Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Author's Words: This is my first attempt at a one-shot and it did not go very well. However, I still want to post it and hear your comments because your reviews, if you are willing, will help me improve. I do have to apologise though, for this badly donestory. If you do manage to get through it, please tell mehow to make it even shorter!Thank you and enjoy.
Reaching Out
A young mother was smiling down at her little child as they walked toward the little playground where they would meet the other children and their mothers each day around this time.
Her little child was holding her hand and half-skipping, half-hopping along.
Suddenly, the little child tugged his mama's hand, saying excitedly, "Mama, mama! Look at that onii-chan! He's got dark circles around his eyes! He looks like a panda! Can I have dark circles too? I wanna be a panda too!"
His mama looked at the direction the child was indicating and got the shock of her life!
At the entrance to the little playground was a young man with red flaming red. He was standing with his arms crossed and looked exactly like a gangster in this young mother's imaginative mind.
She shushed her child, bent down and picked him up, hoping the 'gangster' did not notice them.
Her child was fascinated with the young man's dark circles and did not really want to go but he shushed himself after his mother told him that they were having cake early that day at home if he would stay quiet.
The young mother walked away as fast as she could manage without being too obvious. She did not want to attract the attention of the 'gangster' after all.
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The 'gangster' was actually not a gangster at all and he had heard the child's excitedly exclamations along with the mother's rather loud 'shushing' noises.
He inwardly sighed but his expression showed nothing as he stood there waiting. She was not the first mother to react that way today.
He counted and thought that she was about the sixth mother to almost run away at the sight of him.
Strangely enough, the little children had no problem whatsoever with him; it was only the mothers who acted in that scandalized and scared way.
In fact, he had been called many things but being called a panda so many times in the same day? This was a first.
Thank goodness none of his acquaintances were around to hear the kids.
They would have a field day with it and he would be forced to kill the lot of them which would be a shame since he actually liked some of those idiots.
He was really tempted to go away from this quiet and peaceful neighborhood but he had promised his girlfriend that he would wait here for her.
They were going on their first date today but first she had some business in this area so he offered to wait around for her.
He would never have said that if he had known what kind of neighborhood this was.
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"Gaara-kun!"
He looked up at the sound of her sweet voice. It was Hinata, his girlfriend of exactly one week and two days.
It was at a party for their boss that Hinata had told him, amidst a lot of stammers and stutters, that she had feelings for him and that she only wanted to tell him and that she was sorry for burdening him with this but she just had to say it.
He had been extremely surprised, not that he showed it.
He had never really noticed her before but this time, he looked at her, really looked at her.
He could see that it must have taken all her courage to come up to him like that because she was trembling.
He knew that she was shy because that was the first thing anyone would notice about Hyuuga Hinata.
She had her head down, looking at her feet as if she was waiting for him to refuse her.
He should do that he had told himself and yet he had lifted her chin so he could see her face.
She was blushing but her eyes were bright, as if she was trying not to cry. She held her hands in front of her as if she was trying to protect herself and Gaara had felt something in his pretty much dead heart.
This was the first time someone had said that she liked him.
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Once he had thought that no one would ever like him because he was a really troubled teenager who wrecked havoc everywhere. Broken bones, half-dead, black eyes, crushed limbs, etc.
Everyone he fought came out with some serious injury or the other. The only thing he had not yet done was to kill someone.
Even his own brother and sister had not known what to make of him. He could have been dead for all he cared and he only felt alive when he was fighting.
He would have gone on like that if he had not met Uzumaki Naruto.
Through Naruto, he had found out there was another path he could take. A much more demanding path but it would bring hope.
He had always been a fighter and he chose to work for recognition as Naruto had chosen. From the moment he made his choice, he knew his world had changed.
Bit by bit, he opened his eyes to the people around him.
He saw that his siblings had cared but they simply did not know how to be with him.
He saw that while there were people who judged him, there were also people who did not.
He saw that he could have a place in the world if he just reached out.
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As he looked at this young woman in front of him, he found himself wanting to answer her. Not because of anything; just because she chose to reach out to him.
He admired her for that because he knew that reaching out to people was not easy at all.
For someone as shy as she apparently was, it must be even harder.
It was a fact he knew but did not understand fully until he saw her trembling body, waiting for rejection.
He thought that it would be interesting to get to know her.
He wanted to find out where her courage came from. He wanted to know why she would want to reach out to him when it was obvious that she was frightened.
What was this thing that she felt?
He was not so dumb as to think she was talking about the same feelings as the feelings she had for her friends. He had an inkling of what the feelings were between friends, not much but enough.
He knew she was talking about the feelings between just two people, a couple or lovers, whatever you called it.
He thought that it might be something akin to attraction but it did not seem that way because she did not drape herself all over him like those girls around Uchiha Sasuke.
Therefore what was that she felt that was so important to her? What would it be like to feel that? Would he know if he got close to her?
He wanted to know very much.
He raised his hand slowly and rested it gently on her cheek.
She did not flinch from his touch but she seemed to blush even more. Her pink cheek was so warm and soft.
Gaara then said, "Okay."
Hinata had blinked and said, somewhat stupidly, "Huh?"
Gaara said, "Okay, I'll be your boyfriend."
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As Hinata stopped in front of Gaara, she smiled shyly as she said, "G-gomen ne, Gaara-kun. I'm late."
She still could not quite believe that he was her boyfriend. He was so strong and confident; so sure of himself.
She knew of his past; they all had some idea of it.
Everyone had said if he had not met Naruto, he would have gone on to become the worst criminal they had ever known.
There was a time when he was utterly without a heart, or so they said. She was so glad that he did not become a criminal but instead became the bane of all criminals.
She admired him for having the strength to step out of his past and change, even though it could well the most difficult thing to do.
She ought to know because she was still trying to step out of her shell and live in the world.
She had watched him and knew he did not have it easy. She had friends and family with her all along and still she was learning to ask for what she wanted.
His family did not care about him except for his brother and sister. He had so few friends to pave his way and yet he managed to rise up from his troubled past.
He had to learn how to live in society again and it was never easy when very few people really supported him.
They all waited for his downfall. They all said that he was bound to return to his old ways and he would become a killer or a gangster.
He proved them wrong and now he was one of the best detectives in Shinobi, the special agency that took on all types of cases from murders, terrorist threats to finding a lost cat or taking photos of a husband committing adultery.
Shinobi also responded to the government when situations called for it. It had a very good reputation and had bases all over the world.
That was actually where she met Gaara because she also worked there.
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In the beginning she had been so scared of him. She had noticed him and he was always alone.
In time, her nervousness lessened and her curiosity grew.
She realized that he only looked scary, not that she could ever said it to his face of course. It would not be appropriate.
It was true though because apart from when they were on missions or cases, he was never violent.
He was just quiet and stayed by himself most of the time, training or going up onto the roof of the building Shinobi was based in.
She had watched him and soon, she started thinking of him and then, she, well, grew to admire him. She grew to have feelings for him.
She had been so sure he would reject her that she did not want to tell him. She did not mean to tell him in fact.
She did not understand where her courage came from that night. It could be the dim lighting or it could be the little bit of alcohol that she had drunk, it did not really matter now.
Wherever it came from, she was thankful because now she was with him.
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Gaara looked at her as she stopped in front of him with absolutely no expression on his face.
He found he did not really mind waiting for her even if it meant being called a 'panda'. He did not say anything though.
He just put his hand on her cheek as he had gotten in the habit of doing since the party.
Hinata did not mind him doing that because she liked it as well.
She also wanted to touch his face but she was still too shy to try anything that forward.
They had not even held hands yet! She liked his hands though.
On her face, she could feel his hand with its tough skin that was so different from hers. His hand was also big and warm.
It was as if he was like her; he had to touch her to make sure she was real and not a dream.
It was just a feeling that she had, not that she would ever admit it to anyone because she knew they would laugh at her for being so naïve.
She knew it was hard to think that he would feel insecure but it was the only reason that felt right.
Gaara could feel her warmth from her soft cheek and he was satisfied.
He said, "Let's go."
He then turned abruptly and started walking, leaving her to catch up with him.
Hinata hurried after him as his steps took him further and further away from her.
She wanted to walk beside him but she did not dare to. She still felt too shy around him to do that.
Just as she was thinking that, she noticed that she could no longer see him in front of her.
Hinata frantically looked around only to find that Gaara was by her side. He was looking at her when she stopped to look for him.
She could immediately feel a blush creeping up her neck onto her face. He must think that she was absolutely useless to panic like that!
He had started walking again and when Hinata continued to walk behind him, he slowed and walked beside her again.
At first, she was confused but then as she comprehended what he was doing, she was filled with warmth inside her heart that he would care to slow his pace and walk beside her.
It might seem to be a little thing to a lot of people but to her, it was as if he was treating her like a proper girlfriend.
Gaara noticed her happy little smile as she walked with her eyes downcast as was her habit.
He did not understand why she was happy but he guessed that Temari must have been right about taking care to stay with his girlfriend.
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News spread faster than a bushfire in summer at Shinobi because they dealt in information after all.
His friends and siblings had been really surprised and happy to hear that he was finally 'growing up', as they called it. Well, most of them anyway.
Hinata's over-protective cousin, Hyuuga Neji had tried to murder him once he had heard that he was going out with his precious cousin.
The others prevented him, not that he needed the help but they also said that Hinata would be sad if anything happened to either of them, so both Neji and him stopped trying to attack each other after that.
He did not know why he would care but he knew he wanted to stay with Hinata.
If she was sad, then she would want to be alone and he would not be able to stay by her side.
Therefore if he attacked Neji, it would go against what he had decided to do.
It had nothing to do with her clear eyes and expressive face. Mostly anyway, he guessed.
He did not mind her little smiles though. It was because of those little smiles that he was dimly thankful to those girls who made him listen to them for hours on end.
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It was about two or three days after the party. He was about to go home when some of the other girls, namely Hinata's friends, caught him and forced him to listen to their 'lecture' about dating.
They had consisted of his sister, Temari, Haruno Sakuno, Yamanaka Ino and Tenten.
If his sister had not been there, he would have made his escape but she was, so he was forced to pay for their drinks and dinner while they lectured him about the finer points of dating.
He would never admit it but he actually found their advice to be quite useful. It was definitely more useful than the boys'.
Yes, some of the boys had gotten to him too, just the next day after the girls.
The girls actually provided him with places that Hinata would like to go so they could spend what they called 'quality' time together for him to get to know her.
They said that 'dates' were very important to girls.
The place they were going today was actually recommended by Ino and Tenten. Sakura had gotten him the tickets and told him how to get there.
He still did not know where it was they were going though, as in what the place was like.
Yes indeed, the girls had been most helpful, not that he would tell them because they would only get all uppity about it. On the other hand, the boys were useless.
All they had given him was a lecture on sex and sex and more sex.
He had tuned them out after the first five minutes. As if he did not know about it! How old did they think he was!
Thinking back on the advice he had gotten from the girls, he remembered they had talked about holding hands.
He glanced towards Hinata and saw that her hands were clasped together in front holding her handbag.
Oh, he forgot about the handbag, they also said that he was supposed to help her carry stuff.
He reached out with his usual speed which was like lightning and before she knew it, he had her handbag in his hands.
He looked as expressionless as ever but she thought there was a hint of red on his pale cheeks.
She brushed that thought away and stammered, "G-Gaara-kun, a-ano, my h-handbag…"
Gaara just looked at her until she looked down, his eyes too intense for her shyness.
She fiddled her fingers until he reached out the other hand and stopped them. Then he took her hand and started walking again.
Hinata did not react in time so he pulled her for a few steps before she would regain her steps and walk beside him.
Her face was really red now and she thought and thought and thought… or tried to think anyway.
Gradually she realized that they were actually holding hands! They were holding hands!
She did not know what to say but she did know she liked his hand holding hers; his hand sharing his warmth; his hand giving his protection.
It was a very sweet feeling indeed.
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Gaara liked the feel of her hand.
It was soft and warm with none of the toughness of his hands.
However he knew that for all its softness, it was quite capable of killing people if she had the mind to do so.
He had seen her practicing her family's unique fighting style with Neji. While she still had a long way to go if she wanted to rise to Neji's level or his level, she was not bad at all.
Just then, he noticed that her hand was releasing his and he was suddenly afraid that she wanted to let go of him, like so many people had done before.
He thought he was past these weak emotions.
He was about to let loose his hand first when he felt her fingers interlacing his, holding his hand closer still.
He stopped and looked at her, astonished that she would want to hold his hand so firmly in such an intimate way.
Her face looked as if it was burning but Hinata stood her ground and looked up at him.
She smiled that shy, hesitant smile of hers, as if asking for permission.
He did not say anything. He looked into her pure eyes and saw not only hope but also himself.
There was only him in her eyes, nothing else and no one else and he was glad.
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He would have smiled if he knew how but he did not. He clasped her hand tightly but was careful not to use too much strength and started walking again.
Hinata had been so happy and excited and frightened all mixed into one mess of emotions when she decided hold his hand too.
He reached out for her and she responded.
They were not good with words, the both of them but she thought perhaps they did not need it too much after all.
As she walked beside him, she still had her face downcast but Gaara could see that her face was less red and more pink and her mouth was again curved in that sweet shy smile that he found he quite enjoyed watching.
He knew he would enjoy getting to know her indeed.
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It was on this first date that these two rather lonely people started to let their hearts step closer to each other.
Their thoughts might be silent.
They might have very little in common.
They might have a lot of obstacles in the future.
However, for the moment, all of that seemed insignificant because they had taken the chance to learn how to overcome all that.
One was a young man who did not know how to love but was willing to learn.
One was a young woman who was willing to learn how to leave her shadow to stay with the one she loved.
They clasped hands together as they stepped towards the place where they would have their first date with many dates to follow.