Oh, goodness! I'm so terribly sorry this took so long to update! D: I've been busy with band camp for the past two weeks and barely had any time to write. But on the upside, I'm enjoying color guard!

Enjoy and review, please! ^^

"The heart is the only broken instrument that works." - T.E. Kalem

"Where are we going?"

"How many times are you going to ask that, Kankuro?"

"As many as it takes until I get a reasonable answer."

"You'll see."

"That's not reasonable."

I sighed to myself, fastening my backpack tighter on my shoulders. I made sure to be extra careful with it. After all, the flowers that were placed inside were delicate. I didn't want to smash them.

Behind me, Kankuro was hot on my trail as we walked through the Konohagakure streets. We had left my house about fifteen minutes before and I wasn't telling him where we were going until he figured it out himself.

My empty stomach growled softly, but I didn't want to stop and eat quite yet. I didn't eat when I left the house simply because of my nerves. However, I somewhat regretted it now.

We passed a house that I kept my eye on. If Ino had seen me walk past with Kankuro, I knew I'd be attacked with questions. I knew all of the Shinobi teams around my age knew about the secret relationship I'd had with the Suna kid and what happened between us. I didn't want to waste hours giving out explanations of my actions. I wasn't even entirely sure what I was doing.

Kankuro and I soon came to a hill that wore scattered gravestones and different kinds of foliage. I stopped and swung my backpack around, cautiously taking out the flowers, before heading toward two stones that were placed near each other.

Dried flower petals were set around the stone that had obviously been there longer. It had a few more cracks than the more recent one next to it. As I stood in front of them, my gut twisting hard, Kankuro kneeled down and brushed dirt off the engraved letters with his palm.

"Chikaku Nobu," he read aloud, patting his dirty had on the grass by his feet.

"My father," I explained to him. "I come here sometimes when I want to talk to him. And now…" I turned my head to the other gravestone. "I come here to talk to my grandfather."

When Kankuro left before, I'd spent a lot of time here soon after Grandfather died. I'd asked them both why he had done that to me and if it was just part of being a boy. Of course, I never got answers from them, so I figured it was just something I'd either have to figure out on my own or forget about.

"Why did you bring me here, Haketa?" Kankuro asked. There was a demanding tone to his voice as he stood up straight and faced me. From the look on his face, I knew he wasn't asking just to have something to talk about. He wanted a solid answer.

I placed the flowers between the two stones and replied, "I wanted you to meet my father. That's all." Honestly, I wasn't sure why I brought Kankuro along. Having him there with me felt right, though.

We didn't talk for a while after that. I started to think about Kankuro's father. Shortly after the attack, news came back to Konoha of the true Kazekage's death. That left Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara as orphans, but from what I saw, they were somewhat closer to each other because of it.

"I heard about your father," I finally said, looking up at his face. He was staring down at Father's gravestone intently. "I'm sorry it had to happen like that."

Kankuro shook his head. "Don't be. He was a decent Kazekage, but he didn't know how to be a father. Everything feels the same back home, just with one less body walking around the house."

I sat down and crossed my legs over each other, enjoying the light breeze blowing about and the warm sun on my back. "What about your mother?" As soon as Kankuro's head shot down so he could look at me, I felt as if I'd asked the wrong thing. Was she someone who nobody spoke of?

"What do you mean?"

"Did she know how to be a mother?"

Kankuro exhaled slowly and took a seat next to me. "Yes," he told me, a small smile on his face. "From what I remember, she was great. She did everything right. She changed our diapers, fed us, kissed our cuts when we fell and came crying to her. She held us when we wanted to be held. She did everything. I just…I wish she would've been around for Gaara like she was for Temari and me."

Something changed in his eyes as he talked about her. It was easy to tell he admired her and missed her. Even though she had only been with him for a few years, they had the normal bond a mother and son were meant to have and it had been strong while it lasted.

"But people don't last forever," Kankuro added austerely.

I nodded in agreement and closed my eyes. He was right. People don't last forever. Eventually, everyone dies, which meant you had to enjoy your time with them while you can.

Yes, Kankuro had betrayed me and hurt me more than I would have ever thought possible by bringing Serisu back with him, but he wasn't going to be alive forever and neither was I. I couldn't hold a grudge over him just because he hurt my feelings. If I did and something had happened to him in the future, I would have to live with the regret.

"Stand up," I told him, hurrying to my own feet.

Confused, he mimicked my movements and stood in front of me, looking down at my face. I smiled to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, lifting myself to my tippy toes. He hesitated before wrapping his arms around my waist.

"You know," I mumbled against him, "I'm glad you're here, even though I think you grew three more inches."

"You didn't grow at all," he playfully told me, nuzzling his face into the side of my neck.

We weren't quite back to the way we were, but I didn't expect it to ever be like that again. Being friends was enough for me.

()()()

"Being a Courier Nin is a lot more exciting than working at the restaurant. The pay is a lot better, too," I explained as we waited eagerly for our food. Kankuro crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at me.

"I really wish you'd let me pay for my own food."

I shook my head, countering his frown with a large grin. "Nope. Trust me, I have more than enough for the both of us. In fact, I could pay for Temari and Gaara to eat, too."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Temari eats all the time, but she never puts on any weight. It makes up for Gaara, I guess. He doesn't eat much."

Our food came soon after he finished talking. We ate in silence, aside from the immature snickers caused by flicking dry food at each other. As we ate, I'd forgotten all about the reason why I'd been so mad at him and for a long while, it felt as if he never left.

By the time we were done enjoying ourselves, the sky was beginning to grow dark. I paid for our food and ducked under (I didn't have to duck far) Kankuro's arm as he held the door open for me.

I noted the strange feeling in my gut as we made our way to my house. I wouldn't quite call it the feeling of homesickness, but it was very close to that. Serisu would be back from Suna in a day or two, if she had stayed with a continuous pace. That meant the three siblings would leave once again.

"What's wrong?" Kankuro asked suddenly.

I frowned and glanced up at his face. "Nothing. I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"Don't worry about it."

He groaned and folded his arms over each other. "You know I hate it when you do that. If you get that little thinking crease between your eyebrows, it means you're thinking about something that's making you upset."

My house grew into sight and I could see the living room light was on. Mother must've closed up the restaurant early or Kyan was home from her studies.

I opened my mouth to tell Kankuro about how I felt, but decided against it. Even though we were on friend terms again, I didn't want him to think everything was 100% okay again because I would miss him when he left.

"We're back!" I called out when I opened the front door to the house. Temari's head poked out from around the corner and she waved a quick hand to us.

"Everyone's in the kitchen."

Kankuro and I advanced into the crowded room. Gaara, Kyan, and Temari sat around the kitchen table, being fed endless amounts of food by Mother. She was the type of woman who would never let anyone go hungry and it was obvious she was overfeeding them.

Two empty plates were shoved to Temari's right side and she reclined in her chair, placing a hand over her protruding stomach. Kyan's eyelids drooped slightly as they always did when she didn't have anymore food room. Gaara sat motionless in front of a half-eaten plate, chopsticks securely held in his hand. He seemed to be mentally preparing himself to take another bite.

Mother, who was still hovering over the stove with a stirring spoon connecting her hand to a pot of what seemed like soup, met my eyes curiously. I knew she wanted every single detail about my day with Kankuro, but I wasn't ready to share it with anyone. I just wanted time to think about it by myself.

Small talk emerged from Kyan's mouth, which everyone (except Gaara, who seemed to be dead-set on finishing that plate of food) engaged in. It continued for a little less than an hour when Temari noted how dark it was getting and they needed to be back at the hotel in case Serisu came back early.

As everyone left the room, leaving Kankuro and I alone, I couldn't help but feel like they'd all planned that move. I faced him somewhat awkwardly, not sure were to go from that point.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" he muttered, nibbling on the corner of his lower lip with a canine tooth.

"Uh, sure," I replied, "unless I get called out on a mission."

Kankuro inhaled deeply and unrepentantly took a step closer, wrapping his arms around my waist. As much as I still didn't want to just give in, I instantly returned the embrace, burying my face into him.

"Thanks for today," he whispered in my ear. My stomach twisted once again as he turned his head and pressed his lips to my cheek.

Words weren't spoken after that. He left immediately with his siblings, which gave my own family free reign to bombard me with questions.

"Not now, please," I told them, giving them a defeated glance. "I just don't feel like talking about it."

They didn't argue as I made my way up to my room and closed myself off to them. After changing clothes and brushing out my hair, I found myself on my bed, curled up with my blankets held close to my chest.

As thoughts raced through my head, I tossed and turned for hours. Even though everything was finally settling down, I was still confused beyond belief.

I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I just hoped for the best.