Gaara stared at her blankly but his eyes were on fire and Matsuri resisted the urge to shiver.
"Do you not have an answer? Or are you refusing to give one?"
She bit her lip, fingers wringing nervously in front of her. "I'm refusing."
The corner of his eye twitched. "Why?"
She straightened her shoulders and forced herself to look him in the eye. "Because I know that the answer I have isn't something you would want…or understand, and I cannot lie to you. Therefore my only option is to refuse to answer."
He growled inwardly; this girl was a clever one; either that or she'd been hanging around the Nara prodigy far too much.
"I don't accept your explanation, Matsuri—or rather the lack thereof."
Matsuri's mouth curved into a frown; she knew he was the Kazekage but his abrasive attitude felt disrespectful. "Well I'm sorry but frankly, you have no choice but to 'accept it' Kazekage-sama." She knew she was antagonizing him now but he was being arrogant and she hated it.
She attempted to brush past him but he grabbed her by the arm, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Do not walk away from me, Matsuri…please."
"Please. Please, Kazekage-sama, let me go." Her voice was strained and her expression twisted into a grimace of emotional pain.
The pleading tone in her voice caused Gaara's chest to tighten painfully and hardened expression in his jade eyes softened.
Matsuri refused to look at him and still held back, waiting for him to release her but after a full five minutes passed, his grip on her had not lessened and the Sand kunoichi dissolved into tears.
Completely thrown by her reaction, Gaara stiffened, inwardly in a panic as to what he should do.
This was the second time he'd made her cry and even though the redhead was completely lost on the reason why, he still felt an intense guilt wash over him as he looked down at her helplessly.
"P-Please…let me go, K-Kazekage-sama; don—don't you see? Your kindness, I can't bear it—your warmth is t-t-too m-much, I c-can't I just c-can't!" Strangled sobs wracked through her body and she barely managed to lift her head to look up into his eyes, begging him to leave her in her misery.
Something about the way she looked as she cried, struck the young Kazekage and for a moment, his entire being froze and he couldn't breathe.
Her black eyes…like dark coal warmed by a blazing fire…were heavy with tears.
Her slender shoulders shook uncontrollably with the force of her sobs…
…and her lips…her cupid bow-shaped lips trembled as she fought to subdue the torrent of weeping, to no avail.
For some unfathomable reason, Gaara's eyes were drawn irresistibly to her quivering mouth and something heated and fierce stirred deep within him, clawing its way to the surface.
Her mouth…
He wanted to taste it.
But…what sense did that even make? He couldn't comprehend or process the thought to its fullest, yet deep down he knew it was desire—poignant and irrefutable.
His jade eyes phased back into focus and he looked at her again, only this time the intense heated feeling stayed with him…and it burned hotter.
Suddenly, all thought ceased within the mind of the Kazekage and pure instinct kicked in.
Taking a firmer hold of her wrist, he pulled her in closer and uttered her name in a voice that was low, husky and commanding. "Matsuri, look at me."
Black eyes snapped up to jade just seconds before his mouth crashed onto hers.
Tears instantly forgotten, Matsuri's eyes widened in shock as a sliver of fear mixed with amazement sliced through her body.
His kiss was awkward but forceful and the surprised kunoichi couldn't move a single millimeter or even breathe with the force of his touch.
His hand held fast to her wrist while his other gripped the bridge railing at her back and for a moment, Gaara felt his entire body go numb.
Seconds ticked by in the blink of an eye and at last, the redhead's bruising kiss softened until his eyes fluttered open—jade clashing with startled black—as he slowly and hesitantly pulled away.
But his face was still just bare inches from hers—the tips of their noses almost brushing—and his eyes were wide open with curiosity and amazement as he gazed straight into hers.
Matsuri was in utter shock.
"What was…?"
His breath ghosted across her cheek and her lips instinctively parted in response as she took in a breath.
"You kissed me…." Technically it was in answer to his question though Matsuri hadn't processed it as an actual response at all—she was simply too stunned to not speak her thoughts aloud.
He was silent but his eyes never left hers as he processed her words.
That was a kiss?
He'd witnessed the gesture before and though he'd been initially curious, he hadn't thought much of it at the time; the first time he'd seen Naruto kiss Hinata, the Kazekage had nearly asked his blonde friend for an explanation but in the end, he'd thought better of it. Knowing Naruto, he would doubtlessly find a way to tease Gaara for it, unmercifully and the Kazekage had no taste for being made a mockery.
"W-why did you…?"
"I just—" But he couldn't formulate an answer, only one thought burned in the front of his mind as he looked back at her:
He wanted to kiss her again.
Seeing something almost primal flicker in his eyes, Matsuri pressed her lips together and took a step back; she didn't know why but she was scared—she knew Gaara would die before hurting her, it wasn't that but whatever it was that he was feeling right now, she didn't trust it because she knew he had no idea what it was.
Seeing her retreating from him snapped the Kazekage from his dazed stupor and once again, instinct took over as he reached out and grabbed her hand.
"G-Gaara-sama, don't…you d-don't understand what you're—"
"I kissed you, Matsuri."
She stared at him, her cheeks flaming red; it sounded so surreal when he said it out loud. "I—I k-know."
Something about her expression made him smirk and surprisingly, the still foreign expression felt natural. "I liked how it felt."
She baulked then, feeling the heat burning her cheeks as she tore her eyes away from his; he was so…direct!
But then, this was Gaara; he was always direct.
Chancing a glance at him, she wished she hadn't when she saw the blatant fire in his eyes as he took a step towards her, simultaneously lacing his fingers with hers as he did so.
Maybe a more direct approach would work. "K-Kazekage-sama, please, I—"
"You know I hate it when you call me that." He stated flatly as he pulled her roughly to him, his eyes pinning her with an intense gaze.
Her hands landed on his chest and she bit back an 'eep' as she stared helplessly at his collarbone.
"I—thought perhaps it would get your a-attention."
He couldn't help but smirk in amusement and a deep rumbling in his chest nearly resembled a laugh as he brought his hand up to cradle the side of her neck. "You think you have to infuriate me to get my attention? You amuse me, Matsuri."
When she felt the strong softness of his palm against her neck, she bit her lip and reflexively leaned into his touch—but only for a moment.
In the next second, she nearly flinched and once again turned tear-filled eyes to him. "W-why—why are you doing this? You d-don't even understand what you're—"
"I told you." He cut her off. "I kissed you. And I liked how it felt."
The traitorous blush once again flooded her cheeks but she feebly shook her head in denial.
"You don't even know what a kiss means."
He was bowing his head, his lips drawing ever closer to hers. "Then let me discover—what it means." He nearly whispered as he took one look at her lips then slowly glanced up at her eyes.
She was still shaking her head and she breathed a weak "No."
But the man's eyes were ablaze again and her weakened plea fell on deaf ears as he glued his eyes to her mouth and whispered huskily, "Too…late." Pale, strong hands cradled the sides of her face and his mouth once again devoured hers with a vengeance.
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Ahhhhhhh! Omg I loved loved loved this one! I really hope you guys are pleased with this; I know that Gaara may seem OOC to some of you and rather aggressive but think about it; the guy's had little to NO experience in the area of emotions and feelings, yet he just experienced his very first kiss, AH! Hello?! I think our redheaded Kazekage would be flippin' out a bit, ya know? Hence why he's being a bit aggressive and wanting to kiss her again. Plus, I love how direct he is, don't you? Gaara is the best when it comes to that and personally I love a man who knows what he wants and just comes out and says it! Anywho hope you'll Review and please stay tuned for more chapters! Again, so sorry this is late!
