Against The Odds

Chapter 29

Naruto stood in front of the door, fiddling with his fingers as he waited impatiently for it to open. Mumbling and grumbling under his breath, the blond pouted, his cheeks puffed out as he let out of huff.

The loud creak of the door made Naruto's head turn up in alertness. His blue eyes glared half-heartedly at the red head who stood in front of him, smirking with a glint in his teal eyes.

"Missed you yesterday. I wonder what happened?" Gaara teased, opening the door wider for Naruto to enter. The blond rolled his eyes and waddled in, taking his place on the couch. Gaara sat next to him, shifting his body to face Naruto — his smirk never leaving his face.

Naruto huffed again, letting a small smile appear on his face. Gaara's smirk turned into a soft smile.

"You and Sasuke are good now?" He asked. Naruto nodded, his smile growing bigger.

"Yeah. You were right. It was a misunderstanding. I just blew it out of proportion." Naruto blushed in embarrassment, sheepishly ruffling the back of his hair. The red head shook his head in amusement.

'God, these two are such a handful.' Gaara mused fondly. "Yeah it was but I understand your reaction. Don't beat yourself up over it okay? Now everything's fine. Forget about it and move on." The redhead patted Naruto's shoulder in comfort. The blond nodded, moving his hand to gently pat Gaara's in gratitude.

"Yeah... thanks Gaara. For everything honestly. I'm sorry for distur-"

"It's fine Naruto. You don't need to thank me." The redhead interrupted. Naruto nodded again, shifting closer to his friend to hug him. His lithe arms wrapped around his equally lithe friend. Gaara returned the embrace, arms tight in grip and fingers clutching the blond. They stayed in the position for a few seconds before parting slowly.

"I should pack up everything from your room." Naruto spoke up, getting up from the couch. Gaara stood up as well, helping his friend to his feet.

"It's already packed. I'll get it for you." The red head walked away, leaving the living room. Naruto's eyes followed his movement, soft with gratitude and love for his best friend. Sometimes he wondered what he would do without him. The amount of love and support he had around him was immense and words couldn't express just how grateful he was for Gaara. Grateful for being in his life.

"Naruto? Good morning! How are you on this youthful day?!" The blond was woken up from his trance, his head whipped to the side to see Lee smiling at him with his pearly white teeth. Naruto brightened up, returning the smile in ten folds.

"Good morning Lee! I didn't know you were here. Spent the night with Gaara?" The blond winked suggestively, crossing his arms across his chest. Lee looked on, confused for a second for his face erupted in flames. Naruto chortled, tiny tears forming in the corners of his eyes at the intensity of his laugh.

"L-Lee... *gasp* You a-are s-so *gasp* dense at t-times." Naruto spoke in between laughs, unable to contain them just by seeing the look on the poor man's face.

"What's happening here?" A deep voice spoke up from behind. Both men gasped in surprise, turning towards Gaara who stared back with an unreadable look on his face. Naruto's initial shock melted away and his lips twitched up into a teasing grin.

"Ohhhh nothing Gaara. Just wondering why Lee was here. He spent the night I assume?" Naruto teased, laughing internally at the light blush that painted Gaara's pale cheeks. Sea foam eyes glared back.

"Get your mind out of the gutter you perv." Gaara mumbled, a small smile forming as he heard Lee's chuckles beside him. The blond pouted and stuck out his tongue petulantly.