We're the Same
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. For those interested, feel free to check out my other stories. Lots of plot bunnies are about to be unveiled. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 12
A few days later, Suki couldn't help but think this was a little surreal. She was shopping for baby things with Temari. Somehow the feisty blonde had just assumed that if Gaara and Suki were going public, it was because she was pregnant.
In their defense, the couple hadn't known Suki was pregnant when they made their announcement. Suki knew that was a moot point though. Either way she was pregnant and she needed to do some shopping anyway. Besides, it would be good to bond with her child's aunt.
"I knew that something was going on." Temari muses as she shows Suki to where the strollers were.
"What do you mean?" The raven haired woman asks as she glances at the selection.
"Well in a twisted way, it was kinda obvious. Gaara was really focused on you during the Chunin Exams. I've never seen him fixate on someone like that before. I guess that was his version of teasing the girl he liked. Academy boys and young Genin do that a lot." The master tactician muses.
Suki tries not to laugh. She supposed that did make sense. Though Gaara's version of teasing the girl he liked was rather…extreme.
"You are saying that you knew he liked me because he wanted to kill me." Suki notes with a quiet laugh. (She tried not to laugh, but she was only human.)
"Yeah. I know. It sounds funny, but it's still true. How far along are you?" The Jonin inquires.
Suki couldn't argue with the accuracy of Temari's assessment. It still struck her as amusing. The raven haired woman idly wonders if maybe pregnancy hormones were causing it to be such an unexpectedly hilarious observation.
"About two months." She answers.
"Yeah. We should probably pick you up some maternity clothes too. Just to be on the safe side. Do you like any of these?" The blonde asks as she gestures towards the strollers.
The former S Class Criminal Ninja makes a face at the words maternity clothes. Of course, she knew that Temari was only being practical. Her stomach might still be flat now, but it wasn't going to stay that way for long. Still the two words already made her feel…fat.
"They are all nice. Couldn't Gaara just make one out of his sand though?" She asks.
"Hmm. I guess he could. I'm not sure if that's safe though. The sand might get in the baby's mouth and it probably wouldn't be very comfortable." The other woman muses.
"Good point. I like the red one. It's got a nice cover over it. That'll be useful in the desert heat." Suki says after a moment and Temari nods.
"Yeah. It is nice. So how did you two, you know…?" The older ninja asks.
The formerly last Uchiha glances around the store. Baby shopping would be easier, if she knew the gender of their child. Hmm. There were a lot of cute baby things though. Maybe she could just buy some of everything. Sooner or later, they would probably have at least one son and one daughter, just out of the laws or probability.
She pauses when she hears Temari's question. Of course, Suki was Suki. Her time in the Sound had corrupted her and she misinterprets what Gaara's sister was asking.
"In his office and against the wall. He's very…attentive." Suki answers.
"What does his office have to do with anything? I was asking how you got together. Wait. Ohhh. Really?! You did it in his office?!" Temari asks and Suki covers the blonde's mouth.
Suki shakes her head disapprovingly at the other woman. Honestly, did she have to say that so LOUD?! Everyone was staring at them now.
"Yes, we did. Say that a little louder next time. I don't think the people in the Land of Iron heard you yet." The feisty Uchiha grumbles.
Temari mumbles an apology behind Suki's hand. The former Leaf Villager shakes her head and uncovers the wind user's mouth. Good. Maybe she would learn to be a little bit more discrete now.
"Sorry. It's just hard to picture him that way. I don't need the details of your sex life. I just meant how did you two realize that you had feelings for each other." She clarifies.
"Well it was the cat honestly. She tripped us. We just kinda landed on each other. Our lips touched and that was that really." The pregnant woman replies.
"The cat?" Temari asks skeptically and Suki nods in confirmation.
Temari giggles. It was hard to believe that Gaara had gotten a lover because of a clumsy cat. Then again, Nala was a sneaky little thing. The Sand Ninja didn't completely dismiss the possibility that the feline had done it on purpose.
"That's a story to tell the grandkids, I'm sure." She offers.
"Mmm it's a bit more romantic than grandpa tried to kill grandma. So naturally grandma was a masochist and fell in love with him a few years later. Yeah. I think we are going to go with the cat story, at least until they are a little older." Suki agrees.
Meanwhile Gaara was in his office, with Kankuro. He sighs. His brother was still adjusting to the news that he was about to be an uncle. The red head was trying to be patient though. It was a lot to take in.
"Were you trying to have this baby or did you just get caught up in the moment?" He asks.
"Both really. Suki made it clear that she wanted children. I thought about it and decided I was agreeable to the idea." The Kazekage answers.
Kankuro shakes his head. He knew that Gaara was a good person. He just wasn't sure that his baby brother was really ready for fatherhood. (Hell, Kankuro didn't think anyone ever really was, but especially not Gaara.)
"Don't you think that you two are rushing things, a bit? You just got together not that long ago. Wouldn't it have been wiser to wait until people were used to the idea of you two being together? This decision just doesn't effect you and her. It effects the Five Great Nations as a whole." The puppet master informs him.
Gaara's eyes narrow. He didn't particularly care for the implication. The implication was that he and Suki hadn't thought about this at all. That they were children who had gotten in over their heads.
"We've known each other since we were Genin. I don't think it's rushing it. Our relationship may be relatively new, but we are ninjas. For all we know, either of us could die tomorrow. Why wait? Besides, the other Kage and Daimyos are aware we are together and she's already pregnant. What ifs are pointless." He informs Kankuro.
Damn it. That was a good point. Kankuro wondered how the other Kages and Daimyos would react to this. It was one thing to accept Gaara and Suki were together. It was another for them to accept that there was a mini Uchiha on the way.
"Have you decided how you are going to tell them that Suki is pregnant?" Kankuro asks cautiously.
"I figured that once she starts showing, word will spread or we will notify them beforehand. Quite honestly, I refuse to have every aspect of my personal life put to a vote. Should I poll them when would be the best time for us to make love as well?!" Gaara hisses.
Kankuro groans. This was going south and very quickly. He supposed it was only natural. Gaara was protecting the mother of his child. Still he had to find a way to fix this.
"I'm sure that you will make an excellent father. I will help you in whatever way I can. I just wish that you two had looked before you leapt." His older brother says.
"Good. I am glad to hear that you will be supportive." Gaara replies firmly.
Kankuro knew that tone of voice. He had been very lucky not to be Sand Coffined. The Kazekage was clearly very protective of his unborn child and his lover. The puppet master mentally sighs and makes a note of this.
"How far along is she?" Kankuro dares himself to voice his curiosity.
"Around two months. It will be awhile before she begins to show yet. I just wanted to ensure that our loved ones knew first. Then I'll inform the other Kages and Daimyos." The red head assures him.
"Good. It will be a lot worse in the long run, if they think you were trying to keep this a secret." He reasons.
Gaara nods. He was aware of that. Of course he was going to tell them. The Kage just resented that he had to. This should be a private time of happiness for him and Suki. They should be celebrating, not worried about how the Daimyos and other Kages would react to their news.
"I'm aware of that. I love you, Kankuro. I truly do. You are a wonderful brother and I know that you only fuss over me because you care, but I'm not stupid. I understand the potential consequences of choosing her as my lover. I just view her as worth it. That was my decision and I'm not going to change my mind." Gaara states firmly.
Kankuro nods. Damn. His brother was actually in love. He was in love with a former S Class Criminal. A woman who could probably level a village, if she wanted to. God help them all.
A few hours later, Suki heads back to the Kazekage Mansion. Temari helped her carry in what seemed be a whole store worth of baby stuff. Maybe they had gotten a little carried away, she muses.
She shakes her head. Nevermind. It was better to have too much than too little. Besides, everything was just so cute. She couldn't help but go a little overboard.
"Suki, what happened to the floor of our home?" Gaara asks in shock when he walks out of his office.
"Oh Temari took me baby shopping. You said that it would be a good idea for us to get to know each other and pick up a few things. Remember?" His lover asks "innocently."
The Kazekage raises an eyebrow. Suki was a skilled actress, but she couldn't pull off innocent. She was anything, but. He loved her, but that was just a fact.
"Yes, I did say that. I believe I said a few things. I didn't expect you to buy enough child's clothing for an entire village." The red head muses.
"Well, I used my own money. We might have gone a little overboard, but I figured that it was better to be prepared." Suki replies sheepishly.
Gaara shakes his head. He has the sand pull his lover into his arms and kisses the top of her head. Somehow the fearsome ninja looked adorable when she was trying to look sheepish.
"It's not about the money. I have absolutely no qualms about buying you or our child whatever either of you desires. I'm just not sure where we are going to put all of this." He admits.
"We'll think of something. How did it go with Kankuro?" She asks with a smile.
"I think he's slowly coming around. He means well. I know he does. Though my patience was tried more than once. You should be resting. I may not know much about pregnancy, but I know it is important for pregnant women not to overexert themselves." He says.
Suki shakes her had in amusement. She rests her head on his shoulder. The oldest Uchiha was quite content to cuddle into him for the moment.
"Gaara, I'm not that far along. I'm perfectly capable of doing some shopping." She notes with a smile.
"Well you were gone for hours." He says as he scoops her up in his arms and carries her off Bridal Style.
"Who needs a horse, when I have you?" She asks as she snuggles into his arms as he carries her off.
Gaara kisses the top of her head. He quickly takes her to their room and sets his lover on the bed. He soon was laying by her side and wraps the blankets around them.
"You can ride me anytime you like." The red head says with a smirk.
"Mmm you are sending conflicting signals." She muses as she leans over and places a gentle kiss against his lips.
Gaara returns it happily. He wasn't really sure what she meant by conflicting signals. So he decided to ask.
"What do you mean?" The red head question his lover in a confused fashion.
"First, you tell me to rest. Then you tell me that I can ride you anytime I like. Sex is VERY enjoyable, but it's not exactly resting." She says with a smirk.
Oh right. She had a point there. Hmm. He needed to come up with a suitable reply for that one. Yeah. He was drawing a blank.
"Fair point. Well I suppose a few exceptions could be made to that request. It's just as important to make certain that you are relaxed. Stress is very bad for pregnant women, so I'm told anyway. You always seem much more relaxed after we are…together." The Kazekage reasons.
Suki's lips twitch upwards in amusement. It was cute. It was very cute when he thought he was being slick. Gaara just wasn't a very sneaky person by nature. (Well other than that one time he used a sand eye to steal some answers during the written portion of the Chunin exams.)
"Mmm it's hard not to be relaxed after that." She replies a she cuddles into him.
"Naruto would never believe me, if I told him how much you enjoy embracing." The Kazekage observes.
Suki blinks. He wouldn't dare, would he? God, she hoped he wasn't serious. The idiot would never let her live it down, if he knew that she was a cuddler.
"You wouldn't." She says in a horrified tone that makes Gaara laugh.
"You're right. I wouldn't do that to you. Though I imagine the result would prove most entertaining, if I did." He assures her and kisses his lover's forehead affectionately.
The eldest Uchiha visibly relaxes after that reassurance. Thank goodness. Her dignity lived to see another day.
"I love you, but you are evil sometimes." The former Leaf Villager declares.
"I love you too and that goes both ways." Gaara states with a smirk.
Suki shrugs. She couldn't really deny that one. It was certainly accurate. She had been a criminal for awhile.
"True enough." She says and yawns before snuggling into him more and closing her eyes.
A few minutes later, Gaara notes that her breathing had evened out. She had fallen asleep. He smiles. It was nice to know that she felt safe enough with him to fall asleep in his arms.
Idly, he realizes that was a silly observation to make. She felt safe enough with him to sleep with him in a far more carnal way. Of course Suki didn't think twice about falling asleep next to him.
"It's odd. I don't see anything. You are going to cause quite the stir and you're not even visible yet." He muses as he glances down at his lover's still very much flat stomach.
Gaara didn't know why he was talking Suki's stomach. He doubted very much that their child could hear him, much less understand him. Still he supposed it was the thought that counted. That was the last though to his mind before he fell asleep.
Back in the Leaf Village, the Council was not happy to say the least. In all honesty, they were in full panic mode. How could this have happened?!
"Suki Uchiha is now the Kazekage's consort." One of them says.
Another sighs as he pours them all a drink. None of them should be sober when dealing with such depressing news. Naruto simply had to be out of his mind. That was the only logical explanation.
"I can't believe he agreed to her transfer. I know that he considers her to be his friend, but that is just flirting with disaster. I have no idea how she seduced a fucking Kage though." Another states.
The third councilmember gives the second a dirty look. Really? He had to ask how she seduced a Kazekage? Gaara might be a Kage, but he was still a man. That answer was rather obvious.
"Alright. Alright. I can imagine how. I just can't believe that she did it. The Uchiha has never expressed a romantic interest in anyone before. It's very unlike her. Perhaps she did it for political power. At the very least, it got her out of the Leaf." He mutters.
"I knew it." A familiar voice calls out and immediately they all turn around.
"Naruto! What are you doing here?" The council members all cry out in terror.
Naruto growls. He had really hoped that he was wrong. Unfortunately, they had done exactly what he expected them to do. They were all trying to plot behind Gaara's and Suki's back.
"You know that's treasonous. You are plotting against an ally of our village. How dare you try to ruin Gaara's relationship?! He was crucial in our war victory! And this is how you repay him?!" The blue eyed ninja practically snarls at them.
The council members all gulp. Damn it. The blonde was angry. He was really, really angry. This wouldn't end well.
"I'm stripping you all of your status for now. I should exile you. For now, I won't. I don't want to banish four elderly people from the village. People will notice your absence. If you continue this behavior though, I will have a trial. For now, you are all retired. I'll replace you shortly." The Jinchuuriki warns them.
"You are most gen-erous and forgiving." One of them stammers.
Naruto bites back another snarl. He knew that he had to keep his cool. He had more important things to focus on, like warning his friends about the Council's efforts.
"Just get out of my sight." He says and they all rush off.
The blonde sighs and finds a scroll. He quickly pens a letter. The blonde then summons one of his toads to take it to the Sand Village.
"Make sure to get this to Suki and Gaara as soon as you can. It's super important." He says.
"You got it, boss!" The toad says and Naruto nods approvingly.
It was a shot letter and to the point. Naruto didn't think it was a good idea to be too detailed. If it was intercepted, that wouldn't look good.
He had faith that Gaara and Suki would be able to read between the lines though. They were both smart. Besides, Gaara was Kazekage. He was used to decoding things.
Dear Gaara and Suki,
Things are heating up in the Leaf. The summer heat is horrible. I thought I should give you a heads up. It looks like things are cooling down now, but you never know.
Hope that things are going okay, in the Sand. I can't wait to hear from you. I'm really happy for the two of you.
Love, Naruto.
"That should do it." He muses.
Heating up was code for trouble. Cooling down was obvious. It meant that he had probably addressed the danger, but they should be careful.
"It'll take a few days to get to them. That's okay though. I doubt the Council, could do anything faster than that." He mutters and watches his Summon hops off.
Naruto sighs and darts off to find Sakura. It was probably a good idea to let her know what was going on. She'd know what to do.
"Naruto, what's wrong? You look worried." The pink haired woman says a few minutes later, after the blonde had found her.
"It's a long story. Do you have a few minutes to talk?" He asks.
The medic blinks at his anxious tone and nods. She gestures for her friend to follow her into one of the empty hospital rooms. Naruto does so without any hesitation.
"So what's going on?" Sakura demands.
"It was the Council. I caught them talking about Suki and Gaara. I think they were probably planning something." He mutters.
Sakura blinks. It was worse than she thought. She didn't know why she was surprised. They did love to meddle where Suki was concerned, but still this was a bridge too far.
"What are you going to do?" She inquires.
"I fired them. I was tempted to exile them, but I didn't want to have to explain where they went. They are too high profile. People would notice if they were gone. I told them, that if they didn't stop it, I would hold a trial and they would be exiled." Nauto tells her.
The pink haired woman sighs. She understood Naruto's response. She really did. Sadly, in the long run, it would probably cause more trouble for the new couple than anything.
"What makes you think that they won't tell the other villagers?" His friend demands.
"Well if they do, then I'll start the trial. That and I'm the war hero. They aren't. People are going to take my word more seriously than theirs." He says proudly.
Sakura pauses and considers this. That was a good point. Still she wasn't sure that was enough to count on.
"We have to tell Suki and Gaara about this. It's important to be subtle though. If someone intercepts the letter, that won't end well." The young woman observes.
"I already sent a letter. I made it really subtle. I don't think anyone else would be able to decode it. But their both really smart. I think they can figure out what I was trying to say. If nothing else, the fact that I sent a letter about the weather should let them know that something is up." He reasons.
Sakura nods approvingly at that strategy. Well that was something at least. The medic takes a deep breath and tries to think of what else they could do.
"We are going to need to watch them closely. Let's talk to Shino. His bugs are great for gathering intelligence in situations like this." The pink haired woman suggests.
"That's a great idea. Yeah! Lets go find Shino." He agrees and the two friends take off to find the bug master.