This actually started out as the prologue to a fanfiction that I'm very excited about writing. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it in that story (or if the story will actually become a reality -.-), but it does make a cute little drabble.

Disclaimer: The characters of Naruto belong to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei, and I am unworthy.

Four hundred two words: Friendship

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Naruto liked Gaara.

They were both six and had the same teacher at school. They lived in the same house with a lot of other kids who also didn't have mommies and daddies, and they shared a room in that house with another little boy. Gaara had a stuffed bear that he took everywhere, and Naruto had a stuffed frog that he took everywhere. Most importantly, neither of them had very many friends.

Naruto asked Gaara if they could be friends.

Gaara stopped playing and looked up at him. His eyes stopped on Naruto's frog, on Naruto's smile, on Naruto's shirt almost falling off his shoulder. He said 'no.' And he continued playing, piling mud into an old, cracked bucket.

When Naruto asked why not, Gaara picked up a handful of dirt that hadn't been made into mud yet and threw it at him.

Naruto did the only thing a six-year-old boy would do when he liked someone and was refused friendship.

He pushed Gaara down into the mud, teddy bear and all.

He screamed, 'Pay attention to me!' and stormed off.

And Gaara stared after him in disbelief, because everyone usually just left him alone when he said 'no.' He was very used to getting his way. And he didn't like the feeling of mud seeping through the back of his shirt.

Over the next few weeks, though Gaara only ignored him, Naruto continued to try to gain his attention. He would splash Gaara at the water fountains. He would run over and take the swing Gaara was about to sit in. He would knock Gaara's newly sharpened pencils off his desk.

But one day he went too far.

Naruto stole Mister Finklestein and hid him under one of the older kids' beds.

Gaara was frantic, looking for his stuffed bear. When Kankurou, the only older kid Gaara trusted, handed Mister Finklestein to him and said that Naruto had put it under his bed, Gaara was very angry. He sought Naruto out.

Naruto was swinging in the small back yard, and Gaara grabbed the swing as it came down. Gaara watched as Naruto fell face-first on the ground, expecting to have to fight now.

But Naruto stood up and wiped the dirt from his face and turned to Gaara with this big grin on his face and said, 'Wanna be my friend?'

Gaara sighed and suggested they play in the sandbox.