Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto :)

Author's Note: I had actually made this around the same time I made Uncle and Sarada, but I guess I never posted this and I guess I had totally forgotten about it. I love Gaara and I love the idea of getting to know what happens in his life just a little bit, so this is just a short story of something special that happened to him. Hope you all enjoy ~ Papa Sasuke

"–in the village. It's best if we increase patrols surrounding the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire."

A sigh of exasperation fell from Gaara's lips, his Gokage green hat with the stamped symbol of "Wind" falling slightly as he tilted his head down in his weariness. Another Kage Summit. He attempted not to show his remorse and dreariness during the speaking of one of the Kage. He was certainly the youngest Kage there with the Raikage being the oldest, but ever since the Tsuchikage's daughter took his spot as Tsuchikage and the fifth Mizukage passed on her position to Chōjūrō, it had never been the same since the Fourth Great Ninja War. He knew the Hidden Leaf Village had taken up a new Hokage about nine years ago, Naruto's former mentor, Kakashi Hatake, now known to others as Lord Sixth.

"–ninja rouges, traveling upstream. We could send out–"

"I disagree!" He instantly heard the Raikage's powerful, robust voice sound from across him. The Raikage held up his fists and smashed them against the table, causing nearly the whole room's guards to flinch. "We need to get rid of them as they are! We don't need any more Atatsukis or Madaras." The Raikage reminded them, plunging back the Kage's memories to the Fourth Great Ninja War.

Gaara noticed Kankuro behind him, nodding his head in utter agreement as the Raikage continued his speech. Gaara sat tall in his chair, his eyes unwavering but he couldn't help process the fact that he was… still here. These things were a nuisance, or as Temari's husband would like to call it: a drag.

Though he had trouble sitting through the Summit, he knew his place well as one of the five-part Shinobi Alliance. He had commanded the entire army and is an older member in the Kage group, but he was still one of the youngest out of all the Kage.

Honestly, he wasn't paying much attention to everything that was happening in front of him, and looking over at the Hokage; he was certain that he was in the same boat as himself. If Naruto was here, then the Summit wouldn't be so bad, he thought, tirelessly listening to the soft noises around him.

He spotted Temari against Shikamaru, who had grown a goatee out in remembrance of his father, and at the request of his wife. Shikamaru had his eyes narrowed while Temari crossed her arms, leaning effortlessly against the post next to Kankuro, who looked away earnestly. Six years. Six years he had been an uncle. Six years he had watched over his nephew when his brain wasn't clustered or his hands weren't full with something else. Those six years hadn't been that long ago, he thought, slouching a tad in commemoration.

Nearly all his closest friends and siblings had children now, except Kankuro, of course, who couldn't find a single woman in his life to suit him. He lifted his shoulders, smiling at his own humor and amusing sorrow for his still single brother.

"Kazekage, would you like to add?"

Gaara looked up, staring intently at the Raikage, who had his eyes fixated on him, his fists indented in the table. Though they were still the Allied Shinobi force, each land had its own opinions and differences. He hadn't been listening, he cursed. Instinctively, he remembered the last conversation he had been paying attention to, reciting his answer in his own words in hope the other Kage will accept it.

Holding a straight face and dark eyes, he lifted one finger politely. "It's better to find the rouge ninja as soon as possible, but it could also vary on how many shinobi we would send. Depending on the number of ninjas, we can use this opportunity to deploy each of our own on a special mission; to capture the rouge ninja."

Gaara noticed instantly the deepened thought of the Mizukage, who held his hand covering his mouth, his blue tufty hair ruffled and his eyes dull, as if he was debating over what he wanted to do. The Tsuchikage snorted, her hands crossing over her chest as she turned her head, eyes narrowed at the Raikage. "I don't think it's right; the rouge ninja are former ninja specialists. That means that they have skill."

The Raikage got up from his seat, gritting his teeth with anger. "I know that, Tsuchikage! I've been the Kage the longest out of all of this lot!"

Gaara watched as the Hokage got up from his seat and set his hands in between the fighting Kages. Had he said the right thing? Clearly it was the answer to their question and not something far off that he was unhoping for. Since the Hokage had to get up from his seat to settle two other Kage's down, Gaara guessed that he had possibly made the wrong decision.

"Settle down, settle down. This is a Five Kage Summit as the Allied Shinobi Force." The Hokage waved his hands in front of both the hot tempered Raikage and the arrogant Tsuchikage, who glared kunais at each other, eyes flaring with competitive spirit.

Suddenly, he felt a small tug at his shirt. Instinctively, Gaara looked down, wondering what possibly was so small to tug on the bottom of his shirt like that. There, a boy: messy blonde hair, blue eyes, and a broad grin on his face, stood happily, his fist in the air as he yelled in a competitive spirit in instigation to the Tsuchikage's and Raikage's previous fighting. Gaara frantically covered the boy's mouth with his hand, not knowing anything else to do. Surprisingly, none of the Kages looked at him. The Mizukage was still coming up with a battle plan, while the Hokage attempted to calm down the Tsuchikage and the Raikage, who held fists in the air at each other in dominance.

Gaara turned back over to the boy, eyes confused and wide. "Boruto? What are you doing here?"

Before Boruto could answer, he felt a forced sigh escape his lungs as something had plopped down into his lap. Holding Boruto's mouth so he couldn't speak, Gaara turned to Himawari, Boruto's sister. Himawari squeaked, throwing her arms up against Gaara, who painfully accepted the tight hug. Where was Naruto? Surely, he should be with them?

"Uncle Ga–" Boruto mumbled loudly, but Gaara gave him a threatening look that could have sent any other child sprawling. Though he wasn't the village's weapon anymore, he still had the previous terror of Shukaku inside him.

Gaara grabbed Himawari by the waist and hoisted her off him, placing her neatly next to her brother. Himawari gave Boruto a quick glance before Boruto marched forward and grabbed Gaara by the hand.

"Where's Naruto?" Gaara asked first as Boruto attempted to pull him off his chair.

Boruto snorted, letting go of Gaara's hand as he crossed his arms, shaking his head as he grinned largely. Gaara could see all Naruto in Boruto; like father like son. "I don't need him! I got here all by myself!"

Himawari grabbed her brothers arm, pulling her towards him as she let out an exasperated wail. "You know that's not true! Grand–"

"Himawari, I'm older than you, so you can't say anything because everyone knows you're lying." Boruto fought back, his hands still folded over his chest. Gaara had watched their exchange with interest, not knowing why none of the guards hadn't noticed them either. He looked up and found guards besides the Raikage's and the Tsuchikage's as well as one of the Mizukage's, who was whispering hoarsely into his ear. The Hokage was no longer present in the room and both Temari and Kankuro were gone to where, he didn't know.

"–nothing, it's not right!" Himawari finished, pouting her lips as she turned back to Gaara, her black hair shining magnificently upon her head.

"Uncle Gaara, Boruto says that he's older than me so he's automatically in charge, but that's not true!" Himawari pleaded, gazing deeply at Gaara, who flinched in surprise. She was part Hyuga, he knew, but she was intimidating yet intriguing with her sense of personality as well as height. Both Boruto and Himawari could be unseen, for both their heights were below the size of the table. Though he was Shikadai's uncle through blood and soul, these were his niece and nephew by heart. He loved all three dearly.

Gaara turned to Boruto, who had his head turned the other way, sticking his tongue out annoyingly at Himawari. "It's not fair! Dad always says stuff like now that I'm older, I have to be in charge of Himawari, but how can I take charge when she won't listen?"

Gaara smiled at his last remark, clearly enjoying this much more than the Kage Summit. He realized, these two saved his life once again; but he hadn't been paying much attention to the conversations the Kage's were having in the beginning.

"Boruto, you have to oversee Himawari, even if she isn't listening to you now. You're her older brother and she looks up to you; to become a good shinobi, you must listen to the rules and do good in school. But to become a great shinobi, you must follow your heart and do your best in everything that you possibly can." He paused, glancing quickly at the astonished Himawari and the processing Boruto, who simply couldn't accept this yet into his mind. "Boruto," He dropped his gaze until it rested souly on Boruto, who looked up at him with interest in his words. "Someone once told me that 'we are strong because we have people to protect.' Do you believe in these words?"

Boruto flinched, clearly not ready for the question that Gaara posed at him. Boruto hesitated, but nodded quietly before glancing nervously at Himawari, who chuckled in reply. Gaara smiled, good, he understands what he must do.

"Uncle Gaara, I love you!" Himawari, without warning, ran forward with a joyful smile and threw her arms around Gaara, climbing up to his back and resting on his head, perturbing it with her hands and looking at it between her fingers. Gaara couldn't help but wince as Himawari ruffled his hair quickly, his smooth, brushed out strands no longer tidy as Himawari giggled, messing it more. He had just fixed it too; preparing it slowly just for the Kage Summit. But, he knew not to bring her down now, not when she was having so much fun, but it would be best if she was sitting on something sturdy.

His gourd opened and sand poured out slowly, resting under Himawari's dangling legs while she squeaked with excitement as the sand curled around her ankles in support. Boruto gasped, throwing his hands around Gaara's right leg, clearly wanting the same thing to happen to him. He raised his eyes, chuckling playfully as more sand poured form the gourd, piling up under Boruto while quickly pushing him off the ground.

Gaara noticed a couple of pairs of eyes from the corner of the room and instantly recognized the Hokage and some of the other guards, who attempted to pay no attention to him. Gaara shrugged his shoulders. What could he do, he thought sarcastically as the Hokage nodded in acceptance to his humorous struggles with delight, turning around and waving a dismissing wave at him, quietly.

Gaara stood up, stumbling shortly as he walked from his chair and attempted towards the door, Boruto's weight on his leg lifted a little from his sand. Himawari, however, was still dangling over his neck, and thrown over his shoulder. His sand steadied her balance, but she refused to let go. Once, he had thought only for the sake of himself. He had fought for his sake and lived to love himself only because he believed that if mankind didn't accept him for who he was. So in return, he would become someone different, that mankind would acknowledge and fear. But now, mankind had accepted him. Further beyond that, they had made him Kazekage nine years ago, and he even more, had made a friend. A friend whom he was inseparable. A friend who would change his life forever.

Gaara smirked as he opened the door and closed it quietly after him, the giggles of Boruto and Himawari were overwhelming. He walked silently through the halls, hoping to find Naruto somewhere so he could take them back before it was too late and he would get called back to the Five Kage Summit.

"Lord Fifth, I presume?" A man with yellow hair seemed to ask, appearing out of, what seemed like, nowhere. Gaara blinked, unsure how to address the new man. He hadn't even seen him walk around the corner, in fact, he couldn't sense a chakra from this strange man at all. What is going on? He asked himself, while the man politely nodded his head in acknowledgement that he was Kazekage.

Gaara nodded, smirking. "These are a friend of mines." He concluded, wondering why this man had stopped him suddenly to ask him this. Does he have a message for me, or is he simply another shinobi asking for advice or an autograph? He asked himself, running over the fact that this man didn't have any signs of a chakra flow within him. Now that he looked at the man more closely, he did somewhat resemble a certain someone. And… the man looked familiar, somehow, Gaara realized suddenly.

The man smiled again, his spiked yellow hair and long, loose strips at the side of his face, covering his ears and then pulling back into a narrowed, point that came together at the top of his head. He had a friendly blue gaze and honest grin, and Gaara could instantly tell that he wasn't a rouge ninja that the Kages had been discussing earlier. Has he seen this man before? He wasn't entirely sure. The sun shining through the window blinded him, so he moved out of the way, his shadow following him closely behind. Gaara leaned over to take a glance at the unhostile man, who was followed by no shadow whatsoever. Gaara fluttered an eyelid again in surprise. That's not possible. He thought as he let his mind calm as he looked up at the man again.

Gaara spoke up, breaking the silence. "Well, I must be taking them back now." Himawari was slouched over his shoulder, her head lying down horizontally and awkwardly, but she giggled in reply so Gaara knew that it was all right. It appeared that Boruto wasn't even facing in the right direction, but instead was facing his leg, his yellow hair encircling the width of his knee. He didn't want to be with this man any longer. He didn't have a chakra signature that he could detect and that was only possible if you could use the chakra suppression technique or if you were dead, which was clearly impossible without the Reanimation Jutsu.

The man scratched the back of his head, smiling nervously as he held his hand there and held out the other with an outstretched arm. "Well, I can always take them." He suggested calmly, retracting his hand, and putting it back at his side but keeping his hand behind his head.

Gaara blinked. Was the man serious? He hesitated, "I'm sorry, but I believe I should give these two to Naruto himself." He didn't catch himself when he had said Naruto instead of their father, but it was too late.

The man instantly replied, "Oh, don't worry, I'm related to Naruto, so I can take the children off your hands. I'm pretty sure he won't mind."

Gaara narrowed his eyes for the first time in a while. Was this man trying to steal the kids? No… his eyes were too genuine. He was sure he had seen him before, but he definitely did look related to Naruto and he was certainly a leaf ninja; he could tell from his headband above his bangs. Gaara subconsciously started comparing his friend to this stranger who claimed to be family of Naruto: The stranger's face was narrower than Naruto's, Gaara pointed out, but his nose and chin were surprisingly the same. The hair color, on the other hand, was practically on point, but the man's hair was much longer, while Naruto's hair was much shorter. This man had smaller eyes, but they each had the same, misty blue color as each other. Both had the same structure, body build, and height as each other, so this man was, to Gaara, undeniably relatable to Naruto.

Gaara knew this man was real, for he wasn't a clone or shadow clone. They were kin, some way or another, but Naruto has never mentioned a man like him before, at least to him anyway. They both had a rather distinct personality, but were somewhat like each other.

Gaara raised a non-existing eyebrow, "Where will you take them?" He asked, taking Himawari off his shoulder quietly.

The man shrugged nonchalantly, his hand folding in behind his back. "Most likely back to their mother and father."

Gaara sighed, he had to be getting back soon, but he didn't want to put his best friend's children in danger. There was just this… odd glow coming from this man that he couldn't see or sense physically, but he just… knew.

"Okay." He stated aloud and he was even surprised with himself, helping Boruto off his leg.

Both Himawari and Boruto now stood in front of him, blinking drowsily as they looked up at the man in front of him. "Daddy?" Himawari asked, sleepily stalking over to the man she thought he was, wrapping a gentle hand around his leg. The man beamed warmly down at her before lifting her gently up to sit on his shoulder while gently laughing, amusingly. "Not quite, but close enough." He mused, before motioning Boruto forward, who smiled curiously at the new man.

Boruto flashed around, turning to Gaara, who blankly stared at them with a deep smile. "Uncle Gaara, where are we going?"

Gaara knelt and smiled, ruffling the young, bright boy's hair. "You're going to go with this nice man." His voice trailed off, giving the man one last uncertain glance of unease.

Nodding his head, his smile never fading, as he held out his hand for Boruto to hold. Surprisingly, Boruto nodded, grasping the blonde's hand firmly before the man reached up with the other and placed Himawari firmly back upon his shoulder. Himawari tiredly giggled, putting her hands within his hair, messing with it just as she had to Gaara.

The man turned to walk away as Gaara watched him leave, still wondering why he had no chakra signature and how he could have related to Naruto. As the enigmatic man was about to around the corner, he looked back at the unkempt Gaara, giving him a half-smirk before raising his hand in goodbye. "Thank you." He stated, before walking quietly away, sunlight shining on his shoulders but no shadow following his figure.

Gaara stared after the man, wondering how fortunate and unfortunate he had been. A man appeared out of nowhere and ended up taking Naruto's children. He knew deep down that it was completely wrong what he did, but that man… he could see the honesty in his blue gaze of wonder and knew that the long, spiked hair wasn't just for looks. Certainly, he had seen that man before in the leaf village, and perhaps elsewhere, but Gaara chose not to bother with it at that moment. I should check with Naruto later, he concluded to himself walking silently back to the Five Kage Summit room.

"Gaara!" An impatient womanly shout sounded from the Summit's room, and Gaara's thoughts were lost as he quickly headed back. Rounding the corner, he blinked a few times before fixing his white cloak and wrinkles stuck to the shirt. He smoothed it out and instinctively moved up to his messy, splattered red hair, but stopped as his hands touched the tips of the top strands. He chuckled, pulling his hands back to his side, keeping his disheveled hair in memory of Himawari, as he entered the room.

The End C: