“Andreia!! Andreia!!”

Andreia, hearing her name, turned around and came to see Naruto running toward her at top speed. Or at least, what she called, Naruto Speed.

When the blonde boy caught up to her, Andreia couldn't help but giggle and smile at him.

“Hey, Naruto...what's up?” She asked him.

Naruto grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. “Eh heh heh...well I wanted to know if you'd like to go get ramen with me! I have money, so I'll treat you! Whaddaya say?”

“Ah?” Andreia was a bit surprised by his invitation and couldn't help but blush a little. They had gone out to ramen before, but it was always a more casual thing. Now it seemed a bit different. “Oh, s-sure! That sounds like a nice idea. I could go for some ramen.”

“Awesome! Let's go! To Ichiraku!” Naruto dramatically pointed down the road, and then started to walk off with her.

Andreia just couldn't help but smile as she and Naruto made their way to the ramen bar. It was no wonder she liked him so much. His obnoxious attitude was very unorthodox for sure, but his golden heart, determination, strength and great outlook on life just made up for it so much.

He wasn't like other guys. And she liked that about him.

He was refreshing.

“So hey Andreia, you ready for that big mission tomorrow?” Naruto said, looking at her. He had his arms behind his head in his habitual manner.

“Huh?” Andreia blinked a few times and came back to Earth. Considering his question, she nodded. “Yeah, I'm ready for it. I know one of the rules of thumb when it comes to being a ninja is to be prepared.”

“You  got that right!” Naruto grinned. “Well hey, we're gonna do good, I just know it!”

She smiled. “I have no doubt in our combined teamwork.”

“Good, 'cause neither do I!” He flashed her a thumbs up.

Andreia laughed and they came up to Ichiraku Ramen, where they took a seat in stools side by side. Naruto promptly ordered them a big bowl of ramen to share, looking and sounding so casual, as if coming here with her was something he did everyday. Andreia on the other hand blushed a bit and nodded meekly.

She didn't understand why her crush on Naruto was making her so, well, meek.

It was strange, even for her.

The large bowl of ramen, made for two people, was then set in front of them with a cheerful “Enjoy!” from Teuchi before he turned back to go prepare some more. Andreia expected Naruto to just grab the bowl and have it all for himself, but he eagerly took a pair of chopsticks and started to eat some noodles, keeping the bowl right where it was so she could have some too.

She smiled, and then took a pair of chopsticks of her own, eating the noodles as well. The warm, flavoured taste of them filled her mouth and felt so soothing as it all slid down her throat.

“Mmmm...” Andreia murmured, slurping a bit more noodles. She could see why Naruto enjoyed ramen. Not only was it flavourful and delicious, but also very warm and soothing.

It was heavenly.

“Oh man, mm!” Naruto exclaimed. “Man, this ramen is to DIE for!”

“Your family and country are to die for. Food is to eat.” Andreia told him, giggling.

Naruto stared at her and then laughed. “Man, you sound like Shikamaru on a good day!”

Laughing along with him, she continued to slurp some more noodles, as did Naruto. It was nice, the two of them sharing ramen like this.

While eating, they occasionally made small talk about random things, like the weather. Naruto talked about something funny that happened with Rock Lee and Sakura, Andreia told him about the new jutsu she'd learned, and they even talked of their anticipation of the mission tomorrow.

The sun was slowly setting in the horizon, coating the village in the beautiful twilight.

Sunsets in Konoha were always lovely.

“Hey Andreia, I'll walk you home!” Naruto offered.

Blushing, Andreia was about to politely decline, but seeing the blonde's grin made her own voice betray her.

“Sure, Naruto. That'd be nice.”

“Great! Let's go!”

She giggled and then they headed off toward her home, in silence. There wasn't much to say, but it wasn't an awkward silence either. More of a contended quietness.

Sometimes you just needed a moment to observe, have some quiet moments when you were with someone. It gave you time to think, time to take in the atmosphere around you.

It didn't take long until they reached Andreia's house, after a few minutes. Naruto walked her to the doorstep, where they stood, facing each other.

“Thank you for the ramen, it was delicious.” Andreia said softly.

Naruto grinned. “Hey, no problem! It was fun!”

“It was.” She agreed. “So, I'll see you tomorrow?”

“Yep! Same time, same place, and then we'll go get Sakura and the others!” Naruto nodded. He then leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “See you later, Andreia!” He waved at her and then walked off.

Andreia stood there, dazed for a few moments before she came to her senses and went into her house. She brought a hand to her cheek, where he'd kissed her, and blushed.

It was hard to believe he'd actually done that, but he did. She saw it, and could still feel the tingling of her skin where he'd kissed her.

“Oh Naruto...” She murmured, sliding down onto the floor against the door.

It was only the beginning of something beautiful.