A/N: Hello, lovelies! I am so bad at keeping up with the posting schedule. This was supposed to be up yesterday but I got caught up. Here is the next chapter, and we hope you enjoy!

We don't own Naruto/Boruto.

Boruto woke up just before five, had his shower, got dressed, drank his first cup of coffee, let his car warm-up and then headed to Sarada's apartment to pick her up. Right on time, at six exactly, he was knocking on her door.

And knocking.

And knocking.

What the hell?

He glared at the door, knocking harder. He wasn't early, she shouldn't have still been in the shower or getting dressed. When she finally opened the door, her eyes literally closed, hair a mess, and still in her pajamas, Boruto learned she had still been sleeping.

The audacity.

"Sarada! It's after six… you're not ready?" He groaned and stepped into her apartment, forcing her back. Boruto closed the door, staring at her still half-asleep face. God, she was so cute. "Wake up, get your ass in gear. We got places to be," He said as he started ushering her towards her room.

She groaned and mumbled things, as if she was still asleep, and leaned into him as they walked. Her eyes stayed closed. "It's not… morning yet…" she complained.

Not morning yet? Ugh, he so wanted to scold her, but he really couldn't when she was like this. "It is morning. You were supposed to be ready by six, remember?" His tone had softened, along with his heart.

Just what was this girl doing to him?

Sarada shook her head and wrapped her arms around his middle. "Warm," she sighed, starting to fall asleep on her feet.

"Sarada," Boruto sighed but was quick to wind his own arms around her for support. "You need a shower and coffee… I can help." With both. Wait no.

Just the coffee.

"Nooooo," she whined, clinging on to him tightly. "Sleep. It's not… morning yet!"

"Aw, such a whiny baby." Boruto cooed.

In one quick move, she released her hold on him and stood up straight, eyes opening by half. "Stop mocking me, oh my god," she grumbled and shoved him lightly out of the way, marching into her bathroom and slamming the door shut. Inside, he could hear her mutter a string of expletives, the products and items inside the bathroom banging around.

"I never said I didn't like it," Boruto grumbled to himself with a smile, turning on his heel to go and prepare her coffee.

He waited a bit, finishing a cup of his own before he fixed hers. Of course, it would take her time to shower, but he didn't give her longer than twenty minutes before he carried the coffee back to her room. Her complaints could be heard long before he arrived at her door.

She was cold. It was too early. She was still whining and it amused the blond. His amusement died the instant he caught sight of her though, standing at her dresser and going through one of the drawers in nothing but a towel.

Sarada bent down to choose something from a drawer, the edge of the towel teetering a little too high for Boruto's comfort. Once Sarada was upright, his eyes caught what was in her hand… a tiny pair of lacey pink panties. She was still complaining and hadn't noticed his presence as she opened up a cabinet, her upper thigh peeking from under the towel.

Once she found a sweater and a pair of pants, Sarada pulled them out and hung them on the cabinet's knob. She dropped the towel on the floor as she bent down to put on her panties, shifting her hips from side to side to make sure the band fit on right. The towel sitting on the top of her head was the next to go, pulling it off in one smooth motion, wet hair falling past her shoulders and down her back.

She reached into the cabinet and pulled out a pink bra to match. With more mumbling, she pulled her hair to one side as she hooked the bra on, slightly moving to the side, giving Boruto a view of her side boob, before she turned her back on him again, slipping the straps up her arms.

Finally, she turned around facing him and stopped in her tracks, eyes going wide. "Have you—shit. How long have you been standing there?"

"Definitely long enough," Boruto admitted, thanking the heavens that she hadn't been ready when he arrived. Except now little Boruto wanted to play and he couldn't. It was a cruel but beautiful world.

Her cheeks turned pink and she picked up a pillow from the bed, threatening to throw it at him, but stopped when she saw the mug in his hands. "That better be coffee."

"It is. And it's perfect. I know how you like it." Talking about coffee was fun, it made Sarada blush more and made him grin. He walked over to her and held out the mug. "Here you go, Princess."

Sarada's lower lip jutted out, but she didn't take the mug, instead of putting on the white, fluffy sweater on over her head before taking the mug. "I think you've seen enough this morning." She looked down for a quick second before taking a sip from her coffee and turning around to settle the mug on her dresser. "You might want to take care of that." She smiled slyly at him.

"If you're so worried about it, you can take care of it for me." He said teasingly.

Oh, but he was so serious.

She snorted. "Putting me to work this early? You wish." However, she walked over to him, still in nothing but her sweater and panties and stopped right when their chests were brushing. "I do owe you something though," she whispered before placing her hands on his chest, going on her tiptoes, and planting a soft kiss—not on his lips—but at the corner of his mouth. "For the drink last night." She smiled and then walked away to put on her pants.

It wasn't right. It wasn't just his dick reacting to Sarada, but all of him. His heart was beating faster and even though he didn't understand it, he knew it wasn't just from how much she turned him on. Not that it was anything like love or stupid nonsense like that. Maybe just like, extra arousal? Could be coming down with something.

"I'll wait in the living room." He said as he left her to finish getting ready.

Sarada had him fucked up. There was no denying it. It didn't make sense, but it was true. He sat on the couch to wait for her, checking the time on his phone. It was already twenty minutes to seven. He should have been in his office ten minutes ago and yet here he was, on Sarada's couch, trying to get his erection to go away.

It was hard to think about things to turn him off when all he could smell was her and all he could see was her body. Shit. It wasn't going away. At least not until his phone rang and his mom's face showed on the caller ID. Oh, that was a quick drop, but one he welcomed.

"Mom?" He answered, surprised to hear from her so early in the morning.

"Good morning, Boruto. Are you already in the office?" She asked in her usual soft and sweet tone.

"I'm on my way." He said, not considering it a lie. Maybe stretching the truth a bit, but he was trying to get to work. "Everything okay?"

"Everything is fine. Himawari told me about your weekend trip and I just wanted to talk to you about it."

That had him rolling his eyes, already knowing where this was going. "We'll be fine mom. I know what I'm doing."

"She packed all of her snow clothes…"

"All of them? It doesn't matter, we're just going skiing. For beginners." He told her reassuringly and she laughed. His mother was one to be overprotective at times. "I just want to make her happy…"

"I know Boruto…" she said, voice trailing off and Boruto closed his eyes, a sullenness washing over him.

"I have to go. We'll be fine, okay? I love you."

When he finally hung up, he shoved his phone in his pocket and sighed, fussing with his hair. He hated reminders and his mother was good at giving them to him, even when she wasn't trying to.

Sarada quietly came up to him from behind and whispered in his ear. "Problem taken cared of?"

"Were you hoping it wasn't?" He asked, glad to have her pulling him out of his head.

She wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and kissed his temple. "No, I was just hoping to tease you a bit."

At least now she was awake… and not complaining anymore.

"I'll take a rain check," Boruto said, smiling wider at having her so close and so sweet. "We really need to get going."

Sarada groaned and whined playfully. "Do we have toooo?" She rested her head to the side on his shoulder, and pouted at him, her nose nearly touching his cheek. "Aren't you going to get me breakfast first?"

The whiny baby was back and it was too cute. He couldn't bring himself to move. "Yes we do, and of course. You're the princess after all."

She giggled and kissed his cheek. Gosh. Was she always this sweet in the morning? He had to come by more often. "Waffles?" She asked, a smile on her face.

"Sure, as long as they're chickenless." He mused.

Her arms wound a little tighter around him, laughing lightly and still not making a move to leave. She snuggled up a little closer to him, her nose brushing his neck. "Good morning."

Heart palpitating, Boruto blinked ahead, ears heating up. "Yeah… morning." He didn't think he would ever get to work… but he didn't care either. Not now.

She also made no move to leave, but took a deep breath and sighed, her warm breath tickling his neck. Sarada planted a soft kiss on his nape before standing upright. "I'll just get my bag and we can go." Her footsteps receded, and Boruto heard some things in her room move around.

Standing up to make sure he didn't get held up on the couch again, Boruto walked to the door and slid his hands in his pockets, staring down the hallway as he waited for her return. She only took a moment and then the two of them left her apartment, walking out to his still-running car. He'd forgotten all about it. As he always did, he opened the door for her to get in, feeling the heat from inside hit him heavily.

"Well… extra toasty." He laughed at the way Sarada's face scrunched up and she hurried to turn the heat down.

"More like a furnace," she laughed.

"At least you won't be cold." He pokes out his lips playfully and then closed her door to walk around and get inside. It had already cooled down considerably, but whoa was it hot. He got on the road without wasting any time, his right hand laying over her thigh as he drove. "So, waffles?"

She hummed and placed her hand over his. "Yes, with bacon and eggs, please. No chicken because you'll judge me again."

"No, I wouldn't." He said with a short, soft laugh. "Never."

"And for you? Another burger?" She teased. Oh, she was judging.

"Burger for breakfast?" He asked as if he was actually considering it. He laughed hard when she swatted his hand. "I'm kidding, I'll wait and have my burger for lunch, thank you."

"Breakfast burgers exist, you know? With egg and all," she smiled. "I suppose you've never tried them?"

Boruto almost slammed on the breaks. "Don't you go telling burger lies, Sarada." His eyes narrowed. If there was such a thing, he would know. Boruto has a passion for burgers and would try any. There had never been one he didn't like.

"I'm not lying!" She giggled. "Take a left here. I know a nice place."

Though he was a bit suspicious, Boruto took the left and followed her directions to the small diner, a place he'd never been before. Thankfully it didn't appear overly busy, but there were at least a dozen cars in the parking lot. They left the car and headed in, Boruto taking Sarada's hand in his the instant it was within reach.

"Are we going to take the food to go?" He asked carefully. He should have been at the office forever ago, but if she wanted to dine in, they would dine in.

She looked at him for a while, asking shyly. "I don't know… maybe I should ask my boss if I can come in a little late first." And then her face broke out into a grin. "We don't have a meeting in the morning, though. But we can get takeaway if you want to."

"Actually, I think I'd rather eat here." He said, giving in to his desires even if he really shouldn't have. He couldn't help it, he wanted to have time with her like this.

Not a date. Definitely not. But just, breakfast before work.

.

.

.

Friday came and as promised, Boruto arrived at home to pick up Himawari by four o'clock. He was fifteen minutes early, actually, and carrying a teddy bear half his size. Himawari was so excited, she hugged him and the bear at once and insisted Mr. Brown join them on their trip. Boruto didn't have the heart to tell her no.

Boruto really owes Shikadai for this, the resort was amazing, beautiful, calming and homey. Their lodge was surrounded by trees and endless snow, fully equipped and stocked with anything they could need. It was a little more couply than Boruto cared for, but he figured that may have something to do with Sarada.

She kept popping into his head. It wasn't right. His focus should have been on Himawari instead. This time was hers and nobody else's. Their first night was spent in their lodge after they'd gone out for dinner. After that, they settled in, bundling up on the couch with the fire going, sipping hot chocolate (and coffee for Boruto) while watching a movie.

They didn't truly watch the movie though, Himawari was too excited about going skiing the next day, and everything else they could possibly do. Since they had the entire weekend to do anything they wanted, she was making silly requests, like wanting to build a snow queen. Not a snowman, but a snow queen. His sister could really be too much sometimes, but Boruto loved her from the bottom of his heart.

On Saturday they did everything she wanted. They had pancakes and milk for breakfast and then went straight to the ski area to have a go at it. It was amusing and downright embarrassing at times. Luckily, Himwari struggled a lot more than Boruto did, finding it near impossible to keep her balance. The blond was able to at least do that much, but he did wipe out more than he would like to admit.

Overall, it was fun. They laughed a lot and got out most of their energy—and that was truly saying something for Himawari.

The ski lift had been one of the most exciting things for her, but she still held on to Boruto throughout the ride, even with a smile, she was still a little uncertain about the whole thing. After they had their fill of skiing, they went back to their lodge to warm up and take a break, but Himawari stopped Boruto by his sleeve before they ever could get inside and all it took was a single look for him to agree to build the snow queen.

Himawari was particular and had even brought things along to help complete the snow queen, apparently planning in advance. It was more work for Boruto than actual fun, but it was worth it to see the smile on his sister's face. He would do anything for her, anything to make her smile like that, anything as long as she wouldn't be upset with him.

Eventually, they did warm up inside for a while, playing cards and catching up. Boruto didn't expect Himawari to start questioning him, but it was so like her. He wasn't exactly pleased with the interrogation, especially since Himawari was almost impossible to lie to.

Why did she want to know about Sarada of all things?

Anything else would have been okay.

Why Sarada?

"When are you going to introduce your girlfriend to me?" She asked casually as if asking what day of the week it was.

"Not my girlfriend. Sarada is just… my friend." Kinda.

"Sarada?" She grinned slyly. "I never said a name."

Again with word vomit? Boruto supposed this was who he was these days. A word vommitter. "You were talking about her, don't pretend otherwise. She's not my girlfriend. You can meet her though and ask her yourself. She'll tell you quicker than me."

"Me?" She feigned surprise. "Talking about her?" She held a hand to her chest. "Never. But now that we are, do tell me about her!" She grinned.

"Not my girlfriend." Boruto huffed, rolling his eyes. "But, Sarada is… hard working. Real prideful and smart. Sometimes she's really cute, sometimes she's annoying but in a good way. She's beautiful… I mean, maybe… if you're into legs and whatnot." Boruto inwardly cringed, wondering why he rambled so easily to his sister.

"Legs," Himawari's brows raised. "Of all the things you mentioned her legs." Her grin was too wide, too happy. "Do you like her?"

"Whoa, definitely not. What? What? Pft. Not a chance." Shit, who was he kidding? He was crazy about her.

"You spent Christmas Eve with her," she said. "And take her home…" she then looked at him. "Have you slept with her?"

Boruto flinched, heart lurching into his throat. He couldn't spout out a lie like he so desperately wanted to and he knew by the look she was giving him that his hesitation was answer enough. He couldn't lie to her, so he sighed and said, "A little."

Himawari's eyes went wide. "A little?" She screeched. "Don't lie to me!"

"Okay, yes!" He whined, raising his voice to match hers. Why was she going off? It was honestly expected though.

Himawari screamed. "Shika was riiight!" She jumped up and shook his arm. "Oh my gooood! Finally getting laid!"

"Ugh, stop." He felt nauseous just listening to her. "We're not talking about this and you just forget what you heard. As I said, she's not my girlfriend." She didn't even want to be.

"But you've slept with her," she reiterated. "Take her home," she exaggerated. "Oh my god. Have you done it in your office?"

Too much. She was too much.

The way too personal question reminded Boruto of her sprawled out on his desk, her legs spread wide and his face buried between them.

Whoa—holy shit. Back up.

"NO WE HAVE NOT!" Boruto nearly screamed, face turning a dangerous shade of red.

"Bro," she smiled ominously. "Don't lie to me."

There was no way in hell he was going into any details. "Not lying." He said quickly. They didn't have sex. He just… did some things.

She pouted. "You have to up your game. Have you confessed yet?" She gasped. "Has she confessed?"

"There's nothing to confess." Boruto tried to reason with her. "Why would either of us confess? What are we going to confess?" Confess. It was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard.

Unless…

"You think she likes me?"

Himawari hummed. "I don't know. What does she say to you all the time?"

"I don't know. She's so confusing! She doesn't like me."

He might have said that, but he really didn't believe it.

She wanted him.

"Aww," Hima pouted. "Does she say she hates you? Is it because you're her boss?" She gasped. "Does she like someone else?"

Boruto pouted too. "She hates me. Calls me a stalker, always going on about me following her. And even said she was worried about me firing her. Also… there is this one bastard…"

"Ooohh…" Hima inched forward. "Is he hot?"

"I'm my humble opinion?" Boruto asked, rolling his eyes. "He's… pretty." Definitely not hot. "He's so Mister Perfect. Even caught me at her place and still didn't back off. He wants her." And it pissed him off so much.

"You… were at… her place?" Himawari's eyes went wide and she screamed. "AND SHE ISN'T YOUR GIRLFRIEND? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"What?!" He yelled back. "It wasn't—we weren't… we were sick."

Himawari's happy face melted into a dangerous frown. "I'm getting sick, bro… sick of all this bullshit."

Fuck. "W-well… you're the one that brought it up. I don't want to talk about this anymore." He crossed his arms and looked away from her.

"Well, you're gonna." She demanded. "Sick, you say? Who even does that? So you're staying at her place, spending Christmas Eve with her, taking her home and even ignoring me, but she's not your girlfriend."

"That about sums it up." Boruto nodded. It is what it is, there was no changing the facts.

They were not together.

Himawari wasn't happy about it.

She wasn't going to let it go. They argued about it well into the night and even the next morning over breakfast. Finally, things calmed down and Sarada was dropped, at least until that afternoon when Boruto dropped Himawari off at home. She gave him her harshest glare and it was scary. Boruto could only cower back as she demanded he grow a pair and do the right thing.

It wasn't right for it all to fall on him though.

Boruto had nothing to confess.

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Monday, back to work, back to reality. It was a typical Monday, Boruto had picked Sarada up for work and the event went much like it did on Thursday and Friday the week before. They had breakfast together before coming in and hadn't seen each other since. After leaving early, Boruto needed to get caught up on some things and he'd been focused on his tasks when just halfway into the lunch hour, a frantic knock sounded on his office door and without waiting for an answer, Shikadai came in.

He looked… panicked.

Shikadai never looked panicked.

Boruto felt anxiety wash over him and he quickly stood from his seat. "Shikadai, what's going on?"

Whatever it was, it had to be bad.

"Shit, Boruto… I'm sorry." He said, brows furrowed and lips mulling together. "I fucked up. Sarada knows…"

Boruto had no idea what he was talking about, but he still felt the blood draining from his face.

What does Sarada know that could make Shikadai look like this?

A/N: Oh the drama. What on earth could Sarada know to have cool-headed Shikadai so worked up? Let us know by leaving Tyy and I a review!

Cheers,

Kairi and Tyy