Rasa and Karura hoped for a third healthy child, but complications occurred resulting in their third child being born prematurely. Frustration grows for Rasa upon realizing his youngest isn't normal either, causing a strain on his marriage with Karu...
"This is the price I'm to pay for neglecting Karura like I did, and Gaara as well for that matter." Holding his small son in his arms felt wonderful for the auburn haired man, and briefly Rasa felt things would work out, but eventually everything came crashing down.
No first words.
No first steps.
The important milestones for small children came and went, and Gaara remained stagnant in his growth, staring up at nothing, finally turning over onto his stomach at the age Temari and Kankuro learned to walk. Rasa found himself looking into the mirror, wondering how something so small and frail could look so much like himself, except for the sea foam green eyes. The auburn haired man tugged at his tie, attempting to straighten out the aggravating object, Rasa's lips tightening.
"Daddy!"
Two dark brown eyes blinked, Rasa's mind coming back into focus, his head turning to look at Temari. "Yes?"
"We're going to be late for my entrance ceremony!"
Rasa sighed, a calloused hand reached up to ruffle his auburn locks in frustration. "I'm almost ready to go."
"Mommy's trying to get Kankuro to unlock the door, and Gaara's still only wearing a diaper! We're going to be late!"
The man's throat tightened, remembering how the infant, now a toddler, seemed to become upset whenever Rasa touched his youngest child. The calloused hand moved to pinch his nose bridge, the auburn haired man wondering if they would make it in time for the entrance ceremony at Temari's elementary school. His daughter's lips pouted up, and yet Rasa found himself unable to laugh at how much said pout reminded him of Karura's,.
"I'll take care of Gaara." Rasa's calloused fingers rubbed the back of the neck, wondering if it would be better to switch places with Karura, only to remember how his tongue the last year or so felt weighted down with cement every time the auburn haired man tried to communicate with her. Arriving in the living room, his brown eyes didn't pick up any sight of the small auburn haired toddler on the soft blanket Karura always placed Gaara on.
The man felt his chest tighten, but then Rasa saw Gaara slowly moving across the floor, seemingly pursuing nothing in particular. The man's brown eyes widened at seeing one small limb slowly move, and a pleasant feeling settled down into the pit of his stomach knowing that Gaara was finally crawling, yet the auburn haired man for some reason still felt agitation. Rasa stepped over to the toddler, reaching down to lift him up, two dark brown eyes noticing how small Gaara was compared to others his age.
Every thought smashed against a wall, the sound of screaming sending a sickening feeling riveting through Rasa's brain. Gaara was now in his arms, screeching right into his ear as if the auburn haired man had done something wrong. Hot tears ran down the toddler's cheeks, the auburn haired child's eyes squeezed shut, and his small fists clenching together before pounding into Rasa's body. The child tried twisting about, nearly lurching from his father's arms to the ground below, and the auburn haired man yelled out for Karura, not thinking that the screaming could get louder, but it did.
Gently Karura lifted Gaara from his father's arms, and began to sooth the child down, her movements slow, her touch gentle. The sandy haired woman ended up being the woman to hold Gaara during the entrance ceremony, and Rasa simply stared, not noticing the look Yashamaru gave the auburn haired man while video taping Temari's entrance ceremony. Soon after it became apparent that Gaara didn't like being touched, but the fact Karura could touch their youngest hit in a hard, nauseating way.
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The auburn haired infant wouldn't let Rasa touch him, and the toddler would start screaming if one calloused hand came near the child.
Something was wrong, and even Karura's facial features began to twist up in worry, particular every time a match of Gaara's screams and Rasa's stubborn silence started up. The auburn toddler started to tire them out far more then Kankuro or Temari ever had, which said a lot due to the fact the elder children were balls of energy. Rasa found himself taking an evening shift so Karura could at least return to work in the evenings, leaving him alone with the kids.
Shifts meant watching Gaara play with blocks on the floor, now that he was sitting up on his own, organizing them into various patterns, but never, ever touching the child. Rasa's mind would drift away while Temari worked on her school work at the table, and soon joined by Kankuro once his second entered elementary school. The auburn haired man had gotten the two off to bed, with Kankuro complaining. "It's not fair! How come Gaara doesn't have to go to bed!"
Temari tugged at the brown haired child's night clothes. "If daddy touches Gaara, Gaara will scream."
Rasa let out a sigh as his two eldest disappeared, and his brown eyes drifted over where he last saw Gaara, his arms crossing his chest, the rather stern parental look on his face. The auburn haired man's facial features softened upon seeing the toddler staring up at the moon, using the windowsill to pull himself up onto his two tiny legs.
The man headed over to where Gaara was, choosing to sit a few feet behind, leaning back so he could look at the white moon as well. "At least you don't argue with me like Kankuro does. You also seem to be able to easily entertain yourself, and soon you'll be walking hopefully. Do you even understand what I'm saying to you Gaara?"
No response came from the toddler who continued to stare up at the white moon above.
