Should I Know You?
A/N: Very short oneshot I wrote ages ago, for my bessie. ShikaTema. Please R&R.
"Gather round, everyone!" Sabaku Temari was blissfully ignorant of the weary look her younger brother, Gaara, was sporting at her official tone of voice. Honestly, sometimes he thought she would make a more efficient kazekage than him.
The shinobi present crowded round Temari, and she gave them their directions, shooting Gaara a glance. He's never been much of a people-person. She sighed, and turned to answer a question put to her by an exuberant blond ninja from Konoha.
"Couldn't you ask Tsunade-sama, Naruto?"
"She's dru- oh; I'm not allowed to say that. Sorry Sakura-chan…" He sidestepped the pink haired kunoichi glaring at him.
"Sorry about him, Temari-san." Sakura apologized. Temari nodded irritably. How come Tsunade wasn't babysitting Rookie Nine? All they did was annoy the hell out of all the ninjas under Gaara's command. Well, okay, the kunoichi were easy to get along with, but that Naruto brat…
Her train of thoughts broke off as she caught sight of a black ponytail belonging to someone standing behind that weird Uchiha emo. The four-pony tailed Suna kunoichi missed Gaara's exasperated gaze as her face broke into a giant smile. Being almost without emotions, he didn't really get people who showed any.
"Hey, Shikamaru!" She heard the greedy Akimichi boy greet the same person who had caught her attention. Nara Shikamaru, genius with an I.Q of two hundred. So below her in terms of actual skill, but still honourable.
She remembered their fight at the chunin exams vividly, right down to the moment he had given up. That had always plagued her. Why would he do that? He could have won.
Temari sighed as she straightened up to get an eyeful of sand from Naruto, who was chasing the Inuzuka wildman's dog, for some incomprehensible reason. She sighed, not wanting to bother forcing a rational explanation from the obnoxious blond kyuubi vessel.
That was unlike her, but she put it down to exhaustion after the demanding work setting up the chunin exams. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, deciding to go to bed and forget the whole day.
"I'm going to bed." She informed Gaara, who blinked his outlined eyes in surprise.
"You're tired already? It's only half-nine."
"It's been a long day."
"Let her go, Gaara." Kankuro said, envisioning a peaceful night without his older sister's nagging. Gaara shrugged, and turned to glare at a rambunctious Naruto, now screaming about ramen at the top of his voice.
Temari practically ran to the other end of the room, almost bumping into a startled Shikamaru. She was aware her cheeks were turning slowly crimson.
"Hi." She said quietly. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he looked at her.
"Hi. Should I know you?" Before she could answer, he turned back to Akimichi Choji, leaving her feeling as though someone had slapped her. She blinked her tears back, and fled the crowded room. She didn't notice the blue eyes that had seen everything.
XOXOX
"Temari-san?" Temari's head snapped up at the sound of someone calling her name quietly.
"Who is it?" She asked sleepily.
"My name's Yamanaka Ino. I'm on Shikamaru's team. Can I come in?" That settled it. The moment she mentioned Shikamaru's name, Temari was at the door. She opened it to reveal a blonde girl with very blue eyes.
"Are you Inoichi's daughter, by any chance?" Temari asked, to be answered with a sharp nod. "Oh, right. So why have you come?"
"Well, I heard what Shikamaru said to you before you went to bed." Temari's stomach dropped.
"Oh…" Her mouth was too dry to say more.
"It's okay. He didn't mean it. If you said your name, he'd know you. He just doesn't concentrate. He didn't notice when Kakashi answered the door to us without his mask on a month ago. I was, like, choking to death, along with the whole of Teams Seven, Kurenai and Gai, and Choji was just staring, then Shikamaru goes, 'oh, something's different about you. Did you change your hair?' " Ino burst into giggles at the memory.
Temari had to grin at that.
"So you're trying to say he doesn't notice things much?" She enquired, and Ino nodded.
"And he's lazy, and he complains a lot. But you should tell him how you feel." She said decisively. "Even if he doesn't think he knows you."
"I guess." Temari shrugged listlessly, and then perked up as a thought struck her. "Hey, what does Kakashi look like without that stupid mask?"
* * *
"Hi." Temari said to an impassive Shikamaru. "Yesterday night you asked if you should know me…" This one-sided conversation was the most difficult she'd ever had. "…Well, you should. I'm Temari, the girl…"
"…I fought in the chunin exams, yeah, Ino told me last night." Temari blinked.
"I always wondered why you gave up? You said it was because it was too troublesome, or something." She asked hesitantly.
"I liked you. I didn't want to fight you like that." Shikamaru admitted. Temari gasped.
"Y-you like m-me?"
"Yeah." He seemed to have no problem saying that. Temari suddenly felt a whole lot better.
XOXOX
"Hairclips!" The pink-haired kunoichi holding Temari's light blonde hair ordered. Tenten passed them.
"Here you go, Sakura-chan."
"Thanks Tenten." Sakura swept Temari's hair into a graceful topknot. It was certainly different, but also very fiddly.
"Right. Now, your jewellery, then the dress." Ino grinned, clad in the bridesmaids' attire of a light blue, floor length dress. Sakura yanked a strand of flyaway hair from Temari's eyes, and secured it back.
Sweet little Hinata slipped an aquamarine pendant around Temari's neck, and Temari herself struggled into her creamy white dress with pearl-studded bodice. She heard the soft:
"Wow!" From all the kunoichi in the room.
"You look great." Sakura told her, propelling her over to a mirror to check her appearance.
Temari admired the girls' handiwork, and turned from the mirror in time to see Gaara rushing into the room, for once looking happy.
"He's here. Let's go!" To say Gaara had not been pleased with the news his sister and Nara Shikamaru were to marry was a total understatement, but with a few persuasive words, Temari had managed to stop him from killing Shikamaru on the spot. Now, the Kazekage was accepting of their upcoming matrimony, and was actually quite pleased.
"Okay, Kazekage-sama." Ino said, and Gaara huffed:
"Please call me Gaara."
"Okay, Gaara." Sakura placated the red haired man quickly, and led Temari out of the small room into the church, which was decorated with lilies (and the odd sakura blossom, courtesy of Konoha's own cherry blossom, Haruno Sakura).
Ignoring Maito Gai, in tears at the back of the church, mumbling about the youthfulness of marriage, Gaara went to the front to assume his position as best man. Kankuro came to walk his elder sister down the aisle, and the music began playing. Temari looked to the front, where her fiancé was waiting.
"You look great." Sakura reassured her, seeing her anxious eyes. Temari smoothed her dress and walked forward, carrying her bouquet lightly in her hands. She took her place beside Shikamaru, and the service began.
They recited their vows, and then came the phrase that made Gaara want to gag in horror.
"You may now kiss the bride." Temari looked up into Shikamaru's eyes. For once not boredom filled them, but true happiness. She leant forwards, and they shared their first married kiss to the sound of Gaara being forcibly restrained by Kankuro.