"Excited to see me, Nara?" Temari stood at the entrance to Suna, arms crossed, her trademark smirk on her face.
He was tired from a long day of traveling and wasn't really in the mood for banter, or really to think at all about whether or not he was excited to see her.
"Are we reporting to Gaara-sama this evening or tomorrow morning?"
"Tomorrow," she frowned at his non-response, but maintained her playful tone as scolding him, "Always so focused on work, Shikaku-san! You don't have to be so serious all the time you know."
"Whatever happened to the sweet kunoichi that met me at the gates last time I was in Suna?"
"Well, it seems that Gaara forgot to include 'sweet' or 'demure' or any such nonsense in the mission description this time around," Temari laughed, "Consider it a compliment."
Temari showed him to the inn where he would be staying. Shikaku couldn't help but watch her out of the corner of his eye as they walked. The girl was cocky, and it showed in every step she took. But had she always moved so sensually?
The next morning they met with Gaara briefly then Temari showed him to the cryptography building. There were a few recently intercepted scrolls they had yet to uncode. At the end of the day, he went straight back to the inn, refusing Temari's invitation to spar.
The next few days carried on in quite the same manner – wake up, research, administrative work for the exams, uncoding new intelligence, go home—until one evening he somehow found himself accompanying the blond Kunoichi to a teahouse, tempted by her claim that she was the best shogi player in Suna.
"You know the last time someone beat be at shogi I could barely throw a shuriken," Shikaku boasted as they sat across the board from one another.
She neither looked up nor responded until she had made her move.
"And when was that exactly?" She shot back, finally, with her trademark sarcasm "if I'm remembering correctly, you've never once managed to hit me with any projectile whatsoever."
Not missing a beat, Shikaku launched a captured shogi piece at the kunoichi, which she easily dodged.
"Is that your move this turn?" she smirked. He knew there was nothing she loved more than making people lose their cool. It was a bit ironic, he thought, seeing as she was such a hothead herself.
His eyes locked on the board but she could tell that he was barely suppressing a smile. He couldn't help but relax as he sat with her. He enjoyed the rapport that they had, and it's true that she wasn't half bad at shogi, not that she stood a chace against him.
"Wasn't the plan, but I wouldn't mind the handicap if you'd like to take your turn. It wouldn't be any fun to beat a lady too badly."
"Make your move already, Nara," the irritation was clear in her voice.
He made her wait another minute before he moved. Not because he was still thinking, just because he loved watching her seethe.
As soon as his piece hit the board she made her next move, capturing one of his pawns. He chuckled at her haste.
"What? Just because I'm not as slow as you old man doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing."
Hot headed indeed.
To humor her, he made his next move immediately, the game quickly degenerating into one of pure speed as the pieces clicked on the board.
"Damn it," Temari mumbled.
Shikaku was still about five moves away from checkmate, but she already saw there was no longer a path to victory for her. She made her move anyway. It's not as if she was going to just sit back and give up like his lazy son had at the chunin exams.
Temari was disappointed by the loss, even though she had been expecting it. She had been bluffing when she said she was the best shogi player in Suna. She'd gotten her ass handed to her on quite a few occasions by her younger brother.
"I guess you win after all Shikaku-san," she said with a smile.
She poured them both another cup of tea and ordered some dango. Shikaku was surprised that she seemed quite pleased with herself despite her loss, which was unlike her.
"Isn't it nice to finally see each other outside of work for once," she said pointedly, taking a sip of her tea. Shogi aside, she had won the moment he agreed to spend the evening with her, he just hadn't realized it until now.
There was no way she was going to let him avoid her his entire stay in Suna. She knew he was interested in her and couldn't deny that she was interested in him as well. Even though she knew he wanted to backtrack from the advances he had made, Temari was never one to back down. He had started it and now she would pursue him until she won, simple. She loved a challenge and it was more fun than shogi anyway.
They sat for at the teahouse chatting about politics and battle tactics.
"You know Konoha would be screwed if the Mizukage ever decided to attack."
"And why is that?" Shikaku asked, sipping his tea.
"Well I hear their top strategist has a penchant for going easy on women."
"I don't go easy on women, I just think it's unbecoming for a man to use excessive force on a woman."
"Even if that woman is Akatsuki?" Temari scoffed.
Shikaku shrugged.
"You should know better than to underestimate your opponents, it's going to bite you in the ass one day," Temari scolded.
"Like it did for you the first time we sparred?" Shikaku shot back, causing Temari to frown and blush lightly. "Do you really think I underestimate you Temari?"
"I may be younger than you and a woman but that doesn't change the fact that we are the same rank, both top advisors to our Kages."
"I never once suggested that I outranked you," Shikaku stated, aware that the conversation was veering into touchy territory, "and I have a great deal of respect for you and the Godaime Kazekage."
He wanted to mention the value more than a decade of experience he had over Temari, but held his tongue. As fun as it was to debate with her, on some topics he would be nothing other than crystal clear. There was no way he would even imply disrespect of the Kazekage and his administration.
It was true that the sand siblings were incredibly young when they rose to power, but in his opinion they were doing a much better job at managing the affairs of the Wind country than their father had been. He had been an isolationist and a warmonger. His children were more realistic, focusing on building strong ties with their neighbors to facilitate trade for much needed resources.
There was silence between the two of them, both seemingly lost in their thoughts.
"Come on, I want to show you something," Temari said, breaking him away from his thoughts.
Shikaku followed her back to the Kazekage building, but instead of going to Gaara's office, she took him to the rooftop of the building.
It was starting to get late but the midsummer evenings were long and the sun was just setting on the edge of the desert. The sky shone deep orange, the horizon glowing red as the sun sank.
"Sometimes when I'm in Konoha, I get jealous of how green it is. The 'trees' we have here are barely shrubs, nothing like the Leaf," Temari said wistfully, "but nothing could ever top the evening sky in Suna."
The silence between the two of them was comfortable. To the east, the sky began to darken and the stars started to appear.
Shikaku shot her a glance and realized that for once she didn't seem to be paying him any attention at all. The gazed outward wistfully, almost lovingly at the dunes that lay beyond the village walls, which where now lit up in the golden light of the evening. She truly loved her country. Her devotion made him admire her even more.
The evening light illuminated her fair hair and she glowed with inner peace as she looked out at her village. She was so beautiful.
"Temari…"
His words snapped her out of her trance and she realized that he had been staring at her.
"I meant what I said earlier this evening, I hope you know that I regard you in high esteem as a fighter and as a diplomat."
"And how do you regard me as a woman, Shikaku-san?" she turned to face him.
"Temari," he let her name escape his lips yet again "you are unlike any woman I have ever known."
She leaned in, pressing her lips against his. His lips were chapped from the dry heat of the desert. Her heart skipped a beat when he didn't respond to the kiss, worried she'd pushed her luck too much in one evening. She began to pull away when she felt him lean towards her. His lips parted as her tongue explored his mouth. His hand found it's way to the nape of her neck, fingers buried in her hair. Almost as soon as it began, he pulled away from her.
"Goodnight Temari," he whispered to her, his hand caressing her cheek as he pulled away.
Temari watched him leave the rooftop, letting out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding as he disappeared. She lay back on the rooftop, staring up at the stars that had started to appear in the darkened sky, just feeling her heart pounding in her chest.
She had never met someone that made her feel like this. She had never pursued someone like this before. She hadn't ever cared to think much about that aspect of her personal life. It's not that she hadn't been interested in anyone before, it's just that it always seemed to be at the very bottom of a long list of more important things she needed to be focusing on. She'd had her fair share of mission flings (because honestly, who hadn't messed around with a teammate on a long mission away from home before?), but never let them go anywhere.
She was a shinobi of Suna, and that was her whole life. Daughter of one Kazekage, now sister and advisor to another Kazekage, she was born and raised to be a weapon for the benefit of the Sand. Her family life and her professional life had never been separate for her, and that life had been all consuming. So how could she be developing feelings for a foreign shinobi?
She sighed, enjoying the silence and stillness of the roof until the night chill compelled her to go home.
The Nara's def have a chauvinism problem... *sigh* no one will ever be good enough for Temari-chan
Lemon coming up next chappie fyi :)