Work Text:
[the inspiration to this oneshot]
“Oh my god.”
Temari halted the stirring of her tea. She gently placed the spoon against the saucer and peeked her head out from the kitchen to glance into the living room.
“You okay, squirt?” She could only see the back of his head, which stayed eerily still from his spot on the couch. Her head tilted in curiosity. “Gar?” She called out again.
“Oh my god.” Gaara mumbled softly, almost undetectable if Temari wasn’t straining to hear any response from her younger brother.
She walked into the living room, guided by a familiar anxious feeling creeping up her chest. She hadn’t felt this way in a while. It’s been around a decade since the turn of their relationship. Before, Gaara frightened his siblings, his neighbors, even himself at times. Neither of the three siblings could pinpoint when exactly things shifted. There was one day, however, where she recalled a small knock on the door that scared her out of her story book trance.
Normally, Kankuro conditioned Temari to him barging in her room after three deafening knocks paired him shouting, ‘Don’t be naked, I’m coming in!’ There was only two, hesitant knocks and no shouting. She had no clue how to spend the next two seconds now that there wasn’t a purple face-painted idiot threatening to disturb her peace.
Instead, a short frame walked in. The sight of bright red messy hair automatically made her tense up. She instinctively grabbed her blanket, pulling the sheets closer to her body. “Gaara?” She called out. She wasn’t sure what was happening or what to do.
His small body slowly made its way into her room. Once he was fully in, he closed the door behind him. His gaze was to the floor. He cleared his throat, lifting his head while closing his eyes tightly shut. “Temari?” His voice was small, maybe even nervous. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen this side of him before. He looked so small. His round chubby cheeks were also fading away as he aged, but they were still slightly there, with a bright pink blush dusting over them. “Does this outfit look bad?” He asked quietly.
Temari relaxed her tense brows and sat up a bit in her bed to get a better look at his clothing. He had a chocolate brown short sleeved shirt that was way too large for his body, paired with a bright red, skin tight ripped pair of jeans. After years of teasing only Kankuro, a small chuckle naturally escaped her lips.
Gaara’s piercing blue eyes shot up to meet hers. Rage, embarrassment and nervousness all flashing through the teal pupils that used to strike only fear into her young heart. But now, he looked as little and as scared as the day she first met him. When all he could do is cry and be soothed by the warm skin of their mother.
She quickly covered her mouth until she could manage a gentle and soft smile. Gaara, still tense and uncomfortable, scanned Temari’s face. He searched for a reason to be upset, a reason to never try and do this again. All he found was a warm smile. He couldn’t recall why staring at her made him feel comforted in a way that was unusual. He liked it and hated it all the same.
“How about..” Temari’s eyes scanned him up and down. She tilted her head and hummed softly. Gaara wanted to fade away under her gaze, no matter how gentle. She scooted herself closer to the edge of the bed. Gaara instinctively took a step back, his back hitting the wooden bedroom door. Temari sighed and sat back on her heels. “It’s not the worst I’ve ever seen.”
Gaara’s mouth twitched, almost wanting to smile.
“Honestly, we can work with it!” Temari flashed a small smile at Gaara. Her eyes squinted as she analyzed the outfit altogether. “Let’s start by getting a shirt that isn’t three sizes too large.” Gaara nodded, still with uncertainty painted over his face. Temari stepped out of her bed, the cold hardwood hitting her bare feet. She took one half step towards Gaara who didn’t attempt to take another furthering step. “Can I look at your closet?”
Gaara watched Temari hesitantly. He wanted to say no and be alone. He really only wanted this to be a quick interaction. But he saw the expression on her face, one he hasn’t seen from her or anyone else really. It elicited a good feeling inside of him. He didn’t know what it was, but it wasn’t a bad thing, not yet at least.
Gaara slowly nodded. “Yes, please.”
It was quiet, it was timid. But it was a yes.
Gaara, now older, kinder and better dressed, sat on the couch, frozen. He didn’t even realize Temari coming up behind him and looking over his shoulder.
“Oh my god!” Temari gasped, leaning in closer for a better look at Gaara’s phone. “Who the hell is this?”
Gaara couldn’t look up from his phone. “I think he wants to return my shirt.”
“Only if he comes with the return!”
Both siblings were oblivious to the front door opening and closing. Kankuro trudged into the living room, weighed down by a multitude of grocery bags.
“Yup, I needed no help at all, actually! Not like I’m already shopping and cooking for us all. Might as well be a professional housemaid while I’m at it.” He complained as he passed by his unusually quiet siblings.
Dropping off the bags in the kitchen, he walked back into the living room with his hands sternly on his hips. “So no help and I’m being ignored?”
Gaara replied by flipping his phone to face Kankuro. Gaara and Temari could only watch as Kankuro’s illuminated face shifted from slightly confused, to shocked, then to wildly impressed.
“He better come with the return.” He muttered under his breath, refusing to look away from the screen.
“That’s what I said!” Temari cheered, reaching her hand out and meeting Kankuro for a high-five.
“What do I say?” Gaara turned his phone to face him again. He chewed on his bottom lip and held the phone close to his face.
“Well, was it a two XL?” Kankuro took a seat on the couch next to Gaara.
“I thought it said so on the tag!”
“Well, can you refund him?” Temari asked.
“I’m trying!” Gaara’s fingers were moving faster than his brain.
“No, you have to submit a form through the website. Here, let me.” Kankuro insisted, reaching for Gaara’s phone.
Gaara tried to pull away, his phone falling from his hands as he avoided his brother’s reach. “Kankuro.” He said sternly.
Kankuro threw his hands up in defense and leaned back. “Whatever man. Just don’t send another weird text.”
Gaara froze. “Another text?”
Kankuro pointed to the phone facing down on the ground by his feet. “Yeah, ‘oh my god’. Really? I have to teach you how to flirt, little man. That’s not gonna cut it.”
Gaara lunged for the phone, turning it over to see the text he wrote out and accidentally sent while absentmindedly listening to his siblings talk over each other. “Oh my god.”
“It’s only a little embarrassing! But that’s okay! You can recover, squirt.” Kankuro patted a hand on Gaara’s back.
Gaara dropped the phone in his lap and hid his face in his hands. “I didn’t mean to send that.”
Gaara felt his the weight of his phone leave his lap and a small chuckle from Temari. “Aw, he’s sweet.”
Gaara’s head shot up quickly. “He responded?”
Temari leaned in closer to her brothers, displaying the screen to both of them. “He’s so worried.”
‘Did I do something wrong? I can clean it before returning. I promise I didn’t stretch it too much!’
Gaara stared at the screen. He gently and precisely took his phone out of Temari’s hands, trying to avoid another accident. “I’ll just block him.”
“WHAT?” Both of his siblings shouted in unison.
“I can’t do this. This is so embarrassing.” Gaara pressed the sleep button on his phone and threw it on the couch.
Before he could realize the opportunity he opened for his brother, Kankuro quickly snatched the phone, standing himself up on the couch cushions and lifting the phone high and out of Gaara’s reach. As predicted, Gaara jumped up, pulling all his weight on Kankuro’s arm to try to retrieve his phone.
It was too late. Kankuro swiftly typed out a message and sent it before Gaara could finally yank the phone from him. Gaara couldn’t even find the time to be angry as he read over the text.
‘No worries, dude. In my opinion, it looks great on you. Can you show me the size on the back of the shirt?’
“I don’t say dude.” Gaara huffed, sitting himself back down on the couch cushion.
Temari rolled her eyes at the playful and deviant smirk on Kankuro’s face. He was annoying as all hell, but he was helpful in times like these.
The ring of a message notification grabbed the attention of all three siblings. They all huddled together at once like magnets, eyes glued to the screen.
“Woah.”
The newest message was a photo of the shirt indeed. Except it was now on the bed, showing the size of the shirt. In the background was a large mirror, showing all of the mystery man’s unclothed torso.
He was a warm, deep shade of tan skin. He had beautifully crafted abdominal muscles, incredibly strong and toned biceps, triceps, pecs and almost every muscle group that could be developed. The lower half of his thick and veiny forearm was wrapped in white cloth bandages, all the way down to the scarred knuckles on his fingers. Did he practice martial arts maybe? Whatever it was, was undoubtedly breathtaking. The view of his body stopped right above a waistband to a pair of dark green sweats. The carved v-line of his waist showed just enough to make Gaara drool.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Kankuro shouted. His placed out both his palms, Gaara and Temari reaching out to high-five him.
“I have to admit, that was pretty smart, Kank.” Temari said, reaching over to give him a soft nudge.
“Hey, I know a thing or two! Can’t believe Gaara was just going to ignore him! That’s a hot piece of man just waiting to-” Kankuro cut himself off abruptly once he noticed how fast Gaara’s fingers were moving. “Gaara, what are you doing?”
The siblings leaned back in to read over the four texts Gaara managed to type and send within the thirty seconds that they weren’t looking.
’God almighty.’
’Keep it, or don’t. I’ll send you your money back.’
’Are you single? And not like a crazy person or anything? I would like to go on a date with you.”
”Also I am a man. If you like men.”
“Well, that’s one way to do it.” Kankuro threw his hands up in defeat, sitting back against the couch. “There’s no way he’s not freaked out after that.”
Temari took the phone out of Gaara’s hand, forcing his attention on her. “Gaara, are you crazy? You sound crazy! Who on earth is going to want to go out on a date with a stranger selling them clothes-”
Ding!
“Oh my god, he said yes.”
Gaara stuck his hands out, his lips shifting into a cocky smirk that uncannily resembled Kankuro’s.
His siblings defeatedly slapped their hands against his.