I DON'T OWN NARUTO.. OR GAARA.. SADLY.. DARN..

Everyone in our group was confused by what had occurred between Gaara and I. They were just as confused as I by why he got along so well with me. They slowly accepted it through and became used to our routine. For two weeks, time passed by in the same manner every day. We'd wake up and go train. I slowly learned to emit chakra from my whole body at one time and to hold it for long periods. We'd fight and spare and he'd teach me a new technique for genjustu, or I'd show him one's I'd created that he wanted to understand better. Each night we'd either go dancing or stay home and watch a movie. Each day, the strange feelings I felt were growing stronger.

Today we had decided to do something different. We'd agreed to take a break from the training and go on a camping trip with everyone. After packing our gear we all ran off into the woods and found the perfect clearing. We all set up tents, one for each couple. Gaara and I, having grown very close over the past few weeks, decided to share a tent as well. Camp was simple to set up, for we didn't bring too many things except for the bare essentials. Right away the guys decided that a hike was our first course of action, so off we all went, climbing the hills and weaving our ways through the dense underbrush and tree trunks. Eventually after a few hours we turned and made our way back to camp. As we arrived, the sun was setting and the moon was beginning to rise. We all helped gather fire wood and we brought logs so we could have stools to sit on. Hinata insisted on cooking fish and I had to say they were excellent. The meal ended and of course no camping trip was complete without smores so they were brought out as well.

Observing the scenery around us, I noticed a small pile of wood that lay in front of the log Gaara and I sat upon. Instantly a thought came to me and I began to once again channel chakra throughout my body. After I'd done that, I concentrated upon the logs, and tried to envision my chakra turning to fire. Soon it felt as if my body was burning, though no flames were visible. I turned towards the wood and flicked my finger and suddenly, the wood caught fire. Everyone's head quickly turned towards the new flame that had appeared.

"Holy cow!! How'd that happen?" yelled Naruto as he stared in complete shock.

Concerned Hinata activated her Byakugan and looked around until her eyes settled upon me. "Ash, you're rife with chakra… I didn't know you had so much."

I blushed red as Gaara turned to me. "Did you do that? I only taught you to control your chakra…" he said, his eyes wide with wonder.

I silently nodded. "I've been practicing by myself too. I don't know how I did it. I just saw the wood, and envisioned my chakra turning to fire, pointed at the logs, and kaboom.. fire…" I was so embarrassed that I thought my face was redder than Hinata's had ever been. I didn't know if I'd be praised or scolded for my actions, but I suddenly had my breath knocked out of me as I hit the ground. Soon after I realized that Gaara had tackled me.

"Oh I'm so proud of you!!" he exclaimed as he hugged me tightly. "You are amazing!"

I began laughing and smiling as did everyone else. "I'm so surprised I even succeeded. I just decided to randomly try it."

Gaara chuckled as he helped me back onto the log. Everyone congratulated me, and we finished our smores. We talked about random things like movies, couples in the village, and funny things we'd seen until the fire began to die down, and one by one, couples exited to their tents. Soon only four of us were left, Temari, Shikamaru, Gaara and I.

"Hey, I'm gonna go get the rolls ready and stuff. Come to bed whenever you're tired okay? I put all your stuff so you can find it easily. Oh and I'll leave the lamp on for you so you can just blow it out when your ready. Night dear."

"Night. I'll be in soon."

I watched as he walked towards the tent, and was about to let my mind wander when Temari spoke. "Ash, I don't know what you did... but you've changed him."

"I know… I understand what you mean… and I have no idea what I did."

Shikamaru scoffed. "I do. He's in love with you baka."

Confused I shook my head. "No he's not. We're just like... best friends. We understand each other. That's all."

He sighed, feeling as though the conversation were too taxing for him. "You'll see. You'll both see your feelings soon enough."

Tired and not feeling like carrying on the conversation, I said goodnight and went to the tent. Inside, laying on the large mat we'd brought was that red headed man who took my breath away. As I got ready for bed the things Shikamaru had said came flooding back to me. Gaara couldn't love me. No one loved me. It was impossible. Heck, even my own parents hadn't been able to find love in their hearts for me. Full of confusion I laid down next to him, leaving distance between us. I blew out the lamp and pulled the blanket up over me.

Now that it was night and I was away from the fire, I could feel the cold chilling me to my bones. Shivers went through me as I drew the blanket tighter around me. I heard a shuffling noise beside me and saw Gaara turn to look at me.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah just fine."

A smile spread across his face. "Don't try to lie to me. I know you too well. You're cold aren't you?"

Giggling I nodded and a spasm of shivers shook me.

Surprisingly, he opened his arms and gestured at me to come closer. "Here, come here and I'll hold you. I'm always warm so I'll be your personal heater."

Different thoughts shouted in my mind. I felt a yearning to be in his arms, but yet I wanted to be independent and strong.

Of course before I could protest, he read my mind. "And Ash, don't say anything against it. You're cold, and I'm warm. Come on. Please?"

I decided to give in and finally scooted over so I was right next to him. Carefully, he wrapped his arms around me, and I felt him pull me closer. He was right. I could instantly feel the heat seeping into my body from his. The warmth began to sooth me and I could feel myself being called to dreamland.

My eyes were closed and I was on my way when I swear I heard him say, "Sleep well my dear. I'll guard you from everything. And please.. never doubt yourself, cause you were right…. you are stronger than we think.. than you think… than I thought… sleep well. I'll keep you safe and warm. Goodnight." For all I know it could have been a dream created by my own thoughts, or it could have been one of those times when you randomly hear people talking, but you know no one's there. But, I wasn't too concerned about it, and just decided to trust the words I'd heard, and feel into a deep sleep, feeling more comfortable and safe than I ever had before.

With the morning came the hot sun, which in turn brought scorching heat. I woke up, covered in sweat, and though the heat made me uncomfortable, I realized that I still remained in Gaara's arms. Too happy to get up, I just laid there and listened to the voices that were coming from outside.

"I told you, he loves her. I can't believe you guys don't see it." came a voice I recognized as Shikamaru's.

"But… but.. it's Gaara. He loves nothing." Yup, that was definitely Naruto. He was still so thickheaded, but hey, at least he'd realized how he felt about Hinata.

"Whatever…" the lazy man sighed. "I'm sick of wasting my time. You'll all see soon enough."

After that, the talk turned towards ideas of activities that could happen today. From what I was able to catch, it sounded as if each couple was doing their own thing. I felt Gaara stir, and quickly closed my eyes, acting as if I'd been sleeping the whole time. He shook me gently.

"Morning sleepy head. Did you sleep ok?"

Turning so I could face him, I nodded and my face lit up at the size of the smile that appeared on his face. "What are you so happy about mister?"

"Just had a good night's sleep is all."

We both laughed and as I started to stand to get up, he jumped on top of me and tickled me. I laughed loudly as he held me down. "Ga- Gaara!! That tickles!!"

Laughter ripped from his chest, which caused me to laugh and smile even more. "It's supposed to tickle silly." Seeing a way out, I rolled quickly and lunged for the opening to our tent. Of course, he read my mind and chased after me, tackling me into the dirt outside our tent. We both laughed loudly as we continued our tickle fight.

"Ahem!!"

Our heads whipped to see everyone else standing there watching us both. Blood rose to my cheeks, but Gaara and I looked at each other, and then burst out laughing again. Getting a hold on ourselves, he helped me up and we headed to the fire pit to grab a plate of eggs and bacon that Sakura and Hinata had cooked.

"Ash, I'm gonna go change then you can go change. Sound like a plan?"

Unable to speak because of my mouth being stuffed full, I just simply nodded my head and left him go.

A few minutes later he came out sporting swim trunks and a white t-shirt. His muscles seemed to test the shirts elasticity, seeming to almost break it apart.

Managing to find my voice I asked, "What's with the swim trunks?"

"You never know what you'll run into. I'd rather be prepared."

I nodded and headed into the tent. As I scrummed through my bag, I found my blue and green bathing suit and slipped it on. Over top I wore a pair of denim short shorts and a light blue tank top. I slipped on some sneakers and then walked back out to the clearing. Instantly I saw everyone's reaction.

Neji whistled, earning a smack from Ten Ten and I blushed, my face turning beat red. Sakura laughed and remarked, "Good thing Kiba and Lee aren't here."

I quickly turned to Gaara. "So where we off to today?"

Standing up, he walked over to me and guided me to a path off to our right. "I don't know. Just thought we'd aimlessly walk."

Wanting to get out of there as quickly as possibly, I practically ran to the pathway and a few hundred yards in until the camp was out of site. Gaara finally caught up with me and laughed as he grabbed my hand and pulled me nearer to him. I could have shook his hand off, but it felt right and plus, he was so warm and soft.

"Ash don't be embarrassed. You're beautiful. That's why. You should never be embarrassed about your beauty."

We continued to walk, not caring where we were going and all the while we talked. We discussed various moves we could use in battle, and argued over which ones were better. We laughed and chased each other until we arrived at another clearing.

This clearing, was absolutely breathtaking. There, coming over a high cliff into a lake, was a beautiful waterfall. It was a smaller one, so the noise was not as thunderous as it could have been. The water was so clear and clean and it was not freezing either. I tested it with my toes, and it was quite warm.

Gaara began to take his shirt off and I was caught by all his glory. There, standing before me was a man who seemed like a god. His muscles and physique were definitely god like as was his gorgeous red hair. He had the perfect personality as well, and as I stood there staring at him, I felt my heart break, knowing how ordinary I must look next to him.

"Ash what's wrong?"

I shrugged and looked down at the ground. "Well, I guess I'm just self conscious of my body."

He quickly walked over to me and hugged me tight. "Please… let me see. I can guarantee that you absolutely gorgeous."

Not wanting to upset him, and completely willing to do anything he asked, I stepped back and first I removed my shorts. Embarrassed I kept my eyes focused on the ground, afraid to see his reaction. Continuing, I removed my tank top and slowly turned. Once again my face was beet red, and grew redder as I saw his expression. His eyes were wide and they seemed to take in every inch of my body. Over come with emotion, I quickly jumped into the lake using the water to hide.

Per usual, he followed and jumped into the lake after me. I felt him wrap his arms around as he pulled me into a tight hug. "You really are gorgeous. You should accept it. Don't fight it." As I was about to turn around he splashed me with water and I stood, surprised. As fast as a bullet he shot off towards the hidden area behind the waterfall and left me standing there.

"Gaara!! That's not fair! You know I can't swim!."

"Just try!" he yelled back. "I'll save you if anything bad happens!"

I truly trusted him more than anyone so of course I listened. I took baby steps until the water was almost up to my head. Then I pushed off with my feet and began to paddle with all my energy to get to where he was. Before I knew it he grabbed hold of me and pulled me through the waterfall. The secret area was so wonderful. It was like a mini jacuzzi especially for us. The water was shallow enough to walk through, and there were convenient ledges that we could sit on. I found a corner spot and located myself there and got comfortable. Gaara came to sit next to me and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"Very nice huh?"

I nodded, completely at peace. "You were right. I can swim."

"Told you. See, always trust me. I'm like… infallible."

On the outside I laughed, but on the inside, all the pain I'd felt all my life came flooding back to me. I wanted to hide it like always, so I practiced with my chakra, moving the water and displacing it so that the surface hardened. The time passed as we practiced and talked until the sun grew very high. Off in the distance dark clouds were accumulating, so we decided to call it a day. Gaara looked as if he had something to say, but he'd open his mouth then shut it, changing his mind.

We swam back to the shore and dried off. After getting changed we began to walk back towards camp when the storm hit. The rain pounded down and thunder shook the sky. I began to run back towards the camp when he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him.

"Gaara what-"

"Ash, I can't hold it in anymore. I.. I.."

"Gaara what's wrong?" Rain pounded our faces and my eyes kept blinking to keep the rain out of them.

"Ash, ever since I met you, I've felt this strange feeling. You amazed me and kept me captivated. I knew that I'd do anything for you. At first these feelings confused me, but then as I saw the other couples.. and I thought I realized that the feeling was one I'd never known before. Ash..I.. I… I love you."

"No.. no!" I tore away from him and began to just run, not caring where I went. I heard his footsteps and his calls, but I ignored them. I knew it was irrational. He'd never hurt me. Who knew if he could? But that was it.. the fear.. fear that he'd do the same thing.. and I couldn't stand to be hurt again.

I felt him catch me and hold me tight. "Ash what's going on?? I mean if you don't feel the same way just tell me!"

Hurt flashed across his face and I knew I was killing him inside. "No Gaara… I'm just.. I'm so scared! I can't do this!! I can't let someone in again who will hurt me!! I can't!!"

"I would never do that!! Ash!! I never want to hurt you! DIdn't you hear me? I love you!!"

Tears streamed down my face and mixed with the rain. "I've been hurt so many times! What if it happens again! I let someone in and then I get my heart broken!" I fell against him as he held me close. I wanted to run away, but at the same time I wanted to stay in his arms forever.

"Ash." Looking up I saw his eyes were much more calm. "Just tell me one thing. Please."

"Anything."

"Do you love me?"

Did I love him? He made me feel safe and peaceful. I trusted him more than anyone. I would do anything for him. Whatever he asked of me I was willing to do. All I wanted was to be the reason for the smiles on his face. I wanted to make him laugh and make his life better. Did I love him?

"Yes. Yes Gaara. I love you."

His eyes now held a determined look as he stared back at me. Thunder rumbled and lightning lit up the sky. His hands now held my face, so carefully, so gently. His eyes seemed to be searching mine.

"That's all I needed to know."