For All Eternity

by NT aka Aku-chan

The scariest thing isn't a monster or demon.

Title: For All Eternity

Author: NT aka Aku-chan

Pairing(s): GaaNaru, blatantly obvious mentions of past pairings

Warning(s): Pairings, dur; and ANGST! Rawr, because I feed on angst! Oh yeah... and kind of AU-ish... Oh yeah, and expect a lot of death!

This is dedicated to Ja because she hearts GaaraNaru so and I needed to write something before I died from utter boredom! It's a win-win situation really. Hehe Enjoy!

ooooOoooo For All Eternity ooooOoooo

The scariest thing isn't a demon or a monster, he learned. All the stories and tales that mothers told their children to keep them in bed and prevent them from wandering out in the night were meant to leave their hearts to beat calmly in their protective shells. Fathers told their sons stories of a beast they once faced to show that any man can conquer the vilest of creatures – even if it meant the dark vile growth of sadism sprouting in a human's heart. They filled their heads with false tales and morals and even falser courage. But children were meant to take every obstacle to befall before them in stride, and conquer over everything, while in the end the only villain left to fight is fear. In the end, the only demons and monsters you'll ever find are the ones inside another with a face so much like yours and a mind too similar to your own.

No, the scariest thing isn't a demon or a monster.

"How long has it been?" His will was shallow, but he was not close to crumbling, far from it. Everything about his demeanor seemed vicious and contradicted everything that he once portrayed to those who could not interpret the way his eyes would flicker slightly in guilt. And it was in those eyes, he could recognize the man before him – shattering or not.

"Nine years." The numbers told another story, but neither spoke a word; the intentional silence left those thoughts unwavering. Ironically, neither knew the other had been keeping track; it seemed each day that passed was just an idle moment, although felt long, wasn't as long as they initially had figured.

"Has it really been that long?" Everything that summarized this man was splintering off his strong yet thinning frame, leaving him to wonder how long he had stood in that manner. But it all faded away; in its place, stood the man he once knew, proud and confident in his posture. "Did you miss me?"

His childishness was missed greatly, and now that it had returned, he wished it wasn't there. The dent it left in the tension made a mark within him that pained like a twisted slit, the gouging of a blade that would seem impossible to wrench out the way it had come in.

He entrapped the other in his gaze, forcing the walls to crumble faster than they usually would when confronted with a former companion – or was it foe? – and he let them crumble because he himself was tired of it.

"Yes." It was relaxed and calm, a sensation he rarely felt, but it was expected. He smiled like those he gave when he was younger, so similar that it pained anyone who saw it now. It was like retelling a story of deaths and sin and blood – but that's what his life had turned to, hadn't it. At that moment, the graves meant everything and nothing that he was confused to the point of exhaustion, but one word was left in his mind: Gone. Time had taken its toll on the world, and ravaged the once proud and sturdy villages, which were left in ashes where time once more rebuilt away the stench of failures and misunderstandings.

"They're all gone." The hollow eyes stated lifelessly, but when he fell into the arms of the other, the tears were obvious then. His shoulders trembled to the coursing sobs throughout his thinning frame, making them cling harder to each other. "And for once, I can't blame myself. I wish I could. It'd be so much easier."

"I know, Naruto... I know." He held onto the other tightly, letting his hands run over dirtied blond hair, wondering when they had lost the morning sun glow to the reality of everything.

If it wasn't for the fact he could relate and he held his own scars, he could easily make baseless promises with unrealistic reassurances, if only to maintain the sanity that was wailing so hard to just give in and crumble at their feet, along with the years of memories dying out in the ground below. The years have passed and Konoha was no longer what it used to be, overridden by years of advancements that changed the shape of society all together. Ninjas are a rarity, no longer needed – but peace was far from reaching each divided country, fending off in selfish needs and independence.

The mundane lifestyle of everyday spread like fire, easily consuming everyone in its path. Machinery filled the streets and homes, cars paving the ground and weapons with the sound of thunder becoming the only beasts. The life and way of a ninja was long forgotten, a hidden fairytale at most. But there were still two who had the life to tell the story.

"I wonder when we'll finally just stop functioning," Naruto mumbled out from the other's arms, breathing in the scent of the sea. "You've been to the ocean recently, haven't you Gaara?"

"Yeah. It reminds me of your eyes." He wasn't much for romanticism, but he smiled uncharacteristically when he felt the Kyuubi holder's shoulder melt down slightly. "So he finally died, huh?"

"Don't say it like that." Naruto tensed once more, falling along with Gaara, when the latter decided to sit in the plush black leather couch.

"Which was he?"

"Hmmm... the twelfth one? I don't know. I lost track of how many generations of that family line I've been watching over." Naruto scrunched his face, but relaxed once more to curl up further in the arms of the Shukaku container. "That stubborn bastard trait is still being passed on."

"Hmph. You shouldn't have made Uchiha that promise when he was on his deathbed."

"Oh, sorry for not being insensitive like you. He might've been a bastard, but Sasuke was my first love." The blonde buried his face at the crook of Gaara's neck and shoulder, inhaling the scent of cinnamon attached to the reddish brown hair that had been grown and dyed slightly.

"I thought that was Haku."

"No, that was just a physical attraction. Nothing more. And I mistook him for a girl then." Naruto leaned back, staring out the sliding doors which led to a beautiful ocean view, skyscrapers framing it from the sides.

"A girl? How does that make sense?"

"I hadn't realized my sexual preference back then. I thought I was a normal straight kid."

"Guess it didn't turn out as plan."

"Nope, it never does." Naruto turned around, leaning backwards into the broad chest of the other. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small, wrinkled and aged picture. A corner had been torn, the color faded and the creases made it look completely worn-down as if it had been through a war of its own. And it had. Hazy blue eyes crossed lazily over the image, looking at the face that remained impassive to the world around. The only time he had smile, he recalled, was a time that seemed rather imaginative than true. The dark hair made darker by his irises reflected such hatred once, but it was calmed in this one memento. His lips were set in a straight line, but the eyes, he wished, showed a love that only they had shared in the midst of battle and in the shadows of the moon.

"You're such a fool, you know. Sasuke never loved you back, you know." Gaara turned his eyes away from the old photo to glance at the blonde in his lap. Naruto's hand had clenched down on the picture to create yet another crease.

"I'd like to believe he did. But he had a duty to his family. Anyways, if we did stay together, I wouldn't be looking after his great, great, great, great, great-"

"Alright, I get it already." A slight shifting resounded across the quiet room, a more comfortable position taken by the smaller of the two. "Anyways, after Sasuke was..."

"Neji." Naruto smiled at the memories, though it has yet to reach the eyes. The image of his clear-eyed friend brought a pain to his chest, but he felt pride swell at the same time. It's over, he reminded himself.

"Right, the Hyuuga." Gaara's voice held back its amusement.

"But he died in battle, not too long after Sasuke had fallen." It had truly shocked them all to see Konoha's two prodigies fall, all except for Naruto. He had seen it coming and had merely watched on as the events unfolded. His reality shattered, but he still stood, fighting his own battle. It wasn't his place to interfere after all. Fate was set and their death was predetermined, Neji would have said. Naruto's lips quirked slightly, knowing their death on the battlefield was absolutely stunning. His two loves fell in such a beautiful setting, amongst the smell of blood and destruction, it was fitting. That was where a ninja belonged. He was born, grown and put to death there. That is how the story goes.

"And after Neji?" Shukaku's holder interrupted the other's thoughts, knowing the depth of the blonde's mind.

"You."

"And after me?"

"Heh, no one. No one at all." Naruto rubbed his face into Gaara's shoulder, inhaling the scent of the ocean and lime. Salty and sour, Naruto giggled. It was Gaara alright.

"You must have a thing for bastards. From Uchiha, Hyuuga and now me."

"Yeah, bastards definitely turn me on."

"I'm amazed you never went after Itachi. Or that Orochimaru guy."

Naruto scrunched his face in disgust, shaking away the mental images from the thought. "That's just wrong, Gaara."

The redhead let out a soft chuckle, as his arms gently wound around the blonde, and he let the scent of the summer breeze from the blonde overtake his senses. He's beautiful, Gaara knew that his beauty would be everlasting no matter how much death and blood was on his hands and eyes.

"So what were you doing for the past nine years? Besides looking after the Uchihas." Gaara absentmindedly played with a strand of Naruto's long blonde hair. He had grown it out, tired of having it cut constantly. Gaara had the done the same, though he did cut it now and then to leave it only shoulder length, whereas the blonde's hair was a little passed his waist.

"Just wandering for the most part. Being mistaken for a girl for the other part." Naruto recalled the times when guys had shamelessly flirted with him, calling him 'cutie' and 'baby', which lead to broken bones and bloody noses.

"Maybe you should get your hair cut and gain some more weight. You're too thin." Gaara tightened his arm around the small waist to emphasize his point.

"You still working?" The Kyuubi container changed the topic easily, as he brushed his fingers through his long hair.

"You are too."

"Yeah..." Naruto leaned back, no longer masking his face from the other. "You have a job tonight?"

"Yeah, you coming?"

"Might as well."

"Sorry." Gaara whispered, holding the other closer to him.

"I know." They stayed like that, together in their own world, until the world outside darkened, summoning their presence. A soft nod and a light kiss were exchanged, as the two set off just like they had nine years back. Together again felt right, if nothing else in the world would go the way they wished.

It was an easy task, as they easily blended with the crowd, looking like any other couple in the place. It was like any other job they were given, although money wasn't a necessity to them now, but the simple pleasures of life sometimes needed a few bucks here and there. And who was Gaara to refuse Naruto's pleads for the cups of ramen – the only other constant in the Kyuubi's life. But it proved harder than they thought over the first century when everything began to fade so quickly. The only jobs they could find were the ones shadowed in their expertise. Night after night was like a nightmare, but neither spoke a word of it.

It was a procedure that was well memorized and carried out the same way, in their signature way. No weapons were needed, it was a slight sting and that was all. Neither was a sadist, the reverse at this point. The death was quick and painless, Naruto hoped. Before them, a man was melting into his own blood, unidentifiable with his body parts lying strewn about. They had made sure to kill him quickly first before dismembering and disfiguring him. Neither made a sound or a change of expression as they finished the job. With no evidence of their presence left behind, they fled the scene to report back to the one who administered the request.

"Here's your pay." They took the cash easily and slipped back to the shadows with their guilt and regret burning deep.

Empty bowls of ramen sat idly over the table top, as the two stood outside on the balcony overlooking the lighted city. The Kyuubi container softly sighed, as he leaned further over the bar in front of him.

"If we were to fall from here, would we die?"

"Probably not. You'd be healed before you could gain that wish." Gaara pocketed his hand into the other's, reassuring himself that the blonde was still beside him. "Even if you did manage to die, you'd be pulled back. They'd make sure of it."

He felt a weight on his shoulder, and a tickling on his neck as the sunshine hair rubbed against his skin. A slight dripping soaked into his shirt, making him shiver as each midnight breeze passed over them. He turned to wrap his arms around the other, pulling the shorter one into his chest.

"It's okay. It'll all be okay." The tears slowed to a whimpering, and he brought the other inside. Placing them both under the covers of the king-sized bed, he waited for his love to calm down. He felt the urge of a kiss on his lips soon after.

It was beautiful, but not in a romantic way. The need and desperation was evident among the tangle of limbs. The smell of sweat and sex filled the air quickly, and it would've seemed animalistic between the two, but it was gentle.

"One of these days, we'll just stop functioning. Or I'll find a way to kill us both for sure."

"If you say so."

"Gaara?"

"Yes?"

"Do you miss them?"

"Do you?"

"Yes, very."

"What if you can't find a way to die?"

"Then I'll just have to live for eternity with you."

"It's not so bad, is it?"

"No, not at all."

The scariest thing isn't a demon or a monster.

"I love you, Gaara."

"I love you too, Naruto."

The scariest thing is finding out that you are one.

THE END!

Ummm... well... if you don't get it, I'm sorry. But review anyways and tell me about your confusion if you will! But most likely, I'll be in the same situation as you, so I will laugh at the similarities between me and you and then... probably go eat some ice cream. Yeah... Thank you for actually reaching the end. It took a lot of effort, I know.