"If You Can't Take the Cold..." (moar Gaara!)

[Starry_Screamer]

Eeeee. Like the title says, moar Gaara. I can't seem to stop writing him!!

I wanted to do more Gaara and Shinkei for some reason. I came up with this idea a long time ago but never started it till now. I figured, hey, she's from the Mist Village/Kirigakure. And it's... predictably, very cold there. Rainy and snowy and just absolutely wintry. While Gaara, the adorably stoic little Kazekage, is from the Sand Village/Suna. Which is blisteringly hot and dry and desert-y.

So of course the first thing I thought of was that he'd be sensitive to the cold aaaaaand... maybe catch a little something while he's visiting. XD And apparently Mizukage-sama trusts Shinkei enough to look after him in the first place. (Blahaha. Her little argument about the embassy house. )

Weeeeell... there'll be at least one more part to it, I think. I'm hoping to make more than that, but I might need a few ideas if I'm going to continue past 2 parts... I really want to though. XDD

Also, QUOTE. I found it on Google. I looked specifically for it. It seemed to fit the best. ^^

Hope everyone enjoys their cute, sick Kazekage~!

-

PART 1

The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Shinkei did feel sorry for him, she really did.

After all, poor Gaara was shuffling along behind her, shivering and sniffling and a far cry from comfortable. She could practically hear his teeth chatter, yet he was making no bones about it. If it had been her, she’d have complained verbally already. He probably figured that since he was here to maintain diplomatic relations with the Mist Village, the least he could do was keep his mouth shut about their climate. Though, she’d caught a glimpse of his face earlier as they were turning; it looked like his thoughts were probably something along the lines of, Diplomatic relations can go fuck themselves. In the ass. It’s beyond freezing. Can I go home now? PLEASE?

Still, despite her pity, she couldn’t help but regard the situation with an odd, satisfying sense of superiority. Something was getting a physical response from the normally stoic, composed Kazekage, and it was something associated with her village. Now that he was mature and fairly level-headed, not many things could get a rise out of him. Apparently, cold weather was one of the things that could.

“So through here,” she continued as she gestured to the fences, “the training grounds are normally used by the Genin and their sensei. However, at the moment they’re being used as a field for the competitions to determine which teams make the cut for attending the Chunin Exams. I understand they’re being held in Suna this year?”

“Y-Yes, they are,” he stammered, sounding like he was getting colder by the second. It was little signs like that which pointed to his discomfort, as he hardly ever stammered or hesitated. “I-I’ve put Kankuro in ch-charge of many of the preparations. W-We’re looking forward to... t-to... tuhhh... hh-”

“Gaara-sama?” She turned away from the chain-link fences of her childhood to make sure he was okay. It sounded like he was struggling to breathe.

She’d turned just in time to see him bending at the waist, holding an arm up and burying his face into his sleeve. “H’ehSSHHOOO!! Huh’TSSSHHHiii!!” After it was over he kept the position for a moment, panting and sniffling wetly. Rubbing his nose in a decidedly sheepish manner, he finally straightened up and avoided eye contact. “Excuse me. The c-cold seems to be aggravating my... m-mhhh... H-H’KNT-hhiu!!” It seemed like he tried desperately to stifle that one, but it kind of failed. “... E-Excuse me again.”

She blinked a few times, her mouth curving down into a little “o” shape. “Why, bless you. Are you alright?”

“Y-Yes, I’m fine...” He rubbed at his nose again, sniffing deeply. “I-I could benefit f-from a handkerchief, however... i-it seems I’ve f-forgotten mine.”

She leaned against the fence, crossing her arms. The position brought back memories, but she swallowed them down and forced away a flashback. “I’m sorry... I don’t believe I have one. Is your nose running?”

“Yes... and I...” He paused, and all of a sudden a light blush splashed across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. “I-I need to...” The blush deepened, and he started rubbing more frantically. It looked as if he were embarrassed about something and couldn’t bring himself to say what it was.

Oh. Her eyes widened just a bit in realization, then she blinked slowly once. He was sniffling incessantly, and rubbing at his nose on top of that. “Do you need to blow your nose as well, Gaara-sama?”

He nodded, the blush fading a little. “Y-Yes, quite... urgently... I’m afraid.”

“Ah, I see. Unfortunately I don’t have a handkerchief with me either...” She felt something cold and wet plop down onto her knee, and squinted up at the sky to see that the clouds were beginning their typical onslaught of dripping water all over the citizens of the village. “We should probably get inside anyway. It’s starting to rain, and it would be such a shame if you got sick. At the least, it’d reflect poorly on Kiri if you went back to Suna all sniffly, sneezy, and feverish. The people would resent us for not returning their Kazekage in the same condition we got him in..."

He sighed, sniffling again. “It m-might be too late for that. I feel like I’m c-coming down with a cold.”

“Tsk, well, that’s not good.” She pushed herself off the fence and turned in the direction of her house. “Come along then, I’ll take you back to my house and you can get some rest.”

He raised an eyebrow... ridge. “I-I could just stay at the embassy b-building. Isn’t that what it’s f-for, after all?”

“You haven’t seen that building.” She grabbed his hand and tugged lightly. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this village doesn’t have the best standards for hygiene... or manners. It would make me uncomfortable to have you staying there. I’d really rather you just stay with my family for your visit. Please.”

She heard him exhale slightly, but he followed her. “If it p-puts your mind at ease, I don’t see any p-problem with it.” All of a sudden he tightened his grip on her fingers a little and pulled her back. It was a bit rough but it seemed desperate, like he really, seriously needed her to stop. “Sh-Shinkei, hold... h-hold on, I... h-have to... have to s-s... suhh... heh - heh’TCHHHiii!! Huh’atsSCHHHOOOO!!” His breath hitched again, like he still had one more coming. Predictable; it seemed like they came in threes. “A-Ah... it w-won’t co-cohhh... come out... hh-!”

Glancing back, she felt a little twinge of pity for him. It looked like he was really struggling with it, eyes fluttering and nose twitching, sharp little gasps escaping him with no relief offered. “Gaara-sama, do you need me to do anything? Can I help?”

“N-No, I... hih...! I d-don’t think...” He crinkled his nose up, trying to get it unstuck, to no avail. By now it had begun to drizzle steadily, little drops of rain plopping down around them, splattering and beginning to take over the ground with dark spots. “Th-There’s anything you can d... dihh... do...”

“Try looking up at the sun,” she suggested offhandedly. “Kuna says that always works for Lee. The clouds are starting to spread, though, so if you’re going to try it, you better hurry.”

Looking like he was willing to try anything, he quickly snapped his head up to look at the sky. He narrowed his eyes a bit, but it didn’t seem to be working for him. “Ugh... i-it’s not...” Just as he was about to give up, a fat raindrop came plummeting down and splashed right onto the tip of his nose.

Evidently that was just the prompt his small nose needed, because his reaction was to immediately duck back down into his sleeve, his entire body tensing up again. “Ah - h-heh-! Heh’KKt!!” One would have thought that’d be the end of it, since they came in triples. But apparently that one little raindrop had been quite the stimulus; either that or stifling had just irritated his nose further. Either way, the fit continued. “Hn’ggkt!! Hnn’gkk!! H’gkkt!! H-Heh - Heh’NNGKT-chhhii!!” That last one sounded like it made him tired and drained the last of his energy, the poor thing.

Shinkei clicked her tongue, coming up behind him and carefully placing one hand on either of his arms. She would have given in to her sudden caretaking urge and wrapped her arms completely around him, if she hadn’t understood the importance of getting him out of the rain as fast as possible. “That doesn’t sound very good,” she commented, gently leading him toward the path that would take them home. “Boy, when you said you were coming down with something, you meant it.”

He groaned, not daring to bring his arm down. “I don’t think sneezing is the most of it, either,” he sniffled, for the first time that day sounding on his way to being miserable. “It might just be the rain, but I think I’m starting to get chills and aches.”

She squeezed his arm reassuringly, briefly leaning her head against his back. “Well, then, we better get you inside before it gets any worse. Come on, Gaara-sama...” She gave him a soft prod in the leg with her knee. “It’s not much further.”

-

D'AWWW. Poor Gaara! I hope they get back to the house soon so he can relax. ^^

Notes? Suggestions? Comments? Praise? Criticism? XDDDD Anything else you'd like to see in the next few parts?

WELL. I hope you all liked, and hopefully more will be coming soon!

Thanks for reading, have a great day everyone!

[Always-a-Ginger]

Very Cute!!!

[Starry_Screamer]

Always-a-Ginger: Oh thanks so much! Glad you liked. More coming soon~ ^^

[Natto]

Ahh, this is adorable! I love the idea of difficult adjusting to the different climates. Kiri is vastly different from Suna, and the change could certainly result in sickness. I'm looking forward to seeing this play out. And seeing whether Gaara people back home will actually be angry about it or not.

[Starry_Screamer]

Natto: Aww thanks! Haha, glad to see I'm not the only one who likes that idea, it's one of my favorite ways for someone to get sick. 8D I usually just make him complain about it and be all "Oh sure, YOU'RE fine, you're not the one turning into an ice cube" but for this forum I can go all-out. XD Hehehe, well, I'm hoping I'll get as far as when he gets to go home. I shall go write more now because... well because Gaara's cute and I'm bored. Thanks for the lovely comment~!

[Natto]

Yeah...when writing non-fetish stuff there's always the temptation to include it somehow...situations that seem perfect are always popping up, but one has to limit it to avoid seeming obsessive, or focusing too much on things that won't matter to most readers. *siiiigh* Fetish fiction is nice because our obsession can be the star of the show! And yaay, you're going to continue it! I can't wait to read the next part!

By the way, I have about 1,000 words written of your story at this point. Shinkei and her team have finally shown up. Just thought I'd let you know that progress is still being made!

[Starry_Screamer]

Natto: Oh yeah I know! Sometimes I will include it but not describe it as well, so I don't get "found out" lol. Fetish fiction is awesome!!! 8D I can't find a lot of Naruto fic to satisy me though so I just write my own but somehow it's not the same. *sigh* BUT I'LL GET RIGHT ON WRITING! Gaara's so cute. X3 Oh and I also started a little more of the Iruka fic too. Not quite a page long yet but getting there. 8D

Oooh!! (Lol I love that icon.) Oh so sweet!! I can't wait to read it, it's gonna be AWESOME~ But take your time. Good things are worth waiting for!!!

[Starry_Screamer]

YAY more Gaara for you peoples~!

I wrote the end of it while I was at the doctor's office today. I even have a little trick; if I'm writing something fetishy, EVER in public, I write on paper instead of typing, and I write in cursive. BWAHAHAHAHA.

I thought about adding a quote in for this part too, but I decided nah. I couldn't find a good one to explain this one anyway.

This part is dedicated to Natto, who is a lovely person and wrote me the most awesome wonderful Gaara fic with Shinkei EVER. Love ya, Natto~!

Hopefully the next part will have lots more sneezing and hurt/comfort and some emotional stuff maybe. I've got it planned how I want it to go in my head, but hey, my head is a strange place and it may not go QUITE the way I plan it.

Also, just in case it's confusing, I'll clear it up: by this point in time, Tsubasa is a full-fledged medic. XD So that and the fact that she's the oldest of three girls I hope explains her fussing over Gaara.

Enjoy guys~!

PART 2

“Here you go, Kazekage-sama!” Kuna announced cheerfully, sliding a cup of tea onto the table in front of the visiting leader. “This should warm you up. Be careful though, it’s very hot.”

“Ah...” He managed to give her a weary smile as he slipped his freezing hands around the mug, grateful for the warmth. “I appreciate your hospitality, Mizukara-san. You’re making a wonderful impression for your village.”

She smiled back, sweet as always. “Oh, it’s no problem!” She actually ruffled his hair a bit, giggling. “Shinkei-nee said you were starting to get a cold, so I put a little milk and honey in it too. That should help keep it from turning into something nasty.”

“Thank you for the consideration. Fingers crossed that it works.” He leaned forward and held his face over the cup, breathing in as deeply as he could. From what little he could smell, it wasn’t... horrible. Although he was reminded of something Shinkei told him a while back that Kuna was a “housewife” type of person, but wasn’t a very good cook. He was hoping it tasted better than it smelled, because it really was a nice gesture and he’d hate to reflexively spit it back out. The steam from it seemed to be helping break up the congestion a little, however.

He looked up after hearing Shinkei snort. She was leaning back a bit in her chair, arms crossed over her chest and a rare grin plastered to her face. She dipped her head a bit and gestured to him. “Your nose is starting to run, Gaara-sama.”

“O-Oh...” Feeling a bit embarrassed, he quickly brought his arm up to wipe his nose on his sleeve. It was a decidedly childish, undignified, and none too sanitary action, but it worked at least. “I’m sorry...” he sniffled, continuing to rub. He was afraid he’d felt the tickle come back, and he wasn’t comfortable sneezing in front of Kuna. He didn’t want to worry her any more than she already was. “M-Mizukara-san, you wouldn’t happen to have a handkerchief handy, would you?”

“Ooh!” She turned around from the stove, setting another mug down in front of her sister. “I’m sorry, I don’t. I lent mine to Lee-kun the last time I was in Konoha...” Her face took on an unmistakably lovesick look before she re-composed herself. “But I’m sure there are some tissues upstairs! I’ll be right back, Kazekage-sama, Shinkei-nee.” With that, she skirted out of the room.

Gaara glanced across the table at the other blonde, who was now leaning back and taking a deep draught from her cup. “She... snf... made you tea too?”

She set her mug down and grabbed a hat from the side of the table, sweeping it onto her head in one graceful motion. “Mine’s hot chocolate. I love Kuna, but I can’t stomach her tea.” She tilted the hat down, finally leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table. “Be thankful you’re stuffed up and won’t be able to taste it. I think Lee only says he likes it to be polite.”

He chuckled. “Well, they say that love blinds you. Maybe it just made him unable to taste anything she makes, too.”

She grinned, tipping the hat back up a bit so he could at least see her eyes. “He’s so in love with her, she can’t do any wrong. She could probably kill someone and he’d say they were asking for it before helping her hide the body. I’m still not clear on the whole, you know... definition of love and all that, but if that’s what it does to you, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to fall so hard into it. Clearly, love makes you irrevocably stupid. Who’s that keen on being that stupid?”

“Kuna and Lee, evidently.”

Shinkei laughed, shaking her head. “Gaara, I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but I really like your sense of humor.”

“Thanks - I could have sworn I didn’t even have a sense of humor.” He sniffled and groaned; wonderful, the tickle had come back. And it had gotten stronger, too. “Ugh, Sh-Shinkei...” Raising his wrist up to scrub at his nose yet again, he mentally cursed Kiri’s cold, apparently germ-friendly environment. “I h-have to... hhh... s-sneeze agaiihhh...” The rubbing wasn’t helping at all, but at least he had his arm up already so he could easily cover his face.

Cocking her head to the side, she raised an eyebrow at him. “So... sneeze.” Clearly she didn’t find it quite as big a deal as he did. In fact she sounded nonchalant at best, and probably thought he was just being weird.

“I don’t wahhh... want to w-worry Kuna...” He buried his face in his sleeve, scrunching his nose and trying to delay the inevitable.

“Well, she’s gone. If you want to do it while she’s not here, hurry up and get it over with before she gets back down.”

That was as good a suggestion as any, really. It would solve the problem without alarming Kuna. He took a few breaths, which was annoying; he absolutely loathed those false starts that seemed like he was going to sneeze, and then the tickle somehow just went away like that. But finally it returned, and he quickly buried his face deep into his sleeve. “Hmm’chhhh!! Huh’mff-CHHHII!!” Maybe if he tried to muffle them, nobody besides Shinkei would hear. “Hih’mmphh-SHHH!!”

“You don’t have to do that,” Shinkei sighed after offering a bless you. “She’s upstairs, not in the living room. It’s not like she’s going to hear you. Just let it out or you’re going to hurt yourself.” Shrugging, she sipped from her mug again. “I don’t even get why you’re so embarrassed about sneezing in front of her, you did it well enough in front of me... I dunno, is that the kind of thing I should take as an insult?”

As he launched into another fit, attempting to stifle this time, the door to the kitchen from outside opened. In walked Shinkei’s older sister, Tsubasa, who had apparently just gotten off her shift as a Chunin. “Hey everybody, I-”

“Hnn’gkkt!! H - Heh - Hn’GGKT!! Hn’NGGKTT!!” The stifles weren’t even doing anything positive except barely lowering the volume of his sneezes. Not to mention, they were painful. It actually hurt to stifle them like that, stinging his sinuses as he pressed his nose against his sleeve.

“Well, hello to you too,” Tsubasa commented, putting her bag down on a chair and walking over. “Would you listen to that!” she added, cheerfully thumping him on the back with the heel of her palm. “Sounds like Kiri’s year-round cold and flu season is wreaking havoc on your immune system, kid.”

“Tsubasa, respect the Sand’s leader,” Shineki reminded lazily, leaning back and propping her feet up on the table.

The redhead frowned, putting a hand on her hip. “One, please take my hat off. Two, get your feet off the table because we eat there and we are people, damn it. Three, my bad. Knee-jerk response when I see someone younger than me. My apologies, Kazekage-sama.” She then turned her eyes back to the other redhead in the room. “Let me guess, he’s gone and caught something?”

Shinkei nodded, chewing on her thumbnail. “Yeah, he’s got a cold. Kuna went to go get him some tissues,” she answered, since she saw the next question in her sister’s eyes.

“Yikes. He leaves for Suna the day after tomorrow. I don’t think Mizukage-sama would be very happy if we sent him back in such bad shape.” She leaned down over the table, sliding a hand over the Kazekage’s forehead. As the oldest of course she would be used to taking care of people - at least Kuna, if not Shinkei too. “When did he start sneezing like this?”

“About two hours ago.” Shinkei gestured with her hands, though it didn’t look like her gestures really meant anything. “We were outside and I was showing him the training grounds. He’s been sniffling ever since he got here, and it started raining, so I figured I’d better bring him back here.”

“Wasn’t he supposed to go to the embassy house?”

The blonde pouted. “Why does everyone think that place is the bees’ knees? It’s not even clean down there and everyone’s rude. They act like you’re wasting their time. I wasn’t going to have him staying there.”

“Well, you’re right about it for sanitary reasons, I guess - he doesn’t need more germs.”

All this while poor Gaara was trying to put an end to this sneezing fit. “Hn’gkSSHHH!! He - He’iitssschhhoooo!! Hn’gkktt!! Hnn’tchhh!! Hnn’gg-CHHIIII!!” Sniffling miserably, he rolled his eyes up to look at Tsubasa. That damn fit had nearly taken all the breath out of him, but after a few seconds he managed to choke out, “D-Do I have a f-fever?”

The eldest clicked her tongue - a habit that Shinkei also had, so at last he knew where it had come from - and shook her head as she withdrew her hand. “It feels like it, but I don’t think it’s too high. If we can get that fever to go away, you’ll probably feel a lot better.”

“Bless you, like, a million times,” Shinkei chimed in, placing her arms on the table and resting her head on them. “You sound awful, Gaara-sama. You really should get some rest, it would probably help.”

He coughed a few times, unwilling to lift his head up from his sleeve. “I deed to blow by dose first...”

“Sure sounds like it,” Tsubasa scoffed, pulling up a chair and sitting down. “What else is wrong with you? Do you have a headache? Does your stomach hurt?”

“Headache, yes,” he muttered, sniffling again. He really hoped Kuna got back with the tissues soon, he wasn’t sure how much more he could take of this runny, stuffy nose. On one hand he could barely breathe through his nose, and yet it was running quite a bit, dampening his sleeve. It didn’t make sense, but then again he reasoned being sick didn’t make sense at all. “Body aches, too. I’b tired, a’d coughi’g, a’d by throat hurts. I’b codgested and by dose is ruddi’g, a’d... I’b just so sick.”

“Tsk, listen to you.” Tsubasa put both hands on her hips and sighed. “As much as I hate to say it, Shin’s right. If you expect to feel any better, you’re going to have to take it easy for the remainder of your visit. You already met with Mizukage-sama, so we’ll just have to hole you up in our guest room.”

“Don’t worry,” Shinkei spoke up, taking Tsubasa’s hat off and smoothing her hair down. “We’ll take very good care of you, Gaara-sama.”

“Right.” Tsubasa reached over and snatched her hat. “We at least want your fever to break before you go back to Suna. After you’re done here, Shin’ll take you right upstairs so you can get some rest.”

“Shin’ll do what now?”

Tsubasa rolled her eyes. “Don’t screw around, Shin.”

“Hmmph.” She put her feet down, and footsteps on the stairs could be heard. “I was just kidding, Tsubasa. Of course I’d be happy to take him up to the guest room.”

Gaara hissed, feeling the tickle start up again. He’d thought it was over for the time being, and it was the worst timing that Kuna came down the stairs just as he began sneezing again. “Huh’TCHHHOOOO!! H’tssshhhh!! H - Heh’tchhhii!! Eh - Eh’ITSSSSCCHHHHHiiuuu!!”

“Oh my, Kazekage-sama!” The younger blonde hurried over to him. “Bless you!” She held out the blue cardboard box. “H-Here, I found some tissues. It’s about half-full, but I think there’s another box or two in the guest room. Oh, bless you again!”

“H’eeetschhhooooo!! H’TSSHHHUUU!!” With that, the worn-out Kage let his head fall forward onto the table and groaned. “I hate bei’g sick.”

Shinkei pulled a handful of tissues from the box, standing up and migrating over to her ill friend. “Don’t worry, Kuna, I got him.” Bending down just a bit, she gingerly lifted his head up by cupping his chin in her hand. “Gaara-sama, come on now,” she insisted, firmly holding the tissues over his nose. “I know you feel like crap, but you’ve complained several times about having to blow your nose. Plus you’re dripping all over the place - don’t make me use more force than necessary, please. I don’t want to make it look like I punched you in the face.”

Gaara sniffled, noticing with dismay that if not for her hand holding the tissues over his face, all three of the girls would be able to see the mucus trailing toward his lip. “Shidkei, as sick as I ab, please trouble yourself to rebe’ber that I’b the Kazekage a’d a growd persod, dot a child. I cad blow by owd dose.”

“So do it, then! For Mist’s sakes, what is your problem?” She snatched his hand and clasped it over the tissues, removing her own hand. “You can either do it yourself, or be treated like a little kid, because that’s sure as hell the way you’re acting. Your choice, but if you don’t make it within the next thirty seconds, I’ll choose for you.”

She sighed, snuffling into the tissues. “... I wod’t like your choice, will I?”

“Nope. And heads up, you’ve got about fifteen seconds before I grab those tissues back and manhandle your bodily fluids.”

Pouting, he slowly brought up his other hand to press one side of his nose shut before blowing gently a few times. It was louder and a bit wetter than he’d expected, but it was clearing him up. After blowing the other side as well, he was immensely relieved to find that he could breathe much better now. And as a bonus, blowing his nose seemed to have warded off the tickle - for now, anyway. “Ugh... excuse me. That wasn’t very...”

“Dignified?” Shinkei finished, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Maybe not, but you needed it. Sounds like it felt good, besides, and as long as it makes you feel better, who cares?”

Crumpling up the tissues and swiping at his nose with them, he gave her a small, grateful smile. “Thank you.”

“That certainly sounded harsh, Kazekage-sama,” Tsubasa remarked, heading for the stairs. “I’ll go see if I can’t find you some medicine for that cold. Be back in a few minutes.”

“And you’ve got to drink your tea,” Kuna added, pushing the mug back toward him again. “Lee-kun says it works wonders for him. I make it every time he’s sick. You’ll never start feeling better if you don’t drink it all up.”

“Yeah, Gaara-sama,” Shinkei snickered, barely bothering to conceal her amusement with loosely clenched fingers near her mouth. “Drink it all up, now.”

He scowled briefly before taking a few sips of the tea. He tried not to make a face, because from what he could tell it tasted terrible. But he gulped down some more, trying not to burn his tongue; if it helped get rid of this dreadful sickness and warmed him up, he was all for it. He’d try anything.

... Even if it did taste vaguely like feet. Love must have destroyed Lee’s taste buds if he liked this stuff.

-

Hahahaha, Kuna's horrible cooking. XDD I think I'll make a running joke out of it. SHE CAN'T EVEN MAKE TEA RIGHT~

Aaaaaand yet Lee eats or drinks everything she makes without question or critique. AHAHAHAHA.

... Ahem, anyway. I hope you all enjoyed!! Any ideas, y'all? This'll probably have at least two more parts, but I'd like to keep it going for longer than that, so any suggestions are welcome!

Thanks for reading, guys~! ^^