The table was quiet, everyone was astonished by the Hokage's offer. They knew the past the two shared. Love and loss, for both of them even though they played it off like they were still the closest of friends.
"Are you sure, that's ok?" asked a border line drunk Sakura.
"Last time I checked I was the Hokage and I could do whatever I wanted," Naruto scowled as he pounded his fist on the table in a playful way.
"Oh, Hokage-sama, are you going to take advantage of an intoxicated girl?" Ino taunted, her words slurring worse than before.
"No!" Naruto yelped, "I want to live!"
The table burst into laughter at the blushing blond. He scratched the back of his head nervously and laughed with everyone. His outburst sweeping the tension out of the room. It brought back fond memories for the pinkett. He was still the goofy boy she had fallen in love with all those years ago.
"Well, I better get home, the wives don't like it when I'm out too late," Sasuke excused himself and left.
"I think I better quit too, I have a mountain of paperwork waiting for me tomorrow. Sakura, are you ready to call it a night?" Naruto asked sounding more tired than anything else.
"Sure," she smiled and grabbed her bag from under the table.
As they were walking back to the Hokage tower, Sakura thought she would try to have a conversation about their former teammate and see how well it went over. She thought them being slightly inebriated might help her cause, or completely kill it. The wind whipped her hair around a bit stirring her desire for it to go well. She knew she was being a little bit greedy but she wanted more from him.
"Its kind of different to hear Sasuke talk about wives," she mused.
"They're good women," Natuto stated, not really wanting to have this conversation, thinking it was headed to how heart broken she was or possibly wanting to join the harem. Sasuke being her personal reason for coming home was a high possibility in his mind. His heart couldn't take hearing that.
"I'm glad, he seems really happy, well, as happy as Sasuke ever does," she laughed.
"He is dealing with his hate, every day is a struggled but I promised I would be there for him whatever way I could. A friend, a sparing partner, or as someone who will give him a shove when he needs it. His wives keep him grounded as well. But you know I told him if he wanted you I wouldn't stand in the way," he muttered the last part.
"He never wanted me that way, I've accepted it, lets move on," Sakura pushed. Naruto grunted like he didn't believe her but he wasn't going to argue. His stubbornness was starting to irk her. They made their way into the tower to the Hokage's lodgings.
"My bedroom is that one, there is a spare down that hall you can use. Bathroom is down there too. Feel free to make yourself at home, take a shower, bath, or whatever. Plenty of food in the kitchen, just double check it first. I'm going to get some shut eye," Naruto told her with a sleepy smile.
Sakura took her bag and headed for the room. Once in the guest room she dug through the mess that was her pack to try and find something clean to sleep in. Two weeks of travel to get home had left everything smelling and dirty. She strolled over to Naruto's bedroom and lightly tapped on the door. He opened it and stood there in his night pants and nothing else. She couldn't stop herself from looking him up and down. His chest was perfectly sculpted and his abs cried out for her to touch them and feel the defined muscles. She had to focus and try to remember the reason she knocked on his door.
"Sakura, I'm up here," he jeered after she had been staring at his flawless chest for more than a casual glance. She snapped her head up to look into his eyes. It really didn't stop her train of dirty thoughts about the man before her as she felt swallowed up by his blue eyes. The amused look on his face was handsome but she wanted to see it light up with burning desire instead.
"Can I barrow something to sleep in?" she uttered finally.
"Sure," he snickered and turned to find her something comfortable. His back side looking as glorious as his front. An old tee shirt and sleeping pants was what he found for her. As he handed them to her she took them and then handed the pants back.
"Can I get boxers, or shorts? I can't stand to sleep in pants," she explained a little sheepishly.
Naruto took the pants back. He rummaged through a drawer to find something and he came across a pair of shorts and a pair of boxers at the same time. At first he went for the shorts, thinking she would like them better but he grabbed the boxers instead. The thought of her in his boxers brought him a little pleasure. He handed her the garment with a slight blush on his cheeks.
"Thanks, I'm going to use the shower before I go to bed, the noise won't bother you will it?" she ask, her voice taking on an innocent quality that drew out his hidden desires for her. He shook his head not not trusting his voice at that moment. She walked off swaying her hips in a sultry manner. He just stared openly, he didn't care if she caught him or if she hit him for it. It had been too long sense he got to feel like this around a woman. He had shut them all out since she left. As she disappeared around the corner he closed his door and flopped on the bed. Outside the weather had taken a turn for the worse. The wind was blowing hard and he heard it start to rain. He also heard the shower start and the thought of her naked in the same apartment as him turned him on even more. He growled into his pillow in frustration.
In the shower Sakura hurried, knowing if she lingered too long her thoughts would turn to the blond who looked amazing without his shirt on and was on a bed only a couple of rooms away. The warm water caressed her body in a way she wished he would. The warmth added to her drunken state of mind causing her thoughts to be as steamy as the air around her. She got out and dried off quickly. Slipping into the borrowed clothes she smelled the shirt to see in any of his scent was still in it. It just smelled clean, she tried to not let herself get too disappointed about it.
She went back to the guest room and took a better look at it. To her it seemed rather plain like much of his house. It was nice stuff but it didn't really suit the boy she remembered. As the storm started to rage on outside, a flash of lightning and then a boom of thunder made her jump and let out a little squeak. Storms had never been her favorite but after she left the village she had almost died one night because of one and now they reduced her to a frightened child. She dove under the blankets and curled into a fetal position. Trying to not cry to loudly, even when one thunder clap was loud enough to shake the room.
"Sakura, are you alright?" Naruto whispered.
She jumped and let a another cry. Another flash of lightning and she was out of the bed wrapping her arms around his neck. He felt her shake like a leaf in his arms as the thunder cracked. He'd seen this woman go up against crazy odds but a little flashing light and a loud noise and she was defenseless.
"I'm here," he murmured into her ear. He rubbed her back to comfort her.
"You weren't there! I almost died and you weren't there to save me!" she cried.
He felt a pang in his heart, it hurt deep. He had always thought she didn't want him to chase her. Everyone had told him she would be back in a few days. Days turned to months and months turned to years and she never returned until today. He didn't know why he listen to everyone and not his heart. His heart had told him to track her down and bring her back but he thought that was him being selfish. Maybe it was time to be selfish.
"Sakura, I'm so sorry," he apologized.
"I should have know that even after everything, I would still need you to save my ass. Its pathetic," she sobbed.
"NO! I won't listen to anyone talk bad about you, not even you," he growled as he pushed her away to look at her.
Once she was arm's length away he could look down into her tear stained face. Hurt and confusion were written on her beautiful features. His intense gaze was a little much for her in her frazzled state. The lightning flashed again and she braced herself for the boom. Naruto pulled her into his arms again as the thunder rang though the room. She shook against his hard frame.
He wanted to comfort her and he wanted to be just a little bit selfish. He ran his hand up her back, across her shoulder blade to her neck and laced his fingers into her long pink hair. He gently tugged her hair to have her look up at him. Her green eyes shone drawing him in. He leaned in and tenderly kissed her lips. It felt right, natural, and a little dangerous. In the back of his mind he knew she could send him flying through the walls back to his room if she wanted to. She did something he wasn't expecting, she kissed back.
It was needy, the way she clung to his neck, pressed her body against him. His heart was racing but his head was still holding him back. Thinking she was kissing him out of fear from the storm or lonely drunkenness he broke the kiss and pulled away.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," he breathed, but he wasn't sorry for it. He was just sorry she was kissing him for the wrong reasons.
"You can be sorry for not coming after me, you can be sorry you broke my heart, but don't you dare be sorry you still love me," she snarled as she grabbed him roughly and kissed him again. She was ready to make him see her love, he had always been a man of action, she was going to show him action.
He broke free again, "Sakura, we've been drinking and you're upset over the storm. We've just missed each other," he tried to explain away her actions running his hands through his hair, trying to keep them off her.
"Idiot, you haven't changed a bit," she snapped and shoved him away. Her temper had been under control for years but this man seemed to bring out the best and worst of her at the drop of a hat. Storming out of the room with a stunned Naruto hot on her heels. She was heading for the door, she couldn't stay in the same house as him her feeling this way, it would be torture. Naruto saw where she was headed and his heart ripped. She was walking out of his life again. Maybe forever this time if he didn't stop her. She was almost there, reaching for the handle when he was there in front of her blocking her retreat.
"Fine, I'm sorry I didn't come get you, but I always knew where you were, every time I went into sage mode I checked for you. To make sure you were somewhere in the world and hoped you were on your way home. I'm sorry I broke your heart, but do you know how many times you broke mine? And I've never been sorry for loving you," with that said he picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him and he took her to his room this time. The storm outside had died down outside but inside it was just picking up.
