Prompt: Naruto and Sakura's friendship.

a/n: At the time when I wrote this, there was so much shit going on about narusaku and I was becoming upset because I felt like their friendship and the hardships that they went through together was overlooked and it just became about pairings! Yuck. Sp this was my attempt to remind people of that.


And then they Laughed

She felt completely stupid, obsessing about her first kiss, as if it was her number one priority in life. It aggravated her to no end, reminding her of what a fool she had been during her gennin days.

It was an incessant, unpleasant, and completely ridiculous idea that would not leave Sakura's thoughts. It nagged at her brain. She tried, really tried, to stay focused on the endless sentences about performance enhancing drugs. Every article, no matter how detailed, always led to incomplete theories. Her distracting and trivial thoughts only thrived from her lack of success.

She couldn't blame it all on her research. Even though, the only reason she was reading these mundane and ultimately useless articles was because of him. She had been thinking about Sasuke Uchiha, ever since she saw him two weeks ago, the first time she had seen him in years.

She was rather frustrated with herself over her wide range of feelings. When she saw him, she was so relieved to find him healthy and alive. She was so happy and stunned by the sight of him. And then, after he disappeared, leaving with Oorochimaru once again, she found herself thinking about superficial and down right unimportant things.

Like how handsome he had become. She had always found Sasuke attractive, but the sight of him after three years only cemented that realization. When he called out her name, goosebumps had invaded her entire body. His voice had become deeper and more mature. Despite his physical changes, he seemed just as intent on his revenge as he was when he was thirteen.

She sighed in irritation, sitting down on the bench, where he had left her years ago. Clenching her fists, she shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of the tortuous thought that currently occupied her mind.

She was brought out of her thoughts, when she saw Naruto walking towards her. The smell of homemade ramen in the to go cup was no doubt responsible for the grin on his face.

"Hello, Sakura-chan!" he greeted, sitting beside her and taking out his dinner. He uncovered his steaming bowl of ramen, snapping his chopsticks in half and began his meal.

"What brings you here?" he asked with a mouthful of ramen tucked into his right cheek.

Sakura mustered the best smile she could make, "I'm just getting some air." she said, "That library was getting stuffy." She returned her stare to her shoes, making small holes in the dirt with her toes.

The only noise between them was the sound of Naruto's loud slurping. After he finished his last bite, he exhaled dramatically, acting as if the meal was his saving grace.

"No you're not, Sakura-chan." he said, no longer cheerful, but contemplative, "You wouldn't be here, of all places, if you were just "getting some air."

Sakura didn't even try to deny Naruto's assumption. She looked at him, confirming everything he already knew.

"So," he said, a sigh leaving him, "What is it?"

Sakura shifted uncomfortably. She would rather take ten of her master's punches, than tell Naruto about her completely irrelevant and embarrassing thoughts about her first kiss. Or rather, her lack of a first kiss from a certain Uchiha.

"It's nothing." she said, averting all eye contact. Naruto scowled at the blatant lie, pouting his lips and crossing his arms in such a boyish manner.

"Sakura-chan!" he berated, "Don't lie to me!"

"I'm not!" she exclaimed.

"Sakura-chan." he practically shouted, frustrated over her indirect answer.

"I've never been kissed!" she shouted. She gasped in realization at the words that slipped out of her mouth. She didn't even mean to say them. They just happened. It was as if her brain couldn't register the actions of her mouth.

She quickly looked away from Naruto, embarrassed beyond comprehension. But as the silence continued between the two friends, she decided to elaborate. Partially to explain her trivial thoughts, but mostly to vent out her own frustrations.

"It's just," she started, searching for the correct words. She had trouble admitting that she wanted to give her first kiss to Sasuke. It had been something she would have proudly declared as a genin. But now it just seemed selfish and shallow.

"I just thought it would have happened by now." she finally said, however her unspoken words were loud and clear. She had thought Sasuke would be with them.

Unsettled by Naruto's lack of response, she turned in his direction, only to be met with the most terrifying sight. Naruto's lips were puckered in the most comical and exaggerated way. He was leaning in, eyes closed tight, and getting dangerously closer and closer.

"What are you doing!" she screamed, slamming her fist into Naruto's cheek, effectively pushing him away. She was completely livid. How dense could he get? She didn't want her first kiss with him! The blond headed ninja brought his hand to his cheek, soothing the pain he brought on to himself.

"Geez, Sakura-chan." he said, "I just wanted to be the first kiss for both of my teammates!"

Sakura's outrage quickly dissipated from Naruto's words. It had been replaced with an image of her two teammates accidentally kissing each other. The look of pure mortification and complete disgust overtaking both of their features. She remembered how utterly surprised she had been when the event happened. She could only watch their kiss in horror, believing, at the time, that it was her worst nightmare.

Naruto grinned as he noticed the unfortunate memory flash across her face. Sakura let out a strained giggle, attempting to hold the force within herself. However, it was completely futile. Moments later, she was bursting with laughter, breathless and uncontrollable laughter.

Naruto started to laugh along with her, satisfied with his plan. Both he and Sasuke had avoided that memory, like a cat running from water. It was not a shining moment for either of them. But it was somewhat nice to look at the silliness of their genin days.

The laughter between the two teammates settled down. Happiness replacing the frustration she had been feeling. "Thank you, Naruto." she said, giggling slightly from the horrendous memory.

"Not a problem," Naruto grinned, "Besides, I think it's good that you're thinking about your first kiss with Sasuke."

Sakura blushed slightly at Naruto's blatant accusation. Instead of answering him, she opted to hit him over his head.

"Whenever you kiss a girl for real," she scolded, "You better not do it after eating ramen!"

End.


A/N: So I'm not sure how I feel about my own writing right now. Part of me was like "this is such a good idea" then another part was like "meh." Oh well I had fun writing it, it's actually one of my favorites. I like to focus on other relationships besides the main pairings.

much love

-us