Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or Sasuke, or Sakura, or Ino, or Shikamaru, or…well, you get the picture.
Author's Note: While the main plot in this story is, of course, about Sasuke and Naruto, there are several side characters with their own stories. This is the first "interlude" chapter of three, which will focus on minor characters and their side stories (though Sasuke is still a presence in this chapter for a bit). This one focuses on Gaara, but ones in the future will focus on Hinata and Neji. While they aren't the main characters, their stories still connect closely with the main plot. This one, especially, comes in a fitting place when Naruto and Sasuke both have some "down time" recovering from the events of the last chapter. It serves to bridge the gap from the first arc to the next.
I got a lot of feedback from last chapter, ranging from good to bad to totally confused. I edited the chapter a bit to explain everything a little more clearly. Someone even accused me of having a disease fetish, which may or may not be true XD.
Chapter Eleven: Gaara (Interlude)
Sasuke was more than happy to be out of the hospital. It had been three weeks since he'd been shot and he really hated his room. There was just so long he could stand to look at those same four walls.
When he was first released from the hospital, he had Suigetsu bring him to his house, opting to remain away from his overprotective brother. When he was in the hospital, Sasuke was constantly watched by Itachi, who felt guilty about not being there when his brother was shot. Unfortunately, Itachi was at Suigetsu's house with Kisame when the two high schoolers walked through the door.
Being out of the hospital was, without a doubt, much better than being in there. He was constantly monitored by doctors or Itachi, and in the few instances when neither was there, Karin was there, still stalking him like a psychopath. At least he was well enough that he could tell the whole lot of them to fuck off and remain alone in peace.
"...and then Hinata told me that...are you even listening to me?"
Sasuke returned to the present, giving Gaara an apologetic look for spacing out. It was the first time he'd seen the redhead since he got out, and Gaara was recounting some story about the prom with Hinata.
Apparently, even though she planned on going to the prom with Naruto, she ended up going with Gaara as friends, as Naruto was still locked up in the loony bin when prom rolled around.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Sasuke asked.
"Hinata told me that Naruto's doctors think that you should visit him," Gaara said. "She said something about having to face what he did."
"Naruto already saw me," Sasuke said. "He apologized."
"Well, what did you say?" Gaara asked.
"I told him I knew he was sorry," Sasuke said. "I don't think there's much left to say."
"I think that there's a lot left to say," Gaara said. "It's just that you don't want to say it."
"And Naruto doesn't want to hear it," Sasuke said. "Besides, he's out of my life now. By the time he gets out, I will have graduated and I probably won't ever see him again."
"Unless he enrolls in Konoha University," Gaara pointed out. "A bunch of the kids in our school end up going there."
"Hn, whatever," Sasuke muttered.
"Anyway, Sakura wanted me to ask you if you wanted to hang out tonight with us and Kiba," Gaara said.
"Kiba?" Sasuke asked with a smirk. "I think I'll pass. Besides, I'm going over to Suigetsu's house tonight."
"What's going on between you and Suigetsu?" Gaara asked. "Granted, it's probably more fun than watching Sakura model clothes in front of two other gays, but you seem to be going there an awful lot."
"He and I are friends," Sasuke said with a shrug. Gaara rolled his eyes, as his BS meter was going off the charts. "Okay, so we're friends with benefits," Sasuke said. "It's distracting me from Naruto, and it's convenient."
"Now I have to tell Sakura," Gaara said. "She'll be so disappointed that you've moved on. I wonder how the rest of the SasuNaru fan club will react."
Sasuke snorted. "They'd probably light Suigetsu's house on fire and try to kill him in his sleep," he said, standing up. "Anyway, I'll talk to you later." He left Gaara's house and drove towards Suigetsu's. It was nice to have a distraction in life, and Suigetsu was just that for him – a distraction.
Later that day, Gaara sat outside the changing rooms in American Apparel with Kiba as they waited for Sakura to emerge wearing whatever she had picked off the racks this time. Finally, after what seemed like hours of waiting but was probably only a few minutes, she emerged in a red, pink and white mini skirt with a purple top that was covered in sequins.
"Well, what do you think?" Sakura asked, twirling around to give the boys a better view.
"Meh," Gaara said, prompting Sakura to glare at him. She then looked at Kiba expectantly.
"I guess it's good," Kiba said with a shrug.
"You two are the worst gay guys I've ever met!" Sakura huffed. "You're both fashion-retarded."
"Sorry we aren't the stereotypes you want," Gaara said, his arms crossed as he yawned. "When you asked me to hang out, I assumed we'd be doing something we all wanted to do."
"Just a few more outfits, Gaara," Sakura said with her bottom lip trembling. Gaara rolled his eyes at her 'cutesy face' and she smiled before going back to the rack and picking a few more outfits to try on."
When she went back in the changing room, Kiba stood up and stretched his arms.
"I don't know about you, but I'm out of here," Kiba said.
"You just want to ditch her?" Gaara asked incredulously. It was then that he was reminded of how Sakura constantly dragged him to stores to try on clothes in front of him. "I'm in." He hopped up and walked with Kiba towards the food court after deciding that she'd find them eventually.
Gaara got a salad from Wendy's while Kiba got two slices of pizza from Sbarro's. They sat down at a four person table, expecting Sakura to join them eventually.
"So if you're not into sports and all the manly stuff and you're not into fashion and all the girly stuff, what are you into?" Kiba asked as they sat down. "Tell me you're not one of those computer nerds."
"I don't do hobbies," Gaara said.
"C'mon, there's gotta be something," Kiba said. "What do you do when you're not hanging out with someone?"
"Reading," Gaara said. "Sometimes I'll go out by myself."
"And what do you do?" Kiba asked.
"I watch people," Gaara said. Kiba gave him a face that was a mixture of confusion and fear. He seemed slightly creeped out as well. "I just sit back and observe the random people around me."
"What do you mean?" Kiba asked. Gaara stood up and brought his plate around so he was sitting next to Kiba instead of across from him. He subtly pointed to a girl who was sitting with a guy nearby.
"You see those people?" Gaara asked. Kiba nodded in response. "She's bulimic because she feels a need to be skinny in order to be on the cheerleading squad. She's on a first date with the guy, and he doesn't know about her eating disorder. She was also in an abusive relationship."
"How do you know that?" Kiba asked, doubting every word Gaara said.
"I know she's bulimic because she is extremely skinny, but she has a large meal in front of her," Gaara began. You can also see that she is wearing a sweatshirt even though it's June, meaning that she must be even skinnier underneath. She must be on the cheerleading squad because she has slightly muscular legs. She can't be on a track team or anything because they don't emphasize thinness, they emphasize muscle.
"I know she's on a first date with him because of her mannerisms. She's acting timid, as if she doesn't know him well. At the same time, he's talking a lot. If they were in a relationship, there wouldn't be as much to talk about and the conversation would be much more even. You can tell she was in an abusive relationship because of some of her other mannerisms. She recoiled when he tried to touch her, and she is keeping her distance from him without being obvious."
"How do you do that?" Kiba asked, mildly impressed.
"A well trained eye," Gaara said.
"Do me next!" Kiba said turning to face Gaara, who rolled his eyes.
"We're eating together," Gaara said. "I wouldn't be able to do anything because you know you're actions are being scrutinized."
"Oh," Kiba said. "Well then, do someone else." Gaara rolled his eyes again and looked around the room.
"You see those two?" Gaara asked, pointing to another couple. This time, it was a slightly overweight woman with a much older man. "She was under house arrest, and they are married. He's rich and she's using him for his money. She's cheating on him, probably with a woman."
"I don't think I even want to know how you know that," Kiba said.
"She has a tan, but there are serious tan lines on her ankles in the shape of some large anklet, too large to be a piece of jewelry. That tells me that she had an ankle monitor, and was therefore under house arrest. He obviously used his money to get her out."
"How do you know he has money?" Kiba asked.
"Don't interrupt me," Gaara said. "If you look at their clothes, she looks like she buys her clothes at K-Mart or Target, but he is wearing a hand tailored suit. He obviously has big bucks. That's why she's eating so much – she doesn't have to pay for it. I know that she's married to him because she doesn't have a wedding ring, but she has tan lines that indicate she usually wears one. She probably left it at her lover's house accidentally."
"How do you know she's not cheating on her husband with this guy and that's why the wedding ring is gone?" Kiba asked.
"She's purposely hiding the hand from him as inconspicuously as possible," Gaara said. "Also, she's in too public a place to be cheating on her husband."
"But if she's with a rich guy, why is she wearing cheap clothing?" Kiba asked.
"The clothing looks old and worn out," Gaara said. "It's probably just casual wear for her, as is the suit for him. He seems like a business executive or a lawyer, explaining the need for a suit. She's obviously using him for his money or else she wouldn't be cheating on him."
"And why do you think it's with a woman?" Kiba asked.
"Look closely at the collar of her shirt," Gaara said. Kiba looked at the woman, trying not to look like he was staring. He saw there was a very light, faded lipstick mark on the collar, barely noticeable if you weren't looking for it.
"Oh," he said. "You're good."
"Of course I am," Gaara said.
"One more," Kiba said. Gaara gave him a stern look that said 'no'. "Please?" Gaara sighed and looked around the room again.
"Oh god," Gaara said upon laying his eyes upon a familiar face.
"What?" Kiba asked, looking in the direction Gaara was. "Who's that who's coming over to our table?"
"Yukio," Gaara said. "He has this crush on me and he's been trying to get me to agree to a date with him for months."
As Gaara finished his sentence, Yukio made his way to the table and sat across from Gaara.
"Hey, Gaara," he said. "How's it going?"
Yukio was not unattractive. Like many people in Konoha, he had an unnatural hair color, navy blue. His eyes were a shade of purple that really brought his look full circle. Like Gaara, he was pale, but not in a bad way. He had two piercings on each ear and the tips of a tattoo wrapped around his neck.
"Can you please leave me alone," Gaara said. "I don't want to go out with you."
"Come on!" Yukio protested, abandoning all pretense of conversation. "Give me a chance!"
"No," Gaara said. "Any chance you might have had was squashed when you decided to start stalking me."
"I'm not stalking you," Yukio said. "I'm just being nice. Besides, I go after what I want. I'm sure you'll like that about me."
"Leave him alone," Kiba said, breaking the silence he fell into upon the blue haired boy's arrival.
"Who are you?" Yukio asked with a tone that sounded as if Kiba was intruding on Yukio's moment with the redhead.
"I'm Gaara's boyfriend," Kiba said, shocking both teens at the table. Yukio's expression was much more visible than Gaara's, who hid his shock, understanding what Kiba was playing at.
"No you're not," Yukio said. "If you were his boyfriend, Gaara would have told me when I first walked over."
"Well it's true," Gaara said, draping his arm over Kiba's shoulder.
"If you two were on a date, you'd be at a table for two and you'd be across from each other," Yukio said, bored with the conversation.
"Why is everyone so extra observant?" Kiba asked.
"It's not that we're extra observant, Kiba," Gaara said. "It's just that you can be sort of oblivious." He then turned to Yukio. "We are going out, and I have no need to explain my relationship with Kiba to you."
"If you're really going out, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't want to prove it to me," Yukio said. "Why don't you kiss him, Gaara?"
Gaara glared at the blue-haired boy and shook his head. "Did you not hear a word I just said? I don't need to justify my relationship with Kiba to you."
"I just don't get-" Yukio began, but was interrupted by Kiba.
"Oh, for god's sake!" With that exclamation, he pulled Gaara's face to his own and captured Gaara's mouth in a kiss. Gaara froze for a moment, shocked by Kiba's initiative. After a moment, however, he remembered that this kiss was being scrutinized by Yukio and so he returned the kiss.
Kiba knew Yukio was still standing there, so he decided to deepen the kiss to send him away. He licked Gaara's lower lip, asking for entrance into the warm cavern that was Gaara's mouth. Gaara complied, taking control of the kiss and showing Yukio that he really was into it.
Yukio couldn't stand to watch the person he'd liked for months kiss another guy so willingly, so he just stormed off in the direction he came from. Neither Gaara nor Kiba noticed, however, as they were losing themselves in the kiss.
After about a minute of kissing, they pulled away, trying not to look into each other's eyes.
"What was that?" Gaara asked Kiba, who shrugged.
"He was giving you a hard time and he was pissing me off, so I decided to shut him up," Kiba reasoned. "Besides, I like Naruto, so it's not like it really meant anything."
"I don't understand," Gaara said. "Why does everyone have a thing for Naruto? First Hinata, then Sasuke, and now you. I mean, sure he's attractive, but I honestly don't get what makes you all so crazy over him."
"I don't want to talk about Sasuke," Kiba said.
"Well, that's too bad, because if Naruto is gay, then it's going to be Sasuke who wins Naruto's heart," Gaara said. Kiba gave him an inquisitive look, to which Gaara rolled his eyes.
"Before Naruto was raped, I saw him and Sasuke kissing, and I analyzed Naruto just like I did to Ms. Bulemic-Cheerleader and Mrs. Gold-Digging-Lesbian-Adulteress," Gaara said. "I called the fact that Naruto had an abusive father who would not be accepting of his homosexuality. Unfortunately, when we found out I was right, the situation didn't call for 'I told you sos'."
"So Sasuke kissed him," Kiba said. "That doesn't mean anything."
"Naruto kissed him back," Gaara said. "That means he has an attraction to him. Not to mention the fact that Sasuke proved during the whole 'Naruto-is-a-girl' debacle that he can be a dependable boyfriend."
"I've proven that our whole friendship!" Kiba argued.
"But that's just it!" Gaara said. "Naruto sees you as a friend. You're stuck in the Friend Zone, and he won't risk your friendship by pursuing a relationship with you."
"You're telling me the only advantage Sasuke has over me is that he's not Naruto's friend?" Kiba asked.
"How many stories have you heard of childhood friends who ended up together?" Gaara asked.
"I've heard of tons of them!" Kiba exclaimed triumphantly.
"And how many of those relationships didn't end up in divorce or a break up?" Gaara asked. Kiba remained silent. "I don't want to hurt your feelings, but the sooner you accept the fact that Naruto won't end up with you, the better. When he gets out of Konoha Mental Hospital, he'll be forced to deal with his sexuality like he did before the rape. But no matter what the outcome is – whether he ends up with Sasuke or not – he doesn't see you as a viable romantic possibility."
Kiba stayed silent, looking forward. If he learned anything in the past hour, it was not to question Gaara's observations. And rationally, he knew that what Gaara said all made sense. But he didn't like what he said, and he'd prove Gaara wrong if he had anything to say about it.
"You're just jealous," Kiba said. "You don't want me with Naruto because you want to be with me."
"What?" Gaara asked. "Do you hear yourself?"
"You seemed really into that kiss," Kiba said. "You just can't stand that I want to be with Naruto, so you're trying to make me forget my feelings for him."
Gaara closed his eyes and counted to three, trying to make his anger dissipate.
"You just can't stand that Naruto and I actually do have a chance," Kiba continued. "You're doing to me just what Yukio was doing to you. There's no chance that we'll end up together, Gaara."
Gaara realized in that moment that he failed to let go of his anger. He picked up his half filled water bottle and dumped it over Kiba's head. He then calmly put the cap on the water and threw it into the nearby trash bin.
"What the fuck!" Kiba shouted, attracting a lot of attention.
"Sorry, I'm not attracted to wet dogs," Gaara said before walking away. As he walked from the food court, he ran into Sakura.
"Gaara!" she exclaimed angrily. "You and Kiba ditched me! Where is he?"
"He's at the food court," Gaara said. "And I'm going home."
"What happened?" Sakura asked, her anger gone.
"Let's just say that Kiba might not want to hang out with me again," Gaara said. With that, Gaara left the mall and went back home.
"So you just dumped the water over his head?" Sasuke asked over the phone.
"What can I say? I had a moment of inspiration," Gaara replied.
"So you actually kissed dog-breath?" Sasuke asked. "I get that it was to get rid of Yukio, but really? Kiba?"
"He kissed me," Gaara defended. "He's actually not that bad a kisser. Better than you."
"I'm sure," Sasuke said sarcastically. "I wouldn't start hanging out with him too much if I were you, though."
"I get you don't like him, but I can make my own choices," Gaara said.
"When Kiba comes to the realization that Naruto won't be with him, he'll be very sad," said Sasuke. "And if you two become too chummy, he might just try to use you to get over him."
"Like you're doing to Suigetsu?" Gaara asked, smirking.
"Exactly," Sasuke said. "Only Suigetsu is nowhere near as annoying as that pea-brain is."
"Whatever," Gaara said. "I have no intention of sleeping with Kiba."
"Good," Sasuke said. "I have to go, but I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"See ya," Gaara said before hanging up the phone.
AkamaruKiba: hey gaara, u there?
ShukakuJinchuriki1: Sorry, I'm too busy bowing down to the shrine I have of you in my closet to talk right now.
AkamaruKiba: im serius, i wanted to say im sorry
ShukakuJinchuriki1: So you admit that your ego and your obsession over your best friend got the better of you and that I'm not fixated on you?
AkamaruKiba: i wouldnt say im obsessed with naruto
AkamaruKiba: anyway, i thought about wat u said and i think ur right...naruto will never love me back
ShukakuJinchuriki1: Oh, so there is some sense in that thick head of yours?
AkamaruKiba: if ur gonna be a sarcastic asshole, then forget i apologized!
ShukakuJinchuriki1: Fine, I'm sorry. But you do deserve it. You were a bit of a bitch today.
AkamaruKiba: IM the bitch?1? u poured WATER ALL OVER ME!1!1!
ShukakuJinchuriki1: And you deserved every drop of it. I won't apologize for that.
AkamaruKiba: fine, were even?
ShukakuJinchuriki1: We're even.
AkamaruKiba: sakura was pretty pissed when i told her y u left
ShukakuJinchuriki1: Good...did she tell you to apologize, too?
AkamaruKiba: nah i did this myself
ShukakuJinchuriki1: You think for yourself, too! This is a big day for you!
AkamaruKiba: stfu
AkamaruKiba has ended this chat.
Sasuke stood outside Konoha Mental Hospital trying to gather his courage. Ino, Inoichi, Sakura and Hinata have all told him that Naruto's doctors thought seeing him would be productive to his recovery, so Sasuke decided to visit him. But standing outside the hospital made Sasuke second guess himself.
It had been weeks since he had last seen Naruto and he came to terms with the fact that he wouldn't end up with the blond, but his feelings never diminished. Whenever he slept with Suigetsu, he'd think of the blond, and he'd wish that he was in Naruto's bed instead. Now he was going to have to confront his feelings again, and he had no idea if he would be helping Naruto's recovery or stunting it.
"You can do this," he told himself. He began walking towards the door and he opened it slowly. He signed in at the visitors desk and sat down, waiting for Naruto's doctor.
Eventually, Dr. Kishimoto made an appearance and thanked Sasuke for showing up. "We're going to go to my office to wait for Naruto."
"Your office?" Sasuke asked. "Are you going to be there?"
Dr. Kishimoto nodded. "I asked your friends to tell you that a therapy session with Naruto would be productive. Isn't that why you're here?"
"Therapy session?" Sasuke asked. "I thought I was just supposed to visit."
"If you want to just talk to Naruto, that's fine," Dr. Haruku said. "It would just be better if I was there."
"Why? Do you think he's dangerous?" Sasuke asked.
"Not at all," the doctor said. "It's just that he has a tendency to beat around the bush and not confront his feelings. If I could direct and guide him, it would be more productive."
"I think we'll both feel more comfortable without a third person in the room," Sasuke said. "No offense," he added as an afterthought.
"None taken," the psychiatrist said.
Sasuke stepped into the visiting room and waited as the Dr. Kishimoto went to retrieve Naruto. They entered the room again minutes later. After seeing Naruto to the visiting room, the doctor left the two teenagers alone.
"So…" Naruto said. "What are you doing here?"
"Dr. Kishimoto thought you'd like to see me," Sasuke said.
"How are you doing?" Naruto asked suddenly. "How's your stomach?"
"It's fine," Sasuke said. "The doctors did a good job patching me up, and there's barely a scar."
"Can...Can I see it?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded and stood up, moving his chair over next to Naruto. He sat back down and lifter his shirt, pointing to the tall, thin white scar on his abdomen. "I...I'm so sorry," Naruto said.
He paused before proposing another question. "Why did you tell me you were sorry when I visited you at the hospital?" Sasuke shook his head.
"It's not important," he said.
"I need to know," Naruto said. "It's been bothering me."
"I have a lot to apologize for," Sasuke said. "I'm the reason your father raped you in the first place."
"That wasn't your fault," Naruto said. "Kyuubi was a sick, sadistic bastard."
"I'm sorry I took your virginity," Sasuke said in a whisper. He didn't realize how much he still wanted to be with Naruto until right now. Seeing the blond again made all the dormant feelings that Sasuke had been stuffing down reappear. His stomach felt bubbly.
"You did what you had to do," Naruto said, his voice lowering to the same level Sasuke's was at.
"I kissed you," Sasuke said, looking at Naruto's full lips. They were nicer than Suigetsu's for sure. "When you thought I was Kyuubi, I kissed you. And it freaked you out. I'm sorry for that."
"I...I needed that," Naruto whispered. Sasuke made up his mind.
"I'm sorry I'm about to do it again," Sasuke said, closing the distance between him and the blond. Naruto's eyes fluttered closed and he instinctively opened his mouth for Sasuke. Sasuke, taking the cue from the blond, questioningly pushed his tongue inside Naruto's mouth.
He kissed Naruto with less fervor and more apprehension than he did that night at his house. Naruto didn't realize that he was actually kissing Sasuke and that it should feel wrong. He couldn't tell what it was, but he didn't feel as uncomfortable kissing the raven as he thought he would. Maybe it was because it was familiar after the last few months.
Then, suddenly, it clicked. He was kissing Sasuke. This had been the third time he and Sasuke had kissed while he was in his right mind. He jumped away from Sasuke, wiping his mouth.
"What was that!" Naruto exclaimed, causing Sasuke to wince.
"I...I'm sorry," Sasuke said. "I just couldn't help myself."
"Why not?" Naruto said. "You owe me nothing anymore. You don't have to pretend to be my boyfriend anymore, so you don't have to kiss me anymore."
"I didn't kiss you because I thought you expected it," Sasuke said.
"Then why'd you kiss me?" Naruto asked.
"Because I wanted to!" Sasuke admitted. "Is it really hard for you to figure out?"
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"I..." There was a lump in his throat, but Sasuke had to tell him. "I'm in love with you Naruto," Sasuke said, causing Naruto's eyes to go comically wide. "I've known ever since I switched schools."
Naruto didn't react at all, nor did he look Sasuke in the eye. After a few seconds of tense silence, Naruto spoke up. "I'm straight, you know. Hinata's been by, and we agreed to go out on a date because I couldn't make it to the prom."
"Oh," Sasuke said, feeling pathetic. "So are you two...together?"
"Yeah, I think so," Naruto said. "I...I'm sorry."
Sasuke shook his head. "You don't need to be sorry, Naruto. This isn't your problem."
"I...I feel like I led you on before," Naruto said. "I tried to seduce you so many times, I can't imagine how hard it was for you."
"It wasn't that bad," Sasuke said, blatantly lying. "Not being able to see you was worse."
"I don't know how to respond," Naruto said after a moment. "Damn! First Kiba, now you! What? Does Gaara love me too?"
Sasuke chuckled. "No, he doesn't have any romantic inclinations towards you whatsoever."
"That's good," Naruto said.
"I think I should go," Sasuke said, getting up.
"Wait, Sasuke," Naruto said. Sasuke stopped and turned to the blond. "I'm sorry that I can't love you back."
"I'm sorry too," Sasuke said. "And for your information, that's exactly why I said I was sorry in my hospital room." He turned back around and walked right out of the visiting room, not looking back.
Author's Note: And would you look at that, it looks like things are...well...not so good for Sasuke. But things are slowly going back to normal, and everyone's getting ready for college. Which we'll see in the next chapter (a little time skip never hurt anyone).
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