Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

A/N: Sentences in italics are Temari's thoughts.

Nara Shikamaru stared, astonished at the woman who'd just waltzed into his small one bedroom apartment and made herself at home as a a heavy downpour beat furiously at the windows.

"Temari-san, are you sure you want to stay here while you're in Konoha?"

The blonde kunoichi merely yawned and stretched, shifting a bit on the living room couch. Her fan lay undisturbed by the door. She ripped off her hair ties and let her hair fall all over one of the couch pillows as she lay down for a nap. Closing her eyes, she sleepily replied,

"What's wrong? All the inns are full and the person I trust most in this country. Besides, I don't know where anybody else I know here lives. Do you want me out or something?"

The male picked up her bag, which had been lazily tossed by the television and put it on the coffee table, saying nothing. He disappeared into the kitchen, then reappeared bearing a mug of hot chocolate, which he set on the coffee table as well.

"Its cold outside. Warm yourself up," he pushed the mug to her. Temari sat upright, thanked him for the drink and took a sip.

"Not bad. I don't suppose you're gonna charge for this?" she laughed. Shikamaru shook his head.

"Nah, though helping out around the house would be appreciated. As you can see," he looked around the unkempt place he called home after he flew the coop two years ago,"This place ain't exactly the same standard as a nice inn."

She eyed the pile of laundry in a corner – probably left out since the beginning of the week-- then turned her attention to the nervous pineapple head standing in front of her.

"This place does need a woman's touch. If you weren't here, I'd have mistaken it for some bratty bachelor's dorm," she remarked in slight disdain.The blonde observed the bored look on her companion's face.

'How troublesome', he must think. 'She's rubbing salt in my wounds,'

"Anyway, about where you plan to sleep," droned Shikamaru, wanting to get this over with.

"You never stay for just one night unless you're on your way somewhere else. Which you aren't. And this place only has one bedroom, unless you don't mind sleeping in the study."

She finished the hot chocolate.

"Where's the study?"

Shikamaru'd made dinner. Wait, he could cook?

This better be edible.

She took a spoonful of fried rice, cautious, but once she deemed it fit for human consumption, she smirked, then turned to the man sitting next to her on the sofa (he had no use for a dining room since he lived alone now, and ate in front of the telly).

"Not bad, Nakimushi,"she teased.

A grunt in response, his eyes glued to the screen, which depicted a rather exciting action sequence,with two men fighting over a young woman, who he seemed particularly interested in. The rest of dinner was spent in an awkward silence. Shikamaru thought it troublesome to talk.

He doesn't mind me callin' him a crybaby anymore, eh?

I guess he's matured.

He did seem more mature. No more whining, no more complaining, being strong and silent. What had happend to the old Shika she loved to tease and talk to? Perhaps he was getting a bit emotional.

After all, his master's fourth death anniversary is in two days, if Ino is to be trusted. Well, she couldn't have been lying -- she was there when he kicked the bucket. Also, when I saw Chouji today, his appetite and hers was a bit lax as I treated them to lunch.

It explained the half eaten rice as she kindly helped Shikamaru to wash the dishes, as well as his alcohol saturated breath.

It was depression, it seemed.

She recognised the symtoms from when her own father suffered from it at one point. Job stress, like Shikamaru's.

The man was promoted to jounin a year ago, and now, there had been an influx of missions for him, in fact, he had returned from one a mere day before she had arrived to stay at his place.Plus, the Hokage wanted for him to go on a three day mission a day before his sensei's death day. He would not spend that day by his grave, burning incense and leaving him a pack of cigarettes and flowers, which saddened him greatly, as he always made it a point to visit every year. That, and he felt obliged to take care of Kurenai and her daughter, now three.

The next day, as Temari stood on one side of the apartment door, with Shikamaru at the corridor, he handed her the keys to his home.

"I'll be away for three days. Don't mess up the house," he told her sternly. A few paces after he had turned his back to her, she called him back.

"Nakimushi!"

"Hmm, troublesome woman?"

Her fingers dug into the palm of her hands.

"I'll take care of Kurenai- san for you and as for Asuma-san, I'll visit him for you, is that alright?"

"Hmm."

"Also, I'm gettin' rid of the beer in your fridge. All of it. That stuff ain't good for you."

He wore a surprised look on his face.

"What the hell?"

Temari had taken an hour to locate Kurenai, since the village was huge. The pleasant, raven haired woman was at the playground,watching Kimiko play. The blonde sat down beside her, a plastic bag filled with groceries at her side. The older woman noticed the other one's presence, greeted her, then called for Kimiko to do the same.

"When'd you get here,Temari-san? " asked Kurenai, red eyes focused on the female who looked whimsically at her daughter's half baked efforts to try and make a castle out of pebbles without it crumbling to a pile of stone.

"Arrived in Konoha two days ago. I'm stayin'over at Nakimushi's place since all the inns are full."

"Nakimushi?"

"Nara Shikamaru, sorry. I'm just too used to calling him that. Its a habit now."

Crimson lips turned upwards at the corners.

"D'you help out around the house in return or something? You know,he could use a woman like you around him all the time to keep him in check."

Temari shot her a look that said, ' WHAT THE--'.

"I help him tidy the house, maybe make him a snack, but that's it. He's off on a mission now, anyway, so I'm taking care of the house. By the way, that's why I'm here. Shikamaru's always payin' you visits, right?" she passed Kurenai the groceries, " Well, here,don't go about assuming anything."

There was pleasent conversation afterwards, before Kurenai said she had to go. Turned out, they were both visiting Asuma's grave. Some more polite words, then both women returned to their abodes(Okay, for Temari, it wasn't actually hers).

Soon after, Shikamaru returned right on schedule. Truth be told, it felt like he was coming home to his wife or something, with Temari serving most of the purposes a wife did in his eyes ( cook,clean...).

He wouldn't be saying 'Honey,I'm home!' anytime soon, though, or she'd whack him with that fan of hers, kick him around, then deck him once or twice more for the heck of it. When he entered his home, he found she had made dinner, which was fish with some rice, and left it, covered in clingfilm on the coffee table while she had an evening siesta in the study. The pineapple head smiled, then rummaged through the fridge for something to drink

What do you know, she was serious about getting rid of the beer.

A/N: Moi's first ShikaTem fanfic. Me loves that pairing. Sorry ShikaIno fans, but I don't approve of ShikaIno. As for my personal feelings on this, let's just say it ain't my most favourite fanfic. If I can muster the energy to, you guys might be seeing me write more ShikaTem fics. Me brother's suggesting that I turn this into a series, which I might. Sorry if I shorten my words too much.Bye for now, my brother wants his turn at the computer. Review!

Hikari