Author's Note: Well, my husband and I are officially homeless as of Saturday morning. We're both pretty oddly okay with it though. It's kind of crazy. We both have decent jobs, he even just got promoted, but now we get evicted. Thankfully some friends from church helped us move our stuff into storage and let us stay with them for a couple of days. Now we have a nice little rent by the week motel room while we look for something more permanent. On the plus side, this means I have wifi access outside of work so you get this chapter a day before I thought I'd be able to post it. ^_^ Think of it as a reward for all the great reviews you posted when I didn't even demand them as ransom. lol. Beware! There be fluff ahead! O_o'
Sandstorms and Falling Leaves
Chapter Twelve: Taking Time
Naruto was released from the hospital the next day. His health had improved rapidly, proving that having a demon locked inside you did have a few benefits. He still wasn't feeling up to his usual energy level but he knew he'd bounce back in no time. Gaara stayed with him the entire time, much to the consternation of the hospital staff and the amusement of the Hokage when she came to check on her favorite knucklehead before his release.
Naruto's friends had accepted her presence with varying levels of surprise, and in Nara's case indifference. Hinata had turned positively scarlet and let out a small squeak when she walked in and saw the redhead sleeping in the bed with him. Naruto had sheepishly gestured for her to be quiet and let the sand ninja rest. He had the feeling the ex-jinchuriki hadn't relaxed much while he was unconscious.
"Come on." Gaara tugged him away from the hospital as soon as they stepped outside. She knew just what would make him feel better quickly.
Naruto followed in her wake, still favoring his leg slightly as it now ached like a bad bruise. He grinned as he realized where she was taking him.
"Ichiraku!" He grinned and hugged the redhead happily. "Just what I need! You're the best, Gaara."
Gaara blushed at the praise and the pair ducked under the restaurant's curtains and took two of the empty seats at the counter.
"Naruto-kun!" The proprietor grinned at them. "And the Kazekage as well." He bowed to her and she nodded back. "What'll it be?"
Naruto ordered loudly, rubbing his hands together in anticipation and bouncing on his stool. Gaara placed her own order without ever taking her amused eyes off of her date.
"My treat." She told the hyperactive ninja with a small smirk.
"What? No...I can pay."
"No."
Naruto frowned but the bowl of ramen that appeared in front of him distracted him from saying anything further on the subject.
Gaara found herself rather hungry and ate two full bowls, while the blonde went through five. She paid the check while he was still eating so he couldn't continue to argue with her about it.
He frowned when he noticed what she had done but let it go, not wanting to spoil the day.
"Naruto! Oi!" Kiba waved as they left the ramen stand. "How're you doing?"
"Great!" The blonde grinned at the teen and his dog. He hadn't seen either of them in weeks. "Where have you been?"
"Had a mission. Can't say much about it. You know how it is sometimes." The dark haired boy shrugged. "Have you seen Hinata or Shino around? I wanted to let them know I'm back."
"Well, Hinata visited me in the hospital yesterday. I haven't seen Shino in a while." The leaf genin thought back.
"They both visited." Gaara told him quietly.
Her voice drew Kiba's attention, before he could ask what the resilient jinchuriki was doing in the hospital, and he studied her figure intently. Gaara resisted the urge to fidget self-consciously. She was wearing a short green skirt, black leggings, and a plain, close-fitting white shirt. It was what her sister had come up with when she had asked to be brought a change of clothes. Gaara had the feeling her oldest sibling had way too much fun making her look like the girl she now was, but she hadn't bothered to protest. Sometimes it was wiser to pick one's battles with Temari, though now she was beginning to regret letting the blonde girl have free reign with her wardrobe.
"So who's your friend?" The hound master asked with a sharp toothed grin.
Gaara raised an eyebrow at his tone but let Naruto field the question.
"Oh...you don't recognize her?" The blonde asked curiously. "This is Gaara...my uh...girlfriend." He wasn't sure why he added that last part, something in him didn't like the way Kiba was looking the redhead over.
The girl blushed at his words, but she really couldn't object since she had used her status as his girlfriend to secure her right to stay with him in the hospital. 'And Ino came to visit so everyone probably already knows by now anyway.' She thought dryly. 'Except this one apparently.' The redhead amended her thought upon seeing Kiba's expression of confusion.
Kiba blinked, looking at her face more closely and taking an uncomfortable step back. "Gaara...Suna's Kazekage Gaara? That Gaara?" He sputtered. "I thought you were a guy..." He scratched his head, opening his mouth to ask any number of questions he had popping up in his head.
"Long story. Ask Ino." The redhead offered with a small shrug, before grabbing Naruto's hand and pulling him away from the befuddled teen.
The blonde's laughter echoed down the street as he followed her gamely.
They stopped a few streets away. Gaara hadn't really had any destination in mind other than away from Kiba. Now she wasn't sure where they should go.
"Naruto..."
"Yeah?" The blonde prompted when she hesitated.
"What do couples do on dates here?" The redhead asked with a light blush staining her pale skin.
"Oh...is this...I mean...right. Well, uh...I don't really know. Um...you're actually the first girl I've ever really dated." He admitted, rubbing his neck.
"Oh...good."
The leaf genin frowned in confusion. "Good? What do you mean?"
"It makes us sort of...even."
"Oh...um...Okay then. What would you like to do?"
"I...I'd like to go somewhere we can be alone."
The blonde thought for a minute. "I do know one place...there isn't usually anyone up there. Come on."
Ten minutes later, they were perched on top of the fourth Hokage's stone visage, looking out over the bustling village. Naruto had been right, no one was visiting the scenic spot except them. It was peaceful and, for a little while they sat in comfortable silence, just enjoying the view.
Naruto reached over and took her hand. "Someday, my face is gonna be up here you know." He said confidently.
Temari's words echoed through the redhead's skull and she scowled slightly at the intrusion on their date. Still, maybe they did need to talk about it. They'd said they would fight for their relationship but they'd never discussed how hard that fight could actually get.
"Naruto. Have you thought about..." She shook her head, that didn't feel like the right question. "What..." She took a deep breath and looked away from his increasingly confused face. "When you think about your future, am I in it?"
"Of course!" The hyperactive teen blurted immediately.
She held up her hand to stop him. "Think about it, really think. How would this work if you become Hokage and I return to Suna...if I remain Kazekage? We would never get to see each other. Not to mention the objections the councils would no doubt raise..." She trailed off, a little sadly.
"Gaara..." The blonde reached for her and pulled her into a hug. "If and when you go back...if the council accepts you as Kazekage again, and they'd have to be idiots not to..." He grinned into her hair. "Well, then I'll just have to come with you."
"You...That would mean giving up on becoming Hokage...I can't let you do that." She protested, trying halfheartedly to pull away. "I will not let you give up on your dreams for my sake. You would end up hating me for it later."
"I don't think I could hate you if I wanted to." The blonde smiled sheepishly. "Besides, you could be Kazekage for a while...ten or twenty years maybe, then we could move back here and I could become Hokage. We're still young, we've got plenty of time to do anything we set our minds to."
Gaara sat back and looked at him, her eyes going wide in amazement. 'He really believes it could be that easy...maybe with him it could be.' She found herself starting to smile back at him, the optimism oddly contagious. "How do you do that?" She asked curiously with just a hint of fondness.
"Do what?" Naruto blinked at her, utterly clueless.
"Make everything sound so certain..so easy."
He shrugged. "Because...if you want something bad enough, if you are determined enough, things will eventually go your way."
"Hmph." She snorted a brief laugh. His statement wasn't entirely true in her experience. Still, the way he said that, you'd never know what a difficult life the young man had had. It was actually pretty astounding to the generally pragmatic redhead. "I love you, Naruto." The words slipped out easily and she was surprised to realize how much she meant them.
The blonde's teasing grin became a genuine smile as Gaara let the endearment slip out. "I love you too." He told her happily.
Gaara wasn't sure which of them leaned in first but she was aware the moment their lips met and it just felt right. His hand came up to tangle in her hair and his tongue darted out, licking her lips as if asking for permission to deepen the kiss. Permission she granted with pleasure.
The next few minutes were a blur of soft lips, busy tongues, and hesitantly wandering hands. When they finally broke apart, it was with obvious reluctance.
Naruto scooted away from her on the stone ledge, hoping that the small distance might help him reign in the hormones currently wreaking havoc on his self-control.
"We...we should probably head back." Gaara announced, not looking at the blonde for fear she might give in to the urge to kiss him again. "Before my brother and sister come looking for me."
That was just what Naruto needed to cool his ardor. "Yeah. Let's get you home. I'm sure after hanging around the hospital for so long, you probably want to shower and...er..." His logic failed him as the word shower conjured up images more powerful than the threats of her siblings. "Uh..."
"Naruto are you okay?" She frowned at the teen curiously.
"Yeah, fine." He choked out, pushing himself to his feet and reaching down to pull her up.
She accepted the hand, more for an excuse to touch him than because she needed any help rising. The young couple walked away, heading down the winding path that would lead to the village, hand in hand.
Neither noticed the two figures hidden in the bushes.
"Is it too late to revisit the idea of killing him in his sleep?" Kankuro asked grimly, once the pair was out of earshot.
"Probably...You heard her. She's in love with him...and you know she'd know it was us." Temari replied dryly.
"Then I guess we don't have any choice." The hooded teen admitted sourly.
"Yeah, I know." The eldest agreed with a sigh.
The sibling pair took off in separate directions, Kankuro to continue following his younger sister as her guard and Temari to figure out how best to achieve the goal they had just agreed upon.
To Be Continued...
Author's note: It is a bit short and well, sappy, but I didn't want to lump it in with the next section and I was feeling the romance. lol. Next chapter gets into training for the upcoming finals in the chunin exam (no prelims this time since only a dozen applicants passed). Gaara needs to get back to work too if she's ever gonna unlock her blocked chakra network and Temari and Kankuro...let's just say they'll be around though their nefarious plot may take a while to bear fruit. ^_^' I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please review. I won't demand a ransom this time...but I can't say they won't encourage me to finish editing the next chapter more quickly. *winks* lol