I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!

Chapter 1

Sakura leaned back against one of the three poles on the third training field. It have been three years since the end of the war against Madara, or who they through was Madara. Three years since Naruto had gained immense power. Three years since he had gone off to hone his new powers and fine-tune his skills. She had always loved Sasuke, always wanted to have a relationship with the mysterious young man, but after the war, she was beginning to really understand what it meant to have puppy love. Sakura could look back and see how what she felt for Sasuke was merely a child's crush.

Sakura had seen her true feelings for her ex-teammate during the war when she was hurt because of Sasuke and Naruto came to her rescue after just finishing his fight with the resurrected hosts and the fake Madara. She saw how worn he was but he saved her life and pushed on until Sasuke disappeared, severely wounded. She had fought to stay awake, losing consciousness as Sasuke faded and the last thing she remembered was Naruto running back to her, pushing through the medical staff and the others who were standing around her worried.

She leaned her head forward onto her upraised knees. She had just been working on several new techniques she has been developing for the last two years. Sakura was the only one of team seven left in the village. She didn't mind all that much being as she was now the head of the hospital, directly under Tsunade herself. She wasn't just a ninja, she wasn't just an apprentice, she was now one of the most important people in the entire village. She gave a small smile thinking about what Naruto would say when he came back and found out everyone had moved onto Jonin level and was succeeding in each aspect of the title. He always hated falling behind, but the truth was that he was far beyond all of his friends.

"You really should sleep in a house." Sakura jumped to her feet ready for anything until she heard chuckling. Her surroundings finally sunk in. Her eyes settled on a tall blond laughing at her. Her eyes went wide and she moved as fast as she could, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Naruto!" She called as she collided with him. He was stunned, didn't know what to do as she pulled him into a tight hug.

"Sakura-chan… you okay?" He asked confused. She pulled back, realizing what exactly she was doing.

"Yeah, I just… I haven't seen you for the last three years." He grinned and started to chuckle again. "Where have you been? No one's even heard a single thing from you since you left." She stood back putting her hands on her hips and giving him a small glare.

"I had a lot of training to do." Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"You could have still gotten some sort of word back to us. We didn't know where you were, if you were okay…" she trailed off remembering the many nights she spent looking out her window, wondering where he was and if he was safe. Naruto looked at her and she saw him reacting to her anger with a soft, sorrow filled look rather than his usual ramblings and excuses.

He had changed since three years ago when he left as some obnoxious teen. He seemed calmer, more adult. "I guess I just got carried away with my training. I'm sorry." Sakura looked at him, speechless. This was not the Naruto she knew from a few years ago.

"Wow, it sounds like you've grown up while you were away, Naruto." She gave a small smile as he gave his famous lopsided grin. "So is this just for now or have you really grown up?"

"Being away from everyone for three years can change a few things." His grin dropped and he looked down at her. She realized just how tall he had gotten. The two stood looking at each other before Naruto looked off to the side. "So you live out here now?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No. I was just working on a new jutsu I've been developing. Trying to get it just right." She looked at him. "What are you doing here if you just got back? You should be talking to Lady Tsunade."

"I just finished talking to her. Figured I'd go for a little walk before I went back to my place." She just gave a nod. "Want me to walk you home?"

She gave a small smile and nodded. "Sure. Let me grab my bag." She turned grabbing her bag that was sitting on the ground next to the post. As she pulled it up to put, the strap on her shoulder Naruto reached out taking it from her. "I can carry my own bag."

"I know you can." Was all he said as they turned and started towards her house. Sakura glanced at him from the corner of her eyes and could feel the blush coming to her cheeks. She didn't understand it. She hadn't seen him for three years, he comes back and she feels like a school girl.

"Does anyone else know you're back?" She asked, trying to keep her mind from thinking about him too much.

"No. Came in, talked to Granny and then went to the training field." She nodded. "So you're making your own jutsus now?"

"Yeah, actually. I've been working on a few different ones." She looked at him and saw him waiting for more information. "I made a few for healing. Figured I need to have some jutsus that will help me heal faster. Can't have the head of the hospital falling behind." She looked over waiting for his reaction.

Naruto stopped and looked at her confused. "Head of the hospital?" He asked. Sakura nodded and couldn't help the smile tugging at her lips as she turned to face him.

"Everyone made it to Jonin and since I passed to Jonin, Lady Tsunade put me in charge of the hospital so she doesn't have to deal with it so often."

Naruto chuckled, "she probably just wanted to get out of work."

"Like you're one to talk." She shot back with a smile seeing his grin grow even more. The two started walking again, talking softly. "So what are you going to do? You going to try to at least get your chunin?"

"I don't know. I guess it depends on what Granny has planned for me."

"You going to tell anyone else you're home?"

"I don't know, it's kind of nice not having the others crowded around for the first night." He smirked seeing her nod. "Maybe the first day too." He laughed.

"Sometimes I wish I could do that. Ino's gossiping and prying into everyone's lives. You're going to need a few days in hiding after she finds out you're back."

"I might just have to take you're advice on that." the two stopped in front of her house.

"Thanks for walking me home." Naruto nodded and handed Sakura her bag. "If you are still invisible tomorrow maybe we can catch up." Naruto paused looking at her.

"Yeah, sure." He was confused. The Sakura standing in front of him was much different from the one he had left behind when he left for his training. She gave him a small smiled before turning and walking towards her house stopping at the door to look at him again.

"Make sure you stay hidden or you're not going to have any peace the entire time Lady Tsunade gave you off." He only nodded as she turned and continued into her house.

Naruto took a breath. He had always had feelings for Sakura but after this last training trip, he had begun to even dream about her, more than his childish ones he used to have. These ones were always very detailed and very real when he woke up breathing heavy in the middle of the night. coming home to see her brought all the feeling he was finally able to suppress, back to the surface. They were swirling as she hugged him and talked to him, it was different than it used to be. She used to talk to him as a child, as if she was smarter and higher than him but tonight she seemed to talk to him on the same level.

He shook his head before turning and heading back to his own place trying to push everything back down. They were friends, just like always. He had tried and failed for so many years to take their friendship farther, there was nothing that was going to change that. sighing he pushed the thoughts from his mind. Getting to his apartment, he unlocked the door, turned the lights on and looked around. It had been three years since he had stood in this apartment, three years since he had seen his friends and his village. He sighed knowing he was going to need to do a lot of cleaning the next day. Pulling off his jacket and pouches, he made his way to his bedroom to get some much-needed sleep.

Naruto was walking out of the bathroom with only his black pants on as someone started knocking. Walking out of his bedroom, he answered the door and saw Sakura standing in front of him. Her green eyes scanned him, up and down. She knew he was built well from watching him train with Kakashi, but she didn't imagine that another three and a half years would create a body, so perfectly toned. She pulls her eyes away from his chest muscles and looked up at him, thankful that he was still too dense to realize.

He moved to the side letting her into his apartment. "Make yourself at home. I'll be right out." He turned and started towards his bedroom to finish getting dressed. Sakura looked around seeing the dust everywhere, clothes still flung all over the living room, and trash over the table. Shaking her head, she smiled. He was the same old Naruto.

Seeing him come back into the room now with an orange shirt on and his hair messed up perfectly, the way he always wore the wild blond locks. "How can you live like this?" She asked looking at him. He stopped and looked at her.

"What?" She pointed around at the mess. "Well that was all before I left. I never was one to keep my place clean." He chuckled looking around the living room before settling his blue eyes back on her as she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Well before we do anything, I think we need to get your place at least livable." She looked at him as he furrowed his brow in confusion.

"It is livable." He defended.

She rolled her eyes again before starting towards the kitchen to find the trash can and extra bags. Walking back, she handed him a bag. "You start in here." Before he could protest she turned back to the kitchen and started cleaning out the frig.

Naruto walked into the kitchen after an hour to see Sakura working on the counters covered with rotten food in ramen cups. She looked over and saw him as he shifted to lean against the counter beside her. "Why are you so interested in my place being clean?" He wondered aloud.

She glanced away from her work for a moment. "Because if you keep living in this stuff you're going to wind up sick, Naruto." He smirked at the thought of her worrying about him. "Besides, if someone doesn't stop you from piling all this stuff up, we won't be able find you before long." She laughed.

Naruto couldn't help the smile that flashed across his face at the sound of her laughter. He never realized how much he missed while he was away training for these passed three years. Hearing it again, coupled with her beauty that had only grown more in his absence; made every feeling he had ever had for her soar. She stopped her collecting cartons, turned and looked at him. They slowly stopped laughing, as they're eyes locked. He didn't want anything to happen that may cause her to hate him. he took a breath and looked away, breaking the trance they were in.

"The place is looking a lot better. Thanks for helping." He looked back at her to see her look around the room and nod.

"Someone needs to get you straight." She looked back at him. "Things are almost done. That did you want to do when we're finished?"

"I'm the one who's supposed to be invisible. What do you want to do?" She sighed thinking.

"Well if you go anywhere in the village everyone will recognize you. So you probably won't be able to go out." She looked up at him. "We can finish here and then I'll go grab some food and stuff. We can catch up a bit."

He nodded and saw her smile. "That sounds good to me."

"Okay. Finish here while I get what we need." Naruto nodded as she turned pulling her shoes on to leave to get things for the night.

An hour and a half later Sakura was back with several bags. He quickly took them from her and started towards the kitchen with her following him. "This place really looks good." She smiled seeing him look around and nod. He put the bags on the counter. "Here, let me help." She pushed him out of the way and started putting things away.

Naruto turned to put away the milk only to bump into Sakura. She looked up at him and their eyes locked. As soon as she looked her green eyes with his blue ones, she couldn't look away. She was grateful that he had the control to look away, but something in her was disappointed when he did. She had seen something different since he came back, something that she had only seen a glimpse of occasionally before his training trip.

Naruto knew he should pull back or at least look away but he just couldn't bring himself to it. he didn't want to. Slowly he moved closer. He paused, looking down into her green eyes watching as Sakura's eyes flicked to his lips and back to his eyes before she attentively moved closer. Their lips touched gently at first. Pulling back, they looked into each other's eyes once again before Naruto pressed his lips to hers with more force. Before either of the realized what was going on, Sakura was against the frig. Naruto put the milk on the counter before he wrapped his arms around her, feeling her arms snake up his chest to rest around his neck to pull him closer to her.

He pulled back and looked at her, both out of breath. His eyes cleared and he quickly stepped back looking a bit frightened. "Sakura… I… I'm-."

She cut him off, "Naruto, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…" She trailed off and looked away. "I… I'll go…" She turned and started towards the door. Naruto's hand shot out grabbing her arm and spinning her around.

"Sakura…. I… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. You don't have to go, I promise it won't happen again. Just…. Don't leave." Sakura was confused as to why he would be begging her not to leave and promising he wouldn't kiss her again. She shook her head. Slowly his hand slipped from her arm and he dropped his eyes to the ground. "I really am sorry." He whispered.

Sakura realized what he thought and reached out gently resting her hand on his chest as she moved closer. "Naruto…" She whispered making him look at her.

"Sakura, I know you love Sasuke. I'm not going to make you choose and I don't want to risk our friendship, or our team. I'm not worth that." He shook his head. "I'm not worth throwing everything awa-." He was cut off as Sakura pulled her self onto her tiptoes and kissed him.

Pulling back, she looked up at his stunned face. He opened his mouth to speak but she shook her head. "Shut up and just kiss me, Naruto." She told him. He only paused for a moment before he leaned down pressing his lips to hers firmly. He pulled back to look at her with a curious look.

"Sakura-chan…."

"You have never asked me to choose between you and Sasuke. You've always been there for me no matter what it did to you, and I know that no matter what happens that will never change." She glanced down at her hands on his chest before locking back with his eyes. "I never realized how much I missed you, or needed you around until you left three years ago. Now, seeing you back here, after so long and a little growing up," she gave him a smile and he couldn't help but grin at her. "Something just clicked."

"You'll be an outcast and-"

"Naruto." She shook her head. "The village is still grateful for saving them from pain, and there would be no way any of us would still be here if it weren't for you. It's not like when we were kids." He still wasn't completely sure. "I've always felt something between us but I refused to look at it because I was sure we could bring Sasuke back. I regret not seeing you, for you. I really do."

"You don't need to regret anything."

"No, I do. I do regret not giving you a chance because I was too stupid to look away from that snake." Naruto was surprised at the anger in her voice when she was talking about Sasuke. He looked at her a minute before he leaned down and kissed her. Pulling back she saw a bright smile plastered to his face. "And if you ever say that you're not worth it again, I'll make sure you hurt for a very long time. Got it?"

He couldn't help the lopsided grin. "You'll make me pay. Got it." He nodded making her smile.

"Maybe getting things through your think skull isn't so hard after all." She laughed making him chuckle. "Come on, we need to finish putting your stuff away." She told him, turning out of his arms to finish putting the groceries away. Naruto watched her move about the kitchen for a few minutes. He couldn't believe what had just happened.

It was strange. He comes home after being away for three years and only back a day and Sakura was spilling her feelings and wanting to take a chance on him. He couldn't believe that it really happened. He couldn't help but give a silent prayer that this was not a dream. Once she was finished, she turned and looked at him with a little smirk.

"What?" He asked slightly worried.

"You seem like you're thinking really hard on something." She shrugged. "Want to talk about it?" He looked down for a minute collecting his thoughts before speaking, for once. Sakura knew that this must be important. "Naruto?"

"I just… Sakura-chan, this… this isn't something that's spare the moment because Sasuke's not here. is it?"

She shook her head. "No." He looked at her as if trying to discern if she was lying or not. "We've been team mates for… nine years? And we've known each other longer than that. Sure we weren't like he have been since the chunin exams but you know I wouldn't do that."

"I just… I've liked you for so long and then all of a sudden you have feelings for me after I come back. I just don't want this to be a dream." Sakura could sympathize with his feelings. She didn't understand it either but she knew that when he came back and they were talking, or their eyes caught each other's there was a feeling that she had never before felt with anyone, even when she was around Sasuke. Especially after the war when he tried to attack the hospital base. She and Naruto's clone were able to fight him off before the real Naruto and Bee were able to win their battle effectively sending the enemy into hiding.

Sakura walked closer, stopping directly in front of him. "This is not a dream, and this isn't just some little thing. You don't have to worry."

"I'm sorry, I'm just…" He trailed off and she smiled up at him and nodded.

"I would be too." She looked away a moment before locking her eyes with his. "After you walked me home yesterday I couldn't go to sleep, I couldn't stop thinking about what we would do when I came over today. I've been worried about you getting into trouble since you left and no matter what I couldn't stop thinking about you when you were gone. Seeing you last night and today, has just settled my mind."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She took another step closer to him. Now standing up against him she ran her hands up his chest, settling one on his shoulder and the other stopped over his speeding heart. "I have never felt what I do when you're around. And no other guy has made me feel so much just by being around me."

Naruto smiled at her, happy that she was sharing everything with him. That she was explaining why it was all so sudden. He leaned down kissing her again, this time very gently before pulling back. "So you want to take a chance with me?"

"You're so dense some times." She laughed before pushing up on her tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek as she whispered in his ear. "Anytime you're ready." She relaxed back to flatten her feet and smiled at the conflicted look on his face. "Why don't we spend tonight just relaxing and catching up?"

"okay." he nodded. She pulled away and walked into the living room making him follow to sit on the couch and begin talking about the last three years. After a few hours of talking, the two were cuddled together talking softly. A few more hours and they were both passed out on the couch together.