1KISS

The very first time she had kissed him was not the first time he had been kissed. In fact it wouldn't even be the last time someone else kissed him. That wasn't the point though. It was the best kiss he would ever have. Better the time Ino had planted one on him for keeping her shop from burning down. Better than the kiss Hinata would give him one starry night. That would be his first something else. Her kiss was even better than that though. It tasted like wind and sun and salty tears. It tasted like being warm on a cold winter's day and all the ice cubes you could want in the midst of a scorching Konoha summer. Her kiss was a field of flowers and dandelions, minus his allergies. And her kiss still had the lingering taste of beef ramen. That wasn't the reason why he loved her kiss though. He loved it because it was the last thing she would say to him before she disappeared. It was a kiss so beautiful, it made him want to...

CRY

His tears were not the first tears he had shed over her, and they would not be his last. Anyone could tell you about the new scent that accompanied Naruto lately. It wasn't necessarily a bad smell. Just a rather depressing one. He smelled of heavy rainfall and never ending winter's. He smelled of sorrow and a surprising loss of hope. He smelled slightly of liquor and slightly of stale air. He smelled of salty tears and failed efforts. While those who knew him worried for his mental condition, everyone knew that there was nothing anyone could do. Not until she returned and helped him wash away this scent.

It was the only kiss that had ever made him cry and it was still the best kiss he had ever had.