ᴍʏ ᴀɴᴛɪᴅᴏᴛᴇ // ɢᴀᴀʀᴀ ᴀᴜ // ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇᴅ

25 | broken wings

 'And I'm falling for you.. Falling with broken wings again. '

(Name)'s breath hitched at the sight of Gaara.
  He was all the same, but he was different too. Gaara had the same features but his aura, it was too foreign.  He was still wearing the same outfit as she'd seen earlier, except he had a coat on. 

Gaara's eyes scanned (Name) from head to toe. She was soaked, and her cheeks were red and her eyes were glassy. 

(Name) looked so fragile, like a snowflake. Something left alone a little too long. Its core is nothing more than a little strand of courage, and surrounding it is a pile of fake cheerfulness.  Something beyond repair. 

Gaara took a warm towel and sat next to her,  careful not to make any sound.
Her eyes were directed at Gaara, confused at his actions. He gently wiped her cold skin with the towel, and ran his fingers through her hair.

  After she was all dried up, Gaara unbuttoned his coat and laid it on (Name). He did all this, without uttering a single word.  Shivering, (Name) quickly slipped into the coat.
    " Is this the life you chose? " Gaara asked suddenly. (Name) flinched at the tone of his voice - cold and dead.

   " What do you mean by that? " she inquired, despite fully understanding the meaning of it.
Gaara tilted her chin upwards, giving him a perfect view of her face.
    " After leaving me, at the very least you could've lived an easy life! " he spat.

Rage, longing, dissatisfaction. His voice was lingering with these emotions. 
     " I.. I'm fine with my life.. " she murmured. She wanted to yell it out, but she had no courage to.

None at all.

     " Why are you that stupid?! " Gaara almost shouted, his rage almost reaching its limit. 
Unknown to him, (Name) had far passed hers. 
   
    Pang! 

(Name) breathed heavily, balling her sore hands into a fist. A red mark slowly formed on Gaara's cheek, but his face was indifferent. 
       " Did that make you happy? " he asked. 
(Name) lowered her gaze, her anger mellowing down.

        " I'm asking you,  did that make you happy?!  " Gaara repeated, his voice raised by an octave.

Speechless, (Name) quickly stood up and slipped off the coat. 
    " Thank you, Kazekage-sama, " she spoke slowly, handing it to Gaara.

She walked to her bicycle and rode it away, despite the rain dripping on every inch of her being. 
    It made her feel cold, and it make her feel weak.
But it was better than being near him. There,  it was Hell in the flesh.

Gaara stared at her as she cycled away. He was unable to stop her - his legs were like lead, nailed to the floor.

    He stared at the coat in his hands, slightly damp. Gaara gently ran a hand through it, and held it close to his chest.

     A memory - but Gaara hoped it'd be more than just a memory. He wanted to create more, and he wanted to cherish it - cherish it with her.

The next day was hellish for (Name). She was dead exhausted and insanely feverish, yet she still came to work.
  If that happened to Akihito, he would've been in the hospital already. Insert lazy employee.
The customers were louder, and more annoying than usual. Every single tiny chit chat could be heard, and they weren't kind to her ears.
Her head was spinning like a top, and she felt like collapsing at every step.
It was at 10pm when Madam Vaillancourt excused her to go home earlier than usual.

After changing into her regular attire plus a jacket and leg warmers , she made her way to the car park. Of course, she didn't drive a car, she only kept her bicycle there.
(Name) barely noticed the car at first, and she wished she never did. 
     The red Ferrari's door clicked open, and Gaara walked out, clearly towards her. 

        " (Name)! " he called out, making shivers run down the said girl's spine. She pretended not to hear, and began to hum incoherently. 

    She thought Gaara wouldn't have went that far,  but he did.
     (Name) gasped when Gaara laid a hand on her shoulder, and her limbs turned to jelly. 
   She didn't fall flat on the ground -no. Instead, she fell into his arms, that securely wrapped themselves around her waist.

      ' In your pretty smile.. In a glow tears.. Our across the frosty night.. I'll be there with you '

She swiftly stood up, literally bouncing off Gaara. (Name) breathed heavily, her heart pounding in her chest.
   She slowly turned to face him, her cheeks dusted pink.

     " What was that? " she huffed. 

     " Was I supposed to let you fall flat on the ground? " he retorted. 

Gaara's response made (Name) roll her eyes,  but she couldn’t talk back to that.

  " I'm here because.. I need to talk to you.. " he uttered slowly. 

   " My shift is until midnight. Why are you already here? " she couldn't help but ask. 
   " I don't see anything wrong with that, " he smirked at the end of his words. 

     ' Tch, you couldn't wait for my answer, damn teen heartthrob. '

" Well,  fire away. You look like you have a lot to say, " (Name) said indifferently. 

" Not here. Let's go somewhere. We'll take the car, " he responded, and his hand made their way to (Name)'s. 

      When (Name) approached the car, Gaara opened the door and ushered her inside. It was insanely awkward, and she was afraid to touch anything. The passenger seat felt so.. New..  As if no one ever sat there. As if on impulse, she ran a hand over the driver seat.

It felt more used, and somewhat worn.

    " You're the first person to sit there. " (Name) was taken aback at his words.

    " Pardon? " she blurted. 

    " I didn't want anyone to take your place, " Gaara smiled.

(Name) lowered her eyes, shrinking into her seat. 
    " Where are we going? " she asked.

    " Where do you want to go? " was Gaara's answer.
    " Anywhere."

     " Coffee, perhaps? " 
(Name) nodded, she craved something warm after all. The air conditioner was directly in her face, and she shivered occasionally, tugging at her jacket.

     " Are you cold?  Wait, I'll turn on the heater."
Gaara turned off the air conditioner, and turned on the heater. The waft of warm air comforted (Name), and she slowly relaxed.

    They went to a drive thru coffee kiosk, and (Name) asked for a hot cappuccino, while Gaara had an iced espresso.   The heat of the cappuccino warmed her entire being, and (Name) felt slightly better than before. Gaara stopped the car in the area around a park, and he motioned (Name) to follow him outside.

She resisted the urge to run away when she realised where they were.

The park where they had their first kiss.