Disclaimer: Naruto not mine!

A/N: it would be better if you read "Thank you" firtst.

Hidden Love

Part I

The trees rustled restlessly in the gentle breeze. The blonde ninja sat high on a branch, hidden from anyone who might be passing. Naruto sighed and looked up. The full moon was veiled by the canopy of trees. He was alone.

The last time Naruto had seen him Sasuke had already overpowered Orochimaru and was hunting his brother. Ever since their last fight Naruto had been waiting, waiting for the day Sasuke would return. It was an unspoken agreement between them, Naruto would stop chasing Sasuke and Sasuke would return once he had completed his task, he would return of his own free will.

It had been necessary. If they hadn't come to terms at this they would have ended up killing each other, a fate neither of them desired for each other. Naruto had accepted the terms of tacit agreement and had made very clear that should Sasuke ever need anything he could always turn to Naruto. All Naruto asked for in return was for his best friend to come home.

Naruto looked down from his hiding spot in the trees. The gates stood tall and inviting. Every night Naruto found himself alone, staring down at the mocking gates that kept him in the village. His mind was restless, itching to see his friend again. But he couldn't, he had to stay and wait and trust his friend to come back safely. He didn't doubt Sasuke's word or his strength, Time was Naruto's enemy. When would Sasuke return? The question replayed in his mind thousands of times. How long will it take?

Naruto sat up and frowned. Every night he had been here he had been here alone, but the sound of quiet footsteps had set his mind on alert. He looked down to see a pink haired kunoichi sitting on the cold stone bench. He relaxed and smiled grimly, 'Of course she would be here. She misses him just as much as I do...maybe more...'

He could see her eyes glistening with tears. He could see her sadness, her love, her remorse, her pain, her confusion. He wanted to go down to her and take her in his arms, reassure her that Sasuke would return soon. Tell her that he intended to fulfill the promise he had made to her so long ago.

But he knew better. He knew that she wanted to be alone. The only one that could make her feel better was Sasuke. He knew that she still loved Sasuke and no matter what she always would. Sasuke had become the driving force of her determination just as he had become Naruto's. They trained hard for him, keeping him in front of their eyes and never losing sight of him.

Naruto didn't hate her for it, he couldn't. He accepted that she would only ever see him as a really good friend, someone to rely on when things went wrong. But he couldn't help loving her all the same. All he could do for her was to show her that he still cared for her. Even though some of the things he did earned him some painful bumps on his head or a flight across town, he didn't mind. As long as she was smiling, he was happy.

The mist began to rise and Naruto could feel something prick in the back of his mind. He could sense the familiar build of chakra, the crackling build of blue-white that had rivaled his blue-red. It couldn't be mistaken for anything else, it was close by, he was close by.

Naruto sat up, his eyes searching the shadows among the mist. Finally they rested on a familiar figure, the same hair, same shape, same pose, with his hands jammed in his pockets. Naruto shot up, his veins bursting with excitement. Sakura had noticed too. She got up and ran a few steps toward the gate. Swish. She lost sight of him.

'Cruel,' thought Naruto, 'Hasn't she suffered enough? You have to play tricks on her too? Better be worth it.' Unlike Sakura's eyes his could still follow Sasuke's swift movements.

"Just what did you mean by thank you?" Sakura's words drifted up to Naruto's ears. Swish. Naruto stopped.

"Sakura...thank you..." Sakura's eyes widened, and she gasped.

"Thank you for trying to help me...for caring for me, for holding me so close to your heart...for loving me." His voice spoke again.

Sasuke gripped and held her wrist. His other arm reached around her and gently turned her around. She looked down, not trusting her eyes. His hand moved from her shoulder to gently lift her chin and she looked up into his pale face.

He brought his face closer to hers and whispered, "But most of all, thank you for waiting for me." Sasuke pressed his lips against hers. He wrapped his arms around her, engulfing her in his embrace.

Naruto could see her sobbing into his shoulder, her hands clinging to his shirt, refusing to let him go. "I'm sorry, Sakura, I'll never leave you again. Ever." Sasuke murmured into her ear as he held her more tightly. "I'll never hurt you like this again," he said to her pulling back just enough to look into her eyes so she would know he meant every word. He pressed his lips against hers kissing her until she had no more tears left to cry.

Naruto watched silently, slightly averting his gaze. He smiled. He had seen Sasuke's eyes when he spoke. The coldness that they once held was no longer present. Instead they were filled with an unfamiliar but honest warmth and gentleness. Naruto got up and leapt away silently. A single tear rolled down his cheek. Sakura would be happy and Naruto was happy for her.

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Sakura waved goodbye to Naruto and turned and ran to catch up with Sasuke, who was already leaving. Sakura glanced at him and smiled to herself. Sasuke had his hands stuffed in his pockets. To anyone else he would seem like the same cold hearted person he always was, but she and Naruto knew better. They knew that he had changed, and for the better.

They walked in silence save for the sound of their feet crunching leaves and stones on the gravel path. Sasuke lived down the street from Sakura so it wasn't unusual seeing the pair walking home together.

Without a word they turned into a dark alley away from Sakura's house. Immediately Sasuke's arm curved around Sakura's waist and he pulled her into him, wrapping both arms around her. He nuzzled the back of her neck earned himself a stifled giggle. Sasuke smirked and nuzzled her again.

"...nnnngh...That tickles!" Sakura protested.

"I know," he stated and smirked nuzzling her yet again.

They continued walking to the darkest corner of the alley.

"Finally...," Sasuke muttered.

Sakura grinned. No one knew about their relationship yet and Sasuke wanted to keep it that way. He had a reputation to keep and Sakura had agreed to his request. She found it amusing that he cared so much about what others though of him. She knew that he would eventually let others know but she was willing to wait until he was more comfortable.

Sasuke pushed Sakura against the wall and kissed her. "Did you notice it today?"

Sakura frowned. She knew what he was talking about; Naruto had been acting differently ever since Sasuke had returned. He was still just as loud and energetic as before but his demeanor had changed ever so slightly. To anyone else he would have looked the same. It was so minor that even Sakura had over looked it. But now that Sasuke had pointed it out, Sakura could see it clearly. Naruto was happy but just slightly distant.

Sasuke had first sensed it in his fighting style. Naruto just didn't try as hard as he used to. Before Naruto had always thrown all his power against Sasuke but now... He still fought hard but not as hard as he would have a year ago.

"Yea...you're right. He is different." Sakura replied, "Do you have any idea of what it could be?"

Sasuke remained silent for a moment and then said, "I think...I think he knows about us. I remember the day I came back I had sensed his chakra near the gates, close to where you were, but I hadn't seen him anywhere. But later on, before we left, the presence was gone."

Sakura gasped, "You mean he saw the whole thing? And then we didn't even tell him about us? He probably feels betrayed."

Sasuke nodded grimly. He wouldn't have especially minded Naruto knowing of their relationship but he knew how Naruto felt about Sakura and didn't want to hurt him. The fact that he was just slightly concerned about Naruto's ability in keeping a secret didn't have that much to do with Sasuke wanting to not telling him.

"Come to think of it," Sakura said, "he hasn't even asked me out once for the past few months. Usually he would ask me out whenever the opportunity would arise. Also he hasn't ever tried to tag along whenever we go off on our own. Could he...could he hate us?"

Sasuke shook his head, "No. He wouldn't start hating us over something like this. If he did he would have said something, gotten angry. He's not the type to hold a grudge. More likely he's hurt that we didn't trust him. He's not saying anything because he cares enough to respect our feelings and he's willing to sacrifice his feelings for you if it means you're happy. However that leaves him alone and rejected again."

Sakura felt close to tears. Sasuke was right, Naruto had been willing to go to the ends of the Earth for his friends and he practically had for Sasuke. She hadn't realized just how much Naruto cared for them. She loved Naruto and would do anything for him but, he was still just a friend in her eyes. She hadn't meant to reject him but she loved Sasuke.

"What can we do?" she asked sadly.

"We have two options," replied Sasuke, "One we can come out and just tell him and apologize for not telling him sooner. Or two," he looked at her, amusement in his eyes, "we can set him up on a date with someone else."

Sakura's eyes lit up in realization, "Hinata..." she whispered, then frowned, "but how's that gonna solve anything?"

Sasuke shook his head, "Of course we won't keep this a secret forever, and we will still apologize to him but if we do that first it would still leave him alone and feeling rejected. This way Naruto will also have someone who genuinely cares for him. Hinata is the perfect choice since she is very much like you only a lot more timid. Naruto is too dense to see how she feels about him, and she is too shy to say anything to him. They would be a lost cause unless we do something. And Naruto isn't the kind of person to take people for granted. If we can get them together, he will be very loyal to her. Plus...it would be more fun this way."

Sakura was shocked. This wasn't something she expected from Sasuke. Obviously he had put a lot of thought into this. But she wasn't all that surprised, after all Naruto was still Sasuke's best friend even though Sasuke would deny it at times.

Slowly a grin crept onto Sakura's face, "I have a plan," she said and started telling Sasuke about how they could go about playing matchmakers.

Sasuke was surprised. Sakura's plan might actually work, but right now he didn't care. They could talk more about it later.

So when Sakura finished explaining he asked, "Are you done?"

"...yes..." she replied confused.

"Good," he brought his mouth down on hers; her hot breath had been teasing his lips long enough.

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A/N: part one done! Review please.