The figure stood before them, face impassive. The massive gourd was as big as him, full of God knows what.

Maybe it's full of stolen money from Konoha, thought Sasuke. Maybe it's full of medicine he takes cuz he's got a disease!

Maybe it's full of the swamp water he puts on his gills to keep him alive, thought Naruto. Maybe it's full of little spiders that do his bidding so long as they get to eat the corpse of his kills!

Though Sasuke and Naruto had widely different imaginings of just what that gourd held, one thing they both felt: fear. They'd never seen a child—or anyone—as expressionless and blank as him. It wouldn't have been more strange if he'd been sneering or insanely happy. This was just…odd.

Naruto gulped. Sasuke hadn't noticed it, because he hadn't been on his own for long enough, but Naruto realized it instantly. His eyes held pure, horrible sadness and isolation within them, and Naruto realized that he was just like himself. He didn't understand his situation, but it had to be similar to Naruto's. But he had a family. What was going on with him?

"Uh, hi," Sasuke choked, going rigid.

"Uh," was all Naruto managed.

The boy's eyes narrowed, and the boy mocked them. "You look scared. Do you fear me? Huh? Do you?"

Sasuke gulped, trying to regain some posture. But he found fear coursing through his veins. This was just like last time, when he couldn't do anything to save his people because his body wouldn't respond to him.

Naruto, on the other hand, was not afraid. The look in his eyes told Naruto that he was bluffing. Naruto had done it many times himself—hid his pain behind jokes and laughter. This boy was doing the same, only with fear—which meant, in their conditions, they'd had different ways of hiding themselves. Only the boy had been powerful enough to strike fear, and Naruto goofy enough to receive laughs and attention from others.

"My name is Gaara of the Desert," the boy said, glaring down at them. Sasuke's knees gave out and he landed beside Naruto on the ground. He coughed hard and looked down.

"Gaara," Naruto said. "I'm Naruto." Naruto struggled to stand, but Sasuke caught his arm.

He hissed, "Get down. This kid is dangerous."

"No," Naruto said simply. "You don't understand."

Sasuke looked up from the ground and found Naruto's eyes staring into his. Something about them told Sasuke to trust him. "Okay," Sasuke said simply, and released his hold on Naruto.

With a sigh, Naruto stood up straight, staring into the boy's eyes. "I don't fear you, Gaara."

"You should. I'll kill you." The ground started to shake, and Naruto found himself gulping in fear and shutting his eyes. I'm afraid, he thought. This kid is dangerous. I really could get killed. Why else would they lock him up? I should get the hell out of here, and—

A hand on his shoulder stopped him from racing away. He opened his eyes and realized it was Sasuke. His black eyes, shining with the setting sun, told him that he could do this. Whatever it was, they said, that you want to do, you do it. I'll back you up.

Naruto swallowed his fear and faced Gaara again, who was smirking with amusement.

"Did I come across some gay homeboys in Konoha?" he sneered.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Wow, you have no gaydar. No, we're just…" Naruto didn't look at Sasuke. "Friends." Then he added, with the hint of a laugh, "And there's nothing wrong with being gay, either."

Naruto breathed in a breath of pond air and asked, "Why were you locked up, Gaara?"

The boy was caught off guard. His eyes betrayed his sadness, and he bowed his head. Even though he didn't say anything, Naruto could feel the horrible loneliness radiate off Gaara.

"It's because of something you can't control, right?" Naruto murmured. "Is that it?"

"People fear me," Gaara whispered. "They shun me. I'm powerful." He lifted his head, and tears started to flow from his eyes. "You shouldn't come near me! I'm…I'm…"

"Lonely," Naruto finished. Gaara hiccupped. "We're a lot alike, you know."

Gaara didn't say anything, but his eyes widened. Then, they narrowed. "That's not funny! How could you joke about me?" Rage filled his eyes, and Naruto held his hands up.

"No, I'm not," he said softly. "I'm alone, too."

Sasuke jolted. He was? Sasuke hadn't known.

Gaara didn't say anything. "R-really?" he mumbled.

"Yeah. People don't like me, either. I don't know why. Maybe you do. The point is, you have the same eyes as I do. I know you must be just as alone as I've been."

Gaara's eyes showed infinite sadness. "But there's nothing we can do."

Naruto smiled genuinely. "Not necessarily. We've found each other, right?"

"And me," Sasuke added, with a smile of his own.

The boy collapsed, sobbing into the ground, but Naruto knew it was ok. They had each other now. Even if it was for a week, they could be friends.

Sasuke looked on in awe. "Good God," he whispered to himself. "I have no idea what the hell is going on."

-

Hi. Writer again. Just wanted to say that a 'gaydar' is something my friend told me about—apparently, it's how well you can pick up if someone is gay. I watched a movie with her, called Camp, and in the story people wanted to become actors and went to a theater camp. Well, like, all the guys were gay except for one, and that was the only one I thought was gay. She told me he wasn't gay in the movie, but gay in real life. So, my gaydar is a little off.

Also, I added that being gay isn't a bad thing because it isn't. I'm not homophobic. I just wanted to add that in to make Gaara seem mean. Thank you for reading!