Chapter Eight

Too Close for Comfort

Naruto couldn't remember where the night went. Before he knew it morning came and he was softly reaching consciousness. A soft sigh escaped him as his closed eyes twitched. He was so reluctant to join the world of the conscious but the sunlight starting to peak in through the blinds made it impossible to avoid. There was overwhelming warmth that made it difficult to finally open his eyes. Last he remembered his blanket wasn't this comfortable.

With some further reluctance Naruto pried his big blue eyes open and peered ahead at what he expected to be the wall of his dorm room. Instead he found himself suddenly looking eye to eye with two wide jade pools. Naruto tensed instantly and nearly screamed until he realized it was Gaara he was looking at or rather who was looking back at him. He glanced down slowly, taking in the situation.

The red headed boy was tightly encircled in Naruto's arms still. Somehow through the night Naruto's legs had also had intertwined themselves with Gaara's. Naruto's face felt increasingly warm as he realized his thigh was nestled warmly between Gaara's legs and his thigh in return pressed comfortably against Naruto's crotch. Naruto's arms had wiggled their way beneath Gaara's shirt and touched his bare skin shamelessly. There was a spot of drool he could see now as well on Gaara's shoulder.

"Now that you are awake…do you mind letting go?" Gaara's stoic voice muttered back. His expression remained unmoved, as Naruto's own expression turned to panic.

The blond yipped and hurriedly pried himself away from Gaara. His eyes widened all the more as he felt a familiar stiffness when he moved. Oh shit! He shuttered in dread as Gaara's cool eyes turned down to see the tent in Naruto's pajama pants that was previously pressed so firmly against the other's thigh.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry" Naruto blubbered, clasping his hands over his crotch. How could he get morning wood while sleeping next to Gaara?! His roommate would never let him live it down.

Gaara blinked slowly and sat up. "You call Sasuke's name a lot in your sleep" he said matter of factly. He watched a visible tinge of red rush to Naruto's cheeks as though someone had slapped him. He couldn't explain the emotion he felt at seeing it but it was one akin to seeing a puppy or a baby.

Naruto dropped his head, averting his eyes from his roomate. He couldn't bring himself to ever face Gaara now. Sasuke would have gotten a real kick out of this knowing he still got him hard in his sleep. But that being beside the point he had just violated his roommate. "I'm sorry Gaara. I didn't mean to…sleep here…you see I-" Naruto paused as he tried to recall last night. He slept here because Gaara…

The blond raised his head again. "Did you sleep alright? Last night you…" Naruto hesitated. He was sure Gaara remembered having a nightmare but he didn't know if it was appropriate to let the other know that he was talking in his sleep as well. Surprisingly, Naruto saw a look of calmness come over Gaara's face. He didn't look strained or angry. Was this what he looked like when he was at peace.

"I slept." Gaara answered quietly. It was a statement he never thought he would make. Sleep didn't come easily for him but in Naruto's embrace…he clearly remembered a state of rest occurring. He had woken up at sunrise but because Naruto was still asleep he hadn't said or done anything. He simply let the blond continue sleeping.

"Oh uh…good?" Naruto wasn't all too sure how he should take that response. With a nervous chuckle he scooted further up to sit on the bed. "Well I won't let this happen again. I can share the bed with Sai until housing gets us an extra one."

"No."

Naruto blinked in confusion. "No? You don't believe me?"

"….." Gaara looked seriously at the other. "You don't have to sleep with Sai."

Hearing Gaara say such words without a tinge of emotion behind them threw Naruto for a loop. He wasn't sure how he should respond to such a statement. "Then where do I sleep?" Naruto looked at the floor with disdain. Well he had been rather unfair to Gaara when they moved in so perhaps he could take the floor for the first few nights as punishment.

"Here." Gaara said simply.

Naruto's head jerked back so quickly he pulled a muscle and gasped out. "W-what? I-I can't take your bed. That's not right not after I-" His heart jumped up into his throat when he felt a shameless hand land over his lap. Naruto was speechless and too slow to react.

"You can sleep here with me." Gaara stated. He scooted a bit closer on the bed, letting his legs curl back up against Naruto's as his hand cupped the other's crotch. He felt the hard mound beneath the fabric of Naruto's pajamas.

"W-what are you doing? Gaara I can't sleep with you, I have Sasu-" Naruto's voice caught in his throat sharply as he felt Gaara's hand grip his erection firmly around the fabric. His jaw dropped and his eyes squeezed tight over the sudden feeling. What was even happening right now?

Gaara stared at Naruto with great concentration and started to move his hand up along the other's shaft. He stroked Naruto over his clothes, feeling the blond shiver under his touch. "I don't sleep…not often" Gaara spoke but his words were hardly detected as Naruto was trapped in his own thoughts.

"S-stop…Gaara…" Naruto gasped out and placed his hand over Gaara's, trying to stop the motion but he was already weak to the attention. His legs trembled and the heat was rising in him. "I have…a boyfriend…" Naruto whimpered out. His jaw dropped lower and he curled forward as Gaara's thumb started to rub over the tip of his member. The fabric was already collecting a moist spot as precum gathered at his tip.

"You can have him" Gaara insisted. "And this…." His hand started to pick up the pace, stroking Naruto into submission.

"Gaara!" Naruto cringed, pressing his forehead against the other's chest suddenly as his body jerked. A silent cry couldn't make it past his lips as he came the next moment. He waited for the blissful waves to subside before he could pull away from Gaara. His face was flushed and his pulse thrashing in his chest.

"In return, you have to sleep here." Gaara declared. He could see the confusion still evident on the other boy's face. "I haven't had a peaceful night of sleep in years…until last night" Gaara withdrew his hand. His calm eyes settled on the sticky residue collected on his fingers through the fabric. He slid from the bed and headed for the door to go to the communal dorm bathroom.

Naruto was speechless. He stared at the wall for a long moment before looking back at his lap. Damn he had to do laundry now. But more importantly, what in the world was his roommate thinking? He could share Gaara's bed and get…service in return for the other's good night of sleep? How in the world did that sound like a legitimate agreement?

"Are you going to do it?"

Naruto screamed out at the top of his lungs and fell onto the floor from the bed. "Sai?! You're awake?" Naruto yelled out, scrambling up to sit. He stared at the other teen, casually lying down in the bed opposite their side of the room. His head was casually propped up on one palm as he laid on his side.

"It's pretty hard to sleep when one's roommates are moaning and talking." He pointed out. Sai smiled in amusement. "I don't mind taking this bed for myself if you want to share with Gaara. But do you mind giving me a warning next time? You may want the privacy."

"There is no next time! I have a boyfriend?!" Naruto exclaimed, flailing his arms. "This was a misunderstanding."

"Whatever you say~" Sai snickered and rose up from bed. "I won't tell anyone if its not."

Naruto groaned out, cupping his face in his hands. How did he end up in this situation? He desperately hoped that Sasuke wouldn't find out about this.

Apparently Naruto wasn't the only one having a frustrating morning. Itachi was standing before the Akatsuki Talent Agency. He had been beside himself all night trying to decide if he should actually come here or forget the whole thing. After his run in with Sasori in the elevator he could see this job was going to be a pain in the ass eventually, in every sense of the word.

"This had better be worth it" Itachi finally groaned to himself. He had made the trouble of moving down to Suna for a job, the least he could do was actually get that job and make it not all be for not. It would be more embarrassing to go back to Kisame and tell him he had made a mistake. He had too much pride for that.

Itachi made his way up to the top floor of the office building, drawing a few eyes along the way. Perhaps he had been scouted for the right reasons; he was still attractive enough to turn some heads. The usual amount of women were tripping over themselves or blubbering like idiots whenever he stopped to ask for directions or even to press an elevator button. It amused Itachi to no end. He just had to convince Sasori he was this valuable.

The raven haired male paused as he reached the back office door in which he was informed belonged to Sasori. He had nearly knocked to announce his presence but stopped when he heard a distinct thumping sound on the other side. Years of his own shenanigans had taught Itachi well. He memorized the sound of bodies pounding against certain objects. He stood still hearing the sound of a heavy wood desk slightly scraping against the floor and a few papers occasionally falling.

Soft as it was there was definitely the sound of moaning coming from the other end. It was rounding around half an hour before it had finally stopped, in which time Itachi had leaned casually against the wall by the door in complete silence. He had waited quite long enough for what he assumed was the two dressing before he knocked firmly on the door. He didn't give them any more time to give permission to enter before he opened the door.

Itachi held a bored, irritated expression on his face as he stepped inside. The air reeked of sweat and sex the moment he inhaled, causing Itachi to wince in disgust. He peered ahead at Sasori, casually straightening his tie as he sat back down at his desk. Moving around to the other side was a long blonde haired male with a flushed face and ruffled clothing. Itachi rolled his eyes as he watched the other male struggle to fix his pants fly.

"Are we in an agreement?" Sasori questioned sternly, disregarding Itachi's presence entirely.

Deidara nodded breathless and pulled his long hair back up into a messy ponytail. "Yeah, yeah yeah. I won't say anything more to your bitchy kid," he complained. "Why should Gaara even care if I know about his past, anyway?" He smiled suddenly, leaning over the desk and giving Sasori a longing look. "Will you stop by the gallery tonight? It's the last night my art will be on display and you haven't come by yet since it opened."

"I don't have time for your. 'art'." Sasori retorted blandly. "If you want my attention try making something truly beautiful. I find your performance art repulsive and stupid."

Deidara's smiled quickly mellowed into a frown. "Fine. Be that way asshole. My art is too good for your eyes anyway. That includes my body!" He exclaimed. He straightened up and marched for the door. He nudged past Itachi with complete disrespect.

Sasori watched the blonde leave, his eyes shamelessly admiring his shapely ass in his skintight black jeans as he moved. He would be back. Deidara always came back. His gaze finally directed to Itachi when the blonde was no longer in the room.

"Is this how you conduct all your interviews?" Itachi questioned. "I was hoping you had more class."

"This coming from the biggest man whore in Konoha. Your reputation precedes you Itachi. I get word even out here of how legendary your stats are" Sasori commented. He shuffled a few papers together that had been messily scattered across his desk in the middle of all his fun.

"That was the old Itachi…I don't do that anymore."

"I'm happy to hear that. I can't stand whores."

Itachi arched a brow and looked back toward the door Deidara had left through as if to rebuttal Sasori's words.

"He isn't my whore." Sasori clarified.

"So someone like you even has a boyfriend…surprising," Itachi mocked. "Do you mind if we have this conversation outside your office. I'm suffocating on the musk in here."

"Close the door and sit down." Sasori retorted unmoved. Itachi's frown deepened and he closed the door behind him. He reluctantly marched over to the seat in front of Sasori's desk and sat down. "So you broke up with him?" Sasori began.

Itachi crossed his arms, glaring Sasori down.

"I assume you have ended things with your lover, which was the terms of your hire-if you can recall."

"And I assume you are joking because my contract your agency sent me said no such thing. Don't hire me if you don't like but I'm not dumping my lover just because you want to keep me available for whatever game you are trying to play here." Itachi studied Sasori's expression. He couldn't read the guy as easily as he would have liked and that made him irritated. He preferred to be in control of every situation but it was like he was a puppet and Sasori the puppet master. He sensed whatever the other said he would eventually be forced to obey whether he liked it or not.

Sasori broke the silence that followed with a sigh. He tossed over a sheet of paper toward Itachi. "Very well, we will see how long you can be of use under those circumstances. I won't say I told you so when you two part ways. Your lover doesn't have the tolerance to see you in this field."

Itachi looked over the paper. "I have the job? Just like that? Don't I have another interview or an audition?"

"I know everything I need to know about you. I've been watching you for some time before I contacted you in Konoha. I don't just scout any pretty face. You have something special." Sasori commented.

Itachi didn't know how to take those words. This man thought he was special? In what ways? He was tempted to ask but held his tongue. He took up a pen off the desk and started to sign the paperwork. He hoped he knew what he was getting into. He hoped Kisame could tolerate what he was getting into.

To Be Continued…

A/N: This chapter was surprisingly easy to write. Something about GaaraxNaru is so tempting XD and I'm kind of liking the interactions of our Akatsuki members lol. This fic can take so many interesting turns so I hope everyone can enjoy the adventure. Thanks for reading!