Disclaimer: Oh, yeah. I totally own them. That's why Itachi friggin' DIED!

Author's Note: Hey, everybody. You all probably thought I died. Well, I didn't! No. Instead, I showed off my novella, graduated high school, and became a college student. It doesn't seem like much, but it's enough that I've cried like a baby multiple times. Oh. And it's my birthday. I'm now legally allowed to vote and have sex. Woo! ... Yeah. Pft. I care. We're not doing anything special - mom's working, my grandpa and aunt and senile, and my dad's a non-disclosable word. So I get to stay home with my brother and babysit. On my birthday. Without my friends. What a friggin' RIPOFF!

So this year for my birthday present... Would you all review and tell me what you think, please? Feedback to make a crappy day into something to smile about.

Title: Seeking Solace
Characters: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha
Rating: K
Warnings: none
Pairing: none
Summary: Everyone has fears, some worse than others.
Please Note! Takes place in the same universe as prompt #1.

Prompt 5: Seeking Solace

Naruto Uzumaki had grown up knowing anger, knowing solitude, knowing fear. It didn't occur to him that he wasn't alone in that regard until the summer before he turned thirteen.

It was raining outside. Sure, it was early spring, and the earth needed a nice drink of water after the harsh winter months, but Naruto had been looking forward to a day to goof off and train with his friends. It didn't matter that he did that every day; today would have been special. He and Sasuke had planned to hang out afterward and maybe even have a sleep over.

But now that it was raining, Naruto knew the whole deal was off. No one wanted to train in the rain, especially with a bug going around.

Suddenly, a brilliant streak of lightning shot across the sky. It struck one of the trees near the top of the Hokage mountain, but the resulting fire was put out in mere moments. Sometime thereafter, Naruto was jolted out of his stupor by a rather insistant knock at his door.

Naruto fell off of his perch with a soft yelp and began stumbling his way over to the door, cursing and mumbling about sleeping body parts.

Imagine his surprise when he opened the door to find one very wet Sasuke Uchiha.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked curiously, cerulean eyes wide.

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. "Can I come in?"

"O-oh, yeah. Come on in."

Sasuke did so, moving in a manner that unnerved Naruto. Only after Sasuke had shrugged off his soaked jacket and sat gingerly on the edge of the couch did Naruto think to ask, "So, what're you doing here, Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't answer. His eyes had strayed to the window and were focused there. Naruto frowned and tried to ignore the nagging feeling that he was forgetting something.

"Do you want some dry clothing, or something? We're close to the same size."

Sasuke nodded once, gaze never leaving the rain-streaked window, and Naruto hurried out of the room.

When he came back, a black shirt and matching shorts hanging over his arm, he stopped short and began staring. While he'd been out of the room, Sasuke had stripped down to his underwear and was sitting with his legs drawn close to his chest, face buried against his knees.

He looked so...

Helpless.

It was at that moment that Naruto remembered why.

Three years ago, just before Sasuke's ninth birthday, his older brother had murdered the entire Uchiha clan, leaving only himself and Sasuke alive.

It had been storming that day as well.

Tears, not necessarily those of pity, pricked at Naruto's eyes as he coughed softly to get the other's attention.

Sasuke's head shot up, dark eyes locking onto Naruto's. "What?"

Naruto shrugged and tossed him the clothing, pretending not to look as Sasuke slowly got dressed. When Sasuke had sat back down, one leg drawn to his chest, the other stretched out along the couch cushion, only then did Naruto take a seat near the boy.

"Hungry?"

Nothing.

"Thirsty?"

Nada.

"Tired?"

Zilch.

"... Wanna talk?"

Bingo.

"No," Sasuke mumbled immediately.

"Okay," Naruto replied with a wise smile. He leaned back, resting comfortably against the back of the couch, blue eyes closing in a hazy sense of relaxation.

Silence, and then: "Don't you want to know?"

One eye opened just the tiniest bit and followed the contours of the cracks on the ceiling. "Hmm?"

"I said, don't you want to know?"

"Know what?" At this point, both eyes had opened and were focused on a point far above their heads.

"Anything. Everything. The story."

Both eyes shut, the smile growing. "Sasuke, we're best friends. If you want to talk to me, you know I'm here."

"Oh."

For a while, all they heard was the sound of rain pattering against the thin walls and roof. Only on one occasion did thunder crash through the air.

"Do you ever wish you knew who they were?" Sasuke asked after an eternity of silence, dark eyes following the path of one of the ill-fated raindrops as it coursed down the window.

"All the time," Naruto answered back without hesitation.

Another bout of silence. Then:

"Aren't you sleepy yet?" Sasuke asked in mild irritation.

"Nope," was the immediate reply. "But if you are, you can lay down. It won't bother me to have your head or feet in my lap," he added after a moment of deliberation.

Sasuke huffed softly. "There's not even a blanket here. What if we fall alseep?"

"We'll be fine," Naruto replied with one of his all-knowing grins.

"Fine." And with that, Sasuke stretched out so that his head rested in Naruto's lap, feet just barely dangling over the edge of the couch's arm.

"If you tell anyone about this, you're dead," Sasuke mumbled softly, eyes already closed.

And Naruto, being Naruto, merely smiled and continued staring out the window, his hand resting gently on the raven's head in his lap.

Ending Note: You know what's really sad? What I really want for my birthday cannot be bought nor sold.

I want my friends by my side for a day of fun. I haven't seen a majority of them since seniors got out of school more than a month ago. I want the guy I like to come home, 'cause I miss him. I want to tell him I love him. I just want to be a normal teen girl, surrounded by the people she loves. What do I get? ... Definitely not that.

Ergh. Enough pity party. Tell me what you think, please? I finally have a good idea for Prompt 6 "Break Away", so it might be up by Friday (if I'm lucky).

Anyways, later all.
Agent Silver, signing off.