Chapter 441: Beloved
"Mm..."
A whimper heavy with nasal tone overflowed from Satsuki's throat. Her eyes instantly reddened completely, crystalline moisture rapidly misting over.
She gave Naruto no time to panic or feel at a loss from seeing her cry. Before tears truly fell, she sniffled forcefully, voice carrying obvious choking yet still trying to maintain some "momentum" as she spoke reproachfully.
"Idiot... why only say it now..."
This sentence contained too many emotions—relief from a long wait finally receiving response, grievance from happiness's overwhelming impact, clumsiness from loving so extremely yet not knowing how to express it, and a bit of completely unreasonable petulant scolding about his "delay" until now.
At this moment she felt like floating on clouds, feet soft and insubstantial beneath her, everything somewhat unreal. The scene she'd dreamed of countless times—when it truly arrived in a manner far exceeding imagination, besides wild joy it also brought a dizzy, floating sensation fearing she'd wake to find it a dream.
Seeing her forcibly holding back tears yet reproachful and delighted, Naruto's heart felt both sour and soft. He couldn't care about anything else, urgently pursuing confirmation.
"Then... does Satsuki agree?"
Satsuki immediately nodded forcefully, heavily. "Yes! I agree!"
As her words fell, she no longer looked at that gift box containing the shiromuku, nor concerned herself with that brilliantly gleaming wedding ring. Everything paled compared to this living person before her who was proposing.
Carrying a gentle breeze and heartfull of joy, her entire person plunged into Naruto's embrace.
Arms tightly circling his neck, cheek buried deeply into his warm neck hollow, body trembling slightly from excitement and happiness.
She no longer suppressed anything, allowing scalding tears to silently soak his collar while the corners of her mouth rose high, blooming into a blissful smile.
Naruto was knocked slightly backward by this sudden, wholehearted embrace, then unhesitatingly embraced her back, arms tightening considerably. He felt the dampness at his neck and the light trembling of the form in his arms, heart filled with boundless tender affection and satisfaction.
After a long while, their emotions finally calmed slightly, but they remained tightly nestled together, unwilling to separate.
"Then... when should we..." Naruto spoke quietly, voice still carrying post-excitement hoarseness as he clumsily attempted planning the future.
"As soon as possible!"
Satsuki immediately raised her head from his embrace, tone extremely resolute, carrying urgency as though fearing he'd regret it. "Next month! No, half a month from now!"
"Half a month? Won't that be too rushed? Weddings require preparing many things—venue, guests, ceremony procedures... And your shiromuku might need fitting adjustments, plus the ring sizing..."
"I don't care!" Satsuki rarely displayed a bit of childish willfulness. "Anyway, the faster the better! I don't want to wait even one more day!" Heaven knew how long she'd waited for this day—every minute, every second of delay was torment.
"Alright, alright, as soon as possible." Naruto hurriedly placated, though his mind had already begun rapidly calculating. With his connections and financial resources, half a month wasn't completely impossible, just...
"But we at least need to give friends and family time to receive invitations, right?"
"Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, Shikamaru and the others... Father-in-law and mother-in-law, Mom and Dad... Dad's matter needs advance notice to the village first..."
"Oh right, and Gaara—he'll definitely be very happy learning I'm getting married."
He began counting the people and matters requiring consideration item by item, tone serious yet appearing somewhat disorganized from lack of experience.
"Mom's side definitely no problem! She's been hoping for this forever!"
Satsuki immediately interjected. Mentioning Mikoto, her face flushed with shy redness but carried more anticipation. "Father... Father won't object either. As for Kakashi and the others..." She thought briefly, muttering quietly, "I'll write invitations tonight! Have ninja cats deliver them first thing tomorrow morning!"
"Tonight?" Naruto paused. "Isn't that too rushed? Plus invitation designs... ah, and wedding format—traditional Shinto ceremony or somewhere else? Where do you want for the honeymoon? Shouldn't we discuss these first?"
He threw out a string of questions, feeling somewhat overwhelmed himself, but seeing Satsuki slightly furrow her brow while considering these specific issues yet remaining enthusiastically engaged, he found her incredibly adorable.
"Format... traditional Shinto ceremony!"
Satsuki didn't hesitate—this was a scene she'd fantasized about countless times. "At Konoha's shrine, the largest one! Honeymoon... anywhere is fine as long as Naruto's there..." Her voice grew smaller and smaller, cheeks redder.
"Then... the wedding budget?" Naruto recalled Kakuzu's possible reaction, mouth twitching. "I'll handle this, don't worry."
"Also groomsmen and bridesmaids? Kakashi and Sakura?" Satsuki began seriously considering candidates.
"Groomsmen... Shikamaru? Kiba? Gaara? Besides Sakura, Ino should work as bridesmaid too..." Naruto also contemplated.
Just like this, in the warm living room, nestled tightly together, they exchanged words back and forth, clumsily, disorganizedly, yet incomparably seriously and happily planning the wedding and future belonging to just the two of them that was about to arrive.
Topics ranged wildly—from wedding details jumping to honeymoon destinations, from guest lists jumping to trivial imaginings of married life.
Plans weren't comprehensive, even somewhat fanciful, but every sentence, every eye contact exchange was soaked in deep love for each other and infinite longing for their shared future.
Finally, outside the window nightfall completely replaced dusk's lingering light. Brilliant star rivers flowed across the celestial curtain, scattered starlight penetrating glass windows to sprinkle points of silver radiance across the living room floor.
Unknown how much time passed—perhaps one or two hours, perhaps longer. For two people immersed in each other and future blueprints, time's passage lost meaning.
Naruto and Satsuki remained tightly nestled on the sofa, bodies fitting together with barely a gap between.
From discussing wedding dates and format, to debating guest lists and honeymoon locations, to imagining trivial details of married life... Topics jumped yet lingered, every vision becoming vivid and concrete through the other's participation.
However, under prolonged mental excitement and intimate physical contact, heat began quietly breeding and spreading between their pressed bodies.
This wasn't caused by external temperature but originated from deep within hearts—physiological reactions catalyzed by interweaving fermentation of love, happiness, and mutual desire.
For them, each other's body temperature and breath were the strongest stimulants. Pressing together so unreservedly, feeling each other's heartbeat and breathing, discussing the future of formally uniting and thoroughly merging body and soul... bodies would honestly respond to this spiritual agitation.
Gradually, sleepiness didn't arrive as usual. In its place came a more viscous mixture of weariness and wakefulness.
Discussion pace unconsciously slowed, sentences interspersed with more breathy sounds and brief pauses.
Naruto slightly lowered his head, wanting to see if Satsuki in his arms was tired, but met her raised eyes precisely.
Satsuki's face carried a dazed expression. Daytime's cool lines appeared especially soft under gentle starlight and indoor warm lighting, black eyes full of hazy dependence.
And Naruto himself, in Satsuki's eyes, probably appeared similarly.
Golden hair tips somewhat disheveled, azure eyes appearing profound from prolonged gazing, face unable to conceal that faint burning ignited by intimate contact and love.
"Let's go to the bedroom..." Naruto spoke softly, voice somewhat husky from emotion.
However, before his words finished—
"Mm..."
Satsuki raised her face, with urgent yet soft force, actively kissing his lips.
Not a brief touching withdrawal but a deep, lingering kiss carrying accumulated happiness, longing, and possession from the entire evening.
Her arms tightened further, as though completely offering herself like a sacrifice melting into this kiss.
Naruto immediately responded unhesitatingly.
He tightened his arms, drawing the soft form in his embrace even closer, lowering his head to deepen this kiss.
Now, after countless intimate exchanges and explorations, they were incomparably familiar with each other's bodies and reactions.
This kiss was no longer initial awkward testing but filled with tacit mutual response.
The air seemed ignited, filled with love so thick it couldn't dissolve. Temperature silently climbed, heartbeat's clamor amplified in their ears.
One kiss paused, foreheads pressed together, breaths intertwining, both somewhat unsteady.
Naruto wanted to help Satsuki rise, but discovered her entire body had gone soft, losing all supporting strength, only pressing more tightly against him, cheek buried in his neck hollow, gently nuzzling while releasing faint, satisfied hums.
She clearly no longer wanted to—and had no strength to—walk herself, only wanting to hang on him like this, being carried by him anywhere.
Sensing Satsuki's complete dependence and silent invitation, Naruto's heart instantly overflowed with tenderness and desire.
The next moment, his arms steadily exerted force. In a standard princess carry position, he easily lifted Satsuki horizontally.
Satsuki made no sound, only instinctively tightening her hold on his neck, burying her face deeper into his chest without the slightest struggle.
Naruto held her, feeling her light yet incomparably real weight, feeling her warm body temperature and subtle trembling transmitted through clothing, steadily walking toward the bedroom direction.
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