Future Fixtures

Chapter Four

Naruto peaked up from his paperwork and grinned widely. Sakura was out! He could have a much deserved break from his paperwork! With that in mind, he all put pounced up from his chair. He stretched and groaned loudly as his back popped. As he lowered his arms, he glanced around his office. His eyes landed on a row of picture frames. He edged closer to it.

"Eh?" He whispered. He lifted one of them into his hand. Shikamaru and Temari stood side by side. The lazy genius had one arm looped around Temari's pregnant waist. Temari was beaming at the camera with one hand on her bulging stomach. "Ha! Ha! I was right!" He exploded with a laugh. "And they acted like it would never happen!" He set the picture down and continued to look. "Ino and Choji?" Choji stood with one arm around Ino and another holding a large swirl of blue cotton candy. Despite the beautiful woman by his side, Choji's attention was on the cotton candy. Naruto couldn't help but laugh at Ino's outraged expression. "Never wouldn't saw that one coming…" He muttered as he moved on. His mouth fell open as he took in the next picture. Gaara stood with his arm wrapped around Hinata's waist. Hinata was smiling softly at Gaara. A redheaded girl that looked about Minato's age stood in front of them. She was shooting peace signs at the camera. "No way…" He mumbled. All thoughts of looking at the other pictures were forgotten.

"Why aren't you working?" Sakura demanded as she came back into the room. "I leave one minute to get some coffee and I come back to this-" Sakura placed her hand on her hip and eyed Naruto. "Are you even listening to me?" Naruto waved limply at her.

"Ne, ne, Sakura-chan, come here!" He beckoned. Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes, but did as he demanded. He pointed toward the picture.

"Gaara-san…and Hinata-chan…" Sakura's eyes widened to the size of boulders. Her mouth fell open. "EHH!?" She exploded in her shock. Naruto flinched and fell away from her. The poor ninjas that happened to be roaming by the Hokage's office scampered out of the area. Sakura's temper was legendary. They feared any moment that their beloved, silly Hokage was going to come bouncing through the door on his head whining his wife's name.

"Ow…Sakura-chan," Naruto mumbled as he wiggled his pinkie finger in his ear.

"Gaara," the redhead barely moved as Hinata called his name. She frowned slightly and poked his shoulder again. "Gaara," she repeated. Still no movement, no answer. Hinata sighed. "I give up." She muttered, but she found that she couldn't look away from him. She couldn't help but think of the last time she had seen him in her time period. It had been a few weeks after Shukaku had been extracted by the Akatsuki. Naruto had told her how he had died and a woman by the name of Lady Chiyo had brought him back in exchange for her own life. Hinata had been sent to Suna at the request of Temari.

Hinata sat on the roof of the Kazekage's tower. Despite being used to the moist, cool air of Konoha, the heat and dryness of the desert felt amazing to her. Then again, she could adapt to almost any environment. She assumed that was one of the reasons she had been sent as an ambassador. The wind shifted and brought sand up from the desert. She giggled slightly as it blew past her cheeks and became stuck in her hair.

"You are strange," she heard. Hinata turned to see the Kazekage. She had felt him when he had arrived. It was almost impossible not to. His charka was huge and could be seen without her blood limit.

"Good evening, Gaara-sama," she said from where she sat. "You have a beautiful village…" She complimented almost breathlessly as the sun dipped down over it creating a beautiful variety of pinks, reds, and purples.

"Yes," he agreed. Hinata glanced over at him. He stared down almost lovingly at his village. Hinata smiled softly at the tender look on his face. She assumed that he didn't know that his emotionless mask had slipped. She now found herself staring at his features. He was quite an attractive young man. She wasn't blind. She could see it as could most of the women in both villages, but there was something about him that was untouchable. He glanced over at her. "What?" He asked. Hinata smiled and decided to be honest.

"You are a great man, Gaara," she told him her thoughts. Ever since Naruto had told her what he had done for his village, Hinata had wanted to tell him that. Shock widened his green eyes. "This village is lucky to have you."

"Thank you," he breathed finally. Hinata smiled warmly at him. For a moment, they simply stared at one another. Hinata couldn't help but think that something between them had shifted. Perhaps, he wasn't so untouchable after all. Perhaps, he would allow her to become his friend.

A small snort escaped her. Apparently, they had become more than friends somewhere along the way. The thought made her blush brightly. How did she to face him again in her own time knowing that this awaited them? Gaara gave a small sigh in his sleep. Hinata glanced at him again. Asleep, Gaara looked almost peaceful. His expression was soft and unbothered. The lines that seemed to haunt him during the day were gone. It made her feel almost guilty for wanting him to be comfortable. She was certain that his knees would be killing him. With that thought in mind and a small huff of exasperation at herself, she began attempting to wake him up again. She poked his cheek once, twice. He didn't move. Hinata glared and poked his nose. A small squeak escaped her as his sand wrapped around her wrist gently. He opened his green eyes. "Lay next to me," she had meant for it to be a command but it came out more as a suggestion. Gaara rewarded her with a small smile.

"I hadn't realized I was tired," he commented as he stood. He winced as his knees protested, but he walked across the bed toward her anyway.

"After the day we've had? I'm surprised I was even awake when you came up," Hinata mumbled. Vaguely, she wondered where this ease came from. She wasn't nervous or awkward around him. Maybe this body retained her appropriate reactions. Hinata's face flushed as he stripped his shirt from over his head. 'Hopefully, I won't have to test that theory too much. I don't think I could handle…' Her blush intensified before she could even finish the thought. Gaara tilted his head at her as he lowered his arms; Hinata's eyes took in the way his muscles quivered with the action. She swallowed. Gaara smirked. Hinata's face caught fire. 'Oh, God…please let me make it through the night…'

"I don't think mom and dad will be joining us tonight," Karura commented at the dinner table. Kankuro choked on his chicken and looked at his niece with wide eyes. Matsuri stomped her husband's foot underneath the table. He fought off yelping. Karura smiled behind her hand.

"No, they've had a rough day today," Kankuro told her as he reached for his glass of wine. Both Kankuro and Karura stared at one another challengingly. They both knew that now that it was confirmed neither Gaara nor Hinata would be at the table, the game was on. Matsuri shook her head slightly. The game was simple and childish: see how many times you can make the other person choke in surprise before they finish their serving. Matsuri stayed only because she didn't want her husband or niece to choke to death. Besides, it was always interesting to see what they would say…

"Ah, that was good, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he patted his full stomach. Sakura smiled and shook her head softly at his actions. Even in the future, Naruto was still Naruto. Sakura moved to stand and grab her plate, but she was intercepted by her son's hand.

"It's my turn to get the dishes tonight, mom, remember?" Minato asked her. Sakura nodded slowly and sank back down into the chair. She propped her head on her hand and watched as Minato gathered the rest. 'Is that child…really Naruto's?'

"Daddy, come on!" Hina exclaimed as she bounced back and forth on her feet. Naruto tilted his head out of confusion. Sakura looked over at Hina and raised an eyebrow. Hina stood with her hands on her hips. Her cute expression was set with determination and impatience. Sakura smiled behind her palm. 'She's a bossy little one. Almost reminds me of me…'

"Where are we going?" He asked. Minato gave a small chuckle at his father's question. He turned around slightly to see the show. Hina glared evilly at her father and placed her hands on her hips. Minato placed the glass he had been drying on the counter.

"Don't tell me, you forgot," it wasn't a question. It was a statement. Minato smiled. Dad was in trouble now. Sakura couldn't help but chuckle. "It's your turn to tell me a bedtime story! Minato, mom, and you switch places every night!" Hina saw it fit to remind them. Naruto looked toward his son and Sakura. Sakura simply shrugged and motioned for him to go on. Naruto stood in an almost frightened fashion. Minato shook his head as he watched the retreat of his younger sister and father.

Sakura found herself watching her son. He was the near exact replica of his grandfather. Unlike Hina, Minato's eyes were the same blue as Naruto. His blonde hair stuck up at all angles, but was styled in the manner of the man he was named after. There were some differences however. She could spot some of her features in him. For instant, he had her nose and mouth.

"What is it, mom?" Minato asked, shifting slightly underneath her gaze. Sakura smiled softly and said what seemed to come naturally to her:

"Can't I just look at my cute son?" She asked as she teasingly ruffled her son's hair. He huffed and busied himself with the dishes again. A small giggle escaped her lips as she stood to help him. "So," she drawled glancing over at her son. Minato glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow, "any girls caught your attention?" A small blush touched Minato's cheeks.

"No," he lied. Sakura looked back at him and raised her eyebrows. She set the dish down and turned to him. Minato stepped back slightly when she put her hands on her hips. He smiled sheepishly at the look on her face.

"Oh, come on! I know there's someone! You wouldn't be blushing the way you are!" Sakura defended. Minato shifted awkwardly, but disguised it by sliding the plate he had just dried into the rack. Sakura raised a pink eyebrow. "Well, I'm waiting." Minato blushed.

"There is someone," he finally admitted. His blue eyes turned away from his mother's green ones. "But she doesn't live around here…so what's the point in attempting a relationship with her? Besides she probably doesn't see me in that-" Sakura's fist came down on the top of her son's head. "ACK!"

"Don't say that, yeah! Any girl would be lucky to have such a cute guy like you!" Minato blushed at his mom's exclamation. "So who is she?" Minato could feel a wave of exasperation wash over him. He wasn't going to be able to leave the kitchen until he told her, he could already tell.

"It's…actually…um…" He shifted, "well it's kind of odd…seeing that we were raised to be like brother and sister and everything…"

"Minato…" Sakura growled. "Get on with it already!" Minato's blush became worse as he mumbled something. Sakura leaned closer. "Eh? I didn't hear that?"

"Karura," he mumbled. Sakura bit back the question of who that was and stared at her son. His expression slowly became panicked. "But please don't tell anyone!" Sakura bristled slightly at the demand. She knew how to keep a secret! "Gaara would kill me if he found out that I liked his daughter!"

'There's the information I've been waiting for!' Sakura exclaimed mentally. 'Now, there's the question of how he would expect me to react…Don't tell anyone…hm!' A small vein started to tick on the side of her head. Minato shrank back and seemed to realize that he had insulted his mother somewhere in that earlier panic. He swallowed.

"What do ya mean don't tell anyone?!" Sakura exploded. Minato winced. "I can keep a secret you know, you little brat!" Minato held his hands up and backed into the counter. Vaguely, he wondered if it was too late to take his father's place as story teller…