Waking after more than two years without sleep was incredible - especially waking to the warmth of arms around you.

Day wasn't quite there yet, with only the slightest of brighter colors creeping up the sky in the west horizon. Gaara knew he'd only slept a few hours, but he would have to get used to it again, slowly. So instead of mourning after his lost sleep, he buried his head deeper under the blanket and snuggled into Naruto's chest. He could hear the rhythmic beating of his heart, slow and steady.
It was the pure opposite to his own: tumbling and racing in happiness. He turned his head and pressed his ear against Naruto's chest.

The night before, when they'd lain down to sleep, it'd been Naruto's heart to beat like it wanted to jump out of his chest while he'd stayed relatively calm. He'd been fidgeting and fumbling around, stuttering nonsense. It was amusing to see him change from his overly happy and chatting young man turn into a shy little boy at the prospect of sharing his bed after such a long time...
But Gaara hadn't let him stay in this unsure state for long, simply changing into a more comfortable sleeping attire and settling down first. This seemed to take the tension from his friend, as he quickly followed and pulled Gaara into his arms - shyness completely forgotten now.

Looking up again, the redhead studied his friend.
He'd already noticed the day before, but Naruto wasn't the boy he'd been when they parted ways.
He'd grown noticeably and his childish features have mostly left him. No more childish chubbiness in his face, no more soft limbs or hands. No. Naruto was already showing signs that his face would have straight lines and muscles were already starting to define his form.
"He'll be handsome and strong. But he still has a long way to go if he want's to be a suitable protector for my cub."
Gaara nearly startled at the sudden intrusion on his train of thoughts.
True, he had grown accustomed to Shukaku's unrelenting personality after it took a drastic change into the quite motherly characteristics, but it'd grown quiet once Naruto stepped into his life again. It seemed safe to assume it would stay silent while he was around, like it did in the past. Obviously, he'd been wrong - Shukaku only purred in confirmation.

Once brought off the track of his thoughts, he couldn't help but ponder how much his relationship with the Ichibi had changed over the last two years.
They were on nearly friendly terms now - only hindered by Gaara's cautiousness in regards of the Ichibi. It started out slowly, but as time passed, it grew more talkative. Whenever he was alone, it would interfere in his train of thoughts and talk to him. Like this Shukaku grew into a steady constant in his life. When he was brooding about something or pondering over the best solution of this or that problem, it would offer it's advice - often sensible and useful things which would actually help him to figure out the rest. Only when enraged it would still growl and roar and call for blood to be spilled, but Gaara wasn't so easily influenced by this blood lust. Not after he'd found such beauty in peace.
Shukaku only sneered.
"Humans are everything but peaceful and you know this, cub. No matter how much you crave for peace, there will always be one to disrupt it."
"True.", he thought. "But I can help to keep it as peaceful as possible. We've already made great progress to ensure the peace between the leaf and the sand. And even if there is still much to do - this is one war more we've prevented from raging over the land. It's progress enough to feed the hope, that the human can live in relative peace within it's own presence."
"The little fox-cub has rubbed off on you, little one. Don't forget the cruelty of men or it'll be your end."
"I won't.", was all he answered to that, even if it only earned him a scoff. The concerned tone in it's voice betrayed Shukaku's words, but he knew that he wouldn't forget the cruelty of men. His past made this impossible.

Gaara took a deep breath, as his mind was filled with much darker images: memories, images from the past.
"The past does not define me.", he thought calmly and exhaled slowly.
He opened his eyes and carefully looked up to his fox, still sleeping blissfully. A smile tucked on his lips. It was still as amusing to watch him sleep as it'd been two years ago. He was like an open book, when he slept - even more so in comparison to his waking times. He would smile, frown, mumble, sometimes even drool and move about. It seemed, like he had a pleasant dream, as he smiled and held Gaara tightly to his chest and he didn't look like he would release the raccoon anytime soon. Smiling softly, Gaara laid his head back onto Naruto's chest and closed is eyes.
He couldn't move, so the least he could do was to try and catch a bit more sleep himself. If anything could pull him into sweet slumber once again, it was the steady beating of Naruto's heart in his ear...

Hello again! (￣▽￣)ノ

Quite late, but honestly not as late as I'd think I'd have a chapter ready again. (＞▽＜)
This chapter is kinda short, but I thought It would be better to keep it like that, since continuing would've killed every bit of atmosphere it had.
I thought it unwise to jump from Gaara's reminiscing hours late in the night to the probably quite eventful day.
The mood change would just be too much.

Also: like this, I was able to upload chapter earlier than thought. (ﾟヮﾟ )
Please leave me your thought's if I'm still on the right track, since I feel like I'm not really going where it should - even if I'm unexpectedly happy with this chapter.

I'll be back as soon as possible. ＼＿ﾍ(◕-◕ )
Toodles! （*＾3＾）/～