Line in the Sand
(Sequel to Role Reversal)
More angst I'm afraid!
Disclaimer –
Answer the following…
Did Gai admit to being the secret sixth member of the Village People?
Did Kakashi reveal that behind his mask(s) is, in fact, Brad Pitt?
Did Iruka turn out to be a masochist?
If the answer to the above is 'no' then I don't own Naruto.
Chapter Seven
It took both Naruto and Kiba combined three hours to convince Gaara to move from his spot in the corner. They had gotten him washed, dressed, and set him in the bed in the spare room. Naruto had tactfully suggested that placing Gaara in the bed he and Lee shared would be cruel.
Then Naruto had made a call.
The next step was trying to get Gaara to eat. They were still trying to force-feed him when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it." Kiba murmured. "You watch him."
Naruto nodded and pressed the spoon of miso ramen up to Gaara's lips again.
"Gaara, please? Just eat a little bit." He begged. "You haven't eaten in three days, and you're thin enough as it is." Gaara just turned his head.
A second later a loud bang made Naruto yelp and drop the spoon.
"GAARA!!"
Another second later Naruto was pushed out of the way by a busty blonde with four pony-tails.
"Nice to see you too, Temari." He muttered.
He heard a snort from the doorway and turned to see Gaara's older brother, Kankuro, smiling a forced smile.
"Y'know Tem. When Gaara's in trouble, the rest of us can go to hell."
He walked into the room and helped Naruto up.
"How's he been?" He asked seriously.
"Pretty much like this. We're pretty certain he hasn't eaten in three days, but neither of us can get anything down him."
Kankuro sighed and shook his head. "I was afraid of that. Have you taken anything sharp out of his reach."
"Out of reach and locked in my car." Naruto confirmed. He didn't need reminding of Gaara's age-old tradition of cutting himself when he felt cut off from the world.
Temari had finally released Gaara and stood there staring at him for a moment, before drawing her hand back and slapping him hard around the face.
"What the fuck?!" Kiba yelled from the doorway, but both Kankuro and Naruto gave him looks, telling him to let the eldest Sabaku work.
Gaara gently brought a hand up to his cheek and looked dumbly up at his sister.
"Now you listen to me, Sabaku no Gaara! This is not your fault! It's those Akatsuki bastards! But sitting and wallowing like this won't help anything. Pull yourself together, and go find your boy-toy!"
Gaara stared at his sister for a moment more, before nodding and getting out of the bed. Kiba watching in astonishment as he downed the bowl of ramen and wandered into the front room.
"What…how…" He spluttered. Then turned to Temari. "What the fucking hell?! We can't even get him to blink on his own, then you slap him and it's all alright?"
Temari gave him a grim smile. "Oh it's not alright. Not by a long shot. But Gaara just needed slapping out of his rut. When all else fails with Gaara, hit him. Hard." She turned her face to follow her brother's movements as he gathered up the 'evidence'. "He's strong…just needs reminding of it sometimes."
"Uzumaki!"
Naruto jumped at the call, and ran to join Gaara. "What can I do?"
"Do you know Neji's home number?"
Naruto blinked. "Yeah, why?" Then it dawned on him. "You think Lee's gone to Neji?"
"Neji or TenTen. He won't go to Gai. Not yet. He certainly won't go to Akatsuki, no matter what they offer him."
Naruto nodded. Gaara knew Lee best, after all. "I'll make the call."
--
Neji gave a sigh as he added the finishing touches to the banana sundae.
Lee had turned up on his doorstep three days ago, bags in hand and tears in his eyes, and asked if he could stay for a while.
'Stupid man. As if he needed to ask.'
It had taken almost twenty-four hours for Neji to drag out what was wrong.
He'd spent the next two days trying to convince Lee to call Gaara.
This would be attempt number…sixteen, he thought.
He picked up the treat and wandered into his front room, where Lee was curled up on the couch watching Madagascar for the hundredth time.
"Here." He sighed, passing the bowl to Lee.
"Thank you Neji."
"You don't need to thank me. Just call him."
Lee's lower lip shook slightly, and he shook his head violently.
"No, I'm not ready."
"Look," Neji said firmly "I know you're hurt and in pain here. But what do you think Gaara's going through right now? At least you know where he is! He doesn't have a clue. As for that stupid message you left on the mirror…I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he's done something very foolish."
Lee whimpered. "But…"
"For the last time Lee." Neji sat next to his friend and grabbed the remote to pause the movie. "There is no way on this earth, heaven, or hell for that matter, that Gaara would ever cheat on you. He's just not the type. You two were destined to be together."
"I-I know that…really." Lee began to sob softly. You could tell when Lee was really upset. His tears would pour almost silently. "I don't really believe he cheated on me…but I can't understand…why would they do this? Maybe, for now, Gaara's better off without me. It's obviously me they want to get to."
"I'm not so sure…" Neji tilted his head back. "Going over everything you've told me about the past few weeks, I'm actually fairly sure it's Gaara they're after."
"What?"
"Well," Neji looked his friend in the eye "did you know that Gaara's family are very wealthy?"
Lee gave a soft gasp and shook his head.
"I didn't think so. You learn things at Hyuga. Gaara's father was a very important politician. But he died when Gaara was…twelve I think. You know his father hated him. Well, he dealt the final blow by leaving Gaara out of his will. But there was a way he could get the money."
Neji dipped his finger in the ice cream and sighed heavily. He didn't like disclosing this much of Gaara's personal life to Lee without his permission…but if it helped send Lee back to him…
"Gaara's cousin, Sasori, is a member of Akatsuki. He and Gaara's father were very close. They made a deal that, if Gaara wanted the money, he would have to marry someone whom Sasori chose."
Neji narrowed his eyes.
"I think Sasori chose Deidara. If Gaara marries the person of Sasori's choice, both Gaara's new partner and Sasori would receive a large part of Gaara's inheritance."
Lee was dumbstruck. So that was the reason…for all this?! For tearing his and Gaara's lives apart.
Money?!
"How…" Lee was burning up with anger. "How dare they?!"
Neji quickly recognised the signs and pressed a finger to a pressure point in Lee's neck. "Calm down. You'll achieve nothing if you run on rage. You and Gaara need to work this out together."
The phone made them both jump, and Neji smiled at the caller ID.
"Well, well, well. Looks like Sabaku isn't as dumb as he looks."
The ID said 'Gaara'.