Freedom ~Gaara~

Chapter 3

As I walked in the house later that day, I could smell the dinner that Chinsei was preparing and let a smile creep on my lips. Nora walked across the back of the couch to greet me. With a small neuw she sat and waited for me to pet her, which of course I complied. Good kitty. I walked farther into the house and stopped at the doorway to the kitchen and watched as Chinsei danced and sang as she cooked. No matter what, she still finds time to sing. That's something that I believe will never change about her. It doesn't matter if she's still preforming or not. Music is what she knows.

Her song floated beautifully, stirring up our past in my mind. It was always saturated with her music. Mainly our song. The song she called Regret Message. It was something she wrote when we were very young, a song to tell me how much she cared during a very hurtful time. And with her song came her gift. I could feel the glass of the small bottle against my collar as I listened to her sing and watched her dance. The bottle held a piece of paper that she had written love on all that time ago to tell me she would always be there for me.

And during a particularly dark time I had shattered the bottle she had given me. For a good three years I went without the small trinket and never got used to it not being there. There were many times that I would reach up to fiddle with it and relax only to grip at empty air. Chinsei had noticed however and made me a new one shortly after I had been rescued from the akatsuki. It made me feel whole somehow. After having it since the age of eight it became a part of me... meaning so had Chinsei. That made my smile grow just a little bit.

She continued to swing her hips as she sang one of my favorite songs and moved the food around in the pan. "Why am I here I this dark, stagnate world? The pain of unreasonable scars continue to constantly chastise me. The things I've lost are still being shredded apart. My emotions are becoming numb. I keep on counting what I've offered, and repeating those questions." Dancer in the Dark is an old song of hers, but it has always been one of my favorites. For some reason it spoke to me louder when I was younger, but even now I listen to it and completely understand. It wasn't until later in life that I listened to her songs and realized most of them that she wrote were completely relatable to me. But then again, we grew up in similar circumstances, shared a lot of the same pain.

My steps were silent as I walked up behind her and slipped my arms around her. She wasn't surprised, only smiled more and continued to sing. However, her singing turned into giggles when I leaned down to kiss her neck. That earned me a playful swat to the chest. "Quit it! That tickles!" She screamed as I did it again. "You're so mean to me." 

"You enjoy it." She smiled more and leaned up to press her lips to mine. Turning back to cook she asked if I would get the table ready and feed Nora. I did as she asked, placing two plates on the table with utensils and two glasses of water. While pregnant, I told Chinsei she couldn't have any soda or coffee, a request that resulted in a three day sulk and extreme headaches for her for about a week. No Caffeine to feed her addiction. (I know your feels...) Once done with that I put a bit of food in Nora's bowl, immediately hearing her neuw as she padded into the kitchen to eat. Good kitty.

Chinsei set the food on the table and I joined her. She's not the best cook in the world, but everyday she tries as hard as she possibly can to make it come out just right and improve. It's the work she puts into it that makes it good. Even if the flavor is just... a little... off. It smells good, really good in fact. I took a bite of it and froze. Chinsei frowned. "I messed up again didn't I?"

I continued to eat it, pushing back all thoughts of the taste. She tried so hard. I'm not going to let a little thing like... overcooked and... way to much salt... stop me from enjoying my wife's hard working attempt. She took a bite of hers and sighed. "You don't have to eat it Gaara."

A small smile crept to my lips. "Why wouldn't I?" Her cheeks turned a light pink color as those beautiful ice eyes widened. "It's just fine. I'll eat anything you make." A large happy smile split across her face.

"I promise next time it will be absolutely fantastic!" She beamed.

Once dinner was done, I helped her wash the dishes and continued to the bedroom, wanting to pack and look over a document that had been sent with the letter calling for the five kage summit. After the attack on Konoha and several other smaller attacks, including my own last year, the Akatsuki has been deemed a problem, and it appears war could be a possibility if there is no other way to deal with them... or what's left of them.

Chinsei stepped in from her shower and continued to towel dry her hair as she sat next to me on the bed. "What are you thinking about?" She asked.

"I still don't know if you should go or not." I confessed.

Her arms were instantly around my shoulders and her lips pressed to my cheek. "Stop worrying so much. Who in their right minds would ever try anything when all five kages are present? Seriously? You would either have to be really dumb or think you're way more amazing than you really are."

"I just don't want anything to happen should the worst case scenario-"

"Gaara, everything will be fine." I looked down at her, at her smiling happy face. "You'll see, everything will be just fine and then we'll come back home and continue with whatever you guys decide to do. And then..." She splayed her hand on her stomach and Isaw her cheeks grow pink again.

I pulled her closer to me and pressed my lips to her forehead. "I love you."

She tightened her hold on me and nuzzled her nose against my neck. "I love you too. And I always will."