Omelets

Chapter Four: I Could Get Used To This

Click, clack, click, clack.

She was alone in the town, but didn't spare a thought on where everybody might be. Haruno Sakura had bigger fish to fry. Her boots made a satisfying noise as she walked down the street briskly, tossing her long pale rose hair. Her green eyes glinted in the bright sunlight and her smile curved up devilishly. He doesn't stand a chance, she crowed.

Hearing a footstep behind her, she spun around, trying to control her breathing. Not finding the cause of the noise, her eyes scanned for any sign of moment. Another menacingly close step behind her made her turn again. Is that-

"Sakura-chaaaaan!"

She muttered a very inappropriate word and sighed. "Naruto, you idiot! Could you leave me alone?"

The blond smiled angelically (hah, yeah right), his blue eyes bright and hair sticking up rather adorably at all angles. "What are you doing, Sakura-chan? I think I did a pretty good job of sneaking up on you, huh?" As if afraid he would offend her, he added, "But you were being real quiet too, Sakura-chan, neh? Who were you trying to sneak up on?"

"Get a life, Naruto," she said childishly. "You're such a pain, I mean it!" Do you have nothing better to do than stalk me! her inner self raged. Then a thought occured to her. "Have you seen Sasuke-kun anywhere?"

He looked put out. "What would you want with that-"

The expression on her face made him shut up. "I was hoping he'd ask me out," she replied primly, not caring if he knew but not really knowing why she told him. "So have you seen him or not?"

Naruto shook his head, back to that annoyingly contagious grin. "Haven't, but if you're bored...and, I mean..." He blushed, looking at his feet. "I mean, we could...go somewhere together...if you want to..."

"Please!" she snarled. "Why would I want to go somewhere with a brat like you? You can't even throw a kunai straight!" With a 'hmph', she swept past him, desperately hoping he wouldn't follow and yet still enjoying the attention. "Sasuke-kuuuun!"


Sakura was pretending to be asleep quite effectively, breathing deeply in the scent of Naruto, which was a surprisingly pleasant woody scent mixed with the ever-present yet faint scent of ramen. She sighed, rolled over, and her dream came flooding back to her.

She rarely dreamed of memories, so it had surprised her that last night's dream had been a clear, accurate flashback of years before. That had happened right after the formation of Team 7, she realized. Why was I so mean to him?

"Sakura-chan?" the voice of the boy from her dream called softly, only now much deeper and (right now) less enthusiastic. He crept inside. "Sakura-chan? Are you awake?"

The girl in question was determined to keep up her appearance of sleep, wanting to know what he'd do. Coming closer, Naruto placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she had to fight the urge to shiver. "Sakura-chan," he murmured. "You have to wake up, you have hospital duty today, right?"

Oh crap, I forgot about that. "Naruto?" She opened her eyes slowly, to be meeted with the expected sight of his sunny smile, but the unexpected sight of...a tray of breakfast!

"What? What's that?" she asked, not having to pretend to be drowsy.

As if he'd forgotten it, he glanced down at the tray and smiled bigger. "Breakfast, of course. Sit up," he ordered. She complied, and he placed the food on her lap. "I made omelets again," he said apologetically, "because I didn't know what you liked...but I also gave you some toast. Oh, and an orange. And some juice. You know, a balanced breakfast," he joked.

She smiled at him gratefully. "You didn't have to do that," she scolded gently. "I'm capable of making my own breakfast." Sakura tried to glare at him, but his smile made it impossible, and she looked back down at the food.

"I know, Sakura-chan," he answered happily. "But I like doing stuff for you." Looking behind him, he swore under his breath. "I'm late, I'll see you later!" he called, racing out the door. "Bye!"

"Thank you!" she shouted after him, feeling a little odd. She smiled down at the omelets, in the absence of her friend. "Thank you, Naruto." She sniffled a little (no crying, Sakura!) and dug in.


With a strange sense of deja vu, the young woman slipped in the window as silently and quickly as possible. Mission accomplished! Sakura congratulated herself silently, pumping her fist and sliding into the kitchen, only to be greeted with-

"NARUTO!" she shrieked, astonished. "I thought you said you were going to be in a conference with Tsunade the whole evening!" Shannaro! What am I gonna do now?

He turned around from his task, which she realized was cutting vegetables. His blond spikes were even messier than usual, as if he'd run the whole way home. "I got off early," he said casually, gesturing with the knife.

She pouted, and he frowned. "I was going to do dinner," Sakura grumbled, crossing her arms. Confused, Naruto looked at her. Why do I feel so light whenever I look into those eyes?

"How come, Sakura-chan?" he asked, bemused, setting the knife down on the shiny counter. Coming up behind her, the boy (...I can't really think of him as a man, no matter how hard I try...) wrapped his arms around her, in a gesture that didn't exactly indicate friendship and only that, but she let it go. No need to spoil his mood, right? she sighed.

Leaning her head back so she could meet his eyes, (whoa, maybe that wasn't such a good idea...I feel kinda dizzy...), the kunoichi replied sweetly, "You've been doing too much for me."

He laughed softly. "I'm still in your debt for cleaning my house, remember?" he joked. "Don't sweat it, Sakura-chan. Besides, I like cooking!" Sakura giggled and felt her body relax involuntarily as she leaned on him.

Naruto stared down at the girl in his arms (that's a phrase I don't get to use often...), the girl he loved more than anything else. Her soft pink hair tickled his neck as she laughed, brilliant green eyes bright. Wow...he thought dreamily, smiling down at her. She really is something.

"Can I at least help?" Her voice woke him out of his reverie, and it took a few seconds for him to process what she'd said to him. ...I can't believe she's still letting me hold her...he mused, mind on a completely different subject.

"Uh, sure you can help, Sakura-chan, if you want to," he answered nervously as she seemed to lean even further into him. Daring to hope a little (what if she actually...wow...I mean, she doesn't seem to be mad...she seems pretty happy, actually...), the shinobi didn't notice her further petitions about what she could help with (her voice is so musical when she's being nice...) until she sighed and shoved him off.

"Idiot," she muttered, but Naruto was almost positive it was affectionately. Life is good...he thought, still dazed, as he tried to cut the vegetables and not his hand. Life is really good.

After the dishes had been cleaned up, Sakura was relatively (and worrisomely, in Naruto's eyes) quiet, resting on the couch with her head on her hands, eyes closed, expression troubled. Still, he didn't want to disturb her, so he crept quietly over to his "workroom" to try and make a dent in that huge pile of paperwork Tsunade had given him. I wonder what the hag would think if she knew that her student was living with me, he wondered, signing his name absent-mindedly on some form he hadn't even read. He chuckled quietly, imagining the scandalized (but probably pleased) expression on the current Hokage's face.

Leaning out the door, he chanced a look at the girl who wouldn't leave his thoughts. Her good mood seemed to have vanished, replaced with a sour melancholy, and he was a little bit scared that she would catch him glancing at her - she can go from happy to furious in two seconds flat, ladies and gentlemen, like nothing you've ever seen before!

She sighed and leaned back, glaring at his ceiling like it had done her some great wrong. She looked so unhappy that he was willing to sacrifice his current uninjured state to see if he could possibly cheer her up. Sense of self-preservation still somewhat intact, he walked quietly and rather nervously into the living room and seated himself on the couch next to her, but not too close. Or I hope that's not too close.

"Sakura-chan?"


"Sakura-chan?"

The voice cut through her thoughts, and she started before realizing it came from the object of her reverie. "Oh, Naruto," she sighed, feeling a headache coming on. I hope he's not too worried about me...

"Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" the boy in question asked, sounding concerned.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes - I know you too well, Naruto - and nodded. "I'm...fine..." It's you that I'm worried about...but I can't...really think very well with this stupid headache, shannaro! "I...um...I'm sorry." There. She'd said it. No more proud Haruno Sakura. It needed to be said.

The whole stinking day she'd been thinking about what a jerk she'd been to him before, back when they were younger. He'd done nothing but adore her, and she'd put him down at every opportunity, just because...just because...

That was the thing. Sakura had no clue why she'd been such a jerk to Naruto. She had been fairly nice to everybody else, she thought, but why had she hated him so thoroughly?

Maybe it was because he had been teased and jeered at more than she, and he took it better than a grown man, always keeping that sunny smile on his face. Maybe it was because the other kids that she wanted to fit in with so badly all despised him, although she hadn't known why at the time (and neither had they). Maybe it was

because he had loved her while she had craved someone else's attention, and maybe it was because she had known all along that he was closer to the object of her affections than she ever would be.

"Sorry for what, Sakura-chan?"

She couldn't meet his eyes. Those same eyes that have watched me all these years. Right now, she even hated the sound of his voice. The same voice that cheered me on, that read that stupid sappy love poem to me before we were even genin, the same voice that's comforted me every time I was miserable and that belongs to that same boy I always put down, like the jerk I am. But she knew he was expecting an answer.

"For being such a jerk to you!" she burst out with, feeling herself begin to tear up. I don't deserve to cry, he does, he was the one who went through all this crap and I just made it harder for him! And even after I started caring, I can never seem to do anything for him, just small things, just little things that anybody could do and yet he still smiles that infuriatingly perfect smile and says-

"It's okay, Sakura-chan." His voice was meant to soothe her, but those were exactly the words she didn't want to hear, because it was just more and more proof that he cared, and she didn't want him to care, she didn't deserve his care.

"No, it's not!" she sobbed. "I never did anything positive for you, I crushed your dreams and - God, I was such a-"

She felt those arms wrap around her again, those arms that protect me and save me and oh no no no why? "Why, Naruto?" she nearly shrieked. "I never did anything to deserve this and every time I put you down you just smiled and then came back again every time! I couldn't do anything for you when you were in trouble, and I-I...I'm so useless! I trained, and trained, but I still can't make it right! And-"

"Shh, Sakura-chan," said his voice in her ear, and now she clung to it like a lifeboat, although it was making her sink like an anchor. "Calm down. None of that matters to me, really, Sakura-chan. If anything, you've been more nice to me than I ever deserved."

That complete untruth made her sob harder, and she buried her face in his shirt. "N-no, Nar-"

He tightened his gentle hold on her and she quieted, still sniffling. "You've done so much for me, Sakura-chan. Just seeing your smile gives me the strength to get through another day, and even though I know that...that you don't love me the way I love you, I understand." His voice cracked. "I mean...I'm a monster, Sakura-chan."

Sakura's heart cracked in two, and she pulled away enough to glare at him. "That's not true," she said resolutely, glaring defiantly at him in something resembling a pout. "You are not a monster, Naruto. Don't say that."

"It's true, Sakura-cha-"

"Don't 'Sakura-chan' me, you idiot!" she flared, her eyes burning. "You are not a monster. Say it."

He was silent, his blond hair falling into his face in the absence of his hitai-ate.

"Say it!" she ordered.

"I'm not a monster," Naruto muttered rebelliously, and feeling happier (does it really not matter to him?), she attempted to hug him while they were both sitting on the couch. Since he already had his arm around her protectively, they ended up in a rather awkward position, but it was still comforting, and she wasn't sure that if she didn't let go right then she would ever leave...

"I'm tired," she said suddenly, sliding out of the rather strange position they were in. She stretched and yawned, as if to prove her point. "Umm...good night, I guess." She stood up and began to walk into his room - well, her room now, she supposed.

"Sakura-chan."

She stopped. He sounds so serious, she worried, then turned around. "Mmmhmm?" Sakura replied, trying to sound cheery.

"Thanks," he murmured, hands in his pockets. He looked up and grinned at her, almost so brightly that she couldn't tell he was really touched (and it looks like he's on the verge of crying, better leave before his delicate pride gets hurt, she smirked, all trace of sadness forgotten).

"I was just doing what any friend would do," she replied, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she realized it was the wrong thing to say, so she just pretended like she didn't notice the look on his face and slipped into the bedroom.

He's not a monster.