Author's note: This was a chapter that I started to write but then I didn't publish it because it's more of a filler chapter, but now I realize that it emphasizes Gaara's and Hazuki's relationship more deeply. And so here it is. If you don't like it skip it, but I think it's adorable. And the fact that they didn't have a lot "screen time" together this was a perfect chapter to give them that time together.

Hazuki's POV

"Hazukiiiiiiii!"

Through the foggy confusion of my sleepy mind, someone had screamed my name and jumped onto the bed next to me, jolting me awake from my usual hibernation.

"Wha-! What? Whats going on?" I was still half asleep and slurring my words through my long bed hair smothering my face.

I was shocked to see that it was actually Temari who had jumped into bed and now lying in Gaara's usual spot in bed. What was even more shocking was that she was all giggly and bubbly, which was apart from her usual mature and calm personality.

"Temari-san!" I grabbed her squarely by the shoulders, truly worried about her. "Has Kankuro fed you something strange again?"

"Hey!" Kankuro had appeared at the doorway. "I take offense to that!" he joked pretending to be hurt.

"No, silly," Temari referred to my question, "Today's a special day!"

"A…special day?" I asked confused and suspicious. I tried to think of an important reason why today was a "special" day. I knew it wasn't anyone's birthday…

"Gaara has something special planned for you and him tonight. And he specifically ordered us to get you ready." Kankuro explained.

"Wait, get ready for what? What is Gaara planning?"

"Oh, you'll see." Kankuro left that cryptic message with a sly grin on his face. "But for now," he started walking towards me, "let's get you out of bed." He suddenly bent down, wrapped his arms around my waist, and hoisted me over his shoulders.

"Ah! You know that I am perfectly capable of walking now. This is highly unnecessary!" I cried indignantly.

"I know. But this is much more fun!" he laughed amusingly. He walked to the cavernous bathroom of mirrors and lowered me gently.

"You carried me out of bed just so you could take me to the bathroom which is only 10 feet away?" I asked incredulously.

"You're reactions are worth it." Kankuro chuckled.

"Alright Hazuki, quickly take a shower and come out as soon as possible," Temari was already handing me a fluffy white towel and shoving me through the bathroom the door.

I've never seen Temari so excited over something like this. I was still baffled when I realized Temari had successfully shoved me through the door and shut me inside.

"What in the world are they up to?" I sighed to myself while I took off the silk night gown that Gaara had given to me. It was a midnight blue color with golden thread weavings across the lace around my chest. Gaara had a matching midnight blue yukata. The silk material felt lightless and so smooth over my skin. I smiled as I remembered to the night he had given it to me.

It was late and I had just gotten out of the shower. Gaara was at his work desk near the bottom of the bed next to the massive bay window, writing on a scroll. As I looked at him through the mirrors in the bathroom, I tried to imagine the amount of pressure it puts on a person to be a Kazekage at such a young age, it didn't seem like he had a lot of fun. But I was impressed and respected the fact that he would shoulder such a responsibility to look after the village that had once despised him. It seems almost unfair for Gaara to even consider helping the village that had many times executed for his death to erase a mistake they've created themselves.

After I had wrapped a towel around me and relatively dried myself off, I was opened his massive oak closet in search for something to sleep in. I usually slept in his yukatas but they were far too large for my small frame, but it wasn't so bad that it was uncomfortable. However, upon opening the closet there wasn't anything for me to wear. There was nothing but his usual day clothes, battle wear, and his massive white Kazekage robe.

"Gaara," I called.

"Yes, Hazuki?" he looked up from his work and answered at me.

"Is there nothing for me to sleep in tonight?" I asked.

"Oh? Let me help you look." He stood up from the massive desk and walked over. Standing very close behind me, he stretched out his arms on either side of my head and rummaged through his closet, but it didn't seem like he was really trying.

"Oh, yes. Now I remember." He looked down at me, as I looked up, and smiled childishly, like he was caught doing he shouldn't be doing by someone who he knows will not punish him. "I'm sorry but all my sleeping wear is in the wash at the moment."

"But then, what will I sleep in?"

"Well, there are other sleeping alternatives ..." His grin widened.

I was flustered by this and I felt my face heat up like the sun. "Who knew that the Kazekage was such a pervert?"

"If you're bothered by that then why don't we share mine?" His soft whisper tickled my ear. "It's large enough to fit both of us." His mouth was now planting intimate kisses on my bare shoulder.

My heart suddenly wanted to burst out of my mouth as it was getting harder to breathe.

"Bu- but… that…. *kiss* ….would…. be"… *kiss* …. I couldn't even finish my incoherent sentence as he got closer and closer to my neck.

"No? Not even that?" he asked.

I let out a gasp as he ran his petal lips across my cheek.

"G-gaara."

He suddenly closed the closet doors, pinned my wrists above my head from behind, and pressed against me, trapping me between the closet and his massive figure. But it wasn't in a forceful way.

"Keep your arms up for me." he whispered. "And close your eyes."

I did as he told, not wanting him to stop, but wondering where this was leading to.

Suddenly his body was not against mine and because there was no support of my arms or his body, my towel had dropped to the floor.

I immediately tried to cover my naked body but Gaara's hands had stopped my arms from coming down.

"Wait. Please, trust me Hazuki." He kept my arms raised and slowly turned me around to face him.

I felt my cheeks burning with embarrassment and desire at the same time. With my eyes closed and my arms up in the air, I was at his mercy. It was a feeling I was not comfortable with.

A moment later, a strange material was coming down my arms. At the same time I felt Gaara's hands guiding the material over my head and gently down onto my body.

It felt like a cool soft and silky material.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now." I heard Gaara's voice in front of me.

I did and looked down to see a small delight. An elaborate dark royal blue night gown had covered my naked body. It had extravagant intricate gold designs running across my chest and a lacy layer that ended at my knees.

"Oh, Gaara!" I bounded in one leap to hug him tightly. "It's beautiful!"

He put his hand on top of my head. "I thought that you were a bit uncomfortable in my clothes so I took the liberty of getting you one."

"But was all that really necessary? You couldn't have just given it to me directly?" I asked annoyed.

He grinned at me. "You're reactions are worth it."

After my shower I wrapped myself with the towel Temari had given me and stepped outside.

Kankuro and Temari were already waiting for me. By now they were placing breakfast (well technically lunch because I was still on my strange sleeping habits) on top the wide marble counter.

"Hazuki, come eat. You must be hungry." Temari pulled out an ornate cushioned chair, intending if me to sit in.

As I warily sat down, Kankuro and Temari stood on either side of me with giant grins plastered onto their faces.

"So… am I still not allowed to know what's going on?" I stabbed a melon with my fork, still peeved about being left in the dark.

"Gaara specifically told us not to tell you anything. He wants it to be a surprise." Kankuro winked lazily.

"Speaking of Gaara, where is he?" I asked. He wasn't in bed when I was awakened by Temari.

"Oh, he's also getting ready for the di-" but Kankuro was cut off with a warning look from Temari.

"Oh, he just has some paperwork to do. Let's just leave it at that." She covered up for him.
I gave them a suspicious look through the mirror as I now moved onto the soup. As I was finishing up Temari suddenly whispered something into Kankuro's ear. His eyebrows rose slightly in an amused way and left the room.

I didn't bother asking seeing that I wasn't going to get an answer anyways.

Just then Kankuro burst back in leading three professional looking stylists into the room.

My mouth dropped wide open in surprise and more confusion.

"Please style her as you see fit," Temari instructed the three stylists while pointing her finger at me.

The three stylists came closer and closer with malignant gleams in their eyes, "Yes, anything for the Kazekage's special guest."

"Wait! Hold on! NO! WAH!"

*Two hours later*

For the past hours I had become a live doll for the three stylists as they primed, scrubbed, filed, brushed, and styled every corner of my body.

Temari gushed on about how beautiful I looked and ordered the stylists here and there. Kankuro left a while ago saying that he was going to check up on Gaara.

First they exfoliated my whole body with a special salt that was only found in the desert and left my skin baby smooth.

Then they gave me a full on body massage, which was awkward at first. Rubbing me with jasmine oils in the awkardest of areas. But I had to admit that it felt heavenly. It was like they were rubbing away all my stress and worries.

Soon they moved onto my hair. This was the most painful part. They pulled, curled, and straightened my hair into (finally) an elegant bun. It was messy and yet graceful at the same time. I had to admit, it was beautiful.

It was strange for me to consider myself beautiful. My pale and plain body figure made it impossible for me to be considered even remotely pretty.

As the male stylist continued with my hair, the two lady assistants moved on to giving me a manicure and pedicure.

Just then I realized that I was still wrapped in the white fluffy towel. As if on cue, Temari asked one of the lady assistants to bring out something.

As she walked back in, the lady brought in an overly decorated box.

After the assistant had laid them down onto the floor, Temari laid out a large flat rectangular box and a small matching one onto the cluttered countertop. The box was wrapped in such beautiful lace and ribbons that it felt like a shame to open the box and ruin such beautiful designs.

However, sensing this, Temari opened the box for me. Though seemingly impossible, the object inside outshone the intricate designs of the ribbons and made them look like mere shoe strings.

My mouth dropped in marvel as the box revealed a gorgeous beautiful dress and elegant heels that perfectly matched with the gown. These clothes looked more suitable for a princess than me.

"The Kazekage had this made just for you especially madam." The male stylist said, "There is not another copy in the world of this gown."

"Gaara…made this…for me?" I was astounded. I slowly stood up to touch the beautiful material fearing that it was only an illusion. The material was so satiny soft that it seemed to slide across my fingers like water.

Tears suddenly started to form in my eyes.

"Madam!" at once, all three stylists attacked my face to re-fix my makeup.

I giggled. "I'm sorry. It's just that…I'm so happy." I turned to face them and bowed. "Thank you all so much. I appreciate this but… I don't deserve any of this."

"Of course you deserve it!" Termari scoffed. "Plus it is us who should be thanking you Hazuki."

I cocked my head in confusion. "What are you talking about? I have not done anything to deserve this special treatment."

Temari gave a deep smile, a smile that seemed to fill up her eyes with gratefulness. "You helped Gaara find his way out of the darkness, Hazuki. You saved him. If it weren't for you, I don't think that Gaara would be the same person as he is now."

I was taken aback. "No, no. Gaara told me that it was that shinobi, Naruto who helped him out of the darkness. Not me. I didn't do anything!"

"True, Naruto helped Gaara find the light during the darkest period of his life. But you were the first person to ever accept him and see him as a human being. You saw him as an equal and looked past all the terrible things that were said about him."

She looked down in shame. "Even Kankuro and I, his own siblings, saw him as a monster. If only we had been better people and treated him better, he wouldn't have been so alone… I sometimes blame myself for all his pain." Silent stray tears fell onto her lap.

I wrapped my arms around her neck, comforting her. "Shh. Please don't blame yourself. I know that Gaara understands that you two are working your very best to make up for the past. But this isn't something that is not your fault at all. What has happened happened. You are not to blame for his sufferings."

A knock from the door interrupted our embrace. As we quickly untangled ourselves, I was thoroughly impressed when Kankuro strode in looking very dashing in his black tuxedo, but it was cancelled out with the look of disbelief on his face as he looked at me. "Why are you still not dressed? Gaara is waiting for you! C'mon c'mon let's get her dressed up now shall we?" He commanded the stylists as he clapped his hands, at which they immediately moved into action. "Lets not have the Kazekage's guest dressed up in a mere towel shall we?"

"Madam, will you please come this way?" the male had asked.

I looked down at the elegant and yet very simple design. It was a white satin material with red lacing that bordered the ruffles of the dress below the waist. It was simple yet exquisite.

As I followed, the three of them sprang into action to undress me out of the towel and into the delicate dress.

Temari had already shoved Kankuro out of sight before I was undressed. She too, had left with Kankuro saying that she also had to get ready.

It was amazing how the dress fit so perfectly. It was as if it had molded itself to every curve of my body and not an inch of fabric was wasted.

As they put the finishing touches onto the dress they ushered me out the door. I thanked them one more time before seeing Temari outside the hallway.

She looked amazing in her black satin dress. "Temari-san… you look so beautiful!"

She gave me a reproachful look, "That's my line." Although I could see a faint pink color in her cheeks. "Besides this is about you, not me. You and Gaara."

She took me by my hands and led me down the dimply lit hallway. The curiosity was now burning through my mind. As we got towards the end of the hallway I noticed something white littered on the floor, there were more of it as we got closer to the stairway.

'Did someone rip up a bunch of paper and throw it on the floor?' Then I idiotically realized they were white rose petals.

"Were here!" Temari broke my concentration about what was on the floor and realized we had stopped.

"She's ready." Temari was talking to someone at the bottom of the stairs but it was too dark to tell whom it was.

As if on cue, a bright light suddenly turned on from the massive crystal chandelier to reveal the grand staircase that I've seen everyday, but was now ornately decorated with blooming white roses wrapped around the banister. Soft white petals were gently strewn across the stairs leading a trail down to... the most handsome man of my dreams.

I was awestruck by Gaara's presence. His kind jaden eyes penetrated me and filled me with such malevolent heat that could have melted my heart.

He was wearing a spotless white tuxedo along with a scarlet red tie. A smile was etched onto his perfect soft lips and had reached his black rimmed eyes.

I gave one in return, trying to emit as much love as I could through my smile.

"Go on!" Temari ushered me from behind.

I heeded her words and carefully descended down the magnificent staircase one step at a time.

Gaara's fierce eyes never left me and that made me blush.

I had to admit, I've never walked in high heels before. I must have looked like a fool trying to go down the stairs on step at a time.

As I got to the bottom of the stairs Gaara held out his hand, in which I eagerly accepted with mine. His large hands were warm and protective against mine. He then delicately raised my hand to his mouth and glided his lips across the back of my hands and then kissing it.

"You look absolutely divine." He whispered to the back of my hand, piercing me with his amazing eyes that never ceased to make me catch my breath.

"I didn't think that it would be possible to make you look even more handsome than you already are." I inwardly groaned at myself for not being able to come up with something better to say.

"Shall we?" he motioned to the kitchen door with his other hand.

I nodded my head and he led the way, never letting go of my hands.

As we entered through the door I was immediately surprised by how everything had changed. The ordinary oak dinner table was now shrouded with a speckless white table cloth that was littered with crystal plates, glasses, ornate golden candle holders, and silver utensils.

"G-Gaara…this is too much."

"I know it's not like me to be so flashy and you don't like all this attention, but I wanted this to be a special night just for you." He admitted sheepishly.

I cupped his face and looked him straight in the eyes. "Gaara you know that just being in your presence is the most I could ever ask for. But this is all very wonderful and I love it. Thank you so much for everything."

He looked down at me with a smile that could melt glaciers.

He gently cupped the back of my head and leaned in slowly. I closed my eyes and tilted my head, expecting his soft lips to meet mine when-

"Who's hungry?"

We immediately snapped our heads away from each other to see that Kankuro had burst in through the door with a cart filled with exotic looking dishes.

There was a look of awkwardness on his face. "Did I just interrupt something?" he grinned nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

"I told you to wait didn't I!" Temari burst in after him and slapped him in the back of his head.

I couldn't help it but I burst out laughing. Gaara chuckling with me.

Comments/ Reviews are always appreciated~