"I'll be there as long as you need me, Sakura-chan."

Their shower had been surprisingly chaste. The most they did was playfully splash each other with water. But afterwards, Naruto had said that again. And as the pajama-clad Sakura was lying under the sheets next to the dozing blonde, she wondered about that statement. She knew he meant it, and she did feel like she needed him. So he would always be there. She didn't understand why she couldn't just believe that. She wondered if she simply loved making herself miserable, or if she just didn't believe that she deserved happiness as Ino had said.

The pinkette didn't know why she always insisted on punishing herself. Naruto never held anything against her. And she had even protected him from his own suffering and heartbreak more than once. She had always tried to be there to save him from pain. And it was only natural that Naruto do the same for her now. But why did she need him to? Why couldn't she let it go?

She knew that both her and Naruto would be happier if she could. It hurt him to see her acting so vulnerable. So she had to try harder.

Sakura finally drifted off to sleep.

/

When the pinkette opened her eyes again, she saw that the other half of the bed was empty. For once, she didn't panic. She looked around and saw that the bathroom door was shut. He was probably in there.

The room was bright with sunlight. She sat up in the bed and thought more about what she had been going through. She felt lucky that her parents were so accepting.

The bathroom door opened and Naruto came out. He was wearing his usual clothes minus the jacket. He smiled seeing that she was awake and walked up to her bedside. Sakura looked over at him.

"Hi, Sakura-chan. I was surprised that I actually woke up first today," the blonde said.

Sakura smiled.

"Well, I guess I was waiting for my sun."

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"The sun's been up for a while, though."

The pinkette chuckled.

"Haha. Not the sun. My sun. You're my sun, Naruto. You're my warm and bright sun."

His eyes shifted in thought and he nodded after a moment.

"Oh... I'm still amazed that I became the center of your universe."

Sakura was gazing at him softly.

"I was surprised by it too... But I'm sorry, Naruto. It must be inconvenient for you sometimes."

Naruto quickly shook his head.

"No, it's not. It's a pleasure. You're my favorite person, Sakura-chan. Even if it was inconvenient, I would put up with it for you. I just wish all this didn't have such a big effect on you."

She sighed deeply, her expression pained.

"Don't feel bad for me, Naruto. I'm taking advantage of you enough as it is."

The blonde stared at her with wide eyes.

"What do you mean? You've done so much for me, Sakura-chan. How could you possibly be taking advantage of me?"

Her eyes shifted away sadly.

"Because, Naruto. I've made it clear that I need you to be around or I'll be miserable. And you accepted that. So I've forced the responsibility of making me happy onto you. You accepted because you're such an amazing person, but it's still not fair to you."

After a moment, Naruto smiled softly. Sakura raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"I'm only returning the favor, Sakura-chan."

"Huh?"

He reached down and took hold of one of her hands. The pinkette watched him curiously.

"You accepted the responsibility of protecting my happiness a long time ago. And unlike with me, no one asked you to do it. And no one even knew that you were doing it. Maybe you didn't even know... But you did it because you cared about me. And I loved you more than ever when I learned that," He knelt down to be at eye level with her and smiled wider. "And I always will. So you don't have to worry about it, Sakura-chan. I'll protect you from being sad as long as you need it. I don't care if it takes forever, because I wouldn't know what to do without your care and kindness. So I could never walk away when it's you who needs the help. Even if you didn't ask me."

She was shocked for a moment. Then she smiled back at him with her lip slightly quivering. She was a bit misty-eyed.

"Naruto... There's no way that I can be unhappy with you in my life... So I promise that I'll-"

Naruto swiftly touched two fingers to her lips with his other hand.

"Shh... Don't worry about that, Sakura-chan. It's not a big deal. Take as much time as you need."

She grinned as he withdrew.

"Okay, Naruto. God, you make everything seem so easy. I love you for that."

The blonde's expression turned serious. Sakura's eyes widened a little in alarm.

"I can only be like that because of you, Sakura-chan. Because I have you. I could never be so confident without you. Please believe me when I say that."

She leaned forward a little.

"Really, Naruto? But..."

"It's the truth. Without you, I would be lost."

He left it there, frustratingly for Sakura, and stood up. She wanted to hear more. She sat up in the bed.

"But you're so amazing, Naruto. I've always been trying to catch up to you."

Naruto shook his head.

"You never had to. I would have slowed down so that I could walk beside you. Because if I can't walk beside you, there's no point in being amazing. You were always the one who made me want to try so hard. So that you would look at me. And I'm glad you did. Because if you didn't, I don't know what I would be doing now."

The pinkette gaped at him.

"You shouldn't talk like that, Naruto..."

He looked down and sighed.

"Maybe I shouldn't. I won't, anymore. But it's the truth. It's no different for me, Sakura-chan. I just hide it better than you do."

Sakura's brow wrinkled in deep thought. Naruto looked up at her with a smile.

"Well, we should go to your parents' house now. You should get dressed, Sakura-chan," he said.

She looked up with a blank expression.

"Okay, Naruto."

The blonde walked out of the bedroom. A few minutes later, the smell of boiling ramen wafted in.

/

They were walking together to Sakura's parents' home with smiles on their faces. They talked about less important matters. When a familiar antagonist crossed their path, their expressions soured at the same time.

"Hey, Kiba," Naruto said.

The dog ninja and his companion both turned to look at them. Kiba was frowning deeply.

"Oh, it's you. And you're with Sakura. Lovely. What do you want, Naruto?"

Naruto frowned as well. Sakura edged closer to Naruto.

"I don't want anything. I'm just saying hello. We don't have a problem with you, Kiba. We used to be friends. This is something you came up with on your own."

Kiba bared his teeth.

"Well, I can't be friends with you guys. It would be impossible. I get pissed off every time I look at either of you."

The blonde regarded him with pity.

"Kiba, you need to get this off your chest. You're not going to feel better until you do."

Kiba took a step to within arm's length of him. Sakura watched Kiba carefully, but Naruto either wasn't threatened or didn't think he had a reason to be.

"What do you mean by that?"

Naruto looked down and sighed.

"You should tell Hinata how you feel. I know it seems hard, but trust me, you'll feel better when you-"

He looked up to see a gloved fist heading towards his face. It was too close for him to defend. His eyes automatically shut in anticipation of the impact.

In terms of foot speed, Sakura wasn't that fast even by kunoichi standards. But her reactions were quicker than most male ninja. So as on guard as she was, it was easy enough for her to grab Kiba's fist out of the air.

The Inuzuka suddenly found that he couldn't move any of his fingers. He tried to pull away, but all that did was make his arm hurt. The pinkette's eyes were sharply trained on him. He realized that the only way he could free himself would be to attack her, and he wasn't angry enough to forget what Shikamaru had told him. So he had gotten himself into another situation where he was pathetically disadvantaged.

Naruto opened his eyes in bewilderment to see Kiba's pained expression and Sakura's remorseless one. Akamaru was standing back timidly. He knew both of them and was well aware that this fight was a foolish one for Kiba to enter into.

"Are you ever going to let go of me?" Kiba finally spat, looking at the pinkette.

"That depends. Are you going to try to hurt Naruto again? Because if you are, I'm going to break every bone in your hand," she replied coldly.

Kiba let out a long, frustrated breath.

"... No."

Sakura applied much more force than she needed to when releasing him, and he flew back and landed on his backside. He struggled to his feet and glared at Naruto bitterly.

"You had some nerve to say that shit when you're the one who she-" he started to say.

Akamaru barked loudly, communicating that Sakura was unlikely to tolerate an attempt to hurt Naruto emotionally, either. After glancing at his partner in acknowledgement, the dog ninja simply turned and stomped away.

Sakura relaxed and turned back to look at Naruto, who smiled awkwardly at her.

"You shouldn't have to protect me, Sakura-chan. But you're really fast. You would make a great ANBU."

She laughed.

"Haha... I know he wouldn't have done much damage, but it was a matter of principle. I won't ever let anyone hurt my Naruto."

The pinkette smiled warmly and wrapped an arm around him as they continued to walk towards their destination.

/

Upon arriving at the home of Mebuki and Kizashi, Sakura knocked on the door. Her mother opened it a few moments later.

"Oh, Sakura dear... It's great to see you," the older pinkette said, wrapping Sakura in a hug. She pulled back and looked at Naruto. "And you brought Naruto-kun! How are you, sweetheart?"

Mebuki hugged Naruto as well. The blonde smiled shyly at her.

"We're both doing fine, mom. We wanted to start moving some of my stuff," Sakura explained with an awkward smile.

Her mother nodded.

"Sounds fine to me. Come on in."

They walked inside. Kizashi was sitting at the kitchen table. He looked up at them.

"Hi, Sakura... I see you brought Naruto..." His wife glanced at him meaningfully. "-kun. Let us know if you two need any help with moving."

Sakura grinned nervously.

"We should be fine... But thanks, dad."

They went upstairs. Naruto's eyes widened a bit at the girlish color scheme of her room. He wondered if the differences were weird for her, but he resolved to ask her about it later. They had a job to do.

He started making clones in quick succession and had them pick up things that Sakura directed them to. Most of it was already in bags and boxes.

The pinkette looked at the real Naruto.

"We shouldn't have to go with them, right? We can stay here?" she asked.

Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, it should be okay. I have plenty of chakra. I'll make a few extra ones in case anything happens. I don't want you to lose anything," he replied.

"Okay. Thanks, Naruto."

She gave him a brief hug. They both went back downstairs.

Sakura's parents were watching the line of clones with curiosity.

"I've never seen anything like that before. How long do they last?" Kizashi asked.

Naruto looked over at him politely.

"They last as long as they have chakra, which is a long time if they aren't using chakra themselves. I guess several hours?"

The older man nodded.

"I see... I have to go to the restroom. Excuse me."

He stood up and walked out of the room. Mebuki was eyeing the two of them with a strange smile on her face.

"That ability seems really useful," she said.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. Naruto looked at the older pinkette with a smile.

"Yeah, it is. It's my main jutsu," he explained.

"Does Sakura like it?"

She winked at Sakura, who blushed deeply.

"Uh, I don't know. Do you like it, Sakura-chan?" Naruto said, looking at Sakura.

She didn't look back at him, instead glaring at her mother.

"Mom, leave him alone. I've never asked him to use his jutsu like that," Sakura said.

Mebuki frowned. Naruto looked very confused.

"Why not, Sakura dear? It seems like it could be very nice for you," Mebuki replied.

"Because... We aren't even close to the point where we need to try to make things interesting. We aren't even used to each other yet."

Sakura's mother finally nodded.

"Oh, I see. That makes sense."

The blonde was still quite perplexed.

"What are you talking about, Sakura-chan?" he asked.

Sakura finally looked over at Naruto, exasperated.

"My wonderful mother was suggesting that I should ask you to use them for... nighttime activities," she explained.

He gaped at her in shock.

"Oh... Wow... I mean, I would get the memories... But what would you get out of it, Sakura-chan? It's not like more than one of me can..."

The red-faced pinkette shouted over him.

"Naruto! Don't finish that sentence."

Mebuki laughed. Naruto had a sheepish expression on his face.

"Haha. Ask her about it when I'm not around, Naruto-kun. She probably has a million ideas. She's just being coy."

Sakura crossed her arms and looked away.

"I certainly do not. You're just embarrassing me."

The conversation was tragically cut short when Kizashi reentered the room. The duo went back upstairs to continue organizing the move.

/

After the clones made a couple trips, Sakura decided that it would be best to not try to do it all in one day. She related this to Naruto, who nodded.

"Let's go do something fun, Naruto. I'm getting bored," the pinkette said with a smile.

"Okay, Sakura-chan. Would it be alright if we came back tomorrow, Mebuki-san, Kizashi-san?" Naruto asked looking at her parents.

They both nodded in assent. They stood up and walked up to them to give them a proper farewell.

"See you tomorrow, Naruto-kun. Take good care of Sakura," Mebuki said.

"I will."

After saying goodbye to her parents, Sakura walked out the front door. As Naruto moved to follow, Kizashi put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him off to the side. Naruto smiled politely at the older man, who had a serious look on his face.

"Naruto-kun, I'd like to talk to you alone, but I don't want Sakura to think I'm giving you a hard time. I've mostly given up hope on doing that anyway, but I have to talk to you. Can you try to come over on your own at some point tomorrow?" Kizashi asked.

Naruto gulped. He returned the serious gaze.

"Sure, Kizashi-san... I'll try to come over before or afterwards."

"Thank you. You can go now. Keep taking care of my daughter."

The blonde nodded earnestly before hurrying off to catch up with Sakura.

/

The couple went out to eat together, heading home after it got dark. They took some time to put away Sakura's things. The only piece of furniture she bothered to have Naruto move was a dresser for her clothes. They spent about an hour doing this. It had gotten late after that, so they got ready for bed.

After changing into her pajamas, Sakura laid down close to Naruto. He turned to look at her with a smile.

"I still think you look really cute in those, Sakura-chan," the blonde said.

She grinned back at him.

"I'm glad you like them, Naruto. I like them too," She wrapped an arm around him, resting her body weight against him. "They're warm. Just like you. I feel warm inside and out."

The pinkette slowly moved her head towards his before giving him a tender kiss that lasted a few seconds. When she pulled back, she couldn't help but swing one of her legs around him, pressing closer into him.

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Sakura-chan, wait."

She looked at him confusedly. He put his hands gently on her sides.

"If we continue like this, we're going to end up... Well, you know. And I really like being like that with you. But I'm wondering, is that something you want? To do that every night? I don't want you to feel like you have to."

Sakura's expression softened.

"Is it what you want, Naruto? I just like being with you... I don't care what we do. I'll be happy as long as you're here with me."

Naruto looked away in thought before meeting her eyes again.

"Of course I would want that, Sakura-chan. But I only care about what you want."

She chuckled.

"Haha... We're at an impasse, then. Because I only care about what you want."

The blonde laughed as well.

"Wow... What should we do, then?"

Sakura smiled after a moment.

"How about this? We can default to not doing it unless one of us really wants to, in which case we will as long as the other person is okay with it. How does that sound?"

Naruto nodded and smiled.

"That sounds fine. So do you really want to?"

She thought for a moment before collapsing next to him, her arms draped over him. Her head was resting next to his on the pillow.

"I guess I really just want to snuggle with you. Is that okay, Naruto? I don't want to disappoint you."

He leaned in and kissed her forehead before pulling the sheet over both of them.

"That could never disappoint me. Sleep well, Sakura-chan."

Sakura smiled contentedly before closing her eyes.

"Good night, Naruto... I love you."

Sleep came quickly for her. Naruto followed her into dreamland a few minutes later.