Naruto Shippuden Fan Fiction ❯ Healing a pained heart ❯ Sakura cures Gaara's sleeping problem ( Chapter 4 )

The neck and back pain surge through Sakura’s muscles and wake her up from her sleep. Her eyes squint from the sunlight entering her room through the window. She realizes she fell asleep on the floor again. Only her head rested on the bed. She hasn’t been able to sleep on the bed for weeks because in her mind, she wasn’t good enough for the bed. Sakura’s self-esteem was damaged and she didn’t know how to mend this. She uses her medical powers to heal the aching muscles while standing up from next to the bed and goes to the bathroom to freshen up. She puts on her usual Konoha clothes she wears on missions and one of the scarves she found in the wardrobe.

           Meanwhile, Gaara was watching his son sleeping. Shinki had his back to his father. Gaara was thankful his son could sleep so peacefully compared to him. The red head hasn’t been able to sleep for more than 2 hours. The rest of the time he stared at the ceiling with his arms crossed behind his head. “I forgot to change my clothes before coming to bed.” The light broke through his window’s defense and he decided it’s about time for Shinki to get up. Gaara shook the boy’s shoulder lightly. The toddler rubbed his eyes with his small hand and his father told him to get ready for breakfast. I should follow my own advice. I’ll go have a shower in my room and change.

            Gaara fastens the buttons of his red tunic that he put over his matching trousers. It was the uniform he wore to battle. He combed his hair in an unruly style before getting out of his room and knocking on Sakura’s door. When she opens the door, he tells her to follow him to breakfast after the good morning greetings.

            Gaara had a feeling of accomplishment wash over him and that is because last night was the first night (of the hopefully many more to follow) Sakura has slept in his house.

            They entered the kitchen and Sakura saw someone was already there with Shinki. The woman was about 45 years old and she had short, brown, wavy hair and brown eyes. She was chubby and tall. She looked like a kind person. The man of the house cleared his throat to draw all eyes on him. Sakura was one step behind him, feeling a little embarrassed and uneasy. She was a stranger in a foreign house.

            “Noriko, this is Lady Sakura, Konohagakure no jonin, chief of staff in Konoha hospital,  Sannin Tsunade’s apprentice and the greatest medical kunoichi in the ninja world. She came here on a mission and will be staying here for its duration.”

            Gaara pointed at Sakura with his right hand open and turned to the side so Noriko could see her. Sakura blushed from hearing all the praise. Gaara kept speaking:

            “This is Noriko. She takes care of the house and looks after Shinki while I am away.”

            Then he turned to face Noriko again:

            “I hope we will get along well.”

            “Of course, Kazekage-sama.” Noriko replied while bowing to him. After that she bowed to Sakura: “Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.”

            Sakura replied “Kochira koso yoroshiku” then she followed Gaara into the dining room. The woman started to prepare the table for breakfast and asked Shinki to help her with the cutlery. Gaara gestured for Sakura to sit across from him. Shinki’s place was right next to his father. All of a sudden, Shinki bursts into the room with some very small spoons in his hand, which he places in front of Sakura and his own plate. Gaara laughs and tells him: “ Shinki, go grab the spoons for grown up. These are for babies.” Sakura tried to say that it’s fine, she can eat with those spoons, too. But Gaara made up his mind. It would be embarrassing for an adult to eat with cutlery for kids. A look of disappointment clouded the boy’s eyes, but he did as he was told. He grabbed the spoons he previously put on the table and ran to the kitchen.

            “He only eats with these spoons, so that’s why he thought it’s natural to bring them.”

            Sakura smiled tenderly at the explanation. The truth is she would have liked to have babies. This way she could enjoy all sorts of innocent mistakes like this one.

            Shinki came back with the right spoons this time and set them on the table. Gaara patted the seat next to him with his palm and the boy gladly took a seat next to his father. Happiness was written all over the boy’s face. He was afraid the new stranger was going to steal his place by his father’s side and he will be left alone again.

            Noriko brought soup first, and then she brought fish for main course. Soon after they all started eating, father and son began to argue.

            “Dad, let me eat by myself.”

            “You will swallow bones. Let me take them out for you.”

            “But dad, it’s embarrassing. I am a big boy. I can do that myself.”

            Sakura kept laughing to herself while continuing to eat. Gaara felt ashamed, but he just couldn’t help it.

            After they were full, Gaara went to speak to his son in private and Sakura took advantage on the fact that she was left alone and swallowed 2 pills. She went to sit on the couch while she waited for Gaara to return.

            “Shinki will be staying with Noriko while you and I go to my office. We need to start the paperwork. You will have to sign a lot of papers.”

            Sakura wasn’t pleased. She hated paperwork the most. She would rather dig holes in the ground from morning to night than be stuck in an office filled with papers to sign.

            Gaara walks to the door. Sakura presses her hand into the couch to stand up and noticed a piece of food was hidden in the couch. That’s weird. She grabbed it and threw it in the garbage bin before running to catch up with Gaara.

They wasted 2 weeks on bureaucracy. They both sign papers which Gaara sent to the Hokage for official approval. Then other papers came back from Konoha to be signed by Gaara and Sakura again. The eagles didn’t have time to rest at all. Always travelling back and forth between the 2 neighboring villages. In the meantime, the red head introduced her to the Anbu assigned for her protection, Usagi. He was tall and well-built, but didn’t talk much. Gaara said he is an expert in hiding. While the papers came and went, Gaara worked more than usual to make sure he has at least 1 day off after this craziness ends, so he can show Sakura the alleged contaminated places around the village. This meant Sakura couldn’t see him much. She mostly stayed in her room.

Gaara didn’t like the thought of Sakura being alone, so he sent his sister to keep her company. One day, Sakura heard a light knock on her door. She opened the door after swallowing 2 pills. In front of her was Shikadai holding a flower bouquet and behind him was his mom with her fist resting on her hip and a cocky smile on her lips. The pink haired girl greeted Temari and then looked at the boy. He was ashamed, but offered her the flowers with the stems up instead of the buds. Sakura smiled, took the bouquet from his arms and turned it upside down, so the buds were facing up. Noriko brought a vase and Sakura put them in water.

“Put the vase on the floor for 30 minutes, until they get used to the room temperature.” Temari said.

“Oh, I didn’t know that’s how you do it in Suna. Ino never does this.”

“The desert has extreme temperatures; the climate is very much different from the one in Konoha. When you bring a flower from the scorching heat outside into the cool air inside, it suffers from thermal shock; it will wither if you don’t give it time to adjust.”

“Oh, I understand now.”

“Just let them rest in the vase on the floor for half an hour, then take out the wrapping paper, cut 1 cm of the stem and pour some lemon juice in the water. This way they last for about a week. “

            “So this is how you do it. Thank you; I will follow your advice, Temari-san.”

            Shikadai stood behind his mom, clutching her skirt with his left hand.

            “Shikadai, go and play with Shinki. I will stay with Sakura.”

            He didn’t need to be told twice and ran away. Both women laughed.

            “I didn’t have the chance to ask you. On what occasion did I get flowers?”

            “Shikamaru teaches my boy how to offer flowers to girls. This husband of mine is killing me with all these lessons. My son is too young for all this.”

            “I think it’s really sweet. I guess Shikamaru offers you flowers quite often, doesn’t he?”

            Temari blushed and stuttered an ambiguous answer. Sakura laughed and changed the topic.

            Sakura was staring into space when a knocking on her door woke her from her slumber. Gaara greeted her and asked her to follow him. It is finally the time to get to work.

            Sakura followed Gaara to the village border, where the kites were first seen. She scanned the area and took soil and water samples. He introduced her to the new team which Kankurou is also part of. Now that she knows details from his past, she is curious if Kankurou made up with his girlfriend, but she can’t ask him in front of everybody.

            Every time Gaara opens his mouth to speak, he exudes masculinity and power, even though his words are kind. His attitude commands respect. His straight back makes others want to bend to his will. Even Sakura felt a bit overwhelmed. She looked at him in admiration and unknowingly walked half a step behind him, following his lead everywhere. Gaara didn’t notice this because he was used to being leader, making decisions. Of course he would listen to advice from many, but he never let himself be manipulated. He always judged with his own mind and then made the call.

            Even so, Gaara was very careful to not make any mistakes in Sakura’s presence. He couldn’t bear the shame or the thought that she could consider him unworthy of her. His stress level was above average, so it was a good thing the wind dried his sweaty palms. He could thank the Suna weather later.

            Sakura didn’t let herself be engulfed in the emotion of being in the centre of attention in a foreign place where she stood out from a mile away. She would distract her mind with finding some area to inspect, lifting a rock to take a sample or ask a question. She started organizing the team in no time. She was also used to people following her lead back in Konoha from when Tsunade left her in charge of the hospital many times before. It was the only place where she felt useful.

            They both felt worn out when they arrived home after wandering all day. Shinki was shyly looking at his father from behind the door. Gaara gestured for him to come closer with his hand. The boy came and greeted both his father and the girl. Gaara ruffled the boy’s hair and told him to get ready.

            “We are all going out to eat.”

            The boy was only half happy, but complied.

            “What? Am I also coming?”

            “I can’t let you eat alone at home. It would be rude of me as your host.” He smiled honestly while saying this.

            “I see, I will go get ready, then.”

            They both went to their rooms to get changed out of the work clothes. Then, Gaara let Noriko know about their plans for the evening. She could go home early today.

            “Of course, Gaara-sama. Have a good evening”

            ___________________________________________________________________

            This time they went to the restaurant on foot. Sakura was walking 1 step behind Gaara while Shinki lead the way. She noticed the man always matched his steps with hers. The cadence was constant. Both their left feet touched the ground at the same time and then their right feet lifted in the air and set in front of their left at the same time. It was rhythmic and peaceful. Sakura tried to change the rhythm to see if he would follow and he did. She walked faster and he followed, she walked slower and he followed. Gaara would always change the cadence to match with her. Sakura was thankful for this in her heart and she smiled slightly.

            They stopped in front of the same restaurant they went to the first time. Shinki probably knew the place well since he never looked back to his father to ask for directions. The owners came and greeted Gaara first, then Sakura and lastly, the child. They thanked their leader for choosing to come back and led them to their table, where Shinki sat next to his father and Sakura across from them. Shinki looked happy. Sakura tried to start a conversation with the boy many times, but he always answered “yes”, “no” or didn’t answer at all. One time he even said “I don’t need anything from you.” Gaara rebuked him for the attitude and told him to be nice to her. Shinki just looked down and didn’t say anything. Sakura felt bad, but she tried to hide it behind a smile “Don’t worry, it’s nothing.”

Gaara wasn’t stupid. He realized Sakura felt excluded and he was also aware his son simply can’t accept a stranger into the house this easily. This is exactly why Gaara would always speak good words about Sakura when he talked to Shinki, making sure Shinki knows she is the reason his father has more time for him. Gaara also tried to do more of the things that Shinki liked. This strategy was going to work in the long term. Gaara was good with planning.

            The waiter came and bowed deeply to his leader. The red haired man ordered food for the 3 of them, and when the waiter was about to take his leave, Gaara remembered: “And a chamomile tea, right?” He asked looking at Sakura.

            Sakura nodded with a smile on her face.  Gaara didn’t know, but this tea was the only thing that could soothe her stomach pain and release her mind from all the thoughts that didn’t belong there in the first place.

            Unlike the last time they ate here, the flowers that were initially placed on the table, remained in their place. It was obviously thanks to Gaara, who must have spoken to the owners when she wasn’t paying attention. Somebody finally cared enough about her to pay attention to all these small details that made her heart flutter. Gaara had this subtle way of making himself dear to her heart.

            Sakura struggled to eat more than last time. She couldn’t use the same excuse as last time. Gaara wouldn’t believe this twice in a row. He might think she doesn’t like the food and she is lying to him. In all honesty, Gaara indeed paid attention to how much she ate. He still thought she is not eating enough, but at least she ate double the amount from last time. Still, I think Temari eats more. Gaara thinks while swallowing a chunk of his food.

            I have to make up to him somehow. I can’t cook, Noriko already does this. I would make a fool of myself. I can’t buy him anything, he already has everything. What should I do?

            Few words were said during the meal. Gaara paid the check and got up from his chair, followed but the other 2. The owners thanked their leader again and asked him to come back with his family. Both he and Sakura blushed. Shinki didn’t hear this as he was already outside. They got out of the restaurant and Sakura let Gaara lead the way again. They talked about work. At some point, Sakura stumbled and lost balance. Gaara was quick to grab her by the waist with his right hand. They looked at each other. Their faces were so close. They both blushed again and regained their composure. Sakura was ashamed and she walked 2 steps behind him. This made him feel a little uncomfortable. His shoulders were stiff and proud and his back straight as an arrow. He watched her occasionally from the corner of his eye.

            Why did his hand feel as hot as the sun on her waist? Why did he looking into her eyes feel as if he could burn holes into her soul? Why was she so embarrassed when she was next to him? Did she make a fool of herself in front of him? Maybe not. He never laughed at her.

It’s good Shinki didn’t see anything.

            When they arrived home, Sakura was quick like the wind to take off her shoes, say good night and run to her room before the boys even had a chance to reply. Both of them replied into the air; they were good boys, raised well.

            “Let’s study together.”

            “Sure” The boy was happy to do anything with his dad. He noticed his dad was more cheerful and less stiff since Sakura’s arrival. Even if Sakura was an intruder, he couldn’t feel other than grateful to her.

            An hour and a half later, Shinki went to bed exhausted. Gaara directed his steps toward Sakura’s door. He couldn’t go to bed without seeing her one last time today. First, he listened for any kind of noise coming from her room. If she wasn’t awake, he would go back to his room. Thankfully, she was. Sakura yelped at the unexpected knock on her door and Gaara laughed to himself. She slowly opened her door and covered half of her body with it.

            “Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to make sure you are ok. “ His words were casual, but his straight spine told a different story.

            “You are not bothering me. I am feeling good. How come you aren’t sleeping? It’s pretty late. Is Shinki asleep?”

            “Yes, I sent him to bed a minute ago.”

            “What about you?”

            He scratched the back of his head with his left hand and replied:

            “Well....I never sleep more than 2 hours. I tried, but I simply can’t. I got used to this ever since...”

            “You are the Kazekage, you should take better care of yourself. So many people depend on you right now.”

            He was amused by her scolding him. It also felt nice to have someone care about him in this way.

            “Let me help you”

            “How can you help me? Many doctors have tried and failed. “

            “I am not just any doctor. I will help you. Let’s get you to bed.”

            He shrugged his shoulders and started moving to his room. He was curious what could she possibly do that others haven’t tried before? He entered his room and she followed and closed the door behind her.

            “Get into bed.”

            He looked at her doubtfully, but obeyed. He lay on his back with his head on the pillow. Sakura covered him to the shoulders with his blanket before she sat on her knees next to the bed. He watched with big eyes as she rested her right hand on his chest. His face was as red as a tomato and his heart threatened to jump out of his chest. Sakura forced her hand not to tremble.

            “Have a seat on the chair, please. Your knees will hurt from the floor”

            Sakura brought a finger to her mouth in a gesture that told him to be silent.

            “Close your eyes.”

            Gaara closed his eyes and Sakura started patting his chest with her hand in steady rhythm, soft and easy. The same you would do to a child. Her left hand touched his already burning forehead and focused her chakra to chase away all of his thoughts. His heart has never felt so easy, so free to beat. He imagined this is what a mother’s touch is supposed to feel like. His soul was soaring in an ocean of peace and his heart beat at the same time as her hand hit his chest. It was the same as their walking next to each other, the same rhythm and the same calmness. All of his thoughts vanished except one: “I want you to never leave my side.”

            Sakura watched him with relief as he fell asleep. She couldn’t keep herself from softly stroking his hair with the hand that previously rested on his forehead. She caressed his right cheek with the back of her finger with a smile on her face. He was the first person she was able to repay for his kindness. These thoughts flooded her mind and she fell asleep with her head of his bed, knees on the floor and right hand on his chest without even realizing it.

            It was nearly morning when Gaara woke up and through his lashes he saw a sea of pink resting on his bed. He took his right hand out of the blanket and noticed how her right hand clutched the blanket and was currently resting between his arm and chest. He touched her pink hair fearfully, as if to not wake her up. After he stroked her warmly, he took the hand to his nose and smelled it. Her smell invaded his nose like being in a room full of lilies. Oh how we wished he could curl his fingers around her wrist and bring her hand to his lips, to press kisses on each of her healing fingers. For the first time in many years, pain left his heart that night. He felt light like a feather. He also felt dominant. A woman willingly kneeled in front of him. His ego was deliciously pleased. He must make her his. He can't imagine Sakura kneeling in front of anyone else nor touch their hearts like she touched his.

            Sakura started to stir and grunted from the pain of the muscles that hurt from staying in the same position for many hours. Gaara panicked and sunk his hand under the blanket with the speed of a true ninja. Sakura rubbed her eyes and massaged her neck, unclenching the fist holding his blanket. He immediately missed the warmth of her hand. Suddenly, she realized she is not in her room and jumped to her feet without making any noise. Her back crackled as she moved and she hurried to get out faster, closing the door behind her. Gaara opened his eyes and crossed his hands beneath his head on the pillow. He was looking at the ceiling smiling like a man in love.