Title: It would be troublesome.
Author: kokoro-dokidoki
Rating: T
Pairing: ShikaTema (Shikamaru and Temari)
Word Count: 1366
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters.
"Excuse me, what?" Temari furrowed her eyebrows, wondering if she had heard right.
"I'm not going to repeat it again, Temari." Gaara growled as he crossed his arms.
"Shikamaru's cheating on me?" The sand kunoichi let out a forced laugh. It sounded more like a croak of denial. "I don't know where you're getting your facts from Gaara, but that's not possible. Shikamaru would never do that."
"Oh really? Well how do you explain the fact that he was shopping with that mind transfer girl yesterday? They were apparently very lovey dovey." It was evident that Gaara was annoyed.
"Ino?" Temari gulped. The long, blonde haired ninja from Konoha had always been close with Shikamaru, everybody knew that.
"Yeah, her. So do you want me to go kill him for you or what? I've been itching to-"
Temari cut him off before he could finish. "Where are you getting this information?"
Gaara shrugged. "I heard some rumors."
"Rumors? Gaara, you've got to be kidding me. You actually believe what they say?" Temari snorted, the doubt washing away and she felt relieved. "When have you started to gossip?"
The redhead closed his eyes and shook his head. He turned around and began walking away, no longer fascinated by this topic. "Whatever, suit yourself. I'll go find another target."
The doubts came back soon after Gaara left. Temari hated to admit it, but she was worried that there was a possibility that this rumor could be true.
Time to pay Konoha a visit.
Temari strolled along the sidewalks of Konoha, occasionally greeting some people she knew. She had come to Konoha, but had no idea how to proceed. She mentally slapped herself for making such a rash decision about coming here, all because of a stupid rumor no less. The sand ninja just stared off into space until she bumped into someone, the pain snapping her back into reality.
"Ouch! Watch where… Temari?"
The familiar blob of pink hair made Temari's mouth curl up into a smile. "Hey Sakura."
"You never come here without notice. Do you have business in Konoha? Or…" Sakura smirked and nudged her friend in the ribs teasingly. "Or are you here to see your boyfriend?"
"I guess you can say both."
Sakura blinked. "You have business with him? What's up?"
Temari sighed. Might as well get some confirmation before she goes to confront Shikamaru with it. "There's a rumor going around that Shikamaru's cheating on me with Ino." She said flatly, expecting the worst.
Sakura frowned. "When have you started to believe in rumors? Temari, I thought you were a strong woman."
"I am!" Temari exclaimed defensively. "It's just…"
Sakura's eyes softened and stroked her friend's back gently. "I understand, everyone's insecure sometimes. Let me tell you something that Naruto said when I had doubts of Shikamaru's reliability. Shikamaru… He's foul-mouthed and he's lazy, but he'll never betray someone."
Temari bit her bottom lip, nodding slowly. Sakura's words of reassurance were helping and she was calming down. Before she could open her mouth to reply, a pair of arms snaked around her waist from the back and a warm, familiar chest was pressing up against her. The person's chin rested on her shoulder and his mouth opened to mutter a soft, "Hey."
The sand ninja didn't even have to look back to see who the body belonged to before relaxing in her lover's arms. "Hi." She looked around and realized that Sakura had quietly disappeared to leave the two alone.
"I missed you." Shikamaru mumbled and Temari swore she felt her heart skip a beat.
"I missed you too."
Shikamaru turned his girlfriend over gently so they were facing each other. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Konoha today?" He smirked, and suddenly, all the rumor shit came back to her and she punched him hard on his arm.
"Ow! What was that for? Troublesome woman." Shikamaru grumbled and rubbed his sore arm.
"I thought you were smart, but it turns out you're just a dumbass!" Temari growled and hit Shikamaru repeatedly.
"What's wrong with you today? You're more aggressive than usual. Woman, stop!" Shikamaru was trying desperately to defend himself without hurting Temari. His girlfriend froze suddenly and dropped her balled up fists back down to her sides. Shikamaru breathed a small sigh of relief. "How troublesome."
Temari let out a bitter chuckle. "I'm always troublesome, aren't I? I must be such a bother for you, Shikamaru."
The shadow possession ninja was lost. "I didn't say that, I-"
"That's right, I'm an aggressive woman. But sorry, that's just the way I am. If you're so sick of it, why don't you just fucking run to Ino?! Oh wait, you probably already do!" By now, Temari was pretty much shouting, and Shikamaru didn't know how to calm her down.
"Ino? You don't make any sense, Temari! What are you talking about!" Shikamaru was going to reach for her hand, but she slapped it away.
"I came to Konoha because people were saying that you were fucking cheating on me with Ino! Apparently you guys went shopping together and the atmosphere was all lovey-dovey!" Temari felt the hot tears threatening to flow out, and she tried hard to hold them back.
Shikamaru's expression softened and he hugged her tightly, not giving her a chance to slip out of his grip. Temari started struggling a little bit, but realized that Shikamaru's hold was too strong. She took a couple of deep breaths and stayed still with her boyfriend's arms still wrapped around her. "You really are a troublesome woman. Are you going to let me explain now?"
Temari didn't respond.
"I'll take that as a yes. First of all, I admit that I went shopping with Ino the other day. Before you start lashing out on me again, let me explain. We weren't being "lovey-dovey", whatever the hell that means. And it's Choji's birthday soon, so we wanted to celebrate together as team 10. We went out to buy him a present… That wasn't food." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and chuckled softly.
Temari pulled away slightly to look into Shikamaru's eyes, as if inspecting if he was telling a lie. However, she already knew from his voice that it was genuine and what he was saying is true.
Shikamaru smiled slightly and ran a hand through Temari's soft locks, realizing that she wasn't resisting from his embrace anymore. "Second of all, you're not troublesome at all. I mean, I know I always say that, but that's just a Shikamaru thing. You know I don't mean it. Well, at least not when it comes to you." Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm number one when it comes to running away or avoiding responsibilities, but here I am with you. If I found you troublesome, I'd be long gone by now, wouldn't I?"
Temari lifted her arms up to return Shikamaru's hug, breathing in his scent. They stayed there for a while before Shikamaru kissed her forehead, then the tip of her nose, and then finally, Temari's lips. The kiss was gentle and loving, and Temari's heart was going to beat out of her chest.
They stared into each other's eyes, neither saying a word, just enjoying each other's presence. After what seemed like an eternity, Shikamaru finally spoke up.
"I know I don't say this often, but…. I love you."
Temari smiled brightly, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. "I love you too."
Shikamaru smiled back and took her hand in his. "Now that we've solved that, do you wanna go to my house so I can take a nap?" Temari laughed and Shikamaru followed suit. "Just kidding. Let's go eat something, since you're already here."
Temari nodded and the couple started to walk hand in hand. They walked in silence before Temari opened her mouth. "Hey, Shika?"
"Mm?"
"I'm sorry for doubting you."
Shikamaru shrugged. "It's nothing. Hey, Temari?"
"Mm?"
"Do you know why I would never cheat on you?"
"Why?"
"First of all, it's because I love you, and I always will. You might be an aggressive woman, but you're my aggressive woman. Secondly…"
"Secondly?"
"It would be troublesome."
A/N: First Naruto fic! C: I love Shikamaru, so yeah, LOL.
Thank you so much for reading! Reviews are appreciated 3