Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Midnight Passing ❯ Challenge 4 ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Title: Midnight Passing

Author: scottishfae

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: Naruto/Gaara, Naruto/Sasuke

Challenge #: 4

Rating: M

Summary: Every person passes through another's life leaving behind a distinct fingerprint that molds them into who they will eventually become (series of oneshots/drabbles) Yaoi/Shonen-Ai, Het

A series of One-Shots according to the 20Loves Challenge. Each one-shot is mildly related to each other by one repeating character or another.

All Normal Disclaimers Apply

0000000000000000000000000

Naruto slumped down over his desk, his face resting next to his keyboard. It was only mid-day but a heavy lunch was making him drowsy and all he wanted to do was go home and sleep. His beautiful boss, however, was in a foul mood and guilting her into going home was not an option.

He yawned deeply and brought his hands to rest on either side of his head. His screensaver was activated and the scrolling print of "sexy beast" was moving fluidly across the screen.

"You really shouldn't fall asleep, the bosses wouldn't like that." Hands accompanied the sentence, startling Naruto slightly, as they began to massage knotted muscles in his shoulders.

"Temari," Naruto all but moaned. "You're amazing with your hands

She giggled at the innuendo and trailed her hands down--fingernails dragging through the dark blue button-up shirt he was wearing--until she could reach no further. She then moved her hands to rest on the back of his chair.

Naruto sat up and swiveled, Temari took a step back, and he looked at the woman who had entered his cubicle. "What'cha need?"

Jumping up to sit on a half-sized filing cabinet, she just smiled. "Nothing really, just thought I would come by and bug my brother's adorable little boyfriend."

Temari had begun working at Konoha recently as one of the chief marketing reps. She was doing an outstanding job, boosting the company's profits by expanding all over the country. With the expansion, however, meant more work for Naruto who was busy doing his normal menial jobs of watching shipping and production as well as the odd jobs that Tsunade was shoving off on him. At first, Naruto had been angry at the extra stuff, with very little extra pay, but Gaara had pointed out to him that the extra work, the executive work, was more like a training process that their buxom boss was putting him through for the future. Of course Tsunade wouldn't confirm this, but she didn't deny it either.

"You don't look like you've been getting a lot of sleep Naruto," Temari noted. Normally she would tease him when he looked tired but Gaara was out of town with business and so Naruto's lack of sleep couldn't be attributed to him.

"I've been getting a little. It's just I've been up here most nights trying to catch up with work."

Naruto turned to look at his screen again. He hit the keyboard so that the screensaver deactivated. A previous game of solitaire took up the screen. Temari snorted.

Truth was Naruto's sleeplessness went much deeper than just work. In fact, many a nights he would stay at the office doing nothing so he wouldn't have to go home to an empty apartment. Though Naruto maintained his old apartment, not quite ready to give up the memories it held, he spent almost every night over at Gaara's well-kept place. It was a penthouse suite in a top class building, proving that Gaara didn't need to be working the middle class job he had. The place carried the scent and aura of Gaara, and that was why Naruto enjoyed being there, even when his beloved redhead was away, it still made it seem that the two were together. But even with this comfort, his memories were beginning to haunt him again as the media's coverage of the Uchiha marriage was becoming more and more frequent as the wedding day approached.

"Hey, Naruto?" Temari drew his attention back to her. She was looking at him with a worried expression.

He shot her a smile, though he was positive she could tell it wasn't completely cheerful. Temari was good at reading him most of the time. "Hey Temari, what are you doing tonight? Wanna come over? I'll cook dinner!"

Temari snorted. "No thanks blondie, I don't think I want ramen."

Naruto crossed his arms and sunk back into his chair. The action making him look more like a disgruntled twelve-year-old than a pouting adult. Temari couldn't help but giggle at him which only, in turn, made him pout more.

"Sorry Naruto, I would love to, I swear, but I actually have a date tonight."

Naruto sat up straight and looked at her with wide eyes. It wasn't as if he didn't believe she could get a date, she was stunningly beautiful after all, but most men were frightened away by her strong, independent personality. It also didn't help her that she had two very protective brothers, one of which tended to give off murderous vibes when it came to his sister's dates.

"Don't look so surprised!" She crossed her arms and glared down at him.

"I-I'm not surprised," Naruto paused. "Do Kankurou and Gaara know about this?"

Temari bit her lip, a nervous habit she tried to suppress most of the time. "I'll take that as a no then."

"No they don't. I figured I would tell them after the fact."

"So if it doesn't work out you don't scare the shit out of the guy, good thinking. So who is he?"

"It's a guy I met while working on one of the advertising campaigns. He was helping us out with the computer stuff, making sure everything flowed. Asuma recommended him highly, saying he was a genius or something. He was right, the guy is incredible and a real nice guy on top of it, a bit lazy, but..." she trailed off with a smile.

Naruto's eyes widened as something clicked inside his head. "Wait!" He stood with a bright smile. Temari looked at him curiously. "A lazy genius? Please tell me you're aren't the hot blonde Shikamaru's been talking about all week!"

"You know Shikamaru? How?" She was biting her lip again.

"I went to school with him, one of my few friends in high school. You're right; he is a real nice guy. A sarcastic shit sometimes, but it's a quirk that kind of grows on you."

Temari's smile had renewed. Naruto sat down again. "Man, what a small world. I can't believe you're going out with Shika. It's unreal."

"Anything I need to know about, any bad habits or whatnot?"

Naruto chuckled. "Now wouldn't that ruin the surprise?"

Temari's eyes narrowed. "Naruto you're practically my brother, if this guy is like some freak or stalker, I will be so angry with you!"

"Freak? Stalker? Geez, you have an active imagination Temari,” Naruto laughed. "You already know his worst trait, his laziness. Seriously, Temari, I'm sure you'll have a great time with him. Just take into account he may be nervous. He's only ever dated one person, a girl we went to high school with, and that didn't end up too well. He's not the sort of guy who chases women and the fact that he was talking about his date had most of us wondering who the hell was the woman who had affected him so much."

Temari was smiling with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"I'm surprised he even had the guts to ask you out--"

"I asked him out," she interrupted.

"Yeah, he usually finds things like that to be 'troublesome'."

"So you approve then?"

Naruto nodded vigorously.

"Watch out there Naruto, your head may come off," a new voice added.

Kankurou stood at the opening of his cubicle in a black, pinstriped suit. Temari stood up, shooting a look to Naruto to keep their earlier discussion to himself, and greeted her brother with a peck on his cheek.

"What brings you around Kankurou?" She asked.

"I'm stopping by to drop off some papers and thought I would say hey to Naruto. Lucky me, I caught you at the same time." He stuck out his hand and shook Naruto's. Normally the hyper blond would envelope him in a hug but Kankurou wasn't completely comfortable with the public display.

"You aren't trying to steal Naruto away from Gaara are you?" He teased.

Temari snorted. "I don't think I have right parts to steal him away Kankurou."

Naruto flushed red. Kankurou had the decency to match his coloring. Temari just laughed at the prudish behavior of both men. "Why are you here really Kankurou? I doubt one of the city's top officials really needs to do some menial task as deliver paperwork. Don't you have a dozen underlings to do that for you?"

Kankurou sighed, his shoulders slumping a bit, and he set his briefcase down inside the cubicle. There wasn't a lot of space and Naruto had to shove back to let the other man in. He took Temari's old spot and she moved to sit on one of Naruto's legs. The blond smiled at how inappropriate her position would look to the other employees who weren't aware of their real relationship and Naruto's preferences.

"God, there is this new intern there, only a kid really, who is just driving me nuts. I just want to shoot him. I mean, seriously! He's very..."

"Annoying?" Temari offered.

"Bitchy?" Naruto added.

"Lazy?"

"Suspicious?"

"Degrading?"

"Perverted?"

"...gay."

Both blonds stopped their suggestions at Kankurou sighed response. It took a second before Naruto registered the comment, screwed up his face, and became offended. "Hey!"

"No, no, Naruto, it's not supposed to be an insult. I mean, I like you, you're gay but you're not like this guy. He's, um, well..."

"Flamboyant?" Temari supplied.

"Yeah, yes. He's very much 'out of the closet', as they say, and he's making everyone uncomfortable up at City Hall. He wears the oddest stuff and just makes inappropriate comments and things like that. Susan and Teresa are keeping tally on the amount of times he says penis in one day, and we've had numerous complaints from the male staff saying that he has been coming onto them."

"Why don't you just fire him then?"

"We want to, but we can't. The lawyers are afraid that he'll sue for discrimination and we really can't afford the scandal right now." Kankurou sighed again slumping against the padded wall behind him. It shifted precariously. "He's a good worked too, once you can get him on topic, he's just too...gay."

"Hey!"

"Again, no offense Naruto."

"So you snuck out the office to take refuge here? Very mature of you Kankurou. I'm proud," Temari answered with a snort.

Naruto moved his hand down and gave her a quick pinch on the bum to get her to stop picking on her brother. She yelped and stood up, sending him a glare. He looked back up at her with as much innocence as he could manage.

"Naruto," Kankurou said, watching the display. "I was wondering if maybe you could come talk to him about, you know, appropriate office behavior."

"It's not my office though," Naruto answered. He was beginning to fidget with the buttons on his shirt.

"Please, Naruto," he said. "As your brother, please?"

The comment shocked him, because Kankurou rarely used the term. Though he didn't condemn Gaara and Naruto's relationship, he hadn't been the most accepting when it first began. It was only after a couple of months, after he gotten to know the blond, that he began to acknowledge the two men's relations.

Temari was nudging Naruto's ankle with the toe of one of her black pumps. Naruto sighed in defeat. "Yeah, yeah. When do you need me over there?"

"How about tomorrow morning, he'll be at nine. He's very prompt. He stays in the intern's office for like an hour doodling before he's scheduled to meet with the Mayor at ten. Then he's going to be running errands all day and dealing with whatever else pops up. He's been put under Sakura in helping the Uchiha's get everything needed from the City for the wedding, so they end up being pretty busy most of the day."

Naruto tensed at the mention of the Uchiha marriage but pushed back the rising bile. He nodded his head and turned towards his computer. His screensaver had activated again.

"Thanks Naruto," Kankurou said. He jumped off the filing cabinet and clapped Naruto on his shoulder. He turned and gave Temari a quick peck, promising to call her later.

"Man, I'm just racking up favors today," Naruto mumbled returning to his game of solitaire.

Two arms encircled the blond in a hug. "It's because we love you, Naruto, and we know that we can rely on you."

Naruto smiled at the whispered words. Temari seemed to know when Naruto retracted into himself, something she obviously had picked up on due to Gaara, and she always knew what to do when he was spiraling downwards.

She kissed him on the top of his head and stood up. "Well, I think we just fueled the gossip for at least a month."

Naruto laughed between his teeth. He leaned back in his chair to see the woman across from him speaking into her phone quietly, one hand covering her mouth to keep the conversation from being heard. Gladis was the office's biggest gossip. She was a good, efficient worker, even if her personality was a bit odd, and that was her only saving grace. After spreading a rumor that Tsunade and Naruto were having an affair, a rumor that was annoying persistent, she had almost been fired by Tsunade herself, but at the time they couldn't afford her loss and just gave her a warning and a month's pay cut.

"I really should get back. Get some work done and go home early tonight. I'm sure Kankurou wouldn't mind coming over for dinner," Temari winked knowing the other man would be somewhat uncomfortable with meeting the blond on what could be seen as intimate terms.

Naruto laughed. "Don't forget to drop by and tell me how the date went. I want to know your side before Shikamaru's."

"Why?"

"Because I trust you to be brutally honest."

Temari laughed, mused Naruto's hair up, and left the cubicle. She stopped by Gladis' before leaving, the powerful and intimidating businesswoman vibe exuding from her once again. "I hope that isn't a personal call Gladis," she warned. "Get back to work, mind your own business, and get a life."

Naruto chuckled as Temari stalked back down the rows of cubicles to the elevator that would take her to one of the upper floors that held her office.

000000000000000000000000000000000000

The blond made his way through the labyrinth of hallways that made up City Hall. He was already running a bit late. He was supposed to stop by Kankurou's office before hand but the older man had been out, leaving him a note with his secretary on who he was supposed to go meet and where to find him. Naruto was really wishing he had taken up the secretary's offer to act as a guide, even if it was just a blatant attempt to flirt.

A man, wearing a tight black shirt and black slacks, was walking down the hallway with a notebook in one hand and a coffee mug in the other. Naruto couldn't help but look as the shirt, that didn't quite reach the hem of his pants, shifted with every step.

Naruto flushed, embarrassed, as the man realized that he was staring at him.

"Uh, excuse me?" Naruto began, his voice jumping a bit. His cheeks heated more and he cleared his throat. He held up the piece of paper to make sure he had the room number and name correct. "Could you help me? I'm a bit lost. I'm looking for room 3257,"

The man, a dark brunette with a scarily familiar look, smiled at him with an attractive smile. "Room 3257? It's this way. Who are you looking for?"

The man kept walking the way he was before, opposite the way Naruto was originally headed, and the blond followed him. "Oh, I'm looking for a um...damn Kankurou how can you get away with having such awful handwriting?...I think that's um, Sai maybe? I can't make out that name, can you?"

The brunette turned and looked down at the paper. He scanned it and narrowed his eyes. "That is Sai, and that would be me." His voice was cheery, as was his expression, but Naruto felt that there was something a bit off.

"Oh, well, hi Sai. I'm Naruto," he held out his hand. Sai stuck his notebook between his arm and torso, opening up one hand so that he could shake the blond's hand. Naruto couldn't help but notice that the grip was hard and it lasted a bit longer than it needed.

"Hi Naruto, what can I do you for you? It must be important since Kankurou sent you down here."

"Um, do you always call your superiors by their first names? That seems a bit rude."

Sai just smiled. By this time they had gotten to the interns office and he entered the room. It was empty and only a small desk lamp and one computer screen provided any light. The room was an interior room, probably meant to be a storage room, but was now housing at least 5 interns.

Naruto followed the man as he walked to the small desk set up against the wall in the corner. Sai put down his coffee mug. Then unlocked one of his desk draws and carefully placed his notebook in, and then closing and relocking it.

When attention was returned to him, Naruto cleared his throat. "Um, Kankurou, asked me to come in and talk to you about...um...appropriate office behavior." He was nervous and his voice seemed small.

"Appropriate office behavior? Are you one of those councilor people?"

"No."

"A lawyer?"

"No."

"A public speaker?"

"No."

"Then what right do you have to speak to me about appropriate office behavior? Who are you?"

"I've already told you, I'm Naruto, Uzamaki Naruto. And I'm here as a favor for a friend. Your behavior has been making a lot of people uncomfortable and they want you to tone it down some."

"Oh? And what I am I doing to make them uncomfortable? And why you? Why not one of my bosses?"

Naruto sighed. "Listen, I know you're gay." Sai didn't seem affected by this comment. "But you can't go parading it around for everyone because not everyone is comfortable with that."

"I hear from Sakura that Ino goes around 'parading' her relationships around, how is that so different? I'm not comfortable with that."

Naruto moved to lean up against the desk that butted up to Sai's. "I know it seems like a double standard, but just don't be so flamboyant about it. Wear clothes that aren't so tight, ones that are appropriate for work."

"Like the one's you're wearing?"

"Yeah, like these."

"Those are so unattractive though."

"Your looks don't matter as much. Look professional here, not like you're at a club. You aren't here to pick up guys," Naruto said. "You're here to do a job and that is what you should do. Show respect to your superiors. Watch what you say, particularly with the word penis, and try not to hit on people. That's all they're asking here. It doesn't mean you have to stop being gay, just don't push into everyone's faces."

Naruto had been staring at the wall in front of him but turned his head when he heard Sai stand up. He had a smile on his face and he stepped closer to Naruto. The blond wasn't sure he was comfortable with that. "Um, Sai?"

"Kankurou asked you to do this because you're gay too, right?"

Naruto swallowed and looked around nervously. He was startled when a hand touched his leg and began caressing his thigh. "Excuse me, stop that," Naruto said.

Sai stepped over and pushed Naruto further against the desk. He continued to advance, following the blond up the desk as he tried to get away. "What's the matter Naruto?" Sai said into his ear. Naruto shivered from the close contact.

"Let me up Sai, this is inappropriate."

"So seems to be everything when it comes to you," he replied.

Sai moved his hands and began fiddling with the corded belt around Naruto hips. Naruto swallowed audibly. "Let me up, Sai. I'm not joking." He allowed a bit of anger into his voice.

"No."

Naruto jumped as the door was opened and Kankurou walked in. "Naruto--?" The papers that he held into his hand fell to the floor as he jumped to grab Sai off of the blond. Naruto gratefully jumped up, fixing his belt, and walking over to the doorway. Kankurou was already giving Sai a piece of his mind.

"Naruto, would you mind picking up those papers. It's for Konoha, the one's from yesterday."

Naruto obeyed and picked up the fallen documents. He was soon joined by Kankurou and the job was finished quickly. "Sai, I'm going to go talk with the mayor about your conduct. This is the last straw."

The two men walked out of the room, leaving Sai. "Sorry about that Naruto, I didn't think he would attack you."

"It's okay Kankurou, I'm just glad you came by." He was visibly shaken and the other man was tempted to throw an arm around him to comfort him.

"Come up to my office, you can have some coffee to calm you down."

Naruto nodded and followed the other man up to his office.

00000000000000000000000000000000000

Naruto entered the Konoha office building around eleven. Despite the coffee, his entire body felt exhausted.

"You're late brat," a familiar voice growled at him.

Naruto turned to see Tsunade standing by the executive elevator. He smiled and gave her a wave but both seemed forced. "You okay?" Her voice had changed to worry as she approached him and tested to make sure he didn't have a fever.

"I'm fine," he answered. "Just a rough day."

Tsunade snorted. "It's only eleven, how can have been rough already?"

The elevator dinged and opened. Tsunade moved to enter it. She stopped while she was only half in, one hand on the door. "Here is something that will brighten your day Naruto," she began. Naruto turned to look at her. "I just heard from the director of the new branch, they finished setting up quicker than expected and they're sending home our representative. Gaara should be back home by tomorrow."

Naruto's face lit up with a smile, despite his exhaustion. "Thank you Tsunade!" He said running and giving her a hug.

"Don't thank me, I didn't do all that hard work in record time. But you can thank me for the long weekend I'm giving you both." She received another tight hug. She was laughing happily at the return of her bubbly blond. "I expect to see you here next Wednesday on time though."

Naruto reassured her he would be on time, early even, and then left to run up the many flights of stairs to the floor his cubicle lay. Tsunade just laughed at his energy as she rode the elevator to the top floor.

00000000000000000000000000000000000

"Did it really take you two hours to deal with this guy?" Temari asked as Naruto entered his cubicle.

She had taken his desk chair and was swiveling around in it with her legs crossed.

Naruto groaned and begged for her not to ask about the events that had already happened today. Naruto had stayed in Kankurou's office as he made a phone call about Sai's behavior, incase the blond was needed to make a statement. However, word got round, probably by Sai himself, to Sakura about his dismissal and a very angry strawberry blonde crashed into Kankurou's office in a rage. She was angry that he was taking away her only help on the massive Uchiha project with only a month remaining, and had taken out her abuse on Naruto, who she had known since childhood. As it was, the man was allowed to stay until the wedding was over with and all the post-paperwork was finished.

Temari moved and allowed him to sit down. He booted up his computer and sat back into the comfortable chair. The blonde woman took her usual seat on the file cabinet. "So how did the date go?" Naruto asked.

Temari's smile was hard to categorize. "It went, okay. You were right, he was very nervous at first, it took me a while to calm him down and relax, but after that, it went well."

"You seeing him again?"

Temari's smile turned to one that could have rivaled Naruto's. "Yes, we're meeting tonight after work for drinks at some bar downtown."

"Romantic date."

"We decided that environment would make everyone less nervous and less awkwardness means it's easier to get to know one another."

Naruto swiveled around to stare at Temari. "Wait, you're serious about this guy? Like you want a relationship with him outside of just sleeping together?"

Temari knocked him upside the head. "Don't be a jerk Naruto."

"I'm sorry, it's just unusual."

The blonde woman nodded, knowing that his comment wasn't completely off base. She still had the problem of Shikamaru passing the brother-test, which was going to be one hell of a problem. Naruto seemed to understand her anxiousness. He reached out and gave her knee a quick squeeze. "I'll try and help and support you in anyway," he offered.

"Thanks Naruto but I wouldn't want to cause a fight between you and Gaara."

Naruto snorted. "It's not like I don't know Shikamaru anyway and I wouldn't let you go out with him if he was creepy or something. It seems my opinion and knowledge of his character should be counted for something."

"It won't be, not with my brothers."

"Well considered yourself well loved then."

Temari smiled gently, knowing this was true. "Did you hear that Gaara is coming home tomorrow?" She said deciding to change the subject.

Naruto's face lit up. "Yeah, Tsunade told me before I came up. She also gave us both a long weekend on top of it."

"Well I'm sure you two will find great use of the free time then." Temari gave the blond a suggestive wink. He flushed bright red in response.

"Way to be a perv Temari," he said.

He moved so he was once again facing his computer screen. It had finished booting up while he was turned around and his desktop wallpaper, a picture of Naruto, Gaara and his siblings, stared back at him. Naruto reached out and traced the gentle slope of Gaara's well-defined face. His red hair was in a constant state of disarray and he kept it short so that it wouldn't end up looking like Naruto's untamed locks. The matching crimson tattoo that adorned his forehead was half-hidden under the bangs.

Naruto smiled at the blank face that stared back at him. The four of them had gone out to an amusement park, part of Naruto's birthday present from the siblings since he had never been, and they had stopped some random worker to take their picture in front of one of the giant attractions the park was known for. Naruto's arms were slung around Gaara's neck, his head tucked under the redhead's chin, and Gaara's arms grasping onto the blond tightly. Kankurou stood behind his brother looking only slightly at the camera. His cheeks were red with embarrassment from the couple's public display. Temari in the picture was standing behind Naruto. She was giving a toothy smile, as she struggled not laugh while holding up two fingers behind Naruto's head.

It was one of the best times of his life and one of the only pictures Naruto had, even if it was just a digital image.

"You really missed him, huh?"

Temari's voice startled Naruto out of his reverie. He jumped back slightly in his chair and began pulling up the programs he would need for work.

"Naruto," Temari said. "Shikamaru talked about you some, about what you were like in high school, about your relationship with Uch--"

She was cut off as Naruto stood up abruptly. His head was bowed so that his bangs covered his eyes. "He shouldn't have talked about that, it's none of his business."

"Naruto he was worried."

"No, he just wanted to get into your pants."

Temari's eyes widened and one of her hands came to cover her mouth in surprise. Her voice was harsh when she next spoke. "That was uncalled for Uzamaki." He flinched at her formality. "He was worried about you. He asked me how you were doing, if you were dating anyone, and I explained that you were dating someone I was close to but business was keeping you two apart."

Temari jumped off the filing cabinet and stood in front of him. The office was quiet as many people were beginning to stop what they were doing and watch the two blonds. Both ignored them.

Naruto's chin was grabbed harshly and pulled up into the air so that his eyes came in contact with Temari's smoldering gaze. "He was worried," she tightened her hold when he tried to rip his chin from her grasp. "He was worried because you were alone at a time when your past was coming back and you didn't need to be alone. And he's right, and you know he's right. Stop hiding your sorrow from everyone and let us help you. Let us be there for you."

“Are you done?”

“No, not nearly. But we both have work to do and so I'll let it go for now. Give me a call later tonight and we can hang out, if you want.”

“You have a date tonight.”

Temari's hand moved from his chin, letting his face fall again, and moved around to his shoulder to give it a squeeze. “If it's for you Naruto, I'll cancel.”

00000000000000000000

Even at nine in the morning the airport was already teaming with various people coming and going. Naruto felt awkward sitting in the waiting area, as the world around him seem to blur in a hurried rush.

He fiddled with his jeans uncomfortably. Someone big was coming into town if the press, who were here in mass, was any indication. Security had been beefed up as well. Naruto was lucky to even get where he was and that was only because he had made a fit.

A plane had landed only moments ago and the people were piling through the gate. A large man with long, white hair cam through flirting with a young woman with long, dark hair. Naruto watched the two. The woman looked very familiar but he couldn't pin where from. She walked with a bred elegance. On her face was a forced smiled, almost a painful grimace, as she put up with the elder man's advances.

The blond perked his ears when they drew near, trying to listen in. The old man looked at the blond--Naruto jumped-- and winked at him. Naruto hastily got up and stepped away from the two. The elder man chuckled lightly before returning his attention to the woman he was with. He watched the two go down the passageway of the airport until they ducked out of his view. From a distance, he could hear the press going wild and the voice of the old man laughing above all the noise.

A hand gripped the boy's shoulder from behind. Only knowing one person who would approach him at the airport, Naruto instinctively turned around and buried himself into the chest of the other person. "Gaara. I've missed you," Naruto mumbled into the suit jacket.

The other man tensed at the words. "Gaara?" Naruto asked, pulling back from the body he had buried himself in.

His eyes went wide when his eyes locked with the dark eyes of the man in front of him. "Sasuke?" His voice was broken and small.

Naruto took several steps back before he fell to the ground. Sasuke stood above him seemingly uncouth by the appearance of the blond. His slightly shaking, clenched hands were the only thing that gave him away. "Naruto?" His voice too seemed small.

Naruto realized why he had recognized the woman from before, the one with the old man. He had seen her picture plastered all over the news lately as the future wife of one Uchiha Sasuke.

Through the fear and nervousness, anger seeped into the foreground. He got off the floor, dusting himself off. His teeth were clenched in an angry sneer. "Excuse me, Uchiha, I'm waiting for someone and I wouldn't want to keep you from your fiancé."

Sasuke reach forward to touch Naruto's arm but the blond stepped back and swatted away the foreign appendage. "Don't touch me, bastard."

"I remember a time when you would have loved for me to touch you."

"That was a long time ago and you ended it by leaving."

"Don't give me that bullshit, Naruto," Sasuke said. "You knew it had to end just as much as I did."

"Why? To protect your family's precious name? Is that why you're marrying this Kin-woman?"

"Leave my family out of this."

"No."

It was only in a blink of an eye that Naruto found himself thrown backwards into a row of the plastic chairs, his cheek throbbing. He brought a hand to touch his face. It hurt and would probably swell and bruise later.

Sasuke was looking at him with shocked eyes. "Oh God, Naruto! I-I didn't mean to hurt you," he said rushing to the other's side.

Naruto pushed away the other man as he stood up. Keeping his distance, he walked over to the large window opposite of where Sasuke was standing and stared out. "Do you even love her Sasuke? Are you even capable of love? Were you ever?"

"Naruto, don't do this," Sasuke said.

He approached the other man slowly until he stood behind him with only a miniscule gap between the two. "Don't ever doubt that I loved you--"

The blond spun around, his face a mixture of anger and sorrow. "Don't you dare say that," he said. "After you left me, don't you dare say you loved me."

"Naruto, there were reasons. It was for the best."

Sasuke was thrown to the floor by the force of Naruto's punch. The blond stood over him with his head down and bangs hiding his eyes. His whole body was shaking from suppressed emotions, though Sasuke couldn't tell which.

"You caused me so much heartache. I couldn't eat or sleep because of you," Naruto said. His voice was quivering and barely audible. "At those moments I hated you. And yet I don't regret a single moment I spent with you. Not a single, fucking moment."

"Naruto--"

A woman, Kin, calling out Sasuke's name interrupted the Uchiha before he could say anything. He stood up and watched as his fiancé walked quickly towards him. "Sasuke, sweetie, we need to go. We're meeting that frightful woman from the City about the wedding."

"Sakura," Naruto said. The spite was evident in his voice.

Kin turned and focused her attention on the blond. "Excuse me?"

Naruto raised his head and met her gaze. "Her name is Sakura and she had been working her butt off for you. Give her some respect."

Kin snorted and blew the blond off. "Honey," Naruto wanted to gag at the pet name. "Who is this?"

Sasuke just stared at the blond, his eyes filled with regret and sorrow.

"Uzamaki Naruto," the blond supplied.

The dark-haired woman looked surprised before narrowing her eyes and attaching herself to her fiancé's arm. There was obvious recognition in her face and Naruto had to step back from the sheer force of anger and jealously that was emanating from her. "Sasuke, let's go."

She was already pulling him away from the blond but the Uchiha still seemed dazed and his movements were jerky. "Sasuke!" Kin said. She was getting frustrated.

"Naruto!"

The blond turned around to see his favorite redhead coming through the gates. Naruto's face lit up and he ran to Gaara. Both Kin and Sasuke watched as the blond all but tackled the other man.

Gaara embraced Naruto, bringing him into a warm kiss.

"Gaara I've missed you so much!"

A small smile flickered over the pale features. "I've missed you too Naruto."

An eruption of sound broke the two out of their personal universe. Naruto noticed that Sasuke and Kin were no longer standing there. The noise was the press reacting to the appearance of the Uchiha couple.

"Naruto, what happened to your cheek?" Gaara asked.

He had grabbed onto one of Naruto's hands and they were walking towards the baggage claim. Naruto brought his other hand to his swollen cheek. His blue eyes clouded over for a moment.

"Oh, it's nothing," he gave Gaara's hand a squeeze. "Clumsy me, ran into my past."

The redhead dropped Naruto's hand so he could throw his arm around the blond's shoulder. He brought the other man against his body and squeezed his shoulder tightly. In return, Naruto snuggled into Gaara's warmth. "I really am glad you're back."

"Don't worry Naruto, I'll always come back."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000

Please leave comments. On aff[dot]net, I basically got one review for every 100 hits (600+ hits total) and that is very discouraging.

There still may be some editing issues that need to be taken care of, but I'll come back for those.

Page Count: 18