Drabble-type-thing from the LJ, using the keyword "curiosity." Hope y'all enjoy!
Hunch
"Kiss me."
Naruto lowered his chopsticks and turned his head to look at her, wearing an expression of hopeful disbelief. "What?"
"Kiss me," Sakura repeated, a hint of impatience in her tone. "I want to see what it's like." She reached out and brushed a bit of noodle off the corner of his mouth. Her fingers lingered there too long. At least, much longer than was really appropriate for a friend.
Naruto swallowed hard, and then started coughing violently because some of his half-chewed ramen went down the wrong pipe.
"Naruto? Oh, you idiot," Sakura said exasperatedly, and slapped him on the back a few times. Ayame, one of the Ichiraku's employees, muffled a giggle behind her hand.
"Thanks, Sakura-chan," Naruto wheezed after a moment. "I'm okay. Sorry about that." He rubbed the side of his nose sheepishly and accepted the glass of water Ayame offered him, drinking it in large gulps. Sakura watched him with sharp, disapproving eyes that seemed to say, "you're going to choke again, moron," but the glass was almost empty before he got it through his head to slow his pace.
Normally, Naruto didn't act this feckless around her. Sure, he'd had a crush on Sakura for as long as he could remember, and he tended to make a fool of himself more often than not, anyway, but he knew his current displays of stupidity were all the result of Sakura asking him to kiss her.
Because she wanted to see what it was like. As in, she'd never been kissed before. And she decided Naruto should be the one to change that. (Or, she'd been kissed, but she was curious about how Naruto rated as a kisser. He preferred the former over the latter.)
Something wasn't right, here. There had to be a catch. Maybe she was...testing him. If he leaned in to kiss her now, she might assume he only thought about one thing and punch him. But if he didn't kiss her, then what? He was a prude? He'd rather kiss someone else? Definitely not true.
"Are you finished?" Sakura touched his shoulder. "Walk with me." She put a few coins on the counter between their bowls and stood up. "Come on."
Naruto blinked, silently counting the money. "Hey, Sakura-chan, you left too much..." He trailed off when she winked at him.
"I left just enough," she said. "Now come on."
Looking helplessly at Ayame, Naruto rose and followed Sakura, feeling more the fool than ever. He didn't know if this was a date or not, but he still should've paid.
Minus five-billion points to Naruto.
They walked through the village in silence for a while, Naruto brooding, Sakura gazing around at nothing in particular. She grabbed his wrist when they neared the outskirts, steering him toward the right. "Let's visit the Memorial Stone."
"Uh...okay." He allowed her to lead him into a copse of trees and past a small stream, wondering if she had forgotten about the kiss entirely. The Memorial Stone lie ahead, in a clearing surrounded by wildflowers.
"It's always so beautiful here," she said softly, and Naruto agreed. This place had a solemn air, a timeless sort of grace that spoke of the lives that had been sacrificed to make it so.
Once, ignorantly, Naruto claimed it was his goal to have his name carved in the stone as a hero.
It would be there eventually, he had no doubt, but he wasn't in a hurry. He had a lot left to do, and he couldn't accomplish anything dead.
Instinctively, he reached for Sakura's hand, and she didn't pull away.
"We won't have to come here when we're old and mourn him," she murmured. "We won't. Will we?" There was a note of desperation in her voice, a need for assurance.
"No," Naruto replied, squeezing her hand. "We won't. We're going to bring him home alive."
Before he destroyed himself. Before he was branded a traitor.
"Kiss me."
So she hadn't forgotten.
Naruto ran his thumb across her knuckles. "Why?" His pulse throbbed in his throat. Annoying as hell.
Sakura moved so that they were face to face and took his other hand. "I already told you. I want to see what it's like."
"But...why me, Sakura-chan?"
She closed her eyes, opened them. "Sometimes, it's better not to ask why, Naruto." She stepped closer. Their feet touched.
Naruto's palms were sweaty. He wanted to wipe them on his pants, but Sakura didn't appear as though she was about to let go any time soon. Not until he kissed her.
May as well just do it, then.
Licking his lips, he bent slightly--he was taller than her now--and pressed them against hers.
Sakura was smiling when the kiss ended. "I thought so."
Not entirely recovered from the sensory overload, Naruto stared at her blankly. "Huh?"
Her eyes danced. "You taste like ramen."