Sorry

Curled up against the wall, Sakura whimpers quietly in the dim light, head buried in her knees and arms wrapped around her shins in an attempt to initiate some kind of comfort. Occasionally she'll lift her head to stare out of the window onto Suna's dark streets, at the flickering lights in the distance. A deep-blue sky abundant in stars glares down at her; on a gorgeous evening like this she'd generally be sitting outside, but not tonight. All he has to say is "I'm sorry" but he's always too stubborn to admit that he's wrong. Problem is, he barely ever is wrong.

Most of the time he won't react aggressively, to the extent that he won't show any emotion at all. Sakura had always considered this to be bothersome, but when eventually he did erupt it frightened her. He'll be sulking downstairs in his office right now, probably. Or maybe the entire incident didn't perturb him at all and he'll just pursue another pile of paperwork. Tears spill down the kunoichi's cheeks as she recognises that the only possible sources of comfort at this present moment are millions of miles away. Naruto, Lee... even Ino would give a shoulder to cry on.

"Go home, Sakura. There's nothing here for you." Her chest tightens every time she reminds herself of the harsh words he'd spat at her. Rocking back and forth, she silently wishes him into the room to grant her a cuddle at the very least.

As if on hearing her request, the door creaks open a couple of inches; Sakura's head bolts up. Is he going to apologize? Is he going to yell some more? Is he going to-

Oh, it's Temari.

"You ok, hun?" An overpowering sadness devours the pink-haired girl's face, drowning her skin in salty rivers and sending shivers throughout her body like electric currents. Anger ignites inside of her towards the stupid Kazekage and his stupid arrogance, insolence and narcissism. Suddenly fuelled with adrenaline, she leaps up and shoves past a startled Temari, flying down the stairs and throwing herself at the office door.

Gaara looks up from his paperwork to find a hysterical Sakura with alarmingly dangerous eyes.

"I hate you!" Tears hit the floor. "I hate you, I hate you, I HATE you!" The red-head stands up abruptly, eyes wide, walking towards the distraught girl with outstretched hands as if attempting to comfort or reassure her. She lashes out and he treads backwards. "You're so wrapped in your little 'I'm-so-important' bubble that you don't even have the courtesy to step back and take a look at the bigger picture!" Her voice becomes desperate and begins to crack. "IT WASN'T MY FAULT!"

There's a tense silence in the room for a few moments, save for the heavy breathing and footsteps on the staircase above. Gaara's face creases before slowly conceding. They've argued before but she's never screamed at him like that. In an instant, his arms are tight around her back and her face is pressed into his chest; she doesn't have time or space to argue.

"I'm sorry," he says slowly, cautiously. "I'm sorry." He holds her tightly to him for minutes until she stops sobbing, then he says, "I'm sorry," again. Looking into his eyes, Sakura recognises genuine remorse for the first time.

"Me too," she says. She allows the remainder of her anger and hurt to leave her through a long sigh, before falling back into his chest. That's all it took. Another couple of droplets leak from her eyes as she smiles gratefully.