Notes: Formerly called Therapy, the title changed to Emotional Instability, and probably will change again. I have this entire story written out, and I'll post once a week until all seven chapters are up--probably on Mondays, unless I'm not here.

Disclaimer: Naruto and it's characters belong to Kishimoto. Not I. Boo.

Story Summary: Every afternoon, after school, Gaara meets with his therapist to try and figure out why he went crazy last year and nearly killed someone. At the same time, she helps him realize things about himself. SasuGaa mainly, mentions of NaruHina and HakuNeji.

Warnings: Rated M for language, abuse, male-male relationships (though there's nothing serious), mention of suicide, violence, and some other things.

Ah, the group therapy session. And some Sand-Sibling-Love. Not incest, you freaks, just them being all… friendly to each other.

llshadowmakerll - Reviewed twice in the same night, such dedication -tear- And, thank you. -smile-

green24 - Yeah, Chiyo's like "-stare- You're depressed, talk about it" and Gaara's all 'wtf?' And, him crying is just adorable. -hugs ChibiGaara-

Glil - I'm glad you get caught up in my story, I live to serve. As for things turning out better… Well, there's always the saying 'things get worse before they get better', right?

yukiislikesnow - Whoo, a new reader! -superheart- Glad you like it.

DemanTear - Whoo, thank you for the fave, and the review!

fullmetalguitar - He's not as homicidal because his life hasn't been quite as fudged up. But he's pretty crazy. Glad you're liking it.

Wow, six reviews! -hearts readers and reviewers-

Wednesday

Naruto looks nervous as we walk towards Chiyo's office together, and I don't blame him. He's going to get a lot closer look into my life than most people ever see into the life of their friends.

"You don't have to come, you know." I say as we approach the building, glancing at him. I asked him if he wanted to during lunch, and he was kind of slow to agree, but he did.

"Nah, it's okay. What kind of friend am I if I can't do this?" He asks, grinning, then nearly tripping over the sidewalk.

Holy hell, he's nervous. "Don't worry about it, Kankurou and Temari are gonna be there, and we're not really doing anything."

"I'll be fine…" Naruto says firmly, even if he still looks nervous.

I shrug, deciding to take his word for it, pushing open the door to the big office building Chiyo's office is in. As we climb the stairs, Naruto looks more and more nervous. It's almost funny, except that freaking out my friend wasn't exactly the plan of the day.

Kankurou and Temari are in the waiting room when we get to Chiyo's floor, and both greet us casually, as if Naruto isn't shaking with nerves. Or as if I'm not, for that matter.

At exactly three in the afternoon, the girl who sees Chiyo before me exits the office, walking to the secretary, sending nervous glances at us the entire time. I don't exactly blame her, my siblings and I can be described as 'scary' at times. Apparently she doesn't have group therapy, though.

Naruto nudges me once she's out of site and whispers--not so subtly--his question of her identity.

"That's Hyuuga Hinata, the two-to-three-p.m. patient. I don't talk to her." I whisper back, thankfully quieter than my blond friend. His face twists into a look of concentration for a moment, before Chiyo calls us in, and he just looks nervous again.

"Good afternoon Gaara, Kankurou, Temari, Naruto." She greets us all with a smile and a wave. Aside from the 'therapy couch', as I call it, there are now two extra chairs in the room. Since it's what I always do, I take a seat on the couch, while Kankurou and Temari sit in the chairs--my brother on my left, my sister on my right--Naruto looks around for a place to sit for a moment, before sitting down next to me.

"Well, now, how was everyone's day?" Chiyo asks us, smiling at each of us in turn.

"I got a promotion at work." Temari speaks up, since it's her unofficial job to start conversation if things get silent. She's freakishly good at it, must be a girl thing.

"That's good, it shows you're a hard worker." Chiyo smiles some, before looking at me and Naruto on the couch.

"I told the cafeteria worker that her cookies resembled rocks and made her cry." I say at last, almost laughing at the memory. Next to me, Naruto stays silent. Apparently he doesn't understand that being stared at means start talking.

"That's… interesting." Chiyo actually seems at a loss, but I can hear Kankurou trying not to laugh next to me. Suddenly, her sharp gaze is on him. "And what about you, young man? Did you do anything constructive with your day?"

"I… umm… I passed a history test!" It's funny how nervous Chiyo can make my big brother.

"Well, that's good news." She smiles some, sitting back. "And speaking of good news, Gaara, have you shared yours with anyone yet?"

I shake my head, unable to help it as I grin. "I don't have to come here for therapy any more, we figured out what's wrong with me!" I announce, looking around quickly for reactions.

Temari is grinning probably more than me, though she looks a bit surprised. Kankurou's staring at me like I'm crazier than he thought, probably because he didn't think anyone would ever figure me out. Naruto still looks nervous, but he throws an arm around me in a friendly gesture anyways.

"We're going to finish up this week, then we've gotta find someone who's good with emotions, or something, 'cause apparently I do the guy thing and keep everything bottled up inside, until it just explodes in some big, emotional burst of something. Which is what happened last year." I continue, glancing at Chiyo to make sure that's correct. She nods, before speaking up.

"I've all ready talked to some of my colleagues, and they're recommending someone who works in the area, down town." She adds in. For the first time, I notice that she doesn't have her yellow legal pad or tape recorder. Must be she doesn't expect a lot of therapy to happen today.

"Now that that's announced, Gaara, why don't you tell me about your day?" That manipulative bitch, I bet she hid the tape recorder so I'd feel more free to talk.

My day was, as usual, pretty sucky. I didn't get beat up on, exactly, unless being tripped in the hallways is being beat up on, but I heard enough things to put it up there on the miserable list.

Unbidden, the whispers I heard come back to me.

-Flashback-

"Fucking sick, isn't he?"

"Queer? You're sure?"

"Totally gay. And he likes Uchiha Sasuke."

"Uchiha Itachi said he caught the little fairy staring at him in the locker room."

"You know that Hoshigaki Kisame guy? He says that he found gay porn in his locker."

"Eww! And I thought he was cute once! That's just wrong!"

All day part of him had wanted to scream that he could hear them. But that likely wouldn't help, so instead he had tried to be less noticeable, sticking close to the walls and getting to his classes quickly. Somehow, nothing had happened in p.e. not even in the locker room afterwards, where he expected to get beat up.

-End Flashback-

Forgetting that I'm sharing the couch, I kick off my shoes and pulling my knees up to my chest, resting my chin on them. Naruto knows how my day was, he heard all the whispers, and since I 'came out' to him, I know they didn't affect him. But I can't help but wonder if when I relay the events of the day, he'll see them differently.

"My day sucked major balls." I start, just to let everyone present know how bad it was. "Somehow that bastard Itachi managed to tell the entire fucking school my big secret, even about Sasuke, and I had to listen to people whisper about me all day. Some idiots even came up and asked me if I had porn in my locker--which I don't." I pause here, letting out a slightly shaky breath. Even if I'm supposed to be showing my emotions more, there's no way I'm going to cry in front of my siblings and Naruto. They'd probably tease me about it for ages.

I glance up, and notice the thoughtful expression on Chiyo's face. I can tell all ready, she's going to call his parents, or maybe the cops. He could probably be locked up on harassment charges, and assault. Assuming his rich parents don't just pay his way out of it for him.

The worst part about today was lunch, by far. Our school is kind of small, so everyone has the same lunch period, and I happened to glance over at Sasuke today, and saw him staring at me. At first I couldn't read his expression, but then I saw it. His eyes met mine for a moment, and there was disgust there.

I remember thinking there goes my chance for a relationship, before I went to the nurse to get my afternoon meds. After that there wasn't much to think about, I was too zoned out for most of the day, until I met Naruto at my locker after school.

After the group session, which nothing much gets done in, Kankurou drives us all home, giving Naruto a ride, even though he lives in the opposite direction as us. He says it's the least he can do for a friend.

At Naruto's apartment complex, Kankurou stops the car, and I get out with the blond. He pauses, staring at me as I close the car door, one eyebrow raised.

"I just wanted to… thank you for coming with me today." I mutter, looking down. This is such a girl thing to do.

"Hey, no problem. Gave me something to kill time, and what kind of best friend would I be if I didn't?" he grins, and for a sick moment I think we're going to have a LifeTime moment and hug. Instead, he shoulders his backpack and walks towards the front door of his building, hand raised in a one-finger salute. "Later, Gaara, see you in school!" He calls, before vanishing inside.

I grin, waving before he disappears, then getting back into the car. I'm still grinning, and Kankurou grins back at me.

"There's an ice cream parlor between here and home, wanna stop?" He asks, his mind obviously all ready made up.

"Kankurou! For the love of God, it's October! Why would the ice cream place be open?"

"Because they make hot chocolate too, Temari." he counters my sister, signaling and pulling into the store. It's almost empty, but that's okay.

We make our way up to the counter, looking over to choices. I'm about to grab my wallet when Kankurou stops me. "My treat." he grins, pulling out his own wallet. I won't complain, I've been short on cash recently anyways.

"If you're paying, dear brother," Temari begins in an exaggerated way. "I'll have a double-scoop hot fudge sundae on a cone, with extra chocolate sprinkles!" She beams, and Kankurou looks nervous.

"I'll have a double-scoop strawberry, rainbow sprinkles." I add in, grinning like a fool.

"You guys are lucky I got paid yesterday." he mutters, pulling out a twenty dollar bill, giving our orders to the girl behind the counter. He gets a butterscotch cone for himself.

"Aww, thanks, bro!" Temari laughs some, hugging us both. See, this is probably another reason I like guys, if all girls are like Temari then any girlfriend I could have would scar me for life.

Once our ice cream is ready, we head back out to the car, not getting in yet. Kankurou turns it back on, turning on the stereo as I hop onto the trunk and Temari sits down on a bench, and Kankurou moves to lean against the side of our rusty four-door.

"Ya know." I say around licks of my ice cream. "This almost makes up for the shitty day."

"Hey, if people keep bothering you, just let us know. If I can't kill them, Temari sure as hell will." Kankurou tells me, making me grin.

"Hell yeah! Anyone who hurts my little brothers deserves a kick in the balls, with my steel-toe combat boots!" Temari grins, as Kankurou and I cringe.

"That might be pushing things too far." I mumble, even though the idea of Itachi holding himself and crying in a high, squeaky voice is wonderful.

"You guys are too nice is all." My sister shrugs, finishing her sundae, just as I take the last bite of my cone. Kankurou has been done for ages, he eats fast. "Anyways, let's get home, it's my turn to cook dinner, and Kin, one of my co-workers, gave me this great stew recipe!" I think Temari's the only one of us who enjoys cooking. Another girl thing, I bet.

--

Whoo, another chapter down, and this time I got six reviews. This chapter was beta'd by a friend of mine, since I begged him, and promised him there wasn't anything 'iffy' (like guys diving over each other and ripping their clothes off -giggle-), since I didn't wanna pressure narroch06 with another chapter, when I still haven't gotten Tuesday back yet. Anyways, enjoy, and five reviews gets you Thursday.

And Thursday is fun.