Gaara paced the floor of his office, trying to keep himself from biting his nails. He felt a nervous energy about him, which made him anxious. He kept his chakra extended outward, feeling for any disturbance near Sakura's rooms. Though the sky was quite dark now, the village was still buzzing. Gaara could hear the sounds of the festivals outside his windows and he wished that everyone would just go home already. It was distracting enough as it was, but it also seemed quite foolish for them to be out. Gaara had no idea what Sasuke might do and he didn't like the idea that any of his people were at risk.
His dread was compounding, folding in on him at breakneck speed. He could feel it rushing toward him like a tidal wave.
But no. That dread wasn't his.
Gaara rushed out into the hall, looking for the blond head that belonged to the rapidly approaching, familiar chakra signature.
He saw Naruto in the distance, leaping between rooftops toward him. Worried that Naruto might sense Sasuke's presence if he came much closer, Gaara leapt off to meet him halfway. When he stood in front of the panting blond, he pressed his hand into the man's shoulder, peering into his eyes. He wasn't surprised by the concern he found there. He was sure it was mirrored in his own eyes as well, but he did his best to hide it.
"Naruto, where are you off to in such a rush?" Gaara asked, giving the cheeriest smile he could muster.
Naruto wasn't buying it for a second. "Something bad's about to happen, Gaara," Naruto said, his voice laced with panic. "Can't you feel that? I think Sakura-chan might be in trouble."
"Sakura? No. She's fine. I was just with her," Gaara explained. "In fact, she's safe in her rooms right now. Said she wasn't feeling well, wanted to lie down. You know, I think she might be on her period. It's probably best not to agitate her."
"No," Naruto replied, though he paused to give Gaara a curious, skeptical look. "There's something really wrong."
"I'm telling you, Naruto, she's fine," Gaara insisted.
"I just want to see her to make sure."
Sensing that there was nothing he could do to dissuade Naruto, Gaara released the man's shoulder. In all honesty, he just wanted to see Sakura, too. However, Gaara couldn't help but be aware that a meeting between Sasuke and Naruto could only end in a fight, a massive battle that would level his village, possibly killing some of his people.
Without waiting for Gaara's approval, Naruto leapt off the roof toward the balcony that led into the guest wing. Gaara had no choice but to follow, dread burgeoning in his stomach. Even as he ambled quickly down the hallway after Naruto, he had no idea what he was going to do.
Hideki was still stationed outside Sakura's room when they arrived. He appeared tense and focused, but otherwise motionless. Gaara considered this a good sign. At least Sasuke and Sakura were still just talking. Or at least not fighting.
Hideki's jaw clenched and unclenched when he caught sight of Naruto and Gaara. He shook his head vigorously in warning, motioning for the two of them to go back where they came.
"You guys need to get out of here," he whispered heatedly.
"I need to make sure Sakura-chan is okay," Naruto insisted.
"She's fine," Hideki said. "I'm keeping an eye on her. Now go."
"Why?" Naruto asked. "What's going on in there? Is there someone in there with her?"
"Naruto, perhaps we should take Hideki's advice—"
The door to Sakura's room burst open just then, and Sasuke's expressionless face appeared. Everyone seemed to freeze in place for a moment, the air suddenly frosty. Gaara could see Sakura's worried face over Sasuke's shoulder. With a wave of nausea, he noticed she was wearing her traveling cloak and her pack was slung over her shoulder.
Naruto's body was rigid with a frenzied tension. Gaara could see that he was digging his nails into his palms so harshly that little bloody crescents began to appear.
"Sasuke," he breathed, his rage evident even the near silent utterance of the name.
"Move out of my way, Naruto," Sasuke said dryly, sparing half a second to glance at his former teammate before he shrugged past him. Sakura quickly jogged after him, passing Gaara with an apologetic look in his direction.
For one numb second, Gaara watched her pass, wondering if that was it. Did she plan on leaving Suna with nothing more than a glance at him? No goodbye, no last kiss, nothing? It made him furious that she could just drop him like that to follow Sasuke. Had all those things she told him in the marketplace not been true? Was she really not over her crush on Sasuke?
"What the hell is going on?" Naruto demanded, running to catch up with Sasuke. Sakura moved to interfere before Naruto could lay his hands on Sasuke. She pressed her hands to Naruto's chest, her face pleading and desperate.
"Not now, Naruto," Sakura said quietly. Sasuke paused behind her, glancing over his shoulder for one second to see if she was still behind him. He turned back away from them but didn't move again until Sakura had released Naruto and trotted up alongside him again.
"Not now?" Naruto called after them. "Not now? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Sasuke just shows up out of nowhere while we're out of the country and now you're leaving with him? Where the hell are you going? Are you going to abandon me, too?"
Gaara placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and pulled him backward a few steps. As much as he agreed with Naruto, it wasn't a good idea for him to get too heated. They couldn't risk getting the nine-tails riled up, though it was apparent from Naruto's red eyes that it was a little too late for that. Perhaps Sakura's haste to get away wasn't a bad idea. Gaara could feel Naruto's emotions swirling around all of them, thick like a fog. If Sasuke stayed, this wouldn't end well.
So even though it filled him with rage and jealousy and fear and anxiety, Gaara held onto Naruto and watched Sakura and Sasuke walk away.
Naruto shrugged out of Gaara's hold and began to amble toward his disappearing teammates, but this time it was Hideki who stopped him. "Let them go, Naruto-san," he said solemnly. "It will be much worse if you don't." Naruto glanced at Hideki, his eyes wild and panicked still, but he seemed to be at a loss for what to do. Even he recognized the danger in going after them, but Gaara knew that did little to assuage the turmoil raging in his head.
Once Sakura and Sasuke were safely out of earshot, Gaara shot Hideki a look. "What did you hear?" he asked.
"Only bits and pieces, Kazekage-sama," Hideki replied. "They are heading toward Fire Country first to pick up someone – I didn't catch who – then to Rain."
"To kill Itachi," Naruto said quietly. His hands were trembling, fingers curling in and out of fists.
"So that's it?" Gaara asked, unable to keep the frustration from his tone. "She just packed up and left? No explanation?"
"That's not like her," Naruto said. "She would never leave me like this. Not without at least saying a proper goodbye."
"Do you think he did something to her?" Hideki asked. "Something to convince her to come along with him?"
"She's in love with him," Naruto explained. "She'd go anywhere he told her to. It was probably one reason he chose to ask her."
Gaara and Hideki exchanged looks. Gaara didn't like to think he knew Sakura better than Naruto did. They had known each other since childhood and were very close. Still, he couldn't help but feel that Naruto was completely wrong about that. Sakura used to have feelings for Sasuke, and maybe she still had some lingering affection for him. But Sakura wasn't a fool, and going with Sasuke would make her a fool.
"Tail them, Hideki," Gaara instructed. "Alert me when they reach the border."
"Yes, Kazekage-sama."
Now with the addition of Naruto, Gaara once again paced the floor of his office. There was something comforting about the blond's presence in spite of the fact that he was cursing under his breath as he glared at Gaara through his lashes.
"You were the one who said Sakura would never do something like this," Gaara said tersely, glancing at the sky through the window. The sounds of the festival were gone now, and even though Gaara had wanted them gone before, he now missed the familiarity, the normalcy of it. "We're just going to have to trust that she knows what she's doing."
"Yeah, but this is Sasuke we're talking about," Naruto argued. "He's volatile and dangerous."
"Which is exactly why we can't just chase them down," Gaara countered. "What good would it do, anyway? You've never been able to convince Sasuke to return. It won't happen until he kills his brother."
"This isn't about Sasuke, it's about Sakura."
Gaara was very much inclined to agree – he couldn't give less of a shit about Sasuke. "So you think you could convince her to come back?" Gaara asked, hope deciding to creep its way into his tone.
"I think I could drag her stupid ass back here."
"Really?" Gaara asked dryly, "and what of Sasuke? You think he'll let her go without a fight?"
"Does it matter?" Naruto asked, almost in hysterics. "They've been gone for over an hour. Who knows what that bastard's done to her by now."
Gaara glanced back toward the window. "They haven't reached the border yet," he said softly. Another glance in Naruto's direction showed him that the blond was in agony. His face was screwed up into a scowl, but the sagging in his shoulders was indicative of a kind of pain Gaara had not experienced in a long time. Naruto was stung by betrayal again, and Gaara was powerless to help.
"You know they might go kill Itachi and come straight back," Gaara offered.
"Not likely," Naruto muttered bitterly. "Sasuke will want to restore his clan so he'll probably take Sakura to some place where I can't find her so he can knock her up."
Gaara was visibly startled by Naruto's words.
"Why wouldn't he come back to Konoha to do that?" Gaara asked, feigning nonchalance. He wasn't aware that he could feel jealousy more acutely than he had when he saw Sakura in her traveling cloak, but the idea of Sasuke fathering her children, taking her away… The feeling left his throat dry and his heart heavy.
"He doesn't care about Konoha," Naruto said. "He only cares about—"
Naruto continued to speak, but Gaara couldn't pay attention. He felt a sharp probe of Hideki's chakra off in the distance. It felt far more frantic than usual, but there was something about it that was comforting at the same time. Had Sakura and Sasuke reached the border? It seemed much too soon for them to have traveled that far. Gaara knew Sasuke was fast, but with Sakura in tow even he wouldn't have been able to make it to the border so quickly.
Then he felt something else – a grittiness against his arm. He looked down at his bicep where a tiny orb of sand fluttered around, spreading over his skin before reforming into a little ball.
"Sakura…"
The sand darted toward the window, drawing with it Gaara's gaze. He watched the orb fly through the window and down to the street below. Was Sakura leading him somewhere?
"Grab your jacket, Naruto," Gaara said, interrupting the blond's tirade.
"Huh?" Naruto asked, though he immediately began shoving his arms into the sleeves of his jacket. "Where are we going? What's happening?"
"I don't know," Gaara said.
But he didn't need to know more. Naruto followed anyway.
Gaara ran towards Hideki's chakra, feeling it compounding with Sakura's the closer he got to the border. He was only slightly concerned that he couldn't detect Sasuke's chakra. Naruto must have picked up on that as well, because his face was soured as they sped across the dune.
Neither of them spoke to one another, each lost in their own thoughts as they made their way toward Sakura, praying for her safety. Even though it was slowing him down, Gaara was glad to have Naruto with him. At least if things did come down to a fight, he wouldn't be alone.
At this point, he sort of expected a fight. What else could Hideki have summoned him for when they were still so far from the border?
He didn't have to wonder for long.
Ahead of them one the dunes was a bobbing head of pink hair with a suspicious lump of darkness thrown over her shoulder.
Gaara released a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding in. He stopped running and watching Sakura come to the crest of the dune before Hideki's silhouette formed behind her. She readjusted Sasuke's limp body on her shoulder before sliding carefully down the length of the dune with Hideki in tow behind her.
"Gaara-sama," she said, panting as she approached them and gently sat Sasuke's body down at her feet. "Naruto, I—"
"What the hell did you do to him?" Naruto demanded, picking up Sasuke's limp arm and letting it fall back to the sand. "You didn't fight him, did you? Oh my god, is he dead?"
"Relax, you dolt, he's not dead," she said, "and no, I didn't fight him. I poisoned him when we were in my room. I gave him a slow acting one that will keep him unconscious for at least a day or two. I'm a little surprised we made it as far as we did."
Gaara stared in awe at her as she bent backwards to pop her spine. She was sweating even in the cold and her hair was atrociously mussed. She brushed it out of her face with less than gentle fingers, her eyes dipped down to the crumpled shinobi at her feet. She looked concerned as she bit her lip, but she was blessedly alive and she hadn't run away.
"So, uhh, what do you plan on doing with him?" Naruto asked. His eyes hadn't left Sasuke for even a fraction of a second. He was crouched down near Sasuke's face, his knees pressed into the chilled sand. The look on his face was one of immense relief, but there was also still pain there. In fact, he was showing so much emotion in his face as he touched a finger to Sasuke's cheek that Gaara felt like he was invading his privacy just by looking at him.
It must have bothered Sakura just as much, because she chose that moment to turn and look at Gaara. Her lip was still caught between her teeth. Though it seemed like she might have been avoiding his gaze before, there was something reassuring in her eyes, something that made Gaara want to crush her into a hug and never let go of her.
"To be honest," she said, her voice smaller, weaker, "I didn't really think this through. I just knew I needed more time. He was going to leave without me if I didn't agree to come with him, but obviously I couldn't go with him."
"Obviously," Gaara echoed a little more dryly than he'd intended. He watched a flicker of emotion in Sakura's face. She bit her lips again and glanced down at her feet. When she looked back up at his face, there was clear apology there. She didn't really have anything to be sorry for, he realized, but the look made his heartbeat stutter anyway.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly, her voice cracking. She quickly closed the distance between them and threw her arms around his neck. The action itself didn't really surprise him. It was the electric shock that went through his body that made him gasp aloud. She pressed her face into his neck, clinging to him so tightly he could feel her warmth seeping into his body. Though he had been initially relieved to find her alive and still in Suna, there was addition comfort in knowing that she had neglected the supposed love of her life to press her body against his, to comfort him because she knew he was upset.
In spite of the severity of the situation, Gaara grinned, unable to contain it. He pressed his palm to the back of her head, holding it against him and smoothing her wild hair down. "What are you sorry for?" he asked, glancing down at Naruto, who was still glued to Sasuke's side.
Over the top of the Sakura's head, Gaara made eye contact with Hideki, who gave a quick nod to him before glancing away with just the barest hint of a blush on his cheeks.
Sakura pulled away from him. For a moment he thought she might have been crying. Though her eyes were red, they were dry. She made a sound of discontent with the back of her throat, her eyes wavering with diluted emotion as she searched for the right words to say.
"We should talk about this later," Gaara murmured to her just as she opened her mouth to speak. He didn't want to do this in front of Hideki and Naruto, and the unconscious Uchiha on the ground was a more pressing matter.
Sakura nodded and instantly schooled her face into serious kunoichi mode. "What are we going to do with Sasuke?" she asked.
"We'll take him back to the village with us for now," Gaara suggested. "We can come up with a plan for what to do once he wakes up."
Truthfully, Gaara didn't think they had any right to be doing this to Sasuke. He clearly didn't want to stay in Suna or he would have. He understood why Naruto and Sakura wanted to keep him around, to have their teammate back, but if he obviously didn't want to be back, then why force it on him? The best course of action would be to just let him go once he woke up, provided he wasn't so angry about being poisoned that he tried to attack someone.
He didn't say as much out loud, of course.
"I'll talk to him," Naruto said, carefully hoisting Sasuke's body up onto his shoulder.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "That hasn't gone so well the last few times you've tried," she pointed out.
"It'll work this time," he insisted.
Sakura opened her mouth to argue some more, but Gaara stopped her with a hand on her arm. She sighed, but relented.
Once they were back in Suna and Sasuke had been placed in what was essentially a prison chamber, Gaara let his weight sag against the wall near his office door. With Sasuke being watched by a reluctant Hideki and an overzealous Naruto, Gaara wasn't quite as worried anymore. Sakura had informed him that the poison's effects should last a couple of days, so they had time to decide what to do.
What he really needed to do was get some paperwork done. It was well into the evening now. He was exhausted and distracting and had no interest in doing the paperwork, which was why he had decided to linger outside his office door instead of just being a man and getting it done.
Of course the moment he felt a tantalizingly familiar chakra signature approaching, he knew any motivation to do work was gone.
"Gaara-sama," he heard her voice say. He didn't open his eyes to look at her. He kept his head reclined against the wall, his eyes closed. He didn't say anything. He didn't have anything to say. But he was comforted by her presence.
"Gaara-sama," she repeated, her tone borderline impatient. He opened his eyes to look at her and found her twisting her fingers together nervously. She stood against the wall next to him, clearly working up the nerve to say something. He didn't want to admit how endearing he found it.
"Yes, Sakura?"
"I'm really sorry about…"
"About what?" he asked. He knew, of course, why she was sorry, even if it didn't make much sense. She was ridiculously charming while she searched for what to say to him, though, so he felt inclined to indulge himself in her answer.
"I never had any intention of leaving Suna with him, you know," she explained.
Gaara turned his body toward her, leaning his shoulder against the wall instead. She turned and did the same, but kept her gaze lowered. There was already just barely a foot between them, but Gaara wanted so badly to close the distance.
"Then what are you sorry for?" he asked.
She sighed deeply. Gaara could feel her breath on his throat. He felt the compulsion to pull her into an embrace, to comfort her and protect her from having to say what she clearly didn't want to.
But at the same time, while Gaara didn't consider himself to be a sadist, he was sort of enjoying her turmoil.
"I mean I saw the look on your face when Sasuke opened that door," she said, still too nervous to meet his gaze. "It shattered my heart into a million pieces, but I couldn't tell you the truth in front of Sasuke."
"I know, Sakura. I'm not upset."
"You were, though."
Gaara said nothing. He was embarrassed to admit that she was right. Even though their connection was undeniable at this point, he knew his jealousy was irrational. If Sakura wanted to be with Sasuke, he wouldn't stand in the way, even if it did bother him.
"It was all I could think about while we were heading toward the border," she said softly.
Her admission sent butterflies whirling about in his stomach. There was something painfully thrilling about her agonizing over him while she was with Sasuke, the man she had loved for so long. His heart hurt just thinking about it.
"It's okay, Sakura. I understand."
"Well, I'm still sorry," she said, finally looking up into his eyes. He was a little surprised to find heat in them. "We were having such a nice time and that bastard had to go and ruin it."
Gaara chuckled, which seemed to bring some color to her cheeks. It was amusing to hear her insult Sasuke like that, and charming to hear that's she'd been having a good time at Turtle Rock.
"We were having a nice time, weren't we?" he asked, grinning down at her.
Sakura didn't return his smile.
"Look, Sakura, I know having Sasuke here complicates things—"
"It doesn't complicate anything," she insisted. "I'm here to celebrate Shikamaru and Temari's wedding, and return my apprentice to her home country. Whatever happens with Sasuke won't complicate that."
"I wasn't talking about why you're here," he snapped. "I'm talking about me and you."
"How will having Sasuke here complicate me and you?" she demanded, her hip jutting out. This was the kind of sassiness he remembered from her, but he was in no mood for it now.
"You love him," he said, trying to temper the growing incredulity in his gut. Was she being facetious? Did she think that her love for Sasuke was of no consequence here?
Sakura said nothing, looking down at her feet instead. She let out a sound that was suspiciously similar to a whimper and he sorely hoped she wasn't crying. Perhaps he needed to take a step back. Sakura had no obligation to be with Gaara, or to work any of his issues out with him. She had enough to deal with now without him trying to work through his jealousy of Sasuke.
"You know I'm over him, Gaara."
"I know, Sakura," he said softly, touching her cheek consolingly. "I wasn't trying to imply that you weren't. I was just so happy to be near you again and I don't want Sasuke to jeopardize that. When I saw you leaving with Sasuke I realized—"
He cut himself off, not sure he wanted to finish that sentence.
"You realized what?" she asked.
"That I don't want you to leave."
"Well, I'm not going anywhere."
"No," he said with a shake of his head. "I don't want you to leave ever. I don't want you to go back to Konoha. I want you to stay here in Suna with me."
"You know I can't do that," she nearly whispered. "Besides, you'd probably change your mind after a while. I've heard I can be kind of annoying."
Gaara was a fairly patient man, but he'd grown tired of beating around the bush with her. He wanted a relationship with her. That much had been evident to him from the moment she had taken a bite of his peach. He knew the impossibility of it, how hard it would be to be separated from her all the time. He couldn't leave Suna as often as Temari had to visit Shikamaru. And Sakura was a busy woman, too. She couldn't just visit him all the time. At best, they'd see each other a few times a year.
Still, he knew what he wanted. Difficulties aside, he wanted to be with her. Nothing in the world had ever compared to her kiss, and he'd be damned if he gave those up. It had been agonizing to watch her leave the first time, and again when she'd 'left' with Sasuke. But he would do it over and over again if he knew she'd always come back to him again.
"Whoever told you that was full of shit," he said, and leaned down to kiss her.
