Hi there ^^ more details about me and about this collection are at the end of this chapter. For now, please enjoy this first drabble ~

This drabble is partly AU, by the way, because the massacre didn't happen, so Sasuke-chan is a lot nicer and child-like.

My Sasuke-friend

Sasuke and Sakura

Nine-year-old Sakura chewed absently on her gum, waiting for Sasuke to uncover his ears. She huffed, exasperated. "Come on, it's not like I said something that awful."

He was staring at the ground, and his hands were still firmly held over his ears.

She sighed and threw up her arms. "Seriously, Sasuke, sooner or later you'll have to accept the fact that Itachi has a girlfriend." She crossed her arms, glaring at him.

His face scrunched up in a grimace, proving that he still heard her, despite his covered ears. "That's weird, I don't want to think about it," he grumbled. He let his hands fall to his sides, defeated. "It's no good, I can't unhear what you said."

A wide smile stretched on Sakura's lips and she bounced on her feet. "See, I told you it's no use," she said in a sing-song voice. She turned around and started marching on the street. "Let's go now, remember your mom asked us to buy tomatoes."

Sasuke followed after her, an odd expression still on his face. "I can't believe he actually has a girlfriend."

Sakura looked back at him over her shoulder, bursting into giggles. "The way you say it makes it seem like a girlfriend is some kind of mosquito that drains all your blood."

He quirked up an eyebrow. "Isn't that how it is?"

She stopped walking, allowing him to catch up with her, just so she could pat him on the head. As expected, he quickly ducked away with a scowl, but she kept grinning. "Oh, Sasuke, one day you might change your mind." What she didn't say was, she wouldn't mind being the one to change his mind.

He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the locks that she had smoothed down. "No way, I'd rather date Naruto. And I'd never date Naruto."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Fine then, I might as well take your example." She sidled up to him and put her arm around his shoulders.

He whipped his head around to look at her with wide, scandalized eyes. "S-Sakura?!"

She pondered whether to smile or act nonchalantly. In the end her playfulness won out and she grinned from ear to ear. "Well, I just decided I don't ever want a boyfriend, either, so this means I'm no longer interested in dating you... which means it's okay if I invade your personal space," she explained.

Sasuke eyed the arm around his shoulders with a kind of reluctance he usually reserved for broccoli and carrots. "I don't know, that doesn't sound very believable."

Sakura gasped and froze in place, letting him walk out from under her arm. She blinked quickly, like she was trying to keep tears at bay. "B-but, Sasuke! You don't believe me?" She hid her face behind her hands. "Am I not your best friend anymore?" she wailed, falling down to her knees on the ground.

Her face was mostly covered, but she'd kept one tiny sliver of space through which she could peek at Sasuke's reaction. He looked utterly confused. He took small steps towards her, and knelt on the ground, putting one of his hands over hers. He cleared his throat. "Um, Sakura?"

She had been holding her breath, so she exhaled softly. "Yes?" she nearly whispered.

He placed his second hand above her other hand, accidentally covering the space she had been peeking through. She pursed her lips. At least he was kind of holding her hands, in a way. He was breathing evenly, and she wondered when he was going to speak. It was weird, not being able to see his face. Reading his expressions and decoding them, that was an ability that she prided herself on. Having that supply of expressions be suddenly cut off was starting to test her patience.

He cleared his throat again, and she focused on anticipating the sound of his voice. "I'm not sure how to put this..."

Oh no! Was he really going to tell he that she wasn't his best friend anymore? She hadn't said that seriously, she had no idea that they'd been drifting apart - it couldn't be true!

He pressed his hands onto hers, in what felt too much like an apologetic gesture. "Sakura-"

"Please don't say we're not friends anymore," she quickly cut in. "We're still friends, right?"

She heard him inhale deeply. "Sakura." There was an odd undertone in his voice, something like exasperation, maybe, but she couldn't be certain at all without seeing his face. "Sakura, you're still my best friend."

She let out a loud sigh, feeling as if the entire Hokage Mountain had been lifted from her shoulders. "Oh, Sasuke-"

"But."

She paused, blinking to herself. She was getting tired of only seeing her own palms.

He continued, "I have to be honest with you. You're a terrible actress."

He removed his hands from her face then, and she did the same, finally seeing his amused expression. Oh, so that was the undertone she had been unable to pin down. Amusement. Still, she shook her head, confused about his words. "Actress? What do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes. "The whole 'crumbling to the ground' thing," he said, making air quotes with his fingers.

"Oh." She laughed sheepishly. "Well, uh, I wasn't giving it my best, that's all."

He stood up, glancing down the road that would lead them to the market. "Whatever you say..."

Sakura just stared at his thoughtful expression. He was actually turning around to start walking, as if he'd forgotten about her. She waved her arms to catch his attention. "Hey, are you going to leave me here?"

He looked back at her and she could tell that he was slightly wary. He was trying to read her, too. "Let's go, then," he offered with a shrug.

She pouted. "You're not going to help me up?"

He took a tentative step towards her. "Were you honest about not wanting a boyfriend?"

Ah, so this was supposed to be a moment of sincerity. She couldn't honestly say she'd been joking, though... She willed herself to not look away from his eyes. "I don't want a boyfriend." His eyebrows went up. "But I wouldn't mind having a Sasuke-friend."

His eyes widened slightly. "That's not like a boyfriend, right?"

She smiled sweetly to keep him from panicking. "No, no - not at all." She extended her hand towards him. "Okay?"

His shoulders relaxed, and he held out his hand, helping her stand up. "If you say so..." He was following her with his eyes, still cautious.

She simply grinned, putting her arm back around his shoulders. "Right! So, let's go buy some tomatoes."

His left eyebrow twitched a few times, but he started walking with her. "I don't mind being your Sasuke-friend, but that's all. Don't forget that."

She nodded seriously. "Sure, no problem," she said, giggling in her mind.

As they walked towards the marketplace, she felt him place his arm around her shoulders, too - grudgingly and hesitantly, but it was still something.

She pursed her lips to suppress a delighted grin.

So... Hi, I'm marzipan fox, I've been lurking on this site for a lot of years, and I've been writing for a while, too, but it's only now that I've gathered the courage to post something. I hope you found my first post at least slightly entertaining ^^'

About this drabble collection, I was thinking it'd be awesome if it could work like this: reviewers request a particular something, and I write it. You can request any pairing or no pairing, any genre, it can be AU if you want, too. I'd prefer to keep the drabbles T-rated at most, but this might change later on.

Please make your request as detailed as possible; you can suggest characters, a plot/a prompt, a general mood (fluffy, angsty etc), whether it's a relationship or just friendship fic, and anything you can think of ^^ Vague requests are okay, too, I guess. I promise I'll do my best to accept and fulfill all requests.

Aside from that, any comments/constructive criticism about my writing is highly appreciated and rewarded with imaginary cookies ~~~

Thanks for reading, and I'll be waiting for your requests ^^