Unknown Intentions

Chapter six

Naruto said nothing as he followed his shorter friend through the streets of Sunagakure. It wasn't that he was nervous, much, but there just wasn't any way he could talk. The way Gaara was gently cuddling the smaller redhead to his chest and stroking his hair as he walked was just to… sweet to ruin by distracting them with talk. It didn't take much to convince the Kazekage to go out to lunch, but to tell the truth, Naruto was glad he came. He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask the stoic leader.
"Naruto, over here."
The blond stopped and looked for Gaara. He was standing in front of a yakisoba shop and holding open the flap on the door. Naruto followed him in and sat across from the Kazekage in a booth.
"K-Kazekage-sama… can I get you anything?" A shy brunette had come to their table, and her face was red with a blush. Gaara didn't seem to notice.
"Yes, one plate of Yakisoba." He said, looking to me. A blush tinged Naruto's cheeks as the girl looked to him.
"Uh… yeah. I'll have one Yakisoba sandwich please." He said, watching as she nodded and left. He now turned to Gaara;
"Did you sleep last night?"
This question surprised and slightly disturbed the redhead.
"Yes." It was the truth. He had remembered laying in the bed next to Nara, then woke up in a strange position as one part of a Nara sandwich. The blonde smiled.
"That's good. What do you think helped?"
The Kazekage said nothing, and the waitress came with their food, leaving him with an excuse. Naruto thanked the new woman, a tall, curvy, raven-haired woman with too much make up on, as she made goo goo eyes at Gaara. For some reason, he was glad Gaara was ignoring her.

During lunch, Naruto pelted Gaara with questions;
"When is your birthday?"
"January 19th."
" What is your favorite color?"
" …red?"
"Is being Kazekage fun?"
"Not really."
"If I were Hokage, would you come visit me?"
"Yes, of course. I would have no right to refuse."
Naruto paused, eating the last bite of his sandwich, then laughed. Gaara gave him an irritated glare.
"Nara just spit up on your lap!" Naruto gasped, clutching his stomach as he laughed. Gaara frowned. The child had indeed spit up all over his front and lap, and now both Naruto and Nara were laughing. Gaara stood and removed his jacket, gourd, and breastplate before pressing some money to the table and shoving Nara gently into Naruto's arms.
"Where are you going Gaara?" asked Naruto, following the redhead out of the restaurant. Nara was now reaching out towards Gaara's mop of dark red hair, and he clasped his hands around the soft strands. Gaara was pulled backward into Naruto's chest and his head hit Nara causing him to spit up again. Into Gaara's hair. Naruto was to afraid to laugh this time. The white filmy liquid was slowly leaking down the sides of Gaara's face, and he was not happy about it. After dislodging Nara's fingers from his hair, the leader put two fingers up to his face, and disappeared in a swirl of sand.

After making sure Nara was done with his puking escapade, Naruto decided he would head back to Gaara's house and see if he couldn't get Nara to take a nap. It didn't take long to get back to the house, because Naruto made sure he knew where it was so he wouldn't get lost, but what surprised him was that when he went into the bedroom Gaara's clothes were laying crumpled in the hamper. Which meant he had been in the house. Naruto shrugged, the Kazekage probably came to rinse his hair and change before returning to the office. After five minutes, Nara had fallen asleep, and Naruto found that he was in need of the bathroom. So, the number one noisy ninja of Konohagakure went to the bathroom, and almost died of a heart attack. When he opened the door he found Gaara soaking in the bath. Of course, if he'd walked in on Sasuke in the bath, or even Kakashi, he would have just done his business and laughed at the complaints they might've given, but something about the pale, still Kazekage laying haphazardly in the tub told him not to. So he knocked, once, twice, no answer.
"Gaara?" He called, slowly. No reaction.
"Gaara!"
Still nothing. Now Naruto was more than frightened. Had his friend passed out in the bath? Had he been poisoned? Naruto rushed to the older boy's side, looking for any injuries on the pale body. Gaara's body was thin, almost to the point of his ribs being visible, but covered with lean muscle. Now that Naruto thought about it, he's always wondered why Gaara had no eyebrows. Now, he noticed, the young Kazekage had no hair growing anywhere but on his head. Shaking his head, Naruto focused on the problem at hand. Quickly, the blond grabbed the thin, pale wrist and checked for a pulse, exhaling with relief when he found it. His friends heart was beating slowly, almost as if the redhead was only asleep. Feeling his forehead, Naruto noticed that Gaara was a little warm, but other than that, there was no reason for him to be passed out in the bathtub.

With careful precision, Naruto lifted the Kazekage from the bath and dried the frail body. Then, he gently carried the redhead into the bedroom and laid him on the bed. A pause in the room found Naruto examining Gaara's body. Again. His eyes took in the sight of his pale neck, thin shoulders, his torso covered mostly from view by the towel Naruto had placed there, and the long, pale, muscled legs. Naruto couldn't take his eyes off them... until Gaara stirred. His head rose, and Naruto rushed to his side.
"Gaara! Gaara, are you okay?" He asked, careful not to be too loud and wake Nara. Gaara looked at the blonde for a minute before sitting up on his elbows. The towel slid lower on the redhead's body, and he looked down. A nonexistent eyebrow raised in question.
"I found you passed out in the tub. You didn't wake up, so I carried you here." Naruto explained. Gaara nodded, accepting this without question. He had been tired lately.
"Gaara, how do you feel?"
The leader looked at him, then ran his pale fingers through his hair.
"I am fine, Naruto. I was just tired… what time is it?" Gaara responded.
"It's around one now. You've only been out a few minutes, as far as I know."
Gaara sat up further. He needed to get back to work. Firm hands pushed him back into the mattress by his shoulders as Naruto seemed to read what he was intending.
"You aren't going anywhere. I'll tell Temari that you're sick and ask her to take your place for the rest of the day." Naruto said. Gaara gave him a glare. Naruto returned it.
"I could always call a doctor instead." Threatened the blonde. Gaara sighed, and stood up, taking the towel and wrapping himself before anything could show.
"Fine. Take me to see the doctor."