Work Text
The morning had been like any other. Gaara woke up in bed with you wrapped in his arms, sound asleep. He got up carefully, trying not to wake you, and went about his morning as per his routine. After he finishes eating his breakfast and is ready to head off to work, he peeks his head into your shared bedroom where he sees you exactly how he left you. A soft smile graces his face, his heart filled with immense love and adoration for you, his fiancee.
As his day went by, he had an unexplainable bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. No idea what for or where it came from, he tried his best to just ignore it, he was far too busy today to try and place the feeling. However, by the time he sat down for lunch, still working at his desk, he couldn’t stop worrying about anything and everything that could possibly be wrong in his life and in the village as a whole. Quickly scarfing down his food, he made his way to find his brother, Kankuro.
“Hey, bro, what’s up?” Kankuro greeted warmly with a big smile on his face for just a moment before seeing the look of anguish on his little brother’s face. “Hey, what’s wrong, Gaara? You got that look that always leads to trouble...” he inquired, his face now contorted with concern.
“That’s the thing, Kankuro, I can’t figure out what’s wrong. I’ve had this nasty gut feeling all day that something is wrong but everything seems fine. Is there any trouble I don’t know about in the village, Kankuro?”
Kankuro put his hand to his chin to think for just a few seconds before shaking his head in defeat. “Nah, everything’s perfectly fine, honestly. Nothing more than a few petty crimes here and there, nothing you need to worry about.”
Unfortunately, this doesn’t put Gaara’s mind at ease in the slightest, it only confuses him more. He furrows his brow bone in worry, staring off into space. He turns to leave, to head back to his office when Kankuro gently places a hand on his shoulder, his voice soft and filled with concern.
“You should head home for the day, Gaara. There’s no pressing matters that can’t wait until tomorrow so just head on home and relax, okay? Isn’t [y/n] off work today? Go spend some time with her, I know she’s been missing you lately.”
Gaara’s eyes shoot wide open and he whips his head around to look at his brother. “She’s not off work today, Kankuro. What are you talking about?”
Kankuro can’t help but laugh softly. “Stop messing around, Gaara, she’s not at work and she never takes time off, why else would-”
Before Kankuro can finish his sentence, Gaara is out the door, running as fast as he can back to his shared house.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Gaara ran up to the front door, fumbling with his keys before stumbling inside, calling out frantically.
“[Y/n]!? Please tell me you’re okay, love!” He runs throughout the house, looking for you everywhere before he finds himself standing in front of the shared bedroom, the door pulled shut, his hand on the doorknob as he collects his breath, trying to calm himself.
He slowly opens the door, hoping to see you laying in bed, sleeping peacefully but... nothing. He gently pulls back the blankets, throwing them onto the floor in a pile before his eyes land on your pillow.
There’s multiple spots of moisture, presumably tears. Gaara’s breathing starts to become erratic again. He knew that you had mental health issues and was always carefully keeping an eye on you so why didn’t he see anything this time? Why were you hiding this from him again?
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
Two years ago
It had been a rough month for the pair of you. What was supposed to be a time of joyous celebration, your 3 year anniversary, quickly turned into a time of stress and hospital visits. You had been struggling with your depression and anxiety your whole life but, up until recently, it had been manageable. You felt that you had found healthy ways to cope with it all and everything seemed and felt like it would be okay.
Until it wasn’t.
You had been stressed out about nearly everything in your life, it felt like it was crumbling apart under your feet. Everyday, you started feeling weaker and weaker, you knew why but thought you had it under control. Until you passed out suddenly at work.
After being rushed to the hospital and quickly admitted, you finally woke up in a hospital bed, confused and alone. Looking at the clock on the wall, your eyes go wide and you feel a panic starting to settle in as you realize you’d been out for nearly 4 hours and were late getting home for the evening. The last thing you wanted to do was worry Gaara and rack up yet another bill you couldn’t afford.
You try to get up from the hospital bed only to immediately collapse to the ground, dizzy and lightheaded. However, instead of colliding with the cold tile floor, a pair of arms catch you and pull you tightly into a hug.
“Do you have any idea how worried I was, [y/n]? What happened, love?”
Shit, it’s Gaara. The last person you wanted to see right now. You love him immensely, of course, but now he’s gonna find out about everything so you just bury your face in his shoulder, wrap your arms tight around him and just start crying.
Leading you to sit back on the hospital bed, sitting with you, he holds you close, burying his face in the top of your head. “Shhh, it’s okay, love, everything’ll be okay soon, I promise.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Gaara finally walks over to the en suite bathroom, the door oddly closed, slowly lifting his hand to knock softly.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“[Y/n]? Are you in there, my love?” His voice soft but loud before he subconsciously holds his breath, listening closely for any sound that you may be in there. A few seconds pass before he barely hears the softest sniffle and he knocks again, softer this time.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“I’m coming in, [y/n]” and with that, Gaara opens the door slowly and carefully, mentally bracing himself for anything.
Once the door opens fully, he sees you crouched in the tub, curled in on yourself, your eyes red and your face clearly wet with tears. His eyes soften as he slowly walks closer, not knowing your current mental state, not wanting to force you into an accidental panic.
“Hey, it’s okay, my love. Can you talk right now?” His voice incredibly soft, only for you. He crouches beside the tub, resting his hands on the edge, resisting the overwhelming urge to reach out and wrap you up in a big hug. He sees you softly shake your head and curl tighter into yourself, a couple more tears rolling down your cheeks. He smiles softly at you, starting to understand a bit more.
“That’s okay, [y/n], alright? You’re okay, I promise, but I’m gonna ask you a few yes/no questions and you just gotta shake or nod your head, okay? Can you do that for me, love?” You nod gently and you see his smile grow just a little. This is actually good, the fact that you’re able to answer questions is already a big help, he can try and help you himself.
“Good girl, you’re doing great... Do you know what day it is today?” You nod. “Okay, good, do you remember how you got here, in the tub?” Nod. “Did something happen?” Shake. His brow bone scrunches and he looks empathetic. “That’s okay, princess. Now, I want you to be honest with me with these next few, okay? Whatever your answer, I will not be mad with you, I promise. Can you do that for me?” You pause in thought before lowering your head, eyes cast down as you nod. “Thank you, princess, I promise I just want to help. May I hold your hand?” He gently lifts one hand, turning it over to be palm up, but not moving it closer to you before he sees you nod. He slowly reaches out, his hand inches from yours, allowing you to be the one to make the final move at your own pace, which you do after a few seconds. He gives you a gentle squeeze before continuing.
“Amazingly done, sweetheart, you’re doing fantastic.” He gently rubs his thumb across the back of your hand in soft reassurance. “Did you eat today?” Shake. “That’s okay, I can help you get something when you’re feeling up to it later this evening, okay? But I do need you to eat something tonight, okay?” You nod hesitantly, knowing he won’t let you get out of this one. “Thank you, princess. Did you end up physically hurting yourself at all?” He can see the struggle in your eyes as you look away quickly, trying not to panic. He gives your hand a gentle squeeze, knowing the answer but needing you to come to terms with it. “You can be honest with me, remember? You’re safe now and I won’t let anything happen to you, alright? I love you.” You take a deep breath and slowly move to look him in the eyes as you start crying again but nod. He can see and feel that you’re shaking now, slowly leaning forward just a bit while bringing your hand closer to him, kissing the back of your hand. “Thank you for being honest with me, my love, that was very brave of you and you make me so proud.” Your crying seems to pick up, hiccuping through each breath.
He continues to comfort you until your crying slows before he continues. He asks about what you’ve done today, if you’ve had any food or water, just getting more information from you while keeping you as calm as possible. As time goes on, you start being able to speak in small sentences, allowing Gaara to start asking you questions that aren’t yes/no.
“You’re doing amazing, sweetheart, just a couple more questions, okay?” You nod your head softly, now sitting closer to him with your head softly resting on his shoulder, his hand gently brushing through your hair. “Do you feel ready to move to somewhere more comfortable?”
He feels you lift your head off of his shoulder and watches as you slowly stand up, your hand reaching up to wipe your face. With a grin now on his face, Gaara stands up and holds out his hand for you to hold onto while you step out of the tub. As soon as both of your feet are on the tiled floor, you practically throw yourself into his arms, hugging him tightly, your face buried in his neck.
“I’m so sorry, Gaara, I really tried to not do anything but I just... I couldn’t and I failed you...”
“Hey now, you didn’t fail me or anyone else, okay? Recovery and healing is a lifelong process and it isn’t linear. Relapses will happen and it’s okay, wanna know why?” He places both of his hands on your shoulders, pushing you back just enough to be able to look you in your eyes. “I love you and I will always be here to help you get back on track. You are my world and I will do everything within my power to ensure your health and happiness.”
You nod gently before slowly walking back into the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed, Gaara promptly sitting himself behind you, hugging you from behind, his legs on either side of you and his arms wrapped around your middle. He kisses your head a few times before nuzzling into the side of your neck, pulling a soft giggle from you.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
You wake up to an empty bed, the sun low in the sky, and start to panic once you realize you’re all alone, your thoughts immediately racing;
None of that happened. He left you finally. He never loved you, dumbass. You’re unlovable...
“[y/n]?” Gaara’s voice soft before he gasps quietly, quickly making his way over to be in front of you, crouching down and placing both hands on either side of your face. “Hey now, what’s wrong, my love?”
Your eyes quickly find his, tears welling up before falling quietly. You wrap your arms tightly around him, talking in between sniffles.
“You’re here, I thought you left me, I thought I was alone again, that you never left work... You did leave work earlier to find me, right? I didn’t dream it?” You pull back just a little, searching his eyes for the truth.
“Princess, of course I left work for you. Kankuro said you weren’t in and I knew something was wrong so I came straight home. Do you remember what happened? What you told me?” You nod your head softly. “Good, and I’m still so proud of you, okay? But right now we need to get some food into that cute little tummy of yours!” He smiles wide and reaches to playfully poke at your stomach, causing you to giggle despite the tears. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up, lovebug, I went downstairs to make your favorite food for when you woke up, I hope you can forgive me?”
You look up at him in disbelief “Of course I forgive you, what kind of silly question is that? You don’t owe me being here until I wake up, especially if you’re making [fave food] just for me!” You can’t help but let out a soft chuckle at the thought.
You get up and follow Gaara downstairs, following the smell of the food into the kitchen where an entire feast seems to await your arrival.
“I may have gone a little overboard wanting to make sure you felt better after such an episode, my love.” You look over at him to notice a soft pink flush to his cheeks, causing you to smile softly.
“Gaara, you always make me feel so loved and cherished, you never have to worry about that, okay? I love you and you prove to me daily just how much you love me. Unless I’m in the middle of an episode, I never doubt your love for me, okay?” You walk over to him and wrap your arms lazily around his shoulders, only having to glance up just a little to look into his bright blue eyes. “The fact that you even left work for me is proof enough, especially considering your position in the village!” You lean in slightly, placing a gentle kiss to his cheek.