Sure enough, the good weather didn't last.
The next day, the sky and land were at war, and Shikamaru found himself caught in the middle of it, having gone out to get some shopping done.
He walked back to Ino's house with his arms loaded, three bags at each wrist with uncomfortable plastic digging into him. The entire trip, he was praying to whatever gods that may or may not have existed that the bags didn't tear and spill the contents all over the pavement.
As he eventually made it to Ino's house, he was surprised as the door opened before he even got near it.
Ino stepped out with an umbrella and stood on the porch with a smile.
"You're back at last!" She beamed. "I'm going out to meet Sai. Take good care of Temari."
"Temari doesn't need someone to take care of her. She's a strong independent woman." Called a voice from inside the house.
Temari's voice.
Ino's smile remained forcefully plastered to her face as she gave Shikamaru a begging look.
"I'll stay here, go have fun."
She gave him a hug and was about to leave but he caught her shoulder.
"Remember to use a condom," he murmured under his breath.
She scowled and hit him over the head with the handle of her umbrella.
"I'll be home in a few hours. Don't get the wrong idea."
He chuckled as he walked into the house, setting down the bags of groceries on the kitchen table and putting them away in their respective shelves and cupboards. He realised halfway through the second bag that there was a second pair of hands helping him.
"Temari, you don't have to-"
"I want to help. I know how to put shopping away." She snapped.
He saw that her hair was down and she'd gotten dressed in a tank top and long shorts. She was wearing fishnet armour underneath and he hid a smirk.
"You want to spar again later, after the rain stops?"
"If that's alright with you. Yes." She said hesitantly.
He held back a sigh, if he'd suggested a spar a few months ago, she'd have said something along the lines of "fuck yeah,". It wasn't that he didn't appreciate her consideration, it just wasn't very 'Temari'-like.
It dawned on him that even though he spent much of his time complaining about her being troublesome, he missed that part of her.
He wanted her to tease him and laugh at him for being uncomfortable around her.
She used to be harsh, but she would never cross the line with her humour.
She never even came close.
"Do you believe in love?" He asked suddenly.
She snorted and almost dropped the stick of celery she'd been holding.
"Love? No. Lust? Maybe. Sexual tension and conveniently timed selection boxes? Yes."
He laughed. "Cynical."
"Realistic. Why do you ask?"
"Some of the guys were taking about it the last time at the bar."Shikamaru shrugged, remembering the night a few weeks ago and how his thoughts had constantly drifted away from the conversation and towards a certain somebody.
"Do you fully grown men not have anything better to be discussing?"
"Well, with Naruto's wedding coming up, not really."
She frowned, "Is the wedding not scheduled for another year?"
"Yeah, but it's still a pretty big deal."
She considered his words for a moment and shrugged, still holding the celery.
"Fridge" Shikamaru advised. "Bottom shelf."
She pointed the celery stick knowingly in his direction with a nod of thanks and then put the vegetable away where it belonged.
"How about you?" She asked.
"Me?" Shikamaru's mind was still set on the celery. "What about me?"
"Do you believe in love?"
He thought about it for a bit and decided to answer truthfully.
"Yeah. I think I do."
"You think?"
"Yeah. I love my mother, I love all my friends. I loved my dad and Asuma. I love Konoha." He smirked at her. "There is more than just romantic love, you know."
"That's true I suppose." She was looking intently at him now. "I guess I love my brothers and Suna then."
"There you go." He said, trying hard not to sound as disappointed as he felt.
"Do you believe in romantic love though?"
The question took him by surprise.
"Recently, yes." He admitted.
"That's nice."
After all the shopping was put away, Temari went to the sitting room as Shikamaru took a warm shower.
He brewed some tea for both of them, hoping to talk with her, but as he made it to the room where she was, he found her fast asleep on the sofa.
He set the cup down and sat himself down beside her, watching her face as she slept. She looked so peaceful, and he wondered wether she was dreaming or not.
The rain wasn't letting up, and he saw no need to wake her, so he just continued to watch her.
The grey lighting made the room look dull, and she was no exception, but there was a certain delicacy to her features that he could never quite sum up in simple words that became amplified by the fact that even in dull light, she seemed like so much more than just... A person.
He hated the idea of sounding horridly cliché, but he saw no reason to lie to himself. She was quite simply more important to him than others and it just pissed him off to know that she'd gone through something that she may never fully recover from, emotionally.
"Temari," he whispered.
"You're going to have to forgive me."
When she said nothing, he sat closer to her and sighed, her eyelids didn't twitch and her breathing was regular.
"I'm going to Suna. I'm killing those bastards."
That was the moment her eyes shot open.
"No." She growled. "You're not."
"T-Tema-"
"You're not killing them. You're an outsider. You have nothing to do with what happened."
"I am not an outsider! I'm your friend, and I'm getting revenge."
The words silenced her, but her gaze remained firm. She sat cross-legged on the sofa, facing him directly as she picked her words carefully.
"Shikamaru." She said steadily. "Konoha can't get involved in a Suna affair such as this one. I appreciate your concern, but it isn't necessary. The spars and support are more than enough."
She stood and walked to the kitchen.
"Do you want some water?"
"I made tea."
"I'll take that as a no."
Once she disappeared behind the door, Shikamaru let out a sigh. He still wanted to kill them. Like, really wanted to, but it would be disrespectful to completely disregard Temari's wishes, it was her battle after all. He stood and patted out the creases in his trousers.
He strolled through the kitchen and saw Temari leaning against the counter having just filled her glass with cold water.
She raised it to him as a toast and wordlessly, he nodded.
To you, he thought, to revenge.
When she finished the drink, she rinsed the glass in the sink and turned back to him almost instantly.
She did that a lot recently, he'd noticed. Never fully turning her back to him, and if she did, turning back quickly.
He didn't know if she'd always done that, or if he'd only just realised it in the passing days. It could have been something she'd learnt in training, but it could also have just been a more noticeable sign that her trust issues had developed some more.
"Spar?" He suggested eventually.
"You hate the rain."
"You love it."
"Enjoy it." She corrected with a smirk.
"Would you like to spar in the weather that you enjoy, Temari?"
Her smile intensified, turning in to one that made him feel both threatened and relieved. She was becoming more and more like herself.
"Of course."
Shikamaru didn't bring them as far into the forest this time, but he found a fairly level clearing where the nearby trees offered enough coverage for the ground not to be completely saturated.
They agreed on best of three, but when Temari won the first two they changed it to best of five.
"Shikamaru, please fight better." She said in an almost begging voice. If he didn't know any better, he'd have called her out on it.
The truth was, taijutsu simply didn't fare well with him. He could be fast, he could be strong, and he could be meticulous, but combining all those elements together just never seemed to have a high success rate with him. It wasn't a very reliable form of battle, too much relied on opportunity.
It also didn't help that she was incredible at it.
He dove low to the ground and aimed a flat blow to the back of her knees, making them buckle and sending her down to her elbows and forearms. She gasped, but he knew she'd be up in no time. She wanted him to fight better, right?
Still crouched down, he reached over to her wrist that was furthest from him and pulled it across her body in one go, flipping her to the ground and knocking the wind out of her. It was just a combination of classic, basic moves, but he'd won. To prove it, he pinned her hands down over her head with one hand and rested his knee (gently, obviously) on her abdomen. Just exerting enough pressure to keep her from moving without causing any harm.
When he released her, Shikamaru half expected her to be angry at him, but when he built up the courage to look at her face, he saw that she was absolutely beaming.
"You did well." She panted. "Really well."
He could hear the pride in her voice, and it definitely brought his ego up a couple of pegs.
"I know."
"Don't get cocky."
He'd have continued staring at her- panting and smiling at him- but a rustling in the leaves distracted them both, and Temari was on her feet on a heartbeat, reaching for some kind of weapon, the closest of which happened to be Shikamaru's collar, which she gripped with her iron first.
He was still crouched on the ground, and he glanced back at her, tempted to tell her that he knew exactly what the noise was, but he remained quiet.
A doe stepped out on long slender legs and considered them with her careful eyes. Temari's grip instantly relaxed and she lowered herself back down to the ground, slowly, so as not to startle the deer.
"We're in your clan forest. I hadn't realised," she breathed.
One of the doe's ears curled in the direction of Temari's voice, as though trying to catch it better. Shikamaru understood, it was a nice voice to hear.
"She's beautiful," Temari sighed.
Shikamaru made a soft clicking noise with his tongue and the doe's second ear turned, showing him that he had her undivided attention.
He made the noise again and hesitantly, she took a step closer to them.
"Relax," he smiled to Temari, who was as tense as steel by his side.
The doe's head was slightly bowed in curiosity as her head turned slightly so that she could get a good look at the person who was calling her. He raised his hand, easily and deliberately, doing everything in his power not to startle her.
The doe had large eyes, and her coat was free of speckles, so she couldn't have been young, but she was still cautious around him, so they probably hadn't met much before.
He clicked again and she took a few more steps, reaching his outstretched hand and giving it a tentative nudge. An invitation.
He turned his hand to pat her muzzle, and in seconds, her tension was gone.
Temari watched in awe, and he saw her staring, so he reached for her hand and held it up for the deer to inspect. Temari seemed a bit shocked that he'd just taken her hand, but neither of them said anything about it, so Shikamaru figured it was alright.
The deer nuzzled her hand too, and Temari tentatively brought her hand to the deer's head, petting her with a dopey smile on her face that would have made Shikamaru laugh had he not been so mesmerised by the scene in front of him.
He'd always had an affinity for deer, it was natural given his lineage, but seeing Temari being in harmony with one of the herd just made him ache with joy. And sorrow-knowing that she'd never live with him, realistically speaking.
"Do you name them?" Temari asked quietly after a while. The doe had seated herself and was enjoying an ear-scratching from the blonde Sunan.
"Not really. When I was a kid, I used to." He chuckled at the memory and shook his head. "There are hundreds of them, we wouldn't be able to keep up with them, but I have named my favourites."
Temari nodded, not taking her eyes away from the deer as it rested its head in her lap with a contented huff.
"You can name her. If you'd like."
She looked at him, surprised, but shook her head. "Thanks, but I suck at naming things."
He didn't push her, but he made a mental note to bring it up at a later point. He saw that she'd hesitated.
"Shikamaru," Temari said suddenly.
The tone of her voice drew him instantly and he looked into her eyes, bracing himself for anything, because he was clueless as to what she could possibly say that required that tone.
Temari's tone was never apologetic, but at that moment, the very lilt of her vowels screamed "I'm sorry," and he realised he was gripping the grass by his side.
He wasn't prepared enough for what she said.
"I'm going back tonight."
He reached for her hand impulsively and stared at her, disbelief scrawled all over his face.
"B-but yo-"
"Save your breath. I need to go back. I've been gone too long."
"Tema-"
"Shikamaru?" That voice wasn't Temari's. "Shikamaru, is that you?"
He groaned, and Temari gave him a curious look.
"Yeah," he called. "That's me. What are you doing out in the rain, mom?"
Yoshino walked into the clearing with a basket tucked under her elbow.
"Well well, who might this beauty be?"
Shikamaru dropped Temari's hand a second late, and Yoshino's smile only grew.
"Would you both like to come to the house for some tea?" She offered, her voice polite as ever, but Shikamaru caught an evil glint on her eye.
"Please," Temari said, causing his inner self to weep. "we'd love to."
And so the three went to Shikamaru's childhood home, he was only faintly aware that his fingers became laced between Temari's at some point during the short trek, but neither of them pointed it out, and neither of them knew who started it either.
A/N: Messy, sorry, I'm just a mess rn.
Please review, reviews are really appreciated,(and sometimes needed) so please let me know what you think.
Thank you for all the support, I'm trying to make this okay
-Lee