It was hard, loving someone; especially when their heart already belonged to someone else.

Uzumaki Naruto leaned against the door frame, watching a certain blonde weave in and out of beds, straightening fresh sheets and changing out the flowers in the room. Back in their school days she had been a decent shinobi, but now she could seldom handle a kunai without those memories resurfacing. She had fallen into her second best talent, training under Tsunade to become a medical ninja.

She had always hated fighting anyway.

Usagi turned, smiling distractedly at him while she stuffed the dirty sheets she had removed into the hamper. "Didn't you just come back from a week long mission? You should be resting."

He shrugged but didn't answer, and she didn't pursue it. It was just another indication to him that something was off. Her words from the previous night still haunted him. He knew what had happened, it was so painfully obvious. Sasuke was here.

The only thing that could change Usagi's demeanor so drastically would be him. She normally moved quicker, hummed as she worked, chatted with him when he came by to visit. But her face was drawn, pensive, almost melancholy. The expression had been permanently etched into her face for the first few months after Sasuke left. Sakura cried often, became frantic, emotional; but Usagi, she just withdrew into herself, always looking sad.

Damn you, Sasuke.

Naruto had a crush on Sakura from way back when they were on the same team, but he met Usagi a while after that. She always came around looking for Sasuke, and at first he didn't like her, thinking she was just another 'fan girl' stalking his rather popular team mate. It didn't take long to realize this wasn't entirely true, and he started to like her.

She was different than Sakura. She was always smiling, that's the thing he remembered most. Unrelentingly kind, she never treated him differently like the other villagers or freaked out on him like Sakura tended to do.

And when Sasuke left, when he seen her heart break, he knew he never wanted to see her in pain. He realized he loved her.

"You look troubled. Are you okay?" Usagi dropped the last of the dirty linen into the now full hamper before she walked toward him. The melancholy in her expression was gone, replaced fully by her concern for his well being. Her hand reached out to touch his face, but he caught it in his own and pressed his lips against her palm.

Something compelled him. He had accepted their situation, eager at a chance to love Usagi. He knew that she had loved Sasuke, but he also knew that she hadn't chased after him. She never even asked how his missions went, if he had found any trace of the missing Uchiha. No, he was always finding her, wanting any excuse to visit her, to make sure she was alright. It had given him some kind of hope.

Yet the notion remained there, always, haunting him. Like a storm of uncertainty brewing in his heart. Thoughts like needles piercing him again and again. Does she see him when she looks at me? Does she think of him when we're together?

"Usagi," she was already frowning. He hated doing this, but he couldn't stop himself now. It hurt him too much. The words were bubbling up inside him, ready to overflow. "If Sasuke came home, would you go back to him?"

Naruto felt her reaction as much as he seen it. She jerked from him, holding her hand to her chest as if scalded, her face etched in turmoil. It was almost as though he physically struck her. Instantly he wanted to reach out, to take it back, but he couldn't. He had to know.

For a long time, Usagi didn't speak. She just looked at him, trying to figure out the question, or the motive behind it. Then, after what felt like an eternity, she stepped even closer to him. Her hands brought warmth to him as they cupped the sides of his face and pulled him to her until their foreheads touched.

"Naruto, I don't know why you love me. I ask myself how I got so lucky." She paused, smiling gently at the look on his face. He could not imagine how ridiculous it was. "It might be true that part of me is still in love with Sasuke."

He faltered, but she held on to him, not letting him escape. "But even if he came back here and repented a thousand times over, begged for forgiveness and slept on my doorstep every night, I would choose you. I love you, Naruto. I don't ever want to see you hurt, least of all by me. I mean that with all my heart."

The feeling that consumed him did so wholly, and it was indescribably wonderful. He reached up, his hand caressing the curve of her cheek as he closed the little remaining distance between them. Always gentle, no matter how strong he knew she was. His other hand nestled in the small of her back, pulling her as close as possible. It was in moments like these that his insecurities seemed foolish, that nothing could stand between the two of them.

As they finally broke apart, Usagi's forehead still pressed against his, her slightly panting breaths tickling against his cheeks, blue eyes glazed over staring straight into his, he wondered whether it would have mattered, even if she'd said yes.

xXx

I struggled with myself over whether to post up this second installment of Storm or not, but I figured I had finished it already, what harm could it do? I started it immediately after I posted Storm and completed it not long after, but I kind of liked the ending of the first part and wanted to leave it as is. Then I figured Naruto deserved to have his part told, so I am putting it out there.

I apologize for the plot hole in last chapter. I realize most of you were scratching your heads in the end there going, Where the hell did Naruto come from at 2 in the morning? I got so caught up in the emotional scene writing it that I forgot to throw in the explanation that I had already laid out in my head. As mentioned in this chapter, he was coming back from a mission, which is partially the reason that Sasuke chanced coming to see Usagi then, because he knew Naruto would not be around. Anyway, I patched it up, no harm done. ;)

On a random note, I'd just like to say that I am really, really not a Sasuke fan on the show. The fact that I keep indulging myself in the Usagi/Sasuke pairing baffles me.

Thank you to the kind reviewers of the first part and I assure you that there will not be a part three to this fiasco. Unless, gasp! Gaara watches from afar, secretly in love with Usagi as well! (I'm kidding, it's not going to happen. :P)

Please review!