The week quickly went by and Akina went back to working at the hospital regularly. She needed to get back to the flow of things and it seemed to help her immensely.

Akina was getting off for the day and was about to head home. She got her things from her locker and was on her way out of the building. She was slightly surprised to find Gaara leaning up against the building wall, waiting for her to get off of work. His arms were folded over his chest and his eyes were closed.

"What are you doing here?" Akina asked with a smile. Gaara opened his eyes and smirked at her. He unfolded his arms and reached into one of his pockets. He slowly pulled out something wrapped in colored tissue paper.

"Happy birthday," he told her, handing her the small present. Akina slowly took it from him. She carefully unwrapped the tissue paper and gasped at what she saw. It was a delicate rose made from sand. It was a perfect replication of the real thing. The leaves had the little details in them, the stem had small thorns on it, and the petals were thin and delicate.

"Did you make this?" she asked in shock. Gaara closed his eyes and nodded. His eyes shot open when he felt her arms around him. He looked down at her in surprise and slowly put an arm around her. After a couple of moments, Akina pulled away from him.

"Will you walk me home?" she asked softly. Gaara nodded slightly. He was about to turn away from her, until she grabbed him by the hand. He looked at their hands for a moment before looking back up at Akina. The two of them then walked down the empty streets.

XOOOOOOX

Once they were at the house, they let go of each other's hand. Gaara walked Akina to her room. Akina looked up at him with her big green eyes.

"Thank you Gaara," she told him sweetly, a smile gracing her lips. Gaara was about to say something but was stopped. His body tensed up when he felt her kiss him on the cheek. "I still love you," she whispered into his ear. She quickly slipped passed him and quietly shut her door.

Gaara stood there for a few minutes, going through the scenario over and over again in his head. His cheeks were a light shade of red and his heart was beating rapidly. After he gathered his thoughts together, he slowly walked down the hall and into his room. He sat down on his bed and buried his face in his hands.

"Every time," he sighed to himself. "Every time I get the chance, I freeze up. What is wrong with me?" He ran his fingers through his hair and lye back, resting his head on his pillow. He closed his eyes, trying to relax himself.

"One day," he thought to himself. "One day, I will show her that I love her back."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Akina was helping Temari with dinner in the kitchen. The two of them were giggling happily and chatting with each other. Temari was telling Akina more details about her wedding and was asking for some of her opinions. They also chatted about other things.

"My brother has the biggest crush on you," Temari giggled. Akina smiled and nodded.

"I know," she replied simply. Temari looked at her with shock.

"If you know, then why don't you ask him out or something?"

"I know he has a thing for me, but he's still trying to make sense of it. I'm simply giving him some time to get everything together. He'll come to me when he's ready to have a relationship." Temari smirked at the white-haired girl.

"I think you're just being evil." Akina laughed and nodded.

"I guess you could say that's the other part of it." The two female laughed.

"You're still going to be my maid of honor, right?" Temari asked. Akina nodded and smiled.

"I'm kind of young, but I'll do my best." Temari gave her friend a quick hug and then continued on with making dinner.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

3 Months Later

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Gaara watched in boredom as Temari tried to get her husband off his lazy butt and onto the dance floor. The reception had been going on for more than two hours now, and he was getting more bored by the minute. He had been sitting in the same corner for an hour, trying to keep himself somewhat distant from the other people.

Gaara took one last glance around the reception hall before getting up. He slowly made his way out of the building and outside into the cool night. He looked up at the starry sky and sighed to himself.

"Are you okay?" Gaara turned around and stared at the white-haired girl that was standing behind him. She was wearing a light blue, strapless dress that ended just above the knees. The skirt part was loose and flowing. Gaara could also see that the girl was shivering, which was no surprise.

"What are you doing out here?" Gaara asked, slowly approaching her. She shrugged.

"I guess I just wanted to get away from the crowd for awhile." Gaara nodded. He stood in front of her, staring down at the shivering female. He slowly took his jacket off and offered it to her. Akina smiled and let him drape it over her shoulders.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked. Akina nodded.

Akina walked alongside Gaara, their footsteps echoing throughout the empty streets of Suna. Everyone in the town was either in bed or at Temari's reception. During the entire walk, Gaara was being tormented by his thoughts.

"Say something," he kept telling himself. "If you really do have feelings for her, then do something now."

"You…. look really….. nice tonight," Gaara told her nervously. Akina looked up at him with a smile.

"Thank you. You look really handsome yourself." Gaara quickly averted his eyes to the ground. He was never really used to holding a conversation, especially one that was centered on the topic of romance.

"Why is this so difficult? It was so much more difficult than that one night." The night he was referring to was Akina's birthday a little over a year ago. Somehow, he had managed to confess his feelings to her, and proved it to her with a kiss. After that night, though, everything kind of went backwards. How come it was so easy that night and now it was so difficult?

The two of them walked around the village for about a half an hour before returning to the reception hall. They stood behind the building, looking up at the night sky. Neither of them wanted to go back inside at the moment. They were content with wandering around outside, looking up at the indigo sky.

Gaara bit his bottom lip and looked at Akina. He liked the way her hair looked against the light of the moon. It seemed to glow radiantly, just like the moon itself. Akina felt Gaara's gaze upon her and turned to look at him. The two of them locked eyes contact, neither of them able to break away from the other's stare. Gaara wanted to tear them away, but at the same time he didn't.

Akina could feel the space slowly closing between the two of them. Her heart started beating rapidly and her breathing was shaky. A chill went down her spine when he put a gentle hand on her cheek. He brought his lips close to hers, but they did not touch. He hovered there for a moment, almost as if he were teasing her. Finally, he brushed his lips against Akina's before passionately kissing her. Akina tenderly kissed him back. She slowly slid her hands up the front of his torso, resting one hand on his chest while the other one made its way to his shoulder.

Gaara pulled away for a second, taking a quick breath of air before kissing her again. He slowly snaked an arm around Akina's waist, resting his hand on the small of her back. He could feel her body trembling. Gaara pulled her closer, encasing her with his warmth.

Gaara suddenly broke the kiss when he felt something warm and wet fall on his hand. He looked at Akina and was surprised to see tears streaming down her face. Of course, the first thought that came to his mind was that he had hurt her.

"I'm sorry," he softly apologized, slowly pulling away from her. Akina gripped onto his shoulder and grabbed a hold of his shirt. He looked at her in confusion.

"I'm scared Gaara," she whispered, her bottom lip trembling. "I need to know that you really love me. I need to know that this isn't just pretend."

Gaara put his hand beneath her chin and tilted her head upwards so that she was looking in his eyes. He slowly moved his hand up to her cheek and wiped her tears away with his thumb.

"I'm…. kind of scared too," he told her softly, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand. "This is the first time that something like this has happened to me. I have never been in love before, at least not until you came along. I love you Akina, and I would never try to hurt you. I want you to be safe and I want to be there to ensure it."

Akina sniffled and smiled weakly. She wrapped her arms around Gaara's torso and laid her head against his chest.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. Gaara shook his head.

"Don't be. It's not your fault." He put an arm around her and rubbed her back in a soothing manner.

"Can we go home now?" she asked sleepily. Gaara smirked and nodded. The two of them walked down the street. Gaara had one arm around Akina's waist, allowing her to lean up against him. With one of her hands, Akina clutched onto the jacket that was still draped over her shoulders.

When they arrived home, Gaara took his jacket from her and hung it up. He then went into Akina's room where he found her collapsed on the bed. He quietly made his way over to her bedside and leaned over her. She looked up at him with a smile. Gaara leaned in close and planted a soft kiss upon her lips.

"Goodnight," he whispered. He was about to pull away so he could leave, but Akina grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him down. He put a knee down on the bed in order to keep himself from falling on top of her.

"I'm not letting you leave me now," she giggled. Gaara's eyes widened with surprise. After a moment he shook it away and lye down beside her.

Akina snuggled in close to him, letting him wrap his arms around her. For quite awhile, she really hated being touched. Now it was different. She felt safe in Gaara's arms. He made her feel protected and loved. He had even told her that he wanted to be the one to protect her. She loved him and he loved her back. He would do anything for her, and she would do anything for him. He was the only one for her, and always would be.

Like I promised, I got another chapter out ASAP. I hope that you all enjoy! I'm not sure when I'll get chapter 12 up, but at least I'm not leaving you any cliff hangers or anything of the nature. Please Review!!