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Haruno Sakura stood in the kitchen, washing the lunch dishes and watching Naruto gaze at the child sleeping next to him. A smile drifted across her face—at first she had complained when Naruto roped her into babysitting Hatake Kiwako while Kakashi-sensei and Rin-sensei went on a date. She would never admit it to her teammate, but she was enjoying herself.
The kunoichi put the last plate in the cupboard, set the towel on the counter, and walked out into the living room. Kiwako was fast asleep, her small chest rising and falling gently with each breath. Naruto's attention was fully focused on the five-year-old and his fingers traced patterns down her arm.
Sakura held back a smile. Kiwako, sleeping and awake, never failed to completely capture Naruto's attention. The pink-haired jounin eased herself onto the floor and laid down on the other side of Kiwako.
"Look at her," Naruto murmured, his eyes fixed on the silver-haired child. "She's getting big, but she's still so small. Her hands are so tiny—it's hard to believe that someday, these tiny hands are going to grip a kunai in self-defense."
Sakura remained quiet, content just to watch Naruto watch Kiwako. The little girl, still fast asleep, snuggled closer to Naruto.
After a long moment of silence, Sakura spoke without really considering the impact of her words. "Naruto," she whispered, "do you want to get married?"
Naruto went perfectly still, the only outward sign that he had heard the question. He finally tore his eyes from the sleeping child and looked up. Sky blue met sea green. For a moment, Sakura felt their souls connect.
Then confusion flooded Naruto's face. His brow wrinkled and a familiar puzzled expression settled in.
After a moment of silence, Sakura began to worry. Had she misjudged Naruto? Had he finally gotten over his crush on her? Had she made an utter fool out of herself? She dropped her eyes down to Kiwako. "I mean, if you don't want to get married—"
"Sakura-chan, I've wanted to marry you since the first time I saw you." Naruto reached over the sleeping girl and lifted Sakura's head so they were once more making eye contact. His expression was no longer confused—it was soft and loving. "I loved you when I still thought girls had cooties. I'd be over the moon to have you as my wife. But…"
Sakura felt a moment of dread. "But what?"
Naruto took a breath and his look of confusion returned. "We haven't even gone on a single date."
Relief flooded Sakura and she let out a chuckle. "You baka. We've known each other for years. What could a date possibly teach us about each other that we don't already know?"
Naruto nodded slightly. "True. But also, isn't the man supposed to propose to the woman?"
Sakura smiled. "If I had waited for you to propose, I think we'd both be dead before we were engaged."
"Sakura-chan! I would have asked you before that, especially if I knew that you found me irresistible."
Sakura reached over and whacked his shoulder. "Oh, take this seriously."
"All right, all right." Naruto rolled his eyes. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I would still have liked to propose to you."
Sakura sat up. "Well, you can still propose to me. Come on, stand up." She stood and then pulled Naruto to his feet.
Naruto, a slight blush forming on his face, shuffled his feet. "I'm not sure how to start, Sakura-chan…"
Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, first you have to get on one knee."
Naruto complied and took a deep breath. "Sakura-chan, from the moment I first saw you, you captured my heart. I would be honored if—"
"Where's the ring?"
Naruto stopped and gaped. "Ring? I don't… Wait. You didn't have a ring when _you_ proposed to me!"
Sakura crossed her arms. "Well, if you're going to do this right, you need a ring. I insist."
Naruto pushed himself to his feet. "All right, Sakura-chan. I'll be right back."
The kunoichi stifled a laugh when he jogged into the bathroom. Rustling material, a muttered curse, more rustling material, a victory cry, and Naruto came jogging back out. He knelt in front of Sakura again and took her hand in his.
"Where was I? Oh, right. Sakura-chan, you would make me the happiest man in Konoha if you accepted this ring." With that, he pulled a small, metal ring out of his back pocket and slipped it onto Sakura's ring finger.
Sakura, with tears in her eyes, looked at the ring. "Oh, Naruto… Is that a shower curtain ring?"
Naruto stood, a blush spreading across his face. "It's only temporary, Sakura-chan. Until I can get you a real engagement ring."
Sakura threw her arms around his neck. "No, it's perfect." With that said, she pressed her lips against Naruto's.
* * *
Naruto and Sakura were sprawled on the floor, Kiwako curled up between them, still sleeping. Sakura watched Naruto, who watched Kiwako. Their hands were intertwined and resting on Kiwako's back.
"Naruto," Sakura whispered.
"Hmm?"
"You said you loved me since the first time we met. When was the first time we met?"
Naruto looked up. "I walked in the flower shop for some reason. And there you were, sitting on the counter with Ino. You looked at me and smiled. I thought to myself, 'I'm going to marry her someday.' And that was that. I was head-over-heels in love."
Sakura thought back for a minute. "Naruto, we were five."
Naruto smiled. "I know."
The door opened and Rin called out, "We're back!"
Sakura and Naruto reluctantly pulled their hands apart. Sakura stood up as Rin and Kakashi came into the living room.
Rin smiled. "Thank you two for coming over on such short notice."
"Oh, it wasn't a problem, Rin-sensei. Whenever you need a babysitter again, we'd love to watch Kiwako," Naruto said, standing up.
"We should go now. Naruto promised to pay for dinner if I came along with him today. Bye, Kakashi-sensei, Rin-sensei!"
Naruto and Sakura waved goodbye and took off to the ramen stand. There was a moment of silence between the newly engaged couple, and then:
"When should we have the wedding, Sakura-chan?"
A pause.
"I was thinking about a spring wedding."
Naruto nodded. "Next spring sounds nice."
Sakura looked up at Naruto. "Next spring? I meant this spring.
"This spring?! Sakura, that's in two weeks!"
Sakura smiled. "I know. But we're ninja. Tomorrow is never a certainty. And I want to have a family. With you."
A thoughtful look crossed Naruto's face. "This spring sounds fine to me."
"I thought you'd agree with my logic. But before we get married, we have to go on at least one date."
Naruto smiled. "Deal."
"The ramen stand doesn't count."
"Hm."
* * *
Rin walked into the bathroom, carrying Kiwako on one hip and a towel and clothes under her other arm. "All right, sweetie. Bath time! Did you have fun with Uncle Naruto and Aunt Sakura?"
Kiwako nodded. "Yeah. Uncle Naruto always has the best ideas for games. And Aunt Sakura cooks really yummy food."
Rin nodded and set Kiwako down. "Well, that's good. Now, where did on earth did I leave…" She paused and studied the shower curtain. "Kakashi? Do you know why we're missing a shower curtain ring?"
Kakashi wandered into the bathroom. "A shower curtain ring?"
Rin pointed, even though she knew the gesture was useless. "Yeah. The curtain droops right in the middle."
Kakashi's brow furrowed. "Odd. Maybe Naruto or Sakura can tell us what happened."