Dang... I love you all. Seriously. You reviewers rock. And thanks for those of you who volunteered to beta for me. I was just sort of babbling when I said it, but I totally found a beta and I'm freakin' happy about it. Loves to my new beta Ugawa!

Message from beta: Another amazing chapter. Definitely worth reading. J


Chapter Five

-Naruto-

We stood side by side washing the dishes as I continued to list off rules and facts about my little one to the new nanny. My nerves and excitement filled me all at once. I didn't know how to explain it. I was happy about finding someone who seemed to adore my child, happy that I could trust his safety to someone who needed my help, but scared of all the things that could go wrong. The redhead beside me seemed nervous as well, but I would smile and he'd stop looking like a lost puppy.

I pulled the plug from the sink and watched the water drain away. "Hinata and Ino are bringing Udon and Moegi over tomorrow. They usually do the first three days of the week." I turned to look at him, almost proud of the way he seemed so determined to memorize everything. "I'm going to be blunt. Ino is a bitch. I don't think it's on purpose, though. So, don't let her intimidate you. Hinata, on the other hand, she's a nice girl and will usually try to stop her friend from going too far. They're both friends of Sakura... So, whatever Ino might say to you will more than likely be directed at me." I wiped my hands on my jeans and left the room. He followed, and I stopped in the room behind the kitchen. "This will be your room."

It was a simple room, painted bright blue with dark wood trim. The bed was bare with a dark, wooden frame and a matching desk and dresser. The heavy duffel bag from Tsume lay at the foot of the bed — the only out of place item in the room. I reached over and ruffled his hair with a gentle hand. "Through this door is your closet... Uh. I wanted to ask," I leaned against a wall and stared at him as his eyes wandered around the room with something in his eyes that I couldn't place. He shifted nervously. "Do you have anything stored anywhere? Clothes or things like that you'd want to get?" He shook his head.

"A few weeks ago my backpack was stolen. I've got what I came with."

I gave him a smile that I knew was empty and walked over to the bed, unzipping the bag and pulling the contents out one by one. "Kiba's mother sent these for you. She said your size was about the same as her nephew. He grew out of them." We both stared at the clothes, his look shocked, mine confused at the odd style and bright colors. There weren't that many... five pairs of jeans, a pair of cargo pants, brightly colored band tees, undershirts, two sweaters and a black jean jacket with quite a few patches. Laid out across the bed, they wouldn't even cover the surface, but the look on his face told me he was grateful. His fingers brushed the closest pair of jeans lightly, playing with the fringe of an artfully placed rip that screamed artificial, but still managed to look nice. I smiled as I reached back in and pulled out a sealed package of boxers and socks that I knew Tsume had probably sent Kiba to the store for. That damn woman. She was obviously a mother, wanting to help and provide for someone she knew nothing about. She'd once told me that I had the same trait, announcing that that fact made me a father without question. "She didn't know if they were your style or not..."

"I love them." He whispered, looking up and meeting my eyes finally. "Thank you."

Smiling, I held my hands in the air. "Just the delivery boy. If you want to put these in the dresser, I'll go get some sheets and an extra blanket." He nodded and I left him there, staring at the clothes like they were treasure. I grabbed some dark blue sheets and a white comforter, grabbing the beat up leather wallet on top of the refrigerator, a sleep shirt from my room and returned to his. I leaned against the frame and watched him. He gathered the clothes carefully and put them away like they were the most precious thing he had ever received. That fact made me sad and slightly angry. He turned then and lowered his gaze. I laughed lowly and put the bundle in my arms on the bed. We made the bed in silence, the dark blue sheets smelling of detergent with every movement. I smiled when we'd finished and handed him the wallet that I'd found inside his shoe the night I brought him home and the shirt I knew would be giant on him. I left the room and waited by the door while he changed. The door opened after a few moments. He tugged on the over sized shirt and looked uncomfortable when it slipped from his shoulder. I just smiled and motioned for him to follow as I walked to the kitchen. He trailed after me wordlessly and sat at the table across from me.

"Okay. This is going to get a little personal, kid, but I've got to know." He nodded, keeping his eyes with mine, probably knowing what I was going to ask. "Seventeen-year-olds don't just end up on the street for no reason. You don't have to go into detail if you don't want to, but would you mind telling me how you ended up where you were?"

I saw him swallow anxiously. "I ran away from home a few years ago. I thought I could make it but..."

But you didn't realize how life on the streets really worked. I didn't say this but nodded and let it pass. "May I ask why?"

His eyes fell from mine then, but still he answered. "Home was no longer a safe place." My heart gave a tight squeeze. Most who lie about a horrible home life would return if they were forced to start working the streets, would return though they 'hated' their family if they were too sick to even find an appropriate shelter. This kid's life must've been bad. But maybe they had calmed down since then? They were probably sick with worry over their lost child. I know I would be.

"Drugs?"

He met my critical gaze evenly. "Some weed when I was fifteen, but I didn't like the lack of control. That's all." His eyes didn't leave mine as I began to search his face for signs of a lie. I liked the kid, but I did not want him near my child if he was addicted to something dangerous. He didn't look away, he held his ground. "I have nothing to hide in that aspect. Drugs have scared the shit out of me since I was little. The other street walkers laughed at my refusal, telling me it would help me not think about it, it would help me let go. I stood my ground. I was already a corner whore, I didn't want to be a junkie as well." My face warmed suddenly when I found no hint of deception and his words rang true in my mind, though they saddened me as well.

"Okay." I watched him for a second as I prepared to ask the question I knew I could get one of three reactions from him. A sneering dislike, a growling rage, or fear. I sincerely hoped for some reason it would not be fear. "Should we call your parents?"

"No!" He shouted, lunging across the table and grabbing my hands with shaking frail fingers. "Please don't. Don't call him." His eyes were widened with indescribable fear and I felt concern flood me. "I promise I'll do anything you want, just don't call him. Please..." Panic coursed through me, making my mind frantic. I'm positive he would've agreed to jumping into a pit of venomous snakes naked if I agreed to not calling. My hands were on the side on his face suddenly, my touch gentle in hopes of calming his unsettling fear.

"It's okay, Gaara, I won't call anyone if you don't want me to. You're seventeen. Here in this city, you're considered legal enough to be on your own. There isn't a need to call." Relief crashed over his eyes and he let out a giant breath, lowering his head to the cool surface of the table. I ran a hand through his blood red locks for a minute. I felt relieved when his tense muscles relaxed and I slipped my hand from his grasp. "Do you need me to get you anything?" He shook his head against the table. "Are you going to be alright?" He nodded, not lifting his head from the wooden surface. "Are you sure?" He sat up as if to prove he was fine and gave me a small weak smile that still looked troubled. I didn't believe it for a second but I returned it. "Okay, um, right, moving on. How much would you like to be paid?"

He leaned back in the chair. "I'm staying in your home, you'd be feeding me... isn't that enough?" I laughed when he voiced his thoughts after several minutes of silence. "How much does it usually cost you?"

"Well, Sakura worked for a bargain at one twenty a week. That's what a usual live in nanny ma—"

"That's too much." His eyes widened. "What about, um... fifty?"

My mouth fell open and I looked at him like he was crazy. "Absolutely not. That'd be like I was robbing you or something."

"You're feeding me, giving me a place to stay and I don't even have to sleep with a stranger for it. Plus I get to spend my day with Konohamaru. Fifty is more than enough for me." I sat there frozen in place before breaking out in loud laughter.

"You realize that's only two hundred a month?" He nodded and I just shook my head. We debated it for an hour before I noticed his eyes beginning to grow heavy. He fought it off, determined to win, passing it off with blinking and looking away, but I'd been a father far too long for it to work on me. "Go to bed, kid. We'll have to talk about it more in the morning." His eyes met mine and for some reason I knew he wouldn't budge from his answer. I smirked. What a stubborn little brat. He yawned again and I looked at the clock. It was only twelve-thirty, but he was probably exhausted from his day playing with Konohamaru. I stood and pulled him from the chair. He glared at me sleepily and I was worried he was going to pass out on the way to the room, but he held out even though he was dead to the world as soon as his head hit the pillow. "Goodnight, kid." I chuckled and pulled the blanket over him. I walked to the door and turned out the light, leaving it open slightly. I wandered through the house, checking windows and locks, before cuddling up to my baby brother and falling asleep myself.

-Gaara-

"Naruto. Your alarm has been going off for five minutes." I whispered, leaning over the blond. I looked at the clock again and frowned. I'd been up for a bit and when the loud screeching started it had scared the crap out of me. I waited for it to be shut off but time passed and it continued its annoying wail. I pulled at the edge of the large tee-shirt the blond gave to me to sleep in when the bag revealed no sleeping garments and fidgeted uncomfortably. I wasn't quite sure what to do as my new employer mumbled something that sounded like cherry pies and tofu. Wake him or just leave him be? Surely he would wake up in time right? I mean, he'd been getting himself to work on time before. But we did stay up sorta late last night, going over everything... I pushed the off button on the annoyance and turned back to the bed.

I rolled my eyes to myself, put a hand on his arm and began shaking him. "Narut- ah!" My sentence ended in a yelp as his hand shot out and pulled me halfway into the bed. My knees bent quite uncomfortably against the edge as my torso lay across his, my arms caught at the elbows by his strong arms. I pulled at them in vain. "Why did I think this was a good idea?" I mumbled to myself, still tugging. My legs began screaming in pain, but there was no way I was pulling my legs onto the bed... I'd be draped all over him. I looked over at the tiny brunette sleeping next to the blond as I struggled. He looked so sweet, and I really didn't want to wake him, but if I was going to remedy this situation it was going to have to be loud. I took a deep breath, eyeing the golden flesh beneath me and bit down.

The reaction was immediate, but not desired. Naruto sat straight up, crying out, but instead of releasing me I got the worst end of the deal. My body twisted, throwing my legs onto the bed, finally able to release the pressure that had been building up — which I guess could be viewed as good. But my head became bent to one side, and my upper body jammed down into his lap. "Son of a grape." He muttered looking down at me. "Gaara?" I could only stare up at him as he still had his death grip on my arms that were beginning to ache from the new odd position. "What are you doing?"

"Please let go of my arms." I asked, glad that I was able to keep the pain out of my voice. He looked at my arms and quickly dropped them. I pulled them back and stood up, rubbing the poor things out. "Your alarm was going off for a while, and I was just making sure you weren't dead." He laughed. I rolled my eyes.

The blond stretched his arms high above his head before rubbing the red spot on his collar bone where I'd bitten him. "Damn. Why'd you bite me?" He yawned out, giving me a pout.

I folded my arms across my chest and popped a nonexistent eyebrow at him. "You were molesting me in your sleep. What was supposed to do?" I almost laughed at his decency to blush.

"What time is it?" He yawned again, rubbing his eyes.

"Five-forty-two."

He snapped around to look at the alarm clock before he fell back into bed, groaning. "It's so early!" I looked at him confused once more. "I usually over sleep until six forty then make a mad dash to be on time." He threw his arm over his eyes before puffing out his cheeks and releasing the air in a childish manner. I bit back the urge to laugh. "I guess I'll get up since you went through all the trouble of biting the sleep out of me."

I felt my face heat up slightly and walked away, turning on the coffee pot in the kitchen as I passed it to the room that was now mine for the time being. I changed into the clothes slowly, afraid of ripping the nicest things I owned in three years. The pants fit well enough, though I knew they weren't supposed to be as loose around my legs for the look they were meant to portray. I'd seen the look plenty of times. Sai, the boy I'd use to hang out with while on the streets, had called the spastically dressed kids roaming around the 'new club kids'. The shirt was a perfect fit, displaying the name of some band I'd never heard of across the chest in giant blue and green letters. When I looked in the mirror attached to the closet door I froze.

I felt tears prick my eyes, but I held them back, staring at the teen in the mirror. I looked so... normal. My body not ridiculously displayed to attract the eyes of men and women. I didn't automatically pout when I put these clothes on like I usually did, hoping to appeal to those that wanted someone innocent. No. In these clothes, I looked like a teenager. A real teenager. A kid with a family... I shook it off and walked into the kitchen to see a still half naked blond pouring coffee into a mug. I fidgeted in my place, not sure what I should be doing, before walking over and sitting at the table. "Do you want some?" He asked, his back to me.

"Sure." I mumbled. He seemed to hear it and reached for another black cup hanging from a hook above the pot. The smell of coffee still put me on edge after all these years, but the taste was one thing I'd learned to love on the streets. I had too. Coffee was dirt cheap and water was a fortune. Oh, how mother nature had fallen. Naruto turned around as that thought rolled through my mind, and I saw him falter when he caught sight of me. "What?"

He laughed lightly and sat opposite me. "Are you sure you're seventeen? I fell out of my chair when you said that yesterday. Literally."

I gave him a look and accepted the steaming cup he pushed towards me. "Quite sure." I muttered and took a sip, not even wincing as it burned the tip of my tongue and the roof of my mouth. "Why?"

"You look so damn young. I was guessing sixteen at the most. Although, mostly focusing on fifteen." I scowled. "Don't get offended, kid. I thought, uh, in your situation someone was supposed to look older than they were, not younger." He smiled and the scowl fell from my face automatically. I don't know why. That smile just made anger roll off me.

"I've always looked too young." The words were meant to come out light, just information, but they were dark, heavy. I couldn't help it. Due to my genetic idiocy I had always been tiny, fragile looking, and I hated it with a passion. It caused several fights and plenty of bullying was forced onto me, but I had learned to hold my own, which was the one thing I was grateful for. "I suppose I always will." He clucked his tongue and looked away. We sat there in silence for a few seconds before he turned back to me.

"I forgot to ask if you wanted cream or something." I smirked and just shook my head, finishing the bitter liquid in the cup. He grinned and swirled his around. "That's good. I didn't have any anyway." He chuckled. I snorted. A few more minutes of silence settled around us and I listened to the noises. Oddly, there weren't many. The occasional drip from the coffee pot, the sounds of Naruto shifting around, the clink of his cup against the table and... that was it. I took it all in with gratitude. I appreciated the quiet more than anything. Apparently my rescuer didn't. "Geez. It's too fucking quiet. Man. I'm never up this early, I have no idea what to do with all this extra time." He smiled sheepishly. "Did my alarm wake you up?"

I shook my head. "I wake up early all the time... but it did startle me."

He laughed lowly. "Yeah... I forgot it was still set. Me and Konohamaru have the wonderful talent of sleeping right through it. We've been through several different kinds and none of them work. Doesn't matter though. Sakura always woke me up when she got here." He frowned then but shook it off. "I'm gonna go get ready." I watched him go. The name Sakura was said a lot in this house. I wasn't sure who she was, but it seemed just mentioning her made the blue eyed man sad. I frowned when the sound of the shower started and picked up my empty cup on the table, washing and putting it back on its hook. I sat down once again at the table and became bored all too quickly, wondering briefly when Konohamaru would wake up.

My hopes were answered a minute later when a tiny voice called out from the other room. "Papa?" I felt my face light up and quickly walked to the room he shared with his father. I smiled softly as I spotted the toddler rubbing his eyes with his tiny fist. I walked over and lifted him up. He nuzzled into my chest and sighed. He sniffed me for a few seconds and looked up with a giant smile on his face. "Gaawa!" He cried happily, throwing his arms around my neck. I smiled and turned to the doorway as a laugh sounded out, freezing at the sight that greeted me.

"He just sniffed you, didn't he?" The bronzed man stood there toweling off his still wet hair laughing... wearing nothing but a towel around his waist loosely. "That's it. Kiba spends way too much time with him." I blushed and tried not to watch the water rolling down his chest, tried not to watch as they slid across the beautiful tattoo, tried not to watch as they hit the soft white towel draped around his hips so- I finally pulled my eyes away and felt myself grow darker. I heard him walk into the room... and stop right next to us. "Morning, baby." Konohamaru giggled as he was tickled under his chin. I tried to think that I didn't just imagine I was the one he called baby, mumbled something about giving him some privacy and high tailed it out of there.

"Gaawa wed." The three year old smiled and poked my cheek. I snorted and set him down. "Has pa'tate?" I nodded as he grabbed my fingers and we made our way to the kitchen. We pulled the ingredients out together, Konohamaru laughing as I made a face at the whole wheat flour and proceeded to make a mess. The batter was mixed, and I was pouring it into the pan when Naruto joined us. His clothes looked dirty. White tee covered in speckles and smears of black along with his jeans and bright orange cloth hanging from his back pocket. I wondered just what it was he did for a living when he smiled at us and poured another cup of coffee. I listen to the two gabber on as I prepared the meal. I was beginning to lose myself in the act that used to calm me so much when I felt someone stop behind me.

"You like to cook?" He asked. I nodded. "Self taught or did someone teach you?" I could hear the smile in his voice as he leaned on the counter beside me.

"My mother taught me." I smiled on reflex. "She tried to teach me how to make everything from scratch, but I wasn't too interested in that. I'm surprised I remember how to do this." He laughed, and I smiled softly over at him. His eyes danced with laughter and pulled a chunk of batter from my hair. "I guess I didn't remember how to do it without making a mess." He just laughed as he wiped the mush on the towel hanging from the oven.

"Yup. Pefic." We both turned to see Konohamaru watching us. I raised a nonexistent brow and turned to his papa. He had the same look on his face but just shrugged. I turned back to the pan while the blond pushed off from the counter and walked to his child. I heard them engage in a round of patty cake and listened to the child's voice try to match his papa's. It was cute to say the very least. I flipped the last pancake onto a plate and walked to the already set table. The two smiled their matching smiles before digging in. We sat there for a while after we finished, until Naruto spotted the time and jumped to his feet. He ran around and planted a kiss on the toddler's forehead, ruffled my hair, reminded me once more that Ino and Hinata would be up around one-ish, and was out the door. Konohamaru smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Pefic." He said again.

We spent the morning playing in the living room, mostly jumping around and making a mess before he pulled a book of Grimm's fairy tales out of the bookshelf and sat me down to read. Halfway through Godfather Death he was out like a light. I smiled and lay him down in the giant bed in his father's room. I glanced at the clock, it was already a little past noon. I cleaned the mess we'd made and did the dishes to await the two women I was slightly fearful of meeting.

-Naruto-

"You done, dobe?" I looked up as Sasuke Uchiha walked through the door of his office, onyx hair, eyes and dark clothing offsetting his pale white skin delicately. His long fingered hands swept through the oddly styled hair before grabbing his thin elbow and made his way towards me. I smiled up at him hollowly. His smirk fell a bit, and I knew he could tell the difference between my real smiles and the fake ones. I nodded and closed the nanny-cam window on the laptop. "How'd it go?"

This time a real smile lit my face. "Great. They get along great."

He snorted and motioned for me to get out of his seat. "So the new nanny is a hit. Since you chose the broad I'm not really surprised." He sat down in the chair I'd just occupied and looked up at me expectantly. I just grinned down at him, trying to look oblivious. I felt him glare and finally snort in amusement. "What's her name?"

"Gaara."

"That's exotic. Is she cute?"

"He's easy on the eyes." To anyone else, that tidbit didn't appear to affect the brunette, but I could see the shock clearly in his eyes. I laughed at the look he was trying very hard not to give me. "Thanks for letting me use your computer, teme, but my break is almost over."

"You finally got tired of getting hit on." Was his reasoning and I didn't start to correct him. "I thought you had the cam un-installed after you hired that Haruno girl." It wasn't in the form of a question, but I could still hear it.

"Nah. I knew that arrangement wouldn't last. Though the last year had been easy on my nerves." He nodded.

"Why did you choose a male though?"

"I didn't, Konohamaru loved him instantly."

"Why?"

I walked to the door and opened it before turning back to my old rival. "I'd like to know that as well. Later, Sasuke." I smiled back at him, he gave me a curt nod and I walked out.

-Gaara-

Naruto had been right.

Ino was a bitch. But he was also right in the fact it didn't seem to be intentional. I think it had to do with her voice, the pitch was just whiny, but easy to get used to after a few minutes. Hinata was her opposite, sweet, calm and even tempered. Hell, her voice was calming, which probably had a lot to do with the easy acceptance of Ino's voice. The first thing out of the blonde's mouth when I opened the door was "You're the hooker Naruto took in?" followed by "You're damn cute, no wonder he kept you." then "How old are you?" jumping to "No way! You're totally joking, right?" adding the obligatory "Oops. I bet you get that a lot huh?" ending with "I'm Ino, and this is Moegi."

Hinata introduced herself in a quiet whisper of a voice, then Udon --the child she watched-- and ended with asking my name. I didn't even need to think about who made the best first impression. They sat on the couch while I took the chair and watched the children for one minute before Ino began laying into me with questions. I answered them vaguely for the next three and a half hours while keeping an eye on the toddler under my care. Konohamaru seemed to be the leader, taking charge of the other two in a way that wasn't bossy and was easily accepted by the young boy and girl. My mouth almost fell open when I learned they were all the same age, birthdays within months of each other. Konohamaru's speech was miles ahead of theirs and was walking as if that was what he'd always done, they could barely perform coherent words and preferred crawling when they had the option.

"Don't get mad or anything, I'm just curious, but do you have any, like, STDs?" I felt my eye twitch as I glared at her. She flinched. I counted to ten to calm myself when I remembered I was going to have to be spending a lot of time with these women, before opening my mouth.

"No. I do not. I was careful to a point of annoyance and got tested every few months." Ino opened her mouth again, and I was grateful when Hinata captured her attention with something trivial I didn't bother to listen in on. I calmed myself again and watched the little brunette attempt to read the book I'd read to him earlier to the other children. I felt a smile form softly on my face and thought about going over to them. They, surely, were better company than the blonde woman.

"So has he?" I was snapped back to Ino when she began waving her arms around.

I blinked and turned to her. "I missed it."

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Naruto. Has he pulled a move on you yet? You know, turned on that famous Uzumaki charm and tried to get you into bed?" I flared bright red as well as Hinata. I'm sure you could've toasted bread on our faces.

I recovered first. "No. I don't think he's into men."

"I disagree. Sakura's been trying to put the moves on him for six months and he never even took her up on a date or anything. I mean, he's got the whole sexy devoted father thing going on and he hasn't been on one date in almost three years." I saw Konohamaru freeze from the corner of my eye. "I mean, there's the whole grieving period, but you think he'd want to get back into the game after all this time." I frowned as the toddler's face fell, and his eyes became hollow. My heart became frantic. What was going on? I was rising to my feet to go over to him when Ino spoke the breaking words. "I mean, it was tragic, but it wasn't the end of the world." And Konohamaru began to wail. I was at his side in seconds. What just happened? I turned confused eyes to Hinata who had tears in her eyes while the blonde next to her looked ashamed for whatever she had just done.

"Udon, let's get going." The little one was in her arms as Ino grabbed Moegi, they had both began crying minutes after Konohamaru. I was still lost until the dark haired woman leaned over and whispered "Two and half years ago Naruto and Konohamaru's parents died in a car crash." I glared fiercely at the blonde who shrank into herself and hurried to the hallway. "I'm sorry, we'll leave. Ino doesn't know when to shut her mouth. I'm so sorry." Then she too disappeared into the hall.

An hour later Konohamaru had quieted his heartbreaking sobs, but they didn't stop. I felt the need to cry with him rise in my chest, along with the need to kill the insensitive bitch who made this happen. I rocked him back and forth, rubbing his back and calling him "little one," as Naruto told me too, but nothing helped. My heart broke as he clung to me and before I knew it the front door opened and a cheery voice called out "I'm home!"

"Naruto!" I shouted while Konohamaru cried "Papa!"

-Naruto-

My heart stopped at the double cry for me. I ran to the living room to spot a teary eyed redhead draped around my sobbing child. Gaara stood instantly and handed me the brunette who's hands held onto me as if I were the only thing keeping him from floating away. I looked into the frightened teal eyes and swallowed several times before finding my voice. "What happened?" My voice was angry. My voice was scared. My voice frightened me.

"Ino... Ino said something and Konohamaru overheard." His explanation was quick to come, not needing any incentive. "I'm not even really sure what happened. The words centered around." He held up three fingers. "Years ago." I felt my fists tighten and I began to shake. "I didn't know what to do..." My rage was only over shadowed by the fact my crying child needed me at the moment.

I fell into father mode and rubbed his back. "Take a deep breath, baby. Papa's here. See? Every thing's okay. I promise." I felt him inhale and the stiffness in his body released. "That's a good boy. Good boy." I kissed the top of his head and rubbed his scar in gentle circles. It took fifteen minutes to calm him into soft hiccups. "You're okay, little one. You're alright now." I looked at the still shaking redhead sitting on the couch. He wasn't looking our way, but I could guess his expression was not pleasant. "Are you alright now?" I asked softly kissing the wild, brown hair again. He nodded. "Can papa put you down for a minute?" He seemed to think about it for a minute before nodding again. I set him on the ground raising an eyebrow as he ran right to his shaking nanny. Little arms hugged the thin pale frame, which flinched but allowed it. "Konohamaru. Can papa barrow Gaara for a minute?" This time the nod came after several minutes. I was about to repeat myself when he consented, and the little arms released the older boy. "Gaara, would you follow me?" He stood almost robotically, and I heard him follow.

I didn't look at him as he past me into the room, and I shut the door. I took several deep breaths before turning around. "Tell me what she said. As exact as you can remember." He looked stunned for a moment before closing his eyes and swallowing.

"She said... something about you not dating in three years, that's when Konohamaru froze, then a grieving period, I think, then... she said it wasn't the end of the world and Konohamaru began to cry." He sat on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees, hands hanging limp between them. "I'm so sorry, Naruto. I didn't know what to do. I tried everything to calm him, everything you told me last night. I'm so sorry. I-I'll leave now."

"Leave?" Now I was confused. "Why would you leave?" He looked up, just as confused as I'm sure I looked. "It wasn't your fault. You did the best thing you could've done. You held him when he needed it. Now if you'll kindly watch my son, I'm going to go fucking murder a blonde, bimbo bitch." I flung the door open and walked down the hall as Gaara scooped Konohamaru into his arms. "I'll be back." I waved over my shoulder, not able to face them with the rage that burned within me. I sprinted down the stairs and began pounding on the door of the apartment I knew Ino would still be at.

"N-Naruto!" I glared at the woman and watched her shrink.

"Guess what I just came home to?" My voice was disturbingly sweet. She walked into the hall and closed the door, refusing to meet my eyes. "Give up?" My hands slammed into the wall on either side of her, trapping her in a cage. "My son crying his eyes out and a very frightened teenager who was almost in tears himself. Now do you know why?" She looked up at me quickly before lowering her eyes again. I knew I was glaring at this point. And, honestly, I didn't give a fuck if she was scared. She'd hurt my son. She made my baby cry. "Because someone said that when his parents died it wasn't the end of the fucking world!" That was when she began crying and my anger died, I wanted to hold onto it, but I felt sorry. I always had been a sucker for tears. "Ino... I'm sorry, but even if he doesn't really remember them, he remembers something bad happened almost three years ago." She finally looked up at me. "He knows something very bad happened to people he cared for very much. I'm sorry I scared you." I rested my hands on her shoulders and was surprised she didn't flinch.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto. I just, you know, my stupid mouth doesn't know when to quit." She whispered looking up at me.

I nodded and smiled at her as gently as I could with the dead look I knew was stuck in my eyes. "I have the same problem sometimes." She smiled at me weakly. "Man. Gaara was paler than Sasuke. He thought he was being fired to boot." I grinned down at her as best as I could. "I've got to go check on them." I wiped her tears away with my thumb gently. "Please, please be careful in the future." She nodded, and I turned to go.

I heard her sniffle but didn't turn as the stairwell door slid shut behind me. I took the stairs slowly, shoving the angry air out of my body with each step, thinking about the redhead. Gaara had handled it better than Sakura. The woman had accidentally began talking about his scar and the accident when the crying started for her. I arrived home to Konohamaru and Sakura bawling on opposite sides of the room. It had taken an hour to calm him and it didn't help that the one who was supposed to make sure everything was okay while his papa was gone had broken down as well. She'd felt so bad that Kiba had had to watch him for a week while she recovered and, though she'd handled it so poorly, I hadn't been too angry. I'd forgotten to mention his sensitivity to his everlasting reminder.

I walked into a silent apartment. That didn't surprise me, but the sight in the living room made me smile. Konohamaru was snuggled against Gaara's chest, sleeping softly. The redhead was just staring into the wall on the opposite side of the room, holding the little boy gently. I fell onto the love seat and teal eyes settled on me. "Should I be prepared for you to ask me to help hide a body?"

I couldn't help it. I laughed. I couldn't stop it. The laugh wasn't happy, it wasn't angry. It was sad, almost a sobbing ache as it tumbled through me and shook my body. He didn't move, he just watched me with sad eyes. I reeled it in when the toddler began shifting in his arms. Dark eyes opened, joining the teal ones watching me. I smiled at him and he returned it. It was a smile only we seemed to know. It was a smile that seemed to say something's missing, we know what it is, but we can never get it back. I wondered how he'd come to mimic it so perfectly for a second before kicking my shoes off and standing. "Okay, papa's going to go take a shower then we'll go to the park, okay?"

His eyes lit up immediately and he bounced up from his nanny's lap. "Pak!" He hugged my legs and ran to grab his coat.

"Hey, wait! I said I gotta take a shower first! I smell like seal coat still!" I smiled as he disappeared into his room. I turned when Gaara giggled.

"Is that what that smell is?" he grinned when I nodded. "It smells like cat litter..." I chuckled.

"It's kind of gross isn't it?" I smiled and was almost knocked over when Konohamaru ran back into the room carrying his coat, jumping around like a nut, talking with the nanny. "I'll be right back and we can go." I ran to the bathroom and stripped, hopping under the stream of water before it warmed up. Sighing, I blocked off my thoughts and washed quickly, knowing how my little one got when I made him wait while the promise of the park was dangling in front of him. I dashed to the room and threw on whatever before finally joining them in the living room. "We ready then?" I asked as I pulled on my pair of seal coat free shoes. Konohamaru was practically jumping off the walls with his excitement.

"Gaawa san boc! He lie da one!" I raised an eyebrow at the pair.

"I tried to calm him down a bit by asking him what his favorite thing at the park was. I told him mine used to be the sand box." Gaara mumbled, picking at his thumb nail. The tiny brunette grabbed his hand, mouth going a mile a minute and began trying to pull him towards the door. The redhead didn't budge forcing the three-year-old to look back at him with a frown. He gave the boy a small smile and leaned down to look into his little face. "Your papa is gonna take you. I'm sure he wants to spend some time with you."

"Bu I wan you go, too." Gaara looked up at me for help, but I just smiled and left, returning with the jacket Tsume had given him. He took it wordlessly and slipped it on while the little one cheered happily.

"No use arguing with him, kid." He looked down and his fingers began wearing his palms away. I smiled at his nervous habit and reached down to zip up the tiny zipper being held out for me. "Besides, it gives me the chance to show you where the park is in case you want to take him sometime." I flashed him a grin and tossed Konohamaru up in the air, catching him on his way back down and tossing him on my shoulders. Little hands grabbed my hair and tugged it in excitement, making me laugh happily. I turned to the teen to ask him if he was all ready to go but the look on his face made the words die in my throat. He was smiling. It was a smile that put all the others he had shown me to shame. It lit up his beautifully deep eyes, the haunted look dimming and made his entire face seem brighter, his mouth relaxing into it as if it were natural and not the forced tight one I'd seen for the past day and a half. The only thing that made the smile better, he was giving that smile to my child... my son. My heart shuddered in my chest and all the air around me seemed far from my grasp.

"Are we ready?" The beautiful eyes questioned me. I shook myself internally and nodded.

"Yeah. Lets get going."

The walk was short, Konohamaru and I doing most of the talking as we made our way through the streets and the people who filled them. As soon as we hit the still deep green grass the three-year-old on my shoulders began bouncing excitedly, demanding to be put down. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he was off, dragging us both after him with tiny hands connected to ours. I laughed as my little one taunted us both into chasing him all over the play structures, zipping down slides and climbing up stairs and ladders. After he was caught by my tickling hands, he moved on to the mostly empty sand box forcing the redhead to join him.

I watched as they built a giant sand castle before jumping on it to smash it back down and got up to join them, when Konohamaru pulled his nanny down and began whispering in his ear. The teen's face fell into a serious look and he nodded. The little brunette squealed with delight and Gaara's face lit up happily as he was pulled away. I stood there for a moment, wondering what I had just missed. The two walked under the bare trees gathering the fallen leaves into a pile. I laughed to myself and started walking over to join them. I yawned, my eyes sliding shut against the action, and when I opened them, the two were gone. My eyes scanned the area quickly, but the two had disappeared. Before I knew it, I was running towards the area they'd once been, mind going in several directions all ending with panic.

I stopped in front of their giant pile of brown and golden leaves and a small giggle sounded out behind me. Relief flooded me as I turned around only to feel something tackle into my legs and chest. The leaves flew up as I was slammed back into the pile, making the landing softer than it would've been. "Go you, papa!" Konohamaru cried happily as the warmth that had slammed into my chest left and he crawled his way up to my face, laughing. Gaara's soft twinkling laugh joined him and I was soon to follow, tickling my toddler and rolling around in what was left of the pile, only stopping when Konohamaru found a tiny caterpillar. While he watched the black and brown line of fuzz I turned around, looking for our missing member.

The redhead sat on the ground a yard away, leaning against the trunk of an enormous tree, gazing up through its nearly clear branches at the October sky. The crisp wind threw his hair back and forth, forcing the gentle warming smell of the dead leaves around us to wash over me. He had a light, almost shy, smile on his face as the setting sun lit up his skin, giving him the ethereal glow that I'd noticed the first night I'd seen him. The clouds covered the sun and the spell was broken.

Konohamaru ran over and tugged on the teen's hand until he stood, pulling him over so I could grab his tiny hand as well. We followed the cement path through the park, the toddler jabbering on with Gaara or I answering when he asked a question, while he continued to hold our hands and walk between us. Little feet kicked at the leaves that littered the pathway, giggling whenever the wind would lift them up and carry them away. When we came across an empty swing set the little brunette hopped up onto one and made the redhead sit next to him. I laughed and pushed the little one gently, worried he would fall right off it when he stopped me and demanded I push Gaara as well. Konohamaru threw himself off the swing and ran to the bench across from us, climbing up and making himself at home. We followed, though I laughed when I accidentally bumped shoulders with the teen too hard and he stumbled a few feet. He shot me a glare, but I just smiled and ran to the three-year-old's side.

"Okay, what's next?" I asked, plopping down next to him. He climbed onto my lap and shivered. He looked around before turning to the teen standing beside us. He beamed up at him and pointed towards a drink vendor set up a few yards away.

"Gaawa. I col. Ge choc choc?" His teeth chattered for extra measure in case his nanny thought of saying no.

"Choc choc?"

I laughed at the look on the redhead's face. "He wants hot chocolate." I pulled out my wallet and handed him some money. "There's a vendor over there. Will you go get three?" He smiled softly at the money and nodded before walking away. I couldn't help but wonder why I liked that soft smile as I watched him walk towards the vendor just a little way down the path.

"Papa..." I looked down at the child smiling. "You ha'som lie picher daddy." My smile saddened but rose with a vengeance at the compliment. I opened my mouth to thank him but he continued, waving at the teen who waved back. "Gaawa petty, lie picher mommy." I froze, staring down at the little boy, my mind seemed to explode in on itself. The three-year-old jumped up and ran to the redhead, waiting for the drinks.

That was when I realized he was right... and I knew we had a bit of a problem on our hands.

Ha ha. Loves to haretikers who figured out what was going on between Konohamaru and his instant adoration of Gaara. I tried to reign in Gaara's OOC, that last chapter was really pushing it.