That Starry Night
By caelizar
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, of course.
Summary: A simple one-shot that involved the evening, the stars and five pairings.
A/N: After being a Naruto fan for years, finally! My first Naruto fanfic! Please be kind, this is un-beta, so forgive my shortcomings.Tis, the product of my light-bulb moment. My fave pairings all in one story. (sniffs and cries) Actually I'm curious how will readers accept this, since people might like one pairing and not approve of the others. Your thoughts are welcome, dear readers. I await your reviews! And yet, please be gentle…please.
Please read on!
That Starry Night
It was a beautiful night.
A crescent moon hung above the sky, serenely shining upon a peaceful Konohagakure. The winds blew at ease, the nightly air cool and calm, the kind that lulled you to sleep. And the stars, dotting the heavens, blinked and glistened across a clear cloudless nighttime sky.
It was that starry night.
And it was that starry night when Shikamaru stood outside Temari's apartment, by the doorway, watching the Suna princess step inside. He toed the ground; his hands shifted in his pockets, and managed to choke out "Good night." It was that night when Shikamaru seemed to be at loss, and felt the urge to place his hands together, and try to remember which of the hundred ways of ending this night he thought about earlier had he decided upon. And it was that starry night when Temari brought him out of his thoughts as she returned his good night with a quick kiss on the lips.
And it was that starry night when Chouji walked Ino home, and unexpectedly met her father who was waiting outside the house, looking quite worried. And it was that night when the older Yamanaka beamed and said, "I might as well have gone inside. My pretty Ino is in good hands." Both chuunins blushed. And Ino's father finally went inside the house, leaving them to say their goodbyes for the night.
"Good night Ino."
"Good night Chouji."
And it was that starry night when Ino surprised Chouji with a small peck on his tattooed cheek. When Chouji arrived home, his own father had asked why his son's face the color of deep magenta.
And it was that starry night when Neji and Hinata walked back to the Hyuuga compound together, hand in hand. Hinata made an effort of not holding Neji's hand tightly, fearing that it might aggravate the fresh wounds on his knuckles, the ones she had carefully bandaged that morning. But Neji didn't mind, he was the one who tightened his hold even more. And it was that night, after they had said good night to one another, when the Hyuuga Heir was nervously fumbling again with her fingers, looking down, her eyes on her socked feet, and her pale cheeks bore a tinge of red, blushing as usual, as she is Hinata. And Neji's pure white eyes turned its gaze away from her. The Hyuuga genius trying to discern the wild thumping in his chest. And it was that starry night when both slept with a smile on their lips and the precious memory of a first kiss.
And it was starry night when Lee, just outside the gate, dropped on one knee before Tenten and declared outright, "Oh! Ten-chan, you grow more beautiful in every time I see you." And with that, a scene of the sunset and the ocean immediately appeared behind him. And it was that night when Tenten turned pink and smiled back at Lee for she loved everything about him including those sudden outbursts of emotions. She helped Lee to his feet and he told her he'd be going now. "Take care Lee-kun," she whispered, and Lee felt her lips touch his left cheek. Lee, turning pink as well, gave his best nice guy pose and said, "I will my Ten-chan!" And it was that starry night when the Green Beast of Konoha cartwheeled his way home.
And it was that starry night when Naruto and Sakura were both sitting on a bench in one of Konoha's tiny parks. Sakura was asleep, her head rested on Naruto's shoulder, her hand intertwined with his. And Naruto gazed at her lovingly and recalled that just a few minutes ago he led her to a wide training area, with the star-dappled sky stretched out in all its glory above them. And it was that night when Naruto bellowed out at the top of his lungs, I LOVE YOU HARUNO SAKURA! And it was that starry night when Sakura didn't wrestle him, or told him to hush up. Instead she gave out to the sky, I LOVE YOU TOO UZUMAKI NARUTO!
And even until now, Naruto can still hear the echo of her words. Closing his eyes, he softly kissed Sakura's pink head, looked up and thanked the heavens.
It was that starry night.