A/N: Inspired yet again by Sunfreak. Something that just popped to my mind and written on one sitting. The repeating is intentional, as are the numerous ‘and’ words. Naruto/Hinata all the way, baby! Anybody want to betaread more one-shots from me?

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Our Moment

Naruto’s POV

It is a well-earned Sunday, a day of rest to me. As I lay on the green, lush grass my thoughts come to you, as they always do when I’m alone with peace in my heart. Or is it because the thoughts of you that give me that peace? I’m always at ease with you, never uncomfortable, never nervous. I can only feel contentment with you. Is that your natural ability to heal?

But you don’t need to help me anymore. You have already given me your support and are giving it to me without even knowing it. You help me with just being there, being alive, so I can think of you endlessly.

As I now look at the clouds above me, moving in the blow of the wind I reach my hand and think that you are the same as clouds. You are so very, very beautiful, like the clouds in their shining whiteness, you are as gentle as the clouds are when they caress the azure sky, you are as unreachable as the clouds high above me. As I reach out my hand, I spread my fingers and look at the clouds through them and I swear, if I could, I would grasp the clouds in my hand, like I would grasp you.

But instead of saddening I feel strangely comfortable, knowing that in your ethereal beauty I can never have you. I am glad for that, because if you were mine you would be stained by the darkness that looms in me. I could never allow myself to obscure your brilliance. If even a tiny part of your light would dim it would be the end of the world to me.

I hear a thumping sound of footsteps coming near me and I do not even have to look up to know that it is you because I can sense your calming aura touching mine. Your face comes to my sight and you wear that smile, that smile you always give to me. You block the sun and for an instance I cannot see your face, I can only see the silhouette of your head and the blinding sun behind you. Then you move away and to my delight sit down next to me, your knees bent, your hands resting on the ground behind you. You look so pure and so beautiful that it makes my smile widen, my blue eyes reflecting the sky.

You turn your face to me but neither of us feels any kind of need for words so we remain silent, letting the leaves dancing with the wind do the talking for us. You tilt your head and lean on the ground next to me. There is the certain fragrance around you that I cannot quite place, but it smells the way only you do, like the way you smile and laugh, and blush and touch your fingertips together in front of your face. It is the calming air for my lungs to give peace to my whole body, as I breathe your scent in me.

Long moments pass by us but I hardly even notice the world moving around us, so captivating you are. The clouds move above us, changing and twirling, like waves in the ocean, like fish in a shoal, like leaves in the autumn wind, like the world revolving in the universe. I forget everything when I see you, I forget my name, your name, the ground, the trees, the nightmares, the people, and I forget everything except the feeling inside me when I see you. It is the feeling of acknowledgement, and I know that in this moment, I have all your attention, every bit of your smile is for me and everything in your shy blush is for me, your everything is for me.

“The clouds are pretty, aren’t they?”

Your soft voice sings to my ears and as we look at the clouds together, I can only feel that they are even more beautiful now that you are sharing them with me. I don’t answer but I look at the sky and cross my arms behind my head. They truly are wonderful, the clouds, but you are more.

It is already well into the evening when I realize the time flowing around us. The moments spent with you fly pass me like fireflies, amazing but very fleeting. The fiery eye of the sun casts one last look at us before it disappears behind the horizon, painting the sky in amber color watching over us. Everything turns to gold and everything under the sky becomes one, and the wind with the leaves calms down and the murmuring of the forest silences. We both still look at the sky, my thoughts swirling around you and I wonder what you are thinking.

I turn my eyes to you and I see that you are looking at me, as well.

“How long have you been looking at me?”

It is not an insulting question.

“For all my life.”

And I look at you, and you look at me.

The amber turns to red, the red turns to dark blue, the blue turns to black and as a dark cloak is wrapped over the sky the stars are placed on the silk of the night. The brilliance of the stars is blinding as they shine more brightly than they have ever before. Or is it your light making them glow so?

“The stars are so pretty, aren’t they?”

I don’t need to answer to that question either, because the answer lies in my eyes as I stare dazed at the beauty above us. The stars are so resplendent that I couldn’t turn my eyes away from them even if the world collapsed around me. And I realize that you are like the stars, as well. You are always there even when I don’t see you and you bright my path when all else is gone.

I move my arms from behind my head and in the process I touch your hand accidentally but when I begin to move my hand away I’m stopped by your grasp. I don’t protest and I lay our hands on the ground, mine over yours, our fingers entwined, caressing the grass. Your hand is soft and smooth and pale and your slender fingers stroke the back of my hand as I trail my thumb over your palm, over your fingers, over your wrist. And the next words you say make me stronger, stronger than anyone, my eyes light up, my grasp on your hand tightens and the ground disappears from under us, the sky disappears from above us and there is only you, me and those words that sing to my heart.

“The stars are luminous but together we would shine brighter.”

And I realize that no matter how dark I am, no matter how much I think I could stain you, your purity could not be dimmed. If you are the day, then I must be the night, and if I am the night, then you are the stars around me, the shine that makes the night have its own presence. Without the day there wouldn’t be the night and without the night there wouldn’t be the stars.

You smile, and your smile makes the stars look dark, your smile makes the world stop, your smile makes my heart pound so fast I fear it breaks something, your smile lights the whole world like a supernova before destruction. And I smile back at you, your white eyes reflecting in mine like clouds in the azure sky. And we laugh together, our voices singing in the air, for nothing could be as easy as this, nothing could make this moment sad.

This is a moment between you and me.