Naruto was completely aware of everything he was saying. His lips were moving and sound came out. It was such an easy thing to do. But he honestly couldn't remember what he was talking about. Not that he ever did.

One thing though, was that he remembered every single reaction Gaara had to his words. He told her about the mission to wave at least twice at this point; about the fight with Orochimaru; and about the time he painted the Hokage monument.

Gaara was only vaguely aware of what Naruto was talking about. She wasn't bored by any means. She was thoroughly entertained for most of it. It was just that Naruto was so distracting. And he talked so much. He talked enough for one and three quarters people.

Which was absolutely fine because she barely spoke enough for a quarter of a person. Together they talked enough for two people. Perfect match.

That and she really wanted to sleep right now. She had gone years without sleeping before; now she couldn't imagine how she'd make it until night. Not with Naruto and such blissful rest so close; and if he wanted to hold her again, she wasn't going to complain.

She wanted to him to hold her now though. Eyeing his hand slightly, she felt her cheeks heat up; that would be lewd though. It was then that she became aware of the stares of the villagers.

Naruto had noticed gaara's silence. It was longer than it normally was he wanted to know what she was thinking. His nose still tingled warmly from where she had kissed him. That simple gesture would have him beaming for months.

That was when he saw her turn her head; her small warm smile fading for the first time all day. She avoided eye contact like the plague, it was then his eyes slowly widened in realization, and then he too, became aware of the stares.

"They're glaring at us because." Their thoughts echoed with one another.

"I attacked their village." But hers was a recent guilt

"Of the kyuubi." And his was an old scar

"I'm ruining our date!" Their conclusion was in unison.

The mood of twitterpation left the two quickly. There they were standing in the middle of a busy street; parents and ninja alike were all glaring at them. They went out of their way to leave them alone; in the cold world.

Gaara became aware of Naruto's silence. It never lasted this long before. She looked over to him fully. Seeing his frown instantly made her realize that she was also frowning. Now he thought that she didn't want to be with him. That maybe she had somehow grown tired of him. Her frown deepened.

To hell what these villagers thought about her. To hell what they thought about Naruto.

She claimed him quickly. Right there in the street. Bare skin quickly met bare skin before slowly entangling themselves in one another. The sand offered them privacy encasing them in it's embrace. It was going to get very hot. She smiled at him as she held his hand

Naruto to jumped as Gaara grabbed his hand quickly. "Gaara-chan?" He asked suddenly with a half stutter. He felt her weave her fingers in between his own and gripped tightly. His frown snapped into a smile. He watched in curiosity as a bit of gaara's sand covered their hands. This was their string of fate.

Gaara's blush was an amazing thing to behold.

"Let's go where there are less people." Gaara said with the slightest of smiles. It was a small warm thing. And it made Naruto's heart go pittypittypatt. He silently decided to see just how big he could make her smile.

"I know just the place. Gaara-chan." And so Gaara found herself running after Naruto as he pulled her along by their sand encased hands. Though truth be told. Naruto had no idea where he was going. That didn't matter though. As long as he was going somewhere with Gaara.

They ended up at a log that served as a natural bridge, near training ground three. Their hands were still encased in sand. They were swimming in sweat. It was becoming mildly unpleasant.

"Uhh Gaara-chan." Naruto asked as he slowly began leading her across the log. He heard her low 'hmm?'

It was a quiet sound and he was grateful that they were away from all the people; only he wanted to hear that. It was so cute "Do you mind letting my hand go? It's getting kind of sweaty." He didn't want let go of her. But he didn't want to have their hands swimming in sweat either. "The sands a little warm."

"Sorry." Gaara said with a blush forcing the sand down and away from them. She examined her own slightly moist had slick with the combinations of hers and Naruto's juices. It would be easy to go days without washing it in Suna. Just what was Naruto doing to her? Is this who she really was without Shukaku?

"I have an idea." Naruto said cheerfully. He stepped down onto the water a soft glow separated him from the water. He was getting quite good at water walking. It was almost second nature at this point. Reaching up he grabbed gaara's dry hand with his own and led her further down the log. Before sitting down on the log. All but dragging her down with him. "See nice and dry."

"My butt's wet." Gaara observed without complaint. Naruto looked at her and then he began to smile in amusement which developed into chuckles. It was a slow start laugh building with each chuckle before it exploded into a roar of laughter.

Gaara was offended for all of a second. Worried she said something odd for two; she then realized what she had said. Before she smiled and began joining him in his laughter.

It was infectious; a bubbling disease that killed sadness and brought people together. Gaara vaguely wondered why nobody had ever tried to conquer the world with such laughter. It surely wouldn't be too hard, or at least much easier than force.

Naruto's laughter slowed as he heard Gaara's laughter. He looked endearingly at her, it was a sweet and raspy sound. A pleasant combination of coldness and warmth. Like coming into a warm cabin after a blizzard. Once again, Naruto found that he wanted to hear that sound as much as possible.

The laughter died down. And both let out a heavy sigh.

And then for Gaara, reality crashed down. She wanted to spend as much time with Naruto as she could. But this would likely be the only time they could do it. Perhaps, she was wrong about his dream? She knew what her duty was, to be the Kazekage… But what about his dream? Would he be able to follow her?

"Naruto." Gaara began slowly, she was fiddling with his thumb slightly. She instinctively gripped his hand oh so slightly tighter. "What are your plans for the future?" her shoulders slumped like she had just dropped a heavy load. Naruto tensed as though she had just given him the heavy load. He sighed looking to the skies noting the orange plushy clouds.

"Well. First thing I need to do is get Sasuke back. I made a promise to Sakura-chan. And he's kind of like my brother ya know?". The sun was getting low in the sky behind them. But there was still time before it set.

"Then after that." Naruto had an innate sense of dramatic timing. Or atlast he liked to think he did. "After that I become hokage. That way everybody will respect and acknowledge me."

"What about me…?" Probably the worst question to ever be asked on the first date. With the exception of Rock Lee who once asked a girl to marry him. Naruto looked at Gaara with widened eyes. She was squeezing his hand painfully tight.

"I'll figure something out. Besides you might get sick of me before you know it." Naruto asked attempting to defuse the situation. He didn't want the mood to be this heavy. He really didn't want it right now. This date was the only thing that was keeping his recent failure out of his mind.

"No." Gaara said suddenly, to what he had no idea. "It is your dream to become Hokage. It is something I know that you will achieve." Naruto didn't know it right then. But that was when he fell in love with Gaara. She believed in his dream, she believed in him. "And I'm going to become Kazekage…" she muttered

"That's great Gaara! we'll be able to bring peace to our villages!" Naruto declared happily. The idea of people not killing each other resonated in him deeply. Gaara released his hand, and held her own still slightly moist hand in her lap, clenching her fist.

"Indeed." Gaara said swallowing a lump in her throat. Her tear docs felt moist for the first time in years. She gritted her teeth.

"That's why for our villages, this stops after today..." Her knuckles were white. With Naruto she didn't have to fear what would happen if she fell asleep. With Naruto she was able to feel emotions that she had long since suppressed. But for her village, she would give that up. She would damn herself to those sleepless nights once again.

But Naruto wouldn't allow that.

"Nope." That simple word shocked and scared Gaara more than any other word she had heard. She looked deeply into his eyes to see them so full of conviction, it was slightly jarring. That gaze seemed like if he wanted the world he could go ahead and take it; and nothing would stop him.

"It doesn't matter what anybody else says. Gaara-chan. If I am. If this is something that you want. Then I will break every rule in the book to make it happen. That's the promise of a lifetime believe it!" That was the second time he'd made a promise today.

"The chances of my village allowing it are practically zero" Gaara said softly. She was touched by his words. But she didn't want to offer him false hope.

"So my chances aren't Zero?" Naruto asked his smile growing wide. "That's as good as one hundred percent!"

It was called the Will of Fire, because even the smallest of sparks can ignite it in another. It was an infectious thing that if left unchecked would spread through the world like wildfire.

And so Gaara found herself to be one of the few ninja outside of Konoha to be infected by the Will of Fire. Because the Will of Fire with in Naruto burns brighter than the sun.

She had tried to remove his false hope. Instead with a few words. Naruto had removed her fears and left with them hope. It was not a lie. It was not some false comfort for her to rely on in desperate times. It was a promise. The promise of a lifetime.

Gaara would hold and nurture her small Will of Fire. She would believe in Naruto.

With a sudden flurry of sand Gaara grabbed a hold of Naruto. He yelped in surprise as his right arm was dragged out behind Gaara's back and his butt was lifted oh so slightly off the log. He was dragged towards Gaara.

A short quick motion and the gap between them was practically non-existent. He found his arm wrapped around her waist, his hand resting on her slight hips. She leaned into him, resting her red-haired head on his shoulder; a soft wind blew by

"Thank you." Gaara said with a small smile. And there in the middle of the forest in Naruto's embrace, a single tear, the first tear in many years slowly slid down her face. She allowed herself to drift off to sleep once again. She did have roughly seven years of sleep to catch up on.

Naruto just smiled as he held onto Gaara staring at the sky as it slowly turned color. It would be starting soon. It was why he brought her out here to the middle of the forest. Naruto wasn't naturally romantic, Shizune had told him about this spot. A boy had once taken her out here on a date during the summer. She remembered it more than she remembered the boy.

Slowly the silence began to fade as the nocturnal insects began to light up. A group of toads also appeared. Was that… gamakichi? It was what was he doing here? Who were the other toads? What were they doing?

A rock gently hit Naruto in the head. It got his attention as he whipped his head around. He looked forward with half lidded eyes at the culprit.

Jiraiya was standing there in the forest his hands making an "O.K." symbol while he winked at Naruto. Naruto simply raised an eyebrow as Jiraiya slowly vanished from sight. He waited a moment before turning to look at Gaara. She was asleep oh so softly in his arms. It was almost time.

He heard the toads start their croaking. It was rough at first, but then quickly took on a more melodic sound while being complemented by the sounds of a thousand insects chirping. Then the lights came. A soft glow from the base of the pond illuminated the whole place. Shizune had said the place glowed but he wasn't expecting this.

Then he saw it. Small toads swimming in the water making some kind of glowing lantern. And he smiled. Jiraiya wasn't half bad after all.

The insect began to fly glowing in the darkening sky. And Naruto knew what he had to do.

Slowly letting go of Gaara making doubly sure that she wouldn't fall over he stepped down onto the water.

"Gaara-chan." He spoke softly but loudly. Her eyes opened slowly before blinking twice and immediately locked onto his. She wasn't that into her sleep so she'll forgive him this time.

"May I have this dance?" He held a small hand out towards her. He only had a vague notion of dancing thanks to an impromptu mission with Jiraiya, but that was more than most shinobi would ever have.

Gaara looked around in stunned silence. Naruto marveled at the way the light brought out the color of her eyes; she was even more beautiful.
Gaara on the other hand looked around at the scenery. She had never come across something so beautiful in her life. And the fact that she was experiencing it with him made this the best day of her life.

"I don't know how." Gaara blushed slightly as she slowly took Naruto's hand. She slid down onto the water from the log. Her sand stopped the water from touching her feet and she found herself floating an inch above the water staring right into Naruto's eyes. Naruto chuckled,

"That's okay follow my lead." Naruto said with a smile. It was just like the lady he had to dance with during that mission.

Jiraiya watched with a smile as he saw Naruto lead Gaara through the dance that he had taught the boy. It was a simple enough four step dance. He had a feeling that if he wrote this down and put it in one of his books that it would be a fan favorite scene. But he couldn't do that to Minato and Kushina and he wasn't going to do that to Naruto and Gaara.

"They remind me of them you know?" Jiraiya said as he felt Tsunade appear beside him. She sighed,

"There must be something in Namikaze blood that makes them fall in love with red-haired foreign ninja that have a demon in them." Tsunade said with a twitching eyebrow. She then smiled at the duo, "The toads your touch?"

"And the lights." Jiraiya said softly, "Dance too, had a feeling that brat would end up benefiting from knowing how to dance." He hadn't turned to face Tsunade yet. He was lost in the past as he watched Naruto twirl Gaara oh so gently over the water.

"You know if your dates were as nice as this I might have actually gone out with you once." Tsunade said with a small smile. Watching those two was like taking a trip back in time. Jiraiya shifted his gaze and looked into Tsunade's eyes at that statement.

"Who's to say for you they wouldn't be, Tsunade-hime?" She wanted to punch that smile off his face.

"Naruto." Gaara said, after dancing for an unknown amount of time. The moon was full above their heads and the water beneath their feet glowed a soft hue. It sounded like their toad band was beginning to get tired as well.

"What is it Gaara-chan?" Naruto asked stopping their dancing movements. They had been doing the same four steps over and over again. But neither one of them cared about that.

"I'm tired."

Naruto smiled at that. He was feeling tired too, and he hoped that being tired would mean they would be sleeping in the same bed again.

"Can I stay with you?" Gaara's voice was a distant thing as she was already beginning to feel the lulls of sleep once again. She let out a soft squeak as Naruto quite literally swept her off her feet.

"Of course Gaara-chan!" Naruto shouted excitedly as he sped off back towards Konoha. He had never been so excited to go to bed before.

Gaara resisted the urge to call him an idiot. Gripping his shirt tightly she began to drift to sleep. It came so easy to her now. The thought of accidentally falling asleep once she was away from Naruto terrified her. But she would be strong. At least until the next time she ran into Naruto.

Naruto had briefly considered taking Gaara back to the hospital. But that place was creepy. He had vaguely considered finding out where Gaara stayed. But Temari and Kankuro both scared the piss out of him. So that only left his apartment. His messy unsanitary boy smelling apartment.

Never before had Naruto wished that he kept his apartment clean.

When he arrived at his home he saw note on the door as he slowly maneuvered Gaara around so he could grab the noted.

In the girliest hand writing he knew it simply read.

"You owe me." ~ S.H.

Opening the door Naruto came in too see his apartment nearly spotless. He made a mental note to thank Sakura later.

He quickly navigated his way to his room Gaara's petite frame still in his arms. He opened his door to his bedroom. His sheets were clean, all the garbage on the floor was gone, there was no random boxers. It was simply clean. And still his judging by the giant ramen poster near the bed.

He really needed to thank Sakura later.

Gently setting Gaara down on his bed he began his nightly ritual. It mostly involved brushing his teeth and changing into his sleep wear. He wondered if Gaara would be okay by herself for just a few minutes.

When he returned he saw Gaara's gourd sitting off in the corner. He vaguely wondered where that was the whole day. He saw Gaara sitting up in his bed. Her cold green eyes wide with fright.

"Where were you?" Gaara asked. The fear in her voice palpable. She was very good at knowing fear. She could taste it and smell it on others. She could taste her own fear. It made her stomach twist.

"Brushing my teeth" Naruto said sitting on the bed next to her. She slowly reached out to touch his arm. As though appearing to make sure that he was real.

"It's dangerous to leave me while I'm sleeping." Gaara said flatly getting an apologetic smile out of Naruto. She was so relieved that he wasn't some figment. That this whole thing wasn't some vile construct of Shukaku to get her to drop the guard she had so carefully been building up. She stood up suddenly. Grabbing one of Naruto's shirts and walked to his bathroom. "Remember that in the morning."

Naruto chuckled and began to make himself comfortable in his bed. While his bed wasn't the biggest, it could fit two. But he had a feeling he was going to be used as a teddy bear tonight. He was becoming surprisingly okay with it. Not that he was a teddy bear. His manly pride would not permit such a title

Gaara walked in a few minutes later. Naruto would never have thought that seeing a girl wearing one of his shirts would make him so happy. It was an odd sight. While he wasn't the biggest boy. Gaara wasn't the biggest girl either so she was comfortably floating in one of his T-shirts. She sat down next to him. He could smell the mint mouthwash on her breath.

Gaara was nervous. Before Naruto had been asleep and completely unaware that she was sleeping next to him. Now she had literally asked him. She had his permission to sleep next to him. So why was she so nervous? Would he put her arms around her again? She hoped so. Though she only got to enjoy it for the briefest of moments before that blond Hokage forced them apart.

"You think too much." Naruto said, slowly pulling her down next to him. Gaara could only blush as she got her wish with the arms. She quickly found her face buried in Naruto's chest. Her bare legs tangled with his pajama'd legs. She wiggled her arms around Naruto's torso and hugged him tight as he draped his arm around her.

Good night Gaara-chan."

"Good night Naruto." Sleep took them both within moments; the world going to a peaceful sleep, finally giving solace to two lost souls.

In the morning. Naruto awoke to a Gaara less bed. A simple note was taped to his forehead. He also felt like his nose had been kissed.

The writing was crude and simple. Nothing unnecessary in it's calligraphy.

"Naruto. I have taken one of your Shirts and Jackets with me. If you wish to have them back come to Suna." ~ Gaara.

She didn't really need to sign it.

AN: Hello again! I'm back I got a beta reader. Samnamikaze23. He's a great friendly dude who has a few stories you should check out as well. He's making sure I don't have a Naruto turn into a dragon and fly Gaara off to Happily ever after. Oh and he's fixing my Grammar. That precious precious Grammar.

Anyways I got like One or Two chapters left before I Finish this fic though. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on any fight scenes in this fic. There will be a bit of turmoil at some point though.

I decided I'm going to be doing an epilogue for this fic once I'm done with it. I got like 150+ followers so I figure I owe you guys as much as I can give for this fic.

Next update is going to be for The Ninja That Fell Through Time. I'm probably going to be rewriting the first chapter. It was kind of a spur of the moment writing anyways so there's a few bits I'm not happy with.

Anyways I'm going to put Kurama Goes Through Puberty on the back burner for a bit. largely because the 10k Word chapters are burning me out. Need to write that fic slower.

Anyways until next time! Thanks for reading!