finally || naruto and tsunade

vii

Something very... strange was happening, and Tsunade wasn't sure whether to be elated or skeptical.

"Are you feeling okay?" Her blond lover asked from behind her where he rubbed her (usually) aching shoulders.

Tsunade had the unfortunate circumstance of having rather large breasts. And while most men could only see the benefit of being on the large side (benefit for them, since there was no benefit for a woman, at least not biologically), it caused incredible back pain.

Or, at least it usually did.

Currently, however, Tsunade's back and shoulders were fine. More than fine, in fact. She felt great. And not just her shoulders either. It was almost like...

Like she had felt completely energized for an entire week straight, something she didn't experience at her age.

Mid-fifties wasn't exactly ancient, but she had left her youth behind many years ago and wasn't getting any younger, at least internally. With her special transformation technique, her outward appearance would always be that of a beautiful woman in her prime.

But she definitely could feel her age. She felt more lethargic than she used to. It wasn't very noticeable, however, since she came from both the Senju and the Uzumaki.

But ever since that night when... when Naruto...

The thought of it still made her feel phantom sensations from that night...

But ever since then, when her idiot encased himself in pure golden chakra while he was still inside her, she had just felt so... refreshed.

And really, the only thing that made her new, strange situation annoying was the fact that she no longer really needed Naruto to rub her shoulders for her every once in a while, which was one of her favorite things to do...

"Yeah, I'm fine." She assured him, placing her hand over his on her shoulder. "Thank you, I feel a lot better."

He smiled at her, washing away her thoughts of the strange feeling deep within her in a place she couldn't quite pinpoint. Before that smile, all her worries fell away into nothingness.

| Her Liquid Courage |

During their trip to Suna, they had stayed at the many Inns that littered the 'highway' to the Land of Wind. It was easier and safer that way, no matter how powerful they were.

But on the trip back to Konoha, Tsunade found that sleeping underneath the stars with her idiot was her favorite.

They shared a sleeping bag, relishing in the closeness it provided. It was intimate in a way they hadn't experienced much yet in their still new relationship.

And with the stars and the moon as their only witnesses, they fell into the land of dreams within each other's arms, bathed in gentle moonlight.

| Her Liquid Courage |

Luck had a fluctuating relationship with her and her idiot.

For Tsunade, luck enjoyed to spite her. Whatever she bet on, the opposite would happen. She was awful at gambling for that very reason.

For Naruto... Well, Tsunade, to this day, didn't know how he managed to survive for so long with such chaotic luck. She liked to think it was his force of will and determination to fight the world just to prove that he could. But she wasn't foolish enough to believe that and knew it was probably due to sheer stupidity.

Or, 'Dumb Luck.'

His luck got him out of many difficult situations, if just barely sometimes. What made it so stupid and chaotic was that it was the very same luck that got him out of difficult situations that usually got him into them in the first place.