AN: Hello! Here's chapter two! Hehe hope you guys enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine and this fic was slightly inspired by 2 fanarts I saw but I couldn't remember the name of the artists.

Yarn

It was a breezy Monday morning, the autumn air bringing about the faint scent of coffee coming from the various coffee shops in town. Every now and then, the crunch of dried leaves under one's foot could be heard as people walked all around.

"It's a beautiful morning, isn't it Temari-chan?" A soft voice said, smiling at the blonde woman walking beside her.

Temari closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh morning air before turning back to her friend. "Yes it is, Hinata."

The two women were walking around the marketplace, holding various plastic bags filled with fresh fruits and vegetables.

"Shikamaru loves autumn, you know. And growing up in Suna, we never had this season so I've grown to love it just as much as he does. Probably, even more so."

Hinata gave her a smile. "How are you two?"

A small smile appeared on her lips. She and Shikamaru have only been married for 4 months, and yet every time they're together, it still felt like they've only been together yesterday. This year would be their first Christmas as a married couple, and they're both excited and nervous at the same time.

"It all still feels surreal. Was is the same with you and Naruto?"

Hinata blushed at the mention of her husband's name, making Temari smile. 'I guess not much have changed between these two.'

Suddenly, Temari stopped in front of a small shop and when Hinata looked through the glass window she saw stacks and shelves filled with various colors of yarn.

"Would it be alright if we go in for a minute?" Temari asked.

"Yes, I'd love to. I wanted to buy some new yarns to make a new scarf for Naruto-kun."

Inside, Temari felt a bit overwhelmed with the numerous yarns all around her, but she stood her ground and looked around for that perfect color that she knew would suit Shikamaru so well. She had never knitted or crocheted anything ever in her life and it was only a few weeks ago when she had gone to her mother-in-law for some lessons. Yoshino was more than happy to help her since she had missed her beautiful daughter-in-law whom her son had kept to himself ever since the wedding.

So now, Temari was ready to put her newly acquired skills to test. Perhaps she should have gone with a much easier project such as a scarf or a pair of gloves, but given that Hinata had always knitted a scarf for Naruto every Christmas and Sakura had always made gloves for Kakashi every time his current one would get torn up in missions, Temari knew she wanted to make something different for Shikamaru. Something that would be very special for him, so she decided to make him a sweater.

A thick and cozy turtleneck sweater.

And after checking all his clothes at home, she noticed he only had one sweater of this style and it was her favorite sweater of his, mainly because he looked really good in it. So good that she would get all flustered whenever he would hug her while wearing it, then he'd notice her small blush and he'd tease her about for the whole day, topping it off with a soft kiss on her forehead.

Temari stood, head titled to the side, studying the different shades of brown yarn on the shelf. She stood there for a good minute before she grabbed a couple of the chocolate brown yarn. Giving Hinata, who gave her a surprised look after noticing the amount of brown yarn on her arms, a shy smile, she went up to the counter where the owner gave her a warm motherly smile which somehow eased her nerves.

Hinata stood behind her, a few grey yarn on her arms and an understanding smile on her lips. She really couldn't wait to see what her friend would make for Shikamaru and she couldn't wait for him to wear it.

—-

She wanted it to be a surprise and so it was very hard to hide it from him when he's at home. She would hide it in their cabinet, underneath a pile of sheets and blankets. Other times, she would hide it the laundry cabinet, beside the bottle of fabric conditioner.

She'd make sure he was at work before knitting and then she could knit anywhere in the house. Other times, she would take a walk into the Nara forest and sit down under a shade and knit. Every now and then, a deer would come up to her and then lie down beside her, their head laying down on her lap.

She had trouble at first as well. She would make several mistakes, making her start all over, but after the numerous words of encouragement from Yoshino and Hinata, as well as Sakura and Ino, who had discovered her plan to knit a sweater for Shikamaru when they saw her coming out of the shop with a bag full of new yarn. She made sure to make them swear not to tell him, especially Ino.

Temari had already gotten his measurements when he was asleep on the bed. It was after one of the guys' night outs and surprisingly, he had passed out not because of sake, but because of exhaustion. Naruto was a handful when drunk, but combine him with a drunk Lee and Kiba, well that was definitely not an easy feat.

Thankfully, she was just measuring his arm circumference when he woke up and groggily pulled her down beside him, trapping her in his arms and legs.

And finally, after weeks of knitting, she was able to finish it and she couldn't be any happier. All that was left now was to wrap it and hide until Christmas eve.

At least that's what she hoped for it to go.

—-

Shikamaru sighed and took of his shoes by the door. It was 7:30 in the evening, a half hour earlier than when he usually comes home because of his hectic schedule at work, but he was just so tired and it had been a few days already when he had been home early and he greatly missed his wife.

"I'm home."

He waited for Temari to come out of the kitchen where she usually is at that time, preparing the plates on the table. When all he got was silence, he slowly made his way to the kitchen, sensing any unknown chakra in the house. The light was on and the smell of curry wafted through the air. His right hand ghosted over his kunai, getting ready to fight should something bad happen. When he rounded the corner, he noticed the stove was turned off and the pot sitting on top, steam rising up from the small hole on the cover. The table was empty still and there was no trace of Temari.

Worried, he quickly went to check on the living room and he almost collapsed when he noticed her figure sprawled on the carpet, her hair tumbling out of their ties. He rushed to her side, checking if she was hurt, and sighing in relief when he realized she had just fallen asleep.

"Troublesome woman, why would you fall asleep on the floor." He whispered, brushing away her bangs. He couldn't help but smile when she snored quietly.

He was about to lift her up and carry her to their bed when he noticed she was clutching a brown fabric to her chest. It was too small to be a blanket and too thin to be a cushion. Curious, he slowly pulled it out of her grasp and help it up in front of him.

It was a brown turtleneck sweater. It looked very cozy and it appeared to be his size.

Looking back down at his wife, he saw knitting needles by her side and a ball of brown yarn by her feet. Upon realizing that she had made it just for him, he felt a warm sensation settle in his stomach. This woman, who could easily squish him like a pulp with her tessen and who could easily answer his challenging words with her sharp tongue; this troublesome woman who can love him and hate at the same time and can make him lose all practical thoughts with her smile; his dangerously beautiful Suna princess.

This cruel kunoichi is a very sweet and caring wife underneath all that. And he's so lucky to have her and to call her his.

He quickly pulled the sweater on and he smiled at how snug and warm it was before leaning down and lifting up his wife and carrying her to their bedroom. He gently laid her down on the bed and climbed in after her. With his love apparent in his dark brown eyes, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

"I love you, Tem."

—

She groaned and snuggled deeper into the warm blanket. After a few minutes, her teal eyes opened and all she saw was a wall of chocolate.

Wait what?

She pulled back and noticed Shikamaru sleeping beside her, his arm wrapped around her waist and he was wearing the sweater she had just finished knitting that afternoon. Her eyes widened in horror.

No no no. It was supposed to be a surprise.

She hid her face in her hands in frustration, the slight movement causing him to stir and wake up.

"Hi"

She looked up and frowned.

"You're home early."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead once more.

"I missed you and I wanted to have dinner with you."

And there it was, that small blush on her cheeks that he adored so much. Leaning down to whisper in her ear, he said. "Thank you for this sweater, Tem. I really love it."

Her blush darkened but then she frowned.

"It was supposed to be a surprise."

"I'm still surprised, Tem. You made this, for me. And I didn't even know you knew how to knit."

She ran her fingers down his chest, admiring the soft texture of the sweater.

"Your mom taught me."

"Can I ask why you made it?"

"You mentioned it was cold a few weeks ago and I knew how much you love autumn, so I decided to make you something to keep yourself warm. But I didn't want to make you a scarf cause then you'd just be like Naruto and besides, you won't get to show off that little stubble on your chin that you spent months growing."

Her last statement made him laugh and pull her closer, tucking her head under his chin.

"So I decided to make you a sweater."

"Thank you so much, Tem. I really love it. It fits perfectly and it is really warm."

She wrapped her arms around his torso and smiled against his neck. "I'm really glad you like it."

Suddenly his stomach grumbled causing her to pull back and look up at him.

"Now take it off."

"What?"

"Take it off cause I still need to wash it. And it's time for dinner. Come on," she sat up and pulled him up as well. She looked at him expectedly, making him chuckle and pull the sweater off. He held it out her but just as she was taking it, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down to his lap, wrapping his arms securely around her waist.

She gasped as he lifted her face and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. After a while, she pulled back and played with the tail of his ponytail.

"I love you, crybaby."

"I love you too, troublesome woman."

He leaned down to kiss her again but she jumped up and pulled his hand.

"There's time for that late. Right now, it's dinner time and I'm starving. Come on, Shika."

She grabbed the sweater and walked back down to the kitchen, Shikamaru trailing close behind her with a smirk and he wondered how she would look wearing that sweater.

Beautiful.

AN: Yes, I am a fan of KakaSaku, please don't judge me. And don't get me wrong, I do like how things ended between Sasuke and Sakura. Anyway, Thanks so much for reading!

Keep safe everyone! :)))