The Kazekage walked slowly and leisurely through the streets of his village, a small, forced smile on his lips for the occasional villagers and children who bothered to mind his presence. He didn't really go out and about in the streets often, let alone in daylight hours, as he was usually secreted away in his office or council meetings. This afternoon though he felt the urge to just escape and get away for a while, so he had simply taken off his robes and told Matsuri he was leaving as he walked out the door. Part of him was regretting the impulse, though, as the feeling of people looking at him, even only a curious glance, made him feel awkward – he had never much liked being the focus of attention, after all, since it usually preempted an attempt on his life. It was a conscious effort to keep any of his sand from slipping off the gourd and whirling around him in agitation as he walked.
There was another reason besides the basic desire to get out of the office that brought him out in the light under a cloudless blue sky. A tiny bell chimed merrily as the redhead entered a quaint little shop. A half-dozen customers were already milling about inside, waiting in line or simply chatting with each other or the shopkeeper, a middle-aged woman with light brown hair and friendly smiling demeanor. A few turned at the chime to see the newest patron but for the most part they all continued about their business as if his appearance was nothing out of the ordinary. Gaara kept himself to the side, watching unobtrusively as the shop went about its business. After a few minutes a girl came bounding out of the back carrying a basket full of breads and pastries, the pleasant fresh-baked scent wafting over the shop.
"Sorry Mom, I've got the newest batches right here."
The smiling shopkeeper, the girl's mother, thanked her and picked a few for a customer and helped to set them on racks between sales. Gaara stepped into the line a bit to make his way towards the counter, watching the goings-on while still wondering what the hell he was even doing there.
"Kazekage-sama!" the younger girl cried in delighted surprise, bringing a small smile to Gaara's lips as he moved opposite her at the counter rather than the mother. No use backing out now…
"I wanted to thank you for the treats the other night," he murmured. The young one flushed happily and he couldn't help but notice that he now had the attention of the mother and a few other patrons as well. He focused on the child before him and resisted fidgeting. "I wondered if you would join me for tea. As a thank you."
The girl's eyes grew wide but then turned to face her mother with Gaara's pale green gaze following. The older woman crossed her arms over her chest and assumed a thoughtful look while her dark eyes roved the Kazekage's form calculatingly. I suppose I should have thought of that before, he mused to himself; the adults remembered the days of fearing him and while they were becoming more friendly it was still not surprising if they would not choose to leave their children in his presence. It couldn't be helped, not yet, and only time and patience might prove a cure. The redhead was just about to retract the offer when the woman shrugged and waved a hand dismissively.
"All right, you can go. I can take care of things by myself for a while, you know. Just don't stay out too late, young lady!" The admonishment was dulled by the bright smile as her daughter was already cheerfully thanking her and hurrying around the counter. It wasn't until the little blonde was pulling off her apron that Gaara noticed something he hadn't on their first meeting: she had wraps and a kunai case around her right thigh, just below a red Suna hitai-ate.
"Genin?" he mumbled in quiet surprise as they exited the shop, turning to walk down the dusty street to a café Gaara knew of. He didn't remember giving her any missions, so it was a surprising revelation. The petit blonde looked up at him and blinked confused teal eyes for a moment.
"Yessir, I graduated in the last class. Ikari-sensei is our Jounin Instructor." She turned her eyes shyly back to the path. "We haven't done many missions yet, but I'm determined to become a strong shinobi." Gaara said nothing in reply and a sort of awkward silence fell between them as they walked, the everyday sounds of the village seeming that much louder as they passed. The Kazekage realized that he really didn't know that much about his subordinates. True, he read over every file and report, but he just as quickly dismissed the information afterwards as irrelevant. Temari was usually around to prompt his memory when necessary, but he couldn't always rely on his sister now could he.
Gaara stopped when they reached the shop, pausing outside and looking down at his companion curiously. "What's your name?"
"Ah, Tsubaki, Kazekage-sama."
He nodded once in acknowledgement. "I'm Gaara."
"Everyone knows your name, Kazekage-sama." Tsubaki giggled nervously. The older teen quirked a brow as he led the way into the shop.
"I see. Then please use it."
The girl was silent as she followed her leader back to a small table set in a corner of the café, seating themselves on the plush square cushions around the low table and waiting for a server to come by. Gaara particularly liked this place not only for the good tea, including some highly caffeinated blends, but also for the simple seating that didn't force him to remove his gourd like chairs did. Although in all honesty he didn't need his gourd when in his own village – sand was everywhere, after all – a lifetime of habit was hard to break, and with his gourd he wouldn't need to consciously defend himself.
Gaara rested an elbow on one knee with his palm up to cup his face, a small sigh escaping at the motion as he watched the younger girl fidget. "I'm not going to bite." He adamantly ignored the snide grumble in the back of his mind that he did too bite, especially a certain other blonde.
Although she was a little startled, Tsubaki was neither abashed nor skittish like the redhead would have expected, instead she tilted her head to the side in a confused manner. "Of course not, Kazekage-sama–"
"Gaara." He corrected quietly.
"Gaara-sama." Tsubaki agreed with a hesitant nod. A small, lightly tanned hand reached up to idly twirl a lock of blonde hair around her fingers as she pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I'm sorry I'm nervous, it's just that being with the Kazekage-sama is a little intimidating and all…"
Said Kazekage quirked a brow at that. "Do I scare you?" he asked mildly. Her teal eyes went suddenly wide, as if realizing she may have insulted him.
"Oh no, not at all Ka– Gaara-sama!" the genin replied hastily, surprising Gaara since he had fully expected an affirmative. Even so, he doubted the truth of the statement despite that her earnestness was difficult to doubt. The redhead smirked a little, both at her – real or faked – trust as well as her increasingly flustered appearance. Tsubaki huffed a puff of air up through her bangs and grumbled "Anyone would be nervous around someone they admire."
Gaara hid his surprise by turning to face the waitress, saved from having to make a response as they ordered – oolong for him and chai for her, with a plate of sand cakes to go with. The last comment was still swimming around in his head when they were once more left alone and, like a child pocking at a wound even though they knew it should be left alone, he was sorely tempted to push the subject and ask just what she meant by that. Surely she didn't actually admire him, the Ultimate Weapon of Sunagakure, the Demon Shukaku… but as much as he wanted to know he figured it was perhaps more wise not to – what was it Naruto said? – 'look a gift horse in the mouth'.
"Why did you want to become a ninja?" he asked instead, changing the subject with the first topic that came to mind. It still irked him a little that he didn't know who all his shinobi were and it was certainly something he planned to rectify. A good leader had to know all the weapons at his disposal, he told himself.
"My father was a ninja, too." Tsubaki said, her eyes and tone lowering in sudden melancholy. Cool green eyes narrowed slightly; he had not missed the past tense of that statement. She raised her head a moment later with a forced smile. "He was killed in the attack by those Akatsuki a few years ago. He was one of the ones guarding the pass when…" she trailed off slowly and Gaara was a tad confused as to why he suddenly felt a little guilty. At least I wasn't the one that killed him, he reasoned, I don't think she'd be so forgiving then.
"I'm sorry," he murmured quietly, not knowing much else to say and surprised to find himself sincere. That man had died protecting him, in a roundabout sort of way, since the Akatsuki and the traitor Yuura had gone through the guards in order to get to Gaara, the Sand's jinchuuriki.
"Anyway," she continued, "I was already in the academy by then and I didn't want to quit. I just wanted to get stronger." The sudden hard shine of aqua eyes in that small face, drawn as it was with fierce resolve and framed by bright blonde locks, made the older teen eerily reminded of Naruto. It made him smile, if only a little, and Gaara decided then that he liked that little girl.
"I'm sure you will." Gaara stated in reply, nodding his head slightly in acknowledgement of her determination, because he had seen for himself that a strong will could go a long way. Tsubaki blushed awkwardly and fell silent as the waitress returned with their order, setting a tall steaming mug of unsweetened oolong for the Kazekage, a smaller china cup of creamy chai with a saucer of dark sugar cubes before the girl, as well as a plate of the sand cakes that were a specialty of the region, particularly the secret village itself. The little cookies weren't overly sweet, which is why Gaara happened to like them, and went along quite nicely with a nice hot tea. Tsubaki's small fingers carefully dropped three of the small cubes in her drink and mixed the liquid around with a glass swizzle stick while Gaara nibbled a little on one of the treats.
From there the conversation between the two took on a decidedly more casual and simple air, and once the young blonde relaxed she proved to be rather happily vocal. Gaara was content to let her dominate the conversation, listening for the most part and giving his usual short and simple comments occasionally. It was almost surreal, managing to carry on a conversation – such as it were – for so long without overwhelming agitation and the urge to flee. The number of other people he was as comfortable around could be counted on one hand, so the teenaged leader found himself curiously amused when he realized that more than an hour had lapsed and they were through two cups of tea each and he not found himself fidgety or flighty. Not much, at least. But along with this realization came the knowledge that it had indeed more than an hour, almost two if one counted the time since he'd left the office in the first place, and duty demanded he return to his work if he wanted to sleep that night.
Not that missing a night of sleep would really hurt him, but he wasn't really in the mood to stay up all night.
"What is it Gaara-sama?" Tsubaki asked curiously, and if the redhead was better at reading people he'd have noticed a small twinge of worry in there as well. She had broken off whatever she had been saying, whatever that was Gaara wasn't exactly sure since he seemed to have zoned out a bit there, and was now watching him expectantly for an answer.
"Nothing," he answered softly, eyes glancing towards a window to see that the darkening sky confirmed his tardy suspicions. "I just should be getting back now. Sorry."
Gaara shifted himself back to his feet and Tsubaki scrambled up a half-second after, eyes wide and suddenly worried.
"I'm sorry Gaara-sama, I didn't mean to keep you out so long! You're so busy and all and –" her apologetic babble was cut off with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"It's fine," he assured her quietly as they walked towards the front, "It was a pleasant distraction." Tsubaki didn't seem assured but didn't argue as she followed, hands wringing together nervously behind her back. The elder teen stifled a sigh; he thought that she was beyond that point by now.
He didn't bother waiting for the check, he knew the approximate costs and just left an amount at the counter more than adequate for the bill, not really caring that the waitress would be getting a gross gratuity. He'd had more money than he knew what to do with for years now, overspending on a bit of tea was hardly consequential.
"Trust me," he continued frankly as they left the shop "I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be. I'm not that accommodating." Tsubaki just continued to frown, crossing her arms over her chest and even tapping a foot on the dirt path outside.
"Promise?" she asked finally.
Gaara couldn't help but quirk a brow at this, wondering just what it was about girls that made them able to have a total mood change from one second to the next. The girl was relaxed and then she was nervous and then he turns around and she's openly challenging him. It was eerily like his sister, but much much less frightening. "Promise what?"
"That you're being honest, of course!"
"I'm always honest," he muttered wryly "Lying is a waste of effort."
"Good!" Tsubaki chirped, making another dizzying switch to happy and chipper in an instant. "Well, I shouldn't keep you anymore since you're busy. Thank you very much for the tea, Gaara-sama!" Her short blonde tresses shifted as she bowed her thanks, straightening with a smile and waving jauntily as she jogged off towards the bakery again. The Kazekage stood a moment watching as she disappeared.
Honestly, girls were so weird.
Purple and indigo darkened the sky around a pink horizon following the setting sun by the time he got back to the central building, walking slowly through the halls because he really wasn't in a rush to get back anyway. Outside his office a small projectile came flying at his head, being caught up in a fist of sand before it could impact. Lazily he let the item drop into his hands, revealing a wad of crumpled paper.
"You're late." Matsuri told him from where she sat a small distance away. There was a teasing smirk on her lips, so he forgave the little 'attack' and instead hurled it right back at her.
"I wasn't aware I had a curfew." Gaara replied sarcastically and continued walking towards the doors to his office. The brunette aide smirked wider but said nothing more before the door closed shut behind him. Out of years of habit the first thing he did upon reentering abruptly disperse his gourd so that the sand flew out all over the room, filling it with a thick haze and settling everywhere – the walls, the floor, the ceiling, every little crevice of the windows and door until nothing could move in that room without his knowing. But the sand cloud conformed to a shape that didn't quite belong, one which gave a quiet sneeze. Dim green eyes narrowed.
"Is breaking and entering your new favorite pastime?" he asked aloud, controlling some of the sand into tendrils long enough to switch on the lights as he moved towards his desk before letting it settle back down. Naruto was rubbing at his nose in the corner with an adorably bunched up face as though he were trying not to sneeze again. He failed.
"You're late!" the blonde said instead, ignoring the previous question. Gaara clenched his jaw tight against snapping back petulantly that he was not! Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and just stared at the other teen. Naruto never liked silence much and he was rewarded for his efforts a moment later when the anbu sighed exasperatedly. "It's been three days!" he complained, "I haven't seen you since I got here. The others left the next day and I've spent all my time since getting to know the other anbu corps, even some of the jounin and such and I'm running out of people to talk to, but you haven't given me any missions or anything yet so I thought I'd come see you for one myself but you weren't here so I figured I'd wait for you to get back but you took a while so yes, you're late."
Gaara blinked slowly, trying to process the massive run-on sentence and no little bit amazed by the blonde's ability to say so much in one breath. He also highly doubted that he had just stopped by and decided to wait, since there was no way Matsuri would have let him in unattended, so had quite obviously snuck in. Again. He let the suspicion slide though, saying only "I see."
"Gaara! I'm serious!"
"Oh? Normally when one of my shinobi come asking for missions they're standing over there," he raised an arm and pointed to the center of the room across from his desk, "not in corners in the dark." Naruto opened his mouth to protest but the Kazekage continued talking right over him, taking a rather twisted pleasure in the way the other teen was getting irritated. "Regardless, I haven't given you any missions because I don't have any to give you." Unsurprisingly, the foreign anbu just got angry.
"That's not funny," Naruto growled, blue eyes hard like chips of ice and making the other teen shiver at the intensity. "Don't you dare think I'll just sit around the whole time I'm here because you don't want to give me something to do. I mean it!"
"I can't very well have you getting killed, now can I?" he pointed out, amused at how easy it was to goad the blonde's temper, but he continued quickly. "Relax, I'm not coddling you. I really don't have any missions for you. You said you talked to the other anbu, think about how many are still here. Spying and infiltration are limited due to the unstable truces between the nations right now and there haven't been any requests for anything requiring your rank. And besides that I'm not going to cause a diplomatic incident with your village by refusing to let you do anything. So would you please lower your hackles because Shukaku would very much like to smack you right now."
There was a moment of quiet confusion before Naruto slowly did as he was told, calming himself and lowering the chakra output that had begun to flood the room from his agitation. Hard blue irises settled into a more placid shade. The grumbles in the back of his mind took on a different tone; the demon would've liked a fight. Gaara told the whiny brat to shut up and go take a nap while he absently began removing the excess straps that served to hold his gourd, as they were no longer necessary.
Now, while both young men had changed some over the years, Gaara a little more social and Naruto a little more serious for instance, but there were some fundamental things that would likely never change. One such thing was Naruto's tendency to get easily distracted and jump topics with no rhyme or reason. Such jumps, though, Gaara had learned were preempted by a slightly glazed look as whatever strange processes led from one thought to the next churned inside that head. Seeing such a look made the redhead a touch apprehensive and he braced himself for whatever weird turn the conversation might take.
Naruto murmured his name in a distracted voice as he moved closer, stopping only when he was standing directly in front of the redhead. Confused, Gaara raised his eyes to the tan face and hmm'd his attention, only to find that the hazy blue gaze was not looking directly back at him. I do not have breasts for him to be staring at, he grumbled internally in response to one of the demon's snickered comments, I thought I told you to shut up and go to sleep…No thank you, you can go screw yourself. Just shut up already. The young Kazekage resolutely ignored the taunting and turned his attention back to the blonde in front of him.
"Gaara," he mumbled again, voice low "you've changed it to black."
While he wasn't sure exactly where that had come from, the pale teen knew at least what the comment meant and fought against the smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Indeed." He didn't, of course, mention that the reason his clothing was now predominately black instead of red was because of Naruto's own comment in a prior encounter that he looked sexier in it. He'd been wondering how long it would take for him to notice the change. A low keen was the only warning Gaara had before he found his lips claimed in a rush and didn't hesitate to open his mouth to further exploration.
Yes, he could definitely get used to having Naruto around more often.
The buckles of his vest clinked quietly against the white anbu vest as their bodies collided, arms rising and wrapping comfortably around each other. It wasn't exactly slow and gentle, holds tight and demanding, the kiss deep and almost bruising, but nowhere near the ferocity of just three days ago. Only a minute, a short eternity, passed before Naruto pulled away first. He moved up to press a kiss to the deep 'ai' scar, receiving a similar kiss along his whisker, before burying his nose against the pale neck, nuzzling the fabric and skin and silky red spikes with deep breaths. Gaara merely held him, resting his chin on the broader shoulder and enjoying the close contact.
"I have work to do," he whispered finally, breaking away and stepping back.
"You always say that," Naruto grumbled, letting his arms fall back to his sides as the other teen stepped away. He moved instead to sit on the edge of the desk while the Kazekage sat down in his chair.
"That's because I always have work," he grumbled back, reaching for a file that the blonde was half-sitting on and yanking it out from under him. "Are you sure you still want to be Hokage?"
"Absolutely."
He had only meant it as a joke, but even so the seriousness of the reply was startling… and reassuring.
"That's one of the reasons I'm here, actually." Naruto continued conversationally, crossing his legs and lacing his fingers around one knee. "Beside the fact that I had pestered her for it and she wanted to shut me up, Tsunade no baa-chan sent me here with three specific missions of my own. One of which was watch you. She said that if I wanted to be Hokage, I should watch and learn how other Kage's work instead of just bothering her all the time. Gotta admit she had a good point, you're certainly nothing like her, thank the spirits."
Well now, that was an interesting development. So apparently there were reasons why the Lady Hokage would risk sending out her only jinchuuriki, especially in light of what had led to this mass-trading in the first place. That little tidbit spoke volumes for her opinion of her subordinate and Gaara idly wondered if Naruto realized he was being groomed as her successor. His dream wasn't as far out of reach as it seemed. The Kazekage did not say this though, but narrowed his eyes at something else that had been said. Three missions…
"What are the other two?" he asked.
"That's a 'need to know' basis." Naruto answered with a broad grin. Gaara was not amused.
"I need to know."
"No, you don't." Naruto insisted, oblivious to the glare being aimed at him and just grinning wider. "Not yet anyway. I'll tell you when you do."
He thought about pushing the subject – he was the Kazekage after all, and his substitute leader – but dismissed the idea just as quickly. He trusted Naruto, and if he didn't want to tell him then he trusted that it wasn't important enough for him to really need to know. Yet. That didn't mean he was happy about it, but he would accept it for the time being.
Besides, the bit about learning from him was interesting enough on its own to occupy his attention as he mindlessly skimmed reports. An inkling of an idea was growing in his mind, one that might satisfy both the blonde and that side mission of his. That it would be beneficial to himself as well was just an added bonus, but he would have to find a way to make it happen first.
For the next twenty-odd minutes the Kazekage gave the bare minimum of attention to the reports, files, and requisitions he was stamping and instead focused more on thinking up a logical rationalization for his little plot. It was certainly unorthodox and there was sure to be suspicions and complaints, which he would have to be prepared to counter convincingly. That wasn't going to be pleasant, but it would be necessary. The hard part would be convincing the protesters without revealing too much information; it wouldn't do to make it obvious that he was –
"Gaaaaaara, I'm bored." Naruto interrupted his thoughts with a whine. The blonde anbu was still lounging across the desk, now lying on his side with his head propped on one hand while the other idly flipped through the pages of a book on trade economy that had been on the desk. The redhead was tempted for a moment to suggest he go back to his quarters, but even a bored Naruto was better than no Naruto at all.
"So entertain yourself," he suggested dryly, stamping another folder with approval and setting it on a stack. His first idea had been to have the other teen help, but that could wait for another time perhaps, so he grabbed another file and left his guest to his own devices. Naruto's complaints about the suggestion fell on deaf ears until he finally gave up, hopped off the desk and began wandering the room poking at plants and what little else there was by way of decoration in the office. It wasn't until he got bored enough that he decided to start practicing katas in the middle of the office that he really captured the redhead's attention.
Honestly, how could he be expected to keep his eyes on some boring reports when an exceptionally attractive figure was honing his physique a few scant feet away? It was impossible. Thus Gaara had no qualms setting aside what he was doing to simply lean back and enjoy the show. The anbu uniform was still entirely in place so not a lot of skin was bared, but even so it was easy to see the glide of muscles beneath the tan flesh and tight black shirt as he moved through the forms. He wasn't using the katana, there wasn't really enough room for that, but it was obvious that several of the moves were designed with a blade in mind. Phantom thrusts and parries were made amidst the fluid martial arts movements, a blend of taijutsu kata and kenjutsu. It was easy to imagine a long blade in the strong right arm, the left moving and striking with punches or kunai swipes.
Before he knew exactly what he was doing, Gaara found himself up and moving quickly across the room where he then wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and pressed himself tightly against the other teen's back. The anbu paused in his practice and the muscles beneath the slender hands heaved from the exertion. The redhead nuzzled the damp hairs at the nape of the other's neck and murmured against the soft skin at the juncture of jaw beneath the ear.
"You're distracting," he whispered huskily, pulling the blonde tighter against him so that he could feel the effect of his little display. Naruto turned his head to the side so that he could see Gaara and there was a sly grin on his lips.
"Oh really?"
Gaara growled and nipped at his jaw warningly. "You're doing this on purpose. Stop it. I can't afford so many disruptions. If you keep this up I'll have to make you leave." He tightened his grip momentarily and nuzzled the cheek against his nose; he didn't want to do it, but he'd make good on the threat if he had to. Naruto just sighed and twisted within the circle of arms until they were face-to-face and pressed their foreheads together.
"Sorry," the blonde apologized quietly, warm breath washing over the other's lips, "It wasn't intentional this time, but sorry."
"Hm, good. If you behave until I finish up for the night I might even give you a surprise." The Kazekage smirked and disentangled himself to head slowly back to his chair. He picked up the discarded report and eyed the curious anbu who was still standing in the middle of the office, obviously resisting the temptation to pry. Taking pity on him, Gaara murmured casually "Maybe I'll give you that assignment you came here for."
The excitement that suddenly brightened in the azure eyes just about made up for the delay.
"It's a bad idea Kazekage-sama." Baki insisted, not for the first time since the council meeting had begun. Most of the other councilors were nodding and murmuring agreements. Kankurou, who wasn't technically part of the council but sat in on meetings often enough, remained silent throughout the debate and Gaara wasn't sure if that was a blessing or not.
"That's right," another councilor added, an aging man who had been on the council since his father's reign. He swept an arm out to point at the figure standing a few feet behind the Kazekage's chair. Gaara didn't need to follow the gesture to know that Naruto was standing there, shoulders straight and arms clasped behind his back in rigid attention, full anbu uniform on down to the fox mask hiding his features. "There is no precedent for the Kage having a personal bodyguard, especially during peacetime and in his own Village."
"Irrelevant." Gaara answered dismissively. He understood their concern and was even mildly touched by it, but he was getting a little tired of them questioning him about it. Doubtless several would even still welcome his death, anyway.
"It is foolish," yet another man snarled, slamming his fist on the table, "to have a foreign assassin as your bodyguard. The risk is too great."
"He's not going to kill me," the young leader responded adamantly, biting back an irritated sigh at the way the debate was spiraling back on itself. "There have been assassination attempts on my life since I was a child, none have succeeded yet." He hoped they wouldn't recall his kidnapping and death four years back, but that had been a rather unique case and not really an assassination attempt, per se.
"We are only concerned with your safety, Kazekage-sama," Baki continued, trying a softer tactic.
"He's not going to kill me," Gaara repeated firmly. With a purely mental sigh he flicked his hand and motioned to Naruto to remove his mask. Hushed confusion settled around the table as they took to whispering to each other. Most, if not all, recalled the blonde's role in his rescue from the Akatsuki and were rapidly trying to process his presence.
A loud, barking laugh broke the tension and all heads swiveled to where Kankurou was chortling loudly and slapping his hand on the table. That… wasn't exactly the response he'd expected from his brother.
"He's right," the puppeteer managed finally, controlling his mirth down to a low chuckle. "That guy won't kill him. Dear Desert, people! He's had better opportunities than this to try to kill him before and I'm pretty sure assassinating Gaara isn't on his agenda." The councilors still weren't quite convinced and wore uniform skeptical expressions, but Kankurou was still snickering. "If that guy wanted to kill him he wouldn't have saved his life so many times, now would he? Besides, who better to catch an assassin than another assassin?"
It still took another twelve minutes to convince the council to accept his decision, time which was mostly filled with their continued complaints about his safety – as well as some issues about seeming favoritism of Konoha – but with his brother's and Baki's support they finally sucked it up and let him have his way. Besides, Gaara may have gotten saner over the years but the old men still knew that when Sabaku no Gaara wanted something he damn well better get it. So with that matter settled, they moved on to the regular council discussions which included supply reports, trade requests, the imminent arrival of the last two village shinobi as well as reports from their Suna operatives that had already arrived at their assigned village, and rumors of a small gang of bandits attacking low- or un-guarded caravans to the south. Throughout the two-hour meeting Naruto remained poised like a statue behind the Kazekage's seat, immobile and unobtrusive behind his mask, and Gaara hid a smile as he knew that his new bodyguard was watching the proceedings carefully.
The young leader was honestly surprised, though, when his brother confronted the pair of them while the council was quietly exiting the office. The puppeteer waited until the room was empty save the three of them before speaking, addressing the anbu.
"Despite what I said before, you'd better not hurt him."
"Kankurou…" Gaara growled threateningly, but the elder male ignored him and kept his attention focused on the blonde beside him.
"I mean it, you hurt my little brother and I'd have to try to kill you, and I'd really rather not do that since I'm pretty sure you can kick my ass, too, but you see what I mean." The words were light but the tone was not. Shukaku snickered in the back of the redhead's mind and quipped that he'd actually like to see that happen. The vulpine mask lifted to reveal a smiling face, but there was no teasing or mockery in his expression.
"Wouldn't dream of it." Naruto assured firmly and sincerely. Kankurou grinned broadly and winked before striding resolutely out of the chamber without another word.
Gaara blinked in dumbfounded surprise at whatever that was that had just transpired. He had trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that his brother was being protective of him and the high-pitched cackles resonating in his head weren't helping. Go to sleep you damned 'coon!
"So," Naruto drawled in the sudden silence, not bothering to replace his mask and leaving it resting on his short spikes instead, "what do we do now?"
"I want lunch." Gaara stated simply as he began walking out of the chamber.
"Ramen?" the blonde asked hopefully, closing the door behind them both and scrambling along after as they walked briskly through the halls. Green eyes flicked briefly towards him but otherwise paid him no attention.
"Whatever."
The pair continued on in relative silence, stopping by the Kazekage's office just long enough for Gaara to deposit his robes – pointedly ignoring his guard's leer and the tanuki's comments about stripping technique – before leaving the building entirely and walking through the dusty streets. He decided to forgo his gourd, leaving the sand strewn across his office, and walked through the village clad only in black pants and long coat. As far as he was concerned it was a blatant sign of trust on his part that he would go out without his automatic defense in the presence of an assassin. He could practically hear the complaints of the councilors already, as well as literally hear those of his demon.
Twice during the walk Naruto asked where they were going but received no reply. It wasn't until they entered a semi-large sandstone building and the happy murmurs of conversation and the familiar smell of noodles wafted over them that Naruto broke into a wide grin and threw his arms ecstatically around the pale teen.
"RAMEN!!"
Gaara watched with a smirk as the blonde instantly regressed ten years and darted into the shop quickly to claim a table to the side and immediately bury his nose in a menu. Some things never changed and Naruto's love for ramen was certainly one of them as well. Seeing the other teen mumbling to himself over all the different selections, a cute frown of concentration on his tan face, made the surprise of their destination worthwhile and the redhead couldn't help but smile a little as he sat across from him at the table.
"I can't decide!" Naruto burst out suddenly, a curious mix of delight and horror chasing across his features as he looked directly at his companion as though asking for help. "There's so much to choose from!"
"Close your eyes and point." Gaara suggested dryly as he skimmed his own menu. He actually wasn't really in the mood for ramen… maybe some udon.
"But there's so many new things that I've never tried before." Naruto continued, nose back in the menu and blue eyes darting wildly across the pages.
"So try one of those." Hmm, maybe some soba instead. I haven't had that in a while.
"But what about the classics? There's miso pork here, too!"
"So pick one of those." Gaara grumbled lowly. Eww, that's just sick! He snapped at the demon's newest unpleasant remark. Just… stop talking. Shut up and go to sleep. … I don't care if you're not tired, leave me the hell alone.
Oh how he really, really didn't miss being a jinchuuriki.
"Hey there, are you two ready to order?" a polite waitress asked, a pretty girl around their age with a pen poised over her notepad. Naruto opened his mouth to speak but the pale redhead could practically hear the barrage of questions about to spew forth at the poor unsuspecting girl and moved to intercept.
"I'll have a hot tea," Gaara said instantly, interrupting Naruto before he could begin and receiving the instant attention of both he and the waitress. "and some cold soba with an order of oyakodon. He," he gestured vaguely towards the teen sitting opposite him, "can't decide what he wants so please just pick any three dishes for him, it doesn't matter what as long as they're ramen."
The waitress dutifully noted the orders down, despite the rather odd request, and left promptly to fill them. The anbu's blue eyes trailed after her a moment, mouth slightly agape, before swiveling back to pin Gaara with a cool and calculating gaze that he returned just as calmly. A few seconds ticked by.
"So, I don't get a drink?"
A mild glare and a tendril of sand upside the head was his answer.
notes: Yes, I added Matsuri. As much as I despise filler, I thought it was kind of cute that Gaara had a fangirl, so I put her in. And I started this before they added her in Shippuuden following Temari. Eh, oh well.