"Hey... Gaara? Are you alright? I think you might've had a little too much to drink..."

Concern laced Naruto's tone, wrapping an arm around Gaara's waist to support him as he struggled to walk straight. He only realized halfway through their dinner date that Gaara had been drinking during their meal.

Sitting just across the table, Naruto had begun to notice the small, involuntary head nods, or the occasional dazed look on Gaara's face as he became engrossed in a single spot on the wall just behind him. He hadn't even assumed this behavior was due to tipsiness until he caught a faint scent of wine on his breath when they stood side-by-side. How many drinks had Gaara had exactly? The fact that he drank at all was unexpected to say the least.

Naruto frowned. Now that he thought about it, there was probably a lot he didn't really know about Gaara. He had to admit that a lot of their silence together was filled with his own rambling, and for that the Uzumaki felt somewhat guilty. Gaara had never shown any mind to his banters, always listening to every detail; he wished he had tried to encourage the other to open up more.

He tucked Gaara closer to his side to get a better hold, leading him down dimly lit streets at careful pace as they made their way towards the Kage mansion. He hoped Gaara would be alright in the morning. He had witnessed quite of few of Jiraiya's hangovers before; they weren't pretty. He winced at the thought of his friend suffering from those horrendous migraines or even nausea.

"C'mon… we'll get you home soon, okay Gaara?"

"Hn…" If it wasn't for the subtly unstable stance and tilting head, it would've been hard to tell that Gaara had in fact been drinking. Heavily. During their evening dinner, he had unintentionally downed several glasses of the offered wine. His mood had been stressful, so his nerves were not at ease for the evening. Having had Naruto drop by unexpectedly in Suna made him fear he would let his stress get in the way of their communication time. It had been a long while since he last was able to spend time with his friend, and he wished to be in better spirits for him. So, he thought a drink or two would aid in his relaxation. Unfortunately, it had turned into a quick slope from feeling a little tipsy to almost unable to function in his drunken state. When Gaara drank alcohol at all, which was pretty rare, he never knew how to pace it healthily.

Now he was facing the consequences of his ignorance to the substance, hanging limply against the Uzumaki, eyes somehow focused and unfocused simultaneously on the ground before them. His normally pale mint eyes were a darker pigment and dilated. His expression was absolutely dead, except for the flush of red on his cheeks. He also felt hot, uncomfortably hot all over. Naruto's tight grip around his waist seemed to make the heat worsen.

"N...Naruto… I'm s orry… this wasn't s'posed to happen..." His voice came out in weak, husky tones trailing off into silence. Even under the influence, he still felt responsible for his behavior. His anxiety was a mix of embarrassment and irritation with himself as his words started to sound repetitive and guilty. Not to mention, his behavior was less-calculated. He felt strangely self-conscious, and found himself picking up on the smallest gestures and words from Naruto. In fact, he could almost say he felt an unnatural lustiness towards his friend. Yes, it's true Naruto was his dearest friend, and feelings of affection or admiration towards him were nothing new, but somehow he felt uneasy with being around the blonde at this moment. He felt… vulnerable to his own emotions. As if he feared that the slowly fading soberness would lead him act rashly, to act off of raw emotion, and thus do something he would regret. He could feel the stability of his mentality deteriorating slowly; his right mind sinking further away into a subconscious state.

Dammit. Gaara cursed silently. He wished for this to be time well spent with his friend he hadn't seen for so long, yet it had turned into an ordeal. All he wanted was to be comfortable with his friend, for his stresses to disappear momentarily, for his anxiety to vanish while he was with Naruto. Yet, he managed to distance their connection worse due to his reckless alcohol consumption. He became something Naruto had to look after, and this upset him deeply.

"It's not your fault, Gaara!"

Naruto furrowed his brow; there was no way he would blame Gaara for this situation. Jiraiya was the one to drop Naruto off in Suna without warning, leaving him with little to no information about why or when he planned to come back. Gaara had more than enough on his plate being Kazekage, he didn't need the responsibility of helping Naruto out during his stay in Suna without so much as a heads up of his arrival. Yet, when he arrived at the Kage mansion, Naruto insisted on going out for dinner together. Once he saw Gaara, his excitement got the best of him, and he'd basically dragged him out of his office for a spontaneous dinner date. Naruto thought it would be perfect to go out for the first time together in Gaara's hometown, but now he wondered if it may not have been for his friend's best interests. Maybe he should have stopped the other from drinking so much alcohol, but who was he to dictate how much Gaara drank, especially when he was probably dealing with so much stress as a new leader?
Naruto sighed, gently pulling his friend closer.

"You don't need to be sorry about anything! I just don't want you getting hurt or anything while you're like this. We're almost- ah! We're here!" Though he could see the mansion a few yards away, he didn't dare push Gaara to walk any faster. Part of him admittedly wanted to try carrying him the rest of the way, but something told him Gaara wouldn't appreciate the act. He squinted as he turned to his friend, leaning in a bit closer. He pressed a cheek to Gaara's. This was his way of checking for any signs of possible fever, since his hands weren't free. The thought that he was possibly invading the other's personal space didn't quite click for the Uzumaki.

"Hmm… are you feeling alright? Your face feels kinda warm."

Gaara felt the cooler cheek press softly against his own. The sudden skin-to-skin contact made him shiver instantly, and a breathy gasp escaped as he felt Naruto's hair tickle against his jawline and bare neck.

"A h- I'm fine…" His voice came out almost broken. His fingers that held limply onto the Naruto's shoulder tightened slightly, his chest coming to a hard, steady pound which seemed to have escalated, despite the depressant effects he knew alcohol was supposed to have on the heart rate. Damn...

Somehow they made it up to the door, and Gaara forced himself to regain strength enough to open it himself. At this hour of the night his siblings' location was uncertain, but Gaara could feel the emptiness inside. They were alone here. It was dark inside, except for the dim shaded lamps adorned along the wall of the hallway leading to the main housing, exuding a dull orange glow.

"… we're home." Gaara muttered as he leaned against the wall near the doorway. He fought to regain control of himself, but when he felt the faint nausea fill him, he let his head fall slowly back against the wall, closing his eyes and parting his lips as he breathed out shakily.

"Gaara…?"It was plain to see Gaara was in no condition to stay home alone. There was no way Naruto wanted to leave his friend in such a state, but… was it okay for him to stay the night? Did he have the right to invite himself over? Then again, it was for Gaara's well-being. Besides, the house seemed lonely... he didn't feel right leaving Gaara by himself.

Naruto gently closed the door, eyes glancing towards the other. His gaze softened as he stepped closer, noticing the shortness of breath. He placed a gentle hand on Gaara's shoulder.

"... I can stay the night with you if you need me to, okay?"

Naruto knew how lonely it was to come home to an empty house. He didn't want Gaara to feel the same thing tonight, especially after drinking so much.
Gaara's eyes stayed shut, making it difficult for Naruto to tell how he felt about the offer.

"I mean... is it alright if I stay with you tonight? The truth is, I haven't really found a place to stay yet. Plus, I don't wanna to leave you alone- not that you can't take care of yourself! I mean... uhh…" He started to feel very awkward, bringing a hand to the back of his head nervously.

A frown tugged at his lips as he noticed how Gaara breath was still labored. He gave his shoulder a light squeeze. "… c'mon buddy, let's just get you to bed now."

Gaara's eyes flicked opened when he felt the squeeze on his shoulder, and he gave Naruto a dazed stare. He then felt his feet drag forward, and came face-to-face with him. After an awkward few seconds, he rested his head against the front of Naruto's shoulder, feeling that strange dizziness again. His breathe hit hot against the others' chest as he finally uttered a response.

"I need… I… want you to stay the night. Please… Naruto." his voice came out somewhat shaky, for he suddenly feared the thought of his friend leaving.

He didn't want Naruto to just leave… this couldn't be how their meeting would end; it felt so wrong.

He wouldn't allow the night to end like this.

Author's Note:
Hey guys! Soo, this is the first piece of the story, but continuing from here is where things start to get juicy I promise, eheh. I will definitely be putting a few warnings on the next chapter, just to be safe. This is my first published fanfic I'm doing, so I hope it is okay to read and I will try my best to deliver.
So yeah, I'll give it my best shot, and feel free to let me know what you think so far. :
Thank you! 3