This is set when Gaara is around 25ish. Temari is married to Skikamaru and living in Konoha. For the first part of the story she is visiting her two brothers and staying in a hotel. Kankuro is still a bachelor. It is rated T (used to be K+) because of the violence in Meiko's past.

On with the show!

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The woman on top of him gave a contented sigh and nuzzled his neck. He unwrapped one of his arms from her waist and started scratching her ear. The purring was instant. Smiling, Gaara remembered the events that led to him meeting his life partner.

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Temari burst into the Kazekage office. Gaara didn't look up. She stomped right up to desk and slammed a hand on it. Gaara continued working. She coughed loudly. Gaara took a sip of coffee.

Temari caved.
"You need a pet." She stated. That intrigued him. He looked up calmly.

"What?" the question was polite, as always.

"You need a pet." She re-stated. He looked at her.

"I see." He started shuffling papers. "And how exactly did you come to that conclusion?"

Pleased she had gotten him to engage in a conversation, Temari pulled up a chair.

"Me and Kankuro have been thinking." She said, sitting down.

"Kankuro and I." he corrected. She glared at him.

"Kankuro and I think you're lonely. I mean, you are living alone and since I moved to Konoha you've gotten thinner. I don't even know how you could get any thinner but there you have it. So we decided you need a pet. A companion. A life partner."

Gaara looked at her. He mused over what she had said. After a while he finally answered.

"No." Temari bristled.

"What?!"

"No." he calmly repeated. "Pets are a nuisance." He continued. "I could be allergic for all we know because we have never had a pet before. Also, I couldn't possibly look after the creature because I am so busy with Kazekage duties. I'd have to leave it with a pet sitter for days on end and that would be an unnecessary cost. You claim that I am getting thinner but I fail to see how an animal can help me with my dietary intake unless you plan for me to eat it and that, dear sister, is sick. Furthermore animals don't live as long as humans therefore couldn't possibly be a life partner. Now if you don't mind, I have a country to run." With that he turned back to mission documents.

An ANBU in the room let his jaw drop (thank goodness for the mask because gaping is a very un-ninja like thing to do). That was the most he had ever heard the Kazekage say in one go. Gaara may not talk a lot but when he did he fitted as much in as possible without breaking the image of a silent leader. It was a skill.

Temari stood. Gaara watched her leave happily. He had defeated her. Then her head popped round the corner.

"We're going to the animal shelter at 5pm. Don't be late!"

Gaara put his head in his hands. There was no winning against older sisters.

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"Oh look, Gaara, this one is so cute." cried Temari. Gaara looked over. She was holding a tiny ginger kitten that was mewling happily at her. He was disappointed to see that Temari had fallen into the trap. Kankuro (who was currently cooing at the thing) he could understand, Kankuro was a softy, but Temari? Deciding it would be best to indulge her and have a look at the kitten, he stepped forward. The miniature cat immediately hissed and made a beeline for anywhere that wasn't near him. He sighed. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a little Gaara added a line to a tally. "26." It stated.

His brother looked at him sympathetically.

"Aww don't worry Gaara." He said placing a hand on his little brother's shoulder. "Maybe a dog?" Gaara smiled. His brother always tried to cheer him up. Giving him a small nod Gaara adjusted his focus towards his sister. She was nursing one of the more recent scratches. Well at least dogs don't have sharp claws. He mentally paused. But they did have teeth. And Temari was so touchy feely she was bound to hold one. And if he scared it……No, definitely not a dog.

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They had tried mice, birds, gerbils, rabbits, cats, horses, even fish, but Gaara couldn't come within arm's length of any of them. He wouldn't have minded if it weren't for the fact that his siblings were trying to do something nice for him and he ruined it. That upset him. They were just leaving when a voice behind him said, "My! Your aura is soaked in blood."

Gaara froze. So did his brother and sister. As one, they turned around. A black cat was staring at them through a cage. A cage that hadn't been there before.

"Woah." Said Kankuro, adopting his 'eerie' voice. "Talking black cat in a cage that wasn't there before can see auras." The cat was staring at them. No, not them. Him. Gaara stared back. The cat started licking it's paw.

"Don't be so surprised." It said. "The cage was just out for cleaning. Besides, you're ninjas, right? Haven't you ever seen nin-pets or nin-summons or whatever?"

"Are you a nin-summon?" Temari spoke this time. The cat looked offended.

"Oh goodness no!" it gasped. "I don't go in for that fighting stuff." The cat looked back at Gaara. "Hey, Racoon eyes!" it said sweetly. Temari and Kankuro went rigid. Did the cat know who Gaara was? If it did it obviously wasn't scared. If it didn't then it was making some pretty good guesses. "You gonna stare all day or are you gonna come over here and scratch my ear?" Gaara's inner-eyebrows shot up. (Well he doesn't have any outer-eyebrows and if he did they certainly wouldn't shoot up.) The cat wanted him to go near it? Curious, he obliged. The cat started purring immediately.

"What's your name?" asked the cat after a minute or two of scratching. Gaara paused. No one in Suna had ever asked him his name. Good job it was pretty obvious how you are meant to reply.

"Gaara." He said.

"Nice to meet you, Gaara. I'm Meiko. And I asked you your name; I never said anything about stopping the scratching!" Gaara quickly resumed scratching. There was something about the cat that made him want to do what it said. What she said.

"Do you know who I am, Meiko-san?"

'San? Why did he put san? It's a cat!' thought Temari. 'Albeit a talking one.'

The cat giggled. "You are silly! Of course I know who you are." Gaara drooped inwardly. "You're Gaara!" finished the cat. Ah! So she didn't know he was Kazekage or that he had been 'Sabaku no Gaara'. He mentally shivered at the mere thought of the name. Good, she wasn't going to know the last bit either.

"So many unshed tears." The voice snapped Gaara back to the now. Meiko was staring at him intently. "But," she continued. "The worst thing," she paused coming up to the cage and nuzzling his fingers before looking back at him. "Is the loneliness." Time froze. She knew. She actually knew. "It's coming off you like heat of a radiator. Waves of it roll off you constantly. No wonder you were looking for a pet." Then she rolled onto her back, abruptly changing the mood. "Do you mind tickling my tummy? I like that." She said playfully. Gaara removed his fingers from the cage and left the room.

"You could've just said 'no'." said the cat, her voice coming out strained. She went to the back of the cage and curled up sadly.

Temari and Kankuro looked at each other. They were about to follow there brother when said brother re-appeared. One of the shelter's workers was with him. The worker went up Meiko's cage, opened the door and pulled the cat out.

"Uh…wha...what the?" she protested until the man dumped her in Gaara's arms.

"Eh?" said Meiko.

"Let's go." stated Gaara and left the shelter.

"Eh!" said Meiko. Gaara flipped her on to her back and started to scratch her tummy. She purred despite herself. It was only as they started walking through the streets of Suna that realisation dawned on her. She smiled. Then she snuggled into the warmth of his chest and relaxed into his touch.

Behind them, Temari and Kankuro shared a 'look' and smiled at each other. Mission accomplished.

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This is a chapter story and the second chapter is already half done. Tell me what you think!

P.S- I will explain the whole talking cat thing