A/N: Here's the next chapter! Thank you so much for supporting, reading, and reviewing this story. It's always such a pleasure to write, even if it can be challenging.

I am adding some music to this story. "Quando Quando Quando" by Michael Buble. Right when you see, "played a song." Hit play. You can find the song on youtube. :)

I don't own Naruto or Boruto.

Beta read by: Tuvstarr's Lost Heart and SandsAna. Thank you so much!

Raucous laughter filled the air, combined with loud music and shouting. She stood a good distance away, yet she could hear all the conversation clearly. Having sharp hearing was both a blessing and a curse.

Sakura was being prodded by the Raikage about her husband's size, and if he really was as good in bed as they make him out to be. Sakura's cheeks were already flushed from the alcohol, but the way she averted her gaze and gave them a cheeky grin was Yodo's cue to stop listening.

The Hokage was laughing loudly, forcing another shot of spirits on the Kazekage, who looked rather confused and embarrassed. Gaara was never one for overindulging in alcohol but Naruto always managed to get him plastered. The Tsuchikage was doing the same to the Mizukage, challenging him to another round of shots. Poor Chojuro already looked ready to pass out.

Closing her eyes, she brought her champagne glass up to her lips and took a sip as she leaned back on the wall. She heard footsteps clack by her, and a familiar, potent chakra. The person walked out to the balcony behind her.

"Sarada, what's wrong?"

"Papa…"

"You were always quite the wallflower, Yodo."

She opened her eyes to see her companion but continued drinking until all of the golden liquid was gone. "I don't like these events, Shinki, you know that."

He smirked and leaned on the wall next to her. "Don't you find it entertaining to know what everyone's talking about?"

Yodo rolled her eyes and halted a waiter walking their way, took another glass and started to drink. Shinki watched her intently, and so she closed her eyes. There were a hundred conversations going on, but the most interesting one was happening outside on the balcony, and yet she felt like such a snoop. Gaara usually asked her to come to gather useful information, but useful always equated to boring for her during these events.

She relished the taste of champagne on her lips and sighed. This was the good shit. It made attending these fancy events worth it. Almost. Her gaze landed on the dancefloor and she spotted Boruto. He was trying his best to get away from the swarm of girls who have been hoarding his time and attention all night. He wore a lopsided grin as he scratched the back of his neck. The blond was backing away slowly.

Now, this was entertaining.

Shinki followed her gaze and spotted Boruto, too. "I still don't understand why he's here."

"Get used to it. He's going to be Sarada's Right Hand." Yodo couldn't help but smile slyly. The conversation between Sasuke and Sarada was getting to the good parts, and seeing the topic of their conversation before her very eyes were the best thing that had happened all night so far. She finished her champagne and got another.

"Aren't you drinking too much?"

She shrugged and continued to drink. "Let me live, just for tonight, will ya? I would rather be at home listening to music, so I'm seriously doing you and Kazekage-sama a service here."

Shinki rolled his eyes. "You should stop wasting time on that Nara boy. You're starting to sound like him."

She looked at the liquid in the glass and twirled it around. Ah, yes, Shikadai Nara. Being an ambassador for the Sand and Leaf relations ensured that she would see him very often. Yodo would get a lot of teasing from Kankuro about how she would probably end up like Temari. It was an honor to be compared to Lady Temari. She was her idol, a highly respected Kunoichi in Sunagakure. However, ending up with Shikadai… that was a different thought altogether.

"Yodo."

"Hmm?" She shook her thoughts away and blocked out the conversation on the balcony. She didn't want to hear any more of the sappy details, lest she would feel responsible for not doing something about it. Meddling wasn't exactly her style, either. That was Shinki's area of expertise.

"What are Sasuke and Sarada talking about outside?"

Yodo nearly spat out her champagne. Nothing ever really escaped him, did it? He would make a… good Kazekage. She shrugged and finished her drink. "None of your business, Shinki."

"And I assume it's yours? You were tuning in."

Yodo snickered. "Seriously. It's none of your business. They're not plotting the downfall of our glorious village."

He growled and crossed his arms overs his chest. "Then what were they talking about?"

She smiled and looked over to the dancefloor. It looked like Boruto successfully shook the girls off and was now wildly looking around. His suit was wrinkled, and the first few buttons of his shirt got undone. To say he looked distressed was an understatement.

"Him."

Shinki's lips parted, and he narrowed his eyes. "What about him?"

"Well…" Yodo grinned. "Sarada didn't exactly say his name, but it was about him, I'm sure."

Shinki sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You know, you're not supposed to place your own biases and assumptions into the information you get."

Yodo broke out in a fit of giggles. Perhaps the alcohol was finally getting to her. "Oh, believe me. It's not an assumption."

Boruto was coming their way, though it looked like he wasn't actually seeing them. Sasuke walked by and started to approach the Kage table. He had a grim expression on his face, and it looked like he was ready to hoist his wife up on his shoulder if he needed to. Yodo snickered when the Kages started forcing Sasuke to drink, too. Sakura was whining like a baby, asking for ten more minutes. Or was it shots? She barely understood Sakura with all her whining and slurring.

Sarada's footsteps were getting softer, indicating that she had left the balcony, and proceeded to take a walk in the garden.

Boruto was now within arm's reach.

Yodo told herself she wouldn't meddle, but maybe just this once. She owed Sarada that much for all the years of kindness.

"Yo, Boruto."

"Ha?" The blond stopped in his tracks and looked her way. It took him a few seconds before he finally registered who had called him. "Ah, Yodo. Have you seen-"

"Sarada?" She finished for him.

"A-ah…" he opened his mouth a few times before closing it. Confusion swimming in his blue eyes. "Y-yeah… can you-do you know where she is? It's too early for her to go back to her room, well, I mean, Dad's still here. So I figured she would still be here, but like, I don't see her and I'm supposed to walk her back to her room, ya know?"

He continued to ramble and Yodo snickered. She couldn't really understand why Sarada had fallen head-over-heels for this idiot, but to each their own, right? "Yeah, I saw her."

Lies. Well, not really. She heard her. Same thing.

Yodo walked over to Boruto and signaled for the waiter to come over. She took the bottle of strawberry wine from the tray and shoved it into Boruto's hands. "Take this, you'll need it."

"Umm… thanks?" He shook his head from side to side. "Wait, why? Where is she? Did something happen?"

"A lot of things happen around here, Boruto. Now, take the wine and go to the garden. She went that way."

His eyes lit up and he flashed her a bright grin. It almost made her understand why Sarada liked this idiot. Almost.

"Thank you, Yodo." He smiled more sincerely this time and shifted his gaze over to Shinki. "Bastard!"

Shinki looked like Boruto had struck him, and Yodo had to hold onto her tummy as she laughed.

Yes. It was a good decision to meddle. Just this once.

He turned heel and set off towards the tables. She quickly held onto his arm. "Hey, where are you going? The garden is that way, genius." She nudged her head towards the exit.

Boruto blinked. "Well, we'll need glasses, won't we?"

Yodo scowled. "Just drink straight from the damn bottle." Now she was back to questioning Sarada's choices in men.

He took a step back, cheeks turning bright red, a horrified look on his face. "But-but that means… we'll be… it'll be like indirectly kissing Sarada!"

She rolled her eyes. "If you do it right, you might get a direct one. Now get out of here before Shinki kills you for calling him a bastard." With that, she shoved him towards the exit, and Boruto scampered away.

Sarada wandered around the garden, allowing the cool dry air to clear her thoughts. The smell of the lush vegetation made her feel right at home. She really missed Konoha's tall trees and greenery. At the end of the walkway, she spotted a small structure. A warm glow emanated through the clear glass.

Was this what she thought it was? Walking a little closer, she tried to sense if anyone was in the area, carefully flaring her chakra to also let anyone in the vicinity know she was approaching. There was no one around. Hastily, she looked over her shoulder and spotted no one, as well. She placed a hand on her heart, as the other one pushed the glass door open.

What she saw overwhelmed her. She entered a greenhouse full of flowers, shrubs, hanging plants, succulents, and a variety of plants she that had never seen before. Sarada was no stranger to plants. Her Mama had her own greenhouse in the hospital grounds full of healing herbs. Naruto loved to garden, and she would often spot him with muddy hands and a pot in his hands whenever he wasn't working. Sarada also frequented the Yamanaka Flower Shop with Himawari, and every summer, Shikadai would invite their group of friends to go to the Nara Forests for a camping trip but this-this was nothing like anything she had ever seen before.

Who knew so much could grow in a desert? It wasn't as organized, filed in neat rows and uniformed tables as her mother's greenhouse, but it was an organized mess. There was a certain pattern and order that Sarada couldn't pinpoint, but it was still all so beautiful. The lanterns hanging from the glass ceiling cast a soft glow over the plants, making the flower petals glow in an ethereal way. The edges of her gown brushed the plants on the ground, and her fingertips skimmed the leaves and petals as she walked through the aisles, allowing herself to get lost in the aroma and comfort the plants were giving her.

She stopped at a row of tulips. There were a variety of colors: yellow, pink, red, and orange. Gingerly she ran her index finger along the soft petals and down the long stems.

"You always did like tulips."

Her lips tugged upwards, but she didn't take her gaze away from the yellow flower in front of her. She had always adored yellow tulips, and once told her mother and auntie Ino how she wished a boy would gift them to her. She would never forget how her auntie gasped and told her that maybe she shouldn't wish for that. Sarada bit her lower lip. No boy had ever gifted her yellow tulips, but she felt like she just received the largest bouquet of them from the person she desired the most.

She sighed and turned to face him. "Yeah. Some things just don't change, you know?" Sarada swallowed. He was standing way closer than usual. He pulled up a bottle of strawberry wine, a bright grin on his face. Sarada blinked a few times and rolled her eyes. "Really? Wine, at a time like this?"

"Wine is perfect for a time like this." He popped the cork off and continued talking, "Just you and me in Uncle Gaara's greenhouse."

"Wait…" she accepted the bottle from him and gawked a little longer. "This is Kazekage-sama's greenhouse?"

Boruto nodded and did a drinking motion with his hands. "The one and only."

"How do you even know that?" She brought the bottle to her lips and drank, swallowing thickly. It was sweet, yet she could taste the alcohol.

Boruto laughed and took the bottle from her. He looked at the rim for a moment and answered her quietly before taking a swig. "It said so outside."

Her jaw slacked open. How could she miss it? He had the audacity to chuckle at her expression. Didn't he realize the gravity of the situation? "We shouldn't be in here!" Sarada made a move to walk around him, but he caught her arm.

"Hey, come on. Just a few minutes? I haven't gotten the chance to even dance with you yet, ya know?"

She felt blood rush all over her body, and she forced her arm out of his grasp. "Gee, I wonder why?"

His lips parted. "Hey… I'm sorry about that. I got caught up by those girls and-"

"Yeah, yeah." She cut him off and crossed her arms over her chest.

She heard the glass bottle thunk down on the table, and warm, rough hands came to hold her elbows. "Oh, come on, don't ignore me. That's not fair."

"Hn," her cheeks puffed, and she looked away from him.

A wide grin spread on Boruto's face. "You're so cute when you're jealous like that, ya know?"

Heat rushed to her face and she scoffed. "I am not jealous. You broke your promise!"

Sarada felt his hand come up to cup her chin to make her face him. Her eyes widened at the tender look on his face. His blue eyes caught the light from the lanterns, a pool of deep blue and shining gold. He smiled and said, "I know. I'm sorry. Can I make it up to you now?"

She pouted, stubbornness taking over against her better judgment. "How?"

He smirked. "My last dance is yours."

"Dance?" She repeated incredulously. "Here?" Boruto nodded. "There's no music!" Her heart was pounding frantically in her chest. Dancing with Boruto in a room full of people was one thing, but being in such an intimate setting, just the two of them, holding onto each other with soft music playing… she felt her blood rushing, the same odd feelings she experienced when they were together on her balcony just a few days ago bubbling up to the surface.

Boruto pulled his phone out and played a song. He then placed it down on the table and grinned. "Any more requests?"

As soon as she heard the first few notes, she forgot how to breathe. This was one of her parents' favorite songs. An oldie, but goodie. "This song…"

"You like it?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I heard Auntie Sakura play it once when I was at your house. I thought it was… fitting for us, ya know?"

Fitting?

"Sarada." She swallowed thickly and watched him as he extended his right hand towards her. "Will you dance with me?"

For Kami's sake, she prayed that her heart would stop hammering, but it refused. Her heart leaped up to her throat, making her unable to make any coherent sounds even faintly resembling words. Instead, she nodded and took his hand. Boruto wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. It made her even more nervous, she didn't want him to feel her heart fluttering.

Flashbacks of her talk with her father on the balcony came flooding in, and the heat rose to her face. She pressed her cheek against his chest to hide it, and was surprised to feel his heart pumping wildly, too.

"Y-you okay?"

Sarada bit her lower lip. What was Boruto so nervous about?

"I'm fine…" she responded, her voice trembling.

Boruto squeezed her hand, and she instinctively squeezed back. "You can tell me anything, ya know?" His voice was low and quiet.

She nodded against his chest, breathing the words out quietly, "I know."

There was a pause, and then he said with a shaky voice, "Can I tell you anything, too?"

A light gasp escaped her lips. Did he really have to ask? She looked up at him. "Of course, you can. What kind of question is that?" She wanted to laugh, but the moment she saw the pink that dusted his cheeks and the shy smile on his face, she bit her tongue. "What is it, Boruto?"

It was rare for him to be quiet, let alone act so shy around her. Sarada knew he had this side to him too, but he rarely showed it. "I-I don't really know how to tell you with… words." He refused to meet her gaze, and it was sending her stomach into knots.

"I…" she started. "I have something I want to tell you, too."

"Really?" Now, he was looking at her. Being the center of his attention made her blush deepen.

She spoke slowly, unsure if this was the time to say it. "I also don't know how to say it with words…"

Her eyes caught the way his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed thickly. "O-oh… okay. Umm… show me, then?"

She took in a shaky breath and swiftly looked to the side. "No way! You first."

He chuckled nervously and said, "How about we do it together?"

Together.

Like how they always have been doing things. Only fitting that they do this together, right?

Sarada could feel her cheeks burning, but she wasn't against the idea. "Okay. Together." It sounded like a good idea if they were thinking of the same thing that was. Oh, Kami. What if he wasn't thinking of the same thing? She swallowed her rising panic and bit her lower lip as she slowly turned back to face Boruto. His cheeks were also red, but his eyes were hooded, lips slightly parted.

Her eyelashes fluttered as she leaned closer. Boruto gently cupped her face and leaned in too. The slight tremble in his hands made her smile. Sarada placed a hand over him, and he returned the smile. It was such a simple gesture, but it didn't make it any less sweet. Heart hammering in her chest, she closed her eyes and hoped that her feelings would be clearly conveyed. Maybe this also meant he felt the same about her.

They were close enough to feel each other's breath on their faces. Sarada's lips tingled, despite not even meeting Boruto's yet. Just a little more, and they would brush. Briefly, she wondered how they would feel like. Would they be soft? Warm? Would he taste like how she always imagined he would? She closed her eyes.

There was only one way to find out.

"There you two are."

Her eyelids flew open and she pushed Boruto away from her with a little too much force than necessary, making him stumble back on the table, nearly knocking the wine off it.

Before Sarada could even see who the visitor was, Boruto growled, "You bastard."

A/N: How did you find the music while reading? Did it set the mood better? Please do let me know by leaving me a review!

The next chapter is already in the works. Just a few more chapters, and we will reach its end. I'm so excited to write it out! I also have a few extras planned for when this story ends. I hope you will all enjoy it. Any guesses what those "extras" may be? Hihihi.