Shikamaru and Temari's First Kiss

Summary: A question about Shikamaru's past causes him to recall how he and Temari had their first kiss. Though he claims it was average in order to stop being pestered about it, his first kiss was truly magical and something he would never forget. R&R please!

Chapter 1:

Shikamaru finally staggered home after a long day at work. The village received a visit from the Sand, so everyone had to prepare for the Kazekage's arrival. Extra security, extra helpers, extra escorts, but no extra time to do it. The meeting didn't run long, so the Kazekage was able to come and go within the day. He even had time to visit some people on social terms.

Temari was already in bed, so it was up to Shikamaru to make sure their son was in bed. Everything else was taken care of, so he couldn't complain. He poked his head into the bedroom and found his son playing videogames with the lights off.

"Shikadai, bed," he told him.

"Just a sec."

"Now."

Groaning, Shikadai turned off the game and put down the controller. "I was in the middle of a battle, Dad. Now I have to start all over."

"Haven't you already beaten this game?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I know how to win. If I leave the game unfinished while knowing how I can beat the bad guys, it'll bug me. I'd like to finish what I start."

That was his mother's side coming out.

"But if there's no way I can win, I might as well give up and regroup. No sense entering a hopeless battle."

That was definitely from his side.

"I'd rather win, you know? If I can't, might as well give up. You can always come back to it once you've come up with a better strategy."

Shikadai had traits from both parents. He looked so much like his father, but he had his mother's eyes. His personality was also a mix. When he caught his son spewing the same phrases he liked to use, it always made Shikamaru stop and reflect. It was strange hearing the same words coming out of his mouth and his son's. So, this is what he must have sounded like to others.

"Get in bed." Shikamaru didn't have to say it. His son was already there. "Goodnight."

"Hey, Dad?"

He turned around. "Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

Shikamaru walked over to the bed and crouched down. "What is it?"

"When did you have your first kiss?"

Shikamaru frowned. "What makes you ask that?"

"Just today," Shikadai said with a shrug. "We were talking."

"About couples?"

"Sort of." Shikadai leaned back. "They were talking about how teammates usually end up becoming couples because you spend all your time with each other. But I pointed out that you and Mom were from different villages so it didn't work that way with you. They said you guys were weird, but then I pointed out that even Chocho's parents are from two different villages. But they said that Sarada's parents are from the same village and were on the same team. But look how often her dad's around."

"Did you end up proving your point?" Shikamaru asked, trying to hurry the conversation.

"They still argued. They said that everyone who knew each other ended up together for the most part."

"You have to know each other to get married."

"That's not what I meant." Shikadai leaned forward, hugging his knees. "They're saying that we're getting older and soon we'll have to start pairing off. I mean, we just graduated last month."

"There's lots of time. Don't rush into romance."

"But there's all this pressure and they won't stop talking about it. They already said Boruto and Sarada are going to end up together. I don't want to get paired off with Chocho. I don't like fatties. Plus, she's loud and piggish and she's pretty dense, too. Being her friend is fine but the idea of being a couple with her is off-putting."

Shikamaru sighed. "Is there a point to all this, Shikadai? I want to go to bed."

"I just want to know how old you were when you met Mom."

"When I met her? I first met her during the Chinin exams but we weren't dating. We were matched up and had to fight."

"So… you bonded through fighting? Does that mean you end up with the person you fight in battle?"

"No, no. It's… Um…" Shikamaru tried to think of an out. He hated this conversation. His son was bright, but he was still twelve years old. Could he really understand all this? Relationships were complicated, even for Shikamaru. "How you end up together… It takes time. Lots of time."

"Did you date after your match?"

"Well, years and years later, yeah. Not then."

"How old were you? When you dated?"

"How old was I? Um… Let me think. About eighteen, I guess. Nineteen?"

"How long have you been trying?"

"Eh?"

"How long have you been trying to get a date, though?" That was his mother's fiery spirit coming out. "Were you trying since you were my age and she just didn't say yes until you were eighteen?"

"No, I asked her out when I was eighteen or nineteen years old. I didn't try before that." Shikamaru looked away and muttered, "Smartass."

"And she agreed?"

"Obviously. Otherwise, we wouldn't be married and you wouldn't be here."

"Did you kiss on the date?"

Shikamaru felt hot. All these questions… "N- no. People don't usually kiss on the first date."

"I hear you do if you're a flirt. Or easy."

"Stop hanging around Boruto and his friends. I'm gonna have a word with Naruto about the things his kid's telling mine…"

"So, you didn't kiss on the first date?"

"No, we didn't."

"When did you?"

"When did I what?"

"Kiss Mom. When was it? How did you do it?"

Shikamaru felt his face turning red. "Uh…"

"It was just a kiss. Why are you blushing?"

"I…"

"Well, out with it. When did you kiss her? How did you kiss her? Where did you kiss her? Was it under fireworks or on a mission? Where was it? Did people see you?"

Shikamaru gulped. "Well…" His cheeks were still burning.

He remembered his first kiss very well. It was his first kiss, after all. He ended up marrying his first kiss. That made it even more special. He remembered exactly where he was when he kissed her. It was a long time ago, but it was still very important to him. Remembering it made him blush with joy, but thinking about having to talk about it made him blush with embarrassment.

He looked down at his son who gave him an impatient look.

"Well?" he pressed.

"Well… Goodnight." Shikamaru started to get up.

"Wait!" Shikadai reached for his father. "Come on, tell me!"

"Can't you… ask your mother about this?"

Shikadai frowned. "Uncle Gaara said the same thing when I asked him. But I can't ask Mom. She's a girl. It'd be too embarrassing. I'd rather hear it from a fellow man."

"So Gaara brought it up, did he?"

"No, I asked him while he was here visiting because of the other kids. I thought he'd know. Maybe Mom told him, I don't know. But he wouldn't answer me. He said to ask one of you. Makes sense since you guys were the ones who kissed. So, let's have it. What was your first kiss like?"

"It was fine."

"Just fine? Come on, Dad. Out with it."

Shikamaru looked into his son's eyes and couldn't help seeing Temari. Those eyes were so much like hers, it made him nervous. He looked away. Why did his son have to ask these awkward questions? Why did it have to be so late at night? Why did he have to look at him with his wife's eyes? It just made talking about it even worse.

"Dad…"

"What do you want me to say? It was a kiss. Just an average first kiss. It was romantic enough."

Shikadai crossed his arms. "You're not going into detail, are you?"

"I told you. It was average. My first kiss was just fine. Now goodnight."

"If it was fine, then why are you acting so nervous?" Shikadai raised a brow and smirked. He looked just like his mother. "Did I hit the mark? You in a tizzy now? I know you're just brushing it off so I won't ask anymore. Just tell me the truth. How was your first kiss?"

Shikamaru felt sweat beginning to form. Why was this so hard for him? Why was he so nervous? Why did talking about this to his son make him so panicked?

"I'll tell you when you're older."

"But-"

"When you're older!" Shikamaru gripped the doorknob tightly. "Goodnight!"

He slammed the door shut and slumped against it. He wiped the sweat off his brow and let out a sigh. Now that he didn't see his son's face, he was a lot calmer.

"He's just asking about a kiss," Shikamaru muttered to himself. "The kid's twelve. I'm sure he hears worse things from people around him. It's not like I had to talk about the other thing that makes parents nervous."

Still, it did make him nervous.

Almost as nervous as he was that day.

Shikamaru collected himself and went to bed.

The event of that day was still buzzing around in his head. He hadn't thought about it in a while. Now that Shikadai brought it up, he couldn't escape it. He remembered it all so clearly.

The day he had his first kiss was the day he officially fell in love with Temari. That was the day he knew he wanted to be with her more than any other woman in the world. He knew she would be his wife.