Heat. Powerful, merciless, relentless heat. That's all she could feel in that moment.

She panted hard while wiping the sweat from her brow to keep it from getting in her eyes. Her body heaved with exertion as she worked her hands down burning, wet skin.

"You're doing a great job." The redhead approved of her enthusiasm and stamina. Yet part of him worried that she would run out of energy and that all of this would end in disappointment. That and for some reason he had a desire to see her full of vitality and happiness. "Please don't push yourself too hard though, I would prefer that your hokage didn't hunt me down for over-exerting her favorite pupil."

Teal eyes met with Aqua in response to his words. She could tell he was concerned for her, which shocked her since Gaara wasn't known for being affectionate. She wondered if it was only because she was friends with Naruto.

"I'm not weak, Lord Kazekage. I've trained my body to last in tough conditions. You won't ruin me so easily." Sakura smirked at him. "If you need me to go harder I will do so, push me as much as you want I promise I won't break."

"You know, if I couldn't see what you two were actually doing I'd think you guys were speaking from a faaaaar different scenario." Kankuro snickered darkly as the kunoichi shot her head up to look at him incredulously. A blush beginning to tinge her porcelain cheeks, and he knew it wasn't from the sun. She began to sputter in nervousness and he laughed heartily before wincing over his injury on his abdomen.

"You know I could leave you to die." Sakura darkened considerably, suddenly everyone felt as if there was a chill in the burning desert air. Sakura was just thankful that Gaara didn't have enough social experience to understand his brother's statement.

"Kankuro, please keep your perversion to yourself. You're disturbing our friend and ally." The kazekage crossed his arms sternly while sporting his classic intimidating glare.

Sakura paled many shades that didn't suit her skin. 'Oh my god. If he understood what Kankuro meant that means he had to have thought about it too right?!' Her eyes bulged at the thought of the social recluse even having a sex life let alone a romantic relationship. If it wasn't for Kankuro she probably would have dug a hole to bury herself in.

"Oh man, did you really think that he wouldn't get it? I mean he hasn't even gotten to first base but he has read a book-."

"Kankuro!" Gaara warned him in a dangerous tone. "If you don't shut your own mouth I will do it for you!" His sand waved dangerously around his feet. The older brother suddenly realized where he went wrong with the conversation and felt his guilt set in.

'I embarrassed him... he most likely doesn't want it spread around.' Kankuro grimaced at his mistake.

"I'm sorry Gaara, I didn't mean for that to come out. I mean especially in front of a cute girl n' all I can see why it's emba-OW OW OW OW!" A sand clone appeared to swiftly grab at the puppet master's hair and twisted. "I'LL STOP! I'LL STOP!" He groaned painfully then as his abdomen suddenly alerted him that it was still injured. Luckily Sakura noticed.

"I know you have a right to get him back for being an idiot but can it wait until after I've healed him, Lord Kazekage?" The kunoichi smiled brightly at the irritated leader hoping that if she were extra sweet he might listen to her. He looked at her angrily at first, but then calmed after realizing that she was still on his side of the argument. He finally let go and stepped away to busy himself. Perhaps keeping a lookout for any more attackers.

It wasn't uncommon for him to be attacked outside of his borders. There were those who wanted him out of power since he was still a 'threat'. He was fortunate that Sakura had been with him on the one, and so far only day that someone had gotten hurt. She was here training in some of his medical ninjas and updating their medicinal archives. Kankuro had taken a very bad slice to the stomach that would have been a death sentence if it weren't for the kunoichi. She didn't even flinch when holding in his brother's spilling innards. A truly remarkable ninja, certainly a jewel of the village hidden in the leaves.

'-especially in front of a cute girl'

Kankuro's words danced around in his head.

'-in front of a cute girl'

He hadn't really thought about it, yet there it suddenly was.

'-a cute girl'

She was more than just cute, more leaning on beautiful. Her porcelain skin, sweet pink hair, lithe body, and most importantly those eyes that were almost as striking as his own. Not to mention she had a strong and dedicated heart that was universally admired. Yes, Sakura Haruno would make someone very happy some day.

Gaara tried to not to dance around the idea of the opposite sex. He was a busy man dedicated to his job, that and the only women that desired him now did so for unfortunately the wrong reasons. On occasion a beautiful girl would turn his head, making him wish for a quick moment that he would just abandon the idea of living alone just so that he could feel what everyone considered to be 'true love'. That and he was human regardless of what others thought. He too had urges that he often suppressed deep down hidden under all his sand, but it would take an extreme effort on a ladies part to get him to come out of that shell. She'd have to really know what made him tick.

"Hey man, you lost in there? All those pretty girls keeping your thoughts occupied?" Kankuro ducked just in time to avoid getting hit in the face by Gaara's right hook. "Woo! Just teasing jeez!"

"Kankuro, you play too much!" Sakura jumped in just in time. "Plus your organs are bruised, you still need to rest. You can't be going around causing a ruckus in your state." She scolded him firmly causing both boys to be taken aback by her forwardness.

"Yes, mommy." He gave her a shit-eating grin. Sakura froze for a second finding the term strange but not necessarily insulting.

However, what was really strange was the confused face Gaara had towards the conversation. The kunoichi noticed his reaction and smiled at him.

"If I'm your mother then that means I'm Gaara's mother too huh?" She giggled at his morphing reactions to her statement. 'I bet he would have been a mamas boy had she survived his birth...poor guy, but hey! He's the leader of Suna now! She would be so proud!' Then it dawned on her that she had used the wrong pronoun when addressing him, making her last comment much more personal than she meant it to be. "I'm very sorry that was impolite of me I apologize Lord Kazekage." She quickly tried to recover the situation.

"You may call me Gaara, it's less of a mouthful." The redhead finally came back down to earth after his head spun around the idea of Sakura playing mom to him. Sadly he found the idea pleasant and welcome.

"Oh, but sir I don't want to overstep-"

"You knew me first as a strange, and violent boy in the leaf chunin exams. You may call me by any name you find acceptable." His face went neutral to his own comment, remembering the fact that he had tried to kill her just because she looked at him with those big beautiful eyes of hers. Sakura seemed to deflate as well, it must have been the same memory that caused her grief.

Kankuro had to fix this fast, it was turning far too depressing for his liking and he wanted Gaara to enjoy the friendships he had now instead of dwelling on the past.

"I'm sure she'll call you daddy if you ask her to." That got their attention quicker than he expected. He decided then that his next words were going to put him in an early grave. "Just make sure no one is around though when she does, that's a kink you don't really want to flaunt in public!"

He didn't know who was redder in the face or who punched him first. All he knew was his nose was broken, but even in all that pain he was still laughing.

"I apologize for him, I don't know why he says these things..." Gaara frowned. He was not enjoying this day and truly wanted to be back home watering and caring for his cactus plants. He was looking everywhere except in Sakura's direction. The imagery was a little too much for him at the moment and he did not want this woman to see him blush. Or anyone for that matter.

"I think I get why he does it, obviously when things get bad or too serious he doesn't want you to hurt. So he cracks those stupid jokes to distract you from the pain." The kunoichi smiled warmly again, finding the sentiment sweet. "It's actually really sweet, even though I seem to be caught in the crossfire..." she frowned before gathering her things with a huff.

Gaara left it the way it was, not answering her or stating any form of opinion. He merely stayed silent as the three of them trekked through the desert to get back to Suna.

"So I hear you got my baby brother all flustered out in the desert!" Temari slid into the seat next to Sakura with a devilish grin. She ordered up some snacks from the bartender before continuing her speech. "Heard he got so embarrassed he actually threw a punch!"

"Hey it wasn't my fault! Kankuro was teasing him to distract him from the intestines hanging outside of his body. To be honest I think Gaara was starting to look a little green..." the pink kunoichi nibbled at her grilled food. She felt bad for Gaara truly. He had no experience with girls whatsoever, and now she knew about it.

'But that expression he gave was so unbecoming of him. I never expected to see a blushing Gaara, let alone find him cute.' Suddenly she stopped mid bite, coming the realization that she subconsciously admitted he was cute. 'Sakura, you didn't say sexy... you said cute. Lots of boys are cute. Lots of girls are cute. Kittens are cute! This term is definitely ok to use!' She sighed inwardly with relief, feeling she dodged a bullet.

"That stupid Kankuro, I swear he's been trying to get Gaara to date since he first found an interest in being kind to people." Temari huffed bitterly, gaining Sakura's undivided attention.

"Gaara hasn't even dated?" Her brows raised up high in surprise. In all honesty Gaara was not an unattractive person, on the contrary she would allow herself to admit (not openly of course) that he had rather handsome features. He had intelligence, was stoic, logical, strong, had a striking appearance that played out well for the eyes, a kind of sultry dry voice... one that sounded like he were fatigued but in a way that seemed like he was tired for all the 'right' reasons.

'Sakura, no no no. Nope. Do not even begin to go there.' She mentally slapped her own hands.

"No he hasn't dated. He won't date. Period! Sometimes I wonder if he's gay... but then I've seen him glance, only for a second though, when a really pretty girl passes by him. It's that classic guy look where they look the lady up and down only he does it in a fraction of a second!" The blonde woman waved her arms in frustration. "But he won't go any further than that! It really does concern me. What's also weird was that when he was younger he did get hit on once when we weren't in Suna. He made a pretty disturbing comment about it that really told me how not so innocent he is."

Sakura stopped eating when she was reminded of Gaara's early years. Her curiosity was killing her to know just what he thought of women at that time. She took the bait. 'Damnit Temari.'

"What do you mean by 'disturbing'?" The pink kunoichi's words wavered, betraying her true feelings on the matter. Temari leaned in close for only she and her friend to hear.

"He said he had already seen what girls look like on the inside, and that the screaming he'd cause for them would not be the kind they are looking for." Temari tensed as she said it, obviously digging up bad memories. Sakura was just as disturbed yet she wasn't afraid of him now, but if a 13 year old Gaara showed up she would probably look for the nearest exit.

"That's rather dark... but Kankuro said he hadn't gotten far with anyone..."

"Sakura, I'm pretty sure he meant that he knew what they look like inside from how many he had killed..." the blonde cringed.

"GIRLS?!" The pink one nearly screeched.

"Oh no not little ones... just the big ones that tried to kill him first ya know?" It were as if Temari was trying to justify his murderous past.

"Temari why are you telling me this?" Sakura finally groaned and rested her head on the restaurant table, completely lost on ever eating again.

"I want to try something, and that's literally the worst girl moment from him and he didn't even hurt the girl hitting on him he merely ignored her." The blonde moved from discomfort to sly in an instant. "You're very very beautiful Sakura, all the boys back in the leaf love you and I know you have a small fan club forming here so I know you understand how to grab someone's attention!"

"Oh please don't say it-"

"I need you to hit on Gaara, I just need to see if he's really still messed up on that!" Temari clapped her hands together in a begging fashion.

"NO! Oh my god! I can't do that! He's the kazekage! Plus, I don't like him that way and what if he takes the bait?! What if he returns anything I throw at him? I can't risk that!" The girl sputtered nervously, trying her damnest to shut the request down.

"Sakura please? I mean if he gets a crush on you so what? A crush is a crush it's not like he's going to fall in love with you! C'mon please! I just want to know what's going on in his head!" Temari grabbed Sakura's hands tightly. "Please, I'm just worried that he's going to remain alone and I can't be here forever. I need to know that he'll be able to find other women to rely on, and that the skill is not lost on him. Plus you are the only woman I can trust for the job!" She begged and begged with large baby-blue puppy eyes. These sand siblings always knew how to make her bend to their will, and it pissed her off. Yet, she loved them all very much, and wanted each of them to find their own respective happiness.

"UuuuuuuuuughIcantbelieveimdoingthis FINE!" The pink kunoichi stood up abruptly while the blonde watched on in shock. "We'll do it right now, you want to know right? Bring me to him!" She stood proudly, and radiated confidence.

"YES! Thank you!" Temari clapped happily before giving her friend a tight hug. Sakura only groaned in displeasure. She knew she was going to regret this...

"Lord Kazekage." The pink kunoichi bowed honorably as she entered his office.

"Sakura." Gaara smiled slightly, as if he were pleasantly surprised by her random appearance. She studied the way he said her name... the way it rolled off of his tongue gave her goosebumps that she hoped he didn't notice. She tried to pretend they didn't happen as well. 'It's just cause your going to flirt with him! Stop getting so nervous you're trained for this!'

"Kankuro is healing up nicely, apparently Temari has also been brought up to speed on what happened." She beamed.

"I informed her upon entry back into the city, I assume she went and saw Kankuro as well. She does a good job of making rounds to check on everyone." He looked down at his paperwork to sign a few more documents.

"She'll be a great wife someday I imagine." Sakura was clever when it came to getting people to think, she merely had to find common scenarios in able for her victim to start trying to link everything together. People will naturally (usually) try to empathize with someone else's situation, so bringing up the idea of Temari getting married should be enough to get him thinking about marriage itself then eventually to the core part of finding a girl. It was brilliant.

"I'm sure she will, as will you I assume."

Now she wasn't expecting that. That simple sentence was enough to tell her that he either considered her marriage material or imagined her marrying off to someone else. Regardless this was not the thought path she wanted him to go down.

However it did open up the conversation for something a little more direct, which she wasn't sure she was comfortable going to. 'I promised Temari I'd figure him out, I'm a doctor so I've studied the mind enough to get past some of his walls. I'll just have to get over my own insecurities and just dive in.'

"That's kind of you to say, I'm flattered that you think I'd be a good wife." She had to hold back a grin lest she give herself away. She studied him carefully and noticed that for a moment he tensed, but it wasn't enough to give her any real answers. "Have you thought about settling down?"

Along with her question she moved carefully to the chair nearest to him, it was an extremely bold move but she needed to see what he did behind his desk as well as his facial expressions. Luckily the chair sat kitty corner from him, giving her a perfect view with which she could study him. He tensed for a moment again, but then eventually relaxed finding her non-threatening. He turned to face her as she relaxed her form in the chair, making sure her body language let him know subconsciously that she was open to him rather than closed off. He turned further to face her direction, giving her his full attention. 'That's right, there's a good kazekage. Come to Sakura.' She inwardly laughed at herself.

"I don't think that's a good option for me." He gave her a sad smile, and her heart cracked a little.

"Why not? You're a nice guy I'm sure there are lots of women out there who would go out with you if you asked." She gave him a true smile to which he brightened slightly.

"I wasn't always nice, you know this personally. I'm glad I could at least fix things with you, but unfortunately I have burned many bridges and that title will always put a stain on my hands." He looked down at the floor, emotionless.

"There are women who can ignore that fact." She replied.

"I'd rather they understand I'm a monster, and still be able to love me regardless."

The air hung silently and heavy, somehow the mood dropped drastically. She was going to have to take drastic measures now to get back on track. 'Well, here goes the farm...'

"You almost killed me back then, I should have every reason to hate you for it." She expected it when his head shot up to look at her in a desperate way. She didn't wait for the feeling to sink into him. "However, you have become a great companion, and I would keep those bad memories as payment for the incredible man sitting before me."

His eyes widened slightly at her declaration, and something in her told her she just won many brownie points. Time to hit home.

"You're worth it, and you'd make a fine husband and lover."

She regretted saying 'lover' the second it left her mouth. She didn't mean to say that and it instantly upped the ante. There was a blush beginning to tinge his cheeks and she understood exactly why. She knew he was starting to think about her in a not so pure light. 'Shit...too far too far!'

"You...flatter me, Sakura. Perhaps you're right. Maybe I should start courting." She could see his mind begin to wander, and she understood that she had to lay down a barrier to keep him from thinking of her as a possible partner.

"Of course, Lord Kazekage." She stressed his pronoun and he seemed to notice. He turned slightly stoney at the word.

"Please, we're having a casual conversation there is no need to refer to me as kazekage." Her heart started to break a little further when she saw a sad expression begin to form. 'Damn damn damn! That was too much too! You're going to lose him you idiot! Say something funny quick!'

"Would you prefer I call you Daddy?"

'NO NO NO WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! YOU FUCKING MORON!' Sakura winced inwardly but kept her cool on the outside, faking a smile. Watching him do a double take made her half want to laugh and half hide her face in embarrassment. The blush that crept up his cheeks however, was enough to make this whole ordeal worth it. 'Oh that's just adorable'

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you blush I was merely teasing you." She truly giggled and found that just pointing out the fact that he was blushing made him redden even more. "Is it really that bad? I'm sorry I'm not trying to be perverted I just wanted to get a laugh out of you. I guess I got something else instead."

His eyes found hers instantly, locked in shock over how blunt the conversation was. He wasn't used to this, especially from people he knew and trusted. His lips parted slightly, unable to find words. Sakura tilted her head slightly, analyzing him before standing and stepping towards him. She bent down far enough to press her head against his own. He breathed in sharply upset that his body was betraying him.

"Your head does feel quite hot... maybe you actually have a fever?" She noticed him trying to look everywhere but her face or her now visible cleavage. He breathed nervously through his nose. Sakura had never felt so powerful in her life, she was bringing one of the most frightening men in the world to the point of being a flustering hormonal teenager. The high was enough to keep her charade going.

"Maybe you got too much sun today..." her hand wrapped around to grasp gently at the back of his neck to gingerly tangle her fingers in his hair. 'So soft...almost like a mink...' Her fingers absentmindedly felt around his hair and she used her other hand to tilt up his head. He was still trying to avoid looking at her. "Can you make eye contact with me please? I want to check your eyes."

"I-is this really necessary?" He choked on his words, instantly giving him away. She was starting to feel bad over how much he was shaking, but it was just too cute to stop.

"Yeah, I want to check your pupils if possible." She fought hard to contain a smirk, she was going to play dumb for as long as she could. "Please, Gaara. It's ok to look at me I don't bite."

His blush came back full swing and his eyes accidentally found hers. Though his eyes were strange and seemed like no pupil existed, there was in fact one there but it was so similar in color to the rest of his eye that it blended in well. It took her a moment of searching before realizing just how dilated his eyes were. Oh boy she pushed him a little too far, that was nearly a drug like effect.

'Just one more thing then I'll leave him alone.'

"Just as I thought, dilated. I think something odd is going on... are you thirsty at all?" She then bent down, resting one knee on his chair right between his legs as she moved foreword to put her ear to his chest. His breath hitched at the contact and he continued to breathe in almost a panicked fashion. Sakura suppressed a giggle and listened to his rapid heart beat. "Your heart is going so fast! Do you feel ok?"

The kunoichi felt and heard him swallow hard, literally everything told her that he was more than just interested. He was in pure wanting. It shouldn't have made her blush but her face betrayed her. She knew he was turned on and for some sick reason she found it flattering to her ego. 'Aaaand now I'm going to hell for seducing Suna's pride and joy. Crap.' She pulled back and looked him over. He was shivering slightly, but his eyes betrayed him even more in showing just how much he wanted to make a move.

Damn her. Damn him. Damn Temari for asking her to do this.

He licked his lips; his bottom lip catching in his teeth as he sinfully nibbled at it. If Gaara wanted to he could easily star in an adult film. He wouldn't even need a costar he could just sit there biting his lip, and it would be enough to get people off. 'Wow Sakura, calm down. Chill out. Friend zone this crap right now!'

She couldn't say anything. He just sat there like a tasty snack waiting patiently to be devoured or to devour someone himself. His large eyes growing hazy, and lidded with need. His breath shallow with sharp yet quiet huffs. It was sexy, and pitiful at the same time. She had to stop these thoughts IMMEDIATELY.

"You don't seem to be feeling to good, I'm going to go grab you some water ok?" Suddenly this sobered her, he was truly innocent to this sort of thing, and she got him all riled up just to be denied any sort of release or satisfaction. She felt incredibly guilty, but she didn't actually want to sleep with him. Or at least that's what she believed her feelings to tell her.

Teasing him was incredible, but she didn't realize how horrible she'd feel about it. 'I am a terrible human being.'

Sakura stood up straight and swiftly went to exit the room. She didn't know for sure if he was watching her, but she had an inkling that his eyes were wandering her retreating frame. She kept her word on getting him water though and was soon back at his door with the large plastic bottle. She stood at the door staring it down, wondering if she should go back in. 'Don't go leaving him like that, at least calm him down...' nodding to herself she went back in with a smile plastered on her face.

"Gaa-ra! Got you some water!" Sakura treaded carefully over to where his chair was. He was facing away from the entry and had his eyes shielded by his hand. 'Oh no did I really mess him up?' "Hey, here's some water... it'll help calm you down."

He didn't answer her, instead he concentrated deeply on breathing.

"Listen... you need to drink this." He looked at the bottle suspiciously, then back at her. 'Oh yeah. Jinchuriki. Trust problems. Gotcha.' She opened the bottle and tilted her head back to drink from it, and she let herself drink a fair amount for good measure. He watched her intently as she gulped down the liquid, she swore she saw him lick his lips again but she wasn't positive. Bringing it back down she sighed happily feeling refreshed, and handed him the bottle with no cap.

He eyed the opening of the bottle with an innocent curiosity, it was still wet from her drinking from it. Not slobbered on, but there was evidence that her lips had been there...wrapped tightly around the mouth of the bottle...gulping away at its contents...

Gaara visibly shivered, the visual was going to haunt him for a very long time. He cautiously brought the bottle to his mouth and drank slowly, gathering water little by little in his mouth then gulping it down. He was a mess and he knew it.

"I'm sorry if I touched you too much, I know personal space is kind of an issue for you, and as a doctor I'm so used to just getting in there..."

"Touch me however you desire I don't really care." Gaara instantly regretted saying that and immediately backtracked his statement. "That...came out wrong...I apologize..." he looked at the floor almost wide eyed. He had never given anyone permission to just openly touch him however they wanted. This was very bad...

"I think you meant it the way you said it." Sakura allowed herself to smirk this time causing the kazekage to nearly gape at her. "I'll remember that in the future."

Standing up she stretched; limbering up for the walk back to her room they graciously let her stay at for the time being.

'...maybe one last parting gift...just for the road...'

"Don't work yourself too hard, Daddy."

Oh she was definitely going to hell. Most definitely indeed.

AN: welp it happened. I have started another smutty story. I'm excited for this pairing though I really do like them together. Review if you want more ;)