A/N: This is connected to my fic Hidden Sand Shadows, or as I like to call it, "a scene I should've included in that fic but rushed it too much before fully forming thoughts about it and now it's too late to awkwardly edit it in and pretend it was there from the start."
So… enjoy this wholesome (I hope) scene of baby Gaara and my OC: his first friend who he was later brainwashed into forgetting.
Past the empty town square.
Down the dusty neighborhood streets.
Paying no mind to the chilliness brought on by the desert's nightfall.
Braving the scoffs from onlooking night owls—eyes piercing, full judgment—resulting from her chosen companion hours before.
Not to mention the meticulous art of sneaking out of her motel's window, careful not to produce anything even slightly resembling sound.
All to be here with him. To be here for him.
Gaara looked over at his new friend to his left, likewise lying on her back and gazing at the shimmering sky. Countless nights he had spent up here, in this exact position, staring up at the fiery balls of gas, hoping that taking in the view that others seemed to enjoy so passionately would ease the pain. Trying to ignore the agonizing lack of human presence in every direction. Suppressing dark thoughts scratching on the walls at the back of his mind, often due to a literal adversary within, begging him to wonder how long it would be before he died—on the inside.
But this wasn't about him. No, his priority tonight was making sure his friend was comfortable and happy. That's all he cared about.
"Harley…?" he mumbled, his head still turned slightly to look at her.
He knew that her being here was a big deal. Risky, even. It was only the night before that he had gotten a glimpse of her aunt's wrath after she was out late. He didn't want to imagine what kind of vicious fury would be unleashed if that impatient, cold-hearted woman discovered that Harley snuck out in the middle of the night. Yet here she was, by his side on the roof of his home, thinking he was worth the risk.
But why?
"Yeah?" she replied, eyes still fixed on the stars.
"Are… are you sure you'll be okay? I don't want you to get in trouble again…"
"Come on," she said in a warm tone that cut straight through the brisk air. "We already went over this, remember? It'll be okay. Besides, I'd rather get yelled at by Aunt Mara than for you to be lonely all night."
The loud silence typical of Suna after dark, broken up only by the gentle songs of the breezes, faded further into the background. Gaara read in a book once that armadillos, though mostly protected by a thick shell, will burrow into the ground in the midst of danger to protect their vulnerable bellies. Not for the first time that day, a soothing wave coursed through his tiny body as he felt his involuntary sand armor come undone, almost as if falling to the ground, its assistance unneeded. In this moment, his lone vulnerability within his chest was safe.
"No one's…" he began, still in mild disbelief, "ever…"
Been so kind. Wanted to be around me. Looked at me as…
A person.
The only exception being, to a small extent, Yashamaru—who they were trying to be mindful of, keeping their voices down just in case they woke him up in the room beneath them.
Harley finally turned her head, slightly upwards and to her right, looking him gently in the eye. Her face was lit only by the moon and the faint glow that carried from the streetlights below. Yet he could see it clearly. That look. One he never realized he needed.
With eyes attentive and curious yet kind and inviting, she studied his own for a moment. His luminous jades that communicated more than words. A state of dissonance, struggling to believe this was truly happening, nevertheless trying to savor each passing second.
How badly she wanted to take him away from this miserable place. This desolate dust bowl where children and adults alike ostracized and tormented him day after day, all because of powers he never asked for.
"Gaara?" she finally spoke. "If you could pick, what's one thing you would change in your life? What do you want more than anything in the world?"
Caught slightly off guard by the question, still looking into her deep blue irises, he started recalling his life prior to the last couple days.
Reruns of kids laughing and playing games on the playground, immediately horrified upon sight of him.
The blaring of their screams as they ran away.
Images of his father's disapproving glare, inevitable each time their eyes met.
Temari and Kankuro swiftly pulled away whenever he was within a certain distance.
The sensation of what he imagined a kunai to the chest felt like, constantly within his own.
"I want…" he began, facing the sky again and trying to find words. "I want everyone to stop being scared of me. Then I could belong. And they wouldn't look at me like…"
A monster.
"You want to be loved?" Harley replied, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.
Gaara nodded. Yashamaru had once tried explaining it, but this was more understandable. More tangible. If what he was feeling in this moment from his dear friend was love, he wanted it above all else. But he knew it would all end in a few days' time. She'll leave the village and his life will be launched back into its cruel normalcy. Tears threatened to spill before he felt his hand taken into hers, outreached as she continued holding him in her attentive gaze.
"You want love," she repeated. Her thumb brushes slightly over his knuckles and he realizes it's the longest experience of physical contact he's ever had. "Listen, Gaara. No matter what happens, just know that right here, right now, you have it."
It was over. The floodgates burst and he fell into a fit of sobs, no longer concerned about keeping his voice down.
"I change my mind," he managed, wiping his face with the back of his free hand. "What I want more than anything is for you to stay here forever."
Harley got up from her horizontal position and gave him an awkwardly-angled side hug. "I wish I could…"
For somewhat similar reasons, she wasn't exactly thrilled to return to the other side of the world.
Several minutes of silence passed as Gaara calmed down. Harley turned to lie on her stomach, propped up by her elbows. In a not fully intentional mirror of body language, Gaara followed suit.
"Someday, when we grow up," Harley began, forcing a smile, "we can do whatever we want. I can come back here, or you can leave and come to my town, or even just go somewhere kinder."
The idea seemed so far away it felt impossible, yet the tiniest ray of hope poked through the cell of his mind.
"You'll really come back?" he asked. "Promise?"
"Duh! Of course I will." Gaara watched in mild confusion as she took his hand once more and wrapped her pinky around his. "Promise."
He was about to ask about the strange gesture, but a more pressing concern took over. "What do I do until then? While you're gone? I don't… want to be alone again…"
"Just… be kind. Keep being exactly who you are."
"But… they all hate-"
"One of these days," she cut in, "you'll make friends. People will see you for the nice boy you are. I'm sure of it."
As heartwarming as her words were, all he found himself able to do was find reasons why he was unworthy. "But-"
"And," she interrupted again, "on nights like this when everyone else is asleep, you can think about other fun things. Like… what you want to be when you grow up."
"What I… want to be?"
"Yeah! Sometimes I think it would be cool to be a police officer and fight crime. Or a librarian. Or a pilot!"
"A… what?"
"Oh, right. You guys don't have airplanes here. Um… it's like this machine that takes people places by flying."
"People can fly?" His eyes widened with wonder.
Harley laughed. "Sort of. If I become a pilot, I'll give you a ride! Or, maybe you can learn how to make one with your sand and float around on it."
"Okay!" he replied, suddenly perkier. "Can you, um… draw me a picture? I don't know what they look like."
"Sure. I'll do it first thing tomorrow." Studying his glowing jade eyes and wide grin, glad to see him feeling better, she was grateful. Taking it in, she knew this might be the last time for the foreseeable future that someone looks at her with any hint of joy. She quickly pushed the thought away. "So? What about you? What sounds like a fun thing to do when you grow up? I mean, besides being a ninja."
Besides a ninja? Was that even an option?
"Um… I don't know… maybe making stuffed animals?"
"Oh! Will you make me one? I want a giant panda!"
Gaara's face was beaming. "Okay! I promise! And then I can fly on your… air… plane?"
"Well, if I end up doing that." Harley pondered for a moment and started giggling. "I actually might prefer to stay on the ground. It's silly but… I've always secretly wondered what it would be like to be a biker. Like those people on motorcycles, looking cool and free."
"Motor… what?" Gaara asked, tilting his head.
Harley fell into a laughing fit. "Sorry, I keep forgetting. Well, I know that's never gonna happen. Aunt Mara would flip out. Although…" She paused, with an almost mischievous grin forming. "That would be half the charm."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
The two friends talked the night away, until Harley's exhaustion took over. She snuck back into the motel room minutes before ribbons of orange started filling the sky. Though it was never long enough, Gaara's happy heart basked in the moment—the glimpse of love he never imagined would be extended to him.
A lost memory that would save his heart upon recollection years later.
"No matter what happens, just know that right here, right now, you have it."
A/N: My biggest motivation for writing more on this crossover that nobody asked for was to practice scene-setting—something I've always been Very Bad At.
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