Chapter 97

As they walk towards the gates, Shikamaru is leaning on Ino so much so that if you take a picture, you can easily crop out Choji from it. And that picture that Temari sees causes her eyes to narrow, and her lips to purse in disgust.

But then suddenly Shikamaru does something…stupid that she will never admit pleases her.

Dispensing with his human crutches, he walks then runs towards her while she remains like some dumb tree rooted to the spot.

It is only when she sees him almost stumble, that her legs unfreeze. When she sees him again almost falling on his face, it gives her legs the strength to run.

The only thing in her mind is to run towards him.

As soon as they meet, Shikamaru's arms go around her tightly, trapping her arms on her sides, then he rests his head on crook of her neck, whispering, "I'm home."

Temari, slowly, frees her arms before wrapping them around Shikamaru. Then, from the small of his back to the top of his head, Temari gently, her fingers traveling over Shikamaru's body—checking for herself that he's really okay.

"I told you I'll come back in one piece," Shikamaru mutters, still leaning on Temari. "Nothing's broken. I'm just tired."

"Let's go home," Temari whispers after a while. Fighting the urge to say the words, I love you, and winning. Her feelings for him is not some reward she'll dangle in front of him after avenging their sensei. It's not! And she'll hate him if he says that it is.

—o0o—

Temari helps Shikamaru to bed, removing his dirty shirt and pants and leaving only his underwear.

His face and arms are covered in soot and so are his discarded clothes. He smells of sweat and burnt explosives and is in badly need of a shower but then he needs rest more.

As soon as his head touches his pillow, he closes his eyes. It isn't long before his breathing suggests, he's fallen fast asleep.

Temari kneels on the side of the bed before leaning down, putting her head on Shikamaru's chest, wanting to listen to his heartbeats. The rhythm is steady and it's not weak either. Releasing another relieved sigh, she gets up, reassured that he doesn't really need to go to the hospital, just like what Ino shouted to their departing backs at the gates. He just needs rest—lots of it.

Making her way to the attached bathroom, she opens the tap, wetting a face towel. Returning back, she sits on her heels on her side of the bed, gently rubbing Shikamaru's face with the towel, removing the dirt and checking for bruises.

Shikamaru's a midrange fighter...He better be not covered in bruises underneath all that grime, Temari mutters to herself.

Next, she moves on to his arms. Just minor cuts he probably sustained from broken fragments when things exploded but when she gets to his fingers, they show signs of extreme chakra use just like what she had seen on Shikaku's after some difficult missions.

Her oyaji had once told her that his fingers hurt as if they were being shredded so Temari gently wipes the soot from Shikamaru's digits, going as far as not breathing as she reaches the valleys in between each of his fingers, not wanting him to wake up in pain.

She's halfway done when she catches herself acting like a stupid, over cautious nurse. She immediately releases her breath to grunt at herself. It's not like he's gonna wake up from such discomfort. He's probably so dead to the world, it would take a scale nine earthquake to wake him up.

With the thought…she suddenly realizes that she can tell him her secret without the danger of her being embarrassed.

"Shikamaru, I…l—" love you. But I'm going to tell you when you're wide awake, Temari finishes in her head. Punctuating her thoughts with a snort directed to herself. She's not a scared little chicken, she'll make sure he's listening when she tells him she loves him.

—o0o—

"Kakashi had reported to Lady Tsunade the mission's success and had even brought the enemy's scythe as proof that my boy did indeed defeated Asuma's killer," Shikaku announces proudly as soon as he arrives from being called to the Hokage's office. His wife, seated on a sofa chair in the living room, lifts her head from her mending some shirt as he enters the room. "Since the killer is buried in my clan's land I was asked to authenticate it in front of some people."

Yoshino returns her attention back to her sewing.

Shikaku continues, rambling eagerly, "But at least now, those people and the rest like them should believe that Asuma wasn't killed by Kamaru."

"Good," mutters Yoshino into her needlework.

Temari, her ears prickling up upon detecting the almost inaudible pitch of her father's voice reaching the bedroom, scrambles to get up from lounging uselessly on the bed. She isn't able to catch her oyaji's words so she hurries to the living room, wanting to hear the latest news.

Temari asks, bursting into the living room, "So Kamaru's name is now cleared?"

"Yes, sweetheart," Shikaku answers, the smile gracing his lips not leaving him. "Unlike your mother, you must be really happy."

Temari glances at Yoshino, sensing her mother tensing at her father's words. "I think kaasan is also happy with the news."

Just then, Shikamaru, rubbing his eyes sleepily, stumbles into the room.

Yoshino glowers pointedly at Temari. "Can we move on from that event and change the topic?"

"How about if I announce—" Temari pauses, she's about to say '–that I love Shikamaru…' But she had already told that to her mother and the older woman didn't believe her. She had also told Shikamaru her reasons for telling that to Yoshino. What she was convinced was just a lie then is now the truth and she wants to kick herself as she wills herself to zip her mouth when what she really, really wants to do is tell him…

"Announce what, Temari?" Shikaku asks.

"Nothing," Temari answers, covertly observing Shikamaru. The ass still looks dead on his feet. She wonders why he gets up when it's obvious he hasn't rested enough…Maybe, it's because she isn't beside him in bed. The sudden thought makes her get up from the sofa, hiding a smile as she proceeds to get back to their room. If he follows her, she's correct.

He does trail after her towards their room.

—o0o—

With the moon still marking its territory in the dark sky, something wakes up Temari. Shikamaru's side of the bed is empty. Furrows appear between her brows until she hears the water running from the attached bathroom.

She gets up hastily from the bed. The thin, flimsy material of her nightie riding high up her thighs as she scrambles to put her legs on the side of the bed. She usually sleeps in an overlarge t-shirt but last night, the blue, whimsical material caught her eyes from her drawer. It's a little too revealing, making the bump on her tummy too obvious, but she doesn't bother to put on a robe. With her primary concern being that Shikamaru may need help in the shower, she just barges into the bathroom after banging the door open.

With the booming crash, Shikamaru, facing the showerhead and away from the door, swivels fast, almost slipping on the tiles in his haste, with his reflex to fight surging. "What the hell?!" he snaps, glaring at the direction of the door.

Despite standing in all his naked glory in a defensive stance, Temari can still see the exhaustion in his eyes so she bites the retort forming in her lips and asks instead, "You need help?"

"No," mutters Shikamaru. He's standing, without any clothes on, in front of Temari, with the shower softly pounding water on his back. He's still feeling like his legs are made of jelly but then that doesn't stop a part of his anatomy from hardening. The reason why he's taking a shower is standing in front of him, wearing a frown and that ludicrous tiny, see-through nightgown. "Uh…you know, it's best if you leave."

Temari's frown deepens. "You obviously need assistance."

"Look, I'm fine. Ino was there to heal me. If she wasn't, I'd probably you know…" Shikamaru prattles on. He would act on his baser instinct and grab Temari if not for the fact that he's worried he'll not satisfy her in his state. So he focuses on thinking about anything that will make him less hard...Reliving the battle with Hidan should do—

"Asshole!" growls Temari. Pregnant at four months, her body must disgust him now that she's swollen around the middle. And even at that precise moment, the shithead is apparently having a hard on as he thinks of that super skinny Ino!

"What?" Shikamaru is baffled. Temari came barging in, wearing a very wifely worried frown then now she stands, fists clench on her sides and her blue-green eyes spitting fire.

Temari's heart contracts painfully and she rubs her chest with the heel of her fist. This emotion, she has felt something like this before but she can only give it a name now—jealousy. She's jealous because of Ino. Fuck. Temari seethes. "If you're having lewd thoughts about a certain former teammate of mine, I swear I'm gonna kill you—"

"What?" bristles Shikamaru at the ridiculous notions his wife is having. "I mention Ino's name and you come up with WHAT?!" Shikamaru's voice rises angrily with the last word, as her meaning sinks in further.

"Well, it's useless denying it. Your body is betraying you!" shouts back Temari.

"Oh good god, woman! One of these days, I might end up putting you over my knee!"

"You're still not denying it!"

Shikamaru suddenly grabs Temari's arm then pulls her roughly towards his damp chest. Opening his mouth over hers, he forces her mouth to open, giving in to his lust. His hands, acting like a manacle molds her body tightly to his, not allowing any space to separate them.

Finally out of breath, he murmurs over Temari's mouth. "Damn it, woman, how can I want another when I have you?"

With the adrenaline that surge through him, gone, Shikamaru suddenly slumps towards Temari and she reflexively wraps her arms around him in support.

"See, why I need to take a cold shower now." Shikamaru sighs.

Her lips bruised, her heart beating wildly and the heat pooling in between her legs…She wants to kiss him hard and she's about to when she realizes what he just said. Stiffening, she mutters, "I didn't come here to have sex with you!"

Adding that she did come in to admit, she fucking loves him is out of the question.

—o0o—

It's almost noon but Temari still sits on the bed, staring outside the bedroom window.

The man lying beside her is sleeping again while the sun is blazing and doing its job drying the land. Of course, she knows he needs rest. He did came home yesterday with his chakra spent. It's like losing all his battery and now he's taking his time re-charging.

But the inactivity is getting to her…and the fact that she's becoming like some clingy wife, not wanting to leave his side, is becoming too apparent to her.

Arguing with herself, grunting to herself that she's not leaving his side not because she's clingy, it's because she haven't said it to him yet plus the fact that she feels like she's really going to burst like a smashed dam if she doesn't tell him soon.

But telling him by simply saying it…she wonders if he'll believe her or he'll just try to dissect what she feels using his stupid logic and coming up with an explanation other than that she loves him.

Gah, she has a feeling that this time she's the one overthinking it but she can't help it.

"Arrg," she groans out loudly her frustration, then covering her mouth belatedly, she glances at Shikamaru. Good. He's still sleeping soundly.

She really needs to get out of the room and do something more productive. It's not like something will happen to him if she leaves for a while...However, she can't think of anything better to do than to stay and wait for the ass to wake up. He's bound to, soon.

It is then at that moment, while staring outside their window, that her eyes fall on the tiny yellow flowers blooming outside.

Finally, it hits her.

She will reclaim Shikamaru's gift—the first and only one he got for her. She heard from Choji that Ino has her lavender plant.

Ino…just thinking about her makes her grit her teeth.

For the mission, because it was to avenge Asuma-sensei, she didn't remind Shikamaru that she didn't want Ino joining his team. But then if what she saw yesterday was any indication, the bitch is obviously seducing her husband, allowing him to put his head on her shoulder.

It's time to insist to the other woman that Shikamaru is hers and hers alone. Yes, it's time to meet Ino. And she'll get her lavender plant back.

—o0o—

~11 27 14AF P 12 15 14~

A/N: thanks guys, your reviews make a difference!