Gaara stood in front of his open window, watching people walk by on the streets below. Sakura stood behind him, watching with disinterest. He had been silent from the first moment they stepped into his office and Sakura recognized that he was nervous. Perhaps her attraction to him was what made his apprehension so charming, but Sakura wasn't afraid to admit to herself that she enjoyed his confliction.

The sky had darkened dramatically within the last hour and off in the distance Sakura could see another sandstorm approaching. She hoped it wouldn't delay her interrogation of Taiyo tomorrow.

"I ordered Hideki to watch you because I thought you were a flight risk," Gaara said, his voice breaking the eerie silence that had settled over them.

"What?"

He turned to look at her and his expression was grim. "I could tell that you missed Konoha and your part of the mission was over," he explained. "And after some of our less than favorable conversations, I assumed you would try to sneak out and go back to Konoha on your own."

Sakura pursed her lips and rolled her eyes – a perfect reflection of the sassy Sakura he had come to know and love. But inside she felt sufficiently chided. It had been foolish of her to try to leave without Shikamaru, to cross the desert completely alone. She would have made it, of course, but it was a silly thing to put herself at unnecessary risk for in the first place, and she knew it.

"I know that's partially my fault," he conceded. "I think I came on a little strong regarding the issue, but I didn't want to risk you getting hurt or killed."

"I understand, Gaara," she replied evenly. "I don't approve, but I understand. What I'm concerned about is Hideki having seen you kiss me. He suspects something is going on between us."

Gaara turned back to the window, angling his face away from her so she could not see it, even in the reflection in the glass. The tips of his ears were dusted with pink – Sakura could imagine the blush on his cheeks, too. She reached out and tugged on the sleeve of his tunic, silently urging him to look at her. She wanted to see his face, to gather every bit of him that she could have.

He seemed surprised by the tenderness in her gesture, the way her fingers lingered, curled up in the fabric against his arm.

"Hideki won't tell anyone, if that's what you're concerned about," he said softly. She wanted so badly to reach up and push the tendrils of hair in his face away, to test its softness again between the pads of her fingers.

"It's just that it was inappropriate for me to kiss you," she explained, trying to work out a way to tactfully explain what she meant. "If Tsunade-sama finds out I did that I'll be in big trouble."

Although, Sakura thought to herself, her mentor would probably be glad to know she had moved on from 'that Uchiha brat.'

"Why did you kiss me?"

Sakura rolled her eyes again because she had already answered this before. But before she could say anything, Gaara spoke again.

"If you knew it was inappropriate, why did you do it?"

"No," she snapped. "I already answered that once. Why did you kiss me again afterwards?"

"Because you offered it as part of our deal," he answered. His blush had faded and he now wore an expression that was halfway between a scowl and smirk – one Sakura wasn't too fond of.

"I'd have offered you anything to keep you from going back down there," she said defensively, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And you thought that was something I wanted?"

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" she asked with a pout.

"Yes," he said, taking a step toward her. "It did."

Sakura took a step back away from him, a little flustered by his nearness and the mischievous glint in his eye. She was used to the only glint in his eye being murderous – it was unsettling to see him this way.

But there was also something distinctively thrilling about it. Behind him a gust of wind blew specks of sand against the glass. The scritch scratch sound seemed to beat in time with her breath.

"Sakura, do you want to kiss me again?"

She looked up into his eyes with their damn near iridescence. The corner of his mouth was drawn up into a half smile and Sakura hated that arrogance it belied. It unnerved her that he would openly ask her such a question like he already knew the answer to it.

"No," she said coolly.

He laughed and it annoyed her that he didn't seem to believe her. "Would you let me kiss you again?" he asked.

"What?"

"If I wanted to kiss you again, would you let me?" he asked.

"Umm," she mumbled, taking another step back. She hadn't been lying about being in trouble. She couldn't be engaging in casual romances with foreign Kages, no matter how much she really, really wanted to.

The smirk dropped from his face, replaced with a concerned frown. "I'm sorry, Sakura, you're right," he said softly. "This is inappropriate."

He sucked his lower lip back between his teeth, his brow furrowed as he watched her, waiting for her to say something. It was so odd that the Kazekage would worry his lip between his teeth like that, and that he was so concerned over her reaction was so immensely enchanting that Sakura felt her heart hammering in her chest, beating wildly out of control.

With no one around to see them, Sakura could find no reason to deny either of them what they both knew they wanted. She fisted her hands in his tunic and stood up on her toes, pressing her lips against his.

Gaara froze and Sakura lingered against him, not quite ready to pull back and see his face yet. But then he relaxed against her and reached up to curl his fingers around her arms, holding her against him.

Too afraid to keep going, Sakura pushed herself away from him. She stared down at her feet, feeling heat on her cheeks and the tips of her ears.

"That was really inappropriate, Sakura."

She glared up at him through her lashes. Her heart still pounded in her chest and her head was swimming as she took another step back away from him. He was smiling at her, but it was more of a shy smile.

"You're not going to tell Tsunade-sama, are you?"

Gaara laughed. "Why would I tell the Hokage I willingly engaged in inappropriate behavior with her apprentice?"

Sakura frowned. "Should we really be doing this, Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara frowned, too, but he didn't seem offended, much to Sakura's relief. "What exactly is it that we're doing, Sakura-san?"

She was startled by the suffix attached to her name – even around other people he had begun to drop the –san from her name. But she supposed that was only fair because she had just called him Kazekage-sama, which she was well aware she used to keep him at a safe distance. Using just his first name seemed far too intimate after having kissed him.

"I don't know," she answered.

Gaara nodded, his expression somber. "Then maybe it's for the best that we nip this in the bud now," he said. "If people are already suspicious, we shouldn't give them more reason to suspect something is going on."

She was startled again by that thought – that this was the last time she would kiss him, because he was absolutely right. It would be unwise for the Kazekage to engage in casual flings with foreign shinobi, and even more unwise to get himself embroiled in drama that could potentially spread uncouth rumors. He had a reputation to uphold, and even though Sakura didn't plan to create any drama with him, she knew it was too much pressure for a budding relationship. This distance was too great – things would never work out between them and they both knew this.

"That's probably for the best," she agreed, though she was unable to keep the disappointment from showing on her face.

She chanced a look up at his face and found him staring at her. Well, not her exactly, but her mouth. Delighted and unnerved by this, she chewed her lower lip. It was too unfair, she thought, that she had allowed herself to move on from Sasuke, recognizing how impossible chasing after him was only to end up smitten with the Kazekage, another unattainable man.

With only a hint of bitterness, she mused that she would have to find some vanilla civilian when she got home – just some boring guy who wouldn't be impossible and wouldn't attempt killing her at any point.

"But there's no one around now," Gaara said, his eyes still on her lips. She watched his gaze drift lower, lower, lingering on her chest, her stomach, her legs. When he found her eyes again, she could feel the blush still on her cheeks, the heat that had spread away from her face and down to much lower regions. "Perhaps it's foolish, and it's definitely selfish," he said softly, "but I'd really like to kiss you again."

"You're right, that does sound foolish."

"But I'm a teenager and I feel entitled to make a few foolish mistakes," he explained, "especially where pretty girls are concerned."

Sakura giggled at that, pleased and in full agreement. Surely she was entitled to make a few of those same kinds of mistakes, too.

"So can I kiss you?" he asked. "Just one more time."

It was charming for him to ask, even if it was a bit too polite. Sakura had no urge to deny him his kiss, and not nearly enough self-preservation to recognize what she was getting herself into.

So she took a step toward him and nodded, probably a bit too eagerly, but she didn't care.

Gaara didn't care either, it seemed. His eyes sparkled dangerously and he smiled as he threaded his fingers into her hair and pressed his lips to hers. His palm was warm against her cheek and he smelled like sun and sand and something deeply masculine. She took another step toward him so that their bodies were flush against one another. She felt Gaara inhale sharply through his nose. His fingers tightened in her hair, his fingernails digging into her scalp.

She didn't have the words to describe what it felt like to kiss him. Perhaps it was the secretive nature of the kiss, or the fact that she could feel Gaara's fingers trembling in her hair and his heartbeat hammering against her own chest that made her skin feel so tingling. She felt lighter than air, like if he weren't holding her down she would just float away.

Her hands moved of their own accord, finding their way to Gaara's chest. She splayed her fingers across his ribs, twisting them around the fabric of his tunic. Sakura was no stranger to fit men, to muscles and broad shoulders. But touching them like this felt infinitely different. It was easy to forget that Gaara still trained hard to hone his shinobi skills when his sand did most of the work, but as her hands explored his body, she thought she'd never forget that again.

Emboldened by her explorations, Gaara, too, began to let his hands wander. They slid down from her hair, across her neck and down her shoulders. He left reverent touches along her abdomen, her ribs, her waist.

But when Sakura let her hands drift lower, ghosting over his hipbones and then lower, Gaara grabbed her wrists and pushed them back into her chest, taking a step back away from her.

"No, wait," she gasped, retaking her step toward him.

"Just a kiss, Sakura," he said through shaky breaths. "That's what we agreed."

She made a small sound of disapproval with the back of her throat, but she knew he was right. She struggled to mask her disappointment though, because kissing him 'just once' made her want to kiss him more, over and over again.

"Your disappointment is quite flattering," he said.

She looked up at him with heavy lidded eyes, her lips pouted. Just because she couldn't kiss him anymore that didn't mean she still couldn't tease him.

"What about our deal?" she asked. "I still owe you nine hundred and ninety seven kisses."

"The deal is off, Sakura."

"No, it isn't."

He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at her. He looked quite regal and authoritative, and if Sakura hadn't just had his tongue in her mouth, she might have felt intimidated by him.

"Gaara, I'm not going to let you go back down there."

He blinked. "That's what you're worried about?"

"Duh! That's the whole reason I made the deal in the first place!"

His frown deepened and his furrowed brow indicated he was confused. "Okay," he said. "If that's what you're concerned about, then you have my word that I won't go back down there."

"I do?"

He nodded.

She pursed her lips, a little surprised and a little annoyed that he revoked their deal and replaced it with a singular promise. Perhaps he now understood just how dangerous it was to go back down there. Or perhaps he had decided her feelings on the issue were important enough to change his mind.

"So no more kisses then?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not," he replied. "I'm just as disappointed as you are."

She peered at him with scrutiny, taking in the paleness of his features, the dark circles around his eyes. He really was handsome and kind of sweet and definitely adorable.

"Gaara, how come you've never kissed anyone before?"

He shrugged in response. "I never felt the urge to kiss anyone," he said, "and no one had ever attempted to kiss me before."

She supposed she could believe that because most of his life had been spent deprived of human touch. Kissing probably wasn't something he specifically wanted to do, and it certainly wasn't something anyone would have attempted on Gaara before he became Kazekage. Even after was questionable. Who would just kiss the Kazekage on the mouth like that?

"What about you, Sakura?" he asked. "Why haven't you kissed anyone?"

She looked up at his face to see if there was any sign of trickery. He must have already known the answer to that question, and it stung that he would even ask, that he would make her say it out loud.

But there was nothing but curiosity in his gaze, his eyes wide as he waited for her answer. She supposed if she could share spit with him she could share other things, too.

"I was saving my first kiss for Sasuke."

He laughed at that, which angered Sakura enough that she scowled and smacked his shoulder roughly. "What's so funny about that?" she demanded.

"Nothing's funny, Sakura," he said, still smiling as he rubbed his shoulder. "I'm just pleased that I got to have it instead of him."

"You boys are all so competitive," she said with a scowl.

Gaara shook his head with an amused smile, but then his expression fell and he raked his gaze over her with hesitant curiosity. "What made you change your mind, Sakura?" he asked. "You didn't want to die without kissing anyone?"

She wanted to feel outraged that he would think that, but he wasn't too far off the mark. "I actually, umm, was attracted to you well before that," she spluttered, "and I just figured if we were going to die anyway I might as well go for it."

"When?"

"When what?"

"When were you attracted to me?" he asked.

"Now, Kazekage-sama, you aren't fishing for compliments, are you?"

"Well, if you've got any to offer, I'm not opposed to hearing them."

"I really can't think of anything," she said.

He smiled, then he laughed, then he brushed the hair away from her face with his knuckles. The gesture seemed too tender. She wanted to flinch away from him, but she resisted the urge and let him touch her cheek.

"This kind of sucks," she said, watching his face as his eyes focused on the point of contact between his fingertips and her cheek.

He murmured his agreement and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Sakura, do you remember when you told me I needed a good fuck?"

She made a small noise of surprise with her throat, blinking incredulously. "Don't push it, Kazekage-sama."

He laughed and shook his head. "I just meant that you were wrong. I only needed a good kiss," he said. "Or two or three."

"I don't know," she argued. "You still seem to have a stick up your ass. You could still probably use a good fuck."

Gaara dropped his hand back down to his side and glanced away from her toward the window where swirls of sand were now obstructing the view. His cheeks were reddened, as fiery as his hair and his rigid posture told Sakura that perhaps that had been a step too far.

"I'm sorry, that was inappropriate," she mumbled. "I'll just… see myself out now."

She turned to walk toward the door, to make a hasty exit from this horrible situation she had put herself in, but he wrapped his fingers around her wrist and shook his head.

"Do you really think that's true?" he asked.

"Of course," she nearly laughed. "I can't think of a single situation in which it's appropriate to speak to the Kazekage like that."

"That's not what I meant," he said with a scowl. "Do you really think I need sex?"

"Oh," she said with a blush hot on her cheeks. "Well, I mean I guess we all do. You just seem kind of tightly wound sometimes, and sex is a good way to, uhh, relieve stress."

"I see," he said, a blush on his cheeks as well, which pleased Sakura. It was nice to know he was just as shy and embarrassed about this situation as she was, even if he acted so reasonable and logical. But when his blush faded, his expression grew more curious. "How do you know this, Sakura?"

"Endorphins are released during sex," she explained. "And endorphins make you feel good. Sex feels good."

"How do you know?" he repeated.

She scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you getting at, Kazekage-sama?"

"Please call me Gaara, Sakura," he begged. She glared at him. "I'm not getting at anything," he continued. "I just think that you might be right. Maybe sex is what I need."

"Yeah, I saw the way you were looking at Sarabi the other day," she teased.

"She was practically naked," he said defensively.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Have you ever thought of… like, touching yourself?"

"Pardon me?"

"I mean I don't know how it compares to actual sex," she said, willing herself not to blush. She was a medic and this was a perfectly normal bodily function, coupled with perfectly normal urges. There was no reason to be embarrassed about it, she thought, even as she felt her face getting hot. "But there are certainly some benefits of sex that you can get… you know, flying solo."

"No, I've never thought of that," he replied evenly. Sakura was too embarrassed to look up at his face to see if he was also still blushing. "Are you recommending it to me?"

"If it gets the job done, Kazeka— I mean Gaara."

"Do you… do that?" he asked.

"That's inappropriate to ask, don't you think?"

"But you just asked me the same thing," he argued. "Besides, we're far past propriety at this point."

"Perhaps we've hit our limit," she said dryly.

"Perhaps," he echoed. "At least you've given me a lot to think about. I'll consider your suggestion."

Sakura didn't know how to reply to that. What can you say to the Kazekage after he says he will consider jerking off?

"Have you ever seen a naked woman, Gaara?" Sakura asked, wincing nearly immediately after the words left her mouth. Of course she wanted to know the answer to that, but she hadn't meant to sound as suggestive as it did.

"Sarabi is the closest thing to a naked woman I've ever seen," he replied.

"Will you think about her?"

"Think about her?"

"Yeah," she said, "you know, when you're going to town on yourself."

He rolled his eyes. "No, I don't think I'll be thinking of her," he said dryly. Sakura didn't know why he seemed so miffed by that question – it was perfectly reasonable to think he would think of the only woman he had seen partially naked. "Who do you think about when you do it? Sasuke?"

She scowled and blushed and crossed her arms with a huff. She shook her head so that her bangs fell into her eyes, hiding her face from his intense scrutiny.

"You do, don't you?" he asked. She could hear the smirk in his voice. "I imagine you've seen plenty of naked men in your line of work, but have you ever seen Sasuke naked?"

"I don't want to talk about Sasuke."

"Why not?" he asked. "Is it painful to think about him?

The answer to that was definitely yes, but Sakura merely uncrossed her arms and sighed in response. She didn't like the direction this conversation was going, and it had been so questionable to begin with.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," Gaara said softly. She now had the courage to look at his face and she found his expression soft and concerned and it astounded her that he could flip a switch like that and tease her one moment, but be so sympathetic the next. "We don't have to talk about Sasuke if you don't want to."

"Why do you want to talk about him anyway?"

"Because you love him."

"And?" she demanded. "Should I love you instead?"

"I never said that."

"I know you think I'm a fool for loving him," she said, "but it's not like I'm just sitting around waiting for him to love me back. I mean I kissed you, didn't I?"

"Sasuke is the fool," he answered. "I'm no stranger to tragedy – I understand Sasuke's pain. That's what makes it so hard to understand why he would abandon you. I already know I'm going to miss you when you leave to go back to Konoha. I can't imagine having an opportunity to be near you everyday, to kiss you whenever I wanted and just squandering it away. Sasuke is an idiot."

"Sasuke isn't interested in being near me or kissing me," she said. "But that doesn't make him an idiot."

"Sakura, you are a beautiful, intelligent, and very talented kunoichi," he argued. "Anyone who would reject you is an idiot."

"Didn't you call me in here to reject me?"

He was silent for a moment. Sakura watched the expressions on his face flicker between conflicted and confused. Even in his somewhat agitated state, she still found him incredibly adorable, and after hearing him say all those nice things about her, she felt herself swooning just a little bit.

But it didn't change the fact that what they were doing was wrong on so many levels. And there was no reason to bring Sasuke into it, either. She tapped her foot impatiently while she waited for him to explain himself, wishing there was a tactful way for her to extricate herself from his office and retreat back into the safety of her own rooms.

"I didn't realize that you were proposing something to me that I could reject," he finally said. "I thought we agreed that any type of liaison between us would be too scandalous."

"I'm not proposing anything to you," she snapped.

"Then I'm not rejecting you."

Sakura sighed and glanced back toward the window. There was nothing to see but sand now and the harsh winds rattled the windowpane. "The storm looks pretty bad," she said after a moment. "I should get going."

"Sakura…"

"Gaara."

He took a step toward her, his brow creased. "I know we agreed on one kiss, but can I kiss you just one more time?" he asked.

"Why?" she asked. "You looking for material for when you're jerking off later?"

He laughed, much to her surprise because she had been expecting a blush instead. "Is that so wrong?" he asked.

She couldn't argue there. Even if only to herself she could admit that she would probably use the same material. After all, Gaara was the only man she had ever kissed. And each time had left her breathless and warm and tingly. Why shouldn't she indulge in one last, last kiss?

"It doesn't seem like a good idea, Gaara."

"Is that a no?"

She imagined herself back in her own room, her bed back in Konoha. She remembered how she used to fantasize about Sasuke, about the way he might touch her and hold her against him while she touched herself, buried deep under her covers. Only now, she knew that when she returned it wouldn't be Sasuke's kiss she imagined in her head.

"I guess one more kiss won't hurt," she said, and stood up on her toes to press her lips to his again.