Notes: I don't own Naruto etc etc. No copy-right infringements are intended, etc etc.

This was going to go somewhere initially, but it turned into a short drabble. Enjoy.

Of all the people Nartuo had ever met, Gaara had confused him the most.

The red-head was, undeniably, exactly like him in more ways than he cared to count. Despite their similarities, however, the Uzumaki couldn't put Gaara in a box for the life of him. He was smart, obviously. He was attractive, and hot damn, he was mysterious. The kid was the single most anti-social person Naruto had ever met. Even more than Sasuke, and that was saying something because Sasuke would rather suffer a heart attack than pick up the phone to dial 911.
Gaara... didn't come off like Sasuke, and that was why Naruto didn't understand. Sasuke knew he had everyone's attention. He knew it so well that arrogance rolled off of him in waves like that new perfume Ino bought. It was like a cloud, thick and hard to pinpoint but when Naruto broke through it, the Uzumaki found nothing more that a disgusting, painfully childish desire for a brother's love.
It was mildly revolting, but Naruto would never talk about it.

Gaara was... different.

Gaara loved people. He loved staring at them. He loved watching them. He loved watching them be born and watching them die, and most of all he loved watching them together. But-

On the surface Gaara was the most cold-hearted bastard Suna had ever given birth to.
He had bloodlust. The worst case of "genocidal maniac" that Naruto had ever witnessed. With Sasuke; that kid had a mission. A crazy one, maybe, but a mission nonetheless: kill brother. He was passionate about it too. A little too passionate if you asked Naruto...

But- Gaara; he'd kill someone with the same look as eating lunch. A bored, mildly ticked off "go die" sort of look that told you he really didn't care you were dying.

And so.

Why-. Why in the world he felt so close to the boy was utterly beyond the blonde. they were both holders of legendary demons, but that was about it. They had both lost their mothers. But where Naruto had found a family, Gaara remained alone. So... utterly alone that sometimes it made Nartuo question humanity.
But that had all changed. Naruto didn't know why it did. Something had just... clicked inside of Gaara. The bloodlust was gone. The "Let's be assholes and talk to our mothers" thing was... (well, that was still there but he was working on it.) It was slow, and he still didn't trust the majority of people, but it was getting there.

Until it all came crashing down, anyways.

Naruto could still remember that day as clearly as he remembers his first kiss, er, kill. It was the first time he'd ever seen a comrade- no, friend, die. His body had been laying there. Gaara, for sure. All his thoughts of peace, that reality accepted him must've come crashing down. No one had gone after him. Not one, after Sasori had him.

But when he'd woken, things were so much different. People- people had cared. They were all surrounding him. Not too close, but still. Gaara had expected the area to be empty. Maybe a few ANBU disposing of his body. But, there were people. Actual citizens of Suna. Not just ninja, but people. They waited. They stared at him and waited to know if they would be accepted. They had, willingly or not, accepted the redhead as their kazekage. It was rough, and people were scared- really fucking scared -but unlike Gaara, they hadn't developed an outright disregard and distrust for human life. They had heard of- and seen, (some of them anyways) - the destruction that an upset demon could do; and so it was difficult. Why trust him? And maybe they didn't, not really. He didn't seem to like them too much either.
But when Gaara had risked his life. Willingly gone out and actually died for their sake...

They accepted him. Unconditionally.