Author's Notice:

This chapter is mostly here to move things along and to give an insight on how Gaara is feeling and coping, as well as a view at his and Temari's complicated relationship. That being said, I've never written Temari before so I hope she turned out okay, lol.

I'd rather everyone leave what they know about the actual Naruto timeline at the door? It's going to be alluded to, the changes I've made, but it might be difficult to follow if you expect the other Ninja war to have happened or Sasuke to have been off with Orochimaru the entire time. Yes, Sasuke did defect from Konoha, and was a wanted criminal for a while, but he never went as far as he did in the manga/anime, and that may be explained later(if he and Naruto become key players, or maybe I made a side story of them).

I suppose Lee would be 18 in this story, Gaara is about 17 probably, and everyone else of the original Rookie 9 would be around the same ages. Tsunade is still Hokage, so that gives a little direction to the timeline, though it has been altered to fit my needs. Lee and Gaara probably have been dating less than a year? They live together, and have been intimate a handful of times(as mentioned). I'm trying not to peg down numbers too hard because I'm still fleshing out everything else, so I don't want to accidentally paint myself into a corner.

Anyway, enough talk, if you have questions you can feel free to comment or message me, but a lot of loose ends will be explained in the coming chapters. I'm unsure how long this story will be, but I'm looking forward to writing it. Thank you all for your continued love and support.

"Pressure Point"

'Chapter Two - Responsibilities'

It had been three days since Lee was deployed.

He would be at the border by now, maybe beyond it depending on how quickly he would have pushed his partner. His lover would rendezvous with the Konoha shinobi in the next day, if not already. In the report he had been informed it would have been Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. Two of the strongest in Konoha, which had raised another red flag, and made Gaara rethink the nin he had sent Lee with.

The jounin he had coupled with Lee had been around his age, fresh to the position, though adept in ninjutsu where Lee lacked. Gaara had chosen him because he felt he could fill in the blanks, and he knew the Suna terrain. Now, however, he was thinking he should have sent someone more seasoned.

It was a low grade mission, he had tried to remind himself, and sending a more seasoned jounin would have felt like favoritism.

Besides, if he had met up with Naruto by now, there would have been no one better to have Lee's back. He knew for a fact Naruto would do all he could to keep his friends safe; more so since he knew just how important Lee was to Gaara.

The point was, there was really no reason to worry.

But, he kept worrying, and he slept even less than usual. He'd wake up(when he did sleep) in a panic, and he often visited the places Lee frequented when he was in the village. He went to the training ground, the oasis, his office, and haunted their home when sleep evaded him, but it hardly helped. If anything, it made things worse, it made him realize just how big of a hole Lee left in him by just not being there.

He felt helpless, and he couldn't focus.

Their relationship could still be considered new, but Lee had already infiltrated every corner of Gaara's mind, had left his mark on every place he looked in Suna. There was no escaping him, even when he wasn't there, and it was driving him mad.

Was this what others felt? Was this how Lee was feeling apart from him right now?

Empathy had never been Gaara's strongest trait; he could barely process the few emotions he did express, let alone relate to feelings someone else was expressing. But, he felt maybe, that he and Lee were on the same wavelength finally.

What would happen if-

"Gaara!" Temari had lost her temper, finally, after staring at her blank-faced brother for over ten minutes, dropping his formal title to try and get his attention.

Gaara's mint green eyes focused, flicking up from the page he was blindly staring at to his sister who was angrily standing before his desk. She had entered at least twenty minutes before, she had been talking about something, she had handed him this paper, but he hadn't been listening, and wasn't even reading either. That was apparent when his eyes met hers numbly, "What?"

She knew it was foolish to startle her brother, so had tried to contain herself, but luckily nothing drastic happened from her breach of etiquette. Her eyes narrowed and her lips dropped into a frown, "I'm going to speak to you plainly, as your sister, and not your advisor."

Gaara set the paper down and leaned back in his chair, appearing smaller in the large seat. Mildly he noticed that his sister's blond hair was pulled into a single ponytail and she was wearing a plain cream tunic sashed in the middle by a shock of royal purple. She had minimal makeup on and the sandals she wore were traditional, ornate, which meant she had recently came from a meeting, probably important if she had taken that much care in her appearance. Temari still had her battle fan strapped to her back, despite the 'peace' times she was never without her weapon, much like Gaara and his gourd. He made a gesture for her to continue, though his mind was still occupied, he tried to give her as much attention as he could.

She exhaled, calming herself, trying to figure the best way to breach the subject. Her volatile sibling wouldn't listen to a long winded speech, and trying to appeal to his emotional side would do little more than bother him. Temari knew she had to be direct and to the point(which she was rather good at), "You're acting like a child. Lee isn't the only person who lives in this village, and he's hardly the only person who matters. You took this position to do good, to redeem yourself in the eyes of our people, and they don't need you throwing their safety away over a foreigner."

She said this though they both knew why Gaara had been elected. It was why his lapse in control was startling, and Temari couldn't let Gaara's shifting mood be seen by anyone else. It could be dangerous for all of them if the council felt the Kazekage was slipping back into old habits.

"I never-" Gaara's hands were gripping the armrests of his seat, she heard the sand rattle now like a deadly snake in its gourd-shaped prison, the Kazekage's eyes turning as hard as jade.

Temari didn't fear Gaara, not anymore, she knew he had more control than he ever had before, he was no longer the blood lusting child of the past; but it did take her a moment too long to temper against that look of his. That look she hadn't seen in awhile and she decided to wisely interject before he could continue, "You've barely spoken to anyone, you haven't sent out any correspondence to our other allies, and you haven't even touched the paperwork on your desk."

Gaara moodily settled back, conceding to her point, but hardly adding anything to it; still looking defensive.

Temari decided it was a point in her favor if Gaara was listening, he wasn't beyond reason yet. "This can't happen, Gaara. He's going to have other missions when he gets back. You can't shut down every time he leaves, do you understand?"

He clenched his jaw and stared at her, the dark rings around his eyes caused his look to seem more intent and angry than it probably had meant to be(or so she hoped).

Temari sighed, looking away(because she honestly didn't think she could keep looking at those eyes), "I know you didn't have any formal training, but you should understand that the mission always comes first. Our village, our people, they always come first."

"I don't need a lecture."

"You do," She said, "You're not thinking clearly. That isn't like you." Not the new Gaara anyway, he always measured out everything he did, everything he said. Even his relationship with Lee had been a weighty decision, but a decision he had thought over fiercely nonetheless. Now, it felt like he was losing his grip, and nothing had even happened yet. This was just life, this was just something that just about everyone went through, but Gaara was not adjusting well to it.

But, what had she expected?

Gaara had been isolated for so long that this relationship, this burst of affection in an otherwise barren landscape had probably tasted like water after a drought. She couldn't blame her brother for wanting love, and when he had approached them over his decision to start dating Lee, she had tried to be the most supportive(and had to step in when Kankuro only sputtered in shock).

Honestly, she hadn't entirely expected Lee to reciprocate. Also, she hadn't really realized how much of a shock this would be to Gaara's system. He appeared so young to her now, in a way she had never associated him before. It had been an oversight on her part, and she didn't know how to fix it now. The damage was done, all she could really do was push Gaara back in the right direction and hope that nothing serious happened to Lee(if he was reacting this poorly over a considerably safe mission, she lamented to think about what the Kazekage would do if Lee was in any real danger).

Gaara didn't understand complex emotions, he was still learning to be a part of society and not against it, and was just recently coming to understand he was not only viewed with fear and loathing by the people of Suna. No matter what his siblings may have wanted Gaara to be, he would always be a tool and a weapon, that was just the fate of a shinobi, and none of them were above that. She couldn't shield him from that reality, even if she wanted him to experience everything it meant to really be human.

She could clearly see their error now; the dependency, the erratic behavior, his disregard for others. It felt a lot like when he was younger, when it was just him and the sand against everyone else. She could see his control slipping, he had tried to put up walls around him and Lee and it hadn't worked, so it forced Gaara into this defensive tantrum.

Gaara wasn't really used to people not listening to him when he told them to do something.

Temari was positive that her brother would have tried to persuade Lee to give up missions, maybe even going so far as to ask him to stay in the village permanently. She wasn't so naive as to think Lee would ever agree, no matter his feelings for her brother.

But, Temari felt she should have done more to stop this before it got out of hand. She had let her soft heart get the better of her, had let Gaara's shy smile and nervous eyes sway her when she had told him to pursue Lee. She should have stopped it when Lee had landed himself in the hospital because of Gaara's affections. But, even then she hadn't, because Gaara had looked beyond himself with panic. He had been huddling in the corner of the room where Lee recovered, his eyes wide and when he had looked at her then he had called her 'big sister' and she just didn't have the heart to deport Lee back to Konoha and request another liaison.

Now though, this was getting dangerous, and not just for one man, but for everyone.

"Are you done?" He asked, his tone flat, their eyes remained locked on each other even while Temari had lapsed into a contemplative silence.

It was harder now to summon that image of a fearful Gaara huddling in the shadows, holding his hands out to her as he looked to be on the verge of a breakdown. The person in front of her now was stone faced and cold hearted, he had the eyes of a killer, and she was foolish to think that Gaara's nature could change overnight just because of some new responsibilities and loving attention.

"No, I'm not." Temari said, "You have responsibilities Gaara, I shouldn't need to remind you of them."

Gaara clenched his jaw, "I know what is expected of me."

"You know, yet this is how you've been acting." She scoffed.

"Nothing important has come in." He said, his tone tempered, his eyes looking away from her now, towards the windows lining the wall.

"Everything that has to do with our village or our allies is important." She said, "You need to keep in contact with them. It isn't a secret we sent out scouts, or that our alliance with Konoha is the strongest right now. That can cause unrest between other villages, especially if you're not returning their correspondence. They could think a conspiracy might be happening if we close off, even for a few days." She continued, "Something big might be happening and everyone is on edge, we can't afford to isolate ourselves now."

Which, had been Suna's policies in the past. Before the sand village was loathe to accept the help of anybody and it had cost them dearly before. Now, they had learned from their mistakes and would hold a hand out when needed or assist an ally when things got tough; but above all the Suna shinobi hadn't really changed their ways. If worse came to worse, the knee jerk reaction was to protect their own, Gaara knew this. But, Lee, a foreigner, had become someone important, so important that the scales had been tipping and the Kazekage didn't know where to place everyone's worth.

Gaara didn't yet realize you couldn't just weigh people like bags of rice and store them in specific containers. People were more complicated than that, and it was still taking him some time to venture out of his black and white world view. It was definitely why he was so conflicted now, and didn't feel like having this conversation with Temari. "It's been three days," Gaara said evenly, "You're overreacting."

Temari frowned, "I'm the one overreacting?"

"I haven't turned my back on our allies." Gaara murmured, deciding not to continue further, his focused stare saying enough.

Temari had her hands on her hips, she appeared agitated. "I've been picking up the slack you've left. I've been attending meetings you should have been present for." Her green eyes were searching for something in his blank expression, "You know how closely you're being watched."

He didn't appear bothered by the reminder of just why he had the most prominent position in the village. He was well aware his status as Gaara of the Desert, the bearer of Shukaku, had tipped the voting in his favor; that the council thought he could be controlled, that he was merely a puppet on a string. Gaara was well aware of just how insincere people were; was aware of how deep their motives ran, and how darkness hid behind the best smiles. His paranoia, his logical thinking, and his raw power had saved Suna in the past and despite the rigged election, Gaara had prided himself on being a good leader. It was why the public had turned their favor to him sincerely, and it was why the council tended to call him more often for 'meetings'.

Gaara didn't feel guilty in leaving those responsibilities to Temari; he had other things to think about. "Are you speaking now as my sister or as my advisor?" It was the closest Gaara had ever came to sounding petulant, to sounding childish, and it caused Temari to bristle immediately.

"Gaara." Her fists clenched at her sides, Gaara hadn't looked at her.

"If you know what should be done, as my second in command I would assume you could handle the basic day to day responsibilities. You expect me to send out every hawk personally? To sign every letter? To read over every piece of paper that passes over my desk?" The Kazekage spoke, his tone like a knife edge.

Temari hesitated, "You know that isn't what I meant."

"Isn't it?" His cool green eyes shifted back to her again.

"You haven't been doing anything related to your station and we both know it." Temari snapped, "You've been moping for days," Moping might have been a hard word to use, at best Gaara was listless and indifferent. "I'm," She hesitated before she continued, "I'm worried about you."

The Kazekage could see the emotion in his sister's forest green eyes and reluctantly he relaxed his posture, trying to not appear as hostile; his bad mood has started to get the better of him. He could concede that he wasn't as focused as he had been before since Lee left. He realized that he was succumbing to impulses, that he was lashing out at Temari because she was here when he had wanted to be alone. She was invading his space, she felt like an intruder, especially now when the world had turned grey again, his thoughts completely rooted on the leaf nin whom was absent.

The silence settled, the air between them was tense, and she noticed when the fingers on Gaara's left hand began to drum along the armrest of his chair. Her brother did not usually show his agitation so openly, he didn't give much away in terms of expression, posture, or nervous habits, but now she could definitely see the cracks in his armor and it only concerned her more. Temari blamed herself for not realizing this would happen, she should have came to Gaara the moment Lee left, to occupy his time, so this didn't happen. Her oversight was costing them both and she couldn't place all the blame on her inexperienced brother. She was careful when she spoke again, realizing it would be a moot point to continue digging at the problem they both were aware of. "I've arranged a meeting with the Mizukage." Her tone was back to being professional, she gestured at his desk. "The paper I gave you has a breakdown of where you'll be staying, who is going with you, and what is expected of you once you get there."

"I didn't accept." Gaara said testily.

"I'm your second in command," She said easily, "I accepted for you."

Gaara's fingers had stopped drumming, his expression unreadable, but she hardly thought he was pleased. It was clear he had started to box himself in, to build his defenses up, and now she was trying to push him out of his comfort zone amidst his inner crisis over Lee being gone.

"You need to get out of the village, I think a change of scenery will get your head back on straight." She continued seriously, realizing that Gaara may have thought he could stay put in Suna and just wait for Lee to come back. That was a luxury he would never have, and she had to give him this reality check, it was the least she could do. "If these attacks are related, if we are facing a new threat, or even infighting between villages, it'll be important to know who our allies are. You can't afford to hideaway right now."

The Kazekage continued his silence, his expression unchanged, his eyes turned away from her again.

Gaara was hardly a conversationalist on his best day, but somehow this quiet was settling like a real thing between them, oppressing the air in the room, causing her chest to feel tight. Belatedly she realized it wasn't the quiet, but Gaara's aura, that he was exerting control into the space, trying to intimidate her without even looking at her. He wanted her to leave, she was starting to realize just how dangerous this situation between them was becoming. Temari could still hear the sand, a white noise in the background of their entire exchange so far, but it hadn't done much more than hiss. It gave her a clear indication of Gaara's mood, that he was barely holding things together. "Kankuro will be coming here shortly to escort you out of the village." Her tone was even despite the goosebumps raised on her skin, the hair at the back of her neck standing on end.

Temari had pressed her nails hard into her palms to ground herself; she couldn't be afraid, Gaara could smell fear, he'd lash out if she showed him anything but calm. She took in careful breaths, mentally taking stock of the space, where the gourd was, and the seconds it would take to release her fan from its holster in defense if things went south.

"Today?" His tone remained unchanged.

"We've lapsed long enough." She said evenly, trying to ignore the bead of sweat that dripped down her temple to her jaw, hoping Gaara didn't notice, "I suggest you pack what you need to and be prepared for Kankuro when he comes."

"You'll take over my position while I'm gone." It wasn't a question.

She wasn't sure how to take that tone of his, nor how to interpret the cold indifference in his eyes. The room still felt suffocating, she resisted the urge to step back, "It is my job to act in your stead while you are incapacitated or out of the village." Temari spoke, though wasn't sure if Gaara was trying to get a response, he knew her job duties, he had given her the position after all.

Gaara had stood up suddenly, the whine of the chair scooting across the tiled floor was loud in the space around them. He noticed when Temari had flinched back but didn't react as she probably had expected him to. His bonds with his siblings had gotten stronger since he was young, but they were hardly completely mended. There had been a point in his life where he thought fear was the strongest emotion another person could have towards someone else. He had tried to provoke that feeling in as many people as he could, so they would feel something towards him, so they would recognize him, so they could validate his existence. He was alive, and his victims had reminded him of that in their final moments, he was truly alive.

Naruto had been the first to show him a different view, and Lee had been the second.

Fear was not something he coveted from others anymore; it actually bothered him to think he had pushed his sister to the edge, that she had become so wary of him. He was definitely losing control, but whom could he blame for it? Was it his own inability to control himself, or was it Lee's affections making him act so out of character?

When had the lines blurred? When had all these errant emotions crept inside of him?

Gaara had flattened his palms to his desk, his body bowed forward, his shaggy red hair shadowing his expression(the sand was quiet now). "Temari," He exhaled, "When will this stop?"

The atmosphere had changed instantly and she hesitated a moment before responding, her tone soft, "When you let go."

The Kazekage wasn't sure how to process her statement, but had taken the few minutes to compose himself before he looked back up at her, picking up the paper on his desk, "Tell Kankuro to meet me at the estate. I'll be ready in an hour."

"Of course, Kazekage-sama." She said with a slight bow of her head before she turned on her heel and walked towards the door. The long sash billowed behind her, before it settled at her ankles where she paused by the door. Temari looked over her shoulder at Gaara, "Everything will be okay, little brother."

Temari slipped beyond the double doors before the redhead could respond and Gaara was left to star at the space she had occupied before he finally walked around his desk, hefted the gourd up onto his back, and decided to meet his responsibilities head on.