Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.
Notes: For those who have read my dropped GaaHina fic, I am so sorry D: This is another GaaHina, and I hope you enjoy this too :3
This is a College in real life AU, so none of the ninja stuff. Sadly. This was inspired by my cat and a youtube video from buzzfeed called "Things Cats Do That'd Be Creepy If You Did Them." For those who like binging youtube videos and for those who adore cats, I strongly recommend watching this. It's hilarious.
I watched it, looked at my cat, thought of Gaara, then this fic was born. I hope you enjoy!
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Gaara the Cat. Or, how Gaara acts like a cat:
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Approaches when offered food
Hinata tried to fish for her keys as she balanced her shoulder bag and a large paper bag full of chips, yoghurt and other unhealthy stuff, while holding on to a container of two large cups of latte goodness.
It proved to be a difficult task.
Hinata contemplated giving up. Falling asleep on the floor in the middle of the hallway was starting to sound like a good idea.
This week was hell; not just for Hinata, but for every freshman in campus. It seemed the professors finally stopped taking pity on the freshmen, and deemed them officially adjusted to their new life as college students. This acknowledgement of 'readiness' led to a release of a barrage of assignments and papers that were considerably higher than the level the students had been used to in high school, as if to say, this is your life now. Get used to it.
Which explained all the food. And the lattes. Both of those were hers. Hinata needed all the energy she could get.
Just as Hinata failed her second attempt of unlocking her door, the door across her creaked open. She automatically turned her head towards the sudden sound, which was a bad thing, because she accidentally locked eyes with a person who looked decidedly suspicious.
There was an awkward pause as both parties waited for the other to speak up, but neither were really that motivated to do so.
"Ah," said the scary redheaded panda— er, her neighbor who only recently decided to make his existence known. "Is that… food?"
Hinata hesitated.
"And coffee?"
Hinata, for the very first time, took in the wild glint in his eyes. She'd recognize that look anywhere; in fact, she was sure she had it right now. "Um," she said, after deep consideration. "You can have some, if you want. Um. Actually, if you want, only if you want! We can study together..."
He stared at her.
"You can have coffee too, if you want."
After a brief moment of deliberation, he slowly closed the door of his apartment, strode over to her, and took the paper bag and the two lattes. Hinata, for a wild moment, thought he was going to run away with her food (lifeline), when he looked at her pointedly.
She stared back, until she realized he was waiting for her to open her door.
Hinata didn't mind the company as much as she thought she would. After all, misery loves company.
The next day, she cooked ramen, and the smell wafting from her room lured her elusive neighbor out of his apartment and into hers.
Indecision
Gaara was sick.
Hinata wasn't even sure Gaara could get sick; he always held himself with a cool, aloof, but capable aura that it seemed impossible he could get something as silly as a bad stomach ache. But then again, from the way he ate, Hinata wasn't really all that surprised. Gaara ate sweets as much as a normal person drank water.
The only way she even knew he was in pain was the chain of texts he sent her while she was in class, which mostly consisted of Hinata, Hinata, Hinataa, My stomach hurts, I'm hungry, I want food, Ditch class and go here right now, Stop ignoring me, and It hurts.
Gaara was also surprisingly needy.
Unfortunately, she checked her phone for messages after class, since Kurenai-sensei flung chalk to the foreheads of students who used their phones during class. She was deadly accurate. The last message made Hinata's heart ache, so she cut all her other classes and went to buy chicken soup.
"Gaara-kun? I bought chicken soup," she said later, torn between wanting to hug his curled up form on the bed and respecting his well-protected personal space.
Gaara glared at her accusingly. "You're late."
Hinata felt sincerely guilty. "I'm sorry."
"Hn," Gaara replied. He uncurled his body and lay spread-eagled on the bed, then turned to stare at Hinata unblinkingly. "Rub my belly."
"Um," said Hinata.
Gaara seemed to notice that he had committed some kind of social blunder, so he tried to rectify it. "Please," he said.
"Okay," said Hinata, very reluctantly. Thankfully, he didn't pull his shirt up, so she wouldn't be touching his bare skin. She sat on the bed next to him, put her hand on his stomach, and started massaging it gently.
Gaara sighed. Hinata thought it was like the human version of a purr.
"Stop," he said suddenly, just as Hinata was starting to feel comfortable and not at all awkward. She did, and was about to stand up when Gaara caught her hand. "No, wait," he said. "Don't stop."
"Okay," said Hinata, not at all reluctant this time. She massaged him for a few seconds, then Gaara said "Stop."
"Okay…."
"No, nevermind. Rub my belly."
"Alright..."
"Stop."
"…"
"Wait, no. Continue."
"Maybe… Maybe I could make you a hot water bottle?"
Meeting new people
Hinata positively beamed when she spotted Gaara sitting on a table in the café, sipping coffee while reading a Stephen King novel. She waved at him. "Gaara!"
Beside her, Sakura wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Friend of yours?" She said, in a tone that implied she didn't really think Gaara was just Hinata's friend.
"Oh, yes," said Hinata, completely missing the pinkette's thinly-veiled teasing. "Gaara," she said, as she approached his table, with Sakura in tow.
"Hey," Sakura greeted, with a friendly grin on her face.
Gaara slowly looked up from his book, quietly dropped it on the table, and stood up abruptly to stare at Sakura.
"This is my classmate, Haruno Sakura-" Hinata was saying, when Gaara about-faced and walked away.
Sakura stared.
"Um," said Hinata. "It takes a really long time for him to warm up to people…"
"I see…" Sakura said, looking very confused.
"Sorry," Hinata said, hoping it could alleviate some of the awkwardness.
Slowly, from the wall he had hidden behind of, Gaara showed his head, and only his head, to peer at them suspiciously.
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To be continued.
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So... this was originally meant to be really short, but it grew a life of its own and somehow became longer. So am dividing it into three chapters. Reviews? I would very much enjoy the feedback.
(On a completely unrelated note, I just dip dyed my hair blue. My hair is blue. It makes me happy.)