They had linked arms and marched about, voicing their agreement when told they would have strong children. Tsunade's famous apprentice arm-wrestled with several ninja of the Grass, and Kyuubi's vessel laughed loudly (quite loudly) when each of them were overcome by the young girl, to their humiliation. They danced, and talked, and laughed throughout the latter part of the night, blubbering in denial each time the Kazekage eyed them and asked whether they were drunk.

Just how could they not be?

"No offense Gaara, but your party SUCKS!" screamed Naruto, only to realize he was no longer at the party and that Gaara was not present. He blushed in embarrassment.

Bringing the sake bottle to her lips, Sakura took another long swing, before lowering it and watching as Naruto shoved all "Gaara's crap" (paperwork, coffee mug, photo of self, teddy bear...) onto the ground before taking a seat atop the desk.

Giggling, Sakura joined him. "This stuff is good," she said, offering the bottle to Naruto.

The two had left the party early, fearful of Kankuro and Temari's increasingly aggressive advances. After aimlessly walking about the tower for an hour or so in search of their rooms, Naruto and Sakura had found the next best thing: Gaara's office.

Sakura heaved a sigh. "Naruto, I think I'm drunk," she mumbled.

"Yeah, me too." Sakura didn't mind as Naruto's arm wrapped around her shoulders, but only leaned into his hold. She didn't mind when he pecked her on the cheek either, or when he climbed on top of her, and began to wrench up her kimono.

Sakura's hands flew to Naruto's hakama. She grinned as his kisses traveled down her jaw to her neck. Only after she had managed to yank Naruto's pants down did she notice that Gaara had entered the room.


As far as Hinata would remember, the moment she kissed Sasuke, all hell had broken loose.

His free hand snapping to his throat as he continued to cough, Sasuke turned away from her before finding his backpack and frantically rummaging through it. In the process he threw several things out of it, including a book, a slipper, some tomatoes, and a scroll. Finally unearthing a syringe, Sasuke staggered into the bathroom, wheezing by then.

What's he doing with a syringe!? Hinata was clueless as to what was going on. She hurried after him, only for the door to slam shut in her face.

She listened as the sounds of him gasping for breath.

"Sasuke!" Hinata called, rattling the doorknob. "Are you okay?" Had she not been so discomposed, she would surely have figured it out. "Sa-Sasuke..." she repeated, her voice quavering.

The door finally opened and she embraced him, but he was too busy hacking to pay her any mind, one of his hands over his mouth, face flushed from effort. At least he wasn't wheezing anymore. She listened as his ragged breaths became increasingly fulfilling.

"What's wrong?" asked Hinata, staring tearfully up at him.

Between breaths and coughs Sasuke managed to say, "Wait," before pulling away from Hinata and walking past her and back into the room. Throwing off his haori, he struggled with his hakama, which Hinata quickly helped him to remove. When the rest of the kimono had been discarded, and he was wearing only a pair of boxers, Sasuke climbed into the bed and laid on his side, his back turned to her, and his coughing slowly subsiding.

Hinata sat on the bed beside him, patting his back, not knowing what else to do. He began to shiver violently, and she quickly pulled the covers over him. She waited until Sasuke had the energy to speak.

"I have…bad allergies. Food allergies." He said hoarsely, before coughing a few more times.

Hinata's eyes widened, something clicking in her mind. "Shellfish," she said, remembering what she had read in Sasuke's file back in chapter three. "So when I kissed you…"

He nodded.

"I'm s-so sorry," Hinata said. "Are you all b-better now?"

There was a pause. "I…" He inhaled. "I think I'm getting a rash."

"Sorry," Hinata repeated, leaning down and kissing his head, but Sasuke cringed, and she wanted to hit herself. She pressed her lips and went to the bathroom, rinsed her mouth out, and brushed her teeth so many times they started to hurt. She had almost killed Sasuke. Her hand trembled as she lowered the toothbrush, then she rinsed her mouth out a few more times, just for good measure. When she finally returned to the bedroom, Sasuke's shivering had worsened.

She stripped down to her bra and panties and climbed under the sheets with him, forcing him to accept her into his arms, and burying her face against his shoulder. She kissed the spot there as she felt his shivering subside. Sasuke didn't even seem to register her lack of clothes, he was too disordered.

"I won't eat shellfish anymore," she promised him.

"Hinata…"

"P-please Sasuke, just rest."

Sasuke nodded in agreement. One of his hands found her hip and resided there. "Rest with me," he muttered, as his eyes drifted closed.


Sakura was embarrassed. Extremely, embarrassed. What she had done – with Naruto – and in the Kazekage's office–

They hadn't had sex, but they had been damn close. Sakura was merely grateful that they had been interrupted.

Gulping down a disgusting home-made hangover remedy (not that she really ever got drunk except on birthdays, holidays, certain missions, days off, engagement parties, weddings, baby showers, tea parties, and so on) Sakura decided that she would have to apologize to Gaara personally, and assure him that her and Naruto's behavior had been a far cry from Konoha norms, in fact, it was shameful, disgraceful, and so obscene it should never be spoken of again - and certainly not to Tsunade.

And so, she had herself directed to Gaara's bedroom by the moaning Kankuro. He muttered something about cabbage, before wandering off again. As Sakura understood, Gaara didn't sleep very much, even with Shukaku's absence. She was sure he would be awake, even if it was early.

She hesitated at the large oak door leading to his quarters. What was the worst that could happen? Well, Gaara could kill her, but that would be a bureaucratic nightmare. Taking a deep breath, she knocked.

No answer.

Sakura knocked again.

Still, no answer.

The pink-haired kunoichi pressed her ear against the door: she could hear sounds of someone moving around inside.

She grimaced. What right did Gaara have to ignore her – aside from his Kage status, that was? "Kazekage-sama?" She frowned, having never enjoyed giving such a title to someone who had once tried to kill her. "I'm coming inside!" And before she could lose her nerve, she turned the doorknob and pushed it open.

She had been right in believing that Gaara had been in his bedroom all along.

He was also completely naked.

She really shouldn't have been fazed. It was Gaara. What else would the stoic man be doing than standing around naked at the crack of dawn?

He stared blankly at Sakura as her face turned many different shades of fuscia, each one deeper than the last.

"G-Gaara," Sakura said, her eyes drinking him despite her mind urging her not to. Muscles, she thought, taking in his lean, muscular body. Scars, she appreciated the battle wounds embellishing his flesh. Finally, her eyes drifted downwards. R-red.

She had not realized she had said it aloud until after a moment of staring, when Gaara said, "Yes...the red towel," as he pointed to a towel rack on the back of the door

Sakura didn't know whether Gaara had truly requested a towel before her mindless blunder, but decided she did not care, as she snatched a blue one and blindly threw it at him. Turning on her heel, she stormed out of the room.

The door swung closed, and a few moments passed, in which Gaara continued to stand around...naked. There was a draft, so he wrapped the blue towel around his waist. Behind him, a blonde head poked out from a mound of bedcovers. Slightly askew on her head was Gaara's rumpled white Kazekage hat.

"What the hell was that?" snapped Ino.

"Naruto's woman," Gaara said.

"Oh," said Ino. She climbed out of the bed, displaying her nude body as she approached Gaara and played her fingers along his chest. She was beginning to understand Shikamaru's fondness for missions in Suna. The nin there really were quite kinky. "I'm still a little drunk from last night. Do you want to..."

"Cuddle?" Gaara guessed.

"Actually, it's getting late," said Ino, as she started gathering up her things.


When Hinata awoke, Sasuke was already up and dressed, any visible part of his body wrapped in bandages, which included his arms, his legs, and his neck.

He had been right, Hinata realized, as she looked at him. He did have a rash, but it wasn't bad, at least the bit of it that she could see. There was a patch of red on his right cheek, but it looked more like he had been crying than anything else, or as though someone had slapped him. It was even sort of...cute.

"We have to meet Naruto and Sakura," the Uchiha mentioned, his voice still hoarse from all the coughing the night before. Hinata frowned and wondered why he was looking away.

"Un..." She agreed, when she suddenly noticed his shoulder twitch strangely, filling her with an irrational panic. "What's wrong!?" She demanded.

Sasuke gave her an odd look. "Itchy."

Hinata hated herself for the giggle that escaped her lips. She quickly covered her mouth, then scurried about, packing his things, fretting over him, and treating him as though he was made of glass. It only seemed to make Sasuke twitch more.

When they met Naruto and Sakura outside of the tower, the look of concern on Naruto's eyes only worsened Hinata's feelings of guilt. She was supposed to be taking care of Sasuke, but had been thoughtless, and had hurt him instead.

"But...I thought you didn't eat any of the lobster." Naruto frowned at the Uchiha.

Sasuke shrugged. "I was exposed to some by accident." He made it clear that he didn't want to discuss the matter any further by walking past Naruto, or maybe this was just another effort to hide what little they could see of the rash.

Naruto sighed. "It looks like he had a rough night."

Hinata bit her bottom lip but said nothing.

Sakura frowned as she listened to the conversation. She had never expected that lobster would be served at Gaara's party – and even then, she had never thought to update the false information she had given to Hinata. She had figured the Hyuuga would catch on at "putterfish," but it seemed the girl was gullible to a disastrous degree.

In addition to this, Sakura had always known Sasuke to mind his health, and had not taken into consideration the fact that he could be exposed to his food allergies during intimacy. It had never been a factor.

Sakura sighed, simply grateful to be headed back for Konoha. Suna was too hot, sunny, beautiful, and...sexual, if her evening spent at the Kazekage tower had taught her anything. The entire evening had been disastrous, if Sasuke's rash was any indication, Hinata's burning cheeks, and Naruto, whose eyes she couldn't even meet anymore.

As they walked down the road and along the forest, Sakura pondered upon ways to fix the mess she had made. When evening fell, and they had set up camp, she continued to contemplate on these matters, even as her eyes drifted closed.

"Sasuke?"

Hinata was still awake. Sakura groggily opened her eyes again. She was turned away from the Hyuuga, who couldn't have noticed she was still awake.

"Are you up?"

"Un," came Sasuke's muffled response.

Sakura idly watched Naruto sleep beside her, somehow hearing the whispers beyond his powerful snores.

"I-it's not that bad," Hinata was mumbling to Sasuke. "You're – still r-really a-attractive."

Hinata was clearly talking about the rash. Sasuke had been acting particularly withdrawn as of late. It was only natural for him. He despised all of his vulnerabilities.

"I love you," Hinata breathed the words.

Sakura looked down at her sheets, her heart clenching, because she knew Sasuke would never say it back. Never to her, never to Naruto, never the dozens of times they had assured him. She hoped this would be enough for Hinata, but was surprised when Sasuke countered, wearily-

"I love you."


She had never known that Sasuke could be so self-conscious, so insecure, and so...adorable. He had taken to avoiding her, but she wasn't deterred.

"But Sasu- I love your horrible rash," she said, bursting into a fit of giggles as he tensed and walked off.

She didn't know why she had taken to teasing him, it was just so – easy.

Her laughter stopped as she realized that their roles had been reversed.

She couldn't see what the problem was anymore. The visible rash on Sasuke's face had nearly faded. Was he always moping over such silly things?

By nightfall, he still had not said a word to her, and Hinata was on the verge of shaking him awake and tearfully apologizing, when she felt another's hand touch her waist. Blinking, she turned to see Sakura was awake.

Sakura...

The girl who had sworn Sasuke was allergic to "pie."

Hinata looked down, not knowing what to say to the other kunoichi.

"I'm sorry." It was Sakura who spoke first.

Sakura pulled out a small oil lamp and lit it, filling the tent with the orange glow of fire light, which caused the drooling creature on the right to absently smile, and the mass of sheets on the left to unconsciously recoil.

Sakura rubbed her face, trying to articulate her words. The two were facing each other, Sakura lying down on her side and leaning on her elbow, while Hinata was sitting up on her mat. "All of the things that I told you," Sakura whispered. "I had mostly been describing Naruto."

Hinata would have laughed had she found this to be funny. "S-Sasuke could have d-died," she managed, trying to control the onslaught of emotion that assaulted her. She swallowed and voiced her single query. "Why?"

Why had Sakura lied to her? Was she trying to sabotage her? Did she not approve of her relationship with Sasuke?

The emerald-eyed girl sat up. "I was worried he was using you. I knew that he – that he loved you. I just didn't think he'd ever accept it."

Hinata reddened and stared at her lap.

"But now I know he does. Even he knows it."

"Oh," was all that Hinata could manage.

Sakura smiled and offered a few truths. "Yes, he'll allergic to shellfish, especially lobster. We keep some syringes of adrenaline on hand – what you do is inject him in the muscle on his outer thigh."

Hinata nodded, but did not look up.

"He vents by training, and...sometimes he can go overboard," the lighthearted tone of Sakura's voice had faded, as had the amused crinkle of her eyes. "Sometimes he'll conceal his injuries if he's that bent on completing a mission. And when he gets home, he just…collapses."

Hinata raised her face to stare at the other girl.

"And sometimes Sasuke won't sleep for days on end," Sakura continued. "He has this unshakable – poker face. You could never tell that anything's wrong."

Hinata's lips parted, but she didn't know what to say.

"Oh, and...he really likes tomatoes." Sakura smiled.

Hinata blinked, snapping out of her reverie. "What?" she said, wondering if the pink-haired girl wasn't joking again.

Sakura shrugged. "That pretty much sums up Sasuke."

Hinata's eyebrows furrowed. "Just that? J-just those few things?" She was surprised by the anger in her voice. Sure Sasuke was sick, and hurting at times, but he was so much more than that.

"No," Sakura responded. "It's just...all that he's allowed me to see in the time we've known each other." To Hinata's surprise, Sakura poked her nose. "I'm sure you know the rest."

Blushing, Hinata quickly pushing the offending hand away from her. Sakura began to lay back down on her mat, and Hinata couldn't help blurting out, "What made you realize he wasn't u-using me?"

Sakura froze. She didn't want to admit she had eaves dropped on them the night before. What difference was one more white lie? "I heard him mumble your name in his sleep."

Hinata reddened more. She immediately mumbled "Goodnight" and took to hiding under her covers.

Sakura turned off the lamp. Weird, she thought with a smile. Hinata seemed like a fun person to tease.