A one-shot to celebrate autumn here in the states.

I practically live outside during this time of year.

Temari is a bit OOC. Sorry.

Naruto and co. belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

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It was 11:30 on Sunday morning, much too early to be getting up, in Shikamaru's opinion. But alas, he had no say in the matter as a cheerful looking Temari knocked on his window. Shikamaru sighed and reluctantly got out of bed, muttering something about troublesome women.

Temari grinned as he slid the window open and glared at her, "Good morning, sunshine."

"What are you doing here?"

"Gaara's here for a meeting, and since my birthday's tomorrow, I have the day off," she said triumphantly.

"Oh," was Shikamaru's reply. He hadn't forgotten her birthday, he wasn't one to forget things like that, but he still hadn't found her a gift.

"So," Temari continued, "I was wondering if you'd show me around Konoha, since it's only my second time here..."

Shikamaru sighed, ready to tell her it was too troublesome, but she cut him off, "Please? It's my birthday.."

"No it's not."

"It is tomorrow, but I won't be here tomorrow. Please?"

She leaned forward from where she was sitting on his windowsill. After a moment of silence, Shikamaru sighed for the umpteenth time.

Temari, taking that as a 'yes', cheered and hugged him, "Arigato, Shika-kun!" She gave him a quick peck on the lips before climbing back out the window.

"Meet me at the Hokage tower in half an hour!" she shouted and jumped gracefully out of sight.

As promised, Shikamaru showed up at the tower at the appointed time. He rounded the corner approaching the tower and saw Temari standing with her back to him, fist poised in the air. He was about to call out to her, but then she brought down her fist and a cry of pain rang through the air.

Suddenly, Temari turned and ran toward Shikamaru, grabbing his wrist and pulling him in the opposite direction from which he had come. Shikamaru turned back in time to catch Kankuro kneeling on the ground in pain, a bruise already forming around his eye. Gaara stood behind him, leaning against the door frame that went inside the tower. He almost looked like he was smiling. Almost. But he was definitely amused.

"Hey! Wait, what happened?"

"Nothing! Nothing. Don't worry about it," she hastily replied, but Shikamaru could see the light blush staining her cheeks.

"So," Temari said, changing the subject, "Where to first?"

They strolled about the village lazily, while Temari admired the beautiful scenery the Leaf Village possessed around this time of year.

She also liked how closely knit the people of the village were, unlike much of Suna. Everyone was so kind, and they all seemed to have some kind of relationship with one another.

She stopped for a moment to watch an elderly woman walk out of a bakery with a box of pastries. She gave them to a small group of children

whom Temari could tell were not her own.

On the other side of the street, a man was raking the leaves that had gathered on his front lawn. A few children ran over and jumped into the pile of leaves the man had raked, scattering them once again.

Back in Suna, the children would probably have been scolded by the angry man.

Instead, the man laughed and joined the children in the leaf pile, playfully showering them with more colorful leaves.

Temari smiled softly at the heartwarming scenes all around her. These people were the reason shinobi risked their lives everyday. That there is still some good in the world, that is what Konoha shinobi strive to protect. These people are the core of the will of fire.

Finally, the day was over, and Shikamaru still hadn't found a gift for Temari. He'd seen alot of items he thought she would like, but none of them were good enough.

The last place they went was the Hokage monument. They sat on the carved stone, looking out over the village.

"Everything is so pretty here," Temari commented softly, showing a more gentle side to her that only Shikamaru would see.

Looking out over Konoha, it was the beginning of autumn, the most beautiful time of year for the Leaf Village. The trees had not yet shed their leaves, so everywhere you looked were hues of red, gold, and yellow fluttering about.

Shikamaru glanced over to his left, toward Temari. Her eyes were fixed downwards, toward the quiet village below. She had her chin resting upon her arms, which in turn were crossed on top of her bent knees. Behind her, the sun was setting, casting her in soft shades of gold, pink, and red.

He leaned over, slowly.

She was still mesmerized by the colors of autumn.

He kissed her on the cheek, "Happy birthday," Shikamaru whispered.

"But it's not my birthday," she replied, quoting their conversation from earlier that day.

"It is tomorrow," he said, and she laughed. The sun finally disappeared behind the mountains, leaving the village in near darkness.

The next morning, Temari was up early, packed and ready to head home to Suna. As she went to retrieve her headband from the bedside table, she noticed something odd about it. The dark blue fabric under the metal plate had been replaced with a light lavender silk.

It looked plain at first, but a closer examination revealed small intricate designs in silver thread. Leaves.

Carefully stitched on the back were a few small words:

So you'll always have a piece of Konoha with you,

Shikamaru

This oneshot was brought to you by hot tea and Miyavi's 'Dear My Love', which should be playing in the background when Temari finds her gift.

Don't you agree?

Review, onegai desu.

Pleasant somethings, mina-sama™Miyavi