TWENTY

by paperxflowers

Author's notes: Twenty drabbles for my fanfic claim at the Philosophy20 community on LiveJournal. I claimed the Sand Sibs because I totally love them and because, on some levels, I kinda relate to Temari. I'm the big sister of two younger brothers with a messed up family like her. So this doubles, sort of, as a way for me to get my own thoughts down. Thus, there will NEVER be any Sandcest because that would be weird as hell.

Warnings: Foul mouths, darker themes eventually, and spoilers for the manga (which I am so behind in o-o)

Disclaimers: Naruto's not mine, nor are Gaara, Tema, and Kankuro.

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Prompt 18: "And if the Answer is No / Can I change your mind?"

"This is insanity."

"It'll be fun."

"You're crazy."

"Look who's talking!"

"You'll have to kill me to get me to do this."

"That can totally be arranged."

"I'm going back to the hotel."

"You have got to be the rudest Kazekage ever."

"Kazekage's don't throw themselves off cliffs."

"Suicidal ones do."

"Stop changing the subject."

"I'm not changing the subject. Suicidal Kazekage's throw themselves off cliffs, and you're rude."

"It's days like these that I want to kill you."

"But you won't."

"What gives you that idea?"

"'Cause I'm your big sister and you loooooove me."

"Oh my god, how do we share chromosomes?"

"See! You don't deny it!"

"I'm leaving."

"Kankuro did it!"

"Kankuro's an idiot."

"...okay, I'll give you that. But that's not the point! Are you really going to let Kankuro one-up you?"

And then there was silence. A thoughtful look crossed the pale face of the 19 year old boy in front of her and he leaned over the edge of the cliff. Yes, there was water at the bottom, but it was at least thirty feet down. At least. It wasn't that he was afraid, it was that he had a feeling that his predecessors didn't go hurling themselves into a lake. As the leader of his village, he was supposed to be calm and composed. He was in Konoha on business, not to traipse around his moron "friends," if you wanted to call them that.

...Well. Yes. He supposed he did call them that, but rarely did he admit that to himself. When one is standing at Death's Door and Death's Door is saying "Come on in! We have pie!" and that pie is apple and homemade, one was practically forced to make some concessions. But he would never, ever let them know that he thought that, lest their already bulbous egos expand any further. The concept of actual friendship, however twisted it was when applied to him, was comforting on some level. At the risk of sounding like a made-for-TV movie, he had once thought he wasn't even deserving of any sort of companionship, nor did he need it. The changes that had come with the discovery that that wasn't true had been more welcome then he thought they would be.

The ever-present lonliness that had pervaded every corner of his childhood had begun to shrink into the darkness. Because, despite his current annoyance, there was something nice about arguing with your older sister about, in her own words, "doing some actual living outside of your damn hive!" It made pretending his life actually had some sort of stability easier.

And besides, his father had been his predecessor and he had always gotten some sick glee out of doing the opposite of everything that man did.

So he took a few steps back from the edge and his sister grinned. Christ, he hated it when she was right.

"I hate you so much."

"You'll thank me when you're older."

Three wide steps, there was the edge of the earth pushing against the arch of his foot, and then...