Part 14

After reporting about their mission and having dinner with Kakashi, Sakura and Team Guy, Naruto and Uzu laid down at their usual spot in the forest.

They were in luck, the sky was cloud free, making for a beautiful starry sight.

Sitting close to each other, Naruto watched as Uzu’s eyes reflected the stars, causing his heart to skip a beat.

His eyes traveled across her face, stopping at her lips.

Did anyone even begin to grasp how much he wanted to kiss her? Of course, he had noticed that she liked holding his hand and she had already given him a lap pillow twice. Let’s not even mention the hug she gave him when he just couldn’t hold his tears in anymore.

But those were all things that friends would also do … he wasn’t sure whether she would, you know, appreciate it, if he suddenly made his desire to kiss her known to her.

He cared too much about their current relationship to jeopardize it through the desires that suddenly made themselves known within him. Of course, them being sudden is rather vague … he had wanted to kiss and hug her for a long while. In fact, he had imagined doing other things as well …

However, when he saw her turn her head towards him, he suddenly found his hands move on their own, cupping her head and making her eyes forcefully meet his own.

Not feeling her struggle in his touch at all, he slowly closed in, stopping just before their lips touched. Looking for any sign of discomfort or rejection in her eyes, but finding none, he moved in, feeling his lips meet hers.

…

Eh? Eh? Eh?

Uzu found herself unable to think as Naruto’s soft and hot lips met hers. She felt a blush rise on her face as she couldn’t help but close her eyes to focus solely on the feeling of his lips on hers.

When he moved a hand to her neck, deepening their kiss, she gasped, her hand slipping and falling onto his chest. Unconsciously, she found herself tracing the lines of his muscles that showed even through his mesh shirt.

A mere second later, she noticed that her lips suddenly felt cold, already missing the warmth him, she hastily moved further in, connecting with his lips again.

Their kisses were clumsy and immature, but that was fine.

When she finally let go, she couldn’t help but look at his flushed face in surprise, she had not expected this to happen.

Would anyone believe that she had never actually kissed someone before?

She hoped that he had felt exactly what he had wanted to feel when he initiated their kiss. She hoped that she wasn’t wrong about his (and her own) feelings. She hoped that she wasn’t jumping to conclusions on her own again.

…

Looking at her blushing cheeks and slightly reddish lips, he felt his heart skip a beat.

He burned the softness of her lips into his mind, he wouldn’t ever dare to forget that …

When her widened eyes once again began to reflect the night sky and he saw her face warp in slight fear, he knew … she was feeling the same thing as he was.

Both of them were hoping that they were right about each other’s feelings.

Gambling, he decided to throw his arms around her waist and pull her close. When he felt her lean into his chest and lay her head onto his shoulder, he knew, she was probably feeling the exact same thing as he was, but even if she wasn’t … he would be fine.

Leaning down to her ear, he whispered: “Are you sure?”

He saw her look up at him, giving him a sweet smile as her eyes curved into crescents.

He had missed this particular smile of hers … only once before had she shown it to him.

Scanning her face, he couldn’t help but ask again: “Are you really sure? Then it’s okay if I like … hug and kiss you when I want to?”

He was still feeling unsure, this just didn’t seem real.

However, when she moved her hands to pull down his face and push her lips onto his, he, once again, received the answer he needed. He would be lying if he said that he had no doubts anymore … he had just been left alone for far too many times … he wouldn’t dare to lose himself completely just yet … he just knew, if she also left him, then he probably couldn’t get up again.

…

Enjoying the warmth of his chest against her face, Uzu felt herself almost melt in his arms.

She had never once felt like this before. She felt so overwhelmingly comfortable and safe and warm and loved that she felt her eyelids droop and before long the feeling of his hand moving up and down her spine gently coaxed her to sleep.

…

When she awoke again, she found herself being held in gentle arms as the wind blew at her hair, making it sway.

Looking up, she noticed that her hands had instinctively curled around Naruto’s neck, firmly making sure that she couldn’t fall.

One hand gently supported her back and his other hand was placed beneath her thighs as he traveled through the empty streets of Konoha.

We aren’t moving towards the tower … so … are we going to his place?

She just realized that she had never actually seen his apartment, which she knew he had though.

Occasionally she felt the gazes of a patrolling Anbu or guard on her. Though, strangely, she didn’t care at all. She just felt so giddy inside because he was actually princess carrying her. Her!

Looking at the sweet smile on his face, she felt herself blush.

I like him. I think I really like him. If this … feeling … is love, then yes, I love him.

She was curious whether what she was feeling was actually love or not, and she would try to find out.

Resting her head on his shoulder again, she closed her eyes, enjoying the security he made her feel.

And honestly, even if it wasn’t love, she just felt so comfortable that it didn’t actually matter. As long as things stayed like this and she could feel safe with him, she would be fine.

…

Before long, they arrived at his apartment. It was the top floor of an apartment complex near the clan area. Only he knew that he had lived in an apartment close to the civilian area before … but that was a story for another time.

Setting her down, he moved to open the door to his apartment.

Honestly, she had expected the same messy apartment he had in canon, but it was surprisingly clean.

Well, it would be, when he had spent most of the time in the Senju apartment anyway …

…

Watching her sit down on his couch, he was slightly … nervous.

Hopefully she doesn’t hate this place … I probably should have asked before just carrying her here …

“Water?” He asked hesitantly, receiving a nod in return.

…

Seeing him leave, she moved a hand across the soft fabric of his rather spacious couch. There were three other rooms in his apartment, probably his bedroom, a bathroom and the kitchen he was in right now. It was actually rather spacious. It would be weird if this was the apartment the third Hokage had given when he was kicked out of the orphanage.

Shaking her head, she postponed thinking about it for now.

Having taken off her shoes at the entrance, she pulled her legs up and hugged her knees.

Feeling her eyelids become incredibly heavy, she just decided to sleep here … she wasn’t exactly comfortable with taking his bed when it was actually his own apartment. And she didn’t know if she was alright with sleeping in the same bed with him.

She had never once shared a bed with someone before, it was also much more intimate than sleeping on the blanket in the forest.

She would be lying if she said that she didn’t want to though (a part of her really wants to!).

Yawning, she let herself fall onto the pillows on his couch, she curled up and closed her eyes, feeling her thoughts drift and soon falling asleep.

…

He didn’t know what he expected, but when he returned with a glass of water in hand, the only sound he heard was her soft and even breathing.

Gently setting down the glass of water in order not to wake her up, he felt his gaze uncontrollably wander on her curled-up body, lingering on places of interest.

(:3)

Feeling blood rush to his face, he shook his head and swiftly, noiselessly, retreated to his bedroom.

After taking off his shirt, he finally laid down, falling asleep the moment his head hit his pillow.

He just knew that he would have a very pleasant dream tonight.

…

A/N: Shorter chapter, but some fluff, so it’s okay?? :3

I hope that the development seemed more … gradual … this time.

But yeah, they aren’t completely together yet, that’d just be weird since they both have so many doubts and questions … and it’s their first time to feel like this towards anyone after all.

But just so that it’s clear … they both know of their feelings now, but there’s lots of scars and baggage … so it’ll still take some time?

Gosh, hopefully I’ll manage to properly form this relationship :O