A fanfic entry for the first day of NaruSaku week on tumblr

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Ino was not angry when she opened the door. She actually scoffed when he tried apologizing. Ino readily explained how great it was for the main attraction to arrive fashionably late; it added an element of suspense to the party. He didn't get it and the hostess apparently didn't have the time to explain any more since she dragged him in by the arm and announced him to the room.

This wouldn't be like the other parties in Naruto's honor, Ino had detailed days ago. Nothing like the stuffy formal "thank yous" run by the village or alliance heads. This was a party for the hip, young, and sexy of Konohagakure. The coolest of the coolest would be attending Ino declared. Well that wasn't entirely true Naruto thought. He grinned as he quickly spotted Lee and Chouji amongst the crowd. If Ino were truly going by her own strict definition of cool those two would not have made the hostess' cut. Still glancing about a bit he did see amongst all his friends some of Konoha's young societal elite. This was with all honestly probably the coolest room in the village at the moment and it erupted in applause just from the sight of him.

The temperature in his body soared and his heart thudded against his chest. Likely everyone in the room thought he was blushing for them; well it was true that Naruto hadn't gotten used to being praised and cheered. He still found it odd being cheered most of the time…this wasn't one of those times, because the wave of adoration had faded into the background when he spotted her across the nodded to him while clapping along with the rest. This made him happy of course but just looking at her was enough to make him happy. Naruto recalled why he was really here. He had a lot to say to Sakura. Things he wanted to say a few weeks ago at the end of it all but she had smiled at him suddenly when he approached her. Her smile had stopped him in his tracks. There were times when she could be a complete mystery to him, like the universe itself, yet there were other times were he could read her like a genin level scroll.

The message in that smile back then was loud and clear.

Give me some time

He was going to…he wanted to give her all the time in the world. He had never taken anything as a given…he just had things he needed to say. Some could call it selfish sure but in the end it didn't matter what her answer was, well that wasn't really true at all, it really, really, mattered what her answer was. However what was important to his mental if not emotional health was that he said what he had to say.

Naruto took a single step in her direction and he was immediately mobbed by the crowd. It would be rude to brush through them. He glanced over at Sakura, she beamed proudly at him.

The night is young he thought. He would keep it cool.

They danced, by accident really.

Music had swelled in the house and the atmosphere shifted away from conversational to rollicking with unexpected ease.

Two couples had started it off in the middle of the room, they held hands before footing about gracefully in a circle and breaking apart when they returned to their original position. Each of them glided to a new partner and started the dance anew.

Naruto got pulled into the whirlwind of bodies before he knew what was going on.

He hadn't been looking for Sakura; he had truly gotten caught up in the fun, his anxieties pushed somewhat to the back of his mind.

She simply appeared, twirling up beside him like a leaf caught in the breeze. A shout of joy escaped her mouth and her eyes sparkled with delight but he said nothing.

He couldn't find the words.

Still he laughed as they flowed around each other perfectly in synch before breaking apart and fading back into the crowd.

It was some time later that he caught a sight of some pink moving through the crowd and decided to head towards it. Casually though, since he was keeping it cool he stopped every now and then to converse making a quick comment about the greatness of the party before moving on. After squeezing past two chatty partygoers his eyes landed on her again near the snack table.

And she was shining

It said something about someone who could shine simply by nibbling at some fruit he thought. She looked up, their eyes met, and she quickly flicked her hair back from her face.

Naruto didn't know how to interpret that.

It actually left him flat-footed and bewildered enough to wonder if he was trapped in genjutsu.

Before he could come to a definite conclusion on the manner he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Naruto turned towards Ino, she gestured with her head to the other end of the room where Konohamaru was apparently talking the ear off a girl who was well beyond his age range. Ino made a motion as if tipping a sake cup towards her mouth, Naruto noticed the flush in Konohamaru's cheeks.

He sighed, not only had the brat crashed the party but he had somehow gotten into the drinks.

Naruto returned to Sakura only to see she was now in a conversation with TenTen. She glanced at him briefly before cutting her eyes towards Konohamaru and then back. She seemed amused.

He shrugged, she nodded.

It took much longer than was necessary for Naruto to wrap his knuckles against Konohamaru's skull, drag him out of the party, lecture him on trespassing/bad timing and then dropping him off at home to punished.

Still it wasn't a wasted trip because for the entirety of the journey back to the party he went over what he would say to Sakura and how he would say it to her. Once he gotten back however he discovered a new batch of people had shown up even more fashionably late than he did and Ino was dying to introduce him to them.

He tried to stay in the conversations but when the party music shifted so did his thoughts.

When the music was fiery and bold, he imagined strolling coolly over to Sakura, pulling her close and whispering something scandalously sexy into her ear.

He dismissed the thought quickly. Such a move could possibly lead to him landing on the roof. Besides he didn't know how exactly how to express himself sexily. He could ask Ino, she would have some sexy advice…advice that would probably land him in the hospital instead of just on the roof.

When the music became nice and chilled he pictured himself sauntering over, no gliding smoothly towards her as if skating on ice. Then he would just hand her a rose and say the most romantic thing she'd ever heard. She's melt into his arms like cheese on a grill.

Of course he didn't really know how to express his feelings romantically. There was a big difference between telling someone how you felt and telling them how you felt in a way to make them love you. Then again he wasn't trying to make Sakura love him, he was just….wait what was he really trying to do here?

Doubt and anxiety trickled down his spine, it was a familiar feeling, more familiar than the people honoring him today would expect.

What could he say to her? She had loved, was still likely in love if he were honest, with someone both of them held dear. He brought Sasuke back like he had promised though Sasuke did not return to Konoha which was understandable, too many bad memories. Still Sasuke was back, not back to the Leaf not back to his old self, too much had happened to ask for all that, but he was back to being himself and that was good enough. Naruto had kept his promise to Sakura and she was happy. He couldn't expect any more than that. He shouldn't ask for anything more than that.

Someone pinched him.

Naruto squealed as he grabbed at his arm.

Ino frowned at him.

According to her the man of the hour had spent the remaining bits of the party absentmindedly walking about in a daze. Naruto looked around, the crowd had thinned, far less fanfare, far less commotion, it was clearly winding down.

Sheepishly Naruto ran his hands through his hair before suggesting perhaps it would be best if he went home. Ino shook her head, tsking loudly she suggested that the man of the hour could go home if he wanted to miss out on the last dance.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion; Ino sighed and gestured discreetly towards the back end of the room.

Naruto stared forward to see Sakura standing alone staring out a window. Instinctively he started forward but he froze a moment later.

Another pinch, Ino again, impatiently she waved him forward. She mouthed Go

The music changed to something soft and cheesy.

If one were asked did Naruto stroll or glide towards Sakura that night, one would have to say, if answering honestly, that he did neither. Naruto stumbled towards her because with each step he thought about what he would say, what he could say, what he had to say.

He went over every word, every syllable, and every letter until as if by divine inspiration he knew exactly what he needed to say.

Sakura saw or maybe sensed him coming; she turned away from the window giving him her full attention.

That was a mistake. The second she set eyes on him he forgot everything he was about to say.

Every word, every syllable, and every letter gone.

The music changed to something tender and hopeful.

Naruto blinked and held his hand out to her. She accepted it. He pulled her close. She in turn put a hand on his shoulder and then she smiled oh so warmly.

There were times when she was a mystery to him and then there was times when he could read her like a scroll.

They danced.

Something about a last dance being the beginning of something really, really good amused Naruto. He thought he should mention this irony to her it might make her laugh. He would mention it someday.

Neither of them said much for the rest of the night. This wasn't entirely his fault nor was it Sakura's; it just happened to be that there was nothing left to be said.

Life was funny like that sometimes.