ʙʏᴀᴋᴜɢᴀɴ 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓼.

AGGRESSION   //   SEXUAL  TENSION .

      hinata’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. 

      of course, naruto knows that he’s very biased, but he can’t help but think it was still true. weeks being away from home went by sluggishly without her by his side, and when he got home, naruto couldn’t help the immediate impulse of bringing her into an embrace and kissing the spot between her shoulder and her neck. 

      she made a soft noise in return, and naruto moves higher, peppering kisses alongside her neck, feeling hinata squirm in his embrace ( he can tell she likes it and that she’s not uncomfortable with the attention – otherwise, he’d have stopped immediately ). 

      “naruto-kun,” she says, voice quiet and warbled, “we’re still in the entryway.” 

      a small laugh leaves naruto as he straightens from where his lips had remained on the top of her neck, and while he’s pretty sure he shouldn’t be using the hirashin for this, he does anyway – keeping his embrace on hinata as they make an appearance in their bedroom to where one of his seal markers sit on the floor. 

      ‘ is this your preferred location, my lady ? ’ naruto asks, and while he normally would have bowed ( taking the joke of servitude further ), he doesn’t want to let go of hinata. instead, he pulls her in tighter and kisses the top of her head as her body rumbles with giggles. 

      he feels hands grip at his shirt, and naruto knows it’s about to happen almost a split second before it does – hinata pulls naruto over to their bed and flips them so naruto lands on his back instead, hinata sitting on top of him. there’s a wide, radiant smile on her face, even as her face turns red, as she says, “welcome home, naruto-kun!” 

      naruto returns her radiant smile with his own happy grin as he replies, ‘ i’m home, hinata-chan ! ’ 

      ( and he’ll never get over saying it to someone after hearing a response back ). 

           Chūnin.

           Sakura  had  been  promoted  to  chūnin  after  the  exams,  along  with  Sasuke  and  Shikamaru,  and  while  Naruto  was  DISAPPOINTED  that  his  brush  with  the  curse  mark  had  left  him  out  of  commission  and  unable  to  continue,  Sakura  was  immensely  proud  of  the  achievement  all  the  same.   Already  there  were  talks  of  the  remains  of  Team  Ten  taking  Naruto  into  their  fold  for  their  NEXT  attempt  at  the  exam  in  a  few  years,  but  Sakura  knew  that  would  have  to  wait.   After  all,  Uzumaki  Naruto  had  been  called  away  on  a  long,  soul-searching  journey  alongside  the  one  known  as  Gaara  of  Sunagakure — the  two  of  them  were  “bonding”  with  their…  UNIQUE  tenants,  learning  to  cope  with  their  predicaments,  and  working  on  properly  fixing  Gaara’s  seal  so  that  he  could  finally  get  a  night’s  rest.   Sasuke  had  left  with  Kakashi-sensei  not  too  long  after  Naruto’s  trip  began,  citing  a  training  pilgrimage  of  their  own  and  wishing  Sakura  all  the  luck  in  the  world.   Kakashi-sensei  had  SUGGESTED  she  ask  Senju  Tsunade  to  take  her  on  as  an  apprentice,  but  Sakura  had  instead  chosen  to  approach  Jiraiya,  the  Godaime  Hokage,  with  her  own  proposal.

           That  had  been  over  a  YEAR  ago — thirteen  months  and  four  days,  to  be  exact.

           Re-centering  herself,  Sakura  tries  once  again  to  achieve  some  semblance  of  tangible  progress  by  channeling  a  thin,  PRECISE  stream  of  chakra  into  her  hands.   She  envisions  a  network  of  roots  stretching  beneath  the  earth,  tracing  their  growth  patterns  with  her  mind’s  eye  and  allowing  them  to  stretch  outward  and  upward  with  each  individual  pulse  of  chakra.   She  cups  her  light-filled  palms  above  the  ground  in  front  of  her  with  a  sort  of  GENTLENESS  that  one  cannot  explain,  one  that  doesn’t  quite  match  someone  like  Haruno  Sakura  as  she  ferociously  attempts  to  perfect  a  technique  that  has  only  been  seen  by  one  other  person  in  the  years  following  the  death  of  the  Shodaime.   Each  pulse  matches  her  steady  heartbeat,  each  pulse  of  soft  light  stretching  further  and  further  beneath  the  earth,  matching  the  rhythm  buried  deep  within  her  own  chest.

          She  remembers  Jiraiya’s  very  obvious  DISBELIEF,  not  only  in  her  abilities  but  in  the  probability  that  she  could  recreate  the  fabled  Mokuton  without  some  sort  of  genetic  experimentation.   After  all,  the  world  claimed,  it  was  supposedly  a  bloodline  trait…  though  Senju  Tsunade  had  seemed  somewhat  skeptical  of  that  herself,  had  even  stood  behind  Sakura  against  the  Godaime’s  clear  hesitation,  claiming  she  would  stand  against  the  council  as  Sakura’s  “mentor,”  despite  the  fact  that  she  hadn’t  raised  a  single  perfectly  manicured  finger  to  teach  the  girl.   Tsunade  had  simply  REINFORCED  Sakura’s  beliefs  that  with  enough  chakra  control  and  practise,  one  with  the  corresponding  chakra  natures  could  possibly  recreate  Mokuton.   Sakura  had  wasted  no  time  at  all  hurrying  to  the  Nara  compound  and  nearly  taking  the  door  off  its  hinges,  bowing  so  deeply  and  quickly  that  she’d  BRUISED  her  forehead  against  the  tatami  matted  floor  in  her  haste  to  beg  for  Shikamaru’s  help — help  which  he  had  given  her  without  even  a  moment’s  hesitation,  citing  her  as  the  most  TROUBLESOME  woman  alive.

           Shikamaru  hadn’t  been  the  only  one  to  offer  his  help,  either — Hyūga  Hinata  had  become  a  SURPRISING  ally  for  Sakura,  approaching  the  two  of  them  with  a  shy  smile  and  an  offer  to  help  Sakura  direct  and  manage  her  chakra  flow  with  the  help  of  her  Byakugan.   Flattered  by  the  offers  of  assistance  from  not  only  one  but  two  of  the  Great  Clans,  Sakura  had  accepted  the  offer  with  shimmering  eyes  and  a  wide  smile  that  left  Hinata  flushed  and  stammering  for  the  next  FIFTEEN  minutes  of  their  session.   Hinata  had  also  served  another  purpose,  as  she  learned  after  her  first  afternoon  with  Sakura:  damage  control.   Sakura  is  prone  to  overworking  herself,  pushing  to  her  limits  and  then  shattering  them  with  a  sort  of  resolve  not  even  Naruto  could  hope  to  approach,  and  Hinata’s  secondary  purpose  is  to  keep  Sakura  from  KILLING  herself  from  the  strain  of  too  much  chakra  exhaustion  too  frequently.

          Sakura  imagines  leaves  stretching  up,  reaching  for  the  sun’s  rays  like  splayed  fingers  clinging  to  the  warmth  of  life  they  offer,  CLIMBING  and  dragging  themselves  through  the  dirt  and  clawing  their  way  to  coveted  freedom.   Her  breathing  quickens  and  wavers  with  each  following  pulse  of  chakra,  picturing  leaves  that  frame  the  sun  and  bask  in  the  sunlight  above,  and  she  hears  Hinata’s  HURRIED  and  DESPERATE  cautionary  whispers  in  her  ears  like  a  breeze  soothing  the  balm  of  a  summer  day.   She  can’t  stop,  though,  despite  how  fervently  Hinata  tries  to  pull  her  back  from  her  trance.

          Not  now,  not  yet,  she’s  so  close—

          Hinata’s  soft  hand  suddenly  touching  her  shoulder,  an  impossibly  GENTLE  motion  in  and  of  itself,  is  like  the  straw  that  breaks  the  proverbial  camel’s  back.   Sakura  drops  like  a  MARIONETTE  whose  strings  have  just  been  cut,  muscles  dropping  uselessly  and  her  head  lolling  to  the  side  as  she  falls  against  the  startled  girl  with  hair  like  midnight  and  eyes  that  sing  like  lilacs.   She’s  nothing  more  than  a  shivering,  chakra-drained  SHELL  of  a  person  then,  her  exhaustion  leaving  her  stretched  thin  and  thready,  her  pulse  a  hummingbird’s  wings  beneath  her  sweat-glistened  skin.   Her  vision  SMEARS  before  her  eyes  and  she  sighs  shakily,  eyelids  fluttering  closed  over  vibrant  green  eyes  that  reflect  the  forest  that  surrounds  the  two  of  them,  their  home,  their  hearts.

          STARES the other down in silent contemplation so soon after the compliment. Was it a compliment? All the same ; she was happy that somebody had taken notice to the change in her features – even if it was a minor one such as a different shade of makeup upon her lips. Cheeks flush a light pink just as she gazes to the ground for the moment, trying to maintain such a cool and collected look. For a brief moment, she can’t seem to find the actual words she means to say. They simply don’t want to come out right. Come on, Ino. Don’t look so lame now that someone has taken notice. She’s COACHING herself, a hand moves to rub over the back of her head, fits of giggles soon part. 

                                                                                  “  You took notice, did you?  “ 

FINALLY it seemed like she could speak again. At least long enough to not keep Hinata waiting ;  making her look like a moron. She couldn’t have that. STAY BEAUTIFUL , be mature. There was more silent coaching taking place in the back of her mind before a single finger points towards the topic of interest.  

                                  “  It’s definitely a new shade, looks GREAT, yeah?  “ 

Maybe don’t try so hard to fish for compliments. Instead, she tugs out the item of makeup and hands it over to the other to see.  “  Did you want to try it? We might have to go with another shade of you but –  “  she pauses again, seeing the expression on the girl’s face which only made her blush start to spread more. Was that too forward this time? Taking it back and putting it away, she shakes it off and tries again. One day ; she’ll get this right. 

              “  I mean, you look great the way you are, you don’t really need it but ; no harm in having a bit of fun with some makeup, right?  “

          She  knows  Hinata  is  probably  worried — after  all,  Hinata  has  made  it  CLEAR  that  she  wishes  Sakura  would  stop  bringing  her  work  home,  would  stop  working  so  many  hours  that  she  forgets  who  she  is  by  the  time  she  crashes  in  one  of  the  on-call  rooms,  would  stop  overworking  herself  to  hide  from  the  GRIEF.   Grief  for  a  broken  team,  grief  for  a  man  labeled  as  traitor  that  Sakura  had  once  called  friend.   Hinata  knows  WHY  Sakura  struggles  to  bury  herself  in  work,  understands  that  it’s  always  going  to  be  so  terribly  hard  for  what  remains  of  team  seven — for  Naruto,  for  Kakashi — to  hear  tales  of  the  “traitor”  that  Naruto  had  rightfully  killed.   Naruto  hadn’t  wanted  Sasuke  to  die.   Sakura,  even  after  her  trust  had  been  shattered  and  her  heart  had  been  torn  to  shreds,  had  never  wanted  Sasuke  to  die — but  she’d  also  known  it  was  a  possibility,  even  a  necessity.

          She  just  wishes  that,  for  Naruto’s  sake,  it  had  been  HER  to  kill  him  instead.

          She  hasn’t  been  reading  these  files  for  hours  now,  but  Sakura  should  have  known  TODAY  of  all  days  would  be  impossible  for  her.   The  test  results  and  brain  scans  littering  her  dining  room  table  are  nonsensical  at  best  to  her,  her  mind  not  even  registering  or  connecting  the  characters  that  form  the  name,  the  name  that  describes  the  symptoms.   She’d  asked  Ino  for  such  a  huge  FAVOUR,  letting  her  look  at  the  brain  of  a  prisoner  mid-Yamanaka  intrusion,  but  it  was  something  she’d  finally  managed  to  convince  the  council  was  a  good  idea.   She  shouldn’t  be  wasting  the  opportunity,  not  with  ANBU  lurking  all  around  her  little  apartment  and  with  Ino’s  name  on  the  line…  but  she  just  can’t  FOCUS.   Every  time  she  blinks  she  sees  that  picture  of  team  seven  sitting  on  the  corner  of  her  nightstand,  sees  the  defeated  expression  Naruto  wore  when  Sakura  brokenly  admitted  that  Sasuke  was  already  GONE.

          The  sensation  of  warm  arms  encircling  her  shoulders  snaps  Sakura  from  her  musings,  and  with  a  small  jolt  of  shock  she  recognises  HINATA’S  scent  and  warmth  surrounding  her.   Lavender  and  green  tea — Sakura  would  know  it  anywhere,  would  know  her  anywhere.   She  leans  back  into  the  embrace  despite  herself,  shoulders  sagging  and  head  lolling  to  the  side  to  face  away  from  Hinata,  to  hide  the  TEARS  that  are  suddenly  burning  in  her  eyes  and  the  way  her  jaw  is  clenched  so  tightly  it  pops.   Despite  the  way  she  turns  from  the  Hyūga  heiress,  the  way  she  hides  the  torrent  of  tears  suddenly  streaming  freely  down  her  cheeks,  Sakura  reaches  up  with  one  hand  to  clutch  Hinata’s  forearm  in  desperate,  TREMBLING  fingers  while  her  other  arm  wraps  around  herself,  as  if  she  can  hold  herself  together  with  Hinata’s  help.

          A  trembling  SOB  chokes  past  her  clenched  teeth  and  just  like  that,  the  dam  breaks,  two  years  of  grieving  coming  to  the  surface  once  again.   She  should  have  known  today  would  be  a  bad  day  for  work,  after  all.   She’d  tried  to  keep  it  together  while  Naruto  and  Kakashi-sensei  were  out  on  their  mission,  had  told  herself  she  wouldn’t  grieve  this  year  without  them,  but  the  fault  lines  of  her  heart  tremble  and  uproot  her  entire  facade  of  healthy  coping,  leaving  her  CRUMBLING  apart  like  the  training  grounds  under  her  knuckles.   She  clutches  tighter  to  Hinata’s  arm  and  swallows  another  sob,  grateful  that  it  is  Hinata  whose  arms  she’s  splintering  into.   She  comes  apart  like  a  jigsaw  puzzle  of  GRIEF,  and  with  a  whispered  sob  of  Hinata’s  name  she  leans  further  back  into  the  embrace,  seeking  what  comfort  she  can  take  in  this  moment  of  absolute  WEAKNESS.

For the fluff and soft hearted, here is another lists of sentence starters that has the highest potentiality to turn into a soft scenarios. Feel free to change any pronouns / sentence structure according to your muse’s preference!     TRIGGER WARNING:   N/A.

“I never noticed your eyes were this [colour].”

“Your heartbeat’s really loud.”

“You asleep?”

“I like this, being so close to you.”

“Your hair keeps falling into your eyes, do you know that? Here, lemme just—”

“You’re so, so, so pretty.”

“I just — I’m breathless, okay? Whenever I’m with you, it happens.”

“You make my heart beat so quick.”

“You always know how to make me smile.”

“You’ll always be safe with me.”

[Kisses the other on the cheek]

“Always.”

“I can’t imagine being anywhere but here with you.”

“All my choices lead me to you.”

“I’ll never give you up.”

“I sleep better if you’re around.”

“You snore in your sleep. But… it’s adorable, okay?”

“I like this. A quiet breakfast with you.”

“There’re billions of people on this planet, and I love you. How incredible is that?”

“I trust you.”

[Holds the other’s hand when they think the other won’t notice]

“You keep staring at me instead of watching the film. What’s up?”

“Let’s push all of these stuff away. I wanna dance here right now with you.”

“Are we really doing this? Are we really slow-dancing?”

“When you laugh like that, it just — you’re so beautiful, you know that?”

“No, sorry, you laughed. I … I never saw it before. It’s — pretty.”

“You haven’t laughed in a long time, and I guess I was staring ‘cause I forgot how that looked like.”

[Puts head on the other’s shoulder]

“I will never let you go.”

“You’re the best thing to have ever happened to me.”

“You wrote me a song?”

“You’ve got a fever. Of course I’m not going anywhere.”

[Suddenly feels around the bed to search for the other’s hand / body when they’re sleeping]

[Extends a hand when they see the other was searching for it while they’re sleeping]

“I just feel calmer. When I’m with you.”

“You’re not in bed. I came looking for you.”

“What are you doing up? Come to bed.”

“It’s weird. I never thought I could feel like this, but you showed up. Now, it’s like I don’t wanna go on knowing I might lose the feeling.”

“I don’t mind sharing the blankets with you.”

“You’re cold. Come here.”

“You always do that. You always warm me up.”

“Stay.”

“It’s getting crowded. Here, hold my hand.”

[Hugs for a very long time]

[Puts feet on the other’s lap]

“I’m so proud of you, you know that?”