"It's seriously nothing." She said, resisting Shikamaru's protests. Sitting upon the mattress, she looked sweaty and disheveled - red-nosed and pigtails slightly skewed. What she'd said had sounded a lot more like, "Ids seriously nothig."
"I have to go to work." Temari insisted.
Shikamaru wasn't terribly good at this; feeling exhausted, already, from his attempts at convincing her otherwise. She was as stubborn as a rock wall. He'd just wanted a quiet, easy day off.
"So you intend to make everyone else sick at work?"
"It's probably just Spring allergies, after spending weeks in this overgrown jungle of a village." Temari waved it off. "I'm not sick!"
She'd already half-pulled off her sweatshirt before devolving into a fit of coughing.
Apparently, this called for drastic measures.
"Okay, fine." Shikamaru shrugged, quickly changing tactic. "I guess there's no stopping you."
Temari responded with a grunt of approval, reaching for her combat clothing.
Making his way into the kitchen, he mentally thanked his past self for picking up more groceries the day before. Soon, a pot was boiling on the burner, kelp, chopped radish, mushrooms, cabbage and onions bubbling.
After a short while, Temari peered around the corner, curious. "Is that… kenchin soup?"
"Yup." Shikamaru said, adding tofu to the mix.
The incredibly flat look he received in return meant she'd seen right through him.
"It's too bad that you'll miss having it while it's still warm, getting ready for your busy day and all." He said nonchalantly.
"I guess I wouldn't mind waiting around for a little." Temari grumbled after a moment, sniffling. It was her favorite dish, after all. And he'd expended an unusual amount of energy in making it.
It wasn't long before her apprehension turned to delight, the two sitting down to eat.
"This is good! Really good!" Temari said with surprise, mouth full of soup. "I didn't know you could cook so well. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I had my reasons." He muttered. "Don't anticipate too much from me. This is just a one-time deal kinda thing."
She stole an onion slice from his bowl. "Oh, I'm going to exploit this knowledge."
He had kind of expected as much.
"Shit, it's already nine-thirty." Temari glanced at the clock worriedly. Then she began coughing again.
Shikamaru placed a blanket from a nearby chair around her shoulders. Deciding to make the final move, he kissed her lightly on the lips.
"I'm going to have to let the Hokage know I won't be in." She said, pulling away slightly, her stubbornness crumbling.
"Already sent a memo." Shikamaru said.
Temari sighed, eyeing him with a clear combination of fondness and annoyance. "Fine. I'll stay home and try to get well." She hesitantly leaned in again. "I hope I won't give you my cold…"
"It's fine." He supposed he wouldn't particularly mind having more days off if so. They kissed once more. Their kisses carried on.
"But I'll have you know," Temari said, shrugging off her blanket and yukata, "this is just a one-time deal kinda thing."
"So you say." Shikamaru retorted, meeting her lips once more with a smile.