Happy New Year everyone! Managed to finish this earlier than I thought I would and even made it longer than the first chapter. Go me! Seriously though, I've had trouble with getting my characters to stay in-character and so am not 100 happy with this chapter. If you think they're out of character do tell and I'll try and right it in the next chapter. And as for ItaSasu scenes...I'll see if I can give them love somewhere in the story.

Chapter 3

This Friday, as the three friends approached Club Secret, Naruto was a lot more sober. His gaze slowly drifted from person to person. How many of these seemingly normal strangers were vampires? According to Haku Club Secret was a gathering place for vampires so it must have been a very large percentage.

Over the past week Naruto had had a lot of time to dwell on the things his friends had told him. It all still seemed surreal and the blond half expected his friends to turn around at any moment and say, "Just joking!"

It wasn't a joke though and because of that Naruto had slowly begun to wonder about how much he really knew about life. It was, after all, kind of scary to know that at that very moment a vampire could be watching him and deciding whether he should be its next meal.

However, it was not in Naruto's nature to show he was afraid. When he met up again with the VIP vampire trio he would not show any fear; he would not be intimidated by the fact that they were all stronger than him. If any of them tried to mess with him he'd kick their asses. Yes, he'd show them not to underestimate Uzumaki Naruto!

Sasuke showed the bouncer his pass and the three friends entered the club. They climbed the stairs to the balcony and immediately spotted the three vampires. Two of said vampires appeared to be in a good mood (though it was hard to tell when Itachi appeared bored even when he was enjoying himself) while the third was glaring at his drink as if it had committed a heinous insult against him.

Haku took the lead and easily slid himself onto Zabuza's lap. The two shared a small greeting kiss while the Uchiha brothers swapped icy greetings before starting to make-out. Naruto hung back, feeling awkward and out of place. He glanced over at Gaara but the redhead was pointedly ignoring him and everything else around him. Typical.

Once the greetings were over Itachi turned his gaze on Gaara. "Don't you have something to say?"

Gaara gave him a murderous glare. He downed the contents of his glass before getting up and moving to stand in front of Naruto. For a moment there was silence. Then Gaara turned to his 'friends' who were watching him avidly and hissed, "Piss off." With an almost collective roll of the eyes the others turned their backs to him and Haku initiated a conversation about what had happened at school that week. Still, they were all on high alert in case Gaara (or Naruto) said or did something stupid.

Realizing that this was the most privacy he would be allowed Gaara sighed and agitatedly ran a hand through his hair. Naruto waited impatiently for him to say something. It was obvious Gaara was reluctant to go through with this and it made Naruto wonder if it was really worth it. An empty apology amounted to nothing after all. "Look, I know Sasuke's making you apologize to me-"

"That little human isn't making me do anything," interrupted Gaara.

Naruto ignored him. "But if you don't really mean it there's no point in saying it. So just save us both some hassle by telling me right now if you regret biting and molesting me."

"I don't regret either of those things."

Gaara's reply was solemn and Naruto knew he was speaking truthfully. The blond teen nodded and headed over to the others, feeling slightly dejected as he moved. Naruto was stopped however when Gaara grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him back towards him. Naruto stared in surprise up into those burning green eyes and saw…something flicker in those deep, drowning pools.

"I don't regret those things but I do regret the way you reacted to them. You thought I had slighted you when I would only dance with you once, correct? I did not mean to, I thought you would understand that I was keeping to my word. I…You interest me greatly Naruto. It has been a long time since I have felt attracted to anyone, especially a human. I only wanted to show my attraction to you but perhaps I went about it in the wrong way. You are very tempting, Naruto, it is hard for me to keep my hands off you."

Gaara's lips twitched into a leer. It disappeared when Naruto began to laugh, being replaced by a confused frown. "That was the worst apology ever," Naruto said as his laughter started to die down. "Apology accepted anyway. You now have permission to try and woo me again." With that Naruto leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on Gaara's lips.

Gaara stared at him in bewilderment. This boy truly was confusing and amazing. "How can you accept me so easily?"

Naruto grinned cheekily as he replied, "It's alright, I know already that I'm too sexy to resist. How can I stay mad at you for acknowledging the fact that I'm a sex god? However, if you want me to forgive you even more you can buy me a drink and later (if you're a good little vampire) I'll let you dance with me."

Before Gaara could reply Naruto skipped back to the others, grinning widely to himself. Gaara watched him and wondered if he was swaying his hips like that to tease him. That boy really was something else.

Naruto alighted at the bar between Sasuke and Haku. He waved to get the bartenders attention and ordered a Pepsi. The others looked at him expectantly. "So how did it go?" asked Haku, his voiced tinged with excitement.

Naruto winked at him but said nothing. The bartender placed the drink in front of him and recited the price. To the man's amazement Gaara appeared behind the blond boy and said, "Put his drink on my tab. And get me another of the usual."

As the bartender hurried to get Gaara's drink, Naruto turned to Haku and said, "That's how it went," before taking his drink to sit on the stool between Zabuza and Gaara.

The others stared at Gaara while the redhead pointedly pretended they didn't exist. Gaara had never bought any of them drinks and they were considered his closest friends; he must really like Naruto.

Said blond sipped his Pepsi with a wide grin planted on his face. He wondered absently if he could get Gaara to buy him drinks for the rest of the evening but decided not to push his luck. It really wasn't right to take advantage of someone, even if they did deserve a certain amount of payback.

Meanwhile, Gaara was wondering exactly how far Naruto was willing to let him go. The blond had said that he didn't mind Gaara making a move on him but did he mean that he didn't mind Gaara asking him on a data or did he mean that the vampire could ravish him at will? Something told Gaara it was the former, yet the blond human had so obviously flirted with him that it could quite possibly be that he was inviting Gaara to do with him as he wished.

The redhead sighed inwardly. Humans were so confusing. And fragile. They were both weaker and less resilient than vampires. If Gaara wasn't careful he'd end up hurting Naruto and breaking the fragile bond that existed between them.

Gaara was interrupted from his musings by Naruto's penetrating voice. "So, what do you all usually talk about?"

"Politics, books, work, the news…" reeled off Haku.

"Sex," added Zabuza with a lecherous grin.

"The first ones sound boring, the last one sounds scary," said Naruto as he carefully eyed his friends.

"So it's alright for you to tease us about our sex lives but it's not okay for us to brag?" sneered Sasuke.

"That's right," confirmed Naruto.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Fine, but that means you can't brag either."

"Fair enough," shrugged Naruto as he took another swig of his drink. As he did a couple walked behind him. He felt more than saw the gazes that were aimed at his back. Placing his drink back onto the bar, Naruto asked, "Are all the VIPs of Club Secret vampires?"

"Yes," answered Zabuza. "The club was founded by vampires as a place to gather as well as hunt."

"Hunt?" queried Naruto.

"Most of the people down there," Zabuza said, jerking his thumb behind him to indicate those on the dance floor below, "are regular humans. They have no idea that the person they're dancing with is a vampire who's waiting to lead them to a dark corner so that they can drink their blood."

Naruto frowned at this. "Why do you call it a hunt? You make it seem as if humans are no better than animals."

"It's just vampire terminology Naruto," Haku was quick to reassure. "Zabuza isn't trying to be offensive – it's just that there really is no better word to describe how vampires get their blood."

"It is also reminiscent of the days when humans were not confined in cities and instead were very spread out in villages and hamlets. Back then it was much more of a hunt than a simple detour of the victim," added Gaara in that cool, emotionless voice of his.

"I'm glad I wasn't alive back then in that case," Naruto said as he suppressed a shiver. "By the way, how did these vampire dudes get enough money to open a club like this?"

"They had jobs like everyone else, idiot," said Sasuke with a roll of his eyes.

Naruto shot him a dirty look. "But what job can you do at night besides working in a 24 hour supermarket?"

"I'm a salesman for a large company that does a lot of trading with countries on the other side of the globe. Since they're in a different time zone it's more convenient for them to call late at night and I'm the one there who they speak to," answered Zabuza. "Itachi works for a publishing firm editing manuscripts. They don't care whether he works at night or during the day as long as he reaches his deadlines. Gaara works in the law department of some firm. Again, they don't care when he does the work as long as the deadlines are met."

Naruto turned to Gaara. "You work in law? Isn't that really boring?"

"Sometimes," answered Gaara mildly.

"I bet it pays well though so that kind of makes up for it," mused Naruto.

Sasuke smirked. "First date and the idiot's already feeling up his boyfriend's wallet."

"Piss off Sasuke," growled Naruto. "Besides, it's hardly a date with you guys hanging around insulting me."

"Nobody's forcing you to stay with us Naruto. If you and Gaara need some alone time you're more than welcome to leave," said Sasuke, continuing to smirk superiorly.

"Your lips say we can go but your brother's eyes say you'll be watching us carefully if we do," Gaara said coldly, his gaze locked with Itachi's.

"Fine, then don't go."

There was a brief silence between them before Haku started a conversation about Zabuza's latest client – a much less controversial topic than the group's trust in Gaara and Naruto's ability to get along without there being bloodshed. Such a conversation was reasonably interesting for those who knew about this client from Zabuza's past stories about his idiocy. For Naruto though it was infinitely boring as he had not been present for the telling of these antidotes. To pass the time the blond tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. It was quite a nice ceiling, though the ones at school were more interesting as they had acquired gum and other such misplaced items over the years.

A new song was broadcast over the loudspeakers that Naruto recognized. He let the beat wash over him and drown out the chatter to his left. His foot and fingers began to tap out the rhythm of the song as his lips formed the words he'd been hearing on the radio for the past two weeks.

"You like this song?"

The sultry voice snapped Naruto back to reality. Gaara was staring at him with those penetrating green eyes that seemed to be drinking in everything that was Naruto all at once. Naruto smiled at the redhead and replied, "Sort of, I've heard it loads of times and it's just sort of got stuck in my head."

Gaara nodded in understanding. He seemed to consider his next words carefully. "If you wished we could dance to this song."

Naruto's grin grew. At that moment Gaara sounded very awkward and shy and it was extremely adorable. Of course he was still giving off 'I'm-a-sexy-badass-don't-mess-with-me' vibes but the cute vibes were louder than those. Naruto wasn't going to tell Gaara this though since he was pretty sure he'd get punched or at the very least glared at for calling the redhead cute. "It's alright, by the time we get down there the song will probably have ended."

"Very well."

Gaara sounded both relieved and disappointed that his proposal had been shot down. Naruto decided to take pity on him and took hold of Gaara's hand. The redheaded vampire stared down at their interlaced fingers in perplexed shock. Naruto felt like laughing at the very un-badass expression that currently occupied Gaara's features.

After a few seconds of confusion Gaara relaxed. He gently squeezed the hand that held his, not too surprised when the hand squeezed back. He looked at Naruto and saw the jubilant grin on the boy's lips. Gaara felt warmth materialize in his chest at the sight of that smile. It was so beautiful, Naruto was beautiful, and Gaara wanted to claim both as his own. If Naruto gave anybody else that smile the red haired vampire would rip out the heart of the receiver and eat it before their eyes before they died then feast upon the blood that would ooze from the corpse. This might have been a tad of an overreaction but Naruto belonged to Gaara and nobody else could have him. Hopefully Naruto knew this as well or there would be a hell of a lot of bloodshed in the near future.

Meanwhile, Naruto was beginning to get slightly freaked out. Gaara had been staring at him for over a minute without blinking. There was a possessive, almost feral look in his eyes that made Naruto wonder what he was thinking about. Then again, maybe he was better off not knowing. Knowing Gaara it would probably be something that would give him nightmares.

Deciding to snap Gaara out of his trance, Naruto waved his free hand in-front of the vampire's face. Gaara blinked and his eyes became more focused. "Yes?" he questioned coolly.

"Just wondered if you were still with me or if you were cheating with another hot blond in your head," said Naruto casually.

Gaara's face was suddenly right in-front of Naruto's. The blond jumped, surprised that Gaara could move that fast. Their hands were no longer interlinked, instead Gaara was using them to stop Naruto falling off the back of his stool. The blond stared silently into intense mint green pools as he felt Gaara's breath ghost against his lips. "I would never cheat on you."

Suddenly Naruto's lips were being smothered by the incredibly sexy vampire. The passion behind the kiss was evident and it made Naruto melt. Smouldering green eyes were still locked on his own as Gaara's tongue pressed against the opening of Naruto's mouth.

Naruto felt like he should resist this very forward advance. Gaara was invading his personal space without permission and sexually harassing him; he was not respecting Naruto's rights. Then again, Gaara's mouth was so insistent and the kiss felt so goodthat Naruto really didn't feel like resisting. With a groan of both defeat and pleasure, Naruto threw his arms around Gaara's neck, his eyes slipping shut as he allowed the vampire to have his way with him.

After a few minutes of intense tongue battling Gaara pulled back to allow Naruto to breathe. The blond teen's head fell forward to rest on Gaara's shoulder as his chest heaved. That had been utterly exhilarating. It wasn't his first kiss or anything – Naruto had kissed plenty of girls and boys in his past – but they had been more experimental with lots of teeth clashing and nose bumping. True, during his kiss with Gaara their teeth had knocked together a few times but it had only been a minor thing. This kiss had been full of raw emotion, something Naruto had never encountered before. And he had loved it.

"In most cultures it's considered impolite to make-out when someone's trying to tell a story."

Naruto looked to his left at the sound of the stern but amused voice. All of Naruto's friends were looking at him with equal amounts of mirth. Or, more correctly, they were staring at the position he was in.

Turning back to look at Gaara, Naruto noticed that the redhead had slipped off his stool during the kiss and was now standing right between his legs. Naruto flushed crimson as the realisation hit him. He tried to nudge Gaara back onto his stool but the redhead wasn't having any of it. Now that he had the pretty blond boy in his grasp there was no way that he was letting him go.

Gaara yanked Naruto to his feet, their bodies pressed against each other as Gaara spun around and took Naruto's seat. The redhead then placed Naruto on his lap, his arms wrapping securely around the slim waist. Naruto wriggled a bit, not exactly comfortable with this new position. The arms around his waist tightened and a voice hissed in his ear, "Don't do that."

Naruto stopped wriggling and Gaara released a sigh of relief. The vampire didn't think he would have been able to stop himself from ravishing Naruto if the blond had continued to rub his adorable little rear over that part of Gaara's anatomy.

Seeing that Gaara wasn't going to release his hold on him, Naruto turned to the others and smiled sheepishly. Haku returned the smile before gingerly climbing onto Zabuza's lap. The older man smirked, his arms circling Haku's waist as he planted small kisses on the nape of the boy's neck to make him giggle. Since Haku's seat was now vacant Itachi and Sasuke moved to reduce the gap between them and the others. So as not to be the odd ones out Sasuke slipped casually onto his brothers lap; drink in hand and acting as if this was the most normal thing in the world to do.

Naruto smiled to himself. He really did have great friends. And, apparently, he now also had a great boyfriend. Naruto decided to test out this theory by turning towards the redhead and asking, "Gaara, can I try your drink?"

"It's too strong for you," was the curt reply.

Naruto took offence at this. "Are you saying I can't handle it?"

"Yes."

Haku groaned in despair as a look of determination appeared on Naruto's face. This would not end well. Whenever that look appeared it meant Naruto was going to prove you wrong or die trying. Usually a miracle would occur and Naruto would come out on top but something told Haku that this would not be one of those times.

Naruto picked up Gaara's glass and brought it to his lips, adamant that he would not fail in his mission. He allowed a small amount of liquid to trickle down his throat and immediately began to cough. It felt like his throat was on fire. His eyes watered in pain as he tried desperately to breathe. "It's like swallowing acid!"

"I told you it was too strong for you," Gaara said as he carefully prised the glass from Naruto's grasp. He then gulped down what was left in the glass, only just managing to refrain from smirking at the look of shock on Naruto's face.

"How the hell can you do that without feeling like your throat's on fire?!" asked a bemused Naruto.

"Years of practice," was Gaara's amused answer.

"But you're not that much older than me! Did you start drinking when you were ten or something?"

Gaara raised a curious eyebrow. "I'm actually a lot older than you. Did your friends not tell you that vampires never age?"

"No, they didn't," said Naruto, shooting an accusing glare at Haku and Sasuke.

"That is the reason vampires are not allowed to sire anyone under the age of eighteen; it would cause too many secrecy problems if a child was made a vampire. They would not be able to disappear from society without it being noticed like adults can."

"Oh. Well if that's the case then how old are you really?"

Instead of answering the question Gaara motioned for the bartender to get Naruto and himself another drink. Naruto was slightly miffed that his question was being disregarded but summarised that Gaara had his reasons. Perhaps he was really old – older even than Iruka! – and thought that Naruto would be freaked out if he told him his real age and wouldn't want to be with him. Which was fair enough seeing as Naruto was still considered a minor in modern law.

As Naruto finished off his old drink a few things began to slip into place. He'd known Sasuke ever since they were kids as they'd gone to the same junior school. Sasuke had always idolised his brother, wanting to be just like him, and had regurgitated many tales about Itachi to impress Naruto.

A few years ago Itachi had fallen out with his parents and they'd kicked him out of the house when he was eighteen. Sasuke hadn't told him the reason but Naruto had a sneaking suspicion that it was because Itachi had become a vampire. Naruto had met Sasuke's parents a few times and knew that his dad in particular hated anything that was 'not normal'. Having one of his sons being turned into a vampire definitely would not have pleased the head of the Uchiha household.

Although Itachi had been banished from the Uchiha household he had still visited Sasuke to make sure his little brother was alright. In the stories of their time together Sasuke had always made it seem that Itachi was still eighteen even though quite a few years had passed. Now Naruto understood the reason why that was.

The rest of the evening was spent talking, drinking and making-out. At one point Naruto convinced Gaara to dance with him and they had headed to the floor with Haku and Zabuza, who had also decided to dance. Once again Naruto had been swept away by the music and the feel of Gaara's body pressed against him. The redhead had learned his lesson from last time and stayed with Naruto until the boy seemed ready to collapse. Not that the vampire had really minded doing so as when they were dancing Naruto allowed him to kiss and touch him, something that Gaara had wanted to do all night.

They had then headed back upstairs for a well deserved drink and sit-down. When they had arrived they found Sasuke sitting on Itachi's lap with his legs surrounding his brother's waist. Naruto had looked away before he had discovered what exactly the two were doing to each other to make them both produce such lustful noises. He was sure he didn't want to know what could possibly make the stoic Uchiha brothers sound so passionate.

Haku and Zabuza were also kissing at the bar but in a much more coy way. Naruto could see them teasing each other with touches that were intimate but not as intimate as they wanted them to be. He was pretty sure that when they got back to Zabuza's apartment they would be as intimate as they pleased.

When Naruto began to yawn they all knew that it was time to go home. Zabuza offered the use of his couch again to Naruto while Gaara offered his bed. Usually the choice would be an easy one to make: a nice soft bed beat a not-so-soft couch any day. But then the bed being offered was Gaara's and Naruto wasn't too sure that he should accept the offer. After all, he didn't do sex on the first date. Naruto told Gaara this and the redhead was expressionless when he replied, "I'm not asking for sex, I'm asking if you want to stay with me tonight."

Naruto's gaze had flickered towards his friends. Haku had smiled at him and Sasuke had ignored him. If the Uchiha didn't think he was being an idiot accepting Gaara's offer then he was probably doing the right thing. Naruto had waved goodbye to his friends before taking Gaara's hand and letting the vampire lead the way to his apartment.

Naruto hadn't really known what to expect of Gaara's apartment. It was a short walk from the club to there – still in the centre of the city but away from the noise of the clubs. From the outside it looked like any other flat and could very possibly have been no bigger than a closet.

It was much bigger than a closet though. As soon as Gaara switched on the light Naruto's jaw dropped. The place was a one bed-roomed apartment with kitchen, living room, dinning room and a huge bathroom. It was much bigger than the apartment Naruto lived in with Iruka which had two bedrooms. The place screamed that Gaara lived there as the windows were covered to keep out the sunlight by cardboard and posters of gothic bands. The furniture was all black and the walls were painted a deep burgundy colour. It was very tidy; there wasn't a speck of dust in sight. That was probably the only thing that stopped the apartment being a scaled down vampire's castle from a horror film. Naruto mentioned this and Gaara snorted in amusement.

"Have you brought anything to wear to bed?" questioned Gaara as he riffled through his chest of draws.

"Not really," said Naruto as he stared down at his clothes. He didn't think wearing his jeans to bed would be too comfortable, ditto his shirt. Naruto didn't really want to strut around Gaara's apartment in his underwear though and so was left with a major dilemma as to what to do.

Gaara solved the problem by throwing him a pair of jogging bottoms and a loose, overlarge shirt. "Go change in the bathroom. I've got a new toothbrush in the cabinet under the sink you can use."

Naruto did as he was ordered, finding the toothbrush easily enough. After brushing his teeth he changed into the borrowed clothes. A few minutes later he left the bathroom so that a similarly clad Gaara could use the facilities. Naruto took a hesitant seat on the large bed while he waited for the redhead, not exactly sure what he should do next.

It didn't take long for Gaara to reappear. "Do you want a drink or something to eat?" he asked.

"No thanks, I think I'll just go to bed."

Neither made a move from their positions: Naruto sitting on the bed and Gaara standing by the door. Gaara released his breath in a weary sigh. "Would you be more comfortable if I slept on the sofa?"

"No, you don't need to do that," protested Naruto, feeling bad for making Gaara give up his own bed. "It's your apartment – I'll sleep on the sofa."

Naruto stood to head out of the bedroom but Gaara blocked the way. He reached out and touched Naruto's cheek before leaning down for a kiss. Naruto was surprised by how tender the kiss was compared to the fiery, passionate ones they had shared earlier in the club.

When Gaara pulled back he whispered, "I promise not to do anything to you that you do not wish me to do. I do not want you to run from me again."

The lips descended upon his again and Naruto melted. Gaara's lips were very good at conveying how he felt. Naruto could taste the hidden lust that had been quieted for the moment by Gaara's want to make him feel safe. He wanted Naruto to want him, to need him, but at the moment the thing Gaara most wanted Naruto to do was trusthim. It proved quite nicely that Gaara did have a good side, even if he wasn't one for showing it.

The two parted and Naruto smiled. He climbed into the bed covered by a thick black duvet and motioned for Gaara to join him. The redheaded vampire quickly turned off the lights, plunging the apartment into darkness.

The rustling of the covers beside him told Naruto that Gaara was on the other side of the bed to him. He then felt the dip of the mattress as the redhead climbed in and made himself comfortable. Naruto half expected Gaara to grab hold of him and pull him close but he didn't. It made Naruto wonder if he'd imagined Gaara getting into bed. The blond teen sent out a probing hand that soon came into contact with Gaara's arm. Naruto ran his fingers down towards Gaara's hand, pleasantly surprised when his touch aroused goose-bumps along the arm. He found Gaara's hand and took hold of it. He gave the hand a small squeeze as he whispered, "Goodnight Gaara."

Gaara returned the squeeze in reply. Naruto smiled slightly as he released the hand. He then lay there for a moment, considering his current position in life: in bed with a vampire who surprisingly wanted to do nothing more than sleep. Naruto was quite alright with this, even if Gaara's change in attitude did confuse him slightly. For Naruto this was the first time he'd been in a relation that went beyond holding hands, stealing kisses or under the bra action (that had only happened with one girl who had promptly slapped him and pushed him into a conveniently nearby fountain. As one can imagine she was permanently struck off Naruto's Christmas card list after that).

Because of all this Naruto was naturally apprehensive about going too far too fast. This however conflicted with his view that he shouldn't act like an innocent school girl and be adamant that they waited until the wedding night for Gaara to take his precious virginity. He was a horny teenage boy after all and thoughts of sex took up a rather large percentage of his free time. But Gaara was a lot older and probably much more experienced than him. Naruto really didn't want to screw up in front of him. He didn't want Gaara to sneer at his pathetic attempts to pleasure him. The blond wanted to prove his worth to Gaara, wanted to show the vampire that he was someone worth keeping around. Because Naruto did like Gaara and his seemingly indifferent attitude. He liked the attention the redhead gave him, and he liked the way Gaara almost smiled at him and only him. It made Naruto feel special and he wanted to continue feeling special. He wanted to know more about these mysterious vampires and the even more mysterious Gaara. He didn't want the adventure which had just begun to end so soon. With that thought in mind Naruto closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Gaara remained motionless – feigning sleep – even when Naruto's breathing had long since evened out. After awhile Gaara became impatient and turned to stare at the blond. Gaara's sight was much better than a human's in the dark and he easily identified every feature on Naruto's peaceful face. Tentatively, the redhead reached out and lightly caressed the teen's cheek. Naruto mumbled something in his sleep but otherwise did not stir.

Now that he had settled down to rest Gaara no longer felt completely comfortable with the situation at hand. He didn't interact well with other people, found it hard to forge bonds or relationships with them. Gaara was fine with letting lust control his actions because there was no emotional connection in sex for the sake of sex. But holding someone close as they fall asleep was forming a bond made of the more tender emotions that Gaara was almost afraid to experience. He'd learned a long time ago that trusting someone was leaving yourself open to heartbreak and pain. If he got close to anyone he would be vulnerable and Gaara hated being vulnerable.

Usually Gaara was a very rational person. He sometimes allowed anger and lust to take over but the rest of the time he had a very firm grip on his emotions. At that moment he was having a hard time resisting the irrational urge to promise to protect Naruto from all the dangers of the world. His feelings for this boy he had known for a very short period of time were irrational. Yet, he was drawn somehow to Naruto. There was something about the blond teen that was special. Gaara didn't think he'd ever met a human like Naruto, who made him think and act irrationally. Naruto was definitely unique in that sense. And, Gaara was sure, that uniqueness was something worth protecting.

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