It's been a while since I've done a one shot, and I'm not even sure if this is even worthy of being posted, but after drowning myself in Naruto and Sasuke fics, mostly brotherly, friendship stuff, with some light yaoi mixed in, and a few that were so cute it was painful, I've got them on the brain, and they won't let me rest until I type this out. So…Enjoy!

Otulia: You'd think people would know without me telling them that we don't own Naruto.

Have You Ever Been Lonely

It was Mother's Day in Konoha. A happy, joyous day to be spent with family, whether one really wanted to or not, being so nice to one's mother to the point of becoming a nuisance.

It was one of the few days that the village's normal nuisance decided to take a day off from being a nuisance. No pranks, no loud-mouthed arguments in the streets, no enticing angry mobs into furious games of cat and mouse. He'd simply vanish from their perspective, and no one ever really noticed.

Except for one, that is. He always noticed, but never sought him out, pretending not to care. But this particular day, he knew, with a certainty that startled him, that something was wrong. He assumed it had something to do with the fact that the nuisance's favorite haunt had been unusually vacant the four times he had passed by.

And so he kept an eye out for his friend, for once hoping to run into him. Not until mid-afternoon did he succeed, and his feeling that something wrong only intensified.

He was sitting in the middle of the vacated training grounds, knees pulled up to his chest, staring at nothing in particular as the wind played through his normally spiky blonde tresses. Three things were clearly wrong with the picture. He was quiet; no, not just quiet, but utterly silent. He wasn't wearing his usual orange outfit, but instead had donned faded black shorts and an abused green shirt. And his headband, which he was so intensely proud and protective of, was nowhere to be seen.

With a sigh, he lowered himself to the ground beside the very picture of dejection. "What's wrong?"

He didn't answer. That wasn't like him. And then, "Ne, Sasuke, have you ever been lonely?"

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. "Well, yeah. Everyone has, I suppose."

The blonde shook his head, keeping his gaze trained blankly in front of him. "I don't mean like that. What I mean is, have you ever been so lonely that it hurts? That you don't know what the point in going on is?"

The deep sadness in that voice, which was usually so energetic and optimistic, spoke of a kind of pain that Sasuke had never experienced, though he knew he had come close. It was a pain that struck at the heart and spirit, lingering long after the cause had vanished.

Sasuke remained silent, not knowing what to say. Naruto wasn't himself in the least, and, though Sasuke was more than reluctant to admit it, it scared him.

They sat in silence for a while, Naruto seemingly zoned out, and Sasuke growing increasingly uncomfortable. He hardly knew how to deal with knucklehead when he was in a good mood, let alone when he was like this.

"What was your mother like?"

Sasuke nearly jumped at the sudden question. So that's what was bothering him. Frowning, he decided to answer, even though thoughts of his family brought back painful memories.

"She was…nice," he said slowly, trying to find the right words. "She'd always offer to help me with my training when everyone else was busy, and was the only one to really notice me. With her, I wasn't in Itachi's shadow. I never was. And that made me…happy."

Naruto shifted his gaze to the sky, the ghost of a smile playing about his mouth. "I wonder if mine would have been like her."

Shoving back his own sadness, Sasuke turned his head to look fully at Naruto. "What's really wrong? You don't get like this over nothing."

Any hint of a smile on the boy's face vanished as he lowered his head to rest on his knees. "Yesterday," he said in a near-whisper, "Konohamaru wouldn't leave me alone. He wanted me to help him pick out a present for his mom. I told him I wouldn't be able to help, but he made me come along anyway. The little brat didn't even need help, he just wanted company. And then…then he asked me what I was getting my mom…" He closed his eyes, tears leaking out from under his lids to slide slowly across his cheek. "The little idiot doesn't pay attention to anyone but himself…he didn't even know…"

Sasuke remained silent, watching the blonde struggle against his tears. Naruto had never let it bother him that his mother was dead, but then again, no one had ever brought her up. He recalled how hard it had been for him, the first year after his family had been slaughtered, and knew that it was something like what his friend was feeling now.

"It wouldn't be so bad," Naruto said quietly, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand, "if I could visit her, but…I don't even know what her name was. I used to ask, but no one would tell me, pretending they didn't know either."

Suddenly, Sasuke knew how to help him. He was just…lonely. Not lonely in the normal sense of the word, but still, lonely nonetheless. "C'mon," he said, getting to his feet and extending his hand to his friend. "You can visit my mom with me."

Naruto looked up at him, uncertain. "You sure?"

He nodded. "She would have liked you."

With a small smile, Naruto allowed himself to be hauled to his feet. "Thanks."

I don't even know if I managed to keep them in character, but hey…I found one similar fic, and only one, so I don't have much to reference for ideas. So, even though it's nowhere near Mother's Day, here's this! Review if you want, but please, don't be mean to me. All opinions are welcome. And if anyone wants, I could probably tack a second chapter onto this...