Omelets
Chapter Three: Crazy in Love
Disclaimer: You know the deal.
Haruno Sakura stood triumphantly in the middle of Naruto's living room room like the victor in some tremendous fight, which of course she was. Sakura - 1, Naruto's apartment - 0, she thought with satisfaction.
It had been a fierce battle, for sure, and the apartment had put up quite a good fight, but she had defeated it in the end. You could actually see the floor. The windows and mirrors were clean and shiny again, and the hard floors had been mopped to a glossy sheen. The champion herself collapsed onto the slightly cleaner couch and helped herself to some hard-earned ice cream, right from the carton. Yum.
After she had licked the spoon and dumped the carton in the trash, it was time for her next Herculean task - shopping for all the things Naruto had never bothered to buy. Pulling out her now physical shopping list (he owes me major for this), she checked that nobody on the street was looking and slipped out the window.
"Sakura-chan?" a certain blond shinobi we all know and love called, looking around. Wow, something about this place looks really different...where is she? What if she decided to go back to her parents? What if this was all some prank set up by Ino and-
"I'm in here!" she called back finally, causing him to sigh with relief, then stopped in wonder when he entered the living room.
"It's clean!" Naruto exclaimed in astonishment, looking around his own apartment like he'd never seen anything like it before.
Idiot, Sakura thought, smiling. "Yeah, I had nothing better to do. This place was such a pigsty, you really owe me one, you know. Look!" she said suddenly, pointing downwards. "The floor! I didn't know you even had one under all that crap."
The male ninja smiled widely at her, reached forward, and pulled her into a tight hug. She hugged back, now really noticing how much taller he was compared to her. He's really grown...
"You didn't have to do that," he murmured from somewhere above her right ear.
"Of course I did," she replied softly, feeling a shiver go down her back. I'm not cold... "I couldn't live here with it so messy."
He released her. "I guess I do owe you. Hmm...will a date begin to cover my debt?" he asked teasingly, grinning.
Sakura gave him an appraising look. "Not Ichiraku's?"
"Anywhere you like," he promised sincerely, his grin getting bigger by the second. "I'll cover all of it."
The kunoichi grinned back suddenly. He can be so sweet sometimes, her inner self giggled. "I can't say no to that!" she declared cheerfully, tossing her pink hair back. A thought occured to her, and her expression turned serious. "But...just as friends, right?"
"Of course, Sakura-chan." His smile looked pained. Crap, now I've made him feel bad...
"I mean," she hastened to add, "we're, um, living together and stuff-" (I can't get used to that phrase...)
"I understand completely, Sakura-chan," Naruto cut her off, looking less strained.
"Great!" she said, cheery again. He's going to think I'm bipolar or something. Hmm. Maybe I am. "Come on, let's go!"
Sakura picked a new restaurant not far from Naruto's (or should it be "our"?) apartment. It was a cozy little cafe, traditional but informal, and unfortunately more romantic than she would have expected; with the rose-painted walls, delicate tables, and a general air of amor, she felt out-of-place - or maybe it was that they were actually fitting in.
"How'd the mission go?" she asked, sipping her tea and pushing away her uneasy thoughts. "Anything interesting happen?"
Naruto shrugged and emptied his cup. "Pretty boring, actually. Sasuke and Shikamaru say hi." I'm not that stupid, you know...but I know you're trying to make me happy...
She glared. "Liar. Sasuke never says hi to anybody."
He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "When I mentioned you, he grunted. I speak fluent Sasuke-ese, and I translated it as 'tell her hi for me'. Could be wrong, though."
Sakura rolled her eyes, trying to hold back a laugh. "You give him too much credit. And personality." Have I ever heard Sasuke say hi in my life? she wondered absent-mindedly.
He gave her a mock-glare in return, but she could tell he was secretly pleased. She smiled at him, and something jumped in her ribcage, something she strongly suspected was her heart. Why do we always seem to blur that line between friendship, and, well...
She was completely aware of the way he felt about her, but that didn't mean she returned the feelings, or that they were-
"Aww! You're such a cute couple," the waitress gushed, refilling their cups and awarding them with smiles. Sakura noticed with some annoyance that her friend made no move to correct the mistaken employee.
"We're not-" she tried helplessly, but the waitress winked conspiratorally.
"That's not what your young man seems to think," she chuckled, nodding towards Naruto, who looked like he was trying to win a "Tomato Impersonation Contest". Well, he's not helping at all.
"He's not my-" she attempted again, but the waitress just winked again and left.
"Umm...are you...okay, Sakura-chan?" He was still a blushing mess, she observed, with what would have been a smirk if-
Wait. Sakura raised a hand to her cheeks, only to discover they felt like they were on fire, hotter than a fever.
Well, crap.
"Sakura-chan?" He was looking at her worriedly, as if he was afraid she would faint. (Again.)
"I'm fine," she assured him, feeling her cheeks get even hotter, if possible. What does this mean? Why do I feel so strange?
She didn't eat much after that, but picked at food while watching Naruto carefully for a reason impossible for her to comprehend. Seriously, what's wrong with me? He practically had to lead her out of the warm restaurant as she spaced out. Sorry, Naruto!
The cold air woke her out of the strange trance, and after she apologized ("No problem, Sakura-chan!"), they started walking home.
Wait, home?
"Are you sure you're all right?" He looked concerned. "Not really" would have been the honest answer, but not wanting to worry him, she forced a smile.
"I'm fine, Naruto." Suddenly lonely, she moved closer to him, the body heat making her feel more alive again. Maybe I'm getting sick...I feel pretty dizzy...crap, and I have to work tomorrow...
"Cold?" he asked, obviously still worried. Sakura nodded, rather than try to explain a feeling she couldn't describe in words, but stopped him when he moved to take his jacket off.
"I'm fine," she repeated.
Am I really?
I hope Sakura-chan's okay, Uzumaki Naruto thought worriedly, glancing at his female companion. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were unfocused - he was no medic, but that sounded like the symptoms for a cold, right? Or maybe she was having one of those girl-headaches. But she doesn't seem to be getting mad at me, though...maybe she doesn't feel well enough to...
As much as he hated to think it, she looked really pretty when she was sick. Her eyes fluttered and she yawned, then turned redder when she noticed his stare. "What?" she demanded, with that scary, crazy expression on her face that he loved, although he hated seeing it because it usually meant he was in big trouble.
"Nothing, Sakura-chan!" he muttered nervously, immediately switching his gaze to the road in front of them. As soon as we get back, I'll-
"Umm...Naruto?" His train of thought was interrupted from the angel next to him. She smiled sweetly, but he could tell she was still a little out of it. ...she's still smiling...either this is really good, or really bad...Wow, that smile of hers never failed to short his brain out...
"Naruto?" she demanded, not looking quite as happy. "Are you listening to me!"
"Yes ma'am!" he blurted. At least she seems a little better than in the restaurant...
Scooting even closer to him (wow, Sakura-chan must be sick. Guess I should enjoy it while it lasts, though...), the sunny smile returned to her face, although her eyes still looked far away. "Thanks."
How did she make her eyes so hypnotizing? It registered after a few too-long seconds of silence what she had said, and still gazing into those eyes (Sakura is a very good name for her...she looks like a flower...), he replied without thinking, "No problem - wait, for what?"
She giggled. (...I'm really confused...I'm starting to think Shikamaru's right about girls...) "Just...hey," she said, suddenly serious. "We're almost there, we better hurry up before anybody comes outside."
Nodding, (please don't tell me I'm blushing...) he followed her dumbly, that same lovesick expression on his face.
"Get some sleep," Naruto ordered, once they were back inside. Not about to protest, Sakura moved towards the couch, but he stopped her incredulously.
"Are you crazy, woman?" he demanded angrily. "Sleep on the bed like you did last night, I'll take the couch!"
Too tired to fight, she relented and crawled into bed, feeling childlike as he pulled the covers over her and turned the light off just like her parents used to do. "Good night, Sakura-chan," her friend murmured, his voice a low rumble in her aching ears. She felt tingles run up and down her spine, and barely remembered to reply.
"Good night, Naruto," she whispered back, not sure if he'd heard her. She closed her eyes and slept...
