Naruto Oneshots + Imagines

Moonlight (Gaara x Reader)

Quiet footsteps were the only noise that could be heard on the empty street as no other than the Kazekage, Gaara, walked through The Leaf Village, only one person on his mind.

You.

Despite being a Jonin in The Leaf Village, you were probably his best friend. After meeting Naruto a few times and handling business as Kazekage there, he'd run into you quite a few times, and the two of you connected almost instantly, forming a friendship that had lasted since he was eighteen. Now, he was freshly twenty-two, and well... There was a slight problem.

When he got to your doorstep and knocked on the wood, he was surprised to see you answer immediately.

"Gaara, what are you doing here so late?"

Rather than anger, your voice carried a certain tone of concern- worry, compassion. You'd always been that way towards him, acknowledging his strength while simultaneously providing the emotional support that most people didn't realize he needed. That was a huge part of why he'd been in love with you since he was nineteen. If he was being honest, it had taken him a while to figure out, but after enough talks with Kankuro and Temari, and after reading enough of those weird books that Kakashi liked, he'd realized that the feeling was, in fact, love. He didn't know what to do with that feeling, of course- especially with the newest development in his life, which he'd come to tell you about.

Your hair was a mess, and your eyes were tired. You were only wearing a t-shirt and some shorts, clearly exhausted, and he assumed that you'd been in bed before he'd shown up, which made him feel a little guilty for disturbing your sleep. Sure, he always visited you, but it was never so late at night.

Then again, part of him feared that it would be the last visit, so maybe doing it late at night just this once wouldn't hurt.

"I have bad news."

"...Come in," You opened the door for him all the way, allowing him in before shutting it behind the both of you and leading him to the kitchen. You led him to the kitchen and sat him down at your table before sitting across from him. "What's wrong?"

"The council wants me to get married so I can produce an heir; the next Kazekage. As you can imagine, I'm not in a relationship with anyone. They've been pushing the issue for the past few years, but now they're planning on finding someone for me themselves."

There was a brief moment of silence where you reached over and placed your hand on top of his, soothingly running your thumb over the back of his knuckles. The touch was just soothing enough to have him leaning into it a bit, sighing in relief despite the negative emotions that had consumed him.

"How are they going to find someone? What would the requirements for that be?" You questioned, expression screaming worry and confusion.

"I'm not sure," He stated, eyes trained on the table. He knew that if he got married to someone else, his little visits to your house would have to stop, as much as he hated to accept the fact. It would be a disaster if people thought he was cheating on his hypothetical wife- something he'd never do, even if he didn't love whoever they ended up picking for him, which he knew he wouldn't. Gaara was at a point where he felt like he couldn't bring himself to love someone else the way he loved you, especially when you were still very much there. He'd rather love you like he had been than get married to someone he wasn't interested in, even if you never loved him back. "We're still working on mending our relationships with the other villages, so I imagine it'll be a kunoichi from a different village. It'll be a way to strengthen our alliances. Aside from that, I don't think there are really any requirements."

"Well, then..." You froze, eyes widening like you'd just come up with something. You looked up at him, body tense. "You could marry me. Tell them you've found someone, so you can at least marry someone you're familiar with instead of a complete stranger."