Gifts and Giving

Thanks a bunch to everyone who reviewed. :) I'm sure some of you can guess what it is what Gaara wants. The fun part is seeing him figure it out. Hope you enjoy the next part:









Gifts and Giving 2







Naruto groans. He blinks his eyes open and tries to adjust his vision to the darkness around him. He feels like he just slept on concrete. His shoulders are stiff and sore, his fingers tingling as he clenches his hand repeatedly.



“Where am I?” he says aloud. The room isn’t getting any brighter, a soft material presses against his eyelids and lashes. He realizes that he is blindfolded and if the lack of response is any indication, he is also alone.



His mouth feels swollen, but when he licks his dry lips he doesn’t taste any blood, He tries to move his hands but they refuse to budge.



He does not panic and takes a deep breath to maintain his calm. He can smell the faint scent of burning candles and melted wax. Feeling no heat, he infers that he is not close to one of them. He wiggles around to test the strength of his bindings or their material, but when he feels nothing around his wrists and hears no sounds coming from them, his best guess is that they are made entirely of chakra.



“Kankuro-teme!” He grits his teeth and realizes that his hands will have to stay bound. There is no way of breaking chakra threads that strong, especially since they are Kankuro’s specialty. His legs are however free and he struggles into a kneeling position trying to maneuver himself so that he can bring his hands forward. He begins to tug his hands backward, but the immediate pressure on his neck is uncomfortable. He quickly gives up this task.



Kankuro it appears is very adept at binding people. Naruto failed to realize that the material around his neck was not the close fitting high collar of his jacket, but an actual collar fastened around his neck. His experiment proves that the chakra cuffs are attached. Frustrated, he rolls over onto his side and, feeling the soft material he is sitting on, he rubs his head against the surface, hoping to build enough friction to yank the blindfold off.



While not completely successful, he manages to raise the material higher over the bridge of his nose. He can make out small crescents of light in his lower periphery, waiting as the blurred objects come into relative focus.



His first observation is his nakedness. He is devoid of clothing with the exception of his favorite green boxers. Naruto curses beneath his breath. Pervert or no, Kankuro was thorough. All of his weapons, scrolls, and even small picks and secret stash were unavailable. Not even the small items linked to his mesh. Looking down at his tattooed belly and the tops of his green waistband, he knows that even if he breaks free, he isn’t going anywhere. Gaara’s birthday party is out there and Tsunade will have his balls if he embarrasses his friend during one of the most important events in his life.



Naruto gives an audible huff of resignation, not even attempting to right himself from the awkward position on his side. It is not like him to give up easily, but he has learned how to recognize defeat. His survival will depend on surprising his captor when he believes defeat is imminent.



Survival? Naruto doesn’t believe Kankuro really means him harm. In fact, Naruto doesn’t know what Kankuro wants with him at all. Or why he is naked, tied up and blind folded on a bed with satin sheets…



Naruto is suddenly overcome with anxiety. He recalls Jiraiya’s stories about Orochimaru and the many kinky things they once did as teens. The whips, the handcuffs, the blindfolds… He tries to slow down his breathing reminding himself that Gaara wouldn’t let his brother do that to him. Would he?



He thinks back to earlier today when he and Kankuro were amiably working together. There were no flirtations, no hints of attraction. Just two guys working together, cracking jokes and, insults aside, generally getting along. He remembers seeing a hot girl pass by and Kankuro elbowing him, telling him to go for it.



"She totally digs you. Hell man, better chase after her now before she gets away."



Naruto stupidly complies and one minute he is following her around the corner, the next she is clocking him with a wooden fist that flies out from kami knows where.



Naruto realizes now that it was a puppet. Kankuro has always been skilled in disguising them. There was a struggle of course. Naruto is sure he did some minor damage to the taller, heavier man, but Naruto values Gaara and his friendship and so he held back from really hurting the man. He remembers that Kankuro is a feared jonin after the fact.



Still, he is anxious and confused as to why the man would go through so much trouble to get him here. Had he been attracted all this time and afraid of rejection? If he wanted him carnally, why didn’t he attempt to take him sooner? Why didn’t he force himself onto him? Was this all to hide his attempts from Gaara?



Naruto doesn’t understand anything at all. He wonders if his team has noticed him missing or if any of them are searching for him now. He wonders if Kankuro destroyed the present he brought for Gaara- the one sitting in his coat pocket.







* * *







Kankuro makes his way down the corridor with steady steps. He is cautious about seeming too hasty, trying to match his pace to just stay slightly ahead of Gaara. Temari asks why they are going down this wing for the fourth or fifth time and Kankuro bids her to wait and not be so impatient.



He feels impatient himself. Uzumaki should be awake by now and he wonders if he has managed to escape. He retraces each of his steps, each precaution taken, attempting to convince himself that it’s impossible. Still, he knows the consequences if the situation moves beyond his control. Everything must be controlled.



He takes a deep breath, steadying his nerves as they near the right door. It is an older guest room, not used as frequently because there is no staff to service this quarter. He knows there will be no servants or other guests within range.



“We’re here.” He pauses beside the door. Checking his chakra threads, he knows they are still intact. He smiles with relief. “Your gift is right inside that door. I didn’t want anyone stumbling in and… disrupting things, so I chose a more discreet storage space.”



“So what is it?” Temari asks. She is unimpressed with the air of mystery Kankuro has worked so hard to build. He smirks, thinking of how satisfied he will be when that composure shatters. Gaara looks at him with a general lack of concern. He is not so impressed either.



Kankuro smirks, reaching into his pocket and pulls out a small pill. It is white and has a small red painted heart. He holds it out in his palm and offers it to Gaara. “You can’t see it until you take this.” Gaara looks at him with slight annoyance. Kankuro realizes that he doesn’t recognize the pill.



Temari however does. Her eyes bug out and she reaches to grab for it, but Kankuro swiftly pulls his hand away. “You can’t give Gaara…”



“It’s not that pill.” Kankuro shakes his head in disbelief. “You think I’d give that crap to our brother? Geez Temari, what kind of big brother do you think I am?” He chuckles and grins just thinking about it. He holds out the pill once more, but Gaara’s distrust has been aroused by Temari’s response. “It won’t hurt you,” Kankuro tries to sound reassuring. “It’s something special I had whipped up for this occasion.” Gaara regards the pill with the same distrust as a small child encountering a strange animal. “I commissioned Haruno to make it.” The expression in Gaara’s eyes change immediately.



“What will it do?” he asks. He picks up the pill and looks at it quizzically.



“It will make you feel good,” Kankuro replies. He puts a hand on Gaara’s shoulder. “Tonight my friend, you will become a man.” He regrets the amount of sleaziness that has seeped into his tone.



Temari, however, explodes. “PLEASE tell me you do NOT have a woman in there!” She fists Kankuro’s shirt and pulls him close enough to see the shade variations in her eyes. “If you brought a prostitute into THIS building I swear I will…”



Kankuro frees himself of her iron grip and raises his hands to halt her tirade. “Chill sis, it’s not like that. I mean, I thought about it, but then I realized that Gaara would just let her escape or talk to her all night and I’d blow a week’s salary for the world’s most expensive conversation ever.” Temari doesn’t look convinced, but she makes no more attempts at assault.



Kankuro turns to Gaara who is still holding the pill in his hand. Gaara is alarmed by the conversation taking place. He too still needs some convincing.



“It’s not a prostitute,” he says. “It’s not even a girl.” Gaara steps back as though startled. Kankuro scrambles for something that will turn the conversation. “Just, trust me, okay? I promise you, it’s what you’ve always wanted,” he blurts out hastily.



This seems to be the magic phrase. Gaara pauses and looks at Kankuro with renewed interest. “Just, take the pill, okay? It’s the first step. You can’t go in until you’ve swallowed it.” This language seems to convey more import than his previous explanation. Gaara nods and pops the pill into his mouth. Kankuro is relieved to see his brother swallow it.



“Temari, please stay out here. I need you to play watch dog.” He is given a nasty look in reply, but she offers no comment. She will comply. She stands outside the door, widening her stance and crossing her arms. He hopes no one does stumble across them for fear of the undeserved damage they’ll receive when Temari takes out her frustrations on them.



He fishes out the key and unlocks the door. Taking one more look at Gaara, his hands suddenly shaking and his heart beat accelerating, he nods. Slowly, he pushes the door open.







* * *







Gaara is slightly nervous as he enters the room behind Kankuro. For the second time tonight, he is naked of his sand skin. A condition before viewing his gift. Kankuro says he was afraid the reaction his sand would have to his gift. And so he complied despite how vulnerable he feels walking through the halls with so many foreign guests populating the other wings.



He fears the effects of the mystery pill he has just swallowed, hoping he won’t wake up the next day and have forgotten everything. Hoping he wakes up at all. But this is his brother. His brother who cares for him and… wants to make him a man? He ponders if this is what he has so secretly wanted all this time.



The lights are dim, only candlelight illuminates the room in shadows. The blankets have been tossed off the bed and only a lump remains on the satin sheets. Gaara’s heart drops to his stomach. There really is a person here.



He decides to stand near the corner, as far away as possible. It is difficult to see with Kankuro in the way, but he glimpsed a smooth, well muscled back and green shorts. Invisible binds keep his hands tied behind his back. Gaara narrows in on this particular detail.



“Kankuro, you have gone too far.” He speaks calmly. Inside he is outraged, incredulous and his pride is offended. He has few friends and has engaged in virtually no romantic trysts, but it is no justification for forcing someone to come to him. He would almost prefer a prostitute.



The man on the bed stirs. His hands clench and he lifts his head a little, or tries to. He is bundled up on his side in an awkward position.



“Gaara?” Shock ripples through him. “Gaara, is that you?” He recognizes that voice. Gaara steps forward. He stands shoulder to shoulder with his brother to get closer to that voice. It is as he reaches the bedpost that he notices blond spiky locks. He can just make them out in the warm orange light of the candle’s flame.



“So you ARE awake,” Kankuro sounds pleased. “Just in time.” He rubs his hands together in glee.



Gaara rushes over to his side. Uzumaki is sticking his nose in the air, turning his head as far over his left shoulder as he can. Gaara realizes that he is trying to see. He tears away the blindfold and sure enough, blue eyes, brightened by the candlelight and an expression of relief smile up at him.



“I’m so glad to see YOU. I was starting to worry.” He rocks himself sideways, trying to right himself and sit up. Gaara moves to help him, but he is suddenly overcome with a curious sort of self awareness. He is conscientious of the naked, brown shoulder and hyper aware of the softness of his own hands. He is suddenly afraid of touching him.



Gaara turns on Kankuro angrily. “What is the meaning of this? Do you understand the potential ramifications of your actions?” He speaks in his Kazekage voice. The one that brooks no arguments because it means he is speaking as a leader to his subordinate and not of one brother to another. Kankuro understands this. His earlier jovial attitude evaporates. Kankuro meets his eyes, his face somber and gives a nod. He knows he is stepping on dangerous ground. Gaara waits for an explanation why.



“I told you, didn’t I? I got you what you’ve always wanted.” There is no teasing this time, no mirth. Kankuro’s voice is even.



“Explain.” His brow knits in confusion.



“Yeah explain!” Naruto pipes up from the background. A flash of annoyance crosses Kankuro’s features.



“For being so smart, you both are stupid.” Kankuro runs a hand through his hair, looking at the ground rather than the two of them. Gaara realizes that Kankuro is muttering to himself. “You want HIM,” Kankuro points at Naruto. Gaara’s heartbeat begins to flutter inside his chest. “Have you not realized it yet?”



“But I’m straight!” Naruto protests from the bed. “I love Sakura!” The words hit Gaara like a ton of bricks. His mind begins to run in so many directions.



“Oh you shut up. That’s a load of bull,” Kankuro retorts. “You went running after my puppet with just a shove and a few encouragements.” Naruto grumbles something about that being different, but doesn’t contest. “Besides, I’ve hit on Haruno in plain sight the past few times we met up and you didn’t protest once. You’re not as hung up on your teammate as you claim.” Naruto is quiet.



Kankuro steps closer to Gaara and puts both hands on his shoulders. He leans in to look at him eye to eye. Gaara doesn’t realize he has been staring at the floor. He looks up to see his brother’s concerned face watching him. “Be honest with yourself. You want him. Not the silly girls swooning for their Kazekage, not your pupil Matsuri, and certainly none of the boys we’ve come across… just him.” Kankuro watches him for a moment, making sure the words are sinking in. “It’s time to be a man and face him. Because if I’m seeing things correctly, he’s just as stupid and he wants you too.”



Gaara gives an audible gasp. More of a whisper, but it betrays his surprise and his, could it be, hope?



“What are you talking about? I told you, I love Sa…,” Kankuro shuts him up with a look.



“Pipe down already! You think I’m blind and stupid like you? I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. The whispers, the accidental touches, the way you two smile at each other pretending you’re sharing some secret the rest of us don’t understand.” Kankuro paces around the room and gestures wildly with his hands. He grabs his hair with both hands and let’s out a small growl. “Ugh, you two are like students in the academy! I’m waiting for one of you to write a letter asking the other to meet beneath the sakura tree.” Gaara’s cheeks feel warm. He has never been overly expressive of his thoughts and emotions. He wonders how he has become such an open book.



“We’re good friends, okay? I let him know when I’m up to tricks. Doesn’t mean we’re getting all kissy face behind the training grounds.” Gaara has difficulty concentrating on the conversation. His thoughts are a million miles away. His brother is right of course, but he tries to think of how, or when. Where did this all come from?



“And it’s coincidence that this all started after Uchiha started to ignore you?”



An argument takes place in the background. Gaara filters out the voices, attempts to steady his nerves and sits on the edge of the full sized bed. His hand comes in contact with the silky sheets. Even in the candle light, he can see they are a deep red. They are not the standard sheets issued to a guest room.



The voices quiet down. He can feel their eyes gazing at him, silently inquiring if he is okay. He doesn’t know how to answer them.



Kankuro shifts. He is anxious, but tries hard to disguise it. He rubs the back of his head and bites his lower lip, readying his words. “Anyways, you two have a lot to talk about. I’m releasing the cuffs, but don’t think about trying to escape. I still have your clothes.” These last few comments are directed at Naruto who expresses his discontent audibly. Kankuro reaches for the door when an important question suddenly pops into his head.



“Kankuro.” His brother pauses, his hand is still turning the knob. “What was that pill?” He isn’t sure if he is supposed to be feeling anything yet. He wants to be prepared for whatever it is when it arrives. Kankuro smirks and pulls open the door.



“It’s an aphrodisiac. I slipped one to Uzumaki before he slept.” He steps through the doorway and promptly closes the door.







* * *







Temari is concerned by the escalating yells behind the door. It is difficult to make out the conversation, but she can hear Kankuro’s angry remarks and what she believes is Uzumaki’s annoying high pitched whine. She is floored. Kankuro gave Gaara… Uzumaki? Her mouth hangs open for half a minute before she shrugs and nods in agreement. It is what Gaara has always wanted.



She presses her ear against the door, trying to follow the conversation, but it is muffled by the thick wood. She curses the well made building and its thick walls, leaping back when she hears the doorknob turning. Kankuro mentions the word “aphrodisiac” and suddenly her mind envisions the white pill with the little red heart. Her jaw drops to the floor.



Kankuro shuts the door and puts a binding on it that will hopefully hold it closed. He chuckles to himself and joins her in standing guard.



“You GAVE our brother an APHRODISIAC?” she whispers urgently. She knew her brother was weird, but this puts him on a whole new level.



Kankuro snorts and gives out a small burst of laughter. “No, I just told Haruno to make it look pretty.” Temari is not amused. “It’s a sugar pill.” Kankuro offers defensively as though it’s the most obvious answer in the world.