IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:

In most of my stories it will not be caught up in canon. I haven't read beyond the Pein arc so most of my stories will deal with the Pein period onward. This will only be mentioned at the beginning of all my stories as a fair warning to people who prefer canon situations. Most of the Naruto/Sakura stories I've read have been really close to canon, so I just wanted to caution those who want canon. For everyone else, please enjoy ^_^

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. If it was it'd be a romantic comedy.

CHAPTER ONE

Sakura leaned back on the tree from the branch she was perched on. She glanced at Naruto who was sprawled lazily on the grass.

"What's taking Sasuke so long? He said he would meet up with us today," Naruto complained.

Sakura sighed in exasperation. "How am I supposed to know, something probably came up. He knows that every Wednesday we're not on a mission we're supposed to meet up," she announced and swung her legs around on the branch. "I have to be at work in two hours. One of the medics is sick." Sakura was a medical ninja and also on staff at the hospital as a doctor.

Naruto looked up at Sakura and his heart skipped a beat as always when he looked at her. At 19 she was more beautiful than ever. Her silky pale pink tresses brushed only a few inches under her shoulder, and her luminous spring green eyes sparked with cheerfulness and intelligence. She was petite, and was lithe with slight curves. Today she wore snug black pants and a red tank top that didn't quite meet the top of her pants, and exposed her flat stomach whenever she moved her arms.

At the moment though her face was livid with irritation and thankfully this time it was for Sasuke. He knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of her temper and was glad he was on her good side today.

"Do you want to go fetch him," he asked jovially, but then she turned her glare on him.

"No, I'm not chasing after him like some dog," she muttered. After several years of pining for his love with no success, when she finally turned 17 she had gotten over Sasuke and realized that it would never be, but no one believed it. Least of all him! So she did nothing that would encourage that notion.

Naruto struggled not to grin, he knew that was a bad choice of words and that she was over Sasuke, because no one knew Sakura like he did. Since he was twelve his crush had matured into something more and then eventually into love. It was sad, he was one stepping stone away from obsession if he wasn't already. As her teammate he knew everything about her. Things no one one else would probably pay attention to- his train of thought was cut off when she hopped down and started walking.

"W-Wait, Sakura. Where are you going," he called out.

She turned back to him. "It's been over an hour, I'm not waiting anymore. I have other things to do than wait for him."

Over all these years Naruto never made a serious attempt at Sakura. He knew it would only be met with annoyance since she was still mooning over Sasuke. But for some reason today, today he wanted to make that change.

"Why don't we do something together, it is Wednesday," he pointed out.

Sakura looked unsure. "I guess, but it'll have to be local."

"We can just go eat at my house," he suggested. But that wasn't a casual suggestion. He wasn't nervous or timid over anything, he had been waiting patiently for the right time to make his move, and an opportunity had presented itself.

Sakura shrugged. "Fine. But are you sure you even have food Naruto," she asked pointedly.

He smiled sheepishly and scratched his head. "Of course. You went shopping for me last week." Sakura took care of him, and he didn't get the wrong misconception of her being like a mother. Far from it.

She smiled back, "That doesn't mean anything. You and Sasuke both run through food." He struggled not to scowl at the mention of Sasuke, she took care of him too, but he didn't want to be reminded of it.

"We can quickly go pick up something," he said. 'And hopefully we don't run into Sasuke because that would ruin everything.'

"Okay, I don't know what you'd do without me Naruto."

He beamed, "Thats just what I was thinking." 'Liar,' he thought to himself. He walked until he stood next to Sakura and threw one arm around her shoulders. "I'm excited, let's go," he exclaimed squeezing her to him. He wanted her get used to him touching her, and planned to take advantage at every situation.

Sakura tensed a little when Naruto put his arm around her shoulder but she didn't move. He was probably just over excited about the prospect of eating.

She didn't let Sasuke's stand up affect her. There was no reason she couldn't just hang out with Naruto. They had been together plenty of times alone, just never deliberately. What was she making a big deal out of anyways? She was only going to eat at Naruto's, and probably do the cooking too.

But she didn't mind cooking for him, because he had never had anyone else do it for him. And he was one of her best friends so she always made sure he could count on her. In the past she had always counted on him, for protection, support, and even just being a friend when she really needed it, without really being aware of it. When she realized how valuable he was to her, she promised herself that she would always make up for the ways she had taken him for granted.

While they were selecting the 'dreaded' vegetables Sakura turned to look at Naruto. He had surprised everyone and had grew so amazingly tall. He was now about 3 inches over 6 feet, towering over her 5'3" frame. He wore his blonde hair the same, and his eyes were a mesmerizing blue. Over the years the sadness and bitterness had faded. Growing closer to him she had begun to notice the little things about him that weren't obvious to all. And eventually his eyes had become a true reflection of joy and happiness, and not just what he wanted everyone to see.

She smiled up at him and was surprised at the intensity of his gaze on her, but then it was gone so quickly she was sure she had imagined it. Gesturing to the food they had collected she asked, "Are you ready? I think we have enough to last another week."

"All set," he responded and they went to pay for his purchases. As surprising as it may seem, Naruto was very good with money. He had to learn on his own about taking care of business. Sakura had nearly fainted when she learned about how much money he had collected since he was young. One day she had jokingly teased him that he could start and raise a clan of his of him with all that money. After her comment his facial expression turned serious, and he responded that he knew that. Then he changed it to an oddball, goofball subject that was equally his facade and legitimate stupidity.

Thinking back now Sakura reflected that maybe that was his intent, since he was so alone growing up. That would mean he would have to get married. An odd sensation pulsed through Sakura and she shook her head to clear her thoughts feeling slightly uncomfortable now. What was up with her today, and why was she suddenly thinking about that now?

After paying for his purchases they left for his house with her lecturing along the way about him not taking care of himself. Once there Sakura set everything up in his kitchen and just automatically began preparing the food. Once it was all on the stove she started to put the seasonings in the cabinet when she felt Naruto's presence directly behind her before she saw his shadow grace the counter. She turned around and was frozen into shock when he put one arm on each side of her body and effectively trapped her in.

She looked up quickly at his face and saw that his eyes were like a dark turbulent storm just before he closed them and pressed his lips to hers!

AN: If this story sounds familiar, it is! The original was unfinished and I'm writing under Maiden A now.