Delicate
A/N: I heard this song on my Fruits Basket DVD and I loved how it sound but I couldn't hear it that well because the characters were talking over it. So I looked on YouTube and found it and it sounded so beautiful that I had to do a Sand Sib song fic with it. Anyway this is my first attempt at a Sand Sibling fic and it probably isn't that good so if I missed anything of if I made the characters too OOC just message me and tell me how to improve it. I just wanted this to be as good as Ariel D's works.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the song Delicate/Serenade. Also I recommend you hardcore Sand Sib fans out there to go onto YouTube and listen to the song while reading because it gets the mood going and it's such a great song. Heres the title:
Serenade-english-Fruits Basket
There's a star at the beginning of the title and brackets around Fruits Basket you can't miss it, also there is a black and white picture of Tohru on the screen.
"talking"
"thinking"
singing
It had been six hours since Gaara had been rescued from the Akatsuki and returned to the village and the three siblings were eager to get things back to normal, and by normal they meant getting away from the nosey villagers and council members' questionings and requests for Gaara to give a statement about the whole ordeal and if they will have to prepare for future Akatsuki attacks.
"Sheesh, don't these people have lives?" thought Kankuro annoyed.
It took them a good thirty minutes to get past the crowd of villagers to get to their house to get into their funeral wear for Chiyo's burial and the same amount of time to get back. Couldn't these people lay off of him? Kankuro thought seething. The poor boy just got his bijuu sucked out of him for God's sakes, give the kid a break!
After Chiyo's funeral and bidding goodbye to the Leaf Ninja, the siblings walked back into the village and towards the direction of their house. Thankfully it was already the evening and everybody was getting ready to eat and go to sleep; didn't want anymore commotion happening. They entered the house quietly without saying a word to one another as Temari closed the door softly behind them. Just as quietly as they came in, the two brothers sat on the couch in the living room as Temari went into the kitchen to make super.
The sound of pans could be heard clanking as the boys continued to stare at the ground in awkward silence. Neither of the two knew what to say to each other. After several minutes of silence Kankuro turned to stare at Gaara for a minute, taking in his little brothers features. He took every feature down to the last detail as if he would never get the chance again. After all Gaara did just die not to long ago.
After finding out that Gaara died, Kankuro began to think of the last time he had taken a good look at Gaara. Really had the chance to stop and admire his little brother. Sure he looked at him when they talked to each other, but when was the last time he really looked at him. He never noticed before but Gaara was really unique looking, his ruley but neat ruby red hair, the black rings (which was mostly due to Shukaku) that framed his brilliant sea foam green eyes, his soft porcelain skin. Kankuro noticed just how perfect Gaara's skin was. He had no scars which is due to the fact that he had never been injured in his youth. Also he never could recall a time Gaara ever gotten zits or any form of facial hair, but that was probably due to Shukaku as well. His skin was always so perfect and soft looking and it totally complemented his hair and eyes. In short, Gaara was a beautiful child.
Mostly everyone in Suna had brown or black hair and brown eyes or in Temari's case blond with blue eyes.
After he saw Gaara shifting into his seat Kankuro turned around sharply just in case he saw him staring. He probably wouldn't like that.
The puppet master went back to staring at his feet again and gave a quite sigh so that Gaara couldn't hear. This was ridiculous, they couldn't just be silent for the rest of their lives, they would have to talk some time. It's not like they can just go on pretending like nothing had happened and he new that it wasn't going to be easy to just bring this all up in a conversation at super. This was a delicate situation and he couldn't just say 'So wow Gaara you died but you were brought back to life, you don't have that happen to you on most missions. Hey Temari can you pass the butter?'. That's just not how it worked.
This was serious. Kankuro would never admit it, but he had been terrified when Gaara had been kidnapped. Even when he had tried to save him he failed and almost died himself. When he felt he was better he, Temari and a group of Sand jonin and chunin went in pursuit of their Kazekage, their little brother. When they finally got to the field where he and the Leaf Ninja were and saw him sitting up and looking around his heart had skipped a beat at the site of he little brother alive and well. But then he had heard from one of the two Leaf jonin that Gaara had been dead and it was only thanks to Chiyo, with a little bit of Naruto's help that they were able to bring him back to life.
Kankuro had been frozen as a stone, a cold sweat had dripped down his painted face. Did he hear right? Gaara had been--had been...
Kankuro shook the bad feeling of the memory off. After hearing about that Kankuro vowed to never ever let his brother down again, emphasizing this with clenched fists in his lap. He promised to always be there for him, to support him and take care of him and do everything a big brother should do or in his case should have done a long time ago. If he thought he had been putting an effort into helping Gaara in the past two and a half years than this time he will put ten times the effort into it, after all Kankuro wasn't afraid of a challange.
The puppet master looked over just in time to see Gaara sharply turn around to his right. Kankuro stared a shock.
"Was Gaara...looking at me just now?" thought Kankuro.
He frowned a little. If Gaara was feeling the way he did right now, then he probably, more than anything wanted to say something too but was--just like him-- too shy and awkward about the situation to say anything. It was probably worse for him since he was the one who got kidnapped and died, and Gaara wasn't really one to come out and say what his feelings were, he usually bottled them up.
Kankuro figured that now was as good as anytime to put his new vow to himself to work. Taking a deep breath he reached over and gently placed his hand on top of Gaara's smaller one. The redhead turned around in surprise as he stared into his brother's eyes, trying to find any hidden meaning behind his sudden show of affection. Kankuro responded by slowly moving his hand up and down Gaara's in a comforting fashion, his eyes never leaving his brother's.
"Are you okay Gaara?" he asked with genuine concern. After all he had to break the ice sometime and now was the perfect time.
Gaara stared back at his brother in awe. For as long as he'd known Kankuro he always put up a tough front in front of everybody and never showed such concern in public. He knew that Kankuro cared about him but he never showed affection like this before.
Hesitantly Gaara took a breath.
"I'm fine...Kankuro." he said with a light blush on his face.
The puppet master gave a small smile at the response. While continuing to rub his hand, Kankuro's expression turned to serious with a bit of care in it as he began to speak again.
"You know...if you ever need anything...you can always come to me...Whether you have a problem with something, or if you just wanna talk...I'll listen." As Kankuro said all of this, his eyes never left his brothers. He had to let Gaara know that he was dependable, that he would be a good brother to him and never let him down again. He need him to trust him.
Gaara was taken aback by this. He never knew Kankuro cared so much. He looked down at his hand and realized that Kankuro was squeezing it slightly, most likely trying to emphasize his statement.
Gaara felt his heart beat at a fast pase along with heat rushing to his cheeks. He looked up at Kankuro again a saw that his gaze never left him. Gaara raised his free hand and just as he did when he was a child, placed it on his chest where his heart was located. He didn't think he could feel anymore loved then he did six hours ago when he had woken up from his 'eternal slumber' and saw every citizen of Suna crowding around him, cheering and crying tears of joy for his return to them.
When Temari and Kankuro approached him at the time they seemed to have taken his death as no big deal and it saddened him, but now that Kankuro was saying all this to him he realized that that was just their tough fronts talking before and that they wanted to wait until they were totally alone with each other to talk. Apparently they didn't want any of the villagers to demean them for being too soft, which he could understand since he too felt the same way.
Gaara took a deep steady breath and looked his brother right in the eyes.
"Thank you...Kankuro. I needed to hear that..."
Kankuro let go of his breath that he wasn't aware that he was holding and smiled down at his little brother. Everything was going to be okay.
--
In the kitchen, as Temari was getting dinner prepared she couldn't help but over hear what her two brothers were saying to each other. Not that she was nosey or anything, but those two talk rather loud, not that they could help it.
But she did listen to their words and realized just how delicate the situation really was with Gaara dying and coming back to life. She could guess that Gaara was feeling some-what uncomfortable with talking about it, but it seemed that Kankuro pretty much got Gaara out of his uncomfortable face to semi-awkward.
Temari smiled at this, but then it quickly turned to a frown. She was glad that Kankuro helped him, but she realized that she has yet to help Gaara as well and she knows that she should be.
The thing was that...well...She just never had that type of deep meaningful conversation with him as he and Kankuro had, and she had no idea what to say or how to say it. This made the blond kunoichi frown even more.
She shouldn't find it difficult to talk to her younger brother. It should come to her as naturally as eating and breathing for God's sakes! It's just that for the past two and a half years since the Chuunin Exams incident, when Gaara started to change it was always Kankuro he would talk to, whether it be about how his day went, his secrets, or his dream about becoming Kazekage and reaching out to others. Temari just assumed that Gaara preferred him more because they were both boys which would make the conversations go easier, and while they would talk she would take care of the things around the house and tend to them when need be.
Not that she ignored her younger brother, oh no she did talk to him on occasions and spend some time with him; it's just that she never had a real conversation with him. She never really gave him advice although he never asked any from her, it was always Kankuro all the time and quite frankly it made her feel a little jealous.
But then again she never gave Gaara any reason to believe that she was just as good at talking and listening as Kankuro was, and that she was just as capable of giving advice as much as the next man.
Temari sighed as she placed the plates on the table while their dinner was still cooking. She had to fix this. She had to make Gaara believe that she could be trusted with his secrets and dreams as much as Kankuro could because if Gaara couldn't confide in her then there would be no hope for their relationship. Worse case scenario, they would drift apart.
Temari shook in fear of that thought. She quickly sucked it up and made a silent vow.
From this day forward she too will be there for Gaara just as much as Kankuro was. She will listen to all his problems, provide solution, and then give him occasional sibling hugs and kisses when the time was right (even if it does embarrass him). No matter what she had to get Gaara to trust in her because if he didn't then she didn't deserve the title of big sister.
At that moment the egg timer went off, signaling the meal was done.
Temari put on the oven mitts and took their dinner out of the oven and placed it on the table. They were having meatloaf with a side of mashpotatos. Once everything was prepared she sat at the table and called the boys.
"Gaara, Kankuro come eat!"
At that moment they walked into the kitchen and sat next to each other with out saying a word. Temari looked on sadly, she could only hope that one day Gaara would sit next to her for a change.
The three siblings ate in silence.
During the meal Temari took quick glances at Gaara, hoping to admire his unique and surprisingly beautiful features. You might think it's silly to think that way but even siblings could complement on one another's vanity once in a while, but then again that was mostly reserved for sisters but since Temari didn't have any her brothers would have to do.
As they continued to eat Temari felt that it was time to put her new vow to work. After all Kankuro couldn't be the only one praised tonight for being the good sibling.
Temari cleared her throut and looked at her youngest brother.
"Gaara?"
Said boy, as well as Kankuro, looked up from his meal and stared at his sister.
"Yes..."
Temari swallowed, the first step was always the hardest to take but it had to be done. She made sure Gaara was staring at her directly in the eyes before continuing.
"I want you to know...that if you ever need anything, or if you just want to talk I'm always free to listen. If there's any problem you have just tell me and I'll do whatever I can to help solve it. You can trust me. You know that, don't you?" she said, determination in her eyes as well as care.
Gaara's eyes widened as he was taken aback. Never had he heard Temari speak to him this way. She had never tried to make an effort to understand him before, but now.
Gaara looked down at his lap so that Temari couldn't see his blush, and placed his hand on top of his heart as it thumped painfully again. They truly did care about him. Both of them. He knew that Kankuro had tried to reach out to him the past few years and that meant alot to him, but Temari always seemed so preoccupied with other things that he never really considered what she thought about him. He knew she cared about him and he cared about her as well, but it always seemed like that was as far as her feelings for him would go. Gaara thought that maybe it was because of the time she had seen him transform in the forest in Konoha and with the way he had treated her when she was trying to help him, that she didn't bother with him at all and he figured he deserved it.
But he had been wrong. No matter how badly he had treated his siblings in the past they would always still cared about him. Gaara clenched his chest tightly. He never would have thought that such affection like this existed and he almost felt undeserving of it. Not after the way he had pushed them away and threatened to kill them so many times.
Gaara quickly tried to wipe away the unshed tears from his eyes as he lifted his head up and looked at his sister.
"Thank you...Temari."
Temari stared in awe at her younger brother and then smiled. He may not know it but his thank you eased all her inner fears and knew without a single doubt that everything was going to be okay.
Unfortunately their moment was ruined by a certain smart-assed remark.
"Heh...you heard me and Gaara talking in the living room didn't you? Copycat." said Kankuro with a stupid smirk on his face. Temari looked at him in annoyance before breaking into her own smirk.
"Well how could I not? It's not like you know the concept of whispering."
"Are you saying I'm loud?" asked Kankuro in false offence.
"Well I have heard you snore."
"Hey!"
The three siblings broke into a fit of giggles. Yep everything was back to normal, and all it took was a few reassuring words and a few playful insults.
Gaara ceased his giggling after taking in what Temari had said and began to frown.
"Temari...Kankuro?"
The two oldest stopped their giggling and took a look at their little brother.
"What is it Gaara?" asked Temari.
Gaara looked down at his folded hands in his lap before looking at his siblings.
"Since...since Shukaku has been removed...is it possible for me to...sleep?"
Temari and Kankuro looked at each other before turning back to their brother.
"Well--yeah, I mean do you want to?" asked Kankuro in genuine curiosity.
Gaara looked down at his hands and started rubbing them together, he didn't look at his siblings.
"I--I don't know. I mean I'm kind of...nervous...I don't know what to do." he was ashamed to admit his weakness, but they did say that they would take care of any and all problems he might have.
Gaara felt a warm hand clasp his right shoulder. He turned and was face to face with Kankuro. He was giving him a warm smile.
"Hey man, if your feeling nervous then we'll help you. No problem."
"Yes Gaara, we already said we would. There's no need to feel ashamed." reassured Temari with the same warm smile.
Gaara looked at both of them. He could tell just by looking into their eyes that they were serious. Gaara let out a tiny smile before replacing it with a frown upon realization.
"But...how?" he asked while glancing at both of them.
"Well...we could bunk with you. That way if something goes wrong, or if you have a nightmare we'll be there to help you." stated Temari.
Gaara thought about this for a moment and figured that it could help. Although a part of him didn't want to burden his siblings, another part of him craved for the affection being offered to him.
"Okay." he replied.
"Alright sleep over! I'll go get ready." cheered Kankuro as he leaped off his seat and made his way to the bathroom to wash up.
"Come on Gaara let's get ready." said Temari as she took Gaara's hand and lead him to the other bathroom to wash up. Along the way Gaara couldn't help but blush at the warm sensation of having his hand held. He had seen other children in his youth holding their parents hands and having them lead them to places and had alway wondered what it felt like. It felt good.
As they made their way to their destination, Temari opened the door and gently pushed Gaara in.
"You go first, just don't take too long okay?"
"Alright." replied Gaara simply as he stepped in and closed the door behind him. He went up to the sink and began to splash water on his face. After dabbing it with a rag he looked into the mirror and began thinking about everything that had happened tonight and began to take in what had been accomplished and what will lay a head of them in the future. Gaara thought this for a few seconds before letting out a small smile.
Everything was going to be okay.
Something Delicate,
Special like the love we know
My fragile heart beats,
At times secure at times alone.
In the other bathroom, Kankuro was brushing his teeth. If one were to look at him one would think that he was to preoccupied with dental hygen with the way he brushed but in all actuality his head was bursting with so many thoughts on what the future held for him and his siblings.
"It might even get to the point were we wont even need to talk. We could just look at one another and figure out the problem."
In reality that could take a while but Kankuro was prepared for anything.
My first treasure
Took me years to find,
It's what I cling to
When confusion clouds my mind...
Temari waited outside the bathroom for Gaara to get out. Not that she mind or anything. She was too happy with her break throught she made with her baby brother and can only hope that he will need her help in the future.
"I wont let you down anymore Gaara, I promise."
"I'm done Temari." said Gaara as he stepped out of the bathroom.
"Alright." replied Temari as she stepped in next.
Gaara leaned his back against the wall as he waited for both his siblings to finish.
"Hey Gaara is Temari almost ready." came Kankuro's voice as he walked towards Gaara.
"She just got in." he replied.
"Oh boy, this'll take a while." said Kankuro in mock annoyance. This brought a giggle and a small smile out of Gaara.
Kankuro couldn't help but do the same. He never noticed before but Gaara had a really pretty smile. It's only a shame that it took this long for one to come from him.
Then You come to me and You smile,
Suddenly I feel as if everything's ok.
Lost in Your smile
All at once I'm swept away.
"I'm done!" said Temari as she came out of the bathroom. "And Kankuro I heard what you said!"
"Oh great." replied the puppet master. Gaara just giggled again.
"Anyway come on you two." she said while taking both her brothers hands and leading them to Gaara's room since his bed was king sized. Normaly Kankuro would brush off this kind of affection because he thought it was too mushy, but decided to put up with it since he was in such a good mood. Gaara blushed at having his hand held so many times tonight.
When trouble falls upon me like rain,
When the world becomes one big cold and lonely place,
You carry me through,
From dreary skies the sun breaks through.
The three made it to Gaara's room and stood infront of the bed. Since Gaara didn't have pajamas they decided to sleep in their funeral cloths on account of they were comfortable.
"It...it doesn't hurt does it...? Sleeping?" asked Gaara a little nervously.
"No." giggled Temari at her little brother's innocence.
"Unless you fall off the bed that is." stated Kankuro, but was silence by Temari hitting him in the back of the head.
"Ow!"
"No need to traumatize him dummy!" she then turned her attention to Gaara and gave him a reasuring smile. "But just so you feel secure, you'll sleep in the middle, okay?"
"Okay." replied Gaara as he crawled into the bed followed by Temari on his right and Kankuro on his left. The three siblings squirmed around a little until they found a comfortable position and pulled the covers up to their chins.
When You're feeling lost
And don't know what to do,
Just look, You'll see me
Calling out to You.
"You comfortable?" asked Temari while turning to face Gaara.
"Yes...thank you." he replied. Although he felt comfortable and safe with his siblings by his side he still couldn't shake off the nervousness he felt about sleeping in general, but mostly he was worried about dreaming. He didn't want to relive the awful and painful memories of his past, and he didn't want to dream about dying again. He just couldn't take that. The nervous red head begain running his fingures over the rim of the covers.
Temari and Kankuro, sencing Gaara's uneasiness turned to their sides to face him. Acting first, Temari reached over and clasped Gaara's right hand into both of hers. Gaara turned and faced his big sister with wide eyes. She was giving him that comforting smile again.
"Gaara don't worry everything is going to be fine. Kankuro and I are right here and we're not going to let anything happen to you."
"She's right," seconed Kankuro as he too clasped Gaara's left hand with both of his. "If it looks like your having a nightmare or anything, we'll wake you up. You have nothing to fear."
And when You're shaking from
Winter wind upon Your face,
I'll hurry towards You
I'll warm You up with an embrace.
Gaara shifted his gaze back and forth to each of his siblings. Struck by the sincerity in their voices.
"W--why? Why do you worry about me?" he asked, knowing what the answer would be but needed total reasurance.
"Your're our little brother," said Kankuro simply, his warm smile never leaving his face. "And we're your big brother and sister. And as your big brother and sister it's our job to look after you and protect you. Not because we have to, but because we want to. I know we let you down in the past and we are so sorry--"
Gaara's eyes softened at this statment
"--but Temari and I are going to make sure we do what ever it takes to make up for that."
"We love you Gaara. And we always will." said Temari as she and Kankuro leaned in on the side of Gaara's face that they were facing and planted a kiss on their respective cheek.
Baby You can count on me
Always and forever I'll stand right next to You.
Come what may
I know as one we'll see it through.
Gaara's eyes widend. He could feel his face burn while his heart skip more then one beat. If both his hands weren't occupied he would have grabbed his chest, his heart, once more. He never thought he could feel such intence affection from another human being. Was this it at last? Was this really love?
He could feel a burning watery sensation in his eyes and realized he was on the verge of crying. Even if he had both of his hands free he didn't bother to wipe them away, because he knew they weren't tears of saddness. They were tears of joy.
Gaara allowed himself to smile, but not the little one he had been using all night but a big one that showed all his happiness. Gaara crossed Temari and Kankuro's hands over his chest and held them close.
"Thank you Temari, Kankuro. I love you too."
"Goodnight Gaara." they said as the kissed their younger brother one more time before drifting off to sleep.
Love can be a delicate thing,
True love has a power that's infinitely real
Locking the heart through emotions that You feel...
Gaara drifted off to sleep as well, with his head full of content and his delicate heart filled with love.