Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Gaara checked his watch nervously, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he leaned against the low wall outside the Ruda park. He couldn't believe how many people were still strolling past him in both directions! He'd have thought that as the night drew in there'd be less people heading onto the beach and more people heading into the village, having just left the beach. Maybe he'd head down to the beach this time tomorrow, and see if there was anything interesting going on which drew so much footfall.
Checking his watch again, Gaara cursed himself for being so... He didn't know the word for the anticipation he was feeling, though he recognised the impatient part of it. Where was he? He should have been here five minutes ago.
Sai had called him that afternoon, as he'd said he would. Gaara had been walking back from the market with Temari when he got the call and his sister had been very curious as to who it was.
"But Gaara, no one ever calls you." She'd said incredulously. Gaara snorted by way of an answer, trying not to show his sister how that comment felt like a knife in his side.
"Well someone's calling me now, so if you wouldn't mind..."
"Hmf. Troublesome little brother." She'd muttered as she walked ahead in a huff. That boyfriend of hers is rubbing off on her, Gaara thought. As soon as she was out of ear shot, Gaara had picked up his phone.
"Hello?"
"Gaara, how are you?"
Gaara still couldn't believe how forward the strange man was, it unnerved him quite a bit. Hesitantly, he answered,
"Uh, I'm alright?"
"Great! How'd you like to come out with us later?"
Gaara'd felt his throat constrict, "Out?"
"Yes. What are you doing at eight?"
"Nothing?"
"You are now! What campsite are you staying at?"
"Ruda?" Gaara answered all his questions like that, with an uncertain rise in pitch at the end. He heard some movement on Sai's end of the line and frowned, trying to make out the source of the sound. However, Sai started talking again, cutting off the background noise.
"We'll meet you outside Ruda at eight then, see you later!"
Gaara hadn't had time to answer, as Sai had already hung up. He sighed, relieved that the phone call was over. But the relief hadn't lasted long, because after walking a few more paces, Gaara had slowly ground to a halt, butterflies seeming to pound him in the stomach and settle there uneasily.
Did... Did he say "we?"...
Now, Gaara had no reason to assume that Sai meant himself and Naruto when he said "We," he could just have easily meant the scary pink haired woman. It didn't have to be Naruto... What Gaara couldn't understand was why the thought of his meeting Naruto should cause such uncomfortable feelings in him anyway. He wanted to see Naruto again, right? So why was he dreading it?
Being alone was a whole lot easier than these confusing, conflicting feelings Gaara decided, dropping his head in defeat. Is companionship really worth all this hassle?
"Gaara!"
He lifted his head and looked up the street, searching for the person who'd called his name. It hadn't sounded like Sai... Oh, but there he is. Gaara thought, spotting the smiling man walking towards him with his hands in his pockets. Sai lifted a hand in greeting, smiling a little wider. The fluttering in Gaara's gut settled a little on seeing the pale man, without extras, and he raised his hand the same way Sai had.
As he did so, he was tackled to the ground by a giggling yellow blur. Disorientated, Gaara stared wide eyed at the mass of orange which now lay on top of him.
"Didn't you see me?" An amused voice asked, "I called you and everything!"
"Well you are wearing your invisible suit." Sai said, appearing in Gaara's view with a very, very amused look on his face. Smug almost.
The colourful mass on top of him shifted and pushed himself up to stare at Sai, "Was that meant to be a joke?" He said incredulously. "You're getting better, the sarcasm really suits you."
Yes, yes it is.
Gaara stared in wonder at the man above lying above him. From here, Gaara could make out the orange t-shirt, the spiky blonde hair... and when the man turned to look at him again with a beaming smile, the extraordinarily blue eyes. He had to swallow a couple of times before he could get his voice to work, and when he did, he could have kicked himself in irritation at the ridiculous stutter which came out.
"N-Naruto?"
"Heehee," Naruto giggled, rubbing one of his cheeks with a finger. "Hey, Gaara. How you doing?"
"I think you're crushing him." Sai said calmly. Naruto looked down and upon realising that he was, indeed still on top of Gaara, he got up so fast he gave himself a headrush and almost fell straight back down on his ass. Gaara felt a wave of disappointment when the blonde moved, but brushed the feeling aside and shook his head as Naruto rolled off a ream of insistent apologies.
"It's alright." Gaara said, "I'm fine."
Naruto grinned, and Gaara's heart did a somersault in his chest. Naruto watched in interest while Gaara dropped his head to hide his face behind his fringe, afraid that one of the other boys might notice how warm his cheeks had gotten all of a sudden. Sai observed quietly as one boy smiled warmly at the other, who was blushing and staring nervously at his toes.
Hm, so that is how it is...
"Well Dickless, I'm going to go and find your ugly friend." Sai announced, drawing two pairs of eyes towards him. "Don't stay out too late." He added with a smile as he turned and walked back up the road, waving over his shoulder. The two boys watched him leave, feeling a heavy silence fall around them the further away the dark haired man got.
"That sneaky... He planned this all along!" Naruto muttered with a face-palm. Gaara watched him curiously, planned what? He wondered.
Naruto turned back to Gaara and looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. The red head was wearing a lavender shirt under a light grey jacket. He had it buttoned up all the way to the top, staving off the non-existent cold in a way which gave Naruto the impression that Gaara was used to a much warmer climate. He made a mental note to ask him about it later. The only summery item of clothing the man wore were the sandals on his feet, which were half hidden by the dark grey or faded black jeans he wore anyway. He looks... great! Naruto thought.
Gaara was aware of Naruto's appraising eyes sweeping across him and he held his breath until he thought the blonde was done. The way Naruto smiled was making his insides flutter unbearably and he silently begged the blonde to hurry up and say something to break the tension which he'd felt choking him since Sai'd said he was leaving them... alone.
"How lucky's this huh?" Gaara looked up when Naruto finally spoke, berating himself for acting like such an idiot. He was really irritating himself right now. "I mean, I didn't... I thought..." Naruto cleared his throat, and an apologetic look appeared on his face. "I'm sorry, Gaara... about ditching you before."
Gaara remembered what Naruto had said to him on the fence, and repeated the words, "Don't sweat it."
That made Naruto laugh, and Gaara smiled a little despite himself. It was such a heart warming sound.
"Hey, Gaara? What d'you wanna do?" Naruto asked, bouncing on his heels as he leaned towards Gaara expectantly. The red head hesitantly replied,
"I don't mind."
Naruto beamed, taking one of Gaara's hands in his own as he turned to walk back up the street towards the village. "I know a great ice-cream place, it'll be my treat!" Gaara followed him without question, wondering at the warmth he garnered from the gentle pressure Naruto's hand wrapped around his own as they walked.
Naruto talked a lot, and Gaara thought that was fine, because he was content just to listen to the ramblings of his companion, still not quite believing that he was really here. Every now and then, Gaara gave Naruto's hand a shy little squeeze, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming when his hand was squeezed right back.
Naruto pointed out all sorts of things to Gaara as they walked; the campsite he'd stayed on when he came here with his perverted godfather one year, a house he'd stayed in when he came with his aunt,
"She's got a lot of money, 'cause she's some kind of super doctor or something and she refused to camp." Naruto explained when Gaara looked at the house with awe. Next, Naruto pointed out the car dealership where Jiraiya had promised to buy him a car when he learned to drive.
They were in the village now, and Gaara was familiar with most of the places Naruto pointed out to him, enjoying instead the little anecdotes Naruto threw in for each place they passed. Again, Gaara was surprised by the number of people still hanging around here. The surf shop had closed, as had the café. The pub was still open, however, and Gaara saw many families making their way inside for their evening meals. There was an inviting hum of activity coming from inside, and Gaara made a note to bring Temari and Kankuro here tomorrow, before he went to check out what was still drawing people onto the beach.
Before reaching the pub, Naruto stopped outside a cramped, noisy little parlour which Gaara saw sold ice cream and doughnuts. The sickeningly sweet smell from inside made Gaara reel a bit, and Naruto told him to wait outside while he got their ice-creams.
"What flavour'd you like?" He asked, examining the billboard outside.
"If you're sure it's alright?" Gaara asked, to which Naruto's reply was a smile and a playful roll of his eyes. Gaara's eyes shimmered with amusement and he said, "Mint choc-chip, please."
"Huh? You sure?"
"What's wrong with it?" Gaara asked, relying on Naruto's previous knowledge to keep him from ordering something disgusting.
"Nothing's wrong with it," Naruto laughed, "I just can't believe you picked one so easily!"
"?"
But Gaara understood when, five minutes later, Naruto'd made up and changed his mind so many times he'd lost count. Eventually, he'd asked Gaara what he thought he should have and he'd suggested he stick with the honeycomb flavour he'd been umming and aahing over. Naruto beamed Gaara a grateful smile and delved into the little shop to make their order.
Gaara watched him through the window, sitting on the low brick wall outside. He admired the way the blonde didn't let anyone push in front of him, and at the same time, made sure not to cut in front of anyone else either. He watched the way he smiled at the other people, making polite conversation. At first glance, he seemed to be very comfortable there, chatting with the strangers but every now and then, an expression flashed across his face which Gaara recognised with a stab of pain. Naruto, even in that parlour, was trying to fit in when it didn't come naturally... He was lonely.
Well, not anymore. Gaara vowed, He's got me. But... Doesn't he also have Sai and the pink haired girl? Gaara wondered why Naruto, who was surrounded by friends, still had that look in his eyes.
Naruto came back out, an ice-cream in each hand, a victorious grin all over his face.
"Here y'go! I didn't ask if you wanted a flake or not, but I got you one anyway just in case." Naruto explained as he handed Gaara his ice-cream. Gaara had to think about it, but he made himself smile when he said,
"Thank you, Naruto."
"You don't have to do that." Naruto replied kindly.
"Do what?" Gaara asked, the smile dropping from his face to be replaced by genuine confusion.
"I get enough of those fake smiles from Sai. You don't have to force it for my sake, because..."
Gaara waited, amazed that Naruto had known his smile wasn't natural.
"You don't have to force a smile for me, Gaara because I can see you smiling with your eyes." Naruto said, grinning a lopsided grin.
"In that case, you don't have to either." Gaara replied just as kindly, sticking his flake into Naruto's ice-cream. He saw a similar surprise cross Naruto's face before the blonde smiled softly.
"You're the first person who ever noticed." He said quietly, his eyes darkening in the fading light. Dragging his gaze from Gaara's, Naruto turned and nibbled on the flake awkwardly, leading Gaara up to the pub, then down a path which ran beside it until they were between fields. Gaara craned his neck to try and see over the hedges into the field on his left, licking at is ice-cream every now and then. Naruto, seeing where he was looking, shuffled a little closer to the hedge and jumped on the spot a couple of times to get a better look. Gaara chuckled lightly at his antics and was still sporting a lingering smile when Naruto turned excitedly and grabbed his hand to lead him to a place where the hedge was thinner. Again, Gaara couldn't help but focus on their linked hands and the comforting feel of Naruto's palm against his.
"Baby cows." Naruto whispered when they tiptoed against the wall and peered over the top, trying to see through the branches. Gaara, being slightly shorter than Naruto, couldn't see anything and he was not going to hop madly on the spot like Naruto had. Instead, he tried to find a hold for his toes slightly higher up the wall, effectively climbing it. He'd just caught a glimpse of what he thought might have been the back of a miniature cow, when he lost his footing and slipped with a little yelp of surprise.
Strong arms stopped him from hurting himself, and he looked up into Naruto's eyes.
"You can't see?"
Gaara shook his head, ashamed. But he didn't have much time to dwell on his infuriating shortness before he felt himself being lifted from the ground by a very sensitive place. He flailed his arms madly before grabbing onto the wall desperately, trying to balance as Naruto stood up with a very embarrassed Gaara now sitting on his shoulders. Naruto was feeling pretty pleased with himself, but he could tell that Gaara was uncomfortable.
"Can you see now?" He asked, grinning. Even though he couldn't see the blonde's face, Gaara could tell that he was grinning. There was laughter in his voice, and Gaara cringed at the thought that Naruto might be laughing at him. He steeled himself, and he found he actually now had a clear view of the field and he spotted the calves Naruto had been so excited about. Gaara had to admit he'd never seen such a small cow before, and they were rather sweet.
"Yeah, I can see them." He said, "Can you put me down now?"
Naruto chuckled as he lowered himself into a crouch and allowed Gaara to step down. He laughed even more as Gaara backed away from him a little, as if afraid that he'd pull a similar stunt again.
"Heeheehee." Gaara cringed away, his ears burning again as Naruto giggled. He'd made a fool of himself, he thought, shuddering again.
"Hey, you cold again? How can you still be cold when you've got a jacket on?" Naruto asked, eyeing the shuddering Gaara curiously and remembering his thought from earlier. "D'you live somewhere warm?"
Gaara looked up when Naruto put his arm around his shoulders as he spoke, hoping to warm the little red head like he had the night they met. Gaara unconsciously leaned into him as they began to walk again, seeking the familiar warmth the blonde seemed to radiate.
"We used to live in Italy." He said, earning a raised eyebrow from his companion, who had a mouthful of ice-cream and couldn't speak at that moment. Gaara's eyes sparkled with amusement and he continued. "My father owned a lot of property over there, he was a rich man."
Naruto, who'd just finished flapping his hand in front of his face to recover from a brainfreeze, said, "Was?"
Gaara's smirk looked odd, it wasn't sad but it spoke of bad memories. "He was involved in some black market trading, and was killed by one of his competitors. Don't look like that though," Gaara said quickly when Naruto began to look sympathetic, "He was an awful man."
"So... where do you live now?"
"I live with my siblings in Bristol." He said.
"Seriously? What school d'you go to?" Naruto asked excitedly, his question instantly telling Gaara that he lived close by.
"BGS." Gaara noticed Naruto's eyes drift towards him, impressed.
"Grammar school huh? I knew you were too smart for me." The blonde pouted, and Gaara returned his attention to his ice-cream to avoid talking about it further.
"Well I go to sixth form at St. Katherine's. It's kind of a way out of town but it's a pretty good school." Naruto said, telling Gaara about the huge fields and the swanky new performing arts block, and the teachers he liked or didn't like. Gaara had heard of the school, they'd competed against them once or twice in one thing or another, he was sure. But he'd never met anyone outside of his school. Well, really, he'd just never met anyone. Anywhere.
They fell into step, Naruto's arm around Gaara's thin shoulders, and they chatted about this and that, making their way slowly but surely in the direction of the beach. Naruto finished his ice-cream first, while Gaara still had a lot left, and Gaara caught him looking at it occasionally. Leaning into Naruto's side, Gaara would hold up his ice-cream every now and then to let the blonde have some. He was always rewarded with a chuckle and a squeeze.
"I jumped right over this this morning." Naruto commented as he followed Gaara cross the concrete slab across the little stream. Gaara looked at him over his shoulder, then looked down at the stream, seeming to gauge the distance from one side to the other.
"Why?" He asked, clearly wondering what was wrong with the makeshift bridge. Naruto scratched the back of his head and chuckled,
"I was in a hurry I guess."
"What for?" Gaara asked curiously as he waited for Naruto to walk up beside him again. The blonde did so, and held Gaara's hand as he pondered what to say.
"Well... Sai told me you were here, so..."
"... For me?"
"Heehee, yeah." Naruto squeezed Gaara's hand and nudged him playfully with his arm. "For you."
Gaara's lonely heart couldn't comprehend this at first, but a great, kindly warmth blossomed in his chest when he realised that Naruto had been so eager to find him.
"I found your sandcastle." Naruto said as they sat down on the soft bank of sand at the top of the beach. Gaara raised an invisible eyebrow.
"How did you know if it was mine?"
"Are you kidding? It was huge!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing out his arms to emphasize his wonder. "When Sai showed me your picture, I thought it looked kinda big, but... That was the biggest, coolest sandcastle I've ever seen!"
Gaara was blinking at him. "He showed you the picture?..." His ears burned when he remembered that he'd also seen Naruto's, so he shouldn't really complain.
Naruto, however, looked similarly uncomfortable. "Yeah... He gave it to me actually."
Now the burning spread onto his cheeks, and Gaara tried to hide his face behind his fringe again to hide them. Naruto chuckled though, and pushed his hair out of his face.
"Hey, you don't have to be embarrassed about... hey, what's that?" Naruto brought up his other hand and traced the lines which graced Gaara's forehead. The mark had been hidden by his hair before now, and Naruto wondered what it was that made the boy hide it.
It was a tattoo, Or is it... I think this is a scar! Naruto thought as he felt the raised lettering.
"Gaara..."
Gaara moved his head away, smoothing his fringe down to hide the scar once again from view. He kept his hand there, as if he were protecting it.
"Gaara, who did that to you?"
"... My mother."
"Why? That's... It's..." Naruto felt his anger rising in defence of his friend.
"She knew I wouldn't remember her... it was the only way she could... tell me forever how much she... I was..." Gaara's words became strained, struggling to voice the words. Naruto understood, and his gaze became softer as he pushed Gaara's hair aside to look at the scar again.
Love...
"What happened to her?" Naruto asked quietly, a little worried about upsetting the thin man beside him. Gaara's pale, dark ringed, frightened eyes slid up to meet his own, begging for comfort.
"She died, after I was born..."
Naruto pulled Gaara into his lap and held him, replying to the plea in Gaara's eyes. For a long time, they sat like that, watching the light fading around them.
Watching the sea reflecting the colours bouncing from the bottoms of the clouds which dotted the sky, Gaara thought he might know why people were still visiting the beach at this hour. He smiled, and timidly, lifted his arms and wrapped them around the boy who held him so safely. He felt Naruto's sigh shifting his red hair as the blonde held him tighter.
They weren't sure when the sky went dark, but after a while, even Naruto was feeling the cold. He shivered, and thought of how cold Gaara must be feeling, since he seemed to be sensitive to it. But when he whispered to him, Gaara didn't reply. Confused, Naruto gave the redhead a little shake, and the thin body he held just leaned heavily into his side. Gaara was asleep. Naruto felt a warmth within him, he couldn't believe he'd really made the redhead feel comfortable enough to fall asleep… And he looked so cute when he was sleeping… Naruto smiled softly. Maybe there's hope for me after all.
Reluctantly, he woke up his sleepy companion and helped him get unsteadily to his feet, smiling when Gaara leaned on him to keep his balance. He walked the drowsy Gaara back to his tent, gave him one last quick hug, and made his way back towards the main road.
So deep in thought was he, that he didn't hear the hurried footsteps behind him.
A jacket was placed softly over his shoulders.
He turned around to see Gaara smiling at him, really smiling at him. The red head came a step closer, and Naruto held his breath, wondering if he'd fallen asleep on his feet and this was all a dream. Gaara rested his hands on Naruto's shoulders and got up on his tiptoes, pressing his lips into Naruto's forehead. Naruto wasn't holding his breath anymore, he just couldn't breathe. The little redhead stepped back and his beautiful eyes twinkled with mischief… and… something warm which tugged at Naruto's heartstrings.
"You can keep that jacket, if you like." Gaara said, "But it might be a little small."
"Gaara…"
Gaara's face split into a fleeting grin, and Naruto felt the world shift around him. His legs didn't feel like they'd hold him but mercifully, he stayed on his feet as Gaara turned and walked away, ducking his head into his tent and disappearing from view.