Chapter 27:

Make-up, Make-up Date

Ughhhhh. At the moment, he'd be ok with a terrorist attack or the Kazekage building catching fire. At least he wouldn't have to sign anymore papers. He handed the recent stack to Temari, and she left to file them. He'd spent an entire day in bed with a cold and the few days after he'd been so swamped with paperwork he hadn't seen Mizu much. She was busy finding a new place to live. In the end, they never got to go on their date.

Hana set a fresh cup of tea on his desk. She didn't leave his side and turned the tray she was holding around and around in her hands. "L-Lord Kazekage."

"Hmmm?" Gaara wasn't paying attention as he continued to review and sign documents.

"Y-you shouldn't work too hard. You'll get sick again."

"Hmm…"

Slam! Gaara jumped as Hana hit her serving tray against to the top of his desk, rattling his cup. "L-L-Lord Kazekage!"

"Y-yes?" He didn't know how to feel under Hana's intense gaze.

"W-w-who's the woman that was at your house?"

Gaara paused at the question. "What?"

"I-I-I went to check on you after you collapsed and t-t-that woman answered the door i-i-in p-p-pajamas." Hana's face was bright red.

"Oh… That's Mi… Uta-san." Gaara wished Temari would hurry back.

Hana's face went blank. "Uta-san. The herbalist with that giant lion?"

He nodded slowly. I guess Yoki really sticks out.

"W-what was she doing at your house?" Hana's voice broke and it almost sounded like she was accusing him of something.

"She was taking care of me." Gaara's eyes narrowed. "I had a fever."

Hana's mouth tightened and he could have sworn she looked put out. "Because she's an herbalist?"

"Because she's…" Gaara paused, wondering what to call Mizu. What was the word he was looking for? "Someone important to me."

"Important?" Hana's gaze filled with panic.

"Yes. She's helped me a lot and was an enormous help during the epidemic and—"

"Oh, is that all?" The teen-girl let out a sigh of relief.

"No, she's—"

Temari entered, interrupting the conversation. She balanced a large stack of papers in her arms. Uh… Will it ever end?

Gaara trudged home slowly, the sunset cast an eerie orange onto the road. A few of his people bowed to him as he passed. Finally. Somehow he'd finished before nightfall, but he felt so tired he didn't feel like moving. All he wanted to do was go home and hear Mizu say welcome home. He loved hearing it and he would miss it once she moved out.

"L-Lord Kazekage."

He turned and found Hana walking up to him. She stopped and twiddled her thumbs, her eyes darting from place to place.

"T-thank you for all your hard work." The girl shifted from one foot to the other. "I-I was wondering if you'd like to get dinner… together."

Gaara's mind felt fuzzy, and he was too tired to ask subtly, "Why?"

Hana's ears turned bright pink. "Well… I-I-I just thought it would… be nice to… eat with someone…"

"Do you not have friends or family you could ask?" Gaara rubbed the bridge of his nose, the exhaustion made his shoulders stiff.

"I do… but… I was hoping… we could eat… together." The girl's hands were shaking.

He sighed, his only thoughts were of his bed and Mizu.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, little one."

They both turned and Yaba-san hobbled up to them.

"Yaba-san, are you feeling better?" Gaara smiled at the old woman's approach.

The old woman waved her cane around with gusto. "Of course! I'm not going to croak yet. Not until I get to see your children, Lord Kazekage."

Gaara's heart nearly stopped and his face grew warm. Children… I'm not even married yet! Do I even deserve children after everything I've done?

"Which might be sooner rather than later," Yaba-san teased.

He was sure his face and hair matched in color, but a weird noise from Hana distracted him from making a comeback. Glancing at the girl, he caught her grinning weirdly. The old woman raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"Why are you smiling, little one?" Yaba-san leaned on her cane and eyed the girl.

Hana jumped. "Wha-I was just thinking that Lord Kazekage's children would be cute."

A weird choking noise caught in his throat, and he wanted to hide in his ultimate defense jutsu. They were both teasing him.

Yaba-san rolled her eyes. "Yes, they'll look quiet cute, especially if they end up looking like their mother."

Gaara didn't have a response. He felt uneasy as he remembered Mizu commenting that she couldn't bear children. The Kazekage title, unlike the Hokage title, was only inherited by people in his family. If he didn't have children, and Temari did with Shikamaru, then the next village head may come from the leaf instead of the sand. Wait! I haven't even been with Mizu long! Stop making me consider all these things. His head spun, and he really wished he could go lay down.

Hana's face was bright red as she giggled. Yaba-san looked at the girl and sighed. "Anyway, Lord Kazekage, you have that thing you need to attend to tonight. You should hurry on home."

"Thing?" they both asked in unison.

Yaba-san swung her cane at his arm, but his sand blocked it. "Don't argue with me! Head home! Hana-chan, you need to get home before it gets dark!"

"Yes, ma'am," they responded in unison again. Gaara headed away to his house, though he was sure Hana was looking after him sadly as he left.

Gaara made it to his house right as the sunset and found the house dark. Is Mizu not back yet?

"Perfect timing."

He spun around and found Mizu standing there holding a basket. The contents were covered in a blanket. She turned and walked away from him, heading down the road.

"Mizu?" He followed her confused. She didn't give him an explanation, but she looked back at him and smiled in a way that made butterflies play in his stomach. Soon enough, they made it to bottom of the town's observatory. The dome-shaped building was still under construction, but Mizu ignored the signs saying not to enter and climbed over the temporary fence. Gaara hopped over with ease.

"Mizu… I think trespassing sets a poor example for my people."

She put a finger to her lips. "Then don't tell them."

His ears grew warm. Now that he took a closer look, she was dressed differently than usual. She'd traded out pants for a short skirt, exposing her slender legs. Her long sleeved blouse was unbuttoned at the top, exposing the tiniest curve of her breast. Gaara looked away, feeling uncomfortably hot in weird places.

Mizu ascended the stairs of the observatory up to the top floor. Part of the roof was missing still, leaving it open to the starry night sky. Squatting, she pulled the blanket off the basket, revealing bento boxes.

"What's all this?" Gaara looked at the boxes as she unpacked the spread of karage, deep fried chicken, and a mix of fresh vegetables along with some sandwiches.

"Our dinner, for our date."

"Date?" Gaara looked at her confused. "Wasn't I supposed to come up with something?"

Mizu smiled at him and patted the spot next to her. He sat down tentatively and picked at a loose thread in the blanket.

"You've been working hard the last week. I thought you could use a break." Mizu snuggled up next to him and wrapped her arms around his. His heart skipped a beat as he looked down into her eyes. They sparkled with the moonlight. She smiled at him softly, but her eyes were seductive. "You can think of an idea for our next one."

Gaara turned his head upward, looking at the sky as his stomach did flips. He felt her shiver next to him and he looked back down. "Why are you dressed like that? The dessert is cold at night and it is still the winter months."

Mizu chuckled and lightly touched her exposed leg with one hand. "What? Do you not like my outfit?"

He didn't know where to look, so he kept his eyes looked onto hers. "I didn't say that, I just don't think it's practical. I'd hate for you to get sick."

Mizu sighed and pulled out her green cloak from her basket. She wrapped it around her covering her entirely. "There. Happy?"

For some reason, it didn't make him happy. He sat there frowning; Mizu noticed and laughed. Ignoring his pouting, she served the food. They ate quietly and watched the stars.

"Oh, Hana-chan said she came to the house, and that you answered the door the other day when I was sick." Gaara remembered his earlier conversation. He turned to look at Mizu who glared at him, much to his surprise. "W-what?"

"Since this is your first date I'll let that slide, but for future reference it's annoying to hear you talk about another female when we're on a date." Mizu took an aggressive chomp out of her sandwich.

A bubbly sensation in his stomach made him feel strange. "Why?"

She glared at him, her cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk. Swallowing, she turned away from him, her cheeks bright red. "Because it makes me jealous. Sometimes I want to be the only one on your mind."

He didn't know why, but her childish reaction made him laugh. She turned back to him and glared, but before she could say anything he took her face in his hands and kissed her softly. Everything melted away, the paperwork and stress. All that was remained was their breathing and the chilly nighttime air. It had been a while since he'd kissed her on the mouth. Reluctantly, he pulled away but continued cupping her face. Her face was warm to the touch.

"You are the only one on my mind." Gaara brushed a stray piece of hair back from her face and gently tucked it behind her ear. Ha! I finally gave into the urge. She didn't seem opposed to it; in fact, she leaned into his hands and placed hers on his forearms.

"Then why did you talk about her?" Mizu grumbled under her breath.

Gaara flushed but didn't remove his hands. "She asked me today what you were to me, but I couldn't think of the proper word. All I could say was that you were important…"

Mizu's face burned bright red. "Oh, am I important?"

He blinked, confused by her question. "Very."

Letting out a heavy sigh, she finally removed his hands. "Why do you say things like that so easily?"

"Am I not supposed to?"

She looked up at him, her brow creasing. "Do you know what the word girlfriend is?"

"I know it, but the concept seemed shallow compared to how I feel about you," he answered bluntly.

The embarrassed and uncomfortable look on her face surprised him. She slapped his arm and looked away. "Why do you say things like that so easily?"

"Is it wrong to say how I feel?" He leaned down worried he'd offended her.

Her lips pulled tight, and her face was redder than his hair, yet she seemed happy. "It's not wrong…"

The weird butterfly feeling came back and the urge to kiss her again pulled at him. "What should I call you when people ask me?"

She sighed and tilted her head. "What do you want to call me?"

"Mine." The word slipped out of his mouth. Wait, that sounds like I own her. Maybe that's not the word I'm looking for.

Mizu glared up at him. "Gaara… People will misinterpret that, just call me your good friend or something along those lines."

"Friend?" His hands felt cold as he looked her. "I thought we were more than that…"

She reached up and pinched his ear. "Then just call me your girlfriend for now since you can't think of a better word."

He felt dissatisfied, but his mind went blank as her cloak slipped off her shoulders and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You'll catch cold." He tried to reach for her cloak, but she stopped him by pressing her mouth to his. Her fingers curled into his hair. Releasing him, they panted, puffs of white air escaped their lips. Mizu smiled at him playfully.

"I'll be fine. I'll just take some of your warmth." She went back in for another kiss and he forgot all about the cloak.