Polished Floors

Summary: Gaara arrives in Konaha to speak with the Hokage. While he waits to talk with her, he sits outside in the hall with Naruto. Bored with nothing to do, he asks Gaara if he has ever slid on polished floors and when the redhead answers no, trouble is sure to ensue.

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If you've never slid on a newly polished floor, then you've never been a child yet.

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It was another nice day in Konoha with sun shining brightly as the Kazekage of Sunagakure walked through Konoha's gate and met up with Naruto. The blond, happy to see Gaara, dragged him to the Hokage's building, leaving Temari and Kankuro to fend for themselves. Along the way, Naruto asked many questions about how everything was going and the redhead replied with brief and straight to the point answers. When they finally reached the Hokage's office, she had already been in a meeting with a client, so she asked if the Kazekage could please wait outside. Respectfully, Gaara nodded and sat outside the office with Naruto. The blond had run out of things to say, seeing as he had talked over everything on the way to the building. He looked around the room, thinking of something to talk about to end the awkward silence when he noticed the floor had been recently polished. He grinned.

"Hey, Gaara, wanna slide around for a while?" The redhead furrowed his nonexistent brows.

"Slide around?" Naruto chuckled.

"Yeah, you know? Slide on the polished floor! You're wearing socks today, so am I, and the floors are freshly polished! Haven't you ever done this before?" The redhead shook his head.

"I haven't really done any… childish things before." Naruto's jaw dropped, making Gaara stare. "What?"

"You poor, poor soul. That's it! You're sliding with me right now!"

"But Tsunade might be done soon–"

"No excuses! We're sliding now and nothing is to stop us!" He grabbed Gaara's arms and pulled him up and placed him beside him. "Okay, take off your shoes. And your gourd." The redhead did as told, and Naruto followed suit. "Alright, now you back up…" Naruto demonstrated his instructions. "Then you dash and stop and let the slide take over!" He ran a bit before stopping, sliding quite a ways over the shiny floor. "See? It's fun! You try it!" Gaara was a little hesitant about it before giving into the childish side of him that he hadn't really had in the past eight years. He backed up… dashed… stopped… and slid! While he was sliding, Gaara stared at the ground, his hands in the air to keep his balance. Naruto was surprised to see the redhead also give such a big smile, a child's smile. At first, it made Naruto sad. The guy never had a fun day in his life, he practically never had a childhood. Then, he felt overjoyed to see that, even though he's now 16 and Kazekage, he can have a childhood at last and have some fun. Gaara looked up, almost amazed with himself and that childlike smile still there. "See? Ya got it! Let's try again, together this time." They both backed up and dashed, this time Gaara kept his hands to his side. They slid a ways again before stopping. Naruto looked over at Gaara who seemed to have gotten it down already, and the redhead looked back at him with a little childlike gleam in his eye.

"Wanna race?" Naruto grinned.

"Bring it on. You're so gonna lose, dattebayo!" So, like skating on ice, they raced down the polished hallway. Naruto was in the lead at first, seeing as he has the most experience, but then halfway to the end of the hallway, Gaara caught up and started to pass him. Naruto was surprised, he'd never seen someone get the hang of something so fast. 'It's probably 'cause that's how he had to grow up. To learn things quickly, to adapt.' Naruto saddened for a second before remembering he was in a race and his competitive side took over. He focused his attention back on the floor and sped up, as did Gaara. Before they knew it, the end of the hallway came up and the redhead had reached it first. Naruto just crossed his arms and gave a huff. "Yeah, well… you suck." Gaara chuckled.

"Wanna race back?" That grin crept right back on the blond's face.

"Hell yeah!" They sped up, dashing away, pushing and pushing their speed until they reached their shoes and this time, Naruto won, but only because he had a push off of the wall. "I win, dattebayo!" As Gaara was putting his shoes back on, Tsunade came out of her office, dismissing her last client.

"Hello, Gaara." He gave a bow.

"Tsunade."

"Please, come in my office. Naruto, you can go now if you wish."

"Oh, okay!" Gaara disappeared into Tsunade's room and, instead of leaving, Naruto plopped right back down on his seat to wait for Gaara.

xxx

An hour later, Gaara emerged from the room with a small yawn. Even though he couldn't sleep, he was tired from all the walking, racing, and planning he had done today. He noticed a clump blond hair in the corner of his eye and was surprised to see Naruto asleep on the bench and shivering slightly from the cold. Gaara gave a chuckle and shook his head. "Reckless as always." He slowly pick Naruto up with his sand, careful not to wake the boy, and then proceeded to take the boy back to his apartment,

Naruto awoke two hours later in his warm bed, wondering how he had gotten back home. He sat up and stretched his arms and legs before getting up and walking over to Gaara. "Hey, did you bring me back here?" He received a nod. "Thanks, Gaara! I think I would have frozen in that hallway." He suddenly noticed a bowl of hot ramen on the table and looked at the redhead.

"I made that for you. I figured you'd be hungry when you woke up." Gaara looked at the blond and was brought into a tight embrace.

"Thanks, Gaara! You're the best!" The redhead didn't move for a while before returning a very soft hug with a tiny blush. 'I guess that's another thing he didn't have beside a childhood. Hugs.' Naruto let go and ran to his ramen, quickly devouring the thing until every drop was gone. "Phew, that was great! It tasted… different. Did you add something to it, Gaara?"

"Some vegetables is all." Naruto blinked. 'Vegetables…?'

"You mean, they actually taste that good?" Gaara nodded and Naruto was amazed. "Wow, I should eat them in my ramen more often! Oh, Gaara! I'm sorry, did you want something to eat?" The redhead shook his head. "But you're so thin… do you eat a lot?"

"Not a lot, but I do eat."

"Hmm…" Naruto shook his head. "No, we're gonna fix that. Come on, I'm taking you to Ichiraku's!" Gaara gave a small frown.

"But I just said I wasn't–" Naruto pulled the redhead out of the apartment before he could even finish. "Could I at least change into something else first?" Naruto stopped and blinked.

"Huh? Wait, did you bring any clothes with you?"

"No. I didn't think we'd have to stay one more day."

"You're staying until tomorrow?" Gaara nodded. "Well… Uh, I guess you could borrow something of mine if you don't mind."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Naruto shook his head before taking them back into his apartment. He ran to his dresser and threw at Gaara a black T-shirt and knee-long deep red pants that he had never worn before. Gaara disappeared into the bathroom to try them on and came back out. "They fit alright?" A nod. "Good! Now, let's go!' He grabbed the Kazekage robes and threw them onto his bed as he dragged Gaara to Ichiraku's. "Hey, old man!"

"Hello, Naruto! And… Oh, Lord Kazekage! What a pleasure to have you in my restaurant tonight." Gaara held up a hand.

"Please, Gaara is fine." Teuchi nodded before he started working on the ramen orders. After only a few minutes, he served them both fresh ramen and even added a little surprise.

"Here you go, boys. And today, it's on the house!"

"Woah, thanks, old man!"

"Are you sure? I don't mind paying," spoke Gaara, staring at his ramen. Teuchi held up a hand.

"No, it's okay. I'm honored to have you eating here tonight with my number one customer." Naruto gave a proud grin as slurped up more noodles. Gaara picked up his chopsticks and ate some ramen, which tasted delicious.

"This is very good. Now I can see why Naruto brags about your ramen all the time." Teuchi gave a thank you and after the two boys ate, they headed back to Naruto's apartment. "I guess I better go find Temari and Kankuro. We have to find a hotel to stay at."

"Oh!" Naruto stopped in front of his door. "Temari and Kankuro visited by while you were talking with Grandma Tsunade. They were gonna ask you if they could spend and extra day in the village. Temari's sleeping at Shikamaru's and Kankuro's gonna be at Kiba's."

"Well, I guess I better be going then." Naruto shook his head and pushed the redhead inside.

"Nope, you're staying here!" Gaara seemed slightly worried.

"I don't want to be asking too much of you, Naruto. You've already let me borrow your clothes and taken me out to eat." Naruto grinned, setting his hand on Gaara's shoulder.

"Gaara, when it comes to you, you never ask too much! Dattebayo! Now let me grab you some pajamas." He went into his drawer and pulled out light blue pants with teddy bears and a grey shirt before once again throwing them to Gaara. "See if those fit ya. You can just put the clothes you're wearing in the basket in the bathroom." So the redhead went in and tried them on, finding they were a perfect match. "Great, they fit!" Naruto then made his way into the bathroom to change into his pajamas: orange pants with spirals and a white shirt with Konoha's symbol on it. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Alright, now we gotta get the futon out for you to sleep on." Naruto made his way over to the item when Gaara stopped him.

"That won't be necessary." Naruto blinked.

"Huh? Why not?"

"I do not sleep." Naruto let out a 'ohhh' before frowning. "Yes, the Shukaku is gone, but I still do not feel comfortable sleeping. It is something my body is used to not getting and I do not wish to throw it off."

"Gotcha. So… what will you do all night?"

"Probably sit on your roof and enjoy the night sky. I also might a read book or two. Don't worry, I'll find things to do to pass the time." Naruto yawned.

"Sorry, I wish I could stay up with you, but my training and our races tired my out." Gaara gave a smirk.

"It's perfectly fine, Uzumaki. Rest, now. I'll make sure you're up by eight-thirty tomorrow." Naruto walked over to his bed and stretched, laying down and resting his head on his soft pillow.

"Are you sure, Gaara? I feel bad leaving you alone like this…" The redhead didn't answer, seeing as the blond had already fallen asleep. Gaara chuckled. Naruto always worried about others much more than himself. Gaara stared out the window above Naruto's bed, finding that tonight was gonna be a little cloudy. But that didn't bother the redhead, for he had something much more interesting to watch for the rest of the night…

xxx

Naruto yawned and crawled out of bed to use the bathroom. He washed his hands and washed his face, coming out of the bathroom to see Gaara sitting at the table once again in his Kazekage robes. "Mornin' Gaara." This morning he noticed not one, but two bowls of ramen on the table waiting for him and grinned. "You ate already?" The redhead shook his head, sipping his tea quietly. Naruto walked over and started slurping up the first bowl. "Here, have the second bowl. You gotta eat something."

"No thank you, I'm good." And that was when Naruto noticed that the ramen he was eating was the make your own kind, it was Ichiraku ramen!

"You went down and got me Ichiraku for breakfast? But why?"

"It's my way of thanking you."

"For what?"

"For making me have fun yesterday." Gaara quickly glanced at Naruto before looking back at his tea and Naruto stared at Gaara before slowly smiling. 'Gaara, you…' The redhead stood up. "We must leave soon, I do not wish to keep Tsunade waiting." Naruto stood up and saluted, getting ready quickly. As they got to the hokage's office, Tsunade again had another client who seemed to want to discuss some random important things for a half hour or so. So, having to wait in the hallway again, Gaara suddenly felt childlike again. Naruto looked at Gaara with great concern when he noticed the redhead start shivering slightly.

"Uh, Gaara? You okay?" And there it was again, the childlike gleam in those beautiful sea-foam colored eyes. 'His inner child… is so… cute.'

"Wanna race again?" Naruto nodded, amazed how Gaara had gone from his serious/monotonous self to instant child in such a quick of time. 'I really gotta invite him here more often. Or visit there more often.' They took off their shoes and Gaara set his gourd aside as they lined up ready to race.

"Alright, Gaara, this time I ain't holding back!" And they were off! And apparently Gaara had spent the night think of ways to quick his speed, because the redhead had focused a little of his chakra into his feet, making him quicker than the blond. "Oh no you don't!" Naruto put chakra into his feet too, making him even with Gaara again. They both touch the end of the hallway at the same time.

"A tie." Gaara grinned, as did Naruto.

"Guess this next one is the tie breaker." They sped off, this time making it even. They took the chakra out of their feet and simply slid, hoping the other would screw up. And as Naruto was in the lead, he got his wish. Gaara went to slide but somehow caught his foot on his robe and started to fall, grabbing Naruto in the act who tried to help him right himself but ended tumbling to the ground with Gaara.

Temari, Kankuro and Kakashi had been walking down the hallway chatting when they saw the Hokage come out of her office to call Gaara in. Before any of them had the chance to say a word, the two sliding ninjas came around the corner and saw them racing. Then, Gaara had tripped, bringing Naruto down with him. They watched in surprise as the two boys tumbled and rolled, sliding to a stop with Naruto on top of Gaara. The four other ninja hadn't seen it, but while Gaara and Naruto had started tumbling, their mouths had accidentally connected, joining them in a three second warm kiss. And that was why when they slid to a stop could Naruto not stop looking down at Gaara with a blush, and Gaara could not help but also stare back wide-eyed with a blush. After a whole thirty seconds of silence, Tsunade finally snapped.

"Naruto! What the hell are you doing to the Kazekage?" Naruto snapped out of his gaze and blinked, looking around the hallway.

"Huh?" He met the both amused and tiny irritated looks of Gaara's older siblings.

"You're not trying to rape our brother, are you?" Temari asked, teasingly. Naruto blush darkened.

"He could have at least done it in a more calm way." Naruto quickly got off Gaara and helped him up, scratching the back of his neck.

"I wasn't trying to do anything to Gaara!"

"We were just racing." Temari, Tsunade and Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Racing?" They asked. Naruto and Gaara nodded.

"Yeah, you take your shoes off and slide on the newly polished floors. It's really fun when you know how to do it. Me and Naruto were just seeing who could win the tiebreaker. It was really fun." And when Gaara mentioned Naruto's name and how he was having fun, he smiled. It wasn't a big one, but a small, innocent smile. After a few seconds of everyone staring at Gaara's smile (especially Naruto, who once again blushed), he regained his posture and wiped his robes clean. He slipped his shoes back on along with his gourd and cleared his throat. "Forgive me for that, please, let's continue in your office." Tsunade nodded, still shocked by Gaara.

"Please, right this way…" She continued to stare at him until entered the room, looking at the siblings and Kakashi. "I did just see all that happen, correct?" They nodded and Tsunade nodded back. "Good, good. I'm not losing my mind then." As she disappeared behind her office door, the three ninjas looked at Naruto who had put his shoes on already and were waiting for an answer.

"Well, you see, uh… Oh, crap! I left the stove on at home! Gotta run!" Naruto quickly ran down the hallway and out of sight. Temari shook her head.

"He's definitely a strange one." Kankuro nodded.

"That's for sure."

xxx

It was departure time and Naruto escorted them to the village gate. Temari and Kankuro said their goodbyes and started walking, leaving Naruto and Gaara some privacy. Naruto scratched his cheek with a blush and looked to the side of Gaara. "Well, sorry about you tripping… I guess we were going a little too fast."

"It's alright. Were you hurt at all?" Naruto shook his head.

"Nah, I'm fine. So, I hope you visit more often, or I'll try to visit more often since the Kazekage can't leave his village all the time. So, oh! i wanted to thank you about breakfast again. That's was real swee– nice. That was real nice of you. I hope you had fun and…" Naruto kept making eye contact then looking away, where Gaara stared straight at him the whole time. "So, have a safe trip, okay? Be careful out there–" Gaara had given up on Naruto talking and leaned forward, pressing his lips against Naruto's. Naruto's face turned red and he stood there, shocked. Finally, it sunk in and he kissed back, a tender, soft goodbye kiss that neither of them would forget. They pulled away and Naruto grinned. "Looks like I'll be visiting you more often than I originally planned." Gaara chuckled then smiled.

"Until next time, Naruto." And with one last childish gleam in his eyes, he gave Naruto a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving. As he turned around, Temari quickly hid her camera and Kankuro looked the other way, leaving Gaara to smirk to himself.

"Until next time…" Naruto repeated to himself as he watched Gaara disappear from sight. Those were very tempting words. Very… Tempting… Naruto quickly turned around and sprinted back into the village. "Grandma Tsunade, I'm taking my vacation now!"

xepiloguex

She backed up, and then dashed! She slid across the floor, a grin overcoming her face. "Wow! I haven't done this in years! Now I can see why Gaara found it so fun!" She slid across the again, but this time she hit a pebble and crashed to the floor, let out a grunt of pain as she grabbed her back. "I guess I'm really not as young as I used to be. I guess I should stop." She stood up and thought for a second, her hand still on her back. "Ah, what the hell. One more slide won't kill me!" She back up and dashed, sliding around the corning and colliding with someone. She felt her lips be covered by someone else's as she tumbled to the ground with them. "What the…" When Tsunade opened her eyes and saw Jiraiya underneath her, her face suddenly went pale, whereas Jiraiya's was grinning ear to ear.

"Wow, Tsunade. We're looking quite youthful today, aren't we?"

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And that's a wrap! I hope you guys enjoyed it? I had kinda had a blast writing it! :D So please, review! Thank you! :3

The darkness I liveth, the darkness I love
~roo the nobody vampir