A/N: Thanks to everyone who has faved/followed/reviewed and read!

Chapter 2: A Pike in Disguise or Something Else?

Like a hawk, Naruto listened to the systematic orders Mr. Sabaku was giving him. Up until now, he had been working on sales pretty much but ever since today he was to offer his assistance in the accounting department. As his boss had pointed out, he needed more experience and circulating him around different departments would give them a clue where he fitted best with his skills, leading to the maximum benefit for the company.

And that had led him to sit at Mr. Sabaku's desk, side by side with the redhead.

"Here," Mr. Sabaku said and dropped a thick stack of documents in front of him.

"These sums don't match. Highlight every number that isn't included in these sums here. Like this," the redhead said and pointed at a column full of digits, then circled a deviant sum with his red pen and wrote down some notes in the margin.

"Think you can do it?" the man asked without looking at him.

"Of course I can," Naruto accepted the challenge. There was no way he'd let Mr. Sabaku down over a simple task like this. If he wanted to get to this quiet redhead's good graces, now was his chance.

Silently, Naruto set to work. The task itself was quite tedious and soon enough his mind began to wander towards things more interesting.

It had been a week since Mr. Sabaku had offered him a place for the night. After that, they had hardly talked as the quiet man liked to keep to himself instead of socializing with his co-workers. Naruto had wanted to exchange a few words with him but it seemed he never got the chance. Mr. Sabaku always looked busy, hiding behind a stack of papers or writing something intently on his computer.

Besides, hadn't the man made it clear he had no appreciation for office chitchat?

Naruto sighed and kept on circling the sums, not letting his thoughts distract him to the point it would affect his work.

Mr. Sabaku was a strange person, shortly put.

Was he a pike lurking in murky water or something completely different? For a moment there, he had been sure of the other but now, his judgment of his character lay undecided.

Fair enough, the redhead had seemed trustworthy and he was his colleague, after all. With his short, thin build he hadn't struck as someone to use physical force on him but then again he knew better than to let first impressions fool him.

All evening he had waited for a sign that would clarify what the redhead wanted in exchange of accommodation. Nothing had really happened, however, and even that weird way Mr. Sabaku had unbuttoned a few buttons of his pajama top had turned out to be just a false alarm. A little relieved, he had gone to sleep.

Until the sound of someone pulling the plug had woke him up.

Heart pounding, he had heard someone coming closer very quietly and at some point he was sure Mr. Sabaku had stopped right next to his bed. Faking to be asleep, Naruto had waited for the man to make his move. Given how he was already naked it shouldn't have been too hard for the redhead to know what he was willing to do.

Well, 'willing' was a vague definition but sometimes it saved him from getting hurt if he played along.

Sure, sleeping with a co-worker was something to be avoided in his opinion but given how tight-lipped Mr. Sabaku always seemed to be about his personal life, he would most likely keep their little encounter as a secret, if it were to ever happen.

And as surprising as it was, Naruto had ended up leaving his co-worker's apartment intact and unharmed.

Maybe Mr. Sabaku was different, then?

Naruto still wasn't sure about that. Certainly, it felt nice to have someone treat him politely like Mr. Sabaku had done, without the usual sexual objectification that more often than not came with male landlords.

"When is the deadline?" Naruto asked as he noticed how slowly he was able to go through the documents.

"At midnight," Mr. Sabaku replied calmly. When the man noticed his surprise, he continued reassuringly, "But I'm confident we can wrap this up by ten."

Naruto glanced at his watch. 8:15 AM. "Ten in the morning?"

"Ten in the evening, of course," Mr. Sabaku corrected with only half of his attention on the conversation. "You've got a problem with that?"

"No I don't," Naruto said confidently and flashed him a reassuring smile.

At the copier, he couldn't help but notice how two women were secretly glancing at Mr. Sabaku's direction. Subtly, Naruto followed the line of their gaze. Never before had he seen Mr. Sabaku wear anything white and he wondered if that stylish dress shirt was perhaps new.

At noon Naruto's attention span suddenly shortened the more hunger got foothold in his stomach.

"Hey, want to go grab some lunch?" he asked the redhead.

To his surprise the man agreed to join his company. At a nearby salad bar Mr. Sabaku picked a table furthest from other customers.

"That's a nice shirt, Mr. Sabaku," Naruto pointed out politely and smiled at the man sitting across him, "It looked like Ino Yamanaka and Hinata Hyuga noticed it, too."

"Did they," the redhead replied uninterestedly and paid attention only to his lunch.

"It looks like they've noticed you for quite some time already," Naruto continued friendlily.

Mr. Sabaku's attention finally diverged from his plate, "I think you should pay more attention to your job than to trivial things like that."

Sheesh. It sure seemed impossible to have casual small-talk with this man, Naruto pondered by himself.

"You're right. I don't really have any interest in office gossip, either. I'm sorry for bringing it up," he then said and followed the man's reactions closely.

While processing his latest words, the redhead's fork stopped momentarily before he resumed eating. With a brief glance at his direction, it seemed the man had accepted his updated view on the social schemes that played in the office.

"How's it going finding an apartment?" Mr. Sabaku surprised him by asking.

"Uh, t-thank you for being so concerned," Naruto stuttered and sat up straighter, "I found a few suitable ones but unluckily for me, by the time I was able to contact the landlord, they had been already rented to someone else."

"I'm sorry to hear that," the redhead replied almost apologetically. It made Naruto smile a little.

"Don't worry, I'll have better luck next time," Naruto promised even though he didn't feel as confident as he sounded.

And here he had thought Mr. Sabaku wanted to be all business with everyone, but it seemed he held some concern for his situation after all. Or at least he had memorized such information about him and then brought it up in a conversation like he truly cared for it.

Six hours later Naruto's eyes were starting to hurt. He squinted at the rows of text printed on the document but gave up after his sight refused to focus. With a little annoyed sigh he closed his eyes for a while. Calm scratching of Mr. Sabaku's pen against paper filled his ears. There was such a controlled rhythm to it, he noticed and realized the same, thoughtful tempo was audible in the way he wrote with his keyboard, too.

The scratching noise stopped and Mr. Sabaku dropped his pen on the desk.

Naruto opened his eyes to see his co-worker hold his face in his hands, rubbing his eyes.

"It's finished," Mr. Sabaku announced, "We did it."

To hear the word 'we' coming from his unsociable colleague made Naruto feel oddly happy. He started to smile and when he replied, his joy was audible in his every word, "That's amazing, Mr. Sabaku. We really did it."

The man rubbed his eyes some more, then started to clean up his desk, "Without your help, it would've taken me four more hours to finish this."

Naruto's mouth dropped open in awe. Had his help really been that valuable to Mr. Sabaku? Respect and gratitude were warming up his chest and he felt like a helium balloon rising up, higher.

"Accounting is not your thing," Mr. Sabaku dropped him straight back to the ground.

"W-Was there something I did wrong, or is there something I could've done better?"

The redhead sighed and fixed him a steady glance, "Not particularly. But this isn't your thing. You should seek for something where you can put your social skills in use."

Was that… a compliment?

Naruto couldn't help but feel like a balloon again and even the fact that his stupid, honest grin seemed to amuse Mr. Sabaku couldn't drop him to the ground.

"Thank you Mr. Sabaku for letting me help you today and learn these things about your job. I agree this might not be an ideal department for me, but even so I enjoyed working with you," Naruto said and beamed.

And the tiniest surprise on Mr. Sabaku's face told him that maybe the redhead wasn't too familiar with unexpected compliments, either.

There was that Naruto Uzumaki again, amusing his co-workers with his vast set of jokes. He could hear their laughs all the way up to his desk. An uncontrolled, cheery giggle of some woman snapped Gaara's concentration in two and with a defeated sigh he admitted that his ability to carry on his usual tasks had momentarily diminished.

Damned Uzumaki.

Last Tuesday their prodigious newcomer had challenged everyone to an eating contest at a nearby ramen restaurant. Gaara had no idea what that ramen even was and most certainly he had not participated in such lame after-work activity.

Not even that persistent, pleading look on Uzumaki's face had made him change his mind.

They saw each other at work weekly but the blond didn't really do more than greet him when they passed. Most certainly Gaara was not disappointed. What would they have even talked about? It wasn't like he knew the guy that well, or what his interests were. He hadn't really asked back then, and he sure as hell wouldn't ask now.

Gaara rubbed his temples and tried to regain his concentration. But just then the blond miracle decided to walk past his cubicle. It was not those hideous orange pants that captured his attention for longer than he had intended but the limp in his step he tried to hide.

In the hours of the afternoon Gaara found himself visiting the copy machine more often than usually but then again, these reports had a due day next week. Still, he was in no hurry, and maybe just because of that he took his time to return to his isolated cubicle each time.

A couple of desks before his own he was sure he heard those two co-workers of his speak about Uzumaki with hushed words. He slowed his pace, as he really needed to think if he had forgotten something and would need to return to the copy machine once more.

At the coffee machine Gaara overheard Uzumaki telling someone curious enough to ask that he had been helping his friend to relocate. He had strained his lower back, he told.

Gaara glanced subtly at the blond's direction while sipping the god-awful mud that the machine had spat into his mug. So had that tear on the seam of his shirt come during the move, too? Before now he had never seen Mr. Uzumaki so unkempt, even though he believed not many would notice. Even in his current state the guy appeared more polished than many.

It was getting late but Gaara didn't feel like going home just yet. At least here in the office it was comfortably quiet even without his earplugs.

"Oh hey Mr. Sabaku. I thought everyone had already left."

Averting his attention from the computer screen, Gaara looked at the blond standing near his cubicle.

"Just drop the formalities. You can call me Gaara. And I just thought I'd finish this thing off before heading home."

"Alright, Gaara. I'd like you to call me by my first name, too," Uzumaki said with his unarming politeness, "Do you need any help?"

He regarded the offer for a moment, then slowly draped a stack of papers to him, "Could you get me a copy of these?"

"Sure thing," the blond smiled and dashed off to the copier.

It looked like Uzumaki―no, Naruto―did his best to hide his limping but Gaara wasn't so easily fooled. He hadn't noticed it until now but there was a smudge on the blond's leg―a smudge that had been attempted to rub off without apparent success, turning it perhaps lighter but also larger.

Gaara stared at the document on the screen, unable to find his focus anymore. Deciding it would be maybe best to head home for the day, he turned off his computer and started to gather his belongings.

"Here," Naruto said cheerfully and handed him the copies.

Without as much as a muttered thank you, Gaara took the papers and stuffed them in the drawer.

"Are you going home?" Naruto asked and adjusted the shoulder strap of his bag.

"Yes," Gaara replied and got up from his chair. He intended to stride past the blond without further socializing but the troubled expression on his face rooted him to the spot.

"Mr. Sabaku―I mean G-Gaara," Naruto said with unusual awkwardness, and the tender way he pronounced his first name was not lost on him. "Eh, I was wondering if… if by any chance I could spend the night at your place?"

Gaara stared at the little tear on the blond's shirt, "Fine."

"Thank you," Naruto said and bowed, "I―I promise to pay you back in any way you wish."

"No need for that," Gaara replied languidly and walked past the blond, towards the exit.

On their way to Gaara's place, a small grocery store caught Naruto's attention. After noticing his co-worker had fallen behind, the redhead stopped and turned around.

"Let me go get us some food. I can make you supper and breakfast too," Naruto suggested in his kind and considerate way.

Gaara shook his head, "You don't have to."

"But the last time you had only eggs in your fridge," the blond pointed out, however politely, "I can make you whatever dish you like."

The redhead sighed. Someone was starting to get really stubborn here, "Fine. But I don't have any favorite food. You can pick something you like, and share it with me."

Naruto's eyes lighted up and with his usual energetic eagerness he stormed to the store, blabbering excitedly something about ramen. Gaara waited outside, listening as the blond's delighted mutterings vanished into distance. It was chilly, bet it would snow soon. He looked up at the dark, starless sky, at the obnoxious neon signs that competed over attention of every passerby with their flashy colors and restless blinking.

With a sigh he lowered his gaze to the wet concrete below his feet and retreated into a world of his own. Why had Mr. Chatterbox been so persistent on making dinner for him? And had it been weird for him to ask Naruto Uzumaki make them whatever his preferred dish was? The truth was he had no desire for food. It was only something that kept his body alive for tasks he needed to do before the inevitable.

Before his thoughts could take a darker, however familiar turn, Naruto dashed out of the store with two grocery bags in hands.

"Ramen!" he exclaimed happily and sprinted towards the silent redhead.

Not taking part in the blond's excitement, Gaara began to slowly lead the way home. Under the rows of neon signs, the two of them walked in one-sided silence.

Whatever this ramen was, it was rather good, Gaara decided. But even more fulfilling than the tasty noodles had been the bubbling happiness that had radiated from the blond throughout dinner. To be able of enjoy something as simple as a home-made meal was a strange skill in the redhead's opinion.

"What next?" Naruto asked as it was not yet late enough to go to sleep.

The blond had that slumped, defeated aura around him again. It was another weird thing about him and Gaara wasn't sure what to think of it.

"You should wash your clothes," Gaara said, as he remembered the smudge on his pants, "You can use the washing machine in the bathroom."

"But that's too kind of you," Naruto refused, shaking his head in utter surprise.

"Just do it," Gaara sighed and glanced at the blond lazily. He was too tired to argue.

That seemed to shut up the blond and with that submissive demeanor again Naruto vanished into the bathroom with his duffel bag. A moment later the steady sound of the washing machine carried to the main room and Naruto sat down on the bed, wearing only his boxers and an orange, oversized T-shirt.

Gaara was sitting on the floor and when he noticed the guy's clothes―or rather the lack of them―he suddenly felt uneasy and turned his back on him.

"What do you want to do next?" Naruto asked again after the silence between them had continued for several minutes.

Do? Gaara huffed by himself. He wasn't much of a doer. Usually he just lay still, staring at the ceiling or whatever there was above him, letting his thoughts course through his head, waiting for dusk or dawn or weekend, or something that would wipe out his existence altogether.

"Do you want to talk about something, about work?" Naruto's voice reached his ears from somewhere behind his back.

"No," Gaara told.

"You're not much of a talker, are you?" Naruto said and he could hear the smile in his voice.

It was true. He wasn't what one would call sociable.

Gaara was sure to refrain from drinking anything throughout the evening, just to avoid going to the bathroom at night and be face to face with the embarrassing situation of having to see Naruto's naked form sprawled on his bed again.

"So do you ever sleep on your bed?" Naruto asked.

Gaara glanced at him over his shoulder, "I don't."

"Why?"

"I don't like to sleep in there," the redhead told but didn't feel like elaborating further.

"Then why do you have a bed if you don't use it?"

However tempting it would be to end this conversation Gaara found himself replying, "My siblings bought it for me when I moved in here."

"You have siblings? How many?" the blond asked.

"Just two, a brother and a sister," Gaara said quietly.

As silence ensued after that, he thought it was the end of the topic. But Naruto replied after a while, "I'm an only child."

Just to direct the conversation out of family matters, Gaara asked with his best uninterested voice, "How's apartment hunting going?"

Judging by the tensed silence on Naruto's part, it had not been a good thing to ask. But instead of feeling sorry for being inconsiderate, Gaara took his companion's silence as a positive thing. At least now he wouldn't have to come up with anything to say, either.

But as he should've guessed their conversation wasn't over yet.

"I haven't found a place yet. But I'm trying," Naruto replied.

Without even looking at him, Gaara could imagine the way his shoulders had to be rounded towards his chest again.

"Can't your parents help you with that?" he then asked quietly. And given how he got no reply, he was sure the guy hadn't even heard him.

"My parents are dead," Naruto told suddenly.

Gaara glanced at him in surprise but then quickly averted his gaze. What was one to say to something like that? It wasn't like he had experience of something similar. Would expressing his condolences sound artificial? He didn't even know this guy so well, let alone his family background.

"I'm sorry," he heard himself replying.

"Nah, it's okay." There was that smile in his voice again. But this time, it sounded superficial.

Naruto seemed to get his energy back and he stood up from the bed. "Well, is there any housework I can do? Any cleaning or other task you've been wishing would just miraculously get done?"

"No," Gaara said. There was nothing in these small quarters that required to be done. But to have someone consider his needs made him feel strangely light. All of the sudden life itself felt unreal, like he was in a lucid dream or in a fictional television show.

"You don't have to do anything," Gaara said, "You don't have to fuss around in here."

"Do you really mean that?" Naruto asked, and something in his happy tone carried an undertone of doubt.

Gaara sighed and closed his eyes. Whenever he sensed an argument was about to rise, he felt it best to stop talking and hope it would just go away. That had always worked before now, at least.

"Well, if you need anything, just let me know," the blond said cheerfully, yet his happiness seemed to have come down a notch or two. Gaara wondered if the guy's shoulders were slumped again but he never turned around to see if his assumptions were correct.

It was getting late. The darkness behind the windows had become so thick it was impossible to conclude what was there in the first place.

Naruto moved his attention from the black view to his co-worker sitting on the floor, deeply immersed in yet another heavy book. In that closed position, Gaara looked like a statue. Naruto wondered if this was how the man spent all his evenings.

Sleep debt was weighing Naruto's eyelids down like a stubborn hand yanking down the blinds. A little yawn escaped him and he lay down on the bed. Without him really noticing his eyes closed and after a while the same rich darkness that lived behind the windows took over his mind, too.

"Naruto."

All he could see with his mind's eye were stacks of papers and a red pen drawing gigantic circles on the office wall. He must've fallen asleep and with a sheepish smile he lifted his head from the pile of papers Mr. Sabaku had left there for him. The look on Mr. Sabaku's face reflected not an ounce of amusement. Naruto was getting sweaty and when he looked down, he realized they were sitting on a big bowl of ramen.

A half-cut egg swam past Naruto and he shifted in the hot soup, trying to get up. But it was then he saw Mr. Sabaku captured by noodles as thick as ropes. He recognized the alarmed look on his co-worker's face and rushed to free him. With all his strength he tugged at the noodles but it had no effect, given how the redhead was steadily sinking below the surface.

At a loss for how to rescue his colleague, Naruto started to pull him closer in order to throw him over the edge of the bowl. But the noodles around Mr. Sabaku were slippery and the walls of the bowl were wet, and despite his brave trying they found no way out of there.

Of course just then Hinata Hyuga and Ino Yamanaka walked past their cubicle and giggled gushingly as their curious gaze noticed the state they were in. Naruto blushed and hid behind the half-egg that conveniently made its way towards him at the moment.

"Naruto. It's almost midnight."

That voice which spoke his name sounded so close.

"Ramen," he breathed and his hands fumbled to find the edges of the bowl again. They weren't there. Nothing was there.

Naruto blinked his eyes open. Gaara was still sitting in his accustomed spot, now holding a different book than before.

"Were you dreaming of ramen?" the redhead asked but he turned his head away before Naruto could confirm that little ghost of a smile on his face.

"Maybe a little," Naruto confessed and smiled at himself and his silly imagination. When he adjusted his position, pain shot through his lower regions and he hissed quietly.

"Where did your friend move to?" Gaara asked suddenly while reading his book.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked, dumbfounded.

A flick of a page later the redhead elaborated, "I overheard you telling how you helped your friend relocate."

"O-Oh, that friend," the blond understood and chuckled a bit, "He lived in the east side until he found a better place in the western district."

Gaara closed his book and fixed him a steady look, "We should call it a night. You're tired and your back is hurt."

"It's really nothing," Naruto told and grinned happily.

Gaara traced the spine of his book with his finger. The little red ribbon that worked as a bookmark peeked from between the pages like a lazy tongue.

"You are limping. It's hardly nothing."

Naruto gulped. He had no idea that the attentive redhead had spotted such a thing. Was he the only one or had his other co-workers noticed it, too?

Another morning waited for him behind that closed door.

To say that he wasn't that much thrilled about it wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Gaara stretched his arms unenthusiastically and stared at the blank ceiling in the closet. With earplugs still in place, the rest of the world was nothing but a melted hum. And if he closed his eyes, everything else would satisfyingly disappear, too.

Alluring scent of coffee slithered into the closet. No matter how much he tried to prevent it, he couldn't shut off that part of the world. He didn't want to go but then someone was knocking at the door.

"Gaara? Are you awake yet?"

Grudgingly, he sat up to open the closet door but then slumped back to the mattress like all his energy had been used.

Even Naruto's sunny smile couldn't lift him up.

"You're not a morning person, are you?" the blond chatted happily. When he moved, the scent of his soap or shampoo wafted deeper into the closet, into Gaara's nose.

"I made you breakfast and coffee," Naruto informed him, "I'll be leaving now. Thank you for letting me stay."

"Naruto," Gaara said and the haste he said it with surprised him. In a little calmer manner, he continued, "You can stay longer if you want. I won't mind."

It was Saturday and the office was closed. They had no work until Monday. But he didn't offer accommodation because he was worried about the homeless blond, not at all. And he much rather stayed alone in here, too, so he couldn't say he actually enjoyed having him or anybody in here. The thing was, those words had just escaped his mouth by accident and the more he replayed them in his head, the less sense they made.

"I can't stay," Naruto declined and took a step away from the doorway.

"Do you have somewhere to be, then?" Gaara asked, like he really cared.

"Not really," the blond told. He sounded uneasy for some reason.

"Stay," Gaara said and closed his tired eyes.

"I can't. It's too generous of you," the blond said.

"It's no trouble for me," Gaara told. When the blond didn't reply but only stood there with a troubled aura around him, the redhead decided to change his tactic, "Would you make us ramen for lunch?"

"I―I have to get going," the blond insisted and bowed to him politely, "I'm sorry. And thank you for offering me a place to say. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to make it up to you."

Gaara had no idea how to argue with a person so polite. He was not used to something like that. It looked like the blond didn't want to spend time in here, with him, and why would he? It wasn't like he was a people person, anyway, or someone fun to have around. To make a homeless person feel awkward enough to rather stay someplace else than in his company sounded just about something only he was capable of.

When he heard the front door open and then close, silence fell over the scarce square meters of his apartment. Even the usual sounds of his annoying neighbors had vanished into thin air. When he closed his eyes the whole world disappeared again and he wondered if this would be what death felt like.

But then a whiff of coffee penetrated his consciousness and no longer could he pretend to be apart from the world.

Up until 11 o'clock he would read magazines and newspapers. By now he had adopted a systematic habit of reading the papers in a specific order so that he wouldn't wear out his interest. He would start with something light and humorous before immersing himself in the state of the world. As a snack in between he would glance over the comics of the day before taking a look at something serious again.

Every weekend he came here, to the reading room of his local library. The doors opened at 9:00, leaving him two hours to go through the magazines before the doors to the book hall would open at 11 o'clock sharp.

Not only a place to kill time in, library was a place where he could charge his phone and surf the internet. Always sure to pile up a few school books on his table for bluff, he kept his profile low and coughs quiet.

On some Saturdays he would see an elderly couple here, one that he had gotten quite familiar with. The grey haired man always called him 'sonny' with a respective tone in his voice. Sometimes when the grandpa looked at him with a tiny smile on his face, his eyes would glaze as if he was reminiscing some sunny days of his youth.

The old man's wife made sure to smile at Naruto's unrelenting diligence whenever they noticed him there, in his preferred corner, nose buried in books. And he would smile to them as warmly as he could while wishing them a happy afternoon.

By the look of them, their kindness was something that came naturally and he often saw them chatting with other customers, too. One time they had stared at him fondly and then told him his parents must be proud to have a hardworking son like him. Before any detectable trace of sorrow could surface, Naruto had made an U-turn in his mind and cheerfully told them how Mom was waiting for him next to a kettle full of hot meat soup and how Pops would take him to nature hike next Wednesday if it wouldn't rain.

He had no heart to let them know.

And more often than not, he lulled into fantasies of them being his grandparents. He was sure, if he had ever met his real ones, they would've been wonderfully good-hearted people just like them.

Last night Gaara had seemed to be surprised he knew the author of his latest read, and to be honest the fact surprised himself, too. A little scornfully Naruto wondered if he had ever come to read so much were his circumstances different. Reading, as sophisticating as it was, was a hobby that didn't really make it to his top ten―or thirty.

But given how he couldn't come here to just loiter around, he was forced to show interest in what this place had to offer. It wasn't like he regretted the worlds he had visited, or the throbbing emotions that had coursed through him with each page. It just wasn't how he had imagined his life to be.

Whenever he wanted to be left alone he would pick up anything by Nietzsche. If he wanted to feel even a little bit better about himself and his situation, but also give a sophisticated impression at the same time, Samuel Beckett was his choice. But those times when he really just wanted to have a word or two with someone, anyone, he would courageously keep the covers of the latest bestseller visible for any passerby to see.

Even though to anybody unaware he probably looked like a hardworking young man, he couldn't help but feel bored.

At Gaara's place it had felt nothing like this. With dulled interest, Naruto checked how many percentages still missed until his phone would be charged. To notice he had received a message surprised him.

'She's away for the weekend and the whole week after that. Come over.'

Naruto huffed by himself. That guy made it sound like he was some item he could just snatch from the shelf whenever he pleased. And no matter how much he would've liked to correct the man's selfish assumptions, he really wasn't in a position to do so.

He knew how to play this. His first reply was only a winking emoji. Half a minute later he asked if he needed to bring anything with him.

'No need. Fridge is full of champagne and strawberries.'

What an airheaded romantic, Naruto thought wryly even though he knew better. They wouldn't really get to the strawberries tonight, or the night after that. Maybe on the third day they would, when their champagne reserves would be drastically diminished.

Naruto rang the doorbell twice then waited for two seconds until ringing it once more. He glanced at the frozen lawn and the white lion statues lounging in the midst of disciplinary winter garden.

Classy, was all he could think of. Good taste without any chance of riskiness.

The door opened and in the shadows stood the pseudo-romantic that had so confidently claimed his upcoming nights solely to himself.

Kankuro Haruno.

An average-looking, normal-height man who was married to Sakura Haruno, a reputable businesswoman who was the only heir of Haruno Ltd. In the midst of all this upper-class wealth Kankuro looked out of place even in his woolen, dark grey suit that matched the tedious tone of his silken tie.

The man didn't even greet him but wordlessly let him in, like he wanted no time wasted on needless formalities. Kankuro adjusted his tie in a subtle manner, a sign of nervousness he rarely showed.

Naruto took off his shoes and followed the man upstairs past marble statues, past paintings with golden frames, along parquet floor covered with a Persian rug the size of an apartment, until they reached the master bedroom.

Silently, Naruto dropped his bag to the floor and opened the zipper of his hoodie just a little. He sat on the bed and leaned backwards, tilting his head as he looked at the serious man.

"Shit," Kankuro cursed and tossed a small cardboard packet to the floor, "We're out of condoms."

"I can go get some," Naruto suggested.

"You can't go to the stores nearby. They'll get suspicious. We have to drive someplace where you fit in," Kankuro told and clutched his car keys in frustration.

Obediently, Naruto nodded and stood up from the bed. As if suddenly remembering something, Kankuro turned around and stared at him intently, "Show me the paper."

Naruto pulled out a folded document from his duffel bag and waited as the man's eyes scanned through the results.

"You haven't slept with anyone since then, have you?" Kankuro asked, his dark eyes all but carefree.

"I haven't," Naruto told.

Kankuro seemed to consider his words for a moment, until he tossed the paper back at him, "Good enough. Let's go."

In a district far less expensive but not cheap enough to make Kankuro's brand new Mercedes stand out suspiciously, they parked next to a convenience store.

"Here," Kankuro said and handed him some bills, "Remember, don't draw attention to yourself."

"Okay," Naruto replied and got off the car.

When he came back to the safety of that black-glassed vehicle he felt like he was in a limousine. He was someone rich and famous, and Kankuro was his diligent yet grumpy chauffeur. He lived in a mansion older than his family tree and he ate strawberries and caviar for breakfast.

And when Kankuro threw him on the bed and stripped his clothes, he imagined the man was there only to please him, to play with him, and not the other way around. Many times he had admired that expensive-looking chandelier above the bed. Tiny crystals that were certainly not made out of plastic twinkled like real diamonds, and he couldn't help but feel like a magpie craving after everything shiny.

So trivial and unnecessary. Yet still he toyed with the desire of someday owning a piece of such nonsensical luxury.

"F-Fuck, Naruto," Kankuro grunted and sweat dropped from his chin to Naruto's face.

Innocently, the blond gazed at him with a half-lidded stare, that drop of sweat sliding off his blushed cheek like a single tear. He entwined his legs a little tighter around him, breathed a little more restrainedly, counted to five and then let his breath come out as shaky, passionate gasp.

"I'm going to―" Kankuro whispered and gripped his blond hair, "C-Come."

In a bathtub filled with rosy-scented water, Naruto lay on top of the brunet. To soak in something so warm and good-scented felt luxurious. Kankuro stroked his cheek and the ring on his finger momentarily reminded him of the world outside their secret bubble.

"I don't know what I would do without you," Kankuro murmured relaxedly, "I couldn't go on a day if I hadn't you in my life."

His sappiness went well with the rosy water and the temperately pink tiles of the bathroom.

Naruto turned on the golden faucet that was shaped like a lion's head and poured some more hot water into the tub. "Would you like to take off your ring?" he asked.

"Nah. I'm so used to it I'd feel naked without it. Besides, Sakura would kill me if she found out I lost it," Kankuro said and caressed the blond's back in a slow manner.

"Are you still going to leave her?" Naruto asked and pecked him on the lips shyly.

It seemed to please the man, given how that hazy satisfaction in his eyes grew stronger, "Now is not the right time. But I will. And then you and I can be together."

Naruto smiled sweetly to him and leaned against his toned chest. He was a merman, a creature of imagination, and this was not his real life, none of it was.

Monday saw them tangled in the sheets, sweaty and raw but not tired. Their packet of condoms was getting empty and strawberries were getting bad in the beam of sunlight. A glass of champagne―neither of them remembered whose it was―stood on the nightstand from the night before.

Kankuro was an average man and not that great in bed to be honest. But Naruto had met him via mobile app and after he had learned his background and detected nothing but unscrupulous romance-hungriness out of him, he had deemed him safe enough to stay in his trusted contacts.

At the end of the week, Kankuro fiddled the Rolex on his wrist in an anxious manner.

"You better leave now."

Naruto understood. He lifted up his bag and put it over his shoulder.

"Here," Kankuro tossed him a thick stack of money.

"Why?" Naruto asked and grabbed the shoulder strap of his bag with his both hands.

"I'm worried about you, okay? Please, take it."

"No."

Kankuro scoffed, "I can do whatever I want with my money."

"It's not yours," Naruto pointed out and made the man blush.

"Don't remind me!" Kankuro huffed, his face red, and pushed the stack into Naruto's pocket, "Now go."

Ah, what a hopeless romantic.

Naruto smiled wryly as he let the man escort him to the door.