SasuSaku - Past Selves

Chapter 13 - Diamonds and Hearts

Every day felt the same back in Konoha. Sakura went on mundane missions, spent the rest of the days at the hospital, and went to bars with Ino on weekends. Her brain felt like it was on autopilot.

Ino had tried to set her up with several people - her solution to everything was a brand new fling. "You just need to get some good dick to forget that criminal" she would declare unasked. "There's this new Sand guy in town, you should see how hot he is! I swear he must have a -"

"Not interested", interrupted Sakura during one of their regular nights out. "And I'm fine, I'm just still processing everything, no need to baby me Ino." She took a sip of her sake.

Sakura was a head turner. Everywhere she went, she was used to men buying her drinks, or trying to take her home. It was irritating, honestly. However, Ino was a huge fan - she saw it as a way to get free drinks, and then sneak out of the bar without the creepy men noticing. Ino was determined to save money that night as well.

"Sakura, there's this hot redhead standing at the bar, he hasn't taken his eyes off of you! If you just wink at him I bet he would cover our tab! Come onnn we don't get our paychecks until Wednesday!"

"I'm over it, Ino. Really don't feel like entertaining some creepy dude."

"At least look at him! Maybe you'll find him hot."

Sakura looked back reluctantly, only to lock eyes with the red-headed stranger at the bar. He smiled at Sakura, and raised his glass.

"Look Ino, I may want to head home. I'm really not feeling this bar, and have no interest in anyone here. I kinda want to be alone."

Ino wanted to protest, but detected a lot of seriousness and sincerity in Sakura's voice. She sighed. "Fine, I'll cover the bill. You head home and have a chill Friday. Maybe we can get brunch tomorrow or something."

Sakura smiled, nodded and headed to the door. The bar was packed, so she had to squeeze her way through the crowd. Finally, she made it outside the bar, and grasped for some fresh air.

"Leaving already? The night is still young" and an unfamiliar voice spoke behind her. She looked back and saw none other than the stranger from the bar.

*Great, now I have to make conversation*, she thought. Counter-intuitively, Sakura was never too uncomfortable around guys in general. Sure, they could be creepy and annoying, but she had never met a guy she couldn't knock out on the spot if needed. (Until she met Sasuke, that is)

"Yeah, I'm tired." She sounded as disinterested as one possibly could.

"Can I walk you home? It's getting dark, lots of dangerous drunks could be roaming outside."

"Well in that case they should be wary of me." Sakura rolled her eyes, she hated being underestimated and patronised.

The stranger chuckled. "Hey, I didn't mean to imply you need my protection. You're just so pretty, and I wanted to find a way to talk to you for as long as possible. I'm Gaara, visiting the village with my brother for a few days. Just wanted to get to know you. Sorry if I came across as predatory."

*He sounds surprisingly nice* the thought to herself. He was pretty good looking. He was wearing eyeliner, which somehow looked extremely hot on him. *Maybe I do need a distraction*, the sake in her whispered. *It could help me forget that one damn night with Sasuke. He looks like he could make me forget.* She blushed at her own thoughts. Suddenly it hit her.

"It's okay. My name is Sakura. How are you enjoying your stay?" She started walking in the direction of her house, signalling Gaara to go with her. He happily obliged.

"The visit has been great - just got better, actually!" he smiled warmly. "We came to watch the Chunin exams, they're happening next week. Decided to come a bit early and explore."

"Where's your brother?"

"Oh, he is probably with some girl somewhere, knowing him." he sighed. "We came to this bar together to relax, but he ditched me almost instantly. He found some older looking girl who was carrying a fucking PIG!" he chuckled.

"What the hell? SHIZUNE?" Sakure burst into laughter. "I can not imagine her hooking up, oh my god!"

"Of course you know her, it's a small town" he shook his head, laughing.

The walk home was pleasant. Expectations were low, they both knew Gaara was here temporarily, so they knew what they were in for.

After lots of laughter and pleasant exchanges, they finally made it to Sakura's home.

"Want to come in?" Sakura asked, blushing. It had been a while since she initiated something like this. In her mind, she really needed a distraction and this was perfect! Gaara would be gone next week, and they'd leave this moment in time behind them by design.

"I'd be clinically insane to turn this down," Gaara was ecstatic.

Sasuke's mind was made up. He was going to treat this as one of his last days. He was going to put all his cards on the table. He felt surprisingly liberated. He was going to fully embrace his guilty pleasures, and feel the blood pumping in his veins. He wanted to feel alive for a day.

"I could be a corpse tomorrow" he said to himself, and it didn't faze him at all. "So, I'll make sure I don't feel like one today."

For him, feeling alive was associated with Konoha, as much as he hated to admit it. Specifically, spending hours on end with Sakura. Ever since he left the village, he was mission-oriented and goal-bound. He never stopped to smell the roses, as people say. He never really joked around or laughed, or engaged in meaningful human interactions.

So, spending a month with Sakura reminded him of the simpler times. He resented Konoha for it, to some extent. But, today he was going to pay it one last visit right before risking it all.

After dinner, he treated himself to most of a bottle of wine. He was about two hours away from Konoha. He didn't have a plan, he didn't have expectations. His strategy was to go to Konoha, find Sakura, and then go with the flow. It was all or nothing. He took a relaxing warm shower, finished the bottle, and hurried out of the hideout.

Surprisingly to Sakura, there wasn't much awkwardness between her and Gaara. Conversation flowed smoothly. She served them hot chocolate with a shot of whiskey. They sat on her floor, cracking jokes. They sat close to each other, and things were going great. In fact, they both knew where things were going. Still, Sakura greatly appreciated Gaara not rushing her into anything, and being willing to ease into things.

Eventually, things got where they needed to go. She was on his lap, as Gaara sat on the floor leaning against her couch, empty mugs on the coffee table in front of them. He was gentle, but surely unfamiliar. His hands felt different, his smell was novel. His kiss was much softer than what she was used to.

Sakura couldn't shake off a mild sensation of anxiety, a sense of impending doom. *I am doing NOTHING wrong!* she interrupted herself. *I am single, and we are both consenting adults! Be in the moment, Sakura, we need this.*

He picked up gently, and carried her bridal style as she directed him to her bedroom. It had been a while since any man was here. Her window was open, which struck her as slightly odd, but didn't think much of it. He placed on her bed. "You're one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen." He kissed her forehead, and started to unbutton his shirt.

She blushed, and kissed him promptly, throwing her arms around his neck. Gaara was surprised by her initiative, but welcomed it by placing his hands on her hips.

Sakura closed her eyes, enjoying the moment - doing her best to shake off the piercing feeling of being watched.

Of course, neither of them noticed the red eyes lurking in the dark corner.