K, this is a huge one shot. I've never written anything on the genre of Romance before, please, no flames. Just hope you'll enjoy! GaaraxOC

They met at the Chunin exam. She was in front of him, 2 rows in front. The girl had silky silver hair and copper skin. Her eyes were large and a warm grey colour. She wore a grey and silver jacket with black, tight fitting pants. Her hair was short, and kept out of her eyes by two silver butterfly clips dotted with red gems. Which were obviously fake. Even so, his eyes were drawn to her. Gaara's eyes.

Gaara felt his heart thumping wildly in his chest, his cheeks starting to blush rosily. It was too much. He didn't know why, he hadn't felt this before. The elusive emotion we call love. The tattoo on his forehead (Chinese character for love) burned. Quickly, he looked down on his paper and immediately, the emotion subsided.

The Chunin exam part 1 continued.

Once again, Gaara sneaked a look back at the girl. Once more, his heart thumped crazily and sweat poured down his face – though he managed to control his blushing. How he longed to touch that hair, and run his finger along her face and place his lips on her own. He dismissed the thought as completely crazy.

The Chunin exam part 1 ended.

Hard to believe but Gaara thought the girl looked at him, then smiled – and was she… blushing? Gaara looked away, trying to stop his own cheeks from burning.

That was the first meeting of Gaara and the mysterious girl whose name we shall now unmask. Her name was Genata. She was an psychic ninja, from the village on top of the world (on a high mountain). Her villagers were specialists in manipulating their chakra to achieve some levels of psychicness, therefore controlling other elements as well (though they had some trouble with earth).

Their second meeting was when Gaara was sent to a hospital ward for crazy people. It happened when Gaara was once again possessed by the One-tailed Shukaku. People hadn't been told of Gaara's condition (technically not allowed) so he was sent to the ward. All the people who did visit him feared him, apart from a few like Temari, Konkuro and Naruto. And, of course, our Genata.

Genata had been at the scene where Gaara was possessed. She had helped him regain control of the demon within him. But protested against him being sent to the hospital, insisting there was nothing wrong. Of course the doctors didn't believe her – after all, she was only 18.

Gaara flipped over restlessly when the door opened.

"Who is it?" he grumbled.

A sweet, clear musical voice rang out. "Genata."

Gaara was filled head to toe with longing as soon as he heard the sound. "Genata…" he whispered. The name meant nothing, yet held endless meaning for Gaara.

The girl entered the room. Gaara's eyes widened. It was the girl from the exam! Immediately, he felt himself blushing again. He scolded himself for being so emotional but stopped when he realised Genata was blushing too. Gaara allowed himself a small smile and beckoned the girl over. He realised she had her hands behind her back. What could she be hiding…

Genata revealed what was in her hands. Gaara breathed in and suddenly found the air perfumed with the clear, herby but not overpowering scent of mountain flowers. The flowers were white, with pale green stalks. They had a yellow core and the sweet perfume wafted gently out into the air.

Walking over to the bed, Genata placed the flowers tenderly on Gaara's bedside.

"For you from my home village. I kept them fresh with melted snow from the mountain."

Gaara sniffed the air again. "They're beautiful. Thank you."

The girl laughed. "No problem."

Gaara closed his eyes as he felt the soothing touch of Genata's slender fingers as they stroked through his rough, red hair. Soon, the hand left his scalp. Not wanting the sensation to leave, unintentionally, Gaara gripped Genata's wrist tightly. Even though he used all his strength, to his surprise, Genata easily pried his fingers away.

"Powerful aren't you," mumbled Gaara, still with his eyes closed.

"No. You're being too kind. It's a hereditary trait of our clan. We have slender and strong fingers. And your strength hasn't returned yet. So… yeah."

Genata stood up. "Anyway, its time to go otherwise I'll miss my instructor."

"Wait. Come over here for a second."

Raising her eyebrows, Genata strode over. As soon as he was able, Gaara gripped Genata's face and pulled her towards him. And for one, brief satisfying moment – her lips were on his. Then Genata pulled away.

"I – It's not time for that yet. I'll see you tomorrow."

She sprinted out the doorway.

Silently, Gaara cursed himself. What had he done to make Genata flee so easily? He really should practise dealing with the romance industry more. Squeezing his eyes shut, he fell asleep dreaming of snow and mountain blooms.

Genata ran out of the room holding her fingers to her lips. She was blushing uncontrollably. Gaara…