Love's Misconstruities
Chapter 28
The next day, everything managed to go smoothly enough. Matsuri was able to conceal Hinata's new hickey, though if the bride had been able to maintain the blush she'd developed after Matsuri had pointed it out, that would've worked too. Hinata only had one bout of morning sickness, and luckily it was before the ceremony which was performed by village elder Ebizou, the late elder Chiyo's brother. It was held atop Gaara's personal balcony which overlooked the village. Only those closest to the bride and groom were present there while the rest of the villagers watched from below.
After they were pronounced husband and wife they made a short address to the adoring people of Sunagakure and headed inside for a short lunch with the family, friends and village councilmen and elders, catered of course by Gaara's favorite restaurant. Later they would join the rest of the village for a massive feast and celebration. Gaara and Hinata had wanted to keep things small and simple, but Matsuri had convinced her Kazekage just how much his people would appreciate their reclusive leader sharing his special day with them. Such insights were why he'd chosen her for this job to begin with, so he'd reluctantly agreed. Besides, everyone was curious about the new addition to their village, and to make them more intrigued, she was from the secretive and illustrious Hyuuga clan, the most powerful in their allied village of Konoha. Hinata had already been warned by Matsuri that she may have to put up with Gaara's mob of fangirls at the festival later, but she doubted that they would cause much of a ruckus in the end. She'd hoped that they would respect the object of their affections enough to leave him be, especially after seeing him happily together with his new wife. They'd just have to find someone else to crush over now.
But all that would happen later. For now, it was time to relax and enjoy the company of those closest to them, and for Hinata, that was time she intended to cherish while she still could.
She and Gaara sat together at the large round table in the conference room where they were to be served their lunch; Neji was to Hinata's other side, Naruto (regretfully) by his, then Matsuri. Next to Gaara was the vacant seat which was reserved for Kankurou, then Temari and Shikamaru, who both went missing shortly after the ceremony had finished. The rest of the councilmen and elders sat between them. Neji was counting his blessings that Naruto was too busy drooling over the food to talk and, to further ensure he wouldn't have to speak with the genin, began conversing with his cousin, hoping Naruto at least had some sense of politeness and would not interrupt.
"Yes?" Temari asked, her voice filled with irritation, though she was forcing it. If she didn't sound angry she was sure her uncertainty and vulnerability would show, and that she refused to do. She'd been up all night, unable to sleep, wondering what she would do depending on Shikamaru's decision about their predicament, and now that he'd pulled her aside into a small empty room she was about to be either overjoyed or have her worst fears realized.
Shikamaru had his back to her, though he turned slightly and glanced over his shoulder to stare at her. His face was completely blank, giving away nothing.
"Well? This'd better be important. You dragged me away from my brother on the happiest day of his life."
"I wonder," he slowly began, stuffing his hands in his dress pants pockets. "Would I be that happy if I got married?"
Temari scoffed. "Probably not. You've always compared marriage to a prison sentence."
"Heh. Yeah…but that was before I understood the reasons why people are willing do it anyway, even after knowing that."
Temari did not want to waste time talking circles this issue. She walked around Shikamaru and faced him, putting her hands on her hips. "What the hell is your point?"
The boy just grinned and shook his head. "I'm saying that I'll be a man and do what's expected of me." She just stared at him, prompting him to elaborate. "I'll marry you, okay? So go ahead and have the kid."
She stared at him a moment longer before finally speaking. "If that's your attitude, then I refuse to marry you. You know, you're a bigger dick than I ever gave you credit for," she finished, storming past him and making for the door. Her hand was almost to the handle when her body froze. "Shikamaru, let me go. NOW."
"That wouldn't be a good idea."
"Really? Well, since you're so smart, I'll let you figure this one out: you either release me now while I'm mad, or keep holding me until you run out of chakra and then, when I am really pissed, I'll beat the shit out of you."
"You're not going to do that," he calmly stated.
"The hell I'm not!" she yelled, straining against his hold on her. "Shikamaru, let me go!"
"No. You're going to listen to what I have to say," he insisted, holding his ground. "And try not to interrupt. …This doesn't happen very often." Curious by his last statement and the sincerity in his voice, she stopped her struggling and allowed her anger dissipated just enough to for her to keep silent. "That's…not the only reason I want to marry you. I've known that you were the woman I wanted to be my wife for a while now. I was just afraid that if I let you know, you'd use it against me somehow. You know how uptight I am about a man being whipped into submission by woman."
"What?"
"Hey, I said no interrupting," he reminded, a hint of playfulness in his tone before he turned serious again. "I was planning on asking you once I became a jounin. But then you got pregnant and I didn't have a plan for that scenario. I felt rushed and I was careless. I didn't know how to deal with it. But I'd made the plans a long time ago; to marry you and have children. It's just all happening a lot sooner than I'd projected. But that doesn't give me the right to get scared and be a dick like I have been. I am man, after all. I can't act like a kid anymore."
Releasing her from his jutsu, she turned around to face him, the anger having drained from her face. Never before had he spoken to her so candidly. This was only the second time since she'd known him that she'd seen him open up this much, the first being after his first mission as a chuunin where he'd nearly been responsible for the deaths of more than half of his team, including that of his best friend. When he spoke like this, she knew that his words were the truth; his honest feelings. No plotting, no secret motives…just him pouring his heart out.
"I know that's what you want too, so what'd ya say? Why don't we give our kid the family it deserves?"
Blinking away her tears, she smiled and nodded as she stepped toward him, embracing him in a tight hug.
After toasts had been made and countless speeches said, including an impromptu one by Naruto which, while it was without tact and somewhat inappropriate as he shared his first impressions of his good friend: the former disturbed and homicidal groom, it did finish up nicely enough and everyone was able to dig into their meal. It was only after they'd started eating when Kankurou made his grand entrance, though it was hardly noticed as everyone else was busy stuffing their faces and making small talk. However, Gaara, who faced the door, did not miss his brother's arrival. He patiently waited for his brother to take the seat beside him before greeting him.
"Sorry I'm late," Kankurou bid, climbing into his chair.
"It's alright. This mission was much more important. What were you able to find out?" his brother and leader quietly inquired of him.
Eyeing the table for eavesdroppers, then leaning in closer to Gaara's ear, he whispered, "It's just as you suspected. The Mist is definitely up to something…but I'm not sure what yet."
Gaara sighed silently to himself and nodded. "Thank you for all your hard work. Please, help yourself to some food," he offered, changing the topic. Gaara knew that there was a time and a place for everything, and today he would try and enjoy himself, leaving the worrying for the days to come. For once he was happy to set his job aside, though not too far away. He was, after all, the Kazekage of Sunagakure.
"Where's Temari?" Kankurou inquired, filling his plate.
Gaara hadn't the time to even answer, for at that moment Temari burst into the room, a blushing Shikamaru in tow, wearing the biggest grin of her life. Though not wanting to ruin her brother's big day, she merely walked to her seat, dragging Shikamaru by the hand, and sat down.
"Kankurou, you're back! What the hell took you so long?"
"…Some stuff came up," he explained, hinting to the news which he held.
"Oh. Well, I'll forgive you this time, then. But you'd better be there for my wedding."
Kankurou stopped mid-bite and looked at his sister as he took in her words. "What? What wedding?"
"I just told you; mine and this lazy bum's," she indicated, elbowing the man next to her.
"When the hell did this happen?" he inquired, feeling left out of the loop.
"After he knocked me up," came her brash answer.
"W-WHAT?!" he replied, jumping from his seat in utter shock. "What the hell did I miss while I was gone?! Shit, hasn't anyone ever heard of a condom before?" By this time, the entire room had become silent, startled from their conversations by the loud boy. "You know, this is not fair. Both my brother and sister are either already married or planning on it and starting families…AND I HAVE NEVER EVEN HAD A GIRLFRIEND?! …And I'm the coolest out of the three of us!" he sulked, taking his seat again.
Matsuri grinned broadly as a light bulb went on in her head and she stood up, clasping her hands together excitedly. "Kankurou-sama, I think I know quite a few girls who I could introduce you to tonight …" she suggested, hoping that Gaara's fangirls could settle for his older brother.
As congratulations and good cheer spread around the table once more, two new families from two allied nations celebrated their coming together and merging. While they all knew there would be difficult times ahead that no one could anticipate or plan for, they would face their challenges together, for that was what people who loved each other did. And love, as many at that table had realized, was the most powerful weapon of all.
The End...?
A few Notes from the Author: First and foremost, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed my story. And I also hope that I dispelled several myths about sex and pregnancy:
1) A woman can indeed get pregnant their first time having sex! When I heard the myth that they couldn't, I was astounded by the stupidity behind its reasoning, so…yeah. It found its way into this story.
2) Even if the guy pulls out, the girl can still get pregnant because sometimes the guy just isn't fast enough and there is also some sperm in precum/pre-ejaculate. After all, it only takes one sperm to fertilize an egg and make a baby...
3) A woman can still have sex throughout pregnancy…though with morning sickness through the first trimester, sometimes they just don't feel up to it. But in actuality, especially in the later months of pregnancy, sex (for some women, not all) is usually more pleasurable and enjoyable than when they are not pregnant. However, if you are with child and in your later months of the pregnancy and thinking about having sex, you may want to consult with your doctor just in case there are complications or whatnot with your particular instance. It doesn't hurt to be safe!
As Kankurou more or less said, USE PROTECTION! And that does not include a ZipLock bag or candy bar wrapper. Be safe and responsible.
Okay, and that ends my lecture.
Thanks once again to my wonderful beta readers.
Also, I have recently discovered another 'IdleFlame' on ...and that is not me. O.o Honestly, 'IdleFlame' has been my nickname for almost 10 years now so I'm a bit peeved that someone else is using the same name, but oh well. Free world. Just don't get us confused. I write Gaara x Hinata. She writes Naruto x Hinata. :p Not my cup of tea. I usually don't even write heterosexual relationships at all, but for some reason as I was watching the show one day, I thought to myself, "Gee, Hinata is this shy and quiet, meek little girl. Everyone thinks she is weak, but she's just misundestood. And Gaara is this quiet and misunderstood boy who needs love... Both of them are pitiful... Hm... Wouldn't it be cool if they hooked up?" So I went in search of some GaaHina fics, but many that had potential were never finished...and most of them just sucked because they were so out of character (which is decently important to me, at least) or poorly written... So I decided to try and write my own. So here we are...and now I've gone off on a tangent... So... Yeah. ; Don't get me and that other 'IdleFlame' out there confused. I'd like to think that I was much better that s/he, but...:shrug:
Lastly...there may be a sequel to "Love's Misconstruities," or there may not. After the first few chapters (I began this not knowing where it was going) I started to see that I could potentially make this thing quite long (yes, even longer than it is) but...I have enough trouble finishing stories as it is so I decided to cut it off half-way. Obviously the epilogue only hints at some of the issues that everyone would be facing in the second half, but...meh. I may continue this story eventually if there is enough interest in it. We shall see. If you want to leave me feedback, either good or bad (as long as it is constructive criticism), you may do so at
Until then, thanks once again. Ja ne.