I'm lonely ...
You too?

It was a wonderfully warm summer evening.
The sun threatened to disappear behind the trees on the horizon.
Don't you leave me too! thought a young woman with pale pink hair who moved gently with the wind. She was sitting on the cliff of a mountain, beneath her was the village where she lived - Konoha. But she couldn't call Konoha her "home" because she no longer felt comfortable here. Since Naruto was gone, it was as if all life had drained from the village. It was suddenly much quieter, at least that's what Sakura thought. And Sasuke had rejected her again, it was obvious that he didn't reciprocate her feelings towards him. But Sakura hadn't expected that he would give her the cold shoulder.

[i]Flashback

Sakura, you can do it! Somebody has to take the first step and they won't!, she scolded herself in thought so as not to lose her nerve. The girl was standing on the doorstep of her first great love, Sasuke Uchiha. Her heart was pounding wildly and she raised her hand several times, only to let it sink again.What if he's not there? Best of all, I don't do it until tomorrow ... Oh no! No! I can't run away from it all the time!The girl pulled her hair, she would go crazy. She took a deep breath, then knocked. The door was thrown open half a minute later and Sasuke was standing in the door frame. "What is it?" He asked, sounding rather annoyed. Sakura opened her mouth, but was too intimidated by his tone to say anything. Sasuke rolled her eyes and was about to close the door again when Sakura resolutely put her foot between the door. "Wait! I have to tell you something!" The young Uchiha groaned and opened it again. “Make it short, I don't intend to put down roots here.” Sakura nodded, thought about how to phrase it, and then said quietly: “Sasuke, it's about ... That I ... I my ... I think I fell in love with you."She looked him in the eye for a moment, noticed a surprised raise of his eyebrows, and lowered her gaze to the floor. What would he say now? She started to tremble at the thought. When she still got no answer after a while, she saw uncertainly, and then noticed that the door was locked. Sasuke had just left without paying any more attention to her. Sakura couldn't believe it. She had expected stupid sayings, anger, maybe even a little pity if he did she refused. But that he just slammed the door in her face was too much. The girl was happy to make it home without tears, but when she got there she sagged and began bitterly cry.

Flashback end

Sakura looked into the darkening sky. Slowly you could see a few stars. The girl sighed. As it was getting colder, she wrapped her arms around herself and stood up. It would be better if she would go home now, her parents must have been worried. When she turned around, the sight of it made her freeze. "G-Gaara?", She stuttered and took a closer look at the boy, who didn't look like he had just come. He didn't reply, just looked at Sakura insistently. "What are you doing here?" She then asked, uncomfortable being stared at like that. "What are you doing here?" He asked back without moving a millimeter. "I ... had to think.", Said the young Haruno quietly, but Gaara understood her words. “And what are you doing here now?” He tilted his head to one side and stared at the floor. "The same. I always come here to think. But you were here today." Sakura smiled weakly and nodded.

Nobody said anything for a while, but then there was a slight gust of wind and Sakura began to shiver. “Are you cold?” Gaara looked at her with an emotionless expression, and Sakura had to smile.Should she show weakness now, in front of a "stranger"? Okay, he wasn't that strange to her. They had seen each other a few times but never really spoken to each other. Most were afraid of the boy and advised Sakura to stay away from him. Sakura didn’t care about such statements, but she didn’t feel comfortable with him. "Yeah ...", she admitted anyway and her pale cheeks took on a reddish color. Gaara took off his jacket and handed it to Sakura, who just stared at him in amazement. "B-but ... Then you're freezing!" She wanted to give him back the jacket, but he refused. Sakura sighed slightly, but she was grateful to the boy and pulled her jacket on. “Shall I bring you home?” The redhead looked at Sakura questioningly, and she only nodded, because she was not entirely at ease with the dark and threatening forest she had to pass. It was pretty dark by now, and the Haruno followed the boy down the mountain. She winced a few times when she thought something had moved around her, but nothing happened. Inwardly, Sakura switched to calm, after all, she wasn't afraid of the dark otherwise. That wasn't her way at all. Or was her uneasiness not at all due to the darkness? Was it because of him?

Being so in her mind, she overlooked a sharp stone protruding from the earth and tripped over it, so that a few seconds later she found herself on the hard earth. "Ouch ...", she mumbled and wanted to get up, but her ankle hurt a lot. “What happened?” Gaara, who had turned around in shock and now offered her a hand, pulled Sakura back on her feet. "I stumbled ... And ... Damn, I should have been more careful!" The pink-haired limped a few steps and then lay down again. Gaara had to grin slightly at the sight of her, and he rarely did that. Haruno tried to get up again, but when she failed, the redhead just shook his head (still grinning) and said: "It can't go on like this!"Suddenly Sakura found himself in his arms, he was carrying her. And it didn't seem to cause him any difficulties, although she wasn't exactly a featherweight." Gaara, you don't have to do that, honestly not. I come home like that too. ", she soothed and tried to" free "himself, but the boy was stronger." Of course you can do it on your own, but then we need half an eternity. "Sakura snorted softly and blew a few strands from her face." You don't even know where I live! ", she replied viciously, and made it extra difficult for him to finally let her down." You will show me. ", he said calmly, and when they got to the foot of the mountain, he finally let her walk alone again. She was still limping a bit, but she refused to let Gaara carry her through the village.

The two walked side by side in silence, each indulging in his own thoughts. As they passed Sasuke's house, Sakura bit her lower lip restlessly.What does he think of me now ... After I confessed my love to him?, she asked herself, but she noticed that the thought of him no longer pained her as much as it did a few days ago. (She hasn’t spoken to him since he avoided her.) “You’ve been thinking about this Uchiha, have you?” Sakura was rudely torn from her memories and looked at Gaara blankly. How did he know? "No, I didn't. I don't care about Sasuke!" Sakura noticed that Gaara didn't believe her, but what should she say?Yes, I love him, he's the greatest! I can't believe he turned me down!or something like that was probably not appropriate with their casual acquaintance. When she looked to the side, she noticed that something had changed in his face. It was no longer emotionless. It didn't seem so cool and unapproachable anymore, more like hurt.Was he sad because she lied to him? Haruno immediately felt guilty and admitted that she had thought about Sasuke. She told him the whole story, cover to cover, and he just listened to her and didn't say anything. It was really good for Sakura to finally speak out, to put her grief into words, even if she confided her "secret" to a "stranger" (no longer that stranger!). It ended just before Sakura's door, and Gaara was still looking at the floor and seemed to be thinking. And again it was quiet until Gaara broke this silence.

"If this Uchiha gives a ... a great girl like you a basket, he doesn't deserve you at all."

Sakura blushed at his words and looked into his beautiful, bright eyes. Have you always had this extraordinary color? She had never noticed it before. "... Is that how you think ... About me?", She asked uncertainly, and stepped from one foot to the other. It seemed as if the redhead didn't want to reply, but then he looked up with a smile on his face like Sakura had never seen before. “Oh yes, I do.” Sakura smiled back, embarrassed, and noticed how Gaara took her arms in his hands and gently pressed his lips against hers. The kiss didn't last long, but when he broke away from her, the smile on his face was gone. "Sorry ... I just had to do this." Sakura shook her head, holding back Gaara, who was turning to leave. "You don't have to apologize! I ... thought it was nice." She pulled him close and kissed him again, this time a bit more stormy. Then she pressed his jacket into his hand and quickly disappeared into her house.
She wasn't sad anymore. Not a bit more.
Gaara was right. Sasuke wasn't good enough for her if he didn't see what a great girl she was. She had found someone who made her happier anyway.end