Vindicated

Junsui Kegasu: I just read scapegoat's fic too (heart) I like it! I read a fan fic the other day and it completely ruined my I Hate Itachi shpeal… grrr….oh well…still hate him. But he does help to add the twists in the story no da?

Dragon man 180: Dude…man…ur cool I like you. When you said that thing in ur review about the sniper rifle I had the best mental image and I want to draw it but I has no idea what u look like. Could u give me a teeny description so I can draw u chibified and chasing Itachi down with a gun?

Ebony: hee! I love Ukon too! It's funny…in the anime he's completely different and Sakkon's the annoying one and Ukon's the serious one. How ironic is that? I hate fights like that too, drives me nuts, but usually I completely forgot about the fight after like…4 hours and can never understand why the other person's mad at me and that makes stuff worse. You know…right before I read ur review I was reading this chapter and was like…wait…Itachi should notice somethings should he? Then u reviewed and I was like…oops…

Lee-san & hibiyuru: KISAME! (glomps Kisame) I wuv shark man! (tears) why you gotta be so bad and with Itachi damnit!

Severed Glass: Damn it…(thinks really hard) ok I have a problem…I have split personalities…and the one who first read ur review put ur name down in the chapter cause she wanted to tell u something but didn't tell anyone else…I'm sorry… I have a vague memory of reading Split and liking it, but for the life of me I can't remember what I was supposed to tell you. I'm sorry

Chronic-fever: yes I love hats very very much. I have a whole drawer full of hats of all different shapes sizes and colors…well not colors they're all black, but whateva. I even have a fanfic hat. I'm wearing it now. It's one with cat ears and eyes that glare at everyone around me. I don't know why but I always can write when I'm wearing it…

Isis-Amataeru: I so glad you like it (heart) hopefully I'm gonna have art for this one up on deviant soon. Kankurou and Gaara brotherly love is my favorite! I love it! I like NejiGaa too…I thought of it by accident like…a long time ago when I was thinking of pairings I wanted in my fic Suna's Kekkei Genkai and I was like…I can't think of anyone who deserves Gaara…the only one that's always paired with Neji is Tenten and I don't like her…hey why don't I put Gaara and Neji together. And I became obsessed. I love Ukon and Haku! I've drawn out Haku's new character for the manga that should be up soon. I thought of other pairings but I really suck at writing things for people that I have no interest in. my sis usually writes the other pairings like Kankurou and Kyu hee! I so glad you like it!

Thanks to all others who reviewed! I heart u all!

Chapter 12: Enlaced Fingers

Gaara was frozen. His body wouldn't move. Only one thought ran through his head, but his body wouldn't act on it.

'Stop touching me like that.'

Itachi moaned into his neck, closing any space between them. He lifted Gaara up off the ground and brought him so that they were near eye level and pinned him once again to the wall, his feet dangling in the air.

"Please…stop…please…s—stop…"

He whimpered when felt Itachi grin against him as his hands groped his chest and his mouth moved slowly from his neck up to his face, until he met Gaara's lips, forcing his mouth open and digging in with his tongue.

He couldn't breath, Itachi wasn't giving him any air. Gaara finally got his body to work and started protesting and pushing the bigger boy away. Itachi gripped his wrists roughly and pinned both his arms above his head, laughing at his weak attempts to stop him. With his other hand, he reached between them and began unbuttoning Gaara's pants, tugging them down. The rubbing became harder and harder. Hot tears blurred Gaara's vision, threatening to fall.

'No!…Neji…Kankurou…'

Haku sighed as he separated himself from the pack of girls he was hanging out with. Usually he avoided using public bathrooms. It made him feel very perverted, but he really had to go. He hurried to finish and get out, but as he was washing his hands and fixing his ponytail his l33t gay ears picked up the sound of a cute boy in distress. Then they picked up his least favorite sound in the whole world. He shuttered and started for the door. Uchiha Itachi was the last person he wanted to meet in the mall's bathroom.

"S—stop touching me l—like that! Please!"

Pray! Was that the voice of his lovely redheaded rose of love? Haku turned back to the bathroom stalls all hearts and shonen ai, not registering the words he'd heard. He narrowed his eyes and scanned each of the bathroom stalls with his l33t x-ray vision. (Shukaku: ……what?)

Stall #1: Cleaning man with big butt crack. Ew.

Stall#2: Going to the bathroom.

Stall#3: same.

Stall#4: empty.

Stall #5: man masturbat—WHOA—NO!

Stall #6: Yay! Gaara!...with ITACHI!

Haku's eyes flared. What was that bastard doing in a bathroom stall with Gaara?

Forgetting all previous fear of the older Uchiha, Haku went up to the bathroom stall and kicked it as hard as he could, breaking the lock and causing it to burst open. The two inside jumped and whirled around.

As he took in the sight, he became angrier. Itachi had his Gaara pinned against the wall with his hands over his head. Gaara's wrists were red from how tight the grip was. His pants were undone and Itachi's hand was inching down into them.

"Haku!"

"What the fuck do you think you're—"

"Get the fuck away from Gaara," Haku said in a low deadly voice.

Itachi grinned, letting his free hand wander down lower as he leaned down and licked Gaara's face. Gaara whimpered, terrified and continued to try and get away, but Itachi held him tight, groping strongly. "What's wrong, Haku-kun? Are you jealous?" he purred. "He's a lot cuter then you were."

"I said get away from him!"

"And you're going to make me? Please," he said, scoffing at Haku. "You couldn't make me get away from you before, what makes you think it'll work now for him?"

Haku stormed over and punched Itachi's face. Glaring angrily, Itachi spat then unpinned Gaara from the wall and shoved him roughly to the floor.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? Fag!" he moved to punch Haku, but the boy dodged it and punched him again. Before Itachi had time to recover, Haku grabbed him and threw him into the sinks across the bathroom. Again before he could recover, Haku grabbed him and dragged him outside where the girls were waiting.

"Haku-chan, what—"

"Keep your disgusting, perverted hands off of Gaara!" Haku glowered.

Itachi stood up, ready to kill Haku, but noticed some very evil glares behind him and turned, eyes wide and staring.

Haku turned and hurried back into the bathroom. Gaara was still on the floor in the corner where he fell, shaking hard, eyes wide. Haku knelt down in front of him and quietly said his name. Gaara looked up and threw himself onto Haku, trembling, wanting his comfort. Haku smiled sadly and hugged him back, rubbing his head and back to calm him down. He whispered softly in his ear until Gaara did. Haku fixed Gaara's pants then lifted him up off the floor and carried him out. He didn't laugh or smile as Gaara buried his face in Haku's jacket, quietly sniffing and shaking from fright.

"…..and now I'm grounded till I'm 80 cause I wasn't suppose to leave the house in the first place," Gaara said into the phone. He sniffed and swallowed. "Mm—but Kankurou said I could call you and tell you what happened. Will you forgive me? Please?"

Neji stared blankly at his wall, then bit his lip and took deep breath. He could hear the panic in Gaara's voice. He didn't think Neji was going to forgive him. But the thought hadn't quite reached Neji's conscious yet. He was still stuck on the first thing.

"Let me get this straight. You were upset and wanted to make me jealous, so you agreed to go out with …(shudder)… Itachi."

"Mm-hm."

"He was being very touchie-feelie and it embarrassed you and you didn't like it."

"No. I—I mean no I didn't…like it."

"And you asked him to stop, but he wouldn't."

"No."

"Then….he kissed you…"

"Yeah," Gaara reply, making a disgusted face at the memory.

Neji bit his lip very hard as he pounded his fist a few times on the floor.

"….then you went into the bathroom to have some time away from him…"

"Mm-hm."

"But Itachi came in and tried to …..'do stuff'."

"Nn-hn."

"………But you didn't want to …'do stuff'?"

"No!"

"Alright…" Neji paused taking a deep breath again. "So, then Haku came in and broke the door down with his 'mad l33t gay skillz'…and dragged Itachi out of the bathroom."

"Yeah!"

"Then Sakura and the other girls found out and…. 'made it so he couldn't have children' and then Haku drove you home in his car."

"Yes."

"…And Kankurou grounded you cause you didn't listen."

"Yeah…"

"…..What exactly was Itachi doing?"

"……..…"

"Oh. Hold on a second," Neji said sweetly, then put the phone on mute and set it down. He took a calm deep breath.

"OH MY FUCKING GOD! I'M GOING TO KILL THAT ASSHOLE!"

Everyone in the Hyuga community stopped what they were doing and looked around, then towards the main house as several other cursing phrases and promises of death and destruction sounded and several of Neji's poor random pillows got trashed.

Gaara laid back on Kankurou's bed after hanging up the phone. Neji didn't seem mad at him, just relieved that nothing happened. Itachi should be fearing for his life, though, Neji would kill him at practice on Monday. A small smile tugged at his mouth. Neji wasn't mad. He wasn't mad. He didn't hate him. He still cared about him. He wasn't angry at him.

Flashback

"What the hell?" Kankurou shouted at him.

Gaara cringed and hung his head in shame as Kankurou stared at him.

"What the hell were you thinking? I told you to stay here! Why didn't you listen to me Gaara?"

"I—I'm sorry…I just—"

"No! There is no excuse for you! I can't believe you'd do something so stupid!"

End Flashback

Kankurou was mad at him.

Kankurou told him not to go. He told him he couldn't go to the mall by himself. He said it was dangerous. He told him not to and he didn't listen. He disobeyed and now Kankurou had yelled at him.

Kankurou was mad at him.

He rolled over onto his stomach and buried his face into the pillow. He could still feel Itachi on him. It disgusted him and made feel sick. There was a small bruise on his neck, surrounded by other red marks from where Itachi had been biting at him. His wrist hurt to from where Itachi hand grabbed him to keep him from protesting. His mouth felt disgusting too. He was about to go to the bathroom and brush his teeth for the fifth time since he got home, but the door opened and he stayed put.

"Gaara?"

Gaara didn't move as Temari and Kankurou came in and sat on the bed on either side of him. Temari laid down next to him and curled up to him. She ran her fingers through his hair, rubbing the back of his neck gently, in a calming motion.

"Sorry I yelled at you, Gaara," Kankurou said. "You're not grounded."

"I want to be grounded," Gaara mumbled into the pillow. "I should have listened to you…and Neji."

"You know, everyone makes mistakes, Gaara," Temari said, wrapping her arms around him. "But you can learn from them…"

"Yeah, and never do them again!" Kankurou said cheerfully.

"Kankurou!" Temari hissed. They had a moment of silence then, Temari patted his back. "I'll go make us something to eat ok?"

"I'm not hungry."

"No. No," she said. "You're gonna eat." She got up and walked out of the room, leaving the two boys alone.

Kankurou looked down at his hands, not quite sure what to say. They should have books on this or something. They probably did, he just never thought he'd have to read them. He looked over at Gaara who still had his face buried in his pillows. His fists were clenched so hard they were shaking. He wondered what his brother could be thinking right now. He wondered what he could say. But realized there was nothing to say. But he tried anyway, letting his thoughts roll out.

"You know, I really don't know what to tell you," he started. "But I'm gonna say I'm sorry. I knew Itachi was bothering you. And I could'a stopped him, but I didn't."

"I was sneaking behind you're back, it wasn't your fault," Gaara mumbled.

"Nah, I'm your brother. It's my job to make sure you're ok," Kankurou said, biting his lip. "Look, to be honest…I am very…very mad at you…" Gaara sniffed again and looked back at him from behind his red bangs. Kankurou sounded like he was repressing built up rage. "…but I'm more relieved then mad, please listen to me when I tell you to do something next time ok? Promise?"

"I promise."

"Good. I guess…it's kinda funny, I'm gonna be some weird dad someday. Spoiled rotten and everything, that's you. But you're really important to me…I mean you're my only brother. I love you and Temari."

Gaara smiled into his arms then sat up and moved over to sit next to him. "You and Temari are important to me too," he mumbled.

Kankurou grinned at him sideways and put his arm around him.

The three of them sat in Kankurou's room and ate the sandwiches Temari brought up. They were listening to the cds Tayuya had gotten Gaara for his birthday when the phone rang again. Gaara paused the cd player as Kankurou picked up the phone.

"Hello?" he said into it. "Why? What do you want?...Oh really? Aren't you going to ask me first? I might say no……I'm serious…. Shut up I'm kidding, here he is." Kankurou handed the phone over to Gaara. "Neji."

"Hi Neji," Gaara said, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"I'm sorry, I was kinda shook up before. Are you alright?"

"I'm ok now," Gaara said.

"Look…I know you probably don't want to, but I wanna see you tonight…and talk, do you want to….to… go to the movies?"

Gaara blinked. "Like… a date?"

Temari's head snapped up and Kankurou stuffed another sandwich in her mouth before she could say anything. She glared at him and he smiled sweetly.

"Tonight?" Gaara asked.

"If you want," Neji replied. "I mean I'd understand if you didn't."

"No, I do. I wanna see you too. Hang on," Gaara looked over at Kankurou. Kankurou shrugged, smiling and ate another sandwich. "Sure, when?"

"Hiashi-ojisan said he'd drive us there right now," Neji said. "I'll be there in about ten-fifteen minutes."

"Ok," Gaara said. "Bye." He hung up the phone and got up. He grabbed another set of clothes from the pile of his and Kankurou's clean clothes and ran out of the room into the bathroom. Eight minutes later he came back out in new clothes and damp hair.

"…You took a shower?" Temari asked.

"Duh," he said.

"…That fast?..."

Ignoring her, he dropped his dirty clothes in a pile in the corner and went back out. The blower dryer turned on in the bathroom and Temari and Kankurou used all their will power to not look at each other and laugh. He came back in later and got his jacket then went downstairs to wait outside.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Gaara froze at the door and turned to face his father.

"I—I'm…"

"He's going to the movies with Neji," Kankurou said coming down the stairs.

"Says who?"

"Says me," Kankurou said, crossing his arms. "Neji called and asked. I said yes."

"It is not your call to make," his father said as the sound of a car pulled up to the house. "Stop spoiling him and trying to be his father."

"Someone has to," Kankurou said, just as loudly and angrily.

Gaara started for the door, not wanting to get involved in anything, but was pulled back.

"I never said you could go. You'll have to tell your faggot lover that you changed your mind," he said, shaking him hard, as Kankurou got a seriously pissed look on his face.

"No, I want to go!" Gaara said, regretting it the instant the words left his mouth.

His father lifted him off the ground and slammed him into the wall. "Don't you ever say no to me, brat!" He moved to punch him, but Kankurou grabbed his arm and held him back.

There was a knock at the door and Gaara hurriedly broke out of his father's grasp and opened it, knowing his father would stop the second it was. Neji smiled at him and Gaara smiled back, then looked back at Kankurou and his father. Kankurou pushed them both out telling them to have fun, then shut the door after them.

Neji stared at the close door as Gaara took his hand and pulled him back to the car, cringing at his pained back, holding the place on his chest where his father's fist had ground into.

"…Is…something wrong?" Neji asked as they got in. "Are you alright?"

"I'll tell you later."

"…ok…"

"Movies?" their driver asked.

"Yes," Neji said sitting back. At Gaara's questioning look he leaned over and whispered, "My uncle's the head of the family so you get a bunch of perks living with the main house."

"Where's the limo then?" Gaara asked grinning.

Neji shook his head, grinning as well. "Too flashy. I like this one better." Neji had called ahead and reserved tickets so they didn't have to wait in all the ridiculous lines. "I wasn't sure what kind of movie you wanted to see. Hinata said the Ring 2 was good though," Neji said as he took the tickets out of the machine.

Gaara's face lit up. "I saw the first one with Kankurou. It was good."

"I haven't seen either," Neji admitted. "What happens in the first one?" he asked as they got in line for food.

Gaara explained the entire movie to him as they waited. Neji ordered them both curly fries, soda and wings to share. They walked to the theater where movie was showing and chose seats in the back; one of those couple seats. Gaara was still talking about the first movie, which amused Neji. Gaara, he noticed when they were getting food, talked with his hands so Neji carried his food while Gaara carried his own and the wings and was having difficulty talking now that he couldn't use his hands. When they sat down, Gaara suddenly stopped talking.

"Am I talking too much?" he asked.

"No, I love listening to you talk," Neji told him as he sat back. "It's a lot better then listening to myself talk."

"….." Gaara looked down at his fries. "I'm really sorry I called you a soccer obsessed freak."

"I know you are, but hey, I am a soccer obsessed freak," Neji said grinning. It instantly faded as he spoke next. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. What I said was completely fucked up, and…." Neji let his hand fall onto his lap. He couldn't really say how sorry he was, there wasn't really words. "I really like you, Gaara, and I don't want stupid things we say mess us up. Neither of us are very good at telling how we feel anyway…"

Gaara smiled back at him and nodded his agreement.

"Will you forgive me for what I said? And…and if I hurt you on Friday?"

Gaara eyes widened. "You don't have to apologize! And it—it didn't really hurt that much!"

Neji looked Gaara solemnly in the face and Gaara stopped.

"I—I forgive you…" he said quietly.

Neji smiled at him. Gaara was staring at his knees, but he smiled back then looked up at the screen.

As the lights faded for the previews, Neji looked down at the redhead, then down at his wrists. He was wearing long sleeves so nothing would show. He wondered if he would show him.

"Gaara…" he whispered quietly. "Can I see them?"

"See what?"

Neji reached over and touched his wrist. "Your scars. You don't have to if you don't want to. I just…want to see."

Gaara paused for a moment. At first Neji didn't think he would, but then Gaara held out his left arm for him. Neji pulled his sleeve up to see. Gaara knew he probably couldn't see anything in the light, but Neji took his arm anyway, gently running his fingers along each one. He was touching them so lightly it sent shivers down Gaara's spine. There were so many, Neji hadn't expected this many. Crisscrossed in a frantic chaotic pattern, some were still healing, while others were barely there anymore. He brought his arm to his face and lightly kissed them and let go. Gaara stared at his arm, then at Neji.

Neji smiled down at him, his sad face lit up from the movie screen.

"Why did you do that?" Gaara asked.

"Cause I wanted to," Neji said. "You're so pretty."

Gaara blushed, then turned back to the screen. He wished he could tell Neji what he thought about Neji. How he thought he was the most beautiful thing in the world, and that when Neji talked to him he felt like he was flying. He couldn't form the words in his mouth and they died quickly. Gaara hung his head at his own shyness then sat back and laid his head on Neji's shoulders, bringing his knees up to his chest and relaxed.

"I thought you didn't like this," Neji said, though happy he was.

"I didn't like Itachi like this," Gaara said after a moment's thought. "…I…wouldn't mind if it was you," he added, blushing darkly, glad no one could see.

Neji smiled broadly and happily as the movie started, but Gaara couldn't see it. Neji put his arm around Gaara's shoulders as the smaller boy cuddled closer and watched the movie.

Neji had already eaten, so he wasn't that hungry. Gaara was though. He ate through both their curly fries and half the wings. Neji didn't mind though, he was personally happy to see Gaara eating so much. He would have gone and gotten more for him to eat, but the movie was apparently scaring Gaara shitless (sorry couldn't think of a better word)—though he was loving ever minute—and wouldn't let him leave.

The Hyuga didn't really understand what was going on, even though Gaara explained the whole first movie to him. All he got out of it was there was this crazy girl who was an insomniac like Gaara but dead, who killed people through some video and was trying to possess some woman's son. It was scary though, he jumped at random scenes more then Gaara did. When the crazy girl was chasing the woman out of the well, he and Gaara both had a death grip on each other staring wide eyed at the screen. As the woman yelled 'I'm not your fucking mother!' at the girl as she closed the well, several people cheered as did the two of them.

After the movie ended and everyone started filing out, Neji and Gaara stayed put, to comfortable to move just yet. Neji's head was resting on Gaara's now, his fingers gently running through his hair. Gaara was basking in the feeling of Neji's fingers in his hair, eyes were half closed in contentment, his arms wrapped around his knees.

"What was going on at your house?" Neji asked quietly after a moment's silence.

"My dad doesn't like you…" Gaara replied quietly. Neji was pleased to hear no stumbling in his words. "He was mad that Kankurou said I could go and he didn't want me too."

"Why not?"

"….he doesn't like…boys together…"

"Ah," Neji said, breathing out. "But Kankurou's ok with this?"

"Yeah," Gaara said. "Just dad…he was mad."

"How often does he yell at you?"

"……"

"Gaara…" Neji lifted Gaara's chin up to look at him.

"…a lot…he doesn't like me," Gaara murmured, looking away, unable to look steadily at Neji's intense, white eyes. "He says I'm ruining their lives."

"Are you?"

Gaara bit his lip and looked down at the floor, stumbling on his words again. "I guess…"

Neji frowned slightly. He did not want that, but Gaara continued and he listened to him.

"…Well I know Kankurou's always worrying about me and never really has time for himself. Temari…is always scared and hates fighting. It makes her grumpy herself and she and Kankurou go at it sometimes. I don't want them to live like that. But I know they try their hardest to make sure I don't live like that too."

Neji smiled and pulled him closer. "You three are the most unique individuals I've ever seen," he said. "You know…I don't want you three living like this either. I could…I could tell my uncle about your dad and he could—"

"No!"

"Why not?" Neji asked. "He could stop your dad, I mean—"

"No, Neji," Gaara said sadly, "you don't understand. It wont stop. Dad has…friends. They—they've … hurt me…I don't want to put you in danger too. Please don't say anything."

"Ok," Neji whispered. "I wont tell I promise."

Gaara closed his eyes, laying his head back down. He felt safe, almost as safe as he was with Kankurou. It felt good.

"Hey, you two. You need to get going."

"Sorry," Neji said to the theater person, mentally cursing the man for interrupting their cuddle time. 'Daaaamn you asshole!' The two of them unfolded from each other and stood, stretching. They walked out of the theater, through the lobby and out into the cool air.

"When are you supposed to be home?" Gaara asked.

"Hiashi said to call when we were done," Neji said shrugging. "We could walk around if you want."

"Sure," Gaara said as they turned and started walking down the side walk.

"This is the Avenue. Where Hinata took Temari when you first came over my house," Neji said as they walked.

They looked around, window shopping, pointing stuff out to each other. Neji swallowed and bit his lip. Reaching over he brushed Gaara's hand, silently asking for permission. Gaara smiled and took his hand, lacing his fingers in Neji's. They got several weird looks from people walking by, but Gaara didn't mind as much as he did when he was with Itachi. Some people muttering things loud enough for them to hear. To these people, most teenagers from their school, Neji either flipped off or insulted back.

Gaara was quiet as they walked down the street. Never had he thought he'd be walking down a public place, holding hands with someone. The last time this happened was with Temari when he was really little, and this was an entirely new situation. No one had ever told him they liked him. The thought made him feel giddy and light. The only thing he wanted now was to make Neji happy, because he was making him happy. He wasn't quite sure how to go about that, but he'd try all the same.

Neji watched Gaara out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't remember Gaara ever looking so happy. The smaller boy seemed to be enjoying himself. It made Neji feel proud. Gaara hardly ever smiled in school, but here he was walking down the Avenue, holding his hand, looking as happy as any other high schooler. He looked so much cuter when he smiled too. Neji's expression saddened when he thought of why he never smiled. He wished he could tell his uncle about Gaara's father. The thought of that man hurting Gaara angered him more then Itachi did. But he'd promised Gaara that he wouldn't tell and he would keep his promise.

By the time Gaara finally got home at two o'clock in the morning, Kankurou and Temari were asleep in bed. All the lights were out in the house except for the bathroom light at the top of the stairs. He opened and closed the front door as quietly as he could and went upstairs. He hoped Kankurou hadn't gotten in trouble last night. He had a feeling he did, maybe even fought a bit. Gaara hoped he wasn't hurt.

As he turned to go down the hall to Kankurou's room, his father's door opened and he was grabbed and pulled inside. His father covered his mouth too keep him from calling out and dragged him into the bathroom where he was forced to his knees. His father shoved his head into the toilet bowl.

"Spit that shit out!" he yelled around the cigarette in his mouth.

"What?"

"That shitty stuff you ate at the movies. Spit it out!"

"I've got nothing in my mouth!" Gaara cried.

"No shit! Throw it up then!" he father said, shoving his head farther into the bowl.

"I—I can't!"

His father leaned over and punched him hard in the stomach. The impact caused everything Gaara ate that night to empty from his stomach into the toilet. Gaara coughed, clutching his stomach and mouth as the bile and acids clung to his throat and mouth. It burned and left a horrible taste behind. He fell back onto the floor and curled up into a tiny ball, holding his stomach and rocking back and forth.

"Don't you ever think you can go anywhere without my permission again," his father said, standing over him. "And I don't wanna see that long haired fag over here again."

"Stop talking about Neji like that!" Gaara said, glaring. "He's—"

He was cut off as his father punched him, knocking him back to the floor causing his head to strike the tile. Gaara curled up again, clutching his head, seeing stars dancing in his vision and tasting blood in his mouth.

"You just don't know when to stop, do you?" his father demanded. He lifted him up and gave him another shake. "You kissed him too, didn't you?"

Gaara blushed darkly at the thought of kissing Neji and shook his head.

"Yes, you did, you fucking whore!"

His father grabbed the back of his neck and held his face over the sink. Ignoring Gaara's protests that he did no such thing with Neji, his father turned the faucet on letting scalding hot water run. He grabbed the bar of soap, wetting it, then shoving it into Gaara's mouth.

Gaara fought back, putting his hands on the side of the sink, trying to push away, spitting and gagging on the bitter taste of the soap. The grip on his neck shifted from the back to his throat, choking him. His face was shoved under the hot water, then pulled back out as his father started scrubbing out the inside of his mouth. Again under the hot water, this time he was held there as his mouth was rinsed out. The water pounded down on his temple as his face was squashed into the bottom of the sink. The water was red from his blood around him and burning him, nearly to hot to bear. Tears fell freely, disappearing in the water that felt like it was burning him alive. His father continued to scrub at his mouth, making it hard to breathe as well.

Satisfied, his father pulled him out of the hot water. Gaara coughed and choked, gasping for breath. His mouth hurt and the stinging soapy taste was still in his mouth, his shirt was wet around his neck and his hair was soaked in water and soap suds, dripping down in his face and back. A fleeting glance at the mirror showed him his face. The skin on his right side around his temple was raw red and his lip was bleeding when where he'd been hit. His father dragged him out into the bedroom. He took him over to the closet and opened it.

Gaara stared at the opened door terrified. "No…no…" he whimpered.

"Oh, stop your sniveling," his father said, starting to push him in. Gaara fought back trying to claw away from the dark space. His father yanked him off balance so that he fell to his hands and knees. Taking his cigarette out of him mouth, he ground it into Gaara's shoulder. Gaara cried out and stopped fighting back as the cigarette burned through his shirt onto his skin. Reaching up, Gaara feverously brushed the ashes and bud away, holding the burned area, whimpering in pain. As he was distracted, his father threw him in, shutting and locking the door.

"You can stay there all night for all I care."

Gaara froze. He was shut up in the closet. He was clusterphobic and couldn't stand being in small places for long. Ignoring his stinging shoulder, he ran to the door and grabbed the handle. It wouldn't turn. He banged on the door, begging to be let out. He knew his father was in the room and could hear him, but the man was trying to ignore him. A sudden loud bang sounded as the door on the other side was punched cause Gaara to jump back away from the door.

"Shut the fuck up or you'll be in there until dinner tomorrow," was the warning.

Gaara sat back in a corner drawing his knees to his chest, whimpering and crying, calling softly to his father. Eyes squeezed against the dark and the space, he trying calming himself down, remembering what he'd done in the previous hours, but it didn't work. He whimpered and whined and begged his father to let him out, clawing at the door until his fingers bled. He wasn't sure how long his father left him in there, but he did eventually let him out. He dragged his freaked out son in his own room, where the redhead crawled under the covers and hid himself from the world. He wanted to go to Kankurou's room, but didn't want to wake his brother and was too scared to move.

He wished he hadn't had to come home. He would have been willing to stay with Neji the whole night, but Gaara hadn't dared ask the Hyuga if that was ok. He remembered the feeling of Neji's arms around him as they sat and talked. He wanted those arms around him right now, more then ever.

He cried into his sheets, sobbing for his brother and Neji. But neither heard him. Neither came. He was alone in the dark.