+ + + Schizotypal + + +

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Naruto' and I make no money from these writings.

Summary: Naruto, the brand new tenant of Gaara and Kankuro, is a bit odd and withdrawn. If only those jade eyes would quit staring at him like they saw his soul. There are, after all, some secrets he'd like to keep. AU / Gaara x Naruto.

A/N: This is an idea that has interested me for a long time already.

The title 'Schizotypal' refers to schizotypal personality disorder. You may find Naruto a bit OOC.

Chapter 1: The Elephant Man

There was something unnerving in him. Maybe it was his quietness, or the way his eyes always seemed to study him in secret. Whatever the reason, Naruto couldn't shake off the unpleasant feeling he always had around the redhead.

He was sitting under a large, shady apple tree. In here, he was practically invisible from everyone's eyes. From his eyes.

In the distance, the target of his thoughts was watering the roses. At first, Naruto hadn't thought anything about it when he had suddenly appeared into his field of vision. It was a daily routine for the redhead and more than once he had seen the other one of his landlords carrying a large watering can around the yard.

Through the vibrantly green foliage, Naruto glanced up into the sky. It looked grey. Bet it would rain soon.

Then why…

And when his gaze returned from the skies to the yard, he saw the redhead's stare fixated into his hiding place.

He stared back at him, wondering if the other had really noticed him. His book fell off from his lap but he was too immersed to even notice. He pulled his knees closer to his body and leaned against the tree trunk, as if imitating a chameleon. And it seemed to work, for a second later the redhead turned around, heading back to the house.

Not a minute later it started to rain.

"Really Naruto, those dark rings under your eyes actually compete with Gaara's," the other one of his landlords, Kankuro, pointed out, as the three of them were sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. This morning was like any other one. Kankuro had once again put his amazing cooking skills into good use and prepared this delicious breakfast for his younger brother, Gaara, and Naruto, their brand new tenant.

"Oh…" Naruto only said, rubbing his tired eyes. He hadn't any memory of falling asleep last night but he had woken up from some sort of drowse when he had heard sounds from the downstairs.

He was too tired to even yawn. When Kankuro put a bowl of yoghurt and berries in front of him, he momentarily paid attention to the surrounding world again. Now the house was full of life and sunlight, and he didn't even need to glance around to know that Sackhead and his little friends were nowhere near.

"Naruto?" It was Kankuro's voice.

"Come again?" Naruto said, glancing at the general direction of the brunette.

"I asked did you sleep well," Kankuro repeated.

If only! Naruto gave a quick look into the black eyes. Mistake. Quickly, Naruto looked away. Even though he now intently studied his breakfast, he could feel the brunette's gaze boring into him. He wished his attention would be directed elsewhere, anywhere, but at him. "I slept okay."

And hopefully, that information would cease the brunette's interest in him.

In order to distract himself from the tension, he searched for a spot on the table he could rest his eyes on. The spot capturing his attention happened to be the numerous wristbands on Gaara's arm. The pale fingers were delicate and the way they held a spoon in the air was actually quite captivating.

But why was the spoon, filled with yoghurt and berries, not moving towards the redhead's mouth but stayed awkwardly in mid-way? Curious, the blond lifted his gaze from the milky white skin to the equally pale face.

Jade, cold eyes.

Staring at him. Searching his soul, weren't they?

And in a split-second they were cast down again. The spoon found its way to Gaara's mouth, and suddenly nothing seemed out of ordinary in their quiet little breakfast session.

Naruto gulped, feeling suddenly nauseated. His earlier appetite was gone and all he could see in his breakfast bowl were the pair of all-seeing, unblinking green eyes. The reason he felt anxious around Gaara was different from the reason why he avoided Kankuro's eyes. But he didn't want to go there now. Hurriedly, he finished his meal and stood up. Work wouldn't start until an hour but he didn't feel like killing time in here anymore.

"Thanks for the breakfast," Naruto said and took his bowl to the sink. He didn't wait for anyone to reply as he hurried upstairs into the safety of his room.

Naruto knew that he was alone in his small little room, yet still he felt the presence of another. Under his thick blanket, the air was so thick it was hard to breathe. Ignoring his sweat, he lay still and quiet. Pushing the cover aside was out of question, for it would reveal him to his invisible enemy. And if that happened, he would die from fright.

He felt like a little rodent locked up in a cage with a lion.

Someone was dragging dead bodies on the floor, back and forth. He couldhear that, yet he knew that if he peeked through the covers, the room would be empty. But if he peeked, they would notice him and come after him. Naruto tried to calm his screaming heart and breathe evenly. Ignoring his sweat was harder and harder with each passing minute.

Oh yes, he knewwho was dragging those dead bodies. That guy had been starring his nightmares and intruding his good night's sleep for so long that there was no doubt. This night's visitor was a deformed man with an old sack covering his head. The Sackhead. Only a look at his bare face would send anyone into the depths of terror. There were three black holes in the sack: two for the eyes and one for the mouth.

Naruto knew what the guy looked like without the mask. He had seen him.

And he would never forget that sight.

Of course his rational side tried to remind him that the Elephant man was nothandling deceased in this small room, yet he constantly heard the lugging noise. Maybe it was his own blood rushing in his ears, maybe not, but soon this situation would get unbearable.

Suddenly, the lugging sound ended and Naruto's heart almost stopped then, too. With his hearing strained to its uttermost limit, he listened to the night. Someone was breathing heavily right next to his bed. Oh god, the Elephant man was surely standing close now, staring at him in the darkness! And what was that, was someone touching the covers? Or was it just his body twitching from the heat and loss of fresh air? Naruto couldn't be sure.

Most likely his ultimate nightmare #1 had just tried to reach him through the blanket.

Oh god, oh god! That being, or they―for who knew if there were other beings like aliens in this room―were coming to get him! Naruto knew that when that happened, he would see their faces and get a heart attack out of fear. And then, he would die.

He would die.

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He was sweaty and in desperate need of fresh air. In order to survive, he would have to make an escape. When he felt another poke on the covers he let out a muffled, frightened cry and pushed the blanket to the floor, ran towards the door, opened it, and burst into the tiny bathroom that was located right across his room.

More quickly than he could even realize, he had turned on the lights and locked the door. Now somewhat safe, he leaned on the tiles and slowly slid down to the floor. He was sure he heard some footsteps from the corridor and it scarily seemed that the sound stopped right behind the locked door of the bathroom.

So, the bastard had followed him here?

Naruto swept his sweaty face with his palms and tried to collect his spiraling thoughts.

He looked at his watch―he always had it with him―and it was well after midnight already. Only four more hours until sun would come up. And with the sun, his landlords Kankuro and Gaara would wake up too. This house would be full of light and finally, it would be safe for him to venture out of here. These dead, gloomy hours of the night were the worst, and he would trade them into eternal sunshine anytime.

Not every night was this difficult. Maybe he had consumed too much caffeine during the day? Or maybe the thrilling movie he'd seen the other day had triggered his imagination? Only though… these thingsfelt so real that it was hard to believe it was all just his imagination.

Footsteps from the corridor alerted him from his thoughts again. Was it the Elephant man making another round?

This time though, those steps sounded so real.

If he concentrated enough, he could almost feel the floor tremble. With a shaky breath, Naruto fixated his gaze to the door knob. He was just imagining things.

But when the knob turned ever so slightly before facing the restrictions of the lock, Naruto almost screamed.

That had been real. He had just seen it. And he was sure he had heard the almost inaudible rasp caused by the mechanisms of the lock.

With newfound terror, Naruto pulled his knees closer to his body, gaze never leaving the door. His mind was blank except from the fright that was bigger than life. That bastard would not get him. He would fight until the end, and he would scream if he had to.

But when nothing else happened for a long time, Naruto relaxed a bit. These things were getting way more realistic than what he was comfortable with. Sighing, he rubbed his face.

This was going to be a long night.

In his room he finally felt at ease again. Here, those scorching eyes would not study him.

He happened to look outside, into the greenery of the landscape, and quickly turned away. No more green, no matter how much he liked that color of life. Orange was better, orange was familiar, and so he went through his wardrobe and chose an outfit for the day. His trademark sweater (orange, what else) was his daily armor, for it masked him as anybody. Or so he hoped.

Through his closed door, he could hear the stairs creaking. Someone was coming up here. Steps on the corridor neared his door but they didn't stop at it, however, and continued further. So, Gaara was going back to his room. He and Gaara had their rooms upstairs, next to each other. And across the corridor was that little bathroom Naruto had darted into just last night. Kankuro had his room downstairs next to the kitchen and the living room. On the underground floor they had a larger bathroom and a sauna.

He had lived here for a month now. The rent was quite high, but he didn't have to buy food of his own. During his time here, he had learned to love Kankuro's cooking. All he was expected to do was pay his rent on time, keep his room clean and not cause any unnecessary disturbance around the house.

So far, he had liked it here.

The older one of the brothers, Kankuro, liked to open conversations with him, like any normal person would. If he was honest with himself, he had to admit he liked the brunette's voice. In its normalcy, it was intriguing. His voice could be a sole instrument―it didn't need a companion. Maybe that was why their conversations never lasted very long. Naruto liked to listen, but he didn't find the need to reply.

Then there was the other brother, Gaara.

Naruto walked to the window and looked at the blossoming garden. If he hid under those big bushes, how long would it take until someone would find him? It was a silly idea, but sometimes he wished he'd have a secret hiding place only he knew of.

He took his bag from the floor and quietly left his room. Climbing down the stairs without making any noise was a skill he had already mastered in his recent weeks here. The key was to avoid stepping on the center of a stair, but on the very side instead. And don't step on that one, innocent looking stair in the middle―it will always creak no matter what.

"Are you heading to work?" Kankuro asked, as he saw Naruto put on his shoes on the hall.

"Yep," the blond replied, his hand on the door knob already.

"Wait for me, I'm going to check the mailbox."

To that, Naruto only replied by stopping his hurry. He kept his hand on the knob, finding the metallic coolness oddly calming.

"Do you like your job?" Kankuro asked, bravely trying to make small talk once again.

"It's alright I guess," Naruto decided. It was just a bookstore and he was just a clerk. It wasn't his dream job, but it hadn't turned into a nightmare yet, either. So far, everything was tolerable.

"How long have you been working there again?" the brunette asked, as they made their way through the garden that surrounded the house.

"Two years," the blond replied.

He remembered telling these things to the older brother once earlier already. He had a nagging feeling that feigning forgetfulness was just an excuse to open a conversation. The way the brunette nonverbally responded to his answers gave away the lack of surprise these answers caused him. That was because the information was not new, nor was it heard for the first time.

"It looks like it's going to rain again," Kankuro mused, looking up at the clouds.

"Perhaps," Naruto said, admiring the blossoming roses along their path. Their pointless exchange of words was lulling him into a quite relaxed state. At first, he had been anxious at sharing this moment with anyone, but now he decided that having Kankuro walk beside him wasn't so bad after all.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

The sense of relaxation quickly vanished. Naruto slowed down his pace as he noticed the brunette had fallen behind. Oh, the mailbox was there, and Kankuro was standing right next to it.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, looking at the roses, at the clouds. When he saw the brunette do the same, he stole a prolonged glance at him.

"Next weekend there's a botanical exhibition not far away from Konoha. I promised to take Gaara there," Kankuro explained, looking at the numerous flowers like he was apologizing to them.

Naruto waited. He didn't want to jump into any unnecessary conclusions. Hopefully the brunette would ask him to watch the house while the brothers were away.

Kankuro took the mail out of the box and went through the letters in a half-interested manner. Naruto knew the conversation wasn't over even though he had chosen not to reply. And he had a vague feeling he could not get away from this, not this time.

Naruto looked at Kankuro, when the man suddenly lifted his gaze to meet his.

"My boss asked me to work on weekend. And I couldn't say no."

Neither could Naruto say no to those eyes. Before his expression could reveal anything, he looked down at his shoes, at the grit and grass under his feet. "Alright I'll take him."

"Thanks, I owe you one," Kankuro said, relieved.

Naruto nodded, not sure when or how to utilize that debt of gratitude. He was once again getting caught up in his own thoughts when the brunette suddenly bid him goodbye and started walking back into the house. As Naruto watched his retreating figure, he realized he had forgotten to ask why Gaara couldn't go there by himself.

Work was alright. He preferred these boring, sluggish days when only a handful of customers chose to visit this place. In the long run, quietness was bad for the business, but Naruto refused to feel sorry for enjoying it.

"Check this out," his co-worker said, and draped her phone towards him.

It was a short, funny-intended video where people got hurt by their own stupidity. Naruto couldn't resist smiling. There was something mischievous at entertaining themselves at work like this.

"Put that away, Sakura. What if boss will see us?" Naruto said, now subtly glancing around the store like he was trying to locate hidden surveillance cameras. Their cheap boss had said they didn't have those, but who knew?

"Nah, she won't mind. It's so quiet in here today," Sakura replied, tapping her phone screen.

Naruto agreed. Sakura was Tsunade's favorite employee. There was no way she would ever face consequences for this kind of behavior. Naruto, on the other hand, had never dared to do anything non-work related during his shifts. Even though he wasn't the employee of the month (and would never be), he still had some kind of standards he prided.

"Are you free this weekend?" Sakura asked, swinging her pink hair out of her face.

The motion didn't go unnoticed by Naruto. Not many would notice it, but there were at least three shades of pink in her hair. The ones in her neck were slightly darker than the tresses framing her face. Naruto closed his eyes for a moment. Her subtle perfume wafted into his nose. To imagine he had once had a crush on her. It didn't feel like a lifetime ago.

"I have plans for the weekend," Naruto finally said.

"You? With whom?" Sakura couldn't hide her amusement.

She was looking at him in disbelief, and he smiled at her, almost rolling his eyes to make a point. Yes, he did have a life. It just didn't mean going out or having plans with numerous people at every possible moment.

"I have plans with my landlord."

"Gah! I knew it was something boring," Sakura laughed, looking at him apologetically.

Naruto laughed, too, knowing she was only joking. She would never belittle him or his way of life, and their respect for each other was mutual.

"What are you going to do, then?" Naruto asked, flipping through the books that were displayed on the counter.

"Oh, me and Tenten are just going to the cottage for the weekend," Sakura said casually, like it was no big deal. The way she shrugged and then looked at him from the corner of her eye reminded him of a sly fisherman.

And of course, Naruto caught the bait.

"What! Now way!" he exclaimed, putting the book away and staring at his friend intently. He loved the cottage! They always took him with them, and he loved them for it. That little cabin in the woods was a special place to him, a place where he had spent many of his summers.

"Yeah, that's right. Are you sure you still got plans with your landlord, Naruto?" Sakura teased and winked at him. Naruto laughed uneasily, for he knew she was only fooling around. Her eyes looked devious, but it was a part of this joke between them. Sakura waited, watching intently at his inner debate.

Naruto sighed, mentally cursing Kankuro's boss. Why now of all weekends? Being with Sakura and Tenten was the best. Oh, he could remember all those homey nights in the dimly-lit cottage, them sitting in front of the log-fire and playing cards. Tenten would have wine a few glasses too many, and she would start clinging onto him. And he would laugh and know that it was just a funny joke between them. And it wouldn't take too long until Sakura would smack their heads, telling them to concentrate on the game. Oh, those were the times!

"Is Sasuke coming?" Naruto asked, going through the book again.

"Nah. You know what he's like. He isn't interested in going there," Sakura said and shrugged.

"He's a fool," Naruto pointed out, giving a meaningful look at his friend.

"I know. But he's mine fool. Besides, it's nice to have a weekend without him around, if you know what I mean. Too bad you can't come with us. I was looking forward to it," she said, her warm green eyes meeting his blue ones.

"I'm sorry," he said, feeling sorry for himself, too.

Dear diary,

I wish I had the ability to make myself invisible. Or better yet would be the ability to change shape and appearance into anybody else. I would be thrilled to walk on the street and finally blend in. Is that how everyone else feels? Do they ever feel like an outsider, or is it just me?

It feels like nobody understands me. Trying to connect, and failing time after time, I've finally decided to stop opening up. It's too painful. From now on, I'm just going to pretend to be like everybody and hope no one figures me out. The worst thing that could happen―

The knock on his door interrupted his writing. Hastily, he closed the little diary and got up from his desk. These solitary moments spent at his desk, gazing out of the window into the greenery were important to him. That was the reason why he was slightly irritated when he opened the door.

"Gaara?"

The jade eyes looked at him calmly, without any describable emotion. In the dim corridor, his pale skin emphasized those dark, dark rings around his eyes. It couldn't be just eyeliner, Naruto thought. Its origin had to be something more lasting.

Gaara's gaze moved from Naruto to some distant point behind his back. Naruto looked around himself, wondering in what the other was so intrigued in. His diary lay on the desk, an uncapped pen thrown on top of it in obvious hurry.

"What did you want?" Naruto asked.

The jade eyes' focus returned to the blond. "Kankuro told me you promised to take me to the exhibition."

"Yeah," Naruto admitted, trying to keep irritation out of his voice. At first his moment of solitude had been interrupted, and now he was reminded of the lost opportunity to go to the cottage. "I said I could take you there."

"You don't have to."

The words surprised Naruto. Suddenly, his earlier irritation vanished. "No, it's okay. I don't mind taking you there, really."

The redhead said nothing to that, and only looked at him in silent evaluation. For some reason that Naruto couldn't explain to himself, the silence felt awkward. Did other people ever feel like he did now, when he chose not to take part in conversations? He had never really thought about it.

"Let's hit the road early on Saturday, right?" Naruto asked. The earlier they left, the earlier it would be over.

For an answer, Gaara nodded and made his way towards his own room. When Naruto was sure the redhead would not come back, and that this weird conversation was really over, he closed the door.

The earlier frustration was back in him as he sat down and took the pen in his hand. His mood for writing was gone. Annoyed, he looked through the window, into the well-kept garden. There was something calming in those blossoming bushes and the tidy flowerbeds. On some parts, the garden was quite disciplined but on other areas flowers and plants were growing freely without much restriction. Even weeds seemed to have their own area where they would not be rooted out.

The whole garden looked like some sort of an experiment.

And he had never really seen anything quite like that before.

It was five thirty on the Saturday morning. The sun wasn't up, the world wasn't up, and the brothers were not up.

But Naruto was up.

It would be only half an hour, or less, until this room would be filled with tender sunlight, which would burn away the deformed monsters that breathed in the shadowy corners. From the moment he had woken up, he had realized he wasn't alone.

In the crepuscular room he had refused to hide under the blanket. He could see well enough that the rays of sun were mere minutes away from his window. His rescue was on its way, and nothing bad would happen to him in the meanwhile. Closing his eyes was out of question, of course, for he wasn't stupid. If he closed his eyes it would immediately bring back the darkness where those creatures lived in, and they would not waste a second to get at him.

Heart pounding heavily, Naruto began to hum. Noise kept them away. Light forced them to retreat into their pitiful, secret hiding places.

He wanted to get up from the bed but he couldn't. If he tried, he would be dragged under it. The best he could do was lie here, eyes open, and count the seconds to dawn.

What was that noise?

A shiver ran down his spine. It had sounded so real. And now he could hear it again.

Pulling his legs closer to his body, Naruto strained his hearing. For some moments, everything was eerily quiet. Maybe he had overreacted. Perhaps the stress of the upcoming day was finally getting to him. The feeling that someone was definitely under his bed was getting stronger. And that something was waiting for him to close his eyes or blink so that it could lunge at him when he least expected it.

Knock, knock. "Naruto?"

He gasped. Suddenly the threat under his bed was subsiding. That knock was real, a different kind of real than the shadowy beings.

"Are you awake yet?"

With a bolt of energy, Naruto jumped up from the bed and leaped to the door. Never had he been so glad to see Gaara standing there.

"Morning," he said with fake cheerfulness.

Gaara didn't reply verbally, only evaluated him with those mysterious eyes. Naruto kept his door open, as if to show off to the creatures that the redhead was right there, and they could do nothing to him while he stood there. Even before sunlight, he was now safe.

"Breakfast is ready."

"Oh? I didn't hear any sounds from downstairs," Naruto said, opening up his door a bit more.

When the redhead started to head towards the stairs, a sudden panic hit the blond. "Wait."

With a questioning look, Gaara turned to him.

"I want to ask you something. Come here," Naruto waved, and went back into his room. Under any other circumstances he doubted he would've done this.

"I was wondering…" Naruto began, going to the window and pulling the curtains aside. Now he wasn't afraid of any shadowy corner because the redhead was standing in the middle of the room. "Why does your garden look like that? It's half-wild, half-aligned."

Gaara stepped to the window, too. The moment before he answered was long enough to Naruto to notice how perfectly shaped his ear was. It was unpierced and the auricle reminded him of a labyrinth. Was his mind a maze, too? Would there be a Minotaurus of his own (like the one in Naruto's mind) which was held captive by the brain, unable to be exorcised?

"A garden should not be a portrait of discipline and control, but a demonstration of nurture. But some flowers flourish only if they face very little competition or none at all. That's why some flowerbeds are neater than the others."

Naruto nodded feebly. What a beautiful description. He had never before realized that under that restrained exterior, the redhead could be capable of such insight. Of course, he hadn't really talked to him that much to begin with.

With a quick glance at the labyrinth-like ear, Naruto asked, "Are you the gardener? Or is it your brother?"

"Kankuro's not interested in that kind of thing."

The blond nodded in understanding. Gaara's reply was a funny way to put it. He didn't say he was the mastermind behind that chaotic order. Instead, he chose to mention his older brother as if he was uneasy about being the center of attention.

The natural light was finally taking over the room and its every corner. Naruto sighed in relief. He felt a lot easier now, and then his thoughts drifted back to the breakfast. Not even Gaara's far too intense attention on him could make him lose his appetite at the moment. When his stomach rumbled loudly, he only smiled sheepishly at the redhead.

Whenever Naruto later on reminisced about their trip to the botanical exhibition, he couldn't help thinking it as a turning point in their relationship.

Naruto was driving the car, his eyes steady in the horizon. Asphalt vanished mile by mile under the vehicle. To him it felt like they were slowly eating the landscape away.

To Naruto's delight and to Gaara's horror they had hit the road with the blond's partially rusty, slightly tape-fixed but ever so trustworthy Škoda Felicia.

"Come on, hop in," Naruto had smiled, unlocking the doors.

Gaara had eyed the red set of wheels with justified doubt. To Naruto, it had looked like the redhead was wondering if he really was expected to enter.

Radio was essential travel equipment. Clenching the wheel with his other hand, Naruto adjusted the channels in order to find them something good to listen to. Plain silence felt kind of oppressing in his opinion.

"Mind if I sing?" the blond asked as cheery pop melodies crackled from the minimalistic stereo system.

The redhead didn't reply but only turned to look out of the passenger's window. In all honesty Naruto hadn't expected him to answer, and by now he had learned that Gaara was not a very talkative person. Neither was Naruto, but in the redhead's presence he strangely felt the need to fill the silence with meaningless chatter.

"How long have you been into gardening?" he asked, quickly glancing at the redhead before returning his attention to the road.

"Maybe ten years or so," Gaara replied.

"Whoa, that's quite an achievement," the blond exclaimed. He gave a quick smile to the guy. What was wrong with him? He rarely smiled this easily. There was something in this guy that made him nervous and confident at the same time. "Why haven't you turned it into your occupation yet?"

"I have."

"Really? Then why…?" Naruto trailed off. As far as he knew, the redhead spent all his days at home.

"There are no jobs," Gaara stated in a monotonous voice, then added as an afterthought, "For someone like me."

There was no self-pity, no bitterness. It was like a fact he was only stating.

Naruto understood, though he wasn't sure if the reason why he identified with the sad statement had anything in common with what Gaara had meant with it in the first place. Jobs were difficult. Jobs required dealing with people, and if you weren't even average with people, you had much to none hope of finding yourself employed.

"That sucks," was all Naruto could say. "I think it's impressive what you've done with your garden."

"Well, it's not something other people find interesting enough."

"People are stupid," the blond shrugged, for he knew all too well. To him Gaara didn't strike as someone who had low self-confidence, but nevertheless he felt the need to encourage him.

The exhibition was larger than Naruto had at first imagined. And unlike he had feared in advance, he actually enjoyed his time there. His companion didn't converse much but kept on studying the vast information that was offered in various departments. Everyone seemed to be so greatly immersed in the actual exhibit that nobody seemed to be paying attention to Naruto.

When off the spotlight, he felt easy and even relaxed. Usually these kinds of mass events would give him a panic attack of varying degree. For always he felt out of place, like a piece of a puzzle that never fit but was there in the box nevertheless. Now no one was looking at him in a funny way, and when familiar sensations of oncoming breakdown were detectable, he quickly directed his attention to Gaara, trying to give his mind something else to concentrate on.

To his surprise, it worked.

They managed to find a quiet spot in the nearby cafeteria. They ate in mutual silence, and Naruto took this moment to inspect the redhead across from him. Gaara was an odd person. Not only was he strikingly quiet but his looks differed from the medium, too. Red was an uncommon color of hair almost everywhere. A quick glance around the place proved that no one else had similar dominant trait in their genes.

Definitely Gaara was not shy. He just seemed not to have the need to share his thoughts aloud.

As the jade eyes found his studying gaze, Naruto flashed a friendly smile at him. Caught. What was wrong with him? He felt like he should talk again to cover up the profound silence. Normal people talked the whole time with ease. He wanted to be like that, so that he could cover up what he was really like.

"Have you liked the exhibition so far?" Naruto asked between mouthfuls.

Gaara nodded, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "It has been interesting."

"What sparked you into this thing?" the blond inquired.

"My family hails from Suna, which is a desert country not far away from here," Gaara began. He had finished his meal and now held his hands in his lap. "As you know there is not much vegetation in the desert. You can imagine my surprise when we eventually moved into Konoha. The greenness was breathtaking."

Naruto nodded, a ghost of a smile on his lips. He, too, loved the greenery.

"Back then I had no friends," the redhead suddenly continued, and captured Naruto's attention once again. "To have something to do, I took interest in gardening. I was also encouraged by father, who saw my enthusiasm as a mean to get the garden around our house look presentable. The earlier residents had not had an eye for things like that."

Again, Naruto nodded for a reply. He wanted to address the little detail his companion had mentioned in passing. The lack of friends had been brought up so casually, so painlessly, like it hadn't bothered him the slightest. Naruto had always had friends. Only a very few though but it was more than none. He didn't dare to imagine what he would be like nowadays without them.

A sudden shiver galloped up his spine like a bolted racehorse.

Staring at the bottom of his glass, Naruto spoke. "Well do you have friends nowadays? Do they appreciate your skills?"

Silence fell over them and Naruto looked up, wondering if the redhead had heard him in the first place. Jade eyes met blue, yet gave away no emotion whatsoever.

"I have no interest in friends."

"Is that so?" Naruto shrugged, wondering if he really felt as surprised as he let on. The conversation was making him uneasy for reasons he didn't want to dwell on right now.

"Tell me, Gaara," he started casually, "If I wanted to have a plant in my room, what would be the best choice for a beginner like me?"

"You couldn't keep it alive."

"Hey―that's not fair!" Naruto exclaimed, knocking the bottom of his glass on the table. He could keep a plant alive. Even he was not that clumsy.

His exasperation seemed to amuse the redhead. Damn him! In his seat, Naruto fumed in silence.

"The way you keep losing your keys and phone in the oddest places doesn't convince me of your care. Plants require some habit after all," Gaara pointed out but his voice was not totally humorless.

"I don't keep on losing my things," the blond defended, still hurt from the other's insight. "And I have my keys right here," he said, fumbling the pockets of his jeans. "Right here," he said again, confident and stubborn even though when he pulled his pockets inside out, nothing but a fluffy piece of lint flew away.

Naruto rubbed his face, not bothering to look at the annoying redhead, for he knew the I-told-you-so expression would be on his face. His keys weren't lost. They just were not in his pockets at the moment. He couldn't recall their whereabouts right now, but he knew they were not lost.

After lunch, they continued with the exhibition. Naruto's sour mood was soon forgotten as they walked past colorful orchids and giant flytraps and such. Everything out of ordinary caught his attention. He was so immersed in his amazement that he forgot his inner panic, constant cautiousness and fear of standing out from the crowd.

As they walked back to the car, Naruto was more relaxed than he had been in a long time. He couldn't even remember his lost keys until he opened the door and found it unlocked. Innocently, his keys hung from the ignition switch. With an I-told-you-so look of his own, he glanced at Gaara before starting the car.

Somewhere along their way back home an unexpected clatter started at first quietly, but it steadily grew louder and louder, making it harder to ignore.

Naruto turned up the volume of the radio, trying to sing along with a rock'n'roll song. "Don't mind about the noise. It sometimes does that."

Serious jade eyes looked at him, momentarily glancing at the dashboard and the little orange and red symbols glowing in there. Some of them were covered with tape, and Naruto felt like he should explain this easy-fix of his.

"Nothing's wrong with the motor, don't worry. You couldn't get this car broken even if you tried to. I guess they're right that all the best things were made in the 90's," he said, patting the dashboard like it was a living being. He and Felicia '96 had gone through a lot together. She would not let him down even now.

After they had crossed the border of Konoha again, something in Gaara's presence seemed to relax. Maybe it was the lazy way he leaned his head against the window. Or the way he had straightened his legs as far as they could go. By himself, Naruto smiled. He sang a song after another, never really remembering all of the lyrics but a rhyme here and there. In the horizon, the setting sun was reaching the treetops.

"Can we stop at the supermarket?"

It was Gaara's voice that brought him out of his musings. "Sure."

With a jarring hum the old faithful Felicia stopped in the parking lot, once again bringing its passengers to the finish line with uttermost reliability. Naruto got off the car, too, this time making a mental note to grab the keys with him.

"Hey! Plant Boy!"

The harsh tone startled Naruto. A boisterous young man with a few fellows walked into Gaara's direction. The smug look on their faces made Naruto instantly frown.

"How's it going, twit?"

Gaara looked unfazed at the comment as he stood there, silently evaluating the situation. The three men stood now in front of him with sly expressions on their faces.

"Long time no see. We've missed you," the tallest of them said, and shoved him on the shoulder. It was masked as a manly gesture but it was clear to everyone that the real message behind it was something else.

Still Gaara decided not to speak. This seemed to aggravate the men, and one of them grabbed the shoulder of his shirt and pushed him against the car.

"Hey watch out!" Naruto exclaimed, surprising himself too. With unknown confidence he walked to the other side of the car and stared down the young men.

The man let go of Gaara's shirt but the intimidation didn't leave his figure. "Who the hell are you, pinhead?"

"I live with him," Naruto snapped.

Roars of laughter echoed through the parking lot as the three guys exchanged looks with one another, then eyed the blond and the equally unfazed redhead. It was too late now for Naruto to realize he should've phrased his thoughts in a different way. Gaara didn't seem to mind about the misunderstanding, however, and it gave him confidence to go on like nothing had happened.

"To be honest we always thought you were a fairy," the tallest of them said, and shoved Gaara against the car.

"Leave him alone," Naruto gnarled and pushed the man into the chest with sudden anger. When the man backed up a few steps, he shoved him again with more fury this time.

The insulting young man retreated backwards and held his hands up in the air in some conciliatory way. "Calm down, man, we were just talking. Gaara is an old friend of us."

Everything happened quite suddenly. Naruto gripped the man's front and punched him in the nose. The victim looked at him in obvious shock, and it seemed his pride had taken a more severe blow than his now broken nose.

"Dude what the fuck!?" the man screamed, as Naruto kept on coming closer, ready to do it again.

"Leave," Naruto whispered, really meaning what he had said. As his bloodied hand fumbled towards the man again, all three of them fled with panicked strides.

He looked at their retreating figures, trying to calm himself down. This confidence, he did not want it. Not now. With deep breaths, he tried to root himself back to the present. The hard, hot asphalt under his thin shoe soles. Birds croaking up in the sky. Gaara's hand on his shoulder.

"Gaara?" he turned around.

He didn't know how to interpret that expression. It was serious and worried at the same time. Or was it?

"You don't have to defend me."

Naruto averted his gaze. He wiped the blood in his hand to his jeans. He should try to concentrate on the present moment. At Gaara's band T-shirt. At the studded belt on his hips. At the sliding doors of the supermarket opening and closing in a steady rhythm.

"I know. I just hate it when people damage my car," he finally replied. Gaze still on the pavement, he walked past Gaara towards the shop.

The redhead caught him up and side by side, they entered the store. Naruto walked a few steps behind him, following him like a shadow. He felt sick and agitated. This was not him in his head.

"Who were they?" Naruto asked, wondering if anyone else noticed his odd mood.

"Just a few idiots from school," Gaara replied with an emotionless voice. Again, it sounded like he was just stating a fact. "They used to make my life difficult back then"

"Uh-huh." He didn't want to hear more. More of these sad stories would mean more anger. More anger meant more power, but not to him.

"They used to make fun of me. And one time, they managed to destroy half of our garden. It wasn't until Kankuro noticed them that they stopped and ran away."

Naruto wanted to punch something. How satisfying would it be to feel their skulls cracking under his fist, to feel the warm, hot blood seeping from their twisted brains.

"That's horrible," he whispered through gritted teeth, clenching his fist.

"Are you alright?" Gaara stopped and looked at him calmly. "You seem angry."

"O-oh yeah?" Naruto breathed, averting his eyes. He had to act normal now. Gaara had noticed, hadn't he! And the way those intrusive jade eyes were once again boring into him, there was no way he wouldn't see what lay inside of him.

When they had pushed Gaara against the car the first time, it had started as a feeling in the pit of his stomach.

After the second push, that feeling had personified and that person had begun clawing his way up.

And then, everything had escalated quickly and that person had grown bigger, reaching Naruto's eye-level and filling his head so that nothing else fit there.

Kyuubi was a jerk Naruto thought was long gone. He didn't need him in his life, and least of all he needed him to fight his fights for him. It was always the same with him: violence and threats and punching people in the faces. The police, whenever alerted to the scene, easily assumed the reason to his behavior was something usual, and Naruto never rushed to correct that misconception. After all, he was a young man, and young men were statistically more prone to violence and injuries than the rest of the demographics.

"Naruto?"

"I'm just tired," the blond lied. He didn't dare to meet his companion's eyes. These were his orange sleeves and there were his hands. He was he, to anybody else. Yet he was afraid that if he met Gaara's gaze, the other would see that someone else rather than the real him.

The redhead seemed to accept his explanation. In silence, they went through the store, Naruto always a few steps behind. He met no one's eyes but instead concentrated on upholding his inner peace. Even a slight annoyance could fuel him back into more severe state.

Back in the parking lot, Naruto unlocked the doors. "Do you want to drive?"

"No," Gaara replied as he put his groceries on the back seat.

"Come on, Felicia is a good girl. You can trust her," the blond said, patting the roof affectionately.

The redhead glanced at the time-worn vehicle before giving Naruto a prolonged stare. "I don't have a driver's license."

"Are you serious?" Naruto asked. But the redhead didn't offer any further explanation as he already sat down to the passenger's seat.

Sighing, the blond got in the car, too. The frenetic vibes still lingered in the parking lot like they had never dissolved. He clenched the wheel, wondering if it was a good idea to drive in an emotional state like this. Before the redhead could comment his minute hesitation in any way, he was already starting the car and taking them home. Somewhere in his throat, Kyuubi still hummed but his energy was much weaker than moments before.

Everyone was quiet at the supper.

Not even Kankuro had anything to say.

Very briefly Naruto wondered which things of their day Gaara had decided to share with his brother. A small part of him was afraid they would consider him unstable and evicted him. What was under the surface? The tension felt unbearable at least to him. It couldn't be just his imagination.

Subtly he tried to check if the brothers were giving each other any meaningful glances. Was something going on behind his back? And why was the brunette so quiet all of the sudden?

Gaara was the first to leave the table. Following suit, Naruto got up too. He couldn't have been the first to leave, for he feared it would've been rude and would only worsen his dire situation. His landlords would doom him not only lunatic but impolite, too.

He followed the redhead as he made his way out of the kitchen. In the stairs, he couldn't help his eyes resting on Gaara's swaying, narrow hips. The chains that hung from the loops of his jeans moved in the rhythm of his steps.

Naruto was about to go to his room when Gaara's words stopped him.

"Come here."

The blond followed him along the dim corridor. He had never been in this end of it. He was about to follow Gaara into his room, when the redhead suddenly turned around. "Wait here."

Naruto nodded, staring at his toes. He felt uneasy again. What was Gaara fetching from his room? Was it a notice of eviction? Or some sort of proof they had gathered against him? Surely no one knew of his few bursts into the tiny bathroom at night. He liked to think his nightly terrors were a secret no one else knew about. He scanned around the corridor, trying to spot any kind of surveillance system. He found no evidence but the fact didn't relieve his mind.

"Here."

It was Gaara again who brought him out of his little bubble. The redhead was holding a little plant.

"This is Mammillaria bocasana, or a powder puff cactus if you like. You need to water it only rarely. Otherwise it's content with a sunny spot on the sill."

A little perplexed, Naruto accepted the pot. Was this a gift? Or a thank you? How was he supposed to interpret this gesture?

"Thanks," he muttered, looking at the cactus rather than the giver. From his peripheral vision he saw the pale hands hanging on his sides, relaxed. The wristbands hung loosely, close to the palm. He had never noticed it before, but it looked like there was something reddish―

"Goodnight," the redhead suddenly said and retreated into his room. The door was closed a second later. After that, silence filled the corridor once again.

With equally silent steps, Naruto retreated into his own room. The peculiar cactus found a place on the sill. He eyed its hooked spines and the white fur that covered the whole plant. It was an odd thing, just like its giver.

"I hope you like it there," he whispered and closed the curtains.

When he lay down on the bed, the cactus' shadow on the curtains looked bigger than the plant itself. As strange as it was, he had a feeling that today, Gaara had left a more permanent mark in his life than just that shadowy reflection.

A/N: Thanks for reading. I'd love to hear your thoughts.