Bonding Journey

The Awkward Situation

Striping down and placing his clothes into one of the bins, Gaara wrapped a towel around his waist before heading in to reunite with the knucklehead. One foot after the other, he entered the spring, orbs scouting out the area.

Where the hell was Naruto? Goofing off again?

And sure enough, there he was---being as childish as ever. With his twig and berries dangling about, the blonde balanced his way from one large stone to another, and walking towards the middle, Gaara sat down in the water, muttering to himself.

"This must be my punishment. Oh how I've sinned--"

"What are ya sittin' down for huh? C'mon, I've learned a few things from Pervy Sage if you catch my drift.~"

"Last I checked this was a hot spring, not a peeping tom parade. I'm not about to let you get me killed," the Kazekage muttered, sinking down into the water, hues closing.

Maybe he could... drown him. Just until he was unconscious for a few days. That wouldn't hurt, right?

"Staying still is so boring though. We can rest later; I promise I won't get you killed. My adrenaline's pumpin' faster than a tornado!"

And with that, Naruto reached down and latched onto the male's arm, yanking him up onto the stone with a grin. Gaara's patience was just about gone; it took everything in him not to go through with his malicious plan.

Giving a final sigh, the sand shinobi moved to step onto the stone. There was no point in fighting; this was a battle he couldn't win. If only though, his movement's had gone smoothly, but alas, he lost his footing. He stumbled, crashing and knocking the boy off his feet---thankfully he was able to cushion the fall with his hands, though he couldn't say the same for Naruto.

Towels had unraveled, plummeting to the steaming waters below.

As optics focused in on the current situation, Gaara's mouth went dry. Not a word was uttered, and it seemed that Naruto---the non-stop yapper---fell silent as well.

It was the perfect movie scene.

With hands resting near either side of the blonde's head, the Kazekage hovered above him, and already, the awkward atmosphere was beginning to take its root. They were close... too close for comfort in fact---why, with their faces but a few centimeters away, Naruto could feel Gaara's breath, and in turn, Gaara could feel his.

"...."

Still not a single word was uttered.

Ocean blues flickered up to meet sea greens, lips pressing into a thin line as the Leaf shinobi began to fumble with his fingertips.

What the hell was up with this position? It was so... awkward.

For what seemed like the first time in forever, Naruto had Gaara's full attention.

Maybe he wasn't thinking straight... or maybe he'd gotten himself caught up in the moment, but... he found himself leaning up, inching those last few centimeters closer before lips eventually connected with his fellow ninja's.

The sudden action seemed to throw Gaara for a loop---eyes widening. Meanwhile, Naruto pulled away from the kiss just as quickly as he'd given it, and for the longest time he laid there, hues gawking up at that oh so familiar figure he knew so well... until realization hit him like a rock. Hard. His eyes widened like saucers, hands flopping about like a fish out of water.