On the first day that Gaara appeared, Sakura is afraid.
Sakura smiles unsurely at the red headed boy standing frozen on her doorstep. It's on the tip of her tongue to ask what Gaara's business was in Konoha, but the girl cannot muster the courage in the presence of the sand-ninja.
"Where is Sasuke?" The boy's eyes roam all over Sakura, never once staying in the same spot for over two seconds. "I want to see Sasuke"
"He's not here," Sakura tells him simply, just as she'd practiced so many times before. Gaara's body seems to stiffen, his right eye twitching uncontrollably and Sakura feels fear once more. She wants to back up, to close the door on this strange boy but she's still afraid.
"When's he getting back?" Gaara snaps, his eyes only briefly reflecting empathy before returning to their cold emotionless gaze.
Sakura tells him she doesn't know politely, earning a shrug from the redheaded boy. He doesn't move from his spot on the porch, and Sakura carefully tells him that Sasuke 'Won't be back for a while'
"Then I'll wait for him"
Sakura haggardly wills herself to send him away, but she simply doesn't dare. She knows him as the boy who fought without emotion, who would kill others on a whim or simply for sport. Somebody who would have no qualms about killing her, if she displeased him.
Even so, on the first day that Gaara appeared, Sakura shuts the door on his face.
XXX.
On the second day of Gaara's arrival, Sakura is terrified.
Sakura pays no head to the shards of glass by her feet, or the broken glass in her hand, her attention is riveted to the boy standing on her porch. Gaara has not moved a muscle since she last saw him; he simply stands facing the horizon. He hasn't shifted from his position on the porch either, and he doesn't look like he's eaten or showered recently.
Sakura patiently opens the front door, telling Gaara that Sasuke wont be back for a while. The boy's arms are crossed defiantly over his chest, and he doesn't even seem to regard Sakura's presence. She tries again, asking him to leave and this time he replies as coldly as ever.
"I'm waiting for Sasuke."
So on the second day, Sakura leaves Gaara to stand silently on the porch, waiting for the boy who is never coming back.
On the third day of Gaara's arrival, Sakura watches him silently from the safety of her house. The boy neither moves nor makes a sound, he simply stands on the porch, staring out onto the horizon.
Sakura wonders if the boy eats while she sleeps, for she never sees him move unless in her presence. She refuses to stay up all night watching, refuses to give in to the redheaded ninja. She knows that's what he wants, for her to accept his presence, and continues to fight that battle she can't help but lose.
She cleans dishes slowly, watching the boys every movement (Or lack of it). What does he want with her? He can't want anything with Sasuke. Sasuke's been gone for too long, and Sakura knows that Gaara wont find him if he stays here. She pauses briefly, running her pale fingers over the mug in her hands as she continues to watch the figure on her front porch.
Why did he remain there, as day bled into night, not moving a muscle unless she commanded it? He reminds her of a guard, though Sakura can't imagine what Gaara would be protecting her from.
'Perhaps he tilts his head back when it rains and catches raindrops on his tongue' Sakura muses, then chuckles despite her. The idea was absurd. Though she could still not shake the picture in her mind, of Gaara drinking rainwater.
Gaara's head snaps around, his eyes huge and confused, searching the house wildly as if something confused him. He focuses on Sakura, her lips slightly turned upward in merriment and his eyes return to normal, now staring intensely at the pink haired ninja.
He gives Sakura a menacing smile, his teeth white and pointed, now staring quietly at her.
On the third day of Gaara's arrival, Sakura shuts her window curtains tightly, and locks the door, praying that the boy will leave.
Two weeks after Gaara's arrival, Sakura is horribly, milky sick on her bedroom floor.
Sakura's head in throbbing as she tries to make it to the bathroom, feeling sick again but hands grab her and hold her still. She fights uncommitted, as a cloth is pressed into her face. She wonders if somebody is trying to suffocate her and she lashes out violently, a sense of claustrophobia setting in. The cloth is removed and Sakura blinks hazily, staring into the infuriated face of a certain red headed boy.
Sakura screams, reaching for kunai before catching sight of a fresh change of clothes in her companion's hand. Gaara look down on her, sneering almost. "Fine, clean your own damn face"
Sakura screams back at him, demanding to know if that was Gaara's version of cleaning her up before rolling over and puking on the ground. She can't even begin to describe the embarrassment she feels, and hopes Gaara wont take offense.
Sakura feels somebody's hand placed none to gently on her back, pressing the cloth into her hands and Sakura wipes her face wearily. Gaara surveys the pink haired girl quizzically as Sakura clutches the change of clothes to her breast.
Sakura thanks the red haired man with her head bent, eyes down cast as if she was ashamed. "I must have caught the flu". She tells the boy, aware of how weary her voice sounds. "It must be that…."
Gaara gives the girl a sweeping glance, arms crossed and mouth set in a thin line. "Your pregnant" He says it as emotionlessly as he'd said everything else in her presence, but the words cut through Sakura like ice. He simply stares at the ceiling as if the subject was not worth his undivided attention.
"W-what?" The girl stammers, out of shock more then fear. "I c-can't be" Gaara focuses his attention on her once more, staring down at the pink haired girl as if she was nothing more then a small, insignificant bug. "Are you a virgin?"
He doesn't seem at all bothered by the abruptness of his tone, or how awkward the situation and Sakura's cheeks flush scarlet. "W-well no, but..."
"Then you're pregnant" Sakura stares at the boy with a heavy heart, and he looks away once more. "Are you sure you haven't made a mistake, Gaara?"
It is the first time she'd referred to him by his first name while in his presence and the Sand Ninja's face softened briefly, until a constant twitching movement in his left arm captured Sakura's attention. The boy looks breathtakingly angry, his hands constantly opening and closing, his body rigid. "I don't make mistakes"
His icy tone reminds Sakura of his brutal instincts, his willingness to kill even his closest of friends and she hides her face behind loose strands of her pink hair.
On the second week after Gaara's arrival, Sakura stares at the vomit stained floor silently, knowing that the ninja has already resumed his position on the porch.
XXX.
On the third week after Gaara's arrival, Sakura confirms the worst without crying.
Tsunade is persistent, asking lots of questions as to who is the father and if Sakura will be all right with a baby to take care of, a Sakura spins her a fairytale, for Tsunade's delight.
She pretends that the father is a ninja from the grass village, and that their engagement had been kept a secret. Whether Tsunade accepts this or not does not concern Sakura. Sakura has bigger problems to deal with.
When Sakura gets home, Gaara is leering at her, his lips turned upwards though without general merriment or reason. "What did the doctor say?" He snarls, still smiling. Sakura wont answer refuses to answer and flips him off rudely.
He grabs her wrist and she squirms in near pain, trying to pull away. "Why don't you leave me alone?" She screams. Lashing out at him, she tries to push him away but he just grips her tighter, wrapping his arm around her waist.
"Why? Aren't you having fun, Sakura?" He leans in close, too close for Sakura's taste, so she can see his teeth perfectly. "You of all people should be kinder to me"
She doesn't answer, gritting her teeth as he brushes loose strands of her pink hair away from her face. "Scared?"
"No. I'm impressed" Sakura pulls free, if only because Gaara releases his grip on her arm. "That's the most I've ever heard you say"
"When's Sasuke coming home?" Gaara's laughing now, his smile resembling that of a fox as it corners it prey. He backs away, crossing his arms over his chest, still smiling eerily at the girl. "I'm waiting you know."
On the third week after Gaara's arrival, Sakura locks herself in her house and cries.
XXX.
On the second month after Gaara's arrival, Sakura departs from Konoha. Despite her pregnancy, Sakura still has duties to perform. She notices she's put on weight and wonders what she will tell the people of the grass village. She will invent a fable; give the baby a father who didn't leave her. She needs it as much as the baby does.
Sakura bids farewell to her static guardian, still stationary on the front porch. She wonders if he will be gone when she returns, though it is unlikely. She knows he can't possibly be waiting for Sasuke for three months
She chuckles slightly, remembering the day when she imagined he'd be gone a matter of hours. Gaara doesn't react the slightest, though Sakura could have imagined his pupils widening in surprise. She wonders if he knows she won't be back for some time.
She hasn't spoken him since the incident on her doorstep, and doesn't care too. Begrudgingly, she has come to accept his presence on her porch. She has considered alerting Tsunade, but she dismisses that thought. She knows Gaara is cruel enough to reveal her secret to the world if she sends him away. She knows Gaara would do just that. So she accepts him. Or ignores him.
XXX.
On the fourth month after Gaara's arrival, Sakura returns home.
She isn't surprised anymore, to see Gaara standing on her doorstep. He looks thinner then he did before and his face is gaunt. However he smiles just as frighteningly as he did before and Sakura feels a sense of foreboding as she opens the front door.
"Did anybody call for me while I was gone?" Sakura's can hear the wistfulness in her tone, and wonders if Gaara can as well. The boy with the kanji tattoo doesn't answer, glaring at Sakura furiously as if he resents being used as an answering machine. But she lives alone, alone with Gaara now. Nobody ever calls for her. She calls them.
"Don't flatter yourself" Sakura swears the Gaara is smirking, but she ignores him anyway. "I repainted your kitchen table though."
"Was the paint cracked?" Sakura's tone is now inquisitive, wondering why Gaara would perform such a needless task for her. If she turned around, she could see Gaara's eyes lighten up and his arm begin to twitch uncontrollably.
"I was only cleaning up, I know you hate it when things go to waste"
Sakura enters the house fearfully, sprinting down the hallway and skidding on the carpet as she makes her way into the dining room. She freezes, not daring to enter the room and she can almost immediately feel Gaara's hands on her shoulders.
"Do you like it? I tried so hard?" Sakura can't make a sound, staring at Gaara's sick display of affection applied to her dining table. He's painted it completely red, from head to toe. Blood red. He's made dinner as well, some sort of meat carefully cut and prepared. It's till warm too, and Sakura can see the steam rising up into the air.
He's set the table for two people and Sakura begins to shake. "G-Gaara, what d-did you d-do?"
"Aren't you going to eat? I tried so hard to please you" Gaara's smug voice cuts right through Sakura and she seats herself delicately at the crimson table. The fork is shaking in her hands, and she can sense Gaara watching over her obsessively. She lowers the fork, and slowly spears the meat with it. She can't help but feel faint, as a thick red substance spurts out of her meal, covering her fork.
Sakura cries out in surprise as Gaara slaps her fork away, and it lands with a small thunk on the concrete floor. "You aren't going to eat all by yourself, are you? How rude."
Sakura nods shakily, gesturing to the empty place on the other side of the table. "G-Gaara, would you p-please j-join me?"
"I didn't mean me. Does Sasuke like steak?"
Sakura's plate joins her fork on the floor with a sickening crash, her nails digging into the table's crimson surface. "What do you want with me?" She's shaking violently now and her hand flies to her stomach. "Why are you doing this?"
"I just want to know where Sasuke is"
"I told you, he's not here."
"That wasn't my question."
"I don't fucking know where Sasuke is!" Sakura screams the last words, slamming her fists down onto the table. "How the fuck should I know where he is? I haven't seen him in five fucking months!" Sakura clasps her hands over her mouth, looking horrified and Gaara surveys her coolly.
"One last question" Gaara's voice returns to it's emotionless state, his eyes once again cold and unrelenting. "How long have you been pregnant?"
Sakura's face drains of color, and she points at the door steadily. "Get out. Get out of my house, Get off my porch as well. If I ever see you there again, I'll gather every ninja I fucking know and I will personally see you rot in hell."
"I wont let you." Gaara's eyes are glistening with excitement; his smile resembling one of a psychopath but Sakura holds her ground, clenching her fists.
"Do you want a fight?" Her hand is slowly creeping down her thigh, reaching for her Kunai but Gaara's eyes immediately focus on her stomach. He doesn't move, simply staring at her stomach.
"The baby will get hurt." Gaara speaks in a monotone, backing up slowly. "If you're somebody who endangers the life of her child to seek revenge, you're not worth my time."
Sakura sinks onto a chair wearily, not caring to check if Gaara has left or not. She begins the tiresome chore of scrubbing her table clean, but gives up half way. Her face and hands are soaked in blood, her stomach aches and she's shaky beyond belief. She checks the kitchen window, but Gaara is not standing on the porch. She is not sure whether to be scared or relieved.
Sakura piles the remaining pieces of meat onto a spare plate, making a mental note to herself to take her rage out on something unbreakable. She briefly asks herself if Gaara is unbreakable, but dismisses the thought. That's not an option.
The front porch feels so empty without Gaara's foreboding presence and Sakura bends slowly, placing the plate gingerly down on the ground. She stands back up, facing the midnight sky and shivers, wrapping her arms around her chest.
"Its here, if you want it." She whispers, to nobody in particular, tears streaking down her cheeks.
On the fourth month of Gaara's arrival, Sakura wakes to find the meat plate completely empty.
On the fifth month, Sakura climbs up onto the roof.
She put on heaps of weight now, and it's a difficult task but she manages. Even while carrying a plate full of steak in one hand.
She isn't all the shocked to see the redheaded boy seated on the roof, smiling deviously down at her as she offers the steak as a peace gift. He looks beautiful in the moonlight, his hair matted and tangled, his eyes glistening.
"I thought you might be hungry, and I made a bit too much." Sakura sits beside Gaara, watching him devour the meat lavishly. It occurs to her that he properly hasn't had a decent meal in months.
"I've been thinking about what you said-" Sakura is cut off as Gaara abruptly presses his hand against her stomach, closing his eyes. "Its Sasuke's, isn't it?"
Sakura doesn't know what to say, so she tells the truth. "We all make mistakes I guess" Gaara puts the plate down, staring out into the darkness reflectively.
"My sister has a baby, a baby girl. I haven't seen her face yet." Gaara's tone is almost sorrowful and Sakura remembers that he probably hasn't seen his family for months.
Sakura smiles sadly, swinging her feet off the side of the roof. "You can see my baby if you want. I'll let you be the first to hold him."
"I'd like that."
On the fifth month after Gaara's arrival, Sakura tells her friends she already has somebody watching over her.
On the sixth month it snows.
Sakura forgets to care whether this is logical or not, she is simply content watching Gaara standing silently as snow flakes watered down at settled into his messy red hair.
She runs out, trying to persuade him to come inside and manages to wrap her arms around him. She still has no idea how it ended in a kiss.
On the sixth month, Gaara sleeps on Sakura's floor and she brushes the snowflakes out of his hair as he rests.
On the seventh month after Gaara's arrival, the baby is born.
Sakura doesn't care to remember the details, the excruciating pain. She is lucky Ino was there, and that her friend wasted no time in getting Tsunade and rounding up all of Sakura's close companions.
Sakura screamed a lot, her nails digging into Kakashi's hand, who chose to simply ignore the name she called for.
Sakura can remember seeing her baby's face for the first time, remember the jab of pain as she realized just how much her baby resembled it's father.
Sakura is aware of Ino and Naruto's obnoxious shrieks of excitement and Naruto practically screaming. "It's a boy, it's a boy! You've got to name him Naruto now! Naruto jr."
Sakura quite frankly doesn't give shit about that babies name, her body aches and her head is throbbing painfully as her friends laugh around her. Tsunade is holding the baby, and she leans in, close enough till Sakura can taste the mint on her breath.
"His eyes are bright blue, though they're bound to change. Most do. But he'll have black hair. Just like his father I guess"
Sakura snatches the baby away from Tsunade in horror, cradling the boy in her arms. "N-No!" She chokes on her words, bursting into tears almost instantaneously, clutching the baby to her breast. "Get out! Get out all of you! Don't touch him. Don't you dare look at him. Get out!"
Sakura clutches the baby to her breast, refusing to let anybody see his face, screaming at the world for being so unfair.
Black hair. Not red. Black. Black, black, black. Sasuke has black hair after all. Not red. Not Gaara's child.
Three days after the baby's birth, Sakura awakes to an empty room. The cradle lies empty beside the girl and Sakura immediately reaches for her Kunai, fearing the worst.
Sakura sprints down the hallway, wrenching the front door open. Gaara has his back to her and she tries to swallow the lump her throat regretfully. "Gaara… put him down"
Gaara is still standing on the porch, holding a small bundle protectively in his arms. He's rocking it back and forth, staring in awe down at the giggling face in his grip. Gaara turns as Sakura strides out onto the porch, his face soft and for once, at peace.
"Don't you remember your promise?" The boy whispers and Sakura feels her knees go weak as Gaara cradles the bundle carefully, bending so Sakura can get a proper look at her son. "He's beautiful."
"What can I say?" Sakura smiles positively at Gaara, taking his hand delicately. "He takes after his father. He has your eyes, you know."
"He's got your smile"
Gaara sleeps next to Sakura that night.
Three days after the baby is born, Sakura forgets to mourn Sasuke's absence.
--Owari--
Don't mind the crap, I just felt like writing something happy. Perhaps I'll do a horror side fic to go with it, ne?
Drop me a line, eh?