Talking to strangers

Chapter 37: Fleeting

H POV

It was slowly approaching spring and the need for a jacket was no longer mandatory.

Outside, the sun was blaring, it was a comfortable temperature, the winters cold air finally dissipating and replaced with a cool breeze.

Naruto and I followed Sakura hand in hand down a wooded path way towards what would be our picnic spot.

The sounds of laughter amongst our little group paired with the gentle rustling of the trees and warm sun against our skins, made for a beautiful
atmosphere, but I couldn't ignore the worry tugging at my heart.

Tonight was the night.

Though Naruto appear to be alright, I was worried about tonight's encounter. Not the fist that would be flying or the potential trip to the hospital, but Naruto's mental state.

We alone had been already through so much, but this.....this was a huge source of his pain. His unwillingness to trust, his lack of communication, his resentment, all stemmed from this one person and though our conversation brought some clarity, i wondered if this fight would.

I told myself to be strong, to be his support so that if he broke down he'd have someone to lean on.

But that worry still kept creeping in.

Maybe I was relating this too much to my own demons and I was looking at Sasuke like he was my father?

" What are you  thinking about?" Naruto asked catching me off guard.

I scrambled to think of something to say. I didn't want to remind Naruto of anything relating to tonight. This picnic was about peace after all.

" Why is it that we always end up in the woods you and I? Ever notice that?" I blurted out.

Nice. I was officially an idiot

Naruto squinted his eyes and stroked his chin " Now that you pointed that out yeah. It's always these big encounters too it's weird" he said.

" The last one wasn't, the best though..." he said trailing off in thought.

Alright maybe bringing up another sad event wasn't the best idea, but I panicked.

I could see the sadness in his eyes as he was probably recalling the things I said that day in the woods.

" Hey..." I gripped his hand tighter trying to distract his mind. " Let's not think about that, lets just focus on making our time today in the woods a happy memory."

Suddenly he sprung up as if the sadness he was expressing was just a mask.

He stopped walking letting the others get a good distance ahead of us.

" What are you doing?" I asked.

" You said you wanted today to be a happy memory right?" he said with a smile.

A smile mirroring his slowly crept onto my face.

" Are we about to go on another adventure?" I asked.

" You bet cha" he replied.

We slowly made our way off the pathway watching our friends disappear into the distance, giggling and whispering like we were up to no good.

" I know a much nicer short cut to where we're going" he said pulling me along.

And he wasn't lying.

Hand in hand we weaved through trees, blossoming with new flowers, past a stream with the cutest little ducklings I had ever seen, and bushes decorated with various brightly colored berries.