Chapter Sixteen

No matter what, Sakura could not allow herself to become daunted by Gaara's encouragement; whether his backing for it came from words, or physical contact. For the more she resisted, the more invading his behavior was becoming. She blamed his drunk state for not understanding what her no meant, but she also knew she was at fault. She still couldn't pull back the leg that was wrapped around him. Still couldn't push herself from the bed to run from him, and couldn't stop thinking how good it would be to just give in.

Gaara had told her that they could, and she knew that was the truth. There was no one there stopping them, including themselves. They both knew how much they now craved one another. Perhaps if Gaara was sober she would consider, but she did her best now to defy him still. She would try to continue to speak to him and make him understand, himself, why they couldn't give in to these urges.

"Gaara." Sakura softly spoke, bringing a hand to cup his cheek.

Sakura took a moment to study him before continuing. His eyes had darted to the hand on his face, and he blinked slowly while studying what this gesture meant. It was interesting for her to watch him continue to learn what simple physical contact, like this, conveyed. He probably wasn't going to like that this touch meant he was about to be turned down. His eyes returned to hers when he saw her open her mouth to speak, before she began, he narrowed his gaze at her, looking agitated.

'Perhaps he does know what's coming next.' Sakura thought.

The rosette cleared her throat.

"I'm flattered you see me this way. Someone attractive enough to um...bed with?"

Sakura blushed at her words. Her virgin mind just couldn't give her the courage to say the actual deed. She almost wished she had kept quiet, for she now felt awkward and stupid from her words. Nevertheless, she continued.

"But we can't do this. I'm...I'm not ready for something like this."

Sakura turned her eyes back to Gaara's and noticed his angry gaze had softened.

"And I know you aren't either."

The two lay there in silence while the young woman let her words sink in for Gaara. She hoped that despite his tipsy mind, he would grasp what she was saying. His hand was still resting on the leg she had around him when he let out a heavy sigh, and tore his eyes away from Sakura.

At the sight of him, Sakura felt her heart sink. The solemn look he had earlier now returned, and the repercussion of being rejected was clear as day on his face. Never before had she seen him look so hurt and angry with himself. At the sight of him, she wished she could take back her words.

Gaara began to lift his body, and Sakura wondered if he was about to tear away from her and leave. Instead, he shifted his body up, and brought his head to rest at her shoulder. Tense at first, but she quickly eased to his action, letting his dripping hair soak her shoulder. In silence he lay like that for some time, staring upwards and blinking slowly. At times, a sigh would escape him.

Every time Sakura heard this, she would bite her lip. She almost wanted to shed tears for making Gaara feel this way. She couldn't help but think of his dark, and lonely past. Rejection was all he knew growing up, and finally he was in a happy place to never experience that pain again. Yet, here she was, reminding him that the world, and its people, like her, that inhabited in it were cruel. It was hard for her knowing she had hurt him this way, she had experienced this same rejection many times from Sasuke. The pain from each let down from him stung her harder than the last. How could she have done this to Gaara?

She bit her lip hard, trying to hold back the warm tears that threatened to escape. It probably burn her if she let them slide down her cheek.

"Forgive me."

Sakura's eyes widened when she heard Gaara whisper. Was he apologizing for his behavior? Had he finally understood what Sakura was trying to tell him? The young woman shifted her head so that it could be a little closer to Gaara's.

"It's alright. I'm sorry too." Sakura began.
"If I just hadn't tried to kiss you earlier, none of this would have happened. I hope this doesn't make you think any less of me as a friend. I'd just hate..."

Sakura lost her voice, and blinked, when she felt Gaara bury his face into the crook of her neck. He let another sigh escape before wrapping his arm tight around Sakura's waist, bringing her body close to him again.

"I can't stop thinking about it." Gaara whispered into her skin.

Sakura swallowed hard, intently listening to his murmuring. It was muffled and quiet against her, but she still heard him. She felt him twitch lightly, again suppressing a hiccup, and Sakura pondered how hard it must be for him to be forming sentences.

"I...hate myself every time it crosses my mind."

Sakura hissed when she felt Gaara's claws digging deeper into her skin. He was desperate to hang onto her and not let her go. Forgetting the pain, her mind began to silently question him. What was it he was talking about? Surely it wasn't about tonight's ordeal.

"Why? Why did I do that?" Gaara whispered, he was now starting to dig his head into Sakura while his body shook lightly.

If she didn't know any better, he sounded and acted like he was on the verge of tears. But Sakura dismissed the idea immediately. This was Gaara. Stoic and full of pride, he would never let himself do such a thing, and especially not in front of her.

"I could have lost you." He murmured into her neck.

Sakura's eyes went round. What was it he was exactly apologizing and beating himself up for, she wondered.

'Lost me?' She repeated in her mind.
'Does he mean lose our friendship?'

The young woman seethed again when she felt Gaara's nails dig into her skin. Desperate in his hold, he kept burying himself into her and pulling her towards him. She wanted to push away, or tell him to loosen his hold, but stopped herself from doing so. There was something pestering his mind at the moment and she could sense that with the way he held onto her. She did her best to endure his claws as she listened to him.

"I look at you now. If anyone out there hurt you like the way I did. I'd tear them apart." Gaara spoke softly, leaning his head against her shoulder again.

As Gaara's hold on Sakura loosened a little, her mind raced with questions once more. His words seemed to be deeper, and she now had a hunch he wasn't speaking about what went on this night. Maybe it was another night, days ago, he was apologizing for. The rosette gasped at the thought.

'Does...Does he remember what happened a few nights ago?' She thought.
'Did he remember this whole time?'

Sakura's heart coursed to those thoughts. Why had he stayed quiet about this the whole time? Was he going to apologize to Temari and Kankuro as well? Was this why he kept asking her to forgive him since they left tonight's event? Had all this been plaguing him everyday? She shifted herself on the bed, noting how Gaara was still melting his body with hers. She suddenly felt very uncomfortable having him hold her while remembering what he had done to her those nights he attacked.

When silence filled the air, Sakura gulped. She needed to know.

"What are you talking about?" Her voice soft.

When Gaara didn't answer, Sakura again shifted and felt his nails dig into her from her movement. He still would not let her go, or escape from his hold. Her heart continued to beat hard with racing thoughts.

"Tell me." Sakura whispered.

The young lord sighed when he heard her demand and questioned himself in his mind. While the silence from him stretched, Sakura was about to try to pull away until she heard him speak.

"I would have killed you then had he not stopped me." Gaara murmured.

Sakura's eyes widened and mouth dropped. Now she knew exactly what Gaara speaking about. Her eyes wavered above her as she recalled that day.

'He remembers.' She thought.

Gaara was speaking of the day that Sakura resented him for by thinking he did not remember. It had been just a few years back when Gaara had attacked. He had her pinned on a tree with his death-crushing sand when she tried to stand up to him. She stood between him and Sasuke, ready to die for the boy she loved. As she replayed that last part in her mind, she wondered if she would still be able to stand up against Gaara with the relationship they had now. It bothered her to think of her hurting him in anyway, and in turn, she knew it bothered him knowing he had hurt her at that time. It scared her to think they had once been so distant from one another that they would have killed the other given the chance.

'That's why he keeps apologizing.' Sakura thought, her eyes wincing.
'It's been bothering him what he did to me.'

It had not been too long ago that Sakura hated Gaara for barely acknowledging her. She despised him for not recognizing her as the girl he once tried to kill. She had been wanting an apology from him for years, and grew angry when none ever came. Especially when she heard he called Naruto friend. She thought he thought so little of her to just completely forget her, or not recognize her as the young, pink haired girl. Now that they were closer, she had done her best to forget that day like she thought Gaara had and give him the benefit of doubt.

But he had remembered, and she was finally given the apology she had waited so long for.

'He remembered.' She thought.
'He always knew who I was. I am someone he recognized!'

She couldn't understand why, but she was overjoyed. She was happy to know she wasn't someone that was easily forgotten. The distance her and Gaara once shared didn't stop him from acknowledging her. It was all of this, that made hot tears begin to fall from Sakura's face.

She did impact his life.

As soon as she felt her salty tears touch her lips, Sakura brought her hands to cover her mouth. She did her best to stifle her sobs and cease her crying, but shook harder every time she tried to hold back. She berated herself in her mind for being this happy.

When Gaara heard a choke reach his ears, he quickly let go of Sakura and pushed himself up on his elbows to look at her. His eyes went round the moment he saw her red nose and wet face. He watched as she covered her face in her hands and turned her head to the side, trying to hide that fact that she was crying in front of him. The young man felt himself begin to panic when he saw her tears. Had he upset her again? He began to grow angry at himself for stealing that smile away from her. He wanted her to only look at him with happy eyes, and to never bring further harm to the one he called friend.

"-ank you." She tried to speak through her choked sobs.

Gaara's uneasiness settled somewhat to her thanks, yet her tears still fell freely down her face.

"Thank you!" Sakura said a little more loudly, she wanted to make sure Gaara knew how much this had meant for her.
"You don't know...how long I've waited to hear that!"

After her words, Sakura let out another wail. Perhaps it was because she was both tired and stressed, but it added to her sudden happiness and made the water works all the more powerful. She sniffed and blubbered, trying hard to make the drops stop. By now, she knew she was an unruly sight, and she was embarrassed to be seen by Gaara like this. She did her best then to wipe her still pouring eyes, which fell like the rain outside the window, before pulling herself away from him. She was going to try to leave for her room, but was stopped short when the young man noticed her motive and gripped her hip hard.

In silence, Gaara watched her cry. He was confused and upset that his apology had made her so perturbed. It wasn't what he wanted from her at all. He wanted her happy, her smile, her friendship, her recognition, everything she could offer him. In these past days she had shown him her personal kindness, and general concern for him always. She went out of her way for him, someone who didn't deserve any of that from her when he had done nothing but brought her pain in the past. He was starting to become dependent on her happiness these past days. So to see her cry was like a blow to him.

Unsure how to as he was, Gaara did his best to return the warms feelings that she gave him. She thanked him, told him how much that apology had meant, but each tear she let out was like a heavy hit to his chest. And there were a lot of tears pouring out of the rosette. He wanted to apologize again for making her cry like this, but worried it would just have the same effect and make her cry more. Yet, he wanted to see those tears disappear. To know that she could always smile when around him, that he could make her just as happy as she made him. His mind was still fuzzy, but he leaned over the crying girl.

"Stop crying." He said.

He cursed himself in his mind. His voice had come out more demanding than with the sincerity he was feeling, and, of course, Sakura made no attempt to silence her tears to his words. Gaara again watched her while she shielded her eyes from him. He tapped his fingers against her waist, wondering what he could do to make her stop.

"I'm...sorry." Sakura did her best to speak.
"I'm trying...to...stop."

Gaara winced to her words. Why was she apologizing to him? He was the one who had caused all this. While her wails continued, he could feel his heart sink lower and lower until finally his hand reached for her chin. As he plucked her chin in his fingers, he slowly turned her head towards him, and Sakura did not struggle to his hold. She still, however, would not let her hands fall from her eyes and instead sniffed as the young man held and stared down at her.

"Stop." Gaara said again, his voice a little more soft and pleading.

When Sakura still did not heed, he tried again.

"Please."

Sakura hiccuped a few before settling somewhat. She wiped at her eyes before looking up at Gaara above her. The tears still came from her, but she stifled herself best while the two looked into one another. She did her best to apologize with her eyes.

When Gaara looked at her swollen, red eyes, and nose, his heart lifted some. He watched her sniffle and quiver while he held her chin in his fingers still. Her eyes sparkled brilliantly even in the dark, and her green orbs glistened more from her wet tears. He watched as Sakura licked some of her salty drops that had traveled down to her rosy buds. His heart beat faster when her lips trembled slightly and were a little more plump from his grip on her chin. Tearing his eyes from her lips and looking back at her emerald eyes, the young lord could only think of how much he wanted to feel her lips against his. The attraction and lust he felt for her earlier was now returning.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered before leaning towards her.

Sakura gasped when she heard Gaara whisper and begin to lean his lips towards her. She was mostly caught off guard by his sudden compliment. She knew she was a hot mess at the moment. Her tears had made her eyes, and face, swollen and red. Her hair was askew from drying out in the open air, and she kept sniffling to make sure nothing would drip from her nose. In short, she was undignified in her mind.

Yet, Gaara had deemed her beautiful.

She had never been called that title from anyone but her parents. To finally hear it from someone as powerful and passive as Gaara made her heart skip a beat, and she knew deep down inside of her that it shouldn't have taken her this many years for someone to regard her as that. She wondered if the redhead would have done this much sooner had they lived in the same village. How was it, she thought, that this powerful leader on top of her could find the beauty she had in her within days while she waited years for another to notice.

'He's so kind to me.' Sakura thought.
'Gaara is too good for me.'

Sakura held nothing back when she arched her head slightly back to meets with his lips. Sensing that she was reaching for him, Gaara did not stop himself from gently placing his buds against her's. The rosette sighed when she felt his lips touch hers. As she had thought earlier, it had been long overdue, and she felt no regret when she remembered that this was her first kiss. His lips were barely on hers, and she knew he was being cautious once more, afraid of her pushing him away or rejecting him.

It was more like a quick peck before Gaara pulled back, his eyes never left hers while he tried to read her face. Had he done it right, he wondered. The act of kissing always looked simple enough to him, just press two lips together and call it a day. Never before had he felt such a strong desire to kiss anyone, but her. Yet, when the time came, he now panicked whether he had done what others had been privileged to learn so early on. He again cursed his childhood, and studied Sakura still while she fluttered her eyes open to meet his. Her lips were still puckered from their kiss, and he had done his utmost to hold back from melting into her beautiful lips again. Her eyes were lidded, a sensual look on her face while she stared up at him, and he could feel a desperate lustful need building inside of him.

"That was my first kiss." Sakura whispered.

At her words, Gaara's heart fluttered now knowing he had been her first.

'I want to be her only.' His growled possessively in his mind.

However, that predatory sense dropped and instead anxiety began to rise in Gaara. Had he done something unforgivable to her again? Had she been saving that kiss for someone else? Had he kissed her wrong that she be offended? It had been his first kiss too, and it worried him she might want someone with more experience.

"Did I do it right?" He finally asked.

Sakura had to clear her fuzzy mind to make sure she had heard Gaara correctly. His kiss had sent her into a new, euphoric high. Like a drug, she wanted more and knew this was something she could easily become addicted to. The butterflies in her stomach tickled, and she wanted to giggle at the sensation. She licked her lips while staring at Gaara, who seemed a little shaken at the ordeal.

'Was this his first kiss too?' She wondered.
'He does distance himself from people knowing him personally.'

While she stared up at Gaara, she remembered that the towel only covered her body still and a warm blush spread across her cheeks. She had let no man become this close to her her whole lifetime, how was it Gaara was able to sneak by in just one night? Again, she licked her lips, savoring the taste of Kazekage on them before nodding.

"You did it right." Sakura practically breathed out, feeling warm envelop her again.

Sakura wanted to giggle when she saw a small smile spread on Gaara's face. She knew this was a smile only she had seen, and she hoped it would stay that way. She was also surprised that he was relaxed enough around her to actually let her see it.

'Doesn't that usually come first before a kiss?' Sakura thought, but shrugged it off.

Gaara was different, and she didn't mind that she was given a kiss by him before a smile. When Gaara returned his eyes to Sakura's, his gaze fell to her lips and his smile disappeared behind the tongue he used to wet his lips.

"Again." He murmured.

Sakura nodded quickly, desperate to taste him again as much as he was of her. She arched her head back while he leaned down towards her. His kiss was quick again, yet he wasted no time leaning into her lips for a third time. Sakura knew he was again being cautious, yet trying to learn. He would taste her then pull back before diving again into her rosy buds. The rosette merely lay there, keeping her lips puckered while he quickly went back and forth between the kisses. She couldn't help but laugh inside her mind when the fast pace made a smacking noise escape from their lips.

His small kisses were many that Sakura soon lost count, yet she felt the butterflies in her stomach mold into something bigger and hotter. She was beginning to feel a heavy heat engulf her, and her body began to scream for something more.

When Gaara tore away from another quick peck, Sakura rested her head back to look at him and he understood her cue to take a moment to breathe. It wasn't until she saw how heavy Gaara was breathing did she realize how out of breath she felt as well. His skin too glistened with light sweat, and Sakura was bewildered at how hot these kisses were making them.

'Is this why people are always craving sex?' She thought.

Sakura had to admit to herself, the thought of having Gaara inside of her was starting to become welcoming. She rubbed her thighs together, trying to rid of the hot need she felt there. She had just barely let him kiss her, she shouldn't be wanting more of him this soon and this badly, right? Hell, he didn't even start calling her Sakura until an hour ago. In her mind, it sounded as though they were rushing into this, yet her body cried at her to hurry and do more.

"Want me to open a window?"

Gaara's question brought Sakura out of her thoughts, and she shook her head to answer him no. In honesty, she just wanted him. She drew her lips to a small pucker before stretching her arms out to him. A silent invitation for him, and he received it in understanding. He wasted no time drawing himself down towards the rosette again for a kiss, only this time her hands held him in at the sides of his neck. When his lips touched hers for a few seconds, he was about to pull back like he did before, but Sakura's hands and arms instead laced around his thick neck and she pulled him in more. Their kiss did not break while her lips grew more aggressive and demanding.

Her sudden demeanor excited the young lord, and in time he began to feel himself shaking in her hold while his lips stayed on hers. He felt a carnal desire growing bigger the longer she held him like that. As soon as he recognized it, he told his body to pull back, to stop, to tell her that her excitement was dangerously changing him into an animal that couldn't be stopped. Yet, his body did not respond, and instead he shook under her hold while his lips dove deeper into hers, pushing her head back against the pillow.

Sakura's eyes opened momentarily when she felt a change in Gaara. He was practically driving her head hard into the pillow while his lips pressed roughly against hers. It was was starting to become a little sloppy on his part, yet he kissed her with a passion she had never experienced. It was as if he wasn't getting enough of her and digging deeper into her to find more. She could tell his hungry urges from before were returning, hell she even felt like asking him to take it a step further, but knew it was inappropriate still. It wasn't until the young man placed a hand on her hip, sliding it upwards, did Sakura pull back from the kiss. She drew a much needed breath in then, tasting the alcohol on her lips from Gaara.

'Shit! Get it together, Sakura!'

Sakura mentally reprimanded herself for letting them get this heated. Had she forgotten the lord on top of her was drunk?

'Does this mean all of this was in vain?' Sakura wondered.

Before she could think further, she gasped when his hand began to rub the outer part of her thigh. It didn't take him long to stroke his fingers up towards her bottom, another gasp escaped her when she felt Gaara cup a cheek before sliding his hand back down her thigh.

At her gasp, Gaara leaned in once more to try to steal a kiss, but Sakura quickly turned her head to side. So instead of her mouth, he buried his lips and head into the crook of her neck. He gently lay kisses on her hot, damp skin while his hand continued to stroke her thigh and back up to her bottom.

Sakura wasn't sure what she should do at the moment. She had given Gaara her first kiss, and she lay in bed with him naked with only the towel and darkness around them masking that fact. She was letting him taste her soft, skin; staining it with his alcohol scented saliva, and letting him touch her in places she had vowed only to let her husband do.

'I have to stop this.' Sakura told herself.

She brought her hands to Gaara's chest to push him back. To tell him to cease. Instead, she kept her shaking hands on his bare torso while his kisses laced up and down her neck. His hands were starting to become more daring. His thumb would occasionally roll from her outer thigh to her inner, making the heat Sakura felt there burn more.

'Stop.' She said in her mind, unable to voice it.

Did Gaara not understand that his curious hands, and lips, were dangerously sending Sakura over the edge? That she was walking on a thin line between giving it all in, and holding back.

"Gaara." Sakura whispered, unsure if she was voicing her approval or trying to end this.

Sakura felt the young lord shiver to her call, and practically purr into her before nibbling at her ear. His delicate bites traveled from her lobe, and back to her neck. When Sakura felt Gaara gently nip at her neck, she bucked her hips up to the sensation, a loud moan escaping her throat to his actions.

The malicious grin from before spread across Gaara's face. It excited him more to see her react so lawless to his touch. The young woman in his hands had been so formal, so disciplined, and so polite to him. To finally see her crack under him made his fangs grin wider and his heart race. He wanted to see what more he could get out of her, to hear her scream his name instead of whispering it into the air. He wanted to feel her bucking into him instead of the night, and to lay her lips on his body like he was doing to hers now. He wanted all of her, and he had no plans on sharing. He was going to be her first in everything. She was going to belong only to him. His Sakura. All-

"Mine." He whispered into her ear.

Sakura's only response was tilting her neck forward more so Gaara could drag his tongue against it again. She felt herself losing a battle. Shutting her eyes, she was starting to decide that tonight would be the night she would give up her virginity. She wiggled a bit when she felt his lips back on her neck, his fangs again dragging against in her delicate skin. He placed a few kisses, and nips, on her skin before whispering to her.

"Moan for me again."

Sakura opened her eyes wide to those words, a loud gasp escaping her.

'Moan for me again.' She repeated in her mind.

She was horrified that a night, when Gaara had attacked her, came back to play in her mind. That time he had her back into his chest, drinking her blood out from her shoulder. He had trapped her and encased her in a dome of his sand. A night where he had changed into a crazed monster. The words he spoke were the same, the tone as well. Sakura hated herself for remembering that dark side of him, that side was long gone now. Yet, she shook lightly in fear, and quickly tried to think of a way to calm Gaara down. She was the only one in the room with a sober mind, she had to be the responsible one and end this.

She shut her eyes hard, trying her best to concentrate while Gaara continued his cycle.

'Think, Sakura. Think. There has to be some way. You've been taught to escape almost any situation.'

It wasn't until Gaara began to pull Sakura's towel away did she snap her eyes wide open.

'I got it!' She screamed in her mind, shifting and narrowing her eyes at Gaara.

Before he could slide the towel off of her, Sakura's palm shot out in front of his face causing him to stop his gesture. He stared at her hand and fingers, blinking rapidly while he tried to comprehend what her gesture meant.

"What?" He finally asked, unable to figure it out.

Sakura used his confusion as an opportunity, pushing her palm gently onto Gaara's forehead. Like lightening, she focused her chakra into her hand, sending waves and vibrations to the young lord's head. It wasn't until his eyes grew heavy, and vision blurry did he hiss at the rosette.

"What..." He did his best to speak.
"...are you...?"

When Gaara's words became confusing, Sakura gently hushed him.

"Everything's alright. Let's get some sleep, it's been a long night for both of us."

To Sakura's gentle voice, and pleasant massage on his head, Gaara silently agreed. He let his eyelids fall, yet swayed in his spot on the bed. He was still trying hard to pull back from the gentle, and warm, sensation Sakura was now spreading throughout his entire body. He didn't want to fall under whatever spell she was putting him under. What would people say if they knew their powerful lord fell to this Konoha ninja? When he realized sleep was going to take him, he tried to curse before feeling his body fall forward.

When Sakura sensed Gaara was falling asleep, she reached out to catch him from falling face first into her. Like instinct, his hands wrapped around her waist before she brought the both of them to lay on his comfortable bed. As Sakura lay facing him, she let out a heavy breath, relief finally calming her down.

"That's one way to end a night." She whispered, brushing some strands of Gaara's hair away from his face.

Sakura bit her lip while staring still at Gaara, who slept soundlessly. His chest heaved up and down in rhythm, and Sakura felt her ego swell knowing she was able to knock out the one people labeled as 'the boy who never sleeps'. She contemplated in thought for a bit, wondering if this method could possibly help Gaara learn to sleep naturally. Before Sakura could examine her idea further, her brain rattled, warning her that now was not the time and that she return to her bed soon. She listened to the heavy rain pounding outside the window, and watched Gaara's breathing. Her hand lightly stroked one of the arms he had wrapped around her, and he clung to her like a sleeping child to their mother.

'Cute.' Sakura labeled him once more before deciding it was time to leave for her own bed.

Sakura slowly lifted herself, pushing up and sitting on the bed. She tried to be as careful as she could so as not to disturb the young lord next to her. However, as she tried to pull out of his hold, his grip around her waist tightened, and Sakura panicked.

'How is his grip so tight while he's asleep?!' She thought.

Sitting herself up on the bed, she again tried to pry Gaara's arms off of her, but froze in her spot when she heard the redhead mumble something in his sleep. His eyes fluttered open slightly to look at her, and she felt her heart sink thinking she had stirred the young lord awake. He eyed her for a moment before following his arms to her waist, and he took a moment to study them before dragging himself closer to her. Her ears perked when he again mumbled something incoherent before snaking his arms tighter around her.

Before the rosette could ask Gaara what he said, he rested his head on her thighs. Sakura watched him until she again saw his chest heaving up and down in a rhythm. She knew he had fallen asleep once more and let out a sigh of relief. However, her relief washed away when she noticed her predicament now.

Gaara held onto her tight, and her lap was now his perfect pillow. Whenever she tried to pull away from him, his hands around her tightened and he would stir in his sleep, burying his head into her legs. It didn't take long for Sakura to realize that she was stuck.

'Shit!' She cursed in her mind.

She had hoped to escape to her room before Gaara awoke. She knew it was going to be awkward for them in the morning considering what had just happened, but the thought of him stirring awake in her lap made the ordeal seem all the more worse. They were still both naked, save for the towel around Sakura. She knew her hair was a mess, and the smell of alcohol was still evident on Gaara's breath. How was the leader of this village going to react to all of that when he woke up? How long was she suppose to wait like this? In her position, she could feel her back beginning to ache and her mind screaming for sleep. Yet, the moment she tried to make any movement, Gaara would stir in his sleep and tighten his hold on her.

"Great. Now what?" Sakura mumbled miserably.

As hours passed into the night, Sakura took every opportunity she could to escape the Kazekage's hold on her. When those attempts didn't work, and when her body ached and mind grew heavy, she would shut her eyes and try to get sleep herself. She stroked at Gaara's hair, imagining she was petting some sort of furry pet to help relax her into her own dreamworld. The only effect it seemed to work on was Gaara himself though, as he would sigh occasionally when Sakura stroked his red locks, and she unfortunately remained awake throughout the whole night.

The sun never came in the morning, instead the dark clouds outside grew a little lighter. The rain had never stopped throughout the night, and as relaxing as it was, Sakura found no help from it lulling herself to sleep. What surprised her slightly was how long Gaara had managed to stay asleep. Again, she wondered how effective her technique from earlier worked on him.

'It's probably more from the alcohol.' She thought.

As morning grew later, Sakura could feel her head pounding. Her body was frozen from the cold air, and lack of clothes, and her legs had fallen painfully asleep long ago from Gaara resting on them.

'So much for catching up on my sleep.' She thought, staring at the young lord in her lap.

She stroked his hair one last time before she heard a small knock on Gaara's door. Despite the scenario she was about to be caught in, she wanted nothing more than to call out to the person on the other side of the door; To beg them for their help, even if it meant questions she would have to answer later. Her heart raced when she saw the knob turn, and familiar brown hair began to enter Gaara's room.

"Hey Gaara, how you holding up?" Kankuro spoke, keeping his eyes on the door as he shut it behind him.
"I just came up to see how you're...feeling..."

Kankuro's eyes went round to the sight in front of him. He had no idea how to fathom what was happening. However, as he saw Sakura half naked, tired and disheveled in Gaara's bed, it didn't take him long to assume what went down the night before.

"Oh shit!" He cursed, before turning his eyes away from Sakura and reaching for the door behind him.
"I'm sorry! I didn't realize!"

Opening the door, Kankuro was about to bolt out of the room, but stopped in his tracks when he heard the feeble voice behind him.

"Kankuro."

Her voice sounded so tired, and fragile, that Kankuro turned to look at her again. It was then he realized how drained, and helpless Sakura suddenly looked. This was not the fiery, feisty woman he remembered from yesterday. He took a moment to study Gaara, who lay sleeping in her lap still while she rested her hand on his head and held the towel against her with the other hand. That, too, was a completely foreign image for Kankuro to take in, and he began to worry that his younger brother had done something unforgivable last night.

Kankuro scolded himself for dropping such a big responsibility on Sakura when Gaara consumed too much. Gaara was his brother, he should have man up and let Sakura go back to enjoying her night. He just prayed Gaara hadn't hurt her in some way Kankuro would regret the rest of his life. It wasn't until Sakura mumbled to him did he refocus on her. His heart sank when he saw how beaten she was.

"Help me."