Naruto woke up in bed. Actually in bed, not tossed onto the floor with a flipped mattress or doused in water or literally dragged from the tangled sheets and sprawled across the carpet. He sat up noting the sun that was streaming through the window. It had to have been at least late morning. Had Gaara let him sleep in? Oh yeah, last night was a thing that happened. He stared at the extra blankets on his bed remembering yesterdays events. A buzzing from the nightstand caught his attention. Gaara's phone along with a note and a bottle of water sat there waiting for him. Naruto picked up the paper and recognized the neat handwriting as his mentors.

Naruto,

I got called into the office for a meeting but I'll be back soon. Take the day off to rest. You're doing well and I'm proud at how much you've improved in just a matter of months. Don't forget to eat. I left my phone with you just in case. Call me at my office if you need anything.

-Gaara

Just in case. Just in case he had another episode. Would Gaara really drop everything and come back if Naruto needed him? He stared at the note for a few more moments before grabbing the phone. Gaara had offered to get Naruto a cell phone of his own but he declined. He really didn't have anyone to contact anymore, it would have been a waste. The time on the device showed it was already early afternoon. His initial thought of just going back to sleep was probably not the best idea. Sleep was fantastic, but too much would have the opposite effect on trying to make things better. He knew from experience that avoiding reality by sleeping wasn't really a healthy way to deal with everything. Naruto found himself wandering the apartment, raiding the fridge, and browsing the various bookshelves throughout the office library and living room. Gaara didn't have much in means of things to keep Naruto busy.

He lay sprawled out on the floor looking up at the books neatly lined in their respective shelves. So boring. None of the books had anything that interested the half breed. In all honestly reading was not really his idea of fun in the first wasn't even a TV in the entire damned apartment. Naruto would have given anything for access to an xbox. He let out a groan and stared at the top shelf willing for something entertaining to appear. A small photo album hidden between what looked like ancient leather bound books on the very top shelf eventually caught his attention. What was that doing there? It seemed so out of place. He pulled it down and sat on the sofa to take a look at whatever photos Gaara found important enough to hide away on the top of his bookshelf. He turned to the first page and found a note with curvy hand writing underneath the clear protective cover.

Just cause I love to piss you off. Here's what having fun looks like! Take some vacation time so maybe I can make an entire album of us doing fun stuff, you work addict.

-Shizune 3

P.S- My only request is that if you jerk off to her photos use the ones I don't come out in. Ya nasty...

The fact that Shizune was still alive after teasing Gaara the way she did was amazing. He turned the page and looked at all the pictures of the witch and some other beautiful woman in various places around New York. There were some at the Empire State Building, some at the Brooklyn Bridge, a few wacky ones in Times Square where they both were sticking their tongues out and scrunching up their faces or feeding each other hot dogs. Just pictures of them, having fun, silly poses, trying on outrageous hats. A few towards the end were just of the other woman, dark skin and freckles framed by short neon green hair in what might have been Central Park. One in particular seemed to have been handled more than the rest, the edges bent and worn from being taken out of it's protective sleeve and put back multiple times. It was a simple portrait picture of her smiling, with the sunlight filtering through a tree she was sitting under. Gaara never really mentioned much about his personal life now that Naruto thought about it. It seemed like everything had been focused on training and what Naruto needed. Who was this person that held some importance to the demon? The photos weren't that old, maybe taken in the 90's since there were a few polaroids mixed in with the other developed ones. Did Gaara still have her in his life like that? Where was she then? Wait, no. Why did Naruto care? He didn't. Nope. He promised himself not to catch feelings. Fuck. He wrestled with his realization of emotions. Okay, so maybe he cared. He really did not want to ask Gaara though. He flipped through the pages again before the idea came to him.

Naruto scrolled through the contacts in Gaara's phone to find Shizune's number but her name wasn't under his list. The only one that he could think of was a contact named 'Witch'. He hesitated. Calling someone who might end up not being Shizune would be a bad idea. It's not like it was an important question or anything, but damn, he really wanted to know. He tapped the message icon to look for any texts from that number just to double check he wasn't going to be calling someone who'd curse him because it ended up being the wrong witch. Turns out 'Witch' was the last person Gaara had messaged. He opened up the conversation.

2:15 am

Gaara: You still up?

Witch: At your beck and call, you tiresome overlord.

Yeah, that was Shizune. No one else gave Gaara lip like that without reprimand. He called the number and listened to it ring once before she answered.

"I feel so special. You almost never call me and this is the second time within twenty four hours."

"Sorry Shizune, it's Naruto"

"Oh! Sorry hun. What's going on? You're not in any immediate trouble or anything right? Cause I am really not the best person to call when you are in trouble in hell. I'm more the kind of person you call to get you into trouble…" She trailed off and somehow Naruto knew she wasn't fully joking on that matter.

"No. No trouble. I just had a question and I kinda didn't want to ask Gaara." He laughed nervously hoping she would hear him out.

"Oh? You needed an unfiltered answer from an expert, I see. Shoot."

"Well, I found some old photos of you and another girl with green hair and I was curious as to who she was." His fingers lightly trailed over the pages of photos with the person in question.

"Ah. I'm surprised Gaara showed you the album I put together for him."

"I sort of found it actually… He's not here right now…." Hopefully Naruto wouldn't get in trouble for finding it. Something about the album made him feel like it was for Gaara's eyes only.

"You sneaky little shit." She cackled. "Well it's kind of a complicated story. The green haired woman is actually my best friend, Fuu. Her and Gaara were a thing for a while. It didn't end to good."

"Oh, I didn't really take him for the relationship type of guy."

"Meh. He hides his feels well and is really good at restraining himself. He was a bit of a player in his ruthless half demon days before her. He's calmed down a lot though and has developed this aversion to meaningless sex and relationships ever since." She explained with her bored tone like she talked about Gaara's love life on a daily basis.

"Ruthless half demon days?" So Gaara was a brutal half demon before he became Wrath. How did Naruto not know any of this?

"That's a story for him to tell you... Anywho, what made you so curious about her? I'm almost positive there isn't even a photo of them together. It's just a bunch of pictures of us having fun without him."

"Your little note on the front page…" He muffled some of his laughter as he re-read it.

Shizune burst out in laughter. "Damn, I had forgotten about that. Fuck, he's gonna kill me one of these days." She gave a small pause before speaking again. "So… you're into him then?"

"Huh?" How had she figured that out so quick. Naruto was barely figuring out himself just how much he liked Gaara, how much of it wasn't just simple physical attraction and how he probably couldn't ignore it like he had been for much longer.

"I mean you wouldn't be asking about his past love life if you weren't interested in him, am I right?"

Naruto was silent for a little too long to play it off with a lie. "I guess. I mean he's really great and really attractive and it's so unfair when he spars without a shirt on, or when he's cooking and does that little thing where-..." Fuck. What was he saying? The blond stopped himself short and cleared his throat. "...but I don't know that it'll ever be anything else past that."

"That's a shame."

"What? Why is it a shame?"

"Cause he's dying to fuck you, you idiot. God he wasn't lying when he said you had a one track mind sometimes." Naruto could practically hear the facepalm on her behalf.

"He is? He talks about me? To you?" He felt like a sixteen year old again, finding out his high school crush liked him back. His face heated up, he had to know. What did Gaara say about him?

"I have to call and threaten it out of him but yeah. It usually starts out as complaining that I'm invading his privacy but it's kinda cute actually when he gets all flustered cause you did something he found adorable. Or concerned about you and worried about how you're dealing with everything. He's usually the type of guy who'd do things but not get too invested, especially emotionally. Yet with you… He really cares for some reason."

Naruto felt his mouth open and close a few times. Gaara was concerned about him. Genuinely enough to talk to Shizune about it. He cared on more than just a mentor-student level. "He was the one who said relationships weren't a good idea right now so I should avoid them."

"Of course he said that. I'm gonna turn him into a racoon next time I see him." Shizune sighed in apparent aggravation with the demon.

"He's probably right though, getting into a relationship right now isn't a good idea."

"Getting into a relationship is never a good idea, doesn't mean you should just ignore what you're feeling. Look, you should know by now that he's a demon of logic and reasoning. He'll follow his brain before ever following his heart. It's a flaw he has. Don't let it rub off on you, he's always denying himself things because of something stupid like his logic or whatever."

"Can I ask why they broke up?" Naruto spoke after a few moments of silence.

"Hmmm… That's a tough one to answer. Long story short, I think Fuu was more in love with her idea of who Gaara should be than Gaara himself. If you think your mentor is intimidating now you should have seen him back then. He was a fucking terrifying mass of hate like 95% of the time. So when Gaara decided to try to change for the better and make decisions in that regard Fuu wasn't having it. She likes attention and wants her bad boys to be powerful and menacing and maintain that reputation. He wanted to better himself, she didn't agree with it and they ended things."

"Oh. I never would have guessed." That information made Naruto a little sad.

"Of course it's also a hundred times messier because Fuu is a vindictive bitch who will take a grudge to her grave, and I remind her of that on the daily, but a lot of other shit went down. So yeah, that's the basis of it." The sounds of her typing at a keyboard were heard over the quiet that followed her story.

"Do they hate each other?" Naruto asked in a small voice for some reason.

"Nah. I know she doesn't and I mean, Gaara might get annoyed with her but I don't think he could ever hate her. Not really. She's the whole reason he decided he wanted to change in the first place. Something about needing to try to become someone who was worthy of love despite all he'd done. It's a strange desire for the current embodiment of hell's fury don't you think?"

"Naruto? I'm ho-... I'm back." Shit, Gaara had almost said 'I'm home'.

That was such a domestic phrase. An oddly foreign notion for him. As if Naruto was some significant other, in love, and desperately waiting for Gaara's return. Naruto wasn't either of those. The demon frowned and fought to push down the sliver of hope that kept trying to tell him 'not yet, at least'. Not ever, he denied himself the satisfaction of entertaining that idea. Naruto shouldn't be getting tangled up in any more trouble. Not if he wanted to be able to survive.

The sin wandered into the living area to find the half breed lightly snoring on the sofa. A book rested open on his stomach from where he must have been reading before he dozed off. Gaara let out a long sigh, the blond had looked exhausted last night. In all honesty he sensed something had been off with him yesterday but the demon hadn't wanted to push it. Maybe he should have, maybe he could have prevented Naruto from falling into whatever bad place he had hidden inside him. Maybe he could have done more to help him. He picked up the book and set it on the coffee table before grabbing a blanket and draped it over the sleeping figure. He leaned against the back of the sofa watching Naruto's chest rise and fall with every breath. Gaara instinctively began to lightly brush the locks of golden hair that had fallen onto his face out of the way before stopping abruptly and retracting his hand.

"What am I doing?" He chided himself softly.

Don't get attached, it'll make things harder. It was a piece of self advice given far too late. He was way in over his head, and despite his forced denial, he knew deep down he was officially fucked. To be completely honest he was fucked the minute he made eye contact with Naruto in the stadium and felt like he had a thousand volts of lightning surge through his body, last night was just when Gaara finally accepted it and knew there was really nothing else he could do about it. Fuck. His. Life. He abruptly turned in search of a distraction, he had to keep physical distance until he could get himself back in check. He changed into some sweatpants and decided to give himself some time to work out his frustration with a chinese broadsword.

He let himself plunge into his thoughts and over analyzing his problem over again hoping he would gain some new insight this time around. He had called Shizune late last night after Naruto had fallen asleep. Normally he wasn't one to confide his worry in someone else but it was all too familiar for him. He more than understood how destructive the subconscious could be and how it ruthlessly tore you apart from the inside. Shizune said to lighten up on the training for a few days, and let the half breed catch his breath. Gaara was still deeply concerned about Naruto. According to the witch, there was nothing much he could do aside from just being there for him. Unfortunately, he knew she was right.

Step, step, crouch.

He still couldn't get the image of a completely broken Naruto out of his head.

Pivot, step, step, lunge, thrust sword.

Tears streaming down from perfect endless ocean eyes.

Swing back, side step, arms out.

Suffocating in himself, drowning in his own mind.

Step, step, jump, spin, kick.

Violently shaking, losing the fight against his crushing thoughts.

Back step, side lunge, thrust sword.

Gaara hadn't been able to help him, protect him.

Step, step, high kick.

Fuck. It pained him to see Naruto like that, he never wanted Naruto to experience that again.

Run, jump, swing sword.

The sound of ripping material and sand spilling to the floor brought Gaara back to his surroundings. Shit. The bottom half of a punching bag lay on the floor covered in a mess of weighted sand. He had mindlessly sliced through one of his favorite pieces of workout equipment.

"Rough day at work?" a voice groggy with sleep came from behind the demon.

Wrath turned to find Naruto rubbing at his eyes, hair standing up in all directions from his napping position on the couch. Gaara couldn't help but think it was cute. Fuck, no. Not cute. Not helping.

"Yeah, something like that." The sin turned back to stare at the mess he made and tried to compose himself more than anything.

"You did that with a practice broadsword? That thing isn't even remotely sharp." Naruto was now leaning against the wall, eyeing his mentor.

Gaara stared down at the weapon in his hand. "Well, I had hoped that by using a practice one it would prevent this sort of thing. I guess not."

"Remind me to not royally piss you off. I'd like to not be decapitated by practice broadsword." Naruto laughed and grabbed the broom and dustpan that stood in the corner of the training room.

Gaara gave a snort. "You know I could never hurt you."

Shit. That was a bit of an intimate statement. What was wrong with him? Gaara made himself busy by returning the weapon to its proper place hoping the redness of his face would die down quickly.

"Yeah, I know." The blond answered quietly sporting a blush of his own as he helped sweep up the sand.

"Did you sleep ok?" Gaara gave a side glance at Naruto as he brought some trash bags over.

"Yeah. Thanks for letting me sleep in and rest today. I didn't mean to fall asleep again on the sofa but I guess the book was kind of boring." Naruto gave a teasing grin, knowing that book in particular was one of the demons favorites.

The redhead rolled his eyes and tied off the trash bag once they finished cleaning up. He turned to take the bag to the side of the room but was stopped short by a hand on his arm.

"Seriously though. Thank you for last night… I've never really had anyone be of much help during a panic attack so I end up dealing with it on my own usually, but I don't think I would have been ok if you hadn't been there. So yeah, thanks for not leaving me." The blond nervously shifted on his feet and stared at the ground avoiding eye contact. His hand still lingered on the demon's arm.

Gaara dropped the bag and turned to fully face the half breed. At the blond's words he was reminded of how utterly shattered Naruto had looked yesterday. Gaara of all people knew exactly what it was like to be completely alone. How terrifying it was to not have anyone to pull you back up if you fucked up, and how disheartening to know that nobody cared anyway. He had gone through it many times before.

"Naruto, you are a lot stronger than what you give yourself credit for. I'm here for you, whatever you need. I won't go unless you tell me to." He repeated what he had said yesterday, fully meaning it.

Naruto nodded and helped Gaara drag the bags to the side of the training room in silence.

"Have you eaten?" Gaara spoke again as he walked into the kitchen with the blonde in tow.

"Yeah, kinda. I had some cereal when I woke up at like two…" Naruto mumbled.

The demon sighed, "That's not what I would consider an actual meal but I guess it's better than nothing."

The half breed stayed quiet, watching his mentor make dinner. While Gaara normally welcomed the silence it was out of character for Naruto. The demon considered him for a moment before speaking.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really...no."

"Ok"

"But I know I probably should…." Naruto finally muttered after a few long seconds.

Gaara gave a quick glance in acknowledgement but continued preparing their meal.

"I guess I've just been overwhelmed… and I know that holding all of it in doesn't really help. Sorry, I didn't mean to lose it like that."

"Don't be sorry. You aren't at fault." Gaara interjected and stopped mid chop to turn around and face the half breed.

"Yeah, I guess. It's just hard to not feel like it's my fault for losing control. I've been alone since I was ten, I just feel like I should be able to keep it together by now." Naruto scrubbed his face with his hands before leaning forward and resting his head on the marble counter in defeat.

"You're not alone anymore, Naruto. It's ok to not be in control all the time. There is no shame in being overwhelmed and having to take a step back either." Gaara resumed preparing the food as he spoke.

"Easy for you to say. Your the almighty demon, sin of Wrath. You don't know what it's like to be weak and worthless."

The demon paused and stood in silence for a moment gripping the knife in hand before responding.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I have no way of knowing exactly what you are going through and compared to your life right now I understand how you would perceive me as always in control. But I'm not." Gaara dropped the knife onto the cutting board and turned back around to face the half breed.

"I was half human once, Naruto. I remember exactly what it's like to be weak, worthless and unwanted."

Thick silence filled the kitchen. Naruto pointedly dropped his gaze like a child being scolded, Gaara observed him before letting his expression soften. He didn't mean to come off harsh.

"Sorry" Naruto finally spoke, obviously embarrassed.

"It doesn't matter. The point is you aren't alone. I might not comprehend your exact emotions but I can relate to what you've been through." The demon pulled out a pan and set it on the stove.

"Can you tell me about it? When you were like me I mean.." the blond spoke after a few moments.

"Some other time. I don't want to bore you with my sob story." Gaara could practically feel Naruto rolling his eyes at the sarcastic comment.

He heard Naruto scoff and watched him lay his head back down on the counter. The redhead approached him and playfully flicked Naruto's head.

"Besides I'm supposed to be helping you feel better right now. So, would you like to go watch a movie after dinner?"

The blond perked up at that and looked at his mentor. "Really?"

The demon nodded watching how Naruto smiled wide at the suggestion. Naruto had mentioned before how much he missed mundane things like watching TV and going to the movies. He knew how genuine that smile was, how his eyes lit with real excitement, how it radiated from Naruto. It was like the sun had exploded and melted Gaara's insides along with everything else. This was how he loved to see Naruto. This was how Naruto deserved to be all the time. If Gaara had struggled with finding a purpose for his life before, he sure as hell knew exactly what he was meant to do with it now.

"Gaara, do I really have to wear this?" Naruto tugged at the collar of the button up dress shirt and frowned at his reflection in the mirror.

"Yes, stop fidgeting with it." The redhead swatted his hands away and re-adjusted Naruto's tie.

The blond sighed, unhappy to be dressed in a suit. It felt so strange to be in formal clothing when most of his life he had been lucky to get hand me downs that were free of stains. His hair had been brushed down, and he felt so out of place next to Gaara who looked like he was born to wear that burgundy suit tailored to fit him so perfectly. Even the demons hair was styled in a messy way that fit his look so well. Naruto watched his mentor absently suck on the curved barbell in his lip as he concentrated on tying his own black tie. He smiled at the habit he loved catching the demon do while he was focused on something.

"You're staring at me." Gaara finished the windsor knot as he spoke.

"I can't stare at you?" Naruto challenged playfully.

"Depends on why you're staring in the first place."

Naruto hummed in amusement, "I'm just admiring how nice you look in a suit."

"Then by all means, ogle away." The demon deadpanned as he fixed his cuffs, finally satisfied with his presentation. "Ready?"

Naruto sighed again, not wanting to have to spend the evening in a stiff suit mingling with other demons and entities he couldn't really care less to meet. "I feel ridiculous."

Gaara came to stand behind the blond, placing a hand lightly on his shoulders and staring at their reflections. "I'm sorry you feel uncomfortable. It's just for a few hours, and I promise you look anything but ridiculous."

The demon gave a rare reassuring grin and exited the room. He followed his mentor into the living room to stand in front of the elevator as Gaara prepped to make the portal.

"Be careful. Not all of the entities attending the Order's yearly gala have good intentions. Come find me if you feel uneasy. Also please don't throw your father through a window if he comes up to talk to you, you've been avoiding him for too long." Gaara pointed to the sigil engraved on the elevator doors and allowed the blue portal to appear.

They stepped through into an elegant lobby, ornate chandeliers hung from the tall ceilings and ethereal beings mingled with demons in sleek suits and fae in elegant dresses and tuxedos. Long wide glass windows gave view to the vast New York cityscape, lights twinkling in the distance and waiters moved about carrying trays of champagne and hor dourves. Gaara was immediately swept up in unwanted conversation by some members of the Order the minute he stepped across the threshold into the large event area. Naruto waved him off not really wanting to be a third wheel to boring political chatter. Instead he moved into the massive room amazed at the sheer size and elaborate decor. A large dance floor which occupied dozens of waltzing couples stood in the middle and a complete orchestra playing live music was positioned up front. Tables and chairs and a buffet of food so fancy Naruto was sure he couldn't even pronounce half the dishes were lined on the right side of the dance floor and a full bar was to the left. The majority of people standing and talking seemed to hover in that area, drinks in hand and elegant dresses sparkled in the light.

"May I have your attention." The music had faded out and a tall angel with orange hair and multiple facial piercings stood before the musicians, microphone in hand.

"I want to welcome and thank you all for coming to our annual gala. This year we are proud to host it in New York." A small applause interrupted the being momentarily. "This is a special year as well, hell is going through their Seven Sin selection trials and the fae just had their Midsummer Coronation. Best of luck to all trial competitors and congratulations to the new fae king. May you all receive divine blessings. Let us enjoy tonight and celebrate another year of harmony among our realms!"

There was an outburst of applause and the music picked back up again in a fast swing rhythm. Dance partners took to the floor again and the mingling was ignited further. Naruto plucked a glass of champagne from a server's tray more to give his hands something to do than anything else. He casually sipped on it until he found a familiar witch and half breed. Shizune gripped him in a hug and Sasuke grunted in greeting obviously peeved that his brother had dragged him to this event. Shizune entertained them with her narration on major fashion don'ts she kept spotting and running her mouth about the gossip floating around. None of which Naruto or Sasuke particularly cared for but her crude humor and salty comments left the blond in fits of laughter and even the Uchiha was smirking a bit.

"He doesn't look like he's having a good time." Naruto watched Gaara from afar.

"He probably isn't, he's so anti social. He only shows up to these things because he has to. Fucking party pooper." The witch rolled her eyes.

"Reminds me of someone I know." Naruto poked Sasuke in the arm and heard him give an indignant huff.

"Quick, hide me!" Shizune ducked behind the two half breeds as a tall man with a devilish smile and slicked back hair passed them.

"I thought you and Hidan were a couple." Sasuke watched the man glance around, obviously looking for someone.

"Fuck no. That was decades ago. I mean he's great in bed but I kinda hate the Order with all of my being so we stopped seeing each other when he took up this ridiculous position." She peeked over the blonde's shoulder as she spoke.

"Ok, but why are you hiding then? I mean unless you're embarrassed by the High Priest?"

"I'm not embarrassed! I just would rather avoid this interaction if at all possible…." She shot back at the Uchiha.

"Right. Well, I'm going to go find Itachi. Have a good evening Naruto." Sasuke moved at just the right time so Shizune was left exposed and Hidan was staring right at her.

Naruto heard his ex sneer as he dashed away from the witch and the immediate string of curses that spilled from her mouth.

"Get back here duck butt!" She raged at the now absent Uchiha before frantically turning to the blond. "Shit! Cover for me!" Shizune hurried off in a panic as Hidan was trying to make his way back through the crowds towards them.

Naruto stood there like an idiot, unsure if he should just walk away too. Probably. A voice asked him a question, out of breath from trying to dart through the mass of demons, angels, fae and other creatures.

"Where did she go?" Hidan pleaded slightly, eyes still trying to scan the room.

Naruto simply pointed in the opposite direction the witch had gone and the High Priest ran that way without a word of thanks. The blond let out a sigh, he was tired of rubbing elbows with elite beings and his tie was starting to bother him. He could really go for some pizza right now. Greasy, cheesy, messy, delicious pizza. Not these nasty crackers with caviar or dainty hor dourves so small he didn't even need to chew them. He shoved his hands into his pockets and began to wander through the crowd, just people watching really. I mean if you could even call half of these beings people in the first place. He paused when he saw a flash of familiar blond hair talking with the Sloth demon. Gaara was right and he knew it. He had been avoiding his father for far too long. He couldn't continue to put it off for much longer, he couldn't continue to ignore the messages left for him on Gaara's phone telling him Minato was there whenever Naruto was ready to talk. At least here he wouldn't be tempted to have an outburst and cause a scene in the middle of the gala, right? He took a deep inhale and walked over in the direction of Minato.

"Excuse me Kakashi," The demon pulled away from his conversation the minute Naruto came up to him.

"Hey.." Naruto shuffled nervously on his feet as his father now stood in front of him.

"Hi. How are you?"

"Alright, I guess." The half breed still had his hands tucked into his pockets as the air of awkwardness floated around them.

"That's good. I hope you and Gaara are getting along well enough. He says you're improving at a rapid rate so that's good." Minato offered a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm getting the hang of it." Naruto cleared his throat a few times.

"I'm glad"

The uncomfortable silence was next to unbearable but he knew he had to face it. He had to stop hiding. Just get the words out, open your mouth and speak.

"So.. I guess I wanted to ask if maybe you'd like to...uh.. talk about everything sometime… I think I'm ready, if you're up for it..." Naruto struggled through the sentence. Every part of his being wanted to run in the opposite direction but he knew better than to give in to it.

"Oh. Sure. Whenever you'd like." The demon nodded.

"T-tomorrow?" He forced the word out. The sooner the better, that way he'd have no time to chicken out.

Minato smiled. "Of course. You can come over for dinner and we can talk."

"Ok." Naruto considered asking if Gaara could come too, but he stopped himself. Gaara would decline, saying something about Naruto needing to do this on his own or whatever. It didn't help that he would have been right by saying that anyway.

"Minato!" An ominous dark haired demon called out capturing the attention of both blondes.

"Madara" Minato exhaled in what could only have been disappointment at being interrupted.

"A word please." The powerful demon beckoned for Minato to follow as he walked off to the edge of the room.

"Right, sorry Naruto. I'll see you tomorrow?" He gave a hopeful look.

Naruto nodded in confirmation and watched his father disappear after the Uchiha. He continued through the crowd wondering what the chances were that he could escape and get some real food were. Slim. Maybe he could convince Gaara? His mind was rambling. Any random thoughts to take over and try to keep himself from freaking out that tomorrow he'd finally have to face his past and there was a huge possibility he wouldn't like what he'd have to talk about and remember. He refused to panic over it right now. He entertained himself with watching drunk fae and dancing demons before growing bored and decided to find Gaara. It didn't take long, he heard Shizune's laughter right away and figured she must be messing with the demon. He weaved through the multitude of well dressed figures and found his mentor frowning at whatever Shizune was making fun of him for. He joined them for a bit before finally deciding to ask Gaara if he could leave. He never got the chance though as he found himself being yanked away from his mentor.

"Let's make ourselves scarce. Trust me this isn't a conversation you want to be around for…" Shizune grabbed Naruto by the elbow and tugged him around the corner but still within earshot of Gaara and the tall angel who approached him.

"Who's that and why does Gaara seem like he's gonna smite him on the spot?"

"An arc angel, goes by the name Deidara. He's a pain in the ass and almost killed Gaara way back. Smug fucker loves to get Gaara riled up whenever he has the chance and it usually ends up in a few destroyed cities and "natural" disasters." Shizune whispered as they hid.

"Well, well. It's been far too many decades, almost an entire century! You're looking alive and well since we last met, eh? I do have to say the way your face looked after being imbedded into the side of a mountain was a masterpiece. True art, eh?" the angel tossed his long blond hair over a shoulder and laughed.

"I see your wings grew back eventually. Pity, I prefered you as a disgraced flightless. I can rip them off again if you'd like." The demon answered in a bored tone that obviously struck a nerve in the holy being as the angels eye twitched with the response.

"Savage," Shizune commented under her breath as she continued to watch the interaction. "For an angel, having their wings removed by any means is considered the ultimate dishonor. Gaara had them pinned and mounted in his office for the longest time. He's highly hated and feared among the angels for that by the way."

"Shouldn't we stop them before they try to kill each other again?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"And deprive this boring event of some juicy drama?!"

Naruto frowned at her and glared pointedly. "Seriously..."

"Fine, fine. Stay here." Shizune darted off into the crowd away from the entities in question.

What...Where was she going? Naruto turned back to his mentor. Should he step in? So far it was just a verbal conversation, although you could feel the aggression pouring from them. A few guests who recognized the two kept glancing their way in hopes of witnessing some drama unfold.

"I hear you have a contender in your brutal little sin competition. It will be a pleasure watching him die a painful death in those trials like the obscene abomination deserves, eh? How you can let a filthy degenerate like that live is beyond me."

Gaara's bored expression was gone, replaced by something sinister. "Watch your mouth"

Where was Shizune? Naruto glanced around the room hoping to catch sight of her. This was escalating faster than anticipated. The witch was nowhere to be found. What the hell?

"Really Gaara, I can kill him myself and save you the trouble, eh?"

"You so much as breathe on him and not even the seraphim will be able to save you." The demon could have cut someone with how sharp his words came out.

Ok, time to intervene. Everyone in the surrounding area felt the shift in power as Deidara smirked with the challenge and allowed his energy to surge. Naruto quickly made his way over to his mentor.

"There you are! I've been looking for you. Lord Pride needs to talk to you, c'mon." The blonde placed a hand on the demon's shoulder and nodded in the opposite direction, hoping he'd walk away from the angel.

"Well, maybe a scum sucking half breed but at least he looks like he was sculpted by the divine. I wonder how beautiful he would look with my foot crushing his skull..." The angel eyed Naruto and reached out to grab at the blonde's chin.

Gaara halted the unwanted advance and gripped Deidara by the wrist. Naruto could hear the crushing of bones as his mentor gripped tightly and threw the angel's hand back at him harshly. Gaara released a sizable amount of power causing another shift in the atmosphere.

"Keep your hands to yourself." He growled, he had now stepped in front of Naruto.

A familiar voice spoke out. "Damn, no chill guys." Shizune stood with her hands on her hips fully amused at the interaction.

"Deidara. I told you not to go looking for him." A short red head spoke, standing next to the witch.

"C'mon Sasori, you know I had to say hello. It would have been rude not to speak with him, eh?"

"Yahiko specifically said not to cause any disruptions tonight. Let's go."

"Yeah, yeah. See you around." Deidara gave a wink and cradled his broken wrist as he wandered into the crowd.

"My apologies Lord Wrath. Please have a pleasant evening." The figure said emotionless and turned to follow the angel into the crowd.

"Sorry, I had a hard time finding that damned Fae King." Shizune offered before shooing the small crowd off.

Gaara gave a grunt and turned to walk off away from the dance floor and crowds of people.

"Honestly Gaara, you usually don't get aggressive so fast. What the hell was that about?" The witch moved to block his path.

"Nothing."

Shizune side eyed Naruto and raised a brow quizzically. "What did the angel say?"

"Drop it, Shizune." Gaara stormed off without another word.

Naruto sighed and halted the witch from chasing after the demon. "It's ok, he just needs to chill for a bit."

"Did he threaten you or something?" She scoffed but didn't follow Gaara and turned back to the blond instead.

"Yeah..kinda. He was just being an ass and trying to get Gaara mad, which worked I guess."

"Well that explains why he went from zero to sixty in point three seconds." She laughed and patted Naruto on the back. "Go find him. Get him out of here before he bites someone's head off. He's officially reached his limit of social interaction for the evening."

He watched the witch saunter off before she turned back to make one last comment. "And hurry up and make a move before I have to intervene! Trust me, you don't want me to intervene…"

Naruto dramatically rolled his eyes and waved her off as he urned to follow where he saw his mentor disappear. It took him a few minutes but he found Gaara avoiding people, trying to hide by a large window. Whether the demon sensed Naruto's approach was unclear, but there was no surprise when the blond spoke and put a hand on the redhead's shoulder.

"What do you say we get out of here? I think we have both had our fill of bullshit for tonight."

Gaara breathed out a short laugh and glanced over at the half breed who was now standing next to him staring out the window at the rain that had begun to sprinkle across the glass.

"Besides, I'm dying for some real food and I know this great pizza place in Brooklyn..." He teased and bumped his mentor with his shoulder.

"Alright, come on then"

Gaara sat back and watched with amusement as Naruto stuffed his second slice of pineapple pizza into his mouth. The blond closed his eyes and threw his head back, savoring the flavor as a moan came from his mouth. Gaara could think of a few other situations where he'd like to hear the half breed moan. No, stop. Don't go there. He averted his eyes down at his own slice of plain pepperoni pizza and tried to block out the inappropriate images that begun to invade his mind. The small pizzeria was cozy and he was glad they got a table away from the entrance since customers kept coming in and out to pick up orders and the constant ringing of the bell on the door was kind of driving the demon insane. He took a bite while staring out the shop window at the steady rain that consistently fell on the pavement. They had gone home to change but he had forgotten to grab an umbrella so they ran from the portal to the shop and now their clothes were slightly damp. Naruto didn't seem to mind at all, declaring a race and boasting when he made it to the restaurant first. His laughter set a fire in the demon and it wouldn't go out no matter how hard Gaara tried to smother it.

"I talked to my dad." Naruto spoke between mouthfuls.

"Oh?" Gaara raised a brow waiting for the half breed to continue.

"I'm having dinner with him tomorrow. So we can talk and stuff.."

"Good. I'm proud of you." Wrath caught Naruto's eye and watched a blush spread across his tan face.

"Th-thanks." Naruto mumbled and gave an uncharacterized timid smile.

"What's all that about?"

"What?" Naruto scratched at the back of his head, purposely looking down.

"Why are you acting so shy all of a sudden?" Gaara asked pointedly

"I don't know what your talking about." Naruto proceeded to grab his food and jam it into his mouth again.

The demon just stared at the half breed, waiting for an actual response.

The blond sighed. "I just.. never really had anyone tell me that they were proud of me before. It makes me feel weird."

"Sorry. You should have said so. If it makes you uncomfortable I can stop saying things like that."

"No!" Naruto blurted all too quickly

Gaara raised a brow in confusion.

"It's not a bad weird. It's just… I don't know...I kinda like it but..." the blond trailed off and grabbed his glass to take a drink.

"Do- do you have a praise kink Naruto?"

Naruto choked on his soda, violently coughing. "We haven't even kissed yet! We skipped every single fucking base on the way and missed the home plate yet you're asking that question."

"I didn't take you for a traditionalist when it came to relationships" Gaara deadpanned.

Naruto let his head drop onto the table with a frustrated grunt. "I'm not. You just make me so...arggghh... Never mind."

"Enlightening. Don't hurt yourself with all that thinking." Gaara heard the blond huff in response.

"Please forget I said anything. Just erase it all from your memory."

Gaara laughed and finished his food, but the words Naruto said rang in his mind. This was dangerous water. He shouldn't push things. They exited the pizzeria into the now pouring rain, Gaara hesitated but the blond grabbed him by the hand and darted down the sidewalk in the opposite direction they had originally come from.

"Naruto! Where are you taking me?" Gaara allowed himself to be pulled along.

"I want you to meet someone." The half breed threw his head back to answer as their clothes became drenched.

They finally stopped before a familiar wrought iron gate. "Well you've met before but I think you're overdue to meet again and I don't know if I'll get another chance to bring you anytime soon."

The blonde placed his hand on the large padlock and put into practice some of the abilities of his demon half that Gaara had showed him. The lock clicked open and they entered following the path until Naruto stopped at a tombstone.

"Hey mom! I was in the neighborhood so I thought I'd swing by and I brought a friend. He said you guys had met before but I thought you'd like to see him again. He's helped me out a lot and he's kinda important to me so yeah. Also I finally talked to dad... well sort of. We're gonna really talk tomorrow, I know you probably would've wanted me to do it sooner, but I needed some time. Better late than never though, right? I'm doing better though. Hopefully I can come see you again once all of this is over… Ahh.. I should probably let Gaara say hi." Naruto paused his rambling and looked up at the demon expectantly.

Gaara sensed the slight trace of anxiety from the half breed. He was sure it took a lot for Naruto to bring someone else here and let them listen in on him talking to his deceased mother.

"Hello Kushina, It's been a while." The redhead placed a hand on her tombstone and willed his demon sight to take over so he could see her spirit. She appeared sitting on the ledge of the marble stone smiling over at Wrath as he spoke.

"Naruto is doing well. He's learning a lot faster than expected, despite his inability to wake up on time." He heard the blond scoff in response. "I promise that I'll try my best to take care of him, although sometimes I feel like he's the one taking care of me. He's been keeping me from becoming too serious. It's a fair tradeoff to be honest."

Gaara looked over to the blonde standing next to him. "You have a wonderful son, Kushina. You should be overjoyed at how strong and amazing he's become. I believe in him. He's going to be just fine."

"Thanks for not thinking I'm weirdo cause I hang out in graveyards at night and talk to my dead mother." The rain had returned to a light drizzle as they walked back out of the cemetery and Gaara found a secluded spot to create a portal back to hell.

"I'm a demon Naruto. Do you really think this is the strangest thing I've done? Besides you've been living with me for almost seven months, there's hardly anything you can do by now that would put me off."

They entered back into Gaara's apartment and the demon began pulling off his wet jacket. "Try not to drip too much on the flo-.."

He was stopped as he felt arms snake around his torso and Naruto's forehead lightly rest at the base of Gaara's neck.

"Thank you, for not giving up on me. I feel like I owe you a lot. I couldn't do this without you."

The demon stilled for a moment before he felt Naruto retreat and apologize. "Sorry. I invaded your personal space. I know how much you hate people invading your space." The blonde mumbled.

"It's alright. You're the exception." Gaara finally spoke and turned back to face Naruto who was staring at his shoes, hands stuffed into his pockets in what seemed like an effort to control them more than anything.

"Hey, Naruto look at me." Blue eyes slowly found their way up as Gaara continued. "I am here for you, whatever you need. I'm not going anywhere, I promise, but please understand the with or without me, you are capable of so much. You are deserving of so much. Don't fool yourself into believing that you can't do things or shouldn't experience things for any reason because that's a lie. I will never give up on you, so don't ever give up on yourself."

"Ok" Naruto gave a soft smile as he whispered his response.

It was quick and unexpected and over almost as fast as it had begun. Naruto let his hand find Gaara's and pulled him closer. A gentle brush of lips, unsure but curious, a small invitation extended to the demon. Wrath looked at the half breed in surprise and watched him pull back uncertain if he had overstepped some invisible boundary, face flushed with red across beautiful tan skin. Gaara felt his resolve crumble as the wide blue eyes glanced nervously at him. Eyes that he knew he could never deny. This would probably create a whole new world of issues that could have been avoided if he had better control, but at the moment he didn't give a fuck. He guided Naruto's mouth back to his, connecting them again.

Fuck everything else. Right now, right here, was all that mattered. Both of them were broken in one way or another, perhaps this time he could be enough. Maybe this time Gaara would be able to give someone everything they needed. Maybe they could fit their jagged, fragmented edges together and make each other whole. The gentle kiss turned fervent as they crushed their mouths together, like this kiss would be able to piece each other back together. Like their mouths held the answer to all of life's problems. Hands knotted in garnet hair and pale fingers tracing along a defined jawline, they had become a tangled mess of teeth and tongue. Gaara felt everything else fade away in a blur of blond hair and blue eyes.