Yet another angsty SasuNaru ficlet.

Sasuke and Naruto are not in a relationship.

They are not "together".

They are not dating.

And they are not in love.

People in relationships act differently than the way Sasuke and Naruto do.

When you're in a relationship you say nice things. You whisper sweet words in each other's ear and they have pet names for one another.

"Oi, Sasuke-bastard! Let's spar," Naruto yells.

"Fine, dobe"

"Don't call me that you asshole!"

"Why shouldn't I? It's true isn't it, usuratonkachi?"

They will proceed to fight until they are exhausted, all the while yelling insults and calling each other 'dead last' and "teme"

If anyone cares to notice, Sasuke will call only Naruto 'Usuratonkachi' and 'Dobe', because Naruto is the only one deserving of these names and not because it would feel awkward and strange to call someone else that.

After all, they are not in a relationship.

Sasuke and Naruto are not "together". People that are together go places with each other. They will stay in a fancy hotel and eat at a nice restaurant. They will enjoy sharing the bed with each other.

"Kakashi-sensei? What are we having for dinner?" Sakura asks. He smiles and replies, "whatever you can catch."

Naruto grumbles about not having ramen and he and Sasuke end up having to catch a rabbit to eat for dinner. No one on their team enjoys it very much; it is tough, badly seasoned and over-cooked.

That night you will be able to hear two boys whispering loudly at each other from the tent they were made to share.

"Move over!"

"I can't"

"Like hell, you've got plenty of room!"

"Shut up, usuratonkachi!"

"Stop hogging the covers"

"Give me some of the sheet"

Naruto doesn't enjoy sharing that tent and the only reason that he's so close to Sasuke in the morning is because it gets cold in the night. Not because he wants to.

Because they're not "together".

Sasuke and Naruto are not, in any shape or form, dating. When people are dating they go out together and take each other out for dinner. They enjoy each others company and talk in a civilized manner.

"Why are we eating ramen again?" Sasuke asks.

"Because we just got back from a mission, Sasuke-bastard." Naruto replies, stuffing his face.

"That's not a reason, dobe," Sasuke says.

"Shut-up, asshole, and enjoy your damn ramen!"

"Hn"

"Here's the check, Uchiha-san," says the ramen man. Sasuke sighs and says nothing. He always pays the check, because if he doesn't the idiot will annoy him. It's definitely not because he knows Naruto is tight on money that month.

In any case, they're not dating.

The main thing that Sasuke and Naruto are not is that they are not in love.

When people are in love with someone they will be hurt if that person leaves. They will be sad and they will feel an absence if the one they love leaves.

"Naruto, Sasuke left. He's run away."

When Naruto hears this he's angry, not sad. And when he fights Sasuke at the waterfall the only thing he wants to do is kick Sasuke's ass. Not think about how awful it will be if he really leaves.

And when Naruto is lying in the mud with Sasuke leaning over him, those aren't tears running down his cheeks, its rain, never mind that with the way Sasuke is leaning over him his face wouldn't be getting wet.

And the reason Naruto doesn't like Sai is because he's an asshole, not because Naruto feels he's trying to fill Sasuke's old place.

Sasuke doesn't miss anything from his old village, not his 'teacher' or his 'friends'. And he certainly doesn't miss Naruto, even though he does sometimes wish that his dreams were in color, instead of black and white, so he could just once more see those blue eyes and golden hair.

So, no, Sasuke and Naruto were not in a relationship.

They were not "together", they were not dating.

As for being in love, neither of them will admit it, but they certainly had something more than simple rivalry.