"You know we're terrible together right?" Temari poked him in the middle of his ribs as she said this. Wincing, Shikamaru rubbed the area which her bony finger had jabbed him, it was probably still going to bruise. He sighed, they had just spent the night doing what she wanted, which essentially was doing what was to be part of a normal date night for other couples. They had gone for dinner at a decent restaurant, he was worn his nice blazer, she had worn her heels and those red earrings which made him want to kiss her neck as he watched them sway. They had watched a shitty rom-com which they both hated but endured through so they could pretend to be absolutely functional and not at all dysfunctional and headed for a messy divorce.

They had done everything their stupid shrink wanted. And to be honest, they had done it perfectly. Both he and Temari were smart and intelligent people and so along with the date, there had been no jibes, no snide remarks, no complains about "troublesome women" and no arguments which ended in stomping out of restaurants, a night on the couch and screaming. It had been absolutely untroublesome and even, dare he say it, boring.

Temari had obviously noticed him thinking about their lackluster date and so she sighed. How could she not? They had been together for five years and he was staring at the spot over their tv as if he was staring at a chess piece when they played shougi, he knew that she knew that this was more than troublesome.

"Shikamaru," Temari muttered. It had been months since she had called him by his name. Usually, she substituted it with 'Nara' or 'you' or 'lazy', he didn't like this.

"I don't know if this is working anymore."

Her statement hung in the air, heavy with apprehension.

He choked.

"You cannot be serious."

Temari turned towards him. He was surprised by the look in her eyes. The fire that had heated and warmed those green-blue eyes which he had fallen into had been left cold, the embers barely smoldering.

"You know I would never joke about these things."

He licked his lips. The dry air was making them peel. He breathed.

"We always worked."

"We're not working anymore."

She had turned away from him, she probably had tears in her eyes. She never did like him to see her cry, always said that it was too 'demeaning'. He never thought it was, he just saw it as another side of the beautiful beautiful woman that he married, the vulnerable side that made his heart twinge and curl in that troublesome way that he loved and hated.

"We will still work, just give us a shot Temari."

"We've tried for five years."

They did. There was the marriage counselling. There were the 'I love yous' which they said every morning to each other because Naruto and Hinata did it and they were the most picture perfect couple that you could know. There were the kisses on the cheek and sex every night which was supposed to give more intimacy. But they were making hate instead of love. He slammed her against the table for the eye roll she had made at him this morning, she bit him till he bled for calling her troublesome, he scratched her for looking at that man like she wanted him. They fought all night and when they were done, they helped each other to their bed and slept, turning away from each other.

"I still love you, you know."

He wondered if telling her that would make her change her mind. He knew that the possibility of changing it was miniscule, after all she had already been desensitized to all the little 'I love yous' they had said each morning. But this one was different, this one was a plea and he wondered if she would notice it.

"I know," was all she said. She stared forth into the darkness of their living room, her hand slowly creeping towards his until their thumbs met and then their indexes and then the rest of their hands, so that both curled into one another like foxes hibernating for the winter. He smiled ironically. This was how they had first began, with small imperceptible gestures filled with awkward shyness. He was twenty one, she was twenty four, he was a junior in college and she had just made associate partner at a law firm. And while Temari may have been the epitome of sex, he had been far from it hence all the awkward sexual tension and uncomfortable gestures of infatuation or lust or love. He had loved her so much for tolerating the stupid little things he used to do. He loved her for remembering them and returning them.

"We'll work it out Tem, we'll work it out our way."

He broke the comfortable silence. This was a first for him, he had never dared to or wanted to break silences as comfortable and intimate as these but this time, the situation seemed dire enough. And what did he have to lose? As a child, he had learned from his father that love was more than kissing and nick-names, love was indescribable. He understood that but relationships weren't just about love. However, maybe this time relationships could be like love, they never did have one solution to them. And maybe this time, amidst the ruckus and the screaming and the flaring tempers, they could make it through. If only she would look at him and tell him that she understood, that she accepted. Maybe just maybe they could stop going to that bloody therapist who psycho-analyzed their relationships and called them mismatched, maybe they could be that couple who played shougi on Saturday nights and watched Netflix on Friday nights to jeer at Katherine Hiegl instead of going out to eat and socialize like other couples did. They were an odd couple but they were still a couple. If only Temari would understand that.

What she said next made his heart stop.

"I'll call the therapist in the morning and tell her to fuck off."

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