A.N. All characters belong to Kishimoto! :D

Naruto scratched his head in confusion. What made Sasuke leave so quickly? He wondered if he'd done anything silly again. After pondering for a while and not coming up with anything, he shrugged and just decided to drop the issue. After all, Sasuke being weird was just… Sasuke.

Naruto strolled back to his room. Sauntering over to the wardrobe, he rummaged around, looking for something to wear at the carnival. It was Christmas Eve, and that warranted something more interesting than his usual garb. After awhile, he finally found what he was looking for. Grinning, he hurriedly put it on.

It was a traditional golden yukata, with fiery red designs embroidered on the hem and a matching red obi; something Naruto reserved only for special occasions. He took a glance in the mirror, and grinned, satisfied. Seeing that it was 5 o'clock, he smiled in glee. The carnival would start soon! Grabbing Gama-chan, he headed off excitedly to the town square.

Sasuke stared at his wardrobe. He normally never really bothered about his clothing, but this was Christmas, a special occasion; should he wear something different? Something extravagant? He knew Naruto would probably have on something flamboyant. He didn't want to appear under-dressed, yet, at the same time, didn't want to seem to be overly-lurid.

After another five minutes of staring, he decided on a simple black yukata with intricate white patterns on the fabric along the edges.

He wondered vaguely why he even decided to attend the carnival; he usually shunned these social events.

Maybe I wouldn't go after all. Yeah, why the hell should I care at all?

Then, he thought of his promise to Naruto to attend, and how disappointed Naruto would be if he didn't show. He thought of those big, blue eyes in its penetrating gaze. He felt his heart give a sharp thump, as it usually did when he thought of the blond. I wonder why.

His mind began to wander further, as he continued thinking about the loud-mouthed ninja. He recalled their first official meeting, the awkward kiss. The memory led him to recall what had happened just that afternoon, whereby Naruto had taken certain… measures to get him to drink water. Just thinking about it made his blood rush to his face, painting his pale, transclucent skin a deep red, and Sasuke struggled to fight down the blush.

He hated not knowing things, however trivial the matter. This time was no exception. He hated not knowing what this burning sensation at the pit of his stomach was, this… this… rapid speeding up of his heart rate. Maybe someone was using a special jutsu on him. A long term sickness thing. Maybe even a type of poison.

Yes. It might even be fatal.

He decided to go and see Sakura. She was a medic nin, right? She should know what was wrong with him.

As expected, the Haruno residence was not unoccupied. Only girls would take forty-five minutes to get ready for any event. He rang the doorbell, and shortly after, a rather breathless Sakura opened the door, her pink hair in a messy heap atop her head.

"Sas-Sasuke-kun! I didn't know you were coming!" she exclaimed in surprise, her hands flitting up to her hair, in a vain effort to smoothen and tidy it up with her palms. "I'm sorry I look such a mess – I'll be done in five minutes… I can't believe you decided to come with me –"

"I'm not," Sasuke replied quickly. "I came to ask… a favour of you."

"…Oh…" Sakura said, her voice trailing off uncertainly, her face falling visibly.

"It's important," Sasuke added. He felt… kinda guilty about getting her hopes up, then dashing it again. But it wasn't really his fault.

"Anything!" Sakura replied immediately. Even if her feelings weren't reciprocated, she could at least help him as much as she could. "Come in…"

Once Sasuke was settled on the couch, Sakura dashed back into her room.

"Hang on, I'll just be a second!"

"Sure."

Sasuke noted the difference between Sakura's couch and Naruto's. It was… bright pink. Ugh. Even Naruto's orange one was somehow more tasteful. And it even felt better too. This one was too… synthetic. Fake.

Sakura reappeared, her hair now in a more presentable state in the form of a French braid.

"So… what's the matter?"

"I think I'm… sick."

"Sick?"

"Yes. I think someone is using a special jutsu to poison me."

Sakura's eyes widened. This could be serious! Her precious Sasuke's life could be in danger!

"What are some of the symptoms?" she asked, snapping into business mode.

"Well… sometimes, I feel dizzy and light-headed, and my stomach feels weird. Occasionally I will also experience an influx of blood rushing to my face."

"When do they occur? Do you think someone is poisoning you through your food?"

"…Thay occur… irregularly," Sasuke replied slowly, trying to think. "But I don't think it's food. Sometimes I get the symptoms even before eating."

Sakura thought. Then it hit her! How could she have been so blind? It was SO obvious!

Smirking, she leaned closer to Sasuke, who slid backwards in trepidation. "I am beginning to have an idea of what's going on… but I need to confirm my hypothesis."

"…Okay," Sasuke replied after some hesitation. There was just something about the way Sakura was acting. It must be bad.

"Do they happen during training? Sparring, with Naruto, mostly?"

"Ye-es."

"When you're hanging around town… with Naruto?"

"Yes."

"When you're having lunch, or dinner, at Ichiraku's? With Naruto?"

"…Yes."

Sakura sighed. It was true. "Sasuke… you're in love."

Sasuke recoiled. What? In love? With who?!

"With Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura replied, as if reading his thoughts. "Those fluttery feelings, it's LOVE. Come on, Sasuke, don't tell me you haven't a clue about it. Uchiha prodigy, my arse!"

Sasuke thought about it. Could it be–?

"But you're a medic nin! Are you sure?! For all you know, I could be suffering from a terminal disease…" It was really spectacular how his inner drama queen acted up in weird situations.

"Sasuke-kun, listen to me. I'm a girl. I know these things. You, are a guy, and you don't. Trust me on this one. Go to the carnival, meet Naruto, and face this problem head on, or you will be plagued by these 'symptoms' for the rest of your life." Sakura said, exasperated. She couldn't believe she was hooking her two best guy friends up. It was weird, especially when she was infatuated with one of them.

"Go on, I need to get ready! And plus, if you don't confess during Christmas, when else?"

Sasuke muttered a short goodbye, before stumbling out of the house. Now that he thought about it, he grudgingly began to accept it. This alien emotion… turned out to be… love? He even had a hard time thinking the word out loud, for goodness sakes.

Every step he took brought him closer to the carnival, closer to Naruto, closer to admitting his feelings. What if they weren't reciprocated? What if Naruto thought he was some weird freak and refused to see him ever again?

Really, that drama queen streak was getting irritating.

But… what if…? He was so close to the carnival now. He could hear the music, the festive cheer, the happiness emanating from the people… but they all felt ominous to him now.

He raked a hand through his dark hair, and took a deep breath. He could do this. He was an UCHIHA. He would not appear weak. He would not…

Just then, the object of his troubles launched itself straight for him.

"Sasuke-bastard!" Naruto appeared as if from nowhere, in a streak of gold, ramming straight into Sasuke. "You're late!"

Sasuke stiffened as Naruto wrapped his arms around his torso, his face suddenly pushed against Naruto's chest. He could practically hear the rapid staccato of his heartbeat in his ears.

"Let go of me," he muttered, with as much dignity he could muster, clearing his voice quickly when it came out huskily.

Naruto let go, grinning from ear to ear. "What took you so long? The carnival is already in full swing! C'mon!"

Dragging Sasuke by the hand, Naruto dived back into the crowd, towards the game stalls. Sasuke stumbled, trying to follow the energetic blond through the dense crowd. Naruto halted in front of a stall suddenly, making Sasuke nearly crash into his back.

"What–"

"Hey, let's play this game!" Naruto said, ignoring Sasuke's complains. The signboard hanging above the blond's head read "HUG OF WAR!", and Sasuke didn't think he liked the sound of that.

"Wait, I don't think so…" Sasuke started to protest, but Naruto gleefully tuned Sasuke out and paid the stall owner, choosing a water balloon from the pail on the counter.

"Don't be a spoilsport! Come on!" Naruto said.

"…How do you play?" Sasuke asked warily.

"You hug your friend to burst the water balloon," the stall owner replied, smiling.

Sasuke looked at him in horror. Squeeze Naruto until they popped the balloon?! They must be joking!

"Just play, bastard! It'll be fun! If we pop it in under 15 seconds we get to win a prize! Please?" Naruto asked, giving Sasuke The Look.

Not the eyes, not the eyes! That's cheating, damnit! "Fine," Sasuke said grudgingly. He shuffled over to Naruto, who was grinning widely.

Awkwardly placing his arms around the blond, Sasuke was once again pressed against Naruto's firm chest, his nostrils infused with Naruto's unique earthy scent. His breath came in irregular intervals, and he barely made out the stall owner indicating for them to start.

"3… 2… 1... GO!" he cried, pressing the start button on the stopwatch.

Sasuke felt Naruto's arms tighten around him, squeezing tightly. "C'mon, teme, if you don't squeeze too, the balloon won't pop!"

Sasuke didn't really want the balloon to pop. Then Naruto'd be hugging him like that forever, and plus, he wouldn't have to get his yukata wet.

"Squeeze, bastard! Or we won't wiiiiin!" Naruto whined.

Just then, the balloon popped.

"It po-opped! It po-opped!" Naruto cried in exhilaration, doing a little victory dance.

"Congratulations, you're lucky, " the stall owner said. "You did it in exactly 15 seconds!"

"Wahoo! We get a prize!" Naruto exclaimed, striking a pose. "I am THE best!"

Sasuke grimaced as he removed the last of the fragments of balloon skin from his clothes, wringing out the water.

"Hey that was fun, wasn't it, teme?" Naruto grinned.

As much as he hated ruining his clothes, Sasuke had to admit – it was rather… fun.

A grin found its way to his face. "…yeah."

"I told you so!" Naruto declared triumphantly. "And you're finally loosening up! That stick may just drop out your ass!" he said cheerfully, dodging when Sasuke tossed a punch his way.

Grabbing the wrapped prize from the stall owner, Naruto walked away from the stall, gleefully shaking the parcel and putting his ear to it. Sasuke had to laugh at the blond's naivety.

"What do you think it is? Maybe it's instant ramen! Do you think so? Do you?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Don't you have a whole stash at home?"

"Yeah, but it gets depleted real fast sometimes! Backups are really usef– TAKO YAKI!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of topic, and saw the blond prance over to a nearby stall.

"Try some, teme! The tako yaki at carnivals are always the BEST!" Naruto said, paying for his snack. Sasuke declined politely, choosing instead to watch Naruto wolf down the octopus balls with a slightly disgusted expression. Why on earth did he love such an idiot?

Taking the still unwrapped prize from Naruto, Sasuke began to rip the colourful paper, but before he could make a sizeable hole, Naruto screeched and grabbed the package away from Sasuke.

"Don't tear the wrapping paper! And how dare you deprive me of unwrapping it? Especially when I was the one who won it," Naruto shrieked.

"If you recall, I helped you win the prize, dobe," Sasuke smirked.

Naruto pouted. "You didn't even squeeze!"

"But you needed me to sqeeze against," Sasuke said, before realizing how wrong that sounded.

"So what?" Naruto pouted. Sasuke sighed in relief internally. Good thing Naruto was dense. Then, his mind started to wander, envisioning what it would be like for Naruto to be squeezed up against him in different circumstances, his hands all over him…

Stop it, Sasuke. Snap out of it. Listen to the idiot, he reprimanded himself. Do anything to ignore and force away the growing pressure at a particular appendage…

"…SO, you shouldn't tear up people's hard work, you hear me, bastard? Bastard?" Naruto frowned. "You aren't listening again!"

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Bastard! Why do I even bother! I just said, you shouldn't just tear up people's hard work because it's very difficult and takes a long time for them to wrap!"

"Only you would take an eternity to wrap presents," Sasuke commented, grinning as he easily dodged the punch that Naruto sent flying his way.

"Speaking of the presents… where are they?" Sasuke wondered.

"I already gave them out before you came," Naruto replied, anger dissolving as quickly as it had come into his ever ready supply of hyperactive, ever-present happiness. "See how efficient I am?

"Now, I'll show you how to open presents nicely," Naruto said. "First, you peel the scotch tape off carefully…"

Sasuke watched as Naruto painstakingly peeled off the bits of scotch tape off the wrapping paper. When the blond was finally done, Sasuke unfolded the paper to reveal… a stuffed toy.

All this trouble for a toy fox. Good grief.

"Aw, so CUTE!" Naruto cried happily. "It's so–"

"Sasuke-kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!" A familiar female voice called out, interrupting Naruto's excited jabbering.

Sasuke groaned as Ino charged over, with Sakura slightly behind her, less eager than the Yamanaka. It had taken some time, but she'd come to accept that Sasuke wouldn't really reciprocate her feelings, especially now she was sure that he was interested in Naruto.

"Hi Sasuke, Naruto," she called, smiling. "Oh my goodness, kawai!!!" she cried, catching sight of the toy Naruto was holding. "It looks like… the Kyuubi no Kitsune!"

Sasuke looked closer. It did sort of look like the nine tailed fox demon. Just with only one tail.

Ino looked at her incredulously. Sakura was paying Naruto and his toy more attention that Sasuke?!

Sakura caught sight of Ino's expression, and pulled her aside, explaining quickly in hushed tones. Ino just laughed, and flipped her blonde hair. "I don't care… I can still try. And if not… there's always Sai!"

"Sakura, my beautiful flower, there you are! I have been searching all over for you!"

Sakura squeaked, running away as Rock Lee approached, in his green suit as usual.

"You never saw meeeee!" she cried over her shoulder.

"Sakura, my love, wait for me! I shall always chase after you with youthful exuberance…"

Ino laughed. Turning back to Sasuke, she winked. "Good luck," she said, indicating to Naruto with a tilt of her head, making Sasuke blush uncomfortably. "Ja ne! I need to catch up with Sakura."

Naruto laughed as Lee chased after Sakura. After they left, he asked, "What was she referring to?"

"… I have no idea," Sasuke replied.

Shrugging it off, Naruto said, "Here," handing the toy to Sasuke. "I'm giving it to you!"

Sasuke blinked in surprise. "What for?"

"For fun!" Naruto grinned. "Come on, best friends give each other presents all the time!"

As Naruto continued to babble away, Sasuke looked down at the little plush toy and smiled. It was his present. From Naruto. That sounded… nice.

For the rest of the evening, the pair happily went round the whole carnival, playing more games, and eating more goodies, mostly on Naruto's part. Thoroughly enjoying himself, Naruto didn't really notice the way Sasuke would stop and look at him, smiling softly, until he was spoken to. He did, however, notice the swarms of fangirls that would surge up to Sasuke at times, only to be beaten back by a scowl from the brunet.

When Naruto finally wore himself out, they settled down on the grassy hilltop, waiting for the fireworks display, like many other people. Sasuke steered Naruto further away from the rest of the people subtly, choosing to sit at a more private spot. Naruto plopped down, exhausted, but still grinning for all he was worth.

"That was fun, wasn't it, bastard?" he asked, lying down, placing his hands behind his head.

"Yeah…" Sasuke replied.

"You know, bastard, you're really lucky."

"Why?"

"All those girls… they all are nuts for you. All you have to do is pick one. You never have to worry."

Sasuke looked at Naruto. "So what?" What if I don't want them? What if I want YOU?

"I dunno. Just saying."

"Hn…" Sasuke hesitated for a while, before adding, "What if… what if I'm not interested in them?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, puzzled, sitting up. Not interested in girls? Naruto couldn't wrap his mind around anyone not liking girls. Sasuke must be mad. Girls were throwing themselves at him, but for Naruto, even if he wanted them, they wouldn't want him.

"Okay… you see…" Sasuke said slowly, trying to put it across easily enough for Naruto to understand. "Some guys… like girls, right? And there are some guys who like both guys AND girls–"

"Like me!" interrupted Naruto. "I win both ways!"

Sasuke stared at him. Did Naruto just confess to being bi? That means… he could stand a chance…

"–and there are guys who like only guys."

"I see," Naruto grinned. "So which one are you, teme?"

To confess or not to confess. To confess or not to confess. To confess…

"Okay, okay," Naruto said quickly, noticing the conflicting emotions on Sasuke's face. "How about we make it easier. You tell me who you're interested in, that way, I'll know for sure!" he said, leaning closer to Sasuke with an air of conspiracy.

Sasuke looked at the grinning idiot with a slightly horrified expression. Naruto was practically asking him to confess his love for him, without even knowing it!

"Best friends tell each other these stuff all the time, Sasuke! Just tell meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. I won't tell anybody!" Naruto pouted.

Damn those kissable lips!

Without knowing what he was doing, Sasuke quickly leaned nearer to Naruto, and pressed his lips firmly against Naruto's.

Naruto didn't realize what was going on until suddenly he felt a mouth crushing against his. He gasped, opening his mouth slightly, and he felt Sasuke's tongue enter his mouth and curl around his, tasting him. Getting over the initial shock and surprise, Naruto reciprocated, leaning even closer to Sasuke, burying his hands in the soft, spiky hair.

Then, as suddenly as it had began, the kiss ended abruptly. It was Sasuke who pulled away, cheeks burning red.

"I… I think you have a pretty good idea now."

Naruto frowned, puzzled, before finally understanding what Sasuke was referring to. Grinning evilly, he said slyly, "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Sasuke glared at him, his cheeks still the same bright red. "I know you heard me!"

"Yes, I did, but I don't quite understand what you are getting at, Uchiha," Naruto replied, giving Sasuke a small kiss on the lips.

"Say it."

"No." Sasuke refused, more out of embarrassment than of stubbornness.

"Fine then," Naruto said, planting a trail of small kisses from Sasuke's lips to his pulse point, before sucking gently on it, earning a hiss from Sasuke as he drew in his breath through his teeth sharply.

"…No." Sasuke repeated, this time with less conviction.

Naruto smiled. He knew he was winning. He bit down on Sasuke's soft skin, nearly drawing blood, before sucking hard again, knowing that there would be a large hickey on Sasuke's pale skin there the next day. Sasuke moaned, and Naruto pushed him down to the grass, putting both his hands next to either side of Sasuke's face, trapping him. Putting his face inches away from Sasuke's, Naruto asked again, "Say it."

"…No…"

Naruto grinded slowly against Sasuke as the brunet moaned again. "Say it or I'll get off."

Sasuke finally conceded. "Ai… shiteru…"

Naruto grinned. "Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" Giving Sasuke another chaste kiss, he climbed off Sasuke anyway.

"Hey!" Sasuke protested.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at him. "We're in public, bastard."

As Sasuke grumbled about being cheated as he righted himself, Naruto snickered at Sasuke's annoyance. Putting his arm around Sasuke, Naruto whispered in his ear, "To be continued?"

Sasuke smiled. "You think I'd uke to you? I have to regain my pride."

Naruto grinned. "We'll see."

Sasuke rested his head on Naruto's shoulder, feeling completely at ease, glad that everything had turned out so well. Coming to this blasted carnival wasn't a mistake after all.

Then, as it always happens in clichéd fanfictions and movies, bright sparks of reds, greens, and yellows exploded over their heads in a vibrant display of pyrotechnics at particular moment, creating the perfect picture of romance between the two…

…only to be broken by the loud declarations of love by none other than Lee.

Not quite cliché now. You'd expect another make out scene or perhaps some yaoi. Apparently Lee wasn't informed of the original script.

"My beautiful flower, aren't the fireworks beautiful? They are the perfect example of my youthful expression, as bright and vibrant as my eternal love for you…"

"Get away from me!"

Naruto laughed as he stood up, offering Sasuke a hand, before pulling the shorter boy by his white obi seductively.

"Let's go."

A.N. Aargh, I am so sorry for the henious wait! I know I planned to finish this by CHRISTMAS and now its... *counts* 12 days late! *cries*. But it's not entirely my fault either. My dad planned a surrpise Christmas trip, so I couldn't write. Hee.

Anyway, you'll forgive me right? Review please!