I've been working on two other things for what feels like forever. The next chapter to Responsible Adults and a Noragami/Kingdom Hearts one-shot that's looking to top my previous Longest One-Shot Ever. The inspiration to finish this one (which I started months ago) appeared out of nowhere today.

Anyway, this is non-canon, though I like to think it could have fit in. This is set while Naruto is training with Jiraiya.

Open

The door to his brother's room was open wide, but Kankuro knocked anyway. A full year had passed since their breakthrough, but the Sand siblings were still working out their boundaries around one another. The distance separating them was a mere hint of what it had once been—just enough remained to make their interactions seem a little too formal for siblings.

"Yes?" Gaara didn't turn from his window where he stood, collecting his thoughts. His brother had a clear view of his exceptionally clean, albeit dim room. Everyone had their own way of baring their soul. Gaara may not have been exactly verbose, but keeping his door open was his way of letting his siblings know they were welcome.

"Hey." Kankuro took a single step further.

"Is everything all right?" Though welcome, his brother and sister still only interrupted him on rare occasions.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Temari just got news of some… visitors you might be interested in."

Now, Gaara finally turned to face him. "Oh?"

…

Not far away, standing at the highest point in the village, a young blond boy with enough energy for three people took a deep breath. "Get ready, Sunagakure!" he shouted to the world. "Naruto Uzumaki is here!"

"Get down from there," his master called up, seeming not to share in his jubilation. A group of curious—though cautious—villagers had gathered around the Sannin, whispering and exchanging glances.

The boy grinned down at Jiraiya and was about to jump down when another voice said quietly, "Naruto Uzumaki…"

Naruto whipped around to see another boy standing on a rooftop beside him. If possible, his face broke into an even wider grin. "Gaara!"

The villagers began backing away nervously, but Jiraiya just sighed, looking exasperated. "Fine," the man called up, giving up any hopes of interesting his protégé in politics. "I'll go on ahead. You two have fun." He fixed Naruto with one last look. "Don't do anything stupid."

The crowd dispersed with Jiraiya, and Naruto turned back to his friend. Everything about Gaara seemed softer than the last time they'd met. From just a glance, it was clear he'd released his grip on his hatred. He looked… healthier.

"What are you doing here?"

"The Pervy Sage said he had to talk to the Village Elders here. About elections or something… I don't know; it sounded boring."

Gaara nodded slowly. "The Sound betrayed us, too. After my siblings and I left for the Exams, Orochimaru killed the Kazekage… our father. A council has been collectively running the village ever since, but we're not sure how much longer things can go on like this. A new Kazekage will have to be appointed sooner or later."

There was a moment of silence, interrupted only by the ever-present wind. Naruto's expression had darkened immediately at the sound of Orochimaru's name.

After a moment, Gaara broke the tension with, "I'm not sure how well outside interference will go over. But… maybe it's about time we start listening to advice from the outside. If there's one thing all this has taught me, it's that our mistakes don't just affect us."

It was odd for the blond to be so quiet for so long, but he continued to stare at his friend in silence. Gaara's eyes were intense and focused on something distant. He didn't just look healthier. He looked older.

"Well, geez, if I'd wanted to talk about all this serious stuff, I would've gone with the Pervy Sage!" he said, forcing his features into a familiar, wide grin.

Gaara smiled softly in return. "Of course. Why don't I show you around the village?"

…

It was an odd day. Gaara typically spent as little time in the streets of his village as possible, but today he was out in the open for hours, the loud stranger at his side drawing more attention to this than he maybe would have liked. Naruto took in everything with his characteristic enthusiasm, even though Sunagakure was a fairly monotonous landscape.

Gaara watched him take it all in with a small smile. It amazed him that someone who'd experienced so much pain could still be so young and naïve.

It was only once night had fallen that they stopped. There was no celebratory festival to show off… It was just another quiet evening in Suna. They'd stayed away from the Kazekage's mansion during the day, though Gaara had seen his siblings watching them subtly from various places. Now Gaara brought his friend up to his room, directing him onto the roof. He himself had spent countless nights up here, but never before with company.

"Wow," Naruto breathed, staring up at the night sky.

"You can see the same stars from your own roof," Gaara pointed out, but still, he couldn't help the smile.

Naruto beamed at him. "Yeah. I don't usually have the time, though."

He believed that. The blond always seemed to be caught up in something, rushing through life. But nights were meant to be quiet, contemplative times. And slowly, Naruto's grin grew smaller. As he stared up at the stars, his eyes took on a more serious look.

"Today was weird," he said at last, quietly. He hurried to add, "Nice! I love seeing new places, but…"

"But?" Gaara encouraged, a little apprehensive, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly why.

Naruto turned to look at him again. It was a very intense look. "Everyone was so… aware of you, everywhere we went. Sometime in the middle of it all, I realized…" He seemed to be struggling for words. "They weren't backing away from me."

He waited as the implications of this sunk in. At last, Gaara replied, "I understand. I didn't exactly… mingle much when we were in the Leaf, but it was strange to be so anonymous. I could walk down a street, and no one was hyperaware of my presence."

"It's so… direct here, though," said Naruto slowly. "Like… everyone knows exactly what you are."

"They do." Gaara looked at him oddly, and Naruto quickly looked away. But the blond had never been a very adept liar. "Naruto… Your village doesn't know what you are? But…"

"It was supposed to be some big secret," he cut in, still looking anywhere but at his friend. "So of course most of the adults know… And their kids kinda just follow their lead, even if they don't know why they're supposed to avoid me."

"And your friends?"

Naruto just shook his head slowly. His expression was sad… but in a 'what can you do?' kind of way.

Gaara was struck silent by the irony of it. His entire life everyone had known what he was, what he was capable of. And he'd grown to be about as withdrawn as he could be. But the blond sitting beside him was so… open. Gaara would have guessed he was living a life completely without secrets. To be so shady about such a big aspect of his identity… Gaara was having a hard time adding this to the image of the boy who'd saved his life.

They sat in silence for several minutes. In that silence, the two learned more about each other than any of their other conversations had taught them. They had so much in common… and so many differences as well

"It's getting late," said Gaara at last. "You're welcome to stay here, in my room, if you'd like. But I understand if you would rather find your teacher and stay with him."

Naruto smiled at him again. And it wasn't quite as… loud as it usually was. However, though this smile wasn't as familiar, it felt more genuine.

"Thanks. But… I think I'm gonna hang out up here with you for a while."

Review please!

I don't own Naruto.

This came to life when I noticed a bit of irony between Naruto and Gaara's personalities and how much of their lives are open to the world. Hence the title.

Now that I've reached the end of this… It definitely has a pre-NarutoxGaara feel to it, which wasn't intentional… There wasn't supposed to be anything romantic about this… But hey, if you're a fan of that particular pairing, feel free to read between the lines a little. Thank you all for reading!