Sakura sat motionless on the damp ground for what must have been a few hours. The chill of the late night eventually forced her to retire from her position on top of the hill and make her way down to the village.

The streets were darker now; many of the shops had closed. A few people still walked along the streets; Sakura even recognized some of her fellow shinobi who, lucky for her, appeared to be a bit inebriated. She had no desire to explain herself tonight so she kept her path in the shadows and out of the street lights, walking swiftly toward her apartment.

On her way there, she noticed a familiar building and looked up instinctively to the room she had gotten used to visiting. The light was on. Sakura's heart jumped painfully.

He's back...

She debated whether to go see him at a time like this. He might notice something was wrong and coax the truth behind her delay out of her. But the pain her chest begged her to seek comfort. Sasuke had left her feeling empty and alone; what she needed now was the warm embrace of an unconditional friend.

Without thinking it carefully through, Sakura instinctively ran toward the building, swung the doors open, and climbed up the stairs at a furious pace.

She didn't pause until she got to his door, knuckles raised to knock.

What am I doing? He probably thinks I'm dead... She asked herself, but the hollow feeling inside of her was the answer.

After knocking quickly and lightly on the door, she waited breathlessly. There was no response.

Another knock, more insistent this time.

Damnit, open the door. I know you're in there.

Exasperated, Sakura tried to turn the door knob. Surprisingly, it wasn't locked. Sakura paused, but eventually let herself in slowly, making a mental note to scold him for his indiscretion later. She locked the door behind her.

The apartment was dark now.

He must have turned off the lights...

"Naruto," she whispered, looking around for any trace of the noisy ninja.

Luckily, the place was well-known to her so she could make her way through in the dark. Suddenly she tripped over a box in the living room, which spilled packages of cup ramen to the floor. Annoyed, she kicked the box to one side and proceeded toward the bedroom.

The door was ajar and Sakura pushed it lightly open.

Her eyes fell on Naruto, who was lying in his bed with his back facing her. He had turned out the lights and gone to sleep. Sakura's stomach dropped; she had wanted him to be awake, even just to hear his voice...

With a soft sigh she turned to leave and brought the door back quietly behind her. Then she paused, hand still on the knob. The aching in her body had gotten no relief.

Before she could fully comprehend what she was doing, Sakura quickly opened the door again and slipped off her shoes by the entrance.

With light steps she moved to the bed where he lay and drew back the comforter. Sakura eased herself in carefully so as not to wake him. Naruto's body had been there for some time, so the bed was warm for her.

Her eyes turned to the sleeping figure. His blonde hair was sticking up every which way and his tan skin appeared especially dark against the white of his t-shirt.

Sakura raised herself up to a sitting position to get a good look at him, checking instinctively for wounds. Whenever he came home, that would always be the first thing she'd do.

She found the first one under his closed eye. It was a cut, only a small one so she wasn't worried. Still, she traced it with her thumb lightly.

Under her touch, Naruto shifted and now lay on his back.

Sakura proceeded to study his arm. It wasn't too easy to see in the moonlight but...

Suddenly she heard someone call her name.

"Sakura-chan??"

Her gaze shot to the source of the voice. She smiled back at him, slightly embarrassed. Naruto was squinting in the dark, trying to get a good look at the person kneeling at his left side.

"Is that you?" he asked again, rubbing his eyes.

"Shhh...yes," she hushed as she leaned back and slid herself back into the covers.

She lay on her side, with her pink hair splayed against the pillow. Naruto turned to face her.

"Old lady Tsunade told me you went missing after your last mission." Sakura heard his voice crack involuntarily as he said these words.

"That's what the ANBU nins thought," Sakura whispered, still keeping her voice down so no one would hear them. She forced a smile to relax his concerned expression. She added, "Anyway, I'm okay now. I just wanted to see you."

"I was worried, Sakura-chan," Naruto said honestly, with a hint of sadness.

Sakura was taken aback by his openness, but then reminded herself this was Naruto—not Sasuke.

Sasuke...

Sakura shivered suddenly at the thought of him. She wondered to herself where he must be now...on his way back? On another mission? With a pang of jealousy, she tried not to think about any one else being in his company.

Naruto noticed her blank expression and knew that she was not totally with him. Her eyes were locked to his, but her gaze was empty.

"Sakura-chan, are you okay? What happened? Is there anything you want to talk about?" His calloused hand reached up to her shoulder where it gave her a gentle shake.

Sakura suddenly recoiled away from his touch.

"Sakura, what's wrong?"

Sure, when they were young genin, Sakura would not just shy away from him, she'd outright reject him and threaten pain if he touched her. However, time had passed since then and Naruto couldn't understand why she drew back, especially when it was she who came to him.

Sakura couldn't describe it. His skin felt foreign and she only knew of one reason why. It was because it was Naruto's hand, and for the past few days she had unconsciously grown accustomed to the touch only one man. It was as if he was all her body accepted.

"Sakura..." Naruto repeated as he withdrew his hand.

She fell out of her trance and remembered why she was here: not to think about Sasuke, but to get used to his absence and regain her composure by spending time with the people whose company she enjoyed. And who actually cared about her...

"Sorry, Naruto," she whispered with a slight laugh. "I don't know what came over me."

She reached up and rubbed the markings on his cheek playfully to assure him that she was alright.

Then she said, "I'm really tired now. Let's get some rest okay?"

"You have to tell me about your mission!" Naruto said, sitting up abruptly. "You can't just come in here all weirded out and expect me to just let it go!"

Sakura's head was still on the pillow as she paused and looked up at him.

Naruto continued, "Well? Come on! I'm waiting!" He folded his arms stubbornly.

It was tempting to spill out the story right then, recount every detail of the mission and her encounter with Sasuke, but something kept her from doing so. Maybe she didn't trust her instincts tonight and thought that tomorrow when her head had cleared, she'd regret it.

"I can't, Naruto! It's an ANBU mission. Those are top secret!" She hissed at him.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at her distrustfully, but he knew that was a good excuse.

"Fine," he sulked. "But you have to tell me at least something. Give me a hint about the task."

"Naruto!"

"One hint."

"No!"

"Come on! No one will know!"

"It's not that..." Sakura trailed off.

"What is it then?"

Sakura hesitated before turning around so her face was hidden from view. "There's nothing much to say. It was a standard task. But...I was afraid...that's all."

"That bad, huh?" Naruto asked, giving her a testing tap on the shoulder to see if she'd flinch again.

Sakura laughed genuinely and turned around.

"It's okay, I'm not going to bite." She lifted her body up slightly to support her head with her elbow. She smiled and said, "I just need a hug, okay?"

Naruto faced turned into a grin and he said, "That I can do." He sunk down into the covers again and threw his arms around Sakura tightly, almost constricting her body. Sakura suddenly found it hard to breathe and she hit him repeatedly on the back. Naruto let go momentarily.

"I didn't tell you to suffocate me!" she gasped.

Naruto smiled sheepishly, saying, "Sorry, Sakura-chan! I guess I got a little excited."

Sakura sighed as Naruto lay on his back again, next to her. After some time, she nudged in close under his arm, resting close to his chest, and closed her eyes. Naruto sensed her position and put his arm around her.

It wasn't quite the same as with Sasuke. Sakura qualitatively measured their height against each other- Naruto was taller than him now. Also, Naruto smelled different.

It must be the miso ramen...

And, of course, Sakura's spine didn't get a pleasurable chill when their bodies lay close to each other. Going to sleep with Naruto was comfortable, but different. Very different.

She felt him stir under her weight, saying in a clear voice, "By the way, whose clothes are those?"

Sakura's heart skipped a beat.

"Nobody important."