I do not own any rights to Naruto (story or characters). Just the characters I make up along the way! I have full love and respect for Masashi Kishimoto!

While this isn't my first story it is under my pen name, Aubrei Seraph. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to ask me any questions or offer any suggestions!

Have fun!

UPDATE: I don't have internet at home so it takes me a while to upload chapters. Gomenasai! I'm also having some trouble with the direction I want this story to take. I have like three different endings in mind and still none of them appease me. I guess I'll just keep writing and see where the story takes me.

Also I don't have an editor to read over everything and check my grammar so please excuse my mistakes. :)

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Sometimes I wonder how I lived in those caverns for so long all alone. It's hard now to remember what my life was like back then. Back when my father was still alive. Back when we were running for our lives. I remember the constant fear and loneliness, a darkness following at our heels ever step we took. Now it's hard to remember those feelings at all. Maybe that's what happens with time? New memories are being made and old ones are pushed further back in your mind. The darkest part of my past is but a faint recollection now and it's all thanks to the man sitting across from me.

Gaara seems oblivious to my inner thoughts as he moves the papers across his desk with purpose. Reports are stacked on his desk in neat piles organized by division and level of importance. I've spent an absorbent amount of time in this office so it was easy to pick up on his habits.

Completed reports that don't need review go in the paper holder on the far right corner of his desk. Those that needed to be reviewed were sorted in a smaller stack to his right. For the most part, he seemed to not notice I was there at all. Moving through paper after paper with practiced ease his sole focus on finishing.

When I met Gaara at his office the sun had already sat and most of the office workers had already gone home. I found him just like he was now surrounded by towers of reports his face set in a blank mask of concentration. He told me that he was almost done, but I think he needs to check his definition of almost. Two hours is not almost done.

I don't know why I complain anymore it's not like this was the first time. It's just, tonight I was even more exhausted than normal. After my surgery rotation last night my body was about ready to give out. I wouldn't sleep, though, not until I was sure Gaara was home first. If I didn't then this man would stay up all night and that was all I needed; a comatose Kazekage on my hands.

His eyes looked heavy as he finished off the report he was working on stacking it on top of the pile next to him. I found out the hard way that trying to get Gaara to adhere to a healthy work schedule was almost impossible. Gaara was stubborn. It was a constant battle with him. I was the one trying to keep him alive and Gaara was doing everything in his power to make that harder.

A yawn caught me by surprise making my whole body shake with the force of it. I could feel the weariness of exhaustion making my body stiff as I strained my arms above my head. The bindings on my arms strained with the movement and I worried that some might have come loose. Checking to make sure I ran my fingers up each arm until it reached the fabric of my shirt. The glitter of the headband on my right arm caught my attention.

I was a Suna Shinobi now. Funny how it's never as scary as your mind makes you believe it is. It's been, what almost two years since I accepted the position at the hospital? Life was so simple then. I only had to worry about myself and Shiba. Now I responsible for the lives of the entire village.

I had a child and his mother come to see me just the other day. He wasn't older than six and had burnt his hand on the stove. His mother was in hysterics but the child just seemed fascinated by the gel I was slathering on his hand. The mother's gratitude was overwhelming as she bowed and bowed crying out her thank yous. It was awkward but I wouldn't give up the happiness I felt as I watched each patient walk out those doors. No there was nothing that could make me go back to my old life, nothing.

My clothing rustled as I moved my shirt pulling a little out of the sash wrapped around my waist. I straightened the plum colored fabric pulling it tighter around my waist. Once I was done I sat back in my chair pulling my knees up to my chest and resting my chin on the dark fabric. Blonde strands fell on my face and the heavy braid that hung down my back slid over my shoulder. I blew the strands out of my face too tired to redo the braid this late in the evening. A heavy sigh left my lips as I settled in for the long haul.

"Why don't you head home?" Gaara asked out of the blue drawing my eyes to where he was still working. He didn't even look up as he spoke, focused on the task at hand. Shutting my eyes I removed the goggles from my face rubbing the skin underneath. "I could ask you the same thing. I'm sure all this paperwork will keep until the morning." I shot back. There was a moment where I knew he was glaring at me even if my eyes were closed. "That's what I thought." I chuckled when nothing else was said.

"As your doctor, I could medically force you to take some time off. That is if you don't at least try to get a full nights rest." It was a conversation that we had months ago after I found him passed out on his office floor. I could care less if he was angry at me at this point. Two times in the past three years he came close to dying. Either he went out of his way to harm himself or he had the worse luck in the world. Whatever the reason it was my job to make sure that he was never that close again.

Part of his problem was his insomnia. After spending most of his life without sleeping achieving it now was almost impossible. The doctors tried everything medically possible to help but it seemed hopeless. Sleeping pills were a temporary solution and only treated the symptoms not the cause. If he was going to get any sleep it would take a major change in his routine, which meant the stubborn ass had to listen to me.

Looking up at the clock I growled low in my throat. "I think that's enough Kazekage." He didn't so much as flinch at my tone as he continued writing. Standing up I walked behind the desk looking over his shoulder at the paper in his hands. It was important documents, yes, but ones that weren't life threatening to the village. Frustrated and exhausted I fought the urge to swipe his off his desk.

The warm embrace of his sand as it wrapped around my ankles kept me from following through. With a heavy sigh, I slid onto the armrest of his chair taking the report out of his hand. He just glanced up at me in question not bothering to say anything. "You need an assistant." O grumbled under my breath but without any real heat. Reaching over I picked up a pen and began reading through the horribly written report. If he wasn't going to leave at least I could help move things along. His smirk was irritating but I let it slid, just this once.

Between the two of us, we were able to complete the stack in record time. Once everything was finished I sat up stretching my stiff muscles. The moon was hanging in the middle of the sky and I could barely speak over my yawn. "Let's go." I managed to grab his arm before he could come up with something else that needed to be done. The guards smirked at us as I all but pulled him out of the building.

I shoved him into his bathroom as soon as we were through his door without caring if I was manhandling him. I was unable to keep my eyes open by this point. While he changed I plopped onto his mattress letting my head fall into my hands. I tried to will my brain to focus on the task at hand but it was a losing battle. I hadn't slept in three days and with all the procedures I've had to perform my body was starting to wear down. Still, I had the next day off and could sleep in. I just had to finish see stubborn ass Kazekage's to bed and I was home free.

When he came out in his sleeping pants and shirt I pointed to the bed without even looking up. "Your bedside manner is questionable." He grumbled low enough where he thought I couldn't' hear him but did as I asked. As soon as his head hit the pillow he let out a deep sigh of relief. Good, that was a major improvement from the first session. First time required a full body massage just to get his body loose enough to relax. It meant it was working.

I grabbed the hand closest to me ignoring the flutter I felt at the contact and proceeded. His sand reacted immediately to the feel of my chakra. It folded away from his skin floating in the air around us like a fog. It hovered over us for a moment before compressing into the shape of a gourd along the wall next to me. Once it was gone I could touch his skin freely.

Unlike most shinobi Gaara had few scars. With a defense like his sand, few people got through to actually cause harm. With the sand on you couldn't even see the few scars he did have. It wasn't until moments like now that I remembered their presence. The jagged edge of each one was fine under my fingers as I massaged the tense muscles in his hand.

This was our little secret, this ability of mine. Manipulating the Kazekage's sand outside of his will was not something to share. The only people that knew were Kaiyo and Kankuro. Gaara didn't seem too worried about it but Kankuro had followed me home one day and told me the truth. If the elders found out that Gaara had any weaknesses his position as Kazekage would be in jeopardy. Even without the demon sealed inside him Gaara was a commodity that Suna could not afford to lose.

It made me mad to think that after all this time they still looked at him as a weapon and not a person. Gaara, the bastard, didn't seem too concerned with it, though. He shrugged off any concern I had telling me not to worry. I know that he enjoyed being able to let his guard around someone but the threat to his safety terrified me.

Having grown up with little to no human touch Gaara was starved for it. It was why I always found him grabbing my wrist at random times throughout the day. He didn't do it to scare me but he needed the comfort. I couldn't find the heart to tell him to stop and honestly I enjoyed finally being able to feel something. Maybe I was just as starved as he was for the connection.

Smiling down at his I placed my hand gently on top of his. The moment our skin connected my chakra poured through him following a familiar path. His chakra was so receptive to mine after all this time it was easy to work through every point.

A person could damage a medic if their chakra fought against their chakra. Gaara was a powerful man with chakra reserves that were almost limitless. With one push, he could send my chakra spiraling back into me tearing my pathways to shreds. It all came down to trust and if nothing else Gaara trusted me in this.

Opening my eyes I could see the effects first hand. His muscles flexed than relaxed one by one along his arms and legs. It started in his toes and fingertips, working through each muscle in a cascading effect. His hands always ready to perform complicated Jutsus unclenched twitching in relief. His lungs expelled the air they had been holding with an elongated sigh and he all but melted into the sheets. Even his face so often locked in deep concentration seemed to soften making him look so much younger. Temptation took over and I couldn't help but let my fingers run across his features.

His was a handsome face one I found myself staring out far too often. His skin was smooth to the touch with none of the lines that most people in his profession possessed. Gaara's face was so like that of his fathers and yet I could see his mother in him. It was in the shape of his eyes and the long lashes that fluttered against his cheek. They gave him a softer look one that didn't go with the stoic man lying beside me. My fingers danced across his skin up over his brow to the strands of crimson hair brushing the top of his head. When my fingers touched the top of the kanji carved into his skin I paused.

"Love." I didn't even realize I had spoken it out loud until his eyes opened to look up at me. Letting my thumb rub across his temple I eased him back down and his eyes shut once more. Breaking the connection between my chakra and his I let his hand fall to his chest. "That should be enough for tonight," I whispered letting my hand fall from his face. He didn't move to stop me and I let my hand rest on my thigh for a moment. It was silly of me to take advantage of him while he was in this state, but Gaara rarely let his guard down. Both of us still had a lot of trust issues; secrets that were still being kept.

I wanted to share everything with him, I did, but sometimes the truth was more dangerous. I promised I would protect him, even if it meant from protecting him from myself; from my past. And yet, I wanted to know everything about this man. What were his thoughts when he sat there in meetings glaring at the council. What were his dreams as I watched him sleep peacefully at night? What were his fears for the village that he loved so deeply? I wanted to know it all. He was an addiction to me, one that I couldn't get enough of.

Rubbing my face in frustration I turned away from him trying to gather my thoughts. The moon was glowing in the clear night sky making the room around me bright enough to see without any lights. I could just make out the stars from where I sat swirling in the night sky like diamonds through the small window. I tried to let the majesty of this night sky fill me with strength and ease my tired mind. When a yawn threatened to escape once more I remembered just how late it was. As much as I wanted to stay and watch over him I needed to catch up on sleep. Standing I shot one more look down at his peaceful face before turning to leave.

The hand that reached out to touch me was warm and solid as it snaked around my wrist with a practiced ease. When he didn't say anything I tried to pull away but his grip only tightened. "Gaara?" I whispered turning to the man wondering if he was still awake. Closed eyes shut in sleep were my answer. "Seriously?" I grumbled falling to sit back on the edge of the bed with a groan. I wanted to be mad. I should have been mad, but I just couldn't seem to find the energy to be angry. Seeing the peaceful way he was sleeping I just couldn't find it in me.

With another sigh followed by an even bigger yawn, I decided that it wasn't worth the fight. With heavy eyes, I crawled over him making room on the opposite side of the bed. I was far enough away to not be inappropriate but close enough that my arm wouldn't lose circulation. His hand twisted until it was holding mine against his chest firmly against the beat of his heart.

"You owe me big time mister," I said through another yawn before I curled up on the pillow next to him. As I started drifting off to sleep I was lulled by the thump of each heartbeat; a strong beat of life. Counting them like I was counting sheep I let the rhythm lull me into slumber. One two, one two… one two… one… two… one…