Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
When Gaara was young and still acknowledging his loneliness, he used to talk to the sand that followed and obeyed him. Sometimes he would pretend he could talk to his mother through it, sometimes he pretended it was his best friend. He, the sand, and his teddy would have fun together.
When he first heard the sand whispering back to him, he was happy. But it told him to do frightening and bad things and he got scared and stopped listening. It whispered to him that he had to hurt people, Yashamaru in particular. To this day Gaara doesn't know whether Shukaku's dislike for Gaara's uncle had been because Gaara had loved Yashamaru or because the demon had known that he would betray his host.
Either way, after Yashamaru's death, Gaara started listening to the dark voice. It didn't betray him; it wouldn't hurt him. It protected him like the friend he never had. The friend he could never had. There would always be something separating him other people. He was utterly...
A smack over the head interrupted his thoughts. A can filled with a hot drink dropped into his lap.
"You looked like you were brooding," a certain blond announced. Gaara picked up the drink and popped the top.
"Brooding? That's a large word for you."
Naruto sat down with an exaggerated pout. "I hadn't realized nights were so cold here," he observed as he wrapped his hands around the can.
Gaara didn't answer, instead he continued to look at the boy sitting beside him. The boy who had risked his life to save his. The boy who had reached him when he was all alone.
"Why are you starin'?" Naruto asked, rubbing his face self-consciously.
Gaara shook his head slightly. "It's nothing." His smile was barely perceptible. The boy who was his friend.
The last chapters have just been too cute. So I felt the need to write something. It's alright I guess, if a little short.
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