Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Together With You: A Gaara Story ❯ Calming Down and Settling Down ( Chapter 32 )

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.....

 

Recap:

Gaara sat there in silence, not making any move to get up or move. How could this have happened? The Leaf Village was falling apart. It was definitely in Shiruki's best interest to come back to Suna. But then again, it would also be in her best interest to stay and reconstruct Konoha and get it back up on its feet. Gaara, however, couldn't stay. He had duties as a Kazekage to fulfill. He couldn't abandon his village so easily. His mind was waging war against itself. Something that never happened. Why was love so complicated?

 

 

Chapter 32: Calming Down and Settling Down

 

It had been a week and Shiruki had just now awoken from her comatose like state. Gaara had not left her side and Naruto frequently popped in Shiruki's home. Gaara dispelled the Demon Sealing jutsu and leaned closer to brush the hair from her face. She smiled tiredly at him and held her hand up, Gaara taking it in recognition. She smiled sleepily at him and tried to sit up. Gaara helped her, resting his hand between her shoulder blades, and pushed her up. She brought her free hand to her forehead and rubbed it. “How long have I been out?” she asked, her voice groggy with sleep.

 

Gaara sighed. “A week,” he said simply. “Tsunade said it'd be longer.” He smirked at himself. Always underestimating her. “Uzumaki stopped by earlier. Konohamaru did too,” he informed her.

 

Shiruki looked at Gaara and smiled, now fully awake. “They always worry about me,” she giggled lightly. Gaara nodded. He took his place beside her on the bed and she leaned into him, her head resting softly on his shoulder. Gaara wrapped his arm around Shiruki protectively and she sighed contently. “What about you?” she asked. “How long have you been here?” she asked, looking up at him. The look was one of those “do you really need to ask me that?” looks. Shiruki giggled and kissed him softly. “The whole time,” she stated, understanding completely what that look implied. Gaara nodded. She smiled. “Gaara-“

 

She was cut off when a loud slam of the door opening to her bedroom sounded. Shiruki jumped and clung to Gaara feebly. Her eyes landed on the hyperactive blond and an equally hyper brunette, slightly shorter. Naruto and Konohamaru smiled happily at Shiruki. They leaped on the bed and glomped her, sending her on her back and Gaara on the floor. “Shiru-chan!” they both screamed as they nuzzled their idol.

 

Shiruki looked at Gaara and saw him rather pissed. He was rubbing his head, gathering that he had hit his head on the wall, where he currently sat. She smiled apologetically. He shrugged it off and her attention wandered back to the blond and brunette currently occupying her personal space. Naruto planted a kiss on Shiruki's cheek and Shiruki blushed. She giggled nervously and Konohamaru followed suit with a kiss of his own. Naruto and Konohamaru then started to kiss her cheeks at the same time. She squirmed a little and looked to Gaara for help, who was just sitting there with his arms crossed, not particularly paying any attention. She sighed and looked back at the two boys nuzzling her. “Um...guys? Personal bubble,” she giggled.

 

Naruto and Konohamaru looked at each other over her head and smiled. They reluctantly let go and helped her back up. “Sorry, Shiru-chan!” Naruto laughed. “We just missed you,” he said happily with a slight pinkish blush.

 

Konohamaru nodded. “That's right! We were here every day!” he said proudly.

 

Shiruki raised a brow at them. When she saw it to be true, she smiled tenderly at them, taking them both into a hug. “I love you guys,” she whispered as she kissed their cheeks softly. Naruto and Konohamaru both blushed and hugged her back.

 

Gaara almost felt left out until Naruto looked at him with a grin and an apologetic, yet relieved sigh. He mouthed the words “glad she's alright” to him and Gaara nodded silently. Shiruki pulled away and felt a pain in her ribs. She hunched over and her breathing became labored. Gaara stood and was instantly at her side. He looked at where she was grabbing and saw the bruise Sasuke inflicted. He frowned and gently caressed it. Naruto and Konohamaru got off the bed with apologies and bows. Shiruki giggled a little, her breathing coming in short pants. “It's alright, guys...” she said through her panting. “You didn't know,” she smiled reassuringly. They nodded in unison and watched on in worry. She looked at Gaara and smiled softly. “Sorry,” she whispered.

 

Gaara rolled his eyes, uncharacteristically, and looked back at Naruto and Konohamaru. They caught the hint and nodded. “Hey, Shiruki. Whenever you're feeling better, we're gonna do something. All of Konoha was waiting for you to get up,” Naruto smiled. Shiruki nodded and Naruto waved and dragged Konohamaru with him out the room.

 

Gaara turned back to Shiruki and saw her looking down at her bruised ribs. A frown graced her delicate face. The bandages around her head made her look battle worn. He sighed inwardly. Normally Nikkaku would have healed her already. But this time, she was being held back. Shiruki refused help. She wanted to heal on her own to give Nikkaku a break. Nikkaku reluctantly agreed, warning her of the inevitable pain to come, but Shiruki insisted. Bringing us to now. Her ribs were swollen and bruised. Luckily none were cracked. Her head still had the gash from the rock, her lip still was split, and her nether regions were still on fire. Gaara felt horrible. Shiruki must have noticed it because she kissed his neck softly. “I'm alright. Stop worrying,” she whispered. Gaara looked at her and smirked with a shake of the head. He laid her back down and brushed her cheek softly with his fingertips. Shiruki closed her eyes and fell asleep with her personal “guardian angel” by her side.

 

 

Three days had passed and Shiruki finally gave in to Nikkaku's demands to help her heal. Shiruki's ribs were no longer bruised, her lips were back to normal, and her head still had aches every now and then, but for the most part, the gash was gone. Today was the day Naruto, Konohamaru, Gaara, and Shiruki were to do something together. They all decided on the lake. Currently, Shiruki and Gaara stood outside her door, hugging and kissing every once in a while, waiting for the two hyperactive “twins.”

 

Naruto and Konohamaru ran up to them and saw their little make-out session. Konohamaru blushed, whereas Naruto just rolled his eyes. He was used to it with Iruka and Kakashi. He cleared his throat and the two lovers looked at him, Shiruki with a blush, Gaara with an annoyed glare. Naruto chuckled and nodded for them to come with him. They nodded and laced their fingers together.

 

They all walked to the lake, talking to each other and laughing here and then. Well, except for Gaara. He was just walking silently, shooting Shiruki suggestive stares that she picked up on instantly. She winked at him and mouthed “tonight” to him, causing a broad grin to grace the red head's features. She giggled quietly and returned her rather divided attention back to Naruto and Konohamaru.

 

Once they made it to the lake, Shiruki gasped at the sight. Her hand came up over her mouth and her eyes were wide. It was a beautiful sight. The lake was sparkling crystal blue. The sun set over it. But what caught her attention was the trees and bushes and clearing. On trees were red flowers dangling on white banners that read “Congratulations.” This perplexed her for a moment. What could they be congratulating for? And more importantly, who were they congratulating? As she looked on, she saw a red ribbon hanging from a tree with a note attached to it. A heart stamp sealing the envelope. She tried to walk over to it, but Gaara tightened his hold on her. She looked up at him curiously and saw him shake his head with a smirk. Something was definitely up. She brushed it off and continued to take in the sight. On the bushes were more red flowers. And, of course, how could she miss the people standing under the “Congratulations” banner. Among the people were Kakashi and Iruka holding hands, Shino and Kiba with their arms around each other, Ino and Sakura with their arms around each other, Tsunade and Shizune with their arms crossed, Akamaru on Kiba's head, Hinata and Naruto holding hands, Neji sitting in front of everyone with his arms crossed next to TenTen, Temari and Shikamaru holding each other, Kankuro grinning like a maniac, Jiraiya smiling pervertedly, of course with his arm wrapped around Tsunade's shoulders, Kurenai standing next to Asuma, and Choji eating chips next to Konohamaru. Shiruki raised a brow at this. “Um...what's going on?” she asked cautiously.

 

Everyone wore grins and their attention seemed to be on Gaara. She followed their stared and looked at Gaara. He just smirked at her and took her to the clearing. The clearing had red rose petals and full roses scattered around it. Everyone was arched around it, as if expecting something to happen. Gaara led her to it and stopped in the middle. She started to panic. Her breathing increased as she surveyed her surroundings. She looked up at Gaara with fear and saw him smirking affectionately back at her. He held her hands in his and Shiruki glanced back at the others to see all their eyes on them. She blushed furiously at the attention and turned back to Gaara when he pulled her closer a little. Icy blue met icy blue as they stared at each other for a while. “G-Gaara?” she whispered. He was staring intently at her. She had never seen such love and admiration before. Well, except when they made love. But that was different. She almost felt a little uneasy.

 

Gaara smirked and talked loud enough so only she heard. “Shiruki, I've been thinking while you were asleep,” he said honestly. Shiruki urged him on with an unsure nod. “Remember when I told you a while back...that I wanted to live the rest of my life with you?” he asked quietly. Shiruki nodded hesitantly. She didn't know why, but she had some major butterflies right now. She remembered all too clearly when he said that. It was around the time she realized she was-

 

Shiruki's eyes widened. She stifled a gasp and tried to calm herself. He might not be getting to that. It's just her overactive imagina-

 

Gaara got down on one knee and pulled out a ring from behind his Suna headband on his hip. He held it out to her and smirked. “Marry me,” he whispered.

 

Shiruki was floored. Her face turned redder than the guy's hair! Her eyes were narrow slits and wider than a UFO. Her breathing stopped. Suddenly it was all too quiet. She heard everyone's breathing hitch as well. They knew. They heard. They were expecting an answer from her. Temari and Kankuro, however, looked on knowingly. She couldn't form a single conherent thought. She froze. She would have fainted right there if not for reality slapping her in the face. She blinked and tears came from nowhere as she stared into her loving Kazekage's eyes. This had taken alot of guts to do it in front of the whole village. A tear fell onto her hand and she nodded enthusiastically. She let the tears fall freely as she hugged him tightly, falling to her knees as well. She basically glomped him! “Yes!” she screamed through tears. She kissed him lovingly, pouring all her love and passion into that one kiss. “YES! I love you so much!” she cried louder.

 

Everyone cheered and threw up rose petals they had been concealing. Gaara smiled genuinely at her and Shiruki felt her heart melt. Such a beautiful smile. And it was all hers. All for her. No one else. Gaara was hers. He slipped the ring on her finger and she didn't hesitate to tackle him to the ground again. She cried into his chest and Gaara wrapped his arms around her softly.

 

Temari and Kankuro walked over and knelt down so only the two heard them. “All of Suna await your arrival,” Temari whispered with a suggestive wink. Shiruki must not have heard because she was still clinging to Gaara. She laughed lightly and Kankuro smirked.

 

“Well, little brother, seems you actually listened to my advice, neh?” he asked, winking at his little brother pervertedly.

 

Gaara blushed and glared at his older sibling. “I would never follow your advice. Even if you paid me,” he said coldly with playful smirk. Kankuro laughed and Temari didn't even want to know what was going on. “We'll head back and wait for you there, alright?” he asked. Gaara nodded and Shiruki remained clutched desperately to his chest. “Seems we need to pry her off sometime,” Kankuro joked as him and Temari took off back to Suna.

 

 

TBC

 

 

A/N: alright....about one or two more chapters and then the epilogue........this story has been fun ^^ R&R