Dinner and more

The dinner was better than either of you expected. Freed from the weight of her own self-consciousness, Kurenai actually ate, laughed, and drank the sake you promised. By the time you stepped back out into the night, the air between you had shifted from tension to a comfortable, private warmth.

Without a word, you turn to her and slide one arm behind her back and the other beneath her knees. Kurenai lets out a small gasp of surprise, her hands instinctively flying to your shoulders as you lift her into a princess carry.

"Naruto! What are you...?"

"Easier and faster this way," you grin.

With a powerful surge of chakra to your feet, you take to the rooftops. Kurenai stops protesting almost immediately, leaning her head against your chest as the wind whistles past. You scale the steep stone face of the Hokage Monument with practiced ease, landing softly on the flat expanse at the very top, overlooking the entire glowing map of Konoha.

You summoned a mat and the accompanying tea and snack from a fuinjutsu scroll. It was what you prepared for the cherry-blossom viewing later that year, but you can easily prepare it again later. You set Kurenai down on the mat, and you sit next to her. The village looks peaceful from up here, the orange glow of the streetlights flickering like fallen stars.

Kurenai pulls her knees to her chest, looking out at the horizon. The silence isn't heavy anymore; it’s vast.

"I haven't been up here just to sit in years," she admits softly. "You really meant it, didn't you? About the 'fun' being whatever you decided." She shifts closer on the mat, her shoulder brushing against yours. "So, Naruto. We're on top of the world, nobody is watching. This is the right time for us to be doing that 'fun'."