Ch. Sum: To actually have him there, doing what she had thought so much about, and feared so much, felt so right. She was right to just let it be.

CHAPTER 9

The walk back through the forest was tough to brave during the night. Low visibility and disorientation are only a ninja's friend when they are in a ninja's favor. For Naruto and Sakura, they were in no great hurry to return to Konoha. Sure, Sakura missed her bed, and Naruto wanted to hit the training grounds as soon as possible, but they knew better. They could walk right into death if they braved a dark forest at night, which wasn't worth it unless their presence in Konoha was urgent.

In the first clearing, the two of them set up camp. Sakura pitched the tent and made the fire, while Naruto set the traps and made very colorful threats toward any enemy who might be lurking about. He tossed most of his damp clothes to the ground, and Sakura placed them on a branch to dry. It was becoming pretty cold, so she hoped he'd be all right. At least they had thought to bring overnight supplies, save a spare pair of clothes since they had to keep their supplies at a minimum. Naruto didn't want to at first, but when Sakura laid down the law about something, he was not inclined to argue. After all, she could kill him.

Once they were all set for the evening, Naruto swung down from the trees and rubbed his arms. She almost felt bad for tossing him into the river, but she did tell him before they set out not to challenge Sasuke. He ignored her request, and thus got what he deserved for it. There was nothing he could say or do to talk her into cuddling, or anything of the sort. Nope, he needed to suffer.

When he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, she shoved him off, not liking the chill that followed one little bit. She was tempted to punch him through a few trees because of that, but thought better of it, not to mention she was physically exhausted. Before the reunion with Sasuke, she had to work Kei-chan's hours at the clinic, and they were swamped. A new line of genins joined the ninja world recently in the Leaf, and those kids all had some pretty interesting meetings with pain. The one who couldn't pull the chakra-infused trap off his butt for the life of him was a real gas. She hadn't had that much fun since the time she had a sword run through her.

The temperature was getting unreasonably brisk, so she wrapped her sleeping bag around her. Naruto set a pot of boiling water over the fire, wanting some cup ramen, and put in enough for her as well. She decided to fix herself a cup of tea to flush the cold out of her system. It worked wonders for awhile, until an unexpected breeze had swept through her sleeping bag.

"Damn it," Naruto grumbled, pawing his damp jacket and mesh shirt. "These stupid things are going to be wet all night."

Sakura opened her mouth to chastise him further on having challenged Sasuke, but she was feeling the cold even beneath her cover, so she couldn't imagine what he felt bare-chested. Not to mention his pants were still damp. At this rate the poor guy was susceptible to getting pneumonia. Old Nine Tails was great at healing wounds, but did he do anything about illness? She didn't want to find out.

"Um, Naruto?" said Sakura, cheeks suddenly ready to explode into flame. The better part of her brain was blaring like warning alarm, and her inner was telling her to quit being a pussy and be a grown woman. The problem was, both warning were correct, and she didn't know how to deal with a contradictory alliance inside her mind.

"Yeah Sakura?" said Naruto, giving her this strange look as though she had two heads, which was exactly the problem. She wanted to suggest that he, well, ditch the bottom half of his wet clothes for the evening as he slept. In the tent. With her. The problem was, sleeping in the vicinity of a naked Naruto was just a little odd. Scratch that, illegal! She couldn't possibly live that situation down.

If he was sick and bed bound as a result of her actions, though, she also would not be able to live with that. It was the medical ninja and the human being in her that wanted to prevent her teammate and best friend from meeting such a fate.

So basically, sleep by a naked Naruto and she feels awkward as a result, or she sleeps with a cold, wet Naruto and risks getting him sick, resulting in them both feeling bad. Bad as he deserved to feel for being an idiot, he didn't deserve to feel quite that bad. She may have been abusive, but she wasn't cruel.

"You might want to err…" she started, and then bit her tongue, refusing to let it go tied. Her inner was not helping, by chantingstrip, strip, strip! What had she done to deserve cruelty of this caliber? "… just…"

"Are you feeling OK, Sakura? You're acting all weird."

Strip, strip, strip! Sakura couldn't take it. She covered her face in her hands and screamed. This was simply maddening. She was two seconds away from tearing out all of her hair in frustration. There was nothing perverted about her intentions whatsoever, ignoring that warm little tingle between her legs and all. It was her job as a woman of pride and dignity to make a man earn those goods, and Naruto certainly wasn't even entitled to a bit of body warmth, let alone… she wasn't going to go there. Not a chance in hell.

"Granted you don't lay another finger on me tonight," said Sakura, just before Naruto could get his hands on her shoulders to calm her down. He backed off quickly and turned his listening ears toward her. "I want you to lose your pa… the bottom half of your attire before you crawl into bed tonight. Don't… want you to get ill or anything."

She could see the lewd comment boiling in his eyes, she really could, and not just because her inner was siding with his thoughts. Lucky for him he kept that devious tongue of his bit, or else her fist would be halfway through his skull at the moment. There was going to be a naked boy in her personal bubble that evening. Sleep? Not likely. Death? Only if she died of embarrassment, or if he so much as breathed funny in her direction. Maybe both would happen, and then they'd meet in heaven and she'd kick his sorry ass for all of eternity.

The thought of spending all of eternity with Naruto ended the mean thought pattern right there. How could one boy make her feel such a wide range of emotions? He made her feel a little bit of everything, didn't he? Never a dull moment with Uzumaki Naruto, that was for sure.

"I'm going to sleep. Please… sleep dry, and don't touch me if you do, and even if you don't," said Sakura with a yawn. Her only chance at sleep was if she fell fast asleep before he got in. That was what she was going for, and he seemed to understand. He was good for that sometimes. "Good night."

"'Night, Sakura-chan," said Naruto, trying to draw whatever warmth the feeble flame gave him. She knew that she had done the right thing, and hoped that he would as well, despite how awkward it would be. Some sacrifices were worth making, no matter how low her sanity was at the moment.

As she buried herself into her sleeping bag, getting no satisfactory warmth out of it at all, she concentrated hard on her breathing. She could not allow herself to be bombarded with thoughts of Sasuke, because then she would never get to sleep. Similarly, being bombarded with thoughts of Naruto was no better. No, thoughts of being buried in his taut chest, with his warm breath tumbling over her pink locks were forbidden. His hands brushing circles tight and wide over the small of her back, fingers snaked down the hem of her skirt as he gave her rump a thorough examination. His lips burning crazy trails along the outline of her jaw and collar bone. He was so good; she started whispering his name, then uttering his name, then moaning it.

The first moan caught his attention, much to her chagrin. He was halfway in the tent, peering over at the sleeping bag she was now trying to hide herself in. OK, him sleeping in their tent naked with no touching? Nothing, nothing compared to him catching her…fantasizing about him. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't all that stupid.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan? Are you feeling sick?" Rather, fortunately, because he considered all of the options, and not just the perverted one. All she had to do was pretend she had to go hurl in the woods and that would cover that embarrassing little slip up.

She didn't have the energy, or the will to drag herself out of the tent, even if she genuinely did feel queasy. She liked where she was, hiding from his eyes and pretending she was going to disappear any moment. There was no holding her accountable for her actions if she looked up at him. She would either punch him halfway to Sunagakure, despite the fact that he didn't even deserve it, or she would hop into his arms and wouldn't let him go until they had mind-boggling sex all the way until dawn. They couldn't do that, though, because they weren't officially… that is to say, they hadn't tied the… too early to…

Where were all of these standards coming from? What could she do to get every single voice in her to SHUTTHEFUCKUP so she could do something, the right thing, the wrong thing, the stupid thing, the smart thing, or all of them, without any regrets?

"Come here please," said Sakura, sounding way too miserable. What she wouldn't give just to tune out all of the combating voices in her head for even a few seconds. She wanted some peace, comfort, and company. If every conscious piece of her was going to be mean and eat her sanity, then she would just do exactly what she felt she wanted. Screw what Naruto "deserved" or whatever. There was no one out there to judge her but herself, because Naruto never did judge her. He just loved her unconditionally.

That was precisely why she needed him.

"I packed an extra pair of boxers, so I won't be completely nude tonight…"

"I don't care about that," said Sakura, angry with the way her body chose to cleanse itself of every difficult emotion she felt. She let him crawl into her sleeping bag, and cried a little. She thought a dam had broken, but it was just a few frustrated trickles. Naruto didn't try anything funny; he just tucked her hair behind her ears and let her take her frustrations out on him. Anything was better than letting her bottle up all of her emotions. One of the things Naruto did admire about Sakura was, in fact, that she cried. Not a lot of girls her age did that anymore, which was a sign of weakness if he ever saw any. Hiding from what you really felt never did a damn bit of good. This way she could just feel what she felt and be over it in the morning.

He was glad that she turned to him for comfort, too. Now he was considered part of her, a part that wouldn't try to judge or asses her actions. What she did was what she did, and as long as she wasn't (undeservedly) hurting anyone, then who was he to argue? He didn't love the girl he loved based on what he thought she should be, but because she was real. She was passionate, bold, fun, and nice where it counted, and she was lying in his arms as he pondered all the reasons why she was just the perfect girl. The perfect one to fit him anyway.

Well, almost perfect. She had to make it clear that she wanted him the same way he wanted her. He loved her enough at this point to drag her off to the nearest temple and stick an Uzumaki before her name, but only if she wanted it. Everything here was based on what she felt and what she wanted, and whatever that was he would be there with her.

Though, admittedly, it was a bit startling to find her lips so close to his that he could feel the heat and moisture rising up off of them. He tested the waters, sweeping his lips across hers like a breeze to make it seem like an accident if her proximity wasn't conscious; however, he was pleased to find that it was very much conscious. He could have died happy in her arms as she pressed her cute lips against his. Of course he returned the gesture, while cupping her cheek and playing with the wayward strands of her hair. He must have been the only boy in Konoha that only saw beauty in the color pink, particularly if it was on Sakura's head, which smelled like some pretty shampoo. He had no other way to describe her looks, smell, and even kiss other than pretty.

In fact, she could pass for the world's most beautiful girl in his eyes at this point. There was room for no other girl in them.

When they broke the kiss, Naruto had to pull back in, just to make sure he hadn't imagined it. This was Sakura, pressed against his body which was practically naked, and would be if he hadn't thought to bring spare boxers (never know when you're going to need them.) His pretty Sakura-chan was kissing him back. She wasn't punching him, yelling at him, struggling to get away, or anything. Hell, she started it! Screw heaven, this was even better.

"Sakura, you're…"

"Naruto, shut up and hold me."

Well, he had his whole life to tell her she was pretty, and that she was the best girl in the world. If they kept at this for awhile, he may disregard any boundaries and caution whatsoever and admit out loud that he loved her. She knew, and had always known. Hearing it said was different, though.

"I've got to put the fire out. Give me a sec," said Naruto, but he didn't vacate the tent without giving her a nice, big kiss on the forehead. He always knew she had a kissable head, and that just proved it. She was cute enough to make him explode with glee.

Unless he wanted to barbeque their asses to death, though, he had to put the fire outside out, and it took longer than he thought to find a source of water in which to do so. Once he was back in the tent, though, Sakura was sleeping comfortably with her face turned toward the wall of the tent. She must have been tired, because he could hear light snores coming from her already.

So he nuzzled comfortably on his side of the tent, still tingly and giddy over the kissing and the cuddling. He knew he would dream happy things.

"Sweet dreams, Sakura."

Sakura awoke the following morning to the most wicked headache, which she connectedto all the blood that swirled through her head most of the night, and the crying. Not that it was a particularly tearful cry, but her brows were scrunched close together, so close they could have grown into each other. Speaking of which, she needed to pluck them badly. She also needed to shave her legs, take a bath, and eat chocolate bar. Maybe two chocolate bars. Hell, maybe she'd kidnap Ino and demand they had a one-on-one about her complicated life over parfaits. Ino would tell her she was on (another) diet, and Sakura would tell her the ribs were so last season, and please oh please don't let me binge on sweets by myself. That's what friends were for.

The morning was slow, first in that she didn't want to wake Naruto, who was sleeping peacefully. She smiled down at him as she sat up, and reached over to touch him, though she thought better of it. There she goes, thinking "better" again, when really she was putting herself through an unnecessary ordeal. She couldn't deny what she felt for a second.

One, Naruto was an unbelievably good kisser, and this was mouth closed, all right. His lips were a comfortable fit against hers, if a little wide, which she didn't mind one bit. That was one part of herself she never knew existed. Another part of her didn't know she'd like having her hair played with, or her ears tickled with feather light touches. The best part was him kissing her on the forehead. If only he were awake and could do it again, maybe her headache would magically disappear. She seriously wondered if that would work.

Still, he looked so peaceful that she just couldn't. Why hadn't she noticed sooner just how handsome he was? It was completely different from Sasuke, though, perhaps even the direct opposite. In Sasuke she saw a boy in darkness whose heart she could light with her love. In Naruto she saw a boy in light that could illuminate her heart even more, and lift her beyond the clouds. She had spent the years of her life since befriending Ino healing her heart, and rising above the poor image of herself she clung to. She spent years building her strength, her fervor, and her love for her team. She also learned to love herself in the process, which was the key to being acknowledged by others. She hoped this would attract Sasuke.

Instead it attracted Naruto, in such a way that he no longer was the bonehead the merely sought to get on her nerves. At least, she no longer saw him that way. Sure, he said and did dumb things. That's just what boys did (OK, and so did girls… just not as much.) Now that she had matured, he had as well. He had matured so much that she found herself in awe by him, and then found herself admiring him, aspiring to be like him.

Then somewhere along the line, she wanted so much to be with him. That night a month ago, when he asked if he could kiss her, was what put a foot in that strange door. The one inside that she had closed, locked, and barricaded from him her whole life. Still, Naruto was just that kind of guy who wouldn't let anything get between him and what he wanted. He must have really wanted her, if he finally learned which buttons of hers to push.

Those feelings must have power that would make the Kyuubi itself curl into a timid little ball, because her opinion on Sasuke was wiped clean and rewritten. She thought she could wait out his "revenge" and earn his love through perseverance and dedication. Once he saw how strong and beautiful she was, he would have been on his knees begging for her to take him. That was the initial plan, but Naruto got inside, fought, and won. Thanks to that, she wasn't overwhelmed during their reunion with Sasuke. In fact, she was able to learn feelings she never knew she had, like the fact that she didn't trust him, and the fact that he just wasn't all that gorgeous anymore. Besides, a lover who is always miserable can't possibly be very affectionate, considerate, or interesting.

She was won when Naruto's lips brushed against hers. He was so warm, welcoming, and just felt nice. To actually have him there, doing what she had thought so much about, and feared so much, felt so right. She was right to just let it be. For the millionth time that night she was right. It was fun to always be right, she decided.

Once he showed signs of stirring awake, Sakura slipped out of the tent to have some lady time, and maybe find a source of water she could splash into her face. While she was at it, she took a swig of water from her canteen, hoping that would make her headache melt away. Not on her life. Where were Naruto's lips when she needed them?

"Hey, Sakura, where'd you go?" Naruto called out, and Sakura told him to give her a few. She ran toward flowing water at the valley, and though it wasn't safe for drinking, it was refreshing to splash against her face. It would take them a couple hours to get back to Konoha at top speed, which suited her just fine. She wouldn't even mind a detour or two, if Naruto was feeling affectionate, and her morning breath went away. Why didn't she remember to pack toothpaste?

"'Morning, beautiful," said Naruto, approaching her fully dressed and happy as a lamb. Her clothes and hair were a mess, she hadn't bathed in over 48 hours, her breath was atrocious, and she had a killer headache which irritated the shit out of her, and he considered her beautiful. Something about this relationship worked. It just did.

No vulgar remarks from her inner would leave her unnerved, nor would the chastising prude in her screaming like a banshee. Nope, her thoughts got her nowhere, so she just wasn't going to think about this anymore. She was just going to let it be. If it seemed right, and it felt right, could it possibly be wrong? Only if it were some twisted genjutsu, but she was good at evading things like that.

"Good morning, Naruto."

to be continued…

A/N: Together at last! I have tears in my eyes. Also, I want to thank all of my reviewers. It is a bit overwhelming that my first fan fic has reached over 100 reviews. Wow, I never thought I would be good at this either.