I'm not exactly sure why I wrote this. The idea just came to me.
Labors of Love
It was an unwritten rule that Temari did the laundry for the Sand Siblings. The reason it was unwritten is because Kankuro would scoff at the idea of not being able to do laundry and Gaara had enough on his plate. That, and Temari didn't want either of them near large machinery that didn't come with step-by-step instructions.
So it was Temari who sorted out large piles of socks, identifying the owner by the, "G," "T," or, "K," embroidered onto the soles. It was Temari who turned down date after date because the amount of clothing the boys turned out during their training sessions would keep her awake later than Gaara if she didn't get it done at exactly 3 o' clock.
And she was not limited to laundry. Doing her 3 hours of training by moonlight, Temari cooked for both of them, cleaned the entire house and did grocery shopping. The vibrations of the various machines harmonized with her as she dutifully and lovingly cleaned the entire house. Like a seasoned musician with their instrument, Temari purged the house of dirt, grime and bad scents.
In many senses, housework was like training; It took practice, effort, strength and a lot of time. At first, the process had taken a total of three hours and Temari was exhausted by the end. The first week after getting back from the Leaf Village, she had it down to an hour and 45 minutes. Presently, she was at an hour and a half and strived for better.
Even though she spent at least four and a half hours away from her brothers, it was Temari who had the deepest connection with either of them.
Kankuro may train with Gaara, but he hadn't explained the facts of life to him when Gaara began getting acne, which Temari took care of in a matter of minutes. Kankuro hadn't seen the smile of comfort when Gaara changed into a warm pair of pajamas. Temari was the only one who had seen the wrinkled, torn and, in some cases, bloody clothes, bed sheets and carpets that came out of every mental beating of the Shukaku.
That wasn't to say that Temari didn't have a strong bond with Kankuro. Who else could get the face paint out of his clothing when he spilled it? How many other people could wash a hat like that without making it lose it's shape? Just who else would willingly go into Kankuro's room and touch the sweaty training uniforms so that the air in the room wouldn't kill the puppet master when he slept?
She contemplated these thoughts as she folded T-shirts, sweat pants, pajama pants, jeans and all sorts of other clothing articles. After the pile in front of her had been decimated, she brought two piles upstairs. One she set in front of Kankuro's closed door, the other she brought into Gaara's open door, where the Kazekage sat on his bed, reading a book.
"Gaara, I've got your clothes."
The real question came to Temari then. Why didn't she just teach her brothers how to use the cleaning supplies and make them take her jobs? Was it too troublesome to teach? Did she not trust them?
Gaara's pale green eyes flickered up to his sister as she set the still-warm clothing at the foot of his bed. He immediately removed his sweat-ridden workout shirt, tossed it into the hamper and put on an oversized sweatshirt. "Thank you, Temari."
No, Temari did these things out of love for her brothers.