Kibou and Raiden
Author: .Friend
Scroll 01
Naruto looked at his pregnant mate anxiously. Gaara had been asleep for the better part of six hours and this greatly worried the kitsune. Naruto crawled over to the sleeping redhead and nuzzled his neck. Gaara mewled and squirmed, pawing at Naruto to get him away.
"Wake up, Gaara-kun."
Gaara's claws flexed and he swiped at Naruto who beat a hasty retreat. He sat and watched tentatively from the other side of the room. The door opened and Shizune entered carrying a food tray.
"Good, he's still asleep," she said quietly.
She set the food tray down on the nightstand and gently pulled the IV with the sedative out of Gaara's hand. She applied pressure with a gauze pad then taped it down to staunch the bleeding, looking around at Naruto as she did so.
Naruto was on edge...as he always was when someone other than himself approached Gaara. His ears were flipped backwards and his eyes were narrowed at Shizune. Though he knew that she wouldn't cause Gaara any harm, it was in his nature to be protective. She merely smiled and stood up straight.
"It's okay Naruto. He'll wake up in a few minutes and then you can love on him all you want."
Naruto's ears pricked up at this and he hastily went over to Gaara's bedside, his tail wagging excitedly.
"When he wakes up, try and get him to eat. He needs his strength if he's going to be delivering soon."
"'Kay," he said.
Shizune smiled at the two of them and left the room. The door closed behind her with a soft click but Naruto didn't flinch. His eyes were trained on Gaara's face, waiting anxiously for his eyes to open. Gaara's eyes were one of the things that drew Naruto to the redhead. They were jade green with just a hint of blue, but when he was aroused, his eyes turned purple...that was a bonus in Naruto's book.
Gaara's eyes flickered and he blinked slowly. He looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes against the glare of the light. He turned onto his side and opened his eyes again, this time seeing Naruto standing there.
He smiled faintly and asked,
"How long have I been asleep?"
"Just over six hours," Naruto replied.
Gaara rolled onto his back and stretched his arms, arching his back and stretching like a cat. When he had relaxed, he looked down at his swollen belly and rested his hand on it. He enjoyed the feeling that he was the ultimate protector of his babies and wondered when they would get here.
Naruto climbed in the bed next to his mate and proceeded to clean Gaara's raccoon ears. Gaara squirmed and pushed Naruto away; he had always preferred to clean himself, something that Naruto felt was beneath any mate of his. This time however, Naruto recognized defeat and turned to get the food tray.
Gaara's nose twitched as he smelled his favorite food and he licked his lips as the tray was set next to him.
"Shizune says you need your strength for later."
Gaara nodded absently and devoured the cooked liver in a matter of minutes. So much in a hurry to eat was he that he didn't even use a knife and fork. After he was done, he licked his fingers and lay back contentedly. Naruto moved the empty tray to the nightstand again and cuddled up with Gaara, ready for a good snooze.
The redhead, having just slept for six hours, wasn't tired but let Naruto sleep and contented himself with playing with a lock of Naruto's golden hair.
Over the last few months, Gaara had been fantasizing about what their babies would look like and concluded that he really wanted at least one of them to have Naruto's golden hair and blue eyes. He thought that they would look beautiful on a baby and wanted one baby to have Naruto's beauty.
He considered himself scrawny and not very appealing to the eye, despite whatever Naruto told him. The only thing about himself that he liked was the 'ai' kanji tattooed just above his left eye.
He leaned back against the headboard and looked out the window. It was the dead of winter and the weather was unrelenting. It was snowing heavily outside, adding a foot of snow that they already had. It was New Year's Eve, already 11:15 at night...something seemed so right about tonight.
Gaara looked at the crescent moon and smiled.
He turned his head back and looked at his mate.
It had been a long time ago now that he and Naruto had gotten together. Almost four years…
He admits that sometimes he wondered why Naruto would choose him out of all the available mates that were lined up for him.
Gaara's ears tilted back until they were flat against his head as he remembered that he wasn't Naruto's first choice. Sasuke Uchiha had been Naruto's first mate.
The raven had been very persistent in his advances toward Naruto and the blond had chosen him…ultimately being happy with him…until…
Sasuke had been pestering Naruto for sex basically since their first day together but when Naruto denied him for the last time, he snapped.
The scratches on Naruto's body had been terrible. There was even a bleeding bite mark on the side of Naruto's neck…a mating mark…one that a male puts on his mate to prove that they were his property, not to be touched by any other male.
It was only after Naruto had been brought out of the hospital and Sasuke had been taken off the market (despite his valuable genetics) that the blond was allowed to choose another mate, hence leading to today.
Naruto's ears twitched as he dreamt; completely unaware of the inner turmoil Gaara was going through.
Gaara truly did love Naruto with everything he was…but often times, at night after his mate had completely sated him sexually and they'd curled up together, Naruto would leave and go sit on the window sill of their bedroom after he thought that Gaara had fallen asleep.
That, above all else, is what made Gaara feel this torturous pain in his chest, reminding him that he wasn't Naruto's first…
He was the backup…Plan B…second rate…
Gaara whimpered and turned facing away from Naruto. He rested his hand on the flesh that was protecting his and Naruto's young, and felt a tear slide down his cheek.
He'd desperately wanted Naruto to look at him like he used to look at the Uchiha; bright eyes sparkling with happiness and mirth at just being in the stoic cat's presence.
Naruto hadn't put a mating mark on Gaara yet…and wouldn't allow Gaara to touch the scar left by the Uchiha's fangs…
He hadn't realized that he was trembling until he felt a long, wet lick to the back of his neck.
"What's the matter, Gaara-kun?" Naruto asked, voice still sleepy sounding.
Gaara shook his head and buried his face in his arms. Naruto got off the bed, walked around to the other side, climbed back in and nuzzled Gaara's still visible tattoo with his nose.
"Tell me…please," Naruto asked.
Gaara shook his head, not seeing Naruto's ears droop in sadness.
"What did I do?" the blond fox asked, his voice trembling.
Gaara peeked out from between his arms and saw that Naruto was fighting back tears. He furrowed his brow and said,
"Nothing…you didn't do anything."
"I must have if you're upset…did I hurt you?"
Gaara felt his heart breaking when he heard the last little phrase. In all actuality, he had…but he wasn't aware of hurting his mate until this point. Gaara hated to see him like this…what that bastard Uchiha had done to him…making him feel insignificant and responsible for every pain in the world.
The redhead wrapped his arms around Naruto's neck and nuzzled his cheek, giving off a low sound that sounded akin to a purr.
"I was just thinking about…bad things…I'm sorry," he said.
Naruto seemed to relax and nosed Gaara's cheek.
"'S'okay…I was just scared that I'd hurt you again…"
Gaara growled and said,
"You never hurt me…don't ever think that."
As Gaara pulled away, he felt a squeezing in his lower abdomen. He whimpered and clutched his belly. Naruto looked at him in question.
"What's wrong, Gaara-kun?"
Gaara felt another sharp squeeze and whined. Naruto was practically on top of him now, anxiously trying to get an answer.
"Gaara?"
The redhead looked up at his mat and said,
"The kits…they're coming…"