Chapter 6: To Love

Tsunade smiled, her eyes closed, sighing in content.

"I love you."

The three words, whispered in her ear by a man she trusted her heart and soul to, brought a rush of warmth to her chest.

The words, combined with gentle fingers running up and down and across her naked back and neck, left her skin covered in goosebumps.

"Oh?" She half whispered, half moaned. "Is that so?"

Her lover, her man, her idiot, laid next to her in the bed they shared in Sunagakure no Sato as naked as she was, half of his body draped in sheets as he rubbed her back softly.

Even with her eyes closed, Tsunade could feel Naruto's gaze on her.

"Definitely." He stated certainly, his ardent response making her chuckle.

She cracked a single eye open slowly, bronze drifting across the handsome face of Uzumaki Naruto.

"I love you, too, Naruto." She swore in a gentle, sincere tone. Her eyes drank in the blue of his, and in that moment, she wondered how she was ever able to live without this person in her life.

That contagious smile of his lit his features, his entire face lighting up as if he were the happiest person in the whole wide world. And maybe he was.

"I want to tell Gaara about us." He whispered, his eyes still peering into hers, determination welling in them.

Tsunade, surprisingly, didn't feel the nervous, anxious feeling that usually came with others finding out about her relationship with her blond lover.

"I figured you would." She replied, not unhappy or scared. "You share something special with him. I understand the desire to share this secret with him too."

Naruto smiled at her, unknowing of just how beautiful she thought that smile was. She wished he smiled like that more often. That wish was thoroughly squashed by the selfish part of her heart that wanted that smile all to herself.

"Can I?" He asked hopefully, his fingers still gently rubbing her back in unintelligible patterns. "Do you mind? I know he wouldn't think differently of you. He always talks about how much he respects you."

Tsunade sighed, though not in annoyance. It was a content sigh, a peaceful sigh. She wondered if the sudden desire to rub her back was a sneaky tactic to butter her up.

But then she remembered that Naruto didn't have a deceptive bone in his body, and wore his heart on his sleeve.

"No, I don't mind at all." She said honestly, smiling softly at his bright expression.

"Thank you, Tsunade." He said, leaning in close to press his lips into her neck, unintentionally making her moan. Without leaning back out, he said, "I really do love you."

His words were so soft and quiet that she barely heard them. But she did, and she had the warm butterflies in her stomach to prove it.

| To Love |

Gaara blinked, slowly and deliberately. Once, twice, three times before he finally smiled at his best friend.

"Is that so?" He said amusingly. Naruto had just admitted to being in a relationship with the Godaime Hokage, the Slug Princess, a Sannin.

With Senju Tsunade.

And all Gaara could do was smile.

"Yeah…" Naruto nodded, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "We celebrated her birthday together and it sorta just… happened." He said, blushing.

The two powerful men were seated in Gaara's office, sipping at the tea his assistant had made for them just seconds ago. Naruto and Tsunade would be returning to Konoha today, and Gaara wished to spend a few more hours with his friend before he returned. They were both very busy people and didn't get to visit each other often.

The Kazekage was silent for a few minutes, thinking over the virtual bombshell the blond shinobi just dropped on him only an hour before said blond shinobi was scheduled to depart from Suna.

Finally he said, "Are you happy?" It was three simple words, yet they were said with such intensity they practically demanded to be answered.

Gaara was a fiercely protective person when it came to the people he held dear in his heart, the people he loved. And he loved Uzumaki Naruto. As a friend, savior, and brother.

"Absolutely." Naruto responded without delay, the conviction in his voice nearly palpable. His serious expression faded with a smile, his right hand coming to his heart. "She makes me feel…" He paused, blushing again. This was obviously embarrassing for him to admit. "She makes me feel like Kurama's chakra is running through me, but all the time."

Gaara smirked, but stayed silent. He could understand the thrill and rush of excitement that a Bijuu's chakra could give its Jinchuuriki. That much raw power could be addicting, especially in Naruto's case, where instead of the dread of demonic corruption Gaara always felt when channeling Shukaku's chakra, Naruto could channel the purified form of Bijuu chakra. The beautiful chakra of one of the Sage of Six Paths' creations.

Even simply being near Naruto when he was in his chakra cloak made Gaara feel stronger, as if the very aura of it cleansed the soul.

As Naruto continued to speak, his smile never left his face.

"I feel invincible when I hold her." He admitted, his embarrassment fading. "And when she kisses me, she takes my breath away and I feel like I could do anything." The look in his friend's eyes nearly brought Gaara to tears.

"She makes me feel like I can be better, like I can be more. I've always wanted to be Hokage and I still do, but when I'm with her, it doesn't feel like the end-all-be-all it's always seemed to me." He chuckled, rubbing his neck again. "I know how it sounds, but… I…"

When Naruto said his next words, staring into Gaara's eyes with unlimited passion and contentment, the Kazekage let the tears he was holding back fall down his face.

He had found it, the thing people like him and Naruto were never supposed to find. Something Gaara found in becoming the Kazekage and knowing that his people entrusted their hearts and dreams to him.

"I love her."

Gaara smiled, unashamed of the tears that fell down his pale cheeks.

"That's all that matters then."

He found love.

| To Love |

Tsunade didn't know how the talk went with Gaara, or what was said between the two powerful young shinobi, but when Naruto walked out of the Kazekage's office, he looked so refreshed and happy that Tsunade couldn't help but feel the same.

Naruto's smiles and laughter were contagious like that.

Tsunade had thought that Naruto would have been upset about leaving Suna. He rarely saw Gaara and always complained about wanting to take missions that would put him in the Hidden Sand.

That, and the fact that they were able to walk around together with a fair amount of safety of not being seen by people they knew on a personal level.

While Tsunade was okay with Naruto telling Gaara their secret, she still wasn't sure she was comfortable with everyone knowing just yet.

But he wasn't. However their conversation went, Naruto had left Suna at her side with only a happy smile and a confident swagger.

She rather liked it, too. A confident Naruto was an attractive Naruto.

"You seem happy." She finally said. It was only the two of them since Shikamaru still had to continue his mission and stay for another few weeks. The journey so far was spent in very comfortable silence, holding each other's hands and walking at a comfortable pace.

They weren't in any rush to get home.

"Why wouldn't I be?" He asked, smiling at her. "I got you all to myself!" He stated victoriously.

Tsunade smirked and snorted. "That's not the only reason." She said amusingly. "How did your talk with Gaara go?" She asked curiously.

"Great." Naruto replied, sighing happily. "He was a little shocked at first but was happy for me once he understood how much I love you."

The easiness in the way Naruto could say that he loved her still made her blush like she was a little girl again (something that greatly irritated her).

"He even cried, he was so happy." Naruto continued, laughing. "He looks grim and serious on the surface, but he's really sensitive on the inside."

Tsunade laughed with him, agreeing wholeheartedly. Gaara was just like Naruto. He could understand people because he understood the universal unifiers. Pain and loneliness.

And because he could understand those things that people try to hide in their hearts, he was very empathetic. The meant, however, that he could also be very… passionate (i.e. sensitive) at times.

Naruto laughed for a few more seconds before sobering, his face becoming serious and gentle at the same time.

"He told me to tell you 'thanks'." He said, gripping her smaller hand in his tighter. "He's grateful that we could find happiness in one another."

Tsunade shared his serious yet gentle expression. Gaara, the Godaime Kazekage, the youngest Kage… ever.

He really was a special kind of person.

They shared a kiss before they continued on their trip back to where leaves dance in the shadows of fire.

| To Love |

(Warning: It's about to get citrusy.)

Tsunade had known Naruto for seven years, give or take a few months. She had watched with her own eyes as a snot-nosed brat matured and bloomed into the man that was currently making love to her so passionately she had to remember to breathe.

Their clothes were discarded the moment they walked into the quaint little Inn, sharing the same room again. The idea of them sleeping in separate rooms was now strange.

Naruto wasn't a forceful person. He didn't try to make others submit to him in any way or form. His attention-seeking personality was the pleasing kind, not the 'look at me I'm bad' kind. Not any more, at least.

But in bed… when the world crumbled apart, leaving only the two of them, Naruto took charge.

He was so eager to explore every part of her body, tasting it all with a curious tongue. It was as embarrassing as it was pleasure-inducing.

And Naruto's tongue was no longer that of an amateur. He tasted her every night since her birthday and now knew what made her… tick.

Hands strong enough to punch through mountains spread across her body vigorously and gently. He wanted to feel everything he tasted. And now, unlike their first trip into the waters of love-making, Uzumaki Naruto took her breath away every time the sun left the sky.

Every night was a night of love, passion, and ecstasy. And this night was no different.

She was atop him, straddling his waist as she rode him, barely capable of continuing. It felt so good that she wanted to lean down and let him take over. But he had been taking over the whole night until he laid down and looked at her expectantly, not saying a word.

It was a silent command. His eyes met hers and he commanded her to get on. And so she did. Her mind and pride was lost in a fog of lust and desire.

In a small part of her mind, she wondered why she thought Naruto giving her orders was so sexy…

And so she did what Naruto all but ordered her to do, enjoying every second of it. But finally, the pleasure became too much and she collapsed onto his chest, too exhausted to continue on her own. She had been going at it for nearly twenty minutes.

"Keep going." He whispered into her ear, his voice thick with desire. She knew from the look in his eyes that he enjoyed the way her breasts bounced up and down from above him.

She groaned/moaned softly, trying to catch her breath.

"I… I can't…" She cried, frustrated at her limits. She had the stamina of a bull (two or three, even!), but even she couldn't keep up with the man beneath her.

"Yes you can." He encouraged through a smirk, slowly moving his hips up, sending small bursts of euphoria into her.

She opened her mouth to protest again, but whatever words she had in mind vanished when she screamed out in so much pleasure and surprise she wondered if the whole Inn had heard her.

Without preamble, the darkness of the room lit up as her idiot encased his body in gilded fire. Tsunade had been near Naruto when he entered what he dubbed 'Kurama Mode,' had felt the nearly unlimited energy of a fragment of divinity.

The amount of life and chakra that coursed through Naruto when that mode was active was awe-inspiring. It touched the hearts and souls of everyone around it, promising to protect and serve them.

It was beauty personified, Tsunade thought, and right now, as this god dressed as a man was still inside her, their chakra close enough to kiss, Tsunade could only scream in unimaginable ecstasy as all that power rushed into her.

Her entire being, her flesh and even her soul, was being touched her Naruto now, sending waves of his life energy and chakra into her. Her skin was surrounded by visible red chakra and if she was able to look back, she would have seen a single tail swaying behind her.

Right now, they were connected in every way one person could connect with another.

She didn't know when Naruto leaned up and pressed his mouth into hers. She was only vaguely aware that she was now screaming into his mouth.

And once she regained some semblance of conscious thought and could think again, she thought she might be able to stop screaming and enjoy… whatever this was.

But then her lovable idiot thrusted deep into her, and she didn't have to worry about her voice anymore because the action felt so good that she couldn't even breathe.

She was actually scared that she might suffocate herself when Naruto ended the kiss and brought his lips close to her ear.

"Breathe, Tsunade." He ordered, his voice so full of power that her body obeyed on its own accord.

She gasped for air, only to lose it all when he thrusted into her again, sending a wave of awe into her soul once more. This time, however, he didn't stop his movements and continued to grind into her with powerful thrusts.

Tsunade fought a losing battle to remember everything she was supposed to do. Inhale. Moan. Exhale. Repeat.

She held on for dear life as she truly rode the maelstrom for the first time, her mind gone to the place of lust and passion. She couldn't think, she could barely even move as Uzumaki Naruto took her, leading her to a place of pleasure she didn't even know existed.

That night was the first time they didn't make love, because what Naruto was doing to her couldn't be considered love-making, but something… else.

And she loved every second of it.

| To Love |

When she woke the next morning (or late afternoon, since Naruto didn't stop until it was already daylight out), Tsunade was confused when, instead of exhaustion greeting her, a wave of energy did.

Slowly, Tsunade sat up and was even more confused when she wasn't even sore in the slightest. Usually, after a night no passion with her blond idiot, she'd be sore and use medical ninjutsu to ease the pain. Naruto was… an enthusiastic lover.

But today was different. Instead, she felt… light. She woke with more energy today than she usually had in a week.

She blinked, turning to look at her still sleeping idiot. Once Tsunade saw his whiskered face, the memories of what transpired last night hit her like a train, sending shivers down her spine.

Red streaked her cheeks as she thought back to what kind of expressions he might have seen on her face. She must have looked like the idiot, because she had no control over herself as he touched her very soul with his own.

Naruto didn't simply make love to her body, but in fact went even deeper. He held her heart in his own hands last night, ran his chakra like gentle fingers across her own. She could feel his passion, could taste his love for her like it was her own.

It was as intimate as two people could ever possibly be with each other and it made Tsunade both unexplainably happy and uncertain.

Her lover, her Naruto… he was seriously in love with her. He was only nineteen years old and he knew what love meant. He didn't have to use words, his actions were far more telling. He spoke with his heart last night as they entered a state of bliss she doubted anyone else had ever experienced.

And that scared her.

Tsunade loved Naruto, maybe even more than she loved Dan (not that she was going to admit it). He was everything a woman could wish for. Handsome, clever (in his own way), wise when he wanted to be, brave no matter what challenges he faced, and so incredibly powerful he had her wondering sometimes if he was even human anymore. Once you became that powerful, not just in body and technique, but in heart and soul, you had to more than just a man.

This nineteen year old had experienced hardships the likes of which most could never hope to recover from, and yet he still smiled. This nineteen year old had loved and lost, friends and family dying before their time, and yet he didn't hide away his heart.

Uzumaki Naruto wasn't just powerful because he could fight in wars by himself.

Uzumaki Naruto wasn't just powerful because he never let the darkness of this world get a hold of him.

Uzumaki Naruto wasn't just powerful because he refused to let his losses define him.

Uzumaki Naruto was powerful because even though he bore the scars of this world, he still allowed himself to do the most important thing a person could do.

Something he deserved to shout from the rooftops of his home, but couldn't because the woman he loved was such a coward.

To love.