Desert Flower

Succulents

  "Either of you seen Gaara? It's time for us to go train." I questioned while leaning my head into the room where Temari and Kankuro were polishing their weapons.

  "Last I saw him, he was headed for the conservatory."

  "Conservatory. Got it." I stepped back to go find the conservatory, paused, then leaned back into the room. "Where is that exactly?"

~

  The air smelled sweeter before I even opened the door, and after I did, I had to pause to let my brain process the explosion of color in the room. Stepping into the conservatory, I heard gritting at my feet and saw the floor was covered in a layer of sand. Letting my eyes wander around the room, I saw all kinds of desert flowers and cacti ranging from large aloe vera to small succulents in colorfully painted pots.

  My eyebrows rose on my forehead, now understanding why the air smelled sweet, but I also wondered how I hadn't come here before now. It was also kind of a shock to see so much green after seeing nothing but tan sand since I got here.

  Walking down the rows of plants, I looked for Gaara and found the redhead near the back of the room. He was watering some succulents spread out on a table and looked so....relaxed. So Gaara really did have a hobby other than fighting.

  Gaara sensed that I was there, and his head whipped in my direction.

  "They're pretty." I stated while gesturing to the plants. "Did you grow them?"

  "Yes."

  "If you want to skip training today to do this, you can."

  "No, I was just finishing up." Gaara set the water down before facing me. "We can go train now."

  "Think I could get a tour of in here afterward?" He paused while glancing around. The redhead nodded before going for the exit, and I followed.

~

  Stretching in the empty gym, I didn't even have to goad Gaara into it this time around. Being in the horse stance, I had my hands on my knees while twisting my spine, and the redhead was mirroring my posture.

  "How about we add in distractions today?" I suggested while twisting the opposite way.

  "What kind?"

  "We actually do some sparring. Work on some hand-to-hand....or, well, hand-to-sand." I chuckled. "It'll also give me the chance to show off my skills."

  "....Are you sure you want to do that?"

  "It'll be fine, Gaara." I waved my hand in a dismissive manner. "You don't have to be so scared about hurting me. I'm a fast healer, remember?"

  "That's not...."

  "It's only sparring. It'll be okay. Then we can eat lunch, and you can show me around the conservatory. Sound good?" Placing my hands on my hips, I tilted my head while smiling at Gaara. The boy had a tendency to agree with me, even if not at first, and I knew it was because he actually liked doing things others our age were doing.

  He liked not being alone all of the time, he liked eating with a friend, and he liked spending time with someone other than his brother and sister. And, even if he didn't say any of this, I could tell it was so because he kept participating when he could simply walk away. I knew what it was like to be in a similar position.

  "Fine. But we stop if you get any kind of injury."

  "Wow, even if it's just a bruise?"

  "Even if it's just a bruise."

  "Don't baby me."

  "I'm not...."

  "You are. I'm not fragile, Gaara. I feel bad about it, but I have defeated you before."

  "You were berserk."

  "I still did it, though." I pointed, and I was shocked when the boy scoffed. For a split second, blink and one could miss it with how brief it was, I could have sworn there was a smile on Gaara's face.

~

  Panting as I sat sprawled out on the gym floor, I glanced at Gaara as he was standing with his hands on his knees. Grinning, I shot the boy a thumb's up.

  "I'd say today's training was a success, yeah?"

  "You did well. For a Leaf shinobi."

  "Oh, boo! What kind of backhanded compliment is that? Take off that sand mask, and I bet you look just as exhausted."

  "I don't."

  "Prove it."

  "I don't have to."

  "Then I don't believe you." I shrugged as Gaara looked at me. He blinked slowly before sighing, and sand began to fall from his face. My eyes went wide as my jaw went slack when I saw the expression he was actually making. He didn't look exhausted, he looked....happy. There was a huge grin on his face as he was panting from the training. "Wow, I guess you were telling the truth."

  Pink dusted his cheeks before sand quickly slithered back over his face, replacing that adorable expression with a blank one.

  "It's time for lunch." Gaara stated while standing up all of the way. The loose sand around the gym began to swirl and return to the giant gourd on his back. My brows furrowed as I stood and pat down my shorts.

  "It just dawned on me, but isn't that thing heavy with all the sand in it?" I gestured to the gourd by sticking out my chin. His gaze drifted to it before he looked back at me.

  "No. It's infused with some of my chakra." Gaara explained while holding out his hand. "It's also made of sand." I watched as sand swirled in his palm before molding into the cork that capped off the gourd.

  "Oh.... That's actually really interesting." I tilted my head with my brows still furrowed. "And explains a lot."

~

  "I gotta say, I had more fun than expected here." I said while readjusting the bag on my shoulders. "Hope I didn't cause too much of a disruption while here."

  "Nonsense. Feel free to come back at any time." Temari smiled at me while crossing her arms.

  "Seriously, though. Don't make yourself a stranger here. I can't believe someone managed to keep Gaara occupied-" Kankuro cut himself off when Gaara shot him a warning look. The redhead then stepped forward and waved his hand, bringing forth some sand. I watched out of curiosity as some of the sand curled back to show a succulent in a colorful little pot.

  "Are you giving me this?"

  "Yes." Picking up the pot in my hands, I smiled at the redhead.

  "Thanks. I'll be sure to take good care of it."

  "If you ever need help again....don't be afraid to ask." Gaara mumbled while rubbing his arm. "It was, as you said....fun." He then ruffled my hair, and my brows slightly furrowed at how oddly familiar the action was.

  "I'll try to remember that, then." I said while noticing the shocked looks on Kankuro and Temari's faces.