A/N: Prepare for fluff. Lots of it.
Ever since Rasa's passing and the restrictions were lifted from Harley and everyone she knew, she had been visiting Gaara often. Hayley would occasionally join her on these visits when she wasn't busy with the band. Even grumpy Ryan would tag along frequently. Harley eventually started bringing him potted cacti as gifts with nearly every visit, knowing how much he loved them. There was nothing he enjoyed more in life than their company.
While it's true that Naruto was Gaara's inspiration for striving to become Kazekage, the strength and faith to push through the hard times came from the constant encouragement and affirmation that those two girls gave him over the years, when Naruto was away on his training journey. With all the fear and doubt from the village, the hateful insults they would spit at him, the way they still isolated him... despite all of the missions he went on and all the people he protected, and all the kindness he showed… he wondered if it would have been possible to able to stay strong and achieve his goal without those two and their support. Of course his siblings and Baki were great too, but like the others, it still took some time for them to fully and completely trust him and feel comfortable around him. And he knew it full well.
He never felt more treasured and valued than when he arrived back to Suna after the Akatsuki incident. The entire village cheering for him, a huge group of friends who saved his life, almost dying themselves in the process… none of this would he have ever thought possible.
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A couple days after the the return, Gaara and his siblings were having a meeting in his office.
"You no longer have Shukaku, but that doesn't mean we should let our guard down," Kankuro began.
"The Akatsuki now know about your ties with Naruto, and they're still after him. They might still try to use you to lure him out," Temari said.
"I won't let that happen," Gaara replied. "I will protect him with my life, no matter what. Additionally, we now have a very good idea of how powerful the Akatsuki members are, and can take the appropriate precautions as needed."
"I understand, but-"
Suddenly, the office door swung open.
"Gaara! Are you okay?"
A familiar blonde woman stood at the doorway. The Kazekage turned around only to be quickly caught in her arms.
"Harley, what are you-"
"I heard you were in trouble. I flew out here as quickly as I could and wanted to make sure you were okay. I ran into Baki at the village entrance and he filled me in on everything. And… I'm just… just... so glad you're okay!"
She started sobbing into his shoulder and hugged him tighter. He slowly put his arms around her and turned to his siblings.
"Would you mind giving us a minute?"
They nodded and exited the office.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I didn't mean to make a scene or break down like this. Gosh, I feel like an idiot. I was just so worried. If anything happened to you…"
"I'm okay. You don't need to worry."
"You died!"
He gently pulled away and looked into her eyes.
"Yes. But I'm okay now. This incident really taught me something: that as long as I have my friends to count on, I'll be fine. Friends like you, who care so deeply."
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"Gaara, we have something important to talk to you about."
Kankuro and Temari entered the office, looking all serious.
"Is something the matter?"
Their serious looks quickly turned into smirks.
"So what's going on with you and Harley? Hmmm?"
They both winked in unison.
"What are you talking about?"
"You know, the pretty girl who uses all the free time she ever gets to come visit you? The only girl you ever spend time with outside of missions and training?"
"What are you getting at? She's my friend. Of course I'm going to spend time with her when she visits."
"We don't see you spending that kind of time with any male friends…"
"That's because I don't have any close male friends in this village, unless you count Baki."
"Come on, Gaara!" Temari huffed. "You're in love with her and you know it."
"Excuse me?"
"Let me give you some words of wisdom, little brother," Kankuro said, almost condescendingly. "Lying to yourself, ignoring it, denying it, whatever… you won't thank yourself for any of those things later. You should be honest with yourself. And with her. She is your friend, isn't she?"
"I'm going to have to ask the both of you to keep out of my personal business." He was getting annoyed.
"This is what siblings are for, ya know," Temari retorted. "But whatever, we'll go now. Just… don't wait too long, okay?"
"Wait too long to do what?"
She paused and sighed at the doorway.
"To tell her."
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The two friends stood by the edge of the cliff, their usual spot for watching the sunset. It was their favorite thing to do. Harley, now also 18 and a high school graduate, wanted this to be the first thing she did after finishing school… or at least that was the plan before learning about the Akatsuki crisis. Still, this was worth the wait.
"Have I told you how proud I am of you?" Harley asked.
"Yes, several times," he replied, smiling gently.
"Well, I am. Really, really proud. You're doing such an amazing job."
"I appreciate your support... more than you know. I probably wouldn't have made it this far if it wasn't for you."
"Oh, that's not true. You were always fully capable-"
"I thought about giving up several times in the process, believing that the villagers would never trust me no matter what I did. But you and Hayley relentlessly encouraging me every time I saw you… that's what kept me going."
She suddenly found herself blushing, though subtly. Watching him as he gazed at the setting sun, she was in awe for a moment, at the sight of the wonderful man he had become. And the fact that despite everything, there had never been a time in their lives when he wasn't kind to her.
Snapping out of her trance and looking away, she starting to feel her heart race a bit. Stop it, Harley. Don't make this weird. Just keep loving him as a friend. That's been going really well, so don't screw it up.
"In fact…" Gaara continued after a long pause. "I don't know who or where I would be if it weren't for you. I am not sure if I want to know. Just know that… you…"
His siblings' words played annoyingly in his head.
"Don't wait too long."
He turned his head and noticed her slightly red face.
"Are you okay?"
Her body jolted a bit as she snapped out of whatever trance she was in. "Yeah! Hey, I just remembered that I was supposed to call Hayley when I got here, but I totally forgot. I should get back to the hotel and do that now…"
She started walking away, but he stayed in place, still looking out. Then, in the spur of the moment, he forced the words out.
"I've always loved you, Harley…"
Stopping in place and spinning around, she stood frozen for a moment.
"...What did you just say?"
His face was almost as red as his hair. "I don't expect a response or anything of the sort. I just… wanted you to know the truth. I owe you that much as a friend."
This… this is...
Tears didn't fall, but she got close.
"Gaara…" she began. "I love you so much. I have ever since we were kids. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that you would…"
He turned around and walked up to her. A single tear fell from his eye, which she slowly brought her hand up to gently wipe away.
He had never done this before. It was all so new. But even so, it came pretty naturally, somehow. Maybe it was those romance movies he had watched with her over the years. But after a moment of hesitation, with her hand still on his face, he leaned in and kissed her. A moment of pure bliss.
"Wow..." she muttered as they slowly pulled away.
"Are you... was that okay?"
"Yeah, it was more than okay; it was perfect. I'm just... trying to make sure this is really happening."
A barely noticeable tear ran down her face.
"I've loved you for so long..."
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"So…" Temari and Kankuro leaned in close to Harley from across the table. "What exactly are your intentions with our little brother?"
They asked in a playful voice. Truthfully, they adored her. But they still felt the need to play the older siblings role and be overprotective.
Harley giggled at the dorky duo and leaned back in her chair. "Well, if you must know, I want to keep doing what I've always done. I want to always be an encouragement to him and always make him feel loved and valued. Except, now I'm hoping to do it on more of a full-time basis."
"So you're moving to Suna?"
"Yeah… I think I am. It's funny… when I was a kid, my ultimate dream was to be Paramore's band manager. Not that I wouldn't still enjoy that, but… lately when I've thought about my life and my future, it wasn't back there at home, and it wasn't on the road. What I'd really love is it be here, and assist Gaara in whatever way I can. I've become fond of this village and want to contribute to its welfare."
"Hmm, I see, I see…" Kankuro jokingly scratched his chin, still being a dork. "So what is it about Gaara that you love so much? You never met any worthy men in your hometown?"
"Gaara was… my first friend. And the thing is, my whole life I've always been known and looked at as either the daughter of the crazy alcoholics, or the sister of Hayley Williams. Not that being compared to my sister is a bad thing, but… Gaara's one of the only people I've ever known who sees me for me, and loves me for me, not just for who I'm related to. And to me that's a really valuable thing."
"I know he feels that same way about you," Temari said, exchanging a look with her brother. "You have our blessing. Just promise you'll take good care of him and... don't let him overwork himself, okay?"
"I'll certainly do my best…"
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"You doing okay, there?" Harley teasingly asked her beau from behind a very tall stack of papers on his desk.
"It will all get done. It just means an overnighter, most likely."
"You can finally sleep, and you're still pulling overnighters?"
"Only when I have to. The welfare of the village is more important than sleep."
"You know, if you ever need help with anything, I'm happy to lend a hand. I studied quite a bit in political science and I have a lot of experience in filing paperwork. Call me crazy, but I actually think it's kinda fun."
He looked up at her and smiled warmly. "I see."
"Yeah. In fact… if I take half of this stack, maybe, just maybe, you'll be free to grab dinner tonight?"
"I suppose there's no way to find out unless we try."
"Perfect, so I'll take this top half and-"
Her hand was caught by his before she could grab it. He came around from behind his desk and gave her a long hug.
"I love you," he whispered. "Everything about you. I really appreciate everything you do."
"Well get used to it mister, 'cause I'm here to stay."
She grabbed a stack of papers and took a seat on the couch to begin sorting. Gaara watched her for a minute from his desk, amused by how much she seemed to be enjoying this.
After a few minutes, she paused and pulled out her phone.
"Hey, do you always work in silence?"
"It doesn't tend to be very loud up here, so yes."
"Mind if I put on some music? I can play a new Paramore song!"
"Do as you please."
~.~
"And the salt in my wounds isn't burning any more than it used to
It's not that I don't feel that pain, it's just I'm not afraid of hurting anymore
And the blood in these veins isn't pumping any less than it ever has
And that's the hope I have, the only thing I know is keeping me alive"
A/N: I know this story and the crossovers were ridiculous, but thx for bearing with me.
This was my first shot at writing Naruto characters. I'm new to the fandom so sorry for any OOCness.
Harley's supposed to have a very similar personality to Rory from Gilmore Girls (pre-college), and I wanted to make that more apparent, but I'm not witty enough for that.
(That last song quote was from "Last Hope")
Sorry I'm cheesy