Xavyn slowly moved his other hand up, and brought his friend down for a shaky hug. "G-Gaara I'm s-so glad y-you're alright. I-I was so scared he w-would go after you." Gaara hugged Xavyn as gently as he could, aware of the injuries. "I'm fine, I was...worried about you. I thought you died, you looked dead." Yashamaru smiled at the interaction, and was happy to let them have some time to catch up. "W-wait where am I?" Gaara sat on the edge of the bed, and brought his teddy bear up so Xavyn could hold it. "The hospital, you've been here for a week." Xavyn frowned, and gently grabbed the teddy's paws. "Why...why am I alive?" "What do you mean?" "I-I mean my dad...what happened with him?" Yashamaru stepped in then, understanding the question a little better than his nephew. "You haven't had any visitors other than Gaara. I know it's a difficult subject...but we need to talk about what happened." Xavyn visibly shrank against the bed, and held the teddy tighter. He shifted so Gaara could climb on the bed, and get comfy, his friend ended up snuggling against him. "It doesn't have to be right now, but it should be soon."

"N-no, it w-won't m-matter. He'll h-hurt anyone I l-look at." "We'll help. Won't we, Gaara?" Gaara nodded, and held the teddy bear's legs. "I do-don't want you involved." Gaara frowned, and reached up to hold his friend's hands from the backs of them, replacing the bear's paws with his hands. "Xavyn...you're the only friend I've ever had. I don't want you to be hurt anymore, I-I can't stand to see you like this. It makes my chest feel tight, and hot, and...when I saw you laying there, throwing up blood, I felt so...what's the word, Yashamaru? I felt like I couldn't do anything." "Weak or helpless, you blamed yourself for not helping, but it's ok. You did help, you got him here where he can get better." That made Xavyn jerk up, wincing at the pain, and immediately turn to check Gaara for injuries. "Y-you, are you ok? Did my dad hurt you?" Gaara had never had someone worry over him like this, and he didn't know how to respond to it. "I'm fine, he left after he...he did this to you." "Xavyn, please let us help you." "I don't k-know how I can help."

"Just tell us what's been going on with your father." Xavyn took a deep breath, and nodded. "W-well my mom died w-when I was two, I d-don't really know how, nob-body ever told me a-anything other than s-sh-she died. I don't remember w-what he was l-like before, I just kn-know this is how it's b-been. I-I'm so s-sorry for w-what he called you, Gaara." "What did he call Gaara?" Yashamaru asked. "H-he c-called him a demon. I-it's why I get punished, for playing w-with Gaara." Yashamaru's lips drew into a thin line. "I-It's not your fault, G-Gaara. I-I would take a b-beating everyday if it meant...I could play w-with you f-f-forever." Gaara's eyes watered, and he snuggled closer to Xavyn. "I want to play with you too but we can't if you're dead." "I-I know. I'm sorry." "How old are you?" Yashamaru asked, moving closer to the bed. "S-seven." "You've been getting hit for five years? How come no one ever noticed?" Yashamaru was in disbelief, and Gaara couldn't find words to match how he felt.

The youngest nodded, and ran his thumb along Gaara's own, saying simply that nobody cared. "Is there anything else you can tell me?" Xavyn shook his head, wanting the conversation to be over. "Alright, come on Gaara. Let's let him rest." Xavyn whined, and his grip on his friend tightened. "N-no please, d-don't go." Gaara recognized the pain, fear, and desperation in Xavyn's voice, as he felt that too, and looked at Yashamaru. "Can we stay?" "I'll ask." The adult left, and Xavyn breathed a little easier. "I-I'm so scared o-of my dad, I'm afraid of b-being hit again." Gaara frowned. "I'm sorry. I don't know how to help you." Gaara turned to wrap his arm around his friend's shoulders as much as he could without laying on top of him. "G-Gaara why...why a-are people so m-m-mean? Y-you didn't do a-anything." Gaara made a small noise, and gently took the bear back to study it, as if the unanswerable question lived in the light brown fur. "I don't know. Yashamaru's nice to me, I think my mom was nice to me." "Y-Yash...Yashamaru?" Sleep was starting to take over Xavyn.

"Yeah, the man that came with me here. He's my uncle." "D-do you not l-live with your d-dad?" "No, I don't, but my brother, and sister do." Xavyn flinched at the reminder of Gaara's siblings. "I-I get the f-feeling they don't l-like me very much." "I don't think they hate you, are you afraid of them?" "W-well kind of..." Xavyn mumbled something before falling back asleep against Gaara's warm body. Yashamaru came back, and stopped himself before he disrupted the display. It warmed his heart to see them wrapped around each other, squishing the teddy bear between their little bodies. He carefully walked over, and sat in the chair for visitors, catching Gaara's attention. "They said we can stay." He whispered, Gaara's eyes twinkled, and a wobbly smile spread across his face. Since Gaara couldn't sleep because of the nightmares from the demon posessing his body, it was easy for him to feel like he could protect Xavyn better, and it was also made easier by having Yashamaru in the room as well. Whenever Xavyn stirred in his sleep, and looked like he was about to start having a nightmare, Gaara would hold him tighter, and snuggle against him until his friend calmed down.

Yashamaru, against his will, ended up falling asleep watching the interaction. When Xavyn woke up, he immediately knew there were other people in the room than he remembered there being when he passed out. He groaned, and reached up to rub at his eyes but hissed in pain from the sudden movement, it felt like lightning had struck the entire right side of his torso, and continued to zap along the nerves of his ribs, arm, fingertips, and collarbone. He couldn't stop the whine when the pain didn't end, and he clutched at the bed sheet, unwelcome tears of pain streaming down his cheeks. "Hey, don't move, kid. You'll make it worse." He recognized the voice as that of Gaara's brother, and slowly opened his eyes, not seeing the youngest sibling anywhere. "Wh-where's G-Gaara?" "He's in the bathroom, we got here twenty minutes ago. How are you feeling?" The girl's voice was dripping with disinterest, and her brother was glaring at him from the visitor's chair. Xavyn stayed quiet, the pressure of the pain, and feeling so hated from just a look was starting to get to him. He felt something soft, and fuzzy against his left hand, and looked down to see Gaara's teddy bear tucked against his hand, and side.

It made him smile, and he held the thing against him. "What do you want with Gaara?" Before Xavyn could answer the girl, a nurse came in to check on his injuries, and Xavyn became aware of just how small his room, and bed felt with the growing amount of people in the room. The nurse wasn't all that gentle but Xavyn forced himself to make as little noise as possible. "You seem fine, you'll be out in two weeks." He saw a glimpse of red behind the nurse, and he could see a smile on his friend's face as he got closer. Yashamaru held his nephew back so the nurse could leave, and Gaara could barely hold himself still. Xavyn could feel the growing unease from the siblings, and shrank against the pillow. Gaara was finally allowed in, and his siblings watched the friends hold each other, they shared a look with Yashamaru who waved them outside to talk while the two got comfy again. Once outside, Yashamaru brought his attention to the others. "Temari, Kankuro, there's no need to worry about Xavyn. He's not going to hurt Gaara now or ever, and Gaara couldn't hurt him; there's something he's already fighting to run away from."

"Like what? What's more frightening than Gaara's sand?" Kankuro spat. "Xavyn's father's been abusing him for at least the last five years. Haven't you noticed how scared he is of you two, and not Gaara?" Yashamaru spoke in a gentle tone, understanding the source of his niece, and nephew's concern. "Yeah come to think of it, when we first saw him, he hid behind Gaara's sand castle." Temari seemed more open minded about the new boy, and was willing to look at all the facts rather than accept what they saw at face value. "You really don't have to worry about him, alright? If you want my opinion, I think you should try to show him you're not a threat." "Us? A threat?" Kankuro was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the stranger, and what Yashamaru was saying, he looked to his sister for support in Yashamaru's suggestion. "That makes sense. If he's been hurt by someone he thinks is more dangerous than Gaara...just from a logical point of view, it would make sense that he'd feel safe around Gaara, and scared of everyone else." Ever the genius, Temari explained the situation to Kankuro in a way he'd better understand.

"When Xavyn was afraid...Gaara stepped in, and helped him. Instead of running away from him, Xavyn leaned on him, and felt safe. I can tell he isn't stupid enough to run away from help." Kankuro realized the truth of his sister's words, and his scowl softened. "So then...what do we do?" They looked at Yashamaru who smiled. "Be there for them both. Gaara is all Xavyn has, likewise, Xavyn is all Gaara has; they're the only friends they have. Right now, they're both afraid, and alone so you have to be very careful." They went back inside to get Gaara, and found him spoon feeding Xavyn the hospital food. Xavyn was shaking, and he ate slowly, keeping the teddy bear in his right hand, and he was holding Gaara's free hand with his left. "This is too cute." Xavyn jumped, and almost knocked the food off the spoon which made his face burn bright red, and he let go of Gaara, hanging his head. "Sorry about that. Gaara we gotta go, we have a busy day today." Gaara frowned, and looked at his friend, whose eyes were averting everyone else's, and his body shook with every breath he took.

Xavyn held the teddy bear out to Gaara, but his friend didn't take it. "You can keep him until I see you again, ok? He'll keep you safe." Xavyn's eyes welled up with tears and he looked up, seeing Gaara smile. "Th-thank you." Gaara got off the bed, and walked with his family out of the hospital, Temari was the first to break the silence. "Gaara, I'm sorry we scared your friend. We didn't mean to." To her surprise, her brother smiled at her. "It's ok, I know you didn't. Do you like him?" Yashamaru held his breath while the kids answered. "Well as long as he doesn't hurt you, I'm fine with it." Temari was honest, but it was clear to her that Kankuro would still need time to adjust to Xavyn, it was confirmed with his answer, and tone of voice. "Yeah he's great." Gaara knew his brother was lying, and it made him sad; sad that he lied, and sad that he didn't trust his friend. "I bet we're all hungry. Why don't we get some food before we get busy?" Yashamaru broke the awkward tension, and the idea of food made Kankuro's stomach growl. Gaara thought about his friend, and felt the tightness of his chest loosen just a little.