Much Too Early; Much Too Late.

The door slowly opened, and Sakura looked up into a pair of deep, blue, tired eyes.

"Naruto," she said quietly. "I... um..."

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said suddenly. "Oh! I was just thinking about... what are you doing here? What time is it?" He peered at her suddenly. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"I..." she glanced around for some inspiration. Why the hell did I wake him up? "I was wondering... are you okay?" She suddenly pointed to the elbow he was nursing.

"Huh? What? Oh, this? I just bumped it," he smiled widely at her. "I've had worse."

"Yeah," she smiled back. "Yes, you have."

They looked at each other for a moment or two, and Naruto pursed his lips. "So... you... uh, you came by to ask about my elbow?" He raised his eyebrows at her. Sakura shifted slightly, taking an involuntary step closer to him. He made a noise in his throat and took a step back. "Do... you... want to come in?"

"Sure. Um, I just wanted to... to, I don't even know. I thought maybe we should talk," she stepped forwards again, and he took another step back. He wasn't a lot taller than her, but being this close, she realized just how he was able to tower over her. He retreated further into his apartment, standing on the step to allow room for her to take her shoes off.

As she closed the door behind her, she suddenly had a wild idea, a drastic and crazy idea, and a tightening around her stomach made her afraid but daring; it was the same sensation she had received when she went to cut her hair to release the hold the ninja from Sound had on her; it was the exact feeling she got whenever she went to jump off something high without a plan; and it was the same feeling she had had earlier that night when thinking about Naruto’s deep, sad eyes.

She looked up at him, standing above her, his arms crossed, sleep still in his wondering eyes, and she reached down to unnecessarily tug at her already-loose shoe laces. On her way down, though, she hooked both thumbs into her loose pants and as she bent over, she pulled them down. Before he could even register what she had done, Sakura was standing before him, her pants around her ankles, and a sly smile on her face. Her long Konoha shirt delicately hung down to her upper thighs, and her long, milky legs shone in the moonlight that was reflected around his apartment. He gasped, and she lithely stepped out of her pants and shoes, taking a long step towards him.

"Sa...Sakura... wh-what are..." He took a couple of steps backwards, almost tripping. "What are you doing?"

It was a fair question: she had no idea what she was doing, but she took another step towards him, and he seemed frozen in place. He was wearing a long black shirt that suddenly looked irresistible on him, and Sakura breathed in deep. His blond hair was messy, smatterings of curls, and his pajama pants were pulled low on his hips.

Naruto gulped, watching the girl, no, woman now, walk towards him, her eyes smooth and staring up through her eyelashes. His heart missed a couple of beats, and he suddenly felt a tightening in his chest. His arms were hanging uselessly at his sides, and suddenly realized that this might be a trick. Genjutsu, he thought. He shut his eyes tight for a moment, tried to dispel whatever was surrounding him (he was never really good at that sort of thing), but when he opened his eyes, she was still standing there, a half smile on her lips.

He stood completely still as she walked towards him, slipped her hands around his wrists, and guided them to her hips. She pushed his hands up so that he was lifting her shirt, and she looped his thumbs around the top of her panties. Grasping his forearms suddenly, she pushed him down by his arms and he sank slowly, his hands still pulling her panties down. He seemed more willing now, though, and he was breathing more heavily than before.

Excellent, she thought.

He was on one knee in front of her, looking up, an expression of surprise on his face, and she was looking down at him, her back arched slightly. He unhooked his thumbs from her underwear, ran his hands up the back of her legs until they were resting just below her buttocks, and his fingers were between her legs, close to the heat resonating there. She gasped and arched more, leaning into him.

He leaned forwards, placing his lips on her lower stomach, which made her draw a sharp breath in through her teeth.

He closed his eyes and kissed lower, feeling her shake, the hem of her shirt resting on the bridge of his nose. She hummed suddenly as his fingers came forwards, feeling a wetness and an urgency in her. He kissed lower still, smelling a sweetness in her hair, and she suddenly grasped his hair, her fingernails scraping his scalp. She hissed slightly, her eyes wide open and staring at the top of his head.

She wondered suddenly if he knew what he was doing... more than her, that seemed certain. It's not like she had never done it before. She certainly had. Several times out of impulsiveness with Rock Lee one summer when Naruto was gone, and with Shikamaru that same year when Naruto was gone again. That had been an accident, though, as she had been training with him and the heat of the moment had gotten the better of the both of them.

This, though... this was different.

She had never felt such a connection before, and he almost seemed to want it more than her.

She had known that he had had a crush on her when they were much younger, that was true, but she never thought he'd act on it. Actually, she never thought that she would be the one to make him act upon it.