When she goes back to Leaf it isn't to deliver a message from Gaara or for a mission. She goes to visit the lazy boy. She doesn't tell her brother and sneaks off into the night to see him.

She hasn't told them about her and Shikamaru yet. She's trying to find the right time and sighs loudly to herself as she reaches the village gates.

She bites the inside of her cheek as he greets her. He frowns and asks, "Hey, what's wrong?"

She blinks and looks at him, "Nothing."

He sighs and looks away from. He stretches his arms and yawns loudly, "Whatever."

She narrows her eyes and snaps at him, "Don't whatever me."

He smirks a bit and snickers, "Whatever."

She crosses her arms at him and glares at him.

He laughs, "Heh. You know Temari, it took me a while to realize this but, you're cute when you get all angry."

"Shut up, idiot."

He laughs more and smiles, "Don't be like, trouble."

She glares daggers at him and raises a brow, "Be like what?"

He's only shrugging and looks up at the sky, "What did I do now, troublesome woman?"

She rolls her eyes and rests a hand on her hip, "You're the one who's lying. I'm not cute."

He yawns in response and goes back to smirking when he's done, "Yeah your right. You're adorable. Is that better?"

"Shikamaru."

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

He smirks, "What's wrong, trouble?"

Her face felt hot and a blush of crimson was on her face. She looks away from him and scowls. He laughs a bit and gets close to her. He grabs her hand and pulls her into the village. She smiles as he drags her through the Leaf village.

What happens next is kinda a blur. They went out to a restaurant to eat and afterward they were walking outside through the village streets.

Night came and the lazy boy yawns, "It's late. I should walk you to where you're staying."

She smiles at him, "Well, aren't you the gentlemen."

He shrugs and lazily smirks at her, "I try."

When they arrive at the hotel that she's staying at, and when he walks to her to her room. He kisses her on the lips.

She kisses him and he kisses her some more. That kiss led to another and another one. She asked him if he wanted to spend the night, he said yes and kissed her. What happened next was a blur.

She's asleep now and she stirs in her sleep. Her tossing and turning wake the lazy boy up and he notices her tossing and turning. He pulls her into a hug and keeps her close as he closes his eyes and goes back to sleep.

She mutters something in her sleep and he only hugs her tighter and closes his eyes as he falls back to sleep.

A simple hug isn't going to help her out of this nightmare. She's having that dream again. She still has the memory of Gaara sealed in her mind. The day when her brother almost ended her life.

In her dream, everything feels so real. And when Gaara's sand grabs her body she wants to scream.

The sand's hold on her body gets tighter and the sand feels so heavy. She screams out her brother's name in hopes to free him from Shukaku's will.

A sentence utters from her mouth, something she thought she would never have to say in her life, "Gaara stop. You're going to kill me."

Her brother only smirks. Fully under Shukaku's control now. "Good."

She shouts, trying to get him back from the demon, "Gaara."

"He's gone. I've taken over now."

What happens next isn't reality. Her screams knocked Gaara back into his senses and the crushing weight of the sand went away. She wasn't being buried alive and the sand's tight grip wasn't at her neck choking her.

She feels the weight of the crushing sand and she is unable to breathe. Her eyes open and she is still being held tightly by Shikamaru's arms.

She screams, unaware that she was not dreaming anymore. She pushes him off of her with great force and shouts, "Get off of me."

Her eyes widen as she hears a loud thud and a groan of pain. She sits up on the bed and sees the lazy boy now laying on the floor.

He sits up a bit and rubs his head in pain. He looks at her with a scowl on his face. "Temari, what the-"

She looks away and starts to cry, "I'm sorry."

He sits on the bed and frowns. He looks at her and puts a hand on her cheek and turns her head to face him. She tries to push him away, but he only pulls her into a tight hug.

She buries her head in his chest and just doesn't say a word. She just cries.

He hugs her tighter in response and runs a hand through her hair. He kisses her head and mutters something barely audible. She doesn't know for sure what he says, but she's pretty sure she heard the words; "I love you" utter from his mouth. That only wants to make her cry even more.

She is harsh and coarse like sand and he is the opposite. She doesn't feel worthy of his love. The way that he isn't angry at her for pushing him off the bed. He's only hugging her and not saying anything as she is crying her eyes out.

She soon stops crying and pulls from the hug. She looks at him says, "Gaara tried killing me once."

He doesn't say anything and just looks at her.

She resumes as she sniffles and wipes her eyes, "We were sparing and Shukaku took over."

He nods.

"The only thing that saved me from death was me screaming at him to stop."

He gulps.

Her voice softens and she pales, "I still have nightmares of that day."

He hugs her and mutters, "But those days are over. You don't have to be afraid anymore Temari."

"And why is that?"

He answers, "Because I'm here."

She is frozen by his words.

"Don't be trapped in the past. Just focus on the future."

She mutters and buries her head in his chest, "That's easier said than done."

"Well, you don't have to be afraid anymore. I'm here to protect you and I don't plan on leaving you."

She only turns her head and she hears his heart beating. She is staring off into space.

He yawns loudly and he closes his eyes. Moments passed and she hears him snoring softly. She only blinks, afraid to fall back to sleep.

So far in her life, he's the only one that was never afraid of her. And he's the only she has ever opened up too. Told him about her childhood a bit and about Gaara when they were young. Like she trusts him like she feels happy with him like she feels safe with him, and like she feels loved. Maybe she loves him too.

She turns her head and adjusts her body as she's staring at the ceiling. She blinks, as she wonders what she did in life to deserve someone like him in her life.

She hasn't slept since that day. When the time comes and when her brothers are asleep she goes to the top of the mansion and looks up at the sky. Stars are prettier to look at the clouds.

As night comes and her brothers go off to bed. She does what she's been doing for the past couple of weeks. Go to her and wait for when her brothers are asleep and then goes to the top of the mansion and looks at the night sky.

As she opens the door to her room and closes it behind her, she is greeted by Gaara and Kankuro. Kankuro sits on her bed fanning himself with one of her miniature fans and Gaara is standing and staring at her with his arms crossed.

Pale green staring into teal. He speaks first, "We aren't idiots Temari. You can't hide from us."

"I'm not hiding anything."

Kankuro stands from her bed still fanning himself, "Those bags under your eyes are getting worse then Gaara's."

She glares at him.

Gaara only shakes his head and sighs, "We know about you and Shikamaru and the fact that you aren't sleeping."

Kankuro nods, "We don't really care what you do with shadow boy, but you not sleeping is kinda a big deal."

She scowls at glares at Gaara, "You're one to talk. You went you all life without sleeping."

Gaara only looks at her. His tone is calm and his stare is intense, "I didn't really have a choice in the matter, but you do."

She looks away and mutters, "I can't sleep. Guess insomnia runs in the family."

Kankuro snickers, "Then I must be adopted, 'because I love sleeping."

Gaara glares at him, "Now isn't the time to joke."

She snaps at the both of them, "Get out of my room."

Gaara gets closer to her and reaches out a hand to her. Her eyes widen and she backs up. She shouts, "Get away from me."

He gets closer to and reaches out to hug her. He mutters, "Temari."

Her back hits the door. She winces and cowers in fear, "Don't touch me."

He stops and looks at her. He then looks down at the ground and sighs, "I'm not that Gaara anymore. I've changed."

She looks down at the ground again too, not saying anything.

Gaara looks up from the ground and walks closer to her and pulls her into a hug. Kankuro gets closer to them too and hugs them Temari too.

She sighs in annoyance, "What are you doing?"

Kankuro grins, "Hugging you like how you and I used to hug Gaara when we were kids."

Gaara nods along to his words, "You spent so much time reminding me of how much you two loved me. It's time I remind you how much I love you."

As she is being hugged by her brothers she yawns loudly. She mutters against her breath, "I'm tired."

Kankuro snorts and laughs a bit at her words. He grins, "See look, you even sound like him too."

She sighs, "Shut up."

Gaara sighs in response to her words, "Then go to sleep. You're the only one stopping yourself."

She sighs, "I'm too afraid too."

Kankuro gulps, "Well you don't need to be afraid anymore. We're here for you, Temari. So you don't have to afraid anymore."

Gaara hugs her tighter and mutters, "It's our turn to protect you."

Kankuro nods, "Yeah, just because you're our older sister doesn't mean you get to have all the fun. We'll keep you safe now."

She doesn't say as she closes her eyes as her brothers hug her. She blinks several times as she feels her eyes grow heavy. She then closes them and doesn't open them back up. Moments passed and slumber took her.

She's dreaming a much more pleasant dream. She and her brothers are children and they are sitting in the living room. Gaara is on the floor playing with his sand, Kankuro with her puppets, and she is sitting on the couch in between her parents.

Her parents look at her and smile. They look happy, something she has never seen in her life. Her brother stands up and sits on the couch her wither her. Their parents laugh and hug the three.

In her dream, they look like a family. A loving family. Something she wished she had. She opens her eyes and she notices that she's laying on her bed now.

She stretches a bit and blinks open her eyes as she stares at the ceiling. She then decides from the moment onward. If she ever has kids then she's going to have kids then she is going to be the opposite of her parents. She'll make sure that her kids are loved. Something that she never had growing up.