- XXXVI -

Shikamaru woke up in the exact same position as he fell asleep in - except Temari wasn't under his arm.

Normally waking up would take him forever, he'd sit up thinking what is going on before he truly lost the drowsiness, but now he sobered up instantly. Perhaps it was because the last time they shared a bed he woke up alone as well.

Her side of the bed and her blanket were already cold, but to his relief - the sheets were messed up, with no pile of fresh clothes of his, and no smell of breakfast or whatnot. However stupid his thoughts may have been, he really felt relieved. Her living room and kitchen smelled of coffee, but only because she left her half empty cup in the sink. There was a note on the table, scribbled in her fast, barely readable but somehow pretty handwriting, informing she will be back at noon.

Shikamaru took a shower and made himself some coffee, falling deep into her couch he stared at the note with a small smile and thoughts drifting around its author.

He tried to look at the situation from aside. Him sitting in Sabaku no Temari's living room, having spent a night in her bed (although quite a torturing night with her closeness and the situation being too complicated for something else to happen) and waiting for her to come back home - the sight was something he wouldn't have believed being possible a year ago, and even now it seemed completely nonsensical and plainly impossible. But here he was, having survived a line of strange events that led him where he was now.

He had admitted to himself quite some time ago he always liked her. Perhaps not as much as liked her, but was attracted to her qualities, and not only the physical ones, though these did their influence too. There was something in the way she was, so stubborn and sure of herself, confident and serious, that caught his attention - perhaps because these were the qualities he lacked. And after he got acquainted with her ways, sometimes harsh and scary, sometimes too overwhelming and bossy, after he would dread his fate for having to hang around with women like this - she would smile, and he would forget. It was that smile that really motivated him, the smile and nothing else could kick his ass into doing something productive, as said by Tsunade. Simply knowing she might give him that smile made him unconsciously want to spend more time with her, to tease her and allow to be teased, sometimes pretending not to have a comeback so she would smile. That was always so special, so how could he have been so blind, all these years?

Her smile was like a spell casted a long time ago and working at its strongest this very moment - when Temari actually wanted him to leave he had the guts to say no. For once he was sure what he wanted, and he felt Temari didn't really need time nor space to understand herself better - not this time. Exactly now, when she didn't order him around and didn't try to convince him into staying in her troublesome world - the prospect of seeing her smile again made him want to overcome all the obstacles, the main one being her confusion. So he had to stay and help her get through it. He wanted to stay.

But to say it was only her smile wouldn't be the whole story. The more time he spent by her side, the more he noticed something very subtle. It was these moments.

The look, careful, short, yet affectionate tremble in her eyes when her whole poise shone determination and cruelty when she said she wanted him to leave.

The voice that broke down when she almost told him what she felt.

Her fingers, that wrapped around his just before she fell asleep, with him spooning her after a short and not really stubborn fight from her side.

These little moments she tried to hide not only from him but from herself were his driver, it was his adrenaline. It began with her shining smile, and grew into subtle answers to his own feelings. Knowing that he might be able to break Temari's ice was a thought so selfish and boastful, but with every crack he fell deeper and deeper in love; and if the result will not be a happy ending, he realized very clearly how low into despair he would fall.

The door lock clicked, and Temari entered. Their eyes connected and for a second they both froze - she in the doorway, and he with a cup coming up to his lips. With her entrance the tension was back, and Shikamaru decided to do something about it. He wasn't in the hurry to get back to Konoha, he was planning to leave in the evening, and knowing her competitiveness he knew just the right way to lure her into doing something with him.

"I want a rematch." These were his first words to her, and he obviously left her baffled.

"What?"

"Taijutsu. I want a rematch. No kunais though, no weapons at all."

Her eyes lit up with suspicion, and… that spark. She thought about it for a second.

"I have to write a report till tomorrow about those rogues."

"Really?" Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow. "Couldn't you come up with an excuse even lamer?"

She flashed anger, eyelids narrowing and staring at him will an intention to kill - or something close to it. They both knew she won't step down the offer now.

"I will kick your ass."

"We'll see about that."

"I will kick your ass so bad you will regret ever offering to fight."

"Fine, let's get going then."

"Fine."

As they stood in the desert outside the Suna walls, with the winds blowing around them she smiled her wicked and amused smile, the one painfully well known to Shikamaru.

"So, we're back to where all of this began, huh." Their very first fight brought them together. The second one helped both open their eyes about each other. Shikamaru hoped this one will mark a different kind of beginning.

"Yeah… you planning to give up again?"

"I said I wanted a rematch."

"That's not an answer to my question."

"Care to make a guess?" He smiled. No, this time he wanted to win. He had to.

"It doesn't matter either way!"

Temari leaped towards him - she was never hesitant when it came to fighting - and inspected the way he dodged her fist, stepped back, and attacked. She was suspicious of his sudden offer and proceeded cautiously, knowing his lazy nature she no doubt thought something was not right. However, after a few hits Shikamaru took, purely because she was good - and after one she received - only because he wasn't that bad too - she believed he's into this, and went all in.

Kick after kick, followed by her flying fists and his forearms already hurt; he launched towards her, pushing her step by step further away, but she wouldn't let her guard down and wouldn't let him get too close, as if she knew his ulterior motives. And yet the terrain, so familiar to her and foreign to him ended up being his advantage. After dodging her kick with his leg he placed his feet back on the ground and slipped - his shoes not really adapted for sandy surface slid away, forcing him to lose balance and end up with one of his knees and both hands on the ground.

Temari didn't even think of giving him time to get back on his feet - she jumped towards him, her fist already targeted at his throat - a punch he knew will be too painful for him to proceed - and so he faked his fall further, slipping even lower on the ground. In fact he already had his balance back and could have stood up and dodged, but pretended to be in the unfortunate position until she got close enough - then he dodged her punch directing her hand sideways, surprising her, and leaped on his feet circling her from behind. He caught her hand and twisted it behind her back, the other one wrapped tight around her upper chest, pressing her body close to his. Temari was forced to lean her head backwards, almost resting it on his shoulder so he wouldn't suffocate her, and her free hand wrapped around his wrist in attempt to set her free.

Then she, without knowing, did something that meant her loss. She took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly - suspiciously slowly - faking what impact the closeness of them actually had on her. He smiled. She cursed, realizing the trap she fell into, and wriggled in his arms, trying to break free - again, in vain.

He carefully released her hand after a few seconds, sliding his around her waist and pulling her hips closer to his, wrapping his fingers around her neck in a manner no more aggressive but rather tempting - and Temari stopped hiding her heavy breathing. She still tried to pull away, but her attempts were too weak to be called serious.

"I win." He whispered, his hand diving under the outer layer of her kimono dress at the level of her thighs, pulling away the inner one, and sliding right between her legs. He felt her shudder, and with the moan that followed he shivered himself, his lips finding the skin of her neck where her artery pulsed wildly.

"Fuck you, Nara."

They ended up in her flat in a matter of minutes. As soon as they hurried through the door, he rammed her against the wall, finally allowing his hands to explore her body freely and his lips kiss every single patch of her skin that was just stripped.

Temari didn't fight no more - not with what she felt. Her only battle now was for the dominance, as she so forcefully pushed him on her bed and pulled away his clothes, barely separating her lips from his. And seeing the way she shined looking at him from above - he let her do what she wanted and enjoyed it.

Her skin from her ribs to her hips was slightly damp with sweat after their fight, her neck - wet from his kisses, chin - reddened by his short, spiky few days old beard. She clenched her teeth as he clenched his hands around both of her breasts - an option again provided by her position on top. Temari's parted lips got closer to his mouth, subtly demanding to meet her halfway. He wrapped his fingers around her head, sliding them in her hair, and glued his lips to hers. Shikamaru could barely control himself and handle her at the same time. She was just too much in the best way possible, and she hoisted up, guiding him inside her, her lips curving into that smile as he expelled a shaky breath.

Everything else faded except the feeling in the lower part of his pelvis. The warmth, the hotness, her skin against his firmly brushing, the movements of her body pulsing against every cell of his, her breathing, moaning, her half-lidded teal eyes staring at his with intoxicating look.

She was so hot, and she knew it, her confident smile peeking once in a while in between loud moans, breasts moving up and down rhythmically in front of his eyes, her not-so-silent moans filling the room implying her enjoyment and pleasure. She made love the way she lived her life - to the fullest, indulging herself completely, no shame and no regrets. If even if there were moments where she would falter, this, now, in front of him was her true self, and Shikamaru felt that with every part of his body.

Her hand dived down where their bodies joined, and muscles within his stomach spasmed with anticipation. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about it so not to finish too early, but he felt it nevertheless. He felt it in her moves, in the change of her moans and sighs. His plan of turning her over and under him was ruined as he could barely hold himself back. Temari forced him to open his eyes - slid her other hand up his chest, around his neck and over his cheek - and he gazed back at her knowing so well that he is done for good. Her hips moved up, and he met her by shoving up his own, forcing a gasp out of her chest, and her body froze except for her moving hand and her thighs that kept getting closer to each other, pressing against his waist and hips. He thrusted his hips up again, making her body jump, and again, until Temari cried out, throwing her head backwards, and holding her breath while he not-so-subtly shoved himself inside her as deep as he could. Then she screamed, through clenched teeth, and as her muscles tightened insanely around him he came right away, pleasure rippling throughout his body as he instinctively slid in and out a few more times.

As he slowly, sluggishly sobered up he found her smiling brightly at him. Temari hoisted up one last time and fell down on the bed right next to him, never losing her smile, and Shikamaru couldn't do anything else but smile back. He found within himself the urge to pull her close and hug her, kiss her sweetly and cuddle - but there was a strange feeling attached to that urge, like it wasn't natural but more like an overcompensation… but of what? He pushed the thought away and before he got a chance to fulfill this urge, she was already off to the shower, leaving him to his thoughts.

He was used to after-sex cuddling, because Mina always needed that, and yet this wasn't that. This was a pure need to do that, to express his gentleness towards her, and Shikamaru had a weird sensation that this had something to do with what he wanted to do to her while they were having sex. Turn her over, get on top, lock her hands and fuck her brains out. He never, never was into rough sex - at least not with Mina. But what this woman was doing to him… it was frightening.

"Oy, wake up you bastard." Temari came back from the shower with her hair wet and down, falling freely around her face and to her shoulders. He remembered he also wanted to pull those hair ties out.

"Why bastard?"

"Because you tricked me." She clacked her tongue and said in a mocking manner. "I want to have a rematch. Taijutsu. My ass!"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Are you complaining?"

"No. Just looking for another excuse to murder you in your sleep."

He stood up with his eyebrows cocked up. "Yeeah." He came closer and catching her head with his hands kissed her roughly on lips, then gave a small mocking smile. "Mhm." Then wandered to the shower.

"Ass."

"I was thinking of what you said yesterday." Temari suddenly said while she was walking him out of Suna that evening. "About me being afraid to risk." She took a deeper breath. "I am."

Shikamaru didn't respond just yet, allowing her to speak further. "This is hard, isn't it?"

"Yeah." He agreed. "But we already did it once."

"That was different, at least for me."

"It's always different, and it will always feel like the first time despite how many times you try."

Temari glanced at him curiously. "Yeah, but… I can't even compare."

"Why's that?"

Her silence was an answer clear enough and slightly furrowed eyebrows betrayed she wasn't ready to share, not yet. Shikamaru didn't push her and changed the subject.

As they reached the gates they stopped, as usual exchanging simple and short goodbyes, and Shikamaru turned to walk towards his home far away. After a few steps though he turned around. "Oy, Temari?"

She stopped and looked over her shoulder.

He made sure he was silent enough for only her to hear the question. "Do you think next time I could come without any official alliance-related reason?"

Her lips almost instantly curved into a sly smile, and she ever so slightly lifted up her chin.

"I'll think about that."

Then she smiled.

I haven't written in 2 months and at this point apologising seems like a privilege I don't have any more!

Leave a review if you haven't started hating me too much.

Still love you all!

Cafe

P.S. For all my Portuguese/Brasil readers, Mari Videl just began translating my story to Portuguese! Check that out and give her a praise she deserves for dedicating her time to do this (I'm sincerely amazed by her). Search for the fic Jogo da Espera by Mari . Videl :)