Contest entry for thatreevesgirl. woot.

999blee999

Naruto couldn't concentrate. He was constantly staring off into space, completely ignoring what Sakura was trying to tell him. He had grasped the first few words before drifting off again, his thoughts speeding over plains, mountains and finally desert, before landing on a certain red haired Sand ninja. He could distinctly remember the shinobi's trademark scowl, the way he would smirk at Naruto's stupidity.

'Gaara,' he thought, 'I wonder what you're doing.'

He became vaguely aware of Sakura trying to get his attention.

"Hn? What? Sorry Sakura, I guess I wasn't paying attention."

"Ugh, I give up Naruto!" the pink haired Kunoichi threw her arms up in exhasperation, "You're always daydreaming!"

"Yeah, sorry about that." Naruto grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

He was about to leave when Sakura stopped him.

"What's going on over there?" she pointed over at the gates of the village. A large group of people had gathered there and they were being quite noisy.

Naruto and Sakura hurried over to see what the commotion was about. They began pushing their way through the throng of people, Naruto recieving the usual scowls and insults. Naruto pointedly ignored them and continued forward. He caught snatches of conversation. The speakers weren't even bothering to lower their voices.

"We don't need two monsters here-"

"Sand ninjas shouldn't even be allowed here anymore-"

"Especially him-"

'Gaara,' thought Naruto, shoving people aside with more force.

He finally made it through and saw Gaara lying on the ground, his gourd lying a few feet from him. He was surrounded by Sasuke clones. Feeling Kyuubi begin to stir, he stormed up and shoved two of them aside. They were sent flying and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"What the hell did you do to him you bastard?" he shouted at Sasuke. Sasuke looked him full in the face and said nothing.

Naruto sank down onto one knee and examined the Sand-nin. Gaara was conscious, but covered in scrapes and bruises. Worst of all, he was burning with fever. Naruto put one hand one Gaara's face and stroked his cheek with his thumb. Gaara looked up at him through a fevered haze.

"N...Na...Naruto?" he stammered, as if unable to believe what he was seeing.

"I didn't do all of that to him you know." Said Sasuke, matter-of-factly.

Kyuubi wanted out. Now. "Why did you do any of it to him?" Naruto's voice was calm. Unnervingly calm.

"Considering what he did to this village last time he was here, I wasn't about to take any chances."

"The fuck you couldn't! He's got a fever! Look at the state he's in!" Naruto was on his feet now, hands clenched tightly at his sides.

'Hey, Kyuubi. Wanna help me make a point?' he asked the demon sharing his body.

Naruto could feel his chakra level rise, his nails lengthen, and his eyes change. Everyone knew it was bad to try to talk to him in this state. Sasuke was unpreturbed.

"I could care less how he is, Naruto. He's a threat and a danger to this village. Just like you."

"Now I remember why I hate you Sasuke."

"Why's that?"

"You're a prick."

Naruto turned his attention back to Gaara. The sand-nin was tryng not to pass out, Naruto could tell by the way he was breathing. He walked over and picked up the sand gourd. He tied it over his shoulder and walked back over to Gaara. He knelt down once more and picked him up bridal style. Sasuke made a move to stop him, and Naruto flared his chakra.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." he snarled, revealing elongated teeth.

He made his way back through the crowd. The villagers were almost tripping in their haste to get out of his way.

The walk to his house was a long one. He cursed every time he hit a bump in the road, but not because it hurt, it was more for Gaara's sake. The Sand-nin had fainted long ago, but was looking worse every minute. He finally reached his house and kicked the door open. He heard the lock break, and cursed again. Staggering under the weight of the gourd on his back and Gaara, he managed to get Gaara on to his bed before collapsing. Kyuubi had dissolved back into the deeper recessess of his mind, which explained his sudden lack of energy. He turned, shut the door, and removed the gourd from his back.

Groaning, he shuffled into the bathroom for supplies. He got several rags, some antiseptic, and two basins. He filled one with warm water, the other cold. He carefully washed Gaara's face, before applying antiseptic to the scrapes. The sand ninja's face furrowed at the sting of the antiseptic, and he awoke.

"Hey Gaara." Said Naruto softly.

Gaara didn't answer. He slowly blinked his green eyes and turned his head away from Naruto.

"Hey, don't be like that, I'm trying to help." Naruto puffed out his cheeks and sighed.

Gaara still didn't say anything. Naruto could tell he wasn't very happy, but decided not to press into the matter.

"You should sleep. You have a fever." He reached over to turn Gaara's head toward him, but Gaara grabbed his wrist and squeezed it tightly.

"I don't want your pity. Leave me alone."

"Ah...G...Gaara...you're hurting me."

Gaara released his arm and dropped his own onto the bed. Naruto rubbed his sore wrist.

"And besides. If I sleep, he'll come out."

"No he won't. I highly doubt Shukaku" -Gaara flinched at the name- "will be able to anything with your body in this condition. And besides, I'm Kyuubi, remember? I can keep him under control."

Gaara digested this for a moment, then turned his head upward.

"Fine."

Naruto got up and left, probably to the kitchen to eat. Gaara fought against the urge to close his eyes for as long as he could. Finally, sleep overcame him and he drifted into a dreamless slumber.

----

Naruto walked out of the kitchen a few moments later. Gaara had fallen asleep and would probably be out for a little while. Naruto sat back down beside the bed and continued to administer first aid to the sand nin. His main concern was Gaara's alarming fever. He knew that because of the desert he lived in, Gaara would be warmer than most people, but his face was definately warmer than it should have been.

He placed a wet cloth across the sand ninja's face and and began to wrap his arms in cloth bandages. He silently marveled at how thin Gaara was, and how beautiful he looked asleep.

Naruto blushed at his own thoughts. He had never actually applied the term to another man before, much less a former enemy. He could hear Kyuubi chuckling in the back of his mind.

'What's so funny? Just a little bit ago you were raging enough to rival a hurricane.' he asked, amusement heavy in his question.

'Nothing, Kit. You just make me laugh.' was the reply.

'Why? Because I'm gay?'

'That's part of it.'

'What's the rest?'

'I'll tell you later. You may want to finish before he wakes up.'

Naruto turned his attention back to the sleeping redhead before him and continued to bandage his arm.

999blee999