AN: GaaNaru, Naruto's POV

Chapter 1

Questions

I strain and yell in pain and exhaustion. The burning winds and sand tear at my uncovered skin, and I'm starting to regret taking off my jacket earlier to stay cool under the scorching desert sun. I'm no cooler than I was before, the skin on my arms is horribly sunburned, and I have no idea where the Hell that jacket is now; the strong winds snatched it away from me, along with my headband. Damn it, I just replaced that thing.

It's hard to keep my eyes open for more than a short moment, but in those small moments I notice that it is nearly impossible to see, anyway, through the sheer amount of sand being swept about by the storm. I guess that would be why it's called a "sand storm," right? I find myself thinking about my old pair of goggles from before I became a genin, and then remember they wouldn't fit me anyway.

My entire body aches from trying so hard to stand my ground against the harsh winds and debris. The pain is slowly shifting from intense to intolerable. A stronger gust of wind knocks me on my ass.

"Damn it!" I yell, but I can hardly hear my own voice over the roar of the desert winds. Seriously, who the Hell would actually desire to live here? I manage to crawl on my knees, and I lean forwards to try and get my face out of the wind's path. That helps a little, so I also tuck my head into the creases of my elbows and lean forward a little more. I must look like I'm in some sort of earthquake drill back at the Ninja Academy. Thankfully no one's around. Even the residents aren't cocky enough to wander around out here when it's like this. I can just hear Sakura getting snarky with me about how stupid I am for not taking shelter.

At least I'm assuming that's what she and the others are doing right now. I can't imagine that they got to the gate faster than I had. The guards had given me this startled look when I approached but had let me though when I pulled out my pass – which nearly blew away from me when I took it out. It wasn't a pass for Sunagakure in particular, but it was still one for the Land of Wind in general and I don't think they were paying attention anyway. They were nodding at me before I even got it out of my pocket, like they knew who I was. But they didn't exactly look like they wanted me hanging around until the storm passed, so I kept going.

To my dismay, it feels like the storm is actually getting worse instead of better. Or maybe my body is just getting weaker from the winds' constant assaults. Either way, it's getting hard for me to just stay conscious.

I'm about to pass out when the wind lets up a little, like something's shielding my body from it. I pry open my eyes and see shadows on the ground in front of me, but the wind is still too strong to lift my head up. Is there really someone else here? How the Hell are they even able to move?

I'm in such a weakened state that I allow myself to swallow the little bit of pride I have left, "Help…" I say, and I hear my voice crack with strain, "Please… Please help me…" The wind howls in my ears and I realize that they probably can't hear me. I stumble forward and almost fall face-first, but a pair of hands grabs me by the shoulders.

I feel this person's arms wrap tightly around me and it stings my burned skin, but I'm ridiculously grateful; I lean into them, and discover that it's someone with a surprisingly small frame. I mean I get that people who live here are more used to it but I still feel a stab to my ego. Because I know I'm not really that weak… Or am I? I guess I'm going to have to start training with Lee again.

Anyway, I try to sneak a glance at my savior before I pass out. But my vision is already so clouded… All I can see is a blur of white robes…

…..

I wake up with a massive headache, but the rest of my body is surprisingly comfortable. I soon realize that it's because I'm in a rather large and luxurious bed with a thin sheet pulled up to my waist. I get a quick glance at my surroundings; it's still light outside, and beams of sunlight pour through the room's open window. A warm breeze floats through the room and caresses my face, neck, and arms, which have been coated with a cool gel to ease the burning.

My head throbs with immense pain, and I close my eyes tightly with a loud groan. I try to move and immediately regret it; I almost cry out at how much my sunburn hurts.

"You're awake?" someone says, and I'm guessing that this is the voice of the person who saved me. Young and male, at least I'm pretty sure. Has he stayed by my side this whole time? I suddenly feel really guilty; I hope I wasn't asleep for too long, but it occurs to me that because the window is open, enough time must have passed for the storm to be over now.

I don't have the strength to pick up my head to respond. In fact, I can't even open my eyes again, so I stop trying. I just grunt in response, and it comes out weaker than I expected.

I must look horrible, because I feel him move to sit beside me on the right side of the bed. I gasp slightly as he brushes my bangs off my face and runs his hand through my hair. I feel my stomach twist nervously; this feels really uncomfortable and awkward coming from someone I can't even see, but his touch is gentle and comforting.

He takes my silence as an approval. I can feel that my face must be bright red with embarrassment, but he probably can't tell the difference with my sunburn. To my relief, he doesn't say anything about it, "Are you okay? Is there anything you need or want?"

I pause, wondering if I should just stay silent. It takes a lot of effort for me to finally speak, and my voice comes out in mumbles, "Yeah… I'm fine… Thanks," I grumble. I'm starting to get used to the pain, so I try to open my eyes a little.

"Wha-? Gaara?" I question loudly when I see his pale face over mine. No wonder that this "stranger" had been acting so weird; we were already friends! But I don't think that makes it any better because I suddenly feel even more awkward. I quickly adjust myself so that our faces aren't so close.

"You didn't know it was me?" Gaara asks, keeping his voice steady. But his face betrays him, and his cheeks get the slightest tint of red to them. He doesn't look away, though.

I laugh at his expression, "No," but then I see the hurting in his eyes and quickly correct myself, "But I'm certainly glad it is," I finish with a toothy smile. I force myself to sit up, and he eyes me cautiously. He has his arms out in front of him like he thinks I'm going to fall back down.

"Oh… Gaara… I'm fine, really," I reassure him. He lowers his arms, but the careful look on his face remains. I used to get offended when Gaara acted like I couldn't take care of myself, but it's nice to have someone this worried about me, especially someone who's usually so calm and cool. I guess I must be important to him; I'm flattered, actually. I can't exactly be offended anyway, since I have proven his worries by getting myself into this situation.

He's right again as my body refuses to support me for very long, and I start to fall backwards. He quickly pulls me forwards and grabs my shoulders to keep me sitting up straight.

"Thanks," I murmur with embarrassment, trying to ignore the burning sensation coming from the contact with my shoulders. I'm not used to being this annoyingly useless.

He doesn't say anything, but instead moves me to lean against him, "Wait, you don't have to-"

"It's fine," he cuts me off with a blank tone. I hear a hissing noise that I easily identify as his sand and suddenly he's holding a glass of water up to my lips. I drink and it feels ice cold going down. Startling, but wonderful.

But I start to feel guilty again, "I'm sorry…"

He just stares at me blankly, but I can see the question on his lips.

"I'm being such a burden…" I clarify.

"It's just one less favor I owe you, then."

I laugh, remembering how he had always babbled on about how much I'd done for him, and how much he owed me, when really I don't think I did anything that special, "There you go again," I tease.

I'm still really uncomfortable with the idea of accepting help from others, especially him. It's kind of a role reversal for me. My whole body is shaking slightly, and I can't tell if it's the weakness or if it's because of how close we are. So I try to gently push away from him to sit up on my own, and when he stops me, I frown, "Gaara, I'm fine," I say, trying to seem calm and strong.

He ignores my comment and slowly pulls me into an embrace with this cautious expression, like I'm made out of glass. Or maybe he's just nervous that I'll object again.

After a painfully awkward silence, Gaara carefully slides one of his hands up and down the middle of my back while the other continues holding me steady. My body automatically relaxes. I'm not used to this; usually I'm not the one who's being comforted. I'm not used to being this… Vulnerable.

I keep my arms at my sides, feeling really heavy all of a sudden. I guess I'm still tired. I lean into him more so I don't have to try and hold myself up. I rest my shin on his shoulder and he tenses slightly, but doesn't move away. My stomach squirms anxiously and my entire body feels warm. What the Hell is going on with me?

"It doesn't seem like you're 'fine' to me," Gaara says quietly as I slowly let him support almost all of my weight. I can't see his face from my angle, but I can tell just from the tone of his voice that he's content.

I laugh a little, and he pushes me away to look at me while – thankfully – still holding my shoulders, "So why are you here in Suna in the first place?" he asks; his eyes are filled with suspicion.

"Well, I just completed a nearby mission with my team, and we figured – well mostly I did – that we should come by and visit. And then the storm came all of a sudden, and I got separated… I hope they're all okay…" I bite my lip and look downwards.

Gaara uses his right hand to gently lift my chin back up, and I swear my heart skips a beat, "I'm sure they're fine," he says reassuringly.

I try to look like our closeness is not affecting me, but I know I must be failing miserably… Hopefully he doesn't notice, "Yeah… But it's hard to believe that when I think of how exhausted I was out there…"

"But you were on your own," Gaara argues calmly, and I'm happy he's defending me, even if it's from myself.

"Thank you for saving me," I say softly. I pause, "And… Taking care of me…" My stomach squirms again as I remember how I felt with him catering to me. And how I still feel with him so close to me like this. My face feels like it is on fire.

"It's the least I can do, especially after everything you've done for me," Gaara responds with a little smile that adds this amazing warmth to his expression. I can feel my heart beating a lot faster than normal. The constant thudding is becoming almost painful.

"Stop it," I say, and I feel my face turning red. He can smile all he wants, but I hate when he says corny shit like that, because it makes me so embarrassed. He gives me way too much credit all the time.

He looks slightly amused by my embarrassment, "I just like to let you know that I appreciate you," he murmurs with that same annoying admiring look. He tries to hide his impatience when he sees me roll my eyes, "But really Naruto, I care about you, and I like that it seems like you care about me too. You're very important to me."

He gently squeezes my shoulders for emphasis, and I subtly put my hand on my chest, willing my heart to slow down; does he even know what he's doing to me right now? After the initial shock of hearing that, I smirk playfully like his words didn't emotionally affect me, "Did you just say, 'seems like?'" I tease him. He smiles awkwardly, and I laugh at him again.

Gaara keeps eye contact with me as he starts to absently run his hand through my hair like before. I can feel my whole body starting to heat up, but I can't help but smile; the attention feels so good, and strangely enough, I'm beginning to like and want this bizarre feeling… I'm actually starting to enjoy having him this close to me… I still feel uncomfortably vulnerable, but I'm beginning to really trust him as well… But I'm not confident enough to continue looking him in the eyes, especially since my contradicting emotions are making me so confused right now.

"Naruto…" Gaara murmurs almost inaudibly. He starts caressing my left cheek with one hand, deliberately tracing the scars. And he puts his other hand on the small of my back, and I feel my shirt ride up as he slides his hand underneath the fabric. His hand feels soothingly warm against my not-burned skin. He leans closer to me, and I can hear his shallow breathing, as if he's as nervous as I am. I'm seriously wondering if he's going to try and kiss me… W-Wait a minute! Surely I'm just jumping to conclusions! I mean, this is Gaara I'm talking about! My friend! Who's a guy! And does that make me vain? Is it wrong for me to think that he might like me in that way? Is it wrong for me to even think about him and me…? Well… Together? And is it wrong that…? That there's this part of me that actually wants him to kiss me? I suddenly feel the need to know if… I mean, do I have feelings for him? Is that what all this is? And… Does he really have feelings like that for me too? Or… Am I just making too much out of nothing?

Before I can think those questions through any further, the door to the room clicks open. I franticly push my body away from Gaara's and almost fall over in the process.

Gaara calmly turns his face to the direction of the door, "Ever heard of knocking?" he asks in a monotone voice.

"Sorry, I didn't know that I would be interrupting something," Gaara's brother Kankuro replies, and even though I look away, I can tell just from his tone that he's smirking suggestively.

'If only there was really something to interrupt,' I think automatically, and as soon as I do, an image of Gaara and I accompanies it and I blush furiously. I try to shake it out of my mind. Thankfully Gaara doesn't seem to notice.

In fact, Gaara didn't even flinch at Kankuro's comment. Does Kankuro think that Gaara likes me? And if so… That means Gaara must talk about me… I smile to myself, and my body feels warm again. But then I remember that I'm not alone, and I hope neither of them are looking my way.

"What did you want, anyways?" Gaara asks his brother in the same blank voice as before.

"I came here to tell you that you need to take a break. You've shut yourself in here ever since you found him out there in that storm; it's time for you to at least get something to eat. I'm glad that blondie here finally woke up and seems to be okay, but please, Gaara. You really need to take care of yourself."

I suddenly feel awful, "Gaara… How long have I been asleep?"

Gaara bites his lip and stays silent, glaring daggers at his brother. But they don't have the same threatening quality they used to, so Kankuro answers me, "Quite a few hours, I think. Gaara's been so stubborn; he's refused to leave your side."

I feel Gaara tense up beside me, like that was something he didn't want me to know. But knowing that he cares about me to that extreme gives me this sudden warm and happy feeling in my chest that completely drowns out any guilt I had before.

"Fine," Gaara grumbles. A quick glance at his face tells me that he's flustered, and I can't help but smile. I turn away at the same time he looks at me, and I'm pretty sure he's just caught me staring.

"I'm going to get something to eat," Gaara murmurs, getting a hold of himself. From the corner of my eye I can see Kankuro smirking again.

Thankfully Gaara manages to recover quickly enough, "Would you like anything?" He asks me as he stands up, leaving me alone on the bed. For the first time, I notice what he's wearing: A loose pair of black capris, fishnets, and a tight-fitting black tank top that's a little too short for him, leaving a tempting amount of skin showing between the shirt and the waistband of his pants, which falls alluringly low on his hips.

I wonder just how long I've been distracted by that, because he suddenly folds his arms over his chest, "Naruto?" he asks impatiently.

It's hard for me just to come up with a coherent sentence, "Oh… Umm… Some more water would be fine… I guess…" I mumble, forcing myself to move my gaze back to his face.

I give Kankuro my best death glare when I see him trying not to laugh at me. It has no effect on him though, and I suddenly remember that he's lived through pre-teen Gaara and is not easily intimidated.

I have no clue if Gaara has realized yet that I'm interested in him, but even if he does, thankfully he doesn't notice how much. It probably took so long for me to notice my feelings for him because of all the years of being teased back home… Speaking of which, when my friends back in Konoha find out about this, I'm sure they'll have a field day. I'm sure they'll never let me live it down (as it is, it doesn't look like Kankuro will, either).

But at this point, I couldn't care less.

Note: Here's the first chapter. It took me so long to figure out where I wanted this story to go. At first I wanted it to be a one-shot, but then I got so many ideas that I wanted to get down.

Please review; I'd really appreciate it. :)