The chunin exams, the attempts on his life, and watching her run up to his city's doorstep with her friends in tow. All of it made Gaara more stressed out than he had ever dreamed.

He had just interrupted a rather immature display, a fight had broken out between teams over food. Then a large insect looking creature decided to hone in on the groups to attack in the middle of the night.

It was an absolute nightmare.

"You seem to be having a great time." Sakura waltzed up to him in the chilled night air with a smirk on her face. Her smug expression was so insufferably pleased that it made the redhead want to cover it up with his hand.

"Yes, a wonderful time indeed." He replied a bit more snappy than what was usual for him, but it didn't seem to phase her much. In fact she seemed giddy over the response.

'Torturing me again, how cruel.'

"Oh poor baby, is being Kazekage too hard for you? Perhaps you need a cute assistant like me to make things easier on you." The pinkette snickered, lacing her hands behind her back as he managed a small glare in her direction. "That girl, Matsuri, she seems nice-"

"That would be scandalous, seeing as she was my first student." Gaara raised both naked brows questionably in her direction, his arms crossed in his usual power stance. "Perhaps that's more up your alley? I've heard that Kakashi Hatake is quite handsome under his mask-"

"I wouldn't know, I've never seen it." Sakura stuck out her tongue in a rude display, but it only made him smile knowingly.

"Well, he doesn't have to take it off for any activity other than eating. So, I suppose you wouldn't know-"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" The pinkette was instantly on the defensive, and it tickled him to think he had gotten some sort of rise out of her.

"Well, it means you haven't seen his face is all... however, there is more than than one way to strip a man- ah, forgive me, I meant 'skin a cat'." Gaara's dark cheshire grin grew as her anger began to boil over, and she stomped towards him with clenched fists.

"I would never sleep with my sensei-!"

"Disturbing, isn't it? For the record I would never sleep with my student either. This road goes both ways, Sakura." The redhead began to chuckle, and watched with mirth as she began huffing and puffing at him like an angry dragon.

"Hello new friend!" A tan girl with greenish-blue hair popped over to them with a large grin on her face. If he recalled right, her name was Fuu. "Since we are all new friends I think we should take a bath together-!"

All Gaara and Sakura could do was blink in utter disbelief over the statement. While he actually wouldn't mind taking a 'bath' with Sakura, this other girl was something else all together. She was cute, but she was extremely odd.

"Fuu! Let's go!" Her friends had quickly gathered her up, much to her displeasure. They apologized for her odd behavior before taking their leave.

The two just stood there for a moment, blinking and balking at what had just transpired.

"Wow. A bath? What, with both of us?" The kunoichi gaped over the idea for a moment before flushing a nice shade of red, making the man next to her begin to snicker.

"Does that idea scare you-?"

"Yes it does, thank you very much! After the last 'bath' incident I don't think I could even step into a bathhouse with you." Sakura groaned, but her sweet blush was still very much present on her cheeks.

"I hope you don't mind, but I feel differently about that. I think it would be nice to bathe with you." Without so much of a glance he turned to walk back into the main building, although the grin growing on his face was a sight to behold. Regardless, she stomped after him shouting meaningless insults that barely scratched the surface.

Everyone had started to tuck in for the night, and he had a bit of guard duty to do. Not just for the ninja taking part in the exams, but for himself as well. He walked down a hall that was away from the living quarters, but she followed him with a huff.

"Where the heck are you going?" The kunoichi stomped after him with a fire under her feet, making him wonder how long she was going to stay angry with him

"I'm watching out for yours, and your comrades safety. I assume Tsunade filled you in-"

"She did, which is why I think it is utterly stupid that you are going off alone!" Sakura snagged his wrist to tug him back to her roughly. He was a bit shocked by her sudden boldness, and unfortunately he knew it showed. "Stop trying to hide away like some sort of delinquent!"

"It's for your safety." Gaara said it sternly, and she gaped at him in disbelief. "Please, do not concern yourself with me. I am... disposable-"

"Are you being serious?!" The kunoichi was suddenly out of control, her arm cranked back to slap him with an open hand.

Surprisingly it was fast enough to connect before his sand could protect him. The sting on his cheek was pulsing, but it made him feel strangely alive. He could hear her chest heaving with her fiery breaths.

"Stop acting like a stupid martyr!"

'She's gotten so much stronger...'

"It's my job." The redhead locked eyes with the girl in front of him, yet he held absolutely no animosity towards her. He was just tired.

He was always tired. Never rested, yet always wishing he could sleep.

Exhausted.

She seemed to see it, his fatigue catching up with him in the slightest moments of weakness, and he regretted letting that part of him slip by his careful efforts.

"It's your job to lead, not to die." Her delicate hand came up to fix a piece of his hair, and it felt incredibly affectionate. He almost leaned his head into her hand, wanting so badly for her palm to touch his cheek gently rather than in a striking fashion.

"Yes, I'll lead my people, but I will gladly die for them too." His breath shook for a moment, not because the statement placed fear in him, but rather her fingers had traced his tender cheek with the intent to soothe the pain. Her eyes looked conflicted, as if she hated the situation somehow.

Then she said something that pulled at him in a way he could not ignore.

"Stay in my room then. That way I'll be close by."

He stopped, his eyes wide at her offer, but then he felt the logical kage in him take over despite desperately wanting to go with her.

"That would be putting you in danger, and I can't do that." Gaara put his foot down on that idea, as much as he would love to be in her company there was no way he was going to let the one girl that held his affections be damaged in any way.

Suddenly she began to look frantic, something about this worried her greatly.

"Gaara, stay in my room. Please, I'll even let you lay next to me. Just... please..." Just then her hands were gripping at his coat, pulling at the fabric in desperation.

His heart started to sway, and it was almost too much to handle. Having her beg him in such a way, it was shocking how her intent alone could have such a strong effect on him.

'I can't... say no. Not to her...'

He made a decision, but whether it was a stupid one or not was to remain a mystery.

"Until dawn, then I have to leave-"

"Thank you!" Sakura wrapped her arms around his frame with a content sigh, and he tensed every single muscle in his body over the contact. It was unexpected, and her hair was brushing his face, thrusting her scent into his nostrils. He inhaled greedily, yet his frame remained tight with control.

She broke away from him with a relieved expression before taking him by the hand to follow her to her room. He allowed her to lead him in silence, watching her back carefully. With his sand he sent off a message to Temari and Kankuro, alerting them of where he would be should something go wrong.

Despite all of his precautions, his heart was racing, and his eyes kept darting to where their hands connected.

The hallways were dim, as the oil lit lamps had been turned down low for the night just barely lighting their way. He could see quite well due to his jinchuriki abilities, but he could tell Sakura was struggling to find her room number.

"What's the number of your room?" Even though he had asked gently, he still felt her hand twitch at the sound. 'Old habits die hard.'

"Twenty three." Her voice was even softer than his, and held the slightest hint of nervousness to it.

'Is she afraid to take me to her room? Perhaps she believes I will be expecting something more from her than just a safe space.' The redhead thought hard on that for a moment, and wondered if he would accept any offers from her had she felt pressured to do so. It was a tough call, and one that he didn't know if he could answer.

"Two more down, and to the right." Gaara finally answered, and chose to lead her instead. Tugging her along with him gently, the kunoichi stumbled slightly on her feet, but quickly regained her footing. Her anxiety was cute in a way, and he decided he would stay silent to enjoy the moment rather than tease her for it.

They finally reached the door, and he made a gesture for her to open it. With a nod she pulled out her key to unlock her door, but the small piece of metal fell from her shaking hands making a clanking clatter as it hit the stone floor.

'This is a bit extreme, just what is going on in her head?'

"Are you alright? You seem nervous about something-"

"It's nothing, I just didn't get much to eat after that fight that broke out in the dining room." Sakura's lie was flawless, but his excellent vision told him that her blush said otherwise. She picked up the key with a forced confidence, and finally opened the door. "I have some military rations in my pack, I'll take a small bite before I go to sleep."

"Yes, that would be a smart idea." The redhead decided to play it off for now, and entered the small room with her.

He shut the door behind them, and she seemed to be tense as she walked to her pack. The redhead placed his gourd in the corner, watching her carefully as she moved. She put the key on her bed in passing, and he moved in quick to retrieve it before going back to the door.

"What are you doing?" Her voice called out curiously behind him, and he turned the key in the hole until the lock clicked. He felt the energy in the room change. "Gaara, I asked you what you are doing. Please answer me."

'She sounds cornered, like a small rabbit in it's burrow hiding from a hungry fox...'

"It should be obvious what I am doing." Gaara turned to give her a withered expression before striding over to the small desk in the room. He placed the key on the surface dramatically, and watched her relax in an instant.

"Oh, sorry I thought- nevermind what I thought. Make yourself at home." She tried to wave it off, making it awfully tempting to tease her about it, but he remained stoic.

Instead he chose to shed out of his maroon coat, revealing his black shirt he almost always sported underneath. However, sometimes he liked his netted top too-

Something else clattered to the ground, as he turned to see all of her shuriken fall out of her pack. This was just getting ridiculous.

The redhead bent down to help her pick up everything that had fallen out, and she shakily grabbed every single piece from his helping hands. He was beginning to hate how much he intimidated her now, where as in the past she was completely fearless.

"What has happened to you? You never used to be so afraid of me, and back then you really should have." He asked gently, but then watched as she pulled her pack protectively to her chest.

"It's not... I'm not scared... not of you. Just the fact that we're... different." Sakura could hardly get her words out, and it ticked him off even further.

"You asked me to come here-"

"I know I did!" Her face turned to him quickly, and although she was flushing over whatever it was she was thinking he could clearly see it was hurting her too.

"What are you expecting, Sakura? That I'll turn into a monster before your eyes just because I happen to be a man?" Gaara decided to get straight to the point, and it was plain to see that getting to the true problem bothered her greatly.

"No! I can handle men just fine-!"

"Obviously you can't. I propositioned you once, and only once. I have never since brought it up again, but it seems to have damaged you in some way. I never wanted that." He said sternly before standing up, and before he knew it he was going back to his coat. "I thought you understood what I meant, that I wasn't going to pressure you into anything that you didn't want to do. However, I suppose my feelings for you are threatening enough-"

"Stop it! That's not fair, and you know it!" She followed him to the wooden chair that held his coat, and ripped it away before he could get a good grasp on it. He turned to truely glare at her, which was something he hadn't done in a long time. "Your feelings for me are not good ones! They are sick, twisted, and sexual! You don't love me-!"

"And how would you know? Hmm? You don't write to me anymore. We don't talk when you're here. As far as I'm concerned you don't understand a fucking thing about how I actually feel!" He hadn't meant for it to come out so strong, or for his fist to hit the desk so violently, but it unfortunately played out that way.

The second that she jolted at the sound of him punching the wooden surface he immediately pulled back. He didn't want her to feel that way about him, to be filled with fear over any move he made. Yet he was making everything worse by the second.

He said screw it to the coat, and instead went to go for his gourd, but delicate hands were quickly around his wrist preventing him from pulling it up.

"Let go, please." Gaara said it as softly as he could, but her grip on him only tightened.

"I'm sorry. Please don't leave, I'm so incredibly sorry." Sakura's voice shook first, and then her head rested solemnly on his shoulder.

A few soft sobs came out of her, making him feel like he was thirteen again. A young boy just trying to soothe the broken heart of the girl that he liked. He was never a match for her tears, ever. It had to be his biggest weakness, and he hated it.

With an irritated groan he straightened, turned towards her, then held her in a strong embrace. Her face hid in his chest, whimpering as she cried.

'I should be the one crying.' He huffed to himself, but he wouldn't lie and say that he didn't enjoy holding her in his arms once again.

"I'm sorry-" The kunoichi whimpered in a way that had his focus back on her, and he pet her hair as lovingly as he could.

"You're fine. It's alright." A small smile started to form on his face, and the longer he held her the more the feeling grew.

"It's not f-fine... I h-hurt you... a-and I'm a l-loser!" Sakura rubbed her eyes against his black shirt before clawing her fingers against the fabric on his back. "I shouldn't shame you for it... I shouldn't sh-shame y-you..."

"It doesn't matter anymore, Sakura. Shame me all you want, just stop pushing away from me. I'm not going to try anything-"

"That's not what I'm actually s-scared of..." She shook her head violently, hiding her face further into his chest. Her words left him confused, and he stopped petting her because of that fact. "It's me... I'm scared of myself..."

'What?' He blinked at that, now completely thrown for a loop.

"I don't understand-"

"I'm scared of how I feel! I'm scared of the things that I might actually want! Things I find in you that are easily available!"

Her hand slapped over her mouth before she could say any more on the matter, but the damage had unfortunately been done. His eyes widened at the new information laid out before him, and the fact that she found him tempting was utterly shocking.

For her to say that she had basically thought on it; the time she spent with him she pondered over the things that were 'available' to her was hard thing to believe. The question now was how to ease her guilty heart. How could he make this more comfortable for her?

"Sakura-"

"Please, I don't want it. I don't know if I can, or if I should, and I hate those thoughts-!" Her hands abandoned him in favor of gripping at her hair, but he quickly grabbed them to keep them from pulling at the beautiful pink locks.

"It's okay if you think that way. If you need time away from me that is fine, I can leave-"

"DON'T GO-!" Sakura shouted out fearfully making him embrace her again so that she would calm down. He tried hushing her, telling her it was alright, that he wasn't going anywhere, and eventually she calmed back down.

She was unstable, and losing her grip quite fast. He didn't exactly know what to do about it, until a strange idea popped into his head. He thought about a pool of hot water, and wading someone slowly into it; at some point the indecisive person would eventually make a choice, it was just a matter of what it took to break that wall.

He would have to try it.

"I'm not asking this for me... I'm asking this for you-" Gaara waited until her tear stained gaze was upturned, and locked fully on his. He took a deep calming breath, and she seemed to mimic him. "A kiss."

"A kiss?" The kunoichi tensed in his arms, so he took a step back, away from her to prove that his intentions weren't selfishly tainted.

"A kiss, nothing more than that. See how you feel after that." The redhead spoke carefully, his body language showed that he was relaxed, and calm.

She pushed away and began to pace; walking back and forth restlessly trying to figure out if it was acceptable to do such things. Most likely weighing out all the pros, and cons of the situation.

He would agree if she said no, he realized how stupid it was to get involved with a ninja from another village. He knew that it might change things for the worse if they did end up going through with it. It could make the 'relationship' unsalvageable, or it could save it... make it better. Was it worth the risk? Just to have her figure out how she actually felt? This could backfire horribly-

Soft petals graced his lips in a quick peck, and since he had been trapped in his thoughts it had caught him off guard. His arms shot up to grab hold of the culprit, but his mind already knew what had happened. So when his haunting eyes locked onto her cautious sparkling jades he felt fear go through him.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't prepared... are you okay?" Gaara felt stupid for asking her such a question over a little peck of a kiss, but it was actually so important. A small laugh, like she had dodged some sort of bullet, had finally escaped her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing happened! We're both in one piece, still sane... that was fine." Sakura nodded as if she was trying to reassure herself, and it made him wonder if she really was 'fine'.

"I see, well, I think that pretty much spells it out." He couldn't seem to help but give a half hearted smile before looking away, and as much as he felt relieved he also felt very sad. It was so fast too, hardly enough time to memorize how she felt.

'This heartache... it feels terrible...'

"Gaara." The kunoichi called to him softly, so he turned back his gaze to address her, but was greeted with a second wave.

Soft, plush, warm lips pressed to his own, and they weren't pulling away.

AN: Ah, the cliffhanger, so evil :)

Hope you guys like it, remember to review as it inspires me to write more. I don't know why but I am super invested in this story. I'm following alongside the main plot, which is strange but I dig it too, it kind of keeps everyone on the same page with what's going on in the world, although I don't know how long it will stay like this.

Also been trying to make this as slow burn as possible while keeping it sexy. I mean, I love to write lengthy and full sex scenes, but it gets to a point where the fire just dies and all sex scenes afterwords get repetitive.

HOWEVER, I have managed to write some gold pieces in my spare time. Although I'm nervous about these two finally getting somewhere, I'm fighting with myself over letting it happen or letting it not happen. (Y'all don't want to know how many sex scenes I've actually fully written out for this particular fic and had to scrap because I was getting impatient. Oh my lord.)

I don't know if I'll ever post those scenes, maybe once the fic is all finished. I dunno, let me know if you guys would like me to post the scrapped sexy scenes :3