Pairing: GaaraxNeji
Warnings: Very few swear words, still that good 'ol fluff too.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Author's Notes: Finally finished the sequel to Forts, I've been meaning to do it for a while but couldn't muster up the motivation to do so. Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed and liked Forts, it's basically thanks to you guys that I've gotten the motivation to write this oneshot. Well I hope you like the story, enjoy!
With the sun starting to set, the laughter of children died down as they started to leave the park. Minutes ticked by and with the last of the children gone there were only two people left standing in the vicinity.
A hand interlacing with their partners, the former tugged on the other, leading them into the park.
"Things seemed a lot larger back then."
The brunette nodded in agreement as he trudged further into the park, both men having a 'blast from the past' from passing all the familiar park equipment and memorable areas.
The park served some good memories for the two, most of them occurring after the day they met. Like on the slide near the outskirts of the park, where little Neji showed an equally little Gaara that sliding down on your stomach was ten times more exciting. Or on the monkey bars where the Hyuga child let his pride get the best of him and climbed on it, resulting in him clinging wide eyes to the top like a wet cat on an arm.
Okay, so that wasn't much of a good memory for Neji, though Gaara secretly enjoyed the slap to his ego.
In turn, their park days weren't all full of laughs and good times. Once a couple of bullies made fun of Neji for his long hair and slightly girlish appearance, resulting in him shedding tears of embarrassment and frustration. All Gaara could do really was glare at the mean boys and shoot threats (threats no little boy should know, mind you) at them, him being too small to put up a decent fight. But it got the job done by frightening the offenders, them taking off as far away from the little redhead as they could.
His hand tightening around his partners, Gaara remembered what he promised himself that one day.
The bullies were now long gone, giving Neji the opportunity to let the tears fall more freely. Dropping to his knees next to the crying Hyuga, Gaara wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer. Finding himself in Gaara's embrace, Neji turned his body into him and pressed his face into his shoulder.
'That is what you're supposed to do when someone cries' he thought to himself, remembering the day when his big sister held his big brother like this after he skidded his knee.
"Please don't cry Neji, those guys are just a punch of deprived jerks. I like the way you look, it makes you... cutesy."
After a few more minutes of crying, a sniffling Neji pulled himself back and wiped all traces of wetness from his face.
"Boys don't look cutesy, stupid", he said, giving Gaara a slight shove to the shoulder.
Gaara smiled though, knowing that his comment didn't really bother Neji all that much, though something was bothering him now based on the disgusted look on his face.
"Your shirt is vile, you need to go clean it at the fountains or something."
His eyes dropped down to his shoulder, where a distraught Neji left a mess of tears and snot, and came back up to give the Hyuga a good roll of the eyes.
"I wonder why."
Watching Neji fuss with his ruffled clothes and hair, Gaara smiled again to himself and made an agreement with himself.
That if anyone ever hurt Neji again, be it physically or emotionally, that'd there would indeed be hell to pay.
And Gaara has kept to that promise, having dealt out quite a few threats and ass kickings over the years of their relationship. But each and every one of them was worth it, even though he once got charged with assault, though the charges were later dropped.
But even through all the bad and good times they had shared together in this park, the most remembered memory was the day they first met, which they both knew was what brought them here in the first place.
The sandbox was the same one from back then; the only difference being, as expected, the sand was smoothed over, with a lump or dip every so often.
Dropping down side by side in the sand, they wasted no time in reconstructing the castle. Minutes flew by as they took their time molding the sand into familiar pile and lumps, eventually coming to an end with a few pats of the hand.
After they finished crafting the sandcastle, the adults scooted back to admire and reminisce in their creation. The castle was nearly identical to the one they made over a decade ago, though there was a noticeable part missing: the moat.
As the years had passed since the day they met, Neji showed Gaara how to open his heart to others, to care for others how he wants to be cared for, and how to fill in that moat that had been placed around his heart. So now there was really no need for it anymore, since he was taught to love and be loved. Unless, you know, he was looking for some alone time with his Hyuga.
But that's a different story.
I'm so glad I finally finished this oneshot, I really need to get back into writing. So I was think that I should make little side stories about this one and the first one about their days together in the park, and maybe throw some other characters in their too. What do you guys think? Well until next time, see ya!
PS: Please don't question where they got the tools they needed to remake the fort, or why a little kid would leave them there. I wasn't about to make to to grown men bust down the street with a pail and shovel like "It's sandcastle building time kiddies!" and have all the children running away screaming.
Reviews and Constructive Criticism Welcomed~~