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...
The fact parents were supposed to protect their children kept running through Rasa's mind as he sat next to his wife, his dark brown eyes watching Gaara playing with blocks on the table. The testing went on for a couple of weeks, and the auburn haired man found himself dreading the answer. The specialist sat on the couch across from them, the other man's fingers lifting up a piece of paper, but not giving an answer.
Karura spoke first. "So..."
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"Gaara is on the autism spectrum." There came the diagnosis, and Rasa didn't feel any better, and instead felt himself sinking further into the deep end with each word the doctor said. While it was true that the specialist said Gaara could in fact live normally, everything the man said about autism not only sounded right, but also like something which would set Gaara apart from his peers. The auburn haired man's calloused fingers tightened slightly around Karura's wrist, and his breath tightened slightly.
The meeting with the specialist finally ended, but Rasa couldn't help but think that everything hadn't just ended for them, but just began. The man's dark brown eyes would drift over to his wife, and he flinched at seeing the rather miffed look in her indigo eyes. The auburn haired man shifted his eyes away, not speaking, but neither did Karura. She finally spoke when their two children came home, and they proceeded to explain things regarding Gaara to the two.
Kankuro's mouth twisted up into a pout. "So my little brother is a retard? I didn't want a retard, but someone I could play with and boss around."
"Your brother isn't a retard!" The chair Kankuro sat in thumped, and the brown haired child slammed one of the doors, making Rasa jump, his nerves being that on edge. One glance over at Gaara showed a small child who seemed just as on nerve as Rasa did. Temari however held out her hand to Gaara, and took him over to play with the blocks, and soon set herself up nearby on the floor doing her homework.
"Can you look me in the eye Rasa?"
The auburn haired man couldn't look Karura in the eye. "I just need to let this sink in."
"I also need your help."
"I'll try."
"I don't think that is enough. We'll talk again in a few days."
Rasa however found himself avoiding eye contact with his wife, and older two children, instead heading into his office, the guilt building up, the wonder of whether he couldn't have done something better. He leaned into his hands, the anxiety rushing over his tense body. The week came, and went, then another week, and another. Karura went over and over with him how they needed to do things differently, and suddenly he made a mistake.
"Why couldn't Gaara be normal?" Rasa leaned into his calloused hands, his auburn locks hanging down, his shoulder muscles horribly tense.
"What did you just say?" Karura's voice was tight.
