"If we are enemies tomorrow, would you kill me if you need to?" he asked suddenly one day.

Temari continued chewing on the dango piece, when she had finished she turned to Shikamaru in an annoyed way.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked irritably.

The shinobi shrugged. They had been sitting side by side in comfortable silence in the tea house veranda when he had suddenly sprung the morbid question on her.

"You're the one who's always talking about duty, and theoretically it's possible that our villages relations could collapse one day." he said, "So would you?"

What a stupid question.

"Gaara would never let that happen, not with Naruto here." she retorted, "Unless there's something going on that you aren't telling me?" Temari looked at him suspiciously.

Shikamaru held his hands up in surrender, "Hey, I'm aiming for the advisor position in the future, so I have to know of all the possibilities." he reassured her, "It's just a thought exercise, so would you?"

"I'm always ready to kick your ass to next Wednesday," she replied sweetly and then made to take her fan out, "I can do it right now if you want?"

Ever since they had started dating Temari found herself joking around more often, there was something about being with Shikamaru that just relaxes her. Every trouble she had felt shared with him around.

"Oh come on, I'm serious." his voice showed annoyance.

The Sunan looked at his expression and could tell he really was. So she slipped her fan back onto the floor and thought about the question carefully, chewing on another dango in her contemplations.

Would she do it?

Nothing was certain in this world. Should anything happen to the hokage and kazekage, then it was not unthinkable that the bonds which had appeared so strong could wither and break easily in a moment.

Yes it was unlikely, especially in this strange new present after the war where everyone felt curiously hopeful, but it was possible.

And so she thought about it carefully, imagined taking a kunai to his throat, poisoning him with his food, cutting him down with a jutsu...

"Yes." she said simply.

Because she would. Because a comrade of seven years and a boyfriend of two months could not compare to her village. Because she lived for her people and her brothers. And because she was a ninja and had her pride. It was the only choice.

He frowned slightly, the shinobi didn't look surprised but Temari could see the annoyance in his features.

"I thought you would think that," Shikamaru said, "But you could have said it differently."

He's cute when he's sulking.

"You asked and I answered," She replied, "Would you rather I lied?"

"No..." he muttered, "But still..."

He wasn't looking at her now but at the clouds in the sky. There was a hint of a pout and the kunoichi was reminded of when she had first met him, when he was all attitude and set in his ways.

"Surely you would have done the same?" Temari questioned, "If we were at war tomorrow you shouldn't hesitate to cut me down."

"No I wouldn't." Shikamaru said seriously, "I would have found an alternative."

"Maybe it wouldn't be the first plan in your brain, but it should be the 200th or so!" she found herself asking in disbelief, "If I were a danger to Konoha surely you should be prepared to kill? Especially with all that I know about this village?"

Surely he isn't that naive?

"Nope, none of my plans would involve really hurting you, let alone killing you." His voice was firmly stubborn.

Their eyes met then, and Temari saw how upset he was, but it only made her irritated. Did he think her an easy opponent?

Stupid man.

She gripped onto his arms and leaned in closer to his face.

"Don't." the kunoichi warned him sharply.

He leaned in too, "Don't what?" he challenged. Their noses were an inch apart and she could feel his breath tickling her face.

"Don't let your emotions override your mind." She said quietly, "I didn't choose a weak man who would get himself killed because of a woman."

"I'm not easy to kill. And it's not weak to protect everything you care for." Shikamaru replied, his face came closer and Temari found her heart beating fast and her hands clammy.

"I'm not an easy opponent," she whispered, "And if you care for your survival or have any respect for me as a ninja, then you should come at me with the intention to kill when necessary." They were nose to nose now. The air stilled and she felt something in the atmosphere.

"That's not my shinobi way." Shikamaru murmured, "I would use everything in my power to find an alternative." He held her face gently and Temari found that she surprisingly believed his words, "That's my will of fire."

And their lips met.

It was a soft and quiet kiss with a hint of sweetness from the dangos. They kissed patiently, enjoying the sensation fully and living purely in the moment. When they broke their embrace Temari frowned at Shikamaru disapprovingly.

"You leaf ninja are too soft." She scolded, but her eyes were gentle and there was the beginning of a smile on her lips.

He's too kind, this boyfriend of mine.

Shikamaru shrugged carelessly and leaned back on the veranda, facing the sky. "You're just too cruel." he argued, "Being willing to kill your boyfriend at a moment's notice."

"It's a thought exercise!" Temari punched him in the shoulder, "There's no chance of it happening! And anyway..."

She looked at the sky as well. Temari had learnt to appreciate cloud watching as much as Shikamaru by now.

I love you.

"I would hesitate."

Temari knew her message got through to him when she felt his hand enclosing over hers. She grinned widely.

In a way dating Shikamaru had made her soft as well.

Yay a slightly morbid chapter! And they finally kissed! Isn't that sweet? This was actually written a while back but I didn't know where to stick it at all initially. Does this chapter feel depressing or cute?

I've gotten some really lovely reviews that make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, which I really do appreciate and try to make personalised replies for. I think people have been too nice to me though, because there's been no criticism of my grammar or awkward sentence structures so far!

This story is almost over now (less than 10 chapters left) and I'm going over everything with a fine toothed comb afterwards. I'm not planning to hit 100 chapters as that imo is overkill considering my next longest finished story was like...three chapters.