There was something wrong with him. He couldn't figure it out. Why was he so distracted, so irritable? He was proud of how calm he had become in recent years, but he was starting to feel again like he had a demon curled up in his stomach. Things that might have made him smile made him snap at people, things that he found calming only made him feel restless.
He couldn't sleep. He couldn't stay still long enough for that. Temari said she worried about him, going back to old habits. Her worry only annoyed him more; he didn't need it. He never asked for anything from her.
Temari finally blew up at him one afternoon when he had been refusing to talk to her, knowing if he talked he would just say something hurtful.
"What is wrong with you these days?" She yelled. "You're acting like a brat! I thought you were annoying when we were in Konoha, but this is just unbearable. I don't have to put up with this bullshit! You're the Kazekage for chrissakes! You can't be acting like a child and lashing out at everyone around you, you realize that don't you?"
Gaara nodded. "Of course I know that."
"Then why are you being such a little bitch?" She demanded.
He turned and stared at her. "Did you just call me a bitch?" He asked.
She nodded, glaring at him.
Gaara smiled, feeling a small laugh bubbling in his chest. She called him a bitch. She was right. "I don't know what's wrong with me." He told her. "I'm sorry."