Twirlygigs and Gizzards: The Unlikely Contiunation of an Unlikely Romance

Chapter 5: Meh

A short interlude that has little to do with the plot. At least, I don't think it has anything to do with the plot. I'm not entirely sure what the plot is yet. (Think of it as my making up for the lack of SakuGaar in the last chapter.)

"I'm sorry, Gaara, I really thought you were faking," Kankuro apologized, handing his brother another box of tissues.

"Meh," whimpered Gaara weakly, lifting a Kleenex to his nose just in time to sneeze violently.

"Well, this settles it," Temari decided, returning from the bathroom with a hot water bottle. "We have to move into this house ASAP. Nobody ever recovered from an illness while staying in a Best Eastern Budget Inn with his older siblings." She sat down on the bed and touched her sick brother's hand very gingerly. Sick Gaara could be dangerous; he got delusional very easily, and that sand of his could be paranoid when he was weakened. "Gaar-gaar, we're going to the Closing Ceremony. You stay here and get some rest, ok? We'll be back in no time."

"Meh," Gaara groaned. It might have been an "Ok, see ya soon." It might have been a "No! Don't leave me alone!" It might have been a "knick knack paddy whack, give a dog a bone." What Gaara was trying to say didn't matter, because he didn't have the strength to do much more than "Meh" weakly.

"Should we be leaving him here alone like this?" Kankuro asked his sister. Kankuro had a habit of subconsciously referring to Gaara as though he wasn't in the room. "I don't mind staying behind and watching him."

"Ahahahahahahahahaha," Temari laughed, the bitter laughter of the cynical and disillusioned. "I know what happens when I leave you two alone together."

"Meh," Gaara muttered.

"It's not like the damage was irreparable last time," Kankuro unwittingly translated.

"Define irre-," Exercising great self-control, Temari stopped the argument before they could start it up again. "It doesn't matter. You're coming with me. He'll be fine on his own. Hurry up, we'll be late." She grabbed her purse, and a knock came at the door.

"Hi... is Gaara-kun there?" the unexpected guest asked timidly when the door was opened for her.

"He sure is," Temari laughed, moving aside to let her in. "You must be Sakura."

She nodded as she entered the room, ignoring the siblings' curious and amused stares. "You were late, so I looked you up in the hotel registry," she explained flatly to Gaara. It took a little effort on Sakura's part to keep her face still, so cute was the image of Gaara and his gourd tucked into the bed next to each other.

"He didn't stand you up, Sakura-san," Kankuro (who, all told, is not a bad guy) explained, "He's sick."

"And we need to go," Temari said with an anxious glance at the hotel alarm clock. "Nice meeting you," she added, smiling brightly at Sakura as she dragged her brother out the door by the ear on his hood.

"Should we be leaving them alone together?" Kankuro asked as he was pulled down the hall.

"The brat can't even manage to say anything besides "meh" he's so sick. I'm sure they wouldn't be able to do anything, even if they weren't twelve-year-olds, and way too young to think that way,"

"That's not what I meant. Is she gonna be safe?"

"All he can do is Meh!" Temari sighed exasperatedly. "He's not exactly at his most dangerous right now."

"Actually, he could very well be..."

"Oh fricking well. If she dies, she dies. We're running late!"

Sakura suddenly found herself alone with Gaara. Fortunately, this wasn't something that bothered her much. With a affectionate smile, she stroked the sick boy's hair. "Poor thing. You have a cold?"

Gaara nodded. He got colds fairly frequently, and they were always bad like this, but they didn't get easier the more he got them. As Temari put it, you could be like Naruto and never be sick a day in your life, or you could have a Magical Protective Sand Shield, but it really wasn't fair to ask for both. "Meh," he added, by way of letting Sakura know he was glad she stopped by.

She leaned over to kiss him, but a small sand barrier imposed itself between them. She pulled away, looking puzzled and a little hurt.

"You'll... get sick," Gaara managed to croak. Sakura laughed a little and pulled a chair next to the bed.

"Don't worry about me," she told him, lifting his hand to her lips. "I'll be fine. You're the one who can only meh."

"Meh,"sighed Gaara.

"We're back!" Temari called as she fished around for her keys, more as a precaution than anything else. As mentioned before, sick Gaara was very paranoid, and somebody bursting into his hotel room unannounced was liable to be strangled before they got in the door.

"I don't want to see what's left of her," Kankuro winced, closing his eyes as his sister opened the door. "Wait," he sniffed the air as they walked in. "I smell tea... and Dimetapp."

"Well, better than blood," Temari giggled under her breath.

"Hush," Sakura murmured as Kankuro decided he might as well open his eyes. "You'll wake him."

Temari and Kankuro looked over at Sakura, sitting next to the bed and stroking Gaara's hair, then at each other. They started to roll their eyes, then began looking puzzled, then worried, then they simultaneously looked back at Gaara, who was lying on the bed with his eyes closed. Then they looked back at each other. Finally, Temari shook her head as if searching for some reassurance. Kankuro shook his head reassuringly. Temari nodded back. Kankuro nodded in return.

"I doubt he's asleep," Kankuro laughed. Sakura, who hadn't noticed the silent exchange between the two older siblings, looked over at him quizzically.

"Of course he is. He was out like a light after Casablanca," she explained, pointing across the tissue, Styrofoam teacup, and Dimetapp bottle-covered bed to the TV.

Temari rolled her eyes.

"Gaara doesn't," Kankuro started to say, but stopped. Sakura was staring at him, but he was looking past her. Gaara had opened his eyes and was watching his brother with the most beseeching, unhappy, pitiful look imaginable. When he saw that he had been noticed, he shook his head feebly and mouthed the word, "no."

Kankuro watched him for a second, then focused back on Sakura, "He doesn't like to sleep during movies."

"Aw, well, he's sick, I guess it can be excused," Sakura grinned, turning back to Gaara, to find him awake. "Well, good morning."

"Meh," Gaara greeted fondly. Sakura beamed at him.

"I should go," she sighed after a moment, "My parents will get worried. And now that there's someone here to take care of you, I don't have much of an excuse."

"We didn't mean to trap you here," Temari apologized. "You could have left."

Sakura shook her head. "It's fine. I didn't have anything planned for today, anyway."

"Meh," Gaara added.

Sakura lifted his hand and pressed it against her cheek. "Get well soon, ok?" she whispered.

Once she left, Kankuro grinned. "How long have you been sitting there quote-unquote 'asleep'?"

Gaara shrugged. "Meh."

"Didn't you get bored?" Temari asked.

The questions were going beyond those that could be answered with "mehs", so Gaara worked up his strength and coughed enough to clear his throat. "She was getting worried that she was keeping me awake. She was going to leave." When his siblings exchanged amused glances, he added quietly, "Kankuro? Thanks for covering for me. I don't want her to know about... everything. Not yet."

Kankuro couldn't remember Gaara ever thanking him for anything, ever. Not so much as for passing the salt at dinner. Still grinning, he patted the cold-victim's cheek. A few grains of sand pushed against his fingers, waiting, guardedly, in case he should for some reason decide that Gaara needed a good beating. He wondered if Sakura had noticed them, and what she had thought of it, if she had. "It's no problem, bro. No problem at all."