A.N:/ This will be more of a cute and domestic chapter, enjoy!
Cerulean blue eyes slowly opened, staring at the pale face next to him, cheeks reddening when he saw the Jaded green eyes staring back at him. A small yawn escaped the blonde's lips, covering his mouth.
"How long have I been sleeping for?" He sleepily asked, pressing their body closer, he wasn't ready to move just yet "Did you sleep?"
"You slept for 4 hours." Gaara replied, giving a small nod. It felt odd waking up with someone next to him...it felt odd to even sleep for as long as he did and without the nightmares that tended to follow. The last thing the redhead had remembered was Naruto's body against his own and then there had been a blissful darkness.
"4?That sounds about right." The blonde sleepily mumbled, closing his eyes again and going quiet. Naruto took in the scent of something earthy and salty, associating it with his partner by now. He honestly wished that he could stay like this forever, a certain peace washing through his body.
Cerulean blue eyes opened for a second time, one of his legs was on top of the smaller body as was one of his arms, his face pressed against the pale neck "Did I fall asleep again?" He sleepily asked, retreating his limbs "Sorry, I forgot that I tend to take up a lot of space when I sleep."
"Yes, you slept for two more hours." Gaara responded, a red mark on his face that looked suspiciously like a hand "It's fine, I do not mind."
"Gaara-kun...what happened to your face?" The blonde asked surprise, moving to sit up slightly.
"...You don't remember?" The redhead tilted his head, looking slightly amused.
"...What did I do now?" The blonde looked worried, trying to remember but the last thing he could recall was waking up to see Jaded green eyes staring back at him.
"I tried to get up but you turned and wrapped yourself around me...then you said something about ramen, your hand slapping my face." Gaara explained with amused eyes.
Naruto proceeded to grab a pillow and cover his face, his ears turning red as he groaned out. "So that was the spicy ramen I was dreaming about." He mumbled in the pillow, the words coming out muffled. The tan male felt the bed shift and looked up, watching Gaara get out of the bed.
"I can certainly say there is never a boring moment with you, Naruto-kun." The paler male replied, a gentle look on his face.
Naruto stared at his partner, a warm smile on his face "Well, I aim to please." The guilt that hit him last night seems to be gone, there was now a certain peace washing over his body. He moved to get out of the bed as well, stretching out like a feline and yawning.
"Would you like some coffee? I believe I still have some in my cabinet." Gaara murmured, heading toward his door.
The room was dark even though the clock read 14:30, cerulean blue eyes looked around, seeing the drape curtains, eyes perking up when he saw a small frame picture, walking toward it "...Is that you, Gaara-kun?" He asked with a grin, seeing the shy young boy who was hugging a teddy bear, next to him was a young man with a gentle smile and sandy blonde hair, a bandage wrapped around his head "Who is that next to you?"
The redhead looked at the picture in his nightstand, it was one of the few pictures he had of his uncle and him "That is uncle Yashamaru." He simply replied, glancing away from it.
"He seems like a really nice and warm person." Naruto softly said, turning to grin at his partner "I guess your Yashamaru was like my Iruka-sensei, huh?"
"...Iruka-sensei?" The redhead asked, a slight questioning tone.
"Hai, Iruka-sensei was the first person to recognize me...he told me that I could become anyone I wanted and didn't treat me like a monster...eventually he ended up adopting me and becoming my adoptive father." Naruto happily replied, straightening up then headed toward the redhead, wrapping his arms around the smaller shoulders "It only takes one person...one small action to remind someone that they are wanted...that it's okay for them to exist."
"...Did Naruto-kun also feel like you should not be allowed to exist?" Gaara softly asked, trying to relax in the embrace.
The blonde was quiet for a moment, remembering the blonde toddler who had cried but everyone ignored him "Hai...but that was a long time ago." He softly said, kissing a pale cheek and pulling away with a bright smile on his face "I believe you said something about coffee!"
Gaara stared at Naruto for a moment longer before offering a small smile and opening the door then headed toward his kitchen. Soft light entered the home. The redhead moved toward the modern looking kitchen, taking out some coffee powder, it read French dark roast. He searched for his kettle, turning on the stove and pouring cool water on it then waited for the water to boil.
"Your place is really nice, Gaara-kun!" Naruto brightly said, looking around, it was decorated simply with some arts on the wall. The walls were decorated a soft sandy color, now that he was focused on the house he could see that there was a door near the kitchen and a hallway just opposite from the bedroom door. "How come you don't have pictures of your siblings?" The blonde curiously asked.
"I have no need for such things." The redhead replied, watching Naruto look around his place. He was not used to having guests over.
"Then you don't want a picture of the two of us?" The blonde asked, moving to look at his partner, brows furrowed.
"Do you want a picture of us?" The redhead asked back, tilting his head, face back to that aloof mask yet his eyes were gentle.
"I want lots of pictures of us! I want to fill our home with memories...oh no, I didn't take a picture of us at the restaurant! Doesn't that count as our first date?" Naruto groaned out, covering his face. He heard a snorting sound and looked at his partner "Oi, it's not funny Gaara-kun! It is the first time we went out to eat something together!"
"Hm."The redhead was looking quite amused "I thought our first date was the art gallery."
"...That is true, hey I actually have pictures of the sculptures, I'll ask my friend Sai to turn it into a frame, would you like a copy?" Naruto brightly asked, heading toward the hallway "Is it okay if I explore? I hope I am not intruding on your space."
"You may explore." Gaara replied, going back to preparing the coffee for both of them and worked on preparing something to eat.
Naruto opened doors and looked around, one of them seemed to be a home office, there was a laptop with some paperworks neatly in place, the office had as decoration a massive gourd then some more simple arts. It was beige and maroon in color. The blonde closed the door behind him as he exited, heading toward a second door toward the back, finding a bathroom and then saw at the end of the hallway a third door and staircase. He opened the door and gasped, seeing different types of cactus, he even saw the Christmas one he had given the redhead, they all seemed to be well taken care of.
The blonde headed back to the kitchen, a bright smile on his face "You really do love cactus, huh? I can't believe you have a whole room full of them!"
"There is more in the backyard if you wish to see." The redhead responded, pouring coffee in two mugs.
Naruto moved closer to Gaara, watching the coffee get poured and hummed out "Maybe later. I really like your house, it feels like you...calm and peaceful." He wrapped his tan arms around the smaller waist, feeling the redhead stiffen for a moment before relaxing "But there is also a certain sadness to it, perhaps I am being arrogant in saying this but I hope to change that sadness...to make you feel as happy as I feel thanks to you."
Gaara stayed quiet for a bit, setting the kettle down, thinking of the happier parts of his childhood, a warmth spreading throughout his body "...You already make me feel happy, Naruto-kun." The redhead replied with a gentle smile on his face.
The blond felt his cheeks reddening when he saw the gentle smile, it made Gaara look younger. He hugged the smaller male, nuzzling his neck and going quiet. He wanted to desperately believe that it was okay to like the redhead, that it was okay for him to be happy after what he did. Sakura said that it was fine...that he was allowed to.
"...Naruto-kun?" The deep voice snapped the blonde out of his thought, kissing a pale cheek.
"That coffee smells delicious, thank you!" Naruto brightly said, moving to pour milk on his mug and five sugars, seeing eggs "I can make us omelette!" One of the very few things he had learned to cook.
"Ah...I was going to try and cook something." The redhead admitted, being led toward one of the seats while the blonde shook his head, grinning.
"Oh no, Mister...you made the coffee that means I get to make breakfast. Iruka-sensei taught me how to do a mean omelette I'll have ya know...even Sasuke praised it and that's saying something." He proudly said, setting his mug down as well and heading back to the counter to start making the omelette.
The tanned male found some vegetables which he chopped into small pieces, looking around until he found a pan. He added just a bit of oil "Iruka-sensei used to wake me up with an omelette saying that I couldn't survive only on ramen...which I think is wrong by the way, I could totally survive on ramen alone...did for many years.
I used to have a cup of ramen a day and a glass of milk...one time I had forgotten to check the date and it was a disaster. Sasuke was always acting like a hot shot when we were younger so I came up with a plan to try and get Sakura-chan to like me...this was back when I used to have a massive crush on her, well I thought I did but now I see it was just sibling love.
Anyways, I had been planning on giving him a piece of my mind, so I go and glare at him, yeah? Just when I am about to snap at him, this guy behind us accidentally pushes me forward and...well that part isn't important, what's important is that girls are really scary and that I ended up spending the next few days living next to a toilet cus of the bad milk." The tanned male laughed at the memories, remembering how all of the girls had beaten him up after his first kiss was stolen and how he had tried to talk to Sakura only to end up running to the toilet.
Gaara remained quiet, looking down at his black coffee. There was a whole life before him that Naruto had lived, one where Sasuke had been the lead role "...Do you think you will ever care for me in the same way that you care for Sasuke-san?"
Naruto was surprised at the question, biting his bottom lip "...I don't know." He was honest "Sasuke and I...it's complicated. He's my best friend...my rival...my brother and someone I truly love. For a long time, Sasuke was my everything. He was the first friend I ever made and the first person to treat me like everyone else before Iruka-sensei, he never treated me like an outcast. I am sorry Gaara-kun, I know it's not the answer you wanted to hear but I rather not lie to you. Don't get me wrong, even though we've only known each other for a few months it feels like I have known you for years, I really do care about you and see you as one of my most important people." The blonde finished making the first omelette, turning to look at Gaara with a gentle look on his face. The redhead didn't show a hint of emotions, for a moment the blonde wondered if he was about to lose his partner, if perhaps he should have lied.
"I understand." Was all Gaara said, taking a sip of his coffee.
Naruto sighed softly, making the second omelette and setting them down on the table, happy when he found ketchup then drew a happy face on both of them, offering the redhead one of it "I do care about you, Gaara-kun, to me you are someone precious in my life like Sakura-chan, Sarada-chan, Shikamaru, Iruka-sensei and all the other important people in my life." One of the larger hands moved to cup a pale cheek, watching the redhead flinch slightly at the touch. Naruto sighed once more, moving to sit down "...Thank you for the food."
"I am a very selfish person, Naruto-kun...I hate sharing what is mine...please be patient with me." The redhead softly said, looking at the omelette, his hand moving to give a squeeze to the tan hand.
Naruto smiled warmly and nodded "Please have some patience with me as well." Naruto warmly said, squeezing back on the smaller hand then began to eat his omelette and drink his coffee.
They had light conversation, Naruto laughing and telling stories about some of the pranks he used to play as a child. A phone started to ring, the redhead's gentle expression disappearing "Excuse me." The redhead said, getting up and disappearing into his room.
Naruto heard a "Yes?" and then silence. The blonde waited quietly, moving to pour more coffee for himself, he could hear part of the conversation "Now? Hm." The blonde smiled when he saw the redhead coming out of his room
"I need to go out for a few hours...work is calling me." Gaara looked apologetic, the blonde shaking his head.
"You don't need to look apologetic, I should be heading back to my place anyways. Where are my clothes?" Naruto wished that they could stay together longer but understood that they both had lives left to live, it was unrealistic to spend all day together every single day.
"They are drying on the balcony, your car is in my garage." Gaara replied.
"Thank you for everything, Gaara-kun, I've really had a lot of fun." Naruto warmly said, moving closer to the pale male and kissing his cheek sweetly "I'd kiss you but my mouth tastes gross." He joked and laughed then headed to the balcony to grab his clothes. The blonde was quick to get dressed, assuring the redhead that it was fine before leaving.
Was this what dating someone truly feels like? He felt at peace and happy.