"Yuck," Naruto Uzumaki gagged as Sakura Haruno, donned in her pristine white jacket, poured herself a mug of steaming coffee. "I don't understand how you can drink that stuff."

Sakura looked at him sideways, ponytail swinging slightly, "tell me, Naruto, what time is it right now?"

The blonde scratched his cheek and looked to the clock above their stove. "Early." In fact it was very early, so early that Naruto had only rolled out of bed to give his workaholic girlfriend a kiss goodbye. Undoubtedly he would fall back in bed to snore for several more hours.

"Exactly," she said and moved to gather her files and paperwork into her briefcase. "Tsunade may not seem like an early riser, but oh man." She took another sip. "If I'm not in her office reporting by exactly 6:00…"

"Yeah, okay. I get it," Naruto grinned and made his way behind Sakura. He wrapped his arms around her middle and snuggled his face into the crook of her neck. "You smell like strawberries," he mumbled dreamily.

Sakura smiled and leaned into his touch. "You always say that."

"You always smell like strawberries."

She maneuvered to look him in the eye and brought her hand up to trace the handsome contours of his face. "It could be my shampoo."

"Or it could be your sparkling personality," he teased. She giggled and kissed his nose.

"Anyway, I have to go. Also I'm doing a shift at the hospital after sorting out some things with Tsunade," she ran her fingers through his unruly sunshine hair. He smiled at her sleepily and bent down to plant a soft kiss on her lips.

"Mm- gross, coffee flavored kisses," he said after pulling away and smacking his lips. He wrinkled his nose at her, prompting a playful smack. "What?! It tastes like butt."

"How do you know what butt tastes like, Naruto Uzumaki?" She laughed and filed the rest of her papers away, snapping her briefcase closed.

"Well, what does it taste like to you then?!" Naruto quipped and leaned on the counter, head cocked to the side, blue eyes sparkling.

"Tastes like work and early mornings...Tastes like Tsunade," the pinkette said distractedly, grabbing her keys.

"And how do you know what Tsunade tastes like, Sakura Haruno?" Her boyfriend said mockingly, a hand to his chest for dramatic flare. The kunoichi in question simply rolled her eyes and stood on tiptoes to kiss him goodbye.

That would be the last cup of coffee she would have for a long time. With the unexpected death of her shishou and Konoha's fifth hokage, there were no more early mornings. The smell of roasting coffee beans no longer wafted through their little apartment.

Naruto would watch his girlfriend shuffle around in the mornings, no longer sure what she should be doing with her time. Often times he would catch her staring out the window at the face of her old sensei etched into stone since her shift at the hospital wouldn't start until nine. The elders were discussing all possibilities for the future hokage and there were whispers around that it was a tie between him, Kakashi-sensei and Shikamaru Nara of all people.

It was hard to be excited about it when the love of his life was grieving the passing of the single most influential person in her life.

The news came to him 18 days after the death of Tsunade: he would be given the title of Konoha's sixth hokage. He had to swallow his excitement and find the right way to tell Sakura…

. . .

"Sakura-chan," Sakura Haruno heard and felt someone softly brush her hair from her face. Her eyes fluttered open to see her boyfriend smiling above her. "Wake up, I have something for you."

"Naruto?" she asked and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What time is it?"

"Early," he grinned excitedly, "very early. That's why I made you this."

She blinked a couple of times and focused her vision to find a mug of steaming coffee in his outstretched hands. Her heart ached involuntarily, and she squeezed her eyes shut again, the pain still too fresh. "Why?"

"Because you have to be in the Hokage's office at 6:00 AM sharp," he said and Sakura shook her head, confused. Had the last two weeks just been a nightmare?

"What are you talking about?" she mumbled, still foggy from sleep.

"You are to report to me in less than an hour and I will not tolerate any tardiness," he said in a no-nonsense voice and Sakura stared at him uncomprehendingly.

He raised his eyebrows and a smile tugged at his mouth, waiting for her to digest the news. It clicked for Sakura. Her emerald eyes widened.

"Naruto, you…?"

"You're looking at Konoha's new Hokage," he said and grinned so widely that she was momentarily blinded by his sunny brilliance. Tears blurred her vision and she took the mug from his hands to set it on the nightstand.

"Wha-" her boyfriend started but she silenced him with a kiss that soon lingered with the taste of tears. After a few moments they broke apart and he looked at her tear-stricken face. "Oh, Sakura-chan, I didn't mean to make you sad-"

"No," the kunoichi said, "I'm not sad. I'm happy."

"Then why are you crying?" he asked softly.

Sakura laughed and wiped at her tears, "okay, maybe I'm sad, really sad. But I'm still happy for you. So happy."

"How does that work?" he asked and brushed a lingering drop with the pad of his thumb.

"I have no idea."

. . .

A week later they raised two shots of espresso at the foot of Tsunade's grave.

"Thank you so much, Shishou. You made me who I am today," Sakura said, hand outstretched.

"See you on the other side, Granny," Naruto smiled sadly. The two lovers made eye contact.

"Ready?" she asked.

"No," her stubborn boyfriend replied.

"Okay, go," she said and downed the coffee easily. She smiled and watched her Hokage plug his nose and dramatically gulp down the hot liquid.

"Oh, gross!" he spluttered and coughed. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad, was it?"

"... No, not really. Nothing like butt."