The calloused fingers that graze his skin these days give her away.

Naruto is a certified dunce most of the time, but he's equally capable of picking up the most imperceptible signs of change in the behaviour of those closest to him. A childhood starved of simple human touch leaves him uncannily adept at translating the charades played by skin on skin that shinobi are particularly skilled at.

But then, Sakura has always been terribly transparent.

Naruto believes he understands the meaning conveyed by every graceful flutter, every veined clench, every single movement of those slender fingers. The dumb language of her touch registers on his senses like big bold letters drawn in sand. The affectionate punch of camraderie in the shoulder, the slightly annoyed bop on the head, the uninhibited right hook in the face stemming from pure aggravation: he could very well write a manual explaining those petite semaphores, ruthless, tender, precise all at once.

When he has almost resigned himself to the unchanging articulations of those gestures, Sakura surprises him. Not with crimson cheeks and coy smiles. It's the minute, muted signing of longing her fingers trace on his skin, perhaps unconsciously.

She plays with his hair more often, less distractedly these days, when they are lounging on the grass after a hearty spar. When he inevitably chokes while wolfing down steaming ramen down his throat at Ichiraku's, the pat on his back accompanied by the all too familiar noises of frustration becomes just a little bit softer. The glowing hands that heal injuries they inflicted only a moment before glide over his skin with more than mere concentration.

Her fingers are now strangely curious about an all too well known tattooed flesh.

Naruto wonders when she'll come to realize that she barely traced his whisker marks before, much less like she does now, so familiarly, so unthinkingly, as if it were a new way of breathing.

Naruto grins to himself. He will be as patient as a toad till Sakura-chan's heart clambered its way up to her mouth.

P.S. This is hopefully the first in a line of sweet little drabbles. Thoughts?