Hello! I know I promised to update Cemetery, and I will! I'm just working on it...
This story was inspired by xxSAMMYpieHEADxx on deviantART. I'm not sure if this link will work, but here goes nothing: art/Comfort-Me-In-My-Bloodiest-Of-Moments-458721436

You guys should check her out! She's amazing.
In case that link didn't work, the title of this story is the title of her drawing.
Thanks for reading!


Faster.
She pushed more concentrated chakra to her feet as she soared over leagues of sand. He was out here, somewhere.
His chakra fluctuations pounded her mind as she desperately reached out to pin his exact location.

This wasn't the first time he had had a breakdown since they had started dating and she knew it wasn't the last either.
Some days, the littlest thing would tip him over the edge. But those were easily managed. All it took was gentle reassurance while he held his head in his hands and moaned in pain.
Days like this though, well...at least he had the sense to get as far away from the village as possible.

A roar sounded in the distance and she knew she was close. Only a few more miles she thought as she focused even more chakra to her feet.
The first time this happened, he was so ashamed of himself that he hid from her for a whole week. Which was quite an accomplishment considering they lived in the same house.
She told him that it was alright, that she didn't judge him or think any less of him for it.
And, most importantly, she wasn't going anywhere.
He came around eventually.

Sakura slowed her pace as she came to a giant sand dune. He was on the other side and it sounded like he was slowly starting to gain control again.
She slowly walked to the top and gazed down at him from above.
He had definitely transformed this time since his clothes were shredded and being blown away in the wind.
He was kneeling and curled up in a ball, scratching at his skin leaving long, bloody cuts.
His gut wrenching cry of frustration echoed around her and the tears she has been fighting the whole time pushed against her eyeballs creating so much pressure it hurt.
But she couldn't cry.
He had always warned her to never pity him. Besides, her tears wouldn't help here. She had to be strong for the both of them.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she whispered his name into the wind, letting it carry her message down to him.
"Go away." he moaned, scratching at his head and pulling his hair.
His voice was hoarse, he had been at this for a while.

"You know I won't."
A harsh sob escaped his throat as he curled up tighter. Sakura watched as he dug his nails deep into his skin so he couldn't be unraveled.
Blood ran down his arms and legs and started to pool around him in the sand.

"I'm coming down." she warned him.
"I said, go AWAY!"
The sand underneath her feet moved and pushed her back to the top of the dune against her will.
"You're bleeding."
"I don't care."
"Let me take a look at your cuts at least..."
"It's not safe right now."

Taking a bold step forward, she advanced down the dune toward him once again. "I don't care if it's safe or not. I'm not just going to stand by while you hurt yourself."
Walking slowly, but boldly, she marched down the dune until the ground went flat.
Just a few more steps, and I'm there.

The sand around her erupted, and tripped her while it grabbed her by the ankles. She was pinned to the spot.
Gauging the small distance between them, she weighed her options.
He obviously didn't want her near him, and she obviously wasn't going to take no for an answer.

The sand had never hurt her before...

Slowly, she flattened herself out and stretched as far as her body would allow.
Taking a deep breath, she exhaled and stretched further, her fingertips finally able to brush his back.

Gaara jerked in surprise and spun around to face her.
She probably looked pathetic in his eyes, but at least he was focused on her now.

His face was smeared with sweat and blood. Tears mixed in with his seeping cuts, making him look inhuman.
Sweat glistened on his skin in the moonlight and he shivered violently every time the wind picked up around him.

"Let me help you."
"There's nothing you can do."
"If you let me go, I'll show you there is."

The sand loosened around her ankle slightly as Gaara eyed her suspiciously.
"Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?" she pleaded.
"Yeah, you never listen to me."
He was joking with her, that was a good sign.

Once the sand had let go of her completely, she crawled to him slowly.
"What happened?"
His shaking increased. That meant that whatever it was, it had been bad.
She gently placed her hand on his shoulder only to have him shrug it away.
"You'll get covered in blood."
"I don't care."
"You always say that!" he yelled, pushing away from her again. "You always say that you don't care! Why don't you?! Why won't you just leave me alone?!"
"We've already been through this."

The last time he had a full blown breakdown, she was forced to tell him how she felt about him. Up until that point, their feelings hung unsaid between them. Feeling naked, she poured her heart out to him.
He stared at her with wild, wide eyes as the sand that was forming his transformation started to fall away from his body. She caught him as he fell to the ground and they both clung to each other on the floor until the attack stopped completely.

"How do I know you're not lying?"
Breaking out of her reverie, she smiled sadly at him.
Seized by another attack, he grasped at his head as he wrenched forward.
Springing into action, she was at his side immediately.
Placing a reassuring hand on his back, she watched him fight back the demon that was trying to take over. Once the attack had ended, she asked, "Tell me what I need to do."

His breathing came out in shaky rasps as he shook in the cold desert air.
Opening the bag that she had brought with her, she took out a blanket and placed it around him. Gingerly she rubbed his arms and back to warm him up careful not to agitate the deep cuts he had inflicted.
His breathing slowed to normal.
"You should have left me a long time ago." he managed through clenched teeth.
"And do what? Go back to Konoha? Pretend like you don't exist? That is inconceivably impossible."

His breathing started to increase again. Only this time, he didn't reach for his head, he reached for her. She let him pull her into his lap and felt his grasp tighten around her waist.
"Tell me what I need to do."
Grasping desperately at her clothes, he tried to pull them off of her.
"I need your skin. I need to know that you're here. I need to know that you're real."
She helped him undo her buckles and zippers since his hands were shaking too much to be coordinated. The cold air hit her skin, creating goosebumps.
She wrapped herself in the blanket with him and kissed his forehead.
He returned the kiss with desperation, and she adjusted her body to make it more comfortable for the both of them.
His hands were almost too rough, but she wasn't going to complain about it. Not now.
He needed her. He needed all of her. Not later, but now. And there was no way she was ever going to deny him that.

By the end of the night, she had successfully fought off his breakdown.
They laid together in the sand, steam rising from their bodies as their breath clouds mixed together in the air above them. She ran her fingers through his hair and he purred in happiness.

"Ready to head back?" she asked.
Opening one eye to look at her, he nodded.
Standing up, she pulled out a spare set of clothes for him to put on.
Healing his cuts and wiping each other of his blood as best they could, they walked back to Suna holding hands.