A/N: -headdesk- I don't own Naruto, only this fanfic.

Sorry for the late update, and sorry this chapter is so short. ;A; I was recently inspired (lol today actually :D) by an anonymous reviewer (JAIMIE ARE YOU OUT THERE?! ARE YOU READING THIS?? CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?!) who reviewed on EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER. I was surprised, I was amazed, I wanted to cry tears of joy. It makes me sad that I can't contact you directly, but all the same, this is partly for you, babe.

Chapter Ten: Aftermath: We Can Never See The Darkness At Our Backs

It was a proven fact, Gaara mused, that when one faced the sun he could always outrun his shadow. But it did nothing to erase the surprise he felt at Naruto's quick recovery from his attempted rape.

Only a little over a month ago Naruto had been a nervous wreck, jumping at the slightest sounds and fearing large crowds of people, making school absolute torture for him. It was actually uncomfortable to be around him, because no one was used to seeing Naruto in such a state, and it unnerved them.

Now, however, Naruto was back to his old self, albeit a bit more guarded and less amiable towards being touched. Hell, when Sai groped his ass the day before yesterday Naruto panicked and threw him through a wall (it was a very thin wall, but still). Sai then complained that the blonde never threw Gaara through a wall whenever he was touched by him.

Gaara blinked at his ceiling. The pale kid had a point. Ever since the Orochimaru fiasco it seemed as though Naruto was just clinging to him even more, despite the fact that he hated being touched by everyone else.

He sighed and sat upright, scratching his head absentmindedly. He was supposed to be hosting a planning party for the Konoha Festival today, but he really didn't feel up to it at the moment. He was tired beyond belief, but plain old fatigue wouldn't stop the kids of Konoha High. Maybe he could just pretend that he wasn't home when they came...

"Hey Gaara," said a cheery voice to his immediate right. Gaara's eyes widened as he whipped his head around to find the source of the interruption.

It was Naruto, grinning widely. Hanging out the window.

The second-floor window.

"...How did you get outside my window," said Gaara finally, phrasing it more as a statement rather than a question.

"We made a human ladder," replied Naruto easily. "Kiba wanted to check your room just in case you were trying to hide from us." Naruto looked down. "He's here, guys! You can use the front door!"

"Woot!" barked Kiba's voice. "Here we come!"

Gaara sighed inaudibly. "Come in then, we don't want you falling out the window." He tugged at Naruto's shirt, helping him clamber inside as the doorbell began ringing insistently. Gaara grumbled to himself as he descended the stairs, trailed by a happy and ever-babbling Naruto. He all but wrenched the door open and grunted as a way of inviting everyone in.

"Damn Gaara, you're pretty well off," said Kiba, whistling appreciatively at the size of Gaara's house. It wasn't a mansion, but it was relatively big, with two floors, four bedrooms, a living room and a dining room, and a large kitchen. The walls were painted sandy beige and a somewhat muted red that matched Gaara's hair perfectly.

Shino, Lee, Neji, Sakura, Sasuke, and Ino trailed in after him, greeting the tattooed boy politely (or in Sasuke's case, grunting noncommittally).

"Where's Yuki?" asked Gaara, noting the absence of the red-haired ball of energy.

"Home sick with the flu," said Sasuke, shaking his head. "And by home, I mean my room. Goddamn brother kicked me out and put her there. I'm gonna have to goddamn fumigate my room when she gets better." The brunette descended into a low rant filled with unprintable, unspeakable words. Gaara thought it best if he was left alone for the moment.

"Don't worry about her; she already knows what she has to do for the festival. And you know her, she'll bounce right back and work twice as hard to make up for it," said Ino, waving her hand. Gaara nodded and gestured towards the interior of his house.

"We can talk in here..." he mumbled, leading the ragtag band of teenagers into a spacious living room.

"What? Why can't we just go in your room?" whined Kiba. Gaara turned on his heel and glared.

"You think I'm going to have you guys messing around in my ROOM? Think again," he snarled, making Kiba cringe. Naruto laughed and slung an arm around Gaara cheerfully.

"Aww, c'mon, we're not THAT bad, are we?" giggled the blonde. Gaara raised an invisible eyebrow in an "oh-yes-you-are-that-bad-and-more" way.

"Just...go," he sighed, waving towards the plush sofa and chairs littered haphazardly around the coffee table. "I'll get some...chips or something."

"Bring some booze too!" yelled Kiba. Gaara unleashed yet another harsh glare, effectively making Kiba whine and duck for cover behind Shino.

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Five bags of chips, two gallons of milk, and approximately OVERNINETHOUSAND (1) glares later, a group of exhausted teenagers in various states of happiness and decay had finally decided on the activities that would be offered at the Konoha Festival.

"So we're having a shooting range, a karaoke booth, and performances by the school band..." mused Naruto, pulling on a short blonde pigtail.

(A bit of background information: prior to this little excursion, Sakura had bought small packs of colorful barrettes in case things got boring. Seeing how Sasuke was an uptight bastard, Shino wouldn't let her within ten inches of him, Kiba was too wild, Gaara was too homicidal, and Neji was too...Neji, that left Naruto and Ino as victims, and Sakura and Lee as the budding hair stylists.

Thus, Ino's long blonde hair was adorned with cute heart barrettes and pinned up in a semi-ponytail, while Naruto's hair was pulled into several pigtails and his bangs were clipped off to the side with butterfly clips of every color.

Gaara thought this was extremely cute.)

"What about a haunted house?" asked Kiba, absentmindedly playing with the hem of Shino's jacket.

"Uh-uh, the senior classes do that one, you know that..." said Sakura, readjusting a clip she'd put in Lee's shiny black hair.

"All right then, it's settled. Our work here is done," stated Neji calmly, standing up and stretching. "We'll have school days for putting it all together, but in the meantime I will begin planning for the materials we'll need and the designs of the booths."

"Good man, Neji!" grinned Kiba happily, clapping the pale-eyed boy on the back hard. "Just you wait, this'll be the best Konoha High Festival you've ever seen!"

"I'm sure," said Neji dryly. "Come, we should stop imposing on Gaara. We've done what we had to do. Thank you once again for your hospitality, Gaara." He bowed slightly and the redheaded boy inclined his head in reply. One by one, the teens filtered out until only Gaara and Naruto were left.

"You're not leaving?"

"Nope, I've got nothing better to do," pouted Naruto, fussing with one of his clips. "I was hoping I could stay here tonight? You know, a sleepover?"

Gaara sighed. There had been a lot of those since the Orochimaru fiasco. But it seemed to take a great deal off the blonde's mind, so Gaara always agreed.

"Sure, whatever. Make sure you call Tsunade and tell her where you are. I don't want any more frenzied phone calls at three AM because she doesn't know where you've gone." The blonde giggled and scampered off to the kitchen to call the busty woman. Gaara flopped onto the couch and sighed again.

Things between him and Naruto had been better than most during the aftermath of the attempted rape, but that's not to say it hadn't been rough on both of them. Naruto, because he was afraid of being touched, and Gaara, because a lot of the time he desperately wanted to touch him. It didn't exactly help that he was the person the blonde clung to the most, and he had to constantly watch where he put his hands. He didn't want to end up like Sai, after all.

Goddammit, thought Gaara. I want to touch him. I want to kiss him. I want him to say it's all right. Why me? Why did he choose me of all people to comfort him? He could have picked Yuki, or Neji, or Sasuke and his brother, or any of the other people he's known for far longer. I want to touch him. I want him. I want I want I want--

"You okay, Gaara?" asked Naruto, walking into the room and seeing Gaara with his face buried in his hands.

"Why me?"

"What?"

"Why did you choose me? Why aren't you scared when I get close to you, when we bump by accident, when anything happens? Why aren't you scared of me?"

Naruto tilted his head to the side, then sat on the arm of the sofa and rested his head on Gaara's shoulder.

"You're so close to me," he said, smiling a little. "You and I are so much alike. I know you won't hurt me. You take my fears away." Gaara lifted his head and met Naruto's azure stare, faces just an inch apart. He could feel his heart speed up just a little bit.

"You take my fears away," murmured Naruto, closing the gap and pressing his lips gently against Gaara's.

You take my fears away.

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A/N: (1) The cliche'd OVER NINE THOUSAND exaggeration, ha ha. :D LOLSHOOTMEPLZ.

That last line, "You take my fears away"...that applies to both Gaara and Naruto, if it makes any sense at all. It probably doesn't. (Even though Naruto says it, both are thinking it? Is that any clearer? OTL)

I apologize if you were offended in any way by the juvenile writing style or the abominable OOC-ness portrayed here. Flames are most certainly welcome. I have yet to get any!! People, flame away! Reviews are most welcome as well.

Next Chapter: I want to hold you in my arms and never let go.

I don't know if it will contain smut or not.