Echoes in the Rain ~Completed Story~

Chapter 11: Wandering at Night

It took Hinata to remember where she was when she opened her eyes in the morning. Gaara's room. It had been decided at dinner that Hinata would have use of his room, since he rarely slept. They had to clean it up before, though. Kankuro had been saying he'd seen enough papers to last him two lifetimes.

Hinata got up and stretched. Walking over to the mirror, she picked up a brush and started to run it through her hair. She felt like she was forgetting something important. It was as she brushed back her hair off of her neck that she saw something. A small reddish mark. Almost bruise-like. A hickey. The memories of last night came back in full flow.

Flashback...

Hinata tossed and turned for an hour before giving up on sleep. Getting up quietly, she crept from the room. Maybe she'd go outside and get some air. That always helped at home.

Before she had a chance to activate her Byakugan, a strong arm grabbed her around the waist. A familiar voice whispered in her ear, "Don't scream."

"G-Gaara-sama?" There was no answer, but Hinata knew that it was him. "Can you let me go?" The grip was loosened. She slipped away and walked to the window in the living room. She heard Gaara follow her as she pulled back the curtain. The sky was speckled with millions of stars. A nearly full moon hung low in the sky, illuminating nearly all.

"What do you do all night?" Hinata asked softly after a moment.

"Hm?" Gaara asked. She wasn't aware, but his eyes were fixed on her.

"If you don't sleep, what do you do?"

"I read. Look at stars and the moon. Waste time."

Silence fell again. Hinata shivered. It was colder than she expected. Once again, he wrapped an arm around her. He rubbed his free hand up and down on one of her arms. Her shivering stopped. He was warm. Gaara placed his face on her shoulder. She could hear his breathing.

"Are you afraid?" His breath was warm on her ear.

Hinata's eyes widened. How could he have known that she was scared earlier? "N-no."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. But, how could you have..."

"Known? Only a blind man couldn't have seen it." He laughed slightly as he said that. The sound did nothing for her tense nerves.

"You are nervous," Gaara said.

"Yes. I don't know why." She really didn't know why either. His closeness maybe.

"You don't? It's so obvious."

"It is? Then why don't you tell me?" She couldn't keep a note of resentment out of her voice. He was treating her like a little child.

He laughed at her childishness. "You're nervous of me. You don't know what I'm going to do next."

"What are you going to do next?" Hinata's voice trembled slightly.

"This," Gaara said before he brought his mouth lightly to her neck...

End Flashback...

Hinata closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Opening her eyes, she saw her reflection the same as before. Neji would kill her if he saw it. Well, he would interrogate her and lecture her then go kill Gaara. That couldn't happen.

For about fifteen minutes, Hinata pulled at the collar of her coat, trying to cover the mark. When it came to no avail, she stared despairingly at her mirror image. That's when it hit her. Hair. Her long, indigo hair. It would work. Picking up the comb, she began to brush it.

0oo0oo0ooo0oo0o0

Hinata left her room and entered the kitchen. Temari was standing at the stove, her back to Gaara who was sitting at the table. Hinata mumbled a 'good morning' as she sat down next to Gaara.

"Good morning!" Temari said cheerfully. She was definitely a morning person. "How'd you sleep?"

"F-Fine," Hinata said, stuttering slightly as Gaara reached out a hand and stroked her face. "What about you?"

"Same here. I heard Gaara walking around a ton last night. I hope he didn't wake you."

"He didn't," Hinata said as Gaara pushed her hair away from her neck, exposing the hickey.

"That's good. I was going to have to yell at him if he had. Gaara knows he shouldn't wake up others." At this moment, Hinata had just pulled her hair back into place. "Not everyone," Gaara had pushed her hair back. "Keeps to his weird," Hinata pulled it back and shot a warning look to him. "Hours. Want some breakfast?"

"Sure," Hinata said meekly, avoiding Gaara's gaze.

"What about you, Gaara?" Gaara just nodded.

"Did you make something edible, Temari?" Kankuro asked, stretching as he entered the kitchen. Hinata was surprised to see his hood off and his brown hair exposed.

"Of course!" Temari smiled evilly. She picked up a piece of what she was cooking and threw it at him. "What do you think?"

Kankuro didn't react fast enough and it hit him full in the face. He pealed it off, revealing a disgusted face. He began eating as he said, "So mature, Temari. I'll be happy when you're off married."

"Thank you," Temari flipped her head.

"Hinata, I'm sorry you had to witness my sister being so immature," Kankuro said, trying to act serious. "She usually does this around us since she is much more mature around-"

Temari hit Kankuro with a spatula, causing Hinata to giggle. No one ever acted like that at the Hyuga compound. It was always so formal. This immaturity was a nice break from the monotony of the polite life.

"Please excuse my siblings," Gaara said quietly, attracting the attention of all in the room. "No matter what, they will find something to argue about."

"Thanks Gaara!" his siblings cried in unison.

Hinata smiled as the argument between the three siblings continued. This was so different from the life she had grown up in. So much more relaxed and easy going. She liked it so much more. It was too bad it couldn't last.

"Hinata, what's wrong?" Kankuro asked, staring at her. "You look sad." Temari and Gaara turned to stare at her also.

"Nothing's wrong," Hinata said, smiling. "I just got very into the argument."

Before anyone could say another word, there was a knock at the door. Temari got up and walked over to the door, saying, "I wonder who it could be at this hour."