A/N: Thank you to TipsyRaconteur and cosipotente for being the best betas in the world.


Sakura crawled out of bed slowly, placing the pillow she'd hugged to her chest-the one that smelled like Gaara-back in its rightful place, chewing on her lower lip as an embarrassed flush rose on her cheeks. She moved to the coffee pot, flipping the switch to turn it on and then stretching her arms over her head to crack her back. Her eyes squeezed shut as she felt her muscles pull in just the right way, and smiled when she realized that this was the most refreshed she'd felt after waking up in a very long time, possibly since coming to Suna.

She pulled the curtains covering the balcony doors to the side and quickly unlocked them with her chakra, a frown pulling at her lips as she realized that it was already after dusk. She had assumed that Gaara wouldn't wake her up early for training after what had happened yesterday, but him waiting this long was definitely new.

Sakura turned to go back into her room when she noticed something eerie about the streets of Suna below her window. Or rather, it was something she didn't notice that sent a strange chill down her spine. The village was silent. Normally, she would be able to hear voices and movement from the next district over as people went about their night, but there was nothing.

She frowned and closed the balcony doors behind her, locking them before heading to the bathroom to grab a shower and get dressed. The sooner she got ready for the day, the sooner she could go ask Gaara what was going on.

It didn't take her long to get ready, and when she dressed she chose to forgo her thigh bindings and kunai holster. She still wore her hip pouch and kept her shuriken in it, but she was planning on going to the civilian book store today, and she didn't want to scare anyone when she was supposed to be making a good impression and gathering information.

Sakura tugged the strings of her hair ribbon until it was securely in place and then poured her coffee into a travel mug before leaving her room and walking over to Gaara's door. She knocked on the wood gently a few times as she sipped at her coffee idly, waiting for a response.

After almost a full minute, Gaara still hadn't come to the door or made any noise. Sakura knocked again, drinking down more of her coffee as she tried to keep her patience intact.

"If you don't answer, I'm coming in!" Sakura yelled as she rapped her fist on the door one more time, this time less gently. When she was met with silence yet again, she pushed her chakra into the lock on his door and walked in, her brows furrowing when she looked around and didn't see him anywhere.

The bathroom door was open, so she knocked on the wooden door frame before peeking into the bathroom with one eye closed in case she saw anything she wasn't supposed to. Her eyes fully opened when she noticed that he wasn't in there, either. The shower was still slightly damp, which meant that he'd likely already gotten ready for the day, but then why hadn't he woken her up?

Sakura finished her coffee and returned the mug to her room, locking both of their bedroom doors before wandering through the hallways and down the large staircase. The eerie feeling stayed with her as she walked around the residence, but she knew that it was because this was her first time going through these hallways alone. She'd always had Gaara or Kankuro by her side, and it felt strange to suddenly be by herself, like she was intruding in someone else's home.

When Sakura reached the bottom of the staircase, her senses went on high alert almost immediately. There was a vague sound coming from the direction of the kitchens, and Sakura felt a whoosh of relief as she realized that she wasn't alone. If nothing else, maybe the chef, Yori-san, would know where Gaara had gone.

Sakura walked in the direction of the kitchens, listening to the clatter that Yori-san was making with a calm smile on her lips. It reminded her faintly of the sounds her mother made in the kitchen when she was growing up, and she hadn't realized that she'd missed the sound of someone cooking so much.

As she closed in on the archway to the kitchen, a loud crash sounded. Sakura darted forward and ran into the kitchen, opening her mouth as she was about to ask Yori-san if she was okay, but the sight she was met with was definitely not what she'd been expecting.

Gaara was standing over the stove, one hand gripping the handle of a pan while the other was open next to the counter, just hovering in thin air. Sakura looked to the floor and was relieved when she saw that the loud banging she'd heard moments ago had just been from a container of utensils that Gaara had apparently tried and failed to catch before it fell off the counter.

Gaara cleared his throat awkwardly, bringing Sakura's attention back to his face. "I wasn't sure if you'd made plans for breakfast with today being a holiday."

Sakura blinked stupidly for a moment, tilting her head to the side in confusion. Did that mean he was currently making breakfast for her? "There's a holiday today?" she asked instead, figuring that asking him if he was cooking for her might be a bit too presumptuous.

"It's the anniversary of the day Sunagakure was founded," Gaara replied before turning his attention back to the stove. "Over the years, it has become a day of rest where the citizens spend time at home with their families."

Sakura nodded her head slowly as she thought it over, realizing that that must have been the reason she'd been able to sleep in and the reason she hadn't heard anyone outside. Everyone was inside, spending time with their loved ones. The eerie feeling she'd had earlier slowly dissipated with that realization.

Gaara dropped the pan back onto the stove with a slight clatter that was loud enough to break Sakura out of her thoughts. Her eyes followed him as he moved around the kitchen, grabbing plates and bowls before moving back toward the stove. Sakura noticed the way he kept his left side as far away from the counters as possible, and she suddenly realized that the small gourd of sand on his hip must have been what knocked over the utensils earlier.

"I'll join you in the dining room momentarily," Gaara said as he turned to face her again, holding out a plate of sausage and grilled fish in one hand, and a bowl of steaming white rice with flecks of seaweed in the other. Sakura took the plate and bowl gratefully, watching as Gaara turned to the stove to finish making his plate for a moment before she moved into the dining room.

Sakura took her place at the dining room table, the same place where she'd first eaten breakfast here over two weeks ago, and poured herself a small cup of tea from the pot that had been left to steep in the center of the table next to two small bowls of miso soup. When Gaara joined her, he handed her an egg to crack into her rice before sitting down across from her. They both said their quick thanks for the food and picked up their chopsticks, but Sakura paused as she glanced up at Gaara.

"Thank you for cooking breakfast for me," Sakura said quietly. Her gaze moved to his lips when he smiled kindly at her, a frown tugging at her own lips when she realized a few seconds later that her eyes were still locked onto the same place. She forced her eyes to look away, her eyes darting to the empty plate next to her as she searched for anything to distract her thoughts.

"Where is Kankuro?" she asked, keeping her eyes deliberately on the food in front of her as she cracked her egg into the bowl of rice.

"He usually spends most of the day catching up on his sleep," Gaara replied, his voice quiet and deliberately calm. Sakura hummed softly in response as she chewed her rice slowly, wondering what Gaara normally did on these days if Kankuro wasn't around. As far as she knew, his only other family that was still alive was Temari, and she'd moved to Konoha years ago. Did he normally spend his holidays alone now? "I apologize for not telling you about the holiday earlier. I hope you didn't have any important plans for the day."

"I was planning on going to a bookstore to try and gather information, but I can do it tomorrow," Sakura replied as she shook her head slowly.

"You could use the library, if you'd like."

"Wait, there's a library here?" Sakura asked, blinking in surprise as she looked back at Gaara, who was smiling softly.

"It's at the other end of the residence. There are no windows or doors, so I never showed it to you while you were creating the seals."

Sakura frowned, wondering what kind of library didn't have a single window or door, but she pushed her questions aside as she finished her breakfast. She would no doubt see for herself soon enough anyway.

Once they'd finished eating, Sakura cleaned their dishes in the kitchen-something she'd insisted on doing, as thanks for him cooking breakfast-and they began to move toward the library. It was upstairs and in the opposite direction of their bedrooms, but it didn't take very long to reach it.

Sakura stepped through the archway at the end of the hall and felt her breath catch in her throat as she got her first look at the library. There were bookshelves lining every inch of the walls, from the floor to the ceiling, and there was not a single empty space on the shelves. A large coffee table sat in the center of the room with three couches surrounding it, and the room was engulfed in a soft light from the chandelier hanging above the table.

"I believe you'll enjoy the content of that bookshelf the most," Gaara suggested, pointing to the far end of the room.

Sakura moved to the bookshelf in question, and instantly smiled when she realized that the books were all about medical theories and techniques. She scanned the spines until she found one that seemed to have a focus on poisons and different methods of extraction.

She grabbed the book and moved toward the couches in the center of the room, taking a seat in the one across from Gaara. He was leaning back comfortably and reading a book of his own, so Sakura took his cue and made herself comfortable as she opened to the first page.

The hours passed in near-silence as Sakura became absorbed in the book, the only sounds in the room coming when one of them turned a page or shifted on the couch they were on. As time went by, Sakura found herself getting more and more comfortable on the couch until she was laying down. Her head was propped up on the arm of the couch and one of her legs was resting atop the back of it, her other leg bent to help prop the book up.

Sakura reached the end of the chapter and glanced over to Gaara, who was still in a sitting position, but was now at least leaning on the arm of the couch with his legs crossed. As she watched him, she became aware of the way her body felt both stiff and relaxed at once, as if she was on high alert but also calm at the same time. It was a strange feeling, and she wasn't quite sure what to think of it, especially since she'd only felt it when looking at Gaara.

Suddenly, she caught movement out of the corner of her eyes. She shifted her gaze to see Kankuro standing in the archway, one finger over his lips while his other hand was held out straight in front of him. He'd attached his chakra to another book, and had moved it to hover high above Gaara's head. And then without warning, his chakra strings released the book, sending the thick volume falling toward Gaara.

Gaara's sand automatically blocked the book, and Sakura watched as the sand formed into the shape of a hand to grab the book and bring it down to Gaara's eye level.

"'The Art of Love'?" Gaara asked curiously, shifting his eyes to where Kankuro had moved to hide in the hallway. Sakura fought back a snort when she heard the book's title, wondering how Gaara was managing to keep such a straight face right now. "Why?"

"I thought you might need it eventually," Kankuro snickered, sliding into the library and plopping himself onto the empty couch. "What have you guys been up to all day?"

"We've been reading," Gaara replied calmly as his sand gently placed the book beside him.

"What? All day?" Kankuro balked, his eyes widening when Sakura and Gaara both nodded. "Why would you spend all day reading when you could be sleeping or playing video games?"

"There are video games here?" Sakura asked, her interest immediately piqued as she sat up on the couch. Kankuro looked over at her and grinned, his eyes darkening dangerously.

"I still have my save file from last time. Shall we go settle the score?"

Sakura smirked and snapped her book shut, not even bothering to reply before moving to put the book back where it belonged. Kankuro had already left the library and begun heading down the hallway when she glanced back at Gaara who was still sitting on the couch, looking much more awkward than he had a few moments ago.

"Are you going to join us?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. Gaara looked up at her, his eyes wide as if he were surprised she'd spoken to him.

"I won't be in the way?"

Sakura blinked in confusion, watching Gaara for a moment before smiling and shaking her head. Whatever reason he had for thinking he wasn't automatically welcome to join them didn't matter. Today was supposed to be a day to spend time with friends and family, and there was no way she was going to leave him behind. "Of course not. Come on."

Gaara hesitated for a moment before nodding once and standing on his feet. Sakura watched as he placed the book he'd been reading under his arm and, amusingly, grabbed the book that Kankuro had dropped on his head to take with him.

They moved toward Kankuro's loud voice through the otherwise quiet hallway, and Sakura frowned when she realized how tense she suddenly was now that they were alone and standing close to each other. Being around Gaara had been easy and comfortable until yesterday, but now she was suddenly aware of everything, even her own breathing, around him.

"Aha! I found you!"

Sakura followed the voice and poked her head through the open doorway, into the den where Kankuro was hunched over and digging in a cabinet. He pulled himself back and began to stand, groaning when he smacked the top of his head on the shelf above the one he was practically laying in. Sakura quickly threw her hand over her mouth to suppress a giggle.

"Will you stop laughing at my misery and help me set this up?" Kankuro whined. He pulled himself fully out of the shelf and began rubbing the back of his head as he tossed the disc in Sakura's direction.

"You make it so easy, though," Sakura teased, sticking her tongue out and ducking when Kankuro threw the TV remote at her.

She snickered and rushed to the entertainment center, her eyes landing on the gaming consoles she'd somehow missed when she'd created the seals for this room. She turned it on and pushed the disc into the slot, grabbing the two controllers and moving to sit on one of the cushions Kankuro had set up on the floor in front of the tv.

Behind her, she heard the sound of couch cushions moving. She turned her head and frowned when she noticed Gaara sitting on the couch instead of the open places on the floor with them. He placed one book beside him and cracked open the other one, obviously intending to continue reading while she and Kankuro played games.

Does he have no interest in video games? Sakura wondered to herself briefly, her attention shifting when Kankuro dramatically plopped onto one of the cushions beside her. He grabbed one of the controllers from her hands and signed in, pushing his shoulder against hers impatiently.

Sakura sighed and turned around fully to face the TV again, signing into her account that she'd saved on Kankuro's console ages ago, feeling a small thrill of excitement run along her spine when the opening music for the game began playing.

"I can't believe you're still using Ivy because of her boobs," Sakura teased as Kankuro moved them to the character select screen.

"I play her for her superior fighting style," Kankuro argued, his voice haughty as he glared at her as if he was offended.

Sakura rolled her eyes, choosing not to tell Kankuro that she'd heard that same argument from many men who could never seem to use Ivy's skills correctly. She selected her favorite character and shifted on the cushion to get more comfortable, smiling as the music began playing.

As soon as the battle began, Sakura hit the button to block, knowing that Kankuro always tried to get the first hit in. She blocked the his attack and quickly moved in, slicing his character with her large chakram weapon. Before he had a chance to respond, she entered in her favorite combo and watched as her character sliced into his rapidly before sending him flying into the air and crashing back down.

The first match didn't last very long, and the second one wasn't much better. Kankuro managed to get a few hits in with his whip blade, but his button mashing was no match for Sakura's knowledge.

"Noooo!" Kankuro wailed as he bent over, his head slamming into the cushion in front of him. Sakura smirked and fell back to lay on the ground, knowing that Kankuro would be dramatically whining for a while after being beaten so badly.

Her eyes moved to glance at Gaara, watching him curiously when she noticed that he wasn't reading his book anymore. His eyes were fixed on the TV screen curiously, and the book was closed and resting on his lap. Had she been wrong in assuming that he wasn't interested in games?

Kankuro began grumbling beside her, but Sakura ignored him and instead stood up to stretch, keeping the controller in her hands. When Gaara's eyes stayed fixed on the TV as if he was lost in thought, Sakura took a few steps backward and fell back onto the couch.

Gaara's eyes finally moved away from the TV screen to look at her curiously. From the corner of her vision she noticed Kankuro sitting up and getting ready to start another battle. Sakura grinned and placed the controller into Gaara's hands.

"Your turn."

"But, I've never..." Gaara began, letting his protest trail off as his gaze shifted to the TV once again as the character select music began playing.

"Pick whatever character looks interesting to you," Sakura said, glancing at the screen just in time to see Gaara select the only male character with red hair.

Sakura turned back to him and pointed out each button, explaining as quickly as possible what each one did as the intro scene played on the screen in front of them. She just barely managed to show him which button was used for blocking when the fight began.

Gaara was easily defeated in the first round, but after a little while he seemed to get a feel for the game and began to deal as much damage as he took. By the third round, Gaara had started leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. His eyes were squinted in concentration, and he'd subconsciously sucked his bottom lip into his mouth.

Sakura smiled as she watched him, her eyes lingering on the different expressions he was making much longer than she should have been comfortable with. After a few minutes, she started to wonder why exactly she was feeling so... happy, just from watching Gaara play video games.

Her gaze shifted back to Kankuro on the cushions, and her vague smile turned into a frown when she realized that the feeling she had while watching Kankuro was definitely closer to the feeling she always got when she was around Naruto and Sai. She loved all of them dearly, and there was definitely a sense of fondness there, but it was a more solid feeling. The love was perfectly definable, and fit into the same box.

When she looked at Gaara once again, that solid and heavy feeling gave way to something that seemed more delicate and wispy. The more she focused on trying to figure out what it was, the more she became aware of the way her heart rate was steadily increasing and the way her breathing seemed to be more shallow than normal. It was such a different feeling for her to feel, and the only time she could think of where she had felt anything similar was when she was young and in love with Sasuke...

No way, she thought to herself, chewing on the inside of her lip as she shifted her eyes determinedly back to the TV screen. There was absolutely no way that she was beginning to fall for Gaara, and there was no way that she would allow herself to even consider the possibility.

.

The next day, Sakura was on her way to the bookstore to gather information when Kankuro found her. His breathing was harsh and his eyes were panicked, and he'd barely managed to get the words 'medic' and 'teleported' out of his mouth before they'd started running toward the hospital. Sakura ran behind Kankuro as fast as her feet would carry her, her heart beating frantically in her chest.

"How long have they been there?" Sakura asked.

"Only a minute or two, but their condition... It isn't good, Sakura."

"What does that mean?"

"The poison managed to spread far enough to do damage before they injected the counter," Kankuro replied from in front of her, his voice quiet as if he didn't want to say it. Sakura cursed under her breath. "If you can extract the poison quickly enough, there may still be a chance to save him."

Sakura nodded her head, knowing that Kankuro wouldn't be able to see her but also knowing that he likely wasn't expecting her to respond at all.

When they reached the hospital, she followed as Kankuro began running up the outside wall until they reached a balcony on the seventh floor with the doors left open for them. They rushed through the hospital, running past the nurse's station until they came close to a room that seemed to be filled to the brim with people.

"Move!" Kankuro yelled.

The people huddling around the room immediately parted to make a path, and Sakura quickly ran to the medic laying on the hospital bed. She recognized him as someone she'd worked with during the war, but she knew there was no time for pleasantries when she noticed the condition he was in. His skin was clammy and his breathing was rapid. Someone had cut off the sleeve of his shirt to reveal the large gash where the poisoned blade had dug into and through his skin.

Sakura began to roll up her sleeves as someone placed a bowl beside her to drop the poison into and moved her hands to hover over the wound. The medic-Aiji, that was his name-smiled weakly at her and she nodded her head once, wanting to reassure him that she would save him, but being unable to offer a smile in return. When this was all over, she would smile as much as he wanted, maybe catch up over a cup of coffee, but until then she needed to concentrate every ounce of effort into extracting this poison immediately.

She pushed her chakra into the open wound, hearing Kankuro apologize for her as Aiji hissed from the sudden intrusion. Sakura normally tried to be more gentle, but there wasn't enough time for gentle right now.

After a short moment of searching, Sakura finally found the poison lingering in his veins. It had reached much further than she'd expected, and she had to fight back her frustration when she realized that his heart had already been affected by it and begun to fail.

She desperately pulled as much of the poison out of his body as she could, knowing that she could heal the damage to his heart, but only after the poison was completely gone. Any amount of poison left in his body, even something as small as a grain of table salt, would kill him almost instantly.

"Aiji, please, hold on for me," Sakura murmured loud enough for him to hear, not caring if the people in the room heard her. "I can fix your heart once the poison is extracted, but I need you to hold on until then."

"Thank you," Aiji whispered through labored breathing, the pain in his voice sending Sakura's focus into overdrive as she desperately pulled the poison from his body. She cursed under her breath when she found more poison hidden near his heart and quickly began to pull that out as well until there was finally nothing left.

Sakura moved to stand above Aiji, pressing her hands to his chest just over his heart. She pushed her chakra into his system, trying to unbind the IVS6 segment of the voltage-gated sodium channels as quickly as she possibly could, but she wasn't quick enough. Before she could heal him fully, she felt Aiji's body going stiff beneath her as the counter wore off and paralysis began to set in faster than she could heal.

"No. No, no, no, no, no," Sakura whispered, her eyes wide and frantic as she pushed her chakra through his system, feeling her stomach drop when his body began to reject her chakra. His body was giving in to the damage the poison had caused; he was going to die.

"No!" Sakura screamed, shoving as much chakra toward his body as she possibly could. She could barely feel the tears streaming down her face as she screamed again, desperately pushing every last bit of chakra toward Aiji's body.

And then suddenly, his body stopped accepting any foreign chakra. His eyes closed slightly as his body stiffened completely from the paralysis the poison caused.

He was dead.

She could hear the voices whispering behind her as she kept trying to force her chakra into his body, but they barely registered. The only thing she could think about was trying to save him, trying to bring him back. She kept going, until the voices behind her stopped and her chakra ran out.

Sakura collapsed onto the hospital floor, her knees smashing into the floor hard enough to bruise, but she didn't notice. Her hands stayed on Aiji's chest as her head fell onto the bed, sobs wracking her body as she broke down.