So I've stepped off the angst train for a moment to deliver some good old fashioned NS fluff

For timeline purposes we are to assume this takes place months-to a year after the war + 699/700 The Last never happened.

It was almost midnight when Naruto and Sakura exited the village. They walked alongside each other in absentminded silence until they were climbing to the tops of the hills that surveyed the hidden village.

It was not an uncomfortable silence nor was it an awkward one.

It was the kind of silence that came on the heels of a surprisingly successful first date. It was one of those strange and rare moments where what they were feeling at the moment was actually more important than finding the right words to express said feeling to each other.

Of course all silences were meant to be broken, eventually.

"Hey Naruto, let's promise to take things slow, okay?" Sakura said.

The softness of her voice make her question come across just a step above a whisper.

Naruto turned to her with a glint of surprise in his eyes. "There was the option to take things fast?"

A tinge of red blossomed on Sakura's cheeks.

"Sakura-chan I have no problem taking it slow" Naruto said quickly. "I just didn't know you were considering other options."

Sakura cleared her throat. "All options were given proper consideration."

"When?" Naruto asked unable to mask the curiosity in his voice.

"Before and during the date" She answered quickly.

"Oh" Naruto replied with his mind recalling how he had spent most of the date speeding up and down the peaks and valleys of anxiety and joy.

He hadn't really taken the time to consider anything beyond their first date. Even now he had no idea how to properly end the date and was almost secretly hoping it just went on forever.

"I think taking it slow is the best route for us" Sakura said.

Naruto nodded. "I agree with you. And I'd like to believe I would choose the same path even if I had known there was another path that was being considered."

The sincerity in his voice forced a chuckle from Sakura's lips. "You probably should have just stopped right after saying you agree with me."

With that said a cool breeze drifted in lightly lifting her hair. Cooled by the touch of the night air Sakura looked up to see a marvelous sight. The clouds had cleared and a pearl of a moon shone brightly in the dark sky. Naruto followed her gaze to the twinkling stars above them.

"Do you remember when we had lessons about the constellations in the academy?"

Naruto scratched at his cheek. "I remember failing a test about constellations and how to use the stars for directions at the academy."

Sakura smiled. It was truly amazing how much things had really changed since their academy days.

"Well" Naruto said. "Tell me about the constellations, I failed that test remember."

Sakura pointed to the sky. "That's my favorite, Takeo the great hunter and warrior. He's one of the brightest constellations so he's really easy to find. His belt is made of those three stars, and there's one star for each foot and one for each shoulder. Now those dim stars are what ancient people imagined to be a kunai hanging from his belt and-"

She stopped abruptly noticing that Naruto had been watching her attentively.

A sheepish grin came to Sakura's face. "I read a lot of text about the stars when I was younger, I was a little bit of a bookworm back then-and these days to I guess."

"It's impressive" Naruto said admiringly. "I've always been impressed by how smart you are."

"Naruto, let's be honest you are easily impressed."

He turned his attention back to the stars. "Doesn't mean it's not impressive."

A calmness now lingered in the air as they gazed up at the the twinkling sky above them.

"Hey look, a shooting star" Sakura exclaimed. "Lets make a wish."

She closed her and mouthed silent words. When she reopened her eyes she found that seemingly deep contemplation had furrowed Naruto's eyebrows.

"What's the matter?" she asked

"This is kind of funny, I don't have anything new to wish for" he said.

"Don't you want to be Hokage?" She asked skeptically.

"I do, but that's not a new wish. I wished for that on a star years ago. "

Sakura offered him a curious look. "So...?"

A boyish grin came to Naruto's face. "Using the same wish on two different stars is like hiring two shinobi from two different villages to do the same job. It's only going to cause conflict. Probably some kind of cosmic conflict, that's why I don't do it."

"Cosmic conflict huh, who made up that rule?"

Naruto shook his head imitating the demeanor of a wise old sage. "It wasn't made up, it was just something discovered by wise people eventually, it's like a law of nature."

"Ahhhh" she smiled. "So it's self-evident."

He nodded wisely.

Sakura considered this. "So you are saying you've already used up a lifetime of wishes?"

"I think I have. Many of my old wishes have come true, things like learning more about my parents for example. Some wishes I know can't happen anymore because well...you can't change the past, and other wishes-"

Naruto doesn't look exactly at Sakura but towards her. This time it's his cheeks that redden.

"-Well they have more potential now and things seem like they are working themselves out in my favor."

Sakura took a moment to allow his words to settle over her and then another moment to calm her fluttering heart.

"Okay how about if I wished for you to become Hokage, would that cause any cosmic conflict?

"That might work' Naruto conceded. "But just to be safe you probably shouldn't waste your wishes on my dreams,"

Sakura met his eyes and said with sincerity now lacing her voice, "What if I believe that your dreams and mine are intertwined?"

Unabashed joy flooded Naruto's face He started to speak but stopped himself. Concern suddenly lighted his eyes and his head tilted in contemplation.

Sakura waited tentatively for a response and eventually Naruto spoke,

"I thought we were taking it slow..."

Sakura face-faulted to the ground. She sprang up quickly however and grabbed Naruto by both sides of his cheeks.

"Don't ruin a romantic atmosphere with such an irrelevant statement!"

"It's very relevant " Naruto managed to squeak through pinched cheeks. "I just want to know if we are taking it slow or not?"

"We are taking it slow!" Sakura blurted out as a vein began to bulge in her forehead.

"How are we taking it slow if we are already in love with each other?"

"That logic isn't helping the situation at all!"

It occurred to Naruto that he had some point to express and it was likely best expressed through action rather than words. He leaned forward and their lips softly met. Sakura's surprise was fleeting. Her hands all but instantly relaxed upon Naruto's face and she drew him in further, deepening the kiss and bringing the stars down from the heavens to the earth.

Sighing contently Naruto was the first to speak when the kiss broke. "Is that kind of kiss on the first date taking it slow?"

Half laughing Sakura pressed her head against his shoulder. "Okay let's just say we are taking things at a moderately brisk pace then."

Her laughter was contagious, he laughed and it only proved to make her laugh harder. So of course he laughed harder. Their laughter peaked and faded as they held each other in a tight embrace.

Naruto spoke into the top of her head. "So what did you wish for anyway?"

"Well I wished that all our wishes would come true but now I am worried about the cosmic conflict."

"Oh don't worry about that, shared wishes always override individuals ones."

"Well, that is convenient."

"Also they're more likely to come true."

"Then I made the right choice." She looked up and smiled at him, "There's no doubt in my mind that I made the right choice."

They stood there on a hilltop overlooking the village for quite some time, simply enjoying each others company, under a blanket of stars.

Well there you go my return to standard fluff piece. Not the deepest piece ever but hopefully enjoyable nonetheless it, Thanks for reading