Hey, i'm Gaara. I'm not too good at these sort of things, so i'll just get right into the story.
I've always known Shikamaru... He used to be really close to my sister. I never really knew him personally, or thought about him too much until that night at Sakura's party...
When I got there, Sakura was already drinking with Sasuke and his older brother, Itachi. Hinata and Choji were in the kitchen cooking, and there were tons of other people milling about, Dancing and singing kareokee, mixing drinks, taking shots, and huddling up close to each-other in corners, making out or... worse. I stood hesitating in the doorway to Sakura's mostly-unfurnished flat awkwardly, trying to remember why I had let my sister convince me to come when I heard someone call my name over the din.
"Gaara! hey, Gaara, c'mere for a sec, will ya? Your sister won't leave me be, tell her I don't drink!" Someone shouted at me from across the room. I turned and made my way there to see Shikamaru, trying to pry Temari's arms from around his neck. I chuckled under my breath, almost tripping over a couple that was laid out on the carpet.
"Oh, thank God you're here, Gaara, Please get her off me..." he muttered to me when I game within arms reach, panic in his eyes.
Oh dear... She never seems to know when to quit, does she? I thought with a wry half-smile (or as close to that as i could muster, anyway) as I pulled her over to sit down on a small brown leather couch in the back corner.
"lil bruver! Drink wiv me, Gaara! ole wet blanket Shikamaru won't even have one tiny shot!" She was giggling loudly. Someone must have heard her, because Next thing I remember, Someone was pouring a bottle of vodka down my throat. I swallowed two, perhaps three mouthfuls before Shikamaru pushed them off, leaving me coughing and sputtering to clear out my airway.
The next bit is just a blur; [sakura's parties are like that, you know? If you drink anything, you start loosing time...] Anyways, as I was saying...
The music was loud, buzzing deep in my chest and ringing in my ears. I sat on the brown couch between Shikamaru and Temari, taking shots as she handed them to me.
"Try this one, lil bruver, it's so sweet!" she shoved it in my hands and I gulped it down, immediately regretting it. It was sweet bean paste... I threw up then, getting sick all over myself and Shikamaru. He lept up, making a hoarse noise in the back of his throat. I groaned, clutching my stomach. oh I feel awful...
"C'mon, let's go get cleaned up before she tries to give you another one..." Shikamaru said in my ear, barely audible over the loud bass; he grabbed my hand, leading me to the back where the bathroom was.
"take off your shirt... you got sick all over yourself, man. I'll find you something to wear. Sakura always leaves Extra clothes here from her...ahem... Gentleman callers." He murmured as I was fumbling with the buttons on my shirt. why do they keep moving...stupid buttons.. I thought to myself. Sighing resignedly, I looked up to ask him for help just as he pulled off his shirt.
"oh my..." I said quietly, staring at the finely muscled back that was in front of me.
[now I know I was pretty drunk, and I've seen some attractive guys in my time, but that Shikamaru... It's just not fair to look that good in the presence of someone under the influence.]
He turned around, giving me a picture-perfect view that almost literally took my breath away. All I could do was just stared at him, mouth open and eyes wide, until I realized myself. I cleared my throat and Coughed awkwardly, trying my best to remember what I'd been about to say.
"Did you need something?" he said, obviously amused. I coughed again and looked at the ceiling, finding it very difficult not to stare at him. This was absolutely not the time to be getting awkward.
"M-my buttons... I c-cant..." I trailed off.
"Oh, here let me get that for you." he said, still smiling. Diligently, I kept my eyes on his face. I studied him carefully past the vague haze of alcohol. Suddenly I was struck by an idea, and on a whim I reached up and pulled out his hair tie. His hair fell down around his face, framing it beautifully.
"You look better with your hair down, you know..." I said distantly, running my fingers through his soft, thick hair. He stared at me for a second before saying anything.
"You know, Gaara... you're not at all like people say you are," He said softly.
"Is that... a good thing?" I said breathlessly, suddenly feeling every inch of empty space between us. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I clenched my hand closed around a handful of his black locks.
"oh, i'd say so... Different is interesting," he said quietly. I could feel his breath on my face; his close proximity made my heart pound in my chest, and I felt a heat and tightness in my throat i'd never experienced before. I didn't realize i'd been leaning forward until he spoke.
"You're drunk, Gaara..." He whispered, sounding disappointed. Then he pulled away from me and pulled on a skin-tight white T-shirt, smiling at me distantly over his shoulder.
"So I didn't know you were Gay," Shikamaru said quietly, running a rag under the faucet and handing it to me so I could clean the residue that the sick had left across my front.
"I'm not... not exactly, anyway..." I heard myself say. He raised his eyebrows at me. "I'm actually bi...Not that i've told many people. Nobody seems interested, really..." I explained quietly. He frowned thoughtfully, and nodded slowly.
"Well, I certainly think it's interesting..." He said quietly, and then set a light tan shirt on the counter next to me. "Get yourself cleaned up, okay? I'll be right outside if you need me..." he said, and paused with a hand on the doorknob, "But… don't take too long, huh?" He added with a smile, and winked at Me. I nodded, not sure if the twinkle in his eyes was in my imagination or not, and the door closed behind him with a soft click.