AN: Trying to post a little early, because I'm traveling today. Plans were made at my husbands' birthday dinner, which is why I didn't post last week, so now I'm traveling today. However, I could not go 3 weeks without posting.

Sadly, I didn't get as much written while I was on vacation. I had the last 2 days I was going to dedicate to writing, and sadly, last two days we were all physically ill. Me. My husband. Our daughter. It was not pretty. I'd hoped to be in Chapter 9 or 10 by now, but I'm only in 8. Hopefully, I'll finish 8 relatively quickly, because I'm almost to where it picks up. I have had fun writing the "fluff" calm before the storm chapters, so I hope you enjoy them as much as I did writing them.

Chapter 4

As the sun set over Suna, the housekeeper and cook left the Penthouse for the day, leaving a nice dinner out for the brothers for the evening. Kankuro waved them off from the table, telling them to have a nice evening. The siblings used to handle all the cooking and cleaning themselves after their father died. But when Temari started traveling more as Suna's ambassador, and the demands of being Kazekage grew over the years, they decided to hire part-time help. After Temari left, Gaara promoted them to full-time, because otherwise there was no way the Penthouse would be livable with Kankuro's habits.

They sat quietly, eating the carne asada their cook made. Their cook wasn't some famous chef. Just one of the cafeteria cooks from the tower lobby. Gaara didn't need the luxury of a five-star chef, nor did he want to pay for one. They only needed dinners prepared occasionally. But he did like his meat dishes. And the leftover desserts were nice too.

As soon as they were alone with each other and their food, Kankuro leaned forward, watching Gaara eat carefully. "So," Kankuro started. His gaze clear he wanted to discuss something.

"So," Gaara murmured nonchalantly, before taking another bite.

Kankuro mouth curled into a pursed smile. "For a man who's received a royal proposal, you seem rather unfazed." He sucked on his teeth, before grabbing his utensils and taking a bite. Gaara blinked and took another bite. "Are you going to do it?"

"I don't know," Gaara answered, taking a sip of iced tea. "There's a lot of opportunity in doing it."

Kankuro stuck his tongue in his cheek, then asked, "Is it even a good idea to consider it?" He shrugged as he added, "Generally speaking, it's not a ninja's place to get involved between two Daimyos. And it'll be worse if it leads to war, when we already lost so many not three and a half years ago. We still haven't yet recovered those numbers, either."

"I know," Gaara grumbled. He set his jaw, then pointed out, "But Ginmaru has clearly overstepped his bounds as Interim in many ways. He's refusing to pay us on contracts we've already filled for him, like the war. He laughed at me today when I told him Suna's children would be starving, and said it wasn't his problem."

Kankuro frowned. "He did?"

"He told me to feed them cake," Gaara spat. "On top of that, he is apparently killing off prospective Daimyos, especially two from noble houses. One of which included the assassination of a current regional Daimyo." He shook his head before picking up another bite. "As Kazekage, I vowed to protect the sovereign. Which technically, Ginmaru is not. Emika is."

"Emika is if she's married," Kankuro countered. "Which she's not."

Gaara shook his head. "That's semantics. She's the heir, which makes her the sovereign. Whether she has power or not is another issue."

Kankuro pursed his lips, adding, "Except it's very much your issue. Marrying her makes you both Daimyo and Kazekage, which is not legally allowed. On top of that it will put strains on the relationships with the other Daimyos and their Kage. It'll be an international story."

"I know."

"Not to mention, it's not a guarantee," Kankuro added. "If it starts a war, which could likely happen, and we're the losing side, who's running Suna?" He offered a shrug, then added, "The Council has tasked you to build back rapport with Ginmaru. This would kill that relationship dead."

Gaara grimaced. "I can't do what the Council asks," he said, scratching his brow.

Kankuro frowned at that. "Surely things can't be that bad with Ginmaru. He's a fickle Daimyo."

Gaara gulped. After everything today, the video call with the Daimyo, the Council meeting, the proposal, Gaara realized he had to tell Kankuro. Had to tell someone. "Ginmaru has made his demands clear."

Kankuro made a face, then said, "Good. Then do that. And help Emika marry someone else."

"I can't do what he's asking," Gaara said, shaking his head curling a fist over his mouth. His eyes looked out the window to the village horizon, trying to ignore the twisting in his stomach at the idea.

Kankuro frowned, seeing the haunted look in his brother's eye. His brother who had killed thousands of shinobi was shaken to his core by the suggestion. "What are his demands?" Kankuro pressed.

Gaara looked him in the eye, his lips pulled in a disgusted frown, as if he couldn't voice it, so was trying to tell him telepathically.

Kankuro licked his lips nervously. "What are his demands?" he repeated more slowly. When Gaara still didn't answer, only blink hauntedly, and look away, Kankuro murmured, "They can't be that bad. What? Does he want you to murder children?"

Gaara sneered. "That, while despicable, would be doable."

"Well, what is it?" Kankuro pressed frustratedly. "What else could he want?"

Gaara licked his lips, then choked out, "A concubine." His jaw tensed as soon as he said it.

Kankuro scoffed as if the idea was idiotic. "Why does he want you to give him a concubine?" Until he saw Gaara's piercing glower. Kankuro's face fell as his eyes went wide, seeing his brother's discomfort. "Oh," he murmured darkly. Gaara looked away, blushing from discomfort. Kankuro blinked his wide eyes as he tried to process what his brother had just confessed. He made a few attempts to ask clarifying questions, moving his hands oddly, only to stop as he realized he couldn't ask what he'd set out to. Finally, he blurted with a wince, "Pitching or catching?"

Gaara scowled. "Is there a meaningful difference?"

"Yeah," Kankuro laughed. "Pitching fucks. Catching gets fucked."

Gaara's stomach twisted hard, his insides clenching at the thought, and he was no longer hungry, even for the nice churros left behind for dessert. He stood, snatching up his plate as he spat, "Catching," not looking at his brother as he scraped off his plate.

"You're sure?" Kankuro asked.

"I believe his words, 'Just don't struggle,' made it pretty clear," Gaara spat as he closed the trash can before dropping the plates in the sink with a clatter.

Kankuro blinked wide eyes again, his mouth pressed in a shocked frown. His eyebrows in his hairline. "Wow," he whispered as Gaara rolled up his sleeves and rinsed off his plate. "He asked you … to just bend over and take it, literally."

Gaara grabbed the sponge, vigorously scrubbing as he growled, "I have a hard time imagining any other Kage dealing with this. I have a hard time imagining father …" He cut himself off, licking his lips frustratedly, and shaking his head. "Of course, Father was never in this position because Lord Hiroto was frugal, but a decent human being at least. Never even cheated on his wife, despite father's attempts to throw willing kunoichi at him." That was something Gaara hadn't even known about until he became Kazekage, and finally became privy to the classified parts of the job. His father had made four unsuccessful attempts of having kunoichi seduce the Lord Hiroto for blackmail against the crown to supplement funding in the years before Orochimaru approached him with the Konoha Crush proposal, which was when Suna was previously most desperate for funding, besides now. Gaara closed his eyes, shaking his head as he realized he shouldn't have said that. Kankuro didn't know about their father's attempts. The only living person who did was Baki. Everyone else from the Council who'd been privy to it was dead by now.

Kankuro pursed his lips and shrugged, adding, "Catching can be fun if you're with the right person and you swing that way. Just takes your ass a couple days to recover." Gaara grimaced. He'd known his brother had no problem bedding either men or women. Especially after seeing Omoi exiting their room during the first meteor summit. Gaara had spent the night in Temari's room because Kankuro had put a do not disturb sign on their door. While at first, Gaara had been shocked, he'd grown to accept it. Kankuro was indecisive in most aspects of his life. Why would sex be any different? "When did this conversation happen?" Kankuro asked.

"The first Annual Daimyo's Ball after I turned eighteen," Gaara answered darkly. "He made a point of asking my age first."

Kankuro shuddered, letting out a disgusted grunt. "Means he'd been thinking about it for a while."

"He made that clear too," Gaara stated, finishing his plate. "Said he'd signed me in and paid for the first three and a half years because he saw that as an investment for it. He pulled funding because I told him no. He's denied every proposal I've sent him since."

"That's so fucked up," Kankuro murmured, watching his brother walk back to the table to just grab his iced tea, then go stand at one of the living room windows, looking at the sunset over the buildings. Kankuro licked his lips, then huffed, "Either way, you're literally fucked. Either you enter a legal marriage with Princess Emika and possibly start a war, or you get railed by her uncle."

Gaara closed his eyes at his brother astute summation of his choices, then took another sip. He tongued his cheek, then said, "Well, given Emika said our union won't result in a child, I think she doesn't mean for us to have sex."

Kankuo pouted pensively, then muttered, "Well, legal reasons, the royals' consummation has to be witnessed, you know? So, you'd have to do it once and have witnesses sign off on it, or Ginmaru would just annul the marriage. Why do you think Chie freaked when we talked to those innkeepers? Remember?"

Gaara nodded vaguely. "What do you mean witnessed?"

Kankuro licked his lips. "I don't know. Last time, Chie said five witnesses willing to sign was enough to legitimize a royal marriage. But considering no one saw you two …" Kankuro paused, shaking his head. "I don't know the specifics. But essentially, if the consummation is witnessed then the marriage can't be annulled. And since she's doing this behind her Uncle's back, it's going to have to be legally ironclad." Gaara frowned at his brother as Kankuro nodded along, pursing his lips before adding, "So, if anything, that's probably what the window is."

"What are you talking about?" Gaara asked.

Kankuro made an odd wincing expression, then said, "I may have been with one or two girls who used calendar method as birth control."

"Calendar method?"

Kankuro nodded. "Yeah, it's essentially, she's been keeping strict track of her cycle so she knows when she's at risk for fertility and not at risk. She and Ryuki probably picked a day around that method." He chewed on his lip, and shrugged as if weighing the options. "Either way, you're either fucking or getting fucked."

Gaara looked away with a blush, swirling his tea. If what his brother said was true, then he'd be bedding the princess. Again.

The thought filled him with trepidation and nerves. It had been so long since they'd done it. Six and a half years, to be precise. And while he'd remembered those moments with great fondness, and imagined it happening again many times, six years was still a long time. He'd never touched another woman in that time. Meanwhile she'd been with three other men, publicly. It was laughable to think she hadn't tried sex with any of them. He was going to be horribly inadequate with his inexperience.

Kankuro shrugged, adding, "I mean the answer's obvious if you're still in love with her."

"What?" Gaara asked.

"Are you still in love with her?" Kankuro asked.

Gaara shook his head. "That hardly factors into my decision," he answered. Kankuro frowned, clearly not liking Gaara's non-answer. Gaara continued, "She clearly doesn't love me. So, our history and feelings regarding each other matter very little. What factors is if I think Emika will do a better job as Daimyo, and if that's worth fighting for. Starting a possible war over."

"Not to mention set a dangerous precedent for other countries to rise up against their Daimyos," Kankuro pointed out.

Gaara tilted his head and thought, then said, "Maybe other countries will realize they need better inheritance laws when it comes to the crown. Emika has a point. Being the sole heir, she should have inherited the crown outright."

"But women don't rule," Kankuro stated. "It's not their place."

Gaara shot a look at Kankuro as he said, "Just because she's a woman, doesn't mean she can't lead. Look at Tsunade and Mei. Both women, both fine, strong leaders."

"Tsunade and Mei are exceptional kunoichi. I'm not arguing that," Kankuro stated. "But running a ninja village is different than running a country. Every daimyo across the world is a man, because noblewomen are taught how to run the castle while noblemen are taught how to lead. That's just how it's done. Plus, PMS. You want a woman running the country when she's in one of her hormonal states?"

Gaara rolled his eyes. The PMS argument was always thrown around, and while yes, he and Kankuro lived in fear when Temari was in her time, he'd still trust Temari running the country over Kankuro at any point. "And what happens if there are no male heirs?" Gaara pointed out.

"Then the princess marries," Kankuro huffed. "It's how the world has worked for millennia."

Gaara scoffed, "The world doesn't work. And men like Ginmaru are the main reason it doesn't."

"And putting the crown in the hands a princess who ran away across the Wind one time is a better idea?" Kankuro asked, pursing his lips.

Gaara shook his head, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. "You didn't see? She's nothing like she was then."

Kankuro pressed his lips together, then stood from the table, cleaning his dish off. He turned to the hallway going back to their bedrooms and paused. "I'd say you have a lot to think about. But it sounds like you've made your decision."

Gaara chewed his lips nervously, then asked, "Do I have your support?"

"You always have my support," Kankuro answered. "Even though I think backing her has a lot more risks than you're taking into account. Not just for the country, but for you personally."

Gaara's shoulders dropped, hearing his brother's concern in his voice. "I'll be fine."

Kankuro shot him a pointed look, then said, "I saw what it did to you the first time. So, my concerns are well founded."

Gaara sighed. "I know. But believe me when I say I'll be fine. Neither Emika nor myself are who we were back then."

Kankuro nodded, then headed back to his room silently. Gaara finished his tea, then made his way back to his room, getting ready for bed. His mind filled with thoughts of how different Emika was since the last time he saw her. Sure, they'd both grown. That was a given.

He opened his nightstand drawer, pulling out the picture of Emika at the Oasis Springs. Seeing her bright smile and her effervescent happiness. She glowed in the moonlight with her youthful bliss that night. It was hard to reconcile the woman in the photo was the same woman he saw this afternoon, whose gaze had hardened to stone. The woman in the photo believed in love and goodness, while the woman he saw this afternoon had seen the world's dark underbelly exposed. The naivete allowing Emika to believe in love and the world's goodness had disappeared, leaving her with nothing but a drive to reclaim her power.

Gaara chewed the inside of his cheek as he thought about the stark difference between who Emika was six years ago and the Emika he met that afternoon. He wanted to believe everything her Uncle had put her through, forcing her to sign away her rights and then allegedly killing her fiances to hold onto power, was the reason behind such a change. Except he remembered what she said that afternoon. "After I realized everything that happened between us was a lie, I signed away my rights. … Because of us."

Every photo he'd seen of her since his election, he'd seen the dead look in her eye. The void of sadness in their depths. It had hurt at first to think he'd been a cause of that, because he'd fallen so deeply in love with her. But it hurt so much more to know he'd been the cause. To know that he'd single-handedly destroyed her, and she still hadn't been able to pick up the pieces he'd left behind.

He felt tears sting his eyes as he mourned the girl in the photo, putting it away again. The Emika he once knew might as well have been dead. And it was because of him.

The morning of January 23rd was a normal Friday morning in Suna. While most assumed the desert was always wildly inhospitable and hot, which for the most part it was, especially in summer, January was the second coldest month of the year. The clear skies the night before meant the temperature dropped to almost freezing. So, the frost on the windows weren't a shock to see, and the overcast clouds hiding the sun away momentarily was somewhat expected. If Gaara had to guess, they might have some rain later in the day. This time of year, they'd get the occasional shower. Or it was just going to be one of those overcast days.

What was more surprising than the cold weather to Gaara was first thing in the morning to see Emika's hooded figure waiting in his office with Chie again, even though he had for the most part expected it. Kankuro, who didn't usually join Gaara early in the morning when Gaara would start work, did follow Gaara down, stating he would be at Gaara side when Emika arrived for her answer, whenever that was. Seeing all parties present, Kankuro promptly shut the door, and locked it.

Emika turned to Gaara, not removing her hood, as if waiting for his answer. Gaara cleared his throat, and closed his eyes as he answered. "I have a few stipulations." She tilted her head, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out his list of demands. "First, the debt for the Fourth War must be paid upfront. Second, I need you to pass funding for a new foster system for ninja families, for a new hospital wing, and for reshoring Suna's reservoir from the meteor damage last year. And lastly, the crown completely pays for any civil war that will break out as a result of our nuptials." He voiced his demands clearly so as not to be misunderstood and to make sure she knew he would not back down on any of these fronts.

She took off her hood and smiled the smile of someone who knew she'd won. She took his list from his fingers and then reached for Chie, who opened the satchel he'd been holding, and pulled out a manila folder. She gestured for Gaara to sit at his desk, and he did. She again grabbed the stool from yesterday to sit at his desk across from him. She opened the folder, then flicked through the tabbed pages until she found the page she was looking for, which was mostly blank except for the word "ADDENDUMS" written in big bold letters across the top. She reached for a pen, and began writing down his demands.

As she wrote the first, she stated, "Since Ginmaru still holds the major coffers of the Crown, I can pay half of the remaining debt upfront with the money Ryuki gave me, and Touma's inheritance which went to me, and the money from my mother's family. Then I can pay the rest once I gain power."

Gaara shared a look with Kankuro, who only raised his eyebrows and shrugged, as if to say this was Gaara's decision. Gaara looked at her, a small smile on his lips, feeling as if he'd finally made some headway even if it meant signing up for another war. "Well, half is better than nothing," he finally said.

She nodded along. "Everything else, my own private ventures should handle over the next few months."

Gaara straightened at that, then asked, "And what ventures are those?"

She looked at him dead in the eye, then said, "My own."

He frowned, then said, "I meant—"

"I knew what you meant. I meant it's not your business," she clarified pointedly. Gaara pressed his mouth into a pursed line. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "It's boring mostly. Strategic investments is all. Real Estate, Arts, Technology. You make enough of them, they pay dividends."

Gaara only looked at her, blinking a little as he realized how much she sounded like her father. Judgmental and guarded about his money. "I didn't mean to offend," he murmured.

She scratched her eyebrow, frowning a little, then offered, "Bricks."

"What?"

"My first investment. I own 66% of the largest brick company in the Wind," she stated.

He frowned. How did that make any sense? "Bricks?"

She nodded, tonguing her cheek in thought. "You remember the news reports of the Ceramics Village between Futen and the Land of Rivers was blown up by Akatsuki? Would have been a couple months before you became Kazekage."

Gaara nodded, remembering it well. It was one of the reasons the Council decided they couldn't wait on Gaara reaching 18 before nomination. The Akatsuki had been at their doorstep.

"Well, there were a few survivors. One of the surviving artisans, Kanyu, was at the charity auction Prince Hamaru and I got together at. We agreed to start a building company with Kanyu, to rebuild the town with bricks made from the local clay," she explained plainly. "The bricks proved to be incredibly durable. So, when Ao Nami was hit with flooding a couple years ago, my company and its bricks were an obvious choice for rebuilding." She chuckled as she added, "It's stupid why. I just remembered the Three Little Pigs story, and thought a brick company sounded like a good idea." She shrugged and sighed, "It was my first investment, but I've gotten a lot of money out of it."

Gaara frowned as he thought about it, then blurted, "I think we used your bricks for the Moon bunkers last year."

"Year and a half ago," Emika corrected, nodding. "You did. I made sure the order was filled as a priority, myself."

Gaara couldn't believe it. He remembered dealing with the company, and had been thankful the order had been filled before he even paid the full amount, so the bunkers were built in time for the moon to fall. That had been because of her.

She cleared her throat, finishing her writing, and handing him the packet of papers. "Please double check the addendum is to your standards."

He took the packet from her fingers, then read the list of addendums she wrote in. They were all his stipulations in her beautifully clear lettering. Apparently, she'd learned calligraphy at some point. He grumbled, "This looks right."

"Alright," she sighed, holding the pen to him as she started, "that's the prenup. It will keep us both safe from each other and will serve as our play by play for our wedded life."

Gaara frowned, then flipped to the front of the long document. He read the beginning quietly to himself for the most part, since it was standard court verbiage. He read quickly. Then he got to the marital requirements and expectations, and he read the heads of listed items aloud. "Immediate marriage. As in …?"

"Today," she said. "As soon as you sign this, I'll be going to get ready. You'll need to be there by eleven thirty."

He blinked, surprised. That was soon. He furrowed his brow, clearing his throat as he continued, "Consummation ceremony verified by Court recognized physician." He licked his lips nervously. This was something he was nervous about. "What does that entail?"

She cleared her throat, shifting uncomfortably under his stern gaze. "After the ceremony," she explained, "we will go to a room set up for us to consummate the marriage."

"And by that you mean…"

"Yes," she said, blushing a little at the discomfort.

Gaara made an awkward face, then asked, "Is that necessary?" He ignored Kankuro smacking his forehead and shaking his head in his hand.

She nodded. "For legal reasons, yes. Consummation ceremonies have been part of the Wind's noble marriages for centuries. Marriages that didn't have them weren't considered actually married, and easier to annul if the Daimyo had better fitting plan. I would have been expected to have one for any of my marriages." She cleared her throat awkwardly, never having to explain this before. "Uncle Ginmaru doesn't have the power to annul marriages as the Interim, however, the House of Lords might grant it to him since you are the Kazekage. And annulment would mean all of this would be for nothing. If a Court recognized physician verifies our consummation, then our marriage becomes ironclad, meaning the House won't grant him that power."

Gaara pressed his lips into a fine line, then grumbled, "Alright, so we go to this room." He gestured for her to continue her explanation.

"We go to the room with the physician," Emika continued. "Do the deed. Then when you finish, the physician will check me to confirm the consummation by verifying your sperm is … in place."

He exhaled sharply through his nose, hoping that was it for surprises. It was hard trying to imagine doing it with the audience of a doctor. But the instructions were clear. He had to bed her and deposit his seed in her womb. He tongued his cheek, deciding he had to ask. "And that won't result in pregnancy?" She'd made the comment yesterday. He just had to follow through.

She scoffed. "You're worried about that now?" she commented under her breath.

Gaara immediately blushed, knowing she was referring to six years ago. He'd gone in her with reckless abandon, then. He considered himself lucky nothing had come of it, otherwise the news of a royal bastard would have been everywhere.

He felt eyes on him, and saw Chie looking at him knowingly, and he blushed more. Did he know? Did she tell her bodyguards? He saw Kankuro eyeing him oddly, and he cleared his throat. "You said yesterday that our union wouldn't result in a child," he clarified.

She nodded, agreeing with the statement. "Doing all this today will not result in a child. That is why I could not let you deliberate on it for a couple days. My fertile window starts in three days, which means the closer we got to those days, the more at risk I would be. Plus, everything is already set up for today."

Gaara saw Kankuro mouth behind her, "Calendar method."

Gaara chewed his cheek, realizing everything his brother had said about this part of things was entirely accurate. He went back to the prenup and read, "During the marriage, both parties will cohabitate to solidify marriage legal grounds."

"I will move into your house until the House recognizes our claim over Ginmaru's. Then we will move into Futen Palace until we change the law," she clarified.

"Right," Gaara said, following along. "An official announcement of the nuptials will be made after seven days, so the records have the marriage and consummation verification filed away." His brow furrowed in slight worry that he wasn't going to have time to warn Temari. "Sounds reasonable," he murmured. He skimmed further down until he saw, "As acting Daimyo, Gaara will verify every decision with Emika and must not sign anything Daimyo related unless she has already cleared it." He looked at her carefully, but with her resolute stare, he could tell that wasn't something she would budge on. He was the ninja and she was the Daimyo. He cleared his throat before continuing, "All financial standings will remain separated, with neither party retaining any claim on the other's finances or savings. Parties will remain married until the House passes the bill recognizing first born living heirs as next in line. Once the bill is passed, and Princess Emika has retained all Daimyo powers, Emika will annul the marriage, allowing Gaara to retain his position as Kazekage. Upon annulment, Emika will fulfill all addendums agreed to on page 17, as well as Gaara will be granted 10,000,000 yen for services rendered to the crown, and Sunagakure will receive all missions from the crown for the next 10 years."

He looked up surprised. Even Kankuro was surprised to hear such an addition. She nodded expectantly before he could even ask if he'd read that correctly. That was more than any Kage got from any Daimyo ever. A full monopoly on the missions coming out of the Shogun Daimyo's palaces? For a decade? It was unheard of.

"Ten years," he clarified.

"Yes," she stated. "I told you earlier I make strategic investments. This would be one of them." She licked her lips, then said, "I told you six years ago, I disagreed with my father on hiring Konoha ninja for work simply because it was cheaper. Suna is our ninja village, and as the Land of Wind's main military might, it needs to be nurtured. As Daimyo, I'm promising to invest in our military, because I want to see Suna grow. I saw how well your programs started, and the affects they had, not just in Suna, but in other villages of the Wind. Now with budget cuts and the war funding cut, Suna is struggling again thanks to my uncle. I don't want that when I'm running things. And if I don't see the growth that I want to see in ten years, then we'll have to discuss what has worked and what hasn't."

He scoffed. "You sound like you plan to manage us like one of your brick mills."

"Precisely," she stated evenly. "You joke, but I know if you and I trust each other, and work together on this, Suna and its families won't ever have to struggle again. And the rest of the Wind will be brought up with it."

He looked her over carefully, hearing the certainty in her voice. It wasn't just a dream or a fanciful thought of the future. She had a vision for how the Wind would proceed, and Suna was central to that. He could follow such a leader.

He looked on the last page before the addendum page, and the final signatures page, and read, "Any breach in these actions in which Gaara is at fault, all addendums are nulled, all grants and awards are nulled, and the marriage will be immediately dissolved." He blinked, then muttered, "I thought you just said you wanted to invest in Suna."

She smirked, "Well, if you breach contract, I can't trust you, can I? And I can't invest in a man I can't trust."

He pressed his lips in a thin line, nodding his understanding. "You've gotten rather serious over the years, Princess."

Her jaw tensed before she said, "My father's death made me grow up."

He looked down, realizing they were rather the same in that regard. But while his father's death had granted him the freedom to realize what he should do with his life, her father's death stripped her of the protections she was used to and exposed her to the darker side of the world.

He picked up the pen, then said, "The contract is fair. So, where do I sign?"

She got up, walking around the desk to stand over him grabbing another pen, then flipping back to the front. He tried to ignore her close proximity as she leaned over his shoulder, her chest brushing against his shoulder as she explained, "We both have to initial several places, and then sign on the final page." Then she took them through, page by page. First she'd initial, then he would under her. Then they got to the final page where she signed and dated it, before passing it to him. He signed and dated it, putting his pen down. She looked up to Chie, turning it around on the desk and said, "Chie, notarize this."

Chie took the pen she offered him, then signed on the notary line at the bottom, pulling a stamp out of his satchel and stamping it after dating it. He then flipped the prenup to the front and did the same to the front page.

She grabbed it and put it back in the manilla folder before handing it to Chie stating, "We'll make copies before the ceremony, so we can file this original with the marriage certificate and consummation verification."

"I'll double seal this for security purposes," Chie promised, stuffing it in his satchel.

She straightened, turning to Gaara as she grabbed her hood. "The ceremony will be at Central East Palace, twenty minutes South of town. You have an hour to get ready and down the aisle." She paused as she looked him over with a slightly judging frown before adding, "And put on a suit."

Then she threw her hood up, and she and Chie left promptly. Kankuro shared a look with his brother as if asking him if he were truly ready for this. To be honest, Gaara wasn't sure if he'd ever be ready for something like this. But it was happening. He'd already agreed to it, and signed the prenup promising to do so. Sure, he was risking a lot doing this, but if she fulfilled her promises, Suna would be set. And he knew she was always good on her word. He knew that six years ago when she vowed to fix his arrest and showed up in the election room with a petition for his prison release. Emika kept her promises.

PLEASE REVIEW! And fave, follow, kudos, bookmark, whatever.