Disclaimer: This is a purely non-profit story for entertainment purposes only. The characters of Naruto belong to their respective owners.

Author's Notes: Hey, my first Naruto fic! I haven't watched the show in ages, but watching it last night gave me some inspiration to write this. This started out as a general idea that I had no fandom to commit to (as most of my fics do), but then I liked how it worked with these characters and stuck to that. It may be a little OOC, but I'm trying to explore. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Just as Susceptible

"Please teach me how to live a little more vulnerably than I do now…"

He couldn't say he hated him. That word was far too inaccurate. Exasperated was a little closer, but it wasn't quite right, either. Everyone knew Naruto was a total screw-up who couldn't think to save his life, and he was lazy and loud and would do anything for a bowl of ramen, but the facts themselves had long ago ceased to bother him. His subconscious admission of this fact had been shoved aside, because if those things didn't irritate him, he couldn't quite put his finger on how he felt. If it wasn't Naruto that bothered him, what bothered him about Naruto?

His teammate was just another nuisance to him: another person to get in his way, another person for him to worry about. As much as Naruto's outrageous habits irked him (he figured irked was a more reasonable term – exasperated was a little too light), he could admit they weren't the only reason he was so easily nettled around the blond. Blond… where did the guy get off having blond hair, anyway? Simply his hair was an affront to Sasuke's refined senses. And those eyes… blue? So blindingly blue and so totally open that you can't gaze at them for too long, afraid that you'll be sucked in? Who gave him the right to be such an outrage?

The digression of his thoughts was vaguely alarming to Sasuke, but he shook it off as his mind caught on to its original train of thought. Disgruntled? No, that didn't fit. Riled? Warmer, but still off. Vexed? He paused to mull it over. What had made him say vexed? There was nothing about Naruto he didn't know; at least, nothing he didn't know that he wanted to. Besides, the guy was an open book – if you wanted to, you could just read.

Suddenly the thought struck him, and the realization and acceptance of such a thing was almost too painful for him to bear. That was it; Naruto was an open book. If he didn't like something, he'd whine and complain. If he enjoyed something particularly much, he'd smile and act like an idiot (well, more than usual). You never had to guess what he was thinking, because he would tell you. It went against everything Sasuke had lived by and believed in.

He finally came to the cause of his vexation. How could someone live so honesty, so… vulnerably? Since childhood, Sasuke had never been much of a talker. He had always been of the opinion that the less you gave away, the greater your advantage over your opponent. To an extent, he was right; his sharingan was the power of mimicking, using other people's 'tells' against them. It was probably for this reason that he kept so much hidden, knowing his blood gift was his ultimate weapon. Yet, the fool was able to live so openly without getting himself killed, and had even (he admitted grudgingly) saved him a few times. How was it possible?

Sometimes he felt a twinge of jealousy, wishing to live such a carefree life. But he knew Naruto's life had not been wonderful, either. How was it that he always managed to smile? How was it that nothing weighed on him the way it did on Sasuke? Was he never bitter at life?

Perhaps disturbed was the best way to describe it. It disturbed him that Naruto was so content, it disturbed him that Naruto was so stupid, and what disturbed him most of all was the fact that with every passing day, he enjoyed the idiot's company more and more. He wanted to be closer to him, to find out how he could live so vulnerably; he wanted to see, to feel, to learn. To learn how to be just as susceptible as everyone else.

Without warning, a rock struck him hard on the head, nearly causing him to fall off the fence he'd been sitting on. Its thrower, obviously surprised at Sasuke's complete obliviousness, was more concerned about his safety than gloating.

"Whoa, Sasuke, you ok? I was expecting you to catch that…" Naruto finished impishly, scratching the back of his head.

"What do you want?" Sasuke called down, wanting to steer the conversation away from his near accident.

"Kakashi-sensei's buying us ramen, so hurry the hell up!" The blond glared menacingly (but it was overset by his broad grin) and scurried away. Once he was out of sight, Sasuke rubbed his reddened temple and jumped down to pick up the culprit rock in his hand.

There was still so much he didn't understand, about Naruto or himself, but he decided to save the thinking for later. For now…

"SASUKE!"

He had something that he'd be delighted to return to its owner.

END