--
Chapter 5: Declarations of Love
--
He sighed, crouching on a tree limb as he watched Sasuke throw kunai knives at the target, his eyes, glowing in the shadows of the forest, captured by the grace and skill.
Sasuke's graceful movements captivated him as his eyes flickered across the other's body, seeing the slight trickle of sweat, the beautiful eyes, dark and unreadable, the black locks of spiky hair. The night gave the Uchiha a particular allure, his black hair and eyes and clothes stark against pale skin almost glowing in the darkness. He admired how his tight fitting black shirt clung to his body, how his white shorts complemented it so well, how Sasuke's lean muscles showed clearly.
Really, he was too beautiful for a boy. More like a warrior princess, perhaps. Beautiful and deadly.
He sighed quietly, his eyes tracing the other's movements wistfully.
A sudden movement registered in the corner of his eye and he turned, but it was too late, as whoever it was leapt at him.
He ducked automatically, falling upside down on the tree branch, but the other tackled him and they both fell into a bush, fighting furiously. He finally managed to throw the other off him and he ran up a tree, spinning a kunai knife warily, before he froze as he felt cold steel touch his throat gently as whoever it was wrapped an arm around him from behind, trapping one of his arms.
"Who are—Naruto?"
Naruto swung his head backwards, his eyes widening in shock. "Sasuke? But you—now—what?"
Sasuke let go of the blond, jumping off the tree gracefully. "What were you doing, Naruto? You would have been dead if I was an enemy ninja."
"Yeah, yeah..." Naruto laughed sheepishly, following the Uchiha as he began collecting all of his weapons from the training ground. "My bad, my bad."
"Jeez," Sasuke grumbled under his breath. How did he become one of the elite, one of the best of the best, when he was so—stupid?
"What were you doing?" Sasuke suddenly remembered as he put away his last shuriken. "Were you the one following me?"
Naruto froze before handing Sasuke a kunai knife that he had missed, who nodded in thanks before tucking it away. "Well?"
"I—I was—I was training!" Naruto fumbled for an excuse.
One thin eyebrow rose up gracefully as Sasuke stared at Naruto with a do-you-think-I'm-stupid? kind of look in his disbelieving eyes. "Really."
"Y—yeah!" Naruto nodded furiously, eyes wide. "I was, um, practicing my stalking skills, and I saw you, so I followed you to test you, y'know, if you would sense me or not, and yeah!"
He nodded furiously, and swallowed as Sasuke touched his cheek gently. Sasuke's hand cupped his cheek lightly, as Sasuke murmured, "I may be drunk, but I am not stupid, Naruto."
Naruto froze as Sasuke's thumb brushed against Naruto's cheek gently, tracing over his whisker marks as his other hand wrapped around the blond's waist, pulling him closer. He stared into Sasuke's dark, unreadable eyes, swallowing slightly as Sasuke leaned closer.
"Maybe I am stupid," Sasuke murmured. "To not realize this until now."
"Realize what?" Naruto asked, just as quietly, his eyes darker than usual.
"That I loved you," Sasuke said simply, his eyes watching Naruto's reaction, hiding his anxiety.
"Honestly?" Naruto didn't dare think that it was true. Maybe this is a dream, he thought desperately. Maybe—
"Yes. Do you love me?" The simple question was filled with hidden hope, longing, and wistfulness.
"Of course," Naruto said fiercely, almost scowling at him. "I've always loved you, for years and years and years, since before you left."
Sasuke smiled. "That's good."
--
Here we are, at chapter 5. I am very impressed at myself, truly. There should be an epilogue, and I'm going to edit the chapters a bit, but other than that, this story is virtually finished.
Thank you freexflyer, for your very kind review.
Written: July 29, 2008
Words: 611