Surrender Chapter 2: Aggression, a naruto fanfic

A/N:

Yay! School is officially over, so now I actually have some time to write. Anyways, sorry for the long wait for chapter 2, but school was just piling up. However, now I'll be able to write more regularly. Hope you like this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor will I in the foreseeable future.

Aggression

Every Friday night the gang which included: Ino, Choji, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Temari and Naruto would eat out at a local restaurant. At first, it had started out with Naruto and Kiba. The pair would stay out into the wee hours of the morning doing God knows what, which was the reason why Shino began to attend their weekly get-togethers. Though he trusted his boyfriend completely, he knew the two loudmouths would get into trouble eventually. It was inevitable, besides Kiba was adorable when he was drunk. As luck should have it, one Friday night while on a date, Ino and Choji spotted the trio and readily joined them. Suffice it to say, it had been fun, which was exactly why Temari decided to drag her lazy husband to the lively restaurant that housed their friends once a week. As time went on, their weekly gatherings became tradition and the group of friends used this time to catch up with each other for though their lives were intertwined, they still strayed away from each other every once in a while.

Presently, Ino, Choji, Temari, and Shikamaru were waiting for the rest of the gang to arrive before ordering. Seeing as it might be a while 'til their friends showed up, Ino began to talk about her day, while her friends interrupted her with a comment or two every now and then.

"I was lucky Temari spotted me in the parking lot," Ino explained as she told the trio about her car troubles. "Anyways, we were already late so Temari put her foot on the gas and we shot through the streets at high speeds. Let's just say it wasn't long before we heard the sirens of a police car," the blonde said, giggling at their earlier predicament. "Suffice it to say, I was panicking, I mean, we were going 90 in a 55 mi. zone. I was already imagining myself having to call poor Choji to come pick me up from the police station—how humiliating." Going with the drama routine, Ino threw herself on her fiancée's arm, who in turn, petted her blonde locks with an amused smile. He could just picture her yelling at a poor officer for making her wear the hideous orange jumpsuits, though he highly doubted it would have come to that. But still, it was funny.

"So, here I am panicking like crazy as I watch the policeman walk up to the driver's window, I look over at Temari and almost gawk at her as she sits there perfectly calm as if she hasn't just been caught speeding. I don't know how anyone could be so calm in a situation like that. Anyways, after the cop tapped on the glass, Temari rolls down her window," at this point in her story the blonde began to giggle once more. "You should have seen the instant smirk that appeared on the guy's face as soon as he got a good look at us," she told them, remembering the scene quite well.

Across from the excited blonde, a frown formed across Shikamaru's face as Ino's story steadily progressed. He did no like where this tale was heading.

"… you should have seen her, by the end of the conversation, she had him eating out of her hand. Obviously, he let us off with a warning, and told Temari to keep to the speed limit."

At this point Ino broke into another fit of giggles, while Temari simply smiled; amusement shining in her teal eyes.

Shikamaru was not a jealous man by nature, it was too troublesome, and a waste of energy. However, ever since he got together with the female Sabaku his nonchalant attitude had slowly crumbled. It was bad enough that half the men at the company eyed his wife with lust, and some were even half love with her. Heck, who wouldn't be? She was everything any man would want in a woman—beautiful, intelligent, competitive, and fun. It was a rare day if one of the male employee's didn't try to flirt with her. Incidents like that easily rolled off him since he himself was not immune to her charms either and couldn't really blame the poor guys. Besides, Temari always made it clear to them that she was already taken; however, it was a different story altogether when she actually participated!

"I don't want to hear how my wife flirted her way out of a speeding ticket," Shikamaru muttered out loud, frown still in place. But before he could get another word in edge-wise he was smacked upside the head by a livid female.

"Don't make me out to be some slut that throws herself at any man for my convenience," Temari said while glaring daggers at him. How dare he insinuate such a thing!

She had done nothing wrong. While the policeman had tried his best to flirt with her, she had simply ignored his efforts and told him she was already married. But that hadn't stopped him. Oh no, it had only speared him on, and his efforts increased tenfold. Anything she said, he simply took it as endearing. All anyone ever saw when they looked at her was just another pretty face. She was sick and tired of it. Shikamaru had been the only male who had ever looked past the pretty face and seen her for herself—Temari. Yet, here he was accusing her of such a thing.

Ino's eyes widen in shock at Temari's words. She hadn't meant to start an argument between the two. She had just thought it would be a fun tale to tell while waiting for the rest of their friends to arrive.

Noticing his fiancée's distress, Choji grabbed her hand and squeezed it, silently telling her it would be alright.

"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru grumbled out loud while rubbing his head—though it hadn't actually hurt.

"If you find me so troublesome, then why don't you find someone else more suitable to your tastes," Temari snapped as she abruptly stood up from the table, ready to leave in an instant. "Better, yet. Why don't I find someone else better suited to my tastes!" She said in a heated voice, fire in her eyes.

At her words, Shikamaru's eyes narrowed dangerously as an overwhelming fury poured into his body. He would never allow anyone to touch her. He didn't care if he sounded like some kind of masochist; he would kill anyone who dare try to take her away from him.

Before anyone knew what was happening, he roughly yanked the angry blonde to his side startling everyone at the table. "Understand this Temari," he said in a low undertone as he towered over her, obsidian eyes boring into her shocked and wide teal ones. "You are MINE, and mine ALONE," he gritted out, heat pouring off of him. "There is no one else besides ME suitable to your tastes," he growled out as he abruptly closed the distance between them and plundered her lush mouth with his own.

The kiss was rough, exuding dominance; nothing like the chaste kisses she was used too. Shikamaru was never rough with her, and this new side of him sent a thrill through her body, and that's probably why she let herself be dominated by the male currently trying to suffocate her with his searing hot lips.

Temari was too far gone to even notice as Shikamaru wrapped one hand around her waist and the other into her blonde locks as he meshed their bodies together, closing any gaps between them.

"Umm, are we supposed to give them a moment, or just pretend they aren't here?" Ino whispered to Choji, but no sooner had the words left her mouth than Shikamaru abruptly broke the searing kiss. The only audible sound that could be heard was the couple's panting as they tried to regain their breath.

Still dizzy from the rough kiss, Temari looked up at her husband and was stunned to find his usual calm eyes filled with both rage and lust as he intently looked at her as if making up his mind; and before she could say a word, she was swept off her feet, mouth plundered once again.

Adrenaline still pumping through his system, Shikamaru picked up his wife in one smooth motion and carried her bridal style out of the restaurant as he attacked her pretty pink mouth. The only thought in his mind was to prove just who exactly was suitable to her tastes.

"They're not coming back are they?" Choji asked his fiancée as he, along with half the restaurant gawked at the now closed double doors in shock.

"Uh, that would be a no," Ino replied as she silently cheered for her friend. That was the hottest thing she had seen since… well, ever. Who knew Shikamaru could be such an alpha male. No wonder Temari had fallen for him. When he had yanked her to him, he had practically exuded dominance, and that husky voice he had used when he spoke to her would melt any woman.

"Note to self: a furious Shikamaru is not someone to mess with," Ino said aloud. Choji simply nodded his head in agreement still staring at the closed doors.

"Wow, who knew Shikamaru had it in him," Kiba said in an awed voice after Ino finished telling them the reason why Shikamaru and Temari weren't going to be joining them. Shino, per usual, did not comment. Though it was a rare thing indeed, Shino knew Shikamaru's testosterone levels could go off the charts when someone jabbed him the wrong way and made him furious.

"Well, there is a reason why Temari married him," Naruto put in. "She never seemed the type to settle down with someone she thought was weak."

Hearing Naruto's insight, Ino raised her perfectly sculpted brow at him in question.

"What?" the blonde asked.

"That's mighty perceptive of you Naruto, and here I thought you were as dense as a rock when it came to relationships," she teased.

"Hey, I know about relationships," Naruto retorted, indignant at her comment.

"Oh, what with you and Gaara…" she purposely trailed off, and let the words linger in the air while she picked up her drink and took a sip.

Naruto frowned, "What do you mean, me and Gaara?" he questioned her.

"Oh nothing, just the small fact that you're both in D-E-N-I-A-L." she teased him, using her fingers to write each letter in the air for emphasis.

"WHAT!" Naruto spat, eyes wide in shock at her suggestion, which was utterly ridiculous in his opinion. "ME AND GAARA! What are you talking about?!" Naruto yelled as his tanned cheeks gained a light pink hue.

Ino smiled a wicked smile, "Oh come now. Everyone knows how close you two are; you're practically his wife what with the way you're always nagging him about this or that."

"I do not nag him!" Naruto yelled, insulted Ino would even suggest such a thing.

"Sure you don't," Ino continued, amused at the blonde's reaction. "But seriously, you two would be perfect for each other. You're already best friends, which is the most important part in any relationship," she said as she began to list the many reasons why he and Gaara would make a great couple. As the list went on, all Naruto could do was gawk, not even bothering to hide the mad blush that rose to his cheeks at her words.

"… Nine: You've known each other for years, and can practically read each other's mind. Ten: You would never hurt each other. Eleven: You're both healthy young males that need to have a good romp in the sheets once in a whi—"

"Ino stop!" Naruto practically yelped, covering his ears with his hands as he heard her last reason.

"Oh, come on Naruto. Don't be such a prig. It's perfectly normal to want to jump into bed with a young hot male like Gaara—"

"Oh my God, IMAGES! Would you please stop it already," Naruto yelled as he began to bang his head on the table in an attempt to get rid of the images that had popped into his mind at Ino's words.

"If you were so against the idea, then why are you blushing like a school girl who just found out her crush likes her," Ino mercilessly teased him. This was just too much fun. Besides, she really did think her two friends deserved each other. Over the years she had watched them as they struggled to move on after the whole Uchiha-Hyuuga incident. Those two were lucky they left when they did because is she ever saw them again she would give them a piece of her mind along with a left-hook.

"I am not!" Naruto retorted as his cheeks steadily began to turn crimson with embarrassment.

At his words, Ino, along with the rest of the group, with the exception of Shino of course, began to laugh mercilessly at the blonde's poor defense.

"Naruto, you know Gaara would never take the first steps to start a relationship, so you have to be a man and make the first move," Ino told him in a stern voice.

Not knowing what else to do, Naruto blurted out the first excuse he could think of and practically ran out of the restaurant, leaving behind the tinkling laughter of his friends.

Kiba and Ino just smirked knowingly as they watched the swinging doors of the restaurant where their blonde friend had just escaped through.

"You can really be evil sometimes," Choji commented as he watched the amusement cross her face.

"Well, someone had to put the idea in his head. Honestly, it's been years, and they're still pretending to be friends. They need to get a move on it and get together already," Ino huffed.

"Have you ever thought that maybe they really are just best friends, Love," Choji interjected. "I don't think they're really as suitable for each other as you may think, especially Gaara. I don't think he's ready to be in any sort of relationship so soon after his recovery."

At his words, blue eyes immediately lost their brightness. "Yeah," the blonde softly said as she looked out the restaurant's windows which boasted a lovely view of the mountain that housed a certain red-head. "I'm not quite sure if Gaara will ever be the same…" she trailed off as she remembered all the suffering Gaara had gone through.

Seeing his fiancée's dejected form, Choji embraced her in a light hug and tenderly kissed her temple as he tried to find some words of comfort. "On the other hand, maybe Gaara isn't as broken as we still think he is. Who knows, he might already be harboring romantic feelings for Naruto and planning to tell him that's he's madly in love with him and has been for years now."

For a few seconds everyone just stared at him before breaking into peals of laughter at such a ridiculous suggestion. Even Shino snickered a bit.

When Naruto reached his house his cheeks still sported a light pink hue. "I can't believe they would make such as a suggestion. Me and Gaara; what a joke. We're just friend's period end of story—we'll more like best friends, but that still doesn't mean we should get together," he grumbled to himself as he parked his car.

So, they were close, well as close as two people could get without being intimate with each other. The thought of being intimate with Gaara brought another mad blush to his face. "Damn it Ino!" he growled.

Entering his home, practically a small mansion that boasted a stunning view of Konoha, the blonde went up to his room and decided to go to bed early in an attempt to get the disturbing thoughts out of his mind. However, no matter how much he tried to shrug it off, Ino's words reverberated through his mind, and by the time two o'clock passed by, Naruto was still trying to go to sleep and failing miserably. Cursing a certain blue-eyed female, Naruto got out of bed, and headed toward his kitchen. Rummaging through his refrigerator, he pulled out a piece of cheesecake he had yet to eat and got to work on finishing it off. Afterwards, he idly sipped his milk as thoughts of a certain red-head invaded his mind once again; however, this time he didn't fight it and simply let his thoughts rein free.

Images of a half-nude Gaara soundly sleeping in his bed as light streamed in through the open curtains invaded his mind. "He is pretty good-looking, especially when he's asleep," Naruto thought to himself as he gave the idea of him and Gaara a chance. "If we ever did go out, I wouldn't have to worry about someone hurting him, or not appreciating him… I would never have to worry about being hurt either. He would never do such a thing...But do I feel that way for him…could I ever?"

In the lonely kitchen of his home, Naruto sighed as he swept a hand down his face. He knew he didn't harbor such feelings for his friend, but maybe he could learn. He already had strong feelings towards him; maybe if he tried hard enough, his feelings could slowly change.

Mind made up, Naruto placed the dirty dishes away and made his way to his bedroom. Ino was right, he and Gaara could be happy together, and he would make sure to give his friend all the love he had, God knew Gaara needed it. Tomorrow he would visit Gaara; he was determined to change his feelings of friendship into feelings of love.

Mind no longer in turmoil, Naruto fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

"What time is my meeting?" Sasuke curtly asked his secretary as he looked at some papers in front of him, and completely ignored the spectacular view his hotel room possessed.

Karin frowned at the Uchiha's attitude, but gave him in the information he requested with her usual flirtatious tone. "Two o'clock. You still have two hours," she informed him and as she watched the young Uchiha look over some documents, she decided to test her luck. "Since you have two hours before your meeting with the head of Advocate maybe you'd like to—"

"No," Sasuke cut her off not bothering to take his eyes off the piece of paper he was currently reading.

The rejection did nothing to damper Karin's mood; she was already used to Sasuke's brazen dismissals. So, smile still in place, the young secretary excused herself and sent a wave to the silent shadow behind the Uchiha, before heading off to her own room which was conveniently located across Sasuke's own room. Being Sasuke's personal secretary sure came with a lot of perks.

Back in his room, Sasuke read over the contract one more time. Half and hour later, he began to place the paperwork inside his briefcase. Making sure he had everything in order, he flicked his finger in a 'let's go' motion to his bodyguard and headed out of his room. He did not want to be late for his meeting.

Recognizing the Uchiha's curt signal, Kimimaro silently followed the younger Uchiha.

"So, what do you say Gaara?" Naruto asked his friend, cradling his cell phone between his neck and shoulder as he finished cooking his ramen.

That morning Naruto had slept through his alarm clock and hadn't woken up 'til 11:30, which was a major problem since he had to be at the office by noon. So, as soon as he saw the time he dived for his cell phone and called his secretary. Luckily for him, he only had one meeting that day. A two o'clock Tsunade had passed on to him. She sometimes did that so he didn't question his secretary about it. No longer panicking like crazy, the blonde had taken a long shower, and decided to call Gaara and ask him to have dinner with him that night. Though he often asked Gaara out to eat on many occasions, he was currently feeling unaccustomedly awkward. This was not just another get together for him. He planned to take the first steps away from simple friendship and into the realm of romantic love.

When Naruto asked the red-head out for dinner, Gaara wanted to turn him down, but remembering that Naruto tended to bug him until he finally gave in just so he could have some peace and quiet, Gaara crossed out that idea. So thinking of saving himself from another bout of Naruto's nagging, Gaara reluctantly agreed unaware of the blonde's intentions.

"Great. I'll meet you at 8 o'clock at the small café by third and Westmont," Naruto chirped.

"I'll see you then," Gaara said on the other line as he saw Kakashi pull up to his house; the red-head rolled his eyes.

For the past week Kakashi had been dropping by more often to personally pick up any new glass sculptures he had completed. It was getting annoying really fast. "I have go Naruto," the red-head told his friend as he heard the swift knock on his door a minute later.

"Crap, he's going to hang up already. Okay, calm down Uzumaki and tell him what you practiced this morning," Naruto told himself as his usual boldness faltered. "Uh, okay. I'llseeyoutonightateight,Byehoney," and with that the blonde instantly hung up, not waiting to hear Gaara's response.

On the other line, Gaara stared at his phone in confusion. "Did he just call me honey?"

Gaara shook his head immediately dismissing the idea. "I really need to get more sleep," he muttered to himself as he heard another knock on his door, this time louder. Running a hand down his face in an attempt to calm himself down, Gaara walked toward his door and opened it, glaring at his visitor.

"Yo," Kakashi greeted him, ignoring the glare—he was used to it by now.

Sasuke was pissed. He was more than pissed he was furious. But one would never know it by looking at his calm façade. An Uchiha never let their emotions rein free, and Sasuke was no exception to the rule.

When he had arrived for his two o'clock meeting with Tsunade, the head of the company, he had been informed by her secretary, Shizune that he would not be meeting with Tsunade rather he would meet with the person most familiar with his proposal, the Heir of Advocate.

Since his meeting had been with Tsunade, he had researched her endlessly until he had a pretty good idea how to approach her, but he knew nothing of this new person he was supposed to meet, and he had been to furious to ask for the man's name. All knew about the guy was the fact that he was blonde, which Sakon had told him when he had called him to inform him that the blonde had rejected the contract.

However, he wouldn't let this turn of events dampen his confidence. No matter who the man was, he was confident in his business abilities. He was an expert at negotiation. He could sway any person with his logic, unless they were an emotional moron, but what were the possibilities of that happening.

"Damn it! Tsunade's going to kill me!" Naruto said to himself as he ran through the double doors of Advocate¸ and headed straight for the elevator.

Five minutes later, his secretary was informing him of all the arrangements he had made in order to cover for him for his 30 minute tardiness. "So, he's waiting for you in your office."

"You're the best Sumaru," Naruto exclaimed as he literally threw himself on the other male giving him a bear hug. Sumaru, used to the blonde's enthusiasm, simply braced himself for the inevitable.

Already late for his meeting, Naruto didn't have time to ask Sumaru who exactly he was meeting with. When he had called earlier because he had woken up late, he had been so relieved that he wasn't going to miss any important meetings that he had completely forgotten to ask Sumaru who he was meeting with. "Oh, well. I'll wing it," Naruto thought to himself as he entered his office, Sumaru right behind him.

Once inside his office, he saw a lovely young woman sitting next to a raven-haired man whose face was turned away from him, looking at the city.

Charming smile plastered on his face, Naruto greeted the male.

Sasuke had been waiting for the last 30 minutes for his meeting to begin, but their host had yet to arrive—he was stuck in traffic, at least that's what his secretary had informed them as two o'clock came and went and there was still no sign of the blonde male. "He must know how bad traffic can get at this time of day especially in the business district," Sasuke thought to himself, getting irritated with the whole situation very fast. "The idiot should have left earlier like I did."

Karin, seeing that Sasuke was getting more and more angry as the minutes dragged on, decided to distract him while they waited. So, seeing the wonderful view of the city the office possessed, she suggested they move to the small sofa near the open window. Nodding at her suggestion, the two moved to the bright orange sofa. Honestly, who bought orange furniture and placed it in their office. The sofa was an eyesore. Ignoring the tasteless furniture, at least in his opinion, Sasuke distracted himself by watching the city he had not seen in five years.

Minutes later, Sasuke heard the door open, and waited a moment before standing up to greet the other person, but before he could utter a word of greeting his eyes widened in utter shock as he recognized the familiar blonde locks, and whisker marks marring the otherwise unblemished tanned skin.

"Hello, sorry for keeping you waiting—" Naruto faltered amid his greeting and stopped his forward movement as he got a good look at the raven-haired male.

Sapphire eyes widened in shock. "S-S-Sasuke…," Naruto uttered as memories surfaced.

For a minute both men simply stood there staring at one another letting this unexpected turn of events slowly seep into their muddled brains. Neither had ever expected to see the other man again, and it was a shock to both of them to meet once again under such unforeseen circumstances. Much like a seed that lay dormant for years waiting for the right trigger to make them blossom once more, long forgotten feelings instantly bloomed inside each male.

Pushing the rising feelings aside, Sasuke quickly recovered from his momentary stupor, and smirked. He had never been one to lose his composure for long.

Remembering the all too familiar smirk, Naruto forgot all about the reason he was there in the first place and growled out the first thing that came to mind.

"Bastard."

"Dobe," Sasuke said with his smug smirk still in place.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Naruto yelled, taking a step toward the Uchiha and violently jabbing his chest with his finger.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously at the blonde's action feeling the finger digging into his chest. "I should be asking you the same thing," he said as he grabbed the blonde's hand in a strong grip and pushed it away from his body.

Glaring at the man currently towering over him, Naruto tried to yank his arm out of the Uchiha's hold, but Sasuke only tightened his grip, and forcefully kept the blonde in place.

"Let. Go. Of. Me," Naruto growled out, emphasizing each word as he tried to keep a tight rein on his steadily rising temper.

"No."

That was the last straw, without warning Naruto clenched his free hand and swung it at the raven-haired male using all his strength.

Expecting such a reaction from the blonde, Sasuke easily dodged the fist headed straight for his face and in a flash grabbed the blonde's other hand. At this point, Naruto's temper was boiling hot as he found himself practically in Sasuke's arms, both hands heavily restrained in a vice-like grip.

"If you don't let go of me right fucken now, I'm going to fucken kick your ass," Naruto snarled.

"As if you could," Sasuke taunted, and was almost knocked to the side as the blonde in his arms began to wildly struggle against his hold.

Knowing that he couldn't hold the struggling blonde in place for long, Sasuke released the male in his arms and watched in amusement as Naruto nearly lost his balance.

Freed from the iron grasp, Naruto immediately whirled around to face the raven-haired male; eyes burning with rage; but before he could spit out another insult, Sasuke spoke, sarcasm in every word. "You, the Heir of such a prestigious company?" his eyebrow rose in amusement. "Who had to die to give you such a title?" he taunted the blonde, never imagining he was hitting a sore spot.

For the second time that day the young Uchiha stood in stunned silence as Naruto literally recoiled away from him as if he had burned him with a hot iron poker. Sapphire eyes immediately lost their fire as tears slowly formed making them sparkle with hurt. Sasuke felt his heart clench as he saw the heart-wrenching pain that exuded off the blonde at his words.

"I-I'm sorry, Naruto," he immediately apologized as his arm instinctively reached forward to comfort the other male; however, before he touched the other man he realized what he was about to do and instantly stopped his forward motion. Instead he opened his mouth to give the blonde some words of comfort, but quickly closed it seeing as he could say nothing to wipe away the pain radiating off those sapphire eyes—eyes he remembered well.

"I suggest we reschedule this meeting for another time," Sumaru wisely stepped in. He had never imagined that the two males were already acquainted, or have a long and painful history between them as their actions indicated.

"I agree," Karin said from behind the Uchiha. In all her years as Sasuke's personal secretary, she had never known the raven-haired male to act in such a way. He was even showing emotion. There was definitely something between him and the blonde, and she would be damned if she would remain in the dark.

Hearing Sumaru's voice helped Naruto extract himself from the painful memories of Dan's death and recall just where he was and who he was facing. Wiping away the unshed tears from his eyes, Naruto locked eyes with Sasuke. He would not give the asshole the pleasure of seeing him cry, he refused to let the Uchiha get the better of him.

For a minute neither male took their eyes off the other, even when their respective secretaries tried to intervene; they were too busy trying to sort through the hundreds of memories that bombarded their minds due to their close proximity.

"Naruto, maybe you should cancel this meeting," Sumaru tried again. His eyes filled with concern for his boss.

Naruto didn't want to worry his secretary; God knew Sumaru had enough to worry about with just his ordinary duties as his personal secretary. Breaking eye contact with Sasuke, Naruto turned to his secretary, "You're right Sumaru. I'm sorry for worrying you," Naruto told him in a calm voice, which had everyone in his office looking at him in question at his abrupt change in attitude. "We are professionals after all, so we'll act like it," Naruto announced and proceeded to do just that as he calmly walked up to the Uchiha and stuck out his hand initiating a handshake between the two.

Looking at the offered hand, Sasuke raised an eyebrow in question. The Naruto he knew would never let him leave without first giving him a taste of his mind along with a good fight, but this Naruto was a completely different person than the one that lived in his memories, which to his surprise saddened him a little, a feeling he quickly squished. He had no business feeling anything toward the blonde. That phase in his life was long over.

Sasuke took the offered hand without hesitation. After firmly shaking hands, the two let go, and the Uchiha watched as Naruto turned away from him and began to walk out of his office only to stop abruptly and turn around walking back to him once more. Not knowing what the dobe was thinking, Sasuke was caught completely off guard when Naruto swung his right hand and punched him in the stomach with all his strength.

Sasuke fell on one knee clutching his stomach as the wind was literally knocked out of him. After regaining enough breath to see straight he raised shocked ebony eyes toward the blonde only to meet livid sapphire ones. "Bastard. Next time you hang up on me, I'll make sure to kick your ass until you can't stand up for a week," Naruto spat as he glared down at the Uchiha. (1)

Without saying another word, Naruto walked out of his office leaving behind a stunned yet pleased Uchiha.

"That's the Dobe I remember," he wheezed out as a violent fit of coughing overtook him, which had Karin rushing to his side.

FLASH.

"Damn press," Gaara growled out as he noticed another flash aimed his way. The red-head was currently waiting for Naruto, who was already twenty minutes late, to show up at the restaurant they had agreed to meet at for dinner. Though it might have bothered anyone else to have their dining partner late, it didn't bother the red-head. He was a patient person by nature. However, what did bother him we're the numerous photographers who had nothing better to do but snap random pictures of him.

Since the announcement of his grand debut as a glass artist, Gaara had been hounded by the press as they tried to get him to comment on this or that. It was down right annoying and now with his art show less than two weeks away, the press was even more vigilant than ever before. They were determined to get some gossip on him. But being the secluded person that he was, their efforts proved useless; thus, they had settled with the next best thing: generate some gossip on the mysterious new hot artist. So, the press began to follow him around in an effort to try and match him up with anyone that could possibly be his love interest, or any other pertinent information that the public would eat up.

Gaara simply ignored the photographers knowing they would eventually get tired of stalking such a dull person like him, at least he hoped they did.

"Would you like to order now," asked his male waiter for the third time that evening.

Gaara didn't want to order without Naruto. "I'll wait another ten minutes—"

"Gaara!" Naruto yelled as he literally ran to the table and almost smacked into the waiter. "I'm so sorry I'm late," Naruto instantly apologized, blue eyes pleading for forgiveness.

FLASH.

Gaara's eye twitched at the flash of light. It took all his patience to refrain himself from glaring at the photographer. If they knew they actually bothered him, then they would never leave him alone.

"Its okay, Naruto," Gaara told him, motioning him to sit down.

"I'm so sorry," Naruto apologized again as he took his seat.

FLASH.

"You already apologized," Gaara told him, rolling his eyes at the persistent photographers. "At least there aren't any reporters around. Those snakes would never leave me alone," Gaara thought to himself.

Naruto wanted to say something more to the red-head but Gaara turned his attention away from him and gave the waiter his order.

Twenty minutes later the two finished their dinner. Naruto had been unusually quiet that evening, a fact that did not escape the red-head's notice. Naruto was never quiet, especially during dinner. Gaara wasn't one to pry, but ever since his arrival the blonde had not been acting like himself. Something was up.

"Naruto what happened today?" Gaara bluntly asked him, watching as the blonde nearly choked on his drink.

FLASH.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked him, after he got over the coughing fit.

Gaara merely stared at him giving him a look that said 'You know what I mean'.

Getting nervous, Naruto tried to think of something that would divert Gaara's attention. "You know what Tsunade told me yesterday," he began only to be cut-off by his friend.

"You're avoiding the question Uzumaki."

"Damn it. This is supposed to be a date… not that Gaara knows it's a date… but damn it, I was supposed to begin courting him tonight, but all I can think about is Sasuke. The fucken Bastard won't get out of my head."

While Naruto was having his little talk with himself, Gaara patiently waited for his answer; however, when none came, he decided to re-word his question.

"Why were you late?"

Naruto looked nervously at him. "Umm…Umm… I got stuck in traffic," he lied. The truth was he had been such a mess after his encounter with Sasuke that he had completely forgotten about their dinner date.

"You're lying," Gaara glared at him. He didn't like being lied too, no matter the situation.

Remembering Gaara's dishonesty issues, Naruto almost slapped himself on the head. Some date this turned out to be. First, he had been twenty minutes late, barely spoke more than two words throughout dinner, had spent the entire time thinking about someone else, and now he was lying to Gaara who already had trust issues.

"Look I'm sorry Gaara. Really," Naruto apologized as his eyes lost their usual luster. "But I don't want to talk about it right now," he told his friend, letting the fatigue of the day catch up with him. He just wanted to go home, curl up in bed and forget this day ever happened.

Noticing Naruto's distraught attitude, Gaara decided to back off. He would tell him when he was ready.

"It's okay."

"Thanks," Naruto said; eyes gaining some of their usual brightness as he reached over and placed his hand on Gaara's own currently on the table.

FLASH.

Gaara quickly jerked his hand away breaking the contact, and looked away from Naruto. "You know I don't like being touched," he whispered.

"This is my chance," Naruto thought. "I can at least salvage part of the evening. Like Ino said, I have to take the first step."

"I know Gaara… I also know the reason you don't like being touched: You're afraid of being hurt again—but I would never hurt you Gaara," Naruto told him as he scooted closer to the red-head.

FLASH.

Confused beyond words, Gaara didn't even notice the flash of light as Naruto moved closer to him.

"Okay, now all I have to do is show him I like him… that way."

"Gaara I think I—" for the second time that day, Naruto lost all train of thought as his eyes widened in shock at the figure that had just entered the quaint little restaurant.

"Sasuke why don't you let Kimimaro enjoy the city, I'm sure he would like to explore the city by himself. Then it'll just be the two of us," Karin told the raven-haired male as the three of them entered the small little restaurant.

Busy examining the days events in his mind, Sasuke simply ignored her and asked for a table for three. Though Kimimaro was supposed to act as his bodyguard during his stay in Konoha, Sasuke had never treated him as a mere employee, unlike a certain female secretary that wouldn't stop asking him questions about a certain blonde. Why couldn't she just leave him and his past alone?

"Please follow me," their waiter politely told them as he led them to their table. Sasuke had not taken more than two steps when he abruptly stopped in mid-step. There across the room sat Naruto talking to a red-haired male.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" asked Karin as she followed his eyes to the table where a certain blonde sat.

Sasuke intently watched as Naruto scooted closer to the other male and was surprised as a spurt of jealously shot through his body. However, no sooner had the blonde moved closer to the other man, than he saw him across the room and almost jerked away from the red-haired male as his sapphire eyes widened in shock.

Sasuke smirked. It seemed he could still affect the blonde. "Let's see how much," Sasuke whispered to himself as he headed toward Naruto's table, completely ignoring the waiter's and Karin's call's. He was determined to make the blonde pay for that punch earlier—it had hurt like hell.

"Would you like anything else," their waiter interrupted them, diverting the red-head's attention away from the blonde. The waiter had arrived at the same time Naruto had spotted Sasuke; thus, Gaara didn't catch the blonde's reaction.

While Gaara waved the waiter away, saying that they didn't need anything else, Naruto was panicking like crazy as he saw Sasuke walking toward him.

For a moment he couldn't move as fear gripped him. Damn it, he couldn't let Sasuke get the upper hand, and he knew if the Uchiha came to their table he would lose it. Damn it! This was supposed to be his new beginning with Gaara. He was supposed to forget all about smug Bastards and start over.

Waiter no longer holding his attention, Gaara turned back to Naruto. "I think its time for me to leave," he told the blonde as he picked up the check and got up.

"Wait!" Naruto shouted as he abruptly stood up and grabbed Gaara's hand from across the table.

FLASH.

"What are you doing Naruto?" Gaara growled, noticing the added attention the blonde's outburst had placed on them.

"I don't know," Naruto honestly told him. At the moment he was running on autopilot, and he had no idea what he was doing.

The red-head looked at the hand currently restraining him and turned his attention to the limb's owner. "What's going on?" he questioned.

Naruto was officially panicking. Gaara was questioning him, while Sasuke was only a few tables away from him with the ever present smirk still plastered to his face, mocking him, telling him that he still belonged to him.

FLASH.

"Naruto let go of me," Gaara growled out as he noticed another flash of the camera.

Mind too panicked to think straight, the only thing that registered in the blonde's brain was the Bastard's smug smirk, and the fact that he would do anything to wipe that smirk off his pretty face. Like a cornered animal, Naruto did the first thing that came to mind.

Giving Gaara's hand a solid jerk, Naruto flipped the red-head onto the table; a small grunt escaped the red-head's mouth as his back hit the cool metal. The sound of dishes crashing to the floor startled many diners, but it was nothing to what came next. With a swift pull on the red-head's hand, which he had yet to let go of, Naruto pulled the other male toward him so that his face was now on his side of the table, and in an instant, the blonde swooped down and captured Gaara's lips in a kiss.

FLASH.

Once his brain registered what was happening, Gaara immediately grabbed a fist full of blonde hair and wrenched Naruto off of him. He couldn't believe Naruto had done that! He knew he hated to be touched. Not knowing what he would do, or say to the blonde if he stayed any longer, Gaara quickly sat up and swiped his mouth with his sleeve determined to leave.

FLASH.

Naruto, whose brain was barely registering what he'd just done, could only watch in horror as Gaara got off the small table and without looking back at him exited the double doors of the restaurant at a fast pace. He did not look happy, in fact, he had looked almost furious.

"Shit!"

FLASH.

Naruto immediately ran after his friend, but not before noticing the absence of a certain Uchiha.

FLASH.

"So, he delivered the requested amount once more," Kabuto said to himself as he picked up a small vial from the nearest crate. Seeing the Hyuuga symbol on the small vial, Kabuto frowned. "We're going to have to transfer everything to new vials and bottles," he told one of the employee's. "We can't have the Hyuuga symbol on the medication I have personally created for Neji now can we," Kabuto chuckled as he ordered two employees to get rid of the containers once the transfer was complete.

Hiding inside the ventilation shaft just above the laboratory, Neji stared in shock at the five crates where the pills and vials had arrived. He couldn't believe it.

Back in the lab, one of the new employees picked up one of bottle of pills and dumbly shook it scrunching up his nose in puzzlement. "I don't understand why you just don't ask for money in the ransom. I mean, if you're going to use Neji as blackmail, why not milk it for everything its worth?" he asked Kabuto, not understanding why they always asked for the medication in order to keep the Hyuuga alive. In his opinion, they were demanding the wrong thing.

Kabuto ignored the man's question, not even bothering to explain.

Seeing everything he needed to know, Neji slowly began to make his way back to his room via the ventilations shaft. He was careful to be as quiet as possible.

Once back in his room, the young Hyuuga let out a shout of pain as he let loose his temper and punched the wall with all his strength.

"I'm such an idiot," he harshly whispered to himself as a river of tears fell from his eyes and onto his now bleeding hand; the salt in his tears, increasing the pain but he didn't bother to move his hand. He deserved it after all.

"I have to go back," he whispered to himself.

1) Naruto is referring to the time Sasuke broke up with him. The Uchiha hung up on him while the blonde was still insulting him. Guess Naruto didn't appreciate it. LOL.

So there it is; chapter 2. Tell me what you think of this chapter. Next chapter will be more like "the morning after". Naruto will try to talk to Gaara, but he ends up talking to Sasuke instead. I dare you to guess what happens. Gaara's art show is about to debut, but I'm not quite sure if it will debut in chapter 3 or 4 yet. Neji, well Neji, has just decided to return, but will he be able to escape his gilded cage?

Reviews are greatly appreciated. Thanks ;)