I'm so sorry for the wait, and I won't make excuses. Please enjoy.

(Naruto)
There was a moment of silence as this sunk into Naruto's mind. Suna, the village in the sand, a desert...
"I... I'll go." He muttered, clenching his fist and looking down; "For Nara, I'll go."
Gaara's eyes seemed to soften at this and he reached out to touch the blondes shoulder in a comforting manner only pull away. The two stood a moment, before Naruto looked up and smiled brightly at the redhead. A small, almost unnoticeable smile appeared on the Kazekages lips as he turned and started walking again. Naruto, momentarily stunned by the new expression, regained his senses and ran to catch up to the smaller teen.

(Gaara)
The look of shock on Kankuro and Temari's faces was enough to make Naruto laugh, clutching his stomach and pointing as the young one, Nara, watched in silent amusment.
"What do you mean, your kid!?" Kankuro cried, " I didn't know you had time to-"
Temari jabbed him in the ribs;
"Don't be stupid, he just said that it was an experiment that did it. Not to mention it's Naruto's baby too." She hissed, obviously angry at what her brother was about to say. Gaara, on the other hand, had turned away from them and was now standing next to the blonde, who was talking animatedly and waving his hands in impressions of the siblings. As they watched, Naruto gently picked up the child and handed him to Gaara, bodies almost touching as they exchanged the precious package. Naruto grinned as Gaara brought the small redhead over to his siblings and transferred it to Temari. The blonde kunoichi's features softened as she held the small child in her arms, rocking it back and forth.
"Does he have a name?" She asked, running her hand through the short, silky, red hair. Gaara nodded and opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by the overexcited ninja behind him;
"Yeah! His name is Nara! Like a mix of Gaa-ra and Na-ruto! Nara!"
She looked to Gaara for conformation, and he nodded slowly.
"Yes, his name is Nara. We will be bringing him back to Suna with us, as well as Naruto."
Kankuro, who was making faces at the now smiling child froze.
"You mean that idiot is coming?" He asked in a slightly teasing manner. Naruto frowned.
"You got a problem with that, paint-face?" He shouted, lunging. Gaara's sand caught him 'round the feet and the tan face hit the wooden floor with a loud thump. The two siblings winced as the blonde pushed himself up slowly.
"Naaa, Gaara! Why'd you do that!?" He whined. Gaara looked down at him calmly.
"You might have hurt Nara." He stated plainly, his sand returning to the gourd located in the corner of the room. Naruto sat cross-legged on the floor and pouted, face in his hand, as Temari stood.
"Well, if that's the case, when are we leaving?" She asked. Gaara looked at her, then paused.
"Tomorrow morning, before dawn. We must be back in Suna before the meeting of the counsil..." He said, then held his hand out to Naruto, helping the younger male to his feet.
"I'll go back to my apartment and grab my stuff, then I'll meet you guys at the gate in the morning?" He offered, releasing the leaders hand and dusting himself off. Gaara nodded.
"We will keep Nara with us tonight, he will sleep in Temari's room."
Naruto looked a little put off by this, but let it go as he turned and made his way to the door, followed by Gaara. The blonde sat down and slipped on his sandles before standing and turning to his friend. Blue eye's met green and Naruto paused, forgetting what he was going to say and instead smiled at the other male. Gaara looked at him impassively, watching as he left before turning back around and wandering into his quarters.

(Naruto)
The picture of team seven was shoved into a pack, along with his clothing and bathroom accessories as he packed what he may need. It was a very lonely feeling, having just gotten home before having to leave it again. At this point he didn't even know if he would ever see it again. The blonde paused in his search, setting down the training scroll and looking out the window. He wondered if he would ever see his friends again. Kiba, Shikamaru, Kakashi-sensei and Sakura, Neji and Hinata, even Shino... These were all important people to him now, part of what he considered a family. This was his chance to extend that family, to make new friends and comrades who he could fight for and protect and who would do the same for him... maybe even a chance at having a real family, one who loved eachother and had that bond... He shoved a scroll in the bag and left the rest sitting on his floor, standing and making his way to the clock located on his bedside table. It was almost two in the morning, almost time to leave again. Almost time...

When Naruto arrived, the three siblings were already there, Temari and Kankuro looking a little run down. The blonde waved to them, joining the four as they started to walk. He situated himself next to Gaara, walking on the end with his hands laced behind his head and a fuzzy look on his face.
"Ohiyo!" He greeted. Gaara nodded to him and the other two simply continued on walking. Naruto watched them a moment, his eyes squinted and lower lip out in a slight pout, before turning back to Gaara.
"Did I miss something?" He asked quietly. Gaara looked at him, then back at the road in front of them.
"No. Nara kept them up last night, he wouldn't sleep." He responded blankly.
"Really? He always sleeps the whole night through when he's with me. I wonder what it was... Did he cry?" He asked, looking to the two siblings at the end. Kankuro's bottom lip jutted out slightly as he looked away.
"No, he was just staring at us. It was unnerving..." Temari muttered, handing the small redhead over to Naruto. Naruto held Nara to his chest and smiled as the small boy began to mess with the string of his headband with a happy noise. The older redhead's head turned a fraction and Naruto could feel his eyes on him, watching. His neck began to tingle as the sea green, pupiless eyes seemed to focus on it for a moment before returning to the road ahead. No one else seemed to notice Naruto's sudden uncomfortableness as they continued onward. His footsteps were slowing, he noticed as he watched the three siblings backs starting to procede his own. It was unnerving, the gate of Konoha behind him, no longer his home... His stomach was churning now. He wanted to turn around and go back to his apartment, back to Iruka and Kakashi-sensei, back to Sakura and Tsunade-baachan... back to what he knew. He could feel sweat starting to form on his forehead as he shook his head and looked up.
"Naruto?" Gaara had stopped only a few feet from him and was looking back with a look of almost worry upon his deadpan face. Temari and Kankuro stopped walking and turned as well.
"Are you alright?" Gaara spoke again, his voice almost soft as he took a step closer to the blonde and their son. Naruto attempted a smile, nodding.
"Y-yeah. It's just..." His hands had gone clammy.
Gaara waited for the rest of his unfinished statement, a look of loyalty on his face. He wanted to help him, Naruto realised slowly. He was worried about him, treating him kindly...
"It's just new. I've never lived anywhere but here, it got to me for a second." Naruto said, chuckling weakly and starting to walk again, handing Nara to Gaara as they resumed walking side by side.

He could feel it again, the eyes on him... although this time they seemed to linger on his chin as he drained the last of the water into his dry mouth. It was now near noon and they were only an hour into the desert, the seemingly endless sand dunes spanning into forever in all directions. This was their first stop, requested by Naruto as he had begun to overheat. Nara, who was tucked into a sling on Naruto's back was asleep, constantly watched by Gaara who would follow him in their now regular pattern of travel. Temari and Kankuro insisted that they be at the back of the group incase of an attack. This seemed to be a god idea because Gaara agreed and insisted that Nara be in the center of the group for better protection. Naruto supposed this meant that attacks were regular in this area...
"Naruto, put this on." Temari called, tossing a sand-colored cloak to him and slipping one on herself.
"It blocks some of the sand." Kankuro offered, his own already sitting over his shoulders and puppet scrolls. Naruto followed suit and slipped his over himself, making sure to cover the young redhead fully.
"Okay, if your all ready, we can go-" Naruto started, pausing when he felt his cloak being lifted. His head snapped around to the left and was surprised to find Gaara, or rather the top of Gaara's head. Naruto didn't even need to ask, he knew what Gaara was doing. He was giving him some water so they wouldn't have to stop again in the middle of the desert. They all waited a moment for the young leader to finish before Naruto overheard Temari spoke quietly to Kankuro;
"This is the sweetest i've ever seen him, do you think somethings wrong?" She muttered, hand over the side of her mouth that faced the others as if it would keep them from hearing.
"No, I didn't notice anything really different about his personality, he's just nice to the kid-jan." Kankuro replied, not bothering to whisper, he knew the others could hear them anyway. Temari sighed and rested her hand on her hip as she turned back to the blonde and the redhead who had just finished replacing his water in his pack. Green eyes looked up and the siblings nodded, setting off on the next leg of their journey through the desert.

The village of Suna was towering above the small group as they entered in the small crack in the strange rocks. It had taken another four hours of running to get here from when they last stopped and, as much as he hated to admit it, he was tired and a little bit sore. He jogged a little to catch up to Gaara, who now lead the way, and leaned over closer to the redhead.
"Na, Gaara?" He muttered almost quietly. Gaara spared him a glance, his way of replying. Naruto grinned.
"Where'm I stayin'?" He said, half yawning. The redhead looked at him, almost questioningly;
"In my home."