I don't think anyone can complain about this chapter being too short as it's over 7000 words XD I am now going to bask in the glory of its completion whilst simultaneously dying of exhaustion.

Chapter 10

"Shouldn't we follow them?"

Kakashi calmly placed the piece of chicken in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed it. Without looking up at Obito he replied, "Let's finish dinner first."

"But they're getting away!" Obito cried, bouncing up and down in his seat.

"There's no point in following them when we already know where they're going."

Obito stopped bouncing. "We know where they're going?"

Kakashi swallowed his next mouthful before replying. "The waiter gave us away so Sasuke knows that we're following him. That being the case I doubt he will want to take Gaara anywhere public as that will create the possibility of us interfering with their date; therefore the only place Sasuke has left to go is back to the Uchiha mansion. Once we've finished eating we'll go there and resume our vigil; there's no point in rushing as it's unlikely that anything will happen until later tonight."

Obito slumped forward, his elbows coming to rest heavily on the table. "I guess you're right," he mumbled as he leaned forward to suck on the straw floating innocently in his drink. There was a brief break in the conversation where Kakashi consumed another mouthful of his dinner and Obito finished off his drink. Releasing the straw from between his lips, Obito looked up at Kakashi with sombre puzzlement and asked, "What do you think happened?"

Kakashi knew instantly what Obito was referring to. Earlier Gaara and Sasuke had gotten into an argument that had resulted in Gaara trying to storm out of the restaurant. He'd never made it to the door because Sasuke had held him back, further infuriating the redhead. Kakashi had thought that he and Obito would have to step in to stop a fight breaking out but the disagreement had been resolved before it had come to that. Kakashi was very adept at lip reading but he had been too far away to properly follow the course of the argument. All he knew was that something important had been said or decided because after the argument Gaara's behaviour had done a 180 degree turn. He had responded to Sasuke's questions, taken part in discussions, and generally seemed to be more relaxed in the Uchiha's presence. At the end of the meal they had left side by side without the tension that had existed when they first entered the restaurant.

"Sasuke must have said something to make Gaara trust him. I couldn't tell what it was."

"So where does that leave us?" Obito asked quietly.

"In the same place we were before the argument. We are merely going to observe their actions and report them back to Jiraiya," replied Kakashi simply.

"And what if we see them doing something that will hurt Naruto?" Obito prodded, his heart twisting at the thought of having to deliver the terrible news of betrayal to one of his most precious people.

Kakashi paused. Finally, cheerlessly, he said, "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that."

Gaara stepped out of the car and stared up at Sasuke's white stone mansion. It was older and possibly bigger than Naruto's house, the crest upon the front door declaring to all that this house belonged to that of an ancient, noble family. Gaara half expected there to be servants rushing out to greet them and hundreds of peacocks strutting across the great lawns that lay illuminated by tiny lights before the house. He was disappointed when there were no squawks of indignation as the car drove to the back of the house, leaving the two boys alone in a pool of light cast by one of the overhead lamps.

Picking up Gaara's bag, Sasuke headed towards the front door. He peered over his shoulder as he walked, a look that clearly asked if Gaara was going to be following him any time soon situated on his face.

With no more than a slight narrowing of his eyes Gaara joined Sasuke on the porch. The Uchiha led the way into the reception hall, a room decorated with many exquisite paintings and hat stands upon which the multitude of expected guests might hang their coats. Gaara took it all in as he slipped out of his shoes, once again expecting servants to rush out and greet the young master of the house. The expectation lingered as Sasuke led him past rooms with uncomfortable looking furniture that was most likely meant for show more than use.

Eventually they reached a room which appeared to be much more lived in. Itachi was reclining upon one of the comfortable looking sofas, a pair of reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and a novel in his hand. He looked up when they entered, a small smile tugging at his lips as he closed his novel. "How was your date?" Sasuke gave a careless shrug, his face a mask of neutrality. "That well huh?" Itachi's smile grew slightly, his eyes flickering towards Gaara and then the redhead's bag in Sasuke's hand. His gaze made Gaara uneasy. It was as if Itachi knew something that he didn't, something important, something that had passed him by when really it should have been obvious.

Itachi's knowing look also seemed to put Sasuke on edge as he quickly replied with, "We're going to my room now and we don't want to be disturbed." Gaara heard the warning in his voice and so did Itachi. The older man regarded Sasuke calmly for a moment, his smile gone, before he returned to his novel. With a small nod of satisfaction Sasuke turned back towards Gaara. "This way," he said with his usual confidence as he walked past Gaara towards the stairs.

Gaara followed, his gaze lingering on Itachi. The eldest Uchiha was likewise regarding him carefully out of the corner of his eye. Gaara suppressed a shiver. He'd never admit it but Itachi scared him. The man had an unnerving interest in him and whenever they met it always seemed like Itachi was about to hatch some evil scheme that would make Gaara's life miserable.

It was with a great sense of relief that Gaara reached Sasuke's room. As soon as he'd crossed the threshold Gaara began drawing comparisons between this room and Naruto's. The most obvious difference was that the walls were royal blue instead of orange. The room was also much tidier than Naruto's – the books, CDs, DVDs were neatly arranged on shelves, clothes were properly secured out of sight, and there wasn't a comic book to be seen. It was much more like Gaara's bedroom than Naruto's.

Sasuke smirked as he watched Gaara analyse his room. "Do you like what you see?"

Gaara's gaze shifted towards Sasuke. He wasn't sure whether Sasuke was flirting or whether he genuinely wanted his opinion on the decor. To avoid making a mistake Gaara shrugged noncommittally and returned to his observations.

The deflection made Sasuke want to chuckle. Gaara was actually pretty cute when he wasn't being hostile and defensive. The serene look upon his face made him look deliciously innocent and it was taking all of Sasuke's self-control to stop him from throwing Gaara onto his bed and devouring him right then and there. Sasuke might like Gaara's fiery defiance but this side of him was just as appealing.

Suppressing a lecherous grin, Sasuke said, "Why don't you choose a film whilst I go get us some drinks?"

Gaara gave a faint nod as he turned in the direction of the DVDs. Sasuke watched as the redhead's eyes widened with delight. Suppressing another smirk the raven haired teen headed down to the kitchen, knowing full well that Gaara's opinion of him had once again risen. It wouldn't be long now until Gaara realized his mistake and Naruto's existence became a thing of the past.

Gaara didn't know how Sasuke had done it but he had managed to find a number of films that Gaara had wanted to see but had never gotten the chance to. As he'd been finding out all night the Uchiha was full of surprises. Underneath his shell of superiority there was a boy who was very much like Gaara. He also felt he had been treated unfairly by his family and the world in general. He was cynical, proud, charming when he wanted to be, and alone. In one of their conversations over dinner Sasuke had told him that his parents had died in a horrible traffic accident, leaving his perfect brother to run the family company when many had thought him too young. Itachi had surpassed all expectations (as usual) and made the company better than before. In the rush to congratulate his brother Sasuke had been forgotten, again as usual. People might have smothered him with sympathy but they had never acknowledged his achievements, the thing he wanted most. He felt isolated because of this, and resentful of the falseness of his family's professed love for him.

Gaara understood what Sasuke was talking about. He didn't think the Uchiha had suffered as much as he had, but he had suffered. Gaara understood what it felt like to be isolated and it endeared him to Sasuke in a way that he wished it wouldn't.

It was obvious that Sasuke was manipulating him. If it had been anyone else Gaara would have broken their nose but because it was Sasuke he felt compelled to wait and see where the Uchiha was leading him. He didn't like the feeling and would have escaped if it hadn't been for the fact that he'd made a deal. After these twenty four hours were up he'd never have to see Sasuke again if he didn't want to. He could last a few more hours in the Uchiha's company; he could resist Sasuke's will until their date truly ended. He wasn't weak – he was strong enough to fight this.

"Have you decided yet?"

Gaara nearly jumped at the sound of Sasuke's voice. He'd been so deep in thought that he hadn't heard the Uchiha return. Hurriedly he shoved all but one of the DVDs back into their proper places. He turned around to show Sasuke his selection and saw what Sasuke had in his hands. Eyeing the bottle of wine suspiciously Gaara asked, "Is your new plan to get me drunk?"

Sasuke smirked. "Lightweight," he accused playfully. Gaara's glare made Sasuke chuckle. "Here, you pour out the drinks and I'll set up the film," Sasuke offered, holding out the bottle and glasses for Gaara to take.

Gaara eyed the offered items suspiciously before exchanging them with the DVD. He placed the glasses on Sasuke's bedside table and poured out a decent amount of wine into each glass. By the time he'd completed his task Sasuke had finished setting up the film and was making his way over. Picking up one of the glasses, Sasuke allowed a drop of the burgundy liquid to pass his lips. He thoughtfully swirled the wine around his mouth before eventually swallowing. He sighed with contentment. "Beautiful vintage," he said as he held his glass up to Gaara's. "Cheers."

They clinked their glasses together and each took a sip. As Gaara contemplated the rich taste Sasuke turned off the lights. Using the glare of the TV screen to guide him Sasuke returned and sat down on the bed. He motioned for Gaara to join him, his smile calm and disarming. Gaara regarded him cautiously, hesitated for a moment, then sat down beside him. As he leaned back against the headboard Gaara made sure that there was a suitable distance between himself and Sasuke. When at last he was comfortable he relaxed and turned his attention towards the opening credits that were slowly creeping across the TV screen.

Having already seen the film at least twice before, Sasuke used the time that it took to introduce the characters to observe Gaara out of the corner of his eye. The redhead's back was straight against the headboard but his shoulders appeared to be relaxed. His gaze was trained on the screen ahead of him; he had no idea that Sasuke was checking him out.

Sasuke smirked. Gaara's shirt clung nicely to his chest and arms, giving a clear outline of his figure and the subtle muscle beneath the skin. The same was true for Gaara's jeans – his legs may be short but they were powerful. In addition, the look of rapt fascination on his face as he absorbed the words of the actors was just adorable. The whole thing worked to make it very hard for Sasuke to control his urge to ravish the redhead. But Sasuke was an Uchiha and Uchiha's were well known for their ability to bide their time and strike at the opportune moment. As long as he stuck to the plan Gaara would be his by the end of their date.

Forcing his gaze back to the screen, Sasuke continued to smirk as he took another sip of wine. It was just a matter of time.

Obito pulled up just out of sight of the Uchiha mansion. He switched off the engine and turned to Kakashi. "So, what's the plan?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment as he stared in the direction of the foreboding house. "Have you brought any of your work with you?"

"Err, yeah, I have," Obito replied slowly, not expecting the question.

"Good. In that case the plan is that you distract Itachi whilst I spy on Sasuke."

"What!?" Obito cried, outraged. "No way, I am not being the distraction. You're Sasuke's teacher, why don't you distract Itachi with Sasuke's progress report or something?"

"Because it is more unusual for a teacher to visit to report that a student is doing well than for a family member to drop by to give a progress report, query their assignment, or just talk about trivial matters. Besides, you are the one most adept at talking and I am the one most adept at sneaking about unnoticed."

Obito crossed his arms over his chest and muttered angry curses under his breath. Kakashi mentally sighed. Obito could be so childish sometimes. Then again, he was kind of cute when he sulked.

Kakashi paused as he played back that last thought. He quickly dislodged it from his mind; now was not the time to be distracted by such things. "If you have a better plan then I'd be happy to hear it," Kakashi said, slightly more terse than he'd meant to be.

"Why can't we both spy on Sasuke? Why do we need a distraction?" Obito asked moodily

"Because the only way to get into the compound without scaling the walls and being caught by security is to directly approach Itachi. I've analysed the security system and know for a fact that there are no blind spots. The only way we're going to get in is if you drive up to the house whilst I hide in the back. Park at the rear of the house and leave the car unlocked so that I can get out. Once you're gone I'll come out of hiding and find Sasuke."

"But if I leave my car unlocked then somebody might steal it."

Kakashi gave Obito an exasperated look. "What did I just say about security being tighter than my wallet?"

Obito huffed and looked away to hide his embarrassment. "If you're sure there's no other way to get in then I guess we'll have to use your plan," he muttered reluctantly.

Kakashi smiled, his eyes becoming crescents above his mask. "I'm glad you agree. Now, give me a minute to disguise myself before setting off."

Obito continued to sulk as Kakashi moved the junk in the back of his car to the front. Once the silver haired man was hidden under a blanket Obito set off towards the gates of the Uchiha mansion. He carefully suppressed his annoyance with Kakashi and switched into business mode. He'd need to have his wits about him when he talked with Itachi in case the younger man tried to catch him out. He just hoped that Sasuke hadn't told him that he'd seen them at the restaurant otherwise Kakashi's carefully constructed plans would be doomed to fail.

At the gates Obito wound down his window and pressed the button on the intercom. The box crackled as a male voice answered his call with a curt, "State your name and business."

"Obito Uchiha, I'm here to talk with Itachi."

"One moment please."

There was a nerve wracking pause in which Obito wondered if he was going to be refused permission to enter. Maybe Itachi wasn't in; maybe Sasuke had picked today to go on his date because he knew he would have the mansion all to his self. If that was the case what should he do? Should he try and get in anyway? He could try to pull rank with the guard and demand to be allowed in seeing as he was an Uchiha and he had as much right to be there as anyone. It was a ploy that was unlikely to work seeing as most of the staff that worked in the mansion thought they were more important than they really were, but it was worth a try.

Luckily for Obito there was an electronic buzz and the gates swung open. Winding up his window Obito set off up the driveway with a sigh of intense relief. Phase one of Operation Infiltration was complete.

As Obito drove, Kakashi whispered some last minute instructions. "Call me if things go badly. Pretend to call your mother and say that you had to make a stop at Itachi's before you visited. When I'm ready to leave I'll call you and pretend to be a salesman. If you have any questions you better ask them now."

"Don't worry, I'm good," Obito muttered as he parked at the back of the mansion.

Switching off the engine, Obito gathered up his things and climbed out of the car. He closed the door and won over the instinct to lock up just in time as his finger had already begun to gravitate towards the button. Taking a deep breath, Obito headed towards the house, leaving Kakashi alone in the car to carry out his part of the plan.

Having visited the Uchiha mansion many times before Obito was able to navigate his way through the maze of rooms to the one where Itachi had taken residence. The younger man was reading when Obito arrived but put his book away as soon as he noticed his cousin's presence. "Obito, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Itachi asked, a small smile tugging at his lips.

Obito swallowed his nerves and plastered a cheery smile onto his face. "Well I was just sort of passing when I realized that I hadn't given you a business report before I clocked out on Friday."

"No different to normal then," Itachi said, his tone laced with amusement.

Obito chuckled nervously, one hand reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "Yeah well I thought I'd actually make an effort this week and seeing as you'll probably be swamped on Monday and not have much time for that sort of thing I decided to come make my report now."

Itachi nodded. "Very well. Sit down and give your report."

Obito nodded as he sat down. Now came the hard part seeing as he hadn't actually prepared anything for Itachi. It seemed he'd have to make it up as he went along. With a mental sigh Obito hoped that Kakashi was having a better time than he was.

Once Kakashi was sure that nobody was looking he slipped out of the car and into the mansion. Following his mental blueprint of the house the silver haired teacher took the quickest route that wasn't monitored to Sasuke's room. Once there he pressed his ear to the door and listened. He could hear screams from the other side of the door but he was relatively certain that they came from a film instead of from the occupants of the room so he was not unduly alarmed.

When Kakashi was satisfied that he couldn't hear anything apart from the noise made by the film he moved to check on the room next door. It was deserted and by the looks of it only used for storage. Kakashi quickly searched for a patch of wall that he could deface without making it too obvious. Ideally he'd have chosen a spot underneath a picture frame but there were none of those – the entire wall was unadorned by anything personal such as pictures.

Kakashi was forced to settle for a space behind a large pile of boxes that had been pushed against the wall. Kneeling down so that he was level, Kakashi pulled out a small screwdriver. Pressing it against the wall he began to twist it so that a small hole slowly began to form. The idea was that he would drill all the way through to the other side and feed a small camera through so that he could observe what was happening behind closed doors.

It took many minutes of careful, silent, drilling but eventually Kakashi made it through to Sasuke's room. Placing his hand into his pocket he pulled out the small camera and gently placed it in the hole. As he began to push it in Sasuke's direction Kakashi silently thanked the technicians he'd had the pleasure of knowing who'd cooked up this little wonder for him when he was in law enforcement. He might not be using it for the purposes they'd intended but he was sure that they'd agree that it was for a good cause.

The camera was half way to its destination when Kakashi froze. His phone was vibrating.

Kakashi scrambled to find his phone, silently praying that it was another teacher asking if he wanted to go out for a drink or Jiraiya wanting a status report. His prayers weren't answered. Obito's caller ID filled Kakashi with dread. Something had gone wrong.

Obito slumped back into the sofa, mentally sighing with relief. He'd made a pretty good speech (considering it was improvised) about his recent activities and successes in the company. For a second he'd thought he wouldn't have enough to say but it turned out he knew more about his job than he first thought.

Itachi continued to look at the file Obito had presented him with for another minute before slowly closing it. He looked up and calmly said, "So basically what you're saying is business as usual?"

Obito stared blankly for a moment before forcing a smile and a, "Yeah, I guess it is."

Itachi nodded. "Why didn't you just say that initially?"

Obito floundered. "Because, well, I thought you'd want a thorough report."

"Instead of the half-arsed scribble you usually submit?" Itachi finished, a sardonic smirk gracing his lips.

"Err, yeah," Obito said, looking down at his hands instead of at Itachi's satirical face. "I mean, people are always complaining about how I never put any effort in and how I'm a total slacker cry baby so I decided I'd show them by being amazingly efficient and giving you the best report you'd ever seen."

Unfortunately Itachi was still smirking. "There are three reasons why I believe you are lying. The first is that if you actually cared what those people thought of you you'd have proved them wrong years ago. The second is that I know you can do much better than throw files at me and blurt out the first thing that comes into your head."

Obito winced. Maybe he wasn't as good at improvisation as thought. "And the third reason?"

"This is too subtle for you. Somebody else has planned this and I think I know who. And why."

Obito began to sweat. He'd been caught red handed. Should he confess now and throw himself on Itachi's mercy or should he try to bluff his way out of it? Should he jump up and call his 'mother' before making a quick getaway? Should he knock Itachi out then spread a load of empty vodka bottles around the body so that when he woke up he'd think it all a drunken dream?

As Obito continued to run through his options Itachi began to chuckle. Obito stared at his cousin – he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Itachi show that much emotion. The young businessman was usually so composed that hearing him chuckle (even if it was a controlled, slightly creepy chuckle) was almost too surreal for Obito.

When Itachi was finished his expression returned to that of quietly amused. "I'll put my cards down on the table if you'll do the same," he said, a misplaced twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Obito asked, silently questioning his cousin's mental stability.

"I know you're here with Kakashi to spy on Sasuke." Before Obito could protest Itachi finished with, "I'm doing the same thing."

That one well and truly threw Obito. Before he could ask for an explanation Itachi stood up and motioned for Obito to follow. The elder Uchiha did so slowly, wary but curious as to where he was being led. He tried to frame his thoughts into a question but when Itachi led him into a locked room that was no more than a chair and a wall of TV monitors his train of thought was quickly derailed.

After a moment in which his brain had a chance to reboot Obito tried to recapture the lost thoughts but, when Itachi switched on the monitors and typed something on the keyboard, Obito's jaw dropped and all mental processes were again stopped.

"Shit, Itachi," Obito whispered, half horrified, half admiring.

"I think my father had it installed so that he could keep an eye on us," Itachi mused as he stared at the images on one screen. He then turned to Obito and said, "I think Kakashi might also like to see this."

Obito hurriedly scrambled for his phone. As soon as Kakashi had picked up Obito said, "Kakashi, you're not going to believe this."

"I don't believe it," Kakashi said as he stared at the monitor along with Obito and Itachi.

The screen was split into four squares. Each square was playing the live feed that was coming direct from the four cameras set up in Sasuke's room. When Itachi pressed a button three of the squares disappeared and the remaining square filled the screen. The image of Sasuke and Gaara sat together on the bed could be clearly distinguished by all present.

"You're saying your dad set up a load of cameras in Sasuke's room?" Obito questioned Itachi as he continued to stare in amazement at the screen.

"And in the rest of the house," Itachi said with a half shrug. "He became quite paranoid before he died."

"That's an understatement," Obito muttered. Then, as an afterthought, "Have you got any popcorn?"

Itachi reached into one of the desk drawers and pulled out a half eaten bag of popcorn. At the curious looks he received Itachi simply said, "People are very amusing when they don't realise they're being watched."

Obito snorted and took the popcorn. This was a whole new side of Itachi that he'd never encountered before. It turned out the guy actually had a sense of fun and humour, even if it was slightly warped. It was kind of nice to know that the family wasn't being run by a robot disguised as a sadistic human being.

Armed with popcorn the three men sat (or stood, seeing as there wasn't enough room for three chairs) back and watched the reality show that was Gaara's life.

After a few minutes of peaceful viewing a movement caught their attention and they all leaned forward. The real drama was about to begin.

Sasuke finished off the wine in his glass and turned his attention to Gaara. The red haired teen was clutching his own glass against his chest, his drink almost forgotten as he watched another actor die dramatically. Sasuke smirked; now seemed as good a time as any to initiate the next part of the plan.

Keeping his eyes trained on the movie Sasuke scooted closer to Gaara. The shifting of the mattress caught the redhead's attention and, when Sasuke's thigh bumped into his own, his head snapped around to see what the Uchiha was up to. Sasuke glanced at him, his face a mask of serenity. Twisting, the raven haired teen leaned past Gaara and picked the wine bottle off the bedside table. Sasuke refilled his glass and then held out the bottle to Gaara. "Would you like a top up?"

Gaara shook his head. He took the bottle from Sasuke and placed it back on the table for him.

As he turned back to the film Gaara could sense Sasuke's eyes upon him. He could also feel Sasuke's leg still pressed up against his. Gaara was unsure whether he should allow such contact to occur. On the one hand he knew from experience that Sasuke had no qualms about making a move on him; he should tell the Uchiha to move his leg and make sure that the dark haired teen knew that he wouldn't tolerate cheap tricks. On the other hand, over the course of the evening Gaara had taken a liking to Sasuke. If Sasuke genuinely didn't realise that he was in a position that was making Gaara uncomfortable then Gaara didn't want to go through the embarrassment of enlightening him.

Mentally slapping himself, Gaara realised that Sasuke's earlier predatory gaze meant that he knew the contact was unwelcome. Gaara turned towards Sasuke and was about to tell the Uchiha to move back to a suitable distance when Sasuke (his gaze now directed towards the TV screen) raised his arm and placed it around the redhead's shoulders.

Gaara immediately stiffened. His eyes narrowed as he carefully watched Sasuke's casual expression. He didn't like it, the expression was too casual for someone putting their arm around a person they hardly knew – Sasuke was up to something.

Gaara was about to remove Sasuke's arm when the Uchiha leaned across him to place his still full glass of wine on the bedside table. Suitably distracted by Sasuke's noticeable proximity, it took Gaara a moment to respond when Sasuke plucked his own glass from his hands.

"What are you-"

Sasuke leaning down to kiss him effectively prevented Gaara from finishing his sentence. The action took Gaara by surprise, his teal green eyes widening in astonishment as they met Sasuke's ebony black ones. His heart started hammering against his ribs and Gaara wasn't sure whether it was just his shock that caused it to do so. The feel of Sasuke's lips upon his was surprisingly nice and the smell of the Uchiha's cologne when he got up close and personal was intoxicating. Gaara's head was spinning from the overpowering smell of it, his mind blanking for a moment as it tried to make sense of the situation. Sasuke Uchiha was kissing him and he liked it!

Without really knowing what he was doing Gaara began to kiss back. Sasuke smirked as he caught Gaara's bottom lip between his teeth, applying pressure to the sensitive bit of skin. Gaara gasped and freed his lip, only to smash it back against Sasuke's in another bruising kiss.

Feeling his neck beginning to ache, Sasuke straddled Gaara's hips before resuming his attack on the redhead. Gaara responded eagerly, his tongue pressing past Sasuke's lips as he took control of the kiss.

Sasuke was surprised by how exhilarating it was to be dominated. Pushing his tongue against Gaara's, Sasuke rolled them so that Gaara was laid over him. The redhead was momentarily disorientated by the change but quickly adjusted to the new position. His tongue met Sasuke's and they began another battle for dominance of the kiss.

Taking the initiative, Sasuke ran his hands up Gaara's sides, causing the boy above him to shiver. Sasuke smirked, his hands questing out again to find what other reactions he could elicit from the redhead.

It wasn't until the cool air stroked his bared chest that Gaara returned to his senses. What was he doing? Sasuke wasn't Naruto, he wasn't his boyfriend. They might be on a date but that meant nothing when Naruto was at home waiting for him to return and tell him how horrible the twenty four hours had been, how much of an ass Sasuke was, how Gaara was glad that he'd never have to put up with the son of a bitch ever again. Naruto was Gaara's boyfriend – not Sasuke. Gaara shouldn't be kissing Sasuke, not when he had Naruto waiting for him. It was wrong. It was what Sasuke wanted.

When Gaara went rigid and unresponsive Sasuke paused. He gazed into Gaara's eyes and saw that they had adopted a glazed, faraway look. Frowning, wondering what the redhead was thinking about so intently, Sasuke gently cupped Gaara's cheek and whispered his name.

Gaara immediately jerked, eyes blinking rapidly as he came back to the present. He stared down at Sasuke, his face becoming blank as the gears in his head whirled madly. Slowly, he sat up, his face still blank as he stared at a point beyond Sasuke.

Not liking this turn of events Sasuke also sat up. "Gaara," he started but was cut off by a blow to the face that sent him flying back to his vertical position on the bed.

Sasuke was startled by the surprise attack but recovered quickly. Clutching his aching jaw he turned his furious gaze on Gaara, ready to demand an explanation and perhaps return the favour.

The look Gaara gave him stopped the words from coming. If Sasuke had been furious then Gaara must have been murderous. A vicious snarl pulled at the redhead's lips and his stormy green eyes burned with hate, the dark rings somehow making him seem even more menacing. It was clear Sasuke was in trouble.

Seizing the collar of Sasuke's shirt, Gaara pulled the Uchiha toward him. At this distance he could feel Sasuke's breath on his face, could see clearly the fear that had crept into his eyes. The fear delighted the sadistic part of Gaara's personality that truly began to shine when the redhead really lost his temper like he had right now. Sasuke wasn't easily going to forget this encounter.

"You wanted this to happen didn't you? You wanted me to kiss you so that you could go and tell Naruto that I was a cheater. Why? Why are you so obsessed with breaking us up? Is that how you get your kicks? Making people believe that you're their friend and then betraying them? Tear out their heart and crush it before their eyes? I can't believe I ever felt anything but contempt for you."

"I wasn't trying to hurt you-"

"Don't lie to me!" Gaara hissed, dragging Sasuke closer.

Grabbing onto the wrist holding his shirt, Sasuke looked calmly into the eye of the storm. "I wanted to break you up because I wanted you for myself. Admittedly part of your attraction was that you already belonged to Naruto, but there were other reasons why I wanted you that I've already explained. You sell yourself short Gaara; you're very attractive."

"Don't try to flatter me."

"I'm not." Sasuke paused and took a deep breath. "You act surprised, like you never expected any of this to happen. When I said I was going to take you on a date I meant it in the sense that I would try to woo you. Kissing is all part of the process and the fact that you kissed back shows that you are just as attracted to me as I am to you."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are."

They stared at each other in silence, determined not to be the first to break eye contact. Eventually Gaara got fed up of the game and punched Sasuke in the stomach, relishing the rasping gasps of pain the blow caused.

"For a moment I was attracted to you, but then you betrayed me and put an end to all foolish notions I had about trusting you," Gaara sneered.

Sasuke glared at Gaara, his eyes two burning coals of rage. "You never trusted me to begin with. Even when you supposedly started calling me your friend you were still analysing my every move, wondering what my real motives were. How can I betray your trust when I never had it? Then again, you don't trust Naruto either so I shouldn't have expected to be given such a precious thing so soon should I?"

Gaara punched Sasuke a third time.

The Uchiha coughed as pain laced through his abdomen. His coughs soon became chuckles as he faced Gaara once again, a smirk twisting his features. "You're angry because I hit a sore spot. You like to believe that you trust Naruto but you don't really. You're just as suspicious of him as you are of everyone else."

Gaara growled and hit Sasuke a fourth time.

Sasuke didn't try to block the expected blow. He took it and laughed, knowing that would infuriate Gaara more. "You're angrier at yourself for betraying the trust you know Naruto has in you than you are at me. You're just using me as a punching bag so that you'll feel better. I always knew you had the potential to be a villain."

"You're wrong; I'm not a villain and I'm not angry at myself. I know you're the one to blame for all this," Gaara hissed, his clenched fists trembling with barely suppressed rage.

Sasuke smirked arrogantly. "Are you sure about that?"

Gaara's fist connected with Sasuke's face one last time before he let go of the Uchiha's shirt and climbed off the bed. He hated to admit it but Sasuke was at least partially right. He'd kissed back; he'd encouraged the Uchiha to continue his advances. Ultimately Sasuke was the one who had planned for this to happen (the blame belonged to him) but Gaara couldn't help feeling slightly guilty for being tempted, for giving in to him. He'd suspected Sasuke would try something like this and he'd acted too late to stop him, and for that Gaara was angry at himself.

Gaara was also angry that Sasuke had been able to read him so easily. He'd thought he'd done a good job of hiding his still present reservations about Naruto and their relationship. As much as he cared for the blond Gaara was still having a hard time accepting that somebody else cared for him. For so long he'd been suspicious of every act of kindness a person showed him that it was hard to stop now, and Sasuke with his constant manipulation and mind games wasn't helping.

Rubbing his jaw, Sasuke sat up. He regarded Gaara's back thoughtfully for a moment before saying, "You really are loyal aren't you?"

Gaara was tempted to ignore Sasuke but decided against it. He didn't want the Uchiha to read his silence like he had before. Without turning to look at Sasuke Gaara replied with, "I know what it's like to be betrayed by somebody you trust. I wouldn't wish the experience on anyone else."

Sasuke became silent again, his expression still thoughtful. "I guess I can wait."

Gaara frowned and turned to stare questioningly at the raven haired teen. "What?"

"I'm intelligent enough to see that my attempts to seduce you aren't going to work until you get over Naruto. That's why I'm willing to wait until you've finished with him before again making a move on you. And, while I'm waiting for that to happen, I hope we can be friends," Sasuke answered calmly.

Gaara had to laugh at that one. "After everything you've put me through you think I still want your friendship? You think after tonight I'll want to have anything to do with you?"

"I think you're still just as intrigued by me as you were earlier this evening. I think you're still curious as to what other tricks I have up my sleeve, what other surprises I have in store." Sasuke smirked as he casually picked up his glass of wine and leaned back against the headboard. "You can deny it all you want but I know you're interested. So why fight it? You're better having me as your friend than as your enemy."

Sasuke held out his hand for Gaara to shake. Gaara regarded the hand warily, unsure if this was another one of Sasuke's tricks. The dark haired teen was right that Gaara was still fascinated by the complex being that was Uchiha Sasuke, but that didn't mean that Gaara wasn't still angry with him for manipulating him. He felt like he should punch Sasuke for his audacity but, once again, Gaara wanted to know what prompted him to use such an unexpected approach. His curiosity and his anger were at war with each other and it gave Gaara a headache.

Closing his eyes, Gaara ran through his options. Sasuke had said that if he went on this date with him he'd stop pursuing him but Gaara doubted he'd stick to that promise. If he accepted Sasuke's friendship then the Uchiha should be more bound to that promise and postpone his attempts to seduce him. However, if Gaara rejected his friendship then Sasuke might be enraged and double his efforts to break up him and Naruto. Therefore it would be more beneficial for him to accept Sasuke's friendship, at least for now. A friendship wasn't a binding contract – he could back out if he felt Sasuke was the only one benefitting from the association – and just because he'd be Sasuke's friend wouldn't mean that he'd have to trust him; Gaara could get close to Sasuke and still be suspicious of his actions. The only downside would be that he'd have to endure more of Sasuke's company. But, if you thought about it, was that really such a terrible thing?

"Come on; is it really that hard a decision to make?" Sasuke goaded, his hand still extended.

Gaara opened his eyes and glared at Sasuke before slowly, hesitantly, placing his hand in Sasuke's. The Uchiha shook it slowly, sealing the deal.

"You made the right decision," he said whilst smiling like the cat that had gotten the cream.

Gaara hoped that was true because, at that moment, he felt like he'd just sold his soul to the devil.

I hope you all enjoyed the Sasuke abuse. And I hope those who seriously dislike SasuGaa didn't suffer bleeding of the eyes. I promise that there won't be any more of it for awhile. There may be more evil, scheming Sasuke but it will be accompanied with NaruGaa romance. I hope. The minute I think I know where this story is going it heads in the opposite direction *Sigh*

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