happy birthday naruto, and what a lovely birthday it is...
15.
Naruto doesn't like calenders. Not because he can't read complicated kanji, but because he prefers not to know what day it is. At this point, somewhere in the back of his head, a voice screams liar liar. When it's his birthday, and Naruto just knows because he does (notbecausehekeepscountohno) Naruto makes a mental mark in his head to remind himself how old he is. Not that he really needs to (becausehe'sagrownboynow) But it's a habit aqquired from childhood he can't shake off.
And so Naruto goes on, like any other day, because Naruto has never had a happy birthday. The voice screams louder now. And Naruto tries to push back the memories of that one birthday when things weren't broken; when it was almost like he had family. (becausethat'swhattheywere--family)
And it is another year; he thinks, another month, another day, another moment without Sasuke. And somewhere inbetween these thoughts, Naruto forgets to breathe.