Author's note: Here I thought I'd been doing Oh so well with my updating. Well, I have news for everyone. I got a really cool job at this awesome store that kinda is like Disney. It's kept me super busy so I apologize for not updating until now. Maybe promising a Chapter per month might be a better start for me? Also, I want to thank everyone who has been giving me feedback on this story. It is really nice to know that my plot is actually liked as well as my character portrayal. 3

Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto and I never will. Masashi Kishimoto does.

Chapter 10 : Slow And Steady Wins The Race, Right?

One Week Later

Naruto had made good on his word about only staying a few days longer with his lovely girlfriend. Truth be told, as soon as he began heading towards Suna, All he could think about happened to be that stunning cobalt haired girl with the milky eyes whom always got red in the face when he'd spoken to her. 'Hinata..How have you been doing? How has Gaara been treating you? If he's not good to ya, I'll kill 'em! Believe it!' He had found himself brooding more than a few times already despite being so close to his friend's town. Sure, he loved Sakura. But, his feelings for Hinata had constantly been a mystery. It always seemed like she made him feel conflicted in one way or another. This small trip had to have been one of the better ideas he'd had in a long time. Sakura had began to basically live with him and she was just...there. It wasn't as if she gave him sincere smiles and endless joy filled days.

She had become so quiet and spent so much time pondering. This had given him too much time to think on what brought about her new found attitude. Was he...not good enough for her anymore? Did she still feel attached for Sasuke despite everything that had been happening? His usual jolly expression fell flat. Lips pursed and eyebrows pinched together in irritation, What had Sakura been doing all this time with him? Why had he even been chasing after her if she was just going to sit around moping? Especially carrying his child! "I'm sure she just needs this time away from me as I do her. We'll both be fine once I leave Suna." He chided to himself and continued on his path.

Nightfall , In the Kazekage's Home

"Hinata...I've missed this. I've missed you." Sweaty limbs entangled with one another atop the silky crimson bedsheets of Gaara. A set of coral lips sought out to scatter butterfly kisses against milky pale skin, bringing about the softest gasp from the Hyuuga Ex-Heiress. "I...missed you too. But do not think you are back in my good graces as of yet. You...really hurt me, more than my words can express." Aquamarine dully glimmered with the hazy hue of moonlight seeping in through the opened window, tracing the outline of the beauty whom hid herself beneath the sheets.

Hands intertwined and offered gentle squeezes to one another. Thumbs tracing the smooth skin of the knuckles in small circles, as if to show the sincerity. "I will die millions of times if that can prove to you my pain in knowing I've caused such an important person this much pain." Hinata finally tilted her head forward to capture the lidded gaze of her unruly haired husband and raised her free hand to stroke his high cheekbones, trace the bridge of his nose and even ghost against his lips. Her only reply,upturn from the corners of her own mouth in a comfortable smile. The silence settled and brought about a peace that neither of them truly could have known. Outside of the doors sat a nosy pair of siblings whom nodded and so much as grinned in favor of the situation. Kankuro was the first to lean over and start their conversation, "I told you he would finally find someone worth being with. Hina has taught him so many things that I thought had to be completely impossible. You know, just a few days ago he came to have a talk with me?" There was the smallest of sniffles followed by the puppeteer raising a hand and dabbing at his 'tears'. "I'm the proudest elder brother in Sunakagure. Soon to be uncle, don't forget that." Temari leered at the brunette and flicked him in the nose, shaking her head as she tugged his sleeve. "We should leave. Invading their privacy by sitting near their door isn't how I want to be found dead." The two made their leave for the night and parted ways after assurance of Hinata and Gaara's 'relationship'.

The following Day

Everyone had been put to work since Naruto had finally arrived early that morning. Hinata scuttled around to make sure things were orderly and presentable despite having servants to do that for her. It just didn't feel right to watch others do something that she clearly was capable of. Baby bump or not, She wanted to make sure things were picture perfect. Gaara on the other hand, observed her with mild interest the first hour that she'd began fluttering about their humble abode. He was then summoned for a meeting, to which he scowled and cursed beneath his breath the entire time that he dragged himself off with the officials. How surprising it had been to return home a few hours later to find his wife still fretting and cleaning practically everything she could get her hands on? Not too much. Temari and Kankuro had cracked more than a few jokes, groaning when they'd been caught by the Cobalt haired woman and forced to assist her with minor chores like helping with dishes and tending to the laundry. "This is what I get for being funny, huh?" Kankuro hissed as he trudged off with a handful of linen and other materials from what he assumed were beds.

"...HINATA IS THAT YOU?!" Gaara inwardly cringed and turned his head ever so slowly in the direction of the ocean hued blonde who dove to wrap his arms around the startled Hinata, invoking the loudest of grunts to be heard. A flare of jealousy sizzled within Sabaku No Gaara's soul to see his long time friend with his arms tightly wound around his wife of all people. "It has been so long since we've last seen one another. You've gotten more gorgeous than the last time I saw you." Knuckles whitened, fists clenched at his side. Gaara took a few steps forward and placed a casual arm right around his woman, pulling her more into his frame in hopes that Naruto had caught the hint to let go of her. "O-oh. It has been a while. It is good to see you again. Have you been well?" She cast her gaze downwards towards her feet, smiling so wide that she was sure her cheeks would ache the next day. This only irritated the crimson haired Kazekage more than he expected it to, encasing her hand in his larger one when Naruto finally released her from his bear hug."It's good to see you as well, Naruto." Gaara drawled through gritted teeth, his nonexistent brows furrowed together. The two men then hurried off to have a reunion (much to Gaara's relief) at an old restaurant which was thankfully away from his wife.

"She sure has changed a lot...huh? It feels like just yesterday she was a shy girl watching me train and fainting all over the place.."Naruto spoke more to himself than his buddy, gaze drifting upwards to admiring the subtle colors decorating the ceiling. "She has... I am very happy that she is my wife. Things have become so much better with her around." Gaara replied and folded his hands neatly in his lap as he awaited their food to be served. A simple platter of salted tongue and a bowl of Miso Ramen were ordered only a few moments ago. The conversation seemed so scarce, the fact that Gaara had known of Sakura's..pregnancy..As well as being Naruto's 'girlfriend'. How could he have done such a thing to his friend? He hadn't even known the two were dating until he'd last seen Sakura. His palms became lightly coated with cool sweat, vigorously rubbing them against his robes as he struggled to find the right words. What were really even defined as 'right' words to tell someone whom trusted and cared for you that you'd had sex with their partner? He would have been rage filled if the situation had been flipped on him. To imagine Hinata even leaning forward to kiss Naruto brought about an unsettling boiling of his blood. "Y'know..Sakura and I are expecting a baby. I'm so nervous, I packed a few things to come up here for more than just the conference. I felt the need to escape. This whole...parent thing. It's scaring me and that baby doesn't even come for another 4 months or so." The blonde blundered on, scratching the back of his head with the usual nervous habit that it'd become over the years. What advice could Gaara really offer? He had yet to find himself feeling so frightened of the new life growing and stirring about within Hinata. The feeling was of miraculous pride, to know that the small bump of his wife's abdomen and the swell of her breasts were something that they'd made together. A tiny bundle of life that would cry and depend on them wasn't anything to really fear, right? "I..haven't exactly found myself in your shoes yet, Naruto. Hinata and I recently found out about our pregnancy yet I have no fears or regrets going into this feet first. It is really astonishing to know that within her is something I care for more than my own life. A thousand times and back. " Their afternoon continued on with gusto after finishing off their food with a few jokes of the olden days. They had both changed as people. Naruto didn't seem to be the indecisive and confused dolt he had been so long ago, Gaara had grown from more than an emotionally walled off boy. The two had become men without really having time to let the realization sink in.

To be continued, Read and Review please.~!