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Chapter 10

It was five in the morning when Temari got in the next day. She had fallen behind in her work the day before (for reasons that were clearly not her fault) and needed to catch up. The last thing she needed was someone higher up noting her absence. The turbulence caused by Sasuke's foul mood the night before had masked her disappearance slightly- apparently everyone assumed she had just been scared off.

Catching up on her work seemed to be a lost cause however, because when she arrived at the office the strangest sight caught her gaze. At the end of the office, two desks down from where Temari worked, was one of the boardrooms that were often used during negotiations, and it had been set up for the second of the Konoha-Kishimoto meetings. Now, Sasuke was always there early, but five was beyond even him. Which is why if a man like Sasuke refused to drag himself to work until seven at the earliest, it seemed nearly impossible that the ever-late Naruto was sitting slouched, but awake in the otherwise empty boardroom.

The closer she got, the more anxious she became. The blond's hair was hopeless ruffled, gold spikes flipped out in loose, drooping juts. Blue eyes were hooded, and dark circles marred his unusually dull skin. He was in a suit, but it looked as unkempt as his hair. The shirt was wrinkled, buttoned wrong, and half-untucked, and his pants were rumpled hitched above his ankles. His jacket was tossed in a heap on the boardroom table. If that wasn't bad enough, the boy's eyes held a shaky, haunted look that she nearly recognized.

Oh Gaara, what have you done?

Temari tapped on the door lightly, but received no response from the pretty little blond. She pushed into the room, and slowly approached, watching his face wearily. Come on, boy. She thought darkly. You have more fight left in you than that, don't you?

"Naruto-sama?" She murmured, shaking his shoulders. His eyes flickered, and he looked at her.

"Temari-chan." He murmured. "What are you doing here?" His voice was husky and thick, but a dim light seemed to reappear in his eyes. Temari smiled. That ah boy.

"Working. What are you doing here?" Naruto gave her a weak, shaky smile.

"Sleeping?...Or trying too, I guess." Temari shook her head, rolling her eyes. Reaching out, she straightened the mans shirt and tied his tie.

"And you thought that it would be more comfortable to do it in these nice, wooden chairs than at home in a bed?" Naruto's smile instantly faded, and he looked away.

"I couldn't stay there. I couldn't seem to get warm." Temari pursed her lips, and did her best to finger comb his hair.

"Maybe you need someone to heat you up." She teased, hitting his shoulder playfully. "The pretty little Hyuuga, perhaps?" Naruto flushed, blue eyes regarding her with nervousness.

"Or maybe…someone a little less…delicate?" She hinted, her eyes flickering with knowing. Naruto's color faded into a pale white. Temari felt herself unbearably torn. She knew what she was supposed to do. She knew what Gaara expected from her.

She had done what she could. She had tried. But from now on, it was up to them. If they weren't strong enough to wade the harsh current, they were meant to drown.

"Wanna tell me why you're not at home, sleeping through half the day?" Naruto sighed, and crossed his arms on the table, burying his face in his arms.

"I don't know if…if I'm doing the right thing here." Naruto murmured. Temari stood, picking up his jacket and shaking out the wrinkles. She knew better than to respond. Ranting was all the blond really needed now. "Sometimes it seems like here is where I'm supposed to be, you know? Like I belong here. But then, there are other times when…" Temari noted his pause and glanced over, his eyes were on her. Her eyes softened, and she sat, placing his jacket gently into her lap.

"Temari- do you think people can change? Deep down, you know? Can people change who they are?" The blond woman froze. This question struck her deeper than she was willing to admit. For a brief moment her mind flickered and a dark feeling welled up inside of her.

"Temari? Are you alright?" The shaken girl jumped slightly and her attention flashed back to the present.

"Yes…I was just…thinking. That is….quite a question, Uzumaki-san." The blue eyed man bit his lip, and looked down meekly. "But…I'm afraid I've never met anyone strong enough to change. Not once, in my life." She murmured sadly, stroking his jacket in her lap absently. Not even me. The same old troublemaker.

The blond male immediately deflated a detached look in his eyes.

"I see." He whispered, and rose slowly to his feet. Temari watched him, unable to feel guilty. She hadn't lied for Gaara- what she had said was the truth. The fact that it worked in Gaara's favor was no fault of hers.

"Where are you going?"

"It's almost six. Sakura-chan will be here early to prepare. There were forms she wanted me to go over." His voice was distant and monotone and Temari reassured herself that she wasn't guilty. There was no need for guilt. She had done NOTHING wrong.

"Temari…thanks. It feels good, talking to you. It helps me…sort everything out." The fiery woman froze, her body going weak.

"You're always causing problems. You complicate everything."

As Naruto's back vanished down the hall, Temari sank lifelessly back into the chair. Because, God, suddenly the guilt was unbearable.

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"I know all about you, Uzumaki-san." Gaara purred, his green eyes burning into the back of Naruto's skull. "You're a runner, Uzumaki. That's why the world calls to you." The blond shuddered. Somehow, they had become hopelessly tangled on the floor. Naruto vaguely remember trying to escape-to get as far from this strange, intense figure that was baring down on him. Was that when Gaara had tackled him?

He was kneeling now, one arm supporting his weight while the other gripped the ledge of his coffee table. One of Gaara's cold hands was digging painfully into his wrist, while the other was wrapped around his shoulders and clutching at his hair. One of his legs was jammed between the trembling blonds things, not quite touching the crux of his legs.

"You want to run, even now." Gaara's breathed moved continuously, up his neck, down his cheek, near his ear. "You're body is strung tight. You'd bolt across the room if I let you." Naruto didn't understand what had happened. It was as if something in Gaara had snapped. Desperation, heat, need, anger, pain…too many things echoed in the rough hiss of Gaara's speech. All control had seeped out of him, leaving a man barely recognizable as the apathetic red head.

"It's in your blood. That will never change. You can't change what lies in your soul. That is all you are. You can never be happy here with that…man." The hand on his wrist grabbed his thigh roughly, digging his fingers into the gasping boy's jeans. Naruto's eyes stared ahead, distant and unfocused. His heart beat mercilessly in his ears, not quite drowning the vicious words out. Naruto's breathing consisted of choking gasps and confused pants. He felt like the air was being drained out of the room with each word Gaara growled.

"He's tied you up. Looked you in a little cage so he can take you out and play with you whenever he wants. What good are you to him, really? Think of him. What ties you together?" Naruto felt dampness on his cheeks, but refused to believe he was crying. Not like this, not here with his man. But, god, his thigh was aching with the pressure of Gaara's fingers. "Does he know how you dream at night? Does he know how you look into the distance and image another life? Would he resent you if he knew? Would he think you were ungrateful?"

"You don't know him." Naruto rasped, suddenly feeling a surge of faint energy return at Gaara's vicious attack on Sasuke. He jerked his body trying to unbalance the towering older male, but Gaara's only reaction was to slide his hand up Naruto's leg further, until it was only centimeters from the inner curve of his thigh.

"What don't I know? He sneers at you when you give to money to the beggar outside your building…"

"You don't know!"

"He scolds you when you eat food from sidewalk vendors."

"Stop it!"

"He wouldn't even see you, if you were right in front of him." Naruto's eyes went wide and he felt his whole body lock up. He could see himself, walking along some busy road, on his way to wherever; he could see himself crossing paths with him…

And he could see Sasuke's eyes look right through him. Is that how it would have been, if they had never met? For some reason, Naruto felt he would have seen Sasuke. There was some strange energy that flowed from the man that Naruto thought would make it impossible for him to ignore.

But what about him? If the sun was at their backs, and the shadows fell across their faces…Would Sasuke still know it was him?

"You don't know." Naruto whispered, feeling Gaara's grip on him loosen slightly.

"Do you?" Gaara demanded his voice start to settle. His thumb drew circles at the spot where he had gripped Naruto's thigh violently. His lips rested on Naruto's neck in a gesture that was more from exhaustion than sensuality. Naruto frowned.

"Why are you doing this?" The blond pleaded, confusion finally forcing it's way past vulnerability. Gaara's face twisted with hesitation.

"I don't remember."

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Gaara lay lifelessly in his chair as the minutes passed. In three hours he would need to be himself again. It was taking everything he had to collect the pieces of himself and rashly shove them back into a passable construction of himself. He was spent. Whatever had happened with Naruto- and he was having a difficult time remembering- had driven something out of him he had thought was long ago dissolved. There was a light knock on his office door, but he did nothing. Just stared into the distance much as Naruto had done.

Kankuro entered, his dark eyes lined with a mix of concern and fear. Gaara would have snarled if he had noticed the other man's presence. But he was far to gone for that.

"Gaara." He red head lifted his chin in response, but his eyes refused to focus. "Everything is ready. The consecration dinner is tonight, with the Otoyos. We invited the Uchiha and his associates, remember?"

"Of course." Gaara's voice had finally returned to normal, dispassionate and blank.

"Do you think…Will you be…"

"Shut up." Dark eyes flickered with concern. Whether it was for Gaara or for himself, the red head didn't care. He despised Kankuro. After sending Temari away, their father had doted on Kankuro, his only male heir. Before Gaara had lashed out and ripped his life into pieces, his father had been prepping the clever if not devious young man to take over for him.

Now, he worked as Gaara's heir. The red head hated him worse than he hated his father.

So why was he still here?

"Don't let me see your face again, Kankuro. Not today." The man's facial expression didn't change, but a look of odd disappointment flashed in his eyes. Gaara always found it unsettling when he looked at him like that.

It was as if he was hurt.

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"Father….Father I don't what to go, father. Let me stay here! I'll be a good girl…"

"This is the third time, Temari. Kicked out of school for fighting. That's no way to behave. I'm sending you to a good school; they'll keep an eye on you."

"But…Daddy….I don't want to go! I'll be good! I won't fight anymore!"

"You were born to cause trouble. It's in your blood."

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Author's notes

I spent three days arguing with myself about how to write this chapter, so if this is a complete piece of….dirt…yeah…right…dirt…I'm sorry. I have finals coming up, so writer's block is attacking me rather viciously. I also am aware that there is no Sasuke in this chapter. I'm incredibly sorry. I'm disappointed myself- I'm dying to write about him. But everything is set, and the next chapter will definitely be about, if not entirely focused on, Naruto and Sasuke.

I can't think of anything else to say.

Uh….

Group projects are evil, my dogs are the most gorgeous creatures in the universe, sweatpants make my butt look big but DAMN are they comfy, I've discovered I have no upper-body strength, If real guys dressed the way Anime guys dressed I'd be a complete slut, Go onto YouTube and watch a video called Narutowned, I swear to god it's hilarious, and why is it you only run into people you know when you're hair is doing that weird thing were it flips out funny and you're eyes are all dark and baggy from cramming the night before?

…..Yeah, that will have to do…

Sincerely,

I'm-not-a-hippie-I-was-born-with-this-hair