Haha, I had planned on having this up this morning, but I had to go out with my brother's fiance to try on wedding dresses so I was pretty much gone all day. So, sorry for the delay and enjoy!

...

You walk down the hall and into the kitchen where you see Temari at the counter, a pancake mix box in hand, and a look of deep contemplation on her face.

"So three of, that... and how many of those? That doesn't sound right. Should I change it?" You heard her muttering to herself as you walk over towards her.

"Temari-san. Temari?" You say, trying to get her attention. She snaps out of it and looks over at you, surprised at your 'sudden' appearance.

"Hey what're you- wow, you look great!" She cut across her own thoughts when she saw you, all clean and wearing the light purple kimono. "You look better in that than I used to." She sighed and started examining the box again. You look from her to the box and back again.

"Um..." She looked over at you again.

"Uh, well I could... y'know," you say, pointing to the box. Temari's eyes got wide.

"Really? Oh my god, thank you," she said holding the box out with a bowed head. "I stink at cooking and every day I have to listen to Kankuro complain about it." She had a very annoyed look on her face and she cracked her knuckles just thinking about it. You give a slight laugh.

"Well I'm a pretty good cook, so I don't mind," you say, beginning the process. Most everything was already out on the counter so you start measuring and adding all the ingredients together in a large bowl. You take a big spoon and start to mix everything up with surprising speed. (Ever tried to do that by hand? It sucks) Temari stared at you for a few seconds before speaking up again.

"Oh I just remembered, you can go ahead and keep those clothes," she said. You pause and look over at her.

"Temari-san, I can't-," you start but she cut across you with a slightly embarrassed look on her face.

"It's the least I can do."

You lift an eyebrow at her.

"Your clothes... they, they were so worn that they just fell apart when I tried to wash them!" she said trying to sound apologetic and still get across that it wasn't her fault. "Don't even worry about the clothes, I outgrew them a while ago so they were just sitting in my closet." You sigh.

"Arigato," you say and resume mixing everything together. Well, you supposed that the kimono was comfortable... even though it was a dress. I've never liked the idea of dresses though... you think to yourself as you start to pour the batter onto the hot skillet. Just the possibility, one gust of wind y'know... or a trip and fall, or you forget to cross your legs when your sitting... You shake your head and flip the golden pancakes over. Perfect so far. But there were just too many possibilities for flashing your underwear in a dress. That's why you had never worn one before and missed your pants dearly. At least it's not that short... Flip, and the first three pancakes are done. You dish them onto a holding plate on the counter before picking up the bowl again and pouring three more pancakes-to-be in the skillet.

"Wow, you're fast. And you're not burning them at all, or making a mess..." You look over and see a depressed look on her face.

"Uh, isn't that a good thing?" you ask, completing the next batch. She looked a little surprised before rubbing the back of her neck.

"Ah, it is. Of course it is! I'm glad, because I wont have to put up with Kankuro's complaining for once," she finished with a grin. But as if one cue, a voice drifted down the hall to their ears.

"Hey, that smells good. You're ordering out for breakfast too now?" Temari's face was priceless. She stomped down the hall and out of sight cracking those knuckles of hers. You smile and flip more pancakes onto the plate.

"What was that?" you hear Temari's voice yell followed by the very distinct sound of fist hitting head.

"Hey, what was that for?!" Kankuro's voice demanded back, rich with a whine. You hear footsteps as they begin to make their way to the kitchen.

"Man Temari, I just wanted to know what you'd ordered. It's not like I said you suck at cook-" Wham. Temari's fist came down on his head again. You let out a small laugh that catches his attention. When he spies you he freezes and looks you up and down with a grin.

"Kyo, is that you?" he asked, walking over to a counter near you.

"Ohaiyo Kankuro-san," you reply. "Go ahead and grab some, I'm almost done." He took a plate from a cabinet and put a few of the hot cakes on it and sitting at the table across from Temari.

"So how'd Temari get you to do all this huh?" he asked. You could feel the glare that Temari was sending his way without even looking.

"I offered to," you say and looked over your shoulder at him. You were a bit surprised to see that he was without makeup or kitty hat. You could see the similarities between him and Gaara now. They were definitely related.

"Well whatever the reason, you make an awfully cute cook in that outfit," he said, grinning at you.

Then again, looks don't account for everything, you think, tempted to heft the skillet down onto his head, but Temari had you covered.

"Hey you perv, quit being a lecher on our guest!"

"Hai hai hai," he grumbled, rubbing his sore head.

Flipping the stove off and putting everything away you finally grab yourself a few pancakes and sit down. You reach for the syrup and give your cakes a good dose before taking a bite. Delicious.

"Man, these are really good," Kankuro commented in between bites. You notice that he's really chowing down. "Oi Temari, how come you can't make them like this?" You laughed to yourself, watching the two go at it. I suppose they're like this all the time... is that what it's like having siblings? That thought made you realize something.

"Where's Gaara-san?" you asked the two of them. The bickering temporarily stopped.

"He's at the Tower no doubt. Since he doesn't sleep he works through the night a lot and sometimes doesn't come home for days," Temari said in an exasperated tone. You narrow your gaze at her curiously. Gaara doesn't sleep? That explains why he was up on the roof last night... but I wonder why... You don't say anything on the subject, sensing a slight tension between the two after Temari's words.

When you were done eating Temari made Kankuro do the dishes who begrudgingly complied. You could hear him grumbling a few things to himself as he scrubbed the dishes one by one. You stood and sighed. It was time for you to leave. You turned to Temari but she was too quick for you.

"Hey how would you like to go shopping with me? I'll go ahead and buy you another outfit since I ruined yours. Please, I'd really like to," she said, stopping you in your tracks. Man, what was with her timing? It almost seemed like she was trying to get you to stay, but you weren't that suspicious yet. You look at her face and wage an internal battle. On one hand you had no idea when the ANBU would track you to Suna and you were getting more restless, but on the other hand, these people had saved your life, and were being so friendly to you. It had been so long since you had had interaction with other people other than your fights for your life with the hunters. You couldn't help feeling a little deprived.

Tonight. I'll leave tonight... you think. You nod to Temari and she grins wide.

When Temari had said shopping, she hadn't just meant for the clothes for you. She meant shopping. Now, you were a girl, you weren't against looking feminine or anything like that, but you didn't consider yourself 'girly'. And getting all excited trying on clothes was just a little too girly for you.

Back when you had been living the life of an Amegakure shinobi, the only clothes you owned were your ninja clothes, vest, and a pair of PJs. It's not like you had any dates or anything... you think grumpily, recalling life among normal people. After your mother's death you had moved into an academy dorm where you made a few friends, but none close enough to trust with your secret. Because of your smart mouth you had not been popular with the guys (or some of the teachers for that matter). But you had held your own. Unfortunately, the knowledge that you were one of the top students gave you little comfort when your roommates were busy getting ready for, or talking excitedly after going out with guys.

You started to feel frustration building up in your stomach as you stood by a rack of dresses that Temari was looking through.

"Man, it feels like I haven't been out in forever. I guess that's what happens when you're stuck living with your two brothers. Gaara at least isn't messy. Kankuro's the problem there," she chatted with you. "You wouldn't believe the messes he can, hey! Try this on!" My, how she can switch gears... She was holding out a long formal kimono to you.

"Temari, what would I," you start to protest.

"Oh, just for fun," she said, pushing you towards the dressing room that the two of you had been using. "Let me know if you need help with the obi." You pulled the garment off the hanger and over your shoulders and around yourself, tying the sash good enough. You open the door and Temari gaped at you.

"What?"

"Didn't you look in the mirror?" she asked, marching up to you and turning you towards the full length mirror that was inside the dressing room. "See?" You looked at yourself and was pleasantly surprised.

"It does look good doesn't it?" you say, turning a bit and adjusting the sleeves. "It is fun to try on, but what would I need a kimono for?" You sigh, but Temari got a mischievous smile on her face.

"Well, the annual Sand Festival is coming up next week," she said. "You're welcome to stay you know." You nod and look away from her. "I'm sorry, I know I'm being unfair." She shook her head. "It's just nice having another woman around. And I think that we could be good friends." You looked at her in the mirror and gave a sad smile.

"I'd like for us to be friends too Temari, but I don't know how much time I can spend here," you tell her. She sighed a little.

"Well it's you de- is that what time it is?!" she interrupted herself, seeing the clock. It read 3:37

"I need to get going," she said with a slightly panicked face. She ran over to the counter and put some money down on the counter. "We got these and those, I'll be back for them later. Sorry to run like this Kyo-chan, but it's important. Don't worry, I'll see you back at the house right?"

"Uh, yeah," you manage to say before she is out the door and off at ninja speed. You change back into your short light purple kimono and make your way over to the counter where the shopkeeper is ringing up purchases and counting money.

"That Temari-san has always been energetic. But she left too much money. Could you take this back to her? I'll be holding her purchases in the back alright?" You nod as the woman hands you a surprising amount. Whoa, what had Temari left on the counter? She had bought new clothes for herself, but had also bought you not one but two new outfits at her insistence. Temari had not been able to convince you to let her get more, saying one spare outfit was perfect for the road. But the money in your hand gave you an idea. You had been trying to think of something nice you could do for the Suna siblings for everything that they had done for you. So far, unsuccessfully, but now it was so simple. You couldn't believe you just now thought of it.

If they're used to take out and burnt food, they'll flip over my Shinobi stir-fry! You thought back to your academy days when you had always been assigned the menial chores: cooking, cleaning, etc. But that's when you had come up with a dynamite recipe that almost the entire school had gone nuts for. (hence its name)

There was a farmer's market nearby where you could get the things you needed; it wouldn't be that much at all. But you stop two steps out the door. There was the matter of Gaara. Temari had said that he sometimes didn't come home for days on end, so what guarantee would there be that he'd be there for dinner at all? To your left you saw a tower that had to be the one Temari had talked about. But what am I going to do? Just walk up and ask him to come to dinner? That actually sounded simple enough that it just might work. Not giving yourself any more time to debate, you started toward the tower.

Inside sand nin were bustling about, some looking a little frazzled. You were almost run over by a shinobi holding a stack of papers that looked as tall as he was.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" he said as you helped steady the stack. "Um, you really shouldn't be in here you know. Is there something you needed?" You looked at him harshly for a second before realizing that you were no longer wearing your forehead protector and must look like a normal person.

"Well I, was here to see the Kazekage actually," you say, making him almost drop his stack of papers again. "I have a message from his sister Temari-chan." You got the point across that you were not a stranger to the family. "But I'm not sure where to find him, do you know if he's here?" The young shinobi tried to recover.

"H-Hai the Kazekage is in his office u-upstairs. It's on the top floor," he said.

"Thank you, um... do you need help with those?" you asked, eying the teetering stack in his arms. He seemed to debate internally for a bit.

"U-Uh, well I, was going up there... I- are you sure?" he said and you took the top half of the stack.

"Well, lead the way." You couldn't imagine how the shinobi would have made it up the stairs with his full stack. Although you laughed a little to yourself imagining all those papers flying everywhere. (You're so evil, I know :p)

Once on the right floor the shinobi walked to a door and knocked as best he could with a knuckle. A second later it was opened by an older-looking shinobi with red markings on the side of his face and a cloth covering the other side.

"Ah, Kaito-kun. You didn't have to bring all those up yourself," he said kindly.

"Well I had some help from this kind lady here Baki-san. She says she needs to see Kazekage Gaara-sama." The older shinobi gave you a critical look.

"Could you please put those in my office Kaito?" The young shinobi nodded and you put your stack back on his before he walked through the open door.

"Greetings, my name is Baki and I am an adviser to Gaara-sama. Do not think me impolite, but what is your business with the Kazekage?"

"My name is Hanawara Kyo, and I'm a friend of Temari. I had something I wanted to ask him," you say as politely as you can.

"This way," he replied and led you down to the next door on the left. He opened it and stepped inside with you right behind him.

"Gaara-sama, Miss Hanawara Kyo is here to see you," he said and stepped aside, letting you see into the room. It reminded you to his study but was larger and of course had a much better view of the village from its high vantage point. On the other side of the room you spied Gaara standing by one of the windows, turning toward you. You froze.

You didn't know what it was, but the moment you looked at him your breath caught in your throat and your mind went totally blank as to why you had come here in the first place. W-What's going on? you asked yourself. I saw him last night. Yeah, I know he's good looking... ok, he's really good looking. Maybe I didn't get a good look at him because it was dark... Meanwhile you could feel an embarrassed flush spreading on your cheeks as he looked back at you with an expression that mirrored your own.

Gaara's P.O.V.

You were staring at her. She looked... you didn't know what you thought. She just looked so different from the way she had the night before. She was wearing a short kimono that hugged her waist and all her other curves. Her red hair shone in the light and fell over her shoulders and behind her prettily. Her golden eyes were framed by long black eyelashes and her lips were full and parted slightly. Your eyes looked over her, taking in every detail. As your eyes met hers you saw her cheeks start to flush. Is she blushing? you ask yourself. Well, you were staring at her, but you hadn't meant to embarrass her. What had Baki said her surname was?

"Hanawara?"

Your P.O.V.

"Hanawara? You didn't say that last night," Gaara said. This made your face flush more as you saw Baki look at you quickly. Your gaze flicked to the floor nervously and you clasped your hands behind your back.

"Well I, was a little tired. Gomen," you reply. You saw Baki move out of the corner of your eye to the door. He excused himself and shut the door behind him, leaving you alone with Gaara.

"What did you need?" he asked, and to your relief he turned and walked over to his desk and sat. You took a few steps forward and a few steady breaths.

"Well, I was planning on making dinner tonight, as a way of saying thank you for all the things that you all have done for me," you say, sounding less nervous than you were. He looked up at you. "And well Temari mentioned that you sometimes you don't go home for days at a time, so I uh...," you faltered under his unyielding stare. "I wanted to tell you that dinner will be ready around 7:30. If you wanted to come that is."

"Dinner isn't usually something to look forward to in our house," he said, and you could see a look of recalled dinner disasters on his face. You smile a bit.

"Temari told me you guys order out a lot because of," you paused, "a lack of 'culinary talent' in the house."

"It's... not that bad," he said. Then added, "usually." That got you to laugh which made him look back up at you. You quickly stopped, putting a hand over your mouth.

"Sorry. I didn't mean... um," you stumble around for words. "I-I should get going now. I have to get some groceries before I start dinner." You turned and walked towards the door and was about to turn the handle when you felt a hand on your arm.

"Wait." You hear his voice close behind you. You turn and see him not two feet from you. Damn... you think. You hadn't even heard him move.

"I was almost done with my work for the day, I'll walk with you," he said, surprising you a little. "Is that alright?" he added.

"H-Hai," you replied quickly.

"I will be done in a minute, you can wait for me downstairs." You nodded and made your way out the door.

As soon as it shut you smacked yourself in the head. What the hell is wrong with you?! you demanded. What's with you getting all blush-y and soft-spoken around him? You've been around good looking guys before! You started down the hall toward the stairs. Smack. Smack. SMACK! You rubbed your forehead. That last one had stung a bit. Now there's probably a big red mark on my face now on top of everything! I can't believe myself. You sighed. But, there's something about him that feels... familiar. Comfortable. You didn't know any other way to describe it, but it was there. Both times you had been near him you had felt it.

Back in Gaara's office, as soon as the door had shut behind Kyo, the other door in the room had opened and Baki had walked in. He looked at Gaara standing by the door with an expression he hadn't seen before.

"Gaara-sama, do you mind me asking... are you and Kyo-san...? Are the two of you..." he couldn't seem to get it out.

"Are we what?" Gaara asked, turning to his adviser. He noticed the older man looked a little embarrassed.

"Are the two of you... seeing each other?" he asked. Gaara blinked at him.

"Seeing?"

"Are you dating her?" Baki said, slightly exasperated. Gaara was very surprised. Baki thought that they might be dating? Why would he think that?

"No. Why?" Baki was startled by the sharpness of the question.

"Well, just the way you talked about 'last night' and the way she reacted. Gomen ne, Gaara-sama, it isn't my business either way." Gaara looked back at the door.

"I'm leaving for the day Baki, will you take care of everything?"

"Of course."

"Thank you." Sand swirled around him and he disappeared.

...

Yay! Another chapter done! And there was more Gaara in this one! Oh, Ohaiyo means 'good morning' to all those who don't know. I'm trying to use Japanese terms that most people will know, but if I ever use one that confuses you, don't hesitate to ask.

I put up a pic of the kimono that Temari gave you at .com/stories/8916185/demons-a-gaara-love-story-pt3 It's at the bottom of the page.