Chapter 14.

Title : Steady.

"I told you before," Gaara No Sabaku growled, at a cheerful female nurse with long blonde hair who, despite being nervous around the famous Kazekage, made sure it did not show on her delicate features. She had been pumping some medicinal fluids into the Kage's bloodstream, with the help of a channel, directly injected into his pale skin. Everytime, she came inside to complete the dreary job, she was welcomed with a frown by the patient in question. This time was no exception, either. He was in a rather foul mood that morning, for he was to be discharged after being held prisoner for the past forty-eight hours. "I am better and do not require this anymore, so I demand that you stop it, at once." He was expectant that the nurse would simply cower and stop her torture, out of fear if anything.

She flinched once, and was probably giving second thoughts to performing her assigned duty but her short conflict was interrupted, for a man came bustling inside – a familiar black haired man, with paint drawn all over his face- and demanded the Kage's attention immediately. As far as a healing man's attention could go.

"Gaara, they've discharged you," Kankuro, the middle Sabaku sibling, cried out excitedly, as if it were him receiving the good news and not the patient, and ran towards Gaara's side, shaking the cold hospital bed railing not very slowly, causing the latter to groan. "You should get ready because Everyone is waiting outside!"

"Sir, you're not allowed inside unless you are his immediate family member" the nurse with blonde hair, spoke softly while carrying a cold looking tray that held all sizes of injection tubes, and medicine bottles. It seemed like she was the carrier of torturous tools, and she enjoyed it very much, for she obviously preferred no intruders whilst torturing her patients.

"He is, and kindly leave us." The patient in question, spoke in a monotonous voice for he had obviously dealt enough from this happy go lucky, sadist in disguise of a woman. When said woman had the decency to leave, and had shut the door, a sure sign that she had actually left, the Kazekage spoke again. He was relatively relieved, not having to endure another injection session. "How bad is the damage?" he asked in his raspy, hoarse voice, as if something was permanently scratching his throat and affecting his voice.

"You had all of us scared," The Sand sibling whispered, whilst touching the face paint rather consciously – it was true that when he was outside along with his sister, and other members of the household, the local villagers had turned to look at him with a sense of uncertainty and the odd appearance of his face paint, and a rather large puppet attached to his form certainly did not help.

It was true that the Sabaku siblings were odd people. Deadly, and odd.

"Had it not been for Hinata's quick thinking, you'd probably have lost a life or two!" The man had meant it as a joke, but he knew that if the indigo haired woman had not acted upon the situation, it was a possibility that they would have lost the young Kage to death, or worse, the monster 'Shukaku'.

But he did not. He had rejected the monster from taking over the host's body and soul, and it had obviously made him extremely weak for it took the life out of him to just, send the monster away. If it were to return, and it would return someday and soon, how would Gaara fight it off with ease? How he actually rejected the powerful monster, even he himself could not comprehend. But he did it. It meant victory. Temporary victory.

Gaara had been spacing out pretty often, as of recent. His being out for forty eight hours was enough to make others extremely concerned, but it was enough for him to think. And he thought, subconsciously, unconsciously and the likes. His thoughts were extremely erratic; they ranged from thoughts of Shinomiya Hayato engulfed and choking in a burial of sand, whilst his entire body lay paralysed and limp- his eyes were dull and lifeless, and blood poured out from his mouth as he mumbled for mercy. Or, his headless corpse lying limp on the floor of his office, surrounded by a pool of dark red blood oozing out more by the minute from his open flesh wounds, whilst his head lay in its own pool of blood somewhere close; Other times, the Kage thought about his uncle Yashamaru and the last encounter that was shared with him – on his deathbed, and in a pool of his blood, whilst he voiced his hatred for the young Kage openly, before blowing himself up. Still other times, he would think about his wife, back in Sunagakure Tower – or at least he thought she was waiting there -, and how innocent she truly was. She heard about his monster, and the crimes it made him do, but if she felt any fear, it did not show openly. Perhaps, she would feel fear only if he had her blood on his hands. Perhaps, she would regret ever knowing him, if her life was at his mercy and she was begging him to just kill her to rid her of her pathetic life as a failure.

"She has been waiting patiently, young brother." Kankuro spoke again, shaking away more thoughts of the young indigo haired heiress, from the Kage's corrupt mind. He stared up at his elder sibling with pale, unreadable eyes. His pale teal orbs that hid so much. "Everyone is happy knowing you're okay!" Kankuro cried again, more excitedly this time.

Groaning at the rise in the man's voice, Gaara, grabbed onto the bedsheet and clenched onto it, as if restraining the pain from increasing, in his head. He did not speak for what seemed like painful minutes, but then finally he did in his raspy whisper of a voice, "No one is happy Kankuro – they're just disguising their disappointment."

"What are yo-" Kankuro's eyebrows were knitted together in confusion. He knew people were scared of his younger brother, some even hated him but to think his own family would hate him?

"I would like to be alone." Gaara cut him off, but only to be disappointment, for his seemingly progressive demand was coming true with Kankuro slowly turning to leave; only to hear a knock from the other end. A soft knock, that was followed by a softer feminine voice. "L-Lord Gaara, m-may I enter?"

Gaara sighed, and clenched his jaws. "Enter." He spoke in a relatively louder voice, as he glanced at his elder brother who was about to leave. Good luck with that, the man had mouthed before grinning and pushing the door open, allowing the petite woman to enter, and him to leave. He smiled good naturedly at her.

The woman looked paler than usual, the color from her cheeks seemed to have disappeared indefinitely, and her hair was slightly dishevelled; her clothes seemed unkept, and crinkled in places, but even then, she looked beautiful. Her eyes were hopeful, and upon seeing her husband alive and healthier, Hinata was relieved. Gaara had been watching the woman stride towards him, and take her place on a seat, beside the hospital bed, meant for the attendants. The room was rather spacious, with a full sofa set on the other side of the room, complete with a mini coffee table. The room also offered entertainment in the form of a flat screen television, but despite the five-star facilities of the hospital room, the atmosphere was glum and gloomy along with the environment.

As of now, the only thing not gloomy, was the woman's presence.

"I-I have been told to h-help you, t-till you are d-discharged" the woman stuttered, whilst blushing slightly knowing her husband's intent gaze was on her at the moment. She wondered just how, she was going to help the man get dressed, when she was afraid to simply touch him. Why couldn't his siblings take care of this job anyway? What if he got defensive, and tried to harm her again should she dare to touch him? Besides, he looked completely capable of dressing himself, and what were nurses for anyway?

Except, the thought of the nurses touching the man, and possibly seeing him semi naked faintly caused discomfort in the woman's mind. Besides, the man himself would surely not allow it. Right?

"Help me how?" her husband asked bluntly, while staring at her intently still. It was not a lecherous stare, but a simple thing that he did whenever he was being spoken to, or vice versa. It was the one thing that he knew that made others uncomfortable, and this was no exception. The poor woman was practically turning red like a beetroot. "T-To h-help you g-get dressed." She spoke with great difficulty. Surely the man could at least have his own bath, could he not?

Gaara found this rather strange. What was the meaning of get dressed? He was never the type to spend hours on dressing – for him, it was simply taking a bath, spraying some cologne and throwing on his clothes. He normally did not have time to brush his hair which was probably why he always had messy hair that pretty much suited him.

But in the past forty eight hours, he had not been able to do any of those things. He had been out cold, up until late the last night, where he stayed awake thinking about rather erratic things. This morning, he heard the news of his discharge, and he was relieved to say the least. Gaara was aware of the impending work that must have piled up in his office, not to mention the upcoming visit from the Council members of Suna. This was the wrong time to have fallen ill this way, and he hoped more than ever to just leave the mundane hospital room that seemingly turned him more insane by the passing minute.

He had also no chance, to actually take a bath and 'get dressed'. He felt dirty, and he was stinking of his own sweat. He needed to 'get dressed'. And so he, nodded. It was not the idea that his wife would probably see him semi-naked that really bothered him – but it was the fact that he would be needing her help to get ready, that really annoyed him. But as of then, he did not have much of an option. He was hooked to an IV pole, with a heavy channel inside his skin through which the fluids entered his bloodstream. He was weak, and had a raging headache. Whether or not, Gaara liked it, he needed her help lest he fall flat on his face upon the event of actually getting out of the bed and dressing.

"W-Well what would I h-have to do, f-first?" His wife asked softly, almost in a whisper, the color never leaving her face. She prayed and prayed, hoping that she would not have to give him a bath. God forbid, if she had to do that, then she would probably die. Then again, he was her husband. Legally speaking, she had every right to see him naked.

But what if she did? She knew her husband was not an ordinary looking man. He had striking features, what with his mesmerising teal orbs, his messy red hair, and pale white skin. The thing she found most striking about him, was the kanji for love on his forehead. She would have liked to touch it someday. If he allowed it.

And what about his physique? He did not seem to be the athletic type, but under all those robes, it seemed like he had a pretty tough yet lean body. Maybe he worked out in the wee hours when no one was watching? Nonethless, she shook thoughts of her husband naked away from her head, and slowly but steadily started unhooking the IV pole from him, all the while nervous about when he might change his mind and possibly fling something at her and yell at her to get out. She was aware that he was going through a rough mental patch, given he had endured some turmoil two days ago.

Surprisingly, he did not say anything. He did not even flinch when she skilfully, pulled the heavy covers off him, allowing him to get up from his abode for the past two days. It was obvious that he had chosen to have a sponge bath first and foremost, and when he had voiced his desire, Hinata nodded patiently and glided towards the bathroom to get his bath water ready. It was only recommended, that patients bathe with lukewarm to warm water, and not cold water. And so she started preparing his water, and getting the soaps, shampoos and the likes ready for a comfortable bath.

Gaara, on his own, decided to get up from the bed and walk around slightly. He faintly remembered the last time he walked since he entered this hellhole. He had been put in a wheelchair, back on his bed and there he lay like a helpless form weighing heavy with injections and other torturous things. Now, after what seemed like forever he was getting the chance to move, and he was taking it.

And he was doing pretty fair, in his opinion. It was true he felt a whirl of dizziness as he stood up, but after steadying himself, it was sure that he got his balance and started walking around. With more effort, he was able to successfully take off his hospital gown as well, minus his trousers underneath. He preferred to keep it on for the sponge bath, but it probably needed a washing on an emergency basis anyway. Nonetheless, he decided to keep it on. After all, it was a female in the other room. Never mind that it was his wife. They had not even consummated yet, so it felt rather odd to strip naked in front of her on a non-sexual basis.

Hinata, arrived just in time to catch her husband stripping and instantly the color in her face turned darker than before. It was true that he was a patient, but she could help the sight of his bare torso enter her thoughts in a rather perverted manner. He had to be working out at least three hours a day to have biceps that size. His chiselled form, which was lean yet muscular could put an athletic to shame. She realized she had been staring, when he narrowed his teal orbs at her, his expression unreadable. It meant, that he was ready for the bath though.

And so, she stumbled towards him, suddenly aware that her knees had gone weak on her – and, with some difficulty, managed to get his form to lean on her slightly as they made their way, rather awkwardly, towards the bathroom.

Gaara, though taken aback at her blunt action, was pleasantly surprised. He did not want to exactly speak at this point, nor did he want to get too close, but being able to lean on her, with her arm wrapped around his bare waist was enough to send a couple shivers down his spine. It was possibly because her hand was so cold. Or maybe he was running a slight fever? Either way, he was surprised that he enjoyed the feeling and no voice from within was screaming in his head. Besides, he caught a nice whiff of her midnight blue tress, which smelt faintly of lavender lilies mixed with slight grease.

"Y-You j-just sit h-here w-while I rub the soap on y-your b-b-body," Hinata stuttered pathetically, for the gravity of the situation slowly loomed over her head. She was to give this man, whom she was unsure of, a sponge bath. How could she ever pull this off? What if she hurt his hand? He was aware that he could not wet the arm with a channel, and henceforth kept it at a distance from his body. What if he did not like it? It was not anything new, him liking anything, but she did not want to annoy him further.

Gaara, however, just sighed and nodded. He did not speak.

Taking this a sign to carry on, Hinata poured some body gel on a loofah and slathered it on the Kage's naked arm. A safe place to start from, she thought mentally while carefully holding onto his arm to make sure it held up straight while rubbing the loofah all over his arm. If Gaara flinched, she decided not to let it affect her. She was doing her job very gently, it was not possible that she hurt him. Right?

Receiving no response from the Kage, Hinata continued slathering soap all over his naked torso, all the while being careful not to let even a drop of water touch his other arm. When she was done with rubbing soap all over his torso, she decided it was a hair wash that he needed. But she was extremely nervous to even try, for it was his hair and she knew all about being possessive about hair. Hanabi, back home, was pretty possessive about people touching her hair. Anyone besides Hinata, who tried touching Hanabi's hair, would be subject to pain. The woman with pale eyes smiled, at the thought of her sister back in Konoha.

"What is it?" Gaara asked with his non-existent eyebrows knitting together. He had been watching her whilst she performed a sponge bath on him, dutifully. He was confused, and unsure of how to react with her seeing him half naked, and touching him constantly.

"I-I was j-just thinking a-about m-m-my sister back home" Hinata responded, subconsciously while slowly pouring shampoo on his hair, and rubbing it all over it. She was careful, to not rub too hard lest she angered him, and cause his headache to get worse. "You said home." The Kazekage narrowed his eyes into slits, towards his wife, who stiffened visibly and stopped rubbing. She somehow could not meet his eye, at this moment and simply stared at his now, red, frothy hair as if it were the most interesting thing.

"I-I s-said it out of r-reflex, I-I'm so-sorry!" she cried, apologetically, whilst blushing darkly once again. But she knew that the damage was already done. Oh why was she so daft? Could she not think twice before speaking to the Kazekage himself? Would he now, send her back? Where would she go if he were to turn her away? What about her marriage?

"Is this not your home too?" Gaara Sabaku asked directly, and bluntly. He did not know how to twist words and lace words with flowery language. He was blunt, and painfully bitter to the truth. He knew the truth would hurt but he had no care for it. Nevertheless, when Hinata did not respond instantly, Gaara's eyebrows knitted more closely together. Why wouldn't she answer? Did she still miss her home back in Konohagakure?

"I-It i-is a home of s-sorts" Hinata responded, while looking away. Her voice got softer, if that was possible. But she meant every bit of what she said. It was true that Sunagakure was nothing like Konohagakure, but she was wed here and she was bound to make the former her second home.

"Look at me, Hinata." Gaara whispered back, as he wore a slightly pained expression in comparison to his normally unreadable expression, and when she did turn her face towards him, her pearlescent orbs met his teal orbs, and they seemed to stare at eachother for what seemed like forever.

A/N : This is a long ass chapter and it took me exactly 2 1/2 hours to complete lols. I hope you guys like this chapter!

Btw, shoutout to ForgetMeNutella – Thanks sooo much for your review! Also, I loooove OHSC. One of the cutest and the funniest out there :3

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