Disclaimer to my eternal misery I don't own Naruto. If I did I would be wearing jeans in much better condition than the ones I have on. Sadly I don't own Gaara either… sniff …or Hinata, okay?

Tears and Kisses in the Snow

She was watching him again.

He could feel the weight of her gaze on his skin, not an unpleasant feeling, but not one that left him feeling all that comfortable either. He tilted his head forward and glared at the snow under his feet, garnet hair falling forward across his forehead. He closed his black rimmed aquamarine eyes tight.

"Would you fucking stop that?" he demanded of the black-haired girl standing in the snow behind him behind him.

"S-stop what?" she asked, sounding worried and more than a little scared. Funny, she'd been the one to follow him out here, worried that he'd stay out until he got hypothermia, but she was still scared of him.

Good. He could deal with scared. Scared was easy – other people's fear made him angry and angry was an emotion he knew well. He wasn't so familiar with the other feelings this annoying girl stirred up in him.

"Staring at me," he snapped. "Just stop staring, okay?"

"I'm s-sorry, Gaara-san," she muttered and Gaara knew that she'd be blushing, the slightest hint of colour tinting that pale skin. He grit his teeth as the most strange feeling swept through him as he thought about how she would be staring at the ground looking dejected and apologetic, probably with tears in her eyes. He almost felt… guilty. And that was not how Gaara Sabaku of the Desert should be feeling. Especially not about a crying wimp like Hinata Hyuga.

But still…

"Look don't cry, alright?"

He turned around and stared at her helplessly.

Hinata brushed the tears from her cheeks, giving him a look that was the closest she ever got to angry.

"H-how did you know I w-was c-crying?" she demanded.

Gaara smiled slightly. "Lucky guess?"

Hinata gave a tiny giggle even as more tears spilled over the lids of her eyes. "I'm s-sorry," she muttered dashing her fingers at them. "Once I start I c-can't seem to st-stop. I'll just go away, okay?"

She turned to go and Gaara surprised her (and himself) by reaching out and grabbing her hand, pulling her back. She stared up at him as he pulled her around to face him, a hint of shock in those swimming lavender eyes. He brought his hands up to cup her face, stepping forward towards her and closing the distance between their bodies, brushing the tears away with his thumbs. Her hands came up and grasped his elbows lightly for a second, before dropping down to his waist.

"Don't cry," Gaara whispered softly. "I can't stand seeing you cry…"

Hinata stared at him, different emotions ripping through her in quick succession, shock, delight, terror. She'd given up on Naruto so long ago, feeling herself instead being drawn to the enigmatic red-headed boy from the desert with the strange eyes and the wary secrets. She'd watched him, when he was around, even though she knew that it annoyed him; and tried not to cry around him cause she knew it pissed him off. She helped him out when she could over the years, stitching his occasional wounds and trying to get him to eat something when she knew he hadn't bothered for a few days. Normally all she got was scowls and "Just piss off, will you?" This reaction was the last thing she'd ever expected.

"Gaara…" she began in a soft mutter, unsure of what she was even trying to say. She didn't get a chance to finish saying it though, because Gaara leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

Hinata froze.

She'd never been kissed by a boy before, her very obvious crush on Naruto had tended to ward the other boys off, and, really, she was so shy all the guys assumed she was frigid. So she had no idea what to do as Gaara's lips brushed over hers, warming her up as they stood there in the falling snow.

Slowly she got the courage to kiss him back, her lips hesitantly reacting to his. She felt his smile slightly against her lips, encouraging her. One of his hands slipped to the nape of her neck, resting there, so warm, as his other hand dropped to press lightly against the small of her back, making her step even closer to him until the supple length of her body was pressed completely against his. His tongue slid lazily along her bottom lip, silently demanding that she open her mouth and let him in.

Hinata hesitated. Gaara brushed his fingers along her back, remarkably patient with her. She opened her mouth with a little gasp and his tongue slid in to caress the inside of her mouth, touching her tongue in a move that her body reacted automatically to. She tightened her arms around her his waist, and tilted her head back to allow him better access as her tongue tentatively touched his. They stayed like that for a long time, kissing in the snow, then they finally ran out of breath.

Slowly, slowly, Gaara slid back from the warmth of her mouth and opened his eyes.

She was watching him with wide lavender eyes, but somehow it didn't piss him off anymore. He had a strange feeling he could put up with her watching him for the rest of his life.

He gave her a slight smile and she smiled tentatively back. She didn't unwrap her arms from around his waist. He grinned genuinely then, something he hadn't done for as long as he could remember, and dropped his head down to rest on her shoulder, nuzzling gently against her neck.

"You can have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that," Gaara muttered, having realised while he was kissing her, that she was the reason for his bad moods most of the time but not because he hated her, like he'd always thought he had, but because he had wanted to touch her so bad, but had been denying himself out sheer stubbornness.

"R-really?" she asked in a wondering sort of voice.

"Yeah," Gaara said, nuzzling at her neck again.

She giggled pulling her head away a little. "Gaara, st-stop that! It tickles."

Gaara lifted his head and gave her a contemplative look. "Really? You're ticklish?" As she nodded, he added, "There's so much I don't know about you yet…I should probably do something about that. But not out here. It's cold."

He took her hand and tugged her towards the Kohona Village. He grinned at her, a flash of white teeth in a pale face that suddenly wasn't sullen or nasty anymore. "Your place or mine?"