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Sakura tucked the bag of groceries closer to her side, dodging a kid running through the market, surely burning off a sugar rush. She shook her head in exasperation, smiling as a haggard woman sprinted by not ten seconds after, yelling for the boy to stop or else! It was in moments like these that she felt sorry for her mother, having had to deal with the menance she was as a child.
Her attention went back to the people milling around her, an unusually high amount of them being couples, walking hand in hand, gazing lovingly at one another as if no one else but their perfect little romance existed for them. Mood soured once again, she exhaled a little huff and quickened her pace.
What was with Valentine’s day anyway? It was such a stupid construct built solely for all the chocolate and balloon hawkers to get a boon. Why have a special day for lovers to do lover-things when they’re all so grossly in love every other day anyway?
She wasn’t feeling left out. No. Romance was dead and real love was a hoax. She knew these things because she was an enlightened individual who refused to be swept by the storm of mindless conformity.
Her annoyance was valid and perfectly reasonable.
“–and I’m just so glad I get to be with you and see your smile,” some sappy hopeless romantic said to his girlfriend and Sakura gagged as she passed by them.
Finally she was out of the love-radius and into the relatively peaceful territory of her residential compound. She had big plans for today and unlike most, they didn’t have anything to do with gooey love confessions or day-long dates with her significant other. Not that she had one, in the first place.
Unbidden, her mind wandered to Sasuke. The last time she’d seen him, he was thirteen. She wondered how he’d changed, how his face had become more angled or rounded or if he’d cut off his hair or let them grow. She wondered of the possibilities, as was usual by now. There was only the luxury of fantasies in her life.
With a put upon sigh, she entered her apartment and dropped the keys in the tray at the entrance. Struggling out of her sandals, she placed the bag on her kitchen counter and took in the mess in her home.
Okay, so maybe her big plans included a deep clean of her apartment but that was a highly important and engaging task. One she’d kept on hold for at least three months.
“You can do this!” she said to the empty room and got to work.
***
She was half-buried under her sofa, trying rub off a nasty stain from the underside (just because no one saw that part didn’t mean she wasn’t going to clean it) when the bell rang. She ignored it. It rang again.
Groaning, she slid out, letting the couch fall back with a thump and all but stomped towards the door. Wrenching it open, she was surprised to find Naruto standing there, face sheepish. She’d thought it would be her annoying neighbour again, asking for a screw driver or a pillow or something. The lady who lived there was a weird one.
“Hey,” he grinned, peeking above her head into the living room. “Are you robbing your own place or something?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Checking in on my friend. Rumor has it she almost killed an innocent couple at the market. Have you seen her?”
Sakura groaned, this time in embarassment. “Did Ino tell you?”
Naruto’s grin widened; the smug bastard. “She didn’t have to. I saw you myself. I was at Ichiraku’s.”
Sakura struggled to give a reply. So she didn’t. Leaving the door open, she went back inside, sure that he would follow. Naruto did, walking in and inspecting her apartment with obvious amusement.
“So what’s going on... ?”
Sakura grabbed more soap solution and returned to the sofa.
“Deep-cleaning. Here, tilt this,” she nodded at the sofa. Naruto shrugged, joining her like it was the most natural thing in the world.
And in a way, it was. She realised this from time to time, how close they’d gotten, how easy ther partnership had become. How she enjoyed herself when she was with him, an idea her younger self would have scoffed at.
Naruto threw his arms above the backrest and leveraged it up against his body weight. Sakura bent down and sprayed the solution on, scrubbing over it with all her might.
“You look great, by the way,” Naruto commented, eyes on her.
Sakura snorted. She was covered in grime, hair in a knot, ugly green gloves on her hands. “I’m filthy, Naruto.”
“Even better,” Naruto said without missing a beat.
She glanced up at him, “So, why are you here exactly?”
“Because you seemed upset and as the epitome of chivalry, I couldn’t bare to leave a sorrowful lady in her lonesome. I hope you understand.”
Though he said it as a joke, Sakura knew there was some truth to it. That he was probably here to cheer her up, like he usually did when she was down. She made sure to return the favor but their friendship was more unconditional than an exchange of support, some kind of give-and-take.
It made her smile. “Then to wash away my sorrows,” she threw another pair of gloves at him, “you better start scrubbing the floors.”
Naruto rolled his eyes but put on the gloves. “I’m nice so I’ll do it.”
The next hour and half they spent cleaning, dusting, washing, scrubbing – on one memorable ocassion, destroying – things all around her house. By the time they circled back to the couch, they were rightfully exhausted.
“Remind me again why I agreed to help you with this?”
“Because you’re a masochist,” Sakura replied, melting into the softness of the sofa.
“Because I’m insane,” Naruto corrected, side-eyeing her, head thrown back, arms limp at his side.
“Can’t disagree,” Sakura said. “Thanks though. It would have taken me way longer without you.”
Naruto dismissed her gratitude with a wave of his hand. “Spar with me this weekend and then we’re even.”
“Deal.”
They lapsed into a comfortable silence, their slightly audible breaths forming a backdrop for their thoughts. Sakura wasn’t sure what Naruto was thinking, if he even was. But her mind was still on the frankly monstrous spider she’d spotted in her spare bedroom. A spider she’d accidentally killed, much to Naruto’s horror. It was all quite funny.
“Sakura?”
She blinked. “Yeah?”
“I’m hungry.”
Sakura laughed at the sullen tone of his voice. “So?”
“Let’s make something. Ramen?”
Sakura’s eyes went to her grocery bag, sitting innocently on her counter, unaffected by the chaos that had taken root all around it.
“I have a better idea.”
***
“My idea was better,” Naruto grumbled, mixing the batter hard and fast till some of it flew into his hair.
Sakura butter-sprayed the pan and gave him an unimpressed look. “You dare not mess that up. I’m not letting all my money go to waste.”
“You say that like it costs a million ryo.”
“Close.”
“How much?”
“400.”
Naruto laughed. “You’re terrible.”
Sakura gave him a cheeky smile before taking the batter bowl from him. Pouring it in, she used chakra to even it out. A little cheating hurts no one.
“And in it goes,” Naruto whispered dramatically as she placed the pan inside the oven.
“Now we wait,” Sakura announced.
“For disaster,” he said.
“For delight,” she rectified.
****
“Why the sudden interest in baking?” Naruto questioned once they were in her room, rifling through her childhood albums. Boredom did that to people.
“Not baking. I was just craving a cake.”
“Bakeries exist, y’know?”
“Yeah but today... ” she trailed off, pretending to be engrossed in a particularly cute picture of hers. She was holding a frog in her hands, smiling toothily up at the camera.
Naruto snatched the photo from her, humming, “Yes, what about today?”
She was thankful he wasn’t looking at her. She didn’t like admitting things like these. They made her seem petty and childish.
“It’s Valentine’s Day,” she said, casual as you please. “And you know how these stupid love zombies are. They hound around the bakeries for cakes and stuff. I can’t be around that kind of mindnumbing festivities, oh no.”
She was fooling no one, Sakura knew. It wasn’t exactly a secret that Valentine’s was kind of a sore subject for her. She was transparent in her emotions when it came to matters like these and she hated that but she couldn’t change herself so there was no point fretting about it.
“You had a punchable face as a kid,” Naruto commented instead of replying to what she said.
“How dare you... ” Sakura’s mouth dropped open at his teasing grin. “Sitting in my home and insulting me?”
Naruto raised his hands in placation. “I said as a kid. You don’t look very punchable anymore.”
“Oh yeah?” Sakura challenged. “Then what do I look like now?”
“Beautiful,” he said, his blue eyes alight with an intensity Sakura was familiar with. It wasn’t the first time he’d told her this, wouldn’t be the last but she couldn’t stop the warmth that bloomed inside her regardless.
“You look beautiful,” he continued, placing the photo by his side. “Kissable.”
Sakura froze. Naruto didn’t say anything else, didn’t look embarassed. He didn’t try to take what he said back, like he once had, a year ago, when a dinner after training had taken them venturing into weird territories.
It wasn’t like Sakura hadn’t considered it. She had, much more recently than before. How could she not? Naruto had grown and she had, too. She’d stopped seeing him through her muddied perceptions from the academy long ago just like his regular flirtations had mellowed and become more sincere and subdued.
Everytime she thought about taking him up on a date, she hesitated, thought of Sasuke and declined. Offers became less and less frequent everytime she said no till Naruto only joked about it, afraid she’d be too uncomfortable denying his propositions at the cost of hurting his feelings. And she appreciated that, she did.
So she knew Naruto saying this right now, face unreadable but not amused was something more serious, more meaningful. Maybe this was his last shot, his last attempt before he gave up entirely. Maybe this was something more impulsive than that but still something Naruto wanted.
The thought of shutting it down, permanently perhaps, wasn’t really a pleasant thought. This realisation, too, wasn’t a surprise. Somewhere along the way, she had acknowledged that she didn’t always hate when Naruto flirted with her, when he smiled and threw his arm around her shoulder. Sometimes, she even flirted back, both knowing that it wouldn’t go anywhere.
But the thought of it all stopping...
Why was she resisting this? Why, when the person she was waiting for may never come back, may never reciprocate the residues of her feelings for him?
This – this other realisation did come as a surprise. The fact that her feelings for Sasuke weren’t as strong as before, weren’t as all consuming. They existed somewhere in the back of her mind but that only meant something else had taken root in the forefront of her thoughts. Like whatever she felt for Naruto now.
She was confused. But that was okay. She could figure things out later.
It was her turn to be the reckless one.
“Then why don’t you... ” she slid the other albums to the edge, scooting closer to Naruto. “... kiss me?”
Naruto’s eyes widened a bit but he didn’t move away. “Are you sure?” he asked quietly, leaning in.
“No,” she said with a smile. “But I will be.”
She met him halfway, tentative at first. Her lips were soft against his, their breaths hot against each other’s skin. The ice broke and she shuffled even closer, being pulled in by Naruto whose one hand was on her neck, the other slowly gripping her hair. She threw her arms around him, hands clasping behind his neck and deepened the kiss. He tasted of lemon and spice and something sweet, no doubt the batter he’d sneaked a taste of.
And as she let herself get lost in the sensation of his body against hers, their lips locked in a moment of what one would call mindless romance, she couldn’t help but think how perfect it all was. How right. How it felt like finding the katana that was made for her hand, how it felt like like the rush of colours when she opened her eyes after a blindfolded obstacle course.
How it felt like she was flying, high and free.
Kami, she was thinking like a lovesick fool already.
They pulled away for a breath, shocked smiles on their faces, cheeks warm.
“Yes,” Naruto said. “Very kissable.”
“Round 2?” Sakura quirked a brow.
“Are you sure?” he asked again.
Sakura grinned, “Fuck yes.”