Midnight Snack

Summery: Seven-year-old Temari can't sleep and decides to sneak into the kitchen to get a midnight snack. What she DOESN'T expect, is to run into her little brother. (GaaTemaKank. Sisterly love. One-shot.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Author's Note: I wrote this a couple of days ago. Thought it would be cute. I hope you enjoy!

Midnight Snack
By: Lady-Azura

Temari tossed and turned in her bed, her wavy golden locks spreading out in every direction as she tried to find the right position to sleep comfortably in.

She had been up for at least two or three hours past her required bedtime, and she was beginning to grow rather frustrated. After about five more minutes of trying to control herself and not throw a temper-tantrum (Only someone as stupid and whiny as Kankurou would resort to such a childish thing, she'd told herself) and call for her uncle to tell her a bedtime story to help her fall asleep, Temari became fed up and threw her violet sheets off her small, delicate legs.

She slipped out of bed, the bottom of her lilac nightgown tumbling downward as her feet hit the floor.

Quietly, she made her way out of her room. She tip-toed down the hall, cautious not to make a sound. Her father would be absolutely livid if she were to wake him up, and even the slightest noises - such as a door sliding open or the hardwood floor creaking, was enough to disturb her father from his slumber.

Temari couldn't help but shudder at a distant memory that flashed in her mind. Just a few years back, when Kankurou had first been introduced to the art of Puppetry, he had come to her in the middle of the night, claiming that he had just mastered how to create Chakra strings and control various objects… such as Temari's favorite doll.

Needless to say, she hadn't been too pleased to discover that her favorite antique China doll that her uncle, Yashamaru, had gotten for her for her birthday, had been completely disfigured to create some sort of… bizarre… creepy… thing. She had literally thrown it at Kankurou's head and told him that he could keep it, since she didn't like it, nevertheless, want it, anymore.

Unfortunately, her outburst had awoken their father and well… Temari never wanted to be at the receiving end of his wrath ever again.

She sucked in a breath as she turned a corner, half expecting to find her uncle patrolling the halls. Why he did that every night… Temari didn't know. He wouldn't tell her, but she and Kankurou had overheard him and their father one afternoon, speaking in hushed voices about how their youngest brother, Gaara, now needed to be supervised at all times.

Why? Temari often asked herself on numerous occasions. Why does Gaara need to be watched?

She was slightly relieved when she didn't find her uncle wandering around. This could only mean that he was asleep, which meant he couldn't scold her for being up at twelve o'clock at night.

Slowly, Temari made her way into the kitchen. She glanced around a few times, expecting to see one of their maids finishing up on the desserts that were to be served at an upcoming event the following afternoon. She didn't know what the event was for, but she knew that both she and her siblings were expected to attend and be dressed for the occasion.

Formally, which was alright in Temari's case, because she knew that her uncle or one of the maids would take her shopping for a new kimono, and Temari had her eyes set on one kimono in particular.

One that she had passed while she had been in town, helping her uncle carry some groceries. Or rather, accompanying her uncle while he carried the groceries back to the house. She had volunteered to help, but her uncle had denied the offer, saying something about it not being proper for a young lady, such as herself, to be doing such a thing. Especially when that young lady was the one and only daughter of Sunagakure's Yondaime Kazekage.

Kankurou wasn't too pleased when he'd been informed about the event, and Temari knew this for a fact. He despised the idea of getting all dressed for one of their father's important meetings or dinner parties.

Temari didn't know what Gaara's opinion was on the matter, though. She never really saw him, and when she did, his expression was always the same.

Nonchalant.

Deprived of any emotion that a normal four-year-old should acquire.

Unfortunately, that was the way the Kazekage had intended to raise his children. He believed that if they were raised like assassins from the time they were able to walk and talk properly, they would be able to suppress their emotions and complete future missions without feeling any remorse or pity.

So far, only Gaara succeeded in doing this. Temari had never once seen her little brother smile.

For the most part, she and Kankurou could manage to conceal their emotions, but there were times where they acted like real kids, laughing and smiling and crying. This only ever occurred when their father was away, visiting the neighboring countries and whatnot, while their uncle would be assigned to watch them.

Uncle is always nice when Otou-san isn't around. Temari thought, opening the refrigerator door and searching for something edible to eat. Not those icky tofu and sushi treats that the maids insisted on making them eat, day in and day out, but something sweet… and chocolaty… and full of sugar!

Finally, she spotted something in the far back. Reaching inside, she pulled out a bottle of chocolate sauce and a jug of milk, and kicked the refrigerator door closed with the side of her foot. She placed the items on the table before lifting herself up onto the counter. When she managed to balance herself on her knees, she opened two of the cupboards and looked for the chocolate chip cookies that she knew Kankurou and her uncle liked to hide from her.

Her lips curled into a rather devious grin when she spotted the familiar bag. She reached up, trying to grab the bag without causing a ruckus.

C'mon, 'Mari. You can do this! She told herself, slowly rising to her feet so that she didn't have to struggle. Just a little higher…

Suddenly, the lights flickered on. Temari froze in fear, too terrified to move a muscle, much less, actually turn around. What if it was her uncle? Or worse… her father.

"Aneue…?" A soft voice, filled with uncertainty, called out.

Temari relaxed, recognizing the voice. She turned around, ready to greet her brother, but as soon as she turned, she lost her balance. A small shriek escaped her, but just before she hit the floor, a blanket of sand broke her fall.

Her eyes were clenched shut, but she heard a pair of feet shuffle across the hardwood floor and towards her.

When Temari finally opened her eyes, she found herself staring into a pair of concerned, turquoise irises rimmed with black.

"Aneue…" Her little brother repeated, shaking her arm. "Daijoubou desu ka?"

"I'm fine." Temari assured him. "Nothing to worry about."

She flashed a small smile, but Gaara didn't seem convinced. He lowered his head.

"Gomen-nasai, Aneue… I didn't mean to startle you…"

"You don't need to apologize, Gaara." Temari reminded him. "Daijoubou… see?" She stood up and twirled around. "I'm okay!"

"Demo…" Gaara began, but Temari silenced him by placing her index finger over his lips.

"No buts." She said. "I'm fine. You didn't let me fall and I didn't hurt myself, so for that… arigatou, Otouto."

Why aren't I scared? Her mind screamed. Usually, I'm terrified to be in the same room as him! So what's different now?

Perhaps it was because he looked so vulnerable and scared. Her big sister senses were kicking in. That was the only logical explanation!

"Aneue… what are you doing up so late?"

Temari stared at him for a few seconds, before replying, "I couldn't sleep."

Gaara's eyes went wide.

Did this mean what he thought it meant? Was he not the only one who could never sleep, for fear of that scary creature in his dreams consuming him? Gaara vaguely wondered if his siblings had them as well, but was devastated when his sister finally answered.

"It's this heat!" She complained. "It's so… I don't know… mucky and icky and gross!"

I guess it's just me, then… He thought, the sadness becoming evident in his eyes.

Temari noticed this almost immediately, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Otoutou?"

"Hai, Onee-chan?" Gaara mumbled.

Temari was taken aback by the sudden term of endearment. Normally, he would call her "Aneue", like he had been doing for the past five minutes. Temari blinked again. She really couldn't remember a time when he had ever called her "Onee-chan." This was certainly a first.

"Would you like a cookie?" She finally managed to ask. "To help you sleep? How about some milk, too? Or do you prefer water? I know Kankurou likes chocolate milk, but I'm not sure…" She trailed off, watching, almost in a trance-like state, as Gaara manipulated the sand around him and used it to pull the bag of cookies off the shelf.

It floated in the air for a few seconds before Gaara had the sand release it's hold on the bag. The two siblings watched as the bag landed on the table with a small crunch.

"I was gonna use a stool… demo… I guess that works too!" Temari grinned and opened the bag, pulling out six cookies.

Three for her, and three for Gaara.

In the meantime, Gaara poured three glasses of chocolate milk.

"Wait a minute… three?" Temari asked, shooting her little brother a quizzical look.

Gaara nodded. "Hai… one for me, one for you… and one for Onii-chan…"

"Onii-chan?" Temari repeated, glancing over her shoulder just in time to see her other brother step into the kitchen, the black kitty hood of his pajamas pulled down to reveal his unruly brown hair.

He yawned loudly and rubbed his eyes as he walked past her.

"Oi, oi…" He muttered sleepily. "What's going on?"

"We couldn't sleep." Temari replied. "What's your excuse, Kankurou? And don't say you couldn't sleep either, because you were out like a light when I checked on y - ooh!" Temari's ranting came to an abrupt halt when Gaara placed a glass of chocolate milk in front of her. She smiled. "Arigatou, Otouto."

Gaara nodded, but didn't say anything as he handed a plate of cookies and a glass of chocolate milk to Kankurou, before walking over to the table and beginning to eat his own.

Temari and Kankurou exchanged glances before walking over and joining him, and together, the three siblings ate in silence.

11 years later…

Kankurou's eyes bounced between his brother and sister as the three sat at the kitchen table, eating their beloved chocolate chip cookies and drinking their chocolate milk. Scratch that. He and Gaara drank chocolate milk, while Temari settled for water. Kankurou rolled his eyes at this. Now that Temari was older, she was more worried about her "youthful" appearance than anything else.

She was the envy of every teenage girl and woman in Sunagakure, and she intended to keep it that way, and the only way to achieve that, was to cut out all of the sugar and junk food out of her diet. Except for nights like these, when she snuck down to the kitchen in the middle of the night and literally devoured a bag of chocolate chip cookies.

Or at least, she would have, had he and Gaara not been awake at that same time and craved the same thing. So her plans of eating all of their cookies had been scrapped, and she was forced to share.

"Oi… you know… this looks kinda familiar, you know?" Kankurou finally said, breaking the silence.

There was a pause.

"You're right."

Temari blinked, glancing over at Gaara.

"He is?"

Gaara nodded.

Temari thought for a second, before her lips curled into a devious smile.

"Hmm… now that I think about it… it does seem familiar…" She picked up a cookie and looked at Kankurou. "Demo… this never happened."

With that, she hurled the cookie at Kankurou's head.

Kankurou was quick to dodge it though, and ducked. The cookie pinged against the stove and flew back in their direction, but instead of hitting either him or Temari… it hit Gaara.

Square in the face.

Temari bit down on her bottom lip, nearly drawing blood, while Kankurou silently prayed to whoever was listening and apologized for any sins he committed in the past.

Even though Gaara was more stable nowadays… they weren't sure he wouldn't hesitate on using his Desert Coffin on them.

SMACK!

With his ever-present, nonchalant expression, Gaara had hurled a cookie at Kankurou, striking him in the forehead. Temari laughed, but that didn't last long when Gaara aimed one at her as well.

And now, both her bothers would endure her wrath as a royally pissed off, PMS-ing Temari gathered cookies and prepared to attack.

FIN

Well, done that one-shot. Meh. Not my best work… but hey, I couldn't get it out of my head and decided I had to write it… though I should've just ended it when they were kids, but whatever.

Onto… definitions…

Otou-san - Father

Aneue - A more respectful way to say "older sister" or "big sister."

Hai - Yes

Daijoubou desu ka - Are you okay?

Daijoubou - I'm okay

Demo - But

Gomen-nasai - I'm sorry

Arigatou - Thank you

Otouto - Little brother

Oi - Hey

Onii-chan - Brother

Onee-chan - Sister

Eh… not sure what else to put, other than, I hope you enjoyed it.

Ja ne!

-Lady-Azura-