Park Bench
Inspired whilst walking the dogs.
His trainers scuffled on the ground slightly as he walked down the familiar path, and suddenly he found the sight of his shoelace trailing along the floor fascinating. It was even interesting enough that he didn't look up until he reached the bench.
As he settled himself down on the left hand side, he sighed slightly and looked at the restless hands placed carefully in his lap, then took a deep breath and spoke.
"Hey, Sasuke!"
The greeting was artificially upbeat, the vowels ringing out across the grass lawn and ricocheting of the metal bars of the fence. He winced, and spoke his next words more quietly, his eyes darting quickly to the right, before returning to his hands once more.
"How have you been?" he asked, his words falling on dead ears.
Literally.
Blinking away the tears that were gathering in the corners of his eyes, he twisted slightly in his seat and ran his fingers over the metal plaque affixed to the wood behind him, paying careful attention to the shapes of the letters. A soft smile graced his lips when he reached the final word.
Brother, friend, and lover.
