Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Naruto. (Pout) But I do own this story.

At first Naruto Uzamaki didn't notice the heated looks his teammate kept giving him. Yes, he did get the feeling of being watched, but he was training with his team so of course someone would be watching him. When he finally noticed the handsome Uchiha watching him he couldn't help a blush that crossed his features. Why was Sasuke watching him so intently? When he kept feeling his every action being watched, he pushed himself to be great. He wanted to give the Uchiha something to watch.

"Wow Naruto," the pink-haired Sakura called, "You seem to have improved a lot."

"Thanks Sakura," the blonde replied as Kakashi called them to a short break. He looked at Sasuke, but the dark-haired teen was looking at Kakashi.

"Okay," said the Jounin, "We'll split into sparring groups now." He pointed to Sasuke and then at Naruto. "You two go together and Sakura and I will work together."

Naruto could have sworn he saw a smirk cross Sasuke's face.

"Let's go Dobe," said the Uchiha, walking towards the forest.

Naruto followed Sasuke silently. He stared at the ground, wondering why he had tried so hard to look good when his rival was watching him. He also wondered why he had blushed at the heat in the Uchiha's gaze. He knew he liked Sasuke… as a friend. He looked at the Uchiha's back as he tried to find a place for them to spar.

Actually, he realized, I like him more. He stopped with his sudden discovery.

"What is it Dobe?" the Uchiha asked, turning around.

"Nothing," the blonde replied quickly. He mentally cursed when he felt his face blush; there was that heated look again. "What are you looking at?" he asked.

Sasuke looked him up and down. Naruto fidgeted from the gaze and looked down to hide his blush. "Just a little further," the Uchiha said, instead of an answer to the blonde's question. He turned away from the blonde and walked forwards.

"Where are we going?" Naruto asked. He was still watching the ground, but continued to follow his teammate.

Suddenly, the blonde bumped into something rather hard. He looked up to see he had bumped right into Sasuke. "Sorry," the blonde mumbled, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

Sasuke only smirked at the blonde. "We're here," he said, moving from in front of his teammate.

Naruto's eyes bugged out of his head when he saw the sight before him. He was staring at the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. To his right was a sparkling clear blue lake; to his left was a small clearing filled with all kinds of wildflowers. "Wow," he said, looking around at the beautiful place around him. "How did you find this?" he asked Sasuke.

Sasuke smiled at him, an actual smile. "Do you like it?" he asked.

"Like it?" yelled the blonde, "I love it!" He walked to the lake and looked down into the water. "It's like crystal," he said looking into the water.

Sasuke thought, Like your eyes. "I was looking for a quiet place to train one day and found this. I haven't showed anyone else; you're the only one I thought might enjoy it." He kept his eyes on Naruto as he continued to walk around.

Naruto seemed to finally remember Sasuke when he once again felt a pair of eyes on his back. "It's beautiful Sasuke," he said, "but shouldn't we spar? Kakashi-sensei told us to."

"Don't worry Naruto," replied the Uchiha, walking towards the lake, "Sensei and Sakura went the other way." He stopped at the edge of the water and took his shirt off; Naruto's mouth dropped open but it went unnoticed by the Uchiha. "Besides," said Sasuke as he turned to face the blonde, who quickly shut his mouth, "Kakashi knows where we are and that I brought you here just to enjoy it."

"Why?" asked the blonde. He walked over to the lake to stand next to Sasuke. He blushed at the shirtless form his rival had taken.

Sasuke shrugged. "I just wanted to take a break," he said turning to Naruto. "I thought I'd take you with me." He smiled again, and Naruto couldn't help but like it. "So," he started, "it's hot out here… want to go swimming with me?"

Naruto looked at the water, then at Sasuke, then at the water… "Sure," he said smiling. He looked shyly at Sasuke but removed his shirt anyway.

Sasuke smiled when he saw the blonde blush. He didn't smile because the blonde was embarrassed, but because he was cute when he was embarrassed. He liked the blonde very much and thought a break from training would be the perfect opportunity to get closer to him. The truth was that Kakashi told him about this place a few weeks ago when Sasuke finally ignored his pride enough to ask for advice. He was clueless when it came to the blonde and he thought the best person to ask for advice was Kakashi; he was lazy and late to everything, but he was also a great guy that easily agreed to help Sasuke. Iruka, Kakashi's boyfriend, even offered advice about the blonde; he thought Naruto and Sasuke would be great for each other.

"You should smile more," the blonde said while blushing crimson. He looked at everything except the Uchiha, who just smiled at the blonde.

"Why is that?" asked Sasuke.

If possible, the blonde's blush darkened. "W-well," he stuttered, nervously twiddling his fingers like Hinata, "I like your smile better than I like your frown."

"You like my frown?" asked Sasuke, his smile softening, not that the blonde noticed; he was to busy, once again, looking at everything except the Uchiha.

"So," said the blonde quickly, "how 'bout that swim?" He jumped into the water and Sasuke laughed.

"Yes," Sasuke smirked, "the swim." He jumped into the water just as the blonde had.

Both teens surfaced at the same time. "This is great!" yelled the blonde happily, floating lazily on his back.

Yes you are, thought the Uchiha while saying: "Yeah, it is." Sasuke floated on his back just like Naruto.

Unknowingly, both boys were thinking the same thing: Why do I like him so much? Sasuke wasn't bothered by the fact that both of them were boys, that didn't matter to him; all that mattered to Sasuke was the fact that he cared for someone. After years of hating everything and everyone, one person broke through his hate. He didn't think he was gay; no boy had ever made the young Uchiha feel like this, only Naruto. In fact, Sasuke was sure that even if Naruto was a female he would love him just as much.

Naruto on the other hand, was confused on how he felt. He liked Sasuke… a lot, but then… so did the entire village. They were very picky of who the Uchiha heir could be with and still have their approval. Naruto was the village outcast and was shunned by almost the whole village; why would they ever approve of him to be with their precious Uchiha? Not only was he the holder of Kyuubi, but he was also a boy; if for some reason the villagers could look past Kyuubi, they'd never look through the fact that he was male. The only gay couple in the entire village that wasn't frowned upon was Kakashi and Iruka. No one could scorn Iruka… or Kakashi; they were loved and admired by all, and the whole village was willing to put up with them being together if it made them happy. They'd never do that for Naruto…

Without warning, Naruto burst into tears. His sudden movements caused him to fall under water. Sasuke grabbed him, having been jerked from his thoughts the moment he heard Naruto sob. Sasuke half carried the shaking blonde to the shore.

"What's wrong Naruto?" he asked worriedly, sitting both himself and his teammate down in the grass. He looked the blonde over to make sure he wasn't hurt. He saw no wounds, but saw that the boy was still shaking so he pulled him into a hug. He rubbed Naruto's back soothingly and kept whispering soothing words into his ear.

The blonde finally stopped crying, but he was still shivering. Sasuke grabbed both of their shirts off the ground and helped the blonde pull his over his head. "What's wrong Naruto?" he asked again, this time with a hint of pleading in his voice. He slid his shirt on, trying to keep an eye on the blonde.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and he almost started crying again. He had moved away from Sasuke so he could slide his shirt on, but as soon as the shirt was over the Uchiha's head he jumped on him. Because he was smaller than Sasuke, his head easily fit under the bigger teen's chin as he wrapped his arms around his back. He pressed his face into the Uchiha's chest and was once again crying.

"Naruto," Sasuke pleaded, pulling the blonde tighter against himself, "what's wrong? Please tell me." He pushed the blonde away from him slightly, only enough to see his face. He gently grabbed the blonde's chin and tilted his face up so he could see his blue eyes.

Naruto stopped crying and looked at the Uchiha. He was surprised when he suddenly felt another set of lips on his own. Although it took a minute, he started kissing back. He momentarily forgot he had been crying; he only knew that he was kissing someone he really liked and he… knew it was wrong. He gently pushed Sasuke away and his eyes watered again.

"What's wrong?" asked the Uchiha, feeling guilty for kissing the blonde when he was obviously really upset. "I'm sorry," he started, "I shouldn't have-" Naruto placed a hand over his mouth, cutting him off.

"It's not that," he said, removing his hand; Sasuke just looked at him, waiting for more. "I really, really like you Sasuke," the blonde said. Sasuke's heart swelled with joy, "But…" it shrank right back down, "I shouldn't." The blonde looked down at the ground as he felt his own heart hurt some.

"Why shouldn't you like me?" Sasuke asked gently.

"We're both guys," Naruto explained, "No one would approve of us being together."

"Well, Kakashi and Iruka are both guys, no one has a problem with them," reasoned Sasuke.

"Yes, but everyone likes them. Everyone wants them to be happy so they can accept them being together." The blonde shook his head sadly. "I'm vessel to a demon fox that killed many Leaf Village people; not even a handful of people have ever cared about me, none the less want me to be happy." A new wave of tears fell from his blue eyes.

Sasuke felt his heart was breaking as he watched his precious Naruto cry. "Naruto," he said gently, tilting the blonde's chin up so they could be face to face, "Can I ask you something?" The blonde sniffled and nodded "yes." "Do you love me?"

The blonde's eyes widened at the question as he was not expecting it. He looked into Sasuke's eyes and instantly knew the answer. "Yes," he said with certainty, "Yes, I love you Sasuke."

Sasuke smiled softly. "Then why does it matter that you contain a demon, or that we are both male?"

Naruto looked at the ground. "The villagers-" he started, but Sasuke interrupted him.

"The villagers are not you and they are not me," said the Uchiha. Naruto looked at Sasuke's face and saw love burning in his eyes. "You are Naruto Uzamaki, the person I love… I am Sasuke Uchiha, the person you love. Love has no gender, just as it has no skin color." His eyes were burning into Naruto's. "I would rather be with you, the one I love, even if it means being looked down upon and treated as something nasty, then ignore what my heart wants and live miserably without you. Love is something beautiful, shared between two people who care deeply for each other. When someone says it is wrong to love a certain person or a certain race, then they do not know what it's like to experience it. Only when you truly love someone can you understand that your lover could be another race or gender and you'd still love them. You cannot simply choose to love anyone you want; you are made for someone who is made for you and their anatomy does not matter as long as you are willing to follow your heart." Sasuke grabbed the blonde's face and kissed him deeply. "My heart says that you were made for me, and if you were any different, I'd still feel the same way." He kissed the blonde again. "What does your heart say Naruto?"

Naruto stared at Sasuke's face and this time when they kissed, Naruto started it. When they pulled apart to breathe, Naruto spoke: "I love you Sasuke," he said, "The villagers can call it wrong all they want to, but my heart says its right."