CHAPTER 14 - Finale
"I can't believe he is finally here." Temari lsaid, as she looked at the little baby in her arms.
Shikamaru chuckled lightly. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"We are finally a family of three."
Temari nodded, before turning to look back up at the sky. It was a beautiful night.
It's Shikadai's second day after arrived in the world. He and Temari are both need to be observed for another day so they can't be discharged yet.
Temari is exhausted after the delivery, but she is perfectly fine and healthy.
Shikadai is a very sweet baby. He rarely cries and sleep all day. His face is always happy and he smiles a lot.
Yoshino is the first to visit Temari. She cried so hard on the first glimpse of Shikadai that she could barely move or talk properly. She hugged the child tightly, crying with joy.
Gaara and Kankurou have been informed that the baby is born safely. They promise to visit as soon as possible.
Then their friends also came to see the baby. Ino and Chouji, Sakura, Hinata, Naruto, Kiba, and Tenten. They take turns visiting. Even Kurenai came with Mirai, too.
Naruto make a fuss about how Shikadai is the carbon copy of Shikamaru. He has his spiky. black hair, eventhough for now his hair is only a tuff. The nose and the mouth, everything passed from his dad. The only thing Shikadai inherited from Temari is her green eyes.
Sakura and Ino cooed at the baby, and secretly hoping they have their own too. But the problem is, with whom?
Mirai loves babies and she wants to poke Shikadai's cheek everytime she had a chance. Her little antics make Shikamaru and Temari smiled.
But when all the guests already returned and the visiting hours are over, Temari feels somewhat empty. Without anyone to hold onto, she just felt alone, which is really strange since Shikamaru still around.
"You should take a rest." His voice is soft, almost silent.
"I know." She murmured, looking back down at the sleeping Shikadai. He has his tiny fists tightly clenched. She caressed the tiny fingers and watched it moving around in slow motions. It's so surreal to see someone who is sharing half of your blood.
She looks at the clock. It's already 12:30 am.
She sighs deeply and looks out of the window. This is not her home. This is just a temporary place until she finds herself somewhere else. Somewhere better. She never liked the smell of hospital.
The lights were switched off, except for some lamps scattered here and there. Shikamaru sat on one side of the hospital bed. On the other side, he held Temari's hand.
She squeezed his hand, trying to convey her gratitude for having him in her life.
They stayed quiet for few minutes until Shikadai started squirming in his sleep. His small hand grabbed one of hers. She gently played with his fingers. It made her feel warm inside.
"Temari..."
"Yes?"
He kissed her hand and slowly moved his head to look at her.
"Thank you for giving birth to my child."
Her heart skipped a beat hearing those words. She closed her eyes and squeezed his hand again.
"No need to thank me."
A smile spread across his lips. He leaned closer to kiss her forehead, while keeping eye contact. Afterwards, he caress Shikadai's cheek with his thumb.
"My son," He said softly.
"We hope you will grow up to be a strong and brave shinobi. We hope you will learn to protect yourself and your loved ones. And we pray everyday that our dreams come true."
He then placed his right hand on top of Shikadai's, and the left on Temari's. The two of them stared at each other lovingly.
After a long moment spent just staring at each other's gazes, Shikamaru broke the silence.
"I love you. More than anything."
Those words made her want to melt into a puddle. She felt her cheeks becoming hot.
"I love you too." She whispered.
And then he pressed his lips against hers. And she lost herself in this moment.
In this simple feeling of pure bliss. Their embrace became tighter and tighter, as if they wanted to merge into each other and become one.
Their lips parted, and he gazed at her lovingly.
This man was a drag, but he is the father of her children.
She knew that this is something more than any other relationship ever could give her. This was the beginning of a new life. A life she couldn't wait to spend happily by his side.
They kept staring into each other's eyes. Both of their hands intertwined.
After the series of incident at Amegakure, they decided to hold off the wedding ceremony. Temari doesn't think her round belly is well matched with the Shiromuku and Shikamaru needs time to recover.
Now after Shikadai has arrived, Shikamaru insisted that he wanted the wedding to be held as soon as possible. Not because he wanted to be selfish, but because he knew the moment would come sooner or later, and he wanted to do the deed quickly.
Four months after the birth of Shikadai, the sun is shining bright. Everything seems to be peaceful outside. The cold wind of January blew through the city, blowing away any clouds that tried to hide behind the buildings.
It's still winter but the weather is warm today. It was snowing earlier today, and it turned into a sunny day.
Shikamaru and Temari's wedding ceremony is held at an old temple in Konoha, near the Nara Compound. The venue was full of people. Most of them shinobi from the village. Some citizens from Suna also come. And a large number of civilians came as well.
The guests were enjoying themselves. No one was complaining about the cold, the heat, nor even the noise, since no one can hear what the others are saying anyway.
Wearing his clan symbol and dress formally, Shikamaru is nervous. His hands are sweating. He kept messing with the fabric of his shirt, trying to get rid of it. He took several deep breaths.
Yoshino, with baby Shikadai in her arms, escorted him to the altar where he will be wed.
"Are you okay?" Yoshino asked worriedly.
Shikadai is sleeping peacefully in his grandmother's arms.
Shikamaru nods reassuringly and gives her a shaky smile. He pat his son's head gently and kiss him.
"Please take care of Shikadai for today." He says softly to his mother.
Yoshino nodded and gave him a hug. She let go of him and then, she went outside to wait for the rest of the guests.
After he reach the altar, Hatake Kakashi stood beside him, smiling at him softly. He felt warmth spreading through his entire body. He felt relieved knowing he has someone like Rokudaime to support him, especially since this whole matter affects him quite a lot.
The crowd has been situated and waiting for some time now. The elder gave a welcoming speech and Shikamaru could feel everyone's gaze directed at him. It's very uncomfortable. He looks at his friends and the elders and saw a mix of emotions on their faces. He couldn't blame them though.
Gaara and Kankurou appeared shortly after. They dressed in their gray kimono. Kankuro looks really different without his face paint off and his looks really resemble Rasa so much. Gaara on the other hand has his usual blank expression on his face, but since it's his sister big day, he couldn't hide a hint of happiness in his eyes.
Shikamaru then caught a glimpse of familiar blond hair.
Following her brothers, Temari walk down wearing her ceremonial outfit. Her long white kimono flows down her body. Golden and blue embroidery on her feet completed the ensemble. The pink flower decorated her hair. She looked absolutely breathtaking.
Shikamaru couldn't stop himself staring. Her beauty was something he can never forget no matter what happens.
He looks at his bride with pure adoration. She blushed slightly and stared into her feet shyly. He smiles at her lovingly.
They finally joined hand in hand and stand in front of each other.
Shikamaru whispered to her, "It's finally happening."
Temari smiled brightly and said, "Yeah."
She leaned in and gently squeezed his hand.
"I never thought that I'll be married this soon. But with you by my side, I don't regret it even a bit."
"I know I'm not perfect, but I want you to know that you're the best thing that ever happened to me. I vow to cherish and protect you, through thick and thin, for the rest of our lives." He said while looking deep into her eyes.
"I will do my best to be the best wife for you." She whispered.
"And I will try my best being the best husband I can be." He replied without hesitation.
And so, the ceremony began. They said their vows before the Hokage and everyone from the village. At last, they officialy become husband and wife.
Their journey was coming to a close. It was a new chapter for both of them, and both are ready to start it anew.
If he is a drifting cloud in the blue sky, then she is the wind which accompany him.
Neither of them expected to meet the other. But it's fate that brought them together.
Neither one of them knew what their future holds together. Yet, they're determined to find out.
Both of them are willing to go through hardship, danger and hardships to find out each other's true nature.
To learn about themselves and to grow in love with each other more than ever.
Neither one of them would change what they've done up to now and all the obstacles that lie ahead. They believe that in the end, they will always find peace together.
No matter what obstacles they will encounter, the two of them are strong enough to overcome any obstacle thrown at them.
Because even if they are facing challenges along their way, even if they are facing difficulties, they'll always fight with all their might.
They'll fight to become stronger. Stronger together.
Strong enough to face anything together.
And together to protect each other.
Forever.
THE END
Finally our rollercoaster ride has ended! I would like to say thank you for everyone who read, review, comments, and vote for this story.
I'm a newbie writer and English isn't my first language so please bear with mistakes and grammatical errors here and there.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story as I enjoy writing it. I've done writing the prequel and maybe will write a sequel or continuation in the future. Once again, thank you very much! :-)
With love,
babyquiche