A/N: here is the next chapter, lovelies! We hope you enjoy.

We don't own Naruto/Boruto.

She hated him. Even after he followed her around like a lost puppy on the train, she still hated him. Well, maybe a little less, but hated him still, nonetheless. He was so infuriating. Flirting with that popstar, and letting her have her hands on him all the time. And they were in public!

Boruto even accused her of being jealous. Ridiculous.

Why the hell would she be jealous? It's not like she liked him or anything.

Nu uh. Nothing of the sort.

She was just thankful there was no one around to hear them shouting. That would surely get Konohamaru's attention and the last thing she wanted was to be filed for insubordination.

The next morning, Sarada came to work a little earlier than usual and even got her coffee before coming in. She got there even before Boruto did, which was a surprise. Even he looked surprised to see her. For a moment, she thought he was going to come over to her desk, but someone got there before he did.

"Good morning, Sarada,"

Looking even fresher than a daisy, Kagura took Inojin's chair and rolled it over to her, and sat down, knees lightly brushing. "Happy New Year!"

She blinked but couldn't help but grin. He was a few weeks late, but better late than never. "Happy New Year… come to think of it, I haven't seen you in a while."

Kagura laughed and it sounded melodious. This guy really was like a prince right out of a fairytale… He was handsome, too. "I came by because I wanted to give you these," he held up two purple cards. "I remembered you said you used to practice yoga, and well, a friend of mine opened up a studio nearby. I was hoping you'd want to come with me."

"Oh, wow." Yoga… it certainly had been a while. She used to practice when she was younger whenever her parents would in the morning and would go to a studio during her university days but now… she really hadn't had the time. But the opportunity was right here in front of her, and it would be a waste to turn it down. "Sure, I'd love to go with you."

Kagura grinned so wide, flashing a perfect set of white teeth. "Awesome! Let's go tomorrow. Do you want to go before or after work?" He was so excited, and it was rubbing off on her. "Or maybe both?"

Sarada laughed. He looked so cute when he was excited. "Maybe after work? We can go to work together if we go in the morning, though…" What was a better option? If she woke up earlier and went before coming in to the office, it could be better for her body, and let her sleep earlier, too… "What do you prefer?"

"Any!" Kagura beamed. "As long as I get to go with you."

That last line got her ears burning up. It was easy to see why Kagura was the office crush, especially when he was sitting this close to her.

"Sarada," Boruto called from where he stood in front of his office. "A word. Now." He didn't sound happy and she was pretty sure he rolled his eyes before he disappeared behind his door.

She perked up and raised a brow. "What's got him so pissy?" She muttered.

Kagura also looked towards Boruto's office but waved his hand. "Probably just not in the morning mood. Anyway," he placed a hand on hers, the one holding on to her Yoga pass, "Just text me, yeah? Or we can have lunch together and talk about the schedules. That's good for a week."

Her breath hitched at his sudden touch and all she could do was nod. He grinned at her again and left her sitting there, still in a slight daze.

Damn that man… He seriously had a different aura.

Shaking her head, she got up from her chair and started walking towards Boruto's office, completely forgetting that she was still holding on to the yoga pass. "You called?" She stood right at his door frame, not bothering to take a step in.

"Forget it." He snapped, sending a sharp glare her way before turning his eyes to his laptop.

Her jaw slacked, utterly confused but turned around and left, anyway. That was weird. She looked at her watch and it was still too early for anything bad to ruin his day.

To her surprise, Chocho was setting her things down on her desk when she was back. And she excitedly told her colleague about the yoga passes Kagura got them.

"Well, isn't that nice of him?" Chocho smiled smugly. "Gotta pull out those yoga pants and sports bras, huh?"

Sarada laughed and elbowed her. "Oh come on. You used to do yoga, right? Why don't you come?"

"Pilates, girl." Chocho rolled her eyes. "But yeah," She reached for the passes and read it before smirking. "He really set you up, though. You get a pass free if you bring a friend, and only if you bring a friend. Looks like you two will be spending a lot of time together, huh?"

It was Sarada's turn to roll her eyes. "Stop teasing. Kagura isn't like that."

"Isn't like what?" Inojin came in with a huge cup of iced-coffee in his hands. "What're you two talking about?"

"Kagura asked Sarada out on a date, for a week!" Chocho spun the tale around so easily. She obviously had a lot of practice.

"Well, shit," Inojin laughed. "The Prince finally making his move? Took long enough."

"Guys!" Sarada blushed. "It's just yoga."

"Before or after work?" Chocho quoted him. "What's he talking about, stretching or sex?"

"Chocho!" Sarada's cheeks burned bright red. "He isn't like that!"

Inojin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You gotta accept that guys want—usually—only one thing."

"And I supposed you fit into the picture, too?" Sarada quipped.

Inojin shrugged one shoulder up. "If she's cute enough, why not?"

"I can't believe you!" Sarada laughed, throwing a crumpled up tissue at him. "One of these days, you are going to meet a girl that you will fall in love with, and you will eat your words."

Inojin snickered. "Oh, I'll be eating," He put his cup down and flicked his tongue out at her, in a slow, licking motion. "But it won't be my words."

Chocho screeched at the sight and hit his shoulder with the back of her hand. "I'm filing sexual harassment, you pervert."

Inojin was hollering. "As if, Chubbs. You know Konohamaru won't even take that shit seriously. He's a perv himself."

"Yeah, yeah," Chocho waved him off, and he kept on teasing her.

Sarada laughed and shook her head as she started her laptop up, only listening to half of their conversation. She had a lot of work to do today, and she was going to get it all done.

The first half of the day breezed by, only stopping to look away from her screen when Chocho nudged her that she had a visitor.

Kagura was back, and grinning at her. "Ready for lunch?" He asked, holding up his lunch box.

Sarada blinked and returned his smile, sit down for a bit, I'll just send this email."

"Okie dokie," he replied and leaned on Sarada's desk. Her elbow brushing his hip whenever she would type. Kagura didn't even flinch, talking to Chocho and Inojin about how the shelves in their trade accounts were looking and his progress with getting the burger ramen listed.

Once Sarada hit send, she stood up and picked up her lunch box, inviting Chocho and Inojin to join, but those two sly fuckers decided to hang back, telling them to go ahead.

Those two were too eager to sell her away to anyone. She could have sworn they would sell her to satan for a corn chip if it meant her getting laid, too. They meant well… in their own ways…

The pantry wasn't full yet, but it wouldn't take long until people filled in. Kagura was punctual, picking her up at exactly noon from her desk. Sarada heated her food as Kagura took his cup from the shelves.

It wasn't long until Shikadai came and took the seat next to Kagura. And when Sarada's food was finished, she transferred it on a plate and took a seat. Someone sat right next to her. No surprise who it was.

Boruto's mood seemed just as sour as it had that morning, even the way he unwrapped his sandwich was aggressive.

Sarada looked at him, and then his lunch. "Looks good. What's in it?"

Kagura and Shikadai started talking to each other, commenting about the outlook for the month.

"Hey, Boruto," Kagura grinned at him. "How were your holidays?"

Boruto looked over at Kagura and as if every ounce of his frustration evaporated, he smiled. "Lovely. And yours?"

"Wonderful," Kagura smiled. "Happy to be back, though. I missed work."

Sarada snickered. Ever the workaholic, even if he didn't seem like it. Kagura never made work look like work. "I wish I could say the same," Sarada sighed.

"Same," Shikadai snorted. "Wish I had your motivation, bro."

Kagura only grinned. And returned his attention to Sarada as he picked up his utensils. "Have you decided yet? Morning or evening?"

"Maybe a bit of both? We're going everyday, right?"

"That would be great!"

"Wait, what's this?" Shikadai asked. "Don't tell me if it's R-rated, though."

Boruto dropped his sandwich and scowled at it. So much for his appetite.

Sarada looked at Boruto and then waved Shikadai off. "It's yoga. Stop it."

"Ah," Shikadai nodded. "Okay, fair." He then looked at Boruto, and gave him a smug smile. "Cute, aren't they, Boruto?"

"Mm. Sickeningly." Boruto agreed with a tight smile.

Sarada side eyed him, but didn't say a word, choosing to go on eating. Kagura was better at avoiding being teased. Almost everyone in the office had had a crush on him, and he knew how to brush these things off. But Sarada choked on her salmon when he replied.

"Thanks, I hope it goes well with us."

Excuse me, what?

"What?" Sarada looked at him.

"What?" Shikadai dropped his chopsticks.

"What the fuck," Boruto glared.

Kagura only gave them a Prince-like smile and went on eating his food, but gave Sarada a wink.

.

.

.

That lunch period was…

Weird.

Awkward. To say the very least.

Kagura asking her out to different activities and having lunch together wasn't something new but to reply to being teased that way? Totally new.

Not that Sarada hated it… but she wasn't so sure if she liked it, too. And the way Boruto reacted…

He was definitely jealous.

Sarada celebrated internally. It looked like making Boruto fall in love and confess to her didn't look like an impossibility anymore.

He did follow her home and suffered that train ride with her. It wasn't even so bad to begin with but he made it look like it was the most horrible thing ever. She caught herself smiling.

What? No, no. Bad. Can't go thinking about him and smiling. That's stupid. She didn't like him, or find him adorable. Like a lost little puppy following her around, not knowing what to do when she had a ticket and he didn't.

Even if he hated it, he still powered through, and even did it again to get his car. Sarada laughed at the horrible texts he sent her, whining about how cramped it was and how she wasn't there for him to hold on to.

It was usually hot and cramped and Sarada hated it when people would invade her bubble. But having Boruto's arm around her waist and him leaning into her whenever the train would stop, or anyone would even look her way in general made her feel safe, and he smelled so, so good. He never let his hold on her go, too.

Hold… He was holding her hand the entire walk from the station to her front door.

Sarada felt hot all over. Well, she got eaten out before they even held hands. Go figure.

She rubbed her hands on her knee, feeling warm and fuzzy. It was cold that night, but his hand kept hers warm the entire time.

Sarada looked to her side, pulling her out of her thoughts. Chocho and Inojin were already packing up.

Wait what? What time was it? "Where are you going?"

"Girl," Chocho gave her a look. "It's half past six. Aren't you going home?"

"Home?" What? How could the time fly by so fast. She was just thinking of Boruto and next thing she knew it was time to go home?

Inojin waved his hand in front of her face. "Earth to Sarada. Maybe it's time you do go home. You're acting funny."

"Want me to take you home?" Chocho offered.

"Oh, no." Sarada smiled. "I'm fine. You go ahead. I'll pack up. Maybe I am just tired."

"Okay, see ya." Inojin waved and led the way, Chocho following close behind him.

Sarada sighed. What happened to her? She looked at her screen and there were some new emails she didn't even remember receiving. Had she been day dreaming the entire time? What was wrong with her?

Deciding it was better to sleep than to force any more work out of her, she closed her laptop and gathered her belongings, thoughts still drifting to and from Boruto, like how the waves crashed and pulled from the shore. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get him out of her head.

She pulled out her phone, and started checking her phone, missed some calls from her mom and suppliers, even a bunch of texts from her dad. And a calendar invitation for yoga from Kagura, early the next morning. With a reminder to bring extra clothes, and that he'll be around to fetch her in the morning.

"Are you ready?"

Sarada yelped and dropped her phone on her desk. Looking up at him, with wide, and shocked eyes. "Boruto, oh my god. I didn't even hear you."

"Of course you didn't." He mumbled, averting his eyes. "Come on, I'll drive you home."

The response on her tongue was a no, but when she finally spoke, "Okay, let's," slipped out. No hesitation. No stuttering.

What the fuck.

"I mean—" she shook her head. "That's not what I was going to say."

"Well, it was the right thing to say. Don't get difficult. Let's get out of here."

A loud sigh escaped her lips, but he was right. There was no point arguing. She was out of it today, and commuting all alone wasn't a good idea if she wasn't alert enough. "Okay…" She trailed behind him, watching him walk silently to the elevator.

Odd. Usually he would be chatting up a storm right now.

"Everything okay?" She asked.

"Why wouldn't it be?" He nearly growled, blue eyes locking on hers with an intensity that was smoldering, which was saying something considering it was only a fleeting look over his shoulder.

Okay. What was with that attitude? If he was going to be this grumpy all the way during rush hour traffic, stuffing herself in the train didn't sound like too bad of an option. Once the elevator arrived they both hopped in. Boruto pressed the button for the parking lot, but Sarada pushed the button for ground.

"The hell did you do that for?" He asked with a huff, gawking at her.

Sarada crossed her arms across her chest and harrumphed. "I'll take the train if it means you being this snippy." Honestly. What was wrong with him? "I don't want your sour mood to ruin my evening. I'm already not feeling so great to begin with."

Boruto sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. I just… it's been a bad day. Just let me take you home."

Her eyes softened. He was having a bad day? Sarada thought of all the reasons why he could possibly say that, but work was a breeze today… well, she had barely worked today because she was too preoccupied, but that was beside the point. "You can tell me about it," she muttered. "I'll listen on the way home."

"I'm fine… really. I'm more worried about you, are you getting sick?"

"I—" Boruto was actually paying attention to what she said earlier? "I'm—" don't say you're fine. That's a lie. "I don't know, really…" she whispered and looked away. "I haven't really been feeling like myself."

The door opened to the parking and they both walked out, Sarada following him to his car. Her eyes drifted to his free hand, swaying by his thigh. Her palm tingled at the memory of what it felt like to have his hand in hers. Once his car came to view, Sarada forced herself to focus, and walked over to the passenger side.

Boruto looked… sad. Looks like today really was a bad day for him, and her heart hurt to think he didn't even say anything until now.

They both got in the car and she didn't say a thing, waiting for Boruto to say something. When he finally did speak, his voice was quiet and lacking its usual confidence.

"Take tomorrow off. You shouldn't overwork yourself when you're already feeling off. Okay?"

That made a lot of sense. Taking sick days weren't something Sarada did often, but her mama always scolded her whenever she took it too far. "I'll get some sleep early, and see how I'm feeling in the morning."

"Just let me know." He said, offering her a small, sad smile. "If you need me, I'll bring you anything."

She mirrored his smile, feeling how heavy his heart weighed in his chest. "Are you okay, though? For real?" Her hand involuntarily moved over to hold his, over the gearshift. "Maybe you should take a sick leave."

"Yeah?" He hummed at that, a tiny hint of amusement cracking his gloomy demeanor. His hand clasped hers, fingers entwining slowly. "Maybe we should take one together."

Sarada giggled and teased. "Mr. Uzumaki, are you asking me out on a sick date?"

Got you. He really had to confess now. No other way.

"Not a date. Sick leave… together. I would be glad to take care of you." His mood lightened further.

"Me?" She shifted in her seat to face him. Boruto raised her hand to rest against his chest, making her feel his steady heartbeat. "You're the one who needs taking care of."

"So, we can take care of each other." He suggested, glancing over at her with softening eyes and a sincere smile as he raised her hand further, pressing a slow, warm kiss to the back of it.

Instead of being a flustered mess, Sarada felt totally at ease. Boruto holding on to her hand, sitting in his passenger seat and driving slow in traffic. The red lights illuminating his face, blue eyes sparkling at her.

Oh no. She definitely didn't like him. Not at all.

That sounded like a good offer, staying in to collect herself, even if she wasn't physically sick, her mind needed a break. Perhaps it was just the break she needed. Going through her schedule for the following day, there were no important meetings or matters she needed to attend to.

"A sick leave sounds nice."

"Maybe I should look after you tonight too, hm?" He suggested, tone soft, hand still holding hers close to his lips.

"I just said you were the one who needed taking care of," she chuckled lightly. "You don't have to, I'll be fine."

"Take care of me then." Boruto pressed, smiling sweetly against the back of her hand.

That smile of his always did things to her heart in ways she couldn't explain. How could she say no to him when he was looking at her like that? "Still telling me what to do, huh?"

He laughed and moved her hand to his cheek instead. "I was just making a hopeful suggestion. Come on, say yes."

Sarada laughed. "Always so persistent… okay."

"Okay." He grinned.

That sad and heavy aura from earlier was gone, and Boruto was all smiles again. It was infectious, and Sarada was already starting to feel better just seeing him smile like how he always did. Boruto kept her hand on him, occasionally dropping it to his heart or bringing it up to his mouth, brushing his lips on her knuckles as he drove.

Sarada led the way to her apartment, quite happy that she just finished cleaning the other day. She debated on either cooking dinner or just ordering out. Her couch was looking far too inviting. "Do you want to order out?"

"Sounds good to me." Boruto nodded, his mind not exactly on real food.

She hummed and picked up her phone, opening up an app and scrolling through choices as she sat down and joined him on the couch, unconsciously leaning into him as she showed Boruto her screen, talking about food options.

"Ooh, Thunder Burger." Boruto pointed it out as soon as it came along. He leaned even closer to her until there was no room between them.

"Again?"

"Well why not?" He huffed, turning his attention to her while his lips puckered into a childish pout.

"What a baby…" she muttered under her breath, but clicked on Thunder Burger anyway, choosing what they wanted. "You should eat healthier, you know?"

"Excuse me, but I'll have you know that I eat healthy all the time. Mom and Hima make sure of it." He said with a slow roll of his eyes.

Sarada couldn't help but laugh. For someone in authority, he sure acted like a baby. Needed a lot of taking care of, too. "Sure, sure." At least he was being well cared for by his family, still.

After ordering, she turned on the TV and clicked on Ninflix, handing him the remote. "You can choose, I'll go get changed first."

"Alright." He accepted their remote but his eyes didn't turn to the TV until she was out of sight.

Putting on a sweater and shorts, Sarada looked at herself and frowned. Her hair was already a mess, and she opted to tie it up in a bun over her head. Now she looked ready for a night in, and the thought of not needing to wake up early the following day excited her.

Small adulting joys. Had to soak all that up.

She pulled her comforter off her bed and dragged it out with her to the living room, only to dump it on Boruto and come back to her room to fetch her pillows, too. Also throwing them at Boruto once she came back, giggling mischievously. He was gone under all the covers and blankets.

"Shame my guest left," she announced playfully, before letting a fit of giggles overcome her.

Boruto's head popped through the pile she'd covered him in and he laughed along with her. "Not quite."

Laughing along the way, Sarada settled on the couch next to him, making herself comfortable and stealing nearly all of the comforter to her side. "Did you pick one, yet?"

"Yeah, this one looked okay. But it's supposed to be scary." He said as he pressed play.

"You picked a horror movie?" She screeched and hit him with a pillow… a little too much force than she intended to originally. "No!"

"Ow! Why not?" Boruto groaned and glared at her, but those blue eyes were undeniably soft. "It's supposed to be really great!"

She hid half her face behind a large pillow she was clinging on to. "But it's scary." Oh god. She was practically whining. "And I live alone..."

"Not tonight, you don't. So it's okay." He mused, smug as ever. He even opened his arms in invitation. "Come on, I'll keep you safe."

Hell no. Sarada hid under the comforter. "I don't do scary."

"Sarada," Boruto cooed, taking her into his arms whether she liked it or not. He pulled her against him and forced the comforter away. "It won't be bad, just give it a chance," He nudged her ear with his nose before adding, "for me."

Much like a scared child, her eyes were wide, seemingly larger because of her specs. "... okay." Her voice was so small, fear evident with her body language.

"Relax," Boruto chuckled softly, his hand rubbing her arm soothingly. "There's really nice reason to be afraid. It's exciting, ya know?"

She didn't believe him. Not at all. Sarada was no fan of horror, just like her Papa. But if the two of them can be brave to watch with her Mama, then she can stick this out… didn't mean she had to like it, though. "Fine." She sat back up on the couch, wrapping herself up in a cocoon, and leaning on his shoulder.

The first few minutes weren't so bad, all setting the scene and just some tiny little scares, nothing she couldn't handle. The build up for a scare was coming and Sarada was clutching on to her pillow and leaning more onto Boruto's chest, eyes never leaving the screen. The blanket was up until her nose, ready to cover herself at any moment.

When her doorbell rang she jumped, and Boruto laughed at her for a bit before standing to answer it and get their food.

She ended up lying down on the couch when he stood up, only then realizing how much she was leaning on him. A small pout formed on her lips, not liking how empty the space felt without him.

Woah wait what? No, not upset. She didn't care he wasn't next to her anymore. It wasn't like that, at all.

It's not like she liked him or anything, anyway.

A/N: This is totally normal. Just friends. Nothing going on between them. At all. What a load of bullshit.

They're in her apartment. Alone. Taking care of each other. Oh dear, oh dear, just what will happen next? Your guess is as good as ours. Let Tyy and I know by leaving us a review!

Thank you to everyone for reading and supporting this fic!

Cheers,

Kairi and Tyy