Unknown Intentions

Chapter eight

"Hey Gaara, I've been meaning to ask you this…" Naruto began, lifting his mouth and nose above the water to speak. Gaara turned to him, waiting.
"What does it feel like to wear the sand armor-tebbyo?"
Gaara frowned. Naruto had begun using that suffix soon after Nara had left his side, and now he was asking strange questions. The redhead turned away, he had no idea how to explain. Naruto shrugged, he understood the gesture so why push the subject? He sunk back into the water with a small smile. Kankuro, who had joined them in the bath, was sitting on the other side of Naruto. He remained quiet, and Naruto got the impression that he was watching his every move. Vaguely, Naruto wondered what Sakura and Temari were doing in the bath across a tall wooden fence that separated the different baths. He kind of regretted pushing Nara off on them, but he knew that if he kept Nara away from people that he might regret it later. He was still worried, and with a quick glance at Gaara, he knew the noh-face was worried too. Which is why both parents jumped out of the bath and over the wall when a loud, piercing scream split the air.

"What happened!?" Naruto and Gaara both shouted. Standing in only their towels, the boys observed the scene. Sakura was standing at the edge of the bath with her arms outstretched toward the sky, while Temari was already in the sky riding her fan. When they noticed her, they also noticed the large bird that she was chasing. And the small redhead in its talons. Without thinking, Gaara had his sand around him and was flying toward the bird, while Naruto clung to him, catching a ride.
"Temari, back us up." Gaara commanded, still completely authoritative while wearing only a towel. She obeyed, slowing down and following the swiftly moving sand.
"What happened!?" Naruto shouted. Temari gritted her teeth and looked away.
"The bird grabbed him out of the bath when Sakura and I weren't looking." She admitted. Naruto frowned, something was off. Birds didn't just grab babies. Someone had to be behind this.

Naruto was caught off guard when Gaara shook the platform they were standing on by sending a string of sand toward the bird, who dodged it.
"Naruto…"
At the sound of Gaara's voice, the blonde looked up. The redhead was pointing to the bird, where a man sat perched on its head. With a nod, Naruto ran forward, supported by a bridge of Gaara's sand. The bird dodged to the right, and another sand bridge arose for the blonde. Naruto hopped onto it and continued forward at a run. The bird dodged left this time, but Gaara had been waiting for this and grabbed one of its feet. The bird let out a screech and lurched slightly, throwing off the rider and dropping Nara. Naruto took this opportunity, and tapped into the Kyubbi's massive chakra, using it for speed as he leapt off Gaara's sand. Falling at a fast pace, Naruto reached out and grabbed Nara and holding him close to his chest as he began to rotate chakra in his free palm until it was a glowing ball.

"RASANGAN!"
Gaara watched as Naruto slammed the jitsu into the intruder's chest and kept it there until they hit the ground. The redhead was now on the ground, and working his way to Naruto and their son.
"Naruto." The redhead called out. There was no response from the pile of rubble where they had landed. Panic set in.
"Naruto?"
Still no answer. Gaara began to run, pushing his way through the wreckage and searching for his friend and son. He found nothing.
"Naruto!"
There was a cough, and Gaara turned to see Naruto crouched over Nara. He rushed to their side, pushing aside large rocks and unearthing the blonde.
"What happened? Are you alright?" Gaara asked, taking Nara's small body into his arms. Naruto shook his head.
"The rasangan backfired."

After carrying Naruto and Nara back to the bath house, and promising to pay the damage, Gaara, Tamari, Sakura and Kankuro all sat down to examine the wounds. It had been determined by Sakura that the man who had kidnapped Nara was dead, but once she had finished examining him, his body disintegrated before they could conduct any tests.
"It looks like the only injury Nara got was a big scare." Sakura said softly, setting the sleeping child down on the bed. Naruto winced as she moved on to treat his own injuries. There was a very red burn all up the arm he had used to fire off the faulty Rasangan, as well as on his chest and neck. Sakura shook her head as she began to heal him.
"You really shouldn't have used that jitsu, Naruto. You know you haven't mastered it..." Sakura reprimanded. Both Naruto and Gaara glared.
"I did master that jitsu, Sakura. You know I did." Naruto said quietly, clearly upset and not even bothering to ad an honorific to her name.
"Well, apparently you're wrong, because if you knew how or when to use it, you wouldn't have gotten into this mess."
Naruto was clearly fuming, and Sakura had a triumphant look in her eyes.
"Haruno, if Naruto was at fault for this, it would be because he let you take Nara." Gaara snapped, somehow his practiced calm had flown out the window when he saw how Sakura enjoyed insulting Naruto.
"I should have stopped him, I knew you wouldn't be sutible to watch him, but I trusted you. As of now, I will not be extending that trust to you again. Once you are finished looking at him, I would like you to leave."
Kankuro and Temari were staring in horror as Gaara's chakra flared so large you could pick up traces from miles away. Sakura visible flinched, she knew she had no chance against the Kazekage. So she finished healing Naruto and glared at Gaara one last time before storming out and shouting behind her shoulder;
"Naruto, don't you dare forget!"

It was decided that Gaara, Naruto and their son would stay in one of the rented rooms, and Kankuro and Temari would stay in the other. This didn't, however, stop the sand siblings from being very subtle around the youngest. They naturally assumed that he would calm down if left alone, and left shortly after the encounter, heading to the room just down the hall. Once left alone, the redhead cornered the blonde pinning him to the wall with both arms. Naruto's face went a bright red color.
"Gaara, What're you-!?" He began. The look Gaara was giving him shut him up quickly.
"Naruto, what did Sakura mean when she said; 'don't forget'?" The older boy asked icily. Naruto swallowed a lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat.
"I-It's nothing, Gaara…" He lied, shifting slightly. Gaara tightened his arms, enclosing Naruto more.
"Do not lie to me, Uzumaki." He warned in a low tone. Suddenly, Naruto was very aware of the body in front of him. He knew how to push him off, where to stab to hurt or kill, but he couldn't do it. He looked away from Gaara, embarrassed.
"I promised her, three years ago, that I would… bring Sasuke back… even if it killed me."

Naruto watched as Gaara pushed himself off the wall and walked out of the room completely. He understood why it was annoying, sort of, but he couldn't figure out why Gaara had given him such a pained look before leaving. It looked almost as if he were being torn apart inside, and the way it only lasted for a split second made Naruto worry all the more. The blonde pushed off the wall himself and ran after the older ninja, following his chakra that was leaking from him. The further he followed the leader, the more lost he found himself.
"Gaara!" Naruto called out, not sure what else to do. There was no verbal answer, but the chakra pulsed slightly. Naruto followed it to find he was even more lost. He was now in a rocky area that wasn't visible unless you were around three feet from it. But nonetheless, there was Gaara perched in the center. His gourd laying discarded to the side and his jacket lacking the usually sharp finesse as he sat. The redhead said nothing, but it was apparent that he knew Naruto was there.
"Gaara…" Naruto started, taking a step forward. The chakra pulsed in warning. Naruto ignored it and laid his hand on Gaara's shoulder. Before he knew what happened Naruto was slammed into one of the rocks behind him with the hand he used to touch the leader pinned above his head. Slowly, without even looking at Naruto, Gaara leaned in until their noses were touching, before completely kissing the blonde. After a moment he pulled away.
"You don't need to fulfill that promise any longer."