(A/N: I'm sorry! I did promise this weekend but I was thinking of updating Saturday, not Sunday! I'm sorry! Saturdays are soooooo nice, I basically slept all day so yeah lol. Well this chapter is exactly as I explained in chapter eight. Its how Gaara gets back at Sakura basically. Of course its only for this chapter and there's some GaaxSaku fluff at the end of this chapter! Next chapter isn't finished just yet but its almost done and I love it! I'll explain more on that at the end of this chapter. Anyways, here's chapter nine!)

Taste Tester

Chapter Nine: Silent Treatment

ONE MONTH LATER

The next month had been silent and extremely dull. Gaara and Sakura simply refused to talk to each other, let alone look at each other, while the other two were caught in the crossfire. Temari had tried to figure out what had happened between the two but neither would talk. Both were too upset over the whole ordeal. As far as Temari could understand, Sakura had refused Gaara and now he was mad. But if that was the truth then why was Sakura refusing to talk to him? It didn't make any sense.

Kankuro wasn't much help either. He had tried to cheer them both up in many ways but nothing worked. Gaara was too angry about getting rejected while Sakura was just too hurt that he wouldn't forgive her. Life was too cruel. Tonight would be no different. The group would head down to the living room and do something quiet. Normally that involved Kankuro and Temari playing chess while the fighting couple read on opposite sides of the room. It was boring and way too quiet, yet no one could come up with something better to do.

Kankuro and Temari were up first that night, neither one willing to go check on Sakura just yet. It was too hard to watch her stroll sadly around the castle as if she had her heart broken. It was kind of the truth. Gaara was hurting her by keeping away from her. She wanted him to understand her feelings. She didn't want a bed buddy she wanted a lover. If he wasn't willing to give her that then she wouldn't give him what he wanted: sex. She wasn't a slut and she wasn't about to give into every little desire. She wasn't that pathetic.

The two siblings had been planning something for a few days now. It was a foolproof plan to bring the unhappy couple back together. They just had to wait until the couple woke up before they could put it into action. It really was a pretty good plan. Even the couple wouldn't be expecting this one. It was simply ingenious.

Suddenly the sound of a door opening and closing caught their attention. They looked up from their position in the entrance hall to see Sakura appear on the top of the steps. She walked slowly down to join them, her eyes never once meeting theirs. Behind her, another door sounded. For the past month Gaara would wait until she left her room before he'd leave his. It was weird but no one could figure out why he was doing it. At the moment they didn't care. They just wanted to put their plan into action.

Sakura moved to the other side of them as Gaara walked down the stairs. She had grown accustomed to moving away from him whenever he approached. He did it far too often for it not to become a habit.

"Bout time you two. And here we thought we were gonna have to leave without saying anything." Kankuro said, breaking the silence.

Temari nodded, "I was beginning to worry myself."

Sakura looked at their cheeks, not their eyes. "What are you guys talking about?"

"We're leaving. We're going to visit our lovers." Kankuro replied.

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise; she hadn't been expecting this at all.

Temari sighed happily. "I've been really missing Shikamaru and now I'm finally gonna get to go see him."

Kankuro nodded, "I know, I miss my woman too."

"Well, I suppose we should be off. We have to get there before sunrise."

"Of course, after you." Kankuro murmured, waving arm toward the door.

"W-wait! You can't just leave like this!" Sakura burst out, fear blooming within her emerald eyes.

"Hm? But we have too." Temari replied.

"Don't worry. We'll be back in a month. I'm sure you two can handle yourselves until then." Kankuro teased.

Sakura stiffened and looked away while Gaara merely snorted.

"Well have fun you two." Kankuro winked then ran out into the night with Temari right after him. The huge front doors slammed shut leaving the unhappy couple by themselves.

Sakura didn't know what to do. She hadn't spoken to Gaara for an entire month and she wasn't about to now. She was worried though, she didn't know how Gaara would act now that they had the house to themselves. This was probably the last thing they were expecting and now neither of them knew what to do. Sakura glanced warily at him before looking away.

Gaara eyed her fully, not the least bit affected by his siblings actions. If they wanted to give them some alone time then fine, he'd gladly take their offer. He had been avoiding Sakura for the past month on purpose. She was the one who wanted to remain abstinent so he was simply obeying her new boundaries and staying away from her. Unfortunately for her she had no idea and she was getting hurt by his actions. He'd fix her confusion in good time but for the moment, he was sick of their little game.

He strode forward making her look up worriedly. He hadn't come near her at all for a month. This slight movement was enough to raise her spirits as well as her warning signs. Gaara didn't stop; he just met her gaze with his steady one and walked closer. Sakura stepped back nervously, not sure what he was planning. His actions were that of a predator. As a vampire, that's exactly what he was. Still, he didn't need to look at her that way. It was unnerving and a little freaky. She didn't like it at all.

"What's wrong Sakura? A thought you wanted some alone time with me."

Sakura glanced up only to find him gone. She looked around worriedly, not sure where he was or where his voice was coming from. 'He said my name…that's a first.' It was a plus anyways.

"Y-you…you're an asshole." Her voice was weak but passionate.

His chuckle surrounded her. "I'm the asshole? My dear, I was merely obeying your wish. You wanted to remain abstinent and I was doing my part by staying away from you. You just didn't understand."

Sakura winced. "That's not what I wanted. I didn't want you to avoid me."

"Then what do you want? What do you want me to do?"

She gaze landed on the floor. "I…I want you to forgive me. I want you to understand me dammit!" Her shout was clear and full of her bottled up passion.

Gaara remained silent for a while before he chuckled. "Is that so…"

"Yes…please Gaara, just understand me. Don't leave me alone."

"Now you don't want me to leave you alone? You sure change your tune quick."

Sakura sighed. "I never wanted you to leave me. I never meant to push you away."

"Yes you did but you did it for a reason. As for the first part of that statement…" There was a whooshing sound before two strong arms wrapped securely around her waist.

"I won't leave you Sakura, I promise," he whispered into her ear.

Sakura shivered before she turned around in his hold and flung her arms around his neck. She buried her face against his chest and cried. He held her tightly, already having predicted that this would happen. It wasn't surprising. Women are extremely emotional. It was awhile before she calmed down and stopped crying. By that time his shirt at soaked through, leaving a nice wet mark on his shirt.

Sakura lifted her head and gazed up at him through teary eyes. Gaara stared down at her for a moment before he reached up and brushed away one last tear. It never bugged him before but for some reason he didn't like seeing Sakura cry.

"I'm sorry I made you cry."

Sakura shook her head. "No I needed that. Thank you."

His gaze flickered from her teary eyes to her lips. She was close enough but he didn't want to ruin the moment. It wouldn't be worth it.

Sakura noticed where his gaze landed and gave it a quick thought. On one hand if she let him kiss her it could lead to another rejection. On the other hand if she didn't let him kiss her he might take that as a bigger sign of rejection. Either way he wasn't going to take it well. Still, she could make him happy first. That was worth it, right?

Without another thought she leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. Gaara's eyes widened for only a split second before they slid shut as he kissed her back. The familiar warmth of her mouth against his was extremely welcomed at this point. He had no idea he had missed this feeling so much. He really was letting her affect him too much, not that he gave a damn at the moment.

Her head tilted as she kissed him more fully before she pulled back out of the kiss. Gaara's eyes opened as he stared down at pretty pink haired girl in his arms.

"What was that for?"

She shrugged. "Does there have to be a reason for everything?"

"Normally I would say yes but over something like that, I'll say no."

She smiled then kissed his cheek. "I've missed you Gaara."

He nodded then rested his chin on top of her head. "I know, I've missed you too."

The past month had been hard on both of them. Neither of them wanted to hurt the other and yet that's exactly what happened. Now it was time to fix the past mistakes, and both knew exactly how to do just that.

(A/N: Ugh! That was too short! I just reread the thing and I'm depressed. I actually want to make that chapter longer and I'm the author lol. I wonder why I didn't? I dunno... Anyways, chapter ten is going to lead into the title of this story. Well maybe, it depends on who wins the game of chess in chapter ten lol. It'll be a really interesting game and it'll also be the longest chapter. Well, that's all I gotta say! Review and let me know what you thought! Thanks everyone!)