"This sucks!" Sonia exclaimed, slamming down the glass in hand. "Who the hell died and made him King? Who does he think he is?"
Gaara sat beside his friend of twenty years, lightly swirling the drink in his glass. It was a mild version of sake, only giving him a mild buzz. He listened as Sonia continued to rant about her situation. He wasn't any better water either. Both of them had a similar problem.
"'You have been summoned to Master Toya's Estate'," she mocked, rolling her eyes at the end. "Do they think I'm a dog that can be commanded? Oh how I would like to get my hands around his little neck," she growled, finishing off her drink. The bartender came and took the glass, going to refill it.
A smirk twitched at the corner of his lips. "We're in the same situation..."
Sonia cocked an eyebrow, looking over at him from the corner of her eyes. "What?"
Gaara sighed. "I got a letter today as well. Some Lord on the other side of the Desert wants me to marry his daughter." He grumbled slightly. "On top of that, it seems that my father had made a deal with him."
"And that would be...?"
"If I did not marry before the age of twenty-one, I would be forced to marry her... Well, I'm twenty-one... and have no bride..."
"We are fucked..." Sonia groaned, slamming her forehead down on the bar. "Ow..." The music played in the background, other peoples' chatter in the air. Still nothing could break their depressing mood.
"So..." Sonia finally spoke up. They had been sitting in silence for fifteen minutes. "What are we going to do?" She looked up, seeing her glass had reappeared. The girl downed it in one gulp, making Gaara cock an unseen eyebrow in response.
"What can we do?" he asked, shaking his head no when the bartender asked if he wanted another. "We have to go through with it."
"But I don't want to go to the Land of Waves! There's no sand there, and it rains all the time!" Sonia sighed heavily, shaking her head. "We'll never see each other anymore, Gaara. You know that right?"
"What are you talking about?" he asked, fear gripping his chest.
"I'll be in another land, and I can almost guarantee that Master Toya will pull me from the Ninja Squad so I can stay at home. Probably will want me to pop out a kid or two for him. And your wife-to-be? I know who you're talking about. I had to escort her some years back. Kept bragging about you and how the two of you would be together someday... never believed her, but I shouldn't have put it past her that she wouldn't get her way in that matter too. She won't let you out of her sight, and will cling to you like a leech. She'll be a jealous woman for the rest of her life, and will do everything in her power to make sure girls like me stay away." Sonia turned in her stool, looking out over the crowd. "Even if we're friends we'll probably never see each other again. And we only have a month or so till we meet our spouses." She shuttered at the thought.
Gaara knew Sonia had a point. Their time was short, and the day Sonia left with her escort to the Land of Waves, it would be the last time they saw each other ever again. He didn't want to loose his best friend.
"Isn't there anyway we could stop this?" he asked as Sonia downed another glass. She was drinking a lot tonight, and he still had yet to see her feel a buzz or even get tipsy.
"The only way out is to get married. And let's face it, neither of us are close to finding partners besides the ones we're being forced to marry."
Gaara was struck with an idea. A wild, crazy, totally insane idea. His eyes landed on Sonia, who still gazed out over the bar. "There... might be... one way..." he spoke up, drawing her attention.
"Oh?" Sonia asked, clearly interested.
"You just said it yourself." Gaara turned to face her. She looked confused. "We clearly don't have partners. Youneed a husband, and I need a wife to get out of this situation." Sonia's eyes sparked in realization, but he continued, "We both need something with similar interests."
The young woman grinned, turning to face her best friend. "Are you proposing to me, Gaara?"
A light blush came to his cheeks. "W-When you put it that way, you could say that," he muttered, suddenly shy.
"Hmm..." The idea intrigued her. Nothing had to happen after the vows were said. They were friends, and Sonia didn't think being married to him was all that bad, even though they were only doing it to help each other. "I'll think about it." She then hopped off her barstool. "I'll have an answer in the morning, okay?"
Gaara nodded. "Take your time."
Sonia smiled lightly before paying, and leaving. "Anything else for you, Kazekage?" the bartender asked, cleaning a glass.
Gaara looked over at Sonia's empty glass. "I'll have what she had."
The man cocked an eyebrow before saying, "Coming right up." When he returned, Gaara took the drink, sipping the liquid. The young man waited to feel the tingling sensation as the alcohol ran down his throat. However, it never came. Gaara looked at the glass questioningly before turning to the bartender.
"This is water," the Kazekage stated.
The bartender shrugged his shoulder. "You wanted what she was having. It's her usual drink." He then walked away.
Gaara stared at the glass in wonder. The drinking age was eighteen, Sonia was twenty, yet still, all these years they would come down to the bar together after long days at work, or when either of them got back from a mission, him from meetings outside Suna mostly, the whole time she had been drinking water.
He chuckled, setting down the glass and paying. "You still amaze me, Sonia," he muttered to himself, and left.
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Gaara was busy at work when a knock came to his door around noon. Sonia walked in and he couldn't help but feel his heartbeat increase. She had come with her decision. "So I thought about your proposal..." the young woman started, glancing away from his stare for a second. A light blush came to her cheeks.
"And...?" he asked when she didn't continue. He was on the edge of his seat.
Sonia sighed, looking Gaara in the eyes. "I'll do it. I do."
That was the best news he'd heard in his life.
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"What do you mean you're engaged?" Gaara's ex-fiancé exclaimed. Sonia grinned from where she stood in the next room, listening through the walls. Nyla, that had been her name, had come immediately with her father when they heard the news. Toya had taken it better. Sonia sent him a letter stating the unexpected events, and he did not question her further. Nyla wasn't so easy to persuade. "I demand to see her!"
"I'll remind you that you're talking to the Kazekage," Gaara's deadly voice stated. "I'm not some Lord you can simply yell at."
Her father pushed her behind him. "Excuse Nyla for her rude behavior, but this has all come as a surprise. You made no notion that you were even dating."
"My fiancé and I have been seeing each other since we were young, mostly in private not to cause a stir or problem... much like this one."
Nyla fumed. "May I please see your bride-to-be? No offense, but we want to make sure you're not just bluffing."
Gaara nodded. "Sonia," he called, startling her. "I know you're there listening. Come in."
Seeing that she had been caught, she walked out of the room and into the office. The guests turned their eyes on her, Nyla flaring in anger. "You!" she spat, remembering Sonia. "I'll rip your throat out!"
The young woman merrily rolled her eyes. "Right, and I won't break your arm for trying," she answered back sarcastically. "Ninja, remember, Princess?"
Nyla's face turned red in anger. Sonia took her place beside Gaara as he stood, her a few inches shorter than he. The Kazekage took Sonia's left hand in his, pulling it up to display it to the two. "As you can see, we are most certainly serious," Gaara said, dropping their hands to the side. "I suggest you leave. You've over stayed your welcome."
Nyla shrieked in fury, her father quickly rushing after her. Sonia smile up at Gaara. "That was brilliant," she stated. "Can we do it again? I think she was about to burst a vein."
He rolled his eyes in response. "No thank you."
Kankuro and Temari walked in a few minutes later. "Jeez, we could hear her yell all the way on the other side of the building," Kankuro stated.
"I'm guessing she didn't take it well?" Temari questioned.
"Hell no," Sonia laughed.
"So, how much longer are you two going to keep acting?" Kankuro asked.
"Acting?"
"Yeah, you can't seriously be considering marrying each other. You two are friends and all, but you've never even really dated, let alone show any type of marriage affection towards each other." Kankuro smirked over at Sonia, who shot him a glare for his perverted thoughts. She cursed when she felt her cheeks heating.
"This is not an act, Kankuro," Gaara stated. "We are going through with the marriage."
"You are?" the siblings asked in surprise.
"If we call it off our former fiancés' will be on us in seconds. You can't tell me you'd want Nyla over Sonia."
Kankuro and Temari paled at the thought of Nyla. "Hell no!"
"I think we'll take our chances," Temari added. "Even if the two of you don't work out as a normal married couple." She shifted the fan on her back. "See you later. We have missions, but when I get back, Sonia, we're looking over wedding details, got it?"
"So not looking forward to doing all of that arranging," Sonia muttered, waving goodbye. She then looked over at Gaara, who in turn stared back. "So, dates? Anything picked out?"
"Three months? It'll give us enough time."
"You think? Some weddings take nearly half a year to plan."
"Well ours isn't want you considered normal, you know."
"How could I forget?" She sighed, only realizing now that their hands were still interlocked from before. "I've got to get going. Baki wants to see me about something, probably a mission. See you later." Sonia went to let go, but Gaara gripped her hand tighter, pulling her back in. Their lips lightly touched for a fraction of a second and Gaara whispered,
"Be careful then." Sonia stared in shock, unable to believe what had just happened. "What? If we're going to be married we might as well act like it."
Her eyes softened, smiling. "You know, even though we were thrown into this marriage without warning and by a crazy twist of fate, I'm glad it involved you."
"Not going to argue with you there," he muttered, capturing her lips again.
Sonia kissed back, loving the feeling, the electricity that ran through her body. She'd never felt this way before. "I'll see you at dinner," he said, before releasing her hand. Sonia turned around, grinning like an idiot.
She never believed in love or romance. As a ninja she saw no need for it, not wanting to get involved in the emotion. It was dangerous, thinking it to be a sign of weakness. However, Sonia couldn't stop herself from falling head-over-heels for her childhood friend in that instance. From then on she knew she would grow more feeling towards him, and hoped the reaction was mutual. The young woman looked forward for dinner when she would see him again, and possibly steal a kiss without Kankuro and Temari noticing. Maybe? Maybe she would grow to have a family of her own, maybe a kid or two along the way? Maybe grow old and grey with Gaara beside her the whole time? A happy, warm feeling was growing in the pit of her stomach, and even Baki could notice a change in her when they met up. It was a good feeling; one Sonia didn't want to ever let go.
Sonia could get used to this.