A/N: Last chapter! But this one is in Naruto's POV. So while reading... think: NARUTO. M'kay?


A couple weeks later...

On his way out of Konoha, Gaara paused to say goodbye to me while his people left ahead of him. I had my hands laced behind my head, and when he held out his hand, my first instinct was to take hold of it. He seemed to want to shake hands goodbye like last time. But on closer inspection, I noticed that he was holding a piece of paper.

"Eh? What's this?" I asked with a cock of my head. I've been myself again since about a week after 'that night'. And Gaara hasn't said anything about it. Huh… it's like it never happened. But we both know it did.

"A poem," he said. He told me a month or so ago (wow, time sure flies when you're living with someone!) that he wrote them, so I wasn't surprised.

I grinned. "Cool! Is it for me?"

"You could say that."

Gaara lifted it higher for me to take. He smiled sadly, and I nearly didn't catch it on his lips; it was only half a smile, upturning one corner of his mouth, but I saw the real smile and the raw sadness in his aquamarine eyes.

I was confused, but I took the paper nonetheless and nodded once. "Arigato, Gaara," I said with a grin. "Bye. I'll visit you soon, okay? – After I learn something new in my training, dattebayo. Maybe we can spar again, ne?"

He didn't reply, merely blinked at me, as if he was thinking something over. I guessed that maybe he didn't know whether or not to shake my hand. Unlike the first time, I decided to take the lead. And since I didn't have sand to guide his hand to mine, I simply grabbed his limp fingers and brought them between us and nodded them. I spied a slight tint of pink on his cheeks, but I shrugged it off as just the sun warming his face.

"Goodbye, Naruto," he murmured softly. Then he released my hand and walked away, his siblings waiting for him at the edge of the forest outside the gates.

Later, when I went to my apartment, I opened the folded paper and read the poem. It didn't rhyme; it had no specific scheme, and was a bit confusing. I read it twice, then three times, then four. But I didn't quite get it.

This is what it said:


They say you can't truly understand something until you experience it for yourself.
I'm determined to prove that theory.
They also say that we shouldn't stray too far from what we know.
Of all people, I believe this more than anything.
But sometimes boundaries are preordained to be broken.
I wonder if my boundaries can be broken, however. I built them so strongly…
Perhaps all it calls for is the right person.
And I think I know who to choose.
And I'm sure he'll help me…
Help me feel.
Help me experience the things I've been deprived.
Help me find the meaning behind what I don't understand.
Help me live.
The only thing left to do is to wait and see when such a thing can transpire.
I pray it's within the limited time I have to stay here.
Yet, I wonder… Is it meant to be?
Like a jigsaw puzzle, sometimes the shapes look like they'll match,
only when you go to piece them together,
they don't fit.
Or maybe one piece fits, and the other doesn't.
Still, I feel like I have to try.
I have to see if I can get those pieces to fit…
I have to at least attempt what's meant 'to be or not to be'.
In the end, I assume the worst and receive the best.
Whether or not I deserve such a grace, I don't know.
At least now I can comprehend, and have experienced
the meanings behind a simple human touch.


It's like he's trying to say something to me, something I don't want to believe. Something related to the scar etched onto his forehead. Something I know I felt radiating off of him when I was teaching him the different actions of affection, the kinds of things we were both deprived of. And especially felt when he reached his hand to the back of my head and didn't let go when I kissed him.

It's something I don't know if I can return…

But this is why I did it those things, despite everything: I wanted to know what it felt like, too. I've been just as deprived as Gaara for nearly all of those touches, and somehow, I didn't mind that it was Gaara I was doing those things with. Maybe on some of them I'd have preferred it to be with Sakura-chan, but… I dunno… it was comforting. And he and I have trust between us and that weird 'electrical current' that we don't have with anyone else. We're bonded in a special way because of that.

Still, I don't know what to make of that poem. I know Gaara's talking about me when he says "he" and us when he mentions the puzzles. And that 'something' that I don't want to say is represented in the line, "or maybe one piece fits, and the other doesn't".

It all sounds like unrequited love to me.

There, I said it. And I'm really uncomfortable with that fact…

Here's why:

Like I explained when I was looking for him, it's always him.

Gaara can't have what he's asking for; at least not soon, as far as I can tell. I know it breaks his heart, and in some means, it breaks mine, too. Because I don't want to do that to him.

See, that's the scary part: I'm not grossed out or recoiling. He's another male, and according to this poem, in love with me. And I don't mind it.

So I'm uncomfortable with him be shafted, and uncomfortable that I'm the one doing it. But slightly comfortable about the whole 'love' thing.

Weird, huh?

Not knowing what else to do, I refolded the poem and stuffed it in the drawer of my end table. The next time I see Gaara, I'll talk to him about it. I'm sure that's what he wants. And he'll probably want to know where we stand. I say we're still friends; but I dunno, we could become more… later. Maybe. Under the right circumstances…

I dunno. I really don't. My head hasn't stopped reeling yet. And not from solely today. Nah, I'm talking about from those few weeks ago when I acted on impulse and kissed my best friend. Yeah, I know, it's crazy. But Gaara does that to me: he makes me crazy. He doesn't say a whole lot and hardly shows the emotions I know he's hiding and damn it all, he became a 'kage before I did! But I still like him. He's a good guy, when you get down to it. Which is why I'm wondering what'll happen.

I took out the poem again and read it a fifth time. Then, I glanced at the Sumi-e painting on my wall. I bit my lip and fought with myself.

In the end, I let it go. I can't dwell on it now; there's a lot to do in not a whole lot of time. Still, it's there if I need to come back to it.

And, like Gaara, at least now I know the meaning of something: the meaning behind a person. Namely my red-haired, post-Jinchuuriki friend.


A/N: FINITO! Now you can all sit back, relax, review, and make up your own ending. This is a mini-ficlet like I said, so it's not meant to be complicated or definite like DB (Detrimental Benefits) or TKATB (The Kitsune and The Beast) or anything. It's more like CBY (Changed By You) or something, only more unrequited-ish. But not entirely. Like... it gives you hope. Kind of.

Thanks for reading everyone, and please, don't kill me! LOLOLOLOL.