Hello, guys ! It's been years since I upload a story up to FanFiction lol :) Anyway here's a little ShikaTema to rejoice that they are finally canon ! All the pairings that I support are canon too; SasuSaku, NaruHina, InoSai. Oh it's simply wonderful. Too bad NejiTen didn't happen. I miss, Neji :'( Anyways, on with the story !

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto at all, in case you're wondering.

*Set one year after Naruto left with Jiraiya for training*

"Diplomatic liaison?" Shikamaru groaned.

Tsunade nodded. "Yes, for the upcoming Chuunin exams. You will work alongside with the diplomatic liaison officer from Suna as well."

"Tch. Why me, Godaime?" Shikamaru frowned. "There are other shinobis I'm sure that have much more experience than me regarding the Chuunin exams than I do. And after what happened last time…" He trailed off. Remembering the Suna-Sound surprise attack from a year ago made him shudder.

He was forced back to reality with Tsunade's fist slamming hard on the table. "It is because that you are inexperience that I am giving you this task for you to gain experience, Shikamaru!" Tsunade glared at the 14-year old Chuunin before continuing. "Now put your brains to work on this mission. I will expect reports from you every month. The liaison from Suna will arrive next morning and you are to escort her from the gates to the official guest rooms in the Hokage Tower. You are to give full cooperation to her in preparing these exams and for Kami's sake do not put Konoha's name to shame. Dismissed!"

"Hai." Shikamaru responded reluctantly before stepping out of the Hokage's room. "What a drag…"

As he continued to walk, he kept feeling that something was off by what the Hokage said. The thought kept nagging at the back of his mind. It was not until he reached his usual cloud-gazing spot did he realise something. "Did she say that the Suna liaison is a her?"

Temari smiled as she saw Konoha's huge green gates up front just as the first light of dawn started breaking through the skies. "Just in time." The kunoichi thought. She slowed down as she reached the gates and stopped at the Standby Station. She put a small smile on her face. "Ohaiyou, Kotetsu-san, Izumo-san."

"Ohaiyou, Temari-sama." The two guards greeted her. "We've been informed of your visit. Your escort will be here soon shortly. I hope." Izumo said with a tight face.

Temari raised an eyebrow. "You hope?"

"Well you see, Temari-sama, your escort is-"

"I had a chilling feeling that the Suna liaison would be you." Kotetsu's words were cut by a familiar voice. Temari turned her head to look at the yawning Shikamaru. Temari smirked. "I couldn't say the same to you though. Preparing for the Chuunin exams might just make you cry."

"I couldn't care less of your thoughts." Shikamaru stretched his arms and returned Temari's smirk. "A mission's a mission. I better get a good pay for working together with a troublesome woman such as you, Temari-sama."

"Shikamaru, be more respectful!" Izumo frowned as Kotetsu let out a laugh.

Temari waved her hand dismissively and chuckled. "Iie. It's better this way, Izumo-san. Let's move."

"Hai hai." Shikamaru responded lazily. He started walking towards the town while Temari walked calmly by his side. Temari glanced at him.

"You don't change much."

"So do you. Same outfit. Same hair. Same fan. Same trouble."

Temari whacked his head at the comment. Shikamaru moaned and rubbed the sore spot.

"Did your hair grow much in the past year?" She continued, ignoring his pain.

"I'm getting taller if that is what you meant. My hair hasn't grown that much." Shikamaru said. "So what do you want for breakfast?"

That startled Temari a little. "Huh?"

Shikamaru sighed. "You didn't have breakfast yet, right? If we're going to work for the whole day, might as well get you something to eat."

The blonde kunoichi raised her eyebrows at that. "Wow. I'm actually impressed that you can actually think of my state of well-being this early in the morning."

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru scratched his head. "Though I don't like missing my sleep time, I can still think you know. And the Godaime will have my head if she knows that I'm not making sure that everything is well with the Suna liaison. That's you. What a drag…"

Temari chuckled. "I understand. Fine. You lead the way. I'm not a picky eater."

Shikamaru smirked. "Good."

Temari stretched her body after her discussion with Shikamaru in one of the meeting rooms in the Hokage Tower finished. Working her brains for eight hours straight proved to be quite a tiring task. Shikamaru had dropped his head on the table as soon as she declared that it was enough work for the day.

"Oi. Wake up. You have to show me where my room is." She grumbled as she gathered the notes of their discussion and put in a file. Shikamaru didn't take her to her room as she insisted that they started working immediately after they had their breakfast at a tea house in the village. She had several cups of coffee which was probably the reason that she felt so energised that morning. She couldn't say the same now though.

Temari let out a yawn. Tomorrow they had to gather information from the library as well as a meeting with the Hokage, Ibiki, Anko and several others that had been involved with Chuunin exams preparations in the previous years.

Shikamaru groaned. "Give me a minute. My head hurts."

Temari sighed before dropping back onto her seat. "Fine. Five minutes." Shikamaru grunted. Temari smiled softly, knowing that he meant it as a sign of gratitude. They sat diagonally across to each other at the desk so it was easy for her to scrutinize his face. His hairstyle might not have changed but certain aspects of his features had. As of now his jawline was much more defined, his exposed arms more muscled and he was definitely starting to reach up to her height.

"He looks so damn peaceful when he sleeps." It was hard to admit but that was one of the reasons why Temari did not mind having to work together with the young Nara. He was intelligent, level-headed and made others feel at ease around him. He acted accordingly and did not mind to be at the receiving end of her sharp words. Sure he complained a lot and every single thing is troublesome to him but Temari had had enough encounters with him to know that he would do anything for his comrades. He might not like taking up responsibilities but when he was given something to work with, he would do it right.

Without realising it herself, Temari's fingers started to move towards his hair, touching the spiky tips lightly. His hair was surprisingly silky and soft. She felt a pang of jealousy as she pulled her hand back and touched her own hair, coarse and dry from years of living in the harsh weather of the desert. She didn't know why but suddenly she was feeling a bit down.

"Pull it together, Temari! Why are you whining over the state of your hair? It is the mark of a true Suna shinobi. Be proud of it."

But still the feeling did not go away.

"I wonder why…" She whispered as she leaned back on her chair. Only moments later her eyelids started to droop, sleep and fatigue finally catching up to her.

When Shikamaru woke up, he was surprised to see that it was already night time. He glanced at the wall clock. 8.30 p.m. He'd slept for three hours.

"Shit. Tem-" He stopped panicking as soon as he realised that the Suna liaison was sound asleep on her chair, her hands resting on her lap while her head tilted slightly towards her right. Shikamaru could hear her even breathing and somehow the sight of her put a smile on his face. It was the first time that he saw this version of her. Peaceful. There was none of the usual tension in her posture when she kept her guard up. Right now she did not give the vibe of a tough Suna kunoichi but simply… Temari. It was nice.

Shikamaru got up from his seat and put a hand on her left shoulder. "Temari? Temari, wake up. You're going to hurt your back sleeping like that." Not to mention cold. She seriously needs to consider a more conservative and heavier piece of clothing.

He shook her gently and called her name again but to no avail. She merely let out a small groan and pushed his hand away lightly. He scratched his head. He assumed that she must be really tired after her journey from Suna to Konoha and only had breakfast before working their ass off until evening. After weighing his alternatives, Shikamaru sighed. "She better not kill me for this."

He took Temari's fan and knapsack that she leaned against the table and strapped them behind him. The fan was surprisingly heavy. No wonder she was so strong considering the fact that she carried the fan all the time. Then Shikamaru wrapped his right arms around the kunoichi's shoulders and his left arms under her knees, slowly lifting her up. Now she was surprisingly light despite her well-built body. He couldn't help but notice the smoothness of her skin as well as her femininity around her chest area. Shaking the thought out of his head, Shikamaru grabbed her file on the table with his left hand and walked out the door.

After climbing the stairs to the sixth floor, Shikamaru was glad that the door to her room was not closed completely. He gave it a slight shove and the door creaked open. He glanced at Temari's face. Satisfied that she wasn't bothered by the slight noise, he headed towards the single bed in the room and laid her down. After he covered her… distracting body with the blanket, he placed the file and knapsack on the table and leaned the fan against the wall next to her bed. The last thing he needed was Temari's panic if she couldn't find her fan the next morning.

"Oyasumi, Temari." He muttered before he closed the door behind him.

"Oyasumi, Shikamaru." Temari mumbled under her breath as soon as she heard the door clicked, her cheeks a light crimson colour.

So how was it? Let me know in the review :) Thanks for reading !