Lexxibabe: Alright, sit down, shut up and read.
Gaara: Miss pushy.
Lexxibabe: I'll demand whatever the hell I please!
Gaara: Nuh-huh, you don't own me!
Lexxibabe: Real mature…
Gaara: Said the girl that stuck her tounge out at the three year old she was babysitting.
Lexxibabe: She started it, I swear!
Gaara: Just read.
"Why don't you ever cry?" Sakura asked Gaara soothingly, "It must hurt to have a demon sealed inside your body."
"He doesn't know how anymore. He gave up after it became too lonely to care any longer." Naruto said staring off at the horizon where the golden sun was disappearing to. Sakura, Naruto, and Gaara were waiting at the bridge for Kakashi and Sasuke to show up, they were going out to dinner tonight. Only a minute ago some dumb ass decided to lob a firecracker in their direction and shout something about all demons belong in hell before running away like a scared pigeon.
"Shut up Naruto, you haven't the slightest idea about what happens in Gaara's life or the emotions he has deep, deep down. So let the poor boy talk, will ya?" Sakura pointed angrily at the blonde haired, blue eyed ninja before turning back to her original subject of interest with an innocent smile gracing her face.
"Naruto understands better than anyone, actually I think that he's had it worse than me." Gaara mused, tapping his pointy chin with a long finger.
"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked with about as much intelligence as a duck. Her bubblegum pink hair was blowing round her face in the wind.
"He has Kyuubi no Kitsune or the nine-tailed fox demon and I have Shukaku, the raccoon demon, but I think that his childhood started out… worse than mine," The sand nin tried to explain simply, ignoring Naruto's frantic gestures that were went to discourage him, "For instance, my sand prevented people from physically harming my body while Naruto just had accelerated healing abilities so I didn't have a chance to be beaten like Naruto did-"
"SHUT UP GAARA, YOU SHITTY NINJA!" Naruto shouted, aiming a little of Kyuubi's killer intent at the redhead as a warming. Sakura gasped, her green widened while she looked at the two close friends.
"What did I do wrong?" Gaara asked with large sad eyes that could melt permafrost and sniffed just a little bit.
"She wasn't supposed to know about Kyuubi!" Naruto was exasperated and anxious; he tilted his head down to hide his eyes from view with his blonde bangs as he turned to look at his female friend with a scared expression, "People hate Kyuubi more than Shukaku. Everyone is afraid him hates him. Even if they try not to and forgive him but can't. They made a law that the older generations can't talk about the incident to the younger people."
"Naruto…what did Gaara mean when he said that you knew better than anyone else? What happened to you two when you were little?" Sakura asked bravely, but a small tremor remained in her voice.
"Unnecessary prejudices and being banned from shops and stands." Gaara started in a monotone like he was reading from a history textbook as Kakashi and Sasuke walked up to them, but they were too far into this conversation to greet the men.
"Harsh beatings, specialty taxes, cruel words." Naruto continued equally as bored.
"Hate crimes, assassination attempts, false claims and accusations."
"Rape, vandalism, starvation, humiliation."
"They crush your hope."
"And your dreams.'
"Your spirit."
"Your will to live."
"Your will to survive."
"Your will to forgive those who have done you wrong."
"We've both gotten so close to giving in and dying or killing every person in our villages. I actually started killing people who wished me ill fate."
"And I tried helping them exterminate myself a few times."
They boys continued to rattle off a list of different ways they were lied to and abused mentally, physically, and emotionally and how many different brands of pain and loneliness they had suffered from being cut down again and again. Sasuke looked just as shocked as Sakura and Kakashi-sensei turned his head to the side in a mixture of shame and disgust as he thought about how he never did a thing to alleviate Naruto's suffering but quickly swallowed it.
"But don't worry about it, we're okay. We have… our ways," Naruto smiled a loaded grin, "of dealing with such unpleasant reactions."
"And what ways would that be?" Sakura's stomach filled with dread. Did they kill, torcher, or maim them? No, according to her boys, everyone would have been targeted by the vessels if that happened.
"We wear masks," Gaara said reaching for Naruto's hand looking to give and receive a small amount of comfort through the simple touch, "I portrayed myself as a heartless bastard without emotions that had sadistic tendencies and more bloodlust then healthy."
"But really he's like a big teddy bear! All sweet and adorable and gentle, it's so cute how he acts all big and bad in public." Naruto giggled in a manly way (because he has that ability) and kissed a glaring Gaara's rosy cheek.
"Yeah, well…not as cute as you pretending to be all nice when in reality, you can be an asshole." The raccoon's container pouted.
"It comes with being smart, I can't help that," Naruto huffed at his boyfriend's jab and the odd looks that he was receiving from Team Seven, "What? Did you really think that I was a bumbling idiot that screws up everything?"
"No, I think they're more shocked that you aren't straight and head over heels for Sakura." Gaara helpfully supplied.
"Both." Kakashi mumbled.
"Anyways, now that we're all here, do you guys want to go to that new sushi bar around the corner?" Sasuke asked after a long pregnant silence.
"Can't, we won't get served there, and in the off chance we do the food will be rotten fish." Gaara and Naruto said in perfect unison, "but we can go to the one across town."
The group started their trek across the village to the only sushi bar in Khona that would serve the group decent food (even if it is overpriced.) Gaara and Naruto walked ahead of then a few paces, holding hands and leaning into each other while they moved.
"I never pegged either of them as gay…" The Uchiha heir pondered aloud.
"We aren't just gay." Naruto began nonchalantly.
"We are ridiculously flaming." Gaara said with a straight face.
Lexxibabe: That was just bouncing around in my head, so it's almost okay that it sucked except that it's not at all.
Gaara: I'm not a fucking teddy bear.
Naruto: You're my teddy bear…
Gaara: Damn straight.
Lexxibabe: While Gaara is being bi-polar I'm going to say good night and thank you for reading!