A/N: First of a two-parter! Takes place during Sasuke's travels after the War. Please enjoy!

Mercy

As a rule, Sasuke tried to stay away from the ninja villages that weren't Konoha. Pardoned he may be, but he was quite sure that half of his own village hadn't been happy about it (okay, maybe more than half), and he was positive that the other villages had only accepted for Naruto's sake. He was particularly keen to avoid the Raikage. The man wasn't likely to forget or forgive Sasuke's assault on his brother, war hero or not.

Which was why he was caught off guard the first time he realized he needed help and was too far away from Konoha to get it. He was in the Land of Wind, about a day's travel from Suna, but two days minimum from Sakura's aid. With a poison in his body that he was pretty sure would take him out for good in maybe a day and a half.

He debated simply rushing to Konoha as quickly as he could and hoping that after he collapsed, or maybe before, he'd run into some familiar ninja who would get him the rest of the way. In the end, he decided it was too big a risk. It was two days minimum running, and the slow-acting paralytic had him far from at his best.

That left throwing himself at the Kazekage's mercy. He didn't particularly like that option, either. The last time he'd been really up close and personal with Gaara, he'd been a boy, and it had been a fight to the death. He knew things had changed since then, for both of them. He knew Naruto considered the man a friend – but then, Naruto considered just about everyone a friend, so Sasuke wasn't sure how deep that bond actually went.

But he had little choice.

He wrote a letter, short, succinct, explaining his situation and sent it to Konoha, urging his hawk to fly with all its speed. He'd addressed it to all three of them; whoever the bird found first would suffice.

Then he turned to Suna, praying his teammates would come through for him again.

When he reached the gates of the Sand Village, he was stumbling. He'd underestimated the speed of the poison, and before he could even call out to the guards, he fell, tumbling down, unable to raise his arms to support himself.

He landed on warm sand that had more give than he'd expected, and he felt it lift him up. He opened his eyes enough to catch a glimpse of a pale face under red hair, a shock of blond ponytails from behind a fan, and the carefully guarded expression of Shikamaru Nara.

Of all the Konoha ninja to be in Suna…

He didn't remember anything else.

He woke up in a hospital, and it took him a moment of panic to realize it wasn't Konoha but it was still safe. He opened his eyes to see, again, red hair and a pale face. Alone, this time.

Sasuke hoped that was a good sign. He cleared his throat. It felt coated with sand, and he wondered wildly if he'd swallowed some when Gaara had carried him. He wasn't even sure how to address the man standing calmly at the window. His name seemed too casual; Kazekage-sama seemed too formal, especially given that Sasuke wasn't inclined to address even Kakashi with that level of respect.

Before he reached a decision, Gaara spoke. "Hello, Sasuke. Welcome to Suna."

He supposed that set the stage for formality. "Gaara. Thank you for receiving me."

Gaara turned away from the window to face him fully, arms crossed, face serious and unreadable. "You owe your gratitude to Naruto. Shortly before your arrival, we received an impassioned letter explaining your situation, as well as a list of the best antidotes for the most common paralytic poisons and how to make them from Sakura."

So they had come through for him, again. Sasuke wasn't sure how he could have expected anything less.

"How long?" he asked. His voice was still rough and scratchy, and talking hurt.

Gaara looked back out the window, gripping the sill. "You have been out for two days. Our medics estimate another full week before you are back to full strength. You are welcome to stay in Suna for that time. Naruto has offered to be your escort, should I send for him."

Sasuke was a bit surprised that the blond wasn't already here.

"He would have been here already," Gaara said, as if reading his mind, "if Kakashi hadn't insisted that be a decision left to me. I am happy to send for him, should you choose."

"And if I don't?"

Gaara turned his head so that their eyes locked. His gaze was cool, calculating. "Then I am pleased to offer my sister Temari's services, as well as Shikamaru's, as guides to our village."

There it was. He would not be allowed around unsupervised. Sasuke had had enough of being watched, followed, feared. "I do not need the full week. I will leave tomorrow morning."

Gaara's gaze didn't waver. "No. You will stay until you have recovered. I promised Naruto no less. I will not break my word."

Fucking – Naruto. Of course.

"Would you like me to send for him?"

If he said yes, he'd have to deal with Nara and the blond woman for only half the time. But he'd spend the other half dealing with a still far-too-hyperactive friend who surely would want to spend the whole time sparring and eating his way through Suna…

"Yes." He caught his voice in his throat. Making Naruto travel three days only to spend four with an inevitably frustrated and penned-up Sasuke – not to mention that would be leaving Konoha without either of their protection – Sasuke closed his eyes, prepared to contradict himself.

"Good. I already have. I have business with Naruto, as well. He should arrive tomorrow."

Sasuke hated politics, and he didn't appreciate the manipulation. He looked away, stiff and frustrated. "Fine, then. Why ask?"

Gaara simply tilted his head. "I was curious to see if Naruto's attachment to you is primarily one-sided. I'm glad to see it is not."

"That's none of your business," Sasuke snapped, ignoring the burn in his throat.

"A friend's wellbeing is always my business." Gaara didn't seem the least bit apologetic. "And Sasuke…" He paused, and Sasuke reluctantly turned to look him in the eye again, keeping his expression hard. "I understand better than most how Naruto can change a heart from having an evil goal to having a good one. My village decided to trust me. Yours decided to trust me. I'm choosing to trust you, too."

Sasuke frowned. "Trust doesn't require an escort."

Gaara half-smiled. "No, but elders do. However, I've put no restrictions on your travel here. Shikamaru and Temari, and tomorrow Naruto, are primarily here for your protection, should any foolish ninja forget all that we owe to Naruto…and you."

Sasuke looked away again. "I don't require protection," he said calmly, quietly, "but I understand."

"I know how slow people are to forgive, as well. But it does happen. Now sleep. I can tell your chakra levels are low. The more you rest, the faster you will heal."

Sasuke closed his eyes, listening to the man's retreat, before considering his words. Should any foolish ninja forget all that we owe to Naruto…and you.

So Gaara gave him credit for ending the war, too, despite his attack on Naruto afterwards, despite extending the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Gaara knew – and recognized – that the hero of Konoha could not have done it alone.

And that…was oddly comforting.

So he closed his eyes, determined to sleep through the rest of the day where he'd have to deal with Nara and the blond girl. Tomorrow, Naruto would be there and would speak for him and advocate for him and do all the things that were so idiotically Naruto that everyone somehow wound up doing exactly what he asked. He forced his mind to relax, to drift, and he slept.

The next time Sasuke woke, it was from a nightmare. Usually, after one of those dreams, he woke up screaming, weapon in hand, more than halfway to being a danger to anyone near him. Thankfully, he was always alone.

This wakeup was different. It was slow. It burned. His entire body fought against whatever held him down. Fear spiked into his throat. His eyes wouldn't open; his body wouldn't respond – hadn't he been better, when he'd spoken to Gaara?

Before he could truly rocket into panic, something brushed against the edges of his awareness that immediately calmed him. Chakra rebuffed his weak effort to reach out, soft but firm, unyielding. "Hey, Sasuke-kun," a familiar voice whispered. "You're alright."

"You awake, asshole?"

Sasuke felt him there, too, then, a solid, endless reservoir of mingled chakra just behind Sakura. He forced his eyes open. "What are you…doing…" His lips felt heavy and chapped.

Sakura, sitting beside his bed, explained, "I've given you a different antidote than Suna did. Instead of needing a full week to recover, you'll only need another day or so, but your body will basically be shut down for it. Please rest, Sasuke. We're here. I promise, you're safe."

"Not that Gaara would let anyone hurt you, but yeah, what she said," Naruto grumbled. "So don't be pissy. We just figured it made more sense to do it this way."

And Sasuke was pissed, but he was too relieved to process the anger. He was safe. They were safe. They were idiots…but in a day, it wouldn't matter, and he could yell at them all he wanted.

Something else occurred to him. His hand twitched, and suddenly Sakura's fingers closed around it.

Well. That hadn't been his intention, but…he was too tired to move again.

He cleared his throat. "Kakashi…let you come?"

A strange sound seemed to catch in Sakura's throat, and she hedged, "Not exactly."

He felt his eyes sliding shut again. "Shouldn't…have."

As his world faded to blackness again, he heard Sakura's soft laugh and Naruto's words that faded into nothingness with him: "Don't be stupid, asshole," his friend said. "We'll always come for you."

A/N: Part two is up next! I hope you enjoyed this one, but part two is my favorite. Thank you so much to everyone who responded to "Eternal"! I definitely felt like it paid off, and it really made me so happy to see you all enjoy it. I know it's been a bit longer than usual since an update, so figured it was a good time to post two in a row! Please let me know what you think!

-MN