Chapter 11

"I wonder what they're talking about?"

Humming distractedly and continuing to rub his sore chin, Naruto glanced over his shoulder and she knew it'd only just occurred to him that their teammates were lingering far enough to remain out of earshot, for his eyebrows went up in surprise and he forgot all about his injury.

Clearly, whatever they were discussing wasn't supposed to involve them, but Sakura knew from the sinking feeling in her gut that they were discussing her. What other reason was there for going out of their way to speak privately? If it related to the mission, then the whole team should have been involved, alas, they weren't. She and Naruto were being kept out of the loop, for whatever reason.

Narrowing her eyes fractionally, Sakura did her utmost to ignore the weight in her gut.

Sai, as much as she wanted to believe wouldn't betray her trust by spilling all of the details with Kakashi, wasn't socially aware enough to know that if he did let it slip…

Then what? What exactly would Kakashi think of her if he knew the truth about her relationship with the Kazekage, of all people? Would his thoughts mirror Naruto's at all?

Sakura wasn't naïve enough to believe that Naruto would understand. In the end, the blond would undoubtedly want to be happy for them, but the knowledge or even the appearance of her stepping away from Sasuke and leaving him in his darkness would simply be too much for him to bear. So while he would want to be happy, the chances of that actually happening, was incredibly slim. And if she was being honest? The thought hurt – she knew Gaara would feel such a way too.

What the hell was she even thinking? Sakura grumbled to herself while dragging Naruto away, telling him that it wasn't worth their time. Too happy with her sudden attention being on him, Naruto didn't disagree or question it further and allowed Sakura to lead the way, grinning the whole time.

"Ne, ne, Sakura-chan," he called out giddily. "Let's go for dinner together!"

Rolling her eyes and being completely unable to hide her smile at his persistence, she said snappily in reply, "Fine, but only if you're paying."

"Of course!"

"And it's not a date!"

"Of co-" He cut himself off abruptly, only to shoot back at her, "What? If we're going out to dinner and I'm paying, then it's a date!"

"Not a date!"

Suna was an oddly beautiful place, its traditions so different from Konoha's yet so intriguing.

While the villagers weren't overly keen on their being there, Sakura noticed how they were still gracious in establishments, ensuring that her team left with full stomachs and stellar reviews of the places.

It had the hopeless romantic side of Sakura naïvely wondering whether one day, she would be alongside them all and experiencing their traditions and delicacies on a daily basis – she was quick to put a stop to those childish thoughts, though. Not only was it much too soon to drop herself way in over her head like she was wont to do, but Sakura was still upset with Gaara. Just because he'd rejected the daimyo's daughter didn't mean they were suddenly okay. On the contrary, they had many issues to work through, their main one being his need to please his village and tossing her aside so carelessly in the process.

Could she forgive him for that?

Her feelings, her heart, screamed that yes, yes, yes, she could forgive him. Of course she could. Aside from what had happened, despite who he once was, Gaara was always so careful with her, so shockingly gentle with her. Their connection was fiery and unignorable. He never hurt her – not once. More than that, Gaara did all he could to visit her even if it wasn't as often as they would have liked, keeping tabs on her whereabouts by the sand that clung to her wrist and coming to her when she was close enough.

When they stepped into a quaint restaurant not too far from where they were staying, Sakura peered around curiously, taking in the scenery with a heart that was much too hopeful for its own good. It wanted her to imagine it was Gaara by her side in that moment, not Naruto. That rather than heading to the bar as friends, they were being escorted to a table for a date.

Sakura sighed at the ridiculousness of her thoughts.

They hadn't even made amends, yet there she was envisioning scenarios she damn well knew she shouldn't be.

Why the hell did she have to be like that?

Within ten minutes they were receiving their meals, deciding to try something new as they went with a recommendation from the restaurant. The meat was tough and possessed a slight spice to it, but upon further chewing Sakura found that the actual taste was exquisite and bursting with a powerful flavour on her tongue.

"Sakura-chan?"

Humming curiously, she gazed over at her teammate. Despite refusing to look her in the eye, Sakura knew from the forgoing of digging straight into his meal (not like her, who'd dived straight in before she could chicken out of trying something weird and new) that he was serious in whatever he wanted to talk about, and it had her frowning minutely in concern, chopsticks lowering to their ceramic stand beside her dish.

"What is it, Naruto? What's with the seriousness?"

The moment their eyes met, his swiftly returned to his meal, unable to hold the eye contact for too long. Damn, it had to be a significant worry of his to cause such a submissive reaction, Sakura thought worriedly.

"I didn't mean to upset you with that comment about Sasuke," he murmured with a troubled frown. "I'm sorry."

Oh–

He–

Chin dimpling momentarily at how upset with himself he really was, Sakura shuffled that tiny bit closer, allowing their shoulders to bump together gently. All the while she hoped he wouldn't look at her anytime soon, because hiding the genuine hurt she'd felt earlier when he'd said such a careless thing was impossible when it continued to sting. She didn't want to add to his guilt.

"No hard feelings," she told him earnestly. "I know you didn't mean it in a harsh way – it just took me by surprise, you know?"

Naruto nodded solemnly before looking to her with a bright grin wide enough to close his eyes. "Don't worry, we'll drag his ungrateful ass back home sooner or later!"

The words didn't comfort her as they once had, Sakura realised with a sharp pang of shame. Who such an emotion was directed at, she wasn't entirely sure, though she leaned more towards Sasuke than Naruto for the simple, obvious reason of her involvement with Gaara.

Even if it was on hold and she was unsure whether it would pick back up or not, she'd moved on regardless, hadn't she? After promising Sasuke always, that her heart was his and no matter what, her love would remain unconditional, she'd so easily grown feelings for someone who was once their most fearsome enemy.

"Damn right," she agreed anyway, returning his grin.

Would Sasuke ever forgive her for it? Would he even care to begin with? Sakura was unsure which thought hurt the most.

She recalled the way he'd looked down at them all when it was revealed Sai was his replacement on Team Seven, and how she was so heartbreakingly certain that in that brief second of allowing himself to feel, she'd seen his hurt and betrayal before it was concealed by impassiveness. After all, even though he'd abandoned their team in his quest for more power, they'd been all he had left. They were the only family that he had.

And they had essentially replaced him.

"Gaara's weird, isn't he?"

She almost choked on the tough meat, hand politely coming to cover her mouth as she sent her teammate a glare. Damn it, the last thing she wanted was to look rude in front of the person who served them.

"Naruto!"

Unperturbed by her annoyance, he made sure to be extra loud in his appreciation of the food, making up for her almost dying from it. "But he is, isn't he?" came Naruto's friendly laughter – of course, he wouldn't have meant it offensively. "You'd think he wouldn't be picky considering how he looks."

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"I mean, he's so short and doesn't even have eyebrows, y'know? And sometimes he looks like he's still a little crazy–"

"Are you really going to sit here and badmouth your own friend?" she demanded, barely holding back her anger.

"I'm not badmouthing him! I'm just saying he shouldn't be picky."

Picky…

Shaking her head with disbelief at how careless Naruto unintentionally was (once more driving home the point that he was still so utterly clueless about Hinata, who on several occasions was called a weirdo by him), she told him simply, "It's personal preference. You don't think he looks good, but you're a straight guy." He frowned at that and nodded, looking to her curiously. "But I'm telling you as a woman that Gaara is attractive."

His frown twisted into a grimace. "Really? How?"

She resisted the urge to blush at the countless memories with Gaara rushed to the forefront of her mind, showing her exactly how and why he was so attractive to her. From the lean muscle beneath his robes, to the endless pale skin that was so stunningly smooth and completely unblemished. She loved running her hands through his messy hair and tugging on it, loved the way he kissed her so deeply and passionately–

"Sakura-chan?"

"He's got that bad boy look," she fell back on, unable to share even a morsel of her thoughts with the blond. "He's well spoken, holds himself with the air of a proud man who knows he can handle himself. Gaara's a little rough around the edges, but it's obvious he cares deeply for those who are precious to him."

When Naruto's frown became more thoughtful (a dangerous thing) and he leaned forward somewhat, gazing unnervingly into her eyes, Sakura feared the worst and realised she'd said way, way too much.

But then he hummed and sat back again, saying, "You know you described Sasuke then, right?"

…What?

"That's why all the girls liked him at the academy, right? Because of all that stuff you just said?"

Holy–

He was right.

Holy shit, he was right.

Sakura swallowed hard and returned to her meal, trying and failing to ignore the twisting of her stomach. "Oh."

"You almost sounded like back then," he added with a hearty laugh. "I nearly thought that you had a thing for Gaara, of all people!"

Was he right?

"Don't make me laugh," she shot back with a fake laugh.

What did that mean?

Was she projecting, maybe?

Traipsing back to her room after saying her goodbyes to Naruto for the evening, Sakura rubbed her arm restlessly.

Thinking of the similarities between Gaara and Sasuke was uncomfortable, but she forced herself to do so anyways, because what if somewhere down the line, she'd gotten them mixed up somehow? What if she was projecting her feelings for Sasuke onto Gaara, using the similarities to trick her heart into…?

No, that made zero sense. If that was the case, then surely, she would have gone to Sai? The guy looked so much like Sasuke that it hurt at times.

"Sakura?"

As much as she wanted to disappear into her room and overthink every tiny detail of her life, Sakura turned to face Sai as he further opened his door, almost like an invitation.

"What is it?" she asked gently, hoping none of her annoyance towards herself was present in her tone.

It must have been, however, because he asked with a minute frown, "Did something happen?"

She hesitated in answering, heart seizing up at the genuine concern in his eyes. He was trying so damn hard to understand (even help her in his own strange ways) that shutting him out in that moment felt so wrong. No, it was deeper than that, Sakura realised with an aching heart. It was more than his emotional awakening.

It was that it came after his discovery of her relationship with the Kazekage, that it came after seeing how broken she was and how much she needed a friend. Regardless of his personal feelings (or beliefs, Sakura supposed it should be called) of the whole messy situation, time and time again, he'd ensured to be there for her when she had no one else to turn to.

That was what made her hesitate, was what made her not want to shut him out.

So, she accepted the invitation of entering his room, breathing out a shaky sigh when the door shut quietly behind them.

"Naruto said something that's gotten to me," she confessed after Sai asked once more what was wrong.

"What was it?"

Shaking her head with another sigh, she sat down on the edge of his bed, eyes drawn to the window where Sai's sketchpad and pencils were resting. It seemed until he sensed her return, he'd been drawing by the window, the thought oddly peaceful to her.

"It was stupid," Sakura admitted with a sheepish smile. "He was dragging Gaara and saying he shouldn't be picky about who he marries. Then I told him that as a woman, he had a few attractive qualities."

Dark eyes widened by the tiniest amounts. If she hadn't been looking to him in the brief second it happened and noticed the slight arching of his eyebrows, she would have missed it all. Sakura wondered if it was surprise.

"Did he find out…?"

"No, I don't think so." Groaning with agitation, she watched Sai sitting in his previous seat at the window, his eyes glancing down at whatever he'd been drawing. "But… He said I made him sound just like…"

He looked to her. "Like?"

Was it okay to admit to it? What if she did and Sai agreed? Someone so out of loop as he was, so clueless and socially inadept… What if he agreed? It would make it much too real and agonising to her, because then she would probably have to end things for definite, wouldn't she? Or at least come clean to Gaara. She wasn't sure which one was worse, especially when it wasn't just her heart on the line.

He'd literally dissolved a turning point, a new and stronger alliance, for her.

…At least she believed he had.

"Like Sasuke-kun," she whispered, swallowing down the familiar pain in her heart.

"And that hurts you?"

She nodded quickly and averted her gaze, hand coming to her mouth when her lips fought against her attempts for control and turned their corners downwards. It was bad enough that Sai had seen her lose control as horrendously as she had the night before. Crying again not only over the same man who'd made her cry the night before, but over another who'd also broken her heart, was just embarrassing.

"But isn't that what one calls a type?" he enquired innocently.

In a way, yeah. She supposed he was right. But Sakura was terrified that she'd missed warning signs of some kind, and was reverting back to her annoying twelve year old self, the one who'd been obsessed over Sasuke and allowed him to hurt her with his harsh words.

"What if it's not?" she couldn't help but ask, the pitch of her voice most definitely bordering on whining territory. "What if I'm only into Gaara because he's similar to Sasuke-kun?"

"Sakura, may I show you something?"

Slightly thrown off by the sudden change in topic, Sakura nodded unsurely and approached Sai when he held out his drawing.

And then her tears threatened to start up all over again at the sight before her.

Even without any colour, they were undeniably her eyes. The amount of detail that had gone into the drawing far surpassed any of his other pieces of art, and she gently ran her finger down the edge of the paper, not daring to actually touch it in case she ruined it somehow.

"That was this afternoon during lunch," Sai informed her simply and stood up, coming to stand close so that he could look down at it too. "I have never seen your eyes light up in that way before and it quickly became clear to me that you received some form of good news."

She nodded at the unspoken question, answering distractedly, "Gaara's councilmen unknowingly told me that he'd rejected the arranged marriage."

If it surprised Sai at all, he didn't show it. Instead, he reached forward and grazed his fingers to the picture, their arms brushing briefly. Then, he murmured, "If the Kazekage makes you smile like this, then what does it matter if he's similar to Sasuke?"

Sakura looked to him with a softening gaze, the warmth in his expression effectively easing the weight in her heart without even trying. It was a powerful task that he seemingly completed with little effort, even when it'd taken her years to make even a dent in soothing her heartache.

"You support it?" she asked quietly, unable to look away from him.

His shoulders dropped a little at that and he met her gaze, admitting, "I didn't at first. During the meeting, I had this burning sensation in my gut that only grew every time I saw how happy you were."

Anger? Sakura finally looked away with a frown.

"But I spoke with Kakashi-taichou and he told me about how hurt you were when Sasuke left, and how it still hurts you to this day even at the mere mentioning of his name." She could only nod, then sighed as Sai forced her to meet his eye again with a hand to her chin. "It reminded me of last night and I had that pain in my chest again, thinking of you hurting."

Just as it had the night before, Sakura's heart skipped a beat at the confession. Why, she had no idea, but she was leaning on the happiness she felt at the notion of Sai's attempts of understanding the rest of them. She relished the thought of him joining the rest of society and finding happiness of his own, of not being vulnerable to the evil of the romance world by his emotional vulnerability.

More than anything, she was so happy that he was opening up and felt comfortable enough showing her that side of himself.

"I came back to my drawing and recalled how happy you looked after the meeting with the Kazekage," Sai continued with a shocking gentleness to his tone that made her breath catch. "And I was overwhelmed by this urge to help you always look such a way."

That…

"I never want to see you cry or be heartbroken again," he unknowingly confessed, and Sakura swallowed hard. Was he even aware of how his words and gestures were coming across? She blinked owlishly, mind drawn to the way his thumb briefly stroked her jaw before he was guiding her to look at the picture again. "I want your eyes to always be this happy."

"Sai…" she whispered.

What was she supposed to do? From the tender look in his eye, the one that had tinges of frustration and struggles mixed in with it all, Sakura knew, for a damn fact, that Sai was in a state of confusion over his feelings. He didn't know what the hell he was feeling or what any of it meant. To her, it made the night before make more sense, since he'd been so moved by her heartbreak that the man who didn't feel anything cried with her.

Was she supposed to tell him? Would that confuse him even more? Did she allow him to try and sift through those difficult feelings in his own time?

"To answer your question: if being with the Kazekage makes you happy, Sakura, then yes. I fully support your relationship and will do my utmost to protect it."

Tears filled her eyes.

The moment tried to shatter around them as soon as he saw them, but she was quick to pacify him, saying, "These are happy tears this time, Sai."

He looked back to his drawing. "Are you sure?"

His question had her chuckling. "Yes. I promise."

"Then go," Sai told her and reached up, wiping them away. "Do what makes you happy."

To know that Sai wasn't disappointed in her was strangely motivating. Up until that point he'd seemed wary, almost as though he wanted to distance himself from the heaviness of her relationship. He definitely hadn't agreed with it in the slightest – any idiot could see that. Why, Sakura was unsure, just as she was unsure what his sudden support of it meant. But she was happy knowing he was standing behind her. It also told her that perhaps that confession wasn't actually a confession, but the love and support of one friend to another.

A tickling sensation on her wrist had Sakura pausing just as she reached her door, hand hovering over the doorknob. Usually, there were only two reasons why the sand on her wrist moved and that was because one, Gaara was close by and was letting her know that or two, he was riled up in some kind of way and was having difficulty controlling big emotions.

Even though she had only just left one severely emotionally stunted man, Sakura didn't hesitate to face another, instead entering her room with a stuttering, nervous heart that broke out into a sprint at the sight of Gaara standing by her window, peering out through a small crack in the curtain. His gourd was placed beside the bathroom door, out of sight should anyone have happened to see inside her room, and it told her that he was staying regardless of whether she wanted it or not. It was his stubborn way of saying that they would be talking things through.

"Sakura."

He wanted to talk.

Nervously, she breathed in deeply.

She'd essentially forced him to reject the marriage, hadn't she? Which, in turn, stop the progression of his village, in a way. Was it really okay to try and make things work after that?

No, Sakura scolded the pessimistic side of herself. What she really should be asking is: where is the harm in at least trying?

If the Kazekage makes you smile like this, then what does it matter if he's similar to Sasuke?

"Gaara," she greeted, hoping the uncertainty in her voice wasn't as obvious as it felt, because it wasn't until he'd spoken up that Sakura was reminded that she wasn't entirely innocent either.

How was she supposed to act towards a guy she'd given such a powerful ultimatum to? Guilt was a powerful emotion, and Sakura felt the full weight of it as he turned to face her and she met his tired eyes, realising she'd added yet another heavy burden on his shoulders, one that essentially affected the village also.

She was so selfish, wasn't she?

No. No, she wasn't. It was a fair reaction, Sakura reminded herself. From what she'd gathered, Gaara hadn't thought twice about accepting the marriage even if it meant the ending of their relationship – if he'd even thought that far ahead. Surely, some part of him knew they wouldn't have continued if he was married?

Then again, in some cultures, multiple wives or infidelity was a norm.

"I wanted to apologise," Gaara murmured.

He didn't make any move towards her, remaining beside the window but the seemingly standoffish distance was conflicted by the lax arms by his sides. Had they been folded over his chest, Sakura would have assumed that he was closing himself off from her. So, she presumed that the only reason he kept his distance was… Well, probably because of their chemistry, really. They tended to skip talking.

It told her he really was trying.

"I'm listening," she replied lightly, trying to ease the tension somehow.

A ghost of a smirk flitted over his expression, but she was guessing from the still rubbing sand on her wrist that the weight of whatever he was feeling wouldn't allow it to remain.

"I am not trying to make excuses. However, I have caused many atrocities in this village and have been the main cause of suffering and heartache for countless years," came his quiet confession. He didn't hesitate, didn't shift in his footing, didn't fidget – not that she really expected him to – and it told her that he was serious about driving his point home. Chances were, he'd been spending the past day figuring out how to make her better understand his difficult position. "As much as I would like to act selfishly and do whatever I please, I can't. I am the Kazekage and when an opportunity arises to better the living conditions of my village and people, I have to give my all to secure that deal. They deserve nothing less from me."

So, in his eyes, they deserved him sacrificing his chance at happiness because in some way or another, he'd taken theirs away.

Was that really how Gaara saw himself? No, Sakura wasn't excusing or ignoring his dark past – couldn't when she'd felt an ounce of the terror his villagers had constantly lived in when he set his murderous gaze on her teammates and village, threatening to tear it all to shreds. Could she really compare? No, she couldn't. But the point she was making was that she had seen him at his worst.

Gaara was a changed man now, one who worked himself to the bone for the sake of his village, who was more empathetic than most of the people in her life, who cherished his bonds deeply and protected them with every ounce of strength he had, who possessed such a potent passion within him that it set her body aflame just glimpsing at it.

"You deserve happiness," she told him in no uncertain terms. Smoothing out her frown, Sakura looked at him imploringly, all but shoving her feelings at him because damn it, he deserved happiness. "Your past is beyond dark and beyond comprehension to the majority of us, but I know you now and I know you deserve to be happy, Gaara. Don't deny yourself that chance."

Her heart stuttered when his gaze softened somewhat on her. "Not many hold the same sentiments, my own council included. Although you said I am Kazekage and shouldn't be following their orders, the reality is that I am the furthest from free, Sakura. I cannot always make my own decisions due to the restrictions put in place. To them, I am a liability and have yet to prove otherwise."

Cheeks colouring at the reminder of how harsh she'd been with him the last time they'd spoken, Sakura averted her gaze with a sigh. As per usual, she was always talking about things she knew nothing about and throwing her weight around like it actually made a difference.

"That ultimatum was unfair of me," she told him regretfully. "I shouldn't have thrown it at you like that."

"Just as I shouldn't have kept the marriage to myself, or even contemplated accepting it," he also confessed.

Her lips quirked momentarily and looked back to Gaara, saying lightly, "I guess that means a lot of making up, right?"

"Not yet," Gaara interrupted much to her surprise. Stepping forward, he said, "I still haven't apologised."

As much as she wanted to say he didn't have to, that she had already forgiven him after hearing his reasons, the part of her that was still so deeply hurt by his carelessness longed to hear the apology. At the very least, it would help close the matter completely and allow them to move forward.

"I'm sorry for hurting you by being so thoughtless towards our bond and you," Gaara began, then paused, frowning. "I'm sorry for not sharing the truth with you and for not taking your feelings into consideration while agreeing. More than all of that, I'm sorry for agreeing and for making you believe that this doesn't mean anything to me."

No, don't cry, she begged of herself at the tell-tale pricking sensation in her eyes.

But how could she not? It was the most open Gaara had ever been with her and even if his words weren't, his expression certainly was as it begged of her to hear the apology. Not necessarily accept and forgive if she wasn't ready for that, but to at least hear it and acknowledge it.

"In truth, I never would have involved myself with you if this didn't mean anything. I do not and have never had the time or patience for something that is meaningless, which brings me to my next point."

Sakura was a mess of emotions and while knowing it was never the wisest idea allowing her heart to take control, it was impossible to ignore it when faced with Gaara's open display of emotion. His sincerity, the heartfelt plea to notice his words, struck her hard.

"We need to talk about where this is going," he added after a pause and Sakura couldn't help but wonder if he was nervous at all, because by that point, her wrist was almost raw where the sand rubbed. "Up until now, we have gone with the flow and decided against labels."

Nodding, she barely managed to say, "…Yeah."

Were they about to make things official? To actually try a relationship? If that was the case, then wouldn't it get serious fast due to the pressure of his councilmen? Or what if they detested his choice of partner and flat out refused to accept it? What would it do to Gaara's standing in the village, his being involved with a Konoha-nin?

And what about what he'd said in the office?

"A person's appearance doesn't matter to me. I found upon meeting Fumiko-san that I wish to be with a person who has a good heart that I can connect with."

"You said you want to be with someone your heart connected with," she accused quietly. "Does the fact that we've never used any of those labels or even thought to use them mean…?" Swallowing down her nerves, she demanded in that same quiet voice, "Does that mean ours didn't connect?"

"Do you really believe that?" he asked, almost sounding disbelieving. "With a connection like ours, do you really believe that our hearts aren't in it?"

It was possible to be infatuated with a person physically and not feel a damn thing emotionally – she'd seen it plenty of times around the village. People used sex as a coping mechanism, or they used one another because they were horny. How was she supposed to know if it went deeper than that for him?

His approach was silent, but the sudden descent of his lips to hers was anything but composed and her heartbeat thundered behind her ears, almost drowning out her sigh as Sakura's arms wrapped around him, hands running through his hair. Gods, she'd missed him – she always did. And in response to finally being in his arms once more and hearing his confession, Sakura felt emotional, but that was okay because she was fairly certain Gaara was too as his hands skimmed along her waist before his arms came around her completely, completely forgetting about the kiss to just hold her.

"Our hearts do connect," he whispered, and she shut her eyes once more, revelling in the security she felt in his arms. "I felt the connection from the start of this. I noticed your heart the moment you went against me to save another."

"Me too," came her soft response. Fingers once more in his hair, she couldn't resist the urge to play with it and she knew he appreciated it, for he sighed, relaxing into her embrace. "I wouldn't be here hearing you out otherwise."

He kissed her again at that. Then again. And again and again and again, until her back was bumping lightly into the wall and breathing hitching, chest arching into his.

"I won't ever hurt you again," Gaara vowed between kisses.

And how could she not trust him when the words were spoken so resolutely? When the hold he had on her was so strong it was like he never wanted to let her go?

Sakura was the one who steered him towards the bed, gently sitting him down on it and following without pause, her thighs sliding over either side of his hips.

It'd been a long while since they'd had sex in an actual bed (thinking back, Sakura believed their first time and that whole night, was the one and only time they'd used a bed), for her making it to Suna was incredibly rare as he usually came out to her if she was close enough, and what made it even better was the high possibility of him actually being able to stay with her for the whole night.

They were both eager while stripping one another and Sakura moaned quietly at the tingling left in Gaara's wake as his hands worshipped her bare skin, guiding her into laying back on the bed. The feeling of his skin on hers, brushing against her as he lowered himself onto her, had Sakura's toes curling, lips parting with a sigh and she clutched him closer.

Much to her happiness, Gaara stayed the entire night with her even after they'd spent their energy and were too tired to continue, only just able to cling to one another as they rode out the waves of their final orgasms. Although he couldn't sleep himself, he kept her close against his body, murmuring the morning after that he'd entered a meditative state.

It was the best night's sleep she'd had in the longest time and to wake in his arms and bask in his comfort for the first few moments of the next morning, was pure bliss. She almost wished they didn't have to move and rejoin reality because that also meant she would be leaving Suna that morning to escort Fumiko home.

"Sakura."

She looked to Gaara curiously, wondering what could possibly cause him to hesitate in leaving when he was due to start his day almost a whole hour ago.

"I don't want to make any more mistakes," he told her quietly.

Good, because she genuinely didn't think that her heart could withstand any more mistakes or heartbreak, even if they were unintentional.

"Neither do I." Accepting the hand reaching out for her, Sakura allowed Gaara to pull her closer and she smiled, trying to nuzzle his neck.

Only to frown when he kept her back, meeting her gaze seriously.

"Marry me."

Her heart stuttered.

A/N - Omg I'm so torn on the ending of this story! We've still got a minimum of 20 chapters left (commissioner ordered 30 chapters) so in that time anything could happen.

What do you all think of poor Sai's confusion? Do you think Sakura's right in believing he isn't ready for those kinds of relationships due to being so emotionally vulnerable? And what about Gaara's proposal? It seemed her threatening to walk away for good made him realise just how important she is to him!