Hiraeth

Sasuke already found himself scowling a lot, but in the past few months it had really escalated.

That’s how he found himself splayed across the couch, glaring at the reality show currently playing on tv and moodily stuffing bite sized pretzels in his mouth.

Gaara wasn’t home yet, was out on a date with Lee instead and he was all alone with nothing to do but wallow in self-pity and watch shitty tv.

It was already Thursday which meant that Gaara only had one more night until he had to return back to his own house.

It was already Thursday which meant that the godforsaken dance was tomorrow and he would be with Naruto and that he would have to deal with Lee and Gaara going together.

But it was whatever. He was the one who’d be with Gaara afterwards anyways.

He was the one who had been fucking Gaara every night for the last week, not Lee.

He chewed on his food maybe a little more violently than necessary.

“Chew with your mouth closed.”

He startled, hand grabbing at the remote and quickly changing the channel as he turned around to glare up at Itachi. “What?”

His older brother looked down at him almost placatingly and Sasuke found himself bristling at the patronizing gaze. “Shut up!”

“I didn’t say anything,” The grin that appeared on Itachi’s face was almost enough to send him into a rage, and he probably would have if the older male hadn’t had set a package down on his lap.

Sasuke stared down at it before looking back at his brother warily. “What is it?”

“Open it and find out.”

Sasuke hesitated and Itachi laughed.

“Don’t be so suspicious. It’s not a bomb or anything.”

He had the right to be suspicious. Itachi did work with Deidara after all.

But he didn’t reply, just carefully opened the box and peeked inside.

“A flower.”

Itachi tsked. “A boutonniere.”

He was met with a blank stare.

“Like a male corsage?”

Nothing.

Itachi sighed and ruffled his brother’s hair much to the younger’s protests. “Stick this on Naruto’s tuxedo at the dance.”

“Oh, that thing.”

“Yes, that thing.”

Sasuke looked down at the soft orange and blue flowers and touched them lightly with his fingers.

“Be careful,” Itachi said. “Those things are delicate.”

He didn’t reply as Itachi walked off, and thought long and hard over the words.

——-

He wasted no time in locking his bedroom door, tearing off Gaara’s shirt and biting harshly into the juncture of his shoulder and neck.

“Sasuke-”

He didn’t reply, just licked over the mark to soothe it before planting a myriad of hickeys all over the other boy’s chest.

“Sasuke-”

He cut Gaara off with a searing kiss that he returned immediately, small hands snaking up Sasuke’s back and settling on his shoulder blades.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered against Gaara’s ear, fumbling with the button of the other’s jeans.

Gaara let out a low moan as Sasuke licked a stripe up his neck before leaning back down and mouthing at his collar bones.

“Missed you too.”

——-

It was a loud night, usually Sasuke took some care to keep them quiet since Itachi was generally home at the same time but tonight he just couldn’t find it in him to care.

Gaara lay beneath him, chest heaving and mouth slack as he quivered under Sasuke’s now much softer touches.

“How are you?”

A small and shaky shrug.

“Was I too rough?”

A head shake.

“Good.”

He placed a soothing hand directly over Gaara’s heart and felt how fast it was beating.

He was wet and sticky himself and could only imagine how Gaara was feeling with his stained thighs and abdomen.

He carefully moved off of Gaara and sat on the side of the bed, about to rub the other’s hair but thinking better of it once he caught sight of his own hand.

“We need to get cleaned up.”

He got a grunt of protest in return.

“Can you stand?”

“...No.”

Sasuke sighed and stood up, cracking his back as he did so.

“Guess I’ll have to carry you.”

He was sure to be gentle as he gathered up the boy in his arms, frowning at the small yelp of pain that came from Gaara.

“Shit, Gaara, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so-”

“Shut up.”

He looked down at Gaara who had his eyes closed, pressed up against Sasuke as comfortably as he could.

“I liked it.”

Sasuke stared at him in bewilderment for a second before laughing. “Yeah? Never thought you’d like it rough.”

“Then why’d you do it?”

“Shut up.”

It was Gaara’s turn to laugh now as they reached the bathroom. He flicked on the lights and set Gaara down in the tub, turning on the warm water and heading towards the shower to start it up as well.

“What are you doing?”

He turned around at Gaara’s voice and looked at the reclining male.

“I don’t want to like hurt you or anything.”

“You’re not going to hurt me.”

“You realize you’re probably going to be walking with a limp the next few days, right?”

“I’ve already been walking with a limp.”

“Oh.”

He leaned back against the marble counter top. “I guess I didn’t notice.”

Gaara hummed and shut his eyes. “Lee did.”

His shoulders tensed before he forced them to relax. He sighed. “Did he now?”

“He did.”

Sasuke was honestly getting tired of this. He was tired of feigning indifference towards Gaara in the daytime and allowing himself to be in love with him at night.

He felt like he could snap.

But he didn’t. He regretted how he treated Gaara at first and was regretting how he treated him now. If he thought about it hard enough he realized that maybe Ino was right and that maybe Lee was better for Gaara.

But he knew Gaara was best for him and knew that he loved him more than anything else.

The knowledge scared him sometimes.

But above all Sasuke knew that he was selfish and that he wouldn’t let something or someone he cared about go that easily.

——

He cursed all things holy when he carried a sleeping Gaara back to his room and noticed Itachi’s light still on.