Bloodless and numb We orbit the sun

i’m back from abstraction, sorry guys. i promise i’ll have a consistent posting schedule eventually, but for now i have tadc 6 jax redraws ignore the fact that i cannot draw guns love my bunny boy <3

i’m back! hopefully pro hero Red Riot art makes up for my absence for those of you who noticed 😅

i really like the idea that pro hero bakugo is super popular on social media cause he’s constantly posting videos of himself crashing out and people think it’s funny lol. it’s also part of the reason he’s so high on the billboard charts, cause he has such a large social media following

Summary: Reader is placed into an arranged marriage agreement with Temari, the Princess of the Sand. Will the two come around to things? Or will it remain just a formality?

warnings: angst, language

“Lady Hokage, I don’t understand,” you said for the hundredth time. “I have to marry the Princess of the Sand? Temari?” Tsunade bowed her head.

“Believe me, I don’t want you to have to do this either, but the council has left me no choice in the matter. Lord Kazekage wants to strengthen bonds between our villages.”

“Lady Tsunade, this is bullshit.”

“Bullshit or not, Temari and her entourage will be here very soon, I suggest you start getting ready. And (y/n), please try to be nice. I’ll send for you when they arrive.”

Scoffing, you stormed out of her office, making your way back to the street. This wasn’t just some move in chess, something to further an agenda, this was your life. You were only 17, and you’re getting married off for nothing more than diplomacy between two villages?

You’d been given the news about two months ago and had tried everything to change their minds but with no success. Now, your wedding was just a day away, and you had still never even met the girl that was about to become your wife.

As you stormed back to your house, a couple people tried to talk to you, but you simply kept your head down and carried on, too angry to hold a conversation. The second you stepped foot at home, emotions began flowing as the reality of things hit you. It seemed you had no control over your life. First your parents were killed by the Nine Tails, then your older brother on a mission just two years ago, and now this?

‘Just treat it like a mission’ you thought to yourself. ‘You’ve done much more difficult things. At least you get to marry a princess, that’s kind of cool.’

You began to get ready, putting on your finest silk robe set, trapping your hair in two buns, and doing your makeup in the traditional way of your clan. You figured if you were gonna be forced to do something against your will, you may as well look good doing it.

Just as you finished making tea, there was a knock at your door, startling you. Opening it, you found Kakashi standing there.

“Kakashi? What are you doing here?” He leaned down and smiled wide.

“I’m here to take you to meet your wife,” he explained with that sarcastic optimism he always dipped his words in. You rolled your eyes.

“Great. First I have to get married to somebody I don’t know, and now my best friend has to be here to witness the first time I ever even meet her. This is gonna be a disaster.”

“Probably.”

You’d known Kakashi for as long as you could remember, him always being a figure of the village, but once your brother died he was there for you for all the rough times, taking on something of a brother roll himself, always going with you to visit the memorial so you didn’t have to go alone, reading three names over and over now instead of two.

You slumped your shoulders.

“I don’t want to do this.” Kakashi put an arm around your shoulders and led you out the doorway.

“I know,” he said as you walked to meet Temari.

He listened with care as you complained and lamented the whole way there, mourning your life before you even had a chance to really grow up. He told you to look on the bright side of things, maybe you two would hit it off. You told him to stick it where the sun didn’t shine.

Once the two of you arrived at the Hokage’s offices, Lady Tsunade led you down the hallway toward a room you’d never been to before.

“Temari is already here, as is her father, the Kazekage, so please be on your best behavior. I usually let your antics slide, but not today, this is important.”

“Alright alright,” you tugged on the wrists of your sleeves with your fingers, a nervous habit of yours. With one grand push, Lady Tsunade opened the doors.

Inside stood the Kazekage, a figure you were familiar with. Next to him, however, was the most beautiful girl you’d ever seen. She had silky blonde hair tied into four points and piercings turquoise eyes cut into a stabbing look. You’d be lying if you said seeing her didn’t raise your spirits about this whole thing a little bit. Your step faltered for just a moment, caught off guard by her, before you resumed walking in.

“Lord Kazekage,” Tsunade said, “this is (y/n) of the Uchiha clan.” Both the Kazekage and Temari turned to look at you. While you should have been much more intimidated by the Kazekage staring you down, it was his daughter you were focused on. Her expression was impossible to read, mainly because it hadn’t changed. Perhaps it had softened just a little bit, although maybe that was just wishful thinking.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, (y/n) Uchiha,” the Kazekage said.

“(Y/n), that’s a nice name,” responded Temari. Even her voice was impossible to ignore, heat rising to your cheeks.

“Thank you.”

“Lady Hokage, would you mind if we stepped into your office? We have much to discuss, as do our two girls here.” Immediately you turned back toward Tsunade, pleading with your eyes not to leave you alone with Temari yet.

“Absolutely,” she responded, a slight smirk playing at the corner of her lips. You were sure this was her payback for all your years causing trouble around the village.

The door closed behind the two Kages, and suddenly it was just you and the girl you were about to marry. In the silence that ensued, you took a moment to fully look at her. Her golden hair, her beautifully embroidered robes, the powerful position with which she sat there.

“So,” she spoke, “you’re going to be my wife tomorrow.” She said it confrontationally almost. Your brows twitched, confused.

“I guess so. I’m sure you don’t want to do this either, I’m sorry.”

“Oh please, the daughter of the Kazekage marrying an Uchiha? We’ll be the talk of the decade, you and I. Besides, if this ends up just being all business, I’m sure we could at least be friends. I’m not holding out hope for anything else.” Your brows furrowed.

“At least friends with my wife? That’s every girl’s dream,” you said, desperate to at least help things go smoothly for your own sake. At this she laughed, and the tension in the room eased considerably. “I suppose we should…go out? I don’t know, this whole thing is weird to me, I don’t really know what to do here.” You rubbed the back of your head, blushing. She glanced away for a moment.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind that, it can be like a test.” she agreed. “I’d like to see if I can at least try to be more than just friends with my wife.”

“Greedy,” you mumbled. The two of you burst into laughter, and before you knew it she grabbed your hand and led you out of the room. Her hands we so soft, yet calloused from years of fan work. Fingers interlocked, you followed her lead as she took the two of you down the staircase and out of the building.

“Hey, wait, I’m the one who lives here, shouldn’t I be leading you?”

“If that’s what you want,” she replied. Oh man, she really knew how to get your heart beating. You pulled her back and took the lead without letting go, slowing down the pace just a little bit.

Walking through the streets, you pointed out all the places in the village you had memories of; Ichiraku Ramen, where Naruto liked to drag you every couple days; the balcony where you dropped water balloons on Lee’s head to prove you were better at sneak attacks than him (he accepted his defeat valiantly); the sweets shop where Kakashi would take you most weekends; the tree you got tied to by Kiba because you teased him about liking cats more than dogs, the comment directed at him and not Akamaru.

“You know, I’ve been to this village many times before, but seeing it through your eyes makes it seem like a different place,” Temari told you. Before you could respond, your eyes drifted over and locked onto a pillar by the front gates. Your body slowed and eventually froze.

“What’s wrong?” Temari asked you. Your head lowered but your eyes remained locked. Slowly you raised your hand up and pointed.

“That’s where I was when I found out my brother had been killed on a mission. I stood right there.” Temari’s grip on your hand tightened as her other one was placed gently on your arm.

“I’m so sorry. How long ago was that?”

“Two years ago in March. His name was Kushki.” Now your gaze did drop, making hard eye contact with the dirt below your feet. You didn’t mean to do this, not this soon. Not at all. You were positive you had ruined the good mood that had been flowing just seconds ago. The silence rang on for a moment too long, until finally Temari spoke up.

“Hey, why don’t we keep going? The sun is setting, do you know a good spot we can watch it?” Against your will, you began to smile.

“Yeah, I do. It’s time to put those Shinobi skills to the test.”

You led her back into the village, going around back ways and rooftops, on and on, until eventually you arrived at the top of the Hokage monument. The Leaf Village spanned below the two of you like a sea, your entire life suddenly condensed into the size of your palm. Bathed in golden light, the sky blazing behind the tree line, your home settled lovingly underneath you as if to help you create this memory. You looked over at Temari.

“Did I pick a good spot?” you asked her.

“It’s incredible,” she said, wide eyed turning to meet yours. “and so are you.”

Your gaze flickered to your lap, but before it could stay there, you felt a soft, calloused hand gently touch your chin and pull your head back up. Sooner than any words could be exchanged, Temari leaned in and kissed you, a kiss so passionate you figured she could have only learned from watching the raging sandstorms of her home. After the initial shock, you leaned deeply into it, her hands on your face, yours on her waist. After blissful few moments later, she pulled away, eyes soft and vulnerable.

“So did I pass?” you asked her. Her brow furrowed slightly.

“Huh?”

“You said us going out would be like a test. So did I pass the test?” She chuckled lightly, a sound you would try to hear every day from now on.

“Yeah, you passed. I don’t kiss people who fail my tests.” You leaned back onto your hands and gazed back out over the Hidden Leaf Village, sunset in full effect, bathing your home in stunning shades of gold and pink.

“Maybe I can give Lady Tsunade a pass for this one, this is turning out okay.”

“Yeah, I suppose I can’t be too upset with my father anymore. Not for this anyway,” Temari agreed.

Sitting in silence watching the sun begin to hide behind the horizon, you pulled your hair down from the buns and laid on her lap, your hair now free for her to play with with delicate but precise fingers.