Hinata fell into a steady day-to-day routine. Each morning she was up before the kitchen staff and made Gaara breakfast. They told her things he liked, made sure she had everything she needed, and even got her real tea. She brought breakfast to him, they ate, and he told her what they had to do that day. After that, she would train by herself until Temari was up and had breakfast.

Temari taught her the ins and outs of Suna politics and got a suspiciously large grin on her face any time Hinata pointed out questionable logic behind policies. The unfortunate reality behind most of this was merely because they were old, and it had always been done this way. It sounded familiar. Temari pushed her to voice her opinion about how to better them. Hinata thought Temari was putting too much faith in her ability to change them, but she was glad for the support.

Hinata would break for lunch. The staff made her a tray for her and Gaara, and she would make him take a break. Hinata would encourage him to vent about his paperwork, and she would ask him brief questions on the more ridiculous laws and policies. Most of the time, he wouldn't be able to give her a good reason and would eventually point out that it was something the council was holding on to.

Hinata was starting to see why the treaties with Suna were hard to make. Would all this red tape make her homesick?

Hinata would then go back to work with Kankuro teaching her more cultural and economic aspects. He was in charge of their marriage treaty. Hinata was interested in the culture of these people. The desert was a hard place to live, and they decided they were staying in it. It made them formidable and forced them to be strong. It was interesting, and she was always holding onto every word.

Dinner would again be with Gaara. She even talked him into having dinner with his siblings once, but she didn't want to push it.

Then there was a formal meeting before she was left off to do what she liked for the night. By then, she was usually so tired that she wrote home and went to bed.

This formal end-of-day meeting was with Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, their previous teacher, Baki, and a young woman who did not like her. Kankuro explained that Matsuri was the only student Gaara had taken on, and she was protective of his image. Translation: Hinata hadn't proven herself good enough, and his student would not, until shown a reason, show her respect, leading to stiff moments when Kankuro reported on the marriage agreement, or Temari gushed about wedding planning.

Matsuri had a right to be skeptical. Hinata was some foreigner that Gaara decided to marry overnight and promptly dropped half the government in her lap. Matsuri had a good reason to be harsh toward her.

Gaara disagreed. He became short-tempered and snapped at her regularly. The poor girl looked wounded.

After two weeks, Hinata had enough. "Gaara, let her speak!" She finally snapped back at him.

The room became cold and stiff, and was the dust moving?

Hinata made her point while she had her temper. "She can point out why she thinks I'm wrong or be annoyed by my culture shock. She represents the average opinion the Suna people will have of me. I need to hear what she has to say."

Gaara sternly dismissed the meeting to speak to her alone. Temari and Kankuro looked genuinely worried. What kind of line did she just cross? She couldn't watch the poor girl's heart be broken anymore. It was crueler than anything she could call her.

The door clicked shut before Gaara started in on her. "That was not necessary." The air, or rather the particles in the air, weren't hiding his irritation well, swirling in angry patterns she couldn't see, just feel.

"Yes, it was," Hinata countered. Gaara's face twitched. He didn't think she was going to continue to argue. "It's clear she is not this way normally, or you wouldn't be so upset about the behavior." Gaara didn't confirm, but she didn't need him to. "She wants what's best for you and her village, and she doesn't think I'm the right choice," Hinata explained. "The entire village is going to be that way. I'm foreign. I don't look like them or know their customs. I used to skepticism. I look weird and have different customs than most of Konoha." Hinata motioned to the door.

"She was targeting you." Gaara objected.

"Yes, as she should have a right too! She cares enough about you to think I'm not good enough. That is her opinion, and I think she should be allowed to express it." Hinata crossed her arms tightly to keep from wringing her hands raw.

Gaara's face changed from annoyance to something guarded, was he hurt? Hinata wasn't backing down. She would stand up for the girl, whether it made him angry with her or not. The air changed from irritation to guarded anger. "She is my student."

"That does not mean you should silence her. If I were anyone else, you wouldn't say a word." Gaara's anger flared, spreading across his face. She had done it now, hadn't she? "You are handling me lightly. I know you are. As much as I appreciate it because you have no obligation to, you cannot extend that to others. You won't be able to bark at a civilian who says it, so don't silence her. She's justified in thinking I shouldn't be taking the position or marrying you."

Gaara's face dropped, and the grating air stopped into deadly silence. "Justified?"

What just happened? "Yes."

"You think she's right not to accept you? You think you do not belong here?" Gaara's voice became trained and calm. She'd rather he was still angry.

"She has the right to think that. I'm not saying that I shouldn't be here. I do think that I'm being given a lot of responsibilities that, as a foreigner, should be seen as odd. It is a big job Temari-san wants to pass on to me. As your wife, I am fully willing to take it and serve Suna just as I have Konoha, but the rest of Suna will not see it like that. They will see a weak woman with weird eyes in the place a strong Suna woman should be. If I want to make changes, it will have to be better than perfect because I'm not a Suna native." The stress in Gaara's face started to leak out. He shifted his glare down at his desk. "We didn't think this marriage through. We jumped before looking over the cliff, and now we have to deal with the fall."

"Fine," Gaara said bitterly.

Hinata cringed. "Please don't do that."

"Do what?" Gaara glared back up at her.

"Try to dismiss the conversation just because you don't like the outcome." Hinata didn't want them to become bitter toward each other.

"Then you can stop treating me like an enemy," Gaara countered.

Hinata blinked. "What?"

"Your body language and tone. You're trying to dominate the argument defensively." Gaara explained.

"Sorry." Hinata released the tight muscles and sat down, feeling heavy. Gaara's face softened, realizing she was not doing it intentionally.

Hinata started to giggle.

Gaara's face twisted in confusion. "What's funny?"

"This was our first fight. It's usually a milestone in a relationship." Hinata continued to giggle. "But it's usually over jealousy or misunderstanding."

Gaara relaxed but didn't think it funny as she did. "I see, but I do not like having these disagreements."

"That's understandable, but they will happen. We can't agree on everything. I'm not a big fan of conflict." Gaara understood with a sigh. "I like her." Gaara raised a non-eyebrow at her. "Really, I do. She reminds me of Hanabi-chan and Neji-san when we were younger. Hanabi-chan was always ready for a fight, and Neji-san was always looking for an argument. Neji-san being silenced by the Hyuga nearly got me killed."

Gaara non-eyebrows knit together. "I believe I remember that." Hinata wasn't sure she liked the thought of him watching her be weak and getting beaten to death. "You are close to him now?"

"You're close to your siblings when you didn't use to be." Hinata pointed out.

"That is different." Gaara started.

"No, it's not. Neji-san saw me as the symbol of what had oppressed him. To him, I was the monster that put the cursed seal on him because I was. When the Hyuga heir turns two, all the branch children receive their cursed seals." Hinata explained. "When I turned two, he received his."

Gaara understood but wasn't happy about it. "Your system sounds oppressive."

"It is, and despite the benefits, I think it is wrong." Hinata sighed. "The Hyuga knew that. It's one reason they were eager to get rid of me. You don't want a leader that doesn't believe in what you are doing."

Gaara rubbed his temples. "I understand your point. I will refrain from scolding her every time, but I will still do it when she is being disruptive."

"That's acceptable." Hinata felt terrible for stressing him out. "Would you join me for a walk?"