Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters associated with it

A One Month Bet

Instantly their bodies froze, as though controlled by some invisible ninjutsu. Sakura slapped a hand to her mouth. Terror and shock danced across her wide, sage-colored eyes. They could each hear the crunch-crunch of uneven footsteps on the rocky sand outside. The shadow of a figure was ambling towards the door of the greenhouse. Instinctually, Gaara extended his arm outward sending sand from his gourd snaking like a whip towards the door. The grains wedged themselves into the crevices of the lock, in between the latch and filling every available tiny space until it was packed firm like concrete. His other arm wrapped protectively around Sakura's slight frame, pulling her off the edge of the table and crouching low so that they were both obscured from the intruder's line of sight.

"Don't you try to hide! I know you're in there!" the voice cried. It had the timbre and edge of an angry, older woman. Sakura recognized it to be likely one of the greenhouse attendants. Of course! Her mind screeched, How stupid are we! These greenhouses are utilized and maintained daily because they foster important medicinal plant life! It was no surprise that there would be someone nearby to tend the garden. They were foolish to think they would be all alone there… And in a building made entirely of SEE-THROUGH WINDOWS! Sakura felt she might vomit.

The figure came to a pause by the door and tried to jiggle the latch, but the sand encased inside made it do little but click sadly with no space to turn. They heard the woman grumble something unintelligible, as the latch clicked furiously to no avail. Finally, the voice called, "Alright! Very clever! You can hide all you want, but I know you're in there. I heard you! Disgusting!" Sakura sank her head into her hands in shame. Twice now! I ruin the fucking moment because I moaned! Gaara felt the itching of a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. He wasn't happy about Sakura's embarrassment, but he was secretly pleased with himself for being the one that caused Sakura such ecstasy, even if it had drawn them an unintended audience. It meant he had done something right.

The voice continued, "You listen close now: this greenhouse is property of the Sunagakure Hospital and the plants in there are very important specimens! I'm going to call on a Jonin to come break open this latch. Mark my words, you better be gone by the time we return! Take your dirty fondlings elsewhere and stay clear of these greenhouses! If I find that even one of these precious plants is damaged by your nasty business, so help me I'll have the Kazekage himself after you!"

Sakura's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and locked with Gaara's, and she could barely stifle a snort of laughter. Gaara's smirk widened. Flutters of nervousness, adrenaline, a relief wafted over both of them as they heard the same crunch-crunch sound disappearing in the distance, and they knew they were safe. They would be long gone before any Jonin arrived. Gaara relaxed with a sigh and loosened his grasp on Sakura, leaning back on his haunches to observe her. Sakura at once became shy, and tried to cover her bare breasts bashfully. "Hah…well…" she cleared her throat awkwardly, "We should, um, probably get back to the tower."

Gaara's broad chest was still rising and falling gracefully in the moonlight. Despite their closeness a moment before, Sakura now appeared uncomfortable under his gaze. He turned away to preserve her modesty while she hurriedly fumbled to reattach her chest band and shrugged her vest back on. Gaara, too, pulled his shirt back on and when she was ready, he offered a hand to pull Sakura back to her feet. They stood together, both silently reliving the moments of everything that had just happened. Sakura kept casting bashful glances at him, and there was a sweet pink blush dancing across her cheeks. Gaara knew their intimate moment had been interrupted, but unlike last time, he didn't feel hollow inside. Sakura was not running from him. She was still here, in front of him. They had shared something special together, and she was not embarrassed or frightened of him. The sensation of contentment and warmth filled him more strongly than the lustful cravings had done, making his chest feel tight from the inside out. These feelings were all so new to him that Gaara didn't know what they should be called, but regardless he loved how they felt. When Sakura shyly avoided his gaze, he gently tipped her chin upward and planted a soft, lingering kiss on her lips. Sakura leaned into it, emitting a gentle, happy sigh. It wasn't feverish and hungry as their other kisses had been. This one was sweet and comforting, sharing a range of feelings that they either would not or could not say out loud. They felt though, in that kiss, that each of them was finally whole.

X

The flight back to the Kage tower felt shorter than their previous journey to the greenhouse. Perhaps it was because Sakura knew what to expect this time, or perhaps it was because she now felt more secure in holding on to Gaara. Everything that had happened in the greenhouse felt like a dream. A good dream, Inner Sakura purred…but how long would that dream continue to linger on? Even along their trip to the Kazekage tower, her mind flickered back to pieces of their complicated reality. What would happen now that they had admitted their feelings to each other? Would they try to hide their situation from others? What would happen when… inevitably… she had to return to Konoha…? She already had less than a week left…

Gaara wrapped a comforting arm around her. Though neither one said it out loud, similar thoughts were playing through their minds. The night was waning on, and soon morning would come to rip them from this wonderful, shared fantasy they were living. For now, he just wanted to keep Sakura close to him. He wanted to never let her go.

He landed their platform on the roof, which now held different significance to them both. Together they walked down the familiar path back towards the sleeping quarters of the tower, sneaking like devious teenagers coming back home well after curfew. The darkness acted as an old friend, there to graciously hide them from their embarrassment. They had just rounded the last corner to the hall that had Sakura's guest room when a familiar voice halted them in their tracks.

"I can't believe him! Sends me on a wildfreaking goose chase after I work my ass off hosting the tournament today. Why not send Kankuro? What was he busy doing, huh? Why is it always big sister Temari to the resc—"

Gaara and Sakura sprang apart right as Temari rounded the hallway and caught sight of them. Her pigtails looked more frazzled than normal, and shadows under her eyes betrayed her exhaustion. As her mind clicked into focus, her gaze darted from Sakura, to Gaara, back to Sakura again. Well-trained Shinobi eyes took stock of Sakura's puffy lips, Gaara's wrinkled shirt, and the awkward six-foot distance they were trying to portray as nonchalant. Temari's eyes stretched wide as saucers first, and then focused on her little brother and narrowed into slits.

"Oh so this is what you've been up to while I've been all over Suna running your errands!"

Sakura's immediate blush gave away their guilt, but Gaara tried to appeal to his sister, "Temari, we—"

The blonde Kunoichi threw both her hands up in a motion to stop him. "Ahp! I don't wanna hear it. I'm happy for both of you, truly, but I'm cranky as hell right now. I've been all over the damn village while you two have been canoodling, and for the record I found your damn medic." Her angry eyes darted towards Sakura now, who felt an awful pit in her stomach… Hanae…

"Is she alright?" Sakura asked timidly.

Temari softened slightly and sighed. Rubbing her neck she said, "Yeah, I found her and she's okay. But not before using the records to visit her apartment, her mom's apartment, her uncle's place, and her cousin—all of whom became crazy worried when they found out I was trying to find her in the middle of the night. The cousin tipped me off to a friend's address, and I finally found her there." She folded her arms, looking alarmingly like her youngest sibling as she did so. "The irritating part is that after I finally tracked her down, I had to double back to all the previous locations and do damage control, so that her family didn't think she was dead or dying."

Gaara grimaced. He hadn't intended for Temari to be so dragged down by this task, but it had been his selfish desire to speak to Sakura alone that evening, and Temari was the unintended victim in the night's events. Heaving another sigh, Temari continued, "I will say the girl wasn't in great shape. Whatever she consumed really did a number on her, and she's still not fully recovered. I made the choice to take her on over to the Suna hospital so that she could at least be watched over for the night." She looked mournfully at Sakura, "Hotaru filled me in on the situation. If you're confident you can do some sort of poison test, I'd think it's a good idea. Maybe in the morning, unless you think you should test her immediately?"

Sakura shook her head. "No… even if the effects of a poison wear off, there's generally still evidence of it in the blood screen. As long as she's currently stable, then testing her in the morning should be soon enough. She should rest."

Temari nodded solemnly and her eyes slid closed. She stretched her long arms up and outward. "Well, congratulations to you two lovebirds. Can't say I'm not still a little mad at you for ditching me with your dirty work, but I get it. Can't wait to hear all about it in the morning!" she ambled lazily past them, leaving both parties standing awkwardly in the hallway until she rounded the corner out of sight. When they confidently felt they were alone, Gaara closed the awkward distance. Sakura let out a heavy sigh.

"Well… I suppose that wasn't the worst possible reaction we could've expected." She gave a halfhearted chuckle and hugged herself self-consciously. "I'm glad to hear that Hanae is okay…" She glanced bashfully her counterpart, "I guess… we better turn in, huh? I would like to go check on her as early as possible tomorrow."

"I'll go with you."

Gaara mustered his courage to reach out and place his hands on Sakura's shoulders. He hoped it would make for comforting motion, though he still wasn't sure what to do with their new level of familiarity. Do I… hug her? He wondered. Does she want me to stay? Does she want privacy? Sakura smiled sweetly at his offer.

"Okay."

Gaara thought that may be the end of it, but just as he began to let his arms drop to his sides, Sakura lifted up on her toes and planted a sweet, simple kiss on his cheek. Again, he felt the warm tightness spread across his chest, and his head felt lighter. Sakura dropped down and gazed up at him through delicate pink lashes. "Goodnight, Gaara."

She slipped away into the darkness of her bedroom and the door closed with a soft click. Gaara remained still, seemingly frozen in the moment that he'd received his first ever goodnight kiss. The warmth inside him felt so intense, so encompassing, he felt it could sustain him throughout even the coldest desert nights. Still running high on adrenaline of the night's events (and secretly still not wanting it to end), he returned to his haven on the roof top and lay sprawled out under the pale, comforting light of the moon. Staring deeply into the wide, white expanse of what was once his only friend, he remembered every touch, every kiss, and every embrace with the only woman that occupied his thoughts. For the first time in a very, very long time, Subaku no Gaara felt real, true happiness.

Dear readers - I apologize for the delay. Thank you for reading and supporting our story.

Until next chapter,

Olly