Where Ever You are... Happy Birthday...
Naruto sighed as he rested his chin on his palm, fingering the picture frame in his hand. Behind the glass of the frame was the photograph taken of Team 7... it seemed like it had been taken ages ago, when it had only been three years. Naruto set the frame down on his bedside table, and ran his finger along the picture, tracing the outlines of the four people looking back at him. He smiled weakly at the rebelious expression his younger self had. Naruto sighed once again. He had been feeling unusually nostalgic lately, probably because that certain day had returned again.
The blonde was snapped out of his thoughts by two sharp knocks at his apartment door. Not caring that he had only a black sleeveless shirt and boxers on, he got up to answer it.
"Oh, ohayo, Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted the girl cheerfully and grinned. "Come on in!"
Sakura smiled brightly back at him, not seeming to care that he wasn't wearing any pants. She entered the apartment, and leaned on the wall to keep her balance while slipping off her boots. "Do you need to borrow something?" The teen asked her.
"No," Sakura answered. "I just decided to drop by for a visit." Once she was barefoot, she ventured deeper into the dwelling. She stopped in mid-step, noticing two gift-wrapped presents, one leaning on the other, on Naruto's beside table. She smiled, knowing whom they were for.
"So you remembered..." she trailed off.
Naruto's expression became solemn. "... Yeah. One for each year that he's been gone."
Today was July 23rd. Sasuke's birthday.
"Those two gifts... " Naruto began. "... Are sort of a reminder for me. They help me remember that one day, we will bring Sasuke back. And once he's back and has had the sense knocked back into him again, I'm going to give these to him, because I know for a fact that he's going to smile when he sees what they are... I'd do anything to see him smile."
"Oh, Naruto... " Sakura said softly. "That's ... that's ... deep ..."
Naruto rested his hand on the girl's shoulder, and turned his gaze to the window.
"Where ever you are ... Sasuke ... Happy birthday ..."
"Okay, Sasuke-kun! You can look now!"
Sasuke removed the blindfold from his eyes and gazed up at what Orochimaru had gotten him for his birthday.
A. Freaking. Big. Ass. SNAKE.
A freaking big ass snake with a large, pink bow that is. Sasuke wasn't sure if he should be excited, or scared shitless. Meanwhile, Orochimaru was smacking Kabuto away from the gigantic creature, saying something about Sasuke getting the first ride.
Ribbit.
Sasuke jumped slightly at the unexpected noise. His eyes searched through the grass for the source of the odd sound. It didn't take him too long to find, the frog was bright red, and it's skin contrasted with the green of the grass around it. Next to the squishy animal was a small, white slug with a blue stripe down it's back. Sasuke stared at the critters for a moment, but then his lips turned up slightly at the corners, reminiscing.
"Oh, Sasuke-kun! Come and take it for a spin!"
Sasuke looked up at his sensei, and nodded gently. "Oh ... uhm, okay ..." The Uchiha jogged towards the group, leaving the frog and the slug behind.
Wow, I thought that I wouldn't have another fic up for a couple of months. But inspiration came quick! Yup, this is written to celebrate Sasuke's b-day. Yeah, I know it's late. Anywho, this is based off of a three-page Naruto doujinshi that I'm currently drawing. When I'm finished, I'll post it on my Deviant Art account. My screenname there is FatHobbit. I hope you look forward to it!