Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Konoha Nights ❯ The Roommate ( Chapter 12 )

Konoha Nights

GaaxSaku

The Roommate

 

Disclaimer: I own nada….

 

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It wasn't until much later in the evening that they were finally able to leave the apartment. After checking Gaara out of the Nara Inn, and a few knowing looks from Nara-san, they were making their way to a familiar dango stand close to home.

 

It took a great deal of pleading on Sakura's part, since Gaara was in a hurry to get back and stay there, but as much she prized her isolation from society, even she liked going out once in a while. They sat on opposite ends of the booth drinking the warm sake, waiting patiently for their food. Sakura studied the black bag at Gaara's feet wondering how it was possible to travel so light despite it being a three-day trip to Konoha.

 

“Find something interesting?”

 

His cool voice brought her attention back to her sake and she took it straight from the bottle. “I was just wondering how you were planning on surviving here with just what you brought,” she told him truthfully taking another sip of her drink.

 

“I wasn't planning on staying here for more than a couple of days.”

 

“Ah,” Of course, he'd only been here for an assassination -her assassination- and that shouldn't have taken more than one night. Yet, here he was sitting across from her indulging her in small talk and pleasantries. The waitress came soon enough with two plates of dango for her and a bowl of miso soup for him.

 

It wasn't hard to spot a fan girl in her, with the shaky hands and googly eyes every time she had to speak to Gaara. But perhaps the most interesting thing of all was Gaara's ignorance to the stares and nervous chatter of the poor girl. She made her way back to the kitchen with only stumbling a few times, which she could have avoided if she stopped looking at the striking bujii vessel across from Sakura.

 

Noticing that he was missing his chopsticks he frowned and looked in the direction of the girl. Putting down the now empty stick of dango Sakura rather enjoyed watching the many annoyed expressions of Gaara. “Cut her some slack she's having difficulty functioning around you so she was bound to forget something.”

 

“I haven't said anything to her,” he defended never taking his eyes off the door, as if that would magically produce the chopsticks.

 

“I don't think you have to dear,” she retorted stressing the new nickname she bestowed him, “She's simply put off by your hotness.”

 

He looked back towards her glaring, before smirking slightly; she snorted and rolled her eyes. Apparently, every man, even the homicidal silent ones, liked their egos stroked occasionally. When the nervous girl finally came back out, she immediately locked eyes with Gaara and blushed furiously rooted to the spot. Sakura made the signal for the missing utensils and her blush only intensified.

 

She retrieved some chopsticks and practically ran to the table handing them to her obvious crush. Oh yes, it was definitely a good think she wasn't the jealous type, Sakura thought to herself before taking another shot, otherwise she might actually have to do something about the chestnut haired waitress who had just given her a dirty look for not drinking from the dish.

 

Gaara waved her away and she did so without hesitation, “She doesn't seem to care for you.”

 

Sakura allowed herself a laugh, “No shit.”

 

The atmosphere for the rest of dinner was rather pleasant, falling into the occasional comfortable silence and when the bill came, she insisted she pay. “Gaara if you go up there to pay I worry you might give the girl a heart attack,” she rationalized.

 

“I don't-

 

“Just go outside and wait for me okay?” she asked pleadingly, “And the next one will be on you.”

 

Not too pleased, but still complying, he grabbed his shuffle and made his way out. Grinning inwardly, she made her way to the checkout to pay, and as expected, the girl was too busy looking outside to notice her. She cleared her throat and the teenager jumped and turned to face her. It was quite enjoying seeing how quickly she could go from polite to disgust. Taking the bill and the cash, she didn't offer a word before giving her back her change.

 

Putting the change in her back pocket, Sakura rested her elbows on the counter, “Just a word of friendly advice,” the girl who was already walking away turned only halfway around with much effort. “It would be in your best interest to be respectful to all of your costumers and not only the ones you crush on; otherwise, you just never know who you'll get on your bad side.”

 

Her hazel eyes narrowed at the woman dressed in oversized dark clothes, “I didn't exactly see a ring, and besides what kind of lady are you anyway?” she sneered.

 

Smiling fakely Sakura balled her fists tighter, “Calm down, it was only a bit of friendly advice,” she stepped away from the counter, “I may not care if you stare at my lover, but the next girl might. It would be such a tragedy for you to make an enemy over something so trivial as a man, so how about next time you try to keep your eyes to yourself, okay?”

 

The girl opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally closing it. Looking over Sakura's shoulder her eyes widened and bowed respectfully, “I'm terribly sorry, it will not happen again.”

 

“I'm glad,” she responded before turning to see Gaara leaning in the doorway. He said nothing and she didn't offer any information, but she didn't resist the smile as they walked back to her apartment.

 

She had a nervous flutter as they turned her block, up until now she hadn't really thought about having a roommate. She used that term loosely considering he would be doing more than just living there. Sharing her living space hadn't been an issue since living with Shizune, and even then she'd been too young to remember if she liked it or not. The occasional drop by from Naruto didn't count considering he was usually there for medical attention and was out as soon as he could to go check on Hinata. She couldn't really compare that to Gaara anyway since they were more like polar opposites, but hopefully this `vacation' would turn out okay.

 

Gaara's voice halted her ponderings, “I didn't think you were the type to enjoy frightening the locals.”

 

Shrugging she began the accent up the rickety stairs, “Hey I have to get some kind of entertainment around here,” she defended and opened the unlocked door to her apartment, “Well; I guess welcome to your new home for the next week and a half,” she said cheerfully.

 

He stood at the door for a while before walking through the doorway slowly, probably checking for traps like any shinobi would. Meanwhile Sakura let the breath she'd been holding out and followed him in, relieved he didn't read too much into her comment.

 

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It had only been a week since Gaara had moved in and already Sakura could see herself changing in ways she didn't exactly like. While it was great to have someone around to speak to whenever she chose, and vice versa, it was a bit offsetting to have someone around all the time. Sakura had always told herself that she was a creature of change and new situations, but this one took the cake.

 

There were other positives to this new living arrangement, one being the great sex all the time, she'd never admit it aloud but she hadn't enjoyed it this much since Sasuke and that had been years ago. Quite frankly it was down right addicting, screw drugs and alcohol, they had nothing on the man with the shadowed eyes and kanji on his temple.

 

And speaking of drugs and cigarettes, she hadn't touched them since he moved in. He never asked her not to do it, and she wasn't particularly sure why she felt the need to not annoy him. It was her apartment after all but pissing off a jinchuuriki who wasn't all that bad once you got to know him, wasn't exactly a wise idea in her opinion.

 

Gaara didn't seem to possess many annoying habits she soon found out. The only one was that he was entirely too quiet and often snuck up on her when she least expected it.

 

As the days went by he seemed to become less `if you touch me I'll kill you' and more `if you touch me I'll touch you back' which worked out okay. If Sakra had to guess, she'd say it had something to do with the amount of sleep he was getting in. Considering that beforehand sleep meant meditation, after a couple of days or real sleep his chakra reserves were higher than ever. But thankfully the shadows around his eyes remained intact, she would never tell him was that his eyes were damn sexy.

 

Sakura snuggled deeper into the covers trying to hide from the little bit of sunlight entering her window. The other occupant of the bed moved slightly slipping his arm under her shirt to wrap it tighter around her warm waist. Curtains; she decided, were a very good thing indeed. She always had them, along with other miscellaneous furnishings, but she just stashed them in the closet after house keeping became a chore. Simple was always better she always said, so after a few months of living in comfort, she boxed everything up and kept the minimal needed to be at peace.

 

After Gaara moved in, she found herself pulling more and more things out of what Gaara called the void, aka her closet. The first had been her curtains and that was simply because if she didn't, the pervert who had peeked in on them would have been crushed by a tidal wave of sand. She pitied the fool who had even tried such a stupid act and hoped Gaara never ran into him in a dark alley. And so, the indigo curtains were put up and she couldn't remember why she parted with them in the first place, they were simply great for keeping out the sunlight and buying her a few more hours of sleep.

 

But perhaps the most rewarding new piece of information she had gained from moving in with Gaara was that he had a sweet tooth that could rival Naruto's. So when push came to shove, figuratively speaking, all she had to do was whip out some cookies and he was as good as putty in her hands. Well, not really that compliant, but it sure helped her odds at winning a debate.

 

They hadn't left the apartment much only twice for groceries. Of course that didn't mean that they had been alone the whole time; Naruto had stopped by with Hinata once so that she could have a follow-up on her pregnancy. Hinata was more than capable of performing this task on her own, but Naruto being as overprotective as he could be, naggingly insisted that `Dr. Sakura-chan' take a look just be sure.

 

Imagine his surprise when he walks in to Gaara shirtless in baggy pants and nothing else. What Sakura had thought would turn into one of the loudest shouting matches in Konoha history, actually became Naruto standing there grinning like an idiot while Hinata turned all kinds of shades of red. Needless to say, after getting a clean bill of health, Hinata dragged her dutiful husband out of the apartment and hadn't returned since.

 

She felt, rather than heard someone outside the window, and judging by Gaara's tighter hold on her waist, he felt it too. He hadn't been asleep of course, part of the deal was that while he got to sleep at night, he would in turn lay in bed next to her while she slept most of the afternoon away.

 

Had she been alone she would have already attacked, but the sound of sand slithering towards the window comforted her. A very familiar and obnoxious voice spoke making her sit up too quickly and dizzy.

 

“Whoa, damn little brother you sure don't waste any time do you?”

 

Kankuro and Temari stood at the foot of the bed, Temari with her mouth gaping wide in disbelief and Kankuro stopped his teasing and instead began stepping on the sand that was slowly wrapping itself around his legs. “Hey I was just joking Gaara give me a break!”

 

Temari, finally aware of the threat to her brother's life took notice of the sand and knocked him upside his head. “Apologize to your brother you jackass.”

 

Kankuro, reluctantly pleaded, “Oh come on, release your sand Gaara, we have an important message from Suna.”

 

At this Gaara sat up and glared at his siblings, “Leave.”

 

“But Gaara,” Temari protested, “this is really important! We have the last will and testament of the Kazekage.”

 

“I don't care.”

 

Temari sighed deeply into her hand while Kankuro shot her a look that said `told you so'.

 

“Um...,” all eyes turned to the last occupant of the room as if she had magically appeared, “Yeah um Gaara, maybe you should listen to what they have to say and then maybe they can try coming in the door when they visit us later on tonight.”

 

Rubbing the back of his brunette head much in the same fashion as Naruto, Kankuro sheepishly added, “Yeah sorry about that Sakura-san, we were just in such a hurry we-

 

“It's alright Kankuro, perhaps you should talk to Gaara now that he's a bit less homicidal,” she joked pulling the top comforter around herself and began making her way off the bed.

 

“Stay.”

 

It wasn't a request but a demand and Sakura was still too sleepy to argue with Gaara so she just slipped back under the covers.

 

“But-

 

“Shut up and get to the point Kankuro, or I'm going to have to make you leave.” It was surprising to hear Gaara be his old threatening self. He hadn't taken this tone in….well…. a week. Thankfully, the brains of the duo spoke up, “Alright Gaara, as you wish.” It was a tad bit difficult to see over the thick white comforter, but Sakura could vaguely see Temari pulling something out of her sash resembling a scroll.

 

Taking uneasy steps closer to the blonde-haired woman handed it to Gaara, and although Sakura wasn't high enough to be able to read the contents, not that she wanted to, she could see the Kazekage seal already broken.

 

Tediously he unraveled it and began to read. Meanwhile she only listened to the steady breathing and soon found herself close to sleep. She fought the urge to pull him back down in the bed for a nap; she highly doubted that he was okay with public displays of affection in front of his siblings.

 

“I refuse.”

 

Gaara's cold hard tone was back and it chased away her sleep. If he was in a bad mood she would have to be awake either to clean up the corpses or to stop him from turning them into corpses. Forcing herself to sit back up she lowered the comforter and sheets to her waist, grateful she had opted to sleep in Gaara's tank top instead of no top at all, a detail that didn't go unnoticed by the impinging visitors.

 

“What do you mean Gaara, you can't refuse the last will of the Kazekage,” Temari remarked clutching her metal fan in front of her.

 

“I can and I will,” Gaara argued, rolling the scroll back up and tossing it to Kankuro, who juggled it before finally gripping it.

 

“Gaara, please reconsider this is a high honor and the council desperately needs you to return,” she tried again her knuckles turning white.

 

“I do not know why that bastard would choose me of all people to do this, and because I am still unsure, I will decline this honor. You already know what the council thinks of me so I am sure they can find a replacement.”

 

“You know as well as I that they council cannot make such a decision without having you there to public decline this. And besides you know that the next Kazekage has to be of noble and royal birth.”

 

Sakura couldn't help but let out a `whoa' herself and all eyes once again fell on the bed head pink haired medic. Method of escape…… feign sleep, she told herself and closed her eyes ignoring the glare from her bedmate. Gaara was the Kage's son? Well this definitely had possibilities. Making the treaty with Jiraiya was going to be a piece of cake if they had the Kazekage right there with them.

 

After a deadly silence Gaara icy voice was heard, “In that case why don't you do it?”

 

This of course sent the kunoichi into a fit of `uh and because' getting her nowhere fast. Kankuro chose to answer for her, “Because she's got a boy toy here in Konoha and can't be tied down to Suna or otherwise she can't- OW!”

 

“Kankuro if you value your life you're going to shut up right now!” Anger was apparently the quickest way of getting Temari back to proper speaking. “You know as well as I do that there is nothing going on between me and Shikamaru.”

 

Wha?

 

Peeking with one eye Sakura could visibly see the pink spreading from her cheeks to her neck, she stifled a giggle, Gaara looked down at her, and she closed her eye quickly. Who would have ever thought Shika would take an interest in someone other than Ino? True Ino always was Chouji's girl but Shika could never hide the sparkle in his eye when he was around her.

 

“Oh give it a rest already Temari,” Kankuro whined, “Your denial only makes it more true.”

 

“Why don't you take the position,” Gaara called from the bed and Sakura could easily picture Kankuro paling at the notion.

 

A familiar `uh and ums' came from him before Temari jumped at the chance for revenge, “He won't do it because he cares too much about women and sake. There's no way in hell that the council will approve of a drunk horn ball. And we both know he's not exactly the most responsible guy in Suna.”

 

Sakura expected to hear him defend himself much like Temari had but nothing. Fearing that Gaara had somehow strangled him she peeked again just to be sure and found Kankuro nodding his head with a sheepish smile on his face. Pig.

 

Sighing she closed her eye again and snuggled closer to Gaara, or what was still on the bed. These three were definitely fun, she only wished she could enjoy it more and not be exhausted from last night's activities. Was this what having a sibling was like?

 

“This conversation is over, tell Suna that I decline their offer, I will not be another figurehead for them to control.”

 

“Well see Gaara, we would love to leave but we had direct orders from the counsel to not leave Konoha without you,” Kankuro reasoned.

 

Sakura unconsciously clutched Gaara's hand which was back under the covers, would he leave her? Would he not stay and help Naruto? The weird feeling in her gut was back with a vengeance and she found herself not breathing, scared of what was going to be Gaara's response.

 

His silence was killing her and apparently Temari also because she could hear the fan being rubbed deeper into her carpet.

 

“I have something to attend to at the moment and will not be finished with it for a couple of weeks,” she felt him squeeze her hand back and she flushed under the covers. Yeah she had been freaking out but she didn't want to seem like the needy `please don't leave me' type. Great now she was weak in front of him, shit.

 

“If you two cannot leave without me, then I advise you to get situated here in Konoha until I have completed my task. If what both of you said of each other is true, then I am sure there will not be an objection to what I have proposed,” Gaara finished coolly, and Sakura had to admit, this man could definitely become a kage.

 

“Hell yeah,” Kankuro responded first, “I'm going to go see Meadow and see about scheduling her off for the next few weeks since Gaara here is busy.”

 

“Meadow?” Sakura hadn't realized she said it outloud until he responded.

 

“Yeah, Amaryllis was real great but she kind of got scary with the whole shuriken and kunai business. Meadow seems more my type.”

 

Temari light laughter gave Sakura the courage to peek out from under the covers, “What he means to say is that Amaryllis-

 

“Temari gods help me if you finish that sentence you will regret it,” her brother said through clenched teeth.

 

The fan wielding kunoichi only laughed more waving her hand in dismissal, “Yeah whatever, just remember this little favor the next time I need something.”

 

“I'm sure you'll remind me.”

 

“Alright then Gaara, Kankuro and I will entertain ourselves for the next few weeks and I will send a message to Suna saying we will be back as soon as we are able. In the mean time though, if you need to contact one of us just use the summons.”

 

Gaara nodded and the two made their way to the window, “We are terribly sorry for barging in here like this Sakura-san, I promise I'll make my pigheaded brother use the door next time.”

 

“Hey!” Kankuro protested the insult.

 

“It's quite alright Temari, I didn't exactly mind the entrance, just the time, I'm a bit of a night owl,” Sakura replied hoping that she'd be able to get a nap in before lunchtime. “Feel free to come by whenever you like.”

 

“Don't.”

 

All three looked to Gaara and he glared at his siblings, “Don't take her politeness seriously, I don't expect to see you two until I have finished things up here.”

 

Kankuro let out a mock cheer, “Alright Gaara! Getting laid and being all possessive, don't worry we won't-

 

His sentence was cut off since Gaara's sand had wrapped around his ankle and thrown him out the window, Temari's fan caught him just in time. “Don't worry Gaara, I'll keep him away from here, it was nice seeing you again Sakura-san.”

 

“Likewise.”

 

With one leg out the window she turned back towards her little brother, “And Gaara, I just want you to know that-

 

“Save it.”

 

She smiled not bothered at all by the rudeness of his comment, probably because she expected it, and jumped out the window.

 

“Well, that was interesting.”

 

“Hm..”

 

“Can I go back to bed now?”

 

“Hmm.”

 

“Oh thank the gods,” Sakura said before pulling the covers back over herself and Gaara. Standing at dreamlands door she was rudely pulled back by her watcher, “You're not going to nag me about what Suna asked of me?”

 

Wondering if she could get away with already being asleep she fought the notion and mumbled something along the lines of, “Nah, unless you want me to.”

 

Which was true, she couldn't convince him to accept the position, that was his own choice to make and if he didn't want to do it then so be it. Screw Suna. Besides she wasn't in a good enough mood to try and be convincing of anything.

 

He said nothing and she was glad to be able to sleep, she never heard his last remark.

 

“I'm glad you're not like that.”

 

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Last sentence, another meaning? Hmmm.. maybe, maybe not.

 

Ku ku ku : ) Another one down and a bit longer too! I already know what the next chapter shall contain so it should be out soon. I'll go ahead and tell you, it's shorter and a horrible cliff hanger @__@ Just a warning loveshinobi4eva!

 

XxShadow-Or-LiesxX- Maybe!

DarkAngel Rose XS- Thanks! Maybe you'll like this one too : )