A/N: Inspired by a gift I received from a Secret Santa exchange (art and artist can be found on the AO3 version of this story).
I do not own these characters; I've had a wonderful time writing a romantic holiday for them.
Christmas Eve was not going according to Shikamaru's plan.
He had meant to show off the best that Konoha had to offer to Temari, so that when he made a much more personal offer, she'd be inclined to accept it.
And him.
He'd had the ring for a while; it occupied a space in his pocket next to Asuma's lighter. The question that accompanied it had tickled Shikamaru's tongue for months. It begged to be asked during sultry summer sunsets, and the crisp, colorful autumn strolls that followed. However, one concern always prevented it from reaching his lips.
In asking Temari to marry him, he knew he'd be asking her to leave her home.
Shikamaru wasn't convinced that he would be enough to replace her brothers and friends that she was accustomed to seeing every day. The longer he held the ring in his pocket and the proposal in his mouth, the more difficult it became to offer either to her. When winter's chill began to settle, he swore he would ask Temari to marry him before the year ended, and now he had only one week left.
Christmas Day promised to be a hurricane of a holiday spent with the Nara clan. There wouldn't be much time or privacy for them, so Shikamaru had honed in on the night before and had carefully arranged it. He called in a favor to secure a dinner reservation, had mapped routes for them to walk that took them through the best views in the Hidden Leaf. He had prepared back up plans for back up plans to create the perfect moment and setting for his proposal, only to be outmaneuvered by the one thing he couldn't control.
A strong winter storm, uncommon but not unheard of, had blown into Konoha, trapping the pair in his home. Shikamaru conceded victory to the weather by sulking in his living room, standing next to his tree.
Temari looked lovely in her dress, and she would have looked even lovelier sitting across from him at a candlelit table for two, instead of staring out the window at the blizzard. "I didn't realize that the Leaf could have such severe winters," she remarked.
Shikamaru winced. "It's not typical, but sometimes, yes."
"We never get snow in Suna; I think it's pretty," Temari cooed over the howling wind outside.
"It's a drag to shovel," Shikamaru muttered.
"It can't be worse than digging out of sand after a storm," Temari retorted with a slight shiver and ran her hands up and down her bare arms.
"Why don't you go change into something warmer," Shikamaru suggested. "You could even put on your pajamas; there's no way we're going out in this."
Temari turned to look at him, and a blush bloomed on her face. "My dress will keep me warmer than the little nightgown I packed," she said before biting her bottom lip.
This cheered Shikamaru a bit, and he wiggled his eyebrows at her, pleased with the giggle it earned him. "In that case, I'll let you open one present early."
He bent over to reach the gifts beneath his tree. Although he still carried the largest and tiniest gift he intended to give in his pocket, he had picked up a few other things for her in case his courage failed again. Shikamaru selected the brightly wrapped box that contained a set of red flannel pajamas he'd chosen for her and handed it over.
He smiled as she tore through the paper, happy that she wasn't the kind of woman to be unnecessarily demure. Temari lifted the lid off the box and burst out laughing.
It wasn't the reaction that Shikamaru expected, and he immediately doubted his choice of gift. "What? I thought they looked soft and warm," he sputtered, defensively.
Temari set the opened box aside and rose from her seat by the window. She lifted one of the gifts that she had added to the collection beneath his tree and held it out to him, still unable to stifle her laughter.
Shikamaru ripped through the paper and opened the box to find the same set of pajamas within it, and chuckled.
"I thought they looked soft and warm too," Temari pecked his cheek. "I'm going to change into these right now," she said, taking her set of their identical pajamas with her to his bedroom.
He smiled at her retreating form and at how effortlessly Temari could prove-time and again-that she was much more than a match for him. After she disappeared from view, he donned his gift from her as well.
Shikamaru transferred the two precious objects from his trouser pocket to that of the flannel bottoms he changed into. Asuma's memento urged him to light the candles in the room, and he had just finished when Temari returned.
The flickering flames and her broad smile made her eyes sparkle. Temari held her arms out and twirled on the spot. "How do I look?"
"You've never been more beautiful," Shikamaru said, and he meant it, as he took her hand to pull her into a slow dance.
Temari wrapped her arms around his neck when he eased her into a slight dip. He closed his eyes, cherishing the sound of her renewed giggles. The question grew too impatient and slipped past his teeth before his brilliant mind could fail to plan the perfect moment for asking it again.
"Please, Temari, would you marry me?" Shikamaru whispered against her lips, barely audible and before he could overthink it.
He felt her smile before he saw it and opened his eyes in time for her reply.
"Yes."
The End