Quicksand
Sand Sibs. Gaara-centric. He finally knew what it meant to be a family. It was seeing Temari smile, and hearing Kankuro laugh.

When Temari smiles, it's like watching the sun rise above the sand, casting vivid glows of red, orange, and yellow, making the sand sparkle like gritty gold, and snakes painting trails of lined-art in its wake. She never really smiled at him before - no, she never truly smiled at him, where her lips were laced with laughter and eyes crinkled dangerously shut with mischief; the smile that only Kankuro was allowed to see. But now, she smiles at him every morning, after meetings, and after missions, and Gaara accepts them all graciously with a lingering stare that sends her blushing, and Kankuro teasing.

When Kankuro laughs, it's like hearing the cicadas sing, the wind whistling, and the sound of Temari's cooking. Kankuro has many different laughs. He laughs when he is about to kill someone, he laughs when all he wants to do is cry, and he laughs when he's truly amused. Gaara likes his last laugh very much, because when Kankuro laughs when he is amused, he laughs with his entire body. His arms flails, occasionally swats at Temari accidentally-on-purpose, and the ground shakes with his laughter. It is a warm feeling, smooth like milk, and rich like honey.

When Temari and Kankuro are together, it's different in the way they treat each other to the way they treat others. Temari doesn't smile often during meetings, and she's aggressive towards others. Kankuro doesn't like standing around and having small talk, not unless it benefits him in one way or the other. But Gaara likes seeing them when they're alone together, because suddenly Temari is all smiles and snide remarks, and Kankuro laughs with his body and has a comeback to everything Temari throws at him. They're helplessly affectionate towards each other, and Gaara notices the way Temari runs her finger through Kankuro's hair when she gets up from the dinner table to get the water jug, or the way Kankuro trails his hands down Temari's spine when they're walking.

Sometimes, Gaara wonders if he'll ever be a part of their relationship, but he knows that he is. Because when Temari is mercilessly hitting Kankuro and when Kankuro retaliates, they glance over at him, smiling and laughing, and sometimes Temari will wheeze out, "Gaara, get this idiot off of me," and Kankuro will smother his sister's face with a throw pillow and grin innocently at Gaara with a, "Don't worry about her," and Gaara knows that they love him the way they love each other.

When Temari is with Kankuro, she teases him with her hands and feet, and she's not afraid to mouth off. But when Temari is with Gaara, it's different. Temari visits Gaara in his office with food, pictures, or sometimes she'll come empty-handed. She likes to interrupt whatever he's doing and sits on his desk, and blathers away about her day, and Gaara lets her. She talks and talks, and sometimes Gaara talks. Sometimes, she'll quickly touch his face or fuss with his hair, and Gaara welcomes these touches. It's foreign to him, but it's not unpleasant. Gaara enjoys the confusing mixture of happiness and content that settles in his chest. It's gentle, slow, and relaxing, and Gaara knows that this is how Temari shows her affections to Gaara, and Gaara alone.

When Kankuro is with Temari, he teases her about everything under the sun and retaliates when she bites off more than she can chew; sometimes, he'll bull-doze through the bathroom door when she's showering, rip the curtains off, and flee with a naked, but not at all embarrassed, Temari hot on his heels. But when Kankuro is with Gaara, he cajoles Gaara into speaking his innermost thoughts, the ups and downs of being a Kazekage, and he listens with interest and concern. Kankuro doesn't touch Gaara as much as Temari does, but sometimes he'll give him a quick, one-armed hug, but Gaara doesn't mind; Kankuro doesn't like touching anyone except for Temari and now Gaara, and Gaara couldn't ask for anything more.

Gaara knows it's different they way they treat each other, and the way they treat him. Kankuro and Temari are a mixture of best friends, siblings, and confidants. They can't go a day without touching each other, or teasing each other, and Gaara knows that Kankuro can't go a day without making Temari smile, and that Temari can't go a day without hearing Kankuro laugh. Gaara doesn't understand why Kankuro pulls Temari's hair and pokes fun at her weight harmlessly, and then suddenly look at her softly with a content smile. Gaara doesn't understand why Temari twists Kankuro's arm, makes fun of his puppets, and then hug him around the neck, playfully preventing him from wriggling free. But that was how they were with each other - always have been, and always will be.

With Gaara, they were his older siblings. They were the first one to recognize him as something other than a monster, the first ones to accept his apology, and the first ones to defend him. Temari dotes on him, brings him food, talks about her day, and fusses with his well-being. Kankuro listens to his musings, coaxes him into talking about his troubles, and is his second, albeit aggressive, voice during meetings.

Gaara knows that they are not a normal family - they are trained killers, ruthless in battle and cunning towards the enemy, but when he sees Temari smile and hears Kankuro laugh, Gaara knows that he wouldn't want a normal family anyway. There's an old saying that Yashamaru use to hum under his breath, and Gaara never understood what it meant, but when he comes home to find Temari lying on the floor wearing her purple yukata and Kankuro sprawled over her, snoring softly into her hair, Gaara finally understands. He pushes Kankuro off of Temari, who frowns in her sleep, and settles himself in between his siblings, still wearing his Kazekage robes. Temari immediately curls towards him, placing a small hand on his chest, and Kankuro snuffles softly in his sleep and throws a leg over Gaara's thighs, and Gaara lets them touch him. It's still foreign to him, but not at all unwelcome, and it's the only thing that helps him finally sleep after fifteen long years of insomnia. He closes his eyes, and the sound of both of his sibling's breathing lulls him to sleep.

"Don't fix what isn't broken."