Typhoon

Chapter Fourteen

-Midnight Reunion-

Sakura sighed as she left the hospital early. Gaara had to work late today, since their wedding was tomorrow, and they were both taking a few days off to just relax. Plus, he had a week's worth of work to catch up on, and she had to meet up with the girls and make sure their bridesmaids dresses fit.

She walked down the street and met everyone in front of the shop. "Hey guys. Ready?"

"Please. I was born ready Forehead." Ino said, walking past her and into the shop.

Sakura rolled her eyes and held the door open for everyone else. "Don't listen to that blonde Sakura. As long as the dresses don't suck, I'll be fine." Temari said, also walking into the shop.

"We'll be fine with whatever you picked out. Right Hinata?" Tenten asked, grabbing her hand and pulling her in.

"Of course." The ebony haired girl said, giving Sakura a sheepish smile.

Sakura smiled at her friend's antics and followed them into the shop. Hearing the bells in the door chime, the shop keeper came out, all smiles. "Hello ladies! Oh Sakura-sama! I have the dresses you ordered in the back! I'll go fetch them right now!" she said, turning around and disappearing through a curtain.

"Well hello to you too Ms. Overly Nice Shopkeeper." Ino said. Turning to Sakura, she asked, "So Forehead, what do the dresses look like?"

She shook her head negatively. "You just have to wait and see Ino. They are all the same color as the guy's vests, so don't worry, it'll look nice."

Just then the shopkeeper came out with the dresses hanging over her arm. She placed them all in separate dressing rooms, telling each girl which one they were assigned to. Her friends went in, and about five minutes later emerged, all in their dresses.

The dresses were silver and floor length. They were made of satin, and had a halter top with a satin A-Line skirt. The middle was wrapped in satin as well, making it so that the waist of the wearer looked slim. The back of the dress dipped low, but only enough to where the dress still looked elegant.

Turning and looking at herself in the mirror, Ino smiled. "Nice work Forehead. I like it."

The other girls agreed with Ino's statement. "I told you there wasn't anything to worry about."

"Oh excellent!" the shopkeeper exclaimed, joining them. "Do all of the dresses fit properly?" she asked, checking them all.

"I believe they do. If you could have them delivered to the hotel by noon tomorrow that would be great." Sakura said, pulling out some money Gaara had given her earlier and handing it to the woman.

"Of course Sakura-sama! I would be honored!" the shopkeeper said, putting the money in her cash register.

After everyone was changed they left the shop, deciding to go out to dinner. Along the way they ran into Kiba, who looked confused, and the guys, who looked angry.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Sakura asked, curious as to why they were in the shops district for women.

"Kiba seems to have forgotten where the tux shop is." Neji glared, all his irritation focused on the spiky haired brunette.

"Haha! What? Sorry!" he shrugged. Shikamaru sighed, muttering something about it all being bothersome.

"Anyways!" Naruto blurted out, pushing through the group and taking Sakura's hands in his. "Since you probably know this village better than the rest of us, can you show us where the shop is?"

"Hey! I was born here! Why not ask me?!" Temari asked the blonde, placing her hands on her hips.

"Hehe." Naruto laughed awkwardly, placing a hand behind his head. "Well, you're kinda scary, and I like Sakura-chan better." He admitted.

Sakura stepped between them before Temari could strangle him. "Sure, we would be glad to show you guys the way."

The group walked a few streets over, until they were at the one where the tux shop was located. She stopped in front of the store and turned to the boys. "Well, you guys were only a few streets off. I trust Neji at least remembers the way back? I can't have you all missing for the wedding." Sakura said, looking over to the brunette.

"Of course Sakura, we'll be there. I know were the hotel is at least." He gave her a smile before disappearing though the doors.

The rest followed, waving goodbye to the girls since that was the last they would see of them till the next day. Naruto stopped in the doorway and glanced back, "Oh yeah Sakura-chan. Sasuke is here, and he's looking for you. So whatever." He laughed, shutting the door then.

She groaned. She really didn't feel like talking to the Uchiha, so she wouldn't go out of her way to see him.

After having dinner with the girls, she went home and got a shower. When she got out she walked across the room in her towel and entered the closet. She dug through her clothes, and, finding what she was looking for, got dressed. She had decided to put on her black nightgown that ended right past her butt, and was trimmed with pink lace. It was low cut and form-fitting at the top, just barely showing off her cleavage. She had decided that since Gaara had a long day at the office, she would wear this for him, to show him what he would be getting tomorrow night. Once she was dressed, she walked out of the closet and crawled into bed.

A few seconds later she sat up and looked over to the window, which was open. Strange, she didn't remember leaving the window open. She hadn't even opened it in the first place. Suddenly she realized that she wasn't alone, and swiftly turned her head to one of the corners of the room, kunai drawn.

"Sakura." A familiar voice said from the shadows.

"Sasuke. What are you doing here?" she asked, sinking down into the bed and pulling the covers up so he wouldn't see what she was wearing.

"I've been looking for you." Was all he said as he walked towards the foot of the bed, eyeing her form underneath the covers. He had seen what she was wearing, and part of him was jealous. She should be his, not the Sabaku's.

"So I heard. But I've been extremely busy lately, you know, planning my wedding that's happening tomorrow." she said, hoping that he would take the hint and leave her alone.

But of course, he ignored it. "I just wanted to let you know that my offer of marriage still stands. I know how stressed you've been lately, I can see it on your face."

"So? A lot has happened over the past week, in case you didn't know." She snapped, pulling the covers just a bit higher. She didn't like the way he was looking at her.

"Well, I know how to get rid of your stress. Run away with me. Tonight." He said, completely serious.

"What?!" she asked, appalled.

"You heard me. Come with me back to Konoha." He said. Before he could continue, the bedroom door was opened and in walked Gaara.

The redhead stopped, his expression only slightly surprised. "Um…" he looked from Sasuke and then to Sakura, noting she seemed extremely mortified about her body. "Should I leave you two alone?" he asked, but only seemed to be asking Sakura. "Though…honey…try not to put any holes in the wall." He smirked deviously.

Sasuke snorted. "Why so confident Sabaku? How do you know we aren't going to do more than just talk?" he asked, raising an arrogant brow.

Gaara actually laughed. "Well Uchiha, there are three reasons why I really don't care. One…if you haven't noticed she's in my bed." He held up one finger. "Two, tomorrow when she walks down the aisle, it'll be me standing at the front. And when she comes back to my bed tomorrow night…I can tell you, we won't be sleeping." He smirked, holding up a second finger. "And three, I'm so sure that she would never leave me for you…that I just don't even consider you a threat anymore." He raised a third finger and then crossed his arms. "So if you're quite finished creeping on my fiancé, you can leave."

"Ch." He said with a disdainful scowl. Then, without another word, he disappeared through the window.

Sakura sighed in relief and relaxed somewhat, loosening her grip on the comforter beneath her chin. "Well, that was awkward." She said, turning to her soon-to-be husband.

"Yes… I suppose it was." He replied, going to the window and locking it for the first time. He turned back to her and let his gaze lower. He wondered what she was hiding beneath the covers. He walked over to her side and ripped the covers away from her body, revealing the slinky night gown she was wearing. A devious smile crept over his face, "And what, dare I ask, is this for?" he arched what could be a brow, pinching the silky material and trying to move it further up her leg.

She blushed profusely and tried to lower the hem back down. "Oh, it's nothing. I just thought…you know…since you were working late and all…I would surprise you…sort of…." She said, squirming in her effort to keep the skirt down. "Would you stop that?!" she asked, now thinking that maybe wearing this wasn't such a good idea after all.

He released the cloth and smiled up at her, "Fine, fine. I'll behave. Besides…I've waited this long. One more day wouldn't kill me." With that he kissed her forehead and left her, disappearing into the bathroom. She heard the shower turn on and decided to snuggle back underneath the covers. It wasn't much longer until the shower stopped and Gaara walked out with nothing but a towel around his waist.

She tried not to stare, but it was impossible. Blushing, she snuggled deeper into the covers and let out a soft sigh. Tomorrow was the big day after all, and she couldn't wait.

Gaara walked towards the bed, not bothering to go into the closet. Without any shame he pulled the towel from around his waist and dried his hair as much as possible.

Her eyes widened in shock. It wasn't that she had never seen that much of him before, but that was one time, and she was in the heat of the moment. So, out of her embarrassment from staring at a particular area of his body, she rolled over, hoping that her face would cool off by the time he came to bed.

To her surprise, time for bed was right then. Tossing the towel aside, Gaara pulled back the covers and got in. His sand crept over to the wall and flipped the light off. He turned towards Sakura's back and smiled, "Goodnight sweetheart." He teased.

She stiffened, knowing that he hadn't put his pants on. "A-aren't you going to get dressed?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"Why? It's more comfortable to sleep like this," he shrugged, only imagining how red she must be right now.

"B-but you've never slept like that before." She said, searching for a reason as to why he was doing it now. Was it just to embarrass her? If so, it was working.

"Uh, just because I haven't done it yet with you in the bed, doesn't mean I haven't done it before." He pointed out.

Her face got even redder at this. What if she had walked in on him naked when she had visited Suna the first time? She would have been mortified. "Oh." She said dumbly. He was making it hard for her to think. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, and it was taking all of her willpower not to turn around and snuggle into him.

Before she could register what was happening, his arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled her against him. "I'll see you in the morning beautiful." He whispered huskily into her ear, kissing her neck tenderly. Then he pulled away, not wanting to tempt her too badly. He turned on his side, with his back to her and shut his eyes. He wanted tomorrow to come.

She sighed, face still red. "Goodnight Gaara. I love you." She said, snuggling into her pillow. At least she didn't have to wait a full month for the wedding, but they did cut it pretty close.