#when he fell to the dark the council explicitly told her she was not allowed to go after him

[dathomirdumpsterfire]

if only blood will quench your anger, aayla, then strike.

i will not stop you.

strike, if your hand will let you.

beyond memory, behind anger or hope or fear, there is that which binds us.

master and padawan are we.

jedi together.

nothing in life or death servers that bond.

[gffa]

Hi!  I’ve found that a lot of this depends on how you want to handle things/how your group of people is putting these things out there.  Like, I’m not going to reblog the posts I see in the tag that have like six notes saying “the Jedi told Anakin to repress his feelings and so it’s their fault he fell” (which is exhaustingly common in the tag but I know where my scroll button is), but if someone comes onto my posts, then I’m free to point out, no, here’s what canon actually says/does. So, a lot depends on the people you’re surrounded with--is bringing this up going to get you somewhere that you’re happy with?  Then, by all means, I have some receipts for you!  But if it’s just going to make you mad to argue with people who aren’t going to change their mind (or vice versa!), then it’s better to just let go usually.  It depends on you and what you want! There are two ways to handle this (if you’re going to get into it--and, remember, you’re not obligated to spend your time on this!): 1.  Ask them what scene from the movies or show specifically makes them believe the Jedi were shown to kidnap kids.  Or ask them, why do Jedi like Yoda and Mace and Obi-Wan, classic “true faith” Jedi, show emotion all over the place if they’re supposed to repress them?  How does that square with Obi-Wan telling Anakin that, say, romantic feelings are normal and of course they’re allowed in TCW? 

2.  Or point out that there’s no evidence that the Jedi kidnapped kids in the movies or TCW, but there is evidence that they don’t: - In The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon can’t just take Anakin from Watto, he has to go through a whole huge entire scheme to get Watto to agree to give up Anakin, which shows the Jedi can’t/don’t just take kids. - In “Children of the Force”, Cad Bane poses as a Jedi to try to kidnap Wee Dunn and can’t just take the child, he has to come up with a whole plot to hypnotize her into agreeing to give the child over, which says that the Jedi get permission. - In “The Disappeared”, the Bardottens labeled the Jedi as kidnappers and the Jedi’s response?  They stopped going there.  The scene is deliberately framed as the Bardottens misunderstood them, but the Jedi respected their refusal and so they didn’t adopt Bardotten kids anymore. - They have a list of known Force-sensitives in the galaxy, why would they even need a list if they just took the kids? I have often found that reframing the Jedi Order adopting children makes a big difference for me in terms of arguments against them.  Jedi don’t get a choice about being raised in this culture?  Neither did Leia when she was adopted into Alderaanian culture, is that bad now, too?  Children are raised in their culture, that’s just how raising children works. With the Jedi and the emotions thing, they have never said to repress your emotions, they instead say to control your emotions, because they are psychic space wizards with powers directly tied to their emotions.  A Force-users’s interaction with the Force is based entirely on their own mindset and what they bring into it--if they use the Force in anger, they get blasted in the face with their own dark side feelings. We further see this in the way influential Jedi (like Council members or Jedi we know are generally good representations of what the Jedi are like) express emotion all over the place:

These are all Jedi who are on the Council, the Jedi who would most embody what they’re trying to achieve and yet, look?  Emotion all over the place! A lot of the “the Jedi suppress emotion” is because Anakin goes overboard, coming from understandable places, but that he takes it too far.  He murders children (the Tuskens and the Jedi) because he’s angry.  Whatever happened to cause those feelings, however understandable or not they are, when they are tied directly to the murder of children, no, Anakin was not right, he took things too far.  He lost control of himself. Further, Depa Billaba (Council member and Mace Windu’s former Padawan) directly says it in the Kanan comics:

”Those emotions are valuable and should not be suppressed, but you must learn to rule them, Padawan, lest they rule you.” Often, also, is the argument of “attachment”, like it’s treated as the same thing as “love”, when Star Wars as a narrative isn’t using it in that way, it’s directly tied to “possessive” and “selfish” forms of love, and George Lucas has said so directly and explicitly. “The Jedi are trained to let go. They’re trained from birth,” he continues, “They’re not supposed to form attachments. They can love people- in fact, they should love everybody. They should love their enemies; they should love the Sith. But they can’t form attachments. So what all these movies are about is: greed. Greed is a source of pain and suffering for everybody. And the ultimate state of greed is the desire to cheat death.” --George Lucas, The Making of Revenge of the Sith Love and attachment cannot be the same thing because “they should love everyone, but they can’t form attachements” would then be “they should love everyone, but they can’t love” and that doesn’t work. Some more posts to read, if you want: - Jedi and emotions - Attachment, greed, and the dark side - The Jedi co-exist with many other Force-users, they do not try to monopolize the Force - What the Jedi actually say/do about adoption in canon - Attachment is not the same thing as love - Big giant meta of what is canon/word of god for the Jedi People are, of course, allowed to hold whatever opinions they want, but I have found that canon paints a pretty positive portrayal of the Jedi Order and how a lot of accusations just don’t wash for me and are instead pretty directly contradicted by what’s actually in the movies and the TV shows and what George Lucas has said about his intentions for them.  People aren’t obligated to take word of god commentary into account if they don’t want to, hell, they’re not even obligated to take canon into account if they don’t want to!  But if we’re arguing about the actual narrative intentions, then this is what they actually say and do! AND I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, THEY ARE TRYING THEIR BEST IN A REALLY SHITTY GALAXY AND THEY LOVED SO DEEPLY AND THEIR MESSAGE IS ACTUALLY A PRETTY GOOD ONE--DON’T LET YOUR FEELINGS RULE YOU, BECAUSE THAT DOESN’T ACTUALLY LEAD TO GOOD PLACES.  ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR FEELINGS (like the Jedi design their tests around, the children going to Ilum have to face their inner fears, acknowledge them and let them go, before they can move forward, the Jedi are actively seeking that out in the canon!) AND THEN WORK PAST THEM, THAT’S SO MUCH HEALTHIER FOR YOU. I mean, look at the characters who most embody the ways of the Jedi and were elected to their High Council and we spend time with them--Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Plo Koon, Kit Fisto, Depa Billaba, Even Piell.  These are all deeply caring, deeply good people who went through so much shit, shit that would have knocked many people out for the count, but still rose above it and kept their balance.  That says a lot about who the Jedi are right there and what their most faithful people are like.  AND I LOVE THEM SO MUCH I COULD BARF RAINBOWS ABOUT IT.

[valkyriesryde]

Release the Hounds {11/?}

Chapter 11: Wine Plays Tricks on the Tongue

Pairing: Persephone!Steve Rogers x Hades!Reader

Chapter Summary: Steve goes looking for Hades as he thinks about all he’s been told and realises that things still aren’t right...

Word Count: 3,532

A/N: WARNING: There is some talk about Cassandra and trigger warning themes in her myth like rape and death though the former is not explicitly said and just a passing piece of fact Well this is long overdue, I really struggled with this chapter, I spent weeks just looking at the document but I’m really happy with how it turned out, we’re getting near the end and these arcs are finally coming to their point, I’m really happy with Steve’s character and how far along he’s come and I hope you guys can forgive me for the long gap in updates and enjoy it to!

Steve spent days wandering the halls of Hades’ home. He explored her library and read about the history of the mortal world through both fiction and non-fiction works. He spent three days going into the fields with the judges and observing and questioning them as they worked. He helped Harley and Charon move souls through the gates in the morning and in the afternoon he would do as he pleased.

Today it was brisk but warm if that were such a thing. The sun kissed his face as it streamed through the open windows but the air bit at his skin when he stepped out of the light. He wasn’t quite sure what to do today. He wanted to see Hades, but that was a constant thought in his head, wondering what she was doing, why he hadn’t see her much since he’d taken residence in the Underworld. 

“She’s just busy, don’t take it personally. There’s a lot she has to do at the moment,” Wanda had said to him when he asked why he’d barely seen her.

“Or do take it personally,” Harley had muttered under his breath with a mouth full of food, the good stuff too, from Olympus that Wanda had made Peter bring just for Steve. 

“You’re not a fan of me,” Steve noted snatching the bread before Harley could get to it, if the only food he was allowed to eat was that from Olympus he wasn’t going to give it up without a fight.

“I’m not a fan of your kind, I’m on the fence about you.” Harley snarked back.

 Steve did take it personally. This entire time, the entire time he’d been curious and asking and learning about the Underworld he’d always been told Hades took a hands on approach. But now she’s hiding in her office and it’s all because he’s here.

The door creaked open and Steve couldn’t hear a sound or see anything out of the ordinary when he stepped into her office.

“Hello? I knocked but there was no-are you here?” He asked the empty room. No one sat at her desk, there wasn’t a paper askew. Yet Steve could have sworn he watched her walk in here a couple hours ago and he hadn’t seen or heard her leave since. “I know you’re in here.”

He stepped further into the office, it was much tidier than it had been the last time he was here, apart from the desk where piles of paper threatened to fall. Behind her desk were floor to ceiling windows of the gates, to its side were towering bookshelves that held all the greats and some not so much. She had paintings and statues, she had her armour sitting by the door on display. It was so different from the rest of her home, it didn’t feel like a home in here, it was a place of power and work. 

Or maybe that’s just what Steve felt. He had the same feeling in his gut as he did all those weeks ago on stage, that same feeling he got when she was near him. Power, calmness, stability. It enveloped him like a hug but it wasn’t as close as it was on stage it was creeping away from him. 

“I can feel you,” he whispered to the empty room, trying to find any clue as to where she was. “I don’t know why but I can feel when you’re near me,” it got stronger until it was all around him and he thought he could feel the air shift by his cheek until it was snatched away. “I can’t explain it, I don’t know what’s happening and I feel like people are keeping things from me.” 

Steve didn’t know why he was spilling this information to an empty room, though he wasn’t completely convinced it was empty. He needed to get it out. He’d bottled up these feelings for years, the feeling that he never knew the whole story, that people were always telling him half truths or that there was always something more to it. 

“It’s like I’m being told bits of the story and just expected to figure out the rest for myself but I can’t!” He was desperate, he just wanted to know why this was all happening. Why was it such a big deal? 

He knew about World War II, he knew about Demeter and Hades’ fight, about how they always went head to head but he just couldn’t shake the feeling in his gut that that wasn’t all it was. Gods hold grudges, that much is true, and it’s perfectly reasonable to expect them to continue hating each other over one event for all this time. But they hated each other before that, from what Bucky had told him that was the last straw, there had to be something before that.

“You know what else I can’t get my head around?” His voice was strangled in his throat, his brows furrowed down as he started to pace the silent office. “Why I’m in the middle of it? I know I’m Demeter’s son, I know that I stood up for you. That doesn’t explain her outburst, she could have just refused, she could have locked me in the garden or on earth. She didn’t have to fight because she has the power, she has always had the power over me.” Slowly, the clues started clicking in his head, events started to make sense. “I know you’re the one person she hates most, I know that she fears you to an extent but none of her reactions or actions are what I expected from her. So I can’t help but thinking, I just- what if- what if it’s me? What if this isn’t about her hatred for you, what if this isn’t about Ares or World War II, it’s not about you sitting on the council. It’s about me, it’s about my interest in you, it’s about how I feel about you.”

A book fell from its shelf suddenly, it lay open on the floor and Steve jumped at the sudden crash before bending down and picking up the book. The page it had opened to talked about Oedipus, a man who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother. Steve knew the story, most did, there was an entire psychological theory based on his misfortune. Although the page the book had opened on didn’t focus on his relationship with his mother. Instead, it talked about the continuing efforts in the myth of preventing prophecy. About how Oedipus was destined to kill his father so was given away as a baby. When Oedipus found out he was destined to kill his father he assumed it was the father he had grown up with, the man who had helped raise him because that’s who he believed his father to be. He attempted to avoid this by leaving home and never returning. But in the end, as the book told Steve, prophecies have a way of coming to be no matter how much we try and stop it, and Oedipus killed his birth father and married his mother just like the oracle in Delphi had told him he would. 

Steve turned the book over and read the title ‘Lessons Learned in Myth’ then the chapter title ‘Why one shouldn’t work against fate’. He stood there looking at the book, mulling over the words, over what it meant. He thought about what he’d been told, the facts that he knew. None directly related to the fates or any sort of oracle or prophecy that he could think of. Except what Bucky had said about Cassandra going to Hades and then him, but that was so long ago surely it was just Bucky reminiscing. 

“…you should know not to take things you’re told at face value” Sam had told him. Was that Bucky trying to tell him something? Was there a prophecy that he didn’t know about? 

“That’s why she kept me in the dark about everything,” he whispered to himself, it made sense, why she wouldn’t let him near the council, why Demeter tried to make him hate Hades so much. “Its her and I, there’s a prophecy with Hades and I and Demeter doesn’t want it to happen-“

A crash came from behind him and Steve jumped and dropped the book. He spun on his feet and was met with Hades’ helmet clattering and spinning on the floor, the door wide open. She was here! Though Steve had no time to register that has he ran after her.

“Wait!” He called and caught her in the foyer. He grabbed her wrist and she turned to face him, panic in her eyes but anger behind them. “I’m right aren’t I?! There’s a prophecy with you and I and that’s why everything has blown up because it’s happening! Isn’t it?!” He was angry and he didn’t want to yell at her but by all the gods he was fuming at how he’d been kept in the dark by everyone he loved, he was betrayed. 

“She shouldn’t know of its existence, this doesn’t make sense!” Hades pulled her wrist out of his grip and ran her fingers through her hair, she paced in front of him mumbling, “theres now way - only Loki and Bucky and - Thor must have - but he swore -“

“HADES!” He yelled and her mumbling and movement stopped as she looked at him. 

That’s when it clicked for her, she’d memorised the prophecy years ago, she’d spent centuries thinking of the possibilities, of what each line and each word could mean. She had a strong feeling Harley was right about the first line. 

When the wind is still and the air is cold, the sun will shine in Hades.

It was still spring in the Underworld and with every day it got warmer and the northern hemisphere of the mortal world got colder. It made perfect sense though that the words Cassandra had repeated wouldn’t be in order of events. She broke it down in her head, each line until she found what she was looking for and she whispered it into the air between her and Steve.

“But the daffodil will grow through the cracks of the grave.” 

He looked at her like she was the Hydra and had grown two more heads.

“Tell me the truth, the whole truth…Now.” He said through gritted teeth and she nodded her head and pulled him out the door. 

“I will, now, on the way.”

“Where are we going?” Her fingers laced with his and he couldn’t help the floating feeling in his stomach when she tightened her grip for a second with no sign of letting go. Was this real? Was what he feeling real? Was it a romantic attraction towards her? Or was it just this prophecy? 

“To see a girl.” 

Cassandra. A priestess, a daughter to a king, a victim of Troy, and a victim of Apollo. She comes from a famous family, her brother, Hector, was a Trojan hero during the Trojan War. Her father was King Priam of Troy. She herself is also famous in antiquity, believe it or not but it isn’t often that gods fall head over heels for humans (attraction is different from affection). So the girl who Apollo fell for is always a tale to remember. She was, and still is, clever and sarcastic beyond her looks though still beautiful as ever. Bucky tried during the years of the war to catch her eye, he would send her gifts, he would find her watching the carnage and try and talk to her. She never relented, Cassandra had no eyes for the god, at least not in the way he wanted. With one final attempt he offered her his greatest gift, the ability to see the future as it was to be. 

Yet she still refused his hand, her loyalty was to her family and Troy, they couldn’t be together since he was a god and she was just human. So Bucky got angry and instead of taking her gift away he let her keep it, but no prophecy she told would be believed. He said she pulled him along, that he tempted her and lied to her, entertained his feelings towards her without ever having the intention of actually being with him. She told him he deserved it, she took a vow of chastity and even as a priestess of Apollo, she would not be his. He told her she deserved what she got and hoped this would be a lesson to never toy with one’s heart again. 

It wasn’t Bucky’s proudest moment…

She was seen as mad by her family, every time she warned them of the war, of Paris and what he and Helen would bring to troy she was pushed aside and ignored. Eventually, it did drive her mad, she was angry and violent towards Helen as she knew that she was to blame for the destruction of her home. 

When she warned the Trojans about the wooden horse and the fate of herself and others they ignored her. Every single one, Odysseus’ journey home, Aeneas’s escape, Agamemnon’s death, all of them were disregarded. When Hector died she became more frantic and frustrated, she cursed the name Apollo. She became suicidal, attempting to burn the Trojan Horse herself since no one believed her. When Troy fell she sought help from Athena, and hid in Natasha’s temple and Natasha had to witness the brutality and wrath that the Greek hero Ajax thrust upon her, even the goddess who was an ally to the Greeks wept for Cassandra. Until she died violently with Agamemnon. 

Upon her judgment at the gates of the Underworld she was deemed worthy of Elysian fields and followed Pietro to her new home as a hero and devote prophet. Her dedication to what is right and to the gods proved her worth. Her curse did not carry over to the Underworld, Hecate made sure that curses made on the living did not affect the dead. However, her gift of fortune wasn’t a curse, and so it slipped through the cracks and she now found that she was able to see the future and those around her that would listen believed her. 

It took some time, for a long time she hated her gift, it had brought her nothing but bad luck and she ignored every prophecy, she ignored the visions of Caesar and the Roman Empire, the crusades, she ignored it all. Until she saw Hades. 

Cassandra didn’t know the man with her, she didn’t recognise the location they were, she felt the cold of the snow on her fingertips and she saw the droplets of gold on the ground. The words played in her head and she knew she had to tell someone. So she ran to Pietro who ran to Hades who ran to Bucky who claimed she was wrong. Until he remembered the curse and until she showed him the vision. That’s when Thor and Loki were brought in, that’s when Sam and Wanda were told about the prophecy that Cassandra had seen. 

Hades told Steve all of this on their way to Cassandra in the Elysian field. She told him that those that knew made a vow not to tell anyone else, that no one needed to know unless absolutely necessary. 

“How long has Demeter tried to convince you to hate me?” Her pace slowed as they neared the lush grass and could see Pietro in the distance already with Cassandra. 

“For as long as I can remember, it definitely became more apparent after World War II but I figured that was just because of-“

“That’s possible, but I think she knew before that. She was angry at me before I even appeared at the council, before that day. He must have told her before that. Cassandra, meet Steve, god of Spring,” Hades let Steve’s hand fall from her own as she introduced him to the prophet that started this all. 

“The daffodil,” she smiled and Steve was confused for a second until he remembered what Hades had said and realised that he was the daffodil, in the prophecy and on the gates, it was a symbol for him. 

“Why did you call us here Hades?” Pietro asked as Sam and Wanda joined them. Cassandra sunk into Pietro’s side in the presence of the gods around her, Steve noticed how frightened and small she was even though she tried to appear as anything but. 

“Demeter knows about the prophecy.”

“What?!” the judges exclaimed but Hades attention was on Cassandra.

“This is very bad my queen,” she whispered, she was pressed against Pietro’s side now but he wasn’t fazed by how her body tried to slip through his. 

“Is there anything else you can tell us Cassandra? Anything at all?” She bit her lip, she hadn’t told her about the snow or the dripping gold, she’d only told Bucky as she feared what it meant. She couldn’t fathom the idea of her queen dying at the hands of another god, or even him, Steve, god of spring who was destined to be with Hades. Cassandra refused to think of the possibilities.

“No, I’ve told you everything I know. If he is here,” she nodded towards Steve, “then the prophecy has already begun, if his mother knows this too… all we can do is let it happen.” 

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Sam said warily and Pietro and Wanda both nodded in agreement. 

“We just let it happen?” Steve asked out loud, he remembered the book, the lesson it was open to, ‘Why one shouldn’t work against fate’ but he didn’t care right now. He was sick of his mother getting in the way, he was sick of her controlling him, maybe Harley was right not to like Olympians, they’d been nothing but cruel to Steve too. “I won’t stand by and let her wage war, we have to make a move!”

“No,” Hades held his hand as she spoke softly, “that’s not how we do things here, we don’t fight unless we have to-“

“and we have -“

“No.” Her voice was stronger now as she turned to him and held his eye, “we are not her, we are not Olympians here, I’ll go to Thor, I’ll tell him what we know and he can choose how to punish her. If you want, you can stay here, live here, you can still do your duties from the Underworld. But we don’t fight.”

“You’re wrong,” he told her and the judges and Cassandra who were watching the interaction gasped, no one spoke back to the Queen of the Underworld. “I’m an Olympian…” Steve thought for a second, he looked back at Hades’ home that stood tall above the fields only a two minute walk away and he thought about the pile of food from Olympus that Peter brought for him because he couldn’t eat- “but not for long.” 

He stormed towards the house with determination, it took a minute for them to figure out what he meant but when they did they were running after him shouting for him to stop what he was doing.

“What are you thinking?!” Sam yelled.

“Steve no!” Wanda called as he entered the house.

“Steve stop and think about this, you can’t go back on this decision!” Hades told him as he stood under the window in the throne room in front of the bowl of fruit, his hand grasped the pomegranate. 

Peter had been bringing food from Olympus for Steve because if anyone who isn’t from the Underworld eats food from this daft place they’re stuck. They become locals with the souls, gods of Olympus become gods of the Underworld and heroes become soldiers of Hades. That’s what all the books said, that’s what Steve knew to be true. He knew his place, he felt strong here when Bucky felt weak, he is not the same. He is not just an Olympian, that may be where he is from but that does not mean it is who he is.

“None of you were worried I’d become weak here,” he pulled open the fruit in his hands and the juices slid down his palm, “because you knew that I was meant to be here.”

“Steve,” Hades took a step towards him, she feared what he was doing, this was rash, especially after the information he’d been told today. 

“I’m not an Olympian.” He bit into the fruit, it was sour on his tongue but it was perfectly ripe and almost addictive. One bite though, that’s all he needed. When he swallowed, at first he didn’t feel anything. They watched carefully, Hades ran up to him, her hand gripped his back and she tore the fruit from his hands. Steve coughed once, twice, but that was it. He felt fine, different but only slightly and still very much the same. 

But the daffodil will grow through the cracks of the grave.

Chapter Twelve: Let it Come to Fruition

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[gaasaku-fanfests]

Under the Vastness

Title: Under the Vastness Author: keltoi-oak Rating: K Word Count: 2389 Summary: Sharing quiet, nighttime moments together might just lead them down the path they were always meant to take. Author's Note: Set some time after the Kazekage rescue mission. Hope you enjoy!

Trope: Isolated/Trapped

The parallels had always been obvious.

Two boys, chosen by their fathers - both of them leaders - to be the sealed vessel for one of the famed tailed beasts. Their bodies to act as cages to keep a monster and its power contained. Although their circumstances were different and involved a different cast of characters, the story of their childhood had been practically the same: a series of experiences marked by rejection and isolation.

Their personalities, though, turned out to be drastically different. While Naruto had been boisterous, enthusiastic, and selfless, there was only one word to describe a young Gaara: dangerous. Sakura would always remember the first time the Sand Siblings had come to Konoha. There was something about the red-headed boy that had put all of them on edge. His actions during the Chuunin exams had only proven them right.

She smiled, shaking her head. Back then, no one would have been able to predict how events would unfold.

She looked up at Gaara now as he sat at the head of a Sunagakure assembly. Albeit showing signs of tiredness, his expression was calm, patient. Words one would have never associated with Shukaku’s Jinchuriki during his early adolescence. That this leader sitting here in front of a congregation of representatives from different villages had once been the unstable and violent boy Sakura remembered was the definition of extraordinary. It was a testament of how much experience had shaped him and evidence of his own efforts to take his story into his own hands.

Long gone were the days when rage and mindless destruction were the driving forces of his life. Although still a powerful shinobi, he was no longer the vessel for the One-Tail. Now, he was a dedicated and selfless Kage, one who zealously protected those under his keeping.

Sitting a short distance away, Sakura took a moment to truly look at him and realized what Gaara gave her was hope. He was the embodiment of a wretched start in life turned into a triumph of his own making.

Finally, the council decided to call it a day and the assembly was adjourned. One could almost hear a sigh of relief echo throughout the large hall. Night-time had fallen a while ago and the long hours of sitting in chairs talking politics were nothing but exhausting. Gaara stood quickly and looked in Sakura’s direction.

Her eyes asked a question and he nodded in reply. On silent feet, he moved hastily towards the back and slipped through the door before anyone could notice.

Sakura chuckled. As much as he loved his role as Kazekage, being around large crowds of people for long periods was something he did not enjoy. A vestige of all those years of isolation.

She stood herself and headed towards the front door of the hall. Predictably she was stopped in her tracks more than once by people who wanted to talk to her. Acting as Konoha’s representative meant doing the rounds, something Sakura, unlike Gaara, did not mind. She had volunteered for the job, after all.

A little while later, she was finally free and made her way up the stairs on the east side of the building. She encountered attendants as she went, recognizing familiar faces. They smiled in greeting but hurried along their way, busy with whatever late tasks they had been assigned due to the assembly. Eventually, she reached a set of doors that led to a small balcony. Stepping through, she immediately felt the chill of the desert night on her skin. This didn’t slow her down, though. Once at the edge of the balcony, she jumped on the railing and lept towards the adjacent building. Channelling chakra into her feet, she ran up the wall until she reached the roof.

Landing softly, she found Gaara sitting on a tatami mat in the dark, a folded blanket to one side. She knew the latter was for her benefit; he barely felt the cold. As she approached, he turned to look up at her.

“I thought we would be sitting in there until dawn,” she by way of greeting. He lifted the blanket and handed it to her. Sakura took it gratefully, wrapping herself in it before sitting down on the tatami. “I thought they would never come to an agreement.”

“They only take their own interests into consideration,” Gaara said. “They don’t care if the rest of us need to sit through 8 hours of discussion as long as they get what they want. Not much we can do about it, I’m afraid.”

Sakura sighed. “Yes, I know. But giving those windbags a time limit would be a significant contribution for the greater good.”

Gaara’s lips curved upwards. “I’ll run it through the council.” He turned to reach behind him as he asked, “are you hungry?”

“No, not much. We had a really late lunch.”

He produced a cloth-wrapped plate and set it before them. When he removed the covering, the smells of some of Sakura’s favourite Sunagakure pastries wafted towards her. Her stomach reacted instantly.

“You cheat,” she chided but only half-heartedly.

Gaara shrugged before reaching for the food himself. “One of the perks of being Kazekage, if I crave anything to eat, I only have to ask.”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “You never have food cravings.”

“No, but you do,” he replied as he took a mouthful of pastry.

She would have swatted him but instead she decided to honor the intention of his gesture. For Gaara, friendship was a relatively new concept, one he went out of his way to nurture whenever he could. So Sakura dug in, genuinely enjoying the food.

As if to prove her point, Gaara turned to reach behind him once more. He placed a steaming teapot and two cups in front of them. Here was the leader of Sunagakure, the most powerful shinobi in the village, bringing her tea to keep her warm.

As he poured, Sakura felt herself relax. It really had been a long and tiring day.

They drank quietly for a while and Sakura was glad for the warm beverage. Whenever the wind picked up, the chill got significantly worse.

“Did you come to a decision about extending your stay?” Gaara asked eventually, breaking the silence.

Sakura grinned into her cup. You could always count on the Kazekage to be direct.

“Yes,” she replied. “I received a missive from Tsunade-shisho. She said your aid would be most welcome. Are you sure you don’t mind acting as an intermediary?”

“You already know the answer to that question,” he replied, annoyed.

Her grin intensified. These days he only allowed the temper he was once famous for to show around those closest to him.

“The nomad tribes of the desert have always been notoriously reclusive,” he continued. “If you wish to do some research on their healing techniques, then it’s best for me to be involved.”

She nodded. “Yes, you’ve told me. And I am grateful for your help.”

“How much longer will you be staying?”

“At least 2 months, I think.”

“Good, that’s settled then,” he said, placing his empty cup on the floor.

Sakura did so as well before arranging the blanket more comfortably around her shoulders.

She turned her gaze towards Gaara just as his eyes fell on hers. They smiled.

As one, they fell back to lay down on the tatami.

It had become one of Sakura’s most cherished moments.

The desert sky above engulfed them in its vastness, stars so bright and numerous they rivalled description. A spectrum of glimmering colour scattered across an indigo mantle, shining with reds, greens, blues, and whites. One felt tiny yet gargantuan while gazing at such a display, humbled and dazzled in equal amounts. The chill of the night fell away, leaving only the infinite light show above.

A little over a year had passed since Sakura had first stumbled upon Gaara up on the roof. On her first mission as a Konoha envoy, she had been feeling slightly overwhelmed by all the information presented to her during the first assembly she had attended. Looking for a quiet place to get away from the buzzing meeting hall, she had gone up to the roof of the building next door, one of the tallest in Sunagakure.

It was a shock, to say the least, to find the Kazekage lying down on a tatami mat in the middle of a freezing desert gale, looking up at the sky. He was the last person she would have expected to encounter out in the night while an assembly was taking place. Nonplussed, Sakura had apologized and beat a hasty retreat. The next day, she repeated her apologies when she ran into him before a meeting. Gaara had shaken his head and instead of being cross for having his private moment interrupted, he’d invited Sakura to join him. He was eager to hear any news about Naruto. As an envoy, Sakura knew it would be bad form to reject his invitation, so she went out to meet him that night.

That had been the start of their little ritual whenever she was in town. After long tiring days, the two of them would wind down together, looking up at the breathtaking desert sky.

They would chat here and there but mostly, they just lay down on the tatami in silence. He never said it explicitly, but Sakura had come to understand that the night sky was a source of solace for Gaara; these were moments when he could allow everything around him to dissolve until there was nothing left between him and the vastness above.

Before she knew it, the star-strewn sky had started to have its effect on her. It was as if Sakura could empty herself under it; all the worry and heartbreak trickled away. In the private recesses of herself, she began to look forward to these serene moments in Sunagakure.

And to the company of the Kazekage.

There was something about Gaara that quietened Sakura. His silence was never oppressive; on the contrary, it was accepting. Maybe it was because he had been through so much, he could actually place himself in someone else’s shoes without passing any judgement. She found she could be herself, with her wrung-out heart and emotional scars. She was not the heir of Tsunade’s teachings here; neither was she a Konoha kunoichi or an ex-member of Team 7. All those roles lost their importance whenever she contemplated infinity in the face of the desert sky.

Gaara understood. There was no need to talk about it. If there was someone who knew about the vestiges of psychological and emotional damage, it was him. So they spent their nights together whenever she was in town.

Before long, Sakura began to enjoy their time together immensely, and little by little, she had come to know Gaara a whole lot better. Now, he was a person she confided in.

“I was remembering the first time you and your siblings came to Konoha today,” she told him, “during the first Chuunin exams.”

“Not my best moment,” Gaara conceded. His voice was calm, though. Sakura knew he had already made amends with that particular phase of his life.

“It made me think about you and Naruto. Your differences and your similarities.”

He nodded. “More differences than similarities these days. I’m not a Jinchuriki anymore.”

“Like if I wasn’t there when it happened,” she replied. She sent a silent prayer to Chiyo-san at the memory. “It’s a good thing, in my opinion. I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like to be a living, breathing cage for a tailed beast.”

Gaara contemplated this for a few silent moments before speaking. “True. From my experience, it’s not something I would wish on anyone else. Yet despite the anguish, the sleepless torment, the pain, I do not regret being one. I am now very aware that being a Jinchuriki put me on a life-path that led me here, to who I am today, to this moment I am sharing with you.”

An emotion rose from deep within her, unbidden. It’s warmth spread across her chest and Sakura felt herself soar. She could reach the stars above if she rode the wave of this feeling.

“I wouldn’t have it otherwise,” Gaara finished, unaware of the effect of his words.

“Funny you should say that,” she replied, turning her face towards him. “I came to a similar conclusion about the Chuunin exams. Even if I was afraid of who you were back then, I’m very glad we met.”

He turned towards her, smiling. “I’m very sorry I scared you, but yes, I am grateful our paths crossed when they did. And I am also thankful for everything that’s followed.”

The expansive emotion intensified and Sakura could only nod in reply.

Looking up at the sky once more, she sat laid in silence, aware of what a strange pair they made. A former Jinchuriki and an emotionally scarred kunoichi. Yet it felt right. There was comfort here and acceptance. Things had not been easy for either of them but somehow, when they were together, their stories faded and the present moment was all that mattered.

Sakura abruptly realized something: if she could continue to spend time with Gaara like this, under the vastness that set their hearts free, she would consider herself fulfilled.

Contentedness, it seemed, had sneaked up on her unawares.

Did he feel the same way?

Sakura turned to look at him again as he contemplated the stars and could not help admire his profile. The serenity in his expression did not answer her question but it filled her with expectation.

With that thought in mind, she huddled deeper into her blanket and slid nearer to him on the tatami. Gaara shifted slightly to allow her to come closer. They lay there, next to each other, close enough to feel each other’s heat.

It was all the answer Sakura needed. Such a small signal and it opened the door to a future neither of them would have ever anticipated. Discovering whatever path lay before them might just be the most exciting prospect yet.

Sakura closed her eyes to better feel her eager heart as the cold, star-filled night wrapped around them, filling the future with possibilities.

[larimar]

Psyche entering Cupids Garden by John WIlliam Waterhouse 

The goddess Venus, jealous of the outstandingly beautiful mortal Psyche, asked her son Cupid to cause Psyche to fall in love with the vilest wretch alive. Cupid agreed. When all continued to admire and praise Psyche's beauty but none desired her as a wife, Psyche's parents consulted an oracle which told them to set Psyche in mourning garments on top of a nearby peak as Psyche was destined for no mortal lover but for a monster who held even gods in thrall. So it was done. But then Zephyrus, the west wind, carried Psyche away to a fair valley and a magnificent palace where she was attended by invisible servants until night fell and in the darkness of night the promised bridegroom arrived and the marriage was consummated. The bridegroom visited her only by night and refused to let himself be seen. The mysterious bridegroom even allowed Zephyrus to take Psyche back to her sisters and bring all three down to the palace during the day, only warning that Psyche should not listen to any argument that she should try to discover his true form. The two sisters, jealous of Psyche, returned, jumping down from that peak so that Zephyrus had to bear them up gently or let them die. The sisters told Psyche, then pregnant, that rumor was that she had married a great serpent who would devour her and her unborn child when her time came. They urged Psyche to conceal a knife and oil lamp in the bedchamber, to wait till her husband was asleep, and then to light the lamp and slay him at once if it was as they said. Psyche followed their advice. In the light of the lamp Psyche recognized the fair form on the bed as the god Cupid himself, but a drop of oil fell from Psyche's lamp and scalded Cupid. Cupid awoke and flew off with Psyche clinging to him until she could hold on no longer and fell to the earth, whereupon Cupid chastised Psyche for disobeying his charge though he himself had ignored his own mother's command, had descended from heaven to love her, had wounded himself with his own arrow. The god Pan, who was nearby, advised Psyche to seek to regain Cupid's love through service. Psyche returned to her old home and told her two, jealous, elder sisters what had happened; they rejoiced secretly and each separately attempted to return to the valley hoping for the love of the god, but this time Zephyrus did not bear them and they fell to their deaths. Psyche searched far and wide for her lover, finally stumbling into a temple to Ceres where all was in slovenly disarray. As Psyche was sorting and clearing, Ceres appeared, but refused any help but advice, saying Psyche must call directly on Venus. Psyche next called on Juno in her temple, but Juno said the same. So Psyche found a temple to Venus and entered it. Venus damned Psyche as a whore but did accept her service and ordered Psyche to separate all the grains in a large basket of mixed kinds before nightfall. An ant took pity on Psyche and with its ant companions separated the grains for her. Venus was outraged at her success and told her to go to a field where golden sheep grazed and get some golden wool. A voice from a reed in a river told Psyche that the sheep were vicious and strong and would kill her, but if she waited until noontime, the sheep would go to the shade on the other side of the field and sleep; she could pick the wool that stuck to the branches and bark of the trees. Venus next asked for water from the Styx and Cocytus flowing from a cleft that was impossible for a mortal to attain and was also guarded by great serpents. This time an eagle performed the task for Psyche. Venus, outraged at Psyche's survival, claimed that the stress of caring for her son, depressed and ill as a result of Psyche's unfaithfulness, had caused her to lose some of her beauty. Psyche was to go to Hades and ask Proserpina, the queen of the underworld, for a bit of her beauty in a box that Venus gave to Psyche. Psyche decided that the quickest way to the underworld would be to throw herself off some high place and die and so she climbed to the top of a tower. But the tower itself spoke to her and told her the route through Tanaerum that would allow her to enter the underworld alive and return again, as well as telling her how to get by Cerberus by throwing him a sop and Charon by paying him an obol and how to avoid other dangers on the way there and back. Psyche followed the orders explicitly and ate nothing while beneath the earth. But when Psyche had got out of the underworld, she decided to open the box and take a little bit of the beauty for herself. Inside she could see no beauty, rather an infernal sleep arose from the box and overcame her. Cupid, who had forgiven Psyche, flew to her, wiped the sleep from her face, put it back in the box, and sent her back on her way. Then Cupid flew to heaven and begged Zeus to aid them. Zeus called a full and formal Council of the gods (which parodies a meeting of the Greek senate), declared it was his will that Cupid might marry Psyche, told Venus that it would be respectable matrimony, had Psyche fetched to heaven, and gave her a drink of immortality. The offspring of the marriage was Voluptas, that is, 'Pleasure'.