AN: Last part of the afternoon and this one has all the awkward fluff!

I'd like to say thank you to my wonderful reviewers! So glad to see that you like this little idea of mine. I would also like to say thanks to ibloo and SpaceRune for being the wonderful friends that you are and encouraging me to finish this, and ibloo, I blame you for the smut part ;P

Rolling over on his back, he stretched and let out a deep, satiated sigh before sitting up in bed. He threw a quick glance at the time and made a quick estimate in his head, it was time to get going. He nudged her gently to get her attention. "Hey, I'm starving, want to go out and get something to eat?"

"...Um, at this hour? No? What are you on about?" she groaned and rolled over, away from him and his boyish over-enthusiasm, it was way too late for that.

"Oh, come on," he insisted, moving closer and nuzzling his head down in over her shoulder as he hugged her from behind. "Humour me, please? It could be nice to go out together, we don't often get the chance."

When she peeked over her shoulder and looked at him with a mix of scepticism and curiosity, he knew he had won.

"You're acting really odd tonight; why not just grab something from the fridge?"

"Eh, don't really have much at home, and as I said, it would be nice to go out together, right?"

"Okay, fine, but you're paying, remember? You lost the bet," she teased and rolled over to give him a quick kiss.

"Oi, honestly, what do you think of me? Of course, my treat," he grinned. She was never going to let him live that one down. Well, hopefully, before the night was over he would be able to make it up to her properly…

Jumping off the bed, he tugged gently at her arm and nodded for her to join him in a quick shower. When she didn't immediately follow, instead choosing to nuzzle herself deeper in under the blanket he simply picked her up and carried her there, under the threat of violence and a nasty attempt to tickle him into submission.

Once they'd washed themselves, he got a pair of jeans and a light blue button-down shirt out of his closet and started putting them on, though freezing when he saw her staring. Feeling the tip of his ears grew warm under her scrutiny, he tried to play it off to distract her. "Seeing something you like?"

"I don't know about like, more like I'm seeing something odd. Can't remember the last time I saw you in civilian clothes," she countered.

Darn, there was no fooling her tonight, she had caught on that he was up to something.

"I do own normal clothes you know, and I don't have to wear the uniform 24/7. I never see you wear yours, by the way."

"But we weren't talking about me now, were we?"

"Don't really know what you want me to say, come on now, let's get dressed. I wasn't kidding when I said I'm starving, and as you so kindly reminded me, I owe you dinner," he tried to convince her to let it go, and finally, she shrugged and continued to fasten her belt to finish getting ready.

"Fine, but if you dragged me out of bed at this hour to have ramen at Ichiraku, I swear -"

"I get it, I get it. Geeze, what does a guy have to do to take his girlfriend out to dinner? Come on now. I know a place, and it isn't Ichiraku's, I promise," he silenced her protests and held up the door for her. Then he grabbed his jacket and scarf before closing the door behind them.

He knew she was suspicious of something; he hadn't been as inconspicuous as he had hoped, but he just couldn't contain himself. Thinking about what was waiting for them up ahead made his mouth dry and he swallowed several times to straighten himself out and took her hand. Then he dropped it again equally fast as the thought hit him that his palms were probably sweaty from nervousness, and tried to grin confidently at her when she threw him a look for his odd behaviour.

He led her through the main shopping district out towards the edge of the village, ignoring her confused looks. When they finally reached the park he took a deep breath to calm himself down before leading her to the spot he had in mind.

The butterflies in his stomach made a nauseating loop when she spotted the picnic-basket underneath the willow tree by the lake, and he saw how her eyes widened in surprise as her hand flew up to cover her mouth. The basket was resting on top of a soft blanket and was surrounded by several dozen candle-lights.

She turned to him, wordlessly asking for an explanation, and he felt his cheeks burn as he stammered out that he thought a welcome-back picnic could be nice.

"But—how? When? You had no idea I was going to return today!?"

"Ah, let's just say I owe Moegi and Udon one. When I went back to 'pick up my wallet' I actually gave them a quick call," he explained, scratching his neck in embarrassment. "How about we sit?" he asked and gestured for her to take a seat while he picked up a bottle of wine and poured them both a glass.

"So, all of your odd behaviour today. The insistence that we slept at your place, the nagging about going out to eat, the wallet? Your clothes? It was all because you wanted to surprise me?" she asked once she had made herself comfortable on the blanket.

"Um...yes? Do you like it?" he asked, the butterflies making another loop. Earlier she had seemed stunned and excited about the surprise picnic under the stars, but now her face disclosed nothing of her thoughts. What if she thought it was stupid? Then a big smile spread across her delicate features, and she laughed in pure delight.

"Konohamaru, I love it. It's so thoughtful!" she beamed and his shoulders dropped in pure relief.

Seeing her smile made all the planning and nervousness worth it. He couldn't help but notice how her eyes would catch the moonlight when she moved, reflecting its pale shine like a stunning mosaic-piece made entirely out of pearls. She was so beautiful that it felt like he forgot to breathe whenever he looked at her.

She brought him out of his trance by kissing him, and he tasted the sweet wine on her lips.

He sat up a little up straighter and showed his hand in the pocket of his leather jacket. He had originally planned on doing this after dinner, but he didn't think he could last that long, lest he'd die from anxiety.

"Ah, actually, it wasn't just my clothes that was the reason for me wanting to go to my place. I had something else I needed to pick up too," he said and cleared his throat. Pulling out a small brown box, everything he wanted to say got stuck in his throat when she made a little noise in pure shock.

Her hands went up to cover her mouth again and she stared at him wide-eyed.

She was waiting for him to say something, crap, he had to say something!

"Ah, um, I, do you?-I know this is sudden, and you don't have to give me an answer right n-"

"YES!" she shouted and threw herself into his arms.

…

Bonus scene:

After they had both calmed down a bit—and he had replenished the glasses of wine they spilled when she tackled him—they resumed the feast. He had to give it to his friends. Given the short notice, they had really outdone themselves. He had to find a way to thank them later.

Hanabi had gotten quiet, thoughtfully chewing on a piece of chicken when she stopped and looked at him.

"But, what I don't get, is how could they know the timeframe? The chicken is still warm, and the wine is chilled, so it couldn't have been all that long since they left?"

"Ah, I said that I would keep you busy for a few hours to give them a chance to prep everything, said I would have you here by ten. I had planned on doing it myself, and only enlist them to set it up, but you surprised me by coming home earlier," he explained and took another sip of wine.

"You said what to them?"

"Sorry? I don't under—ah, no! I didn't give them any more details than that, I promise!" he tried to subdue her and lifted his arms up to cover his head in mock defence. "Remember, it's illegal to kill all future husbands. Especially when they've done nothing wrong."