Upholding Tradition
Summary: "What is Valentine's Day?"Gaara questions; Hinata overhears and tries to do something nice for the Sand ninja. Valentine's Day is, after all, a tradition that no one should miss out on.
Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.
Chapter One
Gaara was vaguely aware of the movements from his siblings as they readied to start their day. His light green eyes narrowed slightly as he caught sight of movement outside of their hotel. From the glimpse he had seen, it was a small girl around his age. Her hair was a deep, deep blue color and she wore a tan, baggy jacket. He wondered who she was and what she was doing. Gaara was pulled from his musing by Kankuro's surprised exclamation. The redhead glanced away from the window toward his brother with a dark look. The older teen did nothing but pick up the objects that had caused his exclamation. He turned around with a wide smile. His arms were filled with purple and red boxes.
"Look!" He exclaimed extending his arms toward Temari and Gaara. "Gaara and I got Valentines!" Gaara eyed the small boxes in his brother's hands with part wonder and part suspicion. His brother had once attempted to explain Valentines' Day to him. It was a day when women gave treats to men that they respected or loved. Gaara looked up from the colored boxes to his brother as he extended one toward him.
"Wait, how do you know which one is Gaara's?" Temari asked suddenly. To be honest, the blonde was just as suspicious of the gifts as her brother. This was their first time in Konoha. They were competing against the ninjas here. Why would a citizen of Konoha give her brothers candies?
"Hello?" Kankuro drawled as he pointed toward the color of Gaara's hair and then the color of the box. "Kind of obvious." Temari sighed.
"Only if you think simply," Gaara drawled Temari's thoughts. Kankuro pouted slightly, but even his slightly scary younger brother's quip did nothing to dampen his excitement. He couldn't help but watch however as Gaara opened his slowly. Guilt and sadness stabbed the two older siblings as they watched the way Gaara slowly lifted the lid. His sand was hovering just inches away from the box, ready to attack it at the sign of a trap. Temari and Kankuro froze however as Gaara's eyes lit up slightly. The blonde teen peeked over at his gift. Broiled beef tongue with salt sprinkled on the meat sat inside the box.
"Ah," Temari noticed, "Gaara, look. There's a note." She dared not reach for the note herself. Gaara had taught her early own not to touch his things or even his person. Gaara extracted the note slowly and unfolded it. "Dear Gaara-san," Temari read over his shoulder, "I chose broiled beef tongues for you because they are very popular in Suna and you don't look like a sweets man. If you do not like them, I am sorry." Temari followed the movement of the note as Gaara flipped it. "Huh," Temari mumbled, "there's no name." The amount of thought the anonymous girl poured into Gaara's gift did not go unnoticed by the three siblings. Temari turned toward Kankuro and watched him open his. His eyes lit up more than Gaara's. In fact, he seemed to almost burst at the seams. "What'd you get?" Kankuro's chuckles turned into full blown laughter as he turned it toward them. Small puppet shaped chocolates faced the two siblings. A small smirk of amusement came onto Temari's lips. Gaara only raised his eyebrows.
"I want to meet this girl," Kankuro exploded through his laughter. For once, Gaara could agree with his brother. He too wanted to meet this woman. He eyed the broiled beef tongues that sat in the box with both glee and caution. "Go ahead, man," Kankuro stated as he stuffed a piece of chocolate into his mouth. "They're cool." Gaara turned his sea foam colored eyes back to the broiled beef tongues and picked up one slowly. He nibbled on it slightly. What happened in that next moment left Temari and Kankuro holding back the urge to glomp their younger brother; his usually stony expression had melted into something so adorable. It almost made them forget that their brother was increasingly unstable and held a demon that thirsted for blood inside of his body. Just for that expression, Temari wanted to go find and hug the girl that had left these gifts outside their door.
X
Hinata Hyuuga leaned against the wall of the hotel the sand siblings were housed in and sighed. She brought her hand up over her heart and forced it to slow down. She was certain that Gaara had caught her as she left. She had felt his heavy gaze on her as she walked away. She looked back up at the window to see Gaara sitting there with a piece of broiled beef tongue in his mouth. A large blush spread across her face as she saw the look on his.
'So cute…' She thought as she pushed her hands up to her mouth to refrain from squealing at his expression. She couldn't help but think about the driving force behind her actions.
"What is this Valentine's day?" She overheard a redheaded boy ask an older body. Hinata peaked out behind a tree to see them. Hinata had been on the way to meet her team mates when the question had been asked. Her eyebrows furrowed. How did he not know what Valentine's Day was? She listened closely as the boy answered the younger one.
"It's a day where girls give you gifts, Gaara," the older boy told him. Gaara tilted his head slightly.
"Like what?" Gaara asked. The older boy laid a hand on the younger one's shoulder and pulled him closer to him. Hinata tilted her head at the tense look that overcame Gaara's face.
"Um…well, it can really be anything. Chocolate is very common," the older boy explained. She watched Gaara furrow his eyebrows and push the older boy off of him. The glare seemed to freeze the older boy.
"I don't like sweets," Gaara grumbled.
"I know you don't. I know," the older boy sighed.
"Kankuro, Gaara, come on!" A tall blonde hollered at the two boys. Hinata gave a small sigh and slipped out from behind the tree when she thought the coast was clear. Hinata bit into her bottom lip and hurried to meet her teammates.
The idea that Gaara had never had a Valentine's Day gift had nagged at her all week. Normally, she would not have done such a thing for a stranger. She clutched her next gift closer to her heart and ran toward Naruto's apartment. Maybe there was enough time to slip the chocolates into the hallway of Naruto's apartment before he began his day. Her teammates, her cousin, and her crush were usually the only ones to receive a Valentine's Day gift from her, but something about Gaara's eyes when he had heard Kankuro's answer had moved her.
(A/N: This story's been sitting around in my computer for a while just waiting for me to post it. This could be looked as a friendship or romance fanfiction. It could really work as both.)