Unbearable Weight of Leaves

Delivery Part 2

Author's Note

I am going to apologize in advance for this chapter. It is long, and I know you will be mad at me, but please do not kill the author. *Attempts a candy sweet smile* I do have today and tomorrow off, and will be working diligently on the next chapter so I do not leave you too long with how this ends.

As always, reviews/comments serve to inspire, I hope you enjoy this chapter. <3

Gaara

I was starting to get irritated. The woman, Mika, left me about two hours ago and still, I had not seen either of my annoying family members. I felt the sand twitch beneath my feet and I tried to calm myself down. I tapped the table, letting the sound of the hardened sand clack against the surface. Didn't they remember what day this was? How important this was to me? I had spent the last hour writing down possibilities of what might happen today, and those two imbeciles being late for our morning meeting was not on the list. Kankuro should have woken and been downstairs nearly two hours ago, and Shinki an hour ago. I had it written down. I looked back to my list for the itinerary for the day and scratched off the thing I had planned for this exact moment. Make breakfast.

Not anymore. They ruined my mood too much for me to offer them something to eat for putting up with me today. I should let them know I had planned it, then because of their behavior was taking it away. It was unprofessional. It was inconsiderate. It was insubordination. I groaned as more words to describe their behavior floated in my head and folded my arms. Twenty minutes. Twenty more minutes and I would drag their bodies down here by force. I was starting to not care if they lived through it. I had things to do. Things to prepare, things to practice, a schedule to keep. The day was here, the day was here. I shifted and eyed the stairs. My heart wouldn't slow down. The proposal was still hours away. Why was I so nervous already? I took a deep breath, then shifted again.

Maybe I wouldn't give them twenty minutes. Maybe I would give them five. I needed to rehearse. I needed to go over the menu. I needed them to know what I expected, I needed to express they couldn't give away why I was making dinner, or why I was having Shinki put her in a dress, and wouldn't she just be beautiful in it? I brought my fingers up to rub my forehead. This was no time to be thinking of this. I needed to prepare. I needed to make sure tonight would be perfect and go as smoothly as possible. Which was something I could not do without the two of them. I needed to make sure Shinki understood the timing necessary for Naruto to be down and ready at the exact time I began to cook. I wanted her to see how I made noodles, I wanted her to see my talents, talents I had never allowed her to see before tonight. It would be a surprise to her, and hopefully a pleasant one. I hoped she liked what I was planning on fixing for her.

What if she didn't like noodles beyond ramen? What if she despised my meal and demanded something different, would she look at me the same way or-

I was being ridiculous. I was letting my mind wander, and it was easy to do, since my soon to be dead sibling and my forgivable son were both horrendously late for the morning meeting I had set up. I tapped the table again. I was sure I set it up. I had mentioned it to them, hadn't I? What if I hadn't, and I was sitting here depending on them reading my mind again? On such an important day, what if I missed one of the most necessary and vital pieces of information? Had I done such a thing on the battlefield, we may have lost the war, or worse. A worse option, I did not even have the desire to ponder, considering I was facing the possibility of the worse option happening three weeks from now. It was not something I wanted to think about. Not today. It was too important. It was going to be a day entirely for her. To make her smile. To tell her a story from the heart of Suna. To propose to her, and hopefully I would be an engaged man by the end of the day.