Mistletoes

Chapter 11

(Rika POV)

"Will you excuse me?" I asked him gently, waiting for him to nod. He nodded.

Rushing past him, I headed for the stairs. On the upper floor were all the sleeping rooms except my parents.

I didn't switch the lights on. I knew exactly where his room was - right behind mine. Knocking quietly I opened the door. "Rei?" I whispered.

I heard himg runt and took it as a yes to be allowed to enter. Waving my arms in front of my body to prevent myself from bumping into something my hands finally felt the smooth bedsheets. I knelt down.

"He is back." I said as my hand searched for his.

"I figured he had to be. You were upset lately. Besides there has been some strange murder."

"Don't think it was him, he wouldn't come back just to kill!" I exclaimed but immediately calmed my voice, believing somebody might hear me.

"You didn't expect him to ever come back in the first place. What makes you so sure that he wouldn't just murder someone next to messing your life? You know he's capable of doing so."

I swallowed. I had to admit, that it wouldn't be as unlikely as I had wished for it to be.

"What am I to do?"

"Don't ask me that." he sighed but continued "For now, don't see him as the big problem. I'd rather watch out for granny if I was you." He shifted around in his bed a little and rolled onto his side to face me.

I swallowed as my eyes met his. I felt his breath on he back of my hand.

"I wish granny was the bigger problem, but I fear she might not be."

"What do you mean?"

I turned my head away. My eyes wandered through the room.

"He knows about it."

"You-"

"Yes." I interjeted. "He offered me to have the kids granny wants with him."

"That's wrong." Interjected Rei poked my side so I would look at him again.

"Why is it?" I hissed.

"You are married to Gaara, dumbass."

"So what? I never ever kissed Gaara or anything. You can not expect me to-"

"You wont get kids just because that old crazy woman wants you to, so why are you even worrying about it? It's clear to everyone that she will not get what she wants. Just because you are the youngest and feel as though you need to do something for the clan, doesn't mean you have to listen to whatever kind of weird stuff she thinks about. Just ban it out of your mind and we are done. Treat it as something that never happened." Rei said sternly and thudded back into his pillow.

"Ok." I finally agreed. Suddenly my body felt heavy, guilty even. I had made a fuss about something that I should have just ignored. "Sleep well, I'll see you later." Pressing a kiss against his forehead I left the room.

(Rika POV End)

---

(Gaara POV)

I sat in the kitchen, listening to her mother washing the dishes. Grandmother's loud sudden snoring woke me up. I had been lost in thoughts about recent events.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. "Could you open please?"

I gave Rika's mother a quick nod and left the kitchen. As I opened the door I suddenly saw a familiar face again. "Sai. What are you doing here?" What? Was saying more than usual? Sai gave me an awkward look as though he he had just heard grandmother's news again.

"I came back from training and upon seeing that the lights were still on, I thought I'd come by and say hello." He said, smiling as dumbfounded as ever.

"Come in." I took a step away and allowed him to enter.

"Where's your wife?" he asked me. I rolled my eyes at him, knowing he would just call her 'my wife' for the fun of it.

"I have no idea."

"So do you love her?" he asked me, catching me completely off-guard. I believe this guy has just got a habit of asking questions you usually don't ask just like that at any time.

I calmed myself immediately, not letting him see that this question actually upset me a little. "Heh, what's love?"

Sai suddenly drew something from his pocket. A little book.

"Love is a condition or phenomenon of emotional primacy, or absolute value. Love generally includes an emotion of intense attraction to either another person, a place, or thing; and may also include the aspect of caring for or finding identification with those objects, including self-love. Love can describe an intense feeling of affection, an emotion or an emotional state. In ordinary use, it usually refers to interpersonal love, an experience usually felt by a person for another person. There-" he started reading.

"Alright, alright I got it." I stopped him. "Explanations fom books don't quiet help much."

"Ok for starters then. You care a lot for her don't you?" Sai inquired, smiling as ever.

"Yes I blieve I do."

"There' s no believeing. Yes or No." he demanded. I raised my eyebrow at him. What was he up to?

"Y-yes."

"Did you ever show her that?"

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Tell her." Sai beamed.

"I don't believe you just go and tell a woman that."

"No believing, knowing. And yes, you just tell her."

"Did you read that in another book?" I asked, raising my eyebrow at him again. This guy really was nuts.

"Yes I did, and it's true. Books always tell the truth."

"O-ok."

"See it's said right here!" Sai raised his book to my eye-level and pointed at a paragraph that said 'How to show love.' I felt my stomach squirm.

And just as I was about to argue, I heard footsteps behind me. They came closer in a fast pace. Before I had a chance to turn around I felt hair brushing past my chin. "Granny." I exclaimed as the small woman rushed past me seizing Sai's arm and dragging him away. "Sai!" I heard her exclaiming happily. Sighing, I turned around and strode back onto the porch.

I wrapped my arms around my knees and watched the sky. I missed the sand. Listening to the old woman talking somewhere in the distance about how much she likes Sai, I noticed a shadow covering me. "Rika."

"Sorry for all that trouble." She excused herself.

"Nevermind. That's-"

"My Family, I know." she giggeled. She sat down besides me and smiled at me. "You know, you are one of the few who haven't told me by now that you are pitying me for having such a grandmother."

And there I cracked another smile. "My family is just as crazy as yours."

She laughed at me. I watched her, watched her laughing and exposing her white teeth. I got back to my feet and headed for the door into the living room.

"Hey, hold on." She rushed back to her feet and seized my arm. "Oh Hey see." She said pointing to the ceiling. Raising my head I felt my heart sink. A mistletoe. "I hate mistletoes."

"Why's that?" she asked almost insulted.

"They are green."

Rika bursted out in laughter. "Because they are green?"

"Yes."

"Not because that means you'd have to kiss a girl?" She started teasing.

"Not if the girl is pretty." Time stood still for a moment and everything around me felt quieter than ever. Was it this? What is what people call the very moment where time stands still?

I was thankful it was dark beause my cheeks felt hot, extremely hot. My hand were sweating and my mind was racing. Was it going to happen now? Would she even kiss a guy like me, after all what happened?

And out of a suddeny I moved on my own. I leant forwards and pressed my lips against hers. It was warm, incredibly warm and a little wet. My heart felt like bursting, worse than ever before. I had no idea what to do with my hands. I tried to wrap them around her but pulled them back immediately. And somewhere deep inside I felt this feeling again. Would she hate me now?

(Gaara POV End)

------

Thanks for the reviews once again, I am glad to know that I've got your support. Your reviews keep me going. :) I'll try to keep up the good work for as long as I can. But every story has to come to an end sooner or later.

Sorry it took me ages to update again, but school started and on weekends I barely ever got time. I hope you understand. And I hope even more that you enjoy this chapter.