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You and Sakura had been friends since before you could remember. You’d been neighbors growing up, and your parents knew each other pretty well, so naturally you’d played together a lot as kids. The friendship stayed strong when you both went to the academy, and even when you were assigned to separate teams.
At the moment, you were both holed up in her room with an abundance of snacks and way too much pop. Intermittent sleepovers had been a staple of your childhood, and the tradition continued well into your chunin years.
You were laid next to each other lengthwise on her bed, legs dangling off the side, and you bit the inside of your lip in thought, trying to figure out how to put your thoughts into words.
“Hey Sakura?”
“Hm?”
“Can I tell you something?”
She sat up to look at you better. “Sure, what about?”
You swallowed, trying to summon the courage to actually say the words. Facing down enemy ninja in battle? No sweat. Trying to talk at this exact moment? Most difficult thing you’ve ever done.
“I— so— you know Naruto?” You wanted to bash your head into the wall. Great start.
“Uhhh, yeah? What about him?”
“So I kinda— I really— he’s— I just— fuck me,” you buried your face in your hands. “He’s really cute and I really like him but I have no idea how to tell him and I’m scared he won’t like me back and I’ll completely ruin our friendship. Help.”
You peeked through your fingers, to see a look of utter confusion on her face.
“I—... Naruto?!”
“I don’t know?! He’s just— he’s so nice?! And he gets this smile sometimes that’s just—” You covered your face again. “I… I really wanna tell him, but I don’t— I have no idea what I’m doing, can you help me?”
“I— you’re asking me?!” Fair enough. You’d endured her lovestruck rants about Sasuke when you were in the academy, and going from that to near-silence on the matter after he left had been jarring. She’d never talked about another love interest since then, which was understandable, though it meant both of you were woefully underprepared in that department.
“I don’t know, he’s on your team!”
Sakura laughed, raising her hands up in mock surrender. “Honestly, if you buy him ramen he’ll probably fall in love with you anyway. But don’t worry, he’s— he’s not the type of guy who’d just abandon you if he doesn’t feel the same way.”
“Still…”
“I’d go for it! You’ll never know how he feels unless you try!” You took a breath, finally lowering your hands. You’ve been a shinobi for how many years already?— but all it takes is your dumb crush to reduce you to a blushing mess.
“Okay, so… how do I… tell him?” Sakura’s face scrunched in thought.
“Hmmmmmm… it’s not like you have to do anything super complicated, just show up at his house and ask him to hang out! Knowing him he’d be more than happy to. We’ve all got next Sunday off, right?”
“We should have, yeah.” You’d been planning on spending the entire day reading, with maybe a little training, but actively setting yourself up with Naruto?
“And hey, you don’t even have to tell him then if you chicken out, just say it’s not a date and you just wanted to hang out!”
“Would it be a date?!”
“Only if you and him want it to be, technically,” she shrugged.
“... Fair enough. Okay. Fuck it. I’m doing it. I’m gonna die but I’m gonna do it.”
“Awesome!” She clapped in excitement. “You better tell me how it goes, alright?”
“Of course,” you couldn’t help a nervous grin. “Ohhh boy.”
--------
Sakura couldn’t believe this. You liked Naruto? This was too perfect, there was no way.
“I just… she’s so cool, you know? She’s so funny and strong and…” Naruto looked up at the sky wistfully. The light of their small fire reflected off his face as he stared at the stars. Captain Yamato and Sai were on the other side of the clearing, discussing something mission-related, like they should probably be doing. But Naruto had started talking with that look on his face, and Sakura couldn’t bring herself to drag him over. “But there’s no way she’d like someone like me.”
“You never know,” she told him, a reassuring smile on her face. Naruto didn’t respond, just smiled back. But it was obvious he didn’t believe her.
What were the odds that you two idiots had been pining over each other this entire time? You’d better actually confess, Sakura thought, or she might just have to get involved herself.
-------
You’d been standing outside Naruto’s door for a solid five minutes, gaining and then promptly losing your confidence in rapid succession.
This was a bad idea, I should just go home—
No, you want to tell him right? Worst case scenario, you just spend the day with him completely platonically, what’s so bad about that?
You groaned to yourself, running a hand over your hair. This was stupid, just knock on the door already!
Your hand was moving before you could stop yourself, knocking three times on the wood. It took a moment for the door to open.
“Uh, hey!”
“Hey, Naruto, uhh—...” The script you’d mentally prepared for yourself on the way over disappeared completely from your mind. “Uh— did you want to— I mean— you wanna—... hang out? It’s just I’m not doing anything today and—”
“Really?! Sure! Just gimme one second!”
He darted back inside, not bothering to close the door, and you blinked at the space where he had just been.
He reappeared mere seconds later, his trademark jacket only zipped up halfway, tugging on his sandals with one hand. “What did you want to do?”
“Uh— I mean we could train, or—or there’s a new dumpling shop that opened up near my place…”
“How about both! We can train and then get dumplings after!”
“Sounds good to me,” you smiled. Naruto responded with a grin of his own, which only made your cheeks heat up.
“Alright! Let’s go!” He leapt away, and you had to scramble to follow.
“H-hey, wait up!”
-------
There were a couple genin teams doing drills in the training ground you were in, but seeing as you were on opposite sides of the area, you doubted you’d run into them. Either way, it was a gorgeous day out, perfect for a good spar.
“No super crazy ninjutsu, okay? I need to actually stand a chance,” You laughed lightly as you drew a kunai.
“Of course you’d stand a chance, you could kick my butt,” Naruto answered in kind, flashing that smile again. You couldn’t help the single loud chuckle that burst out of you; at this point, you could count on one hand the number of people in the village who could come close to beating him. You didn’t even make it in the top hundred.
Regardless, he drew a kunai as well, and you both got into ready stances. Naruto moved first, leaping at you, blade swinging.
You blocked it with little effort, other fist coming up— he deflected it without even looking at it, breaking away to jump up again and come at you from above.
You ducked, rolling under his body while he was still in the air and ending up behind him. You let loose a kick, leg meeting air. He’d dodged, coming around with another punch. You were able to get your arm up in time, retaliating with one of your own.
It continued as such for multiple minutes. Neither of you were going all out, obviously, but more than enough to get a sweat going. At one point you managed to get your leg under his, kicking it out from under him, and when he was off balance, you grabbed his shoulders and knocked him to the ground.
But your momentum meant you fell with him, narrowly avoiding cracking skulls by catching yourself with both elbows planted in the grass on either side of his head. Usually you would have carried yourself farther past him to avoid landing on the enemy, but as it stood, you were completely trapping Naruto’s body under your own, knees having ended up caging his.
He’d had a light grin on his face the entire time you fought, but it transformed into something more self aware at the predicament he found himself in.
You both were still for a split second longer than you needed to be, breathing hard, eyes meeting— your face felt like it was on fire— he was so close— his eyes were the clearest blue, even under the shadow of your body— his lips looked so— all you had to do was lean down and—
You pitched to the side, landing on your back next to him, letting out a breath at the impact. Naruto didn’t say anything for a long moment, and internally you were panicking, but then he turned on his side to face you. “That was a good one! I didn’t see it coming at all!”
You laughed, still out of breath. “Thanks. Wanna go again?”
“Absolutely! Let’s go!”
-------
It was mid afternoon by the time you stopped, your body still thrumming with adrenaline as you both sat underneath a tree. One of the genin teams must have migrated closer, because you could hear the distant sounds of their training somewhere off to your right. You smiled to yourself, remembering all the times your own team trained like that.
“Man, how long’s it been since we first got assigned our genin teams? Feels like yesterday almost.”
“Yeah. Time moves fast, huh?”
“Mmhmm. And I’ve only been a chunin for what, a year or two? Wait— you’re technically still a genin, aren’t you?” Naruto snapped up from where he was leaning against the tree, arms waving.
“Hey! I was off training! It’s not my fault you guys had the exams again without me!” You couldn’t help but laugh at the look on his face.
“Honestly, if we’re talking about sheer power level though, you could probably give Lady Hokage a run for her money. You could make jonin like that if you wanted,” you snapped your fingers. His eyes widened, one hand rubbing the back of his head.
“Oh, I don’t know about that…”
“Of course you could!” you exclaimed, scooting a little closer. “You’re a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for, Naruto. Whatever rank you happen to be at doesn’t change that.”
He stared at you with those wide, impossibly blue eyes, and the sincerity with which you just spoke finally registered in your head. “You really think so?”
“W—well, yeah! I mean— I’ve seen you like— you could absolutely wreck my ass if you wanted,” you spluttered, all coherent thought leaving you. “I mean— uh— you’re super strong, if we were actually fighting I’d lose in like, ten seconds.”
Naruto laughed, and it was such a bright, reassuring sound you almost missed his next words. “I think I’ll take your word for it.”
You lapsed into silence, before you suddenly got to your feet. “Wanna— get food now? My treat.”
“Sure! Race you there!” He shot off into the trees.
“W— wait! Do you even know where it is?!”
-------
The dumpling shop was pretty empty this time of day, so you practically had the whole place to yourselves. You gathered your food and found a table.
“Oh wow, these are really good,” you said after taking a bite. “I’m glad there’s a place near me now, I used to have to go all the way across the village for these.”
“That’s good,” he said around a mouthful, so it sounded more like “thash gud.” You snorted. “There aren’t any close to me, but I think I know the place— across from the bookstore, right?”
“Yeah, you’ve been there?”
“Only a couple times, whenever I tried to go in as a kid they’d kick me out,” he laughed slightly. Your heart dropped a little.
“What? What for?”
One arm came up to rub the back of his head— he did that a lot, you noticed. “Ahhh, I guess they just didn’t want the demon fox kid in their place, heh.” You swallowed, gaze lowering to the tabletop.
“Hey, I— I’m sorry.”
“Hmm?”
“I mean— when we were at the academy, I saw— everyone excluded you from— well, everything, and all the kids picked on you a lot, and I saw it but I… never did anything. My parents always told me to stay away from you, and I never really— I never really questioned it. When I should have.”
Naruto leaned closer over the table, causing you to glance up at the proximity. His face was nothing but soft.
“Hey, I don’t blame you, besides, that was ages ago, it doesn’t matter anymore. Cuz now I have friends! And I’m really glad you’re one of them.”
You met his eyes, and were almost overwhelmed by the amount of goodness in them.
“I… I’m glad too.”
I want to be more.
… You had to tell him.
-------
The setting sun lit everything in gorgeous hues of red and yellow, bouncing off the buildings and setting everything ablaze. You could see why they called it the Land of Fire.
The sunset in the distance reflecting off the river you were walking down was a beautiful sight to behold, but you found that you couldn’t tear your eyes from your companion. The dusk light graced his features like it was made for him, yellow hair turning gold, eyes glinting just so.
He suddenly turned to face you, grinning wide. “Whatcha thinking about?”
That I really want to kiss you right now.
Your lips pursed as you both stopped in the road. “Nothing, just… thanks for hanging out with me today.”
“Of course! I had a lot of fun! We should totally do this again.”
You had to fight not to sound too eager, because you were already imagining spending more days like that with him and it made your heart ache in the best way.
“Yeah, we should.”
You almost started walking again, but something stopped you. Fuck it, now or never.
“Hey Naruto?”
He’d turned back around to keep walking, but faced you again at your voice.
“What’s up?”
You twisted your fingers into the hem of your shirt, not entirely sure how to go about it. But you’d already committed, no going back now.
“You— you said earlier you’re glad I’m your friend, and—and I am too! I just—…” You ducked your head, unable to meet his gaze if you were actually going to say the words. “I like you, as more than a— a friend. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to tell you, and please don’t feel like you have to say anything or—or, anything, if you don’t feel the same way just say so and I promise I’ll drop it and we can forget this ever happened, it’s just— you’re the best person I’ve ever met Naruto, and I think I love you, and I just— wanted to tell you, is all…”
You only got the courage to look up when he didn’t say anything for many, many agonizing seconds. To your horror, there were tears brimming in his eyes, and you promptly panicked.
”Ohhh no I’m so sorry! Please— please don’t cry, I’m sorry, I never should have said anything, I’ll just go, I—“
You moved to run away, but sudden strong hands grasped yours, stopping you in your tracks.
“No, please— please don’t go,” he pleaded. “I’m really sorry, it’s not that, I just… I can’t believe you… you like me like that, you know?”
He swiped at his eyes with his jacket sleeve, hand finding yours again a moment later. They were calloused, similar to your’s seeing as you were both shinobi, but they way they held yours was so gentle it made you want to start crying.
“Naruto…”
“I feel the same way!” he exclaimed. “Wow, I— I’ve liked you for so long, but I never thought…”
“You do?” You stepped forward, desperate to get closer.
“Yeah! I just didn’t say anything cuz I thought for sure you didn’t feel the same way.” Your heart leapt in your chest at his words, barely able to register what he was saying.
“Well I do,” you reaffirmed, eyes finding his. He grasped your hands harder.
“Can I kiss you?” he suddenly said, and you blinked hard at the question.
“I— yes, yes please.”
One of his hands let go of your own to cup your cheek, and he moved closer, and closer—
And your lips met, and you could have died happy right then. He was hesitant against you, like he still couldn’t believe it was real, but growing bolder by the second. Your free hand wrapped around his neck, bringing him closer.
It was everything you had ever dreamed of, you had never felt more wanted or loved in your life. All too soon you had to break away, breathing hard, and this time it had nothing to do with battle.
And that beautiful smile you loved so dearly lit up his face, and you pulled him into an embrace, that arm still around his neck but the other wrapping around his chest to pull him close.
He reciprocated immediately, and standing there, as close together as you could possibly be, you never wanted to leave his arms. You’d expected to feel nervous about holding him like this, but instead, it was like time slowed. The sheer comfort completely overshadowed any awkwardness about the situation.
You were rocking side to side a little, you noticed, his face buried in the crook of your neck where you soon felt dampness blooming on your shoulder.
“Oh, Naruto, hey, it’s okay,” your hand found his hair, carding your fingers through it. He laughed wetly into you.
“It’s not that,” he promised, “I’m just so happy.”
“Me too.” And you meant it. Kissing him, holding him… it made your heart soar, like you were flying through the treetops instead of standing on concrete.
He eventually pulled away to look you in the eyes, and you mourned the loss of his warmth, but his hands remained on you. “Does this mean we’re dating? I don’t— I don’t really know how this works,” his cheeks flushed.
“I mean— if you want to,” you couldn’t stop the grin that made its way onto your face.
“Great! I— damn, I’ve never dated anyone before.”
“Me neither,” you admitted.
“Wait, was this entire day a date?!”
“I mean, do you want it to be a date? I kind of want it to be a date.”
“So do I!” He stared at the setting sun and frowned dramatically. “It’s getting dark… does that mean I have to take you home now or something?”
“You don’t have to, we can just… keep doing what we were doing until one of us falls asleep. I don’t know, I’m not very good at this either.”
“That sounds good to me! You wanna get ramen?”
“Absolutely.”
Naruto kept his hand in yours as you started off in a new direction, standing so close his shoulder touched your own. You were still having trouble comprehending that Naruto liked you back, that you’d just kissed each other. It was more like something out of your dreams than reality.
But the warm, solid body against your’s was proof it had happened, proof it was real, and as you leaned your head on his shoulder, you decided it was better than anything you had dreamt of.
-------
Later that night, Sakura leapt up the side of your apartment building, easily finding your bedroom window through years of repetition. You rarely used each others’ front door, if only to avoid being roped into small talk with your respective parents.
The light wasn’t on, which was odd. You were usually up later than this, unless you were still out?
Her question was swiftly answered when she caught sight of you on your bed— arms wrapped around Naruto, who had latched onto you like a starfish. You were tangled as close as you could possibly be, leaning against the headboard. You probably hadn’t intended to fall asleep.
That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
As quietly as she could, she leapt away, back to her own room. She could grill you for details tomorrow. There was no way she would disturb such a peaceful scene.