SNOW SUGAR

by kathlaida-princess

Summary: Sometimes they wake up too early, and it's not because they want. A silly adventure to enjoy a past sad moment. GaaNaru Fluffy fluff-fluff.

Disclaimer: I still don't own them. Such a shame.

Author's Notes: Hello, dear readers! This I wrote in my head when I thought it was going to snow in my city. It didn't, it only snowed two days after that, but I wrote it anyway. I hope you like it! :D

"Bate leve, levemente, como quem chama por mim,

Será chuva, será gente?

Gente não é, certamente,

E a chuva não bate assim…"

Balada da Neve, Augusto Gil

They woke up very early and very harshly that morning. That alone was a rarity, for it usually took something rather substantial to drive these two heavy-sleepers out of their joined dream-lands. In these days, Naruto wouldn't open his sky-matching eyes before the sun was way high in their twin, and Gaara's skin would first be under the attention of multiple of the blonde's caresses before its owner gained happy consciousness too.

But... that day the sky wasn't like the Hokage's eyes and there was no sun climbing it up. And the air around them was cold, inhumanly cold as it drenched and crept over their naked bodies beneath a single blanket, on the couch. And the two young men were wide awake, trembling, freezing.

Naruto tried to press himself against his lover to gain heat, but however pleasing his actions were, they failed their main purpose. For a few minutes of laziness, neither of them knew what to do regarding this new, hostile environment they were in, but Gaara started building up courage to go on a quest for a new, thicker, warmer, fluffier blanket, and Naruto offered him extra motivation through a kiss right before the redhead left their nest.

Feet bare as they skipped over the cold, cold floor, Gaara whined loudly (yet all too dramatically) as he rushed to the other's bedroom, quickly not to be claimed by the harsh winter weather, almost tripping here and there over discarded pieces of clothing. However, in the middle of searching for the blanket while playing footsie with himself, the Kazekage ventured a look up to the bedroom window, and what he saw beyond it told him why it was so cold and filled his lips with a huge smile.

"Naruto..." he called, finding it hard to contain himself. "It's snowing."

At those words, the blonde couldn't wait to race to the bedroom himself, and Gaara could only hear his lover's frantic steps and the loud curse he roared when his big toe met not a Kage robe but the corner of a door as he watched the sprayed cotton-candy snowflakes swaying gently with the wind, gravity pulling them down to the Leaf Village's whitening ground. Naruto then crashed onto him, pushing him slightly forward, and, having wrapped them once more closely under the protection of the blanket, joined the redhead in his moments of awe and amazement with a shiver. They stood like this for a few minutes, and Naruto's heart was, for once, warmed with the sight of Gaara so ecstatic. Well, at least more ecstatic than usual...

But the excitement soon turned to unwanted memories on the blonde's face's dissipating smile, and Gaara, in between glances, was quick to catch the change. After his lover questioned him with silent, worried jade eyes, the blonde muttered, "It has been a while since we saw the snow together..." and that served as enough explanation. The last time they had shared the same landscape, their worlds were so different, troubled, and the tasks upon them so terrifying that it made them almost desperate to grab those moments of bliss now, lest they ran away once more. Gaara understood that, he even knew how huge the pressure was when once upon a time his helping hand had been rejected, but it seemed that Naruto wasn't as easy on himself... (was he ever?) But it was okay. Gaara could fix it. He now knew how to.

Of course his lips did all the talking, but they whispered no words as they engulfed the blonde's, gently guiding them into motion. And the motion did come, Naruto's fervent reply as he too had his silent words to say, bodies merging and hands quietly fumbling with crimson locks.

I'm sorry I hurt you.

You need not worry about it.

I, of all people, should never hurt you, you're so precious.

I have forgiven you such a long time ago.

This battle took their time, but Gaara could win this. After so much time of hurting, this, this feeling to which their lips danced, this fire to which their souls were molded, like metal, was all the redhead needed to glue happiness to their lives forever. And he could win this. And he did.

Then, resigned and satisfied, tanned lips reluctantly left pale ones, but there was a parabola in them that had not been there before, some more candid pinkness in the whiskered cheeks above, and Gaara was happy for that.

"I want to go see the snow outside," he informed after a while, watching Naruto's handsome face moving in surprise. The snow was falling more.

"You know it's freezing, right?" the blonde asked.

"Yes. But we must go. And we will be prepared." They were the greatest shinobi of their countries, after all.

Chuckling, the both of them set out to finish the quest Gaara had started. After a while, four more new, thick, warm, fluffy blankets were locked around them, having them then struggling to find the two pairs of slippers. The redhead wore his borrowed ones with some courage, orange and spiral-stamped, while Naruto walked proudly in his white ones, with the picture of a steaming ramen bowl and the word "YUM!" gingerly decorating them. They didn't bother to dress any further, their legs remarkably sticking out of that weird ensemble. In the end, the strange four-legged creature moved with arrhythmic yet perfect coordination to the door, but even with all the work, after crossing it the air was so very cold.

They giggled all the way to the balustrade of the balcony, the soft frozen water crunching beneath them and falling upon their uncovered, bright-colored heads. Hopefully it was too early and too cold for people to be roaming outside their houses at the time, or they'd find their leader and his unacknowledged lover making quite the fools of themselves. The heck with it.

Only later would they engage in their very first snow-fight, with a more… normal outfit, but as it was, they were just huddled together, facing the thin layer of snow already around them or looking up at its source, sticking their tongue out to catch the drifting flocks. Gaara could feel each of the unique patterns spreading the cold over the moist muscle, and though he still rather preferred when it was the blonde's warmth there, he was thoroughly enjoying himself. Naruto was genuinely happy too now, brushing the sprinkled snow off the redhead's hair gently before he embraced him, the two of them melting inside the swarm of blankets. This time, he would have Gaara's hands all over him.

A new memory to erase the previous.

Healing, fixing every problem as it appears.

They could make it all better now.

But, shockingly, soon their immense, impenetrable fortress of blankets was no longer enough to withstand the wind and cold, and the young couple saw itself retreat, stumble to the comfort of home.

They returned to the couch in loving wrestling, until all the frost turned to unrelenting warmth, until all the powdered snow turned to spicy, giggly sugar.

Sappy, as usual :P

But what can you do?

kathlaida-princess logging out…