Chapter 29. The Good

"Smiles you can't hide, laughter you can't muffle…these are the signs of a good day."

|3rd Person|

"One more, Sakura-chan." Naruto told her as he brought his face closer to hers, "Give me one more."

Beads of sweat were flung from Sakura's head as she shook it in disagreement, "No…I can't…"

"You can." Naruto hushed her, "Come on!"

With a large huff, Sakura raised herself from the ground for the last pushup, and once her arms were locked at her sides, she gave in and fell back to the floor.

"Yeah!" Naruto's whooped as he helped Sakura up, "Sakura-chan, you did it, ya know! Forty pushups!"

Sakura gave him a tired smile as she leaned against him to catch her breath, "Couldn't have…done it…without you."

Naruto wrapped his arm around her shoulders and waved his other hand, "Nonsense, you've been working so hard for the past three months; it's no wonder you managed to do it."

"Still…" Sakura straightened up, now having stabilized her breathing, "I'm not so sure how I feel about that considering your right arm is already back to normal."

Naruto looked down at the bandage-covered limb, "Trust me, this thing's definitely not at 100%. If anything, it's closer to 70%."

Sakura shook her head and slipped out of Naruto's hold before heading over to their gym bags by the weight section. As the two grabbed their towels and wiped down their most drenched areas, Naruto glanced at Sakura and once he was sure she wasn't watching him, he reached into his bag and brought out his phone.

Swiping through screens, he tapped on a certain app and slid the bar from zero to two before tapping the big power button in the center of the screen. Sakura froze for a second before turning to him, a hint of red on her cheeks.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" She questioned, trying to maintain a somewhat serious face as she continued to wipe at her sweat.

"Just putting something to use." Naruto grinned, sliding the bar up to four and drawing an audible gasp from Sakura.

She trembled as the strength of the vibrations increased and bit her lip as she stepped forward, "W-Well, stop."

"Mm, I don't think I will." He taunted her, tossing his towel back into his gym bag before taking a swig from his water bottle, "You have to live a little, ya know. Otherwise, what was the point of putting it in there this morning?"

Sakura's face flushed as the memory of Naruto rubbing at her folds and slipping the bullet vibrator in between her legs flashed in her mind.

Truth be told, it wasn't that she had forgotten the small contraption was still nestled inside of her, it was only that she had grown accustomed to its presence during their two-hour workout session and therefore paid it little mind.

"I should've turned this on when you started your pushups." Naruto chuckled as he upped the level once more, this time to five, "You think you would've been able to do any?"

"Naruto…" Sakura whined, rubbing her legs together at the pressure building between her legs, "Stop…my gym clothes are gonna…!"

"Get ruined?" He finished for her, mischievously squeezing her ass as he walked past her to grab a set of keys by the treadmills, "It's already soaked in sweat so what's wrong if it gets soaked in something else?"

Sakura lifted her gym bag onto her shoulder and took another step forward only to whimper. Any motion or movement went straight to her already sensitive core and sent shocks up her spine and throughout her body.

Naruto returned to her with the keys and his own gym bag in hand and smirked, "Having trouble?"

Just as Sakura opened her mouth to beg Naruto once more to turn it off, a familiar voice called out to them and the two turned to the individual.

"Oi! Naruto! Sakura!" Choji waved as the front doors banged shut behind him, "Everything alright?"

"Aa!" Naruto called back as Choji approached, "We were just about to head out!"

As Choji approached them, Sakura gave Naruto a pitiful look, her eyes begging him for mercy as she continued to subtly shake, and Naruto's tongue darted out over his lips before he lowered his screen brightness and turned the vibrator off.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief, but the feeling was short lived as Naruto slid the bar to seven and turned it back on. Sakura was barely able to muffle a yelp as Choji joined them, and although the chubby man was naturally happy and good-hearted, he was not an airhead.

"Sakura, daijōbu?" Choji asked, genuine concern in his voice as he looked at her, "You're redder than an Ezo fox."

Sakura looked to Naruto for help, but his eyes told her that he was loving the current situation, and it was then that she recalled her boyfriend was somewhat of a sadist.

With a shaky breath, Sakura opened her mouth and answered Choji, "I-I'm fine – hnh – just a little, a little winded, hah…"

"Are you sure?" Choji persisted in his inquiry of her health, "You look like you're burning up."

"I'm—!" Sakura cut herself off as Naruto mercilessly upped the strength of the vibrations, to the point where she was beginning to go numb from the constant pressure.

"I'm okay, really!" Sakura squeaked out, doing her best to give Choji a smile, "I do…feel a bit hot so – gh – maybe a cold shower will – oh – help me out!"

"O-Okay, well you know where the showers are so go ahead." Choji stepped to the side, making room for Sakura to pass.

Now came the moment of truth; Sakura was barely holding herself back from cumming on the spot, talk less of if she took one step forward. Just talking to Choji had sent tiny sparks down to her heat so only Kami knew what would happen if she actually tried to move.

"Sakura?" Choji called her name, confused as to why she hadn't left.

Sakura shook her head, sending two more tingles down to her center before turning to Choji, "Ah, yeah I was just…just thinking about something."

"Come on, Sakura-chan." Naruto purred beside her, his amusement only evident to her, "Hurry up and shower so we can get out of here, ya know."

"I-I know…!" She stuttered, adjusting her hold on her gym bag and gauging how far the showers were from her current position.

She wondered if she should just try and sprint to it before her body inevitably succumbed to pleasure but figured that suddenly breaking out into a run would confuse Choji even more. Would Naruto really make her cum in front of their friend?

They'd talked about exhibitionism a few times, especially since they'd technically already tried it after having sex in Naruto's car, but there hadn't been anybody around at the time. This was taking things to a new level, and although Naruto had helped her step out of her comfort zone multiple times in the past three months, this wasn't something she was entirely sure about.

With another shake of her head, Sakura decided to let go and just do. She took a step forward and preemptively shut her eyes, waiting for herself to fall apart and become a spectacle to the other two men in the room.

When she didn't, Sakura opened her eyes and glanced back at Naruto before realizing that the vibrations had dulled. They weren't entirely gone, as a complete stop might've also sent Sakura over the edge, but instead they had been reduced to a manageable level that allowed Sakura to get to the showers relatively normally.

Once she was out of sight, Choji turned to Naruto.

"Is she acting weird or is that just me?" Choji questioned.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "She's got some stuff on her mind, but she seemed fine when we were working out."

"Uh huh…" Choji nodded before clapping his hands, "Well, I'd better get going. Karui sent me out to get some groceries, I just wanted to stop by and check up on you guys."

"Arigato, Choji." Naruto sincerely thanked him, jingling the keys in his hand, "I'll leave this in the usual spot."

Choji nodded and after the two clasped hands and shared a brotherly hug, Choji left the building. Naruto watched as the doors shut behind him and made sure that Choji had gotten into his car and drove a considerable distance away before turning to his phone.

He raised the slider from the three to ten and laughed as Sakura's shriek reached him through the vents. With a grin, Naruto walked into the locker room and set down his gym bag. After stripping himself of his clothes, he entered the showers and found Sakura on the floor of her stall, gasping and panting for air.

It didn't help that she had been trying to take a hot shower either, the steam making it even harder to take any oxygen into her lungs, therefore dulling her senses. She was acutely aware of Naruto's presence but was too focused on trying to remove the violently quaking machine within her to give him a proper acknowledgement, yet this would soon change.

Each time her fingers ghosted over her entrance, a spike of white-hot lightning shot through her, and she was rendered immobile for a few seconds. It had only been going on for a couple minutes at most, and yet Sakura felt as though she'd been melting for eternity.

Coming to her wits end, Sakura's eyes flicked up to Naruto's and she weakly dragged herself up before spreading her legs in front of him. Naruto looked down at her in awe and made sure to take a mental snapshot of the sight before him.

Sakura's nipples stood sharp and proud, probably in pain from having been aroused for so long, and the red flush that covered the top of her chest and ran up her face before stopping at her cheeks supported that theory. Her head was tilted to the side and her emerald eyes were hazy with ecstasy.

Naruto knelt before her and trailed his hands up the insides of her thighs, "I'm so lucky."

Sakura whined as Naruto's mouth enveloped one of her stiff nipples, and he lightly took it in between his teeth and tugged for another moan. As he did this, his hands gently caressed her, and she twitched as his fingers came closer and closer to her aching center. When Naruto tapped her clit, Sakura arched up off the floor and wailed as she convulsed.

The vibrator continued to buzz inside of her, not allowing Sakura to reach her peak in peace, and a sharp cry quickly escaped her throat as she shut her legs on Naruto's hand and shook her head.

"Please, please take it out…!" Sakura whimpered, her voice breaking with moans, "Kami, before I - ahn…!"

Her eyes were filled with tears and as she continued to mewl and moan, Naruto considered taking things further and began to circle his fingers around her asshole. What sounds would Sakura make for him if he played with her ass while the vibrator continued to work its magic?

His length began to harden as he imagined the liquified mess Sakura would become, but any fantasies he had were cut short once Sakura said the safe word.

"S-Springtime!" She choked out, "Ngh – springtime!"

Immediately, Naruto nudged her thighs apart and removed the vibrator from where it was burrowed inside her. Sakura quivered as he did so but once it was out, she began to sob with relief and Naruto and pulled her up into a sitting position before tugging her into a hug.

Sakura cried as he lightly ran his hand down her back, and after some time, Sakura calmed herself down to the point where she was able to let out a deep sigh of contentment. It was then that Naruto pulled back to look at her.

"Daijōbu?" He murmured, thumbing under her eyes as she looked up at him with a drained but happy smile.

She gave him a weak nod before leaning back into him, "I thought I was going to die but…it felt good."

He gently laughed as he pressed a kiss to her head, "Think you can stand?"

He lifted the two of them up as he asked this, but it was clear that without Naruto's support, Sakura would surely end up back on the floor.

"I take this as a job well done, ya know." Naruto joked as Sakura grabbed the nearby shower railing.

She flashed him a false look of anger before reaching for the soap, "Next time, don't let it go on for so long. Fuck, I can't feel my legs…"

Naruto chuckled as he took the soap bar from her and began to wash her back, "No promises."

Sakura felt Naruto's erection press against her and bit her lip but said nothing. She moved her foot around as subtly as she could in search of the vibrator that had been taken out of her. Once her toe came into contact with the still-buzzing device, she bent over and skillfully retrieved it without making a big show, leaving Naruto to think that she was scratching her foot.

"Naruto?" Sakura called his name as she turned to face him.

"Mm?" Naruto hummed as he tilted her chin up, scrubbing across the expanse of her chest.

"We've talked about you leaving yourself hanging." She said in a low seductive voice as her hand reached out to touch him.

Naruto grunted as Sakura stroked him firmly, albeit at a slow pace, and forced a chuckle as her hand ran down his shaft and fondled his balls, "I—I can manage…"

With a smirk, Sakura brought her quivering right hand to his member and watched his eyes widen as the sensations hit him. A moan that Sakura had never heard before lept from Naruto's mouth, and he leaned down to press his head against her shoulder.

"S-Sakura-chan…!" Naruto whined, much to Sakura's shock as well as pleasure, "T-Too good, I'm not…!"

Sakura felt Naruto's balls tighten in her grip and obeyed the sudden thought to remove her pleasure-providing right hand from his shaft. Naruto gasped and groaned into her ear at the denial of his climax, and the sounds went straight to Sakura's core. She was beginning to understand why Naruto loved to top so much.

"Sakura – hngh!" Naruto moaned as she rhythmically squeezed his length, "Fuck, I…I need…!"

"You need?" Sakura teased, echoing Naruto's previous words now that the situation was reversed.

She pressed the tip of the vibrator to Naruto's base and watched as his eyes fluttered shut, but before any relief could be provided, she dragged her hand away.

Naruto swore and pulled himself up from her shoulder to look her in the eyes, "Help me…"

"With what?" A smile was stamped on her face as Sakura dragged out the situation, "You have to be specific."

Swallowing his pride as a dom, Naruto answered, "Help me cum."

"Magic word?" Sakura put one more roadblock in his path, embracing his shaft again.

"Help me cum, please." Naruto begged, pressing his lips to Sakura's shoulders in worship, "Please."

Sakura took her hand from his balls and lifted his head up before joining their lips for an aggressive kiss, and as her tongue rolled over his, she pressed the vibrator to his tip and held it there.

Naruto moaned into Sakura's mouth as the vibrations shook his sensitive tip and traveled throughout his member, and it wasn't long before Sakura felt the warmth of his cum as it drizzled over her fingers. Shuddering, Naruto jerked in Sakura's gasp as his essence spewed forth, and Sakura traced a mischievous finger around his twitching cockhead.

He began to whimper just as his pants of release died down, and he managed to push Sakura's back against the shower wall before rutting into her hands. His eyes were shut, and his brows were furrowed due to the indisputable pleasure he was experiencing, and Sakura just watched as he broke off their kiss to mumble pleas and promises.

"Shit, so good…" Naruto whined, his member throbbing in Sakura's hand as she held the vibrator tighter against him, "G-Gonna fuck you so good after this, just – ah – just after one more…please give me one more…!"

The speed at which Naruto was bucking his hips had Sakura enamored, and she wondered if this was what he wanted to do sometimes when he was inside her. The thought only served to further arouse her and she kissed his jaw before reaching up to pinch one of his stiff nipples.

A moan died in the back of Naruto's throat as he leaned his ahead against the wall and climaxed again. Sakura began to pump the vibrator hand up and down his wilting member, and Naruto trembled as the pleasure began to dip into pain. With a mewl, he reached down and grabbed Sakura's wrist, but Sakura kept her hand in motion.

"Springtime…!" Naruto gasped as he grabbed the railing to steady himself, and Sakura dropped her hand, "Fuck, Sakura-chan, that was—I'm…!"

Sakura hugged Naruto close and smiled into his chest as he struggled to catch his breath.

"I love you…" Naruto panted, still hunched over on top of her.

"I love you too." Sakura replied, wrapping her hands around his large back and shutting her eyes.

The two stayed like that in the shower for a long time.

|Sakura|

"I take it your happy?" Emi questioned with a raised eyebrow, settling into the seat across from me, "Or is there some other reason why you're grinning so hard?"

I nodded and grinned as I smoothed down my dress, "Yes, I'm happy."

"Why?" She clicked her pen.

"Well, I just came from a two-hour workout with my boyfriend." I began, unable to stop the little laugh that escaped me, "It was very…intense."

"I see." Emi chuckled as she wrote something down, "And was working out the only thing you did in those two hours or did something else occur?"

"Uh…" I faltered as the memory of what had happened in the showers came to mind, "We might've messed around after."

"Alright." She nodded before crossing her legs and looking me in the eyes, "And I take it this happiness is normal, right? There haven't been any sudden mood shifts since we spoke last week?"

I nodded, "Nope, I've been pretty happy for a while now."

She hummed and scribbled a quick note, "How about your meds? Are they still okay or do you feel like they're starting to wane?"

"Perfectly fine."

"Okay, and just to make sure, you haven't seen or heard Her in a while, right?" Emi questioned.

I shook my head, "No sign of her. I know that's supposed to be a good thing but I…I kind of miss her. Sometimes I'll be doing something and need to make a little decision and I kind of pause so she can get a chance to say something. Kami, I sound so crazy saying this out loud."

"Sakura-san, you're not crazy." Emi reached out and placed a hand over mine, "That other personality you were seeing, you said you'd been conversing with her since you were in middle school. If my math is correct, then that means she's been with you for over twenty years. Three months of therapy isn't nearly enough to help you forget about her."

I nodded.

"And remember, your goal isn't to forget about her, okay? Your goal is to acknowledge that she's not real, that she's actually just a personification of your questionable thoughts that you didn't want to accept." She informed me.

I rested my head in my hand, "I get that but I…I can't even remember a time where she wasn't there, y'know? She was probably the oldest friend I ever had, besides Ino."

Emi wrote a few words and tapped her pen on her board, "Speaking of Ino, how are things between you two? In our first few sessions, you expressed some strong emotions about her marital troubles and her decision to take her husband back. You've neglected to talk about her in recent times so am I to assume that things have gotten better or worse?"

"Both?" I sighed, "I'm not exactly sure."

"Well, how about this?" Emi balanced her clipboard on her legs before crossing her arms, "You tell me about the last time you interacted with her, and I'll comment about it from an outsider's perspective."

I shut my eyes and began to recount what had happened when Ino and I had last spoke.

It was June 12th, a Friday, and the last day of school for the kids. I'd been sitting outside of the school, waiting to pick Sarada up so we could celebrate her having made it to junior year when Ino had tapped on my window.

"Sakura, hey!" Ino greeted me cheerfully as I rolled down the window, "Haven't seen you in a while. How's life?"

"Uh, life's…life." I answered, giving her a small smile, "Been working on myself for the past two months, tryna sort out all my issues up here."

I motioned to my brain and Ino's eyes softened as she leaned against my car, "And have…I mean, are you getting better? Feeling better?"

"Yeah. I've been working out a lot, keeping up with my meds, and I see this therapist once a week."

"That's good." Ino nodded before her face froze as she ran over what I'd said, "Wait, meds? Were you diagnosed with something?"

My mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as I realized that my mental illness was a chapter of my life which I had yet to share with Ino.

"Something like that…" I mumbled, no longer feeling comfortable that I was the subject of our conversation, "What about you? How are things with Sai and his…?"

Ino's face flashed with hurt but before I could take back my question, she answered me in a quieter voice, "The…the child's supposed to be born any day now. It's actually overdue so Carmen has been staying with us until she gives birth."

"Ino…" I couldn't stop myself from reaching out to touch Ino's cheek, encouraging her to look at me, "How can you…how can you stand this?"

Ino gave me a pained look before shrugging her shoulders, "The things you do for love."

She trembled as tears came to her eyes and I held her steady as I shook my head, "This isn't love, Ino. He's having his pregnant mistress stay in your home and—"

"I was the one who invited her to stay." Ino murmured weakly, and I drew my hand back in shock, "I didn't want—if there was some way I could help, I—"

"You shouldn't have to!" I interrupted her, flaring up, "For Kami's sake, he's not even planning to be in the child's life! Don't you see how messed up this is? You're going above and beyond for her when Sai doesn't even care."

Ino began to earnestly cry in front of me and my heart tightened. I unbuckled my seatbelt before hugging her through the window and she sniffled into my shoulder as I rubbed her back.

"What's going on, Ino?" I whispered as we remained in our embrace, "What are you not telling me?"

She didn't respond to my question, too caught up in sobbing to even get a word out, but when we eventually pulled apart, she wiped under her eyes and shook her head as I repeated the question.

"Gomen." Ino apologized as she stepped away from the car, "I—All I wanted to do was say hello. I never should've—"

"Ino, talk to me." I insisted, opening my car door, "How can I help you?"

"You can't." She raised a hand, indicating I should stay where I was, "Just…just focus on yourself."

I sighed as the painful encounter ended and opened my eyes to find Emi staring at me curiously, "So? What do you think?"

"You're right." Emi nodded, "It was definitely both, but it's been a month since then meaning the baby has to have been born, right? Okay, so here's an assignment for you: sometime this week, stop by Ino's house and see if she's willing to confide in you now."

I bit my lip and shifted uncomfortably in my chair, "I don't know, wouldn't it be weird?"

"What's weird is going weeks without talking to your best friend." Emi countered, "You said it yourself, you've known Ino longer than you've known your other personality. Are you really willing to let such a powerful friendship wilt because of a lack of communication?"

I exhaled heavily as I accepted that Emi was right, "No, I'm not."

"Good." Emi nodded, "Now, let's talk about this boyfriend of yours. You told me that you've known him for a long time but only really got involved with him about a week after your husband went on his trip."

"That's right."

"And what about your husband? Still no word from him?" Emi's voice was gentler as she broached the topic of Sasuke, but I was no longer so weak as to tear up at the mention of him.

I shook my head and Emi clicked her tongue, "That's…that's really something. You also told me that your brother-in-law had offered to explain where Sasuke-kun went but got interrupted. I asked you a month ago to follow up on it; did you?"

"…No." I answered reluctantly, avoiding Emi's eyes as she let out that subtle sigh of hers.

"Why not, Sakura-san?"

"Because I…" I felt my throat tighten up as the words that I wanted to say came to mind, and I gave Emi a fearful look.

"Breathe, just breathe." She instructed me, "Remember what we talked about. No matter how mean or messed up they might sound, your thoughts are your own so just take a deep breath, accept them, and share them."

I followed her instructions and performed the breathing exercises. Slowly but surely, my throat began to loosen up, and I swallowed hard before sharing how I felt.

"Because I don't care." I cleared my throat and forced myself to persevere, "Not knowing is what allowed me to get this far. If finding out is gonna make me regret everything I've done up until this point, then I'd rather remain ignorant."

Emi jotted down a few things before returning her sight to me, "I hear you and I completely understand you, but as your therapist it is my job to recommend the best choice for you. You don't have to do anything I tell you except take your meds, but I would like it if you reached out to your brother-in-law."

I kept quiet and she sighed, "Again, just a recommendation. Let's go back to Mr. Boyfriend. Am I still not allowed to know his name after all this time?"

"Gomen." I apologized, "It's just—no one knows. No one. When we come out to everyone else, then I'll tell you, but until then…"

"Sakura-san." Emi leaned forward, "I would never share anything you told me with anyone else."

"I know but…" I shook my head, "I can't."

"Okay." She sat back and lifted her hands in a show of surrender, "You mentioned working out and you've been doing that for as long as we've been meeting. I'm assuming things are going good with him?"

"Better than good." I corrected, happy to gush about Naruto and how perfect he was, "He's been with me every step of my recovery and every time we hang out, I'm reminded why I have to get better. For him."

"I see." Emi's mouth curved into a frown as she noted something else, "And how would you feel if I recommended you spend some time without your boyfriend?"

I froze for a second, not completely understanding what she was asking me, and I asked her to clarify.

"That is to say, try going at least one week without any communication with him."

"But…why would I do that?" I wondered aloud, not seeing the point of this exercise, "We're together, it's natural to talk and hang out."

"Because I fear you may be treading the wrong path on your rehabilitation journey, mainly because you're becoming dependent on him."

"What?" I didn't bother to hide my shock at the absurdity of her claim, "No, that's not true. It might've been that way in the past but now I'm—"

"Sakura-san, you just said that the only reason you want to get better is for him." Emi interrupted me, pursing her lips, "Does that not scream dependent to you?"

"Actually, no, it doesn't." I argued, "Dependent would be me saying I can't go a day without him, or I'll die if he doesn't talk to me, both of which aren't true. It's not even like we spend every second of our lives together; I still have Sarada to take care of and other things to do."

"How often do you two have sex?" Emi pressed me.

"W-What?" I stuttered, caught off guard by the question.

"You told me that this relationship started because of a sexual encounter, correct? I would think you two have sex fairly often if that's the case."

I narrowed my eyes, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

She sighed, "I believe the reason why you're reliant on your boyfriend is because he managed to fill the void your husband's physical neglect created in you. After starving for so long, your boyfriend enabling your sexual appetite may have been a bad thing because you are now depending on his presence in order to function."

Silence spread between us as I considered her words and once I fully understood their meaning, I stood up, "How dare you."

"Sakura-san—"

"You have no right to judge me or my boyfriend or how we spend our time! You don't know what I've been through, you only know what I've told you!"

"I'm only trying to—"

"Do you know how long I considered killing myself? Do you know how hard it was getting up in the morning knowing I was married to a husband that hated me? Knowing that he wanted nothing to do with me?" I ranted, "And then I finally met someone who loves me and cherishes me, and you're telling me that because I want to hold onto that person, I'm dependent?"

Emi said nothing, but her silence only served to further anger me.

"I wouldn't have to be dependent on him if my husband didn't hate me!" I curled my hands into fists, "And my husband wouldn't hate me if I hadn't…if I hadn't killed our child!"

I burst into tears at the confession which I had only ever uttered to myself and sank back into the chair as I shook. With my head in my hands, I didn't follow Emi as she got up, and I soon learned that I would need to as she came back to my side with a box of tissues and a soothing hand on my shoulders.

"Arigato…" I blubbered as I took the tissues from her and blew my nose, "And I—I'm s-sorry f-for yelling at y-you."

"It's fine." Emi easily forgave me, returning to her seat across from me, "It's better for you to let it all out here than unleash it on someone close to you."

I nodded weakly as I continued to blow my nose, and Emi set her clipboard aside.

"I read your file after our first session, so I have the objective story but…" She reached out to hold one of my hands and gave me a reassuring look, "I'd like to hear things from your perspective."

With one final blow, I rubbed my eyes free of any lingering tears and took a deep breath, "S-Sasuke-kun had been summoned for a joint police operation between Konoha and Suna but seeing as how it was supposed to last two months, I asked if Sarada and I could tag along. Kami, I was so stupid…"

"Stop that." Emi scolded me for my self-deprecation, "Continue, without any mean comments towards yourself."

"I…" I swallowed hard, "I was five months pregnant at the time and…"

|Naruto|

A glance at the dashboard told me that the time was 9:42 a.m., which meant that Sakura had about twenty minutes left in her session.

I groaned and cracked my neck before turning on the radio and sifting through channels. After a few minutes of trying to find something mildly entertaining, I gave up and shut it off. All that was on the air was country music, the mainstream stuff the kids listened to, and various news outlets chattering about a botched police raid.

I sighed as I brought out my phone and checked for any missed calls or messages. To my surprise, I saw an icon next to Boruto's name and I quickly tapped on it.

Call me when you see this.

Wondering what could be so important that Boruto would ask me to call him, I dialed his number and let it ring. I was shocked when the line connected after the first ring and greeted Boruto somewhat slowly

"Y-Yo! Boruto, good morning!"

"FaceTime." Boruto said before promptly hanging up.

I brought the phone down from my ear just in time to see the incoming FaceTime call and answered it with a confused smile, "What's going on?"

"Tou-chan~!" Boruto sang my title before pointing a threatening finger at the camera, "What day is it today?"

"July 3rd?" I answered, all the more confused.

Boruto nodded his head and gave me a creepy smile, "And can you think of any important celebration that might be coming up soon?"

I quickly searched my brain for anything important in the coming days "No, not really…"

It was Neji's birthday today but from Boruto's tone, I had a feeling that he wasn't inviting me to the annual grave visit that we used to do as a family.

'Of course not.' I thought to myself, 'That was her family, not yours.'

"How about your only daughter's birthday?" Boruto's eyebrow twitched, and I made a face.

"That's in August." I countered, "A whole month away!"

"It's not just in August, Tou-chan!" Boruto corrected me, "It's August 1st, meaning we have twenty-eight days to get Hima the perfect birthday gift, and there's only one thing she wants, ya know."

"Which is?" I waved my hand for Boruto to tell me what it was.

"A picture with Koda the *Kuma, and he's coming to Konoha on her birthday as part of his national tour."

I shut my eyes and tried to remember everything I could about the familiar teddy bear. It was no surprise Himawari would want something to do with the toy, considering how she had refused to let go of it since first being introduced to it at three years old.

"That's perfect." I clapped my hands, not seeing an issue, "We'll take her to see him, get a picture, and get together to cut a cake."

Boruto shook his head "It's not that simple. You need to buy tickets to see him—"

"So I'll buy them."

"—But his tickets are all sold out." Boruto continued despite my interruption, "And I tried to see if I could buy some off of the resellers, but the prices are…well, I'll let you see for yourself, ya know."

A notification popped up of Boruto sending me a screenshot and I tapped on it, only to have my mouth fall open.

"550,000 ryo?!" I shouted, my eyes popping out at the price, "Is this bear bringing Buddha with him?!"

"That's why I said things wouldn't be so easy."

"Won't be so easy?" I snorted, "More like impossible. Gomen but Himawari's not gonna be able to take a picture with him, ya know. At least, not this year. I'll take her out to somewhere fancy and buy her anything she wants, but this is out of the question."

Boruto scratched his head, "Yeah, well there's one small problem with that, ya know."

By the way he was fidgeting, I knew asking would only get me roped into some more trouble, but I couldn't leave well enough alone, "What's the problem?"

"I maybe kinda sorta mighta already told Hima that she's going to see him for her birthday." Boruto's eyes dodged mine as he informed me of his lie, but it got worse, "And I also told her that you were the one who got the tickets."

I smacked my hand to my forehead before glaring at Boruto and answering him through grit teeth, "And why would you do that?"

"Listen, don't act like you wouldn't have done the same if Hima gave you her puppy eyes, ya know!" Boruto hurriedly defended his actions, "How was I supposed to look her in the face and shatter her hopes and dreams in one breath?"

I bit my lip, knowing he was right but refusing to admit it.

"So what now?" I sighed, wanting us to move on seeing as how the damage was already done, "I can't just blow my savings on those tickets."

Boruto patted his chest, "Don't worry about how we're gonna get in, I'm working on something in that department. All I need is for you to make yourself available and remember her birthday, ya know."

I opened my mouth to protest his insinuation that I ever forgot but was swiftly interrupted by his knowing look.

"I get that you're busy sometimes so I could care less if you told me happy birthday a week later, but Himawari's sensitive to this kind of stuff." Boruto informed me, "You can't forget her birthday and expect her to just brush it off."

"Aa." I nodded to show that I understood, "I won't let her down."

Boruto shook his head and smiled before yawning, "Well, that's all I wanted to talk to you about. I'm gonna go back to bed."

"Alright." I chuckled, "Oyasumi, sleepyhead."

Boruto laughed before ending the call and I set the phone aside.

Despite my initial statement about Himawari's birthday being a month away, I was grateful that Boruto had brought up the subject. It gave me enough time to plan how I was going to approach Hinata on the subject of coming together as a family for Himawari's sake.

Normally, I wouldn't have been hard-pressed about it, and would've swung Hinata a text and begun coordinating things to make sure we didn't overlap when it came to buying things for the party, but recently I'd been hearing…things.

Since I'd started my healing journey with Sakura, I had done my best to stay out of my ex-wife's private affairs just as she kept out of mine. Part of me wished I hadn't though, as I was met with some shocking information one night while drinking with the guys.

"W-What?" I stuttered as I coughed out the bits of alcohol that had gone down the wrong pipe, "What did you say?"

"You mean you didn't know?" Kiba turned to me in surprise, "Things between Hinata and Toneri are getting serious. She's been wearing his family crest in her hair for about a month. Won't be surprised if we hear about an engagement in a week or two."

I tried not to let my despair show as I cleared my throat, "T-That's great, ya know. I wish her the best."

"Naruto-kun, you don't have to lie." Lee told me, his voice entering a kinder tone than I'd ever heard from, "Whatever you're feeling, you can say it to us."

"What are you saying, Bushy Brows?" I laughed as I tossed back another shot, "Why would I be lying? We're divorced, she's moved on, I've moved on; everything's fine."

"Cut the bullshit, Naruto." Shikamaru flicked on his lighter and lit a cig, "You look like you're two seconds away from crying."

I forced another laugh, "Guys, seriously, e-everything's…"

I couldn't bring myself to say anymore, not sure if I could keep myself from breaking down. Choji patted my shoulder empathetically and Kiba did the same.

"It doesn't make sense for me to feel like this, ya know." I turned to them all, "I have a girlfriend, so why am I…?"

I let my words trail off as I hung my head.

"What the mind thinks is simple, the heart rarely does." Shino said after a moment, and all of us turned to look at him, "What?"

"Nothing, Shino. Nothing." Kiba chuckled as he slapped him on the back, "I agree with you a 100%. Naruto, you and Hinata were married for sixteen years. You're joking if you think three months is enough time to get over the love you have for her."

"And even Hinata-san must still be carrying some residual feelings for you." Lee gave me a thumbs up, "So don't feel too bad."

"You guys…" I shook my head and pinched my eyes shut, "Arigato."

Since then, news about Hinata always found its way back to me.

"Did you hear? Hinata was there at the unveiling of the Otsutsuki's new commerce building!"

"Hinata looks so pretty in this dress, and Toneri matches her like a bee on a flower."

"Look at how long her hair is, she truly is the Hyūga's princess."

"She'll be the Otsutsuki's princess soon enough."

I was snapped out of the upsetting gossip as the passenger door opened, and I turned to find a red-eyed Sakura climbing in beside me.

"Daijōbu?" I asked her as she buckled her seatbelt and she nodded as she faced forward.

"Just had a really…emotional session today." She sniffled before giving me a weak smile, "My therapist said that we should…we should take a one-week break."

"…What?" I blinked and tilted my head, "Why?"

Sakura shook her head as she wiped under her nose, "Just a mental health exercise, to see if I can handle being away from you."

I started the car and tried to keep from frowning, "And what did you tell her?"

"At first? I refused. But after thinking about it, I decided to give it a try." Sakura informed me.

I hummed as I pulled us out onto the road, "So what's the plan? Do you want me to drop you off at home?"

"No, no, no." She immediately declined my offer, "I told her that we had something planned for today which wasn't technically a lie, so she said it was okay if we started tomorrow."

I shot her a curious look as we merged onto the highway, "We can push this back to next week if we need to, ya know. Don't let me get in the way of your healing."

"Silly." Sakura murmured as she gently squeezed my knee, "You're part of my healing."

I felt my cheeks heat up at the compliment and looked away, which was why I was so surprised to feel Sakura palming my length through my jeans.

"Sakura-chan…" I rumbled in a low voice, warning her to stop her actions.

"Hm?" She responded in an equally quiet tone, turning to me with a false look of innocence, "What is it?"

I sucked in a sharp breath as she tugged my zipper down and reached into my pants, "I'm driving, you can't j-just…!"

I faltered she slipped her hand under the hem of my boxers and ran her fingers along my length.

"Are you sure you don't want me to?" She smirked suggestively, "I'm not going to see you or speak to you for a whole week. Wouldn't you want something to remember me by?"

I couldn't answer, and I only bit my lower lip as she unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned down to me.

"S-Sakura-chan…" I stuttered as she took me into her mouth, "I—Oh fuck…!"

Any protests died on my tongue as Sakura sucked the objections right out of me. I placed a light hand on her head and shivered as she moaned in response to the commending gesture.

With my other hand on the wheel, I did my best to keep my eyes on the road as I received a world full of pleasure just beyond the sight of any curious eyes. When we came to a red light and Sakura committed herself to making me cum, all I could think about was how lucky I was, how lucky we both were.

A grateful sentiment in mind, I reached my peak just as the light turned green, and Sakura drank up every last drop.

*Kuma means bear in Japanese

|3rd Person|

The knowledge that Sakura would be going dark on him for the next seven days didn't escape Naruto's mind the whole time during their various embraces. Perhaps that was one of the motivations for the more frenzied, animalistic aura that permeated most of his actions. The other being that he was just glad to finally have Sakura over at his place.

"Ngh, fuck, what am I gonna do without you?" Naruto moaned.

"I—I don't know…!" Sakura mewled as she bounced on top of him, "I should be – hah – asking you that!"

Sakura cried out in ecstasy as an orgasm ripped through her, and she frantically rocked her hips against his shaft as she chased the highs of her climax. Naruto grunted and did his best to push her into a higher peak, placing his hands on her hips and thrusting up into her as hard as he could before he eventually came.

He fell back, unable to stay upright after using up so much energy, and Sakura fell right with him, her head landing on his chest and staying put as she took in gulps of air. It was only after a few moments of panting and gasping that either of them made any attempt to move.

Sakura sat up and endearingly rubbed Naruto's stomach before getting up and heading over to his closet, and after a deep breath, Naruto sat up and removed the soiled condom from his length. As he tossed it into the trash, Sakura returned to his side wearing one of his grey t-shirts and had a pair of his black basketball shorts in hand.

Naruto gave Sakura a kiss of appreciation before standing up and jumping into the shorts, and the two climbed into the bed and lay side by side. Sakura got under the covers and curled up against Naruto, and when he shot her a questioning glance, she snuggled even closer against him.

"Cold?" Naruto asked as he reached out to grab the remote for the thermostat, "I'll turn the AC off."

"No, don't." Sakura grabbed his arm tighter and shut her eyes, "Then it'll be hot. I just wanna stay like this for a bit…"

Naruto nodded, although Sakura didn't see it, and lifted his arm so that it was around her shoulders and essentially cradling her. Sakura adjusted to the shift by lifting her own arm out from under him and placing her hand on his chest.

It wasn't long before Sakura began to lightly snore, leaving Naruto alone with his thoughts, although a yawn from the firefighter assured him that he would soon be fast asleep like his girlfriend.

Today had been a good day, and it wasn't even completely over.

Naruto had picked Sakura up from her house around 6.a.m, the two of them had arrived at Choji's gym around 7, they had stayed there for about two hours before heading off to Sakura's therapist where Naruto had sat in the car for an hour while he waited for her session to finish, and then the two had hopped into the car and gone to Naruto's apartment in downtown Konoha.

Notwithstanding the bumps and delays, they'd arrived at Naruto's apartment a quarter past twelve and Sakura had been given the pleasure of an all-inclusive apartment tour from the front door down to the closets in the two guest rooms. To say that Sakura had been eager would've been an understatement.

As soon as he pressed a key into her hand and told her that she was always welcome to stop by or step in if she was in the area, the woman was all over him. Naruto didn't mind her willingness to confirm her claim to the apartment and growled his support into her neck as he feverishly sucked at her throat.

"What's mine is yours, Sakura-chan." Naruto rasped against Sakura's throat, hiking her dress around her hips, "I'm yours. And you're mine."

The next three hours had been spent making mind-numbing, tear-jerking, breath-stealing love. Not sex, love.

In every position they took, every place they went, "I love yous" were moaned, whispered, and murmured into each other's skin. Whether Naruto was on his knees in the living room or Sakura was bent over on the kitchen counter, nothing could stop them from reaffirming their love for one another.

It was during his recuperation from one of the mind-eroding orgasms Sakura had pulled from him that Naruto realized just how well off he was. He couldn't remember a time when he'd been so happy to live in his truth, and it was all thanks to the pink haired woman that lay shuddering before him.

Naruto looked down at Sakura's sleeping face and ran a delicate hand through her hair before smiling. He couldn't even begin to imagine where he'd be right now if it weren't for Sakura. There was a chance he might not have ever gotten divorced and instead remained trapped in an unfulfilling marriage, tied down solely because of his obligations. Instead, he was lying in bed with a woman that had accepted his sexuality and made an effort to add it on to her own.

"Do you think we're having too much sex?" Sakura's sudden question came to mind, and Naruto couldn't help but go over the conversation that proceeded from it.

"Uh, no." Naruto spared her a glance before turning his eyes back to the road, "Why? Do you think we do?"

Sakura shrugged her shoulders, "I wasn't having sex at all before we slept together so I can't really tell. How often did you and Hinata do it?"

Naruto coughed and sputtered at the inquiry and Sakura raised an apologetic hand, "Gomen, that was rude. I—It's just that I'm so used to speaking my mind in therapy that I—"

"No, no, it's fine, ya know." Naruto got over his initial surprise, not wanting Sakura to recede from her current confidence, "Hinata and I did it twice a month? We really didn't get that many chances due to the kids and work…it was hard to find the time."

Sakura swallowed hard, "Twice a month is a lot less than twelve times a week."

"Twelve times a week?" He repeated, unsure of how she was measuring their copulation, "Wait, are you counting the days that we have sex or every time that we do it?"

"Every time." She answered quietly and he fell silent, "Maybe we need this one-week break."

"But that's—"

"So we can see." Sakura continued, cutting him off, "Everyone who hears about our sex life says that it's wrong, but I can't see how. What's so bad about wanting to feel good?"

Naruto couldn't answer her question, as it was one he had asked himself many times over the past two years. Why wasn't he allowed to be happy about what made him feel good? Some people drank alcohol till their liver's failed, others snorted powder till their noses fell off, at least his method wasn't negatively affecting his health; and he knew when to rein himself in.

With a shake of his head, Naruto shut his eyes. He would rest for about an hour, and hopefully Sakura would wake up in time for the two to freshen up, get dressed, and head into the city to enjoy what Naruto had planned for the two of them.