A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm getting 20 plus reviews for one chapter, I consider that an amazing feat…yep, some made me want to explain, most made me grin, all of it made me happy, and all of it made me hyper I went on a writing spree.

Chapter 60

The wedding is uneventful, and takes places inside the Suna council room, with the participants sitting around just one big round table.

The groom sits on the Kazekage's right while the bride sits on the Kazekage's left. The rest of the chairs are occupied by the council members. As Gaara and Kankuro are not part of the council they have not been invited.

While Kamaru then Temari signs the documents with their kunai pricked thumb, the rest of the councilmen chatter about the advantages of their marriage. The tie to Konoha seems to be of the upmost on their minds.

Temari remains impassive on her chair even though the old woman on her left—with warts and deep grooves on her face—seems to chatter a lot. The old woman has mentioned to her that she can call her Grandmother Chiyo and that she has come out of her retirement to attend her wedding.

The old woman has also mentioned that she had a grandson.

Sasori.

Temari tenses on her chair as she hears that name. Sasori of the Red Sand, Suna's missing nin that her team helped Shikamaru's group defeat more than a year ago.

But the old woman seems cheerful enough, continuing to smile at Temari despite them both knowing but not acknowledging the fact behind Sasori's demise.

Temari cannot wait for the formalities to finish.

It is the longest ten minutes of her life, as a bonus, she gets a binding document out of it. Temari feels like she's going to burst soon. This is not how she imagined her wedding—not that she imagined it—but in Konoha, things are more…just more. The marriage of two people seems to indicate a lifelong partnership just like that of her kaasan and otosan.

The one she has just entered right now seems to be hollow. She doesn't even get to sit beside Kamaru, her paper husband. If they are sitting next to each other, she could at least grab his hand and squeeze it painfully just, just to reassure herself that she's not alone.

When the doors to the council room open outwards, signifying the end of the meeting, Temari is the first one who immediately rushes out.

Temari hears Shikamaru calling her name but she ignores him. This is crazy, she keeps thinking to herself as she walks away, striding too fast to anywhere her feet lead her to.

Temari, not noticing Kankuro, collides with him on the swirling staircase on her way to her room, the one place her subconscious mind compels her to go.

"Hey watch it!" Kankuro warns too late.

"Bastard! Get out of my way!" growls Temari. She's not hurt by the collision, more like she's just jarred into the present as she looks sharply at the face-painted nin.

"Either big bro really likes you to marry such a charming bitch," Kankuro retorts sarcastically, "or he's just plain crazy."

"You're right! He's just crazy! He's stupid too! A useless asshole!" Temari roars back. "What's more if he didn't suddenly show up, proposing, I would be the happiest—"

Kankuro suddenly grabs Temari's upper arm, pulling her closer and interrupting her tirade. Kankuro tightening his hold on Temari's arm farther, he rasps angrily to her face, "If my brother didn't show up, I would have made sure you're the most miserable woman ever to cross our path."

"Let go!" scowls Temari, glaring fiercely up to the face of her brother, pulling her arm from his painful grip.

Kankuro roughly pushes Temari's arm away. "You're right, only a stupid nin would willingly live with you. And from what I hear; bro is even ready to make the ultimate sacrifice of living in a foreign land for you." Kankuro gives a mock shiver of horror but his eyes, his eyes are hard, openly condemning Temari.

"If he doesn't want to live in Konoha," snaps Temari, "then he doesn't have to!"

Kankuro suddenly laughs; the sound full of sardonic mirth. "What? Big bro didn't tell you the terms of your marriage?"

"What do you mean?"

"You still have no idea, don't you, to what great lengths big bro is willing to go for you."

"Stop talking in circles!"

Kankuro smirks superiorly. "The only reason father allowed you to get back to Konoha is because Kamaru is going with you. So even if big bro don't wanna live there, he has to." Hearing his own words, Kankuro frowns, making him conclude, querulously, "Just another freaking sacrifice for a bitch like you."

"You're wrong. Kamaru himself wants to live in Konoha. He—he—" Temari struggles with the words that can convey to Kankuro that Shikamaru actually wants to stay in Konoha without revealing the secret regarding his real parents.

"Aw don't be stupid! Big bro likes it here. Folks already know not to expect anything from him. In Konoha, your people will be watching, waiting for him to put his foot wrong. Your people will be all too ready to judge a Suna nin," Kankuro sneers. "You think my lazy brother likes things like that? You're the one crazy if you think bro is really willing to go there!"

"Shut up! You don't know everything!"

"I know enough. I know that father threatened the kid you're carrying. Bro had no choice then but to marry and accompany you to Konoha. The way I see it big bro just bargained away his freedom for you and the kid's safety. So why don't you cut him some slack instead of always bitching."

"The Kazekage threatened my child?" Temari asks slowly, enunciating each word. She already suspected that the Kazekage knew about her pregnancy, noticing that the attacks on her had ceased. She is then lulled to believe that her biological father didn't mean harm to his grandchild. It's now apparent she thought wrong.

"I can't believe you didn't know—" Kankuro hesitates, finally noticing the dangerous glint in Temari's furious eyes but the searing look doesn't seem to be directed at him. "Big bro said he has to move to Konoha temporarily. If he doesn't, you'll be forced to stay here until you give birth. Of course, if that's the case, Konoha will probably send their best nins to get you and father will have to fight them off." Kankuro clears his throat, uneasy. "So yeah to make things easier for everyone, big bro agreed to marry you and to move to Konoha. No more bloodshed for now. Stuff like that."

"So Kamaru married me to stop a war?" Temari inquires with one brow rising haughtily, shoulders straightening in her humiliation.

"Yeah—urm I guess…" Kankuro prevaricates. The look in Temari's eyes is really, really terrifying. "Of course, let's not forget the fact that bro likes you too," Kankuro adds, trying to appease the angry woman.

But Temari isn't listening anymore.

No wonder, even if the asshole suspects the child isn't his, he still wanted to marry her. Scratch wanted. He needed to get her to marry him… to stop a war, to stop two villages from fighting over an unborn child.

It's now clear. He didn't marry her for his own selfish reasons— to get close to her parents, to claim his birth right... Damn it, she couldn't even pretend now that she's giving him something— her parents, his birth right because, simply, Shikamaru is not interested in those things.

The lazy ass just doesn't want a troublesome war in his plate. That's why he searched for Tsunade, that's why he married her, and that's why he's moving to Kono—

"Tch, don't go attacking the Kazekage now that you know," Shikamaru sardonically announces his arrival, his sandals clicking on the tiled steps as he comes down closer to them. "At least think first before you react. There's someone depending on you being alive."

"I know that, ass!" Temari glowers at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru just ignores Temari. "Kankuro, have you done what I told you?"

The anger emanating from his big bro is palpable. Feeling guilty somehow, Kankuro defensively nods his head.

"Good. I trust you choose the men wisely." Shikamaru pats Kankuro's shoulder, pauses then drawls derisively, "Next time you speculate on my motives though keep it to yourself. Your newly acquired sister doesn't appreciate your brand of humour."

Temari gnashes her teeth. '…newly acquired sister' …Obviously, Shikamaru's mocking her and Kankuro. Then he even points out to Kankuro's 'brand of humour' …Really, the ass needs not deny strongly Kankuro's speculation that he likes her. She doesn't believe it in the first place.

When suddenly, Shikamaru grabs Temari's hand, holding it in a tight grasp as he turns his attention to her. "The councilmen, you have to meet them. You have to recognise your possible enemies," Shikamaru murmurs as he pulls her hand, dragging her with him back to the council room after a brief nod in Kankuro's direction.

As she's being hurried, she glances at their joined hands. His hand seems to swallow her smaller one. Temari then digs her fingernails on the back of Shikamaru's hand, trying to draw blood. She then sees him flinches from the corner of her eye but he does not let go.

As she matches his strides, Temari can only glare sideways, openly showing that she hates the man she just married but she's willing to grit her teeth and cooperate for the time being.

She will bide her time. Once they're in Konoha and her baby is relatively safe then she'll give the ass his own personal war. She will make him regret holding her hand when it's becoming more and more obvious how much he detests doing it.

—o0o—

Holding her hand like this, Shikamaru has all that he needs.

She could have shaken off his hand but she chooses to squeeze it—painfully. He'll take that as a good sign.

TBC

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