She fumbled with her navy blue messenger bag idly as she stared at the door in front of her. Three days had come and gone so quickly, and she was expected to start working at the coffee house she had loved so much in less than 24 hours. Her figure shook in fear; the long thin coat she wore was easily swept up in the breeze that ran past her, causing another flurry of shivers.
She looked around desperately to see if the owner of the shop was anywhere to be seen before glancing at her watch, only to realise that it was only 7:25AM. She frowned at herself for being overly eager to arrive and shook her head. She assumed that any employer would appreciate some kind of eagerness to work and to help out at their station, but as the cold morning wind danced around her legs and sent chills up her body, she realised that Gaara was probably not one of those people.
He would probably see her earliness as nothing and show no reaction to it above a nod of the head. The man seemed to be collected, yet sarcastic; polite, but only when needs be.
He was quite different to the grandmother that had left him the store.
He was quite different to how she pictured Tanuki-kun being.
Tanuki-kun, in the words of Obaa-chan, was a hyper active bundle of joy that could bring a smile to the miserable of faces. He was a chubby faced, bright eyed child that spoke freely and loudly, even if it were not appropriate.
'Then again,' she thought to herself, scrunching her nose up at the words the dear old lady described her grandson with, 'he was about 8 in the description…' she smiled lightly at picturing what he must have looked like and struggled to imagine that small child turning into… Gaara.
Her small frown was interrupted by a small cough, making her clutch at her bag in reflex.
"You know, it's hard for me to unlock the door when you're blocking it." The deep voice stated plainly. She looked down immediately, her face reddening at this, and side stepped out of his way quickly.
Her actions still confused him greatly and he gave her naught but a raised eyebrow in response. He shrugged it off as another life event he was yet to understand.
"We have a lot of work to do today." He announced as they entered the store. "We will need to completely dust, polish and clean this place. This will include furniture movement and possible order of replacements, so if you need any help moving something, just shout." Before she could respond, he waved her off and walked towards the back of the shop.
She sighed and placed her bag down on the counter, obviously disappointed with the lack of conversation involved. Not that she herself was the most talkative of people; she had just hoped he'd push for a response.
She rumbled through her bag and placed a few CDs on the counter, smiling to herself as she walked behind the counter to use the previous owner's relatively older CD system that had speakers coursing throughout the café, the cables lazily hidden by plastic cases along the ceiling.
As the music quietly poured from the speakers, she relinquished an apron from its' place underneath the counter and dusted it off before putting it on.
Cleaning had always been one chore that she was completely comfortable with doing, with no hassle or argument. She had always cleaned when the family were away on family business and social outings, as she was a slight introvert. She always lost herself to thinking and breathing in the music when she was cleaning.
She had cleaned so often in time of trouble, that like a blind man with his cane, she could clean the entire downstairs area of her family house with her eyes closed using her broom.
Her small feet, encased in thin black plimsolls, danced gently across the tiled floor as she hummed along to the music, losing herself to it completely.
Gaara opened the door to the small room hidden at the back of the café, revealing an incredibly messy and dusty room that his grandmother would close herself in at night to write to him and others and slowly reminisce until the early hours of the morning.
He hesitantly waked inside and pulled out the old wooden armchair from beneath the desk and sat on it, gently resting his arms on the armrests, sighing.
As a child he had always wanted to be let into this room, but was never allowed as it was her 'sanctuary'. He'd always wanted to explore and revel in this room. But not like this. He could barely let himself look around the room, let alone explore it.
He rested his elbows on the desk and let his head fall into his hands, closing his eyes and breathing in the thick scent of pumpkin that lay thick on anywhere Obaa-chan would go.
He opened his eyes slowly to see a small envelope with his name on it. His eyes widened incredibly and he swiftly snatched it from his resting place, recognising the handwriting all too well.
The slid the paper out from the envelope and read it quickly, his breath catching in his throat.
Dearest Tanuki-kun
If you're reading this, this will probably be the last letter of mine that you will receive.
Yes, it is true, I must leave all of this behind and take my place on my pedestal in heaven as the next Aphrodite, goddess of eternal beauty! Kekekeke, I joke.
Gaara rolled his eyes and barely managed a smile at the old woman's incredibly odd sense of humour and carried on.
I have left for you this store, knowing that you would never hand it over to that awful son-in-law that my daughter burdened me with. You children are the only thing that came out of that marriage that is truly precious.
I know that you will not let me down and that you will fill these old walls with the same love and passion you gave it all of those years ago.
I hope that you make many a friend and colleague along your journey as a coffee shop owner and realise how truly wonderful serving people happiness is.
With much love Tanuki-kun.
Your obaa-chan.
He re-read the letter thrice and set it down on the table once more, a sad smile gracing his features as he slumped backwards on the chair, crossing his arms over his chest.
He flung himself out of his nostalgic trance and perked his ears when the slightest sound of music caressed his eardrums.
He raised his eyebrow and walked out of the office.
Poking his head around the door frame of the small hallway to the sanctuary, he saw Hinata slowly side step from table to another as she mopped the tiles clean, her eyes glazed over as if in some kind of trance, a lazy smile on her face.
He leaned against the threshold of the door and watched her, intrigued. The music was quiet and gentle, the sound of acoustic guitars and folk instruments resonating throughout the store being accompanied by the percussion of her footsteps.
This had be the first time that he noticed her properly. From first glance, it was obvious to see that the woman was splendour for the eyes, but that was only from a superficial glance.
She had her hair tied back into a long ponytail that swayed side to side slightly between her shoulder blades, a full fringe covering her eyebrows that drooped slightly over her eyes. The fringe accented her eyes in both size and colour; they contrasted with each other, making the other stand out more.
He face was small, thin and met into a slightly squarer chin, her cheeks looking slightly chubby because of it.
The apron hugged her curved form loosely at the top and bottom, but constricted her waist closely, pointing out her curves beautifully.
Her smile was infectious, and he couldn't help but smile lightly at her pale lips. She truly was a raven beauty, as his grandmother had said.
He walked into the room nonchalantly and smiled more when he was met with a gasp and the sound of the mop hitting the wet floor.
"I never saw you as a Stornoway fan." Gaara simply stated as he walked up to her, her face reddening with every step that he got closer to her. Her lips parted slightly but no noise was made, and in shock, her eyes remained on his.
He leaned down slightly to see her on eye level and inspected her closely.
He saw every loose strand of hair that lay on her porcelain skin; like slithers of cloud made purple in the dark starlight that hung beneath the moon. He made note of that small dark freckles that were faded by foundation on the lining of her cheek bones. He even made a note of the small mole that would usually lay hidden by her hair that sat behind her right earlobe.
He smiled as she radiated from the closeness, pulling his head back so that he now stood normally.
"Would you like another Caramel Macchiato?" He asked softly, catching her attention. She nodded swiftly, almost too swiftly for her to be comfortable with.
He turned and walked towards the counter, turning his head back to look at her again.
"You know what? I think I prefer you with a ponytail." He turned his head again and grabbed two mugs from below the counter.
Hinata felt her face grow redder and her heart clench at his statement
She couldn't help but look at her feet and smile embarrassedly.
She made a mental note to always put her hair up from now on.