ねむれません

Things have cooled down a bit.

Naruto seems a lot calmer than normal. She's stopped getting messages at odd times from someone on her phone and while Gaara still wants to know who it was; he doesn't pry. Nowadays he's not too sure how to react to these kinds of situations; he had been diagnosed with separation anxiety, after all. What if nothing was wrong and he was just making it all up?

Just last week his mother had called and told her that she would be paying for his new therapy sessions, and that if he refused to go then she would no longer help pay for their apartment. It was a low move but Gaara understands. The least he could do was give her some sort of peace of mind.

Naruto understood too, but she wasn't quite happy the recent changes his therapist had suggested. At first she had been all for it; going with him to therapy and sometimes sharing a conversation with the therapist himself. Things were just fine and dandy until the therapist started to suggest she walk with him to therapy, and then head home by herself.

Gaara hadn't been happy with that either. There were a number of possibilities and situations that could've awaited his girlfriend as she walked home by herself; someone could hurt her or touch her or kidnap her, or worse! The first day she leaves without him; he can't focus. The therapist takes away his phone, his only and last method of contacting her in case of something awful happening.

He writes something down in his little notebook and puts down the pen. "How long have the two of you been together?"

He blinks, unready for such a question in a time of panic. "Ten years."

"What about since you started dating?"

"Two and a half."

"You two are awfully young to have such a serious relationship, but I believe that is an amazing thing. Do the two of you have any plans for the future? Outside of your relationship, of course."

Of course. This is their last year of high school after all; they've been planning to go to the same college for years and while college was expensive, scholarships helped a lot. Gaara would get academic scholarships for the highest grades, and Naruto will get one for her performance on the track and field team.

After that... What did he want to do with his life and what did she want to do with hers? "College. We're going to the same college after high school."

"What about after college?"

He looks down just long enough for his therapist to understand that he doesn't want to discuss that right now; thankfully, he moves on. "The two of you are very attached. I believe this is the first time out of the last six days that I've sat in this room with you, without her. How are you feeling?"

"Anxious."

"Of course. You became very distressed when Miss Uzumaki left to go home; it's just one of the many things paired with separation anxiety itself. Why don't you tell me what else is going through your head right now?"

The tall, redheaded teen shifts awkwardly on the couch. The pit of unease in his stomach hasn't subsided in the least bit but he does his best to ignore it; Naruto had promised him that everything would be fine. That she'd be there when he got home this evening, and that he had nothing to worry about. He wants to believe her. "I'm worried. Anything could've happened to her..."

He's cut off.

"Always thinking about the worst case scenario, correct? I'm sure that you can't stop worrying about her either." He looks to Gaara; who shifts uncomfortably under his calculating gaze. The man jots something else down in his notebook with a slight hum. "If you don't mind me asking, how did this start? Go as far back as possible, please."

"Mother almost died when I was born and father hated me for that. He... He tried to hurt me once but mother saved me and took me away; we moved to Konoha when I was four. I started school at five."

The quick frown that presents itself on Gaara's face is something the therapist takes note of; if anything, he was determined to get answers. "Did you not enjoy school?"

"The other children refused to play with me because I was an outsider. Red hair isn't the most normal appearance in Konoha; they ignored me and ran every time I made an attempt to befriend them." He pauses, looking down at his hands. "I got very upset with them one time and I hurt three of them. They started calling me a demon after that."

"Is that before you met Naruto?"

"Yes. I met her in first grade. The other kids started teasing her and calling her names for the marks on her face; she never really got upset about it though, not in the way I did. She was crying under a tree during recess and I... I had to talk to her but I wasn't sure what to say or do so I... I touched her shoulder."

"How did she react?"

"She told me..." His eyes soften and his shoulders visibly relax as the voice of a six year old Naruto echoes through his head; it was such a simple sentence but it was something that would stay with him forever. "She said; 'You look kind.' We've been together ever since."

The man grunts in affirmation, putting his small notebook off to the side and crossing his legs. "I'm sure both of you understand that your relationship is anything but normal. The two of you are far too dependent on each other; while that can be good sometimes, it can also become a disability for the both of you."

Gaara feels a bit annoyed; but for both his mother's sake and Naruto's, he cooperates. "Then what do you suggest, we do?"

"It can be fixed, but we have to start small. Today was the first step; it's small, but it's a start. Perhaps tomorrow you could go to school at different times, eat breakfast at separate times, or sleep in different beds. I do suggest that Miss Uzumaki join the track and field team now, otherwise it may be harder for her to get a scholarship later in the year."

Just the idea of walking to school apart from each other was something that didn't sit well with Gaara, but this was all to fix their relationship. He didn't want to become a crutch that Naruto would have to drag along for the rest of her life; he'd push through and heal, all while she did the same. "Okay."

"Making new friends separately should work wonders as well. Please try it."

When Gaara gets home and finds Naruto in the kitchen; perfectly okay and cooking dinner for them both, he understands things a bit better.

oOo

Things are a bit strange with the number one couple today.

The two of them didn't even walk to school together this morning and while that was strange; it was even weirder when they moved seats, ignored each other during class, and avoided each other during lunch. Everyone notices but no one is close enough to the shining couple to ask why things had changed; except for Ino, of course.

She shifts awkwardly in her seat as she watches Naruto push her food around with her chopsticks; her eyes are glazed over and slightly out of focus. Just what could she be thinking about? "Are you guys, um, fighting?" She whispers the last part. Any louder and rumors would spread across school like a wildfire. If the two of them really were fighting, than that would only make things worse.

"Naruto?" She prompts again, attempting to get her friend's attention.

"Huh? Oh, no. We're not fighting." She shakes her head and abandons her chopsticks on the desk; her food is barely touched, save for a few grains of rice here and there. Her bright blue eyes shift across the room and land on a red headed boy; he's sitting alone at the moment, munching on his own lunch in silence. He doesn't seem bothered. "We're just spending some time... apart."

There's an awkward silence that follows. "Oh," She responds.

Really that sounds like a fight to Ino, but she doesn't dive too far into it for fear of Naruto getting annoyed with her. She changes the subject. "You did really well on the track team earlier. I didn't expect you to join a club."

"Thanks. I really love running." She hums, a look of glee in her eyes that wasn't there before. "Since it's my last year here I just kind of figured I should of something. How long have you been on the track team?"

Ino's face contorts slightly as she thinks; pale blue eyes stare up at the ceiling as she tries to come up with an answer. Naruto waits patiently. "Since my first year of middle school. It's how Sakura and I met."

"Sakura used to be on the track team?"

She nods, not in the least bit surprised by Naruto's reaction. "Yeah, we were best friends back then. Neither of us were very good at the time but it was fun." Naruto looks as if she wants to ask another question but Ino stops her first; practically reading her mind as she continues. "We were best friends during all of middle school but she changed, well I think we both did."

"Why?"

Ino gestures towards the Uchiha sitting across the room; he's not too far away from Gaara, but every now and then his eyes shift towards the redhead. For good reason, of course. "Him. He was a pretty boy and we were fresh out of an all girls middle school. Obviously we fell in love in first sight so we changed ourselves for him. We wanted him to like us."

Naruto lowers her voice slightly. "He's an asshole, though."

"I know! We were just too focused on the way he looked but I snapped out of it when I realized how ugly he was on the inside. In a way I guess I matured, and Sakura still has to do that. Maybe we can be friends again, after that." She sighs heavily; shoulders dropping as she pushes her food aside as well. "But she has to change first."

"Is change a good thing?"

Ino shrugs. "Sometimes. I think that it can be good and bad. If I was still the same person that I was from middle school then I'd be like Sakura over there; obsessed with an asshole because of his pretty face. If she doesn't change then one day she'll end up marrying someone just like that and her life will be miserable. Instead I matured and realized that there's a lot more to a person than just a pretty face. I would've never became friends with you and Gaara if I hadn't."

"How is it bad?"

"Sakura and I were best friends. She changed into a person who is more obsessed with having a hot boyfriend, than someone who she can rely on. It changed our relationship and now we don't have one anymore."

The bell rings. Ino retreats back to her desk and the next lesson begins.

Naruto has other things to think about right now.

oOo

Dinner is awkward.

There's a lot to talk about but neither one of them know how to bring it up. They're so used to spending their days together that now talking about being separate was something foreign to them; their days were completely different, but both of them keep quiet anyway. Dinner is the one meal that they promised to always share together; while it normally takes half an hour or so to eat and joke around, things are different today.

Naruto chugs her water down and finishes within half the normal time, standing from the table abruptly and leaving her empty dish in the sink. "I'll clean the table later," She says, partially reminding him that he had dish duty this week. She starts to exit the room but his voice just barely manages to stop her.

"How was your day?"

She shrugs, leaning on the wall a bit. "Fine. How was yours?"

He stares at the ice in his water. "Fine."

Really both of them have a lot of conversation options today. Gaara's therapy classes have been going well and he's been making a lot of progress; at school he's already made a new friend who sits next to him in class. A shy girl named Hinata. They ate lunch together and a boy named Kiba joined them. He was excited to tell Naruto when he got home but now, now it just felt weird.

"Okay." She responds and exits the room a bit quicker than what she normally would have. If they had talked a bit longer and broken the ice that somehow built between them; she could have brought up her conversation with Ino earlier today, or maybe how much she was enjoying the track team. Instead she leaves and cleans up; getting ready for bed while Gaara washes the dishes.

They bump into each other in the hallway. "I'm going to sleep on the couch today."

She raises an eyebrow. Since when has he ever slept on the couch? His sleeping problems were bad enough when he was in bed but now he wanted to move onto the couch? Was it her? Did she do or say something that made him not want to sleep with her anymore? She stiffens. "Why?"

"My therapist," He begins and Naruto calms down a bit. She almost wants to smack herself in the head because it should've been obvious that this was his idea, everything that was going wrong in their relationship was his idea. Eating separate meals, walking alone to school, making new friends, and now sleeping separately? "Said it would be a good idea."

Naruto tries to be accepting. "Okay. I'll sleep on the couch then, I like it better anyway."

It's a lie but he nods, disappearing into the bedroom to collect a pillow and a couple blankets they had folded up in the closest in case they ran out. She leaves to clean up the kitchen; a strange pit of unease resting in her stomach as she wipes down the table. The doorbell rings. "I got it." She calls, but Gaara quickly joins her at the door anyway.

He still doesn't like the idea of her answering the door alone. Anything could happen and if something does, he'd be upset with himself for not preventing it. They swing the door open but there's no one there; instead a small package of bright red hair dye. Gaara looks to his girlfriend with a raised eyebrow.

She's a few shades paler but it might just be his imagination. "Oh, it's h-here!" She stutters and bends down to pick it up; moving past him as she re-enters the house. "I bought this as a joke for Granny Chiyo!"

"Oh." It would seem that not even the oldest of people had a chance of escaping Naruto's pranks; but Chiyo is smart, she often figures things out on her own anyway. Gaara closes the door and heads upstairs again, while Naruto shoves the case underneath the couch when he's not looking.

Later on that night Gaara would waste time staring up at the ceiling from his (their) bed, and Naruto would curl up on the couch watching whatever was on tv.

Neither of them get any sleep that night.

『ねむれません。I can't sleep.』

4LonelySouls, BlueRosette23, Not Stale Bread, PinkiePieParty122894, MeekaStoickZ, CrazyLook, Kreceir, penpeny

Special thanks to CrazyLook. :)

~Berries