Naruto walked the streets of Konoha, deep in thought. Dusk was beginning to fall over the village. The teammate for his mission was really a no-brainer. Hinata was an expert at tracking and her Hyuuga eyes would be perfect for spying on the enemy. Not to mention the...other, issue. "Ahhh!" Naruto grumbled in frustration as his hands dug through his hair. He didn't know how he felt about the whole situation. Hinata was his best friend. Besides Sasuke, he couldn't think of anyone he cared about more. He didn't want to mess this up. Turning the corner, he didn't notice a certain pink-haired kunoichi until he stumbled into her. "Wha- Naruto, watch where you're going!" Blinking up in surprise, Naruto stared at Sakura in confusion. "Huh?"

Sakura stared him down with one of her evil eyes. "I said, watch where you're going. You almost knocked me over."

Naruto shrank back, instinctively responding to the clenched fists that had dealt him much pain in the past.

"Ah-ha-ha. S-sorry Sakura. I didn't see you there."

Sakura's fiery eyes died down somewhat as she observed him. While Naruto was responding to her anger as normal, his response had been slower than usual.

"That's ok, just don't get lost in your thoughts next time. What's up? Something bothering you?"

Naruto looked away self-consciously. "Oh, um, no. Why do you ask?"

"Because you're walking around with a spaced-out look on your face, and it took you longer than usual to respond to my fists." Sakura smiled sardonically.

Naruto continued avoiding her eyes, grasping for some sort of excuse.

Sakura was having none of it. "Oh come on! You can tell me." She slung her arm around his shoulders roughly. "You're not even meeting my eyes. Clearly something's wrong." Having stumbled slightly with Sakura's arm, Naruto now found himself facing two very determined green eyes. Staring back, he noticed a touch of concern in them. She was genuinely worried about him. Sighing in defeat, Naruto lead the way to Ichiraku's ramen store.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*#*time-skip*#*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The usual, Naruto?" Asked Teuchi with a smile.

"You know it." Naruto grinned in response. Nothing cheered him up better than a bowl of Ichiraku's ramen.

"And anything for the lovely lady?"

Sakura blushed slightly in response. "Juice will be fine. Thanks."

Settling down in their seats, Sakura turned to Naruto expectantly. Naruto, once again nervous, fidgeted slightly under her stare.

"Well that's a change. I haven't seen you this unsure of yourself, well, ever." Sakura's expression grew worried. "Hey, don't worry so much, just tell me what's on your mind."

"I-I don't know."

"You don't know what?"

"What's bothering me so much!" Naruto exclaimed, his growing frustration beginning to leak through.

Leaning forward on the counter, he rested his head on his arms; his hard gaze focused on the opposite wall.

Sakura looked at him perplexedly.

"Well, why don't you start at the beginning? Just start talking and it'll come to you."

Naruto glanced at Sakura gratefully. The kunoichi acted like she didn't care, but it was times like these when Naruto appreciated her friendship.

"Well..." Naruto started uncertainly. "It all started when Hinata and I began spending more time with each other. Before I knew it, I'd found another close friend." Naruto's gazed shifted to the side, uncertainty in his expression. "And now I found out that all this time she...well..."

"Loved you?" Sakura provided with a smile. "Well, it took you long enough to realise."

Naruto stared at her wide eyed. "You knew?"

Sakura smiled sardonically. "Naruto, only the densest shinobi in the village could have missed her feelings. Unfortunately for her, that shinobi happened to be you."

Naruto folded his arms crossly. "Well, how was I supposed to know? Women's feelings are so hard to figure out, and then we became friends and I started loving her too and..." Naruto suddenly stopped, wide-eyed.

Sakura smiled smugly. "Men's feelings can be even more confusing. Mostly because they don't even know what their feelings are."

"R-right..." Naruto replied, shaken.

Sakura took pity on the poor boy. "Ok, so you love her and she loves you. Seems pretty peachy to me. I don't see what could be bothering you so much."

Naruto's gaze slid sideways. "Well...what if I mess things up?" Sakura could see the uncertainty in his eyes. "I don't want to accidentally hurt her. What if I took things too fast? Or, or too slow?" Sakura watched as Naruto's expression become more and more stressed. "I've never been in a serious relationship before. I don't know the first thing about it!"

Sakura couldnt help chuckling in amusement, a response Naruto wasn't prepared for.

"Why are you laughing?!" At that, Sakura started giggling unreservedly.

"Sakuraaaa." Naruto started pouting.

Sakura's giggles eventually died out. "C-Could this be the same Naruto? That overconfident boy who fought Gaara during Orochimaru's attack? That showed Neji who was boss? It's funny that that same boy could be shaken up at the thought of a serious relationship!"

Naruto's pout deepened. "Yeah, well, this is different, okay?"

Sakura continued to grin teasingly. "I'll say. But here's something to think about: Could you and Hinata ever hate each other?"

The response was instantaneous. "NO! Of course not!"

"Then what do you have to worry about? If things don't work out, you can just go back to being friends. You won't lose your bond with her." Sakura's smile was now understanding. "I know how important friendships are to you, Naruto. You'd never let anything happen to your friendship with Hinata."

Naruto's expression suddenly darkened. "Well...I couldn't stop Sasuke from leaving."

Sakura's eyes hardened. "Don't say that! Hinata is different to him. You know that. And even if she had darkness in her heart, you've got enough experience now to handle that. I believe in you, Naruto."

Naruto looked at Sakura appreciatively. When had his teammate gotten so wise?

Sakura answered the unspoken question in his eyes. "I learnt that from you, dummy." Her voice was soft and her smile affectionate. "You've always believed in yourself. I don't see any reason to stop now."

Naruto's reply was interrupted by Teuchi's appearance. "Ah! Sorry, seems like you're having a serious conversation. I'm just here to serve the food." Teuchi's eyes twinkled knowingly as he served ramen and juice, before returning to the back of the store.

Naruto shook his head, smiling. "The old man pretends he doesn't know what's going on, but I bet he's jumping up and down with Ayame right now; excited about my new relationship." Naruto's grin had turned rueful.

"I'm happy for you too, Naruto."

For the second time that evening, Naruto was suprised by his teammate.

"Huh? Why?" Sakura's eyes stared out into the darkness, contemplatively.

"You're starting a new chapter in your life; one I haven't begun yet. Ever since Sasuke left I've immersed myself in training, not thinking about much else. I worried you'd do the same. Hypocritical, I know." Smiling at the surprise on her teammates face, she continued. "Seeing you and Hinata-chan together makes me happy because it shows you're forming new bonds, despite what happened with Sasuke. Now you're even thinking about the person you want by your side forever." As she spoke, Sakura's expression filled with emotion. Naruto had never seen her look so sincere. "Ganbatte, Naruto-kun. You never gave up on your dreams or the people most important to you. I-I...want to follow your example. I want to move forward too." Naruto's heart went out to Sakura. He could see how much strength it had taken her to say those words. How could he have any doubts when his friend looked at him like that?

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto's hand now pressed warmly on the kunoichi's shoulder. "I never knew you could have a way with words. Sakura-chan mo ganbatte. I know you can do it. After all, you were the one who helped me." Sakura looked at him in surprise. Naruto chuckled self-consciously. "The bonds I kept with you and my other friends helped me a lot in moving forward. We strengthen each other. So if you want to move forward too, I'll make sure I'm there to give you a hand." Naruto smiled at Sakura encouragingly.

"Thanks, Naruto-kun..." Sakura's eyes shone with gratitude. The blonde had grown a lot since his genin days. Her hand began fiddling with the straw in her juice, while Naruto dug into his ramen. She could have almost fallen for the sunshine-bright shinobi, almost... Sakura shook her head at her own folly. Those feelings weren't something she was going to encourage. If there was one thing her experience with Sasuke had taught her, it was that the heart had an endless capacity for love. Her feelings for the blonde didn't necessarily mean she had to romantically act on them.