Unknown Intentions

Chapter four

The Kazekage and his companions left the next morning, only stopping to bid Tsunade good bye. It was now late in the afternoon and they were on the border of the two countries.
"Gaara," Naruto started, catching up to run beside him. They were quite far ahead of Temari and Kankuro. The older boy looked at him, a sign to continue.
"Nara doesn't have anything to cover his face from the sand up ahead." Naruto said. Gaara stopped, landing on a branch, and Naruto did the same. Currently, Nara was asleep on Naruto's back, held securely by a cradle slung over his shoulder. Gaara took his bag and produced a cape from it. It was a light, sandy color with red stripes on the bottom. Naruto took it and slipped it over his head to rest over his body and Nara. He thanked Gaara, who only nodded and stood. They were about to continue when Temari spoke;
"Gaara, we've been running nonstop since we left. Please let us rest?" She pleaded. Gaara watched her closely, then nodded and leaned against the tree and closed his eyes. It was peaceful for a while, and Naruto could have sworn that Kankuro fell asleep at some point.
"It's been ten minutes. We will leave now." Gaara stated, waking Kankuro and startling both Naruto and Temari. There was a nod from all of them, and the journey began again.

It had been at least an hour from when the group last stopped, and they were now well into the desert. It was hot, and dry, and Naruto was almost begging Gaara for a drink of water. He'd already given all of his water to Nara when the boy had awoke ten minutes earlier. Gaara looked at him, then reluctantly handed over his own flask. Naruto thanked him and drank deeply before wiping the mouth of the bottle and returning it. Temari and Kankuro watched in somewhat horror as Gaara also drank, from the same bottle. An indirect kiss. Not that Naruto or Gaara seemed to notice, much less care, but it was still rather unexpected. Although Gaara was very strict about water, it was a necessity in the dry climate they lived in. As Temari thought about it, the more it made sense. Gaara has never in his life used water without reason. He used very little water in his bath, and what he did use, he made sure not to waste. When he made tea, he would only use the amount of water absolutely needed and drank every last drop. He was not a wasteful person. But there was a line that even Gaara never crossed in that sense. He would never use the bath after one of his siblings, never ate off their dishes, wouldn't sit on their beds… he was strange like that.
"We should keep going." Naruto said, readjusting Nara on his back. Temari wasn't sure how long she was thinking, but the blondes voice pulled her from her thoughts. Her brother had nodded and offered Naruto one last drink before pocketing his bottle.

The group arrived in Suna in the hours of early morning. There were guards at the entrance, who contacted the Kazekage's office to prepare for their arrival.
"I must leave you now, Temari will lead you to my home where you and Nara will be staying. You'll be able to wash and rest there."Gaara said. Naruto nodded and followed Temari out into the cold night. They walked back to the entrance, then took a right and walked a bit more.
"I hope you don't mind living here." Temari said. Naruto shrugged.
"I don't mind. It'll take some getting used to, but they said I could go back anytime if I needed too." He said, following her up to a house. It was small, and it looked a bit like a pot, but so did every other building. She unlocked the door and stepped inside, taking off her shoes and reaching out to hold Nara while Naruto did the same. Together, they entered the house. It was small, but spacious, and there were two stories. The room that they stood in must have been the living room, because it had a few seats facing a large, glass back door that looked out onto the large wall of the village. There were a few book shelves on the walls and a large, short coffee table, but that was it. Naruto wandered into the next room. It was the kitchen. Naruto didn't know how to cook very well, but it looked like Gaara did. His shelves were filled with strange ingredients and so was his refrigerator. After further inspection, Naruto found that Gaara had very few dishes, three sets of everything. For him and his siblings he guessed. The blonde found his way into the next room, which was attached to the living room. Inside there was a table with four chairs and a bamboo mat in the center. It wasn't impressive, but it was very suitable for someone like Gaara.
"The bedroom is upstairs."
Naruto looked up.
"Bedroom?" He asked. Why one? He'd thought there would be at least two…
"This is Gaara's personal house you know, he wanted nothing but what he needed. I don't think he was ever planning on having children, or a wife for that matter…" She mused. Naruto nodded, he knew that.
"Anyways, I'll take you up and show the rest of the house. I have to go back and take care of my duties." She said, striding quickly to, and up, the stairs. Naruto followed. As they walked she pointed things out. The first door on the left was Gaara's study and office, the next door, on the right, was the bathroom, and the last door at the end of the hall was his bedroom.

Naruto sunk into the warm bath water, letting his aching muscles relax as he put Nara in his lap. It had been a few hours since they had arrived, and Naruto had slept for most of it. He didn't know if Gaara had come back, though he was fairly sure he hadn't, because he'd slept until two in the afternoon. It was now three thirty, and he and Nara were in the bath. Relaxed, the blonde let the child doze on his chest as he let his mind wander. Kakashi, how is he? Ero-sannin… toads, tadpoles… Green... Konoha… Sasuke… Uchiha Sasuke… Red… Blood… Hair… Nara… Gaara… Suna… Gaara… Sasuke… Nara… Gaara… There was a knock at the bathroom door, before it was opened. Naruto stood and was ready to attack anyone who entered… when he saw pink.

At the end of the upstairs hallway, Gaara stopped. Someone, other than Naruto and his son, was inside his home. His footsteps quickened and as he reached the bathroom door, there was a scream. He was inside in an instant as he caught a gloved hand before it had a chance to strike its target. Gaara was standing in front of Naruto, clasping Sakura's fist in a painful grip. She winced before looking at him. Gaara handed Naruto a towel before giving Sakura's hand one last hand breaking squeeze and letting her go.
"Kazekage-sama…" She started, formulating a lie; "I didn't know you…"
"Why are you here, Haruno-san." Gaara asked coldly. Sakura winced again.
"What do you mean, Kaz-.." she began, Gaara cut her off.
"You came into my home without permission, walked into my bathroom which housed my guest, then assaulted him. Is there a reason for this?" Gaara asked, emphasis on each My. Before Sakura could speak, Naruto's hand was on Gaara's shoulder, calming him. The blond then turned to her and asked her to wait for them downstairs. She nodded, and left the room.

"Naruto, did you invite her here?" Gaara asked, taking Nara from the blonds arms. Naruto shook his head, spraying small beads of water everywhere.
"No. I haven't contacted anyone." He said, the towel that Gaara had given him was hanging loosely from his hips.
"Then Tsunade must have sent her…" It was a mutual thought that needed no confirmation. After, drying and dressing Nara, Gaara took the child and laid him in the center of his own bed before bringing Naruto a pair of his own clothes. On his way downstairs, he knocked and tossed them to the blonde before moving on. The bright pink hair sitting calmly in his living room was the first thing he saw. Not that Gaara would ever care enough about the medi-nin to tell her, but her sincerely hated her hair. It reminded him of… plastic. A material he never cared for, he found it fake. She turned, then stood and greeted him as though they were long lost friends.
"Kazekage-sama, it's so nice to see you! How's everything going around here?" she asked with a, fake he might add, smile. Gaara held back urdge to gag.
"Indeed. Why are you here?" He said, getting straight to the point.
"Yes. I have these for you." She handed him some papers marked 'urgent'.
"Is that it?"
Both Gaara and Sakura looked up, to see Naruto descending the stairs dressed in Gaara's signature outfit. It was tighter on him than it was on Gaara, but that was to be expected.
"Oh Naruto! You look good!" Sakura exclaimed. Gaara merely nodded, agreeing with this statement. He gave her a look, instead of smiling like he used to. Somehow, her hollow compliment was meaningless. Noticing this, Sakura frowned before stalking out the door with a simple;
"Yes, that was all."