Sand Away From The Desert

Here's the newest part of my story. Hopefully you all enjoy it! And now for some review responses:



Word_Slave – Thank you! I actually started this story back before I knew Gaara would have the demon removed, so originally, by default, it was before he had the demon removed. Still, I see both Gaara and Naruto as I’ve written them as more mature than earlier in the series. So, I think that as I edit it, I may adjust it to better fit the later parts after his demon is removed. I’m still redeveloping the story, so we’ll see!



Sneakyfox – Thanks again! I’m glad you love it! And that’s one of the things I love about Naruto/Gaara. They each don’t always know the right things to do socially, which certainly keeps things interesting in situations between the two of them. I hope you keep liking the story as it goes on!







Naruto arrived in Sakura’s room to see her sitting up staring down at a photo in her hands. She lifted her eyes when she felt Naruto’s presence.



“Hey Naruto,” she said softly.



She set the photo down beside her bed and Naruto quickly recognized it as the Team 7 photo. He couldn’t stop his frown when he saw Sasuke’s face staring back at him.



“Hi Sakura-chan,” he said quietly.



Sakura quickly noticed the tired tone in his voice and she glanced one more time at the photo. Then she reached out her hand to Naruto. He crossed the room and sat down on her bed beside her. As soon as he was beside her, Sakura moved over and pulled Naruto over to lie down beside her. She curled up into his side and he draped his arm over her shoulder.



“You were thinking of him again,” Sakura said softly.



“So were you,” Naruto replied, not looking at her.



“I saw you flinch when you got into bed. Are you injured?”



“I just worked myself too hard last night. I’m fine.”



Naruto closed his eyes and put his head down on top of Sakura’s head. She leaned into him and put her arm across his hard stomach.



“Gaara-sama came here again last night. I pretended to be asleep, but he stood in the doorway for a long time watching me,” Sakura whispered.



“What time was that?” Naruto asked.



“It was the middle of the night. It must have been almost two.”



“He must have left me alone in his apartment…” Naruto said, mostly to himself.



“What are you talking about?” she asked, looking up.



“I trained too hard last night and I passed out,” Naruto said nonchalantly, “Gaara took me to his apartment and let me sleep in his bed. He must have visited you while I was still sleeping.”



Sakura thought about it for a moment and then grabbed Naruto’s cheek and turned him to face her. Naruto could feel her eyes questioning him, and he averted his gaze.



“You let yourself get worked up again, didn’t you?” she asked knowingly.



“I just needed a release,” Naruto whispered.



“Did Gaara find you while you were…?”



“Yes. I don’t know how long he watched me, but he asked me why I was so angry.” Suddenly Naruto paused and murmured, “Gaara was strange this morning though.”



“How do you mean?”



“…He kept watching me.”



Naruto suddenly sat up on the bed and rubbed the back of his neck. He gently squeezed Sakura’s hand and climbed out onto the floor.



“I should go meet with Old lady Tsunade and see if she has a mission for me yet. I will visit you again soon,” Naruto said.



Naruto could tell that Sakura wanted him to stay and explain more about what had happened, but he was too distracted and confused to stay.



“Okay. Take care of yourself,” Sakura replied, concern filling her voice.



Naruto nodded and ran out of the room, leaving Sakura alone. She just watched him leave, wondering if he would be okay.



****************************************



Gaara arrived in the hospital merely an hour after Naruto left. He quickly made his way to Sakura’s room and stopped in the doorway. She was sitting on the bed, leaning against the wall behind her.



“Gaara-sama, come in,” she said happily.



Gaara made his way over to the chair beside her and sat down. He looked up at the pink haired girl in front of him, wondering if he was making a mistake.



“Why would Naruto be angry?” Gaara suddenly blurted out.



Sakura, who was a little surprised by his bluntness, let out a nervous giggle. She pushed her hair away from her eyes and breathed out slowly, never taking her eyes away from the very serious boy sitting next to her.



“He is angry about Sasuke. They were best friends and Naruto has not forgiven himself for not being able to bring Sasuke back. And he’s protective of me, so he’s angry that I got hurt as well. He tries to pretend that it doesn’t affect him, but only because he doesn’t want to upset or trouble anyone else,” Sakura said quietly.



Sakura thought back to the first time that she caught Naruto thinking about Sasuke. He was out training in the forest and she watched from a distance as he screamed at Sasuke, who of course wasn’t there. Then he smashed all the trees in the vicinity until he had worn himself out. Finally Sakura watched as he collapsed to the ground and broke down, wracked with sobs.



Pulling herself from her memories, Sakura glanced back over at Gaara, and wondered if he had also seen Naruto lose it. Gaara slowly rose from his chair, paused for a moment, and then stared into Sakura’s eyes again.



“Does Naruto always follow people around?” Gaara asked, his curiosity taking over.



Sakura decided it was best to be honest with the serious, blunt Kazekage. “Gaara-sama, Naruto thinks that the two of you can relate to each other. I think he is confused by how different you both are even with such similar pasts. He just wants a friend that understands what he went through,” Sakura replied.



Gaara frowned and thought about the enthusiastic blonde. When Sakura smiled up at him, he scowled, quickly turned around and left her hospital room.



****************************************



Gaara found Naruto two hours later sitting by the edge of the river with his face resting in his hands. Gaara slowly made his way down to Naruto’s side. The blonde looked up when he heard footsteps, and smiled when he saw Gaara standing beside him.



“Hey Gaara,” he said happily.



Gaara dropped his gourd beside him and sat down on the ground next to Naruto. The two boys both stared out at the river, watching it rush over the rocks.



“My brother always tells me that people have trouble relating to me. I have made a great effort to be more relatable since becoming Kazekage. What has surprised me most since visiting Konoha again is finding out that you feel like you can already relate to me,” Gaara said softly, surprising Naruto and himself by saying so much.



Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but his voice got caught in his throat. He put his hands on his knees and gripped them tightly as Gaara continued.



“I don’t understand you Naruto, and that frustrates me. What makes you think that you can relate to me?” Gaara asked.



“I was always alone as a child, and people always avoided me because of the demon inside of me. I just thought you would know how that feels,” Naruto whispered.



Gaara looked over at Naruto and met his eyes. He could see fear in Naruto’s eyes, but it wasn’t fear of Gaara. Naruto was afraid that he had said the wrong thing and that Gaara would laugh at him or get angry.



“That’s why you let yourself get so angry about that fool,” Gaara growled.



“What?” Naruto asked, confused.



“It’s not your fault that he hurt Sakura, and it’s not your fault that he wouldn’t return to Konoha. You shouldn’t waste so much effort on him.”



Naruto was surprised and looked back into Gaara’s eyes. Gaara stared back at him, his green eyes filled with anger.



“I-I-um…” Naruto mumbled, afraid Gaara was angry with him.



“That Sasuke is an asshole and you should forget him,” Gaara said angrily.



Naruto fell back in surprise, not remembering he was on the bank of the river. Before either boy could react, Naruto tumbled into the water on his back. He yelped as the cold water splashed over him. Once he was able to focus again, he leapt up out of the water and looked up at Gaara, who was standing on the bank with a slight smile lighting up his face. Suddenly Naruto forgot that he was soaked; he was far too surprised by seeing a smile on Gaara’s usually cold, stoic face.



Naruto remembered where he was standing when the water lapped at his heels. He yelped again and leapt out of the cold water onto the bank beside Gaara. Gaara let out a low chuckle, surprising both Naruto and himself. Suddenly Naruto began to laugh hard, and doubled over, clutching his stomach. Gaara watched the other boy laugh, noticing his wet clothes clinging to his muscular chest and thighs. The back of Naruto’s hair was wet from the water and was sticking to the back of his tan neck. Naruto slowly stood up to his full height and stopped laughing. He looked over at Gaara, who was staring at him.



“You are always so blunt,” Naruto stated.



Gaara nodded his head, knowing that it was true. Then he noticed Naruto shiver as a breeze passed across his wet clothes.



“You should go home and put on some dry clothes,” Gaara said.



Naruto nodded his head, but didn’t move away from Gaara. Instead, he stared into the cool green eyes in front of him, curious about how open Gaara was acting.



“If you want to keep talking, you can come with me,” Naruto offered softly.



Gaara nodded his head and swung his gourd up over his shoulder. Then the two boys ran through the trees toward Naruto’s apartment.



****************************************



After arriving at the apartment, Naruto got dressed in his bathroom and then joined Gaara in his bedroom. They sat down side by side on the bed, and Naruto stared down at his feet, suddenly nervous about the strong presence beside him.



“How did you know why I was angry?” Naruto whispered.



“Sakura explained it to me when I asked about you,” Gaara replied calmly.



He cared enough about it to ask Sakura?



“I do know how it feels to grow up the way you did. You weren’t wrong to feel that you could relate to me,” Gaara continued quietly.



Naruto glanced over at Gaara who was already staring at him. Naruto suddenly remembered the dream he had when he slept in Gaara’s room about Gaara touching his cheek and talking to him. To his surprise, Naruto realized he wanted nothing more than to have that warm, soft hand on his cheek like it was in his dream. He felt oddly close to Gaara because of their shared past, and he wished he could breach the uncomfortable distance between them.



“Naruto,” Gaara whispered, breaking the silence for him.



“Yes?” Naruto whispered back, meeting Gaara’s eyes.



Gaara leaned in a little closer to Naruto, holding back a smile when Naruto’s eyes opened wide in surprise. Then Gaara was the one to be surprised when instead of backing away, Naruto slowly leaned in closer, locking eyes with Gaara. Gaara stared into the cerulean eyes, confused by the emotion he saw in them. But suddenly Naruto pulled away and looked down at his knees. Once their eyes weren’t locked, Gaara was surprised to find that he was holding his breath, and he quickly exhaled.



“I should probably go,” Gaara said quietly.



Gaara watched Naruto and was surprised to see that he looked a little hurt. Naruto rubbed his hands together, refusing to meet Gaara’s eyes.



“Naruto?” Gaara whispered.



“You’re right. You should go,” Naruto whispered, his voice cold all of a sudden.



Gaara frowned. “Are you okay?”



Naruto’s jaw clenched as he squeezed his hands together, feeling rejected by Gaara’s statement that he should leave. Gaara watched him helplessly, having no idea what had changed so suddenly.



“If I did something wrong, I apologize,” he whispered.



Gaara quickly rose from the bed, that familiar tightening in his chest back again. Naruto finally looked up at him and was surprised to see what looked like worry and pain wash over his face. Naruto couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. He rose from his bed and followed Gaara out to the front door, wanting to walk him out. Gaara felt a little better when Naruto followed him, realizing that he might not be angry with him after all.



“I’m sorry Gaara. You didn’t do anything wrong. We both probably just need to get some rest,” Naruto said quietly.



Gaara hesitated for a moment and watched Naruto look down the empty street behind him. Frowning, Gaara lifted his hand, and pressed it firmly against Naruto’s cheek. Naruto’s eyes shot back to Gaara’s face; he was shocked by the physical contact from the usually distant boy. Naruto tried to calm his heart which had sped up considerably. Without thinking, he leaned his face into Gaara’s hand, and a smile broke out on Gaara’s face. Gaara remembered how Naruto looked sleeping in his bed when he stroked his face. Then at the same moment, both boys seemed to realize what was happening between them, and they each took a quick step away from each other.



Naruto glanced over at Gaara again, and suddenly Gaara turned around and ran off down the street without another word. Once he was gone, Naruto reached up and brushed his fingers over his cheek, already missing the warmth of Gaara’s hand.