Chapter 2

"Send Kankuro instead."Gaara stood silently watching his sister work. Temari had finished cleaning and oiling her fan and was adjusting it into its holster. Finishing with its buckles she sat down to finish her speech about how she didn't want to go but was interrupted.

"It's not for very long, Temari. You'll have to return to take a team back to Konoha to help with the rebuild. Once we see the damage, we can decide which nin are the best to send. Besides, I thought that you would want to see him." The 'him' apparently could not mentioned by name.

"And you are the only other option as we are still paying on the last time we sent Kankuro to Konoha." Gaara sighed and closed his eyes, "Honestly, you would think he would be able to laugh off the puppet sex jokes by now instead of laying waste to an entire bar." Usually her brother's attempt at humor at least made her smile, but Temari's attention was on some invisible spot on the wall.

"It's not that I don't want to see him, Gaara. When we heard about Konoha's devastation my first thoughts were to make sure he wasn't in the killed in action lists. The thought that he might be gone..." She trailed off as her mind struggled with the idea of Shikamaru no longer meeting her at the gates of Konoha, playing Shogi with her or sharing her bed and body.

"But he couldn't even be bothered to send me a letter letting me know he was ok or how our friends were. I had to find out from the documents sent by the Hokage." Her gaze dropped to the floor as her voice broke. "Maybe its time to let him go. To let him be with someone from his own village, that way he won't have to be bothered with a letter..."

Gaara moved to kneel in front of his sister, reaching out to gently raise her face to his. Speaking softly his gaze held hers, "I know that neither of you have made a commitment to the other. But I also know that there has been no one else for either of you. Since the Chunnin Exams the two of you have chased each other. You would be quite angry if he made a decision with out you which is why you are going to Konoha to sort things out not only for Suna but for you as well."

He paused before shrugging, "Well that and Kankuro can't take any more abuse anytime someone mentions leaves, shadows or pineapples." Finished with his speech Gaara moved to leave, but as he walked through the door it promptly slammed behind him. Satisfied with herself, Temari re-adjusted her fan and sat back down.

"Temari..." Gaara's icy voice brought her attention to the door. Temari paled as she realised her tantrum had caught his Kage mantel in the door.

"oh shit," she thought as sand slid under the door, "to Konoha it is."