Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Naruto

Chapter 21: The picnic

"I wasn't expecting the drive to be so long. You do know that there are nice breakfast shops back around our area" Kushina said after a whole hour had passed in the car.

"I know, I know but this one's special" he replied as he turned to look at Naruto giving him a wink. "We'll be there in about 10 minutes" he added.

Kushina nodded her head as she fiddled with his radio. While Naruto patiently waited for the signal they'd discussed along with the plan back when Kushina was getting dressed.

It was simple but effective; as they got close to the country park area, on the right side of the street there were a bunch of small vintage shops. So Naruto would point out a toy store that he really wanted to go into so that Minato could set up the picnic after dropping them off at the store. And since that shop was in pointing distance of the picnic spot and quick to walk to, he would just quickly tell Kushina that the supposed breakfast place was straight ahead to the right side.

"Hey Naruto, did you see all the cool shops around here?" Minato asked.

"Yes" Naruto said enthusiastically "I want to go to the toy shop" he said proudly reciting his lines.

"That's a great idea Naruto, it's 7 shops down from this one" Minato responded, already knowing pretty much all the shops in this area from past visits.

Kushina shook her head slightly, after looking up ahead and said, "There is no toy shop 7 shops down, only a candle shop, you didn't look properly."

"That's ridiculous, it's always, always been, 7 shops down from the ice cream store." he murmured.

"Shops aren't rooted to their area it probably got shut down or moved."

Looking further ahead to his surprise he realized she was right. "Well, Naruto likes candles, he actually loves them" he said not wanting the plan to fail so quickly."

"I don't like candles, I…." Naruto all but shouted as he shook his head.

But Minato quickly interrupted him saying, "No you don't like plain candles but you love the scented ones. Remember you told me that you love smelling all the different flavors."

"I did not" Naruto replied still not latching onto the plan.

"You should take mummy in and show her your favourite candles while I go set up breakfast" he said very obviously.

Finally catching on, Naruto's mouth widened then narrowed into an "O" before he said in his sweetest voice "Mummy can we please, please, go into the candle shop.

"Kushina looked at both of them an odd expression on her face before saying "Don't you want breakfast now? I don't think you'll find the candle shop much interest anyway."

"No, I love candles, I want to show you the orange one"

"Naruto, not right now"

"But..." Naruto said not knowing what else to say, though luckily Minato stepped in." It's okay, Kushina, I can drop you off at the store with Naruto while I go find parking and get us a table. It can be really busy at this time, so if you go to the candle shop first then you won't have to wait for the seats."

"Ok" she said nodding her head as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "Where's the breakfast place?"

Minato gave her the brief directions then opened the door for Naruto, whispering the more specific directions to Naruto, so he could lead her there.

"5 minutes and then we'll come over" Kushina said to Minato as she grabbed Naruto's hand.

"You better make it ten" he replied as he climbed back into the car, rushing to get the picnic set up in time.

Coming out of the lovely scented candle shop 10 minutes later, they made that short walk to the so-called breakfast place.

"That's strange" Kushina murmured, "He said it would be over here but this is just a nature trail" she said pointing to the wooden sign. "It must be further down" she said frowning.

'"No mummy, it's in the trail" Naruto said needing to lead her to the picnic.

"Naruto, it wouldn't be in the middle of here" she said dismissively as she waved her hand around to emphasize that it was the wrong type of environment for that. "Come on, if we walk further down we'll find it, he said it wasn't far"

But we won't Naruto thought to himself. There was no breakfast place, there was the picnic but it was in this trail. To get to it, they had to walk a little bit through the trail and then go off the trail and walk straight through a thicket of trees as soon as they saw an old looking tree house. That's what Minato had told him, but how would he get mummy to follow, that's what he wanted to know.

As Kushina began to slowly walk away from the trail expecting Naruto to follow, Naruto shouted mummy so that she'd turn around and look at him before running right towards the area that Minato had told him. She'd follow him, he knew it and he was right, so he kept running ignoring her half worried, half angry voice as she called for him to come back.

As he ran off the trail and through the trees, coming out of the clearing he gasped in surprise and pleasure as he saw the lovely picnic laid out for them all. He couldn't believe it; all that delicious food, free space, lush grass, and shining sun all in one place was the best thing he'd ever seen.

Minato smiled at him brightly when he saw Naruto pop up from the trees. Holding his hand out he gestured for him to come closer to him.

Less than a minute later a frazzled Kushina stepped out from the trees calling "Narut..." but she didn't even finish his name because of the beautiful set up around her. She just stood there in awe, taking it all in.

And there was lots to take in; how the sun shone so brightly making the sky even bluer, the lush grass even greener, and the colorful flowers even prettier.

But what she took in the most, what her eyes couldn't tear away from was Minato and Naruto smiling brightly in front of the lovely picnic, with a wide assortment of foods all laid out neatly on the huge red checkered blanket. It was beautiful, it was perfect and what was lovely about it was that it was all theirs.

It was like a big circular patch of grass surrounded by a thicket of trees and since it was off the trail it was unlikely that they would be interrupted by anyone." You guys are amazing" she said softly, her eyes turning watery as she smiled brightly at them.

"Do you like it?" Naruto asked excitedly as he ran up to her and pulled her hand to take her closer to the picnic.

"I absolutely love it" she replied cheerfully as she sat down beside Minato, lacing her hand through Minato's as her back lay against the huge oak tree trunk behind them

"I can't believe you guys did this for me, it's the best surprise ever."

"Thank you Naruto" she said as she wrapped her arms around him giving him a huge squeeze and a big kiss. "You're the best son ever ever ever"

Naruto smiled back brightly, his father had always told him the opposite and he could never make his father happy but with Kushina it came easy.

Hugging her back, he proudly explained that the picnic was his idea and what he did to help.

Next she turned to face Minato whose arms were already spread out wide, ready to smother her with more love.

"Thank you Minato" she said softly as she leaned into him, gladly reciprocating his hug "this is really sweet of you".

"I just wanted to do something special and make you happy especially because its been a rough week for you and... well I also wanted all three of us to do something fun together, to spend time, to be like a..." He paused looking her deeply in the eyes before finishing his sentence with "family"

She smiled and squeezed him tighter before pulling away from him and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"You really are too good for me" she murmured.

"Do you really think that?" he asked quietly, slight sadness creeping into his voice.

Kushina looked up at him and slowly nodded her head.

"Kushina, why can't you see your worth? Why don't you understand just how special you are? I am lucky to have you and you are lucky to have me but we both equally deserve each other just as much as the other. You're not the only one gaining in this relationship and I am definitely not getting the short end of the stick in this. So just stop undermining yourself, Ok?"

She nodded her head again before her fingers reached up to her neck, clasping onto the heart pendant on the necklace he'd given to her only hours before. "I am lucky though, not everyone finds their true love."

"Me too" he replied a warm twinkle in his eyes when he saw the shy smile she flashed him.

Pulling out her phone she looked at Minato and said "I want to take some pictures of you and Naruto and this perfectly laid out picnic"

He nodded his head just before she turned around to look at Naruto, surprised to find that he had already dug into the picnic. His hands and mouth were a sticky, chocolate mess as he happily shoved his last bite of the big chocolate cake slice he had so quickly eaten. Wiping the crumbs of his shirt with his messy hands he only succeeded in spearing more chocolate on his no longer clean shirt.

Finally noticing someone's gaze on him, he looked up to see Kushina and Minato staring at him, so he flashed them an innocent little smile before reaching for the next thing his tummy wanted.

"Naruto!" Kushina exclaimed as she shook her head in slight disbelief and slight amusement. "You couldn't wait?"

"But it looked so yummy" he said, flashing a cheeky grin he added "and you and Minato can take so long...talking" and kissing he thought to himself but didn't dare say. Back at the house when Minato had asked him to close his eyes and count to ten, his curiosity got the best of him and he couldn't help but peek, especially after he had said no peeking. So he had slowly opened his eyes, quickly peeking through the slits between his fingers and found his mummy and Minato kissing. Not needing that image in his head he quickly closed his eyes, trying to stifle a giggle from the kind of thrill and excitement you get when catching someone in the act of doing something they wouldn't normally.

" Well was it yummy?" Minato asked as he flashed him a smile.

Naruto nodded his head enthusiastically and Kushina ruffled up his hair.

"Did you bring any napkins and water?" Kushina asked Minato wanting to clean up Naruto's stickiness a bit.

"Even better I brought wet wipes" Minato replied as he proudly added "and sunscreen, sunglasses and your camera"

"Wow you came prepared" Kushina responded approvingly.

"Of course" he said flashing her a smile as he began to take the stuff out of his backpack.

"If there was such a test, you'd pass the how to be the best husband and father test with flying colours."

Minato could not stop smiling at that comment as he passed her the wet wipes and responded "What can I say, I'm a natural"

That couldn't be more true, Kushina thought as she wiped Naruto's mouth and then hands.

"Picture time" she said enthusiastically as she picked up her camera backing away to get a good view, and beckoning for Minato and Naruto to move closer.

Five minutes later the picture still wasn't taken as she readjusted her camera settings and stepped backwards and forwards trying to get the picture perfect.

"Minato rest your right hand on your knee and head straight" she ordered as she peeked into the camera lens for the umpteenth time

Minato sighed softly as he said "Kushina, this isn't your work place, it's just a fun picture, forget that you're a photographer and just click it already"

"I know I know, I just want it to be perfect though" she said sighing.

"As long as I'm in it, it will be" Minato said jokingly.

"Ha ha very funny" Kushina replied dryly a smile creeping onto her face.

"Hurry up mummy" Naruto said for the fourth time.

"Yeah come on, Naruto's hand is creeping dangerously close to the food on the picnic blanket and you know what that means" Minato said lightly as he ruffled up Naruto's hair making Kushina cringe from the position change.

"Hey" Naruto said trying to frown at Minato but not succeeding as a smile broke onto his face.

"Ok, ok" Kushina said in defeat giving up on perfection "1 2 3, say cheese"

"Look" she said lightly as she brought the picture towards them "That's why I like to take my time"

Minato chuckled before saying "It's not so bad"

"You guys aren't even looking at the camera" she said pouting.

"Yeah but it's cute and funny"

"That's true" Kushina said nodding her head as she stared at the picture, a small smile crossing her face.

"Your turn" he said as he stood up and took the camera out of her hands.

Pulling Naruto close to her they took a quick picture before finally digging into the scrumptious food laid out in front of them.

Onigiri, sweet buns, rice crackers, gyoza, sushi were only few of many things they ate amongst their happy chatters and sweet chuckles.

"I'm stuffed" Kushina stated a while later as she finished off her last sip of cooled lemonade.

"Me too" Minato replied wiping his hands free of crumbs.

"I'm not" Naruto said smiling as he reached for a third slice of cake.

"Not so fast" Minato said blocking his arm as he grabbed his bag with his free arm "If you want another slice, you're going to have to beat me"

"In what?" Naruto asked drawing his hand back.

Grabbing the ball out of his bag he flashed Naruto a confidant smile and replied "football, who ever scores 10 goals first, wins"

"Game on" Naruto said smiling as he stood up adrenaline already rushing through his body.

"You playing?" Minato asked Kushina as he stood up stretching.

Shaking her head she lightly said "I'll just watch, I'm way to full to move about so quickly."

Nodding his head he ran out onto the big patch of grass and quickly explained to Naruto the make shift goal posts.

Dropping the ball onto the ground the game began and Naruto wasted no time getting to the ball and dribbling with it to the post, before drawing back his foot and scoring.

"Hurray" he shouted as he ran back with the ball smirking at Minato

"

I just need some time to warm up, but consider me ready now" Minato said grinning back and ready he was.

He took off with the ball, dribbling circles around a determined Naruto before skillfully placing the ball in the net.

After that the score kept fluctuating, as Naruto maneuvered around Minato, always right on his trail and always looking for that chance to score against Minato. Who had proven to be quite dexterous at football with his fast pace dribbling, and many impressive moves.

" 9-9, last point wins, all or nothing" Minato said excitedly as he wiped the sweat trickling down the side of his face with the back of his hand.

"Bring it on" Naruto shouted as he placed the ball in the middle of the pitch.

"1, 2, 3 GO!" Kushina shouted, who had somehow seemed to become their referee.

At 3, Naruto had sped to the ball getting to it quickly before dribbling toward the net but Minato was right on his trail and when he turned his head around to see how close he was, he stumbled on the ball giving Minato the chance to swiftly steal it from him. To avoid Naruto's kicking leg, he used trickery and a brilliant right heel twist to get past the huffing and puffing Naruto. Running to the net Minato could see it, his victory was in sight as he began to swing his left leg but Naruto wasn't accepting that, and so with a brilliant sliding tackle right through Minato's legs, he got the ball out of Minato's reach and as a bonus Minato on the floor. Scrambling to get the ball, Naruto ran right to the ball, trying to hold back his laughter at Minato toppling over onto the ground and dribbled the ball all the way to the net finishing off with a powerful kick that landed in the net and a big "Hurray" just as Minato finally stood off.

"Told ya I'd beat ya, believe it!" Naruto shouted happily as he ran up to Minato giving him a high five after seeing his hand in the air.

"Yeah yeah, good job Naruto, you deserved to win" he said laughing and smiling with the young boy. "You can go have your cake now"

"Yes" Naruto shouted as he ran over to the picnic food tackling Kushina with a sweaty hug on the way there. "Did you see, were you watching me win?" he asked excitedly.

"Of course, you have some crazy soccer skills" she said happily, as she messed up his hair.

Running to the cake he heard her shout "Make sure you drink some water, Naruto". Yes, yes he thought to himself as he reluctantly grabbed the water bottle instead of the lemonade.

"Good game" Kushina said as she sat down on the lush grass beside Minato who stayed rooted on the spot he had fallen down on at the end of the game.

"Thanks, I wasn't expecting such a workout though. That kid does not like to lose."

Kushina chuckled as she handed him the chilled water bottle "Yeah, but that's a good attribute to have. Football was a good idea though, I know both of you had a lot of fun."

"Yeah, you should play next round"

"Can you even handle another round?"

"Of course, after this water break, my energy will be replenished."

"I was talking about facing Naruto again, I don't think you can handle such a tough opponent" she said teasingly.

"Hey, I underestimated him that was my mistake but now that I know I'm going all out?"

"All out?"

"Yeah, as a child football was my favourite sport and when I was in middle school I joined the team playing the midfielder position. During high school I was going to play football again but then I found the track and field club and decided to try something new. That was the best, running was my favourite. I won so many races in the competitions it was so much fun."

She smiled, liking the happiness she heard in his voice and liking hearing about his past. "No wonder why you were so fast against Naruto and that explains your impressive soccer skills too. I knew it, I had a feeling you were holding back, and that fall at the end... that was on purpose"

Flashing her a cheeky smile he shrugged his shoulders as if to say "what can I say, you caught me"

"This time I won't hold back, you and Naruto versus me. What do you say?"

"I say, you can hold back a little" she said slyly.

"So you're playing" he asked excitedly.

"But i'm in a dress and these shoes" she muttered as she pointed to them

"Then take them off"

Pausing he quickly added "The shoes I mean not the dress"

Still not hearing her say yes, he pleaded his case more "Come on, it's so much fun, don't tell me your scared to get a little sweaty" he said lightly as he stood up, pulling her up with him.

"Ok, ok but don't start crying when my son and I beat you" she said smirking as she called for Naruto.

Grinning back at her, he pulled her closer to him and kissed her on the cheek before whispering, "You'll regret those words"

"We'll see" she retorted as she took off her shoes before running out onto the pitch where Naruto and Minato were already waiting.

"You ready to do this, Naruto" she asked as she stood by his side, in a ready to go stance.

"Of course, mummy" he replied, ecstatic that his mother was playing football with them this time "I'm trembling with excitement"

Thanks for reading, sorry it took so long to update and have a good weekend.