43. You're special to me... Naruto x Sakura
Okay I’m cheating a little and jumping the queue but lord do I need some happy lol.
Also just wanna apologise, I’ve been busy irl so I’m gonna try and bash out a few of these today.
43 - You’re special to me
‘Hey Naruto?’ Ino asked, stirring her drink with a straw. ‘Can I ask you a question?’
Naruto’s ears perked up as he turned from grinning at a random passing kid who’d gotten just a little too starstruck when seeing him in the flesh. ‘Hm? Yeah sure.’
‘When are you going to tell Sakura how you feel?’
Naruto coughed on his spit, shock turning into even more of a living cartoon character than he normally was. ‘What?!’
The blonde shook her head. ‘I mean you do like her right? We can all tell. Hell I think the only person who doesn’t know is Forehead herself.’ Ino leant on the heel of her palm and stared at him imperiously. ‘So when are you going to tell her?’
Naruto, who had finally recovered from his coughing fit, rubbed at his chest and grimaced. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, And what do you mean you can all tell? Me and Sakura are just friends.’
Ino snorted. ‘Yeah right and I’m a bottle blonde.’
Naruto pulled a face at her and sipped at his own drink. ‘This is the entire reason you wanted to hang out isn’t it? To throw baseless accusations about my love life at me.’
‘Baseless huh?’ Ino asked with a roll of her eyes. ‘Okay smart guy, you do know that we’re ninja right? We are trained to be perceptive. So you’re gonna sit there with a straight face and tell me you Mr ‘I-still-wear-orange-with-my-ANBU-armour think you can get how you feel about my best friend by me? Naruto, you smile every time she enters a room. You blush when she even looks in your direction. Besides, Sai already told me about that little chat you had a few years ago.’
‘I knew him getting a girlfriend was a mistake,’ Naruto grumbled. ‘And that was years ago, you don’t seriously think I’m still in love with her after all that time right?’
Ino gave him a deadpan look and crossed her arms. ‘What’s another five years after your entire life.’
The blond shrugged and sighed reluctantly. ‘Fine. What do you expect to come out of it if I do tell her? She isn’t interested in me that way, want me to just embarrass myself in front of one of my closest friends just because you think I should?’
‘Who says that’s what would happen?’ Ino smiled coyly as she checked her watch. The kind of smile that implied she knew something he didn’t.
It was irritating.
‘So you think I should just what? Go up to her and say “Hi Sakura, I don’t really know how to properly say this … but you’re special to me. You always have been and I think we should go on a date?” Come on Ino, she’d laugh in my face.’
‘I don’t know about that …’ another woman’s voice, definitely not Sakura’s, said from behind him and Naruto felt the blood drain from his face.
Ino chuckled and leant to the side to wave at the woman behind him. ‘Oh hi there Sakura! What brings you here?’
Naruto didn’t know why Ino was calling the woman Sakura. Sakura couldn’t be behind him. That’d just be some kind of special Hell and he didn’t think he deserved that.
‘Well I got a note at the hospital telling me to come to this exact restaurant at this time. So …’ Sakura said, a slight edge to her voice that made Naruto’s neck hair stand up. ‘What are you playing at Pig?’
Naruto dared a look to where Sakura was and winced at the frown. Her glare was directed at Ino, who was just smirking like the cat who got the canary.
‘Just making you two morons face your feelings. It’s been quite frustrating watch you miss easy lay ups for years.’ Ino stood from her seat and waved at them innocently ‘Now I have to get going, you kids have fun. And be gentle with Naruto, I think the poor man is about ready to snap in half.’
Ino patted his shoulder and he leapt away from her as Sakura growled and let the other woman leave. She slipped into the now empty seat and frowned after Ino’s retreating back. ‘Busybody.’
‘Uh Sakura?’ Naruto tried. ‘I just wanted to say …’
Sakura’s gaze eyes locked down on him and she frowned. Though he was pretty sure it wasn’t quite as harsh as the one she’d given Ino.
‘I think you said enough Naruto,’ Sakura said.
Naruto flinched. Well this couldn’t have gone worse.
‘Why didn’t you just tell me how you felt?’ Sakura frowned. ‘You really thought I’d just shoot you down?’
‘I mean …’ Naruto floundered as he looked anywhere but the angry face of his former teammate. ‘You don’t feel the same so I didn’t want to bother you with-‘
‘Of course I feel the same way you stupid man!’ Sakura shouted, slamming her fists onto the table. ‘I just didn’t think I deserved you after all the stuff I put you through. I’ve been dying to go out with you for years. If you’d just asked I’d have said yes immediately. We could have been dating already you idiot.’
Silence reigned between them as what she had just said dawned on Sakura and she went as pink as her hair.
‘I … um … What I mean is …’
‘Sakura-chan?’ Naruto said with an awkward smile. His hand reaching out to cup around her fist. Her skin warm under his own.
‘Y-yeah?’ Sakura asked, her eyes darting down to their hands.
‘Would you like to go on a date with me?’ He crossed the fingers of his free hand under the table and waited, his heart slamming into his chest.
‘Of course,’ Sakura blushed lightly as her fist unwound and her fingers linked with his. ‘Moron.’
Naruto beamed and Sakura returned it with a smaller one.
Naruto had to remember to thank Ino for interfering.
