TRAINS

by kathlaida-princess

Summary: Summer is upon the Ninja World after peace has come, and the Kazekage is invited to spend it with his hyperactive best friend as well as his companions. But the presence of so many other people there (a certain dark-haired boy included) makes Gaara think that maybe he will be the one left out... GaaNaru Fluff, Shounen-Ai and Yaoi too (and Sasuke will play a good role)

Disclaimer: As usual, I'd like to say that the characters, universe and locations found here do not belong to me, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I just bring my ideas and plots to the story.

Author's Notes: Hello dear readers! I still know I have *many* things to update, but I need to finish this because then I'll forget most of the details, and I wouldn't want that… Anyway, I am happy to see this had such a good welcome, so I hope you enjoy the continuation as well!

Like I do on my multi-chaptered stories (this is my first Naruto one ^^;), I want to thank otaku3kagome (thank you, I think this has been my fastest update ever! xD), DarkAngelJudas (I hope this doesn't disappoint you! ^^), Red Riding Freak (yay! A ver o que achas deste capítulo, chuchu! xD) and ugawa (I'm really glad that my writing motivated you to read the whole thing, and it's great to know you like this Gaara ^^ Hope you like this chapter!) for your wonderful reviews! Again, they are the reason why I'm writing this in a row.

On with the story!

CHAPTER 2

HOPE IS…

"A 60 ton angel falls to the Earth

A pile of old metal, radiant blur…

Scars in the country, the summer and her…

Always the summers are slipping away…

Find me a way for making it stay…"

The buzzing night seemed to stretch endlessly across the face of the Earth's clock, the creamy moon seemed too lazy in her tracks and the vain stars seemed too reluctant to leave their stage for Gaara to be satisfied. Still, his sleep was merciful enough to harbor him beneath its dream-filled ceiling all throughout the nightly hours, allowing just the redhead's subconscious to feel said dissatisfaction.

Why does time have to crawl when we want it to run?

It was the first streams of tainted clearness that crossed the Kazekage's tent and invaded his dark eyelids, returning him from the world of the dreamers. His eyes blinked half-lidded some times before his body began stirring and his mind began replaying the last moments of the previous day in front of him. He had a goal to achieve.

Gaara smiled as he sat up, limbs stretching lazily, sleepily, but his heart already felt like he had been running for the past few hours, such was its speed. For the first time in his life, the young man did not marvel at his rather recent ability to sleep and to wake up (something he did every day, both the marveling and the sleeping), because the day ahead of him took all his capacity to think, to be amazed, to be completely thankful for such an opportunity. Instead, the redhead tried to predict the uncertain, tried to figure out how the future and unknown group activities would bring him and Naruto together, tried to plan a setting where the blond could finish his conversation with him.

The young man remained in this impasse for quite a while. He was so focused on making everything love-wise work well for him for once in his life that his plans almost materialized in front of him. Where the birds were cheerfully chirping, Gaara could almost hear Naruto whisper to him, the darkness of his tent seemed to show the two of them shyly talking, smiling and ultimately drawing closer for the tenderest gesture of affection; if he stood completely still, he could almost taste the sun and the noodles in the blonde's lips… No, Gaara was no longer an insomniac, but his daydreaming still felt so vivid…

More possibilities like this ran through his mind only to be interrupted by a sudden surge of activity outside. Apparently, someone else had also found early sunrise a good time to wake up and to wake everyone else around him too and, after a loud, energetic, "COME ON, DEAR COMPANIONS! WE SHALL NOT WASTE OUR PRIMETIME OF YOUTH!" Gaara knew exactly who that someone was.

Among the unavoidable orchestra of more or less angry mumbles, the redhead poked his smiling head outside his tent just to notice that, for once, he was the one who looked the happiest in the group (besides Lee, of course, but if he looked happier than Lee, it meant that something had gone terribly wrong with the universe). And, with an increasingly endearing smile, his eyes were drawn to another happy head with the messiest, spikiest blond hair, one that returned the greeting as his tanned index finger pointed mockingly at his own disgruntled crimson hair. Gaara chuckled rather embarrassedly while trying to bring his stubborn locks into some order, but the other kept giggling. The Kazekage was inwardly thankful that Naruto was able to make his morning so bright without even having to say a single word.

However, even if Naruto, Gaara and Lee were already getting themselves out of their tents, some other people were still mumbling, and others were now realizing it was too early even for backpacker's standards, now directing their rage and sympathy for their lost hours of sleep to the taijutsu specialist. Both Sakura and TenTen were ready to exert lethal strength if necessary, the Hyuuga cousins surprisingly began whining annoyingly and Kiba even ordered Akamaru to chase Lee alongside the two dangerous female shinobi. Needless to say, it would take more than "explosions of the spirit of youth" to disturb Shikamaru of his slumber, for the shadow manipulator would only wake up when the rest of the group was all ready to leave.

But, to Gaara's surprise, some people had woken up even sooner. Sai was looking bizarrely happy as he lit up the improvised fireplace and set a long row of slices of bread over it to toast. Sasuke made his appearance shortly after as well, having left the camp to pick up several of the forest's berries, his dangerous stare still aiming both the redhead and Naruto suspiciously. But the Kazekage felt brave enough to return the cold, despising look: that day, he wouldn't let the Uchiha interrupt anything. Gaara was pleased by the thought that his sister would be proud of his attitude right then.

However, soon everyone began thinking that the mouth-watering scent coming from the center of the camp was much more interesting than the whole Lee-bashing, deciding that since they were already awake, they might as well use this opportunity to have a decent breakfast instead of killing its culprit. A circle of eleven of the Rookie 13 plus Gaara closed around the toasting bread with the mixed berries, and Lee followed a few minutes later, after he was sure another bump wouldn't be added to his already bruised head. Unsurprisingly, Shikamaru wasn't there yet.

As unsurprisingly, Naruto had imperceptibly crawled his way to the redhead to have his first meal of the day with him, making Gaara certain that he would never mind waking up to this man every day of his life as soon as he felt the warmth of his smile upon himself, even with the bed-hair and everything. As soon as he decided the toasts were done, the blond bluntly took exactly six slices of them, and when the others started eyeing him for stealing their breakfast away (Lee looking worried that people might start hitting him again and Chouji merely protecting what was rightfully his), Naruto excused himself by giving two slices to Gaara. With that, there was no way the Leaf shinobi could protest, and Sai made sure to toast some more bread as he said, "Of course, dickless has to feed his boyfriend after all…"

But the Hokage wannabe merely stuck out his tongue at that provocation, a small blush being the only sign of his discomfort. And, when the others began having their food ready and conversations of their own, Naruto half-whispered a question to Gaara, in between two wild munches on the bread, "I take it you slept well tonight?"

The redhead, taking his own modest bite on the toast, nodded and replied, "Yes, I did, thank you."

The blond giggled, carrying on, "Yeah, I know! I could hear all the snoring from my tent!"

Gaara, however, remained undisturbed by the comment, merely replying, "No, that was you snoring, Naruto."

Great part of their meal was spent in that friendly and playful environment, the redhead even talking more than he was used to, which made all others feel rather important for being such a source for his entertainment. The latent tenderness from the last day was still there, in every word, glance and gesture Gaara and Naruto exchanged, and, when the blond decided to take even more slices of the toasted bread to eat, the young Kazekage found himself reaching for more food too, happy to see their time together stretched. He was expecting him to make a new approach to the desired subject, and would lend him any help he could afford to make it happen.

Unexpected and unpleasant events, however, can happen at any time, especially when one wants them the least and, all of a sudden, Gaara saw Sasuke Uchiha get up from his sitting position on the other side of the circle and come to them, or to Naruto to be more precise, closing a hand around the blond's shoulder as he whispered something to his ear, completely inaudible to Gaara, no matter how much he tried to listen. The redhead disliked the Sharingan-user's actions more than his vocabulary could describe, and, when Naruto finally reacted to his secret words with a completely shocked expression towards the Sand shinobi, Gaara disliked them even more.

The blond immediately got up and followed the Uchiha to a place still in the camp but considerably far from the fireplace, where they could actually talk also inaudibly (but not invisibly) to all others. Naruto, being his usual emotive self, accompanied every word with a corresponding gesture, and Gaara could tell they all meant despair, worry and helplessness, all these emotions taken to their unpleasant extreme, and he too despaired, worried and felt helpless. Sasuke, also being his usual emotionless self, merely talked without betraying his intentions, and all that, allied to the many side-glances thrown at the redhead occasionally, made all traces of good mood melt away from Gaara, since there was no way that conversation could be advantageous to him.

The rest of the group too noticed that change of atmosphere, especially because Gaara had lost his ability to remain expressionless ever since Naruto brought him back to life, and the wounded-puppy-look upon his face would call anyone's attention. But while most of them couldn't understand that it was untold love the reason why the Kazekage was so upset to see Naruto and Sasuke talking about him in such turmoil, the ones who at least suspected so merely gestured Gaara not to worry. The redhead found Neji, Hinata, Sakura and Sai smiling smugly at him (Sai's smile even scaring him a bit) and Neji even said, "At last, someone's knocking some sense into that thick head…" while the other three nodded in agreement. Unsurprisingly, these words even confused the Kazekage more, and he dared not to ask for further explanations, in fear for their consequences.

After some more minutes-hours of troubled conversation, both Naruto and Sasuke returned to their original seats, the blond looking rather somber as he sat by Gaara's side while the Uchiha looked as if nothing had happened. The rest of the group too returned to the remaining parts of their breakfast naturally, but the redhead couldn't avoid staring at the man beside him. Naruto obviously felt the uncomfortable weight of those jade eyes upon himself and stared back rather awkwardly, opening and closing his mouth until the point he couldn't stand that predicament any longer and got up once more, leaving for his tent, giving the excuse that they needed to get going soon.

Naruto's cold and sudden discomfort around Gaara was the first real, hurting stab on the redhead's hope, the one that took all of his and his siblings' motivation to build, and little did he know by then how many more attacks it would suffer…

And the redhead kept wondering, what had provoked it? What in that conversation brought that up? Naruto and Gaara had always felt so at ease with each other when they were together, which words were powerful enough to have destroyed that? The young Sand shinobi looked at Sasuke to try to find an answer, but the other was now smiling at him too with the others, intentions hidden. And that could not be good.

The Kazekage began suspecting that the Uchiha eventually took notice of his feelings towards the blond and decided to blurt them out, no matter how uncharacteristic that seemed. But, if that were true, if Naruto was really that saddened by the redhead's feelings, how could that single stab not be the lethal one?

Gaara mentally shook his head. No, he could not think like that, Temari had told him he could no longer think like that, not when he promised to do his best to make all her help count. He would just have to wait, his deductions could be wrong… And his wounded hope agreed with him, his deductions could be wrong…

After finishing their breakfast and dismounting their tents, the group, with an added yawning Shikamaru now, was ready to carry on with their traveling vacation. Gaara's eyes were set in no other but Naruto throughout the entire journey, trying to understand if his awkwardness was already fading away. He did seem normal when the redhead returned him the lent swimming shorts, but he had to make sure it would stay that way.

The day was as harmonious as usual, the abundant light invading them in all shades of green after being filtered by the immense ceiling of trees, the birds and bugs singing their joy to the visitors. But the young Kage didn't feel like admiring it that day, not when worry filled him to the brim.

During the next few hours, the blond approached Gaara several times, still with discomfort tainting his usually beautiful and radiant expression, but now without the painful break that scared him away. The two of them would share some moments of their normal, pleasant conversation, which somehow reassured the redhead, but then Naruto would leave, as if suddenly uncertain of something, and Gaara would see him discussing something with Sasuke again. In the beginning, the constant glances in his direction made him believe that he had a part in their conversations, but, progressively, even that minimal participation of his in their interactions vanished, and it was whenever Sasuke and Naruto were completely absorbed in their words (even if sad or distressed) that another piece of his hope shriveled and withered away.

Like sometimes before, most of the Leaf shinobi would join Gaara themselves, finding him surprisingly away from his blond shadow, but only Shikamaru, the one who knew all about his situation through Temari's words, was able to give some of the lost motivation back to the redhead. After the Kazekage told him all about what happened in the morning, the incredibly smart man took it all in and gave him his honest opinion…

"I see. And I can tell you find this all very troublesome, but I don't think you should worry that much… I'm still certain you'll be pleasantly surprised. Naruto's probably just freaking out that people already know what he's trying to do, and that makes him nervous… And him knowing that Sasuke knows, he must be really embarrassed with that. Just wait until he can catch you alone."

But Gaara couldn't help but ask, "And how are you so sure he… he has these feelings for me? Has he told you that?"

Shikamaru, unfortunately, shook his head, "No, he hasn't. But I know him since we were very young, very, very young. He acts around you even more weirdly than how he acted around Sakura these last months. I would stake my life for it, he sees you as much more than just a friend… You have nothing to worry about, just let things run their course."

The confident smile upon Shikamaru's face along with his speech was good enough for Gaara and he nodded a thank you. The redhead wasn't sure if this help coming from him was somehow ordered by Temari or naturally his, but he was completely thankful either way. If these problems had one positive thing, it was that: his improving opinion on his possible future brother-in-law.

More time went by after that motivating conversation, but, unfortunately, the boost did not last long. As they began moving towards a part of the Fire Country that was known by its abundance of water, both in rivers and lakes, Naruto stopped coming to Gaara at all, not even taking the occasional nervous glances while he was talking to Sasuke. Most of the time, the two of them were nowhere to be seen, and the redhead was left alone.

Not that he wasn't used to be alone, not that loneliness saddened him in any way now. He lived far too long with it when he was younger, at that time yes, it was painful. But now he had people that mattered, loneliness could not affect him anymore because there was always the promise to be reunited with said people. No, what hurt him now was the feeling of the blond's progressive absence, and of his constant permanence with the Uchiha… It was something heavy and stingy, that twisted and pushed inside him. Something horrible that made his entire body tremble in an irrational fear, something he never learned to call jealousy.

And it began eating away at him…

One of the rivers was extremely wide and the only way to cross it was a long step-stone bridge, one that was wide enough to allow up to three people to cross it together, but whose stones were not completely steady. Lee proposed the entire group to race to the other bank of the river, to which they agreed, but they weren't allowed to use chakra to just step on the water. Of course Lee himself was the first one to arrive at the finish line, stepping through the round stones as if he were stepping regular ground and even repeating the crossing over and over again as a way to mock all the others, but Gaara was very aware of the raging river around him, of the slippery rock he was walking on, of the many stones threatening to fall out of balance. That was one time, like the cave exploration, that the redhead would have appreciated Naruto squeezing his hand to safety, but the blond was far ahead, still talking to Sasuke as he walked as naturally as Lee who sped by him (TenTen had already yelled at him to stop, but there was no way he would "smother his spirit of youth").

It took Gaara, the desert ninja, much longer to finish the race than all others, but it didn't quite matter to them as it mattered to him. They waited patiently as if everything was okay, but it was the redhead who felt like he was losing something valuable…

On that region, the traveling group also visited a very peculiar village, one that had a permanent grass carpet covering it with many very narrow water streams crossing it, along with beautiful wooden bridges connecting the two banks of each stream in elegant arches. But that time there was no opportunity to wear a kimono or have some ramen, because there was no festival and both Naruto and Chouji were already accompanied and busy, Chouji following Ino around to give her some "male opinions" on some dresses as Naruto still spoke to Sasuke. Gaara noticed that now all traces of distress were gone from their talking, the blond even looked very happy now while the Uchiha offered a smile every once in a while as well. It seemed that the redhead was now completely out of the picture.

Sakura was the one who noticed him staring at them and approached him, she smiling too, saying in a very cheerful tone, "You don't know how glad I am to see them like this again, after all that happened… I guess things did get back to normal…"

At what the pink-haired woman said, Gaara could not look sad or disappointed, so his sole reply was, "I guess so… And Naruto really seems happy about it…"

Sakura nodded, "I am sure he is." And then, after a few seconds she added in a whisper, "And it is all because of you…"

The redhead was confused at her statement, because anyone could tell he wasn't taking any part on whatever interactions the two other men were having, but she was quick to notice that and stutter an excuse, "I-I mean, Sasuke told us you were the one to make him come back. That's something we're eternally grateful for."

Finally understanding, Gaara nodded.

He indeed was the one to reunite Naruto and Sasuke. At least that was making Naruto happy… And if the blond was happy like that, maybe he should let things be that way.

From that spot, he could hear Naruto chuckle and see him nod enthusiastically, to what he couldn't guess. From there, he could see Sasuke form an almost smile and nod in agreement. From there, all looked peaceful and perfect, with no need at all for his interference.

After leaving the village, the sun in mid descend across the sky and the group walking, Gaara went to talk to Shikamaru. There was one single thing he wanted to ask him, one thing of which he needed the answer fast, so he went straight to the point.

"You told me Naruto has been acting weirdly around me. Does he act weird around Uchiha too?"

Shikamaru was naturally taken aback by the question, and the tone in which he replied did not reassure the redhead at all.

"W-well, yes… I mean, in a very different way from YOUR weird way, but they have always had a very peculiar relationship since they were very little…"

"One of love?" Gaara proceeded.

But this time Shikamaru shook his head with conviction, "No, not of love. It was hardly even friendship or respect, and it was always very one-sid…"

"Does Naruto love Sasuke Uchiha?" the Kazekage interrupted him.

"NO. It is true he always sought his attention and approval, but never, ever romantically. What a drag, how come are you asking me all this now?"

"Because I can tell they are very happy with each other now…" Gaara replied rather sourly. "And I want you to tell me the truth."

"And I am telling you. No matter how many people think that, there never was a romantic spark between Naruto and Sasuke. They were always like brothers, nothing else."

The redhead considered the honest answer, but he also considered all the past events, both from these last few weeks and from many years before. He thought about all the past actions, the efforts, Naruto's pain when losing HIM, Naruto's joy when HE came back. After all things considered, Gaara too shook his head, very vague lines of sorrow painting his face as he replied, "I'm sorry, Shikamaru. But I don't think this time I can believe in you…"

And as he watched the other's surprised reaction and returned to his isolated spot in the moving crowd, he realized that it was true.

Gaara was sure he knew what had been happening now, and it all felt clear inside his head.

The sun was setting again and the camp was ready. While most people were already gathered around another improvised fireplace, Naruto and Sasuke had disappeared once more, this time into the forest, and Gaara was sitting alone by a small pond, throwing pebbles at it while his mind solved a huge puzzle.

He was now sure Naruto and Sasuke were together from the beginning of the vacation. They were just probably keeping it a secret, judging from the tension the redhead could feel between them, probably too afraid of doing something that betrayed their relationship if they stood too close to each other, so they were apart.

Naruto was genuinely happy with Gaara's presence there. As a friend, of course, because the redhead knew that he at least could be considered the blond's friend. All actions towards him were of normal kindness, of closeness that was fruit of both their good relationship and maybe the happiness of being committed, but platonic kindness nonetheless.

But Sasuke obviously noticed Gaara's feelings for Naruto (Sai's comments being of key importance to that) and warned the blond, and now all this was his adventure to try to tell him the truth, to tell him the gentle "thank you, but no thank you"… Sasuke was certainly helping him with that, but in the meanwhile they must have forgotten that plan sometimes and just got advantage of their time together… like now…

One more somber pebble hit the bottom of the pond.

Someone got up from the fireplace, probably sensing the dark aura coming from the redhead, and, when that someone got closer, Gaara identified Lee for his dark hair, sparkling smile and big round eyes.

The man sat by his side and asked him why he was so sad, and Gaara realized that, at that point, if he had any remaining hope from the many jealousy bites of feeling happy, he should try talking to Lee. So he did just that.

He told him all about his feelings for the blond, about the generated impasse between him, Naruto and Sasuke. He told Lee about everything because he owed it to him, he owed him his trust after having his friendship, even when he tried to kill him in the past.

When Gaara was done talking, he was expecting to hear something lively and inspirational from the other man, but, instead, Lee's eyes began filling with water just to spill it all in the next second, and Gaara could only see him run into the forest too as he cried effusively.

The young Kazekage felt another piece of his hope leave with him. If he had made Lee unhappy, there was nothing more he could do.

Gaara rested his elbows on his knees and then his head on his hands, trying his best to understand, after all, his place in all that mess. He still tried to fight depression away, but at that point he was very poor in weapons against it… What had happened to all his motivation from before?

The redhead remained like this until Naruto and Sasuke returned from the forest, both looking painfully happy.

Gaara decided he could not think if he had to look at them too, so he decided to leave earlier for his tent. The blond directed once single look at him, one completely undecipherable, not that he wanted to decipher it at all. Gaara did not hide his sorrow, nor did he care to hide it anymore.

Inside his tent (the others were too busy welcoming Naruto and Sasuke to notice Gaara had left), Gaara involuntarily held onto a blanket, blocking all sound from the outside while trying to bring some order in the inside. He had to figure out what was happening, what he was supposed to do now.

His thoughts all fell softly into place…

Once upon a time there was a boy. His father gave him the power of sand, and because of that his mother died when he was born.

The sand protected him and followed him, but it attacked all others, turned the boy into a monster because he couldn't control it, and because of that his village hated him, his siblings hated him, even his father hated him.

The only person who didn't hate the boy of the sand was his uncle, who raised him and looked after him, and told him that love could heal all the pain inside his bleeding heart, and that love had already been given to him all along.

But no one else would give love to the boy of the sand, and no matter how much he tried, no one would never see him as nothing but the monster.

One day his uncle tried to kill him because he had become too dangerous, and told him he hated him, told him that he had never been given love after all, all he ever was was a reminder of hatred from his mother. The boy survived because of the sand and scarred his forehead with the word love, realizing that the only person who could give love to him and make all the pain go away was himself and the sand that always protected him.

So the boy of the sand began obeying his sand always, and became more powerful whenever another killer failed to murder him because he died at his hands, became even more feared by the people, who could see the monster more clearly than ever. He gave up trying to get love from others, now he just got it from himself and his sand.

But the pain would never leave the boy of the sand and, no matter how hard he tried, he never felt like he was getting any real love, just hate; he never felt complete, just hollow.

One day he met a boy with darkness in his eyes and in his heart, and the boy of sand knew he had to meet this boy of darkness more, because he was fascinated by him.

But eventually a boy with light in his eyes and in his heart managed to interrupt their encounters, and it was this boy of light that in a swooping movement knocked the boy of the sand off his feet, and told him that he too was once a monster, told him that he would only get rid of his pain if he found real love, and he would only find real love if he didn't let the sand get in the way, if he didn't give up on the others.

His light turned into hope inside the boy of the sand's heart, and he realized he had already found love in the boy of light, even before he knew a boy was supposed to find love with a girl. He realized he would have to follow the boy of light's words if he ever wanted to be complete, he had to suppress his sand and act solely on his own.

Then, the boy of light went away to save the boy of darkness, because he was gone to face a terrible fate, but he was a dear friend to him and he had to help him see the light too.

But the now boy of hope was now doing all he could to make the boy of light's words come to life, instead of killing he did his best to help, and people began liking him instead of hating and fearing him.

Already was the pain vanishing, already was the warm love being given to him, and the boy of hope couldn't wait to see the boy of light again, just to show him how much he grew because of him. Then, with the boy of light's love, he would feel complete the most.

Unfortunately, it was the boy of hope's death the thing that brought the boy of light back, but the boy of light did save him and did see how much he had improved, and the boy of hope could see he was proud of him, he could tell he was receiving love from him too. The pain was now long gone, and the boy of hope had to thank him forever for that.

So he gave him all his hope, because he would need it to get his dear friend back. His hope gave him strength, made his light grow brighter, and it was that brighter light that brought the boy of darkness back, because it was now able to spread to his heart too.

But now that light, darkness and hope were all in the same place, how did they fit together? Light and darkness, when in collaboration like this, were certainly the perfect match, but what about the hope that had reunited them? What was its use when its mission was accomplished? Was its mission even accomplished yet? Was the boy of light's love saved only for the boy of darkness, even when the boy of hope found and cherished it first, longed for it with all his heart?

As Gaara's thoughts were resumed to this, the night was already installed, all people had gone to their tents too, but voices were heard outside.

"Tomorrow you will tell him about this, right?" Sasuke spoke audibly for the first time.

"Right…" Naruto's saddened whisper replied.

"Then what is it?"

Some silence.

"I'm still worried it'll cause him pain… Maybe I should…"

"No. We've talked about this. The more you wait, the worse it'll be. This has been dragging for too long. Just tell him."

More silence. Gaara too wished people could just tell him the truth right away, instead of keeping him in this impasse of not knowing anything.

However, after a few more seconds, Sasuke's voice came again, expectant, "Are you coming to sleep?"

A painful pause.

"In a minute… I just need to think some more…"

And that was the final blow to the redhead's hope, and with it came the first tear.

Gaara now knew the answer to his previous questions.

The remains of the hope from before have transformed into a different kind of hope, hope for Naruto's love.

But hope only has use to reach some sort of goal, and when success comes, there is no longer use for it.

The hope he drew for himself from Naruto was returned to him when he was fighting to get Sasuke back, and now those remains, even if with a different purpose, had no utility, and neither had him.

All he had to do now was listen to what Naruto had to tell to him and accept it, accept that his part was over and that his hope for love could never have a place there, even if, to him, Naruto was the most amazing person in the world, even if his love meant everything to Gaara. Do not interfere with his happiness, just accept how things are and get past this new disappointment. Gaara should already be used to that, his life has always been a series of disappointments, he should expect nothing else. Hope for love was not meant for him, just its teachings, its theory.

Because hope for love when there's no reason for it is painful, and that's why more tears are flowing, when his eyes had been dry for so long…

This hope is pathetic.

And that's why he has to use these tears to drown it completely.

This hope is like a bunch of feathers glued together with butter, they let you soar this high, but then the sun melts them and you fall.

And that's why there won't be any trace of either the hope or the tears upon Gaara's face tomorrow, when Naruto finally decides to come to tell him he loves Sasuke after all. He cannot afford them, and neither Naruto does deserve his burden.

END OF CHAPTER

Yup, very depressing, I know… but it's over! And this third one will be better, I promise :D Iccarus wings ftw!

See ya next chapter!

kathlaida-princess logging out…