Naru: Misty Eyes (A Naruto Fanfic) [Complete]

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Heartbeat's Lullaby

A/N: This chapter was inspired by the song Sing Me To Sleep by Alan Walker. It came on my Pandora while I was making the drive home today, and the intro totally caught my imagination and created a scene that I just knew I had to write. Anyways, I posted the song above. It's really good.

That night, Naru's parents went back to their room with Eito. Tsuki and Karasu were sharing a room, and Gaara was rooming with his siblings. Naru ended up with the three of them. Their room was sectioned into two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a common area with a small kitchenette. Temari and Kankuro shared one of the rooms, leaving the other to Gaara and Naru.

Everything was quiet; everyone seemed to be asleep. Almost everyone. Naru was lying next to Gaara, her head resting on his chest as if she simply fit there. She listened to his heartbeat, feeling the vibrations in his chest as Gaara hummed a tune quietly to himself. He did that a lot, she noticed, when he was falling asleep. It was very calming, although she wasn't sure if he even knew he was doing it. "Hey, Gaara?"

"Hm?" Gaara's reply was slow and tired. "What'cha need, Naru?" He moved just a little bit, adjusting his arm to a more comfortable position where it was under her shoulder.

Naru resettled herself as well before speaking again. "What's that song you were humming just now?"

Gaara was quiet, and she wondered if he'd fallen asleep after all. Then he started humming again, just a little louder than before, eventually singing the words under his breath:

"... As the moonlight dances 'cross your eyes,

And the skies grow bright with fireflies,

Just hold your breath and reach up high.

My wings will carry you across the sky.

So sleep tight, little angel.

I'll hold you in my arms.

Dream now, little angel,

To the beating of my heart.

Listen to my lullaby,

And know no matter what may come..."

Gaara stopped singing, almost like he had forgotten the words. He just trailed off. There was something sad about it though. Naru, whose arm was already draped across him anyway, hugged him. "I love you... my little angel."

Naru didn't know if she should say anything after he finished singing. She'd never heard the song before, not the words, even though Gaara had been humming the tune for years. Rather than break whatever spell had been woven by those words, by that song, she snuggled closer to Gaara and started to drift off to sleep.

"Temari taught me that song," Gaara said quietly, so quiet Naru barely heard him. He might've been talking to himself. "She said Mother would sing it to them every night..." His hand brushed her bangs from her face as Naru fell asleep. She could've sworn she heard him whisper, "I love you."

~*~

When Naru woke up the next morning, she was careful not to bother Gaara. He had trouble sleeping sometimes, so she didn't want to wake him up now that he was actually asleep, if his breathing was anything to go by. She carefully made her way to the door and out into their common area, smiling to herself that she hadn't run into a single thing...

Naturally, she proceeded to trip over the edge of the table, letting out an undignified yelp as she hit the floor, hands grabbing her shin where it had hit the table. Only moments later, two doors slid open. Kankuro's half-asleep voice said, "Why're you so loud, Naru? I was still asleep."

That was followed by a 'whack' sound and Temari, sounding more awake than Kankuro, saying, "Shut up, Kankuro. She obviously didn't mean to make any noise."

"Are you alright, Naru?" Gaara was next to her, helping her stand back up, and Naru suddenly remembered what she thought she'd heard him say the night before.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," she said with a smile. It was probably just her imagination. After all, that had been one of the last lines in the song as well. Besides, it wasn't like they hadn't said they loved each other before. It had just seemed... different. Something in the tone of those whispered words had changed their very meaning. She shook her head. No, no, no. It was her imagination. That was all. "What are we making for breakfast?"

A/N: What do y'all think? I think Gaara and Naru are adorable. Anyways, this chapter is mostly filler so I could write out that first bit of the scene... It'll be back to the actual plot (that may or may not exist to begin with) in the next chapter.

Sorry it was kinda short... And had 2 Author's Notes.

I made up the lullaby lyrics. I promise I had a tune in my head when I wrote them... It just probably doesn't come across to anyone else 'cause I don't know how to write music. Oh well...

Until the next chapter!