Naruto felt lonely.

To change that, he decided to search among his friends for someone to help him. He was eighteen now, and even if puberty was wearing off, at least the times he felt like making an idiot out of himself had decreased significantly, the hormones were not. And when he oh so 'innocently'–coughcough- decided not to look at his friends but to check them out, he noticed three things that scared him shitless.

First, while he did enjoy looking at Ino's breasts jiggle each time she began to jump around, they didn't turn him on. What did turn him on however, was Kiba's sweaty, muscular back when the Inuzuka decided it was too warm to train with any more clothes than necessary.
His first reaction at the time was choking on the water he was drinking, and when his brown haired friend leaned down towards him to check if he was okay or actually needed help, all Naruto could do was follow the salty pearls of water trailing down the other's chest. He proceeded to choke some more. He then jumped to his feet, shouted something he didn't remember and dashed off to his apartment.

Once there, he slammed his door shut and leant against the wood, breathing heavily, all the while muttering colourful curses under his breath.
"What the hell was that?", he asked the innocent plant standing on the other side of room. He glared at it when it didn't answer.
Slumping down, he summoned up the little logical part of his brain to find the solution himself. And boy, it wasn't nice. After some whining, denying, realizing, sulking and glaring at the, the monster between his legs that betrayed him every time it twitched when he thought about his male friends and stayed still when he thought about his female friends, he gave in.

He liked men. Men. He, who had fussed over Sakura for years, liked MEN. He groaned and buried his face in his hands. This couldn't be true.
In a last desperate attempt of denial he tried to conjure a picture of any of his female friends in beach outfits.
That however soon proved to be one of his less smart ideas, when every single beautiful woman in his mind soon turned into a gorgeous (he whimpered again at that thought) man. He quickly scrambled to his feet to fetch a tissue to stop his nosebleed.

That's it, he thought humourlessly, I'm a lost case. I'm officially gay.

A couple of weeks later, incident number two happened.

It was still unbearable warm outside, and after a good sparring with Sasuke, he dragged his dark haired friend to a nearby river to cool off. He got rid of his Jōnin uniform in mere seconds and jumped head-first into the cool water. He returned to the surface and with a blissful sigh, before he looked over to his friend who just stood there and stared at him. He waved.
"Come on now, teme! Don't tell me you're being shy now?", he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
Said teme shot him an indignant look and huffed, before he too stripped down to his boxers. Ever since the war was over and he had rejoined the shinobi ranks of Konoha, they both were Jōnin now, they had both somewhat returned back to their normal. More precisely the normal bickering, rivalry and brotherhood they had shared before his departure. There were a few changes however, and Naruto had been utterly surprised when he first noticed them. They still (kind of) looked out for each other on missions, but at home now as well, it seemed.

Sasuke, after having lost his real brother even twice, seemed determined to not let something like that happen again. And so, when Naruto had ditched him once because he had received a nasty wound after a training session with Kiba, Sasuke had gone to find the Inuzuka. When he did, he had innocently asked him for some sparring as well.
As it turned out, the only reason the Uchiha did so was to beat the brunette into a bloody pulp for hurting his brother-in-everything-but-blood. After that incident, nearly all the shinobi in the village were a lot more careful around the Jinchūriki.
At first, Naruto had been irritated by the sudden change of behaviour towards him, but after pestering Sasuke enough to actually tell him, or rather scream it at him in the middle of a fist fight, he had felt warmth spreading through his guts. He had cooed "Awww, Sasuke-teme cares for me-!", and after that he had to nurse a nasty bruise on his head. But the gooey feeling in his stomach stayed. That was about one month ago, and about three weeks after he discovered his... preferences.

And right now, he was blissfully wading through the cool water and occasionally splashing water at the irritated Uchiha to engulf him into a full-scale water-battle. And after Naruto tackled the raven to pull him down into the water (how old were they again?), the stoic male snapped and fought back. And while they were at it, Naruto suddenly noticed all the things the girls liked about Sasuke. He ignored it however and instead settled with grabbing his friend's ankle, and swinging him over his head, throwing him back into the water a few feet away. When the raven broke through the surface again, sputtering and coughing up water, the blond snickered. When he caught the glare the other was throwing at him, it turned into laughter.
Sasuke huffed and decided they had fooled around enough (he did not loose, he merely decided enough was enough), and so he resumed relaxing for a bit. And so, he leaned, with his back against the shore, arms crossed behind his head as he looked up at the sky.
Naruto on the other hand, was slowly calming down and began looking at the other male intently. He watched the drops of water running down the pale, scarred skin, the lithe muscles moving... He zoned out.

After some time, Sasuke had the unnerving feeling of being watched. His eyebrow twitched.

He half-opened one of his eyes, and peeked over to his blond friend, who was staring at him with dazed eyes. His eyebrow twitched again, and he frowned. Wondering what the idiot was up to this time, he slowly swam through the water until he was in front of the blond. Still no reaction.
He briefly thought about experimenting with his Chidori Nagashi[1] in the water, but disregarded the idea; he'd probably fry himself as well. With a noise somewhere between a growl and a sigh, he simply smacked his friend on the head.
"What're you looking at?"
Instead of receiving an answer, a fact which caused his eyebrow to twitch again, the younger male stared at him again, eyes widening and slowly but steadily turning redder and redder. Another eyebrow-twitch. But when he opened his mouth to ask again, aggravated, Naruto broke out of his stupor.
"Igottagoseeyoutomorrowbye!"
And with that, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Now it was Sasuke turn to stare, dumbfounded. What the hell had that been? He glanced over to the pile of clothes the blond had left behind and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why was that idiot his best friend again...?

Naruto on the other hand stood panting in his apartment, his hands gripping the table in front of him tightly. He didn't even notice that he was nearly naked and dripping wet; he was way too busy being horrified by the recent events. He was attracted, to Sasuke. And if he took the tightness of his actually loose boxers into consideration, he was very attracted.
Groaning, he slumped onto the chair next to him and let his head fall onto the table with a loud thud. Right now, the usually cheerful, optimistic and content Uzumaki Naruto hated his very own life. He loathed it. And his hormones. And his imagination. And so much more.

After he wallowed in self-pity for a while, he sighed. He banged his head against the hard wood beneath his face once again before he mumbled wearily to no one in particular,
"That's it. I'm dead. He's going to kill me."
"Who's going to kill you?!"
With a loud yelp, Naruto pushed himself away from the table, got stuck with his chair on something, and crashed down onto the floor. And while he laid there, a tangled mess consisting of himself, a chair, and a blanket -he had no idea where that one came from- and tried to calm his frantic heart, the very man he had been thinking about stood in the door to his living room.
"Holy son of a... Crap, Sasuke! You scared me to death!"
The Uchiha merely blinked at him, not sure if he should be amused by his friend's idiocy, or if he should shake the name of the person that was going to kill the blond out of him. He settled for something entirely different.
"You forgot your clothes, baka. And what was that about someone going to kill you?", he added sweetly.
He watched as Naruto entangled himself and stood up again, running a hand through his wet hair, followed by a shake of his blond head.
"No one actually, I was just thinking about something stupid."
Sasuke looked at him insistently before he shrugged. He would find out sooner or later.

He let the neatly folded clothes in his hand fall onto the table and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Fine, don't tell me. But care to share what just happened at the river?"
With a tiny bit of amazement he noticed that Naruto turned beef red again before laughing awkwardly.
"I just, uh, thought of something and kind of... freaked out," the blond answered and scratched the back of his head. He grabbed the clothes on the table and turned to put them away-
"I guess it was something exciting then when you're trying to look like a hat rack, huh?"
-but instead he decided to run face-first into the door in front of him. Yes, he decided to do so, thank you very much.
Amused by his friends antics, Sasuke plopped down a chair, put his elbows on the table and his chin in his hands, a smug expression on his features. Had Naruto really thought he wouldn't notice? Geez, he was a shinobi, for god's sake, and a very good one as well.

Rubbing his nose and ignoring the blush in his face, Naruto glared at his friend. It were times like these where he wanted the old Sasuke back, not the new one who actually behaved like a friend even if it wasn't a life or death situation. Grumbling something incoherent under his breath, the blond suddenly blinked. Maybe he could turn the table...

Grinning smugly he sat down on the other chair and imitated the Uchiha's pose.
"Maybe. Jealous because I have someone to daydream over and you don't?"
Sasuke blinked. He certainly hadn't expected that. He tilted his head the tiniest bit.
"No, more like pitying because daydreaming is all you can do" he replied nonchalantly. He felt his eyebrow twitching again when Naruto inched closer over the table instead of blabbering nonsense.
"Aww, don't tell me you actually have a lover that isn't called 'your right hand'?"
Another twitch. But he took up the challenge and scooted closer as well.
"Perhaps. I met some interesting people the other day."
Naruto raised his eyebrows in suspicion, coming closer once again.
"Ohhh? Do tell."
Another inch less between their faces.
"So you can have your perverted daydreams over my acquaintances? No chance in hell, dobe."
Only five inches left.
"Why not, Sasuke-teme?" the blond mused, "I have to say, it appears to me that you are lying."
Four inches.
"Well, and it appears to me that you are foolishly trying to change the subject. Won't work with me", he shortly waved a finger in front of Naruto's nose, "So tell me."
Three inches.
"Why should it be of your concern?" A small pout. "For all you care I could be dreaming of Gekimayu-sensei[2] in a frilly apron. In nothing but a frilly apron."
There was that twitch again. Two inches.
"Only god knows why I put up with you, idiot, but since I do, it is of my concern. Not only would that image be incredibly disturbing, but it would also ruin my reputation."

To his surprise, Naruto didn't come closer and instead looked at him for a moment before laughing dryly.
Sasuke watched him for a while, mild confusion in his eyes. What was that now? The laughing slowly died into mere chuckling with a hint of bitterness. His friend's blue eyes turned to look at him, sparkling strangely.
"You. Always you. It's always about you, isn't it?" the blond mused while shaking his head and chuckling some more.
The raven stared at him. Okay, that comment had been kind of mean, he admitted, but they had both exchanged insults far worse than that and he'd never received a reaction like that so far. He didn't like it. And so he did something he would only for Naruto, at least for something trivial like this.
"I'm sorry. You know why I care, (anddon'tmakemesayit). If you don't want to tell me, fine. I won't ask again," he huffed, his eyes never leaving the blond. Who only laughed harder.
"That's a new one. The oh-so-mighty Uchiha Sasuke actually does not understand."

The 'mighty one' stared at Naruto. What the hell...? He blinked when the Jinchūriki suddenly turned to face him with a twisted amusement clearly readable on his features.
"Aww, come on now, teme, think about it! Weren't you supposed to be a genius?" he teased, "Now, what were we talking about?"
Sasuke thought. Hard. And after some moments, the pieces finally clicked into place.
"Oh..."
Naruto snorted. This was hilarious, really.
"Oh."
He bit on his bottom lip, his shoulders violently trembling with suppressed laughter.
"Ohhh..."
Taking a deep breath, Naruto decided it was time to save his dear friend from his own brain. But the look of pure astonishment, with the tiny, tiny hint of red on his cheeks, on his face was priceless. He snickered again.
"You're slowing down, teme. I'm disappointed."

Sasuke stared at him, bewildered. What in the name of – of – of whoever was happening?! And why the devil was that blond idiot laughing like a madman?
"Now really, idiot? You're telling me I'm the centre of your wet dreams and all you do is laugh?" he seethed.
Naruto waved his hand dismissively.
"Whoever told you that? I never said that. This hasn't happened before."
The blonde leaned back in his chair, carefully observing his friend who blinked at him.
"You mean, this is the first time that you...?"
"Yup."
"And this hasn't happened before?"
"Nope."
"And you're not lying?"
Naruto shot him a look.
"Right, right... But, uh, well... What now?"
The younger male shrugged.
"Nothing, really. I can't help what's going on in my head. I won't come on to you, don't worry. So how about we just act like this isn't happening at all?" They were good at that. Really good.
With a deep sigh, Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. Running through all the possibilities in his head, he finally nodded.
"Okay. But if you do something strange, I'll chop your balls off."
"Deal."

And so they returned to their former bantering. Admiringly, Naruto did succeed in acting like he wasn't affected by his best friend. Sure, there were the awkward moments when he caught himself staring or spacing out, but other than that... Nothing happened.

Sasuke unfortunately found out just how little control one could have over his or her imagination. And so, after a few days, he found himself spacing out every now and then as well. Inwardly hammering his head against a brick wall, he tried to play it off, but sadly, Naruto noticed. And grinned. But he still didn't do anything strange. If the Uchiha wouldn't have been so busy cursing his stupid imagination into oblivion, he would have been amazed by the ridiculous amount of self-control his blond friend had acquired over the years.

Right now, a few days after the incident at the river, they were slowly walking back into the village.
"Ne, ne, Sasuke?"
"Hn?"
"Can I crash at your place tonight?"
The raven stopped dead in his tracks and stared at his blond friend who just innocently blinked back at him. After a short moment of thinking, he shook his head.
"No."
"Aww, why not?"
"Why yes?"
"Because you're my friend and I want to spend time with you. Without beating you up, that is."
Sasuke looked at him with half raised eyebrows and a bored expression on his face. He looked eerily similar to Shikamaru at the moment. Naruto, on the other hand, tried to look as genuine and innocent as possible.
They looked at each other for a while, until the blond finally gave in.
"Pff, fine... There's this strange civilian girl who thinks we're a couple because I once gave her a bunch of flowers I found. And this morning, she just appeared at my doorstep and insisted that we go on a date tonight. I told her no because I was busy, but she didn't believe me. And well, yeah... She's creepy."
"So you want to hide at my place?"
Naruto shifted uncomfortably. Sasuke still looked bored, even though he mentally made a note to... have a nice talk with her.
"Kind of, yes. So please? Pretty please? I'll even cook for you!"
The raven thought for a moment before he finally rolled his eyes and started walking again.
"Fine, whatever."
"Yay!"

About half an hour later, Sasuke was busy glaring at both the door leading to the bathroom where his blond friend currently took a shower, and at the beast between his legs. Finding that none of them would spontaneously burst into flames -and on second thought... he did not actually want that...- he groaned and took his Chūnin vest off. He too wore the standard Jōnin attire, although the common red swirls on his upper arms had been replaced by the Uchiha insignia instead. He heel-toed out of his sandals and ruffled his hair in annoyance. Naruto had run straight into his bathroom, not even asking if he was allowed to...
Grumbling, the raven went into his kitchen to prepare dinner before he sighed, defeated. Whom was he kidding? They spent just as much time at the other's place as they spent at their own... Even half of their clothes were with the other's home... Heck, he even had keys to Naruto's apartment, just like the blond had some for the Uchiha's.

Muttering insults to no one in particular under his breath, Sasuke opened his refrigerator and randomly took some things out. While it may have seemed like a nice offer when Naruto had said he'd cook, it was actually more of a threat than anything else.
Silently chopping the vegetables, he listened to the faint sound of the shower. After some time, his goddamned imagination decided to perk up. As did other things.
Cutting the air, now on stand-by, the raven didn't notice that Naruto, clad in fresh clothes, had entered the kitchen. He tilted his head when he saw his absent friend and examined him. When his eyes fell on a certain body part of his friend, he snickered and decided to tease him a little bit.

Casually walking over to the raven and sitting down on the counter next to him, he smiled widely.
"Thinking about me?"
Now he would have expected many things. For example being ignored, glared at, or even stabbed in the leg. But he did not expect Sasuke to snap back into attention, then stare at him, and then blush profusely.
"Yea- NO! What are you – ack, I mean-" And even stuttering.
Naruto's blue eyes widened. He had actually only wanted to fool around and not... yeah. They gaped at each other for a moment until the blond found his voice again.
"This... was not supposed to happen..."
Sasuke shot him a heated glare, though it looked kind of pathetic with the red spread across his cheeks. And this, folks, is what you call an awkward moment. Congratulations to the parents![Z]

Avoiding each other's eyes for quite a while, they stayed where they were, none of them actually moving. When their eyes met after a few minutes, they felt even more embarrassed. But then Sasuke shot a quick glance to the door, and somehow, Naruto understood. And after a few more moments, he nodded.
The raven carefully put the knife in his hand down and grabbed the blond's wrist in an oddly gentle manner. He led them out of the kitchen, down the hall, and into the bedroom.

Now, what do you think what happens when two hormonal males, curious about trying something entirely new, are about to do the nasty without actually knowing how it works?

For Naruto and Sasuke, it meant broken furniture, mean looking bruises, and foreplay that turned into a fistfight then back into foreplay. Why? Because neither of them was willing to take the bottom role. After some time however, Naruto gave in, for now at least. He couldn't beat the raven's logic who had said that neither of them actually knew what they were doing, and chances they hurt themselves were high. And since the blond healed ridiculously fast... Well, there you have it. He did however succeed in making Sasuke promise that as soon as they were a bit more experienced with this stuff, neither of them thought that'd take long, they wouldn't stick to one role but rather switch. Even if that promise had needed a Rasengan at his neck to be given.

[1]Chidori Nagashi = Chidori Current

[2]Gekimayu-sensei = Intense Brows-sensei (Maito Gai)

[Z]And this, folks, is what you call an awkward moment. Congratulations to the parents!

Every time there is an awkward moment, a gay baby is born.

Hilo~

Well, this is my next story. The first chapter out of four, I already have it finished on my computer.

Sadly, no cover for this one... I wasn't quite sure what I should take and couldn't find anything anyways, so yeah... If someone among my dearest readers has a suggestion, don't be shy and tell me. =D

I'll upload the next chapter when I think it's the right moment to do so... Shouldn't be that long, though. A few days, I suppose.

A big thank you to PshhAnonymous for proofreading this shit! =D And thanks to another good friend who endured my rambling and cursing and whatnot about this story even though it doesn't really interest her. xD' She even tried to help me when I was stuck, sometimes!

As always, don't own, don't earn, don't anything. All kinds of reviews except for mindless hating are appreciated!

See you next time~