Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Way We Change ❯ Not Fragile ( Chapter 9 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Ok, here it is FINALLY! It's the chapter with the long-awaited lemon for all you guys out there who love smut just as much as I do.

A note: The Japanese do have actual beds like we do, but they also use the traditional style of bed. It's kind of like a sleeping bag that is stored during the day and rolled out at night. These are called futons.

Arg. Enough mindless talk. Onward!

--------

She left Konoha by the west gate in the afternoon, accompanied by her two subordinates: Honda Aishi, a mild mannered man whose first child had just been born, and Kamura Junta, an older woman who must have been very beautiful in her youth by what Sakura could tell. They were both talented in the medical field, but neither were experienced field ninjas, and they couldn't hold a candle to Sakura when it came to combining combat and medicine.

But as Sakura sped through the forest outside of Konoha with her leather pack bouncing against her shoulder with every step, she struggled to mentally unwind the writhing knot in her stomach. It wasn't from nervousness. She was too good a teacher to be nervous and it wasn't the first journey she'd taken to Suna for this purpose anyway. Neither was it giddiness from finally being an official member of the Med Corps because she'd known for a long time that she would get there eventually.

No. It was something much more serious...

It was Gaara.

The first trip she had taken to Suna to oversee the new medical program had been six months ago, and at the time they hadn't seen each other in over two years. But there was no distance created by that time. She had stepped right back into his life as if she had never left. Kankuro and Temari treated her like a sister and she always stayed in their house when she was in Sunagakure. She and Gaara had gotten increasingly close over the months now. They were strangely drawn to each other, like moths to a flame. The problem however, was that she was beginning to wonder how close she could get before she got burned.

On her second trip to Suna, just a few months ago, their proximity had increased even more, to Sakura's slight alarm. The moments when their skin touched as a scroll or book passed between hands or when they looked at each other from across a room became strangely longer than they should be, like everything was in slow motion for a split second. Gaara's brief touches and their strange new closeness rattled her, down in a small part of her that had been broken and slowly mended a very long time ago.

The strange new tension between them had scared her a little, and guiltily she had avoided being alone with Gaara for the last few days of her previous trip. She needed air, time to think. Once she got that time however, she had been forced to ask herself a very important question: What is he to me? And what am I to him?

'Friend' didn't seem like strong enough a word anymore. She'd lived in his house with his family for months. She knew he was a person under all that cool indifference and professionalism and sometimes she was honored that he let her close enough to see him that way. She enjoyed the fact that he could match wits with her, that he would train with her even if she could never quite win (but she could sure give him a run for his money). She'd seen sides of him that the people of Sunagakure never would. She'd seen him shirtless for heaven's sake.

Okay, that one was Inner Sakura, but as much as she tried to get that little part of herself to shut up, Sakura could not deny that he definitely wasn't a short, scrawny, twelve-year-old anymore. Well, he wasn't really short anyway, even if he wasn't as tall as most men.

The gears in her mind screeched to a brief halt. Oh my God, I'm attracted to him.

No, no, no! That would cause way too many problems. The broken rules! The politics! He was her friend for goodness' sake! She couldn't risk that with him, she just couldn't!

But... the way he looked at me...

The implications spun in her head, swirling a summersaulting and doing back-flips until she didn't know which way was up anymore. (It was a good thing she had long ago trained her body to move without conscious thought otherwise she would have fallen flat on her face minutes ago.)

She looked up and the pit of her stomach dropped out.

They were only yards from the outer walls of Sunagakure. She must have been absorbed in her own musings for the better part of three days.

She and her two subordinates showed their identification and papers to the guards stationed at the break in the rock wall. The guards already knew Sakura. She had a reputation in Suna. She was the student of the legendary Medic-nin Tsunade, a genius kunoichi in her own right. She was even a personal friend of the Kazekage and his family. The medical shinobi of Suna admired and respected her both for her skill and her kind but confident nature.

She dismissed Aishi and Junta, letting them head towards Sunagakure Hospital to inform the staff of their arrival, while she headed to the Kazekage's headquarters to report in and deliver Shikamaru's scroll. The all too familiar building loomed up from the ground and the sinking feeling in her stomach changed to the twisting of snakes.

Showing her identification to the shinobi inside was only required protocol. They all knew her here too.

And then Gaara's door was in front of her, and she hesitated.

No. I can do this. This is no big deal. I'll have plenty of time to sort things out later. For now, everything will be normal. Just me and Gaara. Just like always.

Confidence and sureness restored, she rapped firmly on the door. A muffled reply came from inside and she let herself in. Gaara was at his desk, bent over a small stack of papers, pen held loosely in hand. His office was always so neat and organized compared to Tsunade's. He first straightened his posture before removing his eyes from the paper and fixing them on her.

"Hey, Gaara," she said with a cheery smile. His face didn't change.

"Sakura," he acknowledged, inclining his head slightly. "I've been expecting you."

"Yeah. Tsunade-sensei sent a message about my arrival right?"

"Yes. She also mentioned that you would have something for me?"

"Mmhmm. It's high security info from Shikamaru." She took the scroll from her pack and deposited it on his desk. Gaara fluidly broke the seal, unrolled about a foot and a half of it, and glanced at the encoded script, eyes darting from side to side. Whether or not he could understand what it said through the encryption, she couldn't tell. Either way, he quickly rolled it up again and placed it in a desk drawer.

"You'll no doubt want to settle in soon so you can start your job," he said tonelessly, picking up the pen again. "How long will you be staying this time?"

Why is he being so... distant? "Well, three weeks I think. Unless there's a problem with that."

"Three weeks is fine," he said, eyes moving back to the papers in front of him. "You know where you're staying. Temari is there. She'll let you in." He began scribbling on the papers he had been reading. Sakura shifted her weight agitatedly.

"Gaara, is there something wrong?" she asked, slightly irritated by his indifference. This time, though, he raised his head and looked her straight in the eyes, face stoically blank.

"There's nothing wrong."

She blinked, started by his cold demeanor. You're lying.

"Fine," she said abruptly, successfully resisting the urge to snap, but not by much. "Sorry to bother you then. I'll go now." She turned on her heel and strode stiffly out of the room, swinging the door shut behind her. Gaara's expression grew heavy as he watched her leave.

Sakura...

--

What the hell was that!? Sakura thought to herself angrily as she marched towards Gaara's home. No 'Nice to see you again Sakura', no smile, okay so he doesn't really smile, but still! No nothing! He didn't even say anything about the new Medic-nin coat!

Her knock on the side door of the house was a little harder than she meant it to be. She had completely forgotten that Temari had given her a key. (Not that an ordinary lock would keep out any decent ninja, but it was the gesture that counted. Besides, who would be stupid enough to try and break into the Kazkage's home anyway?)

Temari opened the door and immediately smiled.

"Sakura-chan! It's so good to see you again!"

Sakura's sour expression melted away and she gave a slight smile in return. "Hey, Temari-chan."

"Well what are you waiting for? Come on in. your room's ready as usual," Temari said, beckoning Sakura into the kitchen.

The room that Sakura had first stayed in over three years ago had become a permanent guest room just for her, her home away from home. An actual bed and dresser had been put in so Sakura wouldn't have to sleep on a futon like she had the first time. Temari clearly enjoyed having another girl in the house every once in a while.

Sakura quickly unpacked her things an put them away in the drawers and the two kunoichi headed back down to the kitchen to have something to eat.

"So where's Kankuro?" Sakura asked over a bowl of the funny desert fruit that grew around the city. The outer skin was prickly and sharp, but the red flesh inside was deliciously tart and sweet.

"He's just finishing a mission with his team. We got a message from him yesterday. He should be back in a few days. It was a high security escort mission for a Daimyo."

"Oh that's good. I'll be able to see him soon then." Temari smiled and sipped some tea. "Hey, Temari..."

"Hm?"

"Is... has anything been bothering Gaara lately?" Temari was lost in thought for a moment as she considered the question.

"Well now that you mention it, he has seemed a little more on edge the last couple of days. I'm not really sure what it is though. I can't think of anything other than the normal stresses of being Kazekage... Why? Did he say something mean?" Sakura shook her head.

"No. he just... seemed distant. That's all." Sakura frowned and stared blankly into her own cup of tea.

"Oh... Actually I just remembered something. I have a mission I have to leave for tomorrow morning, but it won't be a long one. I'll be back in no time," Temari said with a smile.

"Oh." Sakura's face fell a little. "Well then, I'll be here when you get back."

"Yeah. Don't worry. We'll have plenty of girl time later," she joked, winking. Sakura giggled and her smile returned.

Once the two kunoichi were done, Sakura made her way to the hospital to get back in touch with her two subordinates and to evaluate the progress of the medics. She was pleased to find that they were doing well and that most of them had mastered the lessons she had left for them after her previous trip.

Sakura was also delighted to find that more young ninja had been joining the medic programs and soon Sunagakure would have as many medic shinobi as Konoha.

By the end of the day, after once again getting settled into Suna Hospital and starting up the classes, Sakura was exhausted but pleased. The day's activities had taken a lot out of her and she eagerly returned to the house for a shower and promptly went to bed.

The next morning, Sakura got up early to see Temari off before her mission. Temari was in the kitchen working her way through a bowl of egg fried rice.

"Morning, Sakura," she hummed. Sakura served herself some rice and sat at the table.

"Good morning," she smiled.

"Gaara was here, but he already left. He said good morning. I'm not even sure if he stayed here last night. He must have had a lot of work," Temari contemplated, looking into her egg fried rice as if it would give her the answers. Now that I think about it... Gaara started acting edgy two days ago... when we got the message that Sakura would be coming again. Temari glanced up at Sakura, who was looking down at her food with a blank face as she ate. I hope there's nothing wrong between them... "Well," she announced, "I better get going now."

"Have a good trip Temari-chan," Sakura chirped, suddenly snapping out of her reverie. Temari smiled and stepped to the side door, where she picked up her backpack and strapped it on, then secured her fan to her back.

With a wave she was gone, leaving Sakura alone in the small house.

Sakura spent the whole day at the hospital, rigorously training the medics in advanced techniques. At sunset she made her way back to the house and started making herself something to eat, plus extra for Gaara. She knew he didn't eat much, but she figured he would still want some food when he got back.

But when she had waited over an hour after finishing her meal and cleaning her dishes (and having nodded off at the table a few times) and he still hadn't appeared, she angrily put the food away in the refrigerator. Frustrated by his persistent absence, she stalked of to bed and lay awake in her sheets, where she had a vicious argument with herself.

Where the hell is he?! Why is he avoiding me!?

Maybe he's just really busy. He's stayed overnight at his office before.

But he's never made a point of ignoring me! I should go give him a piece of my mind tomorrow!

No, he'd just be angry at me for interrupting his work, not to mention arguing with him over something so stupid. Tomorrow's Saturday... I still have to go to the hospital, but he always comes back here on Saturdays and Sundays. I'll talk to him then...

Sakura's inner reasoning eventually calmed her down, and she finally drifted off into a fitful sleep.

In the morning there was no sign that Gaara had been there during the night.

Throughout the whole day at the hospital Sakura internaly switched back and forth between being angry as hell and depressed. Outwardly she was as professional as possible.

By the time she got home she was both physically and mentally exhausted. That night she ate rice and dumplings in the silent kitchen and she still hadn't seen hide nor hair of Gaara since the first day.

Kankuro should arrive any day now. Maybe he'll be able to tell me what's going on... she thought despairingly as she climbed into her bed, nestling herself between the clean, white sheets. Could I have made him angry? Is that why he's avoiding me?

Unable to find an answer, the dark quiet of sleep slowly consumed her.

--

Water.

The sound of running water was drifting up from the kitchen downstairs. It was faint, but Sakura still woke with a start.

He's back...

The digital clock read 1:21.

Of course he would come back in the middle of the night when I'm asleep!

Sakura wouldn't take this anymore. He was going to give her some answers now. She threw off the covers of her bed and silently stalked to the door, slipped out into the hall and padded down the stairs. She wasn't even sleepy anymore. She planted herself firmly in the open door frame that connected the kitchen to the living room.

There he was, wearing a dark red tunic and black pants, standing in front of the stove where the pot he had just filled with water sat heating on one of the burners.

Sakura didn't have to say anything. He knew she was there. She got limp all of a sudden as he turned to her.

"Sakura."

"Gaara..."

"Do you want tea?"

Monotone voice. Monotone face. She shook her head. His gaze swiveled back to the teapot and he turned the burner off. The water wasn't even near boiling. Walking past her he whispered, "You should go back to sleep Sakura. It's late. Good night."

She swelled indignantly, face contorted by an angry frown, and grabbed his wrist harshly before he could reach the stairs.

"God damn it, Gaara! Why are you avoiding me!? Did I make you angry or something!?"

No sooner than she had screamed it the wall was at her back and he was gripping her tightly by the upper arms (perhaps it had been a reflex), his breath heavy as he stared at the floor, molten red strands of hair obscuring his face. She looked at him with wide, questioning eyes.

"Gaara... please..." she quietly pleaded, then her voice turned quietly demanding. "Tell me what's wrong."

Still she didn't fear him, could challenge him when she wanted too, even when he had her wedged against a wall. It was what had separated her from so many others for so long.

He sighed heavily and let go of her arms.

"I'm not angry at you."

She let out an exasperated huff. "Well... then let's have some tea." He looked at her strangely as she turned away to the kitchen door. She paused and looked back at him when he didn't follow. "Well, come on," she urged. His expression shifted back to stoic and he followed her, then settled into a moody slouch against the kitchen wall.

Sakura turned the burner back on and waited as the water boiled and neither said anything while the tea steeped.

The tea was poured into two earthenware cups, but instead of sitting at the kitchen table as Gaara had expected her to do, Sakura carried both cups out into the living room. She set Gaara's cup on the little table in front of the couch and sat down to drink her own tea. Gaara simply stood behind the couch, half lit by the yellowish light streaming in from the kitchen.

"Well, sit down."

Gaara was not the kind of man you could easily order around, ever, but for her sake, and for the sake of alleviating the awkward situation, he would indulge her. So he sat a few feet away from her, hunched over the cup he held with both hands, but he did not drink.

"You said you weren't angry, so why have you been avoiding me like the plague?"

He was silent for a moment or two before he answered, "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable." There was only the tiniest bite in his voice, but Sakura caught it.

"What?" she asked, clearly confused.

Gaara set the cup down on the table this time and as he answered he actually looked at her through slightly narrowed eyes. "During your last visit, it became clear that my company was making you uncomfortable."

She stared dumbly at him. What the hell is he talking about...? And then her eyes widened a little. The meaningful glances. The slight touches. Even though she had kissed him years ago, she had been scared by the slightest of advances. She hadn't returned any of it. Damn...

"Gaara," she began firmly. "You don't make me uncomfortable." He looked at her as if to say that she better start telling the truth or else. She was treading on thin ice, she knew, but she could deal with him. He was her friend, more than that, and she could do this. "I just didn't know how to react. That's all."

Sakura, you don't know what you're getting yourself into.

His expression was hard to read. Distance. Maybe there was a little disappointment. And under all that, a tiny speck of pain that even years of public acceptance and friendship hadn't managed to get rid of.

Decision time, she thought to herself.

"But know I think I do," she whispered. Her teacup joined his abandoned one on the little coffee table and she leaned over to him, bridging the gap, supporting herself with a hand on the couch cushion as she pressed her lips to his.

Soft, warm, not even chapped from the desert wind. He barely responded at all. She stopped and pulled back slightly, but when she met his eyes the intensity stopped her heart for half a moment. Then his hand was at the back of her head, firmly pulling her in till their mouths met again.

Slow and firm and even better than that distant kiss in his kitchen years ago. She loved it.

His mouth opened and she responded in kind. Tongues touched. He sucked on her bottom lip and the hand at the back of her head ran through her hair. She set her right hand on his shoulder to support herself, leaning over him with one knee on either side of his leg. His teeth grazed her lip and she pressed harder in retaliation.

Then his hand settled at her waist, and she was suddenly, awkwardly reminded that her pajamas consisted of only a loose T-shirt and small cotton shorts. Even the bindings that normally kept her chest flattened weren't there. Her knees trembled slightly in the effort to hold herself up over him.

"Sit," he commanded, voice rough and slightly breathy. She complied, and the hand on her waist moved to press against the small of her back, firmly bringing her to sit over his lap. His mouth was on hers again, hungry and demanding. No longer needing the support, her arm wound around his neck, fingers threading through his blood-red hair, while she placed her other palm on his clothed chest.

Breathing heavily, Gaara moved to her jaw, then her neck, mouth forceful. He bit down gently and soothed the bites with his tongue. Sakura panted while she ran a hand over his clothed shirt. Gaara moved the hand on her back over her chest greedily, gently kneading through the fabric. She gasped. He pulled her closer until she could feel the proof of how worked up he was getting.

He wanted her. Of all the people in the world, she was the one he wanted, the one he trusted enough to show both the man and the monster. She could show him how she felt too.

She smiled warmly as she brushed his hair away from his face with the tips of her fingers and leaned down to lovingly press shaky lips to the symbol on his forehead.

Gaara paused, breathing hard as she kissed his forehead then moved to give the same attention to his neck that he had given to hers. In a daze, his own fingers touched the kanji as well.

"Sakura," he rasped as she shifted in his lap, still working her mouth on his neck. There was a warning in his voice. "If you want to stop, now's the time." He gripped her waist and pulled her body more forcefully against his to make his point absolutely clear. "Because if you don't I'll want all of you."

His meaning was unmistakable. She shivered and whispered her answer in his ear.

"If you get all of me, then I get all of you."

He was frozen for only a second before crushing his mouth to hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his hands slid under her thighs as he stood. She clamped her legs around his waist as he walked up the stairs and into his bedroom, closing the door behind them.

--

Sakura's back met the wall, pinned with her legs still wrapped around Gaara's waist. She groaned as their hips ground together and he continued roughly kissing and biting her neck. Gaara tugged the collar of her shirt aside to reach the place where her neck joined her shoulders while running his hands up under her shirt to palm soft, warm skin. She moaned at the touched and frantically ran her hands over his chest, frustrated by the fabric that separated her from his bare skin.

She hissed when he bit her shoulder a little too hard. He stopped, panting as a tremor ran through him, and retracted his hands to place them on the wall behind her. Sakura saw the dazed look in his green eyes and knew that he was trying to keep a hold on himself. She ran her hand through his hair gently.

"Gaara," she whispered, "you won't break me."

His eyes came back into focus and his hands slowly went back to her sides. She knew. They both knew, that loosing control of himself was the one thing that Gaara tried his very hardest not to do. He had promised himself to never let it happen.

Sakura smirked. "Come on. I'm not that fragile." He grinned back knowingly and tightened his grip on her waist, then slowly lowered her feet to the floor. He knew that if he ever did loose control, she would always be there to bring him out of it.

They kissed again, slow and open mouthed, smiling slightly as they worked on each other's clothing. She quickly unwrapped the black sash from around his waist. His red, button-up shirt fell loosely around his hips without the sash cinching it in and she impatiently tugged it over his head, completely forgoing all but the first few buttons. She resisted the urge to cackle madly at the sight of his smooth, lean chest.

As her shorts and night shirt were disposed of, Sakura had a fleeting glance at his room. There was nothing new, still the polished wooden floors, a mat for meditating, a dresser with two picture frames on it (one of Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara, and one of Gaara and Sakura on either side of Naruto, who was giving them both bunny ears) and a bed. The reason he even had one was the same for the one in the room adjacent to his office: he simply never bothered to remove it.

She would have laughed at the pictures, but Gaara took that moment to remove her underwear, and she became aware of the fact that she was now completely bare in front of him. She moved her arms to cover herself. Sure she was confident all the time, but she would never be as curvy as Ino or Hinata and it made her self-conscious.

Gaara didn't seem to care. In fact he seemed to really dislike the fact that she was covering herself. He moved her hands away and pulled her against him, bringing her mouth to his again. His hands went back to exploring her smooth skin, criss-crossed here and there with faint scars, proof of her life as a shinobi.

With her mouth against his, she tugged impatiently at the hem of his pants, eager to feel more bare skin against her own. The pants were gone in a second and... Gaara apparently didn't wear underwear. In retrospect Sakura should have expected it. It was rather common among male shinobi to forego underwear. It was just another encumbrance in the field.

Undaunted, Gaara went back to planting kisses on her shoulder and collar bone. Her hands shifted lower on his hips. He hissed and she was dropped onto the bed.

In a moment of giddy insanity, she reveled in the feeling of having Gaara laying naked on top of her, supported on his elbows. His fingers began to wander and so did his mouth. He nuzzled his way over her chest, then licked the wonderfully soft skin on the underside of her breast. One of her hands gripped his shoulders and the other fisted roughly in his hair when he took her nipple into his mouth, sucking gently. Sakura moaned and arched her hips upward, grinding against him.

"G-Gaara," she breathed.

Gaara growled and pushed back roughly, running a hand up the inside of her thigh. She shivered and frantically ran her fingertips over his back and sides, noting the muscles that bunched and trembled under his skin.

Gaara's fingers suddenly got very personal and she let out a loud moan.

Gaara knew very well what he was touching. After a lifetime of filling the eight extra hours of his day with reading all manner of written texts, there were things he knew about the human anatomy that even some doctors didn't (not a doctor like Sakura or Tsunade of course), but he still had to sate his curiosity, had to find out what touches did what.

And Sabaku no Gaara had always been a fast learner.

His mouth left her breast and he trailed harsh kisses down her stomach to let his tongue lave over the crest of her hip bone. He slipped a finger into her and her fists clenched in the sheets. Then his thumb found a nub of flesh hidden by pink hair (he could now testify that pink was indeed her natural hair color) and she let out a brief cry. Gaara grinned sadistically and rubbed it again, excited by the way she groaned and writhed underneath him.

She gasped and dug her fingers into his shoulders in an attempt to pull him back up her body. He complied and crawled over her. She pulled him into a frantic kiss as her hands sought him out to give him the same attention. Gaara gasped and shivered when her warm hand latched onto him.

"S-Sakura," he groaned as she stroked him experimentally. She let go and hooked her leg over his hip. Gaara paused for a moment to regain his breath, then kissed her softly as he positioned her hips and pushed her knee sideways. His kiss moved over her jaw and to the crook of her neck. Sakura swallowed thickly.

Just as Gaara pushed their bodies together he sunk his teeth into the curve of her neck to distract her.

Really it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. As a kunoichi, she was so limber and physically fit that it only stung a little, only felt a bit odd. But the slight discomfort evaporated when he started moving inside her.

The heat was driving Gaara insane. She hadn't been this wet around his fingers but it only made the motion easier. They moved so fluidly, back and forth, rocking into each other slowly, but Gaara was having a difficult time controlling his body when they were pressed so closely together.

Sakura clung to him for dear life, cheek pressed against his and eyes shut tight as little keening sounds escaped her throat with every hard thrust. He shook and reached for her hands, lacing their fingers together and pressing their linked fists into the sheets.

He was loosing control over his motions now, thrusting faster. He growled her name. He was getting very close, skirting the edge of a strange oblivion, but she wasn't quite there yet. Gaara let go of one of her hands and reached his own between them to find the bundle of nerves he'd found earlier. Sakura abruptly let out a keening wail and he kissed her harshly, covering her mouth and effectively swallowing her cries.

A few more sharp thrusts and Sakura finally cried out his name in ecstasy as her inner muscles spasmed and clenched around him. Gaara jerked erratically and followed her off the edge. He panted out his release, frozen in her embrace with their foreheads touching.

Sakura ran her fingers gently through his hair and let her legs slide limply off his hips. Gaara's chest expanded and contracted laboriously until he finally regained his breath, then he languidly rolled both of them to their sides to avoid crushing her under his weight.

Sakura lazily curled into him, resting her head in the strong, graceful curve of his neck as her eyelids fluttered.

"Go to sleep," he said quietly as he traced patterns on her back with his fingertips.

"What about you?" she asked exhaustedly, nuzzling her nose into soft skin. She was already half asleep.

"You know I don't sleep."

"I wish you could," she sighed groggily. Her eyelids were slowly closing and she clung to his body. He was quiet for a moment, just content to let his hands drift over her body. Then he pulled the sheets over them.

"Maybe someday I'll have enough control to sleep... but not now. Go to sleep Sakura."

She smiled. She felt there was something she wanted to tell him, but she was asleep before the words could make it to her mouth.

--

Weak sunlight streamed through the bedroom window, hitting Sakura in the face. She squinted as her mind slowly emerged from the cloudiness of sleep.

She was laying on something soft and warm and... breathing?

Of course. It was Gaara. She smiled sheepishly and cracked her eyes open, all the while hoping she wasn't crushing him. Her vision met a lean stomach and white sheets. She was resting her head on his chest with an arm and a leg slung over him. He was idly tracing patterns on her back. He was awake of course, leaning his back against the pillows and the wall, watching her quietly. Sakura turned her head over to smile at him.

"Hey." He gazed back at her with the strangest face she'd ever seen on him. It was not strange by its self, but odd on someone like Gaara. He had the look of a mildly curious child who was seeing something unusual for the first time and waiting for someone to explain what exactly it was that he was looking at. "What?" she asked, suddenly self-conscious. His expression went back to impassive.

"How do you feel?" he asked while rubbing her back.

"Huh?"

Fingers ghosted over her hip. "I mean, does it hurt?" he asked curiously.

She shook her head gently. "Not really. Just... a bit of a sting. But it's nothing."

Her fingers found their way to his abdomen, then up his chest to his shoulder. There was a scar there, one of the few he had. At first she couldn't quite remember where he got it. It was small and jagged, not made by a blade.

Oh... of course. This is where Sasuke hit him with the Chidori during their match in the Chuunin Exam finals... That was so long ago.

Sakura shifted upwards to look at it closer. The motion revealed her stomach and with it, one of her own scars. Gaara's fingers traced it curiously. It was short, thin, and fairly smooth.

"What's this from?"

She looked down at his hand to see what he was talking about. "Oh. That's where the Akatsuki member Sasori impaled me with a sword. I got between him and Chiyobaa-sama."

Gaara absentmindedly traced the little scar for a while.

She got this on the mission to rescue me three years ago... He frowned at it. The mission to rescue me...

"I used to think love made people weak."

The statement was so sudden, and Gaara's voice was so dark with that hint of warning in it, that Sakura froze as the possible meaning of it sifted through her brain. She dropped her forehead onto his shoulder to avoid looking into his face.

"Only..." she began quietly. "It only makes you vulnerable to the person you love. But it doesn't matter because if you love them... then you trust them not to hurt you. And if they love you back... they won't. And then they're also willingly making themselves vulnerable to you."

She couldn't look at him. His green eyes would pierce right through her if she did.

"Good," he growled as he pulled her face up to lock eyes with her. "Because I hate feeling weak." He roughly crushed his mouth to hers, holding her body against his, and she melted into him.

And then the moment was ruined by Sakura's stomach rumbling. She froze and separated from him... then burst into giggles. He watched her laugh for a moment with an amused smirk on his face.

"I guess I'm hungry," she said sheepishly after she stopped giggling.

"So get something to eat then."

Sakura nodded and crawled over him, slipping shyly out of the bed sheets. He watched her silently as he got up as well. Sakura pulled on her underwear and, because she didn't feel like putting the rest of her own clothes on, grabbed Gaara's red silky button-up shirt and slipped it over her head. It swamped her.

Gaara watched her leave his room in nothing but a pair of underwear and his shirt and couldn't help but smile predatorily. He pulled on his pants and followed her.

Gaara had often considered getting rid of the bed in his room, but just hadn't gotten around to it. He always had more important things to worry about. But now that the bed had a use... it wouldn't be going anywhere.

Upon entering the kitchen he found Sakura rummaging around in the cupboards for something to eat. It was a good thing that it was warm inside the house or else she would have been cold in so little clothing.

As she reached for a high cupboard with one hand the red shirt slipped off her right shoulder, revealing a mark in the curve of her neck, the clear imprint of teeth.

While a small part of him reveled in the fact that she was marked as his, the rest of him frowned at the mark he'd given her. He hadn't really meant to bite that hard.

Sakura didn't even flinch when Gaara's arms encircled her from behind and he began kissing a particular spot on her neck. She smiled to herself. Great. Now he's going to be possessive...

"Sorry about the bite," he murmured as his kisses started traveling farther up her neck.

"You didn't even break the skin." She smiled and lifted her hand to play with his hair. Hmm.... What are we now? she wondered to herself. 'Boyfriend' is a silly word to apply to Gaara. Besides, we're too old for that... So then we're... lovers? That still sounds weird...

Suddenly Gaara's head whipped around towards the side door of the kitchen. Sakura turned too and reflexively reached for her kunai holster, then mentally cursed when her hand met nothing but the bare skin of her thigh.

The handle turned and the door swung open, then closed behind the intruder.

".......K-Kankuro?" Sakura stuttered. Kankuro stood inside the door of the kitchen, eyes wide, staring at the two. Slowly, a wide, open-mouthed grin stretched across his face.

"K-Kankuro?"

"Oh my God! My little brother finally got laid!"

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Well there you go. Smut and humor. Huzzah. I'm currently working on the draft of chapter eleven. This story will probably have around fifteen chapters to it.