Author's note: Contains some spoilers I've read about the movie.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!


Shikamaru's Storytelling

Winter had not completely left the village of Konoha, with the snow covering the rooftops, the ground, and some of the minor craters where the meteorites had found a way to crash. Overall, the village was unharmed, thanks to the efforts of the sixth Hokage Kakashi Hatake, who had made sure that every house, every citizen and every pet was guarded by a shinobi. Things were quieter, and perhaps more peaceful than they had ever been. There was no more moon-crashing-towards-the-Earth, no more Akatsuki, and no more Uchihas driven with revenge and the desire to take over the world. It had been a few days since Shikamaru's rescue team had returned to Konoha, Naruto being praised as the hero for saving the world from doom... again. However, this time, he had a quiet raven-haired girl by his side to share his victory as an equal, and to offer him many more years of partnership, willing to stay by his side.

When the world was on the brink of coming to an end, naturally many thoughts raced through Shikamaru's mind, most of them about a fiery Suna kunoichi, to whom he had made a promise of coming back unscathed. He pinky swore on it, and then she smiled at him, the kind that was only reserved for him, that somehow always managed to make his heart do somersaults.

"So what happened?" she said. They were now sitting in a dessert shop in the early hours of the morning, with the snow falling outside in slow motion, like sprinkling icing sugar on brownies. They were drinking hot chocolate, Temari resting her fingers against the mug to keep them warm. He was alive and unhurt, and he was still doubtful about how he managed to get out of a situation like that. But he did, and now Temari was sitting across from him in her black coat slightly dusted with snow, and honestly, he did not want to think about anything other than just being present in that moment.

"Shikamaru?" her gruff voice, which was so different from how girls in Konoha normally sounded, but still had that tenderness about it, shook him out of his reverie.

"Huh?"

"You were going to tell me about the mission?" the corner of her mouth twitched upwards, amused at how lost he was in his thoughts.

"Oh right", Shikamaru took a sip of the hot chocolate, letting it warm every inch of his insides. "Let's see now. Well, I did a lot of crazy things during the mission."

"Really? Like what?" she rested her chin on her palm and listened with earnest.

"I flew one of Sai's birds while wearing goggles", he stated in the most casual way.

"Wait what?" Temari blinked at him. "You flew?"

"It was the fastest mode of transportation available", he took another sip.

"And yet you're never ready to ride my fan", she said, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Well your fan can only seat one person, and at that time I had to take certain risks."

"Okay... then what?"

"Hinata decided to go with Toneri to save the world, even when Naruto confessed to her that he loved her." At this Temari's features set into a look of empathy, something that was rare for anyone to see, including him.

"Poor Naruto."

"Naruto was feeling depressed about Hinata not loving him, but I talked him out of it", Shikamaru said smugly.

"You?" Temari scoffed, raising an eyebrow. "You of all people talked to someone about love?"

"That's right. I told him Hinata really loved him and that he shouldn't give up on her. And then Sakura said a few things too." He looked out the window thoughtfully, gazing at the blanketed trees. "For Naruto, it was hard to watch someone else he deeply cared about walk away from him."

Temari was dumbfounded at seeing this side of her boyfriend which she never knew existed. She was well aware that he was capable of sharing other people's pain, and could sympathise with them, and maybe talk some sense into them on occasions, but to see this much compassion from him was beyond her dreams.

"Oh, and then while Naruto and Hinata had gone to rescue Hanabi, we were stuck in a cave which was about to collapse, so the only thing I could think of was to jump in the pond nearby and find an escape, and so I did."

"You jumped into a pond?"

"Why are you so surprised at everything I'm telling you?"

"Because-" Temari was trying to find the right words. "Because it seems so unlike you. I mean you were flying on ink birds, talking to people about love and diving into ponds", she let out a small laugh. "What had gotten into the ever-lazy Shikamaru Nara?"

Shikamaru didn't answer immediately. For a while he looked at her through heavy-lidded eyes. What had gotten into him? He wondered. Did he really act differently during the mission than he normally would have? If others had noticed, they didn't say anything to him. But he knew somehow, that at that time it wasn't just about not letting his comrades die. It was about a promise he made to not let himself get killed off either. And maybe during the mission, that promise seemed a lot more important than all the ones he had made in his life.

"You", he breathed. Temari's eyes grew wider, her cheeks, which were already flushed from the cold, turned an even brighter shade of pink. They didn't say a word to each other for some time, only looked.

"Shut up, idiot", Temari said, hiding her blush behind her mug while Shikamaru simply smirked.