Chapter 2: Auntie and A Little Past
A/N: In case you haven't figured it out by now, Gabriel talks in 'little kid talk' so some words/grammar uses are purposefully spelled incorrectly. (But only when he is talking).
This chapter is basically an 'overview' of Gabriel and his mother's death. I've made Gaara socially awkward, 'cause let's face it, he totally is.
Anyway thank you for the reviews everyone :)
"Gaara! You can't honestly be going through with this!" Temari half shouted.
Gaara scowled at his sister. He'd shown her the note, explained the situation, asked for help and advice and she tells him to get rid of his son?
"How are you going to take care of a child Gaara? He needs an education, clothes, food, attention. Oh my Kami! Have you thought this through? You're-you're the Kazekage!" Temari was very close to shaking her younger brother but knew better.
Gaara's scowl deepened with every word. The sand shifted restlessly within his gourd. "And what exactly would you do Temari? Gabriel is alone and scared. He needs someone who will at least acknowledge his existence! I will not have my son thrown out on the streets." Gaara growled.
Temari sighed in defeat, "Fine. Do what you want." she turned toward him with such a look that it would have the Ichibi shaking, "But he better not turn up as messed up as you."
Gaara turned away ready to leave. "Where are you going?" Temari asked.
"Gabriel left his possessions. I'm going to retrieve them."
"What?"
"His mother's house." Gaara was now walking away.
"You're not going to kill her are you?" Temari asked nonchalantly referring to Gabriel's aunt.
Gaara had thought about it, but what good would that do? The damage has already been done. "I'm taking Gabriel. He needs his stuff."
"Might as well go with you. I'll get Kankuro; he's at the puppet storage. We'll meet up with you in your office." Temari shook her head and headed out, grabbing her fan along the way.
Gaara just nodded, he had no objections to them going.
Temari snatched the note. "I can't wait to see his face!" she beamed, practically skipping out of the training grounds.
Gaara thought that maybe he was in a pleasant mood, because he didn't feel like disemboweling anyone. Actually, now that he thought about it, his tempered had mellowed out drastically lately.
0oOo0
His house was quiet, a little too quiet. Weren't children supposed to be loud?
He found Gabriel laying on his back staring blankly at the ceiling of his new room. Gaara glanced up to see some sand swirling around the ceiling. Gabriel sat up upon his father entering and let the sand fall like rain to the ground.
"Let's go." Gaara said handing him a backpack.
"Where are we going?" he asked outside. They were headed toward the Kazekage's building. Gaara didn't answer for a while; instead focused on ignoring the strange looks he was getting from the villagers and fellow Shinobi. Gabriel seemed oblivious to it.
Gabriel was frozen inside. 'Is Gaara sending me away? Where are we going? Who's the pretty blond? Who's the serious looking guy with the painted face?'
"Gabriel. This is my sister, Temari." Gaara gestured to the pretty blond who smiled and waved. 'This is Auntie Temari? She doesn't look mean.' "And this is my brother Kankuro." Gaara continued, oblivious to his son's inner turmoil. 'Brother? He didn't say anything about an uncle!'
"H-hi." Gabriel managed to choke out shrinking behind his father. He really hated being so shy.
"Aww. Gaara you didn't tell me he was so cute!" Temari cooed raising her hand to pat Gabe's head. Gabriel ducked instinctively, which caused Temari's hand to draw back slightly. She ruffled his thick locks.
"Aren't older brothers supposed to start families first? I'm a little jealous." Kankuro said crossing his arms and smiling from ear to ear.
"Hm?" Gaara matched his posture, but not his smile. "I didn't know he even existed till this morning."
"Kazekage-sama!" A voice boomed barging into the open door. "You have duties to attend to." Gabriel jumped at the sudden booming voice.
"I'll do them tomorrow; I have a more important matter to attend to." Gaara said in a bland authority voice.
"But." the strange man muttered just noticing the tiny child in the room.
"Temari, Kankuro, go ahead. I'll catch up." Gaara said gently pushing Gabriel after them.
"Come on nephew, daddy has grown-up things to discuss." Kankuro said feeling very awkward saying such a thing.
Kankuro just couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Gaara, Gaara of all people had a kid. But he couldn't deny that... Gabriel, was that the kid's name? looked strikingly like his younger brother.
"Where are we going?" a small voice asked.
"Gaara said you left your things at you mother's house, so there I assume." Kankuro answered rather bluntly.
The tiny figure stopped and sniffed. "I done wanna go back. Mommy's gone an-and Auntie's mean. There's noting for me there." he sniffled some more, on the verge of crying.
Temari and Kankuro exchanged glances. "Don't worry Gabriel, we're only going to be there for a little while, then we'll come straight back." Temari said soothingly.
"But why do I hafta go? I don't wanna go to that place." Gabriel backed up shaking his head, "She'll hit me."
"Gabriel, Gaara won't let anyone hurt you, and neither will we. I promise." Temari promised with Kankuro nodding in agreement.
"P-promise?"
"Promise." three voices said in unison. Gabriel turned around to see Gaara standing behind him. Gaara managed a smile.
"Gaara are sure about this? The Council will be pissed when they find out." said Kankuro as they made their way through the desert.
"I don't care. Baki-san will take care of the immediate." It was no secret of Gaara's dislike of the Council.
0oOo0
The trip there was mainly uneventful. The only thing that happened was a break and Gaara suddenly veering off to pee.
Six hours later they arrived at a dusty little village that had dozens of children zooming in and out of alleys. The village had no name, no remarkable land marks; just a rare desert lake that happened to be common in that area.
Gabriel walked ahead, like he had done the whole way there, greeting people as they passed by. None of the villagers gave the strangers the time of day. The small group came upon a small clay house with a sick, possibly drunk, woman with hair the color of wet sand sitting on the railing of the porch.
"Auntie." Gabriel whispered hiding slightly behind Gaara.
"You!" she screeched, "I thought you died along with your mother."
Gabriel ignored her evil glare and opened the door. "I juss want my stuff." Gaara didn't like the women's eyes. They were full of hate and evil intentions.
The house was just as plain and forgettable as the town. A couch, a radio and a coffee table. A dried up plant lay lifeless on the floor. The pot broken leaving its occupant's dead roots tangled to the sky, the spilt soil mixing in with the dirt floor.
"Nice place." Kankuro noted sarcastically.
A click sound followed closely by a whiz of moving air. Suddenly Gaara lurched forward forcefully. Kankuro grabbed his arm before he could fall. Sand - in a flash - formed a very sharp spire as it barreled into Auntie.
"Gaara!" Temari shouted.
"It wasn't me!" Gaara shouted back.
The three adults (still alive) turned in slow-motion toward Gabriel. Sand had formed a wall between him and his now diseased aunt. The boy stared wide-eyed at the arrow-head barely a centimeter from his right eye. The Sand Siblings followed the sand toward the aunt slumped over with a crossbow in her hand. Blood dripped down making a puddle at her feet.
Gabriel released the sand. 'Auntie tried to kill me! Why?'
"Are you okay?" Gaara asked.
After a pause and the sound of moving sand died, Gabriel spoke almost to himself. "Mommy said, when I was a baby she got real sick. Auntie gave me a bath. Mommy had to potty. Auntie was holding me underwater, 'n I wasn't breathing. She said it was the scariest thing that evah happened. Mommy never let me alone with Auntie." Gabriel looked up at his new family with a faraway expression, "Why?"
"It doesn't matter now. Just don't do that again." Gaara placed a hand on his head.
Gabriel nodded. He had no intention of ever doing that again. Still, he couldn't help but feel it won't be his last time killing someone in order to protect himself. The worry that came off the group was a thick fog-like atmosphere. He ignored the strange feelings of foreboding and ventured deeper within the house.
Temari wandered off into the kitchen. The table was missing a leg and was being propped up by a slanting chair. Only a sink, oven and fridge furnished the otherwise desolate kitchen. On the dusty counter lay a few plates left out to dry. She opened the fridge, not expecting it to be full of food.
Kankuro, with the sudden urge to pee, found the bathroom. Maybe two or three meters, with a tub, toilet and a sink. No mirror. 'Talk about your humble abode.' The hall, which he assumed led to the aunt's room, was bare of any knick-knacks or pictures. The aunt's room was empty, save for the closet a trunk full of clothes and a mat for sleeping.
Judging by the quality of their clothes, they weren't poor, well at least not dirt poor.
Gaara found Gabriel's room; it was obvious due to the small clothes and children's toys strewn all over the floor, but no Gabriel. He was about to turn away when he heard a muffled 'Found it'.
Gabe backed out of the closet Gaara had failed to notice. The boy was shirtless and held a dark red shirt. He wiggled into it mumbling an 'Oops' when he put it on backwards.
"Is dare a puple shirt over there?" Gabriel asked kicking away discarded toys and clothes.
Gaara picked up the cloth indicated, and as playfully as he could manage, dropped it on the child's head. His son giggled and shoved it into his bag. "Gabriel."
"Hm?"
"Did your mother allow you to abuse you clothes?"
"Hah?"
"Fold your clothes."
"But, that takes forever! I done wanna stay long."
"A few more minutes won't kill you. Trust me, Temari use to nag me all the time about not folding my clothes. You don't want her to nag." Gaara was finding it quite easy to be 'fatherly' lately.
A dramatic sigh and a pouty 'Fine' later, he dumped his bag of its contents and neatly placed them away. When all his unwanted belongings were shove unceremoniously in the corner, Gaara noticed a bed missing.
"Gabriel, where did you sleep?" he asked. 'The boy didn't have insomnia did he?'
He looked up from zipping the last zipper, a sudden sadness in his clear green eyes. "I slept with mommy."
'Wasn't he a little too old for such behavior?' Of course Gaara lacked he experience to know that for sure, so he let it go.
His somber mood continued. Gaara wasn't sure what to do. Gabriel shrugged on his bag and trudged out the door. He stopped outside a closed door next to his room. It was cracked in some places, but the doorknob was a polished silver.
Hesitantly the child opened the door, (Gaara had joined his siblings in the kitchen). Said child breathed in the scent of warmth and mother. The faint smell of death still clung in the air; slowly, struggling against the onset of tears, he made his way to the big plushy bed he had shared with his mother.
The room, like most of the town, didn't have much. (The people worried more about food and water than possessions). Mother's room had a bed, night table, a trunk he never saw her open, and a faded jade green rug that covered the hard dirt floor.
Gaara came back to find his new son sitting on the bed hugging his knees. "I miss her." he mumbled tearfully.
"Hmm?" Gaara wasn't paying attention till now. The Sand Shinobi sat on the bed next to him. "I wish I knew your mother. You seem to love her very much."
A flash of what exactly they did in bed went through his mind. Gaara flushed red at such an erotic memory.
Sniffling turned to bawling, which snapped Gaara out of memory lane, "What's the matter?" he stupidly asked, knowing full well what was wrong.
Gabriel looked up, a river of held back tears burst through his lids. "I miss her so-*hicc*mu-*hicc*-uch. I-I *cries* woke up en*hicc*en she was-she was." he couldn't finish.
'What an awful way to start the day.' Gaara thought. "Shhh~" Gaara tried to comfort him by rubbing his back, but it wasn't enough. 'Don't people hold crying people?' Without his knowledge, he wrapped his arms around the broken and suffering Gabriel and held him close.
Gabriel had no hesitation in curling in on himself and burying his face in his father's shoulder. Gaara held him while petting his hair and gently rubbing his back. Suna's Kazekage had no idea where this affection was coming from, but then again he wasn't going to complain.
Temari and Kankuro heard crying and rushed toward the source, only to nearly faint in surprise. Their almost emotionless brother was cradling a bawling child with a faraway expression. You could see that he didn't quite understand the situation but was trying to.
Kankuro placed a hand on his sister's shoulder and they turned back with small smiles. They'll pack some food for the journey back; it was unlikely they'd be getting home to Sand before nightfall.
Gabriel stopped crying and sniffled a while. 'Gaara's warm...' "I knew somthin was wong."
"What do you mean?" Gaara asked glad he ceased the leaking.
"The night mommy died."
Gaara waited.
"I stayed up all night wit her, all the time. I was always afraid she not wake up. She must've put sleepy medicine in my milk, 'coz I fell asleep real fast." he yawned, "I woke up and I couldn't move. Mommy was holding me extra tight, she was cold." Gabriel pressed himself closer.
"You should sleep." Gaara said looking down at his son's heavy lids. He must've been exhausted. Traveling six hours to Hidden Sand by himself and back. Using un-trained chakra, the crying...
Gabriel made some child-like worried noises. "You'll still be here when I wake up? Right?"
"Where would I go?" Gaara said managing a smile.
The child fell asleep almost immediately.
Gaara of the Desert stood, adjusted the tiny bundle slightly - he didn't so much as twitch. He probably looked ridiculous carrying a child like a woman would; but Gabriel's weight was in no way inconvenient, and Gaara had no objections.
Temari shouldered a pack of food when Gaara came walking in signaling to leave.
Down the dusty road they were stopped by and elderly woman who asked where they were taking Shinwa's 'Little Angle'. They informed her of her death nearly a week ago and that Gabriel will be living with his father for now on; and that Auntie was dead inside.
The old lady nodded and grumbled upon hearing the news. "Gone two weeks and the whole town goes to Hell." she mused walking away, "You take cay of my grandson ya hear! If I get word he's unhappy, I'll run right over there tah Sand and beat the hell outah ya with my walking stick!" she then slammed her door.
"Oookay..." Kankuro drawled as Temari snickered and Gaara simply walked away. From what that old lady said, she was serious.
Darkness fell halfway through their journey. Gabriel stayed up the whole night with Gaara only to pass out just before dawn, so Gaara had to carry him... again.
When they finally got back to Sand, Gaara handed Gabriel to Temari as the Elders began dragging him away nagging him on how he had just left his duties.
"Kazekage-sama! A message from Cloud!" one cried.
"Documents you must read from Mist!" another yelled.
"Temari, get him settled at home." Gaara ordered, ignoring the annoyed look on his sister's face and the pestering council.
"Kazekage-sama! A message from Konoha! It's urgent!" an attendant screamed from the office window. Gaara didn't want to go, but he'd ignored his duties for far too long.
A/N: Gabriel's grandmother is actually his great-grandmother... uh that won't be cleared till way later. Temari and Kankuro feel so out of character I hate it~~~
More explanations that really have no place in the story/chapter:
1) About Auntie hitting Gabriel in the past: Gabriel's sand doesn't always defend him unconsciously like Gaara's.
2) About a 4 yr. old traveling 6 hours alone across the desert... His grandmother would take him to Suna (and other places) often when his mother was in the hospital or too sickly for him to be around, so he knows the way.
3) Gabriel showed them how to get to Gabriel's village FYI.
4) Gabriel's village means absolutely nothing to the story, therefore it deserves no detail.
5) I am such a hypocrite when it comes to OCs. I HATE them with a passion, yet my main character is an OC XD. Anyway, usually if I do have an OC, it's a side character that has like 2-5 lines/scenes and/or are killed off quickly. That's what I did for Auntie. Don't feel bad for her guys, she was a drunken Bitch who would abuse Gabriel and ignored her sick sister...
Any way thank you for the reviews yet again. Same as before 5 reviews and I will post the 3rd chapter :)