Naruto

As Naruto ran from the shinobi sent to apprehend him - nothing new - he couldn't help but notice one Sasuke Uchiha watching him. He recognised him easily, afterall, who couldn't? His pale skin contrasting with his dark hair, his eyes bottomless pits, mesmerising. Not that he really looked at him. He only knew this from the banshees who chased him at school.

Maybe I can show off a bit.

He proceeded to jump from rooftop to rooftop at an insane pace, extremely annoyed at Iruka-sensei showing him up.

Can't he give me a break? Sasuke is right there. And he wouldn't have caught me anyway, pft.

As Naruto was bound and dragged back to class, he hoped Sasuke didn't see. It was humiliating and when Iruka-sensei shouted at him in front of the whole class, it was the cherry on top.

Couldn't even see Sasuke sneak in while you were biting my head off old-man, and you call yourself a shinobi.

"I don't know why you're all complaining about the surprise test. It's in the exams anyway, you need to know it." Naruto truly did not understand the grumbling of his class. If they wanted to be shinobi, they had to pass the test. This was just practice!

"Such a drag."

"I want a snack."

"Stand in front of me Sasuke!"

"This is all your fault, Naruto."

The last one from Ino reminded him of how disliked he was. He turned and kept his head forward, focusing on drowning his classmates out.

After Sasuke, who happened to be in front of him, finished quickly and perfectly, Naruto made his way up.

Time to lighten the mood.

"Sexy Jutsu!"

Screams erupted from the class, but Iruka-sensei's reaction was by far the best. He stood with his mouth agape, blood running from his nose and eyes blown wide. After a few seconds he scrambled to his desk to get tissue to plug his nose with.

After much scolding, Naruto set out to clean up after himself. The reason he was being chased earlier was because he had graffitied the hokage's rock faces, to help everyone laugh. No one took it well. In fact, before the shinobi showed up, rocks were aimed and fired at him. At least none hit him this time.

Naruto really hoped no one saw him like this, cleaning up the statues. It felt humiliating and it was boring. The task was so mindless that Naruto was left to his own thoughts, and his thoughts were never good.

At least he'd get a good bowl of ramen after this.

Sasuke

Some might say Sasuke was a stalker. If you ever confronted him about it, he would deny it vehemently, but no matter what, the facts are that Sasuke knows everything about Naruto.

He knew things, like how he grew up hated and abused by the village with the Hokage seldom there to help him. He walked the streets either lonely or wishing he was alone. He knew Naruto's home was barely that, a small rectangle with some blankets and a table with a chair. He knew the boy's favourite food was ramen, because it was the only thing he could afford, just barely too. He knew Naruto hated his clothes because they were too bright but kept wearing them in the hope that someday they would be bright enough for the villagers to see him as a light and not a dark, shadowy monster. He knew Naruto was a mediocre to-be-shinobi that worked his ass off to be more than that.

He knew these things because he simply watched. He claims to watch everyone, but Naruto seemed to stand out to him. He didn't know why.

Then he saw him bouncing off the rooftops and smiled a small smile which he hid in his large, collared shirt. God forbid someone saw him smile. Then he watched as Iruka-sensei scolded him in front of the whole class, proud of his own ability to sneak in undetected.

He was proud of his blonde for not cowering at the man's voice and even prouder when he didn't seem phased by the transformation jutsu surprise test.

The proud moment was soon gone when it was Naruto's turn, replaced with mirth, and the almost irresistible urge to laugh. Almost.

It was at the end of his long day that Sasuke allowed himself to feel the bits of his daily remorse creep in. He tried to save Naruto from the village's more aggressive haters, but he knew he couldn't keep an eye on him all the time. Some slipped through the cracks, and although all logic defied the thought, Sasuke still believed it was his fault.

If only I were stronger. My family would be alive, and Naruto would be safe.

Sasuke didn't understand how Naruto affected him. He learnt from books and teachers about love and all the yucky stuff in between, and he knew about what it meant to be gay.

Is that what I am? Did Naruto make me gay?

He shook his head, turning over on his bed.

No, I'm overthinking it. I haven't even made a friend before. I think it's just a really strong bond of friendship.

Friendship with someone I have never talked to, lovely.


AN: Hope it wasn't too bad. I mean, you made it this far, must have enjoyed something about it. Yeah, so future chapters will be very SasuNaru with cheeky and forward Sasuke vs obliviously pining Naruto. Yes, i am that author and will make many enamoured by our two main protagonists.

I love comments, keeps me writing and publishing, but the honest truth is that I am probably not going to finish this, and chapters will be short, like 1k to 2k each. I'll write when I feel like spewing words, and I can't guarantee when that is. But it's going to be funny, or cringy.

A final shout out to all my people who support my little gay boys 3!

(If y'all flame, it will be ignored, however constructive criticism will be taken into consideration.)