Lily: i was surprised by how many people wanted me to continue my Gaara/Naruto one shot. *passes out from joy* i've decided to continue it. i'll also be working on a humor fic (my first one!)
Fly-Girl: we went to a party last night.
Phantom: the hostesses said there was too much food so we now have five pounds of brisket and a...
All: German Chocolate Cake!!!!!!
The color of your voice
Naruto and Gaara had been meeting at the same spot for almost every night since. Sometimes they would lay in silence, merely watching the stars, other times they would talk, little things, about Naruto's daily life, about training. They never trespassed into areas that they were uncomfortable talking about, their pasts, their demons. Their friendship was a slightly distant one, but it didn't matter, for they understood each other.
Kakashi's always late, complained Naruto, and he comes up with the stupidest excuses ever! I mean, come on, I had to save a kitten from a giant fire breathing dragon,' you'd have to have no brain cells to fall for that one!
Gaara snorted, it could've been a sneeze or a laugh, Naruto wasn't sure.
Why can't he just say what's true, I slept in late because I stayed up all night doing it with Iruka,'?
Gaara choked and suddenly burst out laughing. His laugh was surprisingly free and young sounding. His eyes were shut, his head was tilted back and his sides heaved with exertion.
Naruto stared. He had never seen Gaara laugh.
Gaara seemed to sense Naruto's shock and he quit laughing. He looked at Naruto out of the corners of his eyes, wondering if he had done something wrong by laughing at Naruto's story. Naruto looked at him quizzically.
Why'd you stop? he asked, his lower lip stuck out in a signature Naruto pout.
Stop what?
Stop laughing,
I didn't know if I was supposed to laugh,
Didn't know?! How can you not know? You laugh when you want to laugh, simple as that. Plus, you have a nice laugh.
A nice laugh? How is it nice? Gaara furrowed his brows.
It sounds nice. It's sounds like... red, a dark red.
Red? How can something sound red, it's a color? Naruto was confusing the sand shinobi.
Naruto laughed and shrugged his shoulders, I dunno, it just sounds red, to me. You ever felt something like that? It makes no sense when you say it, but it makes sense when you feel it.
I don't know.
Man, Gaara, you're not like a kid at all. You know what, you need to come to one of my team's training sessions. It'd be good for you.
Naruto grinned, squinting his eyes shut.
Why would it be good for me? said Gaara in his usual monotone.
Well, they're really a lot of fun. We just practice our techniques, be stupid and bug Kakashi. No trying to kill each other, no real competition and we usually get ramen afterwards!
It might be interesting to try.
Yeah! Um... just try not to kill Sasuke, though. Normally I'd be really glad to help you, but... yeah.
Gaara sniggered.
Well, I'll come tomorrow. Your team meets at the bridge, right?
I'll see you then, Naruto.
Yeah! And I'll try and figure out why I think the color of your voice is red! Naruto laughed as Gaara left. He watched him jump into the trees before heading back to his empty little apartment.
Gaara sat in a tree and pulled his red scarf around his shoulders. What was this strange fluttering, twisting feeling in his stomach? Was he sick? He put his hand to his forehead, he didn't feel hot. Was it some new threat from the demon within him? No, it couldn't be, it felt too... good. It felt good, but it was maddening. It felt as if there should be more than this little flutter, something bigger, but he didn't know how to get it or what it was.
Gaara sighed and curled his back against the tree. He wouldn't sleep, he never did, he would just sit there until it was time to meet Naruto.
