The Flower Shop [A Gaara Love Story]

15: How to Breathe

A/N: Get ready for an ANGSTY chapter because boy am I in my feels right now.

I actually had to go back and add this in, because as I was rereading the chapters there just felt like an odd gap in time. So just a warning, this chapter has a LOT of Naruto romance.

I hope you guys like it and don't hate me afterwards! Smooches!

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"Walk with me?"

She had dreaded this moment since she had seen him again in the streets. Before they had departed last night, Naruto had asked her privately if they could see each other after she was done seeing the rest of her friends. Hesitantly, she had agreed. As promised, she had spent the second day in Konoha glued to Sakura's side as they made up for the time that had passed. Once in a while her thoughts would linger to her meeting with Naruto later, but Sakura would pull her right out of it with a story about a mission or something pretty she saw in the shop window. It was fun to see her friend again, but it came to an end far too quickly when Momoko found herself facing Naruto as he waited for her outside of the inn where she and Temari were staying. The sun had dropped from the sky already, but the early evening was still bright with the last few beams of light.

"Sure."

She took a familiar spot at his side and they began their walk. It was silent for a bit, the only noises being the sound of their own footsteps or the occasional child being nudged into their homes by worried mothers. The bugs of the night started their symphony as the sky darkened, and if it weren't for the company, she may have found it peaceful.

"How do you like Suna?" He finally asked, breaking the silence.

"I like it a lot," She answered truthfully, "It's hotter than I'm used to but they appreciate my flowers, and the people are kind."

"You've probably made friends with everyone by now?" He snickered, and she gave a small smile in return.

"Not everyone, just a few." She said, finally starting to feel a little more comfortable, "I like Temari, and I think I'm friends with the receptionist in the Kazekage Tower. Her name is Hana."

"The Kazekage Tower, huh?" He mused, "Temari did say you and Gaara were friends."

"I'd like to think we are. I bring him flowers every few days."

"I didn't think Gaara was a flower kind of guy," Naruto snickered, and she offered him a sheepish little smile.

"I didn't think he was either," She agreed, and the light blush that came to her cheeks didn't go unnoticed, "But I don't mind."

Naruto was silent for a moment, noticing how her eyes softened in a way that made his heart ache with familiarity. Her smile was warmer now, and the color on her cheeks was still here.

He didn't care for that look at all.

"He says Hi, by the way." She said, glancing back up at him.

Naruto offered her a little smile too, but the odd pit in his stomach never left.

"Tell him I said Hi, too."

Soon the road beneath their shoes turned to dirt, and their feet led them down a path they hadn't walked in years. It must have been a subconscious action, because neither of them really realized where they were until they came to the edge of the field that covered the small hill. In the last few rays of the dying sunlight, they could see that not much has changed. The tall grass still swayed in the soft breeze, and the wildflowers that grew there were in bloom. Maybe it was the nostalgia, or the surprise of seeing this important place again, but a silence fell between them.