Arianna: Oh my, we've done it now! this chapter is so long! lots happens in it, though, that's why. LOTS AND LOTS. heehee. roleplays are so hard to keep at one length... anyway, enjoy action, comedy, drama, gore, and smut! squee!
Rianne: Folks... If you treasure your sanity, you'll stop reading the a/n's. Oh, and just for laughs, I'm saying a disclaimer. FOR ONCE. Haha.
'I DO NOT OWN NARUTO. OR GAARA. OTHERWISE THEY'D BE FUCKING EACHOTHER'S BRAINS OUT AND THE SHOW WOULD BE NOTHING BUT HENTAI-ACTION AND I WOULDN'T BE WASTING MY TIME WRITING THIS INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT THE HENTAI PORN THE ARTISTS'D BE DRAWING. xD'
Seriously, this is fan fiction here, folks. Why do we even need disclaimers? Seriously? xD
Gaara watched impassively as his siblings bickered about something- probably about how soon they needed to leave for Suna. It was hard to read his face, but since Naruto had that deeper link, he didn't need to look at the 'Kage's face.
I don't want to leave, Naruto. What if... What if he follows me and attacks me while we're apart? You'd never make it in time, and no one else would know about it... And what if our link doesn't work when we're so far apart?
Obviously he wants something, kare, and he's not going to rest 'till he gets it.
...That, and I'm going to miss you...
It had been five days since they'd gone to the hot springs (they had shared three more such encounters since) and apparently it was also enough time for Gaara to heal on an emotional level. Also fully healed a physically, his time with his kare was drawing to a close, which irked him to no end.
The blonde sighed at the sight of Temari and Kankurou 'discussing' when to leave, mostly out of reluctance than anything else. Like Gaara, he hardly wanted to part, especially since the enemy was still at large. In this case, all he wished to do was be there to protect Gaara... Wait, that's it!
"Oi, Temari-san, Kankurou... When you guys decide to high-tail it outta here, let me come with you. If I explain most of the situation to Tsunade-baachan, I bet she'll personally send me on a mission to escort you three out and come to Sunakagure with you. You know, so that we can help keep a watch on Gaara...?" he offers, sending said redhead a quick sideways smile of reassurance. It should work, right? he asks silently.
Gaara gave a soft half-smile and nod. Forgetting to say anything physically, especially since Temari and Kankurou weren't paying attention for the moment being, he replied mind-to-mind.
I think it should. Especially if you tell her the guy that attacked me is still on the loose. Even if I was hurt, being able to hurt me in the first place and do... that... to the Kazekage means that he has to be pretty damned strong.
Right, Naruto agrees inwardly. I'll go tell her right now, in fact. Stay here for a bit, 'kay? And try to shut them up, he adds with a smile, gesturing with a thumb to the redhead's siblings.
The blonde exits the room, lacing his hands behind his head. If anything, Tsunade will explode and whole-heartedly agree to let him tag along with the Sand trio. He only hoped it would be enough; after all, this guy got past him twice before.
Naruto doesn't bother knocking on the Hokage's office door, he simply waltzes right in. "Oi, baa-chan, I got somethin' to ask ya..."
The large-breasted woman sighs, not bothering to glance up. "What is it, Naruto?"
"Let me go with Gaara back to Suna. Consider it a bodyguard mission," he says, getting straight to the point.
Her amber eyes flash to connect with cobalt blue, a question in them. "What for?"
Naruto seats himself in the chair across from her desk, and he watches as Tsunade leans forward on her elbows, her lips leaning against her folded hands. He tales a deep breath and calmly explains the situation, trying not to get too detailed (since it might give away what Kyuubi had done). He skimmed over the main points of recent events only, since she was there to hear Gaara's first explanation.
All sorts of emotions fill the Hokage's face, and when Naruto was finished she nods. "Alright, Naruto. I understand. Obviously I'm going to let you, seeing as how the situation got worse. I'll alert Kakashi; he wanted to train you for something or another, but this is much more important."
The teen grins broadly. "Thanks, Tsunade."
"Yeah, yeah..." she shrugs, waving the gratitude aside. "Now get outta here."
Gaara smiled softly and nodded. He accidentally said, "Okay," even though his siblings could hear him and had not heard Naruto speak. Temari and Kankurou paused in their discussion with raised eyes at the redhead.
Gaara didn't pay attention to them, however, as he thought to the blonde. Did she say yes?
Before the blonde could reply, Gaara gave a small grin and nodded almost imperceptibly. Nevermind- you feel awfully happy about something, so I'm guessing she did. Feeling weird as Naruto's emotions influenced him to smile wider than he usually did.
Temari and Kankurou blinked in confusion at their younger brother's smile. Temari dared to ask, "Why so happy, Gaara?" a smile growing on her own lips. As of late, she didn't much care what happened, so long as everything came back to this: Gaara being content. She could see it in the way he acted around the blonde that something had changed, and silently she wondered if their relationship had become more than friends. How much so she had no clue, but it was something different that she appreciated.
Down the way, Naruto whistled to himself, feeling accomplished. Now to get back to Gaara and the confused siblings... and maybe get some food. He was getting hungry. Perhaps not ramen, though. He was craving ice cream instead.
Gaara's smile slowly shrank to his normal less-than-half grin. "No reason," he said, much too quickly to be believable. Was Gaara of the Desert, the powerful Kazekage, actually hiding something?
You've got to be kidding me. Unless, of course, you want vanilla, the redhead amended. The delicious feeling of your warm tongue touching cool softness, smooth and pale... Sometimes sticking your fingers in it to lick the whiteness of it off them slowly... Of course, Vanilla is the best. It was obviously an innuendo, a well-crafted one at that, mixing facts and experience that was felt through their link (Except for the last part of the 'fingers' comment, though the first was oh-so-true). It was obviously meant to get the blonde to hurry up, a warning to the other that the redhead would torment him with mental pictures otherwise.
Hmm, that could be useful.
Of course, Gaara was wearing his loose battle-gear, so he was well-prepared to follow out on the unspoken threat. Naruto's excitement could easily be seen.
However, Gaara's wouldn't.
Now why do you have to go and do that, you pervert? Naruto grumbles in his head, his want for ice cream dissipating and a tenseness in his pants starting. He forces it away, though, thinking it unwise to feel something like that in a somewhat public place.
The blonde hurries back and bursts in through the door, coming up beside Gaara. "So, what's on the agenda today?" he asks, mostly to Kankurou and Temari. He slings one arm casually over the redhead's shoulders.
Gaara nearly leaned into the blonde's touch, but stopped himself by rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, although not defensively. Since you got excited, I'm starting to think that you're the real pervert around here, baka. The term for 'idiot' was here used fondly, and Gaara smiled again. "Anyway, maybe we should go get ice cream. Kankurou, Temari, what do you think?"
Gaara fought the impulse to let his eyes widen as he realized he'd slipped up and talked physically with the air of continuing a sentence. He forced himself to look normal, hopeful that his siblings wouldn't notice - except, of course, they would, and he knew it.
Kankurou frowned in confusion. "Who said anything about ice cream?" he asks, truly puzzled.
Temari didn't know what was going on, only assumed that Naruto had said something when they weren't around or noticing. Replying to her brother's question, the fan wielder says with a small smile: "I think that sounds like a great idea."
Naruto inwardly winces, realizing Gaara's older siblings were suspicious. He also winced inwardly due to the embarrassment he felt. Then again, the redhead should have guessed that Naruto was a pervert; doesn't he know that the blonde had invented the harem jutsu?
Trying to ignore the suspicion and act normal, he puts on his usual grin and says, "Well then what are we waiting for? Ice cream it is!" As false as the smile was, Naruto was still glad to be getting out and about and having ice cream. Despite the innuendo Gaara had placed into his mind, one of the blonde's favorite treats was ice cream.
"I'm getting chocolate," Kankurou says airily as the four start to exit the room, the ice cream shop their destination.
Temari rolls her eyes. "No surprise there. You usually get chocolate or strawberry."
"They're the best flavors!" the brunette says in his defense.
Gaara glanced at Naruto, giving him a sheepish, relieved, Oops. I almost gave it –
Someone accidentally bumped into Gaara, and he looked back, ruefully rubbing his shoulder. In that moment, he seemed even more human.
"Gaara?"
"--Away, b- Ah, crap."
Gaara had given it away, and that was not a fact that could be ignored. Gaara ducked his head and unconsciously moved a step or two closer to Naruto. Attempting to change the subject he'd inadvertently brought up.
"So, chocolate, huh? I prefer vanilla."
Temari didn't look so easily deterred.
" 'Away' what?" Temari inquires, her head cocking slightly. She sends Gaara a look. "You know, lately I feel like you two have some sort of secret language or something."
"Yeah, I've been getting that feeling, too, now that you mention it..." Kankurou frowns. "Either you two have gotten a lot closer and talk all the time when Temari and I aren't around, or something's up."
"N-n-nothing's up!" Naruto giggles nervously. "Gee, Kankurou, you're such a kidder, dattebayo. Isn't he one big kidder, Gaara?" the blonde nudges, sending a quick, Help me out here, and a, What should we say? He was more leaning towards the 'we have been just spending so much time together that we're practically in sync' excuse, which is quite common among best friends. Another thing that might explain it would be to stupidly burst out, 'I'm in love with Gaara!' which might do the trick, although it may also confuse/anger the older ninja. Seriously, Gaara, say something... I'm starting to sweat here... Naruto adds not two seconds later.
Gaara seemed to frown, pretending to get in a huff. "You want me to make friends, and then when I do you get all suspicious!? Wow, thanks, that's a great idea, you guys! Way to motivate me to be more normal." His tone was everything if not sarcastic, and he crossed his arms and turned away from his siblings, giving a hidden wink to Naruto.
All I could think of at such short notice. He replied. I don't want to hurt them too badly, but it's kind of necessary this time around. Is it working?
Deciding to play along with Temari's unintended suggestion, he sighed.
"We made up secret hand signals and stuff, but I didn't think you'd be so curious about it," Gaara mumbled, as if sheepish. "I wanted to try it out, since lots of kids did it... and I never got the chance."
His older sister blinked a few times. "Oh... That makes sense, I suppose."
Kankurou, however, was not as concerned about that was he was at Gaara's seemingly huffy attitude. "No need to be so harsh, Gaara..." he sweat drops. He decides to use Naruto's accusation as an excuse. "I was, uh, kidding. Yeah..."
Yup. It worked. Thanks, the blonde grins, winking subtly at the redhead. Trying to dodge any more outbursts or issues, he says in a childish tone: "Ooh, look! The ice cream shop! Last one there has to pay!" and he sets off into a jog, sensing the three siblings' stares on his back.
Playing along, Gaara ran after Naruto, glad that he was able to run without hurting himself, thanks to some rest and the Hokage, who had personally finished off his treatments. A part of him wished she never had. Deciding to trick Naruto, he stopped for a second, drudging up a memory of the jerk who attacked him to scare the hell out of Naruto through the vivid, remembered emotions. Flying past the blonde not a second later, he threw a smirk over his shoulder, reaching the Ice Cream Shoppe a few seconds later. Scanning the flavors and seeing Vanilla, he smiled, and then paused as he saw a flavor that was exactly Naruto's skin color. Smiling, he ordered the so-called 'Caramel Surprise' and a Vanilla. Passing the blonde the vanilla when he arrived, Gaara glanced to see whether Temari and Kankurou were looking before taking an innocent lick of his Caramel surprise and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
That wasn't very nice of you, Naruto thinks grumpily as he takes the ice cream, referring to Gaara's trick used to be first to the shop. And it was even less 'nice' the way the redhead licked the caramel-flavored treat, which oddly reminded Naruto of his own skin color, and looking down at the vanilla in his hands, he swallowed to think that it was nearly exact to Gaara's creamy skin color... You did this on purpose, didn't you? the blonde says with a mock-scolding tone. Just to make the redhead squirm, he licked all the way around the base of his cone; mostly to stop it form dripping onto his fingers (it was a bit humid today in Konoha), but partially for other reasons.
Not too much later, Temari and Kankurou enter the scene, finding it odd how much the two were enjoying the treat. Shrugging all thought away, Temari orders something called 'key lime surprise' while Kankurou gets his mentioned chocolate cone. "Let's eat these at the park," the older girl suggests, thinking it'd be nice to sit down with her siblings (and Naruto) to chat.
"You two go ahead," Naruto pipes up, his eye contact not breaking away from Gaara. "We'll catch up later..."
"Um, okay..." Temari nods with a slight frown. "C'mon, Kankurou."
Gaara squirmed, indeed, when Naruto did so; but then, Gaara stuck a finger into his ice cream ever so casually, but oh, what a sexual innuendo it was. His finger came out curled to hold the bit of ice cream, but it also seemed it was for other reasons. Licking around the base of his own ice cream, he closed his eyes, and couldn't help but smirk slightly when he made a sound that resembled a moan. "Wow, this is so good!" He said, justifying the moan that surprised even himself in it's hidden allure.
Gaara watched the siblings, and when they looked away, started walking away towards a dark alley so they could at least make out without being spotted. He dropped his ice cream when he stopped near the dark walls, much preferring the taste of his kare.
Naruto no doubt knew that Gaara could sense his reaction to the 'wow-this-is-so-good' way of eating his ice cream. A tiny shiver went down his spine and as soon as the older two of the Sand siblings were gone, Naruto hurriedly followed Gaara to the alleyway, vaguely noticing the dumped cone and the devious look in the redhead's eyes. He ditched his own cone and came over to Gaara, not hesitating to flash a foxy grin into the kiss he laid on the other's neck. I bet your siblings would freak if they saw us, he thinks vaguely before giving the redhead's ear a small lick.
Maybe, but since when do I care? Gaara gasped slightly when the blonde licked his ear, and he returned the flavor by trailing a line of kisses from the hollow of his throat to his ear, which he took into his mouth and nibbled on lightly.
I don't care if I get caught with my fingers in the cookie jar, the cookies are too hard to resist. The redhead claimed the blonde's lips in a hungry kiss, forcing his tongue into the other's mouth. He broke away for air only when his lungs were telling him they'd burst, and he soon swooped in again, his hand sliding under the other's jacket and shirt. His permanently bruised eyes were closed as he tweaked one of Naruto's nipples, eliciting a soft moan that disappeared into their kiss. Dully, he heard gasp and the sound of a dropped cone, and he froze, pulling away a few centimeters from his kare to look into the eyes of his siblings.
Naruto smiled at the cookie jar metaphor, but couldn't help to moan (a bit too loudly) as he felt cool fingers slipping into his clothing and promptly giving a pinch in just the right way on just the right place. His hands found themselves under Gaara's cloak and warmly resting on the small of his back, the blonde finger's itching to reach in and touch the bare skin of Gaara's cheeks (and no, not the ones on his face). He stopped himself from doing so, however, for the sound of ice cream plopping to the ground and a stifled gasp reached his sensitive ears, and he broke the wet kiss with Gaara to find his fear coming true. "Er... hi Temari, hi Kankurou..." he blushed as he pulled away from Gaara in humiliation. "I th-thought you two were heading for the park..." The kitsune sends the redhead a quick look, thinking, Maybe you should care if they catch you in the cookie jar, kare... because I'm not sure I like the look on Temari's face. Think she'll smack me with her fan? I wouldn't be surprised if she did.
If she did, I'd hit her back tenfold. Gaara unconsciously shifted to shield his blonde, his eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly.
"Hello. You just ruined a moment with my kare. Oh- only one rule to what you can or can't do in your reactions. Three guesses to what'll happen if you hurt him."
The redhead reached back imperceptibly to grasp Naruto's hand, feeling the warmth contrast the cold sweat appearing on his palms and the back of his neck.
Sighing, he looked down and away. "If you must, go ahead and act like all the homophobic idiots around here... But I don't think it's fair that love should be limited by gender," Gaara stated. "I don't like either guys or girls- I love Naruto. I love who I love, and nothing else matters to me. Besides, Kankurou, don't even say you're against me being with another male; You have plenty of guy on guy pornographies in your room."
Gaara turned to nuzzle Naruto's neck, taking a slightly shaky breath at the possible actions his siblings could take, his anxiety and slight fear transmitting to Naruto strongly.
Kankurou flushed immediately after Gaara stopped talking, a humiliated hiss coming out between his teeth. "H-how'd you know about my mags?!"
Temari, on the other hand, was currently trying to process the whole ordeal. She blinks a few times, almost ready to hit the genin for having had his hands to low on her little brother a moment ago. She held back, however, due to Gaara's speech. In truth, she had her suspicions about Gaara and Naruto getting closer than merely friends, so the kissing itself wasn't so surprising. What really got her goat was how much Gaara had spoken, and how sincerely, and how affectionately he had grasped the other boy's hand and hidden his face in his neck. Temari never thought Gaara could be so touchy-feely, let alone could say so much in one sitting without it being a death threat or rant about proving his existence. Though, this reminded her that his was changed now, and hasn't said anything in that context in a long while (even if there had been a threat laced into his words, it was not at all the same). "I... I don't have a problem with the gender issue, Gaara, honest; I'm really just... well, the Uzumaki kid is a bit unstable for you... n-not to say he'll cheat on you or anything! I mean, he's just... uh..."
Kankurou cracks a grin and lays a hand on the fan wielder's shoulder. "Don't mind her, she's only being overprotective. Personally, I think it's cute that you found someone, and a nice change. Though I can't say I'm not completely shocked to find your tongue down Naruto's throat; if I did, I'd be lying, 'cause I am totally shocked. I had no idea you two have been secretly... Because, seriously, how can you keep a secret like that from me for so long?!"
"Or me!" Temari pipes up, her usual personality coming back with full force. No more soft, shock-still, at-a-loss-for-words Temari. Nope, the tough girl was back, mostly in her own defense.
Naruto grinned as his embarrassment for being caught dwindled and the older Sand siblings accepted his and Gaara's new level of relationship. He gave said redhead a reassuring squeeze of the hand, leaning his head against the other's, enjoying the hot breath that tickled his neck through the collar of his jacket. Sure, Gaara's own anxious emotions had been reflected in the blonde's face for some time, but on hearing what Temari and Kankurou had to say, he felt both himself and Gaara relax as the tightness of the moment faded. What a relief, ne? he thinks to the Kazekage.
At the same time, Kankurou looked down at his feet, where a green-tinted pile of ice cream stood not inches away. "Temari, it looks like you need a new cone."
Gaara smirked. "I had to do something else in all my free time, Kankurou. No possessions are safe from me." Gaara nearly laughed again at Temari's flustered explanation.
"Relax, Temari. So long as you aren't going to bang him one with your fan, unless it's fairly justified, I'm alright with anything you say. Well, mostly anything. And to answer your question, Kankurou; very easily. After all, we've already had sex twice." He imagined the first thing his brother would say would be, 'Who tops?' before Temari would glare at him. Gaara gave a small, tender lick to Naruto's earlobe before resting his chin on Naruto's shoulder, now standing slightly behind his kare. His eyes nearly closed, Gaara looked ahead towards his siblings, a content look on his face. Yes, I suppose. It's certainly better than having to Sand Coffin her for touching you, he replied, a hint of humor lacing the thought.
The first thing Kankurou did was flinch slightly, not sure how he felt about the strange mental image of his brother having sex - with anyone, let alone Naruto. The second reaction he had was a hint of curiosity in a teasing manner, the 'who's seme?' question being sort of thing he'd want to ask. He didn't however, merely said, "Wow, bro, you finally made it past being a virgin. Congrats."
Temari, opposingly, seemed to be seething. She grit her teeth. "Uzumaki," she growled, "You stole my baby brother's virginity?!"
"Er... well... actually..." he blonde sweats, using his free hand to scratch his cheek. "He kind of stole mine first."
Temari's eyes bugged out of her head, ready to fall out.
Kankurou laughed. "Haha, really? Gaara topped first? I wouldn't have thought he'd have it in him!"
Temari coughed into her hand, a blue looks coming across her face. "I'm not sure I needed to know that," she mutters. "Can we change the topic, please...?"
Kankurou's laughter doesn't cease. "I can't believe it! Hahahaha! Nice going, Gaara! Hahaha!"
Temari promptly smacked the brunette on the back of the head. "Shut up, baka!"
The puppet master, however, continued to snicker into his forearm, which he placed over his mouth to muffle the sound. He felt a little uncomfortable to be talking about his brother's recently adapted sex life, though at the same time was a little proud of the younger boy.
Naruto during all of this was trying not to show in his face the things Gaara's simple actions of breathing down his neck and licking his ear were doing to him. If they hadn't needed to know about the sex, then he doubted they needed to see how true it was. Overall, I think they took it pretty well, don't you? he thinks to the redhead, turning halfway around to snake his arm around the other's waist. The blonde noticed the odd look that Temari gave them.
"Kami, you sure are public with your affection now that we know," she huffed, placing her hands on her hips.
Out of strange, unexplained curiosity, Kankurou ventures, "So Naruto, should I be surprised to find that you're not always uke?"
Again he earns a smack from Temari. "Don't make him answer that, you perverted bastard!"
He simply bursts into laughter once more. "Wait, no, lemme try again: Should I be surprised to hear wedding bells any time soon?"
Temari rolls her dark teal eyes, not even bothering to smack him this time. It wasn't helping. "Bakayaro."
Er, almost taking it well... Naruto chuckles both mentally and physically.
Gaara grinned. "Thanks?" He said in an offhand tone, smiling at Temari's expression.
"Oh, you didn't think I would be the aggressive one?" He let one arm reach around the blonde's shoulders, licking the other's jaw line.
"Mmmhmm, you said you had nothing against it, and you did ruin a moment. I'm merely continuing it," He said devilishly in reply to Temari's comment. With a soft suck to a part of the blonde's neck, he stepped away, smirking evilly.
"And now I'm done." Grinning playfully, clear to all that he'd gotten the blonde riled up, Gaara licked his lips in a way that would turn on anyone who was the least bit attracted to guys. "Heh."
"Uh... I'm leaving now," Temari says with partial embarrassment, not at all used to the way Gaara was acting. Kankurou seemed unable to snap out of his giggle-fit, currently strolling away and holding his sides.
"You love tormenting people, don't you?" Naruto asks Gaara playfully, speaking for once aloud. He was referring to the way Gaara had riled him up and abruptly stopped the make-out session, as well as giving his siblings possible graphic nightmares. He shrugged. "Nevermind, I see it on your face. You do." The blonde grins suddenly, "But that's just what I like about you."
Gaara glanced at the blonde. "In that case, consider it a basic rule of thumb that from now on I'll blast you with thoughts and pictures but never touch you." No humor was in his voice, and he kept his emotions strictly hidden. Except for an underlying sense of threat and promise that he put into his voice, you couldn't tell what he was thinking. After a moment, he cracked a smile and practically attacked Naruto, kissing him. "Just kidding," he mumbled into the other's lips. Like I said, it's too hard to resist. Forcing the blonde's lips open with his tongue yet again, Gaara wrapped his arms around the blonde, stumbling forwards a few steps to push him against a wall. Once again, a hand snaked up beneath the blonde's shirt and jacket, this time to ghost over his sides and spread pale fingers out over the tan expanse of skin, exploring and barely touching, except for the blonde's nipples, which Gaara once again lavished attention upon with one hand.
At first, Naruto looked plainly tortured at the thought, but in a matter of minutes it was forgotten as a barrage of kisses came his way, along with the strangely satisfying feeling of light touches across his skin. A small, muffled moan escaped his lips, one of gratefulness rather than lust. His hand came up around Gaara's neck, leaving a gap big enough between them for the redhead to explore. The blonde's fingers intertwining in silky crimson locks. It was moments like these, unsuspected and tender, that Naruto liked best; it was moments like these he never wanted to end. Which brought Naruto to vaguely wonder about what Kankurou had said about the whole marriage thing... he actually wouldn't mind it at all. He's finally found someone that fits perfectly into his life, heart, and soul, and wouldn't mind being with that person forever. Briefly forgetting their recent mind connection, he thinks: I do want to marry Gaara some day, just to claim that he's mine, and to have a reason to stay by him always. Though I don't think it's favored to marry another male in Konoha... I'd have to change that when I become Hokage. If that comes too late, then I suppose Gaara could make it happen in Suna... heehee, I'd want it somewhere nice on the outskirts of Sunakagure, somewhere where we could be almost alone. And the desert would look nice, maybe at sunset... or sunrise. But I'm not wearing a dress. I may do the harem jutsu but I'm no crossdresser!
Suddenly he flushed when he felt Gaara's kissing hesitate, clearly because he had heard his thoughts. "Eh heh... oops."
Gaara froze, tense, and bit his lip, turning away from the blonde. Wordlessly, he started to walk away, numbness radiating through him. He walked dangerously close to the wall and bumped into the corner, almost hard enough to topple himself over. His mind completely blank, he stopped.
"N-a-n-i?" He breathed out slowly, eyes wide and unfocused. Such an idea was over his head, and the changes that would go with it also. Putting his back to the wall, only a few steps from his kare, he slid down the surface to sit, his knees up to his chest. Fingers digging into the ground on either side of him, he kept himself closed off as best he could, trying to understand things, trying to wrap his mind around the concept. He wasn't forced to, but if he didn't, he would offend the other, and maybe lose him!
But that wasn't all-- how could anyone so perfect want to marry him, of all people?! Who would want to marry the former carrier of the Tanuki; portrayed as a clumsy, laughable character, while the fox is graceful and beautiful and blends in!?
The redhead realized he'd put his trembling hand up to the 'ai' scar on his forehead, just above his left eye. What a recognizable habit.
"Gaara...?" Naruto says with heavy concern. "Gaara, if it bothers you so much, I won't make you - I was just thinking... well, you know what I was thinking, I guess, but... Ah, I'm sorry... I didn't stop my thoughts fast enough, and it was really silly, haha... er, not unless you want to...? But... uh..."
He doesn't dare come closer, only watches as his love slumps onto the ground and subconsciously touches his 'ai' scar, the long pale fingers making contact with the still red mark. The kitsune wanted to come over and pull that hand away to kiss it and promise that he didn't mean it and that it doesn't matter, because he was slowly growing afraid that he had offended Gaara in some way. Gaara's thoughts, however, were mostly blank, so Naruto hoped it was merely shock and not offense.
Slowly, cautiously, the blonde approaches, kneeling down beside the other. "Gaara...?" he tries again.
"...Why...?" he uttered, his other hand coming up to grab at his crimson hair. "...Why... would you... of all people... want to marry me?... The complications... everything... why!?"
Gaara, though his eyes were unfocused, swung his gaze around to cast it on the blonde, shock and the lack of understanding filtering through his thoughts and the blankness of his expression. His lips were slightly parted, and the way he was trying to focus on the blonde would remind one of a child that had gotten lost.
...Why?... Why would someone so perfect... Want to be bound to someone so tainted and monstrous?...
"Why?" Naruto repeats softly, peering into Gaara's cool teal eyes. "Because I'm not perfect, and you're not nearly as tainted as you think you are. Sure, you've killed some people... but that was mostly Shukaku's influence, right? And for that matter, I've hurt plenty of people. It's the way of a ninja; sometimes killing is the only option. Of all people, Gaara, I should be the one to marry you; I sympathize with you and your pain, since I'm a bakemono, too. Or have you forgotten that you're emptied of your demon and I'm not?" he informs with a sad smile. Gaara really has come very far; he's not at all the demented, demon-possessed person he was. Naruto technically was still demon-possessed, even if he never had went nearly as insane as Gaara had. But the redhead had every reason at the time, and Naruto sees that. "Don't you believe me when I said that I love you? People who love each other get married, right? Besides, I'm a bit possessive..." he smirks gently. "I don't think I'd ever let you be with anyone else now that I have you."
He stands up again and offers a hand. The great Kazekage of Sunakagure shouldn't be sitting in the dirt. Come on, the blonde urges. We can talk about this back at my house if you want. Or we can drop the topic completely and go do something else. It's your choice.
Gaara slowly raised his gaze to Naruto's face, and accepted the hand that was offered. Not letting go, he started walking towards Naruto's house, almost dragging the blonde for a moment. When the redhead finally stopped outside the blonde's door, he noticed an open window and frowned slightly. It looked like someone might have been there, but it didn't matter; not at the moment. He let himself in before the blonde did, having let go of the other's hand, and walked in.
Casting his gaze around he felt his blood go cold, then boil up again in that oh-so-familiar way. "No." If he had pupils, they would have dilated in that maniacal way that signified a type of madness. Blood coated the walls of the apartment, three innocent citizens ripped limb by limb on the floor.
And two children, unharmed, were in the room. He could smell it, and hear their whimpers. The bloodlust had returned the minute he entered the room, sand circling him. It was hard to resist, so hard, so, so hard.
"Hello..." He growled, nearly staggering to the couch, behind which the children hid. However, halfway there he clutched his head, dropping to his knees, fighting off the urges.
He remembered his teeth, tainted, meant to bite.
His hands, meant to tear and strangle.
His feet, meant to punish.
His smile, meant to scare the crap out of his victims.
His heart, meant to be of cement and stepped on before it was hard, just to show how stupid he was for wishing it was anything but cement.
His love, which was always rejected...
Grinding his teeth, he tried to ignore the blood. And realized that he wouldn't be able to.
xXxXx
Naruto stepped into his apartment, tagging along. The first thing he saw, however, was dark, sickly red covering everything. He stifled a yelp and heard someone greet someone else with a twisted, sinister 'hello' that could only be said in Gaara's deep voice. The blonde turned and looked to his couch, startled to sense not one set of chakra but three, two of which being small like children while the third was none other than his kare's. But it was the torn bodies and the frightened children's faces and made Naruto start to cry, his eyes unable to blink the tears away. Who did this...? And why, in his own home...? Was it to mock that he was the container for Kyuubi, or was it...
He looked to Gaara, feeling a disturbing bloodlust stirring in the pit of his stomach, a mirror of the redhead's own emotions. The demon fox himself was even stirring awake, curious about the scent of blood and fear. And a thought occurred to Naruto: despite no longer holding the Ichibi demon, Gaara remained a potentially dangerous person. Swallowing his shock and panic, Naruto hissed directly into the Kazekage's mind: Get a hold of yourself! Come over here right now and leave those kids alone. Let me handle them. Obviously someone had left this mess as either a way of framing himself and/or Gaara, and they hoped the children would either be killed to prove it or left alive to testify. Either way, Naruto wasn't about to let it happen. Sweetly he said to the children, "You're safe now; whoever hurt these other people is gone... why don't you run out the door and fetch a jounnin? Tell them that Naruto Uzumaki sent you."
Turning back to Gaara, Naruto thought with a chill running up his spine: You're safe too, you know. Get up off your knees and come here, kare... you're no bakemono, remember? Not anymore. You're Kazekage. You're Gaara. And I love you...
Even with Naruto's support, he couldn't move for fear that his bloodlust would consume him. He stayed still while the children ran past him, crying; he shuddered, still struggling against the emotion, although it wasn't as strong as his potential victims were gone. His bloodlust, like a living thing, forced him to look around in a haze, letting his hands drop from his head. Widened, strange eyes, ones that looked only like the ones he had before Naruto had saved him, gazed almost sightlessly, in a fog as they slid slowly over to Naruto in a strange, horror movie style. His thoughts were drowned in the lust for blood, and he stood slowly, approaching his kare in a type of strut that radiated murderous intent and bloodlust. The redhead came closer to the blonde and wrapped his arms around the other, lowering his head and biting the blonde's neck fiercely, harshly enough to draw a steady flow of blood. He felt a sudden pain in the back of his head; his eyes widened, then slowly closed as he released the blonde, slipping to his knees and then collapsing to the side; Temari and Kankurou were already on either side of their brother, as Temari had hit Gaara with her fan.
"What happened, for Gaara to attack you!? Did he kill these people!? Oh, Kami, Naruto- You're bleeding!"
The redhead was laying on the floor in a way that told all present that Temari had done this many times before, and knew exactly how to knock him out so that he landed in a way that, were he to wake before they moved him, he wouldn't have to roll over or anything. A small moan came from the unconscious Kazekage, his brow furrowed in his sleep. A soft, "No.." was heard before he went into a slightly deeper state of unconsciousness.
"I am?" Naruto says in a sort of daze. He looks passed Temari and Kankurou, as if he couldn't see them, but knew that they were there. He brings a hand up to his neck, looking down as he pulled it away, not surprised to find that he was indeed bleeding. If the situation had been different, he would've laughed it off and called Gaara a vampire or use said name as an excuse for a sexual role-play or something silly. But the situation was different: there were other bodies around, and he had felt Gaara's bloodlust in his stomach, strong and cruel and cold. After a moment to make all feeling come back to his legs and toes (not at all realizing they had gone numb to begin with), he says, "He didn't kill anyone... We came here and found it like this..."
He wasn't sure how to answer the other question. He didn't know why Gaara bit him. Maybe it was to get out of his bloodlust; maybe it was some other reason. He knew Gaara was the type to nip and bite when making out, or that first time they made love, but just now...
Again the word 'kyuuketsuki' comes to mind. Vampire. The redhead was hardly such a thing, despite his pale complexion. It was merely temporary bloodlust... right? Naruto wasn't sure of anything at the moment. He just wanted Gaara to wake up and be how he had been before steeping into the bloodied apartment building.
Somehow, the kitsune knew who did this. He bet it was the same teme who had started this whole mess with Gaara days and days ago when Gaara had first come to Konoha. Somehow, this seemed the only logical thing that made sense to Naruto in this instant.
Gaara's eyes fluttered open once again, unnoticed by his siblings as they told Naruto that he'd better go find a medic-nin or something. Gaara slowly raised his gaze to Naruto, scared that what he had done was reality. He stood, knowing it was true, and fled the apartment. Outside, he ran to the back, where it was a deserted alleyway. ...I-I, I hurt him... If I can't even resist a bit of blood, how could I be fit to run a village?... No. Naruto already told me- there's nothing I can do to make him hate me, right? He- he could forgive me... right? Kami, I'm sorry- Kyuuketsuki; I've gone and made him think I'm a kyuuketsuki. Watashi wa gozen anta no baka; I'm such a fucking idiot. I have to make it up to him, though; I've been too dependant on him to help me that I've forgotten how easily I can hurt him and not comfort him. Gaara took in a deep breath, his hand brushing crimson hair away from his scar, even though the locks fell right back in place not a second after. He turned and opened his eyes, only to be met with the sight of most of Naruto's friends. They saw, he realized. They saw, and I still have his blood on my teeth, on my lips...
Gaara couldn't help but close his eyes and let out a puff of breath as Sakura hit him in the stomach, causing him to cough out some of his own blood. Letting himself crumple and fall to the ground, he looked away and awaited the next blow.
"YOU MONSTER! HOW COULD YOU!?"
He didn't reply for a full minute.
"I deserve the pain you give me, and so much more," He said softly, his face distorted with pain and sorrow. His sand was coming out of his gourd, now broken as he had landed on it, but he quelled it instantly, sending it off to the side.
"Please, please kill me. But not yet, not now. Let me see him again."
Gaara's thoughts echoed in Naruto's mind, and after his brain processed that the redhead had fled and thought all those things, Naruto was on the move, running to try and catch up with his beloved.
He hadn't meant to call Gaara a vampire... the name had just popped into his head, probably due to all those late-night horror films he used to watch. He was no vampire, and although Sakura seems to think so, he's no monster, either. The blonde knows what Gaara really is, and it's none of those things! Chikushou, he cursed, This is all that bastard's fault, I just know it. He killed those people and spread their blood around to get Gaara riled up. It has to be that...!
He came out into the open where Gaara lay, clutching his stomach on the ground. "Sakura-chan! Stop!" He knew the pink-haired girl's strength, and she could kill the Kazekage if she wanted to.
"But he hurt you, Naruto! I can't forgive him for that!"
"He's hurt me before, you know! Like it matters," he snaps, referring to their battle ages ago during the Chunnin exams. He comes and kneels beside his kare. I know you didn't mean it, Gaara; I know you better than that. I felt what you were feeling... so I understand. I don't hate you, so please, get up. We'll explain everything to them! We can fix this; it's not so bad, honest. There've been worse things... you've got to believe me. He thinks quickly, while at the same time trying to shoo everyone else away, telling them he could handle this, it's no big deal; they can't comprehend what's really going on. Sakura was persistent, however.
"I'm not going, Naruto. What if he hurts you again, huh?!"
"HE WON'T!" the blonde retorts sharply. "It was... an accident. You don't know... you just don't...!" 'You don't know what goes on inside his head. But I do now.' He finished in his mind. Gaara, he knows, could hear him. "So just go, Sakura-chan! It's none of your business."
"None of my-- Naruto, you're one of my closest friends! I can't let this slide, got it?"
He couldn't take it any longer. He clenched his fists for a moment before knowing what to do. He grabbed a hold of Gaara and shunshinned away to the first place that came to mind. He ended up on top of the line of Hokage heads, right on the cliff that had them embedded into it's front. There, now they were alone, and they could sort this entire thing out.
Gaara was amazed when Naruto grabbed him and took him to the Hokage heads. Gaara sat up, blinking, and wrapped his arms around the blonde tenderly, not as roughly as he had when he was controlled by the powerful bloodlust that'd come over him. "I'm sorry," Gomenasai, I'm sorry, so sorry, "Naruto," He communicated to his kare, first speaking and then thinking. I never should have let it affect me, "And I won't ever let anything hurt you again, not even me. Especially not me." I won't let it affect me again. "I'm sorry. Aishiteru, Naruto-kun." He gently licked the place on Naruto's neck, where he had bitten him so forcefully, attempting to soothe him. He trailed soft kisses up to Naruto's jaw, and took the blonde's ear in his mouth, nibbling it gently.
Are you alright, mai ichi koi, my only love? Please say that you are. Gaara held the blonde closer, trying to ignore the emotions coming from his kare.
"I... Of 'course I am. Sturdy as a brick, remember?" he says after some time, his mixed emotions settling themselves. I told you... nothing you could do would make me hate you. Even if you'd had crushed me to death - ha, like you would ever! - I'd still love you in spirit-- in my afterlife, I'd love you. I see that now, he nods, pulling Gaara's face out far enough to look at. "You have some blood left on your chin," he says softly, licking his thumb and wiping it off. And it won't affect you again; I'll personally see to it. Here, let's rest a while and calm our nerves before going back to face everyone. I can sense that's what you want, right? Naruto ventures, slowly lowering them to sit on the ground and stare out at the village stretched out below them. He held the 'Kage close in between his legs, trying to return the favor of soothing his partner.
Gaara leaned back into Naruto's chest, raising up a hand to caress the other's cheek. Gaara brought a tanned hand to his lips and kissed it softly. Hai, it is. Thank you; you seem to comfort me more than I do you. I'm sorry that I'm not very good at it, he replied. Languidly rolling so that he faced the blonde (rubbing against the blonde quite seductively as he did), he brought up the memory of the alleyway.
Perhaps we should finish what we started? A kiss was placed tenderly on the blonde's cheek, and then another placed on his lips. His hand slipped up, once more, under the blonde's jacket, which was becoming quite predictable, but this time it ghosted over his hips, just above his pants. Gaara licked Naruto's bottom lip, unusually tender and tentative.
Naruto knew even without thinking that parts of Gaara's actions were meant to make it up to him for the loss of control. He didn't mind it, though; any excuse to touch the redhead was good enough for him. You have every reason not to be good at it. I, of all people, should know. He thinks in reply to Gaara's first statement. As for the other… Well, the kitsune knew what to do to answer that.
He unzipped his own jacket, shrugging it off onto the grassy top of the cliff. He leaned back to that Gaara was resting gently on top of him. Naruto brought the redhead's lips to his, slipping in his tongue to taste hints of blood, stress, love, and very vaguely caramel from his ice cream. It was an odd combination to be sure, but an addicting one as well. I'm not sure if it's the thrill of a first true love or what, but it seems we can't get enough of each other, can we? the blonde purrs in his mind to Gaara, his hands digging under layers of clothing to caress pale skin. He draws out of Gaara's mouth, sucking lightly on the redhead's bottom lip before nuzzling into his neck.
Gaara smirked happily as the blonde explored his mouth. When the blonde hid his face in the redhead's neck, he stuck out his tongue and licked the blonde's jaw line, the only thing he could reach without disturbing the blonde. No, I think we can't. But that's a good thing, so I don't really mind. A hand reached down into Naruto's pants, and then his boxers, stroking the other boy's length languidly before beginning to please him with skilled fingers. Gaara suddenly felt he had too many clothes on and removed his hand to pull off his shirt and the armor plate on top of it, and then kiss Naruto again. He could still taste the vanilla of the blonde's ice cream, and the natural distinct taste of honey that the other had, as well as the taste of ramen, for the blonde was rarely found without a bowl of it somewhere nearby. Allowing his fingers to ghost over Naruto's tanned skin, he felt the other's arousal as clearly as his own.
Ne, Naruto, about what you said in concern to Kankurou's wiseass remark regarding wedding bells... I think I'd like that. But not yet. Not yet, since it might take a while to convince the Council anyway, but soon, I promise. With another lick to the blonde's jaw, Gaara brought his head over that of the other boy's, commencing a kiss that caused their tongues to weave and clash in a way that was so sexually arousing that it should have been censored. A faint pink tint appeared on the Kazekage's cheeks, as it often did, although sometimes it went unnoticed. Allowing his hips to buck forward and down, driving his erection against that of his lover, Gaara moaned into the kiss that was so numbingly mind-blowing.
Sure, the first touches on his manhood were small enough to get him hard and greedy for more, but the next round of kisses sent him spiraling down into a world only known as Gaara, which was a very rich, heavenly place indeed. He could get lost in one of those endless kisses, in which Naruto couldn't tell whose tongue was more practiced or whose cheeks were flushed more, or whose spit tasted best.
Take your time in making those wedding plans, Naruto thinks with a mental grin, I don't mind. To me, it could take forever as long as I –
But his thoughts were cut off as Gaara began to move against him, a ragged inhale of surprise pleasure entering his lips. At the same time a moan from Gaara was muffled by his mouth, and his own moaning soon followed, though he tried his best not to pant into their long kiss. An electric spark jumped to his toes as Naruto rolled the two of them over, all memory of his bloodied apartment and Sakura's angered face retreating to the forgotten recesses of his mind. All that mattered now was his body against Gaara's, warm and smooth and loving.
He kept their lips caught in a passionate kiss while he shifted on top of his kare, his tan hands working to slide down Gaara's pants enough to get a good grip on the desired fruit hidden inside. Pretty soon he found his mouth, on it's own, trailing down the 'Kage's neck, passed his chest, skimming teasingly down toned abs before licking in a full circle around Gaara's belly button. He then swiped the back of his knuckles across the borderline between stomach and underwear line, a sensitive spot of skin he knew by their connection would tickle his love. Then, smirking, he pulled down said underwear to take a steadily throbbing head into his mouth.
Naruto wasn't so sure if this was finishing what they started in the alleyway or if this was solely lust taking over. It could be instead that he wanted to also make Gaara forget the recent events, or perhaps he simply wanted to thank the Kazekage for agreeing to marriage. Either way, the taste of the other on his tongue and the mix of his own emotions and blissful moans as well as Gaara's were enough to send him far enough over the edge to go this far on the grassy knoll.
Gaara gasped when Naruto opened his lips, his breath puffing warmly onto his erection, and warm lips took him in. ((A/N: This is the only reason I could ever dislike yaoi. STUPID 'him' and 'his' 's!)) Shooting up in surprise and pleasure, Gaara's fingers found their way into Naruto's hair and pulled at the blonde locks, his eyes closed in ecstasy as he felt the other beginning to suck on him. "Nggh..."
All his senses were slowly dissipating except for the ones concerning the nerves that Naruto was so delightfully lighting up with pleasure.
The redhead grinned somewhat. "I guess I should ask you to marry me, as per custom, right?" He managed, feeling a shudder work its way down his back. He felt himself start to sweat, and he gave a short laugh. "Strange way... to get... engaged, ne?" He panted out.
Naruto paused, his lips pulling away first, the tip of his tongue coming off last as he replies with a breathless chuckle, "Strange indeed…" He lifts his head slightly, adding: "But I think I already proposed to you when I thought of it," he winks, peering upwards into cool pupiless eyes, a dribble of spit shimmering on his lips. Not breaking the eye contact, the kitsune purrs seductively while leaning upwards and pressing against his soon-to-be-kouhai (in this case not meaning a junior at school but 'spouse'), "So, what do you want now?" I'm all yours; and I always will be.
You, of course, Gaara replied. What else could I ever want? Drawing the blonde closer so that he could give the other yet another deep, long kiss, Gaara reached down into Naruto's pants, once more touching the blonde in a way that was satisfying but addictive and never gave enough. Rolling the blonde over onto his back, Gaara kissed his way down Naruto's chest. Unbeknownst to either of them, Sakura (Along with Neji, Lee, TenTen, Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Shino) was looking for them both. However, Gaara pulled away as he could hear the sounds of running beneath them, remembering that they were practically out in the open. Whispering an apology to his kare, Gaara pulled on his clothing again and straightened himself out before helping Naruto with his clothing. Just as he finished helping the blonde and gave him another kiss on the lips, the several other shinobi appeared. Sakura, of course, was the first to run up. Scowling, she punched Gaara hard enough to send him rolling off edge of the cliff, coughing blood once again as he struggled to stay on solid ground. His sand was too far away to help in that very minute, still at street level and many more minutes away.
He heard, dully, some of the Leaf-nin protesting against what Sakura had done - hadn't she seen them hugging!? (Why had they been so close, on the ground, anyway?) - but it faded to nothing as his fingers let go their hold on the rock.
He didn't scream as he started to plummet downwards.
Naruto felt a churn in his stomach, an echo of Gaara's own fear as he slipped off the edge. "Fuck!" he seemed to scream, both for Gaara, himself, and at Sakura. Thinking quickly, and trying to think how long Gaara had before he hit ground or one of the Hokage heads, he summoned up some clones. "Kage bushin no jutsu!" he barked, gritting his teeth as he preformed the hand sign. The blonde would need the extra bodies as hands to hold onto any ledge available, or as a cushion to land on.
He threw himself over the edge, ignoring all the other Leaf shinobi's yells of protest and confusion. The clones followed, and he used their bodies and weight to form a sky-diving circle, leaning downwards to catch up with Gaara's falling figure. Gaara! Spread out your arms and legs! It'll slow you down! he urged mentally as he and his clones tried to surround his love. I'm coming for you...!
Gaara did spread out his arms and legs, as wide as he could. After what seemed like an eternity, he found himself in the blonde's arms, his Shadow Clones holding them up halfway down the cliffside. Gaara slowly opened his eyes as Naruto's clones swung them back up onto the top of the cliff, and he tried not to start trembling as he reluctantly left the shelter of his lover's arms, only to stand next to him quietly, sticking his head almost under Naruto arm, glaring softly at the pink-haired kunoichi after what felt like an hour. "Bakabakashii!" He said, without humor in his voice. "If I had died, Naruto would never be the same. I hope," He added slowly. "After all... Naru, should we keep it a secret or let them know? It's going to get out anyway, but..."
Gaara hardly moved from his position, wrapping his arms around the Jinchuuriki from behind. "Naruto, you would be sad if I died, right?" Having missed out on seeing the blonde cry when he had died the first time, Gaara had never thought of how the blonde would react to his death.
Sakura got a guilty look on her face. "I... I didn't mean for you to fall off! I was angry, and..." she shook her head. "I don't think anyone would forgive me if you had died just now, least of all Naruto. He probably wouldn't tell you, but he had gotten so sad and so hurt when you... the first time," she says slowly, avoiding the word 'died'.
Naruto turns his head and brings an arm up to hold into one of his kare's, which was currently laced around in front of him. "It's true." He cracks a weak smile. "In fact, you could say that I was bawling my eyes out. I even yelled at Chiyo-baasama to shut up, afterwards questioning her. 'Do you have any idea what sort of burden he carried?' I asked. 'You all think you're better than us, don't you? Damn the Jinchuuriki!' and all sorts of things like that. A long time ago when we were in the Mist fighting a pair of nins named Haku and Zabuza, I thought Haku had killed Sasuke. I got really mad and went into a full demon-fox-fueled rage, but I didn't cry. Remember, Sakura? You were there."
The girl nods, her guilty feeling remaining a weight on her chest. "Yeah, I remember."
"So you see, Gaara? If you died, I'd be heartbroken, would cry even more, and would probably never smile again. Especially since you had already left me once."
"I'm sorry, Gaara," Sakura says to the Kazekage. "Naruto was right earlier; I didn't know what happened, and to be honest I let my temper get the better of me too often. But... I can't say I won't hit you again if you hurt him another time in the future!" she adds, despite her guilt.
And yes, we might as well tell them... "Glad you apologized, Sakura," Naruto starts. "Because I love him."
Sakura glanced at Naruto, and then Gaara. "You don't mean..."
Lee came forward and did his Nice Guy Pose. "YOSH! The flames of youth burn brightly, for Naruto-kun and Gaara-kun are good friends! What youthful-"
"Not like that, Lee." Gaara replied slowly, savoring the confused faces around him. "In fact, Naruto and I are already making wedding plans. Anyone want to help convince Tsunade to change the rules around here?"
Hinata promptly fainted.
Lee took it in stride, and quickly flashed a blinding smile. "I will! Nothing is better than finding love! The flames of youth burn brighter as the love between Gaara-kun and Naruto-kun also steadily burns, fueled by their everlasting passion!"
Neji, TenTen, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba stared at Lee. Neji tiredly clapped his hand over the Leaf-nin's mouth. Sakura smiled softly. "That's great, Naruto. I'm... really happy for you... Although I have to say, I never expected you to start batting for your own team," She said with a small chuckle.
Kiba snuck up next to Naruto, looked him up and down, and sniffed him. "Oi, guys, Gaara topped first. I can tell."
The tension in the air dissipated, the Leaf-nin all laughing. Gaara joined in the laughter, making the others pause before continuing the fun.
I can't believe you mentioned the marriage part, Gaara. I didn't say anything about it because I didn't want to overload them; thought they wouldn't be able to take that much. But hey, after what Kiba had said, I guess it pales in comparison, the blonde thinks as he laughs along with everyone else. Jeez, talk about mood swings. One minute we're making out, the next you're falling off a cliff, and the next we're all laughing, if not a little nervously. What a fucked up day, eh? He thinks with a small outward shake of the head. He was suddenly extremely glad of their connection; it made talking to Gaara about personal things a lot easier.
Relief and a sense of confidence washed over Naruto as everyone's laughter dwindled, and he pulled Gaara around to his left to hold securely around the waist. First Temari and Kankurou, now all his comrades... heaven knows that the rest of Konoha and Suna were next to know. It didn't bother him, though; he knew he was right in his choice and felt comfortable with his other pecious peoples' knowledge of who he was in love with. Although, they could have done without Kiba's comment... Naruto wasn't sure he wanted everyone to know his sex life. Though it was one cat that was bound to get out of the bag eventually, so again he found himself alright with it. It was liberating all the acceptance that was going around, both by Naruto and the others. He grinned broader.
Naruto's grin faded, however, as he remembered what mess he had to go back to. "So, uh, anyone up for helping catch the bastard that vandalized my house?"
Gaara sighed and pinched his nose. "Yeah, that bastard is really starting to get on my nerves," he mumbled, his face distorting for a millisecond with remembered pain.
Lee frowned. "Gaara-kun was hurt, I take it? Then he must feel the flames of youthful wrath!"
Kiba frowned. "Is this bastard you're talking about the green-haired guy I smelled (and saw) around your apartment?" Receiving a heated glare from Gaara, he nodded.
"Aa, I'm in. He tried to kick Akamaru, eh buddy?" The large dog that had been lounging by a rock lifted up it's head and whined. Shikamaru sighed. "Aa, it's troublesome, but I may as well help out." TenTen giggled and raised an eyebrow. "Everything is troublesome for you. Except, of course, that blonde from Suna."
Gaara blinked. "You're crushing on my sister?... Well, at least it's not as unexpected as me and Naruto."
"Pssh, I'll say; Shikamaru and Temari were together the day I came back from my training with Ero-Sennin. They said it was work, but I knew better," Naruto winks. Then he frowns. "Wait, are we so unexpected? In retrospect, I've always sort of..." but he drifts off.
Sakura gives him a questioning look, quickly recapping the past few years and all the interactions and reactions between her teammate and the redhead currently standing beside him. "Hmm," she hums thoughtfully, "I suppose it wasn't so unexpected."
Hinata slowly comes to, sitting up from her place on the ground. But she takes one look at Naruto and Gaara, arms around each other, and looks as if she was about to cry. Kiba turns around at a squeak she makes, decidedly kneeling down beside her. "Oi, Hinata, you feelin' okay?" he asks, concern hidden in his casual tone.
Naruto is oblivious to this (pretty much always has been when it came to Hinata) so he says, "Great; glad everyone's in. Gaara's siblings and I have to leave for Sunakagure in a couple days, but hey, you guys can maybe be on the lookout for the teme or get the old hag to assign you on a tracking mission or something." His suggestion sounded logical enough to him, and every little bit helped. They can't let too much more happen, or else... And besides, this guy deserved to be caught after all the damage he's caused so far. "
Gaara smiled softly. Good idea, kare. "Really, Sakura? Let's look at it from an uninformed villager's point of view. Two guys, who fought each other viciously a year ago, all of a sudden, over the span of about a week, have sex more than twice and pretty much get engaged, having found out that they love each other in less than a day, thanks to a bout of the aforementioned activity. Oh, yeah, that's really expected. Kinda reminds me of Romeo and Juliet." Gaara smirked slightly, closing his eyes. "I'm surprised they took it so well," He murmured softly, letting his gaze wander along the trees above them- There! Had he really seen those eyes in the bushes, or was it his imagination? Gaara instantly narrowed his eyes, yet disregarded what he had seen. It must have been his imagination. "Naru, Let's go find Temari and Kankurou. I have a feeling that they're worried sick about us; After all, the last they saw of us was you shunshinning us away with a ballistic Sakura dragging other Leaf-nin along." Turning to the other shinobi, he bowed awkwardly. "I'm glad to know that Naruto has friends that wouldn't think any less of him because of who he chooses to be with," He said gratefully. He slowly turned and walked to the edge of his cliff, his sand finally having had appeared, and stepped onto it. "Since it's a much faster way, who wants to take a ride?" Some of the Leaf-nin blinked before smiling and hopping aboard the cloud of sand. Who would've thought that Gaara would open up so much?
Who would have thought indeed. But everyone took it as a welcoming sign, and in no time they were catching up to two running Sand nins with worried expressions. "Oi, Kankurou, Temari! Up here!" Naruto hollered, waving a hand from up in the air. Temari sent a questioning look, wondering what had happened in such a short amount of time to have half of Konoha (well, not quite, but all of it's top young shinobi) was riding with their brother on his sand and why a few of them bore smiles. "Gaara, are you alright?" his sister asks after she shoves her confusions aside.
"You scared the shit out of us with all of that ruckus. I mean, I though Sakura was going to--" Kankurou starts.
"But I didn't!" said pink-haired girl snaps in her defense. "We got somewhat of an explanation, so everything's fine."
"Yup," Naruto nods. He wonders if he should tell Gaara's siblings about the fall... hmm, it'd be best not to. Naruto had saved them both, so there was nothing to worry about now. Except for the thoughts the redhead had transmitted before they left. He thought he saw eyes... eyes, no doubt, of the green-haired mystery man. The kitsune said nothing about this, however, since Gaara had shrugged it off for a mistake of imagination.
There was idle chatter between Temari, Kankurou, and the rest; mostly a fill-in of a few things that were decided or have been confessed. Temari looked a tad proud that Gaara had shared so much with the others, a feat he rarely succumbs to. Suddenly, a strange growling sound is heard. Everyone looks to the whiskered blonde.
"Eh heh... anyone hungry?" Naruto sweatdrops, throwing an arm behind his head and a hand on his stomach.
Gaara laughed, and finally hopped off his sand.
"Thanks to you, yes. I feel like having ramen." The redhead seemed inseparable from the blond, really. Always standing just a few inches away, or when in company that knew about them, practically hanging off his arm. Gaara was currently nuzzling Naruto's neck from behind. I also feel like having you, later. Gaara thought, mentally smirking.
"Ramen it is," the kitsune says aloud happily. "Who else is coming?"
"More importantly, who's paying?" Kiba asks.
"Everyone can just pay for themselves," Temari says stiffly. "What do you expect us to do? Baby you and pay for your meal?"
"No, but--"
Naruto laughs at the scene, noticing silently that each of the shinobi were more comfortable with themselves and their surroundings than Naruto currently felt. He tried not to show it so not to worry Gaara, even purring a response to the redhead (Hmm, I may take you up on that offer,) with a wriggle of his eyebrows, but something in the back of his mind told him not to become too soft. Already he's been off alert and countless things have happened. So he must stay ever ready to jump out and protect what he cared about.
Arianna: hot dog! if you've read this far, i officially hand you a medal and vanilla an caramel ice cream. you know why. -licks lips-
and yeah... fun chap, ne? tell us about it in a review, then! :D
Rianne: -laughs- -awards everyone who reviews Gaara and Naruto action figures with removable clothes, several outfits, and sperm-shooting action lmfao xDDD-
Hey! I'm going to put up a poll. Let's see how well you can tell us apart! You'll have to guess which combination we roleplay with, and if you get it right, I'll personally write you a oneshot. ('Course, you could try to persuade Ari to do it too, or for me/her/us to do something else, haha. Remember to say what you voted for in a pm or review so that I can dedicate it to you properly and we know who gets them! :D