A/N: experimental and short little ficlet thingy.

Pairings: sasunaru and one sided sakusasu and narusaku

Warnings: sap, fluff, shounen-ai, weird and pointless

Disclaimer: not mine

-Triangles-

It wasn't love at first sight. She wasn't exactly sure when she fell in love with him but she was sure that it wasn't when she first saw him. At that time she'd still been too shy and too young to think of such things. That changed, of course, as she grew older and met Ino and gained more confidence in herself. And she fell in love.

It wasn't hard to see why ever girl near her age fell for the boy. He was good looking, he was smart, he was popular and he came from a respected –if almost extinct- bloodline. It was almost impossible to not fall in love with him.

She had been ecstatic to know that she'd be in the same team as him. Unfortunately… she wasn't as happy about the third member of team 7.

It wasn't love at first sight. But he did know exactly when he fell in love with her. It was back when they were still attending the academy but he didn't fall in love with her the first time he saw her. It was impossible since he didn't know what love was. When he did learn the meaning of that word he decided that he needed to love someone too.

She was perfect. She was pretty and smart and popular among other boys… but not to the extent that Sasuke was among the girls. He decided that she would be the one he loved.

It was too bad that she didn't like him. It was too bad that she was already in love with someone else. He was happy that she was in the same team as him but… he wasn't too upset that his rival was in the same team as well.

He was absolutely sure it wasn't love at all. How could it be when he thought he was an annoying immature idiot? But he had to admit that it was getting harder and harder to convince himself that it wasn't love he felt.

At first he had been just another meaningless boy. He was not supposed to be important. He wasn't smart or good looking or good at anything really but… he was loud and bright and impossible to ignore. It was only a matter of time before the walls he had built after the betrayal of his brother started to corrode under the constant assault.

Being on the same team with the source of his irritation was first a curse and later… not exactly a blessing but not all that bad either. It allowed him to be near the other boy without having to make any effort.

Falling out of love had been easier than she had thought. There had been no tears or drama or broken hearts. It just happened gradually over time until she noticed that her heart didn't jump every time he talked or looked at her. It helped to know that he had never really loved her. He had always been in love with someone else and she had never stood a chance.

She moved on and fell in love with a boy that loved her back. It was an exhilarating feeling to be loved back and she didn't regret the change. For the first time she was really truly happy, and she could see that the boy was happier too, now that her feelings weren't weighing him down. It was then that she gained something she had been missing when she had loved him; his friendship.

It came as a shock to him when he realized that he was no longer in love with her. What made it even more surprising was when he realized that he hadn't been in love with her for a long time. He had just kept acting like he was because that's what he always had done. In the end he only thought about it because she asked him to really think about it.

She had smiled at him and told him that there was probably someone else already. He realized that it was the first time she had smiled at him like that and he liked it. Being finally accepted as her friend felt better than being in love with her had felt. He also knew now that it wasn't her he loved. It was someone else now and he had a feeling that had been the case for a long time.

He had expected the feeling to pass over time. The fights and nearly three years of separation had not managed to kill the feeling, and when he finally saw the boy again his heart ached. It hurt when they were standing on the opposite sides glaring and spitting out hurtful words. Yet he did all that. Falling out of love would have been a blessing since that would've meant and end to the hurting.

It took him completely by surprise to hear the three words from the other boy's mouth. It was the last thing he had ever expected him to say to him of all people. Wasn't he in love with her? And why did those words hurt as much as all that 'I hate you's that they had thrown at each other during the years? And he had smiled at him and told him that he had just wanted to say the words. Told him that those words had been on his tongue for a long time now. He had smiled, offered the words and asked for nothing in return.

What choice did he have but to give in?

-End-

End A/N: got attacked by plotbunnies in the shower… very dangerous as you can see (shivers)