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“Sakura, I have a favor to ask of you.” Tsunade sat there smiling, her fingers folded together, almost as if warning Sakura that something was up. Gaara, from Suna, was there.
“Yes, Lady Hokage?”
“Since Gaara’s siblings are still away on the join missions we and Suna sent them on, I’d like you to show him around the festival we’re holding so that he can learn more about our culture.”
“I...” Sakura turned her head away, muttering under her breath to nobody but herself. “I’d hoped Sasuke might ask me to the festival.”
“Sakura?”
Her head darted up, her eyes widening. The disappointment remained, yet she also didn’t wish to disappoint her newest sensei. “Yes, mam. Come on Gaara. I think my dad will let you borrow one of his yukata.”
“Why?” Gaara followed after her, emotionless as always.
“Because it’s what people normally wear to the festivals. Haven’t you ever been to one in Suna?”
“No. I’d scare everyone away from going.”
“That...” Sakura’s mouth pushed together.
“You’re not happy with showing me around, are you?”
She turned in that moment, her lip pushing together. “If this is about you scaring people...”
“Why don’t you ask him instead?” Gaara asked. He stood there with his arms crossed, dressed now in maroon clothing rather than completely in black.
“That...” Sakura felt her cheeks heat up, flustered at the idea of asking Sasuke particularly when there was the thought he’d turn her down, yet it also seemed Gaara seemed rather clueless regarding the situation—that she’d wanted to go on a date with Sasuke rather than just hang out as friends.
“Let’s ask him then.”
“Uh...” Sakura’s eyes blinked. “What?”
“Let’s ask him to join us.”
Sakura held up her hands to try and discourage him yet wondered how Temari dealt with her youngest brother if misunderstandings like the one going on now always occurred. “Gaara, we don’t even know where he is.”
“I can find him. I’ve done it before.” Gaara placed a couple of fingers over one of his eyes while his sand moved.
“Um, Gaara. How do I explain this?” Sakura honestly didn’t know how to explain the situation.
“Found him.”
“What?” Sakura’s eyes blinked. She then felt rather delicate fingers reach out to grab her own, tugging her into a specific direction. “Hold on.”
“Let’s ask him,” Gaara repeated.
“Gaara...”
Of course, on top of finding herself pulled after Gaara at a quick pace, they found Sasuke rather quickly. The fact he walked over to Sasuke, letting go of her hand as he did so he might return to his usual action of walking with his arms crossed didn’t stop people from staring, but out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Ino nearby with her team, meaning... “Uchiha?”
Sasuke looked up from his ramen, giving Gaara a rather puzzled look. “Yes?”
“Haruno-san’s been tasked with showing me around the festival this evening, but she would like you to join us.”
Ino’s jaw dropped while Sakura facepalmed. “How can misread the situation this badly?”]
Sasuke tilted his head slightly, almost as if he were trying to think of a way to say that the festival was a waste of his time, only... “Fine. This should be interesting. Meet up at the Memorial Stone before the festival starts?”
“He means interesting because he’s wondering what Gaara will do next, not because he wants to actually go with me.” Which of course hurt. She grabbed onto Gaara’s sleeve, tugging away so they could ask her father for a yukata.
Ino turned towards her teammates. “Why couldn’t one of you have done something like that, huh?”
Choji attempted to hold back his laughter while shoving chips into his mouth while Shikamaru glared at Ino. “Because I’m not Gaara. Only Gaara can get away with doing stuff like that.”
“What do you mean Gaara’s the only one who can get away with doing stuff like that?”
“That...” Shikamaru said. “Gaara is Gaara.”
“That explains nothing!”
“Are you okay?” Gaara asked.
“Of course I’m not okay,” Sakura said.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean...”
She stopped, turning to look at him. “No! Don’t think of it that way. I mean, you didn’t mean any harm. It just complicates things is all.”
“But it shouldn’t be complicated. If you want to spend time with someone, you should just tell them. Temari told me so.”
“And he completely doesn’t get it.” Sakura smiled at him. “How about we let Temari explain why it's so complicated when she gets back then? Let’s see if my dad will let you borrow a yakata, okay.”
“Okay.”
She continued pulling him along and then straight into her family home, only to realize she’d only ever brought Ino there. Her parents were—well, they were her parents, and their response when she asked was, well—her parents. “Oh. You’re going with this cute boy, Sakura?”
“And Uchiha,” Gaara replied.
“Oh?” Her mother seemed a bit nervous the moment Gaara stepped in, yet quickly brushed it aside. The nervousness seemed to return, which felt—strange given how much Gaara changed, let alone the fact she’d not told them what happened between the two of them.
“I asked for Haruna-san.”
“Really?” Her father asked, suddenly seeming overly interested in the situation. “And yes, Gaara can borrow one of my yukata, though...”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure it fits,” Sakura’s mother said. “Why don’t you go and get changed into your kimono?”
“I—sure.” Sakura headed to her room, but when she got back she found that her mother had used the sash of her father’s yukata to shorten the length of the hem for Gaara, but also tied back the sleeves which looked a bit odd given the fact this bared his arms.
He didn’t seem to mind but looked up when she came in. “You look pretty.”
“Thank you?”
“I wish Temari was here. She’d like the chance to dress up,” Gaara said. “She deserves to.”
“And what about Kankuro?”
“Kankuro thinks it's frivolous.” He then said, “Well, we’d better meet Uchiha at...”
“The memorial stone,” Sakura said when he didn’t finish, knowing he wasn’t familiar with Konoha like she was.
“Okay.”
Sakura would have liked to say that things went smoothly on their way there, yet she could hear whispers of some villagers who thought they were a couple, yet when they arrived, Gaara suddenly decided to ask Sasuke. “Do you think Sakura looks pretty?”
“I...” Sakura watched Sasuke startle, his eyes widening, obviously caught off guard. “Yes?”
“Let’s go.” Gaara turned and headed back in the direction they came while Sasuke watched, obviously taken aback.
“Sasuke, if the only reason you’re coming along is to laugh at Gaara or me, then...”
“I. No. I mean...” Sasuke shook his head. “He’s...”
“He’s what?”
“Is he really this clueless?”
Sakura pressed her lips together, then turn on her heels. “Gaara’s right. Let’s go.”
“Wait. I...” Sasuke let out a sigh, shutting up as if he didn’t want to argue the point with her, but then—Sakura wasn’t sure if there was a point to be made. She did feel a blush crossing her cheeks as she walked beside them, both behind Gaara who seemed quite interested in everything around him, despite having only one expression on his face.
Of course, with Gaara leading the way it didn’t feel like a date. Sakura reached a finger up and twisted a lock of pink hair. “So, um...”
“Is this what it’s like to have a kid?” Sasuke blurted out.
“What?”
“I mean, we’re kind of acting like his parents, aren’t we? Is this how it is when parents take their kids to festivals?”
Sakura almost felt giddy, yet there was the feeling Sasuke was making fun of Gaara at that moment. “Didn’t you attend festivals with your parents?”
“No. Gaara seems to be...”
“You never attended a festival.”
“I did. I went with...”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean...” It was then that she realized Sasuke’s hand was reaching out for her hand, only to suddenly jerk away, shoved into the sleeves of his pockets while he looked away.
“Well. At least Gaara’s having fun, so don’t worry about the fact he came up.”
Sakura frowned, puzzled by why Sasuke acted so calm in regards to a reference to his older brother. “Sasuke?”
“What?”
“Normally when that subject comes up...”
“Sensei...” Sasuke started. “Kakashi sensei...”
“Kakashi sensei?”
“I don’t know how to put it. Can we...”
“Not talk about it?” Sakura sighed. “Back to what you said about whether this is what it's like to be parents to a little kid. Gaara isn’t a little kid, you know.”
“That...” Sakura sighed. “I didn’t mean it that way. He just seems so excited about everything.”
“Why did you want to come when Gaara asked?”
“Because it sounded like fun.”
Sakura’s eyes widened, surprised to hear those words come out of Sasuke’s mouth. “Like fun?”
“I’m trying to...” Sasuke stopped again, sighed, and rubbed the back of his head. “It’s complicated. Why did you want me to come with you?”
“Wh...” A blush spread across Sakura’s cheeks.
“I mean, that surprised me even more than Gaara being so—upfront about asking.”
“Why? Why would...”
“Because everyone hates me.”
“Says the guy...” Sakura didn’t finish saying what she wanted to say when...
“Hey, Sasuke! What are you doing on a date with Sakura?”
Sasuke flinched, but it seemed like he was choking while Naruto got into his face, his arms crossed. “We’re...”
Naruto pointed to his chest. “I challenge you to a fight for Sakura.”
“No.” Sasuke glared at Naruto.
“You don’t think you can beat me, do you?”
“Unlike you, I’m not an idiot, but in case you forgot, the last time we got into it, Haruno-san almost got hurt, and sensei...”
“Did you have to bring that up?” Naruto paled. “Sensei isn’t anywhere nearby, is he?”
Sasuke continued to glare at Naruto. “Seriously. I’m trying to be more aware of the people around me, and you suggest getting into a stupid fight.”
“It isn’t stupid! It’s for Sakura’s affections.”
“She can decide on her own who she likes, not that we’ve given her reason to like either one of us lately,” Sasuke muttered, his arms crossed. “And anyway. We’re with—” His eyes widened. “Wait. Where’s Gaara?”
Sakura’s eyes blinked. “Oh. That...” She reached out, grabbing onto Sasuke’s hand, not noticing the blush which spread across Sasuke’s cheeks. “Why? Why did we have to lose track of him like that? Lady Tsunade is going to...”
“Oh. There you are Sakura.”
Sakura stopped, seeing Lady Tsunade there with Gaara and her assistant, and of course the pig. “I—Lady Tsunade?” She quickly bowed. “Apologies! It’s not what you think!”
And yet, she wanted it to be what she thought Lady Tsunade thought it was, even if it wasn’t. Sasuke’s fingers wiggled slightly in her hand and she let go while a brush spread across her cheeks. He then said, “We ran into Naruto and didn’t notice Gaara continued without us.” He then bowed. “Sorry for not being proper hosts, Lady Tsunade.”
“Well. That’s a surprise coming from you Sasuke, but a good surprise.” Lady Tsunade laughed. “Gaara’s been telling me he’s been enjoying his time with you, but that he’d like to have a friendship like you two have eventually.”
“What?” Sakura stood up.
“And as Temari has with Shikimaru-san,” Gaara said, actually using Shikamaru’s first name. Sakura glanced at Sasuke and saw he was just as confused as he was.
“I don’t follow. We think of you as our friend, right Sasuke?”
“Um, yes? If that’s what you want.”
“Sasuke!” Sakura shook her head, wondering what had gotten into him all of a sudden. She turned her attention back to Gaara. “And what about Naruto and Lee?”
“It’s not the same,” Gaara said.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s different. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s not like my relationship with Shukaku either.”
“The tailed beast?” Sakura felt the corner of her mouth twitch.
“We’re definitely friends now.”
“Oh boy. I really don’t think I want to know what he means by that.” Sakura heard Lady Tsunade laugh. “What?”
“He knows,” the fifth Hokage continued laughing. “Gaara might not understand what he sees, but he is aware of how you feel about Sasuke, Sakura. And he’s also aware of the fact...”
“Wait? How does Sakura feel about me? What do you mean by that?”
“Hmm—I’ll let you mull over that, Sasuke. I think it would do you some good, but this does surpass my expectations.”
“Hey, Sakura! Sasuke!” Naruto called out. “If Gaara is hanging out with the two of you, can I as well.”
Tsunade’s assistant let out a sigh as she facepalmed herself while still holding onto the pig. “And there’s yet another one who's completely clueless regarding such matters.