Gaara didn't know how long he had been sitting there when Sakura finally came back. He knew that it must have been well past midnight by now. She should probably have gone straight to bed, but a little selfishly, Gaara was grateful that she had come back.
He watched her enter over the top of the paper he pretended to be looking at. He had no clue what it was or what he needed to do with it. It had been at least twenty minutes since he had done anything productive and he had been just about to call it a night.
With Sakura here, though, he felt refreshed. Maybe not enough to get much more work done, but certainly enough to try to enjoy her company and forget about the past two days.
"Gaara-sama, you look exhausted," she said as she clicked the door shut. "How can I help?"
He glanced at her face, gauging her current emotions. Whatever her conversation with Naruto had been like, no vestiges of it remained in her demeanor. Instead, she looked concerned for him and the stack of paperwork on his desk. In fact, the gentle grace with which she bowed her head gave him pause. He couldn't remember a time when she had ever been so subservient, even in this minuscule way.
There was always something about being near Sakura that lit up a rarely used part of his brain – his arousal. It was always on the backburner and only ever pushed up to the front of his mind when she was kissing him or pressed against him. Now, though, the feeling burst into the front of his brain, pulling all the blood away from his head where it needed to be and down to a more sensitive part of his anatomy.
He felt disgusted with himself for his visceral reaction to just the act of her bowing her head to him. She was offering a productive and useful thing to him and here he was, acting like a teenager.
"How good are you at forgery?" he asked, crossing his legs uncomfortably under his desk.
"Pretty good, I guess," she said with a shrug. "I can manage Tsunade-sama's signature pretty well."
Gaara reached across his desk for a scrap of paper and scrawled his name down for her. She took the paper from his hand, inspecting his signature. He watched her eyes scan over the page, awaiting her final judgment on his signature.
"I think I can do this," she said, reaching for more paper and another pen. "Just let me practice it a few times first."
She plopped herself down in the adjacent chair and began scribbling down Gaara's name. With a weird fascination, Gaara watched her scrawl a large G on the paper, her fingers more controlled, more graceful than his were when it came to penmanship. It showed in the final result – a girlier, loopier version of his signature.
"Mm, needs some work," she muttered, mostly to herself.
"No, it'll do," Gaara said, desperate for a little help. As much as he'd rather be doing anything else, he wouldn't be able to rest easy until all this paperwork was done and he wasn't about to waste an extra pair of helping hands.
"Here," he said, passing a stack of papers across the desk to her. "Can you sign all of these for me? I'll start on this stack here."
Hesitantly, Sakura snatched the first page from the stack and signed it with Gaara's name. She inspected it for a moment, her brow furrowed. "Are you sure this is okay?" she asked. "I think it's pretty noticeable that this isn't your signature. Won't you get in trouble?"
Gaara laughed. "Oh, Temari will be furious if she finds out," he said. "But let's just keep this between you and me."
Sakura gave him an admonishing look, but there was amusement in it too. Gaara averted his gaze quickly, feeling too much like he'd get distracted if he stared at her for too long.
In silence, they began to sign their respective stacks of papers. If he had to wager on it, he'd say he probably had about two or three hours worth of work to be done, but with Sakura's help, hopefully they could cut that time in half.
As long as no one got distracted.
The sounds of pen against parchment lulled them both into a state of near sleep. They both seemed to run on autopilot for a few moments, grabbing a page, signing it, and then flipping it over into the finished pile. People had warned Gaara about the monotony of certain Kazekage duties. He hadn't really taken those warning seriously, but he vowed to make sure that Naruto did. It was certainly hard to imagine the rambunctious blonde doing something like this.
Without really meaning to, Gaara glanced up at Sakura. Her eyes were glued to the page in front of her, her lower lip pulled between her teeth. She scribbled his name at the bottom of the page and flipped it over, reaching for another one.
She seemed startled to find him looking at her, and though he felt embarrassed for having been caught staring, he didn't look away. He couldn't if he wanted to. She was blushing and she was safe and she was here alone with him in his office and he felt a sudden contentedness when their eyes met that made him smile.
"How did your conversation with Naruto go?" he asked, diverting her attention to something less consuming.
Whatever contentedness had been on Sakura's face disappeared. He regretted asking.
"He'll be okay," she said softly, returning her attention to the pages on the desk. "I don't really want to talk about that."
Gaara was silent, a little confused. She was always quite open with him about her feelings and he didn't like that she seemed to be shying away from him. But he didn't press her because he didn't want to push her away, and truthfully, talking about Sasuke wasn't something he wanted to do either.
Their comfortable silence resumed and Gaara returned his attention where it belonged – on his job.
It didn't stay there for long, of course. He heard Sakura yawn and he looked back over at her to find her stretching languorously. Her spine popped and she squeezed her eyes shut in the most charming way possible. When she stopped stretching and opened her eyes back up she found Gaara once again watching her and she immediately smiled.
"I can see why you've got so much paperwork piled up," she laughed. "You're easily distracted."
"Can I kiss you?"
The blinking look of surprise she gave him was adorable and he couldn't help but smile at her. Maybe if he just kissed her, then he wouldn't find her so distracting anymore and he could get some work done.
"I don't think now is the time for that, Gaara-sama," she said solemnly.
"It's never the time for that," he argued. "We have to make time for it."
"You make a good argument," she said, the beginnings of a grin tilting up the corners of her mouth. "Still, though, we've got a lot of work to get done and we shouldn't be procrastinating."
His heart swelled at the way she referred to his work as their work. She had no obligation to help him, but she was sweet to offer it, to take it as her own work. Still, in spite of how pleased he way by this, he couldn't help but be disappointed by her rejection. She was absolutely right, though, and he shouldn't be depending on her to force him to get his work done.
"You're right," he agreed, picking up another page to sign. "This paperwork is our top priority."
He did his best to ignore her, to keep his attention on the pages in front of him. After a few seconds, he heard no movement of paper, no scratching of pen against parchment. Curious and uncontrollable, his eyes wandered back to her.
Her bottom lip was between her teeth again, but this time she was looking directly at him, her eyes wavering with some unspoken words he wasn't sure how to translate.
"I have an idea, though," she said softly, "to help with the distraction."
Gaara's interest was piqued. She stood up and lifted her chair off the ground. She carried it around to Gaara's side of the desk and sat it down next to his.
Yes, that was better, he thought. The closer they were to each other, the better. She sat down and scooted her chair even closer to his. Now she was in his peripheral vision. He could feel the heat of her body, just barely, but noticeable. Her arm brushed against his as she reached for another page to forge his signature on. He reached for another page, too and they fell into an easy rhythm.
She was the first to do it – to 'accidentally' brush her arm against his. But he was a willing participant. He let his arm linger longer than necessary. He reached for pages he didn't need. He was barely aware of what he was signing.
Sakura, by contrast, seemed fairly focused. Though she allowed, welcomed the unwarranted touches, she scanned each page before she signed it and stacked it neatly with the others. What a diligent girl she was.
"I have a better idea," Gaara said, feeling a bit frustrated by his culminating feelings.
He reached down underneath her legs and looped them over his arm, pulling her swiftly into his lap before she had a chance to protest.
"Gaara!" she squealed, scrambling to find her balance before he held her down firmly against his lap. Her back was pressed against his chest – a position they had been in just once before. The urge to press his face into the back of her neck was strong, but he resisted.
"Are you sure this won't make things harder?"
Gaara laughed. "Oh, things will definitely be harder."
Sakura elbowed him roughly in the ribs, hard enough that Gaara winced and sucked in a harsh breath. "You pervert," she muttered, but she didn't move from his lap, even when he let go of her to clutch his ribs. "How are we supposed to get any work done like this?" she asked.
Gaara reached around her for his pen and blindly signed the page in front of him.
"You signed half of that on your desk," she said dryly.
He didn't care. Her bare shoulder was so close to his face that he could see his breath forming goosebumps over her skin. With her position in his lap and his increasingly more lewd thoughts, it was only a matter of time before Sakura would notice the physical manifestation of his arousal.
Not wanting to be the only one aroused, Gaara tilted his head forward and pressed his lips against her arm just below her shoulder. The noise she made in response – something between a mewl and a gasp – sent fire coursing through his veins.
"Gaara-sama, what about the paperwork?"
"Forget the paperwork."
He almost expected her to argue with him some more. She was usually very diligent about work and keeping things on track. However, Gaara had a plan for that. Before she could utter a word, he grabbed her hipbones and shifted her in his lap so that he could smooth the hair over to one shoulder and press a tender kiss to the back of her neck.
She made that noise again – a sound that Gaara was eager to here more of. The smirk that graced his features was one of undeniable confidence because he knew exactly what to do to hear more of her sounds. Goosebumps had erupted over her arms and shoulders and neck and the stab of pride he felt only served to morph that confidence into borderline arrogance.
Sakura writhed in his lap, eliciting more sensation than he was used to feeling. It sent a shock of electricity coursing through him and he tightened his grip on her hips. He felt his fingers shaking as he snaked his hands up to her waist and then her ribs and then, more hesitantly, her breasts.
While the two of them had shared some very intimate kisses before, a line had been drawn here, where they were now. He wanted so badly to cross it, to show her how good he could make her feel.
But when he felt her push his hands away, he put up no resistance. He could feel her heat in his lap, so deliciously warm and near enough to dampness that he could smell her arousal too. It made the fire in his chest burn even hotter, but it also left him feeling confused.
"What's wrong?" he asked her, careful not to touch her after she had pushed his hands away.
She sat motionless on his lap for a second, her face obscured by her curtain of hair. Her fingers curled tightly in the fabric of her little skirt – one he tried not to feel distracted by while he waited for her to reply.
All manner of thoughts flew through his head, spurred by her silence. Did seeing Sasuke again change something between them? Did she and Naruto talk about something that made her not want to see him anymore? Was she afraid or nervous?
"You can't keep putting off your work to fool around with me," she said, removing herself from his lap entirely.
Gaara listlessly reached for her, missing her sweet heat already. He caught himself before his fingers reached her and he pulled his hand back to himself, using it instead to adjust the uncomfortable situation he had going on in his lap.
"I'm not—"
"But it's okay," she said quickly, "I have another idea."
He raised a brow, watching her with careful amusement. Her attention was drawn far lower than his face, though. He allowed his own eyes to scour her for a moment before they returned to her face. She was still looking down at his lap, but the redness in her cheeks and the pleasant sparkle in her eyes told him it was a look of appreciation instead of one of admonishment.
"Once you finish all this paperwork, you can do whatever you want to me," she said, her eyes flicking up to meet his. The look was dangerous and smoldering and nothing like the looks she had given him before. He clenched his teeth, resisting the urge to yank her back down into his lap and kiss her with bruising force.
"Anything I want?" he asked.
"Anything."
His lips curled up into a warm smile, pleased by the thought that she trusted him enough to offer something that could easily lead to something she didn't like.
"I've heard that using sex as a reward can lead to less enjoyment for both partners," he said casually, his eyes glittering with amusement.
Sakura didn't seem deterred by his argument. "It's a reward for both of us," she said solemnly, moving her chair back around to the other side of the desk. "I'm helping you, remember?"
Gaara didn't reply. He watched her snatch another page from his desk and jot his name down at the bottom. She added it to the finished pile and grabbed another, crossing her legs and then uncrossing them. She bit her lip again as she worked, her face turned down in concentration.
While she had effectively incentivized finishing his work, she had also laid forth some tantalizing possibilities. Would she let him fuck her right here on his desk? How would he be able to concentrate on anything but that now?
But the way she sat so attentively, doing his work for him, coupled with her previous rejection turned Gaara a little cold. He wasn't so far gone that he couldn't do what she had suggested. He had control of himself. Besides, she had the right idea anyway. The paperwork had to get done.
So he took a page from the top of the stack and scribbled his name down.
/
Paperwork was an inherently un-sexy thing to do, so it was unfamiliar territory to have a boner while doing it. Gaara shifted uncomfortably in his chair, determined not to look at Sakura. Any attempts he had made before to look at her only stirred feelings that really shouldn't haven been stirred.
The stack of papers had dwindled significantly, though. A quick glance at the waning light coming through the window told him that it had been several hours since they began, and he was now nearing exhaustion.
Unable to help himself any longer, he glanced over at Sakura. She was signing the last page in her stack. There were dark shadows under her eyes, but she looked accomplished. He felt a little guilty for letting her do all this work for him, for offering her 'services' as a reward for it. She looked like she needed a good night's sleep. Plus, she had been through emotional hell.
"I think that's the last of it, Gaara-sama," she said, looking up at him as she placed the last page on the stack. Her eyes were fiery, which was surprising given the monotony of the last several hours.
But then again, he had sat silently in his chair that whole time, thinking of nothing but her longs legs wrapped around him, her mouth pressed against his. Every flutter of her lashes, every sigh that escaped her lips sent more blood rushing south until it had culminated in his current state, which could only be described as desperately horny.
"It would seem so," he said, clearing his throat.
She chewed her lip again, twisting a piece of cotton candy hair around her finger. "So…"
"So."
"About my reward…"
"I thought it was my reward," he said with a grin.
"What do you want?"
It was a loaded question if he ever heard one. It hardly did justice to what he was actually feeling, what he actually wanted, which was to pleasure her in every way possible. A reward for both of them, indeed. While Gaara could hardly consider himself an expert at sex, he knew that his experience eclipsed Sakura's. He knew that it was possible that her first time could be painful, so he didn't want to subject her to what he really wanted – something rough and animalistic. It was his mood, not his general preference, but it just wouldn't do right now.
Right now he had to be gentle.
"Come here," he said softly.
Obediently, Sakura circled the desk and stood in front of his chair. "Yes, Gaara-sama?" she said, peering down at him with amusement.
"Do you like calling me that?"
"What?" she asked, blinking in confusion.
"You don't have to use the honorific," he said, reaching up for her hand and linking his fingers with hers. "But you do it anyway. Is it because you like calling me that?"
Sakura tilted her head to the side, looking down at their joined hands. "I do like calling you that," she said after a moment's consideration. "Do you want me to stop?"
He smiled up at her and pulled gently on her arm so that she took another step toward him. One more step and she would practically be in his lap again. "Not if it pleases you," he said, leaning forward to press a tender kiss to the inside of her wrist.
She shuddered and ambled that one step more. He was still sitting in his chair and she was still standing in front of him, but now she straddled one of his legs. He could feel her immense heat again and he leaned in even closer so he could rest his forehead against her stomach.
For all her softness in appearance, she had the hard, chiseled body of a shinobi. He breathed in the scent of her and nuzzled his face against her. She smelled deliciously sweet and he almost felt content enough where he was to just fall asleep right there. Sakura's fingers came to rest on top of his head, threading themselves into his hair, combing it and smoothing over it. He groaned softly at the sensation, blown away by how much pleasure he could derive from such a small gesture.
"You're tired, Gaara-sama," she said, her voice buzzing through her chest as she spoke. "Would you like to collect your reward tomorrow?"
Blazing with new determination, Gaara stood up abruptly. Sakura stumbled backwards a step, but Gaara caught her wrist and yanked her toward him. He bent down and scooped her up bridal style, shaking his head.
"No. Now."
/
Sakura was a bit unpredictable when it came to matters of the heart. In some ways, he expected her to be upset that he lifted her as if she were merely a sack of flour and carried her off to his bedroom. But to his utter surprise and pleasure, she seemed to relish being in his arms. She clung to his neck, running her fingers through his hair, pressing kisses to his jaw.
It certainly made walking a bit difficult. He only hoped they didn't stumble upon anyone else who might have been wandering the palace at this early hour.
"You can put me down, you know," she murmured in his ear, noticing his struggle to focus on walking. "I'm a big girl. I can walk."
He didn't want to let go of her, not even for a second. But his judgment was clouded and he found it way too difficult to think about anything other than her fingers and her lips and her heat.
He kept walking, his fingers digging into his skin as he gripped her with frustration and anticipation. Had he ever wanted anything so badly before? There was no way that he had ever felt anything so compelling, so desperate. Not even Shukaku's call for blood had ever been this strong. Never with Matsuri or any other woman had he been so… out of control.
"Gaara-sama, put me down," Sakura repeated, a little more firmly this time. He glanced down at her face, sensing her amusement at his expense. He had no idea what he looked like to her, but judging by her expression it was different than usual.
Obediently and gently, he lowered her legs to the ground and allowed her to stand on her own. Almost immediately he felt the compulsion to pick her back up again, to snatch her up and whisk her away. If she could just not kiss him or touch him for the two minutes it would take to get back to his bedroom…
"I've never seen you look so wild before," she said, her eyes comically wide. She took a step back from him, putting agonizing distance between them.
He closed the distance quickly, pressing her back against the wall behind her. "You've been torturing me," he confessed, wedging his knee between her legs. "I feel consumed."
"You look consumed," she said dryly, but her eyelids were heavy and he could see some of that animalistic wildness mirrored in her face, too. It only served to drive him closer to the brink, so when she reached up to touch his face he caught her wrist and pinned it to the wall over her head.
She looked shocked, but not in a disappointed way, so he bent down to capture her lips in a kiss. She responded immediately with a gasp of pleasure and bucked her hips blindly toward his. Gaara grunted, not expecting the voracious combination of pleasure and pain that spread through him at the harsh contact. They needed to get out of this hallway now.
He broke the kiss, pulling back so he could look at her face. She was panting and flushed, her eyes lowered to his chest. He took a moment to relish in her obvious arousal, to know that he was the reason for it. He took deep breaths, willing himself the power to control himself for at least long enough to make it back to his bedroom.
Her fingers came up to the collar of his tunic, yanking at the fabric to expose his throat and part of his chest. He let her, though the feeling of her fingers against his bare chest made him feel like he could explode at any second.
She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the hollow of his throat. It was an intimate and strange sensation, and though he was curious and wanted to see what else she might do if he allowed her to explore his body at her leisure, he was more concerned with getting back to his bed and away from any prying eyes that might be watching.
"Come on," he murmured to her, tempted to lift her up into his arms again.
But Sakura took the lead this time, linking her hand in his and practically sprinting down the hallway toward his bedroom.
He tried to keep the goofy grin off his face as he followed her, but for once, he decided to just let himself feel this bliss. He had earned it, after all. All his paperwork was finished.
/
AN: What a fluffy chapter, right? The next one will be smuttier, I promise. Also, it's about time I start wrapping this story up. I've got plans for the whole beast/Sarabi/Taiyo thing, but as far as Gaara and Sakura go, what kind of ending would you guys like to see? I tend to like darker, sadder endings, but I know part of the draw in reading guilty pleasure fics like these is the happy endings. I'd love to know your thoughts! Please leave a review to let me know and I'll try to write one that will make everyone happy.
