He stood outside her door, almost a year later. The sand had renewed their treaty with the Leaf, and the young ninjas from the two villages had just saved the young kidnapped sand ninja in training.
Kankuro's heart was pounding as he waited for her to open the door. After a minute, he knocked again. He heard shuffling from behind the door, and then a hand turning the knob. He anxiously watched it slowly open, but was disappointed when he saw one of her teammates answer instead of her.
"Oh, hi Kankuro." The boy said, looking shocked.
"Is Fern here?" Kankuro asked, hiding the flowers in his hand behind his back. This was the same spot he had dropped her off the first time they had gone to dinner together, so he was unsure as to why her teammate was here instead of her. Then he remembered her mentioning her team living together once briefly.
"She went out earlier and hasn't returned yet. You can probably still find her in the graveyard on the left side of the village." The boy replied after thinking about it for a moment. With a nod, he shut the door, leaving Kankuro alone on the porch.
Graveyard? Kankuro remembered where it was from his walks the last time he was here. He still didn't know why Fern would be there. He walked through the familiar but foreign village, remembering the memories he had here.
Once he reached the empty graveyard, he began to look around. After searching the entire place, he was almost ready to lose hope of finding her when he spotted someone in the way back corner. He ran up, instantly recognizing her as she kneeled in front of a small headstone.
She almost looked exactly the same as she had a year ago, besides her hair growing a little longer. He stood behind her, wondering how to get her attention.
Fern stood up, not noticing the boy behind her. She brushed her hair back and sighed, looking up at the clear blue sky. She turned, ready to head back to the house, when she noticed the familiar looking boy.
"Kankuro?" She questioned, a smile instantly spreading onto her face.
"It's been a while hasn't it." He replied as he walked up to her, holding the flowers out to her. She took them, smiling as she smelt them. At least she seemed happy to see him, which was a good sign.
"It has. I've missed you. I've come up with at least a hundred bets and games for you while you were gone." She told him with a smirk.
"I bet you have." He replied, laughing as he walked up to her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. "And we have all the time in the world."
She smiled before wrapping her arms around his neck and slamming her lips onto his. They kissed for a few minutes until they broke apart.
"I've missed you so much Fern, I thought about you every day. And even if we live in separate villages, even if we might not see each other for months at a time, it won't matter. I'll be yours forever, I'll never betray you like that again." Kankuro told her, staring into her eyes. He smiled as he watched a blush appear on her face.
"Good." She answered as she grabbed his hand and held it tight. "Because I've got another bet for you."