The Flower Shop [A Gaara Love Story]

12: Friends

When it finally came time to head back to the Kazekage tower, Momoko felt she couldn't lock the door fast enough. Of course she'd reopen after she returned from lunch, but for now she managed to catch a break between people to finally lock up for a bit. She looked over herself a couple times in the mirror, wiping away the bit of dirt that somehow got smudged against her cheek and rebraiding her blonde waves. Momoko straightened out her pale pink dress as best she could before finally approving of her appearance and leaving the shop with a newfound determination.

They had agreed on something quick and easy, so on her way to his office Momoko picked up a few bento boxes from a stall in the market. It was hard to mess up bento boxes, and she had seen a good amount of people frequent the stall so she trusted the quality of it. They hadn't set a definite meeting time, just a general time frame, so she wasn't rushed to get there quickly. Despite that, she did walk a little faster than usual- she figured it was because of her excitement.

It wasn't long before she reached the office, and the bewildered look Hana gave her made her snicker.

"Momoko?" The woman asked as she approached the desk, "Did you forget something?"

"Nope," She said, holding up the bag that contained the boxes with a sheepish little smile, "I'm here for lunch, actually."

Hana looked even more surprised than she was before, "Lunch? With the Kazekage?"

"I know," She said with a little chuckle, "It feels almost as weird as it sounds."

"I just didn't take the Kazekage as the 'lunch' type," Hana said.

"I don't think he is, but Temari kind of put him on the spot." Momoko confessed, a little embarrassed that she admitted it out loud. Saying it like that probably made it sound like neither of them actually wanted to have lunch so Momoko quickly added, "He still asked, though, and I'm not gonna turn the Kazekage down."

"Well, I hope you enjoy yourself," Hana said, a teasing little smile now on her lips, "Not too much, though,"

The wink Hana gave her made Momoko blush and swat at her, which the woman dodged with a laugh. They talked for just a bit more- if you call Hana teasing her talking- before Momoko finally said goodbye so that she could make her way up to his office.

This time, Momoko did knock. She didn't when she came by in the mornings, but afternoons were a new territory for her. When he called for her to enter, Momoko felt the nervousness from earlier begin to swell up in her chest. She did have to take a deep breath to get herself under control, but Momoko soon opened the door and stepped inside his office.

The stack of papers on his desk was smaller than it had been when she was there this morning and had been set aside to leave most of the middle of the desk empty. There were two cups of tea sitting on the desk, one close to him and the other on the farther edge- the sight of it brought a smile to her lips. Like he had been this morning, Gaara's chair was facing away from her and to the window, looking down at the more populated streets of Suna. Briefly, she wondered if he was looking at anything in particular, but the thoughts quickly vanished as soon as he turned to her.

She noticed he had taken off his official robes for this, leaving him in his long sleeved crimson coat and grey one-shouldered vest. It occurred to her then that she had never seen him outside of his robes, but it wasn't at all an unpleasant sight. Without the robes he didn't look as bulky, and the vest on top of his coat was fitted enough that Momoko could see his lean frame a little clearer. It was nothing to really blush over, but it was still a nice sight.

"Hey again," She greeted with a smile, hoping the nervousness wasn't so apparent in her tone.

"Hello, Momoko," He greeted her with a nod of his head before gesturing to her to sit in a chair across from his desk.