For your reading pleasure, I present to you my latest, yet longest chapter yet.

Chapter 4

"Gaara-kun, you're half an hour early," Sakura yawned as she answered the door while still in her night clothes. She then looked over Gaara's shoulder at Kankuro who sheepishly waved at her. "Ah, well hello…there…"

"My brother, Kankuro. I was… hoping to introduce you," Gaara explained rather lamely.

"Perhaps later would be a better time," Kankuro interjected with a small sniffle. His eyes were starting to redden again and his jaw clenched and unclenched. It was obvious to Gaara he was having difficulties holding himself together and Sakura also easily picked up on that. One moment she was slow and groggy and the next she ushered them into her kitchen, preparing to whip up a breakfast that she guaranteed would make people smile.

The brunette man offered to help because "It's only right since we're imposing," but was quickly shooed out of the kitchen with a rag.

"I'll not have you touching food until breakfast is good and ready!" she mock-scolded him, effectively beginning to distract the older man from his previous dark thoughts. He laughed on his way back to the table and the smile on his face substantiated the fact that Gaara was definitely right in taking Kankuro to the rosette.

"So, Gaara," she called, bringing him out of his thoughts, "I was actually going to not open shop today, or maybe just do a half day. Everybody's supposed to be meeting up here and we're… well, I don't know what we're doing after that." She giggled. "Do you and your brother want to come?"

"Sure," Kankuro interjected. "I wanna see who my brother associates with." A smug smile met a scathing eye-roll, but Gaara nonetheless affirmed his brother's decision.

"Alright," Sakura beamed. "Lemme change while you start on breakfast and then we'll see what happens." She served up the smothered potatoes, ham, eggs, and smiley-faced chocolate chip pancakes for the two men to eat and took her leave. Kankuro grinned and rubbed his palms together in anticipation before digging into his plate with an enthusiastic "Itadakimasu." Gaara followed suit, albeit more stoically. He had just finished his ham and eggs and was about to start on his pancakes when Sakura rejoined the two, looking much fresher than she had not too long ago.

"This is delicious!" Kankuro exclaimed through a mouthful of potato. "I am so glad my little brother could find a girl who makes Kami-honest stick-to-your-ribs kind of food." He swallowed his mouthful and shook his fork at Gaara. "You had better not do anything to lose this gem of a girlfriend or else I'll certainly pick her up."

Sakura laughed, but Gaara harrumphed. He pulled Sakura, chair and all, until she was right next to him and put a possessive arm around her.

"Gaara," she said. He glanced down at her and shrugged.

"You actually read and can have an intellectual conversation with me." He then speared a cube of ham from Sakura's plate and ate it to much protest on her part. "And you bake."

The violinist was pleased to see Sakura's eyes sparkle with amused understanding. He was referring to the fact that yes, she had indeed gotten him to crave sweets. However, the moment did not last long for loud scuffling sounds came through the front door. The rosette clapped her hands in expectation and the red-head followed her to the door. It opened to reveal a blond and black knot while a nervous Hinata looked on.

Gaara pointedly cleared his throat and the one knot untangled to one boisterous Naruto and one disgruntled… black-haired bastard.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he hugged the woman and spun her around in greeting. Hinata smiled and also gave Sakura a hug, but Gaara caught none of this. He was focused on the threat that stood so calmly before him.

"Gaara," Sasuke acknowledged. The amiability in his voice quite obviously was not genuine, as was indicated by the terse and overly firm handshake that Gaara returned in full.

"Sasuke." And the short and secret clash of killing intent ended. Gaara resisted all urges for violence as Sakura also gave Sasuke a hug and made sure to follow her closely when she invited everyone inside.

Sasuke promptly made himself comfortable on the couch as Gaara assumed he had done when still dating Sakura. He slouched at an angle against the back and armrest that allowed him to view the entirety of the living room and kitchen where Kankuro was still eating.

"Pancakes!" Naruto promptly plopped in the seat next to Kankuro and dug into the platter of hot cakes before him.

"Hey! Those are for everyone!" Sakura scolded, taking away the platter and divvying the load between three plates. "Come, eat," she invited. Hinata obliged and gratefully took one plate to the seat next to Naruto who had gleefully started eating off of the plate Sakura sat before him.

"So," Naruto started off with a burp, "Who's this guy?" He eyeballed Kankuro for a minute before they silently agreed to an eating contest.

"That's Gaara's brother," Sakura explained. Naruto choked on his forkful and shifted his gaze from Gaara to Kankuro, and back.

"No offense dude, but I thought you would have killed anyone you grew up with," he said with the utmost solemnity. Such laughter erupted from the older brother that Sakura and Hinata joined in, and the kitchen was filled with it.

"I like this guy! Naruto, right?"

By the time they arrived at the mall, bellies were full, jokes ran rampant, and Gaara was sure he need not worry about his brother anymore. Kankuro was easily getting along with everyone and, paired with Naruto, was effectively diffusing the palpable tension between the violinist and the dancer.

It was almost as though they were high school students out on holiday. The women were definitely controlling the destination of the group, what with all the "cute" and "adorable" displays in each store window. There was that pink and white kitten themed store that every female in a ten mile radius seemed to have congregated in. How Gaara survived, he attributed only to the fact that Sakura had such a delightfully warm hand and femininely firm grasp on his own hand.

Shop after shop, the six meandered through, gaining baggage from every stop on the way. Here was an adorable keychain Sakura just couldn't pass up from the aforementioned cat store. Here was the recipe book that explained cupcakes made with various alcohols. This was the pair of earrings that matched the dress Sakura had at home. This was the necklace Sakura thought matched Gaara's eyes the most… The list went on and on and Naruto had a similar story with Hinata's prizes. The red head believed he was the less fortunate one because Sakura had less humility when shopping than Hinata did; however it did require noting that he was in fact enjoying himself and had almost forgotten that there was a black sheep in their midst, so to speak.

But… Sasuke was not at all antagonizing Gaara. In fact… Sasuke seemed as calmed to watch Sakura's antics as much as Gaara was. She was endearing to be around. And here she comes in a dress right now…

"How do I look?" She asked as she spun for the benefit of the two men. The color complemented her usually disagreeable hair, and the skirt flared almost daringly high.

"Perfect." Sasuke answered. Gaara grit his teeth. He personally would have said angelic, heavenly, like Aphrodite and Benzaiten met and had a child, but curse that raven-haired bastard, he spoke first.

"Good. I'm wearing this for the competition."

"You know it's still a ways off. Suna is scheduling it for the nineteenth next month."

"And I won't have any time after this to pick out a dress before then. I've got to get something that can wow the judges. Did you know the head of Suna is supposed to be a judge? Oh, Gaara! Did I invite you to see me compete?"

"I didn't even know about it." Of course, now that he knew not only when but also who was hosting it, there would be nothing to stop Gaara from being there. Heir to Suna Corporation for one day, and already he was seeing a perk to the job.

Cultural Note:
Aphrodite is, as most people know, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, etc.
Benzaiten is essentially the Indian/Japanese equivalent. She is also the goddess of everything that flows: water, words, speech, eloquence, music and by extension knowledge. Her Indian name is Saraswati.

This chapter is my longest yet, and things will hopefully start chugging along again. I truly am trying hard to find time to write. As you know, life is not always accomodating. Last time, I gave you an Easter egg hunt. Here's the solution: "Scenic World" by Beirut

The lights go on/ The lights go off/ When things don't feel right/ I lie down like a tired dog/ licking his wounds in the shade/ When I feel alive/ I try to imagine a careless life/ A scenic world where the sunsets are all/ Breathtaking/ Breathtaking...

I do wish you would youtube it and enjoy. I share this and my heart to everyone who reads and relates to my work. Thank you.

-Lady Inu13