I was going through my un-posted one-shots, and realised this one has been sitting, complete, for like, forever. Don't know why, but I never had the urge to post it until now. It's just nonsensical fluff I came up with while listening to an ABBA song (don't look at me with those judge-y little eyes), 'The Day Before You Came'. Enjoy. ^_^

…
Before You Came
…

The rain was a soft, albeit distracting, background noise to the otherwise quietened night. She watched it hit the window, her thoughts, while distracted by the sound, were focused on something much more important to her. It was a night like this that Sakura wondered about now, her fingers running through her lover's hair as he slept; he loved falling asleep on her stomach or in the valley of her breasts. The eminent redhead was currently stretched over her abdomen and ribcage, his face turned upward and unconsciously nuzzling her chest.

It still surprised her that someone so important, so noteworthy, and publically recognisable had fallen in love with her, of all people. She had spent her life just going through the motions–from one failed romance to the next, from one dead-end job to another, and hiding herself from the world.

And on a night like this, she had gone through the series of the habitual routine she'd gotten into after finishing university, not knowing it was the last time she would do so. It was still so surreal to her how something as ordinary as finishing work, buying take-out on the way home, eating in front of the television and going to bed at her usual time could precede something so life changing. How was she to know that that was the last time she'd floss in her own bathroom? She had just done what she normally did for the few years before that day. She had fed her cat, eaten Chinese food and watched television until it was nine o'clock, where she proceeded to read for an hour before turning off her bedside lamp… always in that order, without deviating.

Sakura had always been that way.

And when she met Gaara, and he'd offered a lift when an unpredicted rainfall hit her before she could get to work, her dull, black and white life suddenly lit up; rainbow colours, dark red most prominent, had nothing on the blush lining her cheeks. Everything else in her life was boring and unimportant by comparison. They paled next to that moment, in which her redhead had first laid eyes on her. She could say it was her eyes resting on his form that had changed things (she had indeed noticed him first), but that would be a lie. She wouldn't have had the courage to approach someone like him, and while her nights would then be filled with erotic images of said man, her dreams would have remained a mere fantasy.

No, it was Gaara Sabaku's aqua eyes; those deep pools of soft intelligence were what changed everything.

And when Sakura had gotten to work, it was to find that the entire office had been flooded minutes before due to a combination of the previous night's thunderstorm and shoddy plumbing–luckily, no-one was hurt. And Gaara came to her rescue again, taking her back into the limo that had brought them there and decided they were going to make the most of each other. It had been his day off, so suffice to say, he'd offered her his time along with the very first kiss in her life that had ever actually sent her reeling. Nothing and no-one compared.

Sakura's eyes drifted from the gentle pitter-patter of rain against the window and landed on the gorgeous man draped across her body.

Her breath hitched: he was watching her. In her reverie, she hadn't noticed him wake. Those pale, curious eyes looked up at her and Gaara shifted slightly, his hair tickling her stomach, never breaking eye contact; that piercing gaze was both understanding and gentle. He wasn't the monster people thought he was. Sure, a business tycoon had to be ruthless, but underneath it all, he was a teddy bear, really (at least, to her). Sakura saw the gentler side, the part of him that completely and unconditionally loved those precious to him. And he was hers as much as she was his.

It made her feel more loved in one passing glance than she had otherwise felt in her entire life.

He smiled, and Sakura returned the gesture, running her forefinger over the kanji on his forehead, and licking her dry lips before breaking the silence. "What were you dreaming about?"

"You."

"Was I fully clothed?"

Sakura smirked, releasing her hold on him as he climbed on top of her. Gaara hovered over the woman he loved, staring intently at her. "You didn't have a scrap on you."

"Did you?" She asked cheekily.

"No."

She sighed deeply, and for dramatic effect, her eyes roaming his body insatiably. "Just the way I like you."

It was his turn to smirk, shifting his body to grind against hers, reminding them both that they were both still naked from earlier excursions. He bent his head, and licked her lip, the tip of his tongue visible for only a second before retracting completely.

Gaara growled. "Let's make my dream a reality, shall we?"

It was such a corny comment that she almost laughed. But true to his word, he dipped his head and started kissing her, biting and moaning in response to her reactions. He left her mouth, trailing the all-familiar path along her jawline, neck, pulse point, and finally to the valley of her breasts. He loved the feeling of sliding his tongue between them, raking his teeth over her sensitive flesh and teasing her. He took his time, eliciting groans of impatience, but refused to rush toward his destination.

The anticipation drove her crazy, and he knew it; she was his to tease, and to do as he pleased.

"Patience, my kichou," he roused, when Sakura moved to grab him.

He smirked against her skin as she whined, placing feathery kisses along her abdomen, and her body shifted again to accommodate him. Gaara wrapped one arms around his lover's waist, the other hooking under her left leg, lifting the knee before moving toward her inner thigh. She screamed. The heavenly chime was music to his ears as he fingered her. He knew exactly how she liked it, and how he liked to watch her body convulse and contract under him.

She truly was the most precious gem he'd ever held in his hands.

He moved to enter her and all thoughts, all concerns other than the way she clung possessively to every part of him, flew from his mind. Sakura knew exactly what he wanted as well. It was all she could ever think about around his naked body. And when he finally slid inside her, she fell into him, her heart, her soul, and everything in between. It never ceased to amaze her, how an ordinary day could lead to something far more beautiful.

…
X X X
…

Sweet, ne? :)

R&R.

kichou: precious/valuable. Amongst other things.