"So there's only two real dress stores in Suna, but we'll find something for you to wear in two weeks, don't you worry, Sakura," Temari was talking animatedly as she, Sakura, and Amaya walked down the main street of Suna. Amaya was quiet and smiling, nodding at what Temari was saying. Sakura was bleary-eyed and just waking up, rubbing her eyes.

"You know Gaara's going to kill you guys when we get back. He doesn't like being woken up." Sakura yawned. She didn't know why Temari just had to come over at the break of dawn and insist on doing her make-up and hair, but Sakura just had to play the doll and now they were walking down the street made up for absolutely no reason for Sakura and she just wanted to crawl back into bed with Gaara.

"No he won't. Well, he might, but he'll regret it when he sees you that night!" Temari only laughed in the face of danger, apparently. Sakura would rather have kept it on the safe side and woken up at eight like she and Gaara were used to, gotten ready, and been out of the house around noon. Instead of ten, which was horribly early for a weekend in her opinion.

"Oh, Gaara's taking you? I didn't know," Amaya said softly, staring up at the bright sky, a slight smile on her face. Sakura had never met a more optimistic person in her life. Well, there was Naruto, but Amaya was much more soft-mannered at least.

"Gaara thought it would be better than leaving me to be on my own," Sakura explained, her voice hurried. She didn't like talking about her relationship with Gaara. It wasn't an odd topic persay, but it was new and terrifying. Gaara was terrifying, but he made her feel so calm.

"I know Kanakorou's taking you, Amaya," Temari giggled, poking at the other girl's shoulder. Amaya only laughed and swatted at Temari's hand.

"Yeah? And? It's not like it's going anywhere. Kankorou just loves going after the ladies," Amaya giggled. "Not like he's getting any that night, just don't tell him that or he might go flirting after other girls instead of me. Even if he isn't looking for anything serious I like the attention," she stuck her tongue out at Temari.

"My dear Amaya, you mean you're using my brother for some male attention?" Temari gasped, loud and awfully fake. "I never knew you were so deviant!"

"Hey, he asked me," Amaya laughed. Sakura found a small smile on her face as well. Though she couldn't care less about what Kankorou did with his life and who he took to the bedroom, she thought he could stand to try and have a steady girl for a while instead of hitting on every available civilian and shinobi alike.

"Perfect reason to use him, of course," Temari laughed. She made a soft noise and pulled on their arms, dragging them into a store. "Here we go! This is the nicer one that I personally like," she said, taking a cursory glance around the store.

"Oh, Temari, I really can't afford this," Amaya said sheepishly, knowing she couldn't by just looking about. She didn't have much money. Shinobi made more money than civilians and, though she could buy nice clothes, she couldn't afford the style the shop offered.

"Don't worry. Whatever you can't cover, I'll get for you. It's not every day that you get to attend a gala, Amaya, may as well make it worth remembering, huh?" Temari smiled. Amaya tried to protest strongly, but Sakura cut in.

"Amaya, I've known Temari for a good time and if she's offering you something, she won't take no for an answer, just go along with it. It's easier that way," Sakura offered, smiling halfheartedly. In truth, Gaara had given her a good portion of the money that had come from her engagement ring and told her he wanted her to spend it on the dress. He hadn't said anything else and she supposed he thought it would make her happy. Though she didn't like being awoken at the crack of dawn, she couldn't say it had been a bad day out with the two girls so far.

"Oh, alright. If you're going to fight me on it," Amaya laughed and looked about. "Well I obviously never come in here, so if you'd help me out Temari?" Temari only happily nodded and led her away to another section, leaving Sakura on her own.

"Do you need help with anything?" a friendly salesperson asked, eying Sakura looking listlessly at dresses on the rack, not quite knowing what she was looking for. Sakura only shook her head distractedly and ignored the woman, moving on to look at something else, though nothing quite interested her. She knew she had to pick something a nice emerald green or light pink to match her jewelry Gaara had given her, but the colors failed to pop out at her so far.

"Are you looking for a dress for the gala soon?" the saleslady was back and Sakura only nodded, pretending to busy herself with something on the rack. She didn't feel like talking to strangers today. Sakura had her on and off days. Sometimes she could manage a conversation with a salesperson and there were some days she simply did not want to. She blamed her mood that day on being woken up so early. She, very simply, just wanted to be left alone. "Can I help you find something?"

"No, thank you," Sakura said. She knew her voice was cold and unfriendly, but she couldn't care less. She didn't even look up at the woman. She only flushed and scurried off. Sakura wondered if that was how they felt around Gaara when he snapped at them. She couldn't really care less at that point, the woman was only annoying her.

"Sakura! Come look at this!" Temari ushered her over and she found her way, twisting around a few racks until she got to the other two. She held up a deep emerald gown, form-fitting and satin, Sakura didn't quite think it suited her at that moment. She wasn't looking for anything sexy, more flowing and fitted around the chest, but less the hips and such.

"I don't think so, Temari," she said softly. She blinked at the woman and the blonde only shrugged and tossed it back on the rack.

"Amaya's trying something on. I want to find you something here because the other shop is more for the younger generation. Clubbing and all that, but you can find something nice there if you really look hard enough. I just don't feel like looking hard enough today," Temari shrugged and went back to the racks. Sakura halfheartedly looked through a few herself, but she knew she wasn't going to find anything unless Temari held it up.

"What do you think?" Amaya came around the corner, holding a ball gown up as she stopped short, not realizing that her friends were closer than she expected. Sakura only nodded, showing her approval, but Temari circled her before giving Amaya her thoughts.

"I think it fits you really well, but I think you need a lighter color. You're so pale for being a native of Suna! The dark color makes you look a little..." Temari trailed off, not knowing what to say. She went towards a rack and pulled out an identical dress, pushing it towards Amaya, who gratefully took it and headed towards the dressing room again. Temari turned and picked something out, holding it up to Sakura. "What about this?"

It was nice, that was for sure. It was long and lace. Sakura didn't particularly like lace, but she swallowed her distaste and nodded, plucking it from Temari's hands. She went to the other dressing room and changed, though she wasn't expecting much.

She was happy she didn't expect much. Though it fit her well, she felt like drapes or a tablecloth more than a woman. She stared at herself in the mirror, willing for it to look better, like something Ino would have picked out for her once upon a time, but no matter how she twirled or how she looked at it, the thing was simply revolting. She only shook her head and exited the room, finding Temari with ease.

"Sakura, that looks terrible and I'm sorry." The words were out of Temari's mouth the moment she saw the pink-haired girl, even enacting a face-palm. "I just know you wanted pink or green and it was the right color but obviously not the right one."

"Yeah." Sakura turned around, intending on changing back into her street clothes. She didn't like dress shopping. All Ino would do was come by her place at some ungodly hour of the morning, toss a dress at her and tell her to be ready by six. This wasn't something Sakura was good at and she was beginning to doubt Temari's ability as well.

"Try this on!" Temari shouted, flinging something over the door of the dressing room. It was the emerald gown the blonde had held up before. Sakura sighed. Though she wasn't in the mood for something like that, she could see that her options were limited. It was either feeling like drapes, or feeling like a lady. She supposed feeling like a woman outweighed feeling like drapes. By about a ton or so. She changed out of the lace monstrosity and into the emerald gown. She looked in the mirror and sighed. She had to say that she looked good.

"See? I was right about that dress!" Temari said, her eyes gleaming as she took in Sakura's form. Sakura only shook her head and looked down at the dress. She didn't say anything, though she knew Temari expected no less.

"It does look good on you, Sakura," Amaya piped up from the corner, her eyes soft and a smile on her face. Sakura only nodded and went back to the dressing room, changing quickly. She didn't want to see herself in that dress any longer, though she knew that was the one she was going to be leaving with and she didn't like it one bit. She hoped no one would pay her any 'special' attention because of it. Though Gaara would probably beat them within an inch of their lives.

"Here. Pay for it." Sakura tossed the dress at Temari and the money she had brought with her for it.

"Where are you going?" Temari asked, a hand on her hip. She wasn't particularly happy that Sakura was skipping out on their girls' day out.

"Do you want Gaara to kill you because I was late for our session?" Sakura asked, an eyebrow raised. She stood at the door, the silent battle warring between her and Temari. Temari grumbled.

"Fine, fine. I don't need two reasons for him to murder me." Temari waved her off.

"Just come over for dinner later. I'll make dumplings or something," dumplings were Temari's favorite, and Sakura saw her face light up as she darted out the door. She decided to run to the training ground she and Gaara used, though she usually didn't.

"You're late." Gaara didn't even turn to look at her when she got there and she only huffed, breathing out from her run. He turned towards her, looking somewhat surprised. "Why'd you run here?" he took two strides towards her and crossed his arms, staring down at her, waiting for an answer, rather impatiently.

"I don't know, I decided to go for a run!" Sakura was somewhat angry, had been for a while, though she hadn't let it show through with the girls. She could act however she wanted with Gaara and he wouldn't hold it against her. "In case you seem to have forgotten, I was woken up at six am and then dragged all over the damn village with that annoying sister of yours!" Gaara wanted to chuckle. Sakura didn't like being woken up early, much like himself. He knew she wouldn't be saying these things if she'd been woken up at a better hour.

"Ah yes, remind me after our spar to hunt her down and cause her bodily harm." Sakura flashed a glare at him. When she saw his smirk, however, she couldn't help but let out a soft laugh as well. His smirk only deepened, though he was genuinely happy that she understood his joke.

"Can we let out some steam now?" she asked, already lowering herself into her battle stance. Gaara was surprised. She didn't seem to care that she was wearing civilian clothes, a skirt to make it that much more surprising. He only shrugged and nodded. They had begun to use jutsu in their sparring matches now, though he still consciously held himself back from going too hard on her and accidentally hurting her.

For being in a skirt, she was fighting him surprisingly well. Gaara dodged an attack and sighed, knowing it was getting late. "Sakura, we ought to stop for today," his voice cut through the attack she was about to make and she dropped her stance automatically, nodding. She really needed a shower, though her clothes weren't messed in the slightest.

"Alright. I promised Temari I would make her dumplings anyways," Sakura said, shrugging. She stepped towards Gaara and pressed close to him. He transported them to their room and she drew back, though not as quickly as she had former times. She had changed, for the better. Around him at least. She still seemed wary of anyone else.

"How do you do that?" Gaara asked as he grabbed a towel and clean clothes. Sakura did the same. They didn't trust the maids to leave fresh towels in the bathrooms anymore after the second occurrence of missing towels.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, fishing out soft pajama pants and a tank top. She wasn't planning on going anywhere else that night and she wished hell on Temari if she tried to drag her to the bar.

"How do you fight in a skirt?" Gaara asked, pausing near the door. He was on the way to the shower at least. They often procrastinated a shower by talking to each other about their fighting techniques and such. Usually they wouldn't begin dinner until an hour later because they got all caught up in talking.

"I'm a girl. You learn to do things. I practice in civilian clothes so that if I ever have to fight in them I know how to move. You wear your ninja clothes all the time, so you never have to deal with that issue. I act as nurse loads of times and half the time I don't even go out on missions. And, if I do go out on missions, they tend to be undercover. You never know when you're going to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time," Sakura shrugged. She hadn't moved towards the bathroom. Gaara shrugged and opened the door to the hall.

"Thanks for sharing." he left the room and went to the guest bathroom, turning on the shower. He pulled his dusty clothes off and deposited them into the hamper for the maids. He had found out that Sakura never let the maids do her laundry and she had explained to him that she was worried they might ruin them. She had shook her head after and told him it was just her being paranoid. He didn't push it.

Stepping under the spray of the water, he closed his eyes and let the hot water relax his muscles. When the door opened, he perked up and opened his eyes, listening and waiting. The person made soft noises and in a short time, he heard the shower door open behind him. He relaxed his muscles. Sakura had been doing this for the past few days. She would wait for him to get into the shower and then come in.

He felt her small, soft hands on his shoulders and he let himself relax under her touch. She worked on his back methodically, rubbing out all the kinks and knots. He enjoyed this. He didn't really know why she began doing this, but he wasn't about to complain. It felt nice and she was very, very good at it. She stepped away from him and he turned towards her.

Seeing her naked sent a rush through him. The first time he'd seen it, he was sure he was going to faint. It took him by quite a surprise. He hadn't initiated sexual contact, though they still kissed more often than not. It was still new and definitely scary to him. He began to wash her body, his exchange for her rubbing his back, and tried to squash the threatening feelings laying below the surface as he felt her body. She didn't make a noise, simply stared at him and let him do what he will. He methodically washed her hair and lead her under the water to wash the soap away.

Sakura watched as he washed his body and, once he was done, stepped forwards and rested her forehead on his shoulder. Their bodies didn't make contact at any other point. He laid a hand on her shoulder. The first day she'd done this she had cried. The second day she had simply stood there, staring at the water swirl around their feet. Today she did the same. It seemed like she was waiting for something. Slowly, Gaara wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her against his body. The feeling of her against him scent a jolt of lightning through him. He held her tightly and did nothing else. They stood like that for minutes on end, until the water began to run a little colder.

"We should get out," his voice was soft and he was sure he couldn't make it louder if he tried. The feelings she awoke when she did this always caused him to act all sorts of out of place. Sakura only pulled away and nodded, getting out and handing him his towel. They dried off and got dressed in silence. Gaara thought she needed this time to simply let out all her frustrations in a way that wasn't sparring with him. He had thought she wanted something more from him, but he made no move until she did. He was scared of what he had with her and didn't want to ruin it.

"I should go make dinner," she said softly, folding her towel over her arm.

"Sakura."

"Yeah?" she turned, her hand on the door. He took the two steps towards her and pulled her into his arms, tugging the towel from her grip.

"Next time just come with me," he said, planting a kiss on her lips. Sakura flushed and her reaction was a second too slow, kissing him back after a moment's hesitation. He drew back and smirked, throwing the towel into the hamper. She only nodded. "Come on, before my sister knocks down the door for her dumplings," he pulled her out the door. He was somewhat proud that he could surprise her like that. Perhaps it was because what he had with her was new to him and he had never tried his boundaries with a woman like this before.

Sakura stopped lagging behind him after a moment. He settled on the couch while she began dinner. She had finally begun to cook for him and he had to say he was more than satisfied with what she brought to the table every night. It was always very good.

"You don't mind kale, do you?" Sakura asked, pulling things out of the cupboard. She still didn't quite know what he liked, though she was beginning to learn. He usually liked spicy foods and didn't have many foods he disliked, though she always liked to ask and make sure.

"It's fine," he said, resting his head on the arm of the couch. He needed to relax after the day he'd had. Elders and the council and so, so much paperwork. Sakura had been getting better so he'd begun to return to his duties. Temari had rejoiced and run out of his office faster than she had ever had before. He hadn't been able to help the chuckle that had bubbled up his throat. Sakura had begun to cook because she'd noticed how tired he was at the end of the day.

A knock at the door rocked him out of his relaxed state and he groaned. His siblings weren't supposed to come for another half an hour. He began to get up, but Sakura gave him a stern glance and he smiled at her. He thought she acted like a mother hen and it was endearing to say the least. She answered the door for him and his siblings came bursting in, the shy bookkeeper between them.

"Hey Gaara, why are you sitting on your lazy ass and letting Sakura answer the door?" Kankorou asked as he plopped down in an armchair. Temari and Amaya sat on the couch adjacent to Gaara, Temari immediately reaching for the remote to turn something on.

"She didn't let me," Gaara shrugged. Sakura only smirked and went back to her cooking. Kankorou yawned and stretched his feet out on the coffee table. Gaara only rested his back on the arm of the couch.

"See, Sakura, I told you he wasn't going to kill me!" Temari said. It was stupid to say, in Sakura's opinion. She only shook her head.

"Ah, that reminds me," Gaara began to get up.

"Oh, fuck, don't, I'm sorry Gaara, really."

Gaara only chuckled and settled himself back down. "Wake us up again and you won't be so lucky."

"Did you catch them naked?" Kankorou asked, his eyebrows waggling.

"Kankorou!" Amaya said, a blush on her face. Gaara reached up to hit him upside the head, but Sakura was already there, delivering a firm smack that resounded throughout the room. Kankorou yelped and held his head in pain.

"Hey! That wasn't very nice!"

"Don't ask such things and maybe she'll be nicer," Temari said, glowering at her younger brother. Kankorou only shrugged.

"It was a simple question."

"No she did not, but she might the next time she attempts to wake us at ungodly hours," Gaara said, his eyes closed. He didn't miss the way Temari tensed up and he couldn't help but smirk. A delicious aroma began to filter the room Gaara felt the pains of hunger for the first time that day. Sakura's cooking did that to him a lot.

As his siblings began to squabble, he rose from his seat and wandered over to Sakura. He watched her cook for a moment, his mind flitting back to their shower. He frowned and pushed it away. He felt attracted to her, that was for sure, but he didn't like thinking on it too hard. Sakura turned to him and smiled, offering him a glass of juice. He accepted it and took a sip. She always bought strange juices, like pomegranate and cranberry, but he found he liked them after she had him try it.

"Dinner's ready, guys," he said at her nod. She still didn't like speaking openly to them and he could tell she was still a little irate at being woken up so early. She was never in a good mood for the rest of the day when she was woken up early. He'd found that out early on and had made sure to let her sleep as long as possible.

As everyone ate, Gaara found that he couldn't wait to get to bed with Sakura. It had been a long day and he had started it as early as she did. He was sure Sakura was quite tired as well. She only poked at her food while the others ate with gusto, giving her compliments on her cooking. She smiled at them, thanked them, and then went back to poking at her food. She didn't look up at Gaara. Finally, she got up from the table and politely excused herself, dumping her uneaten food in the garbage, and went upstairs.

"Is something wrong with her? She didn't eat at all," Amaya was worried, and rightfully so. Gaara had thought that she quite enjoyed dumplings. He was worried about her, but didn't let his company know that. He only shrugged and finished his plate, placing it in the sink and sitting back down.

"She's probably tired. She doesn't like waking up early, you know." He directed the comment at Temari, his eyes hard. "Sakura likes to go to sleep and wake up at specific times. You probably messed that up for her," he said, not breaking eye-contact.

"Jesus, Gaara, what's with you?" Temari asked, standing up abruptly, her plate falling to the floor and smashing into a hundred pieces, food flying everywhere. "Just because she isn't eating, it's because of me? Have you forgotten about the whole Neji thing?"

"She's gotten over that," Gaara said, his eyes flashing, though he didn't stand as well. He didn't give his sister the satisfaction of seeing him angered. He always kept his voice leveled and never rose to match her stance. She always seemed to grow more infuriated at his actions.

"How do you know? How do you know that she isn't just using you? Send her home or something, I'm so sick of you acting like the world revolves around her." Gaara became angry. His eyes flashed again, though he didn't answer Temari's words. He picked himself up off the table and made his way gracefully to the stairs.

"While she is here, she is in my care. I will protect her from anything, even from herself and even from you. I expect the mess you made to be cleaned up before you leave," Gaara disappeared up the stairs. He found Sakura in their room, reading a book.

"I heard her," she said evenly, taking a bite out of an apple she had apparently brought up from the kitchen. Gaara only nodded and sat beside her, pulling out a book as well. "You're right by the way. She messed up my whole schedule and I've been feeling off all day."

"I know," Gaara said, though her words put his heart at ease. What Temari had said had, indeed, rattled him. Right now, his world revolved around Sakura and it had happened so gradually and easily he hadn't figured out until it had been too late. He couldn't help it. She entranced him. How broken she was. How he had built her back up. How he couldn't get her off his mind now no matter what, and how he had come to enjoy her company instead of tensing and hating her for how she was.

"Will you send me home?" Sakura asked, her voice small.

"No."

"Okay," Sakura put her book down and turned on her side. "Goodnight."

"Oh, hush," he said, tossing his book aside as well. He pulled her onto his chest and held her there. She flushed and pressed her body against his. He closed his eyes. "Goodnight Sakura." He felt her sigh and he smirked.