Hi! I was excited to get this chapter out. Thank you so much for the positive feedback! It really keeps me motivated. :)
Troublemaker
When they finally reached his apartment, Shikamaru watched as Temari guided herself up the stairs in his building by slightly hanging on the railing for support. Seeing her loudly ascend the steps was a new and rather unusual concept for him. Despite being the most intimidating kunoichi he's ever met, Temari somehow always managed to be very graceful. She fought like a warrior, but carried herself like nobility. It made sense to him considering she was from the Kazekage Clan of Suna, where becoming Kage was still a birthright.
Once inside, Shikamaru slid off his shoes and placed it in a getabako made of onyx-stained mahogany. He barely made it out of his genkan when he heard a soft thud on the floor behind him. Turning around to inspect the sudden noise, he saw that Temari had plopped herself down onto the steps at the entryway of his apartment and was gently tugging at her footwear until they finally came off her feet. Even in her slightly drunken state, she was still able to neatly tuck her shoes away. Then she began to clumsily fuss with the clasp on her tessen. When she finally managed to release it, he watched as it slipped out of her fingertips and straight into his tansu. Shikamaru cringed at the potential damage. The expensive and sturdy mahogany was no match for her customized weapon.
He learned that her fan was an ancient relic made by the Kazekage Clan the night he invited her to the Nara forest. They manipulated different metals until it formed a material called graphene to construct her entire tessen. In addition to being the strongest yet lightest material ever created, it conducted chakra brilliantly. Chakra moved faster through graphene than any other tested material. She'd told him about her tessen in confidence and made him swear to keep it a secret. Of course with Temari, it more of a threat than a request. Graphene was a rare resource that very few people knew how to produce, and her tessen would have been highly sought after if word of its existence got out. Combined with the chakra infused sand and the puppets inherited from Sasori, the Sand Siblings had quite the terrifying collection of weapons. The thought of crossing them made him shudder.
Temari picked herself off the floor and carried her tessen with her into the next room, oblivious to the dent she had left on his furniture. Shikamaru's apartment turned out to be a rather extravagant loft and was eerily spotless for someone who had a reputation for being lazy. The only thing out of place was a single chair at his dining table, prompting her to assume that it was a place he frequented alone. His bedroom was divided from the living room by large, sliding shoji doors that made up the entire wall. However, instead of the traditional translucent paper over wooden frames, the doors were made out of frosted glass. Setting her tessen down in a corner, she walked over to inspect them. "Fancy."
"The place was a gift from my parents for the whole chief-strategist thing," he explained, scratching the back of his head. "My dad said he enjoyed having his own space when he was my age so…this happened I guess."
"Quite a gift," Temari said. Even though she knew he was a little more comfortable with talking about it now, she instinctively shifted the topic away from his father. "So, your mom decorated this place for you?"
"No. They just gave me the space," he answered, looking away from her.
"Aww. Nara Shikamaru, chief-strategist of the entire Allied Shinobi Forces and interior designer!?" she teased.
"Tch. I'm sure you live in a fancier place, being the Kazekage's sister and all," he tried to rebuttal.
"Nope," she vaguely replied as she continued to inspect his loft.
"What? Really?"
"My place is really plain. I'm never really there, so I saw no point to completely invest in decorating it. Most of my time is spent in a room that's adjacent to Gaara's, or traveling to and from Konoha," she explained.
"Right. The bodyguard thing."
"Yeah," she smiled, echoing him. "The bodyguard thing,"
"Which one do you consider your home then?"
"Suna is my home. I can retreat to my apartment, or I can spend time with my brothers. I can help Gaara oversee the government in our offices, or I can stroll through the town and check in on our citizens. The setting itself is never important, it's whoever's company I choose to keep."
Shikamaru watched her in silence as she went over the details of his kitchen. The more he got the know her, the more he realized that he didn't know very much about her at all. She proved to be more complex than any woman he's ever encountered, something he didn't know was even possible since he found them all to be complicated creatures. Apparently, there's still a lot more to Temari than her resilient exterior and her gentle smile.
Thump.
His thoughts were interrupted when she tripped over her feet and against his couch.
"Are you drunk?" he asked, walking over to straighten it out again.
"No," she answered. "I'm definitely not sober, but I'm not drunk either."
Not trusting her answer, he went up to her as she poked her head into the spare room he'd turned into an office. When she turned back around, she found him looming over her with his hands in his pockets. It was a quirk of his that she couldn't help but find attractive. They stood in a brief moment of silence while he studied her face.
Temari had to lift her head almost all the way back to look at him due to the close proximity between them. "What is it?"
"Are you sure?" he asked in a low, throaty voice. He dropped his head to rest his forehead against hers. The corner of his lips curled into a smile when he saw how the rosy tint from the alcohol was no longer enough to mask the new shade of scarlet that was now on her cheeks. That was his favorite thing about their chemistry. Temari hated showing weakness, apparently enough that she carried the trait into the bedroom. Making her voluntarily give in to him was a challenge that he found more pleasure in than playing shogi. He reveled in his new-found game of forcing her body to betray her as she fought to stay composed under his touch.
"Yes," she replied flatly.
He took a side step around her so that her back turned and faced the wall. Knowing that she was too proud and stubborn to flinch, he walked into her. The impact caused her to fall against it, trapping her in front of him. Checkmate, he thought and simpered.
"What are you doing?" she questioned when he placed his hand against the wall next to her head to support his weight. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared back at him. Aggression was her body's natural response to being cornered
Shikamaru didn't respond. Instead, he just hovered his lips next to her earlobe and waited for her reaction. It merely took a few seconds before he felt her breath on his neck as she exhaled deeply. He smelled the sweet aroma of the whiskey that still coated her tongue. Too easy, he thought to himself and smirked before clasping his lips around her earlobe.
Temari gasped for air as her body arched into his. Shutting her eyes in a mix of frustration and pleasure, she let out sigh when he pressed his lips together a little harder. A whimper escaped her when she felt his lips trace their way down her neck. She cursed his name under her breath for the control he had over her.
"What was that?" He whispered into her ear, smiling again when she squirmed from his breath making contact with her skin. He pulled the other hand out of his pocket to pin her shoulder against the wall, keeping her in place. "I said," he continued, pausing between every word. "What… was… that?"
Shikamaru pulled his head back so that he could look at her. He kept his eyes on her until she finally lifted her eyes up to meet his. The frustrated look on her face as she glared at him made him smirk again as he snaked the hand that was on her shoulder around her waist. He pulled her body close to constrain her for what he was about to do next.
Just when Temari was about to catch her breath, she felt Shikamaru biting down into her earlobe. All it took was a gentle suction in his mouth for her to cry out. He pushed his weight against her to keep her pinned against the wall. Her hand found its way into his hair and under the base of his ponytail.
"Say it," he demanded in a low growl. When she refused, she felt his lips hover over to the area on her neck where he had left his mark the night before.
"Don't." Temari warned, not wanting to go through the stress of trying to hide her neck again.
"Tch," was all he said before he sank his teeth into her flesh.
Temari cried out his name as her other hand flew to his bicep. She dug her nails into his arm, trying to redirect her tension on her neck. Sakura managed to heal the bite marks, but her skin was still very tender. It made his bite a lot more painful this time around. She started to cry out when he bit harder, but he traced her lips with his thumb before slipping it inside her mouth to silence her.
Her body slumped against the wall when we finally released her. The faint scent of whiskey continued to fill the air around them as Temari attempted to regulate her breathing. Her hand fell out of his hair and onto his shoulder. She wrapped both her arms around his neck to support her weight before closing her eyes and inhaling deeply.
Shikamaru pulled her off the wall and around the corner into his office. He lifted her up and seated her on his desk. Positioning himself between her legs, he started to trace the opening of her kimono. He hooked his fingers around the hem of her robe and ran his fingers up her thigh until they were between her legs. The moisture that was seeping through her underwear caused him to smile in satisfaction. Her chest heaved rapidly with heavy panting as he started to graze his lips against hers. Just as he was about to completely close the space between them, they were suddenly interrupted by a sound coming from his door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Temari watched for his reaction. She could tell by the expression on his face that he was counting down the seconds until the person left.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Shikamaru!"
A female's voice tore his gaze away from Temari. He poked his head outside his office and looked in the direction of his door. "Who the hell…?" he muttered under his breath. Sighing heavily, he hesitantly slid his hands off her body to fix his ponytail before going to answer it.
"Shiho? What are you doing here?" he asked. He held the door wide open, but Temari couldn't see the girl behind his tall figure.
"I was in the neighborhood and decided to pop in to say hi!"
"But… how did you get my address?"
Temari raised an eyebrow at his question before laughing quietly to herself. Girls fawning over Shikamaru was nothing new to her, but she couldn't help but find a little humor in him having stalkers.
"I remembered you telling us that your parents bought you an apartment in this building," the voice beamed.
"I never told you that..." he quietly said. He was confident that he'd never mentioned his apartment around Shiho and was too afraid to ask how she even knew the unit number. That was something he refused to share with anyone but Ino and Choji.
"Anyway," Shiho continued, talking over him. "Are you hungry? Did you want to go grab some food?"
"I have plans with Temari," he flatly admitted. That caught Temari off guard. She wasn't expecting him to mention having another guest at all, let alone mention her name.
"Oh! The representative from Suna that you work with, right? I remember one of my associates saying how they have a meeting with her and the Hokage on Sunday. I'm sure that means you'll be there too. You're in charge of accommodating her whenever she visits, right?"
"That's… not exactly..." he began before realizing that she wasn't entirely wrong. "Yeah. Something like that. I'm going to be with her until she departs for Sunagakure," he explained, hoping to deter her.
"You're such a hard worker, Shikamaru. Let me know when you're free, yeah?" Shiho asked. Temari couldn't help but the smile at the mysterious voice behind Shikamaru. She almost admired the other girl's confidence and persistence. It reminded her of Daimaru.
"Uh. Kay," he said as he turned to close the door. He looked over at Temari and shrugged.
"My, oh my. Stalkers? Should I be worried?" she jabbed at him.
"Girls are so troublesome," he sighed, folding his arms in front of him. He walked back into his office. "You're the one to talk, woman. Don't act like the entire alliance didn't snicker amongst themselves when they learned that someone came back from the dead for the Sand President's sister."
Temari laughed at the title he used to address Gaara. "Yeah, but he's sealed. She, on the other hand, is very much alive and kicking."
"I'm sure you can handle that issue," he whispered as he leaned into her to pick up where they had left off.
"I'm famished," she declared.
Shikamaru froze in disbelief. "A-are you serious? We just ate!"
"I don't joke about food, and I ate almost 4 hours ago. We spent the rest of our time drinking…"
"You've got to be fucking with me," he groaned.
"Apparently," she began as she hopped off his desk and walked into this living room. "I'm not. Because I'm hungry."
"Can't it wait?"
"Want to know what's the Sand President's only fear is?"
He blinked in confusion at her sudden question. "What?"
"His sister when she's hungry."
Shikamaru grunted and rolled his eyes.
"You should go change," she ordered as she walked over to his couch to take a seat on the armrest.
"I could say the same about you now," he said, smiling coyly at her.
"I don't have anything to change into. I thought I wasn't meeting you until later but…"
"But Ino happened," Shikamaru sighed, finishing her sentence for her. "So, do you want to pick up your clothes before or after dinner?" he asked. He started to take off his flak jacket as he walked past her to his bedroom.
"What makes you think I'm coming back here?" she jokingly snapped at him.
"Tch," he grunted and peeled off his shirt before approaching her.
She snuck a glance at his body, taking in the definition of his muscles before he got too close. It took Temari everything within her to keep her eyes focused on his face when he was finally standing over her.
"Because, troublemaker," he began in husky voice. He lifted her chin up with his fingers so he could look directly into her eyes. "My walls are more soundproof than the ones at your inn."
Temari and Shikamaru totally come off as the power play kind of couple, don't they?
As always, let me know what you think and let me know what other cannon couple you'd like to see more of. :)