"Hey," she murmured as she stepped out of the bathroom, dressed - barely - in revealing lingerie.

"W-wow," he coughed, sitting up in the bed, completely blindsided by her appearance.

"I'm flattered that I can still render you speechless, even after all these years," she grinned, slinking towards him.

"That's true, but..."

"Shh," she whispered, putting a finger to his lips as she climbed in next to him. "Less talking, more doing." She pulled his mouth towards hers and kissed him passionately. He relented for a moment before breaking away, giving her the opportunity to latch onto his earlobe instead.

"Temari," he began as her mouth made its way along his jawline. "Not tonight."

"And why is that?" she said sultrily, fingers entangling themselves in his dark locks as she left little bites and bruises on his neck.

"I have an early meeting with Naruto in the morning," he explained, although she seemed to be too preoccupied to care. "I've gotta get some sleep."

"Who said we were gonna be up all night?" she smirked, moving towards his lips once again. "I'm not that much of a masochist."

He avoided the contact. "I've just had a long day," he admitted. "I'm not really in the mood."

She sat up, frowning. "You're not in the mood? This is the first time we've seen each other in a month, Shikamaru!" She gestured to her particularly alluring attire. "I thought I'd treat you a little since I've been in Suna for a while."

"I know, and you have no idea how much I appreciate it," he affirmed, soaking up the view.

"Then show me," she breathed, placing a slender hand on his cool, toned chest.

"I'll show you tomorrow," he assured her, kissing her softly. "But tonight, I'm stressed about this meeting and I need to rest up for it."

She sighed, sliding into the covers and turning away from him. "Men," she muttered under her breath.

"Good news," Shikamaru grinned as he waltzed through the door.

"Mm?" she replied, not bothering to look up from her book.

"I've been promoted to the Hokage Advisor position," he announced.

"Wasn't that a given for when Naruto became Hokage?" Temari yawned.

"Well, yeah, but Naruto's a forgetful idiot sometimes and Shizune was happy continuing her job for as long as he would allow it, so I began to have my doubts."

"I think you're the forgetful idiot, since it seems to have momentarily slipped your mind just how essential you are to the everyday running of the village."

"I love it when you talk dirty to me," he grinned.

"Yeah, yeah. There's food left on the stove if you want some."

"That's it?" he asked. "I thought this was cause for celebration."

"It is," she insisted, finally putting the book aside and giving him her full attention. He sat down on the sofa and she leaned forward to hook her arms around his neck. "Just not tonight, okay?"

"Why not?" he grumbled, hands finding her waist as he covered her mouth with his own.

She broke away, since he hadn't seemed to realise that she needed her mouth free if she were to respond. His lips instead journeyed along her jawline, fingers making light work of her shirt buttons.

"I promised I'd babysit Mirai," she explained, although she was beginning to lose her train of thought as his lips became ever more urgent. "I h-have to be there for...eight."

"Cancel," he growled, moving from her neck to her collarbone. "Kurenai-sensei will understand."

"Shikamaru..."

He sighed, knowing it was incredibly inconsiderate for her to cancel last-minute. And he loved his goddaughter, he really did. And he loved that Temari was keen to help look after her from time to time. Mirai brought out that warm, kind side to Temari that he sometimes forgot she had, but nonetheless cherished it when he witnessed it. It made him love her all the more.

He put his ministrations on hold and sat back. "Go."

"Sorry," she half-smiled, quickly covering her very exposed torso and buttoning the shirt up. "Tomorrow. I promise."

"Good. I've still gotta make up for yesterday, anyway," he added, his mouth breaking into a smirk.

She kissed him quickly before standing up to leave. "Love you."

"Love you too."

The next night, they cleared their calendars, dimmed the lights and put some soft jazz on in the background. Temari waltzed sultrily around the bedroom in a lace slip, clearly enjoying the mood the music was creating. Shikamaru stood in the doorway and admired her for a moment, before catching her in his arms when she twirled towards him.

"Hi," she grinned, her hands playing with his hair.

"Hi," he whispered back, lips brushing against her forehead. He ushered her further into the room, kicking the door shut behind him. "So, where were we?"