Author's Note: This is a short one, but hopefully it puts across what I wanted it to. (I'm not telling what that is, I'm gonna wait and see if anyone picks up on it!) There's one more to go after this, and it will be a nice long one so... (she gives a thumbs up)
Disclaimer: As much as I'd love to, I don't own these characters, Masashi Kishimoto does.
Gaara waved over his shoulder as he paid for the three little pubs of ice-cream, smiling slightly as Kankuro and Temari shoved each other into the little booths, urging each other to hurry up before Gaara's treat melted. They'd been satisfyingly astounded when Gaara knew what flavours they liked, ordering them before they even had a chance to argue and now, they were both hurrying to change out of their wetsuits. No easy task, even if you were taking your time.
Placing the strawberry pot beside him and the chocolate across from that, Gaara sat down at the little picnic bench outside the kiosk to wait. He picked at his mint flavoured ice-cream thoughtfully, with a happy feeling settling into his chest. He was beginning to recognise the kindling glow which kindness breathed into his body, and he was relieved that he could garner it from his siblings also. It would make things much more bearable when they eventually returned to their Clifton home.
Gaara felt his happy little bubble pop unexpectedly. He didn't want to go home, he was honestly enjoying himself in this quaint little village. He knew that it had a lot to do with his new blonde friend, but he refused to admit that it was anything more than that, even as the bubble began to swell within him once more as he recalled for the umpteenth time that morning, their escapade last night.
So lost in thought was he, that until she cleared her throat, Gaara didn't notice the girl standing awkwardly on the other side of the table.
The pink haired girl shifted on her feet, eyeing the seat in front of her. "D'you mind if I talk to you for a minute?" She asked. Gaara, who was slightly wary of this woman he knew to have a formidable temper, motioned to the seat across from him politely, dipping his head. She swung her legs around the bench and clasped her hands in front of her, seeming to gather her thoughts.
Gaara wondered what the girl could possibly want, but he waited patiently, staring at her with a blank expression until she finally began to speak.
"It's Gaara, right?"
Gaara nodded, then said, "I'm sorry, but I don't know your name."
She seemed surprised, her pink eyebrow arching as she asked, "Naruto and Sai never talked about me?"
"Well, yes." Gaara admitted, but his face showed none of the shame he should have felt when he added, "But Sai only referred to you as Naruto's 'ugly friend.'"
A vein pulsed in the woman's forehead before she quickly cleared her throat again to cover up the reaction. Gaara glanced over at the changing stalls across the little street which led directly onto the beach, hoping Kankuro, at least, would be done soon and would be able to back him up if this woman lost it.
Smiling sweetly, she told him, "My name's Sakura."
Gaara politely held out a hand to Naruto's friend and forced a little smile onto his face. "Pleased to meet you, Sakura."
He wasn't sure if she could tell how much he doubted his own words, but she shook his hand and smiled more normally. "You, too. I'm uh... sorry about what happened at the services. I was a little surprised you see."
Gaara shook his head, hoping she'd accept his uncertain forgiveness. He wasn't completely sure if he was comfortable with this woman yet. She didn't make any threatening movements though, in fact she sighed and her posture seemed to relax a little at his gesture.
"Would you mind if I explained myself?" She asked seriously. "It's important… for Naruto's sake."
He didn't really care what Sakura had to say for herself, but he shrugged his shoulders and said, "By all means," picking at his ice-cream again.
Sakura took a deep breath and Gaara glanced up at her curiously.
"Has Naruto told you what he does?" She asked unexpectedly. Gaara nodded.
"He said he's studying to work in social care."
"Right, and what else?"
Gaara frowned. "He said he helps out at a nursing home three nights a week, and when he's not doing that, he's studying or visiting his friends."
"Hm. That's all true, but he doesn't just visit his friends you know."
Gaara's frown deepened. "What do you mean?"
"He's like a therapist for them. Naruto goes out of his way to help people improve their lives, whatever the cost on his own time… and his own emotions."
That sounded like the sort of thing Gaara could imagine Naruto doing, so he nodded, inviting Sakura to carry on.
"We works himself silly. He never gives himself time to recover from all the studying and the work and the therapy. He's been digging himself into a hole for years, and I'm worried about him. He's been losing sleep, he's not eating as much… And yet he still excels at school, he still gets tonnes of praise from the care home managers and his friends continue to live happy lives." She dropped her head guiltily. "Myself included. It's just... too much pressure for one person."
"Do you have any idea how little Naruto looks after himself?" She asked him gently. Gaara's heart was sinking with dread as he slowly shook his head.
"He hides it from us." She continued, "Because that's the kind of selfless person he is. He doesn't want us to worry about him. He wants us to be happy."
She leaned forward, her eyes begging for Gaara to understand. "But I want him to be happy. He's done so much for all of us, he deserves to be the happiest man there's ever been!"
"I understand all of this," Gaara said quietly, "But what does it have to do with what happened at the services?"
A slideshow of expressions flashed across Sakura's face. Guilt, shame, admiration, fear… But Gaara couldn't pinpoint any in particular and in a moment, her face became serious again.
"I was concerned," She began, "That you would turn out to be another Sai… someone who Naruto would devote all his time and effort to, for months on end. I brought Naruto on this holiday so he could relax, have some "me-time" but I was concerned, when he met you, that he'd end up doing exactly the same thing here, with you, that he did back home with everyone else."
Why do I get the feeling that I'm repeating myself? She thought with a tinge of irritation.
Gaara stared into his ice-cream pot, a knot of doubt beginning to tie itself around his bubble of happiness, constricting it. What Sakura said made sense, but it made him afraid that he was only adding to Naruto's problems. He recognised how happy the blonde was making him, but... Was he really making Naruto happy, too?
"I saw Naruto last night, after he got back." Sakura said with a little smile. "He was completely dazed, I've never seen him like that before." Curiously, she leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with the anticipation of hearing some new gossip. "What did you do?"
"What did I do?" Gaara repeated softly, wondering how much Naruto would want the woman to know. Or, judging by the look in her eyes, how much Naruto wanted everyone she knew to know. Deciding to play it safe, Gaara leaned back, away from Sakura's curious eyes and said equally as softly,
"Nothing, really. We just talked."
"What about?"
Gaara gave her an irritated glance, letting her know she was being intrusive. "Stuff."
Gaara almost smirked at the disappointment which swept across Sakura's face. It looked like she'd realised she wasn't going to get any information out of him, and he suddenly pitied Naruto, who was bound to get the full brunt of her interrogation later.
"Listen, Gaara... I can see you're a nice guy. Sai was right about you." She smiled genuinely. "And I can see how you're affecting Naruto. Now that I've explained to you why I was worried, I hope you're not too confused when I say I take it all back."
Gaara was confused, but he politely shook his head, watching her until she continued.
"You see... I'm not worried about it anymore, because... Naruto's not acting like he did when he found out about Sai or Neji or Sasuke or any of the others... He's not... excited about how he's going to help you."
Again, she leaned forward, and Gaara could see the sincerity in her green eyes when she said,
"He's excited... about you."
"Me?..." Gaara's blank facade slipped from him, replaced by an expression which was the very picture of vulnerability, confusion and disbelief. Sakura's smile widened with genuine friendliness when she saw his barriers drop away. He really was a sweet guy.
Gaara couldn't process what the pink haired girl had just said, and after a moment, he assumed that she meant he was excited about seeing him, about being his friend and going out with him. The wording of that last thought brought a flush of warmth to his cheeks and he jerked his head to the side to hide it from the girl who he knew was watching him closely. I didn't mean it like that!
He frowned at the girl again when she giggled, and she smirked a little as she said cryptically, "It looks like Sai was right about more than one thing." Gaara's frown deepened and she winked at him, getting gracefully to her feet just as Gaara spotted Kankuro and Temari emerging from across the road. He waved to them, and Sakura glanced over her shoulder at the approaching teens before leaning back over the table and whispering urgently,
"Just promise me you'll make him happy?"
Gaara smiled, bowing his head as he replied honestly, "I'll do all I can."
Sakura grinned, and after a light, grateful squeeze of Gaara's hand, she quickly walked away.
"Who was that?" Temari asked as they approached the table, eyeing the retreating back of the pink haired stranger with a defensive stare. Kankuro looked as if he wanted to ask the same, but the way he watched her walking away showed a very different motivation.
"I'll tell you in a minute." Gaara said, finally placing a spoonful of ice-cream into his mouth and using the empty spoon to point at the tubs beside him. "But first, you'd better eat that."
Author's Note: I'll get started on the last chapter soon, and I'll check it meticulously to make sure it's as good as I can possibly make it! Thanks for reading and thank you for the reviews! They make my day every time ^-^ xx
