Response to reviewers:

Gaaras-Gothic-Ninja-Sappy-Sue: I know I already sent you a message but I'm not sure if I did it right so I'll do this just in case. It's perfectly okay if you want to use my gag idea. It would be nice if you did a little (ahem) advertising for my story in your author's notes

Corvin: You're one of my favorite writers and I was so flattered that you reviewed my story. Keep up the good work over on your end.

Green24 and xXPixiexxStikXx: Wow, multiple reviews, I appreciate that.

To Everyone Else: I don't have the time to list everyone so I just want you to know that I love you all more than ice cream. (And that's saying something.)

---

The two had sat side-by-side eating their meals in silence. Gaara continued to stare into the fire, consumed by his sorrows and completely oblivious to the world around him the entire time. Every once in a while Neji stole a worried glance in his direction but they went unnoticed.

Now Gaara was wrapped up securely in Neji's sleeping bag and blankets while the Hyuga studied his sleeping form, running the events of the last few hours over in his mind.

'That meal was so awkward. If the whole week goes by like this I think I'll go insane.'

Neji desperately wanted to make the boy open up to him, maybe even have a little fun, but those were some incredibly difficult tasks to accomplish if the kid wouldn't tell him what was going on.

'How am I supposed to heal wounds if I don't even know where they are?'

Gaara murmured something indistinct in his sleep, rolling onto his other side. A smile tugged at the corners of Neji's mouth.

'He really is a cutie.'

---

The Uchiha's had made another quick stop at the side of the road to eat the food they had prepared in advance. Sasuke examined his brother as he munched on a tuna fish sandwich. He had some pretty good first hand experience with how overboard Itachi could go when he didn't get what he wanted and he was beginning to regret his split second decision to let Gaara go. Normally both brothers would take their turn; Itachi would load their victim back into the car and have a good long talk with them to make sure they never squealed. Then they would drive them back to wherever they'd come from and life would go on.

'I never intended to let Gaara die out there. I was going to go back and get him. I figured I could make him keep his mouth shut just as well as Itachi could

The more Sasuke thought about it, the stupider he felt. How could he have thought Itachi would take this loss lying down?

'This is turning into a giant headache and I want nothing to do with it.'

"Itachi, if you're going back out there to find him, count me out. This has gotten boring. Just be sure you bring him back… I was never going to let him die out there."

Itachi glanced over at his brother, looking bored.

"I know that, Stupid. You don't have it in you yet."

Sasuke's eyebrows shot up at Itachi's choice of words.

'What does he mean by I don't have it in me "yet"?'

---

Gaara groaned quietly as his eyes slowly slid open.

'Mmmm…so warm.'

He curled up further into the plush blankets, nuzzling his face up against the fleece.

'I could just lie here forever…'

"Morning, Sleepy-head."

Gaara jumped at the unexpected interruption. He turned over to examine the source. It was Neji, of course. He was wearing different clothes then what Gaara last remembered, and his hair had been pulled back into a loose ponytail.

"…Morning? How long was I asleep for?"

Neji chuckled at his question.

"Half the day and all night. You must have been exhausted."

Gaara sat up, rubbing at his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess I was."

He scanned around the spacious tent, trying his best to push his memories of the previous days to the back of his mind. Suddenly something occurred to him, and he looked up at Neji with a bewildered expression.

"If I was in your sleeping bag then where did you sleep?"

"Over on the other side of the tent."

He replied, somehow managing to look perfectly calm on the outside while inner-Neji grinned like crazy. He'd woken up about an hour ago to delightfully discover that Gaara was snuggled up against his chest. Neji had allowed them to remain like that for a little while, enjoying the moment before reluctantly untangling himself from the boy, vowing to never let him know that he's a sleep cuddler. He could feel a sly smile threatening to break through so he swiftly turned his back on the redhead, pretending to busy himself with something while his mind searched for something to say.

"So, you up for some breakfast?"

The instant the words left the Hyuga's mouth Gaara's stomach rumbled loudly.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Both males stood up and exited the tent, eager to get some food in their stomachs. Neji walked over to the blue cooler, taking out two eggs and a packet of Canadian ham while Gaara stood awkwardly by, wondering if he should do anything to assist.

"If you want to help out there's a little stream right over there,"

Neji gestured about twenty feet to the left,

"You can go refill the canteen."

Gaara hesitated for a brief moment.

'I'll still be in plain view of Neji… and what are the odds that the Uchiha's stuck around here anyway?'

Keeping that thought in mind Gaara retrieved the canteen from the tent and headed over to the creek. He knelt down if front of it, lowering the container. As he sat there, waiting for the canister to fill, he had a good chance to look at himself in the surface of the water.

'Ugh, I look awful. My eyeliners worn off, my hair is a mess, and Itachi really did a number on my cheek'.

The second he felt the cool water overflowing onto his hand he stood up, screwed the cap on, and walked back over to Neji.

"Think fast."

He called, gently tossing it underhand. Neji caught it one handed, his eyes following Gaara as the boy marched purposely over to the burnt out fire. He reached down, grabbed a piece of coal from the ashes and headed back over towards the stream. Neji actually laughed aloud as Gaara came walking back towards him with freshly applied "eyeliner". Gaara stuck his tongue out at him.

"What? I feel naked without it."

Neji shook his head from side to side, still laughing to himself.

"Whatever floats your boat, Kid"

Gaara moved over to the log and plopped himself down, watching the eggs and ham sizzling in the pan. Once the Hyuga dubbed them cooked he removed them from the fire, dumped them onto two paper plates, and handed one to Gaara. This meal, much like the first, was soundless. The only difference was that this silence didn't feel uncomfortable.

---

Sasuke lay back on his bed, one armed draped exhaustedly over his face. The whole drive home Itachi had ranted to him about "respecting his elders" and "thinking before he acted." Not that Sasuke wasn't used to his brother yelling at him, it's just that this time he'd made some pretty convincing points.

Flashback:

"The whole time you were cooking up this brilliant plan of yours did you once think about how you'd manage to sneak out of MY house, take MY car and go get that worthless brat from the woods without my noticing?"

"…No."

"Of course you didn't! And just how the hell do you think we're going to find him out there anyway? Do you have any idea how ridiculously large those woods are?"

"…No."

"And what do you plan on doing when you see him at school?"

"I don't know."

Itachi sighed in exasperation.

" This is exactly why I always picked people who didn't leave near us. If he sees you everyday, if he's reminded of what happened to him everyday, how long do you think he'll be able to go before he breaks down and tells somebody what we did?"

"He's a pathetic little loser, Itachi. No one will believe him."

"But we cannot afford that kind of attention right now!"

Itachi pounded his fist furiously on the dashboard.

"Are you suggesting that we really do leave him out there to die?"

"No, I haven't gotten my turn yet, remember?"

Sasuke could feel his level of irritation rising.

"Then just what the hell are we supposed to do?!?!"

An eerie silence filled the car.

"You'll see."

End Flashback

Sasuke groaned into his arm.

'What is my crazy brother planning?'

---

Gaara let out a sigh of contentment, resting one hand on his pleasantly full belly as he turned to face the Hyuga.

"That was really good."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Neji smiled warmly at him.

'He seems to be in a good mood; this would be a great time to make him open up.'

"Do you want to do something?"

"…Ok."

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. You pick."

"Want to go for a walk?"

"NO!"

"Didn't think so… How 'bout a game of cards then?"

"I don't know many games."

"I'll teach you."

"Well in that case…okay."

"Great, I'll be right back."

Neji got up and walked into the tent. About a minute later he remerged, holding a deck of cards in his hand. Gaara tilted his head to the side, smirking slightly.

"Just out of curiosity, why did you bring cards if you're camping alone?"

"Because I like to play solitaire."

"Oh, me too!" Gaara smiled up at him happily.

'Okay Neji this is good, find common interests.'

"Do you like to read too?"

As quickly as the smile had appeared on Gaara's face, it vanished, a shudder passing through him.

"Did you know that there's this totally awesome literature thing going on tonight across town?"

"…Gaara?"

Neji's eyes flashed with alarm.

'What did I do?'

The sound of his name being uttered seemed to snap the green-eyed boy out of whatever trance he had fallen into.

"S-sorry."

"Don't be sorry, you didn't do anything."

Neji sat down next to him, still clutching the cards and looking worried.

"What happened? Was it something I said?"

Gaara looked up at him.

"Kind of…but don't feel bad."

"Did it have anything to do with what happened to you?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed when he said that.

"I don't want to talk about that!"

"So you're just going to let the guy that hurt you get away with it?"

A pink tint rose to Gaara's cheeks and his eyes traveled back down to the ground. But all of this went unnoticed by Neji, who was growing aggravated.

'I just want him to talk to me God-Dammit.'

"Guys."

Gaara whispered softly.

"What?"

"GuyS." There were two of them."

It took a moment for Gaara's words to make their impact on Neji, but once they did his jaw dropped and his eyes widened in dismay.

"Oh, geez…come here."

He reached out and pulled the reluctant redhead into a tender embrace. He could feel a soft cheek pressing up against his collarbone and warm breath tickled his neck.

"Poor baby."

He murmured,

"You don't have to worry, I'll protect you."

Gaara let out a soft sigh of contentment.

'I believe you, Neji.'

---

Itachi sat at his desk, tapping his finger thoughtfully against his chin

'Sasuke really is a nuisance. If he'd let me fuck that brat like I wanted to my life would be so much easier.'

His look of discontent was being slowly replaced by a sickening smile.

' On the bright side, this is turning into the perfect opportunity to teach Sasuke a few important lessons.'

---

I know that this chapter was mainly a bunch of build-up but trust me it was necessary. I've got great ideas for this story but I didn't want everything to get jumbled together in a big rush. Chapter five will be much more exciting, I promise.

-Evie

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