3
The Color Green, part 2
"YOSH! We should go on a date!"
The words kept spinning around in Gaara's head- almost silencing the (literal) inner demon. He couldn't comprehend the other ninja's exuberance over the whole affair. After all, the last time he had invited an acceptable female for an evening excursion the female in question had simply fallen unconscious. Gaara still didn't particularly understand why, and Kankuro was being stubborn about explaining.
His eyes narrowed in frustration, and several citizens of Konoha stepped out of his way in alarm. He didn't give any of them more than a passing glance. They didn't matter… they had never mattered; and in fact finding that someone did was a shock.
Rock Lee was significant. His thoughts on Gaara were important. It was unnerving, disquieting and impractical. He didn't like it; but the fluttering in his chest and his rapid breathing pattern spoke otherwise. Of course he knew what feelings and emotions were, it was just that he'd never really experienced most of them- until today.
Today, listening to Lee speak, Gaara had felt nervous, he had experienced alarm, but most of all- he had felt shy. Gaara was NEVER shy, about anything!
Except, apparently, his eye color.
He shook his head, tossing his red locks about crazily. No, that wasn't it. Couldn't be it. He paused, head tilted and eyes focused on a spot on the ground. Could it?
Unbidden, Lee's words slipped into his mind's eye: "Because I find you attractive."
He smirked in triumph. Ha! Now it made sense: Gaara had experienced shyness because Rock Lee thought he was attractive. He found he didn't enjoy the emotion, but it was not debilitating ((Sorry Hinata!)) so he magnanimously decided to let the spandex-wearing ninja go unpunished for the transgression. At least now he knew what it was, and could counter its effects if it ever affected his person again. He closed his eyes and nodded serenely, his difficulty deciphered.
Continuing on his way he realized he wasn't quite sure what to actually do on a date with another male. This confused him. He didn't like being confused. He began glaring at the sidewalk again. The empty space around him, which had always been large regardless of if he was in a populated area or not, grew larger. Apparently his alternate glaring and smirking were making others wary of him. This struck him as humorous. He held in his grin- that expression generally precipitated routs. He surmised his laughter would cause a similar happening so he held that in as well.
But the problem of his ignorance continued to bother him. He thought on who would be able to yield the information he needed. Hmmm, I could ask Kankuro- but he sometimes withholds information when he is nervous about the subject. I wonder if this is one of them? It is so hard to tell with him sometimes. I wish he'd simply give me a list like I've asked.
Temari maybe? She did state that I should talk to her if I ever needed to. And she is female- maybe she has been on one of these "date" things. Ugh, this is frustrating.
Blinking at the door to his and his siblings' quarters he ripped himself from his musings and stepped inside. Thankfully Temari was sitting at the small table and chair set the room provided. She looked up as he entered, blond ponytails jerking with her movement.
Closing the door firmly behind him he marched over to her, swiftly sat then stared fiercely into her eyes.
"Is the color of my eyes the 'green of spring'?" That question had been nagging at him from the back of his head ever since the green-clad ninja had uttered it.
She blinked, leaned back in surprise then set the scroll she had been reading down gently. Shaking her head and huffing, she leaned forward, reached for Gaara's face and held him still by his chin. She peered into his eyes for several moments, turning his face once to see how the light caught in his eyes.
"Yes." She raised an eyebrow and let him go. "Do I want to know why you would ask such a thing? It sounds like something the 'Green Beast' would say, and that scares me." She leaned back, folding her arms and held his gaze evenly, tilting her head as she did so.
"Lee said it. He also requested my presence for an evening excursion. I told him I would meet him at 7."
His sister stopped breathing for a moment, and her eyes went wide. "He what? Gaara, that sounds like he asked you out for a date!"
He frowned. Usually she was much quicker than this. "I just said that."
Her left eye twitched. "And… you're going to meet him at 7?" Now her fingers were twitching slightly. It was very distracting.
"Yes. Why are you twitching? I do not sense any dangerous chakra nearby. Are you injured?"
She winced and took a deep breath, hunching over her arms a moment. Straightening she looked him calmly in the eye. "No, I am not injured, simply surprised. He asked you?"
He peered at her, looking closely for any injuries. "Yes. He asked me after I cornered him and interrogated him as to why he has been smiling at me and insisting on my attention. I said yes because I have never been on a 'date,' as it's called. Are you certain you are not injured?" Standing he circled the table and checked her pulse. She was rather pale.
She batted his hand away and gave him a weak smile. "I'm fine, really. So, I assume you want to know what is expected of you for your date, eh?"
He nodded, and satisfied with her physical health sat down again.
She took another deep breath, then launched into an involved explanation of what was expected on a date. It was helpfully instructive.