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Hot Sand	By : promise2003 Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Gaara/Naruto Views: 3053 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
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Hot Sand
by Lemon Drops
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Authors Note: Get some crackers people, lots of cheese this
chapter, it might actually make you cry too (or am I the only overly emotional
person, because I actually cried as I wrote part of this�it was so sappy). I hope that you people are
still liking this, it is getting all kinds of silly romantic on ya (good thing since I have a planned twist coming up that
some of you will probably shoot me for).

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Chapter 14: Naruto Proposes

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Naruto sat at the Hokage�s desk, furiously scribbling away
on a piece of parchment, trying his best to make the letter look better than
his usual scrawl. Looking over it Naruto
blew on the ink gently to help it dry faster.
The blond man read his letter one more time before smiling and folding
the paper in order to put it into a small envelope.

The door of the Hokage office opened and in strutted
Tsunade, smiling that her younger counterpart had returned safely from his
latest trip to sand. �Hi brat, how was
your trip?�

�It was great, and I have a surprise for you!� Naruto
excitedly told the older Hokage.

Tsunade looked at him quizzically, trying to decipher what
Naruto had up his sleeve. �Spill it boy,
I don�t have all day.�

�Well, first Gaara and I got Sakura and Kankuro together, so
no more man-hating, mopey Sakura with a penchant for
murdering people slowly with sewing pins.
Second, and this is the one that will blow your mind, I�m getting
married.�

Tsunade could do little more than stand in front of her
Hokage apprentice and stare blankly at him, did Naruto say he was getting married?

�Tsunade?�

�Wait�let me get this straight, you are getting married to Gaara? Are you serious, brat?� Tsunade skeptically
asked as she folded her arms over her bountiful breasts to demonstrate her
disbelief.

�Yep, me and old sandy pants, together for the rest of our
lives, can you believe it?�

Tsunade shook her head and chuckled, little could have
prepared her for such an announcement, but she was slowly taking it in. As much of a shock that Naruto marrying Gaara
was, Tsunade was sure that she could one-up him if she chose to disclose the
information she had about Sasuke and Kakashi�s secret relationship. The female Hokage had known for a long time
how much Naruto pined after his teammate, going to the ends of the lands to
drag the Uchiha�s sorry ass back to Konoha.
Finding out that Sasuke admittance to having homosexual tendencies just
barely beat out the fact Naruto was getting married. Tsunade considered relinquishing the
information, but thought better of it when she reflected on how it might
overshadow Naruto�s happy announcement.

There would be plenty of time for Naruto to learn of Sasuke�s sexual
orientation later, hopefully after he married the Kazekage.

�You want to tell me how the hell you two are going to do a
long distance marriage? It was difficult
enough when he was just your boyfriend, usually marriage requires less miles
between the people who are involved in that particular sacred union.�

Naruto smirked, it was a good thing he already fixed this
problem, and it was the last surprise that the younger Hokage had for the older
woman. �Well, I did happen to procure an
advisor while I was in Suna. He might be
able to help us out around here. I know
how busy we are, and if you retire then I�ll definitely need the assistance.�

�Don�t want Shizune after I�m
gone, brat?� Tsunade snapped.

�Not as much as Gaara, no,� Naruto quipped back. �He�s my
new head advisor, so you better treat him nicer than you treat me and Shizune. Temari has
been named the new Kazekage, so I guess we�ll have to start looking for a
person to fill Shikamaru�s position. I�m sure he�ll want to join his wife in Suna
seeing as married people don�t like to be apart.�

The female Hokage grinned, very pleased to hear Naruto had
already solved all the problems which could arise due to his engagement to
Gaara. Tsunade was also excited about
the thought of another female Kage. It would help even things out when meeting
with the men of the other villages to have Temari on Tsunade�s side, especially
for the villages who thought poorly of their female residents, assuming that
women were less capable than men.

�You leave tomorrow for the chunin exams, are you ready to
see this year�s Konohan talent? I hear that we have a pretty good crop of
genin. Two teams of Konoha�s finest have
made it to the elimination round of the test.

That is almost as good as your year�there�s even a team of rookies who
have made it though,� Tsunade boasted.

Naruto grinned, of course he knew about the genin. He had personally overseen some of their
training, taking time out of his busy schedule to work with the youngsters
personally like Jiraiya had done for him.
�Yep, it looks to be a good set of matches. We might even have a few in the finals this
year.�

�I sure hope so, we are running a bit low on chunin, and it
wouldn�t hurt to have them perform well and make a good impression. That would bring in some more business to the

Konohan economy.
Less work for you and me, brat, if they do.�

Naruto rolled his eyes at Tsunade�s little pet name for him,
he had secretly hoped that when he became Hokage she would finally drop the
annoying title he�d received from her as a teen, but alas it stuck even though
he was now the most powerful ninja in Konoha.
Gathering the things he�d finished for the party, Naruto hurried off,
waving goodbye at Tsunade as he went.
�See you at the party,� he called before shutting the door behind himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara watched the snow falling outside as the sun set on
Konoha. Watching as large, heavy flakes
fluttered down and settled on the ground and trees which surrounded the Hokage
Tower was a hypnotizing site, especially
at this time of day. If this was what
life was like in Konoha, Gaara could definitely handle it. The thought of watching beautiful things like
this with Naruto was a particularly nice idea, and the redhead wished that
Naruto would return from the errands he was running.

The party to publicize the peacekeeping campaign was
scheduled for later in the evening, mostly so some jonin could make it back
from missions to hear the announcement.
The former Kazakage wasn�t sure why Naruto insisted on so many people
being there, but he did suppose it was important enough to drag some of his
jonin and chunin home.

It was a ninja�s job and duty to fight, kill, and
protect. With peace, there would be less
of that. As much as Gaara wanted the
wars to stop and needless death to be a thing of the past, there was still part
of him that knew how essential fighting still was. Not that there weren�t plenty of rogue ninja
which village shinobi could go after, and given enough time it was possible
there could be a shift in the focus of the hidden villages, working more toward
peaceful exploits instead of deadly ones.

The door opened and Naruto stepped inside, still covered in
large, white flakes, especially on his eyelashes and in his hair. Taking a towel from the linen closet, Gaara
walked over to Naruto and began drying his partner off carefully, until Naruto
stopped him by firmly grabbing one of his wrists and pulling the redhead in to
a smoldering kiss.

Breaking apart Naruto murmured, �Don�t bother, we�re going
straight back out.�

�We?� Gaara asked, confused since
the party was only about an hour and forty-five minutes away.

�Yes, take a walk with me, love. I have some things to show you, it won�t take
long.�

Naruto handed Gaara a small envelope and smiled at him. Confused Gaara examined it closely and then
began to open. Naruto had turned away
to fetch some warmer clothes for the ex-Kazekage, specifically a coat and
scarf.

�Hey, no�wait!� Naruto hollered at Gaara from the doorway of
his coat closet. �That�s for later. Sorry, forgot to tell you that. Put it in your pocket.�

Gaara�s aqua eyes portrayed how confused the man was, but
listened as he placed it in one of his vest pockets. Naruto pulled out a warm coat which was a bit
big on Gaara, helping his lover into it as the two prepared to go out into the
snow and cold.

�Where are we going?� Gaara asked.

�A few places that are important to me�I want to show them
to you,� Naruto explained as he slipped an odd looking pair of mittens onto the
former Kazekage�s fingers, then took Gaara�s gloved hand in his own.

�Oh, I�ve seen most of Konoha,� Gaara murmured as he
contemplated what Naruto was doing�there had to be more to it than just showing
him parts of Konoha.

�Yeah, you�ve probably seen these places too, but you might
want to know why they are so important to me.
As my future husband you need
to know.�

Gaara nodded and followed Naruto out into the cold
early-winter night. The first place the
two men stopped was an old apartment complex, the one where the blond youngster
had grown up all by himself. Gaara knew
this place well, and had visited Naruto here on many occasions during their
teen years.

�I was alone��

Gaara watched as Naruto quietly looked up at the window
which used to be the Hokage�s, and started to explain something that was so
important it made Naruto�s eyes well up with tears.

�I always assumed I would be alone forever, but then there
was Iruka, and then Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi. You were next, and then so many other
people. I�m glad I�m not alone anymore,
but it was important that I was. If I
hadn�t experienced that I wouldn�t be the person I am today�I might not with
you.�

With those words a tear really did fall down Naruto�s cheek,
and Gaara tried to capture it with a fuzzy orange animal mitten, making Naruto
chuckle in the process.

�I think had I not experienced what I did,
I would have never understood what you went through. What if I hadn�t, Gaara? We would have never fought, never become
friends, you probably would have died back when Shukaku was removed, or you
might have killed me without remorse.

Some things are just serendipitous, so I was meant to feel alone and to
know pain so I could help you when the time was right.�

Gaara�s eyes were focused on the scarf around Naruto�s neck, the strip of knitted yarn was so much easier to look
at than Naruto�s face, which spoke of so many levels of love that it was
overwhelming to the other man. Naruto
saw the distracted man beside him and cupped Gaara�s chin in his hand, bringing
Gaara�s eyes up to his own. The former
Kazekage was also fighting back tears as Naruto reminisced of days past and
loneliness which the sand-nin had also dealt with for most of his childhood.

Giving Gaara a quick hug and kiss, Naruto continued on his
little tour of Konoha with his fianc�.
The next stop was Hokage Mountain,
where all the faces of former and current Hokages
were carved into its side. Naruto�s had
been added only eighteen months prior, making it the newest addition to the
legacy.

�I dreamt about becoming Hokage since I was little boy. I wanted to prove to everyone just how strong
I really was. The funny thing is how I
thought I would never have another dream which I wanted as much as that�but I
do.�

Gaara swallowed as Naruto started putting him on another
emotional rollercoaster, because the ex-Kazekage knew exactly where the Hokage
was taking this conversation. Gaara
wasn�t sure why Naruto was trying to make him cry, but the sand-nin
successfully held back tears again (at least for the time being). Gaara of the Desert didn�t cry, but then
again he was human�and humans shed tears, especially when the ones they loved
were being so tender and sweet.

�My new dream, which is more important than being Hokage, is
to spend the rest of my life with you, Gaara.
All of the days I have left, freely given to you so we
can raise a family and then grow old and wrinkly together. That�s what I want Gaara, to be with you�more
than anything,� Naruto said softly as he pulled Gaara down into a soft
kiss. It was Naruto�s mitted hand this time which brushed wetness off of his
lover�s cheek. He smiled and told Gaara
there was one more place.

The last location was farther out of the village in the Konohan training grounds.
Gaara was confused to why Naruto had come to a single stone in the
middle of nowhere, but silently waited for the Hokage to speak.

�The very first day I trained with my team we were
here. Kakashi told me that this stone
had the names of Konoha�s finest heroes engraved upon it. I thought it was cool, and I wanted so badly
to be the kind of hero who had his name written in stone for all time. I was stupid back then, because I had no
idea��

Gaara watched as Naruto touched a few of the names,
specifically the name of the fourth Hokage.
Naruto sighed, this part was so difficult to explain, but he had to try.

�I�m the Hokage�I will give my life for Konoha if I need
to. I will fight and protect my people
with everything I have, and that might mean I could die very young. I want to tell you now how much I love
you. If I ever do lose my life, know
that I�m sorry for having such a duty.

It�s my life, Gaara, and I wish more than anything for us to have
decades together, but we might not. So,
I love you, and I�ll protect you��

Gaara pulled Naruto to him, embracing the blond man with an
inhuman grip, whispering fiercely, �I will protect you also. Together�we will protect Konoha and Suna and
everything together.�

�Yes, we will,� Naruto told his fianc� before kissing him
again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The party was already in full swing. As much as it was a way for Naruto to
announce his important new political avenue of peace, it was more about fun and
relaxation for the Hokage, Gaara, their friends and the important people of
Konoha. The one nice thing about Leaf
was everyone knew how to have a good time.
There was sake, food, a bit of music, and a lot of friends gathered in
one location. It was definitely a
successful venture for the younger Hokage, who had yet to show up.

Kankuro and Sakura were talking with Tsunade quietly,
because they were the only ones who knew Gaara and Naruto were engaged. Whispers were shared between the elder Hokage
and her apprentice, smiling and discussing things about Naruto and Kankuro�s
brother. Specifically, Tsunade wanted to
know what kind of plates Kankuro thought Gaara would like to receive as a
wedding present. After Kankuro flat out
told her he had no idea what kind of taste his brother had, Tsunade decided to
buy them some expensive alcohol instead, it was more her style anyway.

The door to the banquet room opened and in waltzed Gaara and
Naruto, smiling at each other as they were greeted by many of the guests. Kakashi grinned devilishly at his former
student, knowing something was up by the way the two were covered in snow and
holding hands. The two men rarely made
any displays of affection in public, and never in front of such a large crowd,
but today they were simply glowing as they spoke with people. Even Gaara looked a bit less frightening than
he normally did, letting a smile drop here and there, which was a bit creepy to
Kakashi. Gaara of the Desert didn�t
smile, no�that was unheard of.

Naruto joked around with Kiba and Hinata, who were expecting
their first child. Gaara was speaking to
Shikamaru and some of his subordinates who worked with the Konohan
jonin, having what looked to be an enjoyable conversation. Naruto excused himself and Gaara so they
could divest themselves of the bulky and quite wet (thanks to the snow) coats
which they were wearing.

Finding their way to the coatroom, Gaara and Naruto
carefully stripped their coats, scarves, and mittens, then preened each other
before moving to return to the group.

They hadn�t made it out of the coatroom yet when Naruto pulled the
envelope out of Gaara�s vest and told him to open and read it after he made his
speech. Gaara smiled at Naruto and
nodded, holding it closely to him, making sure he wouldn�t loose it during the
chaotic party. As the two men opened the
door to the coatroom someone rushed in, bundled up tightly and covered in
snow.

�Woah, watch it there,� Naruto
warned as the other man almost collided with him.

Pulling off the coat and goggles which he had been wearing,
Sasuke muttered an apology when he realized who he had almost run into. Naruto grinned, since he hadn�t recognized
his friend.

�Hey, where have you been?
Did they send you out on a mission as an ANBU captain?� Naruto asked as he watched Sasuke remove the rest of his
winter-wear. Naruto hadn�t been informed
that Sasuke had failed his test yet, the Hokage only
assumed Sasuke had received the rank while he was away.

Sasuke huffed, �I failed Naruto, I didn�t just not get the position, I
failed.�

�Huh?� Naruto was
confused. �I don�t understand, you knew
the stuff better than any of the other applicants, there is no way you didn�t
get it.�

�Well I didn�t, I was�distracted,� Sasuke muttered as he
shoved past the couple and entered the party area.

�What was that about?� Gaara asked with a semi-concerned
look, something which rarely graced the Kazekage�s face.

�Don�t know,� was Naruto�s quiet reply.

Walking up onto the stage, Naruto clanged a pair of kunai together
in an annoying clash of metal on metal to get everyone�s attention. Sakura rolled her eyes, �That ruins perfectly
good blades,� she shouted at the Hokage (who didn�t seem to care).

After everyone quieted down Naruto began to speak, �Welcome
everybody, thanks for coming tonight.
I�m glad you are present to hear about my newest idea, and you can all
help yourselves to an informational scroll on the way out. Read it, it�ll tell you everything.�

The crowd chuckled, of course the real reason why they had
all been summoned was a secret, but everyone thought it was just Naruto finding
an excuse for some rowdy behavior. Some
conversation started again, but Naruto clanged the kunai together one more time
to shush the crowd.

�I have one more thing that I have to announce�well�� Naruto
blushed, something that the twenty-three year old man never did, but he was
definitely turning red as he looked down at Gaara standing in the front of the
crowd.

�I would like everyone to congratulate two people on new
positions they have recently received.
First, Temari,� Naruto started as he motioned for Gaara�s sister to join
him on the makeshift stage (which happened to be a long table at the front of
the room, much to the disdain of the banquet hall owner). Everyone had expected Naruto to announce a Konohan position for the blonde woman, but it was much more
shocking as Naruto continued.

�Temari has just accepted the position of Kazekage, so as
the Hokage I want to welcome her to my fellow elite.�

Murmurs ran through the crowd as Naruto told his friends
this, most people were shocked because they knew of Suna�s
laws against having more than one Kazekage at a time.

�How about you people try clapping instead of gossiping,�
Naruto ordered the crowd, annoyed that it was such a surprise. A rowdy round of applause sprung from the
group, led by Sakura, Kankuro, and Kiba who were hopping up and down and
whistling in a most unruly congratulatory manner.

�That�s better,� Naruto told everyone, and then he motioned
for Gaara to come up to where the Hokage and Temari were. Temari left and was replaced by her younger
brother. �The reason why Temari has
accepted the position of Kazekage is because Gaara will be coming to Konoha to
become my head advisor. Treat him nicely
people, or I will hunt you down and hurt you.�

Naruto was joking, and it got the group to laugh and clap
some more. Naruto shushed the Leaf ninja
one more time and reached into his pants pocket, turning to Gaara.

�I know you asked me, but I wanted to ask you as well,�
Naruto told Gaara with a smile as he dropped to one knee, holding a simple gold
ring in his fingers. �Gaara, will you
marry me?�

The room was completely silent after a few shocked gasps
fell from people�s lips. Everyone was
waiting intently to see what Gaara would say.
The former Kazekage�s face was as red as his hair and he glared at
Naruto, but then his gaze softened as he looked into Naruto�s eyes, remembering
all of the wonderful things they had shared earlier in the evening.

�You already said
yes,� Gaara mumbled, making Kankuro and Sakura snicker as Gaara attempted to be
defiant.

�And now I�m asking you,� was Naruto�s quick reply.

�Then I guess I should say yes,� Gaara told Naruto with a
smirk.

The group of onlookers erupted into another round of
whooping and hollering as Naruto placed the ring on Gaara�s finger and then
stood up to kiss his fianc�. It was
exactly what Gaara had secretly wanted, but he never would admit that to
Naruto.

The rest of the evening was filled with fun, sake, and
people just enjoying themselves. Most were drunk off of their asses, but there
were some (like those that had to travel to Rock in the morning or those who
were pregnant) who maintained their sobriety.

The room was overflowing with happy jonin and chunin, all except one
very heartbroken Uchiha Sasuke, who left the party shortly after Naruto proposed to Gaara.
There was only so much humiliation and heartbreak one man could take.

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END OF CHAPTER
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So, what did you think?
The letter�s contents will be revealed next chapter. Now comes the
drama. I forewarn you all, because if
you can probably just pretend that this is the end of the story if you don�t
want to have your heartstrings yanked from your chest.

See ya next chapter (which will be
either tomorrow or Thursday�check back, I promise that it will be up no later
than then).
- 13
- 14
- 15
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