Ugh. I apologize to all of you now. I love you all and I love writing the FoD universe, however I don't know how much I'll be able to write for awhile. And I do mean a while. I'm in the middle of trying to graduate and apply to graduate school and everything seems to be going wrong, so even when I want to write I can't. And it really sucks. But I love you guys for sticking by me, even when I write slower than molasses in winter.
Also, I know this isn't the promised lemon that everyone is waiting for, but I hope y'all like it. It was inspired by the adorable scene of Naruto and Gaara playing in the snow from YukaYuka's 'Yaoi no Jutsu' fic, as well as some random doodlings I did of Kizuko in class a while back. It wouldn't leave me alone until I finished it.
So...I'm very doped up on Tylenol Cold at the moment, and I'm sure there's something else I'm suppose to be saying but I can't remember it...Oh, right! I've got a good chunk done on a Kaede centric story that I started before this whole graduation mess started. And I do mean Kaede centric. Naruto, Gaara, or Kizuko won't be appearing in it at all.Would y'all still be interested in reading it?
Umm...I think that's all. Except that Kizuko is mine and Gaara and Naruto belong to Kishimoto Sensei who will hopefully forgive a poor sick, stressed out girl for playing in his sand box.
So please, enjoy the fic.
One morning the Village of Konoha woke to an unusual, but not unprecedented occurrence. The Uzumaki household woke the same morning to paranoid, slightly psychotic, demon vessel.
"Wake up. We're under some sort of attack." Gaara of the Desert roughly shook the previously sleeping blonde awake.
"Huh? Wha...?" Was the eloquent response given by said blonde.
"There's some sort of jutsu that's been cast on the entire village. White stuff is falling from the sky and piling up everywhere. It might be hazardous, so we need to be careful and..."
Naruto spend a good few minutes staring at the redhead. I know we're speaking the same language but the words just aren't making sense. Attack? Jutsu? What in the name of the Hokages is he talking about?
Groggily, he glanced outside the window. And then promptly shoved Gaara aside in a mad dash to open the glass and poke his head outside.
"It's snowing! I don't remember the last time it snowed!" Naruto cried, now wide awake.
"What are you doing?! Didn't I just say it could be hazardous?!" A wall of sand surrounded the Leaf nin protecting him from whatever that suspicious white stuff was.
"Gaara, call back the sand."
The redhead stood firm and refused to call back the sand protecting his lover.
"Gaara...its snow. It's not an attack. Its frozen rain."
"So it might be an attack by the Hidden Mist Village."
"Gaara...its snow. I swear it won't hurt you."
The sand nin looked unimpressed.
Huffing a sigh, Naruto grabbed a pale hand and stuck it out the window to allow a few gently falling snowflakes to land and melt. Only momentarily distracted by the warm body in front of him, Gaara frowned at the so called 'snow' that was currently melting on him.
"It's wet." He said in a flat voice.
"It's frozen rain." Naruto replied in a patient tone.
"It's cold."
"Hence the frozen part."
"...are you positive it's not dangerous?"
"Oh for Leaf's sake! It's not dangerous. It's snowed in Konoha before, just not often because the climate is usually too warm during the winter. I have played in, walked in, and done missions in the snow before. I assure you, you paranoid, panda-eyed lunatic, it's perfectly safe!"
Gaara frowned. Naruto had just called him a paranoid, panda-eyed lunatic...it must be safe then.
"I've never seen snow before."
The blonde grinned. "I figured. What with you being from the desert and all. It's been a really long time since I've seen it too. In fact, it only snowed once up at the..."
He suddenly trailed off, the grin broadening.
Snatching up a long sleeved t-shirt to throw on with his boxers, he ran out of the bed room and down the hall to the smaller bedroom of the apartment. A small blonde head peeked out from the blankets of the bed, a battered stuffed fox next to it. Naruto pounced.
"Kitling, wake up! It's snowing!"
"Uuhhh...Papa?"
"Look outside, Kitling."
Sleepy light green eyes glanced towards the window and then immediately widened. "SNOW!!!! Papa it's snowing!!" Kizuko immediately flung off the blankets and ran to the window in much the same manner as Naruto had earlier.
"Papa! Can Kizuko play in the snow?"
Naruto eyed the flannel frog print pajamas she wore. "Maybe after you change. Let's go see if the canceled classes first though, okay?"
The green eyes, if possible, got even wider. "No school either?"
"Maybe not."
"Yes!! Let's go see! Let's go see!" She danced out of the room, snatching up Kon-Kon on the way.
Gaara stood in the living room still eyeing the falling snow warily when Kizuko ran in. The little blonde ran up and hugged him. Her arms still around his waist she looked up and grinned at him. "Gaara! It's snowing! And Kizuko might not have to go to school!"
The sand nin nodded, still eyeing the window.
After a quick check in with the local news channel, it turned out that Academy classes were indeed cancelled for the day. Which made the blondes, if anything even more hyper at the thought of a day full of father-daughter snow antics. Gaara prayed for strength.
Playing in the snow turned out to take a great deal more preparation than the redhead had imagined. First one had to be bundled up in thick, warm clothing. Then one had to put on boots and a coat. And then apparently there were other accessories necessary to go along with it. Gaara wondered how one was suppose to move after all this was done. Even without his gourd he still felt like he was hauling around the same amount of weight. He sighed as the family stood before the door going through their checklist.
"Hats?" Naruto asked.
"Hai!" Kizuko tugged on her light blue cap with the fuzzy puffball on top and flaps with strings on them to cover her ears. Gaara held up with some disdain the red knitted one they had dug up and put it on until it nearly covered his eyes. Naruto pulled on his own bright orange knitted cap.
"Scarves? Gloves?"
"Hai!" This time Kizuko wrapped a light blue scarf with a smiling fox printed at the end around her neck and tugged on the matching mittens. Gaara glared at white monstrosity wrapped around his own neck and at the white gloves. Naruto smiled as he put on his own blue scarf and gloves.
"Alright! Let's go play in the snow!"
"Yeah!!"
Snort.
Snow, Gaara decided, was very different and yet very similar to sand. For instance, one could make castles and roll around in both. However, snow was very cold and it was be impossible to make something like a snowman out of sand. Which he was currently watching his kitsunes do.
"Remember last time it snowed, Kitling?" Naruto asked rolling a large snowball for the bottom.
"Mmmm...Kizuko doesn't remember much, but it was at the cabin and Kizuko and Papa made snow angels."
Naruto chuckled. "That's right. And Kizuko's snow angel was much prettier than Papa's."
Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow. "What's a snow angel?"
Naruto and Kizuko stopped work on their snowman, stared at the redhead and then at each other. Gaara blinked.
"What?"
"I keep forgetting you've never played in the snow before..."
"Papa, show Gaara how to make snow angels. Kizuko will finish the snowman." The little blonde said brightly.
Naruto grinned. "Right. We'll be over in that clearing if you need us."
Kizuko nodded and Naruto hauled the puzzled redhead over to a clearing of untouched snow.
"Okay, here's how you make a snow angel." And with that the blonde lay down in the snow with his arms out and feet apart. He then started moving his arms and legs. Gaara looked on, clearing thinking this was yet another of his lover's little moments of insanity but was willing to humor the fox carrier. And then after a moment, Naruto stood up and came to rest beside Gaara.
"Pretty, huh?"
Much to the redhead's surprise, he found that it was. The movement of arms and legs had caused the snow to flatten out until the imaged that remained behind looked to have wings.
"Okay, your turn now!" The blonde grinned pushing Gaara down into the snow.
Gaara glared.
Naruto grinned.
The process repeated.
Finally, Gaara gave up and lay back with a sigh. Closing his eyes and feeling incredibly stupid, he moved his arms and legs. Feeling a warm hand close around his own, he allowed Naruto to pull him to his feet and stood back to survey his work.
The blonde slipped his arms around the other's waist and rested his chin on Gaara's shoulder, looking at the two angels. "Pretty. And look, they're holding hands."
Sure enough, the two snow angels were close enough together that they overlapped slightly in the center and looked as if they were holding hands. Gaara gave a small, real smile and leaned back against the body holding him. "Hmph."
And then he felt warm breath right next to his ear as Naruto whispered. "Of course, there's one more little thing about snow that I haven't shown you."
"Oh?" Gaara could feel his blood heating at the sound of that throaty voice.
"Mmmm....snowball fights."
"Huh?"
Suddenly something cold and wet hit him in the chest. Looking right, he saw Naruto grinning at him, but still felt warm arms around his waist. Narrowing his eyes, the Naruto to the right waved cheekily and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. The arms around him also disappeared as another cold, wet lump hit his back. Growling, the redhead leaned down and gathered some snow, forming a ball. It only took a moment to find the blonde's chakra signature and then he let the snowball fly with deadly accuracy.
"Hey, no fair using chakra tracing!"
"Oh, and Kage bunshin no jutsu was the epitome of fairness?"
Naruto stuck out his tongue. Gaara narrowed his eyes.
The Snowball War began in earnest.
Naruto would use Kage Bunshin clones to attempt multiple attacks on the redhead. Gaara would use Kawarimi no Jutsu to reappear behind the real Leaf Nin and catch him point blank.
Eventually, the battle ended with Gaara straddling the blonde. Both of them panting from cold and exertion, their cheeks red with something that may have been more than just the cold. Naruto leaned up as Gaara leaned down and their lips met. Wrapping his arms around the Sand nin's neck, Naruto opened his mouth to let the other in. The weapons of choice in the battle suddenly went from snowballs and jutsus to practiced and skilled lips and tongues.
They moaned and rolled in the snow, each one fighting for dominance now. The wet cold snow forgotten for the wet heat of each other's mouth. Kissing until they could hold their breath no more, lips parted long enough to gasp for breath and then sought each other out again. Gaara let one hand travel down the length of the blonde's body, intent on cupping the well covered crotch. However, his plan was interrupted by squeals of delight and shouts of 'Papa! Gaara!'.
Breaking off with a sigh, he leaned back and looked at the blonde below him. Naruto smiled and gently touched his cheek with a gloved hand. The blue eyes looked up at him and said 'We'll continue this later. I promise.' The redhead grinned and leaned down for one last chaste kiss as Kizuko came trotting into the clearing.
"Papa! Gaara! Come see Kizuko's snowmen!"
Snowmen...? Hadn't she just been making one?
Standing up, Gaara offered a hand to Naruto who took it. They traded puzzled looks and followed their daughter to see her snowmen.
And what snowmen she had made. The first snowman wore a chunin vest and had a Konoha hitai tied around its forehead. Its eyes were a pair of blue buttons and she had placed three small twigs on both sides of its grinning mouth. Next to it, and close enough so that the branch arms of both touched stood another snowman with a long length of brown leather draped over its shoulder and across its front. Another pair of buttons made this one's eyes, light green this time, and she had used dirt mixed with snow to make dark circles around each button. A little heart made from snow mixed with some sort of red food coloring or drink was on its forehead. The mouth was mostly flat, but closer inspection showed that it was slightly turned up at the corners.
"Why the heart, Kitling?" Naruto asked, grinning at the two snowmen.
"Well...Kizuko tried to draw 'ai' but she couldn't remember all the strokes."
"Ah."
Gaara stared at the accessories of each for a moment. "Where'd you get the vest and the hitai?"
"Oh, those are Papa's. Kizuko went back home and got them. Aren't they cute? Just like Papa and Gaara!"
Naruto choked slightly upon seeing his precious hitai used as a snowman decoration, but they were cute. "Very cute, Kitling. Although, next time ask before using Papa and Gaara's clothes, okay?"
"Okay....Ne, Papa, can we go have hot cocoa now?"
"Sure thing, Kitling."
"Wai!" Kizuko raced on ahead, the fuzz ball and strings of her cap bouncing as she went.
Naruto turned to the redhead at his side. "So, is snow still dangerous?"
"Only when you're involved in it. But it's cold."
"Ah...but that's why we go back home, change into warm clothes and have hot cocoa."
"Mmm..." Gaara was silent as he stared at the snowmen for a moment longer. "...I don't look like that."
"Of course you don't. It's a snowman."
"...I'm teaching her how to write 'ai' tomorrow if it kills me."
"Huh? Why?"
"Hearts," he said with conviction "are not manly."
Naruto simply stared at him for a moment and then busted out laughing.
And he continued laughing all the way back to the apartment.
I suspect Konoha has a climate much like the state I live in, that is, its rather warm in winter so we don't get snow very often. And when we do, School is almost always closed.
Also, the thing with the food coloring and dirt to color the snow? It really works! I did it at a ski lodge when I was little using orange soda to color the eyes on something I was making...a rhino I think? I dunno. I was a dumb little kid and it's been a long time ago.
(snickers) Poor Gaara...trying so very hard to save his masculinity...heh.
Thanks for reading everyone, you're the bestestests.