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All due credit belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Credit for this written piece belongs to yours truly.

kiss me in the shadows
: Sincerely. Yvette

"Sakura-chan—."

The breeze swayed over her body, the rushed waves crashing against the cliff her toes teetered upon. Her gloved palms pressed into the ragged creases in the dampened stone for support, and as she moved across, she heard a whine come from her teammate, who watched nervously from flat surfacing.

Rumbles of thunder crashed above their heads, the dusked clouds moving rather dangerously against the obscured skies.

A strong gale blew against Sakura, her heart leaping as she barely regained her balance. Pebbles crumbled down as she reached the flat ground, and Naruto immediately took action and pulled her thin figure away from the cliff. A large wave managed to splash her bare legs, the iced water sending a shiver up her spine.

She stumbled forward, Naruto back.

Knowing that she was now safe on the surface, Naruto paced forward down the dampened rock beneath him. Sakura followed, later grimacing when she felt a drop splatter on head. A handful of others came soon after.

Thankfully, Naruto guided her towards an opening within the surrounding rocks not too far ahead.

The rain pattered outside, a cold draft of humidity bustling into the far corner of the crag as they scurried inside. Naruto shuffled the large knapsack from his back, slouching over to pull out its continents. There came a clatter of containers, some holding spices, others herbs.

Sakura meanwhile gathered the slabs of driftwood she had collected earlier, and she began layering them in the far corner. She took the small rocks scattered around the cave, creating a circle to keep the wood in place. As she ungloved her hands, she turned when Naruto mumbled to her.

"Why did 'baa-chan need these again?" He lifted a jar into his hand, examining a label Sakura had attached. "Couldn't she just get them imported instead of sending us to the border of the Rain Country?"

Sakura shook her head as she focused on the match in her hand.

"Imported herbs aren't always trustworthy, and the cost is greater than it is to simply gather them yourself."

Naruto's brows furrowed and he began placing each jar back into his knapsack.

There came a snap, followed by a spark and crackle. When he turned, he watched a progressive flame burst into a faded green and blue. His eyes widened, and he turned to Sakura with a new question.

"Sakura-chan! Aren't fires usually orange—?"

She glanced at him as she poked at the wood with a twig, adjusting the layers.

"The salt that driftwood gathers from the sea causes a chemical change in the fire. That's why the shading is different."

"That's so cool!" He grinned, leaning forward over the fire. "The colors look so cool!"

His attention then moved to Sakura's ungloved hand, memorizing the delicate figure. He looked up at her, watching as she stayed focused on keeping the fire burning. He gave into his urge and grabbed at her free hand, handling it within his broad palm.

Sakura flinched and gave him a disapproving look. He smiled.

"Sakura-chan, were your hands always this small?"

She scoffed and threw the twig she had been holding into the increasing fire.

"You said I didn't change a bit, didn't you?" When he stared at her, she looked away. "Yes, dumbass, my hands have always been this small."

She felt him grip onto it, almost as though he were giving her a handshake.

"How do you do so much damage with them?"

"Looks can be deceiving."

She gave his hand a brutal squeeze, proving her point when he winced and pulled away.

. . .

The rain continued to fall, now having grown loud enough for it to be heard crashing against the sea.

Sakura found herself leaned against the ragged curves of the wall as she and Naruto discussed their trip back home. The fire crackled before them, the shadows dancing around the crag.

Every so often, Sakura would shift under her cloak when there came a draft from outside. Naruto noted this two repetitions later, reacting soon after glancing at his own cloak.

"If the rain clears up by the morning, we could stop by a town to ask about the final herbs on the list—."

"Sakura-chan," he said, interrupting her and making her look away from the wall in front of them. He looked at the floor and then at her. "Are you cold?"

Sakura's hand moved away from the rim of her cloak—as it was going to pull it closer together—and she smiled, looking away with a blush.

Oops, did I give it away? "No, I'm fine."

Naruto's words stumbled, and he found himself blushing as well.

"Because—well, because if you are—." He paused. "Because I could sit closer to you—if you want . . ."

Sakura's brow tweaked and she shook her head.

"No, thank you."

. . .

An hour later, just when their fire was dying down due to the lack of wood, Sakura considered Naruto's offer.

She turned to him as he was speaking ( ranting on about Jiraiya's tendencies during their journey ), and took a brief glance at his crossed arms. She felt her cheeks grow pink, but another salty breeze forced her pride down.

"You should have seen him when we passed by bars!"

"Naruto—?"

"And he was so—" he stopped, flicking his eyes at her from the side. "Yeah, Sakura-chan?"

She looked down and pulled her knees closer to her chest.

"Never mind."

His position loosened and he turned his head fully towards her.

"What—what is it?"

"Nothing, just forget it!"

"But, Sakura-chan—!"

"I said: Forget it!"

. . .

Eventually, Sakura had given in after a particularly cold draft blew in.

Both teammates now sat at the far corner huddled together—awkwardly.

Naruto, who was too nervous to properly gather his thoughts, allowed Sakura to lean against his shoulder as his arm held her in place. Sakura, who felt as though all of her pride had been completely drained, leaned her head stiffly onto him. She did, however, enjoy the exchange of body heat. She didn't feel nearly as cold anymore.

When she chose to look up at him, his head was leaned against the crook of the wall beside him and his eyes were closed. This somehow made her feel better, and her posture slowly loosened and signaled her comfort.

Her eyes began to flutter as they stared into the crackling fire.

"I think the fire's going to get put out soon . . ." she whispered, now feeling tired.

Naruto shifted, causing her to further acknowledge the feel of his surprisingly muscular build beneath her. She allowed her cheeks to flourish, hoping that he kept his eyes shut so that he wouldn't see.

She didn't like blushing. It made her feel vulnerable.

"I'm fine with the dark," he finally said.

She looked up at him, reluctantly.

"Oh, really ?"

She felt herself smirk as she made her words tease him.

His eyes snapped open, and he looked at her before shaking his head.

"I mean—that's not what I mean!" He fiddled with his words, panicking. "I just mean that there's nothing wrong with the dark—I wasn't implying anything, Sakura-chan! I swear !"

Sakura laughed, trembling against him.

"I'm just messing with you, calm down."

Naruto froze, blinking down at her.

"O—oh."

Sakura's eyes scanned themselves into his own, and she grew mesmerized by the odd color they took in the shadows. Rather than his usual, bright cerulean, they glowed a translucent, icy tone – which complimented his pink cheeks.

She forced back a giggle and looked away.

"You're so cute."

Her smile faded and she looked at him once again, now feeling herself grow crimson as she processed his words.

"H—huh?"

Naruto grinned.

"I said: You're so cute, Sakura-chan."

"S—shut up!" she stuttered, snapping her head away. "What are you saying!"

Naruto merely chuckled.

His grip around her tightened, and she felt her heart pound when she pressed against him enough for his head to rest against her own. They sat, silently taking in the patters of the rain outside.

Naruto was smiling; Sakura could tell that he was.

And Sakura was blushing; Naruto thought this was cute.

"I'm only doing this because of the temperature—I hope you know that."

"Yeah, I know."

Sakura sighed, closing her eyes as she tried to focus the added blood in her cheeks down.

Naruto's hand soon found itself upon her waist, now holding her thickly into place as her concentration broke. The dam holding back her blood crashed, and her eyes snapped open as she grew embarrassed.

She didn't say anything though; she just sat, feeling the outline of his fingers against her.

. . .

The fire was hardly visible now, and instead the shadows took the spotlight.

The dark increased since it was growing to be past midnight, and Sakura could feel her conscious slipping away as her eyes grew drowsy. She focused on the soft rise and fall of Naruto's chest, and rather than being cold, she now felt strangely hot.

She was sure that he was asleep, as his breathing had grown calm.

It wasn't until he had spoken out to her, lightly, that she realized that he was just as she was; attempting to keep himself awake.

They took turns speaking, commenting on nonsense and taking their time to gather themselves away from slumber to keep responding. It came to the point where Naruto, now being led by his subconscious more than anything, had bowed his head towards her and buried the bridge of his nose to her neck.

Her eyes fluttered, and he whispered against her skin.

"You smell like the sea, Sakura-chan."

And when his head rose back up, trying to find its spot back against her own, she felt her body surge with a tickle as his hair branched against her.

"Mm – hm," she whispered back, her voice sounding breathless as she tried to open her eyes further than just midway. "I suppose I do . . . don't I?"

Naruto paused, and she could feel him staring at her contoured face in the shadows.

Outside there was nothing but a light patter now, as the rain had calmed. The fire fought to stay alive, fought to keep its unique shades. Though there was still just the silence of their breaths, and Sakura soon found a new sound to focus on.

Naruto's heartbeat.

It synchronized with the silence, beating its metronome as his chest fell.

"Sakura-chan," he whispered, and she gave him a nearly inaudible: "Hm. . . ?"

The fire finally began to dim.

" . . . can I kiss you?"

Her words answered unconsciously for her.

" . . . mm – hm."

And with that, she could recognize the soft form of his lips against her own as the fire finally gave out.

kiss me in the shadows

Author's Note:
Just a re-upload of my previous story, Driftwood. I revised it and I am happy with the outcome. A dose of the mindless fluff we love.

Reviews make for a happy author.