"Sweetie, I'm home." Kankuro greeted the waiting woman who stepped out of the kitchen in her lavender apron with a small stumbling Kei. Kei smiled and ran into the legs of his father, who lightly leaned down and ruffled the child's hair. "Daddy missed you Kei."

"Well look who finally got home!" Ino teased before her smile dropped and she saw who else walked in. Ino's blue eyes flashed to Kankuro, he saw that she was about to explode with questions. "What's he doing here when –" she was cut off by Kankuro's hand. Kankuro laughed nervously, the redhead next to him glared in their direction and tapped his foot lightly, showing signs that he was becoming annoyed.

"Aha, well. Ino remember, I said I was going to try to get Gaara to visit Kei? Since he's been wanting to see him all week." Kankuro lied, giving the blonde a let's-talk-about-this-in-another-room kind of look only they were familiar with. Ino nodded and removed his hand from her mouth.

"Sorry for the weird behavior. I'm just surprised you showed up, but it's good nonetheless. You could say that you're Kei's favorite." She beamed. She knew she'd have to come up with a lie to get Kankuro to spill his guts in another room. "By the way, the oven's acting weird. Everytime I try to turn it on it doesn't seem to turn on. So I need YOU to look at it." Ino's lie seemed to have gone unnoticed by the redhead who picked up Kei and let the boy lead him to the toys in the living room where Gaara just sat down next to him.

"Alright, Gaara do you mind watching Kei for a minute?" Kankuro turned his head to see Gaara just give him a stare but nod. "'kay then."

Ino grabbed Kankuro's hand and led him to the other side of the house, far from Gaara's hearing range.

"What were you thinking?" she hissed out as she got closer to the brunette and glared him down.

"I don't know! I wasn't thinking at the time, it just slipped out. I didn't think he'd come over." Kankuro tried to explain, but Ino's glare only got heavier as he sighed and watched a worried expression appear on his wife's face.

"When he sees Sakura… I'm not even sure how they're going to react." Ino backed up to lean against the wall and she sighed. She was not expecting Kankuro to just invite Gaara over and the redhead actually show up the same night Sakura's staying over.

"What're we going to do?" Kankuro asked, stepping closer to his wife, his hand rested against her cheek and her previous tension disappeared at the gentle act. When she opened her eyes she sighed.

"We'll have to play it cool. Just act normal and hope they can behave like adults. If they want to argue then we'll ask them to take it outside." Ino nodded and Kankuro did too before pulling his wife into a short sweet kiss. Once they broke apart, Ino smiled up at Kankuro and left back to finish making dinner. Kankuro walked back into the room with Gaara and Kei seated on the floor. Gaara shot Kankuro a blank look before Kankuro shoved his hands in his pockets. If it wasn't for Kei, Gaara probably would have questioned the household's odd behavior. He'd only find out soon enough.

Around 10 minutes later, Ino walked into the living room and shouted loud enough for anyone upstairs to hear "Dinner's ready, everyone!"

"Why are you shouting? We're all in the same room." Gaara's icy stare fell upon that of Ino's who swayed gently to the side and smiled fakely.

"Right. Sorry."

Upstairs, Sakura's eyes opened with a sigh. The nap was too quick for her liking, but she knew she wanted to have dinner. She hadn't eaten since this morning and she could feel her stomach warming up to the idea of food. Straightening out her outfit in the mirror, she decided she was presentable and walked down the stairs, hearing the sound of silverware being moved around as well as plates being set out and the sound of soft chatter. A small smile now graced her features as she entered the room, ready to be greeted by 3 faces, but she wasn't expecting 4. Sakura's smile fell and her lips were pressed together as she stared back at the same eyes that haunted her very being. Those black outlined sea blue eyes. It was like the air was being sucked right out her and she even found it hard to stand. What was he doing here? Why? Sakura wasn't going to make a scene in Ino's house though, so she pretended to ignore the redhead as she took a seat beside Kei's high chair.

Ino looked very uncomfortable, she shifted her weight onto her other foot and still kept at the nice-hostess act. Ino filled their plates with food before walking back to the kitchen to grab the baby's food. Kei giggled with delight as it was presented in front of him. Kei loves spaghetti and he enjoyed breaking up the noodles before Ino put them in the pot to boil them. The table was very quiet other than the sound of silverware being moved and Kei's giggles as he shoved spaghetti into his mouth. Ino decided she didn't want to feel uncomfortable in her own home, so she started conversation.

"So how's work for you Gaara?" she attempted.

"Good." The reply was short and seemed bitter. Ino only frowned and shoved a meatball into her mouth. Kankuro saw how irritated his wife was becoming, so he spoke up next.

"Yeah there's been a lot of business happening lately for the company, sometimes Gaara has to stay extra hours to finish up any documents." Kankuro added, looking towards Gaara who was gnawing on a piece of bread. Gaara was already irritated and another kind of emotion seemed to fill his gaze as Gaara's eyes didn't pry from the pinkette across the table. Kankuro couldn't quite place his finger on it. Sakura knew all too well that he was staring at her, so she directed her attention toward Kei who threw a noodle at her. Sakura looked at the baby and made a silly face, instantly Kei was giggling. She always had a way to make babies happy, it was just something she could always do.

Turning away from the baby, Sakura began eating the spaghetti on her plate and looked down at the food to avoid looking back at Gaara. 'Would he just look away? I really hate when people just stare like that. It's like I can't breathe.' Her thoughts made her sigh as she pushed around a meatball on her plate. 'I wish I could just leave the table.' Almost on cue, Kei picked up a handful of the spaghetti and threw it on Sakura. Sakura's mouth fell open and she gasped as the spaghetti dripped down from her hair to her shirt. Instinctly, she backed her chair up and stood up, wiping the spaghetti from atop her head. Kei found it amusing and clapped, giggling the whole time. 'Well at least I can excuse myself now.' Sakura sighed once more, grabbing the napkin and dabbing her shirt with it. Ino stood up as well and rushed towards Sakura, brushing the noodles off of her and looking concerned.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. Kei doesn't normally throw his food." Ino looked like a worried mother and stared at Sakura.

"No, no. It's okay. He's just a baby. I needed to change anyways." Sakura calmed Ino down with a smile. "May I be excused?"

"Of course. Do you need anything, I'll show you to the bathroom." Ino grabbed Sakura's hand and led her out of the dining room and up the stairs. Ino silently knew that Sakura wanted to get out of the room anyways, heck if Ino was getting a stare from a stoic man like that, she'd pour spaghetti on her head and leave too. Gaara made it well known that he noticed her. Poor girl couldn't sneeze without him so much as death glaring her being.

"Are you okay?" Ino asked genuinely from the other side of the door as Sakura was grabbing clothes to change into after her shower. The blonde knew the boys couldn't hear them from downstairs, so talking was safe.

"I'm fine. Just felt like I was a piece of meat in a lion's den." Sakura snorted out, feeling completely angry with how she was treated this evening, by someone who didn't even have to speak. She wasn't mad at Ino and Kankuro, of course. Just the brunette's brother.

Ino looked down at her fidgeting hands and sighed, "I didn't know he was coming over. Kankuro sorta just invited him without thinking. Honestly, I wouldn't put you through that."

Sakura stood still before opening the door and facing the blonde, Sakura let a soft smile form along her lips "I know you didn't do it on purpose." This made Ino sigh in relief and hug the spaghetti stained girl.

"Kei must really like me." Sakura laughed out loud as she hugged Ino back. Both of the girls broke out in a louder laughter than they expected.

"Kei's favorite food is spaghetti, so he must really like you to cover you in it." Ino said between laughs and led the pinkette to the bathroom, towel in hand.

"Probably got it from Kankuro." She teased back, stepping into the bathroom and ready to just shower away her problematic thoughts that betrayed her humorous state of being.

It wasn't until she was enveloped in the hot water pouring down her back that she let the tears fall. She certainly didn't expect to see him at all, especially on her first day here. Why'd he even look at her like that? Like she was some kind of alien sitting at the table. Was he really still holding a grudge? It's been two years… two years since he broke her heart and she left. He had Matsuri now, so why was he even glaring at her like that? Sakura's soft sobs broke out as she clamped a hand over her mouth to stop them. She had to pull it together, she wasn't going to let him break her again. She was not going to cry anymore, like she promised herself. Sakura stopped crying and sighed, knowing the heavy weight on her chest was beginning to pull her down. 'I'll be damned if I let him tear me apart again. He got away with glaring at me for tonight, but if I so much as see him glaring at me again, I'll make sure he'll see to it that he stops.' Sakura's brave thought gave her the strength to proudly wash herself off and finish her shower. That shower was doing more than just washing away the spaghetti, it was washing away her insecurities. Once she was drying herself off, she was humming to herself, determined to not let Gaara keep her down. She wasn't here for him, she was here for her best friend. And no icy glare was going to make her run away. Not again.

Gaara's POV

'What's with them? They're acting weird… well, weirder than usual.' He raised his eyebrow once again, staring at Kankuro who smiled uncomfortably. He wanted to ask what was wrong or why they were acting like that. Maybe it was family related though, so he wasn't going to pry. He didn't want to hear a full out life problem anyway, he was sick of everyone going to him for advice and spilling their life events to him. It felt nice to help people but he felt burdened with all the stress. Looking down at the small child that was playing with a red car, he couldn't help but smile. This precious innocence came from his brother and now sister-in-law. The smile faded within a moment though as he thought of his own childhood, how his birth had killed his mother. He was born too soon and something appeared to have gone wrong with his mother at the time, what exactly happened he didn't know and felt that he'd never know. From what he was told she grew very ill once he was actually born and she had to be kept in the hospital for a week longer for recovery.

They said she wasn't in any condition to go home yet with the baby. His father brought him home. Temari and Kankuro were young at the time, but they filled in for the mother's absence and took care of Gaara. One week in the hospital turned to 2 weeks, his father was growing upset and instead of admitting it was a bizarre sickness, he blamed Gaara. Blamed his birth. Within the second week of being in the hospital, his mother passed away. The news was devastating for them.

Gaara didn't notice that his hands were clenching the carpet until Kankuro grabbed his shoulder that was until Ino walked in.

"Dinner's ready, everyone!" Ino bellowed, making Gaara want to slap his hands over his ears. He knew his brother married a loud mouth but this was ridiculous.

"Why are you shouting? We're all in the same room." He sent a glare towards her; he didn't mean to, he was just annoyed by her loud statement.

"Right. Sorry." She apologized and led them to the dining room. As the redhead entered the dining room he saw that the table was set and the bubbly blonde walked back into the kitchen to get the food. Normally, he'd wait but he's already seen how Ino was working hard to prepare dinner, so both he and Kankuro grabbed serving dishes to put them on the table. She was grateful to them and thanked them both before picking up Kei and putting him in his feeding chair.

Just as he was about to sit down, he noticed another person walk into the room. His breathe caught in his throat, his eyes seeing the short pink hair and green eyes. 'Sakura?' was the only thought he could manage as he couldn't help but stare at her. She did notice and the smile she walked into the room with fell. She stared back. 'What is she thinking?' but with a shake of his head as she walked away to sit down; he brushed his thoughts away. He wasn't going to cause any commotion in his brother's house. They're adults. Gaara sat across from her though. Even so, her hair hasn't change much except for maybe being a little longer.

Gaara's eyes practically devoured her appearance, he knew it was rude to be staring, but he wanted to practically burn her image into his mind. It hurt him, deeply, to admit that he had missed her. Now her curves were more developed as her top gave it away, she was wearing a white sundress. Of course sundresses were normal in Suna since it had tropical weather year round, but he couldn't help but to stare at her even more. He didn't stare at other girls in Suna very often at all.

Gaara's attention was stolen by Ino as she filled their plates with food before walking back to the kitchen. The table was very quiet other than the sound of silverware being moved and Kei's giggles as he shoved spaghetti into his mouth. Ino decided she didn't want to feel uncomfortable in her own home, so she started conversation.

"So how's work for you Gaara?" the blonde dared to ask him as she turned towards him in her chair.

"Good." He replied, looking down to push around the meatballs on his plate. He didn't feel too hungry, his mind was wrapped around the girl sitting across from him too much to care about hunger.

"Yeah there's been a lot of business happening lately for the company, sometimes Gaara has to stay extra hours to finish up any documents." Kankuro tried to strike up conversation as well, this made the redhead start to chew lightly on his garlic bread. He didn't want the couple to think he was going to let the meal go to waste. But once again the pinkette peaked Gaara's attention, he could tell she felt uncomfortable under his gaze, but he couldn't help it. It's been two years, he never received any form of contact from her. He called her phone many times which was always sent to voicemail, he must've left at least a thousand voicemails. Finally someone broke the news to him that she changed her number. When he did go to Konoha to visit Naruto she was always somewhere else. After a year he stopped trying, hoping that maybe one day she'd try to contact him to let him explain what he was always longing to confess and make sure she knew about what really happened.. but she never did, now here she is. Gaara shook his head and looked at her, watching her make funny faces at the baby. This made him smile to himself. 'She was always great with kids.'

'I wonder what she's thinking right now? Does she still hate me?' Gaara's mental questions were pushed aside as he watched Kei pick up a handful of the spaghetti and throw it on Sakura. He wanted to get up and help clean it off of her, but he knew the close contact would make it awkward and there's no telling how they'd both react. He simply watched. Sakura's mouth fell open and she gasped as the spaghetti dripped down from her hair to her shirt. He watched, almost amused as she backed her chair up and stood up, wiping the spaghetti off of her. He bit down on his lip as Sakura's own lips opened to sigh before she grabbed the napkin and dabbed her shirt with it. By then Ino got up and helped her.

Gaara drowned out what Ino said as he just kept staring at her. She was just so captivating to him. But then she spoke…

"No, no. It's okay. He's just a baby. I needed to change anyways." Sakura smiled. "May I be excused?" Ino grabbed her and took her out of the dining room, leaving Kankuro and Gaara alone with the baby. Gaara was stoic as ever, replaying her soft voice in his head. It's been two years since he heard her voice and it hurt. It hurt him a lot. He had to go two years without that voice? Surely she knew how badly she hurt him. Ignoring him, not even letting him explain what happened. If only she let him explain. Gaara now hid his face in his hands.

"Gaara?..." Kankuro approached his brother's chair and looked down at the redhead, concerning lacing his voice.

"She doesn't know." The redhead didn't mean to say outloud, but you know what? He didn't care anymore.

"Well, she's here now. She's going to be staying for a few weeks. Why not try?" Kankuro tried to comfort his brother. He knew Gaara doesn't like to be touched, but he patted him on the back anyways.

"Will that even work?" Gaara raised his head and looked at Kankuro with those distant sea blue eyes.

"It's better than doing nothing. If you truly care about her, you should show it. Since she's here in person now, it'll be easier to explain." Kankuro advised, he couldn't believe he'd be giving his brother advice. His younger brother, the one who owned the family business and was essentially more mature than Kankuro.

"I suppose you're right." Gaara sighed out and stood up now. "Maybe I should get going so she can sleep. I've scared her enough with my staring."

"Yeah, bro. That was creepy. Like guy-staring-at-middle-schoolers creepy." This made the older brother crack up, Gaara couldn't help but to chuckle a little. Walking his brother outside, Kankuro leaned on the car and gave his brother just a little more advice.

"And Gaara. If she doesn't listen to you at first, just wait for her to come to you. Sometimes, they'll seek out the answer their selves. I've heard it's hard for them to stay away." Kankuro flashed his side smirk before walking back inside to put Kei to bed.

xoxoxoxo

A/N::: (( Chapter 2, yay! Hope you liked reading it. The next chapter is a flashback chapter, explaining how the break-up between Gaara and Sakura happened. There's more to it as opposed to why Matsuri was there. But it's only how Gaara and Sakura saw the break-up. DRAMA BOMB! ))