Trophy Wife: Gaara

Temari had to admit, she was surprised. When they brought back Gaara, she was relived, she didn't care about what happened on the mission, only that her youngest brother was alive. The fact that Shukaku was gone was only an added bonus. However, almost as soon as the team departed, she learned an interesting fact.

Gaara was female.

After looking over the old medical files, mainly the information her uncle had taken before he died, Temari managed to figure out how this fact had been overlooked..

The initial diagnosis when Gaara was in the womb was that he… she… was male. However, as the sealing took place immediately after her birth, no one was left alive to confirm this. Her mother was killed by the ritual, and the sealer murder by a ravenous Shukaku. The person entrusted to watch Gaara, Yashamaru, knew that the Kazekage would not care, and so never reported anything to the contrary. By the age of five, Gaara was completely autonomous, and Shukaku's screams took enough of her attention. She simply wrote it off as irrelevant. Who cared if the weapon of Suna was a boy or a girl?

However, now that Gaara was free of the monster inside of her, in became apparent that she was indeed, a woman. Her voice was no longer changed by Shukaku's influence, resulting in a voice slightly softer than Temari's. She allowed her hair to grow to shoulder length, the wild crimson locks covering her tattoo, and giving her a feral, destructive appearance. She had gone without makeup for her entire life, and was reluctant to start now. Temari finally managed to get her to paint her nails, after months of arguing and pleading.

At least now, Temari knew what had happened to her extra tampons. She had always blamed that on Kankuro. She would have to apologize to him later.

She had to admit, a normal Gaara was a nice change from the original. It was even better than when the Uzumaki brat had beaten Gaara, giving her a semblance of sanity. With Shukaku no longer gnawing at her mind, Gaara could relax. Temari was stunned when she saw Gaara not only smiling, but laughing!

Another surprise was Gaara's laziness. Having been awake for her entire life, Gaara enjoyed napping the majority of the time, spending between sixteen and twenty hours a day snoozing, leaving Kankuro to manage the endless paperwork.

Despite the changes, Gaara was still Gaara. She remained stoic whenever he was awake, except in those rare instances when she was caught off guard. Her control over sand remained, and she was not above bullying those who opposed her with threats of a swift death. Her dedication to being Kazekage remained the same, though with one minor change.

Whenever Naruto was mentioned, Gaara blushed.

It took time for Temari to put the pieces together, but once she did, it had the subtlety of an oncoming train.

Gaara was in love with Naruto. Naruto was the first person who actually seemed to care about her. Risking his life not once, but twice, bringing her back to sanity, and life. His desire to be Hokage was emulated by Gaara, resulting in her current political state.

Naruto had saved Gaara, and she loved him for that. Totally and unconditionally.

This resulted in good natured teasing from her older sister, as well as some dating advice, should she ever get the nerve to actually make a move.

Her opportunity came two years later. Naruto was making a bid for the position of Rokudaime Hokage, but needed some extra political push to persuade the Council. Leaving her siblings to run Suna, Gaara departed to Konoha, to give her love a chance at his dreams.

--- --- --- --- ---

"Baa-chan! Can't you do anything???"

"I told you already brat! The Council as well as the current Hokage need to support the nomination of a new Hokage. The problem is, Danzo is calling in every favor he's owed to block you! At this rate, the only option is marriage to a high level official, for the political clout!"

"Tsunade-chan, will you marry me?"

"NOT ME YOU MORON!!!!" With an enraged shout, the Godaime sent Naruto flying out the window, landing roughly on the street below.

"Damn it! How am I going to be Hokage if I don't have a wife?!?" Naruto complained. As far as he knew, he didn't have any real options.

Sakura, besides not loving him, was from a civilian family.

Hanabi hated him.

Hinata was married to Shino.

Tenten didn't have the power.

Kurenai had her own issues.

Hana's brother would kill him, if she didn't.

Anko… well, best not to go there…

As far as he knew, Naruto was stuck, unless he managed to woo the Fire Daimyo's daughter or something. His sudden scheming was interrupted, however, by Gaara's arrival.

"Naruto." The proximity of Gaara's voice surprised Naruto, causing him to leap away.

"Gaara! What are you doing here?" he asked, trying to calm his rapid heartbeat. He may have beaten Gaara before, but a rematch was not something he would enjoy. So preoccupied with hi concerns, Naruto failed to notice the changes his friend had undergone.

"I heard you were finally attempting to become Hokage. I thought I should see how that was progressing."

Naruto sighed, "Baa-chan can explain it better than I can. I'll take you to her…"

--- --- --- --- ---

After a lengthy explanation about what the problem was, Gaara suppressed a smirk.

"You know, there's an easy way to solve this."

"Really? What is it?" Naruto asked, visibly bouncing in excitement.

"I'll marry Naruto."

--- --- --- ---

Crazy? Yes. Funny? Hell yes. Could stay as a one shot, but I might cook up some more for this story. Occasionally, I'll write more for it, but I'm not taking this fic too seriously. I could taunt you with what might happen, but I'll refrain for now.

Hope you liked it, because I certainly enjoyed writing it.