• The alarm went off. You roll to your side and watched it ring for awhile before you turned it off. You lived alone, so it’s not like it would bother anyone since you lived alone. Rolling onto your back again, you stared at the ceiling. You’ve been up for awhile now but you just didn’t want to leave the comfort of your bed. There was a lot for you to do today; there always was. “I guess I better get up then…” Reluctantly, you threw the covers off and walked towards your closet. Shoving around some of the things, you pick out an outfit and decide what to do first as you get dressed. When your stomach growls, you decide breakfast should be the number one priority. After making breakfast for yourself, you finished you looked over towards the kitchen counter. Sitting beside the sink was a vase containing several Heather flowers of white and lavender. Heathers – the flower for protection and solitude. Appropriate, seeing as you mainly kept to yourself and were often used for escort missions. After finishing the morning tasks and any stray things that needed to be done, you headed off to town for your daily mission. As you strolled along through the town, people waved, said hello to you, and asked you questions about what you’ve been doing lately. Answering them with a smile, you were slightly relieved when they left. You sighed as you reached the Hokage’s office. “Why do they do that? It’s not like I’m the greatest person to talk to or anything…If I had a choice, I probably wouldn’t say much at all.” You thought to yourself, pushing the door open. “Good morning, ______.” Lady Tsunade said flatly. Looking up she saw you were less than enthused. “Is something wrong, ______?” Snapping out of your daze, you replied with a “Hm?” She smirked, “Lost in your thoughts again… Don’t let it interrupt your mission. You’re escorting a VIP to the Village Hidden in the Mist.” No surprise on the escort mission. Wondering who the person is, you decided to ask. “Great, who is this VIP and what do I need to know about him?” Lady Tsunade stared at you for a moment before answering. “It’s the Kazekage, Gaara of the Desert. He came here yesterday on business with Konoha and now he has business in the Village Hidden in the Mist, so you will be acting as an escort.” That’s odd, you thought. “Doesn’t he have escorts of his own?” You asked flatly. “Yes, Temari is with him. Kankuro is taking care of matters in the Sand Village while he is away, and it would be proper if Konoha sent an escort of their own with him to his next destination. That would be your mission.” Tsunade said flatly. “Understood,” you replied, stiff. “Very well. Shizune! Please bring in the Kazekage!” Within moments, Gaara and Temari stood at the doorway. Bowing respectfully, you stood silent. Looking back towards the Hokage, she granted you permission to leave. You led the way out of the Hokage’s residence and through the gates of Konoha. You were never good at starting conversations, so you stayed silent for the first half of the trip. Finally, Temari asked you why you were so quiet, yet everyone in the village seemed to know who you were. Thinking about it for awhile, you finally answered, “I’m not quite sure. I never really felt like I fit in there, but everyone seems to want to talk to me. I guess I’m just a good listener…or something… Although…I’ve never been very good at keeping family or friendships it seems,” you said, standing next to Gaara and thinking about where you had to go next. Gaara looked at you with curious eyes. It wasn’t until you arrived in the Village Hidden in the Mist that Gaara spoke to you, “_______,” he said, “Thank you.” He looked into your eyes before turning to move further into the village. It sent a shiver up your spine, but in a oddly enough…in a good way… You glanced at Temari who wore an expression of shock as she watched Gaara walk away. Looking back towards you, she gave you a nod, signaling your mission was finished. Nodding back, you swiftly disappeared in a cloud of dust. As you made your way back towards Konoha, you began thinking about Gaara and they way he looked at you. It was odd, and as much as you didn’t enjoy talking, you did wish he spoke more than three words to you. Shaking it from your head, you entered the gates and reported to the Hokage. She dismissed you and on your way back you passed by the river. Seeing the beautiful sunset over the tree tops across the river, you silently wished you had someone to share it with. That’s when you thought of Gaara staring into your eyes. No one was around, you decided to sit and watch the sunset and think about today’s…and reluctantly…tomorrow’s as well. As the night’s cold air began to set in, you picked yourself up and preceded to your lonesome apartment for dinner. You were about 50 feet from your door when you noticed something pinned to it. Glancing to see if anyone was around, you began to close in on your door. “Okay…granted people like to talk to me…No one has ever dared come all the way out to my apartment to pin a note too it…What is this about?” you thought to yourself, cautiously. You removed the note, which simply said, “Meet me at the base of the Hokage’s mountain at 9pm.” “Who the--?” you thought to yourself, folding the note and putting it back in the envelope. You sighed. You made dinner for yourself alone and thought about what to do. In the end, you arrived at the base at 9pm. Concealing yourself in a tree, you were quite shocked when 9pm came and you saw Gaara walking towards the base. Looking up at the tree, you knew immediately that he knew you were there. Hopping down, he waited until you approached him. “What does he want from me?” you thought. “Gaara?” you asked. Staring into your eyes, you felt exposed, as if he was seeing through you completely. “Close your eyes,” he said flatly. Not saying a word, you silently closed your eyes. You felt his soft hands on yours as he placed something even softer in your hands. Opening your eyes, it was a teddy bear, a soft, plush teddy bear. A small smile had crept across your face. You never received gifts from anyone. Looking back up, he held his hand out to you, eyes fixed on yours. Smiling at him, you took his hand and walked together for awhile. Neither of you talked much, although you were curious as to what his reason was for coming back to Konoha at this time of night. Where was Temari? Doesn’t he have things he needs to take care of? All these thoughts flooded your mind before you found yourself outside your apartment door. Leaning on the railing outside your door, you looked up at the stars. Gaara, you noted, did the same. Looking at Gaara, you could see in his eyes that it was time for him to leave, although he did not want to. He would have to leave early in the morning to return to his own village. Looking back at you, he gave a small smile before turning to leave. He was half way down the stairs when you said, “Thank you, Gaara. This is the first gift anyone’s ever given me…and I’ll cherish it.” He turned to look back at you for another moment before disappearing in a cloud of sand. Walking into your apartment, you realized something was not right. On your kitchen counter, the vase that held your Heather’s was knocked over, allowing the water to spill over the counter top onto mess of wet sand. Spelled out in the sand were the words, “I love you.” Suddenly you found yourself smiling fully for the first time in years. Looking up at the sky, you had a funny feeling that tomorrow you’d be on a escort mission to the Village of the Sand.