[Howdy! This took awhile to jam out, but it's a nice long chapter. Expect things to start going in a better direction now that Temari and Kankuro have realized what's going on. :) I know it's gotten quite dramatic. In coming chapters, this story will earn the rating I gave it.

-LovelyWrath]


Temari clicked the door open and slid inside her home, which was quiet, and dark, save for the flickering living room lamp lights. Kicking off her sandals, she wandered toward the light at the end of the hall to find Gaara comfortably stationed in an , a report booklet in one hand, and a half-empty glass of sweet wine in the other. He swirled the liquid around and greeted Temari without even looking up at her.

"Good evening, Temari."

Temari moved to stand before him and tried to stay calm. Instead, she stomped her foot and flailed her arms, "What the heck is going on around here?" She demanded.

Gaara merely peered up from his booklet and eyed her silently. It was all Temari could do not to explode. She took a deep breath and let it all out.

"I leave for a few days, and I come back to some strange chaos! I didn't even get a few steps into the gates before some woman threw herself at me wailing about her marriage papers being denied. And she's not the only one! You denied several unions and contracts over the past several days. I thought something had gone wrong and that I'd find you at the main office, but you weren't there. And the late receptionist told me that the offices had been a madhouse, and that you turned most of the visitors away, again, without reason." Temari's palms were upon her cheeks as she shook her head, "You're my Kazekage, Gaara, but you're also my brother, and everything you do directly affects me. I have to do damage control, constantly. Do you have any idea how horrible it was to be at market square by that woman and her crowd of supporters?"

Gaara frowned, but said nothing. Instead, he took a generous sip of his wine.

Temari felt deflated, "I don't know what has happened, but we'll have to fix it first thing in the morning." He inclined his head in a half-nod and Temari sighed turning to make her way to the kitchen, determined to have herself a glass of that sweet wine to calm her nerves.

"I need a drink.. tell me there's more wine." She said as she slipped into the kitchen.

"On the counter." Gaara replied, reaching up to rub his own temple as soon as Temari was out of sight. It had been a long few days. He'd been driven to distraction, all on his own. He despised himself for lacking control when it came to the pink-haired shinobi. He couldn't keep her off of his mind, and if he didn't stay away from her, he wouldn't be able to keep his hands off of her.

It had already been a rough week. It didn't help that there was an excess of paperwork demanding his attention, and more appointments than he could stand. He found marriage contracts particularly annoying, for reasons that he refused to think about.

He didn't care to see anyone at the office, not even his brother. Especially Kankuro, who always seemed extatic to deliver tidbits of information about Sakura to him. Kankuro was often too-detailed, his perverse side coming out as he rattled on about how talking to the 'smokin' hot' Sakura was one of the brighter points of his otherwise boring routine. Kankuro had playfully dubbed Sakura the Konoha Cutie. Gaara originally thought Kankuro would be best to keep tabs on Sakura and keep her out of sight during the day, to avoid distraction. Gaara had once commended himself on hitting two birds with one stone- Kankuro and Sakura seemed to have natural chemistry, so having Kankuro collect all the details of her reports seemed like a good opportunity. It backfired, because as time went on, Gaara found that he couldn't stand the thought of Kankuro watching over Sakura, and had put his brother on other duties, anything and everything to keep him out of Gaara's office and away from Sakura.

Gaara found himself confused and unable to find solace in his own home while the source of his frustrations was an honored guest, sleeping in a room just next to his own. He'd gone so far as to avoid the house entirely- he hadn't seen his bed in three nights. He figured that it would be in his best interest to make an appearance when both of his siblings were home, or Temari would surely track him down.

Temari served herself a generous glass of wine, noting that the bottle was then emptied. She surmised that Gaara had already had several servings of wine, which was unlike him.

Gaara was pulled from his thoughts as Temari reentered the living room and collapsed onto the armchair across from him, at the other end of the sofa. She propped her feed upon the ottoman and sipped at her wine, peering over at him curiously. She considered poking Gaara for information, but the sound of keys jingling and the front entrance being opened stopped her from continuing with serious conversation.

Gaara knew they had arrived before Temari, as he felt the sands shift around their home. Temari felt the tension rise as a giggling Sakura tripped into the hallway, followed by Kankuro, who chuckled heartily behind her.

"You're not serious! So she ran away from you? Poor guy!" Sakura poked at Kankuro as she slipped her sandals off and he slipped in front of her with the bags of take-out.

"I am serious! There were so many awkward situations like that. Circumstances were never in my favor." He laughed, but the thought of his teenaged years made him a little uneasy. His team, he and his siblings, had always been close. Whenever the opportunity for romance arose, there were always missions. And then there was Gaara, who managed to frighten off every girl in sight back then.

Kankuro rounded the corner into the living room and grinned widely, "There you are! Glad to see the food won't go to waste!" He lifted the bags and slipped into the kitchen to unload the spoils.

"See? I told you!" Sakura was right behind Kankuro, hands on his shoulders until she gave him a playful shove into the kitchen. They parted ways, and Sakura bounced over to the sofa, closest to Temari, and plopped down. "You're back! I missed you, bestie" Sakura admitted in a sing-song way, giving away that she'd had a few drinks of her own.

Temari couldn't help but notice the air of the room change. The tension in the room thickened, despite the jovial nature of the latest arrivals. She glanced to Sakura, and offered the girl a smile, "I missed you too, Sakura."

"I miss my home, too. Tell me how is my mentor? How's my team?" Sakura leaned over to grasp Temari's arm.

Temari could see Gaara's glare from the corner of her eye, directed at Sakura. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her since she arrived. It was easy to tell that he was unhappy about something, and obvious that Sakura was avoiding looking at him altogether. In fact, Sakura seemed to be completely ignoring Temari's youngest sibling. Temari knew very well that Gaara was not one to ignore- it was one of the things that had gotten under his skin even as a teenager.

"Ah, well. The Hokage is well, and she sends her love. Naruto wouldn't stop asking about you, but he seems okay and enjoying tons of ramen." Temari rattled off name-by-name, trying not to blush as she casually mentioned Shikamaru. ".. and og! Sai is. Well, Sai is Sai. He didn't say much, but he seemed just fine." Temari nodded sagely, and Sakura slumped in her seat a bit.

"Hey!" Kankuro called from the kitchen before appearing in the doorway between the two rooms, only to lean lazily against the door frame. "You guys drank all the wine! What gives? Sure smells good. I want some." He pouted.

Sakura snickered, "You've had your share of drinks, anyhow. You were cut off, remember? Couldn't handle more..."

Kankuro seemed offended, "I was not! And I wasn't done."

"So what, then? Drink yourself into a coma mid-week? And you still wouldn't have won in a contest against me. Bonus! It would be my responsibility to take care of you after you were hospitalized from the failed attempt."

"Well, that actually doesn't sound so bad." Kankuro joked, and wiggled his eyebrows. "Actually, it might give you something important to do around the hospital."

Temari was speechless as she glanced back and forth between Kankuro and Sakura. Their drunken exchange was entering the realm of flirtation, and it netted an alarming reaction from Gaara.

"Let me be sure I have this right..." Gaara started, his voice dripping with disgust. The room went silent as Gaara turned his darkened gaze to Kankuro. "You ditched your missions, ignored your orders, and failed to show up at the office to sign out.. and all for a date?" He was sure to heavily emphasize the last word.

Both Temari and Sakura bolted upright in their seats, their voices ringing out, "A date?!" Their harmonious response was followed by the no-less incredulous, "What?!" from Kankuro.

Gaara flinched slightly, but continued his glare. That's when it clicked for Temari. Gaara displayed all the classic signs of jealousy, and she felt a little ignorant for not putting it together sooner.

"Woah, okay.. calm down.." Temari felt the need to calm the situation that had escalated, before things got too far out of hand.

"No! I've got this one, sis," Kankuro held up a hand and Temari tried to settle back into her own seat, but she couldn't seem to get comfortable. Kankuro waved the empty bottle of wine in the opposite hand, "Missions?! Since when am I the mail courier of Suna? I spent the entire day delivering tax forms and receipts, and fetching minor contract signatures. I even rush delivered and envelope to a merchant that turned out to be a tax receipt for what amounted to loose change. A receipt, Gaara. For change." Kankuro took a deep breath and continued his rant, "I endured the comments of everyone I delivered to today. I also enjoyed being laughed at by the receptionists, advisers, that I passed every time I was turned away from the office with a new set of tasks. It felt like a demotion, to be busied with tasks not even the academy trainees are ever asked to do. It was exhausting. I figured you didn't want me around. After I encountered one of the office couriers who'd been given the day off due to no work being available, I figured that was just it. I'd had enough."

Sakura was speechless. Temari reached over to touch the pink-haired shinobi's arm, only to discover that the girl was shaking with rage and confusion.

Gaara shrugged, "You should have checked out instead of gallivanting around." He turned his gaze to Sakura to regard her quietly. "I do hope you enjoyed yourselves."

Sakura didn't know whether to cry or scream- the situation was quite sobering. The accusation of a date and insinuation that something more was going on between them was infuriating and hurtful at the same time. But what right did he have to even bring that up, when all he seemed to be doing was playing games, himself? He was kind to her, then cold. He kissed her, then vanished for days on end. Then suddenly he shows up, only to be angry at his brother for treating her to dinner and seeing to her well-being?

"What's wrong with you?" Sakura felt the soft words slide from between her lips. She felt the hot tears begin to flow down her cheeks, but she glared at him nonetheless.

Temari looked from her friend to her youngest brother, then back again. Kankuro watched as well. Gaara's expression softened a degree, but he continued to glare directly at Sakura, who glared back, refusing to lose the staring contest.

Temari stood and pulled Sakura to her feet. "That's enough. It's time to turn in." Temari slid her arm around Sakura and guided her from the room, while the staring contest continued until Sakura was forced upstairs.

Kankuro watched his sister exit with Sakura, then turned his gaze upon his younger brother, who suddenly appeared deflated. "I get it, you know. But I really wish you'd get your shit together, little brother."

Kankuro waited until the girls had vanished up the stairs before ascending to his own room. Gaara sat in silence and finished his wine off, finished his reading, and turned in. Except he wouldn't find a bit of sleep in his own bed, tossing and turning the night through, with the image of Sakura crying plastered at the front of his mind.