Hi! This is my first Gaara/Matsuri, and I really hope you enjoy it. Please read!

I don't own Naruto or its characters.

An oasis for a desert

The sand village was as hot as always. There was sand everywhere, wind everywhere; just the usual weather. Night and day, there the weather was always hot, always windy, and always full of sand. This story takes place on one of those usual days.

It starts this morning, when wind was as intense as it only can be on this country; the sand was entering through every door house and the dry weather was suffocating. On this morning, very early in the morning, the kazekage was working; his desk full of papers, his mind full of thoughts, for a leader always has things to be thought, troubles to be solved, and worries to be forgot.

He looked up the small towers of papers to be read, and found out that he was alone. Yet, he had the feeling that someone was there with him; it was a presence that was just there, a weird feeling that someone was thinking about him and those thoughts were so strong that could reach him from time to time. It just put him nervous. He came back to read a new paper, to think a new thought, to solve a new problem and then forget the new worry.

Outside the tower someone was standing in the intense sand storm, just staring at the building, not able to see anything but a gigantic shadow through the sandy wind. This person had a mission to be done, a personal mission, and knew for sure that there would not be a better day than today.

The kazekage looked up the pile of papers again, this annoying feeling on his chest. He looked through the window, but there was nothing to be seen except for the sandy wind.

The small person was not staring at the tower anymore, for was now walking inside the tower, fully decided to complete the self assigned task.

Gaara had now the feeling that someone was outside his door. He didn't know how he could be so sure, he just was. He heard someone knocking the door.

"Come in" was the answer. "Matsuri" he said, almost in a whisper as he saw her coming in.

"Good morning, Gaara sama" the girl responded, closing the door behind her. She never called him 'Kazekage', and that was something he liked. It reminded him that he was a human despite of his curse or his position as a leader.

"Good morning" he responded with his emotionless voice. "Do you need anything?"

"I…I wanted to see you" she answered, a small pink tone began to appear on her cheeks.

Gaara saw the girl with a confused look. She had sand everywhere he looked: on her clothes, on her hair, and probably on her shoes. Perhaps she used a mask, for her face had no sand on it. It was not logical for him the fact that she went out to face the sand storm just to see him.

"What for?" he asked, after looking at her. He then stood up, and approached her.

"I…well…I…" while she was mumbling, Gaara stood a few feet away, raised a hand and took off all the sand from her body. She blushed with a kind of pale tone of red now.

"So? What is it?" he kept on forcing her, still confused for the whole matter. He turned his back on her in an attempt to going back to his desk, when she grabbed him by the wrist. He turned to face her, no emotion was showed on his face, but he certainly felt weird about her attitude.

"G-Gaara sama…" she began. Her voice was failing her "I n-need to t-tell you something" Gaara said nothing, but this troublesome weird feeling was growing now on his chest. His heart was beating fast, and it bothered him to not knowing why. "It is v-very important t-to m-me"

She took a deep breath. Her heart was beating fast on her chest. Words began to fail her now. She tried very hard to complete her personal assignment.

"I…I wanted you…t-to know t-that…t-that I am…" She turned to see his face. The confused look was still there "I am…I…" she couldn't complete the phrase, and not because she didn't want to. She ran out of words. She just stood there; with Gaara's wrist between her hands and his almost completely innocent face staring straight at her. She blushed violently when she looked at him in the eyes, and then not only her voice nor the words failed her. Her mind became a white zone, and there was no place for reason there.

She raised her hands and placed them on his cheeks. She approached her face to his, and pressed her lips against Gaara's. He felt that his face was on fire, and he was sure it was not because of the weather. He didn't react, for he had not the foggiest idea about what was happening.

She pulled apart after a few seconds, and was only able to mumble "I l-love y-you, Gaara sama... I really d-do" she said, staring at the floor with an ashamed look. "I n-needed t-to t-tell you t-that"

Gaara was blushing, and was blushing violently. The next seconds the only sound that could be heard was the sandy wind outside the window.

"I…don't know…what love is…" he said, trying to process her words "I think I need to be alone" Gaara said, too confused to say anything else. "Please leave" And he turned his back on her.

She closed her eyes, still staring at the floor. She just nodded before she left. A small tear could be seen running down her cheek. Did she make a mistake?

Gaara heard the door closing behind him. He was now facing his desk, trying to put himself together. 'I love you, Gaara sama' What does that suppose to mean? He asked to himself. He has never understood love. He still didn't. But the feeling of her lips was still on his, and he didn't know why, but he wished he could feel them again. And her words…he wished he could hear them again too…

"I don't know what love is" he repeated to himself out loud.

Matsuri walked alone through the kazekage tower. She covered her head with a cloak, so as her face. Only her eyes could be seen. She went out to the rooftop of the tower, ready to face the sand storm. There was no point in doing it; she just thought it would make her feel better. The sand reminded her Gaara. She stood in the middle of the big roof balcony, the sand all around her.

"What a fool I am" she said to herself. "How could I come to think that the kazekage would love me? What could such an important person see in someone as simple as me? I'm not even pretty…" she fell to the floor, and began crying.

Gaara was now watching outside the window, but of course he couldn't see anything. He was just there, thinking, remembering.

Yes, he was remembering, remembering from the moment he first saw Matsuri to the last time, a few minutes ago, and he didn't know why he was doing it.

After a couple of minutes he realized something: whenever Matsuri was near to him, he felt kind of…happy?

This was a new feeling for him: happiness. He then realized of something else: he felt happy when Matsuri kissed him.

"Is this…love?" he asked to himself, staring at his white palms as if the answer was written on them.

He knew it. He knew he was in love with her. That's the reason why he always gets worried whenever he sends her on a mission. She was a chunning now, almost a jounin, and he was always worried for her. He realized this now that he came to think about it, for he didn't know it before; he just knew that he was used to think a lot about her whenever she was out doing her work.

He turned his back to the window and walked straight to the door. He was determined to find out what does being in love really meant. When he opened the door, he found Temari and Kankurou, both about to knock his door.

"Ah, Gaara" she said "Have you finished your paper work yet? Because we…" She interrupted herself when Gaara passed by, leaving her talking alone.

"What's wrong with him?" Kankurou asked.

"I don't know" Temari said. They knew by experience that whenever Gaara was into something, they shall never bother him.

Gaara needed to see Matsuri. He just knew he needed her. He walked through the hallways of the tower, looking for the stairs. He knew where to find her. How did he know that? He wasn't ever sure himself. Maybe the sand out of his window told him something…

He came out of the tower, and found himself in the rooftop, with the sand storm all around him. He stopped the sand that was hitting him, creating a kind of bubble around him. He walked a few steps before stopping.

Matsuri was on her knees in the middle of the balcony. She suddenly stopped crying and, without uncovering her face with her hands, she felt how the sand storm stopped around her. She uncovered her hands to find out, to her surprise that the sand storm only stopped around her, for it hadn't finished yet.

She stood up, not daring to look behind her back.

"Matsuri" Gaara said.

She felt again how the sand was being removed from her body. She uncovered her head and face.

"Matsuri" he whispered on her ear as he placed his hands on her shoulders. She trembled a bit. She hadn't realized how much he had approached. She gave two steps forward, releasing her shoulders from his hands in the process.

"I'm so sorry Gaara sama" she said "I know I made a mistake…"

"Matsuri…" he said "I don't think you made a mistake"

"But Gaara sama…" she turned to face him. She violently blushed when she looked at him straight in the eyes. He was blushing a bit.

"I don't know…what love is" he said for the second time to her "but…If it feels like this…" he turned his face to the floor, not so sure why he was doing it "I think I might love you as well…"

"Gaara sama" she whispered. She felt new tears covering the dry ones, only this time were tears of joy. "Gaara sama" she hugged him.

She turned up her face to see his; Gaara saw deep in her eyes. He then closed his own as he got closer to her face. Their lips met; she placed a hand on his nape, deepening the kiss as both opened their mouths.

The whirlwind of sand was surrounding them; Gaara began losing control of it, and the sand was hitting them everywhere. Matsuri felt the sand and the wind moving her hair, but it was a far away feeling, for Gaara's kiss was everything that mattered to her. Gaara didn't even notice that he had lost control of the sand storm.

They stood in that position for only-Kami-sama- knows-how-long, enjoying every passing second. When they finally pulled apart for air, Gaara recovered the control of the storm and stopped it around them, so they could breathe. They really needed air.

"Gaa…Gaara sama…" Matsuri whispered, still searching for more air.

"No…" he said, hardly breathing as well. "Don't…c-call me… 'sama'…just…Gaara…"

Matsuri blushed violently. Was she his lover now?

Gaara's heart was pounding so fast that he thought it was going to explode. He was blushing, his face was on fire. He was determined now…nobody had to kiss her except for him. He loved her.

"Gaara!" and she hugged him again. He returned the hug, only this time he didn't loose control of the sand storm around them. He had a lot of work to do, but it could wait. He could stay there with her for a couple of minutes more…just a few minutes more…he would definitely have to ask his sister to do a half of the work…

So, there you go...Did you like it? If you did, please, leave a review!! I don't know if I'm making a secuel, but if I get inspired I would probably write it ¬ ¬ ...