A/N: Hey guys, I'm not really sure about this one. I'm not sure if everything in this chapter flows well and I was thinking about putting it on hold for awhile, but then I was like "What the heck."
I've always like Gaara and Tenten together. Something about them just seems so perfect, so I apologize if it's sort of lovey-dovey-ish.
Many kudos to DarkAnonymous324, maddie4president, ChrisChan-08, and imjuzakyd for reviewing! You are my sunshine on a cloudy day :)
Enjoy :)
Best Buds
*-Gaara-*
Gaara was the epitome of fearless. If one looked in a dictionary under the word "fearless", they would find a picture of Gaara scowling. Once, someone asked him what he was afraid of. Gaara replied with a "nothing" and a death glare at the questioner that had them squirming uncomfortably until Gaara thought the conversation was pointless and left. The very next day, that same questioner moved out of Suna.
Being fearless meant having no fears. He had followed that same concept his entire life. Don't get too close to anyone or anything. Attachments lead to fears. Abandon all relations. Don't show or feel anything. Emotions lead to fears. Abandon all sentiments.
On the road to becoming fearless, Gaara also became feared. He was feared because he was a killing machine, a killing machine with no conscience, the perfect killing machine. But now, he was the Kazekage. People now feared him because he was the strongest in the village, the best. Gaara didn't care though. He never did before, so why should he start now? But that a lie. Behind his macho façade, it was obvious that Gaara did care. Maybe not about everyone's opinion, but perhaps about a certain someone's opinion. Someone who was deadly with anything sharp and pointy. Yes, that someone.
The first time he talked to her, she gave him a life lesson. It was the annual Suna and Konoha Ball, a celebration for the anniversary of the treaty between the two villages. The hall was adequate enough. He'd prefer to celebrate somewhere less extravagant, but this was fine, too. It's not like you could fit hundreds of people into a small restaurant anyways. That would've been cramped and stuffy. Not as stuffy as his stupid tux though. He hated the ridiculous outfit, especially the bowtie. It made him feel like a freaking clown. Not only that, people kept trying to strike up a conversation with him. Couldn't they tell that he didn't want to talk to them? Also, he hated the fan girls in the corner of the place. They giggled whenever he turned towards them. Gaara detested giggling. But, most of all, he loathed the decorations.
Somehow, someone let Lee and Naruto decorate. Streamers and lights were draped across the hall, flowers and balloons clustered the little room that wasn't unoccupied by guests. There wasn't anything in that hall that matched. It was too bright and too colorful, like a children's coloring book, and it aggravated him to no end. The intense colors made his head hurt. Gaara wondered if people would get mad at him for ripping down the decorations. Most likely. He decided to retreat to the balcony, where the only colors present were dark and easy on the eyes.
Stepping on the concrete flooring of the balcony, he relished the breezed that soothed his migraine. Gaara realized he wasn't alone. In front of him stood a silhouette staring intently at the stars. Tenten turned around to gaze at him, a smile made its way across her face.
"Kazekage-sama." She bowed politely. He acknowledge her with a subtle nod. "Are the decorations killing your eyes too?" She asked, amusement clearly in her eyes.
"Hn." Yes! He strode up next to her, leaning casually against the railing as she chuckled softly.
"Well, you've got to give them some credit for attempting. At least be thankful that they weren't on the planning committee, otherwise, we'd only have ramen to eat and it would be mandatory to wear green spandex." She laughed while he shuddered at the thought.
"I find it hard to believe that two of the most powerful people I know cannot tell that green and orange do not go well together under any circumstances, and that a good theme does not include using all colors in the history of ever." He finished his little monologue and continued to stare at the more interesting sky. Tenten was having trouble keeping her snickers in. She tried to cover her mouth, but eventually failed and started to laugh uncontrollably.
As her laughter died down, the wind picked up, closing the balcony doors. Gaara found it difficult to see without the hall lights and figured Tenten must be feeling the same as well. Being the gentleman that he was, Gaara relied on instincts alone to guide him to the door. He grasped the handle and twisted it open, letting rays of light shine of the balcony. In his mind, Gaara was only worried about Tenten's safety, however, there was something different in her mind.
"Oh. My. Goodness! Gaara! Are you seriously afraid of the dark?" Tenten cracked up, unable to contain herself. He let out an annoyed grunt.
"I am not, I assure you." He bored holes into her, but she didn't notice. She must've become immune from her teammate.
"You don't have to deny it, Gaara. I won't tell, I promise!" She wiped the water away from her eyes.
"I am not nor have I ever been afraid of the dark." He spat out his sentence in annoyance, his headache slowly returning.
"It's okay, Gaara, it's just natural to have fears." He scoffed at her statement, a frown marred his features.
"No, that is most incorrect. I am fearless." He folded his arms in anger. Why couldn't she just believe him?
"I never said you weren't." She met his gaze, not willing to back down. "Being fearless doesn't necessarily mean you don't have any fears, it means that you are brave enough to face your fears." Gaara stared at her confusedly. What was she trying to say? Tenten was obviously a psychic because she answered his silent question.
"I mean like striving for fearlessness is like striving for perfection. Both are practically impossible. We are just humans after all. And as humans, we all have our faults, our weaknesses. You can never really get rid of your fear, but you can try right? It takes more guts to face your fears than it takes to have no fears. And guts build character." The gears in his head began to function right. Gaara finally understood. Tenten had lifted the dark veil that was pinned on him long ago. It was okay to be scared because it was normal.
Tenten grinned at him mischievously. "I promise I won't tell anyone about your secret!" Gaara groaned out loud, choosing not to respond. "But if it makes you feel better, I'm scared of disappointing others." She blushed, no longer look at him, but instead downwards.
"Really?" He asked, not fully believing her.
"Yeah, I'm terrified to let anyone down, so I train hard every day so that will never happen."Gaara's expression softened.
"Tenten, you could never let anyone down." He smiled at her gently and she reciprocated. They stood there in a comfortable silence until the ball ended and parted ways. Gaara was still confused about many aspects of his life. But instead of being completely in the dark, he now had a new light to follow.
Gaara considered him as her friend and hoped Tenten did, too. His prayers were answered on his next birthday when he received a package from Tenten. Inside was a nightlight, engraved with the words, "Suna's 'fearless' leader."
*..*..*..*..*..*
"Gaara! Let's go swimming!" Tenten bounced on her toes eagerly as she awaited his answer. Somehow, she had managed to pick the lock to his hotel room and entered it uninvited. Gaara sat stoically on his couch, attempting to continue his reading and ignore the sugar-high girl in front of him.
"Come on, Gaara! Please, please, please, please, please with whipped cream and a cherry on top!" She clasped her hands in front of her, her copper eyes looking intently into his jade ones. Gaara was reminded of the hyper squirrel that would not leave him alone on his journey to Konoha. He eventually got ticked off and threw and acorn at it, which made it leave. Apparently, squirrels have feelings, too.
"No." Gaara then resumed reading, placing the book strategically in front of his face to prevent him from seeing the disheartened brunette.
"Why not?" She frowned, mimicking his now irritated expression. Tenten placed her hands on her hips, jutting them slightly to the right.
"I don't want to drown yet. I still have to kill Kankuro for gluing my butt to my chair the other day." His eyebrows furrowed together in frustration.
"You've got to admit, that was a good one." She started chuckle, filling the once tense atmosphere with musical sounds. In a lightning fast move, Tenten snatched the book out of Gaara's hands.
"Come on! You don't want to sit in a oppressive room all day! It's so rare that you're in Konoha. You should enjoy it with your most favorite person in the world!" She smiled and tossed the book from hand to hand as Gaara rolled his eyes and growled.
"No." He replied, brainstorming tactics that will help him retrieve his book back.
"Yes!" Tenten taunted him by placing the book just barely out of reach. Gaara tried to seize it.
"No." And fell flat on his face.
"Yes! Or are you too scared?" She smirked at his now pissed-off expression. How dare she accuse him of such a preposterous idea!
"Hn." He crossed his arms and grunted his discontentment.
"But Gaara!" She pouted her lips out and subtlety batted her eyes. He declared that the puppy eyes would not work on him this time.
"No." He turned to face the adjacent window, resisting the urge to give in and go "aw."
"Fine! Don't go! See if I care!" Tenten chucked the book at Gaara harshly, knocking the wind out of him. "I guess a book is more important than me!" She walked out of the door solemnly with her head hung low. Once she disappeared out of sight, Gaara felt the anger inside of him melt away, only to be replaced with guilt. Crap.
He walked out of the room and looked down the halls, but she was nowhere to be found. Dashing down the hallways, he was searching for a familiar chakra signature, but came up empty handed.
Pushing the elevator button, he waited for 3.6 seconds before charging down the stairs, swearing to exterminate that wretched contraption later for being too slow. It was a shame to all transporting devices. As he reached the lobby, he cursed Temari for booking hotel rooms on the top floor. But now was not that time to think about killing Temari or the elevator. Gaara had to find Tenten.
Grunting, he sprinted outside, only to bump into Shino. The man looked at him composedly while readjusting his glasses.
"She's going towards the Hokage's Mountain, Kazekage-sama." Shino bowed and then turned around to leave. Gaara totally missed the knowing smirk on the young Aburame heir in his distressed state.
"Arigato." He rushed down the dirt pathways of Konoha, getting stopped unnecessarily by Konoha citizens. Gaara probably looked like a maniac, scaring shinobi and civilians alike, but he didn't care. The only thought on his mind was, "Find Tenten." Fearing for her safety, he didn't notice that he was already at the top of his mountain until he realized that if he took another step forward, he would plummet to his death.
If she had noticed him, which he would bet all of Kankuro's puppets on that she did, she didn't bother to acknowledge him. Gaara plopped down on the ground, sitting crossed legged next to Tenten.
"Hey." He sputtered out weakly. Staring at her for awhile, he waited for a reply. When he didn't get one, he cursed himself for being stupid. Sitting there, Gaara didn't know what exactly to say to her. His mind kept screaming at him to apologize, but his mouth couldn't work properly.
"It's a beautiful sunset." She stated at last, and he thanked the heavens that she actually talked to him.
"Sure." Gaara agreed half heartedly. Weren't all sunsets beautiful? What makes this one so much better?
"It's beautiful because it could be the last one we ever see." He was taken back. The last one? Are there not going to be anymore sunsets? Is the sun exploding? Wait, was she going to die? Panic surged through his body as he imagined life without her. His heart constricted tightly and he found he couldn't breathe. Inside, he felt cold and empty. Life without her? That would be like not even living to him.
"We're shinobi, today could very well be our last, so we should enjoy life as much as we can with the people that matter most." Tenten continued to focus on the sunset, never once meeting his eyes. So that's why she was so stubborn today.
"Are you going to die?" He whispered the words softly, fearing if he spoke them too loud, it would be true.
"No, I was just trying to treasure each moment of life." Gaara let out a sigh of relief. If she died, so would he.
"So you're afraid of death?" He pondered while being mesmerized by the vibrant reds and yellows.
"No, I can't say that I am." Gaara let the statement roll in his head. She wasn't afraid of death. But he was afraid of her death. That was his only fear, and he figured out that she was right. No one can be completely fearless, certainly not him. But he was willing to fight it, so he made a vow that day to protect her at all costs.
Some people say that Gaara is Superman. He is resilient, mysterious, and fearless. In his head, he denied it all, especially the last part.
Gaara was no Superman. He did not wear his underpants over his clothes nor was he cool enough to have a cape. But perhaps, if he was Superman, then Tenten would be his fearless kryptonite.
I don't know if there are even elevators in Naruto, but they have lights and medical equipment, so they should at least have an elevator :)
I can't decide if I like this one or not. So please tell me your opinion.
Thanks!
-Neji'sGirl185
