Naruto Shippuden

A Second to Stop for Dreams Fulfilled

Sonfaro

"Naruto! What is this?"

Naruto Uzamaki beamed when he saw her: Sakura Haruno, all sixteen years of her glaring through his skull with hands on her hips. "Nn! Sakura-chan, you came."

The night was no longer young, but Sakura could still make out the figure of the blond miscreant standing idly grinning at her. Sakura felt the veins in her head throbbing. There were a hundred million bazillion things she could be doing other than wasting time with Naruto on the rooftops of Konohagakure. She huffed her way across the roof he'd called her to, marching towards him with eyes locked in frustration. "This better be important. I have a lot of things to do before the next mission and-"

She looked to where Naruto was pointing, a grin on his face. Sakura could only gasp in awe.

"Oh."

Above them, the stars had begun to fall.

Sakura had been vaguely aware that tonight there would be a star-shower: earlier that week Ino had blabbered on about how romantic it was while Shikamaru and Chouji had tried not to get involved in the girls conversation. Sakura had been so wrapped up in their next attempt at tracking down the missing-nin known as Sasuke that it had completely slipped her mind that tonight was the night. Instantly any hostility she felt towards the grinning blond melted away, and her mouth widened at the sheer joy of it.

"It's beautiful." She told him.

He nodded and sat down, a bowl of popped maze at his side. "We're always running into a dangerous mission and we never really stop, so…" He hesitated, trying to find the right words to tell her. She waited patiently, realizing the old her would have berated him by now for wasting her time – and realizing she didn't like the old her very much. Naruto fidgeted under her gaze, between bouts of laughter and nervous spirit. "I thought… It would be nice if… you know: we had a second to rest… together."

Sakura blinked. "You mean like… watch the stars fall?"

"Uh-huh."

"Just you and me?"

"Unn."

She watched him closely, and knew what the tint of pink on his cheeks was for. She sighed, her own smile creeping wider in spite of it all. "Nn… We don't get the chance too often, do we?"

He blinked, then smiled back. "Nnn…"

She took his hand and sat next to him, setting the popped maze between them and gazing at the night. It was quiet, which was rare this time of year, as the whole city seemed to be gearing itself up for the rough seasons ahead. She settled a hand full of the puffy snack into her mouth and chewed lightly, her eyes alive with wonder. It took her a moment to remember that the three of them had shared this roof before: her and Naruto and Sasuke Uchihara. They'd watched the sun set, many years ago now. Their bond had been good then – not unbreakable, but good. She missed those days now.

She turned to face Naruto, and found his features were stiff, his clear blue eyes burning thoughtfully as they stared up into the skies. "Sasuke…"

She reached out and touched his shoulder lovingly, shifting him from his melancholy. "Hey. Don't worry about Sasuke right now. This is our second to rest. Right?"

Naruto looked blankly at her. "Nn?"

"We're always worried about Sasuke. So long as he's out there we always will. But…" She turned back to the stars adjusting a strand of hair behind her ears. "Naruto. I promise… You and me… We'll find him together."

He gazed at her in wonder before finally, beautifully, smiling. "Nn!"

Sakura regarded him for a moment longer, his smile so wide and hard he had to close his eyes, and she found herself smiling back. Above them, the shooting stars continued to fall, one by one, across the dark Konohagakure skies.

He rubbed his nose, blushing. "So… Sakura-chan… can we call this a date?"

"Mnn. In your dreams idiot."

But she leaned into his side anyway, and even let him sneak his arm around her shoulders, both friends watching as the stars fell from the sky one by one like dreams fulfilled. They wished on each teardrop streaking across the sky that their troubles would be over: that their enemies would be buried, that their friends would be spared and their bonds would be redeemed. They wished for peace in this ninja world, and even when Sakura left a smarting Naruto on the roof with a lump on his forehead some time later (his fingers had wandered once too often for her liking that night) she'd already promised him she'd find time to stay with him again.

Their dreams hadn't been forgotten. They were falling from the sky even then.

Fin.

A/N: You may all blame the 'blackout' for this. Hope you enjoy.