A new Valentine event has appeared in the game. Of course, it was a new opportunity to gain experience, skills and equipment. The catch, however, was that the event was only open to couples, so Naruto couldn't get there by himself.
Ninja first pondered who to try the event with. Shikamaru immediately refused, as he had already completed the event together with Temari. Then it occurred to him. He simply asks the sand mage. In fact, they spent much more time together and were more close to each other anyway. Gaara naturally agreed as it was an opportunity to spend more time together.
The tasks of this event were not very difficult and were focused more on spending time together. For example, they were supposed to collect chocolate from which they then created their own chocolate table or trimmed roses.
The last task was at the very end of the map. At the end of the cliff, where there was a wonderful view and where a small picnic spread out. The two of them sat there and were shown the next part of their task, which sounded simple enough. Kiss your partner.
They both looked at each other. Naruto had a smile on his face while Gaara was slightly nervous. He might have backed out if the ninja hadn't leaned closer to him and kissed him lightly on the lips. At that moment, a cutscene started where they could enjoy the moment.
It was a short kiss though, as it was their first proper kiss and Naruto didn't want to rush anything. When he pulled away, the sand mage's face was as red as his hair.
"Wait here, I'll be right back," Gaara muttered as he regained his composure a bit, got up and left. Naruto was about to say something to that, but before he could say anything, he was gone. It gave him mixed feelings. However, he was very quickly reassured when the sand mage returned with an active quest.
"You know, if you wanted to do it again, all you had to do was say," smiled the ninja, who was immensely happy. Gaara blushed slightly before leaning closer to Naruto. He prepared something in the setup before kissing him.
This kiss lasted longer and had more emotion. As the camera zoomed out to capture the two of them, at sunset. The image was automatically saved to his private gallery. After they pulled away, Naruto showed the picture to Gaara.
"So this will make a great wallpaper, don't you think?" he asked him with a smile, meaning every word. At the same time, the sand mage was beginning to feel as if Naruto had been planning this all along. However, he had to admit that the photo was really good.
"Did you know about it?" he asked him.
"No. Shikamaru didn't say anything to me either. All he told me was that it would be worth it. And he was right," he laughed. He couldn't say anything else to that and decided to enjoy this moment while he could.
Ever since that Valentine's Day event, when the invisible barrier broke between them, they were much closer. Secret kisses, holding hands… and the like. Usually, the ninja always started it, but the sand mage started to show more emotion and every now and then he would surprise the blond with a kiss or just by leaning against him.
They were even in the game and in the hot springs together. It was a pleasant experience and this also looked so real. They just sat there relaxing in the water for a while before they started splashing water on each other. They were having a great time and only realized too late that they had lost their towels. Fortunately, no one else was there, so it was just between them.
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After some time, the game was improved with a new update. An update of such a magnitude that was as groundbreaking as the game itself. Everyone was talking about it, but no one really knew what it was yet.
"Have you tried it yet?" Naruto asked Shikamaru as he called out to him.
"You bet," he replied enthusiastically, albeit in a whisper.
"Why are you whispering?" Naruto needed help understanding.
"Shikamaru, who is this? Is that Naruto?" a familiar female voice came from the phone.
"Yeah, he was just asking…" Shikamaru wanted to reply, but Temari cut in on him.
"It works. Invite Gaara! See ya!" and with that, she ended the call. Naruto was at a loss for words, wondering what that was supposed to mean. But in the end, he decided to log into the game and find out what was new.
A sand mage was already waiting for him at spam. He looked impatient and at the same time as if something was weighing on his heart. He pulled the ninja aside and admitted that he wanted to tell him something. However, Naruto shut him up saying that he had to try something.
He opened Gaara's profile and was glad to find what he was looking for. There was only one new button. Invite home. So he pressed it too.
"Accept it," he told him before taking his hand.
"I have to tell you something," he tried, but in vain.
"Accept it first and then tell me," replied Naruto, who couldn't wait to find out how it worked. Gaara nodded in agreement and as soon as he accepted the offer, everything around them went dark.
Even though the environment changed and the glasses turned off, he still felt like she was holding his hand. Naruto took off his gaming glasses and couldn't believe his eyes. He was at home in the real world and Gaara was on the ground right next to him still holding his hand.
The sand mage looked like he had an Alice in Wonderland expression in his eyes. He looked around and had no idea what had happened.
"It really works," he said, amazed and happy at the same time, squeezing his hand lightly. It was more than real. Gaara was about to ask what that meant when Naruto threw himself around his neck and hugged him tightly.
When he pulled away, he explained everything to him. Of course, he had some information about the update, but he had no real idea what it was supposed to do. However, this exceeded all his expectations. Now he could share his world with him.
And just as he intended, he took him on a date to the local amusement park. He wanted to show him as much as possible and even though the amusement park was in the game, here they could enjoy real cotton candy and the like.
Naruto took him to all his favourite attractions from the roller coaster, the shooting range, the best ram in the whole world and other attractions. It was a wonderful evening, which they wanted to end a little more calmly, so they boarded the last attraction, which was mostly attended by couples. This also applied to them. They were boats, with a "love" ride.
They sat down and enjoyed the peace. They were sitting next to each other, Gaara's head resting on Naruto's shoulder and everything was going well. Untildid not sail into the tunnel. After a few minutes there, Gaara started to feel weak. He had no idea what was wrong with him, but he was suddenly very weak and before Naruto could do anything, he started to crumble into pixels.
Naruto was shocked. He didn't have the slightest idea what happened. When he came out of the tunnel and had solid ground under his feet again, he took out his phone and wanted to text him in the game. Just like the sand mage did when he found out his phone was off. He tried to turn it on but to no avail. Only when he got home did he realize his battery was low and his phone had died.
He wasn't even a second late and logged into the game. Gaara was already waiting for him there. The ninja immediately threw himself around his neck with apologies. It went without saying that the sand mage forgave him since it wasn't his fault. Neither of them knew about it, and they'll be more careful next time.
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Since they could travel outside of the game into a reality, the two had officially gotten together. If they weren't in the game together and doing quests, they were visiting Naruto's world.
After about half a year, they had a small date at Naruto's house. It was a home cinema, some pizza, one followed the other and both ended up with the blond in bed. Not that they ended up there first, but first wasn't just about sleeping. They tried something else, something much more passionate where they were glad Naruto didn't have any neighbours.
When they were done, they lay side by side, in a tight embrace, breathing contentedly before they both drifted off into dreamland.
That morning, Naruto found out that for unknown reasons he had received a new achievement called "Dragon Rider". He had absolutely no idea how he could get something like this when he wasn't even in the game. Gaara didn't comment and was red behind his ears. He realized how the ninja had come to this. But they dealt with it more and gradually the blond forgot about it.
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There was a new Valentine event in the game. This time it was about more than just cutting roses and collecting chocolate. Not this time, the couples had to fight against Cupid, who was possessed and wanted to dominate the game.
The ninja and the sand mage fought the winged enemy for longer than they expected. They were slowly running out of strength, but so was their enemy. Above his head, they could see how he only had minimal HP left.
Together, they dealt him the final blow when a cut scene appeared where Cupid, with his last strength, fired his arrow, which pierced Gaara's chest. Before Naruto could pull it out, the arrow dissipated. With that, the enemy himself vanished, and both heroes received their rewards.
However, this did not change the fact that Gaara was affected by his arrow. After a few minutes, the sand mage felt like he was on fire. He was terribly hot and taking off his hood or coat didn't help.
Naruto was afraid that something would happen to him, so he took him to his virtual house instead. As soon as they were through the door, the mage struggled to remove his clothes. He was only left in his pants when Naruto noticed the scales on his body.
"I need you," Gaara muttered, falling into his arms. Compared to a ninja, he was in a fever. The hug wasn't enough for him, so he attacked his mouth. This was perhaps the first time Naruto had seen him this hot. He tried to lead him to the bedroom, but it was an arduous journey, as the mage did not want to be separated from him. Finally, they managed to get there.
The two fell on the bed and Gaara took the lead. It was a welcome change for Naruto. Even if he didn't expect that in the best case, his beloved will partially turn into a dragon.
Gaara was still in one fire and didn't even notice that horns had grown on his head, a pair of wings sticking out of his back, along with a tail that wrapped around the ninja's leg. He had claws instead of fingernails and watched his friend with black and gold eyes.
Only when the effects of Cupid's arrow had at least partially worn off did he realize what he looked like. He looked down and wanted to turn his back to Naruto. He didn't want to see him like this. He didn't want to see his expression. Instead, he was caught off guard when the ninja pulled him closer to him.
"You don't have to worry... I don't mind. At least now I know what the achievement means," he smiled and kissed the back of his head. Gaara hesitantly turned back to him.
"Are you serious?" he asked him.
"Deadly serious," and kissed him on the lips. This was exactly the reassurance Gaara needed, and all of his fears suddenly left him.
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Naruto and Gaara were on a double date with Shikamaru and Temari at Ichiraku's pub. They were sitting at their favourite table and the shadow mage was looking through the ninja's achievement book. He wanted to see what he did while they were not seeing each other.
"Where did you get the Dragon Rider badge?" Shikamaru asked him, looking at him curiously. There were a limited number of dragons in the game and he wasn't aware that he had ever heard of this achievement.
"Well, it came up on my phone after…" he started to explain before stopping. Now that he realized how he got the badge, he didn't want to talk about it so much. Gaara's cheeks were rosy and he preferred to hide it by drinking. This detail did not escape his sister, who realized it before her friend.
"You don't seem like it," she laughed and complimented her brother who nearly spilled his drink on her.
"Wait, are you kidding me? Really?" Shikamaru assured himself as it dawned on him. At that moment Naruto wished he could disappear from there.