On a cold damp night sobs could be heard from a distance. The cries were coming closer and closer to wear he was sitting… Naruto had been sitting under that tree all evening. He had been having a particularly bad day and he was feeling worse about himself than ever before. Little did he know, there was about to be something that would comfort him… The sobs, cries and sniffs were getting louder and closer. Naruto only realized the noise when he had heard a light thud along with the sobs. He put his head up. He heard pained cries coming from the other side of the tree. He was trying to figure out who it was when he heard the voice… “*sob* why… why is it always like this? *sob, sob* why!?” *Hinata?* thought Naruto. He turned his head around the tree to see if he was right and he was. He could see Hinata's face blood red with her eyes dripping with tears and screwed shut. He wanted to ask what was wrong but figured he was in no state to comfort anyone that night. He stayed on that side of the tree listening to her pained sobs and cries. He listened more and more and it only seemed to get worse and more painful with time. The sobs started to pierce Naruto's heart and he felt drips hit his hand. He was crying now. On both sides of the tree sat two crying genin and Naruto was frozen to do anything about it. He felt so isolated there, so hurt, so abandoned, like the whole world had been forced down upon him, he needed something to hold onto. With each pained sob Hinata let out, Naruto's pain grew another inch… Hinata was sitting upright now and she had her hands covering her face. All of a sudden she felt someone take her hands and place her arms around something. She opened her eyes and through her tears she recognized the familiar orange coat… “Naruto?” sniffed Hinata. She could feel moisture penetrating her jacket on her shoulder. “Naruto… are you crying?” “Does it matter?” “No…” Hinata hugged him back and Naruto held her closer. They began crying inot each other's shoulders and stayed like that for a long time. They didn't know why the other person was crying nor did they ask, but they had a desire to hold the other, to comfort the other as well as themselves… Tears started to dry and sobs began to become weaker. They pulled apart from each other. The sudden change in temperature made Hinata start to shiver, plus it didn't help that a cold mist had started to fall. Naruto got up and held out a hand to help Hinata to rise. She accepted the hand and got up as well. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, looking into each other's blood shot puffy eyes. Naruto pulled Hinata close once again and looked at her with great affection and emotion. Hinata for the first time began to blush and then she felt Naruto's lips touch hers. She closed her eyes and savored each moment. Naruto pulled back then leaned in and whispered in her ear: “Thank you…” He began to walk away when he turned around one last time. “Say Hinata… would you want to come over to my house one of these days?” “Um… sure.” She smiled sweetly. “Great…” And with that Naruto and Hinata went off in their separate directions, feeling lifted and a lot happier…