Author's Note: Bonus chapter for your patience! It would have been up sooner but my lunch breaks have been busy this week and that is the only time I have internet access! Still, two in one week isn't bad, ne? I won't suggest you get used to it but I am trying to get these written quickly, while I'm feeling inspired. In this chapter you get to learn some more of my version of Sunagakure's traditions and we encounter one rather big surprise for our favorite hyperactive ninja.
Sandstorms and Falling Leaves
Chapter 18: Propriety and Proposals
Naruto lay in bed thinking as the sun rose over the village. Gaara had already left to get ready for the day. It had been three days since the chunin exam and the blonde still hadn't found the right way to bring up marriage with the quiet girl. He didn't want to propose without at least getting an idea of how receptive she'd be to the idea, but he really sucked at subtlety. If he broached the subject, he was sure he'd spoil the whole thing by giving away his intentions.
He wanted the actual proposal to be something romantic, something Gaara would be able to tell their kids and grandkids about. He wanted to make it clear he was asking her because he really wanted to spend the rest of their lives together; not because of Suna's laws, or her scary poison making siblings, or any strong suggestions from the Hokage. In his mind that required her to be surprised.
The blonde teen frowned. "I need some help." He muttered thoughtfully. He wasn't even sure how people in Suna proposed to each other. Was it anything like Konoha's tradition of offering the woman a ring? Who could he ask?
He thought over his options but quickly narrowed it down to one of Gaara's siblings. He would have asked Matsuri but he didn't trust her to keep anything from the redhead. He weighed the two older sand ninjas in his mind carefully. Kankuro was definitely harder to talk to, but Temari was more volatile. Long minutes passed as he debated with himself. The sun had been up for an hour at least when he finally got up and dressed for the day. Ten minutes later he was ready to go. He had somebody he needed to talk to.
Temari was in the middle of washing the breakfast dishes when a rapid knock on the apartment door interrupted the quiet morning. The pigtailed blonde walked to the door and jerked it open, revealing a very nervous looking leaf jinchuriki in the hallway.
"Hey...um...is Gaara here?" He asked after clearing his throat a few times.
"No, you just missed her. She's gone to meet Hinata for training." Temari started to close the door, but his next words stopped her in her tracks.
"Good. I...uh...I need to talk to you...about..." He trailed off into mumbling, blushing fiercely.
"What was that last part? I didn't quite catch it." The pigtailed blonde leaned in the doorway, curious what the hyperactive teen could have to talk to her about.
"Right...sorry...I wanted to talk...actually to ask you..." The younger blonde took a deep breath. "I need to ask you about Suna's marriage customs." He finally blurted quickly.
Temari grabbed the flustered young man by the arm and dragged him into the apartment, closing and locking the door. "It doesn't sound like this is a conversation that needs to take place in the hall." She offered when he looked to her for an explanation.
"Right, sure. That makes sense." He nodded.
"Sit." The nearly twenty year old girl ordered, heading to the kitchen to make tea. This was likely to be a long conversation.
While the tea steeped, she tried not to get her hopes up. Sure, she and her brother had been attempting to steer the young couple into a more socially acceptable arrangement for their relationship but she hadn't expected it to work so quickly. 'Fox boy could just be curious about our customs.'
The sand jonin took the tray into the living room and set it on the low table in front of the couch. Once she had poured the tea for both of them she sank into the squashy armchair she had claimed as her favorite seat in the apartment and leveled a calculating look at the fidgeting teen.
"Okay, what do you want to know?" She asked evenly.
"Um...first, can you promise me you won't tell Gaara I talked to you about this?" He asked seriously.
"Why not?" The older blonde frowned.
"I want it to be a surprise." Naruto told her with a small smile.
Temari set her teacup down. This was more than curiosity. The knucklehead was actually planning to propose to her baby sister. "Okay." She agreed, trying not to show how excited she was.
"Right...so what should I do?" He asked slowly. "I mean, how do people in Suna propose? What do I give her? How long do engagements usually last? Is there anything special I have to do before we can get married? Do you think she'll say yes?" He stopped, biting his lip as if he hadn't meant for the last question to slip out.
Temari took a moment to digest the barrage of questions before she answered any of them. "Well, the first thing a guy has to do, before he can ask a young lady to marry him, is ask her father for permission."
"But...he's dead." The orange clad teen frowned.
"I know, and that's lucky for you." Temari waved off that objection. "If the father is deceased, the duty goes to the oldest male in the family."
"Oh...I have to ask your brother?" Naruto asked cautiously, almost certain the puppet master was Gaara's only living male relative, but not wanting to make a mistake.
"Yep." Temari grinned evilly. "Kankuro gets first say in whether you get to propose to our baby sister or not, so I suggest you come up with some convincing reasons he should let you."
Naruto nodded sharply, like he was accepting a dangerous mission. "Right, step one ask Kankuro. Then what?"
Temari sat back in her chair. "Then you can ask Gaara. Proposals in Sunagakure usually involve the couple exchanging necklaces, preferably something handmade rather than bought. If the engagement isn't planned by both parties ahead of time, the one proposing can offer the necklace and, if they accept the proposal, the other person reciprocates later, though most..." She trailed as the jinchuriki's eyes got wide and his hand flew to clutch at something under his shirt.
Fumbling with suddenly unresponsive fingers, Naruto managed to pull the sand flower vial from beneath his shirt. It dangled from his fingertips, catching the light from the window as he stared at it in shock.
"What's that?" The pigtailed woman asked, already suspecting the answer.
"Gaara made it for me. It's full of sand flowers. She uh...gave it to me before the exam. She said it was for luck."
"Hmm..." Temari eyed the tiny vial of sand thoughtfully. "Why would she give you a betrothal necklace and not tell you what it was really for?"
Naruto watched the grains shift inside the glass as the pendant swung from the leather cord. "Maybe she didn't think I'd ever ask her to marry me?"
"But she wanted you to have the necklace anyway." Temari nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like her."
"Baka." Naruto said, smiling fondly at the necklace.
"Hey, that's my family you're talking about." Temari punched the younger teen in the arm but it lacked any real force. "Well, I think you have your answer as to whether she'll say yes."
Naruto started to nod but another thought struck him. "Maybe...but what if she gave me this because she changed her mind and doesn't want to marry me?" He looked slightly ill at the thought.
"I...hmm...darn, you could be right." Temari highly doubted it, but she couldn't resist having a bit of fun with her future brother-in-law.
"Do you think you could ask her about it without giving me away?" The jinchuriki asked, bouncing in his seat.
Temari shook her head. "No way. If I start asking questions like that and then you propose, she'll think I pushed you into it."
The leaf ninja's face fell.
Temari's eyes lit up as an idea struck her. "Hinata!"
Naruto blinked. "What about her?"
The fan wielder rolled her eyes. "She can talk to Gaara without raising any suspicion."
Naruto nodded. "That's a great idea! Hinata sort of already knows what I'm planning anyway." He took a deep breath, a course of action forming in his head. "So, is there anything else I need to know?"
"You can propose any way you like so long as you give her the necklace. Engagements usually last about a year, sometimes less if the situation calls for it to be rushed. Oh, and when you go to propose, make sure you wear that where it can be seen." She tapped the still dangling vial meaningfully. "Betrothal necklaces aren't supposed to be hidden. It sort of defeats the purpose of them."
The orange clad young man grinned, letting the glass drop back against his chest but not tucking it back under his shirt with Tsunade's pendant. "Okay, thanks." He stood and bowed respectfully to the older teen. "Do you...um..."
"Kankuro is holed up in his room, if you want to talk to him."
Naruto thought it over for a few seconds, but shook his head. "Not yet. I gotta talk to Hinata first. I'll see you later."
The eldest Sand sibling nodded and showed the hyperactive teen out, closing the door behind him and leaning against it with a bemused smile.
"I hope you knew what you were doing, Sis, because I think he's decided to accept your proposal."
To be Continued...
Author's Note: I'm telling you, this chapter just wrote itself in about two hours. I admit to borrowing the proposal necklace idea from Avatar the Last Airbender, but in that only the women get them. So, there you have it. Naruto was all set to propose, only to discover Gaara already proposed to him first! She just neglected to mention it to him. Why would she do that? Will Hinata agree to help? What will Gaara say on the subject? Will Kankuro give them his blessing? What will Naruto make for his betrothal gift? What sort of romantic gesture does he have in mind for popping the question? What will Naruto's first chunin mission be? How will this decision affect his plans to become Hokage? All this is coming up just as soon as I get it out of my head and into the computer! Please Review! It feeds my creativity. Really!