A hand grabbed his bad shoulder and he wanted to scream.
"You idiot, don't touch him!"' Naruto shouted. "What? Why?"
"Are you friggin' blind? It's dislocated! How can you not see that? It's totally gross and obvious," Naruto reprimanded him. He kneeled in the dirt and pulled Gaara's good arm around his own shoulder and neck. "What happened?" Kankuro asked. Naruto's temper snapped. If he couldn't take it out on their father, then he'd take it out on this idiot. "You're so dumb! Didn't you hear Temari? Why can't you put the pieces together? Look," Naruto said. He used the arm not wrapped around Gaara's waist to pull up his shirt.
Gaara's hand tightened around his neck. "Shh, it's okay," Naruto tried to comfort him. "I-I want to go back inside," he muttered. "Oh no, we won't! Come on, we have to get going. Coming?" Naruto grumbled at the shocked Kankuro, who was just stared at Gaara. He grunted and made his way out of the Sabaku's front yard. Gaara tried to help him, tried to stand on his own legs, but his shoulder seemed to seize up again and he found his legs throbbing. Every part of him was throbbing. Instead of standing, he only managed to cling to Naruto tighter, grip on his neck enough to choke him.
"Who did this?" Kankuro asked, runnning to catch up with them. "I'm blind? Wait, it couldn't be-?"
"Why don't you ask Dad? It's what you always do, right? Talk to Dad? He's perfect in your eyes, he can't make a mistake, he's not a-"
"Fever? Is that what Dad told you?"
"You-you bastard. You've never paid him enough attention, never cared enough to notice- I-all these years I've known, I've known everything- I thought I was protecting you- from th-the knowledge but... it was never enough. Y-you're either really stupid or you're really naive. Maybe both. I-I-"
"I don't have to patience to spell it out for you."
Suddenly, the pieces fell together before his eyes.
"No, that- it can't be... Dad?"
No, it couldn't be. Not the man who was always there to help him with his homework? Not the man who never got angry if he went out and got wasted, underage at some party? Not the man who drove him to football practice, who bought him and Temari's first car, taught him to ride a bike, done everything with him? But, as Kankuro remembered his fondest memories of him, he realized that Gaara had never been in the picture. He'd never been and Kankuro had never noticed.
"Hell yes. God, it took you long enough," the blond panted at him.
Yes. It had. But Kankuro wasn't sure if he believed it. He couldn't believe it, he couldn't. If he did, then the image he had of his father, was shattered and nothing seemed sure anymore.
His image: His father was... a kind, good hearted man, not a criminal, maybe moved them around too often for Kankuro's liking, but a nice guy. What was actually there: His father was a monster and he'd never noticed. The many nights Dad had come home drunk? The times when he'd seen Gaara limping down the stairs? That one time his father had come home in a towering temper and how he hadn't seen Gaara for the rest of the week? The time he caught Temari crying in her room? The many times Temari and Gaara shut themselves in his room? Shielding themselves against the pain, against their father, and against him.
Why was he so stupid?
Ridiculously short update. Grrrrr, stupid Final exams.