Title: Grazed Knees
Summary: AU Sasuke and Naruto grew up together.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 1: Five years old.

Naruto sat on his own in the playground. He brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them tightly as he watched the other children playing happily. Iruka, his teacher, had tried several times to encourage them to let Naruto join in their games but they always refused.

"Naruto's different!"

"Naruto's a freak!"

"He's got whiskers on his cheeks!"

Naruto covered his ears with his hands and tried to block out the cruel chanting of the girls as they jumped rope. The more he tried to block the song out, the louder it seemed to get. Naruto stood on wobbly legs and went to run to the other side of the playground, away from the other kids.

He managed a couple of steps before he tripped and fell onto the hard floor. A whimper escaped his lips. He could see that the other children had stopped their games to point and laugh at him.

A boy with raven-coloured hair approached him and knelt on the floor beside him. He examined Naruto's grazed knees with his onyx eyes. "Does it hurt?"

"Y-Yeah," Naruto replied. Fat tears began to roll down his whiskered cheeks before he could stop them.

Sasuke watched as Iruka rushed over to them with a green first-aid kit in his hand.

He quickly stood up, brushed the dirt from his shorts and said, very quietly so no-one else but Naruto could hear, "I like your whiskers. I think they make you look cute."

Owari

Author's Note: Every chapter is going to be another part of their childhood up until sixteen/eighteen. Tell me what you think, reviews make me update stories faster!