Whirlwind
Chapter Six
-Operation Day Two: Late Night-
Sakura sat up, clutching the soft sheets to her chest. She gave a frustrated sigh. She would wake up before seeing the rest of his body. She wanted to know who it was that had made her feel so whole, so wanted.
She decided to take Gaara's advice and use context clues. The man was about a head taller than her, but so were most male shinobi around her age or older. His skin was smooth, which was rare for someone of their profession, meaning that he rarely gets injured, and is a long range fighter. Also, his skin was pale, and they were in Suna, not Konoha.
Going through a mental list of all the male shinobi she knew that were at least a head taller than her, had pale skin, were currently in or were soon going to be in Suna, and didn't wear gloves, she was left with Gaara and Sasuke. And although Sasuke was not a primarily long distance fighter, he had jutsu that used a wide range, and he rarely ever got hurt. So that meant that she was with Sasuke in the dream! Her hope of convincing Gaara to let him live was strengthened, so she quickly got out of bed and took a shower.
When she came downstairs, there was a delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. Her stomach growled, voicing its outrage at her skipping dinner the night before. So she decided to go check it out.
Gaara stood, once more shirtless, at the stove making what smelled like pancakes. He flipped one, a bored look on his face. "Did you sleep well?" he asked as she took a seat at the table.
The question caught her off guard, since he didn't seem like the kind of person to care about such trivial things as another's comfort. "Um what?" Sakura laughed in a nervous tone. "Wh-why do you ask?" Did he know she had awoken from such an odd dream?
He turned his head slightly to look at her, "Well your chakra spiked exceedingly high, as if you were shocked or frustrated. I knew it wasn't and intruder, so I assumed you were waking up from a dream in a bad mood." He shrugged and went back to flipping the pancakes and folding the eggs into an omelet filled with sausage, cheese, and spices. He decided to leave out the part where he had been startled awake as well. He didn't need her to know that.
The sand in the kitchen slid towards the cupboards and started to set the table, placing two plates beside the stove. Gaara loaded the food evenly on the plates and went to join Sakura. He set her plate in front of her and took his own seat. He started eating right away, but Sakura found herself staring at him. That was when she noticed something she hadn't before. There was an awful scar right below his left shoulder. How could she not have noticed it? It wasn't like this was the first time she had seen him without a shirt on.
She blinked and blushed deeply, well this was only her second time seeing him shirtless, and the first time she had looked away. Then it dawned on her that the scar on his shoulder was the one given to him by Sasuke at the chuunin exams. It would only offend him if she was caught staring at the scar, so she looked down and began to cut her pancakes. "I just had a…frustrating dream, that's all."
He didn't let on that he knew she was staring at the only mark on his body, though he was surprised she didn't say anything about it. He decided to try and play nice with this woman and make…casual conversation. "What was it about?"
Her blush deepened. She didn't really want to tell him about it, because it was really embarrassing, and he would just think she was some shallow fan girl. Which she was not, those days were long gone and done with. "Oh….um….well…" she was so flustered that she didn't even realize she was still cutting the same section of pancake.
He smirked at her lack of coherent speech. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
Then there was a loud crack, and they both looked down at the cause. Sakura, in her nervousness, had cut straight through the plate and into the table. Gaara's smirk fell from his face in an instant. He looked up at her, not really knowing what he thought of the situation. He let out an annoyed sigh and glanced back down at the cut in his table.
But instead of anger, as Sakura was expecting, Gaara began to laugh. "Well now you have to tell me what it was about, since it's causing you to be so edgy."
She began to laugh nervously. "It's nothing really. Just some weird dream that couldn't possibly mean anything."
He gave her a pointed look. "Just tell me Sakura. It's the least you can do as payment for breaking one of my plates and cutting my table."
"True." She grumbled. "Well, in the dream, I was walking down one of the street here. And I felt really happy, as if nothing in the world could ruin my mood. My hand feels warm, so I look down and see-"
Suddenly Temari burst into the room. "Good morning!"
Gaara's gaze shot over towards his sister, a new glare set in place. "Do you mind Temari?"
"As a matter of fact I don't, brother dearest." The blonde smiled and plopped down in a seat next to Sakura. "So what's going on?" Temari snickered, "I'm actually surprised both of you are still alive."
Sakura crossed her arms in a huff. "Well of course we are still alive. Did you think we would kill each other or something?"
The blonde laughed. "Haha, duh." It was then that she noticed the broken plate and cut on the table. "Wow! Sakura what did you do?" she shook her head, and then looked at Gaara. "Nevermind. What did you do to make her so upset she broke her plate?"
"What?" Gaara nearly exploded. If anyone could get under his skin it was his older sister. "I didn't do anything, I simply asked her why she woke up alarmed. Then she became awkward and could not form a sentence."
Temari rolled her eyes and leaned back on the chair, kicking the front two legs up in the air. "Sure, sure. Usually if someone is upset it's your fault." She placed her hands behind her head and watched the two. "So what are we doing today?"
"I'm going to work," Gaara said shortly, disappearing in a whirl of sand. He reappeared shortly after, dressed in his normal attire. He began to walk towards the door, and as he passed Temari he pushed down on the back of the chair, causing her to fall backwards and hit the floor.
"HEY!" she yelled, trying to sit up and scold her younger brother, but he was already out of the kitchen. Sakura quickly got up and followed him. When she reached him he was just about to close the front door, so she put a hand up to stop it.
"Gaara, do you think I could work at the hospital while I'm staying here? I want to do something useful with my time." She said, giving him an innocent look.
He sighed and opened the door further so she could come out with him. Just as Temari was coming out of the kitchen, her face red with anger, Gaara closed the door. He really didn't want to listen to her screech at him so early in the morning. They headed out into the busy streets, many of the people waving at Gaara as he passed them. "I will talk to the head of the hospital when we arrive, you may do as you please. I will tell her you are the temporary head."
She blushed slightly at the compliment he was paying her by allowing her to take control of his village's hospital. "Thank you." When they made it to the hospital, Gaara spoke to the head. More like ordered her to give Sakura free reign over the hospital. As he was about to leave, he turned to Sakura and said, "I will be here to get you at five o'clock. Do not keep me waiting." He gave her a smirk, but the look in his eyes was dead serious.
The head nurse, Yoko, took a deep breath and glared down at the 'child' that was going to be running her hospital. That was almost as bad as the fact that the Kazekage was treating this…foreigner with more respect than she had ever seen him give. "Well," Yoko cleared her throat. "I know what the Kazekage said, but this is my hospital. So make sure you try and keep up."
Sakura smiled at the older woman, knowing full well her real reasons for disliking her. She wasn't so blind as to miss the way women stared at Gaara, and glared at her when they were walking down the street. "Don't worry, I think I can manage."
Yoko continued to glare at the pink haired foreigner. "Well, we aren't that busy, so why don't you go file some paperwork? You can handle that, can't you?" she asked in slight mockery.
Sakura's eye began to twitch in annoyance. What was she, a genin? "You seem like a nice lady, Yoko, and I would hate for you to make yourself my enemy. Now listen, and listen good." Sakura stood taller, squaring her shoulders. "I am a trained medic, brought up as Tsunade-shishou's protégé. I am skilled in healing…not paperwork. If you want someone to file some simple charts, go out and buy yourself a monkey. Do you understand? Or should I go and get Gaara to explain it to you in a more straightforward manner?"
The older woman stuttered for a few moments, and before she could say anything, a group of injured jounin came in. She looked at the ninjas, then back at Sakura. With a smirk she said, "If you're so capable, why don't you take charge of the group that just arrived?"
Sakura nodded, and pointed to one of the nurses. "You, take them all to an examination room. I will need to see their charts for any allergies before I heal them."
The girl nodded. "Right away ma'am."
It didn't take very long to heal all the injured, and she still had over half of her chakra left when it was done. One of the many advantages to having perfect chakra control. She wiped her hands off on a towel and said, "Everything is fine now. They will just need a few days' rest."
The same nurse from earlier ran up to her, and awed look in her eyes. "Sakura-sama! You are so amazing!" More nurses followed in asking questions. It seemed she would have to ask Gaara if she could teach classes on different healing methods while she was here. He wouldn't refuse, of course, but she would respect his authority this once.
By the door two nurses whispered to each other. "Wow, I guess she really is the Godaime Hokage's apprentice."
"Yeah. The way I heard it, she's already surpassed her mentor." The other replied.
The first one nodded excitedly. "I'm not surprised. Did you see how quickly and effortlessly she healed those ninjas? She's amazing."
A pair of steely brown eyes glared at the scene in front of them. Yoko was not pleased with the way things had turned out for the pink haired medic. Who gave credit to someone with such a freaky hair color anyways? Not only had she healed those jounin quickly, but it was done in an easier way than she herself knew how. And from what she could tell, the girl still had plenty of chakra left, whereas she would be exhausted after such a long healing. On top of that, she seemed to be in the Kazekage's favor. It was then that Yoko decided that one Haruno Sakura was her rival in the hospital, and in love.
Gaara sat leisurely at his desk, flipping through some papers and assignments. The missions for Suna lately had been pouring in, and the village was flourishing greatly. He picked up a pen and signed off on some of the completed missions from the genins. There was a loud knock on the door, and when Gaara didn't answer, it turned into pounding. He sighed, and without looking up said, "Come in Naruto."
The door flew open and the blonde ninja rushed in, with Kakashi trailing lazily after him. "Where is she Gaara?" Naruto demanded, slamming his hands on the desk, causing a pile of papers to fall to the ground and scatter. Gaara suppressed a growl. He had just finished organizing those. Looking up from the fallen papers, the redhead decided to see what inanities the fox boy was talking about this time.
"What in the world are you talking about Naruto?"
"Don't play dumb!" Naruto cried out, tears forming in his eyes. "You took Sakura-chan and you're going to kill her just like you're going to kill Sasuke!"
Kakashi cleared his throat, stepping behind Naruto and placing his hand on his student's shoulder. "Naruto you must calm down. You are over reacting. Kazekage-sama, will you please talk to him? The words of his wise sensei are not enough apparently." The copycat ninja sighed and pulled up his book, quickly losing interest in the conversation.
Naruto looked back at Gaara, obviously upset, but willing to listen. "Naruto, Sakura is at the hospital, helping out around there. What made you think I had done something to her?"
The blonde's face fell, at a loss for words, which was something that did not happen often. "Well…" he began, standing up straight and looking off, lost in thought. "I guess I really didn't think of that." He admitted and then laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry about that Gaara, I guess I'm just riled up…" he stopped, his solemn look returning.
"Are you really going to kill Sasuke?" the blonde asked softly, his despair evident to the redhead. He closed his eyes slowly and let out a deep sigh,
"Naruto I'm sorry. But he tried to kill my sister…and me."
Naruto nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets, "I know Gaara. I know that he deserves it too, I just wish…I wish you would change your mind."
The redhead leaned back in his chair and eyed Naruto. He really didn't want the water works to come now. Not that the tears would change his mind, he just didn't want to see his friend hurt. Gaara laced his fingers together and tried to force a smile, "Naruto, how about we go out for some ramen tonight? Hm?"
That did the trick, the blonde instantly perked up and nodded. "Sure thing Gaara!"
He waved and headed out the door with Kakashi following slowly, book in hand. "Good evening Kazekage-sama." The silver haired man gave Gaara a quick nod.
The door shut and Gaara let out a relieved breath. Finally he would be able to get some work done. His sand moved quickly and gathered the scattered papers and placed them back in place. He took the first scroll and unrolled it, reading over the contents.
It wasn't long until the door burst open again, and Kankuro walked in with a girl on each arm. They were all laughing, but the two girls looked uncomfortable in the arms of the puppet master. When they saw Gaara all the annoyance and discomfort disappeared from their faces. "Oh Kazekage-sama!" one squealed, detaching herself from Kankuro.
"Get out." The redhead ordered without even sparing the girl a glance. Hurt washed over her face, and she looked back at Kankuro.
"You said if we came with you we would get to talk with Kazekage-sama." The anger in her eyes was like fire, and it was all focused on Kankuro. The other girl pulled away from him, a similar expression on her face.
Gaara cleared his throat loudly, "Get OUT!" he ordered once more, only louder. Now looking up at them, his famous glare set in place. "Are you three just trying to piss me off? I have a lot of work to do."
The two girls scrambled for the door and slammed it shut behind them, closing Kankuro inside with his younger brother. Kankuro yawned, walking over to the spare couch in the office and plopping down. "Well that didn't turn out as I thought it would." The brunette sighed, stretching his limbs slowly.
"What do you want Kankuro?" Gaara asked simply, focusing back on his work. His brother only came to him for three reasons. If he wanted something, wanted to talk about someone, or prank Temari, which never ended well for the poor guy.
"Nothing really. I was just…curious." The brunette began slowly.
This made Gaara stop what he was doing. He looked up at his brother, a sign that he should continue. Kankuro's grin turned slowly into a smirk. "Well Gaara, I was just wondering how it was, having Sakura stay with you."
The Kazekage eyed him suspiciously, the mention of Sakura's name and the tone that his brother was using setting him on edge. "It's fine. Why?"
"Well you know…" Kankuro began to laugh, giving his younger brother a mischievous look.
Gaara just stared at him blankly, "No. I don't know."
Kankuro seemed to remember that his brother was socially inept in every kind of way possible. "Come on Gaara," he leaned forward, another sly smile creeping up his face. "That pretty little Konoha leaf, you can't tell me that you two are all alone in a house together and nothing has happened." He gave Gaara a wink, waiting for a nice juicy story.
Gaara was appalled, though he hid it well. Why would Kankuro think that Sakura and he had done something of that sort? They were simply friends, but what Kankuro was saying had pricked his ire. As irritating as that little pink haired woman could be, she was his friend. "Do not speak of Sakura that way."
The brunette blinked and looked taken back by his brother's defense. "Sorry Gaara, it's just…well everyone thinks it. I'm not the only one." He pointed out, trying to shift the oncoming anger.
"What?" Gaara stood abruptly, glaring his brother down. "Why would anyone think that? We are simply friends, nothing more! Am I not allowed to show kindness to the woman who saved our sister? And you and I years ago?"
Kankuro tried to hide behind the arm of the sofa. As it turned out, this was a bad idea after all. Gaara walked over to his brother and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him from his cowering pose. "If you hear any more of these accusations, be sure and silence them. I will not have anyone thinking things that are untrue about Sakura." He released his brother, who nodded and stepped backwards towards the door as quickly as he could.
"Jeez Gaara, no need to get so testy," Kankuro murmured out and then took off before the Kazekage could do anything to him.
The angry redhead glared after him and slammed the door. He returned back to his desk, daring anyone else to interrupt him. He signed off on a few missions and reviewed the reports. The rest of the afternoon was quiet, and he was able to get everything done, sorting it into the respectable areas of his desk.
There was a timid knock on the door, and a small woman came in, bowing in respect. "Kazekage-sama, it's five o'clock."
"Thank you, Yumi." He let out a soft sigh. "Make sure that you have these delivered to the appropriate offices." Gaara stood and once more. The sand around him picked up and swept him away, out the window.
Yoko had had just about enough from this pink parade. She was exhausted from the day's work, while Sakura was ripe with energy, despite the fact that she had been healing all day. It was worse when all the nurses begged her to teach them her ways. Yoko looked up at the clock and grimaced, it was nearly five. The Kazekage would be here any moment, and she couldn't let that leaf kunoichi show her up in front of him. She glanced over at Sakura who was laughing and talking with some of the younger girls.
"Sakura! Shouldn't you be attending to room three?" she crossed her arms and arched her brow, as if trying to make this other woman submit to her authority.
Sakura merely tilted her head in Yoko's direction, not even acknowledging her fully. "Hitomi-san is taking care of it. I am officially off the clock, and I figured you would want your nurses to get in some healing time before they too had to leave. They will need all the practice they can get if I'm going to start a class and teach them."
The ex-head nurse's eye began to twitch. How was the little twit able to come up with these things so easily? Every time she thought she had put Sakura in her place, it was always her who was lowered a bar, and in front of all the other staff as well. Noticing the nurses that Sakura was talking to begin to giggle, she glared at them. "Don't you have patients to take care of? Do not forget that once Sakura leaves, I am in charge." She threatened, causing the others to scatter quickly. Once they were gone she marched up to the 'little princess' and pointed a finger in her face.
"Look here missy, I run this hospital, and that means that you need to do as you're told. I doubt that the great Tsunade-sama lets you walk all over her. You may be off the clock, but until the Kazekage walks through that door, you need to be working. It won't kill you to work a few extra minutes, will it?" By now she thought she had finally won, until the pink haired medic faced her fully.
Sakura really hated having to always put Yoko back in her place. She thought that they could be great friends, but the older woman simply refused to give it a chance. Glancing behind the other medic, she smirked in triumph. It was time to remind her that she could call the Kazekage by his name, not his title.
"If I recall correctly, Gaara put me in charge when we arrived together this morning. You, Yoko, look like you're about to die from exhaustion, and where it won't kill me to work a few extra minutes, I do not like to keep people waiting." She then brushed past the other medic and walked up to the Kazekage. "Let's go Gaara. I still have to start dinner." She smiled sweetly, placing her hand on his arm.
Gaara looked down at Sakura as she took her place at his side. He glanced back up at Yoko, pulling Sakura closer to him. He was very unhappy with the day's interruptions, and he did not like the hateful look in his head nurse's eyes. "Yoko," Gaara began, still holding Sakura close. The medic seemed excited that the Kazekage was speaking her name, for she instantly brightened. "I told you that Sakura would be in charge. If I see, no, hear of any more of these complications, I will personally see to it that you are demoted to the hospital's janitorial staff."
Yoko stared at the two, horrified. She couldn't believe that her Kazekage was siding with a Konoha shinobi. The fact that they were on a first name basis and how that foreigner was standing closer to Gaara then she had ever seen anyone stand to him, only made her angrier. "Of course Kazekage-sama." She forced out with a bow.
They both left the hospital and started down the darkening streets of Suna. "Do you want me to do more Sakura? I will not have anyone treating you as such when I place you in charge."
Sakura shrugged, realizing she was still almost pressed against Gaara's side, and that he didn't seem to mind. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks and casually moved aside, keeping in step with him. "It's not really a big deal. Yoko just has a huge crush on you and is jealous that we're such good friends. None of the other staff has a problem with me being there. In fact, they are all so nice it makes me forget that I'm not in the Konoha hospital."
The redhead arched a brow at her. "Not that I would even consider it, but Yoko is too old for me anyways. She's also annoying in a very stalker-ish kind of way, and I hate annoying people."
Sakura looked down at her feet, unsure of what she was about to say. "Sasuke always said that I was annoying. Although, looking back on it, I guess I can see why."
Gaara shrugged in nonchalance. "Yeah, you were pretty annoying back then."
She huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, people change." Deciding to change the subject, she asked "What would you like for dinner? You look like you had a long day."
"Longer than you can imagine. Though it seems you had quite an interesting day yourself." He said.
She nodded and stretched out her arms, feeling her limbs loosen. "It wasn't too bad. I can handle myself, though I don't think Yoko will be too much trouble anymore." Sakura smiled brightly, looking up at her now temporary home. "You can just relax while I make dinner," she told him as they walked in the front door.
Gaara watched her leave and head off to the kitchen. He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes tightly. There was something he was forgetting, but what was it? He sighed, nothing coming to his mind. Finally, he relaxed and took one of the cushioned seats in the living room. It was probably nothing.
She decided to make chicken tender salad for dinner, since she doubted Gaara ate his proper servings of fruits and vegetables. She sliced up some lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and a few boiled eggs. Then she fried the chicken, and cut it into small bites, placing it into the salad. Last but not least was the shredded cheese, which she did by hand.
When she told him it was ready, he stared at it for a while, and wordlessly began to eat it. She took his silence as a good sign. That meant that he didn't hate the way it tasted. So she began to eat her own. Remembering her idea from earlier, she cleared her throat, hoping that that was enough to get Gaara's attention. He paused in his eating, and looked at her expectantly.
"Um….well….I was wondering….you see today at the hospital some of the nurses asked me to teach them a bit of my medical knowledge. So I got the idea that I could teach a class at the hospital a few days a week, and then on the other days I work as a doctor. I think it would greatly improve the quality of your hospital. I could even teach them about common poisons and their antidotes." It all came out in a bit of a rush, but by now she had regained her confidence. Only a fool would refuse the offered help, and Gaara was no fool.
The redhead tried to stifle his soft laughter. "Wow Sakura this is definitely something I didn't think you would do. Asking before doing?" he simply smirked at her and ate some more of the salad he was greatly enjoying. "But I think it's a good idea, do as you please."
"I just thought I would consider your feelings and show you a little respect, okay? If you don't appreciate the gesture, then I won't ask for your permission next time." She said, stabbing at some of her lettuce lightly.
Gaara stopped eating once more, "Sakura, you can't say that you don't just do as you please and ignore the consequences that you somehow weasel yourself out of every time."
She pouted at his question, and continued to eat. "I already have a lesson planned out for the first day. I will need to assess their skill levels, but other than that we can proceed onto-"
Suddenly the front door burst open and in ran Naruto. "You jerk! How dare you fill my day with dreams of ramen for dinner and then forget! Were you just lying to me to get me to leave your office? I thought we were BFFs!"
Gaara stared wide eyed at the intruder in his home and then at the sand surrounding Sakura, like a barrier. Gaara looked at how it had solidified protectively around her, which was odd. His normal reaction with his sand would have been to guard himself.
Peering around the sand, Sakura said "Um Gaara, it's just Naruto."
He glanced back at Sakura and the sand lowered immediately. "Sorry…I don't know what I was thinking." He said simply, placing another forkful of salad in his mouth so he could have an excuse to be silent. What had that been? Was this truly what it was like to want to protect your friends? It must be, since Naruto would gladly sacrifice himself for Sakura. He nodded to himself. That was definitely it. He was almost glad that he was getting so used to having friends he cared for.
"Forgive me Naruto." Gaara finally spoke. "I forgot about taking you to get some ramen. It was my mistake, please allow me to take you tomorrow evening. You can meet Sakura and me at the hospital at five o'clock."
The blonde scrunched his face in annoyance. "But what am I supposed to eat now? Kakashi-sensei went to some bar, and I'm too young to go with him!"
Sakura raised a brow at him. "Naruto, you can go into the bar, you just can't drink anything."
He waved his hands in front of his face. "No no no Sakura-chan! It was a different kind of bar!"
The truth of his words dawning on her, and she made a face of disgust. "Trust that pervert to find one of those while we're on a mission!" Getting up, she went and put together the leftovers. "You can just join me and Gaara and have a salad."
The fox boy looked like he was about to throw up. "I'm not gonna eat that green stuff! It's not healthy!"
She punched him in the face, causing him to fly across the kitchen. "It's green because it's healthy you moron! Now sit down and eat everything in your bowl, or so help me you won't be able to walk for a week!"
This silenced the blonde ninja, and he quickly sat in the very same chair Temari had occupied that morning.
Gaara had to keep himself from killing both the Konoha ninjas in his kitchen. Had he not just had this conversation with Sakura? He didn't want Naruto staying here and destroying the place, which he knew was going to happen in some shape or form.
"Sakura can I speak with you for a moment." Gaara seethed out through gritted teeth, standing and making it obvious that it was not a question. He left the kitchen in a hurry and awaited her in the living room.
She followed and gave him an innocent look. "What is it Gaara?"
It was pretty clear that he was angry. "What did we just talk about? What makes you think I want Naruto staying here? You know how he is, he's not going to leave till the early morning!" he informed her, crossing his arms angrily. "Could you not have just given it to him in a to get the heck out of here box?"
She too crossed her arms, sticking her hip out in the process, a clear sign that she was annoyed. "Since it was you who forgot the dinner plans that you made with Naruto tonight, leaving him with nothing, you can suck it up and be a good friend, and a gracious host. I don't want to hear anything more on the subject." And with that she turned around to walk back into the kitchen. She was stopped by a hand grabbing her wrist tightly.
"Oh no you don't Sakura. This is my house and it isn't as if I purposely forgot, I was trying to get him out of my office. He was causing a scene, and I had to get to work. He accused me of killing you!" he glared down at her, not understanding how she couldn't see why he had done what he did.
Her features softened, and she gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry Gaara. But it's too late now. It would just be rude to kick him out after he was already offered dinner. Maybe if you had actually told me a bit more about your day or about Naruto I would've understood and just sent him on his way." Then she carefully pulled her wrist from his grasp. "We should hurry, or the dessert will get cold."
Gaara let Sakura's hand slip through his fingers, he didn't know how to tell people about his day. Most of the time it was just him and his sister, and she didn't care, "I'll be fine, I don't want any." He told her. Before he could hear any of her protests he disappeared in a swirl of sand.
She stomped back into the dining room, angry that he always disappeared when things weren't going his way. It was so childish. Sensing her upset, Naruto shoveled the rest of his salad in his mouth and left, no questions asked. He was such a good friend sometimes.
Sakura walked into the kitchen and looked at the brownies she had made. It had taken her forever to make them, because she had also made some frosting to go on them, and she was very meticulous when it came to frosting things. She covered up the brownies, and decided to go let off some steam in the best way she knew how. She locked the house, and headed over to the Suna training fields. Picking one with sand, so she didn't completely destroy the ground, she began to rid herself of her frustrations.
It was well past midnight when Gaara came home. He was expecting the brooding medic to scold him once he walked in the door, but nothing of the sort happened. When he came into the living room it was dark and silent. "Sakura?" he looked around, sand ready just in case she was hiding to get even with him for ditching her earlier.
He glanced around, finally deciding she must be asleep. He went up the stairs quickly, stopping at her door, and with a decisive thought, went in to check on her. When he entered the room there was no sound, and his sense of alarm began to rise. When he saw the empty bed the bells started going off. Where was she? He ran back out in to the hall and looked around in the dark. "Sakura?"
At the silence he received, he called out once more. "Sakura where are you!"
Gaara stomped down the stairs and threw the front door open, only to be face to face with the missing woman. She looked as if she had been in a fight. She had scratches on her arms, and dried blood on her cheek. "Gaara?" she blinked, staring at him in unease.
"Uh…" he blinked.
Sakura laughed, smiling at him, "Well that was a brilliant reply." There was a long silence and finally she noticed the odd emotion plastered all over her face. "Gaara, what's wrong?" she asked, grabbing his arm and pulling him inside.
"What do you mean?" he asked, trying to control his facial expression.
She shut the door and brought him into the kitchen, which had a better light. Giving him a searching look, she said "You look…almost worried about something. Did something happen while you were away?"
"No…" was all he could manage out. Why was he acting so oddly? He needed to get a grip on himself and fast, before he said something stupid. "You just weren't here."
She raised a delicate brow at him, some of her anger coming back. "What did you expect me to do after you left? Wait around for you to return and not care that I was worried? I was so angry that you just disappeared, after I had worked so hard to make dessert. Which you didn't even ask what I had made by the way, or want any, so I went to let off some steam. After Naruto left of course, because he actually cares about my feelings, and knew that I was upset." Deciding that she needed some chocolate, she took out the pan of brownies she had made, and grabbed a fork.
Gaara grabbed Sakura by the wrist once more and pulled her to him in one fluid movement. She was pressed against him, his other hand on her lower back. The only thing they could see of one another was their eyes. "I do care. I'm sorry, I was…afraid when I couldn't find you, alright?"
She stared at him in shock, unsure of what to say. Their faces were so close. This fact alone was enough to make her turn red, along with the knowledge that no one had ever shown this much concern for her whereabouts before. "It's ok. I'm sorry too. I should have left you a note in case you returned before I did. I just hate it when you leave without explanation." She looked down at the pan of brownies, then back up at him. "Do you want any? The frosting is fudge flavored."
"Please do so next time." He nodded, following her gaze at the treats she had made especially for him. This was one of those moments he was glad for her need to change the subject when things got uncomfortable. "Yes. I would like some." He released her from his hold, but didn't move from his spot.
She backed away slowly, and got another fork, grinning as she handed it to him. "There's no point in getting any more plates dirty. Might as well eat from the pan!" Then she began to dig in.
He watched her for a while, fighting the small smile that was forming on his face. He placed the fork in the chocolate and then tried the dessert. "It's good," he admitted after he had swallowed.
She beamed up at him, a small smudge of frosting at the corner of her mouth. "It's my mother's recipe."
They sat on the counter, eating at the brownie slowly, it was late already so why rush to the next day? Once the pan was empty aside from the crumbs, Gaara got down and offered his hand to Sakura. She hopped down and took the pan, washing it and leaving it out to dry. "Well I guess we should probably get to bed."
"Yeah, it's very late." He agreed and went with her out of the kitchen and up the stairs. When they stopped at her door there was an odd, awkward silence. "Goodnight." He finally said before heading down the hall to his own room.
"Goodnight." She murmured, closing her door.