Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN NARUTO!!!!

Wow you pplz...thanks a lot! Im glad u pplz think that im doing well...cuz...I've had my doubts...I'm really trying to finish this one...and im really having writers block for my other stories...if u have ANY suggestions...PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!! Tell me! (epsicially who should kidnap sakura..cuz..i've made a few attempts...but...they all seemed bad.......AND what events should occur in my "secrets revealed" one...please tell me!!)

Every time someone tells me that im doing well, I get more and more determination to finish the next chapter..and so on...so...I really really appreciate all your comments! THANK YOU!!! XOXO

Also..i know the summary is a little different and stuff...but...I promise..the key point of the story...IS about that...kz?! :D

NOTE!!! I changed the umm thoughts to /.../ cuz ffnet wont let me use the ones i always used....

On with da story!!

Winter Nights

Chapter 3-Affections...

Sakura looked out the window and sighed as the snow floated in the air. /Damn leg...I just HAD to fall down the fucking stairs...NOo...I couldn't fall at home...hmph/ It was a cloudy day, making the house gloomy, filled with shadows.

-creak-

"Huh? What was that?" Sakura panicked. /Oh my god...is it a burglar?!/

The pink haired shinobi crept out her room quietly.

-creak-

Sakura's hands clenched together, starting to sweat. She darted her eyes left and right, up and down. Nothing.

-crash-

"Shit" a low voice cursed from downstairs.

"Oh my god...it is a burglar!!" Sakura whispered. Grabbing a wooden stick she was using as a crutch, she limped downstairs stealthily.

Reaching the kitchen, Sakura used the walls for support, then crept towards the shadowed figure.

Raising her wooden stick slowly, she took another step. As she was about to hit the figure, the figure stood up, and blocked the attack.

"What the hell?!"

"AHH!! BURGLAR!!!!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs, and tried to run away. But a hand came over the top of her mouth, and pulled her close. A sweet scent of soap danced into her nostrils.

"Shh...I'm NOT a burglar..." a soft voice said.

Sakura turned around as the arm and hand let go of her.

"Gaara-san?" Sakura asked, unsure.

"Yes..."

"Oh! G-gomen..."

"It's okay...what were you thinking anyway? Can't a guy stay out of the cold? Geez..."

"Oh...hehheh...sorry...I thought everyone went out to ski/snowboard, that's all..."

"Oh..well...I hate the cold..."

"Well, considering you ARE from the hidden sand village, I guess I don't blame you..."

"...So, how's your leg?"

"Oh, it's okay, I guess...It only hurts when I walk on it...which, I'm trying to avoid..." Sakura laughed.

"I see..."

"Yeah...so, what were you doing anyway?"

"Oh, I was trying to make something to eat...before...you know, I was recognized as a burglar..." Gaara explained.

"Oh, hehheh..." Sakura laughed nervously.

"Do you want anything?"

"uhm...how about ramen?" Sakura suggested cheerfully.

"Sure...you know, you've been hanging around Naruto too much..." Gaara chuckled lightly, seeing the cheerfulness in Sakura's voice.

"heheh...Yeah...maybe..." Sakura laughed, then added quietly, "maybe because I have no one else to hang with..."

"What was that?" he asked with curiosity.

"Oh, nothing...nothing..." Sakura flashed a fake smile, and walked over to the cupboard to get out some ramen.

"Would you mind if you cooked it? I don't really know how to cook..." Gaara asked.

"Sure!" Sakura limped over to the stove with the ramen. "Could you take out the big pan..or bowl...looking like thing? Just right there...Then fill it with water..." Sakura pointed.

Gaara filled the silver container with tap water, then set it on the stove.

"Thanks..."

With that, Sakura started to cook, with Gaara standing near her, to help if she needed to get anything.

Within 10 minutes, their lunch was served.

"Itadaikimasu!" Sakura said happily, snapping her wooden chopsticks in half.

Sakura pushed the steaming hot ramen into her mouth, bit it off, and chewed. She repeated this process several times, until she realized that a pair of eyes was gazing at her. Sakura looked up, and had a confused look on her face.

"Why are you staring at me?"

"No reason..."

"Alright then...Eat your ramen...It doesn't taste good when its cold..."

"Okay..."

Gaara continued to stare at her. /Such beauty...She's so kind and nice...Unlike the woman I had to live with...stupid, controlling Temari.../ He sighed inwardly, and continued to look at Sakura, until a voice brought him back onto planet earth.

"Gaara-san..."

"Huh? Yeah?"

"Now, WHY were you staring at me? AGAIN?"

"No reason..."

Sakura gave up quickly, and sighed. She ate her ramen quietly, looking out the window.

After drinking the last of the soup, Sakura fell back onto the chair, licked her lips, and lay her head on the back of the chair.

"Ahh..that was good...Wow...I'm just like Naruto now...hehe.." Sakura giggled.

"Sakura...-chan...Did anyone tell you that you are beautiful?" Gaara blurted out suddenly.

"Wha?" Sakura snapped back up, staring at him unbelievably.

"Has anyone told you that you were beautiful...?" he said again, with a slightly dreamy voice.

"My mom and dad did...and all those fan boys...but, they don't really count, do they?" Sakura laughed again, "Wait...are YOU saying that I'm beautiful?"

"Yes..." Gaara said truthfully, wondering why the HELL he said all this in the first place.

Sakura flushed, and looked down at her lap. She twiddled her thumbs and muttered a quiet 'Thank you'. Getting up abruptly, she swiped her chopsticks and bowl off the table, headed over the counter, and dumped them in their respective places. She started to wash the dishes that were piled up from this morning, along with the ones she just used.

Gaara followed Sakura when he was finished, handing her his bowl, and taking a wet paper towel, and wiping the table clean.

It's quite remarkable how 5 years ago, Gaara used to be someone that cared about nobody but himself, did nothing but to the benefit of himself, and actually LIKED killing. Sakura found this very amazing, and wondered why Sasuke never changed as immensely as Gaara did.

Dazed, Sakura washed the dishes absent-mindedly, and found herself staring at Gaara as he leaned over the table to wipe some soup stains off.

/He IS kinda cute...and he DID say that I was beautiful.../ Sakura thought, blushing again.

"Here..." Gaara handed her the towel for her to throw out.

"Thanks..."

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

After cleaning the area they used in the kitchen, Sakura limped up to her room to take a shower. As she struggled up the creaky stairs, a warm hand grasped her elbow, and a soft, new voice said, "Let me help you..."

"A-arigatou, Gaara-san..." Sakura blushed a deep shade of magenta. /Why do I blush like this?! I never did this before around him...why now?! Was it because he saved me?! Or...because he said I was beautiful?! Sigh.../

Gaara aided Sakura all the way into her room, as she got her clothes. Helping her back down the same, creaking stairs, Gaara's heart began to thump loudly...uncontrollably...

/What the hell? First saving her, then telling her what I thought, and now, my heart is beating like no other...what is WRONG with me?!/

"Thanks..." Sakura said, as she was set onto the toilet seat with her clothes in her arms.

"How are you going to shower...?" Gaara asked, curious.

"Well, I just have difficulty walking...I can stand with no problem..."

"Ahh..right...well..be careful..."

"Hai..." /Wow...Gaara-san is so...caring...did Sasuke-kun ever say these things to me? All he ever said was that I shouldn't go on dangerous missions with them...he says that just 'cause I'll get in HIS way...hmph.../

As water from the shower head hit the ceramic floor, Gaara sank into the lumpy green cushion, his arms and legs relaxed, and sighed.

"AHH!!" a scream came suddenly from the bathroom.

Gaara jumped right up, and ran to the bathroom from which the voice was heard.

"Sakura! What is it?!" he asked, panicking from the outside.

"Nothing...I...I just slipped..that's all..." Sakura explained, regaining her breath.

"Okay...if you need anything, just call me...ok?"

"Okay...thanks..." Sakura felt gratitude to Gaara's generous actions, and thought about Sasuke again.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

Everyone came back from a day in the snow, and was completely exhausted. They all got home, and either got in the shower, or collapsed on the sofas or the floor.

"Woah...you guys look sooo tired!" Sakura said as she jumped up, having almost stepped on Naruto.

"Ugghhhhhhh........." Naruto moaned.

Sakura sighed, stepped over him, and entered the kitchen, where the girls were preparing dinner.

"Hey Sakura...How's your leg?" Ino asked, as she poured some frozen corn into a bowl.

"It's ok...but, I have troubles walking up and down the stairs..."

"Oh..well...one of us can help you...right? And if you need anything from your room or something, we could get it...right Shika?!" Ino offered, her eyes on the almost unconscious Shikamaru lying on the green sofa.

"Mmmmm..." Shika groaned.

"See?" Ino turned back to Sakura, and smiled.

"Thanks...So...what are you guys making anyway?"

"We're having a stir-fry dinner tonight!" Temari chirped, as she just had a fresh, warm shower.

"Ohh..." Sakura smiled, and hopped over to the table, where Gaara sat, staring at a math text book.

"Gaara-san? Why are you doing homework at a time like this?" Sakura questioned.

"I have to keep up with my studies, you know...plus, there's nothing else to do..." he replied blandly.

"Oh...so...what are you doing right now?"

"Calculating the slopes of these straight lines, and their equations..." Gaara pointed at a diagram full of different, criss-crossing lines.

Sakura's eyebrows knotted together, and her head hurt just looking at the graph.

"Ugh...All this snow's making me a COMPLETE airhead..."

Gaara smiled lightly, and looked back down onto his piece of paper with equations and random numbers.

Sakura ran her hands through her pastel pink hair, and found some knots. Bringing a handful of hair in front of her, she started to take the knots out with her delicate fingers.

She looks so cute...so...innocent... Gaara thought as he looked up to see what she was doing.

Just as he was deciding this, Sasuke stepped into the kitchen, his hands running through his wet hair. Sakura looked up, and smiled. It was the first time she had seen his raven-blue hair down, the first time it wasn't spiking up in that natural shape.

"Sasuke-kun...how come your hair isn't its normal shape anymore?" Sakura tried to make conversation.

"Because...I combed it...stupid" he said coldly.

Sakura looked down, as tears started to well up in her eyes. She didn't know why, but she just couldn't control it. She couldn't take it anymore...

"GOD SASUKE!!," Sakura exploded, purposely dropping the honorific, "EVERYTIME I TRY AND TALK TO YOU, YOU JUST...JUST TELL ME THAT I'M STUPID, OR I'M IN THE WAY...OR THAT I'M WASTING MY TIME WHEN I COULD BE TRAINING...WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU ANYWAY?! WHY?!?!?" Sakura limped out of the room as fast as she could, and up the stairs, when she tripped and fell.

Gaara stood up instantly as she fled the room, threw the pencil down, and ran out of the kitchen.

"Sakura! Are you ok?" Gaara asked with a worried face.

"Yes..." Sakura sniffed, and got back up.

"Here, let me help you..." Gaara sighed.

Walking up the stairs as they did before, this time a bit faster, they reached Sakura's bedroom once again. He helped her to her bed, and sat down beside her.

"Sakura...Just ignore Sasuke..." he tried.

"But...I...I can't! I...love him..." she cried.

"Do you really?"

"Y-yes..."

"Positive?"

"Uhmm..."

"Exactly..."

Sakura stayed speechless.

"M-maybe...maybe I really don't love him...maybe...it's all just been a lie...just because I used to like him..." Sakura thought aloud.

"Maybe so..." Gaara leaned closer to her, and held his hand out to caress her face as a tear came rolling down her cheek. His heart thumped loudly and uncontrollably again.

"Sakura...don't cry for him..."

Sakura turned to look at him in the eye. His jade eyes, with a small twinkle that was never there before.

"Thank you...Gaara...-kun..." Sakura felt so secure, so safe from all dangers. /It's like...he was always there to protect me...from anything.../ Sakura thought.

They leaned closer together, and their lips connected. A sweet, innocent kiss.../She's so beautiful.../

Just as they were deepening the kiss, someone barged in, crashing through the door.

"Sakura!" a furious voice yelled.

They broke from the kiss, and Sakura said "Sasuke-kun?", surprised and shocked.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Sasuke ran over to her and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away from Gaara and her bed. Gaara lowered his arm, and sat there, staring at them.

"Sasuke! Get off of me! I can do whatever I WANT!" Sakura yelled, trying to get out of Sasuke's strong grip.

"No...you're mine...and mine only!" he snarled, almost too possessively.

With that, Gaara got up, and pried Sasuke's fingers off of Sakura's small delicate wrist.

"Don't do that to her!" he snapped as he pulled her closer.

"Gaara-kun..." Sakura said, relieved, as her body hit his warm one gently.

Sasuke gave an angry growl, and stomped out the door.

"Daijoubou, Sakura?" Gaara asked caringly.

"Yeah...Thanks..." she sniffed. "Gaara-kun...I think you're right...I don't love Sasuke..."

"Sakura...hmm..let's get you tucked in...you must be tired, from all that cooking..." he gave a genuine smile, and led her back over to her bed. Gaara lifted the sheets, and picked Sakura up, placing her gently on the bed. Pulling the blanket and sheets over her small yet developed body, he made sure she was snug and kissed her forehead. Then, he walked over to the door, and turned the lights off. As he was closing the door, Sakura said, "Thanks Gaara-kun...for everything..."

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

Wow...a personal best...the length I meant...cuz..this chapter was prettttyyy boring if u asked me...annyways...it was sorta a...I dunno...transition chapter? Anyways...it took me a while cuz I sorta went from fic to fic to fic to hw, to this, to hw, to this, to fic, to this, to hw, to this...and...so...some stuff will probably seem sorta weird....the style changing a lot...please don't mind...I just had a LOT of distractions..i promise...I'll try and make the next chapter better!

Next chapter...Gaara's weak side will show!......i think anyway...might be the NEXT NEXT chapter...not sure... but..i DO PROMISE YOU!! TA!