Sakura stared at the young man holding open the car door, and swallowed thickly as she decided what to do. Glancing wearily over her shoulder towards her house, she turned back to Sasuke and sighed. "Okay."

Deciding that she was going to see where this was going, she walked hesitantly to his car and slipped inside, avoiding the eye contact she felt on her face as he watched her closely. The car was just as nice on the inside as it was on the outside. It had smooth, black leather seats, and a fresh scent that she couldn't really put a name too. He closed the door for her, and there was a few beats of silence inside the car while he walked around it to the driver's door. Sakura used that time to take a huge breath and let it out slowly, trying to work up the nerve to deal with what was potentially about to happen. This could either go really well, or really bad. She mused that either situation was equally likely.

Sasuke slipped inside the driver's door, and to her surprise, he didn't immediately start the car. Instead, they both sat there in complete silence, his hands gripping the steering wheel and her's limp in her lap. As she opened her mouth to say something, anything, he started the car and pulled out onto the street.

"Where are we going?" she asked cautiously, glancing at the streetlights as they cruised down the road.

"Somewhere." he drawled, slowing down for a stop sign and turning on his left turn blinker.

"T-This isn't the part where you uhm, kill me or something, right?" Sakura asked in a half-joking manner, and earned a smirk out of the young man. "Right, Sasuke?"

"Right."
"Right you're going to kill me, or right you're not going to kill me."

"Right to this isn't the part where I kill you."

"So you are going to kill me." the pink haired woman groaned. "Aren't you?" Silence. "Sasuke?" More silence. "Sasuke?!"

"I am not going to kill you." said man rolled his eyes, but she could see the corner of his mouth twitching to hold back another smirk as he turned right onto another street. He was amused at her terror. How cute. "Like I said, we're going to talk."

Sakura sighed, throwing herself back against the passenger seat and turning her body to face him fully. "Okay, yeah, so you've been saying for the past twenty minutes. What exactly are we going to talk about?"

Pulling off into a nearby park, Sasuke rolled down the hill and parked the car next to the old playground. Sakura watched as he got out of his car and walked around to open her car door for her. She stepped out and surveyed her surroundings. This was the old park her, Sasuke, and Naruto used to frequent before they grew "too cool" for playgrounds. She remembered it vividly, and as she looked at the equipment, she can almost imagine them in their elementary days. When her eyes ghosted over the old worn down slide, she can almost picture when Sasuke pushed Naruto off of it, and the scolding he got when the parents found a crying Naruto limping home.

"I haven't been here in years." she whispered, still looking around and re-living memories in her head.

"You've been gone for five." Sasuke said plainly, walking past her without even telling her where he was going. Probably assuming she'd follow him.

Rolling her eyes, she did just that. "It was years before that too."

Walking through the playground, the raven haired man stopped at the swingset, and to her surprise, he sat down on one. Raising a pink brow at him, she couldn't help but notice he looked a little silly and a little too big to be sitting on the old swing, but she sat down on the one next to him regardless. For a while, neither of them said anything as Sakura began swinging lightly. Finally, Sasuke cleared his throat.

"You're still mad at me." he said it as if he was telling her about the weather.

"No, I'm not." she said calmly, shrugging and still swinging.

"Yes, you are." he said tiredly. "I know you are."

"You know nothing." she taunted back.

"Then why did you snap at me during dinner?"

"I didn't."

"Yes, you did." he sighed. "Why?"

"I don't know."

"Sakura…"

"I said I don't know."

"Bullshit!"

It startled her that he cursed, and he said it with such frustration that she jumped a little bit. He stood up suddenly and grabbed her swing as it swung forward, stopping her movement. He had both hands holding the chains and they were almost nose to nose. She could smell his spicy scent again, and her heart started pounding as she realized all she had to do was tilt her head and lean forward an inch or two and their lips would be connected. Her eyes flickered to his mouth with that thought, but as she lifted them back to his, she saw he was still staring at her intently.

"Sakura." he started, and his breath ghosted across her lips. She fought the urge to shiver. "If you're mad at me, you need to say it. We can't keep going on like this."

"Bullshit!" she countered, pushing him away from her as she stood on her feet, wheeling around to face him. "We've been going on like this for over five years, Sasuke! What were you expecting?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, his eyes never leaving hers.
"I came back, yeah. But everything can't just, just fit back into place!" she shrieked, and started to pace. "For five years, Sasuke. Five years I left and never heard from you."

"I never heard from you either." he countered, and she stopped pacing to glare at him.

"I wonder why." Sakura said icily, and he flinched. They held one another's gaze before he finally looked away. She hung her head, wrapping her arms around her while there was a heavy pause. Just when she thought their talk was over, Sasuke finally spoke.
"I wanted to talk to you." he admitted as he sat back down on the nearest swing, sighing. "I wanted to talk to you pretty bad."

"Why?" she said so softly he thought he imagined it.
"Because why does anyone want to talk to anyone?" he asked exasperatedly, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I missed you? I felt terrible for what happened? I want my friend back?"

Sakura swallowed a lump in her throat as she steeled herself not to tear up in front of him. This conversation was long overdue. "Why did you have to do it?" she said, lifting her head back up to look at him. "I get it. You didn't feel the same way, but why did you have to say that? In front of the whole courtyard? Do you know how embarrassing that was? How hurtful?"

"Sakura...I…"

"No! Do you know how awful it was to feel that way? It took me a long time to get over it. But I have. It doesn't hurt me anymore to think about it. But I'm sorry if I'm still having a hard time trying to jump back into this, Sasuke." Sakura huffed. "I'm trying though. It's been five years, and we're both different people now. I want to be your friend again, I do. I don't want to throw away all the years we've had together. So bear with me while I try to find out where we stand together."

There was a long pause as Sakura watched his strained expression. For a while she thought he wasn't going to say anything to that at all, but Sasuke finally cleared his throat, before saying in a raspy voice, "Fair enough."

Sasuke got up from the swing and as he began walking, she figured he was going back to the car so she began to follow suit. Instead, in a very un-Sasuke like manner, he approached her instead and wrapped both arms around her loosely, tugging her close. Her cheek rested on his pec right above his heart, and she could feel its gentle thumping against her cheekbone. His smell and warmth wrapped around her like a security blanket, and the muscles hidden under his shirt flexed against her body as he hugged her. Her arms laid limp at her side while she tried to register just what was happening.
"You can take all the time you need to find out where we stand together." Sasuke began, his voice vibrating his chest against her head. "I'll be here. But just know that I'm sorry. I'm very sorry." He pulled away enough to where he was resting his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes as he spoke. "I never should have done that the way I had. I can't even really come up with a reason as to why I did it. But I do know I am very sorry, and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to speak with me."

Sakura smiled sadly at him, and lifted her hand up to wrap around his bicep and gave it a squeeze. "Sasuke, I forgive you." she spoke softly, and he let his arms drop from her shoulders. "Truly I do."

"Thank you." Sasuke said, sounding as relieved as he could get.

"Friends?" Sakura asked, extending a hand out.

He took it and gave it a shake before he let it drop to her side. "Hn."

"Oh come on!" the pink haired woman hollered, throwing her arms up in the air. "This crap again?"

"What?"

"You just spoke like a normal person for like, an hour! Sentences and all! Now you're back to your grunting crap?"

"Rude."

"And here comes the one word responses. Seriously, do you need a speech therapist?" Sakura teased, grinning as she saw his lips start twitching to smirk. "I am a doctor now, I can refer you, if you'd like."

"Tch. Annoying."

"And the name calling? Really? Maybe you need anger management too."

Having enough of her teasing, Sasuke reached out and grabbed a hold of her, putting her in a headlock and began to walk towards his car with her still secured under his arm. She squealed and kicked and tried biting his arm, but she knew with her training she could get out of it if she really wanted to. Instead she decided to humor him, and let him hold her like that the whole walk to the car. He only let her go to open her door for her and to let her inside the vehicle. The car ride home was a lot more pleasant, even if it was in silence as they both looked out through the windows and each digested the night's conversation. As he pulled up to her house, she paused as she reached for the door handle.

Turning around, Sakura faced Sasuke and bit her lip. He raised a brow at her hesitancy, before she said quietly, "Thank you, Sasuke. For tonight. We really needed it."

"Hn."

Grinning at him, she exited the car and shut the door behind her gently, so not to wake her parents. Sasuke didn't leave until she got indoors. She watched his car pull away, and sighed in exhaustion as she kicked her shoes off by the door. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she read the time with a little bit of a groan. 11:18 pm. Great. Did she really stay out that late with Sasuke? Debating on whether to go straight to bed or not, Sakura shrugged and decided that there was leftover cake calling her name in the kitchen. As she sliced herself a generous portion, and was just about to grab a glass of milk, the kitchen light turned on brightly and she hissed at the assault on her eyes.

"Out all hours of the night now are we, Sakura?" her mother said in disappointment, clad in her bathrobe with a curler in her bangs and her hands on her hips.

Crap.

XxX

"Yeah!" Sakura said in annoyance, rolling her eyes as she shook out a pair of pants. She hung those up and switched her phone to the other side, shrugging to pinch the phone between her ear and shoulder. "You would think I was 15 with the lecture I got the other night about being out late."

It had been a few days since her talk with Sasuke, and the two of them had been texting good naturedly since. Their friendship was starting to mend itself, and she couldn't be happier. However, the yelling she got from her mom seemed to amuse all of her friends (especially Sasuke), but it just gave her a massive headache.

"Why would she make a big deal out of it?" Ino laughed on the other end, finding that her best friend getting scolded by her mother still was the most hilarious thing she heard all week.
"Something about me losing my honor if someone were to find out." Sakura said, rolling her eyes once more as she hung up a shirt. Doing laundry sucked, but at least doing laundry while gossiping with your best girl friend made it suck less.

"Doesn't she know what it's like in today's age? Like, people have one night stands all the time." the blonde added.

"Please, whatever you do, don't tell my mom that. She'll have a heart attack. She's already upset I'm moving out on my own."

"You going to have any guys over at your place, Sakura?"

"Maybe I will." the pink haired woman said, a wicked grin spreading across her face. "You never know. I may just have to start dabbling in the art of man eating."

"Be a sugar baby. Least you'd get some perks." Ino quipped, and she must have been eating because Sakura heard her smack her lips through the receiver. The young doctor wrinkled her nose in annoyance.

"Ew, Pig. Chew your slop with your mouth closed." Sakura got a louder lip smacking in return. "Okay, disgusting. But no, I am not going to be a sugar baby! That's too much commitment. I just want a few pieces of man candy to be at my beckon call."

"Well, at least you got a heads start on your man harem from the sounds of it."

"What are you talking about, Pig?" Sakura asked, using her hip to bump the dryer door closed as she walked out of the laundry room and into the kitchen. Picking through the fruit basket, Sakura grabbed an apple and began to crunch on it.

"You know what I'm talking about, Forehead!" Ino shrieked, and Sakura winced, pulling the phone back slightly. "Naruto and Sasuke!"

"Oh hell no." the pink haired woman yelled back. "Naruto and I are just friends, and Sasuke and I are just starting to mend things between us. I am not going down that road again. With either of them."

"No, no. Hear me out."

"If what is about to come out of your mouth is what I think it is, I'd rather not."

"Just do like, a friends with benefits thing with both of them! It's the perfect idea. You get to have hot kinky sex with the both of them, and they get to have hot kinky sex with you! And you don't run the risk of sleeping with an STD sleazebag, or a stalker. And I bet either one of them has a massive-"

"Ino you shut the fuck up right now!"

"Okay! Geez, it was just a suggestion." Ino had the audacity to sound insulted at Sakura's outburst.

"Kami, you, my mother, Mikoto, and Kushina can just go jump off a cliff."

"Harsh."

"Anyways, Pig. I'm going to let you go. I still got to run down to the hospital and take my documents to the employment center. I begin work in two days and I still need to get my employee ID and parking pass."

"Oh! You're starting work already?"

"It's been over a week, Pig." Sakura said, grabbing her purse and making sure the papers were still in it. "I need to get to work at some point."

"Awww, okay. Well, how about we go out for drinks with the girls tonight!" Ino suggested. "You weren't able to go the other night, so let's do it tonight! Please? Before you go slave yourself away at work and no one gets to see you?"

Sakura laughed, walking out the door and locking it. "Sure, sure. Let's have some drinks tonight. And I won't be M.I.A all the time, Pig. You'll still hear from me."

"What?" the blonde snorted. "You'll send me a postcard?"

"Shut up." the pink haired woman laughed, getting into her car. "I'll text you later about it. Bye, Pig."

"Bye, Forehead."

Hanging up, Sakura began the drive to the new hospital. It wasn't a terrible ride, only with mild traffic, and when she pulled up to the building she noticed it was very sleek and modern looking. She found a spot fairly easily, and walked into the employment center and got her things taken care of. Sakura took her picture for her ID and received her other documents, and when they finally came out with her freshly laminated ID, she couldn't help but to beam with pride for a bit when she looked at the name printed neatly under her picture: Sakura Haruno, M.D.

Looking at the time and seeing it was just before lunch, the young doctor decided to walk around the hospital and look at all of the amenities. It was way better than anything they had in Wave, and she was excited for Tsunade-Sama to see it all. There still wasn't any patients in the hospital, but her keycard still worked, so she was even able to tour the operating rooms and patient quarters. Sakura even managed to sneak into the employee lounge, and buy a candy bar from the new vending machine.

Munching on her caramel and chocolate goodness, she decided to take a look down the offices reserved for the practicing physicians. She thumbed the name plaques situated on the outside of the rooms, and paused when she found hers. A huge grin split across her face as she rubbed her finger across the name, and she cracked the door open to take a curious look inside. There sat an empty bookshelf, an empty desk, a huge leather desk chair, and a leather couch with a wooden coffee table in the far corner. It all seemed so bare and lonely, and she just couldn't wait to fill it up with her own personality.

Deciding that she had poked around enough, Sakura began the trek back to her car. When she stepped into the heat of the noon sun, she outwardly groaned and squinted her eyes. Man, has she been getting spoiled with air conditioning. The walk to her car was short and uneventful, but as she got into her vehicle, her phone beeped, signaling she had a new message. Pulling it out, she decided to see who it was from.

(~)

1 Message from TenTen

Hey girl! I was going to the gym for a bit today. Wanted to know if you were in? Heard you're into kick boxing. Wanna spar? 12:03pm

1 Message to TenTen

Yeah! Sure! Sounds good. Going a week without training has probably turned me into mush though. T_T 12:03pm

1 Message from TenTen

LOL. I'm sure you're fine. I'll text you the address! Meet you there in an hour? 12:04pm

1 Message to TenTen

Sounds good! 12:05pm

(~)

Shrugging, Sakura figured since she didn't really have anything else planned for the day, and she really did need to keep up on her training, sparring with TenTen wouldn't be such a bad way to spend her afternoon. Besides, she needed to scope out a new gym to go too, and this would be a good start.

When she got home, the pink haired woman ran up to her room and threw on a sports bra, some spandex shorts, and a red tank top she used back in Wave for her kick boxing. Grabbing her tape and her equipment (the rest of her bags from Wave finally came in), she threw her long hair up into a secured bun and grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen. Her mother was in there, presumably fixing her father lunch, and gave her a questioning look.

"Going kick boxing with TenTen, mom." she explained, kissing her on the cheek. "Bye, I love you. Be home before dinner."

"Okay, dear. Make sure you come back with enough time to shower before dinner. You know how sweaty you get after you workout, and I don't want you smelling all throughout supper."

"Yes, mom." Sakura answered dutifully, but fought an eye-roll. As she got to the door, she spotted her father on the couch, and called out to him, "Bye, Dad! Love you!" He answered her with a small wave.

The gym was actually relatively close, so she decided to walk, and it didn't take her very long at all to get there. They must have built it since she left, because she remembered that the building it resided in used to be an old furniture store. Pushing through the door, she surveyed the inside of it, and noticed it was pretty large for a gym. It housed a lot of workout equipment, but it was the matted area in the back that caught her attention. She walked forward hesitantly, eyes scanning for TenTen, until she finally found her brunette friend against the wall in the back.

"Hey, TenTen!" Sakura called as she walked towards her. When she got to the wall her friend was preoccupying, the pink haired woman threw her gym bag down as TenTen finally noticed her. The brunette broke into a huge grin, and rushed forward to hug her.

"Sakura!" she exclaimed. "It's so good to see you!" Pulling away, TenTen looked her up and down and smiled. "You look so different!"

"So everyone has been saying." Sakura said shyly, looking down at herself. "I hope it's a good thing!"

"It is! Not that you've ever looked bad, but, you know. You just look different. In a good way."

"Thanks?" Sakura asked, and TenTen laughed.

"I got word vomit. How about we stretch and get to sparring?"

"Sounds good!"

The two women helped each other stretch, and chatted whilst doing so. Apparently Lee has been going on about the pink haired woman non-stop, and it was driving TenTen crazy. Sakura couldn't help but to laugh at that. Sakura also learned that the brunette was dating Neji now, and that she was thinking of opening up her own dojo, specializing in weapons. TenTen congratulated her on her medical degree, and her new position at the hospital.

Once they were done stretching, they helped each other tape up, and hit the mat. They sparred for a while, and Sakura was glad to see they were evenly matched for the most part. But in the end, they started to alternate winning. Sakura was so glad to feel the familiar burn through her muscles from a good workout, and it wasn't too long before her and TenTen stopped to take a break and drink some water. Sakura was slick with sweat, and rubbed at her eyes to get the salty stuff out of them.

"So, who all have you gotten a chance to see so far?" TenTen asked, tossing her a small white towel as she used one to herself.

"Oh, just a few people really." Sakura answered, using the towel to wipe the sweat off her face and the back of her neck. "Ino, Naruto, Sasuke, you."

TenTen paused mid-drink, and rasied her brows at her friend. "Sasuke?"

"Yeah, Sasuke." Sakura said, sticking her tongue out. "We're good now."

"For real? I mean, after-"

"Yes, after everything. We're good now. We're friends."

"Okay. I'm glad for you guys. He was pretty miserable after everything."

"So I've heard." Sakura grumbled into her water bottle. "But I'm just ready to get my life moving. I don't want to dwell on the past too much."

"Hear, hear." The brunette agreed, clinking her bottle against Sakura's. "I feel that. Also, you at least have to say hi to Lee at some point. Before he gives me a brain hemorrhage would be better."

Sakura threw her head back and laughed. "Will do. Hey! By the way, Ino and I were gonna ask you and Hinata if you guys were up for some drinks later tonight? I go back to work in a few days, and wanted to go out before I started."

"Sounds good! Just let me know what time and where."

"Sure, I'll text you later about it."

"Hey! Sakura-Chan!" A familiar voice boomed over their conversation, and both girls turned their heads to see the cheerful blonde walking towards them. Naruto was clad in workout-shorts, tennis shoes, and a cut off tank top that showed off his sides as he moved. Sakura couldn't help but to admire his physique again, and she felt a tad bit unsettled that she found herself wishing he'd take off his shirt. Dropping his gym bag next to theirs, he looked in between both of them and took in their sweaty state. "What're you guys up to?"

Sakura grinned at her friend, putting her water bottle down. "We were just sparring, that's all."

"Really?" the blonde asked, raising a brow and looking her up and down. Sakura shivered, wondering whether or not it was the sweat cooling on her skin that made her do it. "You mentioned you did kick boxing back in Wave. You any good?"

"Yeah she is!" TenTen piped up. "She gave me a run for my money."

"Oh, come on, TenTen." Sakura said uneasily, rubbing her arm. "I'm not bad, but I'm not anything to write home about."

"Spar with me." Naruto said, beginning to tape up his hands.
"What?" the pink haired woman asked, kind of taken back by his request.

"Spar with me, Sakura-Chan."

TenTen grinned, looking between the two. "I say do it, Sakura. It would be funny to see little Naruto here get his ass handed to him by a woman!"

Sakura whipped towards her brunette friend and scoffed. "More like the other way around!"

"Aw, come on, Sakura-Chan. Just one match, and I'll leave you alone." he borderline-begged, throwing her his puppy dog eyes. "Please? TenTen won't spar with me anymore, and Sasuke isn't here. Besides, I wanna see what you can do!"

"Fine." Sakura caved, rolling her eyes and stepping onto the mat. "One match, and then I have to go get ready for dinner."

Naruto grinned widely, and TenTen seemed far too amused than she should have been. The blonde stepped onto the mat, and before she knew it, he was a blur of blonde and she found herself on her back on the mat, slightly dazed. TenTen was laughing hysterically, and Sakura found herself getting a little more than pissed off. Jumping back up, she marched up to her male friend and stuck a finger in his chest.
"You son of a bitch!" she hollered, poking him pointedly in the chest. "I wasn't ready! You didn't even give me a warning!"

Naruto leaned in so close she felt his breath fan her lips when he countered, "Sorry, Sakura-Chan. Didn't think you needed one." The pink haired woman narrowed her eyes as he leaned back. "I guess you need to be babied a bit, I mean, afterall-"

Before Naruto could finish his sentence, Sakura swung her leg around and kicked his from underneath him. The blonde fell back onto his back with a loud umpf, and the pink haired woman could vaguely make out TenTen's laughter in the background. Naruto recovered much more quickly than she anticipated, but she was ready, and the two began throwing punches and kicks. Both of them were able to dodge most with ease, but some landed, and Sakura could tell they were both going relatively easy. Afterall, it was just a sparring session, and it wasn't long before her previous workout with TenTen started to ache in her muscles. Deciding she was going to try to end on a strong note, Sakura was able to knock Naruto on his back once more, and this time, without even thinking, she straddled him.

Sakura was about to put him in some kind of bar, when she made the mistake of looking down at him. Whatever she was planning to do melted in her mind as her green eyes came into contact with his baby blues. The molten heat she saw in them made her quiver, and she knew exactly what he was thinking as she looked him in his eyes. They were stormy, and watching her with what she could only describe as hunger. Her throat went immediately dry, and she couldn't help but try to squeeze her legs together as she felt an unfamiliar sensation roll through her body. As a result, her legs squeezed around his midsection, and her action did not go unnoticed by her sparring partner. If it was possible, the young man's eyes grew even darker as he realized what she did (and probably why she did it). Blood rushed up from her neck to her cheeks, and she began to panic. But before she could scrambled off of him, which she was in the motion of doing, Naruto flipped them over so he was hovering over her with her pinned down beneath him. He had each of her wrists in his hands, holding her down, and he leaned in close enough that he was practically whispering in her ear.

"I think I won, Sakura-Chan." he rumbled, and he was so close to her that she could feel the heat radiating of his body and onto hers. He pulled back a bit, watching her intently for a second as he took in the sight of her sprawled out beneath him.

There was a deep coughing noise to their left, and both Naruto and Sakura snapped their gazes up to see a madly blushing TenTen, her fist still in front of her face as she coughed once more. Naruto's eyes widened as he looked down at the flustered pink haired woman beneath him, as well as the on-looking crowd, and he immediately jumped up and off of her so fast that it gave Sakura second-hand whiplash. She was much slower to stand, and she watched as the blonde grinned sheepishly, a tiny blush dusting his own cheeks as he scratched the back of his head.

"Okay, wow. Well, that was a good sparring match." the brunette started, looking down at the floor uncomfortably. "But I need to go, Sakura. I have to get dinner cooked for me and Neji, especially if we're going out for drinks tonight."

"Yup! I completely understand." Sakura assured, gathering her things up. "I need to get back to shower before dinner. It was good seeing you." she said, leaning forward and hugging TenTen. "I'll text you later tonight about what time."

"Sounds good! See you, Sakura." Tenten said, and looked at Naruto. "Bye, Naruto!"

"Later!" the blonde said, and with that the brunette left them alone as they finished gathering their things. "Uh, Sakura-Chan?"

Said woman stiffened a bit, hoping he wasn't going to bring up their little moment on the mat as she hummed, "Hmmm?"

"Thanks, uhm, thanks for sparring with me."

"No problem!"

"Hopefully we could do it again?"

"Yeah!"

"I'll text you later?"

Sakura grinned, nodding. "But not if I text you first."

Naruto grinned back. "I always text you first."

"Liar."

"Whatever you say, Sakura-Chan."

Hugging her best friend goodbye, Sakura tried to ignore the tingling she still felt all over her body, and the way it worsened as she felt his body press against hers. Maybe Ino was right. Maybe she really did need to get laid. It wasn't like her to be acting like this, especially with Naruto. During the walk home though, Sakura decided she was going to have to do something about the heat between her legs, because it had been persistent ever since their sparring session.

When she got home, she decided to take a cold shower instead.

XxX

Throwing his gym bag down, Naruto immediately stripped and ran to the shower, turning the faucet on the coldest setting it had, and he gritted his teeth as the icy water ran in rivulets down his body. The throbbing erection he had was beginning to go away as he tried thinking about something else, anything other than his best friend. He felt frustrated, and kind of guilty, as he tried not to replay the scene at the gym.

Naked grandma, Naruto, naked grandma. Naked grandma with saggy tits that are definitely not perky with taut pink nipples. Definitely with pale old wrinkly skin, and not a smooth and sun-kissed canvas laid out before him. Definitely not with long, soft pink hair splayed out underneath her as she looks up at him with hungry green eyes, her pink lips softly parted as her hands travel their way up his chest to circle around his neck, fisting her long fingers in his hair, those creamy thighs wrapping around his hips tightly as she moans in his ear while he eases inside-

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Naruto yells out loud at himself, shaking his head as he roughly yanks the water faucet off in anger.

Deciding that not even a cold shower will help, the blonde grabs a towel and wraps it around his midsection as he darts into the kitchen. Opening his fridge, he grabs the nearest thing (a pickle jar) and opens the lid and begins to swig out of it. Sputtering at the briny, salty juice, he forces himself to drink it again as he feels his erection going down. As he lifted the jar for the third time, he lifted it too earnestly, and upheaved half the juice down his chest. Cursing, he set the jar down and began wiping at himself with the dish towel. His doorbell rang.

"W-Who is it?" Naruto called, walking to the door and peeking out the peep-hole. Seeing who it is, Naruto decided to go ahead and open it.

"Dobe." Sasuke said, walking into his apartment. "Did you suddenly forget how to text?"

"No, sorry, Teme." Naruto said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I was in the shower."

The raven haired man raised an eyebrow, glancing at his friend up and down. Taking in a deep whiff, Sasuke cringed back and pinched his nose. "In pickle juice, you fucking retard?"

"Oui!" Naruto cried, throwing a sloppy punch towards his friend. It was awkward trying to punch while holding a towel to your body, and Sasuke dodged it easily. "Not in pickle juice, you ass."

"Well why the hell do you smell like you did?!"

"I was drinking pickle juice and spilled some on me!" Naruto only realized how weird that sounded after it left his mouth. Sasuke watched him like he was crazy.

"Why the fuck were you drinking pickle juice?"

Naruto fumed, mostly out of embarrassment. "None of your goddamn business! Maybe I just like pickle juice?!"

Sasuke stared at him for a second, before sighing and leaving it be. "Whatever you say, Dobe."

"Why are you here anyways?"

The raven haired man shoved his hands in his pockets, leaning against the door. "You weren't answering your phone, and Kiba invited everyone to come over to his house for some drinks and to watch the football game tonight. You didn't answer, so I got stuck coming and checking on your bitch ass."

"Screw you."

"Are you coming or not?" Sasuke asked, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. Let me shower and change and I'll be there." Naruto said, starting to walk to the bathroom.

"I talked to Sakura." the other man said quietly, hands still in his pockets, and he was looking at the floor.

Naruto stopped walking, but didn't turn around. Just hearing her name made him cringe at his earlier behaviour, and the last thing he needed was his ever observant friend to notice. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. We're good now." Sasuke said. "No hard feelings. We're friends."

"That's good, Teme. Glad you decided to step up and be an adult."

"Tch. Dobe."

"Anyways, get out of my house, bitch. I'll see you at Kiba's."

"Whatever you say, moron."

Sasuke walked out of the apartment door himself, and Naruto made his way back to his bathroom to try to take a real shower. The incident with the pickle juice and the visit from Sasuke helped calm things down, and the guilt he felt for the dirty thoughts about his best friend made him wince. How could he think about Sakura like that? Especially after what she had been through with Sasuke? He needed to get a hold of himself. He loved Sakura deeply, and couldn't bear watching her get torn up over something like that again. He couldn't face the rejection if she didn't want him, and if she did and it didn't work out, he didn't want to ruin what they had between them and risk losing her permanently.

Even though Naruto scolded himself and vowed he would stop thinking the way he had been, he was ashamed to admit that halfway through the shower, he had to turn it back onto cold again.

Kami, he was a piece of work.

A/N:

Reviews help give me motivation to write faster!

Thanks for reading, y'all. Means a lot.

~Dayonight7