Premature?

Chapter 24

Shikamaru checked his phone for the first time in a matter of days. It didn't bother him like it would bother most people. He felt like his phone wasn't a need when he wasn't on duty. He rolled his eyes at the notifications on the screen.

Forty-eight missed calls.

Twenty-one text messages.

The Shadow Possessor hadn't even gotten that many calls or messages in a month. He was more pissed off than anything. Did he even want to see who had been making these desperate attempts to reach him? Was it even a question?

He dared to check his call logs and messages. Almost ninety percent of everything he had received was from her. He didn't even care or even want to be bothered with her. Why was she continuously bugging him, contacting him? What could she possibly want with him after all that they had dealt with the past few days?

He heard Temari moan and turn over in her sleep. Shikamaru froze in mid-movement at her unconscious activity. The last thing she needed to see or hear about was Ino. Hell, that's the last thing I want to see or hear about...

He put his phone back down on the counter silently before turning over in the bed. The sun rose and sunk early in Sunagakure, but burned brighter than any sun in Konoha. Temari was still asleep and enjoying it.

He turned back around and looked at her, smiling briefly at her aloof and peaceful expression. He had only been awakened by the light on his phone shining in the darkness of the room. It was frustrating that even though his phone was silenced and not allowed to make noise, it could still light up and show that someone was trying to contact him.

The Shadow Possessor leaned over and kissed her forehead lightly. He chuckled to himself at his gesture. Shikamaru considered himself to be the least sentimental person he knew. He was chauvinistic, a gentleman, but emotional relationships with women were something that he lacked. Now he was kissing a woman while she slept.

He could somewhat understand now how Neji made the changed. He was the only person besides Sasuke that Shikamaru saw incapable of loving another person outside of his family. His family bonds were stronger than ever and then he took Tenten and excelled more than anyone could have ever anticipated.

The love for a woman really can change a man...

It was at that moment it clicked in his head. His father was the one who told him that. That moment he had asked him if he remembered what he had told him, he couldn't recall. Now it was clearer than anything else.

Why else would his father put up with his mother? She was such a nagger, loudmouth, and overopinionated woman who dominated him in almost every possible way. And yet, Temari was the same way and Shikamaru loved her regardless. He actually found himself missing that side of her. Her unavoidable bickering and yelling. How short-tempered she was about his mannerisms.

What he would do for that side of her to come back...

It would happen.

"What are you smiling at?"

He blinked out of his trance, looking down at her to find her in a daze, fresh out of her sleep. He wanted his smile to spread even farther across his face but he somehow hid it beneath a scowl.

"I can't look at you?" he said in a rather insolent tone. "Women."

Temari actually smiled and almost laughed. Shikamaru only gave her a confused look due to her response. He awaited her to answer him on his inquiry of her laughter.

"Your scrawny butt is in love," she said as if she was finally realizing it. As if she finally believed it. Shikamaru couldn't hide his smile this time. He looked away, feeling heat radiate off his face. It was unavoidable, undeniable this time.

"Yeah, so what?"

"Shikamaru?" he looked down at her, to see that she was now avoiding his eyes. "I wanted to ask you something. I've been thinking about it for a while." His attention was now given to her undivided.

It had been over a month since her attack. It was becoming questionable about some things. Temari's mind was a wandering thing and had no real reasoning behind where it traveled.

"Will you be upset if I can't... Have sex with you?" she asked, her face actually showing obvious apprehension. His eyes softened at the question. It was ironic to him. When he started to find himself being sexually attracted to Temari, that was something that he knew he wanted. When he first came to Suna to take care of her, it had crossed his mind a few times, but it hadn't crossed his mind at all since then.

"No, Temari. Of course not," he said with a reassuring tone. "That's not as important to me as you might think it would be. I haven't even thought about it."

She looked a little relieved, but something was still weighing on her mind.

"How will I know when I'm ready again?" she feared that she would be in that moment and suddenly flashback to that dreadful day. She wouldn't know how to react to it. Maybe it was something she knew she only wanted with Shikamaru. The last thing she wanted was for that moment with him to finally happen and be ruined by her because she can't handle it.

"Only you will know that. Whenever you're ready, you let me know," he said with a smile. Sex must have been on her mind for a while, Shikamaru reminded himself. She probably wondered because she knows I only had a sexually based relationship with Ino and was concerned...

That was another thing he could weigh down on his guilt for why she worried about something so irrelevant. The last thing he wanted with Temari was a sexually based relationship when he felt so strongly about her.

"What if... I want to do it now?"

That was an unexpected statement.

"Temari... W-what-?"

"No, I just..." she seemed embarrassed now. "I was thinking... You can't stay in Suna forever, Shikamaru. You belong in Konoha. I'm not sure when I'll be able to see you again. Especially now, I'm sure Gaara won't let me go very far without anyone with me," she said with a sad expression on her face.

He frowned and realized how her thought process was going. Shikamaru didn't want her to think this way, despite how realistic it sounded. He hadn't even thought about what would happen when he had to leave her. Who would watch her and take care of her like he was?

She was no child, but Temari didn't need to be left alone the way she was until she fully recovered. Sex wasn't the answer, especially if she wasn't ready.

"Temari, I don't want you to force yourself into doing something like that because you are concerned about time, especially if you aren't ready," he said with a stern look on his face. She probably had no idea why he was thinking the way he was, all she was thinking about how long she had with him before she left.

Who could blame her?

Temari had been trying to mentally prepare herself for that day ever since the thought crossed her mind. Shikamaru had to go home at some point. It was undeniable. Tsunade needed him, Shikamaru was valuable to Konoha. Gaara and Kankuro would not be pleased if she tried to follow him back.

At the same time, Temari hoped that she would be removed from her hole that she had fallen down since that day. Maybe that was all she could imagine.

Was she really forcing herself to sleep with the Shadow Possessor? He said he waiting for her, that should have been enough for her. Was she rushing herself? And if she seriously pursued the idea, would he deny her?

That was more fearful than anything that she had thought about. Shikamaru denying her. Her thoughts were telling her to quit while she was ahead before she seriously got her feelings hurt, but her heart wanted this. Was her mind even going to let her get that far? Especially the way he had denied her before she had left the Leaf Village?

She looked back on how often she told herself Shikamaru didn't want her, how he just pitied for what happened to her. When she realized that he did love her, she didn't understand why he did. Did he even want a physical relationship with her? Other men had had her, violated her. Most people wouldn't have wanted that...

She couldn't deny that Shikamaru was different, but she already had her mind made up about the situation. The Sand Princess knew what she wanted to do and there was no changing her mind. If he denied her, so be it. If he wouldn't take her, he would wait until he wanted to.

"Maru, I really want to do this," she decided. He still gave her a look of caution. He didn't feel comfortable doing this even if she did. Never had he ever thought about or considered that he wouldn't be ready to have sex with Temari.

Was he dreaming? Was she dreaming? She was barely awake. Maybe she thought she was still asleep... Just having sex with Temari without any sexual charge and when he felt she wasn't ready was nagging at him. Denying her would be worse...

"How about this..." she gave him a look of curiosity. "When I find out when I'm supposed to leave, we'll talk more in-depth about this. Deal?"

Temari frowned; she knew that wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. But how she could turn it down? For all she knew was that she was going to have him for another month. Shikamaru would let her know, he wouldn't lie to her about something like that.

"Deal."

"Departure?"

"Yes, Tenten, we can't stay here forever. We do have our own home to return to," Neji said in a rather sarcastic tone. The woman shot her husband a glare that he could see from his peripheral vision.

"That's not what I meant, I meant, what about Temari? Shikamaru has been taking care of her, hasn't he? Who will watch her after he leaves?" she asked in a concerned tone. Kankuro scoffed and rolled his eyes at Tenten's comment.

"She'll be fine, she's got her brothers. He's only 'taking care of her' because we had business to handle for her," Kankuro said with a sneer. He still felt agitated whenever Shikamaru's name came up.

The man was staying at his sister's house and no one else thought anything of it but him. He had no one to talk about his concerns to. Gaara didn't even oppose considering Shikaku spoke on his son's behalf on the situation about her recovery. After they found out that Temari wasn't going to her psychiatric appointments, Shikaku assured that his son would take responsibility for her recovery.

Tenten, obviously displeased with Kankuro's statement didn't bother to reply. She could hear the disgust in his voice when mentioning Shikamaru. She could only shake her head in disappointment and lack of faith.

"When will we leave?" Inoichi asked, changing the direction of the conversation. "We will still need to notify Shikamaru about when we will be leaving."

"I say three days," Neji stated. Tenten gave her husband a look of shock at the comment.

"So soon?" she questioned.

"Yes, Tenten, we have other things to tend to, especially since the Akatsuki is posing a threat to our neighboring nations. We need to get home and see what else we can do on our part," he explained, more involved with the professional aspect of his job. She looked slightly saddened by the fact, but even she couldn't deny it.

Tenten still had a feeling in the pit of her stomach, a feeling of dissatisfaction ever since they came to that dead-end in the case. They needed more information that was unattainable at that particular time.

"Does anyone else disagree with Neji's notion to leave in three days?" Inoichi asked in a concluding tone. No one spoke up or disagreed with the Hyuga's request. That ended the discussion before they were dismissed.

The InoShikaCho Trio got up and filed out, the Hyugas following shortly behind. Tenten saw Gaara's maid standing outside of the door as if she was waiting patiently for the meeting concluded. She wasn't in her uniform, which surprised Tenten. She was in civilian clothes and look slightly pale and sickened.

Tenten felt it in her conscious to ask and make sure the woman was well and alright.

"Ms. Yusa?" she jumped at the sound of her name, she seemed to have been in deep thought. Her fiery red eyes shined before a smile appeared on her face. "Are you alright? You look rather sick."

"Of course not, I'm perfectly fine. I've just been feeling a little under the weather today, not enough sun," she said rather quickly before she waved her hand as if dismissing the idea. Tenten gave her a suspicious look.

"I only asked because you seem kind of pale and you looked as if you've lost some weight," she said in a concerned tone. "Are you sure-?"

"Absolutely! I'm fine. If you'll excuse me," she urged before she quickly bowed in respect and dismissed herself to go into Gaara's office. Tenten wasn't taking what she said very lightly and refused to take that as an answer.

"That was rather... Odd," Neji pointed out before Tenten's eyes pulled away from the door.

"It was. Her behavior seemed like she was hiding something," Tenten said, still curious about the maid's secret. "She wasn't even wearing her uniform. She's always in uniform, it's still daylight hours. Not to mention she was trying to get to Gaara really fast for whatever reason."

Neji shrugged before gesturing for his wife to follow him, but she didn't budge right away. She finally walked away from the door with her husband, her eyes now set on him.

"Back to you, Neji," she said, beginning a new conversation. He looked at her as if he was waiting for her to explain whatever she was talking about; he wouldn't ask. "I don't think that three days is enough time for Shikamaru to tell Temari that he's leaving. She's going to be shell shocked."

Neji's expression didn't react right away, all he did was close his eyes before looking to his wife.

"Tenten, you have to understand. It's more than likely to the point where she's never going to adjust to knowing when he leaves. She's going to have to adapt. And Temari is strong. She'll be fine and work through her endeavors," Neji said with a faint smile. Tenten couldn't help but smile back with nothing else to say.

"Yeah, you're right..."

"Gaara-sama, I-"

"Yusa, please. You don't have to call him Gaara-sama. Gaara is fine," Kankuro corrected with a smile. He was surprised when his brother broke him the news about him going to be an uncle. He was a little excited, he couldn't deny. A new addition to the family was just what he needed to lift his spirits.

She was still addressing him as her Master like she did when she worked under him, but now she was going to be taken care of and treated as an equal in his eyes.

"I'm sorry Kankuro-san, I mean Kankuro," she said with a stutter. She still wasn't used to not using formalities with the Sabaku siblings. She wasn't even used to the idea of becoming a part of their family just yet.

"I was just coming by to let you know that everything went fine at the Doctor. I wasn't aware that you were in the middle of a meeting," she apologized quickly.

"You're fine. It was the dismissing of Temari's case and discussing the departure date for the Konoha nin. That's all," he briefly stated before he closed the file folder and put it away into his desk.

"When will Temari-san, I mean, Temari be able to go back on duty?" Yusa questioned. Kankuro looked at Gaara; they hadn't even discussed that. Gaara looked as if he was in deep thought but then he suddenly answered.

"When we see how her mental state is, we'll decide then."

Tenten knocked on Temari's front door after she rang the doorbell. She was hoping that they would answer. Where else would they be? What could they possibly be doing? She couldn't even imagine anything other than them simply ignoring her constant phone calls.

Temari's phone was completely off, which was understandable, but Shikamaru's would just ring and ring over and over until it went to voicemail. What was his problem? This had been throughout a matter of hours. Even Shikaku called Tenten and asked her to go give his son the news about leaving.

And here she was in the late afternoon, at her best friend's door, anticipating an answer and yet no one moved. There was no movement inside the house at all. Tenten suddenly became frustrated at them ignoring her. She understood solitude and the want or even the need to be alone, but she hated being blown off.

She called Shikamaru's phone again and listened closely. The Weapons Mistress was trying to see if she could hear it ringing from outside of the home, but it was a pointless attempt. She didn't hear anything.

Tenten only proceeded t bang on the door and rapidly tap the doorbell. Maybe if she was lucky, they would get tired of the harassment and answer the door. That only seemed logical, right? Then all she had to say was when they were leaving and at what time and then she'd get out of their hair.

Still no response.

Temari pulled out a scroll from her ninja tools pack and searched for a pencil or pen in the bottom of it, anything that she could write and leave a note. She struggled not to stab herself with a kunai or senbon, but it wasn't until she heard laughing at she froze.

Tenten turned around and saw them coming up the stairs, heading to her apartment. Temari's arm linked to Shikamaru's, a smile on her face brighter than Tenten had ever seen. Temari was in casual wear despite Shikamaru still in his Shinobi attire, sporting his forehead protector on his arm as always. Shikamaru's face even had a smile on it as well. They both seemed surprised to see Tenten.

"Oh, Tenten," Temari said in a surprised tone. "I haven't seen you in a while. How are you?" Tenten was still in awe and shock at how Temari's behavior was. It was almost as if she was back to her old self, but it couldn't be, not so soon.

Shikamaru was a miracle worker.

"I'm fine, I just wanted to stop in," she said briefly, looking at Shikamaru in amazement. "I haven't seen either of you in a while, but sadly, I assumed you would be home."

"Shikamaru convinced me to go out," Temari explained before pulling her house key out of her pocket. "I hadn't been outside for a while, so he talked me into it. And it wasn't too hot outside." She quickly unlocked the door and gestured both of them to come inside.

Shikamaru sunk down onto the couch and got into his comfortable lounging position while Temari headed into the kitchen to get something to drink. Briefly asking Tenten if she wanted any, she denied before the Wind Mistress continued to prepare herself some water.

"Shikamaru!" Tenten seethed through a whisper. He gave her a lazy look of annoyance, interrupting his silent relaxation time. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" he asked in a clueless tone. Tenten sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes.

"Temari! She's back to herself again. She's functioning like she used to! She was smiling and laughing with you," she said, still in an awe-ish tone. "How did you do it?" Shikamaru's expression returned to disappointment.

"Nah, she's not back to being herself just yet. She's still a little timid and precautious due to what happened, but for the most part of what you saw was because I actually took her out somewhere and got her to open up. That just happened in the last few hours," he explained.

Tenten's eyes softened at Shikamaru's tone of disappointment; she was sure that he was disappointed in himself more than anything else even though he had no reason to be.

Temari appeared in the room and sat down with her glass of water only to sip on it a little bit. Shikamaru gave her a look of disapproval. She only glared back at him with her own scowl on her face.

"What?"

"You didn't bring me any water," he said in his personalized drawl. Temari scoffed and continued to drink her own beverage before putting the glass down to respond.

"You didn't ask. But I've already sat down. Go get your own, you know where it is," she said in a nonchalant answer. Shikamaru sneered before muttering, "Women" under his breath. She shrugged with a smile before dismissing him. "You must not be as thirsty as you thought you were."

Tenten blinked at their mild bickering. She could have sworn that this was the Temari that she remembered, the Temari from before the incident happened over the last couple of months. And yet, it wasn't. At least that's what Shikamaru said.

"Tenten!" she jumped out of her trance-like state once again. She knew that her best friend had it in her to recover and be strong like Neji said. But at the same time, she didn't want to break the news about Shikamaru's departure to her out in the open.

"Where is Neji? He can't be too far away from you," Temari said with a slightly sarcastic smile. Tenten smiled back before waving it off. "He's down the street, trying to get a reservation at someplace for dinner tonight. It looks really cool."

"You must be talking about Aozora. It's a very classy restaurant, but it is kind of expensive," She said with a smile. "I do recommend it." Tenten smiled and nodded before Temari finished off the last of her water. She got up to go put the glass in the sink, just as Shikamaru yelled.

"Oi! Get me a glass of water!"

Temari's scoff and annoyance reached from the kitchen to the living room. He couldn't help but smirk and smile at the woman he loved and their constant nagging and annoying of one another.

"Shikamaru," Tenten pressed. He looked at her, out of his previous state of mind. "We've concluded the case and closed it. It's a cold one. But at the same time, Gaara will be keeping it on file." He looked rather angry about that but he didn't express it outwardly.

"You can't find the guys who did it?" he said in a disapproving tone.

"No. It was a dead end. We got what we could out of the information though. Now that the case is closed, it's time to go home to Konoha," she said in a rather saddened tone. Hearing her say that only reminded Shikamaru of the discussion he had this morning with Temari. It weighed heavy on his heart.

"Well? When do we leave?"

"Three days," she stated shortly.

Shikamaru's heart dropped and sank into his stomach. So soon, much sooner than he could have possibly anticipated. He promised Temari he would bring up what they had talked about when he found out when he would leave. And here he was, technically back to square one.

Shikamaru covered his face and groaned at how much amount of time he had. It wasn't enough, he wasn't mentally prepared to leave Temari by herself just yet. She almost needed him, at least that's how he felt. But the way Tenten looked at her, maybe she was closer to her old self than he saw himself.

"Tenten... I-"

"If you want more time, you have to talk to Neji or your father. If they decline it, you'll have to send a personal extension letter to Tsunade, and you know that'll take more than three days. Technically, no matter what you do about, you are still leaving with us that morning," Tenten said with a saddened expression.

Shikamaru had no words to say. What else could he say? He couldn't ask for more time. He didn't have more time, he didn't have time to ask for time. He had to accept what he was given and go with it. There was no denying it, he was heading home in three days.

How was he going to break the news to Temari?

Temari returned and handed Shikamaru his glass of water. He put it down on the coffee table. She rolled her eyes at his gesture just as she saw Tenten rise from the couch. She smiled and saluted, only confusing Temari.

"What's going on? You're leaving already?" Temari said almost as if she was pouting. "You just got here." Tenten could only smile at her friend's makeshift attempt to be upset.

"Yeah, Neji just called me and said that he's got the reservation set up. I'm going to go ahead and meet him down there," Tenten lied before stretching her arms out to her friend. Temari smiled back in an understanding manner before pulling her into an embrace.

Tenten gave her a kiss on the cheek before dismissing herself, heading out the door. Temari sat down on the couch beside Shikamaru and leaned on his shoulder as he finally picked up his glass and took a drink of the water she had supplied him.

Was that the only reason Tenten came up here? To let him know they had to go? No one else would do it. For some reason, Shikamaru got the feeling that Kankuro wouldn't dare come back after what happened that day Temari shoved him against the wall before kicking him out.

He wanted to swear under his breath.

Temari looked up at him to see his facial expression beyond undeniable. She sat up and gave him her own look of concern.

"What's wrong?"

Pulled out of his thoughts, Shikamaru tried to put on a facade as if he hadn't been looking the way he had earlier that she had caught a mere glimpse of.

"Huh?"

"Don't you 'huh' me, I saw your face. What's wrong? What's on your mind?" she asked. He didn't respond right away, only to take another drink of water from the glass. Temari's brow knitted together before he put the glass down. "Don't ignore me." He finally looked to her after he let out an agonizing groan.

"I leave for Konoha in three days." Temari's entire face turned almost white. Her expression went from glowing to dim in a matter of moments. Shikamaru's own eyes saddened at her response to his case of bad news.

"Hey hey," he whispered, caressing her chin with his finger. "Don't get all sad." The Wind Mistress pulled her face away, avoiding his eyes. How could he tell her not to get upset? He would be leaving her in a matter of days. Why so soon? Why couldn't they get an earlier warning so that they could at least plan something? "Temari."

"What?" she snapped angrily. "Tenten comes all the way here to tell you that huh? Figures." Temari's anger was starting to boil; her short-tempered nature wasn't always kept under wraps like it should have been.

"I just don't want this to ruin your day. We had a good time together tonight out on the town, didn't we?" he said with a smile. Temari still avoided his eyes and glared a hole in the wall. Shikamaru was genuinely trying to cheer her up. "For the love of Kami, Temari..."

"Do you really expect me not to be upset? Three days, Shikamaru. That is seventy-two hours! Probably less than that because it's almost nightfall!" Temari yelled in an irritated tone.

"You don't think I'm upset either?" he said in an objective tone. Temari breathed, biting her lip. Counting to ten didn't work for her, breathing only helped when she had a mild tantrum. Right now she could go for something to calm her nerves.

"... I didn't mean to go off on you like that," she said in a softer tone this time. "I just... I knew deep down this was going to happen. I couldn't deny it. That why I've been mentally preparing myself for this the whole time. You probably thought I was crazy when I told you that."

"Well, not crazy, but I had to admit I hadn't even thought about it," he said in a pathetic tone. "I should have been aware. It was almost as if I didn't think I would ever have to leave and that's my fault for not paying attention."

The whole room went silent. Shikamaru's arm slid over Temari's shoulder and pulled her into a warm embrace. It didn't help her feel any better. Regardless, at the end of the day, he would be leaving her all alone fairly soon and there was nothing they could do about it.