Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Pretty much everyone is aware of those so-called comedic situations in a movie when character 'A' doesn't fully understand what character 'B' is saying, so character 'B' attempts to speak slower and louder, as if it would help the situation any.

Enter Sasuke Uchiha; for his life is one of those moments.

Usually the dark haired boy avoided going out at all cost in order to keep from running into said awkward situations. Too bad for him his mother insisted he get a job. Not that they needed any money. She just wanted him to get out of the house more. And honestly, he couldn't blame her.

The only good thing about it was the fact that he'd found very simple work as a paperboy. It was embarrassing at first; telling his older brother about his new job since most people seemed to think that only nine or ten year olds held such a position. But it was the simplest job he could find and that's all that really mattered.

Sasuke huffed while lifting the mail carriers strap over his head and picked up a small map of his route before waving goodbye to his mother and heading out. Unlike his fellow employees, Sasuke's route was pretty short. Then again, he didn't have a car and was forced to walk instead. So the shorter distance made more sense... That is, if everyone wanted to receive their papers at a decent hour.

As the brunet turned the corner towards his first street of houses he slowed his pace in order to enjoy the fresh morning air. Taking a deep breath he laid his right hand against the small fence separating the sidewalk from his first 'customers' home. He continued walking while dragging his hand against the bumpy surface of the wooden fence until he reached the small white box he'd been looking for. Quickly reaching into his bag he pulled out a newspaper and shoved it into the box before continuing his journey.

Sasuke smirked to himself as he followed the same routine for the rest of his route. This job was turning out to be even easier than he suspected. A few more deliveries to go and he was done for the day.

As he crossed the road in order to get to his desired destination a small bird flew past him towards an old birdhouse. Sasuke watched as the bird searched the feeder to no avail.

The brunet shrugged his shoulders and pulled out his last paper. He couldn't help but remember the times when he was a young boy and Itachi would try to explain to him how beautiful the birds sounded this early in the morning. Of course, they supposedly sounded chipper all day long... Itachi seemed to think they were happiest when the sun began to rise.

Cocking his head up towards the sky, he wished more than anything that he could hear them just once. To fully understand what his brother had been talking about instead of just nodding his head and pretending to agree.

Sighing he turned back to the box only to come nose to nose with a tall blond boy. Startled, he jumped back and placed a hand over his chest, trying to get a grip on the situation.

The boy in question lifted an eyebrow in confusion. What was with this guy? He'd been asking for his paper for the past five minutes but the brunet just ignored him.

"Uh... You okay?"

Sasuke watched as the boy spoke but didn't reply. Seconds passed as they stared each other down in silence.

"Are you some sort of spaz or something?" The boy smirked, hoping to get a reaction this time.

The brunet was pretty good at reading lips. His brother use to practice lip reading with him almost everyday.

Not only that, Itachi taught him how to speak a decent amount of words. He'd have Sasuke feel the vibrations on his neck as he spoke while reading his lips and have him mimic it until Itachi let him know he'd said the word correctly. Not that Sasuke ever dared to speak in front of other people. Talking was for emergency reasons only as far as he was concerned.

Because of his past training, he could easily pick up every word the blond boy in front of him had said except for one.

Sasuke smirked to himself as he finally took a good look at the boy. He was about the same height as himself with bright blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He also sported three scars on each cheek which sort of resembled what looked like whiskers. And even though he was wearing a dreadful looking pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt; Sasuke couldn't deny that he was still handsome.

After snapping back to reality he noticed the blond seemed be getting a little impatient.

Most people didn't know sign language unless a close relative of theirs was deaf. So odds were, this guy wouldn't understand Sasuke even if he tried to communicate with him.

Waving his hands into the air, he began signing random things that would make no sense to anyone. He watched as the blond stared in confusion and began signing faster. The look on the boys face was priceless.

"Oh so you're deaf! No wonder." The blond leaned over the fence a little, "And here I was ready to clock you at any moment for being so damn rude... If only I could understand you." He scrunched up his face as if trying to think which only made Sasuke roll his eyes.

Loser.

"I don't know what you're trying to say, you know. Hell, why am I even talking. You can't hear me."

The frustrated look on the boys face was adorable, to say the least. This is going nowhere so I'm leaving now. Sasuke shook his head, trying to hide a grin, as he turned to walk away. As he did so a tan hand grabbed his upper arm preventing him from moving. He was about to welcome the guy with his best glare when he noticed the genuine smile resting on the blonds face. The boy was holding out the newspaper to him and seemed to be pointing to a particular word.

Sasuke glanced over the page to the word just below the boys finger. Name.

Okay, so the guy wasn't a complete idiot. He at least knew how to compromise when needed.

He watched as the blond moved his finger over the letters he wanted one by one.

N-A-R-U-T-O

...

This guy had to be joking. Who gave their child such a ridiculous name? It was begging to be made fun of!

Sasuke's suspicions were overthrown when he noticed how serious the boy, Naruto, looked. Oh well, at least it was a unique name. Realizing the blond seemed to be awaiting conformation, Sasuke nodded to let him know he understood, earning a smile in return.

Naruto then shoved the paper back in his direction, obviously wanting the know the others name as well.

The brunet pondered for a second before shaking his head, pushing the paper away, and waving goodbye. He liked messing with people but only ever got the chance to do so when his brother was around. Lately though, Itachi had been too busy with his studies to humor the younger Uchiha. So as a result Sasuke was just itching to tease someone. Anyone.

Quickly turning away from the boy he started walking in the direction of his home. He could practically feel Naruto's frustrated glare bore holes in his back. After a few blocks he decided to make sure Naruto wasn't following him or anything stupid like that. The last thing he needed was some weirdo stalking him. Then again, a situation a bizarre as that would be exactly what he needed to convince his mom that this whole 'get a job' business was stupid.

Luckily, or unluckily, -Sasuke hadn't decided yet- Naruto wasn't following him.

Figuring it was okay to slow down, the brunet took a deep breath and began to relax; much like he had earlier this morning. The fresh air was definitely a change for the better compared to the smell of his own stuffy room upstairs. At least his mother got one thing right.

Five days passed in the same fashion as the first. Sasuke was finally starting to get into the whole routine of things. He'd even developed an inner alarm clock, always waking up five minutes before his actual vibrating alarm ever went off. He was beginning to wonder why he even set it in the first place.

Everything was going great for the most part. Though Sasuke would be lying if he said he wasn't a little disappointed when Naruto failed to make another appearance. He hoped he hadn't made him too mad. Maybe walking off like that was a little too rude. Then again, if he couldn't handle a simple joke, he didn't want to get to know him.

A slender woman walked out her front door as Sasuke began to approach her box. Before he could get halfway there the lady began waving her arms to get his attention. Sasuke eyed her in confusion but decided to wave nonetheless. This only prompted the woman to begin yelling as she pointed directly in front of the brunet.

Before he had time to comprehend what she was trying to tell him, his foot got caught on a piece of cold metal causing him to fall hands first onto the rough sidewalk. The young woman was immediately by his side, grabbing onto his arm in an effort to help him to his feet.

Once off the ground, the brunet hobbled over to the fence for support and began looking for the godforsaken thing that did this to him. The woman noticed this and quickly gathered up two small bikes laying halfway in the street and halfway on the sidewalk.

Oh how Sasuke hated children.

While the lady picked up after her kids, Sasuke assessed the damage done to his body.

Scraped hands.

Sprained ankle.

Nothing an ice pack and a little antibiotic cream couldn't handle.

The brunet barely noticed when the woman made her way back. She stood before him with an apologetic look in her eyes. She'd apparently spoken to him already and was awaiting an answer. Figuring it was something along the lines of "Are you okay?", he smiled and nodded.

It's no big deal.

The sudden change in the woman's face couldn't have been more obvious. She went from looking humble to completely horrified in a matter of seconds.

"Oh, you're deaf."

Sasuke heard that one loud and clear. And he couldn't help but notice how her eyes suddenly shifted towards her home in a desperate plea to get away. Looking him straight in the eyes, she began to speak slowly as if Sasuke were a small child just learning how to talk. "I'm... so... sorry... this... happened." The young lady fumbled her fingers around in a nervous way before reaching out to pat him on the shoulder and turning around to retreat into her house.

The spot where she touched him practically burned. Sasuke glared holes into the door as he clenched his fists in anger. How could someone act so ignorant? She all but ran away screaming.

He wasn't a serial killer.

He wasn't diseased.

So why act in such a way?

Sasuke straightened his bag before looking back at the house one last time. He already knew the answer.

'Because it's awkward and uncomfortable.'

Thinking about it, he couldn't really blame the woman for her reaction. For all he knew, if he'd been born 'normal', he could hold the same prejudices. She probably didn't even realize how bad the way she acted looked to him.

The brunet shook his head as if to rid himself of any thoughts about the indecent and began walking to his last cluster of houses. Using fences and poles as support, he eventually made it to his last delivery point. As the box came into view he noticed a hunched over figure sitting near the edge of the sidewalk. On closer inspection he quickly realized it was Naruto.

Sasuke continued to hobble over to the boy with all the grace of a bull in a china shop. Yet, the blond failed to notice his presence in the slightest.

'And I thought I was the deaf one...'

Naruto glanced upward as Sasuke poked him in the arm with his newspaper. The side of his face was pink with a fine outline of his jacket zipper imprinted on his cheek.

Only a moron would fall asleep on the side of the road.

The blond sat still for a minute as he regained consciousness. After a minute or two he grinned while swiftly pulling a small notepad and pen out of his jacket. He then began jotting something down prior to handing it over for Sasuke to read.

'What took you so long? I've been waiting forever. I even fell asleep!'

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he read the short note but replied nonetheless.

'Because I never would have figured that out on my own. Not with the drool running down your chin and all.'

Naruto was smiling like he'd won the lottery as he watched the brunet write a response. He was more than proud of himself for coming up with such a simple way to talk to Sasuke. He was so excited to show off his idea that he came outside an hour early to wait for the boy to arrive. Though, he did seem to underestimate his fatigue.

Sasuke handed over the pad and watched as the blonds face fell. Naruto immediately wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve and glared up at the offending boy. "Asshole."

The brunet smirked while limping towards the right side of Naruto and sitting down. The blue-eyed boy watched in concern as he did so and picked up the pen; ready to ask about what happened.

Sensing this, Sasuke snatched the stationary away to save him some time. 'Tripped a few houses back. Sprained my ankle.' Tapping the pen against his chin, he pondered whether or not to ask where Naruto had been the past few days. He wanted to know the answer but didn't want to admit that he'd noticed the blonds absence. Deciding to suck it up and ask, he continued writing. '...Where have you been?'

'And I figured you as a more graceful type... Ah nowhere. I was sick. Miss me?' The blond flashed him a mischievous smile as he handed Sasuke the pad.

'Hardly.'

'That's only cause you don't know me yet. Just wait. ...So are you going to tell me your name now?'

Naruto watched Sasuke's reaction to the question while giving him his best puppy dog face. The raven was quick to answer, handing the notepad back to it's owner and standing up.

'Nope.'

"You bastard." Naruto mumbled as he stood up as well. "Need any help?" Realizing he'd just asked that out loud instead of writing it down, he mentally face-palmed and fixed his mistake.

'Need help getting home?'

Sasuke leaned against the fence and shook his head. He made it this far without any help. He was sure he'd be fine on his own.

Naruto watched as he staggered down the street and towards a small intersection. The blond realized they both must have been thinking the same thing as Sasuke slowed down to a stop as he reached the end of the road: How the heck was he suppose to cross the street? There was nothing to hold onto.

Sasuke exhaled as his face tightened in determination. Gradually he began to hobble out into the road, careful not to add any unwanted pressure to his right ankle.

It all seemed much easier in his head than it did now. He was beginning to wish he'd taken Naruto's offer earlier but he wasn't about to turn around and ask for help.

He never asked anyone for help.

Let alone someone he barely knew.

Just as he wished it, a blond blur rushed to his side and held on to his waist for support. Sasuke glanced at the boy in confusion. Confusion slowly turned to anger as the brunet allowed his face to scrunch up into a hard scowl.

Why did this guy want to help him?

Why was he so bent on getting to know him?

This wasn't how things worked.

People weren't suppose to act like this towards him. They were suppose to be like the woman he met earlier. That's the way it had always been.

Either that, or they were overly nice to him. Which was even worse in Sasuke's eyes. He didn't need babying just because he couldn't hear.

Figuring enough was enough, Sasuke stopped in his tracks causing the blond to stagger. He wanted answers. He needed to know his intentions.

Grabbing for the notepad, he wrote the question that had been bugging him since they started walking together. 'Why are you doing this?'

Naruto lifted an eyebrow and answered back. 'Because you're hurt. You would have been run over by now if I hadn't stepped in.'

Sasuke shook his head as he took the pen back. That wasn't what he meant at all. 'Why do you keep trying to talk to me? To get to know me?' If the blond replied with something like 'You look like you need a friend', he was going to punch the guy.

"Ohhh, I see what you mean now." Naruto quickly scribbled something down and handed the pad over. 'I don't know.' To further prove his point he shrugged while giving Sasuke his most genuine smile.

Sasuke furrowed his brows as he read the note before studying the boy in front of him.

This guy was something else.

Not wanting to continue the conversation, Sasuke shoved the stationary into his bag and grabbed onto Naruto once again. Taking the hint, Naruto began to walk at a steady pace.

By the time they made it to Sasuke's house, said boy's ankle was swollen to the size of a baseball. Naruto walked him to the door and stepped back, letting go of the other boys waist. The wind began picking up causing a small shiver to work its way up his spine. "Well, I guess my work here is done." He looked into the others eyes before shrugging and turning around.

Sasuke couldn't help himself. Before he realized what he was doing, he reached and and grabbed the blond's arm. Much like Naruto had done him the first day they met.

The entire way home Sasuke had been thinking about their earlier conversation. He didn't understand it all and it frustrated him. That is, until Naruto looked at him like he just did. It was a hopeful look. A look that no one else had ever given him besides his brother.

It was the look of a friend.

Of someone who genuinely wanted to get to know him.

Naruto stood there puzzled as Sasuke reached into his bag and took out the notepad one last time. After scribbling something down he quickly shoved the note into the others jacket pocket and scurried inside his home, not giving Naruto any time to reply.

The blond raised an eyebrow as he pulled the note out of his pocket. It was only one word. But that word was enough to put an honest smile on his face.

'Sasuke.'

Authors Note: Well, there's the set up for the rest of the story. Do you like it?! :D This idea hit me at 3:00 AM and I just had to write it down right then and there. So hopefully it came out okay. Also, this is most likely going to be Sasunarusasu just because most people would make the person with the disability weak... And I want to avoid that. Sasuke will be dominate in different ways though since I'm tired of seeing the same cliches written over and over again. I'll try to make this as unique as possible.

Important: I'm planning on making this story rated M soon. But since I'm new to this, I'm open to you guy's opinions. If you're not comfortable with adult situations, let me know. If majority doesn't want it, then I may reconsider and work around those parts. So speak up and let me know whether or not you want me to up the rating!

Key: Just in case anyone got confused.
'Thoughts'
"Talking"
Sign language
'Writing'