Hey I know I said I would update my other stories but this idea hit me and I became obsessed with it and had to write it so I present it to you now. I don't own Naruto Shippuden or the characters and if the info isn't completely accurate then feel free to send me a message to correct me. This story takes place shortly after Sasuke is introduced in Shippuden.
Love Sick Fool
Currently, Naruto was sneaking out of the village of Konoha. If Grandma Tsunade knew what he was doing right now, he would most certainly die. After all he was doing what she had strictly forbidden him to do. He was going to Suna, alone.
Originally, Tsunade had allowed him to go. She had given him two weeks off missions, as well as Kakashi and Sakura, so that all three could go visit the redheaded Kazekage. Really the trip was so that Naruto could visit Gaara and the other two were there to keep him out of trouble. Then everything went downhill. There had been a lot of missions recently plus the heightened security to watch for the Akatsuki. The fact that they had been able to infiltrate Suna and kidnap the Kazekage had scared Tsunade more than she was willing to admit. She wanted to make certain that they couldn't just come and take Naruto out of the village. Unfortunately this caused the village to be a little short staffed so when a request had come from a highly influential lord, she was forced to send out Kakashi, Sakura, and Sai. She would have sent Naruto as well but at that point he had actually gotten sick. If it was a simple cold she would have forced him to go anyways, vacation or not. This wasn't the case, though. Naruto had a high fever and if Tsunade had her way he would be hospitalized so he couldn't do anything to make it worse. He had of course argued against this and managed to convince her to let him stay at home as long as Shizune was allowed to check up on him. He was also not allowed to eat ramen and would eat whatever was brought to him or he was to go, kicking and screaming, to the hospital.
Naruto played along and when Shizune and first come he had eaten her food, which was decently good for not being ramen, and had made himself seem a little worse than he really felt so that they wouldn't see him as a flight risk. An hour after Shizune had left after lunch found Naruto at his current location. He had a good six hours to get as far from the village as he could. Tsunade wouldn't be able to send someone after him. If she did he would've had at least one guard. Tsunade wasn't one to take chances.
Naruto was waiting for the perfect moment to slip out of the gate. If he was seen it would get back to Tsunade and she might even come herself to stop him. Plus if he was caught he would be tied down to a hospital bed. There, an opening! Quickly shooting out of his hiding place, a woman was seen slipping out of the gate and into the forest. At least if anyone was looking that's what they would have seen. In the forest, the woman was running through the trees until she figured she was far enough away. In a poof of smoke, Uzumaki Naruto was revealed in his orange glory. With a whoop of joy, he continued running towards Suna.
Gaara had been part of the planning to get Naruto to Suna so of course he had been informed that they could no longer make it. Naruto figured he would surprise him and then it could be just the two of them. A slight blush dusted whiskered cheeks. Over the years Naruto had come to notice that he deeply cared for the redhead but it wasn't until he laid eyes on Gaara's lifeless body that the realization struck that he was in love with him. It was a surprise since he still had carried a torch for Sakura. She would always be his first love but Gaara was the one he truly loved. Thanks to this, he and Sakura had formed more of a sibling bond. On the other hand, his relationship with Gaara…had gone nowhere. When he had last seen him they had shaken hands then went their separate ways. Naruto sighed. He had wanted to hug Gaara but was afraid of the reaction he would get from the apathetic man. Before he could attempt it, Gaara's hand had entered his line of vision. Disheartened, he hadn't moved until the sand had controlled his hand to meet Gaara's. They were friends. For now, Naruto was okay with that though he hoped that one day they could grow to be more. Either way the jinjuriki was excited to see Gaara. He had worked hard to get the two weeks off and it had taken a lot of planning and coordination. He wasn't about to let a little fever and no companions stop him from seeing the one he loved.
Naruto didn't know but it was actually 8 hours before they found out he was gone. Shizune had been running errands for the hokage so it was late when she made it to Naruto's apartment. Knocking on the door she adjusted so that she wouldn't drop the food. When she didn't hear any movement from inside, she pulled out a spare key that she had gotten. Naruto had seemed really tired before so it could be that he was asleep. Walking into the place she crinkled her nose at the sight of all the trash left around. It was no wonder Naruto got sick considering the atmosphere he lived in and what he ate, which tended to be ramen. She figured the only reason he didn't get sick more often was the fox inside. She cleared off a space on the table and put the food down before heading into the bedroom. Freezing, she looked around and noticed the open window. Cursing, she ran out of the empty apartment and headed straight for the hokage tower. Tsunade was not going to be happy.
Tsunade was currently cursing the fact that she accepted the job to be hokage. The day had been extremely stressful without having to worry about Naruto's virus. So she was already in a bad mood when Shizune burst into the room. She only had to glance at her assistance's face and she knew. Naruto was gone. And Tsunade was furious. Flames were in her eyes as she ordered Shizune to get her their fastest messenger bird. She was going to murder the little brat. She didn't even bother searching the village. There was no point. She knew he was heading to Suna to see Gaara but in his condition he could collapse or someone, god forbid it be the Akatsuki, could capture him. She was going to kill Naruto! She had no one she could send who would be fast enough to catch up to his lead; she had no doubt he'd been gone for a while. That was the reason for the bird. She was going to give a heads up to Gaara and hopefully he could get to Naruto before anything happened. Finishing the letter, she tied it to the bird's leg and sent it to Suna. Looking out the window as it flew off, the hokage only had one thought in her head. 'Please be safe, Naruto.'
Gaara was having a pleasant day. The temperatures had been relatively cool and there wasn't too much work today either. He had actually gotten the chance to walk around the village, show that he was doing fine after the attack, and make sure everything was running smoothly. The only thing that dampened his mood was that he wouldn't be seeing Naruto. Since he was the kazekage it was hard for him to get any free time so they had meticulously planned the leaf ninja's visit. He was upset to learn that they couldn't come but he had sent a letter back to express his understanding and well wishes for Naruto to recover soon. Gaara could not imagine a sick Naruto considering the blonde's personality. He did tell Tsunade that he would still leave the week open so that if they were able to come, just late, then he would have time for them. Truthfully, he needed the break from work, which would start tomorrow, so he would try to make the most of it even without the hyperactive teen.
Gaara had felt a connection to Naruto ever since they had met but it had gotten stronger after their battle. Every now and then he would run into Naruto and each time a certain feeling had grown in his chest. He was always sad to see the blonde go as well. He didn't understand what the feeling was or why he was sad to see Naruto leave more than anyone else but he just accepted it. It was only a few weeks ago when the idea of Naruto coming over here was first introduced to him that Temari told him the feeling was love. He was in love with Naruto. He never doubted his sister because once she pointed it out he understood that it was the truth. He accepted it. He had been planning to tell Naruto during the vacation, the thought of it ruining their friendship never once crossed his mind, but he would have to wait until the next time he could see the fox.
He was almost finished for the day, just going over a few last minute things with Temari and Kankuro, when a sand ninja knocked open the door and rushed in. The idiot must be a very lucky new guy as surprising the sand siblings had nearly cost him his head. In fact, he was frozen in terror as a sand spike slowly drifted away from his face and an unhappy kazekage appeared. The sand ninja also noticed the other two just as ready to attack him and he promised to never barge into the kazekage's office ever again. He didn't think he'd live long if he did this again.
Noticing the ninja was terrified but had been in a rush for a reason, Gaara calmly asked him why he was there. He would have to get Baki to remind the others that it was rude to barge into someone's office and often gave the impression they were assassins. All thoughts flew out of his head though when the ninja exclaimed, "Lord Kazekage, I apologize for entering without permission but an urgent message has come from Konoha, sir!" Worry filled him as he wondered if Naruto was safe. Many in the Sand village were aware that Gaara was protective of the jinjuriki from the Leaf so when they received this message they had made sure to get it to him quickly. Unfortunately, this was also the cause of the ninja barging in without knocking. Before Gaara could do anything, Temari grabbed the message. Reading it quickly she passed it on to Kankuro before turning to her youngest brother.
"Don't worry Gaara. Kankuro and I will take this mission." She snatched the scroll back before Kankuro could even consider passing it to Gaara. Gaara stared her suspiciously.
"Yeah Gaara there's nothing to worry about. We'll make sure we find Naruto!" If looks could kill, Kankuro would have been incinerated with the look Temari was giving him. Gaara's eyes widened a fraction before using his sand to seize the scroll from the kunoichi.
The kazekage could tell that Tsunade had been angry when she wrote this and he couldn't blame her. He found himself conflicted. Naruto's actions were incredibly stupid and put the blonde at risk but he was coming to see Gaara. He was overjoyed and irate at the same time. Standing up from his desk he announced to the room, "I'll go."
Immediately Temari disagreed and started ranting about how he had responsibilities and if anything happened to him, while Kankuro went from looking at Temari to Gaara then back. The messenger sand ninja had wide eyes and was wondering if he could sneak out to the room when the kazekage turned to him.
"Go get Baki and bring him here at once." Grateful for the excuse to leave, the ninja fled the room. Gaara faced his siblings. "Please let me go. Naruto came to rescue me and now I'm getting the chance to pay back the favor. I want to find Naruto." Over the years Gaara had slowly started to show more emotions, though he still tended to keep his face blank, and his siblings could hear the desperation. They both grasped how he felt about the blonde and with a sigh, Temari gave in. Her brother rarely said please. Understanding that she had consented, Gaara nodded. "Thank you."
"But we're coming with you." That started up a whole new argument that was starting to get heated when Baki walked in.
"What is going on?" Baki sighed as he asked. These three could be so much trouble. After explaining the situation to him he surprised them by agreeing with Gaara. "If you remember, Gaara's vacation starts tomorrow. You two were originally going to keep things going for him so why change that? Though, I also agree with Temari in that we can't have the kazekage leaving without an escort. You should take two jonin with you."
"They'll only slow me down."
"I don't care. You are the kazekage so we can't let anything happen to you. You will take two jonin as bodyguards or you won't go at all." Gaara and Baki both comprehended that he didn't really have the power to back up that claim but Gaara backed down. He respected Baki too much to not take his advice in this situation. Plus Baki could make his life hell when he got back if he ignored him. Baki smiled. "There are two ninja I trust that are perfect for the job. I'll inform them immediately and make arrangements for you all to leave tomorrow. We need to keep this secret so I'll make sure to talk to everyone who saw the scroll. The men should be ready by the crack of down." With that Baki left.
Gaara wasn't happy with the wait but wandering in the desert at night could be more dangerous than the day. They would also need the time to pack and rest so he would go along with it. Temari and Kankuro were upset about being left behind, again, but they trusted Baki to choose good ninja to protect their little brother. They just hoped Naruto didn't get into any trouble before Gaara could find him. The Akatsuki were still wandering around and if Naruto wasn't at his best then they had no doubt he would be captured. All they could do was wait.
Naruto's feet were dragging, leaving tracks through the sand. It had been more than 2 days since he had left Konoha and he was exhausted. The sun had been beating down on him for hours and he was slightly dehydrated which did not help the headache that had cursed him since the day before. The fever had only gotten worse and Naruto was having trouble focusing his eyes. It was now dawning on him how idiotic his actions had been but at this point Suna was closer so he kept moving forward. He would hate to come this far and then not even get to see Gaara. So he continued to trudge through the sand.
In the distance, Naruto started to make out figures. His vision wasn't very clear but as he got closer he counted five men. They seemed to be regular desert men but they could easily be bandits. Not that he was worried. Even in his condition he could beat five simple bandits.
The men stopped only a few feet from him. Even though he had trouble focusing on then he wouldn't show any weakness. If they were planning on robbing him he was hoping that they wouldn't when they noticed he was a ninja. Many chose not to mess with a ninja.
"Hey there guys! It's not often you run into people in the desert." Naruto was grinning but was tensed in case they attacked.
One of the men came forward. "Good afternoon stranger. I'd say from the look of you, you don't come to the desert often anyways, leaf ninja." He jerked his head up to Naruto's headband, drawing his men's attention to it.
A warning rang out in Naruto's head. The tone was mocking and it felt like a target was being painted on his forehead. All of the men were wearing hoods to protect their heads from the scorching sun but the one who had spoken removed his protection. The cloth fell away to reveal short brown hair that was slightly spiky. Naruto's eyes were drawn to the man's forehead. Resting innocently, a ninja headband glinted in the sun. It was worn but what really caught his attention was the line gouged through the center. Naruto realized that all five men were rouge sand ninja. He cursed in his head as the leader grinned and gave a signal. The other four spread out and surrounded Naruto. Then they attacked.
The fight was short. At full strength Naruto could wipe the floor with these guys easily. As it was, he put up a decent fight but when a dizzy spell hit they captured him. Naruto was not in a pleasant mood. "What the fuck do you want?!"
"This one's hot-headed. Why don't we help him out?" With that he started stripping Naruto. The jinjuriki tried to squirm away but two of the goons were holding him so that he couldn't escape. Finally the man stopped, leaving Naruto with his pants still on but weaponless. He'd also taken his froggy money pouch but finding it empty just laughed and put it back in Naruto's pocket. That's when the leader noticed the necklace. He reached out to grab it but that was the final straw for Naruto. When the leader got close, he kicked out with both feet, using the two holding him as a way to stay upright and growled. "Don't you dare touch it you piece of shit! I got this necklace from grandma Tsunade and you'll have to kill me before I let you take it from me. What are you planning to do with me anyways?"
The leader was scowling and after a signal the guards knocked Naruto down onto his knees so that he was forced to look up to see their faces. Grinning, the leader kicked him in the stomach. He didn't exactly hold back. Coughing, Naruto glared at him. "Fine keep you're damn jewelry." He paused. "Do you want to know how we became rouge ninja?"
Naruto had trouble keeping his head up so he just glared at the ground while trying to think of a way to free himself. "Not particularly."
"Oh but it's a good story. It starts about 2 and half years ago when that monster they call a kazekage now failed to wipe out the leaf village."
Naruto's head shot up. "Don't you dare call Gaara a monster! He's a much better person than all of you together!" This earned Naruto another kick.
"Don't interrupt. Now when the monster," the leader glared at him, daring Naruto to speak, "failed in his mission we were forced to retreat where we found the previous kazekage dead. Now you need to understand that we are supporters of Orochimaru but others didn't see it our way so we decided to leave. It was the leaf that forced us to leave our homes and families. Them and that damned monster." With a satisfied smirk he yanked Naruto's head up to look in his eyes. "What do you think of that?"
Naruto didn't hesitate. "You're insane. This desert heat must have melted your brains if you think it's anyone's fault but your own that you left. I also don't see how this has anything to do with Gaara." Naruto wanted to sock the guy for continuously calling him a monster.
The leader noticed that their prisoner had twice now come to the defense of the red head. "If the monster hadn't been defeated by some little punk then the village would have been destroyed and the sand would now be allied with Orochimaru!" The leader looked thoughtful. "Now that I think about it, the reports I heard stated that a blonde leaf ninja the same age as the monster was who defeated him. That wouldn't happen to be you would it?"
"What if it was? Yeah Gaara and I fought but we're friends now and stop calling him a monster!"
One of the men holding Naruto spoke. "Damn I didn't believe the rumors. Did you really defeat that monster?"
Glaring, Naruto replied, "His name is Gaara and he's not a monster!" Naruto was getting sick of these guys and he didn't like the calculating glare in the leader's eyes.
Finally the leader spoke. "Hey boys, how much do you think this brat would be worth to Orochimaru?"
Naruto's heart stopped. Wide-eyed, he stared up in disbelief as an evil grin spread across the leader's face. With renewed energy born of desperation, Naruto managed to free himself from one of the goons holding him. Before he could take out the other one and flee, one snuck up behind him and placed a kunai against his throat. Putting just enough pressure to draw a drop of blood, he forced Naruto back down onto his knees. They brought out some rope and tied his hands behind his back. Only then did the guy take the kunai away and Naruto was able to breathe freely. 'Damn.' Going to find Orochimaru with a team was one thing but being handed to the snake on a silver fucking platter? Naruto cursed his luck.
"I'd say by that reaction the snake would recognize this brat." This was one of the men behind the leader.
The guy next to Naruto spoke up. "What do we do now boss?"
"Leash him." Before Naruto could even register the words, they made a loop of rope and placed it around his neck and made a makeshift collar and leash. Glowering he wondered how long it would take someone to find him. Then Naruto was hauled to his feet. With a "Let's go," they set off, after the leader threatened to gag Naruto if he spoke. Dragging him by the leash, they headed off in a direction that even Naruto could tell wasn't the way to Suna.
A couple of hours later found Naruto barely keeping up. His exposed chest and back were sunburned pretty badly and the stress was causing his health to deteriorate even more. He had started off fighting them each step and now he could barely keep his head up. He was exhausted and they hadn't let him have any water either. Finally it was too much and he collapsed. Looking around he wondered why he was laying on the sand. The jackass holding his leash still kept walking so now he was being dragged in the sand. Choking, Naruto cried out hoping to get them to stop even if only for a minute. Blissfully the pull on his neck stopped and Naruto let his head sink to the ground. One of the goons came over.
"Get up." He kicked Naruto in the ribs only getting a small grunt in return. Annoyed the goon kicked him even harder. Pissed when he got the same reaction, he started pummeling on the half-conscious blonde until an authoritative voice rang out.
"Stop." When the leader saw that his order was followed he strolled forward and knelt down. Seeing the hazed look in the down man's face he determined that the blonde was close to passing out. He wouldn't allow that to happen. Suddenly his hand shot out and slapped a whiskered cheek leaving a red mark behind.
Naruto jolted to full awareness and weakly glared at the leader who was looming above him. He tried to articulate his displeasure at the rude awakening but all that came out was a dry cough. Laughing the leader stood.
"Looks like he's thirsty. I think I'll give him something to drink." If Naruto could see the leader's face he would know that he wasn't going to like what was about to happen next. Even still Naruto could sense something was wrong. He tensed when he heard fabric rustling and glanced up. Horrified he saw what was about to happen and tried to get away. He only managed to face away from the leader before he urinated on Naruto's head.
Gaara and the two jonin had left Suna early morning and had been running in the direction they believed Naruto would come from. The two jonin were the ones that Gaara recognized from when he first had his own team and he laughed at Baki's vague hints that he should be friendly with them. They had risen through the ranks while Gaara had risen to kazekage which they had fully supported and he trusted them. After all, they were his friends. Gaara was glad to have them and found that they too wanted to find Naruto. They were excited to see him again. The three had been running for hours when they came across a jacket. It was lying in the sand and all three could see that a fight had taken place here recently. Even on a still day like today the sand would have covered the tracks if the fight was more than 3 hours old. They set off to follow the tracks that led off to the west, Gaara clutching the jacket in his hand. The jacket was orange.
An hour later they could tell that they were close. The tracks were clean and deep so Gaara suspected they were made recently. They were being quiet so that they could sneak up on the ones who had captured Naruto.
Gaara was worried. They had seen the signs of the fight but there didn't seem to have been much of a battle before Naruto was captured. That seemed out of character for the one who never gave up. What had happened to Naruto? Gaara got his answer sooner than expected. They came from behind a large sand dune only to freeze where they stood. Barely 10ft away, there stood five men standing around a blonde lying on the ground. Gaara's eyes drunk in the sight before him. Naruto was facing away from the trio and he could see that the blonde's back had been badly burned from the sun, probably his front as well. There were bruises starting to form on his sides and the red head noticed that his hands were tied behind his back and a collar was around his neck. He could see the ground behind had drag marks etched into the sand. The final straw was when Gaara noticed the liquid in the blonde hair. Letting his eyes travel up to the man standing closest to Naruto, he understood what had happened. His vision went red. By the time he was aware of his surroundings again, the leader was dead, killed by sand coffin, and Korobi and Yaoki were trying to stop him from killing the others. Naruto was facing him and Gaara couldn't read the look in his eyes. Was it disappointment? Relief? He relaxed his arm and let the sand drop. The four remaining didn't dare run as they had seen how fast the sand had moved and crushed their boss. Gaara walked forward towards the men while Yaoki ran to Naruto. The men backed up until Gaara was standing protectively between them and Naruto. All the while Naruto stayed quiet while Yaoki undid his bonds. Gaara was troubled. A silent Naruto was a bad sign. How badly was he hurt? Korobi grabbed the rope from Yaoki and after disarming them he tied their hands and strung the rogue ninja together. Gaara glared at them the whole time sending chills down their spines. They weren't going to disobey the kazekage anytime soon.
Yaoki had moved forward to help Korobi tie the guys up and keep an eye on them leaving Naruto and Gaara by themselves. Naruto was delighted to see Gaara and even though he hadn't wanted the leader dead he wasn't about to scold the man who had just saved him. He didn't think the redhead had noticed his attempt to stand up until he realized that the sand was supporting him. Smiling, he looked to the man who was blocking him from his tormentors. He tried to speak but all he could do was cough. Suddenly he found a water pouch in his face. Looking up Gaara was still facing away from him. He frowned. Naruto washed out his mouth before taking small gulps. He also used a small amount to wash the urine off his face. Not once did Gaara turn to face him. Clearing his throat he finally managed to speak. "Look at me."
Even though Gaara wouldn't face him, he was hyperaware of Naruto's movements. He had used his sand so that Naruto wouldn't fall and offered Naruto water as soon as he first heard him cough. Gaara was still really upset with the condition they had found Naruto in and wouldn't look at him so that he could keep control. He didn't even remember killing the first guy and he was scared he would lose control again. That's why when Naruto told him to look his way, he didn't respond. He thought Naruto would just storm ahead to be in front of Gaara but the blonde never tried to move. Then Naruto spoke again. "Gaara, look at me." Something in Naruto's tone compelled Gaara to follow the command. Distantly he realized the others were watching the two of them but he didn't care as he slowly turned. Facing Naruto he felt the anger rush through him again until Naruto surprised him. "Long time no see! I'm glad I get to visit you." Gaara's face flushed. Here Naruto was looking ragged and worn with his voice cracking but he wore a huge grin and his eyes sparkled like sapphires. Striding forward, Gaara grabbed the back of Naruto's head before crashing their lips together. Gaara could hear the shocked gasps behind him but chose to ignore them. Fiercely he kissed his blonde trying not to think of what could have happened if they hadn't found Naruto.
Brain activity was at a complete standstill for Naruto. Gaara was kissing him! Naruto couldn't believe it but it was actually happening. The kiss was forceful and a little clumsy but Naruto didn't care because the one he loved was doing it. Before he thought to respond to the kiss Gaara pulled away, leaving him breathless. He still had something to say though.
"You shouldn't have done that."
Gaara's eyes widened. Was the kiss that bad? Or did Naruto not care for him in that way? Naruto worried about sending the wrong message explained. "I'm sick and I don't want to pass that on to you! Also you shouldn't have grabbed my hair because it still has pee in it and I'm dirty from being dragged plus…"
"You're perfect." Gaara hadn't thought Naruto could get any redder but that statement caused Naruto to flush even more. Looking down Naruto started mumbling things the kage couldn't hear before glancing up shyly at the redhead. Before he could say something they were interrupted.
"I sincerely apologize for all that we did to you. We never would have been so cruel except our boss expects it from us and if we didn't then he would have hurt us instead."
Naruto stared blankly at the goon, noticing the other 3 behind him nodding along with what the first had said. Turning to Gaara he asked, "What's going on?"
Gaara's face was blank as he faced the goons. "They're sucking up to you, probably because they realize now that you're my lover. They don't want to face the consequences of their actions."
Naruto frowned. "I don't like the word lover. It makes it seem like I only want you for sex."
Gaara just glanced at him. He didn't really care what word was used to describe them. He shrugged. "Then what would you prefer?"
"Boyfriend!" With that Naruto launched himself at Gaara and hugged him tightly. Then, letting go except to leave an arm around the redhead's shoulder he turned to Korobi and Yaoki. "Hey I haven't seen you guys in years! You're looking well. Are we all ready to head back to Suna cause I really need to wash my hair." The two jonin laughed and at a nod from the kazekage they gathered up their prisoners before heading towards the village, Naruto not once leaving Gaara's side.
A couple of days later found Naruto out walking with Gaara. They had gotten back to the village where the goons were thrown in prison while Naruto got a bath and a checkup. He had been forced to stay in the hospital for those days as they treated his burns and fever. A message had been sent back to the leaf detailing everything that had happened, Gaara refused to leave anything out, and Tsunade was infuriated. Naruto knew she was going to make life hell for a while. However, they both agreed that it would be best for Naruto to stay in Suna for the rest of the vacation time he was originally given where he would then be escorted home by Gai's team as they would be closest and available. For now he just wanted to enjoy the fresh air and celebrate leaving the horrible trap they call a hospital.
The two teens walked through town just enjoying the other's company. When they made it to a nice, secluded spot both of then stopped to rest. They hadn't talked much since the kiss.
Naruto broke the silence. "Are you really okay with it?" Gaara stared at the blonde waiting for him to clarify. "Being my boyfriend I mean." Naruto watched Gaara expectantly.
Gaara didn't have to think. "I love you." It was stated as a fact and Gaara shrugged like the answer was obvious.
The words hit Naruto like a sledgehammer. Never had anyone said those words to him. Three simple words but they held all of Naruto's hope for the future in them. The acceptance he always craved but this was more. Gaara loved him. Eyes welling up with tears he clomped onto the stunned red-haired ninja and snuggled his head into the crook of Gaara's neck. His arms wrapped around Gaara's waist, the fox jinjuriki looked up into Gaara's eyes. "I love you too Gaara." And the red head smiled. Before he had compared Naruto's eyes to sapphires but he was wrong. No jewel could ever match the beauty of his shinning blonde.