I think only 4 people are actually reading this. Pfft. Oh well, don't care. I like the idea and I'm gonna keep going. For myself and the few interested parties, hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer and Warnings: See chapter 1.

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Solace

Chapter 2

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Sakura dragged herself along to the front gates to meet with Gai. She wasn't quite sure what to think anymore. She felt bad if she admitted to her disgust, but she couldn't say much else and be honest. The one thing she guessed she could be thankful for is that he satisfied both wishes for someone she knew and a complete stranger. She knew of the man, but any encounters had been so...weird...that she didn't feel compelled to get to know him any better.

As she got closer to the gates, she expected to see him doing one-armed handstand push-ups or spinning plates to practice his balance or something equally foolish. What she didn't expect was to see him leaning against a post, chewing his thumbnail as he was quietly lost in thought. She watched as his brows furrowed and he frowned slightly. It was such a foreign expression for the man that for a split second, she wondered if she was looking at the right person.

Sakura stood quietly to the side of a building so she could watch him inconspicuously for a moment. He closed his eyes in thought and Sakura frowned, wondering what was wrong with her partner. She watched as Suzume-sensei, the kunoichi teacher at the academy, walked up behind Gai. "Hello, Gai-sensei!"

He flinched slightly in surprise and spun around quickly, enthusiastic personality coming forth. "Ah, Suzume-sensei! What brings you out so early on this fine day?"

She adjusted her glasses and smiled brightly. "I'm on my way to class, silly! The students have a field trip today so I'm going to get a few last minute details together."

Gai gave his good guy pose. "I would offer my services to such an honorable task, but I'm afraid I am due to leave on a mission as soon as my partner arrives."

The academy teacher giggled. "It's understandable. Thank you for the thought anyway, Gai-sensei. And good luck on your mission!" She waved with a bright smile and continued to the academy.

Sakura raised her eyebrows at the display. She may not be an expert on love and relationships, but she knew flirting when she saw it and Suzume-sensei was flirting with Gai-sensei. Her mind couldn't wrap around the idea of anyone finding Gai attractive, but she supposed there was someone for everyone. Filing the information away for later pondering, she continued to watch.

As soon as the instructor was out of sight, Gai slumped back onto the post, arms crossed over his chest as he frowned again. Sakura was still puzzled by his behavior but couldn't dawdle any longer. Deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt and wondering if he was the happy-go-lucky person she thought she knew, she gave him a beaming smile as she approached. "Good morning, Gai-sensei! Ready for our mission?"

Just as he had done with Suzume-sensei, he straightened quickly and gave a tooth-sparkling grin. "Ah, Youthful Cherry Blossom! Let us go forth and engage our enemies!"

Sakura kept smiling but felt a shiver run up her spine as she thought about what was going to happen later on. Thankfully, Tsunade had them leaving a week before they were due to make contact with the compound so they had time to talk about their cover and get more comfortable with each other. "Yeah, something like that. Let's go!" She bent slightly before taking off into the trees, Gai close behind her.

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As they moved through the forests, Sakura kept stealing glances at her 'husband' for the duration of the mission. At first, Gai would look up and meet her gaze, teeth sparkling brightly. But as the day worn on, he seemed to be less in tune with his surroundings and more withdrawn.

Sakura was not one to allow someone to suffer if there was any way she could help. She glanced up into the sky and judged it was a little after noon. She slowed her pace before landing softly on the ground. Gai followed after and gave her a questioning glance. Sakura smiled brightly at him. "I figured we could use some lunch. Plus, we need to discuss the mission. You did read the scroll, right?" Her nerves began to get the better of her and she started to ramble to herself. "Of course you did. Wouldn't be a jounin elite if you ignored things like that! Jeez, Sakura ask idiotic questions why don't ya? Hahaha!"

Gai struck a pose, thumb up and held out toward Sakura. "I have read the scroll, Sakura-chan! No worries, I will do my best to assist you on this mission!"

She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw his smile waver for the briefest second. She led him into the forest a little ways before setting her pack down and rummaging around for her lunch. "So, for this mission we are a married couple who has been forbidden to be together by our village. We ran off and are in need of employment and shelter. That will be the cover to get into the compound. Once there, we need to find out their motives and if needed, destroy the compound and assassinate those in charge."

Gai rubbed his chin in thought. "That cover is used quite frequently. But it serves its purpose well."

"Yes. I suppose it does. All of the missions I've seen where that cover is used have been a success." Sakura set her little bowl of salad down and clasped her hands in her lap, head bowed. "Gai-sensei, I have a confession to make."

Gai raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He supposed he knew what was coming. 'Gee, Gai-sensei, I'm sorry but I just can't go through with this with you. It's just...blah, blah, blah.' He steeled himself for the rejection speech. Odd how one can be rejected by your mission partner for a mission, but hey weirder things have happened. He looked at the pretty kunoichi across from him. Beautiful young woman, strange older man; they weren't exactly a believable match.

"I don't have much experience in relationships, so I was hoping you could give me some pointers so we're a convincing couple. Also, I think it may be best if we get into our characters now so we won't be ill at ease with each other once we get to the compound."

Gai blinked in surprise. He certainly hadn't been expecting that. He raised a fist in the air as he proclaimed with conviction, "Of course, fair Cherry Blossom! I will be honored to act as your husband and contribute to the success of this endeavor we have been entrusted with!"

Sakura gave a sigh and reached over to grab Gai's hand that wasn't in the air, the one that was fisted tightly on his knee. "Gai-sensei, what is troubling you?"

An obviously fake laugh filled the air. "Ahaha, you must be imagining things!"

Sakura looked at him seriously. "I saw you at the gate. You were unusually contemplative and today while we were traveling, you became withdrawn and very quiet. I had to keep looking over to make sure you were still with me. Don't tell me there's nothing wrong when it's obvious there is."

Gai sighed, but tried to deflect the line of questioning again. "It's nothing you need to concern yourself with. I promise it will not affect the mission and I will do my best."

"Gai-sensei, please tell me. I don't mean to seem nosy and intrusive, but I can't just let it go when I know someone is bothered by something. Maybe it has something to do with my medic tendencies, you know, a fix what's broken sort of thing. Perhaps you would be able to concentrate on the mission, but I couldn't knowing you're troubled."

Gai bit his lip as he looked at the ground. He had never admitted to what he was about to say out loud. It would probably be painful and embarrassing, but Sakura was a kind soul and wouldn't laugh at him. He was sure of it. Taking a deep breath to gather his courage, he locked eyes with Sakura. "I know I'm not the most attractive man in Konoha. It truly doesn't bother me."

Sakura stared at him in shock. She hadn't been prepared for this. This man she was speaking with was not the Maito Gai she was familiar with. The words were quietly spoken, no shouts or drawn out speeches. It was in contrast to the usual behavior of the man before her. She tried to keep her reactions tempered as she listened to his words.

"I acted hastily when I took this mission. All I knew was my village needed help and I was available. I am sorry for putting you in this predicament. I'm sure you would rather have someone like my rival, Kakashi accompanying you as previously planned. From what I hear, he is a good-looking man." Gai sighed before continuing. "You are a beautiful woman and I'm...well...I'm me. I know having to act as my wife will be difficult for you and I know it's not the most pleasant thing to think of, but I can promise you I will act as a gentleman and I will not instigate any physical actions. You will call all the shots in that respect. I will understand if you want to change the cover or take a different approach to this mission."

Sakura continued to stare at him, realizing she knew nothing about him. She knew that to begin with, but she knew even less than previously assumed. As his words sank in, guilt began to gnaw at her, causing her eyes to burn. She wouldn't cry, she had done enough of that in the past. But the urge to do so was strong. No, he wasn't her idea of Mr. Perfect, but he was human and had feelings and emotions just like everyone else. Her image of Mr. Perfect had abandoned everyone and run off to join criminals. The old saying 'It's what's on the inside that counts' began to ring in her head and she made the decision then and there that she would get to know this man who was on a mission with her.

She noticed Gai looking at the ground even more downcast than he had been before and realized she had been silent for far too long. "Wow, Gai-sensei I don't know what to say to that. To be honest, I can't think of a different cover and it is the best way to complete the mission. As for the other things you said, I think you sell yourself too short." She wasn't going to lie, but she wasn't going to be completely truthful either. "You know what I see when I look at you?"

Gai shook his head slowly, eyes wide in shock. "No."

"I see a man who loves his village and comrades with all he's got, a person who does his best and never gives up, someone who will put another's life before his own. That is what makes a man desirable and attractive. Not the right clothes or the right hair or anything else that's superficial. Those few things that I just mentioned alone, make you lovable. I'm sure there's much more to you, but you've covered it all up with flowery words and outrageous speeches for so long that it's hard to find the real person under there. I wouldn't mind getting to know that person, Gai-sensei. I'm sure he would be a great friend." She gave the speechless man a little smile and he slowly smiled back.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan."

She clapped her hands and got back down to business. "Now, about this cover of ours. Any pointers, Gai-sensei?"

"I'm afraid I'm not that experienced either - big surprise right - but maybe I have a few words of wisdom." Sakura rolled her eyes at his self-deprecating comment and he chuckled as he lifted a finger. "Number one, don't call me 'Gai-sensei.' That would be a dead giveaway."

"Well, what should I call you? I've never been one for endearments."

"Those aren't necessary." Gai shook his head. "Not every wife will use endearments for her husband. Just calling me 'Gai' will do. Number two, while I'll let you make most of the calls on affection, we are supposed to be newlyweds so you will need to be affectionate when around the people in the compound. Also, you cannot flinch if I happen to place a hand on your back or something of that nature."

Sakura nodded. "I suppose the best way to be convincing is to start practicing."

Gai nodded along. "That would make sense." He looked to the sky and noticed quite a bit of time had passed since they stopped. "We should get moving again. If we don't want to sleep outside we'll need to hurry to get to the next town by sunset."

The two stood to gather their things and Sakura took a few deep breaths as she looked at Gai's hand. It was clean, with trimmed fingernails and no unsightly growths. The first step for most relationships was hand-holding, right?

As Gai crouched, getting ready to jump into the trees, he faltered slightly as a feminine hand slipped into his own, entwining her fingers with his. He looked at a profusely blushing Sakura wide-eyed. "Sakura-chan?"

"Okay, I think if I dropped 'sensei' then you should drop 'chan'." She gathered her courage to look over at him and noticed his gaze was locked on their entwined hands. "Well, couples do this, right? I mean I know I've only had one serious relationship but we did hold hands fairly quickly." She took a deep breath to calm herself. She had said that a bit harshly, feeling defensive. "We only have one week to get used to things like this. There's no time for nervousness or stubbornness." she spoke quietly.

Gai shook himself from his shocked stupor and hurried to respond. He didn't know if his brain could handle too many more shocks. "No, no this is fine. I just didn't expect it is all." He gave Sakura a reassuring smile and the kunoichi blinked slowly at him. The smile he gave her was actually a very nice one. There was no annoying tooth sparkle or impossibly wide-spread lips. It was natural and friendly and warm and Sakura found herself smiling back. It was infectious.

The two kept their hands connected as they took to the treetops, bounding from branch to branch side by side. Lost in a daze concerning the recent revelations, Sakura's mind wandered to Gai's hand. Her first instinct was to retract her hand, but as she really thought on the sensations, she figured it was nice. His hand was large and warm, the skin was rough but that was common for a shinobi. He didn't apply too much pressure with his fingers and as his thumb ran barely there circles along her skin, she found she actually enjoyed the touch.

She looked over and smiled lightly, almost shyly, as the wind blew his hair back and thought maybe she had been too harsh in her earlier observations. If she just looked at him, he wasn't ugly. Far from it, really. He had odd habits and eccentric tendencies and those seemed to overshadow the rest of his personality traits. It was probably those same quirks that caused women to find him less handsome than he was. He was tall with a muscular frame and kind eyes. She had always been one to notice eyes first. If he would use his real smile more often, the warm and beautiful one from earlier, that would be another point for him. The eyebrows and hair could use some work, the clothes also left a little something to be desired. But for the most part, he was pretty easy on the eyes.

She turned her attention back to the path they were traveling. His confessions had actually helped her on this mission as well. It gave her a glimpse to the man underneath, and she found she truly did want to know that man.

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The sun was just beginning to fall when they entered the border town, hot, sweaty and in desperate need of a shower. Food would be good too, but Sakura felt too grimy to worry about her stomach. "I vote we find a hotel, get showered and then go to dinner."

Gai smiled over at her. "You read my mind, Sakura. This marriage may work after all."

Sakura laughed lightly at him. "Yes, I know. Being married to me is always a pleasure."

He spotted a decent looking hotel and tilted his head in its direction. "How does that one look to you?"

"Perfect. Come on, must shower." She tugged lightly on their still joined hands and he chuckled at her antics.

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After securing their room for the night, Gai sat on the bed and chewed his thumbnail as Sakura showered. She had seemed sincere in her words and actions, but he had believed himself to be hideous for so long that he couldn't shake the feeling she was only trying to be nice. It would fit with her personality. She wasn't one to hurt others or bring them down.

The water turned off and a few minutes later when the lock on the bathroom door clicked, he gathered his things and smiled at the kunoichi as they traded places. "There's a pamphlet on the nightstand that lists various restaurants in the area. Why don't you pick what we eat tonight? I'm so hungry I don't care as long as it's edible."

Sakura giggled at him. "Sure thing."

After showering and dressing, Gai barely had time to put his dirty clothes in his pack before Sakura was dragging him out the door. "Clothes can wait, food now!"

With a hearty chuckle, he allowed the ravenous pink-haired kunoichi to drag him from the hotel.

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A/N: Another chapter out. I don't want things to seem rushed, but at the same time, I don't want to get to some far off chapter and still have Sakura working up the courage to hold his hand, ya know? Plus I don't want this to become some huge epic. I'm thinking 10-15 chapters maybe. And then it's only that high because I'm trying to keep the chapters all around this length. Bah, enough babbling. Please review if you have the time! Hugs & Kisses!