Sasukec: I am VERY happy to announce that I'm back on the grind with this story! My beloved sasu and naru would like to move on with their lives, so they called me and cussed me out for a bit, telling me their urges were getting too much to stand… -Sigh-

Terrible night…

Well! Enjoy the FLUFF in this chappy, mates! 8D

Naruto yawned lightly as he sat on the right side of the bed, waiting for Sasuke to get ready. Neither had talked about the blonde's "joke" since the café. The blonde still didn't see the reason to get all flustered over it. It was just a joke. But Sasuke had taken it so seriously.

He kissed me back.

The Uchiha came out of the bathroom, fixing the collar of his white, button up shirt. He looked over to the blonde who looked back at him.

"You know, that still wasn't funny."

"What?" Naruto looked at Sasuke with a confused look. The Uchiha just rolled his eyes then tapped his lips with his index finger.

"Oh! That joke. You liked it, Sasuke." Naruto teased, grinning and winking as he did so.

Did I just do that?

The Uchiha's face flustered, red immediately pervading his cheeks. Naruto was sure that wasn't anger.

"The hell I did! Why do you think I punched you?"

"It was just a love tap Sasuke!"

Naruto smirked as Sasuke sighed heavily and grabbed his jacket, heading toward the door. The blonde jumped up and followed after him, opening and closing the door behind him.

The Uchiha was almost to the elevator when Naruto grabbed Sasuke's wrist, which made the Uchiha spin around to face Naruto.

"Sasuke, can't you take a joke?"

"I obviously can't because I," He brought two fingers from each his hands into the air, making quotation marks as he spoke. "Kissed back."

"But, you did!"

"Alright, let's assume I did. What then?"

"Well…" Naruto looked around for a moment before he slightly shrugged. "Still assuming you 'kissed back'… Did you mean it?"

"About as much as you meant the joke."

The blonde sighed as Sasuke crossed his arms across his chest. Silence crossed between them before Naruto mumbled, "…Whadifhiid…."

The Uchiha tilted his head ever so slightly to the side.

"What?"

The blonde took a deep breath. "What if… I was just excusing it as a joke?"

Shock seemed to cross the brunette's face. Sasuke seemed to have gotten the idea, but he had to make sure.

"What do you mean? That you meant to kiss me?"

The blonde's eyes were frantically searching all around the hallway for something that wasn't there until they finally met Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke's eyes seemed to let up, like Naruto had magically broken down his impenetrable barrier.

"Well… At first I didn't think I did… But when you kissed back, it…"

The blonde was blushing this time, but his eyes were still locked onto the Uchiha's. The brunette seemed stunned and felt as though something had just slapped him in the face. Was it his past self? Was it the Sasuke from those two long years ago breaking his chains and taking control?

"Naruto…"

The Uchiha closed the distance between the two teens, locking Naruto's lips into his own. Their lips embracing, for the first time without accident or any other like factor, seemed like release for the two.

At first, Naruto acted surprised, but soon fell into the rhythm of their long desired kiss. The Uchiha's pale hand found its way to Naruto's cheek, cupping it with gentle admiration. As their lips parted, they stared each other in the eyes for only a moment more, before bring each other back in.

Tongues were a sure enough factor in their longing. As they fought with their tongues between their connected mouths, their hands found their ways to places they had naturally longed to touch, caress, and hold. However, their longing kiss could not last. Each boy tore apart from one another in an attempt to catch their breath. As they did so, they stared into each other's eyes again, each hoping to find something that they may have missed in the personality in one another.

Naruto and Sasuke were both held into each other's arms, Naruto more than Sasuke seeing as the Uchiha was taller than the blonde was and more easily held. The realization had hit each one as they embraced. They had loved each other and there was no denying it now.

"Sasuke…?"

The blonde nudged the Uchiha as they descended in the elevator. Their kiss had stunned both and they were each as equally speechless, now knowing that they had weight lifted off their backs. Naruto even admitted to himself and Sasuke, the feelings were there. Naruto didn't deny it now nor did Sasuke and that fact made things easier between them. Even easier than it had before.

"Hm?"

The Uchiha looked over to Naruto attentively, more so than he'd ever seen out of the brunette.

"Um… I think we shouldn't see each other…"

Sasuke acted as if he'd been it in the face with a brick. Naruto looked up and was startled by the Uchiha's hurt expression. The blonde quickly explained himself.

"I-I didn't mean forever, Sasuke! I just meant until after the concert. Just to let things sink in."

The Uchiha's hurt expression soon changed into a relieved, then thoughtful one. The blonde looked at the Uchiha, patiently. Naruto thought it was a good idea. Things were moving fast and he'd wanted some time alone to reflect on what happened.

Sasuke put his hand to the blonde's cheek, turning him to face the Uchiha's pale, smiling face.

"Sure. I understand."

The Uchiha leaned in to give Naruto a sweet, deep kiss. The kiss would have been intensified, but a sudden ding made the boys part as the elevator doors opened. The Uchiha, without another word, left the blonde behind. He walked over to where the rest of the class had gathered. Most were sitting in the red chairs and a few were standing. Sasuke just decided to lean against a nearby wall, as his eyes scanned the room. They finally landed on Naruto, who went to join his other friend, Lee.

Why did I try to deny it? I love him.

The Uchiha then felt a sense of acceptance overcome his senses. It was everywhere inside him. It made him feel like he could breathe, like he could see, like he was finally alive. It was foreign to the Uchiha. He'd never felt anything like this.

Is this what it's like? To love and be loved? Damn… Love stories got nothing on this one.

The stadium was already packed with crazed Linkin Park fans, almost every one Sasuke had seen with a Linkin Park shirt on. The Uchiha thought about getting a shirt for a moment, then decided that he didn't want to be a clone amidst the group. The Uchiha could see his blonde ahead of their group as they waited in line to get into the main stadium. He could tell Naruto was still talking with Lee. Sasuke let a smile pull his lips up.

My Naruto. He's actually mine…

Many minutes later and a little bit of walking, they were finally in front of the stage. Luckily for the class, they got the floor section. It slightly perturbed the Uchiha, being in the crowd, so he decided to stand outside of the group. Not long after, the lights of the stadium went out and the crowd began to cheer wildly as Linkin Park came out, lead singer screaming into the microphone.

The crowd before Sasuke began jumping and singing along with the song. It was odd, but Naruto seemed to be completely apart from the group. Although the blonde was in perfect synch with every other person, he seemed to stand out more than others do. As if he were the only one making the crowd move. Gravity no longer held Sasuke.

The Uchiha knew what Naruto had said – space to think and process. But, Sasuke felt an urge. An urge he wanted to satisfy now, one that seemed to just call to him. This whole experience was new to the brunette. So, he could either ignore it and be given those consequences, whatever they may be, or do as it wanted and receive those consequences. Sasuke's body screamed for the latter, but Sasuke thought he'd try to wait it out. See if it would go away.

I can wait. This concert can't be all that long anyway.

An hour passed and the urge Sasuke had was still there. He also noticed that, not once, had his eyes gone away from the yellow speck in the crowd. As Linkin Park began to play their new single, Not Alone, the Uchiha found himself rushing through the crowd. He pushed people away as he cut through the now swaying crowd.

"You go! Giving up your home! Go, leaving all you've known!"

As the lead singer sang through the main chorus, Sasuke had finally reached Naruto. The blonde still hadn't noticed Sasuke.

"You are not alone! You are not alone!"

Sasuke grabbed Naruto's wrist, and began pulling him back through the crowd. Sasuke knew that the blonde must've been confused, and would be yelling. However, the stadium was full of loud noise so it was impossible to hear someone even talking when they were right by you. Sasuke noticed a few people looking at the two boys. It might have been an odd scene. One that needed no reason to stare or even laugh at. However, Sasuke couldn't care.

The Uchiha continued to drag the blonde out of the crowd then out of the door they had entered. Once they were in the outer hall, Sasuke could hear complaints coming from Naruto.

"What the hell? Sasuke! Where are we going?"

The Uchiha was now at a running pace as he turned his head to look at Naruto. The Uchiha smirked, then replied, "Just follow me! We're going somewhere else!"

Naruto had slightly complained at first, but then he began to realize the fun in racing Sasuke. Sasuke was fast, but Naruto was faster… Almost. The two boys continued running down the streets in Rome, passing pedestrians as they did so in a flurry of running feet. After running for a while, the Uchiha saw a park coming up ahead and he decided to change their course of action. He made a quick and sharp right, slightly leaving the blonde behind.

The sudden change in direction surprised the blonde, but he soon changed his course and was shortly behind the Uchiha once again. Sasuke began to slow down and finally collapse in front of a giant oak tree. Naruto soon landed by him, breathing heavily just as the Uchiha was. Both boys were now laying next to each other, their arms stretched out wide. In a matter of seconds, they were both laughing a full-hearted laugh.

After a few more moments of laughing, Sasuke pushed himself up and balanced himself on one elbow, towering over the blonde's face. The Uchiha's bangs fell in front of him and almost touched the blonde's cheeks. Naruto smiled and cupped Sasuke's cheek with his hand as he spoke, "I can't believe you took me out of a Linkin Park concert for a race! You know we're going to get into big trouble for just running off… Right?"

The Uchiha chuckled and planted a light kiss on the blonde's forehead.

"Like I give a shit."

Even in the dark, Sasuke could tell a blush had come onto Naruto's face. It made the Uchiha chuckle again before standing up and making his way to the big oak. Naruto sat up on his elbows to see that Sasuke had sat down against the big oak and was signaling Naruto to come over to him. The blonde then crawled over to the brunette and sat between Sasuke's spread legs. He laid his head on Sasuke's still deep breathing chest and felt Sasuke's wide arms around himself.

"You know, Sasuke… I could sue you."

This confused the Uchiha terribly.

"What? Why?"

Naruto laughed lightly to himself.

"You're technically an adult and I'm technically underage. You're just a sick, old man."

Usually, Sasuke would've punched someone in the face for that smart line. But, Sasuke only found himself chuckling along with Naruto. Sasuke was 18 and Naruto was 17. In a sense, the blonde was right, all joking aside.

"Hope you've got a good attorney then, Uzumaki."

"Hey! No more last name stuff. It makes me think of all those bad times."

The brunette rolled his eyes.

"Sure, sure."

Both teens shared a comfortable silence as each of them looked up to the sky. The sky was completely clear and the stars could be seen well from this part of Rome. Despite the usual city lights, they had dimmed around the park they were in and stars were easily spotted. The moon, obviously hard to miss, was a full one. Not a cloud in the sky, not a cloud in the boys' minds. Everything was as clear as the night sky tonight. Despite the chilly air, the body heat they shared was enough to keep each other warm.

Sasuke and Naruto sat in their embrace for a few, long minutes before Sasuke broke the night-filled silence by clearing his throat.

"I'm sorry..."

The blonde raised an eyebrow and turned his head to look into Sasuke's eyes. His coal-black eyes seemed to be a thousand miles away, as if the Uchiha were seeing events unfold elsewhere in the world.

"What?" Naruto questioned, truly confused by Sasuke's statement.

"I don't understand anything, Naruto...," the Uchiha murmured as he fiddled with Naruto's right hand.

The blonde opened his mouth to say something but instead quickly closed it, suddenly unsure of what to say. Sasuke's eyes seemed to return to himself for they looked at Naruto who was watching a nearby couple walking along the stone path, hand-in-hand. The Uchiha looked to observe the foreign couple as they made their way out of the park and onto the lamp-lit sidewalks.

"What do you mean, Sasuke?"

The blonde's sudden question caught Sasuke off guard as he wasn't expecting the blonde to speak up.

"I never thought I'd end up with... With..." The Uchiha fished for the right words.

"A guy?" Naruto offered.

"No! Well, I mean, yeah. Or no..." Sasuke could feel his face heat up as he stumbled over his words. He hoped Naruto wouldn't being up the gay issue.

"That's...," Sasuke tried again, "Not what I was trying to say!"

"You touchy on that subject?"

The Uchiha tried to play dumb while willing away the persistant heat on his cheeks.

"What subject?"

"The whole... Gay thing." Naruto said finally, handling the word "gay" as if it were his first time using it in conversation.

"I'm not gay."

The blonde scoffed lightly before replying curtly, "Are you calling me a girl?"

"No! I just..." Sasuke let out a sigh filled with tension.

"Lighten up, Sasuke, I'm just trying to give you a hard time."

Sasuke could hear the lightness and smile in the blonde's tone, but his lips remained pursed. He was thrown off course with Naruto's smart little comment. He'd never addressed the whole gay thing. Ever. He preferred oi call it a gray area even if he didn't like to talk about it.

"Look, Sasuke, I'm confused too. I don't understand why I thought a kiss might equal a funny prank or why I even tried to communicate with you in the first place. You always just seemed like... Well, for lack of better words... A miserable dick who didn't know the meaning of fun."

The Uchiha thanked the cover of night allowing him to slip a small smile onto his face. Sasuke looked down at the bright yellow head just below his chin and realized that Naruto was waiting for Sasuke to say something. The Uchiha swallowed hard.

"I don't know why I didn't just turn around and go home when I saw you at the airport... Or why I got jealous of Cartina. So... I guess that makes us a couple of confused teenagers."

Sasuke felt the blonde's shoulders rise and fall quickly, his back rumbling from the deepness of his chuckle.

"Right. Maybe that's better. Not gay, just confused."

The blonde turned around and pulled the pale boy into a gentle kiss whom returned the action. The Uchiha instensified the kiss by pulling Naruto in closer, making the kiss much more intimate. Their lips parted only for a moment as Naruto got onto his knees, turned to face the brunette, and sat on Sasuke's lap. As Naruto sat, he was pulled into another of the pale boy's lip embrace.

Sasuke's tongue was the first to make its move as it entered the blonde's waiting mouth. The Uchiha's tongue moved all around within the younger boy's mouth, especially around the foreign feeling tongue the blonde possessed. The Uchiha could feel himself becoming more and more excited. He wouldn't be able to hold it back much longer.

But before Sasuke's excitement rose, the blonde suddenly pulled away much to the Uchiha's disappointment. Naruto put his forehead against the brunette's, Naruto's softly spiked hair tickling Sasuke's forehead. Naruto's deep blue eyes seemed like an endless ocean when Sasuke stared into them. He almost felt as if the corny pickup line, "Do you have a map? Because I'm lost in your eyes." really apllied to the blonde. Would it be so corny if it were true?

"Sasuke...?" The blonde asked, his breathing becoming more steady and even.

"Hm?"

"What did you mean about being sorry?"

All hints of joking and humor had escaped the blonde as he waited for an answer. The Uchiha tore his gaze away from Naruto's.

"I'm sorry for everything... Sorry I didn't just tell you about how I started to feel... Sorry that I didn't tell you about that one night... It was stupid of me to keep that from you. I wasn't helping anything by keeping you in the dark... Not to mention the party, suspension, and-"

Sasuke stopped as he felt a soft, tan finger against his lips. The Uchiha pulled his eyes back up to see Naruto smiling.

"It's fine, Sasuke. I understand. It's not like I'm completely innocent, either. We're only human, sour puss." Naruto said, his girn growing on his face.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and pulled the blonde into a warm embrace. Naruto nuzzled his face into the Uchiha's pale neck, taking in his very scent. Neither wanted the moment to end. The moment when things were seeming to be so easy now. The moment when both boys felt accepted and felt that the past two years had been a confusion of nightmares, unrealized feelings, and gnawing questions.

As the blonde opened his eyes and looked at Sasuke's neck and saw his pale skin and neck-length, black hair, he was suddenly - and painfully - reminded of something. A certain something that he'd never want to be around again. Why was he suddenly reminded of this? Why did it have to flutter to his mind now?

Dammit... No, no, no! Sasuke... Isn't Itachi! He'd never do that... I KNOW he wouldn't. But... Should I tell him? It shouldn't be his to worry about... I didn't...

The blonde could feel the beginnings of tears floating to the ducts of his eyes. His eyes burned and began filling to the brim with tears. Luckily for the blonde, he'd been known to hold back tears when they seemed inevitable to over flow.

Do not cry... Do not cry... Do NOT...

The blonde could feel Sasuke beginning to come away from the long embrace. Naruto panicked slightly and put his head onto the Uchiha's shoulder and moved into the nape of his pale neck, trying to hide his eyes from Sasuke's view. The hiding from Sasuke's view was working effectively enough, but Naruto's sudden reclusive behavior confused the brunette.

"Naruto? Are you alright?"

It took the blonde a few moments to reply, seeing as he was trying to make the damn tears go away. He was secretly using Sasuke's jacket as a tissue for his tears, letting them soak into the fabric.

Hopefully Sasuke doesn't notice… Dammit I'm so stupid…

A few moments later and Naruto jumped away from Sasuke, onto his feet. Sasuke was slightly confused as the weight of the blonde was lifted away from his chest and was a bit surprised to see Naruto already standing, hand outstretched to help him up. Sasuke blinked a couple times before taking the blonde's hand and standing up.

"Come on, Sasuke. We should get back before they start to leave from the concert or else we'll be in some trouble."

With that, the blonde took off back in the direction of the stadium with Sasuke tagging along behind him as he inspected a peculiar wet spot on the shoulder of his jacket.

Sasukec: Oooh! Me uber excited for the next chap! :D

Hope you guys enjoyed x3

Reviews are quite lovely all year round!