I've had this one tucked away for a while! Short, fluffy, and just for fun!

Love Squared

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Rhombus
a parallelogram with opposite equal acute angles, opposite equal obtuse angles, and four equal sides.
Any parallelogram with equal sides, including a square

Naruto and Sakura were sitting in the café area of the bookstore.

Sakura kept looking up from her hot chocolate, clearly nervous.

"Do you think they got lost?"

"They're fine, Sakura," he chuckled. "You said that she loves to read, right? They're probably geeking out about books together."

"Geez," she shook her head. "And I thought I was bad."

"Um…." Naruto's gaze trailed to the two very large bags at her feet.

"Those are gifts," she sniffed loftily.

Naruto laughed.

"Same old Sakura," he grinned. "Nice to have you back."

"I didn't go anywhere," she rolled her eyes. "It was you that decided to go globetrotting."

"Well, then nice to be back," he amended. "I'm glad you actually had some time to come out for a change."

"Me, too," she gave half a snort. "It feels like I live at that hospital."

"If we're going strictly by hours spent, you kinda do."

"True," she sighed. "Having Hinata around has made it so much better, though. It's less lonely."

"I'll bet."

"So…" she swiveled in her chair and pinned him with a mischievous smile. "What do you think of Hinata."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at her. "Who's asking?"

"Just me," she blinked wide, innocent eyes.

"Which you," his face crinkled as he studied her. "Because this sounds like 'match-making Sakura' circa sophomore and junior year of high school."

Sakura's jaw went slack. "You're right," she whispered. "Ugh," She put her head in her hands. "I was so focused on keeping twelve-year-old Sakura away that I didn't even notice the other one sneaking out." She shook her head in disbelief. "I did not see that coming."

"Yeah, well," he snorted. "The Inner Sakura's were always a force to be reckoned with. So?" he looked her over. "Did twelve-year-old you give you much grief?"

"Surprisingly no!" she smiled. "Probably grown up Sasuke is way too much for even her imagination to handle – and already too real."

"Too real?"

"Well, when you are a kid, everything is just open, right?" she toyed with her cup. "You can be anything – and so can the other person. But when you are adults, you've already made choices about who you are and who you want to be. The range of possibilities is a little more defined, that is all."

"And Sasuke?"

"He really has become someone good, hasn't he?" Sakura's smile was kind. "But I bet a bunch of that was due to you not letting him go all broody and dark-side."

"Thank you," Naruto dipped his head. "I'm glad someone sees it."

"Anyway, he's nothing like I thought he'd be – but sort of just how I thought he would be. But he's safe from any Inner Sakuras," her grin was wide. "I'm good."

"I'm glad," he put a hand on hers, and met her eyes sincerely. "I was worried about you, you know? Heartbreak isn't fun at any age, and well…I didn't want you to go through that again."

"Thanks for looking out for me," she laced her fingers under his, and smiled at him warmly.

The spark sizzled through his fingers and raced up his arm like that time he decided he could fix some wiring (which turned out to be a disastrously bad idea).

"Never let it cross your heart," the old maintenance man had warned sternly before grumbling something about 'the luck of idiots.'

For the first time he felt like he understood the warning, but wasn't sure he was quite that lucky.

"So," he cleared his throat, noting Sakura was staring at their laced fingers as well, "Hinata?"

Sakura blinked up at him, and would've pulled her fingers away (and the words about how wonderful her roommate was really were on the tip of her tongue) but Naruto held on to them tighter, his eyes penetrating her own.

"I..I was going to say she is perfect for…." She trailed off, studying his face rapidly.

Naruto's tongue was thick – he knew what she was going to say, but he supplied: "Sasuke?"

Sakura's eyes lit up in something relieved in joyous. "Yes," she breathed the relief easily. "I mean… obviously."

"Shy, dark-haired, old family," he added.

"But very patient…. You know," Sakura cocked her head to the side. "They really could work. I mean – half of understanding Sasuke is understanding his family, and, well-"

"And the Hyūgas are the only thing close to the Uchihas this side of the tabloids," Naruto grinned. "So," he leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. "Why don't we take a page out of Inner Sakura 16's book, and give it a try. We'd have to chaperone, of course – no way those two would manage on their own.."

"Oh, definitely," she agreed all too readily. "And I actually have some time off coming my way, so…"

"So?" his eyes gleamed with something as he rubbed his thumb across her knuckles his eyes flicking to her lips and back. "Should we give it a go?"

Her smile was slow and wide.

"Absolutely."

Sasuke caught sight of them before Hinata did. They were hunched over the table, looking at a list Sakura had made.

A list.

That was never a good thing.

His eyes were sharp, and he caught only a few words by reading her lips. "She's perfect for…Hinata really likes when…"

Something cold and thick settled in his stomach.

Sakura was acting on the same thing he'd discerned.

Hinata was perfect for Naruto.

"Here it is," Hinata stood holding the book in her hand. "I've been wanting to send this to Kurenai for ages – it was surprisingly hard to find…" she trailed off, following his line of sight. "Wow," she blinked. "They look cozy, don't they?"

The idea came as such a spark and was so ludicrous – so insane – that it begged to be attempted.

"They always got on well together," he offered – and it was, indeed the truth. Naruto and Sakura had always got on together rather famously.

Hinata studied them, her head tipped to the side.

"She looks happy."

Sasuke was studying her. "She does."

"It is nice to see," Hinata met his eyes. "Not that she is unhappy," she was quick to qualify, "she is just so, so busy – I rarely see her that carefree."

Sasuke hm'd his agreement, although he disagreed on a vital point. That was not Sakura's 'care-free' expression. That was Sakura with an agenda – a mission. He'd seen it often enough to recognize it, and to know her determination was to be feared. And as pleased as he was that it was not directed toward himself, he was severely displeased that it was directed toward his idiot best friend and Hinata.

"Is she always that way around Naruto?"

Sasuke took the plunge.

"She is. … Although I suspect she does not yet know why."

"Why?" Hinata blinked up at him in confusion. "What does that mean?"

"She loves him."

"Oh," Hinata blinked and then frowned. "But ..but she said…"

Sasuke held his breath as Hinata studied Naruto and Sakura heads together as they conspired, and she cocked her head to the side.

"You know? I can see it."

"Not that hard," he said dryly. "They just need a little time together to figure it out. So?" he raised his eyebrows to her. "How shall we manage it?"

"Us?" she blinked.

"Who else?" he snorted. "He's hopeless on his own, and I will only be in town a short while."

"This seems more like Ino's territory," Hinata hesitated.

"Agreed," Sasuke gave as small smile, "but we are all they have."

Hinata looked back at her friend and new friend dubiously.

"It is good to see Sakura look happy; I suppose it wouldn't hurt for her to spend time with friends."

"Well then," Sasuke's smile grew. "Then I suppose we shall be seeing more of each other, Hinata."

Thank you for reading! - GL