Chapter 2

Comfort

 

 

Naruto couldn't help but notice that their route to the lake had taken a very extensive detour that brought them right by the Konoha Ninja Academy. He shot a questioning look in the redhead's direction but Gaara didn't see it, or more likely ignored it, and kept walking. Naruto kept following, only stopping when his companion did just inside the fence to watch the activities. He sat down on the closest bench and directed another sidelong glance at Gaara, itching to make a crack about a sudden attack of paternal instinct and missing his beloved children after only a few weeks of being away from them. But he knew that would probably earn him one of those patented mint colored Gaara Glares that could still creep him out and chose to just smirk instead.

 

Gaara stood with arms crossed, watching carefully as Shikamaru tried to demonstrate the proper way to do a henge for what must have been, judging by his posture and tone of voice, about the thousandth time. The little brown haired girl he was demonstrating for watched and listened carefully but when Shikamaru stood and instructed them all to try again, there were several rocks, logs and even a few Shikamarus, but in their midst stood the brown haired girl, face still scrunched as if sheer will alone would make the jutsu work. Shikamaru patted her gently on the back and said something that was obviously meant to comfort but it had no effect and the girl angrily stalked off to sit alone beneath a nearby tree. There was a series of `poofs' and when the pillars of smoke cleared, the children were once again children, most of which were pointing and snickering in the brown haired girl's direction. The lazy chuunin announced that they would take a little break and the children forgot their mockery and rejoiced, scattering this way and that with amazing speed.

 

The brown haired girl didn't move.

 

“Gaara-sensei!” a pudgy little boy in a garish bright yellow shirt shouted upon spotting the two observers near the fence. Everyone still within hearing range froze and looked in their direction. Some had the universal reaction to that name and stood rooted to the spot in awe. Even though most had gotten used to seeing him around the academy, there were still plenty who'd heard enough rumors for that name to still invoke fear. The three other kids nearest the one who'd shouted spun around, surprise and delight on their faces and then made a beeline for Gaara. Laughing excitedly and shouting false threats, three of them flung shuriken which the sand almost didn't even have to deflect since the aim was so dreadful. The fourth—a freckle faced red haired girl with two missing front teeth—ran with arms extended, a huge goofy grin on her face, fully prepared to hurl herself at Gaara in a tackle hug.

 

Gaara had grown to care about the children's progress and even though he wouldn't be helping out at the academy until Temari and Kankuro returned, he still liked to stop by and observe them on occasion. However, he always made a point of staying well out of their range of acuity to prevent things like this from happening.

 

Just before Gaara could be waylaid, the sand exploded from its container with only a slight hiss as a warning and there was a brief, horrifying instant when the blonde's heart migrated into his throat. The thick tendrils of sand enveloped the four charging children who were only a few feet shy of their goal. Naruto's eyes shrank back to normal size when he heard giggles emanating from the levitating sand bound children, exhaling as the sand neatly set the kids down on the bench across from him. There were shouts of “That was amazing!” and “Are you back to stay, Gaara-sensei?” and “Make it do it again!”. From the comments, Shikamaru's blatant disinterest, and Gaara's almost bored and slightly annoyed expression, Naruto concluded that this strangeness was a regular occurrence.

 

“They like to provoke the sand. They find it very fascinating for some reason. They do this at least twice a day when I'm at the academy. It seems to amuse them,” Gaara said by way of explanation. Gaara didn't understand the fascination. It had irritated him at first but if this was all it took to stop them from talking so much and to keep them off of him, it was well worth the aggravation.

 

“Gaara-sensei, are you back to be our sensei again?” the red haired girl asked, still smiling broadly, cheeks rosy from more than just running as she looked hopefully at Gaara's grave face.

 

“No.”

 

The girl looked crestfallen, and Gaara, oblivious to the crush the child had on him, wondered why she seemed so upset by that. She knew he'd be back again in a few weeks. What was the big deal?

 

While Gaara fielded more questions regarding the sand and his return to the academy from the children and questions about Temari from Shikamaru, Naruto couldn't help but refocus his attention on the brown haired girl who was still sitting alone huddled defensively under the tree.

 

How many times had he suffered through that very same scenario? Sat beneath that very same tree in the exact same position?

 

“So you guys on your way to the lake for Sakura's little get together?” Shikamaru asked, still looking for all the world like he'd rather be anywhere else except where he was.

 

“Yeah. You coming later?” the blonde asked, still looking thoughtfully at the frustrated child. He couldn't help but empathize.

 

“Troublesome,” he sighed, “but I guess so. I promised Sakura. Besides, I guess I have to stop in and congratulate Neji and Lee on passing the jonin exam.”

 

Shikamaru's eyes drifted away from the hovering sand and its owner and followed Naruto's gaze.

 

“Hn. She kinda reminds me of someone,” Shikamaru commented, “Especially since she can't do a replication properly either.”

 

“Well of course not,” Naruto threw over his shoulder as he ambled over to the disheartened girl. “With you as her teacher how could she? I bet I can have her doing a perfect henge in no time.”

 

“Tsch. Whatever,” Shikamaru mumbled.

 

Naruto crossed the yard and stopped right beside the girl, leaning against the tree and she kept her curly head bent, pout firmly in place and stubbornly ignoring his presence. Her knees were being hugged close to her chest as she fluctuated between hiccups and sniffles.

 

“That jutsu used to be tough for me too. ”

 

When that garnered absolutely no response, Naruto continued.

 

“Hey kid. You can't pay attention to those other kids when they laugh at you like that. Crying's not gonna help anything. You just have to practice more. Ya know what the key is? Concentration. You just have to concentrate more on the object you want to become instead of on executing the jutsu. If you worry too much or try too hard to force it, you lose your concentration and you can't mold your chakra properly. Then it'll—”

 

“Go `way,” was the sniffly reply, muffled since her face was still buried against her crossed arms.

 

“Hey! I'm giving you some good advice here so listen up! I used to be just like you. I even failed the academy test three times. So if anyone knows how you feel it's Uzumaki Naruto!” he huffed indignantly at the top of her head, “You just gotta believe you can do it and work hard and—”

 

Naruto stopped, realizing he was beginning to sound very Rock Lee-ish and laughed to himself.

 

The girls head snapped up, only just now realizing who'd been talking to her. Naruto's grin froze on his face when eyes that were too familiar looked up at him through messy brown bangs.

 

“You….you! Uzuma….you're the one who….”

 

The fear and realization was sharp in her voice and in her teary eyes and though Naruto knew things like this shouldn't affect him this way after all this time, it did. It still hurt. He wondered just what kind of rumor the child had heard about him. There were many still floating around and lots of new ones had sprung up as well. Naruto was apparently everything from a demon to a rapist to a murderer and a thief. Judging from her expression someone had forgone the milder rumors and gotten straight to the really good ones. The instant fright and disgust so many still had for him made him wither a bit inside, pained that a new generation of Konoha inhabitants were already being taught to hate him.

 

She backed away, scooting along the ground, brown eyes huge and looking him up and down as if she could see the kyuubi if she looked closely enough. She stumbled to her feet and looked ready to run but was hesitant to turn her back to him. Her mouth fell open, as if to ask a question, but her words failed and it closed again, apparently deciding it was best not to know the answer. She slowly inched away, backing up several feet before turning to hurry back to the safety of the classroom, glancing over her shoulder once to be sure the demon wasn't stalking her. Naruto watched the frantic movement of the red material of her shirt as she ran, the sudden knot in the pit of his stomach making him feel slightly ill.

 

Naruto wasn't sure how long he stood staring at the door she'd fled through. Long after it had closed he knew. His attention wasn't drawn back into the present until a familiar bland voice caught his ear.

 

“Guess I'll see you guys later then,” Shikamaru was saying as he and the remaining kids passed Naruto on their way back inside. Naruto nodded, barely noticing them. He sighed to himself and made his way back to his traveling companion.

 

“Never saw you use the sand that way before,” Naruto said conversationally as he walked up to Gaara, head jerking in the direction of the academy doors to indicate the children who'd just gone through them.

 

Gaara didn't respond, only looking carefully at Naruto and immediately noticing the difference between the Naruto who'd left his side a few moments ago and the one who'd just returned. His sudden shift in mood was painfully obvious. The tense and incredibly fake smile that Gaara had grown to loathe had returned, tacked decisively onto his face like a fragile little shield. His shoulders had sagged a bit, his walk stiff, a major departure from the relaxed spring he'd had in his step a while ago. His hands were shoved deeply into the pockets of his black pants and his eyes seemed a darker shade of blue, clouded, and didn't reflect the interest that should've accompanied his statement.

 

Something was wrong.

 

Something had happened with the girl he'd spoken with.

 

Gaara's expression darkened as he scanned the area for the girl but she was nowhere to be seen. She was not one of his students but he'd seen her on occasion at the academy. He glanced at Naruto a second time, letting his gaze linger a moment, offering him an opening. When Naruto chose not to take it, Gaara turned and resumed their walk to the lake. Silently Naruto followed. Naruto would tell him about it when and if he decided to in his own time as he always did.

 

Regardless, Gaara made a mental note to find out who the brown haired girl was.

 

Naruto's shadowed expression brightened as they made their way along a well worn path towards the large lake near Konoha's west gate. Laughter, splashing, and the scent of several different foods soon greeted them as they emerged from the brush.

 

Though the pink haired girl had invited him personally, Gaara had only accepted the invitation to this party/picnic thing because Naruto had. Gaara didn't like crowds. There were too many people to keep track of, too many possible threats to have to contend with when around more than two or three people. Not that Gaara couldn't defend himself, of course. He could destroy whole villages at a time if he so chose but that was beside the point. Crowds had always put him on edge, dredged up bad memories. His experience with them—like his experiences with most things—hadn't been positive. It had always been him against them in one sense or another. Aside from that, he honestly could care less that the Hyuuga boy and the green clad one had become jonin.

 

As if summoned by Gaara's stray thought, Rock Lee whooped in acknowledgment of their presence and almost literally flew over to greet them.

 

“Gaara-san! Naruto-kun! You both made it! It's so good to see you! My beloved Sakura has put together such a wonderful celebration for us, hasn't she?” he proclaimed, proudly looking around at all his long time girlfriend had organized for him and his eternal rival. All before his immaculate bowl cut had settled back into place from his impossibly fast movement. Gaara squinted a bit against the glare off his smile.

 

“Yeah, looks like everyone made it. It's been so long since we've all been here in the village at the same time. It's really good to see everybody again. Hey congratulations too Bushy-Brows! I can't believe you and Neji were the first of us to make jonin,” Naruto said and gave him a congratulatory slap on the back.

 

“Tsch. Can't believe you became a jonin before me,” Naruto, muttered though no real resentment was in his voice. He was very happy that Lee had proven his way of the ninja and become a jonin.

 

“You weren't here when the exam took place. If you had been I'm sure this party would have been for all three of us!” Lee said with nothing but confidence, all glittering teeth and thumbs as he went into `nice guy' mode. “And Gai-sensei says he is so proud of us! He gave us both such an uplifting and passionate speech about the first steps taken on the journey into adulthood and how—”

 

“Hi Naruto, Gaara-san!” Sakura called waving them over to where she and the others were, thankfully interrupting Lee's rehash of his sensei's undoubtedly long winded speech.

 

“Come on over! Hope you're hungry!” she said cheerfully.

 

“Always!” Naruto responded, an authentic smile spreading across his face. Gaara's lingering tension eased fractionally and he followed Naruto into the heart of the festivities.

 

 

 

The afternoon went by quickly and to Gaara's surprise, had not been very unpleasant at all. After offering a word of congratulations to Lee and Neji, he had spent most of his time sitting alone near the pier watching the activities unfold around him. Several of the others had ventured over to carry on brief superficial conversations with him, and Gaara idly wondered if they too considered him a friend now. Friend wasn't quite the right word, though, he decided. They seemed to have a sort of quiet respect for him—and he for them—but that was all. He was sure it had more to do with the fact that he was a fellow ninja and an ally of Konoha than with him personally. No, they weren't his friends. He could tolerate their presence but he didn't require it the way he did Naruto's.

 

He'd frequented the village long enough that they'd become accustomed to his presence and none of them seemed to fear him as much anymore, even occasionally inviting him to join in whatever they happened to be doing at the time when they saw him. Even when Naruto wasn't with him.

 

Maybe they did consider him a friend.

 

He just didn't consider them his yet.

 

It was hard enough getting used to the idea of having one. Gaara didn't care to add any more to his inventory at the moment.

 

He observed how they all seemed to take pleasure in just being with each other, how the connection between them all seemed almost inherent. The older jonins that were there chatting were obviously proud of all their students, looking at them with affection and approval. The one with the ridiculous hair and the strange mask over his face had a hand on Naruto's shoulder as he said something that was apparently at Naruto's expense. A mock scowl appeared on the blonde's face for a moment but quickly faded.

 

Across from them, sitting on the large picnic blanket, Lee's left hand had an affectionate grip on Sakura's and the right was fisted and pumped the air a few times as he avidly agreed with whatever his sensei had just said. Shikamaru had arrived and was laying on his back in the grass, admiring the passing clouds and the hues of the late afternoon sky, a faint smile on his face as he glanced at the one named Chouji who had cannonballed into the lake and splashed both the loud mouthed blonde girl and the one he'd heard Naruto call Tenten. The shy female Hyuuga giggled a bit, gently petting that enormous dog her teammate was usually never without.

 

Everyone was so at ease with one another.

 

A large part of him still doubted, still believed they were all deluding themselves, pretending because that's what people did. People lied, pretended to love so that they could later exploit and manipulate. But the more he watched the less true that seemed.

 

But of everything to observe, Gaara found the bug ninja and his obnoxious teammate were by far the most interesting.

 

They'd also strayed from the others and had found a nook right along the edge of the lake where they were partially obscured by dense underbrush. The bespectacled one was sitting leaning back on his hands, face tilted, seemingly watching the growing number of fireflies that had begun to dance over the lake's surface. In his lap lay the Inuzuka boy's head, his body perpendicular to his teammate's as he spoke and gestured animatedly to accentuate whatever point he was trying to make. The bug ninja must've said something inflammatory because his teammate's head jerked around and he threw him an exaggerated look of irritation that reminded Gaara a little of Naruto.

 

The dog ninja playfully tried to snatch the dark glasses from his friend's face but his hand was easily caught centimeters from the dark sunglasses and flung aside. Gaara thought he could see a crinkle of amusement curving the line of his mouth but the high collar of his coat made it nearly impossible to tell. The Inuzuka boy yanked his hand away, pouting petulantly, growled something that had the words `one time thing!' in it, and turned his own gaze to the lake. His expression changed dramatically, all false anger gone, when the bug ninja slowly, almost casually threaded his fingers through his unruly hair. A fanged smile slowly emerged and he relaxed, turning his head slightly into the touches. He calmed completely as the petting continued and after a moment, sat up to face him, hands planted on the ground on either side of him. The hand in his hair lowered to touch his cheek and another softer grin formed on the dog-nin's lips.

 

The closeness they had seemed to come so naturally to them, wasn't forced or fake at all.

 

And Gaara knew the signs of false sentiments well. He'd had enough directed at him from the Kazekage and the unlucky handful of servants who'd been forced to tolerate him as a child to recognize all the signs. There didn't seem to be any doubt or any hesitation whatsoever in their actions, completely attuned to each other, comfortable with each other. A genuine bond between them.

 

And that look on the dog boy's face.

 

Gaara didn't know how to describe it…..

 

Jealousy lanced through him, anger on its heels, and Gaara turned his gaze elsewhere, trying to check his feelings. It didn't work. The anger grew. The urge to go over to and interrogate the two, to demand to know why these things seemed to come so naturally to them and not to him and force them to tell him exactly what he needed to do get someone to look at him that way was quickly outweighing his better judgment. He would have gone over and done that and then some if Naruto hadn't chosen that moment to approach him.

 

“Gai-sensei was about to regale us all with the story of when he passed the jonin exam so I figured now'd be a good time to get the hell outta here,” Naruto smiled in greeting as he stood next to the brooding redhead. “Unless you wanna stay? But I'm warning you, a bigger audience is only gonna make him talk longer. His Flaming Passion's already gotten a hold of him so he could be going for hours.”

 

Gaara said nothing and did nothing for a few moments, his mind still on other things. He glanced in the direction of the bug-nin and his companion again but they were no longer there, apparently also smart enough to escape Gai's story. Practically on cue, a loud noise of enthusiasm from the green beast drew Gaara's—and pretty much everyone's—attention and Gaara decided that if sticking around meant having to suffer more of that then yes, it was time to go.

 

~*~

 

 

It was late and nearly all of Konoha was asleep. One of the few that weren't sat quietly in the night's breeze occupying his usual perch on Naruto's roof. Gaara was enjoying the cool breeze on his skin, listening to the familiar nighttime noises, when a noise of a different kind reached his ears from Naruto's cracked bedroom window.

 

Gaara frowned.

 

The blonde was having a nightmare.

 

The third one in almost as many weeks.

 

The whimpers and grunts would fade soon but Gaara's curiosity would not. He had no idea what could be troubling Naruto so much that it would give him nightmares that severe. Naruto never said anything about them and Gaara never asked so he wasn't sure if he didn't remember them or if he just didn't want to talk about them.

 

The first time it happened, Gaara had watched, fascinated by the whole concept of dreams and nightmares in general. Gaara had never had one. The one and a half to two hour maximum he was allowed to sleep didn't leave much time for dreams. He assumed they were similar to the visions Shukaku would occasionally put into his head while he slept. Only less disturbing and violent. And he knew for a fact that they were visions and not dreams. Dreams could be pleasant. Dreams and nightmares reflected the hopes and desires and fears of the dreamer. Symbolically reflecting a person's needs or subconscious feelings and thoughts on real life situations. Gaara's visions were nothing like that. They were frighteningly linear, as if watching real live events take place. Always sadistic, always amazingly detailed, and never about him or his feelings, his desires. They were always products of Shukaku's consciousness instead of Gaara's subconscious. Always showing him exactly what he would be capable of, how powerful he'd become if he would just free him, complete with the sand spirit's voice as a narrator.

 

He knew immediately that Naruto had been having a nightmare and not a dream. And judging from his reactions, one that could rival his visions.

 

Naruto had struggled against whatever mental foe had been torturing him, sheets knotted and approaching the floor as they took the brunt of the fight. Sweat had dampened and pasted his fair hair to his head and the pain in his features had given Gaara the strange urge to try and comfort him. It was followed by the more familiar urge to kill something. He wound up doing neither, unable to do one because it would cause more trouble than he wanted to deal with and unable to do the other because he had no idea how. He had been unable to move, captivated, and could only watch until the nightmare released its grip on him, finally allowing him to fall into a more normal sleep. It had lasted for well over an hour. Gaara wondered if this one would last that long—

 

Naruto screamed.

 

Naruto screamed and there was a muffled crash and Gaara reacted purely on shinobi instinct, appearing inside his room almost before the sound of his cry had ended, struck with the sudden need to protect.

 

Sand hovered threateningly in an undulating cirrus cloud near the ceiling, just as ready as Gaara to attack if it turned out the scream was the result of an intruder instead of a nightmare. After a quick but thorough scan of the room turned up nothing, Gaara relaxed somewhat and turned his full attention to the blonde on the bed. He'd teleported himself decisively dead center of the room to prevent any chance of escape through the window or door had there been an enemy in the room. His position at the foot of Naruto's bed also allowed him an up close and unhampered view of the blonde and his surroundings. The ceramic lamp that used to reside on his night table was in several pieces on the floor, the bulb making an annoying sound as it continued to swivel back and forth in a semi circle. All the bed's coverings had been wrestled to the floor, apparently having lost the fight with Naruto and sat in a mound beside the bed.

 

Naruto sat in the middle of the large bed looking small and fragile, his breaths still rough and uneven, his mind still wedged in some gray area between sleep and wakefulness. A film of sweat covered his bare chest which was still heaving as he tried to catch his breath. His eyes were wide and panicked, distant and vacant, blindly fixed on some point on the wall past Gaara's shoulder. A shudder wracked his frame every few seconds and he was gripping his right shoulder so tightly that his tanned skin was already bruising red.

 

Gaara took in the sight, growing more and more unsettled by the whole situation and fought hard with the urge to punch Naruto to snap him out of this….whatever this was.

 

Naruto wasn't supposed tremble and shriek in fear. Naruto's eyes weren't supposed to look as blank and flat as inlaid glass.

 

This wasn't right.

 

“Naruto!” Gaara barked at him.

 

Naruto jumped and blinked, his eyes turning to Gaara's face but still rather glazed and unfocused. Naruto blinked some more but no sign of recognition came to his face. Gaara slowly set the gourd down and took a few steps closer to him, not liking the way he was still clutching at his shoulder. He gave the room another once-over and still sensing nothing, sat down across from him on the bed. Naruto's eyes followed his every movement but still showed no signs of comprehending them. In a less than gentle manner, Gaara pried his hand away to be sure there was no wound there. And to prevent Naruto from accidentally creating one himself. He let the hand go and it instantly flew back to its roost. It was evident from his face that he was in some sort of pain even though there was no physical wound of any kind. Pain and fear and grief and something else was in his expression.

 

“Naruto!” he growled again, the need to knock that look off his face rearing up again.

 

Gaara was suddenly and irrationally angry.

 

Angry because it was the second time today that that look had appeared on Naruto's face. Angry because he didn't know what to do, what to say, who to kill to make it go away—

 

Without any warning, Gaara suddenly found himself with a chest full of Naruto.

 

“…Ga..Gaara…?” he sighed, his breath tickling the sand-nin's neck. Naruto kept his face buried against Gaara's neck, as he leaned heavily into him, finally letting go of his shoulder.

 

Gaara was at a loss. Naruto needed something he wasn't experienced enough to give and he sat there for a few seconds, motionless. Naruto's breathing was almost back to normal and the odd sensation of another chest pressed against his and moving that way made Gaara feel warm for reasons he didn't quite understand.

 

“….Sasuke….he….” Naruto mumbled into the readhead's shoulder, his awareness still not fully intact.

 

Another shudder went through the blonde and all Gaara wanted to do at that moment was find the Uchiha heir and fit him for his own tailor-made Sand Coffin.

 

What could he have done that nearly three years later would have Naruto screaming in the middle of the night from nightmares? Nightmares undoubtedly spawned by memories? A sudden flare of unchecked chakra made the windows quiver and Gaara pushed those questions and thoughts to the back of his mind for the moment before he inadvertently did worse. He tried instead to figure out what to do about the bundle of distressed Naruto that was still attached to him.

 

Gaara wasn't sure how to offer comfort. He knew it usually involved hugs and touching and soft spoken patronizing words. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd been hugged and he knew he was still very inept at it. Gaara didn't say useless insignificant words and didn't understand how they could possibly make a person feel better anyway, so that was also out. Still no one had ever latched onto him like this before. Naruto needed something from him and Gaara decided to try putting what limited abilities he had into practice.

 

Slowly his arms went around Naruto's midsection and this seemed to be the sign Naruto had been waiting for. Gaara could feel some of the tension loosen its grip on his muscles as he leaned further into him, his arms loosely going around Gaara's waist.

 

He was still breathing a little faster than normal and Gaara could tell he was still not fully awake yet, the remnants of his nightmare not quite gone. He forced Naruto back a little to try a different approach.

 

Gaara's nonexistent brows furrowed in concentration as he carefully ran a hand through the damp blonde locks, duplicating the bug-nin's actions with enough precision that one would've thought he was the one gifted with the Sharigan. Gaara waited to see if Naruto would relax, if his expression would soften the way the Inuzuka boy's had.

 

Naruto looked more surprised than anything. But it was a start.

 

Being this close to someone, close enough to feel breath on his face, smell sweat and the somewhat sweet citrus scent of soap on his skin was making Gaara's cheeks warm again. He ignored it, cataloguing it under Things To Look Into Later, and mechanically repeated the motion, remembering to touch Naruto's cheek this time. He was rewarded with a small soft sound and a face that was a little calmer. A sense of accomplishment came over him and he continued touching Naruto, waiting impatiently for him to become himself again. The objective began to change when Gaara became more and more intrigued with how a simple touch could produce such positive reactions from someone. Another of those feelings he couldn't quite name surfaced when he realized that he was capable of bringing more than just terror and hate to a person's face.

 

His hand paused when he saw that Naruto's features began to take on a distinctly drowsy aspect.

 

“Go back to sleep.”

 

Gaara moved to leave but Naruto tensed again and his hold on him tightened a little before letting him go and lying back on the bed.

 

“Um….yeah…” Naruto mumbled, still somewhat out of it.

 

Another thought came to Gaara.

 

Naruto watched through half lidded eyes as Gaara fished around on the floor and retrieved the discarded sheets, returning them to the bed. He lay there curled in on himself as Gaara placed the sheets over him then sat and removed his sandals. The redhead hesitated a moment then crawled onto the bed next to Naruto.

 

When Gaara had been about six, he'd crawled into bed with Kankuro one night after a particularly traumatic incident with a would-be assassin and remembered feeling better when he was with him. He had been afraid, paranoid as always and didn't want to fight anymore. He didn't want to be Gaara of the Desert, unstable monster, son of the Kazekage anymore. He didn't want to have to fend off assassins anymore. He'd just wanted to feel secure and normal for once and he'd reasoned that no one would attack him if he was with Kankuro. They didn't hate Kankuro and wouldn't risk hurting him just to get to Gaara. So he'd climbed, dirty and fatigued, into his brother's bed. Kankuro had sleepily grumbled at him to get out, that he was dirtying his sheets and that he'd better not wet the bed but Gaara wouldn't budge. He'd huddled up close to his dozing brother, still shaking from the ordeal, and at some point during the night Gaara remembered that Kankuro's arm had found its way around him in a way that was almost protective.

 

On purpose or by accident, the action made his fear recede and he had felt safe.

 

It was one of the few pleasant memories Gaara had.

 

The tactic seemed to be working on Naruto too.

 

Gaara lay beside him, facing him and put an arm around his waist exactly the way Kankuro had all those years ago and the blonde looked a little confused but relaxed further and inched a little closer to Gaara's warmth. If the light of the moon had been just a bit brighter, he would've seen the blush that brightened Naruto's cheeks. The position and gesture was awkward and Gaara wondered if it had felt this strange and uncomfortable to Kankuro at the time. Providing comfort would definitely take more practice.

 

“Gaara what're you doing?” he asked, his voice groggy, mind still in the haze that being snatched from sleep at an ungodly hour always created.

 

Gaara couldn't answer and so didn't', really wishing that Naruto would stop talking so that he could get this comfort thing right. He chose to keep concentrating on ridding Naruto's face of the remains of that pained expression. It wasn't long before the question was forgotten by both and the fog in Naruto's mind finally thickened enough to close his eyes completely, his breathing even and deep. Gaara relaxed, satisfied that Naruto seemed to be the Naruto he knew again and decided to keep his arm where it was for a while longer. He made himself more comfortable and it wasn't long until he was nearing sleep himself.

 

It wasn't until morning that Gaara would question why through the whole occurrence, inside the gourd, the sand had remained perfectly calm.