When Gaara woke up, he wasn't in his own bed. He could feel Sakura curled up against his side, her breath slow and even. He glanced at the window and saw that the sun was just beginning to make its way up into the sky. He needed to get up soon, but he had a little bit of time.

Groggily, he rolled toward Sakura and pulled her back against his chest. She stirred against him, but settled happily into the space that seemed to hold her so perfectly that it was impossible somebody else could ever fit there.

He had to admit that she had thrown him for a loop last night. With Matsuri, sex had been pretty straightforward. Pleasant, but basic.

He knew Sakura had a fiery vein running through her, but he hadn't put together how that would translate in the sex arena.

Vivaciously, apparently. He had absolutely no qualms with their rough, pleasurably painful romp. It had just caught him off guard. Who knew Sakura could be so wild?

He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her – her fruity shampoo and the smell of their sex. He usually found it quite difficult to fall asleep anywhere but his own bed, but with Sakura beside him he felt like he could easily drift back to sleep.

Unfortunately, there was a sharp knock at the door.

Begrudgingly, he rolled out of bed, mindful of Sakura. When he swung open the door, he wasn't entirely surprised to see Sarabi there.

"Gaara-sama," she said dryly, but his state of undress did cause her cheeks to redden, so he reached down to pick up his shirt, which had been haphazardly discarded the night before.

"Shh," he said, putting his finger over his lips. He pointed to Sakura, who was still sleeping soundly in her bed.

"You're disgusting," Sarabi hissed.

Gaara narrowed his eyes at her. "How am I disgusting?"

"You beat me to Sakura so you could get one last fuck in before I tell her the truth," she accused, poking his chest with a prissy finger.

Deciding to be amused instead of annoyed, Gaara smiled. He palmed her shoulder and gave her a good shake. "You're too much like Sakura now," he said. "Hopefully some time in the desert will fix that."

She violently shrugged his hand off of her and stomped into the room. Gaara had already made the decision that it would be best to just leave the two of them alone to discuss him in private. Of course this was a discussion he'd like to hear, but he would let them have some privacy.

"You're a good friend, Sarabi," Gaara said as he glided through the door. He turned back to see Sarabi's deflation. "I'm glad Sakura has you to look out for her."

/

Before Gaara made it back to his room to change, he was accosted by Kankuro in the hallway. Gaara's shoulders sank as his brother approached. While Temari had already suspected his relationship with Sakura, Kankuro was dense and less observant about such things. However, now that Gaara was clearly still in his previous day's clothes and making his way back to his room at such an early hour, it must have been obvious.

"Gaara, where have you been?" Kankuro demanded, his voice harsher than Gaara had expected. "I noticed some strange activity in the desert last night and I came to find you but you weren't in your room."

"What activity?" Gaara asked, already pushing thoughts of Sakura and Sarabi from his head.

Kankuro fell into step beside Gaara and they began to walk back to Gaara's room. "I saw the beast last night," Kankuro explained, "It was—"

"He," Gaara corrected automatically, though he wasn't sure why.

Kankuro also seemed confused. "He?"

"The beast is a he," Gaara explained. "Please continue."

"The beast – he was flying around in weird patterns. I could see it from the guard tower," Kankuro continued. "It— he didn't attack anything, he just flew around, moaning."

"What sort of patterns?" Gaara asked, flicking his eyes over to his brother. He had yet to put on his face paint or cowl yet, and Gaara found he actually preferred his brother like this – just himself, the version he kept only to those closest to him.

"It was hard to tell," Kankuro said with a shrug. "It was swirls and curves and stuff. It seemed pretty abstract."

Gaara frowned and tapped his lips with his pointer finger. Could those patterns be something important? He needed to know – especially if this behavior continued. Could it have had something to do with Sarabi touching the beast last night?

"I would have stayed longer to observe the pattern, but I couldn't find you," Kankuro said. "Where were you last night?"

Gaara quickened his pace, not willing to have this conversation with his brother right now. Kankuro was a keen shinobi, too, so he could probably smell the sex all over him. Gaara grimaced.

"Hey, come on," Kankuro said, grabbing Gaara's shoulder to stop him. "It's just me. You can tell me where you were – I won't tell anyone."

Gaara sighed. It wasn't like they had to keep their relationship a secret. It was official now, so there was no point. He had already kissed her in public. The news was bound to spread eventually.

"I was with my girlfriend," Gaara said tersely, avoiding Kankuro's prying eyes.

"Matsuri? I thought you guys broke up a long time ago."

"Not Matsuri," Gaara snapped, though he instantly felt guilty.

Kankuro took it in stride. "Who is it, then?"

"Sakura."

"Sakura?" Kankuro asked, dumbstruck. He really was clueless if he couldn't see the obvious tension between the two of them. "Sakura Haruno? Konoha's medic, Sakura? The Hokage's apprentice, Sakura?"

"Yes, that Sakura," Gaara snapped, feeling less guilty this time.

The expression on Kankuro's face morphed from confusion to happiness in less than a second. He clapped his hand over Gaara's back roughly, leading them back into a leisurely walk.

"That's fantastic!" Kankuro said.

Gaara felt some tension in his shoulders dissipate. He hadn't even realized it was there.

"She kept you busy all night, huh?"

Gaara scowled and shoved his brother's hand away.

/

Gaara sat at his desk, fresh after his bath and change of clothes. He picked absently at a dish of sliced peaches as he reviewed his to-do list for the day.

Per usual, his mind was not on his work. Instead, Sakura had burrowed her way into his brain like a worm, nestling and hiding in corners so that no matter what he was doing, she was always on his mind.

She would be leaving in a couple of days now, he thought sadly. He tried not to mope as he bit into a slice of peach, even if there was no one around to see it.

Last time she had left, he had given her a letter and an orb of sand. Curious, he reached out with his chakra to feel for said sand. As expected, he found it near her rooms, probably tucked away safely with the rest of her things. She had told him before that she would bring it on missions with her, which gave him a small degree of comfort. He didn't expect her to carry it around with her all the time, but it was nice to know that if she went missing for whatever reason, he would at least have a starting point to find her.

That gift, however practical, had been selfish and just the tiniest bit possessive. He had given it to her specifically so he could know where she was, so that he could know she was safe. Of course he had no business knowing those things – not back then.

But now it wasn't just Sakura: pretty girl from Konoha that was leaving. It was Sakura: the Kazekage's girlfriend. He needed to get her a gift that reflected her new title, that would show her how important she was to him. Something she would like.

Gaara decided that Naruto would be able to offer him the best advice on such a matter. He was close with her, after all. Besides, Gaara needed to speak with Naruto anyway. He had to inform him of his new relationship with Sakura now that it was official.

Not even a few minutes after Gaara had sent someone looking for him did Naruto burst through his office door. His smile was damn near radiant, for what reason Gaara didn't know. He figured Naruto would still be sore about the Sasuke fiasco, but instead he seemed better than fine.

"You asked for me, Gaara-sama?" he asked with a strange sort of perverted grin.

A little off-put, Gaara eyed Naruto with suspicion.

"Yes, I need to talk to you about something," Gaara said after a beat of silence.

"By 'something' do you mean Sakura?" he asked, wiggling his brows suggestively.

Gaara's face dropped and he glared over crossed arms at the blond. "Sakura told you already?"

"Of course, she tells me everything."

Of course. She tells Hideki, Sarabi, and Naruto everything. Gaara refrained from sighing, but he already felt the acute sting of something gone wrong. He instinctively wanted to feel upset that Sakura would tell Naruto without asking, but he was here attempting to do the same thing.

They probably should have told him together.

Before Gaara could follow that train of thought, Naruto's arm snatched him into a tight hug. Gaara went rigid, but then relaxed and reached a hand up to pat Naruto's back.

"Congratulations, Gaara," he said as he pulled away. "I'm so happy for you guys."

A little surprised by his genuine happiness, Gaara couldn't help but catch his infectious smile. "Thank you, Naruto," he said. "That means a lot."

"Now, I trust you, Gaara," Naruto said, his expression sobering up. He held Gaara's shoulder with tight fingers, which Gaara supposed were meant to be threatening, but somehow it seemed comical to him. "That's why I'm going to spare you a long speech about taking care of Sakura," he continued, "but that girl, she's got fragile feelings, you know? I'm going to be pretty upset if you break her heart."

Gaara would be pretty upset if he broke her heart, too, but that wasn't something he could promise with certainty, so he settled for an agreeable nod of his head. Naruto seemed to accept it. His fingers loosened just a little.

"And she's a virgin, you know?" Naruto said, his tone hushed. "You gotta be careful with virgins. It can be painful for them."

Gaara choked back the laugh the bubbled up in his throat. "She's a kunoichi," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but you still don't want her to feel pain, do you?"

Gaara tried to keep his expression neutral, his thoughts flashing back to the night before. A little pain wasn't so bad.

"No, I mean that her hymen is already—"

"Oh my God, are you guys talking about my hymen?"

Both Gaara and Naruto turned to look at Sakura, who was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

"We're actually having a private conversation here, Sakura," Gaara said solemnly. While he didn't want to send her away, he needed to get her a gift soon and he couldn't do that with her around. "Why don't you go have brunch with Temari and Sarabi?"

"You want me to go hang out with the girls while you discuss my hymen?"

Gaara drank in the sight of her – her mostly amused expression and relaxed posture. He took by the wry twist of her lips that she had spoken with Sarabi earlier that morning. He really wished he could have stayed to hear how that had gone.

He nodded to her as he let his eyes float down to her body. She was wearing civilian clothes today – an orange sundress cut in a Suna-esque style that draped over her lithe body elegantly. He'd never seen her look so stunning before. He couldn't recall ever seeing her dressed up for a special occasion, but now having a taste of it he wondered what she would she would wear to Temari's wedding.

"What if I want to have brunch with my boyfriend instead?" she asked.

He suppressed the delighted shiver that ran down his spine at the sound of her claim. He hoped Naruto didn't notice.

"How about you have brunch with Temari and Sarabi now, and then when I'm finished with my business I'll come find you so we can have a spar?" he offered.

"A spar?"

"A spar!" Naruto exclaimed. "That sounds fun. Let me join!"

Gaara dragged his eyes away from Sakura to look at Naruto, who was beaming at him with anticipation.

"No, not this time, Naruto," Gaara said with a shake of his head. "Let me have my fun with Sakura before you take her away from me again."

Naruto's face fell yet again. "Clean fun only," he warned. He looked to Sakura. "And I get him when you're done."

Gaara found Sakura's short bark of laughter in response to be both annoying and endearing. "Who are you to be giving orders to the Kazekage and his girlfriend?" she teased.

Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"Besides," she continued flippantly, "he already defiled me."

His grin disappeared, much to Gaara's horror. He shifted his gaze to Gaara, his eyes positively demonic in their current state. Had he not known any better, Gaara might have though the nine tails was awakening in the dawning of his understanding.

"You slept with Sakura?" he demanded.

"She's my girlfriend," Gaara replied defensively.

"But she's—"

"She's what?" Sakura asked contrarily.

Gaara shot her look. She had to have known that Naruto would react that way and said that intentionally to get under his skin.

"I thought you were a virgin," Naruto said softly to her. "That's what Ino said you told her right before we left Konoha to come here."

"Ino told you what?" Sakura demanded, but even Gaara knew that girl's penchant for gossip.

"You deflowered my Sakura?" Naruto asked, whirling back to Gaara.

"Again," Gaara said patiently, "she's my girlfriend."

"You weren't even gonna tell me?" he asked.

"Why would I tell you?" Gaara asked. "Do I need to ask for your permission first?"

"Well, no, but—"

"You know what, Naruto, why don't you join our spar?" Gaara asked, deciding it might actually be fun to trade blows with his old friend and his new girlfriend at the same time. "I'm suddenly in the mood to fight you."

Gaara was pleased to see both Sakura and Naruto looking delighted by his suggestion.

"You're on," Naruto said, his face hardening with determination.

/

After he had ushered Sakura from his office, Gaara was unable to meet Naruto's gaze again. His concern for the deflowering of Sakura was, well, weird, he thought. Now there was a tension in the air between them, which would make it difficult to have a proper conversation about gifts for Sakura.

Unfortunately, Gaara didn't have time to wait out the awkwardness.

"You and Sakura will be leaving soon," Gaara stated, clearing his throat nervously. "I would like to get Sakura a gift before she leaves and I need help getting her something she will like."

"Oh," Naruto said, sounding a little dumbstruck. "Well, I know girls like things like flowers and chocolates."

Gaara scowled. "I want something Sakura specifically would like," he explained. "That's why I'm asking for your help. You know her better than I do. What sort of gifts does Sakura like to get?"

Naruto frowned and tapped his finger against his lips as he thought. The silence that stretched between didn't give Gaara much hope.

"Well for her birthday last year I gave her a sweater," he finally offered.

"A sweater?"

"Yeah, it was a nice one," he replied. "Pink, fuzzy, just like she likes."

"I can't give her a sweater, Naruto," Gaara said dryly.

Naruto was unfazed by Gaara's exasperation. "Okay, what about jewelry, then?" Naruto said, at last coming up with something not stupid. "Maybe like a pink necklace or something?"

"It won't be pink," Gaara said dismissively, "but jewelry is a good idea."

"Why no pink?" Naruto demanded. "It's her favorite color."

Gaara shook his head. "If I give her jewelry, it should be something fairly recognizable," he explained, "something that would link her to me. I want people to know that she is mine."

"She's not just yours," Naruto muttered with irritation.

Gaara frowned and appraised the petulant look on Naruto's face. He supposed that Naruto felt close to the same way that Gaara had felt when he found out about Shikamaru and Temari. Sakura was like a sister to him.

"I'm not taking her away from you, Naruto," Gaara said, his tone a little softer. "She's going back to Konoha with you, isn't she?"

"Right," Naruto said sarcastically, "until you break her heart or she moves here to be with you – whichever comes first."

Gaara didn't have anything to say to that. That was pretty much the plan. Well, not the breaking her heart part, but the other part. Still, Gaara didn't like to see Naruto upset.

"You never know," Gaara said, trying to sound light and not serious. "I could die and she could end up staying in Konoha."

The abrupt growl that erupted from Naruto caught Gaara off guard. "Don't even joke about that," he said harshly.

Gaara felt his heart softening. It was always easy to remember what made Naruto such a good friend. His concerns and affections were as genuine as they come, and Gaara suddenly did feel a real pang of regret for potentially taking away his sister one day.

"I'd rather her just come here to be with you than for you to die," Naruto said, fixing Gaara with a serious look.

Slightly uncomfortable with the seriousness of it all, Gaara cleared his throat. "Luckily, that's not a condition of our relationship," he said, moving away from Naruto toward the window.

The morning sun glinted off the windowpane and cast long shadows across the wooden flooring in his office. He liked mornings best now that he was accustomed to getting the proper amount of sleep.

"How about one of your earrings?"

Struck by the thought, Gaara reached up to touch her earlobe, running his fingers over the three studs in his ear. They weren't anything ornate or special, just simple jewelry to fit his preferences.

"Would Sakura like these?" Gaara asked, turning to face Naruto. "They're rather plain."

"I'm sure she'd at least pretend to like anything you give her," Naruto said.

Gaara shot him a wry look. He reached up and removed one earring from each ear, leaving him with two studs in each earlobe still. He held them in his palm and watched the sunlight glint off of them. They were far more understated that what he had in mind. Essentially, he wanted to give her a giant necklace – more like a sign, really – that said "Kazekage's girlfriend" on it.

He had a feeling she wouldn't like that very much, but these earrings? Maybe those could work.

"Does she even have her ears pierced?" Gaara asked.

Naruto shrugged. "If she doesn't, then she can get them pierced," he said flippantly. "Now come on, let's get something to eat now."

Gaara glanced back down that earrings in his palm one last time before pocketing them and following Naruto out the door.

/

Gaara and Naruto joined the girls for their brunch, deciding it was best to eat in preparation of their sparring session later on. The girls were nearly finished by the time they arrived, but Gaara and Naruto seated themselves nonetheless. Gaara chose the seat next to Sakura this time, a little more excited by the prospect of sharing touches and affection with her in public now.

She seemed receptive to this idea, linking her hand with his the moment he sat down. She held his hand in her lap and she continued her conversation with Temari. He was instantly light-headed feeling the warmth emanating from a portion of her anatomy that he knew to be quite sensitive.

"Did you conclude your private business?" Sakura asked, her voice low for only him to hear.

Gaara glanced up at Temari, who had shifted her attention to Naruto. They were arguing over something mundane that Gaara didn't quite feel like giving his attention to, but Gaara hoped at some point he could get his sister's opinion on his gift idea. She would be knowledgeable about that sort of thing, he thought.

But now was not the time, so he returned his attention to Sakura who was watching him expectantly and damn near glowing. Had she always been so beautiful? He remembered taking note of her interesting hair color the first time he had seen her nearly a decade ago. He wasn't so sure he had thought of her as beautiful then, but his mind had been in a different place.

Perhaps it was his hormones, but he now found it difficult to do much other than soak in how pretty she was with her bright, glassy eyes and deliciously supple skin and slightly pinkened cheeks.

"Gaara?"

"Yes?" he asked, clearing his throat. "I mean yes, we finished," he said, tugging her hand over to his own lap. Hopefully that would make him less distracted.

"Well, while you were discussing incredibly important private things with Naruto," she began, "Sarabi, Temari, and I were talking about the sand beast."

Gaara raised a brow. He had yet to revisit the topic, but he was hoping to finish all that business after Sakura and Temari left. He loved the both of them dearly, but they often tried his patience where the beast was concerned.

"We think you should let Hideki try to observe and mark down those patterns the beast uses," Sakura explained. "Sarabi thinks he's trying to communicate with us."

Gaara nodded in agreement. He had thought as much, too. Taiyo had informed him that before his people had gone below the surface, they used to speak to the beast as if it were a jinchuuriki. If a similar mechanic was at work here, then the beast was sentient and perhaps it was true that Sarabi was actually his mouthpiece.

"He's been observing the desert each night looking for activity," Gaara replied. He reached for his glass of water, feeling rather thirsty now that Sakura's hand was dangerously close to his manhood. She shifted her fingers in between his beneath the table.

"Has he found anything?" she asked.

Gaara shook his head.

"Perhaps you should bring Sarabi back out there again," Temari suggested, nudging Sarabi with her elbow.

Gaara's gaze flitted between the three women, suddenly feeling as if he were being teamed up on. "Sarabi didn't seem too thrilled by that last time," he said cautiously.

"I didn't like being kept in the dark," she pointed out dryly.

"You know, Gaara, we know you find our concern annoying, but we're only trying to help," Sakura said, squeezing his hand to mitigate what was perhaps a bit of harshness in her tone. "It doesn't seem like the beast wants to attack the village, so it seems like trying to communicate with it will get you the best results."

Gaara glanced to Naruto, who looked very much like he only cared about the finer print on the menu he held just a scant inch away from his nose.

"I agree," Gaara said to Sakura, brushing his thumb over the back of her hand. He didn't like that they were discussing this without him, though. He didn't say as much, deciding it would be wiser not to. In his head, though, decided he would be more proactive about this whole beast situation.

"I'd like to help, Gaara-sama."

Gaara looked to Sarabi, who was watching him with one eyebrow raised. She seemed sassier than usual, but he chalked that up to spending too much time with Sakura. Perhaps she was still upset about the fact that he hid the truth from her and Sakura.

"Okay," he acquiesced. "We can try again in a couple days."

"I'll go with you," Sakura said.

Gaara was already shaking his head before she had finished the sentence. "There's no reason for you to come along, Sakura," he said, trying to sound patient and not like he was trying to get rid of her. "I don't want to needlessly put you in harm's way."

Sakura opened her mouth to speak again, and Gaara could see by the fire in her eyes that it was not going to be pleasant.

Thankfully, Temari was able to speak first. "Sakura, you'd be better suited for a satellite team," she suggested, catching Gaara's eye and giving him a subtle nod. "Gaara and Sarabi can go out and hunt down the beast while you and I stay closer to the village, ready to either provide backup or medical attention as needed."

Sakura mulled this over for a second, glancing at Temari and then Sarabi. "What do you think, Sarabi?"

"I think Temari's idea is perfect," she replied, though her gaze was on Gaara instead of Sakura. "I'm worried that too many people will antagonize the beast."

"It's settled, then," Gaara said, his voice brooking no room for argument. He held onto Sakura's hand with nervous fingers, hoping that their years apart had granted her more wisdom. Avoiding her gaze, he looked down at their intertwined fingers.

This was only going to get harder, he imagined. Sakura would not stop being a kunoichi and he wasn't going to be around to protect her while she was in Konoha. He wouldn't be too bothered by that were it not for the fact that she had a tendency to run headfirst into danger.

Gaara glanced at Naruto, who was still deeply engrossed in his menu. Naruto would protect her. Gaara knew that for a fact. He didn't need to worry.

/

AN: So, this story is about to wrap up and I'm starting to get close to finishing up my other WiP. I'm thinking of writing a KakaSaku fic next, but if you guys have any other requests or opinions I'd love to hear them! I want to try writing something a little shorter (maybe 50k words completed) because I can't seem to write anything shorter than 100k lol.