Naruto checked the seat number on his boarding pass while walking down the aisle of the plane. On his way he evaded the other air passengers, being careful to not hit anyone with one of his bags.
When he found his seat, he confirmed the number again. He nodded reassuringly to himself before he slid it into his pants' back pocket when he saw a woman sitting in the window seat.
She looked up from the book she was reading and shortly locked her eyes with his. She brushed a strand of her long hair behind her ear and Naruto had to admit that with her big eyes and her fair skin she was attractive. He remembered that he had to sit next to her for the next 14 hours and smiled. She returned it and bowed her head but didn't spend any more time on him, continuing in reading her book instead.
Naruto removed his bag pack and pulled out a cardigan before stowing it away in the cabin above. Despite the summer evening outside the air inside the plane was chilly and from experience he knew that it would get colder. He chuckled when the nagging voice of his mother replayed in his head, reminding him to pack a warm jacket for the flight as he always forgot about that no matter how often he travelled by plane. He was already in his mid-twenties but not able to escape his mother's constant scolding.
The woman to his right side eyed him, probably because he was weirdly laughing to himself. Naruto stopped, asking himself if he could even be any more awkward.
Naruto kept himself busy in the following silence. First he watched the passing people trying to find their seats and stewardesses occasionally helping with baggage but when his gaze grazed his seatmate he wondered if he should introduce himself.
The flight from Tokyo to New York would take many hours and he already knew that he would be very bored at one point as he wasn't that kind of person who was satisfied with being cooped up in a small space like this without being able to stretch his legs. That's why he had booked an overnight flight, so that he could let a few hours lapse away with sleeping.
But maybe he could talk with her when he had nothing else to do.
Her slender fingers were still stroking over her book and she didn't even seem to notice him looking at her.
"I'm Naruto by the way." His mouth already uttered the introduction before the idea that he might disturb her reading crossed his mind.
She looked up in a stunned manner like she wasn't sure if his words were directed towards her. But he smiled friendly and soon those raised brows settled down again.
"My name is Hinata." Somehow that name suited her very well.
"Nice to meet you," he said and she replied with the same phrase.
There wasn't really much to say afterwards so both turned around, Naruto buckling up and Hinata continuing with the task he had interrupted her in.
One stewardess at the front and one in the middle of the plane began their well known introduction on flying. Their words weren't new for many of them, so some didn't pay much attention to the gestures and rules.
It was the same for Naruto, who had to fly to the States once every year and could probably be able to teach a passenger himself with the same hand movements.
They started moving smoothly over the airport to find their designated flight path.
Hinata's book vanished in her bag and she tightened her seat belt a little when the plane halted. Her fingernails dug into the arms of the leather seats.
Then the plane speeded, obtaining a tempo that pressed its occupants into their seats. Soon it lifted off the ground and tried to find it's right course in the endlessness of the sky.
It was hearable how the wheels were drawn in and Naruto could see the planes wings vibrate in the hardness of the wind.
He wondered why Hinata didn't look out of the window as he was always eager to see the sight of Tokyo from above, it was a scary sight but a breathtaking one nevertheless.
The sun had already dyed the sky in a deep orange as it was about to set and Tokyo had lighted up its many skyscrapers and roads with lights of bright color, glimmering in the dark shadows of the city. Cars looked like little ants while driving down the busy streets and under their feet the tall buildings didn't look that tall anymore.
The view of the city him impressed again and again but his seatmate didn't seem as interested as he had even detected her wanting to close the blinds of the window.
She had instead closed her eyes, her head leaning against the backrest and her hands still enveloping the arms of the chair.
Naruto's eyes captured the image of his hometown for one last time before he turned away. He heard her sigh when the plane stabilized in the air and the passengers were allowed to stand up from their seats.
He took the opportunity to loosen his seatbelt and throw Hinata a glimpse. She still held her eyes closed and her body was tense while she hadn't even moved an inch since the plane had taken off, making him contemplate if she was afraid of flying.
"Are you okay?" His question made her flinch even though he had tried to state it as calm as possible since he had already predicted her to react jumpily to his sudden resounding.
Her forehead was in wrinkles and her lips pressed to a thin line but when she looked at him the hands, she had so frantically clenched, loosed a little and her shoulders slacked.
"I'm just not so fond of flying." She tried to pull up the corners of her mouths but wasn't relaxed enough to make her smile seem convincing.
Naruto had already assumed that but still nodded understandingly.
"Tell me if you're feeling unwell." His statement made her eyes widen. Hinata wasn't sure if he had said that just because or actually meant what said. He was a stranger and she shouldn't rely on him, no matter how gentle his words were or how honest his smile seemed.
And even if he was a person kind like that, she didn't really desire to bother him on a flight that was exhausting enough without her anxiety to deal with.
"They usually have medicine for that on board, do you want me to ask for some?"
What was it? Why was he being so nice to her? He appeared so casual while asking, like it was no big deal that he cared for her well-being.
And for the first time since she had boarded this plane, her heart calmed down a little. Hinata was so surprised by the comfortable sensation in her chest, that she couldn't answer for a while.
"Thank you but there is no need to." She waved with her hands. "I already took some. I think they just started to kick in."
"Is that so." He casted her smile. "That's good then."
She muttered another "Thank you" yet so quietly that he didn't hear it when he averted.
But Hinata felt content. Her body felt like it was under her control again and instead of the loud thumbing of her heart she could hear pieces of the passengers' conversations.
Looking out of the window might still be too hard to handle but she was relieved enough to take one of the magazines that peaked over the pocket of the seat in front of her.
For the next few hours she actually felt at ease, surprising even herself. When a stewardess asked her if she wanted something to drink she was able to smilingly respond, she could actually concentrate on the articles in the magazines and smalltalk with her man beside her from time to time. She hadn't imagined the medicine to work that well.
As the outer world started to get darker, the inside of the plane became more quiet and peaceful. As if a fog of sleepiness had established, everyones movements became more scarce and their volume lower.
But the cozy atmosphere wasn't impermanent as the plane started shaking violently just when Hinata had started to doze off under her blanket.
She could handle the little trembling that was unavoidable when flying but as the plane didn't stop quivering and she sensed that feeling of the falling from the sky, the fright inside her returned.
The pilot announced that they were experiencing some turbulences and the aisle was lighted up again.
Naruto glanced at Hinata to check if she was alright under this conditions. But he soon discovered that she wasn't as she had clenched her fists and her chest moved up and down rapidly -he could even hear her exhale. The sound made even him panic a little.
The bright eyes that had captivated him earlier were tightly shut, an unpleasant frown covering her face. Her body shook along with the plane, her head hitting against the leather cushion. Suddenly she seemed much more fragile in that chair.
He wanted to help her but couldn't think of anything to do to soothe her. Maybe he should start a conversation to distract her. But somehow all the possible topics he could possibly talk about with this stranger, were altogether erased from his head.
Naruto flinched when the plane fell a little and Hinata forcefully grabbed his arm. He could feel each of her fingers drilling into him but instead of pulling away he viewed her in worry.
"Do you want to change seats?" he asked, an expression of sympathy gracing his face.
"Huh?" Just now did Hinata realize that she had clutched his arm and let go, apologizing rather perplex as she couldn't remember getting a hold of it. But Naruto ignored it as he hadn't been bothered by her desperate grip.
"My friend has the same problem with flying. Sitting at the aisle relieves him a little," he explained, already supporting his weight on the armrests as he was about to stand up.
"If that's okay with you." Her voice sounded weak in her ears but Hinata neither had the power to control her tone nor the head to concern herself with it.
"Of course it is."
They changed seats rather slowly and both sighed when they sat down again.
For a moment Hinata forgot about the trembling plane she was sitting in, too many feet above the ground.
She was thankful that she had met such a friendly seatmate but felt sorry to put him out like this. He was probably distressed enough, as it was pitch black outside and a time for the passengers to sleep or at least relax. Instead he had to grapple with her fear of flying.
At her side stewardess' scurried, handing out blankets or something to drink. She had always wondered how they were able to walk around so casually when the plane shook the way it did. It was impossible for her to not envy their ability.
But Hinata soon forgot about that admiration that when the shaking got more vigorous and didn't seem to stop anytime soon.
She pulled her legs in and pushed herself so far into the seat that her buttocks started to hurt. How much she wished to be unconscious right now like the man sleeping in the row in front on the other side.
Her state didn't slip Naruto's observant eye and he again found himself pondering about something to say to ease her.
"What's brown and sticky?" he blurted out so suddenly, that Hinata was too startled to keep her eyes shut.
"A stick." It was supposed to be a pun but she didn't reacted the way he wanted her to and just looked at him in silence. Naruto was convinced that she didn't because he was unfunny but because her head was to hazy to understand. At least he had been able to distract her a little in confusing her.
But she jerked again when the plane was hit by another jolt and she automatically reached for his hand as if it could safe her from anything that she feared of happening.
It was something bashful to do and in any other situation she would already be red from embarrassment but right now she didn't care.
"How do you make an egg roll?" His awaiting pause was unnecessary as his question had caught her off guard. "You push it." Again rather than laughing about the very lame joke, Hinata looked lost.
Did she think that he was weird? Or did she not get the joke? Maybe she just thought that he was not that good at telling jokes.
Unfortunately this puns were the only things his brain managed to come up with.
"Not funny, okay. Uh..." He needed a moment to trawl through the sections of his mind when her grip tightened as the shaking got worse again. "Ah. What did one hat say to the other?" He made a pause even though he didn't expect her to respond anything but she did.
"What did it say?" she asked, indicating that listening to his jokes wasn't as bad as he had feared.
"'You stay here, I'll go on a head.'" She thought about the answer for a while then the corners of her lips trembled to pull up a little.
"Aha, the trace of a smile." He smirked that it hadn't been a complete failure. Her face was still somewhat distorted but she definitely had lightened up a little.
"Okay, ehm. What did one guy say to the other before they got in the car?" Naruto already grinned because he wanted to reveal the answer.
"What did he say?" In face of the situation somehow his smile was contagious.
"Dude, get in the car." She first suppressed her lips from smiling, probably because it was a very, very lame joke. But then she cracked.
At this point she didn't laugh because it was very funny or a hidden comedic genius behind the pun but because her heart felt lighter. And because she really didn't want to be frightened anymore.
Nevertheless Naruto felt proud of his success. If that was needed to make her feel better, than he would happily do her that favor. He had nothing better to do anyway and seeing the features of her smile weren't something terrible to look at.
Unknowingly he squeezed her hand, which was still holding onto him.
After Naruto's resources of puns were exhausted they started talking about the first topics they could think of. Seemingly boring things.
In low voices, while casting smiles and exchanging gazes they shared little pieces of their lives.
The shaking had stopped without them noticing.
Naruto found out that Hinata was going to New York for a friend's wedding. That friend was too important for her to let her fear of flying stand in that way, which she had since she and her family had to fly through a bad thunderstorm when she was a kid.
They both resounded merrily when they found out that they would take the same flight back and laughed about the very rare possibility that they would be sitting next to each other again. Deep down, both of them wished for it but none expressed it.
Most of their conversation was Hinata listening to Naruto's stories and she was far away from being bothered by his talkative nature.
She had never been a person who was able to interact with strangers very well but he made her feel calm. Hinata let her body sink into her seat as she listened to him explaining her that he visited his godfather every year around this time and she felt comfortable hearing it. She was glad the he was the person sitting next to her on this flight.
The lights inside had dimmed and the outside seemed to have gotten darker. The words they shared hushed and their eyes glazed over with tiredness. Under their blankets then, they fell asleep. Leg on leg. Shoulder on shoulder.
There were different types of warmth. The warmth you felt when the sun hit your face after it had been hiding behind a cloud or finally reaching the coziness of home after walking around outside in a dark winter evening or the comfortable warmth of a body nuzzling you into sleep, which they now shared.
When Hinata woke up, her foggy eyesight trying to make out the outlines of her surroundings, she sensed Naruto's body next to hers and rose her head to face him. He was already awake, looking at her nervously as if she had caught him doing something gravely wrong when he was just meeting her eyes.
His body had been stiff since he had woken up. But not wanting to disturb her, he had sat with tensed muscles for several minutes while sensing the weight of her head on him.
Naruto's lips cramped into something, that could hardly be called a smile and she backed away so quickly that she got dizzy.
Astonished as if she had slept for days Hinata looked around. Some of the passengers had opened their windows and bright light shined into the plane, flying over a dense field of fluffy clouds.
The longer she inspected the insides the noisier it got. She could hear voices chatting, noisy children and occupants passing her on their way to the toilets. She must have been very tired if she had been able to sleep in this background noise.
She shyly locked eyes with Naruto, who looked at her with the same awkward expression.
"I'm sorry." More than mumbling wasn't possible when she recalled how close they had been, so close that her face still remembered his warmth.
Her sheepish look and the way she tried to smile in an apologizing manner, even though he wasn't less guilty, made his stomach prickle. He could see the outlines of his shirt that had imprinted on her cheek.
"Ah, it's okay." Naruto scratched the back of his head. "We were both very tired." Her nodding was the only reply he got and simultaneously they turned away.
A kind of silence established that made them afraid to move even a little in their poise because it might draw attention on them.
So they sat there, their views fixed to the front or the other side but never to each other, not saying another word like they were kept on an island of quietness in a sea of noises.
The announcement that the plane would be landing soon was like a shout of salvation and they got ready to arrange their stuff as they at least had something to do now and pretended that they didn't thing about the significant other.
Sometimes their elbows brushed or legs touched in their movements but they separated as if it was nothing when in reality it was much more than that.
Hinata was so awkwardly anxious that she nearly forgot how much she disliked landing approaches but she was soon reminded of that when they plane extended its wings and started to sink in the air.
Her heart dived and her hands desperately grabbed her chair but she tried to not display her fear as obvious as before.
While breathing smoothly she thought that Naruto would probably feel uncomfortable if he had to take care of her again.
So she stayed composed, caging her anxiety inside and not letting it appear on the surface when Naruto was already glancing at her in concern. But she seemed calm and he held back, not wanting to make her feel even more unwell with him butting in.
Yet he was prepared if she needed his help.
The plane closed in the ground little by little until its wheels made contact with the safeness of earth, shaking up the vehicle for one last time. The flight was over and Hinata sighed in relief.
Her being able to withstand a 14 hour long flight on her own made her a somewhat proud of herself even when she hadn't really been alone. The woman glanced at Naruto, who was watching the airport under the morning sun. Without him she would certainly had fainted at some point during their time in the air.
She hastily looked away when his head moved.
After that everything went faster than she could recall. The plane stopped for good and people rose from their seats, collecting their belongings from the tray above them. It was suddenly so much louder and hectic than before.
Passangers stood in a line for a while and Hinata uselessly realized that she was still sitting in Naruto's seat at the aisle.
The planes entrance was opened and people escaped one by one, bowing to the stewardess' who dismissed the occupants at the exit.
Hinata did the same. She could feel Naruto's gaze at the back of her head but was still relieved when leaving the plane and stepping into the tunnel that guided them to the airport.
Footsteps resounded on the hard floor and the air was immediately hotter, reminding the newcomers that it was summer in the States as well.
Naruto adjusted the bag on his shoulder when he saw Hinata collecting her hair to put it up into a ponytail.
Now that he could see her walking instead of sitting in that big chair, that had seemed too bulky for her delicate body, he realized how pretty she was.
Her eased expression, because she was on terra firma again, and the way her swinging hair sometimes exposed her neck were all lovely, making him feel flustered only by her back view.
They passed the passport control and soon reached the baggage claim.
But their belongings came too fast for his taste and Hinata found her luggage too soon, reducing the amount of time there was left to see her. It seemed like he was far more occupied in observing her than looking for his own stuff.
Hinata crouched down to open one side pocket and check if the luggage was hers. It seemed like it was since she pulled out the handle, shouldering her bag and ready to depart.
But before she turned towards the exit her gaze found Naruto's, too promptly considering how many people were scattered around them.
She didn't really know what to expect. Actually she shouldn't even be expecting anything. He had been a friendly neighbor on her flight and who she was glad to have met. Hinata realized that she hadn't thanked him and felt bad for forgetting about it because, by the amount of gratitude she felt towards him, that was certainly not fair.
Would thanking him now be odd?
But instead of going over she could only smile at him from the distance, hoping that her thankfulness would reach him and he smiled back, showing her that it did.
Then she turned around and his lighted expression faded.
He didn't want her to leave but did he had the right to ward her from going. They had spent hours talking and he probably knew her better than some of his colleagues and, technically, they had even slept together but did that mean that he wanted her to be more than just a kind and beautiful woman he had met at one point of his life.
And if he did, what about her? Did she want that too or was she just thankful that her flight hadn't been as horrible as she expected.
But he wondered if the time spent together really define how much you knew about a person or how much you wanted to see this person again? He wasn't sure about that but he knew that every step she took away from him, seemed to be a step too far.
He called her, approaching her as he left his bags by the cart.
"Hinata." She had told him her name herself but somehow it was strange hearing it in his voice for the first time. Somehow it even surprised her that he had remembered something that appeared so unimportant.
Hinata turned away from the automatic gates that had slit opened for her. Outsiders to peaked in, searching for the people they waited for and questioning the woman, presenting them her back.
Naruto stood motionless for a while as if he searched for the right words to say, ignoring the passerby judging him for standing in their way.
The gates opened again for the leaving people but Hinata still halted in her position, facing him and expectantly waiting for him to talk. Her heart thumbed harder.
His eyes darted to somewhere else as her face had fueled the tickling in his body, making it impossible for him to think straight.
"On our flight back," he finally began. Hinata flushed at the word "our" as it made their relationship seem much more intimate that she had thought it would be.
He now looked her right in the eye and it made her frail. Had his gaze been this piercing from the beginning?
"I will definitely see you then." Naruto hoped that she understood what his words meant and she did.
It meant that he was looking forward to meet her later and that they would talk again then. It meant that they could get to know each other even better and maybe they could meet outside a plane afterwards as man and woman rather than two air passengers.
It meant that he couldn't wait for that day to arrive. And she felt the same.