Flowers For Gaara

Epilogue: Flowers

It's Spring, yet again. I roll my eyes as I look out the window. A strange feeling of déjà vu overwhelms me. Yes, the birds still feel like singing as if summer, fall, and winter never passed. The sky has never been bluer and clouds have never looked more innocent and serene. The smell of flowers bombards my senses and I can't help it if I find the whole scenario so redundant and happy to excess.

A year later and I'm still doing the same thing. It's not exactly the same because I've decided to do more ninja work on the side of my tending and selling of flowers. Memories from last Spring always fill my mind whenever I do anything that might remind me of him. Of course that includes too many things. Flowers, ramen, sweeping, drinking water, sand, hospitals...

All these things remind me of him. Unlike the rest of the young Konoha couples, my "other half" is far away in a desert. I can only assume he's waiting for me. I've waited for so long, I can only imagine that soon everyone will start getting married and then I'll REALLY start feeling alone yet again.

Damn that Gaara. I gently place some flowers in their place and wipe my hands on my apron. I'm not wearing my favorite yellow one. I'm wearing the one with a cute heart on it that still feels like him. Whether its my imagination or not, I always think it smells like sand.

I know he hasn't forgotten me. I got a card and a present for my birthday. I never thought he would have done something like that, but he really did. You'll never guess what he gave me. Flowers! Oh yes! So many flowers I didn't have anywhere to put them. My eighteenth birthday really was a great one.

Suddenly, I have a thought. Waiting around is such a pain. Perhaps there is something I can do to help speed things up between us. Aside from my birthday, we've communicated through a few letters. He always seems so busy though and it is a little difficult to write to him.

What would you tell the ruler of a nation that would seem noteworthy?

Gaara helped stop another war from starting and I made a flower arrangement for a birthday party. It always seems to put my life into harsh perspective. My darling Kazekage, he's so important.

"Hehehe..."

A burst of energy animates my body. I'm going to make something for him! I've decided! It will be the most perfect bouquet ever. I pull out a large vase (it's going to need to be big), and carefully view all the flowers in the store. So many to choose from...

With emotion and the most diligence and care I have ever shown for flowers, I begin to pick things out just for him. It takes me a few hours, but it's really looking amazing. The few customers that come in while I'm working on my project stare in awe.

It's big and it's wonderful!

Satisfied, I go to have someone deliver the bouquet.

"These are for the Kazekage! If even a single flower is misplaced, I'll kill you!" That's what I tell the boy and he says, 'but the Kazekage is all the way in the desert'. He calls me crazy too, I think. Then I say. "Listen, brat! This is important! I don't care how you do it, you need to send these flowers over there!"

That was how my labor of love left the care of my shop to be sent to the man I still love. Even if the flowers don't survive in the desert, I think he should have them.

A few weeks later...

I had almost forgotten about the bouquet. I was starting to think maybe it was incredibly stupid to send Gaara flowers. After all, he is a man, the busy ruler of a country, and an ex-homicidal shinobi. Most importantly, he's a man. What if I offend him with my effeminate display of love? Or what if he didn't like the arrangement I picked out? It was a bright bouquet tempered down with a few darker colors. I thought he would like it, but I still hadn't gotten any letter in response.