"It's alright," She laughed softly, giving his chest a light push, "Go ahead, Gaara. I can handle one night on my own."
"I know you can." He said with a small frown, placing his hands over hers, "I don't like changing plans on you."
"Your work is a little more important than cuddling," Momoko snickered, "Really, I'll be alright."
"If you're sure," Gaara sighed, then glanced over her shoulder into the house, "Lock your doors and windows tonight."
"I will!" She nodded, "Now go! You don't want to get yelled at."
"I'm the Kazekage," He replied, "Who's going to yell at me?"
"I will, if you keep it up." She snickered, and he smiled slightly at the sound of it.
He burshed a hand against her cheek and Momoko smiled as she leaned into the touch.
"I'll see you tomorrow, then," He said, his words low and his eyes a little tender.
She looked up at him, her smile warm and her gaze soft.
"Tomorrow," She replied with a nod, then stood on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. He returned it just as he always had and always would.
Momoko watched him walk down the stairs, how the setting sun hit the red of his hair and made it nearly glow. She couldn't quite place the feeling that had started to form in her heart; maybe it was a more tender form of love, or maybe it was something more akin to melancholy, but Momoko called out to him as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Gaara," He stopped at the last step, hand still on the railing, as he turned to look back up at her, "You're the love of my life,"
The words made him smile and the look in his eyes was made warmer by the setting sun. Right then he looked the happiest she had ever seen him, with tender eyes and the warm glow of the sun on his pale cheeks. It occurred to her that this may have been the most handsome that she had ever seen him; love looked wonderful on Gaara.
"And you're mine," He replied with all sincerity, and Momoko couldn't help the way her heart still fluttered for him even after all this time.
She watched him until he was just a red blur in the distance and until he was gone from sight completely, all the while leaning against the railing with a warm feeling inside of her.
It looked like tonight would be one of few that she spent alone. That was alright, she could handle one late night at the office. It had been nearly a month now since they had come home, and life had been nothing short of bliss. They were content to be in this new routine of working during the day, spending the nights together, and waking up side by side in the morning. The pair had made it a habit of going back to Gaara's house a few times a week to have dinner with his siblings, and on those nights Momoko would stay with him.
All in all, Momoko was the happiest she had ever been. Her shop was running smoothly, her boyfriend loved her as much as she loved him, she got on well with his siblings and they adored her as much as she adored them. Sakura had even started to write a little more often, even Naruto once or twice, and it was a nice addition to her days when she saw that she received a letter. It felt like everything was finally falling into place, and Momoko was thrilled to have such a wonderful life.
She spent most of the night just enjoying herself, reading through a botany book Gaara had gotten for her a few days ago. He had been on his way over to her house after work and saw it in the window of a shop, so he bought it just before they closed. Every time she opened the book, she smiled at the thought of who had given it to her in the first place.
When she came to Suna, the last thing on her mind had been love. She was still drained from Naruto and the loss of her parents, so love hadn't felt like a priority just yet. Standing before the Kazekage for the first time, asking him for his permission to open shop, she would have never guessed that he would be the love of her life. And yet, loving him had come so easily to her, and she was head over heels before even realizing what had happened in the first place.
Momoko lay in bed that night, a little lonely in the big space, but she passed the time by letting her thoughts wander to the future.
They had talked about it again only once- well, it was more a passing comment than anything, but Momoko thought about it nearly every day since. She had been reading with her head in his lap, and he was content with running his fingers through her hair and memorizing features he knew by heart. She noticed he was staring and looked up at him, asked what was on his mind, and he said simply,
"I hope they have your eyes."
His words had been a little distant (she daresay dreamy) and Momoko couldn't help but sit up and kiss him breathless.
She fell asleep with a little smile on her lips
She had been spending a lot of time lately thinking about their future, their lives. Momoko pictured Gaara reading to a child, his voice smooth and lulling them to sleep as they rested against his shoulder. She thought of how he'd look with a baby in his arms or one in his lap, and for the first time in so very long her children had faces again. Maybe one or two would have her eyes, but she wanted at least one of them to have his; Gaara had such pretty green eyes, it'd be a shame if he didn't pass it on. She also hoped they all had his red hair, finding the color far more interesting than her own golden blonde. They would have soft smiles and good manners, would know how to garden and lead and treat everyone with kindness.
As much as she adored life now, Momoko couldn't wait for the future. It wouldn't be any time soon, not a month from now and probably not even a year, but she didn't mind. She was enjoying what they had now, their own lives with their own responsibilities. As wonderful as it would be to be married already, even she couldn't deny the desire for her independence just a little longer. Momoko knew that when it did come time to settle down and have children, the shop would likely close.
She was alright with the idea of that, honestly. Though it had been the main reason for moving and her parents dream, she could stand the idea of closing it to pursue her own. Her parents would approve of it too; they knew how much she wanted a family. Maybe when her own children were grown she would open the store again and they could help her, maybe even take it over themselves if they really wanted to. However it played out, Momoko trusted that whatever decision she made would be the right one.
Her dreamless sleep was interrupted halfway through the night by a cool breeze. It didn't rouse her immediately, but it slowly chilled the parts of her that weren't covered by her quilt. When it grew a little too cold, Momoko slowly started to awaken from her sleep with a shiver. She shifted a few times, trying to turn over away from the cold but it had seeped into her bones a little too much to go back to bed just yet. Slowly she opened her eyes, trying to make sense of the world for a moment before she turned over to face the window.
It was open and the currents billowed in the night breeze. She blinked a few times, trying to put her thoughts together as she sat up slowly in bed. It didn't take too long until she was a little more aware that the window shouldn't be open, especially since she had made it a point to lock every single one. Momoko stared at it, the fog of sleep lifting from her mind and the pit in her stomach beginning to form.
"I didn't want to scare you," Someone spoke from the corner of the room, and Momoko yelped as she turned to look at him.
A man sat in the armchair, his hands folded neatly in his lap as she faced her. The stranger wore a mask over his face and a hood on his head, and Momoko could only see a sliver of his eyes in the moonlight. She scrambled back on the bed, her heart suddenly pounding in her ears.
"W-Who are you?!"
"My name is Hikaru," He replied, before pulling the mask from his face and his hood down.
He would have been handsome, had it not been for the scars that marred his skin. The corner of his mouth was twisted back and torn all the way to his ear and his temple looked as though someone had taken a blade and carved out chunks of his skin. Despite these scars, his eyes were surprisingly kind and his black hair was tousled about in a messy way. Though he showed no signs of hostility or looked threatening in any way, Momoko was terrified.
Her eyes flickered to the door and the action made him frown.
"Please don't try to run," Hikaru said, "I don't want to hurt you."
His words may have been reassuring but Momoko didn't feel reassured in the slightest. Her stomach was still weak and her heart was beating so loud in her ears that she could hardly hear the gentle tenor of his voice.
"I need you to come with me, Momoko." He continued, but the moment he stood Momoko's nerves finally gave way.
She threw the covers off of her and made a mad dash to the door, but the second it was open she ran right into a firm chest. Momoko opened her mouth, ready to scream as loud as her voice would let her, but this new stranger placed his hand over her mouth and wrapped an arm around her. He crushed her against his body, and Momoko kicked and screamed as hard as she could as Hikaru came behind her and tied her hands together.
For a moment the hand left her mouth, and she managed to get out the beginnings of a name before fabric was shoved between her teeth and tied far too tightly behind her head.
"Told you talking wouldn't work, dumbass." The broader man said as he threw Momoko over his shoulder, paying no mind to how she struggled and screamed against him.
"I just thought-"
"I know what you thought." He hissed, and Hikaru went silent, "Now come on, we've gotta be back by sunrise."
Without a word, and without any attention to the terrified woman trying to plead through the gag, the two men made their way to the window and jumped to the ground below. The streetlight had been busted and she could just barely make out the three other darkly dressed figures that stood in front of her shop. One of them was standing in the frame of the kicked down door, her wreath ruined and prettily carved wood cracked. She could just make out the movement of hand signs and before she could even let out another scream a ball of fire was sent right into the shop.
It was almost instant, the way the fire inside had caught the flowers and started to brun. Momoko struggled harder now, the growing flames reflecting the tears that had started to well in her eyes. With every kick or thrash she gave, the fire consumed more and more of her shop and started to climb its way up to her home.
She was thrown onto the ground and it knocked the breath from her lungs, but before she could process what was happening someone grabbed a fist-full of her hair and pulled her to sit on her knees. The pain that shot through her scalp made the tears fall, and she let out a sharp yelp against the gag in her mouth. Her hair was tugged back and she was forced to look up to the building that was slowly being consumed by flames. The fire had gotten hotter, climbing up the sides of the building and the popping the glass of her windows.
"I'm sorry," Hikaru said in her ear, before she felt the grip in her hair tighten.
A dull blade began to saw its way through her hair, tugging painfully at strands as it sliced through the long blond locks. Momoko could only weep, her throat coarse and her body shaking as she watched her whole life burn before her eyes. She couldn't understand- why was this happening? What had she done to deserve this?
The last few strands hurt the most, but once they were worked through she felt a relief on her scalp and she fell forward into the sand. She saw the hair thrown in front of her, the severed strands twinkling in the firelight as they fell to the ground in heaps. Her hair was the least of her concerns right now, all she could do was helplessly stare at the burning building as tears streamed down her face.
Everything she had left of her parents- the notes they left, their photos, their books, everything that belonged to them in this word was in flames. Her flowers were already destroyed, each beautiful bloom that she had lovingly grown since they were seeds was nothing but ash now. Her whole life, gone in the matter of minutes.
She didn't fight when she was lifted up into someone's arms, her head lulling back as she tried to look past him and keep the fire in her line of sight. Hikaru held her a little closer to his chest, and if she had been looking, she may have seen the frown on his lips before he pulled his mask back into place.
"I'm so sorry," He choked, and that was all she heard as the fire grew further and further away.
When they passed through the cliffs and gates of Suna, Momoko watched the smoke that climbed high in the sky before her whole world went dark.