Disclaimer: We all know by now that Naruto doesn't belong to me, because if it did, the plot lines would be totally out of wack, and it would be full of yaoi goodness. So, whatever on that note. But anyway, the good news? There's finally another installment of Rehab!

Rehabilitation

Chapter 12

"So, this is where you live now? It's a pretty cool place." Itachi commented, nodding his approval. He was currently sitting on the couch drinking a soda next to Naruto, while Gaara sat in the chair and Kakashi was reading a...ahem, book by the counter.

"Why, thank you. I bought it just after the boys came to live with me." Kakashi smiled, giggling a little as he turned a page in Icha Icha Paradise. Oh, how he loved that book.

"Enough of all that, guys! Itachi, how did you escape?!" Naruto begged to know; literally begged, as in all puppy eyes and everything.

Itachi turned back to him, noticed the glare he was recieving from certain teal eyes, but ignored them. "Well, lets see. I remember passing out from Sasuke stabbing me in the chest; I guess they all thought I was dead. When I came too, they were all gone, and I was in a hospital in a town I didn't recognize." At Naruto's insistant prodding, he lifted up his shirt to show the red scar from the wound, set just inches below his heart. The doctor had said that if it were any higher, he'd have died. "I guess my little brother wasn't as good an assassin as I thought." He smirked.

"What are you going to do now that you're back?" Gaara asked, really not liking how close Itachi was getting to his Naruto. Yes, he had accepted that Naruto was his just that day, after realizing he could have lost him. His first friend, his first...well, everything. And here came this dark-haired man who was getting too close to him.

Itachi laughed somewhat; he could guess the dark thoughts circling that redhead. But he oblidged him with an answer. "Hm, well, I haven't really given it much thought. Although, I'd like to stay here for a little while to get to know you and Kakashi, and of course Kyuubi. Maybe I'll even find a job." Yes, that could fit into my plan quite nicely. He thought, smirking once more.

Gaara looked away, but Naruto grinned in glee. "A job?! As in a a real job?! What kind, huh? What kind?" He was practically bouncing in his seat.

Here Kakashi stepped in. "He could go to work with me." It was perfect; and, he would get closer to Itachi while they set their plans in motion. It was a win-win situation.

Itachi was thinking the same thing. "That's a great idea. But now we shou-what the hell is that?" He asked, pointing to some large that was behind Kakashi on the counter.

Everyone looked, and Naruto burst out laughing. "It's supposed to be a model of a cell. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out as well as we planned. But since Gaara was out of commission for a week, we never got to turn it in. It was probably a failing grade, anyway." He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. Gaara didn't say anything, of course.

"Right. That project sucks ass, Naru-sama, Gaara."

And that comment, of course, involved Naruto getting extremely angry and attacking Itachi, which made Gaara feel left out. It would be nice if others would treat me like that. But they're all afraid of me. Sighing inaudibly, Gaara stood, and made his way to Naruto's room, taking comfort in the sands that surrounded him as he released them from the gourd.

"Huh? Gaara?" Naruto looked up, noticing the saddened look in Gaara's eyes as he left the room.

Itachi noticed as well, and pushed Naruto to the floor. "Go on, little man. Go play with your friend; your dad will keep me entertained."

With one last backwards glance, Naruto skipped out of the room, and followed his crush to his room. Itachi, though, stood and crowded Kakashi close.

"So, what say you and I have a little fun while they talk things out?"

"Gaara? How come you came back here?" Naruto asked the dark room; a trip from sand pulling his feet out from under him was his answer. "The fuck?! What's wrong with you, Gaara?! Why are you acting like this?" He wanted to yell; he closed to the door and locked it to make sure they weren't disturbed.

Gaara turned and glared at him, the sand moving like a living thing all around his body. "Why are you in here, Naruto? Why aren't you 'playing' with your other friend?" He snarled, his anger finally showing himself. It had been building all day; it had to come out sometime.

The blond blinked, a little taken back. But then something in his mind clicked, and he finally understood. Oh, so that's it. He's jealous because I'm spending time with Itachi, instead of paying attention only to him! Hehe, my Gaara's so needy. Of course, if he were to say that, Gaara would probably kill him. So he just took a step foreword, then another, and another, ignoring the pricks on his arms and legs from sand trying to stop him. He waited until he got close to Gaara, close enough to reach out and touch his shoulder. The redhead flinched, but he ignored it. "Gaara, I know how you're feeling, but you're wrong. I'm not going to stop paying attention to you just because Itachi came back. I would never do that! In fact, I lo-!" He stopped himself in time from admitting something that could seriously ruin this relationship. At least, so he thought. "Um, I mean, I really wouldn't do that! I told you before, Itachi's like my older brother, so yeah, I missed him, and want to spend time with him, but I'd never ignore you for another person!"

His voice was sincerity at its finest, his eyes pleading with Gaara to understand. After a few moments, the sand around Gaara receded, only to draw Naruto foreword, to his side. Where he belonged. And when Gaara spoke, his voice was dark, almost possessive.

"Fine. But if you ever leave me for him, I will kill you. That's a promise." He wouldn't accept abandonment from one that was his.

Naruto nodded instantly, though. "Of course, Gaara. I would expect nothing less. But, do you forgive me, then? You're no longer mad at me?" The redhead shook his head, and Naruto practically squealed in happiness. Unthinking, he reached foreword and hugged Gaara fiercely, his emotions getting the better of him.

Hesitantly, Gaara patted his back, then his head, playing with the soft tuft of blond hair. It fascinated him; the color, the texture. Just like the person it belonged to. After a few moments, when he realized Naruto wasn't going to let him go, he maneuvered himself so that they were both next to the bed, then laying on it. "You should rest. I'll lay here, with you, and make sure you don't have nightmares."

Naruto nodded, happy, and snuggled close to that warm body, not even minding the sand sliding over his body. In fact, he kind of liked it; the roughness, much like Gaara himself. He sighed happily, and was about to drop off into dreamland when he remembered something. He reached his hand up and grabbed hold of Gaara's free hand, feeling their fingers entertwine. There, now he could sleep.

Gaara had tensed when Naruto reached up a hand, but had relaxed when he realized he only wanted to hold hands. An odd thing to do, and quite stupid, he'd always thought, but with Naruto it felt nice. His hand continued its little foray in that blond hair, pushing and pulling, which amazingly didn't cause the teen to wake.

All night, he lay there, playing with that gold hair, thinking on what he'd do next. It was tough, actually, figuring that out. With this new guy showing up, his attention will be divided. I don't think I like that. But he said he wouldn't ignore me, right? I...guess I can trust him not to; I've trusted him so far, haven't I? Yes, it all comes down to trust...

And so he spent the night. After all, Gaara didn't sleep.

It was really warm. The futon wasn't this warm, was it? No, it wasn't. A little groggy, Naruto opened his eyes, and found himself staring directly into slightly warm teal eyes. For his part, he didn't gasp; he merely smiled, closing his eyes once more. He wanted to treasure waking up right next to his crush. Of course, the Fates never let him do what he wanted.

"Someone is knocking on your door. You might want to get up." Gaara stated, his voice slightly husky.

Frowning, Naruto groaned and stood, but he refused to get up alone. Instead, he took Gaara with him, making sure he kept their arms entertwined as he unlocked and opened his bedroom door. Lo and behold, what a sight. There stood Itachi, Kakashi slightly behind him, with a Siamese cat in his arms. A fully grown, but surprisingly calm and not mean Siamese cat, which was immediately stuffed into his arms.

"Here you guys go! This is your new pet, to help teach you two responsibility. Kakashi came up with the idea, actually. Her name's Shiori. Have fun with her, you guys! Oh, and by the way, you're to take all day off, and spend it here, in this room, getting aquainted with Shiori. There's lunch in the fridge; Kakashi and I are going to work. Kyuubi's here, and he knows everything; but he's going to leave you two alone for today. Have fun!" And with that, they disappeared.

Naruto turned and looked at Gaara, really confused, but the redhead merely shrugged and reclosed the door. Naruto was still confused, but shrugged as well. Then he giggled; Shiora had meowed and licked his cheek with her rough tongue. It felt weird, but nice.

"You know, she's really cute, Gaara. Wanna hold her?" Without waiting for a reply, Naruto dumped the cat in Gaara's awkward arms. The redhead obviously didn't know what to do with her, so Naruto placed his hand on the cat's head. "There; now just scratch lightly. She'll love it, trust me. I'm going to get her some milk, okay?"

Gaara frowned, a mere tilting of his lips, but sat on the bed again with the cat in his lap. She was purring loudly as he scrathed her head, and he began to get more confident, and scratched under her jaw.

Naruto watched from the doorway, a small smile curling his lips. Gaara was just so cute, playing with the cat! He felt his liking of the redhead deepening with each passing day. Feeling so estatic, he went foreword and sat beside his crush, holding the bowl of milk for the cat to drink. Then he spoke.

"You know, Gaara, she'd kinda like a little kid, completely reliant on us. It's kinda cool." He laughed softly, then grinned at the slight blush staining Gaara's cheeks. But the other didn't speak. He merely turned his head away, but there was definately a smile curving on his lips.

"Operation: Have Gaara and Naruto Grow Closer Through The Cat Shiori is a success!" Itachi smirked, watching the whole episode with Kakashi at his side from the window. The silver-haired man nodded.

"Yeah, I honestly didn't think it'd work."

"What are you talking about? Naruto loves animals, although he can't take care of them himself. Gaara will have to help him, and that'll bring them closer together!"

Kakashi had to nod; it was pretty good logic, after all. Then he smiled. "Well, next week's the start of Operation: Cold Bedroom. I'm thinking that one will work quite nicely."

Itachi nodded. Oh, he knew that one would work.

Okay, that's enough for tonight; I'm getting tired. So, hm, I wonder what Operation: Cold Bedroom's about? Wait, actually I think it's kind of obvious. Whatever. Anyway, next chapter will have a slight lime, so be prepared! But it'll have some fluffiness, and embarrassment, too! So, please review, and maybe I'll write the next installment sooner! Oh, and yeah, I changed the time-frame from one day to one week. Why? Because of the lime, which I decided to put at the beginning, instead of the middle of the next chapter. Oh, you guys are going to love that.

Ayame