The first part was too short to let stand alone so I put two parts in one chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.


Insomnia.

It was too hot to sleep. Even in her flimsiest nightgown Sakura was certain that her body temperature was well above one hundred degrees (though her thermometer begged to differ). She wanted to open the flaps of the tent to let the cool air in but she had been warned about wandering sandstorms that consistently threatened the camp when the Kazekage was no where to be found.

She tried to make a habit of falling asleep before Gaara returned at night. During the day she hid in the infirmary tent, busying herself with the wounded. She did everything and anything she had to do to avoid being alone with him.

"You don't have to pretend to be sleeping," he finally said one night. "I won't bother you."

Sakura ignored him and continued to lie still with her eyes shut tightly. He would persist to bother her even if she were asleep; she would see him in her dreams.

Dessert.

She had just finished doing her rounds in the infirmary when the Kazekage himself cornered her coming out of the tent.

"Here." Gaara handed her what appeared to be an ice cream cone. "This is for you."

Sakura raised an eyebrow but took the cone from him. It wasn't cold but it wasn't melting. "Is this ice cream?" she asked, confusion etched on her face.

"It's called Dondurma," explained Gaara. "It's like ice cream… but not…"

"Oh, um thank you." Sakura tried to smile. It took her a moment to realize that he was staring expectantly at her because he was waiting for her to try some. She leaned forward to lick the Dondurma only to find that it was tougher and chewier, almost taffy like in texture. Sakura couldn't decide whether or not she found the sticky sweetness disgusting or not. "This is interesting, thank you."

He nodded. "This village used to be famous for this dessert… back when there were still goats to milk."

Sakura raised the cone wondering when he was going to move and let her though. "Thank you," she said for a third time. "This was very thoughtful of you." She tried to duck around him but he caught her wrist.

"Wait," he said. "Sakura," his eyes searched hers. "You need to eat more. Eat anything. Eat something. The nurses say that haven't been eating."

She froze. Her dietary habits were none of his business. "I eat when I'm hungry," she told him. "Now if you'll excuse me…" she tried to push past him again but he had not let go of her arm.

"Sakura, please. Naruto asked me to take care of you."

"Is that all?" Sakura yanked her arm and broke free of his grip. She stared up at him, eyes blazing. "You're only worried about me because Naruto told you to take care of me?"

Gaara looked away from her. "You don't want to hear otherwise."

Sakura took a step back. "There has been nothing to suggest otherwise." Her tone was incredulous. "There is no otherwise."

He stood up straighter and the light went out in his eyes. "Okay then. Do whatever you want. I don't care."

And then he left her there, standing with Dondurma in her hand and a heavy heart in her chest.

Part of her was devastated that she didn't have the guts to stop him.


It kind of amazed me how different this is from my usual. The upcoming chapters have more action in them. I'm not done with the series yet, but hopefully it is all building up to something.

I told myself that I would wait a week to post this but I'm terribly impatient. I can't stand having finished chapters on my computer that I'm not doing anything with. If I don't post them how am I supposed to move on to write something else? I'm trying to work through this so I can get back into one of my other stories. Augh. My brain is ridiculous.

THANKS to all my loyal readers who seem to review and support anything I post. Feel free to tell me what you think!

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