"I always thought you liked Gaara."
Aki looked up at Temari with a small smile on her lips. "Why would you think that?" She asked. They had been walking back to the office in silence for a while, and the question kind of came out of nowhere.
Temari shrugged. "I don't know. When you came to work at the government office, you were so determined to work for the Kazekage. You didn't seem particularly ambitious; I always thought the reason you came to work for us was for him."
Aki shook her head. "Maybe at first I was just like all the other ladies of Suna, but that quickly faded."
Temari smiled. "Yes, it is hard to keep a crush on Gaara once you've actually met him. He's so short."
Aki laughed. "That's very true, but it's not why I stopped loving him."
Temari turned to Aki. "What was it then?"
Aki looked away, watching the street they were walking down. "I realized I had other interests. I still believe Gaara is a great leader, but he can't do it all alone. I really love this place too; I want to do all I can for it. And I... well, yeah."
Temari raised an eyebrow at Aki. "What was that? You were going to say something else."
"Was I? I don't think so." Aki said, shaking her head.
"There was something else!"
Aki laughed. "No ma'am. I had nothing else to add."
Temari sighed. "Alright. You can keep your secrets. For now."
Aki smiled. There was one secret she intended to keep forever.