A/N: Today, I decided I wanted to say "Happy Birthday" to one of my favorite Naruto characters, a guy who's undergone an amazing transformation ever since he met The Man. Just be warned, that this fic will contain mature stuff later on, so if that kind of thing squicks you out, don't read this one. Otherwise, enjoy!
"Wake up, sleepyhead!"
Gaara awoke to the voice of his sister Temari, but when he opened his eyes, she and his brother Kankuro appeared to be nothing but fuzzy blobs of color at first. Soon enough, though, they came into focus.
"Why the hell are you two…" Gaara looked at his cassette player/alarm clock. "It's only 5:00 AM. I'm not even scheduled to be awake yet, so bug off."
"Hey brother, have some more respect, man!" said Kankuro.
"Yeah, we don't talk like that to you on your BIRTHDAY," said Temari.
"Birthday? You must be…" Gaara turned on his phone. After it warmed up, he looked at the date: January 19. He then slumped back into his bed and pulled the cover over his head. "Great."
"Why so sulky, Gaara?" asked Temari. "You should be happy to turn 21!"
"Yeah, I've always wanted to see you get bombed!" said Kankuro.
"I won't disagree with your sentiments," said Gaara, "but that doesn't make me any happier. All I want to do is live my life without all this adult responsibility crap."
"Come on!" said Temari. "Don't think of it as crap! Think of it as you entering the best part of your life!"
"Think about it, brother:" said Kankuro. "Soon, you'll be livin' the dream!"
"More like a fucking nightmare, Kankuro," said Gaara.
Temari pulled down Gaara's blanket. "If you don't get out of bed right now, I'm gonna call cousin Kobi and she's gonna tickle you until you pee!"
Gaara's face went flush. Out of all things in this world, one thing that he feared was his cousin Kobura tickling him. No matter how many times he begged, she never stopped until she felt like it, which usually left him barely able to breathe. He sighed.
"Fine…you win, Temari." Gaara pulled the blanket off of himself and crawled out of bed.
When Gaara came downstairs, he was hit with a breakfast scent like no other, and that plus the sight of what was on the table was enough to start dissipating the fog in his head: fried chicken, ham, waffles, French toast…enough breakfast to feed the US Marines. Gaara's eyes widened, and he meandered to the table in a hypnotic fashion. Once there, he sat down and awaited his siblings.
"Well…?" said Temari.
"Did you two make all this for me?" asked Gaara.
"It was mostly her…" Kankuro pointed his thumb at Temari, "…but I helped out, too."
Gaara cracked a weak smile. "That's nice. Shall we eat?"
Temari and Kankuro nodded. They sat on both sides of Gaara and interlocked hands with him.
"Mother, Father…" said Temari, "…wherever you are, bless this lovely breakfast, and may our youngest brother have the best birthday ever."
"Amen," said Kankuro and Gaara.
Once that was done, everybody helped themselves and began digging in. Gaara let out a hearty "mmmm" as he took a bite out of his fried chicken. Granted, the family's secret herbs and spices weren't enough to break the fog completely, but the taste was nonetheless very agreeable to him. The real coup de grace, however, was what Kankuro had poured for him: homemade coffee…black, just as he liked it. Gaara picked up his mug – which said "GOOD MORNING MY ASS" on it – and took a sip. As the hot beverage went down his throat, Gaara felt as though the sun was rising in his brain. Any thoughts he previously harbored in regards to killing his siblings were perished like Romeo and Juliet.
"Thank you," said Gaara.
"You're welcome!" said Temari and Kankuro.
Once he'd gotten his fill of breakfast, Gaara went to the bathroom and freshened up, which involved brushing his teeth, flossing, and shaving. Though his body produced plenty of testosterone, Gaara was one of those men who didn't grow bodily hair very fast, so he didn't need to shave very often. Since he wasn't scheduled to go to work or school today, Gaara decided to crash in his room and watch all the Hard Drivers movies on Netflix. Sure, he owned the entire DVD collection, but still, there was just something special about streaming them. While the first movie was still in progress, he heard knocking on his door, so he paused it.
"Who is it?" asked Gaara.
"Gaara, there's someone here to see you!" said Temari.
"Hold on a moment!" Gaara threw on his street attire: a pair of jeans and a Judas Priest "Screaming For Vengeance" T-shirt. "Let them in!"
"She said she'd rather you come to her."
Gaara grumbled as he waltzed to the bedroom door. When he opened it, he got glomped.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GAARA!" exclaimed Naruka Uzumaki, an old childhood friend of his.
Gaara blushed, but nevertheless hugged Naruka with a smile on his face. Temari smiled when she saw this, but chose to leave the two to their own devices.
"Thank you, Naruka!" said Gaara.
"You're welcome, babe!"
The two broke away from the hug after what felt like an eternity to Gaara. He looked over Naruka's attire, which included a red Aeropostale zippered hoodie – unzipped just enough to expose her cleavage – and black leggings.
"Now that you're here, is there anything I can do for you?" asked Gaara.
"Actually, I was hoping to spend the day with the birthday boy…" Naruka winked at Gaara.
Gaara frowned. "As much as I appreciate your companionship, I would much rather spend my birthday alone this time."
Naruka pouted. "I guess I understand. It's just…well…I heard you were turning 21 today, and I kinda wanted to make it a special one for you…"
Naruka turned her head away as she tried to hold back her tears.
Gaara blinked. "Do you really mean that?"
"Y…yes…"
"Naruka, if it'll make you happy, I'll let you spend the day with me."
Naruka's smile returned. "Thank you so much, babe!"
Naruka gave Gaara another big hug, and he happily returned it. Without his Schott 650 leather jacket on, Gaara was better able to feel Naruka's curves, not to mention the leather smell didn't interfere with her natural scent. Hearing a slight sniffle from her did prove rather disconcerting, but overall, it made him want to hold on to her even more. Eventually, the two let go of each other.
"Since I like you, I'm going to rewind my movie so we can see it together," said Gaara."
"Aw, that's sweet of you!"
And so, Gaara rewound Hard Drivers and played it again like Sam. During the movie, Naruka snuggled up with him, and when the movie got to the moment where Joe Johnson – the main character – recounted a sad tale to Alura Smith – the love interest from that movie – Gaara and Naruka held on tight to each other. Sure, the two were more in it for the action scenes, but still, the depth of that particular scene touched them something fierce. When the movie was over, however, Gaara and Naruka were smiling.
"Man, it's been so long since I've seen that movie!" said Naruka. "Thanks for playing it!"
"You're welcome!" said Gaara. "What shall we do next?"
"As much fun as I had with this or even the Death Truck movies, I don't wanna spend your birthday all cooped up in this crummy house!" said Naruka.
"I'll admit it's not the coziest place ever, but it can't be that bad…can it?"
"It's not that bad, but still, we should go outside and have some fun there!"
"All right, I can agree to that! What sort of fun?"
"Why don't we take a walk?"
"Sure thing!"
Gaara put on an Oxford Gray Russell hoodie and some Brooks sneakers, while Naruka put on her New Balance sneakers. The two then walked out into the world of Glocester, Rhode Island. A small town of just under 10,000 people, Glocester was delineated by the innumerable trees covering the landscape. One of the more well-known attractions in the town was a lake known as the Ponaganset Reservoir, by which Gaara's house was located. Though the sky was cloudy and the breeze from the lake made it feel colder than the high of 38 degrees Fahrenheit, Gaara and Naruka produced enough warmth from their hearts that they didn't care.
"So, you got any plans for your birthday?" asked Naruka.
"Same as ever:" said Gaara. "I'm having a party with my family, and we're going out to eat later on tonight."
"Aw cool! Where to?"
"Ordinarily, we go out to the Yamato Steak House in Greenville."
"Can I come along?"
"Gee, I'd love to, but this has traditionally been more of a family affair for me."
Naruka hung her head. "All right, forget I asked."
Gaara stroked his chin. "Although…I could ask my siblings nicely…"
Naruka lifted her head again. "That would be SO cool!"
This time, Naruka interlocked fingers and held Gaara's hand, causing the latter to smile. Once again, he enjoyed the softness of her touch. The two walked like this for some time. Then, all of a sudden, Gaara could feel Naruka increasing her walking pace.
"Naruka, what are you doing!?"
"Catch me if you can, boy!"
Thus, Naruka broke out into a full-fledged run, and Gaara followed suit. As he felt the cold air pounding against his face, Gaara grinned and tried to catch up to Naruka. Though not as enthused about running as she was, he nevertheless got a certain joie de vivre from doing so with someone as beautiful as her. The sight of her long, curly blonde hair flowing in the wind gave him extra incentive to try to catch her. Even though he was a fast runner by the standards of the State Police, and even though he could easily run at least five miles, he began to lose his breath once he passed that mark.
"N…Naruka…!" Gaara huffed and puffed. "W…wait…up…!"
As per Gaara's command, Naruka skidded to a halt and went back to Gaara.
"Whoa! Don't drop dead on me now, babe!"
Despite being bent over and having to rest his hands on his thighs, Gaara retained enough strength to lift his head up.
"I…promise I won't…" Gaara wiped his forehead of freezing sweat and slowly stood up straight. "Phew…that was the most fun I've ever had running!"
"You sure look like you had fun! Why don't we hoof it back to my place?"
"Really?"
"Hey, last one there is broccoli-flavored ramen!"
Naruka took off, prompting Gaara to sprint a short distance until she skidded to a halt.
"HA!" Naruka gave Gaara a hearty slap on the back. "Fooled you!"
Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.