Naruto 1. Chapter 1

**This is a revamp of a poor story that was forgotten in the midst of broken computers, writers block, and time getting away from me.**

**Hopefully it turns out better than the last.**

* * *

"Sakura?" Naruto ran up to the village gate to face his longtime friend. She turned to him, eyes hardened and cold, watching him with a stare he wasn't so accustomed to and wasn't so sure he liked. "Sakura, where are you going?" He was worried about her, that was true. The first time he sees her in five days and she's leaving.

"Shut it, Naruto. I know what I'm doing. Leave me alone." Naruto wavered in taking a step closer to her, his eyes incredibly hurt. He'd never heard Sakura talk to anyone like that, especially not him. Her voice was colder and more hollow than he'd ever heard it.

"I just want to know where you're going, Sakura." His voice was soft and a soft shudder ran through him. It was like the temperature was five degrees colder around Sakura and he didn't know what to do to make it ok.

"I've got a coin," she began, pulling it out from underneath her cloak, "Heads, I'm going to Suna. Tails I'm going to Ame." She flipped the coin, not even letting Naruto say a word, not even giving him enough time to intervene.

Naruto caught the coin one-handed, staring at the face without hesitation. "Heads," he said. Then, as if he didn't quite remember it was hers, he tucked the coin into his pocket. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him, but she didn't stop him and neither did she care. Just as she turned and was about to jump off into the trees, Naruto lurched forward and grabbed her wrist. She pulled away from him quickly, although his touch had burned her.

"What, Naruto?" She was becoming angry now. He had no right to stop her from doing what she wanted. She was a grown woman and he couldn't just sit around and treat her like a little kid anymore. It wasn't okay.

"You can't just leave without telling Tsunade," Naruto began, his voice rough and anger tightly reigned in. "You know she'll send someone after you to bring you back home." Naruto would love it if it would be him. He'd bring Sakura back home, where she belongs, not in some vast desert surrounded by people she barely knew. Sakura fixed him with that cold stare, and he shuddered when he detected something else in her eyes. She looked like she wanted to die.

"Tsunade knows I'm leaving Naruto. If she didn't, then I wouldn't be leaving so easily, would I?" Sakura gestured to the gates behind her, where the guards were watching Naruto warily, but didn't seem to be giving Sakura any sort of trouble. They'd went through the papers and she was ready to go. Now, if only Naruto would get through his thick head and leave her alone, that's all she needed to get away from the torturous memories that haunted her every living moment.

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto turned and ran, not even sparing a goodbye or any other word to Sakura. She shook her head, turning to leap off into the treeline. She knew that this was for the best and it would all be okay in the end. Sakura would make it okay, even if she had to find a way to end all the pain. She simply couldn't stay in her hometown any longer. The pain of the memories of someone now lost plagued her every waking moment and gave her nightmares when she tried to go to sleep.

"Granny Tsunade!" Naruto came busting into the Hokage's office. The presiding Hokage wasn't too happy about this, since she'd have to find another replacement door, mainly because the idiot ninja in front of her could barely hold himself back from breaking it down each and every time he wanted to talk to her. This time, he seemed angry.

"What, Naruto?" Tsunade shot at him, her eyes spearing him right through. Naruto stopped short of her desk, not expecting her open hostility. He had to have known that Sakura was running away from Konoha, Tsunade decided. Why else would he come bursting into her office at eleven in the morning? The idiot ninja was usually asleep by noon.

"Sakura said that you know she's leaving Konoha!" Naruto shouted, seemingly at the top of his lungs. Tsunade resisted the urge to throw her hands into her forehead to try and quell the ache he gave her. She sighed. She knew this was coming at some point, but she'd hoped Sakura could have gotten away without Naruto finding out beforehand. She didn't know what to say to him now, other than the cold, hard truth.

"Haven't you noticed anything wrong with Sakura, Naruto?" Tsunade's voice was steadily rising, her anger at the entire situation showing through. "She hasn't been eating. She looks like a skeleton in her work clothes and even her training outfit! She doesn't even leave her house unless she's needed at the hospital and she's stopped sleeping as well." Or sleeping too much, Tsunade wanted to add. Sakura had been late for several shifts at the hospital because she didn't have the motivation to get out of the bed in the morning.

"Why do you think she's acting like that?" Naruto asked, taking a seat in front of his leader. Tsunade was happy that he seemed to calm down some, at least. Tsunade sighed and shook her head.

"Having your fiance shot down in front of you and being unable to save him does that to some people, Naruto." Tsunade's voice hadn't been condescending in the least. She hadn't been sarcastic or mean about it. It was simply the truth. Sakura hadn't been able to save her fiance and she was taking his death harder than the rest of them, that was simply how it was.

"I thought she moved on from that," Naruto said softly. "It's been three months and she always said she was fine..." his soft voice trailed off and Tsunade felt for him, knowing it would be the hardest for Naruto to understand why she left. He thought himself like her brother, and the fact that he couldn't stop her from leaving would eat him from the inside out for weeks. Tsunade wished there was something she could say or do to make him feel better.

"Naruto, you know Sakura. She doesn't like other people worrying over her. Whatever she's trying to find, let's hope she finds it so she can come home and we don't have to worry anymore," Tsunade's voice was just as soft as Naruto's, trying to find a way to console him. Naruto only stared at her, that hopelessness in his eyes that she'd grown accustomed to seeing in a lot of people's eyes as of late.

"Yeah, I know. I just wish she could have found it here." Tsunade nodded, agreeing with him.

"Anyway, do you know where she went?" Tsunade didn't have an answer for that from Sakura yet, and she'd doubted she would until Sakura arrived wherever she'd been running to. Naruto shrugged, fingering the coin he'd stolen off of her.

"She's going to Suna. She flipped a coin."

"Ah." Tsunade pulled out a scrap of paper and scribbled on it, calling a messenger hawk. Placing it carefully in the compartment, she told it where it needed to go. With a high pitched shriek that broke both Tsunade's and Naruto's ears, the hawk was off and away. Tsunade hoped it would reach Suna before Sakura. She rose from her seat. "I could use some lunch. Ramen on me?" she offered. She wanted to make Naruto feel better and she was quite hungry.

"Sure." Naruto gave her a halfhearted smile and rose from his seat. He was still worried about Sakura and he wasn't quite sure how to handle this situation. He'd thought he'd made it clear to her that he was always there for her, but she still decided to run away from all of her problems to do hell-knows-what in Suna.

* * *

Sakura leaped from tree to tree, keeping up her grueling pace although she was already tired. Her habits as of late weren't well nourishing to her and her speed and energy were low. She still traveled twice the pace of a normal shinobi, hoping to reach the midway point by nightfall. There was a small town there and she would be safe. She couldn't survive on her own out in the woods all night. Since she was so weak, she'd barely be able to fight back.

Sakura looked behind her, knowing she couldn't see her hometown anymore. She sighed. Leaving that place was harder to do than she'd let Naruto believe. She'd lived there her entire life and had left her friends and family, thinking it a better idea to be away for a while. Maybe she was right and that entire maybe was why she'd left. She couldn't live anymore, dwelling on the memories of the past and letting them consume her.

She looked to the left and the right, even above her, heightening her senses and making sure there was no one nearby. It was dangerous traveling alone, she knew that, but she still couldn't ask someone to go with her only for them to go back alone. She'd be putting their lives on the line as well and the medic in her rebelled against that notion. Sighing, she pushed herself to increase her pace and before nightfall she'd found the small town at the midway point. Once a large campsite for ninjas of all other tribes to gather amicably and protect each other during the night, it slowly grew and built up over time.

"Can I get a room?" Sakura had hopped off to the nearest motel, not caring where she slept for the night. The seedy man behind the counter looked her up and down and smiled at her, though she didn't return it. She didn't like this man at all.

"If you help me out, I'll take half off the room," the man said suggestively. Sakura glared at him, that hard icy glare she'd become accustomed to using around other people as of late. She thought him disgusting and wished he had never proposed that.

"I'll pay twice as much if you leave me alone," Sakura said, low and rough as she leaned against the counter. Her eyes were dangerous and she flashed a concealed kunai at him as an intimidation tactic. The tactic seemed to work because his eyes grew wide.

"I-I'm sorry, please, t-take the room. It's f-free," Sakura smirked and took the key. Civilians were so easy to scare when they didn't know how to fight. That stupid buffoon probably didn't even have any basic martial arts skills. Sakura yawned loudly and shoved the key into the room, opening it only to lock it quickly behind her. Sighing, she flopped down on the bed and buried in the pillows, trying to get rest after pushing herself so hard.

_"Why didn't you save me?" his face, torn apart by the battle, mangled and beyond recognition asked her, his voice too rough and burnt. Sakura felt the tears come and she found herself on the ground beside him, a picture-perfect display of when she'd been trying to save him._

_ "I tried," Sakura said. No sound came from her throat as she tried to speak and the tears increased tenfold. She wished this would end, all of this would end._

_ "Why didn't you save me?" the ruined voice grew louder and the mangled man she'd loved rose in front of her, staring down at her with anger sparking behind the eyes that were no longer there. Sakura felt the tears increase tenfold and the ice in her heart reaching out to other places inside of her. Soon she would be all ice, she believed._

_ "I'm sorry!" Again, no sound came out._

_ "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE ME?!"_

Sakura shot awake, thrusting her hands into her hair. She was still crying, she found, and she couldn't help the sobs from wrenching themselves from her throat. She sat in the middle of the bed and cried for hours into her knees, whispering "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," over and over again, clutching at the necklace hanging loosely from her neck. It was the only thing she had left from him: their engagement ring. When she'd come back from that bloody battle, she stopped wearing it, stringing it around her neck instead.

In the morning, Sakura pulled herself from the fetal position and stretched, trying to get some of the tightness and soreness out of her limbs. She picked up her pack and ran out the door, down the stairs, and left the key for the room on the counter, the foreman not even there yet. She didn't care. She had to get on her way and get to Suna before nightfall.

As she began to run, the dream from last night reverberated through her head with every footfall. Sakura shut her eyes tightly, trying her hardest to forget the words the mangled form of her fiance had yelled at her. Tears sprang to her eyes again and she shook them off, pushing herself harder, going faster, trying to run away from all the memories.

Sakura didn't like being haunted by this. It was her greatest failure and she wasn't so sure what to do anymore than to run away. She couldn't eat, the nightmares kept her awake at night and when they didn't she found herself sleeping an entire day away. She couldn't find anything to interest her any more, not even work, and she simply sat in her house, staring at a wall all day. Tsunade had finally noticed and suggested she find some time away from her hometown.

Sakura felt some sense of relief blossom in her chest when Suna came into view in the late afternoon. She was getting tired and her chest was beginning to hurt from her overexertion. She didn't allow herself to stop, however, until she came face to face with Suna's guards. They observed her quietly, wondering what a Konoha ninja was doing so far away from her home.

"Hey, Sakura!" Sakura turned to see Temari walking towards the gate, a large smile on her face. Sakura didn't say anything, merely watched her come closer. Temari was slightly taken aback at the outright hostility Sakura was displaying towards her, knowing this isn't usually how Sakura acted. Temari only smiled and gestured towards the street. "Gaara told me to come and get you."

"Okay," Sakura nodded and began to follow Temari down the streets of a town she knew nothing about. She kept her head down, trying not to be noticed by the other villagers. She didn't want to be seen by them and she didn't want them talking about her every moment of the day. Things like that were simply exhausting.

"Gaara's happy that you came here. He doesn't really show it, so don't be scared if he doesn't really say it. He's been expecting your arrival," Temari was happy Sakura was here, she really was, but she could see there was an underlying reason for Tsunade sending her. It wasn't every day that Tsunade would send her most treasured and prized student to their village just to train some medic ninja who had the skill of a squirrel.

"I didn't think anyone knew I was coming," Sakura said, her tone dead and flat. A worried crease formed in Temari's brow. She wasn't used to this form of Sakura. Usually she was all smiles and giggles, waving off the trivial things and getting right down to business when she needed to. Now all she seemed was hollow.

"A hawk arrived earlier today," Temari shrugged. Sakura remembered seeing a hawk fly overhead and the passing thought of what it was doing. Sakura didn't react and followed Temari into a large building and up several steps to the top, where she figured Gaara's office was. Temari seemed to run away the moment Sakura opened the door to come face to face with a man that once almost killed her. He was writing at his desk and it was almost enough to make Sakura laugh. She never thought she'd see Gaara doing something like paperwork.

"Yes Temari?"

"Not Temari," Sakura matched his icy tone. There was a slight surprise in Gaara's eyes when he looked up at her, not expecting the pink haired girl to be in his village already. He hadn't been expecting her for another day in a half.

"Ah. Sorry about that. Wasn't expecting you so soon."

"Had a feeling," Sakura flopped down on the couch near his desk, her arms clasped neatly in her lap and one leg over the other.

"You're going to be teaching our medics how to heal properly," Gaara said, pulling a file from underneath a pile of papers, leaning forward to hand it to her. Sakura flipped through it, looking lazily at all the files and how much they all sucked ass. "I have a room we used to use to practice with herbs. It has several tables, large enough to lay out your dummies." Sakura scoffed. She hated those dummies. She thought she never had to see one again.

"Anything else?" She stood and was thinking of where she would stay tonight.

"Your sleeping quarters."

"And?" Sakura was quickly becoming bored. She wished Gaara would just come out with it. He stood and walked towards her, coming nearly too close to her. "Hey—wha-what are you doing?!" Sakurra immediately became defensive, trying to move backwards and put space between the two of them. Gaara sighed and grasped her wrist, momentarily stunned by what he felt there. Old scars, barely healed scratches, and deep cuts marred her wrist.

"Just hold on, will you?" her abrasiveness was getting the better of his temper. Gaara pulled her towards him, trying to put the thought of what he'd found out of his head. Gaara held onto her wrist and transported them. He found Sakura moving closer to him until her face was buried in his shoulder. She was scared. The sand fell away and Gaara looked about the room, knowing it was his bedroom. It was the most familiar place to him and so his sand always transported him here when he wanted to come home. Sakura looked around the room.

"Um?"

"You can stay in here. It's in my home." Gaara didn't know why he said it. He closed his eyes and opened them, looking around the room. He didn't let her know that it was his room. He didn't let her know that he barely came home to sleep and he kept that couch in his office so if he needed to find a couple hours for a nap. "Bathroom's through there," he pointed, "and kitchen's downstairs. I'll bring you something to eat tonight. There's nothing in there right now." His sand began to wind around him to transport him back to the office.

"Gaara, wait!" Sakura lunged forward and grabbed his hand, trying to tell him to wait a moment. Gaara flinched and pulled his hand roughly away from hers. There was a look of hurt in Sakura's eyes, one that he possibly couldn't miss, and he wondered why. Everyone knew he had an aversion to other people and their touch was no different.

What?" He asked, his tone flat. She looked up at him, her eyes still incredibly hurt, and she looked like she was about to start crying. Gaara sighed. "Really, Sakura, what?"

"You'll be back soon, right?" she bit her lip as she looked up at him. She didn't want to be alone and Gaara didn't know why she let her cold exterior fall away for this. Was she lonely? Did she want comfort? If she wanted comfort, he was the wrong person to turn to.

"Yes." He answered her and then he was gone. Sakura looked around the spacious room and sighed. When was being alone going to get easier? She headed for the bathroom and took a quick shower, then laid down in bed though she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep much. She laid on her stomach and pushed her face into the pillow, breathing in the unfamiliar scent of cinnamon and sandalwood.

* * *

Gaara sighed, taking a look up at the clock from his paperwork. He supposed he should get back to see how Sakura was doing. He sighed. He really didn't like babysitting other people because something terrible happened to them. Look at him. He'd had a demon stuck inside of him for fifteen years and he didn't complain much. He was a crazy psychotic killer, but at least he didn't go lording it over everyone that his life sucked.

On his way home, he stopped by a restaurant he particularly liked and ordered some ramen for the both of them. He knew she didn't particularly like it, mostly because Naruto fed it to her like it was manna from heaven, but he figured she wouldn't complain if he brought her something to eat. He left the restaurant and transported himself to his room, finding Sakura asleep on the bed.

Asleep was the easiest way to explain it, though.

Sakura tossed and turned, making a complete mess of his sheets and pillows. Tears streamed down her face and muffled words came from her mouth. She was biting down on her wrist, and all he could hear was "I'm sorry!" over and over and over again. He silently approached his bed, not knowing what to do, and stared down at her.

"Sakura." She didn't wake. "Sakura, wake up, you're having a nightmare," he reached forward to shake her awake, but she didn't stir from the nightmare. She whimpered when he touched her. He grabbed her shoulders and lifted her off the bed, trying to shake her. Tears dripped from her face and connected with his hands. He dropped her, as though burned. He looked at her, not knowing what to do. He couldn't call his siblings either, not unless he wanted this painted all over the newspapers.

Looking down, he grasped for Sakura's hand. Her hold tightened on him almost immediately and she stopped screaming, though tears still streamed down her face. She still writhed on his bed, twisting and turning and making it hard to hold onto her. His other hand drifted towards her shoulder and he pulled her up onehanded, sliding underneath her and laying her back down on his chest. He couldn't fucking believe that he was doing this.

The girl seemed to quiet the moment he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her. He leaned back against his messed pillows, his arms cradling her not too comfortably. She didn't stir, though. She readjusted in her sleep, pressing her face into his shoulder and falling into the crook of his arm. At least he found himself more comfortable. He didn't like the intimacy of this position or the thought that this girl would lose her temper once she woke and her rage would be pointed at him.

"Neji..." her voice was a soft murmur.

That's who she thought he was. He knew she was engaged and he wondered where her fiance was anyways. He should be holding her like this in the middle of a nightmare and Gaara was quite disgruntled that he had to do it instead. The girl hiccuped and Gaara found himself rubbing the space between her shoulders.

"Sakura?" He tried to wake her again, jostling her a little. She didn't wake and he wondered the last time she slept. Sakura was a shinobi, trained to wake up at a moment. If she was this deeply asleep, she must be bone-dead tired. He drifted his fingertips along her shoulders and upper arms. Underneath a thin layer of muscle, she was very bony. Since when did she eat last? Carefully disconnecting himself from her, he went to her pack to poke around.

There wasn't any food in it. Nothing that a shinobi should carry around. She had some extra weapons, a small pouch of money, and her small tent. Gaara frowned, wondering if she'd even eaten in the past two days. He heard a whimper from his bed and he sighed. Where was a fiance when you needed him?

Gaara rose and went back to her, sliding into his bed and wrapping his arms around her. If this is what calmed her, then so be it. He couldn't go calling anyone else when she would be in the paper the next morning, her personal life displayed for everyone to see. He knew now that Sakura wasn't well off. The difference in her demeanor and the fact that she felt like a walking skeleton told him that. He couldn't let her leave his home and let the others judge her until she gained a little weight. He didn't know if he could deal with it, but he didn't think Tsunade would be happy with him if he let her reputation get trashed.

Sakura began to murmur something under her breath and Gaara strained his ears to hear her. "I'm sorry..." She pushed herself deeper into Gaara's embrace, settling herself into that space again, making him much more comfortable. This was new to him, holding a girl. She was so small and seemed so fragile at the moment. She kept murmuring those words under her breath and she would try and push herself closer from time to time. Gaara stared up at the ceiling, willing for the time to go by a little more quickly.

A little while later, Gaara found that his arm was falling asleep. He tried to pull away from Sakura, but she clung onto him with a strength he didn't know she still had inside her. He sighed, trying to find a way to make this work to his advantage. Turning on his side, he found blood returning to his arm, but Sakura was jostled and she couldn't find that same place against him. Her eyes began to open, enough for her to turn on her side and push back against him, molding her body against his.

Gaara had been hoping that she was going to wake, but her eyes fluttered closed the moment she found herself comfortable and Gaara found himself trapped again. His arm was underneath her neck and she held onto the arm that was against his stomach. He knew pulling away from her would be more difficult and she looked like she needed sleep. Sighing, he stared out the window above her head, deciding that, maybe, he should let himself sleep. He wasn't getting out of this situation any time soon it seemed.

He heard Sakura mutter a soft "I tried," before he let himself fall into the black void of his dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura twisted and turned, finally waking up from a long sleep. She didn't really understand where she was. A heavy warmth was behind her and in her muddled state, she thought she was at home with Neji's arms wrapped around her. Turning, she was about to give him a kiss when she realized it was Gaara.

This realization hit her like a brick wall and she woke right up, her surprise freezing her and rendering her speechless. In all of her life, she'd never expected to wake up beside Gaara Sabaku, no less with his arms around her and body pressed to hers. His eyes flickered open and she felt a red hot blush creep up her neck and she subconsciously gripped his shirt in her hands, a reflex. She opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out.

"You had a nightmare and wouldn't wake up." Gaara didn't know why he went straight to the explanation when she hadn't even said anything yet. It seemed like he'd said exactly what was on her mind, though. She closed her mouth, but was still frozen to the spot, unable to move. He didn't know what to do now, his lack of social and intimacy skills holding him up in this area. He looked down at her, noticing now how her eyes seemed somewhat sunken from lack of sleep and lack of nutrition. Her cheekbones were too prominent and he didn't like it. Why would Tsunade send him a sick girl.

"Why are you so sick?"

"I—what?" she stared at him, stunned. Her voice hadn't been mean or harsh and he accredited it to the fact that she had just woken. He still stared at her, not knowing that perhaps this wasn't the best place to ask, especially when his arms were still wrapped around her and when they were so close he could see the patterns in her eyes.

"Look," he reached to her wrist and held it to her face. Just as her cheekbones, the bones were too prominent, sticking out from her skin. He took a cursory glance up her body and noticed that she had no muscle tone at all, no fat, no anything. Something stirred within him. There was something deeply wrong with this girl. He didn't like being the one to have to fix it.

She snatched her hand away from him and pulled the blanket over her shoulders, turning away from him. He was confused. He'd asked her a simple question and she wasn't even answering him. He'd thought she would have a little bit more respect for him, at least.

"You aren't leaving my house until you look better," Gaara said, staring up at the ceiling. He felt a small jump and a soft intake of breath. He wasn't in the mood for his attitude being spit right back at him, but she didn't seem to say anything. Maybe she didn't even want to leave the house, he figured. Maybe she just wanted to stay in his house, away from prying eyes and away from the whispers.

"How do you figure to do that?" her soft voice, not warm, but not cold either, rose from his side. He didn't know how to answer her at first. He didn't know really what to say. What could he say? He closed his eyes. Sakura shifted beside him, but she didn't move away. He wondered why. Maybe she missed laying next to someone. He didn't know why she was being so comfortable with him, especially with that fiance of hers.

"I have a bit of time off." If he had to sit at his home and babysit her, then he would. He didn't want to deal with Tsunade's wrath and her sadness if Sakura starved herself to death. He didn't want to face the consequences of Sakura's bad choices and malnutrition if she were to die. He also didn't like that he'd have to deal with Naruto as well, perhaps his only friend and the mutual one between he and Sakura.

"How does that fix anything? I'm better left alone, Gaara," her voice was sad, not shards of ice. His eyes were still closed and he wondered what her words could mean. Could she mean that she would rather just run the forests and the sand as a rogue nin until she inevitable died either because of starvation or of other rogue nins taking advantage of how weak she was? Or could she mean that he should just leave her be in his house and ignore her until she, yet again, inevitably died from malnutrition? He didn't know how to read into her words or figure out how she meant what she said. He wished he was a little better at dealing with people. He could simply shove her off into the hands of the psychiatric wing of the hospital, but he couldn't let her condition become public.

"If I leave you alone, you will die. If you die under my protection, Tsunade will break our alliance. The world is wider than what just happens to you," he said calmly, finally, after several long minutes of thinking over his thoughts. Sakura didn't say anything. She stared at the window across from his bed, her mind blank and eyes concealed from him. His words sounded harsh to her and it pierced her chest.

"Oh, if that's all it is," her words were needles now, intending to pierce him. It was if she was daring him to admit that he only cared about the alliance. It was true that he didn't care much about the girl, other than that she was one of Naruto's best friends. Would he save her from an attack? Yes. Would he try to make sure she was safe while on a mission with her? Of course. Did he care much that she was slowly killing herself? Somewhat, but he would rather shove her off on someone else.

"It doesn't matter," he said flatly. "If I allow your reputation to be trashed, I'll have Tsunade to answer to." He wasn't particularly afraid of Tsunade, but like the rest of the worlds' population, he didn't want to get on her bad side. Woe be to him if he lost the safety of reliable reinforcements. Sakura seemed to relax a bit.

"Fine." She didn't sound happy at all. He figured she didn't have to sound happy. She simply had to comply with what he said. As the silence continued, he realized that he hadn't eaten for hours, perhaps the day before, and he was quite hungry. He didn't know whether to get up or not, but realized that if he was going to eat, then he should have her eat as well. Preferably in front of him, so that he could be sure she didn't just throw it away. He thought of the ramen he'd brought back for her, but thought better of it. It was probably cold mush at this point.

"Stay here," he said, carefully detaching himself. He thought he felt her hand catch on his for a moment, as though she didn't want him to pull away just yet. "I'll be back," he said shortly, allowing his sand to envelope him. He figured there wouldn't be a restaurant open this early in the morning, but the market was always open by this time. It was almost like they never went home in the evening.

"Kazekage-sama!" one of his favorite vendors called him. Gaara looked up, catching the man's eye, and nodded. He approached the stall and eyed the man's various food items. This particular man vended fruit and he always seemed to find the best fruits here. "I just got a fresh shipment in today," he said, pulling up a basket from behind the counter. Gaara nodded and he weighed out some apples and oranges. Gaara took the bag from him, giving him a nod of thanks. He handed him payment, adding a little more than he was supposed to. When he went out, he liked to help his villagers, especially because their taxes gave him his paycheck.

"Oh, here," the man gave him a small watermelon as well. "You're always so charitable, Kazekage-sama, you could use an extra watermelon every now and then," the man gave him a wide smile, which Gaara attempted to return, although it was only slight. Gaara walked away from him, looking for the vendor that usually sold him eggs and bread.

"Looking for me?" he turned and realized that the man had moved his stall. At the questioning look on Gaara's face he said, "I make more up here. So what do you need today, Kazekage-sama?" Gaara finally stepped forwards to look over his bread and looked up at him, wrinkling his nose.

"I'm catering to a kunoichi from Konoha. Anything fresh?" He though he'd use the foreign affairs approach, though usually he'd just give the man a look and he'd bring something out from under the counter. The man smiled at him and pulled out a few fresh loaves of bread and the morning's eggs that had been collected. "Thank you," he gave him a few bills. The man smiled and gave him a couple extra eggs.

Gaara arrived back at his house in a whirlwind of sand. He saw Sakura on the bed still, though she wasn't asleep. She seemed to almost perk up when she saw him. Her eyes flickered over to him in a millisecond, from the book she'd been reading. Gaara watched her, waiting for her to make the first move, and that only ended up in a staring contest between the two.

"Um, hi." She didn't seem to know how to talk to him, either. At least they had that in common. Gaara nodded to her and went to sit on the edge of the bed. From one of the bags, he pulled out an apple and handed it to her. Sakura looked at it, almost like she didn't know what it was. He fixed her with a stare, waiting for her to eat it, put it to her mouth at least. She made no move. Finally after several moments of his eyes simply staring holes through her, she lifted it to her mouth and took a shallow bite. She chewed slowly and finally swallowed it.

This went on for several minutes. She would take a bite and then stare at it for a few minutes before taking another bite. Gaara simply stared at her, waiting for her to finish. It seemed like hours until she finally finished it. Now, she looked at him, almost like she didn't know what to do now that she'd finished. He gestured to a garbage can near the bed and she tossed it in.

"Here," he pulled out an orange now, making sure it was ripe before handing it to her. "I'm going to make some eggs. That better be eaten when I get back," he said, standing up to go down to the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway. "At least half," he passed a glance over her, enough to see that she had blushed and was nodding.

When he came back, he saw that she had, indeed, managed to eat half of the fruit and was still working on it. That made him feel a little better. Sakura shied away from him when he sat on the bed, but took the plate he offered to her. He didn't have to fix her with a stare this time, she began eating on her own. She ate slowly, chewing the food thoroughly and he supposed he should start on things like these. Especially if she hadn't eaten in a while or little at all, her stomach probably couldn't deal with tougher foods.

"I have to go to the office," he said after he finished, moving to stand. Sakura only nodded. "I put the rest of the fruit in the fridge, along with the eggs if you're hungry." She nodded again, still not saying anything. It was weird for him, making all the conversation. She didn't seem much of the social type either, though; at least not at the current moment.

"When will you be back?" she asked finally, softly.

"Couple hours." He moved towards her and wrapped his hand around her right wrist. She stared at him, slightly afraid, as he let a band of sand form around her thin limb. "Don't leave, I'll know if you do." Sakura stared up at him with wide eyes. "It won't hurt you," he assured her. She nodded, though slightly still afraid. He only turned away and then he was gone. Sakura only stared at the place he'd been.

Gaara looked up at the clock, now reading that it was half past noon. He sighed, looking at the pile of paperwork he'd completed. One more sheet and he was done for the day, having skimmed and rushed through most of it. Though he'd rushed through it, he was thorough and knew that he didn't make any mistakes. If there were any, he was sure his secretary would find them. She read all of his paperwork over before submitting it.

"Hey Gaara, we need you to—"

"No." Gaara flicked his eyes up to his sister, who stood in the doorway, her mouth still open. She flushed slightly while he stood.

"Um, what? You didn't even let me finish!" She was flushing in anger now, angry that her little brother had interrupted now. "We need you to approve something for the gala." Gaara glared, a headache starting at the moment. That damned showroom of his village was in another month and a half, he didn't see why he had to deal with the details right at this moment.

"It can wait for tomorrow. I've finished for the day." He really needed to get back to Sakura, to make sure she wasn't tossing and turning in his bed again and make sure she ate something for lunch. He could feel the sand he'd left with her, a kind of psychic connection, and he knew she'd gone outside. If he locked onto it, he could transport right to her.

"Can't you just approve this little thing?"

"What? What could it possibly be that you couldn't deal with, Temari. It's just a Gala for God's sake." He really didn't want to deal with the entire ordeal. He just wanted to show up in a month and a half, get through the night, and go home. He would find someone to escort, though he couldn't possibly think of who at the moment, not with how agitated that sand was getting.

"Just approve it." Temari slammed the folder down on his desk. Gaara glared and opened the folder, signing on all the lines. He caught a few of the words and it literally was just how the tables were going to be arranged. He was quite upset about it. Why couldn't his sister just approve this stuff? He glared at the folder as he handed it back to his sister.

"There. I have to go now," he whirled away in a swirl of sand, trying to locate Sakura.

She was outside, all right. On his balcony, staring at the world below her. He let a soft sigh, a relieved breath he didn't even know he was holding. He knew it was because no one could see her up here, no one would talk and no one would spread rumors about her that could make their way back to the Hokage at that damned Gala.

"Gaara?" She turned towards him when he let the sigh out and he flinched. He didn't know how heightened her senses were, but that was to be expected. She had been trained as a ninja for most of her life after all.

"I should have made sure a perimeter was in check," he said. He hadn't thought of making sure she could go on his balcony. It wasn't as though people could actually see her up here. He sighed. She only looked at him, her eyes confined and guarded. She stood from her seat and faltered in a step towards him. He watched her, mildly curious. "Have you eaten lunch?" he said, trying to break the awkward silence. She stood straight and stared at him for a long moment until she shook her head.

He stepped forward and reached for her arm, but stopped before he touched her. He didn't know how to do this. Being a nice person and all to someone other than his own sister and brother. It was new and slightly terrifying that he was actually instigating touch with another person. He finally lurched forwards and grasped her wrist, pulling her slightly to make her follow him back into the house.

"I would have followed, you know," she said softly. It felt good to hear that little piece of her old self show through. He let a small smile grace his lips. They made it to the kitchen and he sat her down in one of the bar stools around the island there. The island was his favorite part of the entire kitchen. Bar stools on one side, opening to the living room, and the kitchen on the other. She sat ramrod straight, her body tense. He noticed, but didn't say anything.

"What do you want?"

"I don't want to eat anything," her voice was a murmur, but his sensitive ears picked it up. He shot her a glance and she nodded. "I know. I just don't feel like it." She knew that he was going to give her something to eat no matter what she said, but she could still be truthful and let him know that he really didn't know what to eat or what she wanted.

"Since you haven't been eating enough, it has to be something gentle on your stomach," he said. Sakura was slightly surprised that he would know that. She didn't think he knew about anything medical, not what should be fed to someone who hadn't been eating. At the hospital, she often had to approve dietary plans for several patients that hadn't been able to eat, or those that simply had eating disorders.

"Eggs. Maybe pasta and sauce. Some of the more common vegetables. Most fruit." She didn't really go into the different vegetables and fruits. She wouldn't eat them if they were to upset her stomach. Gaara turned around and pulled a box from a cabinet behind him. He pulled out a small pot and filled it with water, setting it on the stove. He left it to boil before turning back to Sakura.

"Want to do something while we wait?" he didn't know what else to do. She was simply staring at the ground, her eyes soft and vacant. He didn't know why she was just staring at the ground like that, but he didn't say anything to break her out of her stupor. She shook her head slightly before looking up at him.

"Sorry, what?" she hadn't been listening. Today was a bad day. She'd been getting worse over the past couple of weeks leading up to her flee from Naruto and the others who simply looked at her in pity and she wondered what they were doing now. Everything was reserved. Did Hinata decide to simply have a party or a memorial so they wouldn't waste the money? Sakura knew this was the prime reason she'd run. She didn't want to be in her home on this day.

"Let's go watch a movie," he finally said, ignoring the fact that she hadn't been listening. Sakura only nodded and slowly got up, drifting to the couch as though she was in a daze. She wasn't even acting like the cold Sakura she had been acting like the day before. There was no fight anywhere in her today. Nothing. She was just being and he finally noticed. He didn't know how to ask what was wrong, though, and stayed silent.

Sakura sat down on the couch, still rigid and straight. He thought she'd want to get comfortable or something at some point, but she just sat as though at a meeting with the elders. He only shook his head and put a random movie in. He didn't really care what it was, only that he could find something other than Sakura to focus on. Taking care of an emotionally damaged person was driving him mad. He wasn't very astute to doing this.

"What kind of movie?" she finally asked, trying to make herself seem a little more normal. She didn't like this. Gaara leaned back into the couch and turned to her. He seemed comfortable while she just seemed tense. She only stared at the screen, not even meeting his eyes.

"What's wrong?" he hated that he was asking this. He hated that he was trying to delve into her personal life and he hated that she probably wouldn't answer and he would have to fight for it. He hated these situations and he rather wished that he could just disappear and leave her be, let her kill herself if she so wished. He wished that he didn't have to care about this disabled, sad girl, but he had to else he faced a wrath he didn't want to face. They said Gaara wasn't scared of anything, but he was scared of an angry Tsunade on a rampage.

"Huh? Oh, nothing," she said softly, still staring blankly at something. She hadn't even noticed that he hadn't answered her question, like she was more focused on something else. He didn't know what was going on in her mind right now, but it was driving him particularly crazy. He only sighed. Sakura looked over at him. "What?"

"I'd like it if you could just tell me. Obviously there's something wrong. Nightmares and you haven't eaten in who knows how long before I fed you this morning," he said. It was slightly surprising to Sakura. Since when did he care this much? Since when did he say more than the average person as well? Gaara only sighed and got up to check the water. When he got back, he noticed she'd shifted, sitting further back on the couch and had drawn her legs beneath her. "Ready to say something?"

"I haven't needed to tell anyone. Everyone knew," she said softly. It was true. When Neji hadn't come back from their mission, everyone instantaneously knew. It spread like wildfire around the village and most blamed her, especially the Hyuuga clan. Hinata was supportive of her and tried to make her feel better, but her father was another story. He shouted and raged at her, yelling that he had asked for Sakura especially because she could keep the heir alive. Sakura had only cried because it was all true. It was her fault he was dead.

Gaara tried to weigh the long silence. He didn't know whether she was going to tell him or not. She was too quiet, staring blankly at the television screen. He finally reached forward and timidly touched her hand. Her head flew up and her eyes found his. There was a faint blush on her cheeks, but she didn't pull away. He tried to give her this small comfort, tried to help her in some way that he didn't know.

"U-um, well, you know I am—I was engaged." Her voice was a whisper and Gaara questioned why she would say that she was engaged. She still had the engagement ring. He'd seen it around her neck at one point before she'd tucked it out of sight. "We went on a mission and, um, well, he didn't come back with me," her voice was hoarse and she was crying now, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. She wiped furiously at them, embarrassed that she was crying in front of him.

"He died?" Gaara needed to clarify that fact. Neji could have simply gone off on his own, to track someone down. People have been known to do that and sometimes it took years. Sakura only nodded. She'd taken her hand away from his to clamp it over her mouth, attempting to stem the hiccups and sounds she was making. She didn't like talking about. Many people had tried to ask her, and she just couldn't convey what had happened.

"I brought his body back so he wouldn't go on the MIA memorial," she said softly. Gaara only nodded. It was much more dignified that someone be brought back if they could. He was sure his family was happy about that, at least. She wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged them tightly to her chest, trying to give herself comfort. Gaara stared at her, thinking that she looked so vulnerable, like she was trying to hold herself together. He felt like she'd already fallen apart.

"Do they blame you?"

"A lot of them do," she said. "They said that I've always been weak and that it wasn't a surprise that I failed to save him." They'd said a lot more on top of that, but that was the nicest thing they'd said. She hugged herself tighter, feeling hollow inside. She heard Gaara get up and heard him pour the pasta into the pot. The water must be boiling by now, she figured. Then he was back. He stared down at her, his eyes guarded as he did.

Gaara was warring with himself. She looked hurt, vulnerable, and worn. He wanted to try and do something, but he wasn't quite sure what. He knew that when his sister tried to comfort him, she would wrap her arm around him and just hold him. Granted, he would usually push her off and glare at her, which made her angry as well. He didn't know how Sakura would act if he did it to her, though. He could deal with her pushing him away, though, so he figured he should just do it.

Finally, he sat down, much closer than before. He pushed his arms around her shoulders and pulled her against him. The girl squeaked as she hit his side. She stayed where she was, though. Gaara didn't spare a glance at her, didn't do anything but sit with his arm against her, the girl against his side. Sakura quickly became uncomfortable, though. She was pressed against him and he was rigid as anything. Slowly, she moved closer, pushing her body slightly against his so he would lean back on his seat.

Gaara relaxed his muscles, albeit against his will, and found that he was more comfortable. She rested her chin on his shoulder, closing her eyes. All she wanted to do was sleep. Though she'd gotten a lot of sleep the night before, she was still so tired. She'd tried napping earlier, but the nightmares came back and she woke up to find she'd made a mess of the bed again.

Gaara was surprised to find that she'd fallen asleep against him. He accredited it to her tears. They did take up a lot of effort and made people tired. He wondered how this whole thing came about. He was openly touching her, pulling her against his side, and allowing her to sleep against him. He would probably die if his sister and his brother walked in on him right at this moment.

He heard a knock on the door.

Of course his siblings would come bother him right now. Looking down at the girl, knowing something would make it around the village if they saw her, he scooped her up into his arms and quickly transported to his room to place her into his bed. He hoped she would be okay. He shoved things aside in the closet and found a small stuffed cat his brother had given him one christmas. He'd shoved it into his closet and never thought about it. He put it on Sakura's chest and went back to the door, the bell being rung a million times a minute now.

"What." he opened the door to see his siblings' faces, his brother's finger still raised to ring the bell again. Temari was laughing at her brother's antics and shoved past Gaara, flopping down on his couch. Gaara felt the need to rub his temples, but decided against it. His siblings knew how much of a headache they gave him, but they usually did more stupid things if they knew it was already coming on.

"What's up Gaara?" Temari finally asked. She pulled one of the drawers on an end table open and pulled out the chocolate he usually kept there for her. He didn't agree with bribing her, but she usually shut up if she had something in her mouth. She quite liked chocolates as well, so it worked to his advantage.

"Making lunch," he said flatly, moving to his kitchen. The pasta had finished cooking by now and he strained it out before dumping almost an entire jar of spaghetti sauce into it. He set the oven at the right temperature and poured the pasta into a casserole dish, adding a very generous amount of cheese on the top.

He went back to the living room, standing by the side of the couch with his arms crossed. He wasn't one to relax with his siblings around. Temari was thoroughly engrossed with the movie, about a quarter of the way through. Gaara thought it was quite astounding that she could gather her attention into a show the moment she saw it no matter where it was in the program.

"So, where's Sakura? Temari said that she came in yesterday." Kankorou had come to like the pink-haired woman after she saved him from the fatal poisoning he'd gotten when he'd battled Sasori. He liked the fiery woman and kind of missed her. It had been a good year since their paths had crossed and he wanted to mess with her again.

"She's sleeping. Don't wake her up." Gaara wanted to go and check on her, make sure she was okay, but didn't want to tip off his siblings.

"Gaara, she came here to sleep yesterday and I haven't even gotten to see her since," Temari was beginning to get off the couch. "If I have to go up there and search every room to find her, I will," Temari warned. She tried to intimidate her younger brother. Earlier in his life it wouldn't have worked, but now he was too worried about Sakura's condition making it's way around the village. He didn't want his own villagers saying that the girl was too weak to save any one and always was. He sighed.

"I'll go try and wake her," he said finally. He shot a glare at Temari, who sat back down, a smug smile on her face. He only shook his head and went upstairs and into his room. He knew he had to hide the fact that Sakura looked like a skeleton. The lights were dim and his siblings didn't spend too much time scrutinizing everything like he did, so he figured if he could find something for her that covered her arms and legs, she'd be okay.

Before waking her up, he went back to his closet and searched through it, looking for something that would fit her. He pulled out a long-sleeved shirt that was a size too small for him and some pajama pants. He turned back to Sakura and found that she hadn't made a mess of his bed. She was on her side, hugging the little stuffed cat to her chest, murmuring softly.

Gaara laid a hand on her shoulder and she slowly opened her eyes, staring up at him with a cloudy gaze. He wanted to smile at her. She looked down and smiled at the stuffed animal in her arms. She liked the little cat. She figured Gaara gave it to her. The nightmare wasn't so bad this time. She slowly sat up, cradling the little stuffed animal.

"My siblings are here," a stab of fear ripped into her body. She didn't want people to see her like this. Having Gaara around her, so careful of making sure no one saw her. It bled into her and she felt terror of anyone seeing her look like a walking skeleton now.

"I-I don't really want to..." she was scared and nervous and she didn't know if she could be okay to them. She'd been so cold to everyone for so long. So withdrawn and caught up in her daydreams. She blinked and looked up at him again. Gaara handed her the clothes. She held them up briefly and saw that he'd given her his clothes, big enough to hide her bony frame.

"Come down when you're ready," he said simply. He walked out of the door. Sakura immediately started changing, knowing that if she kept him waiting, he wouldn't be happy that he would have to come back up and get her. She looked in the full-length mirror and tried to hold back a grimace. Usually her training gear hid it, but she couldn't wear that just relaxing around the house. The clothes seemed to hang off of her and no matter how she arranged it, it didn't look any better.

Sighing, she decided that it wasn't going to get any better no matter how she arranged it or how she tried to make it look okay. She finally opened the door and ascended the stairs, her footsteps light and silent. Gaara was taking their lunch out of the oven and she felt a little sad that they weren't eating alone. There was no way he would try his awkward kind of comfort around his siblings. She never knew that telling someone who wouldn't judge her would feel so good. He still looked at her the same way and didn't tell her that she was weak and that she should have been able to save him.

"Sakura!" Temari popped up off the couch the moment she caught a flash of pink. She ran over to her and gave her a hug. Sakura stood there, unwilling to move. She didn't like this. The girl was squeezing her too hard and she felt like she was going to lose all her breath. "How's Shikamaru? And Hinata? And Naruto?" Temari was talking a mile a minute. "I haven't seen them in forever and I didn't have time to ask you yesterday. "Are they doing okay?" she added in a whisper, knowing about the entire situation that had sent Sakura running to Suna in the first place. Sakura only stared at her, slightly dazed and trying to keep up with the rate she talked.

"They're fine," she finally said. It came out harder than she intended. It always came out harder than she intended. She didn't like that it was so hard to talk normally to people anymore. Agitated with herself, she pushed past Temari and sat at the island, watching Gaara. Temari shot a look at her brother, as if asking what was wrong with the girl. Kankorou only shrugged and shook his head, confused. Gaara knew the girl was agitated. The sand he'd left with her was reacting to her emotions, the low-level psychic field it had reacted better to him, but he could feel that it was agitated, meaning she was about tenfold.

"Food's ready," he called to the other two. He turned to Sakura, "Will it be okay?" she only nodded. The food would be easy for her to take. She didn't know how much of it she would eat in front of his siblings. She didn't feel remotely hungry, either. She'd been eating so little for so long it was affecting her appetite.

"Here," he gave her a plate and sat next to her, waiting for the other two to serve themselves. They grabbed a couple more stools hiding in the corners of the kitchen and sat on the opposite side. The stools were supposed to be there, but Gaara had found them too bothersome and simply shoved them off into corners where they wouldn't get in his way.

He watched Sakura out of the corner of his eye as they ate silently. She was taking small bites slowly, though at least she was working on it. He'd given her a smaller portion than his sister would have. His siblings finished off the pan within minutes. He was glad he'd gotten enough for him and Sakura. She was still working on it while his siblings went back to the couch. Temari put another movie in and sat back to watch it. Though Gaara had long since finished his portion, he stayed beside Sakura for a few more minutes as she finished hers. He took her plate and placed it into the sink.

"What do you want to do?" he asked, watching her profile.

"I want to go outside," she said, looking to the patio outside. Because Gaara lived in the desert, there wasn't much else to his backyard. Simply a sprawling patio, covered by an overhang that lead off of the house. Gaara knew that it was cooler than most of the other places in his village. Gaara nodded and got up, letting her whatever she'd like.

Sakura got up and went outside, sitting in one of the numerous chairs it was equipped with. She hadn't been there for very long when Gaara joined her, his features showing he was somewhat irate. She turned to him and was about to ask what was wrong when he lurched forwards and wrapped his fingers around her wrist.

"Huh?!" She tried to pull away from him, but he was a little too strong for how weak she was at the moment. She flushed and realized he wasn't trying to take her anywhere. "Um, what are you doing..." it came out harder than she intended, again, but she knew he wasn't offended like his siblings. He seemed unnaturally good at this.

"I made it so that it would get agitated if you went outside. I have to fix it." He sighed and simply pulled the sand back to him and let more creep onto her wrist. He couldn't communicate with it when it was connected to her like that, being affected by her emotions. This time, it wasn't agitated that she was outside around his house. He nodded and turned to go back inside.

"Wait," Sakura said, a small, tiny bit of terror in her voice. She didn't like that he was leaving. He turned back to her and set his gaze on her. "Stay out here," she said. She didn't ask or anything, just said it. She knew that he could say no. She knew that he could simply turn around and leave, go back into his house and sit with his siblings, which he might like a lot more than being around her.

Gaara only nodded and sat beside her, staring out at the walls with her. There wasn't anything remotely interested around here, but the silence was comfortable and the company without the animate talking of his sister was a nice change. People didn't usually visit him, though.

"Do you think I'm weak?" she asked after a few long minutes. Gaara didn't start or anything, he merely thought it over. She was weak at the moment. She had malnourished herself and, until she had arrived here, overworked herself. She probably couldn't put up her dukes against a good chuunin.

"Right now? Yes." She flushed and looked down. "You're not taking care of yourself. That's mostly why people will talk. That's why I don't want anyone to notice. It'll get back to the Hokage eventually. How angry will she be that her prized student is being talked about in two villages?"

"Very," she said softly, leaning back in her chair.

"She'll be angrier at me if I don't stop it."

"I suppose." She wasn't used to hearing Gaara's soft baritone so much. She supposed that, because she wasn't up to talking so much anymore, he had to find something to say to break the silence. She was grateful for it. At least he wasn't judging her, just like everyone else who happened to see her bony figure, the scars and gashes on her wrists.

"As a whole, no." He didn't give out praise lightly, he hoped she knew that. "You saved my brother from something no one else could. You have the best chakra control of anyone I know. You are a superb ninja. Just because you couldn't save one person doesn't mean you're weak." He was speaking the truth. He knew that she was mostly looking for consolation, that everyone wasn't true. "They're looking for someone to blame."

"They should blame the rogue nin that killed him," she said softly. "There were just so many. They killed the entire squad."

"How did you make it out alive?" Gaara asked. He was curious. If the rogues had managed to take out an entire anbu team, how was she still around to talk about it? She looked down at her hands. She flushed.

"I was the cleanup crew," she said softly. "He told me to wait until they took out most of them and then make an earthquake to get rid of the rest. I didn't mean to wait so long," she said softly. Her timing had been a few seconds off. She hadn't seen what happened the moment before, but after all her teammates had fatal wounds that she couldn't heal.

"You couldn't heal any of them?" he asked. She must have had some chakra, at least enough that they could have made it back to the hospital. Before he knew it, she was crying. He heard soft sniffles and he looked over to see that tears were snaking down her cheeks in rapid succession. He knew this was probably hard to talk about. He knew that she hadn't relayed it to any other person, because they all already thought that she was weak.

"It was some kind of chakra-canceling jutsu. Whatever I put into them simply evaporated. The only good thing is that the guy that put it on them was killed by it too. I checked." At least that menace wasn't out and about simply killing off other people. "It killed all of them, actually. The guy just committed suicide to kill the rest of his teammates and all of mine."

"Some people just want to take everyone with them when they go as well," Gaara said simply. He would know. He was the same way. Though he'd never been particularly scared for his life, the time he'd had the tanuki pulled out of him didn't count, him being unconscious, if someone ever did, he usually went to take them out with him. If he had to die, then he could at least take out the man so they didn't go about killing others.

"But why did they have to take him? Why did they have to leave me alive?" So that was it. She'd been basically killing herself because she felt she didn't deserve to be alive. Gaara only sighed.

"Things happen, Sakura. You were lucky. He wasn't so much. Simply don't waste the luck." She blinked, though she was still crying. She had stopped sniffling a while ago. The tears had slowed somewhat, and he reached over to pat her hand. She grasped his and squeezed. He allowed her to hold it, hoping his siblings wouldn't burst from his home and see it.

"Are you nervous around your siblings?" she asked, not looking at him. She was finding his wall that fenced the property very interesting. He was shocked by her question. "You don't offer me comfort when they're around."

She'd noticed that he'd put her to bed and then his siblings were there. She had a feeling that he hadn't wanted to wake her, but that his siblings seeing him holding her were a completely different story. Gaara kept silent for long moments, his hand like a stone in hers. She didn't dare try to get closer to him, knowing he would automatically draw back.

"I don't touch people," he said. "You need it." She was breaking down his boundaries, making it hard to not comfort her and hard to stay silent and stay in an uncomfortable silence. She felt nice that he offered her comfort, the first one to do it since Naruto, who thought comfort was bringing her to lunch at a ramen place and forcing her to eat as much as he did. He'd done it once and she'd ended up throwing up.

"So you don't want your siblings to see," she said blankly, her eyes soft. She could understand it. She could understand that he didn't want his siblings to see him act so differently than what he usually did.

"If my siblings see, the rumor that you and I are going to marry will be in the village by nightfall." So yes, that as more of a let's not and say we did type of thing. Sakura blinked and nodded, knowing that would be the worst thing ever. "Anyways, the Hokage and some of the clan heads and heirs will be here in a month and a half."

"Oh?"

"The invitations are going to be sent in another week, but Suna is having a gala."

"Uh, those aren't actually that fun," she said, a small glint of amusement in her eyes. Gaara felt another pang of happiness that she let a little of her old self show through. It was nice that she was trying so hard to make sure her words weren't hard and cold. He knew from experience that it was difficult. Most of the time the old habit showed through.

"I know. I still have to find someone to escort." He didn't like the thought. Plenty of the girls in Suna were always all after him, trying to get him to go on a date with them or just straight offering children and marriage right off the bat. He didn't like any of them and he couldn't possibly think of some girl in the village that he would be able to deal with for an entire night.

"Why not me." she was being blatant, he knew. He knew it was a question though it came out flat and unpersonalized. He was the same way. He supposed that reason was why it was so easy to read into her words and find the questions there.

"I suppose so. You would have been on the list."

"Would do well for the alliance." She didn't sound very happy. It was true, though. If Gaara escorted her and showed Tsunade that he could make nice and have a personal friendship with one of Konoha's ninjas, it would be good brownie points for him. He only nodded. He simply hoped that the elders wouldn't read too deeply into it. They were already pushing for him to get married and have a child that could keep running the village.

"I'll escort you then," he said simply. She nodded. They heard someone approaching the door and instantly let go of each others hands, both looking towards the door. Temari popped her head out, looking as if she'd just found them having sex on the lounge chairs. Her face fell when she saw they weren't doing anything.

"Yes." Gaara wasn't in the mood to have his conversation interrupted. He actually liked Sakura's company. He felt like he wouldn't have liked her as much if she came all bouncy and bubbly like she used to be. He felt like it was easier talking to her and getting to know her, even though he had to make most of the conversation.

"We were wondering why you were out here," Temari said. Gaara thought it was obvious that they'd thought he and Sakura were getting it on outside. He wanted to point out that he would never try to have sex in public, even if it was on his private patio. Sakura blinked.

"I just wanted to be outside. Gaara joined me," she said blankly, her eyes far away. He still wondered why she was so lost in her daydreams. He didn't understand. Maybe she just wanted Neji to be alive again. Maybe she was just so lost because she could pretend he was Neji.

"Well, why don't you come back in? The movie's almost done. Maybe we could do some shopping. I still need a dress for that stupid gala." Sakura instantly recoiled from the two. She drew her knees up to her chest and stared at the ground. "Uh, Sakura?" she didn't answer. Gaara glared. He finally manages to get Sakura to come out of her shell and show her old self a little bit, but one word from Temari about facing other people and she draws back into herself. Gaara sighed.

"Come here," he pulled himself up and shoved past his siblings into the house. Sakura only stared at the ground, still drawn into herself. Gaara stood in the kitchen, his arms crossed and his face pinched in annoyance. Temari looked like she was about to shit her pants. She knew an angry Gaara was not a Gaara she wanted to deal with.

"Why would you say that?" he said. He didn't have time to think about his words or the volume of them. He simply couldn't believe that his sister was so insensitive.

"What do you mean, Gaara? It's Sakura. She loves going out and shopping. I didn't know she'd react like that!" Gaara stopped. He didn't let it show, but he'd forgotten that his siblings didn't know. They didn't know that she looked like a skeleton and had terrible nightmares. They didn't know that she was so weak, she couldn't even pull her wrist out of his grip. They didn't know because he thought that was best. He took a moment to find an excuse.

"She's still upset about Neji."

Temari slapped her forehead. "Fuck! It's her wedding day. No wonder she's so upset!" Temari still had the invitation at home. She had been going to drag Gaara along because it was an important event and such. She had forgotten about it since Neji had died and the entire thing was off anyways. She hadn't known Neji well, it had been easy to forget about his death.

"Seriously, how could you forget that, Temari? And how could you not tell us?!" Kankorou hadn't even known that Sakura was engaged. He was just getting completely walloped all in the same day. Sakura's engaged, her fiance is dead, and her wedding day just had to be today. He'd think that would be something important that Temari would point out.

Gaara only sighed. "I think you should leave."

"We're going to come back."

"Then bring dinner," he said flatly. Still a little annoyed with the two of them. Temari just nodded and quietly left, their brother in tow. Gaara sighed and turned towards the door.

"What are you doing?" the surprise in his voice stemmed the annoyance at his siblings, but that simply made way for agitation. Sakura had a kunai in her hand and he could smell the blood. He knew that she did this, but he couldn't believe that he had actually caught her in the act. Sakura didn't seem to care, though. She blinked. She turned back to her marred skin and bit into it again.

"Sakura, stop," Gaara grabbed her wrist. Sakura cried out and tried to pull her arm away. His hold didn't falter, and he pulled the sharp object from her hand. He threw it across the patio. It landed with a clang, but neither of them flinched. He sighed and looked down at her bleeding wrists. Several somewhat deep cuts were slowly bleeding, turning a good portion of her forearm a ghastly red.

"Leave me alone." Gaara only glared and pulled her up. She didn't go very easily and he only glared again before bending to scoop her up in his arms. He carried her into the house and up the stairs into his bathroom. He placed her on the toilet and got his first aid kit out of the cabinet. She only watched him in a daze, probably because she didn't even realize what she'd been doing or what he was doing now.

"This'll hurt," he said, pulling out an alcohol wipe to clean it. He gently brushed it over her wrist. She only stared at him, not even flinching or giving any sign that it discomforted her. He finished cleaning her wounds and pulled out some antibiotic ointment and some bandages. He spread the ointment over her skin, willing himself not to wince at the feel of open wounds. He supposed that he could have had a healer just patch her up, but they weren't very good and he didn't want her to get infected. Not to mention she probably wouldn't do it herself judging from all the other scars. She only stared at him as he finished bandaging her.

"Why." he stood to glare at her, trying to intimidate her into telling him why she just had to do it. Why she had to do it while his siblings were in the house and could walk out and see her. They would have flipped and he wasn't so sure she could have handled it. Sakura only stared at him, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. She looked so hurt and so sad and he didn't know how to make it all better. Sighing, he pulled the shirt sleeve down and pulled her up.

"Come on," he sighed and led her back to his bed. She crawled into it of her own accord. She curled up in the center and stared at the ceiling, her mind still painfully blank. He wondered what could have possibly been going through her mind to make self harm okay, but he figured maybe it stopped her from crying. Maybe it was just that one thing that made the pain bearable. Letting physical pain take over the emotional pain and let her just be.

"I don't know how to fix you."

"What?" she finally looked over at him, her eyes still glazed over. Gaara sat on the edge of the bed, not willing to meet his gaze. He didn't like this. He didn't like being frustrated over her and he didn't like trying to make her feel better. It confused him. He knew he was only doing this so she wouldn't die and Tsunade's wrath wouldn't reach him. He wondered why he just had to do this.

"You're broken," he said, his frustration showing through. "I can't fix you." Sakura blinked. She didn't know what to say.

"I'm not broken."

"You're hurting yourself. You're not eating. You're so weak you can't even pull your arm away from me. You have terrible nightmares. You're broken," he was getting more and more frustrated. He thought this whole confrontation about hurting herself wouldn't come for a while, after she got a little bit more meat on her body.

"I'm not broken!" she shouted. For once, she was showing something. Something other than ice and cold and emotionless facade. She was angry, he knew, but maybe it worked. "I'm just—just..." she trailed off.

"Stop," he said. He leaned back in his pillows and reached his arm out towards her. Sakura's anger seemed to have gone the moment it'd come. She stared at him for long moments before she finally moved towards him. She settled herself in the crook of his arm and laid her head on his shoulder. He sighed. "I'm going to take that time off. Obviously you need more help than just at mealtimes," he said. He didn't like this burden. Now the elders would have full reign over his village and he didn't like that.

"But I don't, I'm completely fine."

"You are not. Stop fighting me," he said flatly, leaving no room for her arguments. Sakura's mouth closed and she stared at him again. "You need to get better and stop running from all of this." He didn't know what he was doing in the form of helping her get better, but he seemed to be doing just fine as of late. He sighed and pulled the stuffed cat he'd left with her earlier from under the pillow. "Here."

Sakura took it and hugged it to her chest. Hugged being the operative word. She completely crushed it to her chest. It felt good to her, having something small in her arms that she could just squeeze. Gaara watched her, thinking she looked like a little kid. It didn't really bother him.

"Thank you," she finally said, pushing herself a little closer to him. Gaara didn't answer. He pulled a book from his nightstand, intending to read while she slept. She seemed to be nudging off already. He could understand it. She seemed emotionally exhausted. Perhaps if he could find the right way to help her, this would all blow over soon and she would be okay. All he wanted was for her to be okay and no longer terrified that she would be talked about.

"Sorry I'm so tired today," she said. This entire day was so tiring to her.

"It's okay. Just sleep," he said, already reading. Sakura only nodded, her movements slow. Gaara found she was asleep in moments and he was fine with it. Hopefully rest would help her with her emotional turmoil and make her a little more happy. He didn't like that she wasn't herself. He let her be for now and returned to his book.


	3. Chapter 3

"Would you like to come to the market with me today?" it was two weeks after her mental breakdown and she seemed to be getting better. Once in a while she would smile at him, vaguely, as though she didn't exactly know what she was smiling about. He'd found that she wouldn't calm at night if he wasn't with her, though he could leave her for up to three hours now while she slept. She still hadn't left his home, though she seemed to have much more energy and wasn't as deathly thin as before.

"Um, I guess," her voice was still quiet and she didn't quite have the mannerisms she used to have. He hoped he could have her back to normal and sleeping on her own by the time the Gala came around. He didn't think he could deal with how she clung to him for very much longer. He nodded to her and stood, waiting for her to join him. "Do we have to?" she seemed to be begging with him.

"It's faster," he said, his voice monotonous. What did she expect? It was simply easier to transport everywhere. She bit her lip and stared at him, rethinking her decision to go with him. He noticed her hesitation and held himself from rolling his eyes. "Come on," he said, taking a step towards her. Sakura reached her hand to him and he pulled her against him. She pressed herself against him and closed her eyes until she felt the sun on her face.

"It's so bright out here," she said, turning away from his chest. She turned back to him and rested her hand in the crook of his elbow. She didn't want to lose him, but she also felt much more comfortable when they were connected, especially since this was her first time leaving the indoors for a long while. Gaara only cast a cursory glance at her and ignored her on his arm. He tried not to think of how people would point and talked, but at least she wasn't holding his hand. That would make it worse, at least he thought so.

"What would you like?" he asked, finding himself halting for the first time. He had never really asked before, simply gone and gotten easily digestible food, eating what she did and not finding it within himself to actually care. He didn't know her body as well as she did. Perhaps she could take on tougher foods like meat. She only looked around the marketplace and shrugged.

"I don't really know your market that well," she said, her voice barely audible above the bustling, yelling, and general conversation of the wide street. Gaara began to walk, Sakura moving with him as he did. She seemed almost like a shadow, following him that closely. He stopped before the man that usually sold him fruit. The man turned to him and smiled, though Gaara waved him off, letting him finish with the other customer standing there.

"This is where I get the fruit," Gaara said, his explanation plain and simple. He gestured to the stand and stepped back, letting her chose what she wanted. Her hand slid down his arm to grasp at his hand and he allowed it, knowing it was that she was afraid to be alone. He could simply leave her there at any time he wanted, he knew that she knew it. She didn't want him to leave and he found her clutching at some part of him more often than not.

"Are your siblings going to try and join us for dinner again?" Sakura asked. He only nodded. They always came over for dinner at least one night a week and they hadn't been over yet. Usually, when it was this late in the week, they would be there and he wouldn't be happy about it, but he'd allow it. They had skipped the week before, afraid that they would upset Sakura again. Two weeks prior, Sakura had shut herself in her room and refused to come out when they'd brought back dinner. Gaara had only saved her a plate and brought it to her later, reheated.

"Did you want to find something so you could avoid them?"

"As long as they don't run their mouths again, I'll be fine," she smiled that vague smile at him and he found himself chuckling. She was being sassy. It was so different from how she usually was: shy and soft-spoken. She seemed to have tired herself out with all the anger and hate spat at the world and calmed herself into a much softer-spoken and shy Sakura. He liked that she didn't explode out of herself so much anymore and she seemed to have stopped reverting into her shell as well.

"I believe they learned from last time," Sakura turned to stare at him, her face a schooled mask, but she was slightly surprised. There was humor and amusement in his voice, that of which she hadn't quite heard before. It was a pleasant surprise, but a surprise nonetheless.

"Can I help you, Kazekage-sama?" the stall-keeper had finished with his last customer and he was now smiling openly at Gaara, though he seemed to ignore Sakura. Gaara knew that it was only because she seemed to be with him, but he wished that the man could at least give her a nod or something, acknowledge her presence. Sakura didn't seem to mind, she was busy looking over the fruit. He tried not to notice how very close she stood to him, now that the attention was turned to them.

Gaara looked down at Sakura, but she seemed unable to speak when the attention was on them. He was confused. Was she still too afraid around others? She'd seen Temari several times, but had not said one word to her since that day two weeks ago. Maybe she had reverted into her shell and he hadn't noticed because she had become comfortable enough around him to let her guard down. He didn't quite understand.

"Just—" Sakura tugged on his sleeve and he watched her eyes dart to several different fruits. He nodded to her and she seemed to relax minimally. "A melon, a half-pound of strawberries, a half-pound of blueberries, and a half-dozen oranges." She had only wanted the first three, he knew, but she had been eating oranges like they were manna from above, so he figured he could stand to get more. The man knelt under his stand and Gaara knew he was picking out the fresher fruit.

"Sorry, I-I..." Sakura whispered when the attention was off the two of them.

"It's fine," he finally said when he realized she couldn't find the words she was looking for. She settled her hand back into the crook of his elbow and he allowed himself to relax somewhat. She only nodded. She reached forwards for the bag the stall-keeper held out and Gaara handed over the money. Gaara only gave him half the tip he usually would have, mostly because the man had blatantly ignored Sakura. Gaara felt that, if the man hadn't ignored her, she would have been a little more comfortable. At least enough to pick out what she'd wanted.

"Come on," he said, leading her away. She seemed distracted, looking at all the stalls in the streets.

"It's different from my home," she began softly, her voice still barely above the noise. "Most shops are inside because it rains sometimes. Only when it's sunny for a while will they put something outside." Sakura had been telling him little facts like this about her home. He was wondering if she missed it and if she wanted to go back home. She only shook her head at the end of her statement and quickened her pace to fall in step with him.

Gaara picked up a few loaves of bread and a dozen eggs, though the shopkeeper had noticed Sakura this time, smiling and greeting her. Gaara gladly gave him the entire tip he usually did. He figured this shopkeeper knew that Sakura wasn't a ninja of this town and therefore deserved some kind of respect as she walked around with their leader.

"Kazekage-sama?" Gaara turned, Sakura opting to hide slightly behind him, to find a small girl, around the age of eight or so, staring up at him with wide eyes. He knelt before her, his face still a mask.

"Yes?" he wasn't good with talking to children, that was for sure. He knew enough to kneel and get on their eye-level at least. Sakura watched him, something akin to surprise in her eyes. She didn't know small children actually came up to him and talked openly with him. The little girl looked up at Sakura, who gave her the vague smile, and then turned her attention back to Gaara.

"My mom doesn't have any money for food today," she whispered, though it was rather loud. Sakura watched her companion with extreme interest, wondering what he would do and why this girl had come up to Gaara especially.

"Of course," Gaara nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a few bills. Sakura blinked as he count out several of them and handed them to the girl. "Remember," he nodded to her, "don't tell your mother," the girl blushed and smiled, then nodded and ran off to the fruit stand. Sakura watched the little girl go. She gave him a questioning look when Gaara turned to her and he only shook his head, muttering a "I'll explain later." Sakura only caught up with him as he made his way to a shop, though she cocked her head in mild confusion.

Gaara lead her into the shop, where she finally understood why it was inside. She shivered at the refrigerated air, causing Gaara to cast his glance at her, though she didn't say anything. He figured she wouldn't. He lead her to a side of the shop and nodded to the different meats lining the refrigerated shelves. Sakura looked over everything before picking a few things out and handing it to him. He turned towards the register, paying for the items as she hung back.

Sakura's hand was around his arm the moment he got back to her and they exited the shop. Sakura was beginning to feel mildly anxious, being out and about for this long in the village. She was afraid that everyone was looking at her and appraising her still-bony figure. It was an irrational thought, she knew. They were probably staring at them because she was walking so familiarly with Gaara, latched onto him, but she couldn't help but jump to the worst conclusion. Gaara seemed to notice how uncomfortable she felt because he pulled her against his chest, waiting for her to close her eyes, and transported them back to his home.

"Um, thanks," she said, looking around the room. He'd taken them to the kitchen for once, instead of the room he'd so thoughtfully given to her. She set her bag on the island and he followed her example. She began taking things out to put them away when she stopped. "I, um, don't know where anything goes," she whispered, looking quite sheepish. Gaara wanted to chuckle. She seemed a little confused.

"It's alright," he let the warm humor into his voice and she looked at him again. He detected the slight surprise in her eyes that she'd had before and he credited it to the fact he was allowing emotion into his voice around her. It had to be surprising, he knew, but he'd also spent the last two weeks alone with her in his home. He had to get comfortable around her at some point, just as she had to get comfortable around him at some point as well.

Gaara pulled food out of the bags and began to whirl around the kitchen, putting things where they belonged. Sakura watched him, her eyes still slightly surprised. She raised a hand to her mouth and yawned into it and Gaara noticed, his eyes narrowing at how thin she still seemed. She wasn't a walking skeleton anymore, but she still seemed rather anorexic.

"Think I could have some strawberries?" Sakura asked as he was about to put them in the fridge. He looked at her and handed them to her. She brought them to the sink and pulled a plate from the cabinet and a knife from the drawer. Strawberries were in season back home and she figured that was why the shops in Suna had them. They weren't usually sent out this way unless Konoha had a particularly nice crop.

"Cut some up for me as well," Gaara said, putting the last of the fruit in the fridge. He leaned his back against the counter beside her and watched her methodically rinse and core the fruit until she had quite a nice pile on the plate. She wrapped the remaining strawberries up and handed them to Gaara. He put them in the fridge and turned to follow her to the couch, where she picked up the remote and turned on the tv.

Gaara settled next to her and she automatically leaned into his body. This was normal to him now and he simply wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She liked laying like this and he just went along with it now. Ever since that second day that he'd willingly and consciously laid down with her for a nap, there wasn't a moment that she wasn't touching him when he was near. It had been annoying at first, but he'd gotten used to it after a while. It was comfortable now, laying calmly on the couch and watching some kind of numbing television show. It didn't really matter to him anyhow.

Sakura offered him a strawberry and he gladly took it, eating it. This had actually been the first time he'd seen strawberries in the marketplace since Sakura had come to Suna and he figured that they'd finally gotten the summer shipment from Konoha. Strawberries happened to be one of his favorites and he was pleased when Sakura had pointed them out to him. Sakura ate a few more before handing him another.

"Did you like going out today?" he asked, taking another from the plate. She finished eating before she even began to think about it.

"It was nice. Everyone scared me though," she said softly. "I guess I haven't been around people in a long time," that was for sure. The only people she'd seen in the past two weeks and maybe even before that were himself and his siblings. "What was that all about with the little girl?" she asked, popping another strawberry into her mouth. She was still curious about the entire thing.

"I told her that if she needed any food to come to me. Sometimes her mother doesn't have the money. I told her not to tell her mother because I won't allow my villagers to take advantage of me." Sakura understood it. He wanted to help his villagers and make sure they had enough to eat and all, but the older they were the more money they would ask for and the less they would work. Children were unassuming and didn't quite take his charity for granted. "I caught her stealing from a fruit stand a couple months ago," he added thoughtfully.

"You're a good leader," Sakura said, her voice soft. She was quite embarrassed to say it, especially what she was planning on saying next. "You have a kind heart." Gaara was surprised. He'd never thought Sakura would say something like that, not to him. He didn't expect her to say it because at one point in their lives he had tried to kill her. He didn't expect her to say it because the reasons he'd been helping her had started out selfish and assuming. She knew all of this and still said what she had. She put the empty plate on his coffee table and laid her head in his lap, closing her eyes. "You grew up, Gaara, that's not a bad thing."

Gaara was still quite speechless and he only rested his hand on her waist. He didn't know how to respond to her words, though he knew that they were meant in sincerity. "Thanks," he finally whispered, though her breathing had already turned slow. He didn't know when it got so easy to be around her and quell her fears, or when it changed that he wasn't just trying to keep her appearance from the village.

"Gaara?" Temari had come barging in through his door and he didn't have time to move Sakura and himself from their compromising position. She hadn't turned to him yet, but he didn't move, choosing not to care anymore than have her annoying questions about why he seemed to get up so fast. This had to happen eventually. Sakura was usually quite scarce when it came to his siblings. "Gaara, I needed to—" she stopped when she finally turned to him, her eyes quickly widening. "Um."

"She fell asleep," Gaara said simply, though he kept his voice low and quiet. He didn't want to wake Sakura. She wouldn't be very happy that Temari had seen her even though she'd been unconscious for most of it. "Be quiet, she needs her rest."

Temari watched Gaara move his hand up and down the girl's back, as if he was soothing her. Something about this situation threw Temari off. It didn't seem right. Gaara was known to hate people and stay away from them; hell was certainly freezing over that he was openly and consciously touching Sakura and not even jumping away from her although her head was on his lap and her hand was clutching at his knee.

"Oh. Okay," Temari hadn't caught anything but glimpses of Sakura since that day two weeks ago, but she had seen that Sakura was getting better. Her figure seemed to have filled out more since the day she'd arrived and she seemed to be less angry. Her eyes seemed more placated and there was less hatred in them as well. "Anyways, there's something I can't sign for you," she lifted a folder out of the bag Gaara hadn't noticed and she held it out to him.

"What is it?" he asked as he flipped it open, carefully holding it above Sakura so nothing would fall on her or brush against her. He made a mental note to start sparring with her, trying to get her energy up and keep her from getting more depressed from being shut up in his house all day, doing almost nothing but sleep. He knew she needed her rest, but he knew if she didn't get up and do something her condition would stagnate and she'd never get back to her old self.

"It's the invite list," Temari said, "The messengers are being prepared, but I can't tell them who to send them to, especially because I don't exactly have the list of our not-so-nice friends in the other countries." Gaara usually approved the people coming to his village. He was very particular on who entered his gates and he never let anyone else approve outside ninja who wanted in.

Gaara's eyes flitted down the sheet, narrowing every now and then. Temari handed him a pen and he put a check next to a few names. He handed the list back to her and she cast a quick glance over it, noticing that only four or five names out of about two hundred were crossed off. She expected much more, as she knew Gaara's attitude to outsiders.

"Thanks."

"Are you coming for dinner tonight?" Gaara asked as she was readying herself to leave. Sakura mumbled in her sleep and she shifted. He brushed his fingertips along her back to calm her, realizing that he had allowed his voice to be a little louder than it should have. "I believe Sakura was planning on cooking for you," he added, making sure that his voice was softer.

"Oh, sure. I'll tell Kankorou," Temari nodded, a small smile on her face. Gaara only nodded. He heard the door click behind her and sighed. At least she didn't actually say anything about the position he was in with the small girl. He didn't think he could stand that. He was glad he didn't have to tell her that Sakura was planning on them coming for dinner that night and she would be slightly disappointed if they didn't show up. He wasn't one for taking low blows with his siblings.

He stared at Sakura and nudged her, trying to wake her. She mumbled again and slowly opened her eyes after another nudge. She yawned and turned to stare up at him. She glared at him and he wanted to chuckle. She really did hate waking up. "Why'd you have to wake me up?" she asked, her mouth set in a pout. That only made him want to chuckle again.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

"Want to spar with me?" he asked, only too aware that his hand was still on her waist and she was staring up at him with her sleepy green eyes. Something seemed to light up behind them and she bounced off of him, intending to get her ninja clothes out of hiding and throw them on.

"As long as you go easy on me," she'd stopped at the stairs to turn to him and throw him that.

"You're still weak. I wouldn't want to hurt you," he didn't mean it out of spite and she seemed to know that. She gave him that vague smile and she ran up the stairs. He was glad that she didn't take offense to his blatant words and he knew it was because she was often the same as of late. If she'd come as her old self he was sure that she would have yelled at him for those words. He turned off the television and leaned back, waiting for Sakura. She was down soon enough, fixing her gloves on her hands.

"They still don't fit," she said softly, staring down at her clothes. Gaara had to agree with her. The clothes were still too loose on her and seemed to hang off her form a bit. He still shook his head, stepping towards her.

"It's getting better," he said. She only nodded and stepped forwards, pressing herself against his body. She never liked the way he transported, but he couldn't do anything about that. He whisked her away to one of the training grounds encased in Suna's walls. Sakura had never been there, but there really wasn't much to see. She looked around curiously, only finding that it was a large expanse of sand, walls surrounding it.

"Not a lot of places to hide," she said, her voice a little lighter. Gaara believed that she was feeling a little better that he offered to spar with her. There weren't too many people she could ask after all. He cast his glance along the space and shrugged.

"True. Suna ninjas aren't too good at hiding and surprising their foes. We're better at taking you head on. However, fighting in closed spaces like your forests prove a challenge for us," he remembered the chunnin exams and how closed in he felt. He didn't really care, he had his sand to work for him after all and he didn't really have to depend on hand to hand combat in closed spaces.

"Will you use your sand against me?" her voice was small, frightened, and he knew that she was remembering all those years ago when he had almost taken her life. He shook his head. She wasn't ready for that. They would only use taijutsu for now, helping her get stronger and rebuild all the muscle she had lost.

"Just tell me when you get tired," he said, preparing himself. Sakura only nodded, lowering herself into a defensive stance. He hoped that she would do well enough against him, though he wasn't sure. He hadn't gone against a Konoha ninja in a friendly spar. It had usually been a match. He shook his head and hoped she would say when she was tired.

A few hours later and he wasn't really feeling any fatigue at all, though he could see that Sakura was showing signs of wear. He also knew they should start dinner soon. He pulled himself out of his attack stance and she straightened as well.

"Are you tired?"

"A little," she admitted. She didn't say anything because she'd been having a good time, sparring with him. She supposed he was giving her a little leniency, but she didn't mind. She really was still quite weak.

"It's getting late, we should get back."

"Do you want to spar again soon?" Sakura was a little scared that he wouldn't want to. She wasn't much of a challenge at the moment and he couldn't be enjoying himself like that. Gaara stepped closer to her and pulled her against him, getting ready to bring her back to his home.

"Of course," he said, "Who else would you spar with?" she heard that little bit of amusement in his voice and she wasn't so surprised anymore. She figured that one of them had to show emotion and he just seemed to be the one to do it between the two of them. She knew there was still more ahead of her before she was back to her old self and he seemed to know that too.

He transported them to the usual room and he nodded towards the bathroom. Sakura seemed to get the picture and she grabbed some clothes before heading in for a shower. Gaara went to a different bathroom to clean up, though he could hardly say he felt disgusting. It was only a light spar for him and she wasn't as weak as he originally thought. She still had her abilities as a ninja, she was only weak in the physical sense. She did give him a run for his money several times.

"Gaara?" her soft voice startled him. He didn't particularly like the fact that he was behind a glass door that hadn't particularly fogged up yet and there was a chance that she could see his form. He hadn't done anything physical with Sakura, other than holding her while she slept to offer silent comfort, and he wasn't planning on starting. Though he could see some fine qualities in her that Neji had probably seen and had admitted that she would make a fine bride, indeed. He knew that she would never, ever be his bride and so banished any thoughts that he ever had of Sakura, even if they were strictly platonic. Who knew if she wanted to continue this friendship once she disappeared back to Konoha and out of his life?

"What?" he finally answered, trying to make those terrible thoughts leave his head. He had to remind himself that he was only helping the girl and nothing more.

"I, um, was just wondering if you had any more towels. You seem to have run out in the bathroom," her voice was smaller and he wondered why. He sighed. The maids must have been taking a relaxed approach to their job today and he didn't like when they were slacking. He'd have to have a talk with the company he used soon. He didn't like that they were slacking and Sakura had to interrupt both their showers.

"Look in the hall closet right outside this room. There should be some," he said flatly, not willing his eyes to search for her form outside the glass door. He'd heard the shower going before he left for his own private bathing and he didn't know how far she'd gotten and if she was currently wet and nude. That was certainly a picture that would be burned into his brain and refuse to leave any time soon.

"Thanks," she closed the door softly. He allowed his body to relax once she was out the door. He'd noticing when things started changing towards her, his thoughts at least. It'd been when they were laying in his bed one day. She'd been sleeping peacefully after spending a great deal of time reading with him outside. He'd look down and saw something that was forever etched into his brain. She'd been murmuring in her sleep and he didn't know what it was that caught his eye. He didn't know if it was her lips, slightly parted and forming half-syllables, or the fact that her hand was balled up on his chest, so close to her mouth, or the fact that her eyelashes fell against her cheeks just right, but he found himself staring and he found himself wondering what it would be like to wake up to her face every morning. Not like they were now, him offering her comfort even as she slept, but in the future, as if she would never leave his village. Those were the first of the thoughts he'd had to banish.

Now he tried whatever he could do to keep from looking at her face while she slept. He found himself doing it more often than not, though, and he wondered why. He couldn't figure out what was so appealing to him while she slept like that. She seemed so at peace, the memories and nightmares hidden and locked away while he held her.

Gaara sighed and finally got out of the shower. When he found himself presentable, he went back into his bedroom to find Sakura with his book in her hand, wearing some of his old clothes. He didn't know how she knew which ones were newer and which ones were older, but she never wore anything of his that he would usually wear. He didn't mind, though. She could wear anything of his if she wanted to. He only had one outfit and there were plenty of those in his closet.

"Hey, I was just wondering what you were reading," she was finding it easier to talk around him, he noticed. If his siblings were in the house she still found it slightly hard to control her tone and talk to them and he had a feeling it would still be a long while yet until she spoke to them familiarly, like her old self. Sometimes he still wondered how her attitude could have changed so drastically. "I should have known you would be into mystery novels," she turned another page.

"Would you like me to get more books for you?" he asked, knowing she'd already run through most of the ones he'd bought for her. He'd found, shortly after beginning to live with her, that she preferred reading to television and such. He didn't mind, he was the same way. She'd told him her favorite genres and had gone out and gotten her several books. They often sat on the balcony or the patio and read together until mealtimes came around, or when she was tired and they decided to go to bed, though he would often stay up later, reading, one arm curled around her as she pressed to his body and murmured softly.

"I think so. I finished the last one you brought me and I'm not the biggest fan of mystery," though she'd read it if she'd have to. She found that she loved any sort of book, though she loved drama and suspense the most. He'd gotten so many books for her already. They were stacked up on a desk in the room, two neat piles of almost twenty books each. She'd always found that if she really enjoyed a book, she'd stay up all hours trying to finish it.

"We can go to the market again tomorrow and go into the shops. Jewelry stores and book stores are often inside so the salesperson can keep an eye on people." She didn't really need the explanation, but she knew why he did. Most of the shops were out on the streets and under tents, even shops for clothing. Clothing was easily replaced, though, not fine pieces of jewelry and books that usually cost upwards of twenty dollars.

"Oh, uh, sure," she smiled that vague smile and he took it, knowing she wouldn't smile the first week she'd been with him. He figured she was doing better because the day of her wedding had passed and she was no longer looking forward to that dreadful day. Sitting down next to her, he picked up another book from the nightstand, opening it to read. He wouldn't take it from her now, knowing that she was enjoying it.

"What do you want for dinner?" he asked, flipping a page. Sakura blinked and looked up at him. She preferred to lay down while she read and oftentimes that meant she'd stare up at him when he'd say something. He didn't mind, but the look she always gave him, like she'd barely heard him because she was too lost in the words, completely stunned him.

"Oh, um, I don't know. Anything but ramen?" she supplied, her tongue poking out between her teeth. Gaara liked her like this. She was completely relaxed and nothing stopped her from letting her guard down. He supposed it was because she knew he wouldn't judge her or something of the like, but he didn't mind.

"Alright, we'll get take-out then," he said. He figured a bowl of his favorite curry would do, though he knew he'd have to find something else for Sakura, something that wouldn't upset her stomach like spicy foods would. She still didn't eat much and he was quite worried about her energy level, but she seemed fine when they were sparring so he shouldn't worry so much.

"Okay," Sakura turned her attention back to the book, though Gaara wished he could have his attention back on him. He'd had her undivided attention in his home for weeks now and it was starting to get to him. If she wasn't out on the balcony, he'd go and search for her. If he came home from the market and couldn't instantly find her, he'd lock onto his sand and transport to her. If she was late for dinner, he'd go and search the house for her. He liked the way she listened and the way she wanted to be listened to. He didn't think he'd have gotten to know her the way he did now if he'd met her under other circumstances.

They read until the sun left the sky and there wasn't any light left to read with other than a lamp closer to Gaara. He sighed and put down his book before looking over to Sakura, who didn't even seem to notice the change in lighting. She still read and he was slightly surprised that she'd managed to get more than halfway through the book without him noticing. Silently, he pulled the book from her fingers, marking the page she'd been on and placing it with his.

"That isn't very nice you know," she said, staring at him with her too-bright green eyes. He shrugged.

"You wouldn't answer me if I called you." It was true. A couple days ago he'd said her names several times and she wouldn't look up. He'd finally plucked the book from her hands and placed it on the nightstand. She'd only blinked, like she was still reading, until she'd looked up at him, dumbfounded.

"You've got me there," she sighed and pulled herself up into a sitting position. It was weird, being so close to someone so cold and distant. He didn't mind her, she found. She found that she could press herself into his side and she could lay her head in his lap and take a nap and he would simply sit idly by, reading. Once, she'd woken up to his fingers stroking through her hair absentmindedly, like he wasn't so sure he was doing it. Since then he would do it while he was reading or even watching a show together, even if she was awake.

"You need to eat." It was never 'we need to eat.' He always spoke as if he had to look out for her and make sure she was getting the proper nutrition she needed.

"Okay," she watched him get up and put on his shoes before giving her a pointed look. She sighed. Apparently she wasn't getting out of this outing either. Hoisting herself up, she slipped on her own shoes and then stepped close to him. He'd started wrapping his arms around her as of late. She felt that she didn't have to hide her face in his chest when he did that and found it easier to travel with his sand now. It didn't scare her as much as it did all those years ago.

They landed themselves outside a restaurant and Gaara immediately let her go, silently leading her into the place. It didn't look all that shady and much more of a civilian restaurant than anything else, but the moment Sakura walked in she could feel eyes on them, identifying their chakra. Shinobi littered every table and she wanted to groan. Of course Gaara went to a shinobi restaurant. Although a shinobi herself, she couldn't help but drift closer to Gaara. They weren't her friends, she knew, and she was wary around anyone she couldn't tell was a friend.

Gaara noticed that she moved perceptibly closer to his side as he placed the order, resigning to allow her to lean forward and grasp at his hand. He tightened his hold on hers, trying to convey that they wouldn't hurt her but he felt that he would have the same reaction if they were in her village, surrounded by unknown shinobi.

He lead her to a bench and sat, watching her sit tensely, eyes flitting to each corner of the room, trying to find where she didn't want to be backed up against and where the closest exit was and how many people stood in her way. She looked like she was trying to choose between fight or flight and he realized perhaps this wasn't the correct place to go on her first real day out in weeks.

"Calm down. They won't hurt you. You're with me," he said softly. She nodded, though her tense posture didn't calm. Her hold on his hand slackened only slightly and he could tell she couldn't wait to get out of there. She seemed ready for an attack, ready to defend and fight back. Although she was weak, those shinobi tendencies were still within her and ready to spring.

"Hello, Kazekage-sama," one of his shinobi came up to them and Sakura instantly tensed again, though she kept her face a carefully schooled mask. He cast a glance at her from the corner of her eyes and wanted to sigh. This was definitely not a place where he should have taken her so early in her endeavors. Maybe a civilian restaurant would have been better, where no one would have approached them.

"Hello," he nodded curtly, staring up at the man. He still seemed to intimidate this man although he was sitting and the thought put him at ease. He didn't like that people approached him as though they were friends and making them feel uncomfortable was the least he could do.

"I was wondering if you knew when squad ten is scheduled to come back? My brother is on that team and according to him they were supposed to back a week ago." the man seemed uneasy as well as uncomfortable. Gaara's eyes narrowed and the man thought he was going to cut him with some remark about not having to know every team's scheduled arrivals and departures.

"The end of the week, in the evening. Thursday or Friday depending on travel." Gaara's face had been made only because he'd been thinking. Squad ten had been sent to the very edge of their border to investigate camps left there. He'd had no word of a fight and knew they should be returning soon.

"O-oh, thank you," he finally managed to stutter out, turning and walking away as though he'd just been in a particularly traumatizing situation. Sakura only watched Gaara now, her eyes questioning and still guarded. He'd found that they never were left unguarded and he wondered what she didn't want others to see. He shrugged and got up when his number was called, collecting their food and leaving the restaurant.

"I apologize. I shouldn't have taken you there," he said coolly, stepping towards her and wrapping one arm around her. She leaned into him and when she opened her eyes she found they were back in the bedroom. "It was foolish of me," he continued from before.

"Oh, it's fine," she said, seemingly distracted. She headed for the balcony, Gaara following. He found that she didn't usually like to be inside though he didn't know how comfortable she could be faced with the vast emptiness of the sand. He knew it was off-putting to him to be surrounded by tall trees. He put the bag on the small table and shifted through it before handing her one of the Styrofoam containers.

"You were tense," was all he said before sitting opposite her, pulling out his own food. Sakura had opened hers and was picking at it, not knowing what she wanted to try first. She hadn't had much of Suna's food, but she knew it was rather dry and somewhat bland, not spicy like her home's. She tentatively took a bite.

"Wouldn't you be in a room full of unknown ninja?" she inquired, her sharp green gaze settling on him. He'd been startled by this gaze when she'd first arrived, always thinking her eyes were always soft and naive-looking, but being in their line of work changed a lot of people and he figured witnessing her loved ones die was what made her change.

"I suppose." He also supposed that she hid it well. Only he knew that she was so tense because she'd been next to him, holding his hand in a death grip. He watched her take another small bite of what he'd gotten her. Shifting slightly in the uncomfortable iron chair, he took another bite of his as well. This is what their time together was like most of the time. Silent. Merely coexisting with each other.

Sakura ate silently and got up when she was done. He checked her food like he always did and saw that she'd eaten most of it, just left some of the vegetables behind. Maybe she wasn't too big on vegetables. He sighed and gathered it all up, throwing it in a garbage can kept on the balcony that the maids routinely took out.

They heard the doorbell ring and Gaara sighed. It would just be like his siblings to interrupt a perfectly pleasant evening with the quiet woman currently taking up residence in his home. He shot a glance over to her; she stood by the door, waiting for him to go first. He found that she preferred to be in the back, watching behind them. Perhaps that was how it always was on her teams. He brushed past her and was aware that she followed him. She stood near the stairs, out of sight of the door, though he knew she was always listening. He thought she was simply being cautious.

"Hello," he said as he swung the door open to his siblings, who came in uninvited.

"Look who came to visit!" Temari practically yelled in his ear before a third person came in. Gaara visibly stiffened, ironing his will so he wouldn't look behind him to Sakura, who was tense and waiting in her own way. He knew she was ready to attack if this person happened to be unsavory, but he knew she wouldn't pounce unless she found him in danger. It had happened once when an elder came to talk a few things over with him and she had tackled him to the floor because of his haughty tone and the flare in Gaara's chakra. That was certainly a sight to see, though he didn't like explaining her actions.

"Nara, Naruto," he nodded to each of them. Sakura became frightened, he could feel it through the sand still connected to her. It bothered him. Why was she so frightened to see the people from her home? She should be glad to see them and glad that they had found themselves in the safety of Suna instead of a camp that was poorly defended.

"Hey, Gaara!" Naruto was louder than his sister and he narrowed his eyes at his friend. Naruto gave him a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his head. Shikamaru only nodded, his eyes dazed. He didn't seem to care that he was standing in the Kazekage's house. "We don't mean to intrude, but we were on our way back from a mission and thought we could stay here for a couple days instead of...you know," Naruto had been thinking of the same thing Gaara had.

"Don't worry about it," he said flatly.

"Is Sakura here?" Naruto said it in a hushed whisper, though Naruto's whisper was a normal inside-voice. "I wanted to see how she's doing and if she'd want to come home with us," at his words Gaara felt a spike of fear and didn't have to look out of the corner of his eye to see that Sakura had fled up the stairs and back into his room.

"She's here. I have to confirm whether she'd like to see you," he said airily, his gaze on Naruto. Temari looked worried in the background, her teeth worrying her lower lip. She only sighed, knowing Gaara would do what was best for the girl and flopped on the couch, turning on the television. She assumed one or both of the Konoha ninja would join her.

"What do you mean? Of course she wants to see us, we're her friends!" Naruto was taken aback at Gaara's words. Shikamaru had shrugged, knowing that if Sakura had wanted to see them she would have made her presence known. He sat with Temari, his gaze focused on the show now. Naruto was still fuming.

"If she wants to see you I assure you that she'll come down," Gaara pierced his friend with an icy look and Naruto finally stepped back, his eyes hurt. Gaara thought it really couldn't be helped. Sakura was still hurting and seeing people that she'd failed was only going to make it worse. Gaara turned his back on him and slowly made his way up the stairs, checking to make sure Naruto hadn't followed him.

"I don't want to." Sakura was sitting on his bed, staring at her hands, the words barely out of her mouth before he'd closed the door. He walked to the bed and sat next to her, his eyes just as concealed as hers were. He placed his hand over hers, trying to offer her comfort. She gripped his hand and held on tightly, her eyes still blank and staring at the floor.

"You don't have to," his voice wasn't soft, but it wasn't hard either. Sakura leaned into his side and he allowed her. He was sure this would have been different in different circumstances, but for now it was nice. He'd never known the comfort of physical touch before, not from someone that wasn't his siblings, and he found he enjoyed it.

"Gaara!" Sakura tensed at the sound of Naruto's voice reverberating off the hallway. Of course that idiot would come looking for him. "Have you found Sakura yet?!" he passed a look over her face and she looked about to cry, though he knew she'd wash it away in a second and treat him coldly, as though he wasn't really there.

"Come on, Gaara, open up!" Naruto had started banging on his door now. Every bang Sakura flinched and her hand tightened over his, her other rolling into a fist. She threw the door an angry glare, as though she was going to break it down herself and bash Naruto unconscious. This fiery temper Gaara had seen before. It made him believe, for a moment, that her mental state was getting better.

"Go away," Gaara finally spoke up, sending a glare of his own at the door. He didn't like his quiet home being invaded by the loud Naruto, but he was his friend and Gaara couldn't simply send him away. Sakura was still glaring at the door, willing for her friend to go away, wishing he would leave her alone and stop asking her to come home. He'd sent her letter after letter asking if she was coming home yet and if she was better and when she was coming home. She never answered them.

"No, I want to see how Sakura's doing." He sounded like a small child having a tantrum, stomping his foot and pulling a face until he got his way. Gaara sighed and looked down at the girl. She looked up at him and he could see that she didn't want to talk to him, and for good reason. Gaara never asked how she was feeling or anything a friend like Naruto would do. He simply sat and was with her. Gaara sighed again and got up, patting Sakura's hand in what he hoped was a reassuring manner before he went to the door.

"She isn't in the mood to see anyone," Gaara had opened the door and shown himself, though he kept the rest of the room, Sakura included, from view. It was good that he was still taller than the blonde by several inches and he easily gave him a haughty look, hoping he'd get the hint and go away.

"What are you talking about? Sakura's always in the mood to see me!" Naruto grinned, though his eyes turned dangerous the moment he looked back into Gaara's eyes. "She's my friend, I just want to see her." Gaara wanted to throw the idiot out of his house at that point. All Sakura wanted for a long time was to be left alone, not have her overbearing friends smashing down doors to fire question after question at her until she blew her temper and destroyed his home further.

"She's tired." Gaara thought of anything to say to him so he could finally go away for a while. "We sparred today. It wore her out. Go back downstairs." He was becoming quickly annoyed with Naruto and wished he would just leave it be.

"No. I want to see her!" Naruto tried to shove past Gaara, but the taller man blocked him, somewhat with the help of his sand. Naruto was no pushover and Gaara needed a little helping hand in staying in his place. He turned a dangerous glare onto the blonde.

"While Sakura is here, she is under my care. If she says she is tired and doesn't want anyone to bother then hell be it from me to go against her wishes," Gaara was emitting a dangerous aura, a breadth away from wrapping his sand around Naruto and removing him by force. "You know which room is yours, now go there or go find yourself entertained with Temari." Sakura still hadn't made a noise behind him, but he knew she felt grateful for dealing with the loud-mouthed idiot.

"Fine, but I want to see her in the morning," he grumbled, knowing better than to mess with Gaara when he was glaring as such and his voice was like sharpened knives. He threw a glare at Gaara before stuffing his hands in his pockets and sauntering his way back down the stairs. Gaara let out a deep breath he didn't quite know he was holding and turned back to the girl sitting on the edge of his bed.

"I got him to leave you be for now," he said finally, moving to sit beside her again, laying his hand over hers.

"Thank you. I just...I don't know what to say to him."

"I know," Gaara really did. He didn't know half of the things he wanted to say to his siblings, but he'd find a way to say it, in time. That's all Sakura needed. She needed some time to think things over and find out what she wanted to say to them. Her hand tightened in his.

"I am tired, though. Think I should lay down?" she was asking him if he'd come to bed with her, he knew. That was how she usually asked if they weren't already reading together. She bit her lip, knowing it was unfair of her to keep asking him to spend the night with her, to hold her and keep her nightmares at bay. He stared at her.

"I'll have to tell my siblings I'm going to bed. I'll be back up in a moment," he let go of her hand and left the room, knowing she'd still be sitting on the edge of his bed, waiting for him. She didn't like going to bed without him. She didn't like the nightmares.

"Temari," Gaara appeared in the living room and his sister's eyes automatically connected to his. "I'm going to bed. I've had...a very trying day," she knew what that meant. He'd had to watch over Sakura and that usually tired the both of them out before long. She also knew they slept together, tangled up in each other's arms. Temari had caught them one morning while looking for a spar and had to promise to keep it to herself if he was going to explain himself.

"Alright. I'll make sure these two get themselves in the right rooms," Temari nodded to her brother. Gaara nodded back. Once, he'd woken up to a very drunk Naruto trying to climb in bed with him at three in the morning. The contractors and maids were not very happy in the morning when one party came into a very destroyed house the next day and the other party had to fix it. He didn't say two words to the other three people in his living room, merely walked back up the stairs.

"Will he bother me until the morning?" yet again, her words were out before the door even shut. Gaara didn't answer her at first, taking time in locking the door and setting some sand in the hinges to be sure no one tried to push their way in without him knowing. He was a light sleeper, but he liked to have some warning as well.

"No. Naruto knows when to back off from me," as he expected, she was still sitting on the edge of his bed. He crossed over to her and stood before her until she sighed and moved to her side of the bed. She waited for him to lay down and find himself comfortable and pulled herself against his body, laying her head on his chest. His arm automatically curled around her form, resting on her waist. He supposed it was habitual now, this was how they always laid down to sleep.

"Are you tired?" she asked softly, already well on her way to sleep. He pulled his book from the nightstand, shaking his head before opening it.

"I'll go to sleep soon. Just get some rest." He knew she would fall asleep on her own, but he knew she was also worried that their friend would burst into the room looking for her. She sighed and closed her eyes, listening to Gaara's rhythmic heartbeat and the turning of the page every now and then. He felt her slowly drift to sleep, much more slowly than he would have thought she'd have.

* * *

Sakura awoke with a start, her head against Gaara's chest at the sound of banging. He was cradling her head, his arm wound tightly around her waist as he shot a death glare at the door. Of course Naruto would be up at the crack of dawn no matter how late he'd gone to sleep the night before. Gaara wanted to sigh and knock some sense into the idiot. Sakura let out a soft sound of disapproval and Gaara looked down at her, pulling her closer to him.

"Why does he have to be a loud idiot at seven in the morning?" she grumbled, still tired and not very happy at being woken up. Gaara only sighed, deciding to pry himself from Sakura and go deal with Naruto. He didn't know what had possessed him that he would cradle the woman to his chest, trying to block the intrusive noise from reaching her, but he went with it and she hadn't woken for the first few moments.

"I'll deal with him," he said darkly. Gaara didn't take well to being woken in such a way either. Sakura sighed and laid her head back down on the pillow, pulling the blankets up around her. It was quite chilly in Suna during the night and she found herself almost on top of Gaara every morning, seeking his warmth. To be fair, Gaara would have wrapped both his arms around her and pulled her snugly against his body during the night as well. "What." Gaara swung the door open to find Naruto mid-bang. The idiot's mouth fell open at the sight of Sakura on the bed and Gaara wanted to hit himself for not remembering to block his sight.

"Are you _sleeping_ with Sakura?!" the intention was clear in Naruto's voice at what he thought he was doing. Sakura was slowly becoming angry. She didn't like Naruto's tone and it wasn't like they were actually having sex.

"No."

"Then what is she doing in your bed?!" he was angry, they both knew that, but Sakura couldn't find why. If she was, in fact, sleeping with Gaara, then he had no right to butt in and try to control the situation like a father would. She had one of those in her life and as an adult, she didn't exactly need one anymore.

"You idiot," Sakura threw the blankets off of herself, momentarily chilled by the cool morning air drifting through the window before she stalked up to Naruto, hitting him over the head. Gaara could tell she was completely pissed, even without the help of his sand. "It doesn't matter what we're doing in here. If I wanted to fuck Gaara, I can do just that. You aren't my father, so don't act like it's a _huge _surprise I actually have sex!" Sakura glowered at Naruto, a dangerous glint in her eyes. It made it funnier that she was still wearing Gaara's clothes, completely dwarfed by them.

"But Sakura—"

"'But' nothing. It's rude to wake someone up at the crack of dawn. We aren't all you, Naruto. Now go find something to do. I'm going back to sleep," Sakura shot another glare at him and stalked back to the bed, sliding back under the warm blankets. Naruto looked sheepish as he exited the room, not even sparing a glance at Gaara.

"How do we get more of that to come out?" Gaara lightly joked as he got back into bed at Sakura's glare. She immediately pushed her body back into his and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest. She seemed to find comfort there and he didn't mind it so much anymore. Before he went to sleep every night he would pull her close and allow her soft breathing to put him to sleep. He didn't know how he would get to sleep without her beside him now.

"Keep me perpetually angry?" she said, a glint of amusement in her eyes. Gaara scoffed. He didn't want to deal with an angry Sakura no more than the next person. "Yeah, I thought so," she settled herself more comfortably against him and pulled the blankets over her shoulder. Gaara didn't mind the chill, but he didn't mind the warmth they shared either.

"Did you want to go to the market after it warms up?" he asked, staring at the ceiling.

"I thought we were going to," she said softly, still slightly sleepy. She was waking up, though. Her tiredness had returned when she'd climbed back into bed, but there wasn't any way she was going back to sleep now. She was still feeling anger at the idiot. Gaara shifted underneath her and pulled her on top of him. She made a soft sound at being moved, though found herself more comfortable. She rested her head on his chest.

"Would you really have sex with me?"

"What?"

"Just wondering." He'd thought it funny after the fact and the look of utter bewilderment on Sakura's face made it completely priceless. He figured she hadn't been expecting that to come from his mouth.

"Well, um, I guess I would," she blushed at being caught in her own words. She hadn't really though about what she'd been saying before, she was far too angry for that, but she had to admit that Gaara wasn't bad looking at all. She just never felt the need arise over the past couple weeks.

"Naruto's staying here for a couple more nights," Gaara commented.

"May as well keep him up?" Sakura laughed. She knew they didn't mean anything by the way they were speaking to each other now, but it was certainly fun to think of ways to keep the idiot up so he wouldn't break down the door at the break of dawn again.

"I would think so," until now Gaara hadn't even thought of kissing Sakura. He'd been first too annoyed that he had to take care of an emotionally damaged woman and then he found himself enjoying her company, but kissing her was still something he didn't know how to feel about. Her comment earlier had certainly startled him, but he supposed she would be one of the first people he'd want to have sex with if the need ever arose. She certainly wasn't ugly. His fingertips drifted over her back, rubbing. He heard a squeak and felt her shiver.

"What?"

"Your hands are cold."

"Sounds like a personal problem," he still rubbed her lower back, trying to soothe the rest of her anger out of her. On the rare occasion she had a nightmare as he held her she would wake up like this, on his chest and his hands running over her back. He found it soothed her and she would relax against him. It was a nice way for them to lay.

"Yeah, it's your problem and you're making it personal," she sassed back at him. He only smirked at her. She sighed and let her head drop to his chest, enjoying his touch even if he was freezing. She didn't know how to explain their relationship, friendship, and didn't care to try. She didn't worry over it and just let him comfort her and soothe her in the ways he knew how and in the ways he was learning.

"Would you like to spar today?"

"Only if Naruto doesn't insist on tagging along," she quipped. She didn't need to listen to him yelling about how rough Gaara was being on her or bits of advice she didn't really need. She didn't need to replenish her chakra stores or anything, simply build up the muscle and resistance she'd lost from her eating habits and overworking herself.

"I'm sure I can make him stay like a good boy," Gaara said, his hands stilling. He looked over to the clock. "It's almost eight now, if you'd like to go to the market now." They could get some ingredients to make breakfast, since he was sure that Naruto had eaten most, if not all, of the things they had gotten the day before. That's how it always was when Naruto came to stay for a couple days.

"Sure. Get that out of the way before Naruto tries to 'wake' us up," she said, pulling herself off of him. She went to the dresser, Gaara having insisted that she unpack her clothes so she didn't have to go through her pack every morning, and chose some civilian clothes she rather liked. She turned around to go to the bathroom when she was met with Gaara's chest.

"Don't go back with them, if they ask you too," he said after several moments of looking at her stunned face. "You aren't ready," he didn't know what made him say it. He simply couldn't stand the thought of Sakura going back so soon. She still had a job to complete here as well and as soon as she saw herself fit, she'd go to work.

"I still have a mission here you know," so she hadn't forgotten. That was good at least. "But I agree. I'm not ready to go home. I came here to get away from it all and I think that means for more than a month," she ended her words softly and he nodded. However far she had come would disintegrate the moment she heard the rumors spreading of how weak she was again. That was something he didn't want to see. He'd seen her torn down and helped her build herself back up. She might not be able to do it again. "Does it make it seem like I'm running from my problems?" she asked just as quietly.

"You came here looking to run away. I believe I made you change your views. You're no longer running away. What would you have done? Wasted away and died or beat everyone that looked at you the wrong way?" Gaara was speaking sense, she knew, and she sighed, pushing her way to the bathroom. He watched the door close before going to his closet and pulling out one of his many, many shinobi outfits. She would fight him in her civilian clothes, he knew, mostly because they were only working on the physical side of fighting and they wouldn't get too ruined. Especially since sand was easy to wash out.

Sakura came out of the bathroom and Gaara had to admit that he stared. She was wearing hip-hugging capri pants and, though he would have scoffed at anyone else that wore them, she was doing herself a justice. She had a simple tank top and sandals that quite looked like Tsunade's on her feet. He had to remind himself to look away from her.

Sakura walked over to him, pulling her hair into a small messy bun at the back of her head. If there was anything she hated it was hair on her neck. She had to remember to get a haircut soon or she'd chop it off herself with a kunai.

"Ready?" he asked, taking a step towards her. She only nodded and let him wrap an arm around her, pulling her to his chest, and whisking her away to the market. She immediately detached herself from him, though held his hand. He supposed he didn't mind. She seemed to want to always touch him, as though reassuring herself that he was there and he couldn't help but give into her, much like any other time she initiated contact.

"Where to first?" she asked him, standing precariously close to him. He'd never notice how close she would stand to him. He looked down at her and felt himself give her a slight smile.

"Lead the way," he said. She seemed much more comfortable than yesterday and he accredited it to the fact that no one had said anything degrading to her and she'd seemed to be feeling better after she'd sparred with him. He didn't mind. If she was feeling better it was another step towards being able to go home. Home. He didn't like that word. Something inside him just made him lash out at that word. He didn't want her to go.

"Well how much do you think Naruto ate?" she asked, stopping to look back at him. She didn't seem to notice that people passing them by were giving them strange looks. He knew they were only staring because no one had seen the Kazekage act familiar with anyone. They also got quite a few glares, though mostly aimed at Sakura; the jealous girls that wanted to be latched onto his hand and speaking with him in such a way.

"All of it," he deadpanned, his eyes focused on her. He didn't want her to notice all the looks they were getting and he supposed that if they didn't say anything bad about her they really didn't have anything to worry about. Sakura seemed to think for a moment before she turned and pulled him off to the fruit stand they'd visited the day before.

She still wouldn't talk to the vendor. He'd found that she shied away from him the moment she made eye contact, hiding behind Gaara. He looked at her from the corner of his eye and she avoided his gaze, choosing to flush and look away. She seemed to still be shy of other people and he figured there had to be a flip-side to her attitude. She seemed happy enough about going out but talking to someone that wasn't him was going to take some time. As long as she came out without his goading, he supposed it was a step in the right direction.

"Same as yesterday," he said, trying to pull Sakura out from behind him. She didn't come easily and he soon wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her up. She squeaked, but couldn't get out of his iron grip. The vendor didn't notice, too busy at pulling things out from under the counter and such. Sakura's eyes were angry as she looked up at him. "You're not allowed to hide."

"That's not nice."

"Gain more confidence and talk to them how you talk to me." Sakura fell silent at that. She looked down and flushed, not knowing that he was trying to make her more comfortable with her surroundings by pulling her out from her hiding place. She didn't particularly like this display of trying to make her come out of her shell, but she couldn't really blame him. "Come," he guided her by the waist into the bookstore. "Here," he gave her several bills, "Get what you want, I'll be back shortly." With that, he left.

Sakura looked around the little shop, not knowing where to start. She felt uncomfortable, almost naked, without Gaara's constant presence beside her. She looked down at her wrist, almost making sure that the sand was still there. Gaara would come if she was too frightened or if she felt threatened. She only sighed and made her way around the cramped aisles, looking for something to suit her fancy.

When she finally found at least ten more books she was interested in, and making sure that she had enough money to buy them all, she slowly advanced to the register, the salesperson watching her with a look that said she didn't find Sakura very trustworthy. Sakura could agree. She felt like a cornered animal, almost ready to bolt. Silently, she handed the books over to be rung up.

"These are some of my favorites," the girl tried to smile at Sakura, who attempted one back, though it seemed to come out as much more of a grimace. Sakura sighed.

"I just...needed something new to read," she said softly, avoiding eye contact.

"I saw the Kazekage in here a few weeks ago buying a lot of books of the same genre, were they for you?" Sakura wasn't surprised at the girl's question. She had probably seen them enter the shop together. Sakura finally managed to make eye contact with the girl, though her brown eyes were friendly and not at all haughty.

"Yes. I've been staying with him and don't like television much," Sakura admitted, watching her put the books into a bag. She handed her the bills Gaara had given her, too nervous to really try and make conversation. It seemed so easy a few months ago and with the recent changes in her attitude and trying to make herself better, it wasn't coming back as easily as she wanted it to.

"Don't worry, I don't either. If you'd ever like someone to talk books with, I'm always here," the girl smiled at her again and Sakura managed her vague smile back. The girl was making her feel a little more at ease in coming alone. More like ditched more than anything else, but Sakura wasn't going to differentiate at that moment.

"I'd like that," she finally managed to get out. The girl tried to give her the change but Sakura shook her head, "keep it." She knew Gaara tipped out his villagers generously, even if the job they performed didn't see it as customary.

"Oh, thanks," she smiled again.

"What's your name?"

"Amaya," she didn't say anything about the other customers in line, though they only numbered two and Sakura figured the girl did this often. Her customers must have been regulars because they didn't seem to mind, either already reading what they had chosen, or counting out the money they'd need.

"If you'd like, you should come by the Kazekage's house for dinner sometime. Don't mind Gaara, just ask for me," Sakura didn't mention that she rarely answered the door and if she did, she usually pounced on the caller and held a kunai to their throat, demanding who they were and what they wanted. Gaara usually had to pry her off of the visitor.

"Oh, okay, that should be fun," she smiled. Sakura offered her a soft goodbye on her way to the door, seeing Gaara calmly wait for her. He took her bag and watched her calmly before saying word.

"Amaya is nice. I thought if I left you alone with her you might be able to talk," he said, "normally," he seemed to add it as an extra thought. Since she seemed to have an aversion to men because Naruto seemed to be an overbearing, protective father-like person in her life, he thought maybe she could strike up a conversation with a civilian female. It seemed to have worked.

"I don't like that you pushed me into it, but you were right." Gaara nodded and stepped towards her. She clung to his shirt, but he didn't move to transport them. He set his bags down and reached into his pocket, searching for something.

"Here. I saw it and I thought of you. I thought you should replace that necklace and let the past go," his words weren't hard, but there was a certain softness to his monotonous tone as he pulled out a necklace. He put it into her hands to scrutinize as he reached behind her and unclasped the engagement ring around her neck.

"I don't want to," she said softly, almost inaudibly, as she stared at the necklace he'd gotten for her. It was a silver chain and from it hung a cherry blossom pendant, no doubt set with precious stones. She looked up at Gaara, almost too lost for words as he pocketed her engagement ring. She stared him, terror in her eyes as she watched him take the one last thing she had of Neji save for her memories.

"You have to. To move on, it is customary," his voice was a hushed whisper as he pulled the necklace from her hands and clasped it around her neck. It didn't hide underneath her clothes like the other one did, like she was trying her best to hide it from the world that she was still clinging onto a memory.

"Maybe I don't want to move on," she said softly, her fingertips resting on the pendant as she stared with unseeing eyes into his chest. Her words seemed to have broken something in him and he sighed, pulling her fingers away from the necklace.

"Life moves on, Sakura, you need to as well," he said, pulling her against him. She flushed as she realized he was giving her a hug. Her arms slowly rose to wrap around his waist and she pressed her face into his chest. She didn't realize they were making a public scene, though Gaara still managed to keep his attention on several things at once, and he brought them back to his home while he still had her locked in his embrace. As she pulled away from him, he stopped her from going to far and looked desperately into her eyes, willing for her to listen to him for a moment. "Don't hold onto the past, Sakura, it only makes you hate the world. Please," he never thought he'd let that word fall from his lips and he never thought he'd say anything in such a begging tone before. He just wanted her to listen.

"Gaara, I—"

"Gaara?! Is she awake yet?!" Naruto was banging on the door again. Sakura looked away from Gaara as he glared at the door, anger arising ferociously and quickly at being interrupted in their moment. If this is what he had to deal with every time someone came to visit him, he was going to become a hermit.

"Go away Naruto," Gaara said gruffly, keeping Sakura caged in his arms. She seemed to be upset, but he couldn't tell. He sighed and led her to the balcony, hoping Nara would show up sooner or later and knock Naruto upside the head for waking the lazy man up. Gaara didn't know what to do once they were out on the balcony. She was no longer caged in his arms and she leaned against the railing, looking down at the streets below, refusing to meet his gaze. "What were you going to say?" Gaara asked, moving to stand next to her in much the same way, mirroring her pose.

"I don't think the villagers will ever let it go," she said softly, staring out at the empty vastness she could barely see over the top of Suna's walls. Gaara's house was the tallest in the village, a sort of guard tower that he could always see and watch out of. "When I came back and made my own recovery, teams wouldn't want me because of that failed mission and they wouldn't let me heal them when they came into the hospital either. Everyone except Naruto and Ino abandoned me. Some clan thing I suppose."

"Powerful clans stick together in their decisions," Gaara nodded, knowing all too well of what clan groups could do to a government. If he was any lesser man he was sure that a clans' group decision would have overpowered him. He didn't give into their pressure and such, but that didn't help if they chose to openly ignore a villager.

"It was like I didn't even belong there anymore. All I did at the hospital was paperwork because all the other nurses and doctors were too busy trying to tend to all the patients I would regularly see. Kakashi was still with me. The trust that comes from a team isn't so easily spent," she seemed to quote the last line, but he couldn't be sure. "None of the Hyuugas would talk to me. Naruto said he shouldn't even be trying to talk to me because Hinata's his fiance." Naruto wasn't one to go along with clan decisions either, though.

"You ran away to try and feel like you belonged?" Gaara seemed to question. He couldn't quite understand it. They'd alienated her, but it couldn't be much better in Suna. Suna didn't like outsiders and barely liked Konoha ninja although they were in close alliance with each other. Sakura sighed.

"At least your people won't alienate me. They won't try to make me belong either. It was a safe middle ground," she finished softly, staring at the sand below her. The place was peaceful. People didn't really do much under the sun, mostly relaxed if they were under it. Most things, like school and such, were held in the evenings, when it was cooler and easier to move about without a risk of sunstroke. Sakura could understand it.

"You'll always have a place here," he gestured to his home, knowing it probably meant more to her than anything else. "I do not believe you are weak and I do not doubt your abilities. What happened was purely bad luck. It happens."

"But it shouldn't have happened!" Sakura was crying now. She turned to him and he openly allowed her to throw herself against him. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly to his body, offering her comfort no longer foreign to him. "I should have been able to heal him—or something!" she cried into his chest and he sighed. She shouldn't be beating herself up about this still.

"Sakura," he didn't want to have to do this. "You are a ninja. People die on the battlefield. I could die. Kankorou almost died if it hadn't been for you. Some ninja have special abilities. Such as canceling out medical jutsu so you are unable to heal your comrades. You must accept it and move on," this is what he'd been trying to communicate to her for weeks now, but it seemed the only way she would get it is if he stated it bluntly. "You are an unbelievable medical ninja. I wouldn't leave here without you if I had you."

"Really?" she whispered. His comforting words weren't something she was used to. He usually held her silently until her tears stopped and she slumped into an exhausted sleep. She looked up at him, searching his eyes for something that he hoped she would find.

"I was surprised yesterday. You are still very strong although you do not look it. Do not let yourself be affected by what people say. They are not your defining characteristics," never, in a million years, would Gaara imagine himself in this position, staring down at a teary-eyed woman who was terrified of being rejected by him, terrified that he would agree with her village and admit that she was weak. She was the opposite, to him. She could still defend herself against him and he was not an easy match.

"Then what are my defining characteristics?" she said sullenly, breaking eye contact again.

"What you truly believe. Who can get to Suna in two days? Not even Naruto can do that unless he travels all night. Who could heal Kankorou? None of my medical shinobi could even begin to try before you showed up. Do not sell yourself short on one failed mission where there was nothing else you could do," he let it all out. He let out everything that she'd been doubting herself on. She'd never heard him speak this much before and she realized it was because he'd actually come to care for her on some level throughout the past few weeks. Especially if the necklace he'd given her had anything to say about it.

"Gaara?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you," she looked up at him and he caught himself staring at her. Her eyes were still glassy with shed tears and she wasn't an ugly crier at all. Her eyes were glowing at him and her smile, that damn smile, was shining like the sun. It wasn't her normal, vague smile, and he was astounded that he was the one she was truly smiling at now. He couldn't seem to help himself as he pushed a strand of hair away from her eyes and he couldn't seem to help himself as his fingertips tilted her chin as he leaned forward to press his lips against hers.

He didn't know what had possessed him to do it, but he certainly didn't regret it. Her mouth was soft, pliant underneath his, and she was pressed just so to his body that it made it that much better. He was slightly surprised as she began to kiss back, but he covered it quickly and still kissed her gently. He couldn't lie, this was the first real kiss he'd had. There was no doubt Gaara wasn't a virgin, but he'd made no move to kiss or even look at the girls he'd been with.

All too soon, he felt her pull back slightly and he did as well. He felt a strange sense of warmth in his chest as he stared at her, her cheeks now flushed for a different reason. She stared up at him, completely speechless before she moved forward again, hesitation evident in her movements. He moved the last half inch forwards and kissed her again.

"The hell?!" their quiet moment was once again interrupted by the idiot. Gaara didn't pull away from her. She made no move to, either. They had the same mannerisms in this instance. If Naruto had to come bursting through the glass door to the balcony, then he could wait until they were done. He finally pulled away from her, passing one last glance over her blushing face and slightly dazed bright eyes before looking over to Naruto with an annoyed glare.

"Yes?" by Gaara's tone he was clearly annoyed that he'd been interrupted. Sakura made no move to pull away from him and a part of his mind wondered why she didn't jump away from him the moment they'd been found out. Perhaps she was more stubborn than she let on and would just let Naruto think what he wanted. Or maybe she was trying to prove a point from earlier when Naruto had accused them of sleeping together.

"I just want to talk to Sakura and I come out here to find that you're—you're taking advantage of her!" Naruto tightened his hands into fists, though Gaara made no move to step into a defensive crouch. He rolled his eyes at the idiot.

"Do you see her moving away from me or punching me?" he asked. Not that Sakura would ever be able to land a hit on him with his sand, he had to physically withhold himself from using it the day before, but she wasn't one to just sit back and let herself be raped. "Sakura's a big girl. If she didn't want it, she knows she can get herself out."

"You don't need to speak for her, Gaara."

"Yes, I do. Since you've been here, all you've done is anger her or frighten her," Gaara turned slightly to hide Sakura's face now as she hid in his chest. She was trying her best not to get angry and blow off on the idiot again, but it didn't really seem to be working. She was slightly amused at Gaara's words to her friend, but Naruto's words were still piercing her and making her angry.

"I never thought you, of all people, would be defending her, much less kissing her," Naruto said, flopping down on a chair, his anger forgotten as he rifled through a bag and began to eat an apple. He watched the two of them with a suspicious air, Sakura still hiding against Gaara, afraid to even look at Naruto. Gaara didn't mind. He could glare enough for both of them. All Naruto seemed to want to do was break Gaara's doors down and rant about how he was deflowering Sakura.

"Is this why you came here? To rebound from Neji?" Sakura tensed and anger infiltrated the physic link. She was completely and utterly angry.

"No," her voice was small, and he thought it weird. Gaara thought she would have exploded, but he looked closer and saw that she was crying again, angry tears. "I came here to run away from home. Because all everyone did was stare at me and whisper that I was weak and that I couldn't do anything right. I ran away," she turned away from Gaara, stunning both himself and Naruto with the tangent anger that was rolling off her, "because no one wanted me on their team, not even _you _Naruto. Don't come here and accuse Gaara of taking advantage of me and don't come here accusing me of using Gaara as rebound."

"In fact that was the first time I kissed her," Gaara finally managed to get a word in between Sakura's angry rant. He stepped forwards and pushed his hand into hers, hoping to calm her down, but she only squeezed it tightly and let it go.

"At least here, I'm not an alienated freak!" Sakura stormed through the broken glass of the door of the balcony and he watched as a flurry of sakura petals rained on his floor as she transported somewhere. He could feel she was still within the village, which was good enough for him. At least she wasn't running away again.

_ "_I hope you're paying to get that door fixed," Gaara said calmly as he too began to find his way back inside, planning on giving Sakura some time to cool off. He needed to put the food away anyways and hope Naruto didn't eat it all before he had a chance to make dinner.

"Did she really mean all that?" Naruto's voice stopped him before he carefully stepped over the broken glass and back into his home. He cast a glance to the blonde and sighed, not wanting to comfort another soul for the rest of his life. Sakura was already too much work and he wasn't keen on talking to someone who so thoroughly upset her.

"Yes." The answer was that simple.

"I thought she needed time, or something. Hinata said she wasn't up to going on my team with me or even talking to me, so I just left her alone. I tried in the beginning, but she just threw her ramen at me and started crying. She left and I didn't run after her."

"Hyuuga was one of them that alienated her, Naruto. The only people she had were you, Ino, Kakashi, and Tsunade. No one allowed her on their teams and no one allowed her to heal them. She's better off here where no one will judge her." Gaara made to leave, but Naruto's voice stopped him.

"I didn't want her to come here, you know. I wanted her to stay, where her friends were. She didn't listen," Naruto had long since stopped eating the apple and he stared down at the ground as he said this, not knowing what to think about Sakura anymore. "I still want her to come home, you know."

"She isn't ready to. I don't think, unless your villagers openly apologize and ask her to come back, that she'll ever be ready to. That mission destroyed her. She doesn't talk to anyone save for me. I had to force her to talk to a salesperson today. She hasn't started working with my medics because I wouldn't let her leave this house for two weeks. Being in that village was killing her and you would have had to deal with a dead woman instead of one that found solace here," Gaara knew that this wasn't what Naruto wanted to hear, but he wasn't going to change his words. The truth hurt sometimes.

"There's a gala next month, isn't there?"

"Yes," he didn't understand the change in subject at all.

"Will Sakura be there?"

"Yes," he left out the fact that he would be escorting Sakura, he didn't need another reason for Naruto to break down their door in the middle of the night. He didn't see the need anyways, he would find out in another month or so.

"I'll talk to Tsunade and make the village see their wrong," Naruto's jaw was set in determination as he stood, picking up the forgotten apple and taking another bite out of it. "I didn't actually know that everyone was doing that to her. I just wanted to give her time to heal, but she just seemed to get worse and worse as the days went by."

"That's because you are incredibly thick-skulled," Gaara deadpanned, picking up his bags again and heading through the broken door. "I expect that door to be fixed when I get home, Naruto," he called. "And don't eat all the food or you don't get dinner tonight," he added as an afterthought.

After putting away all the food, Gaara locked onto the sand he'd left with Sakura and transported to her location. He found her at the training ground they'd used the previous day, throwing kunai at wooden dummies. Watching her for a moment, he decided to test her reflexes. She threw the kunai and he blocked it with a wall of sand, flinging them back at her. She dodged gracefully, even throwing one his way. He blocked it and offered it to her.

"Still angry?" he asked, watching her take it.

"A little," she sighed and put the weapon into her pouch. She sighed again. Gaara watched her for a few long moments, wondering if she would say anything else.

"I believe Naruto is going to apologize to you," Gaara finally said, watching her face attentively for her reaction. She seemed to relax slightly, slumping to the ground and sitting with her legs crossed. Gaara sat opposite her. He knew she wasn't going to say anything to him right now and just focused on meditating with her. If it calmed her down without throwing kunai at him it was fine by him.

"Why do you think he's going to apologize?" the sun had gone down by this point and Gaara opened his eyes to see her illuminated by moonlight, her mood relaxed. He supposed it was the hours of meditating they'd done. He simply waited for her to calm her mood and talk to him again. He didn't know who taught it to her, but he didn't mind it. It was better than fighting out her emotions anyways.

"I made him see the error in his ways."

"What did you say to him?" her tone wasn't accusatory, merely curious. Not many people could get through Naruto's thick head.

"He asked if you were ready to come home. I told him you probably never would be unless people started treating you the way you had been before that mission and if they publicly apologized."

"Even then..." she trailed off. "Even then I might not. They'll always think that...that I'm weak. I might just become a rogue and wander. I don't think I'd cause trouble or anything, but I don't think I'd ever want to go back there, not after how they hurt me like that."

"I told you that you always have a place here," Gaara said, his eyes flashing. He didn't want her to become a rogue nin. If she did, then all nations would be out searching for her. Konoha would be searching for her so they might bring her home and the other nations, save for Suna, would search for her so they could bring a powerful shinobi down and traumatize her home with it. "It still stands and always will. Perhaps I can send you out on missions with Temari and Kankorou soon."

"Really?" Sakura asked, her eyes lighting up. Gaara wanted to laugh.

"First you have to talk to them and make sure it's alright, Sakura. I won't do that for you. And I have to get permission from Tsunade." He couldn't do anything without permission from her leader, as she was still a Konoha ninja and he wasn't given permission to do with her what he will. "I'll send a letter with Naruto."

"Okay," Sakura said, staring at the sand. She pushed her hands into it and watched it fall through her fingers. "I think I might want to go home one day, but not until I completely get over this whole thing." She subconsciously reached up to touch her engagement ring, floundering when she didn't find it, touching the cherry blossom pendant instead. She blinked, realizing who gave it to her.

"I think we should go make dinner. My siblings will probably be over," Gaara said, rising from his position and brushing himself off, Sakura doing the same. She nodded and took a step towards him. He pulled her against him and transported them to their room. He glanced over at the balcony and saw, with a smirk, that Naruto had fixed it. Good.

Sakura bounded down the stairs and came face to face with Shikamaru, Naruto, and Gaara's siblings. "Temari," she said, crossing over to her and sitting on the couch. Temari turned to her, smiling. She had never given up on Sakura, even before Gaara had explained what was going on with her. Temari wasn't one to give up on her friends so easily.

"What's up?" Temari's voice was far more cheery than Sakura's. Sakura was still somewhat reserved around her, but Temari had seen that she'd opened up over the past couple of weeks, talking to Gaara and even sitting with her and Kankorou to watch a movie. Sometimes she would say something in a tone that was less than savory, but Temari didn't hold it against her. Years of dealing with Gaara helped with that. Mostly she spoke softly, reserved, like Hinata Hyuuga did, but she caught glimpses of her old self showing through, especially when she became angry.

"Gaara says that if he gets permission from Tsunade, he could send me on missions with you. I have to ask you for permission first though," her voice was careful, testing the ground. Temari was completely caught off guard and she whirled her head around to stare at Gaara, only to get a look of '_please_,' from him. Though Temari didn't mind either way, she had never heard of Gaara using Konoha ninja as one of their own. Sakura had to be a special case though, especially if he was getting attached to her as he seemed to be over the past week and a half or so.

"That's alright with me, how about you Kankorou?" Since Kankorou was the other person on her team, the only other person, she wanted to see if he found the new addition satisfactory. Kankorou looked over to Sakura's face and broke into a smile.

"Who else will I allow to heal me?" he asked. Sakura smiled. He was stunned. It wasn't a half-smile or a vague smile, something she'd been playing favorites with for about a week now. She must have been very happy and very excited to smile at him like that. Naruto merely watched in the background, seeing what Gaara meant. He hadn't seen her smile in the months leading up to her departure and she looked like she'd gained a lot of her weight back.

"Sakura," Naruto finally spoke up.

"Yeah?" Sakura stared at him, her face blank. She'd been happy talking to Temari and Kankorou, but she didn't know how to feel about Naruto and Shikamaru, who was watching her with interest, one eyebrow raised. He'd noticed the drastic change in her almost a month later as well. She seemed to be doing better to him, anyway.

"I'm sorry for earlier. I told Gaara that I'm going to try everything I can to make the villagers forgive you and stop saying those things about you," Naruto looked sheepish, scratching the back of his head and giving her a nervous smile. Shikamaru watched him now, wondering. He'd left Sakura alone because he thought she needed space. She didn't seem to want to be bothered. The one time he'd tried to get her to act as medic on one of his teams which included Hinata and Kiba, they had both said not to bother her and 'just let it go.'

"Sakura," Shikamaru said, his interest outweighing his silence. "Why did you leave Konoha?"

Sakura looked down and away. "People weren't talking to her or letting her heal them or even letting her act as medic on their teams," Naruto explained quickly. Naruto had been as confused as Shikamaru had. The Nara clan didn't partake in the normal politics of clans and such. They were simply too lazy. They were more the Switzerland of the Konoha clans.

"Ah. Inuzuka and Hyuuga told me that you weren't feeling up to missions when I tried to enlist you as medic on our teams." There had been several times, actually. Mostly when the Hyuuga had been on his team. Shikamaru was regularly switched around as he was a natural leader and incredible strategist, though he didn't care much about being captain. Gaara moved past them to the kitchen, leaving them to their social time.

"So it's all the clans' faults?" Sakura's mouth fell open and she looked about to cry. Temari bit her lip and threw a look over at Gaara. Gaara glared and motioned for her to take over his cooking and he'd go and sit beside her. Within a moment, their position was changed, Gaara pulling her against his side.

"Sakura," Shikamaru started, "It's common for the clans within villages to have feuds with each other and against certain villagers. It's simply the clan heads or heirs acting like assholes and asserting their power and dominance over civilians and ninja that are not clan-based." Shikamaru watched her intently and she didn't seem about to cry anymore, though she didn't move from Gaara's side. "However, I agree with Naruto. If we get enough supporters for you and Tsunade-sama backs us, then we shouldn't have a problem making them regret running you out of the village," and those were the exact words Shikamaru was going to use. He was going to guilt the hell out of the clan heads.

"Thank you," Sakura finally said. Shikamaru only nodded, his head still reeling from the injustice served to the poor woman. He was already forming a strategy in his head and he probably wouldn't stop until he faced Tsunade.

"Ah, Naruto, would you mind giving this to Tsunade?" Gaara handed him a sheet of paper and Naruto read it over quickly before nodding and handing to Shikamaru to read, who skimmed over it quickly. It was Gaara asking permission to send Sakura on missions. Shikamaru pocketed the note although Naruto scowled at him.

"We both know you'd lose it."

"Fine."

There was a knock at the door.

Sakura instantly tensed, her narrowed eyes watching the door silently. Gaara nodded to Kankorou and his brother got up to answer it. Gaara had explained to him why Sakura was no longer allowed to answer the door. The first time she did there was a rumor around the entire village that Gaara had a bodyguard and it was a female. The fact it was a female spread like wildfire and that was why Gaara didn't care that Sakura latched onto his hand now. There were already rumors now, it didn't matter if there were more.

"Hello?"

"Hey, is, um, is Sakura here?" Sakura perked up at her name and she watched the door with even more concentration. Gaara wanted to chuckle. He knew who it was.

"Yeah, come on in," Kankorou flashed a wide smile and opened the door for the young woman to step through. Her eyes lit up when she saw Sakura and Sakura was simply caught in disbelief. She didn't think the girl would have actually taken her up on the offer, since Sakura had only met her this morning. Sakura stumbled upwards and held her hand out to the girl in greeting, her mind still trying to catch up to her.

"Hi, Amaya," that was her name. Sakura blinked and then smiled her vague smile. She'd only been able the true smile around those she was most comfortable with. It was going to take a while before she could talk to acquaintances like she used to.

"Hey, Sakura," the girl didn't seem perturbed by the vague smile. She smiled openly in return and shook Sakura's hand. "I thought I'd take you up on the offer of dinner. I didn't really care to make anything tonight to be honest," she giggled and Sakura thought her sweet. The girl was really just a friendly face and Sakura felt glad that Gaara had pushed her into meeting the nice girl.

"These are friends from my home village," Sakura said, pointing to the two Shinobi lazing on one of Gaara's couches. "The blonde one is Naruto and the other is Shikamaru," she pointed to each of them. "This is Amaya. She runs the bookstore." Amaya smiled and greeted them both. Shikamaru only nodded, but Naruto had a huge smile on his face as he jumped up and bounded forward to hug the poor girl.

"I'm so happy that Sakura's making friends!" He swayed back and forth, pulling the girl with him. He didn't know how it came to be, that the cold Sakura that left them wasn't so cold anymore and had managed to speak to someone without inadvertently offending them, but he was glad she was doing better and he was more than hellbent on making Konoha her home again.

"Is he always like this?" the girl whispered to Sakura. Sakura sighed and nodded, rubbing at her temples. She sat down next to Gaara and patted the area next to her, inviting Amaya to sit. She sat with her and cast a cursory glance around them. "Have you started the books you bought this morning or no?" she asked as way of conversation. The poor girl was feeling quite uncomfortable in the presence of so many people, but she was determined to make Sakura her friend. There was something in her eyes that she found heartbreaking and she wanted to help fix it.

"I haven't had time, dealing with that one," so far Sakura was coming off as more annoyed with everything than anything else. Amaya didn't mind the vague smiles or the almost cold tone she used to talk with, Sakura's mannerisms told her that she was shy of people and didn't quite know how to interact with him. Whether it was a new development, or just how her life was lived, the girl didn't know, but she didn't care either.

"I get it, my little brother was always a handful when I lived at home. My father enrolled him in ninja studies because he always had too much energy." Gaara looked over to her at this, his eyes calculating.

"What's his name?"

"U-um, Jouji," she said, blushing. She hadn't expected Gaara to address her, though he was more than cordial in her shop, always buying many books and always giving her more than enough, telling her to keep the change. She was thankful to her Kazekage, it helped pay the bills.

"Excellent ninja. I believe he has made it into Anbu. Particularly rare for a civilian ninja, but impressive," Gaara didn't give out praise lightly, but he now stored that information in the back of his mind. If anything ever happened to Amaya, Gaara would be the first to look for her. He wouldn't want one of his ninja's siblings to be used against the village. He was sure he'd be outraged if Temari or Kankorou were captured, and they could actually defend themselves.

"I'll have to tell him you said that!" Amaya smiled brightly and beamed at him. Gaara only nodded, giving her a slight smile in return. He reached over to the end table and pulled something out from a drawer. "Here," he gave it to the girl. He'd given it to her out of mere impulse, but he didn't think Sakura would mind having her there.

"Wow, the Gala?!" Amaya stared at it, completely awe-struck. She wasn't from an important family and no one would have escorted her, so she would have just sat back and watched the festivities like most of Suna, though there was sure to be a festival in the streets before the main events. She couldn't believe the Kazekage, of all people, gave her an invitation. "B-but why?" she was stumbling over her words now, not knowing quite what to say. She knew her leader was generous, but she never knew he'd do something like this to a complete stranger. Well, almost complete stranger.

"I believe Sakura would like you to be there, since she is going," that was the reason he was going with. If there was at least one person there, excluding him and his siblings, that she was comfortable with, he wouldn't worry about her as much. She could cling to Amaya if Gaara was held up somewhere else.

Sakura looked over at her and offered her that vague smile. "We can go get dresses together," she offered. Amaya thought it was almost halfheartedly, but she saw the look in Sakura's eyes that told her Sakura honestly would like to go with her. "I have to find something to match this," she said softly then, touching a cherry blossom pendant.

"Wow, Sakura, where'd you get that?" Temari had come out of nowhere (probably at the mention of dresses, which meant shopping), and was staring at the pendant. She didn't ask about the engagement ring that had previously been there, thinking it would set Sakura off if she asked. Sakura looked up at Temari in alarm, but slightly smiled.

"Gaara replaced my old one. He said I have to move on and so gave me this to help."

"Wow, my little brother's so sweet!" Temari grabbed Gaara and pulled him into a hug, swaying back and forth, squeezing him tightly. Gaara, however, was becoming quickly pressed for air. Temari liked to squeeze until she suffocated.

"Let. Me. Go." Temari immediately let him go, beaming at him, though Gaara gave her a death stare. He sighed and leaned back on the couch, his hand on Sakura's waist. She subconsciously leaned into him, like it was second nature to her now. He didn't mind. He was beginning to believe that her touch calmed him just as much as his did her.

"That is sweet, though," Amaya said, her eyes soft as she looked at Gaara. He certainly seemed attached to Sakura. Sakura nodded, still touching the pendant.

"What happened to your engagement ring, Sakura?" Temari wanted to hit Naruto for that. Sakura stared at him, speechless. She didn't actually know what happened to it.

"I sold it," Gaara said. Sakura looked over at him. "It held memories she shouldn't be holding on to," he looked over at her, but didn't see any anger in her eyes. There was a grateful look in her eye, as though she was thanking him for ridding her of it, as though she would have never had the courage to get rid of it herself.

"Did she get the money at least?" Naruto thought that was the least Gaara could do. Neji had saved up for a solid year just to pay for that thing and he hadn't taken low-level missions either. Gaara glared at Naruto, trying to convey he was going to give it to her, just thought it was undignified to dig in his pocket to give it to her now.

"I don't want it," Sakura said, looking at Naruto, though Gaara knew she was speaking to him. "Gaara has helped me, in more ways than one, this included. I owe him a lot and I know it doesn't make up for what he's done for me, he deserves to keep it," especially with buying her the new necklace, though she didn't even know how much it was worth.

"Oh, well okay," Naruto said, completely speechless otherwise.

"Dinner's ready guys," Temari finally, _finally_ said.

* * *

After dinner was done and Sakura was finally relaxing with Gaara, she sighed and closed the book she'd been reading. Gaara put his down as well.

"Something wrong?" he asked, watching her. She was curled against his body, their usual way to lay down, his arm draped around her waist. She looked up at him, biting her lip. He tilted his head, curiosity getting the better of him. "What?"

"Why'd you kiss me earlier?"

"Why'd you kiss me back?"

"I—um, I...don't know. I guess...because I—I wanted to?" Sakura bit her lip again, staring at him. He didn't understand what she was trying to get at, when it dawned on him. She wanted to kiss him again. Something about that utterly bewildered him. Not only had she kissed him not once, but twice, and she wanted to again.

"Sakura, if you want to kiss me again, you don't need to question my actions from earlier," he mocked annoyance with her, but from the slight smile on her lips he could see that she understood. She pulled herself up and stared at him, biting her lip again, before she slowly closed the space, her movements screaming hesitation again.

He closed the space and connected their mouths. The kiss was gentle, as before, but it wasn't chaste. He enjoyed the warm weight of her body on his and the way her hands gripped his shoulders, the way she was unsure in her movements, as though testing the ground between them. He finally pulled away from her, a slight smile on his face as well now.

"Why'd you kiss me again?" she asked, a soft giggle escaping her. Gaara paused. He hadn't heard her giggle before. It was new and it was like a breath of fresh air after camping out in a deep cave. It gave him new hope that her old self was returning.

"I wanted to," he borrowed her words. "Now go to sleep. I'm going to keep sparring with you every day until you can get to work on my medics," he said softly, though there was a certain edge to his voice and it made her smile when she realized he was being playful. Sakura thought she'd never see the day he would be playful with her.

"Fine, fine," she said, twisting so she laid on her side. Gaara mirrored her position and pulled her against his chest, locking her into place. These feelings she awoke within him were new and slightly frightening in their own way, but Gaara knew she was slightly frightened of the feelings too. She probably had thought she'd live the rest of her days alone.

"Remember," he said softly on a whim, "You always have a place here."

He heard a soft giggle and he reveled in it, hoping she would laugh more, "I know."


	4. Chapter 4

"So there's only two real dress stores in Suna, but we'll find something for you to wear in two weeks, don't you worry, Sakura," Temari was talking animatedly as she, Sakura, and Amaya walked down the main street of Suna. Amaya was quiet and smiling, nodding at what Temari was saying. Sakura was bleary-eyed and just waking up, rubbing her eyes.

"You know Gaara's going to kill you guys when we get back. He doesn't like being woken up." Sakura yawned. She didn't know why Temari just had to come over at the break of dawn and insist on doing her make-up and hair, but Sakura just had to play the doll and now they were walking down the street made up for absolutely no reason for Sakura and she just wanted to crawl back into bed with Gaara.

"No he won't. Well, he might, but he'll regret it when he sees you that night!" Temari only laughed in the face of danger, apparently. Sakura would rather have kept it on the safe side and woken up at eight like she and Gaara were used to, gotten ready, and been out of the house around noon. Instead of ten, which was horribly early for a weekend in her opinion.

"Oh, Gaara's taking you? I didn't know," Amaya said softly, staring up at the bright sky, a slight smile on her face. Sakura had never met a more optimistic person in her life. Well, there was Naruto, but Amaya was much more soft-mannered at least.

"Gaara thought it would be better than leaving me to be on my own," Sakura explained, her voice hurried. She didn't like talking about her relationship with Gaara. It wasn't an odd topic persay, but it was new and terrifying. Gaara was terrifying, but he made her feel so calm.

"I know Kanakorou's taking you, Amaya," Temari giggled, poking at the other girl's shoulder. Amaya only laughed and swatted at Temari's hand.

"Yeah? And? It's not like it's going anywhere. Kankorou just loves going after the ladies," Amaya giggled. "Not like he's getting any that night, just don't tell him that or he might go flirting after other girls instead of me. Even if he isn't looking for anything serious I like the attention," she stuck her tongue out at Temari.

"My dear Amaya, you mean you're using my brother for some male attention?" Temari gasped, loud and awfully fake. "I never knew you were so deviant!"

"Hey, he asked me," Amaya laughed. Sakura found a small smile on her face as well. Though she couldn't care less about what Kankorou did with his life and who he took to the bedroom, she thought he could stand to try and have a steady girl for a while instead of hitting on every available civilian and shinobi alike.

"Perfect reason to use him, of course," Temari laughed. She made a soft noise and pulled on their arms, dragging them into a store. "Here we go! This is the nicer one that I personally like," she said, taking a cursory glance around the store.

"Oh, Temari, I really can't afford this," Amaya said sheepishly, knowing she couldn't by just looking about. She didn't have much money. Shinobi made more money than civilians and, though she could buy nice clothes, she couldn't afford the style the shop offered.

"Don't worry. Whatever you can't cover, I'll get for you. It's not every day that you get to attend a gala, Amaya, may as well make it worth remembering, huh?" Temari smiled. Amaya tried to protest strongly, but Sakura cut in.

"Amaya, I've known Temari for a good time and if she's offering you something, she won't take no for an answer, just go along with it. It's easier that way," Sakura offered, smiling halfheartedly. In truth, Gaara had given her a good portion of the money that had come from her engagement ring and told her he wanted her to spend it on the dress. He hadn't said anything else and she supposed he thought it would make her happy. Though she didn't like being awoken at the crack of dawn, she couldn't say it had been a bad day out with the two girls so far.

"Oh, alright. If you're going to fight me on it," Amaya laughed and looked about. "Well I obviously never come in here, so if you'd help me out Temari?" Temari only happily nodded and led her away to another section, leaving Sakura on her own.

"Do you need help with anything?" a friendly salesperson asked, eying Sakura looking listlessly at dresses on the rack, not quite knowing what she was looking for. Sakura only shook her head distractedly and ignored the woman, moving on to look at something else, though nothing quite interested her. She knew she had to pick something a nice emerald green or light pink to match her jewelry Gaara had given her, but the colors failed to pop out at her so far.

"Are you looking for a dress for the gala soon?" the saleslady was back and Sakura only nodded, pretending to busy herself with something on the rack. She didn't feel like talking to strangers today. Sakura had her on and off days. Sometimes she could manage a conversation with a salesperson and there were some days she simply did not want to. She blamed her mood that day on being woken up so early. She, very simply, just wanted to be left alone. "Can I help you find something?"

"No, thank you," Sakura said. She knew her voice was cold and unfriendly, but she couldn't care less. She didn't even look up at the woman. She only flushed and scurried off. Sakura wondered if that was how they felt around Gaara when he snapped at them. She couldn't really care less at that point, the woman was only annoying her.

"Sakura! Come look at this!" Temari ushered her over and she found her way, twisting around a few racks until she got to the other two. She held up a deep emerald gown, form-fitting and satin, Sakura didn't quite think it suited her at that moment. She wasn't looking for anything sexy, more flowing and fitted around the chest, but less the hips and such.

"I don't think so, Temari," she said softly. She blinked at the woman and the blonde only shrugged and tossed it back on the rack.

"Amaya's trying something on. I want to find you something here because the other shop is more for the younger generation. Clubbing and all that, but you can find something nice there if you really look hard enough. I just don't feel like looking hard enough today," Temari shrugged and went back to the racks. Sakura halfheartedly looked through a few herself, but she knew she wasn't going to find anything unless Temari held it up.

"What do you think?" Amaya came around the corner, holding a ball gown up as she stopped short, not realizing that her friends were closer than she expected. Sakura only nodded, showing her approval, but Temari circled her before giving Amaya her thoughts.

"I think it fits you really well, but I think you need a lighter color. You're so pale for being a native of Suna! The dark color makes you look a little..." Temari trailed off, not knowing what to say. She went towards a rack and pulled out an identical dress, pushing it towards Amaya, who gratefully took it and headed towards the dressing room again. Temari turned and picked something out, holding it up to Sakura. "What about this?"

It was nice, that was for sure. It was long and lace. Sakura didn't particularly like lace, but she swallowed her distaste and nodded, plucking it from Temari's hands. She went to the other dressing room and changed, though she wasn't expecting much.

She was happy she didn't expect much. Though it fit her well, she felt like drapes or a tablecloth more than a woman. She stared at herself in the mirror, willing for it to look better, like something Ino would have picked out for her once upon a time, but no matter how she twirled or how she looked at it, the thing was simply revolting. She only shook her head and exited the room, finding Temari with ease.

"Sakura, that looks terrible and I'm sorry." The words were out of Temari's mouth the moment she saw the pink-haired girl, even enacting a face-palm. "I just know you wanted pink or green and it was the right color but obviously not the right one."

"Yeah." Sakura turned around, intending on changing back into her street clothes. She didn't like dress shopping. All Ino would do was come by her place at some ungodly hour of the morning, toss a dress at her and tell her to be ready by six. This wasn't something Sakura was good at and she was beginning to doubt Temari's ability as well.

"Try this on!" Temari shouted, flinging something over the door of the dressing room. It was the emerald gown the blonde had held up before. Sakura sighed. Though she wasn't in the mood for something like that, she could see that her options were limited. It was either feeling like drapes, or feeling like a lady. She supposed feeling like a woman outweighed feeling like drapes. By about a ton or so. She changed out of the lace monstrosity and into the emerald gown. She looked in the mirror and sighed. She had to say that she looked good.

"See? I was right about that dress!" Temari said, her eyes gleaming as she took in Sakura's form. Sakura only shook her head and looked down at the dress. She didn't say anything, though she knew Temari expected no less.

"It does look good on you, Sakura," Amaya piped up from the corner, her eyes soft and a smile on her face. Sakura only nodded and went back to the dressing room, changing quickly. She didn't want to see herself in that dress any longer, though she knew that was the one she was going to be leaving with and she didn't like it one bit. She hoped no one would pay her any 'special' attention because of it. Though Gaara would probably beat them within an inch of their lives.

"Here. Pay for it." Sakura tossed the dress at Temari and the money she had brought with her for it.

"Where are you going?" Temari asked, a hand on her hip. She wasn't particularly happy that Sakura was skipping out on their girls' day out.

"Do you want Gaara to kill you because I was late for our session?" Sakura asked, an eyebrow raised. She stood at the door, the silent battle warring between her and Temari. Temari grumbled.

"Fine, fine. I don't need two reasons for him to murder me." Temari waved her off.

"Just come over for dinner later. I'll make dumplings or something," dumplings were Temari's favorite, and Sakura saw her face light up as she darted out the door. She decided to run to the training ground she and Gaara used, though she usually didn't.

"You're late." Gaara didn't even turn to look at her when she got there and she only huffed, breathing out from her run. He turned towards her, looking somewhat surprised. "Why'd you run here?" he took two strides towards her and crossed his arms, staring down at her, waiting for an answer, rather impatiently.

"I don't know, I decided to go for a run!" Sakura was somewhat angry, had been for a while, though she hadn't let it show through with the girls. She could act however she wanted with Gaara and he wouldn't hold it against her. "In case you seem to have forgotten, I was woken up at six am and then dragged all over the damn village with that annoying sister of yours!" Gaara wanted to chuckle. Sakura didn't like being woken up early, much like himself. He knew she wouldn't be saying these things if she'd been woken up at a better hour.

"Ah yes, remind me after our spar to hunt her down and cause her bodily harm." Sakura flashed a glare at him. When she saw his smirk, however, she couldn't help but let out a soft laugh as well. His smirk only deepened, though he was genuinely happy that she understood his joke.

"Can we let out some steam now?" she asked, already lowering herself into her battle stance. Gaara was surprised. She didn't seem to care that she was wearing civilian clothes, a skirt to make it that much more surprising. He only shrugged and nodded. They had begun to use jutsu in their sparring matches now, though he still consciously held himself back from going too hard on her and accidentally hurting her.

* * *

For being in a skirt, she was fighting him surprisingly well. Gaara dodged an attack and sighed, knowing it was getting late. "Sakura, we ought to stop for today," his voice cut through the attack she was about to make and she dropped her stance automatically, nodding. She really needed a shower, though her clothes weren't messed in the slightest.

"Alright. I promised Temari I would make her dumplings anyways," Sakura said, shrugging. She stepped towards Gaara and pressed close to him. He transported them to their room and she drew back, though not as quickly as she had former times. She had changed, for the better. Around him at least. She still seemed wary of anyone else.

"How do you do that?" Gaara asked as he grabbed a towel and clean clothes. Sakura did the same. They didn't trust the maids to leave fresh towels in the bathrooms anymore after the second occurrence of missing towels.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, fishing out soft pajama pants and a tank top. She wasn't planning on going anywhere else that night and she wished hell on Temari if she tried to drag her to the bar.

"How do you fight in a skirt?" Gaara asked, pausing near the door. He was on the way to the shower at least. They often procrastinated a shower by talking to each other about their fighting techniques and such. Usually they wouldn't begin dinner until an hour later because they got all caught up in talking.

"I'm a girl. You learn to do things. I practice in civilian clothes so that if I ever have to fight in them I know how to move. You wear your ninja clothes all the time, so you never have to deal with that issue. I act as nurse loads of times and half the time I don't even go out on missions. And, if I do go out on missions, they tend to be undercover. You never know when you're going to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time," Sakura shrugged. She hadn't moved towards the bathroom. Gaara shrugged and opened the door to the hall.

"Thanks for sharing." he left the room and went to the guest bathroom, turning on the shower. He pulled his dusty clothes off and deposited them into the hamper for the maids. He had found out that Sakura never let the maids do her laundry and she had explained to him that she was worried they might ruin them. She had shook her head after and told him it was just her being paranoid. He didn't push it.

Stepping under the spray of the water, he closed his eyes and let the hot water relax his muscles. When the door opened, he perked up and opened his eyes, listening and waiting. The person made soft noises and in a short time, he heard the shower door open behind him. He relaxed his muscles. Sakura had been doing this for the past few days. She would wait for him to get into the shower and then come in.

He felt her small, soft hands on his shoulders and he let himself relax under her touch. She worked on his back methodically, rubbing out all the kinks and knots. He enjoyed this. He didn't really know why she began doing this, but he wasn't about to complain. It felt nice and she was very, very good at it. She stepped away from him and he turned towards her.

Seeing her naked sent a rush through him. The first time he'd seen it, he was sure he was going to faint. It took him by quite a surprise. He hadn't initiated sexual contact, though they still kissed more often than not. It was still new and definitely scary to him. He began to wash her body, his exchange for her rubbing his back, and tried to squash the threatening feelings laying below the surface as he felt her body. She didn't make a noise, simply stared at him and let him do what he will. He methodically washed her hair and lead her under the water to wash the soap away.

Sakura watched as he washed his body and, once he was done, stepped forwards and rested her forehead on his shoulder. Their bodies didn't make contact at any other point. He laid a hand on her shoulder. The first day she'd done this she had cried. The second day she had simply stood there, staring at the water swirl around their feet. Today she did the same. It seemed like she was waiting for something. Slowly, Gaara wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her against his body. The feeling of her against him scent a jolt of lightning through him. He held her tightly and did nothing else. They stood like that for minutes on end, until the water began to run a little colder.

"We should get out," his voice was soft and he was sure he couldn't make it louder if he tried. The feelings she awoke when she did this always caused him to act all sorts of out of place. Sakura only pulled away and nodded, getting out and handing him his towel. They dried off and got dressed in silence. Gaara thought she needed this time to simply let out all her frustrations in a way that wasn't sparring with him. He had thought she wanted something more from him, but he made no move until she did. He was scared of what he had with her and didn't want to ruin it.

"I should go make dinner," she said softly, folding her towel over her arm.

"Sakura."

"Yeah?" she turned, her hand on the door. He took the two steps towards her and pulled her into his arms, tugging the towel from her grip.

"Next time just come with me," he said, planting a kiss on her lips. Sakura flushed and her reaction was a second too slow, kissing him back after a moment's hesitation. He drew back and smirked, throwing the towel into the hamper. She only nodded. "Come on, before my sister knocks down the door for her dumplings," he pulled her out the door. He was somewhat proud that he could surprise her like that. Perhaps it was because what he had with her was new to him and he had never tried his boundaries with a woman like this before.

Sakura stopped lagging behind him after a moment. He settled on the couch while she began dinner. She had finally begun to cook for him and he had to say he was more than satisfied with what she brought to the table every night. It was always very good.

"You don't mind kale, do you?" Sakura asked, pulling things out of the cupboard. She still didn't quite know what he liked, though she was beginning to learn. He usually liked spicy foods and didn't have many foods he disliked, though she always liked to ask and make sure.

"It's fine," he said, resting his head on the arm of the couch. He needed to relax after the day he'd had. Elders and the council and so, so much paperwork. Sakura had been getting better so he'd begun to return to his duties. Temari had rejoiced and run out of his office faster than she had ever had before. He hadn't been able to help the chuckle that had bubbled up his throat. Sakura had begun to cook because she'd noticed how tired he was at the end of the day.

A knock at the door rocked him out of his relaxed state and he groaned. His siblings weren't supposed to come for another half an hour. He began to get up, but Sakura gave him a stern glance and he smiled at her. He thought she acted like a mother hen and it was endearing to say the least. She answered the door for him and his siblings came bursting in, the shy bookkeeper between them.

"Hey Gaara, why are you sitting on your lazy ass and letting Sakura answer the door?" Kankorou asked as he plopped down in an armchair. Temari and Amaya sat on the couch adjacent to Gaara, Temari immediately reaching for the remote to turn something on.

"She didn't let me," Gaara shrugged. Sakura only smirked and went back to her cooking. Kankorou yawned and stretched his feet out on the coffee table. Gaara only rested his back on the arm of the couch.

"See, Sakura, I told you he wasn't going to kill me!" Temari said. It was stupid to say, in Sakura's opinion. She only shook her head.

"Ah, that reminds me," Gaara began to get up.

"Oh, fuck, don't, I'm sorry Gaara, really."

Gaara only chuckled and settled himself back down. "Wake us up again and you won't be so lucky."

"Did you catch them naked?" Kankorou asked, his eyebrows waggling.

"Kankorou!" Amaya said, a blush on her face. Gaara reached up to hit him upside the head, but Sakura was already there, delivering a firm smack that resounded throughout the room. Kankorou yelped and held his head in pain.

"Hey! That wasn't very nice!"

"Don't ask such things and maybe she'll be nicer," Temari said, glowering at her younger brother. Kankorou only shrugged.

"It was a simple question."

"No she did not, but she might the next time she attempts to wake us at ungodly hours," Gaara said, his eyes closed. He didn't miss the way Temari tensed up and he couldn't help but smirk. A delicious aroma began to filter the room Gaara felt the pains of hunger for the first time that day. Sakura's cooking did that to him a lot.

As his siblings began to squabble, he rose from his seat and wandered over to Sakura. He watched her cook for a moment, his mind flitting back to their shower. He frowned and pushed it away. He felt attracted to her, that was for sure, but he didn't like thinking on it too hard. Sakura turned to him and smiled, offering him a glass of juice. He accepted it and took a sip. She always bought strange juices, like pomegranate and cranberry, but he found he liked them after she had him try it.

"Dinner's ready, guys," he said at her nod. She still didn't like speaking openly to them and he could tell she was still a little irate at being woken up so early. She was never in a good mood for the rest of the day when she was woken up early. He'd found that out early on and had made sure to let her sleep as long as possible.

As everyone ate, Gaara found that he couldn't wait to get to bed with Sakura. It had been a long day and he had started it as early as she did. He was sure Sakura was quite tired as well. She only poked at her food while the others ate with gusto, giving her compliments on her cooking. She smiled at them, thanked them, and then went back to poking at her food. She didn't look up at Gaara. Finally, she got up from the table and politely excused herself, dumping her uneaten food in the garbage, and went upstairs.

"Is something wrong with her? She didn't eat at all," Amaya was worried, and rightfully so. Gaara had thought that she quite enjoyed dumplings. He was worried about her, but didn't let his company know that. He only shrugged and finished his plate, placing it in the sink and sitting back down.

"She's probably tired. She doesn't like waking up early, you know." He directed the comment at Temari, his eyes hard. "Sakura likes to go to sleep and wake up at specific times. You probably messed that up for her," he said, not breaking eye-contact.

"Jesus, Gaara, what's with you?" Temari asked, standing up abruptly, her plate falling to the floor and smashing into a hundred pieces, food flying everywhere. "Just because she isn't eating, it's because of me? Have you forgotten about the whole Neji thing?"

"She's gotten over that," Gaara said, his eyes flashing, though he didn't stand as well. He didn't give his sister the satisfaction of seeing him angered. He always kept his voice leveled and never rose to match her stance. She always seemed to grow more infuriated at his actions.

"How do you know? How do you know that she isn't just using you? Send her home or something, I'm so sick of you acting like the world revolves around her." Gaara became angry. His eyes flashed again, though he didn't answer Temari's words. He picked himself up off the table and made his way gracefully to the stairs.

"While she is here, she is in my care. I will protect her from anything, even from herself and even from you. I expect the mess you made to be cleaned up before you leave," Gaara disappeared up the stairs. He found Sakura in their room, reading a book.

"I heard her," she said evenly, taking a bite out of an apple she had apparently brought up from the kitchen. Gaara only nodded and sat beside her, pulling out a book as well. "You're right by the way. She messed up my whole schedule and I've been feeling off all day."

"I know," Gaara said, though her words put his heart at ease. What Temari had said had, indeed, rattled him. Right now, his world revolved around Sakura and it had happened so gradually and easily he hadn't figured out until it had been too late. He couldn't help it. She entranced him. How broken she was. How he had built her back up. How he couldn't get her off his mind now no matter what, and how he had come to enjoy her company instead of tensing and hating her for how she was.

"Will you send me home?" Sakura asked, her voice small.

"No."

"Okay," Sakura put her book down and turned on her side. "Goodnight."

"Oh, hush," he said, tossing his book aside as well. He pulled her onto his chest and held her there. She flushed and pressed her body against his. He closed his eyes. "Goodnight Sakura." He felt her sigh and he smirked.


	5. Chapter 5

"Good morning," Sakura yawned and blinked at Gaara. His voice had startled her out of sleep, though she wasn't remotely upset. It was around noon or so and the Gala was happening that evening. She groaned and turned away from him, though the bright light of the morning glared at her through the window. She wasn't getting back to sleep again, not now. Though it wasn't an ungodly hour like the last time she'd been rudely awoken, she didn't like the hours ticking by, waiting for an event to happen.

"They're arriving soon, aren't they?" she muttered, though she didn't turn back to see them. The doorbell sounded a few moments after she'd spoken.

"Apparently so." Gaara pulled himself out of bed. He missed the warmth of Sakura's body the moment he left it. He didn't spare a glance in the mirror, knowing he probably looked like hell. He'd been dreading this day from coming. Many of the clan heads as well as the Hokage from Konoha were set to arrive this day and they were to stay in his home. He had plenty of guest rooms, but he simply didn't enjoy all the company and the sharing of the living space. "Stay here if you want. I'll be back later with breakfast."

"Alright," Sakura smiled at him. He never got away with surprising her with breakfast in bed because she always woke the moment he shifted, but she enjoyed when he brought it back to her after doing a few things.

Gaara sighed and shut the door behind him, being sure to lock it. Sakura hadn't expressed any negative feelings towards seeing her village's people again, though he thought to be safe, just in case. He didn't need any yelling or an upset Sakura for the rest of the day. He descended the stairs and opened the door after a long pause.

"Jesus, Gaara, what took you so long?" Tsunade pushed through the door, several other people following in her wake. She dropped her bag on the floor and took a cursory glance around the living area of his home. "I see you haven't redecorated since the last time I was here."

"I don't like change."

"I figured. So, where's my student? She hasn't written to me, and I want to see how she's doing," the rest of the clan leaders finally made it in through the door and Gaara quickly did a head check. He had enough rooms, that was for sure, but he wanted to be sure how many pompous assholes he had to show rooms to.

"We'll talk once the others are seated comfortably in their rooms," Gaara said politely. The others nodded formally and he wanted to sigh. Everyone was so formal. He hated it. This is why he hated having guests like this in his home. Also the fact that he didn't have a cook so he would have to cook for them all for the following two days they were staying there.

"Yes, I think a shower is in order," Kiba said. Gaara scrutinized him for a moment and realized his mother had to have sent him in her place. It was common for the clan heirs to be sent in place of the heads, or even to come with them, to prepare the heirs to take over their duties. Gaara had never thought Kiba would speak so formerly.

"Follow me," Gaara said, leading the congregation up the stairs. He bypassed his room without glancing at it. He began the third door down the hall as he wanted to keep the second for himself. He had to sleep in a separate room from Sakura as the prestigious people visiting would frown upon it. However, he still wanted to be close to her in case something went bump in the night. "Naruto," the bubbling blonde came out from the back of the small crowd, and he wondered how on earth the man kept quiet this entire time.

"Thanks, Gaara," he smiled openly and shut the door behind him. Gaara only nodded.

"Hyuuga," he held the door open and Hiashi as well as his daughter entered. Gaara didn't spare a glance at either of them, but made a note to tell the maids to bring an extra bed into the spacious room for the young Hyuuga.

"Inuzuka."

"Thanks, where's the bathroom?" Gaara only pointed to a door down the hall, the guest bathroom he had used regularly before he had begun to use the bathroom attached to his room with Sakura. Taking showers with her finally became a relaxing part of his day that he looked forwards to and he wasn't going to enjoy missing them.

"Aburame," Gaara was beginning to feel that this entire thing was tiresome. The guy, Shino, he thought his name was, moved past him without a word. Gaara figured the guy was just like him and just didn't say much.

"Akimichi," he was almost at the end of the hallway. Two more doors and he would be done. The fat one, Choji, moved past him with a blonde hot on his tail. Gaara raised an eyebrow. How a guy like that managed to get Ino, he would never know. He thought the girl would go after Shikamaru or something.

"Thanks, man," Choji was eating chips. Gaara only nodded, like the others that thanked him. He moved on down the line.

"Nara."

"Don't wake me up early for breakfast tomorrow. It ain't happening." Gaara only blinked. Sakura was the same way and he wouldn't dream of waking anyone up before eight am. Hell was he going to go door to door and announce breakfast. He was just going to leave it on the stove for them and leave them all to it. He didn't make many associations with his guests while they stayed. At least they didn't have to pay him.

"Hatake," Gaara pointed him towards his room.

"Thanks," Gaara nodded. He turned to Tsunade, who nodded, though didn't enter the last door in the hallway. Gaara brushed past her and she followed down the hallway and down the stairs until they stood in the kitchen. Gaara began to pull together pancakes, eggs, and toast, knowing it was one of Sakura's more favorite breakfasts.

"So what's going on?" Tsunade began the conversation as she watched Gaara prepare food. She wondered why he was preparing something obviously for breakfast instead of something more lunch-like.

"You should have warned me about her," Gaara said evenly, mixing the batter for the pancakes. He wasn't angry or anything, though he thought maybe he should have been. "I could have been more prepared."

"I didn't know what to say," Tsunade said simply. "She never told me anything anymore. All I saw was that she was getting thinner and she never went out anymore. She didn't even go on missions anymore."

"Was she ever assigned to them?" Gaara had been sending her out on missions with his siblings and she performed quite well even though she was still a little weak by his standards. She had seemed so excited though when Tsunade's message came in and he couldn't bear to say no to her. That was something else he had noticed now. He couldn't say no to the girl.

"I can't say she was. She was only ever medic and our teams stopped asking for her. I didn't think twice about it."

"You're the Hokage. You should know something about what happens in your village. The clans were shutting her out like they always do." Gaara set the freshly cooked pancakes aside and started on the eggs, though he still hadn't turned to look at Tsunade.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I have more important things to tend to than politics!"

"Calm down. Sakura will hear you. She has very good hearing," Gaara said, watching the eggs as they cooked. He turned away for a moment, only to toss some bread into the toaster. Tsunade took several deep breaths and he was glad. He didn't need his kitchen to become a wasteland in less than a second.

"How is she doing, anyways?"

"She's eating. I had to force her in the beginning. She had been hurting herself, but I believe that is past as well. She's gained muscle back. We have been sparring every day for the past month or so. Two weeks after she came here. She hasn't started on my medics, so don't be prepared to have her back any time soon," Gaara pulled out a plate and heaped most of the food on it, tossing the rest onto his own. He pulled a tray out and put everything on it as well as some syrup and butter and the cutlery. He stopped and waited for a moment. "What about your village?"

"We performed an autopsy on the Hyuuga. Naruto was right, there was nothing Sakura could do. I told the clan, but I don't know whether they believe it or not, though I am their Hokage and I ordered an official apology for Sakura. Hiashi has agreed and that's the only reason he is here instead of only his daughter."

"Yes, I realized that he is the only true clan head here."

"The clan leaders thought it best that their heirs go this time. I believe it's because it's almost time for them to move up in the clan. Most of them are already engaged." Gaara picked up the tray and began to slowly make his way to the stairs.

"Sakura's been staying in my room," he said, having no interest to continue the small talk as they were breaching unfamiliar territory now. "I don't know if she'll want to see you, so please, wait outside the door until you can tell it's alright." He never thought he'd be begging with someone, though it seemed only proper because it was Tsunade and that in itself was okay.

Tsunade only nodded.

Gaara unlocked the door and carefully came in, so Sakura wouldn't see her mentor behind him. She put down her book and looked over to him, smiling. She had finally begun to smile at him and not in the annoying half-smile way she'd been favoring when she first came to stay with him. He put the tray down beside her.

"Tsunade's outside the door, Sakura." Sakura's eyes quickly caught his and he could see that she was excited, not frightened. He placed his hand over hers and she squeezed. "Want to let her in?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding vigorously. Gaara nodded and pulled himself up and opened the door to their room. Tsunade came in slowly, though the bubbling blonde behind her came rushing through the door, the excitement clear on his face.

"Sakura!" he came pelting towards the bed.

"I swear, Naruto, destroy my breakfast and I'll destroy you," Sakura warned, her eyes sharp. Naruto stopped short of jumping on top of her and laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. Sakura sighed and pulled the plate Gaara had prepared towards her. She sat crosslegged.

"Shishou," she said, her voice mostly friendly, as she prepared to eat. "How are you?"

"Better now that I see you are doing well," Tsunade said, sitting at the end of the bed. Standing above Sakura made the elder woman feel much too like this was a hospital, though Gaara standing near the bathroom door, his arms crossed and eyes watching like a hawk, she couldn't quite get that idea out of her head.

"The Kazekage has been very welcoming and helpful in my recovery," Sakura said, beginning to eat. Gaara narrowed his eyes at nothing in particular. Sakura was reverting back to calling him 'Kazekage' and it wasn't something that was welcomed, in his opinion. He just wanted her to call him Gaara, like always, and act like everything was normal. He really didn't like change.

"Which is strange in itself, but I'm glad."

"Sakura, are you still sleeping with Gaa—ahh!" Naruto was pushed up against the wall, sand holding him in place and silencing him as well. Gaara's eyes were closed in anger and he crossed his arms more tightly, digging furrows in his clothes.

"What?" Tsunade's voice was dangerous as she got up and slowly approached Gaara. "What?" she said again.

"Tsunade!" Sakura's voice cut through the tension and Tsunade looked away from Gaara, though her gaze only lessened by a few degrees. "Gaara and I aren't having sex. My first night here and almost every night after that I had nightmares and wouldn't wake. He held me while I slept because that was the only way to stop them."

"And now?" Tsunade asked, her anger completely forgotten as she crossed back to the bed and sat back down. Gaara still held Naruto captive. He didn't want the idiot to yell about something else, like the kiss he had witnessed. He didn't need that much anger in the morning. They could save that for the next morning, or for another year or two.

"I don't know. We haven't tried sleeping apart. Sleeping with him there just brings me comfort and I'm sorry it took you by surprise. We weren't going to do it while all of you were here," Sakura spoke quickly, though her voice was calm and Gaara noticed it as her medic's voice. He didn't know why she used it now, but it was probably to get it all out and over with and deal with Tsunade's wrath as quickly as possible.

"If I hear screaming and it wakes me up, I expect to find Sabaku in that bed with you," Tsunade said. She smiled and Sakura did the same. "Now I need to get a bath and sleep. Where did you say the bathroom was, Sabaku?"

"There's one right across from your room," Gaara said. Tsunade nodded and left the room. Gaara released his sand from around Naruto's body. "I suggest you get out before Sakura runs you into the ground for that comment." Naruto nodded quickly.

"Naruto," he stopped, turning, "Come and spar with us at around two, okay?" Sakura said. She had been slightly afraid to see the blonde again, but she couldn't say she was upset. Naruto was still her closest and best friend after all.

"Sure, Sakura, I'll see you later!"

"You didn't tell him where to meet us, you realize that didn't you?" Gaara picked up their now empty plates and placed them on the tray, placing it on their bedside table. Sakura smiled.

"I thought it would be funny if you just brought him to us, that's all." Gaara smirked and nodded. It would be a good prank and an excellent way to get back at the stupid blonde. He stretched his arms above his head and leaned back on the headboard beside her. He inspected the sand he'd left on Sakura. He'd usually get a few flares from her now and then, but she seemed to be doing fine now. "When do you think you'll be ready to begin training?" he asked, mostly as a way to make conversation.

"I thought that was up to you, mister nurse," she had also begun poking fun at him for the past couple of days. Though she still didn't say much to anyone else, she was definitely returning to her old state. He wasn't sure or not whether she would ever be like her old self, but the improvement she was showing was more than enough.

"Well you have been making some more friends around here, so I'm quite sure you're ready to face them and be a good mentor," he said, analyzing her behavior as of late. She had gone to the bar with Temari a few nights ago, as Temari had apologized for what she'd said and had offered to treat her to a drink. According to Temari she had managed polite conversation with a few of the shinobi who had been there as well.

"Well, okay," a small flare of fear interrupted his psychic link to his sand. He pulled an arm down from behind his head and placed his hand on hers.

"I'll be around the bend if you need me, you know that. If they give you problems, I'll be there," Gaara had been completely honest when he had told his sister that he would protect Sakura from anything and everything. His world centered around her, though she was slowly moving away from it, he noticed, but he still thought of her first thing in the morning and last at night.

"Thanks, Gaara. I do appreciate everything you've done for me," she looked up at him and smiled. He couldn't help the slight smile that came to his lips as well. He lowered himself and kissed her, his hold on her hand tightening almost imperceptibly. She immediately kissed back. He pulled back and rested his forehead on hers, quiet for a moment and basking in her presence.

"Okay!" Sakura pulled away from him after a few long moments and popped out of bed, going straight to the dresser. She began to root through it. "I'm going to go to the market, because I don't think you have enough food here for everyone, especially Naruto. Then I'll come back and change and we can go do our daily spar."

"Alright, and what do you expect me to do?" Sakura was doing his chore for the day: grocery shopping. He got up as well and stretched, going to the closet to get one of his many shinobi outfits and change.

"I don't know, go catch up on work or something. I'll have lunch ready by about one-thirty or so, okay?" she began to change, though he wasn't surprised at her openness to being naked around him anymore. Because of their showers together, he was used to seeing her like that and he definitely enjoyed the view, even if he had yet to initiate sexual contact with her.

"An hour and a half or so of work. Seems like fun," she smiled at his joke and he only sighed at her. He pulled on his clothes and then went to the nightstand, pulling out some money for her. "If you want me to bring you back, you know how to call," he said, handing her the money. She took it and tucked it into her pocket. She had put on a nice tank top and some shorts that framed her backside quite nicely, as he couldn't help himself from noticing.

"I know," she stepped closer to him and he transported her to the marketplace. She pulled away from him, but not before tightening her arms around him in a hug. He only nodded to her smile as he took off. Sakura pulled out the money he'd given her and counted through it quickly. It was quite a bit and she surmised that she should grab quite a bit of food.

"Hey, Aoto, mind giving me at least triple what you usually do?" she'd learned the names of all the vendors she and Gaara usually visited and she was now looking over the fruit stand.

"Of course, Sakura," he pulled out quite a few baskets as she perused the fruit he had out in front.

"Oh, I see you have some starfruit. Mind throwing some in there for me?" she asked. Starfruit wasn't an especially tasty fruit, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. The man only smiled and nodded, tossing quite a few in one of the baskets. He weighed it all out and told her the price. She gave him the money, as well as a good tip, and took the three baskets he held out to her. The fruit vendor was the only one who used baskets and she supposed it was so they kept from getting ruined cramped in a bag and all. "Thanks, see you soon," she waved and moved on.

"Sakura, I have your order ready," the vendor who sold her bread and eggs called her over.

"Thanks, mind doubling that?" the vendor gave her a look. "Visiting ninja," she said as way of explanation.

"Oh, yeah, you're lucky you got here, the market's about to close in about half an hour for the festival tonight," he said, pulling out more of his vending for her. She watched him work quietly. Though she was polite to the vendors, she avoided small talk with them. She was still quite wary of people, though she now felt comfortable enough to hold polite conversations about anything but herself or her friends.

"How much?"

"Just give me the regular. It is a day of festivities after all," he smiled. Sakura gave her half-smile back and gave him the amount as well as a generous tip, as Gaara would ask why she still had more than enough left. "Oh, thank you, Sakura."

"See you soon," she waved again. She turned a few times to find the vegetables and rounded up a few things there as well and then went to the butchers for some chicken and beef. By the time she was done, her arms were dragging a little from all the bags she carried. She sighed. She hadn't wanted to ask Gaara for help, but she wasn't going to be able to walk back with all this stuff, much less get in the door with it all. She set down her bags and touched the sand on her wrist.

"Need a little help?" she jumped.

"Jesus, Gaara, do you really need to scare me like that?" she asked, picking up all her bags again. Gaara only chuckled and wrapped an arm around her waist when she drew close. He took her back to his house, into the kitchen, and helped her set everything on the counter.

"I'll be back in a little while. If anything upsets you, just call," he said, disappearing in a whirl of sand. Sakura had nodded. Gaara had removed the perimeter he had on the sand, but now she didn't know if he came when she needed him. He told her that if she touched the sand on her wrist, he'd be there in a moment. It didn't matter how big or small and she would find him right in front of her, fussing over her sometimes because she had accidentally touched it. He would never mind, but give her a quick kiss and go back to work.

She didn't know how to feel about Gaara, she realized as she began putting away all the food and getting ready to prepare lunch. She didn't think of him as someone to replace Neji, though they were very similar, but Gaara made her feel looked-after and safe. Neji would say that she could take care of herself and be strong, but sometimes she needed someone to lean on. Though she had loved the Hyuuga, there were different qualities in Gaara that Neji didn't have and she found herself liking those qualities. He made her feel at home, though this place was a far reach from her home.

A quiet cough interrupted her in her musings and Sakura started, looking about for the source of the noise. Ino stood behind the bar, her hands on one of the stools, as she looked at the pink haired girl. Sakura blinked and went back to her work.

"Not even a hello, forehead?" Ino asked, though Sakura could tell that she was tense. Sakura didn't say a word, didn't trust herself to, unless it came out strained and cold. Though she had pretty much made amends with Naruto, she wasn't so sure about the rest of her friends, or the rest of Konoha for that matter. Ino sighed. "Look, Naruto told us everything and Tsunade verified it all. I'm really sorry about all the things that happened and I'm looking for forgiveness."

"It doesn't change the fact that it did happen," Sakura spoke indifferently, hoping it would sound better than her frigid tone she had adopted when she left her home.

"Look, what we did—what I did—was totally unacceptable and I know you shouldn't forgive me, but please, Sakura, you're a great friend," Ino looked so hopeful when Sakura glanced at her. She sighed. She pulled a starfruit out of the fridge and began cutting it up. Just as Ino began to look rejected, Sakura pushed half of it towards her.

"I don't trust any of you guys anymore, and I'm sorry for that," Sakura began. "I might even decide to stay here. Gaara has made me a home here, which is more than what all of you did back in Konoha." Ino looked sad as she nodded her head. "But it does mean a lot that you apologized, and I suppose that's the first step to being friends again."

"You're right," Ino said happily as she began eating the fruit. Sakura gave her a vague smile, the one she tended to use around strangers. She turned back to the stove and continued cooking, though Ino stayed behind her and began to talk about the things that happened back in her home.

"Ino," Sakura finally interrupted her while she was talking about flower arrangements for Naruo and Hinata's wedding. "I'm very sorry, but I don't want to hear about Konoha." She didn't want to hear about life going on without her, like she wasn't even missed. To them it was probably like she was a ghost, someone who did die and they forgot about long ago.

"Well, then what's going on here?" Ino asked, her chin in her hand.

"Gaara's been taking care of me and helping me recuperate. He didn't let me leave the house for the first month or so," Sakura said.

"That's cruel!" Ino exclaimed, her eyes narrowed in anger. "How could he do that?"

"He didn't want anyone to see me and spread rumors around the village," Sakura shrugged. "I didn't want to go out anyways. I was pretty intent on dying," she sighed. He wouldn't allow that, though. He got me back on eating regularly and we spar everyday," she looked at the clock. She still had about fifteen minutes to finish lunch and then about thirty minutes to eat and get ready, though she was likely to spar in her attire she had on.

"Well, you do look better than the last time I saw you," Ino said. She stood up and rooted through the fridge, pulling out some watermelon Sakura had cut up the previous day. She sat back down and began eating it again.

"He thinks I'm ready to begin training his medics soon," Sakura said as she finished cooking. She pulled out two plates and served herself as well on Gaara, intent on bringing it up to their room and letting Ino call everyone else for lunch. She wasn't ready for everyone in the same space quite yet.

"How do you feel about that?" Ino asked as she got out a plate as well and served herself. Sakura set her plates down and got out some cutlery to bring upstairs before she called Gaara.

"I don't know. But he says he'll come if I call and sort things out if something happens, so I suppose I'm safe," Sakura said. "Anyways, I'm going to go upstairs and eat. Do me a favor and call everyone else down. I need to go and spar with Gaara after this," she nodded a goodbye to Ino and walked quickly up the stairs, the door closed just as she heard Ino's yell of 'LUNCH!'

Sakura sighed as she turned away from the door after carefully locking it with two plates in her hands. She spotted Gaara on the bed and stopped herself from jumping. "Gaara, I told you to stop scaring me like that!" She dropped her plate in his lap as she sat next to him.

"You really need to start recognizing chakra signatures again, you know," he said, digging into the lunch she made. She wanted to laugh. He always seemed to like the things she made, no matter what they were.

"I've been a little distracted today, you know," usually she was quite good at recognizing them and not being surprised when someone was behind her and decided to speak up, but the events of the day were distracting her and wreaking havoc with her abilities. Gaara only chuckled. She finished her meal rather quickly and put her plate with the others on the nightstand before standing and stretching. She changed her shoes out of the flats she'd been wearing for something more appropriate for a spar. She turned back to Gaara just in time to see him setting his plate on the nightstand as well. They didn't usually bring their plates down to the kitchen until the end of the day, just to be sure they didn't have to make more than one trip.

"Come on, let's get some of that uncertainty out of you before the Gala tonight," Gaara said, stepping close to her and dragging her close to his body. He always loved to see the light blush on her face and she nodded, leaning into his body. He leaned forwards and kissed her, pulling her tight against his body. When they broke apart, they were at their training ground.

"I like it when you do that," Sakura giggled. Gaara smirked at her. She still didn't like the way he transported, though she put up with it. She liked it when he distracted her like that. Gaara looked around and then concentrated for a moment before a whirlwind of sand engulfed the far side of the field. When it cleared, Naruto was standing in the middle of it, a confused look on his face.

"Gaara, why did you do that?! I was just talking to Hinata about something!"

"You said you wanted to spar with Sakura this morning. She said to meet us at two. It is now five past the hour," Gaara said simply. Naruto shut his mouth and crossed his arms, muttering out of the corner of his mouth. Sakura giggled softly, though Gaara caught it. He smirked at her again.

"What are you going to do?" Naruto asked him.

"Watch." Gaara moved to the far side of the training ground and sat. He wanted to watch and make sure Naruto didn't go too far. However, he also wanted to be sure that he didn't hold back. Sakura wasn't breakable anymore, and he wasn't so sure Naruto realized that yet.

Gaara was right. After a few minutes of watching them, he realized Naruto was, indeed, holding back and Sakura was dodging him with ease and she seemed to be growing bored. Instead of telling Naruto that she wasn't that weak, Gaara stood up. He stopped the spar with a quick wall of sand, taking it's place as it dissipated.

"Watch," he said to Naruto over his shoulder. He threw a spear of sand at Sakura and she dodged it with ease. He began to spar with her instead now, although he didn't hold back as much as Naruto did. He gave her a run for her money, though she got more than a few hits in that he couldn't dodge. He was amazed and impressed that she had come this far in such a short time. He was glad that she was getting her old spirit and fighting body back.

"Gaara, you could have hurt her!" Naruto said, his eyes angry as he squared off against the redhead.

"But I didn't," Gaara said calmly. "Sakura isn't weak anymore. She isn't suicidal and she's getting back to the level that she was at before any of this happened. I hoped you would have realized and not held back against her, but it was too easy a match for her. She was getting bored."

"Sakura, why are you letting him talk for you?" Naruto asked, his eyes catching her as she pulled her hair through her fingers and adjusted her tank top. She didn't seem hurt in the slightest. She gave him a look, as if the answer was common sense.

"Because what he's saying is true, Naruto." Sakura sighed and looked up at the sky. "Anyways, we should be getting back. I have to shower and get ready and the festivities are going to begin soon," she began to step towards Gaara, but Naruto grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

"What are you doing?" his voice wasn't angry in the least, but she pushed his arm off her body anyways. She blinked at him.

"Gaara's going to take me back."

"Oh, alright. How am I going to get back?" Sakura looked towards Gaara, who placed a hand on each of their shoulders and pulled them back to his home. Sakura pulled away immediately and fished out a towel and some underclothes before going to the shower without another word. Gaara figured it was because she was a girl and girls take forever to get ready.

"That was creepy," Naruto said, slightly shaken up.

"It didn't scare you the first time?" Naruto cringed again and Gaara smirked. "Go and get ready, idiot," he began pulling out his own towel and clothes as Naruto left his room. Gaara pulled the tray from the nightstand and put it in the kitchen, not surprised that his guests didn't clean up after themselves. He put his dishes in the sink. The maids would clean it up while they were away. He went back up to his room and checked the clock. About fifteen minutes had passed, the amount of time Sakura said to give her before joining her in the shower. Gaara supposed that it was because she needed time to do girl things in there.

He entered the bathroom and tossed his towel and clothes on the toilet before stripping and stepping into the shower behind Sakura.

"You're late," she giggled before turning to him. She lead him under the spray of the shower and messed up his hair, though it didn't really do anything. Gaara only pulled a face. He pulled the body soap up from the shower organizer and began to clean her body, though he didn't have to push his thoughts away this time. It had become easier every time they did this and they did this everyday after training. He washed her hair and Sakura took the soap from him to do the same favor. At her beckoning, he turned and let her massage his back.

"Why do you do that every day?" he asked, though he wasn't particularly complaining. She was very skilled at rubbing his back and he looked forward to it every day. Sakura took a long moment to answer and he was almost sure she wasn't going to.

"Because you sit hunched over a desk most of the day and then you spar with me. That's not good on your neck and back," she said simply, finishing and pulling him under the water to wash all the soap away. "And you like it," she shrugged.

"You got me on that," he chuckled and he heard a soft giggle from her as well. He washed his hair and she giggled when he got soap all over her as well when he rinsed it off. He only smirked and got out of the shower, watching her as well.

About an hour later, he was sitting on the toilet and watching her do her hair while in her underclothes.

"You don't need to sit and watch, you know, you'll see everything when I'm done," she giggled as she pulled a curl away from her head and sprayed it with something that smelled only slightly nice. Gaara wrinkled his nose.

"What else do I have to do right now?" he asked simply. He had long since changed into his suit, but he sat in the bathroom and watched her, keeping her company. It wasn't like he didn't have anything else to do, he could go read a book or watch some television, but he'd rather sit and talk to her when she wanted to say something.

"True," she smiled at him through the mirror. She did something with a few pins and then turned to him. "Good?" Gaara looked at her and thought she looked perfect already. Her hair was done up in a bun, an ornate pin holding it there and locks of curled hair framing her face, a few of the same pins keeping it from getting in her face. Gaara only nodded and she turned back to the mirror, getting out her make-up bag.

"I've also never watched a girl get ready, it's interesting to say the least," Gaara said, watching her in the mirror. Sakura gave him a questioning glance. "I never knew how involved it was," he said simply. He had watched her put on lotion, then body powder, though she wouldn't tell him why, and then she blow-dried her hair, pinning and curling it after, and now she was doing her makeup. No wonder girls took forever, they had so much more to do than just shower and put on deodorant.

"At least you seem to enjoy my efforts," she said, giving him a smile. She put on the last finishing touches on her face and then left the bathroom, Gaara following her. She pulled a dress from the closet and pulled it over her head. She caught Gaara looking at her, questioning the short dress. "It's for the festival. You can't expect me to wear an evening gown at the festival, do you?"

"Ah, no. I don't know why I thought that," Gaara had been excited to see her evening gown, he believed that was all. Temari had brought it by and she made him promise not to look at it. He had grudgingly nodded. Sakura brushed herself down and pulled some black flats from the closet as well.

"I'll be wearing heels at dinner, don't worry. I just don't want my feet to be killing me after, that's all," Sakura explained. She went to the dresser and pulled the necklace and earrings off the top of it, putting them on. Gaara had noticed she always took them off when she went into the shower or went to bed. She had said she didn't want to ruin them and he agreed with her. The items seemed special to her and for that he was glad. At least she wasn't holding onto fading memories.

"Ready?" he asked after he pulled on his own shoes. Sakura nodded and he pulled her into his arms, transporting them to the marketplace. Because it was the largest and the main street in the village, it was where all the festivals were held. The dinner was going to be held in the tower, on the main floor. There was a rather enormous room on the bottom floor regularly used for meetings, but they re-purposed it for the Gala.

"Oh, wow," Sakura took in all the lights that shown brightly against the night. They weren't nearly this beautiful in Konoha. There were a million stars in the clear sky she would have never been able to see in Konoha. She looked up at Gaara, a large smile on her face. Gaara was entranced for a moment, unable to look away from her features. He had to consciously hold himself from kissing her in that moment. He was often caught up in the moment and that was when he found himself kissing her. He couldn't do that in front of all these people, though.

"There's Naruto and Hinata," he nodded towards the pair that were milling about in the crowd. "Would you like to join them?" Though there was a touch of uncertainty through the psychic link, she nodded. She rested her hand in the crook of his elbow and he lead her towards the two. Naruto turned to him a big smile on his face, though Hinata didn't look at Gaara, but kept her eyes transfixed on Sakura. Gaara could feel how uncomfortable she was and he hoped she wouldn't be frigid and cold towards the two.

"Hey, Gaara! Your villagers sure know how to throw a party," Naruto smiled openly and rested an arm around Hinata's shoulders. Sakura pressed close to Gaara's side. The uncomfortable feeling had increased tenfold and Gaara laid a hand over hers. She seemed to quiet slightly, but not by much.

"Hello, Sakura-san," Hinata said, her voice soft. Gaara could barely hear her over the crowd, though he knew Sakura heard her. The girl had the ears of an owl.

"Hello," she said. Gaara thought she sounded rather scared than anything else and he hoped the Hyuuga would pick up on it. From what Sakura had told him, she was one of the clanspeople that had shunned her and hadn't allowed her on teams. Hinata looked down, but Naruto nudged her and gave her a stern look when she glanced up at him. She swallowed and turned to Sakura, who's hand tightened on his elbow.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-san. I shouldn't have done those things. Tsunade told us. I-I didn't want to do it, but my father told me I didn't have a choice," she seemed about to cry. Gaara was skeptic. He didn't know the girl well enough whether to know if they were fake or not. He drew light fingertips over Sakura's hand and she took a deep breath.

"Just—don't do it again," she finally said. Gaara could tell she was making a frail attempt at humor, and the Hyuuga girl gave a weak smile to indulge her. Sakura only nodded and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "There really wasn't anything I could do, Hinata. I tried and tried until I ran out," Sakura ended in a whisper and Gaara knew she was about to cry. He didn't think it was because of what happened anymore, but because of shared grief between her and the other girl.

"I know that now," Hinata said softly. Sakura only nodded.

"Their dumplings are good over there," Sakura pointed out the stall, "If you guys would like to..." Naruto nodded vigorously, while Hinata a bit more slowly. The small group made its' way over and Gaara purchased a few for them all. Hinata thanked him, though Naruto ate most of hers as well as his own.

"I never thought Gaara would escort you, Sakura," Hinata said quietly as they made their way through the crowd. Naruto had insisted that he and Gaara get some ramen.

"I think he did it because he wants to protect me." Sakura stopped and smiled a half-smile. "Want to see something?" Hinata nodded slowly and Sakura brushed over the sand on her wrist. Gaara was there in half a second behind her, worry etched into his brow.

"Something wrong?" were the first words out of his mouth. Sakura jumped, as she'd been doing all day, and turned to him, looking apologetic.

"No, I just accidentally brushed against it again."

"Alright. I'll get back to Naruto so I can watch him continue to stuff his face. How he'll have room for dinner, I'll never know." Then, even though the Hyuuga was watching, he wrapped and arm around her waist and pulled her close, placing a kiss on her lips. Sakura was more than stunned and didn't reciprocate, which he was ready for. He pulled away with a smirk. Then he was gone.

"W-What was that?" Hinata was blushing while Sakura was sporting one as well. She definitely didn't expect that. She brought her hand to her mouth and looked over at the dark-haired girl.

"Laying his claim, I guess?" she gave the girl a confused glance and shrugged.

"Does that mean you're over Neji?" Hinata asked, falling in step with her again.

"I suppose so. It's been about six months. After I left Konoha, it was easier."

"Why did you run away?" Hinata asked, staring at her fingertips, a habit from her younger days that she only did when she was extremely embarrassed.

"Because I was killing myself and I guess I just wanted a way out," Sakura said, looking up at the sky. "I told Ino this, but I might not go back."

"I'd understand if you didn't," Hinata said softly. Sakura only nodded. Hinata seemed to be thinking, but Sakura didn't interrupt her. "Sakura," she said suddenly.

"Hm?" she looked over to the other girl.

"My father is planning to publicly disgrace you," Hinata said, staring down at the ground. "He's still angry that Neji's dead and he said that he doesn't care whether or not you could help him, he won't apologize to you and neither will the other clans." Sakura tightened her hands into fists and stared at the ground with the girl. She saw a few dark spots on the ground and it took her a few seconds to realize that Hinata was crying. Emotions whirled inside of her and she barely noticed when Gaara appeared, though it took her by surprise when she was pulled into his arms.

"What happened?" he asked darkly; Sakura saw that Naruto had arrived as well, pulling Hinata into his arms.

Did you say something to her, Sakura?" Naruto asked, though he didn't seem angry. It seemed as though he understood that Sakura could be cold and could say the wrong thing when she wasn't watching herself.

"Sakura is very upset," Gaara said, knowing that the girl had shut down and wasn't about to answer her friend. She was staring at his chest, though he knew she wasn't seeing it. Her hands rested by her sides, though she usually grasped his shirt in her hands. She had withdrawn into that place in her mind where no one could touch her and he was afraid she'd be there for a while.

"I-I told her..." Hinata said softly and Naruto nodded. Hinata wiped her tears away and turned to Gaara, relaying all that she'd said to Sakura.

"You should have come to me," he said after she'd said all that she had to. "I admire your courage in telling Sakura, but she is fragile and I would have rather been told first." Hinata flushed and nodded. She was pleased that Gaara had given her a compliment, though she felt bad that she had hurt Sakura again, although it wasn't even her fault, but her father's. It had always been her father's fault. Gaara sighed, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"What now?" she asked, her hands at her mouth and eyes more than worried.

"I suggest you clean yourself up, Hinata. Crying messed your makeup," Gaara said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Though he would have never done this before, comforting Sakura had allowed him to be a little more comforting towards others as well. "Naruto, I want you to get Tsunade. Bring her to my home and knock at the door three times. I expect Hiashi to be out."

"He's not," Hinata piped up. "He doesn't like festivals. I-I don't want him to see me like this. He'll know."

"Use the bathroom attached to my room," Gaara said. "Sakura keeps her things in there so you should be able to clean yourself up. The window's unlocked." He thought for a moment. "Bring Tsunade to the training ground we used earlier."

Naruto nodded. He turned to Hinata and kissed her cheek. "You didn't do anything wrong. I thought Sakura could take it," he said softly to her, reassuringly. "Go clean up. I'll meet you once we're done at the training grounds." Hinata nodded and turned away, walking with her head low so no one would see her makeup. Gaara looked down at Sakura and sighed. She was still dazed looking and retracted into her shell. He hadn't seen her like this since the second day she'd been there.

"Here," Gaara placed sand on Naruto's wrist. "It will lead you to me if you lose your way. I have to get Sakura out of here," Naruto nodded and turned, looking for Tsunade. He figured she was probably drinking somewhere and went in search of somewhere serving drinks.

Gaara was gone in a moment, to the training grounds. He lowered Sakura to the ground. He sat across from her and watched her quietly, though there wasn't much to watch. She sat still, her legs tucked tightly underneath her and mouth slightly open as she stared at the sand in front of her, her fingers slightly buried in it at her sides. She didn't seem to realize the change in scenery or noise.

"Sakura," Gaara said quietly, reaching forwards to take her hand. She didn't react. Her hand remained limp in his and he sighed. He didn't know how to snap her out of it. "Sakura," he said again, leaning towards her. Her eyes were transfixed on the sand. He pushed his fingertips under her chin and raised her face to look at him. She didn't seem to see him. He leaned close to her and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. She didn't react at first, though her fingertips twitched against his hand. "Sakura, we won't let this happen," Gaara said as he pulled away. He grasped the back of her neck and pulled her towards him. She fell easily into his lap, her face against his neck. She was still for long moments until she finally, finally, moved her arms to rest lightly on his arms. Then, she was moving again, pressing her body harshly against his and wrapping her arms so tightly around his neck he was sure a lesser man would die of oxygen depravity.

"I-it was just a shock," she whispered. "I-it's been s-so long," she was close to tears, he knew. She had left it behind and was trying to move on, but there were so many that weren't going to let it go, probably for the rest of their lives. He held her against him, though he didn't know the words to say to her.

"Sakura?" she pulled away from Gaara's embrace at her teacher's voice, staring blearily up at the older woman. "What's going on here?" the woman's voice was far from angry. She had watched as Sakura stared blankly at nothing and watched as Gaara kissed her and pulled her close, pulling her gently from her shell and back into the world again, something no other person could do. Gaara rose and pulled Sakura up beside him.

"You didn't tell her, Naruto?" Gaara asked, his sharp gaze directed at his friend now.

"I didn't want anyone to overhear," the blonde said. Gaara only nodded.

"Hiashi is not going to apologize to Sakura at the dinner tonight," Gaara said, his eyes hard, "Instead, he has decided to publicly disgrace her." Surely that wouldn't be approved of in the Konohagakure village, but he wouldn't let it happen in his own village. They were playing by his rules, not their own. They weren't about to make a huge scene without him knowing at his own Gala. He didn't care if it was thrust upon him. This was supposed to be a nice night, not another political battle.

"Ah." Tsunade glared at the ground. Sakura only watched her teacher, hidden slightly behind Gaara. She didn't know what to do about this.

"I want to ask your permission, if it escalates too badly, to formally induct Sakura as a shinobi of my village." Gaara had been thinking this through while he'd been pulling Sakura out of herself. If he formally inducted her, she would at least have a village to return to. He knew his village's people had accepted her, the shinobi greeting her in a friendly way on the street and the vendors smiling and offering her gifts as she passed by. Though she had been cold at first, how sweet she was had shone through after a while and the people around couldn't help but be friendly. He had even sent her on a mission with Temari and a different shinobi, as Kankorou had been on a solo mission, and the shinobi had come back with high views of Sakura.

"I agree," Tsunade sighed. "I never thought it would come to this." She turned away from them, thinking. It wasn't long before she turned back to them. "Sakura is always welcome back to Konoha, whether she decides to return or not. It is my decision, not the clan heads'. However, formally inducting her here would prove that she is wanted somewhere. If they had their way, she'd be banished and they would be allowed to kill her on sight."

"Why are they holding this against her?" Naruto asked angrily. His hands were tightened into fists at his side and Gaara saw blood dripping from his knuckles. Never had he seen his friend this enraged.

"Clans are extremely tightly knit," Tsunade said, her eyes hard. "Neji had to fight just to date Sakura, and fight for her to become his fiancee. It's more or less frowned upon to take a bride of lower clan standing. Hiashi believes he gave Sakura a great honor by allowing her to become engaged to Neji and she dishonored herself greatly when she let him die, although it was in no way her fault."

"But she didn't let him die!" Naruto shouted, holding his head in frustration.

"We know that, Naruto. The jutsu was still traceable on his body. Sakura had brought back the leader of the team of enemy ninja that attacked them as well, don't you remember? It was easily traceable to him. He had used up all his chakra and then some, his own life force, just to complete it. It doesn't matter to the Hyuuga. To them, Sakura should have died as well or even before Neji."

"That's just cruel," Naruto growled. Gaara had to agree, though he knew why Sakura had survived. Medics were supposed to stay out of harm's way, only to interfere and fight if their comrade were in grave danger and she could defeat them and tend to her comrade. Neji had ordered her to stay away and she had done everything by the book. She had waited until the battle was over and it was safe to tend to her teammates. The fact that she could do nothing for them had nothing to do with it.

"It is nonsense, Naruto. I can't believe that they're holding onto this grudge for so long and going against their leader's words," Gaara said. Sakura reached forwards and grasped his hand. "Yes?" he turned slightly towards her. She had something to say, but didn't want to interrupt their conversation.

"If it's a fight he wants, he'll get it," Sakura said softly, though her voice was determined. "It wasn't my fault that any of my teammates died, and for a long time I thought I belonged with them. I gave up until I came here. I know these things are settled by a battle to the end, and I will go along with it, if I must."

"Sakura, no one's asking you to do that," Tsunade said, stepping towards her student. "No one is asking you to defend yourself and settle things in the way of the clans. It's nonsense! You're not of clan birth, they should leave it be."

"I know," she said quietly, almost so quiet that they couldn't hear her. Gaara pulled her towards him and embraced her.

"I will not allow it," he said fiercely. Naruto and Tsunade watched them, though there was something akin to amazement in Naruto's eyes. "I have fought too hard to keep you from letting yourself give in, Sakura, and this is giving in. It is suicide. I will fight in your stead if I must, but I will not allow you to throw your life away like it doesn't matter." Sakura watched him, her mouth slightly open. Gaara had never spoken to her in such a way and it made her realize that Gaara cared more deeply for her than he could tell her at that moment. This was the only way he could relay it and there was such fear and turmoil in his eyes.

"Then what should I do, Gaara?" she challenged him. Naruto's eyes widened even more. He hadn't ever seen someone challenge Gaara and get away with their head still attached to their body.

"We stop Hiashi," he said simply. Though the man was very proper and prestigious, he couldn't go against the wishes of his Hokage, as she could banish him and sentence him to become a rogue nin for the rest of his life. Gaara knew that isn't what Tsunade wanted to do, but by the determination in her eyes, he knew she would do what she must.

"I don't think..." Sakura had begun to speak, but had trailed off. She looked down and away for a moment before looking back up, straight in Tsunade's eyes. Gaara hadn't seen her make eye contact with anyone but himself before this moment and he could tell her old sense of determination was showing through. "Hiashi never knew Neji as well as he thought," she said firmly, her voice strong. "Neji wasn't the cold and hard creature Hiashi thought him to be. It was an anbu mission, an S-ranked. I am only a jounin medic. Neji ordered me to stay out of the way not only as my Captain, but as my fiancee. The enemy could have killed me easily and he didn't want to worry about me. I was there to heal and give him aid when I must," she fell silent for a moment. She remembered back to that terrible day, staring into Neji's eyes as he died. He had smiled at her, held her face in his hand, and told her it was alright, at least she was safe. "There was nothing I could do to aid them. That is all there is to it."

"Sakura, no one is questioning whether what you did is right," Naruto said, taking a step towards her. She gave him a fierce look and he backed off.

"If it's a fight Hiashi wants, it's a fight he will get. Neji wanted me to live and that's why he sent me away. I cannot disobey my Captain's orders," she said firmly. She was going to hold onto that belief. She had been so long in the dark, nothing to grasp onto and nothing to believe in. If there was nothing else to believe in, there was the belief that he'd wanted to keep her safe and out of harm's way.

"You're right, Sakura." Tsunade sighed. "What do you want to do?"

"I want to go see Hiashi," she said, her voice strong. "I have been killing myself for his words and it's time to end this." Gaara nodded, finding that he was proud of her. She had been hiding within herself and slowly getting better. He was proud that she had her fighting spirit again, that she wasn't just going to lay down and take it anymore.

"Come," he reached his hands to Tsunade and Naruto, Sakura stepping close to him and pressing herself to his body. He could feel nothing but a fiery determination through the psychic link and he knew she wouldn't back off and he knew she wouldn't give in to the Hyuuga so easily anymore. The others took his hand and he whisked them away to his house, right outside the Hyuuga's door.

"I want to do this alone," Sakura said, looking at each of her friends.

"No," Tsunade said, her eyes hard, daring Sakura to resist.

"I will not allow it as well," Gaara said, his voice calm. Sakura looked at both of them and nodded. She turned towards the door and there was no hesitation within her as she knocked firmly on the door. This was the Sakura Gaara had known before. A fiery girl with a short temper and no tolerance for back-handedness.

"Yes?" Hiashi opened the door. "What do you want?" he asked, glaring down at Sakura.

"Are you going to invite me in? I thought you were raised properly after all," Sakura said without hesitation. Tsunade watched the girl with fascination. She had changed so much in the time she had spent in Suna. She was fierce again, her short temper showing through once more. Though she seemed calm, Tsunade could find the inner workings of her anger and temper showing through. Sakura was done with this nonsense.

"Of course," Hiashi sneered, stepping to the side. The small group filtered in. Gaara stayed near the door to survey the room, in case he had to step in if Hiashi attacked Sakura. He would not allow harm to come to her, not while Tsunade stood before him. He had to tell himself to believe that was the reason. "Now, what do you want?" he asked again, though his tone was even more haughty.

"It's time to end this, Hyuuga," Sakura said, her voice like sharp needles, akin to the tone she'd had when she first arrived. Gaara realized something in that moment. She had turned to anger and hatred before she had arrived. She hated everyone. It hadn't been shyness or anything of the sort. She had long lost her sense of trust when she'd first arrived.

"I see you have gotten better. You should have simply wasted away and died for what you did to my nephew."

"I was following my Captain's orders," Sakura said. She challenged Hiashi, looking directly into his eyes, daring to interrupt her. "He told me to stay away until after the battle and then heal. I did. I couldn't stop what happened." Gaara watched Hiashi closely, in case he should attack.

"You are an incompetent medic. You should have not been a shinobi in the first place." Naruto started forward, but with a twitch of Gaara's hand, he was restrained by a strand of sand around his ankle. Naruto sighed and gave him a grateful look. Gaara nodded.

"Not even Tsunade could save him. I came back completely drained of chakra, carrying two full-grown men. What more do you want? There was nothing I could do. There is no reason for such animosity because of something I had no control over," Sakura spoke clearly, staring Hiashi in the eyes. The man was taken aback, to say the least. No one had ever challenged him directly. Her courage was admirable, to say the least.

"You could have died in his stead," he said, his eyes sharp.

"What good is that? What good is holding on to something that has happened already? I am alive, he is dead. He told me to say safe and out of harm's way, as a medic should do. I cannot go against my Captain's orders. You are all cowards for shunning me and making me feel as though I did wrong. You did not face me, you merely hid away in your houses and turned my life into a living hell."

"How dare you call me cowardly!" Hiashi stepped forwards and towered over the small girl, though she didn't back down. Gaara had stepped forwards, but he stopped. Something within the psychic link had told him to stop. Stop and wait. She would deal with this. His fingers tightened over his arms as he crossed them. He wanted to stop this.

"That is what you are," Sakura said, meeting his eyes, though hers were fierce, his only angry. She was still challenging him and she didn't care the outcome. He could tear her to shreds, but he was sure to have quite a few marks on him as well. "We could have settled this long ago if you hadn't simply hidden away. You are in the wrong, Hiashi. Neji wanted to keep his teammates safe. He is not you, who pushes everyone to the brink and then more. He did not risk the safety of others."

"How do you know, Haruno? He was _my_ nephew."

"He was _my _fiancee. Take it a word to the wise. I'm quite sure if I was going to marry him, I would know his personality and know he would agree with me on most things." Sakura whirled around. "I'm done here, Hiashi. I know you plan to publicly disgrace me, and I will let you know I will not let that happen. I am not someone you can push around." The others followed her out the door. She didn't look back as she entered her and Gaara's room. She had to get changed. The dinner was going to begin shortly and she didn't want the Kazekage to be late.

"Gaara..." she heard Tsunade as she went to the bathroom to change. "Thank you," she was stunned in that moment and all anger left her. She stared down at the emerald silk in her hands and she no longer felt afraid to wear it. She changed slowly. Tsunade had been worried about her, had tried to approach her, but she always pushed her away. She had turned to hatred and kept everyone at bay, even Naruto, though he had unbreakable loyalty. Everyone was at arms' length, except for Gaara who had pushed his way past it without words. She didn't regret it. She knew she should have stood up for herself long ago, but the past was the past. Perhaps she needed to get away to see the truth in things and begin to build herself back up.

Exiting the bathroom, everyone looked over to her. She looked at each of them and then stepped towards Naruto, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry," she said softly. She pulled away to see a smiling Naruto.

"Aw, come on Sakura, you're like me. You never give up. You knew you had to get away and you came here. I'm sorry for being so hard on you." It seemed as though she had forgiven him, to Gaara. He had been caught up in her beauty as she stepped out of the bathroom and he wasn't complaining about her choice of dress. She turned towards him and smiled.

"We should get going. The Kazekage shouldn't be late for his own Gala," she said, stepping towards him. He once again held both his hands out to the other two and took them to the tower's vestibule. People were milling around them. He sighed. Sakura was sure to be tired when they finally got to bed. She rested her hand on the crook of his elbow again and he led her into the meeting hall and to the foremost table, where he and his escort would sit. He pulled out her chair and she sat.

"I'm proud of you," he said after he sat down as well, placing a hand over hers. Sakura looked up at him and smiled, her emerald eyes gleaming. "I realize now that you weren't broken, Sakura," he said quietly, watching the guests filter into the room. He would have to say a few words and then Tsunade, followed by anyone else that would like to say something. She gave him a questioning look. "I realize that you were angry, and that you were trying to push me away." She looked away from him and looked solemnly at her plate, nodding.

"I was trying to push everyone away, just like they were doing to me," she said softly. He was right about one thing. She was never going to be the same. However, the fiery temper and fierce determination had broken through the waning anger and hatred at the world and made her whole again. He would settle for that.

"I am truly glad you came here, Sakura," he said, though trying to make it quick as almost everyone was seated now. "I would not have been able to have what I have with you." He meant it as he would have never known what it was like to comfort someone and have someone to protect like it was second nature. He looked over to her to see that she was smiling at him. She was happy for the first time in a long time and for that he was glad. He sighed, knowing he had to stand and address everyone now.

"My allies and friends," he said as he rose. "It is my pleasure to welcome you to Suna and our night of peaceful gathering," he looked at all of his guests, though he did not smile. He was still not one to smile openly unless alone with Sakura. "I hope that we will have many more nights like these, even after we are all gone and new leaders take our places." He paused and looked over the room again, "Now is the time to eat and enjoy the night. Tsunade, if you'd like to say something, now is the time."

Tsunade rose, her honey colored eyes already showing that she was slightly tipsy. Gaara was surprised and he heard a soft giggle from beside him, though he didn't look over to his pink-haired date. He knew this was common and he was planning on the woman becoming drunk throughout the night, though he hoped that she wouldn't do anything too rash.

"I am glad to be here in our ally's village. It is a show of good fortune and I too hope that there are many more nights like these," she said. "That is all I have to say, though I believe one of our clan leaders has something to say as well," she sat back down and shot a harsh glare towards Hiashi, as though she was daring him to go through with his plan. Hinata was watching her father without falter from beside Naruto, as though waiting to jump up and interrupt him.

Hiashi stood. He stayed silent for a long minute, until he finally looked to Sakura. She met his gaze evenly, didn't even seem surprised. "Haruno Sakura, I have something to say to you. I believed that you could have done something to save my nephew six months ago. When you brought him back dead, I hated you and could not believe you were alive instead of him. That thought turned into hatred and the Hyuuga clan shunned you. We would not believe your words and instead made the other clans shun you as well. I know now that it was the wrong thing, that you followed your Captain's orders and did everything in your power to save him. I am deeply sorry for all the grief we have caused you and we want you to know that you will be welcomed back into the Konohagakure village without any qualms. You have done no wrong and I apologize for not recognizing that until now." He stayed standing, watching her reaction, waiting for her to tell him it was okay. Hiashi had never thought he would be in such a position, looking for approval from someone he had never needed or wanted approval from. Her sharp jade eyes softened.

"I accept your apology, Hiashi-san, and I forgive you and your clan, as well as all the others that publicly shamed me," she said, her voice strong. Gaara placed his hand over hers again, showing his approval. Hiashi bowed to her and sat back down.

"Now, I believe it is time to be served," Gaara had risen a last time. He sat back down as the caterers entered and set down plates in front of everyone. He watched Sakura out of the corner of his eye. He knew she was tired. She was sure not to eat much when she was tired, he knew. She did manage to eat most of it, though, and for that he was pleased. Her fight may have returned, but her appetite may not have.

Dinner was a long and tiresome event, but somehow, with Sakura beside him, he finally managed to get through it. She stood beside him now as he spoke with some of the wealthier people in his village. She turned slightly to see that Naruto had appeared beside her, a huge smile on his face. Hinata was on his arm and she looked rather pleased as well.

"What did you say to my father to make him change his mind?" she asked, though she couldn't quite believe that Sakura had done it. She had seen her friend low and down on her luck when, suddenly, the girl rose from the ashes and came back fighting. It was surely a sight to see and Hinata wished she could have been there to see the look on her father's face.

"I just showed him that I'm not going to give into him anymore," Sakura said, her eyes bright. She smiled at the girl.

"Naruto told me that you forgave him. You know it was all my doing. Why did you hate him?" she asked, looking away from Sakura. Hinata felt bad that she had gone along with her father's wishes, though he held something over her that no one else did. He wanted to strip her of the heir title and give it to her sister. It was a threat that she hadn't quite gotten over yet, but perhaps, from seeing Sakura's determination and iron will from standing up to her father, she could do the same and prove to him she wasn't as weak as he thought.

"I think I hated everyone back then," Sakura, her smile now a little bittersweet. "My anger held no discrimination," she said softly. Gaara had finished talking and now he turned to the scene. He placed a hand over Sakura's and bent close to her ear. She nodded as he drew away.

"Oi, Gaara, you can't leave your date like that!"

"He can if he's going to the bathroom," Sakura said pointedly. Naruto stopped and he scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish. Sakura only scoffed.

"Sakura!" Ino had jumped on her back and Sakura threw her on the ground, a scowl now on her face. She noticed that Ino had brought Shikamaru as well as a few others with her to annoy the pink-haired girl.

"Don't ruin my dress," Sakura said pointedly, crossing her arms. "This cost me a lot of money, you know."

"What happened to your engagement ring, Sakura?" Choji asked. Though the man had already eaten, he had a bag of chips in his hand and was stuffing his face with them. Sakura wrinkled her nose. He could have at least brought along a snack that was more proper for a Gala instead of his usual bag of chips.

"Gaara sold it and gave me this," she said, touching the necklace. Choji's eyes widened.

"What's going on with you and Gaara anyways?" Ino asked, now interested in Sakura's lovelife. Did this girl ever stop. Sakura shrugged.

"He helped me. He told me that I shouldn't be holding onto fading memories and he was right," she said, her voice showing that it was no big deal. "He sold it and I told him to keep the money." Though she wasn't so sure that he did. She was sure that he managed to give it back to her in one way or another. She had been slightly sad to learn that she would never see the beautiful ring again, but was also happy. Neji was gone, there was no changing that. It was true that she shouldn't be holding onto those memories, as though Neji would come out of the blue and take her back for himself again.

"So there's nothing else there?" Ino asked, disappointed. Hinata kept quiet about the kiss she'd witnessed and Sakura was glad for that. She simply shook her head in answer to Ino's question. Ino huffed. "I'm going to go dance, come on Choji." Choji grunted as he was whisked away.

"Hey, uh Sakura," Kiba said as he was pushed forwards by Shikamaru. Shino stood behind him, still wearing his customary shades. Sakura had never expected him to take them off in the first place. "So, I wanted to apologize too, you know. I kinda feel really bad about the whole thing," Kiba smiled, laughing nervously as he extended his hand. He was slightly afraid she would just throw him through a wall or something.

"It's fine, Kiba," she said, nodding. She didn't touch him. Kiba dropped his hand and smiled again, a little less nervous.

"Shino's sorry too. Even though I don't think he really did anything to you," he said, scratching his head. Sakura looked past him to Shino, who nodded at her.

"There's no reason, Shino. You were like Shikamaru, you did want me around." Shino only nodded, though he was happy Sakura had never had anything to hold against him. Sakura smiled at her friends, though she wasn't so sure she had come to truly trust them again.

"I'm going to go and find Temari. I'll see you guys later," she turned and walked off, leaving her friends behind her. Though they had all apologized, she wasn't so sure she knew how to feel about them. She didn't know yet whether or not she could return to her home. Gaara had made her a home here, had even offered a place without hesitation, and she didn't know whether or not she wanted to give that up.

She caught sight of the blonde and was moving towards her when her wrist was tugged in the other direction. She whirled around, ready to smack someone into next week, when she came face to face with Amaya and Kankorou.

"Hey Sakura!" the bookkeeper said, her face full of happiness. Sakura smiled at her too. "I'm so relieved that your village apologized to you. That's such good news!" Sakura was almost blown away by how excited she sounded, though she only smiled again.

"Thanks, Amaya."

"Does that mean you're gonna go back soon?" Kankorou asked, his face falling a little. "I'm gonna miss my favorite teammate," he pouted. Temari had never been much fun to work with on her own. She was far too angry and bossy for his taste. He much liked when Sakura was with them. She kept Temari preoccupied and made them work much better as a team.

"I still have a job to do here, with the medics," Sakura said, brushing her hair back into a clip at the side of her head. It had come undone slightly. "I'm pretty sure I'll still go on missions with you and Temari, though," she said, a smile in her voice. Something within her had changed, Kankorou realized. She seemed to be free of whatever had been weighing her down and causing her to act the way she had.

"That's good to hear," there was relief in his voice.

"Are you annoying Sakura?" Temari seemed to appear out of nowhere, leaning on Sakura's shoulder as she peered at her brother. He shook his head, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Nah, we were just talking, sis."

"Oh, okay, then scurry along you two, before I find out what you're up to Kankorou," Temari laughed as he pulled Amaya away, probably to go and dance. "I'm proud of you, Sakura. Gaara told me what happened earlier before the Hyuuga's speech. I'm happy to see you're feeling like your old self."

"I don't think I'll ever be that person again, Temari," Sakura said, pulling her shoulder out from under Temari's arm. She faced the other woman, who only smiled at her.

"Everyone changes, Sakura, there's nothing bad about it." Temari looked over Sakura's shoulder. "My little brother's back to whisk you away from me. I'll see you later. I'm going to find someone to dance with," she winked at Sakura and was off. Sakura was sure Temari was off looking for Shikamaru to annoy and drag along to the dance floor.

"A dance sounds like a good idea," Gaara said. Sakura didn't jump this time. Either because Temari had warned her, or because she was finally not distracted and subconsciously sensing his chakra again, she didn't know. She turned to smile up at him.

"Then let's dance," she let him lead the way to the dance floor and he pulled her close to him, beginning to move slowly to the music. It was gentle and classical. Sakura had always liked this type of music and she leaned into Gaara's chest as he moved with her. This was a calm moment and she enjoyed it, probably just as much as he enjoyed it.

"May I cut in?" Sakura pulled her head away from Gaara to see Kakashi standing near them, sans mask, a slight smile on his face. Though he still had his forehead protector on, she was stunned to see that he wasn't wearing his mask. No one was wearing masks in this place, however, so it wasn't that much of a shock, she figured.

"I won't be far away," Gaara said, allowing Sakura to step into Kakashi's arms. It was certainly odd to be dancing with her old teacher, but she figured it wasn't that odd. Gaara had been dancing with her, after all. If that wasn't odd, she didn't know what was.

"I see Gaara has gotten close to you. I never thought he would attach himself to anyone," Kakashi said, spinning her around. This was less peaceful than her moment with Gaara, but she hadn't seen or spoken to Kakashi all day, so she wasn't about to pull away from him.

"I didn't think he was attached to me," Sakura said as they whirled about. "Gaara just cares about my well-being." Kakashi only nodded, though he didn't really believe it. The way the redhead had held her hinted at something a little more deeper than simply friendship.

"Tsunade told me of what transpired today. I'm proud of you. You've grown to be a very strong and determined woman," Kakashi said, staring at her, pride and adoration only a teacher could have shining in his lone eye. "I never thought you'd still be with us today after all that happened in the village," he said. They still danced and Sakura was a little confused as to how he could concentrate on spinning her around and holding a conversation at the same time.

"I had to go away to find some things out about myself. Gaara helped. He pushed past the anger and made me accept what had happened and see that it wasn't really my fault," Sakura spoke clearly and firmly. It was what she truly believed. "I believe that Neji had wanted me to live. I don't think he wanted me to waste away and died, but to fight and fight for his memory and what he stood for. I don't think Hiashi realized that."

"I'm glad you came to realize it," Kakashi said. "You are really doing better," he said, as though an afterthought. "If you decide to stay here, I'll be happy for you," he said, finally stopping their dance. "Gaara's getting antsy, I think he wants you back to himself." Sakura giggled and turned back to the rehead, who pulled her into his arms quickly. He gave Kakashi a nod, who reciprocated, and led Sakura away.

"Do you think it's time to call it a night?" Gaara had spoken to everyone important and now no one would miss him. He was quite tired and he could tell Sakura was as well. Sakura took one last look around the room and then turned to him and nodded. He led her away, back to the vestibule, where they would make less of a scene, and took them back to their bedroom.

"I think..." Sakura sighed heavily, reaching her hands to her back to try and unzip the dress, "That was enough excitement for a year," she scoffed as she slipped and couldn't get the zipper. Gaara chuckled and pulled it down for her, watching her step out of the satin that pooled at her feet.

"That dress looked remarkable on you," he said as he took a step towards her. Sakura turned and he could see he'd made her blush. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her snugly against his body, connecting their mouths in the same movement. Sakura's fingers dug into his shoulders and she nipped at his bottom lip as he pulled away. He wasted no time in pressing forwards again, capturing her in another kiss. His right hand moved from her lower back to cup the back of her head and turn her head slightly for a better angle. His left fanned out against her lower back as he pressed her closer to him.

One of her hands, he didn't really care to notice which, moved from his shoulder to grasp his hair and tug none-too-gently and he felt himself growl. He heard her giggle and he attacked her with more ferocity, almost like he wanted to devour her. Her lips tasted of strawberries and he enjoyed it, though not as much as the pleasure of her small, pointed tongue swiping along his bottom lip.

There was a knock at the door and Gaara pulled away from her with a growl. He didn't like being interrupted and he was quite enjoying this moment with Sakura. He sighed and pulled away from her, noticing that she looked quite dazed and was breathing a little heavily. He gave her a satisfied smirk and ushered her off into the bathroom with her pajamas in hand before going to answer the door.

"Gaara," there was a drunk Tsunade at the door. He inwardly groaned. He was hoping she would just go to bed and not annoy him beforehand.

"Yes?" he asked pointedly.

"If you're going to have sex with Sakura, don't wake me up," Tsunade hiccuped and turned away, going towards her room. Gaara only scoffed. The thought had clearly passed his mind in the moments leading up to the knock, but that moment had passed and he only wanted to curl up with the girl beside him.

"Noted, Tsunade," he said, closing the door. He locked it after and went to the closet to change into his bed clothes as well. He settled on the bed reading a book when Sakura finally emerged from the bathroom, her hair falling to her shoulders in loose curls and her makeup removed. Gaara still thought she looked attractive in a tank top and a size-too-large pajama pants, but he wasn't about to initiate physical contact again. She got into bed beside him and pressed her body against his side. He pulled her on top of him, his favorite way to lay, and rested his hands on her back, still reading.

"Hey Gaara?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

"What, Sakura?" he asked, looking down at her from his book. She didn't look up at him, she seemed too tired to do so.

"This whole day wasn't a dream, was it?" she asked. He knew she was still fragile, even if she felt like she was free from the last six months. There were still the underlying problems she had yet to face in the upcoming days and he would help her through it, but the biggest hurtle was over and done with.

"No, Sakura," he said softly.

"Next time will you have sex with me?" she giggled, finally moving to look up at him, her eyes mischievous, though mostly fogged over with sleep. He couldn't help but smile at her in return. She was his weakness, this scrap of a girl he had built back up and made whole again. He couldn't say no to her and he couldn't help but fall in love with her as she showed her true colors to him before anyone else.

"We'll see," he said, a touch of amusement in his voice. She giggled again. Her giggles and laughter were still something new to him and he liked that he was the one to make it happen. It was new and refreshing that he was the reason she laughed and he was the reason she was still alive and laying here now. It was better than the devastation he'd caused before.

"Promise?" she smiled at him, her tongue pointing through her teeth. He almost, almost kissed her again and picked up where they left off before Tsunade's drunk ass rudely interrupted them, but they were both tired and more people were coming back to go to bed and he sure as hell didn't want to be yelled at in his own home for having sex with her.

"Yes, now go to sleep, Sakura. You need your rest. After your friends leave, you're going to start with my medics." Sakura gave a sleepy giggle one more time before settling her head back on his chest. He sighed. She wasn't broken, and never was. She was lonely and hurt, but never broken. If she'd been broken, he would have never been able to help her in his dysfunctional way. He kissed the top of her head and turned off the light, settling in to sleep as well. Sakura was not broken. She had been missing a piece she'd found that night. Sakura was whole again.


	6. Chapter 6

**So my computer crashed, and I lost all progress I had made, as well as the fact I lost half the ideas I had for this chapter. My computer's a dick in my ass.**

**Anyways, if yo a virgin or under 18, shield yo eyes and grab yo stuffed animals, there be a lemon in this particular chapter. Also a liberal use of the word particular, because I'm on a binge with that word today.**

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Gaara turned over, reaching his arm out to come across empty bed. He popped an eye open, curious. He wondered how she could have possibly gotten out of bed without him noticing. He usually woke with her every movement, usually only to drag her closer to to calm the soft whimpers she sometimes still made during the night.

"Morning," a soft whisper sounded above him and he blinked once before pushing himself up to look at her on the end of the bed. Sakura managed a soft smile and pushed a tray of food towards him. He nodded to her and began to eat, noting that she had a plate as well. "You were dead asleep after last night, so I got up and made some breakfast," she offered helpfully, that smile still on her lips. "Tsunade and some of the others have already departed for Konoha. She says she expects you to be visiting with me soon."

"Ah," he mumbled as he nodded, taking in the conversation. "Who stayed?" he asked. The breakfast was good, he had to admit. Sakura's cooking was always good, though.

"Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru. Tsunade wouldn't let Naruto and Hinata stay without another person for a three man return team, so Shikamaru stayed because...well..." Sakura blushed and Gaara cocked his head to the side, curious. His eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out the end of her sentence without her saying it.

"What?" he finally asked after several long moments, giving up.

"Shikamaru kind of ended up in Temari's bed last night," Sakura turned away from him, hiding her blushing face. Gaara chuckled and Sakura turned to glare at him. "What's so funny?" she asked, huffing as she crossed her arms.

"Shikamaru has shown interest in my sister for a very long time," Gaara said, pulling himself up as he'd finished his plate. He placed the tray on the bedside table and settled back down, stretching an arm out to Sakura. She immediately took up her place beside him, working on finishing her own plate. She still ate more slowly than Gaara. "At least they took it to her house this time."

"What?"

"I have found them in my bed before," Gaara said, an amused glint in his eye. "Though not amusing at the time, I thoroughly scared them both, which is the amusing memory." Sakura couldn't help but laugh and Gaara gave her a smirk. "Where are Hinata and Naruto?"

"I don't know, probably trying to find a place to make out without either of us catching them. Naruto made something up about seeing the sights, and you, I, and he knows that there really isn't much to see here, except maybe the market, and even that isn't very exciting." Gaara nodded, his eyes focused on the far wall. "Why do you want to know anyways?"

"Just thinking," he responded. He was used to their conversations in the morning now. She seemed happier after last night, that was for sure, and she was certainly talking with him more openly than ever before. It brought a sense of normalcy to him, like he could do this every day for the rest of his life if he so chose. He blinked, banishing those thoughts. Who knew how long this thing with Sakura would last, anyways? And what even was this thing between them?

"About what?" he heard a clatter and knew she had put her finished plate on top of his. Then she was on top of him, her green eyes boring into his, a mischievous glint in her eyes. She knew he wasn't really focused on her. His jade eyes snapped to her, as though he just realized she was there, and could see almost directly down her shirt.

"Wondering when they'll be back."

"Well they left about ten minutes ago, so I don't expect them to be back soon," she was challenging him, he could hear it in her voice. He didn't know why she was challenging him or what for really, but that didn't matter when she was giving him a very view down her cleavage. He realized then that she was trying to seduce him. Where this came from, he didn't know. Sakura had never tried this before and he wondered if last night had really made her open up to her old personality and accept it back in. Whatever the case was, he wasn't giving in this easily. He smirked at her.

"Good, because I need a shower," he rolled them over and kissed her, long and hard, so she was left breathless, before pulling back and smirking at her again. He pushed himself off of her and went towards the bathroom, hearing a frustrated huff behind him. It only made the smirk deeper.

She didn't join him for his shower and he suspected it was because he left her so unceremoniously. He was only satisfied and decided he could play this game with her, if she persisted. As he walked out of the bathroom, drying his hair and still shirtless, he heard Naruto downstairs beind an idiot like always. He could hear Naruto's part of the conversation all the way up here.

"Come on Sakura! She just wants to eat lunch with you and maybe do a little shopping!" he heard a muffled response, supposedly from Sakura and he wondered if Hinata was down there with them, knowing that was who Sakura was talking about. Through the sand still connecting them, he felt that Sakura was now quite uncomfortable. She still didn't feel safe around the Hyuuga girl, even with the events of the night before.

"Sakura, I thought she got at least some of your trust back last night! Come on, she didn't want her father to do that, that's why she told you!" Naruto was getting louder and louder, especially because Gaara was making his way quietly and calmly down the stairs, as to not alert the both of them to his presence. He prided himself on being an act of surprise. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs to find Naruto's back to him and Sakura angrily chopping something near the sink, her back also to him. He figured she didn't want to look at Naruto and betray her emotions.

"She only told me because you wanted her to, Naruto. Just because I broke down and didn't seem like I was paying attention, I heard what you said." Sakura sounded angry, that was for sure, and dread pooled in Gaara's chest. He had never seen Sakura angry and he wanted to remove that emotion from her, cradle her in his arms, and make her happy again, like she had been only half an hour ago. That feeling and train of thought startled him, but it was Sakura and he'd spent so long protecting her, comforting her, that it was only natural to feel that way. That's what he was going to believe, at least.

"So? It took a lot of courage for her to tell you herself, Sakura. Come on, she's just trying to make up with you, is that too much to ask?"

"Right now? Yes." Gaara knew why she said it. She was still feeling hurt over what the villagers had done to her. He knew that it was still a sore topic for her that she didn't want to address until she was ready, until she took Tsunade up on her offer of visiting, but on her own terms. She wasn't ready to forgive, not yet.

"Well, maybe I don't want to talk to you until you'll see Hinata!" Naruto was angry, Gaara knew, but that was low, even for him.

"I don't see what that'll fix, Naruto," Gaara spoke up, cutting across whatever Sakura was about to say, her face red in frustration, as she had whipped around to yell something scathing at her friend. Gaara crossed the kitchen in three long strides and wrapped an arm around Sakura, pulling her to his chest. She was angry, he knew, but he also knew she just wanted some sort of strength and comfort from him, something she had been receiving without question.

"Maybe it'll make her forgive Hinata!" Naruto said. His face was also red in frustration and Gaara could honestly not see why the two were even talking about this if the both of them were just getting so frustrated they didn't even want to talk to one another.

"Perhaps it is that she wants to forgive her, however she doesn't want to face her alone, in fear of being turned on again," he said, hoping it was the right thing to say. Though Sakura's grasp on his shirt did not lessen, he could feel that she relaxed ever so slightly. It had been the right thing to say, Sakura hadn't been able to find the words herself.

"But Hinata didn't even want to treat you that way, Sakura. It was just her father, and you know how difficult her father can be."

"I know that, but it doesn't change that she did it, Naruto. She was my friend and she just turned around and hated me because of something out of my control. I can't just turn around and pretend it didn't happen." Sakura's response was heated and forceful, as though she hated saying it and didn't want to say it. Gaara let her break out of his arms when she pushed against them, though didn't let her get too far away from him, lest she break out in a fiery explosion. He knew how Sakura could be when she was angered and he didn't feel like rebuilding half his home today.

"Does that mean you don't forgive me, either, Sakura?" he asked angrily, challenging her. Sakura's rage increased tenfold and Gaara pulled her hand to stop her from putting the idiot through a wall.

"I never said that. You and Hinata aren't one person, Naruto. Just because I forgave you doesn't mean I can forgive her just yet. The Hyuugas were the worst ones throughout all of this. Sure Hinata wasn't as bad, but she still wouldn't allow me on her teams and she still was one of the ones that shunned me from my job at the hospital, that isn't forgiven overnight," Sakura said, her words angry and forced out through clenched teeth during half of her speech. She was angry, that was for sure, and she was frustrated that her friend just wouldn't let this go and stop pushing her into forgiving Hinata, whom he only cared about because she was his fiance. She could forgive the girl, in time, but this was a lot to ask of Sakura after what had just happened a night ago.

"That doesn't make any sense, though, Sakura. You're saying she wasn't as bad as the others, but you're still not going to forgive her yet? That's so stupid!" Naruto pushed himself out of his seat and began pacing the room, his face twisted in frustration. Gaara only watched passively, waiting for the time he would have to intervene again.

"Naruto, I have things to do. Either you can sit here and rant at me some more about how my choices are stupid and dumb, or you can let me get to work. I still have a mission to do here, and as I remember it had nothing to do with sitting here listening to you yell at me about how I'm going about my own mental and emotional recovery. Someday I will be ready to go back to Konoha and forgive the people that had done me wrong, but that day is not today," Sakura began to clean the kitchen, putting the things she had been preparing away. She had been preparing most of dinner, but waited to make the final product. Naruto watched her, his mouth slightly agape.

"Why won't you just have dinner with her, tonight?" Naruto started his exhausted argument back up and Gaara finally stepped forward, his own irritation showing through.

"Did you not hear a thing either I or Sakura just said?" he asked, his irritation showing through no matter how much he attempted to reign it in. It seeped into his voice and made it rougher, lower, and made Naruto have a certain terrified look in his eye, like he knew Gaara was on the verge of going on a murderous rampage. "She is not ready. She has said so herself and if that is what she wants, then I will make sure no one stands in her way. Either you drop it or I throw you out of my village myself."

"But, Gaara—"

"'But' nothing, Naruto. We will be going to Konoha soon, as Tsunade wants me to visit and expects Sakura to be with me. If Sakura is ready then, she will accompany me and you to a dinner with your fiance. There are no other terms. Sakura will not be alone in facing Hyuuga and she certainly will not be without me."

"Why can't we just do it tonight?" there was a slight bit of whining in Naruto's voice and Gaara vaguely wondered why Naruto was pushing so hard for this. Gaara glanced back at Sakura and her eyes softened for a moment, giving him the tiniest of nods that she would, as long as Gaara was with her. Gaara could feel that Sakura would not, could not, face the Hyuuga alone, without anything to distract the girl like last night had offered.

"Tonight, at seven, at the restaurant across from my office," Gaara said, turning back to Naruto. "Do not be late, we won't wait. Sakura was right. She has work to do here and shouldn't be wasting time." Gaara stood straight and turned towards Sakura, reaching out his hand. She took it quickly and then they were gone. He was to show her the wing of the hospital that she had to train the medics today and Naruto was simply getting in the way of plans. She was also to read through the records of the medics, though that would have to be put on hold until after the dinner, which Sakura wasn't going to be too happy about. She was also not going to be happy about her preparing dinner going to waste, but there was always tomorrow night.

"I hate it when he gets persistent like that. I wish he would just shut up," Sakura said when they were finally alone and standing in front of the hospital. It was plain looking and particularly stark against the landscape. It was a plain stone building, rising three stories, and looking particularly shabby for a hospital. Sakura vaguely remembered being here when she had rescued Kankorou from Sasori's poison, but hadn't had much time to look around.

"At least it isn't something to dread when we go to Konoha."

"Sure, but when he's persistent like that it means he wants to talk to me about something, and I really hate it when he wants to talk to me about something. It usually means he fucked up pretty good and I have to fix it," she said grumpily as she followed him into the hospital. Gaara only chuckled. Sakura took a good look around the entryway and sighed. This hospital wasn't very welcoming. The front desk sat in a bare corner, one secretary behind it among a few ringing phones and a particularly long line of not-emergent people, and the concrete hall was bare save for several uncomfortable looking benches lining both the walls. Gaara only nodded at the harried looking secretary as he pushed through the double doors next to the desk.

"Wow, it looks crazy in there," Sakura said softly, walking quickly to keep up with Gaara. The hall they entered now had ten doors on either side, a large black number painted on each of them. These were the physical examination rooms, she figured, looking curiously into one only to find a chair and a small desk where the physician could write notes. How were the physicians able to competently give someone a physical without a bed? She blinked and hurried to keep up with Gaara at the end of the hallway.

"To the right are the in-patients rooms. To the left are the surgery rooms. If you go straight you come to the emergency section." He led the way to the emergency room and they emerged to a room almost identical to the regular waiting room. Uncomfortable benches lined a concrete wall and a front desk stood in one corner. On either side of the double door entryway into the hospital, though, there were four doors, each with a painted number, again. Gaara led her to look in on an empty one and Sakura was, once again, disappointed. There was a bed, this time, but there weren't any blankets or even sheets on it. There was no desk in the room. Sakura turned back to Gaara, her distaste showing clearly on her face. As they walked away, someone was led into the room and Sakura had to stop herself from yelling at the nurses and staff.

"This place shouldn't be called a hospital," Sakura said sourly, following Gaara closely. Gaara only nodded, his lips tightly pursed. He knew his hospital needed help, but he certainly couldn't give it with all the duties he already had to perform, and no one else was willing to step up or knew what they were doing, persay.

They came back to the four-way intersection and Gaara went to the right, towards the surgery rooms. "Upstairs, after the in-patient rooms, there's the maternity ward and intensive care. Up on this side there's nothing. They use it for storage," Gaara said as he lead the way around a couple turns and up a flight of steps. Sakura tried to hide her distaste at the second floor. Wheelchairs and benches were lined up against the walls and medical equipment was strewn about. She looked into a random room and found a greenhouse, though disused. It was overgrown with plants she couldn't even begin to recognize.

"So this is where I'll be teaching?" She asked, looking about the sad place.

"In here," Gaara said, standing next to a door at the end of the hall. Sakura approached and opened the door, looking about the room. Several tables were lined up behind a blackboard, and, to her relief, there was a desk in the corner for her. "I had someone clean it up for this," he said, though he was sure anything that was in this room was simply left in the hallway.

"It's certainly spacious," she said, turning and looking through one of the cupboards in the back. There were several scrolls there, all of which she recognized from her own medical training, and she nodded at Gaara. "Everything seems to be in order here at least." She sighed and looked around the room. "We should go home and talk about this."

"I agree," Gaara said. Sakura immediately stepped towards him and then they were back in their room. Sakura went to sit on the bed, pushing her hands through her hair, brushing it with her fingers. She looked briefly out the window and then back to him, as though she was choosing her words carefully before she tried speaking to him.

"I think you really just need to build a new hospital," she finally said, sighing. "That place is a disgrace, and I'm afraid to ask how the foundation is, how old it is, and if it has ever been attacked or partially taken down. There was dust everywhere and the beds all seemed to be stained. Hell, there weren't even beds in half the rooms!" Sakura sighed, taking a brief look out the window again.

"It's been there since before my father was born and no one's checked up on the actual building since it was built, I believe. Also, I'm quite sure there aren't enough staff and the medical equipment is as old as, and maybe even older than, the actual building itself. I don't believe they've ordered anything since my father was Kazekage. Do you know where the medical equipment comes from and how to order it because I'm quite sure my medics do not know," Gaara said. He was quite frustrated by the situation too. Most of his shinobi would rather be treated at home, by their wives, mothers, or sisters, because going to the hospital was pretty much a deathwish unless you were there for a physical.

"It comes from a corporation in Rain country. It isn't expensive, and I'm quite sure that if they haven't ordered anything for decades, there has to be money somewhere for it. Isn't there a monthly budget for the hospital? Doesn't the government here pay for it, or are the elders just dumb?" Gaara chuckled at Sakura's words, and didn't regret it though she gave him a scathing look, though it was fleeting.

"There is a monthly budget, taken from the people who pay for services. Also, some of the budget comes from the taxes, however I don't know where that money goes. You're more than welcome to peruse the records and find out for yourself and fix whatever problem you find. My secretary worked for me and my father, and the Kazekage before that. She is an expert filer."

"Your secretary must be ancient."

"She is, but she's a very good secretary," Gaara chuckled again. Sakura managed a small smile this time and stared down at her hands. "What?" Gaara finally asked after he noticed her silence. He wondered what could be making this reaction this time.

"Did you not hear me when I said you should probably just build another hospital?" she asked, glancing up at him. Gaara blinked. He had honestly forgotten about it with all of the other things they had been talking about. He looked down at her.

"I'll address the council about it tomorrow during our meeting. I'll tell you how it goes," he said. Sakura only nodded. "Would you like to try looking through the records now?" he asked. "I have some things to do in my office, so you may come with me." Sakura only nodded as she got out of the bed and stood close to him. Gaara swept her off to the office.

Sometime later, they were walking to dinner, Sakura with several files under her arm. She had taken them so she could talk to Gaara about them before they went to bed. He had been truthful when telling her his secretary was good at filing, everything was under an exact year and under exact labels. When she went looking for hospital records, it was in a filing cabinet labeled under that name. She had perused it for several hours before taking several of interest. She was planning on asking Gaara about them later.

"Are you ready?" Gaara asked, standing outside of the door of the restaurant. Sakura was quiet, pursing her lips, and looking up at the building. Gaara knew of her hesitation and reached forwards to grab her hand. She whipped her head to look at him, mildly surprised that he had grabbed her hand. She didn't want to do this, not yet, and he knew it. He squeezed her hand and she looked down, her hair hiding her face.

"I don't want to do this," she said quietly, finding great interest in the ground. Gaara turned her towards him and put each of his hands on her her shoulders. He waited a few moments until she finally looked up at him, her green eyes clouded in indecision.

"Tell me right now and I'll take you home," he said quietly, though his voice wasn't soft. She stared at him, tears welling in her eyes, and she catapulted forwards, dropping the folders as her arms encased him in a hug. Gaara was surprised by her show of affection, but wrapped his arms around her and hugged her in return. He was sure that she wanted him to take her home, to remove her from this situation. He was readying to do so when she pulled away.

"I don't think Naruto will talk to me for months if I don't go in there now," she said, her voice shaking ever so slightly. Gaara only stared at her and nodded. She turned back to the entrance, picking up the folders she had dropped, and he offered her his hand in silence. She took it, gratefully giving his hand a squeeze, before following him into the restaurant. They spotted the blonde idiot almost immediately, sitting at a small, secluded table, waving frantically at them.

"I think I spot our company," Sakura said quietly, sourly. Gaara couldn't help the smirk that crossed his lips, though he wiped it away in the next moment, pulling her lightly to lead her to the table. He quietly pulled out her chair and allowed her to sit before sitting himself. He then watched Naruto and Hinata quietly, waiting for the moment of imbalance. He didn't want Sakura to be upset. He didn't want her to revert to whatever place she'd been in before last night. That would be taking five steps back after making all the progress she had.

"Hey Sakura," Hinata said timidly. Sakura nodded stiffly in the general direction of the girl, though she kept her eyes trained on the table. She was afraid of looking her in her eyes. Though she was quite happy Hinata had revealed her father's plans the night before, Sakura didn't know whether to trust the girl again, knowing Hinata had only told her because Naruto had thought it was best. Knowing it was really just her best friend watching out for her like he'd always had, it had become much harder to be in the company of the dark-haired girl.

"So why were we forced to come to this dinner?" Gaara asked, though not too politely. He didn't like being in the company of anyone that upset Sakura. Though his anger wasn't directed at Naruto, he settled into the comfort and normality of being cold and aloof to everyone. Naruto didn't seem affected by his tone, but Hinata seemed slightly taken aback.

"W-well, we went through all of Neji's things before we came here, and I...I, um, found something that I thought Sakura should have. I-I just didn't want to give it to you last night," though the girl stumbled throughout much of her speech, she seemed to be determined and strong in what she said. Sakura seemed slightly stunned after Hinata spoke, though she only fixed the girl with an icy, yet curious stare.

"Whatever it is, I don't really want it," Sakura said quietly, her voice almost a hoarse whisper. She didn't want anything of Neji's. She was trying to let go and move on. She had already gotten rid of the ring, the last thing she had kept to remind her of her dead fiance. Gaara's hold on her hand tightened.

"But, Sakura—"

"What can I get for you guys tonight?" the waitress interupted whatever Hinata was going to say. Sakura looked somewhat relieved and Naruto looked somewhat pissed, Hinata surprised. Gaara couldn't have cared less, merely placed his order whilst the others were all surprised. They seemed to have gotten over their surprise by the time they were done and placed their orders, save for Sakura.

"I don't want anything, thanks," she said coolly, not taking her eyes off Hinata. Sakura's stare seemed to be unnerving the other girl. Gaara didn't say anything when Sakura declined dinner, knowing she would rather pick off his plate than try and eat one of the entrees on her own. Gaara watched the other two, wondering how they would continue.

"Sakura you don't even know what it is," Naruto started this time, though his voice was uncharacteristically soft. Sakura shook her head rather hard and Gaara tried to calm her through the only place they were connected. She didn't seem to notice. She didn't want anything to do with the Hyuuga clan and the rejection was pushing itself through the connection rather strongly, overcoming Gaara. He had never felt such a strong emotion through the link before.

"Naruto, just hand it over. If she wants it, then she'll keep it. If she doesn't, I'm certain she'll return it to Hinata," Gaara said, his voice strong and unwavering, completely opposite of the warring emotions taking place inside Sakura. Hinata produced a small, wrapped package and placed it on the table, pushing it towards Sakura. Sakura picked it up silently and slowly unwrapped it to find a pristine necklace, the Hyuuga clan's emblem as the pendant. Sakura dropped it as though burned.

"Neji was going to give it to you on your wedding day. I found it with a note, but I don't think you want it," Hinata explained, her words rushed and hard to understand. Sakura had begun to cry. Hinata bit her lip. "He loved you, Sakura," she said, her voice almost too soft to understand. Sakura abruptly stood up.

"There was never a question of whether he loved me or not," she began, her voice wavering but strong. "He had loved me, for years, and his last wish was to protect me and let me live if they fell. I'm doing that, but you're all making it so hard. Go back to where you came from. I don't want to hear about Neji anymore."

"But, Sakura, maybe if you talked about the whole thing and about him, it would help you move on," Naruto said, standing as well, his eyes and voice pleading. "It isn't good to dwell on the past. We're your friends, we just want to help you," he started forwards and grabbed her hand, but Sakura stepped back before he could touch her.

"I've told my story, over and over again, to anyone who would listen. I've finally started to get over what had happened and I've begun to let go of a fading memory, but all you want to do is pick it up and push it back in my face!" Sakura was crying, angrily, as she stood off against Naruto. She was upset, and everyone in the foursome knew it. "I don't want something that I would have received on my wedding day, I didn't have a wedding day! I don't want any of the gifts he intended to give me, I have everything he did give me, and that's enough to know he loved me."

"Sakura, I just thought you would have wanted it, that's all," Hinata said, thoroughly upset by Sakura's rejection. Sakura just turned away, trying to hide her tears. Gaara finally stood and pulled her to his chest, holding her tightly against him. He attempted to quell her tears, but they didn't seem to stop coming. He had thought she'd cried herself out by this time, after all the times she had cried in his arms, but it seemed she had more to shed.

"Give us a second," he finally said, pulling the distraught girl to the entrance of the bathrooms. It was moderately secluded, hidden from the rest of the restaurant. He pulled her once again to his chest and waited for several long minutes until the hiccups stopped and the sniffling subsided. He drew away from her and silently took out a tissue and brushed away the remnants of her tears. He brushed her hair from her face.

"I don't want anything else," she said softly. "I have all the memories I need of him and something else will just drive home the fact that he's dead."

"I never pushed you to take it," Gaara said, still working on blotting away the tears that still came every so often. "I never pushed you to talk about him. Perhaps you should, Sakura. Perhaps it would let you come to terms that he isn't going to come back from the dead and be waiting for you back in your homeland," his voice was soft, comforting to the crying girl.

"But I know he isn't there. It's just my greatest failure as a medic and it's always going to be a sore spot for me," she said, her voice a little broken from all the crying. Gaara sighed and threw the tissue into a nearby trash can before turning back to her and placing a hand on her shoulder, the other on her cheek. She leaned into his touch, one of the few times he was openly affectionate and comforting in public.

"You admitted yourself that there was nothing you could do, either as a medic or a teammate. It's time to let the pain go," for Sakura, only for Sakura, he allowed emotion into his voice. He wanted to know that he cared about her and that he didn't like she was still beating herself up about it, so long after it had happened. Sakura looked up at him and a feeling bloomed in her chest, such a feeling that she hadn't felt since Neji had first kissed her.

"The pain's always going to be there," she whispered hoarsely, so quietly that Gaara had to lean slightly towards her to hear her. He drew back slightly to look into her eyes again and sighed, stroking her cheek gently with his thumb.

"True, it is, Sakura, however it gets easier to live with every day. I told you that you always have a place here, a home, and that still holds true today. I don't blame you if you never want to go back to Konoha, but neither will I try to stop you from going back. That is your decision, and I will not push to make you go back, or to stay." He was being true to his word. Though he would rejoice eternally if she did decide to stay, he could not stop her from going home.

"Thank you, Gaara," she catapulted forwards again and hugged him, the warmth of the feeling her chest fueling her, calming her. Gaara wrapped his arms around her, not a moment of hesitation present this time, and pressed her close to his body. She pulled away and looked towards the restaurant, where her friends were waiting. "What should I do?" she asked softly.

"I think you should take the gift. If you sincerely don't want to, then I suggest you apologize to Hinata for your reaction and calmly ask that she take it back. When you're ready to join us, please do." Gaara placed his hand on her arm and leaned forwards, kissing her forehead for a long moment. He then left, letting her decide on her own.

When Sakura came back, the entrees had been served. She gingerly sat back down beside Gaara and took a deep breath, though she took a moment before her gaze flitted to Hinata, who had stopped eating the moment Sakura had reappeared.

"I'm sorry, Hinata," Gaara thought she was going to reject the gift now and further injure Hinata's feelings, "it was just a really big shock that after all this time this surfaced. However, I must thank you for bringing it to me and honoring Neji's want for me to have it," Sakura gingerly picked the necklace up from the table and wrapped it up in the packaging it had come in. She tucked it into her pocket.

"It's okay, Sakura," Hinata said, though her posture told Gaara that she was relieved Sakura had accepted the gift. It seemed to Gaara that the necklace was like a peace offering and if Sakura accepted it, the Hyuuga felt like everything was going to be okay between them. Naruto looked sufficiently happy, at least. Gaara nodded and offered some of his plate to Sakura.

"What did you say to her to make her accept it?" Naruto asked quietly on their walk back to Gaara's house. The girls were walking a distance away, chattering quietly, though Gaara knew Sakura was still slightly uncomfortable in Hinata's presence.

"It was a simple shock that made her react like that. After she calmed, she realized it was just a gift, something she was going to receive anyways," Gaara said simply, watching Sakura avidly. Naruto took a sidelong glance at Gaara.

"You're really protective of her, ya' know?" Naruto said, though he wasn't on edge. It was merely an observation. Gaara only grunted. "I'm glad. After all this time, Sakura needs someone to protect her. She never let me do it, anyways," he laughed, nervously. Gaara only nodded, feeling like this was something a big brother would say to his sister's first boyfriend. "Don't let anything hurt her again," Naruto said seriously, quietly. "I'm afraid if something like that happens again, she'll never recover."

"She's a lot stronger than you think. She wasn't broken. Not like you, I, or Tsunade thought," Gaara said, his eyes still trained on Sakura, waiting for a flare of something from her that told him she needed him. She was still the center of his world. "She was angry at the world, herself, and her village. Last night she lost that anger and it was replaced with something else. She found herself again."

"I guess I know how that feels," Naruto said quietly, watching the girls as well. Gaara only nodded. They were quickly approaching his home now and he couldn't wait to retire to his room with only Sakura as company. Often enough, he only wanted Sakura in his company. Naruto was silent the rest of the way home and Gaara couldn't help but feel glad. He wasn't in the mood for anymore conversation between the two of them.

Sakura and Gaara made it to their room without too much incident, and Sakura flopped on the bed, not even changing. Gaara raised an eyebrow as he pulled off his clothes, changing into a pair of sweatpants. He climbed in beside her, but she was already moving, sitting in the middle of his bed, facing him, all her folders she had taken from the office laid out before her.

"I need to ask some questions before we go to bed," she said, her concentration unwilling to break. Gaara only nodded and pushed himself into a sitting position opposite her, waiting for her to open a folder and begin to talk. She bit her lip and looked between folders, opening a few of them and rifling through the contents before pulling out several pages to look over with him.

"Okay, so the last budget agreement was fourteen years ago, which is obnoxious, because this should be done every year," Sakura began, pulling one of several sheets out and showing him. "It allows the hospital a thousand dollars a month to buy whatever they need, however, from the invoices every year, they buy next to nothing," she pulled out another sheet to show him. "So the money's going somewhere that isn't the hospital and it's bothering me," Sakura said, staring Gaara in the eyes. "Do you know where the money goes for the hospital?"

"It's a fund in the bank that the executive would take out in corporate checks to the companies," Gaara said, looking over the papers she held out to him. She was right, there was a certain discrepancy in all of this. Though the hospital was granted twelve thousand dollars a year, they only bought maybe a thousand in supplies. He couldn't believe a hospital could run on that.

"Furthermore, I have the salary statements from all the employees," Sakura pulled out another folder. "A lot of these were decided around the same time as the monthly allotment for the hospital, but some date back further, and it worries me. Someone really has to keep up on this stuff, or someone's embezzling. I'm not sure which, but it really has to be looked into," Sakura bit her lip. Gaara only nodded, taking the papers from her.

He looked through them, his brow furrowing several times before handing the large sheaf of papers back to Sakura; he didn't look through a quarter of them. "I suggest you read me the names and we can decide from there whether it's looking into or not," Gaara said as he handed them back. Sakura only nodded and placed the sheaf of papers on her lap before going through them.

"Ayame Fukui."

"Deceased." Sakura placed the paper to her left, beginning to make an organized pile.

"Azumi Ito."

"Alive, but not working at the hospital, therefore should not be obtaining a salary. Put it in with the other one," Gaara said, watching Sakura place it to the left.

And so they went on like this for an hour or so, about three quarters of the original pile making up the left pile to Sakura's left. Gaara sighed, long and deep. He was not going to enjoy looking through all of these bank accounts. They then separated the left pile into the deceased and those still alive, but not working, which was a meager pile. Gaara figured he could start with those in the morning. Sakura put the remaining papers that made up the actual staff into the folder and collected the other folders, placing them on the dresser. She put the two organized piles beside them.

"Well that was fun," Sakura sighed, pulling pajamas out of the dresser. Gaara had to agree with her. He watched her as she began to strip and he couldn't help his wandering eyes as her skin was revealed to him. Without particularly knowing what he was doing, he pulled himself up and crossed to her. He placed his hands on her hips and his lips found her bare neck. Something about her neck seemed so enticing to him in that moment and he couldn't help his actions. He sucked at her neck harshly, causing a harsh intake of breath from the girl in his grasp.

"Gaara..." her breathless sigh egged him on and he bit into her skin, though not harshly. She started and his hands tightened on her hips, pulling her back into his chest. An arm wrapped around her middle as he held her, caged, attacking more of her neck. Soft whimpers and mewls made their way up her throat and Gaara relished the sound, attacking her neck with more ferocity, increasing the frequency of her soft noises.

He spun her and kissed her, pulling her harshly against his body. Her arms were around his neck and hands in his hair, tugging. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, enjoying the soft sound of surprise in the back of her throat as he attacked her tongue with his own. Pulling away, he couldn't help but smirk at her and her dazed expression. He pushed her on the bed and towered over her, arms on either side of her head, caging her in. She gazed up at him, a hazy film covering her eyes as she took him in.

Her hands were on his chest, feeling, moving lower, as she bit her bottom lip. Gaara kissed her again, though was pleasantly surprised when he felt her small fingers pull down his sweatpants and grasp his member, her featherlight touch teasing him. He growled against her mouth and she only smiled against his, her fingertips moving over his sensitive skin.

He pulled back from her lips abruptly, a dangerous glint in his eye as he pulled away from her to take in her form. She was nude from the waist up and the shorts obstructing his view were not pleasing him. Without wasting much time, he pulled the clothing down her hips and over her legs, watching as her body emerged and shown to him. He had seen her body dozens of times, but not with the haze of lust in his eyes. She seemed more enticing than ever before, and he couldn't help himself as he nudged her legs apart and took a look at her womanhood.

Sakura was becoming slightly self-conscious with the attention he was paying to her, but without warning he leaned forwards and gave her an experimental lick, as though testing what she would do. She gasped and her hips bucked forwards of their own accord. A devilish smirk covered his face as he leaned forwards and set his mouth to work. He held her hips down with one arm in an attempt to hold her still as his tongue attacked her pearl mercilessly. Sakura cried out again and again, her fingers digging into the bedding before she pushed them into his hair, alternatively tugging him closer and pushing him away. Wondering what she would do if he began to finger her, he looked up at her to watch her reaction as he inserted his middle finger into her cavern. A soft moan filled the air and it spurred him on to continue his ministrations.

"Fuck, Gaara," she gasped between her moans, attempting to wriggle out from under his grasp. He was surprisingly skilled with his tongue and he wouldn't let her move an inch, only let her be subjected to his skill and precision, already driving her mad.

"What was that?" she glared at his cocky voice and he only laughed. He stopped, however, for which she was glad. She pushed him over with amazing ferocity and quickly divested him of his remaining garments. Gaara watched her, mild interest in his eye. She pulled herself on top of him and wasted no time in lowering herself onto him. She threw her head back and let out a long moan, though he only closed his eyes at the feeling of being within her. He hadn't been with a woman in who knows how long, but Sakura felt wonderful.

Her hands on his chest, she began to move and he couldn't help the soft grunts that accompanied her moans, slowly growing louder. His hands found her hips and helped her in her motions, beckoning her to move faster. She conceded, though she seemed to be getting tired within the next few minutes. She would stop every so often and grind herself into his pelvis and, though he liked the friction, he wanted to hear her scream.

He pushed her off of him. She gave him a curious look, but he only moved behind her and she got the idea. She positioned herself in front of him on all fours and let out a highly audible gasp as he pushed back into her. Now that he was in control, he set a grueling pace that had her moans turning into high pitched shrieks within moments. His fingers dug into her hips, surely leaving bruises, as he pounded into her.

"Goddamnit, Gaara," she gasped, reaching up to hold onto the headboard, holding on for all that she was worth. He was hitting a particular spot within her and it was driving her quickly over the edge and she could barely hold onto the thin line of control she had. Giving in, she let her control slip and her body went limp as her orgasm washed over her. Gaara watched her with fascination as he kept pumping into her, though the tightening of her walls caused him to orgasm sooner than he expected himself to. He remained still for a moment, his hands still clenching her hips, as he waited for her to move first.

Finally, she raised herself on shaky arms and pulled herself forwards, causing him to pull out. She collapsed on the bed, breathing deeply, her eyes closed. She reached blindly for Gaara and he conceded, laying down next to her and pulling her snugly against his body.

"Fuck, Gaara, you've been holding out so long on me. That was amazing," her breathless giggle met his ear and he couldn't help but smirk. He molded his body more securely around hers and brought her closer, holding her securely.

"You never enticed me like that before," he said matter-of-factly, in her ear. She shivered and he chuckled.

"Oh, well I'm sorry," though her voice was soft and sleepy, he could still detect that she was sassing him. He only smirked again and nuzzled her neck, where the mark he left was. She gave a breathless gasp and he gave her a soft bite there.

"Go to sleep, Sakura, there's plenty of work to do tomorrow," he said, allowing a generous amount of gentleness into his voice. Only for her. No other woman had spent the night in his arms and no other woman had heard such gentleness in his voice. No, that was only reserved for the blossom in his arms, the woman that spent every night with him.

"Night, Gaara," she mumbled, readjusting herself ever so slightly to fit his body all the more. He tightened his arms around her, marveling, not for the first time, in the fact that she was a tiny little woman and he could fit his arms around her, to the point he could touch his elbow. He settled himself in to sleep beside her.


	7. Chapter 7

"Ugh, these idiots are useless," Sakura griped, groaning as she cast another folder aside on the desk. Gaara looked up from his place in the armchair, reading a book. She turned to him and sighed, gripping her hair in her hands. This was frustrating. And annoying. And it was really beginning to grate on her nerves.

"I know. That's why you're working with them," Gaara said pointedly, though he put his book down after marking his page. Sakura hadn't said anything all night and he figured she was ready to talk now. They were in his study, though a room barely used in his house, and he had sat with her while she worked, keeping her silent company.

"Yeah, but it's been two weeks, Gaara, and half the male medics can't even tell me where the ovaries are located!" Sakura sighed. "Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating," she shot a glare at his chuckle, "but they're pretty bad. It's bad enough I've already had to start going over basic medical knowledge with them, you'd think they'd know where the appendix is, what it does, which is basically nothing, we can live without it, and what to do if it bursts and how to respond to the symptoms. That's easy stuff, too."

"True, they've never been very good with anything other than physicals. That's why our people often travel to Konoha for surgeries. Didn't you know?" Gaara asked, though he thought she should have. She was an active medic and worked often in the hospital. She had to have performed surgeries on people outside of her own village before.

"Well I thought it was because Tsunade lives there and everyone wants to be treated by Tsunade," Sakura said, though the irritation had gone from her voice. Talking with Gaara often calmed her, no matter how she was feeling. "Anyways I wish that one woman—what was her name?"

"Sachi."

"Yeah, her. I wish she would cool her attitude." The woman had been giving her issues from the very start and it was starting to get on Sakura's nerves. Gaara had instated Sakura as head of the hospital until this whole ordeal was over and done with and Sachi didn't take too kindly to it, as far as Sakura knew. She had read the file and knew Sachi was head medic before she came along, but the woman barely knew what she was doing in the first place, how was that Sakura's fault?

"You know some people don't like it when power is taken from them," Gaara said, though his voice was disinterested. He didn't care much for the head medic, though she often only allowed herself to treat him, if he ever needed it, though it was only a cough or a cold. Gaara would be damned if any physical injury ever ailed him. She would often want to do his physicals as well.

"Well, yeah I know that, but she knows it's only temporary so she can calm the hell down," Sakura turned red after she finished talking. She and Gaara both knew that she hadn't made a decision whether or not she was going to return to her home. The position she held may be permanent, as Gaara would never dream of putting her below anyone else save for Tsunade.

"Some people don't know how to," he said simply. He looked up at the clock and stood, putting his book away. "Come, it's late, time for bed," he held his hand to her. Sakura bit her lip and looked to the folders spread across the desk. "It'll be in the same place tomorrow, Sakura," Gaara said, his voice stern. He found her work ethic was much like his. She would work far into the night and sleep for maybe five hours before getting up and repeating. He often had to find her in the middle of the night and bring her to bed himself.

"Fine," she sighed, allowing him to pull her out of her seat. She followed him slowly, sluggishly and he looked back at her for a moment. She was tired, he knew. He had to keep her home from the hospital the next day, that was for sure. She hadn't taken a day off since the day she had started with the medics two weeks prior. It was starting to get to her, he could see that.

"Sakura," he said, pulling her into their bedroom. She sat beside him on the bed and was on her way to laying down, but Gaara wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back up, signaling that he wasn't finished talking with her. She let out a soft groan and sat back up, though she leaned on him, her eyes slowly closing. "Sakura," he tried again.

"Hm?"

"You're staying home tomorrow. And probably the day after that."

"But, Gaara, there's so much work to do! I can't possibly take a day off, not now," she was awake again, fighting with him now. A fight always seemed to wake her right up and he felt slightly irritated with her. She was questioning his decisions now, not blindly following his words anymore like she used to. He was no longer making the choices for her, telling her what was best and what wasn't. Though he was happy she was coming out more and more, he wasn't happy that she kept questioning his words.

"Sakura, you're working yourself too hard. Just take a couple days off with me," Gaara said, pulling her down now to lay with him. He knew she didn't want to feel close to him, she felt a sense of betrayal because he gave her this job and he was telling her not to do it. It was difficult for her to understand. Gaara pulled her on top of him and hugged her, thinking of something else to say. "Anyways I miss you," something he would never say, not in a thousand years, but he couldn't think of anything else to say in lieu of getting her to agree with him.

"You do?" she popped her head up and looked him in the eyes, quite surprised. She didn't think he would say that, he figured from the surprise in her voice. He wanted to laugh. He leaned forwards and kissed her, hugging her close to him.

"Yeah. Spend the next couple of days with me. I hardly see you with all this hospital work you're doing." That, at least, was easy to say. It was true. He would usually visit her and bring her lunch in her makeshift office at the hospital. She would stay there far past dinner and he often had to drag her home around midnight or so. Tonight was one of the very few nights she chose to work in his spacious study and he had joined her, merely to offer her company and be in her presence.

"Fine," she relented, dropping her head to his chest. He smirked in victory and let his head fall to the pillow. In truth he was quite tired as well. He had been putting endless hours into trying to figure out what had happened to the hospital funds and why no one had been keeping up with them since his father had been Kazekage. It wasn't exactly his job to find out what had to be brought up at council meetings.

"Anyways, we have some things to talk about," Gaara said, suddenly remembering. He had met with the council, the meeting having come much later than he had expected, and everyone had more or less agreed that Suna needed a new hospital.

"Alright, alright, I already said I would. Would you shut up now and let me sleep?" Gaara couldn't help the chuckle that resounded from his chest. She sounded so grumpy now that he had managed to pull her away from work and get her to lay down. It was like she didn't know how tired she was until she was laying down in his arms.

"Fine, goodnight," she nodded back in response, sluggishly. Gaara let himself relax as well, drifting off into his own slumber.

The next morning, Sakura woke to find herself alone. She moved around groggily, blindly reaching for Gaara. She came up empty handed and finally opened her eyes. Bright sunlight filtered into the room and she stretched, yawning, and pulling herself into a sitting position. She looked around blearily, vaguely wondering where Gaara had gone off to and why. She stretched once more before getting out of bed.

She looked throughout the entire house, but couldn't seem to find him anywhere. Her mouth set in a scowl, she padded to the study to get some more work done. If Gaara was going to ditch her, that was just fine. He could just go and screw himself if that's what he wanted. He wanted her to take a couple days off and he didn't even want to spend the time with her!

Sighing, she picked up a random folder and flicked through it, trying to find anything useful in it. She had been sorting through patients' folders for days, organizing them into a filing system so she could find the files she was looking for instead of rooting through boxes she couldn't seem to find the bottom of. Many of the files were disgusting and moldy, those ones she threw away. If they were that disgusting, those people were probably long gone. The newer files were on the top of the stack of haphazard boxes anyways.

"Deceased," she sighed and tossed the folder on the ground in front of the desk, already littered with files. She didn't care for the deceased files, especially if they were civilians or not to do with crime. She had a very small stack for homicidal death. They sat in a corner of this room. She was mostly going through all the files and alphabetizing them.

"Alive," she tossed it beside her, a sizable stack already there. She picked up another and flicked through it, glancing idly over at the boxes she still had to go through. There were so many and she had barely made a dent. She had possibly gotten through three or four of the boxes and there were at least four more to go. She rubbed her temples.

"Alive," she tossed it to the side again. And so she went like that for a while, picking up folders where she had spread them across her desk. Most were easy. She really only had to look at the last page to figure out if they were alive or dead. She placed active shinobi in a separate pile from civilians. She had to have access to those first and foremost.

"Sakura?" she heard Gaara's call from another room. She tossed the last folder on her desk to the side and blearily looked around, as if someone had just jerked her from a daydream. She had managed to get through an entire box without realizing. "Sakura, where are you?" she became alert at the repeated summons and she picked herself up, following the sound of Gaara's voice, completely forgetting that she was angry with him.

"Sorry, I woke up and you weren't here so I got back to sorting the files," Sakura said as she came into the kitchen, catching Gaara putting away the last of the groceries. She instantly felt terrible at her irate feelings from a couple hours ago. He was just out getting breakfast for her and she had the audacity to jump to the worst conclusions.

"You needed sleep," he said simply. "I left a note for you on the nightstand, you didn't see it?"

"I didn't think to look," Sakura said sheepishly, taking a seat at the bar. Gaara turned to her and began to cut some watermelon. After a moment, he handed her some and she gladly began to eat it. "So, anything on the agenda for today?" she asked in between bites, staring up at him as he sliced.

"Nothing really, I was just planning to spend the day with you. Would you like to do something?" Gaara had thought she would have liked some rest and relaxation after the past half a month. It was exhausting her, he could tell. Sakura sighed, biting her lip and looking away from him. She was obviously thinking. Gaara could tell when she was thinking now because she never looked at him when she did.

"Well, I really do need to get those files sorted through. Before Monday, I might add," Sakura sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "How about we get Temari and Kankorou over here? If I promise to go shopping with Temari tomorrow she'll help me with the files and Kankorou can keep you company." Gaara scoffed and pulled a face, causing Sakura to laugh. "Oh come on, he's your brother, he really can't be that bad."

"That's what you think."

"Or you could help Temari and I with the files," Sakura taunted, knowing that Gaara would rather spend time with his brother than sort through more paperwork. He already had that daunting task to deal with at the office, going through all the hospital fund records and such. It was starting to annoy him to be honest.

"Speaking of files, I remember I had something to talk to you about," Gaara said, stopping his work. Sakura perked up at the change of subject, though he was sure she was going to bring up bringing his siblings over sooner or later and he still couldn't say no to her.

"What's up?" she asked, grabbing another piece of watermelon and biting into it.

"It's about the hospital funds. I've sorted through most of it. You were right. A lot of the salaries are still being granted to dead people. I have to look into the bank accounts and seize the money back." Gaara sighed. "The hospital budget is going to be a harder concept to tackle though. Someone's been underspending and taking the rest for themselves."

"Not going to say it!" Sakura said as she bit into her snack. Gaara stared at her, speechless for a moment. She met his eyes and quickly shook her head. He was interested to say the least.

"Who do you think it is?"

"It isn't obvious?"

"Sakura."

"Sachi!" Sakura gave him a look that said 'duh.' Gaara fell silent for a long minute, thinking over what she had said.

"Possibly. That is actually a good idea. If this is true she'll be fired and I know you'll be happy about that," Gaara said, watching Sakura carefully. She only shrugged, sucking on a particularly juicy part of her fruit. Gaara only chuckled, watching her, before getting back on track. "Anyways, I addressed the council and they agreed that we need a new hospital. With the salary issue coming to light, we have more than enough money to build it."

"Oh, that's good."

"However, I want you to oversee it."

"What? Why me?"

"Because you know how best a hospital should be laid out so it will run efficiently. I'm not saying be an architecture, Sakura, we have artisans for that, but the general floorplan would be nice." Sakura stared at him, her snack long forgotten in her hands. After a few moments he grew unnerved as he watched her. "What?"

"Are you serious?" Gaara was taken aback. Of course he was serious. He gently probed the sand on her wrist, as she still wouldn't allow him to take back that piece of himself, and found that she was more surprised than anything else. A great surge of happiness hit him and his eyes flew up at her to catch her lifting herself over the bar and launching herself at him. He caught her easily in his arms and was relieved to see there wasn't any food on the floor.

"What was that about?" he asked, not sure what to make of it.

"It's such a great honor and I really don't know what to say!" Sakura hiccuped and Gaara pulled back from her to find she was crying. Fear surged through him and he wiped the tears away hurriedly, afraid he had done something wrong and had to comfort her now.

"Don't cry, Sakura," he said softly, shooting her a worried look. She smiled at him and he stopped, thoroughly confused. Why was she smiling? She was crying and smiling at the same time. Did that mean she wasn't sad? If she wasn't sad then why was she crying.

"Gaara, it made me so happy I started crying. People don't cry just because they're sad, you know," she gave him a glorious, glowing smile, the one that always made him want to kiss her. Without realizing it, he was kissing her. It was that damned smile, he told himself as he pulled away. He seriously couldn't hold back from kissing her when she wore that damn smile.

"Well that's good," he said after he gave her another kiss. He held her for a few more long moments, savoring the way she felt in his arms, cradled against his body. He always savored these moments; he didn't know how many of them he would be able to have with her.

"We should go get Temari and Kankorou," Sakura giggled, finally pulling away from him.

"Well, go change. We can't go get them when you look like that," he smirked at her when she looked down. She was in panties and a large shirt of his. He definitely liked it when she wore that to bed, but she couldn't really go out in public like that.

"Fine, but I'm taking a shower first." Sakura giggled and went for the stairs, knowing Gaara would be behind her sooner or later. True to her thoughts, he quickly joined her for a shower. No matter how many times she washed his body, she couldn't get enough. There was barely a scar on his smooth chest and he often shuddered when she touched his stomach. Gaara wasn't a rough person, though he wasn't overly muscular either, but he was smooth and blemish free, which was quite hard to find in a shinobi.

"Why do you always tease me?" Gaara asked, watching her wash lower and lower, though never touching his length. The inappropriate thoughts during their showers had come back ever since that night more than two weeks ago and he couldn't seem to get it out of his head. They both had been too busy to intimately interact with one another again, but it was mostly on his mind, and from the flashes of emotions he still got from his sand, it was mostly on her mind as well.

"I'm trying not to tease you, that's why I'm staying away from that area," Sakura said, though her eyes were focused on his stomach. She was blushing, he knew, and he thought it endearing. He stopped for a moment, then. Did he really just think that a girl was endearing? Well if it had to be someone, at least it was Sakura, who seemed to reciprocate his feelings. At least to the point that she wasn't pushing him away now as he pushed his arms around her form and pulled her roughly against him, pressing his mouth against hers in an insistence he hadn't quite ever felt before.

Sakura let out a soft squeak as he pushed her against the wall, his mouth still on hers in a feverish flurry of kisses and soft bites to her lip. Then her hands were in his hair and she was pressing back just as insistently. It seemed as though she had lost her bearings and had finally caught up to what was happening. Gaara trailed his hands down her body and lifted her up, pressing her back to the cool wall of the shower, forcing her to wrap her legs around his waist to stabilize herself. Her lips were still on his and he was getting lost in the feeling.

"How long has it been?" her breathless voice was in his ear the moment he pulled away, trailing soft, hurried kisses from her mouth to her neck, attacking her there with the same ferocity as he had her mouth. Her hands, now on his shoulders, tightened perceptibly and she leaned into him, letting out a soft gasp.

"More than two weeks," he mumbled quickly before harshly biting her neck, smoothing his tongue over the mark to soothe it. Her hips rolled against his and he had to stop for a moment to groan, a low and deep guttural noise. She was enticing, that was true, and he wasn't about to walk away from her teasing this time. His hands were back on her hips as he pushed up and fluidly into her, causing her to toss her head back and moan, granting him the perfect opportunity to bury his head in her neck.

He didn't let her reprieve last long before he began pumping into her with a ferocity he didn't quite know he had with this position. Her hands on his shoulders tightened into a death grip, digging into his skin, surely to leave marks. He didn't care. She felt amazing and the sounds she made were driving him closer and closer to the edge of insanity they both desperately craved.

Her moans were driving him to move harder, faster, and she was gaining volume. His hold on her body tightened as he drove into her and she let out an ear-piercing shriek as her walls contracted around him, though he managed a few more thrusts before he joined her. He let her slide down the wall and enveloped her in a hug as they came down from their high.

"I, um, you needed that, huh?" she let out a shaky laugh and carefully disconnected herself from him, pulling his length out of her. Her legs gave out and he caught her within the next moment, holding her up, a smirk on his face.

"Did I do that?" he feigned innocence, though the smirk still present ruined it. Sakura only whacked at his shoulder. She leaned against him for a minute before she carefully put her weight back on her own legs.

"I'm fine now," she turned away from him and grabbed the soap. Gaara pulled the shampoo down from above her head and began to wash her hair, thinking it was the least he could do after giving her such a sensory overload. He spun her around so he was sure she didn't get soap in her eyes. After he rinsed out her hair for her and applied conditioner, he let her lean against the wall for a moment.

"You okay?" he was worried now. He was worried that he had gone too roughly for her and she was broken in some way.

"I'm fine, Gaara, she gave him a smile and a breathy giggle. "You just went a little hard. Don't give me that look it's normal. Haven't you ever been around after you fucked a girl?" At the look on Gaara's face, she turned red and covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—" she sputtered.

"Don't worry," Gaara pulled her back under the warm spray of the water and rinsed the conditioner out of her hair. "Go on and get dressed, I've got to finish," he leaned forward to kiss her, unknowing of how else to let her know she hadn't hurt his feelings. She only smiled at him and nodded, picking her way carefully out of the tub.

When Gaara got out of the shower and back into the bedroom, Sakura was just putting on a skirt. He had to say he was really enjoying the civilian clothes she had taken to wearing while in Suna. Her training outfit really had done her no justice and he quite liked looking at her curves. She sat on the bed while he dried himself and dressed.

"What are we doing now?" Gaara asked, sitting beside her.

"Going to get your siblings so Temari can help me with all those folders," Sakura giggled and Gaara sighed. It was just like Sakura to do work while she was supposed to be relaxing, but Gaara could see why she did it. She needed to get everything in order first before she could work on making the actual hospital better.

"Fine," he stood and pulled her up beside him. Sakura laughed and pulled away from him, making her way down the stairs. Gaara was curious and followed her, only to find she was walking down the street and he wondered why. It would be much faster if they just went to his siblings' houses rather than walked.

"We never just walk somewhere, Gaara!" Sakura called over her shoulder, like she knew he was lagging behind her and that he was questioning her actions. "Come on, slowpoke, or else we won't get your siblings here before nightfall!" Gaara only smirked and shook his head, walking to catch up to her where she stopped.

"Why would you want to walk somewhere, Sakura. I thought it was too hot out here for you." Gaara was poking fun at her, back from when she had complained that it was too damned hot to go anywhere half the time. It had come after she had held class for the medics and he had a feeling she had simply been tired, but he never let her forget it now.

"Shut up, Gaara." Sakura didn't have a much better comeback other than that. Gaara only chuckled. He walked with his hands in his pockets, though when Sakura looped her arm around his he didn't pull away. Several villagers pointed and whispered, several girls looking crestfallen. Gaara cast a glance at Sakura to see if she noticed, but she walked happily along, blissfully unaware of the curious whispers and death glares from jealous girls who had hoped to be hanging from Gaara's arm.

"Sakura!"

Sakura turned quickly and smiled at the approaching man. He seemed subdued for a moment after catching a look at Gaara, but didn't back away. He nervously walked slowly the rest of the way towards Sakura. Gaara judged her emotions. She didn't seem uncomfortable or mildly terrified. Those feelings had all but gone away since the Gala, but she was still wary around the villagers she didn't know. From her calm posture, Gaara assumed this man had to be from one of her classes.

"Hey, Satoru," Sakura shook his hand. "What did you need?"

"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt your outing with the Kazekage," he began shakily, nervously laughing after he dropped her hand rather quickly to scratch the back of his head. Gaara sized him up, an emotion he wasn't familiar with bubbling in his stomach. He didn't like him. He didn't like the fact Satoru thought he could just walk to Sakura in the street. He swept his long brown hair out of his blue eyes, an open but nervous smile on his face.

"It's fine, we were just going to visit his brother and sister, that's all." Gaara placed a hand on the small of her back, his stance slightly offensive. He didn't like this. "What did you need?" Sakura bit her lip, like she knew Gaara was getting antsy and protective. Or was it possessive? She really couldn't tell because the two seemed much the same with the quiet red-head.

"Oh, I heard that you took all the files from the hospital," he said, his voice still nervous. He periodically glanced at Gaara, as though he was rethinking what he was going to say. "I was wondering if you needed any help with them."

Sakura smiled, though she couldn't possibly take him up on his offer. Gaara was growing increasingly antsy and she felt that if she had the man around Gaara might just kill him out of jealousy. "It's okay, I'm almost done sorting through it all anyways. Just go enjoy your day off," she nodded to him and began to turn away.

"O-oh, uh, okay, bye," he sort of half-waved and turned quickly, almost running back down the street. Sakura began walking with Gaara again.

"You didn't have to be so mean to him, he just wanted to help," Gaara could almost hear the pout in her voice. He didn't look down at her, merely continued on his way to his sister's house. Sakura hadn't returned her arm to its previous position, though his hand hadn't fallen from the small of her back. She really couldn't tell what he was being or what he was feeling, but she wasn't so sure she really liked it.

"I don't like him," Gaara said finally after several moments of silence. Sakura looked up at him, her eyes fierce and he knew he just picked a fight with her.

"You don't like anyone," she countered, pulling away from his hand. They walked side by side now, not touching, and it frustrated Gaara. He just wanted to keep Sakura to himself and out of any other's males vision, where they could fall in love with her and take her away from him. His anger diluted his conscious, he didn't even find himself surprised at that train of thought and at that moment he wasn't even resentful of thinking it.

"He just wanted to get alone with you," he said gruffly, glaring at the distance instead of chancing a look down at Sakura and betraying his emotions. Temari's place was coming into view and he couldn't be more grateful. Hopefully his sister could distract Sakura and make her forget about this whole thing. He certainly just wanted to leave Sakura with her and find someplace to cool off so he didn't have to deal with these thoughts or emotions.

"Oh, so other guys can't be interested in me?" Sakura was becoming more heated, her tongue more pointed, and she wasn't thinking anymore. When someone riled her up, she punched first and asked questions later, even if that punch were her words. "Last I knew, Gaara, you weren't dating me and if I left to go back to Konoha, you probably wouldn't even miss me!" Sakura began moving faster, leaving Gaara behind. His eyes narrowed in anger and he held himself from throwing his sand to halt her and bring her back so he could unleash his anger. Instead he turned on the spot and walked away from her.

"Hey, what's up?" Temari answered the door after the first knock and she was smiling brightly, until she got a look at the expression on Sakura's face. She opened the door wider, her face falling, and let Sakura in silently. She could tell Sakura was quite upset, though only visibly angry. Who knew what other emotions were laying beneath the surface, getting ready to explode out of her? "Alright, what he'd do this time?" she had a feeling it had to do with her silly little brother.

"He got jealous of one of the medics I was training because the guy asked if he could help me! I said no, which I really shouldn't have because he was just trying to be nice, but Gaara started acting all weird and just shoved off and made me angry!" Sakura vented the moment Temari shut the door. "The one day where I just want to take a walk to go and get you and Kankorou and Gaara pulls this! You'd think he just wants to keep me locked away and all to himself, to the point that you guys are the only ones in my life."

"Sakura, that's how its been for almost three months," Temari laughed, flopping on the couch. "Gaara forced himself out of his comfort zone for you and then he protected you from everything and everyone, keeping you safe with him. For a while it was only us and him for you. He isn't too used to change, so being able to go out and able to make friends without his pushing and guidance is probably hard for him." Temari never thought she would have to psychoanalyze her little brother for Sakura, as Sakura was quite good at doing that on her own. Gaara didn't like change. That's why he holed himself up in the office for days on end and didn't go out or meet new people. He hated new people. That's probably why he had gotten along with Sakura so well. She had hated everyone new for a while.

"Well, yeah, but it isn't like he's got this claim over me that he can keep each and every male approaching me! This guy was just trying to be nice and friendly, he's married, and Gaara's just freaking out like he wants to take me back to the classroom and have his way with me on my desk. What is with him?!" Sakura threw her head in her hands. She had never had these problems with Gaara before and it was probably because she had never pushed back against him before. She had simply gone along with whatever he wanted and now it was that she found her own free will again and found things that annoyed her about him that definitely hadn't before.

"Gaara's never had a girlfriend." Sakura looked up and a small gasp escaped her throat. "He's had girls in his bed, but nothing serious," Temari continued, idly playing with the television remote, as if she was wondering if she should turn it on or not. "He's been with you night and day for three months. He's probably had sex with you, not that I want to know. That's Gaara's claim I suppose. He doesn't like to label things."

"So because he's gotten attached to me, I'm his...significant other or something?!" Sakura groaned. She wished Gaara would have just said something before she had screamed that faux pas at him only minutes ago.

"Yeah, pretty much. He gets attached, he doesn't particularly like sharing after that. He got attached to my cat once. I haven't seen it since and I think it died about a year ago," Temari said thoughtfully before tossing the remote on the couch and bouncing up. "Alright, since the psychoanalyzing of my little brother is over, what were you coming here for anyways? That little altercation must have happened on the way here because I'm sure you would have just destroyed his house if you got into a fight there."

"You know me too well," Sakura said, a smile on her face as she raised herself. She was still fuming, that was for sure, but Temari managed to quell most of the anger, especially with that story about her cat lost to an amorous Gaara. The thought put another smile on her face. "I just need help sorting through the hospital files at my house. I'll take you shopping tomorrow if you help," the last part was a sing-song, and Temari's displeased face turned into one of thoughtfulness.

"Shopping spree that you'll pay for? Deal," she laughed and looked around her house. "Eh, anything here is at your house, let's go." They began towards the door. Temari opened it and stepped back. "Well, okay, I'll be waiting at you're house," she gave Sakura a fleeting apologetic look and then was gone very, very quickly. Sakura, curious, looked around the door to find Gaara, his face still twisted in anger. At seeing him, Sakura felt some remnants of anger rise up within herself as well.

"What do you want?" she muttered, stepping away from the door and back into Temari's house. She leaned up against the far wall, away from him so she could keep her distance and look him in the eye. In case he decided a murderous rampage was the way to go, she would keep her chances at living and getting out of the house in a higher percentile.

Gaara grumbled, refusing to meet her eyes. He didn't know what to say. Often he didn't, he just chose to let things lie. He didn't want to do that. Sakura was still in the center of everything and something within him couldn't bear to be angry with her or push her away like he had been. He wanted to hold her and hug her, let her know he was sorry that way. The words just weren't coming out and she was so far away.

"That doesn't qualify as words," Sakura said, looking away. Gaara glared at the floor. He crossed the room in two long strides and pulled her to his body, crushing her to his chest, and hugging her with all his might. He may not have the words, but he could try and show her by holding her like she was the only thing in the world right now.

"Sorry," he finally mumbled into her ear, comforted now that she was close and wasn't pushing away from him. Her anger seemed to have abated somewhat and she allowed him to hold her, though made no move to wrap her arms around him. Gaara didn't let her go for long minutes, holding her tightly to his body, almost to the point she was having a hard time breathing, trying to make her forgive him in an act of intimacy.

"Gaara, you didn't have to be so mean to him," her voice came out hard and she flinched. She didn't mean to be so harsh, but the anger was still there, fueling her, and she couldn't help it. She felt him sigh,

"I don't know why," his voice was strained. "It was odd. I shouldn't have. I apologize," his voice was still strained, like he was struggling to find the words to make it okay and make her forgive him. He still hadn't let her go, his face buried in her neck, refusing to look at her. "No one else should have you," his voice was clear and confident this time, like he was okay with saying it to her and he firmly believed his words.

"I'm not yours, Gaara, you can't make those decisions for me," she said, trying to draw away from him, but his hold only tightened and he pulled her back to him, holding her tightly, securely, like he was afraid that she would drop off the face of the earth and cease to exist if he let her go.

"Then be mine," his voice came out quickly, harshly, as though the words weren't thought through before they jumped off his tongue. Sakura stopped trying to fight him and stood still, unable to understand what he had just said. Did he just say that? Did he mean that? "No one else should have you. You should be mine," he said into her neck, still afraid to look at her. It wasn't often that he was afraid of anything, but he couldn't bear to look at her only to find rejection in her eyes. He didn't think he could deal with Sakura's rejection. He felt like he would cease to exist if she did.

"That's all you had to say," her voice was still hard, but he didn't pull her back to him when she tried to draw away form him this time. "Come on, let's go get your brother and go home," she offered him her hand and a timid smile. Gaara nodded to her and grasped her hand tightly. He had realized when he was in the training area, working out his frustrations, that he had taken Sakura's affection for granted and he just expected her to think she was his. He had never said it or expressed it in any way that what they had was serious and he found he made a major error there. He had decided to go back then, hoping she would understand and he wouldn't have to say it.

"We're doing it my way," before Sakura could open the door. Sakura looked at him, but only nodded, locking the door, and turned to him, holding onto his hand still. He took them to the front door of his brother's house, knocking sharply on the door. He answered quickly and Gaara figured there wasn't a girl in there to distract him like there so often was.

"What's up, little brother," Kankorou smiled widely and leaned against the doorframe.

"Come, Temari's already at my house." Kankorou only laughed and nodded, locking and shutting his door. Gaara only placed his hand on his brother's shoulder and brought them all to his kitchen, where Temari was eating the watermelon Gaara had left on the bar earlier. She sighed in relief, though Gaara couldn't dream of why.

"My living room isn't destroyed is it?" she asked and Sakura burst out laughing, shaking her head from side to side. It was certainly entertaining that would be the first thing Temari would say and Gaara couldn't help but smirk himself. He looked around the kitchen to Kankorou.

"Okay, Temari and I are going to go and sort through files. You and Gaara," she pointed to Kankorou, "can have some brother time." She and Temari snickered as they left the room. Kankorou only looked at Gaara for several moments.

"Movie?"

"Movie."

"Jesus Christ, girl, how many files do you have to go through?" Temari asked, looking around the messed study. There were files everywhere. There was a sizable stack on the desk and a smaller stack on the floor next to it, and a stack on one of the two armchairs in the room. "It looks like a filing cabinet exploded in here!"

"I know. The wonders of the hospital system in this village. I've spent a while going through a lot of these files just to see who's alive and who's dead." She pointed to a pile on one of the shelves of a bookcase. "That's all the employees. They were all at the top and any employees before that are dead." She caught the look on Temari's face. "Gaara checked." Temari only relaxed and nodded.

"Okay, well, how many boxes do we have to do?" Temari asked, looking around. There were boxes scattered around the door. Sakura only pointed to the box on the left side of the door. "What about the other ones?" There were only three in the pile Sakura pointed to and Temari pointed to a pile of five.

"Those are moldy and disgusting. I figured if they were old like that then they weren't files I wanted," Sakura shrugged and pulled one of the boxes off the pile and set it between her and Temari on the floor. She figured they could just do it down here and she could put them in the piles where they belonged when they were done.

"That's actually pretty smart. I probably would have gone through all of them only to find that they're dead and I should have thrown them out in the first place." Sakura only nodded. "What if someone is alive, though, and are in, like, a retirement home or something?" Temari asked, her voice thoughtful. Sakura only shrugged.

"I checked all the nursing homes in the village. They have all their medical files on hand so if the people were brought to the hospital, the file would be brought with them. I thought it was a good idea because most of the homes can treat the patient themselves. They keep the file in the room or house, depending on the community," she shrugged. "I'll probably order copies so the hospital staff doesn't have to worry in the future. It isn't like they're good at their jobs anyways."

"I know! I went there to get a tetanus shot and they told me they were out, so I went there everyday for like three months before I could even be cleared for missions again and they were always out. I ended up going on my mission and posing as an injured civilian in one of the towns I came across to get it. It was obnoxious," Temari huffed as she flicked through a couple files, tossing some to the left and some to the right. "The deceased are on the right," she added as an afterthought.

"Well, the medics weren't trained at all. They can heal minor cuts and bruises, surface stuff, but I asked one of them what they should do for a collapsed lung and he just broke down and couldn't answer. It was actually kind of embarrassing. They shouldn't even called medic nins, just glorified healers," Sakura griped, flicking through a few folders of her own. Temari only nodded in time with her words.

"A lot of them are pretty bad shinobi too. They aren't even on the active roster because they would never be able to hold their own in a fight, let alone heal their fallen comrades." Temari tossed a few folders to the side. Sakura only scoffed.

"I'm not going to teach them how to fight, I'm only here to teach them how to heal properly," she said, reaching into the box for more folders. "They can be put into genin teams again if Gaara wants to teach them how to fight. They sure as hell aren't getting Tsunade's secrets. That's for my own student I'll have one day," Sakura threw folders to the side. The right pile was just a mess of folders and papers, while the left was kept in a somewhat neat pile.

"Yeah, I guess I can agree," Temari said. They continued on with the folders for a while in silence. "So, what happened at my house? Did you guys really avoid destroying the living room?" Both Sakura and Gaara were not well known for leaving a place intact if they were angry, save for their own household.

"Well I was angry, but that doesn't mean I was going to break down a wall trying to hit him, especially when his sand would have just blocked me anyways," Sakura said, her voice disinterested. "He really just hugged me really tight and wouldn't let go. I'm not very sure why." Sakura had never really dealt with anyone quite like Gaara. Naruto was quite open with his feelings and the rest of her friends were mostly girls. Girls never had an issue gossiping and talking about things with other girls.

"We all know that Gaara sucks at talking, Sakura. He could never get his words out, especially when he's upset, and either holds it in or lets it out with a burst of rage. Or he avoids the person he's wronged and just never sees them again." Each instance had happened several times throughout the youngest sibling's life and Temari remembered each and every time she and Kankorou had to fix their old house when they lived together. Gaara wasn't good with feelings.

"He did manage to get it out, though," Sakura said, "it took him a couple minutes, but he finally said what was on his mind and it kind of made it a lot easier to calm down," she said simply. Temari only nodded. She had never thought Gaara would figure out how to talk about his emotions, mostly because he didn't seem to know he had them and could put them into words without breaking down a wall or breaking someone's face.

"For a long time, all Gaara felt was anger and betrayal. After the first chuunin exams way back when and he met Naruto, he calmed down and was able to come to peace with the monster inside him. After it was torn away from him, he was finally able to sleep without fear of the monster and it made way for him to feel something other than anger." Temari had never told this to anyone really, afraid Gaara would dislike her for it, but this was Sakura so she figured it was alright. "He was still cold and distant, but ever since you came along he's been substantially warmer."

"Okay, I can't really believe that." Sure Gaara was warm and comfortable with Sakura, but she didn't know how he acted around other people, though the way he acted around Satoru was how she thought he acted around everyone save for her.

"Alright maybe it's like a fraction of a minimal difference in his personality, but it's still there," Temari laughed and Sakura even managed a smile. "He's happier with you around. And you were the first person ever that he hasn't caused bodily harm to for pissing him off." Sakura made a face at her that made her burst out in laughter again. "The first person that wasn't related to him." Sakura nodded and went back to the files in her hands.

"Geez, we're already done with the first box," Sakura said after she reached in for more files. Temari broke out into a smile and rose to grab another box. "I'm glad I asked you to help me with this," Sakura admitted. "It makes it a lot faster between two people who like to talk." Gaara hadn't helped her and Sakura hadn't expected him to, only because he had more paperwork and files to go through than she did and she didn't want to ask him to do more work outside of his office.

"Yeah, no problem. The shopping tomorrow helps too," Temari sat back down and grabbed a large stack of files from the box. Sakura did the same and was struck with how very alike Temari and Ino were. She felt like she was almost back in Konoha, holed up in Ino's room and looking at the shop catalogs for the village. Sure they had mostly done it when they were younger, but it still struck her and made her stop for a moment. She slightly missed her village now.

"I don't know, maybe we could go shopping in Konoha soon," Sakura said, though she didn't look up at Temari's face to see her reaction, keeping her eyes carefully trained on the files in her hands. She hadn't brought up a visit to Konoha to anyone, not even Gaara, but it had been on her mind for the past couple of weeks and she knew she couldn't avoid it forever, even if she could put it off for a couple more months.

"That would be fun, I think," from the tone in Temari's voice, Sakura could tell she was treading lightly, cautiously, so she wouldn't say anything out of line or wrong. She didn't want to, but Sakura was much like Gaara, and the wrong thing could set her off if caution was not applied.

"I suppose," she said softly, throwing a couple folders to the side.

"Dinner's ready." Sakura jumped about a foot in the air, scattering the neatly stacked files all towards Gaara, who watched silently. She sighed and picked them up, placing them on the desks with the others.

"Okay," she said, waiting to follow him out the door. Temari trailed behind her, knowing Gaara had been listening in on the last part of their conversation, and she couldn't tell whether he was upset or glad she was thinking about returning home for a visit. Who knows? Maybe she'd decide to stay there. That wouldn't make Gaara happy at all.

Gaara handed Sakura a plate and sat down with her on the couch. He was silent as he ate, watching whatever movie Kankorou had put in. He and Kankorou weren't close, not like his sister would like them to be. He shook his head and looked towards Sakura, checking her food like he always did. She seemed to be eating most of it.

"How far are you guys on the files?" Kankorou asked between bites.

"Almost done, actually," Sakura said, placing her mostly empty plate on the coffee table. "I only have about a box and a half left." Kankorou smiled.

"That's good. I'm very happy that the hospital is getting on the right track for once. I never go there after the whole thing with Sasori's poison. I may as well just wait for you," Kankorou laughed. "Even after this whole process is finished, I think I'll still wait for you."

"That isn't very smart, you know," Sakura laughed. "The medics will be trained well before you know it and you'll be able to trust them just as much as me!"

"I don't think so. I think I'll always have to wait for you," Kankorou winked and Gaara glared. Temari elbowed her brother in the stomach and Kankorou began coughing, trying to catch his breath around the bite of food he'd almost choked on. "What was that for, Temari?! That wasn't very nice." Sakura collapsed in laughter, leaning against Gaara for support.

"We don't think Gaara appreciated your tone," she said between giggles. Kankorou broke into understanding.

"Sorry Gaara," he laughed sheepishly. Gaara only glared at him again and he shrunk back slightly. He turned to the movie instead, keeping his attention off his little brother. Temari only shrugged and Sakura finally regained her breath.

"Should we go back to sorting?" Sakura asked Temari. Temari only sighed and nodded, getting up to join her. "See you in a bit," she gave a little half-wave to Gaara, who only nodded, watching her leave the room. He reluctantly went back to the movie, wishing her body was still next to his. He had made her take the couple of days off because he missed her, but she was out of his reach still. He sighed.

"What's up, little brother?" Kankorou asked, though he kept his attention carefully on the television instead of turning to Gaara. He didn't want to see his brother's face, in case he was still angry about his comment from earlier.

"Nothing," Gaara got up and left the room. A few moments later, Temari came out, looking slightly frustrated.

"Gaara just whisked Sakura away. Jesus, you'd think he could learn how to share someone's attention," she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. She sighed. "Well, Kanky, seems like I'm replacing Sakura with you, come on and help me finish with these boxes."

"But Temari!" Kankorou whined. "I don't want to do that stuff!"

"Do it and I'll buy you those tools you've been eying to build those new puppets you keep talking about," Temari bated him, smirking when she knew she had him. He turned a dreamy eye to her, practically salivating.

"You mean it?"

"Mhm, I'll go and get them tomorrow." Kankorou was up within a second and brushed past Temari into the study. Temari blinked. She had never thought she'd see her brother move so fast when his life wasn't in danger.

"Gaara, where are we going?" Sakura asked, her voice exasperated. Gaara was basically pulling her down the street, taking her to some unknown destination. He had just whisked her away from the study after only a few moments of looking through more files and she couldn't begin to think of why. He had been perfectly fine the few minutes before that.

"Up the wall," he said simply. She only nodded and allowed him to lead her up the defense wall. They passed several chuunin, a couple jounin, and an anbu in his mask, leaning against the railing. They all nodded to Gaara as they passed and the jounin gave Sakura a smile; they knew her from the shinobi bar. Sakura smiled back at them, but she didn't waste any time saying hello. Gaara was walking with a sense of purpose. She kept up with him rather well and he pulled her to a high point of the wall.

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against his side in the chilly midnight air. Sakura blinked, wondering why he brought her up here.

"Gaara, what—"

"Come here," his voice was gruff as he pulled her to the edge of the wall. He sat on the edge and looked over the desert. His hand still rested on her waist, but Sakura shivered slightly when his heat left her. She stared at him for a moment and then looked up over the wall and out into the desert. She was struck by the beauty and tranquility of the scene.

Gaara had a look of peace whilst he looked out the wall and she could understand why. She slowly sat down beside him on the wall, though with a gentle tug she was in his lap, caged in his arms. She would have never thought she would be here with him in such an intimate way, much less that Gaara would hold her in such a way.

"I like the nights of the full moon," he said quietly, smoothly. Sakura understood. The full moon seemed larger in the desert sky and it shone on the sand, turning it to an eerie, milky ocean, nothing out there to mar the view. The beauty was unique to her, as she had spent most of her life within the trees and mountains of fire country.

"Is that why you brought me up here?" she asked softly, pressing her body to his to absorb his heat. His clothes kept him cool during the day and warm at night, but Sakura still wore her morning clothes, when the air was hot and hung down on her. It made going out at night a little chillier and she shivered much more. Gaara tightened his hold on her, enjoying the way she felt like this. He had never brought her here, not even during the day, but the way she shivered gave him a reason to hold her closer and tighter.

"I wanted to be alone with you," he said, leaning his cheek on the side of her head. Sakura giggled.

"You're usually alone with me," she said pleasantly. Gaara sighed.

"Not for the past week," he said lowly. He had missed her. That was the reason for his acting up and he couldn't help it. He had never felt this way about another human being and it was foreign to him. He didn't know how to react when he wasn't getting her full attention anymore and he didn't know how to say he just wanted to hold her and be with her now. He didn't know how their relationship had spiraled out of control like this, but he supposed it couldn't be helped anymore.

"Gaara, this is a mission you ultimately assigned me. Problem?" she giggled.

"My problem lies with the fact I don't see you save for when we go to bed," he said, still staring out at the moonlit sand. He missed talking to her like this. For the past couple of weeks, they had been in the same room, but hadn't talked or communicated much. Sakura was much of his social interaction, even when she hadn't been much for talking.

"Sure you see me," she said, still not finding fault. "We spend dinner together and we usually stay in the study until it's time to go to bed."

"Correction, Sakura, you've been making me dinner and then you hole up in the study and expect me to sit with you. Then I either drag you off to bed, or wait for you to finish for the night, which usually isn't until five in the morning, and we go to bed for three hours." He wasn't feeling the closeness they had shared the first couple of months and he was beginning to miss it. In those first couple of months she was always in his arms, every night, and was always latched onto him during the day. He had known he'd have to give her up during the day, but he hadn't known he wouldn't have her pressed to him during the night anymore because she didn't know when to stop working.

"Well, you want me to reform the hospital, don't you? It takes a lot of work, Gaara," she sighed. She didn't want to talk about this. She hadn't found much fault with branching out on her own now and taking on the responsibility of the hospital now. She wanted to do a good job and that meant pulling sleepless nights and running low on chakra as she taught the substandard medics and attended to patients in the substandard hospital. She had only stopped for a couple days because Gaara hadn't given her a choice, otherwise she'd still be at it.

"You could pace yourself," he said grumpily. Sakura only bit her lip. Gaara pulled his arms from around her and turned her face to hers. She refused to look at him. "I need to see you," he said softly, trying to make her see that staying away from her doesn't work for him. He kissed her, harshly, and she reacted quickly, a soft yelp leaving her lips in surprise. His hold was impossibly tight around her waist and her breath was quickly leaving her. "It doesn't have to be done in a day, or a week, or a month," he said, pulling back from her, though he was still pressed too closely to her to look in her eyes.

"It won't be done that soon," Sakura said softly. "A project such as this would never be able to be done in a month, but I can at least extradite the procedure so it'll get done sooner."

"So you can go home sooner?" Sakura stopped. So he had been listening earlier. She didn't want to return home still. The subject was still sore and terrifying to her. It still didn't seem like her home, but some place she didn't know much about, somewhere nice to vacation maybe. That's what it seemed like to her for now. It was foreign now and unfamiliar territory.

"Gaara, you know where I stand on that," she said softly, turning to look out over the desert again. She understood now. He was afraid he was going to lose her and he definitely didn't want to. The fact he was pulling up that they didn't spend as much time with her now told her that. His actions and attitude was also a signal she had overlooked.

"Do I?" there was fear in his voice and she wasn't even sure that he knew it. His actions and feelings were spurred on by the ultimate fear of losing her, a fear that he had never felt before and therefore didn't know how to react to it other than to act out.

"Yes," she said, staring at him now, pulling herself away to look at him better. Gaara looked back at her with a look on his face she had never seen before. She couldn't even begin to describe it. After looking at him for long moments, she finally sighed and looked away. "Do you think it's time to go back now?" Though she certainly enjoyed the view, it was steadily becoming colder and she didn't know how much longer she could stay out in the desert night, even when she was pressed against Gaara.

"I think so," his voice was soft and calm, a tone she had only heard once before, when he had been trying to calm her the night of the Gala. She began to carefully pull herself off him, but he wouldn't allow her. She turned a curious gaze to him, but he didn't give an explanation. He stood, cradling her small body in his arms, and took them back to their bedroom.

"You didn't have to do that," her voice was soft now as he stood in the dark room, her body still cradled to his chest.

"I know," he said, crossing the bed after he kicked off his shoes. He placed her on the bed. She began to get up immediately, intent on heading towards the bathroom, but then he was on top of her, pushing her into the bed.

"Time for bed," he said, pulling her close to him and molding his body against hers. There was nothing he wanted more in this moment than to be close to her and hold her. This need to be close to her was new to him and now that he had her, after this day of ups and downs, he didn't want to let her go, even for a few moments.

"I have to change, though," Sakura sighed, trying to push herself up again. Gaara held her down still, keeping her caged and immobile. "Gaara," she was annoyed now. She wasn't comfortable in her street clothes. She just wanted to get into her pajamas, it wouldn't take that long. Gaara only scoffed and then he was on top of her, tugging the clothes off her body. "Gaara, what are you doing?!" Sakura blushed, though he couldn't see it in the darkness.

"Making you more comfortable," Gaara said simply, succeeding in tugging her tank top off and pulling her skirt off her long legs. He settled back down after he had gotten her clothes off, leaving her in her underthings. He was about to pull her back against his body when she sat up, pulling her underclothes off as well. He watched her and was captivated by her milky skin illuminated in the moonlight. Not even the moonlit desert could compare to her body lit by the open window.

"Take yours off too," her voice was soft still and he complied, sitting up and allowing her to divest him of his shirt. He pulled his pants and boxers off before laying back down. She didn't try to tease him or kiss him, merely found her place beside him. He brought her close to him, an arm wrapped tightly around her bare waist, keeping her secure in his embrace. Within moments, Sakura was asleep, his sheets and blanket wrapped around her waist. He relaxed into his bed, finally finding happiness that she was in his arms and it wasn't five in the morning. He felt himself drift off within a few moments.


	8. Chapter 8

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Sakura muttered as she packed her bag. Gaara stood at the door, arms folded, watching her with a slightly amused glint in his eye, his bag already packed. She sighed again, for what seemed like the thousandth time in the past twenty minutes and picked up her bag, following Gaara out the door.

"Well you can't say no to Tsunade," he said, that amusement still active in his voice. Yelling reverberated from the living room as they made their way down the stairs and Sakura groaned. She was quite grumpy and Gaara couldn't seem to get over it. He was finding way too much fun in the entire situation.

"Yeah, but she didn't have to send Naruto as a diplomatic escort, that's for sure," she griped. She heard a grunt from Gaara and she shoved him in the shoulder. He only shook his head. He couldn't help the laughter that had bubbled up his throat.

"At least Temari's coming as well."

"Only because she wants to get into Shikamaru's pants." Gaara grunted in laughter again. Sakura was feeling particularly sassy and she couldn't quite get over it. He couldn't wait to see the reactions he'd get from having Naruto in their presence for a few days. There would be no end to the amusement.

"Are you guys finally ready?" Naruto came bouncing up to them and Sakura automatically smacked him upside the head. He gave her a look, but thought better of saying something else. Gaara only shifted, impatient to be on their way. It wasn't every day he got to take a trip and he couldn't wait to get underway. Preferably they'd leave before Kankorou could show up again to complain about acting in his place while he was away.

"Yeah, let's go meet Temari at the gate," Sakura shouldered her bag and promptly left the house, Naruto staring after her, mouth slightly agape.

"What crawled up her ass and made a nest?" he asked in an undertone, moving to follow her out of the house.

"You." Gaara shoved past him, entertained that Naruto was once again frozen, mouth agape. He joined Sakura's side, arm brushing against hers with every step, and he was slightly surprised she didn't pull away. When she was in a particularly feisty mood she really didn't want to touch anyone. He knew she slightly wanted to just spar with him, but they didn't have time for that.

They made it to the gate with little other obstacles where Temari was leaning against a post, her eyes watching the horizon, suspicion evident. Suspicion was a part of their lives and Gaara wasn't exactly surprised to see her watching and poised for trouble already. It happened whenever Temari was even a step outside of the village.

"Took you long enough," Temari sighed, looking edgy. Gaara had a feeling she was simply excited to see Shikamaru and couldn't wait to see him again. Gaara would have been more moody had he been in her position.

"The idiot wanted to eat first," Sakura grunted, moving past Temari to the check point, removing her weapons and satchel to properly check out of the village. Gaara had no need to because of his status, though he would be thoroughly checked, perhaps even more thoroughly than the others, upon his return.

"Had a feeling." Naruto groaned and the women shot a look at him. He hung his head, the groan still evident. He didn't want to be stuck with two moody women for three days. He moved to the check point as well to sign out.

"We hope you enjoy your trip, Kazekage!" One of the girls at the check point called, just as he and his entourage were about to cross into the dessert. Gaara only nodded in thanks, though he couldn't think of the girl's name. He felt Sakura slightly stiffen beside him and he struggled not to smirk. She didn't like when women called out to him like that.

"The girls around here are still trying to get on your good side, huh Gaara?" Naruto asked, his hands behind his head. Gaara only nodded, though he couldn't help the slightly annoyed look which crossed his face for a split second.

"Naruto, we get love letters in at the tower every other hour for him," Temari complained. "I don't even see why they do it; Gaara's more prickly and unlovable than a cactus!" She laughed at her own joke and Sakura even managed a smile.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Sakura drawled, "but next time it happens, let me know so I can beat some sense into the girl." Gaara couldn't help the smirk that flitted across his face this time. Sakura had been much more outspoken in her claim to him as she gained notoriety in the village. Most known for building the new hospital and complaints of her training, most enjoyed her company as she provided medical care, though her temper had returned with a vengeance ever since she'd started working again.

"Alright, we're outside the boundaries of the village," Temari said. The other three nodded and they broke into an easy sprint, wanting to get to the trees before nightfall.

Sakura finished cleaning up the remnants of dinner just as Naruto managed to finish pitching the tents. They had given him the task because he wouldn't shut up and they didn't know how to keep him quiet for more than ten seconds. Sighing, Sakura tossed the clean mess kits back into their proper bags and doused the fire.

"Who wants first watch?" she asked, looking up to see Temari and her brother paying attention to her, but Naruto was goofing off, slashing into a tree with a kunai, trying to see how long it would take him to fell the tree. "Naruto, stop that, it's time to be serious," she snapped. Naruto stopped quickly, turning back to the small group, scratching the back of his head, looking sheepish.

"I don't want to be up all night with that knucklehead," Temari grumbled. Gaara had a look of disdain on his face as well. Obviously, the thought of taking watch with Naruto, no matter at what time, wasn't quite sitting well with him. He sighed though, knowing that if Sakura took the watch with the idiot, none of them were going to get sleep.

"I'll take Naruto," he said quietly, though didn't look up to meet Sakura's eyes, knowing she would see how very annoyed he was that he offered. Sakura only nodded.

"First or second watch?" she asked.

"Second," since she had offered him his choice, he was going to take his preference. Though it didn't really matter to him either way, a Naruto that was just waking up might be easier to deal with than a Naruto that had already been up all day with seemingly endless reserves of energy.

"Alright, goodnight then you two," she gave the two of them a pointed look and the two men wasted no time in going to their respective tents. Naruto knew better than to argue with Sakura when it was time for the watch shift and Gaara wasn't going to fight with her anyways. Sakura and Temari settled on trees on opposite sides of the clearing to watch the night.

Sakura's eyes and ears were strained from forcing herself to be aware of every little noise and every little movement. Peering through the clearing, she saw that Temari was also showing signs of wear from being so alert for so long as well. She checked the moon in the sky and saw that it was nearing their shift change, finally. She wasn't enjoying night watch, as she often didn't. It felt like the minutes were dragging and the hours were killing her. She sighed and stood on the tree branch, stretching out her stiff muscles.

Temari hopped down lightly from her tree and Sakura joined her in the middle of the clearing, looking towards the two tents. "I'll get Naruto, I suppose," Sakura said, knowing that Temari wasn't accustomed to waking the idiot up. Temari only nodded. Sakura entered Naruto's tent and smacked his face. Though that wasn't the only way to wake him, it was her most favorite way.

"Ow! Hey, what was that for?!" just as she knew he would be, he was up in a moment, his hand on his cheek and giving her a disdainful look. Sakura only smirked.

"Your turn." Naruto sighed and shuffled out of the tent, leaving Sakura to curl up among the many sleeping bags Naruto always brought with him. Seriously, the idiot didn't seem to be able to sleep on missions unless he was surrounded by at least three sleeping bags. She heard Gaara shifting out of the other tent and heard the two as they flew into the trees to take up her and Temari's previous positions.

Gaara heard it before Naruto did. Soft noises that didn't belong to woodland creatures were reverberating through the trees, though he knew it wasn't from an enemy approaching. He looked curiously at the campsite, though didn't waste any time in hopping down and moving to the tent where Sakura slept. The gray light of dawn was coming over the horizon and they would be leaving shortly anyways, but it seemed Sakura was having bad dreams again.

He entered the tent to find Sakura twisting and writhing in her sleep, sleeping bags twisted around her. Bewildered, he knelt beside her and laid a hand on her shoulder. She hadn't had nightmares for a long time. Sure, he had slept beside her every night until now, but he would leave the bed early half the time and she never had had problems at home.

Sakura was awake in a moment, her eyes terribly torn. She looked up at Gaara and he brought her into his arms wordlessly, the hug returned in the next moment.

"I thought you were over those," he said quietly, trying to understand why her nightmares would come back now when she had been doing so well as of late. She only shrugged and shook her head, slightly upset still.

"I think it's because I'm returning," she said softly. Seven months it had been, but it seemed seven months wasn't long enough for her damaged mind. Gaara only stroked her back. He only nodded. They stayed in their embrace for a few moments' longer before they pulled themselves up and out of the tent. Temari was already standing outside as well.

"Guess we have to break down, huh?" she groaned. Sakura only nodded. The boys went to strike the tent while Sakura and Temari made quick work of packing everything and hiding the remnants of their fire. Within five minutes, they were flying through the trees. Sakura stuck close to Gaara's side and they made it to the small town Sakura had spent the night in on her trip to Suna just as night was falling. Konoha was a day's trip away and Sakura was itching to run back to Suna, where it was safe.

"Which inn should we go to?" Temari asked, looking forwards to a comfortable bed. Though this wasn't a long trip, she didn't particularly like to sleep on the ground and a night in an inn on their three day trip was much more enticing than two nights on the hard ground. Sakura led them to the seedy inn she'd stayed at on the edge of the town. Temari wrinkled her nose.

"There are nicer inns, Sakura, why this one?" Naruto complained loudly, not wanting to enter the place. They stood around the entrance, which Sakura found annoying.

"Because it's away from the bars and there won't be drunk people outside the window at midnight, that's part of it, and the rooms are actually nice for the outside of the place," Sakura said, remembering that she'd almost managed to get a full nights' sleep on that fateful trip. Naruto only shrugged, reaching his arms behind his head. He wasn't one to argue with Sakura when she vouched for a place.

"Fine, but I want to go out for a drink tonight!" he said, following the other three into the inn. Gaara stood at the counter, staring down the overweight civilian.

"I don't have three rooms tonight, I'm all booked up!" the civilian was saying, rubbing his hand on his stained belly. Sakura caught his eye and a startled look passed across his face. She glared at him, obviously remembering the pass he'd made at her when she'd come through before. "Though of course, for shinobi such as you, I'll make it work!" he turned around and shifted through some books, scratching things out and writing with a barely working pen.

As they walked up to their rooms, Naruto questioned loudly, "Why do you think he did that?"

"I don't know, probably because last time I was here he tried to have sex with me and I scared him so much he knew never to cross my path again," Sakura said darkly. Naruto was silent as she unlocked her room and entered without another word, Gaara close behind her.

"Damn, Sakura's a badass," Naruto said, still staring at the closed door.

"You're the only one that hasn't realized that, Naruto," Temari slammed her own door behind her. Naruto laughed and sheepishly scratched his head before noticing he probably looked foolish standing in the middle of the hallway just scratching his head, and hastily entered his own room.

"Do you want to go out for a drink?" Gaara asked Sakura as he sat on the bed, watching her shed her clothes and stuff them into her bag before pulling out more. He watched her move, naked, feeling that age-old urge to take her right there like she was asking for it rise up within him. He didn't move, though.

"Not really, how about we just get some dinner instead of eating these disgusting rations?" she said, kicking her bag disdainfully for the disgusting food that it held. Gaara couldn't help the quiet chuckle and nodded, agreeing with her. He watched her go into the bathroom, wishing his self control wasn't so infernally wonderful.

Some time later, he and Sakura were walking through town to try and find somewhere to eat. He wished they could have simply cooked something, but they weren't at home so substandard tavern food would have to do. Sakura ducked into one that she deemed acceptable and Gaara followed her silently. They sat at a table.

"Oh, hey there honey, you're looking fine tonight," a drunken, slurring, poor excuse for a shinobi swaggered up to their table, slinging an arm around a disgusted looking Sakura.

"Remove your arm before I break it," she threatened, her daring dark eyes capturing his. He instantly backed off, raising his arms in a defensive manner. Gaara only watched, his eyes tinted a slightly darker color. He didn't like other men doing that to Sakura, drunk or not. The look in her eyes only reflected his thoughts.

"What do you think you want to eat?" he asked, opening the menu the waitress had handed them. Sakura peered at her own before putting it down in distaste. He was feeling the same way that moment, but they were hungry and it was either this or the rations up in the room. Gaara ordered something for the both of them when the waitress came around again.

"Why don't you want to go home?" Gaara asked out of the blue while they were waiting for their food. Sakura looked at him, surprise evident. She hadn't thought he would ask her that. She thought the answer was obvious; after all he'd been with her since she'd gotten to Suna. She gave him a look and he shrugged. "Yeah, Sakura, I know, but they aren't allowed to discriminate against you now, so why don't you want to go home?"

"There's just so much wrong that can't be forgiven I guess," Sakura answered moodily, not allowing herself to look him in the eyes. He only nodded. He couldn't understand it though. His father had hated him for killing his mother. His village had shunned him from the time he was born and he had hated them with everything he had, but he still called it his home. It wasn't something he could understand, but he also couldn't hold it against Sakura.

"Alright."

"Anyways, why are you asking me that? Do you want me to leave Suna and go back to Konoha before my mission is over?" Sakura asked, giving him a skeptical look. Gaara's eyes flashed, but he wouldn't allow himself to speak out against her words. He hadn't told her his true feelings, that he didn't want her to ever go back to her village, mission or not, and he was thinking of just keeping her from doing so instead of allowing her to make her own decisions.

"No reason, Sakura." He was quite relieved to find that the food was on its' way from the kitchen. He and Sakura settled to their meals without talking much after. He led her back to their room after their substandard meal. Sakura turned her back to him when she lay on the bed and he was slightly concerned. She seemed to shut down. He thought she was doing well today and now her behavior was worrying him.

"Sakura," he laid a hand on her waist, but she didn't move. "I didn't mean to make you think I hadn't paid attention." She still didn't look up at him. He was struggling to find words. He was struggling to figure out what to say to make this better. He had fucked up this time and he didn't quite understand why she was upset.

"I know you paid attention," came her halting voice. "I just don't know why either, Gaara." He wished she would look at him. He wanted her to look at him when she talked, but she was upset. Gaara didn't have words to explain to her what he was feeling and how he wished she would just look at him. He pulled himself onto the bed and leaned over her.

"Gaara," she warned him, still not turning to look at him. He didn't say anything, only turned her over to bring her to face him. She didn't look at him still and he only leaned down to kiss her, his hand on her cheek. He pushed his body over hers, pressing his chest to hers, trying to convey what words could not express, words he couldn't find.

Relief washed over him as she relaxed in his embrace, her arms resting against his shoulders. His hands were on her waist now, gripping her and pulling her against his body, his mouth gaining fire as he slanted it against hers, deepening the kiss. A small groan edged its way up her throat and she pushed her own body against him without his insistence.

He wasn't asking for it, not really. He had been trying to get some kind of reaction out of her, something that wasn't ignoring him and placing walls around her heart. He wasn't trying to pull her clothes off her, but her small hands were already deftly removing his, pulling his clothes from him in what seemed like record time.

Her small hands were on his chest and his stomach, touching and feeling the hard planes of his body, something she found she could never get enough of. He was hesitating, she could tell, to pull her clothes off. She did it for him, her clothes joining his off the side of the bed. When she was bared to him without his doing, his hands were on her in the next moment. She arched as she felt his rough fingers pass over her nipple and his head buried into her neck, biting at her skin.

Gaara had lost control that much he could tell. His mouth was on her neck, biting furiously, leaving marks as he moved on to clean skin, and his hand was on her breasts, pinching and pulling at her nipples, earning him whimpers and soft moans. He hadn't ever been so rough with her that he brought forth squeaks and her writhing body underneath him only egged him on more. He made his way from her neck towards her chest, biting harshly down when he reached her breasts, his teeth set around her left nipple.

Sakura arched off the bed with a high pitched whimper that sent his mind reeling. Her hands were tightened into fists, nails digging into her palms. He didn't stop, though. He stopped for a moment before continuing his attack on her, eliciting more soft shrieks and moans from her, egging him on. His hand traveled down her body and he rubbed against her clit, pinching it and pressing against it until he found her struggling beneath him, gasping for breath. He raised his head to look at her, finding that her hazy eyes were watching him.

He pressed a finger against her opening and watched her as he began to finger her, watching her face contort and eyes narrow at the slow pace he set. He replaced his fingers in a moment, sliding into her with ease, his body raging as she arched her back and pressed her body to his, her groans growing in volume as he pressed into her, his pace all too hard to keep up with.

"Fuck, Gaara," at the sound of her gasping his name, he surged forwards one more time and felt himself release deep inside her. He slumped forwards on top of her, breathing deeply and felt her tremble beneath him. He couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face. He liked when he made her tremble, it was one of his favorite feelings in the world.

"Well, that was different," Sakura giggled slightly, her breath letting out in one quick sigh. Her hand drifted to the tender skin of her neck and she flinched when she felt the bite marks he'd left behind. She hadn't thought he'd had bitten down that hard, but she realized now he had and she flinched slightly when she felt another.

"Sorry," he grunted, looking up at her, his eyes calm.

"I liked it," she said softly, staring up at the ceiling. She looked back down to him and flushed when she saw the smirk on his face. "What?" The smirk only deepened and he pulled himself up beside her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her against his body. She settled into the comfortable feeling and closed her eyes, not expecting him to answer her.

"Nothing, it's just good I didn't hurt you or scare you," he said softly, his eyes closed as well. She only smiled, already drifting off to sleep.

Gaara found Sakura in the bathroom the following morning, looking curiously at her neck. Several purple marks littered her skin, all the way down to her chest and he hesitated at the door, worried that she was angry with him. A soft green glow enveloped the skin, healing, and she looked at him when she was done. She had only healed the ones on her neck, the ones that could be seen.

"Why not the rest?" he asked, his voice ever so slightly on edge. She only shrugged.

"I like the reminder." She smirked at his dumbfounded stare and slipped past him out the door, moving to find her clothes that had been strewn on the floor the night before. Gaara only blinked. He washed up quickly enough and had his clothes on within the next ten minutes, his and Sakura's bags untouched by the door.

Sakura smiled at him and leaned up to kiss him. She was still smiling when she pulled away. He rested his hands on her hips, giving her a calm stare.

"Still scared?" he asked, worried that she was still feeling the same misgivings she had the night before. She shook her head, giving him another smile. "Why not?" the question was out of his mouth the moment he thought it and he berated himself for not watching his tongue.

"I guess a night with you is all it takes," she giggled and walked towards the door, leaning down to pick up her bag. Gaara could only smirk as he followed her out the door. They met Temari and Naruto at the lobby, Naruto looking particularly grouchy and bedraggled that morning. He groaned in response to Sakura's hello.

"We told you not to drink too much last night," Gaara grunted as he checked out. Naruto only mumbled.

"Are we leaving yet?" he grumbled. Sakura and Temari only laughed. Gaara led them out of the inn and they hopped into the trees. Naruto gained speed quickly and they were forced to keep his pace. They knew he was excited to get back to his village, but the other three weren't feeling his enthusiasm. The pace was easily kept, though, and by mid-afternoon, Konoha was in view and they were checking in.

"Oh, there's my favorite student," Tsunade had come down to meet them when she'd figured out they were in the village. Sakura ran forwards and hugged her teacher, who returned the sign of affection whole heartedly. "And my least favorite idiot is back too, wonderful," the woman said sourly, giving Naruto a pointedly annoyed look.

"What did I do?" Naruto whined, coming to stand beside Sakura. Tsunade whacked him upside the head and he instantly took a step back, holding the spot she'd hit. "Ow! What was that for?!" he glared at his Hokage, who only glared at him.

"Some idiot I know didn't tell his fiancé that he was leaving for six days to be a diplomatic escort!" Tsunade yelled, her eyes narrowed dangerously at the other blonde.

"Oh, yeah, oops," Naruto laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "I'll, uh, see you guys later," he ran off, looking like a little puppy with his tail between his legs. Sakura smirked.

"Well I am going to go find a certain pineapple head," Temari said, sighing as she looked around the familiar village. "I'll catch ya later." She was off then, too, leaving only Sakura and Gaara behind with the Hokage. Sakura looked around her old village, finding it to be uncomfortable. No matter how much she thought she was ready to come back, nothing could have prepared her for actually being in the village.

"Do you want me to show you where you'll be staying?" Tsunade asked. Tsunade asked out of courtesy to her student. She would have had a lesser shinobi do it for her, but she couldn't when it was Sakura. Sakura shook her head.

"I'm going to go to my house," Sakura shrugged. Tsunade was surprised, to say the least. She hadn't thought the younger woman would have wanted to stay in her home. She had thought she would have wanted to stay in one of the diplomat apartments, where nothing was familiar.

"Are you sure?" she asked, her voice slightly uncertain. She didn't know whether or not Sakura was entirely alright. It was terrifying, not knowing whether her student was beating herself up inside still or not. It was walking on a mine field for her, something she wasn't used to.

"Of course, why would I stay somewhere I'm not familiar with in my own hometown?" Sakura gave her a curious glance and began walking in the direction of her home. Tsunade followed after little hesitation, Gaara beside her. Shizune, Tsunade's ever present shadow, followed hastily as well, though she didn't expect the others to remember she was actually there.

They came to Sakura's house and Gaara was interested, to say the least, to see how Sakura lived in the village. It was a modest home that was for sure. Small and two storied, he didn't think there was really much to it. He wondered for a moment how the home came into her possession as several shinobis who hadn't decided to start families often stayed in small apartments that didn't often feel their presence.

"I don't think there's much in there to eat, but I'm pretty sure there's tea for days," Sakura said lightly as an invitation inside. The others followed her silently up into the house. Sakura opened the door, trying to show little hesitation as she opened the house she hadn't been in for months. She let the door swing open, but was surprised to find that her home wasn't covered in at least an inch of dust. Everything was as clean as the day she'd left. She turned on the light and allowed the others in.

"Just sit down and get comfortable, I'm going to go make the tea," she said, keeping the surprise from her voice. She made a mental note to ask Tsunade who had kept on the housekeeping while she was away. She wasn't planning on ever coming back, that was true, but it was nice to see someone cared enough to keep her home ready for her return.

"Naruto was in here every weekend cleaning so that when you came home it would be like you never left," Shizune had intruded on Sakura's tea making, though Sakura didn't show any surprise. She didn't figure it would be Tsunade, as she didn't often help in making anything except a stiff drink, and Gaara would have alerted her to his presence by wrapping his arms around her. Sakura set the kettle on the stove and turned to the cupboards to find teabags.

"Well, sorry to say to Naruto, but I'm not staying," she said softly, pulling down several different kinds. She knew all of her friends' favorites and so chose them accordingly. Shizune's mouth tightened and she stared at Sakura, trying to find something to say. She didn't want to let Sakura know what was on her mind.

"He was simply hoping," she said finally, settling on something that didn't seem obtrusive.

"Everyone hopes for something, Shizune," Sakura said quietly, not turning to look at her as she watched the kettle. Shizune noticed Gaara standing in the doorway, watching Sakura, an unreadable expression on his face. He almost looked pained. He glared in Shizune's direction, as though he was giving her a warning, and turned away.

"Tsunade missed you too," the older woman said quietly, knowing now that she was walking on rocky ground that Gaara had shown up so out of the blue. Sakura's hands tightened into fists in front of her, still not meeting the woman's eyes.

"I have a new home now," Sakura said just as quietly, a soft warning in her voice. Shizune was making her angry, testing the short line of temper she'd gleaned from Tsunade. Shizune began towards the door, noting the testy aura around the young woman. She didn't feel the need to be sent through the side of the house today.

"I didn't mean to upset you," the woman said quietly before leaving the kitchen.

Sakura watched through blurry eyes as the kettle began to boil and she felt tears fall as she made the tea. Gaara was beside her in a moment, pulling her into his arms, wiping the tears and hushing the almost silent sobs that wracked her body. She calmed quickly in the familiar embrace. He felt great resistance from her. It was a resistance to the village and the people in it. She still didn't want much to do with them.

"They simply want you to come home," his soft voice filled her ears and she didn't bristle like she'd had when Shizune was trying to speak to her. Sakura sighed.

"This isn't my home, not since it was so easy to run away." Gaara understood now. She wasn't feeling hurt over what the people had done here anymore. Tsunade, Shizune, nor any other of her close friends had tried to get her to stay, except for Naruto, who had gone about it the wrong way. She was feeling as though they didn't want her, mostly because Gaara had so readily offered her a permanent place in his village.

"This is your home." He didn't want to get into this, not here, not now, but he couldn't think of any other time to bring it up, especially when he needed time for her to cool down and get over the fight which was bound to happen before he surprised her. Temari had thought she would have enjoyed the surprise more if she were surrounded by her friends and family and in her hometown. He needed her to be happy and not fuming over what happened between them.

"How could you say that?" just as Gaara had predicted, she lashed out, pushing away from him, but didn't escape from his embrace, hands on her waist. Her eyes were fueled in fire and anger and she challenged him, her anger tangible and mood annoyed. She didn't like that he had said it and she had a feeling he had known she would react this way.

"You grew up here. Your friends are here. This is your home. This is your house. There isn't any use in denying it." Gaara was trying to be as simple as possible to try and make her understand that nothing could change that this was her home and that she would always have a place here, no matter what she decided.

"They turned on me and all but threw me out," she threw back, her voice an angry whisper, not wanting to let the others in her home know that she and Gaara were having a fight. Her hands fisted his shirt in her hands, trying to keep her temper in check and not turn her home into a warzone. Gaara watched her with calm eyes.

"They apologized. You moved past it. There is no reason everyone has to walk on broken glass around you because of something you yourself deemed was over and done with." Sakura sighed, the anger still in her eyes. She finally shoved him away and walked up the stairs, not sparing him another glance. Gaara knew she was fuming and angry; he only hoped it wouldn't last too long.

"Where did Sakura go?" Tsunade asked, her eyes sharp, when Gaara returned to the room to deliver the women their tea. Gaara sat down for a moment in an armchair to the side of the couch, sipping his tea silently.

"She became angry with me and needs time alone," he answered calmly. He didn't let them know that she was upstairs crying, frustration, anger, and a forlorn sadness plaguing her. He didn't tell them that she wanted to run back to Suna, where none of this was waiting for her, waiting for her decision on whether or not to return. She wanted to run away again and go back to the place she didn't have to leave for a while, on the mission she had such a long time to take and finish.

"Ah, you told her this was her home, didn't you?" Tsunade said, looking down at the chamomile tea in her hands. She had wanted to tell her student much of the same thing, but she didn't want to upset the young girl. She had no idea of Gaara's plans; these thoughts were of her own volition. She wanted her student to come home, but this was the first time she had even come back to the village, and Gaara was trailing in front of her the entire time.

Gaara gave her a look, as though asking her how she'd guessed.

"Sakura's always been headstrong, Gaara, and I heard what Shizune had said, when you went to give her a warning no doubt. She's still feeling bad about the things that had happened so many months ago, and you should know when someone's as stubborn as that, it's hard to change her mind." Gaara remembered why Tsunade was such a good diplomat. Although she liked to drink and it was often hard to talk to her when she didn't want to negotiate contracts or such, when it really came down to it she looked at things from an outside point of view and was terrific at making others see her point of view.

"She acted as though she'd gotten over it." Gaara was mostly agreeing with Tsunade, but was trying to tell her how the woman was doing over the past couple of months.

"Sakura likes to make sure others don't worry about her. When put against a rock and hard place, though, her true feelings come through and the temper becomes shorter," of course, if anyone knew Sakura, it was her teacher. Gaara, once he heard it put into words, agreed with her. Sakura often didn't let herself implode or explode until worse came to worst.

"It'll just take a little more time," Gaara said softly, not meeting the other two woman's eyes. Shizune was sitting quietly, upset that she had caused this entire conversation. "She still isn't comfortable here," he said now, knowing that was really why she had pushed back against him and lashed out. She hadn't really wanted to come here in the first place, but he and Tsunade had forced her. He figured she probably wasn't sore about that in particular, but once she got home, it came out.

"She still has to make her choice after this mission is over," Shizune finally said, biting her lip, worried. Tsunade shrugged and Gaara only sipped more of his tea.

"No one can make the decision for her, that's true, but Sakura won't want to return here in another year," Tsunade gave Gaara a knowing look. True, she didn't know much of Gaara's plan, but she wasn't stupid. Sakura had become attached to Gaara, like she had never done to anyone before, not even Neji. It was an odd thing to Tsunade's eyes, but she had a feeling her student had fallen so effortlessly in love with the quiet redhead that she would never leave his side after. Gaara had done so much for her after all.

Shizune felt like she was left out of something she didn't quite understand. She looked between Tsunade and Gaara, a questioning look in her eyes. Tsunade and Gaara knew something she didn't about Sakura, but didn't think it was her place to ask. She figured it had something to do with when Gaara had shown up at the kitchen door without warning when Sakura had become upset, though.

"Well, I need to go drink a bit and finish some paperwork, and you have a blonde idiot to deal with," Tsunade nodded towards the door as repetitive banging began and Naruto's voice could be heard beyond. Gaara only nodded in response and the two women were gone, back to their tower. He sighed and got up from his place, wrenching open the door.

"What."

"No need to be angry, god," Naruto came in without an invitation, Hinata and a few others behind him. "I just brought some friends back to see Sakura, that's all," he smiled and stared expectantly at Gaara, as though he was waiting for him to locate the pink haired woman. Gaara grunted and glared at the idiot.

"Sakura's sleeping. Come back later."

"Why is she sleeping?! We just got here!" Naruto's voice was indignant as he began looking around for Sakura, though was stopped short with an irate looking Gaara in front of him, looking about to murder him in his stupidity.

"Here," he pulled out money from inside his gear and shoved it to Naruto, "Go and get her groceries. She doesn't have anything here." Gaara was stalling for time, that much was true, but he needed that time to try and calm the girl upstairs down. Naruto gaped for a few moments, unable to find words to say to Gaara. Gaara reveled in the few moments of speechlessness.

"Alright," Naruto nodded to Gaara, who watched him with steely eyes as he took the others and left the house. They were on the way to the market, no doubt to take a while because they all had varying degrees of what they thought Sakura ate. Gaara walked up the stairs and into the room he felt held Sakura's presence. She laid on her side, no blankets over her, and he knew she still cried.

"Go away," her broken voice shot a spear of pain through him. He didn't like it when she pushed him away. It usually wasn't emotional like this; he usually didn't make her angry. She pushed him away when she was so involved with work she didn't have time for anyone, and often fell into his arms the moment he pushed just the right way. It usually didn't end up like this. He never made her upset like this and he never made her cry. He didn't have words for this situation. He moved forwards and sat on the bed beside her, hesitantly placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I didn't want to upset you," he said, his voice so quiet she turned slightly to hear him better. "After speaking with Tsunade, I realize why you lashed out like that. I apologize," he brushed his hand over her arm and down her back. She relaxed into the touch instantaneously, the comfort from his touch all too familiar.

She didn't want to talk, that much was true. He already knew that, he could feel it in her mood. He felt her calming though, recoil from the anger she had thrown his way and the anguish she had felt for the past half an hour. He pulled her against him, feeling that she wouldn't push away from him this time. She settled against his body now, eyes closed, reveling in the comfort he offered, the comfort that came so easily to him now.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. He only hushed her and pulled his fingers through her hair. He only shook his head. "I know this is my home, Gaara, I never had any second thoughts about that," she was telling him now the words that hadn't been ready to her tongue before. "I just find Suna a better home," she smiled slightly.

"Why is that?" there was slight amusement in his voice, and she looked up at him now, her large green doe eyes captivating him. He looked back at her, his gaze turned into questioning in the next moment. She wasn't answering and she thought the answer was obvious and he should know it. After a few more moments, she finally answered.

"You, Gaara." Gaara had a sudden impulse. It was new to him, as he often didn't have impulses and often didn't choose to act on them. He threw away everything Temari had advised him on and he threw away the thought of a perfect moment. He was far from perfect anyways, why should this be any different? He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box, holding it in front of the woman. Sakura gave him a questioning look as she picked it up and opened it, the box flying from her fingers in the next moment as she gasped in surprise and her face turned a bright red.

"I love you."

She stared at him, then. Her voice was lost to her as she stared at him, words inexplicably lost to her now out of surprise. She had never heard those words from him and she had never really expected to. She thought they existed in mutual understanding and it didn't exactly have to be said. Gaara watched her silently, unknowing of what to do. She wasn't answering and he didn't have any more words after his confession.

"I, um," her face turned a darker red.

"Marry me, and you'll never have to worry where your home is," he said, his voice impossibly soft. She wouldn't stop staring at him. Tears began sliding down her face, though he knew it was because she was too happy for words. He'd found the happy tears happened often when he did something unthinkable that she didn't expect. She surged forwards and connected their mouths, the box forgotten beside them.

"I—I love you, too," she said as she pulled away, the blush still turning her face red. He let a smile grace his face, one in few, one that he would only allow the girl in his arms to see. He pulled the ring from the box and slid it on her finger, pulling her close to kiss her again. Sure it wasn't how he'd planned and not how he'd expected it, but he didn't think it could have gone any better, no matter how much planning was put into it.

Sakura sat up and gave him a worried look. "What do you think the village will think of this?" she bit her lip and played nervously with the ring on her finger. "Not even a year after Neji died? Don't you think they'll be angry at me or—or something?"

"Let me deal with them," Gaara said, pulling her back down into his arms. "There's no need for you to worry anymore or beat yourself up over the past. Out of the pain can come retributions instead of sadness. Yours simply happened to be a very different retribution." Sakura nodded. She was glad Gaara was there. Neji wouldn't have offered to do that for her, shoulder the anger of a village because of who she was. He would have let her take it on herself, thinking her strong enough. The truth was that she very much was strong enough, but it would destroy her in the process and she would have to pick it all back up again. Gaara was protecting her sanity.

"Does Tsunade know?"

"She will soon." Sakura giggled. Gaara only smirked and looked up towards the stairs. He could hear Naruto coming up the steps with several others behind him. Obviously he took a shorter time than Gaara thought he would to gather food with his friends. He sighed, not enjoying that he would have to cut this moment with Sakura short.

"I believe that your friends have come with some groceries for you," Gaara said softly, beginning to get up. Sakura sighed and pulled herself up with him, walking closely behind him as they walked down the stairs together. Naruto had barely begun to bang on the door before Gaara wrenched it open, allowing the people to enter the house.

"Oh my goodness, Sakura!" Ino rushed forwards and gave Sakura a hug, who returned it without a moment's hesitation. Gaara blinked. He knew it was from the moments they had shared upstairs, but he couldn't help but feel glad she didn't reject her friends from the village anymore. Naruto was pulling in several bags into the house and putting them into the kitchen, piling all of them onto the kitchen counter.

"Hey," Sakura said when the girl finally let her go. Kiba, Choji, and Hinata had come along too, Kiba with several bottles of something that suspiciously looked like hard liquor. "I sincerely hope you guys didn't crash my house just to try and get me so drunk you can get me to do things I otherwise wouldn't," she gave them a skeptical gaze.

"Nah, we just wanted to celebrate your homecoming," Kiba gave her an easy smile. To Gaara's relief, Sakura didn't lash out this time. She returned the easy smile and grabbed the bottles from Kiba, going to dig out glasses and get them all drinks. Hinata stepped towards Gaara, smiling, before standing very close to his side.

"I see you proposed," she said quietly, so none of the others would hear. Gaara only nodded minutely, wondering where this conversation with the raven haired girl was going. He wasn't going to be happy if she didn't support Sakura's decision. "Good," she smiled at the silent man and went to help Naruto put away all the food. Gaara watched her go, thinking the woman was better a woman than he'd originally thought.

"So, Gaara, how's the village?" Ino asked, making herself comfortable on Sakura's couch. Gaara sat down on the armchair again, watching Choji sit beside Ino before deciding to speak.

"Fine. Building a new hospital," he said shortly, though his voice wasn't unfriendly. Ino only smiled; happy she was getting details on Sakura's mission. She knew it had to do with the hospital in Suna that much she had learned from Naruto, but she wanted to know the details and what was happening with her.

"What else?" Gaara knew she wanted details on Sakura's mission, from the way she'd perked up when he'd said 'hospital.'

"Training my medics so they can actually help people." Choji laughed at Gaara's dry humor, though Ino only smiled. She knew that the frustration was partially from Sakura and what she said to Gaara when she came home at night. Sakura often dished on stupid people after work at the hospital and Ino missed hearing about it. It certainly was quite hilarious and Ino missed laughing about it.

"Don't worry, Gaara, I'm sure they'll improve eventually. Hinata and I were just about hopeless when we started."

"You still are!" Sakura's voice came from the kitchen. Gaara couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face. Choji laughed and Ino smacked him before letting out a smile as well. Sakura poked her head out of the kitchen and brought each of them glasses. They didn't question what she brought them, only sipped at them.

"How are they, though, Sakura?" Ino asked, tasting a strong mix of vodka and elaborately flavored rum with some very fruity tea. It wasn't unpleasant, and Ino found she had gotten through a good deal of it before long.

"They're idiots," Sakura sighed, sitting on the arm of Gaara's chair. He rested a hand on her waist while he drank. "One of them still doesn't understand that when someone comes in with a broken collarbone or a dislocated shoulder, you should simply give them an exam instead of asking them to do stupid things like raise it over your head."

"I thought that was a normal thing to ask," Choji said from his place. Ino and Sakura laughed. Sakura had spent a long time at the hospital, though it was still slightly new to Ino. Ino still knew quite a bit, though, and she definitely found the humor in the situation.

"Have you ever tried to raise your arm above your head with a dislocated shoulder?" Ino asked, trying to keep the laughter at bay. Gaara hadn't known any of this either, though he was enjoying the fact that Sakura was laughing about it as well so he didn't feel bad that he didn't know and they were laughing at the men's cluelessness.

"It's pretty impossible to lift your arm over your head with either," Sakura said, the laughter breaking through her words. "Very simply, it doesn't matter if it's broken or dislocated; just give them an exam without causing the poor person pain. They're probably already in pain from either breaking it or dislocating it anyways," Sakura said, shrugging.

"Any other idiots?" Ino asked, yearning to hear more of Sakura's stories.

"I think one of them still doesn't understand female anatomy," Sakura said thoughtfully, looking into space and trying to think. Gaara grunted in laughter. He knew this story and every time he heard it he couldn't help but feel amused. Ino wrinkled her nose.

"Um, why?"

"A poor woman came in with a burst appendix and he told her that her ovaries exploded." The entire room erupted into laughter and Gaara even chuckled. He had fired that medic after the catastrophic incident, though he hadn't thought it was funny at the time, and neither had Sakura. They couldn't have that much of an idiot attending to people.

"Uh…" Ino was laughing too hard to really manage to string words together. Sakura only got up to get another drink, taking Gaara's empty glass as well. Naruto and Hinata finally came out of the kitchen, alcoholic drinks of their own in their hands, finally finished with putting away the groceries. Sakura came back in a couple moments, sitting back on the arm of Gaara's chair, handing him the drink.

"Are you guys excited?" Naruto asked his face alight in the excitement he thought everyone else should feel. Sakura gave him a confused look, not knowing what he was talking about, but he was bursting at the seams. "You mean you didn't know?! Hinata and my wedding is in three days!" he exclaimed, looking eagerly from Gaara to Sakura to see if they felt the same excitement he did.

"Gaara," Sakura gave him a warning tone, and he didn't look at her, knowing she was giving him a look he wasn't too fond of seeing.

"Would you have said yes if you'd known?" he asked, giving her a look when he finally turned to her. Sakura turned red. She knew she wouldn't have, not to his proposal, that is. She wouldn't have wanted to steal Hinata's limelight, and she knew she would have put it off until the entire ordeal was over with. Which meant that Gaara had been planning to propose to her, and it wasn't a spur of the moment thing; the thought turning her face a shade darker.

"What are you talking about now?" Naruto asked, confused. "Why wouldn't you want to come to our wedding?" he gave Sakura a hurt look.

"Not that, Naruto," she said, sighing, trying to keep her temper under check while she spoke. "I just, um, I don't know…"

"I meant that I didn't tell her because I thought she wouldn't say yes to my proposal if she'd known we were going to your wedding at the same time," Gaara said quietly. Sakura blushed. She didn't want to tell them like this, but she didn't exactly know how else she would have told them. Not to mention Gaara had told them, anyways.

"What?!" there was a collective rush of surprise from everyone except for Hinata. Kiba even poked his head up from the floor, where he'd laid down when Ino decided to engage Gaara and Sakura in conversation. None of it was entertaining until now.

"When did this happen?!" Naruto was on his feet now, but he was more bewildered than angry. He hadn't thought Gaara really cared about Sakura that way and he hadn't thought Sakura would ever want to be married again. Not after the entire debacle she'd been trying to run away from. Sakura only laughed nervously.

"I don't know, like an hour ago," Sakura said. "Anyways, what does it matter to you, Naruto? It's not like you police who I choose to marry." Even when she'd agreed to marry Neji, he wasn't totally on board. It was quite odd that he had a mentality, even after all these years, that if he couldn't have Sakura, then no one else was good enough for her.

"I just wish I could have known. I could have helped make it more romantic!" Naruto didn't think Gaara was very good in the romance department and he definitely needed help to woo Sakura, though she had already professed her love for him, so Naruto didn't really need to counsel Gaara at all.

"It was perfect the way it was," Sakura said, giving him a sharp look. Naruto held his hands up in surrender and sat down.

"Can we see the ring?" Ino asked, her face all sorts of excitement. Sakura only held out her hand, unwilling to take the ring off. She wasn't going to take it off for anything, just because she didn't want to lose it. Ino practically swooned over the diamond on her hand. "It's gorgeous!"

"Gaara wouldn't pick anything but," Hinata said, her eyes twinkling. Gaara nodded in thanks to her comment and she smiled at him. The door busted open and Temari and Shikamaru came into Sakura's house, Temari all smiles.

"Hey guys, Shikamaru said you might be here after we checked the usual house," Temari said, smiling. They all yelled their hellos and Sakura rose to get the two of them drinks. Temari sat on the floor with Kiba, nudging him over to make room for Shikamaru. Kiba moved grudgingly, not happy that he had to give up some of his space.

"Thanks, Sakura," Shikamaru said when she handed him and Temari a glass. She smiled and sat back down.

"So what are you guys talking about?" Temari asked.

"Just discussing the rock on Sakura's finger," Ino said, her eyes sparkling in entertainment.

"Oh, Gaara, you didn't!" Temari whined, giving him a sad look. "We had it all planned and everything! You suck! I wanted to see the look on her face!" Sakura turned red as she realized Gaara really did have a proposal plan and had given her the ring out of pure impulse, though she still had thought the moment was perfect.

"I acted on an impulse." Temari was quite surprised. Gaara didn't often have impulses and even less frequently did he actually act on them. Judging by the look on Sakura's face, though, she didn't mind that Gaara had acted on impulse. Gaara brought Sakura close to him, pulling her off the arm of the chair and into his lap. It was an occasional moment of affection he didn't often show in front of other people, but he wanted her there at that moment.

"Well, you two look happy, so I'm happy for you," Sakura turned a deeper red and Gaara wondered why she was acting so shy in front of her friends. She knew them, very well, but that didn't seem to be a problem. He thought she was acting adorable and it was one time that he was willing to put up with it.

The banter continued on for a while, discussing Hinata and Naruto's wedding plans and how long Gaara and his entourage were planning to stay in Konoha, when Gaara realized Sakura had fallen asleep in his lap, her head nestled against his shoulder. She hadn't said anything in a while, and he noticed her sleeping when no emotion, not even a tinge of excitement over Hinata's wedding, came up. He sighed.

"I apologize, but I suppose Sakura was tired and wanted to sleep," Gaara said, pulling himself up, Sakura carefully cradled in his arms. "Don't be too loud, please," Sakura tended to be a very irate woman when woken up by anyone other than himself. Everyone called their goodnights while he climbed the stairs.

He laid her carefully in the bed, watching her peaceful features before turning to change his clothes. He climbed in beside her the moment he was done and found her pressed to his side in the next moment, her sleep ridden eyes watching him in a very affectionate manner. He sighed and turned on his side, bringing her close to him.

"Thanks, Gaara," she whispered, referring to his proposal. He quite enjoyed her reaction. She rearranged herself so she was as comfortable as she could be. "I love you," she murmured softly, well on her way back to sleep.

Gaara was filled with an emotion he didn't quite know how to express. He embraced her and pressed a kiss to her forehead, though she was already asleep and couldn't feel it. He didn't care. He felt the need to show her affection. He released her from the tight embrace and she settled down, peaceful again. He leaned back on the pillows and closed his eyes.


	9. Chapter 9

**I FUCKED UP MY SHOULDER WRITING THIS BUT BEAUTY IS PAIN AND I ACCEPT IT.**

**Someone slapped the fuck out of me and said 'listen here bitchtits you better upload another chapter.'**

**So i did. Because I listen to violence.**

* * *

"You'd think they would have learned something by now," Sakura said, annoyed, as she slapped several files down on her desk. Gaara gave her a questioning look, though didn't say a word. He found it was best to simply sit and wait for her to explain her outburst. "Remember that idiot who told a woman she had miscarried when it was just a little spotting?"

"Samhiko, yes."

"You'd think for a woman with several children of her own she would know whether or not another woman was miscarrying! Anyways, she told a male shinobi he would never fight again because he came in with a fractured clavicle and a twisted ankle. Sure they're painful injuries and the first is definitely going to take some time to heal, but that doesn't mean he'll never fight again, God!" Sakura threw herself into the chair opposite Gaara, letting out a frustrated sigh and glaring at the ceiling.

"Did she approach you about this or did she simply tell him?" Gaara asked calmly, hoping Sakura would calm herself slightly as well. Sakura let out an angry huff and Gaara knew his hopes were lost. She was far too angry.

"She just told him. I mean, sure, he'll be a little weaker right after it heals but with a little bit of training he'll be fine! Your medical shinobi are idiots, that's for sure." Gaara had to agree, though he had heard that song sung far too many times since Sakura had begun working with them. It seemed that the medical shinobi could not retain any information at all and it was frustrating to him as much as it was to Sakura.

"Did you reprimand her?"

"Yeah, she's on desk duty for a week because she couldn't seem to get it through her head to report to me, so now she has to," Sakura said. There was a certain respect issue going on in the hospital at the moment which Sakura knew Gaara was only too aware of. Since returning to Suna and becoming public about their relationship and soon-to-be marriage, there was a huge backlash from the shinobi under Sakura's command.

"Good. Otherwise I would fire her myself," Gaara said, eyes flashing.

"How would that help anything?" Sakura asked, her voice sharp, though she wasn't really directing her anger at Gaara, as she hadn't been the entire time. She was frustrated. There was far too much drama surrounding their relationship and what people thought of them at the moment and she wasn't enjoying it. "They would just say 'oh look Gaara fired her because Sakura's his fiancée and he'll just get rid of you if you make Sakura angry.'" Sakura huffed angrily again. "It isn't like I'm asking for much, just a little respect and little less stupidity."

"I know, but you also know that you were going to face some political battles with our marriage announcement," Gaara said quietly, turning to his files that he had to finish. Sakura only nodded. The medics weren't too happy about it, not to mention many of the people in the village itself. They were upset that Gaara had chosen someone outside their village and therefore Sakura wasn't worthy though Gaara deemed her to be.

"This wouldn't be happening if I agreed to marry Kankorou," Sakura said, dry humor in her voice. Gaara only chuckled dryly. They were both frustrated, that much was true, though they hadn't taken their frustrations out on each other, merely venting and burgeoning through the frustrations. Sakura had a few more choice punishments up her sleeve for anyone who crossed her like that again.

"Oh, did you know?" Gaara said, flipping through a few more things in his file, "Amaya's brother has applied to become a medical shinobi?" He handed Sakura the piece of paper he'd been reading and she took it from him, scanning it quickly.

"I mean I'll take him, but I hope he knows it isn't going to be easy," Sakura said, taking the file from Gaara that held all of his data. She read through it, becoming slightly more impressed as she did so. Although the man had come from a civilian family, he was quite the apt fighter and hardly lost a fight. She felt she could use him. He was obviously a quick learner and would probably need some chakra control lessons, but those were medial things done in an afternoon.

"Have you had any other trouble with the other medics?" Gaara asked. He had lately been hearing of Samhiko, though he couldn't remember if there were any others who Sakura was complaining about as of late.

"Not really. They've been whispering behind my back, but that's to be expected, seeing as their last head medic was a piece of shit really," Sakura said, lazily throwing the file she'd been poking through back onto Gaara's desk. Gaara only nodded. "They don't really want to be put on desk duty again, either."

"What do you have them do when they're on desk duty?" Gaara asked. He'd never heard of a hospital employing desk duty as a punishment for insubordinate employees, he was merely wondering how she could possibly make that work out for herself.

"They do my paperwork and watch me relax and watch them the entire time," Sakura snickered. She'd gotten the idea from Tsunade. When her mentor was in a bad mood and someone crossed her, she would make them do her paperwork for her nine times out of ten. It was the best punishment because she wouldn't have to do anything but sit there and stare at the idiot and make them feel uncomfortable.

"That could be seen as slacking off."

"Or it could be seen as an ingenious plan to make them shut up and let me do it or they have to muddle through it themselves. Paperwork's a hassle, but I deal with it. If they want to complain that all I do is sit behind a desk all day and don't actually help with anything, they can walk a day in my shoes." Sakura would stay long after her shift was over at the hospital most days just to get the paperwork done and make sure everything was over. Sure, it wasn't seeing patients and helping with their injuries, but someone had to do it.

"Perhaps I should put that to good use and make the interns at the office do my paperwork for me when they mouth off," Gaara said in dry humor. Sakura only laughed.

"Not the interns. The shinobi that think it's funny when you don't pay them enough. Or the ones that think missions you gave them are too easy or something. You have to sort the real insubordinate idiots from the idiots that grew up in the wealthy part of town and just think they can get anything their way. Those guys you send to ninja school and watch as their scholarly façade washes away in fear." Gaara could tell Sakura was being completely serious but he couldn't help the laughter that tore from his throat.

"You're very devious when it comes down to it."

Sakura shot him a smirk. "Isn't that why you asked me to marry you?"

"Among other things," Gaara looked up at the clock. "We should be getting to bed. The work will be here for us in the morning." He stood and offered Sakura his hand, taking them to their bedroom in the next moment. Sakura raised her hands over her head, stretching, and then went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Gaara stripped from his clothes and lay in bed, only his boxers on. Sakura joined him in a moment, lying next to him. They were asleep within a few moments.

The next morning, Gaara woke to an empty bed. He sighed and rose from the blankets. He supposed Sakura was either making breakfast or already hard at work, depending on the time. He didn't spare a glance at the clock as he gathered his usual clothes and went towards the shower.

When he went downstairs, he found Sakura just finishing up breakfast. She smiled at him and pushed a plate of eggs and toast at him which he gladly dug into. He had barely eaten breakfast, hell, anything, before Sakura barged into his life, and he was enjoying the meals she made him every day. Usually he had to fend for himself for lunch, but that was alright by him.

"I'm letting them run the hospital for a little while before I go in, just to see how badly they screw it up," Sakura smirked and sat next to him, beginning to eat hers as well. Gaara only nodded and ate in silence. Sakura only shrugged. Before they went their separate ways, they shared a kiss.

Sakura thought the medics could have taken care of the hospital early in the morning. There were rarely any emergencies going on, not until midday or so when the shinobi began to come back from their missions and the training shinobi began to come back from their training grounds with minor injuries that their mothers just needed to have inspected. She thought there wasn't going to be much hindrance this morning.

Damn it all to hell, she was so very wrong.

Sakura walked into bedlam that morning. There were civilians almost overrunning the counter and patients crying. Babies were wailing in their mother's arms and there was a very badly injured shinobi in the corner, holding his leg which seemed to be suffering a bad case of busted knee cap. Sakura rubbed at her temples for a half-second.

"Oi, what's going on?!" she yelled over the din of crying, wailing, and shouting. The noise subsided quickly enough, though the upset baby was still wailing. That couldn't really be helped. Sakura turned her sharp eyes towards the receptionist behind the desk. "Care to explain?" she asked roughly. She wasn't blaming the receptionist, who looked as though she had seen hell within the past five minutes, but she couldn't help the tone of voice.

"These people have been here since last night," the receptionist said quickly, her face red. "I've been here since midnight and the doctors won't see anybody."

"Alright," Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to think of something quickly. She raised her voice to address everyone else in the room. "I know you're all frustrated and upset, but I beg you hold on just a while longer," there was authority in her voice and everyone looked quite grateful to find some semblance of order. They all watched her quietly. "If you form an orderly line and come up to the desk," Sakura struggled for a moment to find the young woman's name, "Ami will hand you your paperwork. Obviously, please let this young mother go first and the shinobi in the corner second. I apologize that this happened," without another word or glance, Sakura swept around towards the door and thrust it open.

She sensed their energy in her office, where they weren't supposed to be. There were twenty in all and she supposed there was a mutiny at hand. Anger and frustration poured out of her as she swung the office door open, a surly murderous aura accompanying her. To her delight, though not perceived, there stood the twenty medic nins under her charge, all looking quite frightened.

"So," her voice dangerously low, she went to lean on the window sill, "Care to tell me why the emergency room is full of frustrated and wounded people and not being tended to?" her voice was sugar sweet and certainly dipped in venom. She wasn't in the mood for this any morning, but especially not this morning when she had thought she was done babysitting them.

"We need to talk," that stupid woman, Samhiko, came forwards, obviously trying to put aside her fear. She stood off against Sakura, though the other woman was definitely more of a force to reckon with than she was.

Sakura smacked her files down on her desk. "About what? And why is it so important that we are standing here talking rather than doing our jobs?" she glared. The medics shrank away from her anger, obviously rethinking their decision.

"You don't do any of the work!" Samhiko yelled, her anger twisting her face into an ugly purple version of herself. She was sick of Sakura lording it over them that she was better than they were and that she just had to be listened to and if she wasn't, they had to do her dirty work. She didn't see patients. She didn't heal them and she didn't do the grueling manual labor that the rest of them did.

"Oh, and you do?" Sakura asked, her voice yet again sickly sweet. She leaned forwards and picked up the file she had smacked down on the desk. "Let's see, Samhiko, who were your last patients?" Sakura rifled through the file. She was angry and there wasn't anything anyone could do to stop her from laying all the shit out on the table.

"You told Mr. Shenchi that he would never fight again because of a fractured clavicle. Surely, if you had listened to anything I have been trying to teach you, you would know that a fractured clavicle takes three months to heal. After that point with a little bit of therapy and some training, he can surely fight again. Instead of reporting to me and asking what to say, you told him he couldn't fight again. I had to fix your mistake. You could have also healed him! Instead I did." Sakura's eyes flashed.

"Next, Mrs. Ochi. You told her that she had a miscarriage. You did not do a thorough exam of her body and therefore told her whatever came to your mind just to get her out of the room. I had to come down and perform an exam on her just to tell her that no, she didn't have a miscarriage; it was just a very natural occurrence of spotting. Something you should have known just because you have been pregnant before," Sakura flipped through the papers again. "Have you heard enough or should I continue?"

"Why didn't you just do the exams in the first place, then, instead of making us do them?" the woman was becoming upset and losing her grip on the argument. Sakura could see that she was winning and that the argument had come on a basis of jealousy. They weren't happy that she was Gaara's fiancée and they weren't happy that she was keeping such a close eye on them for him.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I thought I was head medic, the one that is reported to and called in for serious cases that you can't handle. Surely, you could have handled these, or am I seriously misjudging your abilities?" Sakura leaned back on the window sill, watching the woman with sharp eyes. "If you can't handle it, quit now. If you can, get downstairs and get to work!" Sakura stood and placed the files on her desk, among the other inboxed items she would have to deal with throughout the day.

The medics didn't say another word, much to Sakura's delight. They all filed quietly out of her office. None of them said anything about quitting, and so Sakura presumed they were going back to work. As she began on the morning paperwork, she sincerely hoped she was right.

Around ten, Sakura was making her morning rounds and checking on all the in-patients; quite a few had come down with a cold and were given IV drips, which she wanted to check were the right ones. Much to her delight, they were.

Next, she looked into the emergency ward and found that the civilians were gone, their minor injuries taken care of. One of her medics was examining the baby that had been wailing before and Sakura stepped into the room to watch. The medic was aware of this and seemed to concentrate more on his task. It took a couple minutes, but he pulled away.

"Your daughter Hayami just has a bit of nasal indigestion," he said, nice enough. Sakura watched as he got up and pulled out a pad, scrawling something on it. He gave it to the mother. "Just mix this into her milk and it'll clear up in no time." Sakura waited for the mother and child to leave before turning to the male medic.

"What did you give her, Natsuo?" Sakura asked, giving him an appraising look. She had waited for them to leave because she didn't want to question the medic in front of them, though she was sure to stop them at the check-out if he had screwed it up somehow.

"A pediatric indigestion tablet which dissolves in liquids. Even if the child were to accidently take it in a larger quantity than prescribed, she will not suffer any ill effects," Natsuo said. Sakura nodded.

"I approve. Good job." She left his room and went to another, where the shinobi with the busted knee cap was presiding. Samhiko was with him. Sakura entered the room silently, watching the woman work.

"Quite a few tendons were severed when your kneecap was shot," she was saying, the familiar green glow from her hands surrounding the injury. Sakura watched her closely, realizing that the woman's chakra was very low. She had been at this for quite a while. "That's why it's taking so long, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry," the shinobi was saying. "I'm just glad you can heal it for me."

"Samhiko," Sakura spoke up, placing her clipboard on the desk beside her. She began washing her hands. The woman's head shot up, fear evident, as though she was afraid Sakura was going to punish her again. "Your chakra is too depleted to finish this. Go and get something to eat and go home for the day." Sakura dried her hands.

"Alright," the woman said quietly, though not ungratefully. She was out the door in the next moment and Sakura was finishing up with the shinobi. Sakura was impressed. Samhiko had probably spent hours with this man, meticulously mending every tendon and nerve which had been severed. Sakura was simply better at it. She finished up quickly.

"You're a bit faster than the other one," the shinobi said, though he didn't move. The pink haired doctor hadn't told him whether or not it was safe to stand. Sakura reached into a closet and pulled out thick gauze and some crutches.

"I was taught by Tsunade," Sakura said, pulling over the items. She began to wrap his knee, giving it a good brace. The shinobi stared at her, as though he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. "It won't bleed or anything, the bandages are just there as a brace. Go easy on it for a few days, that's all. I'll take you off the duty roster for a week, okay?" Sakura flashed a smile at him which he had a hard time returning.

"Thanks," he said, pulling himself out of the bed with the use of the crutches.

"Come back here in a week for an exam with Samhiko, the woman that was healing you before, okay?" Sakura said before she left the room. She stayed there long enough to see the man nod, and then she was on her way, back to the rest of her rounds. Sakura was a little less frustrated than the night before at least. They seemed to have calmed down after that little spat in the morning and for that Sakura was glad. She had been sick of the drama.

A few hours later, after her afternoon rounds were finished along with all the paperwork which accompanied it, Sakura decided it was time to clock out and go check on the new hospital that was coming along. She and Gaara had been planning the floor plan for months now, and she was happy with how it was coming along.

Gaara was there when she appeared, staring up at the massive skeletal structure that would become the village's new hospital.

"They're done with the support already?" Sakura asked, staring up at the structure. "That was a little bit faster than I thought it would be," she murmured.

"They were quick, that's true," Gaara said, agreeing with her. He was glad that this structure was coming along quickly. "Were there any problems today?" he asked, hoping that she had had a better day today rather than the last.

"A little, when I first got there, but after a little spat they got the picture and everything's running smoothly now," Sakura said, still staring up at the skeleton which would soon be the hospital. She was excited to say the least, though opening day wasn't coming for a long time yet. She still couldn't help herself. She felt Gaara's arm slide around her waist.

"I'm glad to hear that," Gaara said quietly. He brought them back to their home, where dinner was already waiting on the table. Sakura looked up at the redhead, speechless. She usually made dinner and definitely didn't expect this. "I was done with the office work a little more quickly than I thought, so I made dinner for you," he said.

"Thank you!" Sakura squealed, attacking him in a hug. She hugged him tightly for a few long minutes, though Gaara wasn't complaining, then settled down to eat. Gaara joined her without hesitation. After dinner, they washed the dishes together and sat on the couch to watch a little television before bed.

"Have you thought when we should have the wedding?" Sakura asked, seemingly out of the blue. It caught Gaara slightly off guard, though his silence was because he was trying to think. He hadn't thought about it, that much was true, but he hadn't thought much past getting her to say yes to his proposal.

"No, I really haven't," Gaara finally said, knowing that his silence wasn't doing much good.

Sakura stared up at him. "I was thinking we should have it right when the hospital was done, to celebrate the occasion." Gaara only nodded, not really knowing how to respond. "Anyways, it'd be a great way…" Gaara looked down at her, waiting for her to continue, but she didn't.

"What do you mean?" he prompted her. Sakura flushed; embarrassed that she had even begun to say it. She muttered, but Gaara only prodded her on more. "I won't think of you any less, Sakura, just say what you want," he said, turning back to the show in an attempt to make her more comfortable.

"It'd be a nice close to this chapter of our life," she finally muttered, face completely red. Sakura wasn't much for all the soft parts of romance and she was definitely feeling embarrassed for even thinking of this type of thing. Sure it would have been something she would have said to Sasuke way back when she was a stupid thirteen year old girl, but she had grown and these things weren't her forte.

"It'd be a nice opening to the next," Gaara said evenly, hoping to diffuse some of the tension. Apparently he had because she relaxed. He only nodded. "It's settled then, the wedding will be when the hospital is finished," he said.

"Oh, by the way," Sakura turned a smile on him and he questioned her, knowing she wasn't going to say anything unless he acknowledged her. It was a silly little game she played and he didn't mind falling victim to it. He often found that he'd want to kiss after whatever suspenseful thing she said.

"What?" he asked, finally giving in to her look. She only giggled.

"I'm not going to go back to Konoha, you can bet on it."

"I thought that was the agreement when you said yes," Gaara said, raising an eye at her though he knew she had said it to get a rise out of him. Sakura only laughed.

"You're right; I just wanted to remind you."

"Thanks for the reminder," Gaara smirked and Sakura smiled at him. "Do you think it's time for bed? You have another full day at the hospital tomorrow, remember," it was getting late and he was warning her more than anything else.

"I guess you're right," Sakura sighed, stretching and pulling herself off the couch. Gaara followed her up to the room and just about passed out the moment his face hit the pillow.


	10. Chapter 10

**I was in a mood today and at least like half this chapter is just like pure smut.**

**Sorrynotsorry.**

* * *

It was one of the only days Sakura had off and she had intended to spend it with Gaara. Gaara, however, had been called into an impromptu meeting with the elders he couldn't simply ignore. So here she sat, grumbling over her desk, filling out paperwork she could have put off until tomorrow. She sighed. At least she wouldn't have to do it tomorrow, right?

It was her birthday. She had obviously taken the day off because of that and because Gaara had told her to. She knew he was planning a surprise for her, but she wasn't happy he got pulled away. She wanted to spend the day with him.

"Agh, I give up!" she shoved away from the desk. She didn't want to be doing this today; she wanted to be with her fiancé. Sighing, she pulled herself up and went to their bedroom. Her friends in the village were all helping Gaara plan something so she couldn't call upon Temari or Amaya to go shopping and she wasn't going to go all by herself. Deciding she would just go throw kunai at a post for a while or something, she donned her mission outfit and headed for the training grounds.

She hadn't been there long when Jouji, Amaya's brother, appeared, looking rather calm and laid back, his hands shoved into his pockets, watching her.

"What's up?" she asked as she continued to methodically throw kunai at the wooden dummies. Jouji shrugged.

"Wondering if I could catch a lesson or two from you," he said, sitting in the sand. Sakura stopped throwing kunai at the dummy and turned to her newest charge. He'd been studying with her for about a month and half now and was coming along rather well. She'd been right when she had thought he would be a quick learner and he mastered the chakra control techniques she'd taught him within a fortnight. Now, whenever he had free time, he would seek her out and see if she would teach him something else.

"Sure," she sat opposite him. "What do you want to learn about?" she asked, her body utterly at rest in his presence. Sure he wasn't Gaara, but he was a nice boy, much like his sister, and didn't mind his company no matter what mood she was in.

"How do you split the ground like you do?" he hadn't seen it often, but she had demonstrated for him on one of the earlier days she'd been mentoring him. He had asked to see it because he had admired her for a long while, that mainly being the reason he had submitted a letter asking to be her student. He hadn't asked much more than for her to show him.

"It takes skilled chakra control," she said, holding her hand out to him. "It has to do with medical jutsu in a way. By concentrating the chakra in the palm of your hand or the sole of your foot and pushing it out the moment you make contact with the ground or a person's body, it gives the hit an extra burst. It's not too difficult to master, but it is difficult letting out the precise amount of chakra so you don't overdo it," she allowed her hand to glow green for a moment before slamming it into the ground to show him. Because it was sand it only rose in a wave around her hand.

"Will you teach it to me one day?" he asked, only too interested in the technique.

"If you do well, maybe," she smiled at him. He returned the smile. "So what were you thinking of learning today?" she asked, though he didn't answer for a moment. He seemed to be thinking and she wondered if he had just gone seeking her out to be in her company. Some of the other medics did it, though it was never Samhiko.

"I don't know you just want to spar?" he finally said. They were up in a moment, Sakura wasting no time in attacking him. He dodged gracefully and they began a dance of taijutsu, Sakura's preferred method to spar with Jouji.

They continued on like this for hours, once in a while throwing in other jutsus, until they called it a draw and sat on the ground again, gaining their breath back. Sakura produced a canteen and drank about half of it in one gulp, handing it to her student to gulp down as well. He took it gratefully, though he rarely kept a canteen on himself. He was used to the dry heat unlike Sakura, who had grown up in humid and muggy conditions and needed the extra hydration.

"That was a good round, you should come around and spar with me more often," Sakura laughed easily, stowing her canteen back on her leg. Jouji made a noise of agreement before springing up and offering Sakura his hand.

"Come on, do you want to get some tempura for lunch?" he asked. There was such a look of energetic childishness in his eyes that Sakura couldn't refuse. She grabbed his hand and he effortlessly pulled her up, almost dragging her from the training ground. He dragged her halfway through the village until coming to a small restaurant and tugged her inside.

"Hey, Mikotsu, mind getting us a table?" Jouji was obviously friends with the wait staff here because the host smiled at him and nodded, beckoning him. There were other people waiting for a table, but Jouji and Sakura were seated immediately in a booth overlooking the street. Jouji didn't even wait for Mikotsu to hand out the menus, he ordered for the both of them.

"Thanks, Jouji," Sakura said, a gleam of amusement in her eyes. "I didn't think you knew what I liked to eat."

"I just know what's good on the menu here," he grinned sheepishly and she only laughed. Their food came rather quickly and they dug in, Sakura giving a noise of happiness at the well made food.

"I digress, you are quite right in knowing what I like," Sakura laughed, digging in again. Jouji only smiled, happy that he could make the girl smile. He remembered when his sister had met the pinkette and had told him how shy and reserved she was. Sure he hadn't known her back then, but he knew her now and she wasn't nearly as shy, reserved, or angry. He'd known her for a month and a half now and her temper improved every day.

"When do you think I'll get to start working in the hospital with you?" he asked, seemingly out of the blue. He was impatient to start working in the hospital with her, wanting to work with the patients more than anything else.

"It'll take a few more months before you can come with me into the hospital," Sakura said after she swallowed a mouthful of her meal. "You have a few of the basics down, but we need to practice it so you know what you're doing when you finally see patients. Soon you can shadow me on my rounds, but I won't let you do anything until I think you're ready."

"I get it," he agreed. He didn't want to try and do anything before she thought he was ready. He had learned many things about being outright impatient through the years. It didn't get him anything quicker and he had to learn to listen to his mentor.

"Why did you want to become a medic anyways?" Sakura asked. She hadn't asked this before and it was a question bound to come up sooner or later.

"I don't know. I like helping people I guess and Anbu gets a little boring after a while. Anyways, I like learning new things and medics get paid more for their missions. Even if I'm not a certified Anbu medic, I'll still get a pay raise for being one and going on those types of missions," Jouji shrugged. He wanted to get into the field for a while but most had told him not to because he wouldn't learn much anyways. It had changed when Sakura came here.

"I suppose that's a good reason."

"Why did you become a medic?" he asked now. He hadn't asked her this before either and she had brought up the topic, so he thought it perfectly plausible to ask.

"I wanted to get stronger. When I was around thirteen, a member of my squad ran away to join Orochimaru, the snake sannin. My other teammate and I tried to bring him back with all our might, but I wasn't strong enough. My team was basically dissolved with one less team member, so my other teammate went to study with the legendary frog sannin and I stayed behind. Tsunade taught me because I begged her. It made me the person I am today and I am more than strong enough."

"Are you still trying to bring your teammate home?" Jouji asked, interested in her story. He wanted to know more. Not many people were spurred on to become stronger like that, and he was impressed that Sakura was.

"Not me, no. After a while, you just have to realize some people run away and just don't want to come back. My other teammate is still trying to bring him home, but there haven't been any leads for a couple years now. It doesn't matter anyways; he'd probably be locked up for life if we managed to bring him home anyways." It wasn't lost on Jouji, there was a far off look in Sakura's eyes, as though she was caught up in favored memories. She shook her head after a few moments and shrugged, turning back to her meal.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," her companion finally said after a long stretch of silence. She only shrugged and smiled at him.

"No use in being sorry for the past. It was out of our control and things happen. Maybe someday he'll see the error of his ways and he'll want to go back home." The phrasing of her sentence made Jouji confused. Wouldn't she say 'come back home'? Why would she say 'go' if it was her home as well?

"Isn't it your home as well? Won't you go back eventually?" Sakura gave him a peculiar look and he instantly felt dumb. What was he missing?

"Jouji, I'm never going back home," Sakura explained. "Apparently you don't know, but I'm engaged to the Kazekage."

"What?!" Jouji spluttered over his meal and ended up coughing up a bit. Sakura looked at him, concerned. She thought that everyone knew. It was certainly public; they weren't trying to hide it from the villagers.

"Yes. We're going to be wed when the hospital is complete. How didn't you know?" she was only curious.

"I mean, no one really sees you around the Kazekage. There's been a rumor that he's off the bachelor list, but no one really believed it because it _is_ the Kazekage, after all. I can't tell you how many girls I know who threw themselves at him only to be rejected." Sakura only shrugged.

"He couldn't really reject me, but that's nothing to get into," she quickly shut down the conversation. She had thought Jouji had a crush on her, better to kill it now than have to break his heart later because of something out of his control.

"Well, I'm happy that our Kazekage found such a suitable bride," Jouji smiled. Sure, he knew he was kissing her ass, but he didn't care. Sakura was a perfectly nice person and he liked that about her. She was a genuine person and he had never seen her be anything but that.

"Well, thank you, that's what I like to hear," she smiled and he returned it. She didn't mind being flattered, but she was glad Gaara wasn't around to hear it. He would have torn the poor guy limb from limb. "Just don't say things like that in front of the Kazekage unless you like your limbs scattered across the village."

He laughed. "I'll keep that in mind." With that, they finished what remained of their meal and paid, going their separate ways. Sakura, in a much better mood than before, went back home and got into the shower. She needed to scrub the remains of her spar off her body; she was quite sweaty.

She had just washed the suds from her hair when she felt Gaara's presence behind her. She let out a soft groan when she felt his hands slide over her hips. He pulled her snugly against his chest and his lips found her neck, suckling gently as his hands moved upwards. She let out a whimper when his fingers found a nipple, twisting and pulling.

"Miss me?" he finally said, voice full of amusement. She only moaned as he ground his erection into her bottom. He took that as a definite yes and increased his ministrations. Both hands kneaded her breasts now as he kissed and bit at her neck, not relenting in his mauling.

Sakura, finally sick of his teasing, turned quickly and met his lips in an intense kiss. His tongue was in her mouth in a moment and she was pressed against the cool wall in the next. He squeezed her ass and pulled her up, urging her to wrap her legs around his waist. She held herself up quite well and ground her uncovered sex against his. He broke their liplock to lean his head on her neck and growl, grinding against her in turn. She was basically begging for it.

Her soft moans were reaching his ears and he didn't like how soft they were. He lined himself up with her and plunged into her heat, a scream ripped from her throat. Her nails dug into his back, finding no purchase because of the water, but that didn't stop her. She continued to scratch at his back while he drove continuously into her.

"Come on, Sakura," he growled in her ear. He wanted her to cum. Usually growling such things in her ear would cause her release much sooner. He smoothed his hand over her thigh and to her clit, pressing into it as he plunged into her. Her screams grew in volume and she clung to him, her head buried in his neck. She really couldn't stand more and with a scream that surely hurt his hearing, she found her release.

With the clenching of her muscles, he was granted more pleasure and he plunged into her roughly, almost animalistic. His thumb was still pressed into her clit and she was still holding him tightly, her screams still filling the bathroom. With a grunt, he plunged into her one last time and held her to him tightly, his release finally coming. She made soft whimpers until he pulled out and he had to offer her support once he let her down.

"Damn," she finally said, leaning against him. Her legs felt like jelly and her head was buzzing with the pleasure. Gaara only chuckled and reached past her to shut off the now lukewarm water. He helped her from the tub and wrapped her in a soft towel, bringing her to sit on the bed. "Frustrated much?" she asked, an amused glint in her eye.

"I'm not done with you yet," his voice was low, possessive, as he pushed her back into the bed. "I haven't had the pleasure to remind you that you're mine in a long while, Sakura," she felt a shiver run through her system and warmth settled in her belly again. Her meager covering was gone in a second and she allowed herself to succumb to Gaara's sinful lips and purposeful touches.

Hours later she woke, her body tangled in his and blankets thrown to the side. She groaned and stretched, sighing as she felt her sore body. Gaara certainly took it out of her, but she wasn't complaining in the least. It was a good sore. She rolled over and was about to get up when his hand was on her hip, pulling her back down beside him.

"Gaara, I have to go to the bathroom."

"No." He gave her a lazy kiss, his hand lingering on her waist. She sighed and gave him a look, shoving him off.

"Yes, unless you want piss all over your bed, idiot." He only rolled his eyes at her and watched her retreat into the bathroom. He flopped on his back and gave the alarm clock a look. It was about five in the afternoon meaning he had about three hours until Sakura's party was ready. He was excited to see her face. Tsunade was already in the village with Naruto and Ino. Naruto had insisted on bringing Hinata, but Gaara wasn't so lenient. Tsunade only required two guards and Naruto and Ino were more than enough. He knew there were going to be a few of her medic students enjoying the festivities as well, mostly the ones who she had shown a liking to.

"What are you thinking about, Gaara?" Sakura was back beside him; her head nestled on his chest. He raised an arm and threw it across her waist pulling her tight to him. He only smirked at her.

"How very enticing you look naked." She flushed and hid her face in her hair and he only chuckled. It was becoming easier for him to make her blush and he didn't mind in the least. It caught him as cute and he couldn't help wanting it to happen more often.

"How long do we have?" Sakura knew there was going to be a party today, she wouldn't kid herself. Temari wasn't the type to pass up a perfectly good party in the name of a birthday.

"About three hours," he sighed. He really didn't want to get out of bed. He was enjoying himself too much being wrapped around her. Her body was small and soft against him and they had completely stopped wearing anything to bed in the past month or so though intimate contact wasn't always initiated. She pressed herself closer and pressed a small kiss against his jawline. He tugged her close in a hug and let her go when her mouth released him.

They didn't know how long they laid there merely enjoying one another's company, and Sakura definitely lost track of the time. They drifted in and out of sleep, mostly a light sleep as they woke whenever the other shifted. It was a nice lazy afternoon in bed and Sakura didn't mind. They had never just lay in bed together like this and she hoped it wouldn't be the last time.

Sometime around eight-twenty, there was banging on the door. Sakura woke with a start to see Gaara hurriedly tugging on his clothes, though looked completely laid back somehow. She wondered how he could do something so hastily and still look like he was taking his time. She shook the thoughts out of her head and jumped out of bed herself, going to pull on a skirt and a tank top while Gaara went to get the door.

"Gaara, it isn't like you to be late," Temari huffed as she stood outside his front door, arms crossed and glaring at him. Gaara shrugged, his eyes watching her. "What the fuck happened? Everyone's waiting and they thought you guys just dropped off the face of the earth."

"We fell asleep," Gaara answered simply. He turned at Sakura's footsteps and found her looking perfectly made up but with a look of hastiness in her eyes. She felt terrible that they had overslept for her own party at that. Temari only scoffed.

"I'll let you slide this time, guys, only because I know you both are the poster children for punctuality," she shrugged. She turned away, expecting them to follow her. She led them through the streets of Suna before coming to a small pub and pushed the door open for both of them. Sakura was blasted with music and many people shouting happy birthday at her. She was bombarded with hugs in the next moment.

"Wow, thanks guys," she yelled above the din of the music and other people yelling. Gaara stood behind her, a small smile on his normally passive face. He brushed his fingers along her back, coaxing her to move farther into the pub. Naruto was beside her along with Ino, already shoving drinks into her hands. Sakura shot a worried look back at Gaara and he leaned close to her ear.

"Don't worry; you don't have to go in tomorrow, Sakura." He ushered her forwards, towards her friends, wanting her to have a nice night. Sakura flashed him a smile as she disappeared with her two friends. Gaara went to sit at the bar, Temari by his side.

"I didn't think Sakura would be into this type of party," Temari said, already ordering a drink. She ordered one for Gaara too, though she knew he didn't drink. Perhaps he would tonight in celebration with Sakura. True to her thoughts, Gaara grabbed the drink she'd ordered for him and began sipping it.

"Perhaps not when she came here, it would have been a much more lowkey night at home with you and Kankorou, but she's come a long way," Gaara conceded.

"It's all thanks to you, you know," Temari said, shrugging. "I never thought you could hold anything but contempt for people, baby brother," she shot a wink and a smirk his way and Gaara only smirked himself.

"People change, big sister," he finally said. Temari sputtered over her drink. Never, not once in his life, had he ever called her anything but her given name. It was certainly odd and out of place. Perhaps he had changed more than she thought.

"Indeed they do," she said, sipping her drink.

The night wore on and Gaara found himself without the constant presence of Sakura. It was odd not having her around. He watched her, though, enjoying herself. He had never seen her let go like this and had never seen her dance and have fun for once. He had always seen her hunched over her desk or lying calm beside him. It was odd, yes, but enjoyable.

"Gaara, dance with me!" Sakura came up to him at some point, rather tipsy, her rosy cheeks glowing in the dark pub. She tugged at his hand and Temari shot a look at him, wondering what he would do. Gaara wasn't the type for parties and he didn't dance unless it was the waltz.

He got up, much to Temari's surprise. Sakura pulled him to the middle of the dance floor where many of her friends were dancing. Temari rose herself and went to watch, though she pulled Shikamaru near her to dance. Sure he wasn't one of Sakura's close friends, but she didn't seem to get into fights with him when he had come to visit, hence why he was here. The others didn't seem to notice the phenomenon that was Gaara in the middle of a dance floor, mostly too drunk or too busy dancing themselves.

Temari had to hand it to Gaara, he wasn't too bad. He molded to Sakura's form and merely moved with her, letting her do what she wanted. At one point, she was pretty much making out with him and to Temari's continued surprise, he let her. She couldn't tell if he was getting heated from Sakura's actions, but didn't expect to. Gaara wasn't one to let anything through his perfect façade.

Sakura, however, was hoping her actions were affecting Gaara. She wasn't nearly as drunk as everyone thought and wanted to see how far she could push the quiet redhead tonight. He was kissing her back alright, his hands in her hair and body molded against hers. They didn't care who saw which was weird for Gaara, but that didn't stop him from kissing the ever loving fuck out of her.

Gaara finally pulled away from her, maintaining a safe distance. Sakura could get whatever she wanted from him, but he wasn't about to have sex with her in the middle of the dance floor. Sakura only gave him a smirk and sauntered off to the bar to order another drink. He looked about at the faces and realized no one was really watching him. He shrugged and went to sit at the bar again where Temari joined him shortly after.

"She's in a mood tonight," Temari commented, watching Sakura as she went to dance with Ino. Gaara only grunted in agreement. He was feeling quite bothered and was sure to let Sakura know that when he finally got her home. "Are you in a bad mood?"

"Not quite," he said, watching as Kankorou detached himself from Amaya and dragged himself to the bar, sitting beside his siblings.

"Uh, Gaara," Kankorou yelled to get his attention. Gaara turned to him and raised an eyebrow, watching as his brother took a sip from a glass. "You might want to watch Sakura for a moment," Gaara didn't know why Kankorou was warning him, but turned to look at his fiancée.

Someone was pulling themselves closer to her as she danced with Ino, a large smile on her face. She was obviously enjoying herself, but Gaara only had eyes for the person swimming through her friends close to her. He narrowed his eyes, trying to recognize him.

Temari shot Kankorou a confused look and he only shot one back obviously saying that he would explain later. Gaara was gone between them in the next second, trying to keep an eye on Sakura, but Kankorou didn't say anything yet. He wanted Gaara to know too when he finally shoved the idiot trying to make a move on Sakura away.

Gaara was circling the group carefully, his eyes trained on the back of the guy's head who was getting closer and closer to Sakura with each passing second. He was behind her within half a minute. Sakura didn't exactly notice, as she was busy talking loudly to Ino. Then, the guy wrapped his hands around her hips and pulled her purposefully backwards into his body. Sakura didn't seem to think anything was wrong and Gaara could understand. She hadn't looked behind her and obviously thought it Gaara.

She still didn't look behind her though, too caught up in yelling at Ino. Gaara was becoming angrier and angrier as the man began to grind against her ass, his beast roaring to life at the intimate contact. This wasn't right and Sakura seemed to know it after a moment.

She turned; a look of surprise and mingled anger on her face when she saw it was, in fact, not who she thought it was. She smacked him in the next second. The crack resounded through the building, even over the music, which was stopped in the next second. Sakura was glaring angrily up at the guy, her temper rolling off her body in waves of tumult.

"Get away from me," her voice was low and dangerous, getting into his face. Everyone was watching and Gaara was lurking, waiting. If he even tried to make a move, he wouldn't wait for Sakura to smack him, he would personally break every bone in his body.

"But I thought we made a connection," Gaara barely heard it over the next smack of Sakura's hand against his face.

"Get out! If you don't apologize, don't expect to come to class on Thursday!" she yelled, face livid. Gaara couldn't deny that he was turned on by her anger. She looked powerful while she stood over the cowering man, anger flaring up around her and turning her into a fearsome creature. A fearsome creature that was his and that he could tame. He couldn't deny that he already wanted to stalk to her and attack her in a ferocious way.

The music didn't start back up and Sakura didn't seem to want to continue.

"Sorry, guys, but I'm far too angry to celebrate any more tonight," Sakura said, her voice positively fuming. She stalked away from the crowd. Gaara shot his siblings a look and went to follow her out the door. They were planning to have a small get together at Gaara's house the next day so Sakura's friends could give her their presents and have some cake. He wanted to make sure Temari and Kankorou know it was still on for tomorrow.

Sakura stood outside, shivering in the cold desert night. She was still angry, that was for sure, and turned her anger on Gaara when she felt his presence behind her.

"Why didn't you stop him? I know you were watching, you watch everything," Sakura accused, her eyes sharp and calculating. Gaara didn't answer. He was still roaring inside from the way she'd looked slapping down the offending man and putting him in his place. Sakura was pinned to a wall and her mouth was very busy in a moment, Gaara pushing his body forcefully against hers.

He knew others would be emerging from the party so he took them back to their room without as much as a pause. She was pressed against another wall and his hands were practically ripping through her clothes in an effort to get to her that much quicker. Sakura could only respond to his demanding mouth practically devouring hers, her nails digging into her shoulder.

Gaara didn't speak as he finally pulled her from the wall and all but threw her on the bed, his body over hers right after, his shirt curiously missing. She was pressed into the bed, his hands on hers, holding her down. She pushed against him, trying to push him over so she could have something of control, but he only clasped her hands tighter and pushed her down more forcefully, his mouth on her neck, biting harshly and leaving bright red marks.

Sakura didn't give up, trying to twist and turn over, but Gaara just wasn't having any of it and even seemed to grow more excited at her struggling. He held an arm over her stomach as he pushed a finger into her and set his mouth on her clit, tongue lashing out mercilessly. She finally moaned a loud shriek into the bedroom as she tried to move her hips, but to no avail, he was holding her down too well.

Gaara growled against her sex, adding another finger as he thrust them into her, eliciting another shriek from her. Her release came quickly because of his roughness and she strained against his arms as a long moan broke out of her.

He pulled her up and shoved her around, arranging her on her hands and knees. He gripped her thighs and shoved into her, almost slamming her head into the headboard. Her breath came in short pants and moans as she pulled herself up and braced herself on the headboard, mostly so she wouldn't hit her head on it.

He plunged into her again and again, his animalistic side coming out without so much as his say-so. He had reacted to her brashness and ferocity in the pub and couldn't help but want to dominate her. She was _his _ferocious creature and _he_ was the only one who could tame her. Her hands were shaking while she braced herself, every breath she took coming out in a shriek.

He leaned over her and rutted into her forcefully, a hand snaking between her legs to rub at her clit and with that she came crashing down, her hands losing their hold and her head falling forward against the pillow, her mouth open in a silent scream as he still rode her, drawing it out.

Gaara growled again, leaning over her to sink his teeth into her neck again, surging forward one more time and releasing inside her. He laid his head on her back for a moment, his breath coming in short pants. She finally pulled herself forwards and slid him out of her, flopping down on the bed, tired.

"Um?" she asked.

"I didn't stop him because I know you can take care of yourself. I didn't think you would allow anyone but me to be intimately close to you and you proved that true when you found out it wasn't me," he explained, pulling her towards his body now, his ferocity finally having run its course. "When you smacked him, twice, and were standing over him with all of that anger and ferociousness, something just came over me. I wanted to dominate you," he finally admitted.

"Well, don't do it too often, I'm sure to be quite sore in the morning," Sakura sighed, stretching back against the pillows. Gaara didn't like that she was so far away and pulled her on top of him, her head on his chest. He pulled a blanket over them. "So, all I have to do is be angry and smack someone and you'll have sex with me?" she asked with a cheeky grin. Gaara only smirked.

"That's one way."

"What's another?"

"Well, that dance earlier certainly worked," he spoke into her ear, a soft growl. She flushed at the memory and it deepened when she realized he was becoming hard again.

"Jesus, Gaara, what's up with you today?" Sakura shifted uncomfortably, but Gaara only grabbed her by the hips and lifted her, settling her onto him again. Her face twisted as she settled on him, his hips already working against her.

"We've only had sex a handful of times," she wondered how he was speaking so eloquently when pushing up into her for what seemed like the thousandth time in the past twelve hours. "You should have expected this sooner or later."

She moaned and at that, he moved faster, wanting to hear it more. It wasn't too long before he was releasing into her body again. He pulled out of her and let her lay on his chest again. She sighed and nestled her head against his chin, arms underneath her as she pressed against his body. He pulled the blanket back over them.

"Done now?" she asked, more than tired out.

"I believe so, yes," he had exhausted his erotic thoughts of her for the day. He smirked at her yawn. "I suppose I apologize that I so thoroughly tired you out," though he didn't sound sorry in the least, but rather smug. Sakura only scoffed. They were asleep in a few minutes, tired from the activities.

* * *

True to her thoughts, Sakura was very sore the following morning. She pulled herself from Gaara and got out of bed, her legs quite shaky when she put weight on them. She fell back against the bed and found that Gaara was awake, watching her, a slight smile on her face.

"Did I do that?" he asked, a devilish grin on his face. Sakura only scoffed.

"Of course you did, because you just had to have sex like a thousand times yesterday," she threw back at him. He went to grab her arm, pull her back to bed, so he could remind her of the night before, but she danced out of his reach. "Oh, no, I'm already sore enough, I need to be able to walk tomorrow," she said roughly. He only grinned and wrapped a hand around her neck, pulling her down to kiss her. She bit her lip when he pulled away and pushed away from him before he could change her mind. She grabbed a towel and headed to the bathroom.

Gaara sighed and then pulled himself out of bed, surprised when he looked at the clock. It was one in the afternoon, the latest they'd ever woken. He only pulled on his clothes and went to the kitchen, intending to pull together some breakfast for him and Sakura. To his surprise, everyone was in the living room: his siblings, Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, Tsunade, and even Kakashi, who hadn't been there the night before. Gaara knew Kakashi was always late and therefore didn't think much of it.

"Finally, he shows up!" Temari said, annoyance evident in her voice. "There's some eggs on the stove," she supplied. Gaara only nodded and found that they were still warm, bread for toast nearby. He began making a couple plates, though didn't take it back upstairs. He knew Sakura would come down sooner or later.

"Why are you all sitting in my living room?" he finally addressed them, leaning against a counter and giving them a skeptic look.

"We were really waiting for Sakura," Shikamaru shrugged. "We have to leave soon because Tsunade was only supposed to leave for a week or so, so we have to be off." Gaara only nodded.

"She'll be down soon. I would go get her, but she's in the shower," he supplied, finishing his plate quickly, setting it into the sink. Sakura was downstairs when he turned around, looking around blearily for something to eat. Gaara handed her the plate he'd made up for her. She raised it in thanks and sat on a couch next to Naruto, digging into it.

"Why are you guys here?" she asked. She thought they would have been sleeping off their alcohol far longer than she and Gaara. The food was good and getting rid of her slight hangover, however.

"We wanted to give you your gifts before we set off," Tsunade said, smiling at her student. Sakura only nodded, too distracted by her food to say much else. Tsunade just shrugged it off, knowing Sakura wasn't much for holding a conversation when she was hungry. They waited until she polished off the plate and gave it to Gaara to place in the sink.

"Alright," Tsunade pulled a small package from behind her, "here," she tossed it at her student, who caught it easily. "That one's from me, there's another here from Shizune," Sakura only nodded as she opened the small box, pulling out…a necklace? It was beautiful and elegant, but not something that Tsunade would give her.

"Tsunade-sama, why—"

"It was my mother's," she cut in, honey colored eyes watching her. "I don't have any children and you're getting married, which would have been when my mother would have given it to me. It's only right that you have it," she said. Sakura smiled at her and nodded. Tsunade handed her Shizune's present, which was just a new edition of a medical scroll, but Shizune was pretty bad at picking out presents in the first place.

"Thanks, shishou." Then, Ino leaned forwards and gave her a long thin box. Sakura gave her a curious glance before opening it, then flushed bright red and covered it again before smacking it off her lap. "Ino! What the hell!"

"I don't know Sakura, you don't have enough to wear to bed," Ino said, a sneaky look in her eye. Sakura only glared, having half a mind to burn it. Naruto only chuckled nervously and handed her another present.

"This is from me and Shikamaru. He was the brains, I was the buying power," Naruto laughed. Sakura let out a soft giggle of her own. It was just like him not to want to get a present. It was too much trouble and he would rather take a nap, as she figured out for Choji's birthday a few years ago when he had collaborated with her for his present that year.

"I had to figure," she laughed, opening it. "Well, you're smart, Shikamaru, I love it," they had given her a new pair of gloves, infinitely nicer and more expensive than her old pair. The boys smiled at her. Well, Naruto gave her a hundred kilowatt smile. Shikamaru merely tilted his lips upwards.

Temari and Kankorou gave her a new set of shuriken and kunai, knowing from their infrequent missions that she was in need of new ones, and Kakashi gave her one of his masks.

"Why a mask, Kakashi?" she asked, raising her brow.

"Well, Sakura, sometimes you need a mask to conceal your identity on a mission. Since you don't have one, I thought I would give you one."

"In other words, Kakashi," Naruto deadpanned beside him, "You didn't have anything else to give Sakura."

"In other words, Naruto, that would be correct," Kakashi gave them an eye crinkle. Sakura only scoffed, but hugged him anyways. She looked at the time, noting it was about two-thirty.

"You guys have to get going, huh?" she asked, a little crestfallen. She had enjoyed having her friends around, even though she only got to spend a night with them. They all nodded, pushing themselves up and getting ready to go.

"Don't worry, Sakura," Naruto piped up, his loud voice hurting everyone's ears, "We'll see you around, right? Anyways, the hospital is coming along pretty well, right? We'll have to come for your wedding!" he gave her a bear hug, nearly crushing her body.

"That's right," she smiled. She gave the rest of them a hug, save for Shikamaru, who settled for a smile. He wasn't one to touch like that. They left shortly after and Temari popped up from the couch, heading to the fridge.

"Now that they're gone, it's time for your cake, Sakura!" Temari had planned it this way to distract Sakura from her friends leaving. Sakura smiled as Temari cut it up, bringing everyone a slice. She hadn't expected them to sing happy birthday to her, not that she wanted them to. She was just happy having some cake with the three.

"Gaara, didn't you get anything for Sakura?" Kankorou asked, his mouth full. Sakura slapped him.

"Swallow before you speak, you piece of shit," she reprimanded. Kankorou only gave her a cheeky grin and swallowed.

"Yes ma'am. I wouldn't want to be smacked to the floor!" he alluded to the night before. Sakura only shook her head, a grin on her face.

"I did, but I would like to give it to her in private," Gaara finally explained quietly, having already finished his slice. Sakura beamed at him. It was something sure to have sentimental value, so she didn't mind waiting. Temari was sufficiently shut up after that and they all finished their cake in silence. Temari gathered the plates after and brought them to the kitchen.

"Well, me and Kanky will be off, then. I wouldn't want to steal the rest of your day off from you, Sakura," Temari shrugged. Kankorou seemed to protest, but Temari grabbed him by his collar and all but dragged him out the door. Sakura laughed as she watched them.

"I love your sister, Gaara. She's hilarious," she turned to see that Gaara was no longer in the room with her. She furrowed her brow in confusion, but he was back soon, holding out a box to her. Sakura looked up at him, confused as to why he hadn't said anything to go and get it, but took it nonetheless.

Opening it, Sakura found a jewelry set. It contained a necklace, two bracelets, and a pair of earrings, all set with rubies and diamonds. She gave Gaara a questioning glance as she stared at it.

"Gaara, why did you get me this? You know I don't wear much jewelry," even the pendant he had gotten for her months ago was rarely worn. Only on her day off did she don it and that was because she knew it wouldn't get ruined then.

"It was my mother's. She wore it on her wedding day." Gaara had only known this from pictures Temari kept. She had gifted the necklace to Gaara to give to Sakura, because she wasn't planning on wearing any jewelry to her wedding, heirloom or not. She also figured that, as the Kazekage's bride, Sakura should have it. Gaara didn't relay any of this to Sakura.

"Wow," she said softly. She looked to Tsunade's gift. "Which one am I going to wear?" She laughed.

"Wear both," Gaara shrugged. Tsunade's was a teardrop shaped amethyst surrounded by diamonds. It would go well with his mother's jewelry, no matter how she decided the combination.

"Well, alright," Sakura relented. They would figure that out later, possibly even the day of the wedding. Sakura sighed and leaned back on the couch. "What should we do now?" she asked.

"Why not just relax?" he asked, turning on the television. Sakura only nodded and nestled against his side. He draped an arm around her waist and tugged her close.

"Hey Gaara?" she looked up at him. He looked down at her, confused.

"What?"

"I love you," she smiled. She didn't say it a lot and he didn't say it to her many times, but it was a mutual thing they both knew.

"You know, Sakura," he gave her a smile; "I love you too." Sakura only siled and leaned back against his side.


	11. Chapter 11

"Sakura, come to bed."

Sakura looked up from her paperwork to find Gaara standing in the doorway, a frown set into his face. He didn't like this. It was only to be a few more months and the hospital, along with their wedding, was looming over them. Sakura was swamped with paperwork and trying to make sure everything was transferred over before the 'big move.' She wanted everything to go as smoothly as possible, especially when it came time to move all the existing patients.

"I can't, Gaara," she muttered, turning back to her paperwork in the next moment. Gaara's frown deepened. Surely he did understand she needed to get this done as quickly as possible. On top of that, she wasn't even tired! She didn't want to give up until she could barely keep her eyes open and she wasn't quite there yet.

"Yes, you can." His quiet voice held barely restrained frustration with her. He hadn't shared a bed with Sakura since her birthday a few weeks ago and it was starting to cause him stress. His siblings were feeling his wrath more often than not and his secretaries rarely came into his office without backup anymore. Gaara was on edge and indiscriminately angry simply because he didn't get his usual dose of warmth and comfort every night. A silly reason, but a valid one.

"Just go without me, I'll be done soon." At this, he finally cracked. He took two long strides to her and slammed the paperwork down on the desk. Sakura, surprised, looked up at him, though her surprise quickly turned to anger. "Listen, I have to—"

"Bed, now," he cut across her. At her continued protests, he bent and scooped her up easily, landing in their bedroom after a moment. Sakura hadn't been there for a few days, but it was just the same as she remembered it, though the bed wasn't made. The blankets were strewn everywhere and there was quite a bit of fluff on the floor. Seeing it made her anger rise. What was he doing in here? She turned to him to ask.

"Gaara, why in the hell have you turned our bedroom into a warzone?" sure she was angry, livid as a matter of fact. Sakura wasn't keen on being forcibly removed from her work.

"You haven't been here in a week," he grunted, placing her on the messy bed. He didn't seem to care, though, as he straightened out the blankets and threw a tattered pillow to the ground. He climbed in beside her, not caring that she was rather stiff, and pulled her body to his. Sakura could feel herself melting against his comforting and soothing warmth. She pushed away in an effort not to give into him. He glared at her.

"Just because I haven't been in here for a week doesn't mean you can tear apart the bed," she spat at him, sitting up. If she were to lie down next to him it would only be a matter of time before her anger was a whisper in the wind.

"I can do what I like. You wouldn't have known if I hadn't brought you home," his glare was enough to rival hers. He didn't want to fight. He just wanted to sleep. Without her beside him, sleep evaded him, fraying his nerves and driving him to the point of insanity. He was reverting to what he had been all those years ago and he didn't like it. His cure was right outside his window, but she hadn't deemed it important enough to return home for a week. He hadn't even had a chance to talk with her, eat with her, or hold her. It was driving him insane!

"Gaara, I don't—"

He shushed her with a kiss to her lips. He was tired and didn't feel like fighting. He just wanted to quell the rage she felt at him for dragging her away from what she deemed important. It wasn't lost on him. She was sporting dark bags under her eyes and her hair was lank, her body becoming such as well. She hadn't been taking care of herself, only throwing herself into her work. It was quite annoying to him. She should be better at this. She should be taking care of herself, at least.

"We'll talk in the morning if you're still angry," he said, voice heavily laden with sleep. "For now, Sakura, just come here." He stretched his arm out to her, beckoning. She looked at the invitingness of his body, the thought of his warmth coming to the forefront of her mind. She gave into him. She pressed close to his body and he wrapped a protective arm around her, pressing her all the closer. To her surprise, he was asleep before she was.

Ss

"Good morning," Sakura woke to the quiet words quite easily and she raised bleary eyes to her fiancé, who had seemed as though he had just walked in, a tray laden with food for the both of them. She spared a glance at the clock without a word and inwardly groaned. She was late!

"Gaara," her voice held a warning. She just wanted to get back to work and he was keeping her. She had allowed him enough that he could drag her to bed, but this was becoming annoying. She just wanted to go to her office and get back to work on all of the documents she had yet to finish.

"First you're going to eat and take a shower," he spoke blatantly. He pushed himself back into bed beside her and placed a plate on her lap. She sighed, giving in, digging into the eggs and toast he had prepared.

"I just want everything to get done in time for the hospital to open," Sakura finally lamented her angers and frustrations to him. Gaara set calm eyes on her, calm now that the storm had whirled away. She didn't meet his eyes.

"Not by ignoring me and your own body, you won't," Gaara bit out through his frustration.

"I thought you could handle yourself," Sakura shot back. She wasn't angry, not outright at least. She simply didn't understand why he wouldn't leave her alone to do this. It was something he had assigned her and she had simply thought he could deal with being alone a few nights a month. Alright, that was exaggerating. She had been staying away for weeks at a time. The last time she'd slept in this room had been about a week ago and before that it had been on her birthday.

Gaara pulled the plate from her and placed it back on the tray along with his. He turned to her and pulled her cheek into his hand, running his thumb under her eyes and lazily dragging his fingers through her lank hair.

"I have watched you work through nights with only two hours of sleep beforehand. I have watched you tend to patients and perform surgeries with little sleep or sustenance and therefore little chakra to keep you going. I have watched you skip meals and bark at your subordinates only to stare at those documents for hours. This isn't healthy for you. You do not return at night, to me, and I have suffered loss of sleep as well. You are dragging me down as well."

"That sounds like a personal problem," she wrenched her cheek from his fingers and pulled herself from the bed, wanting to get back to the cramped office she had been using as a home for a while. She decided she could change her clothes while she was here. As she pulled away to rummage through the closet, she felt a large hand encase her wrist. "Let go, Gaara."

"No." He was behind her then, his chest against her back. He didn't wrap an arm around her or touch her in any other way than her wrist. "Not until you tell me why you have been working so hard and ignoring the other aspects of your life." She had been ignoring Temari and Kankorou as well, not to mention Kankorou's very good friend, Amaya. They still came for dinner whether Sakura was there or not and had been asking after her.

Sakura didn't answer. She didn't want to. She missed her friends and her mentor and her home so very far away. She missed the tall trees and the sprawling fields the farmers worked. She missed Naruto and Kakashi, hell even Sai, but she had left them in the dust and had never planned on returning. She couldn't bear to hurt Gaara, couldn't bear to break his heart because she was still and would always be very much in love with him and wanted to stay by his side, but she couldn't help missing it. She had been unable to face him when taunted by these feelings and therefore had holed herself up in the old hospital, turning her misery into robotic work.

"Sakura," he said quietly, trying to get an answer out of her.

"I'm not going to tell you," she finally said. His eyes narrowed at this, but before he could ask why, her voice rang out in the heavy silence again. "You wouldn't understand and I'd rather just get back to work." She was pulling away from him again, pushing him out, and he didn't like that feeling. He just wanted her to be happy and whole.

"Sakura," his voice held no warning this time, but he spun her around and kissed her, his arms tight around her. He didn't know what to say to make it better. There had been such anguish in her voice and he couldn't stand it. He didn't have the words to make it okay, especially when she wouldn't even say what was wrong. To his great relief, Sakura responded to the kiss, her hands resting lightly on his shoulders. "Why don't you go take a shower?" he asked, slightly breathless, as he pulled away. "We can go for a walk afterwards if you'd like."

"But the documents," she started, looking to the window worriedly.

"They can wait until later in the afternoon, though I expect you home for dinner tonight. Temari has been a nuisance lately and my brother and I can no longer quell her. If you are not here tonight, she will go looking for you." It wasn't quite a warning, not really, but an excuse to make her come home tonight. He was using guilt to make her do it. She wouldn't want to disappoint Temari after all.

"What time is it?" she asked, trying to look at the clock over his shoulder. He stopped her movements and kissed her again, though it was short.

"Half past noon," he told her when he pulled away again. He would have liked to make her stay away from that tiny office today, after all she hadn't taken a day off since her birthday, but he wasn't so sure how she would react to it. There was a high chance she would simply glare at him and knock him unconscious so she could do what she wanted.

"Can we spar?" she finally asked, giving into him. She really shouldn't be so protestant about spending time with him and she knew it. If she had come here two years ago and had ended up falling in love with Gaara, she probably would have been the one tracking him down and forcing him to spend time with her instead of this. She knew she was protesting for no real reason at all, either, so she simply let it go.

"Of course," he answered, "Would you like to take a shower first?"

"No, I'll just need to take one after," she shrugged. She closed her eyes and felt his whirlwind of sand pull them away to their regular training ground. She opened her eyes to see the large expanse of sand, seemingly untouched after all the time she spent away from it. There were debris sitting against a wall and she looked up at Gaara, who sent her a look that said 'don't ask.' She shrugged. He must have wanted to destroy something out of his frustration and chose the dummies to destroy. She was happy, at least it wasn't herself.

About two hours later, and she couldn't take anymore. Gaara was certainly letting out his frustration and certainly wasn't holding back. She had to give this match to him, she knew it. She straightened herself up, Gaara doing the same. He'd been waiting for her attack, one that would never come. He raised his brow at her.

"I can't take anymore," she gave him a half-smile. I'm a little tired out now. Want to get some food?" she offered, looking to the exit of the training ground.

"Sure," he nodded, letting her lead the way. She grabbed his elbow and started to pull him out of the training grounds and into the streets. He let her guide him along the streets, her hand tight against his elbow. It was slightly annoying to be dragged through the village like this, but he wouldn't complain. He didn't want to anger her and have her stalk away like she would to Naruto. No doubt she would go back to her office and ignore their home for dinner.

"Here," she stopped outside a small restaurant that, in Gaara's opinion, had seen better days. It was an old building, the stone falling away in some places, but it looked neat and tidy from the outside. He followed Sakura in and found that the inside was much the same. Though shabby and rather dated looking, it was neat and clean. They were seated at a booth in the corner, surely to protect their privacy, and Sakura ordered for the two of them.

"I heard you fired Jouji," Gaara decided to try and start conversation with her. He had, indeed, heard that Sakura had fired Jouji, though he wasn't too sure why. He had seemed like a promising student who was keen to learn whatever she taught him.

"He was the one who inappropriately conducted himself with me on my birthday," Sakura supplied. "He had apologized, but he would not stop his advances and was trying to advance on a few of the other women as well. I will not deal with sexual harassment in the workplace and therefore fired him," she responded in a clipped tone. It wasn't because she was angry with Gaara for asking, but rather because she wasn't too happy with the young shinobi. Anbu or not, she wasn't going to allow that type of behavior.

"That I did not know," Gaara nodded to her. He agreed with her. "Did you give him warnings to quit his inappropriate advances?" he asked. Jouji could make a case against Sakura that she had turned him away without as much as a warning to his actions. Sachi had attempted that when she'd been let go, but the evidence of her wrongdoing was too great to execute such a thing.

"Of course I did, there's paperwork on him in the office. I gave him a couple verbal warnings and quite a few written ones, which included punishment like washing the floors, but he still wouldn't quit it. The reason for him being fired was also written in the file," Sakura said simply. "I was disappointed. As Amaya's brother, I would have thought he would have some manners."

"Just because Amaya's his sibling doesn't mean her influence reaches him," Gaara said. Sakura only shrugged, her eyes lighting up when their food was set in front of them. She wasted no time in beginning to eat, the sparring session making her hungrier than she realized.

"Well, sure, yeah, but you'd think that someone who has a sister as well as a mother would have just a little bit more respect for women," Sakura shrugged. Gaara had to agree. Though he would never be able to understand her words, seeing as he was an emotionally constipated child all the way up until he had had the tanuki torn out of him, he could agree.

"Sure, yes, but look at Kankorou. Have you ever seen anyone more infatuated with women?" Gaara asked, trying to liken something he knew to Sakura's point. Sakura swallowed her mouthful and looked thoughtful for a second.

"Kankorou didn't have a mother and so he had Temari to look up to. Your sister isn't even remotely motherly to you two, so I can see why he goes looking for a girl that has that type of demeanor."

"What demeanor do you speak of?" Gaara could hear the words coming out of her mouth, but was having a hard time understanding it. He had grown up without a mother as well and hadn't looked to Temari to set an example of a girl he would find himself interested in one day. If that was what she was saying about Kankorou, that is.

"Someone who can give unconditional love. You aren't the same, Gaara. You weren't like the other kids when you were younger and I don't think you cared for a women's touch at all like Kankorou did and does," Sakura shrugged. She had finished off her meal rather quickly and was waiting for Gaara to do the same. He was almost finished at least and then she could go home and take a shower, perhaps get a little more of that paperwork done at the hospital.

"Hmm," he nodded, in all image agreeing. He had never told Sakura that he wished he had had a mother, someone who would give him the unconditional love he had so desperately needed when he was younger but everyone was too afraid to give it. He would probably never tell her. She was more than enough love and comfort for him. If she didn't wrap herself up in her work and ignore him that is.

Gaara finished his meal quickly, just as Sakura thought he would, and they were back home with Sakura in the shower within five minutes. Gaara rooted through his dresser for a moment before pulling out a picture frame and sitting on his bed, staring at it.

It was a picture of his mother and Temari when she had been just a toddler. His mother, with sandy blonde hair and pretty, smiling eyes, was waving at the camera, her daughter's hand in her own. Gaara looked at the smiling woman, a deep sense of longing filling his heart. He shook his head after a few moments and put the picture back where it belonged, where Sakura couldn't see.

Sakura was out of the shower in the next minute, a towel around her form as she dried her hair off. She was looking better already, what with the long hours she had slept the night before. She sat on the bed and continued drying her hair, sitting with Gaara in a comfortable silence.

"Thanks, Gaara," she finally spoke, twisting her hair up under the towel. Gaara watched her impassively as she dried the rest of herself off and went rooting through the closet for clothes. "If it wasn't for you holding me captive last night and this morning I would still be poring over paperwork, frustrated and claustrophobic in that tiny little room," she let out a short bark of laughter.

"You don't have to wait for me to pull you away from your work," Gaara said, a look on his face as though it was obvious. It really was obvious. If she was pent up and frustrated, she could abandon her work for a few hours or a day to come and spend time with him. He would never mind that.

"I know, but I just get so involved sometimes I forget what's going on around me," now that she was dressed in simply civilian clothes, she sat next to Gaara again, a small smile on her face. "Honestly, it isn't hard to get caught up in the hospital. There's always some emergency somewhere and there's always paperwork to do, then you find yourself sleeping on the couch in the office because everything else took so much of your energy, then by the time you actually realize the clock is a thing, three days have passed!" Gaara let himself smile at her words. She was trying to be humorous and he would humor her for this.

"You're saying I must start checking on you and telling you what time it is?" Gaara asked, poking fun at her. She gave him a playful shove.

"I don't need to be told what time it is, but pulling me away from my desk to sleep is always smart. Last night I only thought it was seven at night."

"It was two in the morning," he interrupted her next words.

"I know," she sighed. "Oh well. Nobody really pulled me away from my work before. Neji was an aloof thing and would patiently wait weeks on end just to have me in his bed for perhaps a night or two before I was off for another month. It would be even worse if something was dragging me down," Sakura's mood turned sad.

"Is something dragging you down?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, but it's alright, it'll go away soon," she gave him a bright smile, though he was unconvinced. He wasn't too happy that she was still hiding something from him and, though she had every right and reason to, he didn't like it. He couldn't help her feel better when she wouldn't tell him what was bugging her.

He didn't say anything about it, though. He only pulled her against his side and kissed the top of her head. He let her go, knowing that she wanted to get through some of the files on her desk today, even if wasn't as many as previous days. "I'll send Kankorou to pick you up when dinner is ready."

"Can't you come get me?" she whined. "Every time I'm alone with Kankorou, he tries to tell me how good a time he and Amaya are having in bed. I'm not too keen on hearing it this time around." Gaara wanted to laugh.

"I could come myself, but that would leave my siblings here unattended. I'm not quite sure I would like to do that." Sakura couldn't help but laugh. Gaara's dry sense of humor always got her and she couldn't help dissolving into giggles when he let it out.

"Surely you wouldn't mind for two minutes," she begged, pulling herself into his lap and staring at him with the biggest doe eyes he had ever seen. Gaara hated when she did this. She looked so cute and if he didn't acquiesce soon, she would begin kissing him. That he didn't mind, though, so he decided to wait, watching her impassively. "Please," she whined, pulling herself up to inch near to his mouth. Gaara wanted to chuckle. She was so very predictable. He let her pull him into a deep kiss, his hands tightening on her waist.

"Keep going and I won't have to pick you up," he breathed against her lips. A red flush appeared on Sakura's face in the next second and she stared down at him. He gave her a smirk and pushed his hand into her hair, pulling her back down to his mouth, his lips devouring hers as he pressed her close to his body. A small whimper—of surprise or arousal, he couldn't tell—escaped her. He could feel the heat of her blush so near to his cheek and he finally released her, watching in satisfaction as she slowly came to sit back on his lap, her eyes dazed and confused.

"I—uh, I'll get going," she barely got it out and she was gone in the next moment. Gaara let himself chuckle in the empty room. He had clearly flustered her. She hadn't expected his response to her kiss and he thought it funny. Perhaps he should let her get away with that a little bit more, if only to see that blush on her face when he tugged her close and kissed her senseless. He idly wondered, as he descended the stairs to prepare dinner, whether or not she would get over her flustered state and want to continue where they left off.

Only a couple hours later Gaara found himself in the hospital looking for her. She hadn't been in her office and therefore he looked around the floor before giving up and locking onto the sand bracelet he still had yet to remove. She wouldn't let him, though, and in these situations he was blessed with that fact. He headed towards her presence.

He found her in one of the examination rooms with a pretty torn up shinobi. She was healing a broken arm but didn't notice him. He wasn't surprised. She had her back to him and he didn't make a sound. He watched.

"You won't be able to go out again if you come back one more time like this," she was saying when he decided to listen in. "The fact that every time you go out on a mission and come back with a broken something is worry enough. The other fact that you will allow no one else to heal you gives way to annoyance." Gaara was surprised. Sakura's words were harsh, though they didn't carry the edge of her early days in the village. She was irate with him because he made her irate.

"I just like to see your lovely face," Gaara had to stop himself from shouldering through the doorway and choking the idiot himself. He was flirting with her! He probably tried to sustain injuries just so he could have the opportunity to do so. He waited with narrowed eyes for Sakura's response.

"My lovely face can be seen all around the village," she spit back. She really was irate. Gaara wondered if it was because of the infatuated man or because she was late for dinner and she knew it. She finished with his arm and moved to a pretty large gaping wound in his leg. "I wouldn't suggest becoming hurt just to see a woman you have an attraction to." She sounded as if it wasn't herself she was alluding to.

"How else will I see you?" the shinobi asked. "You're always here."

"I'm always here trying to avoid people like you," she shot back. Her hands were tense over the wound, the diamond on her left hand glaring in the light above. It wasn't a small diamond and it was easily seen in this atmosphere. Gaara thought maybe the shinobi was just stupid.

"Why's that? I could show you a pretty good night if you let me," what probably sounded like a seductive tone to the shinobi sounded greasy and disgusting to Gaara. He still lay in wait behind the door, though, letting Sakura handle it. He still hadn't alerted her to his presence.

"Because if I don't I'll want to punch you through a wall," Sakura said sweetly. She patted his leg and stood. "You're all set. Wait for a nurse and they'll complete your paperwork to let you out." She left the room quickly, annoyance rolling off her very being, when she ran smack into someone. They caught her around the waist, keeping her from landing on her butt.

"Oi, let me go!" Sakura was about to clobber the poor idiot that decided to stand behind the door of someone she thought was very annoying. She finally looked up to see Gaara, a very amused look in his eye, staring down at her. She flushed, embarrassed that she hadn't even noticed Gaara had been there, but hugged him nonetheless. He brought them back home without wasting another minute. He didn't want to talk to her where others could hear.

"Who was that?" he wasn't jealous, Sakura had shut the other man down quite quickly. She obviously wasn't interested in anyone else he merely wanted to know what had been happening with the male. The male didn't seem too smart, at least, and he was glad she hadn't punched him through a wall or else he'd need to shell out money on repairs for a building that was going to be torn down soon anyways.

"One of the jounin that takes missions regularly. He came to the hospital about a month ago with a sprained wrist and now he comes back after every mission with something wrong with him. His teammates didn't know how he sustained the injuries today, they had simply been scouting the borders and there wasn't a fight at all." Sakura answered without much delay. She was still slightly fuming at the guy and had to stop herself from swearing about it.

"You handled him well enough," Gaara said. She still hadn't moved from his arms and he leaned down to press a kiss to her lips. She responded animatedly, her hands caught up in his shirt as she held him there. He wished to continue but dinner was getting cold and his siblings were probably becoming impatient.

"Can you take him off the mission roster?" Sakura asked as they made their way down the stairs. "I don't remember how to spell his name; I'll have to bring it to you later."

"Why do you want him off the roster?" Gaara asked, waiting with bated breath for her answer. It was no doubt going to be hilarious.

"Well, with someone as accident prone as he is, I don't think he's very safe on the field, and that's my professional medical advice," Sakura answered sweetly. Gaara couldn't hold the chuckle that burst from his lips and Sakura even gave him a bright smile when she heard it. Gaara only shook his head at his little hellion. "What's for dinner?" she asked now.

"Stir fry," Gaara answered easily as they came into the living room. Everyone perked up at seeing the head of pink hair. They hadn't really seen her for the past month or so and had begun to miss her. Even Kankorou seemed happy to see her.

Sakura crossed across the room and sat next to Temari, leaving Gaara to portion out dinner. He brought them their plates and they sat back to watch whatever Temari had put on though the silence didn't last long.

"Sakura, what's been keeping you?" Temari asked around a mouthful of food.

"I've been busy," Sakura said, her voice light. She didn't want to let them know what had been plaguing her mind recently and wanted to keep herself away from the rest of them. She didn't want to clue them in on her mental state. Gaara narrowed his eyes at her, knowing she wasn't saying something. He kept his posture relaxed, however. Perhaps she just wanted to keep it between her and him. He didn't mind that.

"Too busy to even come for dinner?" Kankorou asked, raising his brow. Sakura shot a glare his way.

"You don't know what goes on in a hospital. Why would you even say that?" Kankorou recoiled. Great, he made her angry now; this wouldn't end well at all. Amaya had a worried look on her face as she sat beside him and couldn't help looking between Sakura's glare and Kankorou's barely guarded stricken face.

"Sakura," Gaara admonished. She whipped her head to him and seemed to calm the instant her gaze connected with his. She only sighed and leaned back, continuing with her meal. Kankorou didn't dare say another word just in case she reacted the same way.

"So what have you been up to?" Amaya ventured, her soft voice causing no negative reactions.

"Just a lot of paperwork. If I don't get it all done now I'll have to do it when we finally move everything to the new building. It saves a lot of time later," Sakura explained, trying to be calm about it. Now that she mentioned it, she realized all she wanted to do was get back to it. She didn't want to deal with social interactions right now, even if they were people she liked.

"Well it's good that you're getting all this stuff done," Amaya said, her voice verging on a 'but,' though it never really came. "What did my brother say that you stopped training him?" she asked now. Jouji hadn't wanted to talk about it and this was the first chance she'd had to ask Sakura, knowing the pinkette wouldn't lie to her.

"Your brother decided it would be a great idea to try and flirt with me and several of the other female nurses and doctors at the hospital. I couldn't have that type of person around my employees," Sakura explained quickly. Though she didn't exactly want to shed a negative light on her brother, whom she undoubtedly loved, she couldn't lie to her.

"Oh," Amaya's voice was barely there. She hadn't thought it was something of that nature. She had believed it to be because Sakura hadn't thought he was coming along very well and didn't want to expend energy on a dying cause. "Well, if he was conducting himself in such a way I'm not surprised you let him go." Jouji had been angry about it that was for sure. He would have destroyed the entire house if her father hadn't stepped in.

"I'm glad you feel that way," Sakura placed her empty plate on the coffee table.

"Sakura, we need to do something," Temari cut in across what she thought was boring talk. "I haven't been able to go out with you in a while and I'd like to do something," she elaborated on her earlier statement. Sakura fixed her with a look that questioned why. Sakura used to be someone that could spend an entire day with her girls and do whatever they wanted, but she wasn't so much that way anymore. She didn't like going out to shop or go to the spa. It was either tedious or boring.

"Yes, we should do something," Amaya piped up, her eyes lighting up in excitement at the prospect. "It would be great to get away for a little while," she was getting more and more excited as she spoke about it and Sakura could see it was bleeding to Temari.

"I have too much work to do with this hospital business right now," Sakura politely tried to decline without point-blank saying no. She was trying to get the work done as quickly as possible and didn't have time for medial things like a spa day.

"Sakura, you have to take a break every once in a while," Amaya said, trying to sway her.

"Yeah, and I could always ask my dear baby brother to forcibly remove you from the office for the day," Temari said, her eyebrows waggling. Sakura glared at her and then whipped her head to Sakura, wondering whether he would actually do it or not. He gave her a look and she hung her head, knowing full well he would.

"Fine," she finally agreed. Gaara didn't look fazed and didn't drop the look on his face. He did agree that Sakura needed a day off every now and then, but it seemed she had to be forced to take it. Sakura only huffed and gathered the empty plates and headed to the kitchen to wash them. The other three were silent while she did and she finally came back to sit down. She didn't seem to want to take a place beside any of them, but finally chose to sit on the armrest of Gaara's chair. He wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her down beside him, half on his lap. She only resigned herself to her fate and rested her head on her shoulder, her tiredness finally catching up with her.

The other's voices were becoming distant din to her as she settled into the comfort of Gaara's side. Perhaps she really was tired. She hadn't been sleeping much lately and she was still groggy from how much she had slept the night before. She couldn't seem to keep her eyes open and her mind was slowly becoming foggier and foggier before everything became black.

The next time she woke it was still night outside. She was in her and Gaara's bed, the blankets pulled up to her chest. She stirred slightly, groggy mind lagging. Why did she wake up? She couldn't quite remember. She was about to get up to go to the bathroom when she realized what was off about the situation. Gaara wasn't in bed with her.

She stretched and decided to go to the toilet before going in search of Gaara. She was out of the bathroom in a minute and went looking for Gaara, wondering where he could have gotten off to. The house was still and dark, apparently everyone had gone already. She tried to find his chakra signature in the house but couldn't locate it.

She began to get scared, then. She hadn't woken up without Gaara in the vicinity before and it seemed wrong. She looked about the house, wondering where he had gone and why. She sat on the couch, fear of being alone beginning to overtake her. Sure, she had been alone in the office, but being alone at home, where Gaara always seemed to be her shadow, was something capable of terrifying her. She looked around the dark, empty house, and decided she needed some light and sound to make herself feel better. She turned on a lamp and the television, wrapping herself in a blanket and laying on the couch. Through the medial comforts she provided herself, she found herself asleep again within twenty minutes.

He was surprised when he came back from his walk. Sakura was no longer in their bed, sleeping peacefully. She, instead, was sleeping on the couch, a small blanket wrapped tightly around her. There was a light on and the television was turned on to an infomercial he wasn't completely certain she'd been watching. He looked down at her and pulled her into his arms, turning off the light and the television, walking carefully up the stairs and back into their room where he laid her on the bed. He went to the bathroom before joining her.

When he came back, she was awake again, no doubt because the light was gone and the noise wasn't there anymore. He gave her a curious glance. She watched him while he finally climbed into bed and curled an arm around her waist, pulling her to his chest.

"Don't do that again," her quiet voice reached him, teetering on the edge of sleep and wake. He looked down at her, questioning.

"What do you mean?" he asked, wondering what she was talking about.

"Don't leave me during the night again," her voice was small and she was becoming closer to the waking world. Gaara thought over her words for a minute. Did she venture through the house and turn on the light and the television because she had woken without him? It was a curious thing and he made a mental note to ask her about it when it wasn't two in the morning. He decided agreeing with her would be the safest route.

"Alright," he said, pulling her tight against his body. "I won't," he added as an afterthought. Sakura only nodded, already losing her fight against her tiredness. He pressed a kiss to her forehead before she fell asleep again.

The next time Sakura woke, she was pressed into Gaara's side, his arm tight around her waist and his nose buried in her neck. He held her snugly and when she tried to move, he let out a soft grunt and pulled her even tighter against himself, his other arm joining the first around her waist. She felt calm here while she was basically being squeezed to death, but she didn't avidly try to break his hold just yet.

"If I am not allowed to be out while you sleep, then you cannot either," came his low voice. She started. He was awake and she didn't even know.

"But you aren't asleep," she pointed out softly.

"Neither am I awake yet," he countered, pressing himself all the more against her body. His legs were tangled with hers and he kept her firmly against him, unwilling to let her go just yet. He knew that she could easily get away and he hoped she wouldn't. She didn't. She moved about, twisting and turning, until she faced his chest. She pressed her face to his shoulder and wrapped an arm around him. She didn't do this often, but he enjoyed it and she knew it.

They lay in bed for a few hours, lazily drifting in and out of sleep. She didn't move from where she'd gotten herself stuck, and he didn't readjust. He enjoyed this. It wasn't often she held him as well and he was enjoying the feel of her arm around him, hugging him to her every so often when she drifted back into the waking world. He often woke then too, only to return the embrace.

"Shit," he was startled awake by her loud voice. He gazed down at her. She hadn't disentangled herself from him though her eyes were pointed towards the clock.

"Hm?"

"It's one in the afternoon," she said, trying to pull herself away from him. He held fast. "Gaara, there's work to do."

"There's me to cuddle," he said immediately. He hadn't thought it through and didn't care the way it sounded. He wasn't done with her yet, though he wasn't looking for sexual intimacy right now. He just wanted her to be calm and in his arms rather than running around and doing things. He had shirked his duties for the day and no one had come calling on him, therefore he wasn't being missed. The same could be said for her.

"Yes, I understand that, but there are things I must take care of," she said in a rather irate voice.

"Hush," he sighed, pressing a kiss to her forehead and then one to her lips. She seemed rather unwilling at first, but he managed to goad her into it as his mouth moved against hers. She dug her hands into his shirt and pressed herself against his body.

"Fine," she gave into him again. She couldn't understand how she found herself giving into him again. She knew she should really just be getting back to work, but she was just so tired and just so comfortable. She began to pull herself away from him, but he pulled her back to him with a soft growl. "Gaara, I'm hungry and I need to use the bathroom," she sighed.

"Fine," he released her grudgingly. As she went to the bathroom, he pulled himself out of bed and went to the kitchen, preparing something for lunch. He turned around at one point and saw that Sakura had come to join him. She sat at the island and he pulled out some melon from the fridge, handing it to her. She happily ate a few slices before lunch was ready.

"This looks good," Sakura said as he placed her plate in front of her.

"I hope it tastes good as well," he said as he took his place next to her. They didn't talk much as they ate their meal. Sakura took their empty dishes to the sink.

"What now?" she asked without looking at him. She stared out the window above the sink, though there wasn't much to see. It looked out onto the street where only a few wandered under the blaring afternoon heat. She was surprised, but didn't jump, when she felt him behind her, pushing his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder. He thought for several long moments before speaking.

"Would you like to watch something?" he asked. He didn't feel like going back up to bed with her. They had already spent much of the day there, sleeping, and he wasn't keen on feeling groggy the next day. Sakura only made a noise of agreement and they made their way to the living room. He turned on a movie he was sure she hadn't seen before and settled on the couch. She laid against the curve of his side.

"Thanks," she said softly, a little ways into the movie. Gaara was surprised no one had bothered them today. One of his siblings would have shown up by now, demanding why they couldn't find him. They were worrisome people and often came looking for him if they didn't see him at least once a day. Sakura wasn't as common for these things as she was often found at her office if not here.

"For what?" he asked, his fingertips drawing lazy circles on her back.

"Giving me a nice relaxing day," she sighed out, her eyes still on the movie. "After all, I have to start planning a wedding soon. We won't have a lot of days like these." Gaara looked down at her in surprise. She giggled. "What?"

"Temari has been planning the wedding," he said. It was common practice in the village that the groom's family plan the wedding so the bride wouldn't have to worry about it. They were often extravagant affairs, though Sakura wasn't that type of person. Because she was marrying the Kazekage, though, it would have to be.

"What?" Sakura asked, surprised. She had never heard of anything from Temari and she wouldn't have known now if Gaara hadn't said anything.

"I suppose I forgot to say," Gaara said, shrugging. "She's got everything planned already, even the festival."

"There's going to be a festival?" Sakura asked incredulously.

"You're marrying me, Sakura, why wouldn't there be?" Gaara asked, his voice stating plainly that she should have expected it. Sakura's face flushed and she felt she couldn't meet his eyes though she had yet to turn away from the movie she wasn't so interested in anymore.

"I don't know," her voice was soft.

"You don't have to worry about anything for our wedding, Sakura," Gaara allowed warmth into his voice for her. He seemed to succeed when she smiled and pressed closer to his body. He kissed the side of her head, making her smile grow more.

"What will I have to keep me up at night, then?" she asked, though her voice only held affection. She was only kidding and he knew it.

"Well I can think of a few things," he whispered into her ear, placing a small kiss on her neck. He earned a soft giggle and a nose wrinkle.

"I don't need to be kept up _that_ late."

"I suppose that's true," he said, leaning back into the couch. Sakura was happy. She hadn't felt such calm in a while and it was definitely rejuvenating to her mental state to spend such a day as this with Gaara.

"When is your sister dragging me off on that girl's day out?" Sakura asked now, dragging the subject away from their upcoming wedding. She wasn't upset, talking about it. She was excited, but didn't want to dwell too much on it lest she track down Temari and demand to hear what she was planning that day. No, it was best to keep her mind off it.

"I believe she was planning it for next week," Gaara answered.

"And there's absolutely no way I can get out of it?"

He chuckled. "No, Sakura."

"Fine," she sighed. He only shook his head at her.

"Why must you rush so much anyways?" he asked. "Surely you can space it out."

"I have patients to see and things to watch," Sakura's voice was defensive.

"Shell it out to your employees," Gaara chastised her lightly. "That's what they're there for, silly," he had never called her silly or anything such, but he was learning how to be affectionate with her and she often smiled when he tried.

"I could try that," she shrugged. "I just don't trust them.

"You'll have to learn to."

"I suppose you're right," she sighed. "I'm done talking about work today, though. I have to go back tomorrow and you're not allowed to hold me captive any longer."

"Alright," Gaara agreed. He knew he couldn't have her to himself for any longer, her work really was important. He contented himself to sit back and enjoy the time he had with her today now that he had managed to win the fight to get her to stay home with him. He settled back against the couch and resigned himself to enjoy what little alone time he had with her.


End file.
