It had been four days since Gaara had been in hospital, and Temari still tried to force him to stay at home and in bed. "Temari, I am better now," he pushed past her and into the kitchen. He made himself a coffee and grabbed a bowl for his cereal.
"You know what the doctor said, you need to rest," she placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her gaze at him, "so, rest."
"I have been resting, since Friday night and now it's Wednesday. I am tired of resting," he filled his bowl with cereal and added milk. He sat down and began eating it.
"Gaara,-
He held up his hand, stopping her from talking. With his mouth empty he said, "I am looking after myself Temari. I'm making sure to get a good night's sleep every night, and I haven't missed any meals," he gave her a small smile, "stop worrying."
"I can't help it," Temari sat down next to him, "you really made me worry."
"I know and I'm sorry," he held her hand and gave it a squeeze, "I'm okay now."
Temari sighed and squeezed his hand in return, "okay," she nodded, "but no more late nights at work."
"I'll try," he smiled at her and finished eating his breakfast. He changed into a suit and grabbed his laptop, phone and keys, "I'll see you later," he called to Temari and Kankuro as he walked to his car.
Once at work, Gaara made his way towards his office and was stopped by some of the board members.
"Gaara, how are you feeling now? Temari told us what happened."
Gaara held back a groan and gave them a small smile, "I'm better, thank you."
"That's good to hear."
Gaara nodded at them and walked to his office, shutting the door behind him and sighing. As much as he loved his sister and brother, he was glad to be away from their watchful eyes and them trying to wait on him hand and foot. He walked to his desk and sat down. He found several new files waiting for his attention. He picked them up, finding new contracts that had been proposed to Sabaku Inc. For the next several hours, he went through each file carefully, understanding what each client could bring to their company and how Sabaku Inc would be able to help them in return. It was only when a knock sounded on his door, that he looked up. "Come in," he called and stretched his neck, side to side.
He watched as granny Chiyo walked in; a smile present on her lips. "Gaara, shouldn't you be resting my boy?"
Gaara stood up and waited for Chiyo to sit down, before sitting down himself, "granny Chiyo, you should have called, I would have come to see you."
"Pish, posh," the old lady waved away his words, "I'm not all that frail that I can't make my way around Suna."
"Granny, I didn't mean to be rude," Gaara apologised, "what can I do for you?"
Chiyo smiled at him, the weathered skin around her eyes crinkling slightly, "I came to check up on you, I heard about what happened."
Gaara wondered whether the whole of Suna knew what had happened, "Temari made it out to be worse than it actually was," he said as a way of explaining the situation.
"I read your charts, it could have been worse," Chiyo told him, "my boy, you must look after yourself."
"I am granny Chiyo," he smiled at her concern, "I'm making sure to get enough sleep, and eat regular meals."
Chiyo nodded, "that's good to hear. You know, you remind me a lot of your father, more ways than one. He too was always work driven, working long hours and barely getting any rest. There were many times that I had to force him out of his office and make sure he got enough sleep," she chuckled lightly.
Gaara gave her a small smile, not knowing what to say to her comments about his father.
"How is Rasa doing these days?
"He is well. The last time Temari spoke with him was a few weeks ago. He's taking things slow in the countryside with Yashamaru." Gaara did speak with his father, but most times, it was only to discuss work, upcoming contracts that he believed Sabaku Inc should look into. He was glad that they were on taking terms, especially after all the arguments they would have, some coming to blows, had Yashamaru, Temari or Kankuro not intervened.
"That's good to hear," Chiyo looked at him, finding him lost in his thoughts. "I'm glad Sakura was able to see you, she is an amazing doctor."
Gaara shook away his thoughts and nodded, "yes, she is," he smiled, recalling how gentle she was with him, how her fingers gently examined him. "I am very grateful to her and to you."
"Think nothing of it, my child," she chuckled and stood up. When Gaara went to stand she waved him off, "I can see myself out," she shuffled towards the door before turning to face him, "you remember to take care of yourself, I don't want to see you at the hospital any time soon."
"Yes granny," Gaara smiled at her. He watched as the woman made her way out. He thought about what she had said, about Sakura. He truly was grateful for her, for helping him and looking after him. He wanted to say thank you to her, for not only helping him, but for having to put up with Kankuro and Temari. He thought of what to get her, all he came up with was a bouquet of flowers.
He opened up the internet browser on his computer and searched for a florist, finding one in town. He placed an order for a surprise thank you bouquet to be delivered to the hospital for Sakura. He added a message.
Sakura,
I didn't get a chance to thank you properly for looking after me at the hospital. I really am grateful for you.
Please accept these flowers as a thank you.
Yours Sincerely,
Gaara
He requested for the earliest delivery, and paid for them. He went back to work, only stopping when Temari marched in and ordered him to have lunch with her. He didn't dare argue with her, knowing full well that she would argue back, and say that it was too soon for him to be back at work.
He locked his computer and followed Temari out of the building and into her car. They drove to a small café down the road and walked in. He made his way to the counter and ordered them food, a ham salad and lemonade for Temari and a chicken croquet sandwich and black coffee for himself. He paid for it, grabbed the ticket and sat down with Temari.
"How are you feeling? Have you been taking breaks away from your computer? Drinking enough water?" Temari threw question after question at him.
"Temari, I am fine," Gaara groaned out, "yes, I have been drinking plenty of water and I'm getting away from my computer now."
"Gaara, you need to take your health seriously," she gave him a small smile.
"I do."
"Really? Because you're too busy trying to get back into work when you should be resting." She pointed out.
"Do we have to go through this conversation again?"
"We will keep having this conversation until you understand how to look after yourself." She scolded, her features tightening slightly.
Their food arrived and Gaara was thankful for it, glad Temari would be quite while eating. As much as he loved her and cared for her, sometimes he found her overbearing and hard to deal with. He ate his sandwich and drank his coffee and when they were done, they quietly made their way back to work.
XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo
Sakura had her nose stuck in several files, charts and emails. She tried to update files and charts while replying back to as many emails as possible. She looked to her left and groaned at the sight of all the files waiting for her attention. She threw her head back and grumbled to herself, until there was knock on the door. She sat up, "come in," she called.
Sasori walked in and looked at her, "woman, you seriously need to learn how to take care of yourself." He shut the door behind him and walked to her desk, making some room by tidying away some of the files and charts that littered the area. He placed two bags down and pushed one towards her, "take some time away from all that and eat."
Sakura smiled at him, "thank you, you're a life saver." She pulled the bag closer and grabbed its contents out. A grilled chicken wrap, a can of her favourite soda and a portion of cream anmitsu. She looked at Sasori and grinned, "you are the best."
"Tell me something I don't already know," he winked at her and took a bite of his sandwich. He chewed his food and swallowed.
"How is Deidara doing?" Sakura asked him.
Sasori smiled at the name of his boyfriend, "he's doing well. He stayed over at mine over the weekend."
Sakura smiled wide at him, "I'm happy for you Sasori."
"Well, it's thanks to you forcing me to ask him to join us when we went out," he smiled at her, "what about you?"
Sakura finished the food in her mouth, "what about me?"
"Have you found anyone that you'd like to see? Well, other than the mysterious red head that you were kissing…" he smirked at her.
Sakura rolled her eyes at him, "honestly, I haven't had the time to find anyone."
"That's because you're a workaholic who doesn't know when to take a break," he pointed out.
"True," Sakura opened the dessert and scooped a few jelly pieces, "I'm happy being on my own though."
Just then there was a knock on the door. Sakura looked over at the clock, she wasn't expecting anyone. She wiped her mouth and stood up, walking to the door and opening it.
"Good afternoon doctor," the young receptionist smiled at her, "these came for you," she handed over the bouquet of flowers."
Sakura looked at the flowers, they were beautiful, "thanks," she smiled at the receptionist. She walked to her table and placed the flowers down.
"They're beautiful," Sasori looked at them, "there's a note attached to the side," he reached over and grabbed it, handing it over to Sakura.
Sakura opened the envelope and read the message. She smiled at the note, she placed it on the desk and grabbed the flowers, carefully putting them on the windowsill. She walked back to her desk and sat down, placing the note in her drawer, keeping it safe.
"Who are they from?" Sasori asked.
"Gaara," she smiled, "he wanted to say thank you for looking after him when he came in on Friday."
"That's sweet of him," Sasori smiled. He had grown up around Gaara, especially as his gran would help their father quite a bit. It had been a while since he had seen him. It was then he realised that Gaara had red hair, and as far as Sasori knew, he was the only one with distinctive red hair. "Sakura," he smirked at her, "the red head you were kissing-
"Sasori, I'm not going through this again," Sakura warned.
"I was just going to say, Gaara has red hair," he watched her carefully, wanting to see her reaction.
Sakura bit the inside of her lip, she had a feeling she knew where this was about to go, "he does."
"The person you were all over, he too had red hair, didn't he?"
"Uh-huh," Sakura turned her attention on the pudding, forcing herself not to react to anything Sasori would say.
"That's a coincidence, right?"
"Yeah," Sakura ate the anmitsu, taking her time chewing the fruit and jelly pieces.
Sasori smirked at her, "did you kiss Gaara better when he came in?"
Sakura chocked on her food, she coughed several times, clearing her airways, "what?" she wiped at her eyes.
"Well, seeing as you were all over him last time, I just thought that maybe you'd have kissed him better," he winked at her.
Sakura felt her cheeks burn as they coloured, "Sasori, you can't say anything."
"I was right," he grinned at her.
Sakura closed her eyes and groaned, "why'd you trick me like that?"
"I would have found out eventually."
Sakura shook her head, she had hoped that no one would have figured it out, but that didn't seem to be the case. She peeked a look at Sasori, finding him looking at her with a smug smile.
"So, the flowers from him, are they a thank you for a great kiss?"
Sakura groaned out, "no," she grabbed the note and handed it to him, letting him read it.
Sasori took the note and read it, he smiled at it. "What are you going to do?"
"About what?"
"Thanking him for the flowers," he looked at her, before adding, "you didn't get his number, so you should go see him at his work."
Sakura shook her head, "no, I'm not going to disturb him at work, I'll send him a message."
"How are you going to do that?"
"I'll find a way," she told him. She wasn't about to tell him that she did have his number.
"Good girl," he smiled. He looked over at the clock and stood up, tidying away his lunch, "see you later, and remember to leave on time today, I'm not chasing you out of the building," he smiled at her as he left her room.
Sakura waited a few minutes before grabbing her phone out of her bag. She opened the message app, clicked Naruto's name and scrolled until she found Gaara's number. She clicked on it, she thought about what to say, the only thing she was able to think about was the kiss thanks to Sasori. She sighed deeply and typed out a message.
Hi Gaara.
It's Sakura. Naruto had given me your number; I hope you don't mind me messaging you.
Thank you for the flowers, they are beautiful.
She sent the message and placed her phone back in her bag, carrying on with her work.
XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo
Gaara made sure to leave his office by six, to avoid having to listen to Temari complain that he wasn't looking after himself. He drove home and went to his room, changing into his work out clothes and hit the gym in their basement.
An hour and a half later, he showered and dressed in a pair of shorts and a top and went back upstairs to find Temari setting the table.
"Dinner is ready, come and eat," she smiled at him.
Gaara sat down at the table, followed by Kankuro and Temari.
"Thanks for dinner," both Kankuro and Gaara said in unison before plating up the chicken yakitori, sticky rice and salad.
With dinner over, Gaara and Kankuro cleaned the kitchen together. Gaara dried his hands on the towel and made his way to his room. He pulled out his phone from his jacket pocket and unlocked it, finding a message from an unknown number. He furrowed his brow slightly and clicked on it, reading the message. He smiled slightly and replied back.
Hello Sakura, no I don't mind you messaging me. I'm glad you got the flowers.
He sent it and placed his phone down, grabbing his laptop and turned it on. His phone pinged beside him. He picked it up and found another message from Sakura.
How are you feeling now? Hope you're doing better.
He replied back.
I am feeling much better, thank you.
He watched as the three dots jumped on the screen and waited for her message.
Have you been sleeping better? And eating regularly?
He chuckled lightly and replied back.
Yes doctor, I have been sleeping and eating better. Thank you again, for all your help.
He waited for her reply. He watched his phone intently, watching as the three dots appeared across the screen.
That's good to hear, and you don't need to thank me, I was doing my job.
He typed back his reply.
Also, I wanted to apologise for how Temari and Kankuro had behaved.
You don't have to apologise for them, but honestly, your sister scares me a little!
He chuckled and replied back.
Sometimes she scares me too, but I try to not let her find out, otherwise she'd use it against me.
They carried on messaging one another for a little longer and Gaara was surprised to find how long they had been messaging. He turned on his laptop and worked for a while, before calling it a night.
