Chapter Text
Gaara rushed through the hallways of the bustling hospital. He dropped everything the moment he heard his husband went through an accident in their home, despite being in a highly critical meeting at his office.
He practically slammed his way into the private suite he was told Naruto was staying in. His breaths were ragged and his usual perfectly business-formal suit in disarray, eyes darting around to find his beloved husband who was not in his supposed bed where he should be resting.
"Naruto!" Gaara called out in panic, as he always found himself sensitive and restless in all matters regarding his significant other—a betrayal to his commonly nonchalant and emotionless attitude at his workplace.
"Gaara?" Naruto replied in a hoarse tone, his voice seemingly worn out from overuse.
Gaara’s eyes found himself looking beside himself, and there he was—his beloved husband, cuddled up in a fetal sitting position in the cornermost part of the large room. The man he loved most was covered in bandages from head to toe.
The red-haired man immediately rushed to Naruto’s side, embracing him tightly. His eyes couldn’t help but water from the hurt of seeing his husband in pain.
Naruto uncomfortably squirmed under him, but he couldn’t bear to hurt his friend, especially since Gaara was the only familiar face he’d seen since he woke up.
"Naruto-kun, thank the heavens you’re alive," Gaara said in a trembling voice, looking at his husband worriedly while wiping away the hair that was sticking to his face from his sweat.
The blond-haired man became confused at the overly affectionate way Gaara was looking at him. As his friend for as long as he could remember, he’d never seen Gaara act like this with anyone. He had always been nonchalant, even when they got closer, and outwardly cold to those who weren’t part of his inner circle.
"Gaara…" Naruto looked the red-haired man straight in the eyes.
"Yes, Naruto-kun?" Gaara softly replied while holding onto both of Naruto’s hands and running his thumbs over the back of them to comfort him.
"Where’s Sasuke?"
The moment Sasuke’s name was uttered, Gaara knew something was very wrong.
"What do you mean?" Gaara asked, his face filled with disbelief with a tinge of hurt. That man’s name was a taboo for his husband—so taboo that it had literally been years since he last heard it mentioned in full.
After a prolonged silence from Gaara, Naruto had a frustrated look on his face. It looked as if he was even angry at him for not having the answers he wanted. Despite the blonde man’s weakened state, he stood up and pushed Gaara away—not harshly, but it still made Gaara’s heart drop from the emotional hurt.
"Why does everyone look like that the moment I ask where Sasuke is?" Naruto angrily said as he paced to his bed, trying to look for his things, but for naught.
"Nobody’s been giving me answers, and I’ve been calling for him, but nobody’s telling me where he is!
Where even are we? I don’t see anyone familiar!" Naruto almost yelled the last part, his voice nearly breaking.
Gaara fell silent as he slowly came to understand what might be happening.
Suddenly, a doctor came rushing in, almost in a similar state of disarray as Gaara had been.
"Uzumaki-san!" the doctor called out exasperatedly.
Gaara turned around and went closer to the doctor as Naruto did the same.
"I would like to apologize for my mistake. I meant Uzumaki Gaara-san," the doctor corrected himself.
Naruto looked shaken at this revelation, and Gaara noticed it too.
Taking action, Gaara motioned the doctor to wait outside the suite to talk with him there. He softly closed the door after the doctor walked out and felt like everything right now was a nightmare come true.
"Naruto-san, I know you’re confused, and I know you're feeling lost…" Gaara softly explained, not turning to look at Naruto out of fear of seeing his face and expression.
"You seem to have lost your memories. I promise to get back to you and tell you everything you need to know…” He paused, struggling to find the right words. “ I’ll have to hear what the doctor has to say about your well-being first…
“Just please…
Wait for me patiently…"
The red-haired man finally gathered the courage to look at his husband, whose face was a mix of frustration, confusion, and… hurt.
Gaara felt his heart tighten in pain. The man he fell in love with looking so lost, confused, and seemingly losing all semblance of their love and memories together felt like a million knives stabbing at his chest.
The red-haired man slowly went out of the room, and through the gaps of the closing door, Naruto’s crying face in that brief moment made him angry at himself.