Shikamaru braced himself as he felt a tickle go off in his nose. Then, in the lonely house that he stood in, he found himself sneezing loudly. As a small piece of mucus began to drip out of his nose, he quickly placed his other, free hand on his nose to wipe it away, and then rubbed it off in a nearby napkin. He took a look around his surroundings, before rolling his eyes and sighing.
I'm not sick. I wonder what it could've been.
After finishing dealing with his bodily functions, the Nara Clan head continued to put away the bounty from his trip to the grocery store into his fridge. In a moment he was finished putting everything away, and had then placed the paper bag that had held the food into a cupboard beneath the sink, the same place that Temari had always placed the paper bags. And in another moment, he was standing just outside of his kitchen, and looking in, making sure that nothing else was out of place or in disarray. After inspecting the kitchen to his liking, he had turned around, and moved himself into his living room. On his way there, he had looked on the walls and on the floors, once again making sure that everything was clean. After that, upon reaching his destination, he simply pulled out his Shogi table, and began to set it up in the living room.
He took out the pieces and began to place them in their allotted spots. Once he was finished this, he placed down three cushion, two large one for the adults, and one small one for a child. He opened the window to the room slightly, to allow some air to come in, and then quickly returned himself to the shogi table, making some finishing touches to make sure that it was set up the way he wanted it to be. Afterwards, he took a final look into the hallway, then moved back into the kitchen, just to double check and make sure that truly everything was done properly. He made a trip to the entranceway of his home, making sure that it was clear and clean. Finally, after making sure that everything was the way he wanted it to be, he returned to his shogi table, sat himself down on one of the adult cushions, and began to play the game by himself, waiting for the other two members of his family to appear and fill the other cushions.
It was in the late afternoon of Wednesday, October 23rd that Shikamaru had decided to give Temari a "break", and simply just have a "family night" with her and Shikadai. It had been a long time since one of them had decided to do so, and with the hiatus in the war, anytime around today would be the perfect time for it. None of the three Nara exactly enjoyed energetic things, at least Shikamaru and Shikadai didn't, but Shogi had somehow become the family's unofficial game over the years (Probably since, other than Go, it was the only game that Shikamaru played and Shikadai had basically grown up watching his father do that), and since it was the only game that all three of them really enjoyed playing that didn't require much energy, it was the first thing that Shikamaru had thought of preparing and setting up. For the food and snacks that the family would likely also eat today, he had stopped by on the grocery store on his way back from work, to refill the fridge and also add a few things for treats. When he got home, the house had already been clean, a testament to Temari's skill, but the Clan head made sure to double check. Finally, with everything else in order, he mentally allowed himself to sit down on one of the two cushions he had laid out, and decided that practicing some maneuvers by himself wouldn't be so bad, as he waited.
Finally, he heard the front door to his home open. He looked over to a clock on a counter near him. 3:30pm, it read. Shikamaru had expected her to be here when he returned from his advisement today, an hour earlier, but she hadn't been. No note, or anything. But then again, she probably hadn't been expecting him so early, as he usually found his way into the house until after 5pm on most days. He shrugged, and then slowly began to place the pieces back into their original spots, preparing for his wife as he could hear her walk down the hallway.
Now, the only thing to make this day better… no nagging. None at all.
He heard bags fall to the ground, and then heard light steps. Shikamaru smirked. He heard a fridge open, and then heard a sharp gasp from the kitchen. Afterwards, he heard some more footsteps. He smirked a bit more, and then slapped his hand onto the floor in his room, making a loud sound. He heard a gasp, and then looked towards the entranceway to his living room to see the cruelest kunoichi of his generation rush to the opening, and almost rush through it to investigate the noise, before stopping at the door once she saw Shikamaru.
Shikamaru then watched as his wife's eyes slowly scanned the room he sat in. He stayed seated on his cushion as her eyes began to narrow at the sight she was seeing. The house was clean, her fridge was stocked, everything was quiet, and her husband was sitting on a cushion in front of her, playing shogi, and presumably waiting for her to sit down and join him. To make matters even weirder, their son hadn't come back from school yet, and it was early in the afternoon. It was… unusual to say the least.
Shikamaru spent a few more moments being quiet, before Temari finally broke the silence.
"… Shikamaru what the hell are you trying to do?"
Shikamaru leaned back on his two hands, and simply shrugged.
"Giving you a break."
Temari's face continued to be quizzical.
"…How are you even here early today?"
"The Hokage sent his advisors back early. The war's basically on a hiatus now. Remember, I told you that a while ago?"
"Oh, right."
Temari continued to look confused.
"So… you aren't going to go out back and watch the clouds or something?"
Shikamaru shrugged.
"Not today. Put that stuff down and let's play. I owe you a rematch, remember?"
"…Who do you think you're talking to?"
"A woman who needs a rest."
Temari continued to stand at the door, being dumbfounded at the things that Shikamaru was telling her. Usually, the two Nara males that she took care of and loved from day to day were exceptionally lazy. While they each had their times of showing her that they truly did love her, it usually wasn't something like this. Eventually, after a moment or two of continuing to stand there, Temari rolled her eyes, headed back to the kitchen to place the bags in her hands on the kitchen counter, and then returned to sit down in front of Shikamaru on the cushion that he had positioned on the other side of the table.
Shikamaru spent the moments before she opened her mouth again to take in the sight of his wife. Over the ten years that they had been married, she had aged, but not nearly to the point where any of her beauty had left her. Her skin was still smooth for the most part, save for the few wrinkles that appeared around her mouth and eyes, and her body was still in good shape, with not a lot of excess weight and an overall healthy figure. She still kept her hair in her four ponytails, her eyes were still that captivating green colour, and they still had, even when she was scowling, a soft look to them. There was a small scar on the right side of her chin from an incident 15 years ago, but other than that her face was still the face Shikamaru had fallen in love with. Today, she wore a black kimono, similar to the one that she used to wear all of the time, with a red belt wrapped around her waist.
Temari spent the same moments to look over her husband, and then silently also noted that his appearance hadn't changed much either. He still wore his hair up in his signature ponytail, aside from his black goatee and a few wrinkles around his mouth and eyes, there was no major altercations in his face, and he was still skinny, except for maybe a few pounds of muscle around his arms. From the time he had gotten back, whenever he had gotten back, Shikamaru seemingly had found the time to shed his regular Jonin outfit for a casual light blue yukata, not even bothering to wear any socks or sandals within his house. Temari found herself rolling her eyes at this, but eventually the both of them returned their attention to the board in front of them.
This was going to be an interesting match. The two usually played shogi together on the times they both found themselves at home at the same time, and as a result Temari had slowly gotten used to Shikamaru's moves and strategies while playing this game. When they had first started playing, she was quite easy to beat, but the latest matches they had had ended up with Shikamaru winning by a move or two. She was definitely getting better.
Shikamaru made the first move, moving one of his pieces forwards on the table. Temari considered the first move, before moving one of her pieces forwards as well. Shikamaru slowly moved another one of his pieces forwards as well, and Temari followed suit. He moved another one of his pieces, and she did the same. From three moves, Shikamaru found himself chuckling softly to himself. Temari raised a brow immediately.
"What's so funny?" She asked. Shikamaru silently noted that her voice hadn't changed much either, and it still held the command, power, and yet melody from all those years ago. The Nara Head shrugged, and simply moved another one of his pieces forwards.
"You're going to lose." Upon hearing his voice again, Temari noticed that Shikamaru's voice had changed. Ten plus years of smoking would do that to a man, and his voice had gotten deeper and more rugged. She didn't exactly mind, although she inwardly worried about what all of those cigars and cigarettes were doing to his lungs and body.
But it was time to think of the now, the Shogi game in front of her. She rolled her eyes.
"No I'm not."
She moved another one of her pieces. Shikamaru continued to watch her, before asking another question.
"…So, when does Shikadai get back, usually?
"He's usually here by now, actually. I'd give him a few minutes."
"Mm." Shikamaru moved another one of his pieces, taking out one of hers. Temari cringed.
"I told you you'd lose."
"We'll see. It's just one piece."
"Mm."
Temari moved another one of her pieces.
"…Can't believe there hasn't be a skirmish or anything for so long," she said idly. Shikamaru nodded, and then moved another one of his pieces. At this point, he was in a good position to start, and would likely win the match unless Temari caught onto his strategy.
"It's weird, isn't it?"
Temari moved another one of her pieces.
"But… nothing's been signed yet? Is that still the deal?"
Shikamaru moved a piece.
"Nothing's been signed. And any attempts at establishing contact with Gaar- I mean the Kazekage, have been unsuccessful."
Upon the mention of her brother's name, Temari's eyes darkened, and she sighed deeply.
"I see."
Temari moved a piece, before noticing a gap in Shikamaru's tactic.
"You're not protecting your king."
"Hm?"
She pointed to the shogi board.
"It's wide open."
"I know."
"I could win this in a move if I really wanted to."
"Then go ahead. You'll see what happens."
Temari considered for a moment, before moving a piece. Shikamaru moved a piece, and took out her other piece. Temari moved another, and Shikamaru moved another. Temari took out another piece, and then the both of them felt a pause in their play as they both heard a door slide open.
"Moooomm. Hoommmmeeeee."
Both husband and wife looked at each other in the eyes, before hearing some footsteps slowly come towards them. They were rather soft, and both of them trained their eyes to the door of their living room just in time to see their seven year old son slug his way through the hallway and appear at the door.
They watched as his green eyes, the same colour and look as his mother's, slowly looked over the scene in front of him. After a moment of doing this, Shikadai yawned, not bothering to put a hand over his mouth, and decided to greet his parents.
"'Sup."
He then noticed his father sitting in front of his mother, and raised a brow.
"Huh? Dad? You're usually not back this ear-."
"Address your father properly, Shikadai," Temari lightly scolded. Shikamaru looked over to her to see that she had closed her eyes, and while her face was a blank, he could tell that she was trying to keep her obvious irritation towards their son under her skin. He then looked towards Shikadai, who was now leaning against the door that lead to their living room.
"How do I even address my own Da-."
"Father, he's your father, Shikadai. And you would start with greeting him."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. He personally didn't really care how his son addressed him from a day to day basis, but it was something that Temari was a bit particular about. She was a strict woman.
He saw Shikadai roll his eyes, and then sigh loudly. Shikamaru frowned at this. The boy looked exactly like him when he had been younger, except for his mother's eyes, and if Shikamaru remembered anything from his childhood, it was the fact that he would have never done what Shikadai was doing right now. Simply disregarding his Mom. Because of what came after. The yelling. The annoyed look from his own father. The scolding and the grounding. The loss of privileges.
Temari slowly opened her eyes and looked towards her son. Her son simply looked lazily into his mother's eyes. Temari narrowed her eyes.
"…Shikad-."
"Alright then I'm just going to head to my room. See you both at dinner!"
Shikadai quickly exited the room, and the two could hear their son begin to walk slowly towards his room. Shikamaru looked back towards Temari and saw her face instantly get red with rage. The husband rolled his eyes.
Nope, no. We're not doing this today.
Sometimes he could swear the boy purposely pissed his mother off. As he heard Temari begin to stand up, she heard her husband clear his throat loudly. She could then hear a piece move, and she turned her head back to the table to see that Shikamaru had moved a piece.
He was looking at her now, his face with a light frown. "Your move, Tem."
Temari's eyes narrowed at his, as her face continued to redden in anger. "What!? You thi-."
"We're not done here."
Temari stood silent for a moment.
"…Are you just seriously going to tak-."
"I said you needed a break."
"He's just so -."
Shikamaru looked straight in her eyes and gestured to the game table in front of them again. He didn't say another word. After a few more moments of being angry, Temari huffed in defeat, and sat back down at the table. Shikamaru's face softened as Temari moved another piece.
"Where does he even get that mouth from?" She muttered. Shikamaru moved another one of his pieces as his wife went on.
"He's disrespectful, lazy, doesn't take things seriously, always talks poorly of all of the girls in his class, complains about doing everything other than napping and sleeping, but also somehow is brash, impatient, the few times he does want something he wants it right now-."
"Well everything but the last three things are from me." Shikamaru sneered. Temari moved one of her pieces, and then scowled at him.
"Don't remind me."
Shikamaru moved another one of his pieces, and then continued to smirk.
"He'll grow out of it eventually. I did."
"Doesn't mean he's not going to be a nuisance in the meantime."
"Mmhmm."
Temari moved another one of her pieces. She was awfully close to Shikamaru's king piece now.
"I thought you said that I was going to lose," she jeered. Shikamaru's face continued to be jovial. She noticed this.
"I can't believe I'm so close. Aren't you always going on about how important the King is, Shikamaru? So you can defend him perfectly in reality, but in a game you-."
Shikamaru moved a piece, and ended up taking out the piece he was threatening him with. She looked back to her side of the board, seeing that she was quickly running out of pieces. He sighed calmly, and then leaned his head back.
"I thought you were going to be able to see through that," he muttered. Temari looked up at him with annoyed eyes.
"Wha-."
"I was testing this new strategy out, you see. I leave my king 'open'. The enemy thinks that I'm not paying attention, when I am. When my enemy comes for my king, I get them."
Temari moved another piece, trying to counter him, but her spouse countered successfully, and the piece she used was gone. She moved another piece, and he got her again. And again, and again.
Her brows frowned with agitation, and Shikamaru found himself snickering lightly at this. She looked cute sometimes, when she would frown. Of course, if she ever got irritated to the point where she was angry, it quickly became not fun. The two continued to play until Shikamaru was able to move his final piece into position, right beside her king, capturing him.
She let out a groan. His smile increased.
"Heh. Looks like I won."
"I thought I had you this time, too."
"You think that every time."
"Shut up."
"Yes ma'am."
The two just stood there for a while. Temari looked over the shogi table, while Shikamaru found himself looking over his wife. They could faintly hear the sound of their son putting something down in his room, and eventually the two of them looked back to each other. Temari gave him a light smile.
"…Thanks. I had fun." She said. Shikamaru smiled at this.
"Good. We can play again if you'd like."
"Oh? You don't have work?"
"They let me off early. There really isn't anything to do." Shikamaru slowly stood back up.
"Do you have much work left to do though?"
"Well, I have to at least start making dinner soon."
"Alright. I'll help you with that then."
Temari slowly narrowed her eyes.
"… You're being awfully helpful today. Had a revelation at work or something?"
Shikamaru slowly smirked at her more.
"You don't remember what day this is, do you woman?"
"Umm, no," she said. She tilted her head slightly.
"What day is it?"
"Our anniversary. Ten years, Tem."
Temari's eyes slowly widened, and then her face softened. Shikamaru watched the emotions on her face, and then slowly stood to stand up while she was still going through the emotions.
It had been ten years since they had gotten married. This also meant that it had been ten years since the war began. Ten years since she had chosen him. Ten years since she had left Sunagakure for good…
Ten years since she had left her brothers.
She felt a small pain in her chest, and coughed, leaning forwards and placing a fist at her lips. No, it's my anniversary. I'm not thinking about this shit. Before she could think of anything else, she felt a pair of hands fall onto her shoulders, and then slowly begin to massage them. She let out a light moan, before also feeling a body press itself against her back. She began to blush slightly, and then allowed a smile to come across her face.
Shikamaru was up to his old tricks, it seemed.
She felt breath on her neck when he spoke.
"Happy 10th."
She chuckled, silently marveling at how Shikamaru's hands were quickly making her forget about her previous thought process. She also laughed at the role reversal that was going on, usually, in his time of need, it was her to massage him, and tell him that everything would be okay. In her own special way. Eventually, she responded to her husband.
"Happy 10th to you too, Shikamaru," she said. Shikamaru slowly began to go deeper in his massage, and eventually his hands left her shoulders, and went to her back.
Temari moaned a bit more. Shikamaru spoke.
"How about we play one or two more games, and then I can help you in the kitchen?"
"You're awfully not-lazy today, Nara."
Shikamaru's face lit up.
"And you've only been angry for a little bit."
"And you've actually been helping out."
"And you've actually been mostly calm."
Shikamaru moved his hands a little bit lower, and Temari shivered.
"Mm… we should have an anniversary every day."
"Yep." Shikamaru's hands slowly left her lower back, and instead reached forwards to wrap themselves around her.
"Just… get out the game, kick Shikadai into his room or out, and just play."
"Yep."
Temari heard the shuffling of feet outside in the hallway. As Shikamaru slowly came to her ear, she could hear another voice from outside the room.
"Mom. Dad. Heading out. Going to the Yamanaka's. Will be back for dinner. Later."
The both of them heard the door open and close, and then Temari rolled her eyes. Shikamaru, on the other hand, seemed to not be affected much, and simply laid his head to rest of on her neck.
"Well, looks like we can do what we want to for a few hours, Mm?"
Temari turned her head to his, and then spent a few moments looking at her husband's face. No scars, no altercations. Light wrinkles, just like hers. Light, lazy smile.
Shikamaru found himself looking into her eyes as well, and then the two looked for moments longer, before Temari finally took a breath, and moved into Shikamaru's mouth for a kiss. While their lips were connected, the head of the Nara clan turned her around, to enable him to go a bit deeper. Their tongues wrestled lightly, Temari's trying to make up for the lost Shogi game while Shikamaru's trying to keep her in her place, and soon Shikamaru had snaked her arms around her again, this time with her facing him. Temari did the same, and slowly moved her hands to the back of his head. Upon this feeling, Shikamaru slowly pushed the two of them beside the game board, and placed her back onto the floor, climbing ontop of her.
It was as it usually was. She initiated the romantic encounter, and he simply went along with it. It wasn't like he was complaining. Usually when she wanted it, he wanted it too. The luck of knowing when your soul mate wanted the same as you. Soon, both of their hands went into each other's hair, and their chests were completely stuck together. The two slowly began to feel the heat between them, before inevitably, one of them broke the act.
Temari.
After her body had declared her mate the winner of the tongue-wrestling match, she slowly broke away from the kiss. Shikamaru looked at her with a confused look on his face, before Temari slowly spoke.
"I still have to make dinner. And I still have to kick your ass in a game of Shogi. Or two. After that… well… I'm all yours."
Temari pecked a kiss on his cheek while Shikamaru took a few moments to consider her words. After those moments, he sighed, and then rolled off of her. Well, she hadn't completely denied him. And it was good that she remembered the dinner. And, as well, it would've have been awkward for their son to have walked in on his parents having sex. And, he did owe her a rematch in Shogi, at least one of them.
He laid on his back side his wife, who also laid on her back, her hair slightly messed up. His hair was in the same condition. They both laid there for a few more seconds, before both of them slowly got up, and both walked towards the kitchen. The shogi game would have to be cleaned up a bit later.
