Naruto was at one of his regular check-ups with Sakura, and according to her everything was going fine. He was glad he had her to look after him.
"Now," Sakura said, packing up her kit. "I'm going away for a week or two- "
"What? No! You can't!"
"Naruto, you have nothing to worry about, everything's fine. But just in case- "
"In case of what?"
"I dunno! Just let me finish, would ya?!"
"Okay…"
"So if you need anything, Ino is around and I've filled her in on everything. Her medical ninjutsu is pretty advanced, she'll be able to help you if you need it."
"Well, if you're sure…"
"I am. Hey," she said, softening her tone and catching his eye. "You have nothing to worry about. You and your baby are perfectly healthy. You're doing a brilliant job of this."
She even offered him a smile.
"Thanks, Sakura," he smiled back. "Hey, where are you going anyway? On a mission?"
"Not exactly," she blushed. "Shikamaru has some time off with Neji taking over the chunin exams, so I thought I'd go to the Sand Village with him."
I had no idea, but she's blushing, so that must be it. Well, he is a pretty cool guy.
"Sakura, do you have a thing for Shikamaru?"
"What?! Shikamaru?! No! You idiot!" she yelled, yanking one of his pigtails.
"Hey! Ow!" he complained, rubbing his head. "Then why the heck were you blushing like that?! Anyway, what's wrong with Shikamaru?"
"Nothing except the fact he's taken. Don't you know he's going to ask Temari to marry him? Geez, Naruto, you're so clueless sometimes."
"Really?"
"Yes, he's been with her as almost as long as you've been with Neji."
I do remember them being weird back when I first came home…
"I guess. But then why were you blushing?!"
"Because someone I like is there!"
"In the Sand? Who? Gaara? Good for you, Sakura. Aim for the top. He's the Kazekage, you know…"
"I'm aware considering we saved his life. Anyway, it's not Gaara."
"Then who? Just tell me!"
"Kankuro! Alright?!"
Didn't see that coming…
"The cat guy?" he blinked. "How come you suddenly like him?"
"It's not sudden, Naruto. I've been thinking about it for a while. But I guess, seeing you and Neji getting on with your lives kind of inspired me to finally do something about it. Okay?!"
Oh.
"Sakura…"
"So yeah, it's totally your fault. Idiot!"
"Nope," he grinned. "That'll be him if he doesn't like you too. I hope you find what you're looking for, Sakura. I hope you can be as happy as me and Neji are."
"Thank you," she said, giving in and hugging him. "You're actually the smartest idiot I know."
"Thanks. I think."
She drew back and gave him a smile.
"You always get the important things right, Naruto. I hope I can do that too."
"Maybe if you lay off the insults, you'll be in with a better chance?"
"Why you-" she growled, before stopping herself and sighing. "Maybe you're right. Whatever you did seemed to work. Neji adores you."
"I think the trick is that I didn't do anything. I was just totally myself."
"Hmm, so maybe I do need to insult him?"
"Yeah, maybe," he laughed, and she laughed too.
AN: I shipped Sakura and Kankuro for five seconds back at the start of Shippuden when I wrote this. I still dig it for this verse, so I'm gonna roll with it for something different.