I can't believe I ended up going through with this. What was I thinking? I don't even know him. Hinata thought as she waited nervously for Gaara to arrive. I should have just asked for the vet bill and been done with it.

It was actually the blonde guy from the clinic who called Hinata to set up the date. She never once spoke to Gaara, instead Naruto gave her the details of where and when. After getting off the phone Hinata started to have second thoughts. She was going to call and cancel until Mable stopped her. What was it about elderly people being able to guilt trip someone so easily? She didn't pull any punches either. She went on about how it would break poor old grandma's heart if she didn't go. And that it would be very rude to cancel. Especially since, after all, they did owe him. Well, technically Mable owed him, and of course if she were fifty years younger she'd be all over that, but that was beside the point. Mable was going to make sure Hinata went one way or another.

So there Hinata sat, waiting in a casual little diner, anxiously tearing apart a defenseless napkin as the minutes ticked by. Naruto said Gaara would meet her by seven-thirty. But now it was almost after eight.

"Miss?" a young waiter asked, pulling Hinata from her thoughts. "Are you sure you wouldn't like anything while you wait? A drink maybe?"

"No, thank you though."

The waiter gave her a sympathetic look as he nodded and walked away. He further confirmed what Hinata thought. She was being stood up, but as embarrassed as she was, she couldn't be mad at the doctor. He was forced into this just like she was.

Hinata glanced at her watch. That was it, she wouldn't wait any longer. She did have some pride, it might not be much, but dammit if she allowed it to be extinguished.

She stood up and pushed her chair back under the table, careful not to scrape it against the dark wood floor.

Turning around to leave, she found herself slamming into an oncoming body. Hinata let out a sharp gasp as she rubbed her nose. "I am so sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"It's fine," A deep voice replied. "Hinata was it?"

She looked up to make eye contact with a familiar pair of beautiful green eyes. "D-Dr. Sabaku!"

He corrected her, "Gaara. Please. I apologize for making you wait, I had some . . . complications."

"Ah, it's fine." She nervously tucked a loose hair behind her ear.

"Again, I apologize, if you're still up for this–"

"Yes please," she said, cutting him off. "I mean, that is, if you're alright with it."

He gave her an odd look before pulling her chair back out and gestured for her to sit.

"Thank you." Hinata blushed as she reclaimed her seat.

The random sounds of silverware clanking together filled the air as Hinata fumbled for something to say. This was really awkward.

"I see that your guest made it," the waiter said, cutting through the tension. "would you like to order now?"

"Yes please, thank you." Hinata quickly glanced over the menu. "I'll just have the spicy chicken sandwich."

"And what to drink?"

"Coke will be fine, thank you."

The waiter jotted down her order and turned to Gaara. "What can I get you sir?"

"A hamburger will be fine, no onions, with a coke as well."

"Alright," the waiter said as he took their menus. "Your drinks will be brought out shortly.

"So." Hinata began, hoping to strike a conversation. "What do you do for a living?"

Gaara cocked an eyebrow as if to say, Really?

"Ah that was a stupid question." She half laughed. "Veterinarian, of course."

God, could she be acting any more dense?

She let out a long exhale and looked around the room. The few customers that remained all made idle chitchat with their partners. Why was something so simple so hard for her to do?

"What about you? What do you do?" Gaara asked, drawing back Hinata's attention.

"I'm a nurse. I work down at the Konoha Assisted Living Facility."

The waiter returned with their drinks. Gaara poked his straw in his cup and took a deep drink before speaking. "You work with the elderly, that must be interesting."

"Yes, it really is. You would be surprised some of the antics older people get into." Hinata tittered. "By the way. I want to apologize for this. You didn't really seem to get much choice in coming here."

Gaara shrugged nonchalantly. "My friend, Naruto, the other guy you met, he can be a somewhat pushy if he thinks something would be good for me."

"Really?" She bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Gaara sighed before clarifying. "He thinks I should get out of the house more, or rather the clinic."

"Believe me," Hinata giggled. "I understand what you mean. My cousin and well, pretty much everyone close to me is that same way."

Silence once again blanket the two as they waited for their food. Hinata glanced back around the dinner. It was nearly empty now.

"Sorry for the wait." the waiter said as he returned with their order. "Here is your chicken sandwich, and your hamburger. If you need anything else just call."

"Thank you." Gaara nodded to the young man.

Hinata took a bite of her sandwich. She swallowed before talking "I remember you saying that you actually own that clinic."

Gaara watched with, what seemed to be, amusement as Hinata's face glowed red from the spices.

"Yes, I just purchased it last year." The red-head said as he popped a fry in his mouth.

Hinata took a drink, hoping to cool her burning mouth. She had a love hate relationship with spicy food.

"How old are you, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Twenty-four."

"Twenty-four?" Hinata choked. "You're so young, how did you manage to become a veterinarian so fast?"

Gaara hesitated before replying. "I was able to graduated high school early and from there went straight to college. I was lucky enough to maintain a full-time class schedule up till graduation."

"Wow." Hinata was stunned. "It sounds like you were very dedicated."

"You could say that," he said as if sharing some inside joke with himself.

Hinata nibbled at her sandwich. She felt pale in comparison to his achievements.

"How is your arm by the way?"

"My wha– oh, my arm. Yes, it's fine. Looks like it won't even scar, thanks to you."

Gaara nodded with a small smile before going back to his food.

For a moment, Hinata stared at him. She wasn't sure how she hadn't noticed before... Or maybe it was the way the low hanging lights glowed softly against him. But something about Gaara was strikingly beautiful, more so than just his eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Gaara asked.

"No! Not at all." Hinata shook her head furiously, embarrassed that she was caught staring. She took a drink from her glass. Her sudden attraction to him caught her off guard; it was an odd sensation.

"Where did you go to high school at?" She wondered if she might have met him before.

"Suna High. After high school I moved from my parent's home in Suna city to Konoha so I could go to college."

Hinata was stunned. "You came all the way from Suna to go to college here? How come? The Suna University is the number one school around. And with how smart, you sound like you are I'm sure you would have been able to get a scholarship no problem."

"Eh," Gaara started as he finished his plate. "It's a long story."

Hoping to coax him further, she placed her chin on her hands and leaned closer. "I have time."

Gaara surprised her with a chuckle.

She blushed and quickly withdrew from him. "That is, at least, if you want to t-tell me. Sorry for being nosy." him.

"Well." He half smiled. "As much as I would like to sate you curiosity, unfortunately, it looks like the diner is ready to close."

"Oh." Hinata looked around. He was right. They were the only customers left. One worker was busy cleaning a few remaining tables while another flipped their sign from Open to Closed.

"Here's your check." The waiter placed it near the edge of their table. "If you're finished eating I'll take your plates."

"Thank you," Gaara casually reached for the check.

"Wait." Hinata reflexively placed her hand over his. "I'll get it. I want to repay you."

"You don't owe me."

He wasn't leaving any room for discussion but Hinata wasn't going to give up. "But I do," she insisted. "I owe you for helping Jiji. That was the whole point in going out with you tonight."

"You were kind enough to wait, even when I was late. You stayed over thirty minutes before you decided to leave. You don't owe me." Gaara eyed her as if daring her to argue back.

She scrunched her nose ready to disagree until Gaara pulled a card from his wallet and quickly handed it off to the waiter.

"Come on." Gaara grinned after getting back his card. "Let's go."

"But," She knew when she was beat. "Geez...fine, if you're going to be that persistent ."

Gaara smirked. "I'm a very stubborn person.

"Clearly." She muttered as she stood up to follow him out into the dark parking lot.

A light breeze fluttered by, gently combing its way through her hair. She watched as Gaara rested his back against the brick building. "I had a nice time, though I still feel the need to repay you. You're not playing fair."

The only response came from an odd flicking sound. Hinata looked over to see Gaara lighting a cigarette. She watched in odd wonder as the red-head closed his eyes and took a long drag, then gently blew out, filling the once clean air with white smoke.

"You smoke." It wasn't meant as a question.

"Does it bother you?"

"No," she said honestly. "I just don't know many people who do."

Nearby, a street lamp desperately tried to keep from flickering out. The buzzing noise grew annoying.

"You know it's bad for you."

Gaara smirked and took another puff.

"How old were you when you started?"

Gaara gave her a puzzled look. "How old was I?" The question seemed to throw him off.

Hinata's cheeks flushed pink. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just trying to get to know you. I'm sure I sound weird asking questions like that. I've never been a real good conversationalist. I always end up making things awkward or hard to continue with"

An odd feeling passed through her as Gaara quietly looked into her eyes. She was only able to hold his gaze for a moment before shyly looking away.

"Tell you what." Gaara took one more draw from his cigarette before disposing of the butt. "If you're comfortable with it, would you like to go out again? I need to be getting back to the clinic right now, unfortunately."

Hinata's lips lifted to a soft smile. "I'd like that. I'm sorry to have kept you so long."

"It's fine. Come on, I'll walk you to your car."

She felt silly, him going with her. Especially since it was just barely on the other side of the parking lot, but regardless she lead the way with him following beside her.

"That's weird," Hinata said more to herself after she opened her car door.

"What is it?"

"My dome lights didn't come on. They always do when I open the door." Hinata slid into the drivers seat, letting her feet dangle out of the door as she stuck her key in the ignition. She turned it once only to be greeted by a clicking sound.

"Sounds like the battery is dead,"

Hinata bit her bottom lip. "That's great."

"Wait here a moment, I have some jumper cables in the trunk; I can jump you off."

Hinata nodded regrettably as Gaara headed to his car. She couldn't believe this was happening. Her car had been running fine, maybe she left a light on?

A minute later Gaara parked his silver Chrysler in front of hers. Hinata retrieved her keys and joined him beside his trunk.

She peeked inside as he rummaged through it, not surprised to find it full of pet supplies, ranging from animal food to puppy pads and blankets.

"I'm really sorry about this." Hinata hung her head. "I know you need to be getting back . If you want to go on it's fine. I'll call for a tow truck."

"It's fine for the moment." Gaara assured her. "I don't currently have any patients. Just paper work that needs to be done."

"Alright." She waited patiently while he searched. After tonight she would definitely keep a pair of cables with her.

A/N: I broke this chapter into 2 parts mainly because of how long the whole chapter ended up being. But I'll have the next part up shortly :) Hope everyone enjoyed this one! Thank you again for those awesome people who have reviewed thus far!