"That's a pretty necklace Sakura." Naruto remarks. He got home this afternoon, but we couldn't get together until now because I was at work. Tsunade let me go back to work a few days ago, and I've been much better. I'm almost her favorite again.

"Thank you." I answer, pouring boiling water over tea leaves. I put it onto a tray and carry it up onto the roof. We sit out here a lot, having learned to enjoy the finer things in life in our old age.

"Where'd it come from? Do you have another secret admirer?"

"Another secret admirer? Did I have a first one?" I ask, sidestepping the question.

"You had me!"

I laugh and pour myself a cup of tea. "Naruto, you were never a secret admirer. You were never a secret anything."

Naruto pouts and swings his legs over the edge of the building. "Anyway, you ignored my question."

"I never ignored it, I just didn't answer it." I say, hoping that will get him to talk about other things, but you know Naruto…

"So answer the question. Where did you get it?" He persists.

"I got it in Suna." I finally answer. I don't tell him who gave it to me. There's no way I'm going to tell him that.

"Hm." He reaches over and takes a cup of tea. I sit down beside him on the edge. He looks sideways at me for a minute before saying, "You know, you should have worn it that last night we were there. It matches the dress Temari gave you."

I look down at the ground far below, letting my hair fall forward to cover my face so that he can't see how much that hurt. "I know." I mumble. I know now at least. Too bad it's not enough.

"So has anything exciting happened since I left?" he asks.

I look up from the drop, glad that I can control myself enough not to cry. I'm becoming very good at controlling my emotions now, good enough to concentrate on work again. "Not much. I finally unpacked my bag. It was a big step for me."

"Your bag? You still had a bag from Sunakagure?" Naruto never was one for sarcasm.

I shake my head at him, and watch as the lights of houses go out and the street lights turn on. The lights here are the same as they've always been. They're the same as they always will be, and I'm okay with that.

I'm going to be okay with this.

"The Hokage wants to see you right away."

I turned around and nearly let out my frustration right then and there, on the messenger. She sends me away on an errand, and then before I can even get what she wants me back already? That woman is never satisfied!

But the messenger who looks up at me is so young; I lose my steam almost right away. There's always some child running around that Tsunade can boss around. She knows how to use them to their full, hurt-proof capabilities. Faced with such an opponent, all I can do is sigh and follow him back to Tsunade.

"She'll probably be mad at me for not getting everything on her list," I mutter to myself as we walk. "And she won't even stop to think that it's her fault; she'll blame me for everything! This is so unfair!"

The boy leaves me as soon as we get to the door, so that I have to open the door myself. I open my mouth to defend myself as I enter, but any words I had planned on saying fly right out of my head when I see who she's talking to.

Gaara turns to glance at me when I walk in the door. For a minute I'm frozen in place under his gaze. I feel like my knees are going to give out, like the world has opened under my feet. I feel like I'm going to throw up.

He frowns for a second when he sees the necklace around my neck, and then quickly turns away. What he must think of me now… Sure, I know why he hates me now, but it doesn't make it hurt any less.

And here I thought I was so good at controlling my emotions, but just seeing Gaara has made all these feelings come back to me, and I don't think I'm doing a very good job of hiding them either... I need to work on it a little more, it would seem.

"Sakura, how did you like Suna?" Tsunade asks, not looking at me when she talks to me, but observing Gaara.

"I liked it a lot." I answer truthfully. I'm trying not to let Gaara scare me now. "It was… nice." I finish lamely, unable to find the right word to describe what Suna was like. That's fine; let Gaara see me making a fool of myself some more; let him realize it was all a mistake anyway. It doesn't matter to me now that it's too late. "Why do you ask?"

"The Kazekage here has come to request a medic nin. It seems they're having some trouble with a group of rogue ninjas, specializing in explosives." Tsunade answers. "He seems to think you would be best for the job."

"The head doctor at the hospital asked specifically for her. Even so, I know you have problems of your own, and no doubt Sakura is a valuable asset-" Gaara starts to tell her, but Tsunade cuts him off with a laugh.

"Valuable? Ha! Lately all she's been good for is grocery shopping!" She laughs. I flush, clutching the list of ingredients she had sent me to buy for her. Tsunade stops laughing and looks serious as she tells Gaara, "Ever since she got back from Suna, her mind has been elsewhere. And you know, I think she left it there." She finally looks at me, and says something so strange, I'm pretty sure I imagined it.

"Or was it your heart?"

But from the look Gaara gives me, I think that maybe it did happen. Maybe I'm not completely insane just yet.

"You can have her." Tsunade says, turning away. "She's no good here anymore."

"If it's okay with you…" Gaara says, finally turning and acknowledging my presence.

"Of course it's okay with her!" Tsunade cuts in loudly. "It's all she's wanted since she got here!"

Despite her arguments Gaara watches me. I manage a small smile and nod my agreement. I doubt I could manage to say anything intelligent at the moment anyway. Gaara nods to me, then turns to Tsunade and gives her a small bow before walking past me and out the door.

Tsunade turns around once he's gone and grins at me. "That boy looks better and better every time I see him. He's grown up very nicely don't you think? Of course, he's still rather short. That might pose a problem…"

I open my mouth, but words can't express the things I want to say. What do I want to say?

"I told him to expect you in a week. That should give them plenty of time to get ready for you, and that way he can be there to greet you when you reach Suna again." She says with a shrug. "I would have sent you away earlier, but we don't want to seem too eager to get rid of you – that might give us away."

I find that I'm smiling, and I'm having difficulty stopping it. I really do have to work on controlling myself. But the thought of going back to Suna, back to the desert and the sun, and the winds full of sand… I never thought I could be so happy to go back to that.

"Thank you." I blurt out.

"Oh, don't bother thanking me. I'm the one who's getting the best out of this deal." She answers, grinning still.

I would hug her, but I doubt I could fit my arms around her giant boobs anyway, so I settle for the smile already plastered on my face.

Tsunade stops smiling. "So, did you get my groceries or what?"