Note from the Author: Another really old NaruSasu one! Yay!

Porny: :flails: It's okay! I uploaded, like, three chapters in one day! Yeah, my jokes and things that happen usually come from life too. For example, in "Catch Without Arms" in the pool scene, where Hinata was making wet footprints, that was actually a reflection of me doing the same thing beside my pool a few hours before I'd written it. You know, for "Firefly" I was actually thinking it was more Naruto's POV. Because Sasuke went away. :sniffles and hugs Hinata plushy:

Lunarxshinobi: Well, first of all, new reviewer! :throws cookies: Second of all, yes. I do indeed feel like updating.

Book-manga-freak: It made me giggle that NaruSaku wasn't a word but NaruSasu was. Also, I have a reviewer named "Kichou" and it used to tell me it was wrong and corrected it as "Kikyou" and that made me giggle.

As Long As You're By My Side

That first moment we shared a glance at one another, a scent of a feeling was in the air of a very familiar smile.

There was a strange look on Naruto's face. It seemed as if he was deep in thought. To be honest, I didn't know how to react to that. I was so used to him just talking, never really paying attention to what came out of his mouth, as if he was trying to fill empty space. And now he was silent, pensive, and I wondered why.

We had just returned from a mission and were relaxing on the dock on the lake, letting the water wash away our fatigue. Naruto and I, somewhere along the road, had become friends and, though most of the time we spent together was spent in silence, we were close, and we knew each other well.

"What is it, Naruto?" I ventured to ask of the quiet blonde boy.

He smiled at me. "I was just remembering."

I leaned forward, wrapping my arms around my bare knees as the cool breeze made goose bumps form along my skin. "Remembering what?"

Here he chuckled. "About when we first met Kakashi. That day he tested us to see if he would take us as students … do you remember?"

I did. Kakashi had said he was going to fail all of us out of the program because we didn't work as a team, but he gave us a second chance. He had tied Naruto to a log for trying to get food before we were allowed to have it, and told us not to let him have any, or we'd fail by default. I had shared my lunch with him, and in the end, that's what Kakashi had wanted us to do.

I nodded, staring out across the water to where the sun was beginning to set. "Yeah, I remember." I said quietly. "What would make you think about that?"

Naruto leaned back on his hands. "I was thinking about how you guys forgot to untie me. I was really kind of hurt." He laughed self-consciously. "I was so used to people forgetting about me, but it tore at me when it happened." He was quiet for a moment, his eyes tracking a hawk that soared across the sky over the water. "I was thinking about how you turned around, and saw me there, and you smiled, and it seemed so genuine, like you were actually happy to see me. You came back to untie me, and walked with me home." He sighed contentedly. "Every time we fought, or you irritated me, I thought about that, and it kept me from killing you."

I snorted skeptically. "Like you could kill me."

Naruto grinned, then shrugged, but didn't argue. His smile faded away. "When I thought Haku had killed you, your smile just kept playing through my mind, driving my rage. It was like all I had been working for was gone – my only friend was dead. It killed me a little."

I sighed and set my chin on my arms, letting my black hair blow across my face. "You know something?" I waited until he looked at me to continue. "Sometimes I think you're the only reason I don't regret not dying that day. I remember as I fell, all I could think was, 'At least Naruto is alright.' I didn't care about what happened to me. I still don't sometimes."

He gripped my hand and pulled it into his lap. I closed my eyes as it lay warm between his stomach and his palm. "I wish you wouldn't say things like that." He said quietly, his voice quaking slightly. "All I've ever wanted was for you to be happy. I get so frustrated when I can't get you to smile, or to even tease me, like I've failed somewhere." He looked over at me, his wide blue eyes shining. "There will always be a part of me that loves you and just wants to make you happy, to make you feel like life is worth living."

I didn't know what to say. I just sat and looked at him as we held hands and he looked back at me. I had spent my life pushing everyone away, not letting anyone get close enough to hurt me. But in shutting myself off from the chance of pain, I was shutting myself off from the chance of love too.

I pulled my hand away from his and uncurled my legs. I slipped my arms around his middle, settling my head against his chest, my hands fisting in the fabric of his orange jacket. He didn't say anything, just wrapped an arm around my waist and laid his cheek against my hair. We sat there like that for what felt like hours, but it was perfect, and I was happy. Slowly, I felt my lips curve up into a smile.

There will be many sad feelings come to hold me down but I'll never be hurt by sadness again as long as you're by my side.