Gaara awoke with a start, breathing heavily and looking around in a panic. It took a few seconds to recall he was in the decoy apartment rather than his real one. Sitting up, he took a second to rebalance himself. Nightmares were common. It was what kept him from sleeping most of the time, especially if he wasn't in his basement room. Even with the nightmare, he was pleased to see he had slept for four hours at least. It was longer than usual.

Dragging himself out of bed, he went into the bathroom to complete his morning routine.

Two weeks had passed since Gaara and Hyuuga had started sparring together at night. The first week, he had stayed over 3 nights, and the week after, 5. During that time, Hyuuga had avoided starting fights with Uzumaki. Gaara didn't seek him out or acknowledge him at school either. During the day, they stuck with their own friends and completed their responsibilities. With the exception of two times where Gaara had to move their meetings back so that he could fulfill his hunter obligations, they met in the same place at the same time.

The extra sparring seemed to have affected Gaara in a positive way. He quickly realized he was less tired and less hungry the days Hyuuga stayed over and was able to sleep on average an hour and a half longer than usual. Gaara hated to admit it, but he found himself inviting Hyuuga over more often when he discovered he was sleeping more. Hyuuga was also less hesitant in accepting. He still left early in the morning and they didn't speak to each other when they entered the apartment, but it was starting to become a habit.

So when he left the bathroom and still saw Hyuuga in the apartment on the couch, he was surprised. Hyuuga looked at him, apparently having been awake for a few hours now. He was dressed in the sweats Gaara had given him with a hot mug in his hands.

"Sorry," he said. "I was planning to leave but—," he trailed off, looking towards the window. The typhoon raging on outside was a clear indicator of why he had not left.

"I'm assuming school is canceled as well," he replied dryly. At Hyuuga's nod, Gaara went to the kitchen to pour himself some coffee. He had started setting the coffee maker with Hyuuga's frequent visits, more for himself than for Hyuuga. Hyuuga preferred tea while Gaara poured in a heap of sugar and creams into his coffee in the mornings.

Gaara was sipping at his coffee, relishing the caffeine working through his system, when Hyuuga said, "Rain is depressing, don't you think? It's the stuff of nightmares for some people."

Gaara paused from his drinking, staring at Hyuuga over his cup while Hyuuga stared at the window. "Most people don't know what a nightmare really is," Gaara responded. How much did Hyuuga overhear? He placed his cup down crossing his arms defensively across his chest.

"That's true," he said quietly. "Most of the people here live in the lap of luxury. You're no exception." Hyuuga glanced at him in an almost accusing way, causing Gaara to glare.

"And you are?"

"When your uncle treats your existence like a nuisance he can't be bothered with and doesn't bother to be worried when you don't return, I say it's the beginning of something problematic at the least."

Gaara snorted. "Is that all?"

"Do you have something better?"

It was then Gaara figured out what Hyuuga did, and Gaara had to hand it to Hyuuga's ingenuity into trapping Gaara into saying something about himself. Well played. "Alright. Try sleeping only for 3 to 4 hours at the most every night. Never having a moment of peace when you close your eyes and any sleep you do get is precious and normally interrupted by a teacher."

Hyuuga raised an eyebrow. "You sleep in class?"

A smile tugged at his lips. "Don't you?"

Hyuuga chuckled. "My grades are all I have going for me. The moment I save up enough money, I'm leaving this island and never coming back if it can be helped."

To be able to take control of your own life, that must be nice. When Gaara didn't respond drinking from his cup of coffee once more, Hyuuga asked, "You're not going to convince me to stay?"

"Not everyone needs to live in their cage," Gaara said cryptically.

His words struck something in Hyuuga, and Gaara turned away from his gaze, busying himself in making breakfast for the both of them.

"Did you leave your cage?"

Gaara paused only briefly, before continuing in silence, pulling vegetables out of the refrigerator to cook with. It was all the answer Hyuuga needed and he stopped his line of questioning on the subject. Neither said anything as Gaara cooked breakfast, passing the hour with nothing but the sound of pattering rain and the howl of the wind. From the sound of things, there was going to be flooding, and Hyuuga wouldn't be able to leave for a while.

At some point, Hyuuga had gotten up to set the table for breakfast. Gaara noticed Hyuuga had grown comfortable enough in his home to not only be able to find all the dishes, though they had never eaten together before, and do it without being asked to. As someone who didn't like to talk, it was convenient. While Gaara hated the pure silence, having another person moving around in the enclosed space should have put him on edge. Hyuuga was still human, and Gaara had never been in an enclosed space with another person for so long. The only reason he slept in the apartment with Hyuuga at all was to drive away Hyuuga's suspicion that this wasn't his real apartment, yet here he was. The hunger was dim from having eaten a few days before and sparring the day prior, he was able to relax to a degree.

Halfway through the meal, Gaara's cell on the table rang. The text was in Arabic, and Gaara didn't even need to read it to know who it was. He just dismissed the call, continuing to eat in silence. He did glance up at Hyuuga, waiting for the inevitable question of who that was. There was curiosity on his face, but Hyuuga didn't ask, feigning interest in his meal and keeping his mouth shut.

His phone rang again, and this time Gaara didn't hide his annoyance ready to silence the phone once again when he realized the phone was coming from within Japan this time, but he did not recognize the number.

"I have to use the restroom," Hyuuga announced, excusing himself from the room. He must have thought Gaara wasn't answering so he wasn't rude to his guest. He was curious as to who was calling him as his phone number was very limited. He only knew of five people who had access to that information.

Once he was sure Hyuuga was in the bathroom, he picked up.

"Why the hell is there a huge bill for household items and a bill for several female uniforms on my card?" an angry and annoyed voice came from the other side immediately. Gaara had been tricked.

"Rerouting your phone so I'll pick up is more work than I thought you'd give," Gaara responded.

"I had to come here on business. Now, why the hell am I being charged nearly 800,000 yen?"

Gaara snorted. "I don't owe you no explanation. If you want the money back, I'll pay for it."

"Gaara," the voice on the other line stopped. A long breath being drawn in could be heard before he responded. "Look, the money itself is not important, but where it went. Are you seeing a girl?"

Gaara leaned back in his chair. "Does it matter? You haven't cared about my activities before."

"Because you screen my calls."

Anyone who would walk into this conversation would not believe this was a conversation between two brothers. Neither held warmth for the other nor anger or hatred. Just indifference as if the conversation was scripted and they were actors reading their lines directly from the page.

"You call because you have to, and I have nothing to say. Stop wasting your time."

"I called because I will be coming to the embassy in place of dad and look into your situation. If you are living with a girl, the medjay will think you're breeding."

Breeding was it? His own people didn't' even think of him as a human. Just an animal.

"Then you can tell them, Kankuro, that they may rest assured. I have no plans on breeding, taking a lover, or anything else."

"Noted. Just stop screening my calls or Dad will take over my duties."

Discomfort shot up his spine and his phone case cracked in his hand at the mention of his father. "I'll consider picking up in the future. Anything else?"

"Practice your Arabic. You sound like a foreigner."

His brother hung up. If his brother was coming, he could go to Uzumaki's house tomorrow and skip school. He didn't have to be there as long as his brother could look around.

"I forget sometimes that you're a foreigner." Gaara looked up as Hyuuga emerged. "You're Japanese is perfect."

Gaara couldn't hide his discomfort, avoiding eye contact. He didn't need a reminder of what circumstances lead to that development. "I didn't take you for someone who eavesdropped."

"I had thought you finished. I would apologize, but I couldn't understand a single thing anyway," Hyuuga took his seat across from him again. "I take it, it was someone you were trying to avoid?"

Gaara sat back in his seat, eyeing the teenager across from him. "Being too perceptive can get you killed."

"Are you trying to threaten me?" Hyuuga asked casually, not concerned in the slightest.

"Take it as you will." Gaara excused himself from the table, having eaten his fill. He sat on the couch, grabbing a stack of papers on the side table. Unlike most modern authors, who would type their manuscript on a computer, Uzumaki traditionally used manuscript paper, preferring to write it longhand.

This manuscript was one of Uzumaki's firsts stories. It was a novella. The edges of the paper were worn from being thumbed through so many times. Gaara couldn't even approximate how many times he had read this story over the years. Whenever he couldn't sleep, whenever he was shaking from vivid memories and phantom pains racking his body, he would read, sending him back to those peaceful moments of his childhood. Just him and Uzumaki's stories.

Though there was no calming voice to read to him, the beautiful clear handwriting captured him just the same. Each Chinese character was written with care and skill that might make a calligrapher a bit green with envy. While the sentence structure needed work due to Uzumaki's young age, the story was just as captivating and full of life as Uzumaki was.

His thumb ran over the paper a few times before he started to read, vaguely hearing Hyuuga clean up breakfast and later join him on the couch.

He stood there, the sun basking on his naked body. The water droplets glistened on his skin, giving him an unearthly glow in the low light. My mortal mind could not comprehend such beauty. My instinct was to turn away or bring my head to the earth in his presence, yet I still stood there, watching him cleanse himself in the river.

I am unclean. Rivers of blood have been created by my sword on orders of the lord I serve. I knew not the light or the comforting flesh of a woman. I knew not the life of a normal man. I did not know how to live as one if I could. Someone as tainted as I to even look upon such a being was blasphemous.

I tried to retreat, the grass crunching under my feet, gaining his attention. I stopped, averting my gaze, and I did not speak, not wishing to soil his ears with my voice, but he spoke to me. The air stilled as if it was holding its breath, not daring to make a sound while he spoke. It was soft, like a whisper, caressing me. "I cannot erase your sins, but I can offer you a second chance."

His hand raised out of the water, extending towards me and waiting for me to accept. Entranced, I could not say no. I found myself reaching out for him desperately, running into the water, to clasp his hand with both of mine before dropping to my knees and bringing his hand to my forehead to swear my allegiance. That offer was the turning point in my life. It was my end and my beginning. The life of serving the god of calamity.

The god of calamity. Gaara's lingered on the word. How much did Uzumaki remember or was it all a coincidence? If he asked, he doubted Uzumaki would even remember this little story.

"I read a little last night," Hyuuga said, a notebook and textbook in his lap. "It's good. Did you write it?"

"No," Gaara said curtly. He continued to read, and Hyuuga did his homework quietly beside him.

The quiet between them was comfortable. Uzumaki usually talked during their time together, only staying quiet when he was focused on something. Gaara hated being alone, but there had been no one besides Uzumaki who would sit in his presence without fear and suspicion and normally he considered almost everyone food. He was at ease enough to allow himself to drift as he read, his tired eyes falling shut. Just a few minutes, he thought to himself. It was okay if it was only for a few minutes. His eyes closed.

His phone ringing caused him to open his eyes again. He hadn't quite been sure if he had heard it. His body felt sluggish as his brain tried to register if what he had heard was real or not. It was then Gaara realized he must have fallen asleep because his head was resting on Hyuuga's shoulder.

Gaara sat up hastily, wiping the drool from his mouth with his sleeve as the phone rang again. So, he had heard something after all. He gave a side glance to Hyuuga who was calmly still working on his homework. It figures something like that wouldn't bother him.

Gaara reached over, hoping it wasn't his brother again so soon. Seeing the name, his face softened, and he leaned back into the couch once again, answering. "What?"

"Gaara—" Uzumaki's voice whined over the speaker. "I'm bored. The perv left for another conference again and took his laptop, and everything in town is closed. Where are you?"

"If you're bored, do your homework."

"Do you even hear yourself? It's me we're talking about. Don't you have videogames or something? I think I can hook up my PS2 to the internet if you give me a second. We can play online."

"I don't do videogames," Gaara said flatly. "You have Inuzuka for that."

There was a dramatic sigh. "He doesn't have any gaming systems, and we can't go to the internet café. Baa-san's been on edge too, so I don't want to ask her if I can run over there with the storm, and I don't feel like writing…" he trailed off.

Gaara thumbed the manuscript that was still in his lap. He had read portions of the manuscript that had been destroyed. If the manuscript Gaara held resonated with him, then the manuscript Uzumaki had worked so hard on was Uzumaki's equivalent. It was only glimpses, but the underlying theme had been hope and desire for freedom and persevering amongst adversity. Reading it, Gaara could feel the passion Uzumaki had toward the story. And it had been destroyed in a single night.

"I was going to ask if you could write something for me. A short story for my birthday."

"Birthday?" Uzumaki's voice perked up immediately with interest.

"Something hopeful," Gaara said, staring at the manuscript. "It doesn't have to be long. I know it's last minute, but could you finish it in three weeks?"

"Three weeks?" Gaara could hear the excitement in Uzumaki's voice. "Yeah, I can put something together. You sure that's what you want for your birthday?"

"Yes."

"I'll get started right on it. See you tomorrow." Uzumaki hung up, presumably to start drafting story ideas.

Gaara smiled, feeling good about himself in lifting Uzumaki's spirits even if just a little. As he put his phone back on the table, he saw the curious eyes of Hyuuga on him. He had forgotten he was there.

"What?" he asked. Hyuuga had to have figured out who he was talking to from his conversation. What was weird about him talking to Uzumaki?

"Your birthday is next month?" he asked.

"No," Gaara replied truthfully, placing the manuscript on the coffee table as well. He didn't want Hyuuga to do something unnecessary like trying to get him a gift even if it was out of obligation.

"Then why did you lie to him?"

"Why do you ask so many questions?" Gaara replied back. His voice was soft, but his words clipped.

Hyuuga closed his textbook, staring at the cover as he considered his next words carefully. "Ever since you transferred here, you've always been at his side. Whenever I get into altercations with him, you never interfere and you only step in when he's about to hurt me and take it too far. You follow him, but there's obvious distance." He met Gaara's eyes. "Is he blackmailing or threatening you?"

"Is that what it looks like to outsiders?" Gaara thought out loud.

"Not quite, but after watching for a while, I realized I haven't actually seen you hurt anyone. There are only rumors. Those who were at the receiving ends of your so called anger were transferred, so there are no direct witnesses. With Uzumaki's guardian being the chairman and principal of the school, it would be easy to cover it up."

He supposed from Hyuuga's point of view, it made sense, but the thought of Hyuuga thinking Uzumaki was some violent psychopath sat very wrong with him. The lord inside him had mixed feelings of anxiety and irritation at the insinuation, leaking over into his own emotions. He couldn't let anyone think that of Uzumaki.

"Uzumaki is the purest person I know. If it wasn't for him, I would be dead." Gaara stood, feeling pent up in the apartment. He wanted to pace and there was an uncomfortable buzz under his skin as his emotions heightened. "If you speak badly of him here, leave before you find out whether I really hurt those people firsthand."

Tension filled the air between them as they stared at each other. The buzzing under his skin was increasing as the tension stretched. He needed to stop it before he snapped. He should leave. He should—

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The sound snapped Gaara out of his mounting stress like a rubber band, jarring him and distracting him temporarily to focus on the door. Now, who could it be?

Needing to put distance between himself and Hyuuga he went to answer it. He didn't even check to see who it was, opening the door.

The quick opening of the door made Matsuri jump a bit in surprise, but it didn't deter her. She met him with a big smile and bright eyes, holding up grocery bags full of items that were wet. "I thought I'd cook you something to thank you."

Gaara stood blinking for several seconds, not answering as he tried to comprehend why she would think offering to cook for him was okay.

"Thank him for what?" Hyuuga asked. Matsuri and Gaara turned to him. Hyuuga had left the couch, standing feet away from the door.

"Um," she looked at Gaara with uncertainty, silently asking for help. If it wasn't for the fact Hyuuga was one of the few people he knew who knew nothing about his situation, he would have left her on her own.

"I train her in qi techniques. Basic qigong. It helps with her health problems."

"Yeah. Lots of meditation mostly," she chimed in. "I'm Matsuri, year 1, class E at Hakuei Junior High."

"I see," Hyuuga said, smiling softly at her. "You know how to cook already?"

She nodded. "My dad worked a lot, so I had to make dinner for the both of us. I know it's still kind of warm outside, but I thought we could do a hot pot. I mean, everyone likes hot pot."

"Hm, hot pot does sound good."

The next thing, Gaara knew, Hyuuga and Matsuri were in his kitchen gathering plates to prepare for lunch and find the things necessary to make a hot pot. Gaara just stared. He didn't know what to do with these two people who have just taken over his kitchen and apartment. He sat at the kitchen island, watching them. Somehow the two got along like a fish to water.

"You're a student of Gaara-sensei too?" Matsuri asked, setting up the hot plate on the table.

"You could say that," Hyuuga replied with a hint of playfulness.

"Eh, then you're my senpai!" She stopped what she was doing to bow, full of enthusiasm. "I look forward to your mentorship."

Hyuuga chuckled. "I wouldn't go that far. It's a different type of training. My family has its own martial arts style."

"Really?" Her eyes were practically sparkling with curiosity. "Is it well known? How long have you practiced? Does your family have a dojo?"

Hyuuga started to talk about his martial arts with Matsuri hanging on his every word with rabid interest. Hyuuga was patient with her questions, humoring her like an older brother. Gaara could probably leave and neither would notice too much, but it was intriguing, watching Hyuuga act like this again. Gaara had forgotten the blackmail photo he had taken of Hyuuga. Casually scrolling through his phone, he found the photo of Hyuuga with the children at the park. Hyuuga had a lot of faces. The young master, the older brother, the bully. Unlike others, they were all his. All real. None of them being a façade.

While they talked, Gaara could let his irritation towards Hyuuga fade. He had been calm in Hyuuga's presence. It was the first time he had lost his temper in front of him or have his control start slipping through his fingers. Hyuuga wasn't the first to say horrible things about Uzumaki. Hyuuga said horrible things about Uzumaki every week. So why did it bother him so much then? Why did he have such a negative reaction? Hyuuga had been asking out of concern for him rather than out of anger. It shouldn't have disturbed him as much as it had.

It was his fault. He shouldn't have let Hyuuga come over so many times. Gaara could never predict what his demon would do. He could become hungry or violent at any moment. He could lose control of himself. He could kill. He shouldn't let Hyuuga stay after this. It was for his own good.

Gaara moved himself to the table once the hotpot was ready. Tuning back in on their conversation, Gaara was completely lost as to what they were talking about.

"I have two of them, but they only really count if you collect all 3. Endo-kun really likes Bucchan and waited all night to get the limited edition one. He used to have all three collectible straps hanging from his bag until one of them got dirty. I'm surprised you know about him, Hyuuga-senpai. Not many boys know about him."

"The Bucchan mascot has been around since I was in elementary school. A girl I grew up with really like him as well. Whenever she could, she would try to get memorabilia of him." Hyuuga smiled softly, thinking back on the memory. "We snuck out together and waited all night so she could get a limited edition stuffed animal. When we returned home, we were scolded and grounded for a week."

For a second, sadness crossed his face, tainting his fond memory. He cleared his throat. "The food should be about ready." Hyuuga immediately picked up his chopsticks to pull out the pork and vegetables from the pot and into his bowl with Matsuri following suit before stopping.

"Wait!" She announced, making Hyuuga stop as well. "Gaara-senpai was supposed to have first pick."

Amused, Hyuuga looked at Gaara. "That's right," he said, meeting Gaara's eyes. "Gaara-sensei should go first," he said. Though it was said warmly and sincerely, Gaara couldn't shake the feeling, Hyuuga was teasing him.

"Don't call me that," Gaara growled, but did partake of the hotpot. It wasn't sweets but hotpot wasn't bad either. He grabbed the largest mushroom and pieces of meat he could.

"Seems like Gaara-sensei is hungry," Hyuuga commented lightly, resuming his task of filling his bowl.

Matsuri's eyes widened comically. "I'll get more ingredients from my apartment." She was up and out of her seat and out of the apartment before either of them could stop her.

Hyuuga had a smirk on his lips when Gaara glared at him. "Don't encourage her," Gaara warned.

"Why? Is it so bad to have someone look up to you?"

"Yes," Gaara answered immediately.

Hyuuga, mildly amused, took more from the hotpot. "You can tell she's just lonely and wants someone to look up too. It's not bad to have people on your side."

Gaara was thinking of a retort when Matsuri returned with more food, having Gaara bite his tongue.

Hyuuga entertained her easily for the rest of the afternoon, sending her on her way once lunch was finished. Gaara was able to study for a while Hyuuga did the dishes. Despite having people in his space, he felt okay. He didn't feel mentally drained or tempted to feed on Hyuuga. He could calmly work in peace with Hyuuga doing the dishes in the background.

"Do young masters normally do dishes and cook?" Gaara found himself asking, starting up conversation and wondering why he would do so when he hated speaking more than necessary.

Hyuuga turned his head, drying his hands, but Gaara didn't look up from his textbook. "I can cook basic things. Matsuri-chan is better than me." He folded the dishtowel meticulously and placed it back on the counter. "But my family does run a martial arts school. We practice a lot of discipline."

He walked over to the couch they had spent most of the morning on and sat down beside him yet again rather than taking the armchair that was available. "Do you watch TV?" he asked.

Gaara looked up, seeing the large flat screen he had forgotten was there. "Just the news once a week." Truthfully, he received his news from the phone or the messages the hunters gave him. There was little on the news that directly concerned him. The news only scraped the surface of what was happening in the world. Hunter activities rarely if ever make it that far.

"I don't have time for TV either. Never have time." Hyuuga picked up his own notebook, ready to start studying himself.

Gaara looked at the textbook and notebooks around them. They were both in the top ten of their class. About now, Hyuuga would be participating in after school activities while Gaara would be entertaining Uzumaki. They wouldn't be studying right now. They would be socializing. Closing his book, he reached for the remote, turning on the TV. "Do you have a preference?" he asked.

Hyuuga had something in mind, Gaara could tell the way he carefully managed his facial expression, but in the end, he answered, "Nothing in particular."

Gaara didn't fall for it. He started to think. What would someone like Hyuuga like? Romance seemed unlikely. Action maybe? Game shows seemed too childish. "Do you like foreign movies?"

"They're okay," Hyuuga responded nonchalantly.

Gaara was flipping through a few of the international channels when Hyuuga sat up a bit straighter when he flipped to one of the channels briefly. Gaara paused on the channel. A Chinese martial arts movie was playing on the television. It must have been somewhat new as the cinematography was well done and the martial arts were grounded in realism rather than over the top fantasy with treetop running or jumping several meters into the air.

Gaara put the remote down once he turned on the subtitles. Unfortunately, there were only available in English. While Gaara couldn't read them, Hyuuga seemed to read through just fine, so he left them, getting comfortable on the couch.

"You like martial arts movies?" Hyuuga asked, his eyes fixated on the screen.

"Not particularly," Gaara replied, but even Gaara had to admit, the actors in the movie were selling it for him. He couldn't understand what was being said, but he had an idea of what was going on. It appeared to have a strong story which was drawing his attention.

He missed Hyuuga's glance at him, but they watched the movie. The single movie turned to three as there were two sequels that came on after. The room darkened as the sunset, and Gaara reflected over the day as night approached. He couldn't remember a day he spent like this. Not with anyone besides Uzumaki, but even with Uzumaki, there were eyes on him, watching him, either by Uzumaki's guardians or the people around him. Here, he didn't have to worry about being watched or judged. It was nice for lack of a better word.

Once the movies had concluded, they switched to the news as they did their homework. The winds and rain had died down, and Gaara took charge of making dinner. It was something simple and quick to supplement their studies as they finished their homework together.

Eventually, it was past midnight, and it was time to go to bed. Gaara offered his bed as usual but Hyuuga just kindly refused, taking residence on the couch. There was another room several floors down he could use, but he couldn't mention it, so he prepared for bed.

Maybe he should get a pullout couch or a futon for Hyuuga, he thought, as he climbed into bed. That's what he'd do. Tomorrow, he'd order something, he thought as he shut his eyes, not realizing he was assuming Hyuuga would continue to come by.


It was by chance Neji had heard tossing and turning from Gaara's room the night before. He had stayed up late and overheard a little. Tonight, it was again by chance that he had needed to go to the bathroom. The bathroom was located in Gaara's room, so it could not be helped when he saw Gaara's face twisted with discomfort and whimpering as if he was in pain.

He went to the bed, standing at the edge and staring down at the sheet slowly becoming damp from sweat. Neji was at a loss at what he should do. Should he wake him, robbing the sleep Gaara had said evaded him so often? Or should he ignore it and pretend he saw nothing as Gaara would probably prefer?

Another whimper escaped Gaara before he twitched violently like a child weakly fighting off an attacker. Perhaps it was better to wake him after all.

Neji knelt on the bed to gently touch his shoulder. Gaara woke with a start grabbing his arm. In the dark, it was hard to make out Gaara's face as it was to make out his. Gaara must not have been fully aware as he put his forehead to Neji's arm, whispering Uzumaki's name. "Naruto. Don't leave me again. Please." Gaara whispered in a soft, childlike voice. It was vulnerable and raw on the verge of breaking. "Please. . . don't."

Neji couldn't correct him. Gaara was holding onto him like his life depended on it. Neji placed a hand on his, slowly easing Gaara's grip as he maneuvered onto the bed beside him. Gaara didn't fully let go, but he laid down, settling back into sleep as Neji settled in beside him. "I'm not going anywhere," Neji whispered to him.

Gaara relaxed, pressing his face against his shoulder, either not realizing what he was doing or thinking he was Uzumaki. While he couldn't say he was happy being mistaken for Uzumaki, he didn't mind it if it helped the teen next to him sleep. Gaara had done more for him than he could ever ask of anyone. The least he could do was help him through a nightmare though he wasn't going to make it a habit.

He watched the boy sleep for a while as he tried to get comfortable and relax enough to sleep. He had thought this earlier, and he found himself thinking it again. Gaara, with all his rough exterior and difficult personality, was kind of cute.


So I had continued this story without updating, and I'm actually on chapter 40. I just don't update this because of the lack of comments on the last several chapters. Since I continued this story as original, I had to completely rewrite Kankuro's and Gaara's interactions as Kankuro is a completely different person in the original version. Kankuro in the original is a racist, homophobic, cold, and religious person who really cares for Gaara's well being. He was fun.

Please comment.