A/N: I don't know where this came from. I have a feeling it will be a series of drabbles. Bleeeeeh. I don't know :( I guess it's slightly AU? Don't hate me you guys if I get anything wrong.

I've read a few really good Gaara x Ino and the more I read, the more I grew to love this pair. They are so beautiful. And then I felt inspired to contribute one of my own. This is a small community after all.

Sia – My Love

Disclaimer: don't own anything :(

Cold

You gave it all into the call,
you took a chance and
you took the fall for us.

She shifted her arm to her right side and patted the area, and likewise, she expected nothing. She was right. She hated being right.

Their relationship was intrinsic. How she stumbled onto him, she will never know. Maybe it had something to do with a drunken escapade? Fate. That must be it. She's always been a believer of the cosmos.

How this pattern started, she will never know. But somehow the molding of their bodies felt perfectly right.

No she was not a whore, she had a life. But he chose to show up whenever he pleased. Did it scare her that he was a demon container? No. Maybe she liked the thrill or she was simply a masochist. Being strung along like a lovesick fool while he went about his dirty deeds. She doesn't even know what he does during the day besides running a country. Why? Because she never asked.

She rolled out of bed and adjusted her platinum blonde hair. The evidence from last night still evident from the tangled mess that sat on her head. Her ocean blue eyes sparkled back at her. They were always so full of light after she saw him. She's headstrong, rambunctious and loud. She is strong. She can take him on. And she knew he knew.

She'd better make her way down to the flower shop, or her mother will have her head.

...

"You know Ino, have you ever thought about... You know... Getting a boyfriend?" the bubblegum asked. She was wary of the topic because she knew that the flower child loved with all her heart.

"No Sakura, I'm way too busy for that. Seriously? I have to look after Chouji and Shikamaru for crying out loud!" Ino cried while fiddling with the bouquet of roses someone ordered.

Sakura sighed in response, "Surely you'd have someone in mind? God all the good guys seem to be taken."

Ino looked down in defeat. All the good guys weretaken. That wasn't even a statement, but an obvious fact. Not ironic at all. If they were perfect, you'd think they'd still be available?

The flower child wasn't sure how she felt about her tumble with the redhead. She's never told anyone, afraid of being judged perhaps. But mainly because it was nothing official. She suppose she was merely his past time. A toy to be played with until it broke.

"...and I still have to meet up with him. What do you think Ino, should I?" The bubblegum had her paper cup crushed in her hand. Whatever the pinkette was talking about, Ino couldn't recall for the life of her. She was tired. Tired of these emotions, tired of their relationship. She wanted something real with Gaara. But something real was something she knew he couldn't offer.

"Sure I guess".

Sakura could guess something was wrong with her best friend but didn't dare ask. Ino will talk when she wants to talk. After all, what are best friends best for? They pick up broken pieces and try to mend what was once whole. They love unconditionally. They love by listening and comforting, but no sympathy. Sakura knew from all the years she's known Ino, Ino hated sympathy.

...

It was way past midnight, but she knew he would come. He always did. They never had a schedule but she felt like she knew when he would come. She had to. Didn't they have a connection?

Her showered and lotioned hands touched the railings of her french balcony. The coldness and the hardness of the metal struck her core. What if he didn't come?

Did her neighbors think it was suspicious that a flaming red demon left her room randomly twice a week? If they did, they never mentioned it. She did live in an apartment complex in which people minded their own business.

The full moon was out. For some reason she felt surprisingly naked in the moonlight. It draped over anything and everything.

And she heard her doorknob turn. How in her character to give someone she barely knew a key to her apartment. The quiet shackle of the doorknob moving was not lost on her. He was a quiet person first and foremost. She was a master of the mind but even she could not break his.

Before the door could open, she threw herself on the bed and pretended to be asleep. She loved it when he entered and found her asleep.

...

He didn't know why he kept returning or dancing between the bed sheets like they do, but he did. Maybe somewhere in the lonely heart of his he longed for acceptance. After all, she didn't seem to care. Even if he was once a world-proclaimed serial killer. He never understood why no one chose to say it to his face. As he ran a hand through his hair, he supposed the people knew their place well. Too well. It was expected for someone in the dirty world of politics to have a dirty past. Because politicians were never clean.

She would be his secret. She was his and he was hers. A dirty little secret but still a secret. A delicate secret that threatened to break as they tumble into oblivion.

He knew she would be here. She was always home after 2am. Even after her trips to the bar, to parties, to friends house or even her parents. No matter what he knew she'd be home after 2. And that was when he'd show up. Was he an insomniac? Possibly. After all, it is hard to sleep when you got mountains of paperwork to do. It's even harder to sleep when agonized cries echo your empty, black abyss.

People were scared of him. It was blatantly obvious. They did nothing to hide it. They spoke of him as he walked down the streets, but it was always behind his back. Maybe people will never forgive him. They will always look at him in fear and near disgust but bow their head in obedience. He was use to it. Fear did that to people. Did he care? He could care less. Gaara was someone powerful, and dangerous with murderous intent. He was not to be reckoned with. No one wanted to mess with the Kazekage.

What was he doing in Konoha anyways?

He looked down at her and she was asleep. As always. But he knew she wasn't. Why she pretended he'd never know.

But he did what he always did. He leaned down and stroke the hair out of her face. For a demon container he was surprisingly gentle. Why? Maybe it was because he didn't want to damage the flower child. To him it just wasn't a fair fight if he tried to break something that was so easily broken. How long had this been going on? He couldn't remember. Could he break her? That was a question he'd never want to answer.

He was tired. Not from the lack of sleep but from everything else. One that desperately needed to be loved is one that is loneliest. He is lonely. His office is empty. Not helping when all it did was remind him of the empty void in his soul. Could he fix it? Was there even a point in trying?

So he did what he didn't usually do. He took off his armor, his gourd and laid down beside her. The bed creaked in the new shift in weight. Could it even carry such a burden? Because for once in his life, he admits that he's cold. He could feel the tenseness beside him growing in the lump beside him.

Ino wasn't sure what to think but be scared. Gaara was unpredictable afterall. Other than this midnight ritual, they had nothing else that would concern them to each other. Was he cutting off the delicate strings that connected them together? So she did what she always did when she was nervous. She would talk.

"Long day?"

She earned a grunt back. If he would allow her, she would close her eyes and pretend that they were something else. Lovers, perhaps? His arm draped over her stomach and she liked the way it sounded in her mind. Lovers.

"Are you tired?" she asked. She was being careful. After all, their "relationship" was based on a delicate upspoken agreement. Were they even friends?

"I don't sleep." His voice was low and sounded like it was rarely ever used.

"Are you lonely?" leave it to Ino to get straight to the point. She may be a rambunctious character, but she did know when to control herself. She found comfort in knowing people who shared similar emotions.

"Sometimes."

She turned around and piercing emerald green eyes stared back at her. They were so cold. What did they hold? Anger? Murder? Dare she say sadness?

Ino wasn't use to dealing with this sort of angst. Because her friends weren't angsty. She was not angsty. When she was sad, she would cry. When she's happy, she would laugh. When she's angry, she would bitch. Ino dwelled in the public showcase of her inner turmoil. But with Gaara, she would try because he's a special case.

She raised her hand and brought it to his cheek. She traced the side of it. He remained indifferent and she felt awkward with the action, but what the heck? What else has she got to lose. Ino did like living on the edge.

"I sometimes feel cold."

And she knew that the wall between them was breaking. The ice is melting. Tomorrow will be a new day.

Tonight you will sleep for good,
you will wait for me, my love.

A/N: Should this be continued? Review! Criticize. Whatever. Do whatever you do after reading. My first gaa-ino fic. I'm tempted to make it a drabble because drabbles are easy. But do you guys think it'd be better to leave it as a one shot?

I find that it is extremely hard to keep them in character but I tried. I vomit at characters that are completely butchered by fiction. It's like watching a really, really lame horror film.

Please review and make me feel warm and fuzzy.