A/N:
Okay, so I've really been looking forward to writing this chapter. Why? Well, I don't know. I guess it might be because of the characters and the setting. I just really enjoy the whole idea behind it :3

So yeah, make sure you leave your thoughts in a comment, and I'll see you again tomorrow^^

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Disclaimer:
«I do not own any of the following pictures, music, characters or the original universe. I only own the story itself the main character and to the idea.»
Thanks a lot to Lightning Bee for betaing on this story.

Chapter 16 - Do you wanna build a snowman?

It was dark when Gaara opened his eyes. He sat up and looked around him, and as he did, his eyes grew accustomed to the dark. The sand ninja was in a room with wood panels on the wall, and for a moment he didn't know where he was. Then he remembered. He was in Naruto's room. Letting out a sigh, he got up from the mattress and stood up, looking over the room once more. The blond boy was sleeping in the bed. Judging the light, it was still early morning, and Naruto wouldn't wake up for several hours.

Gaara had always been a morning person. So, without walking his friend, he got dressed and went outside. It was freezing. When they first had arrived, Gaara hadn't noticed the temperature much. When he thought of it, it was possible that his sand had kept the cold outside by using the heat stored between the grains, but now, all the sand had gotten cold, and so had Gaara.

He walked for awhile, studying the scenery around. The physical activity kept him warm, and Gaara decided that he would head over to the training grounds for a bit of practice. The area was abandoned as Gaara had foreseen. Not that it bothered him, it was actually good. Being here by himself meant he wouldn't need to hold back.

"Yoho!"

Gaara lowered his hand and the sand returned to his gourd. Two hours of training had done him good.

"You're up early," His apprentice asked as she walked over to him. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Matsuri." Gaara greeted. He looked at her and noticed she was wearing a dark brown coat he hadn't seen before. "Have you been shopping?"

"Shopping?" The girl looked confused at him, then, following his gaze, she smiled. "Ah. no. This isn't mine. The Hyuuga's lent it to me. They say that it's not good for a girl to be freezing. Still, I think I might wanna buy one."

Gaara nodded. From what he knew about the Hyuuga family, he knew that they were a family of principal and practicality. It sure fitted the female, Hinata was it?, to lend it to Matsuri.

"Do…" Matsuri suddenly looked away, scratching her leg with her foot.

"..." Gaara let his eyes rest on her.

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" She mumbled, a shade of pink appearing in her cheek. "You don't have to," she hurried to say, waving her hands in front of her. "I just heard Hinata and her sister talk about it, and it sounded fun."

"..."

"I guess it's a little silly," she let out an empty laugh. "I mean, it's something kids do, and-"

"What is a snowman?"

"It-It's a sculpture you make of snow," Matsuri stumbled over her words, surprised by his answer. "You make big round balls of snow and, and then you put them on top of each other."

"..." Gaara twitched one of his fingers and a small amount of sand flowed from the gourd. Spinning his finger, the sand in front of him gathered into a figure.

Matsuri gasped. It was a perfect snowman! Well, except the material.

"That's amazing, Gaara!" She told him. "That's just as it's supposed to look! Now, if you just can make it in snow..." She sat down on the ground, and for a moment she thought he'd refuse, but then he knelt down beside her and touched the snow with his hands. "Can you make the big one?"

Gaara nodded and gathered snow in his hands, but then he stopped, a puzzled face on his face.

"Gaara?"

"I..." Then he shook his head. "No… It is fine." It felt strange to touch the snow like this. It almost felt like sand, and as if by instinct, he had tried to control it. Naturally it hadn't worked, but for a second there he'd been struck by the feeling of having lost his abilities.

"Well, okay," Matsuri smiled at him as she walked a few steps to the side where she sat down to gather snow of her own. "I'll make the middle one if that's okay?" She didn't get an answer from him, but she took that as a confirmation. Gaara was one to tell when he didn't agree.

Matsuri curled the snow into a small ball and rolled it, watching it as it grew bigger and bigger. A minute later she stopped and looked down at her snowball, and after measuring it with her eyes, she decided that it was time to bring it to the body.

"Gaara?" She had stopped and was now looking up at the sand-wielder, noticing his unfamiliar struggling expression. Confused, she moved her glance to the pile of snow in front of him, and it was indeed a pile - not a ball. "Gaara?" she repeated as she sat down beside her mentor. She had never seen him anywhere close to this. What was happening to him?

"I..." He tries, his voice thick with wonder. "I-I can't do it. The snow… It doesn't..." His bewildered face made Maturi want to smile, but she quickly resisted and put a calming hand on his shoulder. Back when they had first met, a physical contact like that would have upset him, and she would never have repeated it. However, her being his student had brought them closer than anyone would have imagined. They were not best friends, no, Naruto had taken that spot, but they both had a mutual understanding - and even respect, for each other.

"Gaara, I have an idea." Matsuri said as she looked at him.

Gaara lifted his gaze and looked up at her as he listened to her idea. As she finished, he nodded. Though he wasn't fully satisfied with the situation, her idea was a good one.

"So… what do you think?"

Gaara didn't reply, but he let the sand flow from his gourd, once again turning it into the shape of a snowman. Then, with a concentrated wrinkle in the corner of his eye, he put it down on the ground beside them. He twisted his fingers, and in front of them the sand turned hard and firm. First then did Gaara relax.

"Wow! It really looks great." Matsuri complimented as she looked over the sandman. "And who says we gotta do it their way? Personally I think the sandman is better. It wouldn't melt away as theirs do."

Gaara couldn't help but smile. Though he would probably refuse to admit it to anyone, he really enjoyed being around Matsuri. For some reason it seemed as her carefree spirit and playfulness was having an effect on him as well. He had chosen to ignore and dismiss the idea of it when he first became responsible for her, but as they had spent more and more time together, he had noticed that his own mood was changing; that he tolerated more from those surrounding him.

Years back, he had been certain that the only thing he could ever trust was his sand. It had always been there - while those closest to him all had stayed away or betrayed him. But lately he'd been thinking. Maybe he didn't need the sand to protect him? Maybe other means could replace it? Friends, family... The sand hadn't been able to keep the cold away, but she had...

Turning his back on her, a smile appeared in the corner of his mouth. Even though the winter was cold and unknown, maybe it still wouldn't be so bad?

A/N:
So, I really hope you liked it, and if you did, make sure to follow me here on ff - cause if you liked this one, I know you're gonna like my upcoming GaaMatsu multi-chapter story.

Please leave a review with your thoughts, okay?
it will help me write better in the future^^

And then I guess I'll see you guys again tomorrow^^

Again, please like /follow me if you enjoy my stuff:
FaceBook: WinnifredArtemisDub
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