Warnings: THERE IS HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVITY IN THIS STORY. Consider yourself warned.
Disclaimer: Don't own the Naruto boys, only the limo… We also don't own In Flames.
F(r)iend
As he did every Monday morning, Naruto walked into school at the main gate, lazily looking for Sakura. As he passed the student parking lot, he subconsciously looked for the expensive bike which he knew to be Gaara's ride. It wasn't there yet, but Naruto was also a little earlier than usual. And Gaara tended to arrive a little later than most, with just enough time for a smoke before class.
Stifling a yawn, Naruto found himself a bench with a decent view of both the gate and the parking lot and sat, pulling out his Biology textbook. He wasn't really paying attention to what he was reading - though he really should have been, seeing as how he had a pretty important test second period. He did okay in Biology… it was even his best subject the previous year, and he put effort into the subject because he found it interesting. He'd always imagined himself doing something Biology-related, perhaps Marine Biology or Veterinary Science but he felt that he was expected to join the police force, just as his father and grandfather both had after leaving school.
Quite suddenly, Gaara appeared behind the bench where Naruto was lounging languidly with his textbook, in a sort of dazed daydream-esque stupor.
"Hi" Gaara said from behind the blonde, causing him to jump and drop his textbook. Gaara then stepped around the bench, picked up the textbook and sat down reading from the page Naruto had had open. "This isn't even what we're meant to be studying…"
"Goddamnit, you scared me. How did you get there…"
"I walked there… From the gate. Duh"
"I would've seen you, I was watching the gate" Naruto said suspiciously.
"Even if I had come from that gate, I highly doubt you'd have noticed me. You were kind of sleeping" Gaara replied with a slight laugh. "But, I didn't come from that gate. Temari dropped me off today, at the staff gate"
"Why?"
"Twenty One Questions today?" Gaara said with a smirk, then more amicably, "My bike's in for a service"
"Oh, I see. Well, there's at least half an hour before we need to be at class, what d'you wanna do?"
"I thought you were studying. Don't you have any study notes?"
"No… Why would I have study notes?"
"Have you studied at all?" Gaara asked in return, looking confused by the prospect.
"Yeah, kinda…"
"God, you're useless" Gaara remarked casually, digging through his bag. "Here, use mine, I'm done with them" Gaara handed Naruto a thin stack of papers which were stapled together.
"Wow, you're in a good mood this morning. Super talkative. What's up?" Naruto commented with a wide smile.
"I got laid this weekend" Gaara replied matter-of-factly. Naruto went several shades of red at the comment.
"Yes you did, didn't you…" Naruto whispered through the blush. "So did I"
"So did you what?" Sakura had suddenly appeared, and took a seat between Gaara and Naruto. "And why are you blushing?"
"Me? Huh?" Naruto went even redder, looking, panic-stricken, from Sakura to Gaara.
Gaara stood silently and started to walk away. Turning back briefly once he'd covered a few metres, he said "See you" looking Naruto directly in the eye.
The pair remaining on the bench watched the redhead coolly walk away in the direction of the parking lot, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. The second he was out of earshot but still visible, Sakura's excitement exploded. "OH EM JEE!" she exclaimed, startling Naruto, who was still recovering from his violent blush. "Naruto! No way! You know that guy?" she squealed, hurting the blonde's ears a bit.
"Uhhh…" he didn't know what to say. That had not at all been the reaction he'd expected from his friend. Several scenarios had gone through his mind, the most prominent of which was the one where Sakura was creeped out by 'the weird goth guy', and definitely not this rabid excitement.
"He is SO effing HOT! I MUST have him" she giggled gleefully. "And now that you know him, you can introduce us!"
Naruto was slowly turning from red to green. "I don't know him" he lied defensively.
"You were having a conversation with him" she pointed out quizzically.
"I lent him my notes, that's all"
"You don't make notes! Ever!"
"He lent me his notes. Whatever, Sakura…" Naruto sighed. "Get off my case, okay?"
"He's got the best ass. He really does. Did you SEE it, when he was strutting away in those tight-as-sin jeans?" the pink-haired girl continued her rant.
"I didn't notice" again, he lied. In his mind, Naruto was cursing. He hadn't meant for her to find out about Gaara. He had to think quick… Change the subject somehow. "Have you heard, Sasuke's having a party this weekend?"
"Of course I've heard, Naruto! He's the most popular guy in school. You're going, right?"
Naruto longingly thought of Gaara, sitting in the VIP lounge at Nightshade, sipping on some obscenely priced alcoholic beverage. "I dunno…"
"You HAVE to go. C'mon" Sakura whined. Naruto wondered how he could handle being around her sometimes.
"Fine"
"But you HAVE to ask that guy, the hot one, to come along"
"Whatever" Naruto said, tired of arguing.
Gaara leaned backed against his usual tree, lighting up a smoke. He could see the girl with pink hair sitting next to Naruto on the bench. 'How rude' he thought apathetically.
He guessed he didn't like her. He had no idea why, but he didn't. From the second she'd opened her mouth, she'd ruined any chance of possible acquaintanceship.
Whatever, he thought, as he inhaled the smoke of the Marlboro. A cigarette, for him, was the perfect pleasure. It coated his lungs in a delicious layer, made him feel calmer, and tasted like heaven. It left him, for the moment, satisfied. Silently he smoked the rest of his cigarette.
Later that day, at recess, Naruto found himself rolling his eyes continuously as Sakura proceeded to tell absolutely everyone in their group of friends about how hot the 'Redhead' was.
When he was tired of it, Naruto excused himself to go to the bathroom. As soon as he was out of sight, he made a sharp turn to go to the parking lot where he knew Gaara would be sitting, probably puffing away.
He saw the skinny teen from a short distance away, jogging slightly to get to him faster. Plonking himself down across from him, Naruto smiled. "Hey"
Gaara's lip twitched. "Hey" he greeted softly.
"I'm so sorry about Sakura"
"Whatever"
"I didn't want her to find out about uh- you" Naruto explained, pulling his lunch from his bag.
"Why not? Am I a secret?" Gaara asked, slightly flirtatiously.
"No! Well, yeah… I just thought it'd be easier if she didn't know. I was right"
"Oh?" Gaara helped himself to one of Naruto's sandwiches, making the blonde grin inwardly.
"She has the hots for you. She won't shut up about it" Naruto informed him.
"If only she knew" Gaara replied.
"Yeah" the blonde grinned. The pair sat in a comfortable silence for a moment before Naruto spoke again. "Hey, um… there's a party this weekend at Sasuke's house, I dunno if you know… Wanna go? Like, with me?"
The redhead regarded him for a moment. "When?"
"Friday night"
"I usually spend Fridays at the club"
"I know this, I was just wondering if you'll make an exception"
"I'll consider it"
Naruto grinned broadly. "Awesome. Let me know, okay?"
"Mmmm" Gaara mumbled through a mouthful of pastrami on rye.
On Friday afternoon after school, Naruto caught up with Gaara outside Art class. "So… tonight?" he hinted, tired of having not received confirmation yet.
"I don't like your friend, Sakura" Gaara replied, walking.
"Okay. So… tonight?"
"I'll pick you up at eight"
"Isn't that a bit late?"
"I'll pick you up at eight"
"Okay Gaara" Naruto smiled. "See you later then" he said, bouncing away energetically.
That evening, the limo arrived outside the apartment building where Naruto stayed, causing a fair amount of excitement for less-than-wealthy residents. Almost everyone had run outside to take a look, or at the very least were peering out of their windows.
"Why is there a limousine outside?" Kakashi asked, not even looking up from his book.
"That's my ride" Naruto replied with a wink.
"Whose is it?"
"Oh… it's a friend from school's. He's got bucks"
"I can tell. Behave, see you later"
"Actually" Naruto said, "I thought I might stay out… The party's closer to his place than ours. I don't want to make the driver come all this way afterwards"
"Fine. See you tomorrow then?"
"Sure. See ya!" Naruto replied, smiling broadly as he made his way down to the lobby. He walked up to the luxurious black vehicle, ignoring stares from his neighbours, and got in.
"God, these people are rude" Gaara stated over the rim of a champagne flute. "What took you?"
"Sorry, had to take the stairs - the elevator's busted again"
"Again? Interesting…" Gaara said with a hint of sarcasm. "It must be terrible to live in such squalor"
"Incredibly…" Naruto remarked, picking up on the sarcasm - surprisingly - and returning it. At this, Gaara couldn't help but snicker slightly.
Naruto took in Gaara's appearance. The redhead was wearing grey stonewashed skinny jeans with a tight black hoodie, under which a white v-neck tee could be seen. His collarbone was exposed, and Naruto found it extremely enticing.
"Champagne?" Gaara offered, pouring Naruto a glass without waiting for a response. "Not wearing any orange today? I am impressed"
Naruto pulled the waistband of his black jeans down to reveal a strip of his neon orange briefs, earning himself a roll of the eyes. Other than that, he was wearing a relatively tight long-sleeved purple cotton shirt, the sleeves pulled up to his elbows. It was summer, but Konoha nights were known to get chilly regardless.
The two fell into a light conversation about how their week had been. The sound of Cradle of Filth could be heard playing softly in the background.
After a while, the limo turned off the highway into a residential area where it soon pulled into a long driveway leading up to a property which was slightly removed from the road on a hill. After they were admitted at the gate, the driver took them up the remainder of the driveway, which circled the hill loosely at a steady incline, and dropped them off in the large house's courtyard. The pair could hear music coming from inside the house and although it wasn't either boy's preferred genre, it had a workable beat and sounded catchy enough. A doorman with a tray of drinks lead them inside, offering them each a cocktail as they went.
Naruto mingled with a few of the other guests for a while, looking for Sakura in his periphery, as Gaara disappeared almost immediately outside for a smoke. It didn't take Naruto very long to find Sakura, as she was wearing a bright red sequin dress and black gladiator stilettos. She'd even made an effort in putting on make-up and styling her hair. Naruto thought she looked overdressed, considering it was just a house party, but also knew she was probably trying to impress either the host or Naruto's own guest.
Naruto chatted to her for a minute in which compliments on their respective appearances were exchanged. It didn't take Sakura long to bring Gaara into the subject of the conversation, asking if he'd come and where he was. Naruto gave ambiguous answers and made his excuses to go talk to other people. Spotting Neji, Naruto made a quick escape, giving the long-haired boy a bit of a fright.
Sakura exited the area, stepping out onto the pool deck where people were dancing and chatting and laughing, and the like. Soon she spotted a messy mop of red hair and the cherry of a cigarette glowing from a dark corner. Sashaying over to him, the girl tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.
"Hello" she greeted, in what she hoped was a sexy voice. She could feel herself blushing lightly as she looked at the taller teenager. He was standing with his arms crossed, occasionally lifting his right hand to his face so that he could take drags from his cigarette.
"Do you want something?" Gaara asked monotonously, not bothering to look at her.
Sakura was having an internal battle; be sexy and straightforward and hook up with him tonight? Or be sweet and charming and lay the foundation for later? "Well…"
Gaara exhaled a small cloud of smoke. Finally his eyes met hers.
'Sexy', she decided. She couldn't wait. This boy was sex on a stick. "As a matter of fact I do" Sakura plastered on her most gorgeous smile, taking a step closer felinely.
"For fuck's sake, woman. What?" he snapped. He couldn't stand her presence.
She was taken aback, but she continued her attempt; she would not be scared off by his abrasive exterior. "I… want…" she said in a breathy, slow voice as she edged closer to him. She closed her eyes and leaned in to him.
Gaara, skinny as he was, edged out of the space she had trapped him in, between her and the wall, flicking his cigarette butt into the nearby bush. "You listen to me and you listen carefully" he said coolly but seriously. "Don't you ever come near me in your wanna-be Jimmy Choo's and basement bargain knock-off dress. You look like you kissed an oil-slick with that lipgloss, and your 'diamond' earrings look like they came in a Lucky Packet. Hooker, please"
Sakura was shocked. She could feel tears welling up behind her eyes. She felt humiliated.
"My my, Gaara. You've become quite the bitch, haven't you?" a deep male voice said. Both Gaara and Sakura looked to the source, where they saw a tall guy with long, black hair that was tied into a low ponytail. His fringe - parted in the middle - fell around his face. He was smirking. "And you've grown up too" he winked at the younger male.
"Itachi!" Sakura exclaimed, before bursting into tears and running away, presumably into the house. Itachi took the opportunity to take a step closer to his old acquaintance.
"It's been a while. Welcome to my home" Itachi smiled.
"It has. You live here?" Gaara asked, pulling out another cigarette and placing it between his lips. He held the open box out.
Taking a cigarette, he replied "Sasuke's my little brother". The black-haired man whipped out a lighter and lit first Gaara's smoke, then his own.
"I can see the resemblance now" the redhead said.
Itachi laughed. "Yeah… but he's not as hot as me"
"I won't argue on that one" the younger man said. "How're things going with Akatsuki? I was recently thinking about inviting the band back to Nightshade"
"A bit of this and that… Take a walk with me and I'll tell you about it" the older man gestured towards the other side of the garden.
"Sure" Gaara smirked.
Inside, Naruto was conversing with Neji, who had begun a long rant on the importance of chivalry and honour. It was clear he'd had a lot to drink already. After listening for what felt like hours, Naruto decided to go find himself a drink of his own. It was getting late already (at least it felt like it) and he hadn't seen Gaara once.
'Speak of the devil' Naruto thought as he saw the redhead through the archway leading into the hall where the stairs were. Naruto hurried through it, pushing a few people out of his way. Gaara was walking up the stairs with… 'was that Itachi?' he wondered.
Naruto was about to call for Gaara's attention when he glimpsed Sakura trying to inconspicuously leave the house out of the front entrance. From where he was standing, she looked like shit. Being a good friend (and having just been lectured on chivalry) he ran after her instead, easily catching up with her as the entrance was emptier than the room he'd just emerged from.
"Sakura!" he said, touching her elbow. She turned around. It was evident that she'd been crying. "What's wrong? What happened?" Naruto asked, panicking.
She promptly began to cry again.
"C'mon, shhhh" he said comfortingly, drawing her into his protective, safe arms and letting her take refuge in his embrace. It didn't happen often. After a minute or two, he led her upstairs to Sasuke's bedroom, where he sat her down on the bed. Standing in front of her, he said, "now tell me what's the problem"
"That guy, the hot one with red hair…"
"His name is Gaara" Naruto informed her. His blood involuntarily began to simmer.
"Whatever! He was horrible to me!" Sakura shouted.
"What did you do to him?" Naruto asked impatiently, suddenly feeling protective over the redhead rather than his female friend.
"WHAT? I did nothing! He insulted my shoes and my dress and my lipgloss and-"
"Jesus, Sakura" Naruto interrupted. "Is it worth crying over?"
"I can't believe you!" Sakura exclaimed, getting up and shoving Naruto out of the way. She ran out the door in anger.
"Fuck" Naruto mumbled. Suddenly, a sound from close by caught his attention. A sound he recognised…
It was a deep, guttural moan.
Naruto knew that moan intimately.
Another moan. Yep, that was definitely Gaara's moan.
Bursting out of the room and looking around wildly, Naruto's heart was pounding. The door to the next room was closed, so he opened it roughly, barging into the room. He found Gaara.
The redhead was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning back on his arms. His legs were open wide. There was a head of black hair bobbing up and down between Gaara's legs.
They didn't even stop their activity as Naruto, whose presence had been announced by the banging open of the door, watched, dumbstruck. A number of different emotions flooded him, including shock, jealously, possessiveness, and indignation.
Gaara's closed eyes opened languidly, making direct contact with Naruto's. The two stared at each other for a moment before Gaara let his eyes close again and his head roll back as he moaned once more.
He didn't even care that Naruto was watching.
The blonde couldn't take it any more. He strode up to the pair and kicked Itachi in the back of the head. Itachi's throat was impaled by Gaara's (very hard) appendage, and the Uchiha sputtered, removing his mouth from the general area.
"Do that again, it felt gooooood" Gaara purred.
"What the fuck, Blondie?" Itachi yelled when he caught his breath.
"Itachi, get the fuck out of here. Now" Naruto commanded.
"This is my bedroom!" Itachi said angrily.
"Give us a moment, 'Tach" Gaara said, sitting in a more upright position.
Itachi looked livid. Nonetheless, he stormed out of his bedroom and slammed the door shut behind him.
There was a heavy silence. Gaara broke it with, "You could've waited - or watched - for another minute, Naruto"
"Christ, Gaara! Really? You couldn't have come and found me or something?"
"Why would I do that? You're not my only option"
Naruto looked hurt. "But I'd like to be your first choice" he replied quietly.
"It's just a blowjob"
"Yeah… But we slept together" the blonde stated, pushing his hair back in a display of frustration.
"I've slept with other guys" Gaara said plainly.
"So you've said. But I haven't" Naruto responded.
"Aw, cute" the redhead said sarcastically.
"Gaara please, let me be the only one who gets to do that to you" Naruto pleaded.
"You want to be exclusive? Are you asking me to be your boyfriend or something?"
"No! Well, a little bit… I don't know! I just-"
The door creaked open and Itachi walked in, holding a tray. Upon it sat three mugs. "Tea…" he offered, setting the tray down on the bedside table. The three put their sugar and/or milk in their respective cups, awkwardness pervading the atmosphere.
Itachi sat down beside Gaara with his cup of tea and took a sip. "Let's discuss this like adults" he suggested, unaware of his interference. When no one said anything, he offered, "As resentful as I am of being forced to take more of Gaara's cock than I could handle, I can see that there has been some kind of misunderstanding"
"Gaara and I… We're kind of, uh, having a thing" Naruto said lamely, sipping on his tea.
"He didn't mention it… Maybe if he had, we could have had a threesome or something. It's all about compromise" Itachi said sincerely.
Naruto's stomach clenched. "Um… No"
"Well in any case, I apologize, Blondie, but you really need to take better care of your… things"
"I am not an object and Naruto does NOT own me"
"Gaara… I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but I like you… I want to know you more… and as I was saying," Naruto shot a glare at Itachi, "I want to be only person sleeping with you while that happens"
"Fuck off, Naruto. Don't be so presumptious. Let's be… friends, or whatever, but I will not make any commitments to a guy I've known, what, two weeks?" Gaara said.
"Hey Naruto, I've know Gaara since he was fourteen. I think I was his first kiss and everything" Itachi mentioned matter-of-factly.
"Is that true?" Naruto looked at Gaara expectantly.
"I don't owe you any explanations" he replied darkly. "I need a fucking cigarette. And then I need to find some one to take care of this" he indicated his hard-on which still hadn't been put away.
"I'll do it" Naruto and Itachi said in unison, the former looking angered and the latter looking sheepish.
"Fuck it" Gaara spat, forcing his erection back into his pants and getting up to leave. "I don't want to have to deal with this domestic drama. Excuse me" he exited the room, taking his cup of tea with him.
"Damn it" Naruto cursed. He'd really gotten himself into a situation now. "I want to go home"
"Sorry, dude. I didn't know. I wouldn't have gone down on him if I had" Itachi apologized casually.
"Whatever man. I'll figure this out. Thanks for the tea" Naruto drained the remaining contents of his cup and set it on the tray before leaving the room.
Downstairs, he looked for someone - anyone - who could help him out. "Hey, Chouji, can I bum a ride home with you?" Naruto asked about seeing his classmate.
"I can't hardly shee shtraight, never mind drive" he replied.
"Hey, Shikamaru, can I get a lift home, please man?" Naruto asked upon seeing the intelligent teenager.
"I'm not going home, Naruto… Sorry…"
Exasperated, Naruto asked, "Where in hell are you going then?"
"My girlfriend's place. You know Temari?" Shikamaru reminded him.
"Yeah yeah… Shit"
"What's the deal?"
"Ah, nothing… Just had a bit of a spat with Gaara is all. I was meant to stay over at his place tonight" the blonde explained.
"Gaara…? Temari's brother?"
Before Naruto could answer, he noticed Lee heading for the exit. "Gotta go, Shika. Say hi to your chick for me". He then ran up to Lee and asked him for a ride.
"Of course, my youthful comrade!"
As Naruto was exiting behind Lee, Gaara reappeared, grabbing the blonde and giving him a withering look. "What the fuck are you doing, Naruto?"
"I was… leaving? With Lee. I assumed I no longer had a ride with you…"
"Oh, don't be ridiculous" Gaara scoffed, "I said I'd pick you up, so naturally, I'll provide transportation both ways"
"But after what happened?" Naruto asked, confused.
"That's irrelevant. It would be terribly ungracious not to give you a lift" Gaara said, almost with a smile - but not quite.
"Sorry"
"Are we leaving, then?" Gaara asked impatiently. He whipped out his phone to call the limo driver. Naruto assumed that the limo must be nearby.
"I guess, yeah"
When the limousine pulled up at the entrance, the boys got in in silence, Gaara flicking the cigarette he had lit into a flower bed.
The two sat in awkward silence for most of the ride home, music still playing softly in the background. It wasn't Cradle of Filth anymore and Naruto didn't recognise the band. Under different circumstances he would probably have enjoyed it, but was too preoccupied to pay much attention.
When they had been on the road for quite some time - or at least it felt like it - Gaara asked, "Am I taking you home?"
"Whatever"
"Naruto…" Gaara pressed, with a hint of an apology. Naruto looked up at him.
"Yeah. Take me home" Naruto said sulkily, looking down at his feet again.
"I'm sorry…" Gaara somewhat sincerely; Naruto could never tell.
Naruto looked up again, meaning to say something, but didn't.
AN: EvanescentCrimson - Right. So, there you have it. =) We're terrible people, I know.
BL00DofTheViNe - Don't you just love bitchy Gaara?
EvanescentCrimson - Anyhow. Same rules apply, drop us a review and let us know what you thought. No hate-mail, we will fix this… Expect a nice, big juicy lemon in the next chapter ;-P
BL00DofTheViNe - Don't you just love make-up sex? (^^,)