A/N: Chapter four already. I don't really like this chapter; it'll probably end up edited and/or deleted sometime in the future. Gah, whatever.

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to its rightful owners, not me. If I owned it, SasuSaku, NaruHina, NejiTen, and ShikaTema would be canon.

Chapter 4: Love's Ambassador, SB

A yawning Shikamaru slowly strode into the Hokage Office. As usual, it was messy with manila folders and unfiled reports lining the linoleum floor.

But it wasn't the messiness that caught his attention.

"Yo, Lazyass! Long time no see," Temari greeted the shocked pineapple-head.

"Temari? What…?" The last time he'd seen Temari had been over six months ago, when he'd bumped into her on a mission to the Land of Snow. Apparently, she was there as an ambassador.

So what was she doing here?

Tsunade took it upon herself to explain to the still-frozen shinobi. "Ah, Shikamaru, there you are. Well, from today onwards, Temari will be the official Sunagakurure ambassador! Isn't that nice?"

"Uh…" Shikamaru was still at a loss for words.

"So I'm counting on you, Shikamaru."

Finally, he seemed to unfreeze. "Counting on me? For what?"

"To show Temari around, of course."

"But my mission…tomorrow…"

Tsunade wrinkled her brow. "Oh, right. That. Whatever, I'll get Kiba or someone to take it off your hands."

"B-But…"

"Off you go, kiddos! I've got to do some work."

Shikamaru doubted Tsunade ever worked, but before he could protest his new assignment, he was dragged out the door by a rather enthusiastic Temari.

-oOoOo-

Once out of Hokage Tower, Shikamaru released himself from Temari's strong grasp. "Hey, what gives?" He frowned.

Temari just looked at him innocently.

"You know Konoha just as well as you know Suna," Shikamaru scowled. "You don't need me to show you around. Just a waste of my tim—" A hard pinch from Temari had him backtracking. "Ow, ow, ow! I give!"

"That's better," she said smugly.

He rubbed the now-sore spot on his arm. "So why…?"

"No reason," she shrugged and shook her spiky blonde hair. "Just wanted to have some fun while I still can. Heaven knows I'm going to be busy enough with all that official transfer paperwork soon."

"You can't just…" Shikamaru sputtered indignantly. "You can't just drag me off to 'have fun!' I'm an adult with responsibilities that can't be ignored…"

"Shut up and follow me."

He obeyed her, albeit reluctantly. "How troublesome."

-oOoOo-

Two hours later, the pair was walking through the streets of the 'tourist district' of Konoha, where all the fun entertainment was located—at least, that's what Temari had surmised. Shikamaru hadn't even known there was a tourist district, much to the bemused disbelief of Temari.

He had to admit, he was having fun. Way more fun than anybody would ever know.

First, they had gone down a large street that Choji referred to as 'Food Heaven Avenue' and stuffed themselves with sweets and ice cream. Once they were bursting at the seams with food, he'd showed her his favorite arcade, where they'd duked it out with plastic guns and racing games. Both of them were so good, they'd collected enough tickets to trade in for the huge stuffed bear currently in Temari's arms…

"…maru," Temari called.

"Hm?"

"Look, there's a park over that way," she pointed at a sign that read 'Konoha Park' with an arrow pointing to the right. "Let's go!"

Once again, he complacently allowed himself to be pulled towards a lush green park, where Temari 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed over the smallest flowers and details. According to her, Suna was mostly just sand. In fact, the only greenery there, she'd said, was cacti, and even those were few and far between.

"And in the Land of Snow, where I was before, there was only snow and the occasional evergreen tree. So it's pretty nice to be in Konoha," Temari surmised with a wistful smile, clutching the bear. She'd named him Teddy, much to Shikamaru's amusement.

"Is that why you came to Konoha?" Shikamaru asked, perching down on the fluffy grass. Spring was truly a magical time of year. "To see the scenery?"

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Temari turn away from him, towards the playground nearby where a dozen screaming, laughing children played. Were her cheeks red or was he just seeing things?

"I…yeah, of course. To see nature and flowers and stuff…" she stammered. Stammering was uncharacteristic of Temari. She never stammered.

Shikamaru pulled her down next to him. "Is something wrong?"

"N-No, I'm having fun. How about you?"

He laughed. "I'm actually enjoying this. Crazy, right?"

A relieved grin spread across her face. "Oh, good. I was starting to think you were getting bored."

"You actually care about if I get bored?"

His surprise must've been visible, because Temari immediately went on the defensive. "No! I was just…I was…only...whatever!" She scowled unhappily.

Shikamaru chuckled and tweaked Teddy's nose. "You were only whatever-ing, huh?"

"Smartass."

"Why thank you," he smirked.

Her face was suddenly the mask of seriousness. She frowned. "No, really though. Do you know why I begged Gaara to transfer me to Konoha? Believe me when I say I pulled in every favor he's ever owed me to get this spot."

"Why would you do that?" It was Shikamaru's turn to frown. "I mean, I know you love the scenery and the good weather, but doing so much? You know, the weather in Kirigakure is nice too. A bit rainy, but last time I was there, it wasn't too ba—mmph."

A pair of lips violently pressed against him successfully managed to shut him up. After a long minute, Temari pulled away.

"W-Why…?" He whispered.

"Because you're a thickheaded idiot that has no right to make me fall in love with you," she growled. "For God's sake, I swear, you paid more attention to your ice cream than to what I'm wearing."

He looked her up and down; now that she mentioned it, she was dressed rather nicely in a soft lavender dress. Suddenly, Shikamaru got it. "…Oh."

"Not much of a genius, are you?" Temari said sarcastically.

"I'll show you exactly how much of a genius I am," he grinned, leaning in for another kiss. Temari was only too happy to oblige.

-oOoOo-

"Mommy, mommy!" A young girl of about seven cried.

A rushed-looking blonde woman emerged from a nearby bench. "What is it, Mitsuko?"

"Look, mommy!" The little girl, Mitsuko, pointed out past the playground at a couple entangled in each others' arms. "Mommy, what are they doing? Why are they making kissy faces?"

The woman blushed. "Well, Mitsuko, when two people love each other very much, they…show their love through acts, like kissing."

"Ohhh," Mitsuko nodded wisely. "Then I want to find someone to love, so I can play kissy face with him!"

The woman smiled and picked her daughter up. "Don't we all, Mitsuko. Don't we all."

A/N: Temari totally wears the pants in that relationship, just saying.

Now that I've gone back and reread it, this has a horrible plotline and everything. But I'm too lazy to redo it or edit it, so you'll have to live it. Sorry, I promise the next one will be better.

Review!

Thank you!

~HauntedMoonlight~