Prompt: Naruto and Gaara move into their own apartment.
Gently, Naruto set the last of their boxes down in the middle of what he struggled to imagine would be their living room. The box clearly stated that this would be the room they used to relax in (mostly), but even he knew it was going to take a considerable amount of work and effort to get it looking like anything even closely resembling the familiar home they'd just left. This was much more spacious than the flat they'd shared with Kankurou and Temari, even though it was at the top of some very prestigious building Naruto still didn't actually know the name of.
Of course, something had to change. There were only so many times someone could come home to find their little brother and his boyfriend more than making out on the couch with some video game paused in the background. It was by Temari's suggestion that they check out this particular flat. It wasn't too far from the city centre that Naruto couldn't walk, and even closer to Sabaku Enterprises where Gaara worked, and- well, it meant he could maybe visit him during lunches and spend some quality time. Gaara had liked it from the first viewing, which made it a hit, but it was only after they'd purchased it, and the old owners had removed every trace of their existence from it that Naruto could actually see their future here.
"Naruto?"
The call made him spin to face the door, sporting a grin just from the sound of Gaara's voice. A few quick steps, and he almost collided with the redhead as they both attempted to exit and enter the room at the same time. It was Naruto who reacted first, reaching out to grab Gaara by the waist to stop either one of them toppling over.
"Ah- Sorry, I was jus' thinkin' about something." He whispered, almost breathlessly.
"Hm." Gaara stared at Naruto for a while, looking around at the living room as if it would answer the question of just what his boyfriend had been thinking of. "They're bringing the furniture in a minute. We should clear space." His gaze met Naruto's again, and the very corner of his lips curled up into what was unmistakably a smile.
"Could pile them up in the corner." Naruto declared, pointing across to the space by the window.
The entire effort of moving took exactly fourteen hours from the moment when the removal van had arrived outside their old flat. Gaara's money had been enough to make sure that everything they wanted in their new house would arrive on time, but Naruto had drawn the line at getting people to actually put everything where they wanted it.
Sentimentality was something he struggled to let go of, even more so now than ever. His youth had been spent in a children's home, and the few people who had tried to foster him when times got troublesome at the home had accepted him along with only a single suitcase and a box of his things. It made sense, after all his longest stay had reached a grand total of four nights before they shipped him back. Things hadn't gotten much better in his teenage years, and although he didn't exactly regret choosing to live under Orochimaru's care it wasn't much different to how things had been before.
The perceived 'freedom' included the chance to choose which customers he worked for, and the nights that he worked for them. Orochimaru took exactly all the money he made for rent, bills and food. As far as Naruto was concerned it was a fair deal, and besides - who else had ever bought him pretty much everything he asked for. It was never much, new video games came out all the time though, and in the past he had only lusted after them and gone home to play on his Gameboy Colour in defeat.
Gaara had changed all that. Come to him as a customer who wanted to use him. Sasuke had made unreasonable demands and as a result Gaara had taken something of Sasuke's to parade on his arm as a party he had no interest in attending. Things had spiralled out of control from there. Gaara had shown Naruto the kind of attention he'd been craving his entire life, and Naruto had shown Gaara a way of thinking that he'd started to adopt without even being aware of it.
Their relationship had changed, from the simple exchanges between a hooker and the man paying for the service to something complex and- ultimately new for the both of them. Orochimaru had been pretty quick to pick up on it, it didn't take a genius to guess why Naruto was returning frequently with a smile on his face that reached his eyes for the first time in his life, and a spring in his step that Orochimaru had not placed there. He'd punished him in the very way he punished any of the whores working under him, and sent him back to Gaara with fresh bruises and markings. That night had changed everything. It had given Gaara a target, and there were only a handful of things Gaara didn't do - and missing targets was one of them.
The death of his boss had come with a price. His entire world was flipped upside down within the small space of two weeks, and from the other side he emerged 'free' in every sense of the word. Neither of them had particularly spoken at any length about what they might should such a thing happen, the conversation had been difficult to start, and even harder to continue but it meant the Naruto's new home was Gaara's bed, and the apartment he shared with his brother and sister.
It made the whole process of moving, into a place that he wanted and chose to live a very unreal experience.
At some time around ten that night, Naruto let himself fall back against their brand new bed, arms outstretched either side of him, eyes closed and a huge smile on his face despite the heat in his cheeks and sweat from a day of moving and unpacking things.
Gaara didn't say anything at the obvious attempt to relax, just gently folded the last of their new towels and set them in a drawer in the bedroom, padding across on the new plush carpet to stand by his boyfriend's knees. He could have told him to get up, help him unpack one last box, maybe complain that Naruto was going to make their new bedsheets smell before they'd even slept in them.
Instead, he pressed a knee to the bed and slid down until he was laid on top of Naruto - a knee between his boyfriend's legs, and arms sliding up until one tucked under soft blond hair, and the other brushed gently against his cheek.
"Mn, don't sleep yet." He whispered softly, pressing his lips very gently against Naruto's chin in a gesture that had only recently become a regular occurrence.
"Mn-" Naruto's mumble was a tired one, but Gaara didn't generally have to do much to keep him awake. His arms were wrapped around his boyfriend's before he could utter another word, and he shuffled against the bed to find a more comfortable spot. "How long d'ya think it's gonna take to get everything unpacked?" He asked, and reasonably so.
"Well, we have the kitchen, the living room and the spare bedroom to unpack- it shouldn't take too much longer." He mused, shifting to rest his head on Naruto's chest. The peace didn't last too long though, not when his boyfriend grumbled and tried to sit up.
"But it's," a quick look at the alarm clock on their new bedside table told him exactly what he wanted to know, and he sighed as he dropped back down against the bed. "Ten! I'm shattered, Gaa."
The redhead chuckled, leaning up only because he'd been disturbed. "Tomorrow." He whispered softly, settling back down and letting his weight press over him.
"Tomorrow..." He muttered back, letting out a soft sigh and wrapping his arms tight around Gaara's back to hold him where he was. "So- we can sleep now?" He asked, tipping his head up to get a look at Gaara's face.
"Mn. After a shower, perhaps?"
That had Naruto grinning, and without a word he pushed his foot down against the bed, pushing Gaara back off him pressing him against the sheets. "A shower?" The words were lilted with his usual enthusiasm for things that weren't quite 'every day' occurrences perhaps in the lives of other people he knew.
It took a moment for Gaara to regain his sensibilities, and with a deep breath he reached up to thread his fingers into soft blond hair. He said nothing, just smiled up at Naruto whilst he fiddled, eyes finally meeting those soft blue ones. The look in Naruto's eyes was expectant, and even though he knew he could decline if he cared to, he didn't.
He sighed, fakely - and leant up to press his lips to Naruto's. It was a quiet promise, not only of the rest of the night, but for the start of something new between them. It was a big step, and they'd both known that from the start - but this was something he wanted, more than anything he'd even remotely desired in years.