The NaruSaku Collection Chapter 10: Drunken Comfort, a naruto fanfic

The NaruSaku Collection

Story Ten: Drunken Comfort

Summary: Naruto takes a drunken Sakura home. Sakura had a tough week, Ino tells him, and that the drunken night out was the first opportunity for her to let out her feelings. He takes it upon himself get to the bottom of her depression and make her happy again.

Naruto watched his best friend sat at the bar. Something was different about her tonight. That, and she was completely drunk - she hadn't stopped downing alcohol since they arrived at the bar and that made him nervous. It wasn't that it increased his chances of getting beaten senseless. He wasn't even sure if that was true. Sakura rarely got drunk, let alone out-of-control drunk. She was his self-controlled, smart, medical friend with a crazily-high alcohol tolerance.

Right now, she was quiet too. Only with simple hand gestures did she order more sake and bottles of other beverages he didn't know the names of or (didn't want to know) the alcohol percentages of either.

If Ino wasn't here right now, he would have gone up to his teammate long ago. He looked at the blonde sat on his table again. He was waiting for her to go and take her best friend home, to do the job that Sakura had done hundreds of times over for her. Ino looked back at him expectantly. For once, she was sober.

He glanced back at Sakura. He wanted to do something, but he didn't know how to handle the situation.

"She's had a tough week," Ino told him.

His eyes narrowed in concern. Sakura had told him nothing of this.

"What happened?" he asked curiously, his voice solemn and quiet.

It wasn't often that Sakura spoke to him about her feelings, especially negative ones, and he wished she did. Whether she was upset or not, he would always try and make her happy. More often than not, she was cheerful – he always enjoyed being around her.

"She lost a patient, an old lady who she was fond of. Some medical notes went missing and she feels responsible for it. Then someone spilt something on her lab coat and she was so busy she didn't have a chance to get a new one. Little things like that seem a lot bigger when you're already feeling down. Everything has gone wrong for her this week."

His heart contracted painfully in his chest. He hated finding out that Sakura's week had not been good or that it had been a bad day for her... even if something tiny went wrong and she was disappointed with it. The girl had a smile that made the whole world brighter; to him it was a tragedy when she was upset.

He was going to fix this. If Sakura wasn't inebriated, he would promise her that. Instead, he promised himself and looked at Ino seriously.

"What happened with the notes?"

"Sakura asked the new trainee medic to fetch them. The kid did, then put them down somewhere and lost them - Tsunade wasn't happy. They were important. Of course Sakura took the blame, though it wasn't her fault, but the trainee was pretty upset."

He nodded. Mentally noting each detail before probing for more information.

"Could the coat not be washed?"

Ino snorted. "That wouldn't do big holes any good. Sakura did make a joke that at least she wasn't wearing the lab coat when the idiot spilt acid on it. Who knows how they managed that."

Naruto sighed. He could imagine Sakura saying that now... her dry, upset humour - a smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes. He knew that normally she wouldn't let either of those things phase her, but death always did a number on her, like it did to him.

"And the old lady?" he asked quietly, turning to study his best friend again.

"Old age. Dodgy health, but it was definitely old age."

He nodded but then winced as he watched the pink-haired medic signal for another drink. He couldn't let her drink any more tonight. He would not allow her to feel like this any longer.

"Are you going to take her home now?" he asked gruffly, irritated by the situation he found himself in.

He should have done something about this earlier. He should have found out before the week was over. He should have stopped it all from happening.

"I was waiting for her to pass out."

He turned his head to look back at Ino and frowned at her. "How is that comforting?"

"Hey, if I bring it up now she's going to cry," Ino replied defensively. "She will get over it."

"No thanks to you."

"I'll take her out for lunch tomorrow. She doesn't want to discuss it with me. She doesn't even want to let us know that she's upset."

Naruto couldn't help but raise his voice in uncontrollable anger. "So this is the coping method? Drown in alcohol?"

Ino let out a long sigh. "Granted, inviting her tonight wasn't the brightest idea."

"You can go home, Ino. I'll look after Sakura-chan."

"You want to talk to her whilst she's still conscious?" Ino asked in surprise. "Who knows what Forehead's going to bring up."

He didn't care what Sakura said to him. He would hold no words or punches against her.

"If she drinks any more, the only thing she'll be bringing up is an unhealthy amount of alcohol."

"All right. Good luck. Try not to hurt her."

He frowned. That was the opposite of his intentions.

As Ino headed out of the bar, he cautiously approached his best friend. When he reached her, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sakura-chan?"

Surprised she had been approached, the girl jumped slightly at his touch.

"Hey, Naruto," she replied, her tone holding no enthusiasm. She sounded tired.

She went to take a sip of whatever was in her glass, but he stopped her by placing his hand around her wrist gently. She didn't raise her head, nor did she let go of the drink.

"No more tonight, Sakura-chan," he told her quietly.

"All right, you go on, I'll leave in a minute," she answered just as quietly.

"I'm not going anywhere until you're home safe," he raised his voice to speak to her firmly. He was not going to back down when it came to her safety and well-being. She could beat him up all she wanted but he was not going to leave her to be upset.

Naruto observed as her grip around the glass tightened, and for a moment he tried to think of what he could do if she refused, but it eventually loosened and she released it. He let go of her wrist and she stood up.

Pushing her stool away, she turned around and headed for the exit.

The bartender looked at him and he got out some money in a hurry as he glanced to see Sakura leaving, and then more money as he noticed just how much the girl had consumed.

As soon as the man behind the bar was satisfied, not bothering to collect change, Naruto rushed for the door.

Sakura hadn't gotten very far. He wasn't sure if she was waiting for him or was just moving very slow. After watching her walk sluggishly but then stop and look back at him, he concluded it was probably a bit of both. He was surprised she could stand up straight.

Jogging up to her, he stopped by her side and waited for her to start moving again. He wasn't sure if he should hold onto her or let her sling an arm around his shoulder. He didn't want to cross any boundaries because he knew Sakura got funny with him when he moved too close. She was also independent and didn't like to be helped. And so he walked with her, one small step at a time.

The night air was cool against his skin. The weather had been dreary all week and tonight was no exception. He looked up at the dark sky to see the beginning drops of rain start to fall. He looked back at Sakura. At this rate, they were going to get soaked. He could make a shadow clone to run and get an umbrella, or he could hold shadow clones above her in a makeshift umbrella...

His mind was made up when she stumbled slightly, her one foot scuffing the ground instead of landing flat on the path. He quickly reached out to stop her falling. Then, he placed one hand behind her back and another behind her knees to pick her up bridal style.

If Sakura remembered this in the morning, she might kill him, but he was going to get her home as quickly and dryly as possible. Holding her close to his chest, and to his surprise, with little resistance from her, he sprinted in the direction of her home.

When he reached her small apartment, he ran up the steps. He had done well to get here fast, avoiding the sure-to-be downpour on its way. However, they were not inside yet.

"Sakura-chan? Do you have your keys?" he asked the girl in his arms.

Sakura had her eyes closed, but at the sound of his voice, blinked up at him. "Sure, put me down," she answered, her words slightly slurred.

Carefully, he tilted her and placed her on her feet, prepared to catch her again if she stumbled. He stood so close to her, as close as possible without holding her.

Sakura looked on her right side, and then the left, to find her usual pouch strapped to her waist. In no rush, she opened her pouch and fumbled around until she found her keys. They were getting wet now, but she didn't seem to feel it.

Aligning the key with the keyhole seemed to be proving her some difficulty, her hand shaking as it angled just above the lock. Deciding to help her, he reached around and placed his hand over her own, steadying it, but not taking over the task.

Sakura didn't move. To his dismay, her shoulders started to gently move up and down and he heard her begin to sob quietly.

"Let's go inside, Sakura-chan," he told her softly, moving her hand forward until the key entered the hole and the lock clicked.

Their hands fell away and he pushed the door open. He guided her gently into the house. When they were inside, he retrieved the keys and pushed the door closed. He locked the door and left the keys in the lock. With a flick of his finger he turned on the lights.

Then he turned around to see Sakura sat on her sofa, her head bowed. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to make sure she was OK before he left, and that she went to bed and didn't stay up crying or being depressed... He desperately wanted to comfort her - but he couldn't bring back the dead.

He had seen how she interacted with her patients. His best friend was so loving, so wonderful. Yes, medics were supposed to be detached, and Sakura was awful at that - but in his books, it made her the best medic in the world. Children, old people, everyone, even grumpy patients could not help smiling when Sakura tended to them. Even outside of the hospital, Sakura would never hesitate to approach a past patient and make sure they were fully recovered (it was often them coming up to her).

Sakura swore an oath to protect the lives of her patients, much like the oath to protect her comrades, and she took it deadly seriously. So this situation stumped him. Maybe without the alcohol in her system he could jump into comforting her - but she herself had told him all about the effects of alcohol... She wasn't even crying now. She was staring at the small coffee table in front of her with a blank expression. She looked like she had sobered up and was now serious.

Apparently, Sakura was one of the easiest people to read - he completely disagreed. Nobody confused him more. Nobody was quite like her, though.

Picking up his confidence, unwilling to let her be upset any longer, he marched over to her and sat down by her side. There was a small gap between them, but he sat slightly closer than he usually would. At the very least, he wanted her to know that he was there for her.

"Sakura-chan... Tell me what to do."

When he spoke, she sat up straighter, but still stared at the wall in front of her. "You can go home, Naruto."

It almost came out as a sigh.

"Not until I know you're fine and are going to go to sleep."

"I'm fine," she answered monotonously. Then she stood up. "Thank you for taking me home. Goodnight."

She walked up to her bedroom and switched off the lights via the alternate switch on the wall.

He decided to follow her into the bedroom. She had climbed into bed, not bothering to change her clothes. She sat there with her bedside lamp on, looking at her hands.

"Ino told me you were having a rough week," he admitted. "It's Friday tomorrow, Sakura-chan, and I'll make the weekend better. Next week will be great too. First things first, our team training session tomorrow! That'll be fun."

Sakura visibly flinched and then looked at him. "You know Kakashi-sensei isn't back yet right?"

Naruto stared at her blankly.

"From his mission? He's four days late now," Sakura pressed, obviously anxious.

"He's always late," he pointed out weakly.

"The last time he was four days late he'd got into that fight. Do you remember? That wound across his chest could have been fatal."

He could see the pain and worry in her eyes... He wasn't surprised that she worried about her team when they were away. She was so motherly to them all. It was lovely, really. They were not just a team. They were a family. Sakura was the fretting mother and they were all completely irresponsible children.

He hated to think that he also caused her this pain when he was reckless. Out of place kindness and anger would hint towards his theory being true. When he pulled stupid stunts on missions, it scared her to death. She was his comfort. He would be hers.

"Ah, Sakura-chan, but do you remember the time before?"

She stared at him inquisitively.

"He found that grand bookstore opening and was three days late because he probably went through every shelf looking for some different covered copy of Icha Icha."

"The man makes up terrible excuses," Sakura tutted. "We all fully know he has every edition of those books."

Naruto laughed and took a step closer. "Well then he'll just have to come up with a better excuse, a much better excuse, for making you worry."

She stared at him and he smiled back at her warmly.

"And the last time I was late... There was a ramen festival! Do you believe that? I wish you were there, Sakura-chan, it was amazing! I had to try everything, just to say that it still didn't touch Ichiraku's food."

A small laugh escaped her throat.

"Can I take you for ramen tomorrow?" he asked at his opportunity.

She studied him closely for a moment and he was inwardly relieved when she didn't come across as cold anymore.

"On one condition."

He waited. Whatever it was, it was as good as done.

Sakura reached for her bedside lamp and turned it off before lying down in her bed. She closed her eyes.

"Stay."

"That's a condition?" he questioned.

He was about to add something else along the lines of it being a perk, but she whispered, "Don't ruin it."

And so he said nothing.

When he lay down by her side, he watched her for a moment. Why had he been blessed? Sakura shifted herself forward and rested her head into the crook of his neck, her arm coming to rest around his waist.

He smiled down at her, before resting his head on hers. When he thought she was asleep, he kissed her on the forehead, unable to resist.

"Sleep well, Sakura-chan."

When Sakura opened her eyes in the morning, she groaned. Just how much did she drink last night? She could already feel her head pounding and all she wanted to do was go back to sleep. But she needed to go to work. At least it was Friday, like Naruto had pointed out.

Her eyes widened and she rolled over in bed.

Nobody was there. She frowned in confusion. Whilst last night was a bit hazy, it was nowhere near forgotten... Or was it all just a dream? Had Naruto not carried her home in his arms and made her laugh despite her tears?

Everyone had bad weeks. She wouldn't usually let others in on it, although Tsunade and Ino usually guessed - she saw her fellow medics enough at work for them to work out she was feeling under the weather.

She had always been quick to cry, but sometimes after a build up of emotion, having a good cry could help her get over it. She would aim to do that alone.

Bad days she managed to hide from her team fairly successfully. She always liked to appear like everything was OK. Saying that, being with her team raised her spirits anyway, she didn't just have to act cheerful around them, they made her happy.

Naruto... Apart from last night when she was obviously rundown (that and he said Ino had flat out told him she had been having a bad week), she wondered if Naruto did notice when she was just acting happy. He never said anything, but he did manage to bring her up when she was down.

That boy was a mystery.

Smoothing her hand over the empty space by her side, she tried to work out if it had been occupied by her teammate. She would have thought Naruto would savour the opportunity to sleep by her side - it wasn't often she let him get so close.

Then where was he?

She sighed. Her brain was just too groggy to think about these things this morning - Naruto especially could make her thoughts go all over the place.

The sunshine was bright when she stepped outside. Admittedly, she was hungover so any light hurt her eyes, but it looked like the weather had finally picked up after a dull weak of rainy showers. There needed to be a bit more sun for her to get away with sunglasses though. She would just have to drag herself to work and hope nobody she knew saw her, especially nobody she usually crossed paths with at the hospital.

"Sakura," Tsunade greeted her apprentice when she stepped into her office.

"Shishou," Sakura grunted back.

"The next time I'm hungover, you'll have a little more sympathy," the Hokage stated.

"It's that obvious?"

"It takes one to know one," Tsunade said, amused.

Sakura didn't have the energy to partake in any banter with her mentor and so she passed up the opportunity to bite back at the older medic. "I'm going to grab some caffeine before I start my shift."

"Actually, Sakura, I wanted you down at the labs for something." Tsunade hummed.

"Oh?"

"You don't need to interact with people today, which I think is best."

Sakura agreed. She liked lab work - when her brain wasn't pounding.

"Come here, kid," Tsunade ordered, gesturing with her hand for her apprentice to move towards her desk.

Sakura did so slowly, partly out of confusion.

Tsunade stood up, smirking at her apprentice's nerves before she reached towards her with her hands.

When the Sannin's fingertips touched her temples, Sakura visibly relaxed and closed her eyes as a wave of soothing chakra began to numb her aching brain.

"The elder this week..."

Sakura opened her eyes, but did not meet her mentor's gaze. She stared behind the Sannin's shoulders. "Elder Teri?" she answered quietly.

"Yes - she put you in her will."

Sakura's eyes widened and she glanced up at her mentor.

"She didn't have any family left. You certainly left an impact on her."

"I'd treated her a few times over the years," Sakura answered with a small smile.

"Lucky her. You can't say that she didn't die happy, peacefully, you do have that effect on your patients."

"It's still sad though."

Tsunade frowned at her. "Sad? Passing away in your sleep at an old age, having lived a happy life, there is nothing sad about that."

Sakura's smile widened. "She did like to tell stories of her life."

"There you go then, no sadness," Tsunade concluded, pulling her hands away and sitting down.

"Thank you, Shishou."

"You're welcome. Think of that the next time I'm hungover."

"Not for the headache cure." Sakura tried to elaborate, but her mentor continued.

"You should thank me for that."

Sakura shook her head and smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now go to the labs."

Tsunade waved her away.

Sakura nodded and turned around, heading for the door, but then she paused. "If elder Teri had no family left, how come you knew I was in will? Did she tell you?"

"No, she was brought up this morning and I double-checked the records."

Sakura turned back around. "Who brought it up?"

"It doesn't matter."

Sakura frowned slightly, but didn't push for more. "Have you seen Naruto?"

Tsunade blinked, looking at her blankly. "Yes I've seen that one before, blond kid, way too loud."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Do you know where he is now?"

"No."

"All right."

There was a short silence between them. Sakura almost felt like they were not talking about the same thing.

"Why?" Tsunade asked.

"It doesn't matter."

"At this time in the morning, you could always check if he was still asleep."

"He's not," Sakura answered without thinking.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow before a slow smirk formed on her face. "I didn't know the two of you were-"

"We're not," Sakura answered quickly. "Nothing is happening between us."

Tsunade pouted at her. "Twenty-one and you're still both single."

"He might take me for ramen later."

Might being the key word. She gave him one condition and he didn't stick to it.

It was a shame too. She had wanted to go for ramen with him. Now it was a case of whether she would give up her little bit of pride and forget about it, and just go with him anyway. She did owe him for last night. She would have to buy him a few bowls or ramen, at least, to cover her alcohol expenses that he paid for. She smiled to herself. He was so good to her. She really did take him for granted.

"Well don't keep him waiting."

Sakura looked at her mentor, confused. She wouldn't see him for the rest of the day, though she might go in search for him at lunchtime.

"Skedaddle."

"Yes, yes, to the labs, got it, Shishou."

On the way to the labs she saw the new trainee medic running up the corridor to her. She braced herself for more tears from the young girl, but was greeted with a wide smile.

"Sakura-san! Sakura-san! I found the papers! I'm going to return them right now! We won't get in trouble."

Sakura didn't get a word in. The young girl was so excited that she ran straight past her.

"No running in the hospital!" Sakura called after her.

The young girl shouted a quick 'sorry!' over her shoulder and slowed her pace to a brisk walk.

Sakura smiled and shook her head. That turned out all right then.

It was only the kid's second week and she'd had a bit of a breakdown when she made a mistake. Sakura had tried to comfort her, and even told Tsunade that she had lost the notes (and then got told off for lying and not letting others deal with their mistakes). Sakura didn't admit what actually happened, despite being told off, Sakura was still too soft to hurt the girl further, but the young medic was devastated anyway.

Sakura approached her work lab and pushed open the double doors. She walked over to the lab coats and put hers on before walking to the centre of the room.

She stood there.

The labs were empty, clean, and there was no sign of any work to do at all. Tsunade cleared up her headache well, so she would be fine to interact with the patients... And then she paused.

When she looked down at her lab coat, she saw it was clean and no longer covered in ugly holes.

She took it off to check the label in case someone had put theirs in her spot by accident. When she looked at the label, she couldn't help but laugh. The label on her obviously brand new lab coat said 'Sakura-chan'. Now who could have bought this for her?

Just what time did that idiot have to get up to get this sorted out for her...? With the amount of lab work needing to be done, she guessed she could go and ask him herself.

It didn't take much effort. She left the lab to see him leaning against the wall outside.

"Naruto," she said blankly.

Naruto looked at her and immediately stood up straight, walking a few paces towards her. "Sakura-chan!"

She bit her tongue to stop her smile, but she doubted that her eyes were not shining with amusement. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't really be in the labs section."

"Uhh..." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I wanted to apologise."

"Apologise?" She frowned. "For what?"

"I left before you woke up this morning!"

She bit her lip this time, trying to remain impartial to the whole situation. Did he not understand how sweet he was or see how happy she was in this moment?

"Oh well, maybe I'll still go for ramen with you."

"Really?" he asked in excitement, immediately perking up.

"Sure... Did you know that someone got me a new lab coat?"

"Oh?" Naruto smiled at her, not owning up to it.

"Yes, the label said 'Sakura-chan'," she told him, feigning innocence despite him being the only person who called her that.

"Oops."

"Oops? You got it made for me?"

He shrunk a little and she wasn't sure if it was because he was caught or because he thought she was going to be angry over it.

"Heh... Yeah, sorry, Sakura-chan, I wasn't thinking when I gave your name over the counter."

"I'm not surprised. What time did you get up this morning to get it?"

Naruto shrugged, still smiling sheepishly.

"You somehow found the missing medical notes didn't you?"

Naruto nodded, swallowing.

"And you talked to Tsunade this morning to get her to chat to me, didn't you?"

Naruto nodded again, squeezing his eyes shut as if it was all a bad thing.

"I'm not angry."

He opened his eyes. "No? You told me to stay!"

"Naruto, you idiot..." she trailed off smiling. "I really appreciate what you've done. I will buy you ramen tonight in an attempt to say thank you."

Naruto's sheepishness disappeared and he grinned at her. "We don't want eat too late, Sakura-chan."

She titled her head, puzzled at his excitement and words.

"We have an early morning training session tomorrow! I was going to hit Kakashi-sensei for being late but then he told me that he'd stopped off at a ramen restaurant and that he earned me free meals for life if I ever go there and just give them my name."

Sakura laughed. "What a liar."

"What?" Naruto pouted at her. "No free ramen?"

"Too good to be true, Naruto, he definitely fooled you."

Naruto's head slumped.

Sakura walked up to him, and paused by his side. She placed a hand on his shoulder, then on tiptoes, reached up to place a kiss on his cheek.

A kiss for a kiss.

She pulled back and when he looked at her in shock, she smiled and said, "thank you."

"For what?" he muttered.

"Everything."

And then she continued to walk down the corridor, leaving behind a blushing boy who had brightened up her week. He'd managed to do so last night, even when she was inebriated.

Last night, Naruto did not need to bring up any other of the topics that had been bringing her down lately. She just knew that it was all going to be OK. All of her worries seemed small compared to the good things she had in life. She even had a date later.

"Sakura-chan?"

She paused.

"I got up at four so... I did kind of wish that I got to stay with you a little longer this morning. You were snuggling up to me when I woke up and I wanted to cuddle you back but I had to get up-"

She turned around with a raised eyebrow. "Don't you spoil everything you've done now."

He pouted at her. "No cuddle?"

"Nope."

"You can come to my place!" he offered.

"My bed's a lot comfier," she stated, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Yours is fine!"

"For me."

His pout increased. "I just want a hug."

"Mmhmm."

His eyes widened in panic. "I definitely wasn't implying anything!"

"Oh yes, I believe you," she told him, her voice laced with sarcasm.

She turned around purposefully and began to stride away from him.

"Sakura-chan!" he called after her.

"I'll see you later for ramen, Naruto."

"Sakura-chan!"

She smiled to herself. She wouldn't tell him that he was extremely comfortable to sleep on. She definitely wouldn't tell him that he was cute when he panicked because he thought he'd made her mad when she was actually giggling on the inside.

She might hug him later too. He did deserve it after all.

Author Notes:

This is a thank you for 100 reviews! Even if I'm only on 99. I wasn't going to finish writing it and then wait. I wanted to get it out for you all. Thank you for your support.

There was a point when I started noting down when I started writing a story idea. I thought of this at 11:40 PM on 16 August 2013.

Three things:

1. How many words in a chapter do you feel qualifies for a short story? What word count is too large and you would rather it uploaded separately than in this collection?

2. I was wondering if I should change the title and just make it "The NaruSaku Collection". It is how it is because this wasn't initially a collection. But I have heard people say they like the title, so what do you think? I would probably update the cover then too.

3. I was also wondering if I should remove the summaries at the end of chapters. Do you use them for navigation or just read all of the chapters anyway?

Thanks for reading and for your feedback.