Chapter 3: A little Push

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The sun had almost begun to set by the time all of the paperwork had been completed. Gaara had ushered Takeo to the roof, the silver haired teen grabbing a couple of snacks from the Kazekage's designated snack draw along the way.

They'd both gotten comfortable sitting along the edge of the roof, legs dangling off of the building and the gourd and ninja pouches laying forgotten near the stairs.

The image of the fading sun and warm breeze left the shinobi at ease, despite the jounins stationed around the surrounding buildings, close enough to protect the Kazekage but further enough away so they could have some privacy.

"Do you have any -"

"- Here," Takeo handed a container of broiled gizzard, that he had picked up earlier, over to the red head. The silver haired teen munched on a taiyaki, humming as he bit into the delicious pastry with creamy red bean paste filling.

"How'd you know?"

Takeo shook his head while the Kazekage took his first bite of broiled gizzard, before answering. "Broiled gizzard is one of your favourite foods. I'd be surprised if you wanted anything else besides that and salted tongue. You're not exactly the biggest fan of sweets."

A small smile formed on Gaara's face as the sky slowly darkened. Even when they had first met, Takeo had a way of making Gaara feel content in his presence. That was until he broke into the Kazekage's office to steal the village's secrets.

Takeo had tried to explain the Gaara that he actually enjoyed being his friend, despite it starting out as Takeo being told to make friends with one of the Kazekage's children, and that he truly wished he could spend more time in Suna with Gaara.

Who would have thought that all these years later, they'd be close friends again?

It wasn't until the sun had completely disappeared from sight that they spoke next, heading towards the doors. "I really appreciate you staying to help me with the paper work today." Gaara picked up his gourd and avoided making eye contact with his friend.

Takeo froze after attaching his ninja pouch to his hip, wondering why Gaara seemed hesitant to continue the conversation. Takeo's mind could only come up with one reason as to why the red head was being evasive and he didn't like it one bit.

"Oh? Why does it feel like you're getting rid of me?" The silver haired boy shoved his hands into his pockets as his aqua eyes scanned the tops of the surrounding buildings, doing a headcount of the jounin's present. "What did I do wrong, Gaara? I know we haven't talked about it but -"

"- this isn't about that, Takeo," Gaara frowned as he leaned against the building, gourd in hand. "I wouldn't get rid of you because of that, trust me."

The two boys stood opposite each other for a couple of moments studying the other's expression. It sickened Gaara to think Takeo believed he would flip on him so suddenly, without reason. After all they'd been through over the past few years, for Takeo to think Gaara would just throw it away was heartbreaking.

The silver haired shinobi felt incredibly guilty for suggesting as much but he'd never been in that situation before and was nervous for its repercussions. They had been distant recently, yet today had gone almost too perfectly for Takeo's liking, which put doubt in his head.

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