Title : Touch.

Gaara Sabaku was many things – most importantly, he was the leader of Suna Village. He was the host to the One Tailed Shukaku, and had made great efforts as to not let the demon possess him completely. He was a shrewd, ruthless and diplomatic leader who would stop at nothing to ensure his peoples' safety – and also because, a certain Shukaku simply did not mind any bloodshed.

So yes, he was many things. But what he was not known to, were the ways of love and affection. His elder brother Kankuro had definitely explained some of the ropes of love, but there is only so much a man can explain to his younger brother.

Throughout his adolescence, Gaara was never the type to be interested in women, somehow earning him the reputation of enjoying the company of males more than women – a reputation that had grown out of a harmless rumor which had maliciously spread throughout the village. The fact was that, Gaara did not care enough to mingle with the opposite sex. Soon after the Fourth Kage's tragic death – a rumored assassination by the leader of Otagakure, Lord Orochimaru- , Gaara was taken to office, being Rasa's immediate heir after Kankuro declined and the youngest Sabaku sibling poured his entire being into the well being of his village. He simply did not have time to frolic around with a woman. Besides, the Shukaku would not allow it. The demon's only requirement for existence was blood and blood alone. It existed for blood and lusted for blood. Whoever tried getting too close with the man, had always experienced a fate much worse than death alone – an incredible example to this would be the battle of Oritake. In brief, Gaara's first experience had been the daughter of the respected leader, Kae Serinuma. Although, she was not related to Lord Hayate by blood, he adopted her as his very own after discovering her in a pitiful condition on the harsh streets of Oritake, during one brutal winters evening. Since then, Kae had become the reason for Hayate's existence, for he himself bore no children and was not wed.

The Oritake and Suna Villages had been allies earlier, but after the entrance of Kae, things started going extremely downhill between the allies. During her youth, the young woman with purple colored hair began to blossom tremendously, in comparison to her chubby appearance as a child. She was charmed by Gaara's appearance and amazed at his personality, and to say that she grew fond of him would be an understatement. She started obsessing over him, and during one such visit to Suna with her father, Kae got the courage to get close to the redhead. Unfortunately for her, Gaara felt nothing similar to her emotions, and being overtaken by the Shukaku, he murdered her for trying to touch him.

"You are a bother to me," He had stated, in his raspy monotonous voice. He stared on coldly, as he allowed the Shukaku to take over, and slowly squeezed the life out of her.

"Sand Coffin." He commanded, and immediately, the petite woman was engulfed in sand which slowly squeezed her to death. Shukaku had been satisfied. However, there was one who had witnessed this gruesome incident.

Since the death of his precious daughter, Lord Hayate immediately declared war on Suna, upon receiving the news of Kae's perpetrator. Albeit beginning a war, everyone realized that no one could touch Gaara. The death of Kae Serinuma had been a hard-hitting incident carrying a clear, loud message. The redhead was practically untouchable.

Yet however, things had been different with this indigo haired woman, whom Gaara was to now call, his wife. She was a different person, albeit annoying with her constant stuttering, but different still. She was a quiet, timid woman who was determined from her very core – he could sense her strong determination throughout and it somehow surprised him. It was true that Shukaku had been troubling him recently, but not the way it usually did. It was also true, that the demon had become greedy for this woman's blood for it was assured that her blood would taste the sweetest among all the others, but surprisingly it remained calm in her presence, unlike other times. And witnessing such a reaction from the bloodthirsty demon, Gaara remained puzzled.

Earlier that evening, before Gaara's entrance in his wife's room, the redhead had been in his office. He was spacing out because of all the events that had taken place that day, and the future events waiting to take place that night. He had not touched the woman even once, though he never really touched anyone to be honest. That day when the Hyuga prodigy had initiated a handshake, he declined.

Things had changed since Kae's death, for Gaara had to learn to touch people in his line of work. With great effort, he allowed restricted human contact – it worked fine with him. However the events of the night would require a lot more. He was aware of the meaning of a true consummation and the idea of such nearly made him flinch. He was not prone to such things in his monotonous life.

And yet, now he was forced to go beyond his limits. How could he ever come close to his wife with the Shukaku lusting for her blood? Would he able to complete the consummation procedure with her?

Shortly after his ponders, the redhead was interrupted by his brother, Kankuro. He was carrying some glossy magazines and wearing a rather flustered expression on his face. Nonetheless, he was his usual grinning self and he seemed extra jumpy that evening.

Dropping the glossy magazines on the Kage's work table, Kankuro plopped down on the chair opposite to Gaara's. Upon glancing at the rather explicit cover of the magazines, the redhead sweatdropped. His eyes then narrowed to them, and then rose up to his brother. Seeing as Kankuro was still pretty silent, and smirking smugly, Gaara held up the edge of a single book as if it were on fire, "What is the meaning of this?"

It was Kankuro's turn to sweatdrop, and he began scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "It's to help you out with tonight. It's like a male version of a Cosmo."

Gaara's expression was practically unreadable, but one could understand that his non-existent eyebrow was twitching with annoyance. Yet, he retained a straight face.

"Basically, you are asking me to read porn?" He asked, rather icily with his eyes still narrowed at Kankuro, who had grown visibly nervous. "And what the fuck is Cosmo?"

The elder brother scratched his head again, and carefully started, "Cosmopolitan is a female magazine that garners articles on sex, and fashion" he watched Gaara's eyes narrow into slits and gulping slightly, Kankuro continued, "The magazine is exclusive in this Village and Temari had to really pay to get copies."

Gaara sighed softly. Of course Temari would be the one to read such a thing. Ever since she married Shikamaru Nara, his sister had changed quite a bit. She had become more feminine and grew a lot more softer. Gaara had begun seeing characteristics in her, that he had deemed forgotten in the past.

Yet, he was happy for her.

"And what about this one? Who reads this?" Gaara blurted out, hoping he would not have to hear the answer. He was not great at such affairs but he could definitely take a wild guess.

"Moi." Kankuro pointed to himself as if guilty for an accusation, though his grin never left his lips. Quickly taking up a selected magazine, the older Sabaku flipped through the pages until he stopped abruptly. Grinning wider, he thrust the book in front of Gaara and leaned in towards him.

"How to please a woman in bed? Kankuro, are you mad?" Gaara stared down at the glossy pages with a large article of the aforesaid title. Shifting his glance, he glared at the page and then shut the book with disgust.

"You know you gotta read it, little brother," Kankuro leapt up from his chair, nearly knocking down the said chair. Leaning forward towards the Kage, he spoke in a hushed tone, "Lady Hinata would be too shy to make the first move, anyway." Gaara stared up at his elder brother in confusion and then sighed, realizing that he was absolutely right.

"Do your best, Lord Kazekage." The older Sabaku turned away and turned to leave the office, before waving slightly, "As your assistant, I advise you to take a glance at it." And with that, Kankuro left just as quickly as he had arrived, leaving the Kage alone to his misery.

Sighing again, Gaara reluctantly held up the confounded magazine and flipped through the pages till he found the familiar looking article and started reading, rather intently despite himself.

This would be a long evening.

*Later That Evening; Present Time*

"Call me Gaara."

The redhead Kage leader had been, with great difficulty, prepped up for the evening. He had been through the magazine left by Kankuro earlier that evening and true to his words, studied the content and with newfound determination and the slightest bit of anticipation, went forth to try his luck with the woman. After all, she was his wife, and it was the night of their marriage. He had a right to try his luck. However, recently the demon within him had been troubling him more than usual. There was always a voice rumbling deep inside his head that chanted a single word – 'blood'. It had become unbearingly annoying for the man and at one point, out of sheer annoyance, he quickly grabbed the magazine and flung it across the room with all his might. Gaara wondered why, the Shukaku had been disturbing him at a time like this when he knew other matters had to be given more importance.

Upon entering his wife's room later that evening, Gaara however forgot all about the demon screaming in his head.

Hinata Sabaku looked nothing like her usual self. Usually, she was seen wearing a yukata or a kimono. Sometimes, she was seen wearing western clothing too, but not this.

Gaara was pleasantly surprised when he set his gaze on her – she looked beautiful in her white silken robe that hardly reached her knees leaving her creamy smooth legs visible to the eye, and it was no surprise that his gaze was seemingly fixated on her chest. However, what really caught his attention was her face. It did not look any different than the ceremony earlier that day, but she certainly looked more natural and he decided that he preferred the natural appearance to all the layers of face paint. Her hair had been pinned up in the most intricate fashion and would, with a slight jerk of the head, cause her hair to fall like an indigo cascade around her bare, smooth shoulders. Her expression however was priceless – she had probably, never been as flustered as she had been at that time.

"Lor- G-Gaara…" Hinata whispered, interrupting the man's thoughts causing him to glance at her absentmindedly before shifting his gaze to her bedroom. He respected the idea of his wife wanting the bedroom to herself for the first few days, but now they were married. Why would she want a separate bedroom? Weren't married couples allowed to share one bed?

"T-This might sound sudden b-but," Hinata started once again, poking her fingers together suddenly conscious of her appearance for the second time, whilst her gaze remained downwards. She had only once noticed her husband's appearance, and he was looking rather good in his black trousers and white muscle tee. Western had suited him a lot better, she decided mentally. However, since then, she was unable to meet his gaze for she was too timid to do that. "What e-exactly are you doing h-here?"

Gaara's gaze went back to his wife and it narrowed severely. Albeit a reasonable question, but why would she ask such a question? Was she that daft?

The Suna leader was not prone to hearing such blunt questions and it had thrown him for a second or two, but upon recovery, he responded simply as if he had been stating the obvious, "What do you think I am doing here?" He was in awe of this woman's reactions.

Hinata gasped silently, suddenly realizing all too well what was about to happen. Her cheeks grew extreme shades of red and she quickly turned away from her husband, as if her shyness was a sort of contagious disease. She was told about consummation by lots, but knew very little as to what to do when the situation actually called for it. Hearing stories was one thing, and using practical knowledge was quite another thing.

Gaara sighed softly, and then casually strolled towards his wife. He wondered what it would feel like to touch her. Another human being, just like himself. Would she be scared of his touch? Would he recoil?

Taking his place, dangerously a few inches behind her, the redhead slowly but surely placed a firm hand on her shoulder. He had been contemplating this moment for sometime, and finally being able to touch another without having the Shukaku protest was definitely an alien experience for the man. Hinata, startled by this sudden act, jumped slightly before turning to meet her husband's gaze. His eyes held something that scared the woman – his teal orbs were pale yet they seemed to be sparkling. His eyes were gazing at her with such intensity that Hinata feared, it was only for her. No one else. This abruptly caused a deep pleasing sensation take over her in the pit of her stomach, and though she was slightly scared, she remained unfaltered.

Faintly surprised that his wife had not screamed or fled out of her bedroom, Gaara took this as a cue to continue. Maybe reading that stupid magazine had been helpful after all? Besides, he realized for the first time that Hinata had beautiful eyes – those pale orbs that hid so much pain. Gazing into her eyes, Gaara realized that he could see through her soul – her pure, innocent soul.

Slowly inching his face forward towards his wife, Gaara's eyes closed. He was not aware of what was to happen next – either Hinata would reject the kiss, or she would meet him halfway. Deep inside his corrupt mind, the man hoped that she would reciprocate. He was nervous, and wondered that if his wife were to actually reject the kiss, what kind of an idiot would that make him look like? He would look so stupid in his current state- and more importantly, he would have let his guard down for someone who simply was not interested.

Right then, he felt his dry lips meet with a pair of gentle ones. Blinking his eyes open, he caught sight of his wife – her eyes were closed and she wore a rather serene expression despite her flustered cheeks. It was a beautiful sight to soothe his nerves with, and faintly content that she reciprocated, Gaara slowly cupped her cheek. He had touched her bare skin, for the first time and it felt amazing. Her skin was ever so smooth, like milk. Not a single imperfection lay on her skin, and he was amazed at it. He had mentally cursed himself for not bothering to touch her before. She felt good. Really, really good.

Hinata had not in her wildest dreams, expected to be in this position. Not with the Suna leader. True, she had wished for it to happen with Naruto, her childhood crush, but never with this man. He was the opposite of the blond haired ninja. If Naruto was day, Gaara was night. There was a vast difference between the two, despite the similarities in their past. But fate had played a trick on her, when her destiny was sealed with this man, and quite frankly, Hinata wondered why.

However, during this intimate moment, she seemingly stopped wondering. All she could think about was how good his mouth felt on hers. His touch seemed to set a spark inside her and she could feel the spark tingle her body, all the way down to her toes. She wanted more, for being a woman, she too knew all about frustration and pleasure. And hoping to get more, she slowly raised her arms and began wrapping them around his neck, when she was interrupted by an iron like grip on her arm.

"Don't." he simply stated, after tearing away from her. No matter that his voice sounded ragged and nearly breathless. His gaze however had turned from intense to crazy in a matter of seconds.

Hinata paled visibly, and dropped her free arm instantly, and tried to squirm her other arm free from this man, but he did not let go. If only, his grip tightened on her to the point of causing her discomfort and pain, "Y-You're hurting me, G-Gaara!" she winced, while crying out softly.

Gaara stared in horror, as he quickly released his wife's arm. He noticed that he had managed to leave a faint mark on her arm, and he backed away from her slowly. How close she had brought herself to him. He was not use to it and it made him rather…hostile to such a touch. And he was aware that the Shukaku would never allow it. He faintly remembered a voice calling in his head, demanding her blood, and he wondered how easy it would have been for him to kill her. She had nearly provoked the Shukaku by trying to touch the redhead.

These disturbing thoughts had quite frankly put him off the mood, and he noticed how his wife's expression had quickly changed from affection to fear – an elevation so quick, he grew faintly frightened. He was frightened of what he could do to her, should she provoke the demon further, and with grave realization, the dejected redhead turned away and hurried out of the bedroom without another word all the while, ignoring the muffled cries from his wife.

Hinata was too puzzled and scared to find out what had gotten into her husband. One minute, they were kissing like a true couple, and the next minute he turned hostile as if he loathed her very presence. His gaze had changed and it frightened her so.

However, as his wife, she had a responsibility and she wanted to know what had disturbed Gaara so much that he had to leave. But all her cries to him deemed worthless for he did not once turn to glance at her, let alone an explanation. The slam of the door, had been the very last reminder of the events that took place that evening.

Everything remained quiet after that. The silence was almost maddening, but for her screaming thoughts. She was left alone, as if Gaara had never entered her bedroom. As if, they had not kissed like a couple deeply in love, a few moments earlier.

A/N : I'm sorry for the late updates, I've been busy with other things. Plus I've been lazy too lolol.

I know I might get some hate-reviews for this chapter, but please realize that this chapter is actually pretty crucial for Gaara. It tries to portray him battling his demons.

Also please excuse my mistakes or grammatical errors. I'm trying my best to make it seem decent for you guys :3

Thanks for reading, and please review (I will appreciate positive ones please lol), and follow/favorite.

Thanks to all my readers, you guys rock! I love you all for the reviews and support. You guys inspire me to write *insert heart* :-*