Temari woke up. She had asked one of their maids to wash the dishes for her. She was sure of it. She just wasn’t in the mood to wash dishes, ever. If she had to, there would be hell to pay. Everyone knew this. Everyone made sure not one dish was in the sink if Temari announced she would be in the kitchen. Of course, she didn’t have to be in the kitchen, she didn’t have to cook, and she just felt like it some days.

Shikamaru would be here any day now. She wanted to make something tasty to showcase her mad, newly attained, culinary skills. She stretched. Last night ran long. No one had gone to sleep till around two after the two love birds left. Gaara was carrying Sakura and spinning her around. He walked her to her room, she was sure of that. He was probably too drunk to make it o his room. He wasn’t showing it at the time, but it probably caught up with him from there.

She felt a wave of panic grip her. Had Gaara and Sakura-- no! She ran out of her room in her pajamas and dashed to Sakura’s room. She tried to open the door but it was locked. She then ran up the stairs to Gaara’s room. . There was the usual morning dishevelment. He wasn’t in there. Gaara was most likely in his office. No, he had drunk way too much to be able to function as Kazekage at six in the morning.

He was probably in Sakura’s room. Temari thought of the best case scenario. Those two had probably been so drunk that they just lay down. Sakura’s door was notorious for getting stuck. Just last week Sakura had taken a kunai to the lock to free herself. That was all there was to it.

Temari was walking down the stairs wrapped in her precious denial. She was waling past Sakura’s room when she heard the doorknob move. Gaara’s voice asked someone what was wrong. Sakura answered that the knob was stuck again. It sounded as if Gaara planted his foot against the door. Temari heard the ominous sound of metal ripping apart. She heard Gaara mutter something and Sakura give a yelp.

There was talk of being stuck. Then they decided to just go back to sleep, someone was bound to look for them. Gaara asked sakura if she had slept well. She said she’d never slept better. She asked Gaara if she could turn around so she could undress and get into more comfortable clothes. He asked if he could wait in the closet. She said he could.

Temari felt a wave of relief. She walked past the room. If they had done the nasty, Sakura wouldn’t have cared if Gaara saw her naked. Temari also commended her brother’s gentlemanly request of being in the closet while Sakura dressed. Temari congratulated herself on drilling good manners into at least one of her younger brothers.

Not that Kankuro didn’t have any. Kankuro just never had the chance to make use of them. Maybe. Temari popped her shoulders and walked to the dinning room. A maid set down a placemat for her. Temari waited for a nice glass of cactus juice. It was sweetened with sugar and hand a refreshing hint of mint. She drank the juice as the morning paper was brought to her.

The paper’s headline read, “Internal Improvements? The Kazekage’s Possible New Ideas to Rejuvenate Suna!” It talked about threes, the huge newfound river beneath the Kazekage’s property, and new ways of recycling water that were not only economical, but healthy. She commended her littlest brother once more. He was a bright kid; she’d give him that, a very bright kid.

Gaara had been planning the water supply issues and he had told her some of his ideas. He had begun construction on a plant that would clean used water and then make use of it from there. The water would be clean no matter what it had been used for before. Gaara had outdone himself.

The maid set two eggs, some sausage and bacon, and two pieces of toast before her. She absentmindedly stuck a particularly hot piece of bacon in her mouth when Kankuro came in. Temari waved to him and she guzzled her juice and asked for another one. Kankuro had bags under his eyes.

“Temari, I don’t want to be up today, can I go back to sleep?” He said it the same way he had when he was little. He took a glass of milk from a different maid. He guzzled it and laid his head on the table. Kankuro pleaded again so Temari snapped at him to leave her alone and to go back to sleep if it would shut him up. Kankuro dragged his body back to his room and took his time doing it. She ate her breakfast quietly and suddenly wondered if those two were still stuck. Sakura and Gaara came through the front door at that time. Sakura was wearing a pink dress and Gaara was still in his suit. Gaara kissed Sakura and walked up the stairs.

Sakura waved to Temari. Temari smiled. “So, did you two get stuck,” she remarked rather than asked. Sakura nodded, “Now the door doesn’t open at all,” she sighed, “Gaara tried to pry it open, but then the knob broke off.” Temari acknowledged her answer, “So, did he take you out the window?”

Sakura nodded. She laughed, “Quite the romantic, isn’t he?” Temari drank her juice and laughed to, “Quite.” Sakura had a bowl of cereal with cut up fruit in it. Gaara appeared, dressed exceedingly casually in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. He sat down next to Sakura and smiled at her. She smiled back. Temari wanted to laugh but held it in. The two held hands underneath the table, she could tell because Gaara’s face turned a dark shaed of red.

Gaara was shy. And so gosh-darn adorable when he blushed. Sakura looked happy. She asked Gaara if he wanted a strawberry. He said yes and went for the spoon. Sakura took it out his reach, which was easy since he was plowed, and scooped up a strawberry and put it in his mouth.

Gaara chewed it and relaxed. Those two were sickeningly adorable today, thought Temari. “Isn’t Shikamaru coming today?” asked Gaara with a bit if menace in his eyes. “I think so, either today or tomorrow,” said Temari. Gaara had yet to accept Shikamaru as Temari’s boyfriend. He said, as Kazekage, that Shikamaru had to ask him for permission to date his sister. Kankuro felt the same way, as the Kazekage’s prime executer of ‘missions’ and the like.

Temari shrugged this off. She told them that, as their older sister, they couldn’t boss her around. Shikamaru, as a result, felt he should bring a peace offering to quell the brothers’ wrath and show nothing but good intentions.

Temari said it was old fashioned, but if it made him feel better, then he could go on right ahead. Kankuro would be easier to please than Gaara, no doubt about that.

Sakura and Gaara were completely in love though. Maybe that would beget Gaara to give Shikamaru some sympathy and an easier time. Gaara was now showing Sakura how to stick a spoon to her nose with the spoon he had gotten with his breakfast of creamed wheat with a mint julep. Sakura had gotten the hang of it when Gaara’s spoon had come off his nose and splattered his hot cereal. Gaara made an angst-ridden face and calmly picked up his spoon and shoved it into his mouth. Mind you, it was one of the larger bowls in the Kazekage’s mansion. He asked for the paper when Sakura went to wash up in the restroom.

Gaara smiled at the front page, he would appear to commemorate the beginning of construction. He would appear to remove the first bit of sand, rock, and dirt. He planned to use his jutsu instead of a shovel to give it as good of a start as he could. This way his father’s wasteful ways would be erased. Gaara turned to the comics section and laughed at his favorite comic, the one about the hopeless bachelor and his smart-talking cat. He laughed and returned the paper to Temari.

“Thank you for everything,” he said. “You and Kankuro made that the best night of my life.” He stood up and gave Temari a hug. She reciprocated and squeezed her little brother until his back popped. He asked about Kankuro.

“Oh, him? He was so hung-over he could barely drag his sorry ass up the stairs!” The two sober Sand Siblings laughed. Gaara sat back down and cleared his throat. “Temari, I know it’s early, but have you ever wanted a rose garden for your birthday?” Gaara asked this with a blush about his nose. Temari smiled, “That would be totally awesome, Gaara, thank you!”

Gaara sighed. He was relieved that she would like that. “Well, I’ve been thinking about it, and I decided Suna needs a place where everyone can relax in a big greenhouse with fresh air and plenty of plants and flowers. And I know how much you loved roses, so I thought, ‘Temari should have her own wing with all types of roses so she can relax’. That way, you and Shikamaru can hang out in peace and I don’t have to worry about him being untowardly towards you. And, since its part of a bigger structure, you don’t have to worry about what will happen to them if you’re out of town or if there’s a sandstorm.”

Temari was amazed at how he had thought everything out. “So, now you want a greenhouse? Are you insane? Do you know how much that’s going to cost?” Gaara smirked, “I have. The hotel itself has doubled Suna’s revenue, now, think of how many more people will come here if there were more things for them to do. Sure, they can rock climb, spelunk, and shop at the bazaar, which has made three times Suna’s revenue since it was erected five months ago, but what else?”

He took a deep breath, “They can explore Suna’s microcosm of nature on vacation as well! Think about it, not only is it good for tourists, but businessmen and ambassadors who are homesick, and for the people of Suna who haven’t seen anything past the sparse cactus or the fake cement trees. It’s going to be run by Suna, for the benefit of Suna. Reinforced, super thick glass to trap moisture and prevent sand damage.”

Gaara laughed heartedly. Temari nodded, “You’ve really thought this out, and how long has it been on your mind?” Gaara held his chin, “Since this morning actually.” Temari laughed. “Did you see all of your trees?”

Gaara nodded. “They look good, big and healthy.” Gaara smiled as he ate the last of his cereal, “Sakura just about died of excitement!” He was happy.

“So, that’s why you did it. You just wanted to justify a present for your girlfriend on Suna’s budget.” Gaara shook his head, “That’s not true; I just wanted to make her more at home, and to inject some cheer in this place.” Gaara smiled at his sister, “Oh, and I tied Shikamaru to one of the trees.” Temari yelled at him and ran off. He called after her playfully, “I didn’t finish yet!”

He waved as Shikamaru walked in, “Temari just went out to look for you in her pajamas, so you better go find her.” Shikamaru slapped his forehead, muttered something to the effect of, ‘That girl’, and ran out the door.  

Gaara cleaned up and took the dishes to the kitchen. One of the maids took the dishes from him and set to washing right away. He walked out, happy to not wash dishes, and went to see Kankuro. Kankuro’s door was locked so Gaara put his ear up to the wood. It was thick, but he could make out loud moans of pain. Gaara sighed and decided to talk to Kankuro when he felt better.

He made his way to his office. He looked at the usual stack of paperwork and sighed. This was the worst part of being Kazekage. He sighed and sat down in his chair. It had a high back that was becoming a little shorter every day. Gaara looked out his porthole-shaped windows and sighed. The desk was huge. There weren’t so many stacks, but it weighed on him nonetheless after yesterday’s revelry.

His huge plant on his desk was looking very green today with its broad cheery leaves. He said, “Hello, Momotaro, have you gone over today’s schedule?” He turned to his bigger plant on his right, “And what about you Naru? Have you been on the watch out for criminals?” He acknowledged his plants’ answers, “Keep up the good work, you two, and you’ll be promoted.”

He turned to the paperwork again and opened the daunting books to start reading. He was done with the whole piece and gave the construction plan his stamp of approval. He looked at his dark green rug, then the smaller purple rug the desk stood on, then the pale blue of the pots. The pots were the same color as Sakura’s eyes. He tugged on his burgundy table cloth and laid his head down. “Just five more to go,” he said to himself.

He noticed that today’s load was less than usual. Most of Suna’s paperwork had been done ahead of time at the beginning of the week.

He was planning a short trip to Konoha and needed to leave with a clear conscience. Gaara plowed through the rest of the work and was done by early afternoon. He had also gone over and finished the extra ten ‘bits of work’ that found their way to his office. He was done for the day and his eyes felt strained. He stretched, stood up, and made his way out of the office.

He walked up to his room and remembered that Sakura’s door was probably still broken. He turned around before even opening the door and went down the stairs. He turned and saw Kankuro trying to pry her door open. Gaara called to him and Kankuro waved. Gaara sat next to Kankuro.

Kankuro said, “I’ve been at this all day.” He moaned with exasperation, “I don’t know what the heck to do, Gaara.” Gaara admitted that this wasn’t Kankuro’s forte. “Take the door off, let’s move Sakura’s room for now, she can’t have a room without a door with a lock.”

Kankuro hugged his brother. “You’re the best and Temari was mean  to make me do this.” Gaara nodded. He hugged his brother and smiled and him. The two went to getting the door off its hinges. “So, where is Temari?” asked Gaara.

Kankuro made a face, “She’s out with that Shikamaru.” Gaara smiled. “I made a deal with him, and he has six months to deliver.” Kankuro shivered, “It isn’t anything dangerous is it?” Gaara shook his head, “He’s to procure life-sized dolls of us, Mom, Uncle, and Dad.” Kankuro made a face at ‘Dad’. Gaara grinned wickedly, “He’s for target practice.”

He and Kankuro laughed. “So, what are these dolls for?” Kankuro had a look of anticipation on his face. Gaara smiled meanly, “That’s for me to know and you to find out.” Kankuro’s face became overjoyed. He yipped and thanked his brother. Gaara hugged his brother and laughed.

They took the door off and set it aside. Gaara walked into the room. The bed was made up prettily and Sakura’s perfume floated through the room. He sat down on the mauve rug and looked up at his brother. “Where do we put her?”

Kankuro took time to answer this, “There aren’t that many rooms not in use.” He counted off his fingers, “Temari’s got her fan collections, me my puppets, and then there are the maids’ quarters. Then the libraries, the play- I mean work rooms and then there are the empty rooms in your wing. I mean, there are other guest bedrooms, but those are in use.”

Gaara snapped to attention at this, “But we had an empty one.” Kankuro looked away from his peeved brother, “Well, since Shikamaru is here and all…” He stopped. Gaara was holding his breath. Gaara looked away, “That’s okay, we’ll move her to my wing, I guess.”

The Sand Siblings had reinvented their large home to be ‘useful’ since their father’s timely departure. All of his things, save the exquisite weaponry, family photos and mementos, had been thrown out. Temari had used this as an excuse to display her fans in her wing with ultimate comfort and style and to ‘broaden’ her collection. She also converted some of her rooms to house guests, and right now she had many guests staying with her from the other nations. She was building friendly relations.

Kankuro was using his rooms for his growing puppet collection. They were gifts from extended family and friends. Others were works of fine craftsmanship from the other nations. These were, in Gaara’s eyes, tokens that said, ‘Look how nice we are Kazekage, and how rich and skilled we are… want to trade and make friendly alliances?”

Gaara kept each nation on tentative ground, never quite making official alliances as he requested everything in writing or he’d find someone else to trade and make friends with, and, with that, Suna was not made anyone’s patsy. He kept Suna in the best possible situation as he could.

In effect, his minimalism had put him in this precarious position. The Guest wing, were Sakura was staying, was filled for the most part. She was in the most isolated part with the biggest room of course. Now his immense aggregate of empty rooms was out to get him. He thought about it. There was his room, and then half of spare rooms were converted into large room-by-room libraries for his amusement, with air-conditioning of course.

He consented, “Where’s Sakura so she can get ready for us to move her things?” Kankuro ran off. Gaara silently cursed the door. He knew the next biggest room to his was right next to his. He sighed. He stood up and sat back down and lay down. He took several deep breaths and thought about Sakura’s soft skin against his and her silky hair.

Gaara stood the moment he heard footsteps down the hall. Sakura looked at her door then at Gaara. He smiled sheepishly, “We have to move you upstairs until we can fix your door.” Sakura sighed, “Alright.”

“Do you need any help,” he offered. She grinned, “Sure Gaara, and Kankuro too if he doesn’t have anything to do.” Kankuro disappeared as she said this, saying something about boxes. The couple stood in the room alone. Gaara opened the window. He opened the glass doors too. They enjoyed the cross breeze quietly and Sakura took her things off her dresser and armoire.

She placed these into a box that was procured from her closet. Gaara watched as she tenderly placed several kunai into the box. She noticed it and remarked nostalgically, “These belonged to my parents.” Gaara noticed her shoulder shake. “What happened, Sakura?” She held the kunai close to her, “My real mother died when I was little, and then Dad remarried. My stepmother and I never really got along so we parted ways after Dad died.” Sakura set the kunai into the box and smiled at Gaara.

“I was an only child, so Naruto became like an annoying brother over time.” She smiled, “And Sasuke just ended up being the ex that everyone likes.” She laughed. Gaara noticed her eyes had been closed the whole time. The corners of her eyes were teary and she was still laughing about the time Naruto had tricked Sasuke into buying him ramen. And about the time they tried to figure out what was under their teacher’s mask. It was later when they saw that Kakashi was actually handsome, but thought it was cool to always wear a mask.

Gaara laughed at the appropriate moments. Sakura had turned back to her work and Gaara realized what that meant. Sakura had lost her special ones and she still smiled and laughed. Naruto had said that Sakura had moved out into her own small apartment after the Exams. Gaara felt a wretch, “When did your father pass?” Sakura looked at him, “He just died one day after the Exams, so I took my inheritance from both parents early, with permission of course, and I moved out of my stepmother’s house.” She looked pained and he mentally berated himself.

He apologized. She smiled at him, “No need, it was just one of those things that happened. My stepmother is rich, so it didn’t matter to her. She just let me go. I think she only put up with me because of Dad, and he only put up with me in Mom’s memory.”

Gaara swooped down on her and squeezed her. She cried quietly and held him, “Tsunade became a Mom to me because I hardly remember mine, and Ino was my rival and best friend. So, it wasn’t that bad, really.” She held Gaara. She began to cry a little harder and then it quieted to a sniffle. “I guess that’s why I studied so hard when I was younger; I just wanted everyone to notice me and love me.”

Gaara kissed her. “I love you.” She kissed him back and dried her eyes. “Since I’ve come here, Kankuro and Temari have become like the brother and sister I’ve never had.” She kissed Gaara on his mark, “But you’re different, I love you like no one else.”

Kankuro stood outside the door. That was Sakura’s story: an indifferent father, a dead mother, and a wicked stepmother. He felt his heart lurch. She must have had it tough. He heard that she was teased a lot when she was younger. She was teased up until recently actually. She had seemed like someone with a lot of friends, but there were still more who picked at her.

Naruto, infamous meddler that he was, had informed Kankuro of all this over ramen. Naruto had always liked Sakura. He knew that Ino’s friends weren’t really her friends. He knew that boys talked behind her back. But she stayed strong except for those tender moments. He often saw her crying alone and how she often avoided going home at all costs. Being who he was, Naruto was able to blend in and discover all that he could about Sakura. She was pretty, and pretty girls don’t cry over nothing.

But to hear Sakura talk about it was different. She had left out crucial details that her neighbor’s often gossiped about. It was a lot worse than she had let Gaara know. Still, he wanted to respect her privacy and let her tell Gaara about her past as time went by.

Kankuro waited until the conversation had turned to lighter subjects such as the throwing star she had won for answering the question right. Kankuro came in with his arms full of boxes and asked her about the lady doll she was packing. Sakura smiled and laughed, “Mom made his before she died, it was my birthday present.”

She placed the doll into its silk-lined box and then told them about her old nightlight. It was made of stained glass. This had been her mother’s when her mother was a child. “When you put a candle in it and lit it in a dark room, you could see all the animals,” she chirped. She twisted the bottom a little and the large glass orb began to spin, “It’s really very pretty, there were other ones but--” she stopped short, “well, it was an accident.”

She smiled and packed the globe in tissue paper and set in into a box. Gaara looked to Kankuro and Kankuro shrugged his shoulders. Gaara didn’t know, but Sakura’s stepmother had thrown the other globes out of Sakura’s window when she was little. Sakura only had one out of the original fifteen left over. Her mother had made ten of those to add to her mother’s original five. Naruto was a better ninja than he thought.

Sakura showed them some crystal figurines her grandmother had given her before she had passed away before the Chunin Exams. There were elephants, tigers, flowers, fish, turtles, frogs, snails, snakes, and all sorts of other critters. “My father and his family were estranged, so I’ve never been able to find them.” Gaara held up a little pink and red stained snail and put it next to Sakura’s head, “It’s the same color as your hair.”

She took the snail from him, “No way! That’s so cool!” She picked up a yellow and orange frog with blue eyes, “This one looks like Naruto!” Everyone laughed at that. Kankuro picked up the snake, “This one’s just like Sasuke: blue, gloomy, and pure angst. Just look at that scowl!” At this, all three of them had to hold their sides. It was black at the top and dark blue with a white underside. Its eyes were red, and it looked like it had a permanent scowl. Sakura laughed loudest of all, “That’s so true!”

They had found a red raccoon and a panda that were Gaara and then a black cat with purple eyes that was Kankuro. Gaara had found a deer that was Shikamaru and then they found a pretty doe and a lioness that could have been Temari.

Gaara decreed that Temari was the doe because she wasn’t very blue at all and no other animal suited her except for the lioness, and lionesses ate deer. And Temari wasn’t going to eat Shikamaru. Maybe. They would have to wait and see. So Sakura decided that Shikamaru would be with both the lioness and doe until further notice. Kankuro nodded, “This makes sense, my wondrous Kazekage.”

Sakura packed the last of the animals, a grey squirrel that became known as Kakashi, and a dark green dog that became Rock Lee. Sakura had forgotten her prior sadness and she had resumed to pack her things. Gaara and Kankuro helped move her things to the only unoccupied and hospitable room in Gaara’s wing, the room adjacent to his.

Gaara felt a soft wave of nausea as Kankuro pointed out you could see Sakura’s private roof from the window. Gaara played along, “Really! I never knew that! Oh! Wow! It’s true, look at that, now that’s a fine roof!”