MeGoNuts represents:

GaaIno: A Mission Gone...?

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7 days ago...

Ino woke up in the morning but didn't get up. She just laid in the tent.

Everything was too much right now. Just like in a horrible hangover. And she knew how bad a hangover could be, but this was worse. A lot worse.

Ino was a bit depressed before the mission. Her life had been empty and meaningless and she had been covering it up with being loud, well, just too long. It all had been lasting for too long. And during the mission, she had time to think, which made things even worse. Or did it...?

Eventually, when the sun shone through the tent, she got up. She crawled from the tent.

"...Mornin'...", Ino said with a voice not louder than a whisper. She didn't even look if Gaara was around. She got up and fell to the ground right away.

Hey C'MON! Not now!

Ino worked off the tent and looked at her ankle.

It looked nasty; it was red, aching and swollen. Ino dug her backpack and took a first-aid kit. She rolled a roll bandage around her ancle.

Gaara had himself sitting beside Ino and Ino took fright at it.

Again. He's just like some cat or something...

"Hey, you alright?" he asked reeaally worried.

"Yeah, yeah", Ino said and stood up, though it was painful.

"Let's get going, then", she continued.

Gaara nodded, a mysterious look on his face.

They proceeded slowly in the shadows of the woods. Gaara went forward, he must've been searching the way before Ino woke up.

Ino was silent the whole time, being in her thoughts.

Suddenly Ino could feel a strong wind against her face. They were on the edge of the desert.

"It takes about a week to Suna from here", Gaara said and turned his head, facing Ino.

"But if we stayed here for a couple of days. We did a four-day journey in two days", he continued.

"OK", Ino answered.

"You should go to the shadows. It gets really hot during the days out here. I'll go searching the surroundings and try to find out where we are", Gaara said and left.

Ino sat to the shadow of a huge tree and leaned against its trunk.

She took the compressive bandage off her ankle. It was even more aching, redder and swollen than in the morning, if it was even possible.

"For the love of Kami", Ino swore to herself.

She looks around her and saw Gaara coming towards her. His red hair and the tails of his burgundy outfit moved with the wind and movement. He seated himself beside Ino, took a map from his vest and spread it in front of them.

"If I'm right, we are somewhere about here", he said pointing to the northeast of the Land of the Wind.

"Suna's in here", he pointed to somewhere in the middle of the map of the Land of the Wind," so it'll be about eighty miles there."

Ino looked to the desert.

Nothing than that for eighty miles.

"But we will stay here for a few days so we have the energy to cross the desert as fast as possible."

Gaara gazed at Ino and his gaze locked on to Ino's swollen ankle. The redhead looked at Ino, a puzzled look on his face, this time. She started to feel uncomfortable and hide her leg.

"I-it's no-"

"Let me", he said, taking Ino ankle gently and taking a mahogany small jar from his vest.

"The salva is made from cactus fruits and it should calm the ankle and ease the pain", he said as he applied the salve gently to the ankle.

Ino started to blush and turned the other way.

Gaara put a new, clean bandage to the ankle in the end.

"It should get better in a few days."

"Thanks...", Ino whispered still looking to the forest.

She looked to the woods.

Strange. Like someone or something was moving in there...

There they sat, when the dry desert blew sand to the woods.

Ino enjoyed these silent moments with Gaara. They were so calming. Just those kind of moments she needed more in her life.

She didn't even notice she fell asleep, until...

"-no? Ino, wake up", Gaara shook Ino's shoulder a little.

"There's an oasis two miles away. I already took all our stuff there and I can give you a piggy back ride there. OK?"

"Hmm, yeeaaah", Ino said groggily.

Before she could even get up, Gaara had catched her to his back and started running. The trip was surprisingly smooth and Ino could feel the warmth of his body. Unnoticed, she grabbed to the Kazekage a bit tighter.

Eventually, the oasis was seen in the dark desert night and Gaara had put up a campfire. It threw shadows to the palms and to the lonely tent.

Gaara slowed down and put Ino down, or, at least tried. She had grabbed to the redhead unbelievably tight. Ino didn't almost notice when Gaara chuckled to get her attention.

Ino let go and they both sat by the campfire. Ino had blushed a lot and her face was even redder than grandma Yamanaka's reddest tomato.

Gaara might have not noticed it, but when Ino looked at him, he had blushed!

He's even cuter when he blushes.

"Um...listen...", Ino started facing Gaara.

"I-I wa-as just th-thinkg that...w-what...", Ino started feeling the heat rise to her face. Gaara just looked at Ino, making her feel even more nervous.

"W-Well..."

'Spit it out!' the inner Ino screamed.

'It can't be that hard!'

Gaara looked at Ino.

'You don't want to be alone forever, do you?'

"W-What do you think about me?" she said eventually.

Oh god I just stuttered like Hinata or something!

"What, indeed...", he said looking up to the sky.

". . ."

OMG I just totally humiliated myself! Me and my big mouth...

"I'm not totally sure, but one thing is absolutely sure."

Gaara looked at Ino and leaned forward, only inches away from Ino's face.

"You are the most beautiful person I've ever seen, and I couldn't bear it if something happened to you", he said cherishing Ino's jawline.

His hand was warm, and soft, and felt good against her skin.

Ino's heart skipped a beat, when she looked in the redhead's aquamarine eyes.

The two were so close their noses touched each other.

Gaara leaned down and their lips met.

Ino got surprised but closed her eyes and returned the kiss.

Carefully, Ino wrapped her hands around the Kazekage and pulled herself against him.

Gaara grabbed Ino's waist and pulled her into his lap.

The kiss was gentle, but it got Ino totally under its spell. It made her toes numb. It made Ino forget everything; it was only her and Gaara.

It all ended too soon and they parted. Gaara whispered to Ino's ear.

"All the way back when I saw you for the first time, you made me feel. To feel that I was alive. And when I saw you fight Sakura in the Chuunin-exams and saw you got hurt, it hurt me too. When you got hurt, I got hurt too. I denied it all and I have lived my life, but I always knew I would never get over it. And then , when I saw you step in the Hokage's office, all those feelings I had suffocated for three years, it all broke free."

Gaara ran his fingers through Ino's hair slowly. She leaned to him.

"And now, I couldn't think anything but you", Gaara continued.

Ino's blush had gone away and she smiled.

"Then there's two of us", she said grabbing Gaara's hand that laid on her waist.

"That is the most beautiful thing anyone has said to me", Ino whispered before she fell asleep on Kazekage's warm embrace in the desert night.