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The food was served on their table as they thanked the waitress for giving them appetizers. They started to eat on their bento boxes and were drinking green tea.
"So Gaara, I want to know more about you if that is alright for you," Mr. Haruno asked calmly.
Mrs. Haruno glanced at him blankly and turned her head towards the young couple.
The red-haired Kazekage paused for a moment and nodded, saying calmly. "I don't mind sharing a little bit of my story."
The pink-haired kunoichi placed her hand on top of his with reassurance. "It's okay. They wouldn't judge you. We are a family here. Right, Dad?"
Mr. Haruno stared at their daughter and smiled wholeheartedly. "Of course, dearie. I do know that he went through a lot of hard times in life, not to mention the dark one. Though, I just want to know what made you become different?"
Gaara looked at him and responded. "Your daughter and our friend Naruto Uzumaki. They're the ones who proved that there is still hope and love for me when I almost wanted to give up when I was in such a dark place. They taught me to believe in myself that I can change my own destiny. I know that people in my village were in fear because there was a monster living inside me. If I hadn't met Sakura or anyone else here, my life would be over and empty. She became my childhood friend and now, she's the love of my life."
With that being said, Mr. and Mrs. Haruno's lip curved into a proud smile and nodded in understanding as they watched him hold their daughter's hand endearingly and kissed it.
The pink-haired kunoichi stared at him warmly with a whisper. "Thank you…"
"No. Thank you," the red-haired Kazekage corrected and smirked.
"Well done, young man. You have definitely succeeded. Your past doesn't define you any more, so we are looking forward to both of your future," Mr. Haruno grinned and raised his glass before sipping it.
"We're glad that you have found your happiness. If there is anything that you need, you can always visit. Welcome to the Haruno family," Mrs. Haruno said genuinely, which made Gaara grinned at them happily.
"Yay!" Sakura kissed him on the cheek and leaned her head on his shoulder.
While the sun was bright and cloudy at the same time, the two of them decided to spend time together on top of the mountains, looking at the landscape of the entire hidden leaf village. They were sitting on the grass while the wind was hitting across their faces, holding hands peacefully and wishing that they would stay like that forever.
"I told you my parents love you," the pink-haired kunoichi said correctly.
"I guess I'm quite natural when it comes to meeting other people now," the red-haired Kazekage chuckled softly.
"It's because you accepted change and I couldn't be more proud of you. Everything we've ever dreamt of is finally right here," Sakura said in relief.
"Thank you and you are right. We are living the dream," Gaara smiled as he gazed down at the view and continued on. "Sakura…"
"Hmm?" She hummed in response.
"Do you have any regrets that you may be carrying and you wish that you want to go back to fix it?" Gaara wondered.
The pink-haired kunoichi answered simply. "No. Not really."
"How certain are you?" The red-haired Kazekage asked curiously.
"Well, it's because of those regrets, I've learned some things from them, which took a lot of time for me to figure out what it is that I truly want. Regrets are part of the experiences that we go through and if there is one thing that I do regret is if I never loved at all…" Sakura explained, making his eyes widened in surprise.
Gaara glanced at her fondly and said faintly. "I see…"
The pink-haired kunoichi asked blankly as she watched the birds fly by. "How about you? Do you have any regrets?"
The red-haired Kazekage responded. "No. There aren't any. Though, I do have something to tell you."
"What is it?" Sakura raised an eyebrow peculiarly, then felt his hand held hers up as their fingers intertwined.
His soft jaded eyes gazed into her bright green orbs and said. "No matter what happens, we will always love each other and nothing can ever change that. My parents taught me not to throw my life away just because I had a terrible past and I deserve to live for someone better. Someone who understands me and that is you."
Sakura smiled and agreed when her eyes started to glisten brightly in return. "And only love will remember who we are and who we are meant to be with."
Both of them leaned in closer as soon as they turned into a passionate kiss with their heads tilted on the sides, whereas the wind continued to breeze out across them and the leaves were spiraling up in the air before they drift away in another direction.
Later on at night, Gaara was walking beside Sakura until they reached the front door of her house.
She turned around and said. "I want to thank you for coming in and meeting my parents."
"You're welcome. I've been waiting for my whole life to get to know them. They are the kind of people who are good-natured," he stated.
"They are always like that, you know. I'm thankful to have them as my parents," she said smiling.
"Hm. Anyway, you should probably head off to go to sleep now. You don't want to be late for your work tomorrow morning," Gaara reminded her.
The pink-haired kunoichi giggled softly and joked. "Okay, Mr. Kazekage."
He chuckled at her adorableness and approached her closely to her before his lips met hers. They stayed for a few seconds before they leaned back away.
"Goodnight, Sakura," he murmured softly.
"Goodnight, Gaara," she smiled warmly and entered inside the house, whereas the red-haired Kazekage went back to the apartment where he and his siblings have rented.
TO BE CONTINUED...