Obligation

Chapter Six

-Date 21: Sky High-

"Sakura, there is someone in the lobby here to see you." One of her fellow interns told her. The pink haired woman didn't even look up from the chart she was filling out.

"Tell them I'm busy." She said. It didn't make sense to her that anyone she knew would be here to see her. After all, every single one of her friends knew not to bother her at work, not only did it look tacky and unprofessional, but she really didn't have time to see anyone.

"He said you would say that, and told me to tell you that if you didn't come see him, he was going to destroy your car, so that you'd have to let him pick you up." The woman said, sounding confused as she recited what the man had told her.

Sakura's head shot up at that. "He? Destroy my car?" That could only mean one thing. "Does he have red hair?" she asked suspiciously.

The woman nodded. "Yes. He's very handsome too. Is he your boyfriend?" she asked, becoming excited.

"More like my stalker." She muttered, setting down the chart before walking past the woman and towards the lobby. What could Gaara possibly be doing here at the hospital? Her shift didn't end for another hour, and they weren't due to meet up for their date for another eight hours, as it was only now nine in the morning.

She really didn't feel like dealing with him right now. She'd been working a double shift, having already been here for the past thirteen hours. The doctor that was in charge of her had had her assist in a seven hour surgery, so her scrubs were splattered with blood, she smelled of disinfectant and latex gloves, and looked like hell, with her hair thrown up in a messy ponytail.

Reaching the lobby, she spotted him standing over in one of the far corners, his back to her as he watched one of the televisions. She walked over to him, stopping a ways behind him. "Gaara, what are you doing here?" she asked.

He turned around, smiling when he saw her and offered her a beautiful and massive bouquet of purple dendrobium orchids. "I knew you'd be having a long day and I just wanted to stop by and give you these in hopes of making you feel better." He said, sounding sincere, not even slightly affected by her appearance. He just looked at her as he had every time they were out together.

She couldn't help the way her eyes lit up, or the bright smile that came to her face upon seeing the beautiful flowers. "Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed, taking them from him. She brought them to her face and smelled them, smiling softly. "Thank you so much. I just love flowers." She said, gingerly touching one of the petals and glancing up at him.

"I'm glad you like them. I thought roses would be too cliché but these looked very nice." He nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets as he looked off, not really knowing what to say.

"Are we still on for five o'clock?" she asked, glancing at his hands and then noting his expression. He put his hands in his pockets quite often, and Sakura was beginning to realize it was a habit that he did. But he usually only seemed to do it in situations where emotions or uncomfortable topics were discussed or the atmosphere had the potential to become awkward. All in all, she figured it was something he did when he was unsure about something, and thought the action to be very cute, though she would never tell him that.

"Of course." He looked back at her, seeming a bit worried. "Are you busy now? Is it not going to work, cause I had a wonderful idea for today, I know you'll really like it."

"No, no." she shook her head. "I can still make it. My shift ends in an hour, and once I go home and sleep I'll be good to go for tonight, I promise." She smiled in order to reassure him. "Where should I meet you, by the way?" she asked, bringing up the flowers and hiding the lower half of her face as she turned from side to side slightly.

He looked relieved and then waved her off. "I will text you the address, it's kind of out there so don't worry about it until later. Though we could always just go together if you'd let me drive you for once." He snickered.

"Nope. Then it would be too much like a real date." She said stubbornly. "Besides, my car works just fine."

"But we've been dating for around four months now," he sighed, thinking about all the time they had spent together. "It would be nice," he tried to coax.

She just crossed her arms, still holding the flowers upright so as not to ruin them. "Uh huh. And in that four months many other things haven't happened in a normal fashion, so why should I let you pick me up? I am perfectly capable of driving myself, and it'll do my old car some good." She said with a nod.

He still hadn't kissed her. Hadn't done anything of the sort that she was used to. In fact, this was technically her longest relationship, and nothing had happened. At all. By now, not only was she frustrated, but she was beginning to get sexually frustrated, and that wasn't a good thing. Especially because she wasn't entirely sure how to deal with the whole thing.

Gaara just sighed and rolled his eyes, leaning back some. "Fine, fine. I'll text you the address and you can meet me there."

"Okay. I'll see you then." She said.

"See ya." He waved before heading towards the front and leaving the hospital.

Sakura took another sniff of the flowers and smiled before walking over to the front desk and leaving them there. The receptionist would look after them while she finished her shift, and she could grab them on her way out.

Many hours later, a refreshed Sakura drove to her destination to meet Gaara. Once she had gone home and placed her flowers in a vase at the center of her table, she'd gone straight to sleep, waking up in time to shower and get ready for their date. She didn't know exactly what they were doing, so she had decided to wear some shorts and a nice summer top that was the same color pink as her hair. It cut straight across the top and was tight around her breasts, but loose all the way down the rest of her torso, with two thin straps holding it up. She was wearing her white cardigan once more and her white shoes, wanting to get as much use out of her summer clothes while it was still warm outside.

It seemed like she drove through the countryside forever, until she eventually came upon an old, abandoned ranch. She recognized it from the papers, as the large field was used by the city for numerous things, such as festivals and fairs. She parked next to Gaara's car and got out, her eyes widening at the sight before her. He was standing with another man who was a bit older than him, and behind them both was a large, beautifully designed hot air balloon. She stopped before the redhead, the look of shock still on her face. "This is what we're doing today?" she asked, looking up at the large balloon.

"Yup. Have you ever seen the city from a bird's eye view before? It's really something." He smiled, taking her hand and pulling her closer.

"I haven't." she said, allowing him to bring her closer to his body as she continued to examine the balloon. She looked at the basket somewhat skeptically. "It's not going to break and cause us to fall through, is it?" she asked, looking up at him.

Gaara just shook his head, "No, no. It's perfectly safe. I've done it loads of times with my sister when she still lived in the city. It was one of her favorite things. She really loved the breeze and the view…will blow your mind." He told her, looking up at the man and nodding. "We're ready whenever you are."

"Of course Mr. Sabaku." The man nodded and opened the door on the side of the balloon. "Right this way Miss." He gestured, stepping aside to that Sakura could enter the basket. She gave Gaara an unsure look before walking forward, her hand reluctant to leave his. She stepped into the basket cautiously before walking over to one of the poles and turning to make sure Gaara wasn't too far behind.

"Just relax." He told her, brushing his hand along her cheek in attempts to sooth her. "We're going to be fine and you will be glad you came up." He glanced back, seeing the man get in and start up the fire. Slowly, they began to rise and the basket moved a bit back and forth. She gasped slightly at the movement, and grabbed onto his arm, pressing against him slightly in order to feel safer at the height with which they were travelling to. She leaned forward slightly, watching as the ground became smaller and smaller as they ascended.

He smiled pulling her a bit closer so she could feel better, though in all reality he didn't really know if that was what she would want. By now, their cars were nothing but dots on the ground and the mountains were illuminated by the sun that was just now beginning to head for the horizon. Gaara looked around at the clouds and the blue sky that was slowly turning to a beautiful orange. Without even realizing it, he slid his hands into his jean pockets, letting her keep hold of his arm.

Sakura looked around her in awe, and then down to his hands, which were in his pockets. Before she could think about her actions, she slid her left hand down his arm and into his pocket, holding it in hers. Then she looked up at him to see his reaction. His gaze was focused down to their joined hands and then she slowly felt his finger intertwine with her own. He glanced up then, meeting her beautiful gaze. In this moment, Sakura wanted nothing more than to kiss him. The mood was perfect, the setting was perfect, everything was perfect. But, she had a feeling that he wouldn't do it, and so decided to finally confront him on the matter. "Gaara, can I ask you something?" she asked softly.

He looked a bit taken back and snapped from a daze but nodded. "Uh yeah. What?"

She frowned at him, taking him off guard. "Why the hell haven't you kissed me yet? I thought you were trying to woo me, and let me tell you, this is not the proper way to do it." She wagged her finger at him with her free hand. "If I'm going to be romanced, I expect it to be done properly, and the fact that you have yet to make any kind of move on me at all leads me to the conclusion that you are not very serious about this." She said, raising her chin a fraction.

He removed their hands from his pocket, keeping a tight hold on hers since he really enjoyed this contact. He cornered her, grabbing onto the basket to make sure he had her right where he wanted her. "Sakura," he smirked leaning closer, their noses just barely touching. "I told you…I would make you want it didn't I? Do you know how hard it is to try and pretend like you don't drive my senses crazy. How many times I've wanted to kiss you, but I knew if I withheld it from you. You'd be the one coming after me. And I was right." He smirked, not giving her room to object. He pressed his lips against hers in a deep and actually meaningful kiss.

She placed her hand on his chest, but pushed him away while at the same time drawing back. It was very difficult for her not to fall under the spell of his kiss, but now that she knew his reasoning on the matter, she was going to make him suffer. "Uh uh, this is not romantic anymore now that I've told you I want you to kiss me. You have to wait now. I want romance, and-"

"Sakura, just shut up already." He smirked, meaning no ill will by the comment before returning his lips to hers, enjoying this sweet kiss. She returned his kiss this time, moving her hand from his chest to grip his crimson locks and hold his face against hers. He pressed his body against hers, not caring that there was another person present. He was going to enjoy as much of her body as she allowed. He had been waiting far too long to let this opportunity go. He wrapped his arm around her waist and deepened their kiss, biting down softly on her lower lip, asking for entrance.

She allowed it, letting out a soft whimper as his tongue tangled with hers in a battle for dominance. Becoming caught up in the moment, she brought her right leg up and hooked it around his waist, bringing their hips closer together. He pressed his pelvis into her own, allowing her to feel his want that she thought was not there. He let his hand rub up her thigh and up further, until he was gripping her butt.

A sudden cough broke them both from their heated moment and they glanced over to the man in the basket, who was actually blushing. "Heh." Gaara smirked, looking back at Sakura. "Whoops."

She smiled shyly at him, a lovely blush adorning her cheeks. "Well, it's what happens when you leave me wanting for over four months." She said. Her actions had surprised her though, because she's never gotten so caught up in her need with a man the way she had with Gaara.

"Yes, well." he smirked, looking a bit devious. "I hope the want does not end now that you've gotten what you wanted from me."

"Then you better not disappoint me in your skill." She snickered, lowering her leg slowly and brushing it against his. "Or I'll get bored."

"Darling, that is something I can assure you…you will never be bored." he promised, looking off slightly and then placing his finger under her chin, turning her head as well. They were so high now that they could see the orange sun glistening off the sparkling ocean.

Her eyes widened. "Wow." She said breathlessly, having never seen a more beautiful sunset. She laid her head on his chest and let out a content sigh. "It's magnificent."

He actually smiled, though she couldn't see it and rested his head on hers, enjoying the fact that he could be with someone like this. "It really is."

They stayed like that for a while, and the balloon slowly made its descent back towards the ground, since it would be harder to land in the dark. The old man opened the door to the basket and secured the balloon to the ground, waiting for its other two passengers to get off before deflating it. Still holding Gaara's hand, Sakura led them off and watched the balloon sink to the ground. "Thank you," She kissed his cheek lightly. "For a wonderful evening."

He leaned down and kissed her softly, enjoying the feel of her lips before pulling away. "No problem. Any time you want to do it again, just ask. I can arrange it whenever."

"Maybe once you can't come up with any other things for us to do on our dates." She smiled. "But until then, I can't wait to see what else you invent in that brilliant mind of yours." Because if Gaara was anything, he was a genius. After being with him for so long, Sakura had picked up that he was really smart, based off bits and pieces of their conversations. On top of that, you had to be of some sort of intelligence to run a mob that way he did, and so successfully too, since she never heard anything about them on the news.

Gaara looked extremely pleased with the compliment. "I'm glad that you think so, but I can always think of new things. You seem to inspire me to one up myself." He was trying really hard to keep a stupid grin off his face. He thought things were going extremely well and he actually felt…happier. Which was odd. Because whenever he was at work he found himself just as angry and annoyed as ever, until he saw the time and knew his time with Sakura was approaching. "I really enjoy your company Sakura." he said sincerely.

She gave him a contemplative look. "Surprisingly enough, I like spending time with you as well." Then she pointed a finger at him. "But don't get any ideas. That doesn't mean I like you, it just means that you're tolerable." She said, though it was easy to see by the look on her face that she was messing with him.

"I can work with tolerable. Tolerance can lead to some pretty amazing things." he snickered, walking her over to her car and pressing her against it, leaning closer. "Besides. I'm a very patient man. And I still have thirty four amazing dates left with you."

Her breath hitched as she looked up at him. She had to admit, he was really sexy when he wanted to be. "Well," she licked her lips, glancing at his before looking back up into his beautiful jade eyes. "We'll see just how amazing they are, won't we?" she asked softly, beginning to feel her heart hammering in her chest at her nervousness.

"I haven't disappointed yet," he whispered into her ear, kissing her neck and slowly making a trail down her throat to where her shoulder began.

She gripped his biceps and tilted her head to the side in order to give him better access to her throat. "No, you have far exceeded my expectations." She admitted, closing her eyes. He smirked, enjoying her body and how it reacted to his.

"Then I guess I'm actually doing something right."

"Guess so." She smiled slightly.

He pulled away then, but not before stealing another kiss. "Drive safe." He smirked, moving back then and watching as she got into her car. He stayed in place, waiting for her to leave and then finally got into his own car. He let out a content sigh and started the engine, his mind filled with thoughts of Sakura and how wonderful it felt just to be around her. He would make sure that by their fifty fifth date, she would want to be with him, because he wanted to be with her. More than anything.