So Extraordinary, It's Borderline Crazy
Ch.3: Reasons Why
It was three in the morning and Temari hadn't slept at all. She'd lain on her bed staring up at the roof thinking about…well, him.
And that was making her want to tear her hair out in frustration.
Why did she have to have insomnia over him?
She rolled around a few more times, and then groaned.
Why did she like him?
She had three reasons so far, two of which were supplied by Gaara; but it still didn't seem enough for her.
There had to be something insanely extraordinary and enticing for her to turn into one of those girls.
She stood up and kicked her bed angrily. "Stupid bed." She muttered. Temari's hair was sticky and matted, pressing against her pale skin; she only wore a thin purple camisole that reached up to her hips and pink cotton underwear. Suna was unbearably hot on summer nights; it was impossible to sleep in anything else. And regardless of what she did and didn't wear she still woke up sweaty, hot, and with her hair sticking to her flushed face. She pushed her hair out of her face irritably and paced about the room.
It was the heat she told herself. The heat was making her delusional and crazy and obsessed with him.
It was just the heat, she reasoned.
But…
Even if it was just the heat, why did the heat have to choose him of all people?
She could come up with reasons for just about everyone else she could think of; hell, she could probably even explain it if it were Naruto, but Shikamaru?
He was so…everything she wasn't!
Temari pulled at her hair and growled. She needed answers. Temari had a logical mind, a tactical mind; she needed a reason for everything.
She always had to have a reason. Even for the stupidest things.
When Gaara took up washing the dishes she had to know why. She couldn't just be content with the fact that one day Gaara just up and started washing the dishes without a word. Gaara hadn't explained and Temari craved an explanation. She couldn't just be happy that he was helping around the house or happy that he was becoming a better person. She wanted to know why he was helping. So she asked him when her curiosity grew too deep. "Gaara," she had asked timidly, drumming her fingers anxiously against the counter, "why…Why are you…Why do you wash the dishes?"
He had looked at her then with complete uncertainty, confusion, and maybe a twinge of fear. "Do you not want me to do so, Temari?"
"N-No, Gaara, that's not it. I just…I want to know why."
"…You're always…busy and…stressed. You do…shinobi things, and things with the council…and-and damage control…You fix things I…and Kankuro mess up…And you clean everything…and cook…I wanted to help you…" He looked at her child-like and innocent. "Did I do bad?"
Temari had smiled. "No, Gaara. You did good. Thank you." She had kissed him on the cheek tenderly. "I love you, little bother."
Gaara'd just eyed her curiously with an expression of happiness.
The fact was Temari had grown up needing reasons, needing explanations, when the reason wasn't obvious she analyzed it, questioned it, and contemplated the problem. She always found her answer and right now she needed one desperately.
Unfortunately she was clearly unable to come with a good one on her own. The only person she could think of that could help her was…Gaara.
He had given her two good reasons already and Gaara tended to notice things most people didn't.
Temari tied up her hair into its traditional hairdo and thought about whether or not she should go wake Gaara up and ask him.
It really seemed an unfair thing to do, especially since Gaara was barely getting used the whole sleeping concept. Ever since the Shukaku no longer inhabited his body, he'd had difficulties wrapping his mind around the mere idea of sleeping. Sleeping had been a hard enough thing for Gaara to even understand, let alone do.
Temari walked out of her room and towards Gaara's, reasoning she just wanted to see if he was awake.
Some nights Gaara just sat on his new bed and claimed he couldn't sleep the next morning. Some nights Temari sang to him until he did fall asleep. Some nights Kankuro put on a little puppet play so he could sleep. Some nights the little baka pretended to be asleep and later would go up onto the roof and watch the stars. And then there were the nights that he actually slept quite well.
Bad Temari hoped he was having a sleepless night. Good Temari was being held captive by Bad Temari.
She pushed open his door a little louder than necessary. "Gaara?" She whispered, just a tad too loudly. Nobody answered. She looked around the room.
The cream-colored sheets of his bed were rumpled but obviously no one had tried to sleep in them. Everything else in the room was neat and perfectly untouched; and Gaara was most definitely not present in the room.
Temari closed his bedroom door and headed downstairs deciding going up to the roof in her underwear wasn't worth it. She could always ask Gaara in the morning. Temari could, of course, put on shorts or a skirt but it was too hot to do anything of the kind. Instead she figured a nice big slice of cake would make her feel better, even though her brothers would want to kill her for sneaking downstairs to eat 'their' cake. Deserts were a touchy subject in their household. It was 'share or we'll kill you'; regular food on the other hand apparently held no value.
As she entered the kitchen she saw Gaara sitting comfortably on the kitchen counter, the entire leftover cake in his lap, happily shoveling it in his mouth. "Memmari." He mumbled through a mouthful of cake.
Temari smiled. "Gaara."
The red-head swallowed, "What are you doing awake?"
Temari pulled herself up to the counter and sat down next to him. "You know, it surprises me how childish you look when you eat something chocolatey." She snatched the fork from his hand and took a piece of the cake. "And what are you doing awake, little brother?"
He snatched the fork back and took up some more cake. "Chocolate cake was calling me. It wanted me to eat it. You can't ignore the pleas of chocolate cake, Temari. It's dangerous to do such a thing." Temari smiled. "And you still have told me why your awake, Temari. You're always out like a light after midnight."
She sighed. "I was…being troubled by my thoughts."
Gaara chewed slowly. "Want to share them?"
She closed her eyes and leaned back. "Actually, yes. See, Bad Temari walked out of her room to wake you up so she could talk to you and when you weren't there, Bad Temari figured a good punishment for you was to eat the rest of the cake."
"And Good Temari?"
"She's blindfolded and her mouth is gagged. She's currently being tortured by Bad Temari."
"Ah." Gaara took another bite of cake. "So?"
Temari frowned. "So?" She asked in confusion.
"What are the troubling thoughts?"
"Oh." Temari drummed her fingers on the spare bit of counter. "Uh…See…"
"You're nervous, Temari." Gaara mumbled through a mouthful of cake. "It's annoying. Just say it."
Temari sighed, "Okay, see…I…Kankuro's right… I do have a crush on Sh-Shikamaru." He eyes focused on the wall, avoiding Gaara's gaze entirely. "I just…I can't… I don't know why. Not really. I can't find a good enough reason. I blushed dammit! He made me blush. I don't blush, Gaara! I'm not…that girl. The one who blushes and-and can't sleep and thinks about some guy constantly, but-but that's what I'm doing, dammit! And I don't know why." Temari finished quietly. "I can't think of a good enough reason that would explain why I've-I've turned into that kind of person…"
Gaara got off the counter and dumped the empty container in the trash. "Why? That's what's bothering you?" He looked at her curiously, "You really don't know why?"
Temari glared at her youngest brother. "If I knew why, would I be talking to you about it?" She snapped irritably.
Kankuro probably would've retorted back with some snarky comment which would set her off into a yelling rampage leading to half an hour of pointless arguing before actual heartfelt talking, but Gaara ignored her irritable comments; most likely because he knew it would piss her off no matter what he said to that, and Gaara wasn't much into the pointless yelling concept. He liked curtness and efficiency. "You are either stupid…or you don't really have an interest in discovering why."
"What the hell does that mean, Gaara?" She accused bitterly.
"You're afraid." Gaara said simply, looking at her carefully.
"I am not—" Temari snarled.
"You are. Now, shut up." Temari gritted her teeth as Gaara pulled himself back up to the counter. "He knows what he wants. What he wants may be simple and ordinary, but he knows what he wants." Gaara paused, "I don't know why, but that's important to you. You hate when people don't know."
"That's not—"
"No matter how rude or violent you get, he puts up with it, amiably too. For all his complaints about you being troublesome he doesn't…really mind."
Temari clucked her tongue and looked to the side, unable to respond. If she did bother him as much as he complained, he wouldn't bother talking to her, right? And it's not like she always sought him out, although that was most always the case, he sometimes looked for her. He did come find her today…
"He doesn't care what people think and believes others shouldn't care either. Like you. He doesn't care what people will say about him just as you don't either."
"But he's so dammed lazy!" Temari complained. "How can I possibly like someone as lazy as him? He has no motivation."
"I don't think that's true." Gaara replied monotonously. "I think he's pretty motivated when it comes to getting what he wants. It's just that what he wants doesn't require as much force as what others want."
Temari growled. She slipped off the counter and paced about the small kitchen. "Gaara…." She sighed. "Look, those are nice reasons but… they don't – they aren't… They're not good enough. It doesn't explain anything!"
"Of course they didn't explain it. You haven't heard the reason yet."
Temari blinked. "And what would 'the reason' be?"
"Simple. He doesn't see a violent, crazy, fan-wielding kunoichi. He doesn't see the former Kazekage's daughter. He doesn't see the current Kazekage's sister. He doesn't see Suna's polite princess. He doesn't see a powerful ally. He doesn't see a dangerous enemy." Gaara slid off the counter and pressed a finger lightly to Temari's forehead. "He just sees you."
Temari looked nervously at the floor as the words sunk in.
"He doesn't see your ties or your facades or anything else. He sees Temari. With flaws and all, and likes you anyway. That's the reason."
Temari's mouth dropped open. "I…"
"No guy's ever bothered to see you for who you really are. That's why when you see him you feel happier, because around him there's no pretending. You can be yourself. That why you can only think of him. That's why you blush. That's why you've become one of those girls. That's why you're afraid. Because he sees you, Temari. And that is the most terrifying thing you've ever had to deal with. That's the reason."
Temari just stared at him in shock. There passed a long stretch of silence in which the two siblings just looked at each other.
'He just sees you.' She thought about the way he acted with her. How he just briefly glanced at her then watched the sky as if nothing were more interesting. How she could see him glance at her and eye her with careful scrutiny when she wasn't acting normal. How he would shove his hands in his pockets when he was comfortable. She thought about the way he looked at her when he wasn't really saying anything and neither was she. How his eyes didn't really seem to be picking her apart or watching for some sign that she was about to turn violent on him. How he just looked at her. Just her. She thought about the way he talked to her. How he smiled when he teased her and she teased him. How he was never offended no matter how badly she insulted him when she was in 'her moods'. How he always stayed with her, talked to her, and didn't let her leave until she was no longer angry.
'He sees Temari. With flaws and all, and likes you anyway.'
Who he saw, who he worked to see was the person no one but her brothers had ever cared to see.
And that person he saw didn't scare him. He saw her.
She sighed. "…That was…Thanks…"
"It helped?"
"Very much."
"…"
"Gaara," Temari said softly, "You should go to sleep."
He blinked. "Do I have to?"
"I'd like it if you did. You haven't slept for three days."
He stared blankly at her. "…Okay." The boy then headed up to his room. It still surprised her how child-like Gaara could be. "Do you want me to sing you a song?"
"No… I can handle falling asleep on my own today." He said quietly, "Not that I like it, though…Besides, you need to sleep too…sister."
Temari smiled. He very rarely called her sister. "Goodnight, little brother."
The blonde dragged herself up the stairs and into her room. She did need sleep. And now that she had a reason (plenty of them) it shouldn't be too hard to succumb to that particular pleasure.
A/N: Tell me what you think.
Although I wont be able to read these reviews for 4 whole days. My parents are forcing me to go to Oklahoma to visit my aunt. I really don't want to go. Ah, well…
