Disclaimer: Naruto is mine. NARUTO IS ALL MINE. -gets shot by lawyers and whacked repeatedly by bibles and briefcases- Eh...Naruto belongs to Kishimoto.

A/N: FINALLY SOME BOYLOVE!!!!!! OMG OMG So the GaaNaru finally comes into play!!! In a very...shall we say familiar way? Heh heh heh.

I'm sorry to say that I probably won't be updating again for a very long time. No, it's not because I'm fishing for reviews again!!! (Speaking of which, my required number was not met. You guys made me sad :( But moving on) I start school next week and as per the rules of my house, I will not be allowed to whore around willy-nilly on the computer except on the weekends, which cuts down tremendously on the time I have to work on my stories. So I'm very sorry.

Anyway, on with the story:D

Chapter Six: Can I Love Again? A Desert Rose Does Not Prick a Golden Nightingale?

Recap:

On that first day back at Konoha High, they each sat in their homes, away from the populace, away from friends, alone with nothing to comfort them but bad memories. They held their pain deep within their hearts, within their souls, locked away in a box that only opened when no one else was there.

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"Gaaaaaaaaaaaraaaaaaaa::heart::" sang Naruto as the redhead walked into the building. He grinned and hugged the boy tightly. "Did you have a good sleep?"

"No," answered the redhead shortly. Naruto was undeterred, however.

"Aww, that's too bad. Maybe you should take a hot bath and go to bed early tonight, that usually helps me when I'm sick or I need to sleep or—"

"That's not it, I'm just an insomniac by nature," cut in Gaara. Naruto tilted his head to the side innocently and Gaara felt something strange stirring up somewhere in his chest; but the feeling passed just as quickly as it had come.

"Well, at any rate, have you seen Sasuke or Yuki anywhere? I've been looking for them for the longest time but I can't seem to find them."

"I just walked into the building, Naruto."

"I know that."

"Well then, how could I possibly have seen them?"

"….that's a good point." Gaara mentally smacked his forehead. My God, this blonde was denser than a troll dipped in mud. Which is pretty damn dense.

The blonde in question was busy scanning the crowd of students, his eyes narrowed in concentration. Suddenly his face split into a wide grin as he grabbed Gaara's arm and pointed. "Look, there's Yuki!! HEY!!! YUKI!!! OVER HERE!!!!!!!!!"

Within a matter of seconds, the redhead had elbowed her way through the sea of kids and smacked Naruto on the back. "Hey there, Naru! Hey, Gaara! What's up?"

As Naruto began to talk about "what was up", Gaara found himself staring relentlessly at the chattering boy. He drank in the sight of his silky, golden hair, his wide, innocent cerulean eyes, his slim figure, his smooth tanned skin. It was only when Naruto turned to wave at someone behind Gaara that the redheaded boy snapped out of his trancelike state. What was wrong with him…?

"Hi Saucegay!!" sang Naruto, waving madly. Sure enough, a boy with a duck-butt haircut appeared from behind Gaara and whacked the blonde squarely on top of the head.

"Don't call me 'Saucegay'" he muttered dangerously. Naruto held his head in his hand, tears springing to his clear eyes.

"Meanie!! Gaara, Saucegay's being mean to me!!" wailed Naruto as he clung to Gaara. The aforementioned redhead blinked once, then twice before gently shoving Naruto away.

"…OK…so?" Naruto gave a gasp of mock surprise. "How could you be so indifferent to my pain?" he said tearfully. He was about to launch into a woeful monologue when a sudden yelp interrupted him. He turned to find Sasuke's older brother with his arms around Yuki's waist, hugging her from behind.

"Mmm…after so long apart, all I get for a greeting is a little yelp? Maybe I've got to show you just how much I love you again…" murmured Itachi, gently kissing Yuki's neck. She squirmed but stopped resisting when he reached an especially sensitive part of Yuki's skin, right on her collarbone where the neck joins with the body. Yuki gave a small groan before stepping on Itachi's foot, making him recoil.

"Save it for after school, weasel boy," teased Yuki, wiggling out of her teacher/lover's grasp. "You work your magic on me this early in the morning, why, I might not be able to make it through the day." Itachi merely smirked and embraced her from behind again, this time making no attempt to kiss her.

Seeing the display of affection caused a brief pang of longing in Gaara's heart. How he had longed for love as a child, how he had believed he had it in his grasp, only to watch it slip painfully away from him, like so many grains of sand in the vast desert he had once called home…

"Gaara? Earth to Gaara!!"

The eyelinered boy was pulled back to the real world by someone shaking him gently by the shoulders. Someone very blonde and with the most gorgeous eyes he had ever seen…

"Are you alright, Gaara? You had me worried for a second, you kind of spaced out a bit there."

As Gaara opened his mouth to say "I'm fine", two things happened at that very moment.

One, someone bumped into Naruto from behind, pushing him forward just a bit.

Two, as his face was already quite close to Gaara's in the first place, the slight push caused him and the redheaded boy to get caught in a liplock.

There was a very, VERY awkward silence as the entire student body (the ones that were in school at the moment, anyway) watched the two boys kiss. The wail of gay babies being born could almost, almost be heard. (1)

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Gaara didn't know what to think. He couldn't think. Time seemed to slow down from the point of lip contact onward. He registered the fact that Naruto's lips were exceptionally soft and warm. It seemed the only rational thought forming in his head at the moment.

As a result of his brain usage (or rather, lack thereof) instinct took over and he deepened the kiss, his tongue skimming over the smaller boy's lip, trying to gain entrance. Naruto gasped a little and Gaara took advantage of this, slipping his tongue into the blonde's mouth. He explored the warm cavern, tasting the boy. Naruto moaned slightly, now kissing the redhead back. Pale fingers wove into strands of gold and Gaara was completely lost now, lost in the moment, lost in their kiss.

The harsh ring of the school bell tore the moment into tiny, bite-sized pieces and the previously awed students hurriedly dispersed, not wanting to be late to homeroom. The only ones left were Sasuke, Yuki, Itachi, and of course Gaara and Naruto. They had broken apart the moment the bell had rung out and were now dealing with their actions in their own way. Naruto's way involved a lot of blushing, stuttering, and twiddling his fingers in a manner that made him eerily resemble Hinata. Gaara simply stood there, blushing lightly and staring at a nonexistent speck on the floor.

"That...was so totally hot," said Yuki. Her voice was slightly muffled, as she was holding her hand over her mouth and nose. A small puddle of bright red lay at her feet. She motioned to Itachi and he pulled a tissue out of his pocket, handing it to her. She took it and pressed it to her nose, instantly staining it red. Sasuke looked at her and sweatdropped.

"Well, at any rate...it wouldn't do for you three to miss class," said Itachi calmly as he scooped Yuki into his arms, bridal style. "Run along now."

"And where exactly are you taking Yuki, Itachi?" asked Sasuke suspiciously.

"The infirmary, of course," said Itachi airily, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world (and if he were anyone other than a H-A-W-T psycho perv then it would be; but since that is not the case, i digress). "Can't you see she's bleeding from the nose?"

"I dogn'd bind ib dere's lods ad lods ob boylub! (I don't mind if there's lots and lots of boylove!)" said Yuki from behind the tissue. She was wearing an insane, yaoi-fangirl crazed smile on her face. This time everyone sweatdropped at her.

"At any rate, I'll see you all at lunch..." Itachi walked off with Yuki, leaving the three adolescent boys alone. Much silence was had.

"A-a-ah, we'll be l-late for homer-room," stammered Naruto, picking up his dropped bookbag and pulling on the other two. Gaara noticed that while Naruto took Sasuke's hand, he was being dragged along by his shirt sleeve. So their kiss had affected the blonde. Very, very profoundly, it seemed.

Things were about to get interesting.

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"Mr. Uzumaki?"

"Uh...Gaara?"

The class exploded into giggles.

"No, Mr. Uzumaki, the equation for the speed of light is not 'Gaara'. See me after school on Monday--you have detention for your lack of an attention span." Orochimaru smirked and turned to the blackboard, writing the correct equation in dusty white chalk.

Naruto groaned inwardly. Ever since he'd been kissed by Gaara he'd been spacing out all day. He was constantly thinking about the redhead, about how pale his skin was, the intensity in his jade eyes, his soft, warm lips...

He shook his head vigorously. No, no, no!!! He had to stop spacing out!! What if Orochimaru--

"--asked you a question, Mr. Uzumaki." Naruto stared blankly at his teacher.

"Uh...I don't know, sir." Orochimaru's eye twitched slightly and he strode to Naruto's seat. He gently lifted the boy's chin with one long, pale finger and said in a dangerously silky voice "I think we'll have to extend your detention an extra hour, Mr. Uzumaki."

Naruto groaned inwardly and slammed his head into his desk. Orochimaru smirked and strode smugly to the front of the class. Gaara glanced at the blonde beside him, who had yet to raise his head from the surface of the desk. He faintly hoped the boy hadn't cracked his skull or something.

And yet, who could blame him for his spaciness? That accidental liplock had spun his world out of orbit as well. He couldn't understand it; he was usually cold towards people. Back in Suna, if someone had so much as breathed on him too hard he'd beat the shit out of them. He disliked human contact that much. But now someone had kissed him and he hadn't done a single thing! Except maybe space out a bit and reflect on how good that single touch had made him feel...

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and glanced one more time at Naruto, who had finally gotten up and was rubbing a red spot on his forehead woefully.

No, he thought, it was a one-time thing. A fluke. It'll never happen again...

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A/N: Famous last words. XD

(1) Joke referring to how gay babies are born by the truckload every time there is a long, awkward silence. XDD

You will all LOVE the next two chapters, I can guarantee. When and if I get around to updating them, that is. Prepare for a shitload of insanity, romace and steamy love scenes. Also, more GaaNaru and other odd pairings. Slight pairings, but still, I should warn you.

Spoiler!crack!pairings include, but are not limited to: SaiShika, TemHina, KankuKiba, and NejiYuki. Also prepare for two more OC's to make their debut. :D

Next Chapter: Fakeout or Makeout? Seven Minutes in Heaven, and the Clock Is Ticking (Part One)

Please, please review. It'll make me update much faster than I would have previously.