PLEASE READ
I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I really am. But it's been a really tough couple of months for me, and I was only able to write this chapter yesterday (which is why it's so short and so, so bad. I almost feel bad for publishing it).
About a week after I got back from vacation, my uncle's fiancee Isabella got sick. Izzy and my uncle had been together for five years. I consider her my aunt, and she and my uncle were going to finally tie the knot this year.
Izzy was diagnosed with AIDs early in June.
For me, AIDs was sort of like the boogeyman. Teachers and parents tell you "Don't have sex, you'll get AIDs and die!" but no one actually cares. Even though I live on the East Coast, close to New York and DC, I'd never known anyone who had AIDs and died. We had medication now. People could live with AIDs and be fine.
Izzy died three weeks ago.
I've had sort of a tough time dealing with it, and working on my stories just hasn't been able to happen. Besides dealing with Izzy's illness, I also graduated from high school, went to work, and started preparing for college.
I know it sounds like a bunch of excuses, but that's what happened.
Anyway, I'm starting to write again. This chapter isn't very good because I really just wanted to get an update out there, but the upcoming chapters should be much better. The real excitement will probably start in about two chapters (this fic is gonna be on the longer side).
A huge thanks to Eleoopy by the way, whose message inspired me to start writing again. She (I assume) has been an avid reviewer of my stories and this chapter happened pretty much because of her. So because of her awesomeness, I'm gonna write a one-shot of her choice. Any hetero-Hinata pairing you want, just gimme the prompt. I just don't do yuri because it makes me feel weird to write it.
And also thanks to Eleoopy, I've decided to have a little contest. Since I want to write more one-shots, for every chapter I'm going to pick a reviewer and do a one-shot of their choice, same thing as with Eleoopy. I also need story covers, so if anyone can come up with a story cover and I use it, I'll give you a one-shot then too.
Also, a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. I'm not going to list the names this time because there are too many, but having all of you guys giving me feedback really kept my spirits up while Izzy was sick.
You guys are awesome. Thanks.
Crush
"Has it ever crossed your mind
When we're hanging,
Spending time, girl, are we just friends?
Is there more? Is there more?"
- David Archuleta
As they walk home, Gaara keeps her hand wrapped his own. Hinata isn't sure how she feels about this.
Gaara is certainly kind. This morning he let her cry all over him about something that was totally not his concern. And then after she found the scroll with that disturbing message, he once again provided comfort when it wasn't his problem.
But it feels like the beginning of something, and it scares her almost more than the bloody message.
"Am I making you uncomfortable?" He says suddenly.
Startled, she blinks up at him and tries to form a response. "Ano, I –"
He lets go of her hand, and the emptiness left bothers her, but she doesn't take his hand back.
"Your apartment will be ready tomorrow, but I'd feel more comfortable if you stayed at my home for now. We won't know until at least tomorrow afternoon if the scroll was a prank or a legitimate threat. I don't want to take any risks."
Hinata has actually forgotten all about her apartment. The Kazekage's home feels right to her. It's warm and colorful and Temari and Kankuro feel like her own siblings.
"I'd feel more comfortable with that too." She admits. She's frustrated with her fear; she was in ANBU! She's a kami-damned assassin! She shouldn't be afraid of anything, let alone a silly letter!
But still, there's something about it that bothers her. Maybe it's the chakra residue that made her shiver. Maybe it's the idea that one of her students wanted to mess with her.
Regardless, it leaves Hinata with a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She's still thinking about it when they get to the Kazekage's mansion. Gaara holds the door open for her when they arrive - he's really quite a gentleman - and she drops her bag by the front door before taking off her shoes.
"There's plenty of food in the refrigerator." Gaara says quietly. "Please let me know if there are any ingredients you need."
Hinata nods half-heartedly and opens the door to the fridge. She bites her bottom lip and scans the inventory. It looks like Gaara keeps his kitchen stocked with fresh food, and she's kind of impressed, considering that most male shinobi she knows are hopeless in the kitchen.
"Do you have any curry powder?" She asks without taking her focus from the contents of the fridge. "I could make curry rice."
"I'll check." The closeness of Gaara's voice indicates that he's in the kitchen with her. A cabinet opens. "Yes, we do. Would you like me to put the rice on?"
She begins pulling out the ingridents - peppers, chicken, potatoes, carrots - and places them on the counter. "Yes, please."
While Hinata begins chopping vegtables, Gaara puts on the rice and afterwards the water for the curry.
She almost laughs. If someone told her she'd be cooking with the Kazekage a month ago, she would've thought they were crazy. Now, she finds she's kind of enjoying herself. Gaara has a warm, comforting presence and being around him is sort of nice.
About a half hour later she sets the table while Gaara finishes preparing the food, and five minutes later they sit across from one another at the table.
The curry tastes better than usual to Hinata. Maybe the Suna peppers are fresher or maybe this brand of curry is of higher quality than what she usually uses, but she likes to think that it's better because she cooked with someone else.
Hinata swallows down a mouthful of food and then stares down at her plate. "I enjoyed cooking with you this evening." She says finally before pushing some of her rice around on her plate.
Gaara doesn't say anything for a moment and she thinks maybe she's said the wrong thing. Maybe she's getting too personal too fast?
"I also enjoyed cooking." Hinata snaps her head up, suprised. Gaara has his eyes cast away from her. He looks a little nervous, but it's probably just her mind playing tricks. "I don't do it very often." He continues. "Perhaps...perhaps we could do it again another night."
Hinata can feel her face turning red. "That would be nice." She ducks her head again and quickly fills her mouth with another fork-full of curry as an excuse to stay silent.
Luckily, Gaara fills the silence himself. "Since we did not have the chance to go to the bakery, we could have ice cream instead. Temari usually keeps several pints in the freezer."
Ooohhh, that sounds nice. She could use some sugar after the long day she's had.
"That sounds perfect." She allows herself to give him a small smile, one he returns.
"Would you..." Ok, maybe he really is nervous. The Kazekage pulls at his collar and stares down into his curry. "Would you like to watch a movie, to take your mind off of the scroll?"
Oh. Hinata struggles to keep herself form blushing. She's a grown woman for Kami's sake, but there is something about the way that Gaara looks up at her that makes her heart feel a little funny.
"Ah, what movie did you have in mind?" She brings herself to reply, and she ends up blushing though she is unsure why.
Gaara lets out a breath, as if he had been holding it in. "Kankuro has an extensive collection. I know he recently bought a few horror movies last week...would you be interested in that?"
"S-sure." Hinata nearly smacks herself. What in the name of the Hokage is going on with her? Blushing and stuttering?
"I'll clear the table." She stands up quickly and begins to gather her dishes.
Gaara nods. "I will get out the ice cream and set up the movie."
Luckily for Hinata, the next ten minutes pass in silence as Gaara moves from the kitchen to the living room as she tidies up the dishes. It allows her to take a moment to clear her head.
Clearly, the Kazekage is stirring up feelings in her that she thought she had buried along with her love for Naruto. She's only known him for a short time, after all. And just because he has been so kind to her does not mean he is flirting. But perhaps...perhaps a small crush is not such a bad thing.
Taking a deep breath, she returns to the dishes.
Gaara is rather proud of himself.
Even if it isn't a real date, he's pulled off something that almost resembles one. Cooking dinner was nice and everything, but the movie idea was a stroke of genius if he does say so himself. Perhaps, if it goes well, he can ask her on an actual date.
Hinata gives him one of her gentle smiles when he hands her a bowl of vanilla ice cream before they settle on the living room couch. "Thank you, Gaara. You've been so kind to me today."
He has to wonder if he's blushing. The sensation of blood rushing to his cheeks is not a familiar one. "It is not a problem, Hinata. You have been through a long day."
The movie begins to play and for the next hour, they sit in companiable silence.
The movie is about half way over when Hinata leans against him, and at first, Gaara's heart beats so quickly he thinks it may quit on him. And then he realizes that the blunette resting her head on his shoulder is asleep.
Gaara can't help but smile. He's not suprised that she passed out on him; she's had an incredibly long day, as he told her before, and she could use the rest.
When the movie ends an hour later, Hinata is still sound asleep, cuddled against him. Although he is no longer feared as he was in the past, most people still avoid physical contact with him, so it feels unusually nice.
It's getting late, and he considers waking her up. But then he catches sight of her peaceful expression and that idea flies out the window.
He stands up cautiously and is careful not to wake her when he picks up the sleeping woman. She feels incredibly light and he marvels at how well she fits into his arms.
Her bedroom door is cracked open already, so he pushes it all the way open with his foot. She makes a small noise when he lays her down on her bed and he freezes, praying that he hasn't woken her.
Hinata turns over on her side and he lets out a sigh of relief. She does look a little cold, however, so he places a blanket over her and quickly lets himself out of her room.
When he closes the door behind him, he lets out a deep breath. Damn it. He's never really had feelings for a girl before. How the hell is he supposed to do this?
He runs a hand through his hair and sighs heavily. Forget it. He's going to bed.
Fin.
Please review! Don't forget about the contest. :)
- dreameratheart