I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"
'thinking'

Chapter 10:

Naruto felt something heavy on his chest, causing him to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was the color pink. Confused, he reached a hand up to his eyes and rubbed away the sleep still in them. He blinked before looking down. Sakura was curled up against him, her head and an arm on his chest. At first, Naruto had no idea how this had happened. Then he looked over at the others. It seemed Sakura wasn't the only one that moved in her sleep. Yumi was like a mirror image of Sakura, except that she had a leg between Sek-kun's. Fu however was completely on top of Senshi. Sighing, Naruto removed himself from under Sakura, gently placing her back down. He quietly stood up and made his way to the bathroom.

Green eyes opened as the warmth that surrounded her was gone. Sakura looked around and blushed at the sight of Yumi and Sek-kun and Fu and Senshi. She only hoped the same thing hadn't happened with her and Naruto. It wasn't long before she heard the door of the bathroom open. She closed her eyes as the light footsteps came closer to her. She soon felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered, gently shaking Sakura,

"Naruto?' Sakura asked. She sat up. "What is it?"

"I um... should we wake them up?" Naruto motioned to the two couples.

"I'll do it," Sakura said. "Why don't you go make us some pancakes or something? Fu won't mind if you use her kitchen." Naruto hesitated before nodded. He quietly made his way to the kitchen. Sakura laid back down and sighed. She really wanted to go back to bed. Deciding that Naruto was right, she rolled over to shake Yumi awake. "Yumi? Yumi. Wake up."

"Five more minutes," Yumi said, snuggling into Sek-kun. Sakura rolled her eyes before continuing to shake Yumi. "Alright already!" Yumi yelled causing the others to awaken. Sek-kun blushed as Yumi moved away from him, not really caring about her sleeping position. Fu and Senshi also didn't react to theirs since it was common or them.

"What's that smell?" Fu asked.

"Naruto's making pancakes," Sakura said. "I told him it was ok to use your kitchen."

"Good," Fu said. "I'm too lazy to make breakfast anyway."

"As if you could," Sek-kun said. "You'd probably burn down the house first."

"Sekkyoku!" Fu yelled. Senshi held Fu back as Sek-kun laughed. Yumi joined in the laughter since she agreed with Sek-kun. Fu was really bad at cooking. The five of them stood up and made their way into the kitchen to see Naruto working on the sixth pancake.

"Good morning," Naruto said as he plated the pancake. "I don't know how many you guys wanted, so I thought a dozen would be a good start."

"More like three dozen," Fu said. "Sek-kun can eat half of that on his own."

"Nee-chan!" Sek-kun yelled, blushing. He turned to Naruto. "I'll eat five of them, not twenty-four." He walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out some maple syrup, butter, and a full gallon of milk. Senshi grabbed more plates and glasses before setting the table with them while Fu grabbed the utensils. Yumi pulled out another pan while Sakura mixed some more batter. Two dozen pancakes later, everyone was full. Sakura had only had two pancakes while Fu had three and Yumi had four. The boys each had five. In all honesty, Naruto could have ate more, but he held back.

Yumi's phone suddenly rang. She answered it. "Hi mom. Yeah, I'll be home soon. Sure, I can pick it up. Half an hour? Got it! See you then." She hung up. "Seems my mom ordered some food. I'm gonna have to go pick it up." She turned to Naruto. "Need a ride home?"

"Sure," Naruto said. "Just let me get my things." Naruto ran to Sek-kun's room.

"What?" Yumi asked, notice that the others were staring at her. Fu just made a strange face while the others just continued to stare at Yumi. She sighed. "Look, it's on the way. He needs to be home by noon anyway."

"But I already said I'd take him home," Sakura said. Fu nodded at this.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Yumi said. "I'm just taking Naruto home. It isn't like I'm taking him on a date or anything."

"But you know I like him!" Sakura yelled.

A loud thud of a foot stepping down a bit harder than intended caused everyone to turn to see Naruto standing in the doorway. "Sorry," he said. "I.. uh... sorry!" He bolted out the room and ran towards the exit. Sakura's eyes widened before she went after him. Yumi just smiled when Fu glared at her.

Sakura chased Naruto down the street until a car nearly ran him over. The driver was yelling at the blond as Sakura stopped behind him. She bowed and apologized before grabbing Naruto's arm and pulling him away from the angry man. The man drove off cursing stupid teens. Sakura and Naruto walked to Sakura's car, each getting in. Sakura decided that since Naruto still had his things, that driving him home now was a good idea. It would allow them to talk. She drove about five minutes before breaking the silence. "How much did you hear?"

Naruto hesitated before being honest. "Everything."

Sakura blushed. "I see." She turned slightly, making sure to keep an eye on the road. "And? How... how do you feel?" Naruto didn't say anything. All he kept picturing was Kurama telling him that she told him so. Sakura took his silence as rejection. "I see. I'm sorry to burden you with my feelings."

"They're not a burden!" Naruto said loudly. "I mean... we're friends. And um... I don't know..."

"If we could be something more," Sakura began. "Would you be interested?"

"I don't know, Sakura," Naruto said. "I just don't see you that way. I mean... I've never been in love before. I love Kohaku and Kurama and Sai and... but that's a different kind of love than what you're talking about. I guess I'm just not ready to think that way. You know, I've never even thought about it, falling in love, dating, getting married, having kids. That seems too far away, like a dream."

"Do you want to?" Sakura asked. "To one day get married and have kids?"

"I'm not sure," Naruto said. "I mean I have Kohaku to look after, but that's it. I guess that stuff would be fun. Just not now."

"Ok," Sakura said nodding. "I understand." Silence filled that car and Sakura continued to drive. Several minutes later, she pulled into Sasuke's driveway. She stopped the car and remained quiet.

"I still want us to be friends," Naruto finally said.

Sakura couldn't help but smile. "Yeah."

"Thank god!" a loud voice said, interrupting their moment. Both turned to see Kurama running towards them with Kohaku in her arms. "He won't stop crying." Naruto stepped out of the car, taking Kohaku from Kurama. The boy instantly stopped crying and clung to Naruto.

"Are you ok?" Naruto asked.

"Scawwy dweam," Kohaku said. "You leave us."

"I'm not leaving," Naruto said. "I'll always be with you."

"Realwy?" Kohaku asked.

Naruto smiled. "Really."

Sakura gasped. The smile on Naruto's face was beautiful. She realized right then and there that the one taking up most of Naruto's heart was Kohaku. She also realized that she had no chance in beating the three-year-old.

"You got him to stop crying, I see," Sai said. He had just gotten back a few hours ago. Behind him stood Sasuke. Sakura's eyes widened. She had met Sai that day at the zoo and knew he was handsome, but Sasuke was just out of this world. The man stood taller than Sai with a dominating presence. His black eyes found Sakura's but soon he refocused them on Naruto and his son. Sakura gulped. This man scared her. She watched as Naruto, Sai, and Kurama began to discuss Kohaku's nightmare. Her eyes though weren't on the four of them, but on Sasuke. The man just stood back, not saying a word, but he seems to stand out the most. Sasuke's eyes once more landed on Sakura and the girl only knew one thing, Sasuke didn't like her. This surprised a bit since they hadn't really met, as this was the first time she's seen him. But she too had to agree that she didn't like Sasuke. Yes, she found him attractive, yet something told her to stay away.

"Do you want to come in, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"No," Sakura said a bit too quickly. "I left my stuff back at Fu's. I'm gonna go back and get it. I also need to clear the air with Yumi."

Naruto nodded. "Alright! See you later then!" He managed to give a small wave while keeping Kohaku in his arms. Sakura drove off, mind stuck on Sasuke.

I had a really hard time coming up with how Yumi would react to being glared at by her friends just for offering to take Naruto home. I've never been in this situation so I didn't have anything to based the scene on. I didn't want Yumi to come across as stuck up or tactless. She had a very import role in this story that you will just have to keep reading to find out. So, don't hate her!