Hey everyone!

I decided to create this as a drabble dump. It's going to contain only shikatema and will be of various genres.

I get a good amount of requests on tumblr so these are usually written there and then dumped here. If you would like to request, feel free to inbox me on my tumblr (url: therewithasmile) or PM me here!

I probably won't do much rambling pre-drabble like I usually do; just leaving the actual request as a prologue to the drabble itself.

Enjoy! Feel free to leave a review as well.

- muse.

.::[::]::.

[shikatema w/ "I like when you smile." :^)]

For once, the peace didn't feel artificial.

It should be a crime for so many shinobi to be off work solely because there was no work to be done. The days lazily stretched by, the chuunin exams had come and gone without a hitch, and soon it was time for jonin recommendations. To Shikamaru, it was obvious who would get promoted, but they insisted on calling him to the meeting anyway in place of his father (even though he had made a point that even he wasn't jonin, but the looks the entire council gave him sufficed).

And somehow, things happened with Temari. He didn't know exactly how it happened but things fell into place. When the war winded down he didn't really want to talk about the Infinite Tsukuyomi and apparently, neither did she, but both were super conscious of each others presence during the chuunin exams. When they'd walk together their hands would touch and it would be fleeting moments, but their fingers would curl together before falling away naturally.

They would eat at restaurants; she particularly liked dango so they'd stop by to pick up some dumplings. They would watch the lazy street activity together, idly chatting and speculating who they think were the best candidates. Before they knew it her face seemed a lot closer and they'd realize they were both leaning in, but they'd ignore what were probably danger signs flashing in the back of his head and she'd offer one of the dumplings to him, which he'd accept without a word.

Over the month, they had been asked how they were doing, what they were doing, if they were more than friends. When it came from Sakura or Naruto, they'd both roll their eyes and just tell them to interpret what they will. However when it came from Kakashi or Gai, there was almost a hint of sagely knowledge that they'd look at each other and just shrug.

Yes, he didn't know when it happened but they had both stopped denying it. Denying the connection they felt, and whether it was always there or just spurred on by the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the way they gravitated towards each other like it was natural.

Their relationship was comfortable, it was a perfectly ambiguous not dating but he didn't deny the butterflies he felt for her, nor the way his fingers would stretch for her hand, ready to take on more than just a few digits. Somehow that happened as well – they wouldn't hold on for long but when their hands happened to meet up again they would take turns initiating.

He frowned as he crossed off another day from his calendar; when Temari was due to go back to the Sand. She had stayed back a couple extra days to help Yoshino out while he attended meetings and organized new chuunin teams. When he returned home, the sand shinobi took him by the hand and dragged him right back outside, to his stuttering protests. To his relief he saw that she was taking him to a familiar rooftop, where they both flopped down and stared at the sky.

He soon found his fingers riding the dangerous magnetic pull towards her own, and as natural as it was to breathe, they interlaced with hers. They relaxed in a comfortable silence, his mind filling with only thoughts of Temari. Temari who had been in his dream, who is a part of his reality, and who meant more to him than he had expected. Temari who was currently turned away from him, but her hands were rough to the touch, but warm and still slimmer than any other hands that he had ever seen.

He didn't realize he was ogling until she turned to him. His eyes rolled over her face, memorizing every contour, the exact shade of her eyes, the way her lips moved when they broke into a gentle smile. He somehow had the privilege to be with her for the past few weeks, almost spending every waking moment with her. Now she was going home and this would be the last time he saw her in who knows how long. The thought kind of made him sad.

"I like it when you smile," he couldn't help but to blurt. His eyes watched as her mouth faltered, watched how a slight pink dusted her cheeks as her eyes suddenly fell, unable to keep with his own gaze. She chuckled lightly, her laugh rough around the edges but it was nice, somehow soothing to his ears.

"Are you confessing to me?" she teased lightly. She flexed her fingers against his before she unabashedly met his gaze, blush still evident on her cheeks.

This woman was something else.

He squeezed her hand.

"Nah."