While this isn't from a prompt on GaaSaku month, it motivated me to finish it. Don't mind the slight angst and enjoy. ^_^

…
Runaway
…

Sakura kicked her bedroom door open, stormed in, threw her alarm clock out the window, and shrieked like the deranged teenager her parents often accused her of being. Images flashed across her mind, fuelling her rage and she slammed her bedside table against the wall. The level of destruction continued and she lost track of time.

Humping, grinding… rabbits making rabbits. It pissed her off! It was enough to make her sick! She'd thrown up twice, on the way home, but now her throat was too constricted, and hoarse from all the screaming.

What felt like hours later, the shock sunk in and Sakura dropped onto her bed, ignoring the now ravaged state of her bedroom. She was an idiot, a complete and utter idiot, and if the tears, shaking sobs, and gasps for breath weren't enough, she was crying over a cheater. They had talked about life after high school, about how long they were going to wait to get married ‒ Sasuke had even decided their first child was going to be a boy, and named after his great-grandfather, Izuna.

She was indestructible – a glorified, unmovable wall of steel against the fangirls and their spiteful, jealous taunts. But Sasuke was the chink in her armour.

And something inside Sakura snapped.

The pain started in her chest, ripped through her torso and jolted fitfully down her legs and she trembled, grabbing the door frame to keep from falling over. The overwhelming, suffocating feeling wouldn't go away. So she ran away – it was the only thing she could do.

By the time Sakura gathered what she could, and found herself at the bus station, she remembered her phone. The five new messages flashing at her dropped a weight of dread into her stomach and like an automaton, she methodically scrolled through them.

He loved her.

He would always love her.

He missed her.

He wanted her, and only her.

He wanted to see her.

Sasuke would be waiting for her either outside her house right now, or the school tomorrow. She couldn't go back there, not now. The memory of him between some bimbo's thighs, and her long legs wrapped around his naked body was burned into her mind and she didn't want any more reminders. Ever.

And more than ever, she needed that indestructible wall of steel. She would face the consequences later. The law abiding, people pleasing Sakura Haruno could go to hell for all she cared.

Sakura deleted the messages, and glared at her phone. She'd bought the damn thing with her own money, and it would feel wrong just to chuck it out. She needed a plan. Nothing came to mind. And so Sakura did the one thing she always did when she ran into a wall – backed up, veered off course, and closed her eyes. It wasn't really running away…

And keeping her phone turned off in compromise to simply throwing it away, she knew exactly where she could go that no-one would think to look for her.

Suna.

…

Money apparently, was everything. People ate, drank, danced, and fucked for the shit. Never was there a crass comment truer than that. So Sakura had gathered what she could, pilfering her stash, checked the hidey-hole in the living room her mother didn't think she knew about, and bought her cheap ticket to Suna City, with money to spare. She had no idea what she was doing, having never left Konoha on her own before, but the sheer audacity of travelling hundreds of miles just to get away from Sasuke Uchiha had robbed whatever sense and sensibilities she had left, allowing her to just enjoy the freedom of it all.

The bus terminal didn't reek like she'd expected it would, and she was thankfully all alone until those low beams came around the corner and her dignity forced her onto the moving violation. She wanted to sleep during the ride, but was too wound up. There was a reason her friends and family would never search for her in Suna – even if they deigned to entertain the idea that she would skip town. She hated Suna. She hated sand. She hated lowlifes. And she hated irradiating heat. Konoha was not a sauna, nowhere near it.

Overall, Suna City sucked. Which was why it was the perfect place to hide for a while ‒ no matter how much she was dreading it. Memories of being mugged here a few years ago on a family trip when her parents had "lost" her in the casinos had turned into nightmares for the next six months. She was over it… kind of.

Sakura sighed heavily when the Suna City Bus Terminal appeared in her window. It was still late at night, therefore devoid of human activity. There were what looked like, a few hobos camping out here, but as long as they really were asleep, she wasn't going to let it bother her.

Map in hand, Sakura power-walked for two minutes to get to the next stop. There was a well-known shelter in Suna, for people who came to the city to disappear. No matter how reckless she was being, it was at least somewhere she could bed down without fear of rape.

The local bus stop had one occupant, clearly also looking to disappear into the background. She glanced sideways at him as she sat down – he was attractive, with dark red hair and from this angle, what looked like a tattoo on his forehead.

Weird.

The guy was wearing a hoodie and pants… in this heat? People from Suna were crazy. She had dressed down, preferring to wear her denim shorts and a white strap shirt; and she was still sweating. Sakura decided to ignore the man as he continued to smoke like a chimney and clasped her bag closer to her body, just in case.

It took a few more minutes for the boy three feet from her to realise that he was no longer alone, and he turned to look at her. Sakura didn't respond to his blatant staring, but noted in her peripherals that he was listening to an MP3 Player, and putting out the remnants of his cigarette.

"You got a smoke?" He said, startling her.

Sakura refused to look at him, shaking her head instead. "That stuff will kill you."

He snorted. "It can get in line."

She giggled, and looked over at him to find the strange boy smiling at her. She'd never met him before of course, but she had the sudden impression that he didn't smile very often. It illuminated his face mildly, outlining his face, highlighting his fair complexion, and making her downright giddy. She steadied herself, fingered the edge of her shorts self-consciously, and felt her face warm when his eyes roved over her appreciatively.

"My name's Gaara Sabaku," he offered.

She smiled. "Sakura Haruno."

"So, you don't have a smoke?" She shook her head. "Too bad – it would've given me an excuse to move closer to you."

Her eyes widened at the cheek in his voice. But even as he shuffled closer to her anyway, she suddenly felt safe. He was a complete stranger moving closer for no good reason, and she hadn't even reached for her Taser yet. Clearly, he didn't think he needed an excuse.

"Relax," he said, now leaning back against the bench, his arms stretched out lazily along the back, and sneakily behind her.

"I'm fine."

He just smirked.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. "When is the bus supposed to get here?" She asked.

"You're not from around here."

That wasn't even a question.

"No."

"It won't be here for another hour."

She scoffed. "The buses in this town suck."

"Yep."

Sakura glared at him. He was happy about that, it seemed.

"You're safe with me," he assured her.

"I don't even know you."

"Then let's get acquainted, shall we?"

And he was suddenly, uncomfortably close. She swallowed heavily. "O-okay."

"What brings you to Suna?"

"Nothing."

He pried, she grimaced, and finally he paid her to divulge her secrets. It was good money too, and had her wondering why someone with this much to just throw around was taking a bus. But she told him about Sasuke, without naming names, and without going into detail. This stranger watched her, listening intently and scowling appropriately at the way she'd been used.

"Arsehole," he growled.

Sakura found herself opening up nicely, but when she asked him about himself, all he did was shrug his shoulders, mumble "it doesn't matter" and then tell her she was stupid for running all the way to Suna. She agreed, but couldn't go back there right now.

"They'll all be worried about you," he said, now dispassionate. "Trust me, more people care about you than you'll ever realise."

"How‒"

"Been there myself," he said, fiddling with a loose thread from his hoodie. "I had… troubles …and ran away too. But when they finally found me again, I realised I wasn't as hated as I'd thought."

He sighed, looking up at her. "You're beautiful, clearly intelligent, and kind – you don't belong in a lowlife place like Suna. You should go home, where you're loved."

Sakura stared at him. Where was her anger? If anyone else had told her that, she'd be storming, raging, and possibly breaking bones… figuratively of course. Naruto for one, was always saying something to incite her anger. She didn't want to hit this guy, which she supposed was because despite the fact that she felt comfortable talking to him, he was still intimidating.

"Here," he said, pulling out his phone when she didn't respond.

Before she could complain, he'd snapped hers up as well (she'd pulled it out of her bag to check her messages – and yes, Sasuke had left half a dozen more). While she didn't mind exchanging numbers with this stranger (how weird was that?), she protested the way he was manhandling it. But whatever this guy had for breakfast every morning seemed to be working. She jumped, grabbed at him, squealed, stamped her foot, and tried to pull his arm down so she could get at her phone. All a while he was chuckling, nimbly keeping out of her reach as he punched in his number, rudely searched through her phone, found the contact labelled "me" (really, who didn't forget their own number from time to time?) and copied her number over into his own phone.

"If you ever feel the need to run away again, I have a mansion you'll be able to get lost in," he said cheekily, tossing her phone back to her.

She couldn't help but giggle nervously at that; what kind of lame pick up line was that? But he wasn't picking her up, just promising they can meet again, if she so desired. Sakura had never been on the receiving end of such frivolous flirting before and she really liked it. She gazed at the illuminated screen of her phone before turning it off and stowing it in her bag again.

But before she could berate him for it, her attention was diverted by the arrival of a limo, of all things.

"I'll definitely be seeing you again," Gaara said, lifting her hand majestically and kissing it. She turned a distinct shade of red before he took it as some kind of permission and crashed his lips to hers in her confusion. He tasted slightly like sandalwood, but instead of being dry or turning her off, it was actually quite nice. The kiss was chaste, though he did lick her lips for good measure, and he pulled away before she could regain her senses and punch him – intimidating or no.

Gaara disappeared into the black limo, and out of her life.

She stared at the number on her phone for hours after that, her finger hovering over the 'call' icon of the touch screen, before moving away… and then back again. It was too soon ‒ she'd just met him after all. But she really wanted to talk to him again. Gaara, who'd been waiting at a bus stop for a limo… Gaara, who'd told her what she needed to hear without incurring her wrath… Gaara, who'd come onto her, exchanged numbers without asking…

She googled him. Call it a hunch. And from the moment she realised who he really was, she knew that she'd be seeing him again. After all, the youngest son of the richest man in Japan was well-known for getting exactly what he wanted.

…

R&R.