Summary: Post 4th Shinobi World War. NaruGaa. Temari and Kankurou try to pair up Gaara with a girl from another country in hopes to show their brother more of life than Naruto, his first true friend. But when Naruto starts to experience foreign feelings for his male friend, things get complicated.

Warnings: MxM relationship, but nothing too explicit. I promise sexual tension, cuteness and drama. And of course, Love.

Spoilers: I have finished the manga, so some things could pop up from there.

Spoilers :[for those who finished the manga] - in regards to the missing limb of Naruto, let's just say that either with medical help or with Kurama's chakra he regenerated it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... Or Gaara for that matter.

Ratings: staying on T for now... the rating maaaaaybe could go up, but still, no graphic scenes.

Notes: probably will be around ten chapters long. Not planning to do a very long fic.

For My Friend

Hairi Esh Mooncake

#1

Two pairs of eyes met each other head-on. One a pair of azure blues, another a pair of teals. They were not the eyes of children. They were the eyes of those who saw the struggle of the real world: war, suffering, death... the eyes of true shinobi.

Unwavering determination shone from the pair of blues, challenging whatever the world had ahead of them. Slowly, two tanned arms were lifted, stopping in mid-air. The tension in the room was so thick one could almost cut it with a knife. A drop of sweat ran down the blonde's temple.

In that moment, something passed through the teal eyes, making his companion gulp audibly.

"Wrong."

"Argh! Not that again!" Naruto's hands came up to pull at his hair in frustration, a fine porcelain cup falling to the floor, shattering without having a chance of survival.

The redhead heaved a sigh at yet another cup falling at the feet of his friend.

"Man, I can't do it anymore!"

"You're not taking this seriously, Naruto," Gaara stated in his low timbre voice. He was sitting on his legs, back held straight and a cup of sake placed gracefully in his hold.

"I am taking this seriously, but..." the blonde protested, settling down to sit cross-legged on the floor with his arms crossed and a frown on his forehead clearly indicating his irritation. "It's just drinking a cup of sake, isn't it? Why does it have to be made so difficult?"

"The drinking is not the reason for this ritual," the redhead replied in a steady voice, eyes lowered.

"I know! I know that, datte bayo! But... seriously, we've been at this for half a day already, and I don't think we're making much of a progress here... besides maybe getting a bit tipsy. Not to mention, everything I do gets "wrong", "wrong", "wrong" from you. It's reaaally starting to get on my nerves, you know!"

Gaara remained silent throughout the blond's outburst, then sighed. "How do you think I feel?"

Naruto was a first-class shinobi, there was no doubt about that, but he still lacked patience and tact, relying way too much on his impulsiveness. Though, the young Kazekage supposed, all those little things and traits he possessed were what let Naruto achieve all the things he had in his life. Including saving Gaara himself. That's why...

Naruto was still fuming, having his arms crossed against his chest, when the burning sensation of eyes upon him became too much and he opened his lids to stare back at the piercing teal eyes. "What?"

It was a moment longer in which Gaara held their eye contact until he diverted his gaze downwards. "No, nevermind. Let's start again."

"Geez, Gaara...!" the blond whined. "At least let's take a break, huh?" The blue orbs widened a fraction, glazing over with an attempt of projecting a pleading look. It was a high risk, he knew. Usually his tactic of melting the previous-psychotic-killer's-cold-heart would backfire, earning the blond ten times more intense training as a punishment for his less-than-honorable actions but there were a few instances when he succeeded. That alone gave him the strength to try once more.

"Naruto."

It was one of those voices, the redhead sometimes addressed him with, that made him stop what he was doing. Gaara was never one whom you could call cute or vulnerable looking but after he lost his „psychopathic tendencies" one could clearly see his natural charisma and leader abilities. The look he was giving the blond was one to be taken seriously for sure.

"This practice is for your own sake. It's necessary for you to know the ritual."

The redhead's words forced Naruto's eyes back to focus. "Gaara..."

"When you become Hokage..." the redhead started in a deep voice. "You won't be looked upon as a fellow comrade in the battlefield. You'll be observed, criticized and tested on every corner as a leader of your people. Although nobody doubts your shinobi abilities, they don't know you as a Kage yet." His eyes narrowed in deep concentration. "That's why... you can't make any mistakes. Kage bonding ritual is only the first small step towards recognition by other nations."

"Suna and Konoha. There is no secret that the alliance we share is highly dependent on you and me. There'll be even more eyes on you with me near. It's important that the other Kages recognize you not as my friend or the world's hero, but as a responsible leader, capable of leading his country to prosperity and peace."

"Gaara, you..." Naruto trailed off, staring at his friend with the eyes full of wonder. After a moment they softened, giving them a gentle look. „Suna sure is lucky to have you as the Kazekage."

He missed how Gaara's eyes widened just then and continued in wholly different voice. Confident and strong. "Don't worry! I'll be sure to sit right next to you as your equal at the next Kage summit." A soft smile played on his lips. "So just wait for me, okay? And I don't think I've said this enough but..." He stopped and lifted his eyes to look straight at the pair of teals.

"Arigatou na."

Uzumaki Naruto. Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. The hero of Konoha and the whole world.

Sabaku no Gaara. Former Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi. Kazekage of Suna.

Two completely different people, yet, at the same time almost identical. It may have been by chance that they have met, or it might have been what fate brought for them, but as the two stared right at each other, they didn't have to doubt the bond they had.

"Yosh! Now I'm fired up! For the sake of 'Sunoha pact', let's raise those cups!" Naruto announced with a celebratory shout and a new sense of determination, a broad grin shinning on his face. "Tehehe."

Gaara let himself smile inwardly at that. When he was with Naruto at the times like these he could feel it himself.

That everything in life was still possible.

The sun was long since set when Gaara finally gave Naruto the long awaited "Okay.", followed by a joyous shout "Yatta!" from Naruto.

With those words, the body fell down to the floor with a hard thud. "N-naruto?" Gaara blinked at his friend who was now laying still on the floor.

"Cn't... nwo... moooore..." a slurred reply came, making the redhead relax his tensed pose and sigh. The blond was out cold. Clearly having too much sake poured into his system all at once. Even the Kazekage himself was starting to feel the effects of the liquid, but he was much better at holding himself awake (mainly the result of countless of sleepless nights he had since early childhood from having Shukaku haunt his dreams).

Within minutes, a soft snoring was all that could be heard in the now darkened Kage bonding ritual room.

Naruto could never truly understand his importance in Gaara's life. Naruto was... not only his one true and very first friend but also the reason of the life's he had now existence. He changed it all. And since that fateful day, Gaara did everything in his power to reach the same ground as Naruto. To be accepted by everyone, but most of all, to be accepted by him. Uzumaki Naruto. To stand on the same ground as him. As his equal.

Maybe it was because of the way he grew up, or of the way he lived his life up until Naruto, that he didn't even notice when everything he did in his life became because of him. Becoming Kazekage, leading the shinobi army to war... He did it for his friend.

He settled his eyes on the sleeping form on the floor. Watching the steady rhythm of rise and fall of the blond's chest.

Peaceful.

He always looked so without worry when he slept. The young Kazekage couldn't help but treasure those moments when he could see his friend so relaxed. It was a great blessing after the times they all experienced together. It hasn't been that long since the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War, the war that didn't leave anyone without a baggage. Especially Naruto, who fought till the end, with everyone, for the sake of everyone...

He raised his one pale arm, slowly reaching out towards and stopping only inches away from the spikes of yellow hair. He tentatively settled his fingers against the blonde locks, letting his slender digits run through them, letting himself experience the feel of them as he continued to brush them sideways.

Naruto.

His eyes slightly narrowed, creating a small crease in his forehead. He knew what people would call this feeling he had. The tightening of the heart that was not inflicted by a wound. It was the same feeling he feared and longed for his whole life. The word that was engraved deep onto his skin.

Love.

He could still clearly remember the time when that word alone was associated with nothing else but himself. And now he was trying to label thus the feeling he had for another.

Was it really possible for someone like him to feel it?

"One more..." Gaara's eyes snapped back to focus at the sound coming from the orange mound laying on the floor, stilling the movements of his fingers.

"One more... bowl of ramen...hehehe..." the blond muttered in his sleep with a silly grin plastered on his face and rolled over to his side, the Kazekage letting his fingers fall out of his hair.

Love, eh...

The edges of the redhead's mouth quirked up.

I wonder...

Two months have passed since their last encounter. Gaara was back to his duties as Kazekage of Suna and Naruto continuing to work on his dream towards becoming Hokage. Life was coming back to normal as more days started and ended, with each new sunrise the shadows of the war getting dimmer bit by bit.

It was a day as any other, when Temari and Kankurou finally decided that it was time for them to show their support to Gaara and a brotherly push in the right direction which he seemed to be lacking still at this point in time.

"Neh, Temari... „ the younger sibling started as the pair watched over their hometown. „Are you really sure we should even attempt this now?" His tone made the older sister to turn her head towards him. "I mean, I know Gaara is not who he was and he is now rather well liked among the people but..."

"What, chickening out already, are you?" Temari teased with a feral smirk on her face.

"Th-that's not what I meant..." Kankurou stuttered with a sigh.

"I know what you mean," the young woman assured. "But it was also you who told me about it to begin with."

"I know. That's why now I'm wondering if it was the right thing to do..."

"It was..." Her eyes hardened at the words. „I knew to some extent that Uzumaki Naruto meant a lot to Gaara but... he can't be his whole reason for striving in life. Especially when that feeling is not returned."

"And think about what would happen to Gaara if he went ahead and got himself killed."

"Temari!" Kankurou chided his sister, with a shock still visible in his eyes.

"But it's true! That brat might have gotten a lot stronger but he's also become a much bigger target for the enemies. There's no battle in which he was not involved in the last few years and if one of those days..." she trailed off, not daring to repeat the words again. When she started again, her voice was filled with years of pent-up sadness. "We only just got our brother back, I'm not ready to see him go towards that place again. And you know that, Kankurou, he will go there if anything were to happen to him. Maybe even not come back."

A gust of wind passed them by, washing the words away as the two siblings contemplated the true meaning of them.

After a long pause, Kankurou finally broke the silence. "Well. Either way, there's no point in arguing about it when we don't even have the candidate for him."

The tension was broken and Temari let out soft chuckle. "Oh, but we do."

"We do?" the brother's eyes widened at that bit.

"You bet. It took me a week but I prepared a throughout list of fully checked five candidates for Gaara's marriage." Temari turned to look at her brother with a proud grin on her face.

"Wow. You sure do work fast," Kankurou stated in amazement. Even knowing his sister his whole life, she still managed to surprise the puppeteer.

"Come on, I'll show them to you."

A pair of voices still could be heard as the siblings disappeared deeper into the building, leaving the young man against the building wall alone to his thoughts.

"Marriage, huh?" the redhead sighed, tilting his head upwards. The teal eyes glazed over as they watched over the evening sky.

Is it really for the best after all?

A month later...

Strolling through the busy streets of his hometown, the young shinobi let himself indulge in the fresh air, mixed together with bowls of tongue watering ramen. He watched the men lifting up wooden boards, working hard in rebuilding their home.

The blond rushed over to hold a piece or two, gaining gratitude and happy smiles in return. The village appreciated Naruto for who he was, and if anything, it was all the recognition he could have ever hope to have.

Yabee.

Any thoughts of having a leisurely walk soon were forced out of the blond's head when he saw the true source of danger moving towards him in a fast pace.

That being...

Uzumaki Naruto's fanclub.

Yes. There was such a thing now. No matter how unbelievably impossible it sounded.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto was ready to disappear in a puff of smoke when a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Naruto!"

He tilted his head to the side, and true enough. There she was. Running at incredible speed towards him without even breaking a sweat, a determined look on her face - the pink haired kunoichi, his precious friend and-

He was laying flat on his face.

"Gaah, Sakura-chan!" Rubbing his sore cheek, the nation's hero tried to sit up. For all the good qualities the pink haired shinobi possessed, she sure had a strong right hook. He sat there for a while, nursing his bruised cheek, when something occurred to him. No. Rather he remembered something. With an uneasy feeling in his gut, he darted a quick glance to the side, only to heave a sigh in relief.

The danger was gone.

He couldn't blame them, really. Even if it was his fanclub, nobody dared to mess around with the legendary Sannin's disciple.

"Naruto." The demanding voice made him look up, only to shrink into himself at the still present fist.

"Sakura-chan..."

"Where've you been? I've been scanning the area for you for over an hour now."

"Ah, were you?" the blond answered sheepishly. "Sorry. I was teaching village kids some basic ninjutsu and then just decided to take a stroll."

The sudden glint in his dear friend's eyes told him that he must have said something very wrong.

"Ehehehe." Naruto laughed nervously while his one hand came up to scratch at the back of his head.

"A stroll?" The deadly voice asked. "Does „meeting at noon" ring any bells to you?"

"Eh?" Naruto asked, confused. When suddenly -"AH!" - he exclaimed, jumping on his feet. "That's right! There was such a meeting, right? Argh! What do I do? Kakashi-sensei is gonna kill me!"

The pink haired girl just sighed, defeated. "Hokage wasn't very pleased when you failed to show up and you would probably be getting two weeks of D-ranks as punishment-„

"Eeh!?" Naruto yelled out in horror.

"But!" Sakura pointed the word, gaining back the boy's attention. "That's not why I'm here."

"Eh, is something else wrong?" Naruto asked, curious and a bit concerned. The war didn't end that long ago for him to fully be able to let his guard down.

"No. In fact, you're in luck. Suna's Kazekage has requested a meeting with the Hokage, so the sand siblings are coming. Well. Since I wasted an hour on your search, they might have already arrived."

Naruto's eyes light up at once, like a kid's on Christmas' eve. "Gaara's here?"

"Yes, but as I was saying- Oi, Naruto!"

"Sankyuu, Sakura-chan!" the blond called out with a grin on his face while already jumping from roof to roof.

A vein shot out at her temple, fist clenched impossibly tight as she watched the disappearing back of the blonde idiot. "Naru...TO!"

The Konoha guarding team announced their arrival just as the three figures stopped at the gate of the hidden village. Konoha's leader, Hatake Kakashi, the sixth Hokage was already there to greet the siblings.

"Welcome. It's a pleasure to see you, Kazekage, and your siblings." The silver-haired shinobi smiled at the guests, although, that could only be implied by the slight stretch of his mask.

"Likewise, Hokage," the redhead started in a deep voice. "I appreciate the hospitality."

The two stopped to exchange a look, taking in each other's position until the silver-haired shinobi cracked first. Averting his intense gaze, he sighed.

"Maa... I'll just call you Gaara, after all. Thinking about it, using formalities now is just too weird."

"Hokage-sama! That's-" Temari was first to protest, but before she could take a step further, a hand shot out to stop her.

"Very well," the redhead agreed. "It's more comfortable for me too. Though, in the presence of Shinobi Alliance we'll resume to use our proper titles."

"Well then, it's settled." The both parties smiled at each other in agreement.

"GAARA!"

An incredibly loud yell suddenly disturbed the calm of the situation. In a second, the blond jumped down from the rooftop and came up to stand right by the Hokage, in front of the sand siblings.

"Naruto." Gaara didn't even blink, already used more than it was healthy to such behavior of the blond.

"You..." Temari started, when finally got over the initial shock.

"Yo, Naruto. You're as energetic as ever I see." Kankurou smiled.

"Oh!" The nation's hero exclaimed in a pleasant surprise, seemingly only now noticing the other two. "Kankurou, Temari. Nice to see you both! Did you come for a visit?"

"No," Temari sighed. "We're here on an official business. Well, Gaara is, as Kazekage. Kankurou is his official advisor so of course he had to come along."

"Ah, that's right. Sakura-chan told me just now. So Gaara and Kankurou are here for the meeting...what about you then?"

"Me?" Temari blinked in surprise, her cheeks, Naruto noted, gaining a shade of pink. "I-... I-I just didn't have much to do."

Naruto smirked in a knowing way. "Suuure suuure." He nodded. "I'm sure Shikamaru's already waiting for you."

"Eh, he is?" she asked, when suddenly she realized what she let slip up. Her eyes widened, only to shrink back into a glare seconds later.

"Tehehe. Caught you!" Naruto grinned in victory, toying with the eldest of the sand sibling's temper. She got ahold of her fan behind her back and was ready to swing it any moment, Naruto standing in the appropriate defensive pose.

"You-!"

"Naruto. Temari."

The low voice coming from their group made them freeze in their respective spots. They didn't need to look to know that Gaara was watching them pointedly. Knowing better than to unleash the Kazekage's wrath, the two relented, relaxing their stances.

"Well," Kakashi started in a casual voice. "If you're quite done here, we may as well move to Hokage's office. Kankurou may come with us. Temari, you're free to explore around Konoha until evening. Then come by the office."

"Understood."

"Eh? What about me?" Naruto protested when the group was starting to scatter. He looked at them all with lost puppy eyes.

Kakashi sighed. "You may go explore the streets of Konoha too, Naruto."

"Eeek, that's not fair! Why can't I go to the meeting too!? It's important for me as a future Hokage to be involved in these stuff, didn't you say so yourself?"

"That's true. And you already missed your meeting today."

Naruto shifted uncomfortably at that. "Geez, I'm sorry about that. I promise not to miss it again. So I can go to this one now, right?"

"No, you stay put," Kakashi stated.

"Why?!"

"Naruto," Gaara called out, making the blond shift his gaze to the redhead. The pair of teals were watching him intensely. The redhead seemed to do most of his talking with his eyes. Of course, from years of being in his company, Naruto could counter their attack now. He stared back, hardening his gaze to show his resolve. He won't give up. He will not! He-

"I'll meet you later," Gaara stated, averting his gaze while passing by him, leaving the blond standing still. Naruto just stared at the empty space for a moment, until he finally softened his gaze.

"Okay. I got it," he grumbled to his friend's retreating back.

The group was already a few yards away when Kakashi suddenly turned around and darted his eyes straight at Naruto. "I just wanted to confirm that you respect the privacy of this meeting, okay, Naruto-kun?" Hokage smiled in that devilish way of his and got back to walking with the sand shinobi.

A chill ran down his spine when Naruto thought about what Kakashi-sensei could do to him as the Hokage for deliberately not listening to the order. Still...

A broad smirk grew on his features. He woldn't be Uzumaki Naruto if he just let the meeting go to waste like that.

As the future Hokage, there was no way he was missing out on anything!

"Well, here we're then," the Hokage stated casually as the trio strolled into the room. "Although, I doubt my attempt at scaring Naruto off worked. Knowing him, he won't just sit still."

"Probably not," the Kazekage agreed, a small smile playing on his lips. It soon disappeared, though, leaving a somber look in its wake.

"I'd expect you letting Naruto attend if it was an alliance matter, so I suspect it's not alliance related?" Kakashi asked, as he sat down on his chair, motioning for Gaara to sit down on the chair opposite him and leaving Kankurou to stand by his leader's side.

"Yes," the redhead agreed. "It's more of a personal matter."

"Well, whatever I can help you with. I'm listening."

"First of all..." Gaara started in a deep voice.

In a sudden movement a wave of sand rushed right towards Kakashi, making the silver-haired shinobi quirk an eyebrow. Just as it seemed to envelop the Hokage, it made a circle around the Hokage's chair and stopped there, making itself solid.

Nobody moved in the room for a second. Kakashi settled his gaze onto the redhead. Gaara's eyes were boring into something behind his back, dark and unforgiving. Furthermore, they seemed to narrow even more within a second.

Kakashi could only be glad that the boy was their ally. It wouldn't be good to get on his bad side.

Oh, that's right. They once were.

Ironically enough, the very same reason of the real start of their alliance was now dangling upside down between the two leaders.

"No! It's a misunderstanding! I'm telling you! Gaara! Oi! Urgh. Kakashi-sensei! Listen to me!" Naruto struggled in the sand's grip.

Just when Kakashi thought the boy would be thrown out of the window the sand retreat a bit, only to rush back in, wrapping around the boy's middle. In a fluid movement of Gaara's fingers, the body disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving an annoyed face staring at the empty space.

It got him by surprise when Naruto's clone dispelled and he gained his memories. But he guessed it was only to be expected. Gaara was trully evil... Now then...

good thing he never had only one kage bunchin summoned.

"Maa, seems you really didn't want this matter to be heard by Naruto," Kakashi observed as the Kazekage's sand was slowly pulling itself back in the gourd.

"It's not that..." a whisper echoed inside the room.

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow at him. No matter how you look at it, the Kazekage was acting a bit odd.

He watched how the redhead just sat still for a moment, a faraway look on his face. Kakashi tried to decipher it but with each added line on the redhead's forehead it was starting to worry him more and more. It seemed like the Suna leader was trying to reach some kind of resolve within himself.

After seemed like forever, the redhead finally let out a heavy sigh. It seemed his resolve was made.

"Are you familiar with Taira clan?" he started. Kakashi could only blink for a few times, not expecting this type of question.

"Hmm... I've heard that they're Iwa's most prestigious clan, although this generation seem to not have any shinobi in it. For that reason, the question of power seems to be a hot issue in Iwa right now."

"True," Gaara agreed. "Hoshino Mika is the sole heir and the only daughter of the clan's head."

"Hmm," the Hokage hummed in agreement. "Is there a problem with her?"

"No. I asked of your assistance because of the strong alliance Konoha and Suna have," he said and Kakashi could swear he heard sadness in his voice. „I thought it'd be most politically fitting."

"Well..." Kakashi closed his eyes. "I'll do everything in my power to help you out, but I'm not sure I understand what it is about yet..." he trailed off, observing each movement of the readhead's. Sadly, the mask of indifference was already back on, preventing Kakashi from making any more assumptions. Though, the next words were the least the silver-haired shinobi had expected to hear.

"I'd like to ask you to hold an engagement ceremony here."

He could only blink. "Engagement ceremony, huh? I see. Well, I suppose it's safe to assume that Hoshino-san is the bride. Who's the groom then?"

Somehow, when those pale teal eyes connected with his, Hatake Kakashi already had a suspicion of what the answer would be.

On the other side of Konoha, surrounded by joyous chatter and stomach gripping smells, sat a very still figure. His one hand still held the half-filled spoon, frozen in mid-air.

"Naruto?" Someone called out to him, but he paid no attention. His eyes were opened wide, gaze unfocused as he watched the world ahead of him without actually seeing it.

You're kidding me, right?

Silencing down all the background sounds around him, all he could hear was the pulsing of his own blood and the words echoing inside his head over and over again.

"I'd like to hold an engagement ceremony here."

"Who's the groom then?"

"Me."

to be continued...

well, let me know what you thought in review. This is my first try on this pairing, or anything of Naruto, so suggestions and advises are more than welcome. Thank you for reading!