Well, I told myself I'd get another chapter out by the end of the month, so here it is. My writer's block is still pretty bad, but I'm slowly regaining inspiration for my fics. I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters, even though I wouldn't mind owning the Uchiha brothers.
Chapter 6
Gaara reappeared in his bedroom and several things happened at once. A slight draft made Gaara realize that he left his shirt at Sasuke's apartment, Kankurou and Temari jumped up and stared in surprise, and the door opened.
"Excuse me, Kazekage," Shizune said quietly. "Lady Tsunade needs you in her office as soon as you're done."
"I'll be there," Gaara replied tonelessly, inwardly cursing himself for leaving his shirt. As soon as Shizune left, Gaara looked at his siblings. "What?"
"What?" Temari repeated faintly. "What? You show up here without a shirt and all you can say is what?"
Gaara continued to stare at her. "It's not your concern."
"Gaara, why is there blood on your face?" Kankurou asked suddenly.
Gaara felt the heat rise in his face. "It's not your concern."
Temari looked closely at his face and gasped. "I don't see a cut."
Kankurou smirked. "Well, now I think I get it." He gave Temari a knowing look. "Gaara, you're not as sneaky as you think."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Gaara said expressionlessly.
Kankurou's smirk widened. "Yeah right. You were out all night and won't say where you went. You showed up with hickeys and pretended they weren't there, then left again without a word. You came back without a shirt, even more hickeys than before, and blood on your mouth. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what you've been doing."
"And what would that be?" Gaara asked irritably, his eyes narrowed and his heart beating unusually fast.
"You're sneaking off and having sex with someone," Kankurou answered triumphantly.
Gaara sighed disbelievingly. "No, I'm not," he said truthfully, amazed that Kankurou was jumping to such conclusions.
Temari studied Gaara's face for a moment. "He's telling the truth," she confirmed, her tone betraying a hint of surprise.
Kankurou's eyes widened. After a minute of quick thinking, he regained his composure and smirked again. "Then that means that he's sneaking out and making out with someone. Hickeys don't magically appear for no reason."
Gaara closed his eyes and tried to keep his face completely neutral. He exhaled and opened his eyes. "No, I'm not."
Once again, Temari studied Gaara's face for a moment. However, her facial expression changed to one of complete shock. "Kankurou, he's lying," she said quietly. Kankurou made a triumphant sound. "Gaara, who is it?"
Gaara looked into his sister's wide, surprised eyes, ignoring his brother. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Kankurou scoffed. "Liar. Come on, Gaara. We won't tell anyone. Who is it?"
Gaara's eyes flickered to Kankurou. "It's not your concern." He turned around and opened his closet to get another shirt.
"So you don't deny that you're doing it," Kankurou said quickly. Gaara ignored him, so he turned to Temari. "Well Temari, he confirmed it. When I asked who it was, he said it wasn't my concern. That proves that there's someone that he's seeing and he doesn't want us to know about it."
"Gaara?" Temari began tentatively. "I'm your older sister. You know you can trust me, even with something like this." A sudden idea came to her. "How about we make Kankurou leave and you and I can talk? It can be just between us." Kankurou sputtered in indignation, but she ignored him, her attention still on her youngest brother. "What do you think?"
Gaara's eyes stared into hers. "I'm not a child," he replied scathingly, causing Temari to flinch. "Don't talk to me like that ever again." He ignored the hurt look on Temari's face and turned to Kankurou. "Don't bring this topic up again," he said menacingly. "Now, I have a meeting to attend to and it doesn't involve either of you."
Gaara turned to leave, but Kankurou grabbed his wrist. "Don't start that shit again," Kankurou snarled. "You're the Kazekage now. That murderous behavior can't still exist." His eyes narrowed. "And if you want us to stop treating you like a child, you better stop acting like one."
Gaara glared at him. "Let go of me. You can't tell me what to do."
"Like hell I can't!" Kankurou shouted.
Before Kankurou could say anything else, Gaara's eyes went wide and sand flew out of his gourd and began wrapping around Kankurou's body. Temari screamed and Kankurou gasped in horror, letting go of Gaara's wrist so he could try to free himself. When the sand had fully covered Kankurou, Gaara's face became maniacal and he held his arms out. Temari realized what he was about to do and ran forward.
"Gaara! Gaara, please stop it!" Temari screamed, tears welling up in her eyes. "What we were saying was out of line and we're sorry! Just please stop and let Kankurou go!"
Gaara turned his head, his expression remaining the same. "Kankurou has crossed the line. He tried to control me. Now he must pay! And if you don't stay out of my way, I'll do the same to you!"
Kankurou's face was full of terror. "Gaara, please! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you! Please don't kill me!"
Gaara's eyes flickered back to Kankurou. "You should've thought more carefully before you threatened me!" He began to close his hands and Kankurou screamed.
"Gaara, don't do this!" Temari yelled, tears streaming down her face. "Think about us! Think about those who love you! Please stop this behavior!"
Gaara froze, his mind on Sasuke. Sasuke…the one he loved…the one that loved him. Sasuke wouldn't want him to act like this. Sasuke wouldn't want him to kill his brother when Sasuke had to kill his own…
Gaara sighed and lowered his arms, his face relaxing into a neutral expression. The sand around Kankurou fell down and flew back into the gourd. Kankurou hit the ground and collapsed, his body in pain and his mind still fearful of Gaara's sudden relapse. Temari rushed towards him, wiping away her tears as she went. She helped him into a sitting position and glanced at Gaara, who was sitting on his bed.
"Kankurou, are you alright?" Temari asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Kankurou replied quietly, his fearful eyes fixed on Gaara.
"Gaara, where are you going?" Temari asked, watching him walk to the door.
"I have a meeting to attend to," Gaara answered shortly. "Don't bother waiting for me."
Gaara left the room and headed towards the Hokage's office, his mind focused on other things. It surprised him how much he let Kankurou's words and actions affect his temper. He thought that Naruto Uzumaki had cured him completely of such behavior. But he was obviously wrong. He was so thankful for Sasuke, because if it wasn't for thoughts of him, he might've ended up killing Kankurou. He didn't know if he should tell Sasuke about what happened in the bedroom. Gaara wasn't very good with relationships because Sasuke was the only person that he ever cared for, aside from his family. He wasn't sure if psychotic episodes, complete with homicidal tendencies towards his siblings, was something that couples discussed.
However, Gaara didn't have time to think about that because he had arrived at the Hokage's office. The guards bowed and opened the doors for him, closing them as soon as he was completely inside the room.
"You certainly took your time," Tsunade commented.
"I was busy," Gaara said blankly.
Tsunade leaned forwards and peered at Gaara over her interlocked fingers. "Your siblings came to me earlier and gave me some interesting information."
Gaara inwardly scowled, but kept his expression blank. "What kind of information?"
"They said that you've been disappearing for long periods of time without any warning and won't say where you've been. They're very concerned about it." Her eyes fixed his with a stern gaze. "Care to explain?"
"No," Gaara replied shortly. "It's no one's business but my own and I don't know why everyone's so curious."
"You're the Kazekage," Tsunade said at once. "Your safety is their number one priority, especially since you're also their youngest brother. Also, you used to kill people when you disappeared for long periods of time. They're concerned that you might be reverting back to your former ways."
"I haven't killed anyone," Gaara said tonelessly. "I have my reasons for leaving, but they're not dangerous or important to anyone else."
Tsunade regarded him for a moment. "I guess we'll just have to see how things go." She exhaled quietly. "Anyway, we need to get down to business. As you know, Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga's wedding is in three days. I just wanted to inform you that we've got security for you while you're there."
"Why?" Gaara asked quickly.
"You're the Kazekage," Tsunade repeated. "It's for your protection, in case there's an assassination attempt."
"I've got an automatic sand shield," Gaara interrupted. "That should be enough."
"They're also there to make sure you don't attack or kill anyone," Tsunade replied.
Gaara felt himself grow angry. "I won't kill anyone. I owe Naruto too much to do that." He glared at her. "Why don't you trust me?"
"It's not that I don't trust you, because I do," Tsunade assured him. "I'm just being cautious. I don't want anything to go wrong during your stay here."
"I don't want security detail," Gaara said quietly. "Don't force it on me."
Tsunade sighed. "Fine. I'll remove the order. But know this: There will be security there anyway, on Hiashi's orders. Don't do anything to arouse suspicion."
"I won't."
"You can go. And don't forget: There's another meeting with the council in an hour."
"I'll be there."
Gaara walked out of the office and went back to his room. He wanted to see Sasuke again, but knew he couldn't miss the meeting. Also, he knew that Sasuke was catching up on much-needed sleep and shouldn't be disturbed. A sudden knock on his door interrupted his thoughts.
"What?"
"Gaara, it's Temari. May I come in?"
Gaara sighed. "Make it fast."
Temari hurried into the room and sat down opposite her brother, looking nervous and timid. Gaara leaned back against the bed and stared at her, waiting for her to speak.
"I just wanted to apologize for what happened earlier," Temari said. "It was wrong of us to act like that and we're both very sorry."
"I'm sorry too, for overreacting," Gaara said quickly. He sighed. Maybe it was time for him to reveal the truth, or at least part of it. "The truth is that I'm in love, desperately in love with someone, and he loves me too."
"He?" Temari repeated quietly, covering her mouth in shock. Gaara nodded, wondering if he said too much. She lowered her hand. "I…I can't believe you're in love, Gaara. It's so strange. And you're gay, just like Kankurou…" She trailed off, but quickly found herself. "Hang on. Gaara, are you having sex?" she asked sharply.
"No," Gaara replied honestly. "We went over this earlier. Both of us are still virgins. Besides, this is the first relationship either of us has been in. We want it to be perfect."
Temari eyed him warily. "I don't know how I feel about this. I mean, if he hurts you, it might affect your mental and emotional stability. You've never loved anyone, so a heartbreak could cause you to snap."
"He won't hurt me," Gaara said at once. "He'll never hurt me. I know it. He's been hurt before, by the person closest to him, and he's just now starting to heal. He'd never do anything to put me in a similar situation, especially because of my…condition." He exhaled quietly. "We love each other and plan to stay together forever, no matter what."
Temari sighed. "I'm just trying to look out for you. Please don't get too serious too soon. Heartbreak from a first love stings and runs in the family. Neji Hyuuga broke Kankurou's heart and Shikamaru Nara broke mine." Her eyes watered, but she blinked back the tears. "I don't want the same thing to happen to you."
"It won't," Gaara said shortly, standing up. "I have a meeting."
"Wait!" Temari exclaimed suddenly. "Will you tell me who he is?"
Gaara looked at her. "You have your secrets and I have mine. I'm sure both will be revealed soon."
He opened the door and walked out, leaving a confused Temari behind.
End Chapter 6
Well, I hope I did a good job. The next few chapters are going to be setting up some important plot points that will be developed in later chapters. I hope my writer's block gets better soon so I can update more often. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Chapter 7 coming soon!