(A/N) I just watched Shippuden episode 182 "Gaara's Bonds." Squealed though the entire thing, too. x3 So… I wanted to do something special for it! =3

Fillers are annoying... but this one was downright adorable.

I do not own Gaara or any other characters. They, sadly, weren't my ideas. They were Kishimoto-sensei's.

Nakama

"Friends…" Gaara murmured aloud, trying to get the word to sound right.

"Friends… friendship…" His blue eyes flickered with light as he spoke, his lips trembling faintly and his hands, resting on his legs, clutching slightly at the fabric of his pants.

"Friend… friends…" No matter how many times he repeated himself, he couldn't quite force the words to make sense.

But they still made his mouth curve, ever so slightly, into a smile.

"Gaara!"

Temari's voice made him jump, and he stood abruptly. He almost tripped (in a most undignified, un-Gaara-like moment) on his bedclothes, but quickly regained his balance and opened up his bedroom door. His sister stood just outside, her hand raised in preparation to knock. She jumped back when he appeared, startled.

"Oh, Gaara…" she breathed, one hand to her chest as she caught her breath. "You scared me!"

Gaara blinked steadily, having learned that 'scaring' his sister wasn't necessarily a terrible thing. When she said 'you scared me,' he now knew that she didn't necessarily mean 'I thought you were going to kill me,' or even 'I fear you.' The word 'scared,' he had learned, could also be used to mean 'startled.'

Temari, with a nervous laugh, motioned for him to come out. "Sorry to disturb you… it's just that there are a couple of people asking for you."

Gaara raised one invisible eyebrow in a mild expression of surprise. People… asking for me…? His curiosity piqued, he padded after Temari, as silent as a shadow, to the front of the house. His eyes widened to an impossible size when he saw who the people Temari had referred to were.

"Hi, Gaara-sama!"

Gaara took an involuntary step backwards as the two voices greeted him in unison, the smiling faces of both Yaoki and Korobi meeting him. Temari smothered a smile at her brother's awkward response. She knew full well that he had worked with the two ninja on his last assignment with leaf, and the fact that they came to the siblings' house warmed her heart; she thought that her little brother seemed to have made… friends.

"Korobi, Yaoki," Gaara greeted them, composing himself quickly and stepping forward again. His blue eyes swirled noticeably with confusion, but his mouth twitched ever so slightly, threatening to betray his hesitant happiness. "Yes? What brings you here?"

Yaoki grinned. "We were going to go for dango and wanted to know if you wanted to come!"

Temari almost hugged the young shinobi.

Gaara was rendered speechless for a moment; his heart stalled, and he didn't realize that he was holding his breath.

For… dango…?

When his lungs ran out of air and he was forced to take a deep breath, Gaara shook his head slightly.

"Are you sure?" he asked softly, half expecting them to back out when they gave it more thought.

"Of course!" Korobi said, moving slightly forward. He motioned warmly, and Gaara took a hesitant step forward.

"Temari…?" he asked, almost uncertainly, and his sister smiled indulgently.

"Go, go on!" she said, making a shooing motion. "We can do without you for an hour or so!"

So Gaara, that tentative smile finally breaking though, joined his friends.

(A/N) Short, yes. Cute, I think so. =3 I just wanted to do something quick for this episode. ^^

Reviewers get dango! Thanks for reading!

… Would anyone like to see part two…? ; 3 (I might actually be convinced, lol)