A/N: So, here you go, the beginning of Chouji's wedding. Hopefully you won't be disappointed about the first meeting of Ino and Temari. Don't worry, it'll mess things up for Shikamaru for chapters to come. Heh. A few people have asked for Naruto/Hinata moments. There aren't any so far, since this is Shikamaru's story, but I'll see what I can work in to his point of view. I really like that couple; they really seem to temper and complement one another well. That probably won't be until closer to the end of the fic, though. Anyhow, hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you're not disappointed (or even if you are), let me know! There's more to come...

Shikamaru fumbled for his keys, wishing he hadn't partaken of so much sake at Chouji's wedding rehearsal, not to mention the bachelor party, which had only lasted a few hours but was very intense. There hadn't been any women of ill-repute there, but there had been drinking games a-plenty. Lee, of course, had to be sedated immediately via a jutsu, and Kiba had actually thrown up multiple times before passing out. It had been an insane party, and he was glad he had the foresight to drink a ton of water along with his alcohol.

The door swung inward, almost the entirety of his small apartment revealed as he stepped inside. His place was really just a small box in a complex of larger boxes, but it was home. He loved having his own place, his own space to make a mess in, or fall asleep on the floor or the sofa, if he so desired. Flicking on the lights, he went absolutely still as he realized that the place was spotless. Someone had been here, and they had cleaned his apartment. His hand slowly moved toward his kunai pouch, fingertips brushing against the cold metal.

"Oh, stop that," someone said, and he whipped out the knife, lowered into a battle stance. He immediately straightened up and stared, dumbfounded, as a woman entered the room, wearing nothing but one of his baggier old button-down dress shirts. Sandy hair and dark blue eyes greeted him, along with bare, muscular legs and the fabric of his shirt stretched tight across a generous chest.

"Temari?" he gurgled, falling back against the wall. "You scared the crap out of me."

She laughed and walked over to him, wrinkling her nose. "You smell like sake," she growled.

"No kidding. I was at a bachelor party."

Sighing, she closed the door and led him further inside. "You're taking a shower before you come to bed."

His body reacted immediately to the promise in her words, shaming him. "Fine," he groaned.

She looked him up and down with a sly smile, suddenly pulling him close and pressing her body against his, creating even deeper cleavage. Something inside him quivered and he became very warm. Her hand found his rear and gave it a squeeze. "Maybe I'll join you," she murmured, and pressed her mouth to his.

When he woke up the next morning, it took him a few minutes to recall what had happened. Rolling over, his hand brushed against something warm and soft, and he started as he realized Temari was still in bed with him, soundly sleeping. He groaned and rubbed his face, his eyes feeling as if someone had poured sand in them. As he sat up he realized that his body was utterly exhausted. It was a miracle they had even made it to the bed after things got interesting in the shower the night before.

Swinging his legs over the side, he rubbed his face for a few more moments, then stood shakily and returned to the shower. When he reentered the room, Temari rolled over, a slow smile creeping across her face. "Did you miss me?" she purred.

Considering it had been a week since their first encounter, he sort of had. "Yeah, actually," he replied. He let her see his honesty, then smirked. "I really missed being bossed around constantly."

She scowled and threw a pillow at him, but the gesture lacked malice. "You didn't get me up to shower," she pouted, rolling out from under the covers and startling him with her naked glory. Temari's body was thick with muscle, but she was also soft and somehow ripe. Just looking at her aroused him, much to his chagrin.

"Sorry," he muttered, pulling on some socks. "You didn't tell me you'd be here when I got home."

"Stupid," she growled, swatting his arm. "I told you I was coming to the wedding. You didn't even leave me a key. I had to break in."

He realized how difficult it was to be a ninja's lover. "Sorry," he reiterated, not interested in pursuing the matter.

"It's going to take me a while to get ready. What time do we have to be there?"

Shikamaru glanced at the clock. "Two hours."

She stood, her hips swaying as she came over to him, and patted him on the cheek. "Okay. I'll only be an hour and a half. Fix us lunch, won't you?"

Openmouthed, he mindlessly nodded his consent, his eyes shamelessly fixed upon her chest. The realization that she was walking all over him slowly dawned on him, and he scowled. "It's not fair to distract me when you're forcing me to make promises," he grumbled.

"All's fair," she chortled, and shut herself in the bathroom.

Shikamaru sighed and went to the kitchen. Sure enough, in an hour and a half he heard the bedroom door open and Temari came into the room. The saliva fled his mouth, and he couldn't help but stare at her. She was wearing a dress that looked like a kimono cut off just above the knees, and with the collar off her shoulders. All her succulent parts were either partly showing or were hinted at, and he found her quite alluring. She was going to cause a stir at the wedding. He would never hear the end of it. "Nice," he said, trying to pretend like he didn't care.

"Thanks," she said, looking at him from underneath her eyelashes and blushing slightly. Pausing a moment, she looked into his face, her eyes narrowing as she studied him. "You do think I'm attractive, right?"

Shikamaru's nostrils flared. "Yeah," he grunted, not wanting to elaborate how his hormones clamored every single time she walked in the room. He had never really been with a woman before, and the fact that he could actually have one sent his entire mental state into shambles. Then again, no woman would have him except for Temari, and he was far too sensible to want women he couldn't have. Wasn't he?

Temari raised an eyebrow. "Okay," she said, and sat down at the small table with him. There was little room on the tabletop, what with his go board folded and stacked to one side. He watched as she tidily dug into her food, a smile breaking over her face. "Hey, you're a decent cook. Guess it's not too much trouble to learn how to fix good food, eh?"

He shrugged. "It was more trouble to be broke because I ate out every night."

"Ah," she replied, and they ate in silence, cleaned up in silence (Shikamaru doing almost all of the work, to his chagrin), tidied themselves up, and set off for the wedding. Temari was wearing sensible shoes, so they walked along at a pretty good clip. He noticed that they were gathering stares as they made their way to the ceremony grounds, and at first it made him rather uncomfortable. Then he realized that they were staring at Temari, and a few guys shot envious glances his way. A smile flickered over his lips, and he caught himself looking forward to the stir it would cause. He just hoped the electric moment of shock would be worth the trouble it would cause afterwards.

They entered the temple through the side door, appearing in the midst of a crowd of people. The members of the throng were all involved in the wedding somehow, and Shikamaru noticed that the women were starting to move off towards a different chamber, probably where Naomi was preparing. "You can just find yourself a seat, I guess, and we can join up again after the ceremony," he said to the handsome woman on his arm.

"Unless I find somebody I like better," she said with a wink, and he knew she meant it, despite her tone. He sighed and rolled his eyes, which prompted her grab him by the back of the neck and kiss him deeply, her arms wrapped around him tightly and her body pressed the length of him.

He broke the kiss breathlessly, cheeks stained pink, and unwillingly met the stares of the group. A pair of sky-blue eyes were fixed upon him, and he saw Ino gazing straight at him. Her face was a mask of shock, her arms limp where they grasped the forearm of her latest boyfriend. She began to blink rapidly and her face went pale, then mottled red. Time froze as their eyes locked, ice creeping through his veins. Ino looked stunning, clad in a kimono the color of her eyes, the hem a dark purple that faded into the blue with a honey-colored obi wrapped around her midsection. Her lips parted slowly and shaped a soundless word, and his chest lurched as he saw something in her face crack and die. A shudder wracked him as her face hardened, and time resumed its normal pace with such force that he grunted with the shock of it. Ino gripped the arm of her boyfriend so tightly that her fingernails turned white, her boyfriend wincing as she did so. For a moment she looked as if she was going to leap forward and sink a kunai into his chest, and he tensed as he prepared for an onslaught. The attack never came, however, and when he searched her face he saw nothing but the chill of deepest winter in her eyes. With a snap of her clothing, she turned on her heel and strode back out of the temple the way she came in.

"Ouch," he heard someone say, and he looked down at Temari, startled that she was still wrapped in his arms. "That was like a train wreck- it was awful to watch, but I couldn't help myself."

"Be glad you weren't in the wreck," he grumbled, his chest aching terribly. He wasn't sure what was going on, but something was wrong with Ino. He only hoped that Chouji hadn't noticed. Nothing should get in the way of his friend's happiness on his wedding day.

Temari sighed and slapped him on the back. "Hey, I've been privy to plenty of train wrecks. Trust me, guys don't like it when you leave them."

"I don't think anyone likes that. I probably won't like it when you dump me, either."

Temari's smile was wicked. "Play nice and maybe you'll get to stick around for more than a couple weeks," she said, and before he could reply, she was off and searching for a seat. He noticed she was examining chairs in the area that would afford her the best view of the groomsman.

He scanned the room quickly for any sign of Ino but was disappointed, so he navigated through the people decorating chairs with ribbon to the room where Chouji would be getting ready. Opening the door, he slipped inside and hung back against the wall as Chomaru and his wife were hovering around their son, making gestures as if to touch him before pulling their hands back sharply. "It's fine," Chouji shouted, scowling at his parents. The young man exhaled sharply before pursing his lips.

Shikamaru smiled. Chouji was worked up into a lather. The large boy rarely became flustered, which was why they were such close friends, but when he did, it was a sight to see. Until this moment, he had only seen Chouji get upset over remarks about his weight. "Yo," he said, hoping is presence would distract his friend from his well-meaning parents.

"Finally," Chouji cried, stepping away from family members fussing at his clothing. He clapped Shikamaru on the shoulder. "Where were you? You were supposed to be here an hour ago."

"What time is it?" Shikamaru asked, actually alarmed, and noticed that the clock did indeed reinforce Chouji. "Oh, crap. Sorry," he grumbled.

"No worries," Chouji replied, waving away an aunt. "Did you find Ino? She was looking for you earlier."

Shikamaru tried his best to keep his face neutral, he really did, but Ino's reaction bothered him to his very core. "Uh, yeah," he said.

Chouji, however, was sharper than people gave him credit for. "Okay, what happened?"

"I don't know. She showed up with her boyfriend and freaked out."

Chouji scowled. "And why was that? Ino doesn't freak out for no reason."

Shikamaru shot him a look.

Chouji chuckled. "Okay, she usually doesn't freak out without a reason. So what'd you do?"

"I found Temari at my apartment last night. She's here with me."

The larger man took a deep breath and shook his head. "Oh man."

"What?"

"You know I care about you, but you're just going to have to figure this out on your own, Shikamaru. After all, my love life isn't a mess, and you're the genius."

Shikamaru knew that Chouji meant no rebuke, but he felt it anyway. "Yeah, let's get you ready for your wedding," he said with a slight smile.

"Right," Chouji replied, and let his mother pin a flower to his lapel.