Kaze no koibitō

20

Temari groaned as the light filtered in through the curtains. She threw her arm over her eyes to block out the offending sunbeams but it was to no avail. She had to admit to herself that sleep was no longer possible.

That didn't mean she had to get out of bed though and leave Naruto's warmth.

The blonde rolled over to her side and wrapped her arms around Naruto, sighing happily into his back. This is what she had always wanted in a relationship. Total happiness, total comfortability, and most importantly, unconditional love. The only thing she wanted more than this was a family of her own...but that was all in good time.

Being that close to someone so warm was making her sleepy again and it didn't take long for her to yawn and her eyes to begin to droop. Still, she held on, fighting to stay awake. Her thoughts became more and more sporadic the longer she fought off sleep.

For some reason, lying there with Naruto like that brought her back to days when she was younger and her mother was still alive. Her mother had been so kind, so caring. She had doted on Temari and then Kankurou when he was born, calling them her two precious little angels. She began to think then of how her mother had changed when she was pregnant with Gaara and turned her thoughts away from the woman.

In all reality, she didn't have many loving thoughts of her except for the first two years of her life. When they implanted Shukaku into Gaara while he was still in the womb, her whole demeanor had changed.

Perhaps the Shukaku had been speaking to her as well...

Temari shuddered at the thoughts and squeaked when Naruto suddenly rolled over and latched onto her, pulling her close. She rubbed her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes again.

She could envision herself having a life with this man. She could be happy, truly happy. She would be loved and doted on. She would want for nothing. And of course...she'd get the occasional dessert.

As her eyes grew too heavy to stay open, she sighed happily and kissed Naruto before drifting off again.

What more could a girl want?

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Naruto had been awake from the time that Temari had wrapped her hands around his waist from behind. He simply didn't want to disturb such a peaceful moment and when he rolled over and embraced her, it was simply because he had to have her in his arms.

Sappy? Yes. But such is love.

As Temari's breathing became more rhythmic, his thoughts wandered to what had happened while they'd been here. He had denied his heritage, basically spit in the face of a governing body several times, and listened as his former best friend was sentenced to death. There was just one thing bothering him.

That one month reprieve.

He frowned and rubbed his chin on Temari's soft, frizzled hair. She twitched her nose and squeezed him tighter. He smiled down at her and kissed the top of her head.

Tender moments like these never lasted in the ninja world.

That one month reprieve bothered him mightily though. It simply wasn't good business. Sasuke was too dangerous and too valuable to too many people. What if the Sound heard about it? Surely they'd come running...and what would Itachi think? He had to have left Sasuke alive for some reason...

Naruto shook his head and lay back against the pillow again, letting Temari lie on top of him. He had never thought it possible to be so comfortable with someone, yet here he lay with someone who loved him.

He chuckled into the cool morning air. Love. It had at one time seemed so far away from him. Now he had love in his arms and he didn't intend to ever let go.