The wrong brother...

Chapter 7 - Konoha

It's very early in the morning when you all head out. The atmosphere is a bit odd, as Gaara is travelling a few meters in front of you, being completely antisocial.

On the other hand, you and Kankuro keep chatting and laughing.

It almost a noon when you finally see the Konoha entrance gate. What a journey. A wild ride so far.

"Gaara, what's the plan?" Kankuro stops right next to Gaara as he is walking through the gate. You quickly catch up.

"I need to see Hokage to discuss some things with him. Apart from that, there is no plan, except for lunch with Temari. We are staying at hers over the night and heading back to Suna early in the morning." He says as he keeps walking.

"Better not make her wait, you know how cranky she can get." Kankuro says as he starts to run in a direction that leads to Shikamaru and Temari's house.

"Are you okay? You are being very quiet." You slowly approach Gaara as he is following Kankuro, walking.

"Just a lot on my mind." His voice is soft and makes you smile. So you did nothing wrong. That's a relief.

Next two hours fly by and you need to admit, it's been a while since you've had such a good time. Even Shikamaru was laughing, which is not a common sight.

For the first time in a while, you feel like you really belong somewhere, like you have friends. They are all family, but everyone is making you so welcome.

You need to admit that they are a very good couple. Like they were made for each other. You were not sure about it when you first heard about Temari and Shikamaru, but today is showing you they are good together.

And it's more than obvious that Temari is the one wearing pants in this relationship. But Shikamaru seems to be fine with it.

Maybe one day you will have something like that. They are your new couple goal.

But who will be your other half? You cannot think of anyone. Well, maybe except Gaara. But that is not appropriate. You were chosen for Kankuro, not for Gaara. They gave up on Gaara. Gaara is not interested. And you need to accept it instead of daydreaming.

But that moment when you were trapped together when your jutsus collided, it felt like there is something. Some spark. Something more. But then again, your imagination tends to run wild.

"I've never believed in arranging dates, but this seems to be a perfect match." Shikamaru says in a bored voice as he looks at you.

"Why would you say that?" You look back at him, with a surprise. You are not even paying a lot of attention to Kankuro. Yes, you cracked a few jokes, but you are mainly trying not to stare at Gaara. How he can say you are a perfect match? Is this one of his sarcastic jokes?

"Very funny." Kankuro joins as Temari just shakes her head.

"What? It is. Just look at them. They are made for each other. Look at the proximity. Their shoulders and hands are almost touching, the subtle looks they give each other thinking we will not notice. It's obvious it's working on its own, without anyone forcing it." He says in a matter-of-fact voice as he points at you and...Gaara?

How could you not notice how close you are sitting next to him? When did this happen? How did you manage to move so close?

You can feel your face going beyond red and the heat is radiating everywhere. As you look at Gaara, he looks at you. You are relatively as close to him as when you accidentally got yourselves trapped yesterday. The moment your eyes meet is like you've forgotten how to breathe. He is as surprised by this as you.