Bliss

GxHxGxH

There was a flash as everything moved in slow motion. He saw blue-haired kunoichi push the red-haired kid out of the way and was hit by the chakra-filled punch that shinobi delivered, originally intended for the child. His sand caught the child and shielded him, leaving him safely out of harm's way. At the same time, he saw her body flying out from the impact until she landed at some distance, her body limp.

There was an echo of "NO!" The child's scream was ringing in his ears. There was an anger erupting from somewhere deep within: dark, sinister feeling that he had known before. He could feel his hand twitch as his mind screamed for blood and death. There was roaring in his ears as sand violently circled around him. His blood was pumping and he was dizzy with anticipation, imagining a slow, painful death for the shinobi. He would pay for his deed.

Sand rushed to the offender, instantly trapping him and others. Sand was swirling all around him, deadly and fast, reflecting his anger. With the exception of one shinobi, he crushed the rest, causing blood to spurt out and drip on the ground.

"You dare to lay your hand on her?" Gaara growled threateningly, bringing him closer, all the while sand rushed into the offender's mouth, causing him to gag and choke. "I'll give you a slow, painful death."

"Gaara!" There was a shout but it was lost in Gaara's ears.

"Temari, it's dangerous! Shit, get Ryuu out of here!"

He couldn't hear. All he could focus on was that he dared to hurt her and tried to hurt the child. He will pay. That was the only thought in his mind. He could feel blood pumping, sand hissing and swirling. He extended one of his arm and made a crushing motion, which led to shinobi's arms ending up in bloody mess.

'Blood,' the thought filled his mind. He gave a sinister smile as the shinobi had expression of unbearable pain in his face. He finished him off, burying him deep within the ground where he would never again see daylight.

Only death could satisfy him. His thirst for blood was awakened, which have lain dormant ever since Shukaku was extracted from him. His whole body shook from excitement to see blood painted across the sand.

"Gaara, please," a voice that would have been lost in the roaring of the sand was not lost to him. He tried to breathe, to calm his cry for blood. "Gaara." The violent sandstorm started to die down slowly as he heard his name repeatedly. He closed his eyes and focused on her voice as the roaring died down in his ears and anger washed down by the thought that she was still here…alive. Gaara appeared by her side in a second, as he kneeled over and settled his hand on her face.

"For god's sake! That was a complete, utter overkill," Kankuro said, as he came up with the red-haired child, who had tears running down his face. When he saw Hinata, he immediately jumped down to latch onto her.

Temari sighed beside him. "We'll talk later."

Gaara didn't pay attention, as he directly looked at Hinata, "I'm going to get you two to the hospital."

GxHxGxH

"Ryuu," Hinata said, as she tried to appease the crying kid. "I'm sorry."

She was sitting in the hospital bed with the 6-year-old crying silently on her shoulder. "I-I thought y-you're going to-" he said shakily in his usual quiet voice. She made a circular motion with her hand on his back, trying to soothe him.

She had summoned chakra at the very last second to try to minimize the impact, which did block any severe internal damage that would have been fatal.

"Ryuu-kun it's okay, no need to cry anymore," Hinata smiled, as she wondered if this was the same child who was mostly inexpressive just like his father. "Mommy is okay."

"I-I know, b-but-" Ryuu said, as his eyes let out more fresh tears. She wiped the tears off his face with her hands.

"Mommy wanted to protect Ryuu-kun because she loves him more than anything else in the world," Hinata said, as she looked at his turquoise colored eyes. "When Ryuu-kun grows up, he can protect mommy because I know you love mommy more than anything else."

He stayed still and listened quietly. "Okay," Ryuu said, as he tried to wipe the remaining tears with his two hands. "I'm going to train hard. I'm going to be a strong shinobi," he said, determinedly.

"Okay," Hinata said, as she kissed his cheek. "Mommy loves you no matter what."

She heard the door sliding and she saw Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara come in, each wearing different face expression. Temari looked stressed, Kankuro looked like he was having a fit, and Gaara just looked at her, mostly expressionless except for underlying concern in his eyes.

"You're going to need to rest for at least 2 weeks," Temari said as she looked at Hinata. "How do you feel?"

"I feel mostly okay," Hinata said, as she smiled at Ryuu. She didn't want to worry the child any more than necessary. "Ryuu will come visit, right?"

"By the look of it, I thought she was dy-" Before Kankuro could finish his sentence, Temari smacked him on the head. "OWW, what?"

Temari looked pointedly at Ryuu. "Oh," Kankuro realized as he saw Ryuu's eyes filling up with tears. There was a brief look of panic. "Umm, now, now, Uncle Kankuro could show you some of puppet tricks outside if you want. Want to see?"

Ryuu nodded his head vigorously. Temari looked at Gaara, "You're going to need to make a report and call for a meeting," she said as she saw him nod absentmindedly while staring at Hinata. "I'm going to get started on the investigations right away."

As the three of them made their exit, the room fell into silence. She saw Gaara sit on the bed and face her. She saw worry reflected in his eyes and gave a reassuring smile. "I'm okay."

She saw him grab her hand and squeeze as he closed his eyes and sighed. "I… almost lost control." He heard a slight rustling of sheet and arms enveloping in a light hug.

"You didn't though," Hinata whispered as he pulled her closer and breathed in her scent. He finally felt all his worries dissipating as he hugged her tighter and felt tiredness seeping in. "You didn't give in."

"I heard your voice," Gaara stated, as he withdrew from her slightly and took her face in his hands. "I thought I lost you," he continued, as his voice fell into whisper.

Hinata's eyes widened at the shakiness of his voice. He rarely, if ever, displayed emotions so openly. "Gaara," she said as she brought her hand to his face. "I'm sorry…for worrying you."

He brought her head closer. "I…love you," he said in an almost child-like desperation, which made her cheeks flush and her heart hammer in her chest. "Don't leave," he almost pleaded. Here was Gaara, Kazekage of Sunagakure, sitting beside her and putting himself in a vulnerable position willingly. But to her, he was just Gaara, her husband and life-long companion. She never thought they would end up like this when she first agreed to marry him in an arranged marriage. Never would she have imagined that they could make this work. "I promise I will protect you," Gaara stated, as he gazed at her with love-filled eyes that was unmistakable. "Just don't leave." His voice was in a hush.

It brought tears to her eyes at just how much loved she was by this man; man was once lost in darkness. But he had changed, rather dramatically. She brought her lips to his and kissed him. He automatically leaned in, supporting her head with his hand, deepening the kiss.

She withdrew slightly and slowly looked up at him, her white eyes gazing deep into his aquamarine eyes. She brought her hand to touch his cheek lightly. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here."

Gaara's lips formed a small, genuine smile as he buried his head in her shoulder and heard her whisper in his ears.

'I love you.'

GxHxGxH

-NightKDuet