Commission for SorrowfulAnjel

Could Roses Bloom?
By: Rise of the Blossom

Chapter 1

"Until next time."

She smiled into their kiss, lingering for a moment to prolong that delicate spark she adored. "See you."

More hesitation.

Another kiss.

Fingers tangled in his shirt, silently pleading with him to stay, eyes remaining shut since she knew he had no choice but to leave.

"Sakura."

"Five more minutes," Sakura pleaded. "It's been months since I last saw you, Gaara."

Relief flooded her when he nodded, kissing her deeply once more. They'd been dressed for all of five minutes and already, Sakura wanted the clothes gone. All of them. Somehow, he always did that to her. Took away all rational thought, leaving her full of longing and exhilaration. Kissing him always gave her a thrill.

She laced her fingers through his hair, body arching in an attempt of getting closer, needing to feel more of him and she sighed.

"This will be longer than five minutes," he accused quietly, though contradicted himself by keeping her close, pinning her hips to his.

There was no chance of catching her breath when Gaara spun them, lifting her against a tree, hands strong, sure, as he grabbed her thighs. His breath was hot on her lips when he paused for a moment, trying to control himself, a delicious shiver running up her spine when he rolled his hips into hers.

The spark between them was undeniable, the ever-growing need damn near consuming her.

Encouraging him in breathless moans and whispers, Sakura tipped her head back against the tree, absentmindedly tugging at his robes, trying to remove them.

Somehow, she managed to hold back her groan of annoyance when Gaara cursed and pulled away, sparing her a small smile before sand swirled around his body, covering him entirely until it dispersed, disappearing into the wind, leaving the space empty. Although she only just managed to hide her frustration as she turned, hands busying themselves ensuring her appearance was nothing less than perfect, looking out at the expanse of the desert.

Their tryst had been in the cover of the forest, just before it broke out into the desert. For her, she was a day away from Suna. For him, a matter of minutes. Gods, if she was capable of travelling as fast as him, she would always be sneaking off to him. Instead, she had to wait until there was a mission that took her somewhat close to his village and even then, it was rare for her to even be able to see him.

As her senses picked up on him, her teammate emerged from the darkness of the trees, his countenance calm, relaxed – though only upon seeing her, Sakura noticed.

"You disappeared," he accused. "It is supposed to be your watch."

Shit, how was she supposed to cover that up? Sakura ran a hand through her hair, breathing deeply. "I left a clone-"

"A clone is not good enough."

No, she supposed it wasn't. He had every right to be upset with her. By leaving a clone behind, something that was capable of being destroyed with a single, powerful blow, she was effectively putting all their lives in danger. It was unbelievably selfish of her.

"I'm sorry, Sai."

"What were you doing?"

Direct. As always.

"Just taking a walk-"

It really was quite the accomplishment bringing emotion to Sai's features – the guy had them shoved so deep inside himself that he couldn't tell the difference between joy and anger, more often than not falling for her fake smiles – so when he expressed his disbelief, eyeing her sceptically, Sakura knew there was no use in lying to him.

Well, that and the fact he was ANBU (ROOT to be more exact). Lying to him was pointless. She should have known that.

"You wouldn't understand," she tried.

"Are you betraying the village?"

Hurt shot straight through her, her stomach twisting sharply. "How can you ask me that?"

But he was unaffected. "Are you?"

"No. Gods, Sai. I-" Sakura cut herself off and turned away, once more looking to the desert. It was freezing, her skin covered in goosebumps – a common accompaniment to night-time in the desert, even if they were still in the cover of the forest. "I was seeing someone."

When glancing over her shoulder, she found dark eyes had narrowed fractionally. Was it out of confusion? More uncertainty? Was Sai even aware of what he was experiencing?

Taking pity on him, Sakura spoke more directly with him, approaching until there was only a foot of space between them. It was only then that she held up her hand between them, palm facing the sky, taking his without permission and forcing him to feel a spot on her skin.

He didn't look away from it. Instead, he took charge, rubbing at the grain. It didn't budge. "Sand?"

"Can you accept that this is all you need to know?" she questioned quietly, meeting his eye. Sai continued to hold onto the grain of sand, his other hand having found its way to holding her wrist when she'd tried to lower it. "For now, at least?"

Another swipe. "According to the book Relationships: The Importance of Developing and Maintaining Them, it states that the beginnings of a romantic relationship require patience and understanding, due to seeing the person in a new light. It is imperative that you allow it the time it needs to grow."

Those damned books… Sakura would never deny that they were right, but they were just words. She wished, more than anything, that Sai was able to learn such things through experiencing them. It broke her heart that he had to learn the things that came so naturally to others, that instead of getting himself out there, experiencing life and all it had to offer, he held some form of anxiety due to not truly understanding how to do so.

She offered him a smile and shifted her hand, slipping it into his, squeezing. "Exactly. And I want to learn about this person privately, you know? Without the interference of others."

"They do make a mess of things," he mused, focus on their joined hands.

Hope bloomed in her chest. Although it had been many months since they'd started their romance, it was still in the early stages. They were still in the honeymoon phase. Being unable to see one another often made it harder to progress to the next stage, but adding the fact that he was the Kazekage, of all people, made it twice as such. The sneaking around certainly didn't help matters but his being the Kazekage meant that there were many expectations of him. Meeting a Konoha kunoichi in secret wouldn't look so great for him – or her, should somebody believe they had ill intentions.

"So, will you keep my secret, Sai?" she asked softly.

"Sakura, I…" It was as he met her gaze that he paused, voice trailing off, brows faintly creasing together at her hopeful expression. "As long as this doesn't effect Konoha in any way, then yes, I will keep your secret."

She smiled, relieved.

"Thank you, Sai."

A/N - I'm aiming to post a chapter a week, but I'm currently working 72 hours a week minimum, meaning if they need me when I'm not on shift, they'll call me in. Hopefully, I'll be able to update for you, SorrowfulAnjel, but just know that if I don't, it's because of that.

Thank you for the commission and your support!