A/N: To those who have eagerly been awaiting updates to this story, thank you once again for your patience. That means a lot to me! Anyways, enjoy the story!

Gaara awoke to find Naruka kissing his cheek. Naturally, he turned bright red when he became aware of this.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" said Naruka. "How's my little cuddle bear doing?"

"Oh, just splendid. You?"

"Let me tell you something: I am SO excited for today!"

"Why is that?"

"Come downstairs; I'll tell you over breakfast!"

For breakfast, Naruka prepared some rather standard fare: bacon, eggs and French toast. She even made coffee for Gaara…black.

"I must give props to you for knowing how I like my coffee," said Gaara.

"You know, I always keep plenty of coffee around for my guests," said Naruka. "I don't drink it so much myself, though."

"Speaking of guests, are you expecting any today?"

"Glad you asked! I've invited Sasuke over my place!"

Gaara smiled. "Well, I hope you two have fun!"

"Thank you!"

Naruka and Gaara brushed and flossed together, after which they put on their street clothes. Gaara then wasted no time in leaving.

"Gaara, wait!"

Naruka rushed out the front door, and Gaara turned around.

"You wouldn't be going anywhere without another one of these, would you?"

Naruka wrapped her arms around Gaara and gave him another kiss. Gaara relished the moment as much as – if not more than – other kisses he'd received from her. He hoped that she was feeling that way, too. When Naruka broke away from the kiss, Gaara had a great big smile on his face.

"Thank you, Naruka! If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to give me a call, either!"

Naruka gave a thumbs up. "You got it, babe!"

After walking all the way to his house, Gaara went up to his room feeling buoyed. Even though he had yet to consummate his relationship with Naruka, it didn't matter too much. As long as he'd gotten his first kiss, he could let anything else slide. Besides, the dream he'd had a few nights ago was still rather fresh in his mind.

"Hmmm…"

Gaara stroked his chin and snapped his fingers, opening his mouth in excitement as he did the latter. He quietly hurried up to his room, locked the door, took off his jacket, pants and underwear, and then lied down on his bed. As he did so, he tried to think of that dream he had, knowing that some men could get off without physical manipulation. He had no trouble getting hard, but getting off was another matter. He tried different breathing techniques, tightening various muscles and other mental images to bring himself to climax, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't quite get himself there. Then, he heard somebody step to his door and somehow open it, causing him to bolt upright and cover his erection.

"Gaara, what the hell…!?" It was Kankuro.

Gaara blushed. "Kankuro, go away!"

"Not before you tell me why your pants aren't on!"

"I was changing my clothes, OK!?"

"Look, if you're jackin' off, you're better off telling the truth! Besides, you did a lousy job of shutting your door!"

"Hey, anything between me and my body is my own goddamn business! Shit, if I didn't care about seeing Naruka again, I would've blown your head off!"

Kankuro smiled. "Oh, so you WERE jackin' off! I think it's so nice that my little brother has a crush on a hot piece of ass!"

"She's NOT just a piece of ass! She has feelings, too!"

"And just how would she feel if she found out that you were jackin' off while thinking about her?"

Gaara growled. He then pulled out a snub-nosed Smith & Wesson Model 19 from a pocket on his leather jacket and pointed it at Kankuro.

"Kankuro, I still like you, but you're REALLY getting on my nerves right now! If you want to live, I politely suggest you drop the whole thing and get out!"

Kankuro gasped and extended a hand to Gaara. "A-all right, Gaara, I'm sorry! I'm goin'!"

Kankuro backed away and fled, shutting the door in the process. Gaara then looked at his gun and felt a huge sense of shame. He couldn't believe he'd threatened to kill his own brother. In the past, he wouldn't have felt such a magnitude of shame, but this was different. It also now occurred to him that he could just as easily have been pointing that gun at Naruka, causing him to shudder. He supposed that ever since he'd been dating her, her kindness had been rubbing off on him and helping his conscience to grow. Even though she wasn't his girlfriend, Matsuri had also been keeping the worse parts of his attitude in check. Women were great like that, he thought to himself. At this point, Gaara also figured that if more women were allowed in positions of authority, then the world would be a better place: less crime, fewer wars, a cleaner environment...just a lovelier place to live. Then again, he figured that not all women were perfect goddesses that many men made them out to be. Regardless, Naruka had helped him to see them more as "mothers of the world".

(Naruka, I hope you're having a fun time with your friend Sasuke.)

Though Gaara was happy that one of her old friends was visiting, he also began to wonder what exactly they were doing. He feared that she might be cheating on him, but he did his best to push that thought aside. Somewhere, he read that it was becoming increasingly normal for men and women alike to "play the field", as the saying went. Besides, as long as he considered Naruka his first, his last, his everything, then maybe she'd reciprocate. But what if she didn't? What if…?

(Get your mind off of that track!) thought Gaara. (There's no time to stress out over that!)

No matter how hard he tried, however, Gaara couldn't shake the possibility of Naruka playing around out of his head. Ergo, he decided that the best way to win her heart was through her stomach, so he put his pants and underwear back on and fired up his computer. After heading to allrecipes, he looked around for a good ramen recipe. He found a recipe for Chinese fried noodles, so he copied it down, grabbed his jacket and decided to head for Dino's. First, he paid a visit to Planet Fitness, figuring that a bit of shaping up would do him well.

"Hi, Gaara!"

Gaara recognized the voice that addressed him as he was on his way to the shoulder press machine and turned around. It was Matsuri, dressed in a pink sports bra and black leggings with pink trim. He'd never really paid attention before, but he noticed that she was not quite as curvy as Naruka. That didn't make her any less attractive. Besides, Gaara was more interested in a woman's heart and mind than her curves.

"Oh hello, Matsuri! I didn't know you went to this gym, too!"

"Of course I do, silly! I've been going here for a while!"

"Heh, I wonder why I've never noticed before."

"Maybe it's because we have different schedules."

Gaara shrugged. "Could be."

"Anyways, I just want to say I'm glad you're keeping in shape! It really shows with you!"

Gaara smiled. "I could say the same of you!"

Matsuri giggled. "Gaara, are you saying that you find me attractive?"

Gaara blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "I…er…well…maybe?"

Matsuri put a hand on Gaara's shoulder.

"Gaara, you shouldn't be ashamed to tell a woman she looks nice!" said Matsuri. "Fact is, it would really make my day!"

"Look, I'd love to tell you that, but I'm afraid of what would happen if Naruka found out. Besides, I'm kind of concerned that she might be cheating on me."

"Why?"

Gaara frowned. "Oh, nothing. I guess I'm just hoping that she's not fooling around with this friend that she said was coming over."

"Hey, you don't know everything that goes on with your girlfriend. Everyone deserves a bit of privacy regardless of gender."

"You're right, Matsuri. I guess I shouldn't be too worried. Sorry I brought that up."

"Oh no, it's OK to be worried. The important thing is that you treat her with respect. After all, Confucius once said, 'do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself'."

"Once again, you're right." Gaara smiled. "Thanks for the pep talk, Matsuri!"

Matsuri returned the smile. "You're welcome, Gaara!"

Nothing else happened while Gaara was exercising. Once he'd showered, he headed directly to Dino's and gathered up all the ingredients he'd need for the ramen, plus a bottle of Martinelli's sparkling cider. Things were going swimmingly, right up to the point when he heard "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" and felt the vibrations from his phone. While attempting to maneuver his carriage, he pulled out the phone. It was Naruka, so he answered and got a real shock…

"Hello?" said Gaara.

Naruka sounded like she was crying. "Gaara…oh…thank god you picked up!"

"Naruka...is something wrong?

"Gaara, please get over here! I need you really badly!"

"I'm at Dino's right now, but I promise I'll be there as soon as possible!"

"Please, hurry!"

Naruka hung up, shaking Gaara's newly-developed conscience. He pushed the carriage faster, being careful not to lose control of it. With a sense of dogged determination, he opened his GTO's trunk and gently threw his groceries in. After shutting the trunk and returning the carriage to the proper receptacle, he hopped in his GTO and drove down to Naruka's house as quickly and as carefully as he could, knowing that the Glocester Police Department had a couple of Dodge Chargers and Ford Explorers in their inventory. He never tested his Goat in a straight-up drag race against either vehicle, and he wasn't about to gamble his Ram Air V on it even if Naruka's happiness was on the line. Regardless, he managed not to have any trouble with the police, and he made a brief stop at his house to gather a few things before heading on down to Naruka's house. When Gaara entered, things were awfully quiet, which caused him great worry.

"Naruka?"

Having been here once, he had a good suspicion that she'd be in her bedroom, so he headed up there as quickly as he could after he put the ramen stuff away. Sure enough, Naruka was curled up on her bed in the fetal position, still crying.

"Naruka!"

"Gaara…i-is that you?"

"Yes, it's me. Sorry if I took longer than expected. What happened?"

"It was Sasuke…"

Gaara walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Why, what about him?"

Naruka lifted her head up. "W-we were just talking about life and stuff, and somehow…we ended up talking about work, and he asked me 'when are YOU gonna get a real job and stop living off your parents' inheritance?' I tried to explain that I was looking for a volunteer opportunity to put on my resume, and he told me that I needed a steady income…and you know what happened?"

"What?"

"He told me I'd always be a loser if I didn't get a job! I got really angry at him, a-and we got into a fight, and he said he never wanted t-to see me again, and…AND…"

Naruka could no longer form any words. She curled up again and continued crying. Gaara did what he felt was best: he sat down beside her.

"Naruka, I can't say I know how you feel, but Sasuke had no right to do any of that to you," said Gaara. "Everyone has the right to their own money as long as they earned it legally."

Naruka briefly suppressed her tears and looked at Gaara. "You really think so?"

"Absolutely! Oh, and Naruka…"

"Y…yes?"

Gaara smiled. "I love you."

Those last three words really did it for Naruka. She wrapped her arms around Gaara and cried into his shoulder. Gaara returned her embrace. It was at this point that he couldn't help but feel bad for blowing up at her earlier in the week. Somehow, he had a hunch that she had been through some really horrible things in her life and was reflecting on them as she let out the tears. Regardless, both parties got a real sense of satisfaction just from being with each other. Naruka especially considered herself grateful that she could reach out to a guy like Gaara and let out her feelings without being judged. What she thought was really beautiful was that he wasn't the mean old ogre that she thought he was. Whoever raised him had somehow done a very good job in her opinion. Eventually, Naruka was down to mere sobs, but Gaara continued to hold on to her. Finally, once she stopped crying, she let go.

"How are you feeling, my dear Naruka?"

Naruka was still frowning. "I feel better, I guess…but…" She let out a few more tears. "I'm sorry, I just feel like such a fucking mess right now!"

Gaara smiled. "It's OK! I don't expect you to feel better overnight. Just get yourself cleaned up and I'll have supper ready for both of us."

"You brought stuff for SUPPER!?" Naruka finally smiled. "I didn't know you could cook!"

Gaara chuckled. "Why not? I find it therapeutic! Anyways, you must be cold…"

Much to Naruka's delight, Gaara took off his leather jacket and draped it over her. As he left for the kitchen, she took in the scent that he'd imparted on his jacket.

To kick things off, Gaara boiled three packs of ramen noodles as per the directions. While he was waiting, he hummed "Queen of the Reich" to himself. Although he got a slight tinge of sadness from having to comfort Naruka, he felt satisfied knowing that he could be there for her. Overall, things were going quite smoothly. Then, Gaara felt Naruka hug him from behind.

"Huh!?" Gaara froze, not out of fear, but out of surprise.

Naruka smiled. "Hey boy, that was a really beautiful thing you did for me back there!"

"Oh…don't mention it, woman…"

"But I have to! Any man who comforts a lady with food deserves a special mention! Believe it!"

"Naruka, you're so sweet, but…

"But what?"

"Could you please let me go? I'm almost done with your food and I'd hate to screw it up…"

"But I want to smell you some more!"

"O-OK…I suppose I can let you do that…"

Naruka took a big whiff of Gaara's scent, and in the process, got a whiff of the ramen he was cooking. She sighed contentedly as she would now positively associate Gaara with ramen. She kept hugging for a few seconds more before letting go. Then, she sat down and eagerly anticipated her food.

"Supper is served, my lady!" said Gaara.

Naruka eagerly held out her bowl and let Gaara serve her some ramen. Then, once Gaara served himself, both parties clasped their hands together and bowed their heads, reciting the same prayer that Gaara first recited. Once that was out of the way, both parties dug in. Naruka's eyes widened as the flavor hit her like a freight train.

"WOW!" exclaimed Naruka. "WHERE DID YOU GET THIS RECIPE!?

"I got it off the Internet," replied Gaara. "Why?"

"Babe, this is the BEST damn ramen anyone has ever made for me! In fact, it's so good that it makes me wanna SMOOCH you!"

Gaara blushed. "Naruka…!"

Before he knew it, Naruka had gotten up from her seat and ran to Gaara, who attempted to flee out of surprise. However, she tackled him to the floor and started kissing him. Then, much to his astonishment, he felt something probing through his lips and hitting his teeth. He opened his mouth to push it away, and that was all it took to allow her to French kiss him. Gaara found the whole thing more delightful than regular kissing, mainly because her tongue was so soft and because she appeared to know what she was doing. Finally, Naruka finished by sucking on Gaara's lower lip briefly, which got him hard.

"Gaara, you have such beautiful eyes!" said Naruka.

"And you have beautiful whiskers, Naruka!" said Gaara, still red in the face.

"Thank you! Nobody's ever complimented me about those before! As a matter of fact, some people said I looked ugly because of them!"

"Well, who needs those people?"

"I know, right?" But enough talk, let's finish up that delicious ramen!"

After finishing up their ramen and drinks, Naruka led Gaara to her living room.

"What do you feel like doing now?" asked Gaara.

Naruka pulled out her smartphone. "If there's anything that helps me after a bad day, it's disco dancing! Believe it!"

After a few taps on the phone's screen, the hi-fi began playing "Doctor's Orders" by Carol Douglas. Almost immediately, Naruka started getting down. Gaara, however, just stood there, confused.

"What's wrong, babe?" asked Naruka.

"I'm sorry; I don't know how to disco dance," said Gaara.

"It's easy! Just loosen up! Feel the beat! You'll get it soon enough!"

"O-OK…"

Gaara started tapping his foot and bobbing his head to the beat. As a guy who was primarily into heavy metal, it took him a while to loosen up, but thanks to the sheer emotion that the song was expressing, he got the hang of it soon enough, just as Naruka had predicted. Once he was really into the groove, he grabbed one of Naruka's hands and put a hand on her waist, the better to share the experience with her. By this time, the music had changed gears…to "Automatic Lover" by Dee D. Jackson, to be precise. The beauty of the whole thing hadn't diminished one bit for either one of them, though. As they danced around the room, the disco beat bumping on, they truly felt like they'd escaped the troubles of the hurried, busy world that they inhabited. Not once did they think about bills or expenses that had to be paid or any mortal obligations that had to be met such as food and drink. All that mattered was the groove. By the time "Jump Shout" by Lisa rolled around, Naruka stopped dancing and wiped the sweat off her brow.

"Are you OK, my darling?" asked Gaara.

"That was fun, but I think we'd better wash up!" Naruka stopped the music.

Gaara sniffed his armpits. "I think you're right."

"All right, let's do it, then!"

Naruka grabbed Gaara's hand and led him up to the bathroom. Upon getting there, Gaara attempted to go outside, but Naruka grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Babe, what are you doing?" asked Naruka.

"Just giving you some privacy," replied Gaara.

"You don't have to! I mean, we are taking a shower together, aren't we?"

Gaara's face went totally flush. "We ARE!?"

"Duh! I mean, isn't that what people who love each other do?"

"Well…no…I mean yes, but…"

"But what? Gaara, I've seen plenty of guys naked before! It's not like I'm a prude or anything!"

"If I disrobe, you'll disrobe too, won't you?"

Naruka slapped Gaara lightly. "Of course I will, silly! Now come on, the night's not getting any younger!"

"OK…"

And so, Gaara and Naruka stripped naked, after which Naruka turned on the shower and waited for the water to warm up. Gaara still couldn't believe that he was doing this, and yet he remembered a time when all he could think about was this one scene from one movie he saw where the two main characters did this exact same thing. He'd forgotten the movie title, and he didn't have much time to think about it when Naruka dragged him into the shower once it was warm enough.

"So, do you like taking a shower with a woman?" asked Naruka.

"So far, yes…" replied Gaara.

"Good, because I love taking showers with people! Believe it!"

It didn't take long for Gaara to get hot. He figured it was because of Naruka. It seemed to him that – barring Sasuke – she had a powerful effect on men. Granted, he still didn't know everything about her past, and he didn't particularly care. He was having a good time with her here and now and that was that. Of course, the fun was only getting started. Once they were well and truly soaked, Naruka grabbed a bottle of shampoo/conditioner, opened it and grabbed one of Gaara's hands. She squirted some in his hand before squirting some in her own hand and rubbing them together. Then, she started washing his hair.

"Oh my god…" Gaara moaned.

"Everything all right, honey?" asked Naruka.

"Everything is fantastic! Please, keep doing that to me!"

Naruka giggled. "Sure thing!"

As per Gaara's request, Naruka kept running her fingers through his hair. She got her own surprise when he returned the favor. As his fingers ran through her hair, she moaned as well, causing him to shake a little. Nevertheless, both parties did their best to not mess up. Neither one did, and once they washed the shampoo out of their hair, Naruka grabbed a bottle of body wash and handed it to Gaara.

"Well?" Naruka gave Gaara a seductive wink.

Gaara nodded before cracking open the bottle, and once he'd squirted some for himself, he handed the bottle back to Naruka. He was about to apply the body wash to himself before she grabbed his wrist and placed his hand on her chest, causing his heart rate to go up and his eyes to widen.

"You mean I can touch your BOOBS!?" said Gaara.

"Hey, don't act like you've never touched a woman's boobs before!"

"I…I haven't…"

Naruka laughed at him.

"Why are you laughing at me?" said Gaara.

"I'm sorry," said Naruka, "I'm just honored to be the first woman that a guy ever touched!"

"Oh, OK…"

With some trepidation, Gaara began washing Naruka's chest. He was surprised at how firm they were for such soft things. He was no expert on the matter, but even a guy like him could tell that she had to be a D-cup. Naruka nearly dropped the bottle of body wash out of pure bliss. The way he was rubbing them and playing with them sent a few sparks to her brain. Even so, she retained enough composure to wash his chest. Gaara smiled, knowing that he was bringing such pleasure to her and that she was returning the favor. Then, he noticed something else, and it troubled him: he was hard. He wasn't quite sure if it was because of the way she kissed him earlier, but once he took notice, it was hard to ignore. What really troubled him was that Naruka's hands were moving southwards…

"Oh Gaara…" said Naruka.

"Yes?"

"Do you like it when I rub your cock against my pussy?"

Gaara gasped. "I…!"

"Because I LOVE rubbing your cock against my pussy! Mmmm yeah, I want that inside me so bad!"

Naruka moaned. What she was doing to Gaara was absolutely driving him nuts. As a matter of fact, he was drooling uncontrollably at the thought of what she was going to do with him. Finally, he decided he'd had enough, pushed Naruka against the shower wall and kissed her as he attempted to enter her.

"HEY!" Naruka gently pushed Gaara away. "What are you doing!?"

"I'm sorry," said Gaara. "I couldn't contain myself…"

"Look, I understand your excitement, but don't you wanna wait 'till we hit the bedroom to do that?"

"I guess so…"

And so, the rest of their shower time proceeded in a rather awkward fashion. Even so, it didn't diminish how much they loved each other. Once they were done, they proceeded to dry off.

"Hey Gaara…"

"Yes, Naruka?"

"We gotta hug each other!"

"B-but…"

Without further question, Naruka hugged Gaara. Out of all hugs he'd ever gotten from her or any other woman, this was perhaps his favorite. He gently rubbed her back, causing her to sigh happily. Granted, there was still one problem…

"Um…Naruka?"

"What is it, babe?"

"If we keep up this hug any longer, I'm gonna…"

"You're gonna what? Cum? Are you gonna shoot your hot white cum all over me? Will it happen if I touch your cock again?"

"Y-yeah…I think so…"

Naruka stopped hugging Gaara. "Then let's stop fooling around! You're starting to make me so wet!"

After this, Naruka led Gaara to her bedroom and gently pushed him onto the bed. She then opened up a drawer on her nightstand.

"Look, I love you too, Gaara, but I don't wanna have your babies just yet, so…"

Naruka finally dug out what she was looking for: a condom. After tearing off the wrapping, she put the condom on Gaara and climbed over him.

"Before we go any further, I gotta ask if you're ready for it…" said Naruka.

Gaara nodded and gulped. He was sure he'd be ready, but when Naruka mounted him, he gasped.

"S-so warm and wet…" said Gaara.

Naruka began moving her hips – slowly at first, the better to savor every sensation. She never considered herself easy, but with the right man, she just wanted to let go and let her animal instincts take over…and she certainly felt Gaara was one of those men. She didn't even stop to think whether her instincts were correct; everything felt too right for her to care.

Meanwhile, Gaara was off in his own little world again. He tried to wake up, thinking that this might be another one of his wet dreams, but it wasn't. No, it was much better…and hotter, too. It was so hot for Gaara that he completely forgot that they were still in the middle of winter. Any iciness that might still have existed in his heart melted away. As that funny little song said, everything was awesome.

"Naruka…I…I'M GONNA…!"

"Yes Gaara, cum for me, babe! CUM FOR ME!"

Gaara obeyed Naruka's order and came for her…hard. In spite of having that wet dream about her last week, this release still felt sweeter than honey. Naruka relished it too as her body felt the electric rush surging through it. She kept going until neither one was at the plateau anymore. When they were both done, Naruka dismounted Gaara and rolled onto her back.

"Phew!" Naruka wiped the sweat off her brow. "I NEVER got an orgasm like THAT before! Better clean up!"

After cleaning the both of them up, Naruka cuddled with Gaara.

"Feeling better, Naruka?"

"MUCH better! I gotta give props to you for all you've done tonight! Any man with a heart like yours deserves to have mind-blowing sex!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Thank you so much! Actually, I gotta confess…"

"What?"

"I used to be a virgin before this."

"You were a VIRGIN!?" Naruka dropped her jaw. "Gee, I never would've guessed! You must really have needed that!"

"Yeah, I guess. Can I ask about you?"

"Oh, I've fucked a few guys before you. None of them were as cute as you, though!"

Gaara blushed again. "Thanks, I feel better about myself, too! Good night!"

"Good night, Gaara!"

Gaara took another sleeping pill before Naruka turned out the lights. If things kept going like this, Gaara figured that he was in for some really happy days.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.