Creatures of the Night

The evening passed like any other and yet, the Kazekage found himself on pins and needles.

This was what he wanted; he invited her out to his oasis, made sure they wouldn't be interrupted, except for the necessary evil of his brother guarding the perimeter.

He'd spent the last two nights with Rin walking around in his mind, seeing his most personal thoughts, so why did it feel like this was the first time he'd really been alone with her?

She'd changed out of the wet undershirt, much to his relief and slight disappointment, into a simple sheath dress.

Her wet hair was tamed into a loose braid, that twisted around her shoulder and she absently played with it, while she examined one of many bookcases lining the walls.

"You have an impressive collection."

Her sudden comment made him jump, nearly knocking the food platter from his hands.

He set down the assortment of meats and cheeses on the table and watched her scan the titles. "I read a lot. Not much else to do when you can't sleep."

She pulled out a blue book with a white title. "Passage to the Land of Snow."

He poured them both a cup of tea. "Have you ever been?"

Rin shook her head, flipping through the pages. "No, but I've always wanted to go. It sounds so exciting."

"I've only been the once. It wasn't like anything I'd experienced before. Their technology seems out of our world."

She smiled at him and put the book back in its place.

Rin wasn't going to comment on the fact that they were not only alphabetized, but color-coordinated, as well.

She wanted to laugh, but decided against it and continued her sweep of the titles.

"Complete History of the Leaf: The Will of Fire. Imports and Exports of the Mist. Wars, Battles and Elusive Peace Times: Stone Village."

He finished setting the table and waited for her to join him. "Something wrong?"

She stopped her scan. "Not at all. I'm just surprised at all the technical volumes. Doesn't seem like easy reading."

Rin walked over to her seat and tried not to feel awkward when he pulled it out for her. She couldn't think of a time anyone pulled out a chair for her.

Gaara set himself across the table and picked up his cup of tea. "When I knew I wanted to be Kazekage, I made my mind up to be different than my father."

Rin took a few pieces of the spread and set them on her plate. "Different how?"

He thought for a moment. "I know you're aware of the Sand's reputation. I didn't want to continue our reign of mistrust and hostility. I wanted to understand my fellow nations better. I've learned recently, that friendship is a powerful thing."

She smiled at him, nibbling on a piece of herb-infused bread. "Gaara, you're amazing."

"What?"

Her eyes caught and held him. "I admire your dedication to change. Times are peaceful now and you're an integral part of that. I really mean it, I respect you so much."

He didn't want to show how much those words meant to him. Something inside said she was just being kind, the way she always was, but it felt good to hear.

Rin chuckled into her hand, bringing up his attention. "What's funny? Did I say something weird again?"

She shook her head. "No, I was just remembering something."

"What is it?"

She grabbed her cup of tea and held it between her hands. "Do you know, I actually saw you once, before I came to the Sand Village?"

Gaara's mind raced, trying and failing to come up with any time he could have come across anyone like Rin.

She had to be mistaken, he would've remembered her. "When?"

She smiled into the dark liquid, the candles surrounding the table illuminating her face in their gentle glow. "At the War of the Five Nations. You spoke to the troops from that high platform. I was there. Not fighting, but as a medic. I heard your rallying speech loud and clear."

Gaara felt as if he could crawl under the table and die. How embarrassing.

He wasn't ashamed of his leadership or his call to join the nations, but at how nervous he'd been during it.

Even if his voice sounded strong and commanding, he remembered feeling so young and out of place there.

"Oh, that's... unfortunate."

"Unfortunate?"

"I wish you could've met me under... different circumstances."

Rin placed her hand on his, the warmth from holding her tea, infusing into his cold skin. "I thought you were amazing! It was one of the most thrilling days of my life."

"I was nervous."

"So what? Nervous or not, you brought the nations together to save your friend. We all stood as one for the first time in history. You were such an important part of that."

"You're very kind, Rin."

She scoffed. "Kindness has nothing to do with it. In my eyes, you're so much more than a young man trying to play at Kazekage. You're a hero."

Gaara's breath seized in his chest.

He gazed at Rin, who held such fire in her eyes.

When she looked at him like that, it felt like he could do anything, be anything.

She caught herself and cleared her throat. "Sorry, I sound like a raving fan girl. That was improper, huh?"

Her hand started to retract, but he grabbed it, surprising them both. "No."

"No?"

He shook his head and smiled softly. "It wasn't improper at all. Thank you, Rin. The knowledge that you think so highly of me, means a lot. More than you know."

Her eyes turned to their hands, still joined and felt a blush rising to her cheeks.

This wasn't the first time she held Gaara's hand, in fact, she spent most nights holding it when she was casting, but this felt new.

She withdrew from his grasp and grabbed another piece of bread, nibbling on it so she had something to do with her mouth, other than say something stupid.

They didn't say anything for a while, neither certain on how to break the awkward silence.

Rin heard a noise and rose from the table, moving towards the window. "What's that sound?"

Gaara cleared his throat. "What sound?"

She listened hard. "That chirping noise."

He stood to stand beside her and closed his eyes to listen. "Those are crickets. Surely, you have crickets in the Sound?"

Her face broke out into the smile he loved seeing. "No! It's too cold! Come on, let's go outside to listen better!"

Rin tore out of the house and the chirping stopped.

She moved from one side of the walkway to the other and turned back to Gaara, like he tricked her. "What happened?"

He smiled. "You have to stay still. They won't chirp if they think a predator is nearby."

"Oh."

Gaara came up beside her.

She looked around, waiting for the noise to start up again. When it didn't, she whispered. "When?"

"Shh."

Rin bit her lip, trying to stay quiet.

While she considered herself a creature of the night, most of her time was spent inside someone's mind, not actually enjoying what went on outside of it.

When the chorus of chirping started up again, she turned to smile at Gaara.

"Her face is so cute." He thought to himself.

The voice in his head caught him off guard, since when did he think she was cute?

Fascinating, certainly, talented and even a little scary, definitely, but cute?

He wanted to show her more.

"You think crickets are interesting? I have something else you'll like."

Rin nearly jumped, when he took her hand.

She looked up at his face with an inquisitive expression.

He smiled. "You aren't the only one who can guide, you know?"

She laughed, as he led her to the other side of the house, away from the water.

There was a backyard, complete with a vegetable garden and a line of palm trees, creating a natural barrier around them.

Gaara stood behind her and placed his hands over her eyes.

His mouth came to her ear, voice low and soft. "Trust me."

Rin felt a pulsing in her lower stomach. Something about letting herself be the one to be guided and led along a journey, felt exciting.

She let him take her to the middle of the yard, the grass soft on her bare feet.

His whisper found her again. "Ready?"

"Mm hmm."

"Take a look."

He removed his hands and she opened her eyes to something spectacular.

All around her, tiny spots of lights rose and fell on the warm breeze, lighting up the darkness with their dancing.

Rin placed her hands to her heart. "What are they?"

Gaara smiled. "Fireflies. You can't see them in the desert, but here, with some water and some trees to make their home, they thrive in the heat. Do you like them?"

Rin turned and threw her arms around his neck, holding her body to his. "They're the most beautiful thing, I've ever seen!"

He froze under her sudden closeness, unsure of how to proceed, but certain he didn't want her to let go. "I'm glad you like them."

"Like them? I love them! Thank you for showing me!"

She shot away, ran to a large grouping of fireflies and spun around, trying to see them all at once.

Gaara watched her hold out her hand and a single light descended to rest on her open fingers.

Her smile was something out of a fairytale.

She was a beautiful princess; kind, loving and full of life. He wanted to protect that smile, always.

A sudden dark thought came to his mind. "If she's the princess, then what am I? Certainly not a prince."

The memory of his twisted form tossing her around his mind, the thoughts he had of wanting to harm her, destroy her before she could get closer to him, made his stomach twist.

He watched her release the firefly back to the night sky and felt a despair take him. "I'm the monster."