A/N: Hey! This was a pretty pointless fic. It all started with Inoichi's first phrase, that showed up in my head one day and I thought it was too cool to pass. I just wanted to write a scene showing the relationship between Temari, her in-laws and the rest of the "family". I think she would fit in and become friends with them all. Or at least I hope she would xD I first published it in my mother language and finally got around to translating it. I hope it makes you smile!
Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine. It's Kishiiii's.
Special thanks to: My internship's supervisor. She's a total sweetheart and lets me do whatever I want. Which is apparently typing my stories and publishing them. Lol, you're awesome, C.
Note: Arisa is the name I gave to Kurenai and Asuma's daughter. I really don't know if it was a boy or not, but I find it funny to give Shikamaru another troublesome girl in his life, since he seems to be so against but surrounded by them. She's about eight or nine in here.
Between Pans and Dishcloths
Shikaku walked into the house, stepping aside and holding the door open for his two friends, pushing it close after they had passed trough. He threw himself on the couch and sighed, content to be home and away from those hellish meetings. His friends barged right in without ceremony, but he didn't mind it. Almost fourty years of friendship gave them that priviledge.
"Honey, I'm home!" he yelled from the sofa.
"Welcome!" his wife called back from the kitchen, then added: "Now get off your ass and come here! We've got guests!"
"Do I have to?" he whined.
"NARA SHIKAKU!" she screeched.
"Going…" he groaned, dragging himself out of the couch and wincing at the snapping of his joints. Inoichi left the kitchen with a smile on his face.
"Hey, Shikaku, there's a sunbeam on your kitchen claiming to be your daughter-in-law."
"Temari?" he asked surprisedly, walking until there in time to catch Chouza crushing Temari in a bear hug.
"Chouza… Need to breathe." She gasped and he dropped her instantly. She took in a breath, but laughed nonetheless.
"What's up, kiddo?" Inoichi greeted, lifting his fist for her.
"Hey." She nodded, bumping her own fist to his. She spotted her father-in-law by the door and waved at him. "Hey, father-in-law!"
"Yo!" he greeted simply, dropping on the nearest chair by the table. His wife rushed by with a bowl of soup on her hands and placed it on the center of the table. She threw the wiping cloth over her shoulder and smiled at him.
"Hello, dear." She said sweetly, kissing his cheek and walking back to the counter.
"You're in good mood." He pointed, almost suspiciously. She grinned.
"It's because Temari-chan is here! She kept me company all afternoon, it was so lovely! We should do that more often." She said happily, wrapping her arm around her daughter-in-law's shoulder in a half-hug.
"Weren't you supposed to be at the meeting?" Chouza asked, stealing a cube of cooked meat from one of the pans, getting his hand slapped in the process.
"Nah, I got there, they told me it wasn't really my business and sent me home. So I thought, what the hell, let's visit mother-in-law!" she said shrugging.
"That was nice of you." Inoichi commented airily, joining forces with Chouza to try and steal food, but Yoshino was kicking their asses.
"Yeah, I got here she was in full blown kitchen mode, so I offered help, but after I nearly blew up the kitchen trying to make tea, I got recruited to dish duty."
"Which is really important, and I'm really thankful." Yoshino said, as if talking to a child.
"You can't cook to save your life, uh?" Inoichi mocked. She shrugged.
"Oh, I forgot!"
Yoshino threw the wiping cloth on top of the table and ran out the door, mumbling about how she had left the yard gate open, cursing and praying that none of the deer had invaded her precious vegetable garden. Shikaku felt sorry for the poor deer that had tried. He left that thought aside and turned to the daughter in law with an eyebrow raised.
"I thought you were the one that cooked for your brothers." Temari grinned.
"Hey, if she knew I can cook she'd expect me to do it all the time." Shikaku smirked and lifted his hand. They high fived while Inoichi and Chouza laughed. Temari slapped the latter's hand, which was creeping slowly towards one of the counter's platters with food. He pulled his hand to his chest, cradling it with a pout.
"Temari-chan!" he whined.
"Yoshino left me in charge, there will be no stealing food on my watch, mister!"
"Aww, I thought you were our ally!"
"And here we thought we had finally turned you to the dark side!" Inoichi complained, shaking his head.
"Sorry, boys, as much as I like you guys, I'll always have a foot on the ladie's side. Us, girls, have to stick together." She said diplomatically.
"Shikaku!" they whined, turning to him for help. He lifted his hands.
"She's ain't nagging, I ain't complaining!" he said simply.
"Where is my darling husband by the way?" Temari asked, leaning against the counter.
"Still in the meeting."
"It's still going on?" she furrowed her brow.
"Yep." He said non-chalantly.
"Then why are you here?" she crossed her arms.
"Claimed old age." He shrugged. "With all the crap it brings, it had to serve for something."
"I'm back, I'm back!" Yoshino arrived, in time to prevent an accident in one of the pans. "Temari, dear, I thought you were taking care of the food!" she chided half-heartedly.
"Sorry, Yoshino, I kept Chouza from stealing the food, though." She offered.
"Oh, well, I guess that was work enough." Her mother-in-law joked and both laughed.
"That was a little hurtful." Chouza said faking hurt. Inoichi slapped his back.
"But expected, right?"
The noise of the front door opening stopped their conversation. Soon voices filled the hallway. A childish squealing one being the loudest. In no time Chouji and Ino entered the kitchen, followed by Shikamaru, carrying a giggling Arisa in his arms.
"Mom, can I keep it? It followed me all the way home." He joked, putting Arisa on her feet
"Well, isn't it nice? A husband and a puppy, all a woman wants in life." Temari said sarcastically. Shikamaru frowned and started heading in her direction.
"Shut up."
"Feel the love." She teased. He leaned in to kiss her, but was impeded by Arisa throwing herself on the kunoichi's waist.
"Hi, Mari-chan!" she squeaked. Temari held back the grimace at the snickers.
"Hi, kiddo." She said fondly, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.
"Did you hear? Mom has a mission! I'll stay with you guys this weekend!" she yelled excitedly, jumping in place.
"That's great, Ari-chan." She laughed at the little girl's eagerness.
"Ooh, ooh, and then you train me?"
"Sure."
"Yeeey!"
"Hi, Temari!" Ino greeted, waving to her by the door, while Chouji crushed her in a hug, exactly like his father had done minutes before.
"Well, you've arrived just in time, because I… Am… Done here." Yoshino said turning off the last burner in the stove.
She snapped her fingers to the present in the house, and in a second had everybody carrying trays and bowls to the dining room, Arisa jumping around proclaiming the size of her hunger and thanking for the food being ready, being joined by Chouji and Chouza while Ino rolled her eyes. Shikamaru left the salad bowl his mother had pushed in his hands on top of the table, and walked back until Temari, who hadn't moved. He smiled softly, a smile that lifted one corner of the mouth.
"Hey, trouble." He greeted lovingly, placing his hands on his wife's hips and gently pressing her against the counter. She inclined her face up in time to catch his lips, wrapping her arms around his neck. They kissed softly for a while, until he enlaced her waist, pulling her closer. She pulled her arms back, resting her hands on his neck while he bent forward to deepen the kiss. She drew back, smiling slightly.
"Hey." She greeted back, pressing her lips against his quickly. He grinned and angled himself forwards to do the same. She leaned back, crossing her fingers behind his neck for support. He tried again and she escaped once more before he managed to kiss her again. He sent her a half-hearted annoyed look, making her laugh.
"So difficult." He grumbled.
"Always." She whispered, stealing a kiss and letting him kiss her back and deepen it. She hugged his neck, tiptoeing while he pulled her flush against his body.
Yoshino was a step from entering the kitchen to get the salad bowl the couple hadn't brought yet and to hurry them, when she came face to face with the two of them. She smiled, biting the corner of her mouth not to giggle, and slowly flipped on her heels to go back to the dining room.
She had passed Shikamaru's whole teen age thinking there was something wrong with the boy, she was too relieved to care about the fact that there were two youngsters making out in her kitchen.
"So, where's the salad?" Shikaku asked when his wife entered the room empty-handed, seemingly very satisfied with herself.
"You don't want salad." She said cheerfully, sitting beside him.
"Actually, I…" he started.
"You don't want salad!" she snapped, sending him a semi-psychotic look. He shut up, staring at her for a second before repeating resignedly.
"I don't want salad." She beamed at her husband.
"Let's all eat!"
"Aren't you going to..." Inoichi started, pointing to the kitchen.
"Let's eat!" she cut him off picking up the hashis.
"But Shikamaru and Temari…" Chouza tried.
"Let's… Eat." She said pausedly, sending all a mean look. They shut up in the same instant. Ino and Chouji exchanged an amused look of who was used to these situations and held their laughter, serving themselves of food. Arisa didn't understand a thing, but she was too entertained making a picture in her plate with her vegetables.
Shikaku leaned in his wife's direction, whispering to her with a raised eyebrow.
"You do know what they're doing, right?"
"Honey, if in the end I get grandchildren, they can use the damn kitchen table, for all I care."
A/N: I think Yoshino would be crazy for grandchildren, she looks like the type to want it since the son left puberty. And by the way, Shikamaru and Temari aren't really doing it in the kitchen, it was just a welcome-makeout, Shikaku was just exaggerating.