Chapter 19 :

Chapter Title : Uneasiness

-Sabaku Tower –

Breakfast that morning was rather quiet and met with awkward glances amidst all the clambering of crockery, although the spread was fabulous and hearty. Soon after Temari had interrupted the newly-wed couple, both Gaara and Hinata were at a loss of words towards. Sure, they embraced and showed a few displays of affection but after those few intimate moments, there was pin drop silence between them.

Flashback to Gaara's bedroom earlier that morning –

"Don't ever leave".

These three simple words brought a shiver down Hinata's bare skin, her gaze never leaving the man in front of her. She listened silently as her husband, the powerful Kazekage spoke the words so softly, that she had to almost strain her neck a bit to hear him better. However, she was sure of what he spoke and when he did, she smiled just barely and pushed forward although her body was nearly frozen. Gaara watched his wife's every move as if she were the most interesting object in the bedroom, and then realising that she was inching for a kiss, he pulled away instinctively. Sighing softly, he instead pushed some of her long locks away from her arm and held it up as gently as he could – it still made her flinch a little for there were bruises on her skin. Naturally, there were several marks on Hinata's skin – mostly on her arm and chestal area. Earlier that morning both of them admired the marks left on eachother.

However, at that moment, Gaara felt guilty. Those marks looked painful and Hinata flinched at the slightest touch, this obviously meant that he must have injured her badly. He wondered, if he had lost control of himself during those moments where he hurt her.

But despite himself, he did not have the heart to say anything to her. Yes he had hurt her the night before, surely he did otherwise why would she bleed? Why would she cry? At that time, both had been a little high on greed and lust and it was probable that they did not understand the severity of the pain he was putting her through. Now that the lust was gone, and reality was back on pedal he wondered how much pain she had to deal with, the night before.

"Why didn't you tell me to stop?" Gaara stared at his wife blankly, his calloused fingers trembling slightly. He had half a mind to stroke her creamy soft skin, but he was scared. He was scared that even his gentle touch woul injure his wife – she seemed so petite and dainty just like glass, if anyone held her too hard she might just break. He wondered how easy it would be for him to just choke her in sand, and watch the life get sucked out of her beautiful lavender eyes. How easy her bones would break under his Sand Coffin, and how satisfied Shukaku would be after getting a taste of her nectarous blood. It would be so easy to kill Hinata Hyuga.

Shaking these thoughts away, Gaara came back to reality only to see a frown on his wife's pretty porcelain face – she looked beautiful although she had gotten little to no sleep the night before. She was beautiful, period.

"What is it, Hinata?"

"Last n-night was one of the b-best experiences of my life, G-Gaara…" Hinata whispered, while still leaning towards her husband. She truly looked beautiful, completely naked. There were marks on her neck, her collarbone, her breasts, arms and she knew she had marks on her back too. She hadn't had a chance to see herself in the mirror but she felt surprisingly good about all these marks. It made her feel like she had done good last night, and had managed to satisfy her husband. To say that she enjoyed herself, was an understatement. Hinata could faintly remember crying out for her husband, and during most of it, moaning out his name several times. And it seemed that he only enjoyed it more, for he trembled every now and then.

She could not imagine having a better night. "I loved every s-second of it."

She noticed that her stutter had reduced dramatically, around him.

Present time, The Dining Room :

Gaara had quickly left after Temari had called for breakfast. He did not have much to say after his wife's blatant opinion of their night and naturally, he was relieved – but she had not responded the way he wanted. He wanted her to assure him that she wouldn't leave but she hadn't mentioned anything like that. Maybe she just needed a little more time. Question was, did he have the time? Haunted by the issue hanging above his head, the Kazekage knew he needed an heir. If he were to continue office, and be declared fit to rule over the kingdom, he desperately needed an heir. It was a rather ridiculous point made by Asuma, but relevant nevertheless. An heir would secure his position politically, and also allow him to heal personally.

Back at the table, he sat silently and sipped on his jasmine tea,– a tradition that had followed from Konoha all the way to Sunagakure – and waited patiently for the next few people to arrive. Temari and Shikamaru had been the first to reach the dining room and were in fact halfway done with their food. The eldest Sabaku watched his brother silently and smirked. The slight mark on his neck was faint but not invisible, though his robes were trying to cover his neck.

At this exact moment, two more members arrived namely, Hinata and Kankuro. Both of them arrived at the same time, together and coversing lightly – Hinata was smiling and responding while Kankuro spoke rather animatedly, as was his nature. When they arrived in the room, their conversation was cut short as the members of the room were visibly watching the two.

Gaara's gaze was unmistakenly on his wife and brother, and though he had no jealousy whatsoever, he was envious of the unmatchable bond that she shared with his brother. How he wished, she could smile and be just as open around him – her very own husband. But that was not the case, not even close. She was a nervous blithering fool in front of her husband and it annoyed him on several levels that his wife could not open up to him. Then again, it wasn't entirely her fault for he was to blame. His intimidating stature, attitude and usual nonchalance made it difficult for anyone to converse and bond with him. It was his fault that his wife was smiling and joking with his brother, and not himself. He was pathetic, or so he thought.

"We were just waiting for you two!" Temari, the eldest Sabaku grinned while sipping on her freshly squeezed orange juice. Shikamaru turned immediately to acknowledge the newcomers, and then did a very rare thing, – rare for Shikamaru at least – he smiled. And not a half-hearted smile or a smirk, but a proper good natured smile. "Good morning, Lady Hinata." Since when did he start addressing her with "Lady"?

"Did you sleep well, Hinata?" Temari chipped in, throwing a sly glance at his youngest brother who caught this just as slyly, and narrowed his gaze at his sister. Ignoring this brief eye-contact, Temari beamed at Hinata, whose face was several shades of red as per custom. Maybe it was her flushed face, or maybe it was her abrupt stammering or maybe it was just the expression a woman wears when she's had sex for the first time, "T-T-Temari-san! Ano, I-I slept fine last n-night!" Poor Hinata couldn't speak a syllable of her word without stammering like an idiot, but she could not help herself. Everytime she was reminded of the night before, she started blushing crimson shades, – "G-Gaara, you're doing g-great… J-Just go a little s-slower, please!" Hinata whimpered provocatively, whilst both her slender arms were wrapped around her husband's neck. Her expression was distraught, but in the most attractive way. Her hair was dishevelled and probably caused tangles which she would have to comb out the next morning, but she did not care. Her lips were sore and plumped from all the kissing, and she could still feel the tingling sensation in her earlobe from the time Gaara had nibbled there. Gazing lovingly at her husband, Hinata pulled him closer to her and kissed him, but everytime she touched him a part of her lay in fear for she was definitely afraid that he might transition into a darker character and lose control of his senses. Maybe this fear would remain throughout, for everytime she kissed him or tried to touch him, the incident of their wedding night kept playing at the back of her mind, like a wheel-

"Hinata, you're blushing like crazy! Did you and my brother have sex last night?"

The bomb was dropped, and quite expectedly, it came from none other than Kankuro.

At that moment, three things happened at the same time. First and foremost, Gaara choked on his jasmine tea and had started coughing uncontrollably until Shikamaru got up immediately and went towards his brother-in-law to assist him, which was not required ultimately. Gaara regained his posture and was staring blankly at Kankuro, as if the universe had stopped making sense to him.

Secondly, Matsuri who had been bringing some cinnamon rolls on a salver specifically for her beloved mistress, dropped the salver along with the cinnamon rolls as she heard the blatant interrogation. The drop didn't make much of a noise for the floor was covered in red and gold carpeting, but everyone heard the soft thud!,

Thirdly, Temari got up and raced her way to Kankuro only to whack him in the head. She glared at her brother and rolled her eyes, "Baka! Who asks questions like that?" Regrettably for everyone, Hinata was barely able to stand and suddenly her entire world started to spin. Temari and Kankuro's sibling bickering went numb in her mind, and she couldn't feel her feet on the ground anymore- she could not see Gaara rushing towards her, but she was grateful for the arms that held her tightly for she felt she was going to need bodily support. Maybe this was what, collapsing meant. She had obviously fainted before, but this was different. She was mortified. "Lean on me." She heard the familiar masculine voice of her husband, whispering into her ear but she could not understand what he was speaking. She looked at him blankly, and to her, he was a blur of crimson and white.

As if this drama were not enough, at that exact moment, Temari too had her own episode of personal trauma. All that sibling bickering and argument got to her most probably, and she too started to feel dizzy. Kankuro did not notice this, and he kept defending himself on his outright question, for he felt being straightforward was far better than twisting the issue. "Shes married to our brother, obviously they're gonna have sex someday!" he cried out, in defense.

Temari could not retaliate back, for she was feeling numb and her head was spinning for she could not see anyone clearly. Kankuro seemed to have three heads instead of one, and everything he said was a blur.

Before she even had the chance to retch, Temari puked her breakfast all over the floor to the dismay of all the servants who would have the dreary job of cleaning after her. Matsuri was one of the servants to be sympathetic as she bent down to pick up the now inedible cinnamon rolls and throw them in thr trash. Pity, because she had worked double hard that morning to bake the rolls. However, at this point, pity was not what she was feeling. She just watched in horror how within minutes, the whole atmosphere had changed to one of awkward silences with contrasted laughter, to a scene straight out of a dramatic cinema.

Before, Shikamaru could hold onto his wife, Kankuro held his sister's hair while she vomited a little more. His face was twisted with concern and disgust at the simultaneously, but being a brother he had to do his duties however mentally, he was wishing that her husband would take the dreary responsibility of holding and rubbing her back as she puked her guts out.

In this situation, Hinata and Gaara watched on helplessly for she herself was not feeling quite well and he was blank and concerned about his wife.

"Exactly, how long would it take for Haruno to arrive?" Gaara's pale teal orbs were narrowed into slits, as he sat motionlessly in his office whilst his sister and wife were In their respective bedchambers, resting as he spoke.

After breakfast that morning, Shikamaru had not left sight from his wife and took the liberty to spoil her silly. He supported her on their way to their bedroom, and laid her down, and commanded her to remain like that until a doctor could arrive. Temari could not argue or debate, like she normally would. Sitting idle was never her forte, usually at this hour the eldest Sabaku would have ventured out on her own to unknown parts of the desert. Some locals would witness her trying to work up on her skills, some would say that she used to meet an old wise woman who would impart vials of knowledge. Whatever the case might have been, she would never have remained in her room at this hour and doing this for the first time, she felt rather uncomfortable and helpless – everything that she was alien to.

Nevertheless, at that moment, she saw her husband as a blessing for she could not stir up from the bed, even to go to the washroom for she was feeling nauseous everytime she got up. Becoming increasingly worried about his wife, Shikamaru had hurried to the Kazekage's office to discuss matters. Thankfully, the Kage himself was one step ahead of Shikamaru given that he too was a little concerned about his wife. To his horror, Kankuro was In the office with the Kage discussing the immediate matter.

"I've done what I could, little brother. She's going to be here before tomorrow", Kankuro sighed, and slumped down on his chair. Shikamaru and Gaara both, frowned in exasperation. This was unacceptable.

At that moment, the three exasperated men heard a knock at the Kage's door. Frowning once again, and wondering who dared to disturb them at this moment, Gaara spoke with forced nonchalance, "Come in."

What they weren't expecting was to see Matsuri – loyal servant to Hinata, from Konoha. She was a long way from home and truth be told, she missed her home greatly, but she was much more loyal to the Hyuga household, and hence to Hinata. Hizashi Hyuga, Neji's father had come across the young woman when she was desolate, unmarried and expecting. He did not probe as to why her condition was like this, at this ripe age of adolescence, but felt pity for her, and took her in. From that day onwards, Matsuri knew where her loyalties were tied, and she tried to follow to the best of her abilities.

Watching the maid expectantly, waiting for her to come up with a good excuse for interrupting his important discussion, Gaara narrowed his gaze at her. She was a decent looking woman, who could have passed up as a royal instead of a local, had she bothered to dress and clean up after herself.

"Well?" Growing increasingly impatient, Gaara shut his eyes while pinching his temples. Kankuro and Shikamaru sat silently for they were speechless and were perplexed just as much as the Kage.

"Milord, Lady Hinata asked me to call for you and Lord Shikamaru."

When there was no response from either men in question, the humble servant continued with obvious nervousness.

"Milord, Lady Temari is expecting a child."

A/N : HEYYY! So it's been forever since I wrote! I HOPE you guys are still interested in my story because I recently went back to my story and seeing the responses I was motivated once again to keep writing. Please don't hate me! Im a dedicated author I just suffer a lot from writers block and demotivation lols.

ANYWAY, I hope you liked this chapter. Pls don't hate the story even if you hate me!

Pretty please show some love and review, like/share you know the deets! 3