Hey. I'm alive. My new job just doesn't let me write while working. Also, I'm woefully behind on this project, and I've only just finished January.
Originally posted to tumblr 2016-02-27.
/ Day 17 (2016.01.17)
/ adjective
/ 1. playful in an aimless way:
/ the ludic behavior of kittens.
The sand had been there for as long as Naruto could remember, waking him indecently early with attempts to tug him out of bed, pulling at his clothes, sliding against his skin- The sand had always been there. His own monster, right under his bed.
The orphanage hadn't believed him, had thought he was schizophrenic and dumped him in a psych ward. The psych ward hadn't believed him and kept punishing him for leaving sand in his bed, as if he was bringing it in from somewhere when he didn't get packages or visitors and there wasn't any sand on the outside of the building. Sasuke didn't believe him until the first time he tried spending the night with Naruto, curled up in his bed, whispering into the gloom, and the sand had thrown him against the far wall.
Now Sasuke was sprinting down the hall and Naruto was the one in disbelief as the sand clouded together and then slowly dissipated to reveal the figure of a boy his age. One with electric-red hair and creepy, pale green eyes. Clothes that looked like burlap and a giant… gourd? A giant gourd strapped to his back.
"Okay, this is where I draw the line. Who the hell are you?" he exclaimed, pointing angrily at the stranger.
"My name is Gaara. Though you usually call me 'the monster under your bed'."
Naruto stared. 'Gaara' stared back. Naruto stared more.
"What the hell?! You were a person this whole time?!"
"I do not often take this form in this universe. I prefer my sand in your atmosphere."
"Dude. What the hell?!" Naruto exclaimed, dragging his hands through his hair. "I ended up in a psych ward because of you! I haven't been able to sleep properly in years because of you! You kept me up so much and you scared the hell out of me, trying to drag me out of bed all the time!"
"Is that not what friends do?" the boy asked, head tilted like some adorable quizzical dog. No! Not adorable! He was too much of an asshole to be adorable! And speaking of which…
"I-" Naruto's face flushed and his voice dropped to a furious whisper. "I've woken up with sand in places sand doesn't belong. Places i didn't know sand could get to!"
Gaara's soft smile turned dark and smug. "Is that not what lovers do?"
Naruto turned impossibly red.
FINIS
2016 10M WotD Master Post (themadkatter13fanfiction tumblr, /10M-WotD-2016).
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