A/N: Hello! It's been a while! I'm finally done with school for now, so I'm returning with this long chapter as compensation for being gone for so long. Thank you for your patience! I'm very happy that many people really love this story!

Onward!

It had been a few weeks since Sakura and Sasuke's date, almost nearing the end of the warm Fall. The project had left them little time to themselves. There were plenty of patients that needed the medicine and Tenten and Neji were swamped with trying different exercises that didn't strain the muscles affected by the poison. The Suna scorpion's poison affected the muscles by rendering the patient immobile, slowly killing the victim within four excruciating days of pain until it reached the heart.

With the antidote, the killing process was over, but the recovery was even more painful. The only upside was that the patient didn't die. They were in constant pain and giving them more pain medication after a large dose could shut down their liver and risk an overdose. Tsunade had anticipated this and had Shizune and a team of medics design a different painkiller for the patients. Sure, the antidote was a nice cure, but the pain had none at the moment. If they let the patients suffer, then the patient would have to go through regular therapy with the physical that Tenten and Neji were providing. Sakura and Hinata were a part of this team and spent at least twelve hours a day dedicated to the medicine. Their schedule was simple, arrive at eight in the morning, head home at eight at night. Have a quick dinner and shower, waste a good hour or so, and head to bed. This process was repeated for quite a while.

Sasuke too was busy. Their medicine was a success and Itachi ordered for at least one hundred boxes of the antidote made and ready to be shipped to Suna hospitals once Tsunade's team had created a suitable painkiller to accompany the antidote. Itachi himself helped supervise the production with Sasuke, calling Gaara to help also and spending hours at a time making sure the chemistry and formula was followed correctly according to Sakura and Hinata's data.

Gaara only allowed himself near Sasuke just because of the medicine. It didn't mean that he liked it, no way in hell. He could hardly stand the Uchiha. Both of them. They were condescending to whoever asked questions on the information. In his mind, he knew the questions were really dumb, but that was barely an excuse to talk down to employees. But Kankuro had pointed out bluntly that Gaara did the same. It pissed him off to be compared to the Uchihas.

With his good arm, he slid his hand into his pocket and felt the metal key he had forgotten he had taken. Because everyone was too busy, it slipped his mind to ask who the key belonged to. Sakura and Hinata were usually the last ones to bed. Sometimes they came home really late at three in the morning and went straight to sleep. They never really ran into each other at home and work wasn't bringing them any closer in distance. Even though they were all in the same building, the girls were in the labs downstairs and the guys were in separate labs on the higher floors. In the end, he just kept the key with him. Now that he thought about it, why didn't he just leave it on the counter at home? Ah, who cares? At least with him it wouldn't get lost. With the way Ino cleaned, she would throw away everything and throw the key somewhere she would never remember.

"Vice President Sabaku, could you please re-check this? The formula seems a little different compared to the one Kachi's paper," said one of the scientists. Gaara struggled to keep himself from yawning. If neither of the Uchihas did, he wasn't going to be the first. To keep himself busy, he focused his gaze on the paper the scientist held out to him, then on the one from his friend. There wasn't any difference in them. He should know because it was one of the things he was expected to keep in his head. Hell, he could write it down in his sleep.

"It's the same," he answered. The scientist looked surprised, his eyes widening and straightening out the bags underneath them.

"I see." He laughed nervously. "I guess I'm not getting much sleep as I used to…"

'Same here…' thought Gaara tiredly.

Itachi and Sasuke were overlooking the process of mass producing the antidote, the older Uchiha looking over his shoulder at Gaara.

"Sabaku, run down to the other labs and see how the medication is holding up. The phone line to the labs must be down since no one is bothering to answer. It's rumored that Tsunade cuts the phone line during her research hours. Go up there and see if they have any new information." Wordlessly, Gaara walked out, looking away when Sasuke looked up at him.

Outside, Gaara finally let out a long awaited yawn. How long had they been at this for? He checked his watch and felt his legs want to give way. It was too-fucking-late o' clock. His watch read four o'clock in the early evening. He got there around five this morning.

God, put him out of his misery just so he no longer had to move. But they were so close to getting it to the hospitals! Eh, might as well work. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in days thanks to Itachi thrusting the production into overdrive. But he had to appreciate how serious Itachi was about getting this project done without skipping any steps. Sasuke was just as efficient when it came to nailing down every detail when the medicine was made and breathed down their necks as they recreated the medicine Sakura and Hinata had made. Both Uchihas were the best when it came to business and supervising, he admitted that to himself despite his hatred for the youngest brother.

Kankuro was supposed to be helping by running around supervising as well, but he too was dwindling from lack of sleep. The only way he could stay up was when Naruto claimed that he could stay up longer than he could. It was really stupid, but hey, it kept them up! The blonde heir of Uzumaki Industries was busy typing away on a computer with limitless energy. Kankuro was trying to take a small nap outside by slouching on one of the several couches in the lounge room. As Gaara walked by, he smacked him firmly with his good arm to wake his brother up, waiting patiently for Kankuro to come back to life.

"Take over for me in the room while I go check on the other labs," Gaara ordered. Kankuro stretched and yawned hugely.

"Maybe I should just go in your place," he offered. Gaara scoffed.

"I don't want to stay in that room forever with the Uchihas." Kankuro frowned. Itachi's attitude tended to drive him up a goddamn wall with his idea of perfection. If he went in there, Itachi would scrutinize him until he died from humiliation and stress.

"What makes you think I want to?" he asked irritably. Gaara glared heatedly.

"Just do it, Kankuro. You're starting to get on my nerves." He left before he could hear Kankuro sigh. There was no way he was going to spend another minute with the Uchihas.

In the labs, Sakura and Hinata slumped on their table, having woken up at two in the morning because Shizune had found an error that had to be corrected or else it reached Itachi. Itachi probably called their phone a few times by now, but Tsunade promptly yanked the cord from the phone to avoid any distractions and warned them to never contact them unless they absolutely needed to.

"Our reports are more important than some damn questions from a rich brat," she had snipped to her scared team. "If we have something to tell him, we call him."

Now all of the biomedical researchers were cooped up in their lonely room and working on their painkiller. Shizune sighed out loud.

"I'll go out and buy us all some coffee, I need to get up to get some blood flowing in my legs. Everyone can go on break, we're going to be done," she announced. Sounds of relief and agreement echoed in their room. Everyone was giving Shizune their orders while Sakura and Hinata were dozing off.

"White chocolate mocha and hazelnut," said Sakura, pointing to herself and Hinata. The latter was pulling out two pillows from a separate bag she carried so the two could take their naps. Shizune giggled and got up on her tense legs to walk out the door. She felt bad that they all had to stay here for hours because of a slip some asshole did. Hours and hours of correcting and fixing were almost put to fruition, but everyone needed a caffeine boost before they could finish alert to be relieved. In the hallway, she saw Gaara coming out of the elevator. He immediately tensed defensively. The last thing he wanted to hear was news about a failed project.

"Vice President Sabaku. I'm Shizune, head of the biomedical researchers working on the painkiller." She nodded and introduced herself to him, receiving a nod in return. Gaara relaxed visibly, happy to be away from the tension in the other labs.

"How's everything down here? Itachi said that the phone line may be down." Shizune giggled nervously. She always scolded Tsunade for doing things like that, but the blonde doctor refused to give any fucks about it. Shizune reminded her that Uchiha Corps was her client, but she bluntly stated that they could kiss her ass, her work had to be done her way.

"The line is down, but we're making significant progress down here. We reached a breakthrough around two and we checked our chemistry to see if it can be safely ingested by humans. It's going to be listed as an experimental trial along with the antidote Sakura and Hinata made. We were able to make some of the painkiller in liquid form to send to the hospital and we will have data to create it in pill form. We're almost done so everyone's taking a small break." He inwardly smiled. He was really proud and grateful for what they were doing. Hinata was a nice friend, and Sakura was…Sakura. Speaking of them, she just said they were on a break now. Maybe it was a good time to ask them about the key. At least they would settle this mystery, right?

"Vice President Sabaku?" Shizune waved her hand in his face, worried when he looked dazed. He snapped out of it, feeling slightly embarrassed and blamed it on the fatigue.

"Oh, sorry." She smiled politely.

"Don't worry about it, sir. None of us have gotten the necessary amount of sleep these days. I was about to go and get some coffee for my team from the lobby. Apparently Uchiha Corps has a really good coffee cart. Would you like me to buy you some?" Ugh, he was so sick of coffee but loved it just the same. He shook his head, reaching into his pocket and taking out his wallet.

"I'll pay for it as thanks for all you've done." He handed her several bills and winced when she started to protest.

"It's improper! I offered to buy for them-"

"I'm rich," he cut in simply, then handed her the money as she gaped. There, that was settled. He left her to go into their lab room, seeing everyone in the room sleeping on the tables. Well, wasn't this awkward? He saw Sakura and Hinata sleeping on some fluffy looking pillows and resisted the urge to chuckle. Who would bring pillows with them to work? No matter how ridiculous it seemed, it was smart if they had to stay in this room until forever ended.

He approached them quietly so he wouldn't disturb the other researchers who were all snoring heavily. Sakura was sleeping soundly in her pillow, snuggling into it. He smirked. She always looked peaceful when she was sleeping. Then it hit him. Oh shit.

Why was she sleeping? Why were they both sleeping? How the hell was he going to ask about the key? Well, that was a bust. There was no guarantee that she would see the key if he left it with them. They might brush it off the table in their sleep. The key was staying with him.

He sighed, hating how he had the worst luck. How come when Kankuro bothered people they were all awake and ready to be annoyed and everyone was sleeping when he needed to bother them?

The way Sakura slept was like re-living old memories in Suna those many summers ago. Sakura's hair was flown all over her face, prompting him to tuck the strands behind her ear, leaning down to almost peck her cheek like he used to when they dated. Realizing what he had done, almost done, he retracted his hand quickly as if her hair was made of fire. Dammit Gaara, you two aren't dating anymore! No friend does that to another especially if you two are exes! Crap, he had to leave. Thank God everyone was sleeping, if someone saw-

"What are you doing?" asked a tiny voice. He was able to stop himself from reacting too strongly and saw that Hinata propped herself up on her elbow and stared at him questioningly.

"Nothing," he replied quickly, tucking his hands into his pocket. She shook her head, either she didn't believe him or she was trying to wake up.

"Hmm." He glared.

"I didn't do anything. I just came down because Itachi said so." She tapped a finger on her mouth in thought.

"Itachi told you to come down and watch us sleep?" she asked innocently. Oh thank God. He blew out a breath. She didn't see. The last thing he needed was to explain himself. He didn't even know how to begin.

"You guys were sleeping when I came in. But I ran into Shizune in the hallway and she told me about the medicine being done. Good work." She smiled.

"Thank you. We're really happy with it. First the antidote, now the painkiller. I'm happy to say that we've outdone ourselves." He nodded rhythmically, wanting to bolt just in case she did see something. Hinata brushed her hair out of her face, watching Sakura sleep.

"Whenever I was sleepy, she took over for me. She's really dedicated to helping you." His heart fluttered appreciatively.

"She's a good…person." He couldn't bring himself to say friend. Not if he obviously didn't see her that way. Hinata nodded.

"She is! Is there anything else you needed? Our information for the painkiller hasn't been printed out yet, but if you'd like to wait for it-"

"No, that's it," he interrupted. He wasn't planning on waiting. Kankuro wouldn't last the next ten minutes with the Uchihas in the mood he's in. He had to relieve him from that, he was a good younger brother. Oh, since she was awake, maybe she knew about the key? Before he could ask, Shizune burst into the room with an office cart packed with cups of coffee and food.

"Coffee!" she sang. The researchers rose to life, Sakura sleepily opening one eye. 'Shit,' Gaara thought. At least she didn't wake up when he touched her.

"Hey, Gaara," she murmured. He smirked.

"Hey." Shizune walked up to them with their drinks.

"Here's the white chocolate mocha and hazelnut!" she chirped, setting the cardboard cup holder with three drinks on their table. "I also got you one, Vice President."

A vanilla latte was next to their drinks, a flavor Kankuro favored more than he did. He took the cup, deciding to give it to him instead for putting up with the Uchihas alone. Sakura and Hinata sipped their drinks.

"Whatcha doin' down here?" asked Sakura, a little more alert now that she had her caffeine. He shook his head.

"It's been done." Time was running out for Kankuro. He had to go save him now.

As he went into the elevator, he suddenly remembered the key. 'Fuck, she was right there!' he thought. Forget it, he'll ask when they get home. All of them were too busy and the key was personal, not business.

Back up in the room with the Uchihas, Kankuro looked like he was about to die. He had forgotten a component in the formula when he was typing a list of ingredients to send to Suna and was being chewed out by Itachi. Sasuke was watching with mild interest.

"You're lucky it wasn't put through or else you would start a riot in Suna. You'd make us look like incompetent idiots because of your error. You would not only ruin our reputation, but you'd also ruin Sabaku Corps and render your company useless and bankrupt. Then Root takes over and trust me, you'd rather slit your throat with a rusted blade than use anything from that company." Itachi's voice was like ice, his hand clamped on Kankuro's shoulder as if he were ready to haul him out the window.

"Goddammit, Kankuro," muttered Gaara. He strode over to them. Little brother to the rescue, just like with the accident. He'd rather go through the accident again. And he hated Root, Danzo got on his nerves. Just putting that out there.

"His list is sent to my laptop first and I go over it. There's no need for you to worry. I asked him to take over for me and I go through my work thoroughly even if someone else did it in my place. I'm going to make sure Root will never take over, Danzo doesn't deserve it." Kankuro wanted to just disappear, Itachi's hand was like a metal hook that was ready to tear his arm off. After some thought, Itachi finally released Kankuro's shoulder. His glare could melt steel.

"Very well. If there is any slip up, Sabaku, I'll bury you for ruining my family." His eyes slowly trailed to each of them. "Both of you."

With that, he turned to see that all of his workers were staring at him with fear in their eyes. They didn't hear his threat, but the tension was still there. Itachi scowled.

"Why are all of you staring? Any second longer and I'll rip your eyes out and hang them from your heads. There are people in this building ready and willing to take your place while you bleed out on the floor." His threat was able to divert all of the attention away. Everyone went back to work with fear and dedication to make sure they wouldn't face their boss's wrath. Itachi turned his gaze to Sasuke, who didn't wither as he casually deflected off his glare.

"As for you, I received word that the painkiller has been made and a prototype in liquid form was created. Get it to the hospital, feed it to a willing patient and check the results. Make sure they're thorough, I won't settle for less." Sasuke shrugged.

"I didn't expect you to." Itachi nodded.

"Return once you've gotten all we need to start production of the painkiller. Sabaku, the one with the broken arm. Have this list done in the next two hours and send it to Suna. Make sure it goes through me so I can check. As for the other, head down to the gym and see how Tenten and Neji are doing with the patients who just recovered from the poison." He finally strode away and left them alone. Kankuro let out the breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Fuck, he's intense!" Kankuro whispered hoarsely. Gaara handed him the latte he forgot he was holding. He had to flex and stretch to get rid of the chills running down his spine.

"Drink this and get to work so he doesn't bother us again. We wouldn't want Father disappointed in us." Kankuro was talking over the rim of the paper cup.

"At least Dad wouldn't kill us like Itachi would." Gaara silently agreed.

When Sasuke reached the hospital with the medicine in hand, he was greeted by a rather chilly reception from Tsunade. The blonde doctor was checking up on the poison victims, not really looking at him as she rushed over to help whoever needed it.

"What do you want, rich boy? I'm kinda busy here," she said testily. Sasuke was surprised by how many patients there were. This was a rather large room filled with twenty people. Then the groans he heard from the other rooms sounded like there were victims inside. If Sakura were here, she would be running around providing whatever comfort she could, then silently cry at night as the moans of pain would invade her dreams.

"How are there so many people?" Tsunade scoffed.

"A high school took a field trip to Suna. A couple groups ventured off to God knows where and slept on a sand dune when they got lost not knowing that the dune belonged to a nest of scorpions. Dumbasses got stung like a bitch and here they are. The others got stung just from being on vacation." She brushed loose strands of hair to the back of her head, glaring at him with bloodshot eyes. "Is that what you wanted to know? Then get out of my way before I shove a needle up your ass."

Sasuke sighed. He had dealt with Tsunade's moody attitude before. Was he used to it? Nah, she always had some inventive threat up her sleeve. But he had Itachi to deal with so Tsunade wasn't as bad. He held out the bottle.

"Your team made a prototype painkiller for-" Tsunade cut him off by grabbing the bottle from him. Relief and pride flashed on her face, letting her breathe.

"Thank God! I knew my team could do this! Awesome, we'll have the results in-"

"Get outta my way, bitches!" Ino's voice rang out like nails on a fucking chalkboard. What the hell did Shikamaru see in her? Sasuke and Tsunade winced as they saw her running towards them, jumping over gurneys on the way over.

"What the hell, Ino?" asked Tsunade, tapping the bottle against her thigh. Ino looked worried.

"A patient's losing it upstairs from the pain. He tried to grab Vicodin from a nurse and almost overdosed if we didn't tie him to the bed." Tsunade pursed her lips.

"Fine, he can be our little guinea pig. He's completely flushed of drugs, yes?"

"Yes, ma'am." The doctor grinned fiercely.

"Good. Mr. Uchiha, with me. You can see all of the results this way. Ino, fill out a formal report so we can send it to Uchiha Corps."

Two hours later, the results were all collected and handed to Sasuke, who shook hands with Tsunade before he was kicked out so they had space to work. He was sitting in his car reading over the reports they had made when Itachi called him.

"What?" he asked, not caring about how moody he sounded. He wanted some fucking sleep.

"Change of plans. Take the report home and re-write it for me. I doubt the hospital is as observant as you are. Have it done by nine tonight so we can have a meeting about it tomorrow afternoon." Itachi spoke fast, Sasuke barely able to keep up with his orders. The younger Uchiha sighed. Itachi always had a change of plans when Sasuke was the one executing them.

"Aa. And stop calling me, my phone's going to die." He heard Itachi chuckle, knowing that his damn brother wasn't going to listen.

Gaara was finishing the list when he felt a presence over his shoulder. Most of the scientists had gone down to Sakura's team labs to look over their work. Kankuro was slaving away elsewhere, so who was around besides the pain-in-the-ass president of Uchiha Corps? Itachi had a hard look in his eyes, not uncommon. But why did it seem more angrier?

"Do you mind?" Gaara asked tightly.

"I know what you did downstairs hours ago." His blood froze over. Shit, someone did see him! 'Play it off,' he told himself. What business was it of his anyway?

"I don't think I know what you mean." Itachi smirked.

"Right. As if you didn't touch Sakura's hair in the labs like some lovesick fool. You aren't very subtle, Sabaku. You knew what you did when Hinata woke up. You still love Sakura." Gaara glared.

"How do you know this?" he asked carefully. Itachi bent down slightly so Gaara could see the death-promising glint in his eyes.

"I know everything that happens in my building, even outside. Nothing is a secret to me. I oversee everything in my company and how I do doesn't concern you. What should concern you is what you're doing. Your feelings will confuse Sakura, you were the one who agreed to be friends with her based on how friendly you acted around her with other people. Don't start trying to pursue her again. She and Sasuke are finally starting to get along again, mending everything back to as it should be. I won't allow you to ruin that." Gaara growled enough so Itachi wouldn't here.

"Why would you care? If they get back together or not, if she gets together with me, doesn't concern you. I do care about Sakura still because it's not like we broke up with a fight, we had no choice since we were both getting our shit together. Even then, that's none of your business." Itachi looked emotionless, but the threat in his eyes and aura was strong.

"It's Sasuke's happiness that's going to fade or not because of it. And that is my business. For so long, Sasuke was an idiot who looked for the next lay and saw women as marks on his bedpost. Because of that, he never knew what my parents had with each other. But with Sakura, he was different, happy. She's what he wants and needs. I protect his happiness because that's what an older brother should do." He smirked cruelly. "Still think it's none of my concern?"

His smirk was gone, like he was going to kill him. "If you ruin my company, I'll bury you. Clean, simple, and I can have a lot of people confirm an alibi if the police bring me in for questioning. However, the company I can live without. But if you ruin Sasuke's happiness, I will rip your heart out and shove it down your throat. I won't care if I get caught."

He suddenly smiled pleasantly, backing away from Gaara and shaking his head. Gaara was petrified to the chair, Itachi was crazy. Why did he have to work with him?

"You aren't that bad, I guess. Yet. But I mean what I say about killing you. Now stop being scared and finish your work." Gaara was not one who was easily scared. Monsters and scary movies were no competition, but Itachi was different. Probably because he was real. He went back to work, thinking about what Itachi said. An older brother looking out for the younger one? Yeah, Kankuro was the same for him and the reverse happened more than not, only Itachi was a thousand times scarier and more powerful. He couldn't blame Itachi for getting involved with Sasuke because he was looking out for him. But they were all adults, they could make their own decisions.

Sasuke returned at nine, an hour after Itachi cemented his threat. He looked exhausted. Gaara kept to himself, not wanting to be detected when he was trying to sneak out and go home. Sasuke didn't bother to see if Gaara was around still.

"I did what you asked, Itachi. Now I'm going back home." Sasuke turned on his heel to walk away, but heard Itachi's irritating chuckle.

"You didn't call to tell me that? Why'd you drive all the way back only to go home?" Sasuke groaned.

"My fucking phone is dead. It's a piece of shit and I want a new one." His older brother clicked his tongue, turning away from the computer he was using.

"So childish, like a little boy demanding a new toy." Gaara almost snorted, but didn't want to risk another hour of work. Sasuke glared at Itachi.

"Fuck you. It's because of your damn demands you kept making that killed the battery. I told you it was going to shit yet you kept calling."

"Use your landline," Itachi suggested primly. Sasuke's face held a mix of disgust and embarrassment.

"Can't. Fucking Naruto yanked the damn thing off when I invited my friends over for dinner. He offered to clean up the living room and knocked it off the table." Itachi laughed, much to Sasuke's anger.

"Yeah, laugh all you want, asshole. I'm going home." His brother stopped him. His mind was set back to work.

"Wait, all the results are in?" Sasuke scoffed. He was already irritated with Itachi and didn't care if he was going to sound like an ass.

"Did you lose your memory? I just told you that I did everything you asked. What do you think? It's all at home and I'll just bring it before the meeting. Good night." Before he could leave, he heard Itachi hum in thought.

"Wait." 'Goddammit.' Sasuke turned around with a frown set in place. Itachi looked towards Gaara, who quickly made himself look like he had just stepped into the room.

"Gaara, you need to go to Sasuke's place to go over the recent reports. The hospital sent the results to him and he left them at home. Once it's been reviewed, we can talk about distribution for Suna." Gaara froze, stuck between feeling annoyed and tired. Even Sasuke looked like he wanted to leave. Out the window.

"Can't he just bring them tomorrow?" he asked, almost whined if he didn't have pride. Itachi shook his head. He was being dead serious, but wondered what happened if Sasuke and Gaara had to work directly together.

"No. I want you to see them tonight and be ready tomorrow for the next meeting. The head of our branch in Suna will arrive tomorrow morning to hear about our medicine." He had a fair point. If Gaara saw the reports now, then he wouldn't feel so clueless for the meeting. It would be better if he were more involved, or more educated for that matter. The only problem was that he would have to hang out with Sasuke after work because of this.

"You do know I don't like him, don't you?" Gaara spoke bluntly, knowing fully well that Sasuke had the same feelings for him. Sasuke scoffed.

"Likewise." The younger Uchiha's confirmation cemented their mutual dislike for one another. Itachi smirked.

"Of course I do. But I don't care." He shook his head at them. "You two act like childish rivals, get over it and get to work. If this goes on and affects our project, I'll slice your skull open."

It was said so simply that they thought he was joking. Hopefully he was.

The drive to Sasuke's place was quiet, the older man known as Kakashi hummed as he drove to Sasuke's place. Gaara thought of a way out, not really wanting to go to some guy's house, especially if it belonged to his ex's boyfriend or whatever those two were now.

Now that he thought about it, fate had a real grudge against him. It was either a total coincidence that he and Sakura met in Suna during his busiest years, or fate decided to be a cold-hearted bitch that summer. They tried dating through it and it failed because of distance, because Sakura saw herself as a distraction even though he tried so hard to convince her to stay. If they had met later, like now, this would be totally different. She wouldn't have had her heart broken, she wouldn't have been with Sasuke. She would've been with him.

Why was he thinking about this now all of a sudden? From earlier when he touched her hair? It was her hair, for God's sake! Who knew that something that trivial would trigger this…epiphany? Was that what this was? Then again, Itachi had stirred it up too. He admired his devotion and protectiveness for his brother, but how Itachi felt didn't matter to him. How was he able to read him so well? He heard rumors that Itachi could pick a life apart, he didn't know he would've been a potential victim. But whatever Itachi thought wouldn't affect the company's performance. He would never stoop so low to affect a business if there was a personal problem. Cold-blooded murder? That he would do.

Thinking about Itachi made his head throb, forcing him to turn his attention elsewhere. He wanted to sleep tonight without Uchiha Corps in his head.

As for Sasuke, he too was thinking about Sakura. Their project was coming to a good end, this meant there would now be time to start over and go back to the good days. Why hadn't they met sooner? Before Karin, who jumped into his life when he was about sixteen. From there his cheating, playboy ways escalated for the worst. Without her around, life would've been so much easier. He was well-versed in business even back then, but decided to play around because he was young, wanting everything ridiculous just to do something different than the life he was used to.

Then there was Gaara, a guy who Sakura was with when she was in high school, but left because he was too busy, too stressed with building his business with his father. He was mature for his age and heart broken when she ended things. Sasuke had to be thankful that his business was small or else the two would've been together when Sasuke and Sakura met. If they were together still, what would he be doing? But it didn't matter anymore, he and Sakura could be together again. But why did Itachi feel so insecure? His warning to Sasuke was a little overwhelming, like he was worried that Sakura wouldn't be with him. Itachi loved the fact that Sasuke was with Sakura and that she was a lot more than what he and Sasuke dated and slept with. He was probably going to stop being paranoid once they got married. He was a little concerned that Gaara was going to try and stop that from happening. From what he already knew, Gaara wasn't a pushover.

"We've arrived, sirs." Kakashi parked in Sasuke's driveway, turning to smile at them. He almost laughed when he saw the utter disgust in their eyes for having to sit next to each other. Sasuke quickly got out of the car, Gaara's leaving through the other door. Kakashi quickly exited to stop Sasuke, presenting him with a box from the passenger's seat.

"Your new landline, sir. Naruto gave me the money to pay for it this afternoon." Sasuke smirked, happy that Naruto felt guilty enough to pay for another phone. He took the box. While Gaara would read, he could set it up.

"The reports are all on the counter. Go ahead and read it all. I'm going to set this up." Sasuke left Gaara alone in the kitchen, the redhead contemplating on taking the reports home so he didn't have to stay. He told Kankuro to pick him up in two hours. Hopefully he would only have to stay for a half. He looked around, the Uchiha lived well. All the money and he decided to live alone in a house fit for two or three people. Thankfully it was a tasteful place, surprising considering his reputation. Sakura really did influence him. He should be, Sakura wouldn't lower herself by dating some hot guy who was good in the sheets.

Sasuke was brilliant, though. An asshole, but a smart one. He looked for the reports, sighing unhappily at the pages and pages of medical crap he had to go over. More shit to read, wasn't that a comfort? Like his brain wasn't about to explode already, right? So much crap…when would it end? He dropped his phone onto the counter and picked up the reports. Surprisingly, Sasuke's attention to detail was just as good as Sakura and Hinata's. Dammit, he was going to stay up all night with the encyclopedia to understand these. No, fuck that, he was going to ask Sakura and Hinata at home.

"Did you type this on your laptop?" he called out. He heard Sasuke mutter something as he set up his new phone.

"How else would I print it?" he asked, almost condescending when he spoke. Gaara clenched his good fist, but relaxed when he spoke again. "My laptop should be there on the table if you want to email it to yourself. I'm guessing you don't want to spend a lot of time here."

Good, he didn't want him staying here too long. He wasn't welcome.

"No, I don't," Gaara grunted quietly, turning to see the laptop on the table. He quickly accessed it to email it to himself, wanting to go home and get out of his suit. Maybe they could all eat dinner together instead of separate.

By the time he was done emailing the files to himself, Sasuke had finished setting up his phone.

"Did you read any of the files?" he asked, making his way back. There really was no need to read them, Gaara thought so. Sakura and Hinata had told him hours ago.

"It doesn't matter. I live with the researchers, they'll tell me all about it. There really was no need for me to come here." Sasuke suddenly remembered. Gaara was living with Sakura. Jealousy made him clench his fists. How close was Sakura going to keep Gaara? The two were good friends, something he knew Sabaku wanted to change into more. Maybe he was being paranoid.

Yeah right.

"Yeah, you live with Sakura, right?" His tone had a bite to it, like a demand. Ouch, that may have sounded a little bitter. But Gaara either ignored it or didn't care. This was going to boil down to an argument. How fitting, they were both pissed off enough to not care about the consequences.

"I do. Have been for a while. You knew that though." His mint green eyes (1) were piercing as he looked at Sasuke. "What do you want to know?"

Sasuke was suspicious, wondering if he was a threat. Gaara felt a little flattered, he was, somewhat. But could he really hate someone he barely knew? Time to find out. He spoke first.

"I don't know a damn thing about you, Uchiha. In Suna, gossip went around that you were the playboy every girl wanted. At first, I thought that was the way of a lowlife." Sasuke glared at him, insulted and close to curling the hands around the asshole's neck, but Gaara kept talking. His eyes softened, his tone dropping to a somber one.

"Then I heard you were dating Sakura. And she deserves more than what I thought you were. She respects herself too much to be taken advantage of." He thought well of Sakura, Sasuke could give him that. But why did he talk about this now? He did want to talk to Gaara about Sakura, curious about her other relationships just to see if anyone in her life made her unhappy as he had to avoid hurting her again. But Gaara was going to make this really awkward…

"I was only going to ask how Sakura was. I haven't seen her in a long time." Gaara smirked, knowing fully well of Sasuke's intentions.

"No you weren't. And she's fine, stressed, but she'll pull through." His eyes shone with love, the tattoo on his forehead blazing red in the light of Sasuke's house. Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest to soothe the jealousy brimming in his chest. Damn, he knew it. He didn't like Gaara at all.

"You still love her." It was hard for him to say it, because he knew the answer already.

Gaara swallowed but he didn't lose his ground or his stare. His answer was going to change everything from here on out. Maybe it was time to think about what he wanted for once. Not what everyone else wanted, his entire business life was giving others happiness. He also wanted it too for himself. It was time to let himself be selfish.

"Yes. I had her first. You and I both know that means something to her." Sasuke couldn't hold back his smirk. If Sakura really did love Gaara to the point where she couldn't love anyone else just as strong if not stronger, she would've never been with Sasuke.

"I had her last and that's what matters." Gaara replied quickly, anticipating the answer. Cocky son of a bitch.

"And you fucked that up, if I remember correctly." He was sneering, it pissed Sasuke off.

"Sakura didn't tell you about what really happened?" He was annoyed that she didn't. If she did, Gaara wouldn't be so annoying. Gaara shook his head. He ground his teeth against each other. The reason that Sasuke kissed Karin was so stupid, what was he thinking?

"I know what happened. That was reckless of you, idiotic even. It may have been accidental, but I would never ask Sakura for a final kiss if I knew she was with someone else. I would respect her decision and not drag in her boyfriend in on a dispute between us. Uchiha, you dated trash and an STD carrier and you may have changed for the better since then, but you have yet to prove that you deserve to be with Sakura. What respect have you shown her by doing that behind her back? Did you think she wouldn't find out?" It took everything in Sasuke to not jump and kill Gaara in his house and drag his bloody corpse out the door. He wasn't going to cause a controversy in the middle of a project. Especially since Sakura was involved. If she knew, she wouldn't choose either of them just so they could stop fighting.

"I don't have to prove anything to you. I need to for her and I have shown her that I want her back. If I didn't respect her, then I wouldn't be going after her anymore. I don't give a shit about what you think, but if you try to take Sakura away from me-" He stepped closer to Gaara, who didn't flinch or step back. Onyx eyes glared into hardened green. "I will turn your life inside out."

Gaara's mouth twisted into a mischievous sneer. His voice was husky and taunting. "I'd like to see you try."

Sasuke didn't blink, breathing to keep his temper in control. "You're going to try to get Sakura back?"

"I don't have to tell you anything," Gaara answered coldly. But there was something edging to amusement in his eyes. Fine, if that's the way it was going to be, Sasuke wasn't going to care. All he had to do was make sure that Sakura chose what was right for her. He would never force her to choose.

Sasuke's phone was charging in his room, suddenly ringing to signify an incoming call. They finally stopped glaring at each other and looked to the ceiling where the ringing echoed throughout the house.

"Answer your phone, I'm going home," said Gaara, rubbing the back of his neck. He needed some sleep. Damn Uchihas made him use all his energy today. He wasn't planning on overstaying his welcome and he knew the Sasuke was about to kick him out.

"Have a good evening," said Sasuke formally, which translated in their minds to "Get the fuck out of my house." Sasuke headed upstairs to get his phone, leaving Gaara in the kitchen. Gaara thought to get some water first before heading home, but decided that he didn't want to drink anything from another guy's cup. As childish as it seemed, would you want to press lips against the stuff of someone you hated after yelling at each other? No, didn't think so. Everyone knows you would burn that shit…

His eyes skimmed the counter to find his phone, freezing when he saw Sasuke's house keys on the granite. One of the keys was identical to the one he found at home. Wait…

"You still have the spare key to my house, I'll be waiting."

His mind wandered to weeks before, remembering when Kankuro had checked the messages on the landline to see if any of the girls called and they missed it. They never erased their messages, so they heard of all of Sasuke's voicemails. It was an accident, really. They didn't mean to listen to all the messages, but curiosity got the better of them. One message that he remembered clearly was when Sasuke wanted to talk things over, saying that Sakura had the key to his place. It all fit together.

It was perfect. It was simple, everyone knew the meaning behind leaving the key on the counter. It meant that a couple was over. Due to their busy schedules and how dusty the counter was, he highly doubted that Sasuke took a second glance at it in a long time. If he put the key down, then Sasuke would think that Sakura wasn't interested in him anymore. Out of respect, if he truly did have any for Sakura, the Uchiha would leave her alone, pining for her from afar.

Which meant that there was a chance for Gaara and Sakura after all. The bitterness from before was back with a vengeance. His fingers slowly went into his pocket, the metal barely kissing the skin of his fingertips.

EVIL CLIFFHANGER IS BACK! HAHAHA! Hopefully I can get one more chapter out before school starts up again!

(1) Okay, Gaara's eyes are green. GREEN. For the longest time I thought they were blue! Fun fact I was totally unaware of.

On another note, please forgive any jumbled-ness in this chapter! I hope I didn't get too rusty…

Next chapter preview:

Maybe he was going too far. Maybe he was being too childish and holding false hope. Maybe he was lying to himself that he and Sakura could be together again like back then. Was he just holding onto the past? Had she really moved on? Either way, Gaara thought it was now or never. Drop the key on the counter, or drop it back into his pocket and go home. Sasuke wasn't going to come down any time soon, already expecting that he had gone home.

Then Gaara decided. He dropped it.