A demons kiss is an angels touch

After his siblings left, Gaara lay quietly staring at the roof. He felt a bit uneasy in Konoha; almost guilty, in fact. Only a few months ago he had tried to destroy this village, and now the people of Konoha were taking care of him. Even though Suna had reformed their peace treaty with Konoha, and assisted on the mission to try and rescue Uchiha Sasuke, Gaara still expected some sort of attack - or at the very least, a lecture from someone.

While he thought, Sakura entered the room timidly. In her trembling hands she balanced a few small bottles of medicine, and a glass of water to wash their strange tastes away. Her patient was still scrunched up in the bed, eyes peering out over from the blanket that was pulled up to his nose. The pink haired girl thought briefly that he was just like a tanuki in his hidey hole, and this cute metaphor momentarily overrode the frightening memories of the very real demon she had witnessed. She felt a little calmer, and managed a small, friendly smile.

“Hello, Gaara-san!” she chimed as cheerily as she could. “It’s time for you to take some medicine.”

Gaara watched her quietly as she poured the medicine into the measuring cup. The redhead was skilled at observing others, and had realised that she felt awkward being around him. Despite her smile, her eyes gave away her feelings; that look in her eyes was much like the one in the eyes of the people of his own village that feared him. Gaara hated that look. “I’m sorry, Sakura.” He spoke softly, trying not to scare her further.

“For being sick? You don’t have–”

“No.” He cut her off and then thought for a few seconds before continuing. “I tried to hurt one of his precious people.” His face scrunched up a little; all the coughing had rubbed his throat raw, like he’d swallowed all the sand in Suna, and speaking was becoming painful.

Sakura could see Gaara’s slight wince as he spoke, and involuntarily held out the cup of medicine and the glass of water. This sick boy in front of her was not the same frightening ninja that she had encountered in the chuunin exams, she realised. “It’s okay; I forgive you.” Her smile was much more genuine as he took the items from her hands, and she thought she caught a glimpse of Gaara smiling weakly back before he gulped down the medicine and water.

“Do you think HE forgives me?”

Before Sakura had a chance to answer, loud clunking footsteps could be heard from the hall, and a flash of orange went past the door. Seconds later, Naruto came skidding into view, panting slightly. "GAARA!" he yelled excitedly as he burst into the room. Naruto’s grin made Gaara's heart skip a beat. He’d never received such a bright greeting before and had no idea how to react; all he could manage was a wide-eyed stare and a raised hand that shyly spread but didn’t wave. The boy from the wind country suddenly started feeling hot, as if one of Suna’s blistering summer days had suddenly begun.

Sakura, still with her back to the door, flashed a smile at Gaara, implying that the answer to his last question had obviously been a positive one. As quickly as it had appeared however the smile was gone, and she turned to frown at Naruto. Making annoyed-sounding shushing motions at him, she left the room, clunking the blonde over the head with her fist on the way out. Naruto shrunk down sheepishly, rubbing his head, before tiptoeing up to Gaara's bedside.

“Gaara, your face is all red! Do you have a fever?” Naruto asked curiously, peering right into his face. The blond boy brought his hand up and gently laid it on Gaara’s forehead to test his temperature. The redheaded boy went to speak, his lips moving, but no voice came out. Naruto leaned closer to Gaara, straining to hear anything, but there was no sound. “You’ve lost your voice as well?!”

Sakura returned with a shoebox full of books and some clean pyjamas for Gaara, who was still wearing his own clothes, and put them down on the bedside table next to Naruto.

“Oi, Sakura, what’s wrong with Gaara? He can’t speak and he feels really warm.”

Sakura examined Gaara’s throat carefully before pulling a thermometer from her pocket and taking his temperature. “He is very sick, but he just needs to rest,” she assured Naruto. “Once our medicine kicks in he’ll get a lot better in only a few days.”

The blonde fox boy rummaged through the box of books and pulled out a familiar orange-covered novel. “Ehhhhh!” he screeched. “It’s Ero-senin’s book!” Gaara gave the blonde a questioning look, since he didn’t know who he was referring to. Naruto began to explain: “One of my sensei – his name is Jiraiya – he wrote this book. It’s full of smutty romance for adults, and it’s gross! You really wouldn’t expect this kinda stuff from the guy who trained the 4th Hokage…” He frowned momentarily at the innocent-looking book in his hands before continuing. “I’m gonna be Hokage one day; the best one ever!” While Naruto continued to prattle on, his red-haired friend soaked up every word, and his pink-haired team mate sighed before quietly leaving the room.

Naruto’s prattle finally wound down. As he sat thinking what to say next, Gaara slid off the blankets and silently pointed towards the bathroom door on the other side of the room. The blonde boy understood and moved back so Gaara had room to get out of bed. The steps of the boy from Suna were usually so boldly graceful, but today he was unstable and shaky, only managing to make it halfway across the room before crumpled slowly to the floor, as if his bones had suddenly liquified. Naruto hurried over and helped him up, guiding him into the bathroom.

Naruto felt awkward in the room, and was about to tell Gaara to yell out if he needed help before remembering he couldn’t speak. “Uhhh... Knock on something if you need me, okay?” he said hesitantly before leaving Gaara to have some privacy.

Not too soon after, he heard the toilet flush and the water run, but several minutes later the other boy still hadn’t come out. As he hovered at the door, trying to decide what to do, he heard Gaara start making rather violent coughing sounds, which led to painful-sounding retching. Naruto’s hand closed around the door knob even as he hesitated, not sure whether to allow Gaara his privacy or to go in and make sure he was okay. The kyuubi container’s lack of patience quickly won and he cautiously entered the bathroom, only to see that the sick redhead was leaning over the toilet, clutching at the rim as if it was the only thing holding him up. His breathing was erratic and heavy, and he was sweating all over.

Gaara finally managed to speak as Naruto knelt down beside him and rubbed his back worriedly. “I can’t breathe properly,” he gasped, deep rasping breaths breaking up each word.

Fortunately, Naruto knew some good cold remedies; he’d lived on his own for so long that he was used to taking care of himself when sick, and was quite calm about the whole situation. “I’m gonna put you in the shower; the steam will help” explained Naruto as he turned on the hot water in the shower.

But the calmness didn’t last long, because, Gaara began stripping off his clothes; Naruto was embarrassed to realise that he’d forgotten about that part. The blonde boy tried not to stare, but the painfully slow way Gaara struggled with his clothes between gasping breaths was making him feel impatient. He suddenly found himself wondering if it was because he was in a hurry to help a sick person feel better, or if it was making him feel flustered to watch the pale boy strip so slowly.

“Gahhh!” exclaimed Naruto in frustration, and shuffled over to help Gaara. With his eyes half-closed he pulled off the rest of his clothing for him before helping him stand up and get into the shower. Gaara was still pale and shaky on his feet so sat on the floor again, leaning back against the wall. “Just so you know, I didn’t see anything!” said Naruto quickly, after shutting the curtain. “I’m not a pervert like my teachers are, I swear!” It was more like the blonde boy was trying to convince himself of this, as the redhead didn’t seem tense at all.

Gaara wasn’t upset because he was in a complete daze, wanting to make the sickness loosen its strangle hold. Feelings of embarrassment over being naked were not one of his top concerns right now. He sat quietly on the shower floor, inhaling the steam, and tried to piece together the last few minutes. The world spun like crazy as he coughed up the gunk that had been clogging his throat; he felt somewhat better now that he could breathe easier.

There was silence for a short while as Naruto sat on the floor with his arms and legs crossed, trying not to think. A little knocking sound from behind the curtain interrupted this, and he leaned closer to it. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Thank you,” came a hoarse little whisper.

“It’s cool. Friends help each other out, right?”

Fireworks went off in Gaara’s stomach when he heard those words. Somehow he knew this unfamiliar sensation was not from being ill – because it felt nice – and he wanted more. He wondered how to keep this feeling; to make it continue.

The redhead’s impromptu caretaker could be heard rummaging in the bathroom cupboard, and before long a hand poked through the shower curtain with soap and shampoo. “I’ll get those clean clothes for you. Oh, and there’s a towel here, too.” Naruto’s footsteps faded as he padded into the next room, but before Gaara could wonder where he’d gone, their return signalled his reappearance.

When Gaara finally finished washing up and stepped out of the shower, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Naruto was sitting outside the half-shut bathroom door, as if guarding the entrance.

The Suna boy managed to get dried and dressed on his own, and hobbled over to the doorway. It creaked a little as he gently pushed it open wider, making Naruto look up over his shoulder. He smiled at Gaara, who, to Naruto’s great surprise, smiled back at him.