"Put this in the first pile."

"Mm."

"And this one." Temari handed Kankuro a second sheet of paper, and sighed. "Huhhhh... I wonder how they're making out?" she thought aloud.

Kankuro eyed her, pausing as he took the paper from her. "Figuratively? Or literally?"

"You know!" She smirked at him. "Knowing Gaara... He's either going to bite the bullet and confess, or shove his feelings out of sight and out of mind in case they get in the way of his duties."

Kankuro unfroze, adding the second paper to the pile. He gave a curt laugh. "Yeah... No telling with him." He gave her a sly look. "What do you say we check in on our favorite little brother? Make sure he isn't getting into any trouble with that Hidden Leaf rascal?"

Temari scoffed, "'Hidden Leaf Rascal'? That rascal saved his life, remember! Besides, what does it matter that he's from Konoha?" She crossed her arms and spun on her heel. "Hmph!"

"H-Hold on! I don't have a problem with Naruto being from Konoha!" Kankuro protested as he followed after her. "What the hell's your problem?"

"I don't have a problem!" She side-eyed him, then waved a hand. "Forget it. I'm feeling nosy myself. Let's go on a little spy mission!" She grinned as Kankuro's face lit up in excitement. "This is top secret, though, got it?"

"S-Rank mission! Got it!" Kankuro eagerly nodded.

"...Where the hell are they?" Kankuro groaned. It felt like ages later, and Gaara and Naruto were nowhere to be found. It was like they had up and left the entire village. Suddenly his eyes widened. "You don't think they ran off to elope, do you?! Temari?!"

"Oh, please. As if Gaara's the type," Temari snorted. She looked ahead, and lifted her hand to her chin in a pondering gesture. "Hmm... Well... There is one place we haven't looked yet that's still a possibility."

"And that is...?" He followed her gaze to see where she was looking. "Home?"

"Why not? It's away from everyone else. Nice and private."

"I guess..."

When they entered, they saw the distinct Hidden Leaf footwear in the entryway. "See? What did I tell you?" Temari tapped her head as she proudly smirked. "Helps to use your brain every now and then!"

Kankuro narrowed his eyes at her, annoyed, and they took their shoes off. "What's that supposed to mean?" he challenged.

"Oh, nothing~!"

They heard the TV and walked to the living room. "Hey guys! What's..." Kankuro's voice faded as they saw there was no one there. "Huh. ...Weird."

Temari's lips stretched into a suspecting smile and she mused, "Hmmmm... Maybe we should go."

"Why? They're clearly here," Kankuro retorted, placing a hand on his hip and tapping his head as she had. "Their shoes are here, so they gotta still be here! You're not the only one who can play detective!"

"Ugh." Temari rolled her eyes. "Come on, Kankuro. Let's leave them be."

"Now, now! We finally tracked them down! The least we can do is see how they're doing! That was the whole point, wasn't it?" he argued. He suddenly grinned. "Bet Gaara's showing him all his cacti. He loves talking about them! Oh, and he has to show him the ones we got him for his birthday gifts!"

Before Temari could even open her mouth to persuade him otherwise Kankuro was already on the move, heading in the direction of Gaara's room. "Wait! Kankuro!" she hissed, hurrying after him. "Wait!"

He ignored her, and when he came to Gaara's room he saw the door was open. He raised a hand, ready to greet the pair, and froze in the doorway. His hand remained in the air, and his eyes bulged.

Temari scowled and dashed forward. As she grabbed hold of his sleeve to drag him away, she took a quick peek into the room.

Snug under the bedsheets, Gaara and Naruto were sound asleep. They were holding each other, with Gaara's teddy bear between them.

She smiled and pulled Kankuro with her as they distanced themselves from the sleeping couple.

Neither of them said a word as they made their way back to the entryway to put their shoes back on. They didn't say a word even as they returned to the office to finish sorting the paperwork.

Finally, Kankuro sullenly muttered, "I can't believe my little bro got laid before me..."

Temari snorted. "I can." When he glared at her, she shrugged. "He's a popular guy. Do you have a fan club?"

Kankuro continued to glare at her, then he broke into a grin. "No, but maybe now that he's taken some of his fangirls will turn their attention to me!"

"In your dreams!" Temari handed him a stack of papers. "Needless to say... We're keeping this secret. Because those two are probably going to keep it secret."

"...Makes sense. With Gaara being Kazekage and all... Sucks, though." Kankuro stared blankly down at the papers, then asked, "We can tease him about it, though, can't we?"

"Kankuro."

"Congratulate him on the sex, at the very least?"

"Kankuro!"

As she scowled and her motions became more agitated as she sorted a new pile of papers, Kankuro gave her a teasing grin. "Huh... I really thought you'd be jumping up and down about those two getting together. Why so sour?"

Without looking up, she bitterly replied, "I'm happy for them! Gaara and Naruto are cute together! They saved each other. They understand each other like nobody else can. They'll be happy together. I just didn't think they'd move this fast! I thought they'd finally confess their feelings, kiss, and maybe make out. That's all..." When her motions remained annoyed, Kankuro snickered. She glared over at him. "What?!"

"I thought it was just me. But you're peeved that Gaara had sex before you did, too, huh?" He dodged the eraser she threw at him and chuckled as it audibly bounced off the wall behind him. "My detective skills hit the mark again, I see!"

"Oh, shut up!"