Naruto was bouncing around his apartment, a goofy grin on his face. He was almost bubbling with glee, glancing at the clock nearly every minute, urging time to go a little faster. He'd probably leave way too early, and she wouldn't be ready, but he wasn't known for his patience, was he? And besides, who wouldn't be excited at the thought of a first date, one of three, with their long lasting crush? Yes, Sakura had only accepted the dates because it had been part of a bet done during a mission, but that hardly mattered. He was going to take her to Ichiraku, and they'd eat ramen, and he'd pay for her, for once, because you didn't take a girl out and make her pay, he thought as he checked his frog wallet again, making sure he did have enough, and then after they could take a walk, maybe sit somewhere, get some dango or something, he wasn't too sure, and his mind went fuzzy whenever he thought about it, it was a date, and a date with Sakura-chan, of all people, and he needed to calm down or he'd end up talking like he was thinking and that was fast and would she even be able to understand him or stand him for the entire evening?
He checked the clock again and yelped, because now it was late enough that he could go pick her up without being an hour early. He shoved his wallet back into his pocket, petting it twice, before going out by the window(door? what's that?) and jumping off in the direction of her place. He was a little nervous, he had to admit, because it was Sakura, and she was so cool and amazing and pretty, and would he be able to make her have a good time? He hoped he wouldn't say anything that would cause a bout of violence in her. He somehow always knew just what to say to get a punch in the face and be sent flying. He never meant to, of course, and he hoped she knew that, as well. He didn't want to hurt or offend her, ever, but seemed to have a natural talent for it.
He almost missed her house in his excitement, and had to stop himself mid-jump before he ran into the higher building just behind it. He fell lightly to his feet at her door, grinning wildly, slightly out of breath and his hair in a mess. He hit his chest twice, trying to calm his beating heart and grumbling that he wasn't a girl and that he had nothing to worry about and he should knock on the door now - but then the door opened, and behind it was, obviously, Sakura, leaning on the door sill, arms crossed and an expectant look on her face.
"Were you going to knock or not, Naruto?" She asked, a small smirk on her lips.
He blinked, surprised. How had she known he had been there? ...Had she been waiting for him? His cheeks tinged a little as he started to speak.
"Uh...How did you know I was there?"
"Hard to miss a flash of yellow and orange going by your window," she answered, chucking lightly.
He snickered, a hand going up to scratch the back of his head. "I guess."
Then he just stood there, for a minute or two.
Sakura rolled her eyes, stepped out, closing the door behind her, and grabbed Naruto's arm. "Naruto? Ichiraku, right?"
He blinked, cheeks going pink again. "Oh! Yeah. Of course!" He grinned and started leading her away.
"Take me somewhere more romantic next time." She nudged his shoulder with hers, and he just looked puzzled.
"...R-romantic? What's wrong with Ichiraku?" Sakura's fist twitched and her arm lifted, making Naruto yelp and duck, putting his arms up in defense, but she didn't hit. She just glared, huffed and looked away.
"Nevermind. Romantic isn't something you do."
Naruto was inwardly flailing. What was wrong with Ichiraku? It was a nice, quiet place, it was bright, the old man was a great cook and a good person. It was somewhere familiar, too. Cheap, not far. What was wrong with it? Naruto didn't have much to say in response to her last comment. He wasn't good at that kind of thing, he'd never even seen what romance WAS. He wondered if she had expected him to show up with flowers.
--
It's not like Sakura had expected him to show up with flowers. But he could've taken her out somewhere else than Ichiraku. Familiar, cheap, safe Ichiraku that they went to nearly every single day. She was surprised, though, that despite the typical location, Naruto's embarassed and awkward way of treating her, and her attempts at thinking of these 'dates' as 'friendling outgoings' only, she was truly enjoying herself. Naruto was either acting silly and making her laugh, or acting silly and making her direct her fist at his face(but she never really hit, as she was trying to please Naruto and make him enjoy the dates, too, because maybe then he'd leave her alone a little). He had a funny way of flirting, she thought, doubting he was even aware he was doing it. She doubted he even knew the concept.
Their first date had been about Sasuke. He was always somewhat of a taboo with them, something they never quite talked about, when they were together, and alone. But for some reason, on that night, conversation had drifted to him and his absence, and the wide gap he left between them. Funnily enough, that gap only brought them closer together. With Sasuke gone, Sakura was able to see Naruto more as NARUTO than a nuisance. She could see the way he smiled wasn't quite like the way he used to; there had always been something sad to his eyes when he smiled, but now even the smile itself was a little sad, a little heartbreaking. He only truly smiled at her, and even then, a true smile from him didn't happen as often. She wondered if he spent time thinking about him, too, looking at their old team picture in the middle of the night.
At the end of the first night, they agreed not to talk about Sasuke again.
Their second date had been about Sai. Naruto hated to admit it, but he had grown on him, and he would be disappointed if Sai was to leave their team again. Sai was a much easier subject between them. He was weird, he was annoying, he could be sweet, and most importantly, he wasn't Sasuke.
Sakura noticed that day that she, despite herself, responded to Naruto's flirty banter, didn't move away from him when he (unconsciously or not) shifted closer to her, leaned closer to her face, touched her leg with his. Slowly, she started responding to these not so subtle and most probably unconscious moves. A lean of shoulders, a tilt of the head in his direction. Strangely enough, he didn't smell awful, like she had expected him to. He smelled of soap and sweat, in a pleasant way. Comforting. It was reassuring to know that he was clean, despite the usual state of his apartment and the way he looked in the morning. She had excepted having to teach him how to take care of himself. She guessed being an orphan did teach you some things.
Their third date had just been about them. A normal date. As normal as anything would be for either of them, anyways. Eating 4 bowls of ramen, not being able to afford it and making her pay, was not exactly normal, after all. Naruto had gotten angry with himself, a little, because he had sworn he'd pay for her everytime. But his stomach had gotten the best of him, and he hadn't been able to resist eating more.
He was a little disappointed that this would be their last date - he didn't really dare think there'd be another one. He had tried to be on the lookout for signs that she was enjoying herself, but he never seemed to be able to tell. Sure, she laughed, smiled, sometimes even leaned her shoulder against his, but he had also seen her fist clench and her eyebrow twitch at certain times.
"Ugh, I'm so full," Naruto grumbled, hand patting his stomach. Sakura shook her head at him, smiling a little. He was walking her back to her house, and these walks along the slowly emptying streets of Konoha had become their favorite part of the evenings they had spent together.
"I have no idea how you manage to eat and talk so much at the same time," she said, snorting.
Naruto gave her his trademark grin. "Special talent!"
"One day you will get sick of all this ramen, you know." She shoved him lightly with her shoulder.
Each night, they ended up walking closer together. It wasn't something they did consciously, it just happened. They started a few feet apart and would keep drifting closer, until their shoulders almost touched.
"No I won't!"
"Yes, you will! Either that or you'll get really fat," she said, poking his side and laughing.
Naruto stiffened and made a choking noise, jerking away.
She blinked, surprised. "...You're ticklish?"
He paused. Clearly he hadn't meant for her to find that out. "N-No."
Her eyes narrowed and a mischievous smile crept on her lips. "I see. Interesting." She put her hands up and moved her fingers in his direction, and he jumped away.
"Stop that! Look, we're almost there." She dropped her hands, putting one on her hip instead.
"Hn."
"...What?" He asked, wary. She didn't say anything, just looked at him, and he started to fidget, feeling incredibly self-conscious and nervous. "What?!"
"You have ramen on your chin." She wiped it off with her hand, and Naruto blinked and looked away. He wasn't exactly used to that kind of touch from Sakura. It was usually more like a punch or a smack. He looked back at her, feeling his cheeks warm up again, and dammit he wasn't a girl, but he was sure acting like it sometimes. She giggled and tilted her head.
"Thanks," he said. "For the dates. They were really fun." He smiled shyly, both hands in his pockets.
She smiled softly, nodding. "Yeah, they were."
He stayed quiet, looking at her carefully. She really was the prettiest girl he knew, and he wanted to go on dates with her again and again, but if she didn't feel the same way, it was a little pointless. The dates HAD been fun, but they were only because she had lost a bet, after all.
"Well, I'd better go." She leaned over and kissed the corner of his mouth. "Pick me up friday night at 8," she said, before pulling away quickly and running off. "Don't be late!" she called back.
Naruto stood there, eyes wide and cheeks pink, hand slowly going up to where she had kissed him.
Then he grinned wildly, and not even sleep took the grin off his face.