A/N: Well, this chapter is certainly an important one. It should become obvious why once you reach the end. If you can't see why, do ask.

Anyway, thank you for over 100 reviews so far. All thoughts and comments are much appreciated so I hope they continue. I'm especially interested in your thoughts on this chapter so let me know!

Warnings: Strong language

This Moment

Gaara sighed heavily, rolling off of the bed to land softly on his feet. He'd been arguing about whether or not he should leave the room for what felt like hours now. It had gotten to the point that he just couldn't take it anymore. This time, it wasn't fear or panic which kept him awake…it was confusion and an ache in his heart he just couldn't explain. When he'd applied for college, he had never expected things to end up like this. He had expected having to put up with immature and annoying classmates, having to bear life with a horrid roommate and breezing through his course with no true interest. He hadn't expected…Naruto…

Glancing over at the suspiciously quiet blonde, Gaara couldn't help but wonder if he was really asleep. Naruto wasn't particularly loud at night, but he did snore softly in his sleep and alcohol tended to make snoring, in general, louder…but he was almost silent. The occasional little breath would escape his lips but nothing close to what Gaara had come to expect from him. Perhaps he was awake too. Deciding it best to forget it, the redhead turned to head out the room for a walk. He needed to think and the cold, night air helped him do that. Maybe it could ease his troubled mind for another night.

"Gaara…" He froze as soon as he heard that voice, rough and gravelly from sleep and dehydration. Well, at least one his questions had been answered. Naruto was awake after all. "Where are you going?" The blond asked, lifting his head off the pillow to stare at his roommate's back. Turning to look over his shoulder, Gaara tried to ignore the feelings inside him as he took in the sight of Naruto in the dim light.

"I'm going for a walk, go to sleep." He whispered bluntly, hoping that would be the end of it.

"Can't sleep?" Naruto persisted, ignoring the redhead's attempt to end the conversation. "Is it the usual or…because of me?"

'For an idiot, you sure are perceptive, Uzumaki.' The tattooed teen inwardly sneered, observing the blonde for any signs of drunkenness. Naruto looked as though he had sobered up a little, though it was clear there was still alcohol in his system and it was still affecting him. At least the inappropriate comments had stopped.

"Don't worry about it." Gaara replied at last, finding himself unable to directly lie to the other man. Unfortunately, Naruto was nowhere near as stupid as Gaara would often predict him to be.

"So it is my fault." The blonde murmured, moving into a seated position. "Did what I said earlier upset you?"

"Go to sleep." Gaara hissed bluntly, turning to leave again. He was done.

"Don't."

…

The redhead froze again as the command rang out into the room. There was no pleading or questioning in Naruto's tone- it had been an order, spoken with a level of authority and power that Gaara had never experienced before.

"Come back here and talk to me, Gaara."

Gaara should have left anyway, struggling to supress his anger at the blonde for speaking to him like that…but he did neither. He was horrified to find himself surprisingly co-operative and compliant, turning around slowly and taking a few steps back towards Naruto. His roommate looked serious, but still carried a gentleness within his features. Still…no one had ever ordered Gaara around and succeeded in getting anything other than a fist in the face. But Naruto…the way he had spoken had not only succeeded in getting what he wanted, but had actual sent shivers throughout the redhead's body. What was happening to him?

"What?" Gaara muttered, trying to sound defiant but only managing to sound like a kicked dog whining to its owner.

"Are you upset with me? Be honest."

"No." The tattooed youth murmured, staring at the ground.

"Did what I said earlier upset you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you didn't mean it." Gaara answered truthfully. "All that talk of trust…"

"You didn't believe me." Naruto whispered, more as a statement than a question. "Did you want to believe me?"

"I don't know…" Gaara shuffled on the spot, suddenly aware of those glistening blue eyes focused on him. This was ridiculous. He could leave anytime he wanted to. He could turn around and walk right out. There was nothing physically stopping him and if Naruto tried, a swift kick to the balls would do the trick. And yet…he couldn't bring himself to move. He couldn't walk away.

"Truthfully." Naruto said, climbing onto his feet. He seemed quite threatening and Gaara may have expected violence if he didn't know the blonde better.

"Yes." He croaked out in response, watching tentatively as his roommate started heading over to him with an expression on his face Gaara couldn't determine. He counted every step Naruto took, waiting for him to stop…but he didn't. Naruto kept coming, invading Gaara's personal space, until they were the closest they could be without touching. The heat of Naruto's body so close to his own, his breath ghosting over Gaara's face…during the day the worst that could happen would be embarrassment but invading Gaara's space at night was different. He could feel his heartbeat racing with dread and fear as his body automatically responded. It was the 'fight or flight' response Gaara had struggled with all his life. His body was telling him to either beat Naruto up or run away before something terrible happened to him. His mind knew Naruto wouldn't hurt him, but his body couldn't make sense of the lack of threat.

"Calm down, Gaara." The blonde murmured softly as he noticed what was happening. Gaara was approaching another panic attack at this rate. But, instead of doing the obvious thing and moving out of the redhead's space, Naruto only moved closer and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, ignoring how Gaara flinched in his hold. "You can trust me. I promise." He whispered into his roommate's ear, the smell of alcohol on his breath managing to reach the redhead's nose as well. "We're friends."

"Damn, Uzumaki." Gaara hissed out loud, surrendering to the inevitable. Naruto wasn't going to give up on him, no matter what, so Gaara had no choice but to accept it. Unlike everyone in the past, the blonde would keep persisting again and again until he was accepted by Gaara. He wasn't going to give up so trying to push him away and create some distance was meaningless. Feeling defeated and suddenly so damn tired of struggling, Gaara leaned into the hold and buried his face into the space between Naruto's shoulder and neck. He didn't hug the blonde back; just let himself be held as he nuzzled in closer. Everything about Naruto viciously attacked all of his senses at once. The way his body felt pressed up against him, Naruto's natural scent mixed with cologne and alcohol, the sound of the blonde's soft breathing…Gaara was consumed by his roommate.

Neither of them had any idea how long they stood like that for. In the end, it was the aching protest of their tired bodies which forced them to move apart and stare at each other. The awkwardness and tension was unbearable for the guarded redhead, but Naruto took it in his stride. Despite moving back, he stayed close and kept a hand on his roommate's arm. The other moved up to stroke the hair just above one of Gaara's ears soothingly. Those gorgeous blue eyes never left Gaara's face and it took all of the redhead's willpower to avoid looking into them. Again, his body automatically stopped him and forced him to stare at anything else.

"You never make eye contact," Naruto whispered darkly, the fingers in Gaara's hair trailing down his skin until they reached the boy's jaw. They left goose bumps in their wake as they glided over soft skin so tenderly that Gaara almost crumbled under their touch. The redhead gulped nervously as his roommate's fingers pressed under his jaw, tilting his head up slightly. "Look at me."

"…" Gaara's eyes darted to an area of skin just next to Naruto's nose. That was his technique. When looking at someone, he would focus on areas near their eyes but never the eyes themselves. He would only look at a person's eyes when he knew there was no chance of accidentally making eye contact. With Naruto clearly staring at him, it was too risky to even glance into those blue orbs. He couldn't help it. The thought of making contact like that had always petrified him. Looking into someone's eyes…it was too…dangerous. He didn't know why but that's what he had learned as a child.

"Eyes, Gaara." Naruto said sternly, but with a softness completely unrivalled by any Gaara had heard before. "Look me in the eyes."

"No…" the redhead managed to whisper out, despite how dry his mouth had become.

"…" Naruto didn't need to say another word. Despite his verbal defiance, Gaara was unable to refuse the request…the command that had left the blonde's lips. Before he could even realize what was happening, Gaara's eyes were slowly moving up until he found himself staring into the oceanic depths of Naruto's. For the first time since he was a child, he was purposely making eye contact with another living being. And he could feel his heart flutter and collapse at the same time. It was wonderfully frightening and wonderful at once. All of a sudden, he didn't need to be strong or independent. He felt like he could give up control and relax, like he could let Naruto deal with everything for him.

"Naruto…" the redhead murmured, staring into those beautiful, expressive eyes.

"See, that wasn't so bad, huh?" Naruto whispered softly, his hand cradling Gaara's face tenderly. He never broke eye contact and the gaze he held forced the redhead to keep staring as well. Those eyes had captured Gaara's full attention so effectively that he didn't notice Naruto's thumb move until he felt it tracing over his bottom lip. Its touch was gentle and delicate, but it succeeded in parting the redhead's lips. It was then that the eye contact broke as Naruto's eyes moved down to focus intently on his roommate's mouth. Gaara found himself doing the same in return, taking in every detail of his roommate's lips.

Gaara started to hope that everything he felt and everything he believed Naruto might be feeling were all real. It was the perfect moment. They were alone, connecting in a way Gaara had never connected with anyone before and so close. By all accounts, it was the perfect moment for their first kiss together and, for a while, that's what the redhead was expecting. The way Naruto was staring at his lips, the way he was tracing his thumb over them experimentally and the way the blonde's tongue darted out to wet his own…no one could possibly go through this and not expect the kiss to come.

But it never came. Naruto's hand dropped to grab Gaara by the hand and his eyes darted up to make eye contact again. He grinned brilliantly and happily as he started pulling the redhead towards the beds.

"Let's get some sleep, Gaara. No walks tonight, okay?"

"Okay." The redhead murmured, feeling a mix of calm and disappointment spread throughout him. A kiss would have complicated things and opened up a whole world of hurt, confusion and chaos…but he couldn't help but wish it had happened. He would never get a chance like this again. And he was almost certain that Naruto carried more than friendly feelings towards him…maybe he was wrong, but this night had almost wholly convinced him that there was a chance of something more.

He suddenly felt hugely miserable and hurt over the whole thing and, as Naruto pulled him into his bed and held him closely under the covers, Gaara couldn't help but feel stupid for getting so attached to the idiot. Nothing cheered him up, not Naruto's embrace, not the kiss he planted on Gaara's tattoo and not his caring whisper of 'go to sleep.' Gaara had made the fatal mistake of getting close to another human being and now he was suffering for it. He had befriended Naruto, shared his past with him, allowed Naruto to touch him and hug him, had made eye contact with him and, worst of all, had begun caring deeply for him. Who was really the idiot here?

Those were the redhead's cursed thoughts as he drifted into a depressed and sullen sleep.

"I need to talk to you."

"…" Ino blinked a few times in surprise, glancing around before settling her eyes on her friend- as if she weren't entirely convinced he was really in the room. "Naruto?"

"Who else could it be, Ino?" Kabuto said cheerily from the office's desk, smirking slightly at the rare opportunity of seeing Ino surprised. But still she stared at the blonde man in disbelief.

"You're here…at this time…after a night out…?" She explained, looking him up and down briefly before concern crossed her features. "Oh shit."

"What?" Naruto asked, taking a step back as she cursed suddenly.

"You went out drinking last night but you're up way before noon which means you either didn't drink much or something is terribly wrong," she began quickly. "If it was because you didn't drink much then you would have gone for your morning jog but it's obvious from your clothes that you didn't. In fact, you haven't even changed from last night. That means that you did drink and something terrible happened." She gasped dramatically. "What happened? Is someone dead? Don't tell me…there wasn't a repeat of the bedroom incident, was there?"

"No!" Naruto shouted defensively, blushing at the insinuation and the curious look Kabuto gave him. "Nothing like that. I mean…something is wrong but…I-I mean, it's not too bad."

"Bullshit." She said bluntly. "Kabuto, cover for me."

"No can do, Ino." The man said, offering an apologetic look as she glared at him. "Pein was very insistent that I stop covering for you. I'm honestly not willing to risk it and just sit hoping he doesn't find out."

"Fine, then you can tell me here."

"Erm…" Naruto glanced over at Kabuto worriedly, not sure if this was something he wanted to discuss with anyone except Ino. Scratch that- it was definitely not something he wanted anyone but Ino to know.

"Don't worry. Kabuto's the most trustworthy guy when it comes to secrets, he knows most of mine."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah." The grey-haired man chuckled in a way which implied that Ino's secrets were beyond interesting. Either way, Naruto couldn't help but relax. If the great Ino, famous for her mystery, trusted Kabuto so much then surely he could too, right?

"It's about Gaara."

That certainly got both Ino and Kabuto's attention.

"I think I'm starting to…I think I…"

"Say no more." Ino cut in, seeing how uncomfortable the man was. It was painfully obvious what Naruto was trying to say and it was something she had been expecting for the last couple of days. She hadn't expected this conversation to come so soon but she was still well-prepared for it. "Now tell me what happened between you two."

"You just said 'say no more'." Naruto pointed out, cocking an eyebrow.

"Ugh," she rolled her eyes. "just tell me."

"Nothing happened, I just…realized it…"

"So what are you going to do about it?" Kabuto asked, leaning across the desk slightly. The reflection of light off his glasses hid his eyes from view and gave him a rather menacing look but Naruto went on nonetheless.

"I dunno…"

"What do you want to do about it?" Ino cut in, watching as her friend grew more and more uncomfortable from all the questioning. "Truthfully, I mean."

"Well…I don't really know…I mean, what does this make me?" Naruto asked, scrunching his nose up in confusion and inner conflict.

"Ugh, you are such a guy!" Ino said, rolling her eyes at her friend's stupidity. "You start having feelings for someone you like and all you're worried about is slapping labels on yourself."

"It's really confusing, alright?" He whined defensively.

"You're such a baby!" Ino slapped him on the shoulder, ignoring the pout he gave her in return. "Honestly, you're acting like this is the first time you've ever been part of a forbidden love."

"It is," the man muttered, eyes downcast. "Why? You've been part of one before?"

"Oh, please." The woman laughed mockingly. "I've been through more forbidden romances than you've had bowels of ramen." Naruto gaped at her, tilting his head questioningly at the shocking overload of information. "Don't look at me like that, buster. There's a difference between a string of romances and sleeping around. Besides, you're the one thinking of getting down and dirty with your new roommate." She sang teasingly, smiling beautifully.

"Ino, what am I gonna do?" Naruto groaned in desperation.

"Kabuto-honey, can you please give Naruto the sexuality speech?" The woman asked sweetly, glancing over to offer the glasses-wearing man a smile.

"Sure thing," the man said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "When love is based upon an emotional connection rather than just sexual attraction, it often isn't limited to gender. You can still technically be identified as straight but feel a powerful emotional connection to another guy. People are too concerned with labelling themselves to just pursue their feelings. Your feelings for Gaara are currently emotional and will, probably, branch out to sexual soon- if they haven't already. Unless you feel regular physical attraction to other males, I wouldn't start doubting your sexual identity just yet. All this means is that you've found someone you feel a deep connection with who just happens to be male."

"Okay?" Ino added, watching her friend struggle to take in the bombard of information. "You're straight because you're attracted to girls, right?" Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "Kabuto here is gay because he's attracted to guys."

"That's right." The grey-haired man offered in agreement.

"Pein is bi because he's attracted to both girls and guys."

"Pein's bi?!" Naruto yelled in shock. He'd always seen Pein with that blue-haired woman, so the thought of his sexuality had never crossed his mind before. Besides, with someone as authoritative as Pein, it was quite scary to even entertain curiosity regarding that.

"Focus, Naruto!" Ino hit him on the forehead gently to gain his attention again. "But, if Kabuto starts having feelings for me, God-forbid, just because I'm a girl doesn't change the fact he's gay. Having feelings for one girl, me, doesn't change his sexual orientation to bi. Are you starting to understand?"

"I think so…" Naruto mumbled, starting to feel a little better about the whole situation. If what Ino and Kabuto were saying was true and not just made-up bullshit, then the whole thing wasn't such a huge deal after all. He had been worried that this situation changed his whole life and identity and that thought had frightened him. But now he was starting to feel a little silly for panicking so much. Instead of focusing on the fact Gaara was a guy, he should be focusing on the fact that he had feelings for Gaara in the first place. Man, how damn lucky was he to have a friend like Ino?

"Now here's what you've gotta do," the woman began, leaning in to gain Naruto's full attention. "You're gonna go for a jog, have a shower and go talk to Gaara."

"But, Ino…"

"Not buts, Naruto. You're a big boy now and you're perfectly capable of dealing with this sorta thing by yourself. I can't jump in and mother you at every turn."

"Fine…" Naruto groaned, turning to storm out of the office dejectedly. Ino and Kabuto watched him go, both smiling slightly for their own individual reasons.

"You know," Ino said with a sigh. "I could fall for him."

"Yeah…" Kabuto muttered, smirking slightly.

"Oh, come on!" Naruto hissed under his breath, eyes frantically searching as he ran along the path. "He's gotta be here. He's just gotta be!"

Gaara hadn't been in the room when the blonde had gone back for a shower, and a quick conversation with Omoi confirmed the redhead wasn't attending Philosophy because he was dropping it soon anyway. Naruto could only think of one other place his roommate might be and he was eager to hurry and find him before his sudden rush of courage faded. That was why the blonde had ran out to the tree Gaara had sat beneath to watch the sunrise, hoping beyond all else that the redhead was there. If Naruto wasn't able to track him down in the next five minutes, there was a good chance that the conversation they needed to have would never happen. This was a one-shot kind of thing.

Naruto sighed in relief as he caught sight of the figure under the tree and he couldn't help but grin to himself. Spiky red hair, beautiful pale skin and a tattoo that couldn't be mistaken- it was Gaara alright.

"Gaara!" Naruto shouted, sprinting as quickly as possible over to his roommate. He had to do this now. The redhead turned to look at him, a look of annoyance and hurt crossing his face as he recognised the approaching man. He certainly didn't look happy to see the blonde, clambering to his feet in an attempt to just walk away and avoid the other altogether. But Naruto was too quick and far too determined for that to happen. He came to a stop just in front of his roommate, panting from the exhaustion brought on by running around the college for the last hour. Gaara just shot him a cold glare.

"What do you what, Uzumaki?" He hissed, shoving his hands in his pockets defensively.

"I…you…we…and…Ino said…" Naruto struggled to get his words out between his gasps for air and decided to forget the conversation all together. Actions spoke louder than words anyway. "Fuck it!" He growled, moving forward before he could stop himself to push the redhead against the tree trunk. At first, Gaara took it as a threat and seized up protectively in preparation of a fight but, as Naruto stepped forward into his personal space and rested one hand against the tree beside Gaara's face…it was obvious that fighting wasn't his intention.

"Naruto…?" He murmured questioningly, too shocked by the sudden closeness to do anything else.

"Look…at me…" the blonde growled breathlessly. This time, Gaara didn't mess around. He immediately looked up and made eye contact with his roommate, almost gasping as he stared into those blue orbs. Naruto was looking at him darkly, eyes hooded over in an expression the redhead couldn't read…but it sent shudders throughout his entire body. He'd never seen Naruto so serious and… "Do you trust me?"

"Yes." Gaara suddenly whispered back. His brain didn't even have a chance to intervene.

"Do you like me?"

"Yes."

"In what way?"

"I…dunno…" the redhead mumbled, starting to feel uneasy under that look his roommate was giving him.

"Then you need to push me away if this isn't what you want." Naruto warned quickly, before diving forward to place one simple, chaste kiss on the smaller boy's lips.

'Shit!' Gaara inwardly cursed, placing his hands on the blonde's chest and pushing him away roughly.

He couldn't do this. Naruto was hot, fucking gorgeous actually, and did things to him he'd never experienced before. He was kind, caring and so damn infectiously friendly that he had opened up Gaara's heart more than anyone else. If Gaara were anyone else, he would have grabbed the blonde and had sex with him right then and there (possibly a little too dramatic) but he wasn't…he was Gaara. Gaara didn't offer his heart like that. Gaara didn't allow himself to be vulnerable. Gaara didn't love. Gaara didn't let others love him. Gaara didn't understand trust. Gaara didn't want to be in a relationship of any kind and Gaara most definitely wasn't going to let Naruto's superficial charm change him like that.

"I'm sorry." Naruto mumbled, the look in his eyes fading into one of hurt and guilt as he stepped back. He looked like a kicked puppy and that sight sent a pang of brief remorse through Gaara's heart…but this was for the best. "I'll go."

'Like I care. If you actually thought I cared about you…get over yourself, Uzumaki.' The redhead thought bitterly, watching as Naruto turned away dejectedly and moved to walk away from him. This was it. Naruto was going to leave and they'd never speak of this again. Tomorrow the awkwardness and tension would force them to request a change of rooming arrangements and soon Gaara would have a different, less annoying roommate. He'd never have to see or hear from Naruto again. They'd never cross paths ever again. Gaara would complete college without a single encounter with this idiot and then go back to his dull, boring and empty life in Sunagakure like nothing had changed. His life would be the same and that's how he liked it. He'd stay guarded and isolated for his own good.

'So…why…?' Gaara silently questioned, reaching forward to grasp the retreating blonde by the wrist. 'Why can't I just let you go?' He stared into those questioning, blue eyes and felt his defences crumble. He knew what was best for himself- to let Naruto leave and never see him again. But he just couldn't do it.

"Gaara?"

"Fucking idiot!" Gaara hissed angrily, stepping forward to place his lips back on the blonde's as quickly as he possibly could.

This moment is perfect,

Please don't go away.

A/N: Well? What did you all think?

I spent a while trying to think about how Naruto and Gaara would make their feelings known whilst staying realistic according to their individual personalities. This is the answer I came up with. I could just imagine Naruto, after finally realising, rushing up and doing something so instinctive and impulsive but I couldn't imagine Gaara just melting into the kiss and accepting it right away. It was obvious to me that Gaara would first try and reject Naruto and distance himself from him but that he wouldn't be able to follow through. And that's what led to the second kiss.

So, what did everyone think of this chapter in particular? I think it turned out alright in the end.

Thanks for reading!