The Flower Shop [A Gaara Love Story]

35: Something Wicked This Way Comes

"Will you put that thing out?" The guard groaned, turning his eyes away from the vast desert to the shinobi beside him, "That's your third one in the past hour."

"I can't help it," His companion shrugged, taking a long drag of his cigarette, "There's nothing to do."

"What about your job?" The guard huffed, and gave another little noise of disapproval as the younger man just gave a lazy shrug.

"Oh come on, it's not like anything ever happens out here anyway."

Though true, the older guard just shook his head. From their post on the cliffs that surrounded Sunagakure, they could see the emptiness of the desert that surrounded them. Tonight, just like all other nights, there was nothing out there but the shifting sands and cool breeze.

The older shinobi leaned back against the railing, pulling the paper out from his pocket and unfolding it. The front page was some silly headline in big letters and beneath it was a photo of a newly-married couple chatting away with the Kazekage and his new partner.

"She's a pretty little thing," The guard commented, and his companion exhaled smoke as he leaned over to look.

"Damn, she sure is!" The younger took the paper from his hand, looking over the pretty smile in the picture. He let out a low whistle, taking the cigarette from his lips, "Jeez, the things I'd do to her!"

"I'll say," His companion snickered, cracking a smile for the first time that night.

"You really shouldn't talk about women like that."

The voice startled them, and they whirled around to face the stranger who stood behind them. Despite the fact that the light from the post allowed them to see him, his face was blocked entirely by the face mask and hood he wore. In an instant the two shinobi were in position with kunai in hand and ready to attack.

"No one is allowed up here!" The older guard barked, and the stranger held up his hands in return.

"I don't want to hurt you guys-"

"Bullshit!" The younger barked, spitting his cigarette out, "Who are you?!"

The stranger stood silently, his eyes moving past them to look at the desert behind. The older guard dared to glance over his shoulder as well, just in time to see the small band of shinobi who had started to make their way through the gates.

"Hey!" He called over the railing, "Stop right there!"

Before he could say another word the stranger made his move. The younger guard raised his kunai to attack, but all it took was a flick of his hand to disarm him. He grabbed the younger guard by the throat, and the older by the back of his head as he still looked over the railing.

"I didn't want to do this," The stranger said, and if they weren't so terrified they may have heard the sincerity in his words.

With one heavy push, the two guards went toppling over the side of the cliff, and the stranger leaned over to watch until they hit the ground with a sickening crack. With a small sigh, he turned to leave until the sight of the newspaper caught his eye. He kneeled down to pick it up, his cool grey eyes focused on the photo of the smiling young woman, and beneath his mask, he frowned.

"I'm sorry, Momoko Akiyama." He sighed, "I wish things were different."

Without another word, he tucked the newspaper into his vest and turned before disappearing from sight.

When Momoko arrived at the Kazekage tower, nearly a week after the wedding, it seemed like life had finally gone back to normal. Coming through the front door with two bouquets in hand was almost nostalgic, in some silly way. It had only been three weeks since her last delivery, but it felt like years since she had last stepped through these doors. Momoko had taken the week to be in the shop as much as she could, and Gaara spent his days in his office tending to the piles and piles of paperwork that had been stacking up during their time in Konoha. They changed out lunch for dinner, and most nights Gaara headed to her house instead of his own. He usually stayed the night, and Momoko loved every moment of it.