Temari was feeling nervous.
It was the wedding of the century. The "Shinobi Hero and the Byakugan Princess- A Love Story of Legends" was what the news read. And it was the perfect day for the momentous occasion. Konoha was beautiful in springtime and the entire village was decorated with its people dressed up for the special occasion. Fresh green grass had replaced the icy tarmac, sakura flowers filled the air and there was a light spring breeze with only a lingering chill.
She had never been to a wedding before this one, but she was sure it was a turning point of the ages. Temari had this feeling that today was the mark of a new era in the Shinobi world- where the youth could be free to think about more normal things like their hobbies, their friends and their romantic relationships.
Arriving at the gates of Konoha, Temari had been hoping Shikamaru would be standing by the gates as he always was when she arrived. Instead Temari and her brothers were welcomed by the Konoha genin Konohamaru. He was taller than she remembered, a little less annoying and he had a camera in hand. Temari had the feeling he remembered her, but he seemed a little skittish and didn't say anything as he led them to the wedding venue.
Temari scanned the crowd and spotted a pointy ponytail sticking up. There he was. Shikamaru Nara. Temari's eyes traced the outline of his broad shoulders, which stood out against the crowd. He looked handsome in his sleek blazer and turtleneck. There was a funny flutter in her stomach and her mind wondered if that sweater felt as welcoming as it looked. She told herself it was the overall excitement of the day itself and the feeling of seeing someone familiar at a wedding.
-.-.-.-.-
The ceremony finished on time and as the crowd dispersed, she approached him. She noticed him smiling. His face had grown more serious and mature over the years and Temari thought he was very handsome when he smiled. Usually only at the end of a long day of Shinobi Alliance work did he grace her with a smile – usually she teased the lazy shinobi for his laidback, barely out of bed look but today Shikamaru cleaned up well. He was clean-shaven and his hair was slicked up neater than usual.
"What are you smiling about?" She asked him indignantly.
"Who said I was smiling?" Shikamaru asked flatly, yet the sides of his lips tugged up even higher when he saw her. Shikamaru couldn't help himself. She looked exceptional today - without any armour on or her fan, he noticed her figure miles away. He'd never admit it but he'd often check out her curves from behind at least once a day at the office. He couldn't help it, she looked great from every angle - and looking from behind was the best way to avoid getting caught.
He watched her pretty green eyes roll in their sockets.
As if it wasn't hard enough on Shikamaru that this troublesome woman had a body so distracting, her face was also perfect. Something about the shape of her face was just pleasant. From the sharp ends of her almond eyes to the smooth curves of her cheeks and the point of her nose – both were flushed pink at this moment. He'd never say aloud how he'd lose track of time working opposite her in the Shinobi Alliance HQ. Some days the light would fall on her face just right and Shikamaru would lose a whole day – which would often lead to her lectures, or better yet, her staying behind to help him finish his work. And today her lips were a deep red. Gosh was she pretty, Shikamaru thought in dismay. That was going to make this ten times harder.
"Whatever… Men go to wedding receptions to ogle friends of the bride, don't they?" Temari said matter-of-factly.
And now he felt like a pervert, because she was right – as always. Was he really that cliched? Damn, troublesome woman, he thought.
"That's not it." He lied, his stomach flipped. It might have been the few shots of sake he'd taken with the boys or maybe it was just his own nerves- but he needed to move. "What a drag. Let's go over there," he told her, taking her hand in his and pulling her away. Temari's gasped at the sudden physical contact and she exclaimed, "What?!"
"Let's get a piece of that cake before Chouji devours it all."
"Wait, hold on!"
Temari analysed the optics. There were so many people she thought of as colleagues here, hand holding wasn't very professional between colleagues– yet today wasn't a professional event. And the two of them had been on a couple of dates, they weren't exactly boyfriend-girlfriend. Regardless, Temari heard the water cooler gossip. Everyone already pretty much assumed they were. As she stumbled after him hand-in-hand, their fingers intertwined - she felt almost guilty enjoying how large and warm his hand felt around hers.
She thought of how Shikamaru held her hand firmly, as if it was so natural for them to hold hands – as if she was just a normal woman at a wedding, holding hands with a normal man. This was normal. It felt nice.
"Shikamaru…" Temari called his name, her eyes looking at his back. There was a mountain of questions she wanted to ask him. Was he pulling her hand because he liked her in a special way that normal people did or was this hand holding just to get some cake? Did he feel as normal as she did holding hands? Did he like being normal with her? 'Normal' was starting to lose all meaning to her.
He squeezed her hand. She wasn't sure where her nerves went but she was suddenly overcome with a sense of ease.
Shikamaru could feel her eyes on him. He swore that her eyes could burn a hole right through his chest. Sometimes he swore that looking directly in her eyes gave his heart arrythmia. He looked back at her, taking the glare of her green eyes – this moment was one of those times. And with her hand in his, he felt his heart skip a beat.
"Shikamaru." Temari said his name, this time it was heavy with her unasked questions.
Shikamaru didn't seem to notice the yearning in her voice, instead he was scolding himself. It is now or never, you idiot, he told himself. Maybe it was boys' stupid words from last night or maybe it was the alcohol burning in his stomach – but Shikamaru felt giddy.
He stopped himself in his tracks, standing beside Temari at the cake table – which was already bare. "You look really nice today, Temari," Shikamaru told her, "very approachable."
Temari looked down at her outfit. She felt practically naked without her guards and fan, but she tried her best to look professional and smart today. "Approachable" was new to her. She politely she returned the compliment, "Thank you, Shikamaru. I have to admit you look very handsome today," her eyes traced his clean-shaved face and fair complexion, "Would it kill you to look this put together at work?"
Shikamaru couldn't help but stand up a little straighter. She called him handsome. Dang was he blushing now? He cleared his throat, trying to suppress the butterflies he felt in his gut. Get it together, man. As he had rehearsed, Shikamaru began to say to her, "I've been looking forward to seeing you today, Temari. I-I wanted to talk to you."
Temari looked at him curiously, thinking of the roster of work items on her plate. "Is it about the sewage report for the Shinobi Alliance? I'm still waiting on approval from Gaara-"
"No! No. It's not work," Shikamaru cleared his throat again, shifting in his stance. It almost felt like the sake was in his throat, burning through his oesophagus. "You're a fine woman, Temari of the Sand." Shikamaru said.
"Oh- okay," She wasn't sure how she should respond to that- he knew she didn't like being called anything more than "Temari". She felt him grip her hand a little tighter.
"And- and I just… I just- "Shikamaru looked into her sharp green eyes, to her red lips and he could actually feel his brain moving into a slower gear, "I- I wanted to tell you… holding your hand is really nice …," Shikamaru blurted.
He was amazed at how bad this was already going.
Temari gave him an incredulous look. She glanced down to their hands and back to him, thinking deeply about his words, "I see… So like a normal nice?"
"It's really… normal." Shikamaru said slowly, hoping that normal was good. Judging by Temari's reaction, which was a smile, he figured normal was good. Good. Normal is good.
Alright come on 200IQ I just need you to get me through this, Shikamaru pleaded with his brain.
"What can I say," Shikamaru tried, this time with a nonchalant facade. "It's really nice and normal holding the hand of the woman I like."
Temari's eyebrows scrunched up, in confusion. She wasn't sure if she heard him correctly. "What did you say?" She asked, wishing she didn't sound so hopeful.
"What I'm trying to say is that I like you, Temari." Shikamaru watching her carefully, trying to gauge her reaction. He knew that just one wrong move would get him punched. And he unfortunately also knew that she had a killer right hook.
She just looked at him with wide eyes, not moving.
She didn't take her hand away, so Shikamaru thought, there's still a chance.
He looked her into her eyes and gathering the last bit of courage from the residue alcohol in his system, Shikamaru lifted her hand higher and then lowered his face, gently pressing his lips to her knuckles.
There was an internal scream going on in her mind. He kissed her. Her hand- with his lips. His lips. Theyfelt so soft against her skin. She could feel the exact spot his lips had touched – a small spot just on her knuckles but she could feel a warmth of excitement spread from it to every corner of her body. And there was something about the eye contact he gave her as he lowered his head down to put his lips on her. She wanted the image permanently etched in her mind. His dark eyes. The tilt of his neck. The edge of his jaw - it all felt so erotic. Perhaps a normal girl would feel swept off her feet in the romance of it all, but Temari was a grown woman who fought in wars and made life and death decisions. Seeing him at that angle stirred something in her, something not so innocent - and she made up her mind then and there that she would spend the rest of the night with Shikamaru.
Temari cleared her throat, feeling grounded in her decision. "Well."
Shikamaru wasn't sure what to do – he was prepared for a positive and a negative situation, but not really a "well" situation.
"Well- what?"
There was a moment of silence, as the gears in Temari's head began to turn out some less innocent thoughts – Shikamaru's lips on her own, his lips on her neck, trailing kisses down her shoulder, maybe even on her chest, his hands unbuttoning her shirt…
"I like you."
"You like me."
"Yes."
"You like me."
"Yes."
"And you like like me?" She asked, this time a hint of playfulness in her voice. As expected of the cruellest kunoichi, to laugh at a man pouring his heart out, thought Shikamaru, realising she was toying with him. Any other day he would play her games, but today he was hoping for something simple.
Yet, there was something about the look in those green eyes of hers – a look that Shikamaru had seen before. Usually only on the battlefield, when Temari made up her mind to destroy the enemy.
Shikamaru let out a sigh, feeling he might regret this admission of affection, "Yes, Temari of the Sand. I like you. I like like you. I really really like like you. And I- will you stop smilling! I am trying to make a bold confession here," he exasperated.
"I'm not smilling!" She exclaimed, a coy smile tugging at her lips. "It's just- just… I wouldn't say what you did was bold…"
It felt downright sexy, was what she thought, but she would never in a thousand years admit the kind of effect he had on her. She looked at him with bright green eyes, hoping he didn't know she had already started undressing him in her mind.
Shikamaru cleared his throat. His eyes glanced at the huge landscape painting that was behind her. Naruto and Hinata were gifted a huge collage painting, that retold the story of their first kiss- a dastardly kidnapping, the moon, Naruto and Hinata's brave heroism, a fake marriage then of course the cracking and vandalism of the moon. The painting had exaggerated the story, adding on hearts, flowers and somehow, butterflies... butterflies on the moon really made it garish in Shikamaru's opinion.
"Okay, it's not fair to compare me against Naruto. The guy has an ancient demon in him and he fought a God," Shikamaru defended himself.
Temari was about to shoot back that this had nothing to do with Naruto - when somebody bumped into Shikamaru. Consequently, Shikamaru lurched forward, stepping into Temari, who instinctively put her hand up to stop the collision. The distance between them closed and her hand pressed against his chest. Temari was pleasantly surprised at how solid he felt, almost like a wall pressing against her.
They turned to see that the 'somebody' was Kankurou – slightly tipsy and off balance Kankurou. He faced them with drunken joy and exclaimed, "Oi, Nara – you better watch it," his eyes landed on Temari who appeared under Shikamaru, looking between the two of them, he smirked and said, "Oi Tem whatever you're going to do with your boyfriend, remember we leave early in the morning. So be quick about it."
He turned to Shikamaru and in a low drunken slur said, "That shouldn't be a problem for ya right ?"
Shikamaru's cheeks flushed. Temari's eyes narrowed on Kankurou, feeling a little self-conscious, she pushed Shikamaru away and exclaimed desperately, "Kankurou, don't make me beat you in public – cause I will."
Kankurou made loud kissing sounds before walking away chuckling. Temari watched him leave, moving haphazardly in his drunken state. When they got back to Suna, Kankurou was going to get it.
She looked back to Shikamaru, surprised to see him smiling. "What?"
"I should thank you for protecting my honour," he told her.
Temari rolled her eyes again, trying not to laugh. Shikamaru stepped toward her, coming really close. Temari would've stepped away but she actually liked having him close to her. She wasn't expecting him to lean toward her ear and whisper, "So…"
The one syllable sent a chill down her spine. Temari was trying to get her mind right long enough to process what he said.
"… does that mean I'm your boyfriend now?"
She took a second to think about the phrase. Boyfriend.
If he was her boyfriend, she'd be his girlfriend. And she had never imagined herself as someone's girlfriend before. Army general, sure. Bodyguard to the Kazakage, yeah. But- girlfriend?
She blinked a few times to let the feeling sink in. Then she slid her hand into his pants pocket to grab his hand. She looked away for a second, feeling almost too shy to look at him.
His pocket had a smooth silk lining and the warmth of his hand against his hip felt incredibly cosy. "Does this answer your question?" She asked, putting her best pokerface face on but she couldn't stop her cheeks which were still blushed pink. Her hand was right by his crotch and she was wondering if one wrong move would make it inappropriate.
Shikamaru, himself stiffen at her touch. Any man would probably feel nervous when a woman slides her hand into his pocket. But unlike most men, Shikamaru was a genius, so he played it cool and grabbed a hold of her hand – feeling a little proud that she made a move on him... Nonetheless, Shikamaru was also a cynical virgin who expected the night to end with innocent handholding. He couldn't help the fact that he could feel himself about to have an erection- but nobody needed to know that.
He pulled his and Temari's hand out, pretending there wasn't a rushing feeling to his crotch.. He couldn't stop his face from turning into a sheepish grin. Yet despite the circumstances, he still managed to speak, "Alright, alright - geez. You didn't have to be so bold. You're really upstaging my confession to you, ya'know." Shikamaru shifted in his stance, and adjusted his pants, trying his best to focus his mind on the pebble by his shoe.
Temari stepped a little closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him closer to whisper, "Maybe we should get out of here before people notice your erection."
Shikamaru stepped back, bumping against the empty cake table- "Wh-what e-e.."
"I think it's about time you escort me back to my inn," Temari said without missing a beat, "You know, I have an early morning tomorrow, Shikamaru."