It took two trips to Sunagakare for Sakura to figure out that there was something suspicious about those missions. It was even a bit embarrassing that it took that long. She sighed at the thought that Shikamaru would have figured it out sooner, she was supposed to be one of her village's brightest minds, dammit!

It was surprising to receive the mission to deliver a simple message to Gaara when a team of genin could take care of that, or a messaging bird, or even a toad summon. But Naruto insisted that Sakura could take the mission as a chance to 'stretch those rusty legs!' and check out how Suna's hospital was coming along. The blond Hogake assured her that Suna would receive her insight with open arms, after all, she had surpassed Tsunade's medical skills years ago. And while she was there, she could take the time to talk to the Kazekage and see how he was dealing with the whole preparations for the chunnin exam to take place in Suna later that year 'right, Sakura-chan?'.

Any suspicious thoughts were wiped out of Sakura's mind as she concluded that Naruto was just looking out for her and Gaara. Killing two birds with one kunai was rapidly becoming one of Naruto's best used practices as the leader of Konoha. She had to agree that she was indeed getting rusty, taking as little missions as posible as to not lose a chance of seeing Sasuke in the off chance he came to the village. She knew that it wasn't exactly a healthy choice, she had received a few judging stares from her friends to deduce as much. But it wasn't all that bad! She definitely used her time in the village as efficiently as possible, honing her medical skills, creating poisons and antidotes that could tip the scale for her fellow shinobi in the field. The medical staff couldn't be more grateful towards her insane 14 hour shifts in the hospital, the death ratio falling almost to zero whenever she was around. That was something that Sakura could definitely feel proud of. Maybe giving up missions and staying in Konoha was what could make her happy she insisted whenever her old teacher tried to reclute her for a mission with Team Kakashi.

The first trip was mostly uneventful. The decision to send her with Lee? Naruto was definitely becoming a sadist, not even her longest surgeries could leave her legs as sore as trying to keep up with the green clad ninja for a few hours. The strange thing was that Lee actually slowed down for a couple of hours and then increased their speed almost by double and continued to repeat the changes in different intervals. It almost looked like he was training the kunoichi to increase her endurance without her consent. But that sounded like such a dirty trick for someone like innocent and honest Lee for it to be true. So Sakura kept up as much as she could while trying to focus on all of his stories on the latest adventures of Team Guy. She was just discovering that Lee's ramblings tended to focus on TenTen's youthfulness more than on anything else when they finally entered Suna's protecting walls.

The fact that they could enter the city and get to the Kazekage's building without anyone interrupting their path still amazed Sakura after all those years. Gaara and Naruto had built such a strong relationship between their village's, the changes were palpable even before the blond was appointed as Hogake. As soon as they were led into Gaara's office, both ninjas forgot all about formality and fell into the stereotype of extreme friendliness that characterized Konoha's citizens. Sakura couldn't help jumping into Kankuro with a bone-crushing hug, they haven't seen each other in almost two years after all!

Just as the pinkette was untangling from Kankuro to turn to the Kazekage, she noticed the painted ninja glancing intently to her left hand.

"Still married I'm afraid" she said as she lifted her hand with a teasing grin.

"You can't blame me for looking" he insisted with an equally teasing expression "that walking stick-in-his-ass Sasuke won't be able to keep you forever".

Rolling her eyes she turned to finally greet the the red-haired Kazekage only to gape when he joined the conversation with a "He's not exactly wrong, you know?".

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing until she noticed a small smirk in his pale face. "Is that the Kazekage teasing I see?" She replied delighted "Naruto most be rubbing off on you more than I thought!".

Okay, so maybe delighted wasn't the right word, but how else was she supposed to react? It was one thing to hear the teasing words from her Konoha friends, she was acutely aware of their disapproval of her relationship with Sasuke even though they masked it through humor. But it was another thing to hear from this side of the desert. Seemed Naruto was truly the only one rooting for the couple. But as usual, she ignored the stinging sensation and brushed all negative feelings and thoughts to the back of her mind, burying them deep, deep, where they could never jump out and surprise her with traitorous thoughts.

"Hope you found a peaceful trip to us" Gaara deflected expertly.

"Nothing like the beautiful desert sun to keep us pushing ourselves! Yosh! Such an energizing trip! We should take this trip every week to keep up our youth Sakura-chan!" Lee finished his statement with his trademark good guy pose while Gaara's eyes warmed considerably while listening to his dear friend.

Kankuro rolled his eyes in exasperation, while he did like Lee, he didn't have the patience and love Gaara seemed to have for the exhuberant Konoha ninja. "First let Sakura here relay her message before you take her on your suicidal training" he murmured while leading Lee out of the office.

After the door closed behind the pair, Gaara let his amused stare wander to the remaining ninja in his office. "So, an interesting trip then?"

"I really thought he was turning rogue and trying to kill me out there" she mumbled while letting her chakra covered hands wander over her relief-seeking legs. "I definitely didn't need Lee as a teammate on my first mission in months!"

Gaara's eyes narrowed "Naruto told me you were taking it slow, I thought he was exaggerating, seems I was wrong" he declared as he let his eyes wander over the kunoichi, assessing the damage of her late life choices.

Her anger flared "I'm not-"

"You don't need to explain yourself to me Sakura, I was mainly stating what I see" he explained seriously "It's your choice, your life, your happiness... If that's what you really want, no one should judge you for that".

She deflated instantly "Sorry, between the sun, the soreness and... Well, maybe I'm just tired of defending my life choices from everyone". She rubbed her neck embarrassed but lifted her head to give the Kazekage a tired smile after her admission. She definitely appreciated the openness in which she could talk with Gaara, even after not seeing him for so long, the friendship they developed after his kidnapping still stood strong.

"I'm sure Sasuke appreciates the path you've taken" he replied slowly while standing and turning to look at the sunset setting over his village.

Sakura was glad he wasn't staring at her anymore as she couldn't hide the grimace that resulted from his statement. She wanted to confirm that, but wasn't really able to do so. She hadn't had any real quality time with her husband since forever. He only returned to the village for a day or two every other month. To be honest with herself, she didn't even know if Sasuke realized that there was a reason she was always home whenever he lay foot in Konoha. He had never asked her to always be there, but she was sure he really needed her to be present, to be his constant reminder of home, of the future he could have when he finally and fully returned to the village.

Taking out a small scroll from one of her pouches, she walked to stand next to Gaara and gave it to him silently as she too turned her eyes to the sunset.

The Kazekage merely glanced at the message written there before peaking again. "If you have no hurry to get back, I would really appreciate it if you helped me with a quick overlook of our hospital. I'm...having some trouble convincing our council to spend funds on a medical exchange program."

"Are they crazy?! Research is what saves lives, there is no greater investment!" She instantly fumed. "I will not fail Suna. Besides... There has been no communication on Sasuke returning soon." She finished quietly and more to herself than to anyone else.

Gaara smiled to himself, she reacted just as he expected, she would stay in Suna for at least a week according to his mental calculations. It seemed he would fulfill his promise to Naruto without delay. The red-haired was hesitant when he first heard of the blond's plan. Not because he didn't trust Sakura's capabilities, but because that path would only mean something had happened to his best friend. But he had to admire Naruto's growth and strategic thinking. He would successfully groom Sakura on council and international relations. He would groom the kunoichi to help ready her to be Hogake if the need ever arised.