Author's Note: I would give you an excuse for the long, long, long delay... But I no longer have the right to present you all, my faithful readers, an excuse. So, I only have this to say to you: I'm sorry.
"W-Well," He pointed out several small ones that laced his fingers, "These were made by shells when I was at the beach when I was young… I fell over and caught myself with my hands, but I happened to land on a small pile of shells that were in the sand."
Lee looked horribly embarrassed. As if that little mistake was something horrible…
Gaara nodded, taking in his words. "What about that one?" He pointed to the large one that he always seemed to stare at when he saw Lee's hands.
He pulled both his hands away and looked Gaara straight in the eye. "I really do not wish to talk about that one…" He muttered, completely serious.
He nodded again, understanding that Lee had his limits to things such as that. He took Lee's hands again and looked them over once more. "What about this?" He motioned towards the fresh burn that was on Lee's thumb.
Lee laughed to himself, "Burned myself making dinner last night." He admitted, slightly flustered again.
"Hn." He looked down at Lee's hand again, not amused.
---
The two stepped out of the bedroom. Lee looked extra flustered, which caught Temari's attention.
She stood up, a half eaten stick of pocky wiggling between her teeth, and walked over towards them. She placed her hands on her hips and looked at her younger brother and then at Lee. "Do you mind telling me what you were doing in there?" She asked, seeming slightly apprehensive.
Lee burned a bright red. He held up his re-bandaged hands in defense and said to her quickly, "Nothing, Temari-sama!"
He looked like he was going to fall over.
Gaara could hear Shukaku giggle to himself and felt a slight pounding against his ears. He looked at Lee for a moment and then faced his sister with a controlled face. "I'm not quite sure what you're getting to Temari, but I assure you that nothing much happened." He said stonily.
Her navy eyes looked at them both for a moment, before she shrugged a lazy shoulder and turned around and stepped back to the counter. She took a seat again and started a silent war with Kankurou for the last four sticks.
Lee looked at the three siblings and seemed to wonder something. He opened his mouth to speak, looking like a gapping fish again.
Gaara cracked his lips to show a small sliver of enamel: his kind of smile.
"Kankurou-sama, Temari-sama, Gaara-kun, why are you all wearing black?" He asked, large eyes looking at each sibling multiple times before they rested on Gaara.
The redhead shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at his brother and sister, indicating for one of them to tell what was going on.
Temari's face became distorted for a quick second before the familiar mask was placed back on. "We just came back from our father's funeral."
There was silence. It was a normal silence that Gaara was beginning to become used to. It was a silence where someone in the party was slowly processing information, good or bad, it didn't really matter. The lack of interaction was still gut-twisting, nerve-wrenching, and awkward…
"I am so sorry, Temari-sama, Kankurou-sama, Gaara-kun…" His voice was low and quiet, just reaching above a whisper.
He addressed them all; Gaara took note of. He really was very emotional like that.
Gaara scoffed. Liked he cared about his bastard father, better for him that he was dead!
Lee threw his arms around Gaara's shoulders and pressed his nose against his hair, "I am sorry…" He whispered in the wisps of red hair.
He threw a lazy arm around his waist and gave a light squeeze. His eyes betrayed him, still looking dull with lackluster.
"Ha!" Temari declared in triumph, interrupting their not-so-sweet moment. She held up her prize, three and a half pocky sticks, and stuck her tongue out at her younger brother.
Kankurou scowled at her, clenching the half piece of pocky in his hand and threw his head to the side; looking like a hard-ass.
Gaara scratched his cheek and looked at his siblings with a dull look. He unwrapped his arm from Lee and kissed him on his unexpected lips. He patted him on the shoulder, ignoring Lee's smiling, and fully noticed the height difference. He still held a frown as he looked at Lee's height, figuring he had to be at least five inches shorter than Lee.
The realization was not pleasant. Damnit, I'm still short!
"Well, of course you are! You've been fed drugs and you've been socially isolated for five years! I wouldn't expect you to be six foot nine!" Shukaku joked, voice high and haughty. Over exaggeration was all over his comment.
When Gaara turned back to his brother and sister, he had noticed that Kankurou had effectively stolen back the treats and had all three sticks shoved into his mouth (at least, as far as the unbroken pieces could get.) He was smiling arrogantly, the sticks resting between his teeth.
Temari frowned, her arms crossed against her breasts. She scowled at Kankurou and looked like she wanted to slap him straight against the cheek. She didn't though…
"Well, we should get going." Temari said, sounding slightly exasperated, "Gaara, do you want to go home with us now," She questioned, looking at them, "Or do you want to catch a bus back home?"
Before he could answer, Lee piped in, stating that he could drive Gaara home if he wished.
He blinked, looking back and worth from Lee and his family. "Sorry, Lee, I want to go home and sleep. Tomorrow we can meet up again, okay?" He asked, shoving his fists deep into his pockets again.
Lee smiled caringly and nodded his head in understand, "Sure thing, Gaara-kun!"
---
"I'm surprised, Gaara," Kankurou stated while they were driving back home.
"About what?" He questioned dully.
"Not staying at Lee's house," He could hear the smile in Kankurou's voice, "Really, you two looked like you had a wild time in that bedroom earlier."
He scoffed, "Nothing happened, Kankurou… And you shouldn't be surprised; I'm tired. Our father's funeral was today… That really takes the energy out of people."
"Pft, now you're just talking bullshit." Kankurou barked.
"Well, it's true." He lied through his teeth.
"Oi, you two stop you're jabbering," Temari ordered, seemingly stressed, "Like I don't hear you two enough…" She trailed off mumbling to herself, several protruding swear words finding their way out of her mumble.
Kankurou scowled at her quickly before looking at the rearview mirror and at Gaara. "C'mon, tell me, Gaara, why didn't you stay with Lee." He seemed to have calmed down, his voice a friendly and caring lull (which was not anything near that by normal people standards…)
He frowned, darkly bagged teal eyes looking off to the side for a second before focusing on Kankurou's eyes in the rearview mirror. "I can't remember much about him. He's somewhat of a stranger to me still…" He muttered through clenched teeth.
Temari twisted her head around awkwardly, taking her eyes off the road, and stared at him. She quickly turned back through, steering the car back into the lane. "Gaara…"
Kankurou twisted himself around and looked at him, "What do you mean?"
He let out a rough sigh and hunched his shoulders, "I mean exactly what I said. There are huge chunks missing from my memory when Lee and me were dating. I have this feeling for him (don't go saying that I'm in love, I know that already) but I can't remember why. He's like a stranger to be, in a sense." He trailed off quietly, frowning harder.
The siblings were quiet; the ride back home was stuffy and silent.
Temari maneuvered the car into the driveway and killed the engine; she unbuckled and turned around to face Gaara. "Do you want to go see a doctor about this?" She asked, navy eyes keen to him.
He huffed, unbuckling himself as well, "No."
---
"Lunar what?" Kankurou asked, looking at the doctor with an odd look.
Despite not wanting to go to the doctor's about this 'ordeal', he was now there…
The man pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose and wagged a finger at the three siblings, "Not Lunar! Lacunar!" Kabuto said. "He most likely has Lacunar Amnesia. Or, in other words, Selective Amnesia."
"Selective… Amnesia?" Temari asked, apprehensive.
"Yes, has anything extremely stressful happen lately?" He asked, eyes resting on Gaara.
He pretended to look like he was concentrating. Well, let's see here. I'm in love with a guy who has three inch wide eyebrows, I've been in an insane asylum for five years, I have no idea what I'm going to do for a long-term career, I still hear a crazy voice in my head, and my father died recently (Oh, wait, that's a good thing…)
"Oh, Gaa-chan, I know you still love me!" Shukaku cooed.
Psh, yeah right!
"Well, our father did die recently…" He said, effectively hiding the sneer.
Kabuto wrote that down, "Okay, were you very close to your father?"
He hid his laughter well, "Yes, I was monstrously close to my father," His voice was seething in sarcasm.
"M'kay… Anything else you wish to tell me?"
"No."
"Hay, doc!" Kankurou barked, annoyance strong, "How do we fix this?"
"Oh, yes, yes," Kabuto stood up from his stool and strolled over towards the siblings. "The best thing to do is jog his memory of whatever he seems to be forgetting and make sure he doesn't get that stressed out again." He smiled and nodded to himself.
"Good," Gaara commented and strolled over towards the door, "Now let's go."
---
He never really slept that well. Even during his time 'locked up' and high on pills, he still never slept properly. Sometimes he wouldn't be able to fall asleep fully and just stay between consciousness and unconsciousness, while at other points, when he did sleep he dreamt horrible dreams that sent him tumbling out of bed covered in hot, sticky sweat.
All in all, he never truly slept a full night. At least, none that he could remember…
That was no exception for that night either. He simply stayed in his limbo of sleep, completely black with nothing but his and Shukaku's thoughts.
I don't know what to do…
"Are you asking me for help?"
In a sort, I suppose that yes, I am… What am I going to do for work? I'm twenty and I'm living with my siblings. How pathetic…
"Yup, majorly pathetic!"
You're supposed to comfort someone when they're in this sort of situation, not mock them…
"I am you, so I'm pretty much sniveling to myself about this situation like you." Shukaku paused, "So there!"
I swear, you're like a teenager still.
"And I'd swear you're a socially retarded twenty-year-old gay who happens to live with his siblings and works as a busboy at a local diner."
That certainly was a mouthful…
"Jeez, really." It inhaled deeply.
You're not going to help me figure out what I should do in the future, are you?
"Nope!"
All right, than just shut your mouth and let me sleep.
"You know, I don't have to listen to you!"
Gaara ignored him.
Author's Note: I can't figure out what careers Gaara and Lee should have. Suggestions would be wonderful.
