Shikamaru lay in a clearing of the Nara forest, staring up at the wisps of cloud drifting across the sky. He tried to relax and focus his mind. He had been distracted by the annoyance he felt toward Ino, and now Neji as well.
The chunin exams had carried on for a few days after his encounter with Temari in the stadium, and the delegations from Suna and the other villages had departed shortly thereafter. Temari had not come to him once throughout the duration of the visit. Shikamaru had of course seen her in the stadium in the final matches of the tournament, but her gaze would pass over him without coming into focus as if she was erasing him from her field of sight.
On the other hand, Neji's gaze seemed incessantly fixed on Temari. Shikamaru picked out the distinctive ANBU perched on the upper balcony of the stadium, always with Temari in his sights. While most leaf nin would've written off Temari's outburst as a lover's spat (in fact, he was sure they would find it quite amusing), Neji always took everything far too seriously. It was unfortunate that Neji was the one to witness it, he thought to himself. Shikamaru just hoped that he hadn't reported it to a superior officer.
Shikamaru was sure that Temari was well aware of the ANBU's watchful eye, and that it would only adding to her anxiety about public perceptions—among Leaf and Sand nin alike—about her relationship with him.
He let out an irritated sigh. He knew that Ino had had no ill intentions. He was sure that she didn't realize the extent of the impact of the rumors on his and Temari's relationship. Konoha was different than Suna, both culturally and politically. Of course Suna would be more inclined to view an inter-village relationship as a security threat, while Konoha was more likely to view it as a sign of trust and amicable village relations.
Shikamaru just hoped that Ino's meddling and Neji's surveillance hadn't permanently deterred Temari. It was not unusual to go weeks, or even months without seeing her, but he was getting anxious. As much as he hated to admit it, he could feel his chest tighten at the thought of their relationship ending. Of course they would continue see each other for the foreseeable future, given their diplomatic roles. But it would be more painful to be subjected to the indifference and withdrawal that she had exhibited at the end of the chunin exams than it would be to never see her again.
He and Temari had never talked about what they were to each other. It was so cliché, Shikamaru thought to himself, that it was only now, at the moment he realized that he might really lose her, that he was finally faced with how much she meant to him, how much he was attached to her.
Their relationship had had no clear beginning, and Shikamaru sometimes wondered how it would end. He tried not to think about it, focusing on the present, never daring to plan for the future. This was not an uncommon attitude among ninja for managing interpersonal relationships. The mortality rate in their line of work was just too high. Setting expectations for the future made the seemingly inevitable loss even harder.
Shikamaru was never quite sure when she would be back in town, but he had come to rely on the idea that she would always come to him when the opportunity presented itself. Occasionally she would come on a scheduled diplomatic visit, but mostly she would slip into the village en route to and from missions. He figured that she probably didn't check in at the gate on most occasions, and it had occurred to him more than once that it didn't necessarily speak well to village security that she came and went under cover of night so regularly.
He sighed and got up from the grass as he felt a familiar chakra signature approaching. No doubt Ino come to scold him for not showing up at their team meeting. The last thing he needed was for her to see him sulking. As much as he hated to admit it, she'd see right through him and know exactly what he was upset about. As frustrating as she could be, they had a deep friendship and bond of trust, and she was undeniably good at her job. She was sharp and insightful, good at understanding people and getting into their heads (sometimes quite literally, given the family jutsu). She had quickly risen in leadership in the intelligence division, and he had no doubt that she would one day take over for her father.
Shikamaru made his way towards the Hokage tower where he figured he should finally get to the work that he had been putting off.
00
Shikamaru was jolted awake by the sound of his window flying open. The heavy rain blew in through the open window. Temari nearly collapsed as she came through the window, clutching the window frame, in an attempt to hold herself up.
Without thinking Shikamaru jumped up, supporting her weight and guiding her over to sit on the edge of the bed. As soon as he looped his arm around her, he felt her slump against him.
"Jesus, Temari, what happened?" Shikamaru asked, though not expecting a response. It had been a long time since she had shown up to his apartment so beat up.
Kneeling in front of her he looked her over, assessing the situation. She was drenched. Her left sleeve was completely ripped off, and he could see it had been tied around her thigh as a makeshift bandage. She was clutching her side, most likely attempting to apply pressure to a second wound.
"We need to clean these and apply new bandages," Shikamaru said. Temari was still non-responsive.
Like all ninja, Shikamaru had basic training in field medicine. He was no medic, but he had plenty of experience managing injuries on the fly during missions. He ran to grab the kit of basic medical supplies he kept, and then began to remove the makeshift bandage on her leg. He could feel her tense up as he cleaned the wound. It would be so much better if Sakura or Ino could handle this. He knew that either kunoichi would be there in a flash if called on, but he was sure that Temari would protest.
He worked in silence, cleaning her up as best he could.
Once the wounds were cleaned and bandaged, he stripped her of her drenched clothing, pulled a clean shirt over her head, and lay her down. He just hoped that he hadn't missed anything.
He pushed the hair away from her face gently, asking gently, "Is anyone following you?" As much as he respected her privacy, he needed to know if she—or Konoha—were under continued threat.
Temari shook her head.
"They're all dead."
Shikamaru climbed into the bed next to her and held her in his arms. She pressed her face into the crook of his neck.
Shikamaru lay awake monitoring Temari's pulse and breathing, watching her as she slept. He wondered if she ever had nightmares. For the moment, at least, she slept soundly.
As the sky began to lighten, he slipped into a light sleep himself, holding her tightly in his arms.
00
Shikamaru awoke to the morning light, feeling Temari stir in his arms. What time was it? Based on how far the light had crept into the room, it was still early in the morning. When he felt Temari move to get out of the bed, he tightened his grip around her waist.
"You need to rest," he mumbled, still foggy from sleep.
"I'm fine," Temari responded.
"Just stay a little while. The more you rest, the faster you can travel on your way home," Shikamaru said.
"Please?" he added after a moment. He wanted to tell her that he had missed her. He hoped that she would stay.
Temari sighed, and reluctantly relaxed back into his arms. She was too tired to fight him on this, and though she wouldn't admit it, she knew that he was right. She had carried out her mission in good time, and was not expected back for a few days anyway.
It was unusual for her to still be in bed at this time. She was by nature an early riser. The heat of the desert made the early morning hours the most pleasant time of day. The range of temperature in the desert was quite pronounced, with scorching days and frigid nights. The sunrise, when the chill was just dissipating into a still pleasant, growing warmth was the time the city bustled most with life.
Konoha's mild climate was always a treat, and felt somewhat exotic to her. It was part of why she enjoyed her time there so much. The city was so green, the plant life diverse and healthy. She hated the humidity of the summer months however, finding it more oppressive than the dry heat of her home.
Shikamaru was unsurprised when he felt her breath drop back into the steady rhythm of sleep. She would never admit to any weakness, but anyone would be exhausted after what was clearly a hard-won fight. Sometimes the most challenging part of a mission was just getting to a safe place after a fight before collapsing of exhaustion in unfriendly territory.
He snuck out of the bed, careful not to wake her. His foot caught on the pile of torn clothing on the floor, still damp from the night's rain. He gathered it and placed it on the windowsill to dry in the morning sun.
He placed her pack on the chair next to his bed. Her light pack spoke to the brief nature of the mission. Some sort of hit job, maybe.
He pulled out the familiar book, flipping through a few pages. He paused when he found a flower that he recognized. This flower he recognized not from the Yamanaka flower shop but from a mission in the northwestern region of the Fire country when he was a chunin. He had a sharp memory for detail, and these had been particularly memorable because his teammates had teased him mercilessly after a village girl had given Shikamaru a bunch of flowers to thank him after they'd captured the petty thief that had plagued the town. He touched the petals gently. It was clearly a fresh addition. He examined a few more pages before closing the book entirely, and placing it back in the pack.
He wondered what had brought her to that region of the country. It was far from the route between to Suna from Konoha. Really, it was out of the way from any thoroughfare. She must have deliberately stopped there, not just passed through in transit to another location.
Temari was still asleep when Shikamaru left to meet Choji for a training session. He paused before leaving the apartment looking at Temari as she slept. He was almost certain that she'd be gone by the time he got back to the apartment.
00
Temari slept almost to noon. She woke up to an empty apartment. Sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed she looked around, getting her bearings. She found her clothing, mostly dry, on the windowsill.
She felt like she had a really bad hangover, not to mention that her memory of how she had gotten here was spotty at best. She winced a bit as she stood up, stumbling over to the kitchen. She chugged two glasses of water and proceeded to raid the fridge.
She appreciated that Shikamaru had taken care of her. It wasn't the first time she'd turned to him in a time of vulnerability, though it still embarrassed her to rely on him.
She went back to the bedroom to put on her clothes. She was plenty used to wearing grimy clothing on missions. She might pick up something in another village on her way back home, but preferred to buy clothing in Wind country whenever possible. As she was getting dressed she spotted a notepad on his desk. She ripped out a page, scrawling a quick note.
'Thank you,' she wrote, and then crumpled up the paper. This was stupid.
After a pause, she took a second sheet of paper.
'See you next time." She left the note on the bed.
She grabbed her pack and jumped out the window, leaving the village at top speed.
00
Despite her injuries, Temari had barely taken time to rest and convalesce before getting back to her regular training regimen.
She had been back for about a week when she was called into the Kazekage's office for a mission assignment.
Her father had been exceptionally pleased with the results of her work in Iwa. Hurricanes were not unheard of during the rainy season, but every storm that hit had been far worse than forecasted. Reports indicated extensive damage to infrastructure due to high winds, sometimes exceeding 130 miles per hour. The winds had resulted in increased storm surges, with powerful waves battering the coastline and causing massive flooding.
With Iwa's resources diverted to rebuilding their infrastructure and away from international commerce, Suna's economy had seen a formidable boost. All according to plan. Based on their intelligence on the matter, no one suspected foul play. It was, after all, a natural disaster.
Perhaps it was good that she hadn't been on any high-profile missions recently. She had grown a lot, and no one, not even her own brothers, was aware of the extent of the damage she could cause with a swing of her tessen.
Since the completion of that mission, she had mostly been back to working on missions more suited to someone of her rank—chasing down missing nin, following up on Akatsuki leads, leading teams.
But Temari had been uneasy recently. The Kazekage had also sent her on a series of missions in the borderlands of Fire country and Wind country. They were nothing special, and honestly should've been assigned to someone below her rank. She didn't like the feeling of scoping out the Fire country's northwestern region, which seemed to be the true purpose of the missions.
The two nations had been allied for many years now, but she knew that the Kazekage was devoted to improving the country's prestige and power at all costs. A growing feeling deep in her gut told her that the Kazekage would use all methods available to him to be in a position of dominance over the Fire nation.
It had not escaped her that during the dry season, there were often wildfires in Hi no Kuni. Fire country indeed. In battle, wind users were weak against fire users, but there's nothing like a strong, dry wind to make wildfire spread. Her specialty. It would be too easy to fan the flames to life.
It made her sick. The Fire was their closest ally. Temari would do anything for her country, but it would hurt her deeply to launch a covert assault on the Fire country.
The only people outside of Suna that she would call her friends, that she trusted, were Konoha nin.
The success of the mission in Iwa had no doubt emboldened her father, but she knew Konoha nin very well. They were unlikely to let an extreme fire season pass without some sort of investigation, and she wasn't sure she how much scrutiny the fire damage could withstand before they began to suspect that the disaster was not so natural after all.
Her stomach sank further. Outright war with Konoha was a nightmare scenario.
Temari had always hoped to rise in the leadership of her village, but as it stood, she was in no position to question the Kazekage's decisions. If the order came, she would have no choice but to obey.
She tried not to think of Shikamaru. They had grown closer than she cared to admit. She had fought by his side in battle and, and never wanted to face him head on.
They had been… companions… for years now. They had seen each other grow up, from genin to jonin, and their relationship had grown with them. While someone unfamiliar with the two would most likely think they hated each other given their constant back and forth of insults, they both enjoyed the verbal sparring. They were friends and colleagues in public, but privately they were something else entirely. Temari had had other partners, but there was something about Shikamaru that was unique. She couldn't deny that they had a strong bond.
Like most shinobi, Temari was emotionally guarded. It took a long time for her to build trust, and her bond with Shikamaru had formed painstakingly over the years. She trusted him as much as she could ever trust anyone outside of her village, but there came a point where the openness between them ended due to on their political allegiances. They withheld themselves from each other.
Arriving at the Kazekage's office, Temari brought herself back to the present moment.
"Temari, how have you found Konoha?" He asked her.
"Uneventful," She responded tersely.
"Well, I have another mission for you," he said, and looking up from the scroll he was examining, he turned to the guards stationed by his desk, "Will you excuse us for a moment?"
As the guards filed out of the room, Temari could tell that this one would be off the books. The guards closed the doors behind them, and the Kazekage held out a scroll to his daughter.
00
That's the tea. Please review! Reviews are the absolute best and motivate me to keep going. I'm curious to hear what you think of the fic.