Prompt from: spilihp17

Characters: Shikamaru x Temari / ShikaTema

Naruto-verse

Song: 102 Artist: Matthew Healy

Story Rating: T

102 by Matthew Healy

Well we're here
We're at the common again
Smoke six of the ten fags that
I only bought an hour ago

Said well I
I like the look of your shoes
I like the way that your face looks when
I'm arguin' with you

And so when
When we all grow old
I hope this song will remind you that I'm not
Half as bad as what
You've been told

When I knock
At a hundred and two
And I see your pajamas
I can't stop smiling at you

And that's why we're here
We're at the common again
I been pouring my heart out
Towards your optimistic grin

I said well I, I, I
Like the cut of your jib
And I like the way that your face looks
When you're yappin' on about him

I put on this shirt
And I found your smell
And I just sat there for ages
Contemplating what to do
With myself

And I called you up
At a hundred and two
We just sat there for ages
Talkin' bout that boy what
Was gettin' on to you
You, you, you

….

Shikamaru took another drag of his cigarette, letting the smoke curl out from his lips slowly. He usually didn't smoke much, but he was on edge today. He already smoked six of the ten cigarettes in the pack that he bought an hour ago; he figured he should slow his roll.

He drummed his fingers on the chair's arm impatiently. He was waiting for Temari. He rocked back and forth in the rocking chair on the porch. He took another puff of his cigarette, feeling the harsh smoke enter his lungs and calm his nerves, if only for a few seconds. A rough cough burst forth from his lips, and he finally cast aside the cigarette, putting it out with his foot.

"So you're smoking again?" Temari asked with a critical tone. Shikamaru looked up, realizing that she had just walked up. He gritted his teeth with anger.

"Where the hell have you been? You were supposed to come home a few hours ago," He retorted.

"Hmpf," Temari huffed, "I'm not so sure what that has to do with you."

"Temari, I'm your boyfriend, of course I'm going to worry if you stay out later than you said you would," Shikamaru replied. He got up from the rocking chair to greet her.

Temari walked right by him without giving him any sign of greeting. She usually gave him a hug or a kiss after her missions. But after their argument the other night, Shikamaru wasn't surprised by her lack of affection at that moment. "I got caught up with the report, and then I went to get some food with Ino and Sakura. It was no big deal," she explained in a sour tone.

"Okay, fine. You could've at least told me so I wouldn't be worried all day," Shikamaru said.

Temari turned her heel, snapping to him with ferocious energy, "Why are you always so worried about me? Don't you trust me? What do you think I'm going to do, cheat on you or something?"

A deep blush crawled over Shikamaru's skin. His face was heated from a mixture of embarrassment and anger at her ludicrous accusations, "Temari, if you and I are going to be living together, don't you think you should show me some respect? I don't feel like I'm asking a lot from you to simply give me a phone call when you get in the village after a mission." He looked down at her shoes as he spoke to her. Then he carried his eyes up to her face, which wore a look of both shock and irritation. For some reason, the thought came into his mind that he liked the way she looked when he was arguing with her. The fire beneath her eyes never faded, especially when she was angry. It was something he admired about her.

"Shikamaru," Temari said, forcing her voice to sound less incensed, "I just…I just never had anyone keep tabs on me before. When you and I were dating long distance, things seemed easier without you breathing down my neck all the time."

"I'm not trying to be overprotective of you Temari, I'm not trying to keep tabs on you either. All I want is for you to check in with me when you're gone for an extended period of time, is that really too much to ask?! And of course I do trust you," he said, trying to further explain his point. He felt like he was talking in circles. They had already gone over this argument the last time they spoke together. It was exhausting, and too troublesome for Shikamaru's liking.

"It doesn't always feel like you trust me Shikamaru! I heard that you asked the 6th hokage to send me out on lower ranked missions!" she yelled back with fiery power.

Shikamaru blinked at her statement, not realizing that she had found out about that. "Oh," he said, sighing a little, "Now I see why you're so upset. Why didn't you say that sooner?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow. He felt totally calm all of a sudden, now that he knew what the root of the real problem was.

Temari's face scrunched up with rage and her cheeks were tomato-red, "So you don't deny it then?! How could you?!" she bellowed, her voice quivering slightly with the promise of tears to come.

"I didn't directly ask the hokage to put you on lower ranked missions, not exactly," Shikamaru said. He wasn't sure how to explain himself, he knew Temari would only blow this whole thing out of proportion.

"Well what exactly happened then!?" Temari shouted.

Shikamaru rubbed his forehead with his fingers, feeling an oncoming headache. "I was in his office helping him assign various jonin and chunin to different missions and teams. He wanted my advice as a strategist to see who would work best together. I asked him if you would be assigned to a genin squad, since you're a jonin. He told me he wanted to get you acclimated to the other shinobi in our village first, and let you go out on a few S-ranked missions to show your strength to the villagers. All I said to him was that I didn't think it was necessary to send you out on S-ranked missions to show off your skills, I told him you would be well suited as a sensei to a genin squad. But he wanted to get a better idea of your teamwork during missions before giving you a squad."

Temari blinked and a few tears escaped her eyes. She rubbed them away quickly. "So that's what happened then? So you think I'd be safer with a squad of genin than with other jonin fighting real battles?"

"Huh? What? No, that's not my meaning at all Temari!" Shikamaru cried, surprised that she still didn't understand. She was too clouded by her temper to understand anything at that point or to see things from Shikamaru's perspective. Perhaps it would be better to let her cool down for a few moments. Shikamaru walked up tentatively and touched her shoulder, trying to ease her tension. She flinched away, looking at him with fury.

"I-I can't talk to you right now!" she barked before turning and storming into the house. He heard a few sobs as she left, and he sighed heavily. Maybe she needed some alone time to think about things, he knew that always helped him when he was upset. He picked up the cigarette pack and looked at it, wondering if he should smoke another. Deciding that he had had enough for today (and possibly a lifetime) he threw the pack into the waste bin and stared out into the horizon. He could still see a few fluffy clouds floating by before the sun went down for the day.

….

A few hours later, after finishing some extra chores around the house, Shikamaru changed into a new shirt and laid back on the couch. The shirt he was wearing earlier had gotten a few stains on it while he was cleaning. He inhaled deeply, and noticed Temari's prominent smell on his shirt. Huh, he thought, this must be the shirt Temari likes to wear sometimes. Temari preferred to wear baggy shirts to bed or when she was lazing around the house. She often wore his shirt, saying that it was more comfortable than hers.

He sat there for what seemed like ages, contemplating what to do. Temari had locked herself in their bathroom, staying silent. He wondered if she was okay. He got up and walked to the bathroom, pressing his ear against the door to listen. He didn't hear any whimpers or sobs, so he felt it was safe to see how she was doing.

He knocked on the door, pleading Temari to open it. She did so, looking at him with a small sad smile. He was pleasantly surprised to see that she was wearing her pajamas already, and had taken out her hair ties, letting her blonde strands frame her beautiful face. She looked adorable in her tiny green pajama shorts and shirt, and he couldn't stop smiling at her.

"What?" she asked, looking a bit abashed.

"You look cute," he told her.

She blushed a little and then tucked a loose strand of sandy blonde hair behind her ear. "Shikamaru…I was acting a little brash earlier. I'm sorry."

Shikamaru replied apologetically, "I'm sorry too."

"Well, you didn't really do anything wrong…I see that now. I guess you just thought I would be a good teacher, right? And you felt it was unnecessary for Kakashi to test out my skills when you already know I'm fully capable of being a good teacher?" She was right on the money.

Shikamaru nodded at her, "Yeah, that was exactly my thought process. But I should've told you everything after my discussion with Kakashi. I could've avoided this whole mess."

"I sat here for a while, thinking about what you said and trying to see things from your perspective. I tried to think of what you might be thinking while talking to the hokage," Temari said. She still looked sheepish from yelling so much earlier, and making a mountain out of a molehill.

Shikamaru grabbed her chin with his thumb and forefinger, lifting her face up to look at him. "You're the only person who can understand my thought process like that. I knew you just needed some time alone. Do you feel better now?"

Temari grinned optimistically, warming Shikamaru's heart. "Yeah, I do. And I can definitely give you a call the next time I'm late from a mission. I guess I was just mad at you and hung up about what I overheard about your talk with the hokage. I shouldn't have been spiteful about things," she ranted in a remorseful tone.

"It's okay," Shikamaru said. He was so relieved to hear that she felt better, and that she wasn't angry at him anymore. "I love you Temari," he said, pouring his heart out to her.

Her eyes gleamed, and she leaned in closer to him, "I love you too," she said, "I don't ever want to argue again."

Shikamaru laughed at that, "Well, tough. As troublesome as it is, I'm sure you and I will have more arguments in our future. But we'll be able to resolve them all, I'm sure of that too. When we grow old, we'll look back on everything and you'll hopefully be reminded that I'm not half as bad as what you've been told."

Temari chuckled a little, agreeing with him, "You're right. Let's just not have any more arguments tonight."

"Alright, no promises though. You are a troublesome woman after all," he said. She rolled her eyes at him playfully and then tilted her head up to kiss him. Shikamaru was jolted by her unexpected kiss, but kissed her back all the same. Temari was always surprising him.

They were back on common ground, their argument was a distant memory now. Shikamaru smiled at the love of his life, knowing that things couldn't always be easy in a relationship. Yet, he also knew that he would do anything to keep Temari by his side, forever.

….

Author's Note: Thanks so much for the prompt spilihp17! This story takes place sometime after Naruto the Last- I figure that Temari probably would move in with Shikamaru while they are dating and before they get married, so it's sometime around there. All couples have arguments, and it was kind of fun to speculate what these two would argue about. Probably some miscommunications like this haha. I also presume that shinobi would have telephones by this time since they have freaking laptops and TVs in Boruto the Movie lol. Anyways, enough of my ramblings! I will try to post more chapters next weekend! Thanks everyone for your patience! Reviews and prompts are always welcome!