"Two bowls of ramen, please."

"That's it? Neither of you two want anything special?"

"Naa. That's it."

"Coming right up!"

Temari sat back on the stool that she was sitting on, and then smirked at her partner for the "date".

"I'm never going to forget how you proposed to me via a letter, by the way," she sneered, allowing some more of the sake that they were drinking to enter her already slightly overflowing cup. After topping herself up, she threw more of the liquid down her throat, and then slowly leaned forwards on the counter.

Shikamaru cringed.

"Ugh, you're going to cause me to have to buy another bottle," he said. He took another swig of his cup, and afterwards filled it up again halfway. "I'm not rich, you know. And does it really matter? You have a damn ring."

With that, he sat back on his stool, almost falling over before Temari slightly pushed him forwards, and soon he was leaning on the counter in front of the both of them as well.

And there they were. At Ichiraku Ramen, in the middle of the evening, both of them almost drunk, together, drinking and eating the rest of the day away.

It had been three days since their rendezvous. It had taken them a day and a half to return to Konohagakure, and therefore the two had been in the village for a day and a half. The moment he returned to the village, Shikamaru had pulled out a ring and had proposed to her (using mostly different vows than the ones he had given to her on the letter addressed to her, which Temari complimented him on), and Temari nearly interrupted him in saying "yes.". The rest of the day and a half had been a mix of many things, mainly planning, some sex, and the Nara Head working while Temari had gotten used to her surroundings.

Aside from Naruto, no one really knew that Shikamaru was back in town. And nobody really knew about his status with Temari, aside from the tenders at the restaurant they were at, of course. Eventually, everyone would know.

Temari smirked at Shikamaru, and decided to stop lecturing him for once, before pouring a bit more sake into her bottle. So far her stay in Konohagakure had been comfortable enough, but she had only been there for a little more than a day, and even back when she was an ambassador she had stayed for longer. One of her worries, his family not accepting her, was dealt with by Shikamaru, before she could even respond to it, (and of course Yoshino Nara was very happy that her son was settling down), and Konohagakure had proved big enough to not be explored by her in one day, but still, no one really knew that she was there. None of Shikamaru's friends knew, the Hokage didn't know, none of her brothers kne-

And of course as her mind drifted back to that thought, she suddenly felt the need to drown herself in more sake.

But before she could reach back for the liquor, one of the tenders had returned with their ramen. Shikamaru quickly paid the man, and ordered another bottle of sake. He then began some idle chatter with the man (simple stuff, where was Ichiraku and his daughter?, the worrying rise of the price of ramen in the village since the village had been declared "restricted except for local travel within the Land of Fire"), while Temari shut her eyes tight, and shook her head slowly.

I'm not going to think about this shit today.

By the time she looked up again, Shikamaru had finished his conversation, and was refilling the both of their glasses. Afterwards, he lifted his cup.

"Toast?" He asked. Temari rolled her eyes, returning to the present day.

"We already did."

"This time I want to toast to something different."

Temari raised her glass.

"To..."

"To a short day at work-"

"You already said that-"

"And you choosing me."

Shikamaru threw the liquid back into his head, while Temari sat there dumbfounded. He... was full of surprises, it seemed. Either that or this was the drink talking. Either way that had been unexpected. Temari drank anyways, but paid attention to when Shikamaru lowered the cup from his mouth, and then picked up his chopsticks to begin to eat his food.

"I can tell when you're thinking about them, by the way."

Temari froze, and then began to blush.

"What?"

"Your right brow goes up a bit, and your mouth slightly downturns, and you twitch your left thumb."

"What the hell?"

Shikamaru finished a bit more of his food, before placing the bowl back onto the counter, and facing her, leaning slightly on the counter beside her.

"It's just some stuff that I've noticed. I mean, you've been thinking about them at random intervals since you came with me."

Temari's face turned quizzical, but on the inside she knew it was true. Shikamaru studied her face, sighed and continued.

"Nevermind. Just... try not to think about them too much. It's not anything personal, it's just I don't want you feeling upset all of the time."

He then reached for his bowl of ramen, and began to eat more of it. Temari sucked in her lips, and then exhaled.

"I guess this is when couples just... demand shit out of each other? Like... before the marriage?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "That, or we negotiate. I'm not ordering you to stop, I'm just thinking about your feelings."

Temari finally realised that she hadn't touched her ramen since it had arrived. She moved to do so, taking a bit into her mouth, before swallowing and answering him.

"Well, that's an unfair ask of me. I mean, they're my damn brothers of course I'm going to think about them. And now that we're in this situation, it's a sibling instinct to think about their wellbeing..."

As Temari went on, Shikamaru felt a vein pop in his head. If for only once she could just agree...

Temari eventually stopped, and then went into silence for a while, before finishing her take on the topic. In the meanwhile, the Nara Head had half-finished his bowl of food.

"How about we... make a deal or something? You said that we were negotiating, right? How about... I'll stop thinking obsessively about my brothers if... well... you don't end up getting their blood on your hands."

Shikamaru sat up. The request had him thinking about it, and he slowly returned his bowl to the counter that it had been sitting on in the first place. He asked questions, but he had already predicted the answers.

"...What the hell do you mean by that?"

Temari's face slowly turned into a glare. One of the predictions Shikamaru had was true. This wasn't the drink talking. She was being serious as fuck, and her voice reflected this.

"As in, one day don't come home to me with their headbands in your hands. What the hell else did you think I meant?"

Shikamaru grit his teeth. Knowing that she wanted a talk, he spoke as he finalized the strategies he could use to fulfill her request.

"If... this war does happen, you're well aware that your brothers are going to be pretty much the highest ranked Shinobi in your former village, right? You get that even if I'm not the one who ends up killing him, someone from another village or someone from my village could end up doing the deed, right? Not to mention that they're going to be walking security threats, and probably threaten other ninja from this village, ri-"

"And that's why I said don't kill them."

"I'll probably be a commander again, Temari. How the hell am I not supposed to end up killing them without compromising my village? Or end up ordering a mission on their head-"

"No, I meant don't kill them personally. At the very least."

Shikamaru paused, and then narrowed his eyes. "You could've said that in the first place."

"I know."

"And maybe you should drop this descriptive bullshit. I understand you better when you're being blunt as fuck."

"You still haven't agreed or disagreed."

Shikamaru nodded, and then leaned back into his stool. His answer should've been immediate, but he couldn't exactly pin his finger on why he was hesitating. Was it because of his status? Perhaps. If the General of Konohagakure suddenly turned away from an opponent in the middle of the battle, he'd be questioned. What if Kankuro or Gaara attempted to harm someone on the battlefield that he cared about? What if he accidentally ended up doing it, in the rage of battle? What if he was told to order an assassination on one of them? Did that count?

As Shikamaru thought it through, Temari finished her ramen slowly, watching his moves. Just like her, he did certain things when he was about to agree with someone, or disagree with someone. When he was about to say yes, or when he was about to say no. As he watched his fingers come together into his "thinking" pose, she scanned his body for any sign on what he would decide upon. So far, there wasn't even a clue.

More scenarios went through Shikamaru's head. As per usual, he would distract her with conversation.

"You know, the war hasn't even been confirmed yet. This entire conversation could be useless in a while if it's revealed that we are-"

"Shikamaru Nara. What a fancy meeting you here!"

Shikamaru cringed. Great, it's Naruto. Along with all of his yelling.

And sure enough, there he was. As the two turned their heads around to see the voice, the image of Naruto Uzumaki's blonde haired and blue eyed head was seen just underneath the cover of the entrance of the shop. His eyes immediately focused on Shikamaru, as he finished entering the restaurant and quickly walked over to him.

"'Was looking for you all day! Where have you been? I mean-"

As he got closer to his old friend, Temari's also blonde hair came into his view, and Naruto stopped in his tracks.

"...Temari? ...What're you doing here?"

Temari furrowed her eyebrows, and Shikamaru exhaled through his nose. Great, now to explain.

He hadn't seen Naruto all day, not even at work, and he was one of the many he hadn't found the time to tell about his arrangement with Temari. Mostly for the fear of having to do extra work, and all that extra explaining too...

Naruto soon realised that he was standing in front of them, and moved himself to sit on the seat next to Shikamaru. He smoothed out his jacket, while both Shikamaru and Temari began to think of ways to try and explain this to him. It was well known that Uzumaki was a loudmouth, so whatever they said about the two of them had to be the story they were going to use with everyone else.

Naruto, however, spoke before either of them could come up with anything to say. As per usual.

"So... I guess you two got together then..."

Shikamaru finished his ramen, while Temari answered him.

"Yes. That's it."

"Oh..."

Naruto sat back in his stool. The tender in front of him offered to take his order, but he simply waved him away. As Shikamaru finished his bowl, the tender came to take it away, while Nara noticed that Naruto was a bit... off from usual.

He wasn't wearing any orange, and instead was walking around in some sort of black and white get-up. Which was strange enough, but there was an actual, bonafide neutral look on his face, instead of the idiotic or insane grin that was usually on it. His body language was off as well, sitting up straight and walking slowly wasn't his thing at all. And finally, he hadn't even ordered anything. No ramen, and nothing to drink.

Either the effects of the sake was getting to him, or something was going on with Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto kept looking at Temari, before finally remembering what he wanted to say.

"...But if you're with him now... then you know that there's no going-"

"Yes. I know." Temari answered quickly. She didn't want to have to think about it again.

"No, I mean now there's really no going back."

"What are you even talking about?"

Naruto looked towards Shikamaru, before going back to Temari, before going back to Shikamaru. A guilty look took his face on, and he looked down.

"...I don't know. I don't know if I should tell you. It's... I don't know how to say this. Not when you're here. I mean..."

He looked towards Shikamaru.

"Can I talk with you for a sec? Just outside or something?"

Shikamaru looked confused, and shook his head.

"If you've got something to say, just say it now. I was in the middle of something with Temari."

Naruto's face took an even more sorrowful turn.

"Then maybe you should finish that, and I'll just tell you tomorrow or something."

Shikamaru shook his head again.

"Not after you've dropped so many hints on what this is about."

"Come on... I mean it's not exactly good news."

"I thought that, so just say it."

"I can't. Not in front of her."

"Why?"

"She's not going to take it well."

Temari snorted. "I'm right here, you know. Unless it's top secret news, just tell us."

Naruto continued to hesitate.

"... You two will read it in the paper tomorrow."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"What if we don't want to wait for it? Come on Uzumaki tell us what you know."

"It's... about Sunagakure, Shikamaru."

Temari's eyes widened while Shikamaru's narrowed. Shikamaru leaned off the counter, and his mind instantly raced to the worst-case scenario.

"...Temari, you might want to lea-"

"And who do you think I am, Shikamaru?" Temari snapped. Shikamaru felt another vein pop in his head. "I can take bad news."

"Yes but..."

"'Yes but' what?"

Shikamaru sighed. Not even married and the bickering's already begun.

"Man's gotta take into consideration his woman's feelings. I don't want you-"

"Naruto, tell us."

Naruto bit his lip, and then looked towards Shikamaru for confirmation. When the Nara head nodded and then sighed, he knew that there wasn't a good chance that he would get out of the shop without telling the news he had received earlier. Him and his obviousness.

He took a deep breath.

"...Earlier today, the Hokage received a notification from the Fire Daimyo that we were at war. With... the Village Hidden in the Sand. With the Land of Wind. And that we were to be fully mobilized in two to three days, and fighting in three or four."

And at that, both Shikamaru and Temari froze. Completely.

It had been something the two of them had predicted would have happened, but the fact that it was happening now gave the both of them pause. Yep, it was going to happen. The two villages were at war.

Again. It seemed like the cycle would never end.

The silence in the shop continued on for a few more minutes. Naruto's face slowly drew into a frown, as he began to feel guilty about killing whatever vibe was in the area before. The tender went into the back, and wasn't seen again by any of the patrons present again. Shikamaru narrowed his eyebrows, and then carefully refilled both his and Temari's cups. Out of the entire evening, they would probably need a drink now more than ever. Temari, on the other hand, looked to the ground.

I should've at least said goodbye...

The very same feelings she had tried to repress earlier were coming back, and she was struggling to fight with them. But, she had least had alcohol. That would help her cope, that would help her forget. So she threw back more of the booze into her mouth and down her throat, and then brought her cup down onto the counter.

Shikamaru could hear his fiancé's movements from the back of his ears. The constant cycle of pour, drink, pour, drink, pouring, and drinking. He didn't even care about the cost anymore, and instead was just worried about her personal sanity and feelings. Waking up the night after with a heavy hangover wouldn't be an exactly good thing. Neither would drinking herself to sleep just so she could try to forget.

If it never worked for him, then it wouldn't in hell work for her.

He refocused on Naruto, who simply sucked in his lips.

"This is why I didn't want to tell you like thi-"

"Yeah, I got it."

The blonde slowly stepped out of his chair, and then turned towards the entrance to leave.

"I guess I'll just see you later."

"Yeah, see you Naruto."

As the blonde walked out of the shop, Shikamaru couldn't help but notice the slow rhythm to his step. He couldn't blame him at all, not at all whatsoever. Nara let out a sigh, and then turned back towards Temari.

By now the old bottle they had was completely empty, and the new bottle that he had ordered was half-finished. Not good. And she hadn't stopped at all. The same pattern of pour, drink, pour, drink, pouring, and drinking hadn't stopped at all, and if anything it had gotten faster. At this rate she was going to drink away her brain cells.

And especially now, she'd need them. Hell, he might need them.

So the next time Temari reached to refill her cup, Shikamaru reached for the hand that touched the bottle, and then gripped it. Soggily, his fiancé turned her head towards his, and looked up. Shikamaru looked into her eyes with serious intent. Temari looked into his with a red tint in them, barely being able to think straight.

But when the words came out of his mouth, she found herself being affected anyways, as if neither of them had ever drunk a glass that night.

"I won't kill them. It... I won't kill them personally. Not hand to hand. It... it will be someone else, if they end up dead. I... promise that."

Temari found herself falling forwards into his arms, and Shikamaru readily accepted her. Balancing her between the two stools that they were sitting on. Keeping her head on his shoulder, hugging her tightly. Making sure that she was at least ok. Even as she began to let a few tears fall down her cheeks. Even through her drunkenness. Even through his drunkenness.

She kept on trying to tell herself that his words couldn't have been the drink talking, but in the state her mind was in she couldn't think straight at all.

This entire war was going to add more and more bullshit to his life. But, at the very least now, he wouldn't have any bullshit in his home. And there wouldn't be any bullshit with her.