Had a hell of a week, so I'm uploading this chapter early instead of every 2 weeks. Long reviews would be very much appreciated.
Once Baki had returned to his post, Sakura bullied her charge back into laying down on the bed. Her insistence that he needed more time off his feet so as to speed up his recovery was met with a scornful snort.
"I have rested enough, Sakura."
Men of action always preferred to be on the move, their lives and bodies never stagnant as they conquered and controlled every aspect of their day-to-day existence. Gaara was such a man, always preferring to let his deeds speak for themselves over trading flowery words with his council and other political figures, though he was often forced to resort to the latter before his temper ran out.
Unfortunately, Sakura was most adamant about him staying put, the only compromise they ended up with was her allowing him to sit up against the headboard.
It was during the early hours of their fourth day alone when Sakura finally deemed that enough of the morphine had left Gaara's system; that she could trust his muscles to work properly once more and finally removed the tubes that were attached to him. However, she still insisted on helping him get around, which did his male pride no favours.
Gaara had scoffed at the comment about the morphine, clearly remembering every word that he had said to Sakura since he woke up that she dismissed and attributed to his "morphine high" with a blush on her cheeks.
When Sakura went outside for some water from the nearby well, the redhead slapped the back of his hand over his eyes as he sighed quietly. It had been very unbecoming of him in his forwardness of both words and actions with Sakura. The morphine making him relaxed enough to drop all pretence of decorum did not help; It had loosened his tongue and made him give voice to thoughts that were better buried in the deep, dark recesses of his adolescent brain.
He did, however, have a very good excuse for feeling relieved (drug side-effects aside).
Days ago, Gaara was certain that he had died on the battlefield along with the other Kage's, and the only comfort he took before he fell unconscious to fend off the searing pain was the fact that Sakura's chakra signature continued to pulse brightly a safe distance away.
Then he had woken up, body aching and head throbbing and very much alive, and the sense of respite that he had felt, seeing Sakura by his side once more… There were no words he could use to describe the feeling of rightness in his chest.
She did press a kiss to his cheek when he tried arguing against bedrest as the morning wore on, and he found himself missing her lips against his terribly. But his body was still sluggish, limbs moving as if lead weights had been strapped to them, and Sakura easily escaped his attempts to grab her and drag her into the bed.
If only she knew how badly he wanted to hold her, tuck her beside him, and never let her go.
Or maybe she knew, and that's why she skillfully manoeuvred herself out of his reach time and again, not wanting to engage in activities that would stress his body too much.
They conversed briefly between healing sessions as the fourth day wore on. His muscles were still sore, and his chest felt tight from the rapid healing induced by Sakura's chakra, but he could now ingest oral painkillers which she provided him with.
He was glad to hear that his siblings were safe, as were Sakura's friends.
He was not glad to learn that he was on a liquid diet for the next forty-eight hours at least.
Gaara's body craved nourishment to meet his recovery needs, and on top of that, he was still a growing teenager. But Sakura had insisted on clear broth (she would not even do him the courtesy of accidentally leaving some bits of vegetable behind) that she spoon-fed him with.
The Fifth Kazekage was not a prideful man, understanding the need to call upon the aid of others when required, and his personal medic did not seem to mind whiling away time as he drained his meals by the small spoonfuls.
However, Katsuyu noisily chomping down the strained vegetables and making what sounded like lip-smacking noises as Sakura fed him the plain-looking broth was really trying his patience.
And finally getting to use the bathroom was a disappointment in itself.
"No showers, no baths - not that we have those anyway," Sakura explained before she left to stand outside the bathroom, leaving him to do his toileting in privacy, "You don't need to be slipping and falling. I will give you a wipe-down every day, just as I've been doing."
Medic-nin mode Sakura was terribly professional.
What Gaara did not know was how absolutely mortified she inwardly was as she carefully scrubbed battlefield dirt and wound grim from him each afternoon, her eyes looking at her task but doing her best to not register anything beyond clinical comprehension of her patient's state.
Maybe I should have traded with Shizune, or another medic for one of the remaining Kage's, instead.
She had voiced that idea offhandedly when Gaara was being extra-persistent about walking around unaided on the fifth day, when he turned to her with a mixture of hurt and understanding in his eyes.
"We are at war right now. As such, my title as the Regimental Commander is above that of the Hokage's. I did not press it when you were first assigned to me, out of respect for her. However, if you'd like, I can issue an order that will override her mission directive, and you can return to her side to care for her," he reached out and took her chin in his hand, tilting her head towards his gaze as he drew closer, "But, I'll very much prefer if you'd stay here with me instead."
That was probably one of the longest speeches Gaara ever gave her, and she understood at once he had accidentally fallen into his politician's facade, trying to sway her towards his preferred outcome with his silver tongue. Half of her was cross at being so blatantly manipulated.
The other half of her was touched by the sincerity of his words, by him putting her needs above his own. She conveyed her gratitude at his understanding with a turn of her head to kiss his thumb.
"I'll stay," she replied, settling herself next to him in front of the warm fire at the hearth.
The way he had let out a quiet sigh of relief at her reply made her heart beat a little faster, and when she turned to face him, the sheer amount of affection that he held for her was reflected in his unblinking eyes.
Sakura allowed him to place his fingers under her chin, using them to tip her lips upwards to meet him tenderly for the first time in almost a week. The breath he huffed against her mouth as she made the first move to sweep her tongue against his lips left her feeling light-headed, and she found herself trying to stop her world from spinning by grabbing onto his flexed tripceps.
Katsuyu did not disturb them until Gaara started trying to push Sakura back onto the tatami floor. Before the kunoichi could oblige him, the slug made her presence known by bumping into the kotatsu to drop a spoon on Gaara's head.
Privacy, as mentioned, was a luxury Gaara did not enjoy.
The slug's constant insertion of herself into his personal time with Sakura was starting to wear on his nerves as well, if he was being honest with himself.
So it was on that fifth day, when Sakura was about to head outside to bring in a fresh supply of water, that Gaara requested for her to give him ten minutes in the shack with Katsuyu.
Sakura had thought nothing of the request, knowing that they were well-guarded; She had not seen even the movements of small mammals or birds since they arrived, Baki and the ANBU having kept their area free of all potential threats. Making the assumption that Gaara had matters to discuss with the War Council, she left him alone with the slug and shut the door quietly behind her.
The Regimental Commander was sitting on the bed against the headboard, and mini-Katsuyu was on his blanket next to him. They continued to stare at each other for a minute before Gaara finally realised the futility of trying to out-stare a creature with no eyelids.
"Katsuyu-san, if I may speak plainly?"
"Of course, Kazekage," responded the slug respectfully.
"I know you care very much for Sakura," he watched as the slug tilted her head, obviously not expecting the subject of the pink-hair kunoichi to come up this way, "If it is not obvious on my end, then I need to state that I care very much for her as well."
Katsuyu waggled one tentacle, prompting him to continue.
Gaara sighed, and then tipped his chin at her defiantly, "I am courting Sakura, with every aim of making her my Kazehime. I am sure you, as one who has lived as long as you have, understand that there is still a physical aspect to this. I can only do so much to convince her of my intentions through words alone. I need to woo her through actions as well."
"A complete crock of bullshit," the slug announced colourfully, startling him with her crudeness, "Shinobi's and civilians alike of a certain standing know better than to lust after one another so openly the way you have with her. If you want me to pretend that you are not just trying to get into her shorts…"
"That is my point, Katsuyu-san. I do want to be intimate with Sakura," he could feel the tips of his ears turning pink, not quite believing the nature of his argument with an animal summon, of all things; And she was the Hokage's animal summon to boot. "You have my word that I will cherish her. The shinobi world will not tolerate a Kage being flighty in his pursuits, and I will not press her into anything that she isn't absolutely certain of."
"The shinobi world," Katsuyu's voice twisted to convey a sneer, and she inched closer to Gaara, stopping just before she touched his hand that was resting on the covers, "Your meddling councilmen and their plot for Sakura, you think Shizune had not told me about it? How she had to pull extra hours to undo what your own shinobi had tried to scheme for?"
Gaara stilled, his heart rate suddenly picking up. The matter which Katsuyu had brought up was spoken to Shizune in confidence, but now that he thought about it, it made perfect sense for the Hokage's first apprentice to confide in the issue with her mentor. And in turn, Tsunade must have spoken to Katsuyu about it.
Katsuyu made a snorting sound, and said, "Don't worry, we have not told Sakura about it. Your village's shame is still safe. Every hidden village has their own covert matters that cannot be divulged, lest it affects our relations."
"Thank you," he breathed out, his eyes now downcast.
Silence stretched between them, the only noise now being the crackle of the fire from the next room.
Finally, it was Katsuyu who broke the silence, "You know the laws of the land, Kazekage. Sakura is not someone we will ever allow to have stolen from us. If Sakura ever decides to accept your courtship to its end, it will be entirely because she wanted it, and not because of…"
"I understand," he interrupted quickly, feeling Sakura's chakra signature drawing closer, "All I ask is that you think better of my actions towards her. Let me court her with all that I have to give."
"Make love to her, or whatever it is you wish to do, Kazekage," the slug's cool tone should not make him feel so chastised even as his face burnt red, "As long as she is agreeable, I see no reason to interfere further. After all, she is a kunoichi. And more than capable of deciding for herself what she wants."
Gaara nodded mutely to the slug, and kept his head down in a somewhat shame-faced bow. Katsuyu, in turn, simply twitched her tentacles and slithered towards the end of the bed. She hit the floor with a wet plop, and continued her way towards the front door that Sakura was now entering from, lugging along a full bucket of water.
"Katsuyu-sama?"
The slug gave her a small wave of her tentacles and made her way out into the snowy drifts, mumbling quietly to herself the entire time.
Sakura, quite befuddled by the slug's actions, turned to Gaara with hands on her cocked hips as she asked, "Did you two get into a fight? I know that Katsuyu-sama is a little over-protective of me at times, but are you guys forgetting that I am the one that has to agree to anything to begin with?"
The place where Sakura's mind took her to was so very revealing of her own desires that Gaara had to stifle a smirk, his earlier worries fading away at the sound of her voice.
"We were not speaking about you so crassly, Sakura," Gaara rebuked, causing her eye to twitch at his obnoxiously self-satisfied look, "Though, Katsuyu-san has given her word that she will respect your wishes from now onwards."
Sakura pretended to be annoyed by his words even as she pinked, and spun away haughtily to place the bucket next to the kotatsu. Her actions caused her hair to float in a graceful arc around her, and Gaara inclined his head as he took it in.
"Your hair is getting long," he noted when she turned back to face him.
His comment caused her to lift a hand to the back of her head, and Sakura swept her locks forward to peer down at them. Her hair was indeed longer, slipping seven or so centimetres past her shoulders. It would explain why she had been forced to tuck her lengthening fringe back more often now.
"I guess I've not paid much attention to it for a while," she remarked as she pulled out ingredients to prepare for his soup that night. The slice of cured ham that she used for flavouring was set to the side, and it made his mouth water. When Sakura's lips turned upwards in a smile at his stomach's telling rumbling, he glowered at his own body's betrayal.
"Your recovery is on track, Gaara. If you are good, you can have something solid tomorrow morning. I don't want you to have an upset stomach tonight."
Gaara turned away, scowling lightly, "You are enticing me, Sakura. I don't respond well to temptations being waved around in front of me."
The way their eyes met briefly as his words were spoken, the way his tongue dragged over the word 'temptation'...
"Do you prefer my hair short, or long?" Sakura skillfully deflected his heated gaze with words once more.
This dance: one moment heated, and the next cooling their ardour, she was at least comfortably familiar with.
She almost dropped her knife in surprise when she felt his long fingers tangled in the hair at the back of her head; Somehow, she forgot how quietly the powerful Kage could move, and that she only heard Gaara's footfall when he wanted her to.
When his fingertips slipped forward to drag a caress down the back of her neck, her involuntary shiver gave them both pause.
"I remember how long your hair used to be when we were genin," his voice grew soft as his mind conjured up his first memories of her, "I thought it was foolish for a kunoichi to have such long hair without bundling it up. It would give your enemies something to grab onto, to drag you down with them."
Sakura nodded, trying to steady her hand as she resumed chopping the vegetables in front of her. She sighed as she recalled her motivation for growing her hair long in the first place, having always favoured the freedom of a shorter hairstyle since she was a little girl.
"I grew my hair out after I learnt that a certain shinobi preferred girls with long hair. Silly, isn't it?" She could not help but smile at how simple she was as a genin, right up till the day she had to choose between vanity and duty to her teammates.
"To answer your question, I have no preference," Gaara's words drew her attention away from her spiralling memories of her Uchiha teammate, "You are stunning, either way."
Him tugging a lock of her hair towards himself to softly kiss should not cause the hairs at the back of her neck to prickle so heatedly, but it happened anyway.
"Really? You would consider a long-haired woman in the same light as one with short hair?" Gaara cocked a naked eyebrow at her question, and she teasingly added, "Or if a woman chose to give herself a pixie cut so it would be easier to wear a wig for a mission?"
"Sakura, I honestly don't have a preference either way," his voice was low, husky even as he continued, "But, with longer hair, it will certainly give me something to hold onto while I-"
The loud slam of the knife handle against the wooden cutting board served as a good interruption to whatever Gaara was about to propose; Sakura knew that the day that they would become more physical was surely not too far off, but Gaara's level of intensity towards her had been turned up to an all-new high since his confrontation with Madara.
She finally understood what Ino had meant about the unpredictability of the war, and how it propelled her to shed her innocence with Kiba. She came too close to losing Gaara for comfort, and there was no use in further denying what they both wanted, traditions be damned.
Turning to face him, she gazed firmly into his eyes. Her boldness at returning his stare made the knot in his chest a little tighter and warmer than before.
"When you are better," she offered.
"When you are ready," he countered, as he was honour-bound to remind her.
They slipped back into silence, the only sounds in the room coming from Sakura' preparation of dinner; Broth again, unfortunately, which she ate with unreasonable gusto.
Too professional, Gaara's mind supplied stubbornly.
Knowing that it would take her a while to finish cooking, and that she would refuse his offer of assistance with the threat of forcing him back into bedrest (he tried that four times already, each with the same result), Gaara turned back to the bedroom to go through the few scrolls that Baki had brought for him that morning.
Disappointingly, there had been no new development on the warfront in regards to Naruto and Killer Bee. It was now obvious that the two Jinchuuriki were deliberately led on a merry chase around the continent by their fellow Jinchuuriki's to leave the Allied Shinobi Forces exposed, and once there was no chance in hell either one of them could return to the encampment without at least a week of hard travel, Madara chose that moment to strike.
Naruto had to have met his fellow Jinchuuriki by now, if Akatsuki pushed for a confrontation after taking out the Kage's. But with them so far away, there was no way to communicate with Naruto or Killer Bee telepathically. It was a matter of waiting for the Allied Shinobi Forces' messenger birds to make contact with them, or if they had done so already, for the birds to return to the War Council.
Shikamaru's report indicated that they were almost done relocating both their camp and the headquarters to a region closer to the northern borders of the Land of Fire. Gaara himself was uncertain that it was wise, given how close that was to the Land of Lightning, which was where they lost the most of their men to the White Zetsu army. But that decision had to have come down from the War Council, and he had to trust them to make the most prudent choice.
The report from Inoichi was much more troubling.
They were down to less than twenty-four thousand men.
Seven months into the war, and they had lost over two-thirds of their number. There could be no request for more shinobi to join their ranks, as all able-bodied shinobi had been drafted for the war at the very beginning. Only those under sixteen had been spared from that draft, and while he had the authority to call up those who have since turned sixteen to the front lines, he found that a most distasteful idea.
I will not be the one sending these young lives to the slaughter.
There would be those among them that would be more than capable of fighting for the entirety of the shinobi world's peace, but those were odds that he did not deem favourable at all. He would not allow them to turn back the clock to calling up child soldiers like they did during the First Shinobi World War.
Not quite forgetting the irony of how he had become a Kage when he was not even fifteen.
None of these reports merited a reply from him; most of them had been information for him to digest, to keep him up to speed with the progress of the Allied Shinobi Forces while he recovered. That left Gaara with a span of free time before Sakura was done with dinner.
He decided to take in the outside view through the lone window in their bedroom. Sakura had kept it slightly cracked, to allow fresh air to circulate inside their shack while keeping the chilly winds out.
Unintentionally, he leaned forward, bending slightly at the waist as he took a deep breath.
The smells from the outside filled his lungs, a maelstrom of different scents seeping into the underlying crispness of the snow blanketing the landscape. He could make out a distinct tang of saltiness in the air, most likely from the nearby ocean. There was a hint of moist earth as the snow melted under the sun and re-froze at night, and it reminded him of clean mud.
And of course, the ever-present, subdued sweetness of pomegranates that he had come to associate with a certain kunoichi that lingered everywhere.
"Gaara?"
He was surprised that he had closed his eyes in focus while taking in those smells, and he turned his head to nod an acknowledgement to Sakura. He watched as she set the bowl of broth and spoon down on the small table next to his bed before she approached him to stand next to him.
"I imagine you get snow in Konoha?" He queried.
Sakura nodded, observing the slight wistfulness in his jade-green eyes. "Does it not snow in Suna?"
She learnt that while extremely rare, if the conditions were met, it was possible for snow to fall in the desert.
Gaara shook his head, explaining, "I don't think it has snowed in Suna in over two decades. The first time I encountered snow was on a mission when I was about eight or so. I hardly even remember what it was like, except that it was cold. A teammate tried to instigate a snowball fight."
The idea of Gaara as a boy lobbing a snowball made her smile. "Who won?"
His eyes darkened, and his voice dropped to a quiet rumble, "Shukaku."
Oh.
There was no need to dredge up any further memories of that mission, and Sakura found herself desperately trying to turn his mind towards something more pleasant. His arms were hanging by his side, but she could see the tension forming in his shoulder blades.
Bringing up the warm broth was not going to cut it, seeing how much he disliked his mandatory liquid diet. She needed a real distraction.
"We can go outside afterwards," Sakura suggested, and noted with satisfaction at the way his eyes had widened slightly in surprise, "The fresh air will do you good."
"I remembered travelling in the snow to speak with Naruto after the Five Kage Summit. My siblings and I felt woefully underdressed for the weather. It won't be too cold?" There was a hint of uncertainty in his voice even as his eyes lit up earnestly, and Sakura knew better than to smile at it, lest he misconstrued it as her making fun of him for his desert ancestry.
"We can stay out for a little while as long as we wrap ourselves up. Besides, we are near the coast, and it doesn't get as cold as it does inland."
Gaara's quick nod of agreement reflected his eagerness at this new experience, and it sent a little spark of thrill down her spine, knowing that she could show him a different side of the snowy world outside; A memory that would provide a comforting alternative to the one of his first winter as a child.
Baki arrived for her evening report soon after dinner was done and the dishes put away. The jonin brought no new missives, and so was taken aside by Sakura to explain their plans for the night.
"It will be good for Kazekage-sama to get some fresh air," Baki nodded his agreement, "Our ANBU patrol will be informed of your plans, and they will be close by should you require anything. Of course, they do understand discretion."
"Baki-san, I promise you, I am not about to get 'rewarded' by the Kazekage," Sakura hissed in embarrassment as she politely pushed Baki towards the door.
Audaciously, the tall shinobi cocked his one visible eyebrow at her. And that made Sakura's face darken with a flush that had nothing to do with the chilly winter air.
"If you are referring to Kazekage-sama's question about how a Kazehime is rewarded by her husband, I was making reference to the Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice festivals," Baki took in her confused expression, and he too, suddenly turned slightly pink in realisation at what Sakura had assumed he was going to say previously. "The Kazekage usually has a guest that he honours during the height of these festivities, and it is usually a shinobi who made great accomplishments in the preceding six months.
"However, it is not unheard of for the Kazekage to name his wife as the honoured guest of the festivities, and it usually entails a night of merry-making in her name. That was what I meant by a night of festivities, Sakura-san."
If it was possible to punch a hole into the ground to hide herself in, Sakura would have done that. As it was, any such attempts right now would only cause an avalanche from the nearby mountains that she was woefully unprepared to deal with.
"I hope Kazekage-sama is well enough?" Baki inquired as politely as a man could, having realised that his former student and now Kage was about to become a Man.
Blissfully unaware of what Baki was implying, Sakura merely nodded. "He is recovering better than I expected. All he needs to do now is loosen up his muscles and work out any kinks. I will make sure he does not overexert himself. I will only allow him to use the most miniscule amounts of chakra should he ask."
Baki turned away as he felt heat crawl up his neck and stain his cheeks. Deciding that he had heard enough to give himself a minor stroke from the mental image of his former charge getting frisky (did his eyelid always twitched like that?), he bowed to Sakura and left without another word.
Sakura scowled at the oddity of Baki's demeanour, but deciding that nothing was amiss, returned to the shack.
And had to slap a hand over her mouth before laughter could escape her.
Gaara was sitting on the floor, pulling on a pair of winterised shinobi boots over the thick grey pants he favoured. That in itself was nothing strange, seeing that they were about to head out into the snow.
What sparked the bubble of laughter threatening to burst from her lips was the sight of the heavy, fur-lined coat that he had zipped right up to the top, and the three scarves that he had woven around his neck and the lower half of his face. The beanie with its ludicrously huge red pom was the flourish his entire outfit needed to make him look every bit a stranger to the winter wonderland outside.
"I think you need another scarf to keep your ears warm. After all, you don't want to upset Sakura by catching a cold," Katsuyu suggested helpfully from her spot on the kotatsu.
The slug's tone of mischief had escaped the Kazekage's notice, as she had never used that on him before.
Gaara's nodded agreement was lost inside the bundle of scarves, even as he asked, "But won't I end up covering my eyes?"
"Just pull the scarves down in front. Make a hood out of the scarves," replied Katsuyu cheerfully.
Ok, this was getting out of hand.
"Katsuyu-sama," Sakura rebuked.
"Sakura," the slug acknowledged her presence with affected sweetness.
Gaara turned towards Sakura, and allowed her to strip him of his scarves and beanie, his cheeks flushed from overheating inside of them. She took the zipper of his overcoat in her hand and dragged it all the way down, separating the two halves of the front of the coat so that his robe underneath was exposed.
"It's not too cold, so you won't need to zip this up until you feel otherwise," she explained kindly.
She watched out of the corner of her eye as Gaara and Katsuyu silently glared at each other while she rummaged through the pile of winter attire to find something suitable for herself. Her thin shinobi shirt and pants certainly had to be swapped out for something more appropriate. She never had to step outside the shack for more than a few minutes each day (barring Gaara's request yesterday) and thus never had to worry about her clothes getting soaked.
Form-fitting thermal wear was not what she was hoping for, Sakura realised, as she held up the plain grey leggings.
Noticing that a certain shinobi was developing an undue level of interest in what Sakura was holding up, Katsuyu offered a suggestion, "You can layer your shinobi attire on top of that, Sakura. I don't think you want to wear those on their own."
When she caught Gaara's glance, the intensity of his gaze sent her scrambling towards the bathroom to do exactly as Katsuyu suggested.
Upon emerging, the slight disappointment that she saw from Gaara's downturned lips made her raise her own eyebrows in askance. Instead of replying, Gaara merely handed her a pair of tall boots and a smaller, dark green coat.
"I'll wait outside."
Not wanting to keep the Kazekage waiting any longer than he needed to, Sakura threw on both items and rushed outside. The first breath she exhaled came out as a small puff of air that lingered before her. It was cold, certainly, seeing how fresh snow had fallen last night. She wondered how Gaara felt about the chill.
Gaara was standing next to the well, arms crossed as he quietly breathed in and out. Jade-green eyes were locked on the tiny cloud-like puffs of air that materialised in front of him with each exhale he made, and he did not look away from them.
The aura of child-like fascination he was projecting made Sakura's heart squeeze.
"I was in such a hurry when travelling in the snow the last time that I barely remember much of it. All I remembered was how cold it was," he remarked dryly. The impending war had been at the back of his mind the entire time, and there was no time to do much else except to hurriedly traverse the lands to reach Naruto and back in preparation for aggressions; There was no time to sight-see or take in the true majesty of winter.
Then he shifted from one booted foot to the next, letting the sound of crunching snow under his feet permeate the air around them. "It's tricky to walk in."
"I imagine it is a bit like walking on water, or sand. The topmost layer of snow can easily give way, so you need to be careful."
Gaara nodded at the explanation, and she watched as he directed a small flow of chakra into his feet. His legs straightened out a little more as he found stable footing, and he threw her a smirk as he asked, "Not going to scold me for using my chakra?"
Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "I'd rather you use it, than to worry about you slipping and hurting yourself."
He took a few experimental steps, circling the well as he adjusted the amount of chakra to use in this unfamiliar terrain, and finally came to a stop in front of Sakura.
"Where to?" He breathed out, focusing on the little cloud as it dissipated between them.
"There is a small clearing in that direction that isn't too far away," she pointed towards a knot of pine trees, "I think I saw some rabbit warrens there."
They were most likely cleared out by the ANBU already, but on the off-chance that some rabbits still lingered, they might be able to snag something for tomorrow's meal. Baki had kept them well-supplied with nutritious food, but fresh meat that was not seafood was harder to come by in this more impoverished region.
Gaara nodded to her, and they made their way towards the clearing at a leisurely pace. Along the way, she pointed out a shrub or two, explaining how she might have use for them. He would pluck the occasional leaf at her behest, letting her enthusiasm infect him as she drew his attention to the medicinal use for those.
Meanwhile, Gaara was stealthily casting out his chakra, trying to probe for the presence of his ANBU team that he knew was trailing behind them. He recognised all six of their chakra signatures, having worked closely with his ANBU who served as his security detail in Sunagakure. Most of them he knew he could trust, except for the one that was following them closer than the others.
The one whose mouth cloth had a streak of black on it, its placement making the man behind it look as if he was wearing a lop-sided grin; whose loyalty laid more with the Suna Council than with him.
"Gaara, don't touch those. The berries are poisonous," Sakura darted over to Gaara's side when she saw that he had unwittingly reached for the cluster of bright red fruits on a holly bush.
He was holding several of the red berries in his hands, and Sakura instinctively knocked them out of his loose grasp.
Except one berry still lingered on the tip of his finger.
"Oh," her exclamation was caught in her throat, "You're bleeding."
Gaara's small, sharp grunt showed that he was just as surprised as she was to find his blood so easily spilt. He must have snagged his finger against one of those prickly leaves that he was only now noticing, and he cursed himself for getting distracted.
"You have to be more careful when you're not wearing your Sand Armour," Sakura admonished as she dabbed away the blood with a handkerchief she had thought to bring with her.
"I believe I can lay that blame solely on you," the corner of Gaara's lip curled upwards as he recalled how he had instinctively tried to re-apply his Sand Armour after Sakura had removed the tubings from him, only to be stopped by the reprimand that he needed to conserve and replenish his chakra after his near-death encounter. His Sand Amour, while immensely useful in defending him, was a constant drain on his chakra and further slowed down his already sluggish movements.
"That's true," she admitted. She continued holding his hand even as she tucked the handkerchief away, and led him onwards to their destination.
Gaara, unfamiliar with the sensation of touch without a layer of his protective sand between them, felt almost scorched by the warmth of her hand as she held his larger grip in hers. The difference between them in terms of their physical size, once barely even noticeable, was now strikingly obvious. His growth spurt in the past few months had given him close to twelve centimetres over her, and it did not seem to be stopping anytime soon.
As such, it struck him as being extremely comical, the way in which he was being led around by this wisp of a kunoichi. Not that he would ever say that out loud, of course. While Sakura's build appeared that of an average kunoichi's, she held the strength of a hundred shinobi in her pinky alone.
And she was all his to call his own, he realised with no small measure of pride.
"Are you cold?" Sakura asked when she felt the uncontrolled shiver from him.
The Kazekage shook his head, and Sakura looked ready to just take both fronts of his coat to zip it up when he announced, "We're here."
So they were.
When Sakura finally let go of his hand to step further into the clearing, he felt a small pang of annoyance.
It was quickly quieted at the sight of her - pink hair haloed by the setting sun's rays, her emerald-green eyes almost sparkling as she took careful steps on the unmarked snow. Her skin had taken on a milky-white appearance under the contrast of her dark coat, making her look ethereal and dream-like.
Then she turned around to face him, beckoning him with a smile and a wave of her hand; his personal saint and salvation.
Sakura was not expecting Gaara to practically collide into her, capturing her cheeks in his hands as he pressed their foreheads together. He had closed his eyes as he leaned further forward, his nose now bumping against hers as he breathed out her name.
"Sakura."
So softly; so reverently.
In that moment, the dam that held back her emotions for the past week finally broke, and before she could stop herself, Sakura was crying streams of tears against his hold.
"Gaara, you were… you…" she hiccuped back as she slipped her hands under his coat to encircle his back, pulling him close enough to press their chests together; To feel the strong heartbeats inside of him against her answering ones.
To realise how close she came to losing him.
When he finally touched his lips to hers and poured all of his emotions in her accepting mouth, she tightened her grip, and moulded herself further into him. He had swiped his tongue gently against her lips, but did not press for more, instead revelling in the way she bestowed him a rapid succession of small kisses.
As if each one professed another lifetime she was giving to him. Another chance to share something beyond the duration of her mission to him.
"I won't leave you again," he promised with a fervent nip against her lower lip, knowing that it was a foolish thing to swear to her given their stations, as he tipped her head to slant his mouth over hers more readily.
Sakura had no eloquence to summon to her vocal cords right now even as she desperately wanted to correct him that she was the one who almost lost him, instead settling for a nod that he could feel against his cheeks as he continued to kiss her senseless.
Gaara never progressed past tasting her lips. She didn't ask for more, either.
Eventually, the furor of his kisses slowed and finally subsided, though Gaara kept their foreheads pressed together as his arms linked tightly around her waist, keeping her entire torso against his. When Sakura peeked up at him through her eyelashes, she found herself entranced by the luminous quality of his jade-green eyes as he gazed into hers.
"Your eyes," she whispered, "They almost seem to glow."
Gaara smiled, one hand coming around to tip her head upwards so that she would meet his gaze full-on.
"Is that all you have to say?" There was a hint of cockiness as he regarded her, his lips ghosting against hers.
Sakura closed her eyes, then gazed up at him, sincerity rich in her voice even as she giggled, "You are very handsome as well, Gaara."
His answering chuckle pressed his lips briefly against hers before he drew back enough to whisper into her ear, "A very apt observation, but I suppose I should not be surprised. You are, after all, the most intelligent kunoichi I have the pleasure of knowing."
Sakura's reply was a poke of her finger right on his nose.
Or it would have been, if he had not lifted his head to quickly and carefully clamp the offending digit between his teeth.
The heat in his eyes as he dragged his tongue against the pad of her finger spoke of pleasures still unknown to them both, but it was something that they were rapidly finding themselves confronted with.
Whatever Gaara's intentions were with her, they went unheeded when a small motion registered in her periphery. Sakura instinctively tossed the kunai in her sleeve in the direction of the movement, and blood bloomed on the previously spotless snow as a good-sized rabbit twitched and kicked uselessly against the embedded kunai.
Gaara spared her kill only a moment of his attention before turning it back fully to her.
"That's my girl," he praised against the curve of her ear.
He felt more than he saw the sudden tension in her shoulders, and became concerned at once.
"Are you ok?"
Sakura nodded as she released the breath she was holding. The sight of the dying rabbit did not bother her the way it once did when she had made her first animal kill as a genin, even if it continued to irk her that she had to kill an innocent animal in order to obtain fresh meat on their missions in the wilderness.
That was not the cause of her mortification.
It was the discovery that she liked hearing such an affirmation from her lover, that it made her loins burn and her palms sweat.
"We should take this back, so I can prepare it for tomorrow," Sakura announced as she carefully extracted herself from his loosened hold.
She resolutely ignored the curious glances from Gaara as they made their way back to the shack, carefully keeping her face hidden from his view until she was certain that her cheeks were no longer able to betray her.
Sakura would normally have dressed her kill on the spot, to prevent the meat from turning. However, she was not as pressed for time given the cold climate that they were in. And she was also not expecting Gaara to pry the rabbit away from her.
"You killed it, I'll dress it."
It was a fair division of labour, and after handing him the now-empty insulated box that was once used to store the vials of morphine (good riddance), Sakura went to boil some water so they could make hot drinks with.
Skinning the rabbit was easy enough a task, the white fur coming away in one piece as he peeled it away from the animal's flesh after making a precise slit. As he picked up the hunting knife that Sakura had set aside for him, he paused, realising that he would end up getting the rabbit's blood all over the tatami mats. Not that it mattered much, seeing how stained and worn down the mats already were.
Still, he was no barbarian. So he took both the rabbit and the insulated box outside in the opposite direction of the well and continued preparing it there. The faint glow of firelight from inside the shack provided sufficient luminescence for him to complete his task, and he was packing its now-clean insides with fresh snow by the time Sakura came out to find him.
"Green tea ok?" She asked, watching him place the cleaned rabbit inside the box.
Gaara's reply was a nod. When he turned to look up at her, she could see his eyes focusing on something beyond her head, and that caused her to turn in the direction of his gaze.
"The stars look different here," he remarked quietly.
He was used to seeing the night skies from his village, the occasional insomnia leaving him with little else to do on most nights. It was a habit he picked up as a child, and even on the nights when his duties seemed to dog him in the form of an endless stream of paperwork, he would still make time to see the moonrise, and inevitably, the sunrise as well.
That was how he recognised the alignment of the constellations looked different in the Land of Waves. In addition, the stark whiteness of the fallen snow surrounding them bathed the landscape in a strange bluish-white glow, and that made the stars look even brighter.
"Will the roof hold us?"
Sakura whipped her head around to face him at the odd question he raised, wheels turning in her head before she finally frowned, "You want to lay on the roof to star-gaze? Right now?"
"No, not immediately," Gaara smiled softly at her as he handed her the box, "It will be more prudent to warm up first, then perhaps we can use your present up there."
The wheels inside her head were now spinning so fast, they threatened to derail her brain entirely.
They had established early on that the sleeping bag would only comfortably hold one adult, so Gaara was essentially proposing that they both squeeze inside it to stay warm. That inevitably translated to full-on body contact.
That idea should not make her cheeks warm so much.
"Please?"
There was no way to deny a request from a Kage, especially if he was being so polite about it. Gaara had his hands clasped together behind his back and was radiating authority even as he leaned forward slightly - a contrasting display of humility and command.
He did not have to try to sway her; She was not against the idea to begin with.
"Since you're so nice about it, sure," Sakura tried to sound casual as she turned back towards the shack.
While their tea was steeping, and Gaara busied himself with washing his hands, Sakura climbed onto the roof of their shack carefully from the side. Baki had ordered their ANBU to keep the roof free of snow as far as possible, as they dared not risk the snow caving in the roof. She had no idea how much weight the roof could hold, as it looked pretty flimsy from the inside.
It would not do to simply use a chakra-boosted jump to make her way up there, as she had no idea of the condition of the roof, and she did not need to cause it to cave in while Gaara was still recovering. If they ended up needing a new place to hide for the next few days, it would probably earn her a rebuke from the War Council at the very least.
A few taps of her foot against it told her of the beams underneath the worn-looking tiles, and while they did squeak a little, they did not sag at all. Sakura supposed it would hold their combined weight, provided that they did not do something ridiculous. Perhaps by engaging in a spar or something similar.
Sakura decided not to think too hard about what the other 'somethings' might be.
Satisfied with her findings, she went back into the living area through the front door, where Gaara poured out two cups of tea and had removed his overcoat in the meantime. He patted the ground next to himself, and together, they drained their cups. Sakura filled up the space between them with stories of her childhood winter escapades, and Gaara had smiled the widest at the one involving Naruto and a princess-turned actress whom her genin team had to escort back to the Land of Snow.
"I never knew that Naruto had a celebrity crush," Gaara chuckled, "I always thought that his attention span could only hold two things at a time: becoming the Hokage and eating ramen."
"Fighting and eating. That's Naruto for you," she snickered in reply, "He is driven by very human instincts, and if you understand that, you will find him an easy party to negotiate with when the time comes, Kazekage."
"It would not be very befitting of a Kage to be ruled by basic instincts alone. Naruto will need his personality to be tempered with diplomacy and patience, in order to reach an outcome that is satisfactory to both parties."
Why did it sound like Gaara was not talking about Naruto anymore?
"Well," Sakura gathered up the now empty tea cups and tea pot, "If you wish to star-gaze, Gaara, then we will need to do so before it gets too cold. It might even end up snowing on us if we linger too late."
"I'll meet you up there with the sleeping bag," Gaara swept to his feet, holding a hand out to help her out.
Sakura took note that his movements seemed to have become more fluid since their short trek today - the fresh air and movements must have done him more good than she expected.
She allowed herself to be lifted to her feet, and raised an eyebrow at Gaara when he did not let go of her hand.
"Patience," she reminded him, as she bumped her hip against his to push away.
Gaara's answering chortle should not make her blood hotter than it already was, but it did, anyway.
Gaara's cheeks hurt.
Massaging his left cheek lightly with his hand, he wondered if the ache had anything to do with how many times he had smiled or laughed today. In more recent years, feelings of joy and happiness came easier to him, but he was still a guarded man. In the dangerous world of politics, he would never dare tip his hand to his opponents by allowing emotions to cross his face; Instead, he schooled his features into polite indifference when in public.
That unfortunate habit carried on into his private life, as he knew early on as a Jinchuuriki and then as a Kage that his life was not his own to live. His actions and expressions were subjected to the scrutiny of everyone else both above and below his station even during his off-hours, with everyone waiting for him to slip up so they could try to sway him at the first sign of weakness.
Until the day when one kunoichi showed up - a friend of a friend, just half a year ago. She stood out not just because of her unusual appearance, but mainly due to her unusual bravery, having dared to challenge a deranged Jinchuuriki. That acknowledgement grew into admiration as he learnt how she had saved his brother's life, and eventually, she wormed her way into his mind and heart with the kindness she so readily bestowed upon all that she came to know.
Not that she had not done so before. In the early days of the war, they had polite yet frank exchanges. Still, their respective stations kept them from being too casual with each other, until Shikamaru had interfered, requesting that Gaara be sincere in his approach towards Sakura.
A spark was lit, and slowly but surely, it burnt and broke through the defences that he had built around the part of him that was once all but certain that romantic love was not in his cards; that if he was to carry on the Kazekage's bloodline, it was to be at the will of his council.
His almost-death this second time scared him more than his actual one did.
Because he knew he would be leaving half of his soul behind now.
So when they sat together tonight over tea and conversation, laughter flowing as easily as words, he knew without a doubt that it was only with her that he could finally shed the mask he wore for everyone else to see.
And if the price to pay was the more frequent usage of his facial muscles for smiling, it was not too high a price.
He just had to be more careful about when he showed this side of himself.
There were still monsters in this world, after all.
The crunching of snow as Sakura approached made the corners of his lip curl upwards once more. That she has chosen to announce her approach in the form of deliberately loud footsteps - something that a civilian would do, but not a kunoichi - served as a reminder of their similar chosen undertaking in life. And also, of how she had approached him the first time they star-gazed together.
When she landed cat-like on the roof next to him, she received a nod of acknowledgement before Gaara gestured towards the sleeping bag that he had laid out.
"Kunoichi first."
"Shouldn't it be Kage first?" She replied, unconsciously reminding him of his position above hers.
Gaara thought on her reply for a moment, and deciding that it had merit, unzipped the side of the sleeping bag and slid himself inside in one fluid movement. Once he made sure that he was tucked in as far as he could go, he shuffled as much as he could to the side to make space for Sakura.
At her tight smile, he merely tilted his head.
"You were right in suggesting I get in first. It will be easier for me to shift and adjust to you, than for us to try to figure out how I can squeeze in behind you."
"Did you just…" Sakura's voice reached an octave that she never knew she possessed before.
It took Gaara several seconds to work out what his words had implied, and to her chagrin, he simply smiled and told her, "Sometimes, there is no need to look underneath the underneath, Sakura. Now, come inside before you freeze."
Sighing more in embarrassment at herself than at Gaara's unintentionally suggestive words, Sakura sat down next to him and climbed into the sleeping bag.
Right away, she knew it was going to be a disaster.
To even fit inside the bag, they had to tangle their legs and feet together, and Gaara had obliged her by slipping a thigh between hers as she drew close. And if that was not awkward enough, she found her entire torso pressed up against his from her bosom down to her most private of places.
Gaara lifting up on his elbow to reach around her and securely zip them up before he leaned back down to watch her steadily reddening countenance was the final straw; She quickly ducked her head and pressed her forehead into his collarbone, jostling his healing side and causing him to grunt at the flare of soreness.
"Sorry," she muttered, even as her voice was swallowed up by the fabric of his robe.
He said nothing in reply, instead choosing to wrap his right arm around her shoulders to keep her from bolting, and tucked his left arm under his head as a pillow before he turned his eyes skywards.
The silence between them did not turn strained by the minutes, oddly enough. Gaara's occasional rubbing of her shoulders and his steady breathing ended up easing her, and Sakura eventually risked lifting her head from his chest to look towards the heavens as well.
"Certain constellations are easier to see in winter than in summer. You can easily pick out Orion right now," he drew his left hand in the skies, tracing out an hourglass, "In Sunagakure, we prefer to call it the Sode Boshi, as it resembles the sleeves of a noblewoman."
Sakura nodded, "In Konohagakure, the children are taught to call it Tsuzumi Boshi."
"Like the drum?"
"Exactly," she smiled, then she lifted her own hand to point at another cluster of stars, and began naming them.
In the months that they had spent star-gazing together, she had become quite the astronomer. Though this far south from their camp, the astral arrangements seemed to have shifted somewhat, and she struggled to identify a few of them.
She pointed her finger to a star that hovered somewhere in the space between them, "That's Hikoboshi, isn't it? The cowherd of the Tanabata myth."
"Yes, right over here…" he took her pointing hand in his and gently guided it further above her head, forcing her to tip her head upwards as her back arched under his ministrations, "... is Orihime."
Sakura felt a distinct swoop of heat rushing right down to the tips of her toes when she realised that Gaara had not let go of her hand, and seemed perfectly content to continue leaning over to stare unblinkingly into her eyes. He turned his linked hand slightly to lace his fingers between hers, and proceeded to hover directly over her, a thoughtful look evident in his gaze as he studied her.
She could not say that the kiss that followed was unexpected.
The gentleness of his touch, though, was a stark contrast to his teasing words throughout the day.
Gaara had her clasped hand pinned above her head as he worked his mouth against hers, passion building as she reacted to a soft bite with her eager tongue. The arm that he had around her shoulder had now slid down to her lower back, and he was lifting her off the roof as he plotted a steady assault on her lips. Tipped slightly off balance, her only reaction was to fist the front of his robe with her free hand as she panted softly against him.
They breathed, and kissed, and held each other, and kissed.
Again, and again.
Much like the first time they kissed after his battle with his father, their movements were slow but deliberate. There was the cloying heat of suppressed lust between them, but it was kept carefully in check as they kept their lips sealed to each other instead of venturing off-path. While Gaara was physically affected by what was transpiring between them, he kept Sakura blissfully unaware of his arousal by having kept his hip angled away from hers the entire time.
There would be a time for his fervour later. He had something more important to ask of her now.
"Sakura," he whispered, pulling back and lowering her to the roof to stroke her cheek, "Are you happy? Being with me?"
He knew that mentally, he was only prepared for one answer, and he would not know how to rebuild his world if she uttered the other.
"Yes," her reply made him exhale the breath that he had held inside his lungs, "You make me happy, Gaara. Very much so."
Gaara pressed a kiss to her forehead, and gazed down into her eyes as he said, "When all this is over, after the war… will you return to me?"
He could not ask for her immediate abandonment of her country and village after they secure peace, knowing her duty to her Hokage and her people; He could not ask her to commit to a lifetime with him either, understanding that both their lives were at the command of their respective council and village.
But at the very least, she could promise to try.
"Ok."
At her answer, he leaned forward to slant his mouth over hers once more, his tongue now prodding more insistently against her almost pliant one. It took her a second to regain her composure at being the recipient of his fevered kisses, but when she did, it was to throw her arms around his neck to pull him impossibly closer.
There was no shame in letting her know the extent of his desires for her, but the first contact of his arousal against the inside of her thigh made them both freeze. Gaara, because he had no idea what Sakura would think of his very natural if somewhat awkward physical state; Sakura, because she was certain that if he asked, she would not find his advances objectionable at all.
The first few snowflakes that fell on them both went unnoticed.
It was only when an impressively large snowflake landed and tangled in Sakura's eyelashes did they both come back to themselves, warm breaths puffing between them.
"We should go back inside," He suggested somewhat ruefully.
Sakura unwittingly touched a hand to her bosom, resting it over her jack-rabbiting heart as she nodded her agreement.
When they both clambered back inside the shack through the bedroom window, dragging the sleeping bag behind them and landing in a heap together on the floor, the laughter that spilt from the both echoed in the otherwise quiet confines of the building. The sand-cat, previously resting on Gaara's bed, rose and walked over to them.
Katsuyu was perched on a bedpost and simply waved a tentacle in greeting. Sakura thought she saw the slug summon lock gazes with Gaara for a moment before she went back to resting, but she could not be certain.
Gaara lifted up the sleeping bag, and commented, "The back of this bag is soaked. You can't sleep in it tonight - it has to be hung over the fire to dry."
"Great, where do I sleep?" Sakura grumbled as she cuddled the sand-cat to her chest.
"With me, of course," Gaara's no-nonsense reply made her pause, and she turned to him with wide eyes as if doubting what she had heard, "Your futon is too thin, the floor is cold, and the bed is big enough for the both of us."
Sakura opened her mouth, words forming but not quite escaping her vocal cords as she gaped at the calm young man in front of her.
"I can just bundle myself up in a coat, or two," she argued.
"It's not comfortable," he reasoned, "I don't sleep in my robe either, though, you seem to favour doing so."
Gaara probably should not know that she had initially used his robes solely for the purpose of keeping warm, and now, she found comfort in both that and the uniquely masculine scent that was his - an electrifying essence of the crisp morning air mixed with hints of sandalwood from the calligraphy brushes he liked to write with.
Finally settling for a resigned nod of her head, Sakura replied with coloured cheeks, "Ok, but no hanky-panky."
"Of course, Sakura," Gaara stood up, helping her up as he did so with an arm around her waist, "Not around Katsuyu-san, at least."
"Did you say something?"
The answering rumble from Gaara's chest felt like bad news.
But she could not deny that the futon was in fact too thin for the climate that they were in, and the hearth in the living area, while it made the air in the shack comfortably warm, did nothing for the cold tatami mats that she had laid against for the past few nights.
Gaara was already sitting against the headboard on one side of the bed by the time she returned from changing into her sleepwear, which was her shinobi attire minus the thermal undergarments. Thankfully, he had put on a black shirt instead of wearing his usual mesh one.
Shut up, brain, she admonished.
When she slid almost timidly onto her side of the bed, strong arms encircled her waist. A moment later, Sakura found her back pressed resolutely against Gaara's solid chest as he muttered his approval of her feminine curves.
"Sleep," he ordered, curling himself closer and sliding a leg between hers as he pulled the blanket over them both.
As if that was possible, as her treasonous brain conjured up Gaara's previous state of arousal and how a certain body part was now pressing into her, albeit with no desires present now.
Not so for the sand-cat that hopped onto her side of the bed, stared into Sakura's wide-open eyes, and promptly settled against her neck to purr itself to slumber. Katsuyu, normally not a stand-offish slug, decided it was as good a day as any to resume sleeping on the bedpost instead of on the bed as she often did with Sakura. But her presence continued to register with the kunoichi, anyway.
It would be close to an hour later, with Gaara's warm breath tickling the shell of her ear, that exhaustion won out over embarrassment, that she finally fell into a dreamless sleep.
He had observed his Kage's actions for the better part of two years at the behest of the Suna Council, his addition to the Kazekage's security detail done in a few simple brushstrokes that immediately brought him into Gaara's inner circle of trusted shinobi.
Of course, the streak-masked ANBU was sure that while he had protected his Kage closely, he was not viewed with any kindness as he did his duty. 'Trusted shinobi' he was, but only to the extent that he served well; He was not welcomed into the Kazekage's inner circle the same way one would a friend, only as a subordinate.
Quite unlike the loving attention that the Kazekage was now bestowing upon a certain fine young kunoichi. In itself, it was not much of a concern. The Kazekage was still a very eligible man, after all, and he was expected to eventually take a woman or several to his bedchambers to relieve him of the stress of his position as the most powerful man in Sunagakure.
Haruno Sakura was an interesting choice for a bedmate. He would have expected the kunoichi to have put up more of a fight against the Kazekage's advances, having heard of her entanglement with the Uchiha traitor. He could see that her affections ran deep for the young man she was now responsible for, and as long as the Kazekage knew to keep his heart guarded against anything romantic she was offering, she would pose no threat to his council's plans.
The problem, however, rested in the fact that the Kazekage's tenderness towards this foreign kunoichi belied the depths of his feelings towards her. He had never seen his Kage be so loving towards anyone before, not even his own siblings or his former teacher. Gaara had laughed without restraint as he tumbled back into the shack with his personal medic - a most extraordinary sight to anyone witnessing it.
That was the crux of the issue. Dalliances with a foreign kunoichi could lead to a strengthened alliance with her village, and in turn, that would weaken the Suna Council's hold on their Kazekage. This Haruno Sakura, apprentice to the Fifth Hokage and a Legendary Sannin to boot, was going to unseat them all.
And the Suna Council would never stand for this.