The Color Red
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Yay the reviews are fixed. I treasure each one. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter. Sorry this one was so late. I have so many stories going on right now and lots of plot bunnies for new ones . .
Chapter Seven
Gina wasn't sure how it happened. It had been late at night when they arrived, so maybe that was why. One minute, she was looking over the guidebooks with Sasuke and the next thing she knew she was awakened to a steady THUMP THUMP of something close to her ear. It was somehow relaxing.
It was then that the red head realized she was warm and very comfortable. Her pillow was…harder than she was accustomed to as well. It was also moving. Wait, a moving pillow? That couldn't be right. Pillows definitely did not move.
"What the?" She warily opens her eyes and looks around.
It didn't take long to realize what that sound had been. It was Sasuke's heartbeat. At some point during the night, she must have fallen asleep. So did he and they had woken up snuggled into each other. Well she had woken up. Thankfully, he was still asleep.
Idly, she was amused that she had probably gotten more sleep on this trip, using the Uchiha as a pillow and blanket than she normally got in two weeks. Still this was getting to be a habit. One that she had to break immediately.
"He looks so peaceful." She mumbles and figuring that since he was a night owl, she'd get changed before he woke up.
The second Gina had turned her back, Sasuke's eyes open. He'd been awake for about ten minutes. But he wasn't going to tell her that.
The last Uchiha didn't want to wake the sleeping red head up. After all, she had told him she normally only slept once every two or three days. She needed the rest. How the woman got by on so little sleep was still a mystery to him.
He tilts his head to the side. Hmm black lace today. He didn't figure her for a lace girl. It was so…submissive. But he rather liked the way the dark fabric caressed her curves.
At the moment, Sasuke was rather tempted to just burn her Kage robes. It should be illegal to cover that up. He decides against it though. That meant that others would get to see. Nah, he'd never been the type that liked to share. His mother had once scolded him for not sharing his toys with the other kids at the Academy. And in all honesty, he hadn't gotten much better at the whole sharing concept as an adult.
He did feel a little guilty when she reached for her bra clasp though. Sasuke did have SOME ethics. He didn't feel guilty about enjoying the sight of her in her lingerie. She had voluntarily let him see that much during training. But seeing her naked without her knowing, that seemed…sleazy. It wasn't like he was Jirayia or something. He had to draw the line somewhere.
"Want some help, Red?" He murmurs.
"EEP!" Gina says and immediately hides behind a curtain.
"Did you really just eep?" Sasuke asks in amusement.
"You startled me." The Kazekage informs him.
"Sorry. Just thought I should let you know that I was awake. I'm not…Jirayia." He reasons.
"Oh how chivalrous." She says dryly.
"I thought so." He agrees.
"And Red? I didn't know we were on a nickname basis." She mutters.
"I think considering that we are sharing a room, we are. That and you slept in my arms again. " The dark haired ninja states.
""You make a good pillow." She defends herself.
"You just emasculated me in under two seconds there. Impressive." Sasuke says sarcastically.
"If it bothers you to be compared to a pillow, then stop acting like one." She says with a shrug, from behind her curtain.
"You know the whole hiding behind the curtain thing, is pointless. I already saw you in your lingerie when we were training." He states.
"…Good point." She says and comes out from behind the curtain.
"Come on. We should get going. The others are probably wondering what's taking us so long. I'll go get changed in the bathroom." He says, hopping off the bed, and heads inside the bathroom.
Gina sighs. She quickly dresses. Honestly, she didn't know how much longer she'd last on this trip. Between Tsunade's worried looks, the Stone Kage's disapproving one, and actually sharing a room with him…she was probably going to have a heart attack.
When they get there, they watch as Onoki argues with one of the Samurai leaders over seating arrangements. It seemed the Stone Kage was trying correct them regarding Gina and Sasuke's martial status or more accurately lack of.
"They aren't married. There is no reason for them to sit next to each other!" He says.
"Is there a reason that we shouldn't?" He hears Sasuke's velvety voice ask in a far too casual fashion, one that made his blood run cold.
"You damn well know the reason why you shouldn't, Uchiha. Don't play innocent. It doesn't suit you!" He protests.
"Brave words for someone with one foot in the grave." Sasuke muses and looks at the elderly man as if daring him to say something stupid.
"Onoki, everywhere else is full. Stop throwing a temper tantrum. It is unbecoming of a man of your…station." She finishes.
"You were going to say age, weren't you?!" He accuses.
"I was not going to say that." Gina lies.
"Yes, you were! See?! See?! He's already negatively influencing her. The Kazekage has never displayed such disrespect for her elders before." He states as if that confirmed well, everything.
Sasuke tries not to snicker. He really did. But he must have let out a sound of amusement. He winced as he felt Gina elbow him in the ribs like, Stop it!
"I apologize for the confusion. But are you two married or not?" The Samurai leader asks.
"We are not. But it was not our intention to offend you or to make things awkward." Gina says, bowing her head formerly.
"I see. Well I certainly appreciate that. I suppose it matters little if you are married or lovers."
"We aren't either." Gina says, her face heating up to match her hair color and once again she cursed the fact that as a red head she was prone to blushing easily.
"Of course, Lady Kazekage. It is perfectly normal for a man and a woman to share a bed, when they aren't married, and aren't lovers." The Samurai says in a way that made her want to slap him silly with her sand.
"Can we get onto discussing the alliance?" Sasuke asks, deciding to save Gina and himself from further embarrassment. (Naruto was never going to let him live this down.)
"Of course. The war showed that Samurai and Ninja are capable of working together to achieve a common goal. We would like to capitalize on this." He begins.
"The sand can trade diamonds for water." Gina says.
"Are you out of your mind, Gina? Diamonds for water?" Naruto asks.
"They look pretty and they are hard to break. They make good weapons, though it's not practical to use them as such because of how many it takes and how rare they are in other parts of the world. We need the water more than jewelry." She states with a shrug.
"A most generous offer. We will have to discuss it further." He says.
"Timber." Naruto says.
"As expected of the Leaf." The Samurai leader nods.
"Stone, obviously." Onoki adds.
This goes on for awhile. It became clear that Naruto really just wasn't the type to sit through diplomatic trade talks easily. Gina noticed he was getting twitchy. She decides to take pity on her friend.
"It's late. I would very much like to explore your lands. I didn't get the opportunity to do so last time I was here, with the war going on." She says politely.
"Of course, Lady Kazekage. You are correct. It is growing late. We can adjourn for today. Happy…exploration." He says glancing at the red head and Sasuke like, More like exploring your lover. But I'll go along with it anyway.
"Thank you." She says.
"Great! Hey, Gina come on there's a lake outback! Let's go swimming." Naruto says.
"Naruto, I'm from a desert. I don't know how to swim." She says and flails when the blonde drags her off anyway.
"This is going to be entertaining." Sasuke mutters and follows, along with the other Kages.
"Come on, Gina. You can do it. I'll teach you." The blue eyed man tries to encourage her.
"I think I'll just sit right here." She says, sitting at the edge of the lake and letting her legs dip into the shallow end of the lake.
"Awe that's no fun." The blonde whines.
"Loser, if she doesn't want to do it, let her be." Sasuke says rolling his eyes.
"She's gotta learn sometime." Naruto says, getting out of the water, and shoving the red head into the deep end of the lake.
"AHHHH!" Gina cries out and her head goes underneath the water, sand can be seen flailing miserably having been turned into slush from the water.
"YOU IDIOT!" Sasuke growls and jumps into the water, going after the red head once it became clear her head wasn't going to come back up over the water.
Gina flails desperately. She couldn't breathe! The red head knew it was important to get her head above the water. But her sand kept dragging her down. Just as she had decided she was going to haunt Naruto in the afterlife for this, she felt something grab her. She struggles against whatever it was weakly. But it was too strong.
Damn it! What the fuck was wrong with Naruto?! You don't just throw someone who didn't know how to swim into the deep end of a lake!
He grabbed Gina and pulls her to the surface. She was fighting him. Sasuke didn't think she even realized that it was him and that he was trying to prevent he from drowning. But her attempts to push him away were weak at best. She had at most another minute before she could no longer hold her breath. God only knows how much water she'd already swallowed.
"It's okay. I got you." He murmurs into her ear once they get to the surface.
Gina takes in a big gulp of air and promptly spits out a mouthful, well several mouthfuls of water. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She felt light headed. But she could breathe now.
"That's it. Take it easy." He says and swims her back to the shore.
Naruto felt guilty. He probably shouldn't have thrown her that far into the water. But she was so light. He didn't know his own strength sometimes. Besides, he knew that Sasuke would grab her before she drowned. He would have stepped in if worse came to worse.
"You probably still have some water in you. I'm going to help you spit it out." Sasuke says, sitting behind her and pressing on he stomach, making the red head cough up more water.
"Th-anks." She says.
God, this was fucking humiliating. She'd almost drowned. All the other Kages AND the Uchiha had saw that. She felt so pathetic. Gina feels something wrap wrapped around her. Oh a picnic blanket.
"You can use it to dry off." He murmurs into her ear.
"Geez. Gina, I'm sorry. I didn't think I threw you that hard." Naruto says.
"You fucking moron! You could have killed her." Sasuke says and his Sharingan activates.
"I would have grabbed her, if you didn't. You know that! Gina, knows that. Oh fuck. Sorry, Gina. I'm so sorry." The blonde says.
"It's alright. Just don't do that e-ver again or I will kill you myself." She says and leans back into Sasuke's arms subconsciously seeking the warmth there.
"You are lucky it was her and not me. If you had done that to me and I didn't know how to swim, you would be so dead." Sasuke growls and helps Gina dry off.
Shit! She was shaking. He could tell that she was trying to hide it. But the red head had been terrified. Who wouldn't be? She'd nearly drowned.
He fought back the impulse to hold her tighter and try to soothe her. Sasuke knew the Kazekage well enough to know she was like him. That would have been the ultimate insult to her pride. Bad enough that she needed to be saved in the first place.
"I think I'm going to head back to my room." Gina mutters after a few minutes.
"I'll walk you. I mean it's the least I can do." Naruto says.
"Alright." Gina replies, knowing that Naruto hadn't meant any harm.
It'd be nice if he thought things through a little bit more though. Still he was her first true friend. She couldn't stay mad at him. The Uchiha though, apparently didn't have that problem. If looks could kill, the blonde wouldn't be six feet under…more like 6000.
"Sasuke, maybe it's better if you stay here." She adds when she sees the Uchiha rise to his feet and she suddenly felt worried this might actually come to blows.
"You going to be okay?" Naruto asks.
"Yeah. Thanks for walking me back." She says and heads inside her room.
"Please tell me that you kicked his ass." Sasuke says, coming in a few minutes later and heads to the bathroom, not realizing the Kazekage was already brushing her teeth.
This didn't seem to matter to the last Uchiha. He grabs his own toothpaste and starts brushing his. The bathroom suddenly seemed a lot smaller. She could feel the heat from his body close to hers. She blamed it on his fire affinity. But Sasuke's skin as always warm.
Gina spits out the paste and water she used to rinse her mouth. Then she considers how to answer that. Eh, she'd tell a white lie.
"Yes, I did. I don't think he'll make that mistake again." She says.
"For a ninja, you are a horrible liar." Sasuke says in amusement, after doing likewise.
"I am not!" She protests.
"Yes, you are. You'd never hit Naruto, no matter how much he deserves it." He says.
"Maybe…it's like hitting a puppy or something. Those big blue eyes…you know?" She asks.
"You like his eyes?" Sasuke asks.
"They are very…expressive and blue like the ocean." She answers, not really thinking anything about it.
Sasuke felt irritated. He was not jealous. He was definitely not jealous of Naruto. There wasn't anything going on between him and the Kazekage other than some training and yeah, maybe a little bit of cuddling. But that was a natural reaction when you were sleeping.
Gina doesn't notice it. She heads out of the bathroom and throws some pillows and blankets on the floor. Sasuke looks at her and raises an eyebrow like, What the Hell are you doing?
"You felt emasculated by being my pillow. Besides, it really isn't appropriate for us to be sleeping with each other." She states.
"Is this about the Stone Kage?" Sasuke asks.
"Maybe. But he's got a point. We don't need to cause a panic." The red head says.
"We wouldn't?" He asks.
"No, especially not when you're just starting to…fit in again." She says.
"You seem to have confused me for the loser." Sasuke says, suddenly pinning her to the bed.
"Huh?" She asks and squirms underneath his hold.
"Yeah. He's the one that gives a fuck what the idiotic masses think. I don't. I never have. So if they want to freak out that's their problem. All I care about is when you lay next to me, I don't have those dreams." He states.
"Those dreams?" She asks.
"Our pasts still haunt both of us when we close our eyes." Sasuke answers her.
"So you're using me as a Dreamcatcher?" She questions.
"And you are using me as a pillow." He says with a shrug and pulls her onto the bed.
"A mutual exchange then." The red head muses.
"Mhm." He says and lays next to her.
The next morning, they set off. The girls…ahem Tsunade, Mei, and Gina were at the head of the pack this morning. This seemed to happen a lot as the men were normally bickering with each other.
Today, just for a change of pace, Sasuke was bickering with the Stone Kage instead of Naruto. Because hey, even Uchihas needed variety. He wondered if he could make the old coot burst a blood vessel. So he lagged behind the others just to fuck with him.
"I suggest you cease playing with the Lady Kazekage in such a fashion. Even the Samurai realized something was amiss." He warns.
"It's really none of your business. But since you're so curious, do you know where she slept last night?" He asks with a smirk.
"You are vile Uchiha. We should have insisted on separate rooms for the two of you. But the Kazekage is…not some harlot. She might have slept in the same room as you, but that doesn't mean she was foolish enough to let you bed her." He says firmly.
"We slept together." Sasuke says, taunting him.
"… LADY KAZEKAGE! This beast is besmirching your good name!" He glowers at Sasuke.
"Onoki." Gina says with a sigh.
"Do we even want to know?" Mei asks.
"No. Maybe if we ignore their fighting, they'll stop?" The red head suggests.
"I doubt it. It looks like Sasuke is trying to provoke him." Tsunade comments.
"I guess I am morally obligated to make sure the Stone Kage doesn't have a stroke over Sasuke's antics." Gina says and walks to the back of the pack.
"This liar is claiming that the two of you slept together. I thought you should have ample opportunity to refute such a ridiculous claim." He states.
"Uchiha…you didn't." Gina says.
"It's not my fault he assumed I meant it in a sexual way." Sasuke says with a smirk.
"We slept in the same bed because it was more comfortable than the floor. We aren't lovers." She explains.
"Oh. Good! I knew you were smarter than to let this rogue touch you in such a fashion." He states, seeming satisfied.
"Do you get some sort of amusement out of tormenting the elderly?" Gina asks Sasuke raising an eyebrow.
"Not particularly. But he deserved it." Sasuke says with a shrug.
"Onoki, stop insisting that the Uchiha is some sort of sex fiend and perhaps he'll learn to behave himself." Gina says and returns to the other women.
"Honestly, I don't know why women fall for a pretty face so easily. Even Mei." Onoki says.
"Bastard, I see you are making lots of new friends." Naruto snorts.
"Always." Sasuke says with a smirk.
Soon enough they return back to the Leaf. The wedding preparations were well under way for Temari and Shikamaru. Gina is dragged off by Temari for some sisterly bonding. Bridal lingerie shopping, the red head wished some merciful deity would strike her down to spare her this humiliation. But alas, her prayers went unanswered.
"Temari, I appreciate that you want to get closer…but couldn't you pick a more normal activity?" Gina mutters.
"This is normal! Sisters go shopping for clothes. Besides, maybe you'll find something to wear for Sasuke eventually." She adds.
"…I am NEVER wearing any of these demonic torture devices. How do people even get into them?" She says looking at one of the items…so many straps and hooks.
"Maybe he's the type that just prefers his lover not to wear anything underneath her clothes. Practical, you know?" She asks.
"We aren't lovers. We are never going to be lovers." The red head snaps.
"Denial." Temari mutters.
Gina hurls the lacey white monstrosity at the back of her sister's head. Hmpf! The red head wasn't in denial. Temari was the insane one. Not her.