A/N- Well here is the next one, hope that this gives a little more insight into what's happening. Enjoy.
Drowning
"Oh come on" Sakura complained with a giggle as Naruto continued to tell Hinata a story about how Sakura had gotten them arrested for breaking into the pool after hours. She smiled brightly running her hand through the locks of pink hair falling over her eyes as she scanned the people around them. The patio of the diner was decently full for a Tuesday afternoon; people everywhere living their lives.
"It was her fault" Sasuke said adding his opinion as he sent an e-mail from his blackberry.
"I know" Naruto agreed with a smile his arm wrapped around Hinata sweetly. She smiled at him as he placed a kiss on her forehead, her pale eyes gleaming as she giggled under her breath. Sakura smiled over at them, watching the way Naruto whispered in her ear and hugged her close to him. He had veered away from people in high school after his parents died; he came to live with Sakura which helped him move on but he chose to be concealed in school; which was probably why Gaara had been so close with him. Sakura watched as Naruto's phone danced across the glass surface of the table playing the irritating ring tone that comes standard on every cell. She rolled her eyes and thanked the waitress that had suddenly appeared with their drinks placing them down in front of them.
"Don't you think you should put your phone away dear?" Sakura asked sweetly leaning over to whisper quietly to her husband.
"Do not tell me what to do" he replied darkly grasping her hand tightly under the table. Sakura could feel his grip tight on her arm; feel the tears burn her eyes as he brought her close to his face.
"I was just saying maybe you should pay attention to the people we're with Sasuke, you always do this when we go out for lunch or dinner" Sasuke's dark obsidian eyes bore holes into her skin as he pulled tighter on her arm.
"Don't talk back to me Sakura" she knew it was a threat he didn't need to voice the threat she just knew that he was giving her, her one and only warning. She knew that since she'd been with Gaara her fear of Sasuke had begun to fade slightly, before Gaara she never would have thought about voicing her opinions to her husband. He let her arm fall sitting back up to gaze over his phone acting as if they had simply had a conversation quietly while Naruto was on the phone. Sakura smiled across the table at Hinata keeping her hand in her lap under the smooth surface of the table. She could see the bruise beginning to form; the skin around her wrist turning a darker pigment then it had been.
"Yeah alright" Naruto was saying with a smile; "We're out on the patio come join us" Sakura didn't care anymore who was joining them, she could feel her mind trailing quickly down a path she didn't like.
"Hey" Sakura could feel her body react immediately; she hadn't heard that voice in almost 3 weeks but her body always acted the same. Her mind imagining her name flowing off the lips of the beautiful tanned man that she was please to call her lover; remembering how it fell to be taken on his mahogany desk. She looked up to see Gaara pulling a chair up and sitting beside her with ease his red hair styled the way he always did. She could feel the blush find her cheeks as her mind took his clothing off and kissed him so passionately.
"Hey" Naruto said with a smile waving his hand to get the waiters attention; "Could you get our friend something to drink please"
"You don't have to Naruto" Gaara said in his cool lucid voice that shook her system to the core. She let her eyes fall to the ground as her mind ran wild. Gaara smiled saying hello to everyone realizing how quiet Sakura had become; in their time sleeping together they had been in the company of people and been fine hiding their affair.
"Sakura" she looked up at her husband not noticing how lost in her train of thought she'd gotten. She smiled mumbling an apology as she greeted Gaara allowing her free hand to lie on top of the fresh marks on her fair skin.
"How is work Gaara? I hear you work closely with my wife" Sasuke said with a friendly smile as he clearly tried to get a rise out of Gaara. "A lot like in school if I remember correctly"
"That's right you and Sakura were quite close" Naruto added thoughtfully as Gaara glanced over at the pink haired beauty. She smiled back softly moving her sweater to lie over her wrist as the group continued to chat.
"She was my tutor" he said bluntly his green orbs catching Sasuke's gaze and holding it. "Work is good but I don't see Sakura much she tends to work with my assistant and the technicians" he thanked the waitress with a sweet smile looking up at her. Sakura could see the way he blindly mesmerized women with his attitude, they always thought he was so beautiful.
"That's right" Sasuke smiled placing his hand on her thigh lightly with a smile, he was possessive and everyone knew it. Sakura could remember sitting in the library one rainy afternoon with Gaara, they were supposed to be drawing some sketches for science.
The lilacs were in bloom and the windows were open allowing for the outside scents to flow in on the waves of wind. The smell of damp grass and fresh water wasn't something that was easily forgotten, not to mention the honey scented cologne Gaara wore.
They'd been sharing in each other's company, enjoying the silence together; watching the way he could get so lost in his drawing was magical in her eyes. She envied him for being able to forget where he was or how shity life had become and just draw the things as he saw them.
"Oh come on" she said quietly with a smile; "Show me" Sakura leaned across the table trying to get a glimpse of the sketch. She smiled internally as he covered it with his are the muscles bulging slightly as he moved.
"Be patient" his voice was smooth as he winked at her his red locks falling over his bright emerald eyes as he moved his attention back to the book in front of him. He could see the world in a way not many people could and she envied that, envied that he was so talented and for a nerd, he wasn't ugly. She watched the way his pencil danced across the paper like it was being guided by a force of nature and not a young teen.
"Gaara" she whined reaching across the table to poke him with her pen her hair falling over her face as she moved.
"You know for a tutor and an honor roll student, you're really impatient" he laughed with a large smile; "Here" Sakura watched as he spun the book around so that she could see it. She stared at his sketch book without taking a breath as her eyes roamed over the piece of art. Staring back at her was the most life-like picture she'd ever seen, it was like looking into a mirror. The women in the sketch was sitting at a desk drawing a picture of a flower, her hair cascading down over her shoulder as the sunlight danced across her flesh.
"Gaara" she could barely find her voice as she look at the sketch so vivid and alive; "It's beautiful"
"I'm glad you like it" he said in a low voice; "I smudged the line over here by accident but I managed to save the drawing by adding it into your hair shading" she moved in to gaze at the section he was pointing out their faces mere inches from each other. She could smell him; feel his warm breath hitting her face. Gaara looked up at her their noses brushing as they gazed into the green eyes other the other, Sakura could feel her body tensing feel her insides twisting as he moved closer. She could feel the softness of his lips as they touched her own feel his hand sliding along her cheek as he deepened the kiss.
She'd never thought about how it would feel to be kissed by Gaara, he was so cool and collected all the time, he never gave into impulses. She could feel his lips moving against hers as they kissed in the late afternoon sun, their bodies leaned across the top of the library tables.
"Sakura" her insides burned as he spoke her name so softly, the way he stroked her cheek and looked into her eyes with passion.
"Gaara we can't do this" she whispered feeling her heart fall as the words came off of her lips. She moved to sit back away from him looking at him fully for the first time. She didn't think she could want anyone other than Sasuke until now.
"Why"
"What are you doing with my girlfriend" Sakura could see Gaara clench his teeth together as Sasuke rounded the corner with his posy of bullies. She could feel the look of shock on her face as her breath stopped.
"We were just talking about how you're going to grow up to be an abusive bastard" Gaara smirked feeling his anger boiling beneath his skin.
"Gaara" Sakura could feel her fear bubbling up as Sasuke's fist ht him clean in the face, blood getting onto the sketch.
"What was that" Sasuke held Gaara to the table as he whispered in his ear. Sakura was wishing that they had sat in the front of the library rather than the back where no one could see or hear them. Wishing that she had chosen to do something else, something that wouldn't get Gaara hurt just for being around her.
"You heard me" he replied darkly as the blood flowed freely from his split lip onto the dark surface of the table.
"Sasuke stop this" Sakura yelled hoping to get the attention of someone, hearing as other students began to crowd hoping to see the fight.
"Stay away from my girl" Sasuke said into Gaara's ear; "Next time you won't be so lucky" Sakura could feel the guilt wash over her as Sasuke stood up and brushed his shirt off. "Let's go" she could hear the demand in his voice as he looked into her with those obsidian eyes, crushing the little happiness left in her soul. Sakura leaned down over the tabled to gather her book catching Gaara's eye as she looked back towards where Sasuke had begun to walk away.
"That is why…" she said her voice falling her as the tears began to flow from her eyes, "I am so sorry" she whispered before hastily moving after Sasuke.
"Well I have to be getting back to the office dear. I will see you later tonight" Sakura snapped her head up as Sasuke pulled her out of the memory she'd been thinking about. She smiled and nodded her head watching as he got up and moved off the patio. She could hear Naruto and Gaara talking about something, not that she really cared much what it was.
"Hey Naruto" she interrupted; "Can you watch my stuff I need to use the bathroom"
"Yeah" he smiled back as Sakura stood and headed inside the diner. Gaara's eyes followed her as she moved, she looked unhappy and he knew it. She was so easy for him to read, she always had been.
"Will this all be one bill" Gaara turned to see the waitress again, the one that had been watching him so closely since she'd arrived.
"Yes" Gaara said quickly pulling out his credit card and handing it to her before Naruto had the chance to complain. Gaara smiled as Naruto gave him that look that said he didn't like it. Gaara just laughed and followed the waitress to the till ignoring Naruto who was now trying ot argue with him.
Sakura could feel her head pounding as she stared at herself in the mirror see the smudged makeup as the tears ran down her face. She didn't like feeling afraid and she liked showing her fear to people even less. Everyone assumed that Sasuke had changed since high school, and in many ways he had. She still had fears though, still worried what he would do to her if he knew all the things she did. She couldn't help it, as numb as she had become in the past few years her fear still grasped her slowly crushing her heart. She was so sure that he loved her; she knew he did and nothing was going to come between that. Sakura sucked in a long cold breath as she fixed herself in the mirror she knew that she needed to get back before someone got suspicious.
Sakura pushed the door open her eyes falling onto the man who haunted her dreams at night, his beauty impeccable. He smiled leaning against the wall just outside the bathroom watching as she approached him.
"What are you doing" she asked in a hushed voice watching the ways his eyes drank her in. Her hair was clipped up and he could see her eyes, the redness surrounding them.
"I haven't seen you in over 3 weeks, is everything ok" she could feel her stomach do a flip as he spoke, she could almost say she hated the way her body reacted to him.
"Yeah I've just been really busy" she mumbled looking out at the people passing by.
"When will I see you" he asked plainly, the playfulness slowly seeping away from him as he spoke to her.
"I don't know Gaara" she said darkly regretting it the moment it left her lips, she could see it hit him like a slap to the face. "I'm sorry" she whispered as she turned to walk away she hated feeling like he was going to her hurt. This wasn't high school any longer and she was sure that all the threats on his life would be a lot more realistic now that they were older.
"Wait Sakura" she could feel the pain shoot up her arm as he grabbed her wrist trying to get her to turn around. She could feel her head spin as Gaara caught her holding her up while she regained her thought process. Gaara held her wrist softy as he looked over it his eyes scanning the dark bruise.
"Gaara Don't" she mumbled trying to pull away without hurting herself.
"Did he do this to you" she could hear the seriousness in his voice as he looked at her watching the way the green in her eyes swirled.
"I fell at home. It's not a big deal" she smiled flakily hoping that he would drop it, hoping he wouldn't ask her to tell the truth.
"Sakura it's clearly a handprint!" he could feel his anger rising as he look at the mark. "Sakura did he do this" he asked more sternly holding her tightly. She'd never been held so tight but so soft before she met him.
"Gaara I'm ok I promise ill…." She didn't expect him to kiss her, to hold her face softly kissing her smoothly.
"I wish you would stop lying to me" he whispered his breath dancing over her face as he spoke. She could see the look in his eyes, that same look he gave her that day in the library. "Let me save you"
"Gaara…" Sakura could feel that swelling in her chest the swelling that happened when he spoke her name or kissed her softly, ways her husband never would.
"Sakura" they could hear Hinata from around the corner as he left placed her feel firmly on the ground holding her hand as he look at her. He made sure there was space between them as Hinata rounded the stone corner looking at them with obvious shock on her face.
"So you drop off the paperwork on Monday and ill make sure that it all gets finished" he said with a smile ensuring that her hand was hidden behind his leg as he talked to Sakura in a business fashion; masking their true intent.
"Were ready to go" Hinata said cautiously her eyes veering away from the scene. She was so innocent, Sakura could only guess that she was suspicious but kept quiet because she didn't want the attention or drama.
"Alright" Sakura said with a smile. "I'll drop that off sometime Monday, maybe Tuesday" Sakura said back to Gaara before moving away from him to follow Hinata feeling as her hand fell out of his. He knew that he couldn't protect her unless she wanted him to; until she decided it was time to get out. Sadly he knew that by the time that came, it would probably be too late. He closed the door with a gentle kick as he entered his apartment heading to his closet. He tossed his shirt into the basket gazing at the decorated wall of the spacious walk in closet, seeing the sketch with tiny blood stains on the edge. He smiled sadly to himself as he thought about the cheerful girl she'd been in high school, how full of life her eyes had been back then. Before her fears had taken her over and held her under the water, pulling her deeper and deeper into the dark as the years progressed.