"Will you let me kiss you?"

The words tumbled out of his mouth, louder and definitely less fancier than he had imagined. She had been saying something but obviously he wasn't listening; not that he didn't want to or that he didn't think what she was saying was important, rather, his urge to plant his lips on hers had reached a boiling point yet he was incapable of just doing it lest she punch the living daylights out of him - hopefully out of surprise and not because she didn't want to. He wasn't a stranger to hostility in situations where she wasn't prepared. Her first defense was an offense.

He dared to assume such things, because only in the past two weeks did he notice the softness in her gaze and was vividly reminded of how his mother looked at him that way. And how she called him now with affection, and talked to him with interest; her lack of objection to Ichiraku and her frequent visits to his place for no particular reason… it was hard not to see and it gave him room to hope. She smiled so much more now, even laughed at his attempts at corny jokes and old, overused stories. He found out she liked watching the night sky just by watching her, and he liked to think that she let him watch her too.

"What?"

Oh come on. You heard me

"May I?"

He opted to be less specific this time, thinking that there may be a chance she was only being friendly the past two weeks; that asking for a kiss was preposterous. He would let her answer; it would be a good reality check.

"Why are you asking?"

Excellent question, Sakura-chan. Well he certainly didn't know the answer to that and he wouldn't want to hear what's next of what could be an impending rejection.

"Never mind," he grinned, scratching the back of his head and resuming his walk, quicker strides this time, till she began to fall behind.

"Idiot!"

He heard her whisper before his whole upper body jerked backwards caused by her pulling the hood of his sweatshirt. Being at least a foot taller never really put him in an advantage; not when his outfit was so easily and expertly used against him.

She had caught his weight with her own, her feet planted firmly on the ground as his back collided against her chest; her arms wrapped around him in what he thought was a defensive move – before he felt her fingers fist the fabric of his clothes and her cheek press the middle of his back.

"You're an idiot, Naruto. You've been an idiot for so long."

Her arms were small and barely covered his torso, but her body was warm and comforting and already he was enjoying the surprise gesture. He brought up a hand and enclosed hers, bringing it to rest over his heart. She didn't flinch or pull away, instead she leaned into him like it was the most natural thing to do. It dawned upon him like a punch to the gut and his first reaction was to smile, because what else was there to do, and to breathe deeply to remind him that he was still alive.

"I'm an idiot, Sakura-chan."

He was. But at least he was less an idiot now, because despite not seeing her face at that very moment, he finally knew and understood what she was trying to say.

She laughed, and so did he, and they just stayed that way for a little while, his confidence slowly rising when her actions quelled his doubts. He wanted to remember what it was like before his recent memories of her, wanted to see when and how her feelings began to change, wanted to know why he missed it. He felt happy; smug, even, when she unlocked her hold and ducked beneath his arms to face him.

She looked nothing like he'd ever seen; her gaze was intense, her hair a bit ruffled, her face flushed. It was almost in slow motion when she opened her mouth to speak; good thing the words came and hit him, fast.

"You're the only idiot I want to kiss."

Without thinking, he pulled her back in his arms and descended upon her, his breath hitched in a split second hesitation, only to release it slowly at the close of his lips over hers. It was too late to think if he was doing this right, not when her soft lips moved in time with his, not when her hands caressed the whiskers on his cheeks, not when his arms pulled her closer, tighter. Heart welling inside his chest, he could have sworn the he felt the sun shine brighter through his closed eyelids, making him believe that maybe, maybe he really did deserve this.

Breathless, he pulled back and met her gaze, trying to store every detail in his memory. The green of her eyes and the brightness in her smile, her hot breath fanning the skin of his cheeks, her lips swollen from their kiss; she was perfect. Everything was perfect. He kissed her and it was real, and he wanted to cry, he wanted to the streets and shout, he wanted to lift her in the air and catch her.

There would be a time for that.

For now, he leaned in again to capture her lips, content to just have another kiss.