Sorry for the long wait. I have been really busy doing my schoolwork among other things. I hope that you haven't given up on my story yet and that the end will please you. Take care!

Chapter four

Naruto closed the door with a bang. All out of breath he made his way to the kitchen. After unpacking the one week supply of ramen that almost made him late, he made his way upstairs. Deciding it would be nice of him to check up on Sasuke before unpacking the rest off his stuff he knocked on his bedroom door.

"Naruto, is that you?"

"Hai! Can I come in?"

"Yeah!"

Naruto entered the room and immediately spotted Sasuke on the bed, trying to look big and bad but mostly he looked so out of it, that he just looked small, vulnerable and pathetic.

"Eeeeh.. How are you feeling?"

"Fine" Sasuke huffed out.

"Do you need anything or can I go unpack my stuff now?" Naruto said a little uncertainly. "Where do you want me to stay anyway?"

Sasuke felt a bolt of stress blow through him. He knew by now he wanted Naruto close somehow, but was not ready to express it.

"I want a glass of water and some hot soup." Sasuke said almost without thinking; instinctively trying to buy some time to think before making any decisions.

"Okay, I'll be right back" Naruto said as he went back out the door.

'Finally alone' Sasuke thought. 'If I'm trying to bind him close to me, then how do I do it best?'

Meanwhile, Naruto was cocking instant chicken soup in the kitchen and also pondering about how to proceed with his newly discovered feelings. If he tried something with Sasuke, there was a good chance that their already pretty fragile relation would be broken into bits and his closest friend would be lost. But then again it seemed like Sasuke had experienced something special at their freezing mission too. Deciding that he would let Sasukes actions decide how to proceed Naruto walked up the stairs to Sasukes bedroom again while carrying the soup and water.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure"

Naruto walked to the nightstand and put the meal down. Not really knowing what to do besides just stand he started to move towards the door when a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"Stay" Sasuke said. "Please?"

Naruto sat down on the bed beside Sasuke and handed him the bowl of soup.

"Here" He said a little awkwardly.

"Thanks."

Sasuke put the bowl in his lap and slowly started eating. The room was filled with a very noticeable silence and the only sounds one could hear, was the scraping of the spoon against the fine china.

"So, have you heard anything from Sakura yet? She told me she was about to see you." Naruto rambled to break the silence.

"Hn" slurp. "Thanks for the food, dobe." Sasuke said silently as he scooted down into the bed again.

"Would it kill you to be nice for once?"

"Well I did say thanks, didn't I?"

"Teme" Naruto said as he grabbed the bowl. After all, this was the Uchiha household and not his own apartment.

The hand stopped him a second time.

"Stay" Sasuke said. "I'm freezing."

As he said that he looked Naruto directly in the eyes, making him gasp from the intensity and chock.

"Eeeh… Sure." Silence again. "Do you want me to warm you up a bit?"

This time Naruto mesmerised the Uchiha with his gaze.

"Yeah, that would be nice."

Sasuke crawled deeper under the covers to indicate that he wanted Naruto to come there pronto, but Naruto just stood there, watching.

"Why are you just standing there, aren't you going to warm me up like you said?" Sasuke said, blushing slightly.

"Well, were do you want me? I mean, if you're just a little frozen I could lay on top of the covers giving you some slow heat or if you are really frozen I could go under the covers for you. That way-…"

"I'm freezing very much thank you, but you aren't taking those dirty clothes into my bed. Take them off and come here." Sasuke said sternly, making sure that Naruto knew exactly what he was indicating.

Naruto dressed down to boxers and got under the covers. All the time his heart was pounding badly and his head felt like it was about to explode. This must mean that Sasuke like him too, or at least want something more then just friendship. As he crawled up next to him he noticed that Sasuke was not cold at all. Quite the opposite in fact.

"Hold me"

Naruto did as he was told and Sasuke let out a deep sigh.

"You know you're not really cold Sasuke" Naruto said teasingly.

Sasuke did not answer but did turn face to face with him. The next second Naruto could feel the soft touch of Sasukes lips on his.

'This is really happening!' was what went trough both of their minds as both of them refused to let go as if afraid of scaring the other away.

They lay there holding each other for a long time, the only thing moving were between their lips.

After the kiss followed silence. Not the uncomfortable silence from earlier, but rather the one you would wrap around you and saviour every moment of, because it makes you feel like warm fuzziness is taking over your body. Feeling the pure happiness of the moment, Sasuke couldn't help but be reminded of how unusual the feeling is to him and therefore tensing up.

Naruto notices this and dread fills him. This was not what he had wanted. Now Sasuke surely regretted his earlier actions and their friendship, the one that meant the world to him, would become weird and awkward.

"So Teme. What do you think of this?" Naruto said with a somewhat harsh voice. At that Sasuke resurfaced quickly from his thoughts, afraid of the harsh tone. One look was all it took for him to calm down though, for Narutos eyes only spoke of longing.

"I think I love you. I can't get you out of my mind. Every time you are not around it's like I'm dead inside. And when you ARE around, I feel like I'm made of butterflies. It's not a crush. I want you."

Naruto was stunned for several moments, just processing what he heard, or think he heard, maybe he was dreaming. That would make more sense, since-

"Aouchi, you pinched me!"

Sasuke looked at him half irritably half smiling, knowing what thoughts probably want through Narutos mind. A few seconds passed and Naruto was back in this realm again, this time realizing that this might not be a really good dream after all.

"I think I love you too, teme"

After Naruto uttered those words both of them felt an insane joy come over them, making them giggle and hug, laughing and kissing. It felt like nothing could hold them down no more. After some time Sasuke had to rest. His chakra was far from fully restored and his stamina was therefore not very good. Deciding it would be nice with a nap Naruto made sure to go up and brush his teeth too before falling asleap alongside Sasuke.

Tip, tap, tip ,tap, tip…

'What is that sound?' Sasuke groaned silently. 'It is the shower leaking again.'

He made his way out of the bed softly to make sure that he did not wake Naruto up. It was still night out and the stars shone brightly as if to celebrate the happening of his love life. Carefully he opened the window and took a deep breath of air just enjoying the view. The night air were crisp and he could easily make out his breath by the white clouds that came out of his mouth. Somehow he felt like he was for once communicating with his family and begun to tell them all about Naruto, the boy who made him live again.

Tip, tap, tip….

'The shower. I forgot all about it.' He quickly made his way to the bathroom and made sure that the showerhead was not leaking any more, then turned back to the bedroom.

As he snuggled up to Naruto he accidentally woke him up making a shiver go up his spine.

"Oy Teme, your feet are freezing"

Sasuke didn't mind the insult, he just smiled and snuggled closer to Naruto.

The End