I'm a co writer for TheOtakuLifeChoseMe. I write the Lemons, Limes, and on occasion Grapefruits of the group and have a wonderful time doing so. This is my personal blog, so you will see anything from reposts of TOCM to any of my interests. Have fun scrolling! ~*Senpai Star*~
one of the hardest things to learn as a depressed former Gifted Kid™ is that half-assed is better than nothing. take the 50%, 40%, even 20% job. scrubbing your face is better than not taking a shower at all. picking up your clothes is better than never cleaning. nibbling on some bread is better than starving.
DO THINGS HALFWAY. NOW YOU’RE 100% BETTER OFF THAN YOU WERE BEFORE.
One of my college professors used to say “anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.” I didn’t understand that for years because I didn’t do anything poorly, I couldn’t do anything poorly, I had to Do Everything Perfectly.
But brushing your teeth for 30 seconds is better than not brushing them at all when that 2 minutes seems exhausting. Doing ten minutes of yoga is better than 10 minutes of sitting when 30 minutes of cardio sounds impossible. Changing my clothes is good when a whole shower is impossible. Standing on the porch for a few minutes is worth it after being in the house for three straight days because I don’t have the energy to go anywhere.
Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly… because doing it poorly is better than not doing it.
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Hello! And welcome to what will be the ninth year of Gaara Week! A Gaara focused weekly challenge leading up to his birthday! This weekly challenge will start on the 12th of January and run until Gaara’s Birthday on the 19th of January.
Feel free to draw, write, make, cosplay, sing, dance, take screenshots, make gifs, whatever you want! As long as it has something to do with each separate day’s theme, and you create it yourself.
The year 2023′s themes:
12th January - DAY 1 - Opening
13th January - DAY 2 - Ruins
14th January - DAY 3 - Magnetic
15th January - DAY 4 - Solitude
16th January - DAY 5 - Holiday
17th January - DAY 6 - Opposites
18th January - DAY 7 - Ending
19th January - DAY 8 - Gaara’s Birthday!
Tag all your contributions with #gaaraweek and #gaaraweek2023! Make sure they’re in the first 5 tags listed otherwise they may not show up! You can also submit your creations to @justgaara or message me directly.
If you’re busy and don’t have time to join in everyday, then you’re welcome to pick out your favourites and just do a few. I will be following the tags all January, so if you don’t make it in time for this exact week, you are still able to complete the challenge in your own time. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask me over at @justgaara.
You are free to create whatever you want with each day’s theme, just know that @justgaara is strictly Gaara only, so if you make something that contains anyone else besides Gaara and his immediate family I won’t be able to share it on my blog.
Know that hate or negativity of any kind will not be tolerated.
Thank you and have fun!
DO YOUR PART! SHARE THIS POST WITH A REBLOG!
IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE GAARA’S BIRTHDAY!
Join the Worldwide Character Popularity Vote to celebrate the NARUTO anime's 20th anniversary! Who will top the ranking to become the world's #1 ninja?
GO AND VOTE FOR OUR BOY GAARA RIGHT NOOOOOWWWW!!!
And every day after that until the poll ends! Go, go, go!
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Also I was taught in kindergarten that if someone threatens you with a gun don’t fear getting shot just run or tell them to do it because whatever they plan on doing will be much worse…
all amazing advice, but on the keys between your fingers one,
don’t do that!!!
don’t put your keys between each finger:
if you hit someone with them, it will bend back and hurt your knuckles
you need to be facing an attacker in order to hit them, so if someone attacks you from behind you won’t have the upper hand
it isn’t sturdy, so if you punch someone, it will move (it will hurt, but it’s not ideal)
instead, hold your longest key in your fist like this (it’s just a quick sketch, hope it gets the point across) (sorry if i described it badly, can anyone else describe it better for the blind peeps?)
if you hold it this way
it’s sturdier, meaning it will do more damage, and won’t bend back, hurting you
and you can hit an attacker from any direction, even if they come from behind
In mythology, the kelpie is described as a strong and powerful horse. It is a white and sky blue colour and appeared as a lost pony, but could be identified by its constantly dripping mane. Its mane and tail are a bit curly. Its skin was said to be like that of a seal, smooth but as cold as death when touched. Kelpies were said to transform into beautiful women to lure men into their traps. They created illusions to keep themselves hidden, keeping only their eyes above water to scout the surface. The fable of the kelpie varies by region. The Kelpie’s mane is said to be a sky blue colour. The water horse is a common form of the kelpie, said to lure humans into the water to drown them. The water horse would encourage people to ride on its back, and once its victims fell into its trap, the water horse’s skin would become adhesive and the horse would bear the victim into the river, dragging them to the bottom of the water and devouring them—except the heart or liver. A common Scottish tale is the story of nine children lured onto a kelpie’s back, while a tenth kept his distance. The kelpie chased the tenth child, but he escaped. Another more gruesome variation on this tale is that the tenth child simply stroked the kelpie’s nose but, when his hand stuck to it, he took a knife from his pocket and cut his own hand off, cauterizing it with wood from a nearby fire.
As a writer, I think it is very important to share herbal knowledge when it comes to authenticity for any fictional world. Here are a few herbs that will cause a miscarriage if anyone is writing a book or story set in the 1950s or later when a woman needed to use herbs for an early term abortion. I found this on a Facebook post on a pregnancy thread.
Help all of your fellow writers by posting this. Everyone should know the old knowledge of herbs. 😀
❤️ Senpai Star
•
Good ol penny royal tea will destroy your liver, please don't drink it. However it's also important to know that a strongly infused oil should not be rubbed on the pelvic area as it may, with repeated use, cause loss of pregnancy
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Cotton root bark, this one should never be drunk as a tea, it has a long history of being problematic during early pregnancy. It also has a capacity to thin blood so women who accidentally ingest this will need to counter this with something like shepherds purse or vit K
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Black cohosh, blue cohosh, & angelic root should absolutely never be taken during pregnancy especially alongside one another. These three have the capacity to disrupt hormone development & will typically cause bleeding to begin in just a handful of days in very early pregnancy
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Queen Anne's lace should be avoided by anyone who's attempting to conceive, she has a tendency to make the uterine wall slippery & prevents the precious egg from implanting. It's also important to know that during pregnancy if the egg can't implant the pregnancy won't continue
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Mugwort should also be avoided as small amounts consumed in early stage pregnancy may cause uterine contractions, it's also worth noting that infused body oils may have the same effect albeit a bit safer for the liver
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Rue, while not a commonly used herb, is showing up more in tea blends. This one can also be really problematic during pregnancy so much so that women for thousands of years have known to avoid it during pregnancy
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Parsley, while safe in food level amounts, should be avoided in large quantities such as broths as it may cause spontaneous loss of pregnancy. Especially if the person happens to be taking larger doses of vitamin C which can also endanger an early pregnancy
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These are just a handful of herbs that may disrupt hormones, cause uterine contractions, & that should be avoided by anyone wanting to keep a pregnancy viable
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Keep learning about these & other herbs you may have access to that cause these situations
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I mean how else will we avoid accidental miscarriages?
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GAARA + FLUFF = AJDNAMAKA. Could you write something about gaara (Boruto era) walking in while his S/O is comforting shinki (precious boy) after a nightmare and she is like humming while rocking him in her arms. Plssss im melting
Thank you for waiting so patiently for this, nonnie. <3 I still haven't gotten to Shinki's introduction in Boruto, but I didn't want to wait for this sweet request any longer.
I hope I did him justice for you.
Warnings: Themes of abandonment, nightmares, fluff.
~~~
You woke with a start. You sat up, blinking the sleep from your eyes as you tried to make sense of your surroundings.
And then you heard it. A wailing sound coming from the next room.
You didn’t think. You just moved, racing from your bedroom to the room next door. As you opened the door, you were greeted by the sight of Shinki, curled tight around himself on the bed as he whimpered. Black sand swirled dangerously around him. You steeled yourself, then stepped forward, ignoring the stinging as the grains cut into you.
You picked Shinki up from the mattress and cradled him in your arms. He let out a noise of protest at the movement. Then his eyes opened. Immediately, the black sand fell into piles on the floor. “I’m sorry!” he said frantically, his eyes filling with tears. “I didn’t mean it, I’m sorry!”
“Sshhh,” you soothed, rocking him gently. “It’s all right. It’s over. You were just having a nightmare.”
He hesitated, then buried his face in your chest. “I’m sorry,” he choked.
“Whatever for?” you asked. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
He sniffled as he tried to formulate his answer. “I still can’t control it,” he said. “And you got hurt.” His eyes screwed shut. “Are you going to send me away?”
“What?” you gasped. “No, never, Shinki.”
Tears flowed anew from Shinki’s eyes as he clung to your shirt. “In my dream, you didn’t want me anymore,” he said. “Lord Kazekage said I was a failure and not worthy to be part of his family.”
You squeezed him tightly. “That is not true, none of it,” you said. “We both want you here, and you are not a failure.” Your voice shook as you struggled to keep back tears of your own. “You are our son, and we love you.”
A spark of hope appeared in Shinki’s eyes, but it faded quickly, as if he didn’t dare let himself believe it.
“You know, my mother had a song she used to sing to me whenever I would have a nightmare,” you said. “May I sing it for you?”
Shinki nodded and shifted in your arms.
You adjusted your grip, then gently rocked him as you started to sing:
“The stars shine bright from the skies
The sun has said all its goodbyes
So rest your head and close your eyes
And sleep until morning
I’ll keep you safe all through the night
Let no nightmares within your sight
And keep your dreams all so bright
So sleep until morning”
Gradually, Shinki grew heavy in your arms as the vibrations from your chest soothed him. His head fell back and his breathing grew slower. A small smile appeared on his face as he slipped back into slumber.
You gave him one more kiss on his forehead, then carefully tucked him back into bed. As you pulled the blankets around him, you glanced at the door with a smile. “You can come in, you know,” you whispered.
The door pushed open, revealing Gaara. “I didn’t want to interrupt,” he said, matching your quiet tone.
“I wouldn’t have minded, and I’m sure Shinki wouldn’t either.”
“What happened?” Gaara asked as he walked to the other side of the bed.
“The little one had a nightmare,” you replied as you stroked Shinki’s head. “He dreamed that we didn’t want him around and that we were going to send him away.”
Sadness filled Gaara’s eyes. He sank down onto the mattress, looking defeated. “Shinki expressed as much during our training,” he said. “I thought I had assured him that wasn’t the case.”
You stood up and walked around the bed to Gaara. You pulled his back against your chest and wrapped your arms around him. “He’s just a child, and he’s been through a lot,” you said. “It’s going to take some time for him to feel truly safe here. All we can do is be here for him when he needs us.”
“I know,” Gaara said, leaning back against you. “I just can’t help but wish I could do better.” He reached out a hand and carefully ran his fingers through Shinki’s hair. His eyes widened as Shinki turned his head, nuzzling into Gaara’s palm.
You pressed your hands against your mouth, suppressing the squeak building in your throat. Gaara mirrored your movement with his other hand, not daring to even breathe.
Once you had yourself under control, you squeezed Gaara tightly. “See, you’re doing just fine.”
Tears began to form at the corners of his eyes as he smiled. “I guess you’re right,” he said.
“Aren’t I always?” you teased.
Gaara chuckled. “Thank you for being there for him tonight,” he said. “I’m sorry I was so late getting home.” His expression turned thoughtful. “I think tomorrow I’ll see about taking some time off to spend with him.”
“That’s a good idea,” you said. “And there’s no need to thank me. Shinki’s our son. I’ll always be there when he needs me.”
is this not a known thing anymore? please god if youre a fic writer DO NOT LET RANDOM PEOPLE ADD YOUR FIC TO A COLLECTION!!!!!
if you are a READER who enjoys bookmarking fics, you can put your BOOKMARKS in a collection, which can be privated without hiding any of the original works
In order for disabled people to receive any sort of financial assistant for their housing, food, bills, medical supplies, etc., they cannot ever have more than $2,000 of resources to their name. Ever.
It doesn’t matter what it’s for.
You’re saving up for a new wheelchair?
For college?
To put a downpayment on a house?
Hell man, you just happen to budget for once in your life so that you can have some extra money in case something bad happens?
Your benefits immediately get cut off if you’re a cent over $2,000.
And, even worse, you usually end up having to pay back every dollar the government gave you that month.
So say you get $400. If they find out you’re twenty dollars over the resource limit, you have to give them all $400 back and you undergo an investigation of your funds to see if you will continue getting money.
“What if I spend the money that day?”
Doesn’t matter. In fact, from what I can tell, people who do this are actually put under investigation for fraud.
Remember when “Guardians of the Galaxy” came out? one of Rocket Racoon’s creators, Bill Mantlo, suffered an accident in 1992 and has irreparable brain damage.
before the movie came out, Marvel gave him an exclusive preview screening. SOme people were upset because they felt if Marvel was really wanted to thank mantlo, they should have donated money to Mantlo’s family.
Bill Mantlo’s brother had to come out and explain: If Marvel gave them monetary aid, Bill Mantlo would lose his financial assistance.
My brother has been on California State SSI for autism for the last 10 years, and he absolutely has to (no joke, HAS TO) spend all 720 bucks of his SSI every month, because if he puts it in the bank he risks losing his SSI altogether.
Sometimes, at the end of the month, he has no idea what to do with his money because the whole month went by and he still has 400-ish bucks in his account, and he fucking panics because he doesn’t want to get anywhere near 2,000.
And here’s the funnest part of the story!
One day he did a huge commission on Second Life and wound up earning 1500 bucks off of it, and he told the guy to donate it 500 bucks at a time over 3 months. The guy didn’t want to, and just donated all 1500, which put my brother at 2,036 bucks.
The state IMMEDIATELY (I’m talking less than an hour) called him up to tell him over the phone that they were canceling his SSI, because they noticed he had gone over the 2,000 buck threshold. He had to tell them that someone had made a charitable donation to him and that this was not a common occurrence in any way shape or form, and upon not believing him, my mother had to call to talk to them as his legal caretaker and say basically the same thing until they called off the cancellation of his SSI money.
He also had to cancel his renter’s assistance because it put him to 1,062 a month, so if he went 30 days without spending any money they’d cancel his SSI altogether. Like, none of us in the family have any fucking clue why that regulation is in place and it’s the stupidest shit in human history.
Please, legal side of Tumblr, tell me what positive reasoning this law has?
There’s something called an ABLE account that can help. If you are on SSI and were diagnosed as disabled before the age of 26 you can apply for an ABLE account that will allow you to save up to $99,000. More people need to know about this!
https://www.ablenrc.org/
Here’s the link to the National ABLE organization. It has information on how to apply for an account and lots of super useful info (like that you can apply for an ABLE account in a state you DON’T live in if that state’s program meets your needs better.
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Still can’t get over how colourful these guys are when they’re all together!
It’s been a while since I worked on any of these smaller, simpler patterns. But now that I’m getting back into the swing of things my fingers are itching. Let me know what you’d love to see next!
Find the patterns for these guys over at 53stitches.com for free!
what's this? i'm posting early?! someone call the vatican, because i'm pretty sure i'm possessed.
full confession, this story was never meant to be, but one review over on ao3 changed that. for those of you who wished for a sequel to love me like you do, direct any joy/gratitude/positive feelings toward the spectacular @starthesenpai, who has been an invaluable part of my creative process for the last few months. she's also a great hype woman, and a kick ass writer, so i highly recommend you haul ass over to her page to check out her stories. you can see my personal favorites of hers in my fic rec list. seriously, you should have been there like five minutes ago.
i really hope this holds up in the shadow of its predecessor, but my style/mentality is vastly different than it was when i wrote said story. there is no angst involved here, so it's all just happy, feel good moments. and sexy time... that i hope i did okay with.
masterlist
spotify working on getting a youtube playlist together, it's basically just the fifty shades of grey soundtrack with some other sexy mood songs.
word count: 7148
warnings: none
nsfw below the cut. enjoy, and happy valentine's day, friends!
You never knew how fast time could go by.
Sure, it seemed to pass a little too quickly when you thought about your age, but that wasn’t the case when you thought about your relationship. You could look back over the time that you’d been dating Gaara with nothing but fondness and joy. The same joy that radiated from you the morning after, and had your coworkers fearing for your sanity, considering the shape you’d been in the day prior.
“Okay, what happened to you, and what do I have to do to get me some of that?” Ittetsu questioned, luckily after your boyfriend was in his office.
You just shook your head, grinning like an idiot. “I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have enjoyed it nearly as much as I did.”
“Oh, come on! Sharing is caring!”
Matsuri just stared at you, quizzical. When she left you at the end of the day, you had all the enthusiasm of a convict on death row. What could have changed you so drastically in just over twelve hours?
“It’s good to see you. I told you he wouldn’t fire you if you explained yourself,” she greeted you.
“You were right, and I did know that. It was just that this was such a big deal. I was freaking out,” you explained as you got set up for the day.
“It obviously went much better than you expected. You just walked in beside him with no problem.”
It took every ounce of control you possessed to not give yourself away.
You invited her out for drinks that Friday with you and your two best girlfriends. She’d almost turned you down, but the skillful wielding of your rarely used puppy dog eyes and the promise of some details that you couldn’t divulge in the office had proved to be too much for her to resist.
“All right, spill,” Sari- who you found out knew Matsuri from a yoga class- commanded as soon as you sat down at your table at the bar, not even letting you get comfortable first. “We’ve been bugging you since that night, and all you’ve said is that it went well and you still have a job. Explanation, now!”
You sighed, knowing this would be the first thing you’d have to talk about. Skimming over the intimate details, you told Matsuri, Sari, and Yukata what had happened from when you entered Gaara’s office to when you left with him. By the time you were finished, all three of their jaws were on the floor.
“Let me get this straight. He gave you a pass, you spilled hot coffee on yourself, he helped you strip, gave you his shirt, poured you some wine, showed you the tattoo that matches yours, the two of you confessed to liking each other, and then you fucked in his office?!” Sari questioned, her voice getting higher and higher, reaching a shrill shriek when she reached the last part. “Now you’re dating him?”
You sipped at the drink they’d only let you get once you agreed to start talking. “It was a little more romantic than that, but yeah, that’s essentially it.”
“Damn, girl! Okay, start taking notes, because I’ve got some workplace fantasies that I need you to live out for me.”
You just laughed and waved her off. “You know I’m not really into stuff like that, and I don’t think Gaara is either. This was a one time thing because so much got out of control.”
“How would you know?” Yukata questioned. “Have you talked much about it since this started? You mentioned that he was a virgin. He might not know himself.”
“No, we haven’t talked about it, I didn’t say he’s a virgin for sure, just that I suspected he was, and he’s busy. He’s important at work, and at home.”
“Oh, right! Have you explained to his kid who you are, and why you’re coming around?” Sari questioned.
“I talked to him a bit that night. He’s an intelligent boy, but romantic relationships are definitely a foreign concept to him. I just hope he’ll be okay about all of this. I don’t want to make him uncomfortable, or make him think I’m stealing his dad.”
“What can you really do other than let him get to know you?” Yukata asked.
“You’re right,” you sighed. “It’s not like I’m trying to be his mom.”
“But if things get serious, that’s who you could become,” Sari pointed out.
You shook your head. “No matter what happens between Gaara and I, if Shinki doesn’t want a mom, then I won’t be one. I’ll just try to be his friend. If he decides he doesn’t like me at all, then… I don’t know. I love Gaara, but that’s not something I think I could handle long-term.”
“So you’d break up with him?”
“It depends on what he wants, but I won’t say that I never would. Anyway, enough of this. We’re supposed to be celebrating. I’m in a relationship with a great man, and it’s off to a great start.”
The rest of the night was spent inducting Matsuri into the group and dodging questions about the specifics of just how good Gaara was as a lover. All you said was that he either had some experience yet to be disclosed, or he was a natural.
You and Gaara successfully kept your relationship covert, typically spending at least one evening a week together, either going out to dinner, or you’d go over and the two of you would tackle a new recipe. Shinki was a very straightforward critic, not holding back on the blunt feedback.
Speaking of the child, you did exactly as you’d told your friends you would, and focused on being a friendly adult figure to him whenever you were there. You tried to be attentive to him, watching for any signs that he was uncomfortable or jealous of the attention Gaara was giving you, but he was very mature, and even though he was taking time to warm up to you, he seemed content.
He had warmed up to you more than you realized by his ninth birthday, not even a full five months after meeting you…
“So what do you want to do for your big day?” You asked as the two of you waited on Gaara to return from taking a call before eating. “It’s only a week away.”
“I want to go to the museum, and there’s a new movie that just came out,” he plainly explained.
“That sounds like fun! I’ve heard the interactive exhibit for children is really good, and if I’m thinking of the right one, I bet that movie will be entertaining. I’m sure you and your father will have a great day!” You replied with a smile. “Then you get to pick whatever you want for dinner. Do you have what you want in mind?”
He looked back at you in confusion. “We’ll pick something up from the restaurant we like on our way home. Aren’t you coming too? It’s Saturday, so you aren’t working, right?”
Taken aback, you took a moment to answer. “Do you want me to come?”
“It would make Father happy.”
“Shinki, this is your birthday. It’s about what will make you happy, not your father. He wants you to have what you want,” you said in a gentle tone. “I would never intrude on the special time you two get together, especially on your special day.”
He blushed and looked away, eliciting a laugh that you barely stopped.
“I want you to come too,” he mumbled, drawing a grin from you.
“Well, if that’s the case, then while we’re out, do you want to pick your present from me? Or do you still want it to be a surprise?”
Later that night, as you and Gaara cuddled in bed after he all too easily convinced you to stay, you told him about the conversation between you and his son.
“Did you think he didn’t like you?” He asked.
“I wasn’t worried that he didn’t like me at all, but to want me to be there when he could have you all to himself for an entire day is way more than I was expecting,” you explained. “I’m still a little concerned that he doesn’t really want me to be there-”
“He wants you there,” he cut you off. “I’ve talked with him often about you, and he truly enjoys having you around.”
The smile that split your face was so wide, it was almost painful. “That’s great! I just want him to be comfortable, and I’d be so happy if he was just okay with me being around, but I wouldn’t think he’d actual-”
He cut you off again, this time with his mouth on yours, and you immediately calmed down from the happy buzz. Jumping from one good feeling to the next was abrupt, but it introduced a new kind of buzz to which you had quickly grown accustomed.
“What was that for?” You asked when the kiss ended.
“Do I need a reason?”
“Well, no, but when you interrupt me like that, I can’t help but wonder.”
“It’s nothing,” he said, but his smile told you otherwise.
You did go out with them the day of Shinki’s birthday, and you had the photographic evidence on your phone to memorialize the wonderful day.
There were several moments in all that time where you couldn’t help but smile when they came to mind. The secretive smirks and kisses exchanged at work, When you introduced him to your friends-
“So you can thank us at any time,” Sari teased Gaara once the formalities were out of the way. Her and Yukata had joined you and Gaara at dinner one date night.
“Forgive me, but for what?” He questioned, puzzled.
“For your relationship! Can you say it would have happened if it hadn’t been for that pic she meant to send to us?”
He chuckled upon hearing her explanation. “I suppose I do owe you my thanks for that.”
“Sari,” you said in warning as you sipped your water.
“What? It’s true, and every time you light up because you get a chance to talk about him, we get more bragging rights! If you two eventually have kids, you better tell them they owe their existence to us!”
You’d swear your face was glowing because of all the heat that rushed to it.
“Okay, let’s leave that alone,” Yukata intervened.
You chanced a look over at Gaara, and he seemed… oddly calm. Your relationship was barely past six months, and there was no foreseeable end, but it was still way too soon to even be mentioning children, especially considering that he already had one. You couldn’t imagine having that discussion with Shinki yet.
“Oh, and if you get married, I’m demanding a chance to at least give a speech-”
“You are not allowed to tell anyone that story!” You interrupted her.
“Well, then what will you tell people that ask how you got together when you can be more open?”
“We haven’t figured that out yet,” you groaned. “Everyone that we’d consider telling and or can tell already knows the whole story, except Shinki.”
“Why don’t you just say it was a message that wasn’t a big deal, but because he’s your supervisor, it had to be cleared up?” Yukata suggested simply. “Then when you went to discuss it, things just fell into place? I mean, that’s exactly what happened. That picture wasn’t really a big deal to us, but it was inappropriate for him to get at the time.”
“That’s… that’s a pretty good way to put it,” you admitted.
“Yeah,” Sari agreed. “Not bad. Now, the real question is how long are you planning on riding this out?”
-along with other big events, literally every time you made love… Your top memory was of his birthday, which was also your one year anniversary. He’d been insistent upon focusing on the latter reason to celebrate, but you told him you were not going to be denied more of a reason to dote on him. Not that you needed a reason. You did it pretty much every day, but this was going to be special. As much as you hoped to have many, you didn’t know how many more birthdays of his you’d get to share, so you did your best to make the second one better than the first.
“I was more than happy with last year,” he said when you told him you were determined to really celebrate with him this time around.
“Well, I’m raising the bar,” you insisted as the two of you relaxed on the couch one evening, just before the new year. “Just a nice dinner with Shinki, Kankuro, and hopefully Temari, if she can make it this year. Then we can come back here, and I’ll wait on you all night.”
“We’re supposed to be celebrating both of us. I don’t want it to be all about me.”
“We can celebrate both of us the day after. You can get the day off, I’ll call in sick, then we can have the whole day. I just want to devote one night to you. We can do whatever you want.”
“I guess that does sound nice. As long as you aren’t injured this time around.”
You gently hit him with one of the decorative pillows, then smirked. “Yeah. You can actually tell me you want me to take my clothes off, or better yet, do it yourself. You don’t have to rely on a freak accident.”
He threw the pillow back. Had Shinki not finished up in the bath right then, you might have started something.
The night of his birthday would always elicit a wistful sigh and smile as you reminisced.
The two of you went a little out of your way after finishing work that day so that it wasn’t so obvious you were leaving together. That whole day, you’d been reliving the day that it all started, but in a much better mood than you had been when it happened.
“Hey, what’s with that goofy smile?” Ittetsu questioned, pulling you out of your reverie an hour into the work day. “Are you holding out on us again?”
“I’m not holding out on anything,” you told him, barely stopping your gaze from shifting to Matsuri. She’d been such a great ally in the office, and the two of you had become very close friends since you included her in the informative meeting with Sari and Yukata. She covered for you when the gossip mill started over a completely innocent interaction between you and Gaara by the coffee maker. Nothing that wouldn’t have happened before you got together started the accurate, but unfounded- as far as Matsuri had convinced them- rumor.
“I don’t believe you!”
“Believe me or not, you’re not going to hear otherwise, so deal with it.”
That evening, as he drove the two of you to the restaurant, you recounted the discussion to Gaara.
“He gabs worse than any girl or woman I’ve ever met,” you laughed. “But he gets so offended if you call him on it.”
“That may be, but he’s a hard worker.”
“I know he is, and he’s a great hype man. He’s also into Matsuri, and I want to set them up.”
“So you’re a matchmaker now?” He questioned, amusement coloring his tone.
“I’m a woman who wants to see my friends be happy, and I happen to think they’d be super cute together. They’d be fun to double with. Them and maybe Sari… with your brother.”
“Sari and Kankuro?” He clarified in disbelief.
“I just think that if we put them together, they’d click. They’re fun people who love to annoy us to frustration, and then back off just before we turn homicidal.”
He was silent, and you grew more worried the longer it dragged on. Did you say something wrong? Did he think what you said was stupid? It wasn’t until he had parked the car that he replied.
“If those two were to get together, they wouldn’t just drive us all to frustration, they’d drive us all up a tree, or off a cliff.”
You started laughing before he finished speaking. “You’ve got a good point.”
“I’d be happy to see them happy, but I want no part in creating our inevitable torment.”
You just continued to laugh until you could get under control enough to walk in with him. Hand in hand, the two of you entered the restaurant. You told the host the name of your party, and the two of you were directed to a private dining room.
“Why do we need a whole room? It’s just the four of us,” Gaara pointed out, confused, believing it was just his son and brother.
“There was a change of plans,” you said, smiling, puzzling him further.
When the two of you were directed into your room, he was surprised to find his sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and best friend as well as the two he was expecting.
“Happy birthday!”
“What?” He looked at you for an explanation, only to receive a knowing smile in return.
“Looks like Temari was able to make it after all.”
“How long have you known about this?”
“A little while. Now let’s get over there and greet your friend and family.”
You were happy to see Temari again. The two of you had bonded a bit before she left after Gaara’s birthday the year before, and had exchanged numbers so you could keep her up to date on anything big happening. As well organized as he could be, Gaara didn’t remember to check in with her very often, and Kankuro didn’t even seem to try most of the time. It helped the few times you had wanted to surprise Gaara with something small, but hadn’t learned all his preferences.
“So that’s her, huh?” Naruto rhetorically asked Gaara when you were distracted with meeting Shikamaru and Shikadai.
“Yes,” your boyfriend replied, smiling warmly at you.
“Uh-oh,” Naruto chuckled. “I’ve seen that look a few times. I know what it means.”
Gaara looked back at him, curious. “What?”
“You’re sunk, man. In super deep. Just give me plenty of notice when you decide on a wedding date.”
Those cool eyes drifted back to you. “I will.”
The other man almost dropped the drink in his hand. “What? Really? I know you don’t mess around, but this is your first serious relationship. Are you sure?”
“Why would I need to go through a dozen wrong relationships when I know I’ve found the right one?”
His friend chuckled again. “Got me there. Well, it’s great to see you with someone who makes you happy. You were doing fine on your own, better than I have, but it’s different now. When she called me, I wasn’t sure what to think. She seemed nice over the phone, but I-”
“She called you?”
“Yeah. Just before Christmas. She’d already cleared it with Temari and Shikamaru, so I could ride with them. She honestly did everything but pay for the hotel, and she even offered to help with that, if it would get me here… She’s a good one, Gaara. I thought she was nice just from the call, then Temari told me about her, and I thought she’s even cooler. While we were waiting for you, I talked to Shinki, and he really likes her. How long has he been calling her mom?”
The poor redheaded man could have given himself whiplash with how fast he moved his head, eyes wide. “What?”
Naruto raised a brow. “Yeah. When she came up, he called her Mother, but then he got nervous. Has he not been calling her that?”
“This would be the first time I’ve heard about it.”
“Maybe it was just a slip? Even if that’s true, I don’t think he’d be against it if you did take the next step. You could have her move in before getting hitched, just to be sure.”
Gaara was stunned. It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered moving forward in your relationship, and he didn’t feel that Shinki would be against it either, but he was afraid of putting any undue pressure on his son.
“So this is the famous Naruto?” You said as you appeared at Gaara’s side. “You look exactly as I pictured you. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
Naruto smirked. “No, I think I just shocked Gaara into silence anyway.”
“What’s your secret? I don’t think I’ve been able to do that since a year ago when we got together, and that was just a crazy evening.”
“Can’t tell ya, sorry!” He chuckled.
“All right, all right. I like hearing him talk anyway,” you laughed, turning your head in Gaara’s direction. “Shall we sit down so they can start serving?”
The way his eyes burned into you as he nodded had you both concerned and… very excited.
Dinner was enjoyable and intimate, and you were happy to get to know more of Gaara’s precious people. That evening, the two of you returned to his home- Shinki was having a sleepover at the hotel with his cousin, aunt, and uncle, giving the two of you more privacy than you’d had in months- and you were ready to spoil him.
Until he had you pinned, back to the door the second you were inside, anyway.
“Gaara?” You questioned. The following kiss was almost disappointingly tame in comparison to the intensity he was radiating. It was sweet and tender, but very much at odds with how tense you could feel his body was.
“I love you,” he muttered when he ended it, sending a shiver down your spine.
“I love you too,” you responded, running a hand through his neat hair, disheveling it a little, just how you liked it. Temari had shown you pictures of when he was younger and wore it messier, and you were glad he changed it up. If he kept that style, you and every other even remotely male attracted person in the building you worked in would have been in so much trouble. It was a little too close to what he looked like after you’d gotten as much of him as you could physically handle for the night.
Nothing else was said as he kissed you again, slipping a hand under your shirt and lifting it up to just above your stomach. He broke the kiss and knelt in front of you, analyzing your stomach, causing a rush of familiarity.
“You look like you’re going to kiss it better,” you joked.
As he had when there was a fresh injury there, he pressed his lips to your abdomen, moving higher and higher, unbuttoning your blouse as he went, until he was staring at a very familiar piece of lingerie. The corners of his mouth curled up, and his eyes flitted up to yours, receiving a deceptively innocent expression in return. He stood to help remove your jacket and shirt, tossing them on the nearest furniture, which happened to be a kitchen chair.
“Do you remember what the terms we defined were?” He asked you, his hands going to your hips.
“That I use your name,” you sighed, “and that we both be honest, clear, and ourselves. I’d say we’ve kept that contract pretty well.”
“Except for when you decide to be a brat,” he pointed out.
“Yes, well, that’s just having fun.”
He shook his head with a small smile. “I think we might need to revisit and add to those terms.”
If he hadn’t already been showering you with affection, that would have made you uneasy. “Okay…”
“I think that we should still have date nights as usual, even though we’ll be spending a lot more time together, and we’ll have to work a little harder to not be seen together too much since we’ll be arriving and leaving work together everyday-”
“Wait, what are you talking about? It’s impractical for you to come pick me up and drop me off every day. I’m practically on the other side of town.”
“That wouldn’t be an issue if you were living here.”
Eyes wide, you processed his proposition. “Are you really asking me to move in?”
“I am. I understand if-”
“I want to talk to Shinki about it first.”
It warmed his heart beyond measure to hear your concern for his son. “I already did. His exact words were ‘I was wondering why it was taking so long.’”
You laughed, hearing him say it in your head. “How long have you been waiting to ask me?”
“About an hour. I’ve been thinking about it for a couple months, but I was also worried about how he’d feel, so I held off on asking him, until tonight.”
“What changed?”
He softly sighed. “He might not be too happy I told you this, but… he was talking to Naruto earlier tonight, before we got there, and he called you Mother.”
“He what?” You gasped, getting hit by a meteor of mixed feelings, most of which were positive. “I-It’s only been a year…”
Despite knowing you pretty well, Gaara took your surprise as apprehension and reluctance. “It was likely only a slip, so you shouldn’t feel like you have to because he’s-”
He stopped when you rubbed at your eyes, revealing tears, then really started to panic.
“Please, don’t cry. I’ll explain to him-”
“Gaara, please stop talking,” you said softly, then smiled. “I’m just really touched. Even if it wasn’t intentional, to hear that he thinks of me that way at all… I knew the first night that if he wasn’t okay with me, I wouldn’t be able to continue this relationship. He needs you more than I ever could. I would never come between a child and their parent, especially one that’s as loving and attentive as you are. Every time I’ve been around him, I’ve done my best to be his friend and not impose. Yes, I feel we’ve gotten pretty close, and I’d do anything for him, but you know how he is. No matter how much he comes to like me, it’s clear that he doesn’t need or want a mother at this point. He might never openly call me that, but this is a sign that he’s at least testing out the idea in his head, which means he’s figuring out if it’s what he wants, not what he thinks you want.”
You paused to sniffle and wipe your eyes again. “I’ll keep doing my best to be what he needs me to be, and I’m so grateful that he sees me as someone he can trust, not just as your girlfriend. A year seems like a long time for me to worry about whether or not he’d be okay, but some children never develop a comfortable relationship with who their parents date, even if that person becomes their step parent. It’s just… I never expected that this would happen, and I was fine with that. At first, I wanted him to like me because it would be easier on you, and our relationship would last longer. It wasn’t very long before I wanted him to like me because it would make it easier on him, especially once I saw how much he looks up to you. He wants to make you proud so badly, and he’s willing to put himself out for something that makes you happy. He’s a really great kid, and I love both of you so much.”
If Gaara wasn’t absolutely sure about your relationship going the distance when he confidently told Naruto that he didn’t need more experience to know that you were the one, he definitely was when you finished your speech.
“So is that a yes?”
“My lease isn’t up until April.”
“I’ll pay your rent for the last two months, and you can move in next weekend.”
“Yes, sir. Whatever you say,” you purred. “What would you like to do now? It’s your birthday, after all.”
No more than a few steps were taken at a time before an article of clothing hit the floor as you exchanged touches, kisses, and moans. You didn’t even make it to the bedroom before you were on your knees in front of him, pulling his underwear down. You smirked as you took in the sight of his erection before teasingly stroking it and fondling his balls, getting high off the way he said your name as he leaned back against the wall of the hallway for support. You didn’t make him wait long before brushing your lips down his length, then taking him in your mouth.
The first time you’d deepthroated him was in his office, when he was staying late and you were on your way out. You were one of the last, so hardly anyone was there to catch you, none of them being in your area. He was so stressed, handling the quarterly reports, and you managed to convince him to let you help him relax for a bit. When you knelt down in front of him and started undoing his belt, he was hesitant. With a little coaxing, you got him to allow you to continue.
Convincing him to let you take care of him was much easier after that, even when your playful offer was made at a riskier time than you’d usually dare. Like over lunch instead of after hours. To say the least, you discovered that both of you enjoyed walking on that edge more than anyone would have guessed.
His hand cradled the back of your head as you bobbed up and down, urging you to move faster. You complied, following through with complete obedience.
“Do-don’t-” he groaned, and you took that as your warning. You sped up and sucked a little harder, moaning when he grabbed at your hair. When he couldn’t grip any tighter, you pulled back, just in time for him to release. The tip of your tongue flicked across your bottom lip from one corner of your mouth to the other, giving you a taste of the cum that landed on your foce. He was panting heavily as he wound down, and while he caught his breath, you went to the bathroom to rinse it off.
Your name rolled off his tongue when you returned to him. With a smile, you pulled his briefs back up so you had something to remove when you made it to the bed, drinking in the sight of him, dimly lit by the low watt lights overhead. You still had on the bra and briefs that you could thank for everything.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get totally used to this,” you whispered as you rested a hand on his chest. “It’ll always be a thrill, and no two days will ever be quite the same.”
He nodded, then embraced you tightly, not saying a word. He didn’t need to. You’d come to understand him pretty well in that first year, proving that the man you fell in love with before barely scratched the surface of the one you could no longer see yourself without.
That man was well spoken, and he never seemed to be unsure of what to say. This man often found himself at a loss of words when emotion took hold of him, and when he did speak, he had come to trust his ability to convey what he couldn’t verbally through action- the simplest contact through reaching out to you, and when needed, pulling you closer.
That man was respectful of everyone and noticed the strengths of all those under his purview. This man was devoted to his loved ones beyond what any but a few could see, and valued every contribution anyone made, down to the ones most would deem insignificant.
That man was kind and polite, someone that would be welcome pretty much anywhere. This man was passionate, gentle, fiercely protective, secure, and composed ninety-nine percent of the time. When he let loose in that one percent, gentleness and composure were thrown to the wind.
To lose the first would leave you heartbroken, as you’d tried to prepare yourself to be when you thought things would play out differently. To lose the second would leave you without a heart to break.
“Shall we?” You asked, keeping your voice soft to avoid disturbing the utter tranquility that had encompassed the two of you.
He simply took your hand and led you to his bedroom, closing the door behind you. He directed you to the bed and gently laid you down, the frantic pace at which you’d torn off each others’ clothes was long gone, replaced with a slow and sweet speed. He hovered over you as you held a hand to his cheek, a knee on your right, with the other in between your legs, rubbing against your sex.
“What do you want me to do next?” He whispered.
“It’s your day. I want you to do whatever you want.”
After a thoughtful pause, he donned the shadow of a mischievous smile that sent a pulse straight to your heat. You knew what that smile meant.
“Whatever I want?”
You made a little noise of excitement as you nodded. He ran a hand down your side to the waistband of your lacy briefs, fingering the elastic, then leaned down to breathe a husky whisper into your ear that sent a violent shiver through you.
“I want to love you until you forget that anything exists outside this room.”
A whimper escaped you and there was no question of your consent. He tugged your briefs down to your knees, revealing the slick building between your legs. With a smirk, he slipped a finger in between your folds, skillfully stroking your clit. It had taken a while, but with practice and guidance, he eventually reached a state of self assurance about his ability to bring you to your climax without help, and he went from that to reasonably confident in relatively no time at all.
You squirmed a bit, biting back a moan and raising your hips. You went from biting back the moan to biting your lip as he changed direction, applying pressure to your lower pelvis with his palm, driving you to try to grind into it.
“A-ah!” You cried when you couldn’t hold it back any longer, the noise riding on a breath that weakly and suddenly cut off. The breaking point was when he paused to brush his nose up your throat, nipping at the base first, then running his lips over your jaw. When you had settled into the affection, your entire body relaxing, he suddenly flicked the bundle of nerves and pressed his hand down again. It only took a few more good strokes before you sharply gasped, then cried out in ecstasy as you came.
“You’ve… been… studying,” you said, panting heavily. The second you felt you could breathe well enough, you pulled him in for a loving kiss, thriving in the feeling of his bare stomach against yours, but craving more. With a little maneuvering, you managed to worm your way out of your bra, breaking the kiss for a few seconds before pulling him back in.
“You did the work for me,” he mumbled, and before you could ask him what he meant, he had moved. Before you could so much as wonder where he was going, you felt his hot mouth on your left breast, tongue running over the peak, his left hand tweaking your right nipple, and his right hand working your still sensitive pleasure zone. You’d barely wound down from the first orgasm and he was already bringing you to your second.
“Gaara!” You begged. “Please, I need you.”
“Are you sure you’re ready?” He asked with a taunting lilt to his voice that you knew only you ever heard.
“Yes!”
“I think I should make sure.”
Then two fingers were inside you, pumping, pulling that second release from you as they slowly slid back and forth, getting coated in your arousal.
“Te-tease,” you muttered, voice cracking.
“No one would believe that.”
Unlike the first time you had called him that, and he responded in kind, he was not about to lose the hold he had on you. His hand sped up, and while it felt good, you needed more. Adding a third finger helped, and with a curl of his fingers, he carried you through another climax. Your mind went completely blank, your eyes closed, and anything that wasn’t a function your body did independently wasn’t happening.
“I love you,” was the first coherent thing you could say.
He didn’t reply. Not verbally, anyway. At some point while you were trying to return to your senses, he had removed the last of his clothing as well as your briefs, and started rubbing his hardened member against your well lubricated entrance.
“Give it to me already,” you intended to command, but it was no more than a desperate plea.
“So demanding,” he chuckled, but finally did as you requested.
Satisfaction ran through you, reaching every cell of your body as he filled you. Your hands ran over every inch of him they could reach twice before they stilled and you embraced him. He started slow, too slow, so you encouraged him with a buck of your hips.
“I love you too, and I don’t intend to ever let you go,” he spoke into your ear, succeeded by a grunt as he hastened his pace.
“Good. While I appreciate every day I get with you, a year is not nearly enough, and I’m not sure another fifty or sixty will be either, but I really want to see if the rest of our lives will come close.”
His hands caressed you as he captured your lips in response, not trusting words to fully convey how much he agreed with you. Your hands delicately felt every familiar, memorized, beautiful inch of him within reach once more as you rolled your hips. It was tantric, emotional, and erotic in a way that you were secure in knowing would happen again and again, as many times as the two of you could possibly do it.
Once you finished for a third time and him for a second, you held each other, basking in the comfortable silence and lingering peace of the night, enjoying the vulnerability you could show only to each other.
“Did I succeed?”
How long it took you to realize what he meant should have been answer enough, but you lightly laughed as you gave him one anyway.
“Not only did you succeed at that, I forgot that it was your birthday we’re celebrating. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had forgotten too.”
He hid his smug smile with a kiss to your head.
One year… You would say that it went by too fast, but you were just so glad that you had those memories at all-
“Hey! You can’t space out through your own party!” Ittetsu barked at you from across the table.
“I’m the birthday girl, and the one saying goodbye, so I should be able to do whatever I want, shouldn’t I?” You quipped.
“I still can’t believe you’ve been with the team the least amount of time, and you’re bailing before any of us,” another coworker said.
You just shrugged. “What do you want me to say?”
“I think the boss is going to miss you,” Ittetsu speculated. “He never picked favorites, but I kind of got the vibe that he liked you more.”
You glanced at Matsuri, but she offered no help. There was no reason to hide your relationship anymore. You just weren’t sure about making the reveal because Gaara wasn’t there yet. Your team had gone straight to the restaurant you selected for your goodbye slash birthday party following the end of the work day, but he said he had to stay behind for a little bit, and would catch up.
“No, I think you-”
“Is that an accusation?” Your boyfriend’s voice said from behind you, and you whipped around to smile at him.
“No way, boss! I would never accuse you of picking favorites!”
Gaara gave him a half smile, then glanced at you, setting a hand on the back of your chair. “I appreciate that, though you’d be right. I’ll miss seeing her at work, but I’ll still see her.”
The table fell silent.
“You two are dating, aren’t you?” Someone chimed from the far end.
Your smile widened as you looked up at Gaara. “As of last night, that’s not the word we’d use.”
You almost dropped the plates in your hands when you turned to set the table and found Gaara on one knee, holding a small velvet box that housed a glittering gem on a shiny metal band. You were afraid you were going to with how much your hands started to shake. Movement in the doorway to the kitchen drew your attention, and you found Shinki watching you. If you hadn’t gotten so familiar with him, you would have been worried about how apathetic he appeared, but you could see through that to the small, hopeful smile he was holding in.
“You told me you wanted to see if the rest of our lives together would be enough. I want to find out too, and I feel that now we can openly make that commitment. Will you marry me?”
You retrieved your engagement ring from the smallest pocket you had in your purse, slipped it on, held up your left hand, and everyone lost their minds. Laughter was all you could muster for a response, until they started pestering you for information and making sure that they’d all get invites.
“Do you really have to ask?” You wiped the tears of joy from your eyes after setting the plates down. Before your eyes were dry, the ring was on your finger and you were in his arms.
Life moved much too quickly at times, like when you were approaching something you dreaded- like owning up to an accidental incident, or each birthday that you always moaned and groaned about theatrically- or when you were having an experience that you wished would last forever- like those precious moments with your loved ones that were simple, but so perfect. It couldn’t bother you, because you knew that regardless of how fast time passed, you’d take the pleasure with the pain and let them carry you to the next great experience. You kept your focus on those special people- two in particular- that you were so fortunate to have in your life, and the love you shared that would only strengthen with time.
SHE DID IT AGAIN!!!! My God this girl, who has almost no knowledge of the BDSM community very successfully has made a Dom Gaara and by The Gods she has made me a very happy woman!!! I mean, not to mention the very nice note in the beginning about credit to me for her inspirations, but girl you are growing so well and I can't wait to see how much you grow as a writer one year from now!!!!
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