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"Temari..."Temari groaned in her sleep and simply rolled on her stomach, thinking nothing of the voice other than being part of her dream, which was a good dream by the way. A blessing considering the nightmares she's been having for the past week and she will not be woken up so easily by anyone or else they'll get a nice red handprint across the face."Temari..."A poke to her backside caused another groan and her consciousness is roused enough along with her beautiful dream fading, making room for irritability to show its ugly face in as her eyes snap open and glare at the unlucky victim who's about to her a whoopin' from the Shinobi herself as she pushed herself up on her arms and snarled, "What!?" at the face that's close to hers and her bed.Her youngest brother, and Kazekage, Gaara, stood unfazed by her outburst, clad in a dull green t-shirt and dirty brown shorts, looking absolutely small in front of her as she blinks away the last residue of sleep when met with familiar milky green eyes that once held death, blank and curious as he watched her flinch and look away."G-gaara," She wasn't expecting her little brother of all people. It's clear in her voice. She slowly manuevers her legs off the bed to sit in front of him. "Are you okay?" She looks over his body and as expected, no wounds are found, just flawless milky skin. "Did something happen?" He doesn't answer her. And she didn't think she'd get one either, had it not been what Gaara was about to do next. She froze as he approached, climbing in her bed and lying on the opposite side, and honestly Temari shouldn't feel wary of the red head anymore after 3 years of no threats from Gaara or the sand or from Shukaku. Gaara has reformed himself and grown to love both Kankuro and her as actual siblings. It must be the absence of every day affection because Kankuro avoids anything affection-base and can't show proper love for the life of him. Temari is somewhat reserved and also isn't one for family times without it involving missions or sibling banter (with Kankuro). Okay, so maybe the Sand siblings need some work on being a family but they're trying! All about taking it slow and going at their own pace. More for Gaara since the two are higly aware of his slow but great progress at appreciating in being part of their siblings getting under ones skin but loving each other nonetheless. Temari turns to Gaara, shocked. He stares back, "... I can't sleep." He said quietly in his monotone voice. If Temari didn't know any better she could've sworn she'd seen a flash of uneasiness in his eyes before he turned to show his back and stare at the curtains covering the full moon "So you came to me?" She blurted stupidly. She can't help feeling giddy and a bit honored because her baby brother came to her. Not Kankuro. Her! Oh she can't wait to rub this new information in his face in the morning-She jumped when a tug on her sleeveless shirt gets her attention back down at a pale hand and quickly climbed back under the covers, rearranging them so that they cover both of them. It wasn't a terribly cold night tonight, but Gaara's skin is sensitive and he gets cold easily. Years of protection from the sand and Shukaku's extraordinary powers has left the skin untouched and out of reach from any physical damage. Having armor is beneficial but Gaara has since removed it after the extraction, wanting to experience sleep without the feel of discomfort of a bed full of sand. He's completely vulnerable. And Temari is doing her best not to tear up because Gaara trusts her that much. This is a big moment!She gets settled in and within a few minutes of soft breathing from Gaara, Temari's lids flutter shut, but not before feeling the bed shift and a soft weight moves closer to her and a breath tickles her collarbone. She smiles and encircles her arms around her little brother, gently weaving her fingers through his silky auburn locks. Kankuro is going to be so jealous.
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Kankuro likes his personal space. Close second to his puppets, and his siblings, his personal bubble is the thing that he favors most, but he's no stranger to affection. Again, his puppets get that sort of love and care from him but his siblings- uhhh.... No. Just no. He can't handle it. It's not in his blood to 'love', not after years of harsh training, dealing with a crazy psychotic baby brother, and a dickhead of a father who never gave a single fuck about him. He's a cold-hearted, masculine, puppeteer that assassinates his targets and enjoys their suffering as he plays with them before taking their lives. Or so he believes. He never got a chance to be the big brother to his littlest sibling, because of course Gaara never acted like a little brother. Kankuro will never admit to hiding behind his older sister at times when Gaara got angry or scary, despite being smaller than him, but the power level is giant gap of whose the capable one in the group to send one hiding. He always dreamed of being the one to show off his puppets to his baby brother, to be the best of the three and teach Gaara all the great things, like pulling pranks or terrorizing other kids because it was fun! He wanted to teach Gaara all the things he learned and even paint his face to be part of him. He wished for those moments with Gaara, and maybe he could still have those moments with him now that he's changed for the better. But Kankuro didn't know how to ask for them. He couldn't face his brother or find the courage to ask if he'll be interested in those things now. He thought about these things while lying awake in bed, until he would fall asleep. And often he would dream of moments where he and Gaara wouldn't be so uncomfortable in each other's presence and just smile or bump fists like normal brothers would do. But those who just dreams, and dreams never come true. Kankuro never expects them to. The sun's ray hits his face right on cue and Kankuro hisses, "Fucking sun...," he yawned, muscles tensing before shuddering. He always forgot to close his stupid curtains during the night so warm streams would light up his messy room and would eventually climb up his bed to engulf him in an abrupt greeting. And apparently a small grunt under the covers as well.Wait- Kankuro tensed. No one has ever snuck up on him in his sleep. Out of all his siblings, his hearing is quite exceptional and, he'll never admit it, he's the most paranoid and it only amps his senses to a hundred. So who the fuck is in bed with him? His movements are painstakingly slow as he draws down the covers. His other hand goes to the kunai he has hidden under his pillow and braced himself in case the small lump stirs. The dark haired teen lets out a harsh breath when he caught sight of the crimson spikes and cursed, "What the fuck Gaara." more to himself when the smaller boy continues to sleep silently beside Kankuro. He blinks and sits up however. "Wait, what are you...?" Gaara sleeps on and Kankuro just stares, transfixed. Why did Gaara come in here? Is he sleepwalking into people's rooms now? Kankuro shudders at the thought and shook his head. Gaara couldn't be doing that, right? Maybe he walked in the wrong room and just didn't see Kankuro. But the elder of the two snores,and his room is beyond tidy for anyone to miss. It's easy to trip over his clothes or a lone puppet he'd be working on for months. So, then.... No, Gaara couldn't have come in here because he WANTED to. Did he? Kankuro looks down at the boy. No, not Gaara. Except he did. And it didn't happen once like Kankuro thought. He'd be lying awake, waiting, until he heard the knob of his door squeak almost silently and the soft padding of feet walk towards his bed and climb on in, adjusting the sheets and quickly settling in before the light weight next to him is breathing evenly. It doesn't happen every day, and it couldn't because Kankuro would be sent off to missions and not be back for days or sometimes a week, but when he does return, Gaara always comes to him during the night. And Kankuro lets him. This is the only thing Kankuro and Gaara have that's close to brotherly love. And Gaara, of all people, is coming to HIM. Not the other way around! Kankuro felt wanted. During those moments he'd lie awake while Gaara slept: he'd throw an arm around him and pull him close, he'd hum a quiet tune he and his sister would sing to each other during times of stress, he'd brag how he is the most dependable one in the family, and he'd watch over him. These nights are a blessing. Kankuro goes downstairs one morning and Temari hums a good morning, seating himself at the table when she sets their plates down with their breakfast. Gaara's plate is sitting on the counter covered since it will be a little while before he gets up. The siblings allow him the extra hours of sleep since he rarely sleeps in. The puppet master notices his sister's good mood and quirks an eyebrow, "What's got you high in life all of sudden?" "Oh, nothing too special~" She smirked. "Temari, just spit it out. I gotta get ready for another mission in two hours." She scowls but that doesn't damper her mood as she quietly exclaims, "I think Gaara is getting a lot more comfortable with us." kankuro snorts at that and saves the news for later to hear the rest of what his sister will say. "Oh really? What makes you think that?" She giggles uncontrollably before blurting out, "Last night, Gaara came to my room and stayed with me the whole night!" Kankuro blinks. "You too?" Her smile drops, "What do you mean 'you too'?" "He's been coming into my room a lot." "What! Since when!?" "Uh... for a few months?" He sweats at the dark look on Temari's face. He heard her mutter, "All this time... I thought I was the special one." "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?"
