The original version. Not overly fond of it, but here it is regardless.

Summary

Teen love can be so complicated. It's awkward enough confessing to someone your own age, but a 30 year-old woman who sees you as a kid brother? Naruto's just thrown himself into the lion's den.

It was 9PM, give or take. It was quite a pleasant night in the village hidden among the leaves. One could glance up and see a starry night sky, complimented by a near full moon. While somewhat late, the streets were bustling with life. Couples strolled along, hands intertwined, enjoying the village ambiance. Vendors displayed their wares with bold flare, hoping to catch the eye of any passerby.

Our story however, does not concern these people. It concerns a blonde, orange and black clad boy and his crush. This boy, Naruto Uzumaki, walked at a steady pace, hands in his pockets and eyes staring straight at the ground. The boy was overcome by all sorts of conflicting emotions; love, fear, excitement, worry.

'Get yourself together, dammit.' Naruto thought to himself. He had stared death in the face on more than one occasion, but he had never been this terrified before. His breathing grew heavier as he forced his legs to walk. He was only a few minutes away from her place. If he had the time, he would have gone to Ichiraku's for a bite. Ramen always helped calm his nerves.

But he couldn't, it was getting late and he knew she had quite the busy schedule. Naruto didn't want to risk bothering her at an inconvenient time. Moreover, while dense, he knew it wouldn't exactly be wise to have ramen breath while confessing. Despite all this, Naruto was quite lucky. Usually she went to bed not long after getting off work, but today she had been let off early. 'She's such a hard worker. Granny really oughta let her off early more often.'

Naruto's feet came to a halt. Here he was, at her apartment. After taking a few moments to mentally prepare himself, he grasped the front door handles and made his way in. The blonde ninja reached into his pocket, and grabbed a crinkled-up piece of paper. 'So, her apartment number starts with 2, that must mean she's on the second floor.'

After shoving the piece of paper back in his pocket, Naruto brought his right hand to his chin, and quickly scanned the room. "Ah, there it is!" He exclaimed to himself. It was just a standard flight of stairs, but to Naruto, it felt like some sort of ascension into hell. Not only was nausea setting in, but his legs started to feel like Jell-O. Each step seemed to take a lifetime. After seemingly an eternity, the boy had finished his ascent.

After quickly glancing at the doors in the hallway, his eyes stopped. 'This is it! Don't chicken out now!' Naruto gulped, then softly slapped himself on the cheek. This was the final stretch, there were only a few more steps to go! He approached her door at an agonizingly slow pace. What should've taken mere seconds seemed to take minutes. He brought his fist up to her door and braced himself.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

The sound of scurrying footsteps could be heard, as well as a few oinks. Naruto's heart rate increased as he heard the click sound of the door unlocking. The knob twisted, followed by the door opening, revealing the figure of an attractive woman. She had medium length black hair, black eyes, and wore a modest, blue kimono. She was also carrying a small pig.

She recognized the boy and gave him a soft smile. "Hi, Naruto! This is quite the surprise, what brings you here?" Naruto quickly brought his hand to his forehead, wiping away whatever sweat he could manage. While sporting his usual attire, he wasn't wearing his headband. The cloth was usually quite efficient at absorbing sweat.

"U-uh, h-hi Shizune a-and Tonton!" He stuttered. "C-can I come i-in for a b-bit?" Shizune was concerned over how nervous he sounded. This wasn't the confident, determined Naruto she knew. A worried expression came over her as she looked the boy over. Noticing him squirming in anticipation, she sighed.

"It's okay, Naruto. You can come in." She opened the door further and let Naruto in. After closing the door behind her, she walked into her living room. She took a seat on her couch, and gestured for Naruto to join her. He gulped, then nodded, and plopped himself down on the couch next to Shizune.

"So, what do you want to talk about, Naruto?" The woman asked. Naruto clenched his fists and opened his mouth. "I LOVE Y-" He quickly cut himself off, mentally cursing himself for slipping up so soon. This wasn't how it was supposed to go! He meant to build up to it! Shizune smiled for a few seconds. Then finally registered what the boy had declared. Her expression changed to that of complete shock.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

In her panic she dropped Tonton. The pig let out a sharp squeal and ran off into another room. Naruto darted off the couch and began shouting apologies. "I'm so sorry, Shizune. I-I meant to start off a bit more subtle, but I messed up big time!" He turned away from her out of embarrassment, and started nervously scratching the back of his head.

'He really loves me?' Shizune thought to herself. She took a breath and got up. She grasped Naruto's arm and turned him around to face her. "I-its okay, Naruto. W-we can t-talk about this." They both sat down again, and Naruto started.

"Well… ever since I met you, back when me and the pervert were looking for granny Tsunade, I've had these funny feelings about you." He averted his gaze and continued. "You were so kind, a-and cute. I couldn't believe someone like you could be so close to a grouch like granny!" Shizune blushed at the cute remark.

'Cute? I can't remember the last time someone called me that…'

"At first, it was just a crush. But after coming to know you, the real Shizune, I've come to l-love you." Her blushed spread even further. "You're kind, strong, and beautiful. That old pervert is always going on about how great granny looks, but compared to you… she isn't even close."

Shizune sputtered for a bit, trying to come up with an appropriate response. A few seconds later, she had gathered her thoughts. "But what about Sakura? I thought you loved her?" Naruto chuckled nervously. "She's cute, that's for sure. And I do care for her a lot, but… I don't love her. Not like that at least." He scratched his cheek and gave a weak grin.

"What about the age difference? I'm 15 years older than you!"

Naruto stared deep into her eyes. "I don't care. In the grand scheme of things, 15 years isn't that much! And besides…" Naruto put his hands on hips and puffed out his chest. "I'm a ninja, remember? I'm practically an adult!" Shizune chuckled at his bravado.

While still somewhat flabbergasted over Naruto's revelations, she couldn't help entertaining the idea of reciprocating his feelings 'He is brave, and strong, and… cute.' She pinched the bridge of her nose. 'And he's had such a positive impact on Tsunade's and my lives. I don't know where we'd be if it wasn't for him…'

Shizune shook her head. 'No! It just isn't right. He's like a little brother to me and a son to Tsunade. I couldn't.' She put her hands on his shoulders and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I know you feel the way that you do, but it just wouldn't be right for me to reciprocate." Naruto was downcast at this. "Oh… I see." He muttered, refusing to make eye contact. "I still care about you a lot, Naruto. I really don't want this to come between our friendship… We're still friends, aren't we?"

His lips twitched into a weak grin. "Y-yeah, we're still friends."

Shizune's heart sunk into her chest. The Fourth Shinobi World War had just ended, and the hero and champion of the Shinobi alliance, Naruto Uzumaki, her Naruto, was gravely injured. Upon returning to the Leaf Village, Naruto and Sasuke had been rushed to the hospital. Both missing an arm and suffering from severe chakra exhaustion, the situation was extremely dire.

For those few days after the war ended, Shizune felt a despair she had never felt before. As the days and months went by after his confession, Shizune's feelings had only deepened for the boy. Try as she may to deny it, she couldn't help but fall in love with his determined spirit.

It seemed as if she was about to lose the man she loved. And that man didn't even know how much she loved him. She cursed herself repeatedly for keeping her feelings bottled up. She swore to herself that if Naruto made it, she'd tell him how she felt, no matter what.

Shizune was right by Naruto's side the entire time. When she wasn't working to heal him, she spent as much time as possible just being with him. She never wanted to be away from him again.

Despite all her worries, Naruto survived. He always survived against all odds. Part of it was because of the fox, but Shizune knew there was more to it. Naruto had a fire, an iron will that refused to give up. She desperately hoped that his refusal to give up also applied to his feelings towards her.

Not too long after his condition had stabilized, Naruto woke up. It was late, the only person in the room besides him was a sleeping Shizune. He groggily forced his eyelids open and noticed a familiar black-haired woman, her head resting against his feet, snoring lightly.

"Sh-Shizune?"

Shizune's eyes twitched open and she proceeded to yawn. Then she froze. 'Did he just say my name?'

She jerked her head and looked towards Naruto. She noticed he was smiling. It wasn't a wide, toothy grin, but it was genuine. He was happy, and that alone made Shizune feel at ease. Naruto began to speak, but Shizune brought her right index finger to his lips, silencing him.

"I love you, Naruto." She said with a warm smile.

His eyes widened. Shizune removed her finger and brought her face closer to Naruto's. Black met blue as they gazed deeply into each other's eyes. They could each feel the other's breath, their hearts beating in unison.

"I love you too, Shizune." Naruto replied, this time revealing a few teeth as he smiled.

Shizune leaned in and both lips met in a passionate kiss. A moment neither of them ever wanted to end.