Thanks for reading! I don't own any of Naruto! Please let me know if you enjoy!
—
The following day, while Gaara's subordinates were out announcing the birth, Asherah and Gaara sat holding their little girl, choosing a name for her.
"I like Serayoko." Gaara rasped, admiring the baby's red hair.
Asherah scowled. "That is very Sunese."
Gaara scowled back. "She is Sunese."
"I like Alphina." Asherah suggested, stroking the baby's tiny nose.
"That sounds very Skorganian." Gaara frowned.
"She is Skorganian." Asherah replied very seriously. "We will have to visit soon."
"When you're both stronger." Gaara agreed.
A silence fell between husband and wife as they gazed down at their offspring.
Asherah thought to herself….was Gaara going to try to cut out half of his daughter's heritage?
Would her Gaara really do that?
Family was important to him, surely not.
Gaara was also thinking….
Asherah was the sole heir to the throne of Skorgan and the heart of the sea….if his daughter took over one or both of those one day, she could never be Suna's leader as well….
What would that mean?
Gaara blinked.
The baby cooed at her parents.
No.
This child was the product of two worlds.
Gaara's eyes narrowed.
She was an equal part of both Skorgan and Suna.
"Seraphina." Gaara spoke in his low, commanding Kazekage tone.
"What?" Asherah asked.
"Her name is Seraphina. The combination of both our wishes for her, because she's a combination of both of our worlds." Gaara stated firmly.
A bright smile lit up Asherah's face. "That's a beautiful name for a siren."
Gaara gave his wife a look.
"Or a kunoichi." Asherah replied, tickling Seraphina's tummy.
Gaara smiled as the baby laughed.
Then he frowned.
Siren?
Kunoichi?
Two worlds…..
One day, little Seraphina would have to take her place in both.
But what would her place be?
—-
Once word spread of Seraphina's arrival, guests from all the Shinobi nations came to see the Kazekage's firstborn child.
The village of Sunagakure rejoiced and soon the Kage mansion overflowed with cards from well-wishers and gifts for the new baby.
Naruto and Hinata were some of the first visitors, the blonde Hokage overjoyed for his friends.
All the while, Gaara was very watchful as to who was holding the baby, who was touching the baby, and when she had been fed and changed.
He was a very attentive, protective father.
If Gaara didn't like the way someone was holding Seraphina, he had no problem telling them.
Naruto was not excluded from that, blinking when Gaara adjusted his arm after the Kazekage determined the Hokage was holding Seraphina's head just a little too tight for his liking.
Naruto just smiled and did as Gaara told him.
Naruto had two children and his grip was not too tight, but he remembered what it was like to be a new father, especially for the first time.
Naruto was proud of Gaara for how far he had come.
Even once the gush of visitors ebbed, the Kazekage was very involved in caring for his infant and his wife.
Every chance he got during the day, he checked on Asherah to make sure she was alright, and did everything he could to speed her healing and recovery.
He was always happy to change the baby, bathe her, help Asherah with feeding her, put her down for naps.
But a new baby brought changes.
Asherah seemed to have lost some of her confidence.
Why?
Gaara didn't know, but she refused her old outfits, choosing now to clothe herself in damask, loose robes.
Gaara didn't think they suited her.
The Kazekage looked forward to his evening cuddles since their first night together, but since the baby came, Asherah rolled away from him, curling onto her side.
It wasn't that he wanted sex, of course he wouldn't mind it, but he knew Asherah was healing and adjusting.
He just wanted to love her and to feel loved.
To lay with Asherah and hold her tight, to listen to her heartbeat, to look into her eyes.
Asherah was the only one with which he had ever shared contact like that.
He missed it dearly.
He had even offered to give her massages or to help her care for herself and she had vehemently refused.
It was like Asherah, who was normally very open and one of the least modest people Gaara had ever known, wanted to hide herself away now.
One evening, while tiny Seraphina lay sleeping, Gaara crawled into bed beside his wife and kissed her shoulder.
Instantly, Asherah hid her face and rolled away from him.
Gaara scowled.
Enough was enough.
"Asherah." Gaara's voice cut through the silence.
"Yes?" She whispered back.
Gaara asked a simple question. "Why?"
Tears welled in Asherah's eyes. Beauty was everything to a siren. A creature created from a single tear from Beauty herself was expected to always be beautiful, flawless, perfect.
She didn't want Gaara to know, didn't want Gaara to see….
Gaara's child had damaged Asherah's body in her eyes, changed it, now she was…..
Was…
She told Gaara the truth in one single breath, through clenched teeth.
"Because I'm not beautiful anymore."
That made Gaara's jade eyes widen in disbelief and anger.
Gaara sat bolt upright and climbed over top of her, pulling the sheets away quickly, too quickly for her to stop him, ripping her loose nightdress off, he looked at her naked frame on the bed.
Asherah had not let Gaara see her body since Seraphina was born.
And her body was different….
…...But that made Gaara appreciate it more.
Gaara's smokey jade eyes were soft, loving, and proud as they scanned over her form.
Gaara felt she had become even more beautiful, more womanly. Places that were bony before were now made fleshy, subtle curves now pronounced, more enticing, soft, silvery lines that gently framed her belly and hips made Gaara want to reach out and touch…
So he did.
Taking his hands, he gently stroked over those silvery lines, his jade eyes lighting up as his gaze met her sapphire orbs. "This is where my child came from. You risked your life for us. Because you love me and you love her."
Asherah couldn't stop the tears that pooled in her eyes as she burned under the intensity of her husband's gaze.
No other would ever love her as completely as Gaara did.
Gaara slid his hands over his wife and leaned down, inches from her face, he closed his eyes and bent in to kiss her as he whispered, "Don't ever tell me you're not beautiful."
Asherah kissed him back forcefully, unable to control the tears that poured down her cheeks.
Gaara purred deep in his chest, wrapping his arms around his wife possessively, nipping at her lips with his teeth as the two began what ended up being a long, loving night.
A few hours before dawn, they lay cuddled up, intertwined so tightly each other's heartbeats echoed in their ears.
Both were happy, both were in love.
The two parents managed to get an entire hour and a half of sleep before Seraphina woke, crying and hungry.
With an exhausted but happy sigh, Gaara got up and brought the baby to Asherah, who sat up in bed to feed her.
As Seraphina snuffled and ate happily, Asherah and Gaara exchanged a glance.
Together, they created this new life, and together, they would raise this child to be a part of both the sand, and the sea.
Neither Asherah or Gaara had ever known such peace.
