The Burning, Chapter 2
Here we are! Same warnings apply: violence, sexuality, rated M, yaoi, blah blah. Gaara/Naruto (woo hoo!).
Gaara sat down at his desk, closing his eyes. He let out a long, shaky sigh, fingers pressed against his temples. He mentally cursed Tsunade for sending Naruto on this particular mission; then, with a sweet flash of painful pleasure, he remembered how his heart had leapt at the sight of Naruto's smile, and silently thanked the Hokage, feeling a little guilty.
He shook his head abruptly to clear his thoughts and stood, fists tightening in resolve. He was the one who was weak, not Naruto. He loved being around Konoha's loudest ninja and knew Naruto enjoyed his company too; he couldn't let this new thing interfere with their friendship. Friendship was too mild a word, he decided, for his obligation to Naruto which he counted as important as his own life... because Naruto had saved his life. Before he met Naruto, before that day when a tear-streaked and exhausted blond boy had crawled toward Gaara on his belly - determined to defend his friends, yet weeping for Gaara, his enemy... before Naruto, it was worse than living in hell.
And now? It was almost like Shukaku had returned. Once again, Gaara was not the master of his own body, of his own thoughts. When he became Kazekage, his tenuous control of the tailed beast had morphed (by necessity) into iron bonds. His control could never slip, even in battle, because his own life was the least of the things he could lose. His own emotions had become his ultimate enemy.
Oh, he knew Shukaku was gone now. He knew this was something different. But he simply was not used to being out of control of his thoughts and feelings. Not anymore. And being out of control here would mean... acting upon the urges he had... the urges that were so overpowering, urges that ranged from a single caress to the desire to throw his friend down and ... what? What did he want to do with Naruto, exactly? He knew that shinobi coupled. He knew what appendages went into which orifices, along with some of the unique physical challenges that went along with different kinds of lovemaking. It's just that... this was Naruto. Naruto was special. He couldn't picture himself talking about those things with his best friend, let alone trying them. What if Naruto went away? What would he do then? He could never forgive himself.
Gaara could count on one hand the people he had intentionally physically touched with his own hands during his life. Craving touch was new to him. Over the course of the last several months, he felt something tug at his insides when he saw couples hold hands or kiss. The same thing tugged at his insides when he thought about Naruto. On the rare occasions when they saw each other, it had become progressively harder to hide, as he had just demonstrated.
The desires he had were not the worst part, though. To some extent, his desire had to be normal. No, the worst part was that he felt so alone. As much as he loved his brother and sister, he hadn't been able to bring himself to confide in them on his newfound obsession. Gaara had learned, since the demon was gone, that he could bear just about anything - including death - if he felt he could confide in someone about it. That didn't mean he wanted to talk about it or even that he ever would; just the fact that he felt he could, was enough. The trouble here was that he felt he couldn't talk to anyone about this particular interest. He was not only a Kage, but the youngest and arguably the most controversial Kage ever; he'd had enough trouble being taken seriously as it was, without letting personal information slip which could only set ridiculous rumors a-flying. And unquestionably, the person he felt safest around was Naruto. Thus, his dilemma.
He sat back down, then abruptly jumped up and began pacing. This would never do. If he could not concentrate on his work, he would head to the training grounds. That would burn off some of this nervous energy and restore his faith in his precious, precious control.
-----
Naruto's teeth bared in a snarl, eyes red, pupils mere slits. Gaara was not easily intimidated, but seeing Naruto like this - the feral fox, focused on the kill - made him shrink inside just a little.
Outwardly, there was no sign of his feelings. The Kazekage stood in his customary pose, arms crossed, gaze unflinching. Sand rotated around him in slow, graceful waves.
Naruto charged, speeding into a blur: "RASENGAN!" Faster than thought, the sand contracted into a living wall. Even through the sand, Gaara could feel the heat, the burn of Naruto's jutsu, and he was surprised. But the sand held. Then, unexpectedly, he felt a different warmth just behind his left ear - a warmth he recognized as breath, then the point of something cold against the flexible steel of his sand armor.
"Gotcha, Gaara," Naruto growled. Gaara froze, a fiery tingling shooting to the base of his spine at the sound of Naruto's voice so close to him. The sand armor disintegrated. Gaara wondered vaguely why in all the hells the sand hadn't stopped Naruto...and then realized that it must be because Naruto was not a threat. Naruto just wanted to be close to him. His intrusion was welcome.
In the blink of an eye, Gaara had deflected the kunai and hurled his friend to the ground. The sand helpfully cushioned their fall. Naruto responded to Gaara's new attack by shredding Gaara's thick Kage robes with his clawed hands even as Gaara destroyed the zippers and fasteners on Naruto's jacket and pants, assisted again by the ever-present sand.
Growls tore open Gaara's own throat for a change. He pinned Naruto's wrists to his sides, attacking his throat and chest with hard kisses and harder bites. There was no fear, no shame in the eyes of the fox, only defiance and the excitement of the hunt. When Gaara fastened on a nipple, Naruto screeched and bucked wildly under the Kazekage, trying to force him off. Gaara backed off a bit but continued to punish Naruto's body with his hungry mouth and bold teeth ... and the lower he went, the more Naruto's bestial growls transformed into silky, deep-throated moans. By the time Gaara made it to the soft thicket of blond curls, licking now rather than biting, he discovered he had released Naruto's wrists. Naruto's hands fisted forcefully in the Kazekage's flame-red hair, a torch in the light of the setting sun; Gaara was clumsy and he choked and gagged, but managed to keep going when the blond shinobi thrust upward, helpless in the grip of his passion.
"Gaara," Naruto sighed - and without warning, the tables turned: with a surge of muscle, the blond shinobi threw Gaara to one side, overwhelming the smaller man and trapping his wrists. Clawed fingers interlaced with Gaara's, and for a few brief moments Gaara felt the delicious friction of Naruto's golden skin.
Still gripping Gaara's hands, Naruto shifted his weight until he could lick and nip at Gaara's sensitive length. Gaara gasped, losing all sense of down and up, left and right, time and space and orientation; he was aware only of the pure, raw sensation touching the insides of his insides, the core of his core. He felt himself being lifted, as if he weighed no more than a doll - and then slammed down again... impaled on something hard, wet, and warm. He screamed aloud, feeling like he was being torn apart, then screamed again as Naruto thrust upward, into him, into a place deep inside that hit like an electric shock of pure pleasure. Gaara's body jerked, his limbs out of his control. He was vaguely aware of being cradled in Naruto's warm arms, supported on his friend's warm lap, riding the waves of pain and pleasure, his erection sliding slickly against the soft skin of Naruto's belly. One muscular arm encircled Gaara's ribs, while the fingers of the other hand tenderly wove into Gaara's hair, forcing the Kazekage to look deep into his eyes... eyes that were once again as blue as the cloudless sky. "Gaara," Naruto whispered thickly, "I - I can't..." His eyes rolled upward in his skull, head snapping back in the loudest, longest scream Gaara had ever heard; his thrusts became spasms, hard and quick. Triggered by his own sensations as much as his partner's obvious display of pleasure, Gaara felt himself exploding, unfurling, consumed by shockwave after shockwave, on fire, burning...
He jerked awake in absolute darkness. Sand shell, he realized. The front of his shorts was soaked in gooey warmth. The elation of the dream was quickly replaced by annoyance. Just a dream, he thought. It wasn't his first wet dream, but it was the first time he'd had one that was so detailed. Shukaku-induced insomnia gone, he was used to sleeping peacefully about half the time.
He reached out and brushed the inside of the shield with a single finger. He was absurdly touched by the sand's protection of him when there was no actual threat; that was something that happened very rarely. The darkness and warmth were welcome.
Finally, he dissolved the shield, letting in the cool silence of the night. He willed the sand back into the gourd. The moon was setting; the streets were quiet, but not silent. He got up to change, cleaning himself off in a cursory fashion with the old garment before tossing it in the basket. He wondered why he wasn't more embarrassed. Perhaps the desire had clouded his mind. Perhaps he was making mountains out of sand dunes. He lay back down, deep in thought. Like a dog worrying an old bone, his mind returned to the one overwhelming question: Could he talk to Naruto about any of this? His mind flashed back to the dream-image of Naruto's golden body in the sunset, the feel of his smooth flesh. Gaara blushed, grateful for the solace of darkness and solitude.
Could he ever have this in real life? Other people did; then again, his life had hardly been ordinary. And also - with Naruto? His best friend, his most precious person, the one responsible for his rise to Kazekage, for his desire to protect all of Suna and embrace them as family? If he just explained what he wanted to do... like any other proposal he made as Kazekage... if he kept it cool and clinical, would Naruto go away? Would he flee outright, or simply cover the awkwardness with a smile, then avoid Gaara forever?
Gaara shrank to think about being so alone, never sharing himself, never seeing that smile or hearing that laugh. Unthinkable. He would not risk it.
He'd once heard his sister remark that the quickest way to get over someone was someone else. What about someone other than Naruto?
But who?
Gaara sat down at his desk, closing his eyes. He let out a long, shaky sigh, fingers pressed against his temples. He mentally cursed Tsunade for sending Naruto on this particular mission; then, with a sweet flash of painful pleasure, he remembered how his heart had leapt at the sight of Naruto's smile, and silently thanked the Hokage, feeling a little guilty.
He shook his head abruptly to clear his thoughts and stood, fists tightening in resolve. He was the one who was weak, not Naruto. He loved being around Konoha's loudest ninja and knew Naruto enjoyed his company too; he couldn't let this new thing interfere with their friendship. Friendship was too mild a word, he decided, for his obligation to Naruto which he counted as important as his own life... because Naruto had saved his life. Before he met Naruto, before that day when a tear-streaked and exhausted blond boy had crawled toward Gaara on his belly - determined to defend his friends, yet weeping for Gaara, his enemy... before Naruto, it was worse than living in hell.
And now? It was almost like Shukaku had returned. Once again, Gaara was not the master of his own body, of his own thoughts. When he became Kazekage, his tenuous control of the tailed beast had morphed (by necessity) into iron bonds. His control could never slip, even in battle, because his own life was the least of the things he could lose. His own emotions had become his ultimate enemy.
Oh, he knew Shukaku was gone now. He knew this was something different. But he simply was not used to being out of control of his thoughts and feelings. Not anymore. And being out of control here would mean... acting upon the urges he had... the urges that were so overpowering, urges that ranged from a single caress to the desire to throw his friend down and ... what? What did he want to do with Naruto, exactly? He knew that shinobi coupled. He knew what appendages went into which orifices, along with some of the unique physical challenges that went along with different kinds of lovemaking. It's just that... this was Naruto. Naruto was special. He couldn't picture himself talking about those things with his best friend, let alone trying them. What if Naruto went away? What would he do then? He could never forgive himself.
Gaara could count on one hand the people he had intentionally physically touched with his own hands during his life. Craving touch was new to him. Over the course of the last several months, he felt something tug at his insides when he saw couples hold hands or kiss. The same thing tugged at his insides when he thought about Naruto. On the rare occasions when they saw each other, it had become progressively harder to hide, as he had just demonstrated.
The desires he had were not the worst part, though. To some extent, his desire had to be normal. No, the worst part was that he felt so alone. As much as he loved his brother and sister, he hadn't been able to bring himself to confide in them on his newfound obsession. Gaara had learned, since the demon was gone, that he could bear just about anything - including death - if he felt he could confide in someone about it. That didn't mean he wanted to talk about it or even that he ever would; just the fact that he felt he could, was enough. The trouble here was that he felt he couldn't talk to anyone about this particular interest. He was not only a Kage, but the youngest and arguably the most controversial Kage ever; he'd had enough trouble being taken seriously as it was, without letting personal information slip which could only set ridiculous rumors a-flying. And unquestionably, the person he felt safest around was Naruto. Thus, his dilemma.
He sat back down, then abruptly jumped up and began pacing. This would never do. If he could not concentrate on his work, he would head to the training grounds. That would burn off some of this nervous energy and restore his faith in his precious, precious control.
-----
Naruto's teeth bared in a snarl, eyes red, pupils mere slits. Gaara was not easily intimidated, but seeing Naruto like this - the feral fox, focused on the kill - made him shrink inside just a little.
Outwardly, there was no sign of his feelings. The Kazekage stood in his customary pose, arms crossed, gaze unflinching. Sand rotated around him in slow, graceful waves.
Naruto charged, speeding into a blur: "RASENGAN!" Faster than thought, the sand contracted into a living wall. Even through the sand, Gaara could feel the heat, the burn of Naruto's jutsu, and he was surprised. But the sand held. Then, unexpectedly, he felt a different warmth just behind his left ear - a warmth he recognized as breath, then the point of something cold against the flexible steel of his sand armor.
"Gotcha, Gaara," Naruto growled. Gaara froze, a fiery tingling shooting to the base of his spine at the sound of Naruto's voice so close to him. The sand armor disintegrated. Gaara wondered vaguely why in all the hells the sand hadn't stopped Naruto...and then realized that it must be because Naruto was not a threat. Naruto just wanted to be close to him. His intrusion was welcome.
In the blink of an eye, Gaara had deflected the kunai and hurled his friend to the ground. The sand helpfully cushioned their fall. Naruto responded to Gaara's new attack by shredding Gaara's thick Kage robes with his clawed hands even as Gaara destroyed the zippers and fasteners on Naruto's jacket and pants, assisted again by the ever-present sand.
Growls tore open Gaara's own throat for a change. He pinned Naruto's wrists to his sides, attacking his throat and chest with hard kisses and harder bites. There was no fear, no shame in the eyes of the fox, only defiance and the excitement of the hunt. When Gaara fastened on a nipple, Naruto screeched and bucked wildly under the Kazekage, trying to force him off. Gaara backed off a bit but continued to punish Naruto's body with his hungry mouth and bold teeth ... and the lower he went, the more Naruto's bestial growls transformed into silky, deep-throated moans. By the time Gaara made it to the soft thicket of blond curls, licking now rather than biting, he discovered he had released Naruto's wrists. Naruto's hands fisted forcefully in the Kazekage's flame-red hair, a torch in the light of the setting sun; Gaara was clumsy and he choked and gagged, but managed to keep going when the blond shinobi thrust upward, helpless in the grip of his passion.
"Gaara," Naruto sighed - and without warning, the tables turned: with a surge of muscle, the blond shinobi threw Gaara to one side, overwhelming the smaller man and trapping his wrists. Clawed fingers interlaced with Gaara's, and for a few brief moments Gaara felt the delicious friction of Naruto's golden skin.
Still gripping Gaara's hands, Naruto shifted his weight until he could lick and nip at Gaara's sensitive length. Gaara gasped, losing all sense of down and up, left and right, time and space and orientation; he was aware only of the pure, raw sensation touching the insides of his insides, the core of his core. He felt himself being lifted, as if he weighed no more than a doll - and then slammed down again... impaled on something hard, wet, and warm. He screamed aloud, feeling like he was being torn apart, then screamed again as Naruto thrust upward, into him, into a place deep inside that hit like an electric shock of pure pleasure. Gaara's body jerked, his limbs out of his control. He was vaguely aware of being cradled in Naruto's warm arms, supported on his friend's warm lap, riding the waves of pain and pleasure, his erection sliding slickly against the soft skin of Naruto's belly. One muscular arm encircled Gaara's ribs, while the fingers of the other hand tenderly wove into Gaara's hair, forcing the Kazekage to look deep into his eyes... eyes that were once again as blue as the cloudless sky. "Gaara," Naruto whispered thickly, "I - I can't..." His eyes rolled upward in his skull, head snapping back in the loudest, longest scream Gaara had ever heard; his thrusts became spasms, hard and quick. Triggered by his own sensations as much as his partner's obvious display of pleasure, Gaara felt himself exploding, unfurling, consumed by shockwave after shockwave, on fire, burning...
He jerked awake in absolute darkness. Sand shell, he realized. The front of his shorts was soaked in gooey warmth. The elation of the dream was quickly replaced by annoyance. Just a dream, he thought. It wasn't his first wet dream, but it was the first time he'd had one that was so detailed. Shukaku-induced insomnia gone, he was used to sleeping peacefully about half the time.
He reached out and brushed the inside of the shield with a single finger. He was absurdly touched by the sand's protection of him when there was no actual threat; that was something that happened very rarely. The darkness and warmth were welcome.
Finally, he dissolved the shield, letting in the cool silence of the night. He willed the sand back into the gourd. The moon was setting; the streets were quiet, but not silent. He got up to change, cleaning himself off in a cursory fashion with the old garment before tossing it in the basket. He wondered why he wasn't more embarrassed. Perhaps the desire had clouded his mind. Perhaps he was making mountains out of sand dunes. He lay back down, deep in thought. Like a dog worrying an old bone, his mind returned to the one overwhelming question: Could he talk to Naruto about any of this? His mind flashed back to the dream-image of Naruto's golden body in the sunset, the feel of his smooth flesh. Gaara blushed, grateful for the solace of darkness and solitude.
Could he ever have this in real life? Other people did; then again, his life had hardly been ordinary. And also - with Naruto? His best friend, his most precious person, the one responsible for his rise to Kazekage, for his desire to protect all of Suna and embrace them as family? If he just explained what he wanted to do... like any other proposal he made as Kazekage... if he kept it cool and clinical, would Naruto go away? Would he flee outright, or simply cover the awkwardness with a smile, then avoid Gaara forever?
Gaara shrank to think about being so alone, never sharing himself, never seeing that smile or hearing that laugh. Unthinkable. He would not risk it.
He'd once heard his sister remark that the quickest way to get over someone was someone else. What about someone other than Naruto?
But who?