Yashamaru had been watching the two boys play with a juxtaposition of contentment and unease. Kazekage-sama had ordered him to keep an eye on them lest the highly valued jinchuriki from Konohagakure get killed. Even if the boy never intended to harm anyone, Yashamaru knew the risk Gaara posed, so despite the frequent laughter coming from inside the sandcastle, Yashamaru remained vigilant. But seeing Gaara so happy, so free from his usual torments, made Yashamaru wish that this moment could last forever.
Gaara's heart nearly stopped when he saw the two people standing in front of his house.
"Gaara!" Temari cried as she rushed forward, wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a surge of relief. Kankuro followed close behind, a smile on his face as he reached out to ruffle Gaara's hair fondly.
"Temari, Kankuro…!" Gaara's voice quavered as he hugged his sister back, her tight arms around him bringing tears to his eyes. He hadn't seen his siblings in so long, and he had missed them terribly.
Temari pulled back slightly, her teal eyes misty. "We've missed you."
Gaara blinked, trying to hold back his tears. "I've missed you, too."
"Temari-sama, Kankuro-sama! Come inside!" Yashamaru hurriedly opened the door. He was thrilled to see his beloved niece and nephew visit their brother, but the thought of their father finding out filled him with dread.
Kankuro noticed the blonde boy standing next to their brother. "Konoha's jinchuriki, why are you here?"
"Come in and I'll explain!" Yashamaru urged everyone to get in the house and closed the door swiftly.
The living room was small but not cramped, with an airy feel thanks to the oval shape of the stucco building. Small round windows lined one side, keeping out the howling desert winds that had begun to pick up in the evening. Despite the cold tones of the floor and furniture—sea-green tiles softened by a gray woven rug—Naruto instantly felt warm and cozy. A low brown table, crafted from sturdy acacia wood, stood at the center.
"Temari-sama, Kankuro-sama, did you sneak out of home before dinner?" Yashamaru asked with a mix of concern and affection as he gave his little niece and nephew each a hug and a kiss on the forehead. Today had been full of surprises that left him both delighted and on edge.
"No, we came here straight after school," Kankuro answered. "We have—"
"We just missed Gaara too much," Temari interrupted. "Father comes home late every Friday anyway, we'll be fine," She tried her best to give her uncle a reassuring smile, who responded with a conflicted one.
"Jinchuriki…?!" Gaara's voice was as faint as the diffused glow from the ceiling light behind its frosted glass panels. The word had been replaying in his brain for a whole minute. Naruto… Konoha's jinchuriki?
Naruto gave Gaara an awkward smile and scratched the back of his head. "I was going to tell you as soon as we got back," he admitted before turning to Temari and Kankuro. "I'm here to help Gaara sleep." He announced, placing a hand on his chest. " —my tailed beast will handle Shukaku."
The jaws of all three Suna siblings nearly dropped.
"Kazekage-sama approved of this proposal," Yashamaru chimed in, calmly and matter-of-factly. "So Naruto-Kun will be staying here tonight."
"Please tell my friends about this," Naruto said to Temari and Kankuro with a hopeful nod.
Wait. Wait, wait, wait.
Gaara's mind reeled as he tried to process the cascade of revelations. Naruto had known all along—as a fellow jinchuriki. That's why he had been looking for Gaara. That's why his smile shone so brightly when Gaara related to his story of leaving his village. That's why he had spoken with such certainty when he said, "They don't know you like I do."
The empathy in Naruto's eyes, the kindness in his voice—it hadn't been Gaara's imagination.
"Even if Father agreed to this, I don't trust a foreigner who swaggered into our house and expected us to be friends with him," said Kankuro with a scowl.
Gaara quickly clutched Naruto's arm and declared, "Naruto is my friend!"
This time Naruto, hearing Gaara utter his name for the first time, joined Temari and Kankuro in their stunned reactions.
"We're gonna be best friends!" Naruto beamed, turning to hug Gaara beside him.
"Gaara… made a friend…?" Temari pronounced every word slowly, as if it was a foreign language.
"Yes," Yashamaru affirmed. "Naruto-kun is a very nice boy. Gaara-sama had a lot of fun playing with him today."
"We built a large sandcastle, and then I showed Naruto the main market streets," said Gaara triumphantly, still holding onto Naruto.
A smile broke across Temari's face as she shook her head in astonishment. She fixed her eyes on the blonde boy with a sincere look. "Thank you, Naruto. Every kid who has heard of Gaara steers clear of him. You're the first ever not to run away from Gaara at first sight."
Kankuro gaped at his brother, who was cuddling Naruto in a relaxed way as if they had known each other for years. He put a hand on his forehead and let out a half-scoff. "If Gaara says so, then I guess we should be friends, too. Welcome to our family, Naruto. Although I don't think you'd love living with us, considering…" Kankuro glanced at Yashamaru. "We have a father who doesn't treat us like his kids."
Gaara let go of Naruto at the mention of the man. He hadn't seen Father for over a year, but memories of him had been haunting Gaara ever since that day Father came home earlier than usual. Footsteps so heavy they echoed through the hallway and sent a tremor through Gaara's heart. That petrifying glare that constricted his lungs. That imperious voice that made him swallow any attempt to vindicate himself.
Not that Gaara could have explained it clearly even if given the chance, though. He still couldn't quite put into words the bewilderment and frustration that had clouded his mind when the kids had fled from him. Only Yashamaru believed him when he later said that the sand had moved on its own; his siblings were skeptical about it. Gaara had wished the kids had stayed, but he hadn't meant to grab them by the ankle with sand and drag them back. But now that the same thing had happened three times, Gaara was beginning to wonder if it really had been just himself who caused the sand to move, even if unintentionally.
A gentle hand fell on Gaara's shoulder and he realized that he had been staring at his feet. He turned his head and there it was again, the tenderness in those blue eyes staring right back, tinged with apprehension.
"We'll fight Shukaku together and prove to your dad that you won't hurt anyone," said Naruto. "I'll help so that you can go back to the kazekage's residence, I promise."
Gaara's eyes widened then darted away. "I've never fought Shukaku, I just try to run away from it in my dreams. And I try to stay awake at night. I can almost go without sleep now, but… but I'm starting to hear its voice in my head instead…"
"Oh, no, it's getting worse!", Temari gasped. "I've heard that Shukaku gradually devours its host's mental stability, it's true!"
Gaara's heart sank at his sister's words. That somewhat explained why he was going crazy, but the realization was still daunting. It must have shown on his face, because Temari clasped her hands over her mouth as if she had just blurted out something she shouldn't.
"Gaara-sama, I'll be beside you when Naruto-kun works with his tailed beast to help you sleep safely," Yashamaru said, crouching down to meet Gaara's gaze and hold his hand firmly. "So don't worry. Let's have dinner first, okay?"
Gaara nodded, and all 4 kids sat down on the dark turquoise sofa, looking downcast as Yashamaru went behind a hanging curtain of woven beige beads that separated the kitchen and the dining room.
They stayed in silence for a while. Naruto peeked at Gaara, who had a vacant expression on his pale face, not a trace of joy that had been so obvious earlier, as if he had completely forgotten about their sandcastle and their running down the market streets. Naruto was pretty sure that a smile was a rare expression for Gaara, and that it would be hard to elicit another one from the red-haired boy if Naruto and 's plan failed. He clenched his fists in his lap.
"Useless kazekage," Kankuro cursed, snapping Naruto from his thoughts. "Can't fix his son's problems that HE caused in the first place. We already have a worse economy than Konoha, now we even have worse tailed beast control than them." Kankuro shot a wistful glance at Naruto, making the latter flinch.
Naruto pouted at his knees. He didn't know if good tailed beast control meant anything if they treated their jinchuriki so poorly that they ran away from their own village. What he did know was that he would never choose a parent like Rasa over having no parents at all.
"Gaara, how have you been? Have you been listening to Yashamaru? Has anyone hurt you?" Temari asked, trying to catch up to her brother. She knew the sand would automatically protect Gaara—and this fact comforted her whenever she thought about the potential dangers he might face—but she still needed to make sure, especially with what they would have to tell Yashamaru later.
"Everything's okay. I stay in the house and play with most of the time," Gaara lied about the first part. Nobody attacked him; it was the other way around, actually. But he didn't want to upset his siblings, or even worse, scare them. He wasn't sure if they knew he had injured other kids for the third time.
" ?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"Ah, Gaara's favorite teddy, the one Yashamaru bought for him on his third birthday. He plays with it all the time," Temari smiled, then her smile faltered. "It should have been Kankuro and I who spent the most time with you instead, though. We're sorry."
Gaara shook his head and was about to say something when Yashamaru called out, "Dinner's ready!"
They moved to the dining room and sat around the beige table, which had only four chairs with light cushions covered in dark cyan fabric. Yashamaru took off his gray apron and pulled the woven chair from the living room over to the dining table. Temari helped dish out bowls and utensils from the hutch, which also displayed cups, condiment jars, and a tin teapot.
"Mmm, the stewed lentils smell so good!" Kankuro sniffed, holding the lid of the pot open.
"Remember to eat the carrots and onions, too. I added cinnamon and bay leaves so you'd like them more," Yashamaru reminded.
"Apricot and almond salad is my favorite! Thank you, Yashamaru," Temari beamed.
"With sliced cucumber and yogurt dressing. Yes, I remember."
Naruto took a bite of the soft flatbread made from a mix of wheat and barley flour, topped with dollops of soft cheese. "Looks like there's everyone's favorite dishes. Which one's yours, Gaara?"
"Huh?" Gaara stopped scooping couscous with steamed zucchini and peas into his bowl and thought for a second. "Everything Yashamaru makes is delicious."
His siblings and uncle all made an "aww" sound, though Kankuro's was a bit sarcastic, which made Naruto snort.
"Aside from the grilled milkfish fillets, which is my specialty, these are actually everyday dishes in Sunagakure. I wanted to make something more elaborate, but that would've taken too long and you children are already hungry," Yashamaru said.
"We even have these for lunch at school," Temari added, pointing to the couscous and stewed lentils. "But like Gaara said, anything Yashamaru makes tastes better than everything else."
"How have you been doing at school?" Gaara asked. Not only did Gaara admire his siblings very much and everything they did was cool to him, but they were also his only window into what it was like to go to the ninja academy.
"Fine, I guess," Temari shrugged. "We just learned how to wield and throw shuriken in third grade."
"Wow, I've never even touched one," Gaara said. Only his sand had, when some kid threw one at him near the academy. He had been too frightened and sad to be interested in picking it up.
"It's not exactly exciting, believe me," Temari chuckled a little. "We practice in pairs, and I have to pick up the shuriken that fall all over the place for my teammate. They just wouldn't hit the wooden dummy."
The blonde girl was about to continue complaining when she saw the innocent frown on her brother's face. Realizing how much Gaara must want to go to school, she gave him an apologetic smile. "I'll teach you next time if you want to learn."
"I do," Gaara nodded enthusiastically.
Naruto marveled at the delicate milkfish fillet, seasoned with salt, lemon and a sprinkle of thyme. He hadn't been in the mood to properly taste his last dinner at the kazekage's residence. He had also been so grateful that he and his friends were allowed to stay in Suna, he hadn't thought much about school.
"Ninja academy in Suna better be more interesting than Konoha's," he muttered.
"Sorry, but I don't think school's fun anywhere in the world," Kankuro burst Naruto's bubble. "They're teaching the basics of trap-setting now in second grade, and it's boring to watch a bunch of dumb kids fumble with the ropes."
Naruto, recalling his miserable days at Konohagakure's ninja academy, felt personally attacked and fell silent. Temari shot Kankuro a glare signaling "how dare you devalue Gaara's wish to go to school" but the latter only showed confusion.
"Didn't I tell you to help your peers when they struggle with any skill?" Yashamaru scolded his nephew lightly.
"Uh, yeah I do. Especially the underachievers. I heard that the teachers balance the strength of each squad when we graduate from the academy. If I get put in a team with the bottom students, at least they'll be less of a burden."
Naruto grinned wryly at this. At least the boy's willing to teach his classmates.
"Kankuro-sama," Yashamaru sighed. "You should be able to feel a sense of achievement just from helping someone improve."
"Ok…"
The rest of the dinner went similarly. Gaara listened attentively as his sister and brother shared their school life, while Naruto, Yashamaru and occasionally Gaara himself joined in the conversation. They talked, laughed, and for a brief moment, it felt like the old days again—before everything had changed.
Soon the evening drew to a close. All their bowls were empty, and Temari and Kankuro had to leave. Gaara didn't want to think about it, but if Father found out they had come over, there would be consequences. Temari helped Yashamaru bring the bowls and plates to the kitchen. Kankuro saw it and immediately followed them. Gaara thought he saw a nervous look on his brother's face. When they came out of the kitchen, Temari grasped Naruto by the shoulder and said in a rather serious tone, "We're really counting on you, Naruto," to which the blonde boy replied with a solemn grunt.
Before leaving, Temari and Kankuro took turns hugging Gaara, both reluctant to let go. Gaara held onto them, savoring the warmth of their embraces.
"Take care, Gaara," Temari whispered softly. "We'll see each other again soon, okay?"
Gaara nodded, a lump forming in his throat. "Okay…"
As Temari and Kankuro walked away, Gaara stood at the door, watching their figures shrink until they disappeared from sight. They were so much taller than Gaara had last seen them. He wondered if he would recognize them from afar the next time they visited. Would they even be able to sneak a visit again? Part of him doubted it. But for the first time in a long while, Gaara had something to look forward to.