With You
"We should get married." It caught Temari off-guard enough to make her stop, allowing Shikamaru to walk a few paces ahead of her. She just got out of the Hokage's office and he was walking her back to her hotel. The usual small talk would have been welcome but this was absolutely unexpected.
"Wha- Married?"
"Yeah, we should get married." Shikamaru, hands in his pockets, kept right on walking. His tone was as neutral as the way he'd casually mention that it's going to rain or that the clouds look nice today.
"Whoa. Slow down, Nara. The fuck are you talking about?" She reached out and grabbed his arm, forcing him to face her. The calmness of his face unnerved her. Didn't he have any idea how big of a deal this is to her?
"You heard me. You and me. We get along. We should get married."
"'We get along?' That's basis enough for you to want to get married?"
"Is there any other?" Shikamaru shrugged.
"What's this about? Is it because Naruto just confessed his undying love to the Hyuuga heiress? Is it because the Uchiha boy is sticking around for Sakura? Is it because-"
"It's none of that. It's because if I had to choose someone I could see myself spending the rest of my life with, it's you." Shikamaru was starting to get annoyed. He definitely didn't expect a simple "yes," but he didn't really expect she'd be so resistant to the idea. Heck, they've known each other for years. And if his powers of observation served him correctly, he knew he was the only man (save for her brothers) that she was somewhat close to, whether in Suna or in Konoha or anywhere else.
"Valentine's day is a still a few months off. April Fool's is even further..." Temari trailed off, as if trying to go through a mental list of reasons he's talking of marriage other than the obvious.
"Ugh, you troublesome woman!" He sighed looking up at the clouds and wishing women were as simple as the puffs of condensation he loved to stare at, "Why can't you just take it as it is and accept the fact that I want to marry you. YOU. Temari of Suna, troublesome pain in the ass that you are." His frustration was evident in his usually calm face, but the pinkish hue on the tips of his ears gave away his embarrassment. He should have known this wouldn't be easy. He wanted the easy life, but the easy life kept right on rejecting him.
"Well, say I'd consider your proposal, then. Where's your ring?"
"No ring. Not yet. Not until you say you're fine with it."
"You've got it ass-backwards."
"I'll get the ring if I know you'll take it. No point in spending my money on something you'll end up rejecting. I won't be able to use it to propose to anyone else, would I? At least, I don't intend to propose to anyone else." He looked down at the ground and took out his ire on a random pebble by kicking it aside.
"Can I ask what brought this on?"
"Genuine desire?" Shikamaru said hopefully, both brows raised.
"Come now." Temari responded with a frown.
"Well... I spoke to mom, and-"
"Oh, that's what this is about."
"No. No! Hear me out, woman, come on! I spoke to mom, and I usually don't stick around long enough for her to get all emotional on me. But the thing is, she was talking about dad and the whole marriage thing. I always thought it was more trouble than it's worth."
"You and I both."
"Yeah. But despite it being troublesome as I've seen with my parents, and despite all the fights they have and putting up with each other's quirks all the time, I just figured that it's part of the package. To be honest, I can that we'd probably end up just like mom and dad. They're constantly at each other's throats, sure. But all in all, they're happy. It may not be everyone else's definition of happiness. But it's mine. And I want that."
"It's going to be hard, you know. Getting the Hokage and Kazekage to approve an alliance with our families. Gaara won't be much pleased with me running off to Konoha and leaving Suna behind. Kankuro much less so. Your mom probably won't be too keen on the idea either, seeing as I was once seen as a threat to your village. It's more trouble than it's worth."
"No, it's not. You don't think I can handle a little political maneuvering? I'm Konoha's leading strategist. I can talk and plan my way through anything. Heck, that's why I'm still alive today."
"I know. Like a game of shogi, right?"
"Yes. God, woman, you're making this more troublesome than my entire career as a jounin combined. Why can't you just say yes and admit that you want this, too?"
"Excuse me?" Temari raised her brow as a derisive snort escaped her.
"You heard me. You don't think I don't notice how you'd always gravitate towards me whenever you're here?"
"You're my guide." She justified, albeit weakly.
"Nope! There was that one time when I was away on a mission, and you told Tsunade-sama that you didn't need a guide. But lo and behold, the next time you were here, you somehow conveniently forgot your way around again."
A slight blush adorned her cheeks, no one had ever mentioned that to her, not even the spurned pseudo-guide who seemed eager to show her around. "That... That was different. It was a short mission and I didn't even need to stay here for a full 24 hours."
"Because I wasn't there?"
"Because I didn't need to."
"Why don't we just cut the bullshit and say outright what we really want? I know I just did."
"Alright, alright. One last thing before I give you an answer. Why in the seven hells do you want to marry a foreigner who has brought you nothing but trouble and hardship and headaches? I'm not the average wife you've always dreamt of since you were a child. I'm a kunoichi of the sand. I'm a fighter. I'm even more hard-headed than you. I'm a constant pain in your ass. Why do you want to punish yourself so?"
"Because I've never wanted anything more than to be with you. I'm lazy, that much I know. I can't be bothered to do half the things I need to get done in a day, and that's just how I am." Shikamaru paused and took a deep breath. This is it; whatever he said right now would change his life forever.
"But with you," he continued, "I've never felt more motivated to prove my worth. More than proving myself to the Hokage or to anyone in this village, I want to show that I can get all worked up if I had the right motivation. And that's you; you're my motivation. I want you to see me not just as any other shinobi, but as a shinobi worthy of allying myself with Sunagakure. I want you to see me as a man worthy of standing by you. And if that comes with a fuck-ton of hardships and headaches and fights and screaming matches until we're both blue in the face, I'll take it. I'll take it all. As long as that means it's you I'm with the entire time."
"It's not going to be easy," Temari said, looking down at her feet and feeling herself wanting to acquiesce, to fling herself into his arms and whisper that she wants the same things too. But no, that's not how she'd ever allow herself to behave.
"Of course it's not going to be easy. I'm done with easy. If there's one thing I want to be hassled by, it's this."
They both paused staring at each other. It was midday, and they were standing in the middle of a moderately crowded street. This is completely unromantic, and if Ino knew this was how Shikamaru intended to propose, she'd have hit him upside the head and shoved him down his favorite hill.
But neither of them were romantics. Where other couples had flowers and candlelit dinner dates, Shikamaru and Temari had arguments and disagreements and subtle insults. They had frank strategic discussions and brainstorming sessions. Other couples would make out in living rooms, and these two would be the type to play shogi all night long while enjoying each other's company. Romantic was not their style.
Temari took a deep breath and looked right into Shikamaru's eyes as if she was looking for the punchline to the joke. But there was none. He was dead set on this. The intensity of his eyes and the subtle blush on the tips of his ears gave him away. This was real. And what she was about to say could change her entire life.
"Okay. If that's what you want, then yes. I accept your proposal."
Shikamaru blinked. She said okay. That's a yes. She said she'd accept. But because it's what he wants?
"Now, I'm not forcing you into it..."
"HAH. You're funny. You think you can force me into anything?"
Shikamaru considered this, "Good point... So... That's it then. We're engaged now."
"Yeah. Engaged. All that's missing now is a ring."
"Yeah, about that..." Shikamaru scratched the back of his head, "I figured I'd let you pick it out yourself. I've never seen you wear jewelry, so I don't know what you'd like. I'll go with you, of course. Is that okay?"
"You sure don't do things the way most people would."
"You could talk. You just accepted a proposal that turned out to be a debate, and there isn't even a ring involved yet."
"I know. I'm a piece of work."
"That's us now. 'We' are a piece of work."
They started walking down the path they had started on before the whole talk of marriage came up. If anyone were to look at them, no one would have noticed anything amiss. But to Shikamaru and Temari, this is the start of a new chapter in their lives. It involves more work than any of them had ever done, and it's a job that will last them their whole lives. But it will be worth it.
Troublesome as it was.
AN: This is my first ever Naruto fanfic. I hope it's not too bad :) Please leave a review!