Forevermore ~Gaara~

Chapter 13

"101. It's official. With a temperature like that, you aren't going anywhere." Gaara wanted to argue his health with Temari, but the pain from his fever was keeping that argument at bay. A cold. How in the hell did he manage to catch a cold. But Temari was right. He sure wasn't going anywhere today. Her and Kankuro would have to take his place at that meeting. Meaning it was just him and Honiji tonight. He really didn't want to bother her with this, but everything ached...

But looking over... Honiji sat on the edge of his bed, a bowl of cold water and a rag on the nightstand. Her small, innocent smile graced her features as usual. In all reality, Honiji didn't think anything of taking care of Gaara. She wanted to help him, that thought never left her mind. She wrung the rag out and began to wipe the sweat from Gaara's face. The cold rag was a shock at first, but slowly... it began to feel like heaven. The calm on Gaara's face as Honiji cared for him was enough to bring a smile to Temari's face.

At first, she wasn't sure on the probability of this working. But as the days continued, she was certain more and more that Honiji would be joining their family. Happily joining their family. And looking between them she could see something beginning to bloom. And whether they decided to acknowledge that or not was completely up to them. But she truly, truly hoped they decided to act on it. If not for themselves then for her. At twenty-four Temari was ready to be an aunt! And the probability of Kankuro actually getting serious about a girl was slim to none.

"Take good care of my little brother Honi." She said as she gabbed Kankuro's collar and dragged him from the room.

"Hey, ow! We don't even have to leave for another hour!"

"It's called initiative."

"It's called being nosy!"

Honiji couldn't help but giggle at their exchange. What strange siblings. But she had come to not only expect this behavior, but enjoy it. The family is lively and close. Although, the closer she gets to the three, the more she feels this wasn't always the case. There is a way that they look at each other sometimes, it's a new feeling to them. And it's something they treasure.

To love a sibling is something that Honiji knew well. Junko, with all her quirks, is her best friend. She told her first... when it happened. It was the first time she had seen actual emotion on her face. Which made it all the more impressionable and believable. Which also made it hurt worse. Honiji smiled, dispelling that thought and continued to care for Gaara. She gave him some medicine that would knock him out for awhile, which is exactly what he needed.

"Go ahead and nap for awhile. I'll wake you up for dinner."

"Honiji, I'm sorry, you have to do this."

"I'm not, so don't worry about it. Just try and get better."

Going downstairs, Honiji could hear the phone in the kitchen ringing, and hurried and catch it. "Hello, Kazekage's residence."

"Honiji? It's Junko."

"Oh!" Surprised to hear her sisters monotonous voice on the line, Honiji nearly dropped the phone. "Jun! I didn't think you knew... about... this..." Actually, she felt bad not telling her, but in the event that this didn't work out, she didn't want her to be disappointed.

"Shizuka called Father to inform him of the situation. I just happened to be in the room when he got the call."

"Does... Rena know about this?"

"Father and I have thought it best to keep this secret from mother until a decision is reached."

"Thank God." She could only imagine the horrible things that woman would try to do if she knew about the grace period. But that's a story for another time. "And... how is... the other thing?"

"Preparations and planning for the wedding are going smoothly with mother in charge. It's quite unenjoyable with you gone."

"It's no fun when I am there, what are you talking about." She snorted a little.

"True. However with you nearby it can be considered... tolerable."

"Is that your way of saying you miss me?" I teased. we've been working on understanding teasing and sarcasm, so it's been more fun to talk to her.

"If it can be interpreted that way, then yes."

"I miss you too Junko. But no matter what, I'll be home next week. And your dress is nearly done." Honiji turned lightly to look at the bodice piece she had begun to bead last night. Working on it today would put her ahead of the originally thought work schedule. And with how much she has done already, math took her to having the bodice done the next day. Meaning then all she had to do was attach it to the skirt and lace the corset back.

"I'm looking forward to seeing it. However, I'm not looking forward to this union."

"No one is sweetie. Except Rena. She likes the idea."

"That is mearly because my mother believes in a notion that makes everyone miserable, which in turn makes her joyful." The sisters tend to have their best moments when discussing Rena... for obvious reasons. But Honiji was happy to talk to her about anything and everything any time. She put the phone on speaker and talked to Junko while beading the rest of the bodice. After an hour and a half though, Jun was pulled away to discuss something about the wedding.

The wedding is close. Only a month and a half away. And the girls were right, no one was looking forward to it. Even the girls' father, King Ichiharu, was highly against it. But with Rena s for it, even he could only combat it if he had hard evidence of the mans bad character. Jun knew... Honiji knew better than anyone. Everyone knew what he did. But there was no proof, just word of mouth.

Honiji went to check on Gaara many times in the day, and finally it began to get dark. She made a bowl of soup and put a few crackers on a plate for both of them and went to his room. First thing, she checked his temperature. "Down to 99. Sleep fixes everything." She said with a smile.

Gaara grinned and began to eat his light meal. He really was very happy to have her with him. She took very good care of him. And he really realized he had feelings growing fast for Honiji. But she still hadn't shown any signs of agreeing to stay...

A certain pain gripped at his chest when he thought about it. A pain he felt in a long time. The pain of loneliness. Honiji was quickly becoming someone he felt to be important. And he didn't want to let her go. Honiji collected the dishes and stood to go back downstairs. "I'll bring you some more medicine in a little bit." Her gentle smile... he could see it now, when she was faking it. She was truly smiling at him tonight.

She left the room, but not his mind. What could Gaara do to keep her there? He would do right around anything. And not just because he didn't want to go through the tedious task of going on 'dates' with all the Konoha noble girls again.

The sound of a glass breaking sounded down the stairs, followed quickly by a sound that made Gaara's blood run cold. Honiji's scream.