Broken Promises

Chapter 6 – (When Gaara Speaks)
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Loveusender: Please don’t worry that this will end up Sasuke/Naruto. The current plan has it coming full circle. Naruto did fall into bed with a friend and ex-lover not an uncommon occurrence. Naruto’s not healed, he’s hiding. Please stay with me I promise to fix what I have broken.
Foxydragon: Originally the Naji/Sasu was going to be in the past, before Sasuke and Naruto got together… but somewhere along the way Neji decided he was not dating Sasuke and definitely not getting dumped for Naruto. As for Sakura I don’t know if it will end up where people will be happy honestly.
Thank you all for your feedback. To every one! Please leave me your feedback. I love hearing your thoughts, worries and input. It helps me writer SO much faster.
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Gaara had recovered and once he was sure Naruto was passed out, he climbed out of his bed and into the shower. Cleaning himself from head to toe he looked at the marks on his shoulders and neck rolling his eyes as he noticed the only thing not healed from the day’s activities were the sex wounds inflicted by Naruto.

“You big fur ball. I have a damned village to run, I can’t walk around looking like I’ve been mawled by a bear.” He argued internally with the one tail. As a child he’d been terrorized by Shikaku and then consumed sure that only death could help him feel and justify his existence. That was all long before Naruto. The blond housed something far more dangerous and scary then the one tail and he had friends and people to protect… he had people who protected him.

Gaara dressed when he lost and Shikaku refused to heal him. Opting for one of his long sleeved up collar jackets. He smirked knowing just how much Naruto hated all the buckles on his clothing. He left the Kazekage robes behind; he didn’t have to sit with the council today. Naruto had shown him a different way of life. When he returned to the chaos of his home Gaara and his siblings had worked hard to help find order. So many of the villagers had expected his brother or sister to take over as Kazekage so when he volunteered for the mission to go help the Leaf Shinobi the day Sasuke had tried to run awaymany were shocked. He knew Naruto was out there fighting a deadly foe and he owed the life he was building to the other jinjuriki.

The red head moved down the hall and knocked on the guest room door. Raising a nonexistent brow when Shikamaru answered the door in a pair of black sleep pants and white wife beater that did not appear to be his own, Garra invited. “Come walk with me, I will wait for you to dress.” Perhaps invited was too strong a word. The Leaf Nin nodded and closed the door so he could change.

Leaning against the wall Gaara reminded himself that what he did now was no less then Naruto had done for him, perhaps more. After he and his siblings helped rescue Uchiha from himself and the clutches of Orochimaru they’d watched a snarling Naruto exit the forests. The red chakra that radiated from him made the beast with in him rumble. They’d fought and lost once he had no desire for a rematch, but Gaara moved forward and cocked his head, green eyes looking into the menacing gold. Reassuring Naruto that he’d brought Sasuke home safely. Slowly the change occurred and blue eyes looked at Gaara tiredly, the chakra receded and while Kakashi took Sasuke from Naruto’s shoulders, the youngest of the sand siblings was left to catch the exhausted Naruto. The blond looked up into Gaara’s green eyes and smiled. He was the first person to ever say thank you to the smaller boy.

After he’d recovered Naruto explained Kyuubi’s cage and the seal. He explained hearing and knowing Kyuubi was inside him but he had learned to control the beast. And so Gaara had gone home with a new task to master. Without the help of a seal it had taken Gaara much longer to gain control and access to Shikaku and the beast with in hadn’t made it easy. But his will was strong and his desire to regain control of his body and life won out. Then the blond was the first person to ever tell Garra he was proud of him.

When the door looked up Gaara was frowning lost in memories so his head jerked up from the floor. He was not comfortable with what he was about to do, despite his place of honor in his home village and that of a hero to their Leaf allies Gaara spent blessedly little time with others and spoke regularly to only his sister, brother and Naruto. Nodding to Shikamaru he walked away expecting the older boy to follow, which he did.

Once they were out of the home and had made it to the top of the tallest tower in the villiage the tattooed boy began talking. “He’s not better. He looks and acts better, he even thinks he is. He is hiding from the pain. “ Gaara’s voice was full of gravel.

“But the two of you…” Shikamaru swallowed. “You’re sleeping together.”

“Rarely. Usually we fuck until we’re too exhausted to move. Or fight and then fuck until we’re too exhausted to move.” Gaara should have felt bad for making Shikamaru blush but he didn’t. “I am… safe.” When the pony tailed man snorted the Sabuko had to fight from smirking. “He knows what to expect from me. He knows I will not ask for more of him then he can give right now.” He turned his eyes from the last rays of the sun meeting the shocked brown eyes of the man standing with him. He let his words sink in before he continued. “He is attracted to you, worries he will hurt you. And he will Nara, because his heart belongs to a bastard who never deserved it, it has since they were young boys. Naruto once told me it started long before they were rivals, by a lake. He fights going there every day he resists the urge to forgive Sasuke, to hear whatever pathetic excuse the raven can come up with so Naruto can forgive him. He will forgive him, perhaps not now or even this year, but he will forgive him.”

Sighing Gaara was the one to look away, he was not enjoying this and he did not want to be doing this, sabotaging the happiness Naruto might find with Shikamaru in the waves of his tumultuous relationship with his other half but he’d listened to his friend these last weeks and knew without a doubt that losing what he’d built with Shikamaru or hurting him unintentionally would hurt the blond worse than anything the red eyed little shit could do. “If you can accept that, can be his friend and continue or go back to what you have with him as friends then please pursue what you can with him as long as you can. But know that he will come here and I will come there to keep him from hurting you or anyone else.”

“So Sasuke can take the full brunt of Naruto but I can’t?” He was a little insulted.

“Yes and no. As much as it gals me to say it, and I can assure you it was despite his best efforts to avoid it, Kyuubi has mated the Uchiha. Yet another reason he will eventually find himself back with the Uchiha. Though if it helps Kyuubi is angrier then Naruto at his mate’s infidelity and the reunion promises to be rather vicious.” Gaara truly hoped the black haired man limped for a month from it.

Sighing Shikamaru sat then leaned back so he lay on the room looking up at the black sky, no clouds and for some reason that didn’t bother him right now. He felt empty inside and it was only fitting the clouds reflected that. “What your saying is that no matter what happens between us and no matter how happy we are eventually Sasuke will win.” Some place deep inside Shikamaru had known it, but hearing it from someone else and saying it himself made the reality of it sink in and hurt.

“yes.” The Jinjuriki sat his back leaning against the wall.

“Is that why you don’t pursue something with him?”

“No, I have… my eyes drawn to another. Naruto and I enjoy each other and it eases the pain and loneliness.”

“I guess if I asked you wouldn’t tell me who?” Shikamaru smirked looking over at Gaara. He found it odd to hear the other man speaking at all let alone being so honest and open. He wondered if all Gaara was waiting for was someone to listen.

One nonexistent brow was an obvious no. “You seem sad by the reality but not surprised. Have your sighs set elsewhere as well?” He watched the Nara’s lips twist in a sardonic smile. “Not Tamari again.”

“No! Kami no… uh, not that there’s anything wrong with your sister…” He looked wide eyed at the Bijuu container.

“My sister is trying and her current lover would be rather cranky and murderous if you did.” Gaara muttered. “But you have your sights set elsewhere?”

“Yeah I guess, I was hoping things with Naruto might… but I also know I don’t want to be his rebound.” Shikamaru answered honestly. “But he’s probably more unattainable then Naruto.”

“Yeah.” Gaara frowned getting lost in his own thoughts as the wind picked up ruffling his hair. “Want to help me torture Uchiha at dinner?” He asked after a few minutes.

Shikamaru sat up and then stood with a genuine smile. “Hell yeah.” He did something then that Gaara had not expected and that only Naruto had ever done, he offered Gaara a hand up. Hesitating for a moment Gaara accepted the hand and stood. The two made their way toward the dining room neither spoke and when they entered Team Kakashi was already seated with his siblings. Both frowned noticing a lack of yellow and orange, Shikamaru asked first. “Where is Naruto?”

Kakashi blinked, “We assumed he was with one of you.”

“Probably still in bed.” Gaara stated without emotion as he sat in his chair. Sasuke ground his teeth in annoyance.

“Then you should get him up and make him shower and come to dinner.” Shikamaru muttered slinking into his own seat. Tamari’s eyes widened when she heard Shikamaru’s words then her head whipped to look at Sasuke, who’s eyes had started spinning red.

“Why don’t you go get him up?” Green eyes looked pointedly at Shikamaru.

Sighing as if it were the most trying idea he’d ever heard the shadow nin resonded to Gaara. “Because I know how Naruto is asleep and I’m as likely to end up through a wall as I am to end up his cuddle toy before waking him up completely. Too troublesome.”

Nodding his agreement with Shikamaru, Gaara answered. “Then you already know why I do not go get him out of bed.”

Sasuke was ready to stand and leave his hands were fisted in his lap and he really wanted to shed blood. The door crashed open and Naruto entered yawning. He wore a pair of black pants and a white t-shirt with the Uzumaki swirl on the back and shoulder in orange. “I was looking all over for you Shika! I thought you’d gotten lost until one of the servants told me you’d come to dinner already.” He sat in his own chair pouting at the fellow Rookie. The raven relaxed when he heard where his partner had been.

“I have to check in with you before I can go for a walk Uzumaki? Afraid someone will snap me up and make off with me?” He raised a brow his tone bland.

“Make out with you? The women in this village do have rather strange taste.” Gree eyes glanced at Naruto pointedly.

Blinking Naruto looked between Gaara and Shikamaru. This was a little weird for him, they seemed to be screwing with him and together that probably meant trouble. “Hey! They like me… they’ve got great taste.”

“I rest my case.” The Kazekage’s words set Shikamaru to chuckling and Naruto to arguing rather loudly his case for being a sex god. The two continued to bait him at every turn, leaving the leaf team out completely and the two other sand siblings laughing at the conversation they were listening to. Both of them were rather proud that Gaara seemed to have made another friend.

Sasuke ate very little, the food tasted like wet sand and made his stomach turn. He watched Naruto behind his bangs the entire meal feeling more shut out with Naruto so close then he had since he’d been banned from the Nara lands.

Kakashi watched the display a little relieved that the blond creature appeared to be more Naruto like then the last time he’d seen him. His eyes fell to the only female member of his team and he felt a tug at his heart. Sakura was hunched in on herself playing with her food and each of Naruto’s laughs made her flinch.

She had taken it worse than Sasuke. The brunt of their actions had out casted her as if the others blamed her. Sasuke had been a loner most of his life so the cold shoulder hadn’t hurt him as it was Sakura. She’d lost Sasuke who refused to speak to her outside of missions, Naruto who had effectively cut her completely from his life and the rest of her friends only spoke to her to cut her down. Even Lady Tsunade had been treating her differently, that of a student the affection and trust she’d once harbored for the pink haired girl were gone.