The Flower Shop [A Gaara Love Story]

Epilogue

When Gaara heard that Naruto Uzumaki was getting married, he had to sit down and catch his breath. He had sat with his hands folded in his lap, tired eyes focused down on his clean white robes, and tried his hardest to collect himself again. Gaara stared down at the envelope on his desk for what felt like hours, not wanting to open it and read the words he dreaded. He took in a deep breath, held it for a few moments, and then let it go slowly. It didn't do much to help with the millions of dreadful thoughts that raced through his head, or the feeling of his heart caving in on itself, but it was all he could do in that moment to remain calm.

He had already decided, before opening the invitation, that he would not be attending.

Gaara pushed the invitation to the side of his desk and tried desperately to lose himself in the piles of paperwork.

"Kind of unexpected, but I'm happy for them," Temari had commented later that same afternoon and Gaara's appetite for the lunch in front of him was gone.

"I don't want to talk about this." He said quietly after a moment, staring down into his teacup.

"Why not?" Temari asked, an eyebrow raised, "I thought you'd be happy for them."

"Happy?" He repeated weakly, a furrow to his brow, "How could I be happy?"

Temari was taken back by his tone and the hurt that shone so clearly in his eyes.

"It's not-" She paused, trying to find the words before saying, "Did you even open the invitation?"

He was silent and that was an enough of an answer for her. Temari set her food aside and shifted through his desk before she found the unopened envelope under a few scattered papers.

"Don't," Gaara sighed, "I can't-"

Despite his protesting, Temari opened the seal on the envelope and pulled out the elegant paper. She cleared her throat, skimming over words she had already read on her own invitation, before reading aloud.

"You are cordially invited to attend the wedding of Naruto Uzumaki- "

"Temari-"

" 'and Hinata Hyuga'."

Gaara had reached out to take the card from her but he paused halfway through, her words processing slowly. Temari met him halfway and handed him the card, and Gaara wasted little time in looking it over. He must have reread 'Hinata Hyuga' a thousand times, almost expecting the words to change before his eyes.

"It surprised Kankuro and I too." Temari said reassuringly, before stating a little softer, "Listen, Gaara. There's a good chance she's going to be there, I can't promise you she won't be. But...Naruto is your friend, you should go."

He was relieved to see that Naruto was not marrying who he had feared he would, but the anxiety he had felt before had only shifted to a new thought. It was incredibly likely that they would meet again- was he ready for that? They left off on decent terms, as decent as they could have been for the situation they had been in, but that didn't mean that they were ever guaranteed to meet again. Especially so soon. The last few years had felt like they dragged on forever but now that he was given the chance to see her again, they felt like only seconds. Like he had just watched her fade into the distance yesterday.

"Kankuro and I are going," Temari finally said, "I think you should, too."

And he did. They sent their reply that yes, all three siblings would be in attendance, and Gaara spent the next month hardly thinking of anything else. He was happy for Naruto, of course, but the anxiety and pressure of seeing her again nearly suffocated him. What if she ignored him? (That was unlikely- or was it?)What if she had found someone else? (That was far too likely, Gaara thought dreadfully). What if she just didn't want to see him at all? She could have been a completely different person for all he knew, as unrecognizable as a stranger, and it took Gaara every ounce of courage he could find to walk through the gates of Konoha when the time came.