Chapter 5
Sakura woke with a sigh that evening, around eight. Gaara was near her, his head down and she wondered if he'd fallen back asleep. She sat up and stretched, noticing the difference in robes. She looked up at him to find his eyes on her. "Gaara, did you change me?" He nodded and she sighed. "Thank you." She didn't have the heart to tell him it's different to change your sister. He looked worse now than he did earlier, his eyes were darker, he looked lost. "Are you alright?"
"Am I not supposed to be asking you that?" He kept his gaze in her, but not looking into her eyes. It took a second to realize he was staring at her shoulder. She pulled her knees up to her chin and rocked back and forth. There was an odd pause, Gaara remained quiet. Sakura sighed, looking over for a response. "Well?" Sakura finally spoke, her voice barely a whisper. Gaara looked at her, his eyes now wide, a little surprised. "What?"
"Aren't you going to ask?" Gaara looked down again, and Sakura could tell something was bothering him. "Are you alright?" Sakura smiled politely again, and Gaara realized she was playing with him. "I'm fine, thank you." Sakura noticed the look on his face and sighed. "What's wrong?" She looked at him, her eyes kept on his. Gaara looked at her and shook his head. "It's nothing."
"You lie. Something is bothering you." Gaara looked at her surprised. "Is Shukaku telling you?" She shook her head, looking at him. "I can tell, your eyes tell me." He sighed, turning his face to the floor. "I'm nervous." Sakura looked at him, now confused. "Why?" Gaara looked at her, looked at the wall behind her then returned his face to the floor. "You. You make me nervous." Sakura felt her breath catch in her throat. "I do?" He could hear the drop in her attitude and shook his head. "It's not like that. It's not a bad thing." She looked at him, curiously. "How is me making you nervous not a bad thing?"
"I don't know. I know how I think, what my thoughts do to me, and I know the way you make me... feel isn't bad." Sakura looked at him, noticing the look on his face never changed. He looked scared. She was trying to figure this out. "I want to do something. Like before, only not." Sakura tried to remember what he was talking about, but drew a blank. He looked up at her and she noticed the blush on his cheeks. This began to worry her till she thought about Shukaku. 'He's a good guy.' "he doesn't think of others that way.' How bad could it be? "Alright."
She watched as he shyly scooted over to her, his eyes directed at her, but never really looking at her. He inched up in front of her and sat up, putting his hand on her shoulder, and his other on her cheek. He sat straight, looking her in the eye, and inched his face closer to hers, and she realized a second too late what he was about to do.
He leaned down to her and brushed his lips against hers, surprising her. She wasn't expecting his lips to be so soft and warm. She felt as her heart sped up, a blush crawling up through her cheeks. She looked up, his eyes still focused on hers and something clicked.
She couldn't explain it, but it just seemed right. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, feeling him press a little harder against her. They sat there for a minute, not really moving till finally he pulled back, re-opening his eyes. The blush on him was worse than hers and she sat there for a second, a little caught up in it. "A kiss." She held her hand up to her mouth and pulled it back, looking at it. Gaara looked at her for a second, trying to read the response. "Should I not have done that?" She looked at him, her heart still pounding and realized her breath was sped up as well. "I- just wasn't expecting that." She heard her voice and knew what she felt about it being right. She sounded so soft. "A kiss is usually for those who are very intimate. It's a sign of affection." Gaara nodded. "Oh." She smiled at him, seeing the disappointment on him. "I'm explaining, not complaining. It's alright." She looked back at her hand. Her first kiss... She wanted another. "I better get back to sleep." She giggled, Gaara looked at her again and smiled. Sakura felt her blush worsen. He smiled? He looked cute...
He stood up and walked away, turning to see her at the door. "Good night." She giggled again, feeling all giddy. "Good night, Gaara."
She woke the next morning to find Gaara in the kitchen, making something she'd never seen before. She watched with interest as he mixed a few things, it seemed at random from the kitchen and stirred. Kankoro put his arm in front of her, blocking her access. "He can get pretty crazy when he cooks. You may want to stay back." She was a little horrified at these words, but watched as the sand erupted from the gourd on his back, grabbing six eggs and cracking them into a bowl perfectly, as he diced up some vegetables into another. "He must have slept again, this is the sign of a great mood." Sakura remembered the kiss. "A great mood?" Kankoro looked over, the curiosity on his face replaced quickly with a knowledgeable grin. "What did you do?" Sakura blushed, looking back out to Gaara who was busy with the cooking.
It was amazing to watch, onions being diced by sand, scallions being torn to bits in mid air, it was truly a sight to see. She watched as he threw the vegetables into a large steamer, threw a few cups of rice in then began frying the eggs. When it was done he threw the steamer into the air, followed by the eggs, and held out the bowls and the sand separated it, mixing it well before it fell into the bowls. He turned, looking for the chopsticks, and found them, throwing the sticks into the bowls. He held out his hand, the sand cradled the bowl in the middle and Gaara grabbed the other two. He turned, and smiled. "Good morning, Sakura." Kankoro looked at her, his grin almost devilish. "It's not as bad as you think." She whispered, her cheeks burning red again. "Really? How bad is it?" She looked down at her bowl, and up at Gaara. "I- uh, Garra?" He looked at Kankoro and his face fell a little more stoic. "Are you giving her trouble?" Kankoro's grin grew as he saw the look in his brothers eye. "Maybe. Why so chipper? She can't stop blushing. What's going on?" Gaara looked down at her, noticing the blush as well. "I kissed her." His voice seemed soft, more gentle than stoic, and both of them knew it. Kankoro grinned again, tipping his bowl before sitting to eat. Gaara walked up to her, his face looking worried. "Is it alright? That I kissed you?" Sakura looked up to him and smiled, trying to keep from giggling again. It suddenly dawned on her what was happening.
"I have a crush..." She accidentally spoke out loud. Gaara looked at her. "A crush?"
"She's earned an attachment to you." Kankoro spoke, tipping up his chopsticks. Gaara looked down to her, his face as red as hers. "You have a crush?" Gaara whispered, Sakura looked up to him. "I guess I do." She smiled, looking down to her food. Gaara looked at her for a second before smiling, showing his teeth. He walked over and sat as well, and began poking at the food with Kankoro laughing. "You two are sad." Gaara looked at him, caught off guard. "You've had how many girlfriends?" Kankoro stopped laughing. Sakura looked at them and laughed, nearly dropping her bowl. "Come on, let's eat. I have things to see today." Gaara looked at her, though his features were returning to their stoicism his eyes now danced with light.
They wandered, first to the top of the Hokage mountain, then to the river. "It's so peaceful here." Sakura smiled. "The top of the mountain is usually so peaceful. We just caught it on a bad day." Gaara seemed to have his head a little preoccupied, seeing all of the people up there on picnics, having dates, a few kisses, he seemed to be thinking over this. The river was a little sped up, seeing as the villages up north had a lot of rain. Sakura wandered up to the end of the river at the bridge and slid off her shoes, kicking in the water with her toes. Gaara leaned over the railing and looked at his reflection, while Kankoro leaned back. "Do you two mind if I run off for a little? There are a few things I would like to go see, alone." Gaara looked over at him and nodded. "You are relieved." Kankoro smiled, his makeup glinting off of the water, giving an oily look. He turned and walked away, towards town. Gaara looked down at her. She was happy there for a while, kicking at the water, and he noticed the slight raise in respiration. "Are you alright?"
"He's worried about your breathing." Sakura smiled at him. "Yeah, it's just hot today." She looked down at the water, and sighed. She looked down the river then up, seeing a group of kids playing she smiled at them, splashing in the water. Sakura stood up and took his hand. "Follow me."
They went back to the apartment and Gaara was instructed to put on swimming shorts while Sakura put on a cute floral bikini with a matching kimono over it. They walked for a while, Gaara knew they had to be outside of town by a bit when she took the small nearly hidden path to the left, and Gaara found that they were back at the river. She hung her kimono in a nearby tree and wandered into the water, turning and waving in Gaara. He wandered out to waist depth and kind of stabilized there. Sakura walked back to him and grinned. "Why don't you come out?" Gaara looked out, obviously a little nervous. "You can't swim, can you?" Gaara looked out, then back at her. "I'm from Suna." Sakura realized what was meant and sighed. "I'll teach you." She nudged him out a little farther and showed him the basics, mostly how to float.
"Now, what you do is move your arms like this." Sakura jumped down and showed him, and he looked, trying to observe. "Your turn!" She jumped up, and watched as he jumped forward and began moving his arms, but he sunk in the water. Sakura walked over and reached in, pulling him back up. He had his breath held and opened his eyes when he realized where he was. "Is this really necessary? I'm not that good at this..." Sakura smiled. "Here, let me show you!" She leaned over him, her arms over his and moved, her arms pushing his in the correct motion, but she didn't notice that he'd lost any interest in the water. She pressed herself against him which caused Shukaku to whistle. She jumped back, sighing. He turned and looked at her, the slight blush on his cheeks failing to fade. "I'm sorry if you were embarrassed. I didn't mean to." She looked at him, realizing what he was wearing and sighed, walking up to the shallow water and sat down. Gaara walked up beside her and sat. "What's wrong?" Sakura looked over, realizing how bummed she felt.
"It's odd. Usually I find a guy I like, he pays no attention to me and eventually I declare myself a nun. You actually like me. I'm not used to it, but you do and I have a whistling demon in my head. How do you deal with him?" Gaara shrugged. "I ignore him." Sakura looked at him, a little surprised. "Really?"
"Since the day I was born. It's the only way to keep my sanity." Sakura nodded. She sat, kicking at the water again, and after a bit the waves picked up a little, causing her to lose ground and she sank, being pulled out. She caught herself, and was nearly back to a sitting position when another wave pulled her out again, dragging her under.
Gaara jumped up and stepped over to her but she jumped up, falling on him. She jumped to her knees, and put her hands on his shoulders, looking him over. "Gaara! Are you alright?" He looked at her, his smile returning and nodded. She sat up, her hands over her chest and sighed. "I'm so sorry!" Gaara sat up and looked down at her, Sakura caught herself looking up at him wanting another kiss...
Gaara reached out, putting his arm around her waist, and Sakura was pulled closer. She looked up into his eyes and caught herself leaning up, till their lips touched again. She instinctively reached up, putting her hand on his shoulder, he brought his hand to her cheek, and they sat there for a minute, till Gaara pulled back, looking in her eyes. "Should I stop?" Sakura shook her head, and leaned up again, finding Gaara smiling as her lips reached his again. This kiss had a little depth to it, and Sakura felt as he pulled her in closer. She reached up with her other arm, placing it around his neck and Gaara pulled her up to his lap. She sat there, their lips pressed together, and Gaara was the one to gain the courage to lightly nip at her bottom lip, causing Sakura to follow suit. She lightly licked his lip, causing him to gasp and pull back. "I don't know if I should do this..." He looked off to the side, away from her eyes. "Why? What's wrong?" She looked at him and couldn't hide the rejection in her voice. Gaara shook his head, a severe blush crossing his cheeks and he tried to cover his face.
Sakura realized he was terrified of something and backed away, looking him in the eye. "What's wrong?" Gaara took a deep breath and closed his eyes before standing. This was when Sakura realized what was going on, and Gaara took his outer clothing and replaced them. "I think I should go back." Sakura put on her kimono and nodded.
It was a few minutes later that they returned to the apartment, the road back taken quietly. After they got there they changed, Gaara putting on a pair of black pants, Sakura putting on a short satin kimono, blue with pink lotus blossoms. She decided to make up lunch, but realized she still wasn't sure about what he ate. "Gaara, what about some sushi?" He looked up from the couch, looking more rejected than she felt. He really felt bad about havening to break that kiss. He sighed, looking across the table. "With what?" She looked around, "Scallion, avocado, cucumber?" He nodded and leaned back, looking out of the window. She made up the food and sighed. She brought it out and put it on the table, sitting on the couch next to him. "Here," She handed him a cup of tea and sighed, looking at the food. Gaara picked up a roll and popped it in his mouth. Sakura looked up at him, taking note of the blush that was still trying to fade. "Gaara, do you even know what happened to you today?" Gaara nodded, his blush regaining color. She sighed and leaned back, popping a roll in her mouth. She kept thinking of what to try and say without sounding desperate, but was failing. 'I'm usually at least adequate in conversation, but this is so odd! How do you tell a guy you like that it's alright? That he doesn't have to get nervous at his reactions to the attention?'
"The question is how to ask without taking your cloths off. On the other hand I know how you felt, that light feeling, absorbing the first kiss, maybe you do want to take your cloths off!" Sakura gasped, feeling all of the blood rush into her face. "or I can try and get you to." Sakura felt what seemed to be hands caress slowly up her thigh, and reached dangerously close to parts she didn't feel like having a demon play with. Gaara looked over at her just as the demon started playing with the elastic at the corner of her underwear. "Sakura?" She felt her lungs fill with air, and held her face down, not wanting him to see her in this situation. "Sha- uh, oh...:" She tried to catch her moan, but missed the first few seconds as the sensation ran a little farther, catching her off guard and she tried to slow her breathing as Gaara stared, the blush on his face turning deep.
"Sorry about this, but you need it!" "Sssssstopp it, Shshshshshshukkkkkkakkkkuu- uhn!" She clenched her eyes, and shook her head.
"Shukaku! What are you thinking?" Gaara looked at her, terrified. "He's trying to make me- uh! Take mmmmmmmmy cclclllotthhhhssssss offff!" Gaara jumped from the seat, his face nearly as red as his hair. "SHUKAKU!!"
"Fine, I'll stop this time." Sakura felt as the fingers pulled away from her, and she tried to catch her breath. She kept her eyes clenched for a minute till her head was a normal color. "Why? What does Shukaku see in this?" She looked up at him, so embarrassed she felt tears at the corners of her eyes. "He wants- uh- us to-" She took a deep breath. "Oh." Gaara looked at her. "Do you know why?" His voice was soft, causing her to look up at him. "I'm not sure." She finally caught her breath, but she knew it would be a while till her face was back to normal.
"Shukaku! Why do you do this?"
"Even the summoner's soul, the summoner himself needs someone besides his demon. Sakura finds herself in similar situations. She knows how you feel, how you think. That's why she was so easily able to find out that I was right, that you're not a bad guy." Gaara looked down at Sakura, who was listening as well. "So why did you go this far?"
"Boredom." Sakura sighed, her head dropped a few inches. "Besides, if I don't make sure you two are head over heels for each other in a month, we're going home with Kankoro. Yay, fun." "You want her to come home with us?" "I do. So do you, even if you won't admit it." Gaara looked up at the ceiling. "You want us to fall in love, live happily ever after, that stuff, but you never even made sure we were compatible." "Only someone who is compatible with my summoner can hear me. Hey, Sakura?"
"Yes?" She spoke to the demon, her head looking to the side. "That's my point. You'll never find anyone else who knows what solitude feels like, not like you two do. Yeah, Gaara's got the winning card between you, but you two can overcome the problems. Let's get married! We can do it tonight, and go on a honeymoon tomorrow!" Sakura looked up to Gaara, who looked terrified. "I apologise for him." Sakura looked up at him. Now that Shukaku's plan was told, would Gaara turn away from her? She looked down, now turning nervous. It didn't matter to her if she'd been set up by Shukaku, what mattered to her was she was really falling for him.
Wasn't she?" She looked up at Gaara and now wondered. Would his kiss be the same? Would it be so sweet? Was Shukaku tricking her? She stood up and leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. "Was he playing with my head? Can he make me feel something that I don't?" Gaara looked down at her. "Why? How do you feel?" She looked up at him, feeling herself out. "I do have that crush, but usually a crush can last years, it's been two days. I've been kissed, and when you pulled away earlier, it was painful." She looked down, knowing why he did so. "I think I'm falling." Sakura whispered, almost hoping Gaara didn't hear her. He looked to her, his eyes dancing again. "He can't make you feel that. He couldn't make me feel it either." Gaara realized it was true, he was falling for her.
She looked up at him, his smile lighting up his face. "A date. Tonight. What do you think?" Sakura smiled. "Alright, I agree, but where?"
"I have a few ideas." Gaara put his arms around her, and brushed his lips against her forehead. Sakura was enveloped in him, feeling his skin against the satin in her kimono. He'd forgotten he wasn't wearing a shirt and he now had done a good job of making sure Sakura was looking forward to the date.