A/N: Shoot me as you wish... I know this has taken way longer then you wanted/expected. I'm truly sorry... really I am. The computer crashed, and along with it went the almost completed version of this chapter, along with some one-shots, and a request fic, and two chapters of Down We Go. sob That depressed me. So without further ado I give you the next chapter.
Disclaimer: Own? What is this "own" you speak of?
Chapter 4: Fourty-Eight States
Finally, they had stepped off the plane. To Gaara, that had been one of the most painful and torturous times in his life, and he killed people for a living. It did not help that Kankurou was practically molesting him the whole flight either. The few moments he did get a break was when Kankurou fell asleep, but even then he would reach over and grope his little brother. Gaara was going to have to talk to him later about that in private. His advances seemed to be taking on more serious undertones every day.
Sasuke led the way, followed by Gaara and Kankurou, holding a still sleeping Temari. He almost wanted to smile when he looked back at her. She just looked so peaceful. It was almost like she wasn't even twenty-five - almost. Her bloodied and battered face took away any innocence she held when she slept.
"This way," Sasuke pointed to an awaiting car. "It's a long drive, so we might want to hurry if we plan on being there before it gets dark."
"So... when do we get to meet this wife of yours?" Kankurou asked, attempting to elbow him in the ribs.
Sasuke easily dodged it seeing as he was still holding Temari in his arms and he was not about to drop her just for a simple tease. "You'll meet her when we get out of the car. We're staying there."
"So what kind of person is she, anyways? I mean, she must be someone drop-dead sexy to ensnare a man like you." He gave Sasuke a teasing smile and winked at him.
"Not really." He let out a long sigh. "I wish you'd just shut up, though. You'll meet her soon and then you can judge for yourself, alright?"
"You're no damn fun, you know that, Uchiha?" He slid into the car beside Gaara, settling Temari into his lap.
"I know."
The car ride to the home was uneventful, and quiet - just the way Gaara needed it. He loved Kankurou, but sometimes that man could not keep his mouth shut to save his life. He wondered how he was able to talk so much. Were people in their profession not supposed to be emotionless? They killed people for a living. How could he be so carefree for the most part?
His thoughts were soon interrupted by the slowing of the vehicle and screeching tires.
"We're here."
All three of them climbed out of the car, Kankurou never releasing his grip on Temari. Although it was getting harder, she was beginning to stir quite a bit. Gaara predicted her waking up at any moment.
"Whoa! This is where you live?"
"No. This is where my wife lives, and this is where Temari will be treated." Sasuke had suffered through enough questions for one day.
"Hmm... It's kind of small, ain't it? I mean, shouldn't the great Uchiha have some grand home with wings and a flight of stairs that doesn't end? I mean, it only seems fitting. She must be mad. I mean, she must know you're rich, right? I know if I was her I'd be--"
"Kankurou! Five minutes - please. Just five minutes."
He looked over at his brother. "You had a whole fifteen minutes in the car. You should have enjoyed it a little bit more."
Gaara let out a low growl, rubbing his temples to rid himself of the impending migraine. "Please."
"Hey Gaara, you getting a headache or something?"
"Just... Shut up." He walked away, following the Uchiha into the house. He entered the front door, observing everything. It was indeed a small home, but it was not like a lot of people needed to live here. It was just his wife, after all.
"Daddy!" a high pitch squeal came from the top of the stairs.
Gaara's head snapped up at the noise, and if he had not been Gaara, his face would have looked much like Kankurou's at that moment. He had to grab Temari from his hands for fear that he would drop her from pure shock.
Sasuke knelt down to the small girl. "Hello. Have you been being a good girl for me?"
She nodded quickly. "Mommy's been teaching me a lot of cool new things, too!"
"Mica... What are you doing running away from me?" A young woman yelled from the top of the stairs. "Oh. It's you."
Sasuke stands up slowly, holding what Gaara would guess to be his daughter at that moment. "Sakura."
The pink haired woman nodded. "Sasuke."
"Oh, wow! So, are you sure your wife doesn't mind having such a cute little house keeper walking around? I know if I was your wife, I'd be pissed. I don't think I'd be letting her walk around, but then again she lives with her, and not you, so I guess it's okay."
"Kankurou... Gaara, this is the person that will be taking care of Temari. This is my wife, Sakura."
"What the hell? I mean you could be a little less formal with your wife, you know."
"Kankurou... Stop being rude, will you? You're too loud."
Kankurou looked down in a state of shock. "'Ri! You're awake... How are you feeling? Is there anything you need? I'll go get it for you!"
"Shhh... Kankurou, I hurt; just shut you mouth for five minutes."
"Okay."
Gaara was speechless. In fact, he was more then speechless. That was all it would have took to get him to shut up? If he had known that, he would have woken Temari up a long time ago. He took this time of peace to observe Uchiha's wife. She wasn't pretty to American standards. She was actually kind of off. Her light pink hair was pulled into a high pony tail and she wore a black business suit. She almost passed for one of those prudish lawyers that you saw on television - definitely not someone you would think to date, or even marry an Uchiha.
"You three must be the sand siblings I've heard so much about. How does it feel to risk your life to do my husband's dirty work? It must be so rewarding." Gaara almost wanted to kill her for her attitude. Didn't Sasuke say something about her being the best there is? Why was she acting like a spoiled brat right now?
"Sakura! That's enough. Save you snide remarks for someone that won't kill you." He took a glance over at Gaara, just to make sure he had not reached for anything that could remotely be seen as a weapon.
"What? You knew damn well that Kakashi knew about them. You knew damn well what that man was capable of, and yet you set their asses up! Now look what's happened." She was attempting to calm herself, knowing that her temper tended to get the best of her. "Mica, I'm going to need you to go upstairs; check on your brother for me."
"But mommy, Daddy just got here!"
"Now!"
The small girl jumped down from Sasuke's arms, and made her way up the stairs, sulking and muttering something about her mother being selfish and wanting Daddy all to herself.
"I heard that!"
The little girl stopped almost in fright before she bolted up the stairs and disappeared down a hallway. Gaara found her almost cute. She reminded him of a cuter version of Sasuke. Somehow, he could never imagine Sasuke ever being that hyper - ever. The only thing that differed between the two was her eyes; they were such a deep grey.
"Now, Sasuke, look, I know you're not here for an argument. If you wanted that, then you would have just called me." She let out a long, dark sigh. She smiled softly at Temari, who was still halfway between consciousnesses. "Look, I'm sure Sasuke has told you that I'm the best there is, and if I can't help her, then no one will be able to. I'm going to need you to take her upstairs. There's a room on the left for her, and you two will have to share a room for the duration of your stay here. I wasn't aware that both of you were coming."
"That's fine. Whatever accommodations you've acquired for us will be fine. Thank you." Gaara scooped up their belongings. "Lead the way, please."
Sakura bowed to dismiss her husband and lead the way up the stairs and into their rooms. "Now, if you will leave me, I need to assess the damage that's been done."
Kankurou and Gaara nodded their goodbyes and kissed Temari on the cheek. "Hey. You think she'll be alright?"
"She'll be fine, Kankurou. She's strong. She can handle anything."
Kankurou smiled slightly, throwing an arm over his younger brother. "Yeah, you're right. I mean, she is our sister, and if she can deal with us without killing herself, she can handle anything."
"I think that mostly means if she can deal with you."
Kankurou shrugged and opened the door to their room. "Huh. Well isn't this interesting. There's only one bed."
"Don't you get any ideas or I swear I'll kill you." Gaara dropped their bags and lay down on the bed, closing his eyes slowly. "What is with your random molesting, anyways?"
Kankurou sat down on the bed looking his brother over. "I don't know. I'm gay, and you're cute."
"Okay, so just because you're gay that means you want to molest me? So you're saying that every homosexual guy is going to molest me?"
"Nope; just me."
"Kankurou... We're brothers. Isn't there something wrong with that?" Gaara rolled over to look at his older brother.
Kankurou almost let it slip. He wanted to let it out so bad, but he did not know how Gaara would react. How does one react when his whole life has been a lie? What was he supposed to say? "Hey Gaara, we're really not related. Your real father killed your mother right in front of you, and then Temari stopped him before he killed you. Where'd you think you got that scar from? So it's alright if we fuck. We're not really related." Yeah that just sounded so good in Kankurou's head.
"Are you going to answer me or just sit there pondering?" Kankurou could have sworn he almost looked like the little boy he had first seen him as - almost.
Kankurou leaned over Gaara's back, whispering in his ear. "I don't think you care if it's right or not." He climbed over top of him setting himself down on Gaara's lower back. "I think you like the attention that I give you." He placed a small kiss on Gaara's neck. "If you didn't, then why torment me so much?"
He sucked in a small breath. He could not deny that he was a little bit interested. He thought for a moment. Was Kankurou really right; did he not care if they were related or not? The thought still scared him; it still made him uncomfortable. He was not a physical person. He was not used to being touched. The only time that ever happened was during training. Sometimes when he was little, Temari would hold him in her arms and talk to him, telling him stories. Yashamaru always stopped her though. It was like he was not allowed to have contact with people. He always resented him when he was little.
"I don't torment you, Kankurou. You scare me somewhat, actually. You're the one that actually has an outlet for whatever you're feeling. You had Temari taking care of you. You were able to go to her when you were little. You had Yashamaru, even if he wasn't all that nice. I always felt out of place. I put all my focus into training. How can you just be so free with your feelings? Won't you get hurt eventually?" He tilted his head to attempt to get a better view of him.
"Well, yeah. That's a given, but who cares as long as you're happy in the moment?" Kankurou sat up and rolled off of him. "If everyone was like you, an emotionless stump, no one would ever really care about anyone."
Gaara rolled over and glared at him.
"Look, come here." Kankurou leaned against the headboard.
Gaara looked up at him, almost nervous.
"Gaara, I'm not going to molest you, alright? I'll let you molest me from now on, okay?" Kankurou laughed as he pulled Gaara into an embrace, setting him between his legs.
Gaara felt his head settle back on his chest and Kankurou's chin rest on his head. "What's wrong with us?"
"There's nothing wrong with us. We're a family of assassins. What's not normal about that?" Kankurou grinned as he hugged Gaara tightly.
"Kankurou," Gaara turned up to look at him. "Listen to what you just said."We're a family of assassins." How the hell is that normal? And you're always trying to commit incestuous acts with me. That's definitely not normal."
Kankurou tilted Gaara's head up slightly to look into his eyes. "What do you mean "incestuous acts"? What, like this?" Kankurou softened his voice as he leaned down toward Gaara, placing a soft kiss on his lips. He could feel him go rigid underneath him but he would not fight back. Kankurou pulled away. "I don't know what you're talk--"
His words were cut off as Gaara leaned up this time, kissing him again. It was so innocent, curious even. Gaara had never known love or anything like it outside of his supposed family. Kankurou just took this opportunity to enjoy him. He slipped his arms around Gaara's waist, sighing into the kiss.
Gaara slowly pulled away, resting his head on Kankurou's shoulder. "Kankurou... What did I just do?"
"Uhh... I believe you just kissed me." He laughed softly. "Not that I mind, but you could warn someone next time. That was completely unexpected."
Gaara pulled away. "What? You kissed me first."
"And apparently you liked it. If you didn't, then you wouldn't have pushed yourself back up for another one."
Gaara sat in silence. Was it that he really had enjoyed the kiss, or was he just curious? This just left him confused on so many levels…"Well... uh... I'm just not sure right now."
Kankurou pulled him down to lay with him. "It's all right, though. It's trial and error. Let's just go to sleep for a little bit, okay?"
"Yeah…" Gaara lay down, never moving from Kankurou's arms. It may not be right for brothers to be so close, but at the time it just felt right to be there. He was tired. Maybe he should try and get some sleep.
"Don't hit me. Please. What did I do?"
"Mommy - Make him stop!"
"Why are you crying, Mommy? Did Daddy hurt you?"
"It's okay, sweetheart. Mommy loves you..."
"N-no daddy! P-please s-stop it – you're sc-scaring me!"
"Look at me you damn bra-"
The voice slowly fades, the red tinted background becoming black. Gaara could hear the screams. They were loud, so very loud.
"Make it stop. Please just make it go away. No more. No more…"
Gaara jerked awake, clutching onto Kankurou's shirt, almost shaking.
"Hey. What's gotten into you?" Kankurou tried to pull him to look at him, but Gaara refused to let go of his shirt, or unbury his head from Kankurou's chest. "Gaara! What's wrong?"
"Make it stop. I want you to make it stop. Please, just make it stop."
"Gaara, make what stop? I don't know what you're talking about." He slowly rubbed his back, trying to calm him, but not knowing what to do.
"How come I can't remember anything, Kankurou? I can't remember anything before I was eight."
"Uhh... well..."
There was a quiet knock at the door. "Dinner will be served shortly. Please come downstairs and make yourselves comfortable."
"Come on. Pull yourself together and let's eat." Kankurou sat up and slowly climbed off the bed, helping his brother do the same. "Jeez. I didn't think a little kiss would fuck you up that bad. I've never seen you like this."
Gaara put back his stoic expression, and started to walk away. "It wasn't the kiss. Come on. Was that supposed to knock me off my feet and make me fall madly in love with you? Give me a break, Kankurou."
Kankurou smirked. "No, but I'm sure this will." Kankurou gabbed Gaara's wrist, pushing him against the wall and pressing their bodies together. He grinned as he reached down and gave Gaara's neck a flick of his tongue, feeling a small shudder release from him. He brought his head up to kiss him. Unlike last time, this kiss was not sweet or slow. Its heat and passion did nothing but leave Gaara breathless as he almost moaned into it. Kankurou laughed and pulled away.
"Shit Kankurou. What the hell was that?"
Wrapping an arm around him and leading the two of them out of the room, he told him, "That, my friend was a French kiss."
"We're not in France, Kankurou..."
"Let's just eat."
Dinner was almost uneventful, but then again, nothing could ever just be calm and peaceful when it came to anyone at that dinner table. The sand siblings had met the rest of the Uchiha's family. They now knew that Mica was seven and she had an older brother that was eight, but Gaara couldn't remember his name to save his life at the moment. However, the little girl had taken quite an interest in him.
Temari had joined them as well. Apparently, her physical injures were well on their way to mending. She still had some slight pain in her ribs and her face where the broken bones were. She was able to eat a little at least, and Gaara was just happy to see her awake and walking around.
"So, I'm sorry, but I've been dying to know. How and the hell did you and Sasuke get together in the first place?"
Sasuke just scoffed beside his wife. "It would figure that you would be so nosy. Can't you stay out of anyone's business?"
"Well. I didn't know you had a wife, and now that I do I'm intrigued." Kankurou set his head on his hands. "Mrs. Uchiha, Will you continue?"
"Please, Sakura will be fine. Don't mistake this as love. It was simply a marriage of convenience. I don't love him, and he doesn't love me. We never did. I'm smart. I was good for business." She shrugged slightly. "Don't look so hurt. We're friends, but that's it. Our fathers were in business together, and both needed an heir eventually. There was no reason to bring other people into family affairs, right? It works out for both of us. Hell, we decided that it was just better this way."
"So, what about your kids?"
"Well... They know we love them. And they know the reason of why Mommy and Daddy don't live together."
Mica nodded. "Yeah, they're good friends, but they suck at being married!"
"Mica! Where did you learn that?"
"Daddy told me! He said you suck and that's why he doesn't live with us."
Sakura looked over to Sasuke as he attempted to not choke on his food. "Honey, I'm afraid that Daddy has it all wrong. The reason he doesn't stay with us is because he sucks. A lot."
Sasuke looked like he wanted to kill her. Mica looked confused. Poor Temari and Kankurou looked like they were about to die from laughter. Gaara just didn't get it.
"Umm... Gaara, do you ever want to get married?" Mica looked up, almost hopeful.
Kankurou snickered. "I think she might have a crush on you, Gaara."
"Sorry kid. I don't plan on it."
"But why?" She crawled into his lap and pouted.
"Well... How should I put this? It's illegal in forty-eight states."
Temari used this time to spit her water across the table. "You're what?"
Kankurou laughed. "You should have seen that one coming."
"From you, yeah... You're just... well... Duh! Not from Gaara. I'm a little shell-shocked right now. Um... can I go to my room?"
"Temari?"
"Don't worry, Gaara. You just surprised me. That's all. I still love you. Shit, think you could have prepped me first?" Temari slowly made her way from the table. "I'll feel better in the morning."
"Good one, Gaara." Kankurou snickered behind his hands. "You tried to kill her after Sakura put all that hard work into her."
"Sorry."
"I don't get it?"
Sakura picked her daughter up from Gaara's lap. "Don't worry, baby. You will when you're older. You will when you're older..."
DK's Notes: Please don't kill me... hell this took like four moths to do... Really work has slowed... school stuff is done, and I love you all so with that... read and review! MUAH!
JK's notes…of doom: ACK! This even took a while to BETA… though it might be because your meds made it hard. No, I kid. Actually it was just because I have a sibling from hell. But we all knew that :D.
