NOTICE -please read me! :

Hey everyone! I really do love this pairing, and I hope if your reading this that you do as well! Please if you are not mature enough to read this story- as per the "M" rating- then don't because there will be lemons in later chapters, as well as violence and possibly offensive language. Also for this particular plot line both Gaara and Sakura will have there "inner personas and voices" So incase you get confused heres a guide to who's saying what.

~Guide~

Inner Voices

Someones thoughts

"Speaking out loud"

Ok now the DISCLAIMER- I do not own NARUTO or any of the characters in this story, I do however own this plot...


Chapter 1- (Sakura)

Sakura drew a heavy breath as she expertly opened the double doors to the Hokage's office with her foot while simultaneously balancing four large medical texts, two technique scrolls, three report scrolls and two huge steaming cups of coffee. She walked into the large circular room, surprised, only finding a few transcribers at a large desk in the corner.

That's weird she thought...normally everyone would be here. By everyone she was referring to several missions specialists, transcribers, advisors to the Hokage, the Hokage herself, Shizune, and a ridiculous amount of ninja- (Jounin, Chunin and Anbu) all vying for missions to pay the bills.

She walked over to her desk ,that was to the right of were Tsunade usually sat, and set all of her things down. Just then Shizune walked out of another set of doors that led to the Hokage's main office. Sakura looked up and beamed at her. "Oh Shizune thank gods your here! I was starting to get worried that nobody was around. Are we dry on missions today or something?" Shizune stared at Sakura openly with a slightly quirked eyebrow and said slowly with a concerned smile "...uhm Sakura-san have you forgotten what today is?"

Sakura tried to think. Lets see...hmmm. Well today I really should pick up my dry cleaning. And after I go to the lab I need to go to the training grounds for a few hours...wait...do I have the night shift at the hospital tonight? She pursed her lips and tapped her finger on her cheek. Am I missing anything else? Kami, I don't think so... I did have a lot to drink at the bar last night. Maybe I hit my head and just can't remember? Sakura looked at Shizune with a silent "could-you-please-just-tell-me" face. She sighed, "Sakura, today is the day that the Kazegage, Subaku no Gaara-sama, is arriving with his traveling party."

Suddenly the light bulb in Sakura's brain sparked. "Oh yeah! The peace treaty festival! I guess I've just had so much going on lately, I forgot..." That was when Tsunade slammed the door of her office open and stormed out. The lound noise made Sakura's brain twitch with the first licks of a possible hangover.

"Alright Shizune lets get down to the damn gates, everyone is probably waiting for us...Kami, the sooner this is over with the sooner the festival will start...and then I can have a drink!"

Tsunade saw Sakura standing behind her desk and gave a huge knowing smirk. "Well good morning Sakura... may I ask why you are here in this building and not at the gates waiting for the Kazekage to arrive? You know it would be extremely rude if the Hokage and her apprentice weren't there to recieve him should he show up early."

"Oh yes..." Sakura mumbled as she shot a glance at Shizune, and then looked back to Tsunade, and then at the coffee on her desk. "... Well you see I thought you might need some coffee!" She coolly lied while handing Tsunade one of the cups. She took the cup from Sakura and started slurping down the warm liquid. "Mmmmmm." Sakura relaxed a little, thinking she was off the hook for forgetting the important day. Until Tsunade looked up and said "Yea well thats total bull shit." Sakura swallowed, Tsunade was about to go into lecture mode in 3...2...1...

"Honestly Sakura how could you forget something so important to our Village? As my apprentice you should be very dissapointed in yourself-" Sakura felt her hangover begin to take form. "-you've got way to much going on at once you can't even remember something huge like this! You spend all your time here working and studying with me and then intense training sessions on top of which you take long shifts at the hospital and take on S-class missions-" Ya well, that is my life. Sakura thought while here Inner persona danced around in all of its ego happy glory for Tsunade noticing all the work she did. "-I admire and appreciate how hard you work, but if you doing so many things at the same time is causing you to slack off and forget things then-" Sakura took this chance to interject.

"Yes Hokakage-sama I understand. But I assure you I can handle it all." Tsunade just grunted "Yes, well handling things and accomplishing things are two greatly different things" while walking out the door.

Shizune looked at Sakura with a pitying smile and told Sakura not to take it to personally as they rushed out of the tower behind the Hokage, "She hasn't had any alcohol in the past two days...Its made her a bit more irritable then usual." "Shizune!" Tsunade screamed just then. She squeaked and caught up to her side were they discussed something in rushed whispers.

Sakura trailed behind them as she reflected on everything her mentor had just said. She really was always busy...but Sakura thought that thats what it took to be as strong and accomplished as she was.

She was the greatest medical professional of her time- she was the head doctor at Konoha's hospital. That took hours and hours of studying and testing in the lab, hands on work with Tsunade, and putting in hours at the hospital. She was a ridiculously strong and skillful ninja, and that came with hours of training and physical exertion and taking on hard missions.

She didn't care that other girls had tasted the edges of the greatness they could accomplish as a kunoichi, and then decided to take an easier path. She was not like those other girls. She was better. She was the best. And if she couldn't go out and party and dance and have fun all the time then who cared? She didn't. Well...sometimes she did.

But in the end, this was a hard profession, and a hard life. If she wanted to keep up with the boys, and come out on top in everything she did, then she would devote everything she had! - This is what she always told herself, and it always hardened her resolve and kept her moving forward. She smiled to herself, and felt just a little bit of pride for her accomplishments seep in- but not to much. She never wanted to get cocky. Thats when you started to make mistakes. Psh hell ya we're the best! Her Inner cheered- pom pom's and all and she sighed a little at herself. She really needed to see a therapist.

They started to come upon the large welcoming party gathered around the front gates of the city and Sakura noticed many of her friends and people she knew gathered around. She waved at a few of them, but Tsunade needed her by her side at the moment, so she couldn't go and say hi to anyone just yet. That was ok though, she told herself, she would see everyone at the festival later.

The thought of the festival brightened her spirits. Last night she had been dismissed early from work and had gone out with Ino, (who she rarely got to see anymore- between Ino running her parents flower shop and Sakura being generally busy with her work) who told her that her new boyfriend had a really good looking friend she wanted to set Sakura up with.

"I swear if I had seen him before I met Hideki-kun I would so be with him instead." Ino had said. "Seriously forehead- he's a great catch!" Sakura had said she didn't want to be set up on a blind date, but Ino had insisted she meet him tonight. Sakura begrudgingly agreed, only to shut the pig up of course. Now though, just hours before the date she was actually starting to get excited.

The people in the large crowd made way for them and they walked through to the front. Tsunade stood up at the very front entrance with Shizune to her right and Sakura standing to the left of her, with the three of them surrounded by a half circle of Anbu ninja, separating them slightly from the rest of the crowd. And then they just stood there. And they waited. They just stood there, and waited. For about fifteen minutes they stood there and they waited before Sakura started to get restless.

She had learned to develop her patience over the years, however today she seemed to have no hold on it. This is ridiculous! She thought. I am going to be stuck standing here for hours before the Kazekage even shows up! I have so much to get done for Tsunade -sama at work, and if I can't get it done relatively soon then I will be swamped with work tomorrow! She crossed her arms and began to drum her fingers against them. Psh, this is fucktarded. Her Inner pouted with her as she wondered were in the hell she had come up with that word. Thats what happened when you left Sakura alone with herself for to long- the weird internal conversations started.

She could only assume Tsunade began to get bored because she turned to Shizune and actually started gossiping with her. Shizune was a huge gossip, and everyone knew it. She was almost as bad as Ino. Except she tried to hide the fact that she was because it was "inappropriate behavior". So every now and again Tsunade thought it was funny to tease her with it, by feeding her secret info and seeing how it affected her.

"So Shizune" Tsunade said slowly with a small grin. "I bet I know something interesting that you don't know." She wiggled her eyebrows at her waiting for her to take the bait. Shizune's ears perked up, and she was visibly struggling to keep her cool and not burst at the seems with the excitement of juicy info.

She kept a tight smile, pretending she didn't want to know as badly as she did. "Oh? And what might that be ma'am?" Sakura leaned in closer, trying to listen in and mentally cheered for Shizune to keep on fighting and not to break down. Fighting!Sakura's inner cheered- pumping her fists.

Tsunade clucked her tongue and leaned in to whisper "Well!" She said all dramatically. "You know how the Kazekage's advisory counsil members are coming along with him right?..." Shizune turned her full attention to Tsunade, eyes wide and desperate, nodding her head violently fast and eager like a puppy, and Sakura sighed knowing she was lost to her shisou's downward spiral of childish banter for however long it took to stand around out here.

Sakura had to strain her ears to listen in as Tsunade spoke in quick whispered tones- "Well apparently... they are trying to seek out a good match for him!"

Shizune gasped "No!"

Tsunade squealed "Yes, yes!"

Sakura just thought both of them had gone mad.

"That letter that I received this morning was from one of the government officials from Suna, telling me that they would be looking for suitable options of girls for him to marry when they came here, -and asked if I would be open to helping them!" Shizune looked like she was going to pass out from excitement.

Sakura couldn't help herself as she got sucked into the conversation and interjected "Well why are they looking for girls here anyway? Why doesn't he marry someone from Suna?" Tsunade brought her hand up to her face and rubbed her chin like she had a beard she was stroking "I'm not sure yet why exactly... they are most likely going to bring it up in the preliminary-discussion meeting before the public treaty signing." she said with a sly smile "Why Sakura? Would you happen to be interested in the Kazekage? I hear he's gotten quite handsome over the last few years..." Sakura looked at her like she had two heads and turned a few varying shades of red. "N-no! I don't even know the guy! I was just curious...obviously."

Tsunade and Shizune turned to each other and shared a knowing look. "But do not repeat this to anyone both of you! I don't want to upset the Suna officials over something stupid like this!" They all nodded in agreement, and then, done with the gossip, they continued to discuss matters of how they would proceed when the royal party would arrive. Sakura should have been listening, because she would be involved with taking care of official matters, but instead she let her mind wander over the Kazekage and weather or not he had changed since she had seen him last. She was sure he had at least a little. That was a very long time ago...

As she reminisced about the past she saw the start of small figures walking towards them in the distance, and knew it had to be them. Finally she thought. She wondered why they were walking so slow, and she realized that of course it had taken them so long to get here, they were traveling with civilians- elderly ones at that! Sakura's Inner scoffed Psh, if that was me being held back by them I would be fucking pissed. Ya, thats like an extra four or five days of travel... For a ninja it only takes about two to three days to get between Suna and Konoha, but for civilians who can't run abnormally fast, or jump through trees, and need certain amenities that ninja don't, it takes a full week.

With Sakura over thinking in her own head, she only realized that the Kazekage was walking through the front of their gates at the last second- and then she couldn't think anymore. She looked up at him and she caught herself staring. His shock of red hair was enough to get anyones attention, but at the same time that was the least interesting thing about him.

The way he walked commanded your attention and respect...his stride was powerful, sturdy, and threatening...and yet somehow it was also refined and regal. He wore his official Kazekage robes over what she could tell was a black shirt- but other than that she couldn't see below his neck. However she was to distracted looking at his ever quickly approaching face to think to much about the rest of him. His face was...sexy. Sakura almost felt dirty with the thoughts racing through her mind that had all of a sudden kicked into full gear. His nose was straight and fit perfectly in the center of his masculine face. His cheekbones were solid and defined and led down to his squared off chin (with the tiniest cleft in it) and his perfect wide mouth and slightly full lips. He had a little bit of scruff covering his face (probably from the journey) and it made him look older. Or maybe that was just because he was older.

Sakura told herself to calm down and get it together Seriously, why am I freaking out? I see hot guys all the time. Ya, but none that are generally downright sexy as that man right there! Inner practically purred. If Sakura wasn't a ninja than her legs would be shaking right now. Oh what the hell? Her legs were shaking. Were was this coming from? Was she seriously nervous? Was he having this affect on her from all the way over th- oh...he was right in front of her now. Sakura commanded her body to snap out of whatever the hell was wrong with it , and to stand up straight and close her freaking mouth. And thank kami it listened.

He was about six feet from her- exactly three feet to her right directly in front of Tsunade, and then three feet in front of her. At this close of a range she could fully appreciate the perfection of his face...

She needed to snap out of it and do her job. Sakura forced her brain into active ninja mode tearing her eyes from Gaara and instead looking at the people coming up behind him. Sakura took mental notes of everyone- Kankuro, Temari, four older men (all in robes and large hats in the Suna style) she assumed were the advisory officials, and six other ninja all in the same tan-ish and white uniforms and the same white cloth turban style masks covering everything but there eyes. That number of ninja seemed to be a bit excessive...she bet anything that the officials were all elderly rich snobs who felt they couldn't travel without the 'show' of extra ninja. There were quite a few people like that here as well, she thought quickly about the older members of a few clans.

She brought her full attention back to the Kazekage and Tsunade as she bowed and they greeted each other. "Esteemed Kazekage, I am glad to see that you arrived here safely...and I am sincerely glad that you are here to renew the peace treaty between our villages." Sakura glanced to the side and sighed internally. Why did it somehow sound like Tsunade was being threatening and slightly sarcastic at the same time? Neither of those were good! Maybe that was just how she talked to someone who was on her same level that she just did not want to offend...because normally she would just talk down to them. Ya...thats it. She just hoped that the Kazekage wasn't offended because then that would be a problem.

Her thoughts left her once again as he bowed to Tsunade and opened his mouth to speak. "As am I Hokage-sama." Thats it. Those four words coming out of his mouth and Sakura was undone on the inside. She felt her stomach disintegrate and swirl with nerves and she wanted him to say something, anything else that would allow her to hear that deep velvety voice again.

He straightened himself and looked out onto the crowd. She was looking directly at his face, and saw him turn his quick glancing eyes from the mess of people, to Tsunade, to Shizune, and then all of a sudden it was her who was at the end of his piercing stare. His gaze traveled up her body, evaluating her, until he reached her face again. As their eyes locked, Sakura took in the bright blue-green color of his pupils and could feel her face get hotter, knowing her blush was noticeable, which just made her blush more. It was maybe two seconds that they had been looking at each other but to her it felt like forever. Sakura stood still, rooted to the spot, as he looked away from her and back at the crowd of people.

All of a sudden she heard a vey familiar voice, yelling very loudly (which allowed her to snap out of whatever was wrong with her and come back down to earth) "...Jeez, seriously people! Move! I have to get through! I need to get upfront BEFORE Gaara gets h- OH HEY Kakashi-sensei! Sorry I'm late!..." Sakura turned around just in time to see the disheveled top of Nauto's very blonde head running and shoving itself through the crowd, and then stop, as he broke through to the gap between the people past the front of the crowd and the Anbu, and then locked eyes on the Kazekage.

And that was when all hell broke loose.


Ok so what do you guys think so far? Im just getting warmed up - setting the scene for the story to come, and all that jazz. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns let me know in the comments or a PM.

:) I love ya long time.