Author: Writing that last chapter made me want to cry, by the way. And now, I update! Things may get a bit ooc for Sakura and Ino...They're evil in my story. I have a general idea of where I want the plot to go and how I want the story to end, but it's unfolding by itself now. I love it when my stories do that. And there will be a bit of a songfic in here. It's very fitting, but it's long, so I had to split it up. Tell me what you think. Song: Black Dresses by Spill Canvas
Gaara lay in a clump on the ground, afraid to move. He wasn't sure exactly how long it took him before he finally lifted his head. He placed his right palm flat on the ground, then his left, and slowly lifted himself to his knees. A sharp pain in his chest caused him to cry out again, and he sank back to the floor. Ok, that's fine. He would just lay there. The clean white tiles of the bathroom swam in his vision, stained with a great pool of red. 'My blood.' Gaara thought vaguely. 'He cut too deep. Way too deep.' Then darkness closed over.
Sasuke, having finished with the grill outside, ventured back into the house. Naruto was getting toasted, and even though it was extremely amusing, he was getting a bit worried about Gaara. He pushed some of his hair from his face, looking around the living room. He saw Itachi coming from the hallway, and meeting up with Sakura. A frown touched his face as the elder whispered something to the pink-haired girl, then left with Temari on his arm. Sasuke felt a sinking sensation in his stomach and began looking around the room frantically for Gaara.
Shino was still deep in conversation with Tenten (which Sasuke found a bit odd) but Sasuke approached him anyway. "Have you seen Gaara?" He asked urgently. Shino stared at him for a moment, then pointed down the hallway.
Sasuke left the pair to do...Whatever...And trotted down the hallway. He was approaching one of the doors when he heard a sharp cry from inside it. His eyes widened and he threw open the door without hesitation. The sight that met his eyes was enough to stop him dead in his tracks. Gaara lay in a pool of his own blood, his clothes tossed into a corner on the other side of the room. There was a long gash in his forearm, from which blood was still seeping slowly, and numerous forming bruises covered his body.
Jolting himself back to reality, Sasuke rushed to Gaara's side and knelt by him. He saw something then that he hadn't noticed before, a sticky white substance behind Gaara, blood dripping from his entrance. Someone had beat him, then raped him. He gently pulled Gaara's boxers on to preserve his modesty, then started to lift him. Gaara's eyes snapped open with a sharp cry, and Sasuke lowered him again quickly.
"Gaara!" Sasuke said, seeing tears in the other's eyes, which were clenched shut.
"I think...Ribs..." Gaara murmured.
Sasuke placed one hand gently on Gaara's side and knew he was right. "Shit." Sasuke whispered. "Gaara, we have to get you to the hospital..."
Gaara clenched his teeth and nodded while Sasuke picked him up. Gaara whimpered, burying his face in Sasuke's chest.
"NARUTO!" Sasuke yelled as he rushed into the living room. It didn't matter who was staring. The blond trotted in from outside, wearing a 'Kiss the Cook' apron.
"Holy crap, Sasuke, what happened?" Naruto asked, seeing Gaara's limp form in his arms. Sasuke shook his head.
"There isn't time, can you drive us to the hospital?" He said urgently, already starting for the garage.
Naruto nodded, grabbing his keys from a hook on the wall and running after Sasuke. The rest of the room watched in silence. Sakura smirked faintly, standing next to Shikamaru with her arms folded. "What happened?" He asked her. She didn't answer, merely shrugging, then walking over to Ino, who was standing by one of the beer kegs. Shikamaru frowned. "What did you do, Sakura?" He whispered when she was out of earshot.
-----
Sasuke borrowed one of the blankets Naruto kept in the back of his Jeep Liberty and wrapped it gently around Gaara, holding him tightly against his body. Gaara was shivering. Wether from shock or cold it was hard to tell, and Sasuke felt a horrible sensation. What if he died? Resting his face against Gaara's cheek, he whispered to him as Naruto peeled out of the driveway.
"Please hold on Gaara." Sasuke murmured.
In muddy grass we stand side by side
With our knuckles interlocked
Black dresses flood the cemetery
In this cliche tragedy
Sasuke held Gaara tighter, closing his eyes against the sudden torrent of tears he felt burning in his throat.
Just do as you're instructed and...
Take this razor and cut your palms
I'll do the same until a river of crimson begins to flow
Gaara had fallen into a pit of darkness. He wasn't aware of anything. It was as if he was outside of his body, and yet still connected. In his mind's eye he saw the blood flowing freely from his arm.
Now drip your ruby red over the casket
A funeral for my once loved youth
He remember Itachi inside of him, violating him in the worst possible way. He had wanted Sasuke to be his first. But now it had been stolen.
My secret is fatally gorgeous
I'd die for you
But in this Bonnie and Clyde kind of romance
Tell me what would you do?
Sasuke felt the tears pushing harder against his closed eyelids. The landscape tore past outside, and he knew suddenly who had done this to Gaara.
My secret is fatally gorgeous
I'd die for you
But when your precious life is at stake
Tell me would you die for me too?
Itachi. It made sense. The tears began sliding down Sasuke's face. Damn him. Why couldn't Itachi just leave him alone?
The quivering liquids in your stomach
Will eat away at the bad habits that have made you
A real character in the story of your now distant life
Goodnight and goodbye, quickly
Gaara felt something pulling at him. He was drifting. Trying to seperate from his body.
In gentle greens we stand side by side
With your head buried in my chest
Black veils send me shivering
The fear that part of me is dying
No. He couldn't die. Not yet. Sasuke. Sasuke was holding him. Gaara felt something wet land on his face. A tear?
Goodbyes are said and roses thrown
And the crowd starts to weep
But the irony of the story is when I fell to my knees
And began clawing at the dirt in front of the tombstone
Of my bashful childhood
Sasuke was crying for him. How could he let go now? Now that he wasn't alone. The thought struck him hard. 'I'm not alone.' Gaara saw a pinprick of light in the darkness that he was floating in, and willed himself to go towards it.
With you by my side, you're screaming at the
Top of your lungs, "let it go"
And I'm screaming at the top of my lungs
"The ceremony was not proper, there was not enough people,
And who picked the music?
Those melodies almost made me physically sick"
Sasuke looked up as Naruto's car screeched to a halt outside the hospital. "Come on, Sasuke! Hurry!" Naruto said, rushing inside. It seemed to Sasuke that Naruto moved in slow motion as he stepped from the car.
My secret is fatally gorgeous
I'd die for you
But in this Bonnie and Clyde kind of romance
Tell me what would you do?
Gaara reached out towards the light, one hand stretched in front of him in the darkness. It was a person. Sasuke. "Sasuke" Gaara spoke the word, but no sound emerged from his lips. Sasuke extended one hand to him, smiling, but Gaara felt another tug, back towards the darkness. No!
My secret is fatally gorgeous
I'd die for you
Sasuke rushed Gaara into the emergency room. "What happened?" A blonde woman with extremely large breasts rushed over as a group of medics set Gaara down on a stretcher. Sasuke ran beside it, clenching Gaara's bloody hand in his own. But the woman didn't need an explanation. She set to work immediately.
But when your precious life is at stake
Tell me would you die for me too?
Gaara was being pulled farther away from Sasuke. "I'm dying." He realized.
The quivering liquids in your stomach
Tsunade shook her head. "He's lost a lot of blood. Get me a transfusion, quickly!" The fingers on her right hand were held to Gaara's neck. "We're losing him!"
Will eat away at the bad habits that have made you
Tsunade had torn away the blanket Sasuke had wrapped around Gaara. Gel was spread over his chest as she pulled paddles from next to the stretcher.
A real character in the story of your now distant life
"...Joules, clear!" Tsunade's words were fading in and out as Sasuke released Gaara's hand. Gaara's back arched, then he relaxed. Terrified, Sasuke backed away. No...
Goodnight and goodbye, quickly
No...
Goodnight and goodbye, quickly
---
A week later, Sasuke stood with Naruto next to him, looking down at the gray tombstone. There wasn't much there. Just a name and date of birth. "Gaara." Sasuke whispered, tears falling steadily from his eyes. He knelt down in front of the stone, laying a single white rose upon the freshly turned earth. Soon, it would be covered with grass. Everyone stood around him, even Itachi and Sakura, who looked thoroughly devastated. Guilty. A great cry went up from the crowd. Gaara. Sasuke bowed his head. Naruto rested his palm on Sasuke's shoulder...
"You are Sasuke?" A voice startled him out of his dream. He looked up to the blond doctor who stood in front of him. After two more shocks, Gaara's heart had started up again. Then they had asked him to leave. Sasuke had waited in the front lobby for hours, finally falling asleep.
"Is he all right?" Sasuke asked urgently, springing to his feet. Tsunade touched his arm gently.
"You can see him now. His condition is serious but stable." She spoke softly.
Sasuke nodded, and followed her down the hall.
