Being Kazekage was the most rewarding thing in the world for Gaara, but it also had its drawbacks.
One of which being the sweeping flood of paperwork that he got each day.
Like now, for instance. His hand was killing him.
What does pain feel like, Yashamaru?
His uncle should have said, Sign your own name one too many times, and you'll find out.
Gaara paused, shaking out his wrist and taking a deep breath. Shukaku was getting more bored by the minute, begging for him to get out of the office and do something. Gaara was actually tempted to let it take over, just for something to do.
Other then the paperwork that he was supposed to be doing.
On top of everything, it was Christmas Eve. That wasn't supposed to matter, mind you, and it never had before. Still, the office was empty… empty, empty… emmmmpty.. em-empi-ty.. em pity.. pity… empty people full of pity…
The Kazekage shook his head sharply. Boredom is scary…
Gaara shivered. It was awfully cold in the office, as there was no source of heat. It wasn't a problem in summer, and the open design helped with the stifling heat, but in the winter… it was a disaster. Still, the budget that Gaara spent so much of his life, or so it seemed, fiddling with, left no excess for improvements in the Kazekage's own office. If I get sick, they'll be up a proverbial creek, he thought sourly. Then maybe we'll stop importing flowers from Konoha and start insulating this drafty place…
A knock at the door distracted me. Yawning hugely, Gaara rubbed on eye with the heal of his hand.
"Come in," he called, picking up a pen and trying to look vaguely interested in the documents he was signing.
Kankuro pushed the heavy door open, followed closely by Temari. Gaara blinked a couple of times, wondering if sleep deprivation and hours upon hours of paperwork had finally driven him over the edge.
Temari chuckled when she saw his look. "No, you're not finally going insane… although I'm not really sure about that. But you aren't seeing things."
Kankuro shook his head, a jingling sound filling the office. "Stupid tights," he grumbled, leaning down and scratching at his ankle.
"Don't put a run in them, idiot!" Temari snapped, hitting him on the head, which produced more jingling.
"How should I know?" Kankuro growled. "It's not like I wear these very often!"
"I should hope not," Gaara commented dryly, standing up to examine his siblings. Kankuro was wearing a full on elf costume, complete with a jingle bell hat and dark green tights. Temari matched, except her jingle bells were on scrunchies holding her hair in its normal four-ponytail style. She wore a light green miniskirt and fitted top, with dark green tights like Kankuro's.
"As the Kazekage's family, we've gotta spread the Christmas cheer!" Temari explained, with her trademark grin. "We're going caroling!"
Gaara narrowed his eyes in amusement. "Really now."
"Oh, and I thought you might appreciate these," Temari said with a smile, producing a bag of still warm Christmas cookies. "Since it doesn't look like you're going to dig yourself out of that," a motion to the paperwork, "and make it home before midnight tonight."
Gaara hid an embarrassed smirk. "Sorry…"
Temari shrugged and held up her hands. "No, no, not at all. Being the Kazekage comes first, I know, I know." She glanced around. "It's freezing in here! It has been every time we've stopped in!"
Gaara grimaced. "Yeah… no room in the budget…"
His sister winced. "Sorry, I know how much you hate the cold."
Kankuro rolled his eyes, swaggering over to Gaara's desk. "Paperwork," he scoffed. "Aren't you bored?"
Gaara let out a little huff. "What do you think?"
Kankuro picked up a document and began to read in an official-sounding tone:
"' On behave of the citizens of Suna, I hereby request a new ice-cream shop on the corner of 1st and 34th street. I don't feel safe letting my kids walk to the one on 2nd and 56th, and neither do my neighbors.'"
Temari chuckled, and Gaara winced at the stupidity of it. Kankuro snickered.
"Or, or, how about this one: 'Lord Kazekage, I as well as many other people, have noticed that, more often than not, the sunset seems to be more orange then pink. Is there anything that you could do about that?'"
Temari burst out laughing, and Kankuro sifted thought the various letters of complaints.
"'Lord Gaara, we seem to have noticed that Old Man Akira down the street from us is having an affair with Old Man Keebler's wife.' Is this what you deal with everyday, Gaara?"
Gaara nodded sadly. "Even the important stuff…" he sighed, "seems a little ridiculous after a while. Like this one." He handed Kankuro a scroll. "The council is so worried about this."
"'The high school needs more school dances? For…" Kankuro choked on a laugh, "'procreative reasons?' Gaara, this is hilarious!"
Gaara chuckled despite himself. "They're worried about the population decline."
"Wait a second, is this Baki's signature on the bottom of this?" Kankuro barked, unrolling another scroll. "This about job benefits for the council!"
Temari grinned, sticking out her tongue. Gaara found himself laughing along.
Kankuro unrolled another scroll, still laughing. But as he began to read, his smile faded and his expression darkened.
"What's that?" Temari asked, peering over his shoulder. Gaara came over, too, reaching to bend the scroll backwards so that he could read it.
"This is about a water shortage in the east district," Kankuro breathed. Then, his smile returned. "The writer says that her flowers are starting to wilt!"
With a growl, Gaara snatched the scroll away from his brother. His sudden change of attitude surprised both of them.
"That's nothing to laugh about!" he snarled, quickly glancing over the scroll. "Water is a serious concern! Have you all forgotten that we live in the desert?"
Temari put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure it's nothing to be that worried about. Kankuro was just joking around. The old lady's sprinklers aren't working; it's not that big a deal. It says right there that she's the only one on the block experiencing it."
Gaara brushed off her hand angrily. "Why do I endure all these ridiculous complaints, all these requests?" he asked furiously. "Because there's one or two scrolls that can't be just ignored, or laughed off!" He scowled, sitting down heavily with the scroll in hand. "Didn't you two say something about caroling? Get going!"
Temari and Kankuro exchanged a somewhat sad glance. Gaara, trying to ignore his aching hand, picked up a pen and started scribbling away at the scroll.
Temari cleared her throat, and he glared up at her.
"Still here? Would you two leave me alone already?"
Kankuro looked down, pulling something red from behind his back. He set it on Gaara's desk."A-actually… the reason we stopped by… was we wanted to you come…"
"This is important!" Gaara snapped, cutting him off. He waved his pen, making a shooing motion. "Let me think!"
Temari squared her shoulders angrily. "Come on, Kankuro!" she hissed. "We're leaving the Kazekage to his oh-so-important business!" With one last glare at the top of her brother's head, she grabbed Kankuro's hand and led him out of the office. Sticking her head back in, she called back, "You're being a real jerk, you know that? You shouldn't brush us off like this."
Gaara growled something that sounded like an affirmation, but had thrown himself into the paper sea with renewed vigor. With one final look at their brother, the two sand sibs left, Temari slamming the door soundly behind her.
Gaara was left alone again, with only the constant scritching sound of the pen in his hand.
After a few minutes, though, his enthusiasm began to die again. His mind started to wander back to his siblings, and he glanced up at the bundle of red fabric left on his desk. Curiosity finally got the better of him, and he reached over to see what it was.
His eyes widened fractionally as he held it up.
It was a bright red Santa hat.
Realization dawned on the Kazekage slowly. They stopped by…
Because they wanted me to come caroling with them…?
Gaara almost smacked himself. "I'm just started to call myself a brother… and I go and do something like this." He stood quickly, his eyes falling on the paperwork covering his desk. He glanced at the Santa hat in his hand, and back at the papers.
And the Kazekage made a decision.
Temari and Kankuro were drawing quite the crowd, but it wasn't as fun as they may have thought. They sang, and well at that, but Temari's smile was forced, and Kankuro's voice was quieter than usual. Not that anyone could tell; Temari was an expert at faking smiles, and only someone who had been over to the sand sibs' house could know how loudly Kankuro belted it out when in the shower.
Temari kept thinking back to Gaara, and kept feeling resentment grown inside her.
Kankuro kept thinking of Gaara, and kept feeling a wave of pity and sadness rise inside him.
"Kankuro! Temari!"
Kankuro and Temari cut off their song at the same instant as they glanced up. The crowd began to part as a figure shoved his was up to the two singers.
Gaara was out of breath and disheveled, the Santa hat jammed clumsily onto his head. He knelt over for a minute, his panting breath billowing out into the cold air. He looked up at his siblings.
"S-sorry it took me so long…" he gasped, still trying to catch his breath. "I'm still…" he swallowed his unease forcefully, "welcome?"
A real smile split Temari's face, and Kankuro laughed. "Of course!" they told their brother, their warm voices contrasting the chilly air.
Gaara smiled, coming to stand in the spot that they opened between them. A few people were startled to see the Kazekage out caroling with his siblings, but many were happy for him. As the trio paused in between songs, he leaned in closer to his sister.
"I never did say thank you for the cookies," he whispered, and Temari started. Then, she smiled.
"It's okay. Actually, Kankuro was the one to make them; you know how bad I am at cooking."
Gaara raised his non-existent eyebrows. "Huh. Actually I didn't. I'll have to start spending more time at home. Start learning who's cooking is good and who's to steer clear of."
Temari smiled, ruffling his hair around the Santa hat. "You mean whose cooking is good and whose cooking you better lie about, or else the cook will kill you?"
Gaara smiled sarcastically. "Yeah, that's what I meant."
Kankuro smiled, patting his little brother on the head. "Did I hear something about spending more time at home?"
Gaara smiled in earnest. "Yeah… from now on."
Gaara didn't go back to the office that night. He spent his Christmas Eve with his family, the only family left to him. He didn't, of course, sleep, but he stayed on the couch and just rested, enjoying the feeling of belonging that surrounded him. Even Shukaku seemed more content than usual.
The thing that amazed him the most was the tree. He spent at least half the night staring at the blinking lights glinting off the colorful bulbs. The whole thing seemed warm. Gaara, to be completely honest, had never cared to notice whether his family had ever had a Christmas tree. He somehow doubted that Yashamaru had ever gotten a tree… and the time that he spent in this house, living with his siblings during his younger years, he had been far too focused on his own bloody impulses. Yet now that he really looked… the single tree seemed to bring so much… joy into the house…
When Temari and Kankuro finally woke, Gaara had switched his inspection to what lay beneath the tree. The packages were so glittery… He didn't even notice Kankuro until his brother crouched down in front of him.
Gaara jumped, but recovered quickly. "You know," he commented dryly, "even without the hood, you still remind me of a cat."
Kankuro smiled indulgently, ruffling his brother's hair. "Oh, stuff it. Look who's staring at the presents."
Gaara blinked, not seeing what was wrong with this. "… But they're pretty…" he pointed out lamely.
"Is that really the only reason?" Temari asked playfully, coming up behind her brother.
Gaara glanced up at her, a bit peeved that his siblings seemed to know something he didn't. "Yes. That's all."
Temari seemed genuinely surprised. "Well, who do you think those presents are for?" she asked, a bit flustered.
Gaara shrugged, still not catching on. "I don't know. You and Kankuro? Maybe Baki?"
Kankuro laughed out loud, startling the still sleepy Gaara. He got up, making his way over to the tree and sorting though the presents. He returned a moment later with two packages in his arms. Crouching back down in front of Gaara, still sprawled on the couch, he held up the tag on one of them.
Gaara peered at it, uncomprehendingly, for a heartbeat. He read over the three characters about a dozen times before it finally dawned on him.
我愛羅.
Gaara.
Gaara blinked in utter surprise. He glanced from Temari to Kankuro, not daring to believe it until he saw his siblings' encouraging smiles.
"Those are…?"
Temari rolled her eyes. "Do we have to spell it out? Yes, they're for you, you dope!"
Gaara sat up quickly, accepting the two foil-wrapped packages. He looked, embarrassed, between Temari and Kankuro.
"I didn't get you guys anything," he mumbled self-consciously.
Temari swung over the back of the couch to sit beside him. "We don't need anything."
Gaara shrugged uncomfortably. "Neither do I," he grumbled.
"Oh, just open the box!" Temari chided.
Gaara selected the smaller of the two boxes, the one on top. It was wrapped in smoky black paper with a stunning silver bow. Kankuro stuck out his tongue at Temari.
"My present!" he gloated.
Temari reached across Gaara to smack the puppet master. "Save the best for last," she quipped.
Gaara slid his finger under the wrapping paper, sliding the tape away from the paper, not ripping it. He felt excitement despite himself.
Inside there was a small toy, one that Gaara remembered well. A teddy bear sat there, the same bear from all those years ago.
"I found it when I was cleaning out the attic," Kankuro explained shyly, "so I fixed it up. Did some sewing, some minor repairs… oh, and as for the pen," he said, motioning to the pen that the little bear was holding, "it's supposed to be easier to write with, and help out with cramps. So that you won't lose your hand from signing all those papers. I tinkered with it a bit myself, and it responds to your chakra so you hardly have to move your hand to write. It may take some time to get used to, though…"
"My handwriting was crap when I tried doing it with chakra," Temari whispered loudly. "But it helps anyway."
Gaara looked at his brother, his eyes wide with disbelief and gratitude. To think… that they put this much thought into it…
"My gift next!" Temari chirped, taking the box with the bear and pen and putting it on the ground beside the couch. Kankuro smiled indulgently.
"You have no idea how much time she spent on this," he told Gaara. Gaara hefted the bigger box; it was wrapped with glittery red foil, with a huge blue bow atop it. He unwrapped it carefully, folding the paper and setting it beside him along with the bow. He pulled the box open, and gasped aloud despite himself.
Inside the box was a bunch of uneven, knit fabric. He pulled it out, revealing a golden, knit blanket as soft as rabbit's fur. When he spread it out over the box on his lap, he revealed the pattern on it:
愛.
Love.
And below that:
家.
Family.
Tears, despite all his gruffness, appeared in his eyes. Temari spotted them before he hurriedly blinked them away.
"It's actually from both of us," she admitted. "I saw how cold it was in the office, and decided to knit this, but I couldn't get the hang of the actual knitting." She fingered the bottom of the fabric, where there were numerous bumps and abnormalities. "Kankuro showed me how, and helped with the kanji."
Kankuro blushed. "Nobody needs to know that," he said. "A guy who can knit?"
Temari poked him in the shoulder. "You cook, you clean… you even sew… why not knit?"
Kankuro huffed. "Only because you don't feel like being the woman of the house half the time! And we'd all die if you cooked dinner every night!"
Temari chuckled. "Granted."
Gaara fingered the blanket; glanced down at his bear; flexed his still aching hand. The tears returned. He ran his hands along the kanji.
Love and family.
"Thanks, you guys," he said, his voice thick with emotion. Temari and Kankuro exchanged a surprised glance.
"Hey, no problem," Temari said, hugging him from the side. Kankuro chuckled, hugging him from the other side.
And Gaara returned the hug.
This is where I belong… he thought quietly. These people care… about me. And I… care about them.
Christmas. At one point, it was just another day for Gaara. He had never cared.
But… it turned out to be the day that taught him what family really meant.
(A/N) Gack! The mushiness! *dies*
Oh well. Isn't that what Christmas is supposed to be about? Present- er, I mean, family? And love?
And if you guys liked this… there might be a second chapter for New Years! *squeal* It was going to be a part of this… but I didn't have time to polish the second part like I wanted to. So there may be a second part!
Oh, and I'll just get in a bit of quick (and shameless) self-promotion… my other Gaara story, 'Unconditional Love,' is feeling very unloved. So hop on over and give it a glance?
Merry Christmas everybody! Please review! Reviews are like Christmas hugs: they brighten my day!