"A treasured dream." Gaara made himself smile at the phrase. "I have a treasured dream too."
Hinata looked at him with red-rimmed eyes. "What do you m-mean?"
"I treasure my very first dream. I remember every detail of it. I had never dared to sleep before, when I had the Shukaku in me." It was common knowledge that he'd been a receptacle for the tailed beast. "Sleep was something to fear, for me. Dreams were things that happened to other people. Until the first."
"Wh-what was your dream about?" Her voice was softly inquiring.
"A man in a desert." His own eyes unfocused as he replayed the memory. "A vast, unending world of white sand. The moon, a pearl hung in the darkest heavens; white sand dunes, the folds of a silk robe caressing the landscape.
"I was alone, standing in the middle of the desert. I can remember the sweet scent of palms and sun carried on the cold breeze; the utter, complete silence that enfolded me, the silence of... contentment, and of endlessness. I held a handful of sand; they were finer than dust, finer than ash, finer than air. And I tried to manipulate the sand. All my life I had done so; it didn't occur to me that I was dreaming, until I realized the sand would not obey me."
Gaara's eyes fell upon the now-agog Hinata. Her delicate frame was dwarfed by the chair she inhabited, and she seemed to have forgotten her sadness in the flow of his description. Gaara went on.
"Then the man appeared. He was... unique."
Hinata breathed, "How?"
"He was tall, and thin, and striking. He had very pale skin, dark hair, and was dressed in a black robe. When I looked at the robe, I could see different shades of black, and flames within it. But the black of his robe was nothing like the black within his eyes.
"They were the deeps of the universe, the shadows of eternity.
"I remember... being in awe of the man. He spoke to me, seeing that I was trying to grasp the sand grains in my hands."
"What d-did he say?"
"He said, 'the sand obeys only one person. they will not listen to you, sand-manipulator though you be.'
"I looked at the sand at my feet, then at him. 'Are you the person they obey then?'
"He looked at me, and I felt ages pass. 'yes,' he finally answered.
"'Are you a god then?' I had asked. He certainly looked like one.
"'gods are but human dreams given flesh,' he had laughed quietly, then he observed me for a moment. 'i do not recognize you; you are new to my realm, boy.'
"I watched him as he took some sand between his fingers and the sand shaped itself into a flower. 'If this is your realm, then you are a lord or a king,' I said to him.
"'i am indeed a lord, though i collect no tribute; i am a servant as well: i build, and i destroy, night after night. you are an unusually astute boy, and i enjoy your company... but i doubt we will meet again. this is your dream, a dream that i can use.' He had paused then, taking in the surrounds. 'i will grant a boon in exchange for this. what would you ask of the lord of dreams?'"
Hinata exhaled softly. She had been caught up in Gaara's recollection, caught up in his low voice, subtle and smooth, caught up in the simple poetry of his words. "What did you a-ask for?"
Gaara's eyes focused on the present. In the amber glow of the floor lamp he was less intimidating; the harshness of his eyes softened in the warmth of the light. "I asked to remember the dream forever. But the man laughed grimly.
"'you do not know the pain of remembering the first. Everything else will pale in comparison.'"
Hinata chewed on her bottom lip, the dried tears sticky on her cheeks. Gaara lowered his eyes to his folded hands. "He was right. Nothing else I have dreamed seemed better, even though I know the first is long gone."
The kazekage, seemingly tired of his narration, closed his eyes. Silence descended like mist. Hinata drank her tea and looked out the window at the faint light of the stars, in the company of Sabaku no Gaara. She thought of the silence of the desert in his dream, and tried to forget.
-------
The band was taking a break after five dances. Now some piped music diffused into the night air, blending with the fairy lights hung about the celebration square.
After three more glasses of spiked punch Sakura began to feel uneasy. "Shouldn't Kiba be back by now?"
Naruto chewed on a cocktail shrimp thoughtfully. Everyone was hanging about, chatting and laughing, waiting for the fireworks. That would be the highlight of the night. Swallowing his food, Naruto said, "Maybe they got busy." He waggled his eyebrows.
"What do you mean, 'got busy'?" Sakura asked distractedly. Then her mind whirred into activity. "Oh!" She smacked Naruto on his arm. "Gutterbrain! You've been reading Icha Icha again!"
"Oh come on, like you can't imagine it happening?" Naruto smirked. "'Sides, how come you know what sort of stuff is in Icha anyway? Did you, like, steal a copy from me?
-----
Kiba and Ino lay entwined in each other's arms, their lips millimeters from each other. She could feel his hot breath on her cheek, and his eyes flared with feral hunger. He licked the corner of her lips, just to tease her into begging for a real kiss.
'Oh, Kiba!' Ino managed to gasp as he shifted his weight above her. 'Why did you wait so long?'
'Ino,' Kiba breathed into her neck as he began to nuzzle it. His hands explored her silky skin and smooth curves, wandering from peak to valley, goading Ino's desire. 'Ino, I wanted to, but you weren't ready for me.'
'I am now,' she replied huskily, artlessly. Kiba responded by crushing her mouth with his, then allowing his lips to caress the rest of her face.
She moaned into his mouth when they kissed again. This kiss was hot and rough; he wanted to taste all of her, all at once. Ino's arms circled above him and pulled him closer. Their bare skin melded together, the chill of the Suna night no match for the burning fires beneath their skin...
-----
"No!" Sakura flushed. Then her expression turned to one of panic. "Naruto, we gotta go stop them. Now!"
"Why?" Naruto mumbled through his mouthful of canapes.
"Because it's not right! She's just... very needy right now and, and, and the outcome would be bad, if they, y'know. Very, very bad."
-----
Akamaru growled at Naruto and Sakura when they ran up the corridor to the suite's entrance.
"Akamaru's still here," panted Naruto. "So Kiba's still inside." The implications of this sunk in. "Maybe we should wait outside."
Sakura waited to catch her breath, then she glared at the dog. "No. Ino and Kiba are making a grave mistake right now and I don't care what Ino would say, I'm going in. Akamaru, either you move away from that door, or I'll open a hole in the wall right here."
The dog whimpered at the threat and shuffled aside. "And be quiet," warned Sakura.
"Question: what if they're – y'know-ing – and we walk in in the middle of... it?" Naruto asked timidly.
Sakura had no answer, but she slid her key in to unlock the door.
-----
The room was dim. There were two dark figures outside, on the floor of the balcony. One shadow was leaning over the other. There was some muffled vocal sounds, but the balcony door was not open and they couldn't be heard. The sheer curtains blocked Sakura and Naruto's views, for which Naruto was immensely grateful.
Out in the open? Oh gods, Ino must be even more upset than we thought. She might be drunk! I'm gonna kill Kiba! Taking advantage of my best friend? He is so beyond dead!
"Ino? Kiba?" Sakura called out. Naruto had covered his eyes. She screwed up her eyes in case she saw some things she really didn't want to see. "Um, I know what happened earlier with Shikamaru and Temari was... well, you guys shouldn't, y'know, just because... Ino, I know you need someone really badly now, but um, sympathy sex just isn't the way to heal-"
"What the hell are you talking about, Sakura?" Ino demanded as she yanked the curtains aside.
Sakura and Naruto unsquinted. Kiba was sitting, fully clothed, completely unmussed, out on the balcony. A plate of cookies sat between them. He was twisting, adjusting the cushions ranged behind himself. A thick blanket covered his legs. Ino was sitting beside him, also fully clothed, with a cookie in her hand.
"Hi Ino, hi Kiba." Naruto's legs suddenly felt weak. "Um, Sakura would explain."
Ino's deadly polite stare pinned her best friend to the spot. "What on earth is 'sympathy sex', Sakura-chan?"
"We just – I'm sorry." Sakura took a deep breath, then blurted, "What were you two doing?"
"Not each other, if that was what you were worried about," answered Kiba nonchalantly. He nibbled at a cookie. The other three just looked at him. Kiba raised his hands in protest. "What, I can't tell crude jokes?"
Ino rolled her eyes. "We were chatting. And eating cookies dunked in apple juice. Those things usually do not go with sex. They do go with friends' chatting."
"We misunderstood. Really, really sorry." Sakura grinned sheepishly. Then she made a face. "Cookies and apple juice?"
Ino shrugged. "We didn't have milk."
"Question, again." Naruto raised a hand. "So there really isn't anything going on between the two of you? Cos it looks really cozy over there."
Kiba and Ino barely exchanged a split-second look.
"Nope."
"Nah-ah."