Chapter 12: Happily ever after?

Naruto's POV

I go through out the whole day thinking about my dream. "Hey, Naruto, ready to go?' Jiraiya asks me, jingling his car keys. He was going to give Gaara and me a ride to the movies, to see the second horrorfest movie we planned on watching. I get up and put on my shoes quickly.

"Yup, I'm ready." I announce. I go next door to get Gaara, who was all ready upon my arrival. We get into the car, this time I could touch and cuddle with him all I want. Seeing as Jiraiya knows about and doesn't mind our relationship. The red head looks outside the window, while I play with the rings on his fingers.

"Well," my 'dad' starts, "Gaara, please this time distract Naruto with a long makeout session. I don't want him coming home scared and having nightmares. Like he did last night."

"Whatever, mind your own business perv!" I say kicking the back of his seat. Jiraiya laughs and Gaara only looks at me with the faintest hint of amusement in his eyes. "You're both mean! I wasn't that scared!" I yell out, I get no response just suggestive looks. I let out a groan and huff ignoring them for the rest of the ride. Once again we enter the same movie theater and we sit in the same great spot. This movie was more gory then scary, so it was ok. I think it was better then the one I saw last night. After the movie Gaara and me wait outside. I try and pull him into a little hug, just to hold him, but he wouldn't let it. He jut pushed me away. He can be so hard to read, after all he let me rest my head on his shoulder in the theater. Maybe 'cuase it was dark in there. Well I guess I shouldn't complain.

Our ride comes up and we get into the car. "So how was the movie?" Jiraiya asks.

"It was pretty good." I say, slipping Gaara's cameo ring on and off his finger. Then lacing our hands together, I just loved how small his hands seem in mine.

"It was ok." My boyfriend muses.

We pull up into my drive way and I offer to walk Gaara up to his front door. Once we get there, Gaara doesn't open the door right away. He turns to me. "I had ..fun…thanks for coming with me." He states, in an almost shy yet uncaring way. Only he can pull something like that off.

"No problem, that's what I'm here for." I say smoothly, taking his hands in mine. The red head nods, as if just now remembering that we are more then friends. He looks up at me, then averts his eyes.

"I..I…care for you…a lot." He mumbles, but I heard him clearly. I smile wide, translated that means 'I love you'.

"Love you too. Goodnight, babe." I say, leaning in for an innocent goodbye kiss. Which my angle allows, but then the front door opens.

"Gaara!" Said boy pulls away from me, at the sound of his fathers voice. "What the hell are you doing? Get your ass in this house now." With that he's dragged by the forearm into his house. The door slams shut and worry comes over me. But there's nothing I can do for now. I stare at the door for along time, then walk away. Hoping Gaara won't get into too much trouble. But I just had this bad feeling, and it scared me.

Gaara's POV

The night was going so perfect till now. I was slowly getting more used to being touched and being loved. It was so nice to finally receive and feel the real thing. Not some fake excuse for abuse. My father pulls me into the living room, his grip bruising on my arm

"What was that?!" He yells at me, I have no time to answer. Though I wasn't planing on doing so. "That better not have been what I thought I saw! Was it?! Were you kissing that boy?!" He asks, I say nothing. Just looked into his crazed eyes waiting for the pain soon to come. I was ready, I didn't care. Just as that thought runs through my head, I get backhanded. I take it, like I always have. I say nothing, I let no pain be seen.

"Answer my question." Silence, then the echo of another hit. Still I don't speak, it was stupid to ask. He knew exactly what just happened out there. He grabs my shoulders and shakes me. "Answer the god damn question Gaara!" I don't, just look into his eyes. I'm not afraid, I don't care. This I'm used to and it doesn't phase me. "Are you intent on going to hell!?" My father yells at me, shaking me harder. Somehow I knew this was coming, that I could never have complete happiness. But that's all right, because at least now I have real love. Someone to really care for me and take my mind of off this once it's all over. Someone who's helping even though he doesn't know. And he'll never know, because I don't want to bother him with worry. I could get hit every day like this and would care less. I keep my eyes locked with my fathers, throughout all my musings. He snaps, just like an animal would if you looked it straight in the eye. I get pushed down on the couch, my dad above me hitting me repeatedly.

"Father! Father stop!" I hear the voice of Temari and footsteps come close. She tries to stop him, grab his arm, hand, anything, but it's no use. His fist keeps coming down upon me. My sister yells, and Kankuro comes down sometime during the middle of all this. Trying to take my sister away from the scene. Telling her to calm down, then everything starts to go black. I try to hold on to my consciousness, as tunnel vision creeps on the edge of my vision. My sister lets out another yell.

"Stop, leave him alone!" She seems to care…for once someone in this house is defending me from him. I think to myself and then everything is gone; I plunge into darkness. Peaceful, wonderful darkness.

I wake up to sunlight. Something wet being put on my forehead. I turn my eyes to the left to see Temari. She' putting alcohol on my wounds. We stay quiet for a long time. She sits next to my bed once she's cleaned me all up. It must be Sunday today, it has to be. I wonder what time it is.

"Kankuro and dad went to church." Temari mumbles. She then sighs and looks at me. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it…" I mumble out. My lip hurt when I spoke. I try to get up to see how bad I was hurt. But my sister urges me to relax.

"I'll bring you a mirror." She says once I explain what I want. She brings me a hand held mirror and I take it from her. I look at myself. It wasn't too bad thank god. I have a cut on my lip and on the side of my forehead, which can be easily covered by my bangs. Luckily I didn't bruises anywhere. I guess after taking a lot of torture year after year I don't bruise as easily. Temari takes the mirror from me, before speaking.

"Did it have something to do with that blonde boy next door? I know you two went to the movies…"

"I said I didn't want to talk about it." I hiss out at her. I then notice the pain in my head. I give the mirror back to my sister and lay back, head throbbing. I wonder what'll happen now…will my dad use this as an excuse to start those rituals again. Will he let me anywhere near Naruto again? "How long ago was it since father left?" I ask Temari.

"A while ago, he said he wasn't going to stay to long. He didn't' want me to be alone with you. He said he just wanted to talk to the priest." She says it not knowing what my father meant by those words. Yes the word of my demon's return has been spread. I sigh, wonder how this is all going to turn out. Like I said I will never have complete happiness, my life may never be normal or have a pleasant happily ever after. But it's all right, I'm not afraid of the new rituals bound to come. New ways of extracting or scaring off my demon. I am however worried about if I'll ever be let out of this house to spend time with Naruto. Most likely not, my father will come up with some sort of excuse to keep me away from the blonde.

The door is unlocked downstairs. Soon after my father appears in my doorway, Temari leaves. Shooting me a worried look as she does so. It's strange how she's changed, not that I really mind it. It makes me feel less crazy. Because sometimes I even consider that maybe I am the crazy one in my family and not my dad. That maybe my dad had a right to do this to me. At least that's what it sometimes felt like when my siblings ignored my cuts and burns after coming home late at night.

"Gaara…I am sorry for what I did last night." I was surprised for a minute, of course it didn't last. He wouldn't just say that, he must have come up with something to justify it. I know he'll call me demon again, because that's what he wants me to be. A murderous demon child that should've never been born and so gives him a right to attempt to kill or make me suffer. I sigh, waiting for my father to continue speaking. Waiting for one of his excuses, or explanations of my demon nature. I look at the ceiling broadly, and finally my father speaks.

"It wasn't your fault." He pauses, I glance shortly at him then back to the ceiling. "I should have know the demon within you only went dormant. All those rituals this past year... useless. He only made it seem as if we were pushing him away." He sounded so crazy, but he honestly believed his own words. Well of course he does, if he didn't then he would just be a child abuser. Of course in my eyes he is, in any sane persons eye he is. But there are so many that believe him, could I ever get out of this? Would anyone even believe me if I told them? After all, my father is a well know business man with a good reputation. No one is the wiser of the things he's put his youngest son through the past years. The things I had to endure, the things I once believed to be true about me, but I know better now. I knew my father was just a simple mad man. His sanity torn from him the day his wife died, or in his eyes was murdered.

My father took my hand. "He was just waiting." He says. I smile at him sadistically. Oh how wonderful it would be to just make him shut up. To just stop his insanity forever. Of course I would never hurt my father, because then I would only be like him. Turn the other cheek…ha! How many times have I done that? When will it stop? When will I finally be able to face the heavens instead of turning my face to the side, only to be hurt?

"He was waiting for you to hit puberty. He's trying to consume you, make you sin. Hormones give him an opening. But don't worry, we will control this, we will prevent you from sinning." Yes go on father, keep telling yourself things to justify the living hell you put me through. No, I'll never be like you. Even if I have to turn the other cheek until I die.


A/n: I hope this was good, I had a hard time with this one. I had wrote one thing, then re-wrote it 'cause I didn't think it was good enough. I like this one though, but please tell me what you think?