Day 4
(AU)
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“Come on, Gaara,” she groaned. “Not tonight.”
“Just give me ten minutes?” he pleaded; his hands, hot and sweaty as they were, grasped at her own. He held her fingers gingerly and brought them to his lips, speaking against them, “I promise it won’t take long.”
Sakura rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, pulling her hand from his and wiping the sweat from them. “I know it won’t,” she agreed. “You remember what happened last time? I do.”
Gaara chuckled. “You know I’ve been practicing, I’ve gotten better,” he countered, stating his case for the umpteenth time that day.
Sakura couldn’t help but glance back to the open mat behind him where Lee could be seen shadow boxing in the studio mirror, checking his form. “So? The whole team has been practicing for nationals. He’s gotten better, too,” Sakura stated back, a tempered warning in her words. She learned very early in their relationship that no one in the dojo was going to keep that bloated ego of his in check if she didn’t. Being top players in the division and instructors at the dojo, he and his colleagues were often left uncontested unless against one another. Gaara though, no matter how much she loved him and admired his proficiency in weapons specialties, just wasn’t a match for Lee in point sparing. “You were nearly concussed last time, and,” she emphasized by pulling him a little closer by the sleeve of his gi. “He had you down after three rounds.”
Gaara thinned his lips trying to hold back his smirk, but as usual he failed. “Ten more minutes,” he said as he stepped closer, slipping around the subject while slipping his hands around her waist. He pulled her against him. “And then whatever you want tonight is yours.”
Sakura turned her face when he bent down to kiss her, though it didn’t deter him from pressing his nose against her hair and breathing in the scent of her shampoo. It was a promise she had heard before and one that he was all too eager to uphold. Usually, it paid off to go along with it; another hour for practice here, another spar with Naruto there, and the rest of her evening was filled with his undivided attention. Gaara loved giving her said attention, and he was more than equipped to do so.
Having been in taekwondo since he was a young boy, Gaara had earned his blackbelt by the age of twelve and had known nothing outside the world of competitions, perfection of form, and intense physical training. He’d been making a living by winning weapons competitions across the country before he went up against the top competitor from Uzumaki Dojo and quickly found himself with a shiny new medal and recruitment to a full-time gig at the best studio in town. The Uzumaki’s had made a name for themselves and they fared no less when their son took over the business. They had a large facility that hosted anything from beginner level classes in Tai Chi and kick boxing, to expert level martial arts specialization fit for competitions at national levels, even global some years. Given the intensity of some of their programs, Sakura had been hired a few years back as an onsite RN that also had a license in physical therapy and massage therapy. She was an invaluable asset to the dojo and played a key role in keeping their fighters in shape for competition.
That was how Gaara found his way into her life; a series of overblown sprains and pulled muscles that had him seeking her out once or twice a week until she finally broke down and accused him of purposely monopolizing her time, to which he responded by stating that he wouldn’t have to if she would just go out with him, and he’d been showering her with his attention ever since.
But a tussle with Lee would leave him in no condition to do so, she was absolutely sure of it, and she preferred they start their weekend without a care regiment. Sakura wasn’t a fan of bringing her work home with her, but with Gaara moved in, it followed her home more often than not these days.
So, she tried a different approach.
Looking back up, she pushed her weight forward and leaned against him, those green doe eyes of hers blinking at him as she pouted. “You promised we would spend the night together,” she mumbled with a half-hearted whine, reminding him that with nationals coming up, their free time together at home was dwindling. Gaara ran his fingers through her hair, openly enjoying her methods. “You were going to take me to dinner.”
“My love, you know I will,” Gaara practically purred in response as he bent down and kissed her forehead. “Just be patient.”
She huffed and broke away from him to sit down on the benches beside the mats. He gave her a wink and readjusted his gi before joining Lee. They both seemed too eager for an honest rematch with each other as far as Sakura was concerned, as were some of the seasoned students and other senseis that gathered at the edges of the mat to watch.
Naruto and Hinata, their employers and the owners of Uzumaki Dojo, joined her at the bench. They had dismissed the last class of the day and came over to see what the excitement was all about. Being the procurers of the talent employed by the dojo, as well as one of their competing specialists in form, Naruto stepped over to referee their match.
All the onlookers, Sakura and Hinata included, were watching quietly for the first round. It lasted less than thirty seconds before Lee landed enough strikes to end it and get his first point, no shocker there, and Gaara quickly called for the start of the next round, already returning to stance.
“Is Gaara looking to compete in point sparring at nationals this year?” Hinata asked, her sentence punctuated by the sharp Si-jak called out by her husband.
Sakura shook her head, bobbing her heel on the ground as the air filled with the sounds of sliding feet and deflected strikes. “No, sticking to his usual,” she said with a sigh. “He’s just trying to fix that sore pride Lee gave him.”
“Point, Lee!” Naruto called out. Gaara cursed and his opponent was all too eager to encourage him to try again, to try harder. “Bah ro!”
“I don’t know,” Hinata mused thoughtfully, tilting her head to throw Sakura a side-glance.
“Si-jak!” The next round started, Gaara was certainly putting greater force behind his strikes, and he’d gotten faster at deflecting Lee’s blows, but Lee had been busy keeping everyone in his dust.
“It has been a while,” Hinata continued. “I have a feeling he just wants to relive the nostalgia.”
Another point to Lee, another call for return to start. Round four; they certainly weren’t wasting any time, and she had to at least give him credit for the new personal record against Lee.
Sakura looked over to her and couldn’t help but laugh. “Of getting kicked in the head?”
Shaking her head, Hinata explained, “You know he wasn’t even aware we had an onsite medic until you needed to monitor him for symptoms of concussion?”
Sakura nodded; oh yes, she definitely remembered. She had been late to work that day with car troubles and received a call while at the mechanics; Lee overdid it with the new guy and they were wondering what the warning signs of a head injury were. She left her car at the shop and immediately called for a taxi, all the while running through some questions with Naruto over the phone. Arriving as soon as she could, she walked into work only to hear Gaara barking from the back rooms that he didn’t need to be looked at and he was fine. He obviously hadn’t dealt with defeat much, he was also visibly surprised when she was introduced to him as his coworker, and she’d certainly had her hands full with him after that.
“Hurt pride or not; I think that was his favorite day at work to date.” She smiled over to her friend, a rare and mischievous expression crossing her face. “It’s not often you get a girlfriend as a consolation prize.”
Sakura looked away from the teasing in Hinata’s eyes only to see her lover take a swift elbow strike to the side of the face followed by a side kick to the ribs. Failing to counter the kick left him open for another set of blows to the ribs and that finished off the points needed for the fourth round to be Lee’s win.
Gaara’s back found the mats soon after and Lee laughed as he collided with the ground. “I’m sorry, man! I thought you’d keep up.”
Gaara groaned for him to shut up as he leaned up on an elbow and clutched his side. He looked over to his girlfriend from his spot on the floor, eagerly looking for her sympathy while feigning more pain than he was likely actually in. She became convinced that Hinata had been right; if losing against Lee meant reliving the first day they met, he’d be happy to taste that defeat again.
Somewhat apologetically, Lee looked across the mat to where Hinata could be seen grabbing the first-aid bag from beside the bench and jokingly handing it over to Sakura, and he called out, “Medic!”
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AU Gaara hits different.