A/N: Hello, readers!

I bring to you another GaaSaku fic. This one, however, is longer than the last one I posted, so hopefully it's a much more enjoyable to read for you all :)

Reviews, as always, are very much appreciated. Comments, critiques, opinions—anything goes. I just like hearing from you all!

All The Little Things

By S. Muffin

"Hey, Gaara?"

Gaara, who was lying down quite comfortably on the couch, looked up from the book he was reading and saw Sakura standing before him, her arms crossed and an impatient look on her face.

"Yes?" he answered.

"There's something very important I need to ask you," she specified, and her eyes narrowed a bit, making her appear angrier than before.

Gaara remained silent. What could he have possibly done (this time) to upset her? With Sakura, the possibilities were usually endless.

"Did you eat my chocolate covered cherries?"

Gaara's eyes widened just slightly, but he quickly regained his composure before she noticed any change in his demeanor.

"No," he replied coolly. If there was anything he was good at it was lying. He could lie his way out of every situation. And he was proud of it too.

Well. Almost every situation.

This one just happened to be the exception.

Sakura raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"...I may have had one or two," he admitted, his rough exterior just slightly starting to crumble under her intense gaze. After being in a relationship together for so long, Gaara learned (the hard way, of course) one very important fact about his girlfriend: Sakura was scary.

The pink haired girl began to tap her foot.

"Or ten," he amended.

Rolling her eyes, Sakura sighed and turned back around. "You are so sleeping on the couch tonight," she muttered as she walked back into the bedroom and let the door slam shut.

.

.

It was five in the afternoon when Gaara arrived home after work one day, slipping his shoes off and tossing them carelessly to the side as he entered the apartment. He pulled at his tie, loosening it, as he crossed over to the living room.

Sakura, having heard her boyfriend coming through the front door, emerged from their bedroom with a wide smile on her face. "Hey!" she greeted him happily, leaning over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hey," he muttered in return, placing a hand on her back and bringing her closer. He was about to ask how her day was, when suddenly, an unfamiliar scent entered his nose. He sniffed, his eyes narrowed in confusion. "What's that smell?"

"Oh, it's this new room spray that I bought today!" Sakura replied enthusiastically. Bending over, she picked a small spray bottle up from the coffee table and held it out to him. Gaara took it and sniffed the top. "It's called Berry Paradise. They were having a sale at the store today, so I bought a lot of them. Do you like it?"

His nose scrunched disagreeably. "No. It smells awful."

She gave him a blank look and dropped her arm. "...What?"

"It smells awful," he repeated bluntly. "If I were you I'd return it and ask for your money back."

Sakura continued to stare at him, blinking slowly, her face clear of any emotion whatsoever. Gaara stared back, confused.

"What?" he asked. "Did I say something wrong?"

Without a word, Sakura leaned forward and grabbed the spray bottle out of his hands. Then, with her eyes narrowed into a glare, she raised the bottle and sprayed it directly into his face.

Gaara shut his eyes tightly and coughed violently as the horrible fragrance entered his nose and lungs. Sakura let out a quiet humph, setting the bottle back down on the coffee table before making her way back into the bedroom.

"Asshole."

.

.

"If you ever tell anybody about this, I will break up with you and then murder you in your sleep."

Sakura regarded Gaara with a look of utter boredom. "Mhmm."

"I'm serious," he continued.

"Of course you are."

"Don't underestimate what I'm capable of."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh, quit being so dramatic. It really isn't that big of a deal."

"Sakura," he began, setting the small bottle that was in his hands down on the kitchen table, "how many men do you know that paint their girlfriend's fingernails for her?"

Sakura hmmed thoughtfully as she stared down at her half finished, bright red nails. "Well, Ino told me that she once dated this guy who—"

"None," he replied for her. "There are no other men on this planet that paint their girlfriends' fingernails for them."

"But you're just so much better at it than I am!" she argued. "I mean, you're extremely meticulous and have such a good eye for detail, and in general you're just really neat—"

"Flattery won't work on me, Sakura."

She scoffed. "Oh, come off it, Gaara. Every time I try to do it myself I just make a mess of it and whenever I go to a nail salon you bitch at me for overpaying. Just shut the hell up and paint. Please and thank you."

Muttering obscenities under his breath, Gaara lifted the small brush back out of the nail polish and resumed where had left off.

.

.

Sakura Haruno was well-known for being a combination of three things: stubborn, prideful, and very capable. Once she set her mind to something, there was no turning back. Every task she took on she made sure she didn't rest until she had completed it successfully and once she was done she made sure that she was recognized for her efforts.

That was why she had spent her entire day off from work with her Gameboy Advance held tightly between her hands with Pokemon Sapphire inside of it.

It was also why, when he eventually walked through the front door after a long day of work, Gaara wasn't all that shocked to see her sitting on the couch in the same position he had left her in earlier that morning. He was, however, somewhat surprised that she hadn't already accomplished what had become her goal for the day.

"Still playing Pokemon?" he asked as he dropped down onto the couch beside her.

Sighing, Sakura looked up from the screen in front of her and nodded woefully.

"How's that going for you?"

"I still can't beat the stupid Elite Four!" she exclaimed, frustrated. "I spent like, three hours training my team before challenging them and I'm stilllosing."

"That sucks," he commented idly, leaning over towards the coffee table and picking up the T.V. remote. "Maybe you should take a break?"

"No!" she argued. "I spent all morning playing, I can't just stop now. I mean, I'm always so close, it's just that every time I get to the fourth person I totally dissolve."

"Which means you should take a break," he insisted as he turned the T.V. on. "It's just a game, Sakura. A game that you're way too involved in, I should add."

Sakura didn't reply. She sighed again as she looked down at Gameboy screen thoughtfully, before quickly glancing back at her boyfriend.

Gaara, however, caught her wandering gaze. "No."

She frowned, and for a second Gaara thought she actually might break down and cry. "Please?" she asked softly. "I really just want to win it, even if it means asking you to do it for me."

He stared at her for several long moments, racking his brain for any excuse he could use in order to avoid playing the game.

He sighed in defeat when he could think of none.

"The things I do for you," he finally muttered, setting the remote off to the side and then taking the Gameboy out of her hands. "You owe me."

Smiling, Sakura leaned forward and pecked his cheek before curling up beside him and directing her attention to the screen as he began to play.

.

.

"Is it safe to look now?"

Gaara opened his mouth to reply, but the sound of a running chainsaw, followed by a woman's scream, cut him off.

Sakura grimaced and hid her face in his shoulder.

"I can't believe you're making me watch this," she said for what seemed like the hundredth time that night, her voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt.

"Technically, you aren't watching it in that position. And you were the one wanted to watch a movie together," Gaara countered. "And you also agreed that I could choose the movie."

Sakura's head shot up and she scowled at him. "Because I figured that you'd pick an action movie or one of those old classic films that you like—something that we could both enjoy. Not this bullshit movie!"

Gaara snorted softly, chuckling a bit. "Maybe next time you're bored you won't suggest we watch a movie then?"

Sakura sighed. "You're impossible."

Gaara simply smiled to himself.

.

.

"Sakura, stop crying."

"But I can't!" she protested, sobbing into her boyfriend's chest, holding onto his sweater for dear life.

Gaara sighed softly and gently rubbed her back, trying his best to soothe her, "trying" being the key word. She had been crying for almost an hour and he was starting to lose hope that she would ever stop. She normally wasn't so overemotional about these things, but he vaguely remembered her saying something about PMS the other day. He usually liked to tune those discussions/arguments/bitch fits out.

"Those people are idiots," he stated frankly. "Don't waste your time crying over them."

"Gaara, I really wanted that internship!" she shouted, looking up at him with puffy, tear-filled eyes. "I needed it! That hospital is one of the best in the county and if they don't want me as an intern then no one will!"

"There will be others, Sakura," he assured her, still calm, despite his girlfriend's incessant weeping. "Better ones. I'm sure of it."

"But I wanted this one!" she wailed and buried her face into his chest again, crying harder.

Gaara sighed again, looking up at the ceiling as he circled both arms around her. "I know, Sakura," he muttered.

"No you don't!"

Gaara felt his left eye twitch. "Okay, I don't."

They stopped talking and Sakura continued to cry. Eventually, Gaara grew tired of listening to her sobs. Not just because it was annoying, since at this point Sakura now sounded like a dying animal, but because he couldn't stand to see her so upset. He knew that he had a tendency to come off as an insensitive asshole most of the time, but that didn't change the fact that he did genuinely care for her wellbeing.

With that in mind, Gaara made it his duty to stop her tears. He abruptly pulled back from their embrace and stood up, disappearing into the kitchen, leaving a confused Sakura on the couch. He came back a few moments later, carrying a container of chocolate ice-cream in one hand and two spoons in the other.

"Here," he said as he sat down and gave her a spoon. "Dig in."

Sakura sniffled. She took the spoon and scooped up a large amount of ice-cream. A small smile came onto her face as she put it in her mouth.

Gaara smirked slightly as well, taking a spoonful for himself.

Lesson learned: ice-cream was the cure for everything.

.

.

While watching television on a Saturday afternoon, Sakura suddenly had a craving for ramen noodles.

Spending so much time with Naruto had more than likely been the cause of said craving. They had gone out for lunch at Naruto's favorite ramen bar yesterday, the day before yesterday, and the day before that as well. Now that she was in the habit of eating it, it didn't exactly surprise her when the craving hit.

Still, whether it was Naruto's influence or not, Sakura wanted ramen. Now.

Standing up from the sofa, Sakura crossed the living room and walked into the kitchen.

It was decided. She and Gaara were going out for lunch today.

"Hey, Gaa—" Sakura stopped when her eyes landed on her boyfriend, her mouth dropping in absolute shock. "...ra?"

Gaara looked at her over his shoulder, standing so the rest of his body was still facing the stove. "Yes?"

Sakura blinked in disbelief but it was no use. Each time she opened her eyes again, Gaara was still standing there, in the kitchen, in front of the stove, cooking.

...Cooking.

Gaara was cooking.

Ladies and gentlemen, Inner Sakura announced in her head, hell has just frozen over.

"What is it, Sakura?" he asked, his voice the slightest bit impatient. "If you haven't noticed, I'm in the middle of something."

"What..." Sakura struggled to get the words out. "What are you...doing?"

"Is it not obvious?" He stepped aside so she could see a medium-sized pot on the stove with steam floating above it.

"Well, yeah, but, Gaara..." She was in such disbelief that she almost couldn't finish her sentence. "You're...cooking!"

"And your point is?

"I just, I mean...you're...Gaara!" she exclaimed.

"Boiling water isn't exactly rocket science, you know," he informed her.

"Well, why didn't you tell me before?" she asked, genuinely curious.

She thought she saw his cheeks turn a light shade of pink. He quickly turned back around to face the stove.

"It's nothing special," he muttered. "I just wanted to make lunch for you."

Sakura blinked again. She then smiled, her eyes softening, and then slowly walked over to wrap her arms around him.

"That's so sweet," she murmured, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

Gaara smirked slightly and his cheeks gradually returned to their normal color. Glancing at her, he asked, "So, what did you want?"

"Hm?" She gave him a questioning look, before suddenly remembering her reason for being in the kitchen in the first place. She opened her mouth to respond—

Hello! He made you lunch, dumb ass! Inner Sakura scolded. You can't just tell him you want to go out now!

Oh. Right.

—but then quickly shut it, giving him another smile.

"Just wanted to kiss the cook, that's all," she said as she kissed his cheek again. "What are you making, anyway?"

"Ramen."

"..."

"...What?"

"Words cannot express how much I love you right now."

.

.

"Gaara?"

Sakura gently shook her boyfriend's shoulder, trying to rouse him from his heavy slumber.

"Gaara, wake up," she said, and shook his shoulder a bit harder.

Muttering incoherently, Gaara slowly opened his eyes. His sleepy gaze landed on Sakura's worried face. Her bright green eyes, usually bright and lively, were dull in the dark room and full of anxiety.

His brows narrowed in confusion. "Sakura?" He glanced at the alarm clock on the side table. "It's two in the morning. Why aren't you sleeping?"

Sakura lowered her gaze. "I...had a nightmare," she replied, her voice quiet.

"...And you woke me up just to tell me that?"

"I was scared!" she exclaimed. Her fingers tightened around the blanket they shared and she inched closer to him. Her eyes wavered and Gaara saw her lower lip tremble the slightest bit.

Frowning, Gaara shifted closer to her and placed his arm around her waist. He held onto her tightly and then pressed his lips to the top of her head.

"I'm sorry," he muttered as he lightly rubbed her back.

Sakura took a shaky breath. "Me too," she murmured, hiding her face in his shoulder. "I just wanted you to hold me."

Gaara closed his eyes and nodded, tightening his arms around her to reassure her. "Go back to sleep," he ordered gently.

Sakura nodded and let her eyes drift shut. Not even five minutes later she was asleep again, a small, content smile left on her lips.

Gaara sighed and laid his head back on the pillow, kissing the top of her head once more before falling back asleep as well.

.

.

Gaara,

Now that this day is finally here, I'm not really sure what to write. This is usually when a girlfriend is supposed list a few of all the wonderful times she's shared with her boyfriend. But when I sat down to think about it, I couldn't think of just a few. So many random memories kept popping into my head that it's hard for me to choose just two or three.

Ultimately, though, what I can put into words is how much you mean to me. We've been together for a really long time now, Gaara. You've become my other half, my best friend, my support, my confidence, my past, present, and future. I know how annoying I can be sometimes, but you put up with me, and you make me happy. You do things for me that you would never do for anyone else.

Okay, so you're kind of rough around the edges, too. I yell at you a lot, and you know how to push my buttons just as much as I know how to push yours. And when I first met you I definitely thought you hated my guts. And, well, sometimes you're emotionally retarded.

But it's all the little things you do that make me love you.

So, thanks for everything. I really appreciate it. And I always will.

I love you, and Happy Anniversary!

-Sakura

.

.

"That was really..."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "'Really' what?"

"...Sentimental?" he ventured.

"Yeah...so?" she asked. "It's our second anniversary today, Gaara. Of course the card I give you is going to be sentimental." She then paused. "Wait a minute. What exactly did you write in yours?"

Wordlessly, Gaara set the card she had given him down on the coffee table before handing her the one he had bought for her. Sakura looked down as she began to inspect it.

On the front, the card read Happy Anniversary in beautiful gold script. The fact that he had picked out such a pretty card gave her some hope as she opened it up. On the inside, however, she discovered the card was relatively blank, except for Gaara's messy signature scribbled on the bottom right corner.

"...Seriously, Gaara?"

He blinked. "What?"

.

.

Later that evening, Sakura walked out of the bathroom with a towel still wrapped around her hair and into the bedroom, where she then found a large vase filled with endless amounts of red roses waiting for her on her bedside table.

Eyes wide, she made her way over to them, quickly spotting a small white card jutting out from one of the petals. Curious, she plucked it from its perch and opened it up.

Last year, if you remember correctly, I got you a dozen roses for our first anniversary, one rose for each month of the year. This year, I bought two dozen.

That being said, can I sleep in the bed tonight, with you, and not on the couch, by myself?

Sakura couldn't help but laugh out loud. She turned around, ready to walk back out into the living room, but Gaara was already standing in front of the doorway.

She smiled at him as he approached her. "I thought for sure you'd forgotten about that."

"How could I?" He put his arms around her and pulled her in close. "I hate sleeping on that couch."

Sakura sighed as she nuzzled into his chest. "I meant the roses, you jerk."

"I know." He took a step back so he could look down at her, and then lifted his hands from her waist in order to remove the towel from her hair. He tossed it carelessly onto the floor behind him. "Just remember the little things, Sakura."

She gave him a flat look, realizing now that he was going to be using those words against her for the next twelve months they would be together. "Right. The little things."

Smirking in amusement, he leaned down and kissed her softly, once again wrapping his arms around her thin frame and holding her close to his chest. Sighing softly again in defeat, Sakura managed a small smile against his lips as she returned the kiss.