This story takes place three months after the Fourth Shinobi World War. The allies are just starting to form the Union from the Allied Shinobi Forces, and are slowly transitioning from recovery mode into recruitment mode.
The Kage have just assigned the representatives of their respective villages to join the Union, with Shikamaru and Temari heading the efforts.
Shikamaru and Temari are at the Shinobi Union Headquarters, preparing for the group's first meeting.
Wind rattled the windows and snow plummeted down thickly, littering every visible surface. The predicted nighttime blizzard had come, and came at full force - pushing a cool draft throughout the small office as Shikamaru and Temari bent over documents spread out on the floor in front of the fireplace. They had long since abandoned the desk and chairs, opting for the warmth of the large fireplace in the tiny office given to Shikamaru when he arrived.
"We'll have to visit Kusa in person, it seems. They won't budge on coming to a meeting themselves. We will need to send a representative as a sign of good faith," said Temari, brow furrowing as she looked at a document.
"We will discuss this in open session, then. I'll add it to the list," said Shikamaru with a sigh.
Temari bit the end of her thumb in concentration, then said, "But, in my opinion, I think Ame needs to be addressed first. They are too much of an asset to us, and they have been hurt the most by war over the years. Recruiting Ame first might encourage others to join."
Shikamaru looked at her skeptically, but then nodded his assent. He turned and marked something on the paper next to him.
Temari yawned slightly, attempting to hide it with a hand. Shikamaru noticed, and looked behind her at the clock on the wall, which read 2:15am.
He signed, and rubbed at a knot forming at the base of his neck. "Temari, maybe we should call it a night. We've been working for hours and we really need to be awake and ready for the meeting tomorrow afternoon," said Shikamaru, letting out a wide yawn.
Temari rubbed one of her eyes and scrunched her face as she continued to look at the document in her hand. "We need to finish this, Shikamaru. You know how I hate to leave things unfinished."
Shikamaru looked at her annoyed. Then, he turned his attention to a scroll on the floor, picked it up and sighed as he attempted to read it.
But the haziness of sleep washed over him, and he felt himself not comprehending anything on the page. His brows furrowed in frustration, and he glanced over at Temari, who was resting her head on her hand, and seemed to be looking at the document in her hands with half-lidded eyes and an expression of disinterest.
Shikamaru shook his head slightly, and muttered "Troublesome woman…" He lifted himself up off the floor, and looked at the couch in the corner of the room. As he began to walk over, she looked up at him and said, "What are you doing?"
"Getting some rest. I can't concentrate anymore," he said, as he plopped down on the couch with a sigh of relief.
"But, Shikamaru, we need to finish," said Temari, annoyance laced behind her words.
"Well, I can't help you anymore. I can't even comprehend what I'm reading anymore because I am so tired. I'm going to bed, and I will help you work on this some more after I've had some rest," he said, closing his eyes.
He heard her groan at him in frustration, but that was the end of it. There was silence for about 5 minutes.
Then, suddenly, he heard the rustling of papers, and the shifting of fabric. He heard footsteps approach, but he kept his eyes close.
He hears a long, but soft, defeated sounding sigh. Then Temari said, begrudgingly, "Move over, Shikamaru."
Shikamaru opened one eye, and looked up at her. "Huh," he said, a little taken aback.
"I said move over. I'm tired, and I want to get a few hours of sleep before I get back to this," she said. He noticed that she wasn't looking at him, and was staring hard at the floor. She was biting her lower lip.
"Why should I move over? Just sleep on the floor," he said with a grunt, closing his eye again.
She hissed in frustration and said, "I'm not sleeping on the floor. There's plenty of room on the couch for two people—"
He interrupted her and said, "What? No there isn't. We'll be close quarters the whole night. Do you really want to lay that close up against me all night?"
There was a long pause of silence, and he opened both eyes to look at her. She was still looking away from him at the floor, and when she saw his eyes open, she turned to look at the fire.
"W-what? Why would I…don't be ridiculous, Shikamaru. Why would I want to…" she stammered, scrunching her face in anger.
Shikamaru raised a brow in curiosity. "Temari?"
"What," she rounded on him, angrily.
"Do…do you…" he began, tone surprised.
"Shut up, Shikamaru," she said, completely turning away from him, looking at the fire again angrily.
But then he saw it. He saw the pink tint of a blush at the tops of her cheeks - and he couldn't help but smirk slightly.
He quickly stifled the smirk and let out a long sigh and muttered, "Troublesome woman," again. He began to shift toward the back of the couch, and allow more room for her. He looked up at her expectantly, but stoically.
She turned and looked at him for a moment, then narrowed her eyes. Her mouth moved as if she was about to say something, but she stopped and snapped it closed. She looked away from him again, and moved toward the couch.
She sat on the couch cautiously, which caused Shikamaru to smirk again. He tried to hide it by biting his bottom lip. Then she laid back, and moved as close to the edge of the couch as she could, and faced away from him. He furrowed his brow at this, but said nothing and just turned away from her, too.
"Shikamaru," Temari said, quietly.
"What happened to getting some sleep," asked Shikamaru, a tone of faux annoyance in his voice.
"Shut up. I want to tell you something that's been on my mind for a while," said Temari, her tone rather strange.
He sighed, and turned slightly, looking up at the ceiling as he said, "what is it?"
"I'm, uh…well." She hesitated. He felt her tense up, and almost turned around to check on her but she continued, "I'm glad you didn't die in the war."
Shikamaru froze. He peered back at her questioningly and said, "Uh, thanks? So am I?"
She hissed in frustration, then turned to peer back at him. When she did so, their faces were so close that even Shikamaru blushed slightly. But she continued, looking at him straight in the eye.
"Do you remember what I told you at camp during the war?"
He said and did nothing, but he remembered.
She continued, "I said you've always been like my best friend because you've always been the only person who could challenge me, who could understand me, and who I could stand to be around for extended periods of time. But I said that the way you make me feel also confuses the hell out of me, and that I wish I could figure it all out."
Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk again, and he whispered, "I remember. I told you that I thought you were just crazy. And then you punched me."
Temari laughed softly at that, but continued, expression hardening. "But, then…But, then you died, Shikamaru. I watched you die. I still remember how it felt watching you die. My…heart…" She clutched at her chest, and whispered hoarsely, "it felt like it just…stopped. I couldn't breath. All I kept thinking was, 'No. Please. Don't leave me. I can't make it without you.'"
He looked at her with his mouth gaping open, and with his eyes wide and sympathetic.
"When you were revived, I was so happy." Temari smiled happily. "And I began to realize how I felt about you."
"But I was also angry," she said, brow furrowing, smile fading.
"Angry," said Shikamaru, a little hurt. "Angry that I was alive?"
"No, angry at myself. I felt weak. I felt like I was too dependent on you. I didn't like it. I mean, me? Dependent on some man? Especially you? Come on."
Shikamaru scowled at her. "The hell is that supposed to—" he started but was interrupted by a hand on his mouth. The fingers were softer than he expected.
"But," she began, smirking at him. "You're dependent on me, too, you know. We depend on each other. Don't you agree?"
He raised an eyebrow at her skeptically, then looked to the left in contemplation, then back at her annoyed and nodded slowly.
She smiled at him genuinely now. "And, because of that," she continued, "I figured out how I feel about you." She moved her hand out of the way.
He narrowed his eyes slightly at her, and said, "and?"
"And, I like you," she said, looking at him straight in the eye.
He froze, eyes widening. His brain was having a hard time processing everything, and he felt like he didn't hear her right. Surely Temari…Temari of the Sand….Bad-Ass Kunoichi Temari…the Temari laying right next to him at staring at him dead on didn't just say what he thought he heard her say. He…he had to to make sure he heard her correctly.
"W-what," he said, barely above a whisper. That was all he could muster.
"I like you, Shikamaru," she said, smiling at him, blushing again.
She said it again. Those words. And she added his name to it this time. But he couldn't process it. What was going on.
"Wait, what," he said, staring at her bewildered. He felt stupid.
"Shikamaru, I said I like you," she said, smile fading.
"I'm not sure if I'm following…"
"I like you."
"Huh?"
"You, Shikamaru. I like you," she said, frowning deeply, sounding annoyed.
"You…"
"Oh, for the love of god, Shikamaru. I like you, you idiot," she said angrily, lifting up and leaning over top of him.
And now it clicked. "O-Oh…" he stammered, looked at her in fear.
She hissed at him in anger, and turned away from him and crossed her arms. She was back to her position on the edge of the couch again.
There was a moment of silence between the two of them, and he just stared at her back, unsure of what to do or say next.
But, then he realized; he should have probably given her some sort of response as to how he felt about her in return - and guilt started to wash over him.
How did he feel about her, he thought. She was too aggressive, she yelled at him too much, she made him work too hard… But, part of him couldn't actually call all of those things bad. He felt like she challenged him to become better, and to be the kind of man he needed to be. As much as part of him hated to admit it, she was one of the few women he could spend extended periods of time with and really enjoy himself. He felt comfortable around her, and felt like he could really talk to her. He felt like she understood him, and he felt like he understood her. And…she was easy on the eyes…but he never really allowed himself to think about that for prolonged periods of time. He certainly noticed things he liked about her, but he never let himself think about it. And now that he was, he realized…
He stared at her, and he thought about what he would feel if she was no longer in his life, and he frowned. He admitted to himself that he needed her, and that perhaps, he too couldn't live in a world without her. He inwardly groaned. He actually liked Temari. As much as he hated to admit it, he really did.
So, he signed, and turned fully to face her. He took a deep breath, silently praying that he didn't get a punch in the face or a firm kick in the groin when he did this, but he reached over slowly and laid his arm around her waist, and pulled her toward him.
She quietly squeaked in protest, and whispered, "Shikamaru, what are you—"
But he leaned into her ear and whispered, "Hush, troublesome woman."
She froze, eyes wide.
He laughed softly, and laid his head back onto the couch pillow.
"Why are you doing this," she whispered, questioningly.
"Why wouldn't I," he whispered, nonchalantly.
She growled in anger and started to move away from him, but he pulled her closer to himself firmly.
"Nope. It's cold. You're staying right here," he said with a hum.
"You're doing this because you're cold," she said, tone conveying her annoyance.
"Well…yes, but no, not really," he said with a chuckle.
"Then why are you doing this," she said, angrily, voice raising slightly.
He smirked, and lifted his head up to whisper in her ear again. "Well, I know you hate to leave things unfinished," he whispered. "I like you, too, Temari."
She stiffened in his arms, and he saw her eyes widen in surprise, and a blush tint her cheeks. He chuckled, and laid his head back down on the pillow.
After a while, she sighed, and seemed to relax in his arms. They both smiled, and fell asleep.
Morning came, and Kankuro walked down the hall toward Shikamaru's office. Temari hadn't come back to the hotel room last night, and he was worried she had made Shikamaru stay up all night and work.
He opened the door. "Tem—" started Kankuro, but he froze, looking over at the couch with wide eyes. He saw Shikamaru and Temari, fast asleep on the couch, spooning. He backed out of the room slowly, and closed the door quietly.
He stared at the door, then turned to walk down the hall.
Then he chuckled to himself, and shook his head.