A demons kiss is an angels touch

THIS IS UN-BETA'D! I finished it ages ago but my usual fabulous helper hasn't the time to go through it yet. Luv Uni.





Naruto had just bumped into Sakura on the third morning that Gaara had been in Konoha hospital. She had told him Tsunade was letting him leave the hospital today and that he was getting ready to leave.







The blonde boy had burst into the room in his usual manner and jumped on the bed where Gaara was seemingly sitting. As Naruto hit the bed his redheaded friend had shattered into a million tiny pieces of sand leaving the blonde boy stunned and horrified. His head flicked around to check the room which he found was otherwise empty, he looked in the drawer of the bedside table and Gaara’s clothes were gone too. Naruto picked up piles of sand and watched it sift through his fingers, as he lost himself in negative thoughts of another friend leaving him behind again. Naruto’s shoulders slumped and he shifted to dangle his feet over the side of the bed. Just when he thought he was forming a bond with Gaara, how could he go and leave without saying goodbye? “Gaara I don’t want you to leave yet” he said to the vacant room while pouting.







Gaara emerged from the bathroom wearing his own clothes and drying his hair with a towel. “Naruto I’m over here.” He said plainly. Naruto’s face lit up and all traces of a melancholy mood in him were gone in an instant.







“Gaara! Don’t do that to me!” Naruto then noticed the eye made of sand that hovered above the doorway as it dissipated. “What’s with all the techniques?” Naruto’s head nodded upwards and back towards the bed to lazily point.







“Practicing. I haven’t been allowed to do anything for days.”







“I’ll show you where the training grounds are…AFTER we get ramen!”







Gaara knew perfectly well where all the training grounds in Konoha were. But an excuse to spend more time with Naruto without having to ask was really easy to go along with.







Temari and Kankuro were due to return in a day or two, they we’re now bringing some documents to and from Konoha, so Gaara was asked to wait for their return before going home. A hotel room had been booked for the sand siblings and the blonde tagged along to retrieve the key with Gaara.







The redhead looked bored as the clerk eyed his Suna ID and filled out forms, Gaara’s companion impatiently hurried the clerk, while complaining that he was hungry. The suna boy signed the form and Naruto cheered as they walked away from the counter at the inn. The two jinchuuriki walked through the streets of Konoha, one calm and graceful in his steps, the other bouncy and erratic.







“It really is the best! Just wait till you try it!” Naruto reassured as they neared his favourite ramen stand, he bolted ahead and beckoned to Gaara.







Naruto was already ordering the food as Gaara pushed aside the curtains and sat down next to the blonde. The shopkeeper greeted him genuinely, stating that any friend of Naruto’s was an extremely welcome customer. Upon being welcomed, Gaara actually felt a little shy. It wasn’t unusual for some shops to turn the tailed demon hosts away and Gaara wondered if Naruto’s love of ramen had developed from the incredibly kind treatment from the man that ran this store.







Naruto prattled on about wanting to be Hokage again while the food was being cooked. The redhead was starting to think it wasn’t such a crazy idea, it was admirable.







“I think you can do it” said Gaara finally finding a way to get a word in. Naruto beamed at the words of support and gave a thumbs up.







The food was set down in front of them and Naruto cried out “ittedekimasu” and slurped the steaming noodles down like they weren’t just boiling fresh off the stove. Gaara ate with more grace, trying to savour the flavour of the food that the fox boy had praised so much. But his thoughts wandered and he found himself wondering what Naruto himself would taste like, the chopsticks hovered over the bowl as a spaced out expression took over his face as he was fixated watching the blonde boy purse his lips and suck in the longer noodles.







Naruto noticed he was being watched eventually. “You want to try some of mine?” his hand holding the chopsticks hovered over the bowl; full of the next mouthful, Naruto’s other hand beckoned Gaara to lean in close to his bowl. The redhead leaned over and tasted Narutos ramen, inhaling the scents of the food and the blonde boy, he realised they were similar. “It’s good huh?” and the redhead nodded with his mouth hanging open like a fish. “Want to swap?” Naruto had almost finished his bowl and Gaara was only halfway through his, but with another spacey nod from the redhead the trade was made.







~~~~







With tummies full they wandered towards the hokage monuments and climbed the stairs towards the open area that looked over Konoha.







They sparred for a few hours. The sun began to lower in the sky, it was blinding at certain angles and the blonde boy didn’t notice some sand shuriken come hurtling at him until they were too close, he just managed to dodge the bulk of it but one clipped his hand. Crimson liquid dripped from the cut, the blonde flinched but remained focused.







The redhead instantly stopped any further attacks, he was always aware of the slightest drop of blood as the monster inside him would begin excite over it, like a tanuki really was scratching at the line between rational and irrational thoughts. He turned away from Naruto, away from the blood, trying to push the demon back down into his subconscious. He looked out over the village of Konoha.. and then further, he stood frozen.







Naruto dropped his defensive stance as his opponent silently seemed to lose interest. “I guess you win” he said poking at the wound, it stung, but it wasn’t serious. He walked over to stand beside Gaara who seemed to be admiring the lookout.







“The view up here is amazing huh?” Naruto looked over at Gaara who was his ever silent self. Naruto kept gazing at the redhead waiting for a response and finally decided to give him a friendly shove. However a small wall of sand bounced Naruto away from making any contact and Gaara kept staring out at the sky as if he didn’t even notice the world around him. “Hello? Gaara?” The blonde boy tried to follow the fixated gaze, low on the horizon, still very faint against the blue sky of day, was the moon.







Gaara began muttering and making little sense. “The full moon….blood” His face twitched and bought a hand up to his forehead, raking his fingers through his hair. “I won’t do it” A scowl crossed his face as if he was arguing with someone.







“Do what?” Naruto looked around confused, it seemed like Gaara was talking to someone else yet he could hear no one.







Gaara was silent and his face contorted more. “NO! SHUTUP!” he crouched down, both hands gripping into his own hair. Naruto reached out to touch Gaara’s shoulder but again was met by a small wall of sand that slapped his hand away. Gaara rocked back and forth “shutup. Shutup. Shutup” his voice was whispered and panicked. “I WON’T HURT HIM!” Gaara suddenly yelled as he got up and ran towards where the tree’s thickened.







Naruto was stunned momentarily and when he realised that his redheaded friend wasn’t going to stop running away he called after him “Gaara! WAIT!” and began to follow. Gaara disappeared into the thickening trees and Naruto began to worry that he wouldn’t be able to find Gaara if he didn’t want to be found. But he didn’t have to go far before he found the redhead shaking on the floor of the forest.







Naruto stopped running and walked up slowly and calmly, he knelt down in front of the upset boy. “hey.. tell me what’s wrong” he said softly.







Through heaving breathes the redhead got out “Shukaku” and clutched as his head, lowering his face to the ground to avoid eye contact.







Naruto understood right away. He knew it was unpleasant to have an unwanted guest lurking in your subconsciousness. But for Gaara it seemed to be more of a struggle to ignore the demonic whispers, as the seal that bound him to the Ichibi was not as strong as the one created to hold the Kyuubi.







“Don’t let me sleep while the moon is full” He begged Naruto through his distraught mind-set. “I don’t want to hurt you or your village” Gaara looked up, a few tears trickling down his face, his lip quivering. The boy was terrified of himself and all he needed was for one person to have faith in him – he needed it to be Naruto so badly. When he thought of Naruto’s strength and determination – he wished to be just like him.







Naruto slowly reached forward, then paused wondering the the sand would block him again. Gaara was still looking at him, searching the blondes face for salvation. “Give me your hand” Naruto asked softly and Gaara raised his arm, Naruto took the quivering hand and helped the other boy up. They stood facing eachother, Naruto pulled at the redheads arm, drawing him closer. The sand didn’t seem to interfere as Kyuubi host embraced the Ichibi host until his trembling stopped.