One of those Nights

Hello again my Dears!

I feel so motivated at the Moment, so I wrote another One Shot of a Four-Picture-Series I got this year. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for everyone who's reading. ♥

Have Fun!

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It was the middle of the night in Sunagakure. Quiet winds were blowing, the temperatures in the desert had dropped significantly and the clear starry sky stretched over the desert village as far as the eye could see. It looked almost magical. Nights like these were not uncommon in the desert.

Gaara and Raziela had gone to sleep a few hours ago. It had been a long day at work for him and he came home exhausted and drained. The twins, just three years old, were already sleeping peacefully in their beds and Reeze was also sleeping peacefully. At least until she woke up to strange noises.

She opened her eyes, sleepy and still slightly confused, and looked over at Gaara's side of the bed, only to see him sweating profusely, panting, and occasionally groaning softly with his eyes shut. His face looked strained and his hands clutched at the sheets beneath him. It looked and sounded like he was suffering.

And Reeze knew he was suffering - he was having a nightmare. What made her so sure? Well, nights like these were unfortunately not uncommon in their lives. He didn't show it when he was awake and rarely spoke about it, but she knew that his past was tormenting him as soon as he closed his eyes. He couldn't escape his past at night and this torment manifested itself in terrible nightmares.

She sat up, moved closer to him and placed one hand on top of hers, resting both on his chest. Not a second later, Gaara was clinging tightly to her nightgown, snuggling against her as he continued to pant and sweat. She knew she had to wake him up.

"Gaara, darling," she began quietly, moving a little closer to his face. "You have to wake up, you're having a nightmare." But at first it didn't seem to have any effect. As he began to moan louder and cling to her harder, she gently began to shake his shoulders.

"Gaara, wake up!" Her voice was now a little louder than before.

And after she gently shook him for a few seconds, his eyes flew open. He breathed loudly and heavily and looked around the entire room a few times before he felt a warm hand on his cheek. Finally his eyes landed on her. He looked completely frightened, almost panicked, and he looked at her as if he couldn't believe that he was actually looking at her here.

As she gently stroked his cheek, she said, "It was another nightmare. Everything is fine, you are safe. It's all right."

Her words didn't seem to really get through to him because it took a few minutes until his panicked look faded and he looked at her normally. But instead of seeking comfort from her, he freed himself from the covers and sat on the edge of his side of the bed. Within seconds, Reeze was behind him, arms wrapped around his lower body. Gaara sat there, his head in both hands, his elbows on his knees.

"I'm sorry I woke you up again..." he apologized quietly and took a few deep breaths. "The Twins?"

"They're sleeping, don't worry. And please don't always apologize to me, you know that I am always there for you especially on these nights. You're not alone, you hear me?"

Raziela's attempts at reassurance didn't seem to have any effect. Gaara had told her about his past, she knew everything down to the smallest detail. From his life without love to his teenage years. Of Yashamaru's betrayal. By his father, who had six assassination attempts carried out on him, his own son. From the people who still fear him today and would prefer to see him dead. And of course also from the many people who lost their lives fighting Gaara.

It had been a difficult conversation. Gaara didn't like talking about his past and Reeze took it as a complete vote of trust that he did. She knew what Gaara was like during this time, after all, they had a mission together as young teenagers. She had been afraid of him, but there was nothing left of this man. She was sure that Gaara himself was often unaware of how much he had changed. She knew how easy it could be to get lost in your own past.

"These nightmares are getting out of hand," he suddenly said quietly. "It's getting worse."

"It's not your fault. They're "just" nightmares, Gaara."

"That's the problem," he looked up, slid back onto the bed and finally looked directly at her. "It really happened. I was ..."

"You have to remember that you are not alone at nights like this. I will always be there to calm you down, to take care of you. You never have to wake up alone again."

Reeze continued to talk to him, at least tried - but nothing seemed to help. He was downright desperate, kept his eyes down, and Reeze could only grimace in pity as Gaara began to cry silently. It was a terrible feeling to see her beloved husband so destroyed, so full of pain. She carefully took his head in her hands, making him look directly at her. And this image presented itself to her on so many nights. Things had gotten better, that definitely - in the early days of their relationship he felt like this every night. Still, every night it happened was one too many.

"Please stop crying, Gaara," she said in a sad voice, wiping a tear from his cheek. "These nightmares must not take over. Don't let them destroy you."

Gaara answered in a shaky voice, "All the people I killed... And many of the villagers are still afraid of me. I...I don't know what I..."

"Gaara, listen to me," she said firmly, silencing him. He no longer dared to avoid her strong gaze. She took a deep breath and smiled encouragingly at him before she began to speak quietly.

"Your past doesn't define you. You're not like that anymore. You are so much more than that. I can't imagine how terrible and painful your past must have been, but..." she paused briefly and smiled at him, "look how far you've come. You are the Kazekage of Sunagakure. You protect this village and its People with your life. And even if some people still fear you... There will always be people who want to see you fail. But you are strong, so strong. The new generation looks up to you, you are their hero. The other Kage respect you, like you. You have your siblings who always stand by you. Friends who have your back. You have me, your wife and two wonderful children who need you - much more as a father, as a Kazekage to protect them. Don't think about the people who fear you. Think about the people you have convinced otherwise."

Gaara couldn't answer, not at first. Finally her words seemed to get through to him and his heart began to calm down. How had he ever gotten through the nights before she was by his side? He couldn't and didn't want to imagine what it was like to wake up alone from these terrible nightmares. She was absolutely right: he would never be alone again. He always wanted them – his wife and children – by his side.

The two continued to talk to each other for a while. She continued to calm him down, caressed his arms, hugged him, was there for him. Just what he so desperately needed after a night like this. The two of them were briefly in the children's room, where Gaara simply watched his twins sleep silently and peacefully. Reeze thought I'd be a good idea.

After about an hour, Gaara felt ready to go back to sleep. The two of them lay down and within a second he was behind her, putting one arm around her, one arm under her head. He would hold her when she fell asleep - like he always did.

"I hope the rest of the night is peaceful for you. You can wake me up at any time. Good night, Gaara," she said, closing her eyes and it didn't take long for her to fall asleep again.

When she was already asleep, the young Kazekage was still awake behind her, holding her, giving her security and he thought of her words from before. He was so grateful to have her in his life and he couldn't imagine life without her. No one else had such a calming effect on him.

He kissed her head gently before falling asleep, saying, "Thank you..."