Okay, so I know that I said I wouldn't upload any new chapters to Of Strength this week, or really any uploading at all. The problem was that I got majorly bored of not entertaining anyone with any stories. I've had this one sitting around on my flash drive for a while, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to put it up. This was where the original storyline I had planned for the story originated from, and as you can plainly see, this got so far deviated from that it wasn't even funny. But I still liked it because it was the first fic I finished.

It's not very long-it's only 57 pages, in fact; compared to my other multi-chapter story, which is +400 pages. It's just a simple plot, really. I guess one would call it kind of "fluffy". I don't know. What I do know is that I attempted at humor in it, and that it is predominantly romantic. The chapters are not long, and for the most part they're just cutesy. Also... I wrote lemons in it. Like I did with Of Strength, I'll give warning before the lemons really start. They're not in-depth and weird, like some of the lemons you can find on here ([Insert-Character-Name-Here] thrusted his d**k as hard as he could into [Insert-Character-Name-Here]'s wet p***y, reaching a speed of ninety mph), but still. They're not really for people under eighteen.

So here it is. Feel free to review if you want. I know the writing is not that great-it's an old story, after all-but I hope you enjoy nonetheless.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto.

Kankurō was uncommonly excited.

Gaara watched his usually cool, aloof brother uncharacteristically check the window, biting his lip and rubbing his earlobe irritably. His black eyes displayed happiness and excitement. His cat hat, which was usually kept still upon his head and untouched for the day until taken off at night, was cast aside on the ground carelessly, and he ran his hair through the brown hair he'd inherited from his mother.

Gaara sat in his chair, elbows on his desk. His aquamarine eyes observed his brother curiously. In all of his twenty years; he'd never seen Kankurō this excited. He hadn't even been this happy when receiving a puppet; and puppets were Kankurō's passion. His eyes followed Kankurō's anxious movements across the floor of his office. He could almost feel the tension radiating off of his brother's body.

"Kankurō," Gaara finally said, "What's wrong with you?"

Kankurō flinched; as if he hadn't really realized he was still in the room with his younger brother, the fifth Kazekage. "Huh?" he asked his brother stupidly, rubbing his hair again. "What ya talkin' about, Gaara?" Kankurō's mouth hung open like a baby waiting for food, and for probably the thousandth time in Gaara's life he figured his brother was an invalid, or at the very least the stupidest shinobi he'd ever come across.

"You're pacing, and you keep staring out the window. What're you so excited about? It's only a Kage summit," said Gaara, putting his chin on his knuckles.

Kankurō finally seemed to grasp what his brother was talking about, much to Gaara's irritation. "I just can't wait to hear Temari screaming at the bodyguards for stealing her food and taking up her space. If they thought a regular Temari was bad… try her pregnant." Kankurō shuddered to think that his sister, a woman who couldn't cook to save her life and seemed to be on constant PMS when it came to her emotions; was pregnant. He was, honestly, terrified of her.

Gaara did look forward to seeing her rant at the bodyguards. At some moments, even he was scared of his sister; and he was a cold-blooded murderer with the emotions of a rock. But he wasn't stupid; it wasn't what his brother was anxious about. He had the feeling that there was something else, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what.

The puppeteer once again went to the window; but this time a hint of a smile could be seen on his lips, confusing Gaara. "It seems that Konohagakure is early to this thing for once, Gaara," said Kankurō, turning to his brother. Gaara would've raised an eyebrow if he had any. The Leaf ninjas were always late—emphasis on always. The summit would begin, and they would arrive at least a full day later; armed with excuses.

Well, hell. At least the summit didn't start until the next day. He didn't have to wear those uncomfortable Kage robes. Gaara shuddered. The robes were itchy, not to mention over-sized for his rather short frame. He hated wearing them about as much as he hated Shukaku. Well, at least that demon was gone now.

"Should I greet him at the gate?" asked Gaara, the sand rising around him as he suggested transportation. Kankurō looked back out the window, squinting at the figure in red Kage robes.

"Nah…" said Kankurō after a minute, "It seems Matsuri and Temari have that covered for you…"

"Hn," said Gaara, letting the sand fall to his feet once again. He didn't really want to transport anyways. He felt so lazy, much like Temari's little lover. As much as he hated to admit it, the Nara male was rubbing off on him; influencing him to an almost uncomfortable amount. There were some days that Gaara found himself staring at the sky; though with the lack of clouds in the desert he didn't find it nearly as enjoyable as Shikamaru did.

Kankurō finally sat down, grabbing his cat hat off of the ground and placing it on his head. His kabuki paint gave an almost hilarious image of the twenty-two year old; though his sheer height and build stopped people from teasing him. Not that he would care. As the fourth Kazekage's son, he'd learned to ignore the whispers and taunts of the people subjected to the Kage's rulings.

Kankurō's ear twitched as he heard a door slam and some light arguing resound off of the walls in the hallway. He grinned upon recognizing Temari's voice in the midst of the commotion; screaming at an equally stubborn opponent. He only caught the bare minimum: from the sounds of it, the Hokage had suggested that she come to Konohagakure to give birth on the Nara estate. Of course, Temari wanted the child to be born in the same place as she had: Sunagakure; home of the Sand Siblings.

The door opened, slamming against the wall, and a loud, obnoxious male voice said, "Gaara, tell Temari-baka I am correct!"

Gaara's eyes narrowed, showing his audience more of his blackened eyelids. "I am not getting involved in this battle," growled Gaara, glaring at Uzumaki Naruto; the sixth Hokage. "I know better than to pick sides when you two are involved."

"Hah, so he agrees with me!" yelled Temari, poking her counterpart in the shoulder. Gaara sighed, resting his head in his palm. Kankurō only snickered; amused. There was no such thing as neutrality when it came to the arguments between Naruto and Temari; surely Gaara would realize this by now.

"Dattebayo, he agreed with me," exclaimed Naruto.

Temari rolled her eyes, her hand drifting down to her plump midsection. She was only four months into the pregnancy, yet she had already decided everything about this child up until it was five years old. It honestly scared Kankurō to think of his sister as a mother. "You're such a baka. He's a sand child; so he shall be born in the sand."

Naruto opened his mouth to argue, but Kankurō interrupted, "Hey, can we finish this argument later? Gaara looks like he's going to kill somebody and it sure as hell ain't going to be me!" Naruto looked over at his former Jinchuuriki counterpart; and sure enough Gaara had a murderous gleam in his eye, and the sand was ready to be used. The metallic smell of blood was in the air; and while Kankurō was perfectly comfortable where he was, Naruto and Temari felt threatened.

Naruto smiled nervously and held up his hands. "Gaara… no need to be hasty…" he said, quivering. Kyūbi no Kitsune was laughing inside of Naruto; amused by his host's fear of the Kazekage. While Gaara might not have a demon like Sabaku sealed within him anymore; he was still a force to fear. Once a murderer, always a murderer.

Gaara sighed, closing his eyes. "You are so lucky I consider you to be a friend, Naruto…" he muttered trailing off.

"AWW…" yelled out Naruto, snickering. Gaara's eyes opened, showing his light amusement with the Hokage. It was true to say that the pair of them were friends; they held no ill will towards one another. Every few months, the pair would find some reason to meet up; whether it be to actually talk business or for a simple sharing of sake. It secretly delighted Gaara that his best friend arrived early; Naruto was one of the few people he could talk to besides for Kankurō and Temari.

Gaara stood up, leaving his chair and gourd behind as he walked to Naruto and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "How have you been?"

Naruto grinned. "Well. The job's a lot of papers, but it's definitely worth it."

Gaara's eyes flicked around. "You don't travel with bodyguards?" he asked. He was pretty sure that Naruto was required by the counsel to travel with at least one ANBU form his village… he was still, after all, the host of the Kyūbi, and they wanted to make sure no harm fell upon him. Hell, Gaara was required to travel with Kankuro to assure that he wouldn't murder anybody on his travels; and Gaara hadn't killed in over three years. (How many people could say that?)

"Oh, yeah, I do… two of them. You know one of them, Shikamaru. He'd come in if he didn't think it wasn't worth his trouble," explained Naruto.

"Lazy bum," said Temari affectionately, her hand brushing against her bumped stomach.

"What about the other one?" asked Gaara.

"Oh… she's too polite. She automatically thinks she's intrusive. I offered, but she turned me down… she's insanely nice like that." Naruto allowed himself a smile.

"She sounds close," said Gaara, raising a non-existent eyebrow.

"Of course she is. I've known her for years; she's like my sister. You might remember her… Hinata?"

"Didn't she get the shit kicked out of her by Neji at the Chunin exams?" asked Gaara, surprised that she, of all people, would be picked to follow Naruto around.

Naruto was suddenly serious. "Don't underestimate her," he said, "She can kick the shit out of me. In fact, she has kicked the shit out of me." The last part was mutter; but they all could hear it. Kankurō tipped his head back and laughed, and Naruto's cheeks tinged pink. "Laugh all you want, doll boy… it's true."

Kankurō knew full well it was true. That was why he laughed. When he finished, he wiped his eye and said to Naruto, "Where is she right now, anyways?"

Kankurō's intrigue in Hinata made Gaara curious. "Why do you need to know?" he asked his brother.

He was automatically on the defensive. "Maybe I want to speak with her. Maybe I want to conspire to kick Naruto's ass." Naruto's blush increased.

"I dunno where she went… she always disappears on me when we do these kinds of visits," muttered Naruto. His brow furrowed. "Especially when we get here… I wonder what she does here that she refuses to let me know about." A momentary blush crossed Kankurō's cheeks; something that didn't go unnoticed by Gaara or Naruto. Interesting…thought the young Kazekage as he watched his brother walk off, leaving him, Naruto, and Temari alone in his office.

Kankurō knew exactly where to find her; he just needed to ascertain that Naruto didn't know where she was. Neither of them wanted either Kage to find out about the full extent of their relationship. Kankurō jogged up the steps, taking two at a time; until he reached the roof top where Gaara often stood watching the sun set in the desert. He couldn't figure out what Gaara found so damn entertaining about sunsets, but he did figure out that it was the perfect place to meet someone.

Hinata's long hair was loose, flowing down her back, and she leaned against the clay wall, watching the sun hang low over the sandy horizon with some amount of interest. Her lilac eyes didn't seem to miss a moment. Kankurō paused for a second before he walked behind her, wrapping his arms around the Leaf kunoichi's small waist and kissing her soft neck.

"Hina-hime," muttered Kankurō, "Welcome back."

"Hello, Kurō-koi," she whispered, her eyes not leaving the sun. "I trust no one tailed you here…"

"Of course not," replied Kankurō, nibbling at the soft skin and reveling in her gasp. "It is only us." His hand rose up to the zipper of her flak vest, pulling it down. He wanted to be close to her—he did, after all, only have a few days to make up for six months worth of missed moments.

The two had a sexual relationship that had been going on for about three years now; ever since Hinata had first started as Naruto's bodyguard. Of course, with their busy, hectic schedules as shinobi; they rarely had time to see each other. They took whatever moments they could get; enjoying them while they lasted.

The two cared deeply for each other, but as far as the world was concerned their relationship was purely one out of work. They rarely spoke to each other as they watched the Kages; or at least in the public eye. They shook hands as they left each other's villages. No one could truly read underneath; since they were so good at hiding their feelings for one another. Neither would admit it aloud in front of their friends and family, but they knew that they loved each other.

(A/N): Okay, let's just say this is basically where the lemon starts. Feel free to skip to the end of the chapter. The lemon ends at the next Author's Note (A/N).

The kunoichi turned in the puppeteer's arms, pressing her lips to his hungrily as his hand traveled underneath the open jacket, touching her breast through her fishnet shirt. She moaned, giving Kankurō the opportunity to slip his tongue into the kiss. She pulled the cat hat off of Kankurō's head and explored his scalp, making the nerve endings tingle in excitement. If possible, Kankurō was aroused even more. His hand slipped underneath her shirt and bra to rub his thumb against her nipple, and he swallowed her aroused scream.

"Uhm, Hinata, I missed hearing that," he murmured hotly against her lips. "Fuck, I just wanna… I wanna take you right here, right now. You have no idea what you're doing to me right now, hime…"

"So do it," she said, slipping her hand into Kankurō's pants and taking his manhood in her hand; pumping his aroused member softly. Kankurō groaned in excitement. He ripped apart the fishnet shirt, lowering his lips to her breast and sucking on a nipple. She tilted her head back, holding back a moan of pleasure by biting her lip.

"I plan to," he whispered, "Just not here… in a more comfortable setting." Kankurō raised his head, withdrawing from her breast and making her gasp in frustration. She didn't stop her ministrations upon his manhood, and to be quite honest he didn't want her to. He instead braced his arms on the wall behind her. "God…" he said, closing his eyes. "Hinata… just like that. Keep going just like that." She didn't listen, instead choosing to pump harder and faster than before. His mouth hung open, and she solicited groans of arousal from her lover. Further aroused and more confident in her abilities to pleasure him, she lowered herself to her knees, unzipping his pants further. She kissed his tip while continuing to pump, and then replaced her hands with her mouth. His breath caught in his throat and he grabbed her hair. "Just like that… oh, God, Hinata, you're like heaven. Fuck."

Hinata was smiling on the inside. She knew she could make him do whatever she wanted. She had him wrapped around her little finger. She removed her lips from around him, making him gasp out in disappointment. She pressed her body against him as she stood up, her breasts rubbing against his chest. She smiled, blushing like mad, and she said, "That's what you get for teasing me."

He grinned wolfishly, his eyes half-lidded, and he claimed her lips as his again. "Um, you little minx… the things you do to me…" He picked her up bridal-style, making her blush deepen and getting a small, amused giggle out of the kunoichi. He pressed his lips against hers again. "God, you taste like vanilla… it's so hot." She noticed that his erection didn't falter; and she wondered if he was getting enough blood circulating everywhere.

Faster than she thought; she was in his bedroom, being tossed onto his mattress. He pulled off the flak jacket and what remained of the fishnet, once again feasting on her breasts with new-found passion. She moaned now, knowing they were fully alone, and she fisted his hair in between her fingers. His tongue felt amazing against her hardened nipples and he made a fire burn in the bottom of her belly. His hand traveled down her body, slipping under her pants and panties. He touched her lower lips, teasing her wet entrance, and she moaned again.

"Oh, God. Kankurō," she said hotly, her eyes closed tightly.

"Talk dirty to me, Hina-hime," he whispered huskily, nibbling on her right nipple and pushing his index finger into her hot womanhood. She cried out again, unable to think straight when he played with her like that.

"Uhm… fuck me, Kurō," she said, "Fuck me just like that."

"Not enough. Give me more."

"It's so wet… I'm so wet for you, Kankurō…"

"Do you want me?"

"Oh, yes… oh, fuck yes, Kankurō…" He kissed the valley of her breast, slowly and sloppily kissing his way down; leaving a damp trail. She raised her head and forced her heavy lids open to watch him. Knowing she had her eyes on him, he kissed and sucked on the skin just before her pants, making her moan. He smiled and kissed the small hickey he'd given her just before he used his free hand to pull down her pants, getting on his knees above her so she could kick off the clothing. He looked down at his lover with pure lust. She was trembling with lust and arousal. He pushed a second finger inside of her as he kissed and sucked at her heat. She ceremoniously moaned his name, like a mantra, and it only made him harder to hear the desire that so obviously laced her voice.

"Kankurō… Kankurō… oh, Kankurō, I'm…!" she gasped out before she came, her hips thrusting outward to push Kankurō's face into warmth. Kankurō licked her clean and then brought his lips up to hers. She tasted the slightly salty liquid that had come from her on his lips. She should've found it disgusting, but it was such a turn-on for her.

"Do you want more?" he murmured against her jaw.

"Oh… yes…" Her hands traveled up underneath his shirt, feeling the hard muscle against her soft fingers before she forced him to pull his shirt off; disheveling his hair. The Kabuki makeup on his face was somehow not a distraction for her; it never was. It didn't stop her from kissing him like he was salvation. Yet, when they made love, it seemed to be ceremony for Kankurō to reach behind her and grab a seemingly always wet towel from his bedside table and wipe off his face; letting himself be completely bare to her. She was the only woman that he would take off the face paint for.

He kissed her with his now naked lips, pulling down his pants as he did. His free hand played with her breast again. She brought her legs up to wrap around his hips, pulling him in closer. She brushed her hand across his nipple; making it harden. He needed to satiate his desire; the erection that only seemed to be endlessly growing. With a possessive kiss and a playful growl, he thrusted in her hot, wet tightness.

"Fuck, you feel so fucking good, Hina," he growled as he thrusted deeply. She didn't respond with words, she simply nodded and moved her hips; moaning as he moved within her. He was glad that her tightness didn't go away; it always excited him more. Her nails dug into his bare back, clawing at him. He brought himself closer to her as he moved, making her breasts press against his chest. The movement of her breasts acted to make him move faster and plunge harder.

"Yes, Kankurō… oh yes. Keep going. Oh, Kankurō," said Hinata uncontrollably. "Uhm, Kankurō…! Go faster." He heeded her, moving more swiftly and definitely more desperately. "Oh, I'm going to come… oh…" Her inner walls tightened around Kankurō as she hit her orgasm, forcing him to orgasm as well; spilling his seed within her. Their pants filled the room.

(A/N): The lemon's pretty much over right here.

"Hina… I love you," he whispered huskily as he removed himself from her, his body pressing hers into the mattress. He pressed kisses into her shoulder and neck.

"I love you, too, Kurō," she panted, feeling beads of sweat on the back of his neck. Of course she loved him; she'd remained loyal to only him. Even when they were separated for months at a time, they managed to keep loyal to one another. It was not unknown amongst the two of them that they were more than just sex buddies; but they were truly lovers.

Kankurō finally rolled off of her, spooning against her back. He continued to kiss her neck and murmur words of love into her ear. Spent, the two shinobi fell into a comfortable sleep.

Outside of the bedroom door, the two Kage's faces were bright red with mortification. They both had their suspicions about the nature of Kankurō's relationship with Hinata, especially after Naruto confessed that Hinata had been the one to force him to come early to the Kage's summit. They had shooed Temari away and decided to follow the large, tall man; shocked to find him touching Hinata. And the rest of what happened on that balcony… well, Gaara knew he would have to find a new place to watch the sunset.

Of course, Naruto had convinced Gaara to follow the two wherever the hell it was that Kankurō was taking her; unsurprised it led to the bedroom. But the two heard what they'd said to each other, not to mention the noises of the physical act itself…

Naruto's blue eyes were wide. "So that's why Kankurō wanted to know where Hinata-chan was," he finally said.