Three Words

Chapter 1: 'Birthday Buddies'

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters

Being alone was hard and nobody actually understood how heavy the weight was. People said they hated to be alone but no one really was alone, he thought bitterly. How dare they? How could they say they're so alone when they didn't even know what alone was. How alone he was. They didn't know what it's like not to have parents. They didn't know what it's like not to have siblings. Not to have friends. Not to have any human contact at all some days, except for the shouts and jeers from assholes who think it's funny watching the lonely slowly fade into nonexistence. But Naruto knew he couldn't think that way- no matter what. He was a positive person and his glass was always ¼ full, not ¾ empty! Wow. That sounded pathetic even to him, he thought miserably. It must have been just one of those days, when life threatened to overwhelm him. Sometimes he wished he could just give up fighting it. But he had training- and laundry- to do that day.

Naruto sighed through his nose and opened one eye. Peering around, his room came into focus and he popped the other eye open. Whelp. The start of another day. Crawling out of bed he headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Naruto was a shower-in-the-morning kind of guy. He takes super quick showers, because he's never understood how some girls spend 30 minutes just under some water. He began to undress with a quick glance in the mirror.

"YOWZA!"

. . .

"It's not like Naruto to be late. I expected this from Kakashi-sensei but not from Naruto. God, he's so stupid, I don't know why..."

"Sakura"

"What, Sasuke? What is it?"

"Shut up."

"Oh, Sasuke, aren't you ever going to get tired of acting like you're mean?"

He knew she was just kidding but since it went against his rules he didn't deign to respond. But truthfully- yeah- sometimes he did kind of get tired of acting like a jerk. But this was the only way. His eyes roved over the skyline estimating the time of day and upon their trace back to the ground they landed on a big blonde knucklehead running up the path to where he and Sakura were waiting. Sasuke couldn't help thinking how tired Naruto looked. Odd, usually Naruto looked hyper and stupid and utterly thrilled to be training for hours on end. A slight curiosity prickled in his mind, nothing to act upon though, of course. Idiot probably lost the keys to his house or something; he shrugged it out of his mind and stood. It was time to out-train these buffoons… again.

"Naruto? Are you OK? You don't look so good?" Sakura just had to stick her nose where it didn't belong. Maybe it physically pained her not to be in someone else's business, he thought mildly.

"I'm just fine, Sakura! You know me, glass always half full!" Glass half full? The statement resonated with the dull and monotone cadences of rehearsal. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he glanced at Naruto- inwardly shocked that he was almost interested in what his counterpart had gotten himself into.

"Well then, WHY ARE YOU LATE, YOU IDIOT?!" and that was the Sakura time bomb they all knew and expected. Was it just him or did Naruto not seem to have any fight in him today? He certainly wasn't arguing with Sakura. But then again, who in their right mind would argue with the pink-haired menace. Sasuke was having an excessively difficult time fighting his curiosity. It had been a long time since he cared to ask if someone was OK. But he knew he couldn't open his mouth. This was the only way. And in the end, not caring about these people was for the best, he knew.

2 HOURS LATER

Something was missing from this training session. He wasn't performing his best; to prove it Sakura had actually done better than him! He didn't understand this! Maybe his frustration was causing a lack of attention but that didn't explain where his frustration was originating from.

It hit him, suddenly, taking him aback. He wasn't performing up to standards because there was no competition. He hadn't heard a single mocking comment from Naruto through the whole lesson. No "Come on Sasuke, is that all you can do?" No "Wow and I thought Sakura sucked!" No "Wanna bet on it?" or "I could do ten times better than that, Sasuke!" It was almost like his blonde friend had been absent. Sasuke glanced around looking for him. He located the younger boy instantly, slightly apart from the rest of the team, off to the left of the training ground. If this idiot's moping around was going to affect his training it had to stop.

"Naruto," his teammate looked up at the sound of his voice. A small glower hung on his features, "seriously, what's wrong with you?"

"Nuthin. Why would you think there was something wrong?" Naruto emitted a fake chuckle and tucked his arms behind his head, feigning carelessness. Sasuke could spot the facade a mile away. A wary glint weighed heavy in Naruto's blue eyes. Dark shadows hung under those familiar orbs, which appeared somewhat duller today, in a way they hadn't previously. His bottom lip jutted out in a similar manner to a kid fighting tears and for some strange reason- Sasuke actually cared. It was a foreign concept but Sasuke legitimately wanted his teammate to be himself again. Unintentionally, Naruto made him better, and he felt like it was his responsibility to make Naruto better.

"Because you're acting like a kicked puppy. Will you just tell me what's wrong so we can get back to training."

"Yesterday was my birthday." Such a serious face for such a senseless statement.

What the hell did that mean?! He hadn't anticipated something that domestic and didn't have any response prepared for it. So he did what he does best and said nothing.

"Yesterday was my birthday and no one noticed. Or if they did notice they didn't care!" Naruto's speech slurred and his volume increased with each word.

"Sshh! Do you want the others to come over here and find you in this state? They'll think you're weak!"

"Sasuke why doesn't anyone care? Why don't I have a mother to make me a cake or a father to get me a present? Why don't I have a friend to say Happy Birthday? Or a.."

"Because mothers are overrated, a father wouldn't love you anyway, and friends just hold you back!" He startled himself at the vehemence in his words. He hadn't meant for it to come out that way, or really to say that at all. "Look, Naruto, I don't have any of those things either and I'm fine. My birthday went unnoticed and I didn't whine like a girl."

Naruto flushed at his words but didn't argue like Sasuke expected. "You're right! I never told you Happy Birthday either! When's your birthday Sasuke?"

"July 23rd." He answered automatically, before he was able to cease the flow of words. How could he forget the rule drilled into his head since age seven? He was just compelled to answer Naruto's question. But he'd never lost control like that before. Sasuke had to remind himself to say as little about himself as possible. That was the only way. But there was something about this weakened Naruto who blushes instead of fights that made him want to keep talking. To tell him whatever needed to be said to get him back to normal.

" OK, well here's an idea! We'll be birthday buddies! Since neither of us have anybody for our birthdays we'll spend them together. I'll celebrate your birthday and you'll celebrate mine starting on July 23rd. That way we'll never have to be alone again."

Sasuke wanted to tell him that he liked spending his birthday alone. That he would never need a "birthday buddy" and that if he had to say that word again, even in his head, he'd punch Naruto in the face. But none of that was true. Sasuke couldn't help but admit to himself that Naruto's idea didn't seem that bad at all. "Whatever." Was how he managed to respond.

"Well that's settled! Let's get training." Naruto smiled. A huge smile that encompassed his whole face and Sasuke found himself glad that he had stopped to help his friend. The boys stood together. Naruto held out his hand to shake on the "birthday buddies" agreement. Sasuke glanced down at the offered hand and raised an eyebrow. He walked off towards the training ground without shaking the other boys still raised hand. Sasuke couldn't tell if walking away was a good idea. It seemed like the best route of action at the time but the stunned and crestfallen expression that played across Naruto's features as he turned, denying the hand weighed on him. He had worked so hard to make Naruto feel better and it kind of hurt that he had hurt him. So by 10 steps away it was obvious that he had to fix it.

Sasuke turned and glanced back at his friend, whose arms hung limply at his sides. A smirk arose on Sasuke's face, "Happy Birthday Naruto."

OK! This is my first time doing this, so I hope someone likes it!

Reviews, suggestions, support- all would be helpful!

More of the story will probably be up soon.