http://images5.fanpop.com/image/phot...22-600-596.jpg

(Using this as humanoid form for Blaze the Cat)

Blaze sighed lightly as she finally found herself in the human world. It had taken her some time to perfect her more humanoid form, instead of her usual form of an anthropomorphic feline, but she had done it. "Mata-sama said that Yugito-hime was in this village..." she muttered as she oriented herself.

"You sure it's not because you want to meet the competition my prince?" Yugito teased, causing Naruto to lightly blush.

Gaara reached over and grabbed Gemini's hand lightly. "I would never do that to you, not intentionally," he said honestly and truthfully.

((Yo that's amazing! She's kinda hot 0.o))

Naruto blushed slightly. "Wha- no! Not at all! I just want to...meet this friend...who's helped you while I was away." He said.

Gemini smiled and squeezed his hand. "Thank you. I never should have doubted...I'm sorry." She said, now feeling guilty for thinking he might have done something like that.

(Meaning we could make Yugito jealous... lol just kidding)

"You sure about that Foxy?" she teased before shaking her head lightly at that and giving him a light kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry Naru-kun, I know you aren't jealous of my friend" she said honestly.

"You don't have anything to apologize for," he said softly before their food came to the table.

((lol))

Naruto glanced away for a second, then looked back and gave his signature grin. "Of course! I've got no reason to be jealous of anyone, because I'm the one with the awesome girlfriend! Dattebayo!"

Gemini fell silent as the food arrived. She thanked the waiter and smiled at Gaara before taking a bite. "It's so good!" She squealed, going for more.

Yugito laughed at that before giving him a light kiss on the cheek. "That you do, nya" she replied with a grin on her face.

Gaara also thanked the waiter as well. Once he left, he saw Gemini start eating, laughing lightly when she exclaimed how good it was before starting to eat himself.

Sakura watched the two, smiling. "You are so cute together." She said.

After a few moments, Gemini paused her meal to look up at her boyfriend. "Gaa-kun?" She called him timidly, almost afraid to bring up the subject she was about to bring up.

Yugito blushed lightly at that before thanking Sakura for the compliment. After that, she asked if she was able to find anyone, just out of curiosity. Hey, just because she was a cat didn't change her natural curiosity. Besides...it wasn't curiosity that killed the cat, it only got framed for the act.

Gaara looked at his girlfriend, curious as to what was going on with her. She normally wasn't this timid and wondered if something was wrong. "Yes?" he asked, giving her his full attention.

Sakura thought for a second. "I probably could, I think. Why?"

Gemini blushed slightly. "Um...I know we're still a little young to think about this, but..." She cleared her throat. "In any serious relationship, two people eventually have to talk about...taking it to the next level. And I was just. Wondering. Shouldn't we have a plan for if that eventually happens? Like...we should wait until we're a certain age, or something...?" Her face was burning at that point.

Yugito shrugged her shoulders at that. "I was just curious is all," she replied, completely honest. "And don't either of you think about making a joke about how curiosity killed the cat," she added quickly afterwards.

Gaara cheeks burned lightly, especially since he knew what she was talking about. And yes, while she was right about them still being a little too young for such a subject, Gem did have a point. "I do agree with you that we should have some sort of plan for this in the future, but aren't we here to celebrate your birthday?" he asked. "Plus, I think this sort of...topic should be in private Gem-chan. Can we talk about it more when we get back home?" he asked.

Sakura chuckled. "I wouldn't have made a joke like that, Yugito-san." She said.

Naruto looked confused. "I don't get it. Why would curiosity kill a cat?" He asked, showing that he'd never heard the expression.

Gemini gave him a relieved smile. She hadn't really wanted to talk about this right then, but it had been bothering her and it made her feel better to know he was willing to talk about it later. "Yeah, sure. Sorry for bringing it up so suddenly."

"Thank you Sakura-chan," Yugito replied before giggling lightly at Naruto's response, promising to tell him about it later. After a few more bowls of ramen, she was full.

"Don't apologize. From what I have read and from what Temari-nee told me...it is a natural step in any relationship," he replied with a light grin before going back to eating his meal. After swallowing his latest bite, he commented in a low voice "Just know...that I won't push that particular issue."

Once everyone was done, Naruto stood and stretched. "That was great! Okay, we're supposed to go let Granny Tsunade know we're back, right?"

Gemini blushed slightly. "Thank you, Gaa-kun. I appreciate it." She said sincerely.

"I'm not sure. Sakura-chan?" she asked, wondering if the girl knew.

"You're entirely welcome. Now then...we are celebrating your birthday, are we not?" he asked, a little amused and wondered if she would like his gift at the end of tonight.

(I was thinking about an engagement ring for his gift. Thoughts?)

Sakura nodded. "Yes, you really should. Otherwise she'll get really angry." She said.

"Great, then that's where we're going!" Naruto announced, taking Yugito's hand.

Gemini smiled and nodded. "Yes, that's right." She said, thinking of the possibility that he would finally promote her to chuunin after she'd worked so hard for it.

((That seems good, actually! Go for it.))

Blaze kept to the rooftops as she looked for her friend before she heard a light yelp from below. Looking down, she saw a human and a todd grabbing Yugito. Growling lightly, she jumped off the roof, ready to fight.

Gaara ate his food in comfortable silence. He knew that Gemini had worked hard over the years and deserved the promotion that she was going to get. However, he wasn't sure about the engagement ring...

Naruto blinked and stepped back, surprised by the sudden appearance of a purple-haired neko girl. "Hey, kitty-chan...this wouldn't happen to be your friend Blaze, would it?"

Gemini finished off her dinner in comfortable silence. Every so often, she glanced up at Gaara to see what he was up to. It was impossible to guess what he was thinking, even for her.

"Blaze, stand down," Yugito requested as she noticed her friend was in a battle-ready position. "This is Foxy-kun that I told you all about," she stated before seeing Blaze calm down.

(Question: would Gem only be promoted to Chunin status or should we have it where she is promoted to Jounin status instead?)

((Um...Jounin status is fine with Wolfie! Just say she trained so hard she got to skip Chunin completely XD))

Seeing that the other neko was no longer about to attack him, Naruto smiled. "Hi there! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I've heard a lot about you already! It's nice to meet you, 'tebayo!"

"And I have heard a lot about you, Naruto-san. I apologize for my earlier actions...I heard Yugito-hime's noise of distress and assumed the worst," Blaze explained her actions to the three of them.

Yugito sighed lightly at that. "Blaze-chan...I thought I told you not to call me 'hime'"

With dinner finished, Gaara asked for the bill. After this, he was going to take her back to the office and present her with her new Jounin vest and status. She had earned the title by working as hard as she did while still helping him with the paperwork when it came to being the leader of the village.

Naruto nodded. "Ah, that's alright! I probably would have done the same thing." He said, ready to forgive instantly since it had to do with protecting Yugito.

Gemini casually took Gaara's hand as they left the restaurant. She liked holding his hand, especially since physical contact had taken him a lot of time to be comfortable with.

Blaze nodded at that, glad that he had forgiven her so quickly. That, plus the stories Yugito told her, put him in a good light.

Gaara smiled before taking them back to the office. Seeing his girlfriend's look of confusion, he explained that it was part of his surprise to her.

"Hey, we were about to go talk to old lady Tsunade. To let her know that we're back. If you're gonna be staying around, you should probably come with us and ask if you can stay in the village." Naruto said, in a rare moment of common sense.

Though she was mildly confused, Gemini went along with whatever Gaara was doing, trusting him. "What's this all about, Gaa-kun?"

"That might be for the best Naruto-san," Blaze replied. Though she knew that whatever the Hokage said, she was going to be staying with her princess. Someone had to look after their future leader after all...

"While I want to wish you a Happy Birthday, I also thought it would be a great time to give you this as a present" Gaara said before holding up a Jounin styled vest. "It's yours, if you accept that is" he stated.

"Great, then let's go!" Naruto said, and without further discussion he took off towards the Hokage tower.

Gemini gasped, eyes going wide. "Oh my God. Really? It's...you mean it?" She took the jacket carefully, as if afraid it would disappear on her. "But it's Jounin...I haven't even made Chunin yet. Are you sure?" She asked, looking up at him joyfully.

"Is he...always like that Yugito-hime?" Blaze asked as she watched the young fox male run off into the distance. Though she knew that she could easily catch up to him if needed.

"He is. But that's one of his good points. Now come on, let's go catch up," she said as Blaze nodded and both felines headed off to catch up with Naruto.

"I'm positive. Not only do I think you deserve it, but so do Temari-nee and Kankuro. You've worked hard once becoming a kunoichi of Suna. And this isn't a gift to you just because you're my girlfriend or anything along those lines. You've truly deserved this."