Gaara was sitting on the roof of the administrative office, looking out over the desert. The night was cool and clear – even in the distance, what he could see seemed crisp and close. On nights like this he didn't feel so very far away.
Temari opened the door behind him and walked out onto the roof beside him. "You've been coming out here more often than usual." She noted drily.
Gaara just nodded. If she wanted something from him, she would have to ask; he couldn't read people that well.
She was silent for a moment, staring at the moon, before she spoke. "Is it true then?" She asked. "Did you really fall in love?"
Gaara turned to look at her. She wasn't looking at him – she didn't turn when he did. He turned back to the sands. "I think... I think I've done something terrible." He said.
She smiled. "So it is true."
Gaara shrugged. "How should I know? How would a person like me know if what he feels is love?"
Temari kneelt down and put her hand on the ground between them. They got along better than they ever had, but they would never be comfortable casually touching each other. It wasn't one of the ways they had to comfort each other. "Gaara. I don't know who she is, and if you don't want to tell me then I won't ask. I just want you to know that I am here if you ever need me. And we can get by without you whenever you need to leave. After all; we were fine without you for those months when you were in Konoha, living with that medic woman." She was quiet then, and then, "Oh."
Gaara turned to look at her, and she turned to him this time. "Oh. Is that it?" She asked. "She's the one?"
Gaara was silent. He didn't know what to say. She was right, of course, but should he agree? Well, he supposed there wasn't much more harm that could come of it. He nodded.
Temari smacked her forehead. "Of course! How could I not have realized it sooner? And I even heard those rumours in Konoha! God!" She turned to Gaara and grinned. "Sorry. I guess it all kind of makes sense now."
Gaara narrowed his eyes, squinting into the distance. One a night like this, the air was so clear, as if it wasn't there at all. On a night like this, they really were so close, so why did it feel like they were so far apart? "Makes sense... Does it?" He wondered.