I know most of you were worried about whether the last chapter was the end of the story, but I had an epilogue in mind. This one has been cleaned up a little and is a little less lemony-rific than its counterpart on a certain adult fanfic site, but I hope it's enjoyable nonetheless. :) Enjoy~ And thanks to all of you who reviewed. It really has been encouraging.

-tsusami/tasukigirl

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Pranksters 11

Gaara tried to pretend like he wasn't checking the clock for the millionth time today. The minute hand had barely nudged itself up half a point as the third hand ticked off a few more seconds. He wondered if Naruto's flight had arrived on time, if he was perhaps stuck waiting for luggage or getting through the long line at customs or immigration. His heart rate skyrocketed when he heard the lock on the door turning.

Naruto threw the door open, struggling to get inside before dropping his bags on the floor with a heavy thud.

Gaara tried to appear calm, not looking up from his position on the couch and flipping through the new proposal for one of his clients. His ears listened closely as Naruto kicked off his shoes, growling in frustration until a thud sounded against the wall.

"I'm home," he yelled, running across the dining room and throwing two arms around Gaara from behind. He pressed his nose into Gaara's red hair and inhaled the scent of his shampoo.

"Did you bring me any souvenirs?" Gaara said calmly. Naruto nodded against him. "Well?" Gaara prompted. He tried not to feel so self conscious under Naruto's close scrutiny.

"I got you a kiss," Naruto smiled down at him.

Gaara raised a brow.

"A French kiss," Naruto's mouth pressed against his firmly, tongue sweeping across his lips and pushing into his mouth. Gaara relaxed into the kiss feeling desire flare in his belly as Naruto's demanding mouth alternated sucking on his lips with entwining their tongues in a fierce little dance. The last time he felt Naruto's mouth against his he had been too drunk and too emotional to fully appreciate it. Gaara felt his entire body sizzle this time like an electric jolt had shot through him with that kiss.

Gaara sighed when Naruto's mouth pulled away. Naruto pressed his forehead against Gaara's awkwardly. "Paris was amazing, but it would have been better with you there," he muttered.

"I have a client in Paris," Gaara said, allowing the implications to hang in the air between them. Naruto smiled and straightened his posture.

"No way, you're not pimping me out to underwear ads or special calendars. I'm done with modeling." Naruto moved towards the entryway and pulled one of his bags closer to the living room. Gaara rose from the couch and wrapped his arms around the other man.

"Not as a business associate," Gaara paused. It was still hard for him to say.

Naruto's body relaxed under his. Gaara pressed a kiss to Naruto's back and to his shoulder. He pushed up on his toes to press his lips against the tan flesh just below the ear. Naruto sighed and gently pat his arm, asking him to let go. He tried to pull away.

"You've waited for this for two years. Tell me you don't want me right now."

Naruto turned and Gaara could see the warring indecision in his eyes. He put his hands on Gaara's chest softly and nudged him away.

"I do... want you. I have for a long time. But that's why this is so important to me. That's why I can be patient."

Gaara smiled and pressed himself forward. His fingers slid beneath the hem of the Naruto's shirt. "Well maybe I can't." He pressed his lips to the slightly parted mouth above his. Gaara's stomach fluttered. He pressed his mouth against Naruto's more insistently, wanting to feel more of their soft touch, their taste, wanting them to be just as demanding as he was. Naruto's hands pressed against his chest and he pulled his mouth away.

"I've been on a plane for hours. I'm going to go take a shower and then I'm going to make myself a cup ramen. Okay?" Naruto backed away slowly. Gaara wasn't pleased but he had to admit that Naruto had a point. He hated long flights. He didn't argue as Naruto nearly tripped over one of his bags and disappeared into the hallway. He listened to the bathroom door clicking shut and suddenly remembered to warn Naruto about the lock.

Gaara started to grin.

. . .

. . .

Naruto pressed his hand against the cool tile of the shower wall. He sighed and tipped his head down rotating the back of his neck under the gentle spray, willing himself to calm down.

The kiss lingered on his mouth like a ghostly pair of lips, still teasing him, still pressing against his if he concentrated enough. His heart beat quickened when he remembered those hands at his waist. He would not let his impetuousness get in the way of things now. He would take a shower and he would eat some ramen and then hopefully he would have the strength for the conversation he knew Gaara was expecting to have tonight; the one he had anxiously waited for all this time.

Naruto tilted his face up, allowing the water to run down his face. He rotated, allowing his back to slip under the water and kept his eyes closed, trying to remember the opening to his long planned out speech. He paused when he heard the bathroom door close.

Naruto quickly rubbed his hand over his face, wiping the water from his eyes and blinked rapidly at the figure that stood on the other side of the glass. Gaara's pale form stood out sharply, a small white towel hanging low on his hips. He reached for the shower door calmly, opening it and placing a bare foot on the wet tile floor.

"I forgot to mention," he paused, green eyes sliding from Naruto's face to someplace just below his belly button, "the lock is broken." His lips twisted in slight amusement.

"You couldn't have warned me?" Naruto placed two hands over himself modestly. He swallowed hard, trying not to let his eyes dip down to the muscular intersection between Gaara's slim hips and thighs.

"I'm warning you now," Gaara's lips curved up. He took another slow step forward, allowing his eyes to linger, trailing up and down Naruto's body appreciatively.

"Is there uh.. something wrong with your shower?" Naruto squeaked a little when Gaara paused right in front of him. His eyes dipped down to the smooth chest, to the pink nipples, to the cream-colored flesh disappearing under the towel.

Gaara leaned forward, pushing himself up slowly. His humid breath warmed Naruto's lips. "Are you asking me to get out?" Naruto could feel the warmth of Gaara's body radiating from him. Naruto's gaze lingered on the red lips. His hands slid to the bare waist, pressing his finger tips against the warm skin lightly, telling himself to concentrate, to just remember the first words of his speech and push the body away. And then all his pretty words were suddenly a memory under the soft brush of those lips.

Naruto leaned forward eager to press his mouth against Gaara's. His hands squeezed the slender waist and pulled the smaller body forward. His bare hips rubbed against the fluffy towel.

Gaara's mouth opened under his and Naruto's tongue pushed forward, sweeping the warm mouth and tangling with the smooth tongue. His earlier excitement crashed over him, fueling the frenzied kisses and groping fingers. Gaara's arms were around his neck, pulling his mouth down, twisting his neck to allow their mouths to fit tightly while he angled his hips to press his thinly veiled excitement against Naruto's. Naruto gasped into the warm mouth, fingers brushing the edge of the towel and fighting with himself while he warred over the decision to tear it off or not. It was the only thing preventing him from throwing himself on the other man entirely.

"Is that a no?" Gaara grinned when their mouths parted. He pressed one palm flat against Naruto's chest, pushing him toward the shower wall. Naruto stepped back and gasped when his back hit the cool tiles, shying away from their chilly embrace. But Gaara's hand was insistent, and his mouth was soft and warm placing open wet kisses on his chest. "Or should I be leaving?" Gaara's wet curls were bent towards his chest. A pink tongue slipped out and ran a circle around his nipple, teasing the sensitive flesh by skirting the one spot he desired to have touched most. Naruto pressed his head against the tiles and concentrated on breathing.

"No," he said. "Stay, oh please..." His hand cradled the back of Gaara's neck, fingers digging into the base of his red curls. The tongue lapped over his sensitive nipple, hot mouth closing over and grazing the nub with his teeth. Naruto groaned and shifted his hips forward, brushing the damp towel slipping from it's perch on Gaara's hips.

"Please what?" Gaara whispered against his skin, fingers sliding along his hip. Naruto gasped when the fingers changed their trajectory, curving inwards toward his groin.

"Bed," he said roughly, "now."

Naruto kept their bodies close as they made their way out of the shower slowly, running his hands over Gaara's naked chest and hips, feeling the small hairs on his body rise in the cool air in the hallway. He only pressed himself against Gaara more, attracted to the warmth radiating from beneath smooth skin. They ambled clumsily to the end of the hall, touching and caressing, bumping into each other in accidental and not so accidental ways. Gaara broke away when they reached Naruto's room, rushing to climb onto the bed, his slim, muscular legs graceful in the simple gestures. He lay on his stomach and glanced over his shoulder.

"Like this?" his eyes crinkled at the edges in a smile. Naruto swallowed and stalked toward the bed, grabbing one of Gaara's ankles and flipping the body over. Gaara gasped at the suddeness of it, cheeks reddening when his entire body was on display. Naruto answered him by pressing a kiss to the inside of one ankle. He trailed his lips up, stopping to press soothing kisses or nibble a particularly fleshy spot. Gaara spread his thighs a little as Naruto made his way up, the bed dipping below his weight. Gaara's breathing grew heavy in the quiet room, small murmurs and whimpers marking every nip.

He kissed his way up his lover's body, pausing when he reached his parted lips. He smiled and slid off the bed, rummaging in a drawer before pulling out some necessary items while Gaara recovered his breath. He tore off the top of the small foil package and slid out the small rubber contents. Gaara watched him with half lidded eyes, temporary confusion setting in when Naruto crawled back onto the bed and began to unroll the condom onto Gaara's still sensitive length. Naruto crawled over him and placed a kiss on his lips.

"I want this," he offered as explanation and Gaara nodded under him.

They took their time touching each other this time. Their bodies came together slowly, trying to savor the moment with hands twined against the sheets. They moved carefully, almost shyly like two strangers meeting for the first time; two rhythms not yet in sync.

And when Naruto told Gaara to stop, pausing mid-motion and shifting on the bed, it was to turn his partner onto his back, crawling over him to realign their bodies. Gaara smiled, noting the reversal of their positions from that drunken night.

Naruto leaned forward and kissed the smiling lips, twining his hand with Gaara's and pressing the hand into the bed while his hips moved. He shifted his hips to change angles, eyes widening when he finally hit the spot he had been searching for. His cheeks burned when he felt Gaara bump into a bundle of nerves that made his body clench with sharp pleasure. He moaned heavily and aimed for the same spot again.

His grip tightened around Gaara's hand as the heat inside him brushed that maddening spot, over and over, pitch rising with each shift of his hips. He felt himself close to the edge, tempted to stop, to drag the dance out longer; but his body refused, stubbornly pressing on until he felt himself slipping into the burst of white light behind his eyelids. His body tensed and froze. Naruto released Gaara's hands, slumping forward and breathing heavily into the other man's chest. Gaara smiled at him and rubbed his back soothingly.

"Sorry," Naruto mumbled, slightly embarassed at losing control. Gaara combed fingers through his hair quietly.

"Don't," he said with some amusement. Naruto shifted his body, wincing at his own sensitivity and slid off of Gaara's length. Gaara's eyes slid close and he moaned when Naruto's hand wrapped around the hard length and slid up.

"I'll have to make it up to you of course," he sighed, pressing his lips to Gaara's neck and suckling the sensitive spot near his pulse while his hand continued to stroke. Gaara didn't last long, arching his back after the fourth or fifth stroke, coming with a sharp inhalation of breath.

Quiet in everything, Naruto thought with amusement. He shifted onto his side to stretch his body alongside Gaara's. Gaara took deep breaths, resting one hand on his chest while the other covered his eyes. Naruto took the hand covering Gaara's face and entwined their fingers, relocating it to the spot above Gaara's head.

"I was planning to talk to you before we did all that." His fingers brushed the soft skin at his wrist, just below the palm. "You kind of ruined my plans. I was going to do the respectable thing and tell you my feelings before jumping you."

"Did I ruin your plans?" His green eyes shifted to look at him.

"No, I planned to jump you," Naruto laughed. "You just changed the order of things I guess." Naruto grew quiet and smiled at Gaara gently. His thumb brushed against the open palm softly. "I missed you," he said.

Gaara looked away and nodded, catching onto the quick change in tone. Gaara pressed his lips together, biting the edge and letting it go.

"Are we going to have that talk now?" he asked cautiously.

Naruto wrapped his fingers around Gaara's wrist and gave it a slight squeeze. "We can hold off a little longer if you're really dreading it. I wouldn't mind putting on some clothes and I wasn't kidding about wanting some cup ramen."

Gaara chuckled a little and nodded. Naruto pressed a kiss to Gaara's temple and rolled over toward the edge of the bed. He stood up, held his arms over his head and stretched his back and legs.

"I'll be right back," he said, grabbing a pair of boxers from the drawer and ambling into the them as he walked towards the doorway. "Don't go anywhere okay?" Naruto grinned over his shoulder. "In fact, I think you should stay just like that!" he said cheerfully. "I'll be back in five minutes." Gaara pulled his knees up, slightly self conscious now that Naruto had an article of clothing on and nodded. Naruto paused in the doorway, looked at him and smiled for a short while before turning and disappearing down the hall.

. . .

. . .

Gaara smiled to himself in the quiet room. He slid his legs back down and placed the other hand over his head arching his back to stretch the muscles. He shifted his hands sideways, but paused when he realized his wrist was caught on something.

Gaara glanced up and was disturbed to find a fluffy pink ring around his wrist. He had presumed that the soft texture he felt earlier was the blanket or the pillow and not this odd accessory that seemed misplaced in the rather masculine room. He lifted his wrist and traced the chain to the matching cuff currently locked around the headboard.

Gaara flashbacked to Naruto's amused smile just minutes before, his request that he stay just as he is. His eyes widened in slight panic.

"NARUTO!!!"

- The End -