Hello guys, hope you had a good Halloween :D I still haven't decided which screenames to use yet, so keep sending them, they are really a big help. If yours happens to get chosen... Well, we'll figure something out. But you'll get something. x3 So yes, chapter 8... I added a bunch of background characters from the show, see if you can spot them.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. But I own... A packet of Cod. Yes. COD.
Waking up, Gaara looked around his room. It was trashed. Memories from the previous day filled his mind, and he did his best to banish them, crawling out of bed. He was still in his day clothes... He groaned as he realized he had work on this particular day. It wasn't that he didn't like his job, per se... It was more like he didn't want to face Sasuke after the little conversation they had had on the phone the night before.
Gaara pushed himself off the edge of the bed, rubbing his hair and eyes, then heading towards the bathroom. He would take a shower, just like any normal day. If he was going to face Sasuke, he was going to look good; not like he had just rolled in from off the streets.
He turned on the shower and stepped in before the water got hot, letting the cold-ness of the liquid spill over his body, waking him up with a shock effect. As the water grew warmer, he sighed gently, watching condensation collect on the glass walls of the shower.
When he heard the door open, he promptly rubbed a circle in the fog so as to see who was intruding. Kankuro's face, heavy with eye makeup, peered back at him. "Hey. Cleaned this for you."
His brother said, holding up his work uniform. He had obviously attempted doing the laundry and failed at it miserably, because the shirt and pants were heavily wrinkled, and there were wet spots at the hems as though Kankuro had taken them out of the dryer a little to soon. But, nonetheless, Gaara showed a weak smile. "Thanks... Now get out." Laughing, Kankuro turned to leave, making some obscure joke about Gaara's (lower) body before shutting the door.
Sighing, Gaara stepped out of the shower, drying himself off and slipping into his work uniform. It was uncomfortable, but that fact would have to go unnoticed, because Gaara was late enough as it was. He stepped out of the bathroom, walking down the hall. Kankuro, as usual, was at his spot on the couch. Temari was gone.
Giving a small wave to his brother, Gaara left with his messenger bag in hand, leaving the apartment building and going in his usual direction to the book store. He watched as people passed by him, chatting with friends, drinking coffee, or shoving past others; the city was alive, everyone had their own agenda.
As he was daydreaming about people's lives, Gaara came to a halt in front of Starbuck's. It was habitual, still, even after all the time he had spent not going into the store. He stared in through the window of the shop. There was a new worker in place of Sasuke; a blonde teen who was enthusiastically handing cups of coffee to tired costumers, a huge grin plastered on his face.
Gaara let himself take in his loved one's replacement before starting to walk again, hesitantly, still watching the teen in the window. Then, the moment passed, another minute of the day. He would forget about it soon enough; there were more important things to worry about, such as the bookstore he was approaching.
He entered, the ring of the welcome bell chiming through the store. He was a little late- Costumers were milling about, and the café was swamped with business men and college students who didn't want to wait online at Starbucks. He walked over to his usual spot at the cash register. There was only one other register open, and it was being manned by a new employee with red eyeliner and a doggish face, who seemed to be struggling with a few keys on the register.
When Gaara sat down, a flock of customers from the line immediately came over to him for their check-out. Then, they were gone. Gaara glanced over at the new person, who was trying to sort the money in the cash register. He opened up quietly. "...Do you want help?" The new employee glanced up. "Huh? Oh, hey, sure, if you wanna help someone like me."
Gaara didn't quite get what the boy meant by 'someone like me', and shrugged, pushing himself off the seat and walking over. "You were pressing the wrong key- You push this one after you calculate the amount." And with that, he pushed the key, and the register popped open. The boy hurriedly put the money in. "...Thanks." "Yeah." Gaara replied quietly. He turned to leave, but was interrupted. "I'm Kiba, by the way." Gaara glanced over, making eye-contact. "I'm Gaara." And with that, he went and sat down. Until mid-day, it went on like that- Kiba would mess up with the keys on the register or give the incorrect amount of change, and Gaara would be there to help. Near lunch break, he was helping Kiba with a gift card when someone interrupted him.
"Hey." Gaara looked up at the sound of the voice, a shiver running down his spine. Sasuke was standing there coolly, watching him, and sending an occasional look of suspicion over at Kiba, who was to distracted by the customer in front of him and the gift card to notice.
Gaara looked down, scratching something out from under his black-painted fingernail and biting his lip. "Hi." He felt Sasuke's eyes on him, and pretended not to notice. This was.. Awkward, to say the least. "You wanna go to that café again?"
Gaara thought about last time. He thought about the waitress of the place, and he remembered how he had been staring at people's shoes as they walked by outside. It was a nice enough place, but... Alone with Sasuke? Could he really start thinking Sasuke wanted something more than friendship?
"Hey." Gaara looked up, torn away from his thoughts. "You coming or not?" The first thing that came to mind slipped from Gaara's mouth. "Y-yeah. Okay." Well, there was no turning back now. He walked away from Kiba, who cast a fleeting glance at the departing before the customer in front of him snapped and he continued his attempt at working a gift card.
Sasuke led Gaara out onto the street before turning around completely to look at him. "Who was that?" Gaara looked around, expecting someone to be there as an object of excuse. "Wait... Who?" He asked, seeing no one but the bustling people of the city. Sasuke bit his lip, then pointed at the door to the bookstore. "That guy... In there." Gaara couldn't help but to think he heard a slight hint of jealousy in Sasuke's voice. But... Could Sasuke even FEEL jealousy? It didn't seem like something he would feel... No, this was just a trick of the mind. "Kiba?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Is he a friend of yours?" Gaara shrugged, turning to walk. "He's new, I was helping him." "Oh." Sasuke's voice dripped with the unmistakable sound of sadness. Was it really jealousy Gaara was sensing? Why would Sasuke be jealous over HIM?
In an attempt to brush the thought away, he started watching the cars drive by on the road. They walked in silence; Sasuke had gotten ahead and was leading, and Gaara simply followed, waiting for whatever was to come. It certainly wasn't just a stop by the coffee shop, that was for sure.
When they did eventually reach the shady place, though, Sasuke held the door open for Gaara, letting him step into the smoky room, then getting a table for two. Their waiter was a bored-looking boy with a spiky pony-tail type thing sticking out of the back of his head. He asked what they wanted, staring out the window above their table at the blue-grey sky, mind obviously elsewear.
Sasuke ordered two sodas, and both him and Gaara sat in silence while they waited for their small order to be fulfilled. The waiter came back, putting the sodas down and walking away without another word, yawning as he entered the back room. Gaara watched him go, then looked down at the cola in front of him. He took the straw inn his hand, sipping out of it quietly. Damn it, why the hell wasn't Sasuke saying anything?
As if on cue, Sasuke opened his mouth. "Listen, about yesterday." Gaara glanced up to show he was listening, then returned his gaze to the lowering-level of soda in the glass.
"Sorry."
Gaara looked up full-on this time. "Sorry? For what?"
"I don't know." Sasuke said, leaning back and looking out the window. "For acting like a stupid heartbroken loser. I should know better than to be hurt over Sakura ditching me. But I don't know... I've known her since I was a kid. I guess I still trust her, in a way, even though I shouldn't."
"Ah." Gaara replied, sipping from his soda once more. His heart was racing, though he kept the stoic expression on his face for good measure. He didn't want to hear that Sasuke still TRUSTED that girl. Why the hell would he? "It's... okay." He mumbled.
Sasuke stared at him for a minute before sighing. "Don't sound so hesitant."
Gaara shrugged, looking down at the seat and picking at a loose seam of the plasticy material. "I guess I just don't see why you would still trust her after what she did to you, is all."
Sasuke nodded, and smiled weakly, looking down at the table. "I don't see why, either."
"Than..." Gaara started.
"It's just.. She didn't used to be like that. She used to be... I don't know. She would be with me all the time; Always there. But then she just started disappearing and she would never tell me where she was going."
Gaara stopped, then nodded, trying to be as sympathetic towards Sasuke as possible. This is what he wanted all along, right? He wanted Sasuke to talk to him and be friends with him and share his problems. Yes, that's part of what he wanted.
"Sorry."
Gaara looked up. "What are you sorry for now?"
Sasuke raised his shoulders, then let them fall. "Making you listen to all of this crap."
"Oh. It's okay... I'm here... To listen, I guess." Gaara replied, trying to find the right words.
"Heh... I'll keep that in mind."
It fell silent for a while, and Gaara watched the feet pass from the sidewalk above, just as he did last time. Sasuke tore into the silence. "You're... a really good friend, you know, Gaara."
Gaara looked over from the window. "Oh...? Thanks. So are you."
"No, I mean... You're a REALLY good friend."
Gaara froze. What was Sasuke implying? "S-so are you."
"Gaara..." Sasuke sighed, then leaned across the table, pushing his forhead against Gaara's and looking him square in the eye. "Do you like me?"
"Yeah, of course, why wouldn't I...?" Gaara asked. He felt his face burning with heat, and he knew he was blushing.
"I mean... Do you REALLY like me?"
Gaara replied to the question with a slight nod, staring into Sasuke's dark eyes. Then, he saw Sasuke lean in a little further, and felt the older teen's lips on his. Though he knew it to be rude, Gaara kept his eyes open in surprise, and soon enough, he kissed back. It seemed that when Sasuke pulled away, the time had been to short. "I'm sure that didn't bother you, then."
There you go
If you want to see anymore characters randomly thrown in here, feel free to tell me, I'll somehow work them in. Keep sending in screename ideas for Sasuke and Gaara