A/N: It has been a LONG time since I updated this fic. Since it's #TemariWeek2018 on Tumblr, I figured I'd put all of the one-shots that I post on there onto here as well.

The URL for my Naruto blog is naru-toad

Day 1 | Growth

She loved to dance.

With music, or without. In the living room, in the bedroom, while walking down the street. By herself, or with her little brothers.

One day, while she was practicing at home, an unexpected guest joined her.

Gaara, wearing one of their mother's old kimonos, toddled into her room. He attempted to join her dancing, to the best of his ability. His three-year-old lips tried to sing to the music she was playing. He kept falling down, unable to move like she could, but he always got back up.

His smile, his earnestness, stayed with Temari for years.

It was a beautiful moment, one of the few Gaara experienced in his childhood. Which meant, of course, that it was interrupted by their father, who was less than pleased.

She stopped dancing.

Temari didn't have that kind of time. She needed to train, even harder than her brothers. She had to keep an eye on Gaara. She had a lot of things that she needed to do, as the oldest.

And dancing was silly, anyway.

She's not sure if her brothers even remember that day - their joyous dance party. Their childhood seemed like forever ago, and yet they were still children. That was life, Temari figured.

She couldn't stay lost in those thoughts for long. She and her brothers were due to head out for Konoha later that afternoon. The time for the Chunin Exams had finally rolled around, and this time they were participants. Participants…with an important role.

Konoha wouldn't stand a chance.

She couldn't remember why she liked to dance.

A lot of things seemed childish now. Since the war, Temari's past seemed further away than ever. Many of her old interests seemed futile. What mattered now was protecting the peace, and making sure that her brothers were alright.

She needed to make sure they made it out of this war alright.

She blinked. There wasn't a war anymore, or any in the near future. For the time being, they were safe. Right now, she needed to try an enjoy the wedding reception. She had to admit, Naruto's smile was contagious.

The sound of a throat clearing pulled her out of her drifting thoughts. She looked in front of her. When had Shikamaru walked up?

"Do you wanna… I don't know, go dance or something?" He asked. It was a nice gesture, but…

"No, not really. But thank you." She told him. Since he went out on a limb, she figured she would as well. Temari grabbed his hand and sat him down next to her, never letting go.

Dancing came back to her.

With music, or without. In the living room, in the bedroom, while walking down the street. By herself, or with her little one.

Today - it was in the kitchen. He was finishing eating his cereal and started singing along with the song on the radio. Then he started wiggling in his seat. Without much thought, Temari dried off the dish she was washing, as well as her hands, and helped him down from his chair.

He didn't fight against it. They started wiggling, jumping, and twirling around the kitchen. It was the freedom - that was what she had liked about dancing so long ago.

And just as she nurtured his growth, Shikadai did the same for her.