A/N: A pure Gaara chapter! Had to give my favorite redhead some love ya know? Not gonna lie, towards the end of this chapter even I almost melted at the cute moment; and I'm the one who wrote it!
Gaara sat in his office silently. He had told everyone not to disturb him as he was very busy, but that wasn't true. In fact, he wasn't that busy at all. The stacks of papers and scrolls were almost gone, his desk almost barren. In all honesty, he was simply distracted. His mind had not been his own for most of the morning and well into the afternoon. Every time anyone would try and enter his office, he would yell at them to go away unless it was a dire situation. Placing his head in his hands, he sighed heavily, his eyes staring at the document beneath him. While his pen sat beside him, nothing had been written or stamped on the document, his mind completely elsewhere then on his work. Why was he so distracted today? Last night had not been anything special and yet his mind couldn't stop thinking about it.
An image of Setsuko's crying face flashed in his mind. All the hurt and sorrow etched onto her normally happy features was painful for him to look at. This man, this Maki, was someone truly special to her. She obvious treasured him if his death broke her this much. But why did it bother him that she felt such a way for a dead man? Why was he even feeling anything towards a woman he barely knew? Even after becoming a hero and loved by his village, he still didn't know what it meant to be loved by another person. Yashamaru had said that the only way to heal a wounded heart was by the love given from another person. He still hadn't received anything like that. Was he still craving that kind of connection, even now, after so many years? His heart had started to feel a little better when his brother and sister no longer feared him and started treating him like a normal person, but maybe there was still something missing.
Running his hands through his hair a couple of times in exasperated annoyance, he brought his head up and just stared at the walls around him. He didn't understand anything he was thinking about. It was a subject he knew nothing about. With a dejected sigh he got up from his chair and walked to one of the many windows. Leaning against the wall, he stared out at the village blankly. He couldn't ask either of his siblings for help, Temari was too much of a man and Kankuro didn't really seem to care much in the way of feelings. Who could he ask for help on the subject? Even his best friend was out of the question. That bumbling idiot didn't know a thing about love either; otherwise Sakura might actually like him. He would need either someone older than him, who had the experience, or a genius. But it wasn't like he could send a scroll to them just because he needed advice on personal matters.
The red head crossed his arms across his chest and sighed again. He was at a loss. He couldn't understand what was happening with his mind and he couldn't go asking the only two people that might actually be able to help him. It seemed that he would have to settle. Did that mean he was desperate? No, Gaara desperate? It was unheard of. His head dropped, he wasn't fooling anyone, especially himself. He was indeed desperate. Pulling away from the window, he left his office in one swift motion. They had the day off, after a week nonstop of missions. But finding them would be a little more difficult. He wasn't sure on their habits when they had the day off.
Temari sighed happily, sinking lower into the nearly boiling water. Her blonde hair was slicked back from dunking herself in the water, feeling water droplets fall to her shoulders. It was a much needed bath after having missions for a week. Running around, staying out overnight and getting unimaginably dirty; this was well needed. Plus, it helped that she was able to get away from her brothers for a few hours. No listening to Kankuro's dumb talk about whatever might come to his brain and not having to have Gaara stare at her like he was drilling holes into her soul. Yes, this was a nice reprieve.
"Finally, some time to myself to just relax…" she smiled, letting her head lean back to rest on the rocks that surrounded the hot spring.
"Temari…" a gruff voice spoke from behind her. The sound startled her so bad that she nearly slammed her head against the rocks as she fumbled to move away from the sound.
Looking up, she saw someone she was hoping she wouldn't have to see for the next few days, her little brother. "Gaara! What are you doing here?" she yelled, wrapping her arms around her chest to hide her naked body from his view. Before he had a chance to answer her, she splashed him with the hot water, "Get out!"
Gaara put a hand up to cover his face from the water. It hadn't taken him long to find her, but it was strange seeing his older sister naked.
"This is the girl's side of the hot spring! Get the hell out of here!" she screamed, picking up a rock and throwing it in his direction.
His sand blocked the shot with ease. "Temari…" he started, ignoring her screaming and attempts to get him to leave. He looked away for a minute, unsure of how to properly word his next sentence. An unsure sigh left his throat; he should just say it then. "…I need your advice."
Temari stopped her shouting almost immediately after hearing him speak. He needed her advice? That was unheard of! She looked up at him curiously and a little stunned. "Gaara…" She scoffed, once again splashing him with water, "Fine. But can I at least get some clothes on in peace?"
Gaara left in a wisp of sand and Temari was left almost shell shocked that he was asking for her advice. Sinking to nose level in the water, she exhaled a breath through her nose, the water rippling in response. This was so strange. He never openly asks for her advice; she usually just gives it. But now he was asking and she couldn't refuse her baby brother, not because he was Kazekage, but it was because he was her baby brother. Getting out of the water, she walked into the changing area and grabbed her clothes after drying off. After changing, she walked outside with a towel in her hair to greet her brother who was sitting by himself on one of the benches outside the hot spring. Staring at him, she noticed he was getting strange looks from passersby. It wasn't normal for them to see the Kazekage just sitting leisurely at a hot spring.
"Gaara," she said as she walked up to him.
His green eyes glanced over to her but he didn't say a word.
She couldn't help the soft chuckle at his predictable action. "Uh, why don't we go somewhere quieter, yeah?"
He gave her a short nod and stood. The two Sand siblings walked just a few buildings down, in silence, to a small, hole in the wall, restaurant.
Sitting at a table, across from each other, Temari stared her youngest brother down. "So what did you want to talk about?" Her curiosity was through the roof to say the least. When Gaara came asking her for advice, she knew it had to be something big.
For a while, he sat silently, his hands on the table and every once in a while they twitched as if to fidget. Temari's gaze didn't let up though. "…I need advice."
"Yeah, I got that," she replied with a smirk as he repeated what he said at the hot spring. "What do you need advice about though?"
He shot her a brief glare, which no longer seemed to scare her anymore as she continued to smirk at him. "I'm…confused, about something."
"Oh yeah? What about exactly that you had to ask for advice?" she paused a second before leaning in close, "Is it about a girl?" she teased. When Gaara gave her a strange look, one she hadn't seen before, her eyes widened in shock, "Wait, it is isn't!?"
Gaara glared at her briefly and then looked away, still glaring. "Why are you acting like it's a huge shock?" Suddenly he was being smothered by Temari, who had jumped him from over the table to hug him. At first he was surprised, not expecting such a reaction from her, but that expression soon faded into a scowl, "Temari…"
"Oh my gosh! I'm so happy for you Gaara!" she squealed, earning stares from other patrons in the restaurant. "I never even knew you could have feelings for someone honestly. I mean, I know you've changed and all, but feelings, for another person. Crazy." She released him when she felt his glare boring holes into her again. Looking around at all the people staring at them, she glared at them, "What?!" quickly they all went back to what they were doing.
"I never said I had feelings for someone. All I said was that I'm confused," he corrected, straightening his clothes.
"Pfft!" she scoffed, "If you say so. So what are you so confused about?"
Gaara sighed; he knew this was a bad idea.
"Gaara, we're family. You know you can tell me anything," she reassured him, seeing just how hard it was for him to talk about what was bothering him.
He looked at her impassively, trying to think of the best way to put his thoughts without giving her the satisfaction of possibly being right. "How do you feel about Shikamaru?"
Instantly, Temari's face turned red. "I don't know what you're talking about! He's nothing more than a crybaby who's to lazy to do anything," she huffed, pursing her lips and trying to play off her embarrassment as best she could. It was possible for someone who didn't even know a single thing about feelings, could see right through her with the look he was giving her.
He raised a brow at her, as if saying that he didn't believe a word she had just said.
"Oh, why do you want to know anyways? What's Shikamaru got to do with anything?" she asked, desperately trying to get the subject changed so she wouldn't have to answer his question.
Gaara tapped a finger against the table and sighed again, "This was a bad idea. Forget it."
As he made his attempt to get up from the table, Temari grabbed his wrist. She didn't look up at him, but he could see a defeated smile on her face. "Shikamaru is…he's lazy and finds everything a pain. He cares too much to be an effective field leader, which leads to him crying over everything. He'd rather be sleeping or watching clouds than doing any real work. But when he's determined to do something, he does it no matter how bothersome it might be to him. He's smart, too smart for his own good probably but often acts the fool so he can be given less priorities. I know that deep down, he has a passion raging inside that he just prefers to not let other people see…"
To say he was surprised might have been an understatement. He never knew his sister felt that way about someone. He could feel the love and admiration she had for the Leaf shinobi, even though she didn't actually say much. Gaara sat back down and she let go of his wrist.
"Don't tell anyone I said that alright? People will start thinking I'm weak if they knew." She smiled at him sheepishly, blushing lightly.
"Do you think it's possible to have feelings for something you know nothing about?" he asked suddenly, earning a perplexed stare from Temari.
"Mm, I suppose it's possible. There are people that believe in love at first sight, or soul mates. But then again, we always know little bits about something just by being around it." She shrugged, not really knowing how to answer that question. "It's only natural to feel something Gaara. It's human nature. And I know that training tells us not to feel because they only get in the way, but they only teach us to harden our emotions, not throw them away. If we were to throw away our feelings, we would be nothing more then lifeless objects."
He was silent, looking down at the table and processing what she told him.
"Gaara, let me ask you something." He looked up at her. "What is your heart telling you?"
His eyes widened a fraction before returning to normal. Slowly his hand came to his chest, earning a sympathetic smile from his big sister. "It hurts here all the time. Even now. Even though Shukaku is gone, I still hear a voice crying out to me; literally crying. It feels so lonely, even with all the other people around." He paused, looking down at the table again and letting his hand drop. "When I see other people together, whether they be friends or lovers, I feel…lost. Like maybe I have missed out on something and will never get the chance to experience the same things."
"But Gaara, you have friends. Many of them in fact," Temari cut in, trying to reassure her brother as he finally began to open up to her.
"I do, but I still feel like there's something missing." Temari was in utter shock when she saw a single tear fall from the corner of his eye. She wasn't sure she had ever seen her brother so vulnerable before.
Getting up from her side of the table, she dropped down next to him and gently embraced him. For a split second she was amazed that he returned the gesture, but she was just happy that she was finally really connecting with him. "Just like anyone else in the world, you're entitled to your own happiness Gaara. Whether you find that with someone else or not, is your own choice. Feelings aren't an exact science, they're difficult to understand and even harder to explain. If you feel something, just let it happen." She let go of him and chuckled softly, "Though, I'm kind of a hypocrite on the subject seeing as I can't talk about my feelings for Shikamaru."
Looking up at his sister, he gave her the faintest of smiles. Maybe she wasn't such a man after all. The two of them parted and ate a small lunch together in silence before Temari wanted more alone time on her day off. Gaara walked back to his office after his lunch, contemplating everything he and Temari had talked about. It was almost hard for him to believe his sister was such a caring person, she was normally so tomboyish. Even so, she had given him some invaluable advice. Then again, what had he felt for Hui? How was that different from whatever it was he was feeling now?