Hinata stirred, rubbing her eyes to find the time, but she didn't find her clock or her bedroom. She was too comfortable to panic. Gaara's office, on Gaara's couch, curled up on Gaara's side, tucked against him and the couch back as he laid out on his back. A chill came to her fingers. His loose hand laid palm up open on his chest. She curled her fingers back into it. He held her hand all night, hadn't he?

There was no getting up without waking him. She wanted to curl back into the blanket, but they both had things to do. She rested her head back down on his chest, which rose and fell evenly. He fell asleep without her help, hopefully for most of the night and not an hour ago.

Hinata reluctantly released his fingers and nudged him to wake him. Gaara jumped. Maybe she should have been more gentle. He grabbed her shoulder protectively, searching the room. She could feel the sand swirl defensively. The hand on her rib cage pulled her tightly to him.

"Gaara," Hinata whispered. "It's time to get up." She yawned as an unintentional additive. The defenses dropped as he looked at her. "Good morning."

Gaara rubbed his face as he moved to release her, letting the chilly morning desert air replace him. "Morning."

"This is a really helpful idea," Temari flipped through the papers. "The council must have been annoyed that they were getting a good enough deal that they couldn't realistically reject it."

"She came up with that." Kankuro inserted.

"No, I just saw the problem as a good exchange for the compound placement." Hinata waved her hand with a pen in it. Temari officially gave Hinata her office, so Hinata and Temari were on opposite sides of the desk than usual.

"I can't tell if you are an evil mastermind trying to break our government from the inside or not," Temari mumbled.

"What?" Hinata blinked.

Temari laughed. "You make offers they can't refuse and arguments they can't snuff. It's like you planned it."

"I think they just aren't on the level of councils she used to," Kankuro explained. "If we met earlier and saw how she lived before, we would have sent a rescue mission. They are unnecessarily brutal." Kankuro wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Honestly, even your self-esteem would crumble under that pressure. Just the feeling of disapproval of your absolute everything is like someone slowly crushing you."

"He's exaggerating," Hinata went back to her paperwork.

"It's abusive." Kankuro countered firmly.

"I wasn't good enough to hold the position as heiress of the Hyuga. They saw that, and I have accepted that." Hinata took a deep breath. "I will work my hardest to ensure my position here will not disappoint you like I have my family."

Kankuro's and Temari's expressions completely changed. Temari looked like she might throw a punch, and Kankuro looked like he was just hit by one. Had she missed something?

"Don't think like that." Temari barked at her. "Do not even dare to start to think that you aren't a great addition to the village and the best thing that has happened to Gaara!"

Hinata opened her mouth to counter, but Temari stood and slammed her hands on the desk.

"Naruto may have gotten him to see himself, but you have gotten him to recover more in just the few months you have been here than the years we have been trying!" She pointed roughly at the wall to Gaara's office. "You have walked into a room with the most terrifying Gaara has been in years and had him back to normal in a night! You have run out in a storm to save citizens that were not yet yours to protect. You've reversed horrible policies we haven't questioned for the last decade! You have looked in the face of your own family to benefit our city! So don't you dare think for a moment that you are not worth this position!"

Hinata shrank into her chair more and felt tears.

Kankuro pulled back on his sister from his seat. "I think you're scaring her."

Hinata waved her hands to negate him as she covered her mouth to keep the sobs from coming out. Temari looked at her with a new feeling of guilt.

Hinata couldn't have that. She got up, stumbling out of her chair and around it, burying herself into the taller woman. Temari went rigid. They hadn't hugged before. They openly touched each other, but they never had a situation where a hug was needed.

Temari went soft and rubbed her back. Hinata suddenly realized she had an older sister. She wasn't the eldest anymore. It may not have been official yet, but these were her older siblings. She didn't have to be the strongest anymore. She didn't have to take all the blame, all the pressure, and all the world anymore.

It was all too real at once, and she cried harder than she should.

Hinata was late. She didn't have a set time she came in. It was just her usual time. A window of a few minutes was always when she came in, but today she was nearly an hour late, and it was bothering him. Something was wrong. She was in some distress earlier. He could tell by the fidgeting she did with her ring, but seeing as she was taking on more of Temari's work, that made sense.

Finally, distracted enough, Gaara headed toward the door and down the hall to her office.

He knocked and heard Temari stop talking, Hinata exclaimed at the time, then her stumbled footsteps head to the door to open for her, bowing her head in apology. "I'm so sorry, Gaara. I didn't mean to be late."

"We kept her." Kankuro waved. "Our fault." He got up.

Temari followed him to the door. "We'll go. We have an appointment in the morning.".

Kankuro patted her shoulder. "And the piece for your 'secret' is coming tomorrow too. Lots of work tomorrow, so try to sleep in your own bed."

Hinata's face turned red, but she smiled and nodded.

"You've been crying." The rims around her eyes were still puffy and irritated from the falling and wiping of tears.

"Oh!" Hinata lightly touched her cheek. "It's nothing to be worried about, a moment I had with Temari-chan. I'll be right over."

Hinata stumbled in and to her spot. She felt bad for bothering his schedule so much that he noticed and was interrupted. She liked to ensure she was in her spot at a certain time to not make him wonder where she was.

Hinata failed that today.

She opened her book to the page she was on and curled her legs under her.

"How long until our wedding?" Gaara didn't look up from his papers. It looked like he asked because of what was on the paper.

"Couple of weeks." Hinata thought for a minute. "Did we not add it to your calendar?"

"I'm getting notes from people from Konoha saying they are coming to the wedding," Gaara explained.

"Oh, those are RSVPs. They are probably from the people I gave invitations to. It is polite to respond with whether or not you are coming when you receive an invitation." Hinata explained.

"I'm aware. It's just not usual for a wedding." Gaara noted.

Hinata smiled at the cultural differences.