Affection Blooming From A Desert (Gaara x OC)

Chapter 13: The Next Step

Akina trudged through the scorching desert with Gaara. When they passed through the gates the guards happily greeted the two, welcoming them back from their week long vacation. As promised, Akina had helped Gaara catch up on his paperwork and shortly after the publication of their relationship, he whisked her off to the waterfall village.

Akina was less than pleased to be back from their amazing vacation. She did not miss the heat at all, if she could have it her way she would drag Gaara back to the nice moderate weather of the waterfall village. Sadly she knew how busy he was so they couldn't stay away for long.

Gaara had informed his advisors, assistants and Kankuro that he would be taking a short break from his duties. They were surprised, to say the least, that their Kazekage was actually going on a real vacation. It made them happy that Akina managed to convince him to do that. They had been working under him since he was first inaugurated. He did so much for the village they all agreed that he deserved a break. In the time that he was gone, they managed to hold the fort down without a hitch.

The happy couple had left early in the morning the day after the interview. She hurriedly packed her bags with the appropriate clothing. Gaara picked her up and carried her the whole way there since it was a several hour journey. When they arrived there they checked into the hotel. When the owner was informed that the Kazekage was going to be spending his vacation here, he made sure that Gaara got the best room and made sure the staff understood that they needed to promptly serve the Lord and his lady friend.

The first day there Akina could barely contain her excitement. She wasted no time in grabbing Gaara's hand so they could go exploring. Her travelling attire did not seem to be quite appropriate for this place so she changed into a bikini and threw a green and white sundress over it. Since he was no longer in 'Kazekage' mode, Gaara changed out of his robes into a more casual outfit consisting of a black pair of joggers and a short-sleeved red shirt.

Shortly after they found themselves outside breathing in the fresh air.

"Where would you like to go?" Gaara asked.

Akina opened up a map of the village to see what attraction caught her eye. Gaara glanced over her shoulder to look at the map, not much interested in him but he could see Akina's eyes linger on the area that they originally came here for.

"Wanna go for a hike? We can follow this trail to this waterfall. There's a lake we can swim in!"

"Sure." She smiled brightly at him and grabbed his hand in hers pulling him towards the trail. The hike was not as long as they expected but it was more beautiful than anticipated. The lush trees stood tall all around them with rays of sun beaming down through the canopy. Several other individuals walked on the trail appreciating the scenery just like them.

Akina was pointing at a bed of flowers around the base of a tree when she was startled by a tug on her hair. Gaara instinctively pulled her to him when he heard her cry out. "What happened?"

Akina pressed her hand to the back of her head where her hair was being tugged. "Something pulled my hair."

Gaara narrowed his eyes and looked behind her to see if he could spot the culprit. A movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Akina followed his gaze up a tree and she saw a troop of monkeys! One particular monkey rushed up the side of the tree and took a seat on a large branch staring down at them and making a weird clicking sound. Guess they found the offender.

"What a trickster!" Akina tugged Gaara along to get away from the monkey that she still glared at. At the sound of his chuckle she turned her glare to him. He pressed a kiss to her forehead as a means to placid her. It worked when she smiled up at him. The rest of the walk up to the lake was simply amazing. The trek to the top was much longer than anticipated because Akina had to stop every few minutes to point out a plant that caught her eye or an animal that wandered into their line of sight.