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Tomorrow's Promise
Chapter 3: Surprises
In the doorway stood her teammate and male best friend. He had arrived on time, a bouquet of pale pink roses in his hands. He was wearing civilian clothing consisting of a pair of orange pants and a black shirt, the same outfit that he had worn to Tsunade's office. The sunlight was reflected in his spiky blond hair, which had grown longer as he had matured. His resemblance to the deceased Fourth Hokage was striking. When she got the chance, she would ask him what he knew about his parents.
"For you," he said, offering her the roses. Sakura accepted them quietly. Pink roses were among her favorite flowers. Ino had taught her that they stood for love and appreciation. These were definitely from her flower shop. Naruto had most likely gone there for advice of what to get because as far as she knew, he had never bought flowers before in his life.
"Thank you," she said. "Come in while I find a vase for these."
He stepped over the threshold and into her apartment. How different it was from his. Hers was much neater than his. It was simply decorated in a well-coordinated color scheme of dark red, pink, black and white. The neatness of the place was what really stuck him. Although she had been over his place many times and had a key, this was his first time over her new place. She had very recently moved out of her parents house and rented this place from her aunt if he remembered correctly.
"Just as I thought. We're probably going for ramen tonight. Still the roses were a nice surprise," she thought to herself as she found a vase in the cabinet on the top shelf. It was just out of her reach. Before she could move to get a ladder, she felt him approach as he reached into it and got the item out for her. A silence filled the room.
"Thank you," she said once again. They soon left to go out Naruto leading the way. Once they left her apartment, he led her in a direction opposite of the one to ramen stand, instead they were at a cafe that she frequented with Ino. It occurred to her that her rival might have suggested the place as she sold Naruto the flowers.
"I have a reservation under the name Uzumaki," he told the host, who then led them to the table. Not only had Naruto brought her to her favorite cafe, but he had somehow managed to get a reservation. How much planning had he put into the evening? As she walked to the table, she noticed Neji and Tenten in a booth in the corner. Apparently members of the Konoha 11 were beginning to couple-off. She wondered what would happen to the other guys once all the girls were paired off. She chuckled at the thought. They were soon seated.
"This is amazing," she told Naruto as they sat down. He smiled.
"Saving the village from Pein has its perks," he responded. "However, tonight's about us, not me. We've been promoted to jonin rank and are celebrating that."
Sakura's hand found his under the table and she gripped it. Holding his hand had become a habit lately. After nearly losing him so much over the past few years, particularly in the last week, she needed the reassurance that he was really there.
"So we're celebrating us, then," she commented. Her phrasing had caught him off-guard.
"Yes, we're celebrating our success. Unless you'd like to finally make it official," he responded. His boldness surprised both of them. Although he used to ask her out on a regular basis, they never discussed their relationship, especially when the line between friendship and something more had begun to blur when they were fifteen because until very recently she had always rejected his advances.
"Yeah, we're celebrating us," she said. She then leaned over the table and kissed him.
"So we're official," he asked, praying that for once she would say 'yes'.
"I guess we are," she answered. "We're more than friends at this point."
"What about my promise? What about Sasuke?" Despite their conversation at the hospital, these two questions still haunted him, particularly after her false confession. He knew that she cared for him, but was it as a sibling or as something more?
"You fulfilled your promise when you brought him home and we buried him here, where he belongs. He was my first love, but I became disillusioned after he ordered me to kill his teammate," she answered.
"You were the one at my side on every single mission, who took hits so I wouldn't get hurt, fought at my side and were my best friend. Even when you were training with Jiraiya, you sent me notes via toad on my birthdays and holidays. Little by little I started to care about you, to love you."
"I love you too, Sakura-chan," he told her. Once again they kissed.
"Is there anything I can get you," asked a female voice. They had been so absorbed in each other that they had not noticed the waitress standing beside the table. Some ninja they were.
"Some tea," answered Naruto quickly. "We haven't decided yet."