Series: Naruto

Pairing: NaruHina

Author: Lynns

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi

Type: Humor/Romance

Author Note: Alright let's go for chapter two! This little plot bunny came to me as I was drifting off to sleep.

Ashita

Crush

Six Months Before the Wedding:

Ramen was certainly not her first choice when it came to choosing a meal. However in circumstances like this when your stomach is so hungry that even the bark off a tree would seem appetizing, Sakura made the exception of eating out at Ichiraku's tonight. After a long shift at the hospital with some injured genin and sick children where the flu was spreading like wild fire, she was certainly not in the mood for cooking at all.

Her feet crunched loudly in the newly fallen snow, echoing off the walls of the street giving the atmosphere a very lonely feeling. Everyone in Konoha was either sleeping or out of town on a mission, but at this time of the night she was thankful that Ichiraku stayed open as late as they did. As she neared the ramen stand, she wasn't sure whether to be shocked or not seeing the familiar orange back of her fellow teammate. He was on his fourth bowl of pork ramen, or at least that was her guess judging by the three empty bowls beside him. Smiling, she moved the curtain aside and took the seat right next to him.

"Konbanwa, Sakura-chan! Late night at the hospital?" Asked Ayame.

Sakura nodded, "I didn't want to cook tonight, especially when I have to be back there early in the morning. One Miso-ramen please."

"You got it!"

As Ayame headed into the back, Sakura turned her attention to the blonde ninja who was grinning down at her, "Konbanwa, Sakura-chan."

"Konbanwa. What are you doing out this late at night? I thought our honorable Sixth Hokage warned you about training this late at night."

Both of them laughed.

"I am following the Hokage's knowledgeable advice *snicker*, but honestly I'm just waiting for Hinata. She and her team are arriving back late tonight, so I just wanted to make sure she got home safe."

"Aw look at you. You two aren't even married yet and you're already practicing at being a good husband."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Well, I guess. She does it for me all the time when I arrive home late after a long mission; I just wanted to return the favor and show her how much I appreciate it."

Sakura smiled, "Well good to see that Konoha's knucklehead is learning the rules of being in a relationship."

"Hey! I know I was slow at first with all this "noticing how much Hinata loved me"! We have been going out for a year now and I'm starting to get the hang of it."

She patted him on the shoulder, "I'm just teasing you. I'm happy for you two."

Naruto smirked and called to Ayame that he wanted another two bowls of pork ramen. A comfortable silence fell over the two comrades and for a moment her thoughts drifted to Sasuke. It had been almost over seven months since she last heard from him, and she wondered if he was doing well.

"I miss him too."

It didn't surprise her that he was able to tell what she was thinking. After all they had been through together trying to bring Sasuke back, they would always forever share a special bond between them; likes siblings did.

"I wish he would write more often, but I do understand that he's off trying to find the answers he needs . . . and he's probably off somewhere far away right now."

Naruto nodded, "I tried sending him an invitation to our wedding. Hinata hopes it will reach him, but I think by the time he gets it the wedding will be over."

Sakura smiled sadly, "Keep your fingers crossed, he might get it in time."

Silence once again fell between them. The wind started to pick up, howling softly in the air as snow swirled around them. She closed her eyes, feeling a cold chill against her cheek and her thoughts drifting off. It had been a long time since her and Naruto had been completely alone together. Ever since he had become the hero of Konoha, Naruto at first always had fan girls around him; wanting to get his attention. Then after the battle with Toneri, the fan girls thankfully went away, but then it was always Hinata he was with. Not that she mined of course, she was more than thrilled to see the two of them finally together! Heck she had been cheering Hinata on since before the fourth ninja war that Naruto would finally notice her.

However, there was an elephant in the room that still needed to be addressed. Questions she had always pondered that perhaps tonight, she would get answers to . . . and finally put everything to rest.

Ayame appeared bringing three steaming bowls of ramen, "Here you go guys! This will have to be our last order of the night, we are closing down now. However if you guys want to stay and chat to keep warm you are free too! We just need to put the ramen supplies away."

"Thanks Ayame-chan!" chirped Naruto, breaking a fresh pair of chopsticks to dig into his fifth bowl of ramen.

Smiling, Ayame disappeared into the back again leaving the two of them alone.

Sakura reached for her own chopsticks, but before Naruto could dig into his meal she decided to get the conversation going, "So, Naruto . . . why did you like me back then?"

Naruto froze, his chopsticks mere millimeters over the steaming bowl in front of him, "Eh? When did I . . . what are you talking about Sakura-chan?"

Sitting up a little bit taller, Sakura turned to look him in the eye, "I realized a little while ago that you and I never really talked about your crush on me. For a while there you were always trying to ask me out on dates, get my attention, and heck even in front of your father calling me your girlfriend.

"Obviously with you marrying Hinata and finally seeing how much she loves you; you finally realized that what you felt for me was not actual "love" . . . however like I said we never talked about it. With your wedding coming up, I just want to make sure that this . . . this thing we kind of had is dead and gone."

"Sakura-chan . . . I don't . . ."

"For the record I'm in no way trying to change your mind or anything about marrying Hinata. You love her to death and the same goes for her, I just . . . I just want to finally have this conversation with you. It's been like an unspoken agreement between us that you've moved on, however I just feel things will be even better if we finally talk about it instead of acting like it never happened. Do you understand?"

Naruto smiled a little, "Yeah, I get what you're saying now."

"So then Mr. Uzumaki, care to explain why it was me you crushed on for so long instead of any other girl? I'm also more so curious how you noticed me and not Hinata; who was always constantly watching and admiring you."

"What can I say I wasn't very sharp back then, but to answer your question . . ." Naruto took a moment, taking a sip of his ramen, "I just felt like we had something in common. You always seemed to be trying to get Sasuke's attention and acknowledgment. Which is something I was wanting from the whole village; to be noticed and acknowledged. I knew how you felt, and I thought since we shared something so similar . . .

"I liked you because we had that in common. Also I thought you were pretty, you were one of the smartest girls in the class, and if I got you acknowledge me for being strong and not the class failure . . . maybe I wouldn't have felt so broken and lonely."

Sakura gasped.

"But don't feel bad! I was just a silly kid! I mean looking back at it now, I really went about it the wrong way! You have to understand though, I didn't have anyone to teach me how to interact with people and I certainly had no idea what "love" was. Looking back on it now, I have to admit Sakura-chan . . . that I never loved you in that way. The way I see it now, it's more like . . . or rather how I think it would be like loving . . ."

"A sister?"

Naruto smiled, "Yeah. Like how I love Sasuke too, as a brother. You guys are like my older siblings. I did kind of realize it early on you would never see me like that, mind you that does beg the question of why I still asked you out on dates, even though I knew you would never say yes.

"This may sound terrible, but I just got a kick out of your reaction. You'd always kind of blush and yell at me, I just found it funny. Even though I knew we would never be a couple, I just always liked getting a reaction out of you."

Sakura gave him a nudge with her elbow, "That's how siblings do act, they tease each other. While I too am an only child, I've seen it enough to know what it is like. I've seen you like a younger brother too, Naruto. And with that said, I never did apologize for my "confession" that time, which you completely saw through."

"What the hell was that really about anyway?"

"Doesn't matter. I was basically just trying to get you back to Konoha to stop chasing Sasuke-kun, however now that I look back on it; it was indeed a horrible plan. My mistake was misjudging you completely, I thought that if I told you the words you had been wanting to hear for so long that you would stop hurting and putting yourself in danger for Sasuke-kun."

Naruto stared at her.

"I know! I know! It was a dumb plan like I said! I never should have done that in the first place. I just didn't want to see my "brother" hurting anymore, and I did something without thinking. Plus seeing how dark of a place Sasuke-kun was going . . . I had to try something at least . . "

He placed his hand on her shoulder, "In the end it worked out. It may have taken me a long time, but thanks to you; and I hate to admit Toneri too, I finally saw what was right in front of me all these years. I now know what love is and now that I have it, I never want to let Hinata go. I will be with her until my dying breath."

Sakura smiled and rubbed his head, "Good. I'm glad we had this talk. Not sure about you, but I feel like the air is a bit clearer now."

Naruto slurped down his bowl in what seemed like one gulp before reaching for the next one, "It does. Maybe though you could answer a question for me that I always wondered."

"Go ahead, free for all questions tonight!"

"When did you start liking Sasuke?"

Sakura froze, "Pardon?"

"I know you love Sasuke, but I was just wondering when did you start liking him and why?"

"Oh well I . . . I love him because . . . he is someone who . . . I . . ."

"Sakura-chan?"

She couldn't speak, no words were coming to her. Ever since she was a child she had loved Sasuke, so why was it so hard to tell Naruto why?

"Naruto-kun?"

The blonde ninja whipped around and the brightest smile appeared on her face, "Hinata! You're back!"

Sakura watched as Naruto left his bowl of ramen to run off and give his fiancé a huge hug. She could hear Hinata laughing and telling Naruto to put her down; at this moment she felt intrusive. Taking a last sip out of her ramen, she put the empty bowl on the counter and paid for her meal.

"Thanks for keeping me company, Naruto! You and Hinata have a good night!"

Naruto frowned, "Ah, wait Sakura-chan! Do you want us to walk you home?"

Sakura laughed, "Don't even start that little brother! I'll be fine! Glad to see you're back safely, Hinata! You two have a good night!"

She waved goodbye to them. A smile spread across her face seeing Naruto taking Hinata's hand, the two momentarily stopping at the Ichiraku's to pay his bill before walking his fiancé home.

Once again she was alone in the street. However now Naruto's question would not stop echoing in her head.

Why do you love Sasuke?

She had liked him back when they were children. He was the best out of the boys and she was the smartest out of the girls. In her child-like mind they were a perfect match, the perfect couple. As they entered the academy, it had then turned almost into an obsession with him. He was the best at everything, he was calm and cool and just so cute!

Sakura laughed at lout on how silly and just being a typical girl, crushing on the coolest boy in the academy. It had lasted until they had been put on the same team. That's when she started to see the real Sasuke.

She saw a glimpse of who he really was.

Sakura stopped. A glimpse.

Why do you love Sasuke?

Sasuke could be kind. Sasuke protected her at times. Sasuke . . .Sasuke was . . .

Sasuke could be cruel. Sasuke had lots of anger and thoughts of revenge in him. He had been lost in the dark for so long, and even now there was still some of that darkness in him. Memories of his cruel words to her and the genjutsu he had put her under during the last battle; it sent terror and shivers down her spine.

Was it only those small glimpses that she saw that made her feel like she loved him? Was it still an obsession?

No that can't be it! It just can't be it!

The answer was starting to become bright as day and she didn't like where it was going.

Seeing all the couples together like Naruto and Hinata, Ino and Sai . . . it was becoming clearer to her what it really meant to love someone. Had she really been loving Sasuke for all the wrong reasons?

Thinking back on it now, when had he ever shown he had loved her back? She cared for him, that was for certain; but trying to find the reasons why she loved him were just near impossible to find. Was she still trapped in her obsession with how perfect he had been? This imaginary person in her head of who she wanted him to be?

She had stayed true to him, never giving up on her feelings for him all these years, but were these feelings real?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone running towards her; the loud crunching of the snow against their shoes giving them away instantly.

Sakura turned around, a gust of wind brushing against her face; making her realize for the first time that she had been crying.

Green met pale violet eyes, Hinata stood before her; her breath coming out in small puffs of steam from running after her. Sakura tried to talk and ask her friend what was wrong. But her throat just felt too tight and that if she did speak more tears would come out.

"If I asked you to describe how water tasted could you tell me?"

For a moment Sakura's previous thoughts were quickly swept away and was replaced by confusion from Hinata's question.

"What?"

"Describe to me how water tastes."

Now Sakura was even more confused.

What the hell kind of question is that?

"You can't right? Water can taste refreshing and so good that you'll drink lots of it. It's something you need to live! Yet if someone were to ask you what it tastes like or why you like it so much there is no answer you can give."

Sakura could only stare at her.

"Love is exactly like that. You can't explain it at times. I could go on about the reasons why I love Naruto-kun, however there are things that I can't explain things! In harsh reality, I should have given up on thinking Naruto could ever love me like I loved him. I tried to get him to notice me, I confessed to him . . . nothing seemed to work. However this feeling that I can't explain never went away, no matter how many times I cried over the situation. Now look at us though! In six months he will be my husband!

"Don't try to put logic to your feelings Sakura-chan! I know how you feel and you start trying to logically think why you love the person that you do, but truth be told there is no answer. Sasuke-kun may not be here right now, but be patient! You two have gone down a rough road together, but when he comes back you two can start all over again! Let him find himself and the answers he is searching for. Don't give up!"

Hearing Hinata's words, Sakura felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. The tears suddenly stopped and all negative thoughts were gone from her mind. She could feel the tightness leaving her throat, and finally now she could speak properly, "Thank you Hinata. I really needed that."

The Hyuuga nodded and bid her goodnight before running back to where she assumed Naruto was waiting for her.

True she was alone again, but now she looked at the situation with a clearer vision of what needed to happen next. Her love for Sasuke was full of questions, and it would be a while before she got any answers. Putting logic aside though, there was something there she felt for him, something that could never be explained. Hinata had been right in saying that currently their relationship was messed up, but that didn't mean they couldn't start fresh.

At that moment, as Haruno Sakura walked home that night, she made the decision that when Sasuke returned to Konoha, that she would ask him out for a date and find out to who the real last Uchiha was.

Owari~

Author Note: Truth be told, I never saw Sasuke/Sakura as a couple. I saw it as Sakura crushing and having an obsession with Sasuke thinking she was in love with him. As for Sasuke, well he just seemed so focused on revenge and hate that he didn't have any thoughts of romantic love for anyone.

Obviously though at the end of the manga they end up together, which in my theory (which I wrote here in this snippet) is that they started from scratch, got to know each other and became an actual couple.

In my opinion, what I saw was Sakura perhaps ending up with Sai. He could always see through her smile and wasn't afraid to tell her like it was. He actually saw past the mask she tried putting up. However, that's just my opinion on how I saw things. All in all, like I have said before "Naruto' is Kishimoto-sensei's story and he can write it however he may please.