Part 8 – I'd Like (by Freshly Ground)

They never should have let up on their training.

He'd been foolishly forgetful. Akatsuki had stolen his demon and brought him to the gates of death. He'd let himself forget the fact that they would eventually come back for his love. And come they did.

What would you do if I kissed you?

What would you do if I held your hand and laid you down?

Sunagakure was a mess. The death toll had been staggering, buildings demolished to dust and sand. He'd fought back with his all, her too, but child rearing had softened him and had made her weak. Her mental and physical state was still frail. Still, on occasions, he'd find her washing her hands raw, find her shoulders shaking with sobs as she cried in the shower, glaring at the wet nurse from the shadows with hate. Sometimes still refusing to hold their child.

Things were already so hard for them, sanity held by strings, their tiny beginnings of a family even less that that. The world had never been, and would never be kind to them. Fate showed them his kindness by throwing Akatsuki in their faces yet again.

Would you find me overly unkind to you?

Would you call me insensitive, and say that I deserve to die?

She'd fought fiercely, calling on trump card upon trump card, slashing through the cannon fodder with graceful movements her body hadn't yet forgotten. Mere minutes into the battle and she was soaked through with the blood of the enemy. but she was out of practice and wore down fast, her bony shoulders heaving with every ragged breath.

He'd called her to him, his mind screaming to protect her, but she pressed onward and though Akatsuki failed in capturing her, they wounded her, badly, before the shinobi of the village managed to drive them away.

He sat by her hospital bed, face hidden in his hands, overwhelmed with self-loathing. She remained in a state of unconsciousness, body hooked up to a number of purring, beeping machines. Suna's hospitals didn't have the necessary assets to tend to her injuries. Konoha was her only hope if she wasn't to spend the rest of her life crippled.

What do I do with all these feelings tearing me up inside?

What do I do with all these wasted hours dreaming of you at night?

I'd like to call you sometime…

Yet if Konoha got their hands on her, they would do everything they could to ensure that she didn't leave their gates ever again.

Clouds crusted the sky. The sun did not shine.

What would you do if you knew the truth?

What would you do if I told you the story of my life?

He felt he could do nothing else but send her East. Within a few days, those she once called her team arrived to escort her palanquin kago out of the desert and into the lush forest that her home village resided in. His insides twisted with apprehension, hands wishing for nothing more than to snatch her away and cradle her in his arms. He felt his scarred heart cracking with every step the escorts took away from his village, taking his beloved further and further away from him with every passing heartbeat.

Would you find me overly familiar towards you?

Would you call me crude, fling me aside to the birds?

What do I do with all these feelings holding me back inside?

What do I do with all these wasted hours dreaming of you at night?

The entire world was leeched of color. The wet nurse stood beside him, Akane in the woman's arms.

A commotion then demanded his attention. The Konoha shinobi struggled, movements persistently gentle. Too gentle, he thought, as his mate tumbled out of her litter and into the sands. Even from the great distance, he could see the tears marring her cheeks as she hobbled upright, limping toward him in blind desperation, arms outstretched like the child she never was.

"Gaara!"

He didn't hesitate, running to her, aching to hold her in his empty arms. "Naru!"

I'd like to call you sometime

I'd like you to need me one time

She sobbed. "Gaara! Gaara!"

He only just managed to catch her as her shattered mess of a leg collapsed. Her fingers clung to him like a lifeline, her body shivering with hysterical cries. The Konoha ninja stared, knowing that they had truly lost the person that had once been their greatest asset, their eyes admitting defeat.

What would you do if I kissed you?

What would you do if I held your hand and laid you down?

"I can't go, I just can't go! Don't make me go, Gaara, please! I… I… I'd rather die that be without you! Gaara. Gaara. Gaara…"

Would you recognize it's a need I've been fighting for so long?

Would you recognize it's a hunger only you can fill?

He kissed her fiercely, laying his lips across every inch of skin he could reach. "It's okay." He murmured. Oh, if only those words were more than a pretty little lie. If only they could stand to be apart long enough to get her healed. But they were too dependent on one another; they needed one another more than life needed water. They loved each other entirely too much, to the point where their love could very well be the thing that sent them spiraling to their deaths.

What do I do with all these feelings warming me up inside?

What do I do with all these glorious hours dreaming of you at night?

Her blood continued to soak into the sand.

I'd like to call you sometime

I'd like you to need me one time

I'd like to have you all the time

I'd like to call you...