Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and Co. They belong to the immensely talented Kishimoto Masashi.

Naruto stood on top of the hill, staring at the unusual display of lights across the sky. According to Konoha legend, this only happened rarely this far south, and was considered a good omen for anyone watching. He heard feet approaching behind him, and didn't turn around, as he could tell from the slight amount of chakra the approaching person was giving off that it was Gaara.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" he asked, voice deeper than it had been when the two had first met, on a battle field, four years before.
"Yes," Gaara agreed. He hadn't really changed that much in four years, just a slight deepening of his voice, as well as having grown a bit taller. Compared to Naruto, he was short, as the blond Leaf Jounin had grown a lot, and was now taller than Sasuke.
"I wonder what makes the lights," Naruto mused as the colors shifted from blue to green to purple and back again.
"Maybe it's excess chakra that hasn't been used since the last time they were visible here?" Naruto's quiet snort told Gaara exactly what he thought of that. "It was just speculation."
"I know, but somehow I highly doubt that it's chakra." Naruto idly adjusted his forehead protector as the colors changed again. Slit pupils in icy blue eyes missed little, and he was used to the claws. No one but his closest friends knew that he and the Nine-tails literally were one in the body; it was a well guarded secret. As for how it had come about.. Being on the brink of death with the Nine-tails trying to escape, and pushing himself to the limit hadn't exactly stopped Naruto from protecting his village. And he'd managed to lock the Nine-tails inside again, but with the interesting side benefit - or curse - of them being so intertwined that they weren't really separate entities anymore. He'd quickly adapted and learned to be careful with his chakra, as he didn't want a mistake destroying the village.
Gaara watched Naruto, his dark eyes following his friends movements. But are we just friends, or are we more? was something Gaara had been wondering for a couple years now. But somehow he could never get up the courage to ask Naruto whether they were friends, or something more. He always seemed to find it odd that he'd faced down strong fighters like Sasuke, Naruto himself, Kimimaru and Orochimaru, but couldn't ask Naruto one simple question.
As it turned out, he wouldn't have to.
"Gaara," Naruto asked suddenly, startling the Sand Jounin, "do you believe in love?"
Gaara blinked. "I didn't before I met you, but I do now. And you know that."
"Yes, well," he shifted uncomfortably, obviously trying to find the right words. "Do you think it's right for one man to love another?"
Gaara mulled it over, trying to figure out what he meant. "Naruto.. Why are you asking?"
He took a deep breath. "Because I think I'm in love with another man."
"Then you should tell him," Gaara answered. "It's your business, and his, not anybody elses. Aren't you always telling me that people will believe what they see, and nothing else?"
"Some people like to stick their noses where they don't belong," the blond muttered by way of an answer, drawing a short laugh out of the shorter male. "But you know what? I think I will tell him what I feel..and it's up to him from there."
Gaara realized something with a start, and blinked at Naruto. "You're scared, aren't you?" he blurted.
"Yeah," Naruto agreed - reluctantly, in Gaara's eyes. "It's not like I've ever really told anyone that I love them, you know."
"Don't need to bite my head off."
"Sorry."
After a while, when Naruto hadn't made any move to leave and find his mysterious love, Gaara felt compelled to say something. "Naruto, who is the man you're in love with?"
Much to Gaara's surprise, Naruto turned and embraced him, then pulled back a bit. "You."
Gaara felt his jaw drop open, and could see the amusement dancing in Naruto's eyes, and the almost desperate glint behind that. Gaara was silent for a minute, and Naruto started to pull away, but Gaara's hand curled into a fist on his sleeve, stopping him. The Sand Jounin was acutely aware of Naruto's strong, lean fingered hand on his hip, and did his best to ignore it as he looked into Naruto's eyes. "You know we're going to generate gossip," he mentioned casually.
Naruto smirked, lifted his right hand so that it was curled into a loose fist underneath Gaara's chin, his thumb slowly stroking the other man's lower lip. "Didn't you just tell me that it's just between us?"
"So I did," Gaara agreed.
"Is it wrong to love?"
"Hell, no," Gaara answered, a bit shocked but much more interested in Naruto's mouth, which was slowly inching closer to his own.
"Then shut up, Gaara of the Sand, and kiss me."
Gaara did the prudent thing. He kissed Naruto.
In later years the two would look back on that night and laugh quietly, but at that moment, backlit by the stars and rippling fields of colored light, it was a brand new beginning, the start of a whole different thing.

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First attempt at shonen-ai; sorry for the shortness. What do you think? Drop me a review, or an e-mail. Inspired while working on coloring a pic: http:www. deviantart .com deviation/ 10498308/ -- just take the spaces out, and you'll see it.

--Myuu