A/N: Um this chapter pretty much sucks ass. I didn't have much time to write it, and so I didn't go in for the long haul like I usually do, and write it all in one go. I wrote it in little spurs when I had time, and therefore I was in very different moods when I wrote each piece. Anyway. Please just enjoy it and try to make sense of it. X)

WARNING! Annoying, childish chapter and very out of character Gaara. And a MILLION Author's Notes. Not really. There's only two. Ew, I hate this chapter.

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Something was wrong. Naruto felt it in the air. The day was normal, everyone was in his or her respective positions, doing what they had to do, but something was awfully wrong. Out of place. He turned in his seat, only to discover that his view consisted of a too cheery Sasuke sitting directly behind him.

What's he grinning about? Naruto wondered, sending a cautious glance in the raven haired boy's direction, He didn't get laid last night too, did he?

He decided to turn his attention back to the board, somewhat happy that he had discovered the 'wrong' thing, yet still unnerved by his grinning friend. Kakashi sensei had written their homework on the board, and Naruto attempted to copy it down, squinting at the near indecipherable writing.

Before he could successfully make out what exactly what the set homework was, however, something hit him in the head, and rebounded to land on the floor beside his desk, looking suspiciously as though it had come from one of Sasuke's blue paged exercise books. Naruto reached down, fully aware and ignoring the fact that by doing so, Sasuke was getting an excellent view of his behind, and picked up the folded piece of paper.

It read:

Gaara will love this. You're my partner. I'm not pairing up with Kiba for anything again- all he does is whinge that his Shino isn't in the same class.

Shooting a quizzical look at Sasuke, Naruto decided to reply with exactly what he was thinking.

What are you talking about now you retarded emo?

He chucked the letter back with such force that it rebounded violently off the raven's head and rolled to sit perfectly in the middle of the Uchiha's desk. Naruto watched as Sasuke's face scrunched up after reading the note, mouthed 'you tool' at him, and scrawled something down in reply. Naruto was careful to catch the returning missile this time, and checked briefly that Kakashi sensei was not looking before he read.

The homework, Naru-chan. Homework. You know, the thing that Kakashi's being drawling excitedly about for the past few weeks. Because I put my hand up to be your partner for it while you were daydreaming about your nightly root sessions with Static, I get to be the husband.

Naruto was quick to answer.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HUSBAND?! SASUKE!

Sasuke only chuckled in reply before noting the particularly adorable look that the blond was shooting at him, and sighed as he wrote his final reply.

Like I told you, Naruto. Homework. We have to pair up and practice our co-operation and communication skills. The idea is to act like a married couple for a week. Pay attention, Naruto. On something other than the freckles on Gaara's ass.

---

Gaara arrived at the school gate to find the person that he had come to collect, flailing around and screaming at the other person the he had come to collect at the first's request. Naruto was screaming at Sasuke rather loudly, and they were attracting much attention. Naruto seemed to be saying something like 'I'll never be your wife, you sadistic mofo', and then, 'and he has no freckles on his goddamn ass!', but Gaara couldn't be sure, as the blond (however loud) was having to compete with the loud school bell and the chatter of a thousand odd other students.

As he walked suavely up to Naruto and his small group of friends, the red-head noticed that Naruto had something wrong with his cheeks. There were little lines on them, three to each side that had not been there previously. Gaara reached Naruto, and put a heavy hand on his shoulder, abruptly cutting off the blonds spiel and causing said blond to whip around to face him.

"What," Gaara was going to waste no time voicing his immediate concern, "are those marks on your cheeks?"

He earned a nervous laugh, and a wide eyed look for his troubles. Well, Gaara figured that this reaction wasn't good enough for him. Leaning in close to the younger boy's face, he whispered huskily to him, receiving snickers and uncomfortable looks from all of his friends but the black haired one, who was smirking despite having previously been yelled at.

"I think that you'll tell me exactly how you got them, Naru-chan," he smiled slightly, "Or I'll ravish you on the hood of my car, regardless of who is looking and listening."

An indignant squeal was evidently not his only reply, as the blond whispered to him, obviously unaware that his loud whisper could be heard by all of his friends, and that they were all listening intently to their private conversation.

"You remember last night, don't you?" a blush rose delicately to his cheeks as he continued, "When you were reaching around to stroke my face from behind? Well…you…You know…then, and you gripped too hard. Kinda."

"So, what you're saying is that I did that to you?" from Gaara's next statement, it was glaringly obvious that he had no mercy and absolutely no shame, "When I came? God, I couldn't help it Naruto. You're just so God. Damn. Tight."

His hooded eyes and ruthless words earned him nothing more than Naruto's deep blush, raucous laughter from the blonde's friends and a huffing Uke storming to the car, shoulders tense, dragging Sasuke along behind him.

Gaara didn't care. Naruto looked adorable when he blushed like that.

---

Sasuke looked around the apartment, eyebrow raised as he took everything in, from the smallest detail, such as a sock lying in the corner, to the largest which was at this present time, Gaara- Naruto on top of him- snuggling on the couch. Sighing, the Uchiha received another glare from the blond- a warning not to tell Gaara about the school homework. Most likely, he wished to tell his lover himself.

They had been dropped off at Naruto's small apartment by Gaara, who had been asking questions ceaselessly all the way here. He wanted to know what Naruto had been yelling about. The blond had refrained from telling him and had further shocked Gaara by keeping his mouth absolutely shut for the whole drive, not saying a word on any subject. Sasuke was used to this behaviour, and had labelled it 'Naru's Silence of Turmoil'. He knew that the blond was eager to blurt the obscenity bestowed upon him to his lover, but refrained from doing so in favour of an 'opportune moment'. Sasuke hardly thought that snuggling on the couch was an appropriate opportunity, and evidently Naruto agreed with him.

Walking to the kitchen to search out something decent to eat, Sasuke zoned in on the quiet conversation that was being had by Naruto and his tall, red-headed lover.

"…wants us to be married, Gaara! I don't wanna be married to Sasuke! That's like incest!"

Obviously, Naruto didn't agree with him that snuggling on the couch was not the perfect opportune moment. But Sasuke was glad that he had decided to listen in on the conversation from the kitchen, while he waited for the Ramen to heat up.

"Your teacher wants you to get married to Sasuke?" Gaara's confused voice emerged, "What the hell kind of school do you go to?"

A nervous laugh.

"No, no, no." A thump as Naruto probably fell off the couch, "I mean that he wants us to…I mean, we have to…pretend…"

"To be married? That is absolutely ridiculous. No. You are not marrying him." Gaara could almost have stomped a foot, in Sasuke's opinion, "I'll have a…talk with your teacher."

"But, Gaara! I have no choice! If I don't do it, Kakashi sensei will fail me for the whole year!" Naruto's shrill voice sounded, "It's worth nearly half of our end of year mark!"

An exasperated sigh.

"Fine. Whatever. But if he even thinks about trying to fuck you, I'll add another eunuch to the world." Gaara's voice was nonchalant, and Sasuke didn't doubt that Gaara would do exactly as he claimed, "And if he kisses you," Sasuke could feel the glare from the other room, "You'll be lacking a certain emo in your friendship group. I mean, you may see him occasionally, but I doubt that somebody like you would be looking for a good time in an alleyway up against a wall, if you understand my meaning."

Sasuke was glad that neither could see the freaked out look that was on his face at that moment, and went to collect his ramen from the pot on the stove.

---

Shikamaru knocked hesitantly on the door in front of him, hoping that the red-head was home, and that Naruto was with him. He had gone to the blonde's apartment, only to find Sasuke there alone, and to be told that the couple had gone somewhere unknown. Sasuke had fished around in Naruto's room while Shikamaru stood at the door, and had eventually found an address, scrawled messily on a piece of paper, the words 'Gaara-chan' scribbled along the top. Why Naruto insisted on calling everyone '-chan' regardless of gender was beyond Shikamaru, but he headed to the addressed place without much thought about it than that.

He had found himself standing at an apartment block, and after finally bothering to ask somebody, had been let inside and directed to the room number listed on the paper in a kanji so messy and wobbly that Shikamaru had been forced to consult a dictionary to be able to decipher it. He now stood in front of the door, in which he assumed was a shared apartment, and waited for his knock to be answered.

To his nonexistent surprise, the blond girl from the party he had been dragged to answered the door, dressed only in a pair of white lacy underpants, and an oversized dark blue t-shirt that would have reached her knees had she not bunched it up and tied it at the side with an elastic band. Shikamaru couldn't help but let his eyes travel along her form, over her chest, along the lines of her curves, down her slender, smooth legs.

"Shikamaru, right?" Her velvety voice interrupted his thoughts, "You were at Neji-kun's party weren't you?"

Shikamaru looked up with a start at having being caught out, and looked away as he spoke, "I was invited by Naruto. He was too wimpy to go by himself, so he dragged me along…"

"You didn't want to go, then?" she gestured for him to come inside, and he obliged her, trying not to stare at her figure while he did so, "I wouldn't have met you if you hadn't come."

"Yeah…well…I'm here to get Naruto," sidestepping the topic, Shikamaru sighed, "He's supposed to be doing this project for class. The teacher said that we had to try and do it in a group of four: two pairs. Myself and Kiba are the other pair. But…"

"Naruto's nowhere to be found?" She laughed, and sat down in front of him, on the floor, "That's to be expected, with my brother involved."

She reached behind her, to the coffee table and grabbed a cigarette, already lit. Taking a drag, she continued, "Neither of them are here, they've probably gone on a spontaneous date. You know, Gaara just has this…talent of, well, gravitating people towards him. It used to be rather different when he was younger, though. People would run away from him then." She took another drag and let her next words escape with the smoke that she blew out, "He was quite scary. He was very…unsociable back then. All he'd do was sit in his room and glare at anybody who came near him, and even then, if someone dared come towards him he'd hurl whatever was closest at them. Only one thing could calm him down when he got into one of his rages, and it was hard to get him to it when he was wailing and thrashing about everywhere…"

"Can I ask what it was?" Shikamaru ventured when there was a pause, curious about Gaara's past, "Without sounding rude?"

She smiled, and despite what she was talking about, Shikamaru felt his breath hitch as she spoke, trying to remember how to breath and feeling more stupid than Lee asking Sakura out on a date.

"The beach."

---

The waves splashed up against the shore, crystalline in their beauty. The sound was calming and blocked out all others, the moving water creating a beautiful backdrop and a perfect end for the day.

The cobalt depths reflected in Naruto's own cobalt eyes, and his face wavered as he dropped a stone into his reflection. Gaara threw another rock, and it landed somewhere to the side of the pier that they were sitting on, their legs dangling over the side.

A bird called overhead, and Naruto sighed, snuggling contently into Gaara's side. The redhead was uncharacteristically chatty and relaxed, but Naruto wasn't complaining. This was the most that the singer had spoken to him and Naruto wasn't missing a word of it. Gaara was currently explaining the situation with his family.

"I never knew my mother," his hand grasped Naruto's as he spoke, pale alabaster on tanned porcelain, "But my father was there when we were growing up. When he wasn't away on business. Mostly, Temari looked after me because the servants wouldn't go anywhere near me. I scared them, I think, and-"

"Why'd you scare them? You don't scare me! Or any of my friends!" Naruto cut in, waving about, his nose scrunched up, "Everyone loves you!"

Gaara gave him a grim smile, "Back then, I was different. My father didn't like me. Mother died shortly after giving birth to me, and he never forgave me for that. Nobody dared to even pretend they cared about me, because of the wrath they would be under if my father found out. He controls the whole of Sunagakure, with his business. Kankuro is all set to inherit, because Temari doesn't give a damn about the whole business thing. She just wants to party. I wish I had the same freedom."

Naruto couldn't fathom how Gaara didn't have any freedom, as he went running around all day wherever and whenever he wanted. What bugged him more though, was the fact that a father could detest his son for something he couldn't control. That he could hate him at all was a mystery, and the biggest sin to Naruto.

"I…" he began hesitantly, "really have no family. There's Jiraiya, the guy that owns my apartment block, he took me in when I was real young, when I ran away, and he gave me a room of my own as soon as I turned sixteen. I don't even have to pay rent. But he's no father. He's always spying on women and he even spied on me, once. Well, I caught him once."

Visibly deciding to ignore that last comment, Gaara asked, "What about your parents? They mustn't have been so great if you ran away from home."

Naruto looked to the side, "I didn't run away from home. I never had a home to begin with. My mother, well she met my father and took off straight after she had me. That's what they told me. My father died when I was six years old. I got chucked into an orphanage, and I ran away from there when I was ten."

Gaara squeezed his hand, and kissed him on the cheek. Naruto found that Gaara was far more relaxed than ever, on the beach, with the waves lapping at the shore like a kitten lapping at water after a long nap in the sun. The sun itself was low in the sky, and steadily becoming orange as the day approached its end. And Gaara's shoulders un-tensed, his smile came more easily and his green eyes squinted to show slight laughter lines more frequently.

What Naruto wasn't aware of was that even with his band-mates, his friends and siblings; even at the beach, the singer was never so comfortable. He was never so easy going and relaxed and he certainly didn't laugh or smile half as much as he did when Naruto was around.

There was just something about Naruto…something that resonated through him whenever the small blond was around. Something that resonated through his body just like that bass line had.

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A/N: I didn't want to make it so short, but it really sucks. Hence, another Authors Note. I also didn't intend to change character point of view so frequently. Or end it on such a fluff infested, candy smothered moment. But it worked, didn't it? Tell me these things, guys! Lately all I've been getting is Story alert adds, and 'This is good, update' type reviews. Me needs constructive criticism. This is how writers improve. If you're not going to review, at least think it at me really hard, and perhaps the chapter loathing waves emitting from me will pick up your thoughts and bring them back home. To me. Yeah. But I did think that the end of it was sweet. Too much chocolate at Easter sweet. Or maybe too many beers on a Saturday night sweet. Ew, I hate beer…