Jiraiya made Gaara sit and watch and not interrupt or interfere in the training of Naruto. The legendary ninja explained to Gaara that if his sand reacted to emotion, his sand would want to protect Naruto if he was in danger of being hurt. Gaara had to attempt to control that sand. So in a sense, the sand genin was also being trained by one of Konoha's Legendary Three. Gaara was nearly pleased with the thought.

Naruto was constantly getting smacked upside the head by Jiraiya. The old pervert was continuously berating the blonde for not doing things right. He made Naruto go on with the training far past midnight even though his chakra was very nearly gone. Gaara was fighting with his sand to keep it from attacking Jiraiya and protecting Naruto.

"Idiot," Jiraiya yelled. "You just sealed of the life force tree instead of sealing the bug infestation. If you're going to be killing what you're trying to save you should just quit now. You don't have what it takes to become Hokage."

Naruto hung his head and took a deep breath. His shoulders heaved as he panted from the heavy training. Naruto was determined to get at least 5 of these down by tonight. He had to study the basic principles of seals also. Studying was never his strong point but he could do it if someone else's life depended on it. Gaara's hand twitched making the sand jump. He didn't want Naruto to have to take this abuse.

Naruto walked away from Jiraiya and unsealed the tree with ease. It was the first thing that Jiraiya had taught him. At least he had mastered that. The hermit walked over to where Gaara was sitting and sat down next to him to watch Naruto repeat the same hand seal over and over again to produce the technique he was trying to. He smirked a bit at the blonde and turned his attention to Gaara.

"Calm down. This is how he learns best. He has to have the need to prove himself. In actuality, it took me over a month to learn that unsealing technique. He's already mastered that, plus two sealing jutsu. That's more than I could do in a year. Naruto… really is his father's son."

"You should tell him that, not me," Gaara said flatly.

"I would, but I think he's still a little worked up about finding out about his just the other day."

Just then, Naruto fell over backwards. He began snoring loudly causing Gaara and Jiraiya to look at each other with silly grins. Gaara was the first to stand. He attempted to pick Naruto up to carry him home. Jiraiya nudged him out of the way and picked up the young shinobi. He smiled down at Gaara.

"I'll carry him home. Let's walk together."

Gaara nodded.

The trip back to Naruto's house was mostly silent except for Naruto's snoring. They walked through the darkened streets of Konoha in the shadows. They quickly passed through alleyways and attempted to avoid the bright streetlights that hurt their eyes that were already so used to the dark of the training field at night. The three took a detour over rooftops, probably waking a few sleeping families. And soon enough, they reached Naruto's house.

Once inside, Jiraiya unzipped and removed Naruto's jacket with Gaara's help. He laid him down onto his bed and exited the room. Gaara was slightly uneasy about leaving Naruto alone. So much that he did not even think once about being alone with someone he barely knew and was so much more powerful than him. He sat on the couch and watched the older man move about the room looking at the odds and ends. His eyes kept glancing in the direction of Naruto's bedroom.

"Why is it that you're here, Gaara-kun?"

"I'm staying by his side until I'm forced to leave."

"Because he can help you?"

Gaara glared, "Because I love him."

"Love him? Do you even know what love is, little boy? You're not even a teenager yet! How could you possibly know what love is?"

"I was told once," Gaara whispered, "by my uncle… He said that the only cure for the pain in here isn't medicine, its love. And… when I am around Naruto, that pain goes away. So, that's how I know I love him. He makes the pain in my heart stop hurting. He makes the monster in me calm down. I don't lust for blood and death. I'm not lonely anymore. I love him with everything that I am and more. Do you understand?"

Jiraiya simply nodded at him. He supposed that this boy who was nearly four generations younger than himself was more than likely wiser than him on the subject of love. He could accept the boy's answer. There were a few things that still troubled him. He had to look out for his prize student.

"Does Naruto know?"

Gaara nodded.

"What does he think?"

Gaara shrugged.

"What if he loves you?"

Gaara looked up and smiled, he opened his mouth to speak but Jiraiya was still talking.

"What happens when you return to your village? Do you think your heart will break? Will you be breaking his?"

Gaara looked down again. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Naruto has changed me. Everyone can see that. When he learns the seal properly, I won't have to worry about Shukaku. I'll be better forever. All thanks to him. Even if we were separated, I'd still love him as much as I do now. I wouldn't do anything to hurt him."

Jiraiya also accepted his from the Suna genin. He nodded at Gaara and the boy looked relieved to see the approval. The Sannin was slightly surprised by Gaara's reaction. It made him think even more about how serious this boy really was about Naruto. Jiraiya had always known there was something special about Naruto, but to save a boy like this that was so far gone, Naruto was just amazing. Jiraiya said his goodbyes to the sand boy and reminded him to get out of the house more and visit his brother and sister.

Gaara sat there in the silence of the house for a good many hours. He thought about what the old man had said to him a lot. He worried about what would happen after he got his seal and was forced to return to Sunagakure. How would he and Naruto be affected by the change after getting so used to being around each other for nearly two months now? He really didn't like the outcomes he was imagining in his head.

Only two months? It had seemed like a lifetime already to Gaara. He was beginning to think that he didn't want to leave. Was it possible to get permission to become a Konoha shinobi? Would his village allow it? They were still lacking a Kazekage and needed all the protection they could get. Would Konohagakure allow it? He wasn't so sure that the people would want another demon running around their village. Gaara sighed and sunk into the couch more. He didn't know what was going to happen. It worried him more than anything.

He stood up and decided not to think about anything like that anymore. Naruto had shown him that he should look on the bright side of life. He was here with the one he loved now and that was all that should count. Who knows what will happen in the future, Naruto would say, let's just enjoy the present.

Gaara walked around the room and studied the objects, smiling. The frog statue painted in all colors that he had saved from certain doom was made by Naruto and Iruka-san when he was much younger. A precious item. There were other odd bits here and there. One was a stick figure drawing of Naruto drowning in the Hokage robes and hat, signed by none other than Naruto himself in a frame sitting on top of a side table. Perhaps the cutest thing Gaara had found in the room was a ragged and beat up stuffed blue rabbit with one eye hanging out and stuffing falling out all over the place.

Gaara had found that rabbit the other night while he was cleaning Naruto's pig sty of a house. He refused to reside in the filthy house and Naruto refused to clean so he had to do it himself. Underneath the chair in the living room was that sad stuffed animal. Naruto nearly cried when Gaara presented the dusty thing to him. He explained that it was his first birthday gift from the Sandaime Hokage when he was 1 year old. He had lost it about five years ago and had supposedly looked everywhere for it. Naruto had hugged Gaara so hard that he could barely breathe.

Gaara said that the thing was disgusting and dirty. Naruto insisted in throwing it in the washing machine. It caused the gray rabbit to turn blue. However, the legs and arms of the poor thing were loosened and the stuffing started to come out. Surprising the already dangling eye was still attached. Gaara picked the rabbit up off the top of the TV and held it in both of his hands to stare at it. Something like this rabbit proved what a good person Naruto was. Gaara couldn't quite explain it, but looking at that well-loved bunny made him think that.

Gaara wanted to be someone like Naruto. He wanted to be able to truly care about other people like Naruto did. Gaara wasn't sure exactly how concerned he was for his brother and sister, but he knew he loved them, too. He didn't know if he could ever feel the need to protect his whole village like Naruto. He also knew that he loved Naruto, but it was a different kind of love. It was a love that made his heart jump whenever the blonde entered the room. Like it had just now.

Naruto rubbed his sleepy eyes while drug his body into the living room with loud heavy steps to find Gaara. With one eye squinted open, he spotted Gaara standing there with his beautiful rabbit in his hands. He chuckled slightly at the scene. He proceeded to walk forward and hit the couch with an "oof." He then flopped over the back of the couch and onto the cushions. He managed to land on his back with his arms behind his head and smiling up at Gaara. The redhead was rather amused by the scene. He couldn't help but find Naruto simply adorable.

"G'mornin'," Naruto mumbled, barely moving his lips.

"Good morning. You're up before dawn."

"Tenten-sempai's trainin'. I'nly hava c'ple more days lefta it y'know. Gotta get it done and all that," he mumbled more.

"Let's get a good breakfast in you then," Gaara demanded. "I'm going to go out and get some things. The sun is rising so some shops will be open now. Sleep and I'll wake you when everything is ready."

Naruto obeyed and closed his eyes and descended into a peaceful slumber.

Gaara went to the market to find what he was looking for. Luckily for him, he found almost everything that he needed right off the bat. The first shop to open was the spice shop. Gaara pointed out what and how much he wanted of each of the spices. The old lady weighed them each on the scale and told him the total. Gaara smiled as she placed the small sacks of marjoram, oregano, thyme, white sesame seeds, and sumac into a paper bag for him. He also asked for a bottle of olive oil. He handed her the exact change and was on his way to see if he could find the last thing. Lady luck was certainly on his side. The bakery had just set out what they had been cooking since the early morning. Gaara snatched up some pita bread. On his way back, Gaara snatched up some eggs and made his way back to Naruto's home.

He noticed Naruto was still asleep after all this time and didn't really mind. He was going to make something special for him this morning. Naruto probably had never tried anything like it before. In the desert, it was a common breakfast and was thought to make the person more mentally alert and physically stronger. It was just what Naruto needed to eat before his training. Tenten was going to push him harder, and they both knew it.

In the kitchen, Gaara worked at mixing the spices and oil together into a paste. He'd only seen Temari make it so it was rather touch and go. He kept tasting it and adding more of this and that until he thought it was perfect. He only wished he had written down measurements so he could make it again if requested. When that was done, he boiled four of the dozen eggs he had bought in a pot and waited for them to be done. He toasted the pita bread and began setting out plates. A timer went off signaling that the eggs were done boiling and the pita was finished toasting.

He set everything out and went to get Naruto. The blonde was curled up in a little ball on the couch and hugging that poor rabbit. Gaara kneeled down and stroked Naruto on the nose to gently wake him up. He whispered his name silently. Naruto made a few noises and finally opened up one eye to look into Gaara's eyes. Naruto opened the other eye and blinked a few times.

"Food is ready," Gaara whispered.

They made their way to the kitchen and found their seats at the table. Naruto looked down at the flat round bread and odd colored paste spread on it. He also noticed two eggs with their shells still on. Gaara laughed at the expression on Naruto's face. He decided to save the other boy the trouble of figuring out what to do with this food.

"It's a custom breakfast in Sunagakure. Pita with za'atar and boiled eggs. It will make you more powerful and more vigilant. Try it. I swear it won't kill you," Gaara assured him. "You eat it like this."

Gaara proceeded to show Naruto how to peel the shell off of the egg in two whole chunks. He bit into the eggs and showed him that you just ate it with hands and no utensils. He then proceeded to break off a piece of the toasted pita and pop that into his mouth. Naruto followed in suit and found that he really did like what Gaara had made for him. The spices on the bread were amazing and he never knew you could boil an egg like that before. Naruto and Gaara ate their breakfast in silence, intermittently looking up to smile at each other.

"Jiraiya wants to see you after Tenten-san's training. He said he'll meet you at the ramen shop," Gaara informed Naruto after breakfast.

Naruto looked up from washing and nodded, "More seal training, I'm sure."

"You're really good at learning things so fast. I wish I could do something with my sand other than kill people with it," Gaara whispered.

"Try something new. Invent something of your own," Naruto exclaimed, startling the boy less than a foot away from him.

When Naruto was ready to leave to meet with Tenten, Gaara also got himself ready to leave. He told Naruto that he was going to meet with his brother and sister at their hotel room. He hadn't spent much time around them while they were there and it was rather unfair that they had to sit around and wait for him to show up so that they could actually do something. Naruto agreed that it was a good idea since he didn't know when he would actually be getting home from Jiraiya's training.

Naruto set out for his accuracy training. He did strangely feel more energetic than normal. While it could possibly be from the breakfast that Gaara had made, Naruto attributed it to Gaara himself. He liked having Gaara around. A thought struck Naruto. Perhaps he had better think about what exactly the other boy was to him before it was too late and Gaara had already left. Naruto didn't want to regret anything in his life. However, now was the time for training and he couldn't think of anything other than those targets or he'd fail.

After his first lap through, he spotted Tenten waiting for him just outside the tree line. He jumped down from the branch to meet her. He smiled at him and began speaking to him in her mouse-like voice. Tenten informed him that his run-through had been too perfect according to her monitors. That's why she rushed out to see him. She had decided to place traps in the forest along with five more hidden targets.

The second run had gone less smoothly. He had to dodge flying kunai that had been triggered after he hit one target. He almost met his fate when a log came swinging at him and he nearly jumped straight into a spike pit while trying to avoid the log. Needless to say, he came out with a few scrapes and scratches but nothing to write home about. Though, he did think that he might have sprained his wrist while landing on if from the fall caused by an explosive note placed underneath the perfect spot to hit one of the targets from.

What really surprised both of them was the fact that his hits were still dead on all the targets. Tenten was very proud of how far he had come. He knew that he was distracted most of the time by something else. Naruto hadn't let what was troubling his mind interrupt his training, but she wouldn't have blamed him if he had. She had heard a few rumors but wasn't going to bring them up anytime soon. Naruto on the other hand was a bit more than shocked at the results. Perhaps the extra training he did with the targets to help clear his mind of the tormenting thoughts racing through his head actually paid off in the end. Everyone knew that Naruto wasn't one to give up, but no one really knew how much he could learn and improve in such a short time, not even himself.

Tenten informed him that tomorrow could be even more dangerous than today and then they went their separate ways.

He reached Ichiraku Ramen just as Jiraiya was sitting down onto the stool. Teuchi and Ayame greeted them both and took their orders. Naruto gulped down a whole bowl of pork ramen before Jiraiya even began starting on his. They idly chattered about breakfast and kunai training. Teuchi set another bowl of salt ramen in front of Naruto. Naruto looked up, he hadn't ordered any more. Teuchi waved it off and smiled. Ayame giggled. They were off for more fuuinjutsu training as soon as Naruto finished that last bowl.

Gaara was on the other side of town visiting with his family. They had decided to go out for barbeque. They had talked about random things such as Kankuro talking in his sleep and Temari having strange dreams, and what a great dinner they had at a fancy restaurant the other night, and what Gaara made Naruto for breakfast. To Gaara, everything seemed so right and perfect between them. Finally, they reached the topic of Gaara controlling his sand and everything became silent at the table. His brother and sister stopped eating.

"I'm controlling it so much better now. Jiraiya-sama has helped me a lot. Naruto suggested that I make up my own jutsu when I told him I wanted to use my sand for things other than brutal killings. I think I'm going to work on that. He's also training with fuuinjutsu to properly seal Shukaku so that I'm not losing control at all anymore. It's great isn't it?"

Gaara waited for an answer.

All he got was two brightly smiling faces shining at him. Gaara smiled back.

"You've changed so much, little brother," Temari grinned.

Gaara continued smiling and finished eating. They finally left the barbeque place. To stay together longer, the three of them agreed to go get ice cream together. Kankuro managed to drip some onto Gaara's head, on "accident" he claims. Temari had got some strange flavor that she kept trying to get Kankuro and Gaara to try but it looked funny and smelled even weirder. Gaara had got plain vanilla and was happy with that. Eventually night fell and they decided that it was time to go and parted ways. He returned to Naruto's house while his sister and brother made their way back to their hotel to go to bed.

When he got back, Naruto was sitting on the couch with his eyes closed. Gaara had thought him to be asleep. He stepped around the house silently, taking off his shoes putting them against the wall quietly. He went to the bathroom and closed the door slowly. He wished there was some quiet way to flush a toilet. Thankfully, he didn't have to turn the faucet on full blast to wash his hands. When he left, he started to make his way to Naruto's room to grab a blanket for the other boy. That's when Naruto called Gaara over to him, scaring Gaara half out of his mind. He calmed himself and sat down next to the blonde. With a heavy sigh, Naruto rested his head on Gaara's shoulder. He was startled by Naruto's action but said nothing.

"I can perform the seals. There are three of them, all dangerous. Give me until tomorrow, I need to be fully rested when I do it so I can do it without risk to either of us," Naruto painfully whispered.

"That's great!" Pause. "But you don't seem too happy about it," Gaara responded.

"As soon as you're sealed, your mission here is over. Everything is taken care of with both of us. There's no reason for you to stay... But, I don't want you to leave before I figure out everything," Naruto stated below a sigh.

"What is this everything that you have to figure out? Maybe I can help."

"I want to know what you really mean to me…"

Gaara hung his head, "I guess I can't help you with that. And that's not enough of a reason for the Hokage-sama not to kick me out and send me and my family back home."

Gaara placed his head on top of Naruto's. There was a long silence as they thought about everything that could possibly happen tomorrow. Gaara was about to suggest that Naruto go to bed so that he could rest. However, soft snoring cut him off before he could even get a syllable out. He supposed that he didn't mind sitting like this with Naruto sleeping on his shoulder all night. In fact, he would very much enjoy it. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop thinking about what tomorrow would bring for both of them.