A/N: Okay here's chapter 3. Things are slowly getting into motion I guess?

Guest wondered how Gaara would take it if he found out about Naruto and Kankuro's little tryst. We'll just have to wait and see I guess. :)

Chapter 3: We're Not Friends, Just Co-workers

A week or two later Gaara was sitting at a corner table in a bar. He had promised to meet someone here, someone he had met online. Thanks to his genes, he was often told he looked younger than his age. A thing like that had always been something trivial to him but now he had decided to use it for his advantage.

Doubtful and wary as he was, he had been reluctant to tell that mature woman his real name or occupation. Partly as a joke, he had presented himself as a high schooler just to see how much crap the other would take. At that point he had already been slightly bored with her, wondering if he should just stop replying altogether.

But to his surprise his fake alias seemed to interest her even more and with a promise of a one-night stand, he had agreed to meet.

He glanced around but there was no one coming his way. Had he been stood up? Not that he particularly cared and just to wash away his unnecessary emotions, he gulped down the last of his drink.

The longer he sat here in these clothes the more embarrassed he felt. His long hoodie was half-way unzipped, giving away the ridiculous fishnet shirt he was wearing underneath. Black skinny jeans were something he normally never wore but now they were great at helping him to achieve a more juvenile look.

Ready to leave, as he had obviously been stood up, Gaara glanced around the place one more time. There was no one he was expecting, no one interesting in sight, and he already got up from his chair when a mop of blond hair caught his attention.

Was that Naruto over there?

He looked so short compared to that guy right next to him. And it looked like he was trying to politely distance himself from the hunk, but the man seemed to be persistent. Given how touchy-feely the tall guy was, maybe he was a close friend of Naruto's.

What was that sting in his guts that appeared along these thoughts? It was not disappointment, how could it be? He was a boring personality, introverted and unsocial added to that, and someone as cheerful and bubbly as Naruto would only hang around with him in dire need.

So yes, he was just that―last resort.

He was the last of the last, the bottom of the pile.

He was starting to feel empty again and he wished that whoever it had been online would suddenly appear and make him forget about who he was even for a short moment.

Naruto was guiding the guy's hands away from him, his polite mannerism clear and kind yet it didn't seem to work. His smile was embarrassed and tight, and the way his knees were slightly bent gave a very defeated impression. Just when Gaara was about to avert his gaze, Naruto noticed him.

"Gaara!" the blond exclaimed happily, however the shakiness of his voice didn't go unnoticed. Naruto rejected the guy's groping mannerism once more and hurried towards the redhead.

"It's nice to see you here," the blond said, his cheerfulness superficial once more. Warily, he glanced over his shoulder at the hunk now leaning against the bar counter. "I was just about to leave," Naruto told after it was clear the man wasn't going to follow him here.

"Me, too," Gaara told and even though it was true, to his own ears it sounded like a lie he'd come up with just now to invite himself to the blond's company again.

But Naruto didn't seem to be worried about something like that at the moment, given how his blue eyes were staring at his unusual clothes. Rather self-consciously, Gaara pulled the zipper all the way up and crossed his arms in front of his chest in a protective manner.

A sense of shame washed over Gaara as he imagined Naruto blabbing about his temporary appearance at work. He would lose all credibility if that happened.

When he cautiously glanced at the blond again there was a bittersweet look on Naruto's face.

"Let's go, then," Naruto only said and led the way outside.

It had started to snow. Naruto rubbed his hands together and then put them in his pockets, shivering as a gust of wind blew through his clothes. Gaara walked beside him, not feeling cold or warm or anything. He stayed silent, waiting for the blond to tell when this unexpected encounter would be over.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted something back there," Naruto said after a while.

"You didn't. As I said, I was about to leave," Gaara told, not feeling like opening up about his failed attempt of a one-night stand. "It looked like you had trouble with that guy."

"N-No, it was nothing like that," the blond laughed nervously, "We just had a misunderstanding, that's all."

"Do you go to that place often?" Gaara asked, not out of curiosity but to have something to talk about.

"Sometimes," the blond admitted, like he was ashamed somehow.

But surely the blond's motives wouldn't be even close to something as pitiful as his own. What kind of a grown man was posing as a barely legal adult in order to get laid? Not a very honorable man.

"I take it you won't be telling about this to anybody at the office," Gaara wanted assurance.

Naruto glanced at him sorrowfully, "That goes without saying."

Snow stuck on his blond locks, on the furry hem of his jacket's hood, and the warm pinkish hue on his cheeks had to be because of coldness. He had that duffel bag with him again and Gaara wondered if he had a place to stay in.

But he was afraid to ask him over to his place for he was sure his offer would be turned down. He was a dull host, a dull person to be around and he knew that better than well. Surely Naruto, a cheerful and friendly man, had lots of other, better acquaintances to hang around with.

After all, he was nothing but the last resort, wasn't he?

In the deserted train they sat opposite of each other. Naruto's attention was on his phone and just to have something to do, Gaara pretended to read the newspaper someone had left behind. When his stop was coming closer, he stood up. Naruto put his phone away and smiled at him.

"Where are you heading?" Gaara asked casually.

"Somewhere in the southern district," Naruto replied confidently but there was something in his voice that led Gaara to believe otherwise.

Back at home Gaara slouched to the bathroom. While hot water caressed him sweetly, sensually, he couldn't help but wonder how the blond was doing. Hopefully he really had been going somewhere. Back then he had thought of inviting him here but then he had remembered Naruto's reluctance to stay. Least of all he wanted to force him into here, and he certainly didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable.

Added to that, he had been afraid the blond would be too polite to decline the offer if he really didn't feel like coming.

When he turned off the shower, the air felt cold and unpleasant and it made him shiver. While drying himself on a towel, he couldn't help but wonder if Naruto would be riding trains the whole night.

Unexpectedly, one day Gaara received a message from Naruto.

'Hi Mr. Sabaku. It's me, Naruto Uzumaki from work. Thank you for your recent kindness at work and outside of it, too. I was wondering if I could crash in at your place tonight? I'm sorry to burden you with this request on such a short notice. If now is not a good time for you please don't hesitate to say no, as I will totally understand.'

His politeness was just ridiculous, Gaara thought as he eyed the many rows of the lengthy text message. Such a question would've required only few words yet here Naruto had written almost a novel for him.

Feeling no need for any unnecessary sugarcoating Gaara replied only with a: 'Yes.'

In an half an hour Naruto appeared behind his door, his cheeks red with freeze and hair snowy. Rejecting the blond's unneeded courtesy he forced him to take a long, hot shower. To the alarmed look on the blond's face Gaara only muttered he didn't want Naruto to fall ill, as his absence at work would indirectly affect his own workload, too.

"You can watch TV if you want," Gaara said to his guest. Once again, he was sitting on the floor, pretending to read a book that had been lying around the place for the past six months.

Wordlessly, Naruto turned on the TV and flipped the channels until he found something worth watching for.

Momentarily Gaara longed for his earplugs until he realized he couldn't really hear his rowdy neighbors through the television noise. He strained his hearing to its limits but all he could catch was a shout here and there. At least now he couldn't make up the words anymore.

Naruto was quietly enjoying his stay, thankfully not opening up any pointless conversations. The moment he had stepped out of the shower and dropped his timeworn duffel bag next to the bed, the blond had dashed to do the dishes, then supper, and then the enormous pile of laundry Gaara had been saving for a moment of inspiration that never came.

And even now the blond seemed to be rattling something in the kitchen. Gaara sighed. He hadn't even heard him go, for he had been too immersed in his own thoughts. He didn't really like the almost obsessed way Naruto had made housework his responsibility. He looked like a slave or a maid and it made Gaara feel uncomfortable.

Besides, those rings under his blue eyes had grown darker again. It looked like he hadn't gotten much rest recently.

"Here," Naruto said and managed to startle Gaara with his sudden presence, "I made tea for us."

Gaara accepted the hot cup of green tea. Next to him was placed a plate full of sandwiches. He hadn't asked for this but now that the food was literally carried to him, it felt nice and he could feel his neglected hunger stir up a bit.

Unlike he had assumed Naruto didn't go sit on the bed like he usually did. This time the blond settled next to him on the floor like it was the most natural of places.

"What are you reading?" the blond asked.

Gaara showed him the cover of his book, "My brother gave me this last summer. I've been meaning to read it."

"They said it was good," Naruto knew and munched his sandwich.

"You've read it?"

"No but the author's earlier works are pretty good in my opinion. You see, I have this habit of going to the library on weekends," the blond said.

Ah, yes. Of course the blond would go to a place like that. He didn't have a place where to stay now did he, and something like a library was just so convenient to kill time in. Never before had it made him so sad to hear somebody reading books.

"Naruto," he said quietly at first. The blond stopped chewing and glanced at him expectantly. "If you don't have a place to stay in, you can spend the nights in here."

"W-What? No, I can't. It'd be just too kind of you and I don't know if I could ever repay you," the blond said and waved his hands in the air in panic with a pinkish hue on his cheeks.

Gaara stared at him, at his widened, blue eyes and his blond brows that held a submissive look. A blush was coloring his whole face now and it went down all the way to his neck, then lower.

"Naruto," Gaara interrupted the blond's rambling, "Stop."

A baffled gasp was the only reply he got. Gaara kept on staring at him until his blank expression turned into something frustrated, "Stop being so damn considerate for even once. If I say you can stay here I mean it. And stop fussing around like a maid. I don't like it."

Naruto stared at him in shock, his face red and his blue eyes glistening. After a shaky breath his shoulders slumped and the oversized T-shirt he was wearing slid down to reveal his shoulder. Naruto lowered his head as if in shame and whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Don't," Gaara hissed, his frustration coming back again, "I'm getting really tired of your politeness."

Naruto nodded but didn't say a word. Gaara glanced at him with narrowed eyes but the longer his gaze rested on the flustered blond, the harder it was for him to stay angry. He figured that maybe an apology would be in order on his part but instead of communicating his growing regret he stayed silent.

The rest of the evening neither of them said a word to one another.

When it was bedtime Naruto was lounging on the bed with one shoulder bared, his slender legs bent on the knees, making him look harmless and innocent. Gaara's attention stayed on him briefly as he was on his way to the closet. Thankfully, the guy was not sleeping naked anymore but seemed to have settled for that large shirt and a pair of boxers.

Naruto was looking at him rather submissively and Gaara's expression softened. In a way he regretted yelling at the guy but there was no way of taking back those words now, was there?

With one last glance at the guy, Gaara closed himself in the closet.

Just like he had feared, a scent of coffee and some delicious dish woke him up in the morning. Feeling rather grumpy, Gaara made it to the kitchen and plopped down on the chair.

"I thought I told you not to waste your time on this," he said quite straightforwardly.

But Naruto only smiled at him and poured him some coffee, "Sheesh. Someone's clearly not a morning person."

"Naruto," the redhead sighed, "I wish you'd rest while you're here."

"Why?" the blond asked with automatic cheerfulness, and started washing the dishes.

"Why? Because every time I see you, you look more tired than before," Gaara told him.

A nonchalant shrug was his only answer.

At the copy machine, Naruto handed the designated papers to Gaara as he flipped through the stack of prints.

Out of nowhere, Hinata and Ino appeared on the doorway. It looked like the redhead didn't pay them any attention, nor did he notice the flustered way Ms. Hyuga was looking at him.

"U-Um. Mr. S-Sabaku," the shy woman stuttered and fiddled her fingers.

Gaara glanced at her briefly before going back to his copies. In the background, Ino cleared her throat.

"I―I was wondering if you…" Hinata continued shyly but despite her obvious fright she pushed forward, "Would you like to have c-coffee with m-me someday?"

"Not interested," Gaara replied curtly and gave her a look that was more of a glare than a glance.

Hinata froze and her face turned even redder than before. Behind her back, Ino gritted her teeth and strode towards the redhead.

"Hey Gaara," she started but her tone of voice wasn't that friendly, "Hinata's a really nice girl. Besides, it would do you good to go out with someone. How long has it been already since you divorced, hmm? Two years or more?"

Naruto paled and he discreetly put the stack of prints away. It had to be the sudden tension in the room to make him feel like this. Gaara had been married? It was a trivial piece of information that got nothing to do with him.

"That is none of your business, Ms. Yamanaka," Gaara said chillingly and strode past the women towards his cubicle.

Now when the target of their attention was gone the women turned their frustrated attention on Naruto.

"Do you know if he's seeing anyone?" Ino asked him curiously.

The atmosphere felt suddenly explosive and with an apologetic shrug, Naruto slipped away from the room.

At lunchtime, Naruto's phone vibrated in his pocket. Without drawing attention he read the message.

'Do you want to have lunch at Chinese?'

He couldn't help the goofy grin spreading on his face. Glancing around, he wiped the expression off and started to type a reply.

Ten minutes later Naruto and Gaara discreetly left the office.

He didn't really like Chinese food but it was all the same. Maybe they would have some version of ramen on the menu? Getting his hopes up, Naruto sat down across his redheaded colleague.

Never before had Mr. Sabaku initiated shared lunchtime. As far as he knew the guy preferred eating alone. Naruto couldn't explain to himself why it made him feel so happy and special.

"What are you grinning about?" Gaara asked as he suspiciously inspected his expression.

Naruto's face dropped at that but soon the luminous smile was back again, "I'm just happy I guess. And I'm pretty hopeful about that noodle soup they had on the list."

Gaara gave a wary look at general direction of the kitchen, "The food here is alright."

"Ino had some nerve back there," Naruto pouted and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Gaara sighed in annoyance, "Forget about them. They're not worth our time."

Our time? The strange feeling from earlier came back to Naruto. He quickly scratched his cheek just to distract himself.

"I didn't know you've been married."

The annoyed look on Gaara's face only deepened, "Not many know."

The longer Naruto studied the grumpy mannerism of his colleague, the lighter he suddenly felt as pieces of a puzzle clicked together.

Yeah, that was it―the reason to his confusion: Given how private and aloof the redhead was, it was nearly impossible to imagine him in a relationship as close as marriage. It didn't look likely that someone like Gaara would let anyone so close, and due to this contradiction had Naruto felt so strange.

That was it. There was nothing else to it.

"So… Are you seeing anyone at the moment?" Naruto asked casually.

His question didn't seem to please the redhead as he only ignored it and kept on staring out of the window.

Naruto let it be for now. It wasn't his business anyway and briefly he wondered what had even prompted him to ask such a thing. When their food arrived, a natural silence fell over them and the annoyance slowly vanished from the redhead's face.

When they sneaked back into the office discreetly, Naruto felt like they were secret allies of this workplace. No matter that going unannounced was Gaara's default way, it made Naruto feel special to be a part of it.

Or maybe he was simply putting too much thought into something trivial like that?

The day Gaara dreaded every year was here once again.

In all simplicity, the target of his distaste was nothing more but a Friday afternoon spent with his co-workers, out in the woods doing various kinds of activities. Food, snacks and coffee of course were provided for them by the company they all worked in. The idea of such foolish, yearly thing was to boost the office employees' well-being and encourage them to physical activities.

Had such unnecessary gathering been after hours, nothing in the world would've made Gaara participate. But―as annoying as it was―the activity took place during working hours and was thus mandatory.

Usually during this time of the year he always happened to be sick (damned flu) but now he had somehow forgotten to pretend falling ill. His work schedule had been busier lately. Maybe that was why it had slipped his mind.

He heard Naruto's cheery laughter from the other side of the office. Or maybe, just maybe, he had had way too many disruptions during workdays that the looming activity afternoon had completely escaped his memory until it was too late for him to save himself.

"Gaara," a very friendly voice called him.

"Uzumaki," the redhead replied with a tight tone. He had his presentiments of what this would be about.

"You used my last name. Are you angry at me, Gaara?" the blond asked, and the soft way he pronounced his name caused a tiny reaction in him.

"No. I'm just busy," Gaara told, not tearing his attention away from the papers he was going through.

"Gaara," Naruto said again but this time his voice was quiet and oozed friendliness. Gaara had no choice but to drop his papers and look at the sunny blond.

"You are going to join the rest of us this afternoon, are you?" Naruto asked and the hopefulness in his eyes was just too damn affective.

"I'm afraid so," Gaara admitted. Unlike usually, today he was wearing black jeans (not the skinny ones though), sneakers and a hoodie. That, if anything, should've been clear enough message for everyone, and he had no idea why Naruto had gone through the trouble of asking him.

Naruto leaned closer and lowered his voice, "Great. Would you like to be my pair in there?"

Gaara was taken aback. "I don't think we're going to be paired up."

"Well, you never know," the blond shrugged and his smile was just too contagious.

"Fine. We can be pairs if it comes to that," the redhead said very quietly and began to collect the papers that were scattered all over his desk and partially over his keyboard, too.

"Awesome," Naruto cheered and left him to his work.

Gaara sighed, his concentration suddenly gone. There was one thing he couldn't figure out, though. Why would Naruto, the most popular guy in the office, choose his company over everyone else?

The snow that had fallen from the sky last night was completely melted by afternoon. Only occasional spots of frost still remained on the forest floor.

Naruto was already warming up his muscles with little jumps and quick stretches. Gaara stood completely unmoving next to him, waiting for further instructions. There were many offered activities: canoeing, jogging, darts, pétanque, bowling, wall climbing, weights and a variety of other gymnastic exercises.

"What would you like to do?" Naruto asked.

"There's no need to pair up. You can pick any activity you like," the redhead replied and his lack of enthusiasm was almost comical in Naruto's opinion.

"Would you like to go for a walk? The track is three miles. It shouldn't take us longer than an hour or so. It looks like everyone's heading for canoes already," the blond said.

It really looked like no one else was interested in the nature hike. Maybe that was the reason why Gaara eventually agreed to go for a walk. They made their way deeper into the forest where the track led them. Like usual, the redhead was quiet and Naruto tried to decipher his current mood.

Dressed in black and sporting a navy beanie, Gaara looked like a burglar. The image made Naruto chuckle and in an instant jade eyes were on him, trying to find the source of his sudden delight.

Stifling his laughter, Naruto asked, "Do you go for walks often?"

"I can't say that I do," the redhead admitted.

Their pace wasn't really that fast, but Gaara's cheeks were already pink and he was breathing a bit more heavily now.

Naruto slowed down. It didn't matter if it took them longer than an hour to finish the track. Spending time in the woods with Gaara was nice on its own.

"How long have you been working there?" the blond asked.

"About seven years," the redhead told and thanks to their slowed pace, he didn't look out of breath anymore.

"Seven years? You don't look old enough to have worked seven years in anywhere."

A quick smile-like expression visited Gaara's lips, but then it was gone again. "I get that a lot."

"Have you lived in the city all your life?" Naruto changed the subject.

"Yes. My parents live on the opposite side of the city than me," Gaara told and fastened his pace.

Naruto ran after him and told, "As a kid, I lived in the western suburb with my family. We had a house near the sea."

"Sounds like your family was pretty well-off," Gaara replied.

"Yeah… kind of. But none of that matters anymore," Naruto sighed heavily and started to jog. He expected Gaara to follow him but it never happened. After a few yards he stopped and waited for him to catch up.

"Wanna run?" Naruto asked with a big smile.

Gaara refused to even answer. Was the idea really that silly?

Bad at giving up, Naruto took hold of his hand and started to jog, pulling the redhead along, "Come."

It was a miracle he hadn't expected but eventually the grumpy redhead fastened his pace until he was jogging, too. Given how stiffly he moved, it was clear he was new to this. Naruto stifled his chuckle but didn't let go of his hand.

Only when Gaara wasn't able to breathe anymore and slowed down, did they stop their running. With his back leaned against a nearby tree trunk, Gaara gasped for air with his eyes half-closed. His jade eyes were focused in nothing in particular, just a hazed look that was now permanently burned into Naruto's memory.

Gaara's face was red and he wobbled back to the track and then opened his jacket a little. When he faltered, Naruto seized him by the arm and held him still.

Even after a minute, he was still staring at the heavily breathing redhead. Who would've known that such a short spurt could affect him this way?

"Wanna run again?" the blond asked darkly, unable to look away.

It seemed like the unusual tone of his voice went unnoticed by the redhead. For an answer, Gaara only shook his head as a 'no'. Naruto didn't mind. But eventually he let go and when they started to walk again, his movements were oddly stiff like he was tense all over. Naruto tried to relax his body but nothing worked. The only thing he could see was the airily panting redhead with his eyes almost closed, leaning against a trunk so that his legs wouldn't buckle.

After finishing the track they were back among their co-workers, who happily queued to get coffee and grilled sausages. Naruto glanced at the solemnly still redhead. It never ceased to surprise him how short Gaara was compared to him. He saw Ino and Hinata sit down at the nearby table and with a calculative look he turned to Gaara, whispering quietly so that no one else could hear.

"I think you should apologize to Hinata. You were a bit harsh on her earlier."

Gaara didn't seem too delighted about that. Maybe that was why he only scowled for an answer.

"You know, all you have to do is be friendly to her once. There were chocolates there. You could give her one and we could sit at their table," Naruto suggested.

"But Ino is there. I'm not very fond of her," Gaara pointed out, however his scowl had mellowed down.

"I know. But leave her to me, okay?" Naruto promised and smiled reassuringly.

As planned, they eventually made their way towards Hinata and Ino's table. As he had expected, Gaara didn't seem too happy about this but then again, as far as he knew the redhead's range of showing his emotions wasn't that wide to begin with.

"Can we sit here?" Naruto asked charmingly and smiled at the blond woman.

Ino only nodded, but her gaze stayed on him maybe a bit longer than usually. Gaara sat down next to Hinata, and the way the shy woman flinched before lowering her face didn't go unnoticed by him. A bit clumsily the redhead handed her a piece of chocolate.

"I apologize if I gave a harsh impression the other day. I didn't mean to be rude," Gaara said with his best unemotional voice.

Naruto studied their interaction from across the table, smiling secretly to his coffee. The shy woman was brilliantly blushing and bravely trying to utter out some response, however nothing but cut off stutters came out.

Ino was smiling at her friend, and when Naruto offered her an extra sausage, she smiled sweetly before turning down the treat.

"Thanks, Naruto, but I don't want your sausage."

Naruto rolled his eyes at Ino and then sipped his coffee. Soon though he fell into his thoughts again, and his focus fixed on the redhead sitting across. Gaara had such a neat way of eating. The way he bit his sausage was sophisticated, nothing like the hungry devouring Naruto always savored his food with.

Only when the redhead got up did Naruto startle out of his musings. When he followed Gaara with his gaze, he noticed Ino was staring at him. With a friendly smile, Naruto nodded at her before leaving the table.

A month later Gaara stared at the computer screen, unable to remember what he was doing again. It had been like this the whole day since morning.

Today, Naruto had not shown up.

They said he was ill and had to take a day off. Resting at home would be better than coming here to contaminate others, his co-workers had talked near the coffee machine.

When no one was looking at his way to witness him slacking, he quickly dug up his phone and texted Naruto. In the following minutes that he spent on waiting for a reply, he kept on wondering just when had he succeeded to grow this much care for the blond.

He was supposed to have given up on people. He had promised to not let anyone close anymore. And yet he had offered his all but luxurious flat for the blond to stay in, at least on those nights he had nowhere else to go.

Then again, maybe Naruto's politeness had fooled him and led him to believe the guy actually had a little care for him, too? After all, not even his parents had ever been that caring towards him. No one had, and the thought made him a little sad. That meant he would be easily fooled by someone's kindness and he was starting to fear that something like that had just happened with Naruto.

Maybe the blond didn't really care for his company at all but endured it only in order to have a roof above his head? But then again in the past month Naruto had spent eleven nights at his place.

Eleven.

And still he found himself wondering why it was only eleven.

Hold on a second, Gaara snapped at himself. He was getting way too caught up in these stupid thoughts, and at a workplace at that. With a mental slap to his cheek, he promised himself to concentrate in only work and nothing else from now on. However, the tiny beep of his cell phone stole his attention away again.

It was a text from Naruto. Gaara's heart pounded a little faster when he opened the message.

'Sorry to make you worry! I caught flu and I'm resting at a friend's place. No need to worry!'

Gaara couldn't help but be amused by the painful politeness of his message. A part of him wanted to call him and remind him to drop the unneeded mannerism. Another part wanted to text him something back but before his fingers could get to work, he managed to prevent himself.

Naruto had said he was at a friend's place. That meant he didn't need Gaara's concern or his trap of an apartment to stay in.

All throughout workday Gaara's thoughts drifted to the blond. Was anyone taking care of him, like he did to everyone else? Here at work Naruto was always sure to help anyone in his kind, unselfish way. In the months he had worked here, he had quickly become one of the most popular employees. Everyone wanted to have a chat with him yet did they succeed to see that flicker of the saddest blue in the depths of his eyes?

Or was it just Gaara who thought had seen that side of him? Surely that was not the case. And out of all people, why would someone cheery like Naruto choose Gaara to be his―

Wait.

No.

Gaara laughed by himself, a sound that made some colleagues of his stop in mid-step as they happened to walk past his cubicle. Resuming to his reserved, old self in record time he waved them off with an annoyed aura radiating from him.

He was not this weak or stupid. He should know better. And everything had been going on just fine before that sunny blond had started working here.

Clearly he was just drawing conclusions out of nonexistent signs. Yes, his heart had been beating more vibrantly after receiving that much awaited message but it had been because of his worry for the guy's general well-being. After all, if Naruto were to fall seriously ill, it would increase his workload too, at least momentarily. So his reactions were purely selfish and had nothing to do with the blond itself.

Feeling a little more secure, Gaara got back to work.

It was close to six by now and he was the only one left in the office. He had already wrapped up his work for the day by now but somehow the idea of going home didn't sound thrilling to him.

Warily he took out his phone but no new messages had been sent to him. A little disappointed, he re-read Naruto's earlier text. God, his politeness was really annoying! His thumb hovered above the screen, ready to start typing a reply but somehow he managed to still it.

Naruto was at a friend's place. He wouldn't come over to his apartment anyway.

That thought stabbed him in the stomach, or maybe it was just the suspicious salad he had had for lunch. Whatever the reason, he decided it was best to abandon these peculiar thoughts that had gone around his head for the past ten hours.

He was being ridiculous. And he was thinking of Naruto's blushing face when he had yelled at him, and before he could prevent himself he was already wondering if that was what the guy looked like when he was having a high fever.

And now, Gaara eyed the short message he had almost unnoticeably drafted for Naruto, unable to decide if he should send it or not.

'If you want, you can spend the night at my place. I can pick you up if you're not feeling well.'

The idea of feverish Naruto being thrown into wintry night popped up in his mind. Would that really happen? Could he live with himself if that happened?

Without further pondering, he sent the message.

"Here. Eat this," Gaara commanded and pushed a bowl of what resembled porridge into Naruto's hands.

"Thanks," the blond smiled and started wolfing down the questionable dish. If it tasted horrible, he was too considerate to admit it.

Gaara inspected the feverish blond sitting on the bed. His face was reddish, his blue eyes hazy but still ever so kind and when he sneezed it was only a tiny sniff that reminded him of a kitten. Gaara stopped in mid-thought and mentally smacked himself on the head. Surely the stupid fever was getting on to him, too.

When he noticed the blond was about to wobble into the kitchen, no doubt planning to make this place tidy and clean once again, Gaara hurried to the bed and seized his arm.

"Huh?" Naruto asked with his blue eyes wide and unfocused.

"Stay in bed," Gaara ordered and let go of him.

"Why?" Naruto questioned but didn't make a move to leave.

"Why? You're ill. You need to rest. Did you really think I'd let you fuss around in here in a state like that?" the redhead questioned in an angered tone.

Naruto tilted his head and his eyes were half-closed, "B-But I don't want you to think I'm abusing your kindness by just lounging around. Please, let me do something to make it up to you."

"You're impossible," Gaara growled and rubbed his forehead. He could already feel a vein throbbing on his temple, "Listen. You stay in bed. You have a high fever and it won't make you recover any faster if you don't let yourself rest."

"But―" Naruto started but shut his mouth as Gaara's cool hand came to rest on his forehead. The concentrated look on the redhead's face was one he had never seen before.

"I think your fever's gone up. Don't tell me you were wearing yourself out at your friend's place?" Gaara asked worriedly.

"Well…" Naruto said shyly and pulled the blanket up all the way to his chin as if shielding himself.

Gaara sighed. He knew it. Patiently, he tugged the blanket a little tighter around Naruto and then stared at him calmly, "I'm going to make you something warm to drink. Wait here. I'll bring you some more medicine, too."

In the kitchen, Gaara immersed himself in preparing green tea. He didn't remember the last time he of all people had fussed over someone like this. He had even gone as far as searched for the recipe of ramen and then succeeded in finding the items on the grocery store. Tomorrow he would prepare that dish to his reluctant patient. Sometimes it felt it was downright impossible to keep the guy in bed. In his absurdly polite way he was incredibly stubborn.

When he came back from the kitchen Naruto had fallen asleep. That was probably for the better, Gaara thought.

Even when the TV was off and his earplugs somewhere out of his immediate reach he didn't feel like shutting off the noises of the world. It wasn't that he enjoyed hearing the angry yells that penetrated these thin walls every now and then but it was the calm rhythm of Naruto's breathing he refused to mute.