Naruto sighs as he slowly trudges through the rain, hands deep in his pockets, eyes cast on the wet ground. He doesn't even care that he's cold and wet, especially since it matches his mood. Never seeming to end, the loneliness overtakes him, leaving his heart heavy with sadness. He's soaked through and chilled to the bone, wondering if he'll ever find someone to call family…
… or to at least help ease the pain of loneliness.
After a long while of walking around the occasional puddle and letting the rain beat down over him, Naruto pauses. He sees a faint shape on the ground in the rain and hears a giggle. Entirely confused, he slowly approaches, only to find… a young girl, around his age, sitting in a puddle and smooshing her hands in the soft mud.
Mayuri smiles happily as she settles herself in the mud. She had managed to escape from her captivity at home to play in the rain while her father was distracted reading the funny-looking book he wouldn't ever read to her at bedtime, and upon finding the biggest puddle, she had proceeded to splash around in it until there was plenty of mud. Then she had naturally plunked her rear down on the edge and begun to shape pies. To her side just out of the puddle's reach sits a covered basket.
She giggles in delight as she pats the first pie into just the right shape and carefully lays it aside. She shoves her hands down into the puddle again to get another helping of the thicker mud as a second reflection appears in the puddle. Her eyes lift to the young boy, who is clearly just as wet as she.
"Hi there!" She gives him the brightest smile he's ever seen, and his eyes go wide with uncertainty.
"Oh, um… hi," he murmurs, almost shyly. Mayuri quickly decides to make up for that.
"My name is Mayuri!" She almost seems to glow like a second sun, brightening his world… even just a little.
"I'm Naruto," he says softly, uncertain of himself and fully expecting her to run off or something. But unable to help himself, he asks curiously, "What are you doing out here in the rain?"
"Making mud pies!" She exclaims this with sheer delight before surprising him yet again. "Do you want to help?"
Naruto hesitates, recalling all the parents pulling their children away from him and all the kids who purposely avoid him, whispering in hushed tones so they think he doesn't overhear… even though he does. "Are… you sure you want to play with me?"
Mayuri frowns then points at the puddle. "Stop being silly. Sit down and help me."
His eyes brighten instantly as he slowly gains a smile, the gesture unfamiliar on his face; as soon as he begins to smile, the rain begins to thin out. "What can I do to help?"
"You can make the pies, like this one!" Mayuri holds up the one in her hand then shows him the one on the side of the puddle. "Okay? Because I want to decorate them."
"Why would you decorate the mud?"
"Silly, they're pies! And people will eat them, and they will love them!" Her eyes shine and burn with passion, leaving Naruto to helplessly mirror her grin and excitement.
"Then what are we waiting for?!" He quickly scoops up some thick mud and begins to pat it in place, working hard for the pretty little girl called Mayuri. She giggles in delight again and pulls her basket closer, picking out the prettiest little violets and pebbles as she starts to decorate the pies, one by one.
Naruto glances up while he's working, watching the pretty girl with soft daffodil-colored eyes and hair as white as snow. He sees the pure joy in her eyes as she carefully decorates each individual pie, every single one getting just as much vigilant attention to detail as the one before, as if what she's doing is completely natural. He doesn't even notice when the rain lets up, the sun's warm rays beginning to peek through the clouds to warm them up as well as bake the pies.
"Oh no… now they're all dry." Naruto frowns and looks a little sad, but Mayuri smiles at him patiently.
"All pies have to bake, silly. You can't eat them raw!"
"We're going to eat them?" This makes her giggle again.
"No, but we'll pretend! And other people will pretend!" Her eyes glow with joy. "And one day, I'll make real pies and cakes and make them pretty!"
Naruto feels his heart ache; he gives her a small smile before looking back down at the pie he's forming. "I hope you do."
"And you have to help, too!" His head jerks up in shock as she continues to speak. "You make the pies even better than me! You have to help!"
With Naruto sitting still with an utterly shocked look on his face, Mayuri crawls forward, her eyes wide and serious. "Please Naruto? I don't want to do it without you. You're my best friend."
The young blonde's eyes go wide. "Y-your best friend? B-but… I just met you today."
"Silly," Mayuri murmurs as she smiles at him, moving forward to wrap her arms around his torso. She lets her head rest against his shoulder, mud pie squishing between their chests. "What does it matter when we met? I already know you're going to be the best friend I ever have."
Naruto feels his eyes sting a little as he slowly hugs her back, forgetting there's mud on his hands as he wipes at his eyes… then lets out a yell as Mayuri laughs and gently wipes the mud away with the end of her dress.
"See? Best friends forever."
Several years later
A tanned, blonde male smiles lightly as he stokes the fire, crouching before an old stone oven to make sure it's heating evenly. He waits for it to build before tossing in a few more logs and shutting the door again. Moving toward the opposite counter, he gathers a couple of cake pans to push back into the oven atop the flat stone within, a luster of sweat already visible across his skin.
"Naruto!" The male looks up from his work and smiles through the doorway.
"Yes, Mayuri-chan?" A young woman with warm daffodil-colored eyes pokes her head through the doorway with a breathless smile, her long snowy hair mostly held back by a black ribbon, leaving her bangs and a few haphazard locks free. She is still just as beautiful as the day they met all those years ago.
And now look at them, owning a bakery together.
"Naruto, did you hear me?" Her voice cuts through his thoughts.
"Ah, no Mayuri-chan. What did you say?"
Mayuri laughs and smiles at him. "We're going to need several more of the chocolate mudslide cake bases. I'm already almost out!"
Naruto sighs and smiles in satisfaction as the shop begins to wind down for the day. He had pulled the last cake base from the oven long ago and now kneads bread dough on the counter in preparation for tomorrow morning. Mayuri stands near him with her cake stand, happily spinning it as she carefully squirts a bright purple icing onto the rich brown icing base to create little violets.
"Mayuri, your flowers are pretty." This makes the young woman beam and smile up at him.
"Thank you, Naruto!" He loves when she smiles at him. He has only ever done things with the intention of making her happy. She is the sunshine in his rain, and his life is better because of her alone. "You know, your bases always come out perfect. You're so good at this. They never have any rough spots."
"I learned from the best." He grins at her. "You showed me how to make my first pie."
"Yes, and you've improved perfection!" She laughs with him, accidentally squeezing the icing bag, and she squeaks in shock when a big glob of purple lands in the middle of the cake she had been decorating. "Oh no!"
Naruto's eyes widen. "No, Mayuri, it's fine!"
"I ruined it!"
"No, see?" He smiles reassuringly and carefully uses a flat utensil for icing the bases to scoop it up and smooth the base coat back out. "There, it's just fine!"
Mayuri sighs in relief and smiles gratefully at him. "Yes, but that's such a waste of icing. I could have made several flowers with it."
Naruto flings his hands up to shrug, freezing as the icing flies off and spatters across Mayuri's face and neck. "… I really didn't mean to do that."
Mayuri slowly opens her eyes, which had closed as the icing flew toward her. "… You did that on purpose."
She starts to unbutton her top and slide it off with a sigh, top of her apron still covering her torso. "This is going to stain. And the icing is still wasted! I could have put it back in the bag!"
Naruto hesitates, swallowing hard as he gazes at her… then slowly moves forward, trapping her against the counter before either of them even realize what's happening. Before he can stop himself, he leans in and licks her cheek, tongue swiping off the purple icing as she gasps and stares at him. Their eyes meet for a moment… and she makes an unconscious decision not to stop him.
Naruto leans in after another moment and hesitantly kisses her, the gesture soft and sweet, especially with the traces of icing still left on his lips. He soon lets his tongue drag over her skin once more, removing more icing as he works slowly further down her neck. Mayuri lets out a soft gasp and shivers as his tongue runs along her collar. As he runs out of icing, he glances up to make sure she isn't looking… then snatches her icing bag and squirts more across her neck and chest.
"Naruto!" She starts to scold him, but the rebuke soon shifts to a low moan of pleasure. Her body heat begins to melt the icing, leading the male to eagerly untie the back of the apron and let it fall, bra soon following. He cups her soft curves as he gladly cleans up the icing he "accidentally" flung across her body the second time, her fingers twisted in his hair to keep him close.
Amidst her soft moans and panting, Mayuri's gaze lands on the cake she'd been decorating. Not one to be outdone, she whispers his name again.
"Naruto…" He immediately looks up at her, only to receive a face full of iced cake, her second handful going straight down his pants. "… it's my turn."
His clothes soon join hers in a puddle on the floor, not much different from the puddle in which they first met.