It wasn▓t long before we found ourselves a place to stay in the village, a small motel, we got three rooms. We made Naruto and Sasuke share a room and I forced Kurumi to make Itachi share a room with Lee, while she stayed in the third room with me and Kaoru. I had originally planned to put three people in each room and only pay for two, but now that Itachi had joined us I had to keep him and Uke-chan away from each other. I had no time to knock sense into the bishi-brothers. Instead I slept that night with Kurumi on one side and Kaoru on the other.
The next morning I woke with the sun as was an unfortunate habit of mine. School had turned my nocturnal habits on their head, one reason why I hated the day classes. So, anyway, I dressed myself quietly and left a note on the inside of the door. ⌠I went to meet the Kazegake. Don▓t wait up for me. I expect everyone to meet back here at sundown. Love you, Tsukasa.■
Now I was on my way to my meeting with the Kazekage, I had nothing better to do at the time, so I might as well. So, I▓m only a block away from the building when I spot a tall guy with spiky brown hair. I didn▓t know who he was at the time, but I approached him anyway, if only because he seemed kind of familiar. When I saw that he was locking up his house and strapping a huge doll onto his back I almost laughed, I knew who it was. I tapped him on the shoulder, smiling the entire time, and I said, ⌠Are you Kankuro? The Kazekage▒s older brother?■
He looked at me in confusion for a second and then he smiled, realizing that it was a good thing I knew his name. ⌠Yeah, I am. And who are you?■ He asked.
⌠Name▓s Tsukasa, I▓m the Kurai-nin who was sent to take care of negotiations with your brother.■ He smiled and laughed, as though it were an unfortunate circumstance, of course I did not see it this way. He asked me when I had to be there, I told him I could be there any time before noon, though not a moment after. He nodded and offered to buy me some breakfast, in case I hadn▓t eaten. I almost turned him down, knowing I would feel guilty after allowing him to pay for my food. He made it seem, though, like I was doing him a favor by at least giving him some company, so I agreed eventually.
We talked for most of the morning over chocolate milk and eggs, speaking mostly of random things. Our lives in general, jokes about how our social and romantic lives were (they both sucked), and our few friends. Our ⌠beloved■ siblings, both of our annoying younger brothers, unwilling to trade but unwilling to keep them we planned an elaborate scheme. We would get them both together somehow and, while my brother distracted his brother, we would sneak in from behind and cover them both with cloth bags. We would then tie them up and throw them into a river as soon as possible. We both liked the plan, though it was only a joke, it sounded good to me.
Finally we finished our meal, only an hour to spare before noon. ⌠Shit, I should get going. I▓m not in a bad mood anymore, so I wont be able to yell at him if he gets mad at me.■ I laughed at myself, how weak I could be when faced with a pair of pretty eyes.
⌠Come with me,■ Kankuro said after he paid the bill, grabbing my hand and leading me out the door at a run. ⌠I know I short cut from here.■ He lead me behind the restaurant and through a long alleyway, a twenty minute walk turned into a ten minute one. We were laughing whole-heartedly when we got there, panting slightly and almost falling to our knees from lack of breath. ⌠See, I told you I▓d get you here in time.■
⌠Yeah, after outrunning three huge dogs and jumping a six-foot fence!■ I joked, pushing him playfully. He pushed me back and stood, looking at me with a great, beaming smile.
⌠The dogs weren▓t that big, were they?■ he asked, I simply looked at him with an exaggerated look of ⌠you▓re joking, right?■ on my face. He laughed at this and nodded, ⌠Yeah, they were, weren▓t they? Heh, next time I▓ll have to figure out a way to get around them without getting bitten.■ He turned around to expose the spot on his rear end that one dog had gotten to, and bitten a hole in his pants. We both laughed so hard we fell to the ground, barely able to breath, and I leaned back on my hands for support.
⌠Hey, Kankuro┘■ I breathed, finally, ⌠What if I┘patched up that hole for you? I can sew pretty good┘and it wouldn▓t be too hard to fix, it▓s just a hole.■ He looked at me a moment more, still panting. Finally he breathed in deep and nodded, swallowing hard from lack of moisture in his mouth. ⌠Cool, I▓ll meet you at your place, just give me the time.■
He stood and helped me to my feet, ⌠Well, I▓ve got training, I▓m actually really late.■ he confessed, still laughing slightly and rubbing the back of his neck nervously. ⌠How about six, is that good?■ He asked, offering me a hand in agreement and I took it, smiling the whole while like a drunken fool. Kankuro was truly a wonderfully cool person, quite enjoyable.
I finally made my way up to meet Gaara, quite aware that he would without doubt be upset by my timing, so near to noon. Though I cared not, I would take any of his shit at the moment, if only to be around one not-so-enjoyable person for a while. I needed to be around someone annoying for a small amount of time if I wanted to remain sane, strange, I know, but true. So I open the door to his office, not even waiting for permission, prepared to take as much abuse as humanly possible, but it doesn▓t come. I step into the room, waiting to hear him yell at me from where he sat at his desk, watching me with those frightening eyes. I watched him warily as I edged my way toward him, slowly coming as close as possible without being stricken down by a wall of sand. ⌠Um┘hi, sorry if I made you wait, but Kankuro offered me breakfast.■
⌠Why?■ he asked suddenly, sounding upset and curious at the same time. I froze, his tone paralyzing me for an instant, catching me off guard. I looked around for a moment, not knowing what to do while still edging my way to his desk.
⌠Well┘I don▓t know┘⌠ I said probably sounding very confused, ⌠he just asked if I wanted to--■
⌠Why do you smile like that?■ he interrupted, only confusing me even more. I cocked an eyebrow at him and shook my head, indicating I knew not what he asked of me. He looked out the window, obviously avoiding eye contact. ⌠When you are with him you smile like you▓re happy, right?■ he glanced at me and I nodded slowly, still sufficiently confused, he looked back out the window. ⌠Yesterday your smile┘it wasn▓t happy, but┘■
⌠It wasn▓t a fake smile, if that▓s what you▓re asking.■ I said, sitting finally and loosing my edge, feeling much more laid back. My stomach no longer doing flips, my heart no longer skipping beats. ⌠I like smiling at you, Gaara, I just cant do it right. I▓m no good at smiling to lonely people.■ I looked at him for a moment, and in that moment our eyes locked, each searching the other for something. What it was, neither knew, though we knew we would know it when it was found. ⌠I don▓t have to look very deep to see loneliness in your eyes, hon. You may not understand, but I know more about you than anyone else in the world, and I have grown fond of you.■ I smiled at him, that same, sad smile I accidentally gave him yesterday.
⌠What are you talking about?■ he asked, looking at me in disbelief, doubting that anyone could be fond of him. Gaara No Suna was loved by no one, and he had no precious people.
⌠I don▓t know how you▓ll react to what I want to say, so I wont say it. I want to know how you react to me, first.■ I stood and walked to his side at the window, shorter than him by quite a bit, but I was used to a large height difference between myself and others. I threaded my fingers into his, grasping his hand in mine lovingly, ⌠Now, come on, Grumpy Bear. I have a job to do, I may not like it, but it▓s my job. I cant leave until it▓s done, remember.■ He looked at our hands laced together, at first he bore a look of horror at the thought of being touched by someone so fondly, but he calmed quickly when I loosened my grip. I knew he would not be very open to me at first, but progress would be quick if I was lucky. As long as days kept going like this, and as long as I stayed honest, he would love me like I love him.
⌠Hello, hello! How ya doin, Kan-chan?!■ I said brightly as I greeted Kankuro with a bear hug, him returning it instantly. We had become close so quickly it was frightening, though I appreciated it. We talked leisurely as I proceeded to fix his pants, repairing the hole from earlier. We laughed almost as much as we had that morning, making jokes about the day▓s events.
Tsuka-chin and Kan-chan, spending the afternoon together soon became our plan. Every afternoon, we planned it had to be this way. Every morning at breakfast and then to our days, and afterward we should meet back at his house for an evening of jokes and stories of our days. Advice exchange and comfort center, the house of tough love, we were. Suck it up, I love you. That▓s our philosophy.