A/N: Fluffy :P

The first thing that Emi noticed was how heavy her limbs felt. Her mind battled against the fog of unconsciousness as she tried to claw herself awake. With a groan, Emi lifted her tired eyes, blinking lazily to dispel her hazy vision.

A blur of someone's face popped into her vision, saying something, and then something soothing and warm was against her temples. Emi came awake rather quickly after that, blinking owlishly at the faces looking down at her. Temari was the closest, with Kankuro next to her. Temari sagged with relief as Emi gazed at her.

"Finally," she breathed. Emi frowned.

"What happened?"

"The sand storm uncovered an old caravan. You just happened to fall into it and got stabbed by a plank," Kankuro said dryly.

"Oh."

Temari scowled at her. "Oh? After nearly giving me a heart attack, all you can say is 'oh'?"

Emi glared at the wind kunoichi. "Sorry I can't elaborate further. I did just get stabbed you know."

Kankuro stifled a chuckle, backing up a few paces when Temari shot him a death glare. The sound of a door opening and closing made Emi peer around Temari in time to see a tuft of familiar red hair disappearing down the hospital hallway. Temari's gaze followed Emi's, a small smile on her face.

Leaning closer, Temari caught Emi's eye.

"You were out for a full week. Gaara didn't leave your side at all."

Emi's eyes went wide as she stared at the wind kunoichi, searching her face for any hint of a lie. There was none.

Emi sunk back into the covers, lost in thought. Did he perhaps… feel something for her? Or was it just concern from a sensei to student?

Where did they stand now?

Emi was released from the hospital a week later, Gaara not returning since she woke up. Temari had helped her up the stairs since her wound was still twitchy. She had lost a lot of blood and had to get a few transfusions. Apparently her heart had stopped twice while she was being operated on. Shooing Temari off, Emi collapsed onto her familiar bed, the softness and the warmth of the mid-afternoon sun almost making her drowsy.

"The medics say that you are on strict bed rest for another week just in case you open up any new tissue."
Emi sighed and kicked off her sandals before climbing beneath the cool cotton sheets. "Yes mom."
Temari growled. "Don't sass me, Emi. You're damn lucky Gaara managed to get you here in time. You would have died otherwise."

Emi said nothing as she buried further into her pillow, her back to the wind kunoichi. The bed dipped down as Temari sat on the edge to place a warm hand on Emi's shoulder.

"He blames himself, you know."
Emi clenched her eyes shut, saying nothing. After long moments, Temari rose and left her alone.

Emi's eyes flashed open in her darkened room. She hadn't even remembered falling asleep. What had her senses on high alert?

A soft, familiar shifting sound near her door alerted her to someone's presence. Someone who was about to leave. She felt unexplainable panic.

"Don't go," Emi whispered, her voice so low it was almost a breath.

Gaara froze in the dark, his hand on the doorknob about to leave Emi's room. His siblings had retired for the night, leaving Gaara alone since Emi was incapacitated for a while longer. He didn't know why he felt compelled to see her, to see if she was okay. He just knew it would irritate him until he did. And he had woken her, despite being as silent as he could and she had asked him not to go.

Some part of him told him to leave, to not bother but he couldn't bring himself to turn the handle.

Slowly, Emi rolled towards the door, a figure she knew as well as her own frozen in front of it in the dark. Emi conjured up a small glowing orb between them, the light gently illuminating his face. In the semi-dark they stared at each other for long moments until Emi shifted to sit up, wincing a little as her body protested.

She patted the bed beside her, being careful to keep her face blank. She had never come so close to death before, despite being in danger constantly on missions. Gaara hadn't known what it was like to feel physical pain for most of his life, but the emotional pain had almost killed him from the inside so he numbed it with something else; making others feel pain.

But he wasn't that person anymore and Emi couldn't be convinced otherwise. If she had any lingering doubts, they evaporated when Temari told her he hadn't left her side while she was unconscious. Did he leave because he was embarrassed, or did he leave because somewhere deep down he felt fear?

After long moments of hesitation, Gaara unstrapped his gourd and placed it by the door, walking towards her with calm, graceful movements. The bed dipped slightly as he sat stiffly beside her, the orb of light flickering as it moved closer towards them.

"Why?" Emi asked quietly. She didn't need to elaborate, he knew what she was asking. Why did he stay with her after he had been so callous after her confession?

"Because you are my student," he rasped. Emi shook her head, his eyes refusing to meet hers.

"No, a sensei cares for his student but doesn't stay by their bedside for a week straight. Why?"

Silence.

"Gaara, why?"

Despite herself Emi felt her eyes tingle, tears threatening to build and spill. His silence bothered her the most. When had she begun to seek his approval this way?

Azure met emerald, making Emi gasp. He looked… lost, unsure. His face was blank, but the insecurity and the confusion was clear in his eyes. Did he think she was playing some kind of sick, twisted joke? Considering everything he had been through in his short life, Emi wouldn't doubt he thought she was playing a twisted endgame, one where he wound up as the loser.

Tucking her legs beneath her, Emi moved to kneel next to him, bringing their bodies closer. She tentatively bought a shaking hand up, pausing before she cupped his cheek. He didn't push her away, or attack her with his sand, but she saw his eyes flicker towards the soft orb of light. Emi dimmed it until it was almost gone as her hand made contact with his cheek. She brushed a thumb along his smooth skin, marvelling at the texture.

She felt his hand grip her wrist gently and Emi leant forward, her eyes quickly adjusting to the dark enough to make out his shadowed features.

She felt him tense as she leant forward, her lips brushed softly against his in a tender caress before pulling back. He still didn't move, or push her away so she tried again, lingering a little longer this time. She felt his hand squeeze her wrist gently, her lips against his surprisingly soft ones.

As Emi drew back again, her stomach doing somersaults, she felt his hand clamp onto her wrist and tug a little, keeping her in place.

She felt his hand brush a stray lock of hair away from her face, an unusually tender gesture from the so feared jinchuriki. Emi smiled a little in the dark before leaning forward once again, her lips meeting his. She smiled against his mouth when she felt him lean into her, his lips moving against hers.

Even if nothing happened between them, they would still share this private, perfect moment in the dark. The kiss wasn't passionate or heated. It was a reassurance, a promise, acceptance. When their lungs demanded air, they pulled apart, Gaara stroking the tender flesh on the inside of her wrist before he released her and stood. She felt his lack of presence and heat like a missing limb, but she could understand his hesitation. Even she was hesitant. Neither of them really knew what to do, but she was sure they would figure it out together.

Emi lay back on her bed and listened to him gather his gourd from the floor. She snuggled deep into the covers. She fell asleep quickly with a small smile on her face, but not before hearing his whispered 'Goodnight, Emi.'

"Again!"

Emi groaned as she sucked in air desperately. Hands on her knees, she lifted her head to glare at Gaara. It was midmorning and they were training in the desert outside of Suna's walls. After she had told Gaara about her bloodline limit, he had pushed her relentlessly to test the boundaries of her skill. He was focusing on her travelling by light from one place to another, harnessing and dispelling the chakra the moment she got it so she wouldn't collapse from an overload.

It was times like this she wished she had her old training gear back. At least she didn't consume too much chakra when all of her skin was covered.

"Are you kidding me? I travelled at least five miles and back!" Emi cried, straightening to face her sensei and something more. Gaara crossed his arms over his chest, sand swirling around him in warning for her to do as she was told.

Pouting, Emi turned to face away from him towards the seemingly endless ocean of sand. The desert was Gaara's playground, allowing him to sense where she travelled to.

Closing her eyes, Emi focused on the sun currently beating down on her. Activating her kekkei genkai, Emi filtered the rays hitting her skin, absorbing the white light and harnessing it into chakra.

She opened her eyes and focused on a pillar of sand at least ten miles away on the horizon; Gaara's marker and Emi's goal. She took a deep breath in and felt herself dissolve into light, focusing on the sand pillar as it loomed closer at an alarming rate. She had panicked before, the results being sub-par and borderline pathetic. Dunes swept past her as she flew by them, riding on pure light until she stopped and solidified… right on top of the giant sand pillar. She gaped at the view. From that height, she could see Suna and the beginnings of the pre-desert brush bordering the Land of Rivers. Unable to contain her joy, Emi squealed and whooped, doing a little jig on top of the pillar, keeping care to not fall off the edge. She must have been a few hundred feet above the ground!

Wind rustled Emi's hair and cooled her skin as she danced about the platform.

Finally settling down, a huge grin on her face, Emi turned her focus back to Suna, back to Gaara.

She filtered the sunlight and dissolved once again, her laughter ringing out over the plains. She had done it! She had managed to take her kekkei genkai to new heights! She could travel over countries in the blink of an eye, dash between the enemy lines as long as she watched her chakra levels and usage.

She was so wrapped up in her musings that she didn't see Gaara until it was too late. Panicking, Emi skidded to a halt and solidified but her foot caught the top of a sand dune sending her careening towards Gaara. His sand whirled about him to protect him from the impact of her body, Emi grunting as she collided with the granules.

The force sent both of them tumbling backwards into the sand until they came to a stop at the base of a high dune face first.

Coughing through the dust, Emi groaned and lifted herself up onto her forearms, looking around for any hint of red hair. There was nothing in sight.

"Gaara?" Emi called. Nothing.

"Gaara!" she tried, a little louder this time.

Sand shifted beneath her, startling her as Gaara's face was revealed. His azure eyes were wide. She looked into his pupil less orbs, blinking at their position; she had landed right on top of him, despite his sand acting as a barrier.

A furious blush stole across her face as she scrabbled backwards.

"Sorry! I wasn't paying attention because I was so happy-"

"Emi."

"-that I finally managed to do it and then I saw-"

"Emi."

"-you when it was too late. I'm so sorry, Gaara sensei, I promise-"

"Emi!" Gaara said, his voice firm and raised slightly. Emi shut her mouth and looked at the jinchuriki with wide eyes, her face burning.

"You did well. You need to work on your landing," he rasped getting to his feet, his gourd reforming.

Emi let out a dry chuckle as she stood, dusting herself off. "Yeah, I guess that's an understatement."

Beneath the sand dune they were alone, guarded from wandering eyes. Taking a breath, Emi strode confidently towards Gaara to stop a foot from him, his eyes burning into hers. They stood still, simply looking at each other for long moments, the wind picking up slightly to tussle their hair. A stray lock brushed across Emi's cheek to catch on her lips. Gaara's eyes flicked down, his hand raising slowly, unsurely, until his fingertips brushed her skin to dislodge the strands.

At his touch, Emi felt her heart flutter and a shiver go down her spine. She licked her dry lips, suddenly feeling giddy.

"Can I… can I kiss you?" she breathed, her eyes still locked on his. They had shared their first kiss a few weeks before, only stealing a few hesitant brushes in the dark. Neither were really sure what to do.

He didn't answer but Emi saw his eyes soften, his shoulders relax. Just as she always did, Emi lifted a hand to cup his cheek, her thumb gently caressing his skin. She offered him the simple touch before-hand, giving him the chance to back out if he felt uncomfortable. So far, he hadn't rejected her. Taking a step closer, their chests touched as Emi tilted her head, Gaara's face turning down towards her as their lips gently touched. At the first caress, both closed their eyes, electricity making their joined lips tingle. One of his hands rose to cup her elbow, his grip gentle and hesitant. Emi smiled against his mouth, breathing in his scent. He smelled like the air after rain. He smelled like Gaara.

They broke apart, slightly out of breath and looked at each other. Feeling compulsive, Emi wrapped her arms around his middle, resting her head on his chest to hear his heartbeat.

He stiffened at the unexpected contact. After long moments, his arms came to wrap around her shoulders, holding her to him. Emi sighed contentedly. Her arms still around him, Emi lifted her face to look at him, a warm, genuine smile on her face.

"Moments like these are perfect. Just you and me and no one else," she murmured. Gaara's face softened as he looked at her, his arms tightening infinitesimally around her. His lips quirked slightly and held, the barest smile making Emi's heart jump. Suddenly feeling nervous, Emi asked the one question that had been on her mind since their first kiss.

"Are we… are we together, Gaara?" Her voice was soft and fragile sounding. She hated how vulnerable she felt right now. If he rejected her, then she would understand even if it hurt. She wanted him to be happy.

Silence cloaked them as Gaara pondered Emi's question. Were they together? He felt lighter and happier since she had come into his life, her blind acceptance of him and his nature humbling. She encouraged him and challenged him, got along well with his siblings and has become a powerful confident kunoichi. Could he trust enough to let those emotions grow into something… more?

He scanned her beautiful face. From her dark brown hair to her tattoo and her sparkling eyes, he felt like he could… try.

"We can… try," he said quietly.

Emi's smile almost split her face, happiness making her eyes light up from the inside. He felt his chest tighten, but not from pain. It was a new emotion, one he only felt when she was around. He longed to discover what it was, and with Emi he could find out.

She rested her head on his chest again and Gaara took the opportunity to breathe her in. She smelled like jasmine and spice, sweet yet with bite. Apt for Emi.

"One day at a time," Emi murmured into his chest.

Gaara tightened his embrace and agreed wholeheartedly. Together they would figure it out. He wasn't alone anymore.