This drabble takes place in the same universe as much (much, much longer) oneshot Suna's Red Sand. There may be more some time in the future, but not right now. The timeline is about eight years pre-series.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
He didn't even like kids all that much. Granted, the one he was holding right now and the boy's older siblings were alright, but they still made him gnash his teeth at times.
Especially when Kankuro whipped out those little snake puppets of his. Sasori had felt obliged to destroy the elder Sabaku brother's toys on more than one occasion; tears, whether crocodilian or genuine could not make him feel guilty.
Sasori had no idea exactly why he had agreed to this; as he had made it very clear to Yashamaru, he was no good with children, and he barely knew Temari, Kankuro and Gaara anyway. But Yashamaru had insisted, just for tonight, that Sasori please take one of them off his hands. Yashamaru looked far too much like his sister when he was pleading for it to do anything but make Sasori's stomach tie itself into knots.
Yashamaru owed him.
And since Sasori had the slight addiction to adrenaline rushes that had not waned as he had grown to adulthood, he supposed it had to have been four-year-old Gaara he had unceremoniously plucked up, the younger redhead asking, again and again, if he was in trouble until Sasori had to snap at him that no, he was not in trouble, so hard that the boy's pale cheeks flushed and his eyes watered slightly.
Sasori remained entirely unapologetic.
Gaara. The runt of the litter, and yet easily the most dangerous out of Karura's three children (Sasori refused to factor in Takeo when looking upon the 'pack', as Baki was so fond of calling them), and somehow the best-natured out of the lot.
Holding a sleeping toddler in his lap, Sasori wasn't entirely sure how he had gotten to this point without the sky falling and crashing on his head.
A sharp hand rapped on the door of Sasori's apartment in downtown Suna, and Baki stepped in without bothering to ask to be let in.
"Sasori-dono, I—" Baki stopped, mouth open, both incredulous and aghast, at the sight before him.
Sasori glared irritably up at him. "Shut your mouth before I have to stitch it shut. I am the boy's godfather, after all."
Despite being only two years younger, Baki addressed him with all the deference due to a much older and much more experienced nin (and Sasori supposed he did fall into the latter category), but that deference seemed to be sorely taxed now. "Sasori-dono, how…"
"Don't ask me."
"This isn't exactly your normal area of expertise, is it?"
"Go screw yourself. This is the first time he's ever slept without all Hell breaking loose. I don't really give a damn if it adversely affects my dignity. Anyone who starts calling me "sissy" won't live to regret it."