Rejoice people for exams are over! Which means that I have more time to write and so hopefully I can get the next chapter out sooner. I'm aiming for the 28th of July which is going to be the first GaaNaru appreciation day but if I can't make that deadline then it won't be long afterwards. Also (for those who read Perfect Punishment) the next chapter of that should be out soon too.
Chapter 7
Deidara broke free of Gaara's chokehold and scrambled away from him. The two regarded each other with fangs bared, muscles taught in anticipation of the next confrontation.
Deidara discretely searched for Naruto out of the corner of his eye. Gaara did the same, smirking victoriously when he saw neither hide nor hair of his precious blond human. "Looks like your prey escaped you," he taunted.
Deidara snarled at him, stopping his search. "It doesn't matter; I'll get him later when you're not around to interfere."
"That's not going to happen. I gave you your warnings earlier; I'm not going to let you leave here alive."
Deidara tilted his head to the side, a disbelieving sneer on his face. "Even without the human here to distract you, you can't kill me Gaara. I'm not going to fight you properly until I get rid of that human and his disgusting influence over you. Once that's gone I know you'll come back to me."
"You keep telling yourself that," Gaara said mockingly before suddenly pouncing on Deidara.
Deidara struggled, trying hard to ward off the punches aimed at his face. He kept his eyes peeled for an opening and made his move when Gaara's guard dropped a fraction too low. The blow threw Gaara off-balance, sending him to the floor. By the time he was back on his feet Deidara was nothing more than a dot of blond heading to the cemetery's exit. With an angered growl Gaara charged after him, wanting to put an end to his ex before he caused Gaara any more grief.
The chase went on for what seemed like forever. Deidara headed back into the city and that was where Gaara lost him. With an infuriated snarl Gaara punched the wall of the dingy alley, leaving an ugly blemish in the smooth brick. He had let him escape and now Deidara was free to come back and terrorise Naruto whenever he pleased. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Gaara took a deep breath and told himself to relax. He needed to be calm right now. Deidara was clever and Gaara would need to keep a level head if he was going to outsmart him. He needed to find out how Deidara knew that Naruto was Namikaze's son. It was obvious that the blond vampire had only discovered this recently otherwise he would have eradicated Naruto years ago. Somebody in the city must have given him the information. Gaara needed to find out what other intelligence Deidara had on Naruto so that he could accurately assess how much danger the blond human was in. Only once he'd done that would he know the correct way to handle the situation.
Now that he was fully calmed Gaara's eyes changed back into their normal teal green. The vampire left the alley and headed home. He wanted to know if Naruto was safe but couldn't go over to his apartment without running the risk of leading Deidara right to the blond teen. That was why he was going to do the next best thing: he was going to call him. The only problem with this plan was that Gaara didn't have Naruto's phone number. He knew someone who did though.
"Hello, Zabuza speaking, how may I help you?"
"It's Gaara."
Zabuza immediately dropped the polite tone. "Hey Gaara, how did your date go? Did your loud-mouthed blond let you get anywhere with him tonight or were you once again denied?"
Gaara growled lightly. "I don't have time for this. Get your lover to call Naruto's house and make sure he's there."
"You mean you didn't watch him go inside? What happened, did you have an argument or something? I guess that's why you sound like you've got a busted lip."
"We did not have a fight – I got hit whilst holding down Deidara so that Naruto could escape the bastard," Gaara hissed, his patience quickly evaporating.
"Deidara didn't like that you'd moved on then," Zabuza said with a small amount of amusement in his tone.
Gaara said nothing for a moment before quietly asking, "Did you know that Naruto was Namikaze's son?"
"Namikaze as in the Hunter Namikaze?" Zabuza asked with enough shock in his voice to prove that he hadn't known.
"That's what it said on the headstone."
"No wonder Deidara wants him dead then," Zabuza muttered quietly as the gears in his head began to turn. "Don't worry, I'll get Haku to call the brat and then to call you back."
"Also see if you can find out where Deidara got his information from. I want to know if I need to put Naruto under 24 hour surveillance or not," instructed Gaara.
Zabuza chuckled lightly. "I don't think the kid would like that."
"I don't care if he likes it or not – if it'll keep him alive then I'll do it!" Gaara growled fiercely.
"That's the first time I've heard you talk about wanting to protect someone, you must really like this human," Zabuza mused, amusement once again permeating his voice.
Gaara was silent as he hung up. Zabuza was right – this was the first time he'd openly expressed a wish to protect someone. That was because he'd never felt as attached to anyone as he did to Naruto. The boy may infuriate him most of the time but there was something about his smile that struck a chord inside Gaara. His smile made Gaara believe that maybe there was some goodness left in the world. Naruto's smile stirred Gaara's spirits and made him want to believe in the love Naruto offered him. That was why Gaara needed to protect Naruto – for his sake as much as the blond teen's.
While he waited for Haku to return his call Gaara fished out the first aid kit. His fight with Deidara had been more of a skirmish than a battle, leaving him with only a few minor cuts and scrapes that would most likely be healed by tomorrow. Still, it was better to make sure all the cuts were clean than to risk infection.
Once Gaara had finished patching himself up he restlessly paced around the living room, urging the phone to ring. When it did Gaara dived forward and managed to pick it up before the first ring had ended. "Was he there?" he asked anxiously.
Haku chuckled at Gaara's eagerness. "Don't worry, Naruto made it home in one piece."
Gaara's tensed shoulders dropped in relief. "What did he say to you?"
"Iruka was the one who picked up the phone. He said that Naruto had visited his parents' grave on the way home and that had upset him, even if he had tried to hide it. I would have talked to Naruto but apparently he'd gone to bed and Iruka didn't want to disturb him. I'll visit him in the morning to make sure he's still alright."
"Good. Tell him that I'll visit tomorrow night and answer his questions. Tell him that…" Gaara trailed off, not exactly sure what he wanted Haku to tell Naruto. He wanted to say he was sorry for getting Naruto into this mess, for drawing Deidara's attention towards him. It was his fault that Naruto's life was at risk. He hadn't planned for it to happen, hadn't wanted it to happen, and he was sorry that it had.
Somehow Haku managed to understand what Gaara wanted to say. "Don't worry, I'll tell him," he reassured gently. "Goodnight Gaara."
Gaara hung up instead of replying. Naruto was safe for tonight; Deidara wouldn't have been stalking them if he knew where Naruto lived. With a relieved sigh Gaara collapsed into his comfy chair. At least for tonight he could relax and not worry about Naruto. Tomorrow, though, might be a very different story…
It was late morning when Naruto awoke. He staggered haphazardly out of his bed to the kitchen, his stomach grumbling impatiently. Iruka laughed when he saw Naruto's dishevelled appearance. "Sleep well?" he asked, knowing the answer already.
"Not really," Naruto mumbled as he peered into the bread bin.
Iruka quickly sobered up. Carefully, he asked, "Did you have a nightmare? About your parents maybe?"
Naruto froze. He did have a nightmare last night and it did involve one of his parents but not in the way Iruka was expecting. The beginning of Naruto's nightmare had been influenced by his guilt about running away from the fight and so he dreamed of Gaara getting beaten by a man made of shadows. But then Gaara's eyes had changed, become a demonic amber colour, and he had killed the shadow man before turning his sights on Naruto. Dream Gaara had advanced slowly towards him, his eyes full of murderous intent. Naruto had wanted to run but his legs hadn't responded to his commands. He'd thought he was going to die but then Gaara had dropped down dead. Naruto's dad had been standing behind the vampire, knife in hand. The man who Naruto had inherited his looks from had then held out the knife to the blond teen and said, "Now it's your turn." For some reason Naruto had taken the knife. Itachi and Zabuza had appeared out of nowhere, their backs to him, and Naruto had been about to plunge the knife into them just before he woke up.
Naruto suppressed a shiver. He couldn't believe he'd actually managed to go back to sleep after that horrible nightmare.
Realising that Iruka was awaiting a reply Naruto forced a smile onto his face. The effort showed so Naruto dropped the pretence. He turned his back to Iruka, slotting the bread into the toaster and pushing down the lever. "I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled, just loud enough for Iruka to hear.
Iruka sighed. "Please talk to me Naruto, you'll feel better if you do."
Naruto ignored Iruka in favour of staring forlornly at the toaster. Iruka didn't know what he was talking about. If Naruto told him about his nightmare then he'd have to admit that he'd lied about who he went out with the night before. Iruka's disappointment in him would make Naruto feel worse, not better.
Iruka sensed Naruto's reluctance to talk. He felt sad that Naruto – his adopted son – couldn't talk to him. He knew that most teenagers didn't talk to their parents but he still felt disappointed that there was some secret the usually cheerful and open blond couldn't share with him. It made Iruka question his parenting skills, made him wonder what had happened to change their open relationship.
Finding that no particular event stood out, Iruka finally asked, "If you're not going to tell me what's going on will you at least talk to somebody else about it?"
Naruto stared absently into space for a moment. "After breakfast I'll go to Haku's house."
Iruka nodded, only slightly reassured by this. Haku was a lovely boy but the idea of him dating Naruto was still quite an alien concept to Iruka. He had always assumed that Haku, Naruto and Sasuke were nothing but best friends who would forever stay that way. The idea that there was more to their relationship made Iruka…suspicious. After supposedly going on a date with Haku Naruto had come home a wreck. Perhaps Naruto wasn't being as truthful as he should be about his activities.
Iruka dismissed that notion quickly. The change in Naruto's behaviour had thrown him off centre slightly; now was not the time to be making accusations without proof, it was the time for allowing Naruto to try and deal with his problems on his own. He was nearly a man after all, he should be allowed to try and tackle his own problems. And if he failed then Iruka would be there to pick up the pieces just like every other parent who allows their child to wander off into the wild sea of the real world.
With a bitter smile Iruka left the kitchen for the living room where he would sit and wait diligently to pick up the pieces.
Before Naruto had left he'd called ahead to make sure that it was alright to come round to Haku's. Since it was he had set off and by the time he got there Sasuke had already arrived. The three had quickly grabbed drinks and holed themselves up in Haku's room so that they could participate in their secret discussion.
"I talked to Gaara last night," Haku began.
"Was he alright?" Naruto asked hurriedly, his eyes burning with anticipation and concern.
"He's fine," Haku replied and was glad to see the concern be replaced by relief. Still, he chose his next words carefully. "He was worried about you though. What happened last night?"
Sasuke leaned forward, also eager to hear what Naruto had to say. Naruto, however, sighed and his shoulders slumped. He really didn't want to have to recount the events of the night before. Nevertheless, it was wrong of him to keep his friends in the dark; he needed to tell them.
"Gaara and I went to dinner. We had a great time together and when it got late he offered to walk me home seeing as my bus wouldn't arrive for ages. On the way we passed the graveyard where my parents are buried." Naruto swallowed hard, forcing himself to continue. "I showed him their shared grave and he said that my dad was a Vampire Hunter. Then somebody turned up – I'm guessing it was Gaara's ex – and confirmed his story. Then the two started fighting and Gaara's eyes turned amber and I ran home."
"His eyes turned amber?" Sasuke questioned, a hint of something that almost resembled fear in his voice.
"That's right," Naruto replied, nodding.
"Then it's a good job you got out of there then."
"Why?" Naruto asked even though he thought he knew what Sasuke was going to say.
"Because when a vampire's eye colour changes it means that they're accessing their hidden powers. When you're changed into a vampire your speed and strength naturally becomes greater than the average human's. Along with heightened senses these are the only powers a vampire has when they're in their normal state. They have other hidden talents though, ones that drain you of your energy more quickly. The other side affect of using these talents is that because you're drawing power from a primal source your behaviour becomes more instinctual, more…beastly. If you'd stayed, Naruto, Gaara might have accidentally ended up attacking you."
Naruto stared silently at Sasuke, his eyes wider than normal. On the one hand he didn't have to feel guilty about running away from the fight since it turned out to have been the smart thing to do. On the other hand he was now slightly afraid of Gaara and what he could do. Well, technically that wasn't true. He had been scared of Gaara last night but had tried to convince himself that he was being silly. Now that he knew he wasn't he was apprehensive about seeing Gaara again.
"How come I haven't heard about any of this before?" asked Haku.
"Probably because Zabuza didn't want you to know that he could be dangerous if he lost control. The only reason I know is because Itachi was forced to explain it after he nearly raped me in the middle of the park."
"He did what?!" Haku cried aghast.
Sasuke gave a half-shrug. "We were attacked one night by a group of vampires who forced Itachi to get serious. Once he'd beaten them senseless he bit and started undressing me. I managed to get a good punch in that brought him back to his senses. He was apologizing for weeks afterwards."
Even though Sasuke was acting as if the incident had been nothing Naruto had known his friend long enough to be able to tell when Sasuke was hiding his real emotions. The look in Sasuke's eyes told Naruto that his raven-haired friend was still haunted by the incident. Yet he still remained close to Itachi. Naruto wondered why that was.
"So how come you're still going out with him? Aren't you worried the same thing will happen again?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "He hadn't been turned for very long back then; he has more control now so a repeat performance is not going to occur."
Naruto looked sceptical. "You can't be sure of that though." Then another thought hit him. "Hey, how long have you been dating your brother?"
"Of course I can't be sure. I also can't be sure that I won't be hit by a bus going home or that the sun really will rise tomorrow. Itachi's accessed his other powers on numerous occasions and nothing's happened after that one time. I trust Itachi's control; he is a perfectionist after all and anything less than absolute control is not good enough for him." Sasuke neglected to comment on Naruto's other remark.
"That is true," Haku mused thoughtfully. "So your evaluation of the situation is that it's just another one of those things you have to deal with when you date a vampire?"
Sasuke nodded. "Exactly."
Naruto frowned in confusion. "Wait a minute, aren't you guys worried that we hang around with a bunch of vampires that could go psycho on us at any moment?"
"Of course we're worried Naruto but if we stopped doing everything we enjoy because there's a chance we might get hurt then we'd never do anything would we?" Haku argued.
Naruto crossed his arms, his head bowed in thought. Haku was right of course. When he was younger Naruto always climbed trees even though the adults told him not to because he might hurt himself. Naruto never listened to what they said and still continued to climb trees even after he fell and twisted his ankle. This situation was no different to that one. He already knew that Gaara was dangerous, the only reason he was currently fretting was that he had been given proof – he had fallen out of the tree. That didn't mean he was going to stop climbing though. He could still date Gaara, he'd just have to be more careful around him when the redhead got into a fight.
Naruto raised his head and grinned at his friends. "You guys are right – nothing's changed so we shouldn't act like it has."
The two dark haired teens smiled back at the blond, nodding in agreement.
After a minute of comfortable silence a question came to Naruto. "Hey, do you guys know anything about Vampire Hunters?"
Haku and Sasuke looked at each other. Sasuke shrugged when Haku raised a questioning eyebrow. Turning back to Naruto, Haku replied, "We thought Vampire Hunters were either something they invented for films or were people who lived centuries ago. Nowadays vampires are myths so I would have thought there would only be fake Hunters who've seen too many horror flicks."
Naruto nodded, not saying anything.
Seeing his friend drifting away from him Haku forced a smile onto his face and said, "Ask Gaara about it tonight, I'm sure he'll have answers seeing as he was the one who brought it up."
Naruto nodded, smiling slightly at Haku's attempt to stop him dwelling. Tonight he would ask Gaara that question and he would get his answers. The only question was: would he like the answers or not?
Naruto absently tapped his pencil against the open page of his notepad. He was supposed to be thinking up points for his history essay but his mind was elsewhere. The sun had set almost an hour ago and Gaara still hadn't arrived. Naruto was anxious for the redhead to get there and the waiting was driving him insane; he was barely resisting the temptation to pace.
Naruto had spent most of the day at Haku's but had returned home for a tense dinner with Iruka. The fact that Naruto had been unable to talk about his problems still lingered between them. It had been quite clear that Iruka wanted to talk about it but was resisting the urge. Instead there was small talk that quickly died away into uneasy silence.
Naruto had gone to bed early, claiming to still be tired. He'd left the curtains open with his bedside lamp on and taken up residence underneath the window. Then he'd been forced to wait and we all know that waiting wasn't one of Naruto's strengths.
The quiet tapping on the window made Naruto jump. He scrabbled to his feet, throwing aside his notebook. Turning around Naruto saw that Gaara was perched precariously on the ledge outside his window, his lips quirked upwards in his version of a smile.
With a relieved sigh Naruto opened the window and stepped back to allow Gaara in. The vampire slipped through the open space easily before closing and locking the window behind him. As he turned back to face Naruto his jaw connected with the blond teen's fist. Gaara reeled, his hand snapping up to his face.
Naruto matched the glare the redhead sent. "That's for taking forever to get here and making me worry, bastard." Naruto then threw his arms around Gaara's waist and buried his face in the vampire's shoulder.
After a moment of stunned silence Gaara was able to comprehend Naruto's actions. He wrapped one arm around the blond and moved the hand from his cheek into Naruto's hair. He placed a kiss on the crown of Naruto's head before whispering, "I had to make sure that I wasn't being followed and leading Deidara straight to you."
At the mention of the blond vampire's name Naruto quickly looked up. "What happened last night? You weren't hurt were you?"
"Coward ran away before I could kill him," Gaara said bitterly.
Naruto frowned slightly at this. "Do you need to kill him? Can't you hand him over to the Vampire Police or something?"
"Such a thing does not exist. The only body that enforces vampire law is the Council and they do not regularly intervene by themselves. Even if I brought him before them an adequate verdict would not be given. I'm sure they would grant me a restraining order but they would not stop him from killing you."
"Why not?"
"Because the law says you must remain inconspicuous – there is no specific clause that says you must not kill humans. Humans are seen as lesser beings by the majority of vampires – if vampires who kill vampires are not always vindictively persecuted then why should a vampire who kills a human be punished?"
"There was a lot of lawyer-speak in there but I think I get what you're trying to say: that killing your ex is the only way to stop him killing me?"
"Correct."
Naruto sighed, resting his head on Gaara's shoulder. "I wish there was another way to do this besides trading his life for mine."
Gaara's eyes widened at Naruto's statement. "After all he's done you still think he deserves mercy? He's a deluded psychopath who is trying to kill you. If he finds you he won't be merciful. He'll kill anyone who tries to protect you – trust me when I say he'll stop at nothing to see you dead."
Naruto looked up, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Why is he so hell bent on doing me in? I know he's still in love with you but still, isn't this a little extreme?"
"It's like I said earlier: he's insane and thinks that you're the reason I don't return his bizarre affection. Once you're out of the picture he thinks I'll go running back to him." Gaara paused for a second, his eyes not meeting Naruto's. "There's also another reason he wants you dead."
"What is it?" Naruto asked, curious as to why Gaara wasn't meeting his gaze.
"Namikaze killed Sasori, Deidara's former lover."
Naruto's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "My dad…He killed someone?"
"Namikaze killed numerous vampires; there was much rejoicing when he was murdered."
"Murdered? I thought it was a car crash that killed my parents?" Naruto said in alarm as he was pelted with these new, unexpected facts.
Gaara hesitated. Naruto deserved to know the truth but the teen was already beginning to panic and he hadn't heard the worst part of it. Gaara gently dragged his fingers through Naruto's hair in what he hoped was a calming gesture. The blond teen's eyes remained wild though so Gaara took a deep breath and bit the bullet. "It was made to look like a car accident. In reality a group of vampires led by Deidara set out to avenge those who Namikaze had killed. For some reason he'd been inactive for years so he was hard to find but they managed in the end. They killed Namikaze and the woman he was with. If they'd known he had a son they would have killed you too before you became a Hunter like him."
Naruto visibly paled. Fearing that the other's legs might give out under him Gaara scooped up the blond and carried him over to the bed. Naruto didn't protest when Gaara picked him up or when he was placed on the edge of the bed. He also remained silent as Gaara sat beside him and wrapped an arm around the blond teen's waist. Knowing that Naruto was busy thinking, Gaara said nothing as he watched the blond try to come to terms with the newly revealed events of the past.
Naruto's mind reeled as it tried to process all the new information that had been presented to it. To know one's parents were dead was a hard enough grievance to bear, but to find out that they had been murdered and the killers had not been punished? The idea made Naruto feel sick and angry at the injustice. Worse was the fact that their deaths had been celebrated. How anyone could celebrate the loss of two of the world's most amazing people Naruto didn't know. Then again, until yesterday he hadn't known that his dad was a Vampire Hunter. Had his dad been living a double life or had his mom known about it all? Had she also been a Hunter? There were so many questions Naruto wanted answering and the two people who could best answer them were both dead. They were both murdered and their killer was out for his blood.
Releasing his breath, Naruto turned to Gaara and looked him in the eye. "Gaara, are you sure all that you've said is true? Where did you get all this information from?"
"Most of it is common knowledge among vampires. Namikaze was the first Hunter in a long time to ever be a real threat to the vampire community. When he died word was quickly spread that there was no longer any reason to fear. The finer details of the incident, however, I got from Deidara; the bastard was more than happy to brag about what he had done."
"So you weren't part of the group that killed them?"
"No, Namikaze never killed anybody I knew personally."
"Does that mean you don't hate me?"
Gaara considered his next words carefully. "I should hate you and many vampires will hate you because they will think you are guilty by association. However, I know you and know you are not a threat. I do not hate you Naruto."
"That's good," Naruto said, a small smile slipping onto his face.
Gaara returned the small smile, a part of him relaxing in the face of it. Naruto was going to be alright; it wouldn't be long before he accepted the truth about his father and moved on. Everything was going to be alright.
"Are there any more questions you wish to ask?" Gaara enquired.
Naruto frowned thoughtfully before asking, "What is a Vampire Hunter? How do they go about killing vampires? And how did my dad find out real vampires exist?"
"I'm afraid all I know about Hunters is that they kill my kind. Each have their own preferred methods of doing the deed and I assume they each discover the existence of vampires in different ways as no investigation has ever found a link between the true Hunters of old."
"I'm guessing you also don't know if there's anyone I can ask who would know the answers to my questions then," Naruto said glumly.
"Anyone who knew your father and helped him with his hunting most likely went underground when he was murdered. I do know someone who has more knowledge of Hunters than I, but he is a vampire and I am not willing to introduce you to him."
"Why not?" asked Naruto, confused.
"Because not all vampires are as tolerant of humans as Itachi and Zabuza are. Those who have lived the longest are the most knowledgeable. They have seen humans wage wars a thousand times over. They have seen ignorance and stupidity bring down empires and no longer have any respect for humans. Even if you didn't say you were Namikaze's son you would still not escape in one piece."
A slight chill passed down Naruto's spine. He'd been under the impression that all vampires were like Gaara – cold and distant but good at heart – and only a few had a screw loose like Deidara. Now he was beginning to wonder if it was the other way around; that the good vampires were the anomalies of the world. It wasn't really a reassuring thought that most vampires considered him as nothing more than food.
"So basically you're saying unless I somehow accidently bump into a Vampire Hunter I'm not going to get any of my questions answered?" Naruto verified.
"Correct."
Naruto dropped his gaze to the floor with a sigh. "I guess that's a good thing; there's probably loads of stuff about my dad that I don't want to know." Naruto then looked at Gaara again and (completely changing the subject with a forced, optimistic smile) asked, "So how exactly are we going to go about killing your ex?"
Gaara's eyes narrowed marginally. "We are not going to do anything. You are going to remain where it is safe while I track down Deidara."
"That's not fair," objected Naruto. "I also have a score to settle with that bastard; you can't just sideline me!"
"I can and I will," replied Gaara darkly. "You're the one he's trying to kill Naruto; I am not going to allow you to walk straight into the line of fire."
"I don't need you to hold my hand all the time you know – I can look after myself," countered the blond petulantly.
"Maybe in the mortal world you can but this isn't the mortal world. Deidara has yet to utilise his full power but when he does I'm going to have to use everything I've got to stop him. I don't want you there to see me unleashing the most primal of my vampire powers."
Naruto felt his insides clench at the memory of Gaara's hungry amber eyes. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to go chasing Deidara with Gaara after all.
Naruto closed his eyes with an angry exhale of air. "I just hate the idea of sitting here twiddling my thumbs while you're out there fighting some psychopath. I want to help you; I don't want to be useless."
Gaara reached out and gently ran his knuckles down Naruto's cheek. "You're not useless Naruto, and you are helping me. If I know you're safe I can fight without holding back. Promise me you'll stay safe."
"Only if you promise to come back in one piece," Naruto said as he slyly opened his eyes.
Gaara's lips flickered into a smile. "I promise," he said as he carefully turned Naruto's face towards him so that he could capture the blond human's lips in a tender kiss.
Naruto smiled and cuddled up to Gaara once the kiss ended. With a yawn he let his eyes fall closed, his head resting in the crook of Gaara's neck. The redhead glanced over towards the clock, noting the late hour.
"Perhaps you should go to bed now," suggested Gaara.
"Alright," mumbled Naruto. Slowly, he opened his eyes and asked, "Does that mean you're going now?"
"No, I'm going to stay with you tonight."
Naruto's eyes slipped closed once again, his lips turning up in a slow smile. "Thank you."
With a gentleness Gaara reserved only for Naruto the redhead manoeuvred the blond under the covers. He then kicked off his boots and slid in next to Naruto, deftly pulling the human closer to him. Naruto quickly made himself comfortable in the new position and before long had drifted off to sleep. Gaara continued to smile his small, barely a quirk of the lips, smile as he marvelled at how trusting Naruto was and how much the boy had changed him already. But then the smile fell from Gaara's lips as he remembered the real reason that he was there in Naruto's room.
Gaara's gaze shifted towards the window. If Deidara was going to make an entrance then it would be through that window. Gaara had to be prepared for when he came or the consequences would be dire. With this in mind Gaara prepared himself for a long night of sitting, waiting, and protecting the one he loved.
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