AN: My first Naruto fanfic. Not to bad if I do say so myself. Dedicated to Paula who sucked me into the fandom anyway. Sasuke/Sakura/Naruto cause I can't decide which pairing to pick.

She laughed hard at whatever it was that Naruto said. Sasuke just frowned as if they where both crazy but she could see the corners of his mouth lift a bit. Her stomach was hurting now and she collapsed on the grass. It was soft and dewy and begging to be laid down on. She stared up at the sky and saw the first stars twinkling.

"What're looking at?" Naruto couldn't stay one minute without acting stupid or asking a question

"The stars, I wish I knew the constellations. They're so nice." She traced a shape, it didn't look like much but she could imagine something. She felt Naruto lie down next to her and he teased Sasuke until he came down as well.

They talked for a while about the past. All the things that they'd done, while they where together and apart. Sasuke was a bit withdrawn at first but slowly he started little things, the feel of the road the way habits that he's gotten used to while traveling with them suddenly changed. He talked about how different it was going with the sound four, he found himself missing Sakura and Naruto but he wryly added that he must have been going crazy. No one in their right mind would willingly travel with Naruto

The conversation tapered off and they lay there with their own thoughts. She saw the sky darken and there where more twinkling lights. She wondered what it would be like to be one of the people beside her. To have lost her family, to have her family killed by one of her own. She shook her head, the night was too perfect to be destroyed by such grim thoughts.

She suddenly realized that Sasuke had fallen asleep. She stole a peak at him and saw that he looked serious even in his sleep. She wondered if he dreamt of work and fighting or of more sinister things. Of blood and betrayal. He was only 16 and he'd seen so much. She wanted to be as brave as he was. Leaning over a sleeping Naruto she gave Sasuke's cheek a light kiss before lying back down.

"You know he doesn't love you right?" So Naruto wasn't asleep.

"Yeah, but he could learn." It was wistful thinking but she couldn't help it. She wanted him to love her.

"Do you still train so hard cause you want him to love you? If he hadn't noticed now he never will."

"I might have started working harder for him... but I also did it for myself. I wanted to prove to everyone that I'm not just some girl that needs to be protected all the time."

"No one thought you had to be protected you know."

"Yes they did, and they where right. Time after time we'd get in trouble while I just cheered from the sidelines. I don't like that person, I like healing. I like making people better instead of making them worse."

"I never thought you had to be protected. I always figured if someone caught you alone you'd just glare at them till they ran in fear." His light tone made her want to scream.

"This isn't a joke! I was weak, if someone had caught me alone I would have been dead. I was weak and pathetic." There where a few tears leaking out of her eyes, they fell past her ears, through her hair to the ground below

He saw her cry and she waited for him to make fun of her but he just wiped them away. He was usually so rough that she was surprised how gentle his fingers where.

"You know, I always knew you where amazing. I just thought that you kept up the while damsel in distress thing so that Sasuke would like you."

"I didn't." She didn't want to think about the part where she was amazing.

"But you know... I liked the damsel in distress a bit. Sometimes when I protected you..." He stopped, she wanted him to continue so badly. She had to hear this, she just had to.

"Sometimes..."

"Sometimes when I protected you I would be able to get close to you and I thought that you felt... nice. You smelt nice too, like vanilla." She blushed and smiled, it was sweet. "But you know, then you got stronger and you didn't need someone to look out for you and I missed it. But you where happy when you could defend yourself. So I guess I was happy too."

"You remember last week when you where so stupid and wouldn't watch where you where going and fell into that bush of thorns and poison ivy? And when I tried to heal your cuts you kept squirming cause you wanted to scratch the rash?"

"Yeah huh, Sasuke actually laughed himself sick. It was like you cooking something good."

"Hey! Anyway, I finally had to knock you out and I think that the salts that I used made you talk in your sleep cause you started talking about... stuff."

"Like?"

"Like how you hated it when people ate all the ramen before you could get a second helping among other things then you started talking about Sasuke. You called him stupid and selfish and I er, think I poked you a bit hard when taking out a thorn." She smiled sheepishly while he made some disgruntled noise.

"And then you said that he was stupid for not realizing what an… incredible person I am" He'd actually gone on to describe how incredible she was but she still blushed when she thought of it so she kept her mouth shut. "And that he was selfish for not letting me go cause there was someone who'd love me if he couldn't."

He didn't say anything for a while and she just sighed. "You know what I thought when you said that? I thought that maybe he doesn't love me... but he's said that I'm special, he's smiled at me. Naruto, I might not have his love but I do have something. And I hope that something turns into something greater cause I don't want to know that while I pined after some guy I could never have there was a guy just as great waiting for me."

He didn't say anything for and she was afraid to talk. He had to say something. He just had to. And he finally did. "I think that you won't have to wait for that something to turn into something greater. You know, he'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to love you. I think that you won't have to wait at all."

The silence was painful but she wouldn't break it. She wanted to tell him that he'd get over her, that it wasn't that hard. But she knew herself how hard it was to get over someone, she was still trying. Then Sasuke turned beside them and muttered something that ended with 'Sakura'. She glanced at him and saw a small smile on his face.

Her chest constricted painfully and she heard him whisper "Don't you hate it when I'm right? I know I do."

"Naruto?"

"Yeah."

"In the morning, I'm going to ask him one last time if he likes me. If he says no then... then I think I might give up. I can't keep wanting him to say yes. I hate waiting. If he says yes then well..."

"If he says no than... than will you tell me?"

"Yeah, why?"

"So then I can kiss you without worrying."

"Ok."

The stars seemed to shine a little brighter as she turned on her side, away from the boys.

She smiled a little and she didn't see Naruto's smug grin. She didn't know what would happen but before she fell asleep she knew it would be something earth-shatteringly great. Or maybe it might be something on a smaller scale but it would still be perfect.