I have no excuses for why it took me 3 million years to upload this next chapter. I suck. I know. So sorry, but please enjoy anyways :)

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

Rayne slowly passed back and forth past the Kazekage's door. She didn't want to admit it but Kankuro was probably right. She really should talk to Gaara. But what was she supposed to say? What was there to say? So she began to mumble to herself, mostly remind herself that she was stupid and this whole thing was stupid and how Kankuro was stupid. Surprisingly Madarou gave very little input to this whole thing. She could feel him there simply observing the situation which only mad her more angry. He was stupid too.

"What? Mister I know everything finally doesn't have something to say for once?" she muttered under her breath.

"Be quiet girl. I'm thinking" was his only reply.

"You're thinking? Well think faster you stupid mutt! I have no idea what I'm doing right now." She muttered back.

Suddenly the door next to her swung open and a confused looking Kazekage was standing shirtless in the door way.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing…" she replied. Her ears burned with embarrassment again. "What are you doing?"

"I was trying to sleep but your excessive noise is keeping me awake. Who were you talking to?" he asked looking both ways down the hallway.

"No one. I wasn't talking to anyone." She quickly blurted out. Great now he thinks I'm crazy! She wanted to hit herself right now for acting so foolish. Either that or just disappear. She was acting like a complete idiot.

"Well was there something you needed Rayne?"

She was about to say no, call it a night and go lay on the couch feeling miserable until morning but Kankuro's nagging voice kept reminding her that she needed to talk to the young Kazekage. She sighed heavily. "I… I wanted to talk to you."

"About?" he asked. If he was feeling even the slightest bit awkward he was clearly not showing it. He just stood there watching her, seemingly uncaring.

Rayne sighed and crossed her arms. "Look can I just come in and talk to you?"

Gaara simply shrugged and backed out of the doorway, allowing her entrance. He closed the door behind her and motioned for her to sit on the bed. The covers had been turned back and it was obvious that he had been trying to sleep earlier. He took a seat in the chair by his desk.

After a few moments of painful silence Rayne finally worked up the courage to say something. "Look, I just wanted to say that I was sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have done that."

"It was my fault. I started it. I'm the one that should be sorry. It shouldn't have happened."

Rayne could only nod her head. For some reason it hurt a little when he said it shouldn't have happened. But she knew he was right. Even if she had feelings for him, which she didn't, nothing could ever happen between them. He was the Kazekage and she was a fugitive.

"Was that all you needed to talk about then?"

"Yeah I guess so." She got up off his bed and slowly walked to the door, almost hoping he had something else to say. But he didn't, so she walked out the door slowly closing it behind her. She stood there in the hallway for a few seconds before walking down the hallway and back to Kankuro's room. She opened the door slowly, not making a sound. She poked her head in only to find the older sand sibling sprawled out across the bed, snoring softly.

He looked so comfortable she figured it would be a shame to wake him. She closed the door and slipped down the hallway. As she sat down alone in the dark living room she felt a familiar empty feeling creeping over her. Talking with Gaara had unfortunately brought up memories from her past that she had rather not be thinking about. But whether or not she wanted to think about them she was. She couldn't stop the memories from surfacing and she did everything in her power to push them back down. The dark silence that filled the room almost made it seem harder to keep her mind off it. Normally when it got like this she would go to Kankuro and just being next to someone else seemed to help her but she knew she couldn't keep using him like that. Eventually she would have to leave. She knew she couldn't stay here forever. She had been used to just dealing with it but now that she found some way to make it better it was hard to not want to go to him.

Rayne sighed and laid back down. She bothered Kankuro enough these last few nights she figured she would just have to suffer through it till morning. She pulled her blanket over her head and tried to fall asleep.

It had to have been almost an hour later and it was just getting worse. She couldn't sleep and she was feeling so restless. She sighed heavily and sat up. She buried her head into her hands for a few minutes before deciding that if she wasn't going to bother Kankuro the least she could do was go out for a drink. Gaara was going to be pissed if he found out but she didn't really care right now. She really needed a drink. She pulled on her shoes and quietly slipped out of the window.

She jumped down to the street, the night air already making her feel a little better. She knew better than to go to the local bars, Gaara would find out if she had been there so she made her way to the nearest convenient store. It was obviously closed this late at night but that didn't stop her. She easily picked the lock on the back door and slipped in. She grabbed the largest bottle of Vodka she could and left after leaving money on the counter. She only stole when she had to. Now that she had money she had no problem paying for the stuff she took. She opened the bottle immediately after leaving the store and took a large drink straight from the bottle. The liquor burned going down but she immediately felt better .She dropped the cap on the ground, not planning on needing it. If she couldn't fall asleep then she was just going to have to drink till she passed out.

By the time she wandered home, more than half the bottle was gone and she was very much drunk. The thoughts from earlier were all still there but now they at least hurt less. She climbed back in through the window, probably quite a bit less quiet than she was when leaving the house almost an hour earlier. She clumsily pulled her shoes off, leaving them by the window.

Someone coughed and she quickly looked up, hiding the bottle behind her back. Gaara was standing in the doorway to the living room. Rayne swore to herself. He looked pissed.

"Where have you been?" he asked, walking into the room.

She took a minute to organize her fuzzy thoughts, making sure she spoke clearly. "I just went out for a short walk."

"You've been gone for more than an hour. And what's that behind you back?"

"What business is it of yours what I do with my time?" she said angrily. It was his fault she needed a drink anyways. If he hadn't brought up all that stuff earlier she wouldn't have needed to go out.

"You're drunk aren't you?" he sighed, the smell of the vodka hitting him.

"No, as a matter of fact I am not!" she glared at him. He walked up to her and grabbed the bottle out from behind her back. He examined it, raising a non-existent eyebrow at her.

She sighed, very annoyed with the still shirtless man in front of her. "Look, I couldn't sleep 'right. It's your fault anyway." She pushed passed him and went to sit down on the couch. Unfortunately for her she misjudged the exact location of the couch and sat too far on the edge and slipped right off, landing hard on her ass. Her ears burned with embarrassment for what seemed like the umpteenth time that night. Damn that fucking Kazekage, always making me look like a fucking idiot!" She just sat there for a moment seething with anger."Everythin' is your fault you jackass!" she cursed.

Gaara sighed with annoyance. He walked over to her and hesitantly helped her to her feet. "Rayne go to bed." He said motioning for her to sit down.

She shoved him away from her. "I don't need your help. You're not the boss of me and I can do whatever the hell I want so give me the fucking bottle back!"

He crossed his arms still holding the bottle in his hand. There was no way she was getting the bottle back. He sighed again. He didn't understand how this kept happening. Every time he thought he was getting somewhere she went and did something stupid like this and messed everything up. "Rayne, just go to bed. You're drunk."

"I can't fuckin' sleep! It's your fault I'm drunk. If you wouldn't of brought up all that stupid shit earlier…" she stopped midsentence, surprised by how her voice cracked. She could feel her throat getting chocked up. Tears stung at the back of her eyes, wanting to come out. "Fuck!" she swore again.

Gaara lowered his arms as things started to connect. Obviously the stuff he had brought up earlier had bothered her more than she let on. He felt stupid for not realizing it earlier when she had come to talk to him. He handed her back the bottle and she cleared her throat before taking a large sip. She held the bottle close to her.

"Look, I'm… I'm sorry. Please, just come on and go to bed." He lightly held her shoulder and led her down the hall." She protested the entire way to his room telling him that she was fine and didn't need to go to bed and that she didn't need his help but she didn't resist. He brought her into his room and sat her down on his bed. "Just stay in here for the night.

Rayne took another drink before falling over onto her side. She was so dizzy that it just seemed like a good idea. It had nothing to do with the fact that Gaara had told her to, she reasoned with herself.

The Kazekage rolled his eyes as some of the liquor splashed out of the bottle and onto his clean bed but he didn't say anything. Rayne didn't even seem to notice. He reached out to take the bottle back from her but she glared at him and held it tighter.

"Don't you even think about it" she growled. He just stood over her silently for a few moments and she tried to ignore him. She was still mad at him even if he did give her his bed. After another few moments of silence she reached down and set the bottle on the floor before turning over and facing away from him. She didn't even want to look at him at the moment. What business did he have bringing up all of my personal business? What the fuck did he need to know all that for?

Gaara just shook his head. He left the bottle where it was, not wanting to risk her getting more angry. He picked up a blanket from the bed and threw it over her before turning away and walking towards the door.

The blanket settled over her and she heard him walking away and could already feel the emptiness creeping back in. And just like that she wasn't mad at him anymore. "Please don't leave me alone" she whined. "I'm sorry…" She just needed him to stay.

Gaara stopped just as he was about to close the door behind himself. He slowly walked back into the room and stood by the bed. He wasn't sure what to do.

"I'm sorry. Really, I am. Can you just stay here tonight?"

"Uhh… Rayne, I don't think that's appropriate… I should probably just go." He said nervously. He wasn't sure what she meant by it but she was drunk and he didn't want to take any chances.

"Please, Kankuro lets me sleep in his bed. It's just he's already asleep and I didn't want to wake him up and really we're just sleeping. Please."

"You've been sleeping with my brother?" he asked. She still had her back towards him so it was hard to read what she meant by what she was saying. He really did believe it was just the alcohol that was making her talk.

"Well, yeah. I mean it not like we are sleeping together; he just lets me sleep in his bed. I just have a hard time sleeping sometimes. I guess it helps."

Rayne wasn't sure what she was doing anymore. All she knew was that when he was here she felt better and right now that was all that mattered. She couldn't even face him as she talked so she had no idea what he was doing. She had no idea if she had finally gotten some sort of expression to come across his stupid stoic face. "You know just forget it. Never mind. I didn't say anything, goodnight." Then she heard him walking over to the other side of the room. He came into her line of vision and she saw him hesitantly sit down on the edge of the bed. She immediately turned over, still wanting to save herself the embarrassment of him actually looking at her.

Things were very quiet and both of them could feel the tension surrounding them. Neither of them knew what to say. They stayed like that for a long while. Gaara would never admit it but to know that his brother wasn't sleeping with Rayne was a big relief. It had kept him awake on more than a few occasions when he heard her go into there. It wasn't that he had any feelings for the girl but it had just seemed wrong for the two of them to be having that kind of relationship. Gaara slowly relaxed a little and pulled his legs up onto the bed. Rayne moved next to him, seeming to wipe her eyes.

"I sorry to be such a bother." She mumbled, breaking the silence.

"It's fine…" he murmured in response.

"No it's not."

"Really, Rayne, it's fine." The more he thought about it the more he started to realize that the nights she was left alone were the nights that she spent pacing in the living room. She never seemed to have any problem falling asleep when everyone was home and out in the living room, or when she stayed in Kankuro's room. "Don't like being alone?"

She was quiet for a while then replied with a simple, "I guess…"

He couldn't help but think about how often she must have been alone when she was in jail. He had seen the inside of prisons before. They were all cold, dark, and either terribly silent or filled with the echoing shouts of the other inmates. Either way it must have been a horrible experience. The thought of her sitting in a cold dark cell all by herself… He shouldn't think of it. It shouldn't matter. It wasn't his job to worry about it or care. He finally settled so that he was now fully lying down. He crossed his arms across his chest.

"You know I guess I should also thank you for getting me out of jail" she said. Gaara turned his head to look at her but she didn't turn around.

She had no idea why she was telling him but she blamed it again on the alcohol and her just not caring right now. "The second time I escaped was during the chunin exams. With all the commotion that was going on during your… fight, security was crazy low. The sound ninja and all that stuff." She finally turned around to face Gaara but stared down, not wanting to see his face. It just didn't feel like an actual thank you if he was just looking at her back. "I saw some of your fight with that Uzumaki kid. Luckily I was headed in the other direction of you guys but I mean it was pretty big so hard to miss. I mean you were I giant raccoon thing so…"

"Yeah I know…" was his only reply. That was a different him than the person he was now and he didn't like to spend a bunch of time thinking about it.

"Nara Shikamaru's first mission as a Chunin was to bring me back. Needless to say, he was successful. I had to have broken out at least three or four other times though."

"Was he the one you got into a fight with the other day?" Kankuro had told him that she had been injured from a fight with an 'old friend'. He wasn't sure what really happened. Shikamaru had said the same thing to Temari though when she had asked about the cut on his face.

"Yeah, bastard pushed me of a fuckin' roof. Fuckin' hurt…" she mumbled back. "He wasn't looking for me though. They took him off the job of tracking me down after a while. It wasn't a big deal."

"I see."

"You know the last time I got out was also because of you now that I think of it. You went missing and everyone freaked out and security was pretty low that day because of everything that was going on. Snuck right out of the place."

Gaara remained silent, not knowing what to say. She was hard enough to talk to on a regular basis. Now that she was this intoxicated anything he said could potentially upset her. Who knows what she would try to do if the conversation went south.

"I just… thanks I guess. For everything else too." Rayne said as she turned over once again. She was being dumb but she had told her story and now she was going to shut up before she could say anything else she would potentially regret in the morning. She rolled back over onto her side just to make sure he couldn't look at her. She was surprised when she felt her back press into his arm. She was about to move but the ever so slight contact seemed to make her feel a little better. Rayne focused on that small warm spot on her back for a while, hoping he was thinking nothing of it.

The two of them sat like that for a while in silence. Rayne could clearly hear the sounds of his breathing next to her and slowly it was starting to put her to sleep. And she almost did fall asleep until she felt something off in Madarou's mood. He was worried. It took her a minute to guess what it was and when she did she suddenly bolted upright.

"Fuck!" she swore immediately throwing back the covers. She had to get out of there. What the hell am I thinking!? Sure it might have had something to do with the alcohol but either way she looked at it she was still acting like a fool. Her entire goal was to hide. That had been her reason for leaving the leaf and coming here. It was supposed to be temporary until she could head out again. But instead of resting up and getting the fuck out of town she had ended up staying here. She became a fucking shinobi in this village. She was sleeping in the same bed as the Kazekage; the Kazekage who was allied with the leaf village. The man who now knew her whole back story that she had for the longest time tried to keep secret. "Fucking shit!" she swore again.

"Rayne, what's wrong?" he called, sitting up alarmed.

"What the fuck am I doing!?" she cursed under her breath. She ran her hands through her hair nervously. He had said he wasn't going to turn her in but how could she trust him? He was practically the enemy.

"Rayne what is going on?" he asked. He had no idea what had gone wrong this time.

"Why the hell am I telling you all this?" she mumbled under her breath. "I was always able to keep my fucking mouth shut! What the hell did I just do? Damn it!" she quickly got out of bed and grabbed her bottle up off the floor. Gaara quickly followed suit and hopped out of bed.

"Rayne…" he called, cautiously.

She looked around the room, trying to think if any of her few belongings could be in here. "I… I have to go. I have to leave right now." She cursed herself again. The damn alcohol was still very much in her system making it very hard to remember where she put all of her stuff. It almost didn't matter. She had to leave, now. She looked back at Gaara's worried face. "I'm…" She just shook her head and bolted towards the door.

Gaara quickly reached out and grabbed her. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his head and a deafening snarl rang through his ears. He clutched at his head with his free hand as visions of snapping teeth flashed through his mind. He grimaced at what could only be Madarou's attack but didn't let go of her arm. He looked at her and saw an expression he remembered from when he first met her. She was terrified. She tried to yank her arm free from his grasp but he held tight.

"Rayne stop. Calm down."

"Damn it Gaara, let me go" she growled threateningly. She was surprised that Madarou's attack had almost no effect on him. Most people would have let go.

"Will you just stop? What is going on with you?" He could feel her shaking as he tightly held her arm.

"I need to leave. Right now. Let go of my fucking arm or I swear…" He looked so concerned. Alright so maybe he wasn't the enemy. She still needed to get out of there. It wasn't safe there. It never was. She was putting everyone at risk by being here though. How could she have been so stupid?

"Rayne, I don't think you are thinking clearly right now. Just calm down, please." He felt her relax a little in his grip.

"I am thinking clearly. Clearer than I have been the last few months. I shouldn't be here. I have to leave Gaara." She dropped her arm down but he didn't let go of her. "I have to go…"

"No one here is going to hurt you. You know that."

She had to admit that he was probably right about that. If they wanted to turn her in they could have done it months ago. All of a sudden her body didn't seem to want to work anymore. Her legs felt like jelly and the room seemed to be spinning more than it was when she first stumbled into here. Her knees suddenly gave in and she sunk to the floor only to be caught by Gaara. She remembered the bottle of vodka in her hand and took a long drink to calm herself down. She grimaced as it burned her throat.

Gaara sighed heavily as she took another drink. He pulled her up and sat her back down on the bed. She seemed be calming down at least. He stood beside her, holding the bottle he had once again gotten away from her. He wasn't a drinker himself but she had shown him enough to convince him that the stuff was evil. He waited in silence for a while, waiting to see what she would do next. "Are… are you okay?" he asked hesitantly.

"No. I shouldn't be here." She said after a long pause. "I shouldn't be doing this. I'm such an idiot…" she replied sadly. She suddenly reached out and grabbed the bottle back from him. Gaara could only roll his eyes as she drained the rest of the contents and let the empty bottle drop to the floor. She fell over onto her side and curled up on the bed.

Gaara laid down on the other side of the bed sighing heavily. Dealing with her consumed a surprisingly large amount of energy. He kept a close watch on her in case she decided to run again. "If it means anything, I don't think you are an idiot. Nor are you doing anything wrong for that matter."

"I'm a burden to you and your family. You shouldn't have to watch out for me. You probably are all in danger for just letting me stay here."

He searched for a while for the right words to say. "I don't think you are a burden to them. I think both Temari and Kankuro like you. If they want to protect you then it's only because you are their friend. What's so wrong with that?"

"I don't need protecting, nor do I deserve it."

"You are impossible to reason with." He said trying to sound lighthearted.

Rayne sighed and stretched out on the bed. "You don't get it Gaara. I don't deserve all the things you have done for me." She was silent for a while, not sure if she should go on. He deserved to know the truth though. She sighed again as she stared up at the ceiling. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. "You don't know the whole story. I've done things… terrible things. I've killed people Gaara…"

He didn't want to push her anymore tonight. "You don't have to explain yourself to me. I have no right to judge you. You know things I've done, the damage I have caused."

She turned over onto her side, her back pressing into his arm slightly. She didn't know what else to say. He didn't seem to want listen. How could he not see what a problem she was? She shivered unconsciously. Gaara shifted besides her and she was surprised when he pulled the covers up over her.

"Just try to get some sleep tonight. You're safe here." He said placing his hand onto her arm.

She flinched slightly at the contact but relaxed a moment later. His hand felt warm and seemed to calm her down. She tried to remind herself that he didn't want to hurt her. She leaned back into him, surprised by the warmth his chest radiated into her back. His arm wrapped around her, gently pulling her closer. She felt a little better when she felt his heart pounding in his chest just as hard as her own. It meant that she wasn't the only one feeling something.

Gaara was painfully aware of how hard his heart was beating. But the fact that she wasn't running meant that he had to be doing something right. He was surprised by how nice this felt. He had never experienced this kind of human contact before. He never really knew how warm, how comforting it was.

Feeling his chest rise and fall as he breathed and his strong arm around her seemed to calm her down. All of the worries she had seemed to fade out of focus for the time being. She knew they would eventually be back but for now she was calm. Gaara began to trace swirls onto her arm with his thumb. It sent pleasant tingles down her back and for the first time in a long time she felt normal. If she closed her eyes right now she could imagine that everything was fine. It could be her life if she hadn't gone on that mission, if she hadn't died. She could just be a normal person, living a normal life with her family and friends still. She would have a boyfriend that would hold her at night like Gaara did now. She knew it was pointless to think about it though. This was her life whether she wanted it or not. She couldn't help but feel bad as she fell asleep in his arms, knowing that he didn't know the full story.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

Thanks for reading, hope it didn't suck. I will try to put the next chapter up soon.
~Reiko