Part 3: I'll Cover You

Dusk came and passed and night befalls the town outside Naruto's and Gaara's apartment. Naruto began drifting into sleep; the picture of Gaara's flushed, vaguely smiling face with the fervent, half-lidded eyes in his mind.

But he's awakened from of his near-slumber when he hears the rich, enticing sound of Gaara's voice. Singing. And there's not a trace of tiredness in his tone whatsoever. Naruto assumes that the redhead has insomnia once again, even if he's been off his 'happy pills' for years and didn't have much caffeine today. It must out of habit.

Fully conscious, Naruto pays attention to the lyrics to see what song that harmonious voice is reciting.

"Open your door
I'll be your tenant
Don't got much baggage to lay at your feet
But sweet kisses I've got to spare
I'll be there
And I'll cover you…" he laments.

The blonde knows that song… it's from Rent, a play they did in high school, as well as a famous movie. Gaara had played Tom Collins in that play, which is the character that portion of 'I'll Cover You' belongs to.

On the next verse, Naruto listens carefully as Gaara gains more gusto and sings louder. He doesn't remember the song well, but Gaara clearly does. He watches the redhead sit up and continue,

"I think they meant it when they said you can't buy love
Now I know you can rent it, and new lease
You are my love, my one life
Be my life…

"Just slip me on
I'll be your blanket
Where ever, what ever
I'll be your coat…"

He pauses to clear his throat and skip over a verse or two. Naruto blinks in the dim light up at the other young man's face, realizing suddenly that Gaara isn't singing this without any specific reason. On the contrary, he's signing directly to the blonde with all his heart.

"I think they meant it when they said you can't buy love
Now I know you can rent it, and new lease
You are my love, my one life
All my life…
I've longed to discover something as true as this is…

"So with a thousand sweet kisses
I'll cover you
With a thousand sweet kisses
I'll cover you
When you're worn out and tired
When you're heart has expired…

"Oh, lover, I'll cover you…
Yes, lover, I'll cover…
Oh, my lover…
I'll cover you…
Until my life is through
I'll be here to cover you
If only you promise to cover me, too."

The final verse wasn't in the song; Gaara had modified it to fit the melody of the lines he had skipped, and to give it more meaning. Funny how the made-up lines seem to materialize from thin air and yet flow perfectly.

Naruto's left speechless. "Resshin-koi…" he whispers to fill his silence, and giving Gaara a new nickname in the process.

"I didn't, not once, think of Neji while acting in that play," the poet says with a lick of his dry lips. "It was the first main role I was ever cast, and I only got it because I dared to tough out the physical contact and break from my sandy-rough shell. And even if I snapped at you not to come to see the show or the auditions, in retrospect I gave that order to you as a challenge; I wanted you to come. Some teeny part of me wanted you to see while I sang to and interacted with 'Angel' that this is what I felt for you. I pictured your face every time I had to stage-kiss Neji, and I imagined singing to you every time I had a singing part as Tom. There was so acting, really; only freedom to express what I was holding inside."

Aside from the vocal sexercise, Gaara apparently had more to say than mere moans. He meant every word, and didn't want to cut corners and take the detour in his speech like he normally does. He had a lot to say, and he said it. That's all.

Naruto brings his naked body to Gaara's and holds him tight around the waist. "I was a little jealous back then, I'll admit. But not any more. Thanks for telling me that," he mumbles into the skin of Gaara's shoulder.

"No need to thank me," the other retorts with a snort. He doesn't want Naruto to start up again; because those lip movements on his skin were enough to send a small wave to his crotch. "Just go to sleep."

And the blonde obeys; he adjusts his position, brings the unsoiled covers over himself the man he loves, his soul mate, and closes his eyes.

And together, they dream.

They dream of the red-feathered Resshin and the yellow-feathered Shippuuden, a pair of humans with large angel wings, which is something that's never happened in the past in their dreams of the rebirthing birds. The two soar over the destroyed earth and the violent sky, smiling and laughing the entire time, still as nude and free as always. They weave around one another and kiss a couple times. But they're young again, much younger, appearing around the ages of seven and eight. Yet as they fly higher, they age rapidly; into teenagers, young adults, grown men, and finally until they swirl into the wind and ripple across the Earth, reduced to dead ashes. This time, they aren't reborn. Because they have finally found peace amongst the cataclysm.

And now, after such a binding spell, Naruto Uzumaki and Gaara Sabaku find in the backs of their minds that their love can't be measured by repeating dreams with hundreds of different lifetimes. It's measured simply by each and every breathtaking moment.

.END.