"I will go now and let all this sink in and hopefully you will have a responds tomorrow"
Naruto just starred at him dumbfounded.

Chapter 18

The sound of the front door closing rang through his small apartment and woke him up from his shocked state. He flew up and tried to run after Sasuke. He couldn't just leave him alone. Sasuke couldn't just say all those things and then just leave. Naruto's heart was beating fast and his palms were sweating. This was all too much. He didn't want to be left alone with all this. It was too many things at once, too many words, too many feelings. He felt drained and happy all at the same time.

His ankle protested and before he reached the door, he was lying on the floor, whimpering. How could Sasuke do this to him. He had told him before he loved him, but Naruto hadn't believed it and now this. Naruto stayed on the floor and took calming breaths. Sasuke's speech had overwhelmed him, for a moment he had forgotten to really think and maybe that was why Sasuke left. Naruto had always been alone as a child and had a habit of being overwhelmed the few times people was affectionate towards him. He had to think about this really carefully, so he wouldn't mess anything up.

When he had calmed down, he tried to get to the bottom of it all. Firstly he was now sure Sasuke loved him. He had changed and he seemed to have thought about his feelings. He was also right. Naruto couldn't really know what the future would hold and maybe he should really take a change with Sasuke. When Sasuke had spoken about their future relationship it felt so natural and so... good. A part of him wanted that, wanted to be in a relationship with him. He imagined it would be like it had been the last couple of days where Sasuke came and looked after him.

Naruto sighed. All this sounded good but the big question had changed. Before it was if Sasuke really loved him, and now it was if he really loved Sasuke. He could like the idea all he wanted, but if he didn't really love Sasuke then there wouldn't really be a relationship at all. There had always been something that had drawn him to Sasuke, he didn't really knew what. It wasn't love, but some kind of longing. He had wanted him as a friend, wanted Sasuke too look at him, to talk with him. But there was a long way from that to being lovers.

Did he feel attracted to him? He wasn't sure. He had liked the kiss and his body was beginning to act funny whenever Sasuke was near. Okay, so maybe he did find him attractive, and maybe he did want to kiss him again. Did that mean he liked him like that? He had acted like he knew all about love and feelings when he talked to Sasuke, but the truth was he had no idea. He wasn't sure about how it would feel to be in love. He tried to think back, to remember all the things he had felt about Sasuke through the years.

He had always wanted his attention and he had been so happy when Sasuke was finally talking to him. When Sasuke had told him about his family and what happened to his brother, he had felt sad and... protective. He had felt an urge to reach out and touch him, to somehow console him and make him feel better. When Sasuke had been in danger, he had instinctively gotten between him and the attacker. Beside Sai, Sasuke was the only person he got in his life. But he felt differently about them. He liked Sai. He was a good friend and even though he didn't say much, Naruto knew he would always have his back. His feelings for Sasuke was... stronger.

Even if Sasuke was mean to him, his feelings hadn't changed from when they were younger. He didn't want Sasuke to leave, he didn't want him to look at anybody else. If Sai got a girlfriend, he would be happy for him, and would support him. He wasn't sure he could do the same for Sasuke. That was why it had hurt so much when he had to change teams. It felt like Sasuke didn't want him around anymore, like he could get replaced. Naruto rubbed his hands against his face and tried to make sense of it all. It did seem like he had some kind of feelings for Sasuke and he did find him attractive and the thought of them being in a relationship was pleasing... was that enough reason to try? If he tried this out and didn't feel anything, he would just hurt Sasuke and they wouldn't even be able to stay as friends anymore.

Naruto used the rest of the day and all night to just... think, to remember all their encounters, to feel, to consider. He tried to listen to his brain, his heart, his stomach, something in him had to know the answer to this question. Sometimes he felt like he was sure he loved Sasuke, other times he had gotten himself so confused he thought maybe he didn't. He usually didn't really think things through, he was more of an "act-now-think-later" kind of guy and his head was beginning to hurt. Arghh.. Sasuke and his stupid behaviour and stupid questions. Naruto screamed down into his pillow. He was still lying in bed, having not slept a wink all night. It was noon already, and he was sure Sasuke would soon be here.

And sure enough, soon after he did hear knocking on the door. Naruto almost rolled out of the bed and loafed towards the door. Naruto opened the door and looked at Sasuke.

"Hey"

"Hey" Naruto looked up and down Sasuke. Sasuke squirmed a bit under the intense stare.

"Can I come in?" Naruto didn't seem to hear him, but just kept starring. Sasuke stood up a bit straighter and tried to seem more confident than he felt like.

"Uhm.. Is something wrong?" Sasuke waved his hand in front of Naruto's face, but nothing happened. Suddenly a hand shot forward and grabbed his neck. He felt himself being pulled forward and a pair of lips crashed against his. Sasuke was so shocked it took a while before he kissed back. Sasuke felt teeth softly biting into his bottom lip and pulling at it. His hands moved to Naruto's hips and pulled him closer. Sasuke licked across Naruto's lips and pushed his tongue in between them. Naruto hesitantly parted them and met Sasuke's tongue halfway. After a while, Naruto pulled back to breathe in some much needed air.

"So.. is this a yes?" Sasuke was panting slightly.

"Uhm.. I think so. I have tried to come up with something, but all I know is that I really care about you and I don't want you to like someone else. I thought that I might come to a decision when I saw you, but my brain and heart was still a bit unsure. You know I'm more of a spontaneous guy, so I kind of just went with my gut feeling."

"And that told you to kiss me?" Sasuke smirked.

"Yep" Naruto grinned. "So, my answer is yes. Let's try to take it slow and see where this will take us"

"Yeah, I can live with that" Sasuke gave him one of his rare smiles.

There it is.. The ending. If you guys want, I might make an epilogue. It could take place some months or years later to see how things went, there might even be a lemon in it if that's what you want.

I hope you have liked the story and that the ending was good.

Thank you so much for continuing to read this story and for all the awesome reviews