I'm excited about this one. :D I loveee Gaa/Naru more than I let off.
Please, do enjoy.
Disclaimer.
oOo
Gaara stood before his closet, staring at the array of clothing with his arms crossed in their usual manner.
It was Summer, and Temari insisted she wanted to go on vacation with her two brothers before she flew off to college again. Gaara would have reluctantly agreed to an extent, if it wasn't for her choosing the worst possible destination his mind could possibly come up with. Even the North Pole would've been a better bet.. but California? This simply couldn't be happening.
"I hope you're almost done packing, Gaara!" Temari shouted from the other room, "We have to be at the airport in 3 hours!"
"I thought it was in 5! ?" Kankuro shouted from downstairs.
The noise was annoying, and Gaara furrowed his brows from the obnoxious yelling taking place around him. Couldn't they ever just communicate like normal human beings?
"No, you idiot!" Temari hollered, "I told you a million times that the flight was at 8!"
Gaara continued to stare at the clothes hanging in his closet, constricting his arms even tighter against him. This was all terribly unnecessary. Why did he have to go? He was never any fun, anyway. He figured his sister would know that by now. Besides, he loathed the sun, and the summer. California was nothing but sun and summer. His blank expression stayed in place, aqua marine eyes still captivated by the unmoving clothes hanging in his closet.
"Gaara!" Temari busted into his room, seemingly enraged at the sight of Gaara just standing there, "I told you to start packing! We have to leave soon!"
She stood by the door, looking for any sign of life in the completely frozen figure that stood in the room. She said something about not telling him again and proceeded to shout at Kankuro from downstairs. More yelling.
Sick of the same view, Gaara started tugging at random clothes from off the hangers, throwing them inside the bag that would later become his burden at the airport. When it was finally packed to the brim, he made his way towards his bed and sat with his arms crossed, staring intently at the far corner of the room. He didn't want to go to California. He didn't want to go anywhere. He wanted to stay in the safety of his room, away from the bothersome reaches of the outside world.
"Kankuro! You idiot! Call the taxi!" Temari seemed to never get tired of yelling, "We've gotta be there in an hour!"
"What's the number! ?" Gaara closed his eyes, knowing there was more shouting awaiting in his near future. His poor ears could hardly bear it anymore.
"456-572-3221!" his sister shrieked, nearly piercing Gaara's inflicted eardrums.
"Got it!"
Not being able to avoid his fate, Gaara decided to get up and drag his luggage down the stairs before Temari could even think of busting into his room again. He stood by the door for the hour that remained, arms crossed, and brows furrowed in annoyance. As always, he was the last to get ready, and the first to finish. He heard the klaxon of the taxi outside, knowing fully well that he wouldn't be able to return to the comfort of his room for the next 3 months. He held back a sigh and replaced it with a frown, the thought of it bothered him greatly. It was difficult enough sharing a house with his siblings, let alone a single room.
As if on signal, Temari came rushing down the stairs, a backpack and 2 bags of luggage balanced in her arms. Gaara was surprised she hadn't fallen to her death considering the way her view was completely blocked.
"Kankuro! Come on!" somehow Gaara knew she would ask him to help her, so saving his ears the pain, he volunteered to relieve her of one of the bags.
Kankuro came stumbling from his room, carrying an unnecessary amount of marionettes under one of his arms, while all the while balancing 3 smaller bags on the other.
Yes, they were crazy. There was no doubt about it. Gaara was convinced.
Temari lead the way to the taxi, packing the poor trunk until it overflowed with bags. Gaara watched his siblings freak out about the time, money, and other annoying things from a distance with his arms in their usual state. He couldn't understand how Temari managed to convince him to join in on this stupid 'vacation'. When Kankuro seemed as though he was done bashing on the car trunk, Gaara stepped inside the car, taking his seat on the back right corner. The other two anxiously took their seat, and directed the driver towards the airport.
The 15 minute ride there was nothing compared to the hell Gaara knew awaited him once they reached the airport. He bid goodbye to the fading image of his house and looked out the window, wishing the earth beneath the car would just swallow him whole.
The airport was, indeed, hell.
They waited for more than 3 hours on those hard, miserable 'chairs' in a room full of crying babies and obnoxious college students. Gaara tried his best to ignore his reality, blasting the headphones in his ears to full power. His eyes were open, but only to the naked eye. He found this all terribly, terribly unnecessary. Couldn't they just stay at home and go about their own lives without the burdensome interference of society?
"He'll go deaf one of these days", Kankuro murmured, not even bothering to whisper since there was no way Gaara could hear him from the turbulent blaring of his music.
Temari sighed, checking the time on her cellphone in the process, "It was hard enough getting him to come. If its tearing his eardrums apart that would keep him here, then so be it."
A final hour passed and their flight was announced on the speakers. Gaara paused his music and painfully went through the process of being groped and checked for any firearms and illegal drugs. Several people stared at him as his molestation continued, and he noticed the way a group of college girls pointed and giggled at him.
"He's sooo cute!" one of them whispered to the other.
"I know right? He probably already has a girlfriend, though.."
Gaara looked away, completely annoyed, and went about the process of putting his shoes back on when the security guy was finally through breaching his bodily privacy.
Years later, it seemed, he was finally in his seat inside the plane. It was stifled, and it smelled like old couches and people. He took the far seat by the window and buckled himself in, crossing his arms again in irritation. He concentrated on the seat in front of him, waiting for the nightmare to end at any moment. Temari sat in the middle, knowing fully well that Kankuro and Gaara sitting together would be an even greater nightmare.
"See? It isn't so bad!" Temari tried to console the red-head sitting angrily beside her, "It was all done in a flash!"
Gaara looked away as a response to Temari's optimism. She sighed, knowing Gaara wasn't having it.
"Shit, this sucks balls", Kankuro sighed, taking out the magazine inside the seat in front of him, "This whole 'California' thing better be worth it."
Temari shot him a death glare, and just as quickly, Kankuro took back his comment, "I mean.. Of course it'll be worth it!" The nervousness in his chuckle was apparent, but Temari was satisfied with the correction, nonetheless.
Not long after, the plane began to move. Gaara hated how the plane moved. He hated the smell, feel, sound, and thought of the plane. He slouched in his seat, uncrossing his arms only to plug in his earphones, blasting his music to a deafening volume.
The 8 hour flight went by strenuously slow. Gaara could already imagine the horribleness of the sunny, overpopulated state engulfing his defenseless being. He stared out the window, watching as every mile that took him further from his room went by. He thought of his ps3. What were he to do without his ps3? The thought irritated him further, and he began to glare fiercely at the window as if it were threatening him with death and torture. Which in a way, it was.
It must have been an eternity that passed when Gaara's iPod finally died. He begrudgingly took out his earphones and cursed the piece of technology for not being up to par with his expectations. He looked around him and noticed Kankuro snoring at an impossible volume, drooling all over Temari's shoulder. He frowned. Couldn't he sleep like a normal person?
"Would you like a pillow, sir?" Gaara looked to his right and noticed a lady smiling at him. Obviously, she thought he was appealing by the way her cheeks had reddened.
He shook his head to the side once and looked away, killing her hopes in less than a fraction of a second. He didn't understand why girls looked at him like that. Why did their faces turn red? And why did they think he was approachable in any way? He didn't like people. Why couldn't society understand?
Finally, he heard the pilot of the plane announce that they had reached their destination, sealing Gaara's fate once and for all. He was to spend 3 grueling, agonizing months in that terrible, terrible place. He could hardly bear the horror, and gave a deep scowl at the seat in front of him. Damn the world for torturing him this way.
As if on cue to Gaara's suffering, Kankuro awoke from his obnoxious slumber, yawning loudly and shaking Temari awake, "We're finally here!"
Gaara turned his scowl to the window and was eternally scarred by the formidable view. The sun was bright and blinding. He could already feel his skin melting from his bones without even feeling the heat of the outside.
'Welcome to Sacramento, City Of Trees'
Gaara cringed, his life expectancy no doubt reduced by 50 years.
oOo
The hotel room couldn't possibly be any smaller.
The two beds, it seemed, hardly fit in the small perimeter of the room; and the colors of the sheets were awful. A deadly, psychedellic yellow bleached Gaara's retinas. He wouldn't dare come near them. Instead, he stood by the door of the room, his arms crossed, and a deep, unchanging frown present on his face.
"This is great!" Temari exclaimed, in attempt to sooth the two unappeased boys in the room, "Totally worth the money we paid!"
Only a fool wouldn't be able to recognize the rising anger in her voice.
"Jeeze, there's only two beds, I thought we got the one with three.." Kankuro let out, dropping the bags he had been carrying on the carpeted floor.
Damn Americans and their unnecessary carpets.
"You're the one who booked the room, idiot", the only girl in the room snapped, giving the brunette a blaming glare, "you're gonna be the one sleeping on the floor."
Kankuro grunted, looking away towards the red-head by the door. He had totally forgotten that Gaara was in the room.
"What do you think Gaara?" Kankuro asked, trying his best to maintain the unappreciated smile on his face.
Gaara lowered his gaze, furrowing his brows in response. Kankuro was satisfied with the angry, wordless reply and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, eager to move on through the day, "Man, I'm hungry. I wonder what they sell around here.."
Temari popped open her laptop, researching any nearby restaurants that sold consumable food. She was starving, as well, but refused to show any signs of it. She had this weird thing about her about not wanting to show much interest in food. Ever since she was much younger, she worried persistently about her weight.
"Uh.. McDonalds, KFC, Taco.. Bell? Weird.." she scrolled down, a confused expression on her face, "Burger King..? What the fuck? Jack In The Box, Denny's, Pollo Loco.."
Kankuro sighed heavily. All those foreign, silly names were too much for him and he decided to go with the one with the least degrading name of the lot, "Let's just go to Denny's."
Temari closed her laptop in agreement and called up a taxi. Gaara stood still on his spot by the door, glaring at the terrifying sheets as if they had threatened him with death. There was no way in fuck he was going to this 'Denny's'.
"Are you coming, Gaara?" Temari asked as she hung up the phone, "I'm sure you must be hungry, you haven't eaten anything since we left home.."
Gaara refused to look away from the dangerous beds, but shook his head in rejection.
"Are you sure?" she tried again, truly concerned for Gaara's health.
This time Gaara didn't show a bodily response and simply crossed his arms. The taxi came not long after, forcing Gaara away from his comfortable spot by the door.
"We'll be back soon", Temari reassured him as Kankuro rushed out the front door, "Text us or call if you need anything or change your mind."
Gaara looked at her for a brief second as a response and the door was then closed, leaving the red-head standing awkwardly in the middle of the foreign box. He made his way to the opposite side of the room and plugged his iPod to the wall, hoping it would charge quickly so he could hurry up and escape his dreadful reality. He stared at the carpet for a moment before walking towards the bathroom. A large mirror greeted him, and he stared at himself for the longest time before deciding his eyeliner needed a touch-up.
Nearly 4 hours passed as Gaara sat in the same chair, blaring his headphones. He stared intently at the clock, watching as time ticked away from 6:30 PM to 10:22 PM. Kankuro and Temari sure took their sweet time eating. Finally, he heard a wriggling at the door and he knew they were back.
"Shit, this place is actually pretty cool!" Kankuro shouted, disrupting Gaara's peace as he chomped on some weird-looking object of food that resembled a rounded cylinder, "Want some?" he offered, stabbing the distasteful piece of food at Gaara's face, "It's a dog-corn!" He took a bite, not noticing Gaara looking at him as if he had grown a 3rd head.
"Corn-dog, idiot", Temari corrected, locking the flimsy door behind her, "Gaara, you should really go outside and get some fresh air", she suggested as she popped a few pieces of candy in her mouth, "the sun's gone, and there's not many people outside anymore. I hate to see you just sitting there."
Gaara considered her offer when he looked outside the window of the small room. It was dark, and the streets were lighted beautifully by the moonlight. He turned towards her, waiting for her to convince him further.
"I know you're probably dying for a smoke", she continued, taking a seat on those hellish, yellow sheets, "or a drink. Have some fun, Gaara. Here." She handed him a strange bill with a fat guy as the symbol.
100 Dollars, Gaara read. He figured that was enough money to buy him a pack of cigarettes to get him through the night. Temari smiled when Gaara finally stood from his seat, putting on a black hoodie, and pocketing the money away in his black skinny-jeans.
He then stepped outside into the danger of the foreign city, making his way down the flight of stairs. The night was beautiful, he could admit.
His search began for the closest convenience store.
Gaara encountered a few people along the way. Most slowed in their steps to take a good look at him before hastily walking away just as quickly.
He had that effect on humanity, and he deemed it best that way.
After a good half hour of wandering around downtown, he spotted a store with a promising name 'QuikStop'. It better be a quick stop. All he wanted was a pack of those addictive babies and a lighter. He crossed the street without looking both ways and made his way in very reluctantly. Who knew what weird creatures were inhabiting that suspicious store..
A beep flooded the empty store as Gaara walked in, causing him to frown in reflex. He looked around as he walked further in, looking for any signs that might lead to cigarettes.
"Welcome!" he heard from the nearby counter he hadn't noticed located on his right, "How can I help you?"
He turned towards the voice, and was greeted with a very strange looking boy. He had yellow hair, resembling the sun that Gaara so dreadfully resented, and impossibly blue eyes. Whatever frown that was present on Gaara's face immediately dropped, and he quickly looked away. He'd never met someone with such yellow hair before, or someone with blue eyes. He contemplated deeply on what to do next before crossing his arms, cautiously approaching the counter with his gaze to the side. He didn't want to look at that boy anymore. He made him feel weird..
"So, what can I get you?" the boy tried again, giving a broad, cheerful smile.
Gaara took a quick glance at the smiling boy and immediately looked away just as quick. This situation was proving quite difficult..
The blonde boy gave out a cheerful chuckle from behind the counter, leaning in towards the seemingly terrified red-head from the opposite side, "New around here, I'm guessing?"
"Smokes", Gaara blurted out.
He cringed inwardly at the sound of his own voice. It was raspy and broken, he hadn't used it in so long, and he'd honestly forgotten how it even sounded.
The boy giggled, turning around to unlock a cabinet behind him, "Yessir!"
Gaara took the opportunity to study the bizarre creature in front of him, taking in how the yellow hair on the boy's head gave out a light of its own. He wondered how something could be so.. yellow (the color he hated most).. yet so pleasing to his senses. That yellow didn't bother him at all. In fact, he found himself enjoying the sight of it. He quickly looked away when the mysterious blonde turned around, flashing a precious pack of Marlboro cigarettes.
"Sorry, but I have to see an ID", he said, a go-lucky tone in his voice, "It's just some lame policy."
Gaara took in the information and began to take his wallet out from his back pocket, showing the boy a very menacing looking photo ID.
"Oh! You're 19th birthday's coming up!" the blonde clamored, "Gaara, right?"
Gaara glanced up at him, meeting his oddly colored eyes with that of the boy's. He noticed that he could hardly sustain eye contact with this particular person. Something really weird.. Gaara was known for his excellence in staring people down 'till they squirmed beneath his gaze. He looked down to the counter, pocketing the pack of cigarettes after taking one out and placing it eagerly between his lips.
"Well, I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" the boy shouted with a boastful pride, "It's really nice meeting you, Gaara."
Naruto took out his hand, offering it to the perplexed red-head from the opposite side of the counter.
Gaara hated physical contact with anyone, but something deep inside him itched and pleaded for him to shake the awaiting hand that was positioned so dangerously close to him.
For the first time in years, he felt warm skin against his own.
oOo
Oh, sweet, silent Gaara. I have great plans for this story. I have the whole thing mapped out and plotted in my head. Believe me when I tell you that there will be many surprises. (: Review for me? It greatly encourages me to go forth with the updates. xx