Chapter four.

Drops of heavy rain poured relentlessly down upon the hapless ground. The usually timid sky was now encroached on by massively dark, aggressive clouds. For more than half the day, the clouds remained steady in their vigilant assault against the earth below them.

If one thing was certain about Sasuke, it was that he absolutely abhorred the rain. For one, it blocked away his ever precious sun, and wouldn't return it to him until it decided to. For another, it always seemed to dampen his mood. No pun intended.

However, there was one thing that the Uchiha grudgingly liked about the rain. When the rain came, it almost always guaranteed that Naruto would be unprepared. And an unprepared Naruto always led to a freezing his ass off Naruto. And Sasuke adored it when his blond treasure was freezing, because the Uchiha was always there to warm him up.

Naruto was already kneeling under a large tree, drenched from head to toe, by the time Sasuke made it to their normal meeting spot. Sasuke didn't mind much being wet, but the blond sure did. The Uchiha could already see his clear expression as he strode up to the male.

Naruto was pissed. No, that was an extreme understatement. The blond was totally and utterly livid.

"What took you so long, teme? I'm fucking soaked thanks to you!"

Sasuke finished his stroll into the safe harbor of the tree as he spoke. "I assure you, I'm not late. You just happen to show up early everyday. It's not my fault you always want to see me so badly."

The blond simply growled and made room so that the Uchiha could sit next to him against the trunk of the tall tree. Was it just Sasuke, or was the blond becoming smarter? Who knows...

Sasuke plopped himself next to his blond as the downpour continued on. As if it were some sort of tradition, the Uchiha left his hand palm-up between the two of them. After a few moments, Naruto casually let his hand rest on top of Sasuke's, as if he was pretending that he didn't notice that the dark-haired male's hand was also there. Sometimes Sasuke thought Naruto was the cutest person alive. This was one of those times.

Sasuke slowly closed his hand, successfully enclosing the blond's hand within his own. Naruto didn't seem to mind. He simply pretended to ignore it. However, in that moment, Sasuke felt the blond shiver quite radically.

"Naruto, are you still that cold?"

"Sh-shut uppp, teme..." Naruto fumed, pulling his hand away. "I'm not-t c-c-c-cold."

Yeah. And Sasuke was the Easter Bunny.

"Take off your clothes, dobe."

"Wh-what?"

Sasuke turned to face him. "Your clothing is wet. If you take it off, and you let me do the same, it wont be so bad." He smirked. "And don't worry. You can keep your lovely boxers where they are. We can take care of that step some other time."

Naruto blushed a fine shade of pink. "I still don't th-think—"

"Just do it, dobe." Sasuke ground out forcefully, cutting him off mid-sentence.

And he did.

The two of them threw their shirts and pants into a pile beside them. Once they were both effectively in nothing but their undergarments, Naruto addressed him.

"N-now what?"

"This." And Sasuke was suddenly beside him, lifting the blond into his lap with a slight yelp as Naruto's only complaint.

With his golden treasure comfortably in his lap, Sasuke wrapped his arms tightly around the blond. Naruto timidly scrunched his legs so that they were in a more comfortable position upon the Uchiha's warm thighs.

"See?" The Uchiha started smugly. "Warmer already."

((((((((((((((

"Oi, Naruto."

"...Yeah?"

"..."

"What is it?"

"...I just..."

"...You just what?"

The dark-haired man turned, leaning into the blond lying next to him in the shade of the oncoming night. "I love you."

The sun-bleached male stared at him for a moment, bright, cerulean eyes wide.

"...You what?" A light blush crept its way onto the blond's face.

"I said," Sasuke started again, placing one of his pale hands softly against Naruto's face as he bent in closer, "I love you."

Before Sasuke could plant a solid kiss on the blond's lips, Naruto dodged off to the side, freeing himself from the Uchiha's grip.

"What are you saying?!" Naruto scolded as he pushed himself up into a siting position. His face was burning with a fire that only the Uchiha could unleash upon him.

"I would think that what I'm saying is pretty damn obvious, dobe. But just in case you forgot, I'll tell you again." The dark-haired youth brought himself up parallel to the blond. Placing both arms so that they were planted firmly at Naruto's sides, he leaned forward, stopping when his mouth barely brushed the man's right ear. "I love you."

Sasuke's whisper sent uncontrollable shivers up Naruto's spine and all throughout his body. He bent back involuntarily, leaving more room for his obsidian-eyed friend to occupy in an instant.

It took a few moments for Naruto to finally realize that the Uchiha was kissing him. It was a kiss incomparable to any one before it. Before long, Sasuke was already pushing him down against the soft grassy surface below them.

The second Naruto broke away to catch his breath, Sasuke planted both of his knees tightly against the blond's waist, affectively trapping the youth.

"Now," Sasuke started in a slightly winded voice, "say it back."

Naruto stared up at him in shock. "What? No!"

Sasuke frowned. "Why not?"

Naruto stammered. "B-because..."

The dark-haired Uchiha sighed, gripping the blond's face with his hands so that Naruto had no choice but to look at him. "Listen up, Naruto. It's been two years." He emphasized the number. "Two, got that?I want to move on."

A sudden wave of shock overcame the shorter man as he gazed up at the male before him. "What are you—"

Sasuke cut him off. "Calm down. I only meant that I want to be open about us. I don't want to deal with this 'sneaking out' thing anymore. It's tiering. We're grown men, and we should be able to do what we want without those geezers barking down our throats about it." The Uchiha slowly drew himself away, kneeling closely beside the blond. "Naruto,"

He waited. Waited for Sasuke to change everything that he knew with those few, simple words. Words like a viper; from afar, their beauty is magnificent. However, draw too close and they strike without restraint.

"I love you."

((((((((((((((

The rest of the night dragged on interminably. Sasuke's flagrant announcement had thrown everything he had known into an unrelenting skew. Over the past two years of actually knowing the rash nineteen-year old man, there were only a few things that Naruto knew were positive about him. He was extremely possessive, and utterly unpredictable.

The blond paled at the images that flew through his mind that depicted all the things that Sasuke was capable of to ruin his peaceful life. There was no telling what the dark-haired Uchiha might to. He had even mentioned the elders...

It is said that there once was a time when all the people of the now separate villages used to live together in peace. Yet, as time wore on, people began to pickup different beliefs. Some went to worship the sun, while others insisted that they worship the moon. The elders were the ones that decided to separate the village into two smaller settlements, one for the worshipers of the sun, and the others for the worshipers of the moon. And soon after came the laws.

The laws were set in stone, and any that chose to disobey them would face the wrath of the village elders. Naruto's own caretaker, Iruka, was one of the elders personal guard. If Naruto was to do anything against the elders, Iruka would most assuredly be punished alongside him, simply for being his teacher. There was nothing on the planet that would tempt Naruto so much as to risk Iruka's safety.

But the question was;

Could he risk love?