Temari would have laid good money that Motoyoshi had tried to give the Hokage the idea that having Temari around would make the negotiations go more smoothly. To bad she was already spoken for. Shikamaru had spent the rest of the meeting with an arm around her, glaring at the man and being glared at in return. Walking out of the office, he kept her tight against his side as the group from the earth country walked alongside, joined by several other Konoha nin. The whole group tromping their way to an inn where the Earth country delegation would be staying, Temari flatly ignoring a request to stay and 'chat' with another look she had picked up from Shikamaru.

Once back home, the faint presence of the stone nin was quickly felt again. There were four in total, all chuunin at the very least, and it felt like at least one was assigned to watch them at all times. Still, Shikamaru knew that there ANBU out there, hidden and entrenched behind genjutsu so potent they could be standing a foot away and the stone nin would never notice.

Inside, Shikamaru was unhappy for two reasons. Firstly, he had no idea how long the envoy could be here. That was the basis for the second problem. He now officially liked Temari. Actually, to be honest with himself, he was developing a sort of Temari addiction. It was still on a level he could deal with, not minding when they went their separate ways for the day, or feeling the need to be around her constantly. But it was getting worse the longer they were together. Every time he saw her smile, admired the curves on her body, heard her laugh, or, Kami forbid, touched her. That was the worst. He loved to touch her. His heart actually fluttered like something out of a damn shoujo manga whenever the prospect presented itself. And when he did…when he was able to touch her, to put his arms around her, when he woke up next to her with that girl in his arms…

"Shikamaru? Oi!"

She was standing behind him, dressed and ready.

"Ow!"

"I'm ready. Let's go."

Even getting cuffed across the back of the head for zoning out was enjoyable.

He was DOOMED.

Since they weren't expected to play tour guide until an official outing later, Shikamaru and Temari were now headed for daily training with the rest of the genin teams. She drew a lot of looks when she arrived arm-in-arm with her husband. She could see Tenten twitching when sparring was eventually announced, but it seemed her Sensei didn't want the two having a rematch. Temari was paired with Chouji, and she found him a surprising challenge. He was more agile than she expected, and his techniques could blunt the worst of hers. It was a strange experience, getting chased around the field by a giant, rolling spiked ball of meat that started screaming death threats as soon as she made a quip about his weight. Shikamaru made her apologize after the match ended, and at lunch, she sat at the center of attention.

"So, Shikamaru-kun…"

Rock Lee's big, round eyes were fixed on Temari. It was creeping her out.

"Why is Temari-san of the sand here?"

Everyone's eyes locked on him, and Shikamaru sighed and set his lunch down.

"Because she's my wife."

Disbelieving eyes went, in sequence, from Shikamaru, to Temari, to heaven. The two mentally reviewed the details that had been planned out, and Shikamaru went ahead.

"We eloped a little while after Sasuke left. We decided to keep it a secret for the moment because of everything that had happened."

Temari held up the hand that wore the ring, and everyone leaned forward with almost morbid curiosity. After a moment, Shikamaru sighed and leaned over to give Temari kiss on her cheek, and the atmosphere broke.

"T-t-that's wonderful, Shikamaru-kun!"

"Shikamaru, you dog, you should've told us!"

"Arf!"

"Congratulations."

"Truly, there is no better way to enjoy the springtime of youth, than with someone you love!"

"A fine catch."

Everyone turned to see Motoyoshi approaching, several stone nin and earth country officials flanking him.

"My compliments on taming such a fiery heart. You must tell me your secret."

"Well, first, it helps to make sure they're not already married."

Temari turned in surprise at the particularly venomous tone to see a look on Shikamaru's face that could only be described as pissed.

"Secondly, you treat them with the appropriate respect."

"I really don't-"

"Casually groping them, for instance, is something you'll want to avoid."

"Now see h-"

"Thirdly…be sure you're a man that's actually worthy of the woman you're courting. If can't measure up, then stick to the kind of woman that cares more about your purse than your personality."

"How DARE you! I am-"

"Enough!"

Motoyoshi froze as the man Shikamaru was introduced to as the highest-ranked official from the Earth Country snapped at them. He quickly lowered his head, and the official turned to Shikamaru, who was already bowing deeply.

"My deepest apologies. My wife told me what happened while she was in the Earth Country, but even so, that was uncalled for."

The official stared harshly at him a moment before his face softened.

"No, I understand your feelings. I can tell by the way you hold her that you not the kind of man to suffer such an affront to your wife's honor."

Shikamaru bowed a second time before returning to Temari's side. The group from the Earth country continued on their tour of Konoha, and after a moment, Shikamaru noticed how quiet it had become. Looking up, he saw that every single genin, chuunin and jounin present was staring at him in wide-eyed shock, including Temari. Actually, Temari had more shock on her face than all the genin combined. It was the strangest thing. Why was everyone staring at him like that?

After a very quiet dinner at home, Shikamaru was reading a text on applied genjutsu in large-scale battles. His head was resting in Temari's lap, and she was idly running her fingers through his hair while she was reading something else. When her nails scraped over his neck and made his legs shake, he idly wondered what the opposite of 'bothersome' was.

A knock at the door, and Temari slipped away, leaving an unhappy Shikamaru staring at the ceiling and waiting for her to come back. She came back after a moment, and she wasn't alone.

"Yo."

"Kakashi-sensei…what is it?"

"I just stopped by to let you know there was a…bit of a change to your routine for the next few days. You and Temari-san have been taken off of the Earth Country detail."

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me…I probably put the whole country at risk."

"Don't worry. During today's negotiation, Motoyoshi made such an ass of himself that he was dismissed from the proceedings completely. Apparently, he has something of a…reputation…that his family has already been covering for. Disrupting the trade settlement for something he caused with his own stupidity was the last straw. I overheard he's going to be in a lot of trouble when he gets back home. Oh, before I go, was my gift any help to you two? I just picked up the latest issue if you-"

Outside, Kakashi winced in sympathy for the poor shadow clone he had sent inside. That was a rather…creative technique Temari had used. He wished he'd had his sharingan uncovered for that. Still, with a little practice, he'd be sure he'd have it ready the next time he sparred with Gai-sensei.

Temari sat on her side of the bed, looking at Shikamaru as he stepped out of the bathroom. His behavior today had taken her completely off-guard. She had no idea what to do. She was quite sure he was in love with her, and she had absolutely no idea how to handle the situation. A few men had made passes at her in her life, but being the Kazekage's daughter and Subaku no Gaara's brother had stifled her social life somewhat. Someone was in love with her. Love. And she…what did she feel? He was annoying, lazy, cowardly, and touching him made her skin crawl…at first. This couldn't be right. She was not in love with him. That much she was sure of. But as the two slipped under the covers, and his arm went around her and pulled her closer without the slightest resistance, a small voice continued to nag her that she had never actually been loved by anyone, ever before, so how did she know what she felt?

"Shikamaru..."

"What?"

He looked down at the mess of hair that obscured her face. She was curled up next to him, and she casually stretched an arm out, pulling him tight and resting her head on his chest.

"…Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

"Motoyoshi-sama, please-"

"NO! I'm going to KILL that bastard!"

He paced back and forth in the small room, the shinobi around him looking at each other nervously. They were under contract to follow his orders, and had been forced to put up with the odd request to watch the young couple.

"Please, to attack a Konoha ninja in his own town…this is not an acceptable order within the mission parameters."

Motoyoshi ground his teeth before calming completely, smoothing his clothes and smiling at the men. He reached inside his robes and they tensed as he pulled out a small pouch and spilled it's contents on the table before him. Candlelight danced through the facets of the gems, and was reflected in the eyes that stared at them.

"Then I'd like to hire you…for a new mission."