The Swing

Spring time had always been his favorite season. Spring was when everything grew again. And then winter's blank coloring book got to be slowly colored in again. The grass was the best part. Spring grass was the best feeling. It wasn't scratchy like summer grass and it wasn't soggy like fall grass. Winter grass was dead and that hardly qualified. But spring grass was soft and so easy to fall asleep in. Yea, sure. The trees and the flowers were okay too. But it had always been the grass he'd paid attention to. That and the fact that it was warm enough again so that he could go back outside and sit on the swing.

This spring there was a bonus though. He got to go sit on the swing with Sasuke.

"Naruto." The remark was more like a command to listen than an attempt at gaining his attention. The kyuubi looked over his shoulder from where he sat, straddling the seat of the swing and hugging the rope,

"Mm?"

"You realize that we don't both fit here."

"Yea we do," the retort came back lighthearted, "It's just kind of squished is all." Here he paused to grin, "And I kinda' like it this way."

"Hn."

The grass was especially perfect that day for some reason, Naruto realized as he tried feebly to uproot it with his toes. Softer than usual. Maybe it was because the winter had been unusually long and cold. Or, maybe because it had rained the day before. Whatever the case, the grass was better and Naruto liked it.

"Can't you move over?" Sasuke asked, his concentration slipping and his voice giving away a tired note.

"Not really. I'm kinda' at the edge here already."

"Well so am I,"

"Plus if I move any further over I'll either loose my balance and fall off or get rope burn or something."

"Oh?"

"Don't you dare push me—ahh!"

Naruto landed hard on the ground, his face getting smothered in the grass he'd been daydreaming about. The fox quickly turned over to throw a venom-heavy glare at his friend,

"Sasuke!"

"Here." The other boy said, raising his hand slightly. Naruto couldn't keep back a smile, and heaved himself to sit up.

"That was mean. Especially since you wouldn't even be here if it weren't for me inviting you along."

"Yea, but then there's always the fact that you can't dodge for your life."

"Shut up."

Sasuke matched the smile,

"Try and make me."

The grass was kind of squishy too. That was probably the fault of the rain. Though squishy didn't necessarily mean bad. It just meant you got a little wet if you sat in it. Naruto didn't rightly care if his pants were getting wet. What he cared about at that point was figuring out how to knock Sasuke off the swing and getting him wet.

Sasuke studied his friend's expression for a moment before shaking his head,

"You can't knock me off, Naruto." He said, "I'm not falling for my own trick."

Naruto chanced a slight frown,

"Then how am I ever gonna' get back at you?" he asked, and put on his very best puppy dog eyes.

"You know just as well as I do that the eyes don't work on me."

"They do too work! They worked before!"

Sasuke shook his head,

"It worked when you used it the first time, and I—oh crap!"

Naruto's smile widened as he watched his friend topple over backwards and come to a crashing halt in the grass. That was amazingly satisfying.

"So much for not falling for your own trick, huh Sasuke?" the kyuubi asked, and he leaned over the swing seat on his stomach.

"It won't happen again." Was the indignant reply, and his companion laughed.