Oh my goodness! Sorry for the appalling delay! My school thinks it's funny to run us into the ground with school work (damn you high school). But here it is, and trust me, it was worth the wait. Sorry for the cliff hanger! I'll try to get the fourth chapter up soon! Please read and review to show me you love the story!
Chapter 3: Help is Troublesome
Relief flooded through Shikamaru when he put Gaara on his bed and the gourd of sand down. His muscles were slightly fatigued, and he was slightly out of breath, but he pulled the white box with the red cross on it without hesitation. If Gaara's feet got bandaged quicker, he would be able to leave quicker, and that was better for everyone. Gaara hadn't said a thing since he had been told to shut up, but his glare was boring a hole in Shikamaru's head with two green darts. This hatred that he felt towards Shikamaru was swiftly covering up the pain from all the blood leaving his feet.
Shikamaru unscrewed the top of the rubbing alcohol bottle, staring at the feet. Everything was always so troublesome. "This is going to hurt, you know." In all honesty, he didn't care if it hurt Gaara or not, it just had to be done to avoid infection. Carelessly and with no warning, Shikamaru put the rage he had soaked with the solution down on Gaara's left foot.
The small body in front of him stiffened and shivered, but Gaara made no noise, even as Shikamaru began to rub the blood away, beginning at the top of the foot and moving down to the bottom, where the kunai had left the other hole. The only thing that really startled Shikamaru was when he felt ten sharp points pressing into his shoulders. Finally, when he stopped cleaning the foot, Gaara's fingernails subsided.
"How troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, applying more rubbing alcohol to the now pink rag. Slowly, he let his eyes glance up. Gaara's eyes were closed tightly, two dark marks taking their place, interrupting the pale skin, and he almost looked like an albino raccoon with 'Love' tattooed above one eye. The red hair was almost the same color as the blood on his feet. He didn't scream when Shikamaru burned his right foot with the cleaning stuff, either.
Vague guilt slipped into Shikamaru's thoughts as he rubbed disinfecting ointment over Gaara's mangled feet. He shouldn't punish Gaara for his own bad day and rotten luck… Chouji was probably just learning that he was the butt of Ino's joke. Tightly wrapping the feet, Shikamaru tried to forget how annoying girls were and how cruel they could be to get people's hopes up. Maybe the foot could distract him from his stupid teammate and poor big-boned friend and the stupid romantic endeavors taking place around Konoha that night?
It was small and surprisingly soft, with an even pale color. The toes were perfectly shaped and the gap between the big toe and second toe was small. Precious buds of ankle sprouted out of the silky skin, marking the beginning of the smooth shin. In the back of his mind, Shikamaru had always enjoyed legs, and seeing the lithe, flawless leg in front of him caused a rather startling discovery that he refused to think about, even thought it still happened. While he wrapped the foot up, he boldly let his fingers trail along the skin of the foot, over and under, finally touching the skin just under the ankle bone. Nothing compelled him to, it just felt natural… but still awkward, like he shouldn't enjoy it the way he did.
Gaara shivered and talked in a voice that did not resemble his usual drawl. "D-don't do that." A shrug, and Shikamaru finished the foot, wondering why he didn't find it very bothering anymore.
"Tch, Troublesome."
Quietness seeped in between the two. Somewhere outside a dog barked, but it was only a temporary distraction. The ankle of the foot Shikamaru was beginning to wrap mesmerized him – it was perfect: slim, delicate, and beautiful. It was within reach. Such tender nerves and skin was within reach of his hands. Suddenly, for no reason, the way Gaara was shivering under Shikamaru's "accidental" caress of the second ankle was beautiful. Gaara didn't say anything when Shikamaru touched it a third time, and Shikamaru didn't say anything when he touched it a fourth time. Finally, the Chuunin looked up into Gaara's face, which had ceased to be intimidating, and became in the least bit beckoning. A soft pink was shared between their cheeks.
"…Troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered stupidly, completely lost for all other words or knowledge of what was going on. He felt numb, like he had stumbled and fell on an arrow.
Gaara nodded blankly, staring at Shikamaru with his odd green eyes. There was no more pain in his feet. Millions of tingling sensations were running up his spine and radiated from the fingers on his ankle. There was no more glaring or leering. There was no dog barking. There was Shikamaru in front of him, hesitantly leaning up, and there was himself, dropping his eyelids shut for another forbidden touch.