Hello, this is my first author's note in a story, I'm not exactly sure about the rating seeing as there may or may not be a lemon at the end of this one. It won't be long, but I'm suffering from a bit of a block on my other story Crossing Our Boundries so I figured I'd write out this little thing and get my muse going again.

Good day to you and happy reading........

..Eyes.

Heat, pain of these Gaara was drastically aware. The fire burned hot at his back and he bit back a cry of pain. The flames licked at Gaara's nightshirt and he felt it falling off. Gaara knew that the material on it meant it wouldn't last long so he quickly jerked it off and placed it in front of his nose and mouth to block some of the smoke.

He cried out softly when a burning picture tumbled off the wall and caught on his arm. He glanced down through the smoking air and barely managed to see the burn mark on his arm, he flinched swiftly in torture when he thought of Sasuke's location, so many more things to fall down. Gaara focused, trying to expand more chakra to keep things up, but feeling too drained to succeed more then keeping the still connected beams from tumbling onto them.

"Sasuke!" Gaara yelled, the fire was consuming the building, and stealing the air itself from his lungs. He heard Sasuke coughing and ran towards it, a beam from the ceiling kept them divided. The two had struggled through the hall and made it to the middle. Now it was just this frigging beam. Gaara slammed his shoulder into it to try and shove it loose, but the embers burning white hot on the offending object didn't allow him enough time to do anything worthwhile.

"Gaara?" Sasuke managed to scream above the crackling. Both men cried out in pain and fright when the beam popped and the flames grew exponentially," Where are you?"

"Hallway just outside the office," Gaara coughed and dropped to his knees, he'd been screaming and breathing too deeply the smoke was getting to his head. His lips felt dry and painful everytime he moved them, but to make sure Sasuke was still responding he would ignore it. He heard fabric shuffling then Sasuke's coughing stopped," 'Suke?"

"I'm okay, I'm coming to get you, you stay awake for me, keep talking Gaara," He heard Sasuke mutter a jutsu and the smoke dissipated around the Uchiha, being sucked into the whirlwind he was creating with chakra. Sasuke tensed up and leaped above the flames finding Gaara unconscious on the floor. Sasuke dove and grabbed him.

Adrenaline has Sasuke's system running high, but fright wanted it to run low. Torn between exhaustion and startlingly awake, Sasuke made do with what he had. Remotely he was surprised that the building hadn't come down on them already. If that happened then...Sasuke stopped his thoughts, best not to think of the worse case scenario.

"Gaara? Gaara! Gaara, you gotta wake up right now," Sasuke pleaded and grabbed Gaara's shoulders, jolting his hand back when he felt torn muscle and warm sticky blood Sasuke leaned his ear over Gaara's mouth and listened, but when he couldn't hear Gaara breathing, Sasuke almost felt his heart stop. But then a gasp and Gaara opened his already blacked-out eyes.

"'Suke," his voice was hoarse and he coughed like he couldn't breath. Sasuke bent, pressed his mouth against Gaara's and quickly breathed once for him. Gaara tried to clear his throat and forced himself to his feet," Let's get the hell out of here."

Through some windows, ones that were only 3/4s of the way blocked by smoke and fire, the duo could see shinobi casting jutsus and trying to soak the flames down. Gaara had one arm around Sasuke's waist and the other on the wall, feeling for hot and cold to track the fire. The two of them were on the top floor, Gaara's office the fire had originated from somewhere in the middle towards the 3rd floor. Trapping the Kazekage and his lover upstairs. Sasuke had been on one side of the floor getting tea, Gaara was on the other side doing paperwork. The two met in the middle and were trying desperately to get to the stairs. Praying they weren't blocked by fire.

Sasuke hissed when the smoke made his eyes well up. His lungs burnt uncomfortably whenever he breathed, but he knew that the feeling of pain was better then being killed by this goddamn fire. Sasuke almost made to snicker, a Uchiha, a fire-dancer killed by his own element.

"Gaara you have to keep talking to me okay," Sasuke pleaded loudly over the popping flame and both of them turned, stared at each and gasped," The helium."

Temari and Kankuro had thrown Gaara a party for his 23rd birthday a week ago, a month late but none of them cared. The helium had been stored in the kitchen until Gaara's family got back from Konoha, they were supposed to come back in two days. Helium exploded when heated so when the Kazekage and his shadow guard heard the whistling in the kitchen both of them hit the deck. Gaara dove atop Sasuke and screamed when the explosion rocked back against his bare back.

Gaara's senses felt like they were burnt out completely, only barely managing to keep his eyes open. Everything felt heavy and very badly Gaara just wanted to lie down. Knowing that that was the smoke talking, not him, Gaara ignored it and glanced downwards relief filling his remaining senses when he saw Sasuke was okay. His side had been exposed, but nothing that could kill him.

"Gaara?" Sasuke exclaimed loudly and stood back up, pulling his friend to his feet. He noticed the back of his jeans on fire and quickly used a wind jutsu to blow it out, turning he continued blowing to clear a path for he and his boyfriend.

Sasuke heard the shinobi yelling their names as they managed to arrive on the first floor," H-HELP!"

"Sasuke-san are you okay?" An ANBU kicked down a door and the team faced the two. Gaara was unconscious now, breath coming in short, wheezing gasps. Sasuke was seeing double, burns running down and up his arm. Sasuke's side was burnt to the point he couldn't feel it anymore and suddenly all the air in the world didn't seem like enough to satisfy his burning lungs.

"N-no," Sasuke fell forwards, slumping into unconsciousness himself as an ANBU caught both him and the Kazekage. Pain shot through his side and arm when an ANBU jostled him the wrong way. Sasuke just barely heard them calling out that they had been found before he couldn't hear anymore. His vision faded to black and he barely saw Gaara's smoke covered face twist in pain when someone brushed his back.

.

Sasuke awoke a day later in the hospital. The soft sensation of the sheets was a welcome one, nothing like Gaara's bed, but definitely better then burning wood. The lights were too bright for his injured eyes and the constant and consistent beeping in his ear was incredibly annoying. He breathed deeply - feeling grateful he could - and immediately heard a familiar voice talking.

"Sasuke, this is Sakura Haruno, I'm taking care of you," The voice from his past was almost a relief, then memory that no one from Konoha could know he was alive and well in Suna made him jolt awake. He felt a hand clamp down on his wrist and cried out in surprise and pleading. If Sasuke was a prisoner, there was no way he'd ever see Gaara again. Plus Gaara would be forced to step down as Kazekage for harboring a fugitive from law.

"Where's Gaara, I need to talk to him," Sasuke forced himself to sit up and throw his legs over the bedside," Get off me!"

The grasp on his wrist tightened and his onyx gaze quickly followed hand to shoulder and shoulder to face. He turned to face the bed beside him, the source of the hand. He was surprised to see how close they were together, even more so to see Gaara lying in the bed. His bright azure eyes were half asleep and half-open. He dove off the bed and stood beside Gaara's, barely registering the feeling of two hands grabbing his sides to keep him steady.

"'Suke?" Gaara's voice was so quiet, Sasuke had to strain to hear it and the effort made Gaara's bottom lip crack and bleed. Immediately Sasuke's thumb rubbed it off and he felt like praying with how overjoyed he was that Gaara survived.

"I'm here, oh god Gaara," Sasuke knelt beside the bed and moved Gaara's grip to his hand. He squeezed lightly to let Gaara know he was there and turned to face Sakura. Standing behind her was another familiar face, a nurse named Laili, she took care of the boys everytime either one was in those white halls, coming off her vacation once to do so.. Sasuke paused then figured his pride was worth less then Gaara," Sakura I'm pleading with you, let me stay until he wakes up then I swear I'll come willingly."

"Sasuke," Sakura approached on Gaara's other side and quickly checked over the needles in Gaara's arms," if I was here to arrest you, you'd be arrested now. I'm here because one of Naruto's best friends is lying unconscious in a hospital because he was trapped in a burning building. Someone set a fire in the building and tried to kill the both of you. Gaara suffered 3rd degree burns on his back, chest and legs. I brought a team of medics here from Konoha. We worked on him as much as their chakra could allow before passing out. I was on the team Sasuke, we did the best we could after...

"Until he's healed up and capable of explaining why it looks like he lied to Naruto, I have a blind eye for your face. If he has a really good reason for why you are standing here begging to be at his side then my blind eye will keep itself up long enough to forget I ever saw you. I am the only healer outside of Gaara's medical team allowed knowing you are alive," Sakura smiled slightly when Gaara opened his eyes enough to see.

"Sakura," Gaara was bleary for a second then his eyes shot open and he gasped," Sasuke," then yelled out in pain. Sasuke flinched and quickly sat beside Gaara on the bed.

"Gaara, I'm here," Sasuke bent and whispered in his ear," I need you to please stay down."

Sasuke stepped away and looked over his friend with an assessing eye. Obviously the medical team had fixed Gaara's legs up seeing as he had jeans on. His abs and chest were a mess. Black and red meshed in ways Gaara wouldn't even been able to appreciate, Sasuke didn't look any closer and didn't dare ask about the condition of Gaara's back. It had only gotten burned protecting him. Gaara's chin and a bit of his cheek was a helluva lot darker then normal, almost black but with a small bit more gray mixed it. Wherever it wasn't burnt it was ashen and worn, Gaara looked so tired, so sick.

A cursory glance down at himself forced him to notice, he was healed, clean and fine. Not a single burn, cut or bruise on him. His jeans were new and he was perfect in everyway. Which somehow, made him madder.

He rounded on Sakura with fire in his eyes. Sharingon inches from swirling angrily.

"Why am I okay? Why am I awake, he should have been the top priority, not me! Why is the Kazekage in a bed in agony when the wanted man isn't?"

Sasuke's temper kicked itself into overdrive at the idea of his health being 100% when Gaara's was probably down near 25%. He kept one hand wrapped in Gaara's but the other turned into a fist. Leaving the Kazekage vulnerable like this was stupid, and the idiot who allowed it was in for it, any assassin could simply call themselves a healer and walk in. Gaara wouldn't be able to stop them.

"Because Gaara ordered it, he woke up as we were putting him in emergency, he caught a glimpse of you outside waiting and stood up. He barked for us to heal you first or that he'd do it himself, his chakra was already dismal so we obeyed, grudgingly," Sakura quickly explained.

Oh, total Gaara.Sasuke thought bitterly, if Gaara knew Sasuke wasn't okay then the stubborn man would definitely summon up the gumption to bark an order or two at the nearest person. Sasuke studied Sakura as she went to put a needle in Gaara's arm.

"If those are painkillers, then don't. He hates painkillers they give him nightmares and don't work on him, they only make the pain worse," Sasuke sighed. Gaara groaned softly and Sasuke caressed his cheek affectionately.

"'Suke."

.

.

"I don't understand you, when the helium blew you jumped over me and got barbecued to protect me. Half unconscious you were still feeling the wall, checking for flames by pulsing your pathetic amounts of chakra through the walls. I asked where the rest of it was and a team of ANBU told me that the building was being held up by a normally impossible amount of chakra. You couldn't keep everything up, but you could keep it from collapsing in around us. Sakura said she hadn't seen someone other then you expend that much chakra ever. The only other time she'd seen that level of chakra loss, you were killed by Akatsuki," Sasuke shook his head," I don't understand why you did, but thank you."

Sasuke bent and kissed Gaara's cheek softly. The white hospital room seemed to suffocate him almost as much as the smoke had. More so in fact, because he was healthy. Gaara wasn't getting any better though. The nurses talked to Sasuke about Gaara's condition often, seeing as he was the only one with the time to care. There was talk about how his immune system was failing.

Gaara's system seemed to be shutting itself down, regressing further and further into the abyss. His lung failed every once in a while, so the nurses taught Sasuke how to reopen his airway without killing him.

Temari and Kankuro were both busy trying to run the country and keep them calm. Sasuke consulted with them once in a while when they needed someone who could remember everything Gaara ever said about running a country. 'It's not a duty, it's a gift.' Sasuke almost scoffed, being Kazekage had probably just put Gaara at Death's door.

Well you can't have him, Sasuke grumbled silently, Death wasn't getting his redhead, not yet. Sasuke couldn't resist the urge to check Gaara's vitals, too many times had he been the one to start CPR when Gaara stopped breathing momentarily. According to Sakura, Gaara's lungs weren't dispelling the smoke inside them, changing him from someone who never smoked a day in his life to a lifetime smoker.

The fire. Sasuke knew it wasn't an accident, and the building had been empty except Gaara and himself. Meaning someone wanted the two of them dead, specifically. Not surprising, Gaara had a thousand enemies, and all of them knew that his shadow guard was always with him. Whether or not they knew that the shadow guard was someone as dedicated, as patient as an avenger, that was a different story entirely. Sasuke doubted it.

One free hand slipped up his bare back and rubbed the too-tense muscles there. He and Gaara would normally be sparring all their nerves out right now, but neither one of them could manage to do so. Gaara wasn't supposed to wake up anytime, and Sasuke couldn't go outside without letting everyone know everything he knew. Think of a story, tell it to 50 people tell another 50 and we'll see just whether or not you want to ever hear the words you spoke again.

Sasuke dragged the only chair in the room to Gaara's bed, sitting down and resting his head on his arms. Sleep was just about to claim him for the first time since he woke up 23 hours ago, when suddenly the chair was gone, he was pressed to the wall and something cold was clapping around his wrist.

Sasuke's eyes snapped opened and he raised his waist, kicking out and sending an ANBU flying. Sasuke kneeled over him and examined his village symbol. Leaf. Oh no, Konoha! Sasuke dove and rolled underneath Gaara's bed, bringing the chain onto his stomach as he lifted himself off the floor.

Breathing slowly and inaudibly Sasuke forced himself not to panic. Panicking would get him caught and then he'd never see Gaara again.

"Sasuke come out here now," Naruto's voice. Well if that wasn't incentive to hide for his life, then Sasuke didn't know what was. Sasuke gripped the bed tighter then cried out in anger when two arms wrapped around his waist and jerked him out, an ANBU snatched one arm, his partner grabbing the other. Both of them jolted his arms up hard enough to come dangerously close to dislocating his shoulders. Sasuke dropped down to his knees to relieve the pressure building up and growled when a shackle clicked around his other wrist.

"If you two idiots don't get off me right now, I'll suffocate you," Sasuke would never really do that anymore, but he had to look like nothing changed until Gaara woke up. To show just how serious he was, he focused his chakra and began sucking the air out from the room. Naruto frowned and motioned his ANBU away. Once Sasuke wasn't being touched anymore, the air came back and Sasuke backed himself up and away from the Konoha shinobi.

The Hokage of the Land of Fire did not look impressed, he looked slightly peeved and Sasuke merely scowled. Anger coloured his opinions, so Sasuke kept them to himself. Better to keep your mouth shut, then say something stupid and disappear. Leaving Gaara alone. Naruto ran a hand through his hair and mussed it happily.

"Sasuke Uchiha, I did not expect to see you sitting beside Gaara's bed when I got here," Naruto sighed, dragged Sasuke's unused bed closer and sat on it. He crossed his legs and drummed his fingers on one. His other hand reached out and barely brushed the sleeping Kazekage's face.

Gaara gasped and started in his sleep and Sasuke launched forwards, slamming into two ANBU forcing him back," Gaara," he damn near yelled the name and shoved against the ANBU," Get off me you idiots!"

"You've changed Sasuke," Naruto murmured and frowned. The Hokage seemed to age ten years before Sasuke's eyes, then another 15 when Sasuke glanced around and knocked each and every ANBU out. He walked to Gaara's side and murmured softly in his ear.

"I need you, please wake up," he made sure to speak so softly that Naruto wouldn't be able to hear him, try explaining to your first friend that you're in love with the guy who tried to kill you as a child. Sasuke figured he'd leave that one up to Gaara when he woke up. Gaara arched in pain and hissed. Sasuke immediately recognized it as a nightmare.

Normally when Gaara was having a nightmare, Sasuke would lie with him, careful not to touch anything that was deemed to be in pain according to Gaara's head, and quietly remind the redhead that he needed him, that his people needed him, that his country needed him. With Naruto sitting right there, those three small words were all Sasuke could spare.

"Look at that, you're still the Ice Prince. Or at least his body is still around, it's the soul that's changed," Naruto looked exhausted and Sasuke frowned.

"Will you get these things off me, it makes it very hard to move and I'm only a threat to you if you try to kill Gaara," Sasuke gasped when the blood flow restarted to his hands after Naruto removed the shackles," Why are you here Naruto?"

Why are you messing everything up for me? Why do I have everything to gain and all it takes is a snap from you to lose it? Why is this happening? Why was a pretty popular word rolling around inside Sasuke's head. There was a million questions but for Naruto he had the one he was able to voice, the only question that gave nothing of his relationship with Gaara away.

"The Kazekage is in a coma, until he wakes up someone has to run the country, his brother and sister have taken the job. But the country itself is saying that there's only one person close enough to Gaara to have the know-how to run the country the same way he did. This mysterious Shadow guard. No one will answer me on his or hers identity but they say if I call him, he'll come. I'm doing so tonight, going to the remains of the Kage building and calling for him. I hope he comes, he appears to be our only link to Gaara's head," Naruto sighed and stretched.

"He'll come, the Shadow guard is loyal, but only to Gaara. One of the nurses told me about him, said he would never leave the Kazekage's side unless he knew for certain that Gaara was in capable hands," Sasuke shrugged, it was difficult talking about himself in the third person," Evidently I'm capable."

Sasuke walked to the bathroom and splashed water on his face. Shit, he'd have to make a clone of himself, and sneak out. Not too hard he assumed, but Naruto would be having the place watched. Sasuke walked back, pushing the water into his hair, and checked Gaara's vitals.

"Since when are you so OCD," Naruto joked," Since I've walked into this hospital you've checked Gaara's vitals once every 20 minutes. I didn't know you could be so...obsessive," Naruto quirked a smile and Sasuke couldn't stop the chuckle escaping him. Laughing was something he hadn't done since the fire, it felt good to know humor still lived in the world, but was merely eluding Sasuke for the moment.

"I don't know, since the fire. Gaara got hurt and when I got here he was having a nightmare," Part truth, he'd awoken to the whimpers," I walked in and just put one hand on him and he calmed. Nurses couldn't explain it, they figured the guy who kidnapped him would get a worse reaction. Instead it got to the point where no one but me could calm him down."

Naruto chuckled back, the idea of Sasuke Uchiha the Ice Prince managing to calm down Gaara. It was like the lion being tamed by the flipping kitten. Naruto broke out in a wide smile at his own analogy.

"What are you grinning about," Sasuke smiled ruefully as they began falling into old habits, old behaviour patterns. Patterns that had made Sasuke run away from home.

Nooo, I'm not leaving Suna just cause he's here, Sasuke strengthened his resolve on the idea that he wasn't going anywhere by staring down at Gaara.

Naruto stood, scruffed Sasuke's hair and walked out. Didn't say a word, merely walked out. Sasuke puzzled then very quickly gathered up the shackles and clinked them onto Naruto's ANBU running into the hall and yelling," Hey Naruto."

Then he threw one end of the chain," They're your ANBU, not Gaara's, they should be with you," Sasuke smiled jokingly.

.

.

The hours passed and Sasuke spent it planning. His escape from Suna General wouldn't be easy, a quick walk showed him 6 ANBU watching the building. One on every side of the building to see every exit. Luckily, Sasuke had friends in the hospital who could get him out.

Laili Summers was an amazing woman. Kind of short but her punch packed a wallop. Her spiky blue hair and bright sky blue eyes made her look remotely pixie like but that was a joke among friends. She was curvy and gorgeous, not Sasuke's type but a sight to see. She walked with pride and determination down the hall. Too bad she wasn't going to reach her destination.

"Laili, we need to talk," Sasuke quickly yanked her into Gaara's room and sat her in the chair," I'm climbing the damn walls in this joint, and Naruto is going to summon the shadow guard tonight. I need to get out of here, but Naruto is having the building watched. Can you help me," Sasuke blurted everything at once, knowing that Laili preferred it that way.

"Anything else?"

"Gaara's throat closed today, about 2 hours ago, I reopened it without any difficulty and he's back to normal, someone upped his pains meds because his nightmare's are coming more frequently. He's having like phantom agony wherever he got burned and it's freaking me out. I don't want to leave him alone, so I'm leaving a clone and I'd really like it if you could possibly watch him until I get back I'm sure he'd appreciate it," Sasuke breathed in and nodded," Yea that's it."

"Excellent, well there's a squad leaving tonight around 4 o'clock to go to the cemetery, from there you're on your own. I can definitely watch Gaara, I've only been doing it to both of you ever since you showed up," She kissed his cheek and he hugged her gently.

"Thank you Laili, you've no idea how much I owe you," He sighed and ran out into the hall. Watching the clocks tick closer to 4. He dove into the loading bay, quickly spotting the squadron then smirking when he recognized a mask," Matsuri!"

Matsuri had been Gaara's first ever student when he was 13. Matsuri said that even though she was always afraid of blades, Gaara had taught her to use the fear on her enemies, teach them to fear her blade. Sure enough she was an ANBU by the time she was 17. Not bad. She was good too, an excellent defensive and offensive striker, also incredible at rescue and escape mission.

"Sasuke," Matsuri rounded and Sasuke ran forwards," What are you doing here?"

"Naruto is summoning the shadow guard tonight and I have to escape the hospital without his ANBU recognizing me. Can I steal a uniform and mask, come with you guys to the cemetery then take off," Sasuke quirked an eyebrow and smirked when she yelled at a ANBU to go get a second set of clothes and a mask. When the ANBU appeared Sasuke quickly tugged on the uniform, feeling a sinking and annoying wave of nostalgia wash over him. He had wore an ANBU uniform when he first arrived but took it off when he couldn't risk his mask coming off.

Sasuke fell into rank under the captain and ran in the back, keeping his pace even with the rest of the team and arriving at the cemetery without being stopped," Thank you Matsuri," He quickly one-arm hugged her and passed her the uniform, throwing his black cloak over himself and tugged up the hood.

"We'll be here for 2 hours Sasuke, be back before then or find another way back into the hospital.

Sasuke ran along the rooftops making it to the burned Kage building in record time. Staring at the ruins brought back flashed Sasuke didn't want to see.

Gaara wasn't breathing, and Sasuke's heart leaped to his throat ceasing to beat for a moment...

Sasuke shook his head, ruffling the fabric atop his head and waited. For an hour nothing happened, but on the hour mark Naruto showed up, a squad of ANBU at his heels.

"I need to speak with the shadow guard! If you can hear me, please show yourself," Naruto yelled and Sasuke dissipated, appearing before Naruto he bowed slowly.

A sly smile creeped across his lips as the night winds blew his cloak out, the hood staying in place by chakra, but the genjutsu he had set up around his body was funny. Hinata would proud of how well he mimicked her frame, using different clothes however to highlight different areas.

Sasuke knew his voice would be recognized so he changed it, completely. Switching genders he adopted a voice torn between how Laili's sounded and how Matsuri's sounded.

"Hokage-sama," He smirked when Naruto's eyebrows raced for his hairline," Were you expecting someone else?"

He couldn't resist the jab, Naruto just looked so startled. Naruto shook his head and began talking," No one besides you has worked close enough to Gaara to know how to work this country the same way. The people trust you and they need a leader they can trust. I've been charged with the duty of asking you; will you take the Kazekage's responsibilities until he awakens?"

"No, but I will consult with the family, I'll tell Temari and Kankuro what to do and remain in the dark. The people will know I'm there for them," Sasuke bowed again and disappeared.

I think that was deep enough, Sasuke smirked to himself as he ran back to the cemetery, put the ANBU clothing back on and ran back to the hospital with the team. Arriving at the hospital he stripped it off again and hugged Matsuri.

"God I owe you, thanks Matsuri," He ran back into the white hallways and waved to Matsuri as he did so. The former student looked remotely startled by called back that he was welcome.

Sasuke dashed upstairs throwing open Gaara's door. When he got there, Gaara wasn't there. Neither was Laili.

"Gaara? Laili?"