Sakura caressed the child's forehead, tucked him in the blanket to his shoulders and got out of the room on tip toes to not wake him up. She was slightly paranoid because Shinki was so tired that not even a bomb exploding next to his ear would wake him up. He slept like a log after running all day. Sakura will have to make him some tea in the morning because he had a sore throat from shouting like crazy in the brains of the mountains, scaring all the birds, foxes and donkeys in his path. Gaara had told Sakura to let Shinki scream as much as he wants as long as no-one was around because he didn't have where to do it at home.
Sakura closed the door behind her, crossed the hallway and entered the bedroom, where her husband was waiting. The room was dimly lit by a single night lamp that emitted a warm yellow light. A fire burned in the house to keep them warm. Firstly, Sakura looked at the fire; flames danced in her eyes. Secondly, she searched the bed for Gaara, but she didn't see him. A thin thread of sand caressed her cheek, convincing Sakura to follow it outside the room and on the balcony that was surrounded by tall thick windows on all sides. Gaara was on her left side, sitting on some sort of armchair that looked like a cocoon stuffed with feathers. It was soft like a cloud. He had left the door open to help the heat travel to the balcony. They both wore long trousers and blouses. Not one more star had any more room on the sky, that's how full the sky was. The moon was like a huge wheel that made the carriage of destiny move. Sakura looked at the sky and exhaled with joy, but also tiredness. Gaara looked at her with eyes picked from the bottom of the sea. His legs were parted in a relaxed manner, his arms leisurely rested on his lap. He took her in from head to toes and sadness threatened to grip his heart in its claws.
"He won't be up until morning."
"Huh?"
Sakura turned her eyes to look at his puzzled face and spoke with love:
"Shinki. I put him to sleep."
"Oh, good."
Gaara lifted his head again to look at the sky, even though his body was facing her standing figure. Her cheeks turned a rosy color due to an inexplicable feeling of deep affection. She placed her hands on his thighs and kneeled before him, on the floor, making his head turn again. Her cheek attracted Gaara's palm like a magnet.
"What did I do to deserve you?" The question left his lips before he even had time to think it through and his body froze.
Sakura's right ear lays on his thigh, letting her husband caress her some more. Her left hand traced circles on his ankle, but when she saw it tickles him, she decided to cup his toes to warm them up. Gaara played with her pink hair and one of his hands slipped underneath the collar of her blouse, to massage the skin of her back as far as he could reach. Sakura swallowed air, and then her lips parted and words started flowing like waves. It's such a pity you can't make a dam for this.
"You took the words out of my mouth. I am scared that I won't be able to give what I promised. I am afraid I might upset you and you'll leave. I am the one who doesn't deserve such a loving and caring man. You offer me so much and I can only do so little for you, not even enough to cover a single one of your nails."
"Don't say that, my darling, my flower, my wife, the brightest star and the torch of my path. If it weren't for you, I would stick my fingers in my eyes from the darkness, I would stumble and fall. If it weren't for your lips always on my mind, I wouldn't be able to rest at night. I promised myself when I held your hand in the church that I won't let you cry ever again. Don't cry, Sakura." His hand traced her face with a feather like touch.
She forced herself not to spill her eyes by digging her nails in her palm and her whole body stiffened. Gaara decided to add some pepper in the conversation to spice it up and redirect her thoughts elsewhere.
"Do you know what I was thinking today?"
"What?" Her voice weak, her bottom lip trembled slightly.
"That I'll kill anyone who tries to steal you from me."
Sakura laughed shyly. His fingers lifted her chin to make her look him in the eyes.
"I am serious. I'll skin him alive."
A fire began to burn smolderingly in her glistening green eyes and Gaara knew right away that she was getting aroused.
"They deserve a good beating even for just daring to look at you."
"Gaara..." She laughed, but Gaara silenced her with a finger on her lips. Then, he traced her bottom lip with his thumb while speaking:
"This mouth will never kiss anyone except me."
"My dear, my handsome lion, you have no reason to worry. I will never look at another man aside from you. I will never let a hand other than yours touch me. I don't want anything else but your love and a baby born of your seed."
...
"Can you walk on your own from here?" Gaara asked all sweaty and breathing heavily.
Sakura moved his scarf slightly lower so her lips touched the burning skin of his neck in a kiss. Then, she rubbed her cheek on his while giggling. Gaara's face turned pink and whispered with his head turned to her:
"Not in front of the kid."
"You can't walk any further, can you?" Her amused tone annoyed him.
"Of course I can. You are light. I can carry you another 10 more km." He straightened his back when he said it to emphasize his strength.
However, Sakura didn't wish to torment her husband even more. His body wasn't used to physical work because his mother, Karura, designated the sand with the task of protect her child from any physical attack. Sakura was a little envious that Gaara's skin was softer and smoother than hers. She pushed on his shoulders with both her hands and jumped off his back and onto the snowy stone steps. Gaara sighed in relief before he realized it, which made Sakura giggle some more.
"Dad, we're almost there. Look!"
Gaara was happy for the distraction and took advantage of it to avoid giving explanations to his wife.
"Come here. Stop running ahead of us."
Shinki ran towards his father. Gaara held his small hand in his big warm one. Sakura caught up to the boys and they all continued their journey. Their next destination was the Praid Salt Mine, the biggest salt mine in the Land of Bears. It was 3 km deep and it looked like a giant mushroom from the outside.
"Watch out for the head." Gaara told Sakura while placing a hand on top of her head to help her bend a little when they entered the salt mine because he didn't want her to hurt herself by accident.
As soon as Shinki saw the underground playgrounds full of kids, he screamed from the top of his lungs in joy. Because of the echo in the cave, Shinki's voice rang throughout the whole salt mine, making everyone aware of his presence. Both Gaara and Sakura felt embarrassed right away as everyone looked their way. Sakura quickly covered Shinki's mouth with one hand and apologized to all the tourists on his behalf. Later, she came to the boy's level to whisper in his ear as soon as the tourists went back to the things they were doing.
"If you embarrass me like this again, we're going home."
Shinki gave her a frightened look.
"No, please. I promise I won't scream again."
Sakura furrowed her brows and looked at him in disbelief. Shinki turned his head to look for support in his father, but bumped into a stone cold wall. Everything was up to Sakura. Shinki was at her mercy, so he adopted the snowdrop position and waited for the verdict. Sakura didn't plan on punishing him. She only meant to scare him a little. After the boy went to play with the other kids, Gaara took Sakura's hand and they walked together to see the food stands.
"I like that you can discipline him. You'll make a great mother." He didn't wait for a reply, but rushed to offer her something to eat. "Here, try this."
"Ok." She took a bite and she liked it.
Gaara smiled.
"What do you want from here, my dear?"
Sakura tapped her pointer finger on her bottom lip while thinking of what to choose from the many varieties of meat and sweets. Gaara spared Shinki a look from time to time to make sure he doesn't stray from them. As Gaara was distracted, Sakura finally decided on something thus she pulled gently on his sleeve and shyly called him by his name.
"Gaara, can I have this one?"
"Of course. Anything for my flower." His warm look turned into a cold one when he addressed the seller with an authoritative tone. "Give me two of these."
"Yes, of course sir."
Gaara was always authoritative with everyone especially in Sakura's presence, but never with her. Mostly because Sakura listened to him but also because he didn't like to exercise his power over Sakura and make her fear him. He didn't wish to be feared, but to be loved by his wife. While Gaara was watching his wife eat peacefully, he placed a hand on her hip and pulled her closer to his body.
"Life is more beautiful when you are happy."
"Really?"
Gaara nodded.
"Of course. When you are upset, everything becomes grey. I can't enjoy anything."
He kissed her forehead and she giggled joyfully. Sakura took a deep breath, filled her lungs with air and then she looked up at the ceiling from the bottom of the salt mine:
"What a healthy air!"
"My darling will be healthy for a hundred years. I will do anything for it!"
...
"How many more steps do we have to climb? I am tired." Shinki complained.
"What? Already? At your age you should be able to carry me on your back all the way to the top of the stairs." Sakura said.
The child burst out laughing, his hands resting on his bent knees.
"What kind of man yields in front of a woman?" Gaara asked with pride.
"But there are a million steps left until we reach the top. Are we climbing to the Heaven?"
It was Gaara and Sakura's time to burst out laughing this time.
"There are 1480 steps in total. We have already climbed about 600, so there are around 800 steps left. It's not that much. We have almost climbed half of them."
Shinki looked disappointed.
"Dad, let's use your giant sand plate to fly all the way up."
"No."
"But why?"
"Because nobody must know we are shinobi. Must act like civilians. You don't want us to be attacked on vacation, do you?"Gaara felt that the boy would have wanted to say "Yes, I do." Judging by the look in his eyes, so he quickly added: "What if we are attacked after we reveal our identities? At if your mother gets hurt? What if somebody kidnaps you and takes you as a hostage to manipulate me? Do you really want to risk that?"
Shinki lowered his head in defeat. Sakura offered to give him a piggy-back ride because she pitied the boy. Gaara frowned and Shinki refused to appear weak in front of a girl, so he regained his composure right away with a forced smile as he walked ahead of them on the steps:
"I was just joking. I can climb on my own. I just wanted to know what you'd say."
"That's how you build stamina." Gaara whispered to Sakura. He was happy now. "Come on, hop on my back."
"What?"
Gaara winked at her and Sakura understood that Gaara wanted to set an example of will and hard work to Shinki. With Sakura on his back, Gaara surpassed Shinki, who looked at his parents with eyes as big as onions. He instantly decided to not be last and his little feet gained strength and his heart gained courage to surpass both of his parents.
To pass the time, Sakura started telling her boys about Vlad the Impaler, whose castle they were going to visit as soon as they reached the end of the stairs. Shinki lost focus as soon as brown bears caught his eye. The boy had found new toys to play with now. He would examine their fur and claws, pulled them by the ears and if the bears dared to roar and threaten him, Shinki slapped them across the snout. The boy was fearless. He even found a bear cub to carry him of his back for a dozen of steps before the bear got bored and stopped in the middle of the road.
"Cheater." Gaara said dissatisfied.
Sakura was playing with her husband's ear. She pulled him by the ear and he shook his head in annoyance. Sakura understood that he didn't like it so she let him be.
"Do you know why Vlad the Impaler is so famous? Because of the extremely cruel measures he took to inspire fear in those who opposed him. He earned his nickname by impaling his enemies on stakes. In 1462, he left a field filled with thousands of impaled victims as a deterrent to pursuing enemy forces."
Gaara frowned at the thought.
"To consolidate power and assert his dominance, he decided to hold a banquet and invited hundreds of members of his rival families. Knowing his authority would be challenged, he had his guests stabbed and their still-twitching bodies impaled on spikes."
"I could learn a thing or two from this man." Gaara joked.
"He was the only leader who ruled a country without thieves."
"How so?"
"He tied the thieves to a giant wheel and rolled it on the ground, crushing the man until he died. Everybody says there were cups made of gold at every fountain in the land that nobody dared to steal. If you dropped a silver or gold coin on the floor, you would find it in the same place you left it on the next day."
Gaara listened with interest as he was in a good mood.
"He was a very honest and brave man. All his life he was surrounded by enemies on all sides, but he fought them nevertheless."
Gaara started to feel that Sakura praised this man too much, so he started feeling jealousy and saddened a bit.
"It's good he is dead, otherwise he might have stolen you from me." Although he forced a smile, Sakura felt bitterness in his tone and a tinge of sadness along with uncertainty in his heart. That was when she realized she made a mistake. She bit her bottom lip and thought of what to say to get him out of the bad mood.
"You know, it was easy for him to be the strongest leader of his time because all he had to do was be cruel to scare the people. The people have accepted him from the first. He didn't have to work to gain their trust. He was good at using a sword and he fought in the first lines on the battlefield, but he never had to deal with demons in his head. He didn't survive the attempts on his life. He was captured, tortured and later killed for not possessing enough power to protect himself when outnumbered by his enemies. My husband fought insomnia for years. He fought the council members and he worked hard to convince people that his life is worth something and that he can be of use to his village. There were numerous attempts on your life, but you were the strongest and smarted of them all and managed to escape their traps. My husband protected a village all by himself; he raised a child on his own because he has a golden heart. You were the commander of the great allied shinobi forces in the fiercest war the ninja world had ever seen. My lion is also very handsome with his rust colored hair and his strong arms that carry me everywhere. I love every moment I spend with you and I never get tired of the warmth of your body."
Gaara's mood improved considerably. He smiled from one ear to the other. His back was straight like an arrow aiming for the sky. His heart was in flames.
"Shh, people will hear us."
Sakura's lips got so close to his ear that they were always touching.
"To hear your voice is pomegranate wine to me
I draw life from hearing it
Could I see you with every glance,
It would be better for me
Than to eat or to drink."
Poor Gaara's heart jumped at the sound of her sweet words that were only meant for him. His fingers squeezed Sakura's thighs and he kept carrying her on his back. Her words gave him strength and will to climb the steps faster and all he wanted was for Sakura to keep singing in his ear like a nightingale until the end of his days.
...
That night, they rented a fancy shack made of wood. It had a bathroom and a jacuzzi. They had dinner at the restaurant situated next to the castle.
Shinki was scared of sleeping alone in his room on that night because many wild animals he wasn't used to, howled and screamed in the night. However, he didn't want to admit that he was afraid, so he told his parents that his room is very cold.
"It's too cold. I want to sleep with you to get warm."
"Of course. Come here." Gaara said and made some room between himself and Sakura after he put the blanket aside.
The kid ran happily towards the bed and when he tried to hop onto the bed, his father grabbed him from under the armpits and helped him settle in the middle of the bed. Gaara pulled the blanket back on, making sure to cover Sakura and his son well. The boy was resting on his back, between his parents, with his fingers curled on the edge of the blanket while Sakura and Gaara hugged him at the same time. Shinki smiled and almost cried because he had never felt so loved by anyone in his life before.
Note: Their first child will be a boy. Sakura wishes to have a girl now, but that won't happen until a little later in the story. I am so happy you had fun reading the previous chapter. I hope this one gives you the same energy. Please share your opinion on this chapter, too. I am eager to know what you think. Also, thank you very much for sticking with me. I pray that you will be by my side till the end. Wish you all good health. :)