Roommates

Chapter 16: Family Talk

Two weeks later...
They were at the club again. She was there, her long blond hair swaying back and forth with the movement of her hips as the DJ switched the beat. She danced alone, not caring at all as the spotlight was just on her.
His teal-colored eyes watched her closely as he stood by the bar. There was chatter around him, but he didn't understand nor cared about what it was about. His gaze continued to stay on her, his eyes travelling down to her lower back as she continued dancing. He wasn't sure what pull she was using on him, but he didn't care as his feet began to move and all of the sudden, he was standing right behind her. It didn't take long for her to notice him, and she turned her head.
"Finally joining me, roomie?"
He didn't respond as his hands grabbed her moving hips, gently pulling her back so her back was now touching his chest.
She giggled before turning around and wrapping her arms around his neck, leaning her face close to his as their noses touched.
"You aren't dancing, roomie,"
"I don't dance," he replied, before leaning down to place his face on the crook of her neck.
The girl moaned as she felt his teeth nibble her sensitive skin.
"Roomie, you're teasing me!"
"Am I?" he asked before lifting her up so her legs wrapped around his waist.
With her elbows on his shoulders, she dug her hands in his fiery red hair, moaning as he kept nibbling her neck.
The music suddenly stopped, the scene changing as they were now in her bedroom. He laid them down on her bed softly as her hands snuck inside his shirt, touching his chest. His eyes stayed on her face as he laid on top of her.
"Take off your shirt," she commanded.
He pulled back away from her to take off his shirt, feeling her hands touch his abdomen.
"I like your abs," she said, running her long painted nails over them.
"Take off your shirt," he said strictly.
His roommate laughed before undoing the buttons from her blouse, revealing a pink lacy bra underneath. One of his hands brushed the side of her breasts, causing her to arch her back in response.
"I didn't know that you were so interested in my breasts," she said, grabbing his attention.
"I want more," he said, this time grabbing her skirt and gently pulling it down.
His eyes landed on her red panties, and she teasingly poked his stomach with her big toe.
"My face is here,"
He lowered himself on top of her, pressing his body on top of hers as his lips grabbed hers roughly. She giggled at his enthusiasm as he grabbed her underwear and began to pull them down her legs before undoing the buttons to his pants. She could feel his eagerness as he began to trail kisses down her chest.
They were almost naked, his eyes closed as one of his hands reached behind her back, unclasping her bra. He threw the piece of clothing out of the way, his mouth going lower-
RING! RING!
Gaara's eyes snapped open as his phone's ringtone rang right by his ear, his heart beating fast as the dream kept playing over and over his head. He rubbed his eyes for a moment, staring at the ceiling of his room as the phone continued to ring. He already knew that it was Temari calling, considering his sister had been calling him at least two times a day for the past two weeks.
He would typically pick up and talk to her for thirty minutes, knowing that the reason why she called him so much was due to her worrying about him.
Sighing, Gaara let the call go to voicemail as he sat up, groaning at the uncomfortness below his abdomen. It wasn't the first time he had a sexual dream between him and Ino. The first one he had was within the first two months of living with her. At that time, he figured that it was just a natural reaction. He couldn't deny the fact that she was very beautiful. But shortly before the shooting, in fact the day after their first argument, his dreams about her increased and it was always the same: sex. And although he wasn't experienced with women, he was honest with himself and he was sure of one thing: he missed and wanted her terribly.
It had taken him days to accept the harsh reality that his roommate was in a coma, and he blamed himself for that. Had he been faster, he could have reached her in time. Had he not grabbed her and spoken to her in such a way two days before, he could have mended the issue and been with her all day that day, that way once the shooter tried to hurt her, he could have been the one to take the bullet for her.
Gaara exited his bedroom and entered the living room, looking at the door across from him. It was Sunday morning and as he stared at the closed bedroom door of her room, he imagined her getting up much later than him, wearing some panties and tank-top. It was how she mostly slept. If she had nothing planned, she would sit on the couch and watch some reality TV. On the days she would go shopping, she would leave early and come back hours later with multiple bags and an iced tea in her hands. On her deep cleaning weekends, she would clean her bedroom and bathroom from top to bottom. Then there were laundry days - where she would do three-weeks worth of laundry in one day and leave something behind in the dryer. Usually, it would be either a sock or her panties - and he would be the one to always find them when he did his.
Shaking the memories out from his head, Gaara headed over to the bathroom to get ready for the day. He stood under the shower quickly, letting the cold water remove certain images of his roommate from his mind, as well as calm his morning urges after such a dream.
Ten minutes later, he was out of the shower and in his room, getting ready for the day. Before, his days were always more or less the same. Weekdays consisted of work, followed by gym and then home. Weekends consisted of some physical activity, usually with his brother and/or Naruto, followed by whatever Ino would ask him to do.
But now, he had a different routine. After work, he would go to the gym in order to help him get his mind out of the shooting, running for miles on the treadmill. But shortly after, he would shower and change in the gym before visiting her at the hospital. Gaara wasn't great with dealing with his emotions and the first time he saw her on the white bed with a machine hooked up to her, he wanted to dig the man who shot her out from his grave and punch him until his own knuckles broke.
He always visited her very late in the day, when her parents and everyone else weren't there anymore. Even in a comatose state, he wanted it to be just him and her.
Gaara's phone vibrated as he finished putting his shoes on, and he looked at the new text from his sister.
"Hey, how are you doing? Are you awake?"
"I'm OK. Just going for a walk. I'll call you later,"
"OK. Please call me back when you can."
"OK,"
He left the apartment, hands deep inside his pocket as he made his way towards the hospital.
The front-desk receptionists already knew him by now, considering he had been visiting the same room every single day. And every time they saw him, they would give him a sad smile, and he knew that that sad smile meant that Ino had so far not woken up.
He walked towards her room, opening the door gently as his eyes quickly landed on her resting body. He noticed the fresh new flowers in the room, and knew that her mother must have been in here hours ago.
Gaara sat on the chair next to the bed, grabbing her thin hands and rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. The first few times he visited her, he found it difficult to speak. He hadn't been sure what to say, but knew that he wanted to say something in order for her to hear his voice, if that was even possible.
"Ino," he said her name, rubbing the inside of her palm with his finger,
His teal gaze went back to her face, and to him she looked like an angel. Her long hair was braided to the side, something he found suited her. Her nails were painted purple, and Gaara smiled as he imagined her mother doing her hair and painting her nails.
"The apartment is quiet without you," he continued speaking, "I'm having a hard time staying in there... I miss cooking with you...having dinner with you... I miss you... a lot,"
Most of the time, they would cook and eat dinner together. It never felt strange. As a matter of fact, he enjoyed it.
"Neighbors have been asking about you. They...ask me if you moved out... I had to tell them what happened. The guy from upstairs is no longer playing loud music," he said with a sad smile, recalling the times a very tired and pissed off Ino would stump out of her room and towards the upstairs neighbor's apartment, ready to yell at him about keeping his terrible music down.
"Baki thinks I should take a week off,"
Baki was his supervisor, and the man kept telling him to take a week off. Gaara had accumulated almost a month's worth of paid vacation time off. But there was no point in taking days off. What would he do?
The first time Baki had suggested he take some days off, Gaara had refused. But after getting home and sitting in the lonely apartment, he had come up with the idea of taking a vacation with Ino. Lying in bed before sleep, he would imagine going on vacation with her - somewhere far and beautiful. A place that would help her heal physically and mentally. And he would be there to help her.
"...If I take time off... It's to spend it with you," he said, placing her hand between his. "I know that by the time you wake up, you will require time to heal... And I'll be there for you...if you still want me to..."
The last few words panged his chest, the sudden question hitting him hard. What if she didn't want anything to do with him? Groaning, Gaara stared at the ceiling, swallowing as the idea of her despising him caused an ache to his chest.
On weekdays, he would spend almost an hour at the hospital with her. But on weekends, he would stay for almost four hours. Part of him stayed that long in case she woke up. He didn't want her waking up to an empty room. By the time the four hours were almost up, either her parents or her friends would arrive.
Today it was just her father, who greeted him with a sad smile and asked how he was doing. Gaara always lied when replying, telling him that he was OK. But in reality, he felt like breaking down at the fact that there was a possibility that Ino would never wake up.
Gaara left the hospital, remembering to call Temari back as he made his way back to his apartment.
"Gaara,"
Hearing his name being called, the red-haired man turned around, watching as Fu walked over to him.
"I knew I would find you here. I just didn't know when," she said sadly.
He opened his mouth to say something, but wasn't sure. He hadn't spoken to her since right after the shooting. Not because he was purposely ignoring her - but because his mind was so preoccupied with Ino's well being that he wasn't in the mood to speak with Fu.
"You know I've been calling and texting you for weeks now and you don't respond... I even went to visit your apartment....multiple times...but you weren't there..."
"Sorry... I've been...preoccupied..." he replied, feeling guilty about pushing her aside.
Fu nodded, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I know... I know that your roommate's shooting has affected you a lot... I can see that! But I...don't want to lose you... I miss you and..."
Gaara sighed before walking over to her. He spoke up, finally saying the words that he should have told her a long time ago. "Fu, I am sorry... But I just can't right now..."
"It's OK, we can move slowly...at your own pace-"
"No," he said with a slight shake of his head, "I... Fu... I don't think I can do this with you... at all... I'm sorry for not speaking to you earlier about it."
Fu's eyebrows narrowed. "...Why? This is nothing against her but...I thought you two were just...roommates! I mean..."
"I'm not good at this," Gaara said honestly to her, "I messed up. I thought being around you would help me think of Ino as just a friend...but I was wrong..."
"So you used me?"
"No, I.." Gaara mentally cursed. He really was not good at this at all. "You are a nice person... But I just don't have those feelings...about you... And it would be unfair to both of us to force it..."
Fu crossed her arms impatiently over her chest. "So all it took was for her to get shot for you to realize that you actually did like her all this time?"
Gaara didn't reply as he wanted to get out of this conversation asap. In truth, he had always liked Ino, and in more ways than just a friend. But his own inexperience and misunderstanding about emotions and love caused him to miss the opportunity of being with her instead. Of approaching her from the beginning.
"I've always had feelings for her," he eventually replied.
Fu made a noise of disbelief before rolling her eyes. "You're a fucking asshole, Gaara,"
The young man didn't respond as she walked away, agreeing with her on that fact - he really was an asshole.