Early Risers

The Sand Siblings lived in a three story building near the Kazekage's tower. Their father had chosen this building as the place where Temari and Kankuro would be raised, mostly by caretakers. When they graduated from the academy they inherited the house as their own and just the two of them lived there. Gaara hadn't moved in until the botched mission to destroy the Leaf Village. When he changed, Temari sought to improve their relationship by inviting him to live there. And by his reaction, she knew she touched his heart.

So she never regretted that decision, even when he made a mess of the place, because she knew it drew them closer as a family. And he'd learned, now, how to live with them, so it wasn't so bad. She had both brothers picking up their own dirty underwear, or at least keeping it out of her sight and helping somewhat around the house. And in return, she performed the ONE domestic task traditionally applied to women that she could stomach without spinning off into a rant about sexual equality--she took care of the meals. Cooking was a chore she actually preferred compared to the rest and she had to do something.

There was only one problem....

I can't believe I'm up this early! wailed Temari to herself, as she roughly stirred eggs over a flame while simultaneously keeping an eye on the meat she had sizzling in another pan. It was THREE A.M.! THREE A.M.! Curse that youngest brother of mine, curse him! she thought, rudely. There wasn't even enough light to see by without lighting candles and if it wasn't for the cooking flames, she'd be chilled to the bone in her pajamas and cursing the freezing desert temperatures instead!

Why did Gaara have to wake up so early? No matter that he'd been forced to stay awake for his entire life, for fear of being possessed and going on a rampage. After all, that thing was GONE now and even before that, it had been more easily suppressed than ever. By now, shouldn't he be able to sleep for an entire night, or go to bed later, at least? And so what if he was the Kazekage! There was no reason to be up at this time of night... er, morning!

But she felt disloyal even thinking those things. First of all, she loved the fact that Gaara was the Kazekage, and maybe it did do the village some good for him to be out patrolling at a time that everyone else could be caught unaware. Second of all, loosing the Ichibi had been a surprisingly low blow for her brother and it was wrong to mention its loss so casually when he had yet to get over it. Finally, loosing the Ichibi meant that Gaara wasn't as strong as before. So technically if the village had needed his watching over before at this time of day, it now needed it more than ever. So even if it would do him good to get more sleep now that he was just another normal ninja, she needed to at least support his zeal. And the only reason she was thinking this way was because she was still scared for him and because she wasn't a happy morning person. She needed to get over that.

So, she sighed and resumed the breakfast making. She scraped the eggs onto a plate and doused the flames, then turned to the meat and flipped it to make sure it was cooking evenly. Stepping away for a moment she poured two glasses of Suna Water, a mixture cooked up by their medic ninjas to help the body retain fluids and nutrients and prevent dehydration.

The kitchen was full of the smell of breakfast by the time she was done, and she knew that at any moment Gaara would come in, ready to eat. So she finished up and set the table. Then she sat and closed her eyes. Now that she was calm she sent out a prayer that they would all survive the day and lifted her head again just as her brother rounded the corner. Although he was still as intense as ever, which was unsettling in the flickering candlelight, she smiled immediately at his appearance. I'm the only one in Suna who gets to see the Kazekage's "bedhead," she thought, with a tinge of amusement. And just that easily, she forgave him for making her get up so early.

"Let's eat!" she invited.

Disclaimer: Obviously, I'm using canon characters from the series, Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto.

Author's Note: This one-shot was written as a roleplaying sample for Red Clouds (PM me if you'd like to check out the forum). It's the first time I've ever tried to get into Temari's head and I had to give a lot of thought to what it would actually be like living in the desert and with her brothers, and I liked the result so much I just had to post it!

Please tell me what you thought or leave any suggestions that you have! (especially if they're title related, hint hint). Thanks in advance!