Chapter 128

Almost 7 years later

In Suna

"Look at the moon..."

Standing outside, the circular disk hanging in the desert sky appears quite unusual, unhindered by any clouds or any trees or any structures. Tonight, the moon above is big, perfectly round and—tinged very red.

Temari frowns. "What's happening?"

Shikamaru follows Temari's gaze up at the reddish moon with its dark spots. "Let a world of dreams begin," he suddenly declares.

Temari, with a ready retort on her lips, glances at Shikamaru to meet his eyes when she suddenly notices the weird look in his dark orbs.

—oOo—

In Konoha

Enjoying a different sky but with the same red tinged moon, Naruto is out in the public park with Hinata on a date. The two are seated very close to each other with the girl's head resting on the boy's shoulder.

Neji and Hinata's younger sister, Hinabi, see the sweet pair. Hinabi puts her index finger on top of her lips to stop Neji from disturbing them.

It seems that under the glow of the reddish moon, everyone's dreams have come true.

Even Choji in his own home is being served by his wife with a tasty feast. His loving wife thinks him manly with his voracious appetite for food.
—oOo—

Back in Suna

Kankuro suddenly appears, shouting, "Elder sister! Elder sister!"

Temari swivels her head towards the direction of the new comer. "What is it?"

Before Kankuro can reply, Gaara interrupts them, "Let me discuss something with you first, Temari," the young kazekage looks at his younger brother sharply, his gaze filled with warning. "Listen to me first, elder sister."Temari smiles. My little brothers are hopeless, she thinks to herself.

"Tch," Shikamaru mutters under his breath. He has been ignored long enough. "Can whatever you guys have to say to Temari, wait? You know I haven't seen my wife for over two weeks."

"No," answers Gaara while Kankuro adamantly shakes his head no while arguing that, "You see our sister more than we do."

Shikamaru with a deflated sigh knows his reunion with Temari after 15 and a half days of not seeing each other is postponed to later.

Even leavingGaara's residence, in the pretense of an evening stroll, won't afford them some privacy. Shikamaru has hoped to get to Temari first and...defend his oversight.

Suddenly, "WHAAAT?!" can be heard reverberating through the desert night.

—oOo—

A few minutes later, the light shines too bright as Temari sweeps into the room to watch her son.

A seven year old Shikadai raises his kunai towards Temari. And Temari just stands there, stunned by the image that her son makes after his two weeks absence.

"Uncle Gaara said my close combat skills have very much improved, mama," Shikadai announced proudly.

"So it is," Temari agrees, not hiding the pride in her voice. She's a long range fighter but she doesn't underestimate the importance of being knowledgeable in hand to hand combat. Just that the way that Shikadai was trained still irks her.

"Were you hurt during training?" Temari asks, remembering the reason for her mad dash from her evening stroll with Shikamaru in search of her son.

Shikadai raises his hand and makes the gap bet his thumb and index finger a centimeter apart. "Just a little."

'My poor baby', Temari thinks to herself, knowing Shikadai spent a night in the Suna hospital nursing his wounds. Shikamaru finally admitted, moments ago, that that was the time he finally discovered himself how Kankuro was training his nephew with hand to hand combat. By pitting Shikadai against puppets that doesn't even feel pain and could attack on and on non stop.

When she gets her hands on the three of them...Well, except Gaara. Gaara only allowed the training because Shikamaru already agreed. And Shikamaru agreed because he trusted Kankuro.

The training is Suna differs greatly compared to Konoha. It's more strict and very rigorous as if it's a matter of life and death which being a shinobi is...Temari hesitates voicing her disgust for the methods used to train Shikadai, wondering if she's being too overprotective of her child. Now, that she's calmed enough, her rush from outside to here, in search of Shikadai, she can finally view it as superfluous.

Shikadai is talking, "I can't wait to show Sarada how much I've improved."

Temari smiles. Her son seems happy enough. "We'll get home soon."

"Suna is also my home. I don't mind if we stay here for another week or two," Shikadai admits.

"Hmn," Temari prevaricates. She's supposed to meet for the first time...Gaara and Matsuri's adopted son, Shinki, tomorrow. Matsuri sustained irreversible damage when she was abducted by Kouzan years ago and cannot bear Gaara, a child, but Gaara doesn't mind. And now, they have finally chosen a child.

"What do you think of your new cousin?" Temari bluntly asks Shikadai.

"He's not silly. That's for sure."

"You get on with him okay?"

Shikadai nods his head. "You should asks uncle Gaara for permission so we can bring him to visit Konoha."

"Alright," Temair agrees. Her son who Chiyo thought would be shunned by two villages has more ties growing up than she and Shikamaru. Temari smiles at her child, those ties, those bonds will strengthen and surely multiply with time. "Hey, when do you think your favorite uncle will give you a cousin?"

"Shh uncle Gaara might hear you," Shikadai warns, looking behind him to make sure nobody else heard.

"Your uncle Gaara is already aware you like your uncle Kankuro just a bit more, squirt." Temari chuckles.

—oOo—

With the light extinguished, only the big moon outside shines through with its reddish glow into the bedroom window.

"Do you wonder if we live in a dream?" Termari asks. "In...a genjutsu?"

"Why do you wonder that?" Shikamaru replies, pulling Temari on his side of the bed.

"Everything seems to be perfect...too perfect. That tomorrow, I'll wake up and discover that all these isn't real. Just a powerful genjutsu controlling us all...making us lead a perfect life."

"Is it?

Is our life perfect?" Shikamaru questions, raising a brow. "We still fight. As recent as the one, an hour ago."

"That wasn't a fight. Just a little misunderstanding," corrects Temari. "You really should look after your son, better, lazy ass."

"Tch you know our son wasn't really in any danger with Kankuro."

"As I was saying our life is idyll," Temari brings back the topic at hand. "Too perfect as if in a dream."

Shikamaru shakes his head no atop his pillow. "I remember quite clearly, a month ago, you got mad because I forgot again to let you know I'll be back late for dinner. Then you kicked me out. I had to sleep at Choji's place then his almost 4 year old daughter asked me if I was kicked out of my home again."

"How time flies, Cho Cho is now four,"

"Almost four. And Inojin, almost five," replies Shikamaru, referring to Ino and Sai's offspring. "And if life is perfect as you say, Shikadai, Cho Cho and Inojin should all be on the same age."

Temari sighs. "I hope Shikadai will have them in his team. But Shikadai is already seven."

"See, not everything is perfect," replies Shikamaru. "There will be no new InoShikaCho team—"

"The new InoShikaCho team will still happen, ass!" Temari insists, thumping the chest that serves as her pillow. "You still have much to learn about traditions in Konoha."

Shikamaru catches Temari's hand on his chest and holds on to it, while reasoning logically, "More likely, Shikadai and Sarada will be teaming up with Neji and Tenten's child seeing as their ages are much closer to each other."

"Shh," Temari shakes her hand free from Shikamaru's hold to pull her pillow from beneath her head. With the pillow, she covers Shikamaru's mouth with it. "Don't jinx it! InoShikaCho can still happen. The hokage can see to it."

"You were saying, our life is perfect?" Shikamari mumbles through the pillow. "I'm currently being suffocated by my wife. I don't think I'll describe this state as perfect."

Temari laughs, using her arm strength to stop the pillow from being thrown off.

"Woman, if the hokage is still Lady Tsunade maybe the InoShikaCho team can still happen but Kakashi, the new kage doesn't owe us any favors—" Shikamaru still tries to argue.

Temari replies by using her body to lean on the pillow.

"I give up, woman. The InoShikaCho will happen."

Temari removes the pillow only to abruptly straddle Shikamaru, pinning her weight on him.

"Omph," groans Shikamaru, cringing in pretend pain.

"Don't be such a crybaby," grins Temari as she wriggles on top of Shikamaru.

"Don't do that, woman," grunts Shikamaru. "Or else..."

"Or else what?" Temari asks sweetly, openly laughing at Shikamaru's discomfort.

"You just arrived after traveling for three days. Then you have to deal with Kankuro's news about Shikadai's training and injury and Gaara's news about his new son. I know you're tired," Shikamaru answers with a heartfelt sigh.

"Hmm if I just lie still and you do all the work..." teases Temari.

Shikamaru suddenly moves so Temari, with a fake sounding yelp, is thrown on her back, with Shikamaru hovering above her.

"I disagree—our life is better than perfect. It's real," Shikamaru utters before his mouth opens and captures Temari's.

—oOo—

Shikamaru's mouth travels from Temari's lips to her lower jaw then down her neck, lapping and sucking her slightly tanned and sensitive skin. With his hand, he gently flicks Temari's hair away to expose more of her neck.

"Do you mind?" Shikamaru asks.

Temari shakes her head.

Shikamaru raises himself a bit from Temari and with sudden and deft movements rips the flimsy gown from Temari's body then proceeds to rip his own robe off.

Admiring the naked body for a sec, Shikamaru then has his revenge as he allows his weight to trap Temari underneath him. "I'm not crushing you?"

"It's a good crush," replies Temari, making a move to raise her hands to embrace Shikamaru when she remembers she's not supposed to do anything.

"Can you feel me?" Shikamaru asks, "All of me..."

"Yes," Temari replies. "It's a sweet torture."

"What do you want me to do?" Shikamaru whispers, licking Temari's ear.

"I want you to be inside me."

"Not yet," Shikamaru now utters beside the corner of Temari's lips. His hand grabbing her breast and squeezing. "I still have to pay homage to your beautiful breasts."

Temari closes her eyes. "Hurry up, ass."

Shikamaru chuckles, his back curving as he swoops low to suckle on Temari's left breast while his hand continues to knead the other mound while his lower torso pushes down more towards Temari.

Temari groans. She can feel him hard and grinding on top of her most sensitive part. She starts to open her legs but Shikamaru's feet clamp them together.

"No," Shikamaru orders, transferring his attention to Temari's other breast, biting the peaked nipple gently, while his legs moved, bracketing Temari's legs, farther trapping her. While his hand travels down so he can slip his finger inside her.

"That's not enough, Shikamaru," Temari grumbles.

Shikamaru replies by adding another digit inside her.

Temari moans softly.

When suddenly, Shikamaru lifts his body off Temari and grabs her legs, pulling them apart so he can penetrate in the moist cavern, unhindered.

They groan together as Temari sheaths Shikamaru with her moist heat.

Shikamaru continues to move, slamming in and pulling out, slamming in deeply and pulling out in a rapid and desperate rhythm.

Shikamaru pulls Temari's thighs closer to him so he can go in deeper and deeper and faster and faster. His body bowing down so he can kiss her, his tongue seeking hers. Perspiration drips from their body and they can taste it from their lips.

"I'm so close, Shikamaru," says Temari as she allows her body to be totally under her husband's control.

Shikamaru pushes in, penetrating deeper, obeying Temari's command, until with a shout buried in each others mouth they come into completion.

—oOo—

The moon continues to shine outside the bedroom window. But it's reddish tinge is now gone. Afterall, the total lunar eclipse with its nickname of Blood Moon can only last for a few hours.

It only happened because tonight the earth blocks, bends and refracts the sun's light before it can reach the moon. The light then that remained for the moon is a deep red in color as seen in earth. But this natural occurrence doesn't last long.

Pleasantly spent and sleepy, Temari mumbles, "This is what you were thinking when you said, 'Let a world of dreams begin' with that weird look in your eyes. You were trying to be romantic aided by the unusual red moon."

"Go to sleep, Temari."

"You did not achieve the dreamy look with your eyes however. If Kankuro and Gaara hadn't interrupted us...I would have laughed hard."

"That's it. You're not tired." Shikamaru suddenly grabs Temari from his side and positions her on top of him. "Your turn to do all the work, woman."

Temari, her sleepiness gone, chuckles. "Are you sure you're up to it?"

Grabbing her blonde hair from the back of her head, Shikamaru moves Temari down in the area near his waist. "I'm sure you can make me."

Temari opens her mouth to accommodate her husband.

"God! Temari, I'm pretty sure no bloody moon or genjutsu could ever replicate something this good," "grunts Shikamaru.

With her mouth full, Temari promises, "I'll make it even better, ass," before she sucks hard.

The moon just continues to shine brightly outside as the couple continues to make love.

—oOo—

~4 1 21, 9 25-26, 9 29 21~

A/N: Whew finally...The End...

A few of you may know that this was labeled Complete in 2016. But in 2020, I re-started this again with Chapter 1...11 and now, in 2021, I'll be marking this Complete for the second and last time.

Thank you to all who made their presence known with their likes, follows and reviews. As always you guys provided the fuel for this long, very long journey.

And to mark my exit...hope you guys enjoyed the lemonade.

Review? Comment? Remarks? Reactions?

Bonus? Yes, I'm giving away a Bonus!

Neji, with displeasure, shakes his head at Hinabi and approaches the couple sitting on the bench at the park.

"Naruto, you should take better care of your wife since she's carrying your first child," Neji scolds the younger nin.

"We are watching the red moon, Neji niisan, together with the little one," Hinata replies, patting her huge tummy. "Come join us."

Naruto nods his head, agreeing with Hinata that Neji joins them. "The moon is unusual today because of the eclipse."

Neji spares a glance at the red tinged moon then returns his attention towards his heavily pregnant cousin. "Aren't you cold, Hinata?"

Naruto makes a show of bundling Hinata with the red scarf and pulling her closer to his body.

"Naruto is warm," Hinata simply answers. "Boruto and I are fine, Neji nii san."

"Boruto?" Hanabi asks, finally showing herself at Neji's side. "Ahh your unborn baby already has a name..."

"Yes!" Naruto agrees. "And I'm going to be a good father so he can cherish his name."

In Suna

"Was I too rough?" Shikamaru asks.

"Hmn your daughter might object but I definitely don't."

"We don't have a daught...WAIT..Temari?"

"Well, I want this one to be a girl this time."

"You are pregnant?"

"Yes, ass! I am!" Temari announces happily. "And this one will be almost at the same age as Naruto and Hinata's brat. They're going to grow up together and be close to each other."

"Then shouldn't you be wanting iher to be a boy? I heard they're having a boy."

Temari answers, an evil glint in her eyes, "Where's the fun in that?"

Shikamaru raises a brow, not understanding.

"You'll get it when they get together—"

"NO! My daughter won't get marr—"

"My my, Shikari is still in my womb and you already have her married—"

"Enough with this crazy talk, woman," mutters Shikamaru, finally noticing the teasing smile on Temari's lips.

"Happy?" Temari suddenly asks, wrapping her arm around Shikamaru as she lays her head on his chest.

"Yes," Shikamaru simply answers, kissing the top of Temari's head. "You?"

"I'm complete."