XI. Boring But Good
A/N: Takes place after the Matsuri/Artisans arc
It had been almost a year since the two girls had reunited with Gaara. He was doing very well, all things considered.
It was Hayley's second time visiting him since their reunion; Harley's third. Temari and Kankuro were slowly getting to know them too. The five of them were in the greenhouse that afternoon, where Gaara was showing off his new hobby.
"This one is a saguaro," he said, holding up a pot and carefully going over the details of the cactus. His siblings found the whole thing painfully boring, but were happy that their brother found something to do that was therapeutic and not... destructive.
Temari liked flowers, so she could kind of see the appeal.
"These typically grow too large to be contained in pots," he went on. "So they eventually have to be moved outdoors and planted into the ground."
"It's so pretty!" Harley said. "I love it. We never see cacti back home. I never knew there were so many different kinds."
"So how does one begin the process of growing a cactus?" Hayley asked.
The young jinchuriki began explaining the steps in detail while Harley went back over to the other two to grab some water.
"Hey," Kankuro whispered to her. "It's nice of you and your sister to act interested, but just know that you really don't have to. He won't be offended or anything."
"Act interested? What do you mean? I think it's a cool hobby."
"You… do?"
"Maybe Hayley's acting a little, as she's never been into this stuff, but it's not a bother. And besides… look how happy he is."
She turned her head and gave Gaara the biggest smile. When he set his plant down and looked at her, his eyes glowed the most brilliant color. It was then that Temari and Kankuro knew they loved each other. They wouldn't bring it up for a few years, but they knew.
By the time he became Kazekage, they knew that if there was anyone worthy of dating their little brother, it was her.