Typhoon
Chapter Eleven
-Confliction-
Gaara had been lying awake for about thirty minutes now, staring at the wall. What a horrible night. Even when he was asleep he felt like he had been awake. The question from the day before was still buzzing around in his head. Children. Such a simple yet complex subject. Today, he would find out what Sakura was really thinking. Without letting his mind delve too far into the thought he forced himself up from bed and looked back at his slumbering love. She didn't seem disturbed by the movement. After pulling the covers up so her back wouldn't get cold, he made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. What to make? What to make? He looked around at some of the things out on the counter and then peered inside the refrigerator.
He started to pull out some ingredients, deciding on French toast, eggs, and bacon. It would be a while until Sakura woke up, and he was intent on making this morning perfect so he could squeeze some answers out of her later. He took out two pans and set them on the stove, turning the dials and warming them up before he tossed some bacon in the larger of the two and cracked a few eggs in the other. Pulling out the bread, he preheated the oven and started to butter each piece.
The whole process didn't take too long, once they were all finished he pulled out the French toast and the cinnamon toast he had made for himself. Making a plate for both himself and Sakura, he set them on the tray. After placing some silverware beside the plates, he poured a glass of orange juice and one of apple juice. Gaara picked up the tray, tossing some strawberry jam onto the carrier before he headed upstairs. His sand surged forward and opened the door, closing it after he was in as well.
He made his way back to his side of the bed and set down the tray on the bedside table. The sand near the door crept over to the balcony window and pulled the curtains back to let in the morning light. Sakura's face scrunched from the sudden brightness, and the next thing she felt were lips on her temple. She rolled to her back and stared up at her redheaded fiancé. "Good morning," he gave her a small smile, leaning down again and kissing her forehead.
"Good morning," she yawned happily.
"How did you sleep?"
She paused in her stretching, the memories of what had been said yesterday coming back to haunt her.
'You might as well go home. Gaara-sama doesn't want, nor like children.'
'I don't particularly like them.'
It took a Herculean effort not to show any emotion in that moment. She had been so tense from the meeting and everything yesterday, not to mention it was a constant effort not to break down and cry that she had fallen dead asleep. That didn't mean that it had been good though. She had a dream where she had just given birth to the most beautiful baby she had ever seen, and when she showed it to Gaara and asked what to name him, he had turned away saying, 'Your problem, not mine. You wanted it, you name it.' And then he left her. Alone and sobbing into her crying baby.
Pasting a fake smile on her face, she shrugged. "Alright I guess. You?"
"I had a pretty un-restful night, but I don't know…" he shrugged trying not to think about yesterday. He turned around and brought the tray in front of her, "Here, I made you some breakfast." He tried to give her a smile, but her dark demeanor was very apparent.
She smiled tentatively, but continued to look away from him. "Thank you, it looks delicious." Not wanting to talk about her night anymore, she changed the subject. "You'll never guess who I saw at the hospital yesterday applying for a job." She said, this time genuine humor in her voice. All she had to do was think of other things, and she would be fine.
He sat up, crossing his legs and taking a bite out of some cinnamon toast. "Who?"
"Yoko." She said, giving him a small smile. "She wasn't too pleased to find out the position she was applying for had been permanently filled."
He laughed, just imagining the whole scene. Gaara reached down and grabbed his glass of orange juice, taking a long drink. "So," he began, setting it back down and looking at her. "I was thinking, maybe today I could take a half day and we could spend the afternoon with one another?"
Something flickered in her gaze then, but before he could think about it she was smiling. That same smile that tried to tell him everything was fine when it wasn't. "I'd love too. It'd be really great to just walk around the village and relax."
"Yeah…" he said softly, he wasn't so sure he liked being so in tune to her emotions. Ignorance was bliss after all, but it didn't seem he had that luxury anymore. There was something wrong with her, something, it seemed, that was so bad she couldn't even tell him. "Well, I'll come by to get you around noon…we can spend the afternoon together, since you're going out with Temari and Ino tonight."
She nodded, and they both ate the rest of their breakfast in silence, a very uncomfortable silence. Why was she being like this? Was she trying to make him feel bad for something he had done? He tried to think of anything stupid he had attempted or accidently said in the past week. Nothing came to mind. "Well I'm going to get ready." He said finally, after finishing his breakfast.
The redhead got up and disappeared into the bathroom. This odd mood of hers was depressing him. He felt like he had done something seriously wrong, but what?
She watched as he entered the bathroom and shut the door. Having showered the night before, she got dressed and went downstairs to take care of the dishes. It was then she allowed herself a choked sob and nothing more. Feeling the tears coming on stronger than ever, she brought her hands up to her face and used medical chakra to block her tear ducts. She knew it wasn't healthy, but until she could get a good cry out of this without Gaara finding out, they would remain that way.
It wasn't long before Gaara came downstairs to meet her. Without a word they headed out the door, walking down the streets in silence once more. He felt like she didn't want to be around him, and that seriously worried him. They stopped in front of the hospital and without thinking much of it, Sakura began to walk in. She was stopped when Gaara grabbed her wrist, causing her to glance back, a bit surprised.
"I love you Sakura." His grip tightened a bit, as he searched her eyes, his own looking more than a little worried.
Suddenly guilt came over her. Gaara had just been honest with her about his view on children, there was no need to shut him out the way she had. She came back to him and brought a hand to his face, stroking his cheek in an effort to comfort him. With a tender smile, she said, "I love you too Gaara. Always." It was a good thing she had blocked her tear ducts, otherwise she would have been a complete mess at that point.
He placed his hand over hers, keeping it there for a while. She was such a terrible liar when it came to her emotions. He was almost offended that she thought she could pretend nothing was wrong, but he didn't want to push her. She would tell him when she wanted to, and hopefully that would be soon. "Well, I'll see you later then." He finally pulled away from her, heading towards the Kazekage Tower.
She had wanted to kiss him, but knew that if she did all of her desperation and sadness would have been poured into the kiss, and he would have asked her what was wrong. So she turned towards the hospital, deciding to pay Akane a visit. Maybe the little girl would help her feel better.
Gaara walked into the tower, intent on finishing all the paperwork that needed to be done today. "Oh Kazekage-sama!" the girl at the front desk stood, rushing over to him and intercepting his path. He stopped and tried not to seem too irritated.
"Yes?"
She smiled and held up a small calendar. "I knew you would forget so I had to remind you before you went up and started on your paperwork. I have all today's papers ready and prepared for you, so all you have to do is sign it."
He stared at her oddly, still not catching the point. "Ok…? Why?"
"Because! Kazekage-sama, today is that time of the year where you visit the ninja academy!" she said happily, bubbling with excitement. He remembered when Sakura had been like that. He sighed and reluctantly nodded.
"Alright. Where are the papers I need to sign?" he asked, holding his hand out for a pen. The girl hurried over to her desk and brought all the papers, along with an ink pen. He signed them quickly, knowing his receptionist never put anything he had to read in the stack when he was in a rush.
"Here," he handed them back to her and headed for the door.
She placed the papers down and waved after him, "Have a good day Kazekage-sama! And remember play nice with the other kids!"
He rolled his eyes, though he would never admit he actually liked her crazy antics. The walk to the academy only brought back the thoughts of Sakura and their conversation. Children. He remembered children, and how cruel they could be. But they weren't all bad…most of the time. He sighed. He didn't know what to make of this or Sakura's behavior.
The Kazekage looked up, seeing he was already at the front gates to the ninja school. He walked in and looked around, being greeted almost instantaneously with a few of the instructors. "Good morning Kazekage-sama." They said happily.
"The children have been waiting for you. They are so excited to know you're visiting." One of the female teachers smiled.
"They are?" Gaara looked a bit taken back.
"Of course they are." A dark haired man nodded, gesturing for them all to head towards the classrooms. "Who wouldn't be excited to meet the all-powerful Kazekage?"
Gaara followed the teachers slowly, looking around the halls he vaguely remembered. He hadn't been in the academy that long when he was a child. He could feel his muscles tensing, expecting their reactions. They entered one of the larger rooms and all the kids gasped, joining together in welcoming their leader to their class.
It was just a little past noon when Gaara walked out of the academy, a smile actually on his face. That hadn't been anything like he expected it to be. The kids all wanted him to tell them what it was like being the Kazekage, besides all the boring paperwork. They asked a lot about Sakura, which depressed him a bit, but he did enjoy talking about her. They had even asked him to play with them in the yard during their break from class. He had been hesitant at first, but it seemed safe enough.
The school was closer to the hospital than his office was, so he was able to make up some lost time there. He walked in and looked around the lobby, expecting Sakura to be there waiting for him.
Instead, she was upstairs. For the past hour and a half she had been with Akane. She brought the girl some breakfast, checked her charts and vitals, and gave her some medicine. At the moment, she was running her fingers through Akane's orange locks and humming softly. Apparently Akane hadn't been sleeping well, so Sakura had offered a different method. It appeared to have worked.
She glanced over at the clock and went wide-eyed. It was five past twelve. Halting in her movements, she quietly left the room. Once the doors were closed, she took off her lab coat and made a dash for the lobby. She hoped Gaara wasn't angry with her or anything, but she needed that time with the little girl. It had made her feel so much better.
Reaching the lobby, she saw her redheaded lover waiting for her. Without a word, she ran into his arms and gave him a fierce hug. Looking into his startled eyes, she gave him her first genuine smile since the day before. "Hey there stranger. Sorry to keep you waiting, I was with a patient."
He blinked, letting his arms wrap around slowly. She definitely seemed in a better mood than she had been earlier. "It's alright. I wasn't waiting long," he finally smiled, pulling away from her then. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes." She said, still smiling. Then she reached down and grabbed his hand as they left the hospital.
They started down the street, and Sakura noticed that he seemed to be leading her down a familiar path. Then she saw the ice cream cart, "I thought we could get some ice cream since it's kind of hot today." He smiled softly, glad she was at least back to being somewhat normal.
"Oh Gaara! I was just craving some the other day! I wonder if they have chocolate this time!" she giggled, running up to the vendor and asking. He followed her slowly, seeing her excitement when the man gave her a chocolate scoop.
"Here you go Kazekage-sama." The man smiled, handing him a vanilla one.
"Thank you." He paid the man and the two started walking once more. "So Sakura, how was your morning? What did you do?"
"I spent my morning with Akane-chan. You know, the little girl I told you about? She's just a doll." She said fondly.
"Oh? Well that's good. I had to go to the academy today and teach the kids there. It surprisingly…wasn't as bad as I thought." He took a bite out of his salty ice cream, staring ahead thinking about all the kids who had seemed so different than the ones from his childhood.
Hope lit her eyes then. Maybe he would come to like kids, if his visits at the Academy went well all the time. She licked her ice cream, deep in thought. "That's nice. I didn't know you went to teach the kids. Tsunade-shishou has never done that, although, with the way she acts around Naruto, it's understandable why they don't want her around small children." She said with a smile. He laughed, trying to imagine what would happen if Tsunade taught children.
"Where's the sake!? I can't teach these…THINGS without the proper loss of mind!"
"Tsunade-sama! They're children! Please!"
He laughed again. It would be funny to watch her attempt. Sakura stared at him, wondering what he was thinking about. "Now that would be hilarious." He nodded, finishing the last of his ice cream and biting into the cone.
"See, I didn't want to at first…but the council thought it would be a good idea to be more active in the younger generation…you know…considering my past." He stopped, his mood darkening as if he were walking down a dark memory alley.
Not wanting their light mood to disappear, she squeezed his hand in silent support. "Well, you can bet when Naruto becomes Hokage he'll be all over visiting the Academy. I mean, he acts like a child himself, he'd fit right in." she said with a fond smile, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. She only hoped her distraction worked.
A microscopic smile formed on his face. "I'm sure that Naruto will be an amazing Hokage." He looked back over at her, doing his best to try and regain his light mood.
She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. "Yeah, he will be." Finishing her ice cream, she looked up at him, head remaining on its temporary pillow. "It was a good idea to take a half day, I really needed this. After so many days with other people, it's nice for it to be just you and me for once."
"Yeah…especially since I won't see you until late tonight…Kiba is taking me to get our tuxes fit." He sighed, letting his arm drape around her waist.
Her head popped off his shoulder as she suddenly remembered her plans for the evening as well. "Oh yeah, I'm supposed to go out with Temari and Ino to plan wedding stuff." Her face lit with excitement over the thought. She had been planning her wedding since she was five. Everything would be perfect.
It was around that time the couple had wandered towards a semi-large park. Sakura's eyes lit up at the sight of the children playing. "I didn't know this park was here!" she exclaimed, looking around. "Wow, it's so much different than the one in Konoha." She observed innocently. Little did she know the history Gaara had with this particular place. If she had, she might not have been so happy to see it, and would have noticed the tension in his shoulders.
He hadn't realized that they were heading towards this area. He stared, horrified, at the swing set now occupied by two small girls. Gaara had made an effort to stay away from this part of the village his entire life. He took a step back, ready to flee from all the plaguing memories that were now flashing through his mind. Sakura, finally turning to him, noticed his dismayed expression. But before she could say anything, a large red ball bounced towards them and rolled to Gaara's feet. He backed away from it quickly, as if it were a bomb about to go off.
"Gaara? Are you ok?" she reached her hand out towards him, but he flinched away. All he could see where those torturous kids…when he tried to be kind…shut him down. He felt his sand picking up in defense from what he knew was coming.
"Kazekage-sama!" excited yells snapped him from his past and he stared down at the smiling faces of some of the children from the academy. "Hi Kazekage-sama!" they said again, since he didn't respond.
"Oh…hello." He finally managed out, his defensive position obvious only to Sakura. Slowly he leaned down and picked up the ball, his vision flashing back and forth from the past to the present. Hesitantly he took a step forward to the children and lowered the toy to their hands. A boy stepped forward, his dark hair cut short so his brown eyes sparkled in the sunlight.
"Thanks so much Kazekage-sama!" he said happily, truly grateful.
"Kazekage-sama! Will you play with us like you did earlier today?" one of the blonde girls asked, jumping up and down.
Another one of the girls looked over to Sakura and blushed darkly, "I know you're with Sakura-sama, but she can play too if she wants." She said softly, running up and taking Gaara's stiff hand.
Sakura watched in shock as Gaara was dragged off by the little girl. Maybe this would be good for him. Not wanting to be left out, she jogged after them, stopping on the other side of the field, to make things even. "No cheating this time Gaara! You need to set the example for the kids!" she yelled jokingly.
He looked confused and lost, just like a small child. "Come on Gaara-sama! Don't you know how to play?"
"Um…no," he admitted softly. The girl blinked and laughed, holding the ball up to try and show him how to play.
"Alright Gaara-sama, it's like soccer, but with your hands. Try and get it in the goal over there," she pointed towards the side Sakura was standing on and then placed the ball in the muddled redhead's hands. "I'm sure you can do it!" she ran off then and Gaara stood completely still. This was so odd. He lifted his hand up and then tossed the ball in the air. He gave it a hit and it bounced towards the other side. The children broke out in laughter, chasing down the center of the game. A blonde girl smacked the ball towards Sakura with her hand, the speed surprisingly fast.
Sakura, being the trained shinobi she was, immediately hit the ball back towards the other side, her natural strength sending the ball fast and hard. She laughed. This game was fun.
The boy in the goal jumped up, barely catching the ball aimed straight for the net of the goal. "Come on Kazekage-sama! Are you going to let your woman beat you like that?" the brunette laughed, trying to make sure he didn't anger his leader's to-be wife. Gaara blinked and turned his gaze from the child to Sakura and let a smirk crawl up his face.
"Of course not." The team he was on broke out in cheers. The boy in the goal tossed the ball towards him. His hand moved quickly and smacked the ball straight for Sakura's goal.
"Go Sakura-sama!" the girls yelled, laughing excitedly as they ran around. "Girls rule and boys drool!"
Sakura ran across the field, flipped, and hit the ball with her hand in mid-air, sending it back towards the other team's goal. "Wow! Sakura-sama that was amazing!" one of the girls exclaimed as Sakura landed perfectly, smirking back at her fiancé.
This time the ball did hit the goal, since she had accidentally hit it too hard, and the boy had dived out of the way, afraid of getting hit. Jumping back up, he pointed a finger at her. "That's not fair Sakura-sama! You're too strong to play, we are at a disadvantage!" he accused.
The small girl that seemed so fond of her placed her hands on her hips and stuck her tongue out at the boy. "Nuh uh! You have Kazekage-sama! It's totally fair!"
Not wanting a fight to break out, Sakura held her hands up, signaling for them to stop their bickering. "It's fine. I've played this game tons of times before, so I'll just go and watch. You kids teach Gaara how to play alright?"
They nodded, seeing her reasoning. Smiling to Gaara, who looked as if he didn't want to be left alone with the kids, she walked over to where a group of mothers were sitting. She joined them, and turned back to watch the rest of the game.
"Now it's no fair because you have Kazekage-sama!" the girl yelled, crossing her arms angrily.
Gaara looked at the fight that was about to break out. "Well…why don't we just play a different game?" he suggested shyly, almost mimicking Hinata's actions.
"That's a great idea Gaara-sama!" the girls shouted, crowding around him and leading him off a bit to show him how to play another game. The boys chased after them yelling things like "Gaara-sama doesn't want to play house, he's a man!"
Sakura laughed, watching the poor redhead attempt to play the games they were trying to show him. A tall brunette walked over, holding a small child tenderly. She sat next to Sakura and gave her a bright smile. "Well you must be the lovely Haruno Sakura, I'm Rin."
"Yes, I am. What gave me away? My hair?" she asked humorously. She held out a hand, a polite smile on her face. "It's nice to meet you. Do you have any more kids besides the little one?" she asked, politely curious.
"Oh yes, a boy and a girl. They are both out there playing with Kazekage-sama." She pointed over towards two children who looked very much alike. "They are so full of life…I'm glad they have such a great Kazekage to look up to. I know when I was little Suna was suffering terrible…Gaara-sama's father…wasn't exactly the best thing for the village." She said sadly, looking away then.
"It's very nice…to see the Kazekage smile though…I remember when I was little…he wasn't exactly a happy young man." She tried to seem light, but Sakura could tell this woman felt guilty about having hated the redhead.
So, she decided to lighten the mood. "Well, he seems happier now. At least, I hope he is." She said with a small smile. Still watching them play, she yelled, "No Gaara! That's base! You can't tag them when they touch the base!" she told him, laughing at the whole situation.
"He will make a great father someday, don't you think?" Rin asked politely.
Suddenly her smile faded. He would make an excellent father, he just didn't realize it. And he never would, since he didn't want children. "Yes, yes he would." She answered softly. And there went her improved mood, right out the window. But Rin didn't need to know that, she was too nice.
After about an hour of playing with the children, Gaara reluctantly left the group. They all whined, but he gave them a smile and waved, telling them sometime soon he would play with them again. He slowed and stopped in front of Sakura and Rin, letting his eyes shift between the two. His smile fell when his gaze locked onto his fiancé, "Is something wrong?" he asked, worry now all over his face. He could sense the medic's mood, and it was back to how it was earlier in the morning.
Startled out of her thoughts, she looked up at him. "Hm? Oh, no it's nothing. I was just thinking about something that's all." She said, getting up. Giving him that same, unconvincing smile, she asked, "Ready to go? I need to meet Temari soon."
It was obvious he didn't believe her, but he left it alone for the time being. He waved to the woman who was talking to Sakura and they left, heading for home. Once they were somewhat alone on the streets, he decided to try and pry. "Why do you keep lying to me Sakura?"
Startled emerald met inquisitive jade. "What do you mean? I really am fine."
His gaze turned into an angry glare. "Do you really think I'm that stupid? I can tell something is wrong, I don't know how. I just can. Now what is wrong? You've been depressed ever since yesterday."
Her gaze turned to the ground, ashamed. "I'll be fine really. It's just something I have to deal with on my own okay? Just trust me on this." She said, watching her feet as she walked.
That was certainly not an answer he was satisfied with. He stopped and grabbed her hand, making her halt as well. "Sakura, please…don't shut me out. I want to know what's wrong with you. We need to talk to one another…we're getting married, shouldn't we start trying to act like it?"
She opened her mouth to speak, but a loud yell silenced her. "Gaara!" Kiba ran down the streets, an excited Akamaru bounding behind them. The redhead looked over and sighed. He released Sakura and watched the brunette slide to a stop next to them. "What's up guys!"
"Kiba now is really not th-GAH!" Gaara yelled as Akamaru tackled him to the ground, licking his face affectionately.
"Akamaru! Heel! Gaara is not used to animals!" Sakura said sternly but affectionately to the dog, glad for the interruption. She didn't want Gaara to take pity on her and agree to have a child just to make her happy. Or worse, get angry at her for being selfish and call off the wedding. She knew he was right, but that didn't mean she was ready to talk. She needed to think about it first. Maybe she could talk to Temari while they were out wedding shopping.
"Come on Akamaru, off Gaara." Kiba pat his leg and the dog was immediately by his side. Now angry, Gaara stood, dusting off his clothes and glaring at his most hated friend. "Let's go Gaara, we have to go get fit for our tuxes." he grinned, waving Sakura goodbye. "See ya later Sabaku no Sakura." And with that Kiba grabbed Gaara and pulled him off into the crowd.
She smiled slightly at the name, and then went off to meet Temari and Ino. Hopefully she would get home before Gaara and she could pretend to be asleep. Or better yet, already be asleep, that way he wouldn't be able to ask her what was wrong again.
"Ok Forehead, you and Temari wait here while I go check out the merchandise." Ino said as she walked farther into the flower shop.
They had walked around town all afternoon, picking out wedding necessities. So far Sakura had already chosen the plates, and silverware she wanted, along with the types and colors of napkins and tablecloths. Now they were shopping for flowers to use to decorate the rooms with.
Well it was now or never to talk to Temari. Turning to the blonde, she said "Temari, can I ask you something? About Gaara?"
Startled at the question, Temari focused her attention on her soon to be sister-in-law. "Of course. But, wouldn't it be better to ask Gaara himself?"
She shook her head negatively. "No, it would only upset him."
Curiosity piqued, Temari raised a brow at her. "What is it?"
"Well, earlier today we were walking around the village, and we came by this park. For some reason Gaara tensed suddenly, and I could feel his sand stir. Then, a red ball rolled towards us from the kids playing. He looked like he was about to freak out. Why is that?"
Sighing, Temari placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "What you have to understand is, Gaara didn't really have a childhood. Until Naruto, Gaara didn't even have any friends. So playing wasn't really something my little brother learned how to do."
Sakura nodded, remembering how Gaara didn't know how to play any of the games she had learned growing up.
"When he was little, he used to go to that park all the time and sit on the swing set there. It was where he went to be alone. He would try to play with the other kids, but they would just run away from him and call him a monster. His emotions had more control over his sand than he did at the time, so it just made him seem like more of a monster."
At this Sakura's eyes began to water, just imagining the horrors Gaara had gone through as a child.
"Our Uncle Yashamaru was really the only one who could calm him down. But, in the end, Yashamaru betrayed Gaara and tried to kill him. That's why Gaara is so mistrusting of others, and that's why he is cautious around kids." Temari finished.
"Oh. Thanks, Temari. That really helped a lot." She said with a sad smile.
The blonde merely shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "No problem. I can understand why you didn't want to ask Gaara. There's no telling how he would have reacted, even if it was you who wanted to know."
It all made sense now. Why he didn't like kids. Why he was nervous around the park. And why he looked like a child, learning how to play with them earlier. Before she could contemplate it further, Ino came back. "What's with the long faces you two? Anyways, I found the perfect flowers for your wedding. We can just use the same ones Gaara had put in that arrangement that he made for you! Isn't that great?!" her best friend asked excitedly.
Smiling at her antics, Sakura said, "That's wonderful Ino. It even goes with the color scheme. But, I want plain white roses in my bridal bouquet."
"That's fine Forehead. Now, I've already placed the order, so let's go over and plan out the menu." Ino said, already headed out of the store.
Temari turned to her with a raised brow. "Isn't this supposed to be your wedding?" she asked.
"Yeah, but Ino and I planned our weddings together when we were little. She knows what I want without me having to tell her. And when she gets married, I will be planning hers."
Temari shrugged. "Makes sense. I just didn't really have any girl friends when I was little. Everyone was afraid of me."
This made Sakura laugh. "I don't know why. You're so pleasant to everyone you meet." She joked.
Apparently Temari didn't get it. "I know! Maybe they're all just wimps."
They left the flower shop then, and continued down the street. The rest of their day was full of picking out foods and desserts, and then Sakura's dress. Because, even if he didn't like sweets, Sakura wanted them to pick out the cake together.
The tiny bell rang as Kiba pushed open the door a nice shop, it was just after sunset now. "Hello! Kazekage plus guest!" the brunette yelled happily, a brooding redhead following.
A larger man walked out, giving an exasperated laugh. "Well now, I am honored Kazekage-sama that you would pick my shop for your special day. Please, please come in." he gestured them towards the back and then disappeared behind a curtained store room.
Gaara looked around the shop, trying to see a tux that really stood out from the others. "So what's with the down mood?" Kiba looked over to his 'friend'. "Your aura is even more depressing than usual, and that's saying something."
"It's nothing…just problems." Gaara said, trying to avoid the subject.
"Problems with?" Kiba arched a brow, then turned to some of the vests and compared the fabrics.
Throwing his hesitations aside, the redhead stared at the dog master's back. "Well it's just…what do you think of kids?"
Kiba scoffed, "God I hate kids. They're like demons. Sick…little…demons." He shivered, trying to rid himself of the memory. "I hate them! They torture the crap out of you and you can't do anything back! It's like their most powerful handicap!" he turned towards Gaara, throwing his hands in the air. "Do you know what we have in Konoha?! Ninja Scouts…aka daughters of the devil! You know what their motto is? You buy or you die!"
"I'm assuming you had a traumatic experience with these Ninja Scouts…" Gaara said a bit warily, when Kiba started going there was really no stopping him.
"Yeah! I just didn't want to buy any freaking cookies! And then they beat me up!"
Gaara had to hold in a laugh, "They beat you up?"
"Hey!" Kiba pointed a threatening finger at the redhead. "Don't you underestimate little kids man, they are like…ugh." He shivered, shaking his head.
"But…what if you had a…you know…with Ino?" the Kazekage asked, avoiding the brunette's gaze now.
Kiba blinked and smiled, "Well that's completely different."
This seemed to catch Gaara off guard, "What do you mean? How's it different? It's still a child."
It was then that the tailor came back out with two jackets, "Here you go gentleman, if you'll just slip these on I can take your measurements."
Both men took a jacket and slid their arms into the sleeves. The owner started with Gaara, for obvious reasons, but Kiba continued with their conversation. "Well Gaara, if I had a kid with Ino it's like…taking a part of each of us and making something…that's both of us. And I assume that I would love my own child, because I love Ino and its part of her. Though I'm not planning on that for a long time." He laughed. "Why?"
Gaara shrugged, making the fat man growl in protest, since it hindered his work. "I was just asking. Sakura asked me about children the other day, but I told her I didn't like them, and she's been depressed ever since."
"WHAT?!" Kiba nearly exploded. "You told a woman, no scratch that, your fiancé, that you didn't like children?!"
Wide eyed now, Gaara nodded slowly. "Why was that bad?"
"Bad?! BAD?! Gaara, the only thing worse you can tell a woman is that she's fat and ugly!" the brunette smacked his forehead and ran his hand down his face. "This is…God, you really are just plain stupid aren't you?"
"I am not stupid." The redhead glared.
"Gaara! When you don't know what to say. Don't say anything at all! It's the golden rule! Or change the subject…'Baby, you are looking so fine today!' Something like that!"
Finally finished with the Kazekage's measurements, the man moved to Kiba and started on his. "First of all Kiba, because I don't say things like that! And I didn't know that, Sakura is the only relationship I've ever had."
"Well whose fault is that?" Kiba huffed and looked off, causing Gaara's eye to twitch.
"Whatever. It doesn't matter anyway." The redhead looked off as well, crossing his arms. It didn't take long for the man to finish with Kiba's, since they had stopped talking and moving.
"Alright finished." He sighed, taking the pins and the paper he wrote their numbers down on. "Just come and pick them up the day before the wedding."
They both nodded and took off the jackets, handing them back to the man and starting for the door. "Oh yeah! Gaara I totally forgot, thanks so much for approving Ino and mine's transfer papers." Kiba laughed, giving the redhead a playful punch.
Gaara froze, stopping in place and looking at the brunette as if he had just grown a tail. "What?"
"Well since I liked Suna so much and Ino doesn't want to leave Sakura, we asked Tsunade if we could move here. So she sent the papers and said all we needed was your signature. I got a message today that said you signed them and gave the ok."
By now Gaara's eye was twitching violently. His thoughts went back to this morning and the pile of papers he had signed without reading them, because he assumed they were all mission reports. He turned slowly to the smiling man. It took every ounce of his self-control to stop from attacking him. Kiba was moving here? It wasn't possible! His luck couldn't be that bad. Without another word Gaara's sand rose and took him away to his office to make sure nothing of the sort had happened.
He arrived in the center of the dark room and flipped on the light, seeing the papers from this morning on his desk, all officially signed and stamped with the seal. He hurriedly fingered through the parchment until he found the two he was looking for. Horrified, he pulled the signed and sealed transfer requests. The next thing Gaara knew was that he was screaming at the top of his lungs. This couldn't be happening! Kiba was going to live here forever! Until he died! The thought made him stop, his mind contemplating. "No!" he yelled out loud. No matter how much the brunette irritated him he just couldn't kill him.
In another angry swirl his sand picked up and he was home in the living room. All the lights were out, which probably meant Sakura was asleep. It was pretty late, and her day had probably worn her out. He stomped upstairs as quietly as possible, infuriated with himself. There was no stopping it now.
He threw their bedroom door open, unintentionally making it bang against the wall. This caused Sakura to sit upright in bed, kunai drawn. When she saw that it was just Gaara she relaxed. Seeing his expression, she raised a brow, "Gaara…..are you ok?"
"I can't believe it!" he yelled at himself, not seeming to have caught she was talking to him.
"Can't believe what?" she asked tentatively.
"It's all my fault," he groaned, "I can't believe I over looked something so trivial! WHY! Why does the world hate me?! Have I not suffered enough?!" he demanded, looking up and then taking off his shoes, throwing them against the wall.
"GAARA! What's going on?!" she yelled, slightly annoyed that she was being ignored.
He looked at her, as if finally realizing she was in the room. "Something terrible has happened…"
"What?" she asked, afraid of the answer.
"Today…my secretary handed me some papers…before I actually looked at them…" he stopped, running his hand down his face with a loud groan. "I assumed she would only put mission summaries in there…but there were two transfer papers…and I signed them…" he paused again, trying to quail his anger and not kill anyone. "And now…Ino and Kiba are moving to Suna. And I ok'd it!" he yelled once more, kicking the wall with his bare foot and then shouting out in pain. "DAMNIT!"
She got out of bed and went over to look at his foot. Kneeling next to him, she began to heal it. "Ino and Kiba are moving here?! That's great! I'll get to see Ino all the time! But….does Kiba have to stay?" she asked, displeasure all over her face. "Can't we like…ban him from the village or something?"
He let her heal his foot. Still standing, he crossed his arms and glared at the wall. "That blonde one is annoying and no…we can't ban him, I just signed a stupid paper that said he could come live here. He'd have to do something terrible to the village or die. I've already considered killing him myself…but that would be un-Kage-like." He sighed furiously.
"I could kill him. I've gotten close before, it wouldn't be a problem. I can even make it look like an accident…you know…like a disease or something." She said plotting.
"No, no Sakura…I'd have to banish you then." He glanced down at her as she got up and stared up at him. "So…how did shopping go?"
She shrugged, walking back towards the bed. "As good as shopping goes I guess. We got all the table settings picked out, the menu, location, floral arrangements, and my dress. All that's left is to pick out the cake, and I wanted you to be there for that." She told him.
He tried to hide his unwillingness. "Do I have to Sakura? I mean, you can just pick whichever one you want. I'm sure I'll like it."
She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "Please Gaara? Everything else has been done separately. And since we have to feed each other the cake, I want to make sure it's one you like. Plus we have to pick the icing design and figurines that go on the top." She explained.
More stuff he didn't care about. "Fine, fine. I'll go with you. But I really don't care. It's not that big of a deal to me."
Her lip trembled, it was time to make him want to pick out a cake. Tears formed in her eyes, but she looked away, "I guess the most important day of my life is just going to be like any other Saturday for you, since you don't care." She sniffed, trying so hard to keep the smirk off her face.
Gaara went wide eyed and shook his head, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to face him. "No! No! No! Let's go pick out the cake, I do want to." He said quickly.
"Oh Gaara!" she exasperated and wrapped her arms around him, finally being able to grin. So predictable. She released him and gave him a smile. "Well alright, what do you say we go to bed? I'm exhausted."
He nodded, feeling very tired himself. She returned to bed as he began to undress, sliding in beside her and turning off the light. "Goodnight," he mumbled, before turning on his side and shutting his eyes.
"Night." She replied, glad he had forgotten about their almost fight earlier. Hopefully, it would stay that way.