"Naruto-kun, I don't think we should be doing this. I'm the kazekage, I could be ambushed."
"You need to loosen up Gaara-Chan, its not much farther ahead! I think..."
"You think? I'm surprised, didn't know that was possible of you. You obviously didn't THINK of the possible consequences of dragging me through the woods in the dead of the night."
"I thought of all the consequences I thought mattered. Just loosen up. It should be just over this hill."
"It better be."
"Here we are!"
The two had finally stopped at a cliff with a large tree that cloaked the area in a nice cool shade in the day, and blocked out any unnatural light at night. Just next to it was a large rock, perfect for any person- or persons, to lie down on and stare up at the sky adorned with little lights. You could also see the majority of the trees surrounding Konoha, and Konoha itself radiated with a light glow.
There was a blanket spread across the grass and in the middle of it was a jar with a few fireflies. Those fireflies shone so bright that the entire area conceal by the enormous willow tree swallowed the beautiful, calming sight was breath taking...
"You wasted my time bringing me here when I could be in my hotel sleeping?"
... for most people...
Naruto was shocked to say the least. To come across a place like this, would be, more like IS, life changing, let alone all the work he did to impress the younger ninja. "What was the point of bringing me here?"
"I always wanted to sleep under the stars here with someone, but I could never find someone right enough to do so with. I haven't shown anybody this spot. Even Shikamaru doesn't know about it, and you know how he is always lazily lying around everywhere, priding himself in his ability to find a nice spot to rest. He'd shit himself if he ever saw this place."
"Then why didn't you wake him up instead?"
"Because.." Naruto lowered his voice. But not to sound seductive, he was genuinely nervous. "I don't like him... Not like how I like you..."
Gaara began to reconsider being angry, but he refused to completely let his guard down. "Of all people to bring here, why me? I do consider you my closest friend, but-"
"But nothing! You're gonna stay here with me tonight if I have to tie your ass to a tree. Being the kazekage, you deserve a break from all the stress for a while..." The redhead rolled his eyes.
"That's why I came to Konoha."
"...you need time away from people too."
"You're right. That's why I wanted to stay at the hotel. There's no people in there. Now I'm stuck out in the woods in the dead of the night with a poor excuse of a ninja, let alone a person." Immediately after he let those words slip out, he regretted them instantly. Naruto looked emotionally wounded, and drained. "Look Naruto-kun, I shouldn't have said that."
"It's alright. You don't have to stay, ill find someone else tomorrow or something. I should have known better than to drag the kazekage out to the woods in the middle of the night anyway. It was a stupid idea."
It was a stupid idea to the redhead, but he thought it was best not to say anything. Gaara rarely got any sleep, even without the Shikaku, and he was woken up by a certain blonde. "I can't go back now, I'm already here."
"I can take you back, its only like ten minutes. I've already inconvenienced you enough." Naruto spoke with less enthusiasm in his voice than he had before. That one statement made by Gaara was enough to destroy his entire mood.
"It's alright. I don't need you to find my way back." Gaara could take a hint. Naruto wanted to be alone now. "See you tomorrow." Before he was going to run off back to his room, he turned to see that he was even more hurt.
Naruto sat with his legs to his chest, and his chin on his knees. A warm streak of water raced down his cheek. "Why does everyone I love reject me... Maybe nobody needs a 'person' like me."
Gaara made his back to his hotel room within a matter of minutes. He sat on the bed and thought of how Naruto was crushed. Being a once host to a bijuu, he knew very well how people could say certain things that trigger something deep down inside themselves.
But why? Gaara couldn't understand why Naruto wanted him to go with him there so badly. He obviously had an ulterior motive that would explain his behavior, but what was it, and why?
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Gaara couldn't get much more than a couple hours of sleep. His mind was somewhere else: His true reason for taking a break. To find love. Not the kind of love you have for friends and family. He wanted to be IN love. However, none of the woman he came across spiked his interest. Many were beautiful no doubt, but that wasn't all he looked for in a relationship. Not that he's ever been in one. Is that all a relationship is about? No, he refused to believe it. Love has to be more than sex.
He stood up from the bed and walked to the bathroom. With a wave of his hand his sand armor was ripped from his skin. Underneath the armor, his skin was ever more pale. His eyes became so much more noticeable. He looked adorable and dangerous at the same time. He used his sand to cover the walls in case an intruder came in. He turned on the faucet and began to wash himself thoroughly. He loved the cold.
"Maybe I should ask someone if they know any women that may interest me," he said to himself. "It's decided: today I'm going to ask Sakura-Chan to help me out."
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"Hokage-sama, where may I find Sakura-san?" He stood across from Tsunade sitting at her desk. She was going through her usual mountain of paperwork to deal with when Gaara knocked. She has always been intrigued by the kazekage.
"She should be back from her task any second now. May I ask why you need to speak with her?"
"I just want to ask her a favor, about something private."
"Hn. I never knew you two to be close. You can wait for her outside my office." With that Gaara thanked her and walked out the door.
Gaara stood with his arms crossed and head down like a statue. The same issue popped up in his mind. The look of Narutos face when he was hurt caused a great deal of pain for the young leader.
A few minutes later Sakura came walking in his direction.
"Gaara? What are you doing in Konoha? Did something bad happen?" She was carrying at least twice her weight in boxes undoubtly filled to the brim with more paperwork for thw hokage.
He simply shook his head. "Would you like some help with that?"
"Haha, no, Lady Tsunade-sama makes me carry loads of these everyday!" She opened a closet across her office and stacked the boxes in there with mountains of other boxes. Okay its not that bad. What does Tsunade do with her time that she's stuck with so much paperwork? "So what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to ask a favor of you Sakura-san."
She looked up at him with a sudden interest. "Sure, ill help with whatever you need."
Before Gaara gave himself a chance to talk, he reconsidered what he was going to ask. This is kind of embarrassing to ask someone, but Sakura was nice enough. Right. He looked over her and noticed something. She's beautiful. She doesn't have the impact on him that he wished for, but she's nice. "Sakura-chan, will you go on a date with me?"
That was easier than his original question. Is that normal?
Immediately she started to laugh. "No. I- haha - I'm already in lo- hahaha!"
"I don't see what's so funny." Gaara was furious now. How dare she say no, let alone laugh.
"Gaara! I'm not going on a date with you! You're gay!"
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