This occurs a little over a month before the Mission to Amegakure (be sure to check out that story as well!) This will be a multi-chapter fic.
The lock of the door unlocked with a loud click as Shikamaru opened the hotel room door for himself and Temari.
For the first time, they decided to share a suite. "To save money for both of their villages," reasoned Temari to the front desk clerk with a deep blush and a sideways glance. They both knew why they were doing it.
Usually, they stayed at the same hotel while visiting the Shinobi Union, and stayed in separate small rooms on opposite ends of the large hotel — and had very little contact with one another until they met in the lobby at a designated time to head to the Union or periodically went to the hotel restaurant together. But when Shikamaru approached the front desk clerk and asked for one suite for two people with Temari in tow behind him, he was met with a knowing grin and "I know just the room for you two lovebirds."
"No, we don't want anything specially. One of your two bedroom suites is fine," he said, turning bright red.
"Are you sure? We could put you in the honeymoon suite," said the clerk with a grin. "One king size bed…private balcony…hot tub?"
"No no," said Shikamaru looking slightly horrified. "Please, just one of the two bedrooms…"
"Alright, if you insist," said he clerk, looking a little disappointed.
And so, there they stood in the doorway of the suite. Unmoving and unsure of what they should do next.
Shikamaru glanced at Temari, who was already glancing sideways at him. She pursed her lips irritably, and blushed deeply, but tried to stand taller and appear less nervous than she was. She shuffled past Shikamaru with a "hmph" and walked in first, confidently. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and walked in behind her, closing the door behind himself and muttering lowly, "it's not a competition, you know…"
He set his bag down by the door and turned to look at Temari, who was squatting in front of the fireplace trying to rescue a fire that had burned itself down to embers. He watched her as the fire came back to life and illuminated her face.
She turned to smile at him, and his breath caught in his chest.
She turned and looked at the rest of the suite. They were standing in the small living room which had a couch, chair and coffee table. Next to the couch sat a basket of woolen blankets and several pillows.
To the right of the living room was the small kitchenette that had a full refrigerator, a small stove, a microwave and a small sink.
Off to the left were three doors. Temari walked over to them and opened each one, revealing a bathroom and two bedrooms.
Shikamaru was watching her by the door, and when she opened one of the bedrooms and walked in glancing at him just before she was past the door frame, his eyes widened, and he moved quickly to follow her.
When he walked in, he saw her bag that was sitting on the floor by the end of the bed, and he looked up and saw her standing by a pair of sliding glass doors. The moonlight was making her body look like a dark silhouette, defining every curve of her body. When she turned to face him, her eyes seemed to glow with the moonlight, and he found his eyes widening in awe at the sight. He wanted to tell her that she was beautiful. He wanted to walk up to her and take her in his arms and kiss her. He wanted to do so many things. But he couldn't. All he could do in that moment was stare in awe.
"There's…there's a small balcony. Would you like to step outside for a moment," she asked, a little more nervously than she would have liked. "It's pretty clear outside tonight. No clouds, and the moon is full. It's still freezing but at least it's not snowing, and—"
He set his pack down beside hers and walked over toward her, and nodded. There was a intensity in her stare that made her grow silent. She reached down to open the door, and a blast of cold air came into the room. She looked at him expectantly, and he stepped out the door onto the balcony before her.
There were lanterns all along the cement rail of the balcony. There was snow collected on the tops of some of them, and on the edges of the balcony, but for the most part there was little snow on the balcony — as if someone had swept most of it away.
There were two large chairs with cushions, and a small glass table between them.
She walked out behind him, and looked around to take it all in as he was. He was trying to remember every detail — even the small ones. He turned to face her, and was wondering if she was doing the same. He'd like to hope she was.
"Shall…we sit? Or—" she started, but he was already moving to sit in one of the chairs, and was motioning for her to do the same.
His silence was making her uncomfortable. As he was taking his seat, she looked at him while biting her bottom lip anxiously. I wish he…would say or do something. Is he letting me take the lead? But I don't… she thought. She wasn't letting herself continue with her train of thought. She knew if she did, it would lead her to feel more anxious, more nervous…more afraid. Instead, she moved to sit beside him, and let out a loud sigh as she fell into the cushions, which were surprisingly warm.
She looked up and saw hundreds of stars. She could even see whole constellations. She smiled slightly as she tried to map out each one.
But he wasn't looking at the sky, or looking around them. He was looking at her.
"It's a beautiful night," she said, glancing at him. She noticed he was looking at her, and so she turned to look at him full on. "I don't remember the last time I saw a night this clear here."
He smiled slightly, and nodded in agreement as he himself looked up at the sky.
She remained looking at him for a moment before she turned her head back up to the sky.
He glanced at her again, and noticed her hand sitting on the arm of the chair. It was clenched slightly, a sight that surprised him. So…she was as nervous as he was, then?
He smirked to himself, and reached out to grab her hand. When he grasped it, he gripped it slightly. She turned to look at him in surprise, but he was looking away up at the sky.
She looked down at their hands, and with a small sigh she turned her hand over to interlace their fingers together.
"Temari," he said, lowly. She turned to look at him.
"Your…your hands are freezing," he said, turning to look down at their hands. "Come on. Let's go back inside. It's too cold to be out here."
He released her hand, and stood up. He turned to her, and reach out his hand again at her.
She looked down at it, then up at him. He was smiling warmly at her, but there was something in his eyes…a look she recognized yet wasn't familiar with yet. The danger behind that look frightened her, but the fire in her belly and the way her heart pounded quicker when she saw that look made her reach for his hand, and follow him back into the room.
He let her walk in first, then he turned to close the doors. When he turned to look back at her, she was staring at him with such intensity, he felt his blood begin to stir.
"Let's go warm up by the fire," he suggested, looking toward the door.
"Alright," she said, motioning for him to lead the way. As he turned to walk, he reached down to grab her hand again, wanting to touch her but too nervous to do the things he actually wanted to do.
She looked down at their hands again and smiled at them.
"You know, I can probably find the way back to the fireplace on my own without your help," she said with a light nervous chuckle, shaking his hand slightly. She felt herself getting more comfortable, and diverting back to their usual banter.
"I know, but I wanted…I wanted to touch you," he said with a blush, deciding that honesty was probably the best way to go in this situation. Her eyes widened for a moment at his statement, and a blush colored her cheeks, but she tried to push through it and continue with the familiar banter.
"Touch me," she said nervously with a smirk. "This is what you call touching?"
He stopped, turned to look at her and gave her a look that was so intense, her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened slightly.
"I figured if I did what I wanted to right now, I would be ruining the moment and rushing into things too quickly," he said, giving her a knowing look. "But I think you know me well enough by now to know that I like to take things slow and enjoy the moment," he said turning away and continuing to walk into the living room area.
"And…and what is it that you wanted to do," she said, face heating up slightly. She was giving up on the banter.
They were standing in front of the fire, and he released their hands and turned to look at her again. She could see the nervousness in his eyes, but his face conveyed nothing of it. He reached up to touch her face again. "I wanted to hold you, and kiss you," he said. Well, maybe he wouldn't be completely honest...yet...
Her eyes were surprisingly hazy looking. His insides burned each time she bat her eyelashes at him, or opened and closed her eyes slowly.
"And…what's stopping you from doing that now," she whispered, stepping closer to him.
"Nothing," he said moving closer to her. Their bodies were only inches apart now.