This is brought to you by my love for the brother/sister relationship between Naruto and Sakura. The teasing and just being assholes to each other.
"Sakura, come on, one picture isn't that important," Naruto complained, flopping down onto her bed.
"It's the only recent picture I have of all four of us together." Sakura, who was sitting on her bedroom floor, surrounded by a pile of pictures, stated. "So stop whining about it and help me look."
"Fine, fine, I don't see why you don't just ask Shizune for a new copy." Naruto slides off the bed, feet pushing pictures out of the way, scattering them further across the floor.
"Because, you idiot, she's gone with Tsunade-Sama for whatever secretive mission she's off on. I want to be able to put it next to the old one." Sakura huffs, fingers sliding over glossy material as she searches
"Why do you have so many damn pictures, ya know?" Naruto questions, starting through his stack. "Who took all these anyways?"
"I like to remember things, but I don't know people. Sometimes one of us" she says, referencing their shared friends. "Sometimes someone's parents, some I think are from teachers at the academy or others during the war."
"Who'd want to take pictures of the war," Naruto says, his voice flat. Looking down at a picture in her green flack jacket, hair tied up and secured by her shinobi alliance headband. She sat in the medical tent, the girl from the Hidden Cloud that had beaten the shit out of him at her side. Both girls were caught laughing at something off-camera.
"Because," Sakura huffs, moving her stack aside and moving to a new new "yes the war was horrible, and yes there are memories that no one wants to have documented. But it was also a time of alliances and new friendships and those are nice to have."
"Yeah, yeah." Naruto huffs, the silence between them comfortable as they search.
"You just want a new picture of Sasuke to stare at." Naruto looks up at his pink-haired friend, nudging her thigh with his foot.
"I do not!" Sakura yells back at him
"Ahhh come on Sakura, no one's going to make fun of you for wanting to lay in bed and stare at Sasuke-Kun." The last word comes out sickly sweet, a smirk growing across Naruto's face.
"Will you shut up! I just want it for the memory, who knows when we'll see him again."
"Anyone get a picture of you guys hugging at the gate when he left, bet you'd like to relive that memory too." Naruto chuckles, dodging the fist she had aimed at his shoulder.
"Here." Sakura extends a picture to him. "You want to poke fun and be an ass, take this."
Naruto looks down at the picture now in his lap. It had been taken the night he arrived at the frontlines. They had been blessed with a little bit of downtime, a few short hours to eat, drink, regain their chakra and not feel so damn defeated. Naruto remembered walking through the shinobi and sitting on the ground before coming across a group of his friends, Ino had the camera, snapping pictures. He had sat down, a bowl of whatever rice dish they had been serving, thrown an arm around Hinata pulling her close, and smiling for the camera.
What the camera didn't show was how he kept his arm around her after the flash, relished in the warmth of her pressed to his side. The calm he felt just sitting next to her, knowing that the two of them, for the time being, were alive.
"What nothing to say now?" Sakura returns, her voice now teasing.
"Fuck off Sakura." Naruto just continues to look at the picture, before tucking it inside the side pocket of his pants.
"Hey, I didn't mean anything by it. I wasn't expecting you to keep it."
"Why wouldn't I? Hinata's my friend, and it's a good picture."
"Friend?" Sakura questions.
"Yeah, friend. What else would she be?"
"I don't know Naruto, maybe you should think about that," Sakura says, the teasing tone has gone from her voice.
"What's with everyone? You, Kiba, Shikamaru, hell even Kurama makes these weird remarks about her. She's my friend, I like her, and I like spending time with her. So, either tell me what you mean or drop it, ya know." Naruto stands, shaking his head.
"Come on Naruto, I was just messing with you."
"Don't worry about it, Sakura."
"It's okay, you know that right if you do think of her as more than just a friend."
"What like…" Naruto stops himself, rubbing at the back of his neck before turning to face Sakura. "Never mind, I give enough people shit I should be able to take it when you guys do it. Let me know if you find that picture, alright, I guess having a copy wouldn't be too bad."
"Naruto, you know it's okay to think of," Sakura stops herself before she says Hinata's name "to think of someone as more than a friend right?"
"No shit Sakura. You of all people know I know how to have a crush on someone."
"Naruto…" Sakura starts before he cuts her off
"Yeah, yeah Sakura. I know, we've had this talk. You care about me, everyone in the damn village cares about me. We're great friends and I know we wouldn't have worked out." Naruto pauses, smiling. "We fight too much." He looks down at the floor, chuckling as he bends to pick up the picture half stuck under Sakura's dresser. "Here ya go."
"If you ever want to talk about it, you know your friendship," she pauses on the word, watching Naruto's brow wrinkle at the word. "With Hinata, I'm here for you, alright?"
"Yeah, yeah Sakura."
Naruto walks down the main road of the village, hands shoved in his pockets. His eyes trained on the ground, not in the mood to talk to anyone. The door to his left opens, the bell above it chiming. A warm spring breeze swirls around the two girls as they leave the shop. One laughs as the older of the two carries a bag that looks to be holding red yarn.
"Hey Hinata, Hanibi." Naruto raises a hand in greeting.
"Naruto-senpai! Funny seeing you." a wide grin spreads across Hanibi's face.
"Yeah, just walking home." Naruto's brow raises, pointing to his apartment just down the road.
"Oh, no cause Hinata here was buying some yarn to make." Hanabi starts
"To knit myself some new mittens for this winter. My old ones tore." Hinata's voice rushes out, cutting her sister off.
"I didn't know you could knit." Naruto grins down at her
"Just a little, I'm not very good." Hinata blushes
"Excuse me?" A voice sounds from behind, turning as an older woman waits to enter the shop the three of them stood in front of.
"Sorry!" Naruto moves aside. "See you guys later." Continuing his walk home, looking over his shoulder to watch the sisters make their way toward the large compound they called home.
She's so weird sometimes. Naruto thinks to himself. Okay maybe not weird, just kind of awkward. It's kinda cute actually. Naruto hums, shoulder shoving against his stubborn front door. Gods. She is cute. Kicking off his shoes and pulling the picture from his pocket. He thinks about Sakura's words. Friends can be cute right?
Art inspo in the Ao3 version