Motivation
by Original Blue
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
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N is for Negotiations, or lack thereof.
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If the Kazekage and his older brother thought they'd seen Temari angry before, they were sorely mistaken.
She became a presence of doom around the Kazekage tower, a terror to everyone she met. In private, she wasn't much better; Kankuro began to avoid being in a room alone with her in case she snapped and killed him.
"I'm beginning to understand what it was like living with me all those years," Gaara said absently to Kankuro. "She hasn't spoken a word to me since I took her off the mission roster."
"And Nara?"
Gaara's eyes narrowed. "She's been ignoring his messages. I had Tsunade inform him of the situation."
"Temari won't be pleased."
Gaara regarded his brother frankly. "She'll have to deal with it."
...
When Temari had finished poring over the ancient documents, she'd gone outside and screamed. Not a scream of fear or sadness, but a rage that had been locked inside her for too long and was struggling to get out.
No one would tell her who she had to marry.
The basic content of the ancient documents was this: if the Kazekage had unmarried female kin, it was their duty to strengthen the country by marrying. And as such powerful assets, their betrothals could legally be voted upon by Suna's council of elders, which included members of both the Hidozawa and Morichi Clans.
There was no way in hell, she was going to go through with this.
But, the frustratingly loyal part of Temari said, you will go through with this. Because it's for Suna. It's not a matter of your decision. Suna needs the strength of a political marriage.
And Temari knew it was right. For the past six years Gaara had strived to reunite and empower the struggling nation in the desert. If she chose to disobey this order, it would do more than any war or drought to prove that Kaze no Kuni was devastatingly vulnerable to its own pride.
She shuddered, sitting on her bed in her dark room, remembering the warm body that had been there only a month ago. She thought of what Shikamaru would say when he found out, and bit the inside of her cheek until it bled. Suddenly she tasted salt on her lips; she was crying, not for the poor man who would become the object of her loathing in years to come, but for the happiness she might have had with a lazy, infuriating, brilliant jounin from Konoha.
Proud as hell and vicious as a sandstorm, Temari couldn't just ignore this. Suna was a part of Temari, whatever else she might be.
So she wiped away the few tears she'd allowed herself to shed and went to tell Gaara her decision.
...
It was unfortunate that two days after Temari reported her consent to the marriage, Shikamaru knocked on the Hokage's door.
"Enter."
He creaked open the door and saluted the Godaime. "Tsunade–sama, I'm requesting a temporary visa to Sunagakure."
The blonde woman glanced up from her work. "Shikamaru–san? It's three in the morning!"
"I know, Godaime."
She sighed. "Alright, sit." She flapped a hand towards one of the comfortable chairs in front of her desks.
He sank into a chair, still rigid with tension. "Something has come up in Suna. I will return as soon as possible, but please remove me from the roster for a few weeks."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow at him. "Shikamaru–san, I'll write you the visa, but you have to give Gaara some reports to validate your presence. And no more running off like last time, okay?"
He nodded quickly. "I'll be back in a few minutes for the visa, Godaime." He gave her a brief smile and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
When he was gone, Tsunade examined the reports her spies in Suna had given her regarding Sabaku no Temari and smiled.
"If she doesn't kill him, he'll be the most useful adviser this village has had in a long time."
...
Gaara knew everything that happened in Kaze no Kuni; that was why so few potential assassins even got into the city.
He was sitting in his office, watching the stars wheel into the sky, when he felt Shikamaru arrive. With interest he saw him reach the heavily guarded fort. And then he saw them running towards Suna.
Everything was going according to plan.
...
Temari was on border patrol, having nagged Kankuro into giving her some work, when Shikamaru entered the country.
He was exhausted from running, that much she could tell, and his only thought was of a place to sleep for the night.
Then he looked up from dinner at the fort and caught her gaze. He dropped his fork, rose and approached her without taking his eyes from hers.
"Temari."
She gave him a hard look. "Took you long enough."
He nodded. "I'm sorry."
"I stopped answering your letters and it took you a month to get here?"
"I was on a mission." He sighed. "I guess you missed me. Troublesome."
Temari snarled. "I'll give you troublesome, you–" she grabbed the front of his vest threateningly. Then he kissed her, and she forgot what she was going to say.
Shika released her. "Let's go back to Suna," he said. "There's something I need to discuss with your brother."
"Are you crazy?" She could almost see the plan forming in his head. "You think just asking a favor from Gaara will make everything better?"
"No, but I'm pretty sure he's not happy about this either. And an unhappy Kazekage has a lot of clout with the council."
She gave in to curiosity, keeping pace with him as they ran into the desert. "Why does that matter?"
He paused, and in this pause Temari could hear a lot of things that were going unspoken. "Because I think he'll have called the meeting by now," he said deliberately, "and I'll need his support when I ask to marry you."
...
She argued all the way back to Suna.
"This is ridiculous! I'm not a piece of meat that you can bid for! You didn't even ask if I wanted to marry you!"
At which point he turned around. "Well, wouldn't you rather marry me than some figurehead clan heir?"
She could feel herself blushing like a sunset. "That's not the point!"
But he'd already begun to smile, and when he leaned over and kissed her again, she didn't protest.
"Let's go."
They sprinted the rest of the way.
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N is for Negotiations, or lack thereof.
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