T H E L O S T Y U N A

Cacti

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" I asked, taking my seat beside him. I could still feel Kankuro's body heat radiating off of the chair and I tried not to grimace. There was always something about that sensation that I found kind of gross.

"Well, my siblings took up the extra time that I summoned you here for, so I apologize if I caused you to rush," he said, turing to me with a heavy sigh. I gave him an amused look and all at once forgot about the chair.

"It's okay, I kind of enjoy watching you guys interact," I admitted as he met my eye. "Except Temari, she is still pretty intimidating."

He let a chuckle escape his lips at my remark, and I couldn't help but be shocked by it. This was probably the most relaxed that I'd ever seen him, and I was beginning to realize that he was slowly opening up to me.

"Yes, she does have that effect on people, even me sometimes."

"What? The great Kazekage is intimidated by his older sister?" I asked jokingly, turning my body to face him in the chair. "I never would have guessed."

He chuckled again and looked at me with amusement written on his face. "Don't tell her I said that."

I shook my head. "Don't worry, I have no intentions of ever talking to her directly if I can help it."

He nodded in understanding before slowly returning his attention to the paperwork on his desk. I frowned slightly as I watched his face return to a serious expression, completely masking the light heartedness that was just in the air. I looked down at his hands, diligently flipping through folders and separating the stacks into proper piles. He worked so meticulously, so efficiently. I would have been impressed had I not had this prick of curiosity blooming in the back of my mind.

"So, Gaara," I addressed him after a moment. As I said his name, his posture seemed to stiffen and he glanced in my direction. His eye caught mine for a moment before I continued. "W-why did you summon me early anyway? What was the reason?"

I bit my lip in anticipation as my question hung in the air. His eyes were still staring at me, and I felt a small amount of heat rise on my cheeks under his silent gaze.

"What did you hide in your jacket when you got here?" He countered my question with his own, and I couldn't help but smirk at him timidly.

"I asked you first."

He smiled at me with his eyes, but his face remained motionless. "Indeed, you did."

For some reason, those three words made a chill run up my spine. His eyes were still staring at me, and the longer I held his gaze, the more self conscious I started to feel. I quickly looked down at my lap, finally breaking eye contact as I felt my face return to normal temperature.

He chuckled softly.

"I summoned you early because I was hoping to leave early," he admitted in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Oh, makes sense," I stated simply.

Of course he wanted to leave early, he spent all of his time in this office.

I tried to rationalize his response in my head, but I couldn't ignore the pang of disappointment I felt upon hearing it.

"Are you going to answer my question?"

I immediately looked back up at him, feeling my cheeks grow rosy once more.

"Um, yeah," I answered, slowly reaching into my jacket to produce the book that I hid earlier. "Sorry, I just figured that you might want me to wait until we were alone to give you this."