Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me.

A/N: I've always wanted to write something GaaHina... XD They're oddly adorable.

Summary: It was curiosity that got him into this situation. He should have brought another umbrella.

In the Desert Rain

She'd never liked the rain. That dark sky, the rain that chilled her bones, and the occasional rumble from above that made her shiver… It always reminded her of sad things, like the look on Naruto's face when he had been ignored as a child. She remembered sitting in her room when she was young and looking out towards the training fields outside, where her cousin trained endlessly in the pouring rain – trying his best to prove himself.

Bad things always seemed to happen on rainy days. It was although your tears wanted desperately to join those falling from the heavens, your pain trying to hide itself within the drops and be washed away.

Hinata shuddered. It was raining. In the desert.

In the desert?

Tears absorbed by the sands, indifferent, greedily sucking up all it could find.

But rain in such a place… was it an omen, or a miracle?

She tightly squeezed her arms around her, trying to keep warm. The hood of her jacket was soaked, but she kept it on, giving herself only minor cover from the raindrops that splattered onto her head in a steady rhythm.

'Please don't let the documents get wet,' she prayed. 'I have to get them to Suna. I can't let everyone down.'

The rain continued to fall, ignoring her pleas. Wind began to howl, blowing up the wet sand and sticking to Hinata's clothes and skin as if the desert were trying to claim her like it did the rain.

It was too hard to see, and using Byakugan was hopeless. It all ended up looking the same in every direction.

She paused. No, something wasn't the same in front of her. There was something there, moving towards her. A shape began to form, a little taller than her. Something colourful was hanging above it though.

Before she could realise what it was, he was there standing before her, an umbrella covering the top of his head.

'Hyuuga-san,' he said in a calm tone. 'I have come to escort you.'

Hinata blinked. The person before her… 'Gaara-sama?' Her eyebrows knit in confusion. Why was he here? She was only delivering documents, not something that the Kazekage himself had to come and help with.

The young man observed her in interest, seeing the confusion on her face. He'd never tell anyone it, but he hadn't come out here simply for documents. He'd seen her before, on previous missions where she had come to Suna. And somehow, she had always intrigued him with her quiet demeanour and those pale eyes that seemed to belong to a ghost.

But, he'd seen something else in those eyes too. Determination. It only made him more curious.

And when he had heard she was coming alone to deliver documents… curiosity got the better of him.

She sneezed, blinking up at him and apologising quietly for it.

The edge of the Kazekage's mouth twitched.

'Is… there something wrong?' asked Hinata at sight of his expression. For some reason, he always made her nervous. She'd tried to avoid him in past missions – she could never forget those times during the Chuunin Exams. The images still haunted her dreams. She knew Naruto had some kind of friendship with him though, so maybe he wasn't so bad… but still…

She sneezed again. That darn rain…

It took her a moment to realise that for some time the rain hadn't been pounding on her head. She looked up, seeing the umbrella hanging above her head. When she looked back at Gaara, she saw he had lost his own cover. His red hair was starting to cling to his skin as the rain fell on him.

'It isn't right to be so cold in the desert,' muttered the Kazekage.

'But you…' she started. 'Why?'

'The rain doesn't favour my use of sand,' he said simply. 'It is too heavy to control.'

'That wasn't what I…' Hinata paused, suddenly embarrassed. The rain was still falling on his head, and his clothes were soaked now. She took the umbrella from his grasp and moved closer to him, huddling close so they could both take cover.

'Thank you,' murmured the young man. He hadn't exactly expected this. And her hanging off his arm, it didn't feel quite right. All he had wanted to know was what had created that determination in her eyes, not find himself sharing such a "close" moment with her. The feeling, it was new, unusual, but somehow, just a little exciting.

As Hinata clung to his arm, she felt the warmth radiating from him. She closed her eyes for a moment. The warmth… it felt so much like what the sand would be if it was bathed in the sunlight. It was comforting, somehow. Her eyes snapped back open as she began to feel the unease of the situation. She didn't want to be so close all of a sudden, but then, it wouldn't be fair for him to be in the rain again. And she just couldn't bring herself to want to leave the warmth of his arm.

The two were silent. It was all too awkward.

'We will have to walk to Suna like this,' said Hinata, a deep blush had crawled over her cheeks.

'I suppose,' replied Gaara.

A brightly coloured umbrella bobbed up and down amongst the sand dunes as a closely huddled pair of shinobi made their way through the desert. And still the rain fell. But under that umbrella, the sad things refused to enter - a tiny shelter in the middle of such despair.

Still, the awkwardness remained.