*Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters designed by Shounen Jump or Kishimoto himself.

Oneshot Pairing: Gaara/Sakura/?

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She who controls a thing, can destroy a thing..

It's been over half an hour..since I left my office.

It's been over half an hour..since I went to the flower shop and bought seven roses, even taking the consideration to add a layer of sand to preserve the petals; smell and texture retained.

It's been over an hour now, and the dinner I prepared for her has gone cold..the wax candles I had lit now dripping blotches of white onto the red tablecloth.

It's been two hours now, and the clock hands are nearly perfectly vertical. The lights that are usually kept on, to welcome her arrival, have now faded into the night.

It's been six hours now, soon the sun will rise and shine down upon my city. I haven't moved in some time from my position, as I haven't needed to. The sounds, muffled moans and hushed grunts have rendered my legs immobile.

The sun is rising now, as I hear her awaken from her slumber. The signal is cast.

She steps out of the small apartment and into the street, hair ever so subtly disheveled; clothing proper but disorderly. She is still so beautiful to me..

She stares into my jade gaze with a most bizarre expression, mouth agape but pursed simultaneously. I know she did not expect me here.

My leer pierces into virulent emerald...my voice itching to be used, yet..I am unable to utter even a whisper.

She stares longer. Tears are now building. Her face is reddening, her body is trembling before me..yet still..she is beautiful.

My tattoo throbs into my skull, my chest aches, I want to cry...but my eyes do not give way. My smile that had been chiseled by the very being before me..now lay in ruin, never to be built again.

We stare longer, for what feels an eternity...until she speaks.

"Gaara-sama, I'm so...so..sorry.." she says to me.

I only hear the sound of the wind blowing.

I lose control for a moment. A tear streaks down my face as I close my eyes. "I know.." I say, my voice cracking like I had just been revived again.

"How long..?" She asks, as if to confirm her sin went unheard.

She is beautiful..but the pain I feel from her. All I can hear and think of is her soft moans and flawless skin that once were mine..but are now his. The pain I feel is too great to bear..but still..she is so beautiful to me.

"Enough."

I find my reply comes naturally. Strangely, I feel a pang of..something..hit me. It feels like a weight in my stomach..but..a light weight..

"I see." she says, as she begins to cry.

She is now sitting down, knees folded inwards pressed into her shoulders, while she buries her sobbing face into the darkness of her arms. She is now sobbing loudly, yet I do not care. I do not care that we are in public, I do not care what is behind the door she sits in front of. I don't even care about the pain she causes me. All I know..is that she is still so beautiful..

I don't need to speak my pain, for she knows already the damage she has caused. I do not need to speak, for my words echo as her own thoughts. I turn away from her, looking into the morning sky. Once more, a tear falls down my cheek as my entire body cracks like an egg. My sand armor flakes, crumbles, and pools into sand at my feet.

My gourd begins to dissolve, and crumble into the wind, scattering about as the gusts carry my once prized symbol. My tattoo aches unbearably.

"Those who exist in darkness, Sakura, seek out and darken all light they can find. My light, now rests with the Uchiha." I say as I begin to dissolve into sand.

Slowly, I disappear...letting my will fade away just as the sand would..erasing my form entirely.

I leave Sunagakure.

I leave my title.

I leave my dreams, my hopes..

I leave them all behind. No one ever sees me again, and eventually I will fade away into history..

But...

In my days, all I really know anymore...is that I loved Sakura Haruno..to my death.

End.