"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.
For having never considered themselves very sexual people before, they couldn't seem to get enough of each other. As soon as the door to her apartment was closed, Momoko was pinned to it with her legs wrapped around his waist and his hands already trailing up her dress. He'd come up behind her in the kitchen and start pressing kisses down her neck, or she would wear night gowns just a little too short to be practical. They had already christened nearly every surface of her home: the couch, the kitchen counter, the dining room table, her shower, (maybe the shop a time or two, but who was counting?) and of course her bed. Maybe it was the strength of their bond or how deeply they loved each other, but the moment they were behind closed doors, their hands were all over each other.
It was quite the discovery for both of them. They learned some new things about themselves and each other that they would have never guessed before: Gaara liked how her nails racked across his skin and Momoko adored the look of the marks that he left on her skin. It almost made her feel dirty during the rest of the day, to smile pretty for customers and be her usual sweet self only to go home later that night and be taken so roughly by the Kazekage himself. Sometimes her mind would wander during the day, to memories of the predatory look in Gaara's eyes as he took her or the way he held her wrists above her head with one hand. Just the thought alone was enough to make her blush all the way to her ears. Of course he was the perfect gentleman during the day, calm and collected and showing no signs of the beast that came out at night.
God, she loved him.
"Momoko!" Hana called, and it wasn't until she did so that Momoko realized she had been just standing in the doorway as she recalled the last week.
With newly colored cheeks, Momoko offered her a smile and moved forward, setting the smaller bouquet of daffodils on the desk.
"Good morning, Hana!" She greeted happily, "Long time no see!"
"I'll say," The woman replied, standing from her chair to admire the bouquet, "It's been so dull around here without your flowers."
"It's been a busy couple of weeks!"
"Oh you don't have to tell me," Hana said, a sly little smile on her face, "I've read all the papers- you're really photogenic, you know that?"
Oh yes- that. Now that she had officially been introduced to the public eye as the Kazekage's partner, Momoko had gotten a little more attention lately than she was used to. It started out with the newspaper the morning after the wedding, it's headline being 'Love Is In The Air!' with a picture of the newly-wedded couple speaking to her and Gaara at the reception. It was a silly article, and Momoko giggled as Gaara read it to her as she was curled up in his lap that night. They couldn't tell if it was meant to congratulate Daichi and Yuki or to gush about their Kazekage finally dating- either way, it had been a fun read.
Since then, her shop had seen more traffic than it had in awhile. It was nearly as busy as the first week she opened, but now her flowers weren't the only curiosity. There were women who'd pretend to be interested in the blooms, only to try and slip in questions about their Kazekage. Some men also came by just to stare in the ways men always did, making assessments of her while she was just trying to work. They were mostly supportive, if a little nosey, but the sudden attention was a little overwhelming. The biggest bright side that had come out of it all was the more attention the articles had brought to her shop.
"Thank you," She laughed, "Though I don't know how I feel about people just taking pictures of me whenever they want."
"Part of the gig," Hana shrugged, "Don't worry, give them a couple months and I'm sure the excitement will wear off."
"Hopefully," Momoko sighed, but the smile was still on her lips, "I'm going to head up now, I'll see you later!"
"See ya!" The woman waved as Momoko turned and headed for the stairs.
She nearly forgot to grab his tea, but remembered at just the last minute. After fetching it, smiling to herself at the familiarity of the action, Momoko made her way up to his office with the vase in one hand and his tea in the other. As always, she didn't knock as she opened the door and saw herself inside.
Usually he looked up when the door opened, but even as she closed it behind her his eyes were focused on the paper in front of him. There were a few stacks on the sides of the desk, but she noticed the few files and papers that were haphazardly strewn about in the middle of it. It was rare for there to be this lack of organization, even rarer for there not to be enough room for her flowers, but she took it in stride. Momoko set her bouquet of blue bells on one of the side tables at the front of the room, and it wasn't until Gaara turned his eyes up that he finally acknowledged her.
"Momoko," He breathed, setting his pen down for the first time since he began, "Good morning, and thank you."
"Morning!" She replied happily, hoping her good mood would improve his own as she handed him his tea. He took it with an appreciative nod, and Momoko came around the desk to lean against it in front of him.
"Everything okay?" She asked, noticing the knot in his brow.
"There was an issue at the gates last night." Gaara sighed for the second time since she walked in, "Two of our guards were killed."
"By who?" Momoko questioned, startled by the news, "What happened?"
"We don't know." He said with a shake of his head, "We found their bodies this morning, but nothing else."
Momoko frowned, looking away from him and out to the window.
"Their poor families..."
"They aren't taking it well," He sighed, "But that's expected."
"I can't imagine losing-" She stopped for a moment, and her eyes met Gaara's the same time he looked up at her. Something in her gaze made him frown as well, and he reached out to take her hands.
"Hey," He said softly, "Nothing will happen. They could have just fallen, for all we know."
Though she knew it was unlikely, she still appreciated him trying to comfort her in some small way. Momoko wasn't the one who needed comforting right now, she thought sadly, but there wasn't much she could do besides hope for the best.
"What flowers did you bring me?" He asked, trying to pull her from her sad thoughts.
Momoko offered him a small smile, looking over to the bouquet on the side table, "Blue bells and baby breath. It's simple, but I thought it was pretty."
"It is," He nodded in agreement, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," She replied, before looking back to his desk, "A whole week and you've still got all this work?"
"It grows by the day, I'm afraid," Gaara said, his eyes leaving hers to look back down at the mess.
"You don't have to come over every night, you know," She mused, "If you need to stay later, I understand."
He sighed, leaning back in his chair to look up at her a little more directly. "I much prefer being with you than being here."
"But I'm so boring," She joked, a sly little smile coming to her lips, "Surely I can't be any more fun than your work,"
"On the contrary," He replied, a small smile of his own now spreading, "I think you're very fun."
"Oh really?" Momoko asked, moving a little more in front of him so that she could hop up to sit on the edge of the desk, "And what's so fun about me?"
"A few things come to mind," He said, his hands coming to rest on either side of her thighs, "None of which are very appropriate for the workplace."
"We can't have that," She mused, her hands coming to rest over his, "And we especially can't have you getting distracted with so much to do, Lord Kazekage."
She let her legs spread just a little wider, her dress riding up higher on her thighs and as soon as he saw that one particular clothing article was missing, his eyes shot up to hers with that now familiar fire in them.
"Are you teasing me, Miss. Akiyama?"
"Teasing you?" She feigned innocence, despite how his tone made her shiver, "I would never."
Despite her words, she let her legs spread a little wider and Gaara nearly stood from his chair, if it wasn't for her placing her heel to his chest and pushing him back down.
"Ah ah ah," Momoko scolded lightly, a mischievous glint in her eye, "You've got far too much work,"
Gaara groaned, reluctantly staying seated, "But-"
"No buts!" She said, closing her legs again, much to his dismay, "There will be plenty of time for that later. For now, though, you do need to focus."
"You're cruel," He grumbled as she slid off the desk to stand in front of him.
With a little giggle, she took his face into her hands and leaned down to press a kiss to his lips. He returned it, enjoying the feeling of having her near again despite just seeing her hours ago, and nearly pulled her closer when she pulled away. Unfortunately, though, he knew better. As much as he wanted to bend her over the desk and have his way with her, there were too many things that needed his attention today.
"I'll see you tonight, okay?" She offered with a bright smile, and he nodded with one of his own, "I love you,"
"I love you too," He replied, and watched the way her eyes still went soft despite hearing it so much this last week.
With another quick kiss to his lips and a goodbye, Momoko left him to his piles of work.
As she made her way out of his office, Momoko's mind couldn't help but trail back to what he had said earlier about the two guards. Despite life having gone back to normal, some things around them had just started to feel a little strange. From the lavender, to the man at the wedding, and now the dead guards- was it just coincidental that all of these things were happening? It must have been, she couldn't really see the connection between the first two events and what had happened last nice. In any case, she figured she shouldn't worry herself with anything. She wasn't a shinobi, couldn't contribute any real help to anything, so all she could really do is sit back and hope for the waters to die down.
As she passed the front desk, she froze at the sight of her flowers- maybe there was something she could do. Instead of heading right for the doors, Momoko approached the desk again where Hana turned to meet her eye.
"Need something?" She asked with her usual chipper smile, and Momoko nodded with determination in her eye.
"Do you have the addresses of the families of the two men who were killed last night?"
"I think so," She asked, turning to sift through some of the papers on her desk, "What do you need them for?"
"I want to give my condolences," Momoko said, smiling slightly as Hana jotted them on a notecard and handed it to her.
"You're too kind, Momoko," Hana said warmly, "It's gonna be the death of you one day."
With a little snicker, Momoko bid her farewell before leaving the Kazekage Tower with new purpose.
The next morning Momoko woke up a little earlier than usual and left the shop with two large and beautiful bouquets in hand.