Chapter Two

Much thanks for the ride S'uke! Gaara loves the speakers.

Dobe, don't do anything in that car. My brother will kill you. I can't guarantee you being my friend liable to saving your ass this time.

Ye of little faith! I'm not gonna do anything to butcher your precious Vanquish's innocence. Not like your brother and his boyfriend don't get up to anything in it, nope.

God! Naruto I do not need to think about that! You've scarred me for life.

I was hoping I would. We're at the theater now and it's oozing empty. Did I ever tell you that Gaara hates scary movies?

No. And should I really care?

Yuzz! We're watching Bunny Fluff. Demented bunnies and all that originally came from sunshine and rainbows to skeletal and grotesque creatures of the night!

Mhm, cop a feel then. I'll leave you to it.

You could sound a little supportive! Even if it is dark and cold in the cinema, Gaara will skin me alive if I even try to comfort him and protect him from the bunnies! It's against his code as a Sabaku

Call me when he does then. Knowing you, you've done more than pilfer him on your way over. Hence I repeat: Don't do anything in the car, my brother will kill you.

I'll bet you'll be right beside him. You've really dampened my mood and it seems really obvious. Gaara says to stop texting you and to pay attention to him.

By all means, you were the one who started texting me. Have a nice night dobe.

You do care! Good luck on your Physics test!

Sometimes… Naruto was to be envied. The loudmouthed idiot was always so carefree and happy. He never rushed his projects or homework and turned them in when the due date came, although that meant that they weren't as thorough or well-done as Sasuke's. Still, he never went through the back breaking pain that Sasuke did to make sure that when he did something, he did it right. He was also involved in most activities. Not only was he on the basketball varsity team (and he played mean volleyball too) he was also the school representative for the Extemporaneous speech, hence the many exceptions on tests and school work.

Sasuke stared at his Physics text book so hard that he could feel his head throb. He may have been a member of the Speech Choir and a candidate for Mr. Konoha, that didn't mean he would be as privliged as Naruto as unfair as that sounded. Now… there was much to say about density (involving solids, liquids, and gasses found all over the world) and one was that Sasuke simply detested every single scientist that contributed to the study of that particular branch of Science. He loathed them to the very core of his being because they were robbing him of precious sleep.

He looked at the clock by his nightstand: 6:30 P.M.

He was getting old. Sasuke groaned and slumped down his table, head thunking painfully against polished oak. He hoped he didn't manage to lose what little he actually retained from his revision session. He could not afford that at all.

Sasuke hated the people who managed to breeze through everything without exerting as much effort as he did. People like Hyuuga, Yamanaka, and heck even Haruno doesn't seem too bothered about the all-nighter crap they go through just to keep themselves on the top five of their year (not class- year because even if they do have approximately five sections, being the top one in yours was not befitting an Uchiha).

The knock on his door was a brief distraction from the impending cram session he was about to go through and what didn't make sense was that he was cramming for a test that he had four days to study for. Of course if you counted in all the advanced classes that decided bombing their students with tests all in the same week then his cramming was properly justified.

"Come in." Sasuke called weakly, straightening his back and waiting. Thankful for the distraction he may be, he never had anyone come to his room that actually knocked. Naruto would just barge in and Itachi would simply use his phone to tell him whatever message needed to be relayed. You could see why he half expected it to be his mother waiting for him out in the hall.

Imagine his surprise when he saw blonde. A lot of blonde.

"Do I know you?" Sasuke's hand twitched and he smoothly kept it by the wall where a switch was waiting for his mere fingertip to access the alarms. He really couldn't take another fan girl who managed to get into their house using God only knows what means.

A cerulean blue eye looked at him, and it was followed by a grin that by all means could make any girl's knees turn to jelly. Sasuke knew when to appreciate beauty when it came to it but that didn't mean he could tell that there was something about this person. Hidden. Crafty. Dangerous but not in the sense that his life was on the line- more like his vulnerability knew no bounds.

He needed to tread carefully. This was thin fucking ice.

.x.

As much as the kid looked like Itachi, he had a different look to him. Deidara saw it immediately when the door opened and he was taken by the tired look in Sasuke's eyes. It was a far cry from the always in control gleam you'd see in Itachi's obsidian orbs.

Maybe that's what made them different, but still not different enough. The hair, the pale face, it was still so fucking similar that on the inside- oh fuck the inside did his blood boil because all he wanted to do was smash Sasuke's face into the wall.

He would have done it if it wouldn't have sent Mikoto running straight from the kitchen. It was a reason why Deidara never messed with Itachi or any Uchiha for that matter. They always seemed to know when one of them was in fucking danger.

But with Sasuke he was feeling a little risky.

Borderline crazy- what he felt when he saw the youngest Uchiha not four hours ago was irritation. Was every Uchiha just stoic and silent? Did they never talk? Tobi didn't count because there was something seriously wrong with that idiot (and he meant that literally).

Each and every one of the Uchiha's seemed to come with so much emotional baggage they'd need trains with at least two dozen coaches to haul everything with them when they moved. Tobi was one of the worse cases where he'd suffered depression after being the sole witness to his twin being mutilated in front him. Obito was alive but nobody blamed Tobi for closing in off himself even after Obito wore nothing but long sleeved shirts and pants two sizes bigger than him to keep everything hidden. Once, Tobi had gone into a relapse when Obito had raised his sleeves due to the hot weather and the resulting screaming and thrashing had been enough to shock most members of the Akatsuki.

Sedating Tobi had been hard.

Itachi, on the other hand, was the eldest son of Fugaku and Mikoto; two of the most successful Uchiha couples known all across Asia. It was a heavy shoe to fill even with a younger brother who now had not only an inferiority complex but also a superiority complex. How that happened was bizarre, all that they knew was that Sasuke really had them.

Itachi, who had happily ditched his Entrepreneurial classes in exchange for some Medical sessions (he'd been raised to be an entrepreneur, there was no doubt about that) had taken it upon himself to understand his little brother. Sasuke hated being bested but when he was the best at something he made it known; hence, superiority and inferiority complex all in one.

Which made it all the more interesting for Deidara because he was treading on marbles. One slip and not only would Itachi know but so would everybody else.

That was a challenge all on his own; not pushing Uchiha Sasuke too far but also doing it that he breaks him. Breaks that façade.

He hated that Itachi could compose himself so quickly. It was something Deidara implied to having when a member of the Akatsuki. But he didn't have that capability of iciness. He was too brash and loud and open. It was in their family, and he incorporated it in his art.

Art was a blast. It was with life and sound. Silence was not art.

Therefore silence would always need to be broken. And it always was. Nothing was perfectly sculpted to retain impassiveness. Even ice melted back to water and glass cracked into millions of pieces.

The equation was simple even if Deidara hated Math (despite being very good at it).

Then: Silence + Fixtures = Breaking

Since: Breaking = Art

Then: Silence + Fixtures = Art

Since: Silence = Sasuke

Then: Sasuke + Fixtures = Art

Plus one more variable.

Since: Fixtures = Deidara

Then: Sasuke + Deidara = Art

It shall be done.

.x.

Naruto stared at the ending credits as they flew from the bottom of the screen. There hadn't been that much bunny-horror. Why he even though bunnies would be terrifying now completely escaped him. At least that's what he thought of why he couldn't leave his seat. He wasn't scared.

Even if those bunnies had been shit fucking terrifying with their huge bulbous eyes turning red and oozing with pus and fluffy cotton tails trailing everywhere and matted fur peeling off to show sick gleaming bloody skin. It made his stomach churn, and not in the good way it had prior the movie when he'd picked Gaara up and proceeded to let his mouth reacquaint itself with the redhead's lips. Twenty-four hours had just been too long. It was a miracle he'd lasted.

Said redhead was beside Naruto, whose head was resting on his shoulder, eyes firmly shut. How Gaara had fallen asleep, Naruto didn't know. What he did know was that his boyfriend was fucking lucky to have escaped the bunny-terror and thankfully Naruto was staying over so he could bug and keep Gaara up all night.

The lights then turned on and people started making their way to the exits but Naruto didn't budge, wondering if he should wake his Gaara up. It was very rare for Gaara to get the sleep he needed to function properly every day. Insomnia kept him up even though Naruto couldn't understand why. It wasn't that he wasn't trying because God fuck he was. Gaara just wouldn't talk to him.

It would be so much easier if they would just talk.

Naruto didn't know what had happened to the redhead when they'd separated three years ago but when his Dad told him that the Sabaku siblings were coming back home, Naruto was beyond ecstatic and he had not let the chance of being with Gaara slip through his fingers again. Of course the kiss had been rash and though he had expected Gaara to change (what person didn't change when faced with a life crisis?) the coldness had momentarily stopped him, making him wonder if there was even a sliver of the person he had once known.

He'd seen the old Gaara light up sea green eyes that were open before him with barred gates. There was never a moment where the redhead didn't protect himself, and why he thought he had to do that was what pained Naruto the most.

He would never hurt Gaara. Never, if he could help it. Never.

Getting a hold of himself, Naruto steeled his rising frustration and let it all out in a deep breath. He chanced one more look at his boyfriend and seeing that there wasn't exactly many people, took a chance and laid his life on the line.

"Ommph!" And when did Gaara get so heavy? One arm underneath the redhead's legs, the other around his waist, Naruto then proceeded to leave the cinema (right before the ugliest and creepiest bunny of all decided to pop up on the screen waving a blood knife with much vigor).

The trip to the car had been done in much silence, and Naruto pretended to not see the flashes that had nearly blinded him into dropping his precious cargo the full six minutes the trip had taken. Gently, he settled Gaara into the front seat, strapping him in and taking a few moments to stare.

Gaara hated it when he stared. It made him feel bad, the redhead had said, made him feel like something underneath a glass case worth being pondered. I am a person, not some freaky experiment.

Why Gaara felt that way Naruto didn't really know. All he was sure of was that he'd known Gaara before all the crap happened and he wasn't anything like this. He raised a hand and ghosted his fingers over the smooth and pale cheek that used to dimple each time Gaara would smile.

Sighing, Naruto pulled his hand back to himself and rounded the Vanquish to the driver's side. He turned the car on, and waited for it to cool and sent a text to Sasuke, reconfirming the time and day he'd return the car. Itachi could seethe all he want, Kisame had a car and it wasn't like Itachi used the Vanquish on a regular basis. It always seemed that he needed it when Naruto was borrowing it.

A good five minutes later, Naruto put the car into gear and started on his way home. There was silence as they got further away from the cinema and he wondered when Gaara had woken up.

"What happened to the movie?" Gaara's baritone had chilled Naruto's blood, but not in the same way the terror-bunnies had and he smiled at the sleep dazed redhead.

"You missed it." Naruto murmured, not wanting to break the calming silence. He may have hated ghost stories but the movie effects usually were crap that he just laughed it off. Or at least that's what he told his boyfriend, and this time it would be no different.

"I'm sure you enjoyed it enough for the both of us." Gaara yawned before making himself more comfortable. He managed to pull his legs towards him, lagging against the door.

Naruto made sure to double check the locks. He didn't fancy Gaara taking a trip out the Vanquish and having a log roll on the road with the car's momentum.

"Let's just say I'll never look at bunnies the same way ever again." Naruto hummed and took the turn to the Sabaku residence. He turned the car off and stared at his hands, he was sure that they were trembling. But why… hmmm. "Gaara?"

"Hmm?"

"I was just wondering," Naruto ruffled the back of his head. "Will you ever tell me about what happened… between your parents I mean? I know it's not any of my business and that I should just keep my mouth shut and wait until you're ready but… I hate this."

Silence.

Naruto swallowed the bile rising up his throat. "I hate that we do this."

"We're just talking." Gaara deadpanned.

"This?" Naruto's head turned so fast it felt like whiplash. "This isn't talking. This is me trying to get answers from you and I don't know why I have to feel like I'm forcing you to tell me about yourself!"

"It's because that's what you're doing." Gaara said, eyes narrowed. "I don't want to talk about my parents, you've admitted that you know that and yet you're still insisting I tell you about them. They split up and now I'm back here and your boyfriend. Can't you be happy with that?"

Naruto's teeth ground together and his blue eyes narrowed right back. "Know what? No."

Surprise colored Gaara's face. "No?"

"No." Naruto shook his head. "This is a relationship. And you can't build a relationship based on, if not lies, then secrets. You and I have to talk about this, you and I have to show that we trust each other."

"Do you not think I trust you?" Gaara choked. "You take me home every night, pick me up every morning, in a death trap that you favor since it can go to death-defying speeds. If I didn't trust you, I'd never let you sit behind that wheel Uzumaki and you know that."

Naruto winced. Not the last name.

"And you and I don't have to talk about anything." Gaara followed before haphazardly rushing to unbuckle his seat belt, somehow succeeding and throwing Naruto a glare that chilled his blood. "If you don't know me well enough by now then what we have is in fact based on lies."

The redhead then threw the car door open and got out while Naruto fought with his own seat belt. The damn thing wouldn't let go and he managed to only hear the slamming of a front door before he slumped against the steering wheel.

Fuck. Fuck him. Fuck them all.

AN: So uhh... it's been a while and believe me I know that. It's just that RL has been a real pain I couldn't get up to updating any of my stories. More plot bunnies just came assaulting me and I had to give in to them otherwise I couldn't get any sleep. I know what you're thinking- what petty excuses. It's the truth though so...

Hope you liked the tensed NaruGaa. I loved every bit of it. Don't know if the rating of this story will bump to M but it might because of all the tension. Anyone who'd object to that can speak now but chances are it will be M. So very sorry to those who were expecting DeiSasu. I'm still making the groundwork for that.

I think we might see a bit of KisaIta before we get any actual DeiSasu loving. I am horrible. I apologize.

Thoughts?