DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Although real places are mentioned, and although very loosely inspired by a true event, the characters in this story are fictional, and no identification with any persons - living or dead - is intended or should be inferred.

Today was an unusually warm winter day in Smithfield, Rhode Island, and Gaara was spending it by walking down a trail in the Powder Mill Ledges Wildlife Refuge. Ordinarily, he would be at home watching a violent movie, listening to one of his favorite metal albums or perhaps chatting with his online friend from Sweden, but today, he needed to think. Despite the temperature, he elected to wear his olive green M65 field jacket anyways. So far, he wasn't having much of a problem thinking, and in spite of the fact that his thought patterns often hinged on the state of the world nowadays, he wasn't really thinking a lot of negative thoughts. Overall, he was succeeding in his goal. At one point in his walk, he saw what he perceived to be a person headed in his general direction. His eyesight wasn't that bad, but Gaara couldn't be too sure about who it was, although the sunny blonde hair was visible from a fair distance away. As he got closer and closer, he was becoming more and more certain about who it was, and at a certain distance, the person seemed to approach him more quickly, and sure enough, his guess was correct…

"Hey, Gaara!" Naruka Uzumaki gave an enthusiastic wave.

"Oh, hello, Naruka!" Gaara waved back. "What brings you out this way today?"

"Oh, I just wanted to get a change of scene! You?"

"I needed a new place to think."

"Is it working out so far?"

Gaara nodded. "So far, so good."

"Grand! Say, I was wondering…"

"What?"

"I was at Fast Freddie's earlier and I got a Kit Kat. Would you like to share it with me?"

Gaara smiled. "Definitely!"

"All right!"

Naruka reached into one of the pockets of her red Aéropostale zippered hoodie and pulled out a still-wrapped Kit Kat bar. She tore off the wrapping, broke it in half and handed two pieces to Gaara. She broke her half down further and took a bite from one piece. Overall, she was enjoying it, but when she witnessed what Gaara was doing, she gasped in abject horror…

"Gaara, you did NOT seriously bite into that Kit Kat without breaking it in half first!"

"Yeah I did." Gaara tilted his head to the side briefly. "What's it matter to you?"

"You don't just eat a Kit Kat without breaking a piece off! That's like Kit Kat heresy! You should be punished for that!"

Gaara rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm SO scared. I ate a Kit Kat the WRONG way. Somebody stop me."

With an angry look on her face, Naruka tackled Gaara and shoved her hands inside his M65.

"NARUKA! AHAHAHAHAHA NOT TICKLES!"

Naruka had an evil smile on her face. "You see what happens, Gaara? You see what happens when you violate the Kit Kat Laws?"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THERE'S NO SUCH THING!"

"There is now, babe!"

"AHAHAHAHA! STAHP!"

"No way! You committed a gross violation, and now it's time for you to get what's coming to you!"

"SERIOUSLY! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Wow, you're so ticklish! I guess I should do it some more!"

"NO! PLEASE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Don't try to resist me! You'll only dig yourself in deeper!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! NO NO NO!"

"And stop saying 'no'! It'll only make me tickle you harder!"

"ALL RIGHT! I GIVE UP! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"See Gaara? See how wonderful it feels to just let go?"

"AHAHAHAHAHA! I GUESS SO!"

"See? You're getting better at this!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"As a matter of fact, I'm gonna show you how much I like doing this!"

Naruka stopped tickling Gaara, which gave him a sense of relief. Unfortunately for him, such relief proved fleeting as she turned around and continued to straddle him. She then untied his shoes, pulled them off and put her hands on his socks.

"Those are nice, thick socks." Naruka took Gaara's socks off. "Your feet are gonna be so ticklish now!"

"OH MY GOD!" exclaimed Gaara. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"You know, I love tickling boys' feet!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! I DON'T DESERVE THIS!"

"Oh, but you DO! You're such a bad boy, and bad boys have to be tickled!"

"GIVE ME A BREAK! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"No way! You didn't break off your Kit Kat bar, so no break for you!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STAHP! NO MORE!"

"What's this? Is this where the ticklish spot is? Let's find out!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I CAN'T!"

"Don't try to fool me! I know you're capable of more tickles!"

"NO NO! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"What did I tell you about saying 'no'!?"

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"You're sorry NOW? You didn't look too sorry when you ate that Kit Kat!"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"You know, you've been such a good ticklee! I'm gonna cut you a little deal! But first…"

"HELP ME! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Suddenly, Naruka stopped tickling Gaara's feet, turned around and bent over so her face was within inches of his.

"Now, I want you to repeat EVERYTHING I say:" said Naruka. "If you goof up, I'm gonna tickle you until you pass out! Is that clear?"

"Bug off, Naruka!"

Gaara's taunt prompted Naruka to shove her hands under his M65 again.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I SUBMIT! I SUBMIT!"

Naruka stopped tickling.

"Better," said Naruka. "Now, repeat after me: Naruka is the kindest woman I've ever met."

"N-Naruka is the kindest woman I've ever met," said Gaara.

"Naruka only wants the people she cares about to be happy."

Gaara gulped. "Naruka only wants the people she cares about to be happy."

"I love Naruka so much."

"I love Naruka so much."

"I enjoy it so much when I submit to Naruka's will."

"I enjoy it so much when I submit to Naruka's will."

"Good boy!" Naruka smiled and ruffled Gaara's hair. "Now it's time for me to finish you!"

"WHY!? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

At this point, Naruka stopped tickling Gaara, leaving him a blushing, huffing mess. She did, however, get off of him, thereby permitting him to put his socks and shoes back on once he'd regained his composure.

"I'm not gonna lie…" Gaara slowly clambered back to his feet and tied his shoes. "Even if you're mad at me for eating a Kit Kat the wrong way, what you did to me afterwards was really awesome!"

Naruka smiled. "See? Everybody gets to enjoy tickling sooner or later! Believe it!"

"I guess so…" Gaara rubbed the back of his head.

"Hey, if you wanna do this again, just call me and I'll be happy to oblige!"

"Naruka, that's really sweet of you!" Gaara smiled. "Come here!"

Gaara approached Naruka with his arms open wide, and she did the same. Rather than receiving the expected hug, Gaara got something more: Naruka kissed him. The way she leaned into it and held onto him tightly, it made him feel loved. In that moment, nothing really mattered, barring the fact that they really cared about each other. Gaara enjoyed Naruka's softness, and she enjoyed having somebody so strong to hold on to. Eventually, they let go of each other.

"So, wanna keep walking?" asked Naruka.

"Gladly!"

"Awesome sauce!"

And so, Gaara and Naruka walked with each other, and she elected to hold his hand, much to his delight. The day seemed to get more beautiful as time went on.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.