Sasuke looked over the room, searching the room for some kind of suspicious activity.

This is so pointless.

He felt restless. The need to move was making him edgy. Ever since he had seen Sakura with her hair down…. He had never really cared for pink. But since he returned to Konoha he could honestly say that he now understood its appeal.

It was bad enough when she had kept in a braid and the thing had bounced just enough to be one of the most distracting things that he had ever seen in his life. Now she had to have it down. A silky testament to the one time he had run his hands through it. He had gotten a physical and visual image so strong when she walked into the room that he had had no choice but to leave. Just the thought of the way she had felt when …. He stopped himself before his mind could follow such a dangerous path.

I need to do something to distract myself.

He glanced to where Naruto was stationed; feeling sure that if he was restless, then Naruto was probably struggling not to explode out of his skin. The blonde had never had any patience.

Is Naruto …standing still?

If he wasn't an Uchiha his mouth would have fallen to the floor. For there Naruto was standing completely still, hands clasped behind his back, looking every bit the soldier that he was being paid to be. The sight reminded him just how different their lives must have been. This was his first guarding job. In his entire ninja career no one had ever hired him to watch their back, well at least not since he was a genin. Usually he was the one people were watching for. But growing up in the village, his teammates had probably done hundreds of these missions and had developed the appropriate "staying still while bored senseless" skills they required. He glanced over to where Sakura was, across the room, expecting her to be standing still like the resolute ninja she had become. Again he was sorely surprised.

There Sakura was, leaning over some nobles shoulder and smiling, tucking her hair behind her ear and smiling. He watched as the man whispered something into her ear that made her giggle, slap him lightly on the shoulder and toss all that wavy pink hair over her shoulder.

The shock hit him first. This time his mouth did open. Sakura was flirting. If he hadn't known her when they were younger, he would have said that she was incapable of it. As it were, he still wasn't sure that his eyes were working properly. He let his eyes slip into the sharingan for a millisecond just to make sure that this wasn't an illusion. It wasn't.

"What does she think she is …?"

He glared harshly at the man she was talking to. He seemed too happy to be Sakura's type. She preferred her men with emotional baggage of some kind, the need to heal things etched into her very DNA, so what was she doing talking to someone so…?As if sensing someone was staring at them the man looked up and shaking his strawberry blonde hair out of his eyes, waved and smiled.

Sasuke frowned. Why would someone he didn't know be waving at him? Didn't the man know who he was? At the frown the man turned and whispered to Sakura who looked up at him, curiosity all over her face. Then she smiled, turned to the man and whispered something in his ear. This time both of them laughed. He could feel the warmth of embarrassment crawl up his face. He couldn't believe he was blushing. It took all of his will power to force the offending emotion down. Uchiha's didn't blush. But then Sakura Haruno wasn't supposed to be flirting with strange men, especially not men that smiled and laughed like the world was full of flowers and pixie dust, instead of blood and pain. At least Gaara had the good sense to be a ninja. What kind of life did she think she would have with some spoiled brat noble?

He frowned harder, trying to show them both his full disapproval, hoping to wipe off the grin from his face. If anything, the extra effort he was putting made the man smile and wave harder. Disgusted he turned away, hoping desperately for something to distract him from the sight and memory of Sakura's smiling face and the knowledge that someone else had put that smile there.

Sakura walked through the village, feeling happier than she had in a long time. The look of wide-eyed shock on Sasuke's face as she had been talking to Ajisai1 had been priceless. She didn't know what he thought he was seeing, but she had to make sure to tease him about it later.

You're planning on teasing somebody. The second part of her personality piped in.

Yeah… so?

It's just not like you to be this …

This…?

… happy, I guess.

What's that's supposed to mean?

Admit it you're enjoying having team 7 back together.

Well, yes of course I am.

And you know that some people might attribute your new zest for life as a direct result of Sasuke's return.

She scowled. That has nothing to do with it. I'm just glad to …

Have him back?

She frowned harder.

Ok fine. Just because Im glad to have him back doesn't mean anything.

I didn't say it did.

You didn't say it but you insinuated it.

I insinuated NOTHING!

Just because you're thinking about it doesn't mean that I am.

Yeah sure whatever you say.

You know as useful as you may be, you can be kind of irritating.

I live to please.

I just bet you do.

She kept walking through the winding streets finding her way back to Gaara's apartment to pack for the oncoming trip back to Konoha.

She was going to miss Suna. She had gotten so used to its blistering heat not to mention the man that lived here. She understood why he broke up with her. She really did. Once they had been walking through a gift shop and he had glanced at a plaque, his face twisting in confusion as he read the message "If you love something let it go, if it returns it belongs with you forever." He had asked her to explain, and when she had he nodded in that resolute way that he did when he thought something was not just fact, but a truth of the universe. The ring had meant that she could come back. He wasn't breaking up with her so much as he was giving her room to make up her was strange how someone who had once tried to kill her now treated her with such tenderness.

All too soon, she reached the apartment and taking a deep breadth (and not hoping that Gaara wasn't home yet) she walked through the door.

As soon she walked through it she was backed up against the wall with such force that it made her wonder how long he had been waiting for her to return.

"Gaara, what …?"

Whatever she was about to say was silenced as his lips came crashing down on hers. He kissed her harshly, causing familiar fires to spread through her body. He pulled away for an instant kissing his way across her jaw line to whisper in her ear.

"I don't like it."

She pulled away from him confused.

"Don't like what…"

"Giving you freedom."

She smiled softly. She loved the way that she could predict what he was thinking.

"Oh?"

"You said …"

"I know what I said."

"I don't like it."

"I don't expect that you do."

"You belong here. I don't care where you're from. Don't care what you're responsibilities are. I don't want you to leave."

"I leave all the time Gaara."

He frowned at her. "Stop being difficult."

She pulled away from him, heading to the bedroom where all her stuff was located.

"Why? You think I want to leave? Think I want to deal with everything that going home means? Think I want to have to deal with the prying eyes and helpful gestures …. Not to mention the council?"

Her voice had begun to rise. She didn't mean to yell at him, it wasn't his fault. She just needed to yell at someone. She didn't want to have to deal with this. It was too confusing a decision.

"Do you think I like being pulled in every which direction?"

"Sakura….", his voice was low and deep. The way it was when she was testing his patience.

She knew she was being unreasonable. She turned her back to him stuffing clothes into bags.

"You think its easy? Do you know what I am going to face when I go back? And you're going to let me face it alone…!" a small sob erupted from her chest. She dropped everything in her hands and turned around only to bump into his chest as he pulled her into his arms.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't yell at you. It's not your fault. You're only trying to help. I know that. I just…"

She sobbed harder. Letting it all come out as he massaged her back slowly.

A few minutes later found them lying on the bed. His back resting on the headboard while she lay with her head on his lap, hands running through her hair.

"Do you need me to come to Konoha with you?"

"No, This is something that I need to do on my own."

He shrugged. A motion she had come to read as letting her make her own decisions as opposed to a show of indifference.

He then lowered his head to her ear to whisper:

"Now that you've gotten that out of your system … I believe you interrupted something with your little tantrum."

She laughed flipping herself over and pulling him down for a kiss.

"I believe I did."

***\

AN: Wow ..another chapter… this came to me at work while I was trying to force myself to write…. I mean work… that's what I'm supposed to do at work right…

Oh well please don't hate me for taking so long…

As usual cookies go to the reviewers….

Thanks to all the reviewers who noticed that I had not updated this since JANUARY …*hangs head in shame*

and a response to shedevil628 who said that sakura was acting Who**rish by sleeping with sasuke . I have to disagree. Even on good days it's easy to make a mistake and on especially bad days it is even easier. In the times of great loss, sometimes you just need someone to be there for you and show you that you are still connected to the world or even to just distract you from the pain. And sometimes you're significant other just cant be there… besides I needed it to make the plot move forward .hope you understand the artistic vision behind it

1 This is a hint to who this strange new man in Sakura's life is …