A/N: Hey everyone. In honor of NaruSaku Week 2019, I came up with the One Shot for the prompt of Day 2: Fate. I know this isn't the next chapter of my main NaruSaku story, It's Better to Share the Pain, but I will be back with another update for that sometime in January. I hope you guys will enjoy this short story nevertheless.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, any of its characters, place, original plot, etc. All rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

It was a beautiful spring morning in the Hidden Leaf. The village was still relatively quiet, as it was only going onto about five minutes past seven. In the home of the Uzumaki family, the Rokudaime was just preparing to start getting ready for the day. At least he would have been if it weren't for his better half.

Naruto glanced down to see the sleeping form of his wife cuddled up to him, her messy pink hair strewn every which way. As he listened to her snoring away, Naruto couldn't help but smile and stifle a small chuckle. No matter what her current appearance was like, she would always be the most beautiful girl in the world to him.

Gently brushing some strands of her pink locks away to reveal the feature that he loved most about Sakura, her large forehead. Naruto leaned down ever so slightly to place a gentle kiss on top of the diamond seal that perfectly christened his wife's forehead. Sakura let out a moan of pleasure and content, not waking once as Naruto pulled back.

Thinking back to their youth, Naruto could never understand why the other kids had always bullied her about it. In fact, Naruto believed that the very same feature his wife had hated growing up is what finally brought them together after the Fourth Great Ninja War ended.

When he finally worked up the courage to tell Sakura the truth about that day all those years ago, he wasn't quite sure how she would react. It was common knowledge amongst the populace of the Hidden Leaf that Sakura was a bit of a hot-head. As he repeated those same words he had uttered all those years ago while disguised as Sasuke to the girl he loved, Naruto braced himself for the right hook that would surely follow. What he got instead was a reaction vastly different than he'd initially anticipated.

Flashback

"You have such a large and charming forehead, it makes me want to kiss it." Naruto said, repeating the same exact compliment he had given Sakura the day of team placements.

Sakura looked at Naruto with a dumbfounded expression across her face as the blonde finished. The pink-haired medic said nothing, allowing her mind to soak in what she just heard. As she finally remembered where she had heard that before, Sakura began to shake her head a bit and let out a lighthearted chuckle.

"Are you okay Sakura-chan?" Naruto inquired.

Sakura said nothing as she suddenly burst out into a fit of laughter.

Unsure of why the pinkette found his half-arsed confession so hysterical, a confused Naruto proceeded to ask, "What's so funny?"

Taking a moment to regain her composure, Sakura's emerald eyes stared into Naruto's cerulean ones with a look that he had only seen her give whenever Sasuke was around.

"How could I have been so stupid?" Sakura said to noone in particular.

"I'm not quite sure I follow." Naruto replied.

"I knew there was something off about Sasuke when he paid me that compliment. It's no wonder he never reciprocated my feelings. Only a fool who's been helplessly in love with me for as long as I can remember would be stupid enough to talk about the one thing I've always been insecure about." Sakura insinuated, looking at Naruto in particular when she mentioned the word fool.

Naruto gulped when he heard her indirectly refer to him.

"Well?" Sakura asked while placing her hands on either hip, breaking the hyperactive blonde from his stupor.

"Well what?" Naruto replied.

"You idiot! Are you gonna just continue to stand there looking stupid or do you plan to kiss me?" Sakura relented.

"You actually want me to do it?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, so help me if you don't stop asking stupid questions, I'm going to pull my offer off the table." Sakura threatened in a serious tone.

"Okay." Naruto nervously replied as he leaned in and pressed his lips against Sakura.

Slowly pulling away, Naruto noticed that Sakura for the second time in just a matter of minutes had an unusual look on her face. The blonde-haired jinchuriki surmised that she probably didn't enjoy it too much given the way she still looked at Sasuke. In an effort to break the awkward silence, Naruto finally spoke up, "Sakura-chan, why did you ask me to kiss you just a moment ago? Judging by the way you scrunched up your face, I can tell you didn't enjoy it very much. If you still have feelings for the teme, then why string me along?"

Before Naruto could say another word, he felt Sakura wrap her arms around his neck and pull him in for another passionate kiss. As she broke it off, Sakura pressed her forehead against and only muttered a handful of words to get her point across, "Idiot. You talk too much."

Naruto pulled away and looked at the pinkette with a hint of confusion still lingering around him.

For her part, Sakura knew that Naruto was unsure of what her intentions were. Letting out a deep sigh, she took a seat and patted the bench, signaling that she wanted Naruto to join her.

Once he had sat down beside her, Sakura began to speak. "The reason I asked you to kiss me Naruto is because I needed to know where my feelings truly lie. And now, I think I finally have my answer."

"To be fair, you weren't wrong when you said that I still hold feelings for Sasuke, but ever since you came from your trip with Jiraiya, I began to feel something for you too. It's just taken me time to fully understand what those feelings and how deep they went."

"When you and I kissed just a moment ago, I finally realized what those feelings are. Love, warmth, happiness. You've been there for me, fighting by my side and supporting me without hesitation. Even when Sasuke left the village to train with Orochimaru, you became the one person I could always depend on to have my back no matter what. That's why I know with undying certainty that I love you, Naruto Uzumaki. And don't you dare say that I'm lying this time" Sakura warned sternly, but with a hint of sincerity evident in her tone.

Watching as Naruto processed her confession, Sakura had a pretty good idea of what would happen next.

Naruto immediately sprung up from the bench and began to burst with excitement, shouting, "Yatta! Sakura-chan loves me! She really loves me!"

Shaking her head a bit at her idiot teammate's antics, Sakura got up and reached for Naruto's hand. Gently intertwining their fingers, Sakura began to drag him in the direction of Ichiraku's and said, "Come on baka. Let's go on that date you've always been asking for. You're paying though."

Naruto wasn't one to complain, as he finally had gotten a real date with the girl he believed he was destined to be with.

Flashback End

As Naruto came back to the present, he felt Sakura begin to stir. Watching as the pinkette's emerald eyes slowly fluttered open, Naruto decided to greet his wife, "Good morning beautiful."

"Good morning to you too." Sakura groggily replied. "What were you thinking about just a moment ago?"

"Oh, nothing special. I was just admiring your large and charming forehead." Naruto cheekily replied.

"You're never going to let me live that down are you?" Sakura joked.

"Nope. Because just like my mom's red hair that brought her and my father together, it was your beautiful forehead that became our own red thread of fate. And that is something I will always be forever grateful for."

Sakura just smiled as she leaned up and pressed her lips against that of Naruto's.

Yes, for Naruto Uzumaki, there was no better woman he could have ended up with. At least in one universe perhaps.

A/N: And there we go. I know this is a similar idea or scenario that many others have done over the years, but I wanted to do something special for NaruSaku Week 2019. I hope you guys enjoyed. If you are new to my work, please feel free to leave me a review to tell me what you thought! Otherwise, I will see you all next month in my next update for It's Better to Share the Pain. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!