Happy Valentines day everyone!
Whether you are single, dating, married, or doing your own special thing, I hope you can take some time today to send a little love to those important people in your life. I especially hope that you give yourself a bunch of love and appreciation. It's because of you that this story was created and it's because of you that it's still growing. I appreciate you guys so much!
Also if you get the "Nasty's" reference, let me know. Let's go big red!
Without further ado, hope you enjoy! As always feel free to PM/review about any questions, comments, or concerns.
-Night TimeSki09
P.S. - Keep an eye out for a special mini chapter in honor of valentines day! It will be upload sometime this week :)
What Luck Brings: Grilled-Cheese and Milkshakes
Early afternoon sun warmed the side of Sakura's face. She shifted slightly and snuggled into the body pillow beneath her. That fuzzy floating feeling you have when drifting between sleep and consciousness was all she cared about. Sakura was way too comfortable to even consider moving yet. Plus, it was a Sunday, so she was going to milk this blissful feeling for all it was worth.
Sakura took in a deep breath then let it out slowly in a long content sigh. The pillow smelled amazing. She couldn't imagine being any happier.
Weight settled across her shoulders then moved to the back of her waist.
'That's odd,' she thought.
With extreme reluctance Sakura opened her eyes. Kakashi's unmasked face was only a breath away. She froze, her sluggish mind franticly trying to piece together the situation.
'We must have fallen asleep during the movie, but how did we get like…like this?' her mind was short circuiting. It had been doing that a lot lately.
Kakashi's arm tightened around her waist then relaxed. Sakura held her breath. His eyes were still closed, and his lips were slightly parted. She could feel the slow steady rise and fall of his breath. It was warm as it brushed across her face. That was when she realized her hand was greedily spread across his muscled chest. The fabric of his shirt was just as soft as she thought.
He shifted underneath her, and Sakura's mind immediately shifted to escape mode. She had to get out before he woke up. There was a pillow within arm's length, that gave her an idea.
With the theme from Mission Impossible playing in the background, Sakura did her best impression of Indiana Jones and slowly began shifting the pillow under Kakashi's arm while simultaneously sliding out from under it.
In her mind's eye she was the picture of grace as she maneuvered her body off him and onto the floor like liquid silver. In actuality the sight was more like an overstuffed sack of potatoes falling off the back of a truck.
Either way, Kakashi didn't budge, her mission was a success! For a moment Sakura stood and stared at the pillow that Kakashi now held. She had never been so jealous of an inanimate object before.
Once Sakura had made it to the safety of her room, she could finally breath again and take a break from wearing her binder. There was only one other time that she fell asleep with it on, and she quickly learned that was a huge No No. Her body didn't hesitate to let her know it was seriously unhappy with her, again.
'Note to self,' she thought, 'no more late-night early morning movies while in dude mode.'
The fact that the talk with Kakashi had gone so well was defiantly a surprise and helped to ease some of the discomfort in her ribs. At least it was a very pleasant surprise this time.
Sakura spent the remainder of the day in her room to give herself time to recover, physically and mentally. Her excuse was that she had to study for quickly approaching exams. Whether Kakashi thought she was acting odd or not he didn't press the issue.
Sakura smiled like a love-struck teenager for the rest of the day.
Monday came too quickly, as it is typically known to do.
Sakura was awake before sunrise. Her nerves wouldn't let her sleep any longer. She couldn't help but be nervous, there was no way she could avoid facing Naruto for any longer.
'Although…If I skipped Anatomy and Physiology today there's a good chance, I wouldn't run into him…'
Sakura sighed in frustration as she began her morning routine. She knew skipping would only delay the inevitable. A day wasn't going to be enough time to get all her thoughts in order and her attendance record was too important to her.
Once there was nothing left to do to be ready for the day, she thought of what Kakashi had said. Maybe he was right, maybe she should give Naruto a chance.
'But maybe he's not. He doesn't know the whole picture.' She began to pace back and forth from one end of her room to the other. 'What if we do try it and it goes horribly wrong and I end up hurting him? I couldn't stand it if I hurt him.'
Ten minutes past before Sakura stopped cutting a grove in her carpet and sat on her bed. She sat with her head in her hands. Her thoughts still ran in wild circles, stuck in an inescapable loop.
Then her phone lit up with a notification. Sakura jumped to see who it was from but had to resist the urge to throw her phone when she realized it was only spam.
She stared at her phone contemplating reaching out to him. Naruto was usually the one Sakura would want to talk to at a time like this. She chickened out and began scrolling through their old messages. Her text thread with him was miles long. Reading through it gave her a small semblance of comfort and his ridiculous contact photo never failed to make her smile.
Sakura remembered that day so clearly. She had just gone through a rough breakup and Naruto had taken her out to Ichiraku to cheer her up. The doofus had put Naruto rice cakes over his eyes and cracked jokes that were so bad she couldn't help but laugh. His eyes were red for the rest of the day, but he persisted that it was totally worth it.
In that moment Sakura knew what she had to do. She had to see Naruto.
The sun was beginning to paint the morning sky when Sakura made it to Naruto's dorm. She was a bit out of breath, but the long walk helped her put the adrenaline coursing through her body to good use.
She took two deep slow breaths before knocking on his door.
'Everything is gonna be fine, you totally got this!' Sakura told herself.
When there was no answer, she realized just how early it was. Sakura was so caught up in her own thoughts, she didn't even think about the time.
As she turned to begin sneaking away, she heard the door open behind her.
"What do you want?" a deep voice said.
She turned back around to see a guy standing in the doorway. He had black hair, some of it fell in front of his face, and dark eyes. He wore black sweatpants adorned with purple snakes and was shirtless.
"Uh…I…um is Naruto here?" Sakura stammered. The half-naked man and his dreary demeanor was absolutely not what she was expecting. She looked up towards the corner of the wall, avoiding direct eye contact with his alabaster chest. Hopefully he didn't notice the slight blush that dusted Sakura's cheeks.
The guy turned without responding, leaving the door partially open.
"Hey dumb ass, get up," the guy said. There was a muffled thud and then she heard Naruto's annoyed mutterings making its way towards her. When Naruto came it to the door his eyes were barely open.
"What?" his voice was thick with sleep.
Sakura waved uneasily, "Hi, uh can we talk?" she asked.
Naruto's eyes grew wide.
"Oh, Sakura!" he said barely above a whisper. He looked around for a moment confused, "What time is it?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize how early it was, until I was…" she gestured towards the door, "here." Sakura mentally cringed.
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "You know, the last time you showed up this early some crazy shit happened afterwards."
"Yeah well, this time it's different," Sakura paused, "and it actually is early."
"And you're dressed as a dude," Naruto said teasingly. "Give me a sec, I'll be right out."
After almost 10 minutes of waiting, Naruto re-emerged dressed in joggers and one of his nicer T-shirts. It looked like he even attempted to comb his hair, although one piece still stuck out at a weird angle. Sakura didn't say anything about it.
"So," he said as he closed the door behind him, "uh maybe Nasty's would be a better spot to talk?"
"Well, that sounds…pleasant," she said with uncertainty.
"Yeah, I know. It's just a nickname for the 24/7 convenience store thing downstairs. They make a damn good grilled cheese, and their milkshakes are the best you'll find on campus," Naruto said as he began leading the way.
"Grilled cheese and milkshakes at 6:30 in the morning?" Sakura shrugged, "Why not."
"At least we won't have to wait in line." His smile made him look more at ease, but she could tell we was still nervous. Sakura didn't blame him. She felt just as anxious as he probably was.
With hot grilled cheese and cold milkshakes in hand they found a booth in the corner of the mostly deserted dinning area. They ate and drank silently. Sakura had never seen Naruto eat so slowly or actually chew his food before.
She took a long drink from her shake, letting the chocolatey goodness give her strength. It really was the best milkshake she'd ever had.
"I'll bring it up first I guess," Sakura said. "I'm sorry for yelling at you for…you know…the kiss. I didn't realize what my 'confession' must have sounded like."
Naruto stared down at the table. "It's fine. I didn't read the situation right and I'm sorry too. For what I said after. I hope I didn't ruin everything." He looked up and Sakura could see the question behind his eyes.
"I was worried about the same thing," she said then broke eye contact. "So worried that I ended up spilling my guts to the old perv. Even told him I'm into guys."
"Well du-," realization washed over Naruto's face, "Oh crap! I didn't even think about that! That must have been…awkward."
"At first, but it turned out alright. I should have just told him that in the very beginning." If she was being honest with herself, it went so much better than she could ever imagine. She woke up in Kakashi's arms for heaven's sake. But she wasn't going to mention that part. Not to anybody.
"You know I thought about what you said, and I still don't know exactly what I meant when I said that I…love you…but I'd be willing to maybe explore that a little more and I don't mean just in my head…but I don't want it to get weird between us and then we stop talking cause its weird… I just really don't want to hurt you…" Sakura took another sip to prevent her from rambling on for another 5 minutes. She hoped the frozen drink would cool down the heat rising to her face.
Naruto perked up a bit, then looked away and began playing with a piece of his hair. "Does that mean I can ask you on a date?"
"Aren't you worried, though?" she said.
"A little bit, but I have faith in us," Naruto's shyness receded and that atypical seriousness made its way into his voice. "I rather take the risk of getting hurt over not trying. I'm a big boy Sakura, you don't have to worry about me. I know that I'm not going anywhere, even if it does get weird," Naruto stood up quickly and pointed towards Sakura. "and you better believe it too!" He exclaimed.
Sakura was incredibly grateful that there was only one other person in ear shot. "Fine, fine! I believe it, will you please sit down?" she said while smacking the hand that was still pointing towards her. "You could really benefit from learning how to be more subtle."
"No way! That's all part of my boyish charm," Naruto said as he sat back down. He was grinning like his old self. It made Sakura feel more at ease.
"I guess one date wouldn't kill me. Plus, it would be interesting to see how you woo the ladies with that charm of yours," she teased.
Naruto laughed openly, "Just you wait! I'm gonna woo the pants off ya!" He looked back up to see Sakura hiding behind her hands, the tips of her ears gleamed bright red. Naruto's face instantly flushed a shade of red rivaling Sakura's face. "Wait! That's not what I meant!"
Classes later that day were brutal, but everything was finally beginning to improve for Sakura. She and Kakashi were back on speaking terms, and it felt like they became a little closer. Her friendship with Naruto wasn't in jeopardy and she was even the slightest bit excited to see what their future held. It didn't matter that she slept through more than half of her morning classes.
When she made it to Kakashi's class, at least she was partially rested, but not enough to make it through the whole class without nodding off a few times. Naruto was head down on the desk practically snoring. A small pool of drool formed under his open mouth. Sakura elbowed him when the other students started noticing.
Kakashi caught her eye a few times whiling lecturing. He looked more amused than annoyed. He even dismissed class 15 minutes early. The only explanation he gave was that he wanted an early lunch. No one questioned it.
Sakura ruffled Naruto's hair roughly. His head rocked from side to side as she spoke loudly in his ear, "Let's go Baka. Time to wake up." He grumbled but didn't resist.
As they were making their way towards the door to leave, Sakura felt a light tug at the back of her shirt.
"Umm…ex- excuse me?" a shy voice said from behind her.
She turned back to see a girl with dark hair and light grey eyes staring down at the floor. She pressed her forefingers together as she fidgeted with her hands.
Sakura recognized her as the quiet girl she had seen a few times during class. Every time Sakura had accidentally made eye contact with her, she would look spooked and hide behind the person next to her.
Sakura wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want to scare her again.
"Hi?" she said.
The girl bowed deeply "I'm sorry! Wou- Would you…would you have lunch…with me?"
'Is she asking me out?!' Sakura was stunned.
This day just kept on giving. Giving her uncomfortable situations that she had no clue how to handle or deal with. Plus, she was already exhausted from this morning's turn of events.
Sakura stood there with her mouth gaping like a fish flopping about on land.
Naruto's arm wrapped around Sakura's shoulder and pulled her close to his side. Before she knew what he was doing, he turned her face towards him with his free hand and calmly kissed her forehead.
"He's taken," Naruto said. His voice edged near territorial.
The girl's face mimicked Sakura's in shock. She bowed rapidly and apologized at least three more times before running out of the lecture hall.
Sakura smacked Naruto's arm away and turned on him, "What the hell was that! We didn't say anything about being 'Taken'," she said the last word with aggressive air quotes.
"I know, just wait. Can we talk somewhere else?" he said.
Sakura hadn't noticed the attention they had attracted. There were a few dozen people staring at them, some of them in the process of pulling out their phones.
"Fine," she quickly conceded.
After relocating to somewhere more private, the men's bathroom, Sakura smacked Naruto again as he leaned against the closed the door. "Again, what the hell?" she said.
"Will you stop hitting me?" he smacked her on the shoulder in retaliation. "I just saved your bacon."
"My bacon was not in need of saving. I was perfectly in control of the situation," Sakura protested.
"Uh no you weren't," Naruto said, "You looked like a stranded flounder."
She crossed her arms. "I was about to take care of it," she pouted, "and you didn't have to kiss me in front of the whole class!"
"You know I don't care what people say about me. Plus, I was also helping you explore your feelings for me. You could call it multitasking," he said playfully. "And it was just the forehead," he said that last part while too obviously not looking at her lips.
Sakura sighed. "Take it easy Casanova, it hasn't even been half a day since we talked about…things," she said.
"You saw how cute that girl was right? It's only a matter of time before some hottie with a body sweeps you off your feet and if I have anything to say about it that hottie is gonna me." He pointed his thumb towards himself triumphantly.
Sakura laughed. "Just cause you're my friend doesn't mean I'm going to make it easy for you."
"Challenge accepted! You, me, mini golf next weekend. You may kick my ass at twister but there's no way you're beating me at my own game. I am king of the course! Aaaand if I beat you, you have to go on another date with me," Naruto was practically bouncing at this point.
"Alright, you damned kangaroo," she said while laughing, "you're on! Now go to class Mr. King of the Course."
Naruto gave a very courtly bow then said, "As you wish MY queen." He gave her a devilish wink then bolted out of the bathroom when Sakura threateningly grabbed a roll of paper towels from next to the sink.
Once he was gone, she put the paper towels down and smiled at herself in the mirror. Sakura didn't want to get ahead of herself, but she couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, everything was going to work out after all.
She heard the bathroom door open again.
"Back again so soon my King," Sakura said with extreme sarcasm. She armed herself with the roll of paper towels again and prepared to strike.
"King has a nice ring to it," a deep sickeningly familiar voice said.
The paper towels fell from Sakura's limp fingers. Piercing purple eyes met her gaze as the metallic sliding sound of the door's lock moving into place reached her ears.