Child of the Leaf
Chapter Sixteen
by operadeglace
(A little lemony, beware… Happy NaruSaku Day!)
Sixteen years ago…
The morning light filtered through Sakura's room in bright beams, blinding Sakura as she pried her eyes open. They were still puffy from the tears she had cried the night previous. She rolled lazily in her bed and made a very important discovery…
She was not laying in her bed at all.
And she was very naked.
Peeking from swollen eyes, she unsuccessfully tried to distinguish her exact coordinates, wrapping the foreign sheet to her body.
As she took a deep, calming breath, she picked up the familiar scent of ramen, and cedar wood floor, telling her all that she needed to know.
"Right… I'm at Naruto's." Sakura says in mild disbelief, blushing as certain events from the last evening replayed in her mind.
"You're… so beautiful, Sakura-chan… like a glimpse into heaven."
His moans in her ears, needy, wanting, full of desire for her as he…
Sakura quickly shook her head as her body started to become flushed… with strange… urges…
'Sasuke-kun. Remember… you love Sasuke-kun. Naruto was just a one time thing only.' She desperately tried to reassure herself, pulling at her pink hair in frustration.
Sighing in exasperation, the flustered medic nin shuffles around the small confines of Naruto's room, trying to find at least one article of her her dismay, nothing of hers was found.
The sound of activity in the kitchen prompted her to quickly pull on one of Naruto's shirts that was strewn along the floor.
For a moment, she enjoyed how comfortable the shirt was against her skin and how surprisingly good it smelled. After regaining her senses, Sakura slowly enters the kitchen, watching Naruto for a moment as he stood over his stove, steam whirling in front of his rather determined face.
"Where are my clothes, Naruto?" Sakura asks as she leans against the frame of the kitchen. A smirk appears on her face as he jumps slightly, banging his head on his cabinets before turning to face her.
"A-ah, yeah… they're… somewhe—" He halts the scratching of his head as he sees what she was wearing. "Whoa, HOT." Naruto shoves his thumbs up his nose as he feels an oncoming nosebleed.
"I'll never wash that shirt now." He says, making Sakura grin. It felt nice to be desired in such a sensual way…
"Like you ever washed it before." She responds, feeling brave enough to saunter towards the whiskered boy.
"Point taken, S-Sakura-chan." Naruto takes a big gulp as Sakura pressed herself against him, looking over his shoulder innocently.
"Can I eat whatever you're cooking?" She heard him draw another gulp.
"Can we… do fun things in my bed again?" He asked without missing a beat, his hands raised slightly in defense, as if anticipating a Sakura-Punch to his noggin. She retorted with a wink.
"I dunno. If your food is edible, I will definitely consider it." Her flirtatious words were stoking a dangerous fire within her.
The food wasn't ramen, so it was terrible…
But, they entered the afternoon doing fun things in his bed anyway.
Afterwards, as they bathed in the afterglow, Naruto sighed happily in Sakura's bare lap as she shifted her hands gently through his hair.
He knew that she had originally come because of that guy, his seemingly eternal rival, but he was going to make sure that she left knowing that he loved her more than he thought that dude ever could…
"Sakura-chan… I love you." He spits out loudly, in a very Naruto-esque way.
Sakura's hand ceases its stroking.
"I love you so much, it hurts me sometimes." He closes his eyes tightly, attempting to pour as much passion into his words as he could, hoping that she would maybe consider them seriously.
"You aren't perfect." He states suddenly, catching Sakura off her guard.
Wasn't he just saying how much he loved her?
"You're moody and you lose your temper easily."
Now he was making a casual list, and with each imperfection he named about her, her anger level rose, higher and higher…
"You're scary and violent when you're angry. Sometimes you say mean things without thinking about others' feelings."
She was in the process of winding her arm back to give him a good thump on the head.
"But, I still love you."
Green eyes softened and moistened above him, unbeknownst to the rambling blonde.
"You know you have flaws, but you learn from them and become better. Stronger. Whenever I'm around you, I want to become better, too."
Sakura felt her chest burn with a strange sensation as she listened to her former team mate.
"Your smile is the best, Sakura-chan."
More burning. It felt like her heart was being branded with a red hot iron.
"And, that forehead…"
Oh, bother. Don't mention that huge billboard on my head… and you were doing so well, Naruto…
"It still makes me want to kiss it."
Sakura smiles and grabs his head quickly, feeling an overwhelming desire to kiss the blonde in her lap.
So she does.
Later that evening, a tired yet spiritually invigorated Sakura sat down at her desk to write an entry in her beloved pink diary.
April 3rd
Spent the day with Naruto.
I feel so many things!
Imperfect, yet beautiful.
Desired.
Wanted.
I feel like I could fall in love with him.
Then her eyes widened in recognition at a familiar sounding statement that Naruto had made, which haunted her immediate thoughts…
What did he mean by 'It still makes me want to kiss it?'
Sakura scratches out her previous comment in her journal as she realizes the exact significance of the words he unwittingly spoke.
I feel like I could fall in love with him.
I love him.
April 3rd. Never forget.
All these years she thought she was in love with Sasuke for what he said to her on that bench…
When it was Naruto in disguise, literally.
"You sure have a large, charming forehead. It makes me want to kiss it."
Somehow, she always knew.
This posed a problem…
-The End of Chapter 16.
-Story by ODG
— Happy NaruSaku Day! :) Thank you all for your kind comments! I don't have time to answer them all this time, but please send me a PM if you'd like me to! :) And, once again, haters... why are you here? Honestly? This is a safe space for all NaruSaku! :)
NaruSaku forever!
