"You smell like me. I would love it if you could wear my smell on your body everywhere. Everyone would know you belong to me."

"Pervert." Sakura said while she lifted her hand to playfully slap his chest.

Gaara laughed. He caught her wrist mid-air although considering the speed of her hand, a fly would have hit his chest harder than her. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the tips of her fingers.

Sakura talked him into wearing a suit which incommoded him a little, but he couldn't refuse her on this special day. Sakura wore a long black dress as elegant as usual. A matching scarf hugged her neck. As soon as they got out the door, he held her hand and pulled her to him so she wouldn't walk behind him again. Not long ago, Sakura considered suicide, but now her heart felt unshackled from the burden of a painful life in which her only partner was herself. Tears of happiness knocked on the doors of her eyes and she bit her bottom lip to hold back the tears.

"Stop crying. Everyone will think I made you cry." Gaara half joked with her.

"Sorry, sorry." She replied as she rubbed her eyes and sniffed her nose.

Gaara was happy on the inside and he secretly thanked his mother for helping him find a person to stay by his side until he will be old.

Sakura didn't have many requests regarding her ring. She wanted a simple gold ring with an inscription on the inside: "Lion and flower". A gemstone would catch the enemy's eye when in battle, meaning she couldn't wear the ring on missions. Sakura was proud to be the Kazekage's fiancé, so she wanted to wear the ring at all times. Gaara waited by the entrance to the jewellery store while Sakura talked to the jeweler. He never thought he would live to this day. What a beautiful party was in his soul. He already imagined his kids with her playing in the house, Sakura hanging the clothes on the line while he came home tired from work only to recover his strength with her kiss. He would enter the house and crawl on all fours while the kids rode his back. Sakura would enter the house and scold the kids because she had to heal their father's back again. For 60 years he will taste food from her blessed hands. For 60 years he would hold her on his knees as she wrapped her arms around his neck. For 60 years the house will be filled with laughter and happy screams and there will never be silence, not even at night, because that would be the only time he could enjoy his wife's warm body.

As he was lost in thought, Sakura got closer to him and kept saying his name, pretty gentle as if she feared to disturb him.

"Gaara? Gaara?"

"Huh?"

"Everything's settled. He said we can come tomorrow to pick it up."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the crown of her head with a smile on his lips. Sakura blushed. She shyly kept her hands in front of her lower abdomen and waited for him to take them out after greeting the jeweler.

"I should give my fiancé an engagement present." His other hand brushed her cheek closest to him with the back of his fingers.

"I already have you. What more could I ask for?"

His cheeks gained a slightly pink color and he looked away in shame.

"My flower already has a lot of clothes, bags and shoes. I was thinking of buying jewellery for her. What do you think?"

"What do I think..?" She got really emotional.

"Let's go!"

He let go of her shoulders to grab her hand and pull her while he ran along the street. He increased the pace so she wouldn't have time to doubt herself.

One morning, Sakura woke up before the boys. She prepared their lunch boxes as well as breakfast all while she sang. She was very happy. Shortly after she started, the boys appeared. Sakura told them to sit down and wait for the food. Gaara rubbed his eyes and Sakura came into the living room with the plates. Her ring reflected light on a plate and Shinki noticed it.

"Dad, did you and Sakura get married?"

Both of them froze. Sakura looked at Gaara and Shinki did the same. The man suddenly adopted a serious figure as he spoke in his formal tone. He treated this discussion like work.

"It is a man's duty to ensure family balance through marriage because a man cannot perform simultaneously the duties of a woman and a man. There are 3 stages of a relationship:

Starting to know each other

Engagement

Marriage

I and Sakura find ourselves in stage 2 with the intent to fulfill stage 3 later in the future."

Sakura looked at Gaara and thought Poor boy. I think he didn't understand anything. She didn't interrupt him because she didn't want to destroy his authority. She chose to touch his shoulder and squeeze lightly. This gave Gaara a feeling of accomplishment; he knew she agrees with his words. He felt encouraged. Sakura gives me strength. Shinki tried to grasp the meaning behind his father's words.

"Dad, does this mean Sakura is my mother?"

Sakura blushed and Gaara opened his mouth to talk again.

"Technically no. Only after we get married, she will officially become your mother."

"Gaara, leave him be. If he wants to call me 'mother', it's fine by me. We already act like a family for a while now. It's been almost a year since I came to Suna."

Gaara lifted his eyes to look at her as she spoke. Her warm words and soothing sweet voice made him smile. She then looked at Shinki who tried to stab his arm with his nails to fight back tears. His sand prevented him from hurting himself though, so the first tear rolled down his plump cheek. He wiped it quickly with his sleeve. His father pats his head because they sit next to each other.

"I have always wanted to have a mother."

Shinki spoke very quietly and fast as he looked down. She hardly understood what he said and didn't know how to reply, so she changed the topic to lighten up the mood.

"Go ahead and eat. I don't want you to be late for school, Shinki. And you have to go to work. You need energy to keep up all day."

She disappeared into the kitchen to bring the rest of the plates along with the rice bowls.

"Father, we are lucky Sakura is taking care of us."

"Eh?"

His son's ripeness shocked Gaara. Out of the blue, Shinki moved his plates across from Gaara, leaving the chair next to his father empty.

"What are you doing?" Gaara asked.

At that instant Sakura came back into the room.

"Now that Sakura is my mother, she has to sit next to father according to tradition. Parents sit next to each other and the children look at them to see their future in the parents."

Wow, this kid has a way with words. Sakura thought. She wanted to kiss the kid's cheek, but she knew he would duck in fear of looking weak in his father's eyes. Sakura felt tears of happiness again. Gaara looked at her as if he said I asked you to stop crying. Her eyes spoke to him I know, I am sorry. I can't help it.

It was the best meal they have ever had since she moved to Suna.

On the same day, after he came back from work, Gaara remembered an unfinished business: the naked neighbor from across the street. Gaara knocked on the man's door and he opened it wearing a T-shirt and shorts. The clothing looked thrown on him in a rush. The difference in power between the 2 men became more than obvious which made Gaara feel secure. There was no chance a sophisticated girl like Sakura would look at such a man, if anyone could call that a man. At first, the man didn't recognize the Kazekage.

"Good evening. I am sorry to bother you. I came to ask you to keep the intimacy of your body inside this house. My fiancé sees you naked by the window in the morning and I can't say I am pleased."

Sand started to swirl chaotically behind Gaara even though he was calm. He just wanted to scare the interlocutor and it worked. The man bowed deeply from his waist and said:

"As you wish, Kazekage-sama. I apologize. Please forgive me."

"Of course. Thank you for your cooperation. I wish you a good evening."

The man's legs trembled as Gaara moved away from him with slow steady steps as if he contemplated murder. Gaara laughed on the inside because he knew he had no intention of killing, but he liked to have the power to convince others to bend to his will.

On the same week, Gaara knew during one of the days that it was going to be a bad day. He woke up angry for no reason, he fought with Sakura because he left his clothes everywhere instead of dumping them in the hamper. This was never a problem when Noriko took care of the house. He ate breakfast in a hurry to get to work faster and stay away from the tension. He did it so fast that he forgot his lunch at home. He was already at the office when he realized it. He tilted his head backwards, closed his eyes and sighed in exasperation as he sunk in the chair.

Somebody entered his office to bring all of Usagi's notes on his mission. It was part of the deal he closed with the daimyo.

"Thank you. You are excused."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama."

He browsed the file and closed it. He was in no mood for reading it. A few minutes later, he opened the file again. He read and read and stumbled on a fragment which highlighted the fact that Sakura talks by herself as if she had conversations with someone in a headphone. She denotes the behavior of a spy. All this alarmed Gaara. There were already more people who said the same thing about her. What's going on? Right then, someone knocked on the door. He knew who it was because he felt her chakra. He closed the file and covered it with other papers.

"Come in."

"Hi, you forgot your lunch." Sakura said handing him the lunch box.

Gaara took it in his hands and placed it on his desk.

"Thank you." That was all Gaara said. He had too many things on his mind.

Sakura bit her lip.

"Gaara, I don't like it when we fight."

Gaara replied, but didn't look at her.

"Mhm. I will try to remember to do as you said. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

He practically kicked her out of his office.

"Fine." Sakura said a bit disappointed. She turned to go back home.

Gaara summoned the sand eye and used it to follow her. In fact, he followed her for more days. Meanwhile, he kept his distance from her; he came home late hoping to find her already sleeping. It became clear that she wasn't talking to anyone on a headset. Her ears were clear. She seemed to talk by herself and move her head right-left as if she said 'no' especially when she felt sad, upset or lonely. Is it a mental disease? Can it be fixed? How should I bring this up?

One night he came home very late, just like when he avoided her in the past. Only this time, Sakura waited for him in the hallway with her hands on her hips.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on with you?"

Gaara looked her in the eye, took off his shoes and said:

"Not here. Shinki is going to hear us."

Sakura puffed and looked to the side angrily. She exhaled before she asked him:

"Are you hungry?"

Gaara just nodded. Sakura went into the kitchen to heat the dinner she prepared for him earlier. Gaara had a quick shower, changed clothes and sat at the table. He waited with his hands on his lap like a good boy. Sakura brought his meal and disappeared into the kitchen once again to try to find something to keep herself busy. She wasn't in the mood to sit next to him. This situation grinded her insides. Gaara brought the empty plates back to the kitchen by himself. She gestured him to place them into the sink.

"Come with me." Gaara told her and headed to a neutral room like the one where you could see the stars. Sakura followed him with her arms crossed on her chest waiting for an explanation.

Gaara turned to face her. In the moonlight, he couldn't help but notice the magical aura around Sakura. This made him smile and for a second he forgot about the reason they were there. It pissed Sakura off even more.

"Are you going to explain yourself or not?"

Gaara was ashamed because he didn't know where to begin. He scratched his cheek with his index finger.

"How should I start?"

"Tell me the truth."

"Y-yes. I noticed something weird about you."

"About me? Hmpf"

"I saw you talking by yourself more than once these days. I am sorry, but I tried to figure out what's happening by myself. Still, I am in the dark. I give up. Can you tell me?"

Sakura uncrossed her arms. One of her hands moved to massage the back of her neck awkwardly. Her right hand supported her left elbow. She panicked and felt embarrassed at the same time. She turned with her back to him and confessed that sometimes, when she looks at random people on the street, weird thoughts pop up in her head such as: 'I hope he breaks his leg', 'I think he'll die' or 'I hope she breaks her spine.' But...these thoughts are not from me. I keep repeating to myself 'no', I don't wish anything bad to happen to them. I always pray that the person lives and is healthy."

The reality scared Gaara and Sakura already felt like she was about to spill tears again. Gaara could tell it from the way she kept clearing her throat. Then, a question nagged at him and he asked with a serious face and solemn voice:

"Have you ever thought about Shinki like this?"

Sakura couldn't lie to him. After long seconds of silence, Gaara understood the unspoken answer and she turned around to face him with wet cheeks.

"Please believe me. I would never do anything to him. I have never hurt anyone that I've had these thoughts about. Gaara..."

His face darkened and he looked stone cold. He didn't say anything. Sakura struggled to explain even if she didn't know how until Gaara told her it is enough for one day and that he will go to sleep. Sakura was left alone in the room. He didn't know what to do with all the new information and he couldn't make a decision on the spot. He needed time to think and clear his head. He was scared Sakura could hurt Shinki , so he sneaked into the boy's room and slept next to him.

Sakura fell on her knees as tears kept falling from her eyes. She saw the situation with Sasuke happen again.

Note: What do you think will happen next? What do you think is wrong with Sakura?