It was about 8:30 in the evening, and for once, the Kazekage could finish early for the night. Well, informally anyway- of course, being Kazekage was a 24/7 job, but with all of his essential tasks completed he could allow himself a little time to relax.
He settled down at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. Temari walked in and ruffled his hair.
"Hey Gaara, how are you?"
"Hn". He briefly glanced up from the paper he was reading as Temari sat down at the table beside him.
"I was talking to Naoko today" she chirped. That caught his attention.
"And?" he said, trying not to seem too interested.
"And she seems like a nice girl. I think she likes you" Temari grinned.
The Kazekage felt a little excited after hearing this. She liked him? No one had ever really liked him before. He gazed into space, quietly wondering if he should confide in his big sister.
"Temari…how do you show someone that you…that you like them?" he asked.
Temari smiled "You mean as a friend? Or more than a friend?"
He shrugged, blushing a little. The blond kunoichi giggled. It wasn't often that Gaara got nervous like this, or asked for her advice, so she decided to make the most of this opportunity to bond with her little brother.
"Well…you should probably start by spending some time with the person. Talk to her, show her that you're interested. Maybe talk about yourself a little, too. Open up to her" she hinted.
Gaara frowned. He didn't like the sound of that last part. If Naoko knew the truth about him, she would almost certainly reject him, he thought. Temari guessed what he was thinking.
"Don't worry Gaara, I think she'll be more understanding than you think". She suddenly felt a bit guilty for telling Naoko about Gaara's past. Maybe she should have waited until Gaara felt ready to tell her himself.
"Maybe you could take her for a meal or show her around the village or something" Temari suggested.
Kankuro, having overheard the conversation from the doorway, decided to add a suggestion of his own.
"Or you could just get her drunk and bang her" he sniggered stupidly. Temari rolled her eyes and Gaara glared at him, blushing even more now.
"Some of us aren't perverts" he sniped.
"Yeah, Gaara's not desperate like you" Temari added.
Kankuro frowned. "Well sorry for trying to help"
"Thank God Gaara doesn't listen to your advice anyway" Temari snorted.
Gaara stood up and left the table. He'd rather let his two siblings argue amongst themselves. Making his way to the corridor, he decided to check in on Naoko. He thought about his sister's advice. Why not give it a try? He was outside Naoko's door. He took a deep breath and knocked. No answer. He tried again, but still nothing. Where the hell could she be, he wondered. She wouldn't still be working at this time, and it was dark outside.
He left the building and decided to look for her in the village. It was quiet as he paced the streets. Occasionally he passed a villager. They bowed respectfully. "Good evening Lord Kazekage sama." He nodded in reply and continued to look for the bothersome engineer. He was getting a little worried now. He passed a bar and glanced through the window, recognising the face he saw. It was Naoko. He stepped through the door. She was sat on a stool at the bar, swaying slightly. He approached her and she turned to him, chuckling.
"Damn. Busted" she said. She seemed to find this hilarious and started giggling uncontrollably. Gaara looked at the deluge of empty sake glasses in front of her.
"You're drunk"
"Just a little" she slurred. He sighed and frowned at her. She attempted to stand up but stumbled. Gaara caught her roughly around the waist and pulled her to her feet before she could fall. He had his arms firmly wrapped around her.
"Lord Kazekage! I had no idea you felt this way!" She declared loudly in a high pitched girly voice before erupting into a fit of giggles at her own joke. Gaara looked around the room. Every villager in the place was watching the situation with wide eyes. Great, he thought, talk about a public relations disaster.
"Come on" he growled at the drunk in his arms "I'm taking you home." He pulled her out of the door. Once outside, she pulled away from him. She tried to say something, but it came out in nonsense syllables. After a few attempts and a lot of laughing, she managed to speak.
"I'm quite capable of walking on my own" she said.
"Really" Gaara said sarcastically. He watched her meander along clumsily.
"You can't even walk straight"
"Yes I can" she proclaimed, veering sharply to the left and wobbling across the road, before stopping in front of a wall and laughing at it.
The Kazekage sighed. Temari had suggested showing Naoko around the village, but this wasn't exactly how Gaara had envisioned it.
"Come here" he said.
"I know where I'm going, silly" she said, going in completely the wrong direction.
He followed and grabbed her, turning her around. He put his arm around her waist to guide her back to the Council building, otherwise it would probably take them forever, with Naoko in this state. Naoko's hands found the Kazekage's robes and she clung to them. She nuzzled her face into his shoulder.
Gaara suddenly forgot his annoyance. The sensation of having a girl snuggled this closely against him was something new to him. His heart began to pound.
They finally got back to the Council building and up to Naoko's room. You can imagine the trouble Gaara had trying to get an insanely drunk Naoko up eight flights of stairs. But eventually they made it. Gaara guided her into her bedroom and laid her gently on the bed. She gazed up at him and he stared back at her blankly.
"Naoko, you're a pain" he sighed.
She suddenly reached up and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him down over her. The kiss was clumsy at first and it took Gaara completely by surprise. He'd never kissed anyone before. Her lips were soft against his and she opened her mouth. He panicked and wasn't sure what to do, so he did the same. She slowly slid her tongue into his mouth, exploring him. He knew he should probably stop this…but he just couldn't. He followed his instincts and held her face in his hands, kissing her deeply. Her mouth was hot and syrupy, and the taste of sake washed into Gaara's mouth. He caressed her tongue with his, savouring the sensation it gave him. She moaned softly into the kiss. His body tingled at the sound and he sensed himself stiffening in his boxers. He remembered the stupid advice Kankuro had given him only hours earlier. Suddenly, it didn't seem so stupid anymore. Gaara swept this thought out of his mind. He couldn't do that. It would be wrong. He had to stop this. He began to pull away when he heard voices.
"Huh? OH!…uhh…"
He turned to see Temari and Kankuro staring at him and Naoko in shock.
"Wow" Temari said, shocked at how fast her little brother had put her advice into action.
The Kazekage straightened up, embarrassed.
"What are you doing?" he snapped at them.
"W…We heard loud noises coming from the corridor, and then we saw Naoko's door wide open, so we came to check it out" Temari replied, still shocked.
"She's drunk" Gaara explained.
A wide smile spread across Kankuro's face.
"So you took my advice afterall!" Kankuro said.
"Shut up fool!" Temari hissed. She dragged him out of the room before he could say anything else stupid, and the two disappeared off back down the corridor, leaving Gaara and Naoko alone again.
"Why did you kiss me?" He asked, still stunned.
She smiled sweetly "Because I like you Gaara…we're the same"
He looked down at the floor, frowning. We're the same? What did she mean by that? He turned back to her to ask, but she was already asleep.
He looked at her. A small smile was still traced along her lips. Her arms were up on the pillow beside her head, exposing the soft skin on the underside of her wrists. Her breathing was delicate and steady.
The Kazekage shook his head. This girl was hopeless. He switched off the light and left the room, closing the door softly behind him. He made his way back to his own room to ponder the night's events. And that kiss.