AN: These chapters have been renumbered from 8-11.

Chapter 8

The next few days passed surprisingly easy. Casino night was a hit with the group, especially with Gaara clearing out the Coyote Hold'em table. Then the next day they were in Port Safin, which was a glittering city on the water at the base of a large active volcano, Mount Yogan. They were turned free to do whatever they wanted for the day in the city, granted they were back on the ship by the next morning, when they would sail around the large island to Minato Pāru on the other side, passing the famous lava flow on the south side of the island that steadily increased the size of the island over the past couple decades. The lava had been steadily flowing down the southern cliff-faces to the sea for almost fifty years now.

Both in Port Safin and Minato Pāru, the group wanted to do different things. Emika expressed great interest to hike up to Mount Yogan's crater to see the lava pools. Gaara was the only one who seemed interested in that idea, so they went themselves as the rest of the group wanted to check out the old preserved pirate ships and the haunted lighthouse. As Gaara and Emika looked over the crater, smelling the brimstone and feeling the heat rising up from the bright orange pool of molten lava below, Emika wondered how anybody could feel safe living there, knowing at any moment the top could just blow.

They walked back to town, ate lunch on the pier, where Gaara got some ice cream on his shirt. After Emika got her laughter about it out, she took him to buy a Coral Island print shirt. They were famous for being light weight and obnoxiously colored, but she did get him to agree when she argued, "When you're in paradise, you dress for the occasion." She'd bought him a shirt with a blue background and pink tropical flowers, and another shirt his usual deep red with vibrant green palm fronds. He opted to wear the blue floral one for the rest of the day, and the new pair of sunglasses and put his stained shirt in the bag Emika had brought. She smiled at him as they walked out of the store. "You look like a proper beach bum," she chuckled as they returned to the pier hand in hand to meet the rest of group for a glass bottom cruise with that would take them out to see some sea turtles, the coral reef, then out to Seal Bar which was a small sandbar along the reef where seals liked to sunbathe, then out further to see some whales. Then they returned to the cruise-line's reserved amphitheater and pavilion on the beach, which is where they'd set up a Luau with Hula dancing, Fire dancing, a Haka, and traditional Coral Island singing. Everyone was leied upon entering the pavilion, and they gorged themselves on pork, taro, rice, pineapple and coconut cake.

Then the next day, they were in Minato Pāru around lunch. There, their group went to the Dolphin Center, where the majority of marine biology outside of the Land of Water was done, and where they allowed people to swim with dolphins and sea turtles. The center had a photographer, and offered them to buy the photos taken during their excursion at the front, which Emika did for the group.

The ship left that night so they could stay at the cruise line's private beach resort on Kamekojima for the whole last day on the Coral Islands. The Resort abutted two beaches. The Western Sound and the White Sand Beach on the North Shore. The party had done jet skiing this morning around the sound, but had changed for a fun afternoon in the surf.

After changing, Emika had stopped at the beach bar before joining up with the group, buying a couple water bottles and a strawberry daiquiri. Then she walked out onto the hot sand, claiming one of the chaises and umbrellas not far from Tenshimi's things, which she recognized. As she looked around to see where everyone was, she saw the group popping around a volleyball while two of the bodyguards laid out on their beach chairs, getting sun and reading their books. But she didn't see Gaara.

She looked around, then saw him in the ocean popping up on a surfboard as he caught a good-sized wave. He raced along the swell, spraying water with every turn. She was shocked to see it, mostly because she didn't see Gaara as a regular surfer bro. He was good. Really good. As he soared over the crest, he dropped down back on his board, and swam back to where there were four other surfers waiting on waves. When he got back to the others, he sat up and looked around, catching Emika's gaze. She waved at him as she took a sip of her drink, then grabbed the little umbrella with a large strawberry and pineapple speared on the end, and at the fruit. He smiled back at her softly, and waved.

She watched him from afar, finishing her drink as she wiggled her toes in the warm sand, digging a small hole with her feet to bury them. Suddenly a shadow came over her, causing her to look away from the water and up at her new brother-in-law, who now stood next to her with his arms crossed. He was also looking out at Gaara, a bottle of beer in his hand, and she could see how protective he was just in his gaze.

"I didn't know Gaara could surf," she said, before taking the final sip of her daiquiri.

"Yeah," Kankuro said. "He picked it up after our father died. The Council gave us two weeks off for mourning, and Temari decided a beach trip would be good bonding experience for all of us." He sipped his beer, then cleared his throat. "He picked it up quick, and it gave him the idea for his sand cloud thing."

The perfect wave seemed to have appeared, and several of the surfers tried to catch it, Gaara included. He popped up as another popped up a little too close to him, forcing Gaara to swerve the wrong way into the whites. The board got swept from beneath him and he tumbled into the water.

Kankuro laughed, "Ooh, wipe out!" before taking another sip.

Emika looked up nervously and asked, "Is he alright?" before seeing Gaara pop up out of the water, push his sopping hair back and find his board, which floated on the back side of the waves. She felt the relief in her heart, and relaxed as he got back on his board as he frown at the other surfer who'd snaked his wave.

He wiped his lip with his knuckle, and said, "He's fine." He cleared his throat again as her turned to the princess, "Speaking of wipe outs, I need you to tread carefully."

She frowned, unsure what he meant.

He stiffened his shoulders, still watching his brother as he said, "Gaara acts tough, but he isn't made of stone."

"I don't know what you're getting at," she said.

He turned directly to her and said, "My brother has experienced a lot of pain and emotional trauma in his life. I don't know how much of it you know about, but I'll assume some. Then there's also the pain he experienced after your adventure six years ago. He likes to pretend it didn't hurt, probably to save his ego, but he was in a lot of pain then too." Kankuro licked his lips, then said, "I'm asking that you don't add to that pain this time around. Don't hurt him because he hurt you."

She blinked away tears as she looked at her sand buried feet. She put her empty glass on the umbrella table with the water bottles, then cleared her throat before she replied, "I have no intention of hurting your brother. But you should also understand this time, we're both adults who entered into this situation willingly." Then she stood, pulling off her white linen beach cover to reveal her high-waisted olive-green bikini that fit her hourglass figure perfectly. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go for a swim."

She passed Kankuro and waded out into the ocean. When the water reached her waist before cresting into a wave, she dove in head first and swam out. She always loved swimming. The deeper the water the better. She remembered as a child pretending to be a mermaid and seeing how long she could hold her breath under water. She didn't have a destination in mind when she swam out, but her body seemed to know. She popped up not ten meters away from Gaara. She shook her hair out, then proceeded to back-float in the sun warmed waves. It was one of the joys of big breasts. Back-floating was really easy.

She heard paddling and opened her eyes, wincing at the sun. She saw a shadow pass next to her, then sit up as she heard Gaara's voice, "Excuse me, ma'am. Are you alright?"

"I've been shipwrecked," she joked blithely emotionless. "Send help."

He chuckled as if what she said was ludicrous. "What are you doing?"

"You've never back-floated before?" she asked.

"No."

"You should try it sometime," she sighed. "It's really relaxing. Like nothing in the world exists." They let the silence hang between them for a moment. She knew he was watching her a bit, but she didn't mind. She'd been watching him surf. She felt her legs falling a bit in the water, then let out a sigh, and brought her arms forward so she was treading water. She took in his red sleeveless wetsuit, trying her best to not look at bulge between his legs. He probably hadn't noticed that when it was wet, it contoured to every surface of his body. "So. You surf."

He scratched the back of his head as he blushed a little. "Yeah. It's both peaceful and freeing."

She chuckled. "You're just always so serious. I never saw it in you."

He gave a small pout, then said, "Well, this is the first time we've gone to the beach together."

She smirked bitterly as she muttered, "Yeah. Whose fault is that?" She saw the way his eyes fluttered at her comment that she'd struck a chord. "I'm sorry. That was a bad joke." She sighed, then muttered, "I guess not enough time has passed for it to be funny."

"I am sorry it had to go down like that," Gaara said. "Honestly, it wasn't my choice."

"No, I shouldn't have brought it up," she said. Although, his wording made her tilt her head curiously. "What was your choice?"

His face fell. "Ehrm, well, that depends on what you're asking."

"Well, how did you see it ending?" she asked.

"Oh," he muttered, pursing his lips pensively, before he admitted, "Well, the night before Ao Nami with the nomads?" She nodded as if she was following along. "When I'd disappeared for a bit, and I said I'd gone to the bathroom, I'd actually gone to meet with my siblings and Chie across the river to discuss the final handoff. My plan was for Chie to go wake you and tell you that I'd been caught as a runaway ninja and been assassinated."

She let out bitterly sad chuckle, "Oh. That would have been bad."

"Yes," Gaara sighed guiltily.

She chuckled morbidly as she said, "Could you imagine if you used that plan, and then I saw you in the election room?"

He grimaced. "I guess it's good we didn't. Chie didn't agree with at all, saying he didn't want you thinking you'd caused my death."

"I can see that," she said.

"Then we got the news about your father—"

"Wait, you found out about my father that night?" she asked.

Her pursed his lips, then answered, "Yes."

She frowned. "Why didn't you tell me then?" she asked. She wasn't angry, just befuddled. It would have saved her a lot of pain in the long run. "Just woke me up and said, 'Hey. This has been fun, but I was working for your father, and he's dead now.'"

He pursed his lips, looking up at the sun as he adjusted on his board. "Undercover missions are odd," he said. "It didn't register to me that the undercover half of the mission didn't matter anymore. Didn't register to anyone really. When I did realize it, I tried to tell you, but it was too late. We were right outside Ao Nami." She cast her eyes down, and he looked away oddly. "Anyway, the news of your father was the deciding factor for my siblings, and I was outvoted. They told me to go back, keep acting in love. They'd arrest me with my other teammates in Ao Nami, and Rinri and Chie would take you back."

"So, it was an act?" she asked clarifyingly.

"No," he said. "I'd told them it was, but …" He closed his eyes as he trailed off. He licked his lips before he admitted, "I'd already realized I was in love with you at that point. Even Shukaku knew it. He was annoying about it at the Inn, actually. I ended up having to seal him because of it."

She pursed her lips. She sometimes forgot he was a demon host. "What does he say about it now?" she found herself asking.

Gaara looked at her blankly, then said, "Uh, when the Akatsuki kidnapped me, they extracted him from my body. Killed me in the process."

"Killed you?" she asked, shocked. "B-but how—"

"How am I still alive?" he offered.

She nodded.

"I was lucky Lady Chiyo joined the recovery team. She knew a jutsu that could bring back the dead by giving up her own life," he answered. "My friend, Naruto, convinced her my life was worth it and helped her."

"The other … jinchuriki?" she asked, more like she was unsure of the word.

Gaara nodded. "Suna had Konoha perform my recovery while they fortified the border. He was on the team Konoha sent."

She sighed happily. "I'm thankful," she said. "That was a dark week for me."

He pursed his lips. "Because of Prince Hamaru?" It was rumored he, along with his family, had been killed by Akatsuki members the same night Gaara had been kidnapped.

She looked at him sadly. "It was both of you." She could see in his gaze that the answer hurt him a little. She licked her lips, then asked, "So, you're no longer Shukaku's host?"

He shook his head. "No. He's been living in the Demon Desert in a protected space for the last three and a half years, since the war." He shrugged as he added, "I mean, he'll check in every so often. But he usually keeps to himself."

They were silent as she processed that, only the sound of water and waves crashing filling the quiet between them. Suddenly, she smiled oddly, and confessed, "It's weird. I feel like six years ago, we got to know each other on a level neither of us showed anybody else. And then this week, I've learned so much more about just you, that it's silly to think how I was so sure I knew you then."

"You did know me then," he stated. She looked at him as if she seriously doubted that. "You were the only person who got to know me as peer, other than my siblings. I wasn't Sabaku No Gaara, terrifying demon of the sand to you. Nor was I the respected Lord Kazekage Elect. I was just Gaara." He took a deep breath as he admitted, "Growing up, my siblings and I were always kept at a distance from others, because we were the Kazekage's children. Respected and revered. Then in that mission, I got to be the person I kind of always wanted to be."

She smiled. "It was the same for me." They heard splashing, and turned to see a pod of dolphins playing a few meters off. "Wow. Would you look at that? That's amazing."

Gaara smiled at her. "Yes, it is," He exhaled, not removing his gaze from her. She didn't notice as she watched the dolphins. "Do you want to surf with me?"

She looked at him oddly. "I've never surfed before."

"I can show you," he offered. "The board's a bit bigger than I'm used to, so you'll fit."

She looked at the board, then at Gaara's proffered hand, then at his face. His smile and gaze were soft. He wanted to share this with her. Even though the idea made her nervous, she grabbed his hand, and he pulled her onto the board. He held her hand for a little longer as she situated herself on the board.

"Ok, I'm up," she said, turning to face him. She felt he was still holding her hand, and instead of yanking her hand back, she closed her hand around his. "Do you ever think about if things had happened differently?" she blurted. "If you hadn't been hired by my father or – If we actually made it to Ao Nami." She wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer. Something in her gut terrified her to know.

Her gaze finally found his, his seafoam eyes looking at her bittersweetly. "All the time," he answered softly. The way he said it made her heart skip a beat. He cleared his throat, and said, "I need you on your belly for now, so we can paddle to the waves."

"Oh," she chirped. "Right." He lifted her hand, helping her spin around, and she laid down on her belly, her face near the front rounded edge.

"Spread your legs a little," he directed. "I've got to lie down between them until we're in position." She did as she was directed, doing her best to ignore his chest against her calves, or his face so close to her butt, she could feel his breath. They paddled over to where he was catching waves earlier, but still far enough away that they would run into the other surfers. "Now," he breathed, "when I tell you, pop up on your knees. And if you feel like your balance is gone or we're going to wipeout, tuck and roll on your back. Alright?"

"Eee," she let out a nervous squeal, then said, "I hope so."

"Ok, because there's one coming now," he said as he began to paddle forward. As they caught the top of the wave, he said, "Knees." She did her best to pop up onto her knees, holding tightly to the board. She felt the thud as he popped up behind her just before the board soared down. She was white knuckling the front as she felt him shift the back of the board along the wave to ride it in. She felt as if she were flying, and understood what he meant when he said it was so freeing. He shifted them over the edge of the wave to dismount, and just as he did, she lost her balance, squealing as she tucked and rolled off the side as he'd directed.

As she popped up, spitting out water from her nose and trying to push her hair back, she heard Gaara laughing. "Are you alright?"

She held a thumbs up as finished getting the salt water out of her nose, rather disgracefully, but beggars can't be choosers. He paddled over to her and helped her back onto his board as she hacked the saltwater up from the back of her throat. "Sorry," she grumbled. "It got all in my nose and mouth."

"Well, you rolled off screaming," he chuckled as if the water getting everywhere was a natural conclusion. "Which, why did you? We'd just gone over the edge."

"You said if I lost my balance to bail out," she reasoned.

He looked at her oddly, but smiling. "We'd smoothed out, though."

"No, I'd lost my balance. And if I hadn't bailed, I'd have taken the board too," she explained. "And you."

"Well, thank you for that, then," he said, a little chuckle still in his voice. They were both smiling broadly at each other and laughing, and Emika suddenly saw what Kankuro had been talking about. The danger this marriage posed to Gaara's heart. To her heart. The question was, though, who was more at risk.

It was the night before the cruise ship was to return to Ao Nami. The night of the Masquerade Ball, which everyone had been talking about since the first day. Upon entering the ballroom, everyone was handed a mask. Since it was black tie, it took the women a little longer to get ready. Emika was dressed in a maroon high-low ballgown with a lace off the shoulder neckline. The skirt had a ballgown silhouette to it and made of silk and taffeta for the slight poof, and rouching at the back where it met the bodice's corset sash. She was thankful she had a ballgown she could tango in, since Tenshimi kept saying she and Gaara would have their first dance tonight. Her hair was tied back into a low bun, and adorned with a matching red flower. She made sure her shoes weren't too tall, so she could dance gracefully. She'd promised Gaara that she'd make him look good.

As they got into the ballroom, she picked a gold and black lace mask, with black feathers adorning one side with a large rhinestone gem. All the girls picked their own masks, varying in color. Tenshimi was in a black ball gown, so she'd picked a green mask to pull out her eye color, and her blond curls piled on top of her head. Then she headed to the bar for a drink.

Emika scanned the room away from the party, then found him standing not far from their usual table, wearing a tux, surprisingly. He wore a simple black mask and held an iced tea in his hand. She walked up to him and asked, "Excuse me, sir. Have you seen my husband? I'm supposed to meet him here."

He turned to look at her, and she saw his eyes widen as he took her in. "Wow," he breathed. "You look …"

"Amazing?" she supplemented with a smirk.

He stared at her a moment, as if stunned, then smiled and said, "Yes. Amazing."

She let out a little chuckle, then shifted to stand next to him. "I'm just thankful I had a ballgown I could tango in. Tenshimi kept hinting at our first dance all day. So, I think she's pulled some strings."

"I was worried about that," he murmured into his glass before taking another sip.

Emika looked him over, then said, "You look good. Where'd you get the tux?"

He frowned pensively, then answered, "Oh. Tenshimi apparently ordered them from a designer in Port Safin the day we got married. Rush order apparently. Kankuro told her our sizes when we were …" he trailed off, making a hand motion with a fist and blushing.

Emika filled in what he meant, and blushed as well. "Right," she murmured. She tugged on the sleeve and added, "But they look tailored."

He cleared his throat. "Well, remember when Tenshimi dragged Kankuro and I off in Port Safin for an hour before the hike?" Emika nodded. "She was taking us for the tailoring."

Emika hummed, her lips pressed together in thought. "Guess I've got to pay her back."

"I already did," Gaara stated, shaking his head. Emika tilted her head curiously, and he shrugged. "I have to wear one for the Annual Daimyo's Ball anyway, and my old one was starting to look a little dated."

The dinner bell rang, and everyone found their seats, and the servers got their orders. The food was delivered and dinner passed uneventfully until the end of dessert, when the MC got up to the microphone and announced, "We've been informed we have a newlywed couple that will now be performing their first dance before the ball gets underway. Where are they?" The spotlight shone on their table, causing Gaara and Emika to look up. "Please give them a round of applause."

Some people clapped, but it felt odd and stilted. Gaara stood and offered his hand to Emika, which she took and walked with him out to the middle of the dancefloor. The spotlight followed them as he held her in the tango position he'd learned. "I hope they play a tango," Emika murmured.

He looked at her nervously, then said, "They better. I don't know any other dance."

Emika chuckled, and the music began to play. She smiled. "Tango."

"Good," he grumbled, and began to move, muttering to himself, "Slow. Slow. Quick, quick, slow."

She watched him with a smile, noticing he didn't make a misstep as they danced. "You've been practicing," she noted.

He lifted his arm, putting her in a graceful spin, then back into step. "You think if I knew I was forced to dance, I wouldn't practice?" She only blinked in surprise at him, and he smirked, saying, "And Kankuro showed me this move." He dropped her into a simple dip that caused her leg to stretch out for balance, earning some applause. His eyes sparkled and his smile was so beautiful seeing her surprise, she felt her heart skip a beat.

As they fell back into step, she tried to catch her breath, then asked, "Is that all your flashy moves."

"I have one more," he admitted. "But I'm saving it."

She smiled as she asked, "Can I show you one? It's easy."

He moved his lips nervously, and asked, "What do I have to do?"

"Hold me while you spin, then lean, and then stand," she said.

He thought about it, then nodded. She smiled as she directed him to hold her by the leg she wrapped around his hip, holding herself against him by his neck and shoulders. He spun her around to her count, and then leaned as she directed. As he straightened, she pushed away a bit, sashaying in front of him before dipping down, kicking her legs between his legs before popping back up, and he spun her again before falling back into rhythm. That earned a little more applause.

"Nice flourish," she commented.

He smirked and said, "I guess a good part of being a good dancer is having a good partner."

Emika smiled. "Ballroom dances, yeah." They danced along, with Gaara adding a few spins in for good measure.

As the song began to close out, he asked, "Are you ready?"

She looked at him nervously. "For?"

"For this," he said before grabbing her at her waist and lifting her up, and she braced herself on her shoulders as he spun. As she landed, he grabbed her shoulder, then hand, spinning her back into his arms before he dipped her deeply over his knee, causing her leg to kick up for balance.

Her heart pounded as she saw his smile at his execution. He'd nailed it, and he was proud of himself. His face was so close to hers that she thought he was going to kiss her. She wanted him to kiss her. The whole dance was intoxicating and … sexy. He straightened them, still holding her so close she was sure he was going to kiss her. Instead he stepped away, leading her back to the table before sitting and taking a sip of his drink as the regularly scheduled dancing picked up. But she couldn't take her eyes off him. Every minute she thought he couldn't surprise her anymore, he went and did something with effortless perfection.

He seemed to feel her stare, because he turned to look at her. He didn't say anything. Just watched her watching him. Her heart pounded under his gaze, and she realized she'd never been so turned on in her life.

She cleared her throat, standing up as she muttered, "I need a drink." She made her way to the bar, ordered a margarita, and drank it quickly. Then got another. The rest of the ball passed in a blur.

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