She's wrapping up a sixteen-hour long surgery when she finally realizes today is a very important day. After two full years of not seeing her best friend, today he's supposed to appear through the doors of Konohagakure.
It had taken everyone by surprise when two years ago, the blond shinobi who had saved the world countless times, had decided that he wanted to follow the path of his sensei, Jiraiya, and travel through different villages to gain new experiences and adventures. Everyone had expected him to immediately start training to become a Hokage once the fourth war was over, but he had explained that he wasn't planning on quitting his dream, either. It would be useful for him to explore a world that was now living in peace, after so long. And to learn as much as he could to gain wisdom and knowledge, just like his master had done decades ago, which would make him an even better leader.
And since everyone knew Naruto always managed to be unpredictable and take a different route from what everyone would, they all wished him best of luck and said they would wait for him. Between those people, Sakura was there, ready to give him a big hug that was full of bittersweetness and affection for someone that had been by her side for many years now.
They both promised to send each other letters as often as possible, since Naruto wasn't sure of how soon he would go back. So that's what they did, and for a little more than twenty four months, Sakura's life consisted of working and studying nonstop, trying to sleep when she could, receiving letters and a few pictures from her friend, sending him answers and then working some more.
Of course, sometimes she would also receive some letters from Sasuke. But unlike the blond's letters, they were a lot shorter and they were mostly a sort of update on his state since he knew his friend would worry about him. And with time and a new understanding of her feelings, Sakura had learned that she really didn't mind that. She had understood that even though Sasuke would always be an important bond for her, their paths had been separated for a long time.
"Time heals it all", said a famous quote. And the more she grew, the more she understood it. As an adult, she had realized how important it was for her to have her own ambitions and goals that had nothing to do with her team, even if they were still very dear to her. The depth of her bonds would never change, but she could. Defining all those things had made her life a lot better. And she was proud to see her two close friends following their own path, just like she was now too.
Since she knew Tsunade, her sensei, would retire from her job in some years, her new goal had become to study and work as much as she could to improve herself and become the new head of the hospital when her sensei needed her to.
However, everyone around her was aware of how much she was overworking herself to fulfill her dream. "It's better to keep myself busy", she would answer every person who questioned her. Although what she wouldn't share with others was that it helped her to not think too much of her own feelings for a certain person. A person she missed quite a lot…
In a letter she had received around a week ago, Naruto had happily told her that he would finally go back to Konohagakure. And that it excited him so much that he needed to share it with her instead of surprising her on the spot - for which Sakura was secretly thankful, because at least she would have the chance to take a shower before seeing him, after spending more than half of the day performing a surgery.
As the day comes, after leaving some indications to the nurses who work with her, she rushes to her house to get a quick shower and a change of clothes. In less than twenty minutes, she is already on her way to the doors of the village, with blood pumping through her veins, heart throbbing, stomach that feels filled with thousands flying butterflies roaming around and breath quite discontinued from its usual rhythm. All the exhaustion she has been accumulating for the past weeks suddenly doesn't seem to matter with the perspective of seeing Naruto for the first time in so long.
When she arrives, there's still no sign of a blond head. She waits impatiently, crossing her arms and biting her lip. "That idiot! Making a woman wait, he hasn't matured at all" she mumbles under her breath.
After what seems an eternity, she finally sees him. In the distance, a familiar figure suddenly starts rushing towards her and in a few seconds she can finally decipher his face.
"Sakura-chan!" His voice is so loud that she's sure she's not the only person from the village that hears it. But at this moment, she doesn't care enough to scold him.
"Naruto!" she exclaims with a huge smile. Then, before she can even give one more step towards him, she suddenly feels her vision spinning and her knees getting weak. 'Oh, no, when was the last time I ate?' She thinks, annoyed with herself.
The world suddenly stops in front of her. She's being held in two reliable and strong arms that make her unconsciously get relaxed.
"Sakura-chan! Are you okay? Should I take you to the hospital?" A low, worried voice fills her ears, making her smile because she realizes it's been forever since she's heard it. Even the position was familiar. How many times had they been in each other's arms, in a battlefield, looking after each other when someone was wounded? Taking care of each other?
Her vision stabilizes and she finally can see the face she's missed so much. "I'm fine, don't worry. I just got a little dizzy."
"Are you sure? Isn't it better if you get a checkup? I can get you there in like, five minutes at most." His concerned expression doesn't waver.
"Naruto, who's the doctor between the two of us?" She pretends to be annoyed, although she really isn't. "Don't worry, I'll be able to stand up in just a minute," she says as gives him a reassuring smile.
Naruto's face softens up. "Sakura-chan, were you so excited to see me that you almost passed out?" He asks jokingly , earning him a hit on his head. "Ouch! I can't believe this is the first time you do, after not seeing me for two years!" He pouts at her, making her laugh.
The woman who's still laying in his arms, finally does something that she's been waiting for months to do. She reaches her arms to him and hugs him with strength. Flustered by only a second, Naruto doesn't take a long time before reciprocating the gesture. He bends over and cuddles her body against his, hiding his face in her hair and taking a deep breath, as if he was filling his lungs properly for the first time.
"Welcome back home, Naruto". Sakura's voice resounds against his chest.
"I'm back home!" he answers, with an impossibly warm voice.
A few minutes later, when they're both standing up in front of each other and Naruto starts venting about his adventures, Sakura eventually manages to take a good look at her friend. "I have so much to tell you, Sakura-chan! You won't believe everything that happened to me!" he tells her, as she continues to measure him from her eyes starting from the top.
Naruto is now a good head taller than her.
A fact that won't stop surprising her after remembering that she used to be taller when they were kids. His skin also looks more tanned and it doesn't look so soft anymore. There's hints everywhere that he's become a grown up adult.
A man.
For the first time in all the years of knowing him, she suddenly feels small in front of him, with his unfairly wide shoulders and chest, and his pronounced jawline. This observation makes her blood boil and travel all to her cheeks at the speed of light, concentrating itself there for a minute.
"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asks her curiously when he realizes she's not really talking.
"Your, uhm. You let your hair grow" she points out. And it's true. It wasn't so obvious in the pictures he had sent her in the past, but now she can clearly see that his hair has grown more, making him look more handsome and similar to his father. Sakura's hands almost ache to reach out and try to test if it was as soft as it looked.
"Oh! Yeah, I did. It grows too fast and it's impossible to keep it short all the time. Should I cut it now that I'm back in the village?" he asks, running his hand through his ruffled hair.
"No! You shouldn't" she answers suspiciously fast. Aware of the strange look he's giving her, she adds, "I think it really suits you. You look more… Mature now". It wasn't the word that she was thinking of, but she doesn't want to start acting so strange in front of him after not seeing each other for so long.
Although for him, it's enough to be a compliment.
"Thank you! You also look more mature, Sakura-chan. You let your hair grow a lot". That was also true. Two years ago, when she realized that her hair wasn't proof of how good or bad she was as a shinobi, and that she didn't feel the need to impress anyone, she finally allowed it to grow for herself. Now, it could almost touch her waist.
"Wow, maybe you did grow after all" she jokes, "The Naruto I knew from years ago wouldn't have noticed that something of my appearance has changed".
"That's not true!" he complains with a pout. "I always notice everything about you. It's just that you've always been the prettiest girl I know, so it doesn't really matter if your hair is long or short" he says, boldly. If there's a sign of shame, he doesn't let it show. Instead, he gives him one of those smirks that make Sakura's belly get warm.
But then, he eventually seems to get self aware. "Oops. Sakura-chan, are you going to hit me?".
Sakura resists allowing him to see her face, so she turns her back to him and starts walking in the opposite direction. "Idiot. Do you really think all I do is hit you?".
"Well…" he answers, hesitating to follow after her.
"Naruto Uzumaki, you better think carefully of your next words" she warns him, finally stopping to stare at him. Naruto immediately hurries to nod at her and shuts up.
A loving smile crosses her face. "I'm guessing the first thing you want to do now you're back is to eat at Ichiraku's, right?"
Naruto's eyes sparkle with excitement. "Hell yes!".
For a moment, Sakura had forgotten how popular Naruto was in the village now. Being everyone's hero, she underestimates how difficult it is to finally get to the restaurant and grab some seats, as every few steps they advance together, they encounter different people who want to shake Naruto's hand and get a word from him and his traveling adventures. As always, Naruto is too nice to say no to people, so at some point Sakura ends up making excuses for him and drags him by the arm so he can get a break from the crowds.
They finally manage to grab some seats at the restaurant, but not before happily greeting and doing some small talk with Aya and Teuchi Ichiraku, two people who Naruto also missed a lot. "Life hasn't been the same without your ramen, 'ttebayo!" he swears solemnly. And to their surprise, they also find Iruka who was leaving the place when they were just arriving. Before leaving the place, Iruka and Naruto share a hug that makes Sakura smile.
She waits for Naruto inside, giving him some intimacy to talk privately with one of the most important figures of his life.
The sky outside is dark by the moment they start eating. They both chat non stop until Sakura scolds him for talking with a full mouth and tells him to enjoy his food first. Without complaints, Naruto digs in with enthusiasm, exclaiming with contentment once in a while to show his approval. With a full stomach, Sakura now feels a lot calmer after the adrenaline she's experienced today. Resting her face on her hand, she uses the opportunity to observe a distracted Naruto.
His face is now full of a confidence that you only get after experiencing certain adventures. There's solemnity, maturity and a trace of seriousness. Sakura quite enjoys observing this new side of him, especially while he is focused on his food humming a song that doesn't sound like anything she's heard before. A song from another land, perhaps? But then he turns his face to look at her and the corners of his eyes suddenly soften up.
"Is everything okay, Sakura-chan?"
And suddenly it's like looking at a twelve years old boy whose eyes are always full of brightness, vitality and carelessness. There's a characteristic smile that is only reserved for her, and something in her chest gets really warm. There it is, she thinks to herself.
"Of course it is," she answers, reciprocating the smile. "Eat a lot, the bill is on me today".
"Really?!"
To her surprise, his eyes shine even more when he says that. "You can't take it back now Sakura-chan! It's been too long since I ate Ichiraku's ramen so I'm gonna order a lot" he warns her.
"I know that". Her cheek almost hurt because of how long she's been smiling. "Order now before I change my mind!".
Naruto gasps loudly and rushes to yell his new dishes, making her laugh hysterically. He has always had the ability to bring out of her the best kind of laughs, the kind of laugh that comes right from the bottom of the stomach and makes her bend over her waist. And honestly, in those 2 years, she hadn't had too many chances to experience that feeling. Without Naruto, life wasn't quite entertaining.
This familiar sound immediately makes Naruto stop his antics to smile at her full of fondness. "I missed hearing your laugh a lot".
Embarrassed, Sakura suddenly stays quiet and swallows after coughing a little. "What are you saying?". She doesn't quite meet his stare, too busy trying to hide a small blush.
"Aww, Sakura-chan! Don't hide your smile from me, it's my favorite thing about you". The sincerity and straightforwardness behind his words leave her speechless. This time, if anyone were to look at their table, they'd definitely notice her blush and how flustered she was acting.
Under the intense scrutinizing of his blue eyes, she can't really fight back against his words. She quickly drinks some warm tea and then tells him. "When did you learn to talk to girls like this?".
"I didn't! I'm just like this to you." His eyes are very sincere. Finally, Sakura lowers her guard and smiles at him, which seems to make him very happy because his shoulders suddenly relax.
They continue to eat together as they catch up and share everything that happened in their lives for the past two years. It was fascinating to see how easy it was for them to reconnect with each other as if not a single day of separation between them had ever happened. Words flowed with a perfect rhythm and no space for uncomfortable silences. Even when the conversation they were having died down a little and there was some quietness, it felt comfortable and nice, with a familiarity that you only get after knowing someone for many years.
"I had forgotten how easy it always is with you, Naruto" she says as she pays the bill once they're done with their food.
With his arms resting behind his head, he watches her with curiosity but finally smiles and nods at her words with complicity. "Yeah, it's always been easy".
After leaving the place, Naruto insists on walking her home. Not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to spend time together, she accepts.
'The stars in the sky shine brighter than any other day,' Sakura thinks as Naruto walks next to her.. She points at him the constellations of Libra and Aries, both visible that night. He asks her about those stars and she tells him that her friend Ino had gotten very interested in astrology during the past years, and that Sakura had ended up learning a few things about her sun sign. She talks to him about Venus and Mars, about how connected they both are to the archetypes of those two planets and signs. Naruto listens to her with attention, wisely knowing when to nod or when to make a comment or a question so she wouldn't stop talking.
She's so lost in sharing her thoughts that she gets surprised when they both arrive at the door of her house. "Oh" she says, blinking. "I'm sorry! I'm the only one who talked for the past twenty minutes or so."
"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! I love listening to you talking. I had no idea about our astrological signs!"
"Well, what Ino also told me is that…" she stops her mannerisms for a second and hides her hands behind her back. "Aries and Libras are complementary signs and highly compatible".
"They are?!" he asks excitedly, bending over a little to stare directly at her eyes. His sudden movement makes her eyes get wide. She had forgotten how tall he was now until he suddenly did things like that.
"Yeah, they are." She tries to sound confident even when something inside of her doesn't let her stay calm. Her hands behind her back start to get sweaty and even so, she doesn't try to pull away from him. "Which would explain, you know…".
When she suddenly stops talking and doesn't look him in the eyes, Naruto blinks and suddenly stands up straight, to Sakura's disappointment.
"What would explain, Sakura-chan?" he asks when she doesn't say anything.
Under the moonlight, Naruto's boyish features look especially beautiful. The bright oceanic blue that a moment ago was dazzling her, now looks more peaceful and calm and it makes Sakura's heart clench for a reason that she doesn't understand.
There's a sudden seriousness in the air that terrifies her and it contrasts the light mood they had shared for the past few hours. But at the same time, she doesn't want to run away anymore from her feelings, even if tonight isn't the night to tell him everything.
Sighing quietly, she finally meets his eyes and says. "It would explain how easy it is for us to be with each other". It's not a lie, but it's barely a part of what she was really thinking.
If she had blinked, she would've missed the short millisecond where his eyebrows furrowed. Quickly, he blinks and gives her one of his characteristic smiles. "I guess you're right!"
"I'm always right, aren't I?" she says, smiling at him. Then, she turns her back to him to open the door of her house. "I would like to invite you to drink some tea, but unfortunately I have an early shift tomorrow." There's sincere regret in her voice, so Naruto immediately comforts her.
"It's okay, Sakura-chan, it's very late already. I'm sure I'll see you around very soon too. You won't get rid of me so easily!"
'As if I would ever want that, idiot', she thinks to herself. Instead, she limits to nodding and gives him a last smile before entering her house. But before she can even try to say goodbye, Naruto says her name with a low voice.
"Yes?" she asks, intrigued.
"I don't know why, but I have a feeling you didn't tell me everything you had to say today." This time there's a familiar determination in his eyes – that for years she had found attractive, and Sakura once again feels too exposed, too naked under those eyes that seem to know her too well. As if they could pierce straight to her heart, soul and mind.
She doesn't try to deny it, so she says "I'll tell you next time", and gives him a reassuring smile.
This seems to be enough to convince him, as he smiles as well and wishes her a good night, waiting for her to close the door before leaving to his own house.
When they both get into their own beds, that night, they're aware something between them has changed very subtly but forever.
For the first time after a couple of years, in the next few days Sakura isn't so glad to be so busy all the time. Except for a few lunch breaks or some nights, she doesn't get to see Naruto so much. She tries to make up for it, by inviting him for food or hanging out in her house until it gets too late for them to even be awake. However, Naruto never has complaints and tells her it's better to see each other sometimes than to not do it at all. He's the one that starts visiting her at her workplace when he knows she's likely to be free. And after seeing with his own eyes how exhausted she was on the first day, he also makes sure to force her to eat at least three times during her day.
On her busiest days when she doesn't have time to eat lunch, she finds a rice ball or some snacks in her locker room with a note telling her to drink a lot of water. Those kinds of details push her to go through her days when she's not feeling energized anymore.
With weeks, those encounters or small gestures that mean "I'm thinking of you", become so important to her that she can't even remember anymore how it was to spend so many months without him. The thought terrifies her, so she uses the opportunity during a night where they're hanging out on the couch of her apartment. Lately, Naruto spent more time at her place than at his own.
"Naruto, are you planning on staying for a long time?" she asks while flipping some pages from her medical book. She sincerely hopes that her voice doesn't reveal how much she is anticipating a positive answer. After all, it wasn't her place to stop him if he wanted to leave again.
"I probably will," he answers to her relief. "I've been talking to Kakashi sensei and he said he doesn't want to be a Hokage for too long. We both agreed that I should start training and studying now, especially since I'm still not even a chunin…" he mumbles and sheepishly scratches his head.
"I can't believe they are so strict with those rules, can't they make an exception for the hero who saved everyone's ass?" Sakura says, shaking her head incredulously. "I'm sure you're above any ninja title now". As much as Sakura liked to be rational about how things in the village worked, she also felt very defensive when it came to Naruto, especially when she felt authorities didn't give him the recognizement he truly deserved for everything he did.
"It's okay, Sakura-chan! After all, you're very smart and you'll help me study, right? This will be a piece of cake!"
His voice sounds confident, so she has no other option but to smile at him encouragingly.
"Of course. As long as you have me, you won't have to worry about that. Besides, you aren't a twelve years old kid anymore, I'm sure you've become better at studying and memorizing things" She nods to herself.
Naruto looks thoughtful and hesitant for a second, but recovers quickly when he realizes something. "You really believe in me, Sakura-chan." It's not a question but an observation.
Sakura closes the book in her lap to give him all her attention. "I don't know if I ever told you this, but after knowing how determined you were as a kid and realizing you weren't joking about your goals, your dream became mine, too. Later, I would learn that it was important to have my own dreams too, but even before that, I thought your dream was so beautiful that I wanted to protect it and help you achieve it. I believe in you more than I believe in anyone else, Naruto. If there's someone who can do this, it's you. That's why," she says as she leans towards him, who's looking at her with a slightly open mouth. "If you were to fail, I would feel I'm failing as well. We've shared many victories and defeats together in the past. So, this is my dream too". She smiles at him. If she were to place her hand on his chest, she would realize how fast his heart was beating.
'You're so pretty, Sakura-chan,' he thinks. Fearful of ruining the moment, he limits himself to taking her by surprise. By hugging her.
Soon, before they even realize how it happens, their limbs mingle together and Sakura is practically sitting on his lap, with her legs stretched over his. Her head rests on his shoulder and her arms touch his back. Naruto doesn't let her go for a good while, as he thanks her.
"Thank you" he says, "I'm glad I have you".
"The feeling is mutual," she whispers back to him.
They spend hours talking about their dreams, about their childhood memories, the people they love and the ones they've lost on the path. They give each other new hopes and encouragement for the coming days. In each other's arms they feel impossibly powerful and limitless. Capable of achieving anything.
Soon after Naruto's arrival, March comes and with it, Konohagakure blossoms like every year. It's everyone's favorite season. Sakura and Naruto aren't different.
The past weeks, both of them had been working very hard and helping each other to strive. No matter how busy Sakura was and how much Naruto would complain that she needed to rest more, she'd always sit down with him and help him study and memorize hundreds of scrolls about history, politics and economics.
In return, Naruto became her official guinea pig who would always try every and one of her medicine food experiments that she created especially for shinobis who spent a lot of time outside, not being able to get the proper nutrients. Although, she wasn't sure if Naruto was the most trustworthy person to do this job since he seemed to enjoy everything she made. And when she tried it herself, it didn't taste as good.
However, things for Sakura had changed since Naruto was back. Everyone around her, who always worried when they saw how much she was overworking herself, were now smiling when they saw her. She laughed a lot more, looked healthier and energized. There must be someone making sure she eats and rests well. She must be in love, everyone thought.
One day, after work, as Sakura is about to leave the hospital to go home, she sees a friend waiting for her outside.
"Naruto?" she asks with curiosity. She was not really expecting him.
"Hey there!" he says happily. He's wearing a simple black tshirt and his typical orange pants, and still somehow manages to look attractive. "Do you want to go for a walk? We have great weather today."
"Sure, why not?" she says, smiling at him.
The two start walking next to each other, with no direction in mind. Surprisingly, today they're both silent, opposite to every other normal day where Naruto starts talking non stop as soon as he sees her.
And Sakura would initiate the conversation if it wasn't because she feels something in the air is different this time. She can't explain what. They continue to walk for some minutes in silence, walking away from the houses and the roads from the village. They get closer to a clearer area where there's only trees and an open field. In this same place, hundreds of moons ago, they had spent countless hours training together.
The expectation for what's gonna happen in the next minutes, makes Sakura feel restless for a reason. 'Today isn't a day like others,' she thinks. Finally, Naruto breaks the silence.
"You know, Sakura-chan, when I was gone these two past years, not even once did I feel lonely, because I felt I carried you with me everywhere".
"Did you?" she asks softly, unlike the heart in her chest that was starting to hammer.
He nods. "You were everywhere. In the trees where I rested when I needed to, I remembered you as a kid mastering your chakra control before Sasuke and I could. You were always so talented!" he exclaims with a proud smile. "You were in the river as well, dozing off above some rocks after complaining to Kakashi sensei about some difficult mission in the middle of a hot summer."
Sakura doesn't even realize she's not really breathing, too preoccupied with putting all her attention to everything he's saying.
"All places had something that reminded me of you. A song I learned in a small village that talked about a beautiful woman with green emerald eyes. I can't remember the whole song, but it went like this," he says as he starts humming the song clumsily, making Sakura's eyes widen. She recognizes it from the first day after his arrival to the village, when he was singing it in the restaurant. "The way the man was singing it was so beautiful! I had to give him a huge tip, when I shouldn't have because I was low on my budget…". He sounds so sad while saying this, that Sakura can't help but to chuckle.
"You were in the start of every spring, of course" he continues, smiling warmly, "Every time March would come I'd think of you. It was also the time when I wrote to you the most".
"I kept all your letters" she adds in, with a trembling voice.
"I did, too. I reread yours over and over, especially the pictures you sent me".
Sakura opens her small purse and takes out a small picture folded in two. It has a wrinkled line in the middle of it that shows it's been handled a lot. She lets him see the picture, which is one he sent her around a year ago, of himself posing with a youthful and huge smile in front of a building in Kumogakure. There's a small boy sitting on his shoulders and two other kids hanging on his flexing arms. Under the picture, Naruto's clumsy handwriting says "I made 3 little friends that reminded me of Team Seven!"
"It's my favorite pic of the ones you sent, you look so happy here," Sakura says full of fondness, as her fingers caress the smiling man in the picture. "It became my lucky charm. I look at it before any difficult surgery and before I go to sleep".
Naruto watches her with his mouth open. In his eyes there's adoration and surprise. Until now, he hadn't considered how much their short but meaningful exchanges of letters during the past two years had impacted her on her daily life. Especially because it was the same for him.
"What else, Naruto?"
She encourages him to keep talking, and there's a trace of unexpected shyness in her tone.
"Please, tell me more about it".
And he would be a mad man to ever deny himself to her, so he keeps talking. "Until now, I never saw a spring that was so pretty like the one we have in Konohagakure. Which was disappointing, because I waited all year to see cherry blossom trees in different places, but they don't compare to the ones I know!" He sounds genuinely offended, something that Sakura would remember a lot later and laugh about. After an insightful silence, he adds, "I hated not being there for your birthday for two years. That was the time when I wanted to see you the most. Well, that and also… In April."
"April?". This time, Sakura is confused.
"Well, that is…" He rubs the back of his neck with his hand. Sakura really wishes he wouldn't stop talking, because she feels they're finally going somewhere. However, there's something that stops Naruto from continuing.
"You know, Sakura-chan, if I don't stop talking right now, I'll end up saying really selfish things." He lowers his eyes to the floor, looking defeated. An image that Sakura absolutely hates because it doesn't suit the man she knows at all.
"I don't think it would be fair to you".
And Sakura gets it, of course she does after all those years. And she knows she's the one who has to take the first step. It's now or never, she says to herself, gathering courage.
"Naruto, I need you to listen to me carefully," she bites her lips, before looking him in the eyes to command his attention. "I never had the chance to apologize for the confession I made years ago".
"Sakura-chan, you already know I forgav–" But she interrupts him.
"But I just need to explain. It's true I was very confused at that time. Around that time I started to realize that for years I had been idealizing a person that wasn't the way I thought he was. And at the same time, I started to see you with different eyes too. Sasuke-kun, he's always been dear to me, as much as you and Kakashi sensei were. You guys were and always will be my closest family.
And yes, in the middle of all this confusion I said all those things to stop you because I felt responsible for the burden I put on your shoulders. But I didn't lie when I said I loved you".
A lump in her throat starts to appear and she tries to swallow it because she doesn't want to cry in such moment. However, the bright yet warm eyes that observe her in silence make something inside of her, finally loosen up.
For the first time in her life, Sakura Haruno finds it very hard to talk. As if words weren't enough. As if they weren't worth describing her real feelings. But she tries with bravery, in the same way Naruto always has tried when it comes to her.
"These two past years really gave me the time to fully understand my feelings and once I did, everything became so obvious. That no one makes me feel like you do. Your stubbornness, your persistence, your unchanging essence, your courage have made me a better person. I am a better person because I know you, Naruto. And it's a privilege to say it. Every moment of my life where I've been happy, you were there. You were there for me all my life, and I don't think I did enough to show you how much I appreciated that. But you… I…"
This time, the tears start to fall with no return. Naruto steps closer to her and takes his warm hands to her face, drying the dampness with patience and fondness, in the same way he's always treated her even when they were kids. However, he doesn't interrupt her and lets her continue.
"I can only be myself when I'm with you. And I know how selfish I am when I'm with you, but…"
"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan, but you're wrong about many things" he finally interrupts her. There's no trace of coldness in his voice. "I wouldn't be able to be here if it wasn't because of you. You fought for my dreams a lot and saved my life many times. But more than anything, I'm very selfish too, Sakura-chan".
"You're not, you're the most selfless person I know" she complains.
"If I was so selfless, then I would've moved on from you. But I can't. Every single year, in April, I remember the day I fell in love with you and I wish, with my whole heart, to be with you. That never has changed. After I fulfilled my promise to you, I thought I'd be more of a man worthy of you, but I'd never want to force my feelings on you. I thought, if I just left for some years it would be easier to move on. But I'm selfish, because I couldn't move on. No, actually, I didn't want to. That's why I came back, too. Because I'm selfish. And when I saw you, you looked more beautiful than ever, Sakura-chan. My heart still beats like crazy when I'm with you".
Sakura shakes her head with a smile. She's not sure anymore if her tears are from being overwhelmed or from all the joy she's finally feeling. She places her own hands on the bigger ones that are still softly holding her cheeks.
"If we are both so selfish, then maybe that's why we are perfect for each other" she half jokes, making him smile even more. "I really love you" she finally manages to say, moving her head slightly to kiss his warm hand.
"I really love you, too," he says, with a voice full of adoration. And at the end of the day, Naruto Uzumaki is more a man of actions than anything else.
He leans in and kisses her and kisses her and kisses her. With everything he has. He throws himself at her in the same way he always has, wearing his heart on his sleeve, with passion and meaning. There's no hesitation, there's no moderation or halfheartedness. This time, the difference with the past is that Sakura is ready to receive everything he has to give her and to give him back even more.
It feels destined, and there's a weight from their shoulders that is finally lifted off after many, many years. Years of eternal longing and pining for each other. Of confusion. Of "what ifs". Of too many "almost". They all come to an end. And it's perfect.
Even when they're both breathless and they have no option but to separate a little, Naruto kisses her all over the face, her forehead that he loved so much, her cheeks, eyelids, her nose, with so much love that Sakura doesn't know if she wants to cry or giggle. But she lets him do what he wants and throws her arms around his neck so he can lift her off her feet and kiss her. This time on the mouth, more easily.
The sun of Konoha is setting, making everything around them look golden with a slight touch of pink. The warm light goes through them, and a new promise between two loved ones is made. "I will forever be with you".