Blow Me Away

by Silken Ink

Everyone knows Matsuri and Gaara love each other, except for them. So Naruto decides to take matters into his own hands, and sets up a little birthday surprise for his young Kazekage friend. What will happen? Rated M for a reason, stay away kiddos. (Finally finished)

2. Chapter 2

Author's Note:

Hello everyone! I just wanted to say that I'm sorry it took me so long to finish this. I've been so wrapped up in my other stories, that this one took a back burner. :( But I was shocked and amazed by how positive the response was! Thank you everyone for reviewing! It really pushed me to go ahead and get it finished. I hope this finishing chapter lives up to everyone's expectations. :D

Also, if anyone has any ideas on what my next one-shot should be about, let me know in the comments. ;)

Anyways, on to the chapter!

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The next morning, Matsuri woke to the sensation of feather light kisses on the back of her neck. She instantly stiffened and sucked in a deep breath, momentarily disoriented and wondering what was going on. Her concerns were eased though, when a deep gravelly voice behind her murmured, "Good morning."

The sound of Gaara's voice helped to remind her what all had happened last night. Everything came back in a rush: the birthday party, being abducted, and finally ending up with Gaara. It all seemed so improbable in the light of morning looking back at it, that she would have had a hard time believing it, if she hadn't woken to the feel of his lips on her skin. However, morning also seemed to have rekindled her bashfulness to a certain degree.

Awakened even more fully by the blush now warming her cheeks, she cleared her throat and managed a sleep-roughened, "Mm-hm. And you?"

"I don't normally sleep, however I think I might have a little last night. I certainly feel more rested than usual."

"That's wonderful to hear." She said earnestly with a smile and turn to sit up a little in bed.

The covers fell into her lap as she sat up and stretched, her shoulder cracking a little from where it was tight. Before the birthday party yesterday, she had done some intense training with her rope javelin, so a familiar soreness had set in the morning after. She rolled that shoulder a few times to get it to loosen up as she pushed her short brown hair out of her eyes. Then her eyes happened to glance down, at a slight breeziness she wasn't accustomed to, and noted with some horror that the nightgown/dress she had worn before was now a little whopper-jawed, and was nearly about to expose her chest in a way she wasn't quite ready for yet. Certainly not first thing in the morning. So with a very tiny yelp and vivid blush, she rearranged it with a clumsy but very firm jerk.

Thankfully it seemed Gaara had either not noticed the incident – which was highly unlikely – or else let it slide by without comment. That was one thing that made being with him easy, she had noted. His lack of speech often came in handy when she had one of her frequent mishaps. Being so easily embarrassed, she was used to people teasing her all the time for either tripping over herself or performing other acts of clumsiness, but of course Gaara never commented.

So, once everything was arranged properly once again, she cleared her throat and decided to pretend it hadn't happened. To distract herself, she pushed her fingers into the tangled mop of hair on her head while looking around the room more thoroughly, since she really hadn't allowed herself the time to closely appraise this particular room. She'd of course looked around his living room since that was where they had spent most of their time last night. So, it wasn't overly surprising to note that – like the rest of his abode – he hadn't decorated all that much, and there weren't the normal sentimental knickknacks set on horizontal surfaces. No pictures, or trophies, or keepsakes of any kind really. Without the usual clutter, she found his room clean and airy.

Soon though she was forced to allocate more attention to her bed-head, because somehow she had managed to tangle it up even more than usual. She wasn't sure if it was just her particular hair type, or if she tossed her head around a lot at night, but she always seemed to wake up with a rat's nest. It was actually embarrassing to have someone witness her morning problem, especially since that someone was Gaara.

Thankfully it didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. When she risked a peek in his direction, he wasn't looking at her with any sort of distaste. If anything he seemed amused.

After a moment, he sat up next to her and gently took over by catching her hands and lowering them before running his own fingers through her hair. A moment later there was a little whoosh of sand and suddenly it felt like he had a comb in one hand. Perhaps that explained the lack of some normal items, such as a comb, that could take up space. He simply made them with sand whenever he needed them and then dispersed them back to his gourd. How convenient.

Of course having him comb her hair made her blush a little in embarrassment, as usual, but she tried to ignore both the feeling and the resulting heat. Mostly she was just very grateful - and of course giddy and happy - for him to be touching her and showing any sort of affection.

Clearing her throat again of any sleepy cobwebs hanging around, she tried for conversation, figuring it might help to dispel some of the discomfort.

"For being so short, I don't know how it gets so tangled up. It's one of the reasons why I keep it that length. I always figured if it was any longer I wouldn't be able to detangle it."

There was a long pause, broken only by his typical, "hm" sound. And then to her surprise, he offered, "If you would like it longer, I don't mind combing it."

She found herself blinking rapidly, her mouth opening in shock, and a flush painting her face for the millionth time. That was utterly unexpected, but he truly didn't seem to mind. When she glanced over her shoulder at him his eyes were happy and content while his fingers and comb continued to quickly and efficiently work through the tangles. Maybe it was because he had a better angle or view point to get at her hair, or maybe he had missed a calling as a hair stylist, because he seemed to have it all set to rights within a few minutes unlike the nearly half hour it took her to wrangle it back under control. Of course the idea of him as a hair dresser was so amusing that she nearly laughed, but self-consciously choked it back with a little cough.

It would be nice to have him comb her hair in this manner… very nice in fact because it had felt lovely. He'd been very gentle – in direct comparison to her roughly yanking at the strands in frustration – and the light tugs had almost been ticklish. It had actually felt very good, and for the first time she got an idea of why pets liked being groomed by their humans - it was very soothing while also stimulating her scalp in a pleasant way.

She almost gave his offer some serious thought, but as soon as she started considering it she realized the obvious, glaring problem with it. Her hair was like this every morning, and the offer to comb it for her wouldn't work… unless he was present every morning for the event.

"Um. Thank you. I'd like that a lot but…it's like this every morning."

He just stared at her with those calm eyes of hers, as if to say, 'yes, and your point is?'

"I'd still have to wrestle with it on mornings that we don't…" She stalled out before saying, 'wake up together' because it seemed sort of like a presumption – and of course she blushed.

Yes, they had both confessed to each other last night, and had even talked about having sex, but that was under the conditions of this jutsu they were stuck in. She wasn't sure how often he would want to…do that after this whole thing was over.

Assumedly he would want to, just as she knew she would, but there were all sorts of things to consider, such as his job as Kazekage and how busy he was. Not to mention, she had no idea how much of a sex drive he had – a though which only made her flush a little warmer. If they entered into a relationship, which seemed to be the way this was heading, how often would he want to consummate it? For that matter, how often would she? Of course for a while at least she could imagine that she would want sex more than usual, because of the new exciting quality of it, but after that it would probably settle into a routine the way she heard it had…assuming they ended up in a long relationship.

Perhaps she was overthinking things, as usual. Judging by Gaara's patient, if ever so slightly quizzical stare, she had been lost in thought for some time now, and he probably was wondering what she could possibly be thinking about to cause her to blush off and on like a faulty lightbulb. That thought only sparked yet another flush, and she rather irritatedly wondered if there was some sort of limit to how many times she could blush in one hour.

Quite fortuitously, her body was providing an excellent distraction and reason to get up, because her morning urges had made an appearance. So, she began easing herself out of the large bed, making sure to keep the satin in place, especially as she exited from under the covers. It had ridden up through the night, and she had to give it a quick tug to get it to come down over her hips, which it did with a series of staticky crackles.

"If you'll excusing me, I have to…" not wanting to say 'go to the bathroom' she simply pointed to the bathroom and then scooted off in said direction.

Once done, she used his toothbrush again, feeling a little guilty but also giddy in a weird way, and then she exited and traded with him the way they had done last night. She exited into the living room while he did his business – a thought which reminded her of one crazy fangirl who had once come up and asked her if she'd ever seen Lord Gaara actually go into a bathroom. Apparently the crazy girl had been under the impression that he was magical and didn't have to eat, sleep, or use the toilet.

As it turned out, only one of those was true – and she still found it hard to believe that he didn't sleep. Perhaps he was "magical" after all.

Amused by her train of thought, she found herself ambling around the room and eventually came to a halt in front of his massive bookshelf, one of several. He had an enormous collection of scrolls and books, some of which he had even lent to her at one time or another as her sensei – ones which detailed jutsus and techniques on fighting. Pulling out one that he had lent to her on advanced hand to hand combat techniques, she perused the text. She'd given it back to him before finishing it, because she had been taking too long to read it and felt bad about holding onto it for so long.

She opened it to one of the pages she hadn't studied, and was so engrossed in reading about how to get out of an advanced chokehold without weapons available, that she didn't hear or sense Gaara coming up behind her. So she was surprised when suddenly an arm wrapped around her neck while another pressed along her spine to grab his wrist, cinching the chokehold down tight. She gasped, and the book tumbled from her hands, startled. He must have looked over her shoulder to see which technique she was studying, because this was the exact same chokehold it had been describing how to get out of. Unfortunately she hadn't had enough time to really understand the maneuver described.

Gaara's head appeared next to her own as he leaned over her and he asked, "Now, how do you get out of it?"

The chokehold itself wasn't painful, but it was snug and a little tighter than she would like over her throat. It also felt very sturdy and difficult to break. Once she got over her momentary shock, she uncomfortably cleared her throat and murmured breathily – due to the slight constriction over her vocal cords – "Um. I…uh…" To be honest, she really didn't know.

Thinking hard back to the text, she hesitantly reached up to grip the arm around her neck. That felt right, so she dug her fingers in and tugged as hard as she could to try to get a little room. That didn't work, so she bit her lip and tried even harder to remember what she had just read. It was difficult because she was more of a visual learner, so sometimes it took some time to really piece together what written words were telling her to do. However, she was pretty sure there was some sort of bending over involved.

Trying again, she gripped his arm tightly and then tried to jerk her upper half forwards and down a little in a bend. Then she tossed herself back instantly, figuring that the sudden move forward and then back would create a little bit of room in his arm. It worked to a certain degree and she quickly pushed her hand into the space created, to hopefully prevent him from clamping down as hard as before. Perhaps the move required for her to get her whole arm through the space and therefore levering his grip off, but just getting her hand into the space simply meant that her wrist was trapped as well.

Stuck once again, she stalled. "Uh…"

He didn't respond, merely waiting for her to continue her attempt, and so she did.

Using her free arm she tried elbowing him, but he just moved out of the way. Grasping at straws now, she extended her arm and reached back with her hand to grab a fistful of his t-shirt and tried to shove him back like that. Once again, that only seemed to make things worse as he just pressed forwards and trapped her arm between his torso and his arm.

"Any other ideas?" He asked, sounding a little amused.

With a sigh, she relaxed back against him. "No, Gaara Sensei." She admitted, tacking on the 'sensei' part out of both habit and intentionally as sort of a joke…but not really. She always tended to call him sensei when they were training together, even after he became Kazekage. The only reason it was kind of said a bit more playfully now was because of their setting, in his apartments, in their pajamas. It didn't seem necessary by any means.

He chuckled, obviously noting the honorific. His arms released her and then rearranged, allowing her arms to drop out of confinement. She stayed put, sensing that he wasn't quite done, and was proven correct when his arm rewrapped around her neck. Only one arm draped across her this time though, in a less advanced chokehold.

"Try this."

She nodded, and proceeded to attempt escape once more. It went slightly more successfully this time around, at least until he distracted her thoroughly when his free hand suddenly appeared on her hip. That caused her to still, out of surprise as she considered its placement for a moment. Then, determining it wasn't really a danger, she continued to focus on the arm around her neck. That hand proved to become a much bigger distraction though, when after a minute of staying put, it suddenly started creeping down her thigh. That made her freeze up again and wonder what the heck he was doing.

"Wh-what are you…?"

"Try to stop me." He responded, his breath right on her ear now. It was said in a perfectly calm, instructive sort of voice, but it still made her tense up.

She wasn't sure if he intentionally made it sound so suggestive, but it certainly came out that way. Paired with the way his hand had stalled on her skin right below the hemline of her dress, the command sent skitters down her spine. A brilliant blush painted her cheeks and she gulped before nodding, and then tried to do as he said.

Once she unfroze and actively started trying to escape, his hand also regained motion, this time sneaking under her hem and started going back up the way it had just gone, dragging her dress with it. She didn't doubt that he was both playing and also doing a little training while he was at it, but that he wouldn't actually do anything she didn't want him to. However it still sent nervous little zings through her body, along with sparks of excitement. Of course she had always enjoyed this particular type of training, where he would put her in a hold and tell her to try and get out of it. Back then, it was all the physical contact she was allowed with him.

Instinctively, one hand flew down to wrap around his wrist, trying to halt his upward progress. It wasn't like she was opposed to the idea, outside of still finding herself super shy and embarrassed at the thought, but he himself had told her to try and stop him.

"I would focus on the arm around your neck." He advised, giving that arm a little squeeze for emphasis.

She always had enough problems dealing with normal Gaara, but this version of him – playful while also in teacher mode, both bossy and teasing – was just too much for her to handle.

"B-but…" She protested, wondering how she was supposed to focus on his arm around her neck and also stop the progress up her thigh.

"If you break the hold, I won't be able to touch you." He explained.

It made perfect sense, and in a real situation with an assailant who was feeling her up, she would have to make that choice. But it was incredibly difficult to focus on the chokehold with the sensation of his fingers finally reaching the edge of her underwear high up on the front of her thigh. He played with the hem a little and followed it, first around her hip towards her side and behind and then back forwards.

Finally, she admitted defeat.

His hand stalled, and then lay flat, just resting against her thigh for a moment before reluctantly pulling back.

"We need to train more." He said in gentle admonishment as he released her.

She nodded in agreement.

After that, they proceeded with making breakfast. Matsuri enjoyed cooking, though with her clumsy tendencies she often made quite a mess as she did it. Gaara didn't seem concerned when she warned him, and so she offered to make breakfast for the both of them. As usual he didn't say much or show much on his face, but knowing him as well as she did she could see the glimmer of excitement brighten his eyes.

So, she tackled the idea of making pancakes. It was simple enough, just make the batter and then pour it into a hot pan. Being extra careful to try and not spill or drop anything, she began measuring out ingredients. But despite her best intentions, she managed to drop the insides of an egg onto the counter when she cracked it, instead of in the bowl where she had been aiming. The egg was near the edge, but quickly slipped and slid over the rim to land on the floor. She paused to mop it up, but must not have done so very well because a few minutes later when she crossed across the kitchen with a measuring cup of milk she slipped on some remaining goo.

She managed to not fall, by flailing around to get her balance, but the milk did splash everywhere. So, she paused once again to mop, being a little more thorough this time. During the course of preparation, she also managed to spill the sugar container, drop some flour which poofed everywhere, and then spatter batter in various places as she ladled it into the pan. By the time she was done, the kitchen had been cleaned four or five times already, and still possessed spots of various ingredients. Likewise, she was also covered in an interesting array of substances. However, as usual, the pancakes turned out perfect and fluffy.

Despite being messy and clumsy, she was actually a very good cook.

Gaara hadn't commented once on the mess she made, for which she was thankful. However, once he tasted the pancakes his stoic expression changed, his non-brows rising in surprise.

"These are very good." He complemented.

The compliment instantly had her feeling all warm and gooey, and made the hassle and mess entirely worth it in her opinion.

After breakfast and clean-up, he calmly suggested with a straight face that perhaps she would like to take a shower. It was an excellent idea, and Matsuri blushed as she thanked him, and then blushed harder when he said, "feel free to use any soap or towels you find. There will also be some clothes that you can wear on the counter."

Thanking him again, she made her way quickly into the bathroom and shut herself inside. Using the time by herself to catch her breath and calm her thoughts, she slowly contemplated her surroundings. He possessed both a round tub and a stand up shower stall. Going towards the shower, she peered into it, noting the bar of soap, and quickly found a bottle of shampoo as well on one of the counters. Also, sure enough, on the counter next to the sink was a stack of what must be the clothes he mentioned. The only thing she could think of to explain why they were there was that he had used some sand to put them there after he asked her if she'd like to take a shower.

Ignoring the clothes for the time being, she stripped and then quickly stepped into the shower, feeling self-conscious about being naked in Gaara's bathroom. Just being in here had felt weird yesterday, and being in here totally naked about to use his shower was even odder. Even so, she spent a good deal of time under the hot water, both scrubbing at the somewhat dried batter and egg bits, and also thinking. Shower time had always been used as a time of contemplation for her, and she found her mind mulling over their situation for what felt like the millionth time.

And that inevitably led to thinking about sex in conjunction with Gaara.

She wondered if she truly was ready for that yet. It had all happened so suddenly, it still felt unreal. On the one hand, she wasn't sure she could go through with it. Her nerves and shyness were overwhelming whenever she tried to seriously imagine what it would be like. If just fantasizing about it made her turn into a blushing stammering idiot, then what would actually doing it be like? Was it possible to blush hard enough to injure yourself? Maybe she could actually give herself a fever.

On the other hand of course, she was beyond eager to get on it already. Ever since learning about their situation, the urge to go for it had been getting stronger and stronger. Even though he had plainly stated that they had plenty of time, she couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency, like they should be doing it right now. She just couldn't shake the idea that it needed to happen sooner rather than later, mainly because she was going to go insane if they didn't.

The constant tension was slowly driving her batty. Oh sure, they had moments of relaxation and she was thoroughly enjoying the time spent with Gaara in this very new setting, but in the back of her mind the idea of sex was constantly there.

Just the fact that they were going to do it at some point, made it impossible to not think about.

Besides that, was it necessary for them to go all the way? Would not going all the way make it any easier? Then again, she kind of wanted to go for everything all at once - she'd been waiting long enough after all.

But then again, it just made it all the more intense to consider. There was so much out there that she didn't even know about. Like the tongue kissing stuff. She was sure there were all kinds of other things she hadn't known about. It wasn't like she was a total innocent, she knew about sex and what went where, and she even knew about oral sex, although the thought of that was similar to the way she had thought about tongue kissing – with a mild edge of 'that can't be sanitary.' But would Gaara even want to do stuff like that?

What would it be like exactly? Just like the way they had been on the couch last night, kissing and making out and then…he'd just stick it in? Really, they could have done it right then and there, all he would have had to do was undo his zipper and push in… they had been in the right position and everything. If that was the case, she thought she could probably handle it…but if there was a lot more involved, like fully getting naked and stuff, she wasn't so sure.

That wasn't fully accurate. She knew she could do it, she just didn't know if she'd survive the experience or if she'd end up having a heart attack or passing out or something midway through.

Maybe she could convince him to do it with them still partially clothed, and minimal touching of private parts aside from the actual doing it part. Then again, she didn't know if she'd be happy with just that. Now that she could go for everything, why shouldn't she try it all out? This was a perfect opportunity; she had Gaara all to herself for a few days. They could spend the majority of that time in the bedroom experimenting and trying stuff out.

Basically, she was torn about it. Half of her was screaming, 'yes go for it!' while the other side was cringing back and hiding under the bed with a blush that lit her up like a Christmas tree.

By the end of her shower, she hadn't exactly reached a conclusion, aside from the fact that she did indeed want to go ahead and try to start doing stuff pretty soon before she went mad with the waiting. She knew she didn't have the guts to just come out and say it though, so she'd have to work it in somehow. Maybe she could sit really close to him or something while they talked.

Sighing, she turned off the water and stepped out, using his towel to dry off. It smelled like him, which was a lovely sensory experience.

Once dry, she walked over to the clothes he had offered and picked them up. He'd given her a red t-shirt like the kind he was currently wearing, and there was a pair of pajama bottoms under that. The shirt fit, acting more like a long dress really since it came to the tops of her thighs, but the pants just fell off. Deciding to just go with the t-shirt and slipping back on her panties from yesterday, she chose to forgo a bra, since it had somehow gotten splattered too. She left her dirty clothes in a neat ball on the counter and then gathered up the courage to step out into the bedroom.

He was reclining on the bed, propped up with pillows and reading as he waited. When she walked out though, his pale eyes instantly looked over and then seemed to stick as he looked her up and down several times. His expression stayed stoic, but his eyes darkened somewhat with heat and she fidgeted.

Making her somewhat unsteady way into the room, she cleared her throat, and asked, "So, uh, what now?"

"What would you like to do?" He asked mildly, closing the book and putting it aside on the nightstand next to him.

That was a loaded question if she'd ever heard one.

The idea of sex flitted through her mind, not that it had ever left, and she flushed, shifting her weight from foot to foot uncomfortably. She knew good and well she didn't have the guts to say that though, so instead, she said, "Um…we could…talk?"

"What would you like to talk about?"

He sat up more fully and shifted back in an obvious invitation for her to join him. She awkwardly clambered up onto the bed, her mind trying to come up with a topic of discussion. Pulling at loose ends, she finally remembered a movie once, where the characters had played a game. It might just work, and would be interesting.

"Um, well, I saw this movie once were they played a talking game. Basically, you each try to come up with something the other person doesn't know about you. For each piece of new information you share that they were unaware of, you get a point, and you can use those points to ask questions. If you ask a question, the other person has to answer truthfully, or else use up one of their points to avoid the question if it's really embarrassing or something they don't want to talk about."

He seemed to consider it. After a long pause he eventually said, "It sounds interesting. You go first."

"Oh, uh, okay. Um, let me think…" She had to try and think of something to tell Gaara that he didn't already know about her. "My favorite color is green?"

"Red." He simply replied.

Then it was her turn again. "Um, okay. So that's one point for each of us." She tallied up verbally, and then shared, "I hate wearing high heels. I tried once, and tripped through every single door and over every single rug I came across."

The slightest of smiles curled his lips.

From there the conversation/game went much the same way. They covered simple and safe topics such as: first pet, favorite article of clothing, favorite animal, the first time they went on a mission, and the like.

Matsuri divulged that she really loved flowers, but had settled for folded paper flowers as decoration in her home because the real ones were expensive. Then she'd blushingly told him that she once bought silk sheets, thinking they would feel nice, only to discover the same staticky situation she'd previously had with her satin nightgown.

In return, he shared that his preferred food was basically anything spicy. In fact, he said that this morning was the first time he'd ever tried pancakes. He also told her that as a child, he had a teddy bear that he used to carry around with him everywhere, which she found absolutely adorable.

Things proceeded in this manner for a while, until he used one of his points to ask her a question.

"When did you first recognize your feelings for me?"

Matsuri was blindsided by the query. It was simple enough she supposed, actually it was a question she had considered asking Gaara, but just hadn't the gumption to do so. So now she was faced with it.

Blushing, she admitted, "Well, I guess I got a crush on you soon after becoming your student. It just sort of kept getting deeper and deeper and eventually I guess it just turned into love along the way. I don't really remember any specific moment when I realized it had turned though."

He looked surprised, his eyes a little wider than normal. "That long?"

"Yep." She nodded bashfully, still blushing of course. Since it had already come up, she found it easier to return the same question. "How about you?"

His head cocked and he looked off to the side a moment, thinking hard. She took the opportunity to scoot closer to him eagerly, almost touching her knees to his. When his eyes returned to hers, they were more intense, intently staring into her own.

"I suppose my story is much the same as yours. I was…fascinated with you from the moment you became my student. That fascination transformed into something…more, but I couldn't put a name to it for quite some time. It wasn't until after I became Kazekage and had to spend so much time apart from you that I finally recognized it for what it was."

That was the longest she thought she'd ever heard him speak in one go before and it left her in a state of shock, while also making her hyper aware of him. When his eyes flicked down to her mouth she felt it almost like a touch and her breath sucked in, face flushing even pinker. Her reaction only seemed to increase the intensity of his gaze and his eyes darkened with heat as he flicked them back up to meet hers.

It was at this moment that she realized they were much closer than before, and seemed to still be gravitating towards each other. She could feel his breath on her face now. He glanced down at her lips again and then the space between his non-brows crinkled up in a little frown.

Meeting her gaze again, he whispered, "I promised myself I wouldn't push…or ask…"

She instantly knew to what he was referring, and suddenly a wave of nerves washed over her. That was followed by another wave, just as strong as the first, but this one was of excitement. For a long moment, Matsuri couldn't decide which one was dominant within her, but in the end anticipation won out by a hair. Though she was still a bundle of nerves, she very much wanted to go for it.

"I think…if we go slow…" She whispered back, trying very hard not to blush and failing since she already was.

Her heart was pounding out of control, and she found it very difficult to keep her breathing at a consistent rate, especially as he leaned in that last little bit of distance between them to kiss her. He tugged her nearer, and she went, going up onto her knees to get closer to him. Somehow she ended up in his lap a few moments later, while the kiss continued almost unbroken. He asked for entrance into her mouth relatively soon into the kiss and this time she did so without any reservation. It was still a little strange to her, but she had to admit that it did feel good.

Of course she blushed her way through the kiss, her face hot and feverish the whole time, but she wasn't paying too much attention to it since most of her mind was focused on feeling his lips on hers. It was warm and wet and humid with their breath and at times it was a little messy, but it was also strangely intoxicating and slowly ate away at all other thoughts until the only thing left was the motion of her mouth against his. She tried to keep up, match his rhythm, and was mostly successful. Her hands ended up in the shorter red hair at the nape of his neck and stayed there since she was completely immersed in the kiss.

Suddenly though, there was a new player on her radar as his hands - which had been resting on her waist - began to drift. His kisses grew more absentminded as he obviously switched focus, and his hands traveled down to the hem of her shirt. He stalled there, his fingers playing with the edge that sat high on her thighs, almost at her hips now with the way she sat in his lap. She didn't protest, and so eventually his fingers slipped underneath the material and started traveling back up. They carefully, and very deliberately played across the skin of her back and around her waist to her stomach. Every gentle caress sent fire through her.

This time was different from last night. Yesterday they had gotten caught up in their emotions and confessing their love to each other for the first time, so it had been nearly frantic, passionate, and wildly out of control. Today however, Gaara was touching her differently, much more carefully and almost hesitantly, as if afraid she would break or run away. It was as if he too was just realizing the significance of the moment and was getting nervous as well, though Matsuri found that hard to believe.

Still, if there was a chance he was also hesitant, maybe he would be open to her ideas of how to make this less awkward or potentially embarrassing. This was the perfect opportunity to ask about doing it half-clothed at the very least.

Pulling back from the kiss, she tried to catch her breath enough to speak, but it was made difficult by the way his lips rerouted to her neck and kissed her there.

"G-Gaara, um…"

Finally his head came up and he met her gaze, his eyes much darker than usual and intense. He didn't say anything, just stared at her in a questioning manner.

"Er, m-maybe we could just…do it like this?" Her voice squeaked at the end and she blushed much hotter than before.

"Specify please." Perhaps he got even less verbose when he was aroused. It was a thought that both amused her and made her flush.

"Like we are now, p-partially clothed and …"

"No," he interrupted before she could figure out how to say 'without too much intimate touching.' "If you aren't ready to even be naked, then we are rushing things and need to stop."

When he started pulling back, she almost panicked and her hand clenched in his hair, holding him put. His eyes widened in surprise and he stilled, though once again he pinned her with an intense stare.

"I-I don't want to stop…" She mumbled, flushing even hotter than before.

He watched her for a long time without saying anything, apparently trying to determine if she was telling the truth. She met his eyes, trying to convey her sincerity. She hadn't suggested it because she wanted to stop; it was just that she was shy and wanted to explore her options.

"Why would you want to do that?" He asked, and she assumed he meant her previous suggestion, not why she wanted to continue.

Still, she clarified her answer. "To try keeping our clothes on while…? I just… I'm shy. You should know that by now."

"Indeed. But if you are so shy, then why do you want to continue?"

Was he going to make her spell it out? Apparently so, judging by his serious look and intent stare.

"W-well I…I want to um…continue, because I…because I just do alright!?"

His non-brows rose at her increase in volume and she bit her lip, embarrassed at the outburst.

Clearing her throat she tried to articulate it clearer for him. "I want to do this. I've wanted it for a very, very long time now. Like I said, I'm just shy and easily embarrassed and also nervous because it's…my first time…" She stuttered to a halt, realizing she probably should have mentioned that earlier.

At their age it was probably unusual to still be a virgin she supposed. Most of her friends and the people she knew had lost their V-card in their teens, and here she was in her twenties and had never gotten past first base. Sure, she'd gone on dates and shared a few kisses with boys here and there, but it always felt wrong, so she'd stopped all that pretty quickly.

His eyes widened slightly and then gentled, warming to shine with something new. He looked…pleased by the information. And then he confirmed it, showing a rare smile. "I'm glad no one else has touched you like this…" Then that smile went away and a small frown took its place.

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head, clearing his expression.

He didn't seem like he was going to answer, so she insisted. "What's wrong Gaara?"

With a soft sigh, he finally gave in reluctantly. "I find my emotions troubling."

"How so?"

His eyes grew tight. "The feelings I experienced when you told me I was your first were…too possessive. They were too similar to some of the darker things I felt in my past."

For some reason, hearing that sent a thrill through her. She didn't know why, but she liked the idea of him being possessive of her. ….Though the mention of his dark past was a little scary. Personally, she hadn't known him back then, although she'd certainly been as aware of him as all the people of the Sand were. She'd heard all the stories, and even just the barest mention of them sent a chill down her spine.

But all of that was in the past, and she shoved it back where it belonged. She harbored no fear for him now, and even his past self was forgiven in her mind. With him now, she had no concerns about whether his emotions were similar to some from way back when.

"It's okay to feel possessive of someone you love. In fact I…" She ducked her head, embarrassed to admit the rest. "I always felt kind of possessive about you. As your student, I felt like you belonged to me…in a way…and I sort of hated those other girls in your fan club because they all seemed so shallow. I guess that means I was also jealous…" It sounded so awful, and she winced, closing her eyes because she didn't want to see his response.

When he didn't say anything for a long moment, she finally risked a glance, and then her eyes got snared. He was looking at her so intensely, his eyes nearly burning, that she could only imagine that he liked the idea of her being possessive of him in return.

A small smirk curved the corner of his lips and he said deeply, "Good."

He kissed her again, deeply, and she struggled to keep up with his sudden mood swing. It was passionate, but brief, and soon he was tearing himself away again and visibly struggled to put his normal expressionless calm mask back on.

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. We were talking about your reservations."

"Oh. That."

"Yes. That." He repeated almost teasingly, and then sobered. "I can understand why you're nervous. I should tell you; this is also my first time."

That shouldn't surprise her as much as it did. It made perfect sense really, he had never shown any sort of interest in anyone, except her apparently.

"B-but you're so…confidant."

A strange, barely-there smile quirked his lips. "I'm not actually. None of this is exactly comfortable, though very enjoyable I assure you." He soothed instantly as she started getting concerned. "But given that I am not used to physical contact of any kind, it's all very new to me."

"S-so does that mean you're nervous too?"

"I suppose you could say that." He didn't look overly happy about admitting to it.

"That…actually makes me feel better."

He blinked in obvious confusion. "How?"

"To know that I'm not the only one who's nervous about it. I guess that's a little strange, but it's nice to know we're in the same boat."

He just calmly stared at her, but this time it didn't unnerve her.

"So then…can we…?" She started, glancing down at his lips, wanting to kiss him again and continue where they left off. Since she was looking, she saw the way a muscle in his jaw jumped and wondered if it was because of her.

"Can you even say it?" He asked after a moment.

"Hm?"

"This whole time, you haven't actually said the word 'sex.'"

"O-oh…"

After a long pause, he said, "If you're so shy that you can't even say it, then we probably should stop."

She groaned, finding this condition a little unfair. First he insisted on them getting naked, and now he insisted on her actually saying the word sex.

Still, she had to admit he had a fair point. After all if she was this bashful she probably wouldn't survive the experience.

After some internal pep talk, she finally cleared her throat and gritted her teeth. "Gaara…I want to…" She trailed off and winced before starting over. Taking a deep breath, she finally blurted out, "I want to sex!" Then she realized what she'd said and blushed bright red. "Erm, I mean to have! To HAVE… sex…" By the last word she was deflating and wanted to hide her probably beet red face.

He just blinked calmly at her, though there was a tiny twitch at the side of his lips that suggested he was resisting the urge to smile and probably laugh. She wouldn't blame him… that had been a pretty ridiculous attempt.

In fact, after the embarrassment eased, she began to chuckle, finding it a little amusing in hindsight. It was only after she started that he joined her, his soft deep chuckle soothing instead of making her embarrassed. It didn't sound like he was laughing at her in the slightest.

"You really are adorable." He said with a soft grin, one of the widest she had ever seen, and she was struck by the beauty of it.

Instantly, she made it a goal in life to make him smile as many times as she possibly could, and found a matching smile bloom brilliantly on her own lips. He seemed a little stunned for a moment. Perhaps he wasn't expecting her to be so cheerful after getting so embarrassed?

"Thank you…" She responded softly to the compliment. "Sooo can we?" When he stared at her expectantly, she finished the question. "Have … sex?" That still felt incredibly strange to say, and she still blushed a million different shades of red.

"Only if it's what you want." He responded. His voice was calm, but his hands on her waist tightened almost spastically.

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to…" She responded with a slight pout, frowning and making a moue with her mouth. She was a little put out by the suggestion that she would pursue it if she didn't want it. In fact it seemed downright silly in her opinion.

He blinked at her response and then chuckled, his hands tightening again, this time with intent as he used the grip to pull her forwards rather suddenly.

"Good to know…" He murmured against her lips, and once again they were kissing.

She sighed, almost in relief, and melted into his arms even as she accidentally clacked her teeth against his in her eagerness. That had been entirely stressful and she was glad it was over. Once again, she found it difficult to believe what he'd said about him being nervous. His kisses were so demanding, not shy at all, and his hands were also bold as they traveled across the skin under her shirt. However, he did avoid her chest or her groin area - for which she was thankful, but also a little curious about.

Still, he didn't seem too hesitant when he tilted them both back, landing under her as they continued to kiss, only horizontally now. The change in position was a little startling, but since she was on top it didn't make her too nervous and she wondered if he did that on purpose. Or maybe it was because it gave him more freedom with his hands. He was still wandering around under her shirt, but after a while he withdrew. She wasn't sure why, until suddenly she felt a tug on the material and realized he had gripped the hem in an obvious request.

She yelped and sat up, which made them both freeze and stare at each other with wide eyes. Her action had been a knee jerk response to the suggestion of taking off her shirt, but she'd done it without thinking and landed firmly on his groin. Now, she found herself straddling him, her panties pressed to his fly, and there was absolutely no denying the fact that he was excited by their activities. She could very clearly feel his hard on. It wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing to sit on.

They both looked down, at where her tanned thighs landed on either side of his hips, and they both stared for a long moment before meeting each other's eyes.

Matsuri wasn't entirely sure what to do now and there was a long slightly awkward pause as they both obviously tried to figure it out. Finally, she decided to address the previous issue, and just pretend that the current issue wasn't there at all.

She reached down and lightly wrapped her hand around one of his wrists and he jerked, his fingers tightening on the cloth still in his grip.

"I don't think it's fair for me to take this off just yet. That would leave me in just my panties, and you're still fully dressed." She managed to say without stuttering, and was inordinately proud of herself for it.

He flushed for once, and she was instantly mesmerized by the sight.

Quickly gathering himself together after her statement, he was quick to rectify the problem. "Of course. Here."

He sat up a little and in one fluid motion managed to drag his t-shirt over his head, though it did seem to snag around his neck for a second and he made a small choking sound. Finally though it was off completely and he tossed it away dismissively before meeting her stare with one of his own.

"I could take my pants off too…though I should warn you I am not wearing anything underneath."

Her jaw dropped and she was left speechless, both because of his words and the sight of him laid out under her without a shirt. She'd never seen him shirtless before, and her eyes couldn't seem to stop staring. Without her permission, her gaze wavered from his face and then broke the eye contact entirely to peruse his form instead. She just couldn't help but look at him, and gawked for a long moment.

He just lay there silently, letting her look.

Of course she'd known he was fit, how could he not be? As a shinobi you had to be in good physical condition. She herself possessed plenty of good muscle that she'd built over the years of training and fighting. But he was so…lovely to look at. His shape was still of a younger man, with slightly narrower shoulders - though they were definitely broader than when he first became her teacher. They'd still been teenagers then. Now, he was definitely a man. He was slender, his muscles long and sinewy instead of thick and bulgy. Everything about him was graceful, from the line of his throat and collarbones, to the dips and ripples in his tight stomach, to his leanly muscular arms.

Of course perhaps she was just biased.

Eventually she managed to regain control over her eyes and snapped them back up to his face, instantly blushing hotly for staring at him for so long. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't…shouldn't stare like that…"

He didn't respond right away, just gazed at her with warm unblinking eyes and a small smile curling his lips. "I don't mind."

At his permission she glanced back down and this time reached a hand out, hesitating before making contact. She glanced back up to ask if she could touch and he nodded ever so slightly to give his consent. With it, she let her fingers grace his skin, and then her palm, slowly stroking him from the base of his throat to the middle of his stomach in one long admiring caress. She was amazed by how soft his skin was, unmarred aside from one large mark. It was a scar she didn't recognize, a strange, stark white star shaped mark high up on his chest which sent out thin white lines that twisted up his shoulder and over his chest in a pattern almost like frost.

Wonderingly she commented, "You're skin is so smooth. Unscarred. Aside from…" She traced those two scars lightly with gentle fingertips.

"That is one of only four battles that broke through my sand. The others were healed so that they left no scars."

She figured he probably meant the incident with Seimei, the debacle with Deidara, and the battle with Madara, all of which he had been tended to afterwards by the leaf shinobi Sakura. That medic-nin was so good that Matsuri didn't doubt she had the ability to heal without scars.

"What made this pattern?" She wondered at the white lines and traced a few.

"A very strong lightning attack. If it had been treated it wouldn't have scarred so badly, but that was back when I…wasn't inclined to accept help from anyone."

"Oh." Was all she could say to that, and looked at it more closely. It wasn't unattractive. In fact, she could imagine how some people might even perhaps tattoo something similar onto themselves. The thin delicate lines were very intricate, like branching roots, or frost, or…lightning.

"I think it looks cool actually." She admitted, hoping it wouldn't offend him somehow.

He blinked at her and then glanced at it consideringly.

After a long pause, she cleared her throat, realizing there was a very clear difference between them. Aside from the glaring scar on her throat, she possessed many others, a good handful of which she had accidentally given herself when learning the rope javelin. Others were from missions were she came back wounded. And yet others were simply due to her carelessness – accidents where she tripped and fell or some such thing. He must have already seen the ones on her arms and legs.

"I'm afraid I have a lot more scars than you do…" She mumbled, looking away. One hand subconsciously touched her worst one, the slash across her throat.

His eyes skimmed over her, taking in the scars he could see on her arms and exposed legs. After a long moment he said, "Though I hate the thought of you injured, the resulting scars do not have any influence over my attraction to you."

She relaxed some, though she supposed she probably shouldn't have been too worried to begin with. All shinobi had plentiful scars, aside from him. And it seemed almost unfair that the only scar he had hung onto ended up looking so cool.

At any rate, his plainly stated words did help to ease her anxiety a little, though it came rushing back as he gave a gentle tug on the hem of her shirt and stared up at her with a question in his eyes. He wasn't going to ask it seemed, he was leaving this particular decision up to her. That light tug had merely been a suggestion. She bit her lips, her own hands going to the hem of her shirt and gripping it. He released it, letting her be in charge of whether or not she wanted to take it off.

There was a moment of tension and silence as she considered it. This was one of the big hurdles for her that had been holding her back even from the idea of sex - getting naked in front of Gaara. It was going to happen eventually, so in the end she finally decided it was better to get it over with now. So, with a deep breath, she pulled the shirt up over her head, and then instantly turned lobster red from head to toe and snapped her arms protectively over her chest, holding the discarded shirt there.

To his credit, Gaara's eyes remained fixed on her face, whenever she risked a glance at him. After another long and tense moment, he finally asked, "Why are you so frightened?" and then a moment later he added more softly, "Are you frightened of me?"

An instant surge of mild irritation that he would even consider that gave her courage, and she frowned, saying, "No! Of course I'm not scared of you! I already said that last night!" It was both irritating and saddening that he had felt the need to ask again.

His eye widened in surprise, his pupils almost disappearing again.

For what felt like the hundredth time she explained, "I'm – just – shy!" Her words were staccato with her aggravation at him for ever thinking she would be like those other people, the ones who still held his past against him. For good measure, she gave him a stern look.

He just blinked, still looking shocked for a moment, and then his eyes softened again, darkening as his pupils once more widened to make them a deep smoky turquoise.

"I see." He rumbled, and then after a moment she suddenly found herself moving.

They flipped, and had abruptly switched positions with him on top of her before she knew what was going on. He pressed close, until her clenched arms were snug against his chest, the bundled up shirt trapped between them.

"Is this better?" He asked, their noses brushing. "I cannot see very much like this."

He was right, unless he craned his neck down to look between them, with their bodies pressed so closely together - and his hands occupied holding himself up - he couldn't really look or touch. She slowly nodded, her shock wearing off. A grin curled his lips, stealing her breath, and then he took the rest of it with a deep kiss. Soon enough she had forgotten about the fact that she was mostly naked and abandoned the loosely draped fabric shielding her chest to wiggle her arms out from between them. The shirt stayed, stuck between their chests.

But the skin of their stomachs came into contact, and she reveled in the warm feel of his smooth skin against hers. Speaking of skin, she suddenly realized that there was a whole lot of it for her to explore, now that his shirt was off, and she was slightly distracted from the kiss as she allowed her fingers to roam all the dips and ridges of the muscles on his back. His skin was smooth there too, and so incredibly hot to the touch, which she had already noticed as he pressed against her. It was almost overwhelming, his heat combined with her fever. She loved it, but it also made her sticky with sweat.

His body pressed against hers, and she allowed his legs to fall between hers. It seemed the natural thing to do, and the most comfortable way to fit their bodies together. His erection fell along the crease of her abdomen and hip, and dug into her there almost uncomfortably, but he didn't grind into her the way she expected. He simply lay still, draped over her, and only moved his head and mouth. She could feel tension stringing him tight, like a rubber band about to snap.

Eventually she had to break the kiss, tossing her head back and to the side to try and get some air, the heat getting to her. He pulled back accommodatingly, breathing fast and hard himself. After a moment, he sat back fully on his heels, between her legs, looking down at her sprawled out beneath him. Without thinking about it, her knees bent and gripped his hips to prevent him from retreating any further than that, even though it didn't seem he had any intention to do so. Once she realized what she had done though, she flushed harder and fidgeted, her legs twitching and about to lie back down. Gaara prevented that from happening, his hands going to her knees and holding them where they were.

She sucked in a sharp breath at the contact and could feel the heat in her face inching even hotter as she stared up at him, shaky and not sure what was next. He met her gaze, his eyes hot and piercing, but slowly calmed a bit as he took in the sight of her re-bundling nerves. His hands slid up her legs, over her thighs and to her hips, and she shivered at the feel of it. The caress slowed, but continued up her sides, over her rib cage. One hand stayed, the other lifted and plucked at the bundle of cloth still over her chest.

"This is what has you so concerned, correct?" He asked, his voice heavy with breath and raspy.

She nodded and then her fingers clenched in the sheet below her as he very slowly dragged it off her, giving her ample time to stop him. Cool air hit her bare skin and she shivered, feeling the tips of her breasts tighten, and the rest of her tightened along with them. Every muscle clenched, holding her still, and her eyes shut tight as she felt her blush reach an all new height, crawling down her neck and over her chest, as if in an attempt to cover it.

Nothing happened.

After a long moment just lying there, her muscles quivering with anxiety, she finally squinted one eye open. He was staring down at her, that calm mask in place, though his eyes burned. He was keeping his gaze firmly on her face, and it seemed he was waiting for her to relax. Ever so slowly she let her other eye open, and stared up at him, almost bemused at the situation she found herself in. Here she was, lying very nearly naked beneath him, and all he was doing was gazing very fixedly into her eyes. It was almost surreal.

Gradually, her tense muscles began to relax, as she slowly realized this wasn't so scary. It was at that point, when the muscles in her legs relaxed, that she realized her knees had gripped his hips in a vice, which was probably what had tipped him off to her anxiety. As soon as that pressure eased up though, his eyes flicked down, very quickly, and then back up, asking if he could look now. Her muscles twitched, tensed, and then relaxed again, and she finally nodded, deciding it was okay. He watched her face for a long moment, probably waiting for it to relax, and then his eyes finally glided down her neck.

When his gaze stuck on her breasts she fought the urge to squirm and cover them, but wasn't entirely successful as she twitched and fidgeted somewhat under his stare. Eventually his gaze drifted further down, taking in her stomach and hips and then her underwear and thighs still pressing into him. The hand still on her ribcage drifted up, edging around one breast until it rested beside it high on her ribs, almost under her armpit. She shivered again at his touch.

"May I touch you?"

The first response to come to Matsuri's mind was 'you already are!' but she knew that wasn't what he meant. He was asking if he could touch her chest area. Taking a deep fortifying breath she nodded tightly, nervous but also very interested in proceeding. By this point she was already aroused enough that a few of her inhibitions were falling by the wayside.

For once he didn't wait for further confirmation, his hand simply slid up and over the breast nearest to it, and then cupped over her. She gasped and twitched, but overall it wasn't too different from his touching the rest of her, aside from when his palm had dragged over the peak. He glanced up, and when he didn't see any sign from her to stop, he continued, giving her a few gentle kneading motions, which felt nice, warm, soothing almost.

At first it wasn't exactly arousing, even when he added his second hand on her other breast. It wasn't until his palms retreated somewhat, and he explored her with fingertips that she began to squirm a little. He drew swirling patterns all over her chest area, avoiding the tips, although she wasn't sure if that was simply because he was being systematic and exploring her in stages, or if he was intentionally avoiding them for another reason. Whatever the case, she found the ticklish sensations highly arousing, and it caused her to very much want him to touch the centers, despite also being quite anxious about it as well. She knew she was going to respond, there was no doubt about that, and she just hoped she wouldn't embarrass herself too badly.

It was only a matter of time, and soon enough he did indeed find the peaks with his thumbs. As expected, she jumped and gasped. He noted the reaction, and focused more intently on those two spots, and soon Matsui found herself squirming around in an embarrassing manner, making soft sounds that she couldn't entirely contain. Her motions and noises only seemed to spur him on. Eventually though, he reached some sort of breaking point and his hands left her so that his mouth could once again claim hers.

This kiss was needier than the others, more forceful, full of intention, and he pressed the length of his body against hers again. The skin to skin contact had them both freezing for half a second. His body rolled against hers, hips grinding into her pelvis and his torso rubbing against her breasts. It was arousing, and Matsuri found herself responding in kind. That seemed to trigger a rhythm being started, and soon they were mimicking the motions of sex, in a way that had her flushing hot in more than just shyness. In fact, her shyness had taken a back burner to her passion, and now she was almost impatient to continue.

In a rare surge of confidence, one of her legs came up, hooking high up on his torso, and her toes snagged the waistband of his pants, dragging them down somewhat over his hip. Though they hit a hitch and she found it impossible to finish removing them, the action did get Gaara on board with the idea, and he finished the job quickly with his hands before allowing her to push them off with her feet. It was done in the spur of the moment, and it wasn't until she felt the bare skin of his legs and hips press and rub up against the insides of her thighs that she realized the consequences of said action. At that point her shy nature reared its irritating little head again, as she suddenly realized that all of him was out in the open.

It wasn't long before he realized she had tensed up, and in response he pulled back somewhat to look at her face. When he noted the tightness there, he sat back fully and asked, "Would you like to stop?"

Him sitting back fully was the last thing she'd expected or wanted, because it exposed the rest of his body to her gaze, and she promptly squeaked and covered her eyes. She still responded though to his question, not wanting him to get any more ridiculous ideas about her being scared of him.

"N-no! Just…uh…I just suddenly realized that you're um…self, was out and about."

There was a long pause, and then his amused voice filtered through, saying, "Out and about?"

He was teasing her, which happened very occasionally since most of the time he didn't comment on her turn of phrasing, which was often-times awkward at best. She had to admit though, this particular incident probably was one of the more humorous ones. Perhaps he was also trying to distract her from the situation.

She allowed for a small grin to grace her lips. "Yeah, I suppose that was a silly way to put it."

"…indeed." After another very long pause he continued. "And may I point out that it was you who removed that article of clothing?"

"R-right…well, I was caught up in the heat of the moment you know and…it just kind of…happened."

"I see." After a very long and awkward pause, he said, "If you looked, perhaps you would be less perturbed.'"

She grimaced, but he was probably right. If she just got up the nerve to go ahead and look at him, then she probably wouldn't be nearly as shy and bashful about it afterwards. So, after a few deep breaths, she peeked through her fingers. He was sitting still, waiting for her patiently. Her gaze slid down past the already seen territory to new land, and fought the urge to slam her eyes shut again at first glimpse. Forcing her eyes to remain open, she stared. Eventually, the shyness wore of just enough to let her remove her hands from her face and look straight at it.

The muscles in his stomach led to a V of muscle between his hips, which in turn lead directly to a tuft of vivid red hair at the apex of his legs. And in that nest of hair, stood his erection, which at the moment sat pointing at her as if in reprimand for being so shy about looking at him. It looked a little odd to her, being as she'd never seen one before, but certainly wasn't repulsive by any means. Once her initial debilitating shyness had somewhat past, she was left mostly with fascination and curiosity aimed toward it and the testicles hanging beneath. Without thinking about it, she almost found herself reaching towards it, wondering what it felt like, but jerked back, suddenly embarrassed again and flushing even hotter than before.

"You can touch me." He rumbled and her eyes flicked up to meet his.

His face was calm, though she suspected that was through practice and not because he was actually calm. His eyes gave him away, they were burning and his jaw was tight. Biting her lip, she glanced back down at his penis, wondering if she had enough courage to try actually touching him that intimately, but ultimately her fascination and desire won out over her inhibitions.

At first contact, her first impression was of incredibly soft skin, and then as she dared to wrap her hand around him, she found that he was harder than she'd expected. How any part of the body could be this hard simply from blood flow, she didn't know, but was amazed and surprised nonetheless. Also, the body heat given off here was immense, which made her wonder just how it would feel to have something that warm inside of her. Were all penises this warm or was it just him? Perhaps it was due to his being a jinchuriki, as she had assumed before.

When her fingers traveled upwards to the tip and she ventured a caress on what she knew was the most sensitive part of him, her impression of slightly stickier skin was interrupted by the way his hips bucked apparently without his permission. He hissed and stilled instantly though, but she could see the way his abdominal muscles quivered under the strain. A moment later he pulsed in her light grip and then jerked. She gasped and almost pulled her hand back, shocked by the fact that apparently his penis could move on its own. Just as shocking was the pulsing sensation of what she could only assume was blood rushing under the surface, engorging it fuller before her very eyes. He stiffened even more and the head puffed up for a moment before subsiding, and she was left open mouthed and shocked, wondering what had just happened. Had he just orgasmed?

Risking a glance up at his face, she would say not, judging by how tight his non-brows were and the muscle jumping in his cheek. He was still very much aroused. It was at that point that she realized her light exploratory touches were probably maddening to him in this state, and so she reluctantly withdrew. He caught her hand and flipped it, bringing her palm to his lips and kissing her there. She sucked in her breath quickly, surprised by the suddenness of it, and then gasped outright as she felt his teeth lightly nip at the fleshy pad of her hand beneath her thumb. His mouth quickly and somewhat uncoordinatedly traveled up her arm and suddenly found its way back to hers, pressing her back down fully into the mattress and resuming their previous activities.

The tenor of his kisses was nearly feverish now, though still restrained, and she could feel the tension in his powerful body as he pressed into her. One of his hands found its way down to her thigh, gripping her there hard. Then it slid up to her hip where his thumb hooked under the band of her panties. She sucked in a breath, but wasn't given a chance to fuss about it because they were being drawn down her legs somehow. It was only after the fact that she realized he must have used a strand of sand to complete that action.

If she'd really wanted to, she could have protested and undoubtedly he would have stopped. However, despite the bashfulness which made a sudden and intense come back yet again, she was also too wrapped up in his kisses to pay attention to it. Perhaps that had been his intention. That same hand found its way back to her hip and then moved inwards, tangling with her curls. She tensed impossibly, and finally he pulled back just a little, staring at her nose to nose. His hot breath made her own breathing somewhat difficult as he whispered, "…may I?" almost into her mouth.

His intense up-close stare and heavy panting, plus the feeling of his fingers already so close to where she was throbbing with warmth and blood all served to answer for her. Though her emotions were messy and all over the place, her body arched up under its own accord and a slight whimper escaped her throat, which was all the permission he needed. Before she knew what had hit her his mouth was back on hers and his fingers were buried in her folds. She could clearly feel how wet she was, due to the sensation of slipperiness, which also resulted in his fingers slipping and sliding around down there without any finesse.

He was clumsy, but gentle and eager, mapping out the terrain purely by feel. It was by accident that he stumbled across the sensitive bundle of nerves at the top of her core, though she instantly bucked and moaned at the surge of pleasure. He froze, and then his fingers carefully began searching the vicinity for it again. He had been knocked off it by her movement. It took him a moment before finding her clit again, but when he did she tensed up and another breathy indistinct sound escaped her, her hips flexing.

Once found, he stuck around in that area, dedicatedly messing with her clit to try and figure out how it worked. It was obvious that he had figured out it was her pleasure center, which probably hadn't been difficult since her responses were pretty difficult to control. But just because he'd found it, didn't mean he knew what to do with it. He rubbed in circles, up and down, tried pinching gently, and very quickly discovered to be careful with his fingernails when she yelped loudly at an accidental snag. He was amazingly persistent, and she was both impressed and also driven to the edge of madness by it.

Frustration built up as time and time again she was brought close, only to fall back down. Occasionally his fingers actually rubbed her correctly, nearly sending her into orgasm, but they would inevitably change and wander and she was left dangling. It drove her higher and higher, and shyness was shoved to the garbage disposal in her brain as it ceased to compute anything but sensation.

Eventually, it seemed he had reached a breaking point himself, because his fingers withdrew entirely. He licked them, making her flush and almost glare, because she knew he knew she would find that embarrassing, and for once he met her admonishing look with one of pure mischief. His normally calm mask fell away completely, exposing glittering eyes and a nearly evil smirk which had her catching her breath and growing even wetter if that was possible.

It was a brief instant and quickly he had composed his features again. It was too late though, she'd already seen it and knew just what he was thinking and feeling now. She had never, in the entire time she'd known him, seen that sort of devious expression on his face, and it numbed her brain entirely. She was almost in a trance, but quickly sobered up as she realized he was lining up for entry. Seeking to make it easier for him, her legs automatically spread wider, before her mind had even caught up with what was going on.

The realization that this was truly about to happen smacked her like a slap in the face - not an unpleasant one but a shock nonetheless. Her entire brain fired on all pistons, every neuron lighting up like a fireworks show as she absorbed what felt like a million thoughts at once. She was able to feel every nuance of his body on hers, every place they touched, and the first contact of his hot skin against hers made her jerk. Her mind was also wildly comprehending the immensity of the moment, not only the emotional significance but also the simple and yet enormous fact that he was about to enter her, that his body was about to be inside her, and not just any part of his body but the most intimate part. It was with this nearly disbelieving mindset that she experienced it.

He pressed in slowly at first, obviously waiting to see if she would experience any pain. It was possible; this was her first time after all. There was a slight pinching sensation and discomfort, sort of an aching stretch. The fullness was almost similar to eating too much, in terms of discomfort, but at the same time totally different. She was left with absolutely no doubt or misconception about just what was going on. She could feel every inch slide in, as every bit of his skin rubbed up against hers. She could even differentiate the slight road bump that his foreskin caused, how it went in slightly differently, pushing at her more. The heat was insane, almost uncomfortable really, but warmed her from the inside out in a way that was arousing. His genitals were much warmer than hers, but she found she didn't mind.

When he was root deep he lodged himself there and sat, obviously waiting for her to either adjust, or complain and push him off. It was a strain for him, she knew, because every muscle in his body quivered against her from the tight control it took him to be still.

"Matsuri." His voice intoned, deep, husky, and raspier than she'd heard in years.

It was at this point that she realized her eyes were shut tight. At her name, she slitted her eyes open and then gasped and instantly shut them again, finding eye contact at this particular moment too intense by far.

"Matsuri, open your eyes." He demanded, and there was a certain power behind the words, a command she couldn't deny.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, meeting his gaze, and then felt everything inside her clinch. Her eyelashes fluttered and she nearly teared up, simply because of how intimate the eye contact was. Meeting his gaze when he was inside her took every ounce of control she had over herself, but she found herself trembling because of it and flushing. His stare ensnared hers though, and soon she couldn't look away even if he'd given her permission.

"Are you in pain?" He finally asked tightly.

She assessed the way she was feeling and decided pain was not one of the things she could feel at the moment. "…no." she whispered, finding it hard to even get up that much volume.

He blew out a deep breath of relief. "Good."

Slowly - still holding her eyes prisoner - he withdrew, and she was forced to feel every inch of him in reverse, the stretch easing and leaving a sensation of emptiness in its wake. Then, when he was almost fully out he slid back in, faster than before, in one fluid motion, and her eyes flew open wide before slamming shut in pleasure, her neck arching back. A groan escaped her chest. He stimulated nerves she didn't even know existed inside her, startling them awake by force it seemed.

He sucked in a sharp breath, and once again asked with an edge of anxiety, "Did that hurt?"

She shook her head vigorously, and managed to get up enough will power to open her eyes again and meet his, which were now worried. "No…It doesn't hurt. Feels good."

The emotions in his face instantly flipped, all fear erased in a millisecond to be replaced solely by passion and lust, along with some softer emotions that had been heated to a boiling point. A deep sound came from him, almost an inhuman growl, and his hips flexed, withdrawing and thrusting sharply. She yelped, experiencing another little pinch. He froze and his eyes clenched tight before continuing, forcing himself to go slower it seemed.

Everything inside her was pressed and rubbed in a way she was unfamiliar with, but instantly decided was fantastic. It felt amazing, and she quickly found herself meeting his slow grinding thrusts, which seemed to spur him faster.

It didn't last very long, his thrusts quickly became short and choppy, and then suddenly he was ducking his head into her neck and snarling viciously, his hips jerking a few more times before she felt him pulsing inside her. There was a burst of intense heat, which made her glad she was on a contraceptive because there was no other explanation than he had just emptied himself. For a long moment he stayed on top of her, muscles shivering.

She was just calming herself, when a short yelp was forced from her in shock as he suddenly rolled them over. He was dislodged from inside her in the process, and by the time she settled on top of him, she felt warmth trickle down the inside of her thigh in an almost ticklish way. She landed pressed against his chest, her legs flopping to either side of his hips. Once her shock had worn off, she sat up somewhat on him, blushing when it put their crotches into contact once again.

Ignoring that for the moment, she stared up at him questioningly. When she didn't get a response for a long moment, she rested her head on his chest and worked on getting her own breathing under control. Soon though, she was startled from her slightly lulled state as his hands smoothed down her back, full palm and almost possessively and then landed on her rear. She squeaked when he gripped her tightly, pressing her against him.

She sat up, pressing her palms into his chest to do so and stared down at him in shock, especially as she felt him hardening against her thigh once again. Not that he had grown particularly soft, he had only relaxed to a barely half-flaccid state. But now he was just as hard as before. As she sat up, his hands gripped her tighter, pulling her until her groin was pressed into his and his renewed erection pressed into the tender space between her legs where she was still throbbing.

"What are you-?"

He almost cut her off with, "Are you sore?"

She blinked in surprise. "Um…no…?"

That devious grin once again split his lips, and he rumbled, "Good…" before grabbing her hips in his hands and suddenly shifting her. He tilted his own pelvis in such a way, that as he moved her he once again got lodged in the softer spot that gave way. Once he had found it, he pressed in and she made some sort of loud sound of both pleasure and surprise, not expecting it in the least.

"W-wait are you…?" She trailed off, but it seemed he got the message just fine.

"Is that a problem?"

"I…I thought guys were supposed to…"

"Go to sleep?" He finished when she stuttered into silence once again. When she nodded, he explained, "I'm a jinchuriki. I have much higher stamina than most men."

She just stared down at him, stunned. It seemed she had bitten off more than she'd previously thought.

He cocked his head on the pillow. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no…"

That grin once again slid across his lips, and he flexed up into her, obviously pleased with her answer. She'd never been with him like this, in this mood. He was unpredictable in a way she wasn't used to, and it threw her off, making her even more vulnerable to his seduction. His first few thrusts were tentative, questioning, to see if she was ready for another round. At first she wasn't sure, but then the pleasure built up inside her again and a pleased sound was forced from her throat. At that, he grew more aggressive, taking it as a sign she was on board with the plan.

She was on board, both figuratively and literally, since she was essentially riding him for this round.

This new position also drove her to move as well, and with the urging of his hands on her hips, she began moving her hips, as well as using her thighs to bounce up and down. It was awkward and she flushed a little, but the sensations were so wonderful that her bashful tendencies were once again left by the wayside. She soon discovered other great things about this position, as his hands shifted from her hips to her breasts and caressed them, ramping up the desire and heat building in her groin. With a tilt of her pelvis some new things were hit inside that sent zings of pleasure up her spine, and she quickly learned how and which ways to move to increase those sensations. Gaara didn't seem to mind in the slightest. In fact, the way he watched with heavy lidded but still sharp eyes, it seemed he was committing the different angles to memory, and she didn't doubt he would use them to his own advantage when he was in charge of the motions.

The heat and tension wound tighter and tighter in her groin, until she could barely stand it, but still she needed something else to push her over the edge. Instinctually her itching fingers started creeping towards her clit, but once she realized what she was doing she jerked her hand away, a flush suffusing her. That was still a little too embarrassing. Her rhythm stuttered but soon picked up again.

It wasn't long before her hand was heading that direction again of its own accord when she wasn't paying attention, but she still hesitated. Little did she know that Gaara had seen the movement before, and his keen eyes were locked on her hand this time as well. When she moved to withdraw a second time, his hand caught her wrist and he pressed it against herself. For a moment she tried to tug it away, but when he didn't release his grip on her, she gave in and her fingers burrowed into her curls and folds.

With a relieved sigh, she finally found her clit and started rubbing. Gaara's eyes burned as he watched, and while it made her flush hotter than ever before and her blush slowly crept down over her breasts, it also amped up her excitement. It didn't take long before she reached her peak.

A wave of sensation washed over her, everything suddenly feeling a million times better, and with a sharp yelp and gasp she fell into it head first, her body clenching and spasming on his. He caught her as she tipped forwards, and then wrapped both arms tightly around her shivering and trembling form, thrusting up into her nearly viciously as he quickly reached his own completion.

Afterwards, they slowly came down from their respective highs.

Though Gaara urged her to go for round three, this time she requested a short nap, finding herself sore in ways she hadn't expected. It wasn't just inside, but also her hips and thighs and abdomen that were sore as she had used her muscles in all new ways.

They had taken a long nap together, before initiating round three. Eventually, when they were both hungry enough, they left the bedroom and curiously Matsuri checked the door to note that the jutsu had been removed. However, with a small smile Gaara simply locked it tight again, using the actual locks this time instead of a jutsu.

The rest of the three days of vacation were largely spent in bed.

When it was finally time to come and collect Gaara, it was Kankuro and Temari who politely tapped at his door. They were nervous, because they didn't quite know if he would still be pissed with them or not for pulling this stunt. There was a long pause, and they had to knock a second time before getting a very rough, "What?!" through the door.

They both nearly took a step back in surprise, but held themselves in place.

"Um, Gaara?" Temari called out.

There was some noise from the other side of the door, and finally locks clicked and he opened the door. Kankuro and Temari did take a step back this time, because they hadn't been sure if the jutsu was even up yet. Obviously it was, and was a success judging by his appearance. They were shocked silly by his messy hair, bare chest, and the smell of sex wafting out of the open doorway.

They were doubly shocked when Matsuri wander out of his bedroom behind him, wearing nothing but his shirt it seemed. She was equally mussed, and possessed a brilliant assortment of bite marks all along her neck.

"Gaara? Who is it?"

"My siblings." He rumbled back to her.

"Oh. Oh!" The second uttering was one of annoyance. "Temari! I'm challenging you to a dual by the way for putting me in that dress!"

"What, you didn't like it?" She asked innocently.

"That's not the point!"

Temari snickered.

They were both shocked once again when she just humphed and spun on her heel, walking back into the bedroom. Of course neither knew that she planned to write them both very nice thank you cards later.

"Well, it seemed like you pounded some of that shyness out of her…" Kankuro muttered, crude as usual.

For a second Gaara's eye flashed in a way they hadn't seen in years and both cringed back, but then a slow smirk curled his lips. He didn't say anything and the expression as instantly wiped from his face.

In his normal monotone voice he said, "I will be back in my office tomorrow." And without another word, he shut the door.

It wasn't until days later that he finally thanked them for their birthday present, and also sent a thank you scroll to Naruto.