A/N: Hey you all, thank you so much for all the positive feedback! I am melting in joy, my heart flutters happily from all this breathtaking support! *heart* I hope you all enjoy this chapter! ;D

Chapter 10: This Is NOT What Friends Do

Given how enthusiastically Naruto drowned himself into housework, cooking, the dishes, and then housework again, something was definitely wrong with him. That much peculiar enthusiasm could only be to hide something unpleasant troubling him.

On many occasions Gaara had meant to halt him and ask what it was, why he had unexpectedly appeared at his door with his belongings, but whenever Naruto saw him approaching, he busied himself with another task in another room.

The circus went on for two hours until Gaara got enough of it.

He cornered Naruto by the sink with a concerned stare and for a moment the clanking of dishes intensified as the blond scrubbed the plates in the water even more forcefully than before. But before Gaara had a chance to surround him with his burning questions, Naruto remembered just then that the cycle of the washing machine had ended and he hurried into the bathroom to hang the laundry to dry.

Gaara followed, all but ready to give up.

"What's wrong, Naruto?"

"I'm so sorry," the blond said and for a moment Gaara thought he was reacting to his question, but then Naruto turned around with a dull grey cloth in his hands. It was Gaara's once-white T-shirt that had met the end of its glory during the wash.

"I should've been more careful," Naruto cursed and held the wet piece of clothing like it was a body of a child. "I'll buy you a new one."

Gaara tore the shirt out of his hands and threw it into the corner with a wet splash against the tiles. Naruto snapped out of his regret, finally paying attention to the redhead.

"If you're not going to talk, I have no other option but to call my brother and ask what the hell has happened."

Naruto paled and all anxious rush left his body like it had been scared away. Gaara held a phone in his hand like it was a weapon, showing that his threat was not an empty one.

"Did you break up, or what?"

"Well… yeah, you could say so," Naruto admitted with audible reluctance and turned around to dig out more wet laundry from the washing machine. While he slowly hung them to dry, he explained, "It was a mutual decision. No hard feelings. Nothing dramatic."

"Last time I saw you two together there were no signs for that. What happened?" Gaara asked.

"Nothing happened," Naruto said more confidently now.

"Seven—no, eight—unanswered phone calls from you within few hours hardly sound like nothing," Gaara told.

"I just called to ask you when you'd be home," the blond shrugged.

"If your situation held nothing dramatic in it, nothing unplanned as you let me believe, then it seems pretty strange that you came here with such rush," the redhead pointed out.

Naruto's shoulders tensed and his movements stopped. His back was turned to the world, but the way his head hung defeatedly was a sign Gaara had seen too many times. That same submission had been present when Ino had dug out Naruto's shameful secret, or when the blond had spent his first nights in here, anxiously calculating what was expected of him.

A sense of nervous dread started to fill up Gaara's stomach, not burning him but cooling him as the picture he had kept on pushing away slowly started to form in front of him. It couldn't be that…

"Did he hurt you somehow?"

That was all Gaara could get out, the coolness had now spread all over him and he was squeezing his phone like it was guilty for the situation they were in. Naruto's head dropped an inch lower, his shoulders tensed up so slightly it almost looked like an unconscious twitch. Gaara kept on gripping his phone, holding his breath, his teeth slowly gritting into a confused grimace, until Naruto turned around. There was the sunniest expression on his face.

"He didn't hurt me. Your brother's a great person, and I'm forever grateful for his help."

Naruto's smile illuminated the small bathroom but something in that light was unconvincing.

"I am ashamed to admit that my heart was not completely in that relationship, and that's why it's better I won't waste his time more than I have already done. I'm sorry Gaara, I know how this must look like, and I apologize for treating your brother that way."

Even though it was said with a luminous smile, with a carefree light shining in the azure eyes, Gaara felt conflicted. He knew his brother, he knew his tendency to lie—another farewell gift their rotten home had given him—and there was something strange in this whole explanation that didn't give Gaara peace of mind.

"What about his late-night working hours? Didn't you say he could be working throughout the night, Naruto? With that Tenten or whoever it was?"

Hurt flashed in Naruto's face like he had been slapped, it was only a little twitch on his lips that threatened to bring down his smile, but Gaara noticed it nevertheless.

"He is devoted to his career," Naruto told and for a moment it looked like he truly believed his own words. But then the twitch returned to the corner of his mouth and it seemed like this time it was harder to keep at bay. Before Gaara could respond, Naruto walked out of the room and escaped, again.

Gaara found Naruto standing by the window in the main room. The blond was absentmindedly tracing his finger along a paper snowflake glued in the glass, while his desolate gaze swept over the rooftops and windows that greeted him on the other side. When he noticed Gaara's presence, he flashed him a weak smile.

"I don't want you to think badly of your brother. If anyone, I am the one to blame for this. I… I told him about the kiss, too. I'm sorry. I hope it won't make things more difficult between you two, but I thought he deserved to know, he deserved honesty."

For Gaara, it felt like a world was left out from those polished lines of words that were offered for him for explanation. He glanced out of the window, too, seeing the snowy rooftops and blackened windows, wondering what lay behind those walls of brick, under those roofs of tin.

Naruto's restless finger was tracing along the paper snowflake as if the geometric shape brought some comforting order to his mind. Hurt stung Gaara's heart for seeing his friend like this, and without thinking too much he took hold of Naruto's hand, stopping its robotic movement. He laced their fingers together and squeezed his palm, all the while keeping his eyes on the snow, on the winter, on the world that existed outside of their little apartment.

Their apartment? Gaara shook his head at the thought, privately scolding himself for such rushed interpretation.

This was not theirs, Naruto was not his, and sooner or later his blond friend would hop into another adventure that waited for him somewhere else, with someone else. This boring trap of an apartment, these dust-gathering corners, the weight of silence that inhabited this place could not be what Naruto was looking for in life.

And when Naruto freed his hand, flexing his fingers as if he had been squeezed too hard, Gaara understood he had been right all along. He was just a temporary landlord, a temporary person along the glorious path his friend had ahead of him. Naruto's path was a long line, sided with adventures one more thrilling than the other, whereas Gaara's path was a round circle, one without a beginning or an end, just a carousel of recurring thoughts, feelings and ideas, and in the middle… In the middle there was a person, a blond man with a blinding smile whom Gaara tried to keep still by going round and round on his orbit, hoping the target of his attachment wouldn't hop off and leave him here, alone, circling nothing but his despair and desolation.

What he waited for was Naruto to continue with the dishes, with the laundry, with anything that didn't require Gaara's help or presence.

What he didn't expect was Naruto to pull him into a one-arm hug, locking him to his side like he belonged there and nowhere else, and Gaara admitted it was pleasant in all its unexpectedness. Naruto's hold was confident and friendly, like he was charging solely on this shared contact, and the smile on his lips grew more and more genuine. Gaara looked at his face, at his grinning lips, until quickly drawing his attention elsewhere, to the mundane, meaningless view that the window offered.

Naruto pulled him closer, how that was possible Gaara didn't know, for it felt like their proximity couldn't be increased any more than this, and maybe just instinctively Gaara wrapped his arm around his friend, too, just to show him he was not alone, not without support or friendship. That if he wanted, he could open up and tell him, for whatever had happened earlier this afternoon could never ruin his image of Naruto, the smiling statue that stood in the middle of his round orbit like a paragon of hope.

By nightfall the whole apartment shone spotless thanks to Naruto's endless efforts. The smell of fresh laundry lingered in the air, accompanied by the spicy aroma of ramen Naruto had cooked earlier.

Gaara sat on the floor, reading a book like always, tuning out the world like he had learned to, but tonight something felt different. Naruto lounged on the bed, laughing at the cheap jokes of a TV show, and rather than exercising his genuine delight it seemed he was just looking for an easy way to lift up his mood.

Kurama the plush toy enjoyed the evening in the blond's embrace, its glassy eyes glinting like the real thing every time TV screen changed its color. They looked so happy, the fox and the boy, and Gaara was needlessly reminded of those lonely evenings he and Kurama had spent here together. He was not jealous of the toy, that was not the case, and the idea of him sitting on Naruto's lap instead almost made him laugh.

But when the TV screen turned blue, the ocean-like depth in Naruto's eyes grew darker than Gaara was comfortable with. Clad in his oversized orange T-shirt, Naruto was like the epitome of exuberance yet when the camouflage wore off—like it did when the blond thought no one was studying him—he looked more sorrowful than anything else.

Gaara glanced at his phone, then at the armor of orange that was not fooling anyone.

He wondered if he should ask more, try once again to crack open the shell even despite the denial that was sure to come. Should he tell that he had his suspicions, his doubts, concerning what had happened? Would it wipe away that hurt glow from his friend's face?

With a secret, small smile, Gaara closed his book and glanced at the ridiculous plush toy that sat between Naruto's crossed legs.

"It's already past Kurama's bedtime. We should go to sleep," the redhead said.

Naruto looked surprised. "He has a bedtime?"

"Yes, because he has to wake up early. But sometimes he feels troubled, and after we have talked, it's easier for him to go to sleep."

Naruto averted his gaze and a shallow smile took over his lips. "You two have quite an odd relationship, don't you think?"

"Yes, but I wouldn't trade it into anything," Gaara only replied, staring somberly at his friend.

"Say, Gaara…" the blond began, smiling like he was amused but there was no humor in his eyes, "Do you ever sleep next to Kurama?"

"Yes, when he needs a friend."

A faint smile lifted up Gaara's lips, but the expression was gone before anyone could witness it. The blond stared at the plush toy, lovingly caressing its soft fur.

"You know, when I was a kid, Kurama was the first to know all my secrets. He never judged me," Naruto said tenderly.

"What would you say to him now?" Gaara asked, glancing at the childhood memento.

Naruto stared at the little fox deep in thought, as if he opened his soul at the thing in that very moment. But as soon as it happened, the sensation passed and Naruto placed the plush toy next to the pillow like he was suddenly ashamed.

"It's getting late. We should really get some sleep," the blond told and lay down on the bed.

Gaara read the room for a moment, wondering if the blanket Naruto was pulling over himself was an invitation or a rejection. But when the blue eyes peacefully closed and no urgent stress seemed to haunt his guest, Gaara only nodded and made his way into the closet.

The next morning Gaara woke up at 5:15 and sneaked out of the closet. Naruto snored lightly on the bed, holding the blanket in his embrace like it was a person. With a small smile Gaara made his way to the kitchen and started with the breakfast. At 5:50 he had already taken a shower and the rich aroma of coffee floated all around the apartment. Soft snores got stronger, and with a frown Gaara headed closer to the source.

Naruto was still clinging to his blanket like a child, muttering something incoherent in his sleep like he had no care in the world. Given how his phone tried to buzz him awake at steady intervals, Naruto had slept through all of his alarms.

"Wake up, Naruto," Gaara ordered, shaking him by the shoulder.

Sleepily the blond turned towards him, inhaling deeply like he was filling up his lungs to the brim, and let out a soft sigh. Gaara scowled and shook him more forcefully. A few drops of water fell down from his wet, red hair and landed on Naruto's face.

Blue eyes blinked open. The hazy, pleasant glow in the cobalt depths was soon replaced by alarm and guilt when the blond noticed the stern redhead staring daggers at him by the bedside.

"Get up. It's 6 o'clock already. There's breakfast there, and you need a shower, too," Gaara commanded and stomped into the kitchen.

But what he didn't notice was a pair of sharp blue eyes following the movement of his hips, of his legs until he was gone. But even then, the scent of his shampoo stayed in the main room and Naruto inhaled, closing his eyes with a soft sigh.

A week went on in a similar setting, Naruto fussing over the housework and Gaara waking him up in the morning after none of the blond's alarms managed to get him up.

By now Naruto was accustomed to the stern grip on his shoulder that shook him awake to another bittersweet day. He always responded with a sunny, sleepy smile, knowing his beams would undoubtedly reach their destination. Over the week, Gaara's all but amused glare had slowly softened into a look of neutral care. His frustrated, quick yanks had lost their harshness and towards the end of the week, Gaara's touch on Naruto's shoulders was almost tender, his palm smoothing down the material of his shirt a bit longer than was perhaps necessary.

Ever since his first night here, his friend had not pressured him to open up about his reasons to break up with Kankuro. The weight on his shoulders felt crushing at times, and the stone inside his heart made it harder to breathe. Keeping secrets from Gaara wasn't his intention, but tainting the brothers' relationship with his own mistakes was something he avoided at all costs.

An unexpected phone call drew Gaara from the main room. Naruto didn't miss the slight surprise that lifted up the redhead's nonexistent brows, or the uneasy rush that escorted him into the kitchen. When Gaara closed the kitchen door behind him, the last Naruto saw of him was his expressionless face, a mask too familiar to let Naruto believe that everything was alright underneath.

When Gaara eventually returned with that blank armor hiding whatever he was feeling, Naruto greeted him with the warmest of smiles. Gaara sat down on the orange rya rug, his fingers absentmindedly going through the soft, thick strings as if he was caressing someone's fur.

"Who was it?" Naruto asked friendlily, ignoring the dark cloud above the redhead.

"It was mom," Gaara said after a while, reaching for a book. It looked like he was escaping into the pages once again.

"How's your mom?"

The book was opened and jade eyes were already scanning the rows of letters. Like only a half of him was still present in the conversation, Gaara replied monotonously, "She's fine."

"Is she?" Naruto asked even though he knew their little chat had already ended.

Thirst woke him up from his dreams. Gaara told it to go away but it kept on burning on his tongue. But even worse than the need of water were the fading remains of his nightly illusions.

It was only a dream, yet it was more—he had died, lonely and unloved, and everyone who had ever known him was buried six feet under, deep into the ground that slowly erased all proof of them having ever existed. It was only a dream, yet it felt like the future that loomed frighteningly in his horizon, closer and closer by each passing day.

Mom had called him last night, at first showing interest in his life by little questions about his job and possible girlfriends he might be hiding from her, but soon she had locked into the familiar ramble about father, repeating all over again the things that were painfully familiar to everyone in their family. He knew she was lost and in need of support but he couldn't give her that. Mom refused to leave father, or maybe she just wasn't able to, and briefly Gaara remembered the bruises he had pretended not to see the last time he had visited home.

It was more than he could bear on his shoulders and when the call had ended, the sound of river had carried to his ears like its eternal promise was waiting for him.

Gaara opened the closet door and tiptoed into the kitchen. Quietly he poured himself a glass of water. The inevitable future that lay in front of him faded out all hope he had ever had. It was the river or the loneliness, either one of those but nothing more. The only freedom he had was to choose in which order he would have them: the death of his loved ones versus his own end.

He walked quietly back, not wanting to wake up his friend, and in the main room he glanced at the blond sleeping on the bed.

But the cobalt eyes were open, staring back at him, blue turned into black like a river at night, and Gaara had a strange urge of getting lost into that stream. Naruto didn't say a word, just stared at him seriously like he knew of his future intentions. The closet door left ajar waited for Gaara to re-enter but the lonely darkness haunting in there didn't fascinate him at all.

Cautiously Gaara sat down on the bed and suddenly he felt like he was on a ship, sailing along the river into a destination he had not been able to see before. He lay down and under the blanket Naruto's warmth faded away his loneliness. Blue eyes evaluated him with such depth that Gaara began to wonder if he had actually spoken in his sleep. How else could Naruto read him so easily, unless he had actual proof of his current desolation? It felt like Naruto drilled through all of his masks and saw his despair as raw as it was. It felt like he understood, even without words.

When Gaara pressed his head against Naruto's chest, the blond entwined his arms around him, silently caressing his hair in comfort. No words were needed.

In the shadows of the night, this embrace felt more real than anything else. The idea of Naruto being gone for eternity almost stopped Gaara's heart, where had that image even come from? The idea of loneliness, of life without Naruto, felt so frightening Gaara couldn't even enter the thought further. Exploring such dark idea felt like dipping his toes in ice cold water, and instinctively Gaara pulled his legs closer to his body. Naruto's arms tightened around him, swatting away the long claws of dread.

And little by little, the inevitable fate that had been written in his stars began to shift and morph into something new and unfamiliar. They sailed like that through the dead hours of the night, holding each other until the weight on Gaara's shoulders lifted up like in a cotton cloud. And when morning came, his murky insights felt distant and fragile. When sunny blue eyes sleepily opened and smiled at him warmly, the last of those late-night thoughts faded away like shadows in sunlight.

Gaara stayed in Naruto's embrace maybe a bit longer than necessary. It was Saturday and the whole world was oddly quiet. It felt like it was just the two of them in this building, in this city.

Naruto looked at him like the embodiment of sun, his eyelashes thick and dark up this close. Gaara lowered his gaze as unwelcomed heat bloomed on his face, hoping his avoidance would make it go away.

"Did you have a bad dream last night?" Naruto asked with an easygoing smile, but the attentiveness in his cerulean eyes didn't match it.

"Yes, just a bad dream," Gaara admitted, a bad dream born out of bad reality, and if his friend hadn't been here last night, he surely would've sailed into a horizon much darker than this cheery sunshine here.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Naruto asked and held his hand under the blanket.

Gaara bit his lip deep in thought, wondering if he wanted to bring out the shadows once again.

"Maybe some other time," he offered and his friend ruffled his hair encouragingly. But then Naruto's touch lingered a bit longer than either of them expected, as if he was unable to withdraw his hand but instead wanted to explore that silky red softness even further. And suddenly they jumped off the bed, Gaara first and Naruto following, like they were in the middle of an evacuation drill.

The apartment filled up with clatters and clanks as Naruto scraped up a hurried breakfast. By the time Gaara exited the bathroom coffee was brewed and when the blond gave him a full cup, the scent of Gaara's shampoo floated into his nose. Naruto stopped, until a second later he resumed to whatever task he had been doing.

A large envelope rested on the table, still unopened.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Gaara asked when he saw it. It had arrived yesterday and unlike usually, this time Naruto had not rushed to see the insides.

"I'm going to open it after breakfast," Naruto promised, his back turned to the room.

"You said that yesterday, too," the redhead replied, sipping his coffee, "What is it?"

The blond shrugged like something had landed on his shoulders and he wanted to drive it away. "Just some results, no big deal."

"I didn't know you have had a doctor's appointment," the redhead said just to keep the conversation going. The more avoidant his friend was acting, the more curious he found himself getting over the sealed envelope.

"Well you know, I have this habit of checking up myself after every… relationship I've had," Naruto said uneasily, like he was ashamed for some reason. "Just a routine thing to get sure that everything's alright."

"You're talking about sexually transmitted diseases?" Gaara asked, putting down his cup.

"Yeah, stuff like that," Naruto admitted and wiped the kitchen counter with wide, lazy moves. He rinsed the dishcloth and spread it to dry, "Just a routine checkup."

"Then how come you haven't opened it yet?" the redhead wondered, his fork stopping in mid-air as he started to ponder it. The piece of omelet dropped down to his plate and without noticing this, Gaara eventually put the empty fork in his mouth.

"Naruto…" Gaara began and lowered his cutlery altogether, "Don't tell me you're afraid you've caught something? Does this have something to do with you and Kankuro breaking up?"

"W-What? No, not at all," Naruto denied hastily with an uptight smile, "Everything's fine. The results are clean like always, so that's why there's no hurry to open that stupid thing."

Gaara evaluated him over his coffee mug, clearly not as gullible as his friend wanted him to be. "Open it, Naruto. I'm sick of seeing that thing on the table, it takes up room and gathers dust."

The blond was about to argue, but soon he realized what his friend had meant. It was silly to postpone this, and the sooner he faced it the sooner he could get on with his life. Kankuro was almost religious when it came to these tests, surely he had demanded Tenten to go through the same? Or was it just because he had been homeless and easily taken advantage of, that the brunet had demanded the results from him at every given turn?

Bracing himself, Naruto snatched the envelope like the whole thing was ridiculous and trivial. In a theatrical way he sliced it open and pulled out the papers. After a moment of blank processing his face lighted up to a bright smile.

"See, it's clean as I said," Naruto told and tossed the papers on the table.

Gaara glanced at the documents, then at his friend again, wondering about the sudden relief in Naruto's voice.

"No, Naruto, we can't eat ramen at every weekday there is," Gaara sighed and threw back the packets of noodles the blond had only moments ago scooped up from the shelf with unhinged excitement.

Naruto gripped the shopping cart more tightly as he witnessed the cruel action directed towards his favorite food.

"What's wrong with ramen?" he asked, pouting like a kid who was denied of sweets.

Like a parent with thinning patience, Gaara pinched the bridge of his nose and drew in a calm breath. "There is palm oil in the noodles, something you don't want piling up in your artery. The excess salt is no good for your blood pressure either, and the amount of fibers is also something not to be overjoyed about."

Naruto squinted skeptically, "For someone who is notorious for skipping meals, you know suspiciously much about nutrition. Hey, Gaara, don't tell me you're concerned about my health?"

The frown on the redhead's face deepened. "You are reading way too much into a simple thing like that."

"Are you trying to make me live longer, Gaara?" Naruto continued, leaning lazily on the shopping cart while following the briskly striding redhead between the aisles. Gaara's movements turned more rigid and frustrated the more he kept on bombarding him with questions like that, and behind his back Naruto snatched a bag of chips into the cart. Quicker than he could smile at his own sneakiness, Gaara turned around—no doubt alarmed by the suspicious rustle—and returned it back on the shelf.

"Aren't you in a happy mood today?" Naruto muttered but quickly shut up as a vicious glare was sent his way.

Naruto fell silent after that, his feet dragging along the vinyl flooring with each step as if they were too heavy to be lifted up. Gaara sighed. For the whole week his friend had been binge-eating a variety of treats, and while Gaara had nothing against Naruto's eating habits, he had a dreading feeling that behind that new habit was an attempt to drown out an unraveled problem. He had thought that perhaps if he denied Naruto his treats, his friend would open up more quickly to him. But as he glanced over at the pouting blond whose heavy steps sliding along the floor grew more and more annoying with every minute, he realized his strategy might've been amiss.

Without further ado he tossed a bag of popcorns into the cart and the moment Naruto's legs stopped making that awful lazy sound, a soft smile stole its way to Gaara's face. In no time Naruto appeared by his side with the cart, his posture straight and his feet almost floating in the air.

On their way home Gaara feverishly pondered how on earth he could make his friend open up, for clearly there was something weighing on his shoulders that he didn't want to open up about. Even now there was a perpetual smile on the blond's face as he gazed up at the darkened sky, swinging a grocery bag in his hand. A cheery hum made it look like he was happy, but the look in his eyes told otherwise.

While Gaara wanted Naruto to bring up his shadows so that they could dissolve them together, he realized how reluctant he had been to do so himself. His family was a sad story and he didn't want to strengthen the realism by opening up about it. But maybe if he tried, it could lure out Naruto's secrets, too.

"Dad is drinking daily now," Gaara began quietly, and at first he was sure his voice got lost in the sound of their steps. But Naruto turned to look at him with a mix of concern and sorrow. Then he took his hand and for a while they just walked like that, hand in hand.

"He has lost his job and their debt is only growing. At this pace they will go bankrupt," Gaara told, leaving out the part where they would end up homeless, because he knew Naruto surely understood the unsaid consequences.

Naruto squeezed his hand and let out a compassionate sigh. Somehow a sad smile was still on his face.

"Parents are the worst, aren't they?" the blond said with a bittersweet laugh and Gaara found himself almost smiling. How was that possible? Then again, around Naruto even the most unreal things were happening.

"Are your siblings in any contact with them?"

"I believe Kankuro and Temari are paying their bills, at least the ones they can't afford themselves," Gaara told, and he knew it wasn't just out of love, god no, but because none of them wanted their parents to end up homeless and be forced to accommodate them.

"Your sister sounds like a great person. And Kankuro, too," Naruto said but managed not to sound as casual as he perhaps intended. The nervousness in him grew and it stopped only when Gaara squeezed his hand.

"What happened with you two?" the redhead asked in hopes of getting something other in response than just polished untruths.

"Your brother is a kind man—"

"He has a tendency to lie because back at home, telling any unfavorable truth to our father was a wrong option. So he learned to hide himself in the groundless flatters just so that dad would buy it and calm down. It worked and the habit stuck, and in order to spare other people's feelings he conforms to them, because he is dead scared of confrontation," Gaara explained and then went on, "What actually happened between you two, Naruto? Every time you mention him you look like you had seen a ghost."

"Well it's a funny thing," the blond laughed weakly as if there was actually something humorous in the situation. Snow was gently falling from the sky and it stuck to his hair like a collection of diamonds.

"He had this thing going on with his co-worker, that Tenten you remember? You know, it's not like I wasn't to blame, because of that kiss you and me had back then. I wasn't faithful and maybe he saw it and—"

"Naruto."

The redhead silenced his ongoing ramble and his jade eyes looked haunted. He let go of the blond's hand, and before any bittersweet expression could take over Naruto's face, Gaara entwined his hand around Naruto's waist, pulling him to a sideway hug. They were standing in the middle of the street, in the yellow beams of streetlamps, snowflakes landing on their hair and crowning them with their short-lived shine.

"I don't want you to think differently about your brother, though, he's a wonderful brother and I would hate if this stupid thing made a difference in your relationship," the blond said and he looked like the saddest lost soul on earth.

Gaara reached out to his blond hair and smoothed it until the diamonds were gone. With cold fingers he caressed his whiskered cheek and why were his fingers warming up so quickly? Was it that blush taking over Naruto's cheeks that was to blame, or was it his own heart beating faster, pumping blood into his limbs and making him feel suddenly dizzy?

"I'm sorry to hear what happened," Gaara said and withdrew his hand, "Don't blame yourself. I know my brother."

The faint red didn't vanish from Naruto's cheeks even when they continued walking. That damned thing was spreading on Gaara, too, and just to make himself feel more comfortable Gaara decided that the heat on his cheeks had to be due to the freezing temperature.

But when Naruto took his hand and laced their fingers together, Gaara's heart gave a few odd beats until picking up speed and making him breathless. Naruto was humming again that carefree melody as if none of this affected him much, and the perpetual smile on his face shone more brightly than the streetlamps or the stars above them.

In the evening, the two of them were sitting on the bed, watching a meaningless movie. A bowl of popcorn sat between them. Naruto had found a new way to entertain himself, a habit Gaara was sure to uproot in the future, but for now he let his friend have his fun. Naruto threw popcorn in the air, trying to catch it with his mouth, and while he was astonishingly good at this sport, more than few pieces flew stray and hid into the sheets.

Popcorn landed on Gaara's hair and before he could do anything about it, Naruto was already there, going through his red locks like an ape grooming its mate, and then eating the runaway treat like there was nothing gross about it.

"You have no manners," the redhead snorted and shook his head.

"Yeah I know," Naruto grinned with his mouth full of popcorn, "I could not do anything like this at Kankuro's—"

The sentence was cut off like a sudden censorship had found the thought and decided to get rid of it. Naruto's fist was in mid-air, holding a ridiculous amount of popcorn Gaara was sure would still somehow fit in his friend's mouth all at once, and when once piece dropped on the sheets, Naruto broke free of his thoughts and resumed eating.

"You can be yourself in here," Gaara said after a while.

"You're going to regret telling me that," Naruto laughed and another piece of popcorn escaped his fingers and jumped into the sheets. "Once I take over this place you won't be able to recognize this."

Gaara eyed the poster of pork ramen, the orange rug, the Rudolf, the paper snowflakes glued on the windows… He glanced at Kurama, at the orange bed sheets Naruto had bought yesterday that were now covered in crumbs. Without looking he knew the three or two bottles of "Power Energy" soap that stood in the bathroom, floating their awful scent so persistently around the small space that he had no choice but to get used to it.

"I think you have already taken over this place," Gaara said wryly and wondered again how it had happened.

"You're right," Naruto laughed and stuffed more popcorn into his mouth.

Gaara turned his gaze at his friend, at his T-shirt covered in crumbs, at the whiskers on his cheeks that were stretched into his trademark smile, at the corner of his lips. Gently, he swiped his finger across the side of Naruto's mouth and the chewing stopped instantly.

"You had crumbs in there," Gaara explained while his gaze slowly lifted up from those soft lips to blue eyes full of surprise.

"There are crumbs everywhere," Naruto said weakly, but his eyes never left Gaara's, and in the bottom of endless blue a spark ignited.

Gaara placed his hand on Naruto's chest—the warmth he hadn't remembered until now almost made him twitch—and slowly smoothed the crumbs off. He was not sure when the last crumb was dusted off and when this gesture of care turned into a caress. The muscles on Naruto's stomach tensed when his hand traveled across it—a sharp little breath was inhaled at the same time—and when Gaara's palm slowly slid upwards, towards his shoulder, Naruto exhaled with restrain.

Haze filled up cobalt eyes and Gaara forgot how to breathe, too. Quickly he pulled his hand away as if it would somehow make the fog in his head clear up. But as soon as he broke the contact, Naruto's palm landed on his stomach, hot and heavy and burning him in places Gaara thought wasn't even possible.

"You had crumbs there," Naruto smiled all but innocently while his hand slid to Gaara's backside and under his shirt.

"I don't have crumbs under my shirt," Gaara managed to mutter but his voice came out too husky to sound actually grumpy.

With an amused look in his eyes Naruto leaned over Gaara, accidentally tipping over the bowl of popcorns in the process. Now there were crumbs literally everywhere but neither of them made a move to clean up the mess they had made.

"My bad," Naruto apologized for his clumsiness while his fingers slid into Gaara's hair, tilting his head backwards. When his soft lips pressed on his exposed throat, Gaara forgot how to breathe.

"I promise I will clean it up afterwards," the blond hummed way too carefreely, before his smiling lips found Gaara's jawline with well-aimed little kisses.

As if a bolted door finally surrendered the fight and burst open, all the R-rated fantasies Gaara had been careful to censor flooded into the room and made his skin tingle with questionable anticipation. The clothes they were wearing felt thinner than ever as if the heat of Naruto's body melted them away. It was stupid how easily Gaara was affected by a simple contact like this, and when the fingers in his hair gently pulled his head back even more, he felt electrified as if he had stuck a fork in the wall socket.

Naruto pressing his crotch against his ass and bending him over the kitchen table before breakfast was served. Naruto lifting him up against the tiles in the bathroom and his tiny towel getting lost in the movement. Orange rug chafing against their knees during commercial break, pants lowered to their ankles and the coffee table serving as a squeaking support against Naruto's fervent thrusts.

Gaara was blushing furiously. He tried to concentrate on being angry, angry that his friend was able to turn him into a mindless pile of pudding like this. But all these plans flew away from his head when Naruto's thigh—accidentally or not—found its way between his legs. The uncompromising pressure that landed on Gaara's aching crotch felt hardly like a mistake, and when he gripped the back of Naruto's shirt a little more tightly, that damned, delighted hum was in his ear again. He wanted to shut his mouth—or at least, make it less obvious who was having the upper hand here.

"Na-Naru-to…" his velvet stutter whispered and the goddamned humming stopped almost instantly. Biting his tongue so that he wouldn't burst out laughing at the sudden seriousness in Naruto, Gaara brushed his lips against his cheek with a husky sigh. As an answer to the light shade of red that exploded on Naruto's face, Gaara chewed on his lower lip as if he was full of restrained innocence. The blue depths in Naruto's eyes began to boil as if someone had turned on a kettle.

In his mind Gaara could hear the loud whistle of a tea kettle signaling that the temperature had reached its highest possible point and water was evaporating not only on the surface, but on the inside too. The steam coming from Naruto made Gaara hot, too, and in one graceful movement the blond took his hand and pinned his wrist above his head.

The whistling sound got only stronger in Gaara's head when Naruto touched his lower lip with his thumb, his endless gaze boring straight into Gaara's half-lidded eyes. With one innocent lick Gaara greeted the finger resting on his lip, blinking his eyes like he was oblivious to the innuendo his actions carried. Naruto's hold on his wrist tightened, it felt like his whole body was shaking from excitement, and that damned carefree hum was long gone.

"You do realize what you are doing to me, Gaara?" the blond asked, his voice husky and weak, his blue eyes clouded with immense desire.

The redhead blinked innocently, giving a soft lick to the thumb that was forgotten on his lips.

"You caught me," Gaara breathed, softly moving his wrist against Naruto's tight hold as if proving a point, "What are you going to do to me now?"

Blood coursed through Naruto's veins faster than light, shooting south and making his pants tighter than ever. His heart was pounding like a hammer, his breath shallow and rapid, and the unmistakable desire reflecting in the jade eyes almost did him then and there.

Naruto pressed his lips against Gaara's, trying to keep it calm but sooner than he knew, their tongues met. The muscles on Gaara's arm tensed. Naruto's hold on him tightened. Gaara caressed Naruto's earlobe with his teeth, his fervent desire audible in his fast-paced breaths, and unapologetically he ground his hips against the target of his fantasies. The pressure was getting too much to handle. He needed relief.

The bed was squeaking under their restless weight, and a pillow dropped down to the floor. Naruto was tugging up Gaara's shirt, he was throwing his own on the floor somewhere. The clinking of belt buckles drowned into the expectant moans that fired up from every daring touch, and the small corner of late-night fantasies in Gaara's brain took over.

The crumbs of popcorn stuck to skin but neither of them noticed. Thanks to a spoken plea Gaara's wrists were tied to the headboard like he preferred, and for once Naruto understood to not question his choice, but let his belt go to better use than just lying on the floor with the rest of their clothes.

Naruto's touch sliding all over his naked legs and thighs made Gaara arch his back. For once he was too caught up in the moment to long for intoxication, as if he had forgotten he was about to let another person on his skin. Naruto's touch found his neck and the small of his back, his chest and stomach and when he finally seized Gaara's cock, pale skin all over heated up and a sultry blush took over his face.

The belt around his wrists tried its best to keep his trembling body in place when Naruto took him into his mouth. The tongue swirling around his tip almost did him on that instant, but as if knowing his nonexistent limit Naruto had the audacity to slow his pace. With every caress Gaara felt like on edge. This was the moment he had secretly pictured in the private rooms of his mind, behind windows fogged with steam. Having the real Naruto want him this way felt like a thought too big for his swollen brain to process. Naruto wanted him, and the idea made him more feverish than any fantasy so far. It was more than enough to make tectonic plates collide, fireworks light up in the sky and champagne corks pop off when built-up tension was finally too much to handle anymore.

"I-I'm c-c-coming—" he warned but Naruto never pulled his mouth away.

It was too much, the sight of Gaara breathing heavily, wrists finally resting relaxedly against the belt, his black eyelids almost closed and his eyes staring at him but seeing nothing. His cheeks were flushed with unashamed red and a light tremble was shaking up his body.

When Naruto eventually freed him from his restrains, Gaara sat up shakily, not paying attention to the pieces of popcorn glued to his back. The only thing he had eyes for lay in front of him in a shape of perfect blond, with skin tanned even in the middle of winter, cerulean eyes hazed with desire.

"Y-You don't have to… if you haven't done this before," Naruto stuttered when Gaara touched his hips.

Oh how ironic it was to see the mighty blond stuttering like he had lost his brain, his boldness momentarily lost and no trace of dominance left in his trembling limbs. For an answer to Naruto's courtesy Gaara kissed him once and then lowered down between his legs.

No more than a touch on Naruto's cock was needed to make the blond moan in anticipation. Gaara licked the precum from the tip and Naruto hissed, his breathing fast and excited, his cobalt eyes dark and fiery like a boiling ocean. His voice was light and needy, almost innocent, but the desire dwelling in his foggy blue eyes told that this pressure glowing through his skin had been building up for a long time already. His fervor only deepened when Gaara took him into his mouth, his actions cautious and tentative due to lack of experience. But none of it seemed to matter when all the blood rushed into that one ready-to-burst organ, making Naruto stone-hard between Gaara's lips, and when the redhead innocently glanced up at the blond, it was the thing that finally did it.

"G-Gaara, I'm—" he never got to finish his sentence when Gaara gripped his hip, riding him through the climax with his tongue and mouth. Sweet, airy and out-of-breath whimpers flying away from Naruto's throat were like music to Gaara's ears. The beautiful blond mess that rested on the sheets was forever engraved into his memories, memories he was sure to visit maybe more often than he ever let anyone know.

Under the shower Naruto held him in an embrace, the water and his touches caressing Gaara all over, and if it hadn't been the endorphins clouding Gaara's judgment, he would've never let Naruto wash him with that god-awful soap. Now they both smelled like "Power Energy" and Gaara coughed as a weak protest. While he silently muttered complaints about the notorious scent, at the same time he had a feeling like Naruto was all over his skin.

Gaara's wrists were still red from the belt, his jade eyes full of challenge and life Naruto had never seen before. Just that one look inviting him further was enough to make him want to go again. But then amusement filled up the jade depths and Gaara stepped away from the shower, turning the temperature cool. Naruto yelped and turned it off, refusing to find the humor in that joke. As an answer to his pouting, Gaara only threw a towel at his head.

Tenten breathed serenely next to him, fast asleep like she had no care in the world. After making sure she wouldn't wake up, Kankuro took his phone and started writing a message.

'Inuzuka, my man! Wanna bone like last time? I'm available this evening.'

Smiling a little by himself, he sent it.

Two seconds later, Tenten's phone beeped loudly on the nightstand.

"Mmmh?" she mumbled sleepily, cracking one eye open.

Kankuro blinked as he noticed to whom he had accidentally sent his dirty little invitation.

Shit. Shit. Shit!

"G-Go back to sleep, hon. It was nothing," Kankuro cooed and kissed her forehead.

"No, it sounded like a text. I better check it. What if it's about Granny?" she said, more awake now, referring to her relative who had been suddenly hospitalized two days prior.

"Look, why don't we just rest for a while longer. If it's important, they'll call you," Kankuro tried to prevent her from getting up. He glanced at the phone resting on the nightstand, wondering if it was protected by a password of some kind.

"Let's just go back to sleep, hon," he cooed.

But she had other thoughts and snatched the phone from the nightstand before he could stop her.

"Oh, it's from you?" she smiled quickly before tapping the message open.

But her sweet smile quickly turned into a look of horror. Horror was followed by sadness but it didn't last long, as anger took her over.

"What the hell is this, Kankuro?" she demanded loudly and sprung out of the bed.

He got up, too and tried to master up his most innocent expression. "You got it all wrong. It was just a joke."

"A joke? Really, Kankuro," Tenten hissed dangerously and stepped closer to him. "Is that what you two did on his cottage last weekend?"

"N-No, I could never cheat on you, hon―"

"Stop calling me that. You're lying," she spat and hurt flashed in her hazel eyes. "I… I knew there was something going on. I thought you were just stressed, but then I started noticing the way you act around Kiba and how you always found time for him, even though to me you told you were too busy to even talk to."

"Look, we're just friends―"

"Cut that crap, Kankuro. The least you can do is be honest with me," Tenten cut him off angrily and cracked her knuckles, a habit she had learned from her years-long martial arts activity.

Kankuro gulped, anticipating a punch before realizing Tenten was a fine lady. She wouldn't hit him.

And she didn't. But she gripped his front and lifted her knee up to meet his crotch and before he knew it, he was crouching on the floor and clutching his family jewels in apparent pain.

"Shit… Tenten," he wailed as the pain refused to subside.

"You're the shithead here, Casanova. And I'm not through with you yet. I'm going to call Kiba and tell him what an arsehole you are. And then I'm going to demand he fires you, or what would be even better, that he'd make you one of those toilet cleaners so that you'd be face to face with the shit that you are," Tenten snapped and hurriedly gathered her belongings.

"Tenten―"

"I don't want to see you ever again," she cut him off angrily and stormed out of the apartment.

Silently cursing, Kankuro slouched to the bed and plopped down on it. He found his phone and called the only person in the world he felt like he could really open up his heart to.

"Yo, what's up?" Kiba's voice called from the other end of the line.

"Hi. Got a minute?" Kankuro asked with a tired voice.

"Always for you, hehe. What is it this time?" his boss asked.

"I screwed it up. Tenten found out. And she's going to call you," Kankuro explained and rubbed his face.

"Aw man, with the way you were living your life that was bound to happen. Didn't I tell you to treat her nicely? Don't tell me she let you go without a good kick in the nuts, eh?" Kiba chuckled and it made Kankuro smile a bit, too.

"Well, she found the place that hurt me the most," he admitted, rubbing his face tiredly.

"You're a shithead, Kankuro. It's time you learn your lesson, don't you agree?" Kiba continued. He sounded good-mooded and carefree, how was it possible he was always like that? Like a summer cloud sailing in the sky, free and bound by nothing.

"I'm an idiot, alright. But what do I do know?" he asked with a pained voice.

"You gotta apologize to her. And to Naruto, too. But if I were you, I'd wait for a couple of days for her to calm down. If you piss her off even more, it won't be pretty. Trust me, I know. And thanks to you, I'm going to get an earful of complaints too. Do you think just because I'm her boss she would spare my pitiful nuts from her kick?" Kiba said and chuckled again like only he could.

His laughter brought a cloudless, azure sky to his mind. And he could already see his boss with his mind's eye, sitting on the deck of a white boat with a glass of expensive champagne. It was summer and they were alone on the sea. But now it was winter, and he didn't even know if he owned a boat.

"Alright. I'm going to apologize to them," Kankuro promised.

"Yeah, you do that," Kiba encouraged him. His smile was audible in his voice and again Kankuro found himself responding.

"But you know, Kankuro, you gotta talk to someone about this," Kiba suddenly turned serious. "What you're doing isn't cool. You got some serious problems if you think you can act like that."

"Yeah, I know," Kankuro sighed and rubbed his face again, "I'm going to fix it, I promise."

"You do that, or as your boss, I'll send you into therapy," Kiba told concernedly.

"Got it. Thanks," Kankuro replied.

"If you wanna talk, we could go to my cottage this weekend. There are some quality-wines I'd like to introduce to you," Kiba invited.

Kankuro snorted. "That sounds like you're trying to get me tipsy again."

"Ooh, what if I was?" Kiba chuckled, "That was one heck of a night, I tell you."

"It sure was," Kankuro sighed and smiled slightly, "It was nice talking to you, man. I mean it."

"Hey, no problem. You're a good guy, when you stop being such an asshole," Kiba reminded him.

"Thanks," Kankuro sighed tiredly and hung up.

He rubbed his face and tried to gather his wandering thoughts. Kiba's smile refused to leave his mind. Imagination was such a beautiful place. They were in the middle of a meadow, walking hand in hand. All he could see was his young boss. Sun was behind him, coloring the tips of his brown, spiky hair into an auburn crown. His canine-like eyes were squinted shut and when he grinned, his sharp fangs perfected that white row of teeth.

Out of all the people he had ever met, Kiba was the first one to see through the layers of his lies.

In the very beginning his boss had made it clear that lying wouldn't work on him, but instead of ever being angry at Kankuro's natural attempts of fooling him, he always kept his cool and approached his sayings in an analytical way.

Kankuro had not expected that.

He had expected anger, disappointment and… violence. Or at least some sort of humiliation and hurt.

But his boss never descended to that. Patiently, time after time, Kiba expressed his opinions and thoughts―which at times were brutally honest and perceptive―and maybe tried to make him see that lying and manipulation would only lead to a dead end.

That was only one of the reasons he enjoyed his company. Although being wealthy and relatively good-mannered―at least as long until his patience was truly tested―Kiba Inuzuka never hid his true orientation if it happened to come up. He didn't flaunt with his identity but wasn't ashamed of it either, and the last thing he would let happen was to be crammed into a narrow closet of close-mindedness.

Kiba was aware of his simultaneous relationships.

In the very first evening Kankuro had told him about Naruto and Tenten. At that point, he had already been glancing at the door, expecting to be kicked out at any upcoming minute. Instead, Kiba had laughed like he knew it all along, and told him to grow a spine and get a grip on his life.

Sure, his boss hadn't refused to have a little fling with him, too, but had warned him that if their relationship would ever take a more serious turn, he would have to say goodbye to his lovers.

Up until now, they were only goofing around. He could tell Kiba wasn't really serious with him.

Even so, Kankuro couldn't help but feel drawn to him and his painful honesty.

A/N: I hope Gaara's kink wasn't upsetting to anyone, that was not my intention. ^^" I don't know if he will give it up after this.