This is my first Naruto fic, so please be nice to me! Also, my first language is Spanish, so there must be a lot of grammatical errors and wrongly used idiomatical expression. I'm trying to get better though!

This is a Naru/Sasu fic, so if you don't like that pairing, don't read it. I just won't take any homophobic comments. Constructive criticism is welcome though.

Disclaimer: sadly, I don't own Naruto, but I know who does! Kishimoto Masashi owns it.

Warning: I suck at action scenes. I suck even harder (no pun intended) at action scenes in English. so please don't quit on me at the middle of this!

Heartbeat

By: Nekare

It had been one of the coldest days of the year in Konoha, the snow threatening to fall anytime now. A thick mist had covered the quiet town, making everything feel blurry and surreal. Most people had surrendered to the cold atmosphere and had gone inside their warm houses. Everyone but the two boys that didn't have a warm place to go home to.

Their laboured breathing was the only thing that could be heard at the small clearing at the training grounds, as both boys stood watching each other, kunai in hand and mind prepared for any attack that may have come. The trees surrounding them had already a high number of kunai and shuriken embedded in them, but not one of them was bloody.

Their breaths becoming visible because of the intense cold, Naruto couldn't help but notice just how much this season matched his raven-haired teammate; both of them cold and unfeeling, heck, even the snow matched his pale face. He chuckled; amused at the thought of him thinking of his rival while they were still in the middle of a fight.

But, did he still think of him as only a rival?

Sasuke charged at him, aiming for the shoulder with the kunai. Steel clashed against steel, as Naruto parried the knife, a concentration look settling in his face. His free hand shot in a fist towards Sasuke's gut, but he managed to dodge it in the last second, jumping back a few feet.

Naruto was the one who darted towards him this time, throwing two shuriken at Sasuke as he was running, trying to corner him into a tree. In an instant, Sasuke was behind him, already in a combat crouch. Naruto had anticipated this, and with the momentum gained in his run, he spun around, his leg outstretched and ready in a kick. Even with the sharingan, Sasuke hadn't seen that coming, and Naruto watched as his expression registered surprise just before his foot came in contact with his shoulder, as he had tried to dodge the attack. Naruto knew he was one of the few people who ever got him to show emotion.

No. he didn't think of him of only a rival. As a friend perhaps?

Sasuke recovered quite fast from the hit, and was ready to attack in no time. With eyes the color of blood, he kept trying to find an opening in Naruto's defense, while they were still engrossed in a deadly dance of weapons and wits. Naruto deflected every single attack expertly, even when he was trying to get glimpses of Sasuke's red eyes. He had never told anyone, but he had always been mesmerized by the Uchiha's bloodlimit.

Not a friend either. It was more than that.

There it was, Thought Sasuke as he saw the opening he had been waiting for. Moving a little to the right, he hit the back of Naruto's knees with one leg, making the blond lose his balance and fall down hard on the floor. Sasuke didn't let the opportunity pass, and in a moment he was on top of him, a kunai pressed against his neck.

Thump.

Innocent blue eyes opened wide at the sudden change of his world, one moment up and fighting and the next one pressed against the cold ground with Sasuke straddling him. He forgot all about the kunai in his neck as the raven-haired boy's gaze burned into his.

Thump.

"I win." said Sasuke in a whisper. Somehow, the words made him shiver.

Both of them were panting, short intakes of breath mingling in their closeness. Their faces were only a few inches apart, and Naruto expected him to move off him as soon as Sasuke became aware of their position, expected him to move repulsed by him. Sasuke stood his ground, however, and if anything; he moved closer.

Thump.

Being there, trapped between the coldness of the hard ground and slightly damp grass and the warm that Sasuke's body radiated; Naruto suddenly felt nervous. He shifted a little, hoping Sasuke would get the hint and get off him. Maybe then he would be able to finally catch his breath again. Sasuke's reaction surprised him, though. He let go of the kunai, catching both of his wrist in one lightning move, slamming them to the ground. He pressed himself more into the blond boy, keeping him in place.

Thump.

Sasuke glared at him, apparently angered at him for trying to break the contact. Even if he was confused be the Uchiha's actions, Naruto wasn't one to go down without a fight; so he glared back. Sasuke won the glaring contest, but only since Naruto had remembered he was still beneath the glaring Sasuke. He had blushed then, and turned his head away, unable to watch him in the eye.

Thump. Did he even know it? The fact that he was holding in his hands more than just his wrists? The fact that his heart was beating fast in his hands?

Naruto wasn't sure what Sasuke was doing, but he did know, however, that his own breathing was even faster now, and that his heart was pounding out of control in his ribcage. He silently scolded himself. He wasn't supposed to be enjoying this!

Sasuke didn't know exactly what he was doing either. For once, though, he didn't want to hide the emotion his questioning blue eyes, and flushed face were giving him. After all, he was one of the few people who ever got him to show emotion.

Thump. Apparently, he did know, for he squeezed hard on his heart.

As Sasuke's lips crashed against his, Naruto lost all other sensation that wasn't the warm the black-haired boy was giving him. He leaned into the kiss, pushing all thoughts aside and leaving the questions for later. Thinking was overrated anyway.

Sasuke finally let go of his wrists, so he could press a hand into the blonde's nape, pulling him forward to him. Naruto put his arms around the slim waist of his teammate, wanting him closer. As he felt Sasuke's warm tongue grazing his lips he let out a shaken sigh, one the Uchiha took advantaged of to delve his tongue into the other boy's mouth. Naruto couldn't even feel the cold ground anymore, drowning in a deep sea of feelings. What he did feel, was Sasuke's heart beating erratically trough the fabric of their shirts.

And maybe… his heart wasn't the only one in the open at that moment.

Neither one of the boys would admit defeat, so they kept on kissing so they wouldn't have to be the one to break it. Or at least, that's what they said to themselves. A sudden coldness on his forehead was the thing that made Naruto open his eyes and let out a startled gasp. They broke apart, both looking up to find the source of the interruption.

An almost inexistent snowflake had fallen on the blond's forehead. It had started to snow. They sat up, still close to each other; and watched the scenery. The pale snow was falling slowly to the ground, covering trees in its way down, starting to cover up the landscape in a thin layer of ghostly white. It was breathtaking, but as Naruto turned to look at Sasuke and took on his flushed face, rumpled hair and clothing and somewhat glazed look; he realized he found him much more appealing. So he put a hand to his cheek, making him look his way and said the words the both of them wanted to hear.

"Kiss me again?"

When Naruto awoke a few hours after, still tangled in Sasuke's embrace; he smiled softly, snuggling deeper into the warmth his body offered. He looked out his window, noting the snow hadn't stopped falling.

As he watched the snow piling on his windowsill, he couldn't help but compare it to the whiteness of his lover's skin.