A/N: Kind of a tonal shift, but I'd forgotten just how fun it is to write for ShikaTema. Enjoy some fluff to get your minds off of last chapter. Also, sorry that this is getting out later than I'd wanted.


"This is utterly ridiculous," Shikamaru sighed as Temari carefully lined his eyes.

"Just hold still and I won't stab you," she chastised with a focused stare. "I'm almost done."

He fought the urge to roll his eyes, instead keeping them faced upwards towards the sky. It was a beautiful morning, with a cloudy, pale sky. If only he could be in a gentle viridian field, lying on his back, content to doze the day away…

"Hey, sleepyhead, quit nodding off." Temari scowled at him, firmly patting his cheek. "You want me to mess up your liner?"

"Why do I even need my eyes lined in the first place?" He questioned irritably. "I'm a guy."

"Plenty of men wear makeup," Temari scoffed. "My brothers do."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her.

"They are perfectly fine, thank you very much," she huffed as she carefully stretched the corner of his eye to straighten the line. "Granted, my baby brother still has trust issues after our dad blamed him for Mom dying, and our uncle dying of disease made him even moodier, but Kankuro is a perfectly-adjusted member of society."

There was a pause between them as Shikamaru scrunched up his nose. "... the puppet guy?"

"Aha! You do listen to me!" She exclaimed with a triumphant smile. "I knew you cared."

"More like I can't help it," he sighed. "You talk so much I'd be hard-pressed to not listen to you."

Temari paused, narrowing her eyes at him. She pinched his cheek just hard enough for him to wince.

"Easy there, wise guy," she warned with a cruel smile. "Guess who still has the eyeliner?"


"I need to see some ID," the guard at the gate started as the two approached.

Shikamaru pulled out a couple of cards from his coat pocket, flashing a smile. "We're here for the wedding… I assume the king knows of our arrival?"

The guard took them from his hand and studied them, eyeing them for a second before nodding and handing them back.

"Of course, my apologies, sir," he said, gesturing to the gates. "By all means, go on through. Welcome to Konohagakure."

Shikamaru nodded and held out his arm, and once Temari's hands wrapped around it, they both walked into the city.

"Well that was easy," she softly commented into his ear.

"I was expecting more of a fight, but I guess we looked convincing enough," he replied.

"And whose accomplishment is that?" She questioned, giving him a triumphant grin.

He sighed. "Please don't be troublesome."

"Killjoy." She rolled her eyes and leaned away.

The normally-busy streets were all but bare as they walked through, with the exception of clansmen hurrying about from here to there. Hyuuga men and women especially seemed to be walking through, their pearlesque eyes darting back and forth. Nearby, a group of academy children were going to school, talking quietly amongst themselves.

"This isn't the Konoha I know," Shikamaru thought with confusion. "Was the lockdown this intense?"

Temari glanced around with a grim frown. While she'd once been a guest of honor in bustling streets of friendly people, here now those same streets were barren, with not a smile in sight.

"What's happened to Konoha?" They thought in unison, giving each other grim looks.

The blue skies didn't seem so blue now.

"This is… kind of creepy," Temari quietly admitted, gripping his arm tighter.

"Yeah," he agreed solemnly, keeping his eyes forward. "I can't wait to leave again."

Suddenly, as they rounded a corner, they bumped into someone in green.

Shikamaru stumbled back, looking up with irritation, but his words died on his tongue as he locked eyes with his friend.

"Lee?" He gasped.

"So sorry for bumping into you!" Lee exclaimed with a bow. "I'll work on my spatial awareness!"

"Lee," Shikamaru grasped his arms and grinned. "Lee, it's me."

The dark-haired young man's brows dipped into a frown for several seconds. His eyes darted up and down before settling on the brunet's face. Finally, they widened in realization and he gave him a happy grin.

"You're back!" He said jovially, bringing him in for a tight hug. "I didn't even recognize you with the makeup! Are you staying long?"

"Not quite, I'm afraid," he confessed, squeezing him back. "We're staying long enough for the wedding and then dipping outta here."

He nodded in understanding. "Ah yes, and I assume you made it?"

"Perfectly."

"Excellent." Lee winked at Temari. "I assume you're not from around here, are you?"

"No," she replied. "But I'm sure you know of me?"

"Of course! Who doesn't?" He laughed. "Anyways, I have some great news. Gai-sensei and Kakashi are in."

"They are?" Shikamaru asked. "Kakashi I knew of, but Gai?"

"It was a no-brainer." Lee shrugged. "You know how close they are."

Shikamaru frowned at that. "Yeah, I know it too well."

Temari glanced back and clutched at Shikamaru's arm again. "C'mon, we have to go."

"Right, what a drag." Shikamaru breathed out through his nose before giving Lee an apologetic shrug. "Sorry to cut things short, but we really do have to get going. We have a room booked for us and we'll need to get there before it gets too late."

"Oho, I see. Private matters, right?" Lee laughed. "Don't let me keep you, then! Do you want an escort to the hotel?"

"E- eh?" Temari blinked, narrowing her eyes. "Private matters? What's that supposed to mean?"

Lee tilted his head with a frown. "Am I mistaken? I thought you were his girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Shikamaru echoed in disbelief. "Her?"

"Don't sound so disappointed!" She exclaimed, hitting his arm.

"But we aren't."

"So? It's the principle!"

"Geez, troublesome woman…"

"You're both so lively. I'm happy for you both, even if you aren't there yet." Lee chuckled, shaking his head. "It's great to see you again, Shikamaru-kun."


Shikamaru looked over at Temari, who was clad in a pretty golden-yellow dress that brought out her teal eyes. It had long, draping sleeves, both to hide her scars from being in the dungeons and to make her appear more dainty. Her hair was done up in a single ponytail, her bangs pinned back. Even her face seemed to change when she had it all done up. With the addition of some makeup, she hardly seemed like the same plain political prisoner that they'd rescued a month ago. She seemed more like the elegant, high-ranking woman that she was.

Over their time of being paired together for recon missions, they'd grown quite close. It felt like they'd known each other forever at this point, something that gave him muted happiness. She was endlessly fascinating, whether it be sharing stories about her younger brothers with a fond, faraway gaze, to ribbing him about his hair. (Deep inside, he had to agree to a degree - he found the way his hair stuck out to be a bit ridiculous, but he didn't see any use letting it hang, nor did he feel like growing it.)

He blushed, sighing to himself as he looked away. If it hadn't made things awkward for his feelings before, the tension between them certainly did the trick. He could never quite figure out if she liked him more than a comrade. Either he was reading the signs wrong (which, given that he lived with his parents for eighteen-odd years, he was sure he couldn't be wrong), or she was just like his mother... and he didn't really know what to think about that .

He guessed that it was a clan thing to go after feisty, short-tempered, badass intelligent women. Even his father seemed content with his mother, and his mother was easily one of the most troublesome women he'd ever met. Nagging, yet she genuinely cared. (Tenten would've called it tsundere, had she been here.) He'd once nearly avoided an arranged marriage to Ino (against his will, might he add), one of his dearest friends in Konoha. She gave off much of the same vibe as his mother, yet there was a level of naivete to her that made her more akin to an annoying sister. Hell, he'd even considered pursuing Sakura for a time before she faked her death, and she constantly tried to one-up Ino for the prince's affections. She never really nagged him , though; if she ever had to get snippy, it would be if he neglected to take care of himself during one of his studying binges. Mother hen more than a potential girlfriend. And now here he was, definitely crushing on the princess of the Sand, a stubborn, temperamental woman that Nara Yoshino would have loved to meet.

Wonderful. The Nara family hubris had caught up to him again.

He sighed again, causing her to look over with an arched sandy-blonde eyebrow.

"You doing okay over there?" She asked.

"I'm fine," he replied, looking out the window of their shared hotel room. They'd gotten a couples' suite (with only one bed, yeah, no, he'd take the loveseat because there was no way he was breaking the gentleman's code) to keep up the charade. It came with a - pardon the pun - pretty sweet window. You could see the rising mountain peaks above the sprawling forests. It was beautiful out there. A bit of pride welled up in his heart for his home city. He may have been on the run, but at least he was still able to see the beauty. He only hoped that his family would accept him back once this war was over. (His mother would definitely cry, and definitely kick his ass... but she would most likely welcome him back with open arms. That thought alone was something to really look forward to.)

She finished touching up the eyeliner in the mirror before swiveling around on the vanity stool with raised eyebrows. "Well? How do I look?"

He looked over at her and, after a brief once-over, he nodded. "You look beautiful."

"Well geez, don't be so enthusiastic about it," she huffed, but as she turned back to the vanity he could see her smile to herself at the compliment.

"We have to be at a dinner at the palace at seven, strictly for noblemen and their wives," he drawled, checking over the list again. "I'm Daichi Saito, and you're my recently-wedded wife, Kotone, maiden name Tanaka."

"Yes, I remember." She nodded to herself, getting up from the vanity. She turned off the bulbs on the frame, heading over to him. A sweet perfume caught his attention, though evanescent.

He looked back at the list. "Luckily, since we're on the list of nobles to know firsthand about a royal wedding, people won't give us a second-glance if we mention it."

"We're friends of the bride, right?" She asked, peering over his shoulder at the paper.

"Yes, you're one of her third cousins on her mother's side." He clarified. "Friends since adolescence."

"Neat." She moved away from him, adjusting the evening dress a bit. It clung to her nicely, although she looked a tad uncomfortable with the bodice, as she kept tugging at it with a freshly-manicured fingernail.

His heartbeat thudded in his chest. It was now or never. He had to do it. He had to just confess and get it over with, dammit.

It was like Ino had said before: "You idiot! Women don't like to be kept waiting when it comes to stuff like this! Just drop your balls and tell her how you feel."

A bit strongly-worded, but he appreciated the sentiment from his childhood friend... and less appreciated the smack to his shoulder.

And now, meeting Lee again, it only made him question his feelings further. "You're both so lively. I'm happy for you both, even if you aren't there yet."

Was it that obvious that he was crushing on her? He didn't pride himself on being easy to read, but if it was obvious enough that Lee could read him, with him being generally oblivious to matters of the heart...

"Hey, listen, uh, just in case I don't get another chance to say this," he started, surprising himself with the intensity of his voice. He just had to roll with it when she looked up, finishing, "I like you. As in, I really, really admire you."

"W- whoa, that came outta nowhere, didn't it?" She laughed nervously, brushing down her skirts. "I mean, we've only known each other a month, and we've been partners for less..."

"Is it one-sided?" Shikamaru asked, raising an eyebrow.

She paused for a moment before huffing a laugh.

"Far from it, actually. If I were still crown heir, I would gladly give up the throne for you. You make my life interesting in a way that those old geezers don't." Temari shook her head with another chuckle, grabbing his collar and leaning in close. "Sappy stuff aside, look, if we're gonna act like it's real, let's make it real. Kiss me."

"Sounds good to me." He shrugged and leaned up to meet her lips.

His heart did a flip in his chest, and he made a mental note to thank Lee for giving him a nudge and Ino for giving him a shove when they went back to camp. But for right now, he was getting slightly dizzy from the adrenaline of kissing easily the most amazing woman he'd ever met, and he didn't have time to think about anything else.


A/N: Despite not giving them much time in the spotlight, I have a special place in my heart for ShikaTema.

Please tell me what you thought!