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Chapter Seven: The Sweetest Night

A whole week passed after the incident and every time Kenoyo stepped in a room Gaara was in, he would get up and leave. Every single day was getting harder and harder and she didn't know how long she could stand this rejection. Her love for him hadn't stopped to grow and not being able to look directly at him made every minute a torture. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she missed the way he looked at her as if he could read her soul. It made her feel so uncomfortable, but at the same time she felt a thrill go through her body every time he rested his eyes deeply in hers.

It was midnight when she finally fell asleep, yet she didn't stay that way a long time. She felt a hand slowly starting to stroke her hair and she broke into a smile, thinking in her sleepy state that it was Gaara. She turned her head and allowed him to gently brush her face with his fingers and she felt some rough lips crash on her forehead. A simple act that rid the smile from her face in a second.

'Gaara would never kiss me after what I did. Never,' she told herself as her eyes snapped open, jerking her instantly awake. The man leaning over her had jet black eyes and his face and hair were covered in a black cloth mask that conceled his identity. His whole set of clothing was black and he slapped his hand on her mouth so she wouldn't scream.

Kenoyo started to trash around the bed as the moonlight hit her fear-filled face. He pulled the covers from her and pinned her down by putting a knee to her stomach, which blocked her from using any Jutsus. Once she had stopped moving and was fearfully anticipating his next move, he leaned down and brought his lips close to hers, about to kiss her.

But he didn't get the chance to do so as a violent wall of sand hit him forcefully, throwing him on the ground. The man didn't even get to shout for help as sand swallowed him whole, crushing his body to pieces. All the blood was instantly soaked up in the carpet of sand, which soon started to float back to a dark corner of the room, filling Gaara's gourd.

Kenoyo fell off her bed to her knees as she stared at the boy in the room with her while shivering uncontrollably. The air had become deathly cold and her thin pajama pants and sleeveless shirt didn't do much to warm her up. She propped her back against her bed, her body numb as she dumbly stared in front of her, in shock. It took a few seconds, but she finally whispered, "Thank you," before closing her eyes.

Gaara didn't answer and it slowly settled in how badly she could be in trouble right now. He had literally saved her life. She opened her eyes only when she heard a sound like somebody dropping something. The sand ninja had slipped off his gourd and had dropped it close to the wall, then he slowly walked over and sat in front of the girl he loved.

"Stop crying, he didn't do anything to you," he said rather coldly as tears flowed freely down her face. She brought a shivering hand to her face, touching her cheek absent-mindedly as she realized she was crying.

Sighing, the sand ninja tugged the rope tied around his waist and pulled off his shirt, then placed it around her shaking shoulders. Kenoyo watched him act first as the warmth of his shirt gradually snapped her out of her state of shock. "You saved my life," she whispered thankfully, clutching at his shirt to keep her warm as she sniffed.

"I couldn't watch him kiss you," he admitted, leaning over and brushing her tears away with his thumb. Kenoyo smiled weakly at his confession, and looked up at his handsome face. But when he looked back at her, she lowered her head, unable to face him. She remembered how nasty she had been with him, and the memory brought a flash of shame to her already hot face. But her eyes stopped on his muscular chest and her heart started to race with envy. If she hadn't believed those teenagers, maybe right now she could be resting her head on him right now. Shaking her head, she turned away from him as more tears slid down her face.

Gaara sighed and went to sit down beside her, noticing she was still shaking. "What's wrong?" he asked her, looking straight at her.

Kenoyo turned to face him, but her eyes couldn't go higher than his bare neck, so she simply closed them and murmured, "I'm just wondering how we would be right now if I hadn't believed those stupid teenagers. We'd probably be both happy, but I wrecked everything!" A new rush of pain entered her and she began to shake twice as much and tears started to flow again.

Gaara groaned impatiently, rolling his eyes as he said, "Will you stop crying! It doesn't help to cry, all it does is make you feel horrible! There was nothing between us and there never will be!" He hated these words that he just spoke, but he couldn't let himself trust again. It would hurt too much when she'd reject him a second time.

But Kenoyo couldn't stop crying and she suddenly leaned over and dropped her forehead to his shoulder, weeping. "I'm so sorry," she whispered again, holding herself tightly. "But you're wrong. There is something between us and you know it."

Seeing her cry and hearing her words made Gaara break. He shifted his position slightly and wrapped one arm around her shoulders, drawing her close to him. He felt her shaking in his embrace and he wrapped his second arm around her before gently rubbing her back. Kenoyo's tears lessened as she gently rested her head in the crook of his neck, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling herself closer to him.

It took a few minutes, but she eventually stopped shaking and her tears halted. She could hear and feel his heart racing inside his chest and she smiled as it matched the frantic beats of her own. The room was silent, they both knew that a single word would ruin the perfect moment they were in right now.

Kenoyo felt Gaara's hand running through her hair as his other one was placed peacefully on her back. His cheek was resting on top of her head and his eyes were closed to anchor the moment in his mind forever. She smiled, taking in a deep breath of his enthralling scent as she moved one of her arms to wrap it around his neck and rested her other hand on his strong chest.

They stayed put this way for a few minutes, but then Gaara noticed that the girl's breathing had slowed and her body had gone slightly limp. She had fallen asleep on him and for the first time in years, he broke into a real smile. Not an "I'm-going-to-kill-you" smirk, but a sweet, caring smile as he murmured, "Sleep tight, Kenoyo. You deserve it."

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The hours passed by much too quickly for Gaara's taste. He was used to long, boring nights but now it went by quicker than a flash. When the first rays of sun began to filter through the room, he slowly went through the long process of getting her off of him. But before that he picked her up gently and placed her on the bed, then pulled the covers on top of her. He stood over her sleeping figure for a while, making sure she didn't wake up, then turned around and slowly exited the room. Going back in his own bedroom, he opened his closet and pulled out another shirt since Kenoyo was still wearing his.

As he got dressed, he thought of the night he just had and smiled again, knowing that whatever bad feelings Kenoyo and he might've had towards each other were now gone. He still didn't know how he could bring joy to a girl as gorgeous as she, but somehow he managed. He was willing to do anything to keep her safe. He used to live to kill, but now he would live to bring her happiness and safety. As long as she was with him, he wouldn't have to resort to killing anyone to feel alive, because love was a good enough reason to keep him happy.

'Thank you, Kenoyo, for showing me what love is…'

A/N: Aww, fluff! This is for all of you who were like "Aww poor Gaara!" Hope you guys enjoyed it

Now I'm having a mild case of Writer's Block so I might not get a chapter out for a few days. But review anyways, I love reviews!

Take care!