A/N: Sorry for the slight delay in putting this chapter up, but my best friend's grandfather died on Sunday night, so I was inevitably delayed while I spent some time with him and his family.

On a lighter note, I simply loved all of your reactions towards Maemi! I swear it was priceless. Looks like I got her 'gold digging' personality just right. Hehe.

Alternate title for this chapter: Gaara's confused denial, take #410. xD Hahahaha.

Chapter 4 – Three bowls of ramen

The incessant rain beat down upon the windows of the small flower shop, drowning the only occupant within with its lulling sound, prompting her eyes to become heavy and for her body to assume a comfortable position for a nap on her chair.

With a groan, Ino forced herself to sit up once more, this being the third time she had almost dozed off on the job. Getting up early for the morning shift was something she had never been good at. Thankfully, her turn behind the counter was almost over.

It was Friday already and Hinata had taken the day off for some well deserved rest. This, however, meant that Ino had been left alone in her investigation to find the mysterious red head which had stepped so casually into their shop a couple of days before. Sakura's interest in him had been duly noted and the search for his location had been initiated without a second thought. Once they found out where he was, then they would work from there.

The problem was, try as they might, neither Hinata nor the talkative blond manager had been able to discern the whereabouts of said red head, and even though it had only been two days, Ino was starting to lose hope. Her connections with the nearby business districts were worthy of admiration since she always made a point to treat her clients in a friendly manner and they were always more than happy to reciprocate. So whenever she dropped casual questions, they would always supply easy answers. But it seemed that this time, her trusted resources were going to let her down and the red head's trail was beginning to grow cold.

If it had been anyone else, she wouldn't have been so insisting. But this was Sakura they were dealing with. Ino had at some point made it a personal goal in life to find her friend a trustworthy partner who would sweep her off her feet. The pink haired girl had suffered through her life, especially after her father's death and the lack of financial means that it brought. It wasn't as bad as not having anything to eat at the table, but sometimes her mother had to go through amazing feats to meet her daughter's most basic needs, taking on several jobs at the same time. This all was relieved somewhat when Sakura came of age and started working herself and when her mother found herself a reliable boyfriend almost a decade after her husband had passed away.

She left her house and everything in it to her daughter, leaving the country to go live with her newfound lover. Sakura's mother would insist on sending her pink haired girl some money every once in a while, but her daughter was too proud. Sakura refused to receive any charity from anyone, a proud streak she had inherited from her father, and stated that she was doing fine on her own.

Ino knew all this because she had been the pink haired girl's best friend since childhood and had seen Sakura go through the worse. Even though she had suffered a lot, she would always try to make the best out of any situation, always trying to see the brighter side of things. Sometimes it amazed Ino to see her standing all by herself, strong and solid as stone, throughout the chaos which life would sometimes inevitably bring. Sakura wasn't fazed by much and could look the most nerve-wracking of adversities straight in the eye. But at the same time, she never became bitter or resentful; instead, she would always think of others first before she thought of herself. Ino knew that if anyone deserved to find a man who would make her happy, it was Sakura.

'That's why I need to find this damned red head!' Ino thought fiercely, slamming her fist upon the counter.

Due to her friend's lifestyle, Sakura had always claimed that she didn't have time for men. And judging from her record of idiots, bums and psychopaths, Ino couldn't blame her. It was as if all the notorious males would become instantly attracted to her, something which the blond had never been able to explain. So instead of the much needed comfort and security that Sakura needed from her would-be partner, all she received was neglect and a broken heart. This was also another reason why Ino had decided that she would choose her friend's suitors for her, since if it was left to destiny who knew with what loser she might end up with. Still, for Sakura to show some interest in a man was an opportunity that the blond would not allow to pass by; hence, she needed to find out everything about this mystery visitor so she could make sure that he was worthy of her friend.

But up until now, no one could tell her about the whereabouts of a handsome red headed executive that could posses the initiative to visit a nearby flower shop to buy a bouquet for his mother.

Ino grinded her teeth in frustration as the bells of the entrance suddenly chimed.

"And why do we look so exasperated this afternoon?" Sakura's voice spoke from the vicinity of the door, where she stood shaking her umbrella from any remnants of rain.

"Oh nothing," Ino lied as she quickly thought of something, "I was just thinking about how we could organize ourselves for next week."

"Hmmm yes, we really need to work that out, don't we?" the pink haired girl replied.

"Don't worry, I'll come up with a schedule this weekend," she said, standing up from behind her chair and stretching languidly. "Lee left already, since he needed to do some errands, so the shop's all yours."

"Alright, no problem. I don't expect too many people this afternoon with this weather, so I'm sure I'll able to handle it."

"So what are you doing tonight?" Ino asked.

"Not much," the pink haired girl replied as she stepped behind the counter and placed her things on the lower shelves. "I was actually thinking about renting a movie or something if this rain continues."

"Yeah, it is a bummer," the blond said, looking out the window and staring at the relentless downpour. "A movie might be nice. I'll give you a call then."

"Sure, as long as you bring the popcorn."

Ino laughed. "You can always count on me."

Taking one last look around the shop, the blond turned and grabbed her purse. "Well, I'll be leaving you then."

"You go get some rest," Sakura said as she tied her apron.

"I wish! My mother wants me to go over to her shop for God knows what. I can tell I'm going to be there all afternoon."

The pink haired girl giggled. "Ahh, it can't be that bad."

"You know it is," Ino replied, a defeated look on her face as she stepped towards the door.

"Good luck then," Sakura exclaimed.

"Thanks. See you later," her friend said with a wave as she opened her umbrella and walked out the door towards her car.

Left alone in the shop, Sakura stepped into the back room, intent on getting some flowers for a new window display she had been planning on making. It was only on rare occasions that she would have the shop all to herself and even though she enjoyed the company of her friends, she also liked to work in a quiet atmosphere every so often.

Taking the blooms she needed, she stepped up towards the counter, happy that she would be able to work on her project without any interruptions.

XXXXXXXXXX

He had been wrung tight as a spring these last few days and he didn't know why. As much as Gaara sometimes enjoyed releasing his wrath upon the most unsuspecting victims, it really annoyed him when he couldn't pinpoint the source of his discomfort.

After having gone through the day while frowning incessantly at his monitor, he was glad to know that he only had 45 minutes to go before he could step out. Even though he didn't admit it, he looked forward to the weekend just like everybody else, especially after the trying week he had been forced to live through. Due to the upcoming yearly conference of his company's latest advancements in technology, he had been working extremely hard to make sure that all the merchandise which would be on display at the symposium was the best that Suna Electronics could offer and he had made it a personal task to assign the most competent people to each stand. This meant that he would be leaving the office at 6pm on a Friday, but it was well worth the sacrifice if it meant that his work for next week would be cut in half.

Thankfully, the office was quiet and most people had already left for the day. Temari had actually stepped out earlier than usual, saying that she needed to meet with the people who would be in charge of the decoration for the conference. She had wanted to change the embellishments of the event somewhat, since she hadn't been too happy with last years results, thus, she had supposedly found the best flower specialists in the city for the upcoming event. In all honesty, Gaara didn't care what the decorations looked like as long as the displayed merchandise was in perfect working order. Knowing she could trust him with the most tedious of tasks, his sister was more than happy to concentrate on the flowers.

Flowers…

Stopping the thought even before it formed, the latent annoyance which had bothered him throughout the whole day spiked for a moment. He was unwilling to entertain any useless thoughts that had been trying to creep into his mind concerning a certain flower assistant. The fact that he actually had to make a conscious effort to stop the thoughts was part of the reason why he was in such a vile mood.

Never in his life had he entertained such types of ideas concerning a woman, except from the obvious sexual ones. But instead of the carnal desire which would come whenever he happened to glance at a female who caught his attention, he found himself wanting to wonder how the pink haired assistant was doing and thinking about what plans she might have for tonight.

It was simply and utterly ridiculous… and he hated himself for it.

He didn't even need to analyze the situation rationally to know that he had absolutely no reason to think of her whatsoever. She was a random person he had met, like the hundreds of random people he had encountered in his life and there was no motive for her to stand out from above the rest. It was as simple as that.

Alright, so maybe she was easy to talk to and maybe he had slightly enjoyed her company, but it didn't go beyond that. He enjoyed Maemi's company too, even though it was for completely different reasons, and he didn't find himself constantly entertaining thoughts about the dark haired beauty. It would be stupid to do so.

Ignoring the voice which said that he had had longer conversations in his 20 minutes with the flower assistant than in the four months he had known Maemi, Gaara decided that he needed physical activity to remedy his situation.

If there was something the red head loved, it was working out. Not only was it healthy for him, but it was also a very efficient way to control his constantly explosive emotions while at the same time keeping his body in top condition. When choosing a place to live, he had finally decided on his current apartment because his building offered a free gym and spa service for its tenants on the ground floor. He liked running as well and had tried his skills at martial arts at some point. However, Naruto quickly decided that karate wasn't the best option for him due to his temperamental and impatient ways, even though he had taught Gaara the basics.

Thus, the red head always carried an extra set of exercise clothes in his car since he never knew when the need for venting his anger in a physical manner would arise. After thinking it over for a bit and realizing that the rain had finally stopped, he decided he would go out for a run after work; it would be a great way to try out the new pair of trainers his siblings had bought him for his birthday. There was a nice park with good lighting a few blocks away where he liked to go jogging and it would a perfect place to get rid of his wicked mood.

Content with his decision, he found his mind surprisingly clear and managed to get back to the last few tasks he had to tackle for the day without any further distractions.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was exactly 7pm when Sakura turned the lights off at the shop and locked the door on her way out, her bag and umbrella under her arm. The rain had stopped a couple of hours before but ominous clouds could still be seen hanging low and threatened to renew the downpour at any moment.

Wanting to make it home before they decided to soak the world once more, the pink haired girl started walking immediately, making her way through the numerous puddles on the sidewalk and streets.

She knew she needed to buy something to eat on her way home given that there would practically be no food once she got there. She usually saved her grocery shopping for Saturday mornings, hence, her shelves would be basically empty by Friday night. Thinking over all the cheap options she had, Sakura decided she would stop by a ramen stand near her bus stop. With this cold and wet weather, she needed something warm to heat her up from the inside.

Pulling her long coat tighter over her body, she walked briskly through the city's busy streets. It always seemed that things picked up a faster pace whenever the weekend approached and everyone was in a hurry to get home on a Friday evening. She knew she wasn't the exception and fell easily into the pace her fellow pedestrians were setting.

While waiting for a red light on a street corner, she glanced at the windows of some of the adjacent shops. They were some of the most expensive stores in the business district and whenever she had the chance, Sakura loved to stare at the elegant dresses they would sometimes have on display. Tonight, there was a beautiful navy blue gown sparkling behind the window and the pink haired flower assistant amused herself for a moment while imagining what it might be like to wear the dress to some sort of ball, where she could dance the night away in it.

Chuckling lightly at her clichéd antics, she crossed the street with the rest of the crowd waiting for the light and arrived at one of the corners of a relatively large park. Her bus stop was located on the other side and crossing it was the most direct route to get there.

As she walked through the well lit stone paths adorning the park, Sakura realized she was getting very hungry. She had had an early lunch and hadn't eaten anything since. Thus, she decided that if the change in her wallet allowed for it, she might even buy two bowls of ramen, saving one for when she got home. Smiling at the idea, she picked up her pace as she crossed the small bridge above the park pond and spotted the ramen stand some distance away on the sidewalk behind some trees.

With her goal in sight, she turned in its direction and started to traverse a wide paved square with benches and lamps situated all around it. This was the place where people loved to come and feed the pigeons which would conglomerate by the hundreds during the day. But since it was night time, there wasn't a bird in sight thankfully and Sakura could cross the open area without any problems.

But when she had taken a few steps on the pavement, her emerald eyes widened in shock at the sight which greeted her across the way, stopping her dead in her tracks.

There, standing casually in front of a bench, stood the gorgeous red head which had given her a ride home a couple of days ago, looking like if he had just finished with some exercises, hair damp and skin glistening slightly with sweat. The gray tank top he was wearing revealed the corded muscles of his arms as he stretched while the black soccer-style trunks he was wearing reached just above his knees, leaving his legs deliciously exposed. Sakura knew that the way his calves flexed when he moved had to be a sin. To make things worse, he suddenly turned his back to her and lifted his arms above his head as he continued with his stretching, giving her an ample view of his muscled back and his nicely defined rear.

If this was how he looked in the dark, she wondered what his appearance in his current attire would be like in the full light of the sun.

Cheeks blushing at her thoughts, Sakura resumed her walking at a slower pace, her heart hammering in her chest while she tried to fight the hysterical fit of nervous laughter which was threatening to come to the surface. She didn't know if she should approach him or not since he seemed completely absorbed in what he was doing. Either way, she didn't think she would be able to utter a single coherent word if she were to walk up to him. But at the same time, she didn't want to miss an opportunity to interact with him.

In the end, her nerves got the best of her and when she got nearer, her feet decided to walk in a different direction and she passed a distance away from where he was standing. Sakura cursed her sudden cowardice and could only hope that he hadn't seen her or else he would know that she had blatantly ignored him.

Finally reaching the sidewalk, she started looking for her wallet inside her bag as she approached the ramen stand. Sighing deeply, she knew she would regret her decision to walk past the red head for the rest of the weekend.

XXXXXXXXX

The smell of vanilla suddenly wafted through the air and his muscles instantly tensed. His immediate reaction to the aroma stunned him completely and he thought he was imagining things. But as the scent persisted in reaching him on a slight breeze, Gaara whipped his head around as he searched his surroundings.

It didn't take long to find her. Her pink hair was unmistakable.

Apparently, she had walked nearby without noticing him and she now had her back turned to him as she made her way towards a food stand on the side of the street. He saw her looking inside her bag for something and she pulled her wallet out as she advanced towards the counter of the ramen place.

His instincts took over and his body reacted without hesitation, heading in her direction hurriedly before he could even formulate a rational thought.

Reaching her in mere moments, he came to a stop when he was only a few steps away and he decided to observe her for an instant. She was looking through her wallet while a frown was starting to cover her pretty face.

"What'll it be, sweetheart?" the man of the food stand asked with a smile.

"Well, I was thinking about buying two bowls but it seems that my money decided to desert me," she said dejectedly while showing the man the almost empty contents of her wallet, "so I'll have the vegetarian bowl please."

Gaara instantly noticed that it was the cheapest dish on the menu.

Something inside him snapped and an unfamiliar feeling surged within him. Before he could even think about what he was doing, he pulled out a bill from one of the pockets of his trunks and stepped forward. "Make that three bowls. Add two beef bowls to the order and make one to go. I assume she'll be taking it home."

"Yes sir," the man replied with a smile, taking Gaara's bill without thinking about it twice.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked in astonishment, forgetting to greet him in her surprise.

"Buying you dinner", the red head replied in a leveled tone.

"But why?" she asked in confusion.

Gaara was about to reply that he had witnessed the fact that she didn't have enough money to buy ramen, one of the cheapest foods you could acquire in the city, but he abruptly decided against it. There was a spark in her eyes which said that her pride would be terribly hurt if he told her the truth.

So, for the first time in his entire life, he lied to protect another person's feelings.

"Because I saw you walk by. Is my company not good enough for you to share a quick meal with me?" he asked in a gruff tone, easily pretending to be angry.

"No, no, of course not," Sakura replied, lifting her hands in a pacifying gesture. The last thing she wanted was to witness his ignited temper. "I would love to have dinner with you."

Jade eyes looked at her in slight surprise at her affirmation but swiftly turned away. Silence fell over them as they waited for their food to be ready, neither one making a move to speak.

After the initial shock of his sudden appearance started to die down, Sakura realized just how truly close he was as he stood there next to her and her heart threatened to explode with its frantic beat. It was so loud that she was sure that Gaara would be able to hear it. She could smell the sweat on body, but surprisingly she didn't mind. There was an underlying scent which his skin was emanating, something terribly masculine, and she could barely prevent herself from closing her eyes to enjoy it fully.

But she mind slapped herself effectively, refusing to act out the part of a love-sick little girl. It wouldn't do to seem desperate.

Despite the fact that Gaara had been the one to initiate contact, he wasn't making any efforts to talk to her and from what she could tell he was making his best attempt to pretend that she wasn't there. But she was aware that this was the way his personality worked since it had happened before while she rode in his car. Forcing herself to keep calm, Sakura knew it would be up to her to engage him in conversation.

"So," she said, finally breaking the silence while fidgeting with her fingers, "what are you doing around here?"

"Jogging," he stated simply without looking at her.

"Oh," she replied. "This late?"

"I usually do so after work. I had to leave the office later than usual today."

"I see," Sakura said. "And do you come to this park often?"

"Yes."

"Do you get harassed by the pigeons?"

Gaara turned to look at her then, genuine surprise in his jade eyes. Inwardly he smiled, realizing that this was one of the things he liked about her. Her randomness always managed to catch him off guard.

"Sometimes," he answered, no hint of his thoughts filtering through his façade.

"Urrgh, I get harassed every day!" she exclaimed while shaking her head.

He looked at her curiously, the silent question in his eyes urging her to continue.

"My bus stop is just over there," she stated while pointing along the sidewalk, "so I have to walk through this park to get to work every day. It doesn't matter how early it is, the damned birds are always there and since there's usually no one feeding them so early in the morning, they tend to charge at me."

If he had been any other person, he would have laughed at her statement, picturing the ridiculous scene she was describing. Even so, he found himself half smiling at her words and he noticed that the latent discomfort which had annoyed him all day was suddenly gone. Why was she having this effect on him?

"Here you go," the man behind the counter said as he handed them two bowls and a bag. "The third bowl's been packed for you."

"Thank you," Sakura said as she took her vegetarian ramen and the paper bag. She looked around for a second. "Let's sit over there," she told Gaara.

Looking up to the place she was referring to, he took his own bowl and walked over to a bench located on the edges of the park's grassy areas. They settled down and started eating, the steam from the bowls rising visibly in the night's air.

Sakura sat indian style on the bench, slightly turned towards Gaara. She blew on the hot ramen and proceeded to stir it with her chopsticks. As the red head started eating, she couldn't help but notice how his biceps flexed when he brought the noodles to his mouth. Sakura swore that she would be able to watch him eat all evening and never get bored.

Turning her eyes away before she could embarrass herself, the pink haired girl decided to focus on the bowl before her. The food tasted like heaven to her hungry stomach and she could feel the heat of the ramen starting to permeate through her body.

"This is so good," she commented. "You have no idea how hungry I was."

Gaara grunted in agreement. Taking this as a good sign, Sakura kept talking.

"I knew I wouldn't have anything to eat back home so making a pit stop at the ramen stand was a must."

"Why wouldn't you have any food at home?" Gaara asked, turning to look at her. The strange feeling from before returned and he didn't like it.

"Oh, I save my grocery shopping for Saturday mornings so I don't have anything in my shelves by Friday, except food for the cat," she said with a chuckle.

Gaara simply nodded, the bizarre feeling lessening with her explanation but it didn't disappear altogether.

They continued to eat in companionable silence, each one enjoying the quiet company of the other, the pink haired girl offering casual comments every so often. When the ramen was finished and the plastic bowls discarded in a nearby trash can, Sakura realized that it was getting late. Even though it was relatively safe, she didn't particularly enjoy walking the few blocks from the place where the bus left her to her house during the late hours of the night.

"Well, it's getting late and I really should get going," she said with a smile.

Jade eyes turned to look at her and she was suddenly taken aback by the intensity of his stare. Hopefully the shadows of the lamps would hide the sudden blush which she felt creeping across her cheeks.

Not knowing why, what she perceived in those eyes gave her courage and she leaned forward towards the red head and placed her hand over his.

"Thanks for dinner, I really appreciate it," she said happily, squeezing his fingers affectionately.

Gaara wasn't at all prepared for the physical contact and when he felt the careful grasp of her digits, he felt an uncharacteristic warmth spread through his arm and down the rest of his body. His eyes looked down towards their joined hands and he seemed unable to look away as a jumble of feelings and thoughts surged through him.

But before he could regain any sense of order in his mind or his body, Sakura pulled away with a shout.

"Damn! There's my bus! I really have to run cause this driver never stops for long."

Gaara looked up and saw the blue and white bus coming to a halt at the edge of the sidewalk.

"Bye Gaara, hope to see you soon!" she exclaimed with a smile as she jumped to her feet while grabbing her things, racing away towards the bus stop and shouting at the driver to wait. He saw her fumble with her purse again as she looked for some change and as she stepped up into the bus, she turned round and waved enthusiastically at him.

He felt his hand lift and wave back before he could even comprehend what he was doing.

The vehicle started moving and he saw her walk down the aisle towards a seat near the back. The bus then turned a corner and was suddenly gone.

And just like that, she had left him sitting on a park bench with an inner turmoil so great, he didn't know which way was up. Oddly enough he wasn't angry, which was extremely unusual for him. Instead, he felt confused and slightly content, as if the encounter he had just experienced had been significant in some good way but he wasn't exactly sure how.

He sat there for a long while in contemplation, staring at the corner where the bus had turned and only noticing that he had lingered overlong when a cold drop of rain fell upon his arm, followed by another few. Standing up, Gaara made his way hurriedly towards his car, which was parked on the other side of the park.

The red head walked absently through the stone paths, barely noticing the growing rain, his mind elsewhere, completely lost in thoughts of a pink haired woman. Try as he might, he knew that she would linger in his mind for the rest of the night.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Here's your popcorn," Ino sang while raising her arms as Sakura opened her door.

"I'm glad you could make it," she replied, while taking the bag from her friend.

The blond stepped inside, placing her purse on the living room's coffee table. "Looks like this damned rain won't leave us alone. I can't believe it started again."

"I know! I didn't make it back home in time to avoid it," Sakura replied with a chuckle as she headed towards the kitchen, intent on placing the popcorn in the microwave so they could sit down to watch the movie she had rented.

Ino stepped into the kitchen, eyeing her friend suspiciously. Sakura had always been a happy person and she would exude cheerfulness like a bulb radiated light… but there was an extra kick to that optimism tonight. This could only mean that something good had come her way and Ino had an inkling that it was something related to the opposite sex.

"Sakura, did something happen tonight?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

"No, why do you ask?" the pink haired girl said while taking a pair of glasses from her cupboard.

"I don't know, you seem overly cheery this evening," Ino said, coming closer and narrowing her eyes at her friend.

Sakura laughed as if to shake the whole thing off but the truth was that she found her best friend's accurate perceptions eerie sometimes. As much as she loved Ino, she really didn't want to tell her about Gaara yet. The blond always had a way of pressuring Sakura into making a move on the guys she liked and would suck Sakura dry with an intense interrogation to find out what they were like. She wanted to keep the red head as her little secret for the time being, at least until she managed to analyze her situation better.

But she also hated lying to her friend. In an attempt at a compromise, Sakura settled for a half truth.

"Well, if you must know, I didn't have enough money to buy some extra ramen tonight. So when I was at the stand, a really nice man offered to buy it for me."

"Was he handsome?" Ino's blue eyes lit up at the question.

'Handsome would be an understatement,' Sakura thought. "Yeah, he was ok," she said out loud.

"And did anything else happen?" her friend insisted.

"No, I thanked him and talked to him for a while and then I went on my way," she replied.

"Oh, I see," Ino said somewhat disappointed.

"Sorry I didn't have any more juicy details for you," the pink haired girl said with a laugh.

Ino simply sighed in resignation while rolling her eyes.

"What do you want to drink?" Sakura asked while opening her fridge. "There isn't much. We have apple juice, water or diet cola."

"I'll go for the apple juice, thanks."

The blond proceeded to take the popcorn out of the microwave and emptied the bag into a bowl while her friend served two full glasses of apple juice.

"Let's go," Sakura said as she walked out of the kitchen and turned off the light.

They made their way upstairs to the small TV room just outside Sakura's bedroom. Settling themselves amongst some cushions on the carpet, the two friends got ready to enjoy the movie.

"What did you get?" Ino asked while Sakura placed the movie into an old DVD player.

"Oh, some sort of romantic comedy. It came out recently and the guy at the video place said it was really good."

"Romance?" the blond asked with a laugh, knowing that her friend preferred detective films or dramas, movies which forced to think. "Something did happen to you!"

Sakura's response came in the form of a cushion slamming into Ino's face.

Aren't casual encounters weird? I mean, I've had loads of them happen to me all through my life but whenever they do, they never cease to amaze me.

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