It had already been two and a half years since the day Naruto had pounded some sense into Gaara's head. And a little over two years since said redhead had accepted Rock Lee as his friend. The Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha for his part had properly introduced Temari and Tenten to each other about a year and a half ago.

Temari wouldn't ever be able to think of a way to properly thank Lee for it, as Tenten had quickly became her very best friend. And Tenten herself had told Temari that she was her best friend as well. They were deeply indebted to Lee, because without him they would never have even spoken to each other.

But now Temari was sitting on her bed and staring at a wall. She was deep in thought, and who else she would be thinking about than a certain girl, who kept her lovely hair on two buns?

ooooo

"Temari", said Gaara's voice from the other side of the bathroom door. The little brother never came up with good timing with his matters.

"Wait a second, I'll be right there", Temari answered, and tied the third pompom on her hair. One more and soon she had her familiar four pigtails hairstyle set. She took a final glance in the mirror and stepped out of the bathroom, almost crashing at Gaara, who was standing right on the doorway. Luckily the door opened into the bathroom instead of outwards, and as such didn't hit the redhead.

"Gaara! Just how many times have I told you not to stand right in the doorway?" Temari asked when she recovered from her momentary shock. Gaara looked thoughtful.

"43 times", he finally answered with a nod. Temari didn't even bother herself with being baffled at the fact that her little brother, who took everything literally, had actually counted every single time.

"…so what's up with you?" Temari asked, completely ignoring the last subject.

"Lee's coming tomorrow", Gaara said with monotonous voice, as if he couldn't care less. Though everyone in Suna knew that the visits from a certain ninja in a jumpsuit were the highlights of their Kazekage's life nowadays.

"Oh?" Temari just didn't care about that right now. She happened to know that if Gaara came to tell her that Lee was coming, it could mean only one thing: Tenten was coming too. For some unknown reason Gaara just never said that straight out...

ooooo

Temari smiled to herself. Tenten. She hasn't seen her for a whole month because they had both been busy. If Temari wasn't busy with her jounin-duties, then Tenten was on a mission with her team.

Temari was itching to see Tenten again, because she had something really important to tell to her. She was going to tell her she wanted to be more than just a friend with her, if it was possible. And even if there wasn't any possibility for that, Temari still had these feelings for Tenten, and that couldn't be changed. She had the right to know that.

The past month had proved it to Temari. When Tenten hadn't been around, Temari had thought about her all the time, at a steadily rising rate. She had been pondering about everything they had ever done together. She had noticed that everything wasn't what it seemed like; that she wasn't what she seemed like. No one could have guessed by looking at her that she happened to like girls.

Tenten probably had no idea. At least she hadn't said anything when Temari had stared at her a hell of a lot more intensively than one should, even on a ninja scale, stare at a person who moved with extreme elegance. Yes, Temari had always paid a lot of attention to the flexibility and gracefulness of others, so she would get a clue about their skills. She had had sparring sessions with Tenten so many times that there shouldn't have been any reason to watch her movements so closely anymore. But still, every single time, she watched with sparkling eyes how Tenten bended her back when she avoided kunai, how her hand made a magnificent sweep when she threw a shuriken, how gracefully she spun on her toes when she drew out her jutsu scroll, how… and the list went on.

Normally, when training with someone, Temari didn't stare at the opponent's curves, and rarely did she make them dodge wildly so she could watch them take different poses she could ogle at. Normally, she didn't try to make them run around to make sure they sweat a lot, making their clothes cling tightly to their body. She didn't try to touch them for any other reason than attacking them.

The best parts came after sparring though. They would take a shower, and Tenten would release her buns and let her long dark brown hair cascade down her back. Her hair would be a bit curly after being held in buns for a long time, but after the shower it would be straight and dripping water down her nicely shaped legs. Then she would let Temari dry her hair with hairdryer; that's the part she liked the most.

A blush rose to Temari's cheeks when she even thought about it. Yes, she was very sure that she was a lesbian. The last piece of evidence to make that a fact was when she hugged Tenten when said girl had to go back to Konoha. Temari would hold her as close as possible for as long as possible, enjoy the feeling of their bodies touching, enjoying Tenten's body heat, and breathe in her scent with a growing passion. Yes, there isn't anything she would want more than to let her hands wander on Tenten's body, touch her in ways that would leave nothing unclear, that would make Tenten understand her feeling towards the girl. Then she would kiss Tenten, find out how soft her lips really were and what she tasted like. And if she was lucky, she would get a response.

It would be around one in the afternoon when Tenten and Lee should be arriving to Suna. Temari got up from her bed and walked over to her dressing table. She looked at her reflection and considered putting on some makeup to impress Tenten. She sighed and grabbed her hairbrush, combing her fringe with it. Putting on makeup wouldn't matter; it wouldn't make any difference for the situation. Temari tightened the giant bow around her waist and walked out of her room, almost crashing into Gaara, again.

"Gaara! You're always standing right in the doorways!" she growled, and glared at her little brother. Gaara just looked at her with no expression on his face and then nodded. Temari raised her eyebrow; what was Gaara nodding at now?

"Lee's at the gates", Gaara said, and crossed his arms. Temari blinked, and it took her a moment to realize exactly what her brother was saying. Lee's at the gates… so Tenten was there too.

"Oh, yes, let's go", Temari said with a happy smile on her face. Gaara almost smiled back at her; the trick to noticing it was that his eyes held something like a smile, even if it didn't show on his lips. But that was perfectly okay with Temari, who had learned to appreciate every little thing her brother did to show them that he cared. All credit went to Naruto and Lee for these things. Temari should really come up with something to show her appreciation for them.

ooooo

Gaara and Temari hurried to the gates just in time to see the gate guard let the two Konoha ninja in. They both looked as if they had travelled at full speed, all the way from Konoha to Suna, meaning that they looked very messy and tired. Or at least Tenten looked tired.

"Yosh! Suna, here I am again! And in a record time! Now I don't have to run 200 laps around the village before I can go to see… Gaara!" Lee rambled loudly, and after spotting Gaara his mouth turned to one of those huge smiles that were only possible for Lee. The Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha jumped out of joy, and soon afterwards glomped the red haired sandnin.

"Gaara! Long time no see! It's so nice to see you again! How are you?" Lee rejoiced while squeezing the Kazekage. Temari watched how her little brother hesitantly wrapped his arms around the ninja in green jumpsuit, and gingerly returned the embrace. Gaara muttered something to other boy, but Temari paid no attention anymore. She turned to Tenten.

"Temari, how lovely to see you again", Tenten said, and held her arms out towards Temari for a hug. The sandnin smiled and happily accepted the hug.

"Yes, likewise, Tenten…" she answered with a soft voice, and tightened her grip around the girl. She inhaled deeply and breathed in Tenten's scent. The girl smelled like trees, sand, sweat and a little bit of cinnamon. Temari had always wondered how it was that the girl smelled like cinnamon of all things. But it was a part of the girl's distinctive smell and Temari liked it.

She felt Tenten squeeze her gently once more and then start to release her grip. It was her cue that the embrace was over. Temari let her hands slide down Tenten's back, and then fall down to hang by her sides.

"You must be tired after that trip. How about we start this day with a refreshing shower?" Temari asked with a smile on her face. Tenten's expression brightened up even more.

Temari's idea was accepted, so they walked back to the Kazekage's mansion. The house was so huge that the whole family of the Kazekage could fit there, even if all three siblings married and had three children each. So, when the youngest sibling became the Kazekage, Temari and Kankurou too were able to stay even after their father's demise.

The girls arrived at the dwelling and walked straight to Temari's quarters. Tenten sat on the edge of the bed and watched Temari walk over to her closet and grab four towels for them. She set the towels on a pile on the bed, and sat next to the girl.

"You go first 'cause you're the one in need of a shower anyway", Temari said with a small laugh. Tenten raised an eyebrow at the joke, but nodded and started to tinker one of her hair-buns open.

"Let me", the sandnin said, and pushed Tenten's hands gently away from her hair. The other girl just laughed and put her hands on her lap obediently. Temari carefully undid one of the pompoms and then another, finally letting Tenten's dark brown hair cascade down the girls back. She put the pompoms in the middle of her bed so they wouldn't go missing. Tenten flipped her hair in a beautiful sweep to her left shoulder.

"Now that you opened my hair, I shall get my revenge", Tenten said, and winked at her, before turning towards her hair. Temari felt Tenten's fingers dig into her hair to take away the pompoms holding her coiffure together. One, two, three, and all four light blue pompoms joined Tenten's pink ones in the middle of the bed. Temari's short blonde hair ruffled up into every direction, like always when her pompoms were removed. She was usually embarrassed when someone saw her like this; her hair was rough and dry and stood up. But unfortunately that was what the dryness of the desert did to one's hair, no matter how much one tried to take care of it. Nothing helped. Tenten on the other hand had smooth and silky hair…

"Have I ever told you that you're beautiful when your hair is down?" Temari asked with dreamy voice, staring at the girl and forgetting everything else. A furious blush came up to her cheeks when she realized that she said it out loud. This was not what was supposed to happen! Yes, she was going to tell her, but she had had different plans.

"… You haven't. Well, have I told you that you have a beautiful smile?" Tenten answered, and that made Temari's heart to skip a beat. Temari looked at the kunoichi next to her, and noticed the shy smile on her lips and the small blush on her cheeks.

"Temari… I have been planning on telling you this for a long time now… I really like you. I mean, really really like you", Tenten said, and leaned closer to the other girl. Before Temari could even react, the girl had already boldly pressed their lips together. Temari felt the familiar warm feeling in her chest as she closed her eyes and responded to the kiss. Tenten had such soft lips...

"Temari…" Tenten muttered against Temari's lips, making her heart beat even faster. Tenten leaned back a bit, and Temari opened her eyes to look at the girl.

"Shall we go take that shower we were talking about?" Tenten asked, with the cutest smile in the world playing on her lips. Temari was only able to smile back and nod. Soon, the girls were wearing only towels and were on their way to the shower.

ooooo

Kankurou poked his head out of Temari's larger closet, and took a look at the empty room. With a grin on his face he tiptoed properly into the room and closed the door silently after him. He sneaked over to the bed and looked at the six pompoms in the middle of it.

'About the time that happened, I was wondering if I'd have to break the ice for you. Congratulations, my dear lesbian sister, you have very nice and beautiful girlfriend. I wish much happiness to you two', he thought with an amused smile on his painted face. He looked at the clothes all around the floor and listened carefully. He was sure he heard Temari giggle in the bathroom.

He shook his head, and sighed deeply in relief. He took one last look at the bed, and then turned to walk out from the room before he could get caught.

'Just wait till Gaara hears about this!' Kankurou thought with a mischievous grin. He gleefully made a beeline towards his little brother's room. Temari would be in for a surprise once she and her new girlfriend came out of her room.