Hey Guys

Edited as of June 2010

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any part of Naruto... and if I did I wouldn't know what to do with it.

"Huh?" Naruto looked up to a clean white ceiling above him. Knowing his apartment's walls let alone its ceiling were never this free of dirt, he assumed he was in the hospital.

The blonde heard the door open. A nurse from the hospital along with Tsunade, Shizune, and the person he ironically wanted to see least right now, Sakura, walked in. The memory of how he failed his first important mission stuck with him. He didn't want to see anyone, let alone the girl who he broke a promise to.

"Naruto?"

Normally her voice would cause his heart to jump a little. All it served to do now was to send fearful chill up his spine this time. It belonged to the girl whom he cherished and would do anything for. Not only because she was his teammate and friend, but because he'd had feelings for her ever since he first saw her at the academy. He turned away.

"Naruto...look at me," Her steady timber cracked a bit.

He looked up, expecting to see disappointment and anger in her beautiful emerald eyes. However when he made eye contact with her he was startled. All he could see was worry evident all over her face. The blonde's mouth involuntarily opened in surprise at this. His own common sense caught up with him soon after. The worry clearly wasn't for him. He pressed his lips together in a thin line and sighed.

"Gomen Sakura-chan." A pitiful apology was all the blonde could manage.

By now Tsunade and Shizune realized that the two genin needed some time alone. So with much reluctance (mostly on Tsunade's part) they left the room.

"Baka." The word softly passed her lips.

"Huh?" Naruto's head snapped up.

"YOU BAKA!"

He couldn't fight the conditioned response of putting his hands up in defense. He knew that Sakura would worry over Sasuke and forget about him. It always happened that way. He braced himself for the attack, knowing that in his condition (kyuubi healed his injuries but he was still sore as hell) this would be one of the most painful beatings he'd received from the pink haired kunoichi to date.

Surprisingly, the blows didn't come. Instead Naruto a warm sensation enveloped Naruto's entire midsection. He enjoyed it for a second the audible sound of muffling along with the feeling his bandages get wet brought him back to his senses. The blonde looked down in surprise at her short pink hair. The strands bobbed with every sob that racked her body.

"Sakura-chan?" His hand came up to scratch the back of his head.

Naruto's faced screwed up in confusion. It wasn't as if he didn't appreciate her attention, but she was wetting his bandages. The answer to why Sakura would cry to him instead of hit him never came. The blonde briefly entertained the thought of someone using a henge, but immediately dismissed it. She'd come in with Tsunade and Shizune earlier and he was certain they'd checked. He cautiously let a hand rest atop her head.

"What's wrong Sakura-chan?"

"Mmph mws wo mwrreid," was the muffled reply. If Sakura hadn't been crying he would have laughed at her blubbered response. Though the blonde knew now wasn't the time for humor. His mood alone dampened his will to laugh at anything. He sighed again, fighting the urge to flinch back at his next move.

Boldly, Naruto put his arms around her in a protecting manner and rocked her. His female teammate always had been the only one on their team to shed tears. Her skin was smooth to the touch even with his bandages wrapping his arms. He dragged a few fingers along her arms, marveling at the softness. The blonde immediately returned his hands to her back when her sobs stopped.

"Um…Sakura-chan. Please tell me what's wrong."

Naruto knew it was probably about Sasuke but decided to console her anyway. Besides, he could enjoy this rare contact for a few seconds longer.

Sakura was quiet for a moment. She sniffed again before speaking up. "I was just…so worried Naruto."

"Sakura-chan I promise I'll bring him back as soon as I get out of here." Naruto stated impulsively. His heart clenched as he realized that it wasn't likely she'd trust him after the first botched attempt.

"I wasn't just worried about Sasuke-kun you baka."

"Then...you were worried about Choji too? I knew it wasn't just Ino who had a crush on him!" Tsunade and Shizune sweat dropped from the other side of the door. Both were thinking the same thing.

'How clueless could Naruto be?'

Sakura started shaking in anger. Naruto released her and shielded his face with his forearms. The pinkette quickly quelled her fury. She gently pulled his arms away from his face until Naruto faced her eye to eye. His obvious surprise nearly caused her to giggle.

"No, not Choji. I was worried about you, Naruto."

Despite the situation, Sakura almost laughed at his expression. It was a mixture that she had trouble discerning but still left a humorous twisted expression on his face."Y-You were worried about me Sakura-chan?"

"H-Hai," She replied. "When Kakashi-sensei brought you through the gates I saw your condition and I rushed to the hospital. Sensei told me he didn't see the fight but on his way there he felt some of the highest chakra levels he'd felt in a long time." Sakura focused her eyes on her legs. "What happened?"

Naruto told her the story about how he and Sasuke fought (excluding the part about using the kyuubi's chakra and Sasuke using the curse seal, that would be giving her too much to worry about) and showed her Sasuke's headband with sad eyes. They both cried a little. Well Naruto a lot. Unfortunately, while he did want to comfort Sakura she gained a vast amount of strength when emotional and was currently hugging him. Naruto was in heaven but in an intense amount of pain and discomfort at the same time. He was enjoying himself...somewhat. When the crying stopped Naruto continued to comfort his teammate until she spoke up.

"Next time were both going to get Sasuke-kun."

Naruto was surprised. He nodded nevertheless. "Hai, next time we'll drag that teme back even if it kills us!" Naruto and Sakura shared a smile before Naruto sat up straight, bringing Sakura with him.

"We're going to need some more training if we want to get strong enough to bring Sasuke-kun back," She stated resolutely.

"I know just the person to ask," The blonde replied, still smiling.

Naruto began to get dizzy. His confusion lifted when he felt Sakura tight grip still on his waist. Without enough time to warn her he let his eyes fall and passed out. The blonde was happy that he fell asleep holding the girl he felt for so strongly; or rather her holding him.

When Sakura realized Naruto had fallen asleep she quickly removed herself from his embrace. She was torn between leaving the room and staying in the bed with him. She knew Naruto wouldn't mind. He'd also had enough beatings to know not to do anything perverse and she was terribly tired from crying.

She had enough energy to pull the curtain closed before she fell onto the bed. Naruto didn't stir. Sakura scooted over to the unoccupied side of the bed and relaxed. Her eyes leveled on the other bed in the hospital room. The pinkette immediately turned over, involuntarily pressing her face into her teammate's chest. She sucked in a startled breath. The blonde remained still. The pink haired kunoichi tried her best to relax. The steady thumping of Naruto's heart put her to sleep seconds later.

Naruto awoke at about four the next morning. The sound of relaxed breathing next to him was startling at first. That was until he remembered what happened with Sakura yesterday. Looking down, he saw the bubblegum locks of the girl he loved. Sadly, he knew there wouldn't be anything there but friendship. It hurt more given the actual distance between the two this time but he'd get over it as he always had.

Little did Naruto know Sakura had actually had awoken about ten minutes earlier. She didn't want to leave because she was so comfortable under the blanket with him. After the first eight minutes realization had hit home as Sakura blushed until she was sure she'd explode.

I'm under Naruto's blankets…with him!'

After that she simply had been unable to move because she didn't want to wake Naruto up and risk giving him the wrong idea about their friendship. The message that this would send to him would only prompt to the blonde to ask her for dates more frequently.

Naruto quietly slipped out from under her. He was still feeling down and needed to take a walk to get his mind off of things. Once out from under the covers and Sakura he picked up his clothes from their folded pile on a nearby chair and looked back to her. She seemed to be sleeping. Naruto walked over and chuckled a little.

"Despite people talking about your forehead sometimes, I think it's kind of cute," he whispered as he leaned down and spontaneously pressed his lips to it. The blonde's survival instincts, along with his common sense, immediately kicked in and he hurriedly drew back. He mentally berated himself for doing something so idiotic. A bit of shame welled up within him; he'd done it while she was asleep. After a quick shake of his head, Naruto left. He completely missed the red tint on the bubblegum haired kunoichi's face.

Back in the hospital room Sakura's blush hadn't lifted. The impulse to slug the blonde had been forcefully suppressed by the shock and surprise of the kiss. Sakura shifted under the blankets a few times before going still. Her intention wasn't to hit Naruto anymore; quite the opposite really. The spot on where his lips met her forehead was still warm. She rubbed it absentmindedly with her index and middle fingers.

For some reason or another, Sakura fell asleep again with a content smile that morning.

The night before...

Tsunade and Shizune had been listening to the two genin's conversation for quite a while before it abruptly stopped. Smirking mischievously, the Godaime turned to her apprentice.

"Shizune, you go and get some rest. I'll make sure they're okay." Shizune, not one to disobey an order, nodded and disappeared.

"Now for some fun..." The Godaime walked in to find Naruto lying down with Sakura beside him. Her head lay on his chest.

"Aw that's so cute! We'll have to fix that."

She quickly flew through a few hands signs to make sure the two would remain sleeping. Tsunade moved anything she could think of to make sure Naruto was caught in an embarrassing position when he and Sakura woke up. The brat was just too fun to mess with and he deserved it for making her worry so much. The Godaime rose slowly.

"Goodnight Naruto-kun. Have fun tomorrow," Tsunade whispered as she walked down the hallway. Her near silent laughter echoed off of the walls of the hospital.

At about two in the morning Shizune woke up feeling something was amiss. She quickly left her home to check up on her mistress first. When she entered the office she wasn't surprised to see Tsunade asleep with a smile on her face but something was wrong. Tsunade never smiled while asleep unless she drank sake the night before. Shizune sniffed. The sight or smell of sake wasn't anywhere in the office.

She decided to forget about it and go ask Naruto. As long as Tsunade was alright there was no point in stressing over it. The blonde was the last one to be near her sensei last night and she had nothing else to do so she set off. When she reached the door she opened it slowly, just in case the blonde was still asleep. When Shizune poked her head in her face filled up like a heated thermometer.

Sakura was spread-eagled on the bed with nothing but her bra and panties on while Naruto's head was down between her legs, his hands on her breasts. His hospital gown had disappeared, leaving him in nothing but his boxers. Shizune lifted her head up and looked again. This time her involuntary gasp caused Naruto to snuggle deeper into Sakura. The pinkette arched her hips and groaned.

Careful not to make a sound, Shizune quietly closed the door, allowing the two to return to their business. She halted her first step, a contemplative expression crossing her features.

'There was no smell of sex in the room and Naruto-kun with Sakura-chan. How did that happen?'

Then she remembered the wicked glint in her mistress' eyes the night before and groaned.

'Tsunade-sensei you're such a pervert!'

Using the same sleeping jutsu as the Godaime, Shizune put them in a position which she thought wouldn't get her adoptive brother in too much trouble. She set off with her own mischievous glint her eyes.

When Tsunade Awoke the next morning she found she was lying on top of her desk with nothing but her underclothes on. That wasn't the worst of it. She was lying under Maito Gai. His head rested between her assets. An incredibly satisfied look was engraved on his face.

"SHIZUNE!"

On the other side of Konoha Shizune turned as she heard her name being yelled and started giggling. The giggling soon turned into full blown laughter. Those that did walk by wondered why an insane brunette haired woman was cackling in the middle of the street.

For those of you that are hitting up this story for the first time, again I am going back over chapters, for the final time, and correcting them. Also this will be Naru/Saku, Naru/Tayu once again. Tayuya will be in the next chapter.