A calm January afternoon in Suna. It was Kiku's favorite time of the year. The day was warm, but nothing like the sweltering heat the village endured the rest of the year. A short, light pink dress flowed out around the small girl while she sprawled out on the warm sand. It was perfect.

"Hold still!" She ordered, casting a look at the redhead seated in front of her. "I can't make your portrait if you keep moving!"

"Sorry..." Gaara mumbled. She could tell he was getting irritated, so she quickly scribbled her aqua crayon across where his eyes were located on the paper. She sat up and held it an arms length away, looking between her paper and her subject.

"Perfect!" She giggled. It was her best picture yet, though still far from perfect. It was rather average for a 5 year old, she supposed, but she didn't want to admit it. Kiku held the paper out to Gaara and he took it to look at it.

"Happy Birthday!"

Gaara smiled. He had mentioned his birthday to Kiku once and he hadn't expected her to remember.

This was the first time anyone had made his birthday a happy event. Normally it was a day to remember and grieve for the death of his mother, Karura. Yashamaru always left him home while he went to her grave. Gaara never recieved presents.

He held the paper close. Even with it's imperfections he appreciated the thought and genuinely liked the picture. Kiku smiled wide and he returned a small smile as well.

"Thank you Kiku-chan."

The little girl started to pack her crayons back into the box, smiling happily to herself, and she handed him her sketchbook.

"You can have these too. They're part of the present." She said, sealing the crayon box and pushing it towards him. "I couldn't get two without my mother getting suspicious...so I had to use yours for the portrait...sorry."

Gaara nodded. He knew the stories of Kiku's mother and he agreed she handled the situation as good as she could. He took the gift and scooted over to sit next to her.

They both sat in silence for a while before Kiku leaned back to lay on the sand, looking up at the sky.

"Pretty isn't it?" she whispered, a light breeze blowing past her while she watched the clouds floating by.

Gaara followed after her, leaning back to lay on the ground as well.

"Very pretty..."

The minutes passed by silently and a large gust of wind blew past, sending a small flury of sand to whip around them. Kiku scooted closer to Gaara, nuzzling her face against his arm to sheild her eyes. She didn't notice, but the sand simply swirled around them, never really coming into contact with her. Gaara was warm and Kiku was comfortable how she was. She didn't want to move. Without realizing it she began to doze off.

Gaara watched her. Kiku's eyes were closed but her eyelashes fluttered just slightly, dark against her pale skin. Light pink lips opened just the slightest as she burried her head against his arm. He smiled and sat up, brushing dark purple hairs away from her face before picking up his present.

Kiku soon found herself being lightly shaken awake. Eyes opened groggily and she rubbed them with the back of her hand. It was dark and she looked around trying to remember where she was. Her gaze instantly flickered to red hair and she let out a sigh of relief. She was still on the outskirts of the playground.

"It's getting late Kiku-chan. Your mother might want you home soon."

Kiku looked up at the stars and sighed. She slept through his birthday, and now she had to go home.

She nodded and stood up, dusting the sand of her dress.

"Let's play again tomorrow." Gaara said quietly.

Kiku smiled and nodded. "I'll make riceballs and we can have a picnic again!"

Gaara nodded before he picked up his presents and started to walk back home. Kiku followed suit and returned to her own house just on time.

Neither her mother or sister caused her any problems for once. She slipped into her room and closed the door.

The young girl giggled and fell back onto her bed. A slight rustle was heard when she fell onto pink sheets, and Kiku reached into her pocket. She felt paper brush her fingertips and she pulled the folded item out. She stared for a moment and slowly unfolded it. She couldn't help but giggle when she saw what it was.

There was a small picture, colored in crayon and drawn much better than her own. There was a girl with short purple curls and a pink dress sleeping in the sun while a boy with red hair sat beside her, a wall of sand sheilding them from the suns rays. In the corner was a small message.

"I'll keep you safe"

A small smile crept upon Kiku's lips as she folded it back up and held it to her chest.

This was the moment she realized her crush on Gaara.

[A/N]-One of my friends told me to try this out and I think I will...5 Comments=New chapter O.O Also, I have a deviantart account where I'll be posting pictures that have to do with Kiku and Gaara...and other random things from this story. The username is Forgotten-Promise ... So far there's only 2 but if you check back every once in a while I'll be making more ^^ and...that is all. I'll get the next chapter ready soon and post it as soon as I get 5 new comments to test this idea out :)