The village was shrouded in darkness and silence, cold winds cutting through the roads and side streets between the buildings. A man walked brusquely down a path in dire need of maintenance, arms wrapped around himself to stave off the cold. Most in Suna were fast asleep by this point. There wasn't much point in staying up this late. The only thing that happened was the desert dropped down to freezing temperatures that no-one in their right mind would be out in.
The man out there paused, leaning against a building and looking back the way he had come. He was aware someone had been following him, but he'd felt strangely safe with that presence behind him, as though the man a good twenty paces back was someone he knew well and could trust. The follower didn't stop, he kept coming. His whole purpose was to see what his big brother was doing out so late, with his face covered by hood and scarf. The younger brother approached, arm outstretched to pull down the hood, and the elder let him, staring at him with curious dark eyes. "You should be in bed." He scolded softly the moment the material was out of his eyes.
"As should you." Gaara responded, arms folded. With Shukaku gone from his body and mind, he certainly needed to rest, but every other night the tired Kazekage was awake in the living room after a long night of work. Maybe he was avoiding sleep, or maybe for the same reason Kankurou himself had been awake to see his little brother's struggles. The puppeteer rubbed his eyes, giving a slight shrug. "I didn't feel tired." He lied. The frown that crossed his younger brother's face told him at once that he could see right through him. The problem was, ever since that night those people had come and taken Gaara from The Sand, purely for the sake of the beast within, sleep had come hard to Kankurou. When he lay awake, he thought about his brother's lifeless form, the pain in his heart upon seeing him in that state.
The pain Gaara had felt his whole life.
When he fell asleep, he was trapped within visions of his brother's death, his failure to protect his family when they needed him most...the voices of those he let suffer and die and the mocking tones of those he couldn't defeat. His eyes found Gaara again, alive and well, and thought of the dreams he must have been having. Did he dream of everyone he'd hurt and let down? Did Gaara too dream of his siblings turning away?
"You were struggling to stay awake today." Gaara noted, taking an uncertain step closer, but still keeping his distance. He wasn't used to close contact or showing concern, but there was a clear difference in his frown to the one he usually wore. "Are you unwell?"
Kankurou paused, biting his lip and trying to fight back a yawn. He shook his head slightly. Part of him was still surprised when his little brother showed this concern, especially since most of his life had been spent fearing him. "I just wanted some air." He explained softly, which at the very least was true. "What about you? Why are you out here so late?"
Gaara pondered the question a moment. Why was he out here, following Kankurou? He'd woken after another nightmare, another chapter fuelling the pains in his chest. A nightmare of those closest to him and all the deaths he had caused, of them going away and leaving him alone again. Awake again, and no work to do for the night, he wandered the halls, and he'd heard the pacing footsteps within his brother's room. He saw him leave the room and building. Why follow, though? Concern? A need to spend time with his brother? Kankurou had been willing to risk life and limb for Gaara's sake. An act of...love? And if he would put himself in so much danger to protect Gaara, would the younger brother do the same? It made sense, didn't it? And what he knew of siblings...they were supposed to protect one another, weren't they? They were supposed to fix one another's problems.
He realised after a moment, that he had fallen silent through his thoughts. Kankurou decided to close that silence. "You couldn't sleep?"
Surprised by that, Gaara gave a slight nod. "You haven't slept much recently either. It is...a new concept for me...very different to what I am used to..."
Kankurou reached to him, but seemed to think better of it and let his arm drop to his side instead. He couldn't explain it, but for some reason when his brother's arm dropped rather than making the full journey to the Kazekage's shoulder, he felt a painful twinge in his chest. Kankurou was still afraid of him.
"You'll get used to it. And the bad dreams don't last forever." Really, the puppeteer should have taken that to heart himself, but instead he was out here, escaping the pain brought on from his own vivid night terrors. "You're not alone." He said, the sentiment coming from seemingly nowhere, even in his own mind.
"I know. Neither are you." Tense hands found tense shoulders, and Gaara wished he could transfer strength and courage to his brother with that one comforting squeeze. "You needn't worry about me, Kankurou. I'll be fine, and I'm alive. Calm yourself and get some rest." He pulled slightly, trying to encourage his older brother back home.
"I'm sorry." The puppeteer muttered.
He looked up again then, shocked. "What for?"
"I..." The question almost froze his throat. There was so much he could apologise for, all the years of looking at a brutally pained child and seeing only a monster father than his baby brother, desperate for some form of affection. Years of failing to be an older brother and showing the redheaded child before him nothing but fear and anger. Simply put, "I failed you."
Gaara's confusion only deepened. "You haven't failed me."
"I should have protected you. I should have been there to protect you, but I wasn't. I never did. I let you suffer. I let you die. I ignored every feeling you possessed and let everything crush you. I let everything fall apart, I just watched as this village, this family, pulled you into pieces."
Bright icy blue eyes widened in shock. A hand moved uncertainly, shaking slightly as it inched toward his brother's cheek. "Kankurou..." The puppeteer jerked away, guilt flowing through him, tears stinging his tired eyes. He turned away, desperate to keep his tough attitude up, not let his baby brother see him cry. "Nii-san..." He felt his breath catch in his throat. A memory flashed through his mind, of Gaara telling him he never saw him as a brother, but there he was, calling him big brother. "A group of shinobi could not defeat them without difficulty and losses. You did what you could, and I appreciate that you've wanted to protect me at all. You were one of the...You were the first to stop viewing me as the monster the entire village saw me as. That in itself-"
"But it isn't enough. I let you suffer, I made you suffer-"
"I did the same to you." Kankurou took a moment to let that set in before wiping his eyes and turning to embrace his younger brother. For a moment, he worried he'd gone too far, but the tense form within his tight grasp quickly relaxed and returned the embrace. "I'm sorry too, for every pain I've ever caused you."
"...I forgave you long ago for that."
"I've never blamed you for your fear. You've done nothing that would make me resent you. Apart from, maybe, harm yourself for my sake."
"You're my little brother. It's my job to protect you." He smiled slightly, and Gaara felt the corners of his own mouth tug upwards.
"But depriving yourself hardly protects me. Rest."
He was silent for a moment. "You aren't sleeping either."
"Perhaps I need someone to watch over me. Just as you do, nii-san."
"Ototo..."
Gaara turned, heading back home, and after a moment, Kankurou followed, a silent agreement between them to watch over one another, to protect even from the nightmares plaguing them both. To be the brothers they'd always wanted to be.
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