The clock keeps ticking. I feel like I'm running out of time. And my head hurts like hell.

&5 steps backward and 3 steps forward&

Gaara rubbed the sleep from his eyes and mechanically rose from the bed. Still sleepy, he glanced around- something didn't feel right. He tried to stand but was inflicted with a severe headache. It felt as if someone had smacked him on the head with a bag full of bricks, several times. Steadying himself with the headboard of the bed, he wobbled out and took a long look at the room he was in.

It was definitely not his room. Last time he checked he didn't have teddy bears and dolls scattered about. And now that he thought about it… neither did Temari's.

So where the hell was he?

He shut his eyes trying to block out the dizziness accompanying his headache and somehow made it to the door. He stumbled down the stairs clutching onto the railing as if his life depended on it. He heard voices to his right so he sat down on the bottom step, planning to listen in on the conversation and maybe get some clue as to where he was.

"Naruto-kun i-it's okay, really."

"No it's not! Hinata, we need to report this. You could have been killed or something! Good thing Gaara fainted before he got far."

Gaara frowned. What was Naruto talking about?

"N-Naruto-kun, he wouldn't kill me and he didn't-"

"I KNOW he didn't rape you." With a loud 'thwack' sound, Naruto slapped his hands on the table to convey his frustration. "But what if he hadn't passed out? Would you still stay quiet about it? I don't get it Hinata. He hurt you. I mean look at your hands!" The blond sighed heavily, shaking his head.

Gritting his teeth Gaara grasped his head with both of his hands in pain. It felt like his brain was getting stabbed by a needle in multiple places over and over again. He tried to ignore the surges of pain rushing through his head and tried to listen in on the conversation but it was too much to bear. Yielding to the agonizing throbbing, he shut his eyes and somehow managed to recline onto the stairs. Groaning inwardly, he clutched his head before opening his eyes wide.

He remembered. The pain receded as his memory captured his attention. So that's what the two were talking about. Like a zombie he rose from the stairs and dragged his feet across the floor to where the conversation was being held.

Hinata and Naruto's conversation died away as Gaara approached, his footsteps announcing his entrance. Clearly their talk wasn't supposed to be heard by a third party. If there was any question about it their facial expressions cleared all doubts.

"G-good m-m-m-orning G-gaara-san." Hinata bowed her head, unable to look him in the eye.

Naruto on the other hand had no problem whatsoever. He stood up and immediately grabbed the red-head by the scruff of his neck, cerulean eyes flashing angrily like lightning across the skies. "You fucking bastard!" Catching Gaara off guard, Naruto pushed him to the floor and began to punch him viciously, taking advantage of Gaara's hesitance. "You're gunna regret ever coming near Hinata!"

"N-naruto-kun! D-don't!" Hinata jumped up from her seat, toppling the chair over and desperately tried to pull Naruto off Gaara. She didn't tell Naruto what had happened the day before so he could beat Gaara up!

Naruto pushed her back gently and continued attacking until Gaara thrusted his fist into Naruto's stomach. Feeling the impact of the hit, Naruto gagged and clutched his stomach giving Gaara a chance to stand up and defend himself. While Naruto was still doubled over on the floor Gaara lifted his leg and slammed it down onto the blonde's back sending tiny droplets of blood flying from Naruto's mouth. "What I do is none of your business." His voice was steely, devoid of any emotion.

"Bastard…" Naruto wheezed out between gasps.

With a bloodthirsty look painted over his green irises, Gaara thrusted his foot into Naruto's side and sent Naruto rolling into the stack of mahogany chairs adjacent to the unset table. The furniture rocked violently and fell over, chairs narrowly missing Naruto and crashing into the floor. A crazed smile on his face that seemed eerily way too natural, Gaara walked over with a chair in hand planning to crush the blond.

Grasping the danger of the situation, Naruto swallowed and begged his body to move. But his body was frozen stiff with fear because his mind had already anticipated his death. Finding he was immobile and helpless, Naruto shut his eyes and waited for the blow that would probably award him with first-class tickets to heaven. That is, if there was one.

Minutes ticked by and still- was he still alive? Naruto cracked one eye open and thought his heart was going to stop. Hinata was hugging the grim reaper with her head buried against his chest, whimpering.

"P-please… S-Stop." Hinata looked up at Gaara pleadingly. Her eyes grew watery and Gaara was abruptly depleted of all intent to kill. "Please, both of you." She looked over at Naruto, giving him the same distressed look she had displayed for Gaara moments ago. Naruto nodded though he looked slightly perturbed. Hinata glanced back up at Gaara, only releasing him when he gave a reassuring sigh. He dropped the chair and took a step back to show that he wasn't interested in fighting anymore.

Naruto was speechless. Wiping the blood on his sleeve, he took the chair Hinata had knocked over and set it upright. Then he walked over to Hinata, grabbed her by the crook of her arm and pulled her back into the chair to distance her from Gaara. He wanted to ask her if she was crazy or if she had a death wish but on the other hand, he truly wanted to thank her.

Gaara felt irritated. And it wasn't because she had interrupted the fight or any other reason. Seeing the two converse like long-time pals and watching how Naruto was fussing over her was making his skin crawl. Why? Well, reasons never really mattered to Gaara. He just did what he wanted to. Nonetheless, irritating things needed to be taken care of.

If the phrase "saved by the bell" ever needed to be applied, this, truly, was the best time. Naruto's cell phone rang madly and hindered Gaara's attack.

What started out as a pleasant conversation soon took a turn for the worse, inciting Naruto's temper. "Fine you good-for-nothing teacher!" Naruto barked before slamming his phone shut.

Hinata tilted her head to the side with a curious look on her face.

Naruto slapped his head to his forehead, groaning. "I gotta go. Stupid Jiraya-sensei got locked out of his house. He wants me to fricken' climb through his window, because he's a fatass, and open the door."

Hinata nodded.

He started towards the door but then turned around and eyed Gaara suspiciously. "Aren't you leaving?"

Gaara smirked and crossed his arms. Irritating the blond was definitely making his day. "No."

"What do you mean you aren't leaving?" God, that jerk makes me want to rip my hair out!!

The redhead shrugged. "I'm staying here."

"With whose permission?"

He tilted his head back slightly in Hinata's direction, answering the question. "She didn't tell me to leave." Naruto locked his eyes on her, awaiting her verdict, hoping it would be something along the lines of, "Leave me alone and never come near me again."

"I…" She paled, increasing the radiance of the blush that was holding her cheeks hostage.

Naruto sighed. What did he expect? It was Hinata. She was too nice for that.

"I…" Hands limp by her sides, Hinata looked down at the floor before suddenly sprinting towards Naruto.

"H-Hinata?!?!?!" She ushered the blond out of the house and shut the door behind her, sliding down until she was hit the ground. Naruto stared at her quizzically before kneeling down beside her. "Are you okay?" He brought his hand to her forehead, noticing her flushed face.

Hinata closed her eyes and let her head roll back. "I-I'm fine. I just didn't w-want you two to f-fight anymore."

"You could have said so." He chuckled and reached for her face, tucking a few strands of unruly hair behind her ears. Upon contact, Hinata's face blazed brighter than the sun itself, substituting the glorious yellow with a pinkish hue.

"N-naruto-kun, d-d-don't you have t-t-t-to l-leave?" She twiddled her thumbs nervously; even an idiot could tell she was feeling anxiety and slight discomfort.

"Yeah." He laughed before his voice took on a serious tone. "Look-" He sighed. "-I'm sorry for fighting in your house but-" He paused, attempting to mold his feelings into speech. He rubbed the back of his neck roughly and sighed again. "But I definitely do NOT feel comfortable leaving you here with Gaara. Hell, he almost killed me!"

Hinata failed to respond adequately- her mind was muddled with worries resulting in a bland answer of, "Um…" and a long silence to accompany it.

Sensing the awkward air, Naruto coughed into his hand and turned around so she was facing his backside. "Look, Hinata, I really don't want to leave you here alone with Gaara." Somehow managing to mask his concern regardless of the little squeak in the beginning of his sentence, Naruto continued, "But call me if something happens. The cops suffice as well."

"O-okay." She stood up quietly and placed her hands behind her, tenderly embracing the doorknob with her fingers.

"See ya." He waved nonchalantly, trying to hide the sludge of emotions boiling inside of him. It peeved him to no end to know that Hinata was alone with Gaara but he had no choice. It wasn't like he was going to carry Gaara out of the house.

Still, it bothered him. Naruto intertwined his fingers and put them behind his head for a makeshift pillow while he was walking towards his car. Scenes of him as a knight rescuing Hinata from a wicked monster with a face of Gaara's entertained his childish mind until a less fanciful, more realistic thought played itself out. "I'll beat up Jiraya-sensei to free myself from all this stress." With a sudden urge to rush to his sensei's home, he speeded to the apartment happily with a malicious grin cemented onto his face.

&&&

He was staring at her. She could feel it. From when she had gotten back in from sending Naruto away to the moment she sat down across from him. The intensity of his stare was suffocating. And not only that, but his face was locked in an expression of indifference so it was impossible to predict what he was thinking or feeling at the moment.

She was definitely nervous about being alone with Gaara. Especially since she had seen him almost murder Naruto. But they were married and it was a problem she had to take care of.

So they were sitting there awkwardly, him boring holes into her head. The silence was absolutely deafening.

And to make it worse, her stomach chose that moment to growl. It wasn't even a slight growl- it sounded like a lion's roar, especially within the silence that took hold of the house. Her hands flew to cover her stomach and Hinata looked up slightly at Gaara to see if he heard. He was looking at her strangely, a nonexistent eyebrow rose questioningly.

"Are you hungry?"

"Slightly." Hinata wanted to disappear. Why did her stomach have to growl now? "I-I'll go make s-something. D-do you want a-anything?" Her voice squeaked on every other word; she was so nervous about angering him she kept stumbling over her words.

"No."

Hinata almost sighed in relief. If she had made something that he didn't like she didn't know what he would do to her. She stood up and started walking past him when his hand grabbed her own. She flinched and pulled away, yesterday's encounter and today's fight still fresh in her mind.

"I…"

Hinata stared at the wall, heart pounding madly. "Y-y-y-yes?"

"I'll buy."

"…" What? Did she hear him correctly? "N-no, i-it's oka-" Gaara's stomach rumbled, interrupting her sentence. It wasn't as loud as Hinata's stomach but it was audible. And for the first time Hinata saw a slight tinge of pink on the redhead's cheeks. She blinked several times before bringing her hands up to her mouth to mute her giggles.

Gaara coughed; face growing redder by the minute. He walked to the door and started putting on his shoes, trying to get out before his stomach spoke again. "I'll wait out front."

Hinata nodded and went upstairs to change.

And for some reason she felt relieved. It was as if his stomach grumbling had confirmed that Gaara was human. His little episodes didn't seem as intimidating anymore.

Especially since she knew she had the power to stop him somehow.

&&&

Hinata was deathly excited and worried at the same time. She couldn't really place her finger on what emotion she was feeling at that moment, it was like soup- you stick in all the ingredients and they all mush together into one thing so you can't even tell what the separate ingredients were in the beginning.

Her heart continued jumping up to her throat and back to its rightful spot continuously and refused to settle until she faced the source of her soupy feelings- Gaara.

After breakfast they had parted rather awkwardly.

He had stared into her eyes (it was reversed for the first time) and looked as if he was going to bring his hand up to her cheek or lean in for a quick brush of the lips. It was probably a spur of the moment thing because he flinched, as if he just realized what he was doing, and walked away without saying goodbye.

In any case, it had set Hinata on fire and her blush extended from the top of her head down to her toes.

So here she was, waiting in the hallway for Gaara.

After what seemed like an eternity Gaara came giving off his usual aura of, "Get away from me and I'll let you live." The corners of her mouth slightly twitched upwards and she somehow she managed to bring up her hand and wave.

And-

She wanted to disappear. Gaara had flat out ignored her and walked into class leaving her feeling stupid and well, stupid.

That enough was to crush her spirits but Kin couldn't let Hinata's gloom stop there. She approached the girl, seething. "And, what do you think you're doing?" She slammed her fist into the space right next to Hinata's face.

Hinata remained stoic, still dumbfounded by Gaara's blunt rejection. She had spent hours worrying about how to approach him and all of that had gone to waste in a matter of seconds.

"Don't ignore me!" Kin slapped Hinata's face crudely; the sound resonated throughout the hallway, attracting the student body. Their loud chatter quieted into murmurs, all wanting to hear what was going on but not bold enough to approach Kin.

They all looked at Hinata to see what she would do.

Hinata took a deep breath and found herself smiling for some unknown reason. With some magical gift of courage bestowed upon her in that moment, she spoke. "Kin, If you want to talk, I'll see you after class. You may talk to me all you want then." And she quickly escaped into the safety of her first period.

&&&

First period was absolute torture. What had she been thinking, telling Kin to see her after class? Hinata groaned inwardly and buried her head in her arms. And she just had to choose it on a day where Ino was out absent.

"Hinata, are you day dreaming?" Iruka-sensei's voice hacked into her reverie.

"S-sorry sensei. I w-won't do it a-again." She hung her head, ashamed and embarrassed.

But despite that, her mind wandered off again. She was scared- she had no idea what had possessed her to challenge Kin. Basically, she had dug her own grave and time was encouraging her to fill it with her body.

5 minutes were left of class.

Then 4… 3… 2…1… the bell rang excitedly, as if it was eager to see how Hinata would cope with the predicament she had set up for herself.

Hinata was the third-to-last person to exit the room and she exited with dignity, professionally masking her fears. She looked right and left but there was no sign of Kin anywhere! Relief washed over her like a wave.

But why was everyone staring at her so evilly?

Before she had time to expand on her thoughts, she was pushed from the door by Gaara.

He glanced warily at Hinata. She was always getting in his way but today it didn't annoy him as much as it normally would. What did annoy him, however, was the intense glare everyone was giving her. Shrugging, he pushed her in the direction of her next class, gentler than he would normally, and walked off.

&&&

There was a problem. He had his arm draped around her and Hinata had no idea who he was.

As soon as the dismissal bell for lunch rang, some random guy had stridden up to her and lugged his arm around her shoulders.

He was now forcing her towards some unknown area without saying a word but smiling at her goofily.

He had blond hair, somewhat lighter than Naruto's and his face was lit up with a complementing grin. He didn't look like the type to harass girls, but looks were deceiving.

Nonetheless, Hinata was nervous. She had been receiving weird looks ever since she left first period and most of the guys looked at her as if she was a piece of meat. She could feel the sweat drip down from her forehead and she very unsuccessfully tried to tell him to leave her alone.

Her knees felt wobbly and it felt like someone had clamped a lock on her voice box so it couldn't function. Hoarsely, she asked, "Where a-a-are we g-g-oing?"

The boy stopped. He looked at her and twirled her so she was facing him. "Wherever you feel like going I guess." He smiled innocently before pushing her against the lockers.

Hinata shut her eyes. This scenario was all too familiar. She clutched her shoulders and looked away in fright.

"So playing hard to get huh? Kin was right. This is fun." He snickered before placing two arms on either side of her.

Hinata groaned. So this was all a setup by Kin. How exciting. She looked into the stranger's eyes and cleared her throat nervously. "I-I.. don't k-know what s-she told y-y-you but I'm n-not interested."

He gasped in mock surprise and started leaning in. He grinned, his teeth showing. "I think I like you. You're cute. Really cute."

&&&

Gaara swore he was going to puke any second. Kin was latched onto him and was babbling on and on about something or another. He would rather help Temari find an outfit or Kankuro apply his makeup than listen to her incessant jabbering.

Out of the thousands of words she had probably said to him, there was one thing that caught Gaara's attention. It was something about revenge and Hinata.

"What was that about Hinata?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, after today, she'll be fixed. She won't dare come near you and bother you again." Kin snuggled closer to Gaara proudly.

He cringed. He would rather Hinata come near him than Kin. "What did you do?" He asked if he was interested. Well he was interested, but not a lot. It was just to entertain himself.

Kin smirked. "I spread this rumor about how easy she is. I told most of the guys that she has a schedule for who she does and that they could book by going up to her. It was pretty funny how every guy was just dying to go 'please' her."

Gaara remained silent, quietly soaking in the information. "Where are they?"

"Does it matter?" Kin pouted, attempting to look cute.

He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Tell you what. Kiss me. Then I'll tell you." Kin took a string of Gaara's sweater and fiddled around with it. She tugged on it and jerked Gaara's face forward.

He could feel the color draining out of his face.

&&&

Hinata pushed him away with one hand and covered her lips with the other. There was no way she was going to lose her first kiss to a lecher! She inched away, hoping to escape without making a sound.

He stumbled backwards and frowned. "That's not very nice." He growled. All traces of his goofiness earlier were gone- his image now fitted his actions. He ferociously reached out for her and pulled her back to the lockers.

She gulped.

&&&

Gaara pulled his string out of her grasp. His face was inches away from hers but he didn't pull away. "Tell me. Where is she?"

Flushed, Kin panted, "She's in the hallway that leads to the outdoor courtyard."

Having found what he wanted to hear, Gaara backed away from Kin. There was no need for him to stay that close to her any longer. He pushed her to the floor and looked down at her with spite. "Don't touch me. Ever."

Desperately, Kin grabbed at him. "What do you like about her so much!?!?!"

"I'm not going there." He reached down and picked her up through the scruff of her collar. He glared- an icy glare that could freeze the sun solid- and slapped her.

She grasped her face and finally, the brick wall broke down. Pools of tears began to empty themselves out of her eyes. She looked up at him and for once saw Gaara as an unattainable person for her. She followed him with her eyes and as he walked away she felt despair- a feeling she had not felt in years.

&&&

Despite his words, Gaara found himself half running, half walking to the green hallway. He soon came upon them and stopped a few meters away.

He had no business there... So what the hell was he doing?

He paused and turned to walk away when he heard a strangled cry. The redhead whipped around and marched up to the pair.

He ripped the boy off of Hinata and shoved him to the floor roughly, planning to exert revenge. Before his mind could object, his body was already begun shamelessly pummeling the boy into the ground as if the other were his punching bag. Hinata's stifled cries only added fuel to the fire and he didn't stop, not even when the boy beneath him went limp.

A small crowd had gathered and watched the spectacle for a while, until an intelligent boy realized that the boy being pummeled had gone unconscious. He ran for the principal, who arrived shortly after the call.

Upon hearing the news, Tsunade had practically gone through every wall in the school building until she reached the area where the fight was taking place. She was immediately enraged- it wasn't the first time Gaara had fought, but now it looked like he was going to kill someone! And by the looks of it he may have attacked the poor girl against the lockers as well.

"SABAKU GAARA GET OFF HIM RIGHT NOW!" She boomed. Gaara looked up; a sadistic grin plastered on his face, and placed one more punch on the boy's face before complying with Tsunade's wishes.

Tsunade sighed and shook her head. She cleared her throat and put on the best scary face that she could, forgetting the fact nothing scared Gaara. He of course simply glared back in defiance and spat on the ground.

So in turn she looked at the crowd that was gathered and gave them the ghoulish look. They froze in terror. "Go on! Get to class there's nothing to see here!" She waited to hear them scamper away frightened but there was no sound. "NOW!" She screamed.

There was a frantic scuffling of feet, the sound of each student trying to get away. Now that's what she wanted to hear.

Then suddenly, she realized her mistake. Tsunade looked around to see if anyone had stayed behind. Thankfully, there were two students "hiding" behind the water fountain. "You two, get this boy to the clinic. And you, by the wall, are you okay?"

Hinata nodded. "Here grab my hand." The principal extended her arm and Hinata graciously accepted it. "You should go to the clinic as well." She pushed Hinata in the direction of the infirmary and nodded, signaling the girl to go.

Hinata looked back at Gaara worriedly and thankfully. He had saved her, but for what reason? She didn't have time to thank him because Tsunade had grabbed Gaara by the scruff of his neck and quite literally dragged him to the office.

&&&

Gaara stood by the door begrudgingly. Tsunade, used to Gaara's unruly behavior, ignored him and proceeded to sit down behind her desk. She set her elbows on the table and crossed her fingers to form a support for her chin. Wearily she glanced at him before clearing her throat.

"So what happened?"

There was silence.

"Are you telling me that boy just happened to magically become bruised and fainted?" She raised an eyebrow critically.

The redhead rolled his eyes and grunted. "I didn't do anything."

"Yeah, and I'm dating Jiraya."

Gaara shifted from the door to the chair. He sat down and looked contemptuously into Tsunade's eyes. "I beat that kid up." He shrugged. "He deserved it."

Tsunade would have given anything for a chance to whack him over the head with a 20 ton club of metal. No, not a 20 ton, a 40 or even a 50 ton would suffice. What was a human life to him, a plaything? "Gaara, you… since I know suspension isn't going to bother you, I'm going to give you Saturday school and detention every day for a month, plus a recommendation for expulsion. I wouldn't have minded so much if it was your first time, but you have records of continuous fighting and you nearly beat that child into his grave! That is unacceptable!"

An awkward silence filled the air. Tsunade sighed heavily. "If you don't have anything to say then you're dismissed." She swiveled her chair around with an air of finality- the conversation was officially over.

Gaara stood up and left the room not bothering to even think about cursing at the principal. He was preoccupied with thoughts of heading towards the clinic to see how the bastard was doing. And maybe to finish the job.

And there was always Hinata to check up on. He had no idea why he cared but he assumed that because Hinata was his wife, it was only natural to have some concern for her welfare.

She was confusing him.

Really confusing him.

Making him do things he normally wouldn't do.

He stopped in front of the door that read, "School Clinic" and paused. He reached up for the door but changed his mind in the midst and walked away.

&&&

News of the boy who had touched Hinata and ended up in the clinic spread like wildfire among the student body. The rumor about Hinata being a slut was nothing- the guys were to worried about their own butts to care about harassing her.

Hinata had felt so thankful; she had even made a lunch for Gaara that very morning.

She nervously approached the lunchroom, heart pounding once more at the thought of meeting him.

She walked to her usual table and grinned when Naruto waved at her. She took a seat beside him while waiting for the others to join. In her excitement, she had arrived early and had completely forgotten to wait for Ino or the others.

"Hinata-chan!! What's that thing you have in your arms? It looks good!" Naruto asked, his mouth watering. It was true though. The lunch looked very delicious, packed neatly in a three-layered lunchbox. Not to mention the aroma that was ridiculously tempting.

"Sorry Naruto-kun, t-this is f-f-for someone e-else. Um… Where i-is G-g-gaara-san?"

"That jerk? I dunno… He has detention and stuff because he got in a fight… so… when he's all pissed he doesn't sit with us. He sits.. erm.. I think at the roof. Why?"

Hinata smiled before picking up her things. "Nothing. U-u-uh, I h-have to g-go now. T-t-tell the others. p-please!"

"W-w-wait! Hinata! What about the rumor-" Naruto sighed in defeat. Hinata had left before he had even started his sentence. "Che. It isn't like I'm stupid Hinata. I know you're going to go find him." Naruto grumbled to his food, jabbing it torturously with his fork.

&&&

Gaara looked out into the vast space in front of him. It was so peaceful up on the roof. There was no distractions, no annoying people to bug him. He could actually feel comfortable and relax.

He was just about to doze off when the door to the roof burst open and a girl clumsily rolled out of it. He peeked open an eye to see who it was.

Hinata looked around and found herself making eye contact with one of Gaara's eyes, that eventually was accompanied by the other green orb.

"What are you doing here?" His voice came out sharp, sharper than he had intended.

Hinata flinched but it did not deter her from her goal. She bowed and held out her lunch that she had prepared. "H-here. T-thank you f-f-for yesterday!"

She waited for him to take it out of her hands but he didn't. Minutes ticked by and still he didn't move a muscle.

"Keep it. I don't wan-" His stomach betrayed him by grumbling it's displeasure at not being fed. "Fine." Begrudgingly, he stood up, snatched the lunch out of Hinata's hands quickly and turned around so she wouldn't see his blushing face.

"Gaara…" She bit her lip. She had accidentally addressed him without the honorific! When he remained silent, aside from the sounds of his chewing, Hinata let out a deep sigh of relief. She took the silence as a sign to go on. "Thank you f-for saving me yesterday!"

Gaara turned around, chicken hanging out of his mouth. He raised a non-existent eyebrow questioningly. It was the first time he had ever been thanked for anything, ever since he passed those crayons to the girl next to him in the second grade.

Hinata smiled gently before grabbing her own stomach. She had completely forgotten about buying her lunch!

Gaara glanced from the lunchbox to Hinata, to the lunchbox again. Though it was highly uncharacteristic of him, he motioned for her to sit.

She complied and was surprised when he offered her part of the lunch. "N-no, i-it's okay." She looked away blushing. "I m-made the l-lunch f-for you… not for m-m-me." She continued to look to the side, ashamed, until she felt something poke at her cheek aggressively. She looked and instantly, the food was jammed into her mouth.

Gaara coughed and looked away with half his mouth full. "Eat." He coughed again.

Smiling, Hinata chewed the food. A warm feeling enveloped her body and brought her mind to thinking that perhaps, Gaara liked her a little bit.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her smile. He twitched and shook his head- it was highly unnatural of him to share, much less make someone smile.

&'But still, she looks a lot better smiling than crying.'&

A/N.

Ugh. 1:09 AM in the morning. I'm updating.

I truly want to apologize for the late update.

I couldn't write because I had to help an old lady cross the street. And that took forever because as soon as I did, she asked me to help her find the grocery store. Then I had to carry her groceries to her house. Then I had to clean and cook. Then I had to stay for dinner and help prepare the house for her family that was coming over. And well, things dragged out for months until finally I was released.

Note to self. Don't help old ladies across the street again.

Note to Kishimoto. Thank you for letting me borrow YOUR characters.

Note to reader. REVIEW. And HOPEFULLY you'll get a faster update. :)

R-E-V-I-E-W.

C'mon, you know you want to.

Yay, now I'm off to sleep, dreaming of you clicking that purple button and reviewing.