Okay, I redid the last chapter posted with the help of my new beta, Moonlit917, who I'd like to personally thank for being such a good beta. :) So hopefully it's less confusing and flows better. Tell me what you think of the changes!

Let's see how this situation turns out…

'Demon'

People cared for her; better yet, they did something about her problems. She remembered the day her father broke her trust of him.

Miranda was on the floor of the kitchen completely crushed with pain. Loud sobs escaped her lips, practically moaning with the pain. Her father walked into the kitchen.

"Get off of the floor Miranda."

He held his hand out to her, but Miranda retreated from it, wary to trust anyone. People had broken her one too many times for trust.

Her father repeated the sentence, only to earn the same reaction. The girl was just too afraid to trust anyone, even him.

He reached down and grabbed her, forcefully. Pulling her off of the ground, anger controlled him now. Half pulling, half dragging, he took Miranda to the living room and deposited her on the recliner a bit roughly. It was a short walk, but it was enough to hurt Miranda to no extent.

He started to walk back to the kitchen, and Miranda followed, only asking one question.

"Why… why would you hurt me dad? Why would you hurt me?" Her voice was but a whimper as she pleaded with the man.

She was no longer sobbing, but she was in an even worse mental state than before. Never again would she trust father.

Miranda shuddered at the memory, only to feel a jacket being draped onto her. Gaara's jacket she found out. She looked over to him, only to see the same stoic face he always held looking up at the moon. It was a full moon.

Shukaku was strong when the moon was full, as if it beckoned to him, calling him to reek his havoc among the world.

'She's so close to dead, she trusts you Gaara, you could kill her with ease. Better off she could kill herself.' The demon's laugh echoed in his head, but Gaara didn't even flinch. The girl trusted him, he wouldn't dare break that trust. She was the only one in Suna that wasn't family and trusted him. He wouldn't dare threaten that.

The demon soon ran many scenarios of Miranda's death through Gaara's head, earning a flinch from Gaara. Damn that sadistic Shukaku.

"What's wrong Gaara-sama?"

"Nothing."

"Do you want your jacket back? You look as if you have seen a ghost."

Gaara looked at the girl now.

"I'm fine."

"Well, that's not good enough for me." She turned to him and crossed her arms, thanking Kami that she knew the words to her sentence.

"What?"

"I don't want you to be fine. I want you to be happy. Always happy."

She walked up to him and grabbed his hands, holding them in hers, a simple but beautiful smile on her face. She relaxed her face, still smiling. Turning the smile into the most beautiful expression he had ever seen. Pure happiness on a pure face. Pure except for that little scab on her lip. The scab from where she had bit herself earlier, asking not to be alone. The smile cracked open the scab and blood started to trickle down that beautiful face of hers.

Hormones were kicking in at this moment. He couldn't help but feel them as he continued to stare at the girl before him.

She was so close, ever so close. All she wanted was for everyone to be happy. That was all she ever asked of them.

'Taint her with blood, I see blood and I want to see more.' Gaara ignored the demon, staring deep into Miranda's eyes. They were so large and round, and they glinted with this ominous happiness seeping into the air. His eyes went back to her lips. It was only now that he noticed that slight pout they had. They were the perfect size, if only they didn't have that little wound on them. He retracted one of his hands and pressed it to the small wound. Brushing it and then bringing it to his mouth to lick.

"Tastes like copper…" He lied; she tasted like more than copper. She tasted sweet and delicate. A very subtle taste of cinnamon appeared there as well. The demon must be enhancing his senses. He recalled how Miranda always had a cinnamon candy in her mouth, making her very pleasant to talk to, to have some of that cinnamon air brush over your skin and caress your nose. He knew it to be a coping mechanism. Whenever she felt the urge to bite herself, she would just bite the cinnamon candy instead.

In irony, Miranda reached down into her pack at her leg and grabbed the cinnamon candies from it, taking one out and offering it to him. She assumed the adjective he used was somewhere around metallic or copper and she knew that most people didn't like that taste. So she offered a candy to the boy with her free hand, holding him to her dearly with the other.

Gaara slowly took it and put it in his mouth. Miranda's smiled only softened.

"How are you?" She had to ask.

"Good."

For once, he broke his stoic mask and instead wore a smile, a smile almost as soft as hers.

Miranda was robbed of breath. His smile was absolutely breath taking. She was completely unaware a simple smile could do so much.

"What's wrong?" Her smile broke and he wondered why, the smile soon leaving his face as well.

"Why don't you smile always?" It was interesting how her limited vocabulary often ended in her sounding almost poetic when she tried to form sentences.

"I don't know." He was telling the truth, he was so used to wearing his stiff guise that he didn't know how to just wear a smile as she often did.

"You should smile more often Gaara-sama."

"Only for you."

Her eyes widened in shock. Her almost porcelain face becoming a face of surprise and shock. Her pouty lips becoming slightly ajar and her eyes becoming wide.

"I'll smile only for you." He repeated. And god damn him, he meant it. This person… No this girl, made him want to smile. With her scarred past, her beautiful face and her delicate heart that could break with a heart beat.

Her face broke into a smile that could rival Naruto's it was so big, breaking the scab again. Again blood dripping from it.

Gaara remembered his uncle. How he put his finger into his mouth after opening a wound on it, and how Gaara had put it into his mouth as well to suckle the cut.

Gaara didn't think. He just did.

Suckling the wound, the taste of copper soon filled his mouth again, with that hint of cinnamon.

One heart beat.

Two heart beats.

She pushed up against him, tumbling onto her back. She was quickly sliding/scooting down the roof, closer to the edge – that she had yet to notice – than she should have been. Gaara's eyes widened and his sand quickly shot out of its gourd to stop the girl from sliding any further towards the edge.

He looked to see a scared and cornered girl, almost animalistic in her behavior. Her lungs heaved, preparing her to run by taking in huge amounts of oxygen early. Her eyes were wide in fear, showing all she felt. He saw confusion in them.

"Please… don't hurt me." Tears started to stream down her face swiftly, her eyes still as wide as plates. Those large and beautiful eyes…

Gaara went to his knees and hands, getting down closer to her level. His own eyes held panic and pleading for the girl.

"If you move, you'll fall."

"You'd catch me. Don't catch me Gaara-sama, I can't live like this anymore. Please don't catch me." The panic was speaking now. Miranda had no common sense to her anymore, just animal instincts.

"I'll always catch you when you fall."

His sand gently went under her, carrying her to him. He stopped short, but kept her in his reach. He offered his hand to her, still on hands and knees.

Gaara couldn't screw up now, not when things just got… confusing. Good, but confusing.

She looked to him in fear and wary.

"I'll never let you fall." Gaara kept his hand extended, and he let his voice and face soften.

One heart beat.

Two heart beats.

Three heart beats.

She gently placed her hand in his.

He gently pulled her into his embrace; the thought of her falling had scared him senseless. Even if he didn't understand, he obeyed the feelings.

"You scared me."

"You scared me." Her muffled emphasis on the word me being more than obvious.

"I'm sorry…" And the scary part was he meant it. This girl made him feel funny things. Like he would walk to the end of the earth just for her. These things he had never felt before.

She gently wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face into his shoulder, muffling her sobs.

Today was a day defiantly filled with crying and tears. And she wasn't so sure if that was such a bad thing or not.

What a messed up relationship, hopefully they can straighten it out. Remember people, review! I love seeing what you think! Good and bad! I love it all, so I welcome all words!