Rain

I was talking to my friend about the fact that it was raining and she mentioned that her little brother had been playing in a rain puddle the other day and I got this idea. So. . . here it is!! Enjoy!!

disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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BOOM!! The burst of thunder tore through the silence of the summer afternoon. The small redheaded boy sitting in the middle of the room dashed behind the couch, scattering the blocks he had been playing with, hiding in the small space between the couch and wall. Kankuro stood from where he was sitting, flipping off the TV. He looked behind the couch, staring down at his little brother, who was biting the ear of the teddy bear that was clutched tightly in both his arms, his strange eyes wide and pale. Kankuro took a deep breath, trying to quell the slight fear that hit him when he saw the small child. He's just a little boy. . . what can he do to me? He held out his hand with a smile. "Come here, Gaara. It's not that bad."

Gaara sniffed a bit, dragging the back of his hand over his eyes, wiping the tears off. "Scary. . ."

Kankuro broadened his smile, kneeling down. "I know. It is scary. Come here and I'll help you."

The four-year-old child placed his tiny hand in his brother's larger hand, letting Kankuro pull him from behind the couch. He stared out the window at the rain that was pouring from the sky. Rain in the desert was a rare occurance, so it didn't surprise Kankuro that Gaara had started so badly when the thunder had first sounded. "Scary?"

"No. See, it's raining."

"Rain?"

"Yeah. Rain. The boom you heard earlier was thunder."

"Thunder?"

Kankuro chuckled a bit at the little boy, sitting down, lifting his brother into his lap. Gaara looked up at him, the tears drying on his face. "Thunder is when the air is rent in two."

Gaara just looked confused. Kankuro sighed a bit, exasperated at his lack of being able to tell the child what was going on. "Play in it?"

"Sure. We can go and play in the rain." Kankuro replied with a grin. "Go get in some warmer clothes, okay?"

Gaara nodded, then slipped off his lap, running off, his teddy bear bouncing along behind him.

Kankuro grinned as he watched the boy disappear. His father had left with Temari, leaving Kankuro in control of the house and Gaara. He was worried at first, knowing the evil that was housed in his baby brother, but he was starting to actually like the little boy. His father had warned him about Gaara falling asleep, so he was careful to make sure the child didn't fall asleep. Gaara appeared from the back, dressed in the warm clothes that he would wear when they went north. "Ready?"

"Yeah!!" Gaara ran to the door, tugging it open.

"Leave teddy inside. You don't want him to get wet do you?" Kankuro asked. Gaara shook his head, putting the teddy bear back inside. Kankuro laughed as Gaara ran out into the rain, looking up, getting thoroughly soaked. He dropped into a puddle, splashing around it in, laughing. Wow. . . I don't think I've ever seen him laugh before. Then again. . . I've never spent much time with him.

"Brother!!" Gaara called. "Come play!"

Kankuro laughed, walking to where Gaara was sitting playing. Once they were both througly soaked to the bone, Kankuro lifted Gaara, carrying the little boy inside. "Come on, let's get you dried off."

"Okay!"

Kankuro carried Gaara into his room, setting the boy on the floor. Gaara stood there, dripping all over the floor, starting to shiver. Kankuro grabbed a clean, dry set of clothing, then led his little brother into the batroom. "Dry off."

Gaara struggled to pull the wet clothes off, but they stuck to his skin and he just ended up getting tangled in them. "Stuck."

"I'll help." Kankuro helped Gaara out of the sopping clothes, dropping them in the bathtub, wrapping Gaara in a towel. He stuck his head out of the top, his reddish brown hair messy, a grin on his face. Kankuro laughed, helping Gaara dry off, then get dressed. "Stay here, ok?"

"I want to follow."

Kankuro smiled, then walked into his bedroom, Gaara following him. He dried off, then changed into dry clothes, leading Gaara back into the main room. He dropped down onto the couch, flipping on the TV. Gaara grabbed his teddy bear, then crawled onto Kankuro's lap, curling up, sucking on his teddy bear's ear, his eyes drooping. Kankuro watched Gaara carefully. The boy was breathing deeply, resting, but not fully asleep. Kankuro smiled, then turned back to the TV. A few hours later, his father and uncle returned, his uncle taking Gaara from him. "Hey!"

Gaara moaned a complaint as he was pulled from his brother's arms. "No. . ."

"He's not supposted to be out. Why is he in here?"

"I wanted to watch TV and you told me to watch him, so I moved him in here."

Gaara reached out for Kankuro, sniffing as a tear trickled down his face. "Brother. . ."

His uncle Yashamaru shook his head, carrying Gaara back to his room.

Kankuro watched him as he went, smiling at Gaara, who was looking over Yashamaru's shoulder, tears running down his face as he cried. He felt bad for his little brother, knowing he would once again be locked away from human contact, left where noone could touch him. Kankuro sighed, but smiled a bit, knowing he would always cherish the few hours he had with his little brother, Gaara, just plain Gaara, no monsters, no evil, just a little boy longing for company.

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There ya'll go!! I really hope you liked it! This is my first NAruto fan fic, so. . . yeah. If you liked, please review for me!! And I was thinking that I might add more chapters to this, maybe one with Gaara's POV. If you think I should do that, tell me in a review. Thanks for reading!!