I Will Not Bow

Author's Note

We own NOTHING! And just a reminder, Gaara has eyebrows in this one. This is the sequel to "Music of the Night." I would highly recommend reading that first if you want to understand what's going on.

And even before you start reading, I'm sorry for whatever mistakes there are. My friend wrote a majority of this. We rp'd some of the parts, but most of it is her doing. I'm too lazy to read it a million times to ensure no mistakes.

*Chapter One. Nightmares Always End Badly…Sometimes.*

"Momma? What are ya doin' out here alone?" the young girl asked quietly, her bright cat-like eyes peeking around the door.

"Nothin', Fang, go back inside," a woman's voice answered, cracking slightly as she spoke.

The tiny brunette pouted softly when she saw the dried tear tracks on her mom's face. "You've been cryin'…Mommy, what's wrong?" she asked as she walked out of the house, a bright blue sari the only thing keeping her warm in the cool night. The fabric hung off her loosely, trailing on the ground and showing just how big it really was on her. Fang knew she wasn't supposed to wear it until she came of age, but she was curious and a curious Fang is a stubborn Fang. She tried it on, only barely managing to walk with it on without it unraveling.

"Honey, go put some clothes on! You're goin' to freeze!" the older woman scolded her seven year-old daughter, who only shook her head. The woman sighed and picked the child up, holding her tightly in her arms. Her dark, bouncy curls brushed against the young girl's cheek when she held onto her mother tightly.

"Why were ya cryin' momma? Did somethin' happen?" the girl inquired against her mother's warm skin.

The woman closed her bright green eyes and shook her head. "No sweetheart, nothin's wrong…" she lied easily before setting her youngest child down. "Now go back ta bed."

"No," the stubborn kid said as she clung to her mother's leg. "Tell me wha's wrong."

The woman paused for a moment before she knelt down in front of her daughter. "Okay, Fang. I'll tell ya, but ya have ta keep it a secret, alrigh'?" The girl nodded her head vigorously, her blue-green eyes wide and innocent as she looked at her mother expectantly. The woman sighed and smiled wistfully at her daughter. "Ya see Fang, Lady Luck blessed me with two of the world's most beautiful little girls and other people don't understand tha'," she stated, lightly touching her daughter's black mark that stained her skin. "This birthmark is special, your sister is special, and so are you. Other people just don't understand tha', they don't understand us…" The woman paused for a second, a war going on behind her eyes. "I…May be leaving for a while, Fang…"

"What do ya mean?" the girl asked. Even though she was young, she knew when something was wrong. She didn't like the feeling in her stomach and chest, it hurt.

"It means tha' it's gonna to be a while 'til ya see me again, sweetheart," her mom answered, closing her eyes to keep the tears from falling out. "Once I have a new home for us, I'll send someone ta come get the two of you, they're goin' ta take ya away from 'ere and bring you back to me, okay?" Fang nodded her head, clinging to her mom tightly. "Until then, I need ya ta take care of Vanille, Fang. Ya need ta promise me tha' you'll protect your family no matter wha'. Can ya do tha' for me?"

The tiny girl nodded her head again, her own tears brimming in her eyes. "Y-Yeah…I promise…"

"Ya promise wha'?"

"I promise ya ta protect my family n-no matter wha'…"

The tall woman gathered her daughter in her arms and kissed her forehead. "Just remember, no matter wha' happens, I love ya both with all my heart." The woman let her daughter go and stood up, "Get ta bed. Tell Vanille tha' I love her when she wakes up… I love ya, Fang." With that she turned and quickly walked away, tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Momma….MOMMA! PLEASE DON'T GO, I LO-" the girl cried, chasing after her mom. A deafening bang resounded in the air and the girl stopped, her eyes widened as she watched the lone woman freeze. "-ve ya…" she finished in a soft voice. Tears streamed down her face as her mom fell to the ground, blood flowing down her chest.

Fang bolted upright, her hand covering her mouth to keep the scream from tainting the still air. Her chest heaved heavily as she tried to control her own breathing and keep the tears from coming out. It'd been the third time she's woken from a nightmare in the past week, nightmares that she hadn't had in years.

This was the first time that she's dreamed of her mom's death since she was eight.

Closing her eyes, she pulled her hand away from her mouth and stood up quickly. She swallowed the lump in her throat and walked into her bathroom and closed the door with a snap. She turned on the sink and splashed some cold water on her burning skin. Her hands gripped the fixture to support her weight until slowly, her heart began to return to its normal pace and she opened her eyes to stare into her reflection.

As she looked into the mirror her own face morphed before her eyes, her cheek bones becoming a little sharper and her hair grew longer, curling as her eyes turned into an energizing green. She blinked and her action was mirrored back at her, only the face that was staring at her wasn't her own. It seemed that as she grew older the more she began to look like her.

"No matter what…"

A light rap on the doorframe pulled the brunette from her thoughts and caused Fang to jump slightly. "Fang?"

The girl took a deep breath. 'Figures Gaara would know something happened, stupid ninja sense,' Fang thought as she tried to calm down. "Yeah.?" she answered, the breathiness of her voice the only thing hinting at her distress.

When the door opened, Fang still had her eyes trained on the mirror so she barely had time to see Gaara's reflection when his arms wrapped around her waist gently. "What's wrong?" he asked. His usually indifferent tone contained a small note of worry as he looked at her through the mirror, aquamarine eyes reflecting back into hers.

The brunette shook her head, trying to cast her problems away. "Just a...bad dream," she answered him. The young Kazekage sighed softly, nuzzling his girlfriend's head gently. Fang repressed her own sigh. "...I'd ask what you're doing up, but that'd just be stupid. I should be asking why you aren't doing paperwork."

"Finished it. I got a little head start. Now I have some time to myself for once," he answered softly against her hair.

Fang couldn't help but to sigh silently. "God knows how much time you actually get to relax before you have to do something else," she said. 'How true it is. I almost never get to see you except for a few hours at night,' she thought a little bitterly to herself. The job of Kazekage often left Gaara in the office for eighteen hours most of the time, which limited their time together.

"That's exactly why I'm standing here with you," Gaara told her, his arms constricting around her comfortingly.

The girl smiled slightly. "And you have no idea how much that means to me."

"I think I do," he kissed her head softly, smiling sadly. 'I know how much it means to me when you go out of your way to see me every night,' he thought, drifting to the previous nights when Fang had walked into his office after hours to talk to him before he waved her off so that she'd get some sleep. It was a repeated occurrence that happened most every night since they came back to Suna a couple months ago.

Fang furrowed her bow and leaned her head back to look up at him. Her bright turquoise orbs look into his pupil-less sea-foam shaded ones. "...I worry you, don't I?"

"Yes."

The brunette grimaced slightly. "You have a whole village to worry about. I don't need to be added onto the list," she sighed and rested her head back against his shoulder. "I'm fine. It'll pass soon."

"I hope so," the red-head mumbled in return. He could tell something was bothering Fang more than she would admit to, but he knew better than to press the issue.

She turned her head and lightly pressed her lips against her boyfriend's neck. "Really Gaara, I'm fine." The sand nin didn't say a word as watched her and the girl sighed softly at her boyfriend's stare. "You're not going to let it go, are you?"

"No," he gently pulled away and led her back out into her room. Gaara steered her to the bed, coaxing her to lie down.

Fang sighed softly and rested on her side, turning her body so that she could look at her boyfriend, her wavy hair falling into her eyes. The red-headed Shukaku vessel looked out the window. Fang rested her head on her pillow, her eyes flickering over to Gaara every now and then. After a few minutes of silence Gaara turned and walked over to the bed, holding his hand out. "I have something I've been wanting to show you."

The girl blinked and sat up, placing her hands in his. "Should I be worried?" she asked with her eyebrows furrowed lightly in question.

Gaara smiled softly in a reassuring way. "No," He pulled her close, sand swirling around them. He watched Fang wrap her arms around his neck as he teleported them to the roof of the Kazekage building. He lightly wrapped an arm around her waist as he sat on the edge, pulling her down with him. He gazed up at the sky and then he glanced across the village. "It's the best view in Suna."

Fang looked out over the village, the few lights that were still on shining in the darkness. A small smile broke across her lips and she nodded, transfixed as she unwound her arms. "I think I agree with you," she said quietly as she silently observed the sand village.

The kage smiled softly, lost in thought. Softly, Fang's hand lightly ran over his own that was holding her waist lightly and squeezed gently. Gaara intertwined their fingers together, letting a warm smile grace his lips. Fang scooted closer to him and leaned against him, resting her head against his shoulder. They sat in comfortable silence for what seemed like forever before the brunette closed her eyes and relaxed against her boyfriend. Slowly, she drifted back into her subconscious and away from her troubled thoughts.

Gaara sighed softly as his girlfriend cuddled up close to him, her face buried into his neck lightly. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and her breathing deepened and slowed, making it seem like she wasn't even breathing. The nin clenched his jaw and pushed the dark thought from his mind, scooping her up in his arms. He jumped across the rooftops back to their home. He took her back to her bed, laying her down gently. He watched as Fang nuzzled into her pillow, her hand tightly holding onto his shirt.

'Troublesome…' he thought as he attempted half-heartedly to pry his shirt free, but then gave up and lied down next to the sleeping l'Cie. His girlfriend curled up close him, her hair falling into her face as she continued to sleep. Gaara reached over and brushed it away, lightly caressing her soft skin with his fingertips. The contrast of their skin caught his eyes, stark white against golden tan, it was almost comical how they were so different and yet the same. She leaned into his touch lightly, her muscles twitching softly as he touched her skin.

Gaara hummed softly, kissing her forehead and the girl cuddled closer despite the heat, sighing softly in her sleep. The young Kazekage sang quietly, nuzzling her head gently with his eyes unfocused with thought.

He knew that Fang had a troubled past, nearly as bad as his own. It was painfully obvious that that was what her night troubles had been about, even if she denied it. It was just like her to act like nothing was wrong when her inner turmoil began to rear its head, but she always refused to talk.

Gaara held his girlfriend of nearly six months close to him, his lips parting as he let out a deep breath. His lips beginning to move as his voice sang softly, filling the room with music.

"Don't taint this ground with the color of the past.

Are the sounds in bloom with you?

Cause you seem like an orchard of mines.

Just take one step at a time.

And you seem to break like time.

So fragile on the inside..."

Fang relaxed even more, her fingers beginning to loosen their hold on Gaara's shirt.

"La flama riposa. La ombra dispare.

La noce immortale. La voce murmure..."

She had let go of his shirt completely, her hand falling down onto the blankets and the girl rested her head on Gaara's chest. He kissed her head softly, cradling her close as he said the one word he refused to say aloud. "Sleep well, my love."