It was late. The Kazekage closed his eyes, rolled his shoulders and fought the urge to drink the stale cup of cold tea in front of him. The wind outside was picking up and whipping sand at the panes of the window with alarming velocity. The storm wasn't supposed to be here until tomorrow.

Gaara frowned. It was tomorrow.

A sudden knock on his door brought him back to the present. All of his guards had been dismissed and sent home for the evening-no one wanted to be caught out in this weather. Gaara figured that if someone had wanted to assassinate him and had gone through the trouble of riding out the terrible sand storm that was increasingly looking like Armageddon outside- then he would be more than happy to oblige them, because in his eyes-they earned it.

So if it was an assassin, why did they knock?

"Come in." Gaara said as he uncorked his gourd. Okay, so he wasn't going to make it that easy.

The door opened slowly with a small creak, something he had been meaning to get fixed for ages, and was almost inaudible against the now gale of wind howling in waves of sand against the building.

A slender figured entered and nearly doubled as she was supporting herself with her forearms on her thighs, gasping for breath.

"You….wanted to see me….Kazekage-sama," she heaved with all the politeness and formality she could muster.

Gaara crossed the room before it even registered that he was doing it, and quickly brought a chair over and set her down in it. Her hair miraculously still held onto its twin braided contraptions on her head, but with fine hairs whisping out in all directions with sand inevitably threaded in every strand. In fact she was covered head to toe in sand…not to mention scrapes of every size lacerated her honey colored skin.

"Tenten, were you out in the storm?" he asked incredulously. He knew the Hokage was a little crazy at times, but to send out a shinobi of any caliber out into a storm of that magnitude was just suicide.

"You know how much I like sand," Tenten wheezed with a smile before coughing a bit and groaning. "The Hokage said it was urgent and wanted me to beat the storm. Said that I would be briefed when I got here and my mission scroll would be handed to me then."

Gaara was still kneeling beside her, to all outward appearances looking bored with a carried ere of authority. On the inside however, Gaara was reeling a bit that she had even survived, not to mention pissed that Tsunade had even sent her out in this hell. He absent mindedly looked out the window and frowned.

"I know this is terribly rude of me, but can I trouble you for a glass of water?" Tenten had laid her head down on the back of the chair and was doing her best to make herself look like she wasn't trying catch her breath. Gaara quickly grabbed the mug on his desk and disappeared into a room off the side of the office before appearing before her with a clean glass of water.

"Thank you."

"Do you need medical attention?" Gaara was folding his arms across his chest again and gazing over her body to see if there was actually a need for a doctor. Not that they would make it to the hospital or even be able to call a doctor, let alone get one to the building in this mess, but Gaara felt compelled to ask. He also needed to know for peace of mind.

"Never better," Tenten winked at him and drained her cup.

"So, are you going to brief me now, Kazekage-sama?" She said in a low voice with determined eyes as she shifted slightly in her chair.

Gaara couldn't help but think that it sounded just a bit suggestive.

She was looking at him for an answer and Gaara's brain had temporarily shut down due to the fact that Tenten was unconsciously (or consciously?) biting her bottom lip and squirming ever so seductively in her chair.

Gaara blinked and then reminded himself that she was probably shifting so much in her chair do the sand in so many inappropriate places.

He really needed to stop thinking about her…places… and focus on….what were they talking about? Gaara was getting flustered…by a konoichi no less. It was quite unbecoming of the Kazekage to think such things.

She stood up and had followed him to look out the window that he was attempting to focus on. He loved to look out the window over Suna; it probably gave him a look of authority and contemplation, even if he was solely unaware of it half the time. He had a responsibility to his people, and it reminded him how very important his job was to know that everyone depended on him.

Now he looked aggravated, unable to see the streets and culs-de-sac below the window, blurry waves of sand filled the glass in its place. Gaara sighed. They were stuck in the Kazekage tower until the sand cleared, which was going to take up a better part of the next day…if they were lucky.

"You can wash up in my room," Gaara walked her over to the side room that the redhead admittedly used more often than not in the wake of going home. He pulled out some clean clothes from a nearby dresser and laid them out on the full sized bed.

"Get some sleep; it will be a while before the storm stops." He stepped out so the brunette could get dressed and settled back down to his spot behind his desk.

He could vaguely hear the water running from the small shower in the bathroom off of his quarters and Gaara had become somewhat distracted by the fact that she was there. In his shower. Naked in his shower.

He tried to push such thoughts aside and focus his attention on why exactly he shouldn't kill this particular feudal lord for his insubordination as he read over the scroll before him.

Sometimes it was so much easier being the vessel for a demon. They wouldn't have pulled this bull shit with him if he was still possessed. He ought to kill him, just to make an example of him.

Frustrated, he tossed the scroll aside, deciding that if that was the only thing he had to deal with tomorrow, so be it. He reached for another scroll from his in pile only to be met with a handful of nothing.

Could it possibly be that all of these lonely nights of no sleep and paperwork have finally led him to be caught up on all of it?

He turned to the one insipid scroll mocking him on his desk. If he started on that, then he wouldn't have to think about the girl on his bed, filling his sheets with her warm body and scent. He noted suddenly that the shower had stopped running. He gulped and began to pull out a new sheet of paper from his desk drawer.

As the wind roared out side and threatened to break the glass of the window pane, he also took out some spare candles and matches…just in case the power went out.

It was sheer luck that he had a match out, ready to light the first candle, just as the lights flickered and died, plunging the high lofted room into darkness. He struck the match on the side of the box and heard a solid thump, then a crashing of objects, followed by a string of muffled curses coming from his room. He lit the candles and made his way to the room and knocked on the door.

"Tenten, can I come in?" Gaara wasn't going to bother asking if she was alright. He could hear her groaning from whatever limb she banged against the furniture.

"Did you just ask permission to enter your own room?" she asked from the floor, or at least that is where Gaara supposed she was. He couldn't see her when he opened the door. He crossed the room and held the candle at arms length, but as soon as he caught sight of Tenten he stopped.

Now, he had hoped one day, maybe, just maybe, he might be able to see Tenten with her hair down. He imagined that her hair would be messy but glorious all the same. He also imagined himself being able to run his fingers through said hair, amongst other things. But the girl who was on the floor, inspecting her knee in the meager candlelight was much, much sexier than he had imagined.

She was wearing a pair of her panties and one of his white shirts. Only that. He knew because her gorgeous wet hair had fallen to the front of the shirt, dampening it so that it soaked through to be completely see-through. His shirt was riding her hips exposing very long and feminine legs. Kame, she had legs that went on for miles. His shirt, he noticed, was only halfway buttoned, exposing a long v down her sternum and ample cleavage.

"Hobbled by furniture, I can see my headstone now," Tenten chuckled at her slightly swollen knee, now trickling just a bit of blood from the cut on top of it.

Gaara offered her a hand up. She shivered and blew some warm air into her hands.

"Sit down; I will get the medical kit out of my desk." Gaara explained handing her the candle. He swiftly left the room and returned, kneeling to place the dressing on her wound.

"Heat's out, tell me you have extra blankets." Tenten fingered the lightweight material covering the bed as she spoke. Gaara shook his head.

"The cold fronts moved in so quickly I haven't had time to grab the spares back at my place." Gaara finished his ministrations and moved on to the oozing gash on her forearm.

"So we are going to freeze to death?" Tenten asked half-heartedly, kicking her long legs flirtatiously at the edge of the bed.

"Probably," Gaara folded his arms over his chest after he finished and did his level best not to act as if she was getting to him. "You should get some sleep. The sand storm won't be over for at least half a day."

He turned to leave, not expecting the konoichi on his bed to suddenly leap off it and follow him out the door.

He turned abruptly, nearly bumping into her.

"Contrary to popular belief, the chair behind my desk is not at all comfortable, I suggest you take up my offer and sleep on my bed." Gaara didn't even bother to blink at the shorter shinobi, and she only fluttered her eyes in an attempt to look innocent.

"Who I their right mind could sleep during this racket?" Tenten cocked her head to the side. "Maybe if you let me help you with some atrocious paperwork I might be lulled into a bored stupor." She rocked back on her heels playfully. Gaara fought the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration, but he couldn't argue with logic.

"Fine," Gaara acceded, knowing full well that it would take a miracle to fall asleep as the wind howled fretfully outside.

Settling down behind his desk, he noticed that Tenten still had not managed to put on any pants, nor had she managed to button up his shirt further. She merely whooshed her hair to one side and planted her firm butt up on the side of his desk and continued to dangle those tempting legs out in front of him.

Kame it was going to be a long night.

"Hold the candle," Gaara shoved the flame into her palm and dunked the quill with precision into the ink bottle.

"Sheesh, Gaara, you seem a little tense," Tenten placed the candle down and slipped off side of the desk to stand behind the Kazekage.

"What happened to 'Kazekage-sama'?" Gaara questioned the sudden lack of formality. Not that he cared, mind you. He supposed they were never alone to allow for such luxuries.

"No need to be so formal when I am standing half naked in your shirt," she purred into his ear and started to massage his shoulders.

Ok, that was definitely a little more than suggestive. He nearly rolled his eyes back into his head as she kneaded his sore muscles, and shivered when she whispered into his ear again.

"Feeling better, Kazekage-sama?" she teased. Gaara was trying his best not to panic. He was beginning to think that all of the flirting that she had been doing with him over the past year was starting to amount to something. Before now, he had brushed it off as hallucinations from lack of sleep and wishful thinking. Now the girl that he was beginning to have very inappropriate thoughts about, somehow managed to end up in his lap. Gaara took a deep breath.

Her arms were lazily linked behind his neck and he could see the seductive, hungry look she was giving him filtering through the flickering candlelight.

His brain operated on only hormones, and he hauled the girl up into a straddling position until his mouth was able to cover hers. The kiss was warm, slow, and sensual. Gaara wasn't even aware that his hands had lifted what little of his shirt that covered her ass to touch the tantalizing skin on her lower back and ribs. She pressed her body against him, and Kame help him he had no intention of stopping her from doing whatever she wanted to him. If it were a henge, and she an assassin-he would have died a happy man.

He hauled her up with two strong arms and headed for the door to his private chambers.

He barely had her horizontal on his bed before he placed more kisses on her neck and moved downward to linger on her collar bone as he fumbled with the buttons of his shirt.

She moaned below him, forcefully unbuckling his pants and running her hands underneath his exposed skin.

He leaned in for another demanding kiss, surging his tongue over her lips and nipping with his teeth on her mouth.

She retaliated by moving her hands more brazenly on his other body parts and taking his earlobe firmly between her teeth.

He fought not to rush this. He stilled his body into taking it slower, drawing out the lust between them with every soft caress and drudging kiss. After all, they had the whole night to themselves.

A/N: My first Gaara and Tenten fic. What did you think? I might do a Choji and Tenten one next….