Treat
Sonnie
Gaara knew he should have said something before Ino began to light the candles. Once again it occurred to him that maybe Shikamaru (or more likely Tenten) had put fresh batteries in the smoke alarm when they moved in. But not wishing to provoke a possible argument, Gaara remained silent and watched as she used regular matches to light the wicks.
"Those guys had better get back soon; I'm starving," Chouji moaned. "And it doesn't help that all I smell are cakes and pies."
Gaara had to concede that just based on smell alone, Ino was an outstanding cook; however, he wasn't ever going to admit that or anything. He wasn't particularly partial to any kinds of food other than meat.
Gaara nearly jumped out of his skin as Jou stirred on the couch, drawing her feet up so they were level with her head. The only thing that prevented them from landing flat on his thighs was her ankles sitting on the armrest. Gaara wasn't quite sure how to extricate himself without touching her.
"Aw, she's one of those people that looks really scary when she sleeps," Ino said sorrowfully, completely oblivious to Gaara's rather high level of discomfort. "She looks upset."
Shino's jacket hid the lower part of his face, but Gaara could tell he was smirking when Jou shifted again and her knees brushed his chest.
"Here," Shino said after a moment, perhaps fearing that Gaara's sand might react. He was wide awake and alert; the sand wasn't going to perceive her as a threat since his guard was so high, but if Shino was going to move her he wasn't going to stop him.
The Aburame ninja very smoothly hooked an arm under her knees and gracefully pulled her towards the middle. Her long black braid fell only inches from Gaara's lap, invading his personal space.
"You could just wake her up and tell her to move," Shino said after Gaara simply stared at the offending piece of hair.
"Or you could act like any normal guy that has a pretty girl sitting next to him," Chouji suggested, "unless the fact she's related to Lee is creeping you out."
Glaring at them both, Gaara crossed his arms, determined to do nothing unless the situation changed.
Sighing loudly, Ino walked over to the girl purposefully. "Hey, Jou, wake up," she said, tapping the girl with her toe gently. Dark eyes blinked open.
"Is Lee-chan here?" Jou asked sleepily.
"No, they haven't even gotten back from trick-or-treating yet," Ino told her. "I just wanted to wake you up because you keep invading Gaara's personal space."
"Huh?" Jou's eyes slid to her right, where Gaara was pointedly looking away from her. She could tell from his body language, however, that he was pressed against the arm of the couch as far away from her as possible.
"Whoops," Jou said quietly, edging away from him too. "Sorry."
"Whatever," Gaara muttered back.
"Hey, I think they're back!" Ino said excitedly, moving towards the door. The silhouettes of seven people could be seen down the street. Before her hand could touch the knob, a loud hissing noise erupted from the ceiling.
Oh, shit.
Gaara knew the sand wasn't about to protect him from what was going to happen next, so he bolted for the door.
"Where are you going?" Jou called, grabbing onto his arm mechanically. Done on pure impulse, she remembered her brother's words too late. Don't touch him.
Turning on her swiftly, Gaara glared down at her until she meekly released him. Gaara fled without looking back. Jou remained rooted on the spot, even when the sprinklers threw down a torrent of water.
"Oh no!" Ino cried, running through the apartment trying to salvage anything she could. Chouji had already grabbed the bag of snacks and Shino had rescued his cookies, but every single decoration Ino had put up had been ruined, along with every piece of furniture. Even Jou had come to her senses and had fled. Ino plopped down on the wet couch, not caring that she was getting soaked.
I'm so sorry, Shikamaru, she thought mournfully, icy water dripping down her face. This is all my fault…
-O-
"God, I hope those idiots are okay," Tenten said absently. "I mean, Gaara's in there…no offense."
"Well, Chouji, Shino, and Jou won't be causing any problems," Shikamaru said. "But Ino…well…"
"Jou's fairly good at keeping the peace," Tenten explained. "I mean, she can calm Lee down pretty well, and not just anyone can do that. I don't know if she can handle Gaara, but she should be okay with Ino."
"And Jou doesn't hit people, thank god," Shikamaru grunted. "As long as she can prevent Ino from…Of course, only someone who wanted to commit suicide would purposefully go after Gaara."
Kankurou shrugged, knowing he was pretty much right.
"Truthfully, the only person Jou's ever hit in her life was Neji," Tenten said. "And he did kind of deserve it."
"Well, as long as Ino and Gaara didn't have a fight, then I think we're good…" Shikamaru trailed off. "I just want everything to be in one piece when we get back."
'Umm," Hinata really hated to bring it to their attention, but all during their conversation she'd been zeroing in on the apartment. With her bloodline limit she'd been able to make out the form of everyone running out of the apartment.
"What the—?"
"Damn," Tenten cursed, taking off her shoes and sprinting to the house.
Shikamaru's eyes scanned the lawn, finding a fairly mellow Chouji, a mildly distressed Shino, a vacant looking Jou, and a pissed off Gaara. Everyone was soaking wet; he knew something had to set off the sprinkler system.
A fire?
"Ino!"
Shikamaru was in the apartment instantly, quite possibly the fastest anyone had seen him move. Tenten also ran inside.
"Ino?" Shikamaru found her easily, sitting hunched over on the sofa. He was relieved that she appeared unhurt. She lifted her head slowly, tears barely visible in through the water.
"I'm so sorry, Shikamaru," she told him very quietly. "I ruined everything."
"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru asked, kneeling in front of her and taking her hands in his, giving the cold, clammy palms a warm squeeze.
"I had everything almost perfect," Ino choked out, a sob stuck in her throat. "I tried so hard…and I wasn't thinking and now I've gone and ruined everything!"
"Ino…" Shikamaru wasn't stupid; he knew when she said 'everything' she meant more than the party. Tenten ran past him, sprinting into her bedroom, but Shikamaru barely noticed as he sat down next to Ino.
"Look, Ino…this was an accident," Shikamaru explained softly. God, he couldn't stand it when girls cried, especially Ino…
"But it's still my fault!" Ino cried. "I'm so much trouble! Temari would never cause you this much trouble. I'm never going to be as good as her!"
"Ino, I don't care how troublesome you are," Shikamaru said automatically, realizing belatedly that it was actually true. "You could have burned this place to the ground, and while I wouldn't be happy, I wouldn't love you any less."
Ino blinked. Love?
"You can't think of your relationship with me as a competition," Shikamaru told her. "It doesn't work like that. You each mean separate things to me."
Ino felt her heart break; here it was, the whole 'you're my best friend, but I can't think of you as more than that' speech. Standing abruptly, she tried to flee before she realized that Shikamaru had trapped her in his shadow. Face screwing up in frustration, it made her even angrier that she hadn't even thought of that.
"Ino, hear me out," Shikamaru said, face as serious as it ever was but the eyes had an unusual urgent look. "I'm not ready to make this choice final yet…I don't even know what I want. It's selfish to ask you not to give up on me when I'm not even giving myself a chance, but there's some stuff I have to sort out first. I'm asking you to trust me…please?"
"It's so hard to ask that of a person when there's such a big chance they'll end up second place," Ino told him fiercely.
"But I was second place to Sasuke all those years," Shikamaru told her simply.
"And by the time I was ready to see the light, poof, there's Temari," Ino said bitterly. She felt the shadow bind release her, but she didn't flee. The sprinklers around her were dying away, but the intensity between her and Shikamaru hadn't dissipated a bit.
"Ino, I'm just asking for a little time," Shikamaru pleaded. "Can you give me that, knowing you'll be in first place?"
Ino hesitated. "What about Temari?" she asked finally.
"I…I don't know," Shikamaru said honestly. "I care about her a lot, I really do; that isn't going to change, you know. You're both good at making me feel guilty, you're both walking all over me at every given moment, and you both give me hell about being lazy, which I think is an unfair assessment in some cases. You're both insecure and cover it up with an annoying amount of arrogance; you're just prissier about it than she is. You're even more troublesome…but you're worth it."
"Shikamaru," Ino said faintly, walking up to him slowly. She rested both hands on his chest as she gazed into his eyes.
"THAT WAS THE WORSE CONFESSION OF LOVE I'VE EVER HEARD! PLUS YOU'RE DRESSED LIKE AN OLD MAN WITH EYEBROWS SCARIER THAN ROCK LEE'S!"
Shikamaru blinked, sighed, and hung his head. So much trouble…
Hoping to shut her up (and just because he sort of wanted to, maybe), he put his arms around Ino, not caring that her skin was ice cold and clammy and that she was getting glitter all over his fake beard. Ino hugged him back, realizing it was the first time she'd hugged him since he passed his exam. Giggling naughtily, she smiled as she her fingers up and down his chest, causing him to inhale sharply.
Nara, what are you getting yourself into? Shikamaru asked himself helplessly as he found himself returning Ino's not so innocent grin.
"Hey, you guys okay?" Temari's voice called from the doorway.
Ino was surprised when Shikamaru didn't jump away from her. She wasn't facing the older woman and could only image the look on her face as she backed wordlessly away. As much as Ino liked competing with Sakura for Sasuke, she never liked competing against Temari. She knew Sasuke would pick Sakura over her, but she wasn't sure about who Shikamaru would pick and that had always made her afraid.
And now…I'm actually feeling sorry for her? Ino thought wildly, pressing her face against Shikamaru's chest. I'm actually feeling sympathy for that pushy, rude, arrogant, fan-wielding witch with bad hair? I really thought I'd be able to gloat about this…and now I can't even enjoy it because I feel bad! Damn it!
Shikamaru, perhaps sensing the change in Ino, backed up and eyed her surreptitiously. He sighed inwardly. His heart knew he made the right choice, but his mind…?
Shikamaru, you deserve every bit of pain this girl inflicts on you, his sense of reason cackled mercilessly. Shikamaru wondered why he never did get what he wanted…an average looking girl who'd let him get away with slacking off…and looked at Ino and realized he'd never be able to settle for that.
Well, you'd better hope things are going to work out with Ino, because things with you and Temari are certainly going to be awkward as hell, he thought grimly. At least Ino can cook…Oh, I hope Kankurou doesn't kill me…Puppets are so troublesome.
"Hey, guys, we'd better go outside with the others before they start to worry," Tenten suggested, holding a small wooden box in her hands. "It's too late to call the landlady…and there's no way we can stay in here tonight…I guess we'll have to crash somewhere else."
"We can decide all that when we get outside," Shikamaru said, somewhat reluctantly releasing Ino. He was grateful Tenten didn't say anything; they understood each other very well.
"So what happened?" Kiba asked, voice nearly barreling them over when they got outside.
"Apparently the sprinkler system still works," Tenten said, trying not to smile.
"It wasn't really all that funny," Jou pouted, crossing her arms as her wet bangs hung in her eyes.
"It wasn't funny at all," Gaara corrected, looking at Tenten pointedly.
"Well, pretty much all of our stuff is trashed, so I say let's forget the party part and divvy up the candy," Shikamaru shrugged. "I'm not keeping any of it. Here, Chouji, you can have all of mine."
Kiba just about died when Hinata walked over to Shino and offered him half. Shino parted with half of his cookies in return, much to her delight. Despite the fact they weren't on a team any longer, both boys still placed a high value on her personal attention, though Shino didn't try as overtly hard as Kiba.
"So do we just go home now?" Sakura asked, hands on her hips aimlessly.
"I hate to say it, but everything in there is ruined," Tenten admitted. "We can't throw a party in there. Hell, Shikamaru and I are going to have to find somewhere else to stay for the night, and I guess you three do too."
Gaara recalled in the past how he and his siblings used to stay in special quarters arranged by Tsunade-sama. Such times had passed, relationships had strengthened, and things had become more casual. He wasn't looking forward to staying in a hotel, not at all. Not with large groups of people…
"They can stay at my place," Jou piped up. "It's a weekend, so my band mates won't be staying over tonight. There's room, if you guys want it. It's nothing like you're used to in Suna, I'm sure, but it should suffice."
Temari hesitated. She wasn't sure how she'd feel staying at a stranger's house. It wasn't as if she was a threat; Temari had been more dangerous when she was six. Jou seemed very nice…not suspiciously so, but in the same overwhelming way her brother was. She seemed to make Gaara uncomfortable and that was more than enough of a reason to say no.
"Sure, sounds good," Kankurou said easily with a shrug. "You can cook, right…?"
Dumbass, Temari groaned mentally, knowing that declining now would just be rude. She didn't want to argue in front of everyone. Gaara said nothing; he looked rather apathetic but Temari could detect he wasn't terribly pleased.
"Hey, why's everyone outside?"
The group turned and saw Rock Lee, who was practically jumping from side to side. Temari noted, unsurprised, that Neji had given him a wide berth. Lee, completely unaware of his ex-teammates attempts to alienate him, smiled contentedly as his strange eyes went from person to person.
The man just has too much energy! Temari thought sourly, trying to think of anything besides how horrible her night was turning out. True, trick-or-treating had been sort of fun, but when she'd gotten back and seen Shikamaru and Ino together, she knew her life had changed forever. She didn't want it to sink in until she was alone.
"We've had a little incident," Tenten said sheepishly, "and the sprinklers went off. Now we're trying to decide where to stay tonight."
"You can stay with me, Tenten," Kiba said gamely. "I'll even help you out of that dress."
Tenten smiled, knowing Kiba was just playing around. "Sorry, Kiba, but Elle Driver is too much woman for you."
Her wink silenced him, but Kiba just grinned. Neji frowned…how long had she been like this?
"You could stay with me, Tenten," Hinata spoke up.
"No, Hiashi would not allow it," Neji interceded.
"That's a big surprise," Jou muttered, practically inaudible.
"He does not disapprove of you, but you aren't particularly at your best," Hinata whispered.
Tenten shrugged. "That's true, I guess," she admitted readily. "I do kind of look like a hooker, and I doubt Hiashi-sama has seen Kill Bill."
"You can stay at my place, too," Jou offered. "I know there isn't much room upstairs, but I can sleep in my basement. Lee's going to stay over too, right?"
Kankurou scowled. Thick-brows was going to be there too? He wasn't sure if he had the patience to deal with him, and Gaara looked a bit more pissed off than usual.
"Of course, Jou-chan!" Lee said emphatically, fist pumping the air. "We can have a Kill Bill MARATHON!"
Temari really didn't want to admit it, but she had been kind of curious about her character. It would also get her mind off of Shikamaru, if only for a few hours. Determined not to sulk, she braced herself for a challenging evening at the house of Rock Lee's sister.
"Hey, Tenten," Jou said suddenly. "I'm going to head back with these guys awhile. They're probably tired. Take your time, okay?"
Temari wondered why in the hell the girl would try and convince the only sane one to 'take her time' before she realized that she was encouraging her to talk to Neji. While it was fairly obvious that Neji and Jou did not care for each other, they were nice enough around Tenten, or they at least stopped their disagreements before they turned into arguments.
"Alright," Tenten nodded.
"See you later!" Jou called, heading down the street with her brother and three rather disgruntled looking Sand siblings.
Tenten looked at Kiba, who was rather disappointed that the party wasn't going to happen. "Hey, we'll have a party again really soon. Lee's party is less than a month away, remember?"
"Yeah, you're right," Kiba admitted. "Still, you're not going to look that hot at Lee's party, I bet."
Tenten laughed. "You perv, you could give Jiraiya a run for his money," she told him playfully. "Why don't you, Shino, Sakura and Hinata head back to your place and hang out? That way you don't have to worry about sharing your candy with too many other people."
"Well…" Kiba looked at Chouji speculatively. "I guess you're right."
Hinata, Kiba, and Sakura all exchanged glances at each other, then at Neji and Tenten. Deciding that the two really needed to talk, they headed on their way without too much fuss.
"And you three," Tenten pointed to the former Team ten, "can all go back to Chouji's place, right?"
Considering the situation, it was actually what they'd prefer to do, so they acquiesced and walked off towards Chouji's house after assorted goodbyes. Ino cast a curious glance over her shoulder but continued walking. Eventually, only Neji and Tenten were left.
"So…" Tenten began, not having any idea where to start.
Neji said nothing, not even looking at her.
"Wow, this is pretty awkward," Tenten chattered mindlessly. "I mean, here I am in a nurse's uniform that's probably see-through by now, not that it matters because of your Byakugan and all…hey, just out of curiosity, you've never done that to me, have you?"
Neji, completely taken aback by the question, merely looked at her skeptically.
"Yeah, I know, why would you, I mean, I know I'm not that pretty—"
"—Stop talking."
Tenten's mouth slid shut. Shifting her weight back and forth between her feet to compensate, she stiffened and stood stick straight when Neji took another step towards her.
"What is your problem today?" he asked her finally. "You've been very edgy."
"Umm…I don't know?" Tenten shrugged lightly, giving him a sheepish grin. Not having anything else to say, she changed the subject.
"Can I go inside and see if I can change into anything dry?" she asked suddenly.
Neji nodded wordlessly, accompanying her inside the ruined apartment but stopping inside the door. She swiped her hand across the counter, knocked away the water droplets, and sat a small wooden box down. He wondered briefly what he and Tenten were going to talk about…that is, if they ever got around to talking. Was he supposed to ask questions?
"Damn, everything's a bit damp, but anything's better than this," Tenten's voice came from her bedroom. "Be prepared for a sight, because I'm coming out in my driest clothes and they aren't going to be pretty."
Neji wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he just said nothing as he stared pointedly at the door. Hearing her behind him, he turned, only to see her run into Shikamaru's room wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top.
"Damn, how'd his room get less wet than mine?" Tenten muttered. "Oh well, he's not going to miss this stuff…OH MY GOD!"
"What?" Neji asked finally.
"His shirts are too small!" Tenten wailed.
"In all fairness, if you did fill out his shirts properly, it would probably mean that Shikamaru has the body of a woman," Neji pointed out.
"While that would certainly explain some of his characteristics, I know it's not true," Tenten muttered. "Definitely not."
"…Did you actually see him naked like you said?" Neji asked casually.
"Yeah, and it wasn't like anything I was expecting," Tenten's disembodied voice told him. It sounded like she was changing out of a shirt.
Neji was feeling a bit curious about what she thought of Shikamaru being naked, but didn't want to sound too curious.
"He's a lot fitter than I had originally assumed…he's actually quite sexy," Tenten admitted, a smile in her voice.
Neji threw a look back at the bedroom, half tempted to use Byakugan in retaliation for her confession.
"But still…I know you've probably heard some rumors, but I could never, ever have a sexual relationship with Shikamaru," Tenten said firmly. "That lazy ass would make me do all the work."
Neji felt a smirk settle on his features.
"And even though we did kiss, it was only once and that was enough to get it out of my system," Tenten said, emerging from the bedroom in a pair of Shikamaru's slacks and one of his coats. "First kisses should always lead to second kisses, and if they don't, then you know it just won't work. Seriously, if you can get over an attraction to someone after one kiss, it's not a good basis for a sexual relationship."
"…Why are you telling me all this?" Neji inquired.
"In case you wanted to find out, since we both know you'd never ask," Tenten said simply. "I will tell you everything that happened during the mission if you'd like."
Neji said nothing…did he really need to know anything else as long as he knew she had emerged with her virginity intact?
"Yes or no, Neji."
Tenten's dark brown eyes were on him unflinchingly, rather strange considering that she was still wearing the blonde wig.
"Fine, tell me if you want," Neji muttered.
"Okay," Tenten began as they exited the apartment, "we were supposed to meet a client at this upscale club and bar…and she was taking forever so we ended up drinking a little bit. We weren't yet sharing an apartment, so I guess you could say we were kind of curious about one another…there was some sexual tension, I won't lie.
"So apparently, tequila is the only drink on the planet that turns Shikamaru into a happy drunk, and after we both had a few…well, we were kind of flirtatious and affectionate. We ended up dancing together all night and Shikamaru even (willingly!) entered a dance competition. Jou's band was playing at the club that night and one of her band members, you know, Izari, the tall leggy blonde, was also competing. Shikamaru actually beat her. Izari! In a dance competition!"
Neji digested this information…Izari was widely acknowledged as the band's heartthrob…vivacious, beautiful, and feisty, not to mention that everyone was always raving about the dances she choreographed for their videos. Shikamaru beat her? He wasn't terribly familiar with Izari's routines but felt confident that anyone with a heartbeat could beat Shikamaru at dancing, even someone in a catatonic state. Hell, if Lee was unconscious and could still find it in him to stand up…
"Yeah…Shikamaru is a great dancer…he just needs some good old-fashioned alcohol in him," Tenten confided. "We were celebrating with some more drinks, so naturally that's when the client walked in. She thought we were married (newlyweds, no less) because of the way we were carrying on and offered to pay our way at the local inn in repayment for being so late. She plunked down the cash for the honeymoon suite and everything. We just never found it in us to correct her."
"And that's when you two kissed?" Neji asked, finding a break in her story.
"Well, we ended up just laying on the bed and talking about random stuff…Shikamaru worried about Chouji on a mission to Mist and I was sort of complaining that I never got to see you…and we just talked until we both fell asleep. I kissed him the next morning, after we both woke up, just because. And it was good (great, actually), but it wasn't what a kiss is supposed to be."
"And what is a kiss supposed to be?" Neji asked her skeptically.
"Well…it's a lot of different things," she said after awhile, eyes drifting to the lampposts as they walked down the street. She wasn't sure they had a destination, really, they were just walking.
"You're starting to sound like Lee," Neji told her disdainfully. "All he kept telling me was that you don't have to know anything to love someone else."
Tenten smiled. "That Lee…"
-O-
Jou had barely opened her door when Lee zipped through and threw himself onto her collection of DVDs stacked precariously on top of the coffee table. Finding the yellow volume of Kill Bill, he quickly inserted it into her DVD player. Turning on the TV, he motioned wildly for the Sand Siblings to sit down on the couch.
Gaara watched as his brother and sister visibly flinched at the green living room. The green couch sported new green cushions, only lime green instead of Kelly green. All the clothes that had cluttered the floor from his last visit were gone.
Gaara's nerves were rather frayed; he wasn't sure if he could stand sitting still for more than twenty minutes. His eyes flickered briefly to the screen, frowning at the odd song that began to play on the menu screen. This feeling of randomness was quickly overcome after Lee pressed play.
What the hell is this? Gaara thought, staring at the black and white footage of a bleeding woman panting helplessly on the ground. Lee likes this type of movie?
"Eww," Temari grimaced, sitting down on the couch despite her disgust.
"I know I've seen parts of this before," Kankurou muttered, taking a seat next to Temari. Gaara sat on his left, having deposited his gourd by the entrance to the kitchen.
Temari jumped at the gunshot, hand over her mouth and face aghast, as was Kankurou. Gaara glanced over to see the kitchen light was now on; either Jou or Lee was getting food, and judging by their size, he bet it was the latter. Sure enough, Lee emerged with a strange food Gaara had never seen before.
"…What's that?" he asked, pointing to it disapprovingly.
"Popcorn," Lee said slowly, temporarily forgetting where his guests came from. "Corn won't grow in the desert, so I guess you wouldn't have any…"
Gaara eyed the food carefully with his teal eyes before carefully plucking on fluffy piece up and placing it in his mouth. Blinking as he mulled over the taste, he carefully extricated the entire bowl from Lee, who didn't seem to mind at all. The plucky jounin simply emerged from the kitchen a few minutes later with two more bowls, handing one to Kankurou and Temari to share and keeping the other for himself.
This is such an odd movie, Gaara thought, not for the first time. Why didn't Beatrix just kill that little girl? She's just going to grow up and try to kill her…
Lee was perched in his armchair, completely engrossed. He had set down his bowl of popcorn, not noticing when tendrils of sand lifted the bowl and carried it towards Gaara, who replaced it with his now empty one.
"Ugh," Temari was disgusted now; these men were having sex with a comatose woman? She grinned when they both met their bloody end, a satisfied smirk falling into place as the last door slam collided with the man's head.
This movie isn't too bad, Temari conceded, popping another handful of popcorn into her mouth.
Kankurou laughed out loud when he saw the name "Pussy Wagon" emblazoned on the set of keys to Beatrix's new car.
Lee cheered when, 'thirteen hours later,' Beatrix Kiddo had not only wiggled her big toe, but drove away in the yellow monstrosity itself.
Gaara was paying attention to the movie, but found it curious that Jou was nowhere in sight. Not sure if he wanted to see her or not, he definitely wanted to resolve whatever awkwardness was between them. He didn't like being uncomfortable around people; it was supposed to be the other way around. Jou wasn't quite afraid of him, but she was definitely restrained.
"Hey, does your sister have anymore popcorn?" Kankurou asked, waving his bowl around airily.
"I made the whole box," Lee told him. "She might have other stuff if you're still hungry. Do you want me to go get her?"
"Yeah, sure," Kankurou shrugged. "Where is she, anyway?"
"Getting changed," Jou's voice said from the doorway. Now garbed in a green tank top and black shorts, it was perhaps her green marabou slippers that struck everyone else as odd. "I'm surprised you guys didn't do the same."
"Well, it's not as if I'm wearing anything too weird," Kankurou told her.
"Considering you run around in a jumpsuit and kabuki paint every other day," Gaara mumbled.
"Brat!"
"SHUT UP!"
Temari glared imperiously at all of them, angry face framed by a rather lovely veil. Everyone just blinked, not wishing to anger her further.
"Thank you," Temari sniffed, turning her attention back to the television. O-Ren had just shot someone through the head; exciting stuff this was.
"Uh…yeah…" Jou trailed off, glancing at Temari. "Anyone want some food?"
"Surprise me," Temari mumbled.
"I have no preference," Gaara said blankly.
"I've already seen this part of the movie, so can I just look around in your kitchen and pick whatever I want?" Kankurou asked hopefully.
Idiot, Temari sighed.
Jackass, Gaara sighed.
"Sure," Jou's voice was bright as Kankurou followed her to the kitchen. "My band keeps a lot of their food in here too, and there's really nothing they probably wouldn't mind you having except—"
"What's this?"
"The one thing they wouldn't let you have," Jou told him. "It's a coconut. But I'll tell you what, I have some coconut cake in the fridge that I yesterday; how about a slice of that?"
"I don't know if I want to eat a cake that looks like these things…"
"You don't use that part in food, only the inside!"
"So it's not going to look brown and hairy."
Dumbass, Gaara thought, rolling this eyes.
"No."
"Okay…wow, it's all white and fluffy looking."
"That's because—oh, never mind."
"This is really good…you actually made this?"
"Yeah."
"I think you're the first girl in this place I've met that can cook."
"Thank you."
"Is there anything else you can make, like maybe a—"
"Kankurou, that's kind of rude," Temari told him from the living room.
"No, I don't mind," Jou shrugged. "I make stuff for Lee all the time."
"Would you be willing to make more than one thing?
"Kankurou, shut up," Gaara said.
"She offered," Kankurou countered childishly. "How many other places in Konoha could we get free food like this? I'm hungry, and candy isn't going to cut it."
"Do you realize what time it is?" Gaara asked him tiredly.
"Actually, I'm hungry too, so ask away," Jou's voice was cheerful. "My drummer has me hooked on this new kind of…"
"Your sister's kind of strange," Temari told Lee flatly, sparing him a glance.
"Well, yeah," Lee said, rubbing a sore spot on the back of his neck. "But your brother's weird, too."
"True, true," Gaara said, shaking his head when he heard the two of them discussing various ways to make marinades.
"Food always puts him in the strangest mood," Temari muttered. "So it's probably good that he and Tenten never went out to dinner when they were dating."
"Were?" Lee asked.
"Yeah, they're not together anymore," Temari muttered.
"Why, that is most excellent!" Lee exclaimed, standing suddenly and punching the air. "The way is clear for Neji at last! I'm sure he will use this opportunity to give Tenten the proper attention she deserves!"
"This is Neji we're talking about, Lee-chan," Jou's voice drifted in from the kitchen. "It's going to take him forever to make a move, granted he even knows they ended their relationship. He's probably as clueless as ever."
-O-
Neji and Tenten found themselves by their old training grounds. Tenten's clothes had completely dried out, but now she was just plain cold. She felt the strands of yellow hair clinging to her face.
"Hey, Neji…" she began slowly.
"Yes?"
"Do I look cute as a blonde?"
Neji sent her a withering glare in response.
"Come on, it was a serious question!" Tenten exclaimed.
Neji briefly considered his response; while it looked good, it wasn't really beautiful, and since "cute" and "pretty" were simply not in his vocabulary and therefore not an option, he remained silent.
"It's just not you," he settled on finally.
"You miss the hair buns, don't you, Neji?" Tenten asked him playfully, smiling knowingly.
Neji gave her a half-hearted indignant glare that dissolved into his usual aloof frown.
"If you don't miss the hair buns, do you at least miss me?" Tenten asked him bravely.
Neji paused briefly before returning a nod. "Not many people know Byakugan's blind spot outside the family…you're the first person I've ever told about it," Neji said very neutrally. "It's been a long time since we've fought on a mission together."
"I know," Tenten agreed. "You have Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata on your team. I get that lazy Nara bum and more often than not one or more of the Sand siblings. Not that that's a bad thing," she amended hastily. "Oh, and Lee…I get to go on missions with Lee."
"I'm surprised Gaara hasn't tried to kill him yet," Neji commented.
"Well, it wouldn't be good for diplomatic relations, that's for sure," Tenten said with a laugh. "And Lee's really nice to all of them…I'm not sure if they like him, but they certainly don't dislike him…even Gaara, believe it or not."
"Those poor ninjas don't know what they're getting into, going to Jou's house," Neji muttered.
"You really don't like her," Tenten said, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a giggle.
"Well, one of her band mates got into a fight with Hanabi a few months back," Neji said darkly.
"That would be Izari," Tenten said knowingly. The blonde played rhythm guitar and was quite good…however she was also rather antagonistic and would often pick fights, sometimes within the band. Jou was never a target but always had to break up the frequent spats. However, her favorite pastime was targeting those she thought were too egotistical and having a go at deflating them.
"She told Hanabi to stop complaining that I was better," Neji said. "Her exact words were 'if my parents slapped a brand on me like a cow and forced me into slavery I think I'd get my ass into gear, if only just for spite,' and then the conversation just went downhill from there."
"Yeah, Izari's just…yeah," Tenten shook her head. The woman was rich, vain, snooty, and tactless; yet absolutely a riot to be around. And after someone had earned her respect, she was just as steadfastly loyal as Lee.
It's really nice of Jou to let the Sand siblings stay with her just so Neji and I could talk, Tenten thought. Jou doesn't even like Neji…not at all. I hope none of them are too much for her to handle.
-O-
"Wow, that's one of the weirdest scars I've ever seen."
In the living room, Gaara and Temari both rolled their eyes, the latter slapping her forehead in disgust.
"It's a stab wound."
"How'd you get it?"
"A knife."
Gaara snickered.
"No, I meant—"
"—I know, I was kidding. My friend Izari started a fight one time when we were all at a bar. She wanted to knock some heads together and I got dragged into it. It was actually a good night, except for the hospital part. I'd never played Locked Heart and All Shook Up better."
"Hey Kankurou, we're starting the second movie," Temari told him, succeeding in drawing him out of the kitchen. He handed them each a plate with a piece of fluffy white coconut cake on (what else?) a green plate, saving himself a generous slice. Jou handed her brother a piece with a smile.
"I saved you the biggest piece, Lee-chan," she said, holding out a glass of milk. Gaara's eyes lingered on their smiles a moment.
"Ah, milk, perfect for building and maintaining the frame of my youthful body!" Lee exclaimed, eagerly downing the milk and eating the cake.
Temari choked on her mouthful. "I really don't think milk is going to do something that running around the village a hundred times every day can't," she muttered, smiling a bit as the flavor of the icing melted on her tongue. "You made this?"
"Yeah," Jou said, offering Temari and Kankurou two glasses of water, which they eagerly accepted. "My mother was a great cook; when she was little she used to work at my uncle's restaurant, back when it was owned by their dad." She set a glass of milk in front of Gaara. "Lee-chan told me you like milk."
Gaara nodded wordlessly, eating his first bite of cake. Narrowing his eyes, he managed to gently lower the cake and fork onto the table.
"You don't like it, do you?"
Gaara shook his head, taking a generous sip of milk.
Jou gave him an appraising look and suddenly broke into a smile. "I know just the thing!"
The second movie began and she had still not come back. Gaara turned his attention back to the screen, eyes occasionally darting to the entrance to the kitchen. He heard shuffling and the sound of something being cut. A rather loud curse escaped the other room, which Lee was completely unaware of.
I think he's in denial, Gaara thought, noticing how Lee didn't even flinch at the rather abrasive swear word. The only woman I know that doesn't curse is Hinata, and that's only because she hardly ever talks.
Jou came out ten minutes later with a bowl containing a rather juicy substance. The fleshy pulp of the fruit was yellow and fragrant.
"I thought I'd just go with the whole tropical fruit, so I sliced you a fresh pineapple," she said with a huge smile. "It gave me the perfect excuse to eat half, too."
"But Jou-chan, if you'd only asked me, I would have sliced it all for you," Lee told her ardently.
Do normal families act like this? Temari said, their sweet interaction driving her insane as she finished the last bite of her cake.
"I know, but I wanted you to enjoy your favorite movie," Jou said with a smile, holding out the green bowl to the Sand nin.
Gaara took the fork with apprehension; his first encounter with her food hadn't been pleasant. He carefully dropped a very small piece in his mouth, making a face.
"Oh my god, you hate it too, don't you?" Jou looked horrorstricken.
"It's a bit more tart than I expected," Gaara told her simply.
"Do you want something else?" Jou asked.
"This will suffice," Gaara told her gravely.
"Hey, can I try some?" Kankurou asked, and Gaara acquiesced, even passing the bowl to Temari so she could take a piece. Gaara looked up as he registered something that was definitely not in the movie.
"Your phone is ringing," he told her flatly.
Jou smiled sheepishly. "So it is."
Trotting over to the wall by the kitchen entrance, she picked up the lime green cordless phone.
"Hello?"
Three alarmed Sand siblings stared at her as she collapsed in a fit of giggles.
"No, no, Mika-chan, it's fine, Tenten's going to—no, that's what I'm trying to say!"
Kankurou's head perked up at Tenten's name.
"Just calm down, I'm serious, it's her—Look, I have guests, I have to go, but I'll talk to you later. Bye Mika-chan!"
Jou giggled some more. "Well, Tenten's apparently making some progress with that jerk," she said, laughing again. "Mika was so concerned because Neji was 'seen in the company of a really pretty blonde tonight and they were headed towards his old training ground' and stuff. She was so worried about Tenten until I told her that she's still probably wearing that wig from trick-or-treating."
"Still?" Gaara asked, muscle in his cheek twitching.
"She probably thinks it's funny," Jou said with a grin. "God, Neji's such a prick but I guess if he makes her happy…"
-O-
"I thought that one was Cassiopeia," Neji said, frowning.
"Nope, that's her husband, Cepheus," Tenten corrected. "And that one right there is Andromeda, their daughter. See, one big family unit up in the sky."
Neji had been sure that it was Cassiopeia. He turned and looked at her questioningly.
"What's wrong, Neji?" Tenten asked, smiling at his irritated look. He turned abruptly from her mocking grin and looked skyward again. "You can't be good at everything, even though you're a genius."
"Just because you know astrology—"
"Actually, this is astronomy," Tenten clarified. "At least what we're doing right now. You'd just laugh if I tried to talk about astrology."
"I wouldn't if I still believed in fate," Neji told her, turning his head over to face her, marveling how, not for the first time, she'd managed to convince him to lay on the glass with her and look up at the sky.
At least when Shikamaru does this during the day, everyone can see him, Neji thought. And no one's here to see us now…together…
"You don't believe in fate anymore?" Tenten asked him, surprised.
Neji hesitated, not sure what he really felt on the matter. It was easy to write things off as fate, such as losing to Naruto or even growing apart from Tenten, but it wasn't justification and it certainly wasn't something that would ever satisfy any doubts he had on the latter subject. He wanted to believe that he had a choice in what he felt.
"The clock's a ticking, Neji," Tenten reminded him, poking her wrist where her invisible watch supposedly rested.
"When I put my stock in fate, nothing was ever really in my control," Neji told her. "And even if I can't change one thing if I believe I have the chance, if I refuse to believe in fate it's the difference between hanging my head and holding it high."
"Or maybe you changed your fate," Tenten suggested. "Not just your own, but the entire clan…because it wasn't just Hinata's defeat that did that. Neji, you've been fighting fate your whole life even when you thought you were ruled by it. Is it really necessary to have a belief system?"
Neji bit the automatic 'yes' response that was on the tip of his tongue. Lee's words about him complicating things re-entered his mind and had to grudgingly admit the bowl-haired idiot was half-way right, as half-way was as far as his mind would concede when it came to Rock Lee.
-O-
Oh my god.
When Temari had asked to use the bathroom (holding it for the duration of two movies hadn't been a good choice, but she couldn't just leave in the middle…) she'd never expected it to be so—
Freaking sweet.
Temari supposed that since Jou's band mates were always over that she needed a big bathroom, but now she knew why the rest of the house was ordinary.
She spent all of her cash to make this bathroom a palace.
A huge white porcelain bathtub rested on clawed feet made of antique silver. Temari had never seen such a thing, even in the lavish hotel Tsunade-sama had arranged for them. She embarrassingly admitted to herself that when she'd first stayed there she took a long soak every night, practically sighing with pleasure every time she sank into the water. But this was complete and total luxury, cleverly hidden within a rather normal-looking house on an average street.
Temari's eyes fell on a rather large assortment of beauty products that sat on a nearby shelf. Each shelf was labeled with a name. Temari wasn't surprised that Lee had a shelf, and that it was primarily comprised of toothpaste hair products. Jou had a fair amount of items too, but the last six shelves were full of some rather disgustingly girly items. One girl's name was attached to three shelves; Temari had never seen so much hairspray in her life.
I'm glad we're here on a somewhat normal day, Temari thought gratefully, glad that none of these apparently crazy women was staying over. I bet this house is a circus…
Outside the bathroom, Kankurou was pacing around restlessly, not tired after the Kill Bill marathon and full of restless energy. He mused it might have been the five bottles of energy tea he'd consumed, but thought better of blaming himself. What kind of woman had an entire twenty-four pack of energy tea in her fridge, anyway?
Kankurou was bored; Lee was entertaining, where was he? He vaguely remembered Lee going off the sleep in the guest bedroom ten minutes ago. Jou had said two of them could sleep downstairs and one person in the living room, and he supposed his little brother was down there already.
Let Temari deal with him, Kankurou thought, plopping down on the sofa. I'm going to see if anything good's on. She'd better have a decent cable plan…
Click. Ew, chick flick. Click. I've seen this one twice already. Click. Damn it, there's gotta be a channel with skin flicks on…Click. Seen it. Click. Damn it, this one sucks. Click. Damn, this is another chick flick! Click. Seen this one too. Click. Ugh, I hate that guy. Click. Bingo!
Kankurou smiled as he entered a few buttons, figuring that if Jou didn't want him to order pay-per-view specials, she would have said something. He assuaged any feelings of guilt by promising that he'd leave her some money before he left.
Gaara sat in Jou's basement, wondering crankily why she had her air conditioning turned on in October, technically November. Eyes closed in annoyance, he registered someone walking towards him. Steps too heavy to be Temari's and way too light to be Kankurou's, he reasoned it was probably Jou. She paused in front of the futon where he sat, kneeling down next to him.
Why is she staring at me? Gaara wondered, not wanting to open his eyes and make eye contact. The tension stretched on until he sensed something moving towards his face.
Reacting before he could think, he leapt off the futon and tackled her. She succumbed to his superior strength with no resistance, as she lighter and weaker than any ninja. His left hand squeezed her right wrist violently until it released what it had been holding, while his right forearm spanned her shoulders to keep her pinned.
"What are you doing?" Gaara's voice was a ragged hiss.
The square of red fleece Jou had been holding was starting to unravel in her shaking hand, which was rapidly turning white under the force of his grasp.
"I'm sorry," Jou whispered, her voice strained under the weight of his forearm. He released some pressure when he saw she couldn't breath, but he still didn't let her go. "You looked cold."
Gaara felt a surge of irritation. "I don't know what you're playing at," he growled. "You act as if you like me."
"Maybe I do," Jou rasped. "I'm obviously not the first person to care about you. Tenten does and Lee does too…"
"You're doing it out of pity, out of what your brother told you about me?" Gaara demanded, distantly aware that if he squeezed her wrist any harder he might cause her serious harm.
"No," Jou said weakly, obviously in pain. "I just…"
"You should be afraid of me," Gaara told her fiercely. "I almost killed your brother; the other half you care about so much. I wanted to. I was dying to. I almost did, and if it weren't for that sensei of his, he wouldn't even be here."
"I know, but he's forgiven you," Jou told him. "For all his heartache and suffering and pain, he's truly forgiven you. And just because you've done horrible things, it doesn't mean you have to alienate yourself forever. My brother wants to help you and every time you reject his efforts it hurts his feelings, I can tell."
Gaara narrowed his eyes. "Why would that idiot care what I think of him?"
"He's not an idiot!" Jou said ferociously, actively fighting his confinement for the first time. "You're the idiot if you can't see what he's trying to do! All he wants to do is help you; no one's above that. Damn it, you're even worse than that asshole Neji! He's half in love with someone and he doesn't even know it! I fucking hate egotistical ninjas, and the last thing this world needs is someone who acts just like Hyuuga Neji!"
Gaara released her at that, not even intentionally. He just…let her go to let her words sink in. Jou didn't shrink away or flee; she sat right there, rubbing her sore wrist and glaring at him angrily.
"Now here," Jou's voice interrupted his thoughts. She draped the red blanket over his shoulders, fingers delicately rearranging the fabric to fit him better. His eyes fell on the rather blatant purple marks on his arm; he had half a mind to apologize, but thought better. She'd only wave it off.
"It's not green," Gaara observed drolly, figuring if she wanted to act like nothing happened, so would he.
"You struck me as someone who'd refuse to sleep under a green blanket," Jou said with a smile. "Besides, red's my favorite color anyway."
Gaara was perplexed. "Then why all the—"
"Green's my second favorite color, silly," Jou said cheerfully, beaming at him brightly. She stood, leaning down and kissing the top of his head. "Goodnight."
Gaara didn't even watch her climb the stairs. Glancing down at the red folds of the blanket with a mystified expression, Temari found him in the same position a few minutes later.
"What's up?" Temari asked casually, glancing at the blanket. "You mean, something in this house isn't green?"
"I guess not," Gaara replied, voice devoid of the usual sarcasm.
"Man, look at all that crap," Temari observed, gaze traveling over the large assortment of instruments only a short distance from the bed. "It's like an orchestra room down here."
"Kankurou would enjoy it, I think," Gaara said thoughtfully.
"Ugh, the pervert's up there watching Come, Come Paradise the Movie 5,283 or something," Temari grumbled disgustedly. "I bet that girl's going to have a brain hemorrhage when she sees that on her next cable bill, because I doubt her brother ever watches that sort of thing."
"Lee's too proper for that," Gaara confirmed. "Practically the only ninja we know in this whole place that isn't at the very least a closet pervert."
"Ugh, that Naruto and his Sexy no Jutsu," Temari shuddered. "I can't believe he got a legendary ninja to teach him amazing techniques just by using that stupid spell."
"He might have used the harem version," Gaara supplied.
"Ew, you mean he can make more than one?" Temari asked, aghast. "That's awful."
"The only way Lee would ever succumb to a spell like that was if Naruto used Sakura's body instead of his own," Gaara said. "Then Lee would be a goner."
"What if Lee could mold chakra…do you like his Sexy no Jutsu would look like his sister?"
Gaara blinked. "Thank God we'll never know, although if Jou did a Sexy no Jutsu…would she look like Lee?"
Temari shuddered.
-O-
"So…if fate told you to kiss me, would you do it?" Tenten asked him seriously, propped up on one elbow. It was almost sunrise; she hadn't expected that Neji would be willing to talk with her all night, even though he was obviously an unpracticed conversationalist and some of his responses weren't very long. She wondered if she was destroying the surprisingly easy-going nature of the night with her bold question.
"I don't know if I could kiss you with that blonde hair," Neji admitted truthfully, smirking slightly.
Tenten smiled, leaning forward and giving him a very brief peck on the lips. At his surprised look, she averted her eyes.
"…I decided since you weren't going to…" she began.
"Didn't you say something about first kisses leading to second kisses?" Neji asked her airily.
"Then I'd guess it would be your turn," Tenten said, smiling warmly as Neji leaned forward. Their lips met slowly, carefully, until they blended together deliciously in a blur of giddiness and sweetness. Tenten stiffened in surprise as Neji's arm pulled her closer before nudging her over so she was flat on her back.
Deliberately avoiding the blonde tresses, his right hand rested low on her ribs while his left stayed stubbornly by her chin. Tilting it down so her mouth would open, his tongue thrust inside as provocatively slid her own against it. Determined not to be the first to break away for air, she boldly kissed him back, relishing his response.
Tenten reluctantly broke contact as she gasped for breath, still rather satisfied with the lengthy duration of the kiss. She brazenly licked her lips, rejoicing when Neji kissed her again. A little more slowly this time, their tongues mingled languidly and when Neji broke the second one, she was about to verbally protest.
"I'd ask where you learned to kiss like that, but then I'd have to kill her and I'm trying to cut back," Tenten told him breathlessly.
"I know of at least one person I have to kill tomorrow morning," Neji smirked.
"Don't go after Shikamaru yet—he has to pay this month's rent," Tenten said helplessly. "It's really hard to do that when you're dead."
"I suppose I could always wait a few weeks…"
Okay, this fic is only halfway done…so be on the lookout for an update. Keep in mind, Neji doesn't know that Tenten and Kankurou aren't seeing each other anymore, so that needs to be resolved…and you didn't think I'd ever let this end without some more Neji angst, did you?