Before leaving, Temari had told Gaara about their father's new girlfriend. And as expected, her brother didn't react fondly about it. The idea of another woman, a stranger, coming into his family's life as a replacement for his mother bothered him tremendously.
"You know that after mom died….dad hadn't seen anyone. He spent time taking care of us,"
Gaara didn't say anything, his memories taking him back to when his dad would micromanage everything he and his siblings did.
"I know you and dad had problems," Temari said, "And I wish he had been a better parent while we were growing up… But you need to understand, dad isn't getting any younger. We're all adults now and it's OK if he wants to...focus more on himself with someone he likes. It doesn't mean that mom is forgotten. She never will be forgotten,"
She watched as her brother stared at the floor, his arms resting on his knees. Ever since Gaara had moved out for college, the distance between him and their father grew. The only time he would come home was during holidays and summer breaks, mostly because she would beg him to come home. And when he would be home, he didn't bother acknowledging his father, despite their father trying his best on getting his youngest son's attention.
"She...wants to have a family dinner...with all of us," Temari added, eyeing her brother as he turned his head towards her.
"Why?"
"Well, her and dad have been dating for almost a year actually. I met her months ago...and so has Kankuro. She has no children. But she wants to make dinner for all of us, and she's always wondering about you,"
"No," Gaara said with a shake of his head, "I rather not…"
"Gaara, she's actually very nice-"
"Temari, I rather not. You and Kankuro can go, but I'm not interested. Nor will I ever be,"
His sister sighed and nodded, knowing that it was better to save her breath rather than wasting time trying to change her brother's opinion. The tension between him and their father was too complex for it to be resolved by just having dinner time, especially around the woman who has now captured their father's attention.
"Well, I gotta get 're trying out dresses later today for Sakura's wedding,"
Gaara nodded and walked her over to the front door, thanking her for talking to him.
"Anytime, baby brother," Temari said while pinching one of his cheeks.
He rolled his eyes at her and closed the door.
Now that he was alone, he laid on the couch and closed his eyes, his mind immediately thinking about his blond haired roommate.
The following day after work, he skipped the gym. Work had been slow, and because of that, his thoughts were on Ino majority of the day. Therefore, once it turned four-thirty in the afternoon, he left his work laptop locked in his desk and left.
As usual, the front desk receptionists greeted him with sad smiles, the gesture letting him know that so far, Ino has not woken up.
Gaara walked into the room, his eyes on her sleeping form as he sat on the chair next to her. Despite the fact that he couldn't have a conversation with her, Gaara found that speaking to her was calming. As usual, he would grab her hand and rub his thumb over her knuckles, wondering if she would love the gesture if she were awake.
"My father called me today," Gaara started, remembering the phone call he received early in the morning while getting ready for work. "I...did not pick up."
The moment the phone call came, Gaara had just simply stared at his phone until it stopped ringing. He didn't remember the last time he had spoken with his father, but remembering what Temari had said the day before, he hadn't felt like dealing with him. Not today, at least.
"Temari told me that he is dating some woman… He's been dating her for some time. And she wants for all of us to have dinner. I can't do it. It feels...wrong," he said, the image of his mother appearing in his mind as he remembered everything from that day…
Despite being young, Gaara knew that his parents were arguing again. He had been in bed with the teddy bear that his mother had given him months ago when he heard his mother cry. Kankuro had been sleeping in the other bed as he slipped off the bed and tiptoed out his room.
The bedroom he shared with Kankuro was just adjacent from his parents' room. Their door wasn't fully closed, and quietly, he leaned against the door and watched as his parents went back and forth.
"Rasa, please-"
"I already told you! I don't want to discuss this anymore!"
"Please keep your voice down," Karura pleaded, "You'll wake the children."
"They can go back to sleep if they do!"
Gaara watched as his mother shook her head in disbelief as his father walked around the room, escaping from his view. He could see the tears rolling down his mother's face as she sat on the corner of the bed and covered her face. Her shoulders began to tremble and Gaara knew that she was now crying. He thought that crying was just something kids did whenever they would get hurt. But that idea shattered in his young mind upon seeing his mom cry multiple times. And it was always after arguing with his father.
"What are you doing out of bed!?"
Gaara flinched as Rasa glared at him, stomping over to him and opening the door to glare down at him. The eight-year old boy stood frozen as his father grabbed him roughly by his arm, prompting his mother to run over to them.
"Don't you dare touch him like that!" Karura said, pushing Rasa away before picking her youngest boy up.
"You mother that boy too much!" her husband said, walking away from them. "Keep doing that and he'll never grow up to be a man!"
"He's only a child, Rasa," Karura said, "Stop treating him like how your father treated you. He will grow up resenting you, just like how you resent your own fath-"
"Don't do you dare continue that line!" Rasa yelled, pointing a finger at her.
Karura didn't reply as she turned around and left with Gaara still in her arms. She entered the kitchen and sat him down on the dining chair. His curious eyes watched her as she grabbed a glass of milk and cookies and placed it in front of him. The young boy smiled as he began to eat.
"My sweet little Gaara," Karura sang, ruffling her son's bright red hair.
"Why were you and dad arguing?" he asked.
"Oh… just some… adult stuff. Don't worry… I still love your father very much."
"Love?"
"Yup," Karura said sadly, "Love is what keeps the world moving… It's what keeps people, especially families, intact…"
"Does daddy love you?"
The question caused her to frown even more, and Karura looked away as her eyes got watery again. Gaara frowned too, unsure about why his mother's emotion suddenly changed. He didn't get an answer from her as he watched her stand up and walk over to one of the cabinets in the kitchen. She opened it and took out a large glass bottle, which had something that looked like water inside. His mother opened it and placed iton her lips, drinking the content. He recognized the bottle. It was something his mom always drank after an argument with dad.
She did not finish the bottle, but held it tightly in her hands before turning to him.
"Love can hurt so much," she said, "It can be beautiful… and ugly,"
Karura smiled at him before pushing her hair back with her hand, revealing the small red tattoo on her forehead. Gaara had always been amazed by it.
"Why don't we go for a quick drive? Just you and me?"
Gaara smiled and nodded excitedly. He loved taking car rides with his mother. She would always play his favorite songs while driving around.
"Alright, let's go!"
Gaara stood up and grabbed his mother's hand as she led him out of the house.
It was a rainy Friday night as Gaara sat on the back seat of his mother's SUV. Karura was still in her nightgown as she got behind the wheel. He watched as she took another long drink of the white liquid before placing the bottle on the passenger seat.
"Where are we going this time?" Gaara asked, watching her through sleepy eyes. It was way past his bedtime now.
His mother's eyes were red as she looked at him from the rearview mirror.
"...Well, it's dark...so there won't be much to see. How about just..driving around? Does that sound OK with you?"
"Yes!" Gaara said, leaning back against the seat.
"OK then!" Karura said, her hand shaking as she turned on the ignition. "Don't forget seatbelts on!"
Nodding, Gaara put on the seatbelt and lowered the window, watching the nearby houses as his mother pulled out of the driveway and began to drive.
As usual, she played the music he liked as she took him around the dark silent neighborhood. Gaara felt the cold wind hitting his face as he looked around, recognizing some of the houses in which some of his schoolmates lived in. They passed by his school and then by the community park. As his mother's vehicle came to a slow, he noticed the sandbox by the park and smiled. Playing with sand was something he always enjoyed. Whenever he would be at the beach, he would always create sand castles and other cool objects.
Gaara jumped in his seat as he felt the vehicle come to a sudden stop before accelerating quickly.
"Mom?" he asked, watching as his mother's head tilted to the side.
"Mom? Did you fall asleep?"
There was no response, and the young boy suddenly began to worry. Why wasn't his mom responding?
The SUV kept accelerating and although he knew nothing about driving, he knew that he had to make it stop.
Gaara undid his seatbelt and leaned forward, his small hands touching his mother's shoulder.
"Mom-"
Crash!
Gaara opened his eyes as he stopped relaying the nightmare, primarily due to the fact that he didn't remember what had happened immediately after. The only thing he remembered after that was waking up and his dad talking to some doctor.
"...I dream about my mom," Gaara continued, his gaze going back towards his unconscious roommate. "While growing up, I dreamt about her a lot. Sometimes they were nice dreams… sometimes they were nightmares, where she would be dying over and over."
In some of the dreams, he would be standing on the side of the road, watching as the SUV would hit the tree with great impact. In his dreams, no airbags were deployed, and he would see his mother's head hit the steering wheel hard. In those dreams, he would try to run and stop her from even getting into the car. He didn't care whether he saved himself or not. He just wanted to save her. But every time, it would be too late.
And now, his dreams were mostly about his roommate. Some were about intimacy, while others were about losing her over and over.
But unlike his mother, Ino wasn't completely gone. She was still here; just not awake. And that pained him a lot.
Standing up, Gaara walked over to her bed and looked down at her, the back of his fingers touching her soft cheek.
"I miss you so much," he said lowly, "I don't know how I would cope if I were to lose you too… Ino, I need you to wake up...for me…"
No movement, and he felt his heart sinking. He looked at the clock and saw as it hit eleven at night, and he knew that he should get home. Looking back down at her, he bent down and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. He knew that it was a bold move, considering the tension that was between them right before the incident. But something in him had to do it. He had to show her some affection, just in case maybe she was still able to hear and feel everything.
Next Day…
The company he worked for was in the midst of acquiring another company. And along the extra revenue that would bring, it also brought new opportunities for every employee.
Today had been a long day with nothing but non-stop meetings. At first Gaara hadn't been sure why he had to sit in almost an entire day worth of meetings. However, after Baki had told him that he was being promoted to a more senior position (with a generous pay raise), Gaara understood why he was invited to all of the communication. Baki wanted him to lead the software development effort for the acquisition.
Neji, who was in charge of the business aspect of the acquisition, had been the one mostly presenting the meetings. Gaara sat in the back of the conference room quietly, his mind half listening to what his colleague and friend was saying, and half thinking about Ino.
It was near five in the afternoon, and he knew that it would be another hour before he could get to the gym and then to the hospital.
"This is great," Kurenai, a director overseeing the acquisition, said as Neji finished his presentation.
The younger man nodded before taking a seat on the chair next to Gaara. The meeting continued with Kurenai now presenting.
Neji's phone vibrated a couple times, and the young man checked his text swiftly. Gaara watched as Neji's eyes widened and he sat up straight in his chair, and he wondered if maybe Daisy, Tenten's dog, ran away again. It hadn't been the first time Neji had received a text from Tenten that the chihuahua had escaped.
The meeting finished after another thirty minutes, and everyone left the conference room.
The red-head had been so busy in his thoughts that he did not notice the long-haired male walking over to him. Gaara turned his head towards him.
"What's up?"
"I just got a text from Tenten," Neji said, the corner of his lips rising a bit. "She told me that Ino woke up a couple of hours ago…"
"Wh-What?! Are you… Is she sure?"
Neji gave a nod. "She got the confirmation from Sakura. They believe that she had been awake for much longer. When the nurse went in to check on her this morning, she had been staring at the ceiling and was very disoriented."
Gaara remembered visiting her the previous night, and wondered if somehow she had woken up not too longer after he left. Part of him wished that she had woken up much earlier, so he could've been there for her. He could imagine the confusion going through her mind right now.
"I need to see her. Do you need me for anything?"
"No, I think we've wrapped up for today. Go see her."
With a nod, Gaara exited the room before eventually walking rapidly out of the building. He could feel his heart beating faster as he rushed down the busy streets, making sure not to bump into anyone as residents began their commute home. With his mind preoccupied with the news, Gaara's legs simply walked, the route between his job and the hospital already engraved within his consciousness.
He entered the hospital and the front-desk receptionist gave him a large smile.
"She's awake," the older woman mouthed while giving him a visitor pass, and Gaara couldn't help but smile back. "She's in a different room now though. You're going to have to go upstairs to see her. Room 425."
Muttering a thanks, Gaara rushed up the stairs. He could feel his chest compress even more, nervous as he wondered how she would react. Would she even remember him?
He suddenly came to a stop as he saw room 425. The door was slightly opened and he could hear laughter. He heard Sakura and Tenten giggling. Then he heard Ino's father saying something else. And finally, he heard her. He heard her voice. His mind didn't register what she said, but the sound of her voice going through his ears was enough to cause his heart to nearly escape his chest in anticipation.
Silently he walked forward and stopped by the door, his eyes quickly landing on her. Her long blonde hair was down and she was sitting up, her eyebrows furrowing at something that her father was saying. Despite being unconscious for weeks, she looked tired. However, that didn't keep her from talking back to whatever her father was saying.
He had been standing there quietly, staring at her features, that he didn't notice her turn her head towards him and stare at him for a while before giving a wide beautiful smile.
"Hey, Roomie,"
Author's Note: done with this chapter! it's past midnight and i am very sorry if there are any grammatical errors! thanks all for leaving me a review! please let me know what you think of this chapter!