Our Heavy Burdens (Naruto Fanfic Gaara Love Story)

Chapter 42: Little Talks

What I'm trying to say is that if it weren't because of me being the daughter of the Fourth Hokage, the village wouldn't have accepted me either. I also had to work so hard to become as strong as I was before I was taken. If I had been raised with you at the Leaf, I would've gone through the same thing as you. However, we didn't, but that doesn't mean we're so different." Nariko explained. Naruto just listened attentively, silently staring at her while looking a bit sad and hurt. "And for why I didn't tell you we were family or why I didn't help you with Kurama, I felt like I couldn't. If I told you that you were my brother and the son of the Fourth Hokage, you might've felt even more pressured than before and like you were living in our shadows. For me, I didn't have much of a problem surpassing dad since I'm a Jinchuuriki and I have the Rinnegan. For that same reason, you would have felt like it'd be impossible for you to even be at my level. Not only that, but you were already dealing with your rivalry against Sasuke. You've grown to be such a good person, Naru. I didn't want you to live hating everyone and everything because you weren't more fortunate or favored. With helping you with Kurama, that seemed like a difficult thing to do. Each Bijuu has a different relationship with their hosts compared to each other. With me, Yin-Kurama liked me when I was a kid. With you, your Kurama didn't like you, or anyone for that matter. He would've been stubborn if I tried helping you, and now that I think about it, you would've gotten stubborn and frustrated too. The three of us would've clashed and made it harder to get the both of you to work together. It was better that you matured and went to Bee-san for help." She added.

Naruto looked down and thought about everything Nariko said, tears beginning to well his eyes as it all pieced together. "Did you really want to come back to Konoha and protect me? Do you really love me?" He asked, his voice breaking from his wavering emotions. Nariko glanced at him and giggled a bit. "If I had the strength, I'd get up and hug you. But yes, Naru. All I've ever wanted was to protect you and help you achieve your goals, and I've always loved you. You are and always have been my big brother. Though, you're only a couple minutes older than me." She told him, giggling again at the end, and Naruto looked up at her with a small grin, a few tears falling from his eyes. "I love you too, imōto." He replied, making her tear up as well.

However, he remembered something, instantly making Naruto look at her in pain again. "Nariko, something happened while the false Akatsuki had you. They had opened you up and... they took your womb." He told her, and Nariko's happy expression fell. She immediately sucked in a harsh breath and jerked away from him as the horrible memories returned at his words. "So that wasn't a nightmare... That actually happened..." She murmured, her hands moving to hold her abdomen as her tears fell in large drops. "Did they say if my womb regenerated after Ku-kun came back to me?" She asked, her breath hitching in small sobs as she guessed the answer. She could feel an emptiness within her, and was beginning to agonize over her circumstances. "I'm sorry, Nari-chan." Naruto replied, looking down again as he was filled with guilt.

Nariko curled up a bit and cried harder, her loud sobs bouncing off the walls and breaking Naruto's heart. Not a minute later, the door slammed open, making Nariko flinch as she and Naruto whipped their heads up to look at the door. Nariko was terrified, her trauma of her capture clouding her mind while Naruto was defensive for her, the both of them forgetting that they were in a safe place. The person who had slammed the door open was Gaara, who was frantic as he had heard Nariko's cries, Shukaku only pushing him more to go to her side. He rushed to her and went to hold her comfortingly, but Nariko pressed herself against the bed, holding herself protectively as her terrified eyes began to take on Kurama's fox eyes. Gaara paused and looked at her in pain, holding his hands out to her reassuringly like you would to a scared animal. "Nariko, you're okay. You're safe. You don't need to be afraid." He told her.

Nariko's mind cleared a bit, and she recognized Gaara, only making her cry harder and curl up more. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry...!" She sobbed. Gaara carefully sat beside her and loosely held her to him, giving her a bit of space and the option to push him away if she wasn't comfortable. "It's okay. I know you went through a lot. You don't need to be sorry for being defensive." He soothed, but she shook her head, her heart shattering as her mind settled in this fact: "No, Gaara. I can't have my own children. I-I can't have your children...! I can't have a future with you!" She told him. "It's alright, Nari-" "No it's not! The council and village elders won't let us be together if I can't have your children!" She interrupted him in protest, looking up at him with bloodshot eyes as tears continued streaming down her cheeks, leaving stains behind. Gaara just reached up to wipe away her tears and kissed her forehead. "Yes they will. Kankuro and I have already spoken with them. We can be together and adopt more children if we want. If not, Shizuka can become Kazekage next if she wants, or the village can elect a new Kazekage once I step down in the future. For now, you and I can just love each other and decide if we want to grow our family over the years." He reassured.

Nariko became confused, though, her eyebrows furrowing and her head tilting a bit, cutely in Gaara's opinion. "What- What do you mean?" She asked hesitantly, and Gaara smiled at her softly, pulling away a bit and taking a ring box out of his pocket. As he opened it, revealing a thin gold band with a modest sized diamond, Nariko lifted a hand to cover her mouth, more tears flowing down her face. "Nariko Namikaze. I know you're still recovering from a hard and traumatic experience, but I wanted to ask. If you aren't ready, I'm willing to wait until the day you are. But will you give me the honor and delight of marrying me and becoming my wife?" Gaara asked. Nariko began to sob loudly again and pressed her face against his chest, clutching the front of his shirt as she practically wailed. Gaara held her to him and looked between her and Naruto, panicked and confused about her reaction. Naruto was the same way, unsure about how to take her cries as an answer.

"N-Nariko? A-Are you upset?" Gaara asked hesitantly, but Nariko shook her head. His heart raced as he looked back at Naruto, feeling a bit of hope filling his heart. "D-Do you want to marry me?" He asked, and Nariko nodded, clutching onto him more like she didn't want to let him go. Gaara felt relief and happiness wash over him. He laughed lightly and held her closer to him, peppering kisses on the top of her head. "Thank you, Nari, thank you... I promise I'll make you happy for the rest of our days." He murmured. "I love you...!" Nariko sobbed, and he chuckled, kissing her head again. "I love you, too. Can I give you the ring?" He replied before asking, and she nodded, sniffling as she pulled away and held up her left hand. Gaara took the ring out of the box and gently slid it onto her finger, and she laughed giddily as she looked at it.

As she looked up at Gaara, Nariko was tempted to leap forward and wrap her arms around his neck to kiss him on the lips. She never got the chance though since Kankuro rushed in and glomped the both of them while dramatically crying. "My baby brother's getting married! And I'm getting a baby sister and another baby brother! Naruto, we're gonna be siblings! Oh, Kami, we're gonna be siblings..." He exclaimed before becoming horrified at the thought. "Hey!" Naruto protested, offended by Kankuro's reaction. Konan then walked in, Kankuro and Gaara letting Nariko go so her mother could hug her. Nariko looked at Konan, happy yet in pain, and Konan petted her hair, understanding her feelings. "It'll be okay, Nariko. I know you'll be happy with him." She told her softly, and Nariko gave her a lopsided smile. "Yeah. Thank you, Okāsan." She replied.

A/N: omg I finally figured out what to put on here 😭 I'm so sorry for taking so long to update, like I said, I didn't know what to put, and I've been hooked on one of my unpublished MHA books. Anyway, the next chapter might be the last one for this book, then I might make a sequel for the Boruto series. It'll take a while to get the sequel together, but if you guys want me to do it, please let me know! Hope you guys enjoy the chapter, btw 😁