Chapter Eleven

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Naruto almost choked on his beer. He coughed several times and held his mouth shut as he tried to keep the liquid from spewing all over the coffee table and floor in front of them both. He wiped tears from his eyes as he coughed a few more times, the sensation having set off his throat, burning and bringing such a wetness to his eyes.

It wasn't until a few moments later that he looked over at his stoic faced brother, coal eyes asking him the question all over again. He managed to gasp a, "What?" Did he love Gaara? No, he must have meant it some other way. He hadn't said in love, he'd said do you love. "Of course I love him. He's my best friend. I love him like I love you."

Sasuke thought he might be lying, fully ready to give him the beating of a lifetime, but then he saw the confusion in his eyes. So, even he doesn't know yet. "No, not like me moron. You don't get a hard on at the just the sight of me."

He gaped at him, but turned to look at the screen, his lids lowering only slightly. "I don't love him like that, Sasuke. He's my friend. Not some girl." He's not just anyone.

Sasuke turned his coal eyes to the screen as well and took another swig. "When was the last time you looked at a woman, Naruto? I mean, really looked at one?"

He thought about that for a moment. "Why are you asking me that? I like breasts. I like long womanly legs and soft feminine hair."

"Fine," he turned and pointed at him with the hand that held a beer by the neck. "When was the last time you complimented a woman on how she looked?"

He sat back on the couch and slouched, pondering once again. He tapped his chin and then his eyes widened as a grin broke out. He snapped his fingers as he seemed to find an answer. "The girl who talked to Sakura last week. I told her she had nice shoes." Ha! Success.

"You're seriously gonna use that one time as an example to prove your straithood?"

He frowned. "I am strait. I like women. And what's wrong with that example anyway?"

Sasuke's brow twitched slightly. "She was a skater, you dimwit. She was wearing baggy jeans, a huge sweater, and her shoes were Vans. Her face was scuffed up as all hell because she'd taken a nose dive. She'd been on her way to the nurses office and even I almost though she was a guy with her face covered up by a towel until I saw her long braid." He snorted and took another swig. "You did too, if you recall."

"Hey, she had nice shoes, though."

"That's not the point Naruto!"

"Then what is? What is your deal tonight with this ancient game we use to play with mom. With mom when we use to have our whole family." He set his beer down hard and reached for another one.

This was going to be harder than he first envisioned. His lips were a flat line as he spoke. "Did you even notice her breasts, Naruto? They were very faint, but she had some. Her eyes were lovely too. What color were they? How about her hair? That should be easy to recall, even for you."

"I don't see--"

"What color, Naruto."

He grumbled and waved his free hand errantly as if to emphasize his point. "I don't know, black?"

"No, Naruto, her hair was brown and her eyes were violet."

He seemed to almost pout as he stared down at his bottle. His voice was soft. "Just because I didn't notice one girl's hair or eyes, doesn't make me gay."

"No," he took another sip, "you're right, it doesn't. But, ask yourself, when was the last time you looked at anyone, male or female, besides Gaara? When was the last time you got a hard on just thinking about ramming another girl into the mattress? Kissing her? Touching her? Can you?"

He just sat there, his lips parted as he kept his gaze on the bottle. A long silence seemed to echo in the space between them; the movie on the television the only sound in the background. And right now it seemed too far away.

"Why are you doing this to me, Sasuke?" His heart caught in his throat.

"Because," he looked at him, "you won't."

He shut his eyes tightly and felt something welling within him. It hurt. It hurt so bad. "I don't want to hurt him." He breathed. "He's my friend. And I don't understand myself."

Sasuke reached for him then, pulling his younger brother into his lap and placed Naruto's face into his neck as he caressed his short strands. He closed his eyes as he leaned back into the corner of the couch, the bend between the arm and back. He smiled faintly as Naruto reached his arms around him, slowly, softly and first, and then it turned into a death grip as he shook and cried. He held him as he cried hot tears down his neck and onto his shirt. He held his brother with one leg on either side of him in a cradling manner. He held him as he let his emotions pour out.

"I want him," he choked out. "I want him so bad, Sasuke. It's not fair to want another person that much. It's not fair to want your best friend like that."

"Why? For who?" His voice was still calm as he usually was, only quieter as he continued to let him cry against his form, running gentle fingers through his strands.

"For Gaara. I have to stop myself all the time. He'll want something more and I... I'm so afraid I can't give it to him. I've never wanted another..." He let the unspoken word 'man' hang in the air. "What if I don't want more? What if I hurt him, Sasuke?"

He sighed. "You really are such an idiot, Naruto."

"What--"

But he interrupted him. "What if you want more too? What if you can give him what he wants? What if, what if, what if. Feh..." he said lightly. "Do you think you can really keep going on like this? Tormenting yourself with such stupid questions? Remember what mom use to say, Naruto? Remember?"

He felt tears coming again and a tremor ran through him once more. His voice was soft and full of disbelief. "She said love was an emotion that you took chances on. It was an emotion you let everything ride on. It was an emotion you placed your hopes and dreams into and gave to another person."

He nodded. "She also said if you didn't go balls to wall with out a prayer to ride on every once in a while, you might as well not be alive."

He pulled back, eyes looking shocked his mother has said something like that. "When did she say that?"

He smirked and gently wiped away a few of his brother's tears. "Dad told me she said it about your father once when she told him the story of when he dared her to ride fifty miles in a convertible without anything on. Top down."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Did she do it?"

He grinned suddenly. "Duh, she's our mom, dropout. Just look at us."

He nodded, seeming only a bit better. But the funny story did nothing to quell the feelings he had. He leaned back on his brother and closed his eyes, his head on his chest. "I'm so confused. A few weeks ago in another part of the country I was totally eyeballing women. And now I can't seem to think about anyone but him." He buried his face in his chest. "This would be so much easier if I knew whether I was in love with him or not."

Sasuke's gaze went from the TV to his brother before he simply rested his hand on the side of his head. "Go to sleep, dropout. Watch the movie and get a fresh start in the morning. " A pause. "If it was easy, well, it wouldn't be any fun now would it?"

He groaned, turned to watch the TV as well. "For who? Me or the Fates?"

He chuckled. He couldn't help it. "The gods will always laugh at you Naruto. But," he reached for another beer adjusting a moment and then coming back to their position. "just remember. Almost no one ever starts a relationship because they love someone. It usually starts out with lust and feeling of deep affection. And then, you somehow fall in love with them if it's meant to be, neh?"

"But, I'm a guy and he'd a guy. I dunno how to deal with that. I only just came to terms with myself that I do want him when we started practicing. And since then I've done nothing but try to keep myself in check."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Just because he's a guy and you're a guy doesn't make it any different from you being a guy and someone else being a girl. If you want him, go for it, drop out. Quit being a damned chicken shit. Balls to the wall. Like mom said."

"If you say so..." But it was much easier said than done. Always. He tightened his hold on his brother and closed his eyes, fully ready to drift into sleep. "I give all of this some thought."

Sasuke snorted. "You better. I had to bribe Itachi big time for the beer. And not telling him what it was for cost me big. If nothing comes of this talk, I will hurt you."

Despite himself, Naruto chuckled. It hadn't been his idea of how to end the night, but, it was still nice all the same. Sometimes, every once in a while, you just needed someone to hold. Even if they weren't your love interest. This wasn't the first time they had done this and it wouldn't be the last. And Naruto was thankful for it any time Sasuke dropped his gard long enough to give him some comfort like this.

He really was an annoying ass.

ooo

"You're what?"

She sighed as she stood in her room, packing a suitcase with Kankurou. He was going with her as well. "I said we're going away for Thanksgiving. I know it's last minute, but, if I don't go to this competition it could make or break my career. I'd rather it not be the latter."

Gaara frowned, unnerved. "Why does Kankurou have to go then? If it's some Archery competition you surely won't need him."

"Yes, I do." She flipped the latches on the suit case as she shut it. "It's an individual competition invite. Meaning, not with the school. I need an adult representative there. It's a very clear requirement."

He looked beaten. He didn't want to tell her not to go. This was her dream, much like the play had been his. He sighed as she took his shoulders in her hands and looked down at him. "I know. It's the worst possible time to leave you like this. And I know you hate being home alone. Tell you what. Why don't you call Naruto and maybe even Sasuke to stay over during the break? I know you guys don't have practice and they don't have a family to spend the holiday with either."

He nodded. He still wasn't happy about this. But, if Naruto came over he could deal with it. "Alright."

Hours later he stood outside on his front porch, waving goodbye to his family loaded in a taxi headed for the airport. He looked up as he felt a spot of rain and then took a step back. His eyes narrowed slightly as it started to down right pour. A flash of lightening danced across the sky.

He was so cought up in his view of the storm he didn't see the two forms dash past him on either side. He blinked and turned. They were huffing and puffing like they'd run a marathon and soaked to the T.

"Ha! I beat you, Sasuke!" Naruto pointed harshly with one finger jutting towards his brother.

"In your dreams, dropout. I let you win." He smirked and pulled his shirt off before trying to shake some of the rain from his hair.

"Ehhhh?! Yeah right. You never let anyone win. That's just a sorry excuse to keep from looking bad, you wannabe badass."

"Keep talking, dropout. Keep talking. We'll see who's full of shit soon enough. Just wait for it."

Naruto grinned and looked over at Gaara. "How goes it?"

Gaara arched a brow, but showed nothing else. "Did Temari call you guys?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, why?"

"Ah, well, I thought she'd already invited you." He turned to look in the direction the taxi had gone. "Her and Kankurou left for an Archery competition and won't be back until Sunday night."

"Eh? You're spending Thanksgiving alone? No way. We'll have to chill with ya for the weekend then." He nodded, as if all of this had already been decided.

"Yes, she suggested the same thing as well."

"Naruto, are you forgetting something?" Sasuke arched a brow, crossed his arms over his chest and tapped a single foot.

He blinked. "No, what, dumbass?"

"Itachi, moron. He cleared the entire weekend so he could hang with us for family time."

"Oh..." He looked over at Gaara. Well, this sucked. Was there a solution? "Ah! We can just invite Itachi over here with us!"

Sasuke looked over at Gaara. "That ok?"

"Yeah, it's fine." He smiled softly. "I'd rather you guys be here. So, one more person won't make a difference." He heard another crack in the skies. "But, I do think we should head inside and get you out of those wet clothes. You'll catch pneumonia."

Both boys nodded and took refuge in the Victorian home.

"Sasuke, Naruto, I'll get you some fresh clothes. Follow me." They all trudged up the stairs and Gaara let Sasuke into the bathroom. "I'll bring you something in a moment. Naruto." And then he was closing the door and heading to his room. Once inside he moved towards his drawers and pulled out some comfortable sleeping clothes. He tossed a set on the bed. "I'll be back. Use the towel hung over my desk chair to dry off. I'm going to go give Sasuke these clothes. I'll send him in here to come get you while I go start hot cocoa."

Naruto nodded as he left. He slowly started peeling away the wet dripping mess he called his clothes one by one. His shoes and socks were shakily slid off and placed on the pile before he got to his pants. As soon as the jeans were off he reached for his boxers, peeling away the thin material. He reached for the towel and began to dry off his fit and lithe form. He heard a knock at the door and before he thought too much about it he called out, "Come in." He didn't even turn around, thinking it was Sasuke. But then he heard a sharp intake of breath and turned around completely. "Sasuke?" No, it wasn't his brother. His form shivered slightly as he faced Gaara, fully nude with a towel on his head, playing down his shoulders.

Oh gods, Gaara thought as he took in his beautiful form, dripping wet from the rain. The droplets rolled down his body, making him look like a lovely work of art strait out of Renaissance times. He stood utterly still, his form frozen in place. He couldn't even find words as his eyes rolled up and down his body, taking each and every inch of him in; trying to brand it memory.

"Gaara?" Came a soft voice.

He looked up, meeting his eyes. "I-I'm sorry. I came back to tell you Sasuke is going to get a shower and you might want to just head down on your own." He swallowed.

Naruto smirked slighty, not trying to hide his body at all. "It's alright. Thanks for the message." He winked and began to dry his body down. "You ok, love? You look like you've never seen a naked body before."

What was he doing? No, he was just flirting with him in jest like he always did. That must be it. Naruto would never take any of this to mean anything more. Well, two could play it that game. He smirked as well, his voice husky as he stepped forward. "I haven't seen yours. Although," he made a point to look him up and down again as he stepped forward. "I'll make a point to do it more often." He reached out, splaying a hand on his chest, feeling his hard muscle beneath his palm, still chilled from the rain but slowly warming up under his skin.

Naruto grit his teeth and stared down at him. True, he'd been messing with him, but he hadn't expected this. Usually he just called him an uke and left in such a situation. Then again, he'd never walked in on him nude before, had he? Was Gaara really going to play with fire? Did he have any idea what he did to Naruto. At all?

He reached for him then, pulling him roughly against his chest as one hand grabbed for his buttocks and forces his lower half into his own. He hissed sharply as he hardened up immediately. Ok, maybe this hadn't been a good idea. "You're playing with fire." He breathed, but didn't let go. It was too soon to admit anything to him. Damn his body.

Gaara stared wide eyed up at him as he accused him of such things, his hands pressed into his chest for fear of being too close. That hand on his ass, nails digging in did nothing to stop his own desire from showing though. "Naruto?" He said, his voice suddenly weak and questioning.

"Kami," he bagan and released him, shoved him away like the feel of him stung all over his nude body, even with Gaara still clothed. "Can't you see I'm trying to stop myself?" He took a step back, almost hitting the bed and falling onto it. But, he caught himself.

Gaara watched with avid fascination as Naruto said such thing. He felt a slice of hope in his heart. Did he really affect the blond so thusly? It really wasn't a woman he envisioned each time he... "I don't understand, Naruto." He tried to keep his voice calm and understanding.

"I don't want to hurt you," he admitted. "Can't you see that?" He locked his cold blues with is own blue green depths. Gaara was surprised to find something akin to lust, want, need, swirling int those eyes. He wanted him?

He seemed to smile sadly. "It's not easy saying no to you, do you know that? Not when my body wants to say yes all the time."

"You want me..." He stated.

Naruto nodded. "Yes. Badly."

There was a short pause. And then?

"Then have me."

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Author's Note: Whoot, so many reviews and so little time. -smile- As much as I love my last Gaara/Naruto fanfic I love this one more. Just a note.

Miskie, yes Lordi is a good band. They're not frightening or anything, just a good group who puts on a good show. All their music is very dark, but not creepy. I like to answer reviewers because I find I get more input that way. People are far more likely to give me a long detailed review if I reply to them. And I really need the detailed input. Thank you for yours.

And I love Sasuke here too. I know he and Utachi are a bit out of character... but, not really. I mean, if you think about it, Itachi would have been nicer if he hadn't gone through all that BS in the anime. And Sasuke would have stayed nice too if it weren't for his brother.

Tilly, o.o I hope not. 'Cause this story is so not good to read with a strait thought in your head XD

Meli! Yes! I know! Naruto can be scary in the anime when he puts his mind to it. I only thought it humorous to have his brothers jump now and then when he does get serious about being pissed. And yes, wasn't it funny that Itachi woke them up? XD I hadn't a real clue what to do for that chapter. Thanks for the help.

Vampiric, XP I know. But this fic is coming so easily to me. And that's my job! To leave cliff hangers. Just like the one you see above. -cackles-