Chapter ten: Pending

The red haired boy just stood by the window of the hotel room he shared with his brother. He watched the rain petal down on the city before him, the weather matching how he was feeling.

She was right there. Right there, and he let her slip through his fingers.

He balled his hand into a fist. And her attitude. Something was wrong. She had that look of fear in her eyes. That same look from when they were kids. He remembered it all too well. If only he could forget. If only...

Glancing over his shoulder, Kankuro stole a glance from his little brother as he worked in the kitchen. He had just made a nice warm teapot of tea, the liquid always seemed to have a calming effect on Gaara, but this time he doubt it would help. He brought it to the dinning room where his little brother was morning and poured him a cup of tea.

He walked over and presented the small cup to his younger sibling who just took it but didn't drink. His eyes were fixated on the window, the outside world, where he knew his sister was hidden.

Kankuro stood next to his brother, watching in silence. He looked at the window to see Gaara's reflection, raindrops sliding down his face as if he were crying.

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In a village far from the leaf, Itachi sat on a soft spring bed of a small inn he found. Temari sat curled up in his lap, fast asleep.

They had got caught in the rain on their way back to the hideout, so Itachi decided to make a little pit stop before they got too wet. The owners of the inn were awfully friendly, providing them with a large room for two and some fresh, dry clothes. Itachi was given a blue mens kimono while Temari was given a womens pink one. Their former clothes were hanging in the bathroom to dry so they could leave in the morning.

The Uchiha stroked the hair of his blond beauty who had put her hair down for the night. He could hear her steady breathing as he recapped the events of the day.

Was it wrong of him to chuck the mission? Gaara was right there. He was so close, but he let him go. Was that the right thing to do?

He felt Temari shuffle a bit in his lap as she let out a mini yawn. He watched her as she tilted her head back to look up at him, her eyes only open half way showing she was still half asleep.

" 'tachi..." she said in what sounded like a low whisper. "What's wrong?"

Itachi looked into her sleepy eyes. The fear that had invaded those orbs seemed to be clouded by sleep, not making them visible. "Nothing's wrong, Temari." he told her as he rubbed a finger on her face. "Everything's fine. Go back to sleep."

Giving a small smile, the blond cuddled into Itachi's chest before she closed her eyes. "Don't go anywhere, 'kay?" she asked.

The Uchiha held her tighter. "I would never leave you." With that said, Temari drifted off to sleep again, the answer finally hitting Itachi.

He did do the right thing. He protected her, Temari, his number one priority. He wasn't about to let anything happen to her, even if it meant giving up the mission or the Akatsuki. He did make a promise after all and he wasn't about to break it.

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A/N: Hey guys, it's me. I am SO sorry that I haven't updated in...like over a year, but that's changed now!! I had hit a major slump with this story and was fresh out of writing ideas. I was gonna delete it all together, but I thought of everyone (if anyone) waiting so long for my updates. Not giving writer's block the satisfaction of claiming one of my stories, I was hit (more like struck) with an idea and here we are now. I know this isn't as long as the other chapters, but I promise the next one will be longer and I'm going to try and wrap it up before next year. That sound okay? Great! Oh, and I've been re-editing the previous chapters, if you want to reread them. Until we meet again, Happy Writing! And thanks again to everyone who stuck by!!