This chapter has been rewritten and replaced.
Should you not be able to review, because you already did before it was replaced, please feel free to pm me instead to make your opinion known.
I apologize for the inconvinience and hope that it won't cause too much problems.

Roughly 90 days came and went; after Team 7 had first been send out to look for traces of the escaped Jinchuuriki. Team 7 had been send out two more times, but surprisingly never even found a single hair of the demon-bearer.
How absolutely terrible!
Even if the thought made the blond chuckle now, he'd been endlessly thankful, when the Hokage finally announced that they wouldn't have to concern themselves with this mission anymore – surely the Jinchuuriki was up and over the ocean by now.

Gaara still lived with him.
He wasn't the most talkative, but Naruto had been prepared for that.
If he had to be honest, Naruto would reluctantly admit, that Gaara didn't even mutter one single word since the day of his big blow-up… But that didn't mean that Gaara wouldn't make his thoughts known one way or another. He just had the tendency to do so silently.
The day of the big blow-up was the best example. He might not have said that he wanted to stay, but his reluctance to leave and the silent permission, he granted Naruto, to remove the gourd and gently lead him to the couch where just as clear an answer as a voiced one would've been.
And it didn't stop there.

The raccoon was an easily entertainable guy: He'd watch some TV or read every book he found in Naruto's home (Gaara was the reason Naruto had voluntarily gone to actually buy books in regular intervals of two weeks; to make sure he wouldn't get bored) and busied himself with his sand until his host came home, whenever the blond was gone.
It didn't take long for the red-head to lose his reserve about moving around freely in the apartment and picking up everything he found interesting enough to do so – or that bothered him apparently. As soon as he was comfortable in his new home, he started doing whatever he got his hands on in the household. It didn't matter if it were the dishes, picking up empty noodle-cups or the laundry: He saw it, so he dealt with it. Never when Naruto was home and could possibly watch him do so, mind you, but whenever the blond was gone, he'd help where he could before settling down with a book.
And believe whatever you want, but this actually caused the blond to be much more orderly.
It was one thing if Gaara did the dishes and picked up the stray noodle-cup he forgot on the table, but there was something embarrassing about Gaara having to pick up his dirty socks and used underwear. It was unacceptable, period. So Naruto did his best to reverse this – very much normal teenage-boy, mind you – behavior and cleaned up after himself. He found it fairly easy to fall into this new routine of throwing his dirty clothes immediately into the hamper and bringing the used dishes into the kitchen, with the motivation of saving Gaara from having to do so.
The help with everything at home was appreciated, but the first day he came home from a mission, with dinner done and waiting for him was the day he'd realized Gaara must've been send to him from the heavens.
From this day on, the blond made sure to have his fridge and cupboards stocked with actual food, next to his usual ramen-cups.

Another thing Naruto learned was, that Gaara didn't sleep.
Sometimes he would close his eyes in a state close to meditation, but he would never sleep.
He managed to fool his host for about two weeks, pretending to sleep when Naruto went to sleep himself or in the mornings, but it wasn't long until Naruto questioned the footsteps and the light shining from under the door at odd hours. It had been a question spoken in a joking manner, when he'd asked if the raccoon didn't ever sleep, so he was quite surprised to receive a tiny shrug and a little headshake as an answer. Of course he'd asked if he didn't need sleep and if he really never, ever slept; only prompting more headshaking, but ultimately accepted it as another Gaara-thing.
After being found out, the raccoon didn't bother anymore to pretend his slumber. Instead he greeted the blond early in the morning with bright eyes and a nod – the same way he silently bid his goodnight in the evening – and would toddle as quietly as he could through the apartment whenever he felt he couldn't sit still. Many times, he could be found sitting in the window, looking out at the moon.

This was also how he found him, close to the three-month-mark, when they had their first real conversation.

Waking up in the middle of the night with Gaara sitting on his windowsill wasn't an uncommon thing by now, if it weren't for the look on his face.
Gaara, blank faced Gaara, held a look of bittersweet sadness.
His mouth was pulled into a soft frown and his hairless brows knit in thought, but his eyes were so wide and relieved – hopeful – that Naruto subconsciously held his breath at the picture. He'd seen how the raccoon looked when he was angry, but even that had felt like he was holding back somehow. He'd seen the fire that could angrily burn away behind these teal orbs, but Gaara had been very careful to keep the blank mask he wore in check. Seeing those usually emotionless eyes so full of hope was nearly overwhelming for the young blond – especially if you took in consideration how hard he was trying to make sure the other was up and well, that he felt welcome, that he would learn to trust him… It might not seem like much, but to Naruto it meant the world. It meant that he was getting through to the red-head!
With his jumbled mind overrun by these thoughts, he nearly overheard the quiet words the raccoon spoke.
"Does Kyuubi ever talk to you…?"
Stunned silent for a split second, the blond slowly shook his head.
"No…. he hisses and roars, but he has yet to actually talk to me – even if he does laugh from time to time. Does Shukaku ever…?"
He kept his voice as quite as he possibly could, without fearing that the other wouldn't be able to make out what was said. It felt strange to talk about this, about the demon he was used to imprison. There were times, where he'd wished he could talk to somebody about it. Times, where the demon wouldn't stop hissing and roaring and fighting against his bounds; times, where it took everything he got not to smash his head into the next wall to just make him shut up… but he knew better than to bring this up. He'd long since observed those around him – he had a lot of time to do so after all – and seen the signs. The adults knew. But everyone his age and younger were oblivious. They only acted on the bad vibes they caught from their parents and thus couldn't be entirely blamed. And seeing the reluctance of most old enough to know, it wasn't the best Idea to bring up the reason of their mistrust.
He didn't know it would feel this… liberating, to talk about him.
Gaara didn't speak for another long moment, until he answered in an even quieter voice.
"All the time…"
Naruto's eyes widened at this revelation and the slight waver in the raccoons voice.
"Whispers, beckons, promises the world and everything beyond, if I would just let him roam… sometimes he grows tired of the sweet nothings he's spewing and trashes in his bounds; roaring and threatening me to set him free…"
Staring at the other in dismay, the blond could only whisper around the lump in his throat.
"All the time…?"
A nod and a pained uplift of the corners of his lips were his answer.
"It's worse when I'm tired… he'll try to lure me to sleep, sing me lullaby's or lures me into a false feeling of safety by acting calm and reserved, by being quite… But his bounds are weakened in my slumber and he'll be able to break free."
Shooting into a sitting position, the blond gaped for a moment.
"That's why you never sleep!"
Nodding once again, Gaara finally faced his host. His eyes full of something akin to wonder.
"But… he's been quiet since the day I first woke here; pulls his tail between his legs and cowers into the farthest corner of his prison. He's afraid of Kyuubi."

Taking a moment to consider this revelation, the blond let his gaze aimlessly wander.
He thought he knew how the other felt, but he couldn't think how maddening it must be to being forced to listen to the Biju you've been forced to house, knowing that the only quiet you'll get will be a trap to lure you to sleep; while sleep itself was absolutely forbidden - unless you were willing to set a murderous beast free to rampage over your hometown. Naruto could feel his eyes water a little and fought against the urge to just jump up and hug the raccoon close to his chest.
It was relieving to know that the demon had been too scared to drive the poor raccoon further towards madness, but that didn't make up for years without sleep. Suddenly, the dark markings around and rings under the others eyes made a lot more sense. If only…

In a stroke of brilliance, the blonde looked up.
"Shukaku has been quiet because he's afraid of Kyuubi, right?" A nod was his answer. "Well, then shouldn't it be possible for you to sleep safely, when his bearer is sitting right next to you?"
Fear and doubt crept into the teal gaze of the other, but they weren't strong enough to overpower the slither of hope, that had so persistently taken ahold of the raccoon. Proud of himself, the blond only grinned widely, starting to gesture wildly with his hands.
"He wouldn't dare to set a foot outside when Kyuubi's right next to him, wide awake and ready to pounce, right? I'll be a great guard, believe it! I'll stay up and watch over you and if anything happens, I'll just wake you, right?"
Laughing at Gaara's hesitance Naruto got up and set about to roll out another futon. Laying out a spare blanked and pillow, the blond sat next to the freshly spread futon and pat it in an inviting manner.

It took a moment of silent coaxing, until the finally shuffled close and stiffly laid below his blanked, staring doubtfully at the blond and thus earning a bemused chuckle.
"Usually you close your eyes to sleep."
Gaara frowned, but complied hesitantly and closed his eyes, but even as the minutes passed: the stiffness in his shoulders didn't leave. Sighing a little dejectedly, Naruto scratched the back of his head in thought. This wouldn't do… He should've expected the raccoon to be resistant to sleep, even if he desperately needed it. He couldn't just expect him to lay down and peacefully drift into slumber, when it usually meant death and destruction all around him.
But how was he supposed to calm someone who was afraid to fall asleep? After a bit of thought, he remembered how Iruka had once taken care of him, when he'd been sick. The fever had forced gruesome images into his dreams and morphed them into morbid nightmares, making him afraid to fall back asleep after waking up screaming.
Hesitating for only a moment, he reached out and gently placed it on Gaara's head, slowly stoking the red hair – causing the other to tense up harshly for a moment. His eyes shot open and glared suspiciously at the other, but he only received a reassuring smile. The glare faltered easily enough after a moment of contemplation and teal eyes fell closed again, while stiff shoulders slowly but surely relaxed. After some time, Naruto decided to take it a step further and began to hum a quiet lullaby. He may not be the best singer, but he certainly wasn't the best either. He would refuse to let his singing – or even humming – be heard by anyone else, but decided that it was worth a shot to try and calm Gaara's nerves a little more.
An hour passed, until his efforts finally paid off and he noticed how the red-heads breathing had evened out and a serene expression had taken over his face. Still, the blond kept his word and stayed awake; petting the red mob of hair and gently shushing the sleeping raccoon, whenever he grew restless in his sleep.

Morning came faster than expected and he didn't feel like it had been too long, when the stars already started to fade out and the sun slowly started to bleach the sky of its darkness in the far horizon. The sun itself still had to show her face, when the raccoon suddenly shot from his sleep; chest heaving and eyes wide in panic.
Eyes darting from one side to the other, his breath began to calm and he finally let his gaze rest on the grinning blond.
"See? Told you it'd be fine!"
For a moment, the red-head only stared in something akin to bewilderment, until - to Naruto's absolute astonishment – the corners of his lips turned up into a sweet smile.
Stunned silent, Naruto only sat there and gaped for a moment until his face broke into the brightest smile yet, before he got up and announced that it was time for breakfast.

But while he tried his best to act normal in front of the other, his head was already spinning out of control with one thought:
I need to make him smile more often!

Alright, there might be more errors than usual.
Usually, I'd reread the chapter at least 5 more times before I upload, but I really don't have the time for that today, so I'll just leave this here and maybe correct the worst in the course of the week.

I was excited for this one, but as expected, it also gave me quite a hard time at the end there.
The first part was rather easy to do, but it slowed down quite a bit later on. Glad I could make it today though. ^.^

Let's see how the next ones go. :3