Assuming

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Rippon

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Summary:

One-shot. Assuming makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'. Implied one-sided Gaara/Kagome Naruto x-over

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He had been watching her for sometime. Not that she needed to know that, but he had been. No, he wasn't a stalker, wishing with all his might that he could be with her. No; in fact, it had been he who had instigated the end of their relationship, because of some ridiculous rumors he had heard.

Oh how stupid he had been.

He had heard the whispers of things she had done, but not until it was too late did he realize only those who wished that he belong to them had said such things. Never had any boys said anything about her unfaithfulness. Only their girlfriends- who looked at him with bedroom eyes- had ever talked bad about Kagome.

And he had still listened to their gossip.

When he had confronted her about the chitchat he had been hearing, she had looked at him scorned. She had pushed him away from her and asked what right he had to even believe such things. Foolishly, he had taken her anger to mean that she truly had been unfaithful, and was frightened at being caught.

So he had yelled.

Accusation after accusation slipped past his lips, and for every horrible remark he said to her face, tear after tear slipped past her eyes. When his anger had cooled, he watched her shake her head back and forth, almost as if she was trying to persuade herself to believe, he had not said such things. Then she had looked to him with her puffy, beautiful, blue eyes and said what even he could not.

"Then we're through."

His face must have portrayed his shock for she took a deep, shaky breath, let it out, and looked at him once again, only this time her eyes held not sorrow- but anger.

"If you cannot even trust me enough to ignore gossip you've heard from girls who are obviously only saying such things so as to take you as their own, then what right do we have to be in a relationship. Love is based off trust. Apparently I'm the only one who feels that way."

He could not believe his ears. "You love me?"

His heart was beating a mile a minute. What would she say?

At that moment she had gazed at his anxious face, and delivered the final blow with no sign of compassion in her eyes.

"I thought I did."

From then on, she had been gone from his dark world. He had watched her turn and walk away from him with pain swimming in his aqua eyes.

He had been a fool.

Days later, the man she had supposedly been cheating on him with, had confronted him. His name was Sesshomaru, and murder had been spelled out in his eyes.

The tall 6' 7" man had grabbed him by his shirt, and hoisted him up into the air.

"What right," he began, his nostrils flaring, "do you have to accuse Kagome of cheating on you with me? What right," he began again, this time shaking Gaara around a bit, "do you have to call her names that belong to those women who would spread false rumors about Kagome just to get to you? What right," he started for the third time, "do you have to break her heart just because you have multiple uncertainties about yourself? Kagome could have anyone she wants, she wouldn't have to cheat to do it, and yet she chose you, Gaara! You, a lowly playboy, with an ego the size of New York, and an attitude worse than anyone she's ever met! Doesn't that count for anything? Well, doesn't it?"

Gaara had stared at Sesshomaru, and for the first time, realized just what was going on. Before he had been too blind to see it, now he understood.

He had walked right up to the woman he loved- and who loved him back- and plainly accused her of being a slut and a tramp. He had been lied to, but not by Kagome. No, but by everyone but her. However, it was she who was blamed; it was Kagome who he dealt the punishment to.

Gaara had struggled anew in Sesshomaru's grasp. "Let me go!" he screamed, glaring into a pair of golden orbs. "Let me go right now! I have to find her; I have to tell her I'm sorry, and that I love her too!"

A bitter laugh accompanied his announcement. He froze and turned to Sesshomaru's grinning face.

"You're too late, bastard. Far too late. When Kagome walked away from you- after you slapped her in the face with insults- was your cue to go after her. She's been waiting for that fairytale moment since we were kids- that one moment when she would find someone who wouldn't let her go, no matter what- and you blew it. Kagome may be a forgiving person, but you crossed the line. You didn't even know that you'd been lied to until I told you so, even though Kagome had said so before. You're nothing but a dirty little insect."

Sesshomaru put Gaara down, and glared down at him. "Go on and talk to Kagome. Beg her to take your worthless ass back. Go on, you know you want to. Just be assured that it won't work. Like I said, you're too late."

He had turned tail and run then. Running speedily down the halls of his high school, he ignored the protests of everyone he shoved away from him and his path to his angel. He just kept searching for Kagome. He had to find her.

Then, he did.

Leaning against her locker, she was talking with Sango, her best friend. It just so happened that Sango was the one to spot him first, and he quickly realized- because of the way she was glaring heatedly at him- just why her nickname was Taijia. To her, he must have been a demon- one who had hurt her sister figure.

Luckily, she wasn't an extremely violent person, and he could see her restraining herself from doing something out of character to him.

'Well', he had thought to himself, 'I can take Sango hating me- she and I were never that good of friends anyway. Just please, please don't let what Sesshomaru said be true, I can't lose her- not my baby- not my angel- not my Kagome.'

He watched, transfixed, as she turned around. Kagome froze. Gaara could clearly see the hurt enter her eyes, and he felt a stab of guilt. He had done that. It had been he who had taken the sparkle out of her gaze, the jump out of her step, and the glow out of her smile.

They stared at each other for a moment, before he dropped down to his knees.

The hall quieted.

"Kagome," he began shakily, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't believe you, and I'm sorry I even had any doubts in the first place. I was just so sure I wasn't good enough for you, and I was always afraid that you would leave me, but you didn't, at least not until I screwed it up. I'm sorry Kagome. Please forgive me. I –I love you too."

She stared at him for a moment, her eyes searching him, looking for whatever she needed for reassurance. She took a slight step back.

Apparently, she had found what she was looking for.

Sighing, Kagome grabbed Gaara's arm and yanked him up into a standing position. That seemed to snap everyone out of their daze, and the hallway broke out into a buzz again.

Gaara didn't acknowledge this. All there was was Kagome. She was his whole world. And her answer now would decide if she would continue to let him be part of her world.

She opened her mouth, and Gaara braced himself. "Gaara, you called me names, you accused me of doing the unthinkable, and now, NOW days later, you come to me asking forgiveness?"

He had lost her. It was too late for him. His world came crashing down. Words could not describe the hatred he felt toward himself at that moment. He was such an idiot.

Kagome continued talking, but Gaara heard none of it. He stared at her, his mouth open, tears gathering in his eyes.

"NO!" he screamed, and then he had turned around and ran.

That was the last time he ever talked to her.

Gaara sighed as he watched Kagome walk down the hallway with Sango and her boyfriend Miroku, who had asked Sango out only two weeks prior. He could dimly remember a time when he would have also been walking with them, listening as Miroku got the shit beat out of him whenever he groped Sango. The good memories brought a ghost of a smile to his face.

A smile, which soon fell into a frown.

Only hours, after he had run from Kagome on that day, Sesshomaru had called him up and screamed at him.

He recalled the conversation well.

"Is Gaara home?"

"This is he."

"Shit-head, it's Sesshomaru."

"What do you want? Isn't it enough that you were right; that Kagome turned me down and let me go!"

"..."

"Yeah that's what I thought-"

"Excuse me?"

"What is it NOW?"

"Who- pray tell- did you say turned down who?"

"Uh, DUH! Kagome turned down me! Who else?"

Cynical, bitter laughter resounded from the other end of the phone.

"Boy are you stupid, Shit-head."

"Dammit, just spit it out already, Sesshomaru!"

"Didn't you know? While you were off in LA LA Land- probably thinking Kagome had rejected you because she told me she started off recounting what had happened- Kagome said she wanted to give it another chance."

"La-La Land Se- What? Kagome said WHAT?"

"That she wanted to give it another chance. Unfortunately- for YOU of course- you oddly screamed out 'no' when she proposed this, and further broke her heart. What in the seven hells were you thinking, you piece of trash? Can you tell me that?"

"I-I I was thinking that it was too late…"

"… Stupid idiot."

"Wait! If she gave me another chance then, why wouldn't she now?"

A growl rang loudly in his ear.

"Because she's with me."

Sesshomaru had hung up then, and he had stared at the receiver in shock.

Even now, Gaara couldn't believe that the two were together. He had asked around, and – apparently- Sesshomaru had asked Kagome out only about an hour before he called. Because she seriously needed someone to hold her at that moment, she had accepted.

Unfortunately, their relationship had begun to blossom, and as he watched them now, months after this whole thing started, he could clearly see something shining in each others' eyes that had once been between him and Kagome.

Love.

Gaara turned away from the seen, walking dejectedly into math class. He had seen enough.

Sighing, he sat down in his math class, and ran a hand through his hair. May this be a lesson to you, he thought sadly to himself, NEVER assume.

You know what they say-

Assuming makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'…

Owari.

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This was really, really BAD! But please, no flames. CC is welcomed, but not flames. So guys, if you want to strangle me for not updating Brothers, then do so, because I have a secret!

(Cackles evilly)

I have finished Brothers, chapter three, and am just not wanting to post ti until I get some gosh danged review for my story Straight Edge! Jeez! For shizel me nizel!

Haz. Blast it all.

Rippon