Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Between A Rock And A Hard Place ❯ Red Handed ( Chapter 8 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

"I hope Naruto will eat this." Sasuke grumbled to himself, swaying small bags in his hands with their lunch for the day. He had been searching all over town for something for them to eat. It had no luck was just going to head back when suddenly a elderly woman noticed his disappointment. Sasuke of course didn't want her to be worried about him because of his despair, but she insisted on making him lunch since he could not find a restaurant. Sasuke thought it was odd she would do something so nice for them, but he didn't reject again.

It had taken a long while before she was actually finished cooking the food so now he was rushing back. "Naruto better not have gotten into any trouble just because I was gone for so long." Sasuke growled to himself. He could simply imagine Naruto causing a ruckus in town and making all the villagers angry. Hopefully that wouldn't be the case and the blond would have actually listened to him for once. With him going through all this trouble to make sure Naruto was properly fed, he dearly hoped Naruto wouldn’t do anything to make him rethink ever repeating such kindness toward him again.

"Finally..." the teen mumbled to himself as he could finally spot the stream a few feet ahead of him. And like a sudden refreshing rain, his spirits lifted at the thought of Naruto's excitement when he saw that he had brought him some food. Sasuke knew for a fact that the only real way to excite or impress the blond was through his stomach, so this would definitely be a situation in which the boy could be happy. But at last, it was not destiny for his happiness to remain.

Sasuke quickly started to slow down as another form came into view. He couldn't hear from his distance but he knew for a fact that such a look like that on Naruto's face was an unpleasant one. His eyes narrowed as he could clearly make out the stranger now approaching Naruto to definitely be Gaara. "What is he doing here?" Sasuke asked himself. The question was regretted the very next moment. Just as the space between the other two had quickly faded, so had Sasuke's spirits. He chest was unbearably tight as though his heart was suffocating inside him. He hadn't realized how hard his hands hand fisted on the bags he held in each palm until they had tore, resulting in all the contents falling onto the ground below.

His breath hitched in his throat when Naruto turned to him suddenly. It was as if his whole world came crashing down soundlessly. He hadn't even heard the blonde's gentle reply of his name; only the deep throbbing of his heart, slow and deadly. Sasuke couldn't register what he had just seen, or rather he didn't wish to. He couldn't grasped the concept that Naruto would ever lie to him. So why was it so easy for him to believe Naruto had kept this from him? Could he really believe Naruto when he just saw the two kissing before his very eyes?

"Sasuke?" Naruto repeated, this time his words becoming very clear to the distant teen. Sasuke slid out of his painful dreaming and stared coldly into Naruto's eyes. What could Naruto possibly say to ease the tension between them? He had never thought he would feel like he would ever have to explain anything to Sasuke, especially if it had nothing to do with him? But that was the least of Naruto's troubles. He couldn't seem to fathom why Gaara would suddenly kiss him like that.

No longer being able to stand this eerie silence, Sasuke hastily turned sharply around and actually started running from the scene. Naruto gasped and clumsily went after him. "Sasuke, wait! Why are you running away?!" Naruto yelled, chasing after his teammate. He caught a glimpse of the spilt food on the dusty ground and knew that he had done something terribly stupid. Though it wasn't his fault that Gaara decided to kiss him, he was still responsible for clearing things up with Sasuke. But what could possibly be going on in the other's head that could make him this mad?

As Naruto was stealthy catching up to Sasuke, the raven haired teen finally turned around. "Stop following me you stinking liar!" Sasuke shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the blond. Naruto stopped immediately, taken aback by the name calling. "You really take me for a fool don't you?" Sasuke asked furiously. "You act like you want to be on this mission to actually protect people, but all this time you were trying to see Gaara." It was all starting to make sense to Sasuke. Why Naruto would suddenly disappear, claiming to go sight see when he was really shacking up with Gaara at his place. No wonder he found the blond in Gaara's room this morning. He had the nerve to lie about it then, but why? What reason could Naruto possibly have for lying to him about something like this? Was he that ashamed of what he would think of him? "I'm your friend Naruto! You could have just told me and I would have understood. But I would have never guessed you would stoop to sneaking around."

"What are you talking about?!" Naruto screamed out in astonishment. Was this really happening? He was being accused of lying and the indecencies of sex, especially with another male. "Gaara kissed me if you were to blinded by stupidity to notice!" Naruto explained. "And why would I even lie to you about something so meaningless? You've got be crazy if you little anyone would actually love someone like me." Naruto pointed to himself. Personally, Naruto thought it was ridiculous to assume Gaara would like him like that. He was a monster after all, and know one he knew that would ever fall for him. Gaara was just playing his stupid mind games, wasn't he?

Sasuke huffed, throwing his arms into the air. "Then I guess I am crazy, because last time I checked you were the first person I-" Sasuke cupped his lips suddenly, his eyes wide and his face turning into a deep crimson just beneath his hands. He was relieved to have caught himself before saying something he was all too sure was just something for the heat of the moment. He definitely wasn't going to say what he thought he was going to say. There was no way he would fall for a person like Naruto. Someone like him just didn't go for people like Naruto. "Forget it." Sasuke hissed quickly, dropping his hands. "I don't even know why I bother. You're too stupid to realize what's right in front of you. You're not a total waste at love, I just can't see Gaara being one of the people to actually feel that way at all, not just for you." Sasuke warned before heading back.

Naruto whimpered slightly at the mad terms they were now left off on. He had no clue what Sasuke meant to say before and he most certainly didn't know what to think about Gaara. Thinking back on the kiss, Naruto felt his cheeks burn. Gaara wasn't that cruel that he would play with someone's emotions, but Naruto too was having trouble imagining the red head taking him serious in a relationship. As much as Naruto liked Gaara, he had never thought a real relationship was even an option for them. Not only would it go against the village’s belief in love but also their trust in them. Two demons in such a tight unite would be seen as deadly and a betrayal waiting to happen. It simply wasn't meant to be.

"Stupid." Gaara barked deeply. "I should have known better." He scorned himself for the ridiculous display he had put on today. He had never done anything more idiotic than that just now. It showed immensely from the brief and unforgettable look in Naruto's eyes when he finally tore from his lips. He would never let himself forget the absolute shock and what he had hoped wasn't disgust in those amazingly inspiring blue eyes. He choked softly at the image. What if Naruto never spoke to him again or even looked at him? Their friendship might have been completely ruined because he decided to go off on a whim when listening to Kankuro's suggestion. He couldn't dare show his face to the blond again after that.

Before Gaara had realized it, he was back home and bursting through the door in a hysterical rush. Temari and Kankuro both came rushing to the front to see what all the calamity was, but they sensed it was worst than that upon seeing their temperamental bother making his way back up to his room. Temari immediately turned to Kankuro. "What did you tell him Kankuro?" She asked viciously, scaring the other so that he stepped back a few feet.

"What makes you it was something I said?" Kankuro lashed back defensibly. Of course he couldn't hold up his argument long after Temari gave him a certain look of promised torture. "Alright I might have threw in a word or two about making his move on a certain little blond headed crush of his." Kankuro explained, rolling his eyes to the side and leaning against the wall in frustration.

"What?!" Temari asked again. She couldn't believe this. But this is what one would get after confining in Kankuro for anything. "That was a dumb idea! You know good and well Gaara wouldn't be able to do something like that. For all you know he said the wrong thing and screwed everything up." Temari yelled back.

"Nonsense. That couldn't be the problem, I told him to kiss him." Kankuro corrected, sounding almost proud about it. But the feeling of pride was lost the moment Temari punched him in the face.

"Imbecile, and what methods of wooing your crush are you going by?! I hardly think your techniques will work for anyone but the mentally retarded and that is only because the girl will just feel pity for them." Temari argued. "Go up there now and clean up the mess you made. And I mean give him real advice not some stupid Kankuro's Quick and Easy tips for catching and losing your crush in under ten seconds!" Kankuro snarled at his sister viciously before heading up stairs.

Kankuro in no way had been prepared for stuff like this, simply because no one that knew about Gaara would ever think he would need relationship advice. They all thought he was here for one purpose and they wouldn't even try to think he could do more with his life than that. So Kankuro was fearful in what he might have to say to his little brother once he got up there. That worry heightened the moment he pushed through the wooden door leading into the other's almost uninhabited room. Just off to the corner of the teen's room, he was crouched there, and whispering incoherently. Kankuro slowly walked over, paling at the scene before him.

"Why are you still protecting me?!" Gaara hissed in a low whisper, his voice raw and saddened with the outcome of today's attempt. Kankuro had a feeling it turned out bad, but not bad enough where his brother though had to actually try and stab himself. Kankuro watched in disbelieving horror as he frantic brother desperately tried to push past the small barrier of sand on his arm as he thrust a sharpened kunai into the protective grain. It was no use obviously, they both knew that.

"Gaara what are you doing?" Kankuro asked with a dull sounding sigh once he convinced himself this was nothing more than a feeble attempt to direct the teen's pain away from his heart to other physical wounds. After all a wound to the heart was much more painful than the wound to the flesh. Kankuro kneeled down beside him and grabbed the kunai. "Surely it wasn't that bad Gaara. No rejection is worth taking you life over or even trying it in your case. And what's with the sudden spurge of stupidity, you know Shukaku will protect you from any harm?" Kankuro informed.

Kankuro could see his words did little to comfort Gaara as the teen meekly stared off to the side, wincing with what Kankuro suspected were soon to be tears. "It's all my fault..." Gaara whimpered. Kankuro found it hard to even look Gaara in the eyes. He was use to seeing hatred in those jade ords, but never a sadness like this. He thought it was impossible for anyone to make Gaara feel this bad, so maybe his brother really could love.

"Gaara, it isn't your fault. If there is someone to blame, then it would be me." Kankuro corrected with a defeated sigh. He placed his hand on Gaara's shoulder, only to have the boy flinch away. That was certainly odd. If Gaara didn't want him to touch him he could simply make Shukaku shield it from him. "That Naruto kid is hardly worth your time anyway. My bets are that he already has a thing for someone else because he would be crazy to turn you down." Kankuro tried to encourage the red head, but again it was a failure.

"You don't understand." Gaara mumbled. "It's all my fault...everything. They were all right, I couldn't protect the village like I was suppose to." Gaara mewled sorrowfully. Kankuro thought it was the most stupid reason for Gaara to cry, especially when he knew this so long ago. He supposed it just showed more with the recent disease going on that Gaara was helpless against. Kankuro gasped suddenly when his brother leaned forward into his chest, soft tears dripping into his clothes as Gaara slowly wrapped his trembling arms around his waist. There was never a moment where Kankuro felt more vulnerable than right now. He was warmed by the opportunity he was given to actually be more of a brother to Gaara, yet he had a feeling he would mess this up somehow as well.

"Shhh...Gaara, you had nothing to do with all this." Kankuro soothing petted his brother's hair and wrapped his other arm tightly around Gaara's shoulders as the boy wept. "Don't believe a word those villagers say. Temari and I know you didn't do that and we'll stand by you no matter what."

Gaara's grip tightened at those words. "Your wrong." He whispered desperately. He knew they were all wrong, but he could never truly tell them why. He didn't want to lose the only people he had left to care about him. He did not want them to hate him for what he had done and he did not want Naruto to forget the fragile friendship they had yet to fully develop, even if he could not be more to the blond. He wanted to mean something to someone. Anyone.

Having missed Gaara's last claim, Kankuro lightly tugged his brother's head from his chest and smiled gently at him. "Now, how about we try to win that blond of yours back? I'll be damned if I let anyone else have what is rightfully yours. But I must know before I try to help you again...did you find out about that feeling?" Kankuro asked seriously. He would just refuse to help if Gaara insisted on denying that he loved the other boy.

Gaara weakly nodded. "But Kankuro, how can I be sure?" Gaara asked. "Love is the heart's desire to protect someone who is precious to you. And I want to protect him, but what if I'm doing more harm then good? I think I love him a lot, but I'll just die if he doesn't feel the same." His head fell once more. "I couldn't bare to know love again...just to have it taken away like before." Though it was a different love he had known before, it didn't change the fact that it hurt immensely to be denied of that love.

"Then we will make him feel the same." Kankuro chuckled. "There are hundreds of ways to make a place for yourself in someone's heart. With Naruto, it might even be easier than that." Kankuro teased. "But you must never force someone to love you and I don't think it's best you do anything more than kissing without his permission." Kankuro advised with sweat dropping form his brow. Yep, he would admit kissing someone without any reason was definitely not the best way of going about a relationship, especially for a beginner like Gaara.

"Anything more?" Gaara asked.

Kankuro's eye suddenly popped out of his head. "This is just great." He growled, rolling his eyes. He should have known this would be a problem. No one had been caring enough to explain to Gaara about...well... "We have a long way before you are ready to go back out there." Kankuro sighed. "Our first lesson today in how to win a heart: what is love making?" Kankuro introduced. Since no one else had bothered to teach things like this to Gaara, then it was his job as Gaara's older brother to explain it to him. He just hoped Temari wouldn't later kill him for this manly lesson.

"What’s going on around here?" Kakashi asked in a bored manner. He left the boys alone for one night and somehow hell managed to run a muck between them. He lazily leaned against the door frame to the boy’s room as he looked on with disinterest. For some reason Naruto was babyishly sitting in the corner of the room with his arms around his knees as he grumbled on about perverts and jerks or another. And Sasuke, well he just looked plain pissed as he shoved baggage under their bed. "Is anyone going to run me through this?" Kakashi said, louder this time so he could not be ignored.

Sasuke jerked his head toward him with a fearsome glare. "Yeah. The idiot over there is still hungry because he decided to skip a meal last night rather than be with the rest of us and when I finally get him something to eat, he goes on and makes me drop it." Sasuke insisted, resulting in Naruto jumping out of his moping state to shout out in disagreement.

"That’s not true teme! You dropped it yourself! I didn’t do anything!" Naruto declared angrily.

"That’s right dobe." Sasuke lashed out. "You didn’t do anything. Not even notice you were being molested in public because you are the most clueless person on the planet!" Sasuke exclaimed. Some time after Naruto explained he didn’t have anything to do with Gaara kissing him, Sasuke had made up his own theories. The only thing that could possibly make sense was that Gaara was trying to take advantage of the blond without him even realizing it. And that only pissed Sasuke off more. He was definitely going to punch that bastard’s face in if he even came within a yard of Naruto.

Kakashi arched a curious brow. "Oh so are little Naruto is attractive sexual predators in Suna now is he?" Kakashi mocked in a cute voice. "Well then you better keep a closer eye on him Sasuke. We wouldn’t want someone having their way with him, now would we?" Kakashi asked in a playful tone, making Naruto blush deep red.

"Shut up!" Sasuke yelled at his instructor, which shocked both Naruto and Kakashi. "That isn’t going to happen! Gaara’s not even going to lay a single finger on him! I swear it!" Sasuke growled.

Kakashi suddenly choked on his own breath at hearing this. "What? Gaara? You have got to be kidding me. Why would Gaara want Naruto?" Kakashi had to ask. This only helped in making Naruto feel more worse about himself. It is was that unbelievable for Kakashi and Sasuke to comprehend, then maybe Gaara was only joking around. That thought made Naruto a little sad. He just new it was too good to be true. No one could ever like him like that.

"I don’t know. Maybe messing with people’s mind turns him on." Sasuke snarled viciously. Naruto wordlessly walked past Kakashi. "Hey! Where are you going Naruto?! I can’t afford to have you missing for another night!" Sasuke yelled out eagerly. No doubt Gaara would come for him again and he was not going to let that happen.

"I’m still hungry. I sure Kaito and Haruka will donate food if I ask really nicely." Naruto explained with a timid laugh and disappeared down the street. He wanted to know all that was going on; he just had a feeling there was more to all this. He was sure of it now, that Gaara wasn’t playing. "Why would he apologize if it was a joke?" Naruto asked himself. He had thought about it most of the day and he remembered how sincere of a look Gaara was showing him before and after the kiss. Naruto had to know…what was happening-to him and this town.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Thanks for the awesome reviews! I didn’t think you all would like this fic all that much, but I am certainly glad you do! I will update as soon as I can. And you can expect more GaaraxNaruto fluff in the next chapter.