TW: Swearing; Second Person; Possessiveness
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A woman's face suddenly popped out from on top of the cliff, bits of sand falling off her face. "HOLY CRAP!" You jumped back at the sudden presence. Unfortunately, this meant that your chakra control was ruined. You blinked, only having a moment to realize what happened.
You put your arms around yourself and closed your eyes, bracing for your fall. However, when you realized you weren't falling, you looked up. There, was the woman who had been at the top. Her arm was wrapped around one of your legs. Sand stretched out from her hand to wrap around your torso, pulling you towards her. 'Sand manipulation...'
Your brows furrowed after you reached safety. The woman shrunk, falling into nothing but a pile of sand. It was then you realized someone else was there, someone who's attention you just got.
The boy turned around, his lightly colored eyes boring into you. "Who are you?"
"I'm (Y/N)," you offered a small wave and toothy grin. "Who might you be?"
The boy looked down to the sand circling around him, not answering you. "...Why did mother want to see you?"
You blinked, not sure what to say. The boy stared at you, analyzing you. You watched as the woman appeared again behind him, giving you a small smile. As much you wanted to tell the boy to look behind him, you didn't. What you saw as a woman, was probably a blob of sand to anyone else.
'Why did she want to see me I wonder... How'd she even know about me... I got some questions now, man... it was suppose to be my day off... She doesn't seem talkative either... Maybe I'm getting mixed up with someone else...' "Sorry, I'm not sure I even know your mother."
"Why is he quite around you?"
You tilted your head to the side now. His questions were making you more and more confused. 'Does he perhaps mean Shukaku? -I only really know about them through fan fiction. ~The nostalgia of reading about harems on my device. Maybe if I were ever to get back to that place all fan fiction wouldn't be dis-' "I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you're taking about."
You got off the ground and dusted yourself off. The boy continued to eye you as something caught your gaze behind him. "Hm? Were you building something?"
He nodded, watching you sit beside him. "...a sandcastle... mother didn't want me to leave too soon..."
You smiled at him, "Want some help?"
"...Do what you want..."
You gave him a thumbs up. He was about to walk away, he didn't care about such things. But he quickly went wide-eyed when you successfully grabbed his hand, tugging him back beside you. "Come on! Let's make the best sandcastle ever! ... oh, yeah! I never got your name."
The boy continued to watch you as you started gathering loose sand, a soft wind working in your favor. ". . . Gaara. . ."
"It's nice to meet you, Gaara!"
~~~
Tired breaths sipped past your lips as you admired your hard work. Well, Gaara had done the building... but you collected all- most of the sand! That counts for something, I think.
The sun had slipped passed below the horizon at this point, allowing cold air to hit your warm skin. 'For someone who had the day off, it sure feels like I did a lot of work...' "Whew, I don't know about you Gaara, but I'm beat. I think it's time I went to bed for the night."
As soon as you said that, you felt a hand grab your own. You turned to your side to see Gaara, tugging you to follow him. "...You're staying with me tonight... until I know why mother wanted you..."
You shrugged, allowing the boy to lead you away. 'I was already staying in Kankuro's workshop... just a different place in the same house I guess...'
In no time at all, you reached your current place of residence. It seemed like Gaara was better at directions then you were, but then again, it was his home after all. You spotted Kankuro out front, throwing a trash bag in a bin.
You waved to him. His eyes widened when he spotted you, along with who you were with. You turned to look at Gaara. "I didn't know you lived with Kankuro, Gaara! He actually employed me in his workshop yesterday."
He glanced at you, but gave no response in reply, only a small squeeze to your hand. You finally reached the door to the house, only to see Kankuro sweating nervously. "Hey, Gaara. Welcome back.... I see you met (Y/N)..."
"Shut up."
Gaara didn't stop for a moment, brushing against his brother to get inside. Kankuro watched as you were being pulled away by him. Slight worry was evident on his face. He didn't know you for long, and he didn't like you all that much honestly, but he definitely didn't wish Gaara upon you.
You looked around curiously while still being pulled. You had only caught a brief glimpse of the main area before being taken to the dinning room on the side earlier. Two staircases outlined the round interior, leading up to a balcony, and then individual rooms.
Soon enough, you were in Gaara's room. You faintly heard Temari call Gaara for dinner, but it sounded like she was shushed by someone. The boy led you all the way up to his bed, before looking over at you. "...you said you were tired..."
"Isn't this your bed, though?"
"...I don't sleep, I'll be over there..."
He pointed over to a rough looking window seat in the corner. Your brows furrowed together at how uncomfortable it looked. 'Only have so much energy left to nitpick... and I really wanna change my clothes and eat...' With a sigh through your nose, you patted the bed. "Even if you don't sleep, I won't feel right if I took up your whole bed. We can lay here together."
Gaara paused, before shaking his head. Even if you were keeping his demon silent, he still didn't know you. You seemed very nice though. No one had been this nice to him in a while...
You gently smiled at the boy through the darkness of the night. Carefully, you removed the gourde on his back, placing beside the bed. Step by step, you had Gaara laying on the bed as he eyed you the whole time. You slipped in on the other side, happy to have a real bed again.
"Night Gaara..."
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"Hmmmm....." You squirmed, curling further into yourself. The sun was shinning too brightly for you to ignore it. So unfortunately, you begrudgingly woke up. You started to wonder which was better, Kankuro's sauna or Gaara's tanning room. Either way, you don't think you could live in Suna. The sun there just had it out for you at this point.
You slowly opened your eyes, almost getting startled again by a familiar woman. She put her index finger to her lips. She then pointed over to Gaara—who was peacefully sleeping next to you—and mouthed a thank you. You got up quickly, hopping to ask her some questions, but she simply fell back into her container. Gaara jumped up immediately after you, looking around for any signs of trouble rapidly.
You grabbed his hand to get his attention, unknowingly calming him down. He looked towards you, "...What scared you?"
"Nothing, just a chill. I'm sorry for waking you, you seemed to be sleeping good," you frowned, slightly cursing yourself for not listening to the woman.
"...It's fine."
With that, he got out of bed. Before you could even blink, he changed into a clean version of the same clothes; though, his mother still put a wall of sand between the two of you. He slipped his gourd back on and went towards his door, stopping. You quickly got up when you realized he was waiting for you. Gaara's mother was nice enough to get the knots out of your hair as you walked hand and hand with her son.
You spotted Temari at the bottom of the stairs, going towards the dinning room. She quickly looked up when she heard you two coming down. "There's breakfast on the table, Gaara... (Y/N)???"
Her face seemed surprised as you waved to her. "'Morning." See, that's what she thought she was supposed to be doing right now.
Gaara quickly walked past her. He ignored her, and instead headed for the door. You dug your heels into the ground, stopping him. He turned around, your frowning face being shown to him. "Wait, where are we going Gaara? What about breakfast??"
"...don't need it." '... Does he seriously not realize that IIII need to eat?!' A loud grumble came from your stomach, echoing your thoughts. He paused, before starting to head in the dinning room's direction. You again dug your heels into the ground. Now that problem one's solved, it was time for problem two.
You looked over to Temari, who had been watching your exchange. "Is Kankuro already in there?"
"-! Uh. no... he... we didn't think..." She bit her tongue, shaking out of her thoughts. "...He wanted a head-start in his workshop today... he doesn't like eating breakfast anyway..."
You clicked your tongue. 'One meal a day isn't healthy... I will not let cat boy suffer! For he has grown on me like a parasite- with how low key cool he is!... Honestly, this relationship better become symbiotic someday... ... also, DID THEY THINK I WAS GONNA DIE AND DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO HELP?!... this family has wayyyy more issues than I realized...'
You started walking towards the front door, but stopped with the firm grip on your hand. "Oh, you can go on ahead, Gaara. I'm just going to get Kankuro."
"No... why..." His shoulders became noticeably stiff and you let out a sigh.
"Gaara, it's alright for me to interact with other people. I need you to understand I can have multiple friends."
"... friends?"
"Well, I thought with the way we've been hanging out since yesterday, that we're friends?" You smiled, blinding him. He didn't say anything more. He simply did what he had done last night- gave your hand a squeeze. You were pretty sure he was doing it out of instinct at that point.
However, just because he seemed to like you now, didn't mean your words could get through to him. You were his friend... you were his. . .
'I wonder if I should buy a drill-' "Temari, could you go get Kankuro for me, please? Oh, and could you grab my backpack too?" Gaara silently glared at her, not wanting more people near you. She was still astounded that you were unharmed though. No, more than unharmed, you were even conversing with her littlest brother... Temari nodded her head, "Sure."
~
Temari silently made her way to her seat across from you and Gaara. Not before placing your bag next to you. You thought she might've been unsuccessful, but a familiar cat boy soon appeared in the doorway. When his eyes met yours they went wide.
"Holy shit! You're still-" Temari cleared her throat, making the boy realize Gaara was in the room. He glanced away, scratching the back of his head. "...I'll be in my workshop..."
"Oh no no no no, I don't think so." You placed your free hand on the table to stand up, your other still in Gaara's hold. "Eat. You don't have to eat till you throw up or anything, but you're eating breakfast."
"Who made you the boss of me-" Kankuro silenced himself once again, feeling Gaara's irate glare on him. He slowly walked over and took his seat directly across from you.
You raised a brow at his sudden compliance. 'that was easy... too easy...' You looked to where his gaze was, only to see Gaara looking at his own plate of food. You sighed, shaking your head, "Gaara, bad."
He simply looked up to you, same neutral look on his face. However, his thoughts started to storm at you being mad at him. Would you hit him? Scream at him? He was only trying to help, though, your actions were pointless and idiotic...
You snapped him out of his head by ruffling his hair, his cerulean eyes now staring at you even more intensely. "Time to feast!" You immediately sat down, swallowing massive amounts of food at once.
Still chewing as everyone else stared at you, you looked up at Temari. "Diwd your mahke thus food again? It's reelly good."
Temari's eye twitched slightly after she nodded. She wondered how you were struggling so much at reading the room. In a matter of moments, more and more food covered your face, painting you like a mosaic. She couldn't help but laugh at your silliness and Kankuro was quick join in.
Gaara was not pleased. Were they laughing at you? His friend? Before he could do anything rash, you tugged on him. He quickly went to face you, but got blocked by your hand.
"...And done!" You grinned at your masterpiece. Temari and Kankuro froze, a chill going up their spines. Squiggles, dots, and hearts of ketchup from your eggs covered Gaara's cheeks. He tried to look down at himself, almost crossing his eyes in the process. 'So cute!'
You reached in the front pocket of your bag, pulling out a compact. Gaara only gazed at himself as you set the mirror in front of him. He felt... something... it was new... he wasn't quite sure what to call it...
You smiled, before something sharply pecked your hand. The ghost bird, who had been in your bag since you left it, was not happy. "Sorry," you mouthed. You made a point to help them raid the kitchen later, in hopes of appeasing the angry spirit.
A slight screeching sound caught your attention- a chair scratching the floor. You looked up to see Kankuro trying his best to sneak off. You spotted a grimace on his face at the noise.
"Kank, eat."
He looked displeased with the nickname, but let it slide. He crossed his arms over his chest, "Look, I'm just not hungry. This is a waste of my time."
You huffed, thinking. 'Can't force him while Gaara's here... that could get ugly... He should be eating on his own anyway, I gotta leave at some point!' You glanced around, relief filling you with Gaara still occupied. Your eyes also caught Temari's small frown along with a displeased grumble as she ate her food. "...Fine, go."
He didn't need to be told twice. You frowned; you had your work cut out for you, that's for sure. But you still had to leave, and soon. It had already been two nights! No doubt some of your friends were growing concerned, unless Zaku made up a decent lie. Zaku probably wasn't all that worried yet. But as time passed, he would definitely get anxious with zero signs of you, same for the Hokages.
'Wait.... oh, SHIT! I forgot about Tobes and Hashirama! They could be freaking out right now.... Tobirama's gonna be so mad....' Your face became sweaty as you yourself became anxious. The ghost bird and Gaara turned to you after noticing your shift in mood.
With a few subtle, deep breaths, you composed yourself. You cleared your throat, "Ah, seems I forgot when Kan was here... I wanted to deeply thank you all for the hospitality you've shown me. But I'm afraid I'll be leaving tonight."
You were about to bow your head, but were promptly stopped. "No."
You blinked rapidly while turning to Gaara. 'No?' "... You're living here with me now."
You stopped yourself from exclaiming, and simply shook your head. "Gaara, I have other friends I need to get home to."
". . ." He held your gaze innocently, but you could spot the anger behind his eyes. "I'm your friend... you're staying here."
~
You sighed to yourself, gently rubbing your wrist. "As Tobes would say, 'How do you always find trouble, brat?'"
There you laid, sprawled out over a couch in the living room of the siblings' home. Temari was outside in their personal training field, training no doubt. She hesitantly offered to help you before she left, but you declined. She'd more than likely die at this point if she did.
Gaara reluctantly went to train with his sensei, since he still wasn't a technical Genin yet. That, however, is what led to your current predicament. Something you could only comprehend as an ankle monitor now wrapped itself around your wrist. The sand softly hummed around your skin, making sure to stay there.
While it was entirely Gaara's doing, you could tell his mother was the one keeping it intact. Gaara would be extending too much energy if he tried something like this for such a long time, and at such a distance too.
The ghost bird happily rested against you now. All resentment for you gone— along with a family-sized salad you had in a bowl on your stomach. Realizing the bird had eaten all of it, you stopped tapping on your new bracelet, and squinted your eyes at them. "Where the hell did you even find room for all of that???"
They simply shrugged with their little wings, deciding to go sleep on their own couch now. "At least I know what to call you now..." Shaking your head, you gave them one last pet and headed to Kankuro's workshop.
You looked around with the door being open, and gave it a knock. Kankuro hummed in acknowledgment from his desk, not turning around. "I came to see if you wanted my assistance."
He jumped up startled, not expecting you. ".. I didn't think you'd actually get away from Gaara. Where is he anyway? ... and what sort brat shit did you do to him?"
"Gaara's doing his training, got this cool bracelet 'cause of it." You showed him your wrist and he quirked a brow at you. "And I didn't do anything to the red panda. You're family sure has a lot of kinks."
"You could say that again," he rolled his eyes. Kankuro settled back down in his seat, motioning you over. "There's more chunks of wood over here if you wanna get varnishing. But I'd get back in the house before Gaara gets back. You do not want to deal with him when he's mad, trust me."
You hummed, pulling up a stool beside the boy. "I never said I was gonna work. I asked if you wanted my assistance. ....What's bothering you? ...Besides the obvious at this point."
He scoffed, glancing over at you as he worked. "What, are you trying to be a counselor now? Stick to getting robbed, you're better at that."
"...I'm not leaving right now, even if you try to push me away. ...You don't have to go in depth, just tell me if there's anything I-"
"There's not, ok?!" He snapped, going over to a puppet he had laying on his center table. "Honestly, you kind of punks bother me the most. Leave if you're not going to help." Kankuro grabbed some sandpaper, using it on the doll.
"I'm worried about you..."
He stopped, giving you a quizzically irritated face. "You don't even know me."
You shrugged, taking a piece of sandpaper to also help with the wooden corpse. "I don't think that matters; talking to strangers can also be helpful... I thought it was because your sister was a bad cook a first, but she's like, a pro chef... Then I thought it was because you didn't like her, but you didn't spit out the food at lunch.... I'm sorry for forcing you to eat against your will, I was out of line..."
You stopped, realizing Kankuro had froze, now sitting on the table with a saddened face. You slowly approached him, and stood a little bit away. Carefully, you placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey... It's alright to talk here if you want to..."
"... Gah! I just... I don't..." You silently watched as he tried finding the right words, gently holding his hands. The sandpaper once in his grasp floated down to the floor. "...I hate it... everything just feels terrible all the time... My body feels so tired... I just want it to stop.... I just wish everyone could be happy... and Temari's cooking wasn't always the best...."
He let out a sad laugh at the end. You wrapped an arm around him, allowing him to hold onto you. "I can only imagine such a burden Kankuro.. but I can tell you that things will get better... I promise you that... so please, don't loose all of your hope just yet..."
You could feel him nod in the crook of your neck, just slightly. He held you a bit tighter as you started rubbing up and down his back.
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