Friends and Further
by Lemon Drops/thatreevesgirl (both me)
Drabble 3: Holding On
Both of the young men were lounging beneath a large oak tree, relaxing and talking. It was horribly hot out for a late summer day in Konoha, the heat was definitely getting to Naruto, though Gaara only found it mildly irritating since he was used to weather like this. The only thing Gaara found the least bit detestable was how muggy and thick the air was. At least in the desert when it was hot it was just hot, it wasn't hard to breath, nor did the air feel like it was weighing you down. That was probably the reason why Gaara didn't object when Naruto suggested that they wander out to the training fields and take a nap.
"So a whole week, eh?" Naruto asked with a gleam in his eye. The blond shinobi had shed every bit of clothing he possibly could and still stay decent. This meant he took off his jacket and t-shirt, leaving Naruto in long orange shorts and a sleeveless mesh shirt, but for some reason that left him feeling rather naked in the presence of Gaara.
Gaara nodded toward the other man, trying not to smile at the ridiculousness of Naruto. Gaara's friend was sprawled out on his stomach, knees bent so his feet were in the air, clicking together every few seconds as Naruto released some of his excited energy.
"I have a whole week's vacation," the Suna leader confirmed and then added, "I think Temari sensed I was tired, that or she was mad at all the mistakes I've been making on important documents in the past month or so."
Naruto chuckled, it was nice to know that even Sabaku no Gaara wasn't infallible, even nicer to know that he'd decided to spend his vacation with Naruto. When Naruto received word of Gaara's little reprieve from being Kazekage for the week, he asked for the same timeframe off. Tsunade had refused the request, but given Naruto something better, a mission to act as diplomat and personal aide to the Kazekage while he was in Konoha. Therefore, Naruto was getting paid for hanging out with Gaara. It was the best mission he'd ever been assigned, and a helluva lot of fun to boot. This was also good, because it took Naruto's mind off of current happenings, things which seemed to get him a little down whenever he thought about them.
Gaara noted how Naruto slumped into the grass, burying his head in his arms as his feet stopped bumping together. Naruto was quiet and rather somber, and that wasn't like Naruto at all. "Something wrong?"
Naruto let out a long, exasperated sigh before looking up at Gaara, "Did I tell you that Sasuke-teme's having his first kid? He found out last week and told me Tuesday."
Ah, this was the reason why Naruto was in a bit of a distressed mood, because not only was Sasuke getting what Naruto had always wanted—a family—but he was also having it with Naruto's long time crush Haruno Sakura. Gaara hadn't seen his friend this down since the day Naruto had to be best man at Sasuke's wedding, it had nearly broke Naruto's heart.
"Ya know, I was the one that saved that idiot," Naruto huffed into the grass, "Sakura should have fallen for me."
"Sometimes things aren't meant to be. Things happen for a reason," Gaara reminded his friend.
"Gaara, how old are we?" Naruto asked as he started picking at the grass beneath him, plucking blades and throwing them away just to pull out another one, then repeating the process as he waited for Gaara to reply.
Gaara choose to joke with his friend instead of just giving the answer, "Forgetting how old you are, maybe your teammates were right, maybe you are a little more than dimwitted."
"Hey!" was the irritated response, "Just answer the damn question."
Okay, so joking wasn't working, and obviously not the right tactic to try. "Twenty-three, though I do believe that you are still twenty-two, am I right?"
Naruto huffed again, "Only for another month and a half. But yeah, I'm freaking twenty-two, and completely pathetic."
Gaara grimaced, he hated when Naruto was negative about himself, couldn't his friend see just how much there was to be grateful for? Naruto was strong, capable, smart (even though most people didn't give the leaf-nin enough credit where this was concerned), and by most standards a rather attractive person. "You'll find someone, don't worry about it so much."
"Oh, I've heard that before," Naruto snarled, then added in a high, mocking voice, most likely an imitation of his teammate Sakura, "Don't worry, Naruto-kun, the perfect girl will come along any day. Don't worry, Naruto-kun, you're a real catch. Don't worry, Naruto-kun, being a virgin who's only accidentally kissed Sasuke when he was twelve doesn't make you that big of a loser."
Gaara couldn't hold back the chuckle escaping his chest, because he had to admit, the last one was rather funny. "You're serious?" he asked through muffled snorts, "You're a virgin who's never kissed anyone?"
"Oh SHUT UP!" Naruto roared, then turned to his side to pout (and as to not let Gaara see how irritated and upset he was). "I was saving my first real kiss for Sakura, look where that got me."
The truth was that Naruto never really wanted to kiss anyone but Sakura, and when she'd married their asshole friend it kind of broke him inside. It hurt Naruto so bad that he didn't want to kiss anyone, didn't want to start a relationship with a single other person in all the ninja nations. Naruto threw himself into his work instead of worrying about things like kisses and love; it worked a lot better to ignore it, rather than to try to attempt to move through the pain.
"Don't be afraid of life, don't be afraid to live it," Gaara whispered. Naruto could hear the sand in the Kazekage's gourd shift and then resettle, which was followed by the redheaded man standing and making his way to a small pond of water.
"I'm not afraid of life," Naruto hissed under his breath. "I just…" Naruto didn't know what he was trying to say, or what he was feeling. It could best be described as selective ignorance. If he didn't have to think about it, and he didn't know about it, then the problem didn't exist. It was a twisted logic, but it worked for Naruto. Not that there were really that many options left out there for him. Ninja either chose to stay single, or they married early. You never knew when your time was up as a shinobi, your last breath could be fifty years away, or it could be tomorrow. The list of candidates who Naruto would even consider had been picked through significantly. Hinata, TenTen, Temari, Ino Sakura…they were all hitched, swept up into the graces of love and marriage, a foolishly romantic idealism in Naruto's mind, but still one he desperately longed for.
Gaara returned, his red hair slicked back with water and his pale chest dripping. He was also carrying his shirt in his hand, it too soaked. Naruto assumed Gaara had doused it to stay cool, but with a wet thwack it landed right on Naruto's head, nearly suffocating him in the wetted bundle of fabric. It was something Sasuke would do, and Naruto had to bite back the urge to respond the way he normally did, which was with a 'What the hell, teme?' This time he only glared, sending angry daggers at Gaara with his eyes.
"If you aren't afraid, then do something about it. You always go on and on about your way of the ninja, and this doesn't sound much like it at all."
Naruto sighed, Gaara had a point, a good point too. It wasn't like Naruto could hide forever, he didn't like feeling lonely, he wanted more from existence than merely being a ninja, perhaps even more than accomplishing the rank of Hokage. It was greedy, but he wanted to be respected, wanted to be Hokage, but also wanted to be loved. Naruto pondered how he might even give up one of his other two desires if he could only have the third. Naruto wanted to know what it was like to find passion, to have someone who you loved so much that you put their life before your own.
Naruto gulped back the lump in his throat, and forced away the tears dancing in the corners of his eyes. He hated thinking about all this, because when it came down to it, there was no one for him, he was going to be alone forever. Nearly choking on the words as he forced them out, Naruto quietly asked, "Gaara, are you ever lonely?"
Gaara nodded and responded in the same pained way, "Sometimes."
The two men laid under the giant oak tree, not saying another word the rest of the afternoon. It wasn't that they couldn't, or that they didn't want to, but sometimes a friend just understands and it doesn't have to be explained. That was exactly what happened between Gaara and Naruto, a complete understanding of one another. Of pain, of anguish, of wants and desires, of everything the two had gone through and had yet to experience.
Just before Gaara and Naruto fell asleep while watching the clouds pass by, Naruto's hand reached over and squeezed Gaara's, silently saying thank you to the person who understood him the most. Gaara didn't shy away from that hand, instead as he drifted into a peaceful slumber he took great comfort in the fingers intertwined with his own.
A/N's: thatreevesgirl bring you da fluff again. I'm on a super fluff-kick. I hope you don't gag from all the WAFFy fics that I'm writing for you, but I love these two being in love. I really, truly do.