Chapter One: The First Chapter
(Sasuke POV)

I guess I never really understood people.

I didn’t understand why Naruto forced me to go on a vacation with him and “the rest of the gang” (using his phrase) to some remote town in the middle of the coldest February I had ever been forced to live through. The again, I think this irritated me more than it surprised me. Naruto always did stupid things.

And Sakura… I don’t even know where to begin with her. She and her closest friend, Ino, were always all over me, going on and on about me as if I had created the world and was perfect in every way. Heh, stupid girls. If only they knew.

But most of all, it seemed like the person I understood the least was myself, especially when it came to my feelings about him. I didn’t understand why my heart beat painfully fast whenever he got close; why I tripped over my words whenever I talked to him; why whenever we touched or looked each other in the eye, I felt an electric jolt and dropped whatever I was carrying; why, when I tried so hard to stay distant, to not get these feelings for anyone, I had to fall for him, the one person I knew I couldn’t have.

When we first met, this wasn’t as much of a problem; it was a simple pre-teen crush, and I could always use the “bitter rivals” excuse to explain away my obsession with him. But after the war ended, he would always come to visit, and I would always make it my job to show him around (even if he already knew where everything was), just so that I could hear his voice, so that I could figure out more about him. We began to grow closer, and before I could see it coming and take control of it, my crush began to grow into something more…

It had been a year since I had returned from Otokagure, and I could never get him off of my mind. My dreams about him had grown so intense that I couldn’t even look him in the eye without heat beginning to creep up onto my cheeks. I was at my breaking point; it was getting harder and harder to keep on my mask, and sometimes it would fall apart altogether. It didn’t help the situation at all that Naruto had convinced him to come on this vacation with his brother while leaving his sister in charge of things back at his home. It didn’t help either that Naruto had made us roommates. Roommates meant sharing a hotel room. Sharing a hotel room meant sharing a bedroom. Sharing a bedroom meant sleeping just feet away from him, so close that I could get up and touch his face while he slept…

I shook my head sharply. 'Get those thoughts out of your head! You’re being stupid!'

I curled my knees up closer to my chest and dug my fingernails into my shoulders as another cold wind ripped by. To postpone the unavoidable point of doom when I would have to interact with all of my “friends” and “enjoy this wonderful vacation” with them, I had stolen away as soon as I had placed my bags in my room and was hiding out on the roof. The downside to this was that within five minutes I was transformed into a human popsicle.

You could just go inside, a sensible part of me said, but I clenched my teeth and ignored it. Being painfully frozen was, at the least, preferable to making a fool of myself in front of him.

I looked around desperately for something to distract me from the weather and the blush-inducing thoughts forming in my head. Finding nothing on the barren piece of land I was facing to catch my interest, my eyes flicked upward. Stormy-grey clouds covered the sky, blocking most of the sunlight; even though it was the middle of the afternoon, it was so dark it could have been late evening. The air felt slightly damp, threatening that rain might soon be coming, just to complete my day. I glared up at the clouds, daring them to drip one speck of water on me.

“Having fun, Uchiha?”

My insides froze over, and not because of the cold. If it hadn’t been for my pride, I would have thrown myself off the top of the hotel. Instead, I just peeked over my shoulder and tried to keep on a calm, indifferent face.

Of course, the moment I saw him my act fell to pieces. His messy blood-red hair blew around his pale face, giving him a perfect, windswept look. The corners of his mouth were turned up in the smallest of smiles, and his slanted, sea-green eyes were alight with something that looked like amusement. He was wearing baggy, charcoal-grey pants, the usual sandals, and- even though I was shaking under my jacket- a loose tank-top shirt that showed off his perfectly toned arms and just enough chest to make my mind go numb.

I mentally cursed. I couldn’t believe I was gawking at the Kazekage. Again.

“Hey Gaara,” I said, before mentally cursing again. I’d meant for my voice to be casual, but it ended up coming out breathless, as if I was a sighing fan-boy instead of one of his closest friends.

Gaara’s smile seemed to grow a tiny bit, but I could have been seeing things. He sat down beside me, sprawled in a slightly juvenile manner that showed his innocence. One sleeve of his shirt was hanging off his shoulder; my fingers itched to push it back into place.

“I thought I’d find you up here,” he said softly, almost as if he was talking to himself. I didn’t answer; my eyes were fixated to the hanging sleeve, and before I could stop myself I gently pushed it back into place. Gaara stiffened and threw me a questioning look. I avoided his eyes.

“Your sleeve was bothering me.” For once, I was thankful for the cold; it felt good against my burning face.

“… I see.” Gaara sighed and looked around at the oh-so-exciting scenery in front of us. “So… what are you doing on this wonderful afternoon, outside on the roof?”

I smirked at his sarcasm. “Nothing much.” 'Thinking of your soft lips pressed against mine as we confess our love, my fingers running through your soft hair as our bodies press closer together—'

“Nothing much, huh.” He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, and I swallowed nervously. My throat was starting to get dry.

'--your fingers skimming under my shirt as you bite at my neck, marking me as yours. My head tips back and my breath comes out in a shuddering gasp—'

“You’re being ridiculous, Uchiha,” Gaara said suddenly, his tone almost businesslike. I dropped back to earth, just in time it seemed; I could almost feel a nosebleed coming on.

“Huh?”

“Look, I understand you wanting to be alone, but sitting on the roof where the wind is the worst, wearing only a flimsy jacket over your regular clothes…” He paused, looking frustrated. All I could do was wonder what he was getting at.

“I mean… aren’t you cold?” he asked softly. I raised my eyebrows, taking in the Kazekage’s tank-top (and I wasn’t altogether displeased with what I was taking in).

“What about you?” I shot back, gesturing at said shirt. “And does it really matter if I’m cold or not? Not that I am,” I added, my voice fierce.

Gaara looked down at his chest, and gave a small shrug. “The cold doesn’t affect me as much as it does you, I guess.”

I felt myself bristling slightly. 'Is he…?'

“And of course it matters.” Gaara fixed me with a serious look. “What would we do if you got sick?”

I shot to my feet, my hands clenching into fists. A monster seemed to have awakened inside my stomach, and it was spitting fires of anger that blocked out all sense and reason. “You bastard,” I spat. “Are you calling me weak?!”

Gaara’s eyes widened slightly. “No, I—“

“Are you challenging me?! Acting all high and mighty because you can handle the cold—I can take it, too!” I ripped my jacket off and threw it away from me in disgust. A second later Gaara was on his feet, a mere foot away from me.

“What do you think you’re doing? What are you saying?” he yelled back, his shoulders shaking. “Stop being stupid!”

“Oh, so I’m being stupid now? First weak, then stupid, huh?! Well, not all of us can be up at your level, Kazekage-sama.” I was in a blind rage, saying words that I wished I could catch and swallow back up, but the tide refused to stop. “Why did you come up here, Gaara? If you knew I wanted to be alone, then why did you fucking come up here?! To piss me off? Is that what you wanted? Huh?!”

An empty silence followed my rant. My chest heaved, and fire still burned in my veins as I tried to hold myself back from saying anything else. Gaara stood in front of me, trembling slightly, and his green eyes burned into mine. All of a sudden the fire or wrath was replaced with a burning shame. I’d hurt Gaara; I could see it in his eyes. What kind of person was I? What kind of person hurt the person they…

…loved? Was that what this was? Love…

“Uchiha, I…I came up here… because I wanted to make sure you were okay. I worry about you because… ‘cause you’re my closest friend, and I care about you, whether you like it or not.”

With a last fiery look, Gaara turned and began walking toward the door leading back inside the main building. He was leaving, just like that, and I was left frozen in place, processing his words.

“I care about you…”

'He says that, but what does he mean? As a friend, or as… maybe… more? But he’s still walking away, he’s leaving me… God, because I pushed him away! Stupid, stupid!'

I watched his retreating back desperately, his figure blurring slightly as my eyes began to sting. 'What do I do?'

“Gaara, wait!”

I began running forward, almost tripping over my own feet in the process. Gaara had just enough time to turn around, his expression hopeful, before I crashed into him. We stumbled and my arms wrapped around him, but he somehow caught us both, regaining his balance. His breathing sped up against my neck as I crushed him to me as much as possible. I was hungry for all of him, to feel his body pressed completely against mine. I wanted him to know how sorry I was.

“Sasuke…?” Gaara whispered, and I began to feel like we were acting out a scene from a bad romance novel. But when Gaara let out a tiny sigh and snaked his arms around my waist, none of that mattered anymore. His arms were wrapped tightly around me, his head was buried against my neck, his body was fitting perfectly against mine. Shock and pleasure rushed through my body, making my cheeks glow like never before. An unfamiliar warmth began spreading through my chest, making my skin prickle and my heart thud painfully against my ribs.

'What is this? It’s so warm…'

I couldn’t have told you how long we stood there; it could have been two minutes, it could have been two eternities, but every moment that passed made the heat in my chest grow until it got almost unbearable.

'Gaara… I love you…'

“Um, Sasuke…” Gaara mumbled against my shoulder. “You can let go now.”

“Yeah, so can you.”

Seconds passed. Neither of us made any move to release our hold on each other. My insides gave an uneasy squirm as Gaara gave me an off look.

“I-I’m just cold,” I stammered out quickly. Gaara’s body seemed to stiffen slightly, but I felt him nod against my shoulder.

An awkward silence spread between us. By the time another minute passed it felt like I was hugging a statue, and a second afterward Gaara squirmed out of my arms, suddenly looking uncomfortable. I couldn’t blame him; if I had been him I would have been terrified it aloof, antisocial Uchiha Sasuke leapt up and hugged me out of the blue. It didn’t stop my heart from sinking, though. For one bright, shining moment I had thought that maybe, just maybe…

A black cloth waved in front of my face, flapping in the wind like an overlarge bat. I jumped, and had to blink a few times before I recognized it as my jacket.

“Found it,” Gaara said unnecessarily. “You know… you really shouldn’t just throw your jacket away like that.”

I snorted. “Yeah, yeah.” I reached out to grab it, but my fingers barely brushed the sleeve before it was pulled out of reach.

“Hey-“I glared at him. “That’s not funny, I—“

Gaara’s pale arms curved around me and he slipped the jacket onto my shoulders. My cheeks flushed scarlet and the world around me seemed to turn on its axis as my arms were gently pushed into the sleeves. Gaara kept his head down the entire time, avoiding my eyes, but I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off of him. His slender hands fumbled with the zipper, and I felt like screaming as my heart was stabbed repeatedly.

'Please stop, god-damn you! Let me go, stop doing this to me! Please, I’m begging you…'

“Gaara…” His name slipped past my lips before I could pull it back. He looked up, but it took me a while to realize this; his face was the same color as his hair. Our eyes locked, and I was drowning in their light green color; my breathing sped up in a vain attempt to replace lost oxygen. His fingers traced over my heaving chest, pulling the zipper torturously slow up to my neck. They rested longer than necessary against my skin, leaving cigarette burns where they made contact.

A shudder of either fear or pleasure- I couldn’t tell which- rushed up my spine. Who would have thought that drowning could feel so unbelievably good…

“Well, isn’t this a nice little Hallmark moment, eh Kankuro?”

My head turned so quickly toward the door that I could almost feel my neck snap. Standing there, wearing a black sweatshirt and a smug grin on his face, was Kiba, and everything about him had “trouble” in big, bold, neon letters written all over it.. Behind him stood Kankuro, Gaara’s puppet-jockey of an older brother, and he looked like he was channeling the sky’s mood onto his face.

'Oh, splendid.'

Gaara’s arms whipped away from me as if they had been burned; his face was still cherry red. “What are you two doing up here?” he asked, sounding irritated.

“You act like it’s a capital crime to walk out onto the roof,” Kankuro said in a bored voice, examining his fingernails. “But then again, if we were interrupting something kinky…”

I wanted to punch that stupid calm look off Kankuro’s face. “We weren’t doing anything,” I growled, trying to inject my words with venom. “We were just… cold.”

So much for the venom. I didn’t even need to look at the two brunettes’ faces to know that sounded lame. Kankuro’s eyebrows were in danger of disappearing into his hair, and Kiba said in an obnoxious tone that I loathed, “Ah, the old ‘we-were-just-warming-up’ trick. Such a classic. But we’re not here to criticize your pathetic attempts at making a move. Actually…” The dog nin pointed a finger dramatically at me, ignoring my and Gaara’s sputters of indignation, “I was looking for you, Uchiha.”

Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows. Kiba? Looking for me? Doesn’t happen. “Why?”

“I just want to ask you something,” he said, his voice too innocent to be convincing. “Oh, don’t worry, I won’t bite your head off or anything,” he added, seeing my expression. “No,” he said, looking thoughtful. “Your head’s much too swollen for that to be possible. Dude, it’s just a simple question, just come with me for a sec.”

I was beginning to get a feeling in my stomach that was usually linked to Kakashi’s cooking. “And what if I don’t want to come with you?”

Kiba sighed and exchanged looks with Kankuro. “Help?”

“Certainly,” the puppet-jockey replied, a sincere grin sliding onto his face. He twitched his index finger, and a second later my wrists were tied together with chakra strings and I was being dragged unceremoniously across the roof. Kankuro didn’t attempt to be gentle; then again, I never got the feeling that he was very warm and fuzzy around me.

“Hey!” I yelled, struggling desperately, but it was no use. As soon as I was in range Kiba leapt forward and grabbed me in a headlock.

“Sorry, Uchiha, but I’m not letting you get away from me. I really need to ask you something,” Kiba said, a wicked smile crawling onto his face. A jolt of fear rushed through my body like an ice-cold river, and my spirits weren’t lifted any when Kankuro said, opening the door with a flourish, “Don’t be afraid to mark him, Kiba.”

Oh my God! I clawed at Kiba’s hands and yelled the first thing that popped into my head: “Gaara!! Help me!!”

Gaara, who had been watching events unfold with a slightly confused expression on his face, gave a start at my yell and fixed Kiba with a glare that made me shudder.

“Kiba, please release the Uchiha,” he said in his most dangerous voice. “He obviously doesn’t want you to do whatever you want to do with him.”

“Exactly,” I muttered, attempting to elbow the dog nin in the stomach.

Kiba gave a weary sigh from behind me. “Yeah…” he mumbled, sounding shaken, and I couldn’t help but smirk. Victory was mine. Take that, you stupid—

“…right!!”

With a violent tug on my neck Kiba rushed through the door, laughing maniacally as I was slowly deprived of oxygen. I heard an angry shout, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Gaara dash forward, but he wasn’t fast enough. The door made an ominous thud as it snapped close; it was shortly followed by another thud, as if a body had just smashed against that same door.

'Why…?!'

“You better cooperate, Uchiha,” Kiba said happily, “’Cause I’m afraid if you don’t, the consequences will be severe.” And with yet another crazy laugh, he dragged me further down the hallway, away from the cold, away from Gaara, and into hell.