A/N: *blows the dust off this story* I cannot tell you all how incredibly sorry I am for the two-year hiatus. All I have to say is that I hope y'all haven't given up on me, and that this will be the concluding chapter, thus making this story a threeshot. ^^ Frankly, I just don't have the time anymore to prolong this story like I'd originally planned. But I'll try to make it a lovely, not-rushed ending! I hope you all like the outcome and grow to love this pairing as much as I do. :3

Naruto had fallen asleep.

In retrospect, you really couldn't blame him. He was up in the middle of the night, having not acquired anything close to the good night's rest he so dearly needed after hours of intense training, and without something to occupy his attention, he was bored.

All three of those factors led to his falling asleep on a stool at Ichiraku, his head plunked down on the counter as he snored, blissfully unaware to the dainty footsteps signaling Ayame's approach until her cheery voice drifted to his line of hearing.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! I'm ready!"

Naruto started with such a tremor that he fell out of his stool, past the curtain onto the hard ground on his back. "Blleeggghhh..." he groaned. Not the greatest wake-up call.

But seeing Ayame bending over into his line of view made the fall worth it. She was donning a lilac and orange kimono with swirling designs that hugged the curves her uniform usually concealed, her long chestnut tresses piled atop her head in a hairdo held together with chopsticks, and was she wearing... makeup? It wasn't very much, but just enough to enhance her natural beauty. He felt a consuming heat trail up his neck and spill over his cheeks, blatantly staring at her, not even registering her concerned words. "Naruto? Are you okay?"

Naruto sat up in such a quick, fierce motion it made Ayame sharply draw back to avoid them colliding. He continued to outright stare to the point where it made the brunette wonder if he'd hit his head in the fall. "Um... Naruto?" Ayame looked a little uncomfortable, not used to primping and being dolled up.

Honest to God, Naruto's intentions had been good, they really had. He'd meant to give her a compliment. But as we all know, Naruto's quite the airhead, and what comes out of his mouth is usually never what he really means. He words things... idiotically. Keeping that in mind, what blurted out of Naruto's mouth was, "You.. you look like a girl!"

The change in Ayame's facade was instant. Her countenance darkened. "...What?"

Uh-oh. Naruto recognized that look. It was the Sakura Look. Whenever Sakura gave this Look, it meant Naruto was getting clobbered. "I-I mean..!" He flailed his hands around, frantically trying to take back the words (even though to him, it wasn't anything to get mad over), but he only unintentionally made it worse by adding, "I meant that you look like every other girl now!"

Ayame's response to this was very dignified, in her opinion. She kicked dust in Naruto's face, spun on her heel, and stormed toward the night festival. I guess I'm just not good at being a girl.. even when I try, I screw up. I should just stick to cooking.

After a good moment of howling and clawing at his eyes, Naruto jumped up and raced after her. "W-wait! Ayame! Slow it down, would ya?" he called as he tried to catch up.

Ayame forgot that she was mad as soon as she entered the world of colorful lights and happy voices. She stopped, transfixed by the sight, an awed sparkle lighting up her cocoa eyes. She hadn't been to a summer festival as a guest ever since she was a little girl. Ever since she'd started working at Ichiraku with her father, Ayame only attended festivals to set up a ramen booth.

Speaking of which, was the first thing Naruto spotted. He zeroed in on a ramen booth and fistpumped. "AWWHH YEAH!"

Ayame was startled from her reverie and she gave him an inquiring look, only to follow his gaze and realize. "... Naruto Uzumaki, you just ate!" she chided.

"You can never eat too much!" Naruto rubbed his stomach and headed there anticipatingly, but suddenly felt a grasp on his arm that attempted to drag him away. He could've easily broken free if he tried, due to the fact he was a male shinobi and she wasn't a ninja, but for some reason he felt like allowing Ayame to have her way.

"No sir! You're playing some games first!"

"But..but... ramen!" the blond whined.

"You already had some, suck it up."

"Hello, pretty lady. Feelin' lucky?" The man running the goldfish-scooping game booth flashed a flirtatious grin.

Ayame was completely deadpan. "..Sure." She extended some money to play, but the man wouldn't accept it.

"I wouldn't think of making a beautiful maiden such as yourself pay," he replied with a suggestive wink. Ayame felt ill at ease. She never got hit on like this in her usual uniform working at Ichiraku. She was beginning to prefer the plain Jane look.

Meanwhile, beside her, Naruto bristled, but he couldn't pinpoint why he felt so bothered and oddly protective. I was the one who brought her here! His solution... was to perform the Sexy Jutsu. "Does that mean I can play the game, too, mister?" he giggled in his feminine counterpart's voice.

Ayame stared in irritation, veinthrobbing. The man's attention was instantly diverted as his nose spurted blood everywhere, much to Naruto's satisfaction.

Now he wasn't ogling Ayame anymore.

"Yo, Naruto!" Kiba approached the duo a little while later, Akamaru trodding at his side, then did a doubletake at Ayame, without recognition. "Oh, who's your girl? Reel in a cute one, did ya? Nice goin'!" He nudged the Jinchuriki's side with a sly smirk. Heat immediately encompassed Ayame's delicate face.

Naruto gave him an incredulous gaze, as if unfazed, but inwardly he'd felt a surge of warmth at the idea. "Uh.. she's the girl at Ichiraku," he explained, as if that cleared up everything.

"Oh! Hey," Kiba greeted Ayame with a friendly grin, concealing the fact that he didn't know her name. "Barely recognized you!" He turned back to Naruto as Ayame sullenly puffed her cheeks. "Ohh, you got a gal who can cook? Nice!"

"W-we're not-!" Naruto and Ayame both started at the same time, the latter flailspazzing her arms, but then Akamaru started barking.

"Yeah, yeah, Akamaru, I hear ya," Kiba patted his canine's head, then turned back to the duo. "Sorry, gotta get going. Akamaru's hungry. Catch ya later! You guys make a nice couple!" he added as he sprinted through the crowd with the giant dog at his side.

By now, even Naruto was good and flustered, quietly shuffling next to an equally-awkward Ayame. After a lapse of silence, save for the bustling noises of the crowd, Naruto broke it.

"...Can we get ramen now?"

Naruto didn't know why he was so irritated. He didn't know how he could be irritated when he was slurping up a hefty bowl of ramen before him.

...But he had a pretty good idea.

Ayame was talking about boring food stuff with the booth runner as they exchanged recipes, both seeming genuinely interested in the other. How could that cook get Ayame talking so easily like that? She had a passion dancing in her big chocolate eyes, something Naruto found himself mesmirized by, and she was just chattering away. It made Naruto realize that.. try as he might, he could never get conversation flowing with Ayame like that. If anything, most of their banters ended in arguments.

A good while after Naruto had finished three bowls, impatiently drumming his fingers on the counter, Ayame bid adieu to the booth runner and left with the blond.

"Sheesh, talk his head off, why don't you?" Naruto grumbled, both of his hands locked behind his head as he sauntered alongside Ayame.

"Well, excuse me! You could've gone on without me, you know! I wouldn't have cared!" Ayame shot back, knowing that was a lie. She would have cared. More than she should have.

Naruto felt something inside him sink at the words. His earlier evaluation was correct: everything he said only started a squabble with her. The passion that had encased her eyes before was now gone. "...Your ramen's way better," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head as he looked the other way, in a feeble attempt to bring back that look in her eyes, even if briefly.

Ayame glanced to him in surprise, then softened, a smile playing on her lips. "...Hey. Let's get some cotton candy," she said suddenly, loosely grabbing his hand and hurriedly leading him in the direction of the cotton candy booth.

A surge of something indecipherable coursed through Naruto at her touch, gazing down at their loosely entwined hands as he stumbled along behind her.

"Naruto?" Ayame turned around holding two sticks of cotton candy, only to see he'd disappeared on her. ...Of course. She briefly closed her eyes as she sighed, only for a distorted, grotesque face to greet her when she opened them. She jumped and shrieked, somehow not dropping the cotton candy in the process.

"Hahahaha! Got you!" Naruto's voice laughed from behind the mask, and soon his boisterous face came into view as he slid the mask off, wearing a cheeky grin.

A glance behind him indicated that Naruto had snuck off to the nearby mask booth while Ayame had been purchasing their treats. "You idiot! You almost gave me a heart attack!" she scolded, but couldn't help laughing along with him.

For a fleeting moment, everything was nice. Being with Naruto here, laughing with him, and simply just having fun - it was all a cherished feeling.

Until Naruto's laughter came to an abrupt stop.

Her own laugh trailing off, Ayame gave him a questioning glance, only to see him focused on something in the distance. "Naruto? What is it?" She turned to see what he was staring at, only for a sharp pang to strike her in the heart. "...Oh."

It was Sakura Haruno. The beautiful, pink-haired kunoichi, donned in a gorgeous kimono that suddenly made Ayame feel inferior for even attempting to dress up. In light of the wonderful Sakura Naruto still had his heart set on, Ayame was nothing.

"You're still hung up on Sakura, huh?" she sighed, glancing away.

Not quite hearing her, though the almost inaudible words were enough to break Naruto out of his trance, he glanced toward her. "Huh? You say somethin'?"

"...No. Take your cotton candy." Ayame handed him his and turned away. "I should get going. You probably want to spend time with your squad, and it's getting late anyway.. I have an early shift in the morning..." A strong hand on her arm stopped her, and she looked back with surprise to face a serious Naruto.

They met eyes, and Ayame was suddenly anew aware of how rich a shade of blue his were. Just as she thought something was going to happen...

"You can't leave before the fireworks go off! That's the best part!"

Ayame would've promptly facefaulted had his grip on her arm not been so sturdy. "...Right."

They had chosen a somewhat secluded grassy embankment to sit at while they waited for the fireworks to commence. Ayame took a bit of cotton candy and slipped it into her mouth. Naruto secretly wondered how she could be so neat with it - his fingers and mouth were already covered in stickiness.

"Well, while we're waiting, the stars sure are pretty to look at, ne?" Ayame said pleasantly, gazing up towards the diamond sky. Naruto took a moment to admire how the moonlight was bathing her face in a soft glow. The stars aren't the only pretty thing to look at... "I love to stargaze," she added, more quietly.

"Really?" Naruto thought for a moment, then added as if he was just realizing it, "...There's a lot I don't know about you." All these years, he'd only talked about himself to Teuchi and Ayame... not so often about them.

Ayame turned and fixated a soft smile onto him. "Ask me anything you want."

Naruto considered it a moment, then inquired, "Did you ever want to become a ninja?"

Typical Naruto question. Ayame couldn't help chuckling before she responded. "I went to ninja academy like everyone else, but stopped the shinobi course when my mom died... she was a kunoichi, by the way. I've been helping Dad out in the kitchen ever since. I just found that I loved culinary a lot better than fighting and jutsus."

Naruto was blown away. He'd had no idea.. he was fascinated. "Wow..." He of all people would admire someone who followed their dreams.

"I don't see what's so 'wow' about it." Ayame ate some more cotton candy.

"Well, you found your dream and made it come true! What's not 'wow' about that?" Naruto grinned at her, genuinely happy for her.

His reaction made Ayame's eyes shimmer. "Naruto.." She glanced forward again, suddenly shy. "Speaking of dreams.. I really do believe you'll become Hokage one day."

Naruto was a bit stunned by the words. She and her father used to laugh at his proclamation.. plus, he never really heard those words often. "Really? You do?"

"Believe it." Ayame gave him a sincere smile, one that touched something inside Naruto he couldn't place. Before he could even think of a response, the brunette turned more serious. "...Now, Naruto, can I ask you a question?"

Surprised at the sudden turn of events, he nodded. "Sure, shoot."

Ayame couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze. "...Does a girl have to be a ninja for a guy who is to like her?"

He was a bit taken aback. Now, Naruto had always been oblivious, but even he was beginning to suspect the intention underlying her words. "It could happen. Not everyone's a shinobi."

Ayame finally lifted her head, her expression blushy and flustered, her mouth a squiggly line. Naruto blinked, listening intently. "What would you say...or do...or think.. if maybe I.. if I..." Her grip on the cotton candy stick tightened, and she blurted as if she couldn't get the words out without force, "if I liked you?!" Unfortunately, as soon as she'd uttered the last four words, fireworks had begun exploding in the sky, drowning out her voice.

Having the attention span of a squirrel, Naruto's gaze swiveled to the sky. "Wow, how cool is that? About time!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

Ayame wanted to sink into the ground. Disheartened, she looked away and muttered, "Yeah... great."

It took Naruto a few minutes to realize they'd been in the middle of a conversation, and he fixated an attentive glance to her. "Oh, what were you saying?"

Ayame gazed at him, embarrassed. She'd completely lost her nerve. There was no way she could even try to work up the courage to confess again. Her heart was still beating against her chest, adrenaline pulsing through her.

She did the only thing she could do.

Ayame impulsively reached out, grabbed his face, and pulled him in for a kiss.

Naruto's eyes bugged out for the initial few moments of panic, until he realized this was what he'd been wanting all along. He lowered his frantically raised arms to wrap around her petite form and pull her in a little closer, finally returning the kiss.

Needless to say, no words needed to be shared. All was spoken through that kiss.

That night was a turning point for the both of them. From then on, Kiba's analysis was proven correct. Naruto and Ayame became a couple, in an unofficial, quirky way that Naruto naturally would demonstrate in a relationship - sporadic visits, scarce dates, words that weren't necessarily romantic (on Naruto's part, at least). But they fell in love with ease, and it was a love that stayed strong and true.

Whenever he wasn't training, or away on a mission, Naruto spent his every free moment at Ichiraku, where a dark-haired beauty always had been and always would be waiting for him. No matter the changes in his life that transpired and took place, Ayame was consistently at his side, and that wasn't bound to change.

After all... Naruto had a big appetite.