My head hurt, thoughts continued to race through my mind as I let my eyelids slip shut, cutting me off- visually- from the world around me. I couldn't get those eyes from my head. They kept coming back. Snapping my eyes open, I sat up and dug around in my room, finally finding the desired object.
The box was small, only large enough to hold a book, and from the looks of it, it did. I lifted the dust covered lid off the box and coughed, more dust greeting me. Blowing it away, I sneezed and wiped at my eyes. Of all the places for dust to be, you'd expect it to be absent from a space ship. No, it was worse out here.
I waved a hand around my face, watching the dust swirl away in the dim light filtering through my windows. My gaze drifted after it and to the universe just beyond the thick sheet of glass. It was calming on normal days, but today I found it hard to find any solace within those distant galaxies. The arrival of Tsunade on board the ship had brought up issues I thought I had locked away for good. I guess the fact that I'd even thought of this book was proof enough that I was wrong.
My gaze drifted back down the leather bound photo album I now held in my hands. This had three months worth of photos within its binding and yet it was full save for fifteen pages. I sighed heavily and ran my fingers over the still slightly dust coated cover, the leather cracked and aged under my fingers. Six years of neglect had finally been revealed as I brushed my fingers over the creaking spine, protesting as the cover was flipped open.
The first photo that I was greeted with was the one I despised the most and yet cherished with all my heart. The man known as Dan was grinning at the camera, his arms on either of my shoulders and his fingers drawing the corner of my lips up in an attempt to make me smile.
I looked back at my seventeen year old self and sighed. I was stony faced and the only real expression there was the stoic glare I had always seemed to wear. And then there was Dan... the twenty-seven year old that was always smiling.
I shook my head slightly and flipped the page, allowing my gaze to scan over the moments frozen in time. I stopped as I reached the last one, my mind having completely forgotten the incident i was now remembering. I swallowed and dragged my fingers over the image gently.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
“HE SHOT ME!?!” Sasuke yelped, his eyes wide in shock as he fought away the elder man. “DAN! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!!!! THE MAN YOU'VE PICKED FOR MY FIRST MATE JUST SHOT ME!!!!”
I rolled my eyes, listening to the argument with a bored amusement as I robotically cleaned the hand gun disassembled in front of me.
“Oh quit your whining, Uchiha! Suck it up!” Dan laughed, lightly hitting the raven-haired Sasuke over the back of the head. The Uchiha shot him a rather dirty glare, most likely telling the man to go ******** himself. I snorted and turned my gaze back to what I was doing, setting down the empty and clean clip before picking up the barrel's cover.
“AND YOU! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU SHOOT ME!?!” Sasuke cried, turning to point at me with an accusing finger. I tutted slightly and smacked his hand away from my face, watching it fall to his side as he grimaced in pain.
“You're annoying, Uchiha. That's why I shot you.” I stated in that smart assed tone I'd had back then.
“WHAT!?! All right, punk! You're dead!” Sasuke snarled, standing and knocking Dan over. I just looked up at him, my glare meeting his intensified gaze. I never flinched, just waited. Eventually I saw Sasuke's resolve slipping, but it wasn't in fear like I'd been hoping or expecting. No, his mask slipped and a look of concern flashed across his features.
“Gaara..?” he asked hesitantly, reaching out with a shaking hand. I blinked, frowning slightly. What was with his sudden mood swing? “Are you... are you afraid I was going to hurt you?” he asked, taking his hand back and looking for all the world as if his parents had just died. I flinched, blinking as I rapidly tried to think of something.
“The hell are you on, Uchiha?” I snarled, even my voice not all that convincing to myself. Sasuke's frown deepened and he took another step towards me, his hand out once more as if to offer his support or comfort.
Dan looked between the two of us, his gaze calculating. He saw the imminent danger this action had and sprung into action... literally. Flying from his spot on the floor, the older man tackled both Sasuke and I to the ground, grinning from ear to ear as he did so.
“AWWW!!!! SO CUTE! YOU'RE FINALLY BONDING!” he sing-song-ed. I flinched and glared at him as Sasuke yelped in pain, squirming as he tried to escape the pressure being put on his wounded shoulder. Dan's grin slipped into a smile and let go of us, snatching Sasuke up once more and dropping him carelessly into a chair. “But! I have to end this happy moment because...” he paused dramatically, a hand over his eyes, “Sasuke will bleed to death if I don't attend to his wound!”
I went back to my seat and snorted, continuing my previous task. “Let him...”
The box was small, only large enough to hold a book, and from the looks of it, it did. I lifted the dust covered lid off the box and coughed, more dust greeting me. Blowing it away, I sneezed and wiped at my eyes. Of all the places for dust to be, you'd expect it to be absent from a space ship. No, it was worse out here.
I waved a hand around my face, watching the dust swirl away in the dim light filtering through my windows. My gaze drifted after it and to the universe just beyond the thick sheet of glass. It was calming on normal days, but today I found it hard to find any solace within those distant galaxies. The arrival of Tsunade on board the ship had brought up issues I thought I had locked away for good. I guess the fact that I'd even thought of this book was proof enough that I was wrong.
My gaze drifted back down the leather bound photo album I now held in my hands. This had three months worth of photos within its binding and yet it was full save for fifteen pages. I sighed heavily and ran my fingers over the still slightly dust coated cover, the leather cracked and aged under my fingers. Six years of neglect had finally been revealed as I brushed my fingers over the creaking spine, protesting as the cover was flipped open.
The first photo that I was greeted with was the one I despised the most and yet cherished with all my heart. The man known as Dan was grinning at the camera, his arms on either of my shoulders and his fingers drawing the corner of my lips up in an attempt to make me smile.
I looked back at my seventeen year old self and sighed. I was stony faced and the only real expression there was the stoic glare I had always seemed to wear. And then there was Dan... the twenty-seven year old that was always smiling.
I shook my head slightly and flipped the page, allowing my gaze to scan over the moments frozen in time. I stopped as I reached the last one, my mind having completely forgotten the incident i was now remembering. I swallowed and dragged my fingers over the image gently.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
“HE SHOT ME!?!” Sasuke yelped, his eyes wide in shock as he fought away the elder man. “DAN! THIS ISN'T FUNNY!!!! THE MAN YOU'VE PICKED FOR MY FIRST MATE JUST SHOT ME!!!!”
I rolled my eyes, listening to the argument with a bored amusement as I robotically cleaned the hand gun disassembled in front of me.
“Oh quit your whining, Uchiha! Suck it up!” Dan laughed, lightly hitting the raven-haired Sasuke over the back of the head. The Uchiha shot him a rather dirty glare, most likely telling the man to go ******** himself. I snorted and turned my gaze back to what I was doing, setting down the empty and clean clip before picking up the barrel's cover.
“AND YOU! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU SHOOT ME!?!” Sasuke cried, turning to point at me with an accusing finger. I tutted slightly and smacked his hand away from my face, watching it fall to his side as he grimaced in pain.
“You're annoying, Uchiha. That's why I shot you.” I stated in that smart assed tone I'd had back then.
“WHAT!?! All right, punk! You're dead!” Sasuke snarled, standing and knocking Dan over. I just looked up at him, my glare meeting his intensified gaze. I never flinched, just waited. Eventually I saw Sasuke's resolve slipping, but it wasn't in fear like I'd been hoping or expecting. No, his mask slipped and a look of concern flashed across his features.
“Gaara..?” he asked hesitantly, reaching out with a shaking hand. I blinked, frowning slightly. What was with his sudden mood swing? “Are you... are you afraid I was going to hurt you?” he asked, taking his hand back and looking for all the world as if his parents had just died. I flinched, blinking as I rapidly tried to think of something.
“The hell are you on, Uchiha?” I snarled, even my voice not all that convincing to myself. Sasuke's frown deepened and he took another step towards me, his hand out once more as if to offer his support or comfort.
Dan looked between the two of us, his gaze calculating. He saw the imminent danger this action had and sprung into action... literally. Flying from his spot on the floor, the older man tackled both Sasuke and I to the ground, grinning from ear to ear as he did so.
“AWWW!!!! SO CUTE! YOU'RE FINALLY BONDING!” he sing-song-ed. I flinched and glared at him as Sasuke yelped in pain, squirming as he tried to escape the pressure being put on his wounded shoulder. Dan's grin slipped into a smile and let go of us, snatching Sasuke up once more and dropping him carelessly into a chair. “But! I have to end this happy moment because...” he paused dramatically, a hand over his eyes, “Sasuke will bleed to death if I don't attend to his wound!”
I went back to my seat and snorted, continuing my previous task. “Let him...”
All right! That's more than I planned on putting out there, but oh well. again don't tell my beta!
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