A/N: Hey you guys! I love to present you my revised forth chapter. I'd wrote it directly after the third but hadn't had time until now to read it again and correct things. I suggest to understand this chapter you to read the third one.

As for your reviews, well there hasn't been any although I figured out that some of you liked it because of the "alerts/favorite story" posted. Nevertheless I hope you will write something about this to me. Tell me what you liked. If you hated the change, if this is crap or if the perspective didn't get along with the plot. Whatever. Tell me at least "Liked it" or something. Please.

Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto or the characters.

Last Night

Chapter 4: After Resolution

Temari no Sabaku never backed away. She was a strong willed fighter and tended to be not frightened by any enemy. She never feared anything.

But why did she feel now this nervousness in the pitch of her stomach?

Due to the passed years she learned that everything seemed possible when it came to him. If one told her five years ago that someday she would be anticipating a man's nearness she would laughed into his face.

But Shikamaru proved her wrong. He always did.

She would never have imagined to fall for somebody, never imagined to feel this madness. Wasn't it madness? Wasn't it madness to behave totally out of character, to long for something she couldn't describe?

Self-consciousness was something she never lacked. She never dared to doubt herself. But lately she wasn't sure if she had done the right thing.

Now Temari was on her way to Konoha. Feeling increasingly sick the nearer she came to her destination. She never lacked courage and she wouldn't start now.

How could they ever have believed to win anyway? They had disregarded any rule a shinobi had. They let their emotions take control, they showed all their weakness and it turned out they didn't play in a team. Both had done nothing to help their situation. It wasn't an issue as long as they shared enough time or rather enough time to not end up like a bloody puppy. They ignored the stoppageuntil it was to late to make a move. They ignored the circumstances getting worse until they lost control.

She needed to tell him. She had to be with him.

He'd probably had enough time to consider what he really wanted. She'd had. She knew what she wanted, didn't she?

She remembered the last time she was with him. She didn't told him the truth from the very beginning. She hadn't been able to do it. It had been to cruel to look into in his eyes and tell him while all she saw in them had been hope and everything she wanted had been just to be in his arms.

He always held his arms open for her. He, Shikamaru, was the one who made her feel like this.

"You're perfect the way you are."

He looked her into her eyes and she knew she was everything to him. She couldn't tell him. "I'll stick to that."

They didn't need to confess their feelings. These famous three words would sound awkward.

He had asked why she'd had no time to give him notice about her arrival. She told him she needed to be with him. It was true. She had missed him. But she had hesitated confronting him for a long time. She had known since two months but she wasn't able to come here until now.

"So why don't you use these delicate hands more often?" She needed some time. They needed more time to be ready to face the truth.

"Troublesome woman always wanting me to give into all her wishes." He sighed theatrically.

She laughed. It was always him to make her laugh. She felt so free to laugh, to be herself when she was with him. "Isn't that what you're good at?"

There it was again. The sparkle of seriousness in his eyes. "Yes, I am."

How often had she debated this moment with herself? How often had she lied in her bed starring at the ceiling and wishing she hadn't told him. But she had had to do it eventually. Some things are inevitably and he should be the best to know.

It had hurt. It had hurt her to see his eyes, to see him break. Some wounds always left a scar.

It had been inevitably. They both had known that someday something will come between them. They were shinobis. They had to be loyal to their villages, to their families and their friends.

At least this had been what she tried to explain to him when she had told him about her finishing her duty as ambassador.

"Shikamaru, you have to understand. My brother is the Kazekage. I can't betray him as my brother and as the head of the village. I can't betray my village." She searched his eyes but he turned his head to block her.

"Are you giving up on us?", he mumbled.

"Don't dare to speak like that. You know it is not that." Why did it feel like a lie? She swallowed.

His head snapped upwards. "Did I do something wrong?"

"You know that isn't what I mean." She felt like falling. She wanted to crawl in a corner.

"Then what? Tell me what you mean!" His voice sounded horse as he bawled. He took a few steps in her direction. This time she didn't shy away.

"Why won't you understand?"

"Why won't you fight?"

Temari had heard this voice before. This begging tone in his usually indifferent voice. It was back then when he had asked her to stay for the first time when she couldn't help but give in. She felt horrible. What had happened to them? "What if I have no strength anymore? What if we screwed up?"

"I don't want you to go." He really begged.

She would have laughed if this situation wouldn't be this ridiculous. He begged and she felt like a whiny whimp. "It isn't that easy."

"It never was. And we both knew." He again stepped towards her.

"We also knew that something could get in the way." She was so desperate for him to just let it go, why wouldn't he understand that they needed to stop this madness?

"But why did we fail?" He asked as if it wouldn't make any sense.

This situation was really ridiculous."I think our beliefs collided."

"Do you really make it that easy for you?" He circled her.

"I have the right to!" She was loosing her temper. She couldn't take it anymore. Why did he try to make her feel ashamed? Why did he make her feel like a fool?

"Fine then. Go to hell with your damn right!" He yelled.

She never heard him yell before. She was taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me! If you want to let go, do as you like."

"Don't force the guilt on me alone. You didn't fight yourself! All we did was running forth and back without any improvement. We were standing still. How long would we be able to go on like this? Weeks? Months?" She really was loosing it. But worst was that she felt like crying, she could live with yelling and hitting him but crying like a little girl would show him to much.

"That's a lame excuse."

"I don't think that this will have a future. Why didn't you do something? Where is your damn plan?"

He looked away.

"You did nothing! And now you accuse me because we failed?!" A lost tear slipped down her cheek.

"I did my best! Don't give me that! Maybe this whole thing wasn't worth fighting for."

She felt like he had slapped. He looked as shocked as her. What was said was said and she couldn't help but break. It was her who wanted to stop fighting but now everything felt unreal. It took a while until she noticed herself sobbing and crying.

He held her.

She realized and fled unconsciously grabbing her things.

He yelled the last time. "I'll never let you go."

How long has it been since she saw him? One year?

It felt like an eternity. The memories still hurt like an old wound ripped open.

But she never backed away. Again she had to tell him the truth. She felt responsible. She didn't want him to hear it from anybody but her.

Then again hadn't she backed away from her feelings? She had never given up before. But she had given up to fight for their relationship. It had been a relationship, although she never said so. She had never confessed it to herself until it was over.

It had been inevitably. She'd had the right to this.

Sometimes one had to give up when a fight became aimless.

It had been inevitably. She tried to believe herself.

She doubted herself.

What had she become?

Finally Temari arrived in Konoha. She had taken a delivery mission and her brother didn't question her reason. He trusted her. He had trusted her Suna's diplomacy, trusted her solidarity as much as her loyalty.

Before she searched for Shikamaru she had to deliver the letter at the entrance. Afterwards she would head to the embassy to catch some breath.

But her plan was revised when she met another blond, Ino. It was to late to turn around avoiding her. Ino had spotted her already and waved. "Hi!"

"Oh hello." Carefully Temari went towards her. She wasn't sure how much Shikamaru had told her about their former relationship.

"Haven't seen you around lately."

"Yeah. I cancelled my function as ambassador." She didn't want to be here. She didn't want to talk to her.

"Ah. So that's why you haven't been here for so long." Ino mustered her nodding consciously.

Temari looked around searching for an excuse to escape.

Ino watched her silently. "You know he is at the training field."

"Ah, okay." She was stunned but turned around nonetheless. Suddenly she stopped looking at the other blond over her shoulder. "Why?"

Her question wouldn't make sense if they hadn't something in common, something they both cared about. "He changed. He hasn't been himself and he wants to talk neither. Not to me at least."

Temari nodded understandingly and made her way to the training ground. Maybe he will talk to her.

She didn't knew which field he would be at. Somehow her feet moved on their own and brought her to him. When she saw him she was glad he hadn't turned around yet. She needed to breath. There he stood, a few meters away, shouting something about concentrating chakra to three kids fighting against each other. He never had looked better than now. All adolescence was washed away. Between his strong fingers lingered a cigarette and her heart skipped a beat when she heard his deep voice. Who was she fooling? Was she able to this?

Suddenly he turned around as if he had sensed her. They looked at each other. No one dared to make a move. His eyes looked so deep and she saw the knowledge of an elder in them. He was a full man now wearing some trace of loneliness in his eyes. She longed to hold him.

Their silent accounter was interrupted by these three kids looking from him to her. "Sensei, who is that woman?"

Shikamaru didn't break contact as if he was fearing she wouldn't be there if he turned away. "What?"

One with raven hair pulled Shikamaru's arm. "SENSEI!"

Temari steadied her breath before she went further to them. She was able to smile politely.

Now Shikamaru seemed to win a little composure again, too. "Well this is Temari no Sabaku the respectable sister of the Kazekage and a dear friend of mine." He looked at her puzzled.

"Wow, cool. Didn't knew you would know someone important as her, sensei." Again the little raven haired.

Shikamaru sighed. "Temari, these are my genins. Takeru, -" He pointed to the loudmouth. "- Daisuke, -" Another boy with blond hair and a polite nod. "- and Arashi." A brunette girl with maroon eyes and a mustering gaze.

"Nice to meet you." The girl still watched her carefully and suspiciously. Temari looked at Shikamaru sending him the sign to speak in private to him.

"I would say we finish for today."

The raven haired boy - Takeru - looked shoked. "WHAT?!"

"You trained enough and I need a break. We'll continue first thing next morning."

"But sensei!" Takeru pouted. But Shikamaru ignored him.

"You are dismissed." The genins left with Takeru slouching over the ground.

Temari chuckled hearing Shikamaru sigh. "Aren't they to troublesome for you?"

"I suppose so." He simply shrugged his shoulders.

She wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to her after all they have been through. His eyes mustered her, scanned her for hints revealing her feelings like he used to do back then.

This time he broke the silence. "So, what do you want?"

Maybe he really didn't want to talk to her. "What makes you think I want something?" This was the play they always had played. Their typical dance she was used to. She hold question against question. Until one of then gave up. Why shouldn't they behave as in former times?

"Haven't seen you for a long time." He mechanically lit a cigarette. "You have to want something if you reappear all of a sudden."

"Thought you quit." She was torturing herself. Why not simply pull the trigger and get over it?

"I had." Shikamaru searched again for answers in her body language.

The field was too open. Too much space for her to escape and she tempted to. "Can we go somewhere more private, please?"

He gave her his indifferent gaze she knew he used to hide his feelings. "Sure."

They went in silence to his apartment. There was no turning away now. She needed to tell him. They both deserved release. It had to end. Somehow words slipped out her mouth. "How have you been lately?"

A stupid question. Temari saw the answer in his eyes and knew he hadn't been happy in the near past. She hadn't been either.

Finally they arrived at his apartment and he let her in. She felt tackled down as a wave of memories hit her. She stood there breathing the familiar scent and looked around his apartment which hadn't changed. She remembered sometimes they hadn't been able to wait to come to the bed and made passionate love against the front door. The clothes often had been forgotten sprawled all over his apartment. The couch where they had laid with her snuggling into his warm chest. The kitchen where she often failed cooking something edible. They had shared everything in here. All the happiness and in the end the sorrow.

The blanket was still placed on the couch as if he was waiting for her to surprise him again. Breathing was getting harder for her and she felt his gaze flowing over her as he stood behind her. "You know you have to let go." Was she talking to him or herself?

She felt him wrap his arms around her. Everything in her screamed to melt into these arms. He shouldn't do that. He should let go. She shouldn't let this happen.

"Why do I have to?" Why did he ask her something so stupid? Why was all of this so irrational? Why didn't he let her go? And why the hell did he feel so soothingly warm?

They could be happy without each other. She had to believe it. It was too late to dump her decision.

It was time for the simple pull at the trigger.

"I'm getting married."

Dead shot.

A/N: The end might be to dramatically or something but I never believed those two to have an easy relationship. Well and the dialogs of the past are continuing those of the third chapter if some of you haven't noticed. At this point please review. Thanks!