Gaara sighed.
"What is it?"
He looked at her as if he didn't understand what she meant.
"I can tell there's something weighing your soul by the way you sighed. Tell me what bothers you."
"Nothing bothers me, my flower." And he tapped the hand she kept on his chest. "We have to fix some issues before we go to Konoha to meet your parents."
"Like what?"
"What should I do with the woman I hired to take care of the house?"
"Fire her." She answered without hesitation.
"Are you sure now is the right time?"
"What do you mean?"
"You don't feel so well and I don't want you to be too tired for me if you start cleaning and cooking right away. I want you to rest first."
"How old is she?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know or you don't want to tell me?"
"I think she is around 30, but I am not sure. I didn't pay attention. I only thought about you all this time. There was no time for anything else."
Gaara felt her jealousy and it made him happy, but he didn't want to fuel it because it would ruin his relationship. In her heart, Sakura knew he would never cheat on her; he worked and tried too hard for her to throw it all away.
"My dear, what do you say if we tell her to do her job while we are not home? I will be at the office, you will be at work, Shinki will be at school. She can come and go before we arrive home. And then you will have nothing to worry about. If I have to tell her something, I will call you too and we will only speak the three of us. I won't be alone with her. Is that alright?"
Sakura smiled in relief, which made him relax and caress her eyebrows with the fingers on his left hand.
"You don't even know how much it pleases me that I can make you happy. I never want to upset you." He said this as he looked at her and that was when he realized he assumed she will go to work without actually asking her first. He would have liked it if she wouldn't work at all, but he was aware that wasn't an option in her mind. He could still try to convince her to avoid working hard and stressful jobs that would only ruin her spirit.
"Do you want to work?"
"Yes. It's boring to stay home alone all day."
"Ok. I know you are talented as a medic, but it is a very stressful and hard job which would eat up most of your time. I wouldn't be able to see you without an appointment."
Sakura laughed. The vibrations of her chest tickled him.
"Then what do you propose?"
Gaara pushed her shoulder to lie on her back on the bed and he climbed on top of her.
"I think you should work as my personal doctor." He started placing open-mouthed kisses on her neck and down her chest. "I'm sick. Cure me."
He whined and purred like a cat. Sakura laughed her heart out with her face staring at the ceiling, which gave him more access to her white sensitive neck. She took his face in her palms and held him in place.
"I want a real job, but one that won't prevent me from taking care of you and Shinki."
Gaara thought of something fitting for her, but he didn't want to force it through.
"What would you say if you meditated children?"
Something changed in her aura and he immediately felt low energy coming from her.
"I am sorry. It was a bad idea. Wait, I remember you wanted to start a new project back when you worked in the lab. It was something about plants, water and fish all together." He frowned, trying to remember.
His funny face got her out of the dark place.
"Aquaponics. And I wanted to start the project when I worked in the greenhouse, not the lab."
"Lab, greenhouse...it's the same thing."
"You don't pay attention to details at all."
"Of course. I am not a girl. That's your job."
She slapped him on the back of the head playfully and he pretended to be hurt.
"Auch, you hit me."
"A true man shuts up and bears with it."
His eyes narrowed because he was already thinking of how to make her swallow her words. She grinned like a hyena, daring him to do something.
...
Deep down she wished her destiny was to be impregnated, but she knew it wasn't the case now. While she dreamed about a future with him, the wedding and having babies, Gaara only saw her before his eyes. His thoughts were consumed by her curves, her thin legs, her face... She stroked his head with affection when it came to rest next to her ear before sadness enveloped her.
Unfortunately, her disease made her depressed very easily and it was difficult to get out of that place. I wish so much your seed wouldn't be wasted.
She didn't have the courage to tell him this though because of shame. What if she wanted to have his kids and he agreed only because he felt obligated to? If the kids turn up sick, he will blame me, even if just in his heart. Who would want to have kids with a sick woman like me?
"Get dressed. I want to show you something Shinki and I prepared for you."
Sakura pushed the dark thoughts in the back of her mind and did as she was told.
The little boy wore a navy blue blouse with black trousers and a brown scarf around his neck along with his ever chocolate like eyes. Gaara wore his official blue robes because he had to go straight to work after he showed Sakura the surprise. Sakura put on a long beige dress that reached her ankles. It had a square neckline and long sleeves. She also wore a matching scarf and bronze bracelets. She put on brown ninja sandals, typical Suna. Gaara took her hand in his, felt the ring with his thumb and smiled proudly.
"Let's go."
The kid was the happiest among them. She couldn't imagine what could be so thrilling to make the boy this excited. Shinki ran ahead of them and screamed at them to move faster. His dad only laughed and moved in the rhythm his future wife set. Sakura wasn't in a hurry, while Shinki counted the steps until they reached the destination. She thought maybe Gaara wanted to take them out to eat and nothing more. Gaara was silent on the way and she was happy because it ironically gave her time to sadden for all the things she couldn't change. This was her. The smallest things stressed her and her mind was like a broken washing-machine. It washed the same clothes over and over again and when it finished a cycle, it would start washing again. It never had time to rinse. Sakura looked down at the ground whenever she was trapped in her mind because she didn't risk her mind getting distracted. What could she see on the ground other than mud, sand and stones?
"Mother!"
Shinki's scream made her lift her head and she froze in place with her mouth opened in shock. Gaara's hand squeezed her lovingly.
"Waa!" This sound of amazement made him laugh quietly.
A huge stone construction rested before her eyes. There was an arched open gate at the entrance, on which climbing red roses climbed. They haven't bloomed yet, but Sakura could tell they were roses by their leaves. There were workers on every level. All sweated in the sun with their heads covered. When they recognized the Kazekage, they stopped to bow their heads and salute before they resumed their work with double the effort and energy. Sakura held the hems of her dress and entered the building, following the child's voice.
"Look, mother! Do you like it? I made these patterns with my iron sand. And that wooden bench, dad brought it. He said you need a place to rest when you are tired. What do you say? Do you like it? Isn't it nice? Dad said everything will be filled with flowers and trees. Many are missing right now because it will take some time before it is finished. Dad, when will it be finished?"
Gaara showed up next to her, with his hands behind his back and eyes looking at the missing roof. Light emerged through that hole to bless the whole family.
"I made a garden like nobody has ever seen before."
In this palace, he erected very high walls supported by stone pillars; and by planting what is called a pensile paradise, and replenishing it with all sorts of trees, he rendered the prospect of an exact resemblance of a mountainous country. This he did to gratify his queen, because she had been brought up in Konoha, and was fond of a mountainous situation. The garden was tiered with the uppermost gallery being 50 cubits high. The walls, 22 feet thick, were made of brick. The bases of the tiered sections were sufficiently deep to provide root growth for the largest trees, and the gardens would be irrigated from the nearby river.
"There are steps that connect all floors and I will have benches placed everywhere, so you can always sit and enjoy the beauty of nature. The construction will be approximately 20 meters high." Gaara explained.
The terraces sloped upwards like and ancient theatre. They were built on pillars and lined with reeds and bricks.
"High walls provide shade, trees will be clustered together so as to better maintain their vital moisture and withstand scorching winds. I will have a fountain built on the lowest garden, with red fish swimming inside. Plants will climb the pillars like jewelry." He said.
"It's amazing and so romantic! You have outdone yourself!" Sakura said in awe.
"I helped too, mom."
Tears of happiness gathered in the corners of her eyes. She ruffled the boy's hair and directed her kind shiny deer like eyes to Gaara. He would have kissed her if not for the public.
"Did you do all this for me?"
"Dad, mom cries of happiness!" He said while pulling his father by the robes.
Gaara felt prouder than ever. His work wasn't in vain. His woman finally had a place that was only hers to light her cheek and cheer her eyes. A second Konoha, but in Suna. He intended to bring birds in the future, birds that would sing and chirp from 5 in the morning until 9 in the evening. He would have listened to their song alongside Sakura for as long as she wished.
"Thank you."
The boys barely understood as her voice was drowned in tears and emotion. The baby hugged her legs while Gaara grabbed her head to hug it to his chest lovingly. The workers smiled and elbowed each other. All of them whispered about how much the Kazekage loves the girl and how lucky she is.
There is no bigger happiness for a man than knowing he is of use to his woman, that he brought light to her face and peace in her heart.
Note: You are right about the dark circles around Gaara's eyes being irremovable. I need them to be there for the plot. Also, the idea that future kids will inherit this trait was new to me. Thank you. I think I will use it later in the following chapters. I am afraid you will have to wait a little until the cure comes as pregnancy will be more interesting while she is still sick. Aside from that, there is no cure for this illness in real life as this sickness is real. But I will work something out, don't worry. She will live a happy life worry free eventually.
I think you are used to this, but I couldn't post the whole chapter here. Check the profile to find out where you can read it whole if you want to.
Thank you very much for your feedback. Please continue to write to me. I enjoy reading your comments and sometimes you give me ideas to think about. It's really fun:D