Hello again, sorry for the late update, had a day out with the husband and child. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.
TheBloodyLoveOfSakuraHaruno, ahh that's a shame, hopefully you'll get notifications again. I would love it if I could bottle their energy, I'd use it on a daily basis!
XxxXxxXxxXxxX
By Friday afternoon, Sakura was worn out from all the preparations that had been done. Within two days, her and Ino had managed to decorate the venue with all the flowers, made place settings with Hinata and helped bake several hundred cupcakes for the guests. From what Sakura had gathered, the whole of Konoha was invited and several other people from different places.
Sakura and Ino walked through the streets, towards the spa. They had decided to treat themselves with everything they had managed to get done, and that too in a short amount of time.
"We pulled it off," Sakura smiled at Ino.
"We always do," Ino grinned back.
They were led to the massage room, where both women stripped and laid on the beds, sighing in content as each knot was massaged out, the tension leaving their bodies. With the massages done, they made their way to the steam room.
"How did it go at your parents?" Ino asked, leaning against the wall.
"She did what she always does, bombard me with thousands of questions to find out why I'm still single, and when I try to tell her, she ignores me and tries to set me up with someone," Sakura sighed out. "Dad got involved this time, he told her to stop asking me so many questions and that we should enjoy the time we have until I go back to Suna."
"That bad, huh?" Ino huffed out.
"I know, dad never gets involved with our arguments," Sakura lent against the wall, sighing as the steam surrounded them.
"How have things been in Suna?" Ino changed the subject.
"They've been good, work's busy as usual and I went out with Sasori and met his boyfriend last week," Sakura smiled.
"Bet you got drunk again," Ino laughed before asking, "did you try and kiss someone this time?"
"Ha ha, you're so funny," Sakura deadpanned, "I didn't get too drunk this time and no, I didn't kiss anyone."
"Aww, not even Gaara?" Ino teased.
"Shut up, pig," Sakura shot.
"I'm joking," Ino smiled at her, "how is he anyway?"
"He's well," Sakura smiled. Loosing herself in thoughts about him.
"Look at you," Ino smiled at her, "you've got it bad for him."
"What?" Sakura looked at him, "no, it's not like that. We're friends."
"Seriously, you're still saying this. I saw how you were looking at him, and you've got this goofy little smile on your face, you're lost in your thoughts about him. Just admit it already, you like him."
Sakura looked at Ino, "fine, I do like him."
"I knew it," Ino grinned, "have you told him?"
"No," Sakura shook her head. "I don't think he feels the same way, and on Friday when he dropped me home, I asked him to come in, but he said no."
"What? You never said you went out with him."
"We've been talking quite a bit, messaging one another and sometimes we'd meet up. On Friday, he'd asked me if we could meet and I told him I'd made plans with Sasori. I invited him and he came out with us," Sakura smiled, remembering the feel of his hand in hers.
"What happened?"
"Nothing," Sakura sighed, "I did kiss him and hold his hand."
"You what?" Ino screamed.
"I couldn't help it, I just wanted to kiss him again," Sakura smiled at her.
"Are you going to tell him?" Ino asked.
"I don't know," Sakura replied.
"Sakura, you should tell him, how is he going to know you like him, if you don't tell him?"
"I know," Sakura sighed, "I'll think about it."
Another ten minutes, they got out of the sauna and made their way to the showers before going back to Ino's house and making a meal together. With dinner over and the kitchen tidied, the women decided to call it a night, too tired to want to do anything other than sleep.
XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo
The siblings arrived in Konoha just after eight in the evening. They grabbed their luggage and made their way to the exit and into the car park, towards their hire car that Temari had managed to acquire that morning.
With the luggage in the car, Gaara took the wheel, driving to the Konoha Hotel. They checked in and made their way to their rooms with their luggage.
"Shall we go out for dinner?" Kankuro asked, placing his bag in his room and walking into Temari's, "I'm starving."
Temari looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "you're always hungry."
"You're always mean," Kankuro mimicked her voice, "you want to go ang get something or not?"
Temari shook her head at him, "fine, let's get Gaara and we can go and get something to eat."
Together, they knocked on Gaara's door, waiting for him to open up.
"We're going out to eat, you coming?" Kankuro asked.
"Alright," Gaara grabbed his phone, the room key and car key.
They made their way into town and looked around, trying to find somewhere to ear. Gaara spotted the ramen stall that Naruto favoured the most. He smiled recalling how Naruto had forced Gaara to try the ramen when he had first visited Konoha. "Let's go to Ichiraku's Ramen," Gaara suggested.
They walked to the stall and sat down at the empty stools, waiting to be served by the man himself.
"Good evening, what can I get for you?" Ichiraku turned to face them, before smiling at Gaara, "it's been a long time since I've seen you here."
"It has been," Gaara returned the smile.
"How are you doing?" he looked over at Temari and Kankuro and smiled at them, "welcome to Ichiraku's."
"Hello," both Kankuro and Temari smiled at him.
"What would you all like to eat?"
"I'll have the pork belly ramen, please," Gaara ordered.
"I'll have the same, please," Kankuro and Temari said in unison.
"Coming up," the old man smiled at them and got busy preparing their food. Several minutes later, the food was placed in front of them, "enjoy."
"Thanks for the food," the trio said in unison. Each grabbing their chopsticks, breaking them apart and picking up noodles, slurping them down.
"This is delicious," Kankuro said between mouthfuls.
Ichiraku smile at him, "I'm glad you're enjoying it."
With their bowls empty, Gaara paid for their food and they made their way back to the hotel, calling it a night.
XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo
The women spent most of the morning at the venue with Hinata and Naruto, taking care of any last minute things.
"Everything looks to be in order," Sakura said as they looked around the room. Each table had a floral centrepiece and place cards set.
"Thank you for all your help," Hinata smiled at her, hugging her.
"You're welcome," Sakura returned the hug.
"Right, we need to go and get ready, we'll see you two later on," Ino said, grabbing hers and Sakura's bag. Together, they made their way back to Ino's house, where she grabbed two glasses from the cupboard and a bottle of wine from the fridge. She walked into her room and handed Sakura a glass, filling it up. "Drink up, then we'll start to get ready."
"Thanks pig," Sakura smiled and took the glass, sipping at the cold drink.
"What do you want me to do to your hair?" Ino sat on the bed, her fingers in Sakura's hair.
"I was thinking of having half up and half down, curled."
"I can do that," Ino smiled at her.
With the bottle half empty, Sakura showered and sat in a dressing gown, letting Ino have at her hair. An hour and a half later, her hair was done. The top half was in a flower bun, the bottom was curled to perfection.
"You are the best," Sakura smiled at her reflection.
"Tell me something I don't know," Ino grinned back at her. "I'll do your make up, then you can get your dress on."
"Thanks."
Another hour later, Sakura was done. Her eyes framed with smoky black eyeshadow, making the green of her iris stand out, her lips painted deep red. She grabbed her dress and got into it. A halter neck maxi dress, with a low back and a slit on both sides, stopping mid-thigh. She looked at herself and smiled. She slipped into her black high heeled sandals and wearing black dangling earrings.
"Damn girl, you look hot," Ino whistled low, smiling at her best friend. "You'll definitely be getting a lot of attention tonight."
Sakura turned to face Ino, smiling wide. "Your turn now."
For the next three hours, Sakura helped Ino get ready, styling her long blonde hair into a stylish and elegant updo, her makeup similar to Sakura's, the only difference was instead of red lipstick, Ino favoured a light pink one.
By the time they were ready, the women had had a bottle and half of wine, already buzzing slightly. They looked at one another and smiled wide, getting into the taxi that Sakura had called half an hour earlier.
They arrived at the venue, watching as several men, women and kids walked in, greeted by Naruto and Hinata.
"You both look amazing," Hinata smiled at them, hugging them.
"Thanks," Sakura smiled, hugging her back, "you look gorgeous."
Hinata was wearing a deep purple maxi dress that hugged her form. The bluenette smiled at her, "thank you."
Ino and Sakura made their way into the venue, greeting several people as they walked around.
Sakura spotted Tsunade and walked over to see her mentor. "Tsuande," Sakura smiled at her.
"I heard you'd come home for a few days," Tsunade smiled back, embracing the young woman before letting her go, "how are you? How are thing in Suna?"
"I'm good, thanks, and things are great in Suna," Sakura smiled wide. They spoke for over forty five minutes, until Naruto and Hinata walked into the centre on the room, gaining everyone's attention.
"We would like to thank you all for coming out to celebrate with us, it means a lot to us that you were all able to join us tonight. As you all know, I asked this beautiful lady," Naruto looked down at Hinata and smiled wide at her, "to marry me and she said yes. I truly am a lucky man to have the love of this amazing woman, to have her stand by myside through everything, I love you Hinata Hyuga." He captured her lips in a soft kiss, earning them both an 'aww' from the crowd.
"Please, enjoy yourself, food will be served shortly."
Sakura made her way to her table, sat with all her friends. The room was filled with chatter, all exclaiming how amazing the venue looked, to the beautiful, heart-warming speech Naruto had given.
The food was served and the room was filled with silence, except for the sound of forks and knives against tapping against plates.
With the starter, main and dessert over, plates cleared, everyone got up and mingled. Sakura made her way to the bar, and waited to be served.
XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo
Gaara showered and dressed in his black suit, paired with a light pink shirt paired with a silk dusty pink tie. He pocketed his phone and hotel room key, he walked out of his room, finding Kankuro doing the exact same. He was dressed in a blue suit, white shirt and deep blue tie.
"Looks like we're waiting for Temari once again," he sighed and leant against his door, watching Temari's door. "How long do you think she'll be?"
Gaara shrugged, he had learnt early on to not rush Temari, unless you wanted her breathing down your neck and glaring evils at you for the remainder of the night. They waited another ten minutes when Temari's door opened. Dressed in a blue sequence dress, her hair tied up in an elegant bun. She smiled at them, "ready?"
"We've been ready for the last ten minutes," Kankuro pushed off the door and walked towards the elevator.
Temari glared at his back, while Gaara shook his head. They followed after Kankuro, getting into the elevator and going down to the lobby. They got a taxi to the venue and made their way in.
"Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, you made it," Naruto smiled at them.
"Congratulations," Temari smiled back, "thanks for the invite."
"You're very welcome," he shook hands with Kankuro and Gaara, "you're just in time, we're about to sit down and eat." Naruto led them further into the venue, towards their table.
They sat down just as the starter was being served. Followed by their mains and dessert. With the food over, Gaara and Kankuro excused themselves, making their way to the bar. As they passed the guests, some stopped to speak with the brothers, finding out how they were doing, how the business was fairing and how their father was. They both answered the questions, shook hands before moving on and answering the same questions several times before reaching the bar.
They stood side by side, waiting to be served, Kankuro struck up a conversation with a lady standing to his left. Gaara tuned them out and looked around, his eyes falling on Sakura, who was stood with her back to him. "Hi Sakura," he said.
Sakura turned to look at look at who greeted her, her eyes falling on Gaara. At first she gave him a confused look, only to have it turn into a wide smile, "Gaara, hi. How are you?" With being busy over the last few days, she had forgotten that Gaara was coming here. He looked amazing, as always. The pink tie and shirt standing out against the black of his suit.
"I'm good thanks, how are you?" He returned the smile. He was taken away by her beauty. The dress complemented her, at the same time, making her look alluring. Her eyes shining brighter thanks to the dark makeup.
"I'm good too, thanks. When did you get here?"
"We landed yesterday afternoon. How did the planning go?"
"It went well, we managed to get everything done yesterday, so that was a big relief."
"Hi, what can I get you?" The bartender asked them,
"A lemon gin and lemonade and a whiskey please," she smiled, she handed over her card.
"Coming up," the bartender tapped her card before handing it back and preparing the drinks.
"You didn't have to get me a drink," Gaara said to her.
"I know," Sakura smiled, "I wanted to." She turned to look around the room, her eyes falling on Genma, who happened to be looking at her too, as he started to walk towards the bar. She quickly turned around and hoped against all hope that he hadn't seen her.
Gaara noticed the sudden change in Sakura's demeanour, her shoulders were suddenly stiff and tight, her jaw clenched and her hands balled up. "Are you okay?" he asked her.
Sakura looked at him, "urmm, I don't know." She chanced a look over her shoulder, noticing Genma as he got closer and closer. She averted her gaze as quickly as possible.
"What's the matter?" Gaara looked around, trying to find what was the cause of her discomfort, but all that he could see were people, some that he knew, some he didn't.
"Gaara…" Sakura looked at him, unsure whether she should say anything at all, let alone ask him for something she was sure was a stupid idea.
"What can I do to help?" He asked with no hesitation. He heard the question in her voice, the look on her face telling him that she needed some kind of help.
"I know this is going to sound utterly ridiculous, but can you pretend to be my boyfriend?" She rushed out the question.
"Pardon?" Gaara looked at her with confusion, sure that he had heard wrong.
"There is this guy, Genma, he's making his way here…" she started, before licking her lips and carrying on, "we had a casual relationship of sorts…" she looked at him and sighed, "actually, you know what, forget I asked." She turned away and grabbed her drink that was placed on the counter and took a sip. I should have known I'd bump into Genma sooner or later. She took another sip, followed by another, until she heard Genma call her name and stand next to her.
"Genma, hi," she forced a smile on her face. "How are you?"
"I'm good thanks," he smiled back, his eyes raking over her body, admiring her getup, "you look amazing by the way," he leered at her.
Sakura gave him a small smile, taking a small step back, adding some distance between them, "thanks, you look good too."
"Don't I always," he smirked at her. He leant slightly closer to her, "Sakura, you didn't tell me you were leaving."
"I didn't really have time to tell many people, I had gotten news of the move two days before I was due to leave."
"Well, you're back now," he looked her up and down once again, "maybe we could carry on where we left off…?" His fingers ran up and down her arm.
Gaara looked between them, understanding now what Sakura was trying to say. Without any hesitation, he gently placed his arm around Sakura's waist and guided her to his side, "there you are," he kissed her cheek, "I was looking for you."
Sakura froze for a second, before looking up to face Gaara. She gave him a thankful smile and moved closer to him, pressing herself against his side, "sorry baby, I got distracted."
Genma looked between them, his eyes falling on the man's arm around her waist. He looked at Sakura, "who's this?"
"Sorry, let me introduce you, Genma this is my boyfriend, Gaara, from Suna. Darling, this is Genma, a friend of mine."
Gaara held out his free hand, "pleasure to meet you, Genma."
Genma nodded and took his hand, giving it a firm shake before pocketing his hand. He looked at Sakura, "guess I'll see you around," he turned and walked away, not bothering to get a drink.
Sakura sagged with relief. She looked at Gaara and smiled, "thank you so much."
"You're welcome," he smiled back, keeping his arm around her, not wanting to let go. "Who was that? Ex-boyfriend?"
Sakura shook her head, "he was a friend with benefits."
Gaara nodded, "sounds like it didn't end well…?"
"You could say that," Sakura sighed, "we weren't exclusively together and last I checked, he was with someone else, so I left it at that…"
"It's his loss," he smiled at her and grabbed his drink, taking a large sip.
Sakura looked at him, shocked at his words. She wanted to ask him what he meant, but she shrugged it off. She grabbed her drink and polished it off, placing the empty glass down.
"Another drink?" Gaara asked her.
"Yes please," she nodded.
Gaara ordered them another drink, paying for it.
With their drinks placed in front of them, Sakura eyed Gaara's drink, "how do you drink whiskey neat?"
"You pick up the glass and take a sip," Gaara said, picking up his glass and taking a sip.
"Ha ha, you're funny," Sakura rolled her eyes, before laughing.
"Would you like to try some?" Gaara asked, placing his glass near hers.
"Okay." She picked up the glass and knocked back its content. She grimaced at the taste, at the burn at the back of her throat. "Ughh, how do you drink that?" she grabbed her glass and took several gulps, trying to get rid of the taste of the whiskey.
"You're not meant to down it," Gaara laughed.
"It's not funny," Sakura said between gulps.
He laughed lightly, "it sort of is."
Sakura pouted slightly, her eyes narrowing at him, "I'll remember this."
Gaara smiled at her, "can I make it up to you?"
"You can, with a dance," Sakura smirked at him.
Gaara smiled at her, "okay, let's go." He led them towards the almost full dance floor, dancing to song after song. He enjoyed watching Sakura laugh and smile as she danced with him.
After a few songs, they made their way back to the bar, ordering more drinks.
Sakura picked up her drink and took several sips, before placing it down. She turned to speak to Gaara when her mother walked up to her.
"Sakura, there you are, I've been looking for you everywhere."
Sakura faced her mother, before she could say anything her mother, Mebuki carried on.
"I have someone you need to meet, he is a doctor as well, so you'll have something to talk to about things, and he's really good looking."
"Mum, I don't want to meet this person, whoever he is," Sakura told her.
"I think you should meet him," Mebuki told her, refusing to take no for an answer.
"And I don't want to meet him," Sakura stood her ground.
Mebuki narrowed her eyes at her, "Sakura, why can't you see that I am trying to help you?"
"Mum, this isn't the place or time to be having this conversation," Sakura said through clenched teeth.
Mebuki glared at her, her jaw clenched tight, before walking off.
Sakura huffed out a humourless laugh, she turned to grab her drink and found Gaara looking at her with a worried expression.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah… you got to see my mother," she took gulped down the remainder of her drink, placing the empty glass on the counter. "I'm going to go, have fun with the rest of the evening." She turned and made her way towards the front, saying goodbye to people as she passed them by.
Gaara finished off his drink and followed after Sakura, not wanting her to be alone while she seemed annoyed and upset. He reached her just as she was about to leave and held her hand, stopping her.
"What… what are you doing?" Sakura looked down at his hand before looking at him.
"Making sure you're okay," he gave her a small smile.
"I'll be fine," Sakura said, annoyance evident in her voice.
"How about I walk you home?" Gaara asked.
"You don't have to, you should go back and enjoy the evening," she gently prised her hand out of his, "you're here to celebrate with Naruto, not listen to me bitch and moan about my mother."
"You were there for me when I needed someone to talk to, let me return the favour," Gaara smiled.
Sakura looked at him, his words were sincere, and she could see that he was worried about her. "Okay, thank you."
"No problem."
Together they walked through the almost deserted streets. Sakura stewed over her mother's words, annoyance filling her all over again. She couldn't believe that her mother would do this, well, she could. But she had hoped that she wouldn't have tried to set her up at Naruto's party. She shook her head, clenched her jaw and balled her hands into fists, she knew full well that before she left for Suna, her and her mother would end up having a big argument.
Gaara could feel the annoyance and frustration leaking out of Sakura, from the way her hands balled up into tight fists, her stride getting longer, her jaw clenched. He understood exactly what she was feeling and he wanted to be there for her, to listen to her the way she had been there for him.
They reached her apartment and Sakura fished out the keys from her bag, glad to have put them in there earlier. With the door opened, she walked in, Gaara following after her. She undid her sandals and kicked them off and placed her bag on the small table. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed two glasses and from a cupboard, she grabbed a bottle of wine. She walked back into the living room and placed the glasses and bottle on the coffee table and slumped on the sofa. She filled the glasses and grabbed one, taking large sips.
Gaara toed off his shoes and placed them neatly by the door and sat down next to Sakura. He looked around the room, it was beautiful but quite bare, the only things around was the furniture, the pictures on the walls and a few ornaments dotted around. Gaara picked his glass and took a small sip, before placing it back down. He turned to face Sakura, "are you okay?" he asked.
"Who does she think she is?" Sakura shot out, downing her glass before filling it up again and placing it on the table, "I can't believe she would do that, especially tonight of all nights!"
Gaara turned to face her, "I suppose she's trying to look out for you, in her own way."
Sakura looked at him, "I get that, but I just wish she could understand that I don't need her looking out for me, that I don't need her to try and fix things, to control things," she picked up her glass and took several gulps, emptying half of it.
Gaara nodded, he knew how she felt. He picked up his glass and took another sip before placing it back down.
Sakura had finished off her drink. She placed the empty glass down and sighed, leaning back on the sofa and pressing her head against it. She turned to face Gaara and gave him a small smile, "sorry."
"For what?"
"I'm ruining your evening," she huffed out.
"You're not, I chose to come here with you," he smiled at her.
Sakura nodded, "thank you for that." Without thinking, she moved towards him and kissed him, only to have him pull away. Sakura looked at him and huffed out another humourless laugh, "I am sorry," she moved away from him and stood up, "I shouldn't have done that, hell, I shouldn't have kissed you the last time either. Clearly you don't want me and that's fine, I'm just the idiot that's throwing herself at you without once considering whether you want me to or not. You'd think for someone who is a doctor, she would have a brain cell or two to know not to do that. But no, here I am-
Gaara captured her lips with his, silencing her rant. For a while, they both stood there, looking at one another. Gaara moved back, placing his hands on her waist, holding her close.
"You… you kissed me…" Sakura finally said, looking at him with confusion, "but… you don't want me."
He smiled at her and moved one hand to her face, cupping her cheek. He ran his thumb across her bottom lip, "I want you," he whispered.
"But you pulled away from me when I tried to kiss you," Sakura said.
"Because you're upset, I don't want you to do something only to regret it later," he told her gently.
"You… you want me?" Sakura asked, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Yes, I do," Gaara smiled at her, he moved his face closer to hers, their breaths mingling. He gently pressed his lips against hers.
Sakura sighed into the kiss, her eyes closing, her arms wrapping around his neck. She pressed herself against him. The kiss started off slow, tentative, sweet. Slowly it got deeper, Gaara moved one hand into her hair, holding it, the other, tightening around her waist. Sakura moaned as he licked her lips, opening them for him.
Their tongues moved against one another, his stroking hers sensually, making her moan more. Sakura bit down on his lip, earning a groan from him, his hands tightening around her. When they parted, both were breathing heavily, both looking at one another, loosing themselves in each other's gaze.
Sakura bit down on her bottom lip, his words echoing around in her mind, I want you. She moved her hands down to his shoulders, to his chest and pushed off his jacket, before loosening the tie and unbuttoning the first two buttons of his shirt.
Gaara held her hands, stopping her, "what are you doing?"
"Isn't it obvious?" she looked at him through her lashes, "I'm taking off your clothes."
"I can see that," he smiled at her.
"Then why are you stopping me?" she pulled her hands away and grabbed his shirt, unbuttoning the next two, until he stopped her again.
"Because neither of us are sober and I don't think it's a good idea for us to do anything right now," he snaked one arm around her waist pulling her closer, "that doesn't mean that I don't want you, because believe me, I do," he whispered to her.
Sakura looked at him, and bit down on her bottom lips, stopping the moan that bubbled in her throat. His eyes were full of desire, hunger and want, the look making her insides burn and quiver with anticipation. She placed her free hand on his semi exposed chest, running it against the hard muscles. She watched as his eyes grew darker, watching her. She angled her face and kissed him, enjoying the feel of his soft, full lips against hers, the way his arm tightened around her, holding her closer, "I think it's a good idea, a very good idea," she said between kisses.
Gaara smiled against her lips, "not tonight." He straightened up and looked down at her. "We should get to know one another better and if we both still feel the same, then we can do whatever you want."
Sakura smirked at him, "I'll feel the same way regardless."
"Then, you won't mind waiting," he let go of her hand, placing his hand once again on her cheek, caressing the soft skin.
Sakura pouted, not wanting to wait any longer, she needed him, wanted him, but she wasn't going to do anything against his wishes. She nodded, "okay."
Gaara smiled at her and placed a soft kiss against her cheek, "thank you."
Together, they sat back down on the sofa, this time, Sakura was sat next to him, one leg thrown over his, her hand holding his. She ran her finger over the back of his hand before looking at him, "when did you get the tattoo over your left eye?" she asked.
"I got it many, many years ago, when I went through a rebellious stage," he answered her.
Sakura raised an eyebrow at him, "you rebellious?" she asked incredulously.
Gaara nodded, his face falling slightly at the thoughts that filled his mind.
Sakura noticed this, she placed her hands on his face and got her to look at her, "you don't have to tell me anything," she gave him a small smile.
"Growing up I didn't exactly have the best relationship with my father, or with my siblings for that matter," he started. "You see, my mother passed away during my birth and my father grieved her a lot, and he blamed me for her death. For most of my childhood, he wouldn't look at me, talk to me or anything.
As I grew older, we would argue, butt heads with one another, and sometimes come to blows. I ended up getting involved with the wrong people and as a way of getting back at my father, I decided to get this tattoo," he touched his forehead, "a symbol of love, it was my way of saying that I deserved love." Gaara closed his eyes, memories filling his mind.
Sakura was shocked at what he had said, it pained her to know that he had such a harsh childhood. She sat astride him, placing her knees on either side of his legs, "you are loved so much Gaara," she told him, watching as he opened his eyes to look at her, "and you're an amazing person, and I am really grateful that you chose to share this with me."
Gaara gave her a small smile. He placed his hands on her hips, pulling her closer to him. "Things got better, my uncle, Yashamaru got involved and he made me see that my father's anger was misplaced. Over the years, my father and I have started to talk again, and you've seen for yourself how close Temari, Kankuro and I are."
Sakura smiled at him, "they love you a lot."
Gaara looked at her, loosing himself in her eyes, finding them filled with nothing but kindness. He moved his hands to cup her face, gently guiding her face to his and capturing her lips. He pulled away and smiled at her, "thank you."
"For what? I haven't done anything," she smiled at him. She looked over at the clock, surprised to see how much time had passed by. It was quarter to one in the morning. She looked back at him, "do you… do you want to stay here tonight?"
Gaara checked his watch, it was later than he had thought and he didn't want to leave Sakura, "if you don't mind."
"I don't," she gave him a shy smile and stood up, "you can sleep in my bed."
"And where will you sleep?"
"In my bed," she told him.
"Sakura-
"I promise to try not to attack you," she interrupted him.
Gaara chuckled at her words, "fine, I'll share the bed with you, with my clothes on."
Sakura smiled at him and walked to her bedroom. She opened her wardrobe and found a grey top and black shorts; she grabbed them and placed them on the bed. She reached behind her, undoing the dress and slipping out of it and got into the shorts and top.
Gaara grabbed the glasses and the bottle of wine, taking them into the kitchen. He emptied his drink down the sink, before placing both glasses in there and the bottle in the fridge. He turned off the lights and made his way to the room Sakura had walked into.
Sakura turned to face him and blushed, her stomach alight with thousands of butterflies, "which side do you prefer?"
"I don't mind either," he walked into the room and towards her, "you choose."
Sakura grabbed the duvet and pulled it off the bed and got into the right side, her side. She watched as Gaara turned off the light and made his way to the other side. In the darkness, she could hear the shuffle of clothes being taken off, followed by Gaara getting in beside her. She turned to face him, just making out his outline in the darkness.
"I thought you said you're sleeping with your clothes on," Sakura said, placing her hand against his naked chest. She could feel his strong heart beat against her palm.
"I am still wearing some of my clothes," he informed her, placing a hand on her hip.
Sakura was tempted to run her hand down the remainder of his front, to feel the rest of his body, but she refrained, not wanting to go against his wishes.
For a while, they spoke, getting to know one another. Sakura telling him about why she wanted to become a doctor, sharing some of her favourite things with him, and Gaara telling her more about his childhood, how he ended up joining the company, running it with Temari and Kankuro. Eventually, both of them fell asleep, Gaara's arm around her waist, pulling her back against his chest.