts, and then another moment to get them out as he realized what they were.

"She said...and you...feel like she's right?" Ok, so he still really couldn't get them out properly, but that didn't really matter at the moment. Something inside him felt like it was hanging on to the edge of a cliff as he waited for her to respond.

"Yeah...I think I do. I don't know exactly how I feel, but I know you're more than just a close friend, to me. I know there's...something...here. Do you...do you feel the same way?" That same thing that had been hanging on a cliff before was now jumping and screaming, and he realized it was his younger self triumphantly celebrating. He smiled, so wide it hurt, but managed to restrain himself from anything more.

"Yeah." Sakura smiled back at him. She pulled his hand from her shoulder but didn't let it go, and then scooted right up next to him. Laying her head on his shoulder, she sighed contently. He couldn't contain his grin so he just stopped trying and leaned his head into hers. They sat there in silence, watching the stars turn overhead.

...

Sakura had to struggle to hide the grin that kept trying to creep onto her face. Turning slyly to her right, she looked up at Naruto. He turned to her, straight faced, but he couldn't hide that twinkle in his eyes. He gave her a wink and turned back to the road ahead. She did the same, admiring for the first time his expertise in this sort of thing. That night, after a long while of cuddling and stargazing, he'd suggested an idea that had immediately had her smirking. Since Ino had spent the last few months teasing them relentlessly, they'd decided not to let her in on the fact that they were officially together now. However, it was barely noon on the second day and Sakura had almost blown it several times already. She just couldn't help it. As soon as she'd admitted that she felt for him as more than a friend and he'd agreed, she'd felt a huge rush of relief and then just so damn happy. She'd been holding his hand as they walked yesterday and had only just managed to separate from him in time when Ino had turned around to tell them to hurry. Even now she was walking much closer to him than usual, fingers drifting along his sleeve and teasing at the entrance to the pocket where his hand was tucked.

"Sakura, you're going to get us caught." She grinned at him and shrugged.

"It's more fun when you take risks, right?" He shook his head but smiled, hand sliding out of his pocket and fingers tangling loosely with hers. Sakura leaned against him as they walked. Ino was too busy berating Konohamaru about his Pervy Ninjutsu to notice them anyway. They continued on that way for another half hour or so, until they crossed a bridge and arrived at a crossroads. A few miles up the road to the right was a massive castle built out of rose-colored sandstone. Konohamaru shaded his eyes and peered out at it.

"Damn! That's a big castle. Why's it pink?" Sakura and Naruto stepped up next to them, regretfully dropping hands. Naruto shook his head at the younger ninja and gestured.

"It's called sandstone dummy, and that's where we're going. Hayashi Castle, home of Princess Hitomi."