The music was calm and slow, but still too loud for Temari. The small orchestra in the corner of the hall was a master at playing calmly, but still being heard on the other side of the room. She was at the Konaha Ball, which was held annually. As the new Kazekage, she was required to go. Unfortunetly, she was alone. She had no family left to bring her there, no boyfriend to dance with. No, she had come alone.

She was wearing a long black dress that came to the floor. Despite its smooth appearance, it was very itchy and uncomfortable. She was wearing long white gloves up to her shoulders. There were white bows and flowers scattered along the bottom of the dress.

Someone walking through the large doors caught her attention. Nara Shikamaru, fashionably late, as always, was just arriving. She waited for his date to come after him, or for him to turn around and bring someone back with him. But he just strolled in. Him and his black suit with a bright red tie. He looked no different than anyone else, so Temari thought it would be easy to ignore him. But he directed his attention directly to her, and walked her way immediately. He seemed to be able to sense that she was there.

She closed her eyes and took a breath. Why me? As he walked over she wondered if she could shake him off. Pretend like she was the only one in this crowd of thousands of people that didn't watch him arrive. Maybe he didn't recognize her! Of course. It had been 7 years.

But then again, the closer he got to her, he began to look exactly the same as when they had met. Maybe seven years wasn't that long…

"Hey."

Temari opened her eyes.

"You okay?"

She almost laughed. One: he remembered her. Two: he talked to her in the exact same way as he used to. Three: this old crush was coming back…and she knew that was a bad sign.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Wow," he laughed, "It's been a while, hasn't it? How long has it been…"

"Seven years," Temari finished. She changed the subject. "Are you here alone?"

He groaned. "Yeah, still alone after all these years."

"Yeah, me too…"

Both of them knew what their minds were wandering too. No one was like you... they both thought at the same time, then immediately banished the thought.

"I was sorry to hear about your brothers," Shikamaru brought up.

"Yeah," Temari didn't want to say too much. It was a top-secret subject, and even though Shikamaru already knew everything about it, she didn't want him to.

"So what's it like… being Kazekage, I mean," Shikamaru changed the subject again, desperately trying to start a real conversation.

At this Temari relaxed and said more than a few words. "Tiring. Paperwork, missions to assign… Everyday, over and over."

Shikamaru let out a playful sigh. "Sounds tiring…!"

Eventually a conversation formed, and by nightfall they were laughing together. Neither one of them mentioned anything close to a a complement, afraid to give themselves away.

The quartet changed abruptly to a faster song, and Temari closed one eye. How could all these people bear the volume of the music? She put a hand over one ear, then the other. Shikamaru had stopped talking and was trying to ask Temari what was wrong, but all she could hear was the music blaring into her eardrums. She stumbled towards the door as her head began to spin. She was feeling faint. All of the sudden she collapsed, but Shikamaru caught her around the waist. She was totally weak, still conscious, but powerless. He led her to the door and outside where it was quieter. He didn't need to ask what was wrong. All that mattered was that she was in pain. She needed air, quiet, and a place to sit down.

She sat down on a nearby bench, regaining a tiny bit of her strength to keep herself upright. Shikamaru sat next to her and tried to comfort her, but she pulled away and got up. She tried to walk down the street, and then began running… fast. Shikamaru called after her, "Where are you going?!"

"Home," she yelled back imagining and hallucinating that she was miles ahead of him.

"Sunagakure is a three days walk from here!" He grabbed her arm and tugged until she stopped trying to run away. "Come on. We're going to my house."

So he walked her carefully down the streets as she wobbled and somehow managed to stay upright.

If she had been in her usual state of mind, she probably would have only been able to think about how Shikamaru was holding her hand. Shikamaru. Was holding her hand.

Shikamaru led Temari up the stairs to his bedroom, and she pulled her hand away from his independently. Still faint, she stumbled across the room and then leaned against a wall for support. She decided to stay there, but before she could finish her thought, her back slid down the wall and she collapsed unconscious on the floor.

Shikamaru looked at her, still in her ball gown on the floor. Her head fell down limp as the last traces of consciousness faded from her body. She moved her lips slightly with a last effort, but nothing came out. He smiled a little smile and then turned into the bathroom.

He untied his ponytail and slipped it out of his hair, letting his hair fall down on its own. No matter how troublesome they were, he had still worn a tuxedo to the ball. He loosened his tie and then slowly let it down, leaving the knot to hang low on his chest. What am I doing? He put his hand down on the bathroom counter and rubbed his forehead. He took off the rest of his clothes and then turned on the water in the shower. He needed an excuse to take up time.

When he stepped out of the bathroom with his clothes on, Temari was still asleep. He was wearing a very thin shirt and sweatpants—what he would usually wear to bed. He looked at the blonde, sitting on the floor and thought about how uncomfortable that dress must have felt. He, very calmly, walked over to her. He only hesitated when his hand hovered over the zipper on the back of her dress. What if she woke up? Was the only question in his mind. He trusted himself not to invade her privacy, but he doubted that Temari did too. But he reminded himself that it was for her own comfort. It's not like she was awake to do it herself, right?

He dressed her in a baggy T-shirt, much too big for her, and a pair of sweatpants, the same size. She was still asleep when he was done, so he decided to just leave her be. He sat on the bed and for a long time, just staring at her. Suddenly she jolted awake and stood up from the floor. Her hand flew to her head and she moaned, leaning back on the wall. After a few seconds she turned to see Shikamaru sitting there, staring at her, and jumped. She saw her dress in the corner and slapped Shikamaru in the face.

He turned his face back to look at her. She felt guilty, because she knew he wouldn't invade her privacy. "Sorry…" She looked down to her lap.

At this Shikamaru laughed. "You're sorry?" He decided not to go further. He knew what he was going to do, but he hesitated and let the silence drag on.

He then realized that he had accidentally left on the long, delicate glove that had so well complemented her dress. He took a breath and closed his eyes for a moment. "Close your eyes," he said, against his better judgment.

She tried to hide her blush but failed and let it creep over her cheeks. She closed her eyes, against her better judgment.

Shikamaru hesitated, but not noticably. She took her hand lightly, as if they were going to dance. He knelt to the ground, on one knee with her hand in his. He closed his eyes, too. And very gently slipped off the long white glove, until the whole thing was off of her hand. He brushed his lips on her fingertips and her lips smiled just the tiniest bit. He kissed the top of her hand, as if she were a queen and he were unworthy. Then her wrist, and a little above that… and all the way up her arm. At her shoulder he stopped, hesitating one last time.

He pressed his lips to her neck as Temari kept her eyes closed. He continued up to the beginning of her jaw, and then paused again. There was no hesitance in his movements now, if she hadn't pushed him away by now…

Temari felt brilliant as Shikamaru trailed his lips up to hers and the space between them disappeared. She wanted to move, but her body didn't agree. She just stood there, letting Shikamaru do all the work. He moved his tongue over her lips twice and she opened her mouth into a tired smile. He felt the smooth surface of her bright white teeth with his tongue.

He ran his fingers through her hair and took out the ponytails in the back of her head. He felt around the back of her head and held her face in his hands. Then he tugged on her hair and her head fell back weakly, exposing her neck. He nibbled on her skin and then kissed her more strongly up and down her neck.

He felt a little more confidence. He was there in his room... with the most amazing girl... alone...

He grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the wall, pressing his lips to hers with the same force. Finally, Temari's want over powered her stubborn body, and she began kissing back. Shikamaru licked her lips again, begging for entrance. When she gave it to him, he explored every part of her mouth with just his tongue, and they both silently agreed that it was the most brilliant feeling in the world. Temari, for one of the first times in her life, felt feminine. Sometimes she needed to feeling of being controlled. And Shikamaru finally realized that some things are worth the trouble.

Shikamaru trailed his hands down and clasped them around her waist, realeasing Temari's wrists from captivity. She used the freedom to throw her arms aroun dhis neck and run her hands through his hair, which he had left down after the shower.

Temari had this weird twinge in her heart all of the sudden, and it felt somewhat farmiliar. Like something was wrong here. But... it felt so right.

Not without hesitation, Shikamaru slid one hand underneath the shirt she was wearing, just his fingertips. It was so long, his hands were still on cloth. He moved his hands up, desperate to feel her. But it would have to wair, because as soon as he touched her skin, Temari stopped. She didn't just stop, she slowly fell limp. At first Shikamaru thought maybe she had fainted again, but her eyes were open. She was looking down to the floor, so he could barely see her eyes. She sank down and sat on the floor below him.

He pounded his hand on the wall in a fist, and his forearm stayed there. His eyes were closed.

"You're right," he said, and then walked down the stairs and out the door

TO BE CONTINUED