A/N: Wow, this is something I haven't written in a looong time. It's Gaara! ... And he's straight! Oh, and I know I said I probably wouldn't update until school ended, but I had this sudden plot bunny that wouldn't go away. It's five in the morning and I have school at twelve... bleagh, I'm going to be bone tired tomorrow. But it was worth it! -passes out from sheer exhaustion-

Btw, Sakura and Gaara are both at least 21 in this story.

A Morning Walk

“Good morning, Kazekage-sama,” Sakura greeted the familiar tall and regal redhead walking down the street of Konoha alone.

“There’s no need for formalities among those who are important to each other.” Gaara stopped, brushed back a lock of hair, and continued to look on down the road.

“Right, sorry, Gaara-kun.” Sakura cleared her throat and touched a finger to her lip. “Where’s Temari-san and Kankuro-san?”

“I told them I could handle walking through a closely allied village on my own. If I were to be surrounded by bodyguards around friends, it would only raise walls between our villages. I’d rather trust in my friends and sand; I’ll save the bodyguards for another day.”

Sakura covered her mouth with a hand and made a queer muffled sound, cheeks and nose pink in a way that was very… cute, Gaara decided. Sakura was being cute. “Like Naruto?”

“What?”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, Naruto does the same thing. He makes a fuss whenever I suggest bodyguards when he travels.”

“Oh? You got back together?” If there was one way to describe Sakura and Naruto, it was ‘shaky.’ They would hold hands and stroll down the streets one day, and the next making very loud and sometimes violent, on her part, announcements that they were through. They wouldn’t get back together for a few weeks, but one day they would just decide they liked each other again.

Sakura gave an embarrassed laugh. “Well… we did, but we broke up a few weeks ago.”

Gaara sighed. It was hard, seeing two good friends have such unstable relations with each other. He wondered if he could convince Naruto to go out with that soft-spoken white-eyed woman who blushed adoringly whenever the blond Hokage walked by her. First things first, it was best to pay attention to the present and why they broke up for the hundredth time. “What happened this time?” He grimaced to himself. He sounded too annoyed and unsupportive, like a really bad friend who didn’t really care one bit.

“We talked,” she answered, taking a few slow steps down the road to hint they should walk together. Gaara walked beside her with a soft sound of interest. Sakura was more than willing to enlighten him. “We decided it wasn’t healthy for either of us to keep on this cycle of breaking up and making up. I could tell it was hard on our friends, too. So... we decided we shouldn’t be together anymore.”

Gaara jerked his head around to look at her. “That’s good!” He blinked, corrected himself. “That is… It’s good that you worked out.”

Sakura grinned as she stared down the road, flashing pearly teeth. Warm, Gaara looked back to the road and pursed his lips together. He heard a soft intake of air and turned his head to look back at the pink-haired woman.

She laughed nervously and wrapped a lock of hair around her finger. “Hey, I was wondering… I’m not doing anything tonight and it’s been a little lonely…”

Gaara straightened his shoulders. He liked where this was going. She exhaled slowly. “Gaara-kun, would you like to have drink with me?”

They walked in silence. Gaara asked, “You mean… like a date?”

Sakura’s red nose and cheeks darkened. “Well… yeah. I mean, only if you want to…”

Gaara didn’t look at her, though his head tilted slightly. His lips curved in the faintest way possible, but Sakura caught it and the barely hinted pink tint. Hesitantly, she reached out to touch his hand with long graceful fingers. He locked them in his hand with a gentle squeeze and answered in his softest voice, “I’d like that very much.”

A/N: Why don't we leave these two alone to enjoy their sake? ;)