**

The air smelled of fresh sea breeze body wash and cucumber melon shampoo. Naruto's body urged him to roll over in fabric softened sheets that made his skin tingle in the memory of the previous evening. Naruto opened his eyes and said a silent prayer to whoever was listening: God bless the fishnet.

Gaara was standing in the mirror wearing a long sleeved fishnet shirt that showed teasing glimpses of the sandy cream of his skin. The shirt was tucked into a pair of black jeans that had been washed to a faded gray and Gaara's fingers were moving to wrap a third red belt around his hips. Naruto stretched in the bed, his eyes still watching Gaara get ready to start his day.

"You could get up and get dressed too." Gaara muttered, kneeling down to tie the laces of his black knee-high boots.

"Nope. I like doing this instead." Naruto smiled brightly at Gaara who responded with a simple flick of his middle finger. "Awwww, you're so mean in the morning!"

"That's because it should be illegal to be up this early." Gaara grabbed his eyeliner and began to trace the outside of his eyes in black. "But some of us have to be up to go to work."

"Gaara... it's almost noon."

"... whatever." Gaara set the pencil down and turned to look at Naruto." At least you only have to work part time, so you can sleep the day away."

"I also have classes, thank you very much." Naruto crossed his arms at his chest. "College is hard work, you know!"

"Speaking of which, didn't you have class a couple of hours ago?"

"Oh, it was just lecture." Naruto shrugged. "I can get the notes online."

"Oh yes, very responsible. College is hard work he says."

"For one, someone kept me up all night-"

"You didn't complain." Gaara smirked.

"I specifically remember saying no no, stop it I have class in the morning you jerk!"

"For one, you didn't say it. You were moaning it. For two, you didn't stop me when I knocked the, as you call it, evil hell of Chemistry, out of the bed. And it was you who took off your reading glasses so they won't be smashed, now, let's do it, take me now, I love you."

Naruto frowned at Gaara. "I did not say all of that!"

"Whatever." Gaara shrugged. "It's over and done with now. I just won't touch you ever again when you're doing homework."

"Fine." Naruto made a huge show of turning on his opposite side so he wouldn't have to look at Gaara anymore.

"Anyhow, you were making some point about missing class?" Gaara stepped into the bathroom, his voice echoing into the bedroom. He grabbed one of the bath towels and proceeded to roughly rub the white cotton into his hair in an attempt to dry it and perfect that wild, mess of red hair look.

"Oh yeah." Naruto sat up in the bed, pulling the sheets around his still naked body. He glanced down at the floor, which still served as a bed for his quote, unquote, evil of hell Chemistry. "I mean, it's not like I have to go to lecture, especially with the professor we have. He just reads the notes straight from what they say online, same examples, same words, same everything. I hate professors like that. If you're not going to show us anything new then I'll just learn on my own."

"Isn't that the class you're failing?"

"I'm not failing it, asshole! If you paid attention to what I did in school you'd know that."

"Too many things to remember with school." Gaara dropped the towel onto the ground and stepped back into the bedroom, sighing. "Equations this, sentence structure that, it's all rather boring actually."

"So why do you still ask me how my classes are going and things like that if it's all so boring?"

"Easy." Gaara sat in the bed next to Naruto. "Because those things involve you."

Naruto smiled softly and ducked his head down, his cheeks growing a bit warm. "Stop that." He giggled. "You sap."

"I, for one, am not a sap." Gaara brushed his fingers against Naruto's chin, urging him to raise his head. There was a meeting between blue and green, both sets of colors growing hazy from staring at each other for too long. "I only speak the truth." Gaara whispered.

"Uh huh." Naruto's voice was just as soft, light breaths of air leaving his parted lips as Gaara leaned in closer. "Is that what they're calling sappiness these days, love?"

"It's not sap." Gaara brushed his lips against Naruto's in a light breeze of a kiss.

"Yes it is." Naruto returned the favor by licking playfully at Gaara's lips, imitating a kiss an animal would give. Gaara made a soft sound that bordered on the edge of a growl before he nuzzled his head against Naruto's neck, nipping at the skin. "Sa-sap..." Naruto whispered, tilting his head back for Gaara.

"Say that again and I'll make you pay for it."

"Sap-ACK!" Naruto grabbed onto the sheet tightly when he felt Gaara trying to pull it away. "Stop stop! You have to go to work!"

"Screw work." Gaara tugged at the sheet more, his teeth grazing against Naruto's neck.

"Gaara... Gaara! Damnit, stop!" But Naruto was laughing the entire time. "I will not be the reason why you're late and why that damn manager of yours teases me when I come in!"

"Temari is harmless."

"Temari is not harmless! She's an evil, evil woman!"

"Just because she runs a store that sells fishnet and handcuffs and collars does not make her evil. I happen to work at that store, what does that make me?"

"You're evil too! Stop pulling at the sheet, I'm not giving you any right now go to work!"

"Fine." Gaara stopped pulling at the sheet. "I'll just have to leave the sheet on."

"What?!" Naruto's eyes widened when he felt himself being pinned down to the bed by a fishnet wearing posterboy for sex. The type of sex that you only found in stores whose workers wore black lipstick and had piercings all around their ears, in their noses, and on their tongues. The type of sex that didn’t blush at all about the word. It didn’t limit it to just a bedroom or a house and took pride in the fact that it could make you scream and love a name so loudly that you’d swear it was your own.

Honestly, did he really care if Gaara was late for work? Technically it would be Gaara who got in trouble for it. He'd probably have to stay at the store longer and he'd probably have to hear another your shift started twenty minutes ago speech from Temari. Then she'd go on and on about the responsibilities of an employee and Gaara would just sigh, roll his eyes, and debate on getting another piercing to add to the five he already had in each ear. If Gaara was late to work it was his own fault, right? He was a big boy, he could decide for himself if he wanted to go through the trouble of taking off three belts, undoing his boots, getting out of his pants, and doing an encore performance of last night.

Why did Naruto have to try and stop him? Might as well do it, right? He was already naked anyway, and Gaara did have him pinned to the bed with that hypnotic tint in his eyes. And Naruto had to admit, at some point his leg did lift up and start to rub against Gaara's side. And he did look into Gaara's eyes with what he knew damn well were eyes that just whispered seductively into Gaara's ear be late for work because remember, there's no clothes underneath this sheet.

Gaara and Naruto smirked at each other. At least Gaara still went to work, right?

**

Clink.

Sasuke looked up from where he was lying in his bed, reading one of the books he felt motivated enough to actually read instead of stack in the bookshelves with the others that managed to make it out of their brown box prisons. He had been unpacking ever since he woke up that morning and his body finally decided to remind him that there was a such thing as taking a break. He stared at the wall for a moment and frowned.

Neighbors.

Clink. Clank clatter.

Giggle.

Sasuke sighed and went back to reading his book. Living next door to a couple was always interesting. There was the arguing couple, the one who screamed at each other over everything they could think of. The loud couple, the one who could never figure out that it was possible to talk in a tone of voice that wasn't trying to talk on a cell phone in the middle of a club. The deaf couple, the one who had to turn their television up to volume level sixty-four because for some reason they couldn't hear anything. And, of course...

Clink clank clatter.

Giggle. Moan

Thump. Thump.

... the sex couple. The one that couldn't exist in the same room without having sex in it. Sasuke lifted his head up and stared at the wall again, as if he could see what was happening on the other side of it.

Unzip. Slide. Toss.

The pants were gone. Naruto giggled. Smiled. They kissed. Naruto's arms moved around his neck, his fingers combed through his hair and urged him to deepen the kiss. He did, and as he did his hand moved over the sheet around Naruto's body.

Tug. Remove. Toss.

Naruto laid underneath him, stretched his body in an open invitation. His hand moved, began at Naruto's cheek and moved down. Fingers brushed against Naruto's neck and he closed his eyes, sighing, pleased. The hand moved lower, nails gently played over Naruto's chest, scratching there to make soft cries pass through Naruto's lips. His other hand moved with the first hand, fingers moving all over Naruto's body as if touching it for the first time. His breathing sped up, matching the pace of the drumming of his heart. His fingers shook.

Anticipation.

His hands caressed Naruto's legs as they slowly began to spread apart. And Naruto looked up at him, wild spikes of yellow laying flat against the pillow, eyes locked on him and waiting, lips parted and begging to be taken.

"Gaara..."

Sasuke's eyes snapped open and he pushed himself up, sitting and looking at the wall again.

"Gaara... gods..."

"Naruto..."

Sasuke moved out of his bed quickly, panting and frowning at the wall.

Squeak. Squeak.

The damn bed sounded like it had a bad case of the hiccups. Sasuke moved out of his bedroom and into the bathroom, standing in front of the sink and looking into the mirror. Dark eyes were clouded over, almost gray. His hands were shaking and he still couldn't control his breathing. He flipped the water on, ice cold. The sound refreshed him and blocked out the noises from next door. Sighing, Sasuke leaned down and cupped his hands around the water and splashed his face, one, two, three times, and scrubbed it down with hands and water. He took a deep breath and looked in the mirror again. His eyes were back to their normal shade, the front bangs of his hair dripping wetting. His hands weren't shaking as much, but still shaking enough for him to notice when he grabbed a towel to dry his face.

When he stepped back into the bedroom the bed next door still had the hiccups and didn't show any sign of finding a way to cure them. Sasuke walked over to his dresser and grabbed his Walkman. Cassette tapes were pretty out of style but there was one tape he had that would help him get through Gaara's decision to be late to work. Flopping down in the bed Sasuke slipped his headphones on over his head, grabbed his book, and smiled.

Push. Play.

**

"So if you need a ride to work later let me know."

"Gaara... you don't have to use your lunch break to come and pick me up." Naruto zipped up the black jeans he had slipped on. He decided that it was best to wear clothes in the bedroom otherwise a certain someone would never get to work. "You could actually use it to eat something and I can find my own way to work." He pulled an orange tank top over his head and smiled as he watched Gaara get ready for work... again.

"Nonsense." Gaara slipped on the last of his belts and laced his boots. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't pick you up for work?"

"You just want to avoid having Temari's cooking."

"That too." Gaara rolled his eyes. "She always brings too much food for lunch and makes me eat some of it. I'd rather eat the crap at the mall."

"Why don't you tell her that?"

"You kidding? When I did she made me stock the shelves."

Naruto shrugged. "So?"

"The shelves in the back of the store."

"... oh." Naruto smirked. "What's the matter? Are you shy about things like that, Gaara?"

"Hell no." Gaara smirked back and wrapped an arm around Naruto's waist, holding him close. "Though you should've known the answer to that already."

"So what's the big deal about stocking shelves in that area?"

"Simple." Gaara cleared his throat. "Excuse me sir, could you tell me where your... oh, wow, you're holding the exact thing I'm looking for. Insert stupid grin from customer here. Hey, you do know how those things work, right? Insert me looking very tired of getting stupid pick up lines. I could... show you after you... get off. Insert him looking very proud of himself for the stupid pun, insert me wishing for an elephant to come through the store and trample over me to end my misery."

"Are you serious?" Naruto started to laugh. "That's almost as bad as the oh, can you show me the... romance section that I get at the bookstore."

Gaara frowned. "Who said that to you?"

"Um... anyway, you should be going to work now!" Naruto pushed Gaara out of the bedroom, pushing him towards the front door of the apartment.

"Who was it Naruto?"

"No one you know just some guy."

"We work at the same mall, I've probably seen him around. Does he come in often?"

"No... well kinda... it's not important!"

"Who was it?"

"Gaara, you are not going to do the whole possessive goth boyfriend thing again! You scared away that poor girl the last time you did it."

"What?" Gaara tried to look innocent as he opened the front door to leave. "All I did was pick you up from work."

"No." Naruto frowned. "You came into the store, grabbed me by the arm, glared at her and told her to die a slow and painful death by having sand stuffed in her mouth. Who the hell thinks of ways to die like that?!"

"I dunno, I thought it was pretty creative."

Naruto sighed. "Go to work, Gaara."

"Yeah yeah, I'll see you in a few hours?"

"Yeah." Naruto smiled. "Hey, Gaara?"

"Hm?"

"Love you."

Gaara gave Naruto a smile that was too small for anyone else to notice except for Naruto. One of the reasons why it was so special in the first place. "Love you, too." They kissed again, just a small meeting of lips that was soft enough to make both of their hearts move faster than usual.

Naruto stood by the door and watched Gaara leave, smiling even more when Gaara turned and waved to him before heading down the stairs. Once he was sure he was gone Naruto turned to head back into their apartment.

He stopped though when the door opened next door. "Oh, hey Sasuke." Naruto said in greeting. Sasuke glanced over at him and nodded before turning his attention back to his apartment. He had a box full of his pots and pans propped up against the door to keep it open, and in his hands was a video camera. Naruto watched him curiously. "What are you doing?"

"Video taping my apartment, how it looks in the unpacking process."

"Oh? That's kinda cool." Naruto walked over so that he was standing next to Sasuke. He poked his head into the apartment and smiled. "It looks like it's going pretty well. Unpacking I mean."

"You think so?" Sasuke sighed. "I woke up this morning with the intention to finish, but I think I've lost motivation."

"You seriously thought you'd finish everything that fast?"

"Well... hey, a guy can dream right?"

"You know... I'd be willing to help you unpack."

"What?" Sasuke looked away from the video camera to look at Naruto. "Really?"

"Sure, why not? I don't have anything to do for another couple of hours until I call Gaara to pick me up for work."

"Work? And where is work?"

"Oh, just the bookstore in the mall. Part time." Naruto stepped into Sasuke's apartment and walked over to what appeared to be the living room area, at least it would be when the rest of his furniture got there. Sasuke stepped in with him and pushed the box away that was holding open his door with his foot, letting it close. Naruto sat down on the ground and pulled a box towards him, opening it up. Ah, the CD collection. "Where do you want these?"

"Oh, just against the wall until I find where my CD rack is." Sasuke continued to video tape around the apartment. "So, why is the job just part time?"

"Oh, I go to school too."

"High school?" Sasuke asked.

"Huh? Oh, no no no." Naruto laughed. "I'm in college, sophomore year. You know, that year of trying to decide what major you really want to go into. What made you say high school?"

"Oh, you just look so young, that's all. The marks on your face didn't help at all."

"Oh these?" Naruto pointed to his cheeks. "Stupid high school dare. It's a tattoo."

"Really?" At some point in the conversation the camera stopped paying attention to the apartment and started to tape Naruto. "They're rather interesting."

"Yeah. But, I've grown to like them. It hurt like hell though, but it just... looks right on me I guess."

"It certainly does." Sasuke muttered under his breath, but Naruto didn't catch what he said. "So, is Gaara in college too?"

"Nope, just me. He works at the mall. Check out your local goth fashion line store and you'll find him there. He stopped school at high school, he said if he had to spend another four years having old people tell him what to read and how to solve useless problems he'd jump off a bridge."

"He's not... the happiest person in the world, is he?"

"No." Naruto lowered his head, a shy little smile on his face. "But I love him anyway. We met in high school and he kept telling me that after graduation we'd move in together in whatever city I went to school in. And... here we are. He doesn't show it, but he can be really caring and sweet."

Sasuke frowned a bit, but when Naruto looked up at him the frown was gone. "It is pretty hard to see."

"I know, but... well... like now for instance. He works all the time to help me pay for school and to help pay for the apartment. I only took the job because I know... it's a lot to pay for, he couldn't do it alone. And his job is great but... it's not enough to pay for everything in the world. But he tries, you know? He didn't want me to work at all but I insisted. I wanted to help too... I know it's so expensive because of me but he doesn't mind at all." Naruto wasn't smiling as much. He sat there, staring down at the CD he was holding, clutching onto it as if it could bring his smile back.

Sasuke watched him quietly, letting the camera roll on.

**

"So he is just a sales clerk there?" Sasuke asked.

"I suppose if he got a promotion he'd be making more, and that would help you out a lot, right?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmmm... maybe I should help him get that promotion. Then maybe you could focus more on your studies. Would you like that?" Sasuke asked, a small smile growing on his face.

"Oh, but... then if he worked more he might not be able to pick you up for work..."

"It's o.k., Naruto." Sasuke's smile grew into a smirk. "I can take you to work. I can take you anywhere you want. Would you like that?"

Sasuke leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, sinking into the comfort of having the rest of the furniture delivered to him so he could enjoy his conversation. His fingers played over the remote control and he closed his eyes, taking a moment to think. Then he smiled.

"So you go to school too, Naruto? How would you feel if I went to school too? It would mean that we could spend more time together."

"But with Gaara working so much after his promotion, you'd see more of me than him. Is that o.k.?"

Sasuke smiled. "Careful, or else we might fall in..."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Naruto? But... what about Gaara?"

Sasuke stared at the blue screen of his T.V., watching it as if he expected something else to appear on the screen. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then grinned.

"I know he tries, Naruto. But... I suppose it's not enough, is it?"

Play.

**

Tape. Me. End.