A/N: sooo...i was just kinda in the mood to write this...idk where it even came from, but hey, i like it :) for the time being its just a one-shot, but if you want me to make it a full out chapter story, i may. also, i may turn it over to someone else. so if you wanna make this into a story, just pm me and ill talk to you about it:) well i think its about that time again for the...

Disclaimer! no i do not own naruto, but i do own this stroy. let me know if u wanna be a partial owner ;)

You Missed One

Pre-Story Summary:

Sakura had been sent to Sunagakure to help train their medical corp. She was to be stationed there for at least six months, but that was subject to change. She was staying in the Kazekage's family's home, with Temari, Kankuro, and the Kazekage himself, Gaara.

Beginning:

Sakura had been in Suna for five months now and their medics could still only handle mediocre jutsu. Today had become particularly stressful when one of her Genin-level students had gotten a paper cut while reading about healing minor wounds, then proceeded to ask her for something to wrap his finger with. It took all her self-control not to punch him through the wall with her inhuman strength.

Instead, she just took a deep breath, threw him some gauze and walked out of the room, saying she was going to get a cup of tea.

Sakura was now sitting in the deserted waiting room of the hospital, cup of tea in hand, staring at the ceiling, thinking about him. She missed her friends and she missed her Kakashi and Tsunade, but she didn't miss home enough to ask Tsunade to call her back and end her mission.

Sure, she wasn't getting far with her students, but she had become close with Temari and Kankuro. Even Gaara, who had been acting more personable since Shukaku was removed from him, had shown her some flashes of kindness during her stay with them.

Sakura sighed. Gaara...what was with him? He was so hot-and-cold it was frustrating! She sighed again, rolled her eyes and forced herself to stand up and make her way back to her class. But as soon as she opened the door and saw that everyone was still pretty much staring at their books confusedly, she just gave in.

"Okay everyone. Tomorrow we're doing hands-on 'cause you all can't seem to grasp what you're reading. You're all dismissed. Be here at 8 o'clock sharp tomorrow morning."

With that, she turned on heel into a cloud of cherry blossom petals and disappeared. When she reappeared, she was outside the Sabaku house. (More like mansion!)

She made her way inside and headed straight for her bedroom, not even bothering to stop in the kitchen even though she hadn't eaten all day and knew that Temari wouldn't home to make dinner tonight. It was already 7 o'clock when Sakura dropped her empty teacup on the dresser and collapsed on her bed. Then she remembered something. She had already been here for five months and yet she still hadn't snooped around the house yet! Sure, if Gaara found her, he would probably kill her, but no one seemed to be home right now.

Sakura got up from the bed she had just dropped down on and made her way to the door. She stuck her head out and looked around. No one seemed to be there and she couldn't sense anyone's chakra signature.

Across the hall, she spied the door that had been closed for the whole five months she'd been in Suna. Slowly tip-toeing over, almost as if the walls would hear her, Sakura turned the handle on the door and pushed.

The door swung open revealing a small, dark room. She didn't feel like searching for a light switch so she just made her way tentatively into the room, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. When they had adjusted, she realized she was inside a small library. The walls were lined with bookshelves that were stocked full of large books. In the middle of the room was a large chair that, had the lights been on, she would see was a blood red color.

She made her way over to the far wall and grabbed a book at random. Opening it, she saw that it was a photo book. The picture on the first page was of a small boy with wide eyes and shaggy red hair. The kanji for love was tattooed on his forehead and he was playing with sand. Then Sakura realized there were bloody, mangled fingers sticking out of the sand next to the little Gaara...

It was then that Sakura felt a presence behind her. Before she could react, she was slammed into a wall, held fast by hard sand. A few books fell off the shelf by her head when she made contact and the one she had been holding dropped to the ground by her feet and was snapped shut by more of Gaara's sand.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" the cold voice of Gaara asked in a menacing whisper.

Sakura could feel tears forming in her eyes from the force at which her back had hit the bookshelf, but she would not cry; she would not show weakness in front of Gaara. "I was just curious," she managed to choke out. The sand was crushing her so that she was barely able to breathe. Her back felt like it was on fire and she could hear three vertebrae being crushed because of where they lined up with the shelves.

Gaara could see in her eyes that she was in a lot of pain. He didn't like the feeling that came with putting his friend in pain, but he couldn't just stop. It would be unlike him. And he had to show her who was boss in this house. "Never come into this room without my permission again," he said slowly and threateningly.

Sakura was not going to be intimidated by him...well, at least she wasn't going to show him that she was intimidated. So when the pressure of the sand started to recede and she was able to move again, she stood up straight, (even though it made her back feel like it was being crushed again) held her head high and walked out of the room with as much dignity as she could muster.

Gaara watched her go. When she got to her bedroom door, he saw her bring a glowing green hand to her lower back. Then, when the door shut, he heard a quiet sob and a small thud.

"Damnit!" he cursed and kicked a wall. The rest of the books on that wall fell to the floor.

When Sakura ad shut the door of her room behind her, she had crumpled to the ground and let out a soft sob. The pain was agonizing; she couldn't even keep her hand on her back to continue healing it. Now she was slowly crawling to her bathroom door, trying to move her back as little as possible. When she reached the closed door, she was able to pull herself up by the handle and steady herself against the wall.

Sakura pushed the bathroom door open and stepped inside. She sat down on the counter with her back to the mirror before ripping her shirt off, knowing she wouldn't be able to pull it over her head.

Looking over her shoulder at the mirror, Sakura gasped. Her back was a mass of purple and yellow bruising. There were three red splotches in a line running up her spine where the vertebrae had been crushed against her skin. Slowly bringing her petit hand to the small of her back, she started healing the crushed parts of her spine. Once those were healed, she didn't have much chakra left, so she just let the bruises be. She would heal them in the morning.

Sakura stripped off the rest of her clothes and turned the shower on. Once the water was hot and the bathroom was staring to steam up, she stepped into the spray of water.

Sakura let the hot water run over her petit yet toned frame. Closing her eyes, she sighed as the water massaged her sore back. Then she heard a tentative knock on the door. She poked her head out of the solid black curtain, and before she had time to answer, the door swung open revealing Gaara, staring at his feet, looking–wait, was that...shame?

"Can I help you?" Sakura asked, not bothering to hide the venom that dripped from her words. She was pissed and she wanted him to know that.

"I wish to apologize," Gaara said in response. He said it very quietly; he sounded truly genuine.

Sakura sighed. She couldn't stay mad at him, not when he looked like this, so vulnerable. "Its okay, Gaara," she whispered, pulling her head back into the shower and closing her eyes.

"No, its not!" Gaara almost yelled back at her. "You don't understand what its like. Disappointing your friends, hurting the ones you love. It makes my heart cringe. I hate that feeling! I wish I were able to control myself better. I'm still a danger to everyone I'm near," Gaara finished, his head drooping. He had truly become more human since the Akatsuki had kidnapped him so long ago.

Sakura heard the door slam and assumed he had run out of the bathroom. What she didn't figure was that he was still in the bathroom and had shut the door because he was planning on joining her in the shower.

At this point, Sakura had re-closed her eyes, unaware of the stripping redhead a mere foot away from her, separated only by a solid black shower curtain.

Gaara silently shed all his clothes, right down to his sock and boxers. Sakura still had her eyes closed when he hopped quickly and silently into the shower. She was facing the water, so her back was to him. Gaara saw the purple and yellow bruises that covered her lean, muscular lower back.

Sakura was simply standing in the spray of water, just letting it wash over her, when Gaara came up behind her. He placed his hands on her hips and she tensed, but she didn't turn or open her eyes.

Gaara started feathering light kisses all over her back. It felt amazing; Sakura could barely feel the pain in her back anymore because she was too focused on the wonders that Gaara's lips were doing to her lower back. Even his hands that were currently sitting on her hips sent tingles through her body as they massaged the skin there.

Then Gaara started kissing his way up her back. He went up her spine, then over her shoulder blade and to her collarbone. He stopped just below her left ear and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Sa-ku-ra."

His enunciation of each syllable in her name sent shivers down her spine. Then, she felt his left leg brush over hers. As if being shaken out of a daydream, it finally dawned on her: she and Gaara were together...in the shower...naked...

Gaara could feel that the mood was broken. His sand spun around him and he disappeared before Sakura could turn and see him, reappearing for just a brief second on the other side of the shower curtain so he could grab his clothes.

Sakura turned, but no one else was in the shower with her. She turned the water off and stepped out. Had it been her imagination? She didn't think so; it had felt so real. Then she spied a little black sock that most definitely was not hers.

She wrapped a towel around her dripping body, grabbed all of her clothes, plus Gaara's forgotten sock, and walked out of her bathroom, trying to ignore the sting in her back. She dumped her clothes on the bed, but kept the sock in hand.

Taking a senbon needle out of her weapons pouch that lay on her desk, Sakura poked it through the tip of the sock. She walked over to the door and stepped out, still in a towel, facing her right where, at the end of the hall, was the door to Gaara's bedroom.

She threw the senbon with sock attached at the closed door. She knew Gaara would've heard it. When the door opened and she saw Gaara's face, eyes wide, (probably because of her lack of clothing) she called, "You missed one." Smiling, she turned and walked back into her room.

She could've sworn she had seen a small smile on Gaara's lips, too.

A/N: whatd ya think? i personally like it:) review please!