A/N: So... this one's a bit shorter that usual, but the chapter kind of ended there. There wasn't much I could do without shoving the next chapter into this one and making a really long chapter. And then it would make my updates even slower. I'm hoping to get into the habit of posting a chapter every Sunday, but my commitment skills are rather lacking. So bear with me, I'm sure it'll get better. I'm giving you this now so that I don't have to worry about forgetting since this Sunday is mother's day.

It was late. She didn't know what I was doing, wandering around this part of town. This was practically a ghetto. Only really poor civilians lived here, as far as she knew. It gave her the creeps, but she knew she could find her way home from anywhere in the village, so Sakura just let her feet take her wherever they wanted as she thought. But now she was regretting it. She knew she could defend myself against any would-be attacker, but still- this was the kind of place civilian girls shouldn't go alone, or even in small groups if there weren't any boys with them. Not that Konoha was dangerous or anything- Konoha actually had one of the lowest crime rates out of all the major ninja villages. However, there had been three girls in the past week alone at the hospital that had been- well, you know, in this part of the village and none of them got a good look at their attacker, so they haven't been able to catch the guy. Perhaps that was what made her so jumpy: knowing he was out there, lurking, looking for someone else to traumatize. Looking back, she should have noticed him coming, but as a ninja, you just become so accustomed to the sounds and energy of those you work with frequently- so that if they approach you when you're on your guard, you won't accidentally hurt them; and so that you can sleep even with them nearby, and them approaching you won't wake you up. So she didn't know he was approaching until he was shouting a greeting in my ear.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!"

"AAAAAHHHH!" Sakura shrieked. She turned around, kunai out and ready before she could even realize that she was about to stab her teammate and friend of about six years.

"Jeez, Sakura-chan, don't wake up my neighbors! I'm already in enough trouble with my landlord as it is!" She didn't know whether to be shocked or pissed. For one thing, she just had NARUTO, the number one loudmouth ninja tell her that she needed to be quieter. For another, the people who lived in this almost-but-not-quite ghetto were his neighbors. And that meant HE lived here too. Now, she knew that when they were younger that the villagers were total assholes to him. But now, they were older, and almost everyone loved and/or respected him. And with the amount of A- and S-rank missions he took, he should have enough money to be able to afford a new apartment, so WHY on earth would he still be living here? This place gave its residents the creeps!

"You know, Naruto, you really shouldn't sneak up on a girl when she's in the middle of- of- of THIS, and there's a you-know-what running around."

"Sorry, Sakura-chan, I just wanted to know what you were doing here all by yourself at this hour of the night. Not that I don't think you're capable of taking care of yourself, it's just that you were never a big fan of taking unnecessary risks, ya know?"

"Well, thank you for the concern, Naruto, but I was just wandering while I was wondering..." it was a funny phrase my mother used to use whenever one of us would need to walk to clear our heads or figure out a problem. "By the way, how did you even see me? Were you following me?" Sakura jokingly added. She doubted he was, even Naruto's not that crazy. If it were Lee, maybe. That dude creeped her out more than this part of town did.

He blushed slightly, and said, "No, my apartment is right there," he gestured to a building she had passed just a moment or so before he startled her. She noticed that he lived in a fairly large apartment building, and that it actually looked quite nice, "though if you come here again to wander aimlessly in the middle of the night, I might have to- you know, just to make sure you're safe..." That was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever told her. Even if it were a promise for someone to follow her around at night in a creepy part of town where a rapist was lurking.

Sakura didn't know what made her do it, but she was so, so glad she did- she kissed him. And not just on the cheek- she kissed him right on the lips. Wow. She definitely didn't see that one coming. It felt- well, not like the cliché fireworks exploding behind your eyes way, but- better somehow. Like she was finally coming home after being away for far too long. It felt-right. "It's good to know there'll always be someone watching my back, thanks Naru-kun," She said before yawning.

When she pulled back far enough to really see his face, it was bright red. How cute. She leaned her head against him, suddenly exhausted. The adrenaline from thinking she was about to get attacked must have worn off- and drained her quite a bit.

"W-w-w-well... you seem tired, so maybe you should just crash at my place tonight. I-I mean, it's late, and you're tired, and we don't want to give the sicko any chances... Unless you don't want to, that is..."

Sakura kissed him again- partly to stop his rambling, but mostly to see if the feeling she had the first time would still be there. And Kami, it was... "No, I don't mind... Thank you for offering, Naruto. I'd love to spend the night at your place." He blushed again, and smiled shyly. "By the way, why are you in trouble with your landlord?" Sakura was trying to come up with something that would have upset his landlord. However, all she could really come up with was things that aggravated her- his obsession with ramen, the color of clothing he wore on missions (Honestly, he'll never be able to Hokage if he gets killed because he chose to wear orange on a mission requiring great stealth), the fact that he stuck up for the disgusting pervert saying that it wasn't Jiraiya's fault that his calling wasn't socially acceptable…

"Oh, that? Ah, it's nothing... She's just been really pissed lately, and the other day, I apparently tracked blood and dirt into the building." Of course. The idiot must have pushed himself too hard during his training session a few days before their mission.

"Oh, well why do you even live here still, anyway? Surely, at this point, you could get a very nice apartment." The boy should have more money than he knows what to do with if he's living here, but he still wears the same outfit every day and eats the same cheap-shit ramen every day for lunch and dinner (though it wouldn't surprise her if he ate it for breakfast too).

"Oh, uh, well, uh, you see, um, I uh, well, it's a funny story, really..." How long could it take to collect his thoughts?

"NARUTO! JUST GET ON WITH IT, GODDAMNIT!" She whisper-yelled. Her patience was waning- and had been since the stammering began. At least with Hinata, you could kind of figure out what she was going to say based on what letters she got out. This was just ridiculous.

"" he said. She blinked a few times, trying to figure out what the FUCK that was supposed to mean.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that? And maybe a bit slower this time?"

"I said that I, uh, owe Ero-Sennin a lot of money, and he told me I could either pay him back with interest- and quite a bit too, might I add- or I had to read all his previous Icha Icha books and then proofread all his new material to tell him if he's 'losing his touch'. As you can see, I went with the first option."

"Oh, really- you decided you'd rather spend all your money on the perv? Instead of reading porn? What's wrong with you?" This made no sense. A teenage boy known for having created a jutsu which makes him appear to be a naked girl (and therefore must have seen what a naked girl looked like) had turned down porn.

"Are-are you MAD that I don't wanna read that stuff? I thought you'd be happy that I wasn't doing anything pervy!" Oh dear. Now he thought she was mad.

"No, not mad, just questioning your sanity- You're a teenage boy and you didn't jump at the chance to just be GIVEN free porn? Do you even HAVE a libido?" Seriously. Shouldn't his hormones be all crazy to the point where he was a sex crazed maniac? Although she supposed they teach the boys how to handle that kind of thing, considering the fact that as ninjas, losing focus for a split second could be the difference between life and death.

"Are we seriously getting into an argument because I DIDN'T read porn? Anyway, let's go to my apartment- u-unless you don't want to anymore, that is..." He whispered. His face fell. Sakura felt bad when she saw the saddened look on his face, but what really rubbed salt in the wound was knowing that he was this insecure around her, and knowing it was all her fault. He used to be so confident around everyone, but now he was so unsure, stumbling over his words in an effort not to upset her. She really needed to work on appreciating him, and showing it. Poor thing.

"Naru-kun, of course I want to spend the night." A third kiss. Sakura wasn't particularly sure why this one happened, but this one lasted a bit longer. Maybe it was to show him that he didn't need to walk on eggshells with her. Then again, maybe it was just because she wanted to. After all, Naruto was pretty hot. "Lead the way, Naru-kun."