Disclaimer: This beautiful couple does not belong to me. Hehe.

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The Proposal: The Different Ways Shikamaru Asked Temari To Marry Him

Part I

He didn't know why he had asked her to take a walk in the Nara Forest with him. It was a cold evening and even all he wanted to do was stay inside, play shogi with his girlfriend, while enjoying a steaming cup of tea.

But something urged him to ask her out on a walk with him and just talk for a while. Maybe she just looked really beautiful tonight and he wanted to see her iluminated by the moonlight. Just to see if she could be any more ethereal.

Maybe he didn't want to stay inside the house any longer while his mom was giving him the curious eye. Wondering and waiting for him to finally make his move.

Maybe it was ghe fact that tomorrow, after staying 2 weeks in Konoha and living with them in the house, she was going back to her brothers. Back to Suna, far away from him.

Or maybe, it was all three. Hundreds of scenarios were playing in his mind as he held her hand and led her deeper into the forest. After a few minutes of silence, he heard her gasp and when he looked down at her, she was looking ahead, her eyes glued to the deer that has decided to greet them.

Temari smiled as the deer, the same one she had befriended months before, just when they began dating, came to her and nuzzled his nose on her side. She reached out to per her mane.

"She really adores you," Shikamaru said quietly, watching as the two interacted. Temari looked up and smiled at him. It was that same smiled that she gave him, when he first knew that he liked her.

He watched, with a smile, as a few more deers came out and approached Temari, making her chuckle. Even the deers found her beauty enticing and didn't want her to leave.

Temari stood there, surrounded by the deers, with her back to him. She was staring at the moon, her face so serene, so soft.

And suddenly, Shikamaru felt his stomach twist in anguish when the thought of being away from her crossed his mind. At the same time, he felt his heart beat faster, when an image of her flashed before his eyes.

There she was, standing at the center of the Nara Forest, surrounded by the deers who had become attached to her, the moonlight iluminating every delicate feature of her face. She had her back to him, only this time, she wasn't wearing the light purple kimono she started wearing after the war. Instead, she was wearing an emerald green kimono that fell fell just a few centimeters below her knee, and at the center of her back would be the emblem of the Nara Clan.

He wanted that. He longed for that moment to finally come true. And tonight, he knew what he wanted to do.

"Temari."

His voice was just above a whisper, but she heard it.

"There's something that I want to give you, before you leave tomorrow."

She looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

He smirked and took the necessry to steps to stand right in front of her. The deers stepping away to give him space.

"You'll find out tomorrow. But I think it's time for us to head back now."

She raised an eyebrow at his reply before crossing her arms. "What? But I want to stay here a little bit longer."

"Woman, it's freezing out here. Let's go back inside and have some green tea."

"If it was so cold out, then why did you ask me to take a walk with you in the first place?"

He chuckled and took her hand. "To be completely honest, I was wondering that too."

She looked at him funny. "Hey Shikamaru. Are you okay?"

He smirked before swooping in so fast, she had no time to react and before she even realzed what was happening, his lips were already pulling away from her own. She felt her cheeks warm at the sudden display of affection.

"I'm cold. Now let's go."

She let him lead her back into the house, muttering. "Whatever, crybaby."

--

Shikamaru held the out the perfectly wrapped box to Temari as they stood face to face at the gates.

"This was what I was telling you about last night."

"What is it?" Temari asked, holding it carefully, afraid of ruinging the beautiful beige wrapping.

"You'll see. Just don't open it until you've arrived safely in Suna. And don't stress yourself too much about it. Just be sure to get home safely."

Temari looked at him carefully, trying to decipher what he was trying or not trying to say. She trusted him enough though, so deciding to do what he said, she held the box to her chest, before stepping closer to him.

"I'll see you soon, crybaby."

And with a soft kiss, she was on her way back to Suna.

--

Finally, after days of traveling, she arrived at their house in Suna. She was tired and sleepy and hungry.

So deciding to solve those things, one at a time, she took a shower and put on comfortable clothes. She then went down to the kitchen and decided to make hers, as well as her brothers', favorite meal.

After dinner, Kankuro had volunteered to do the dishes while Gaara went back to finish his paperworks.

And at last, she was ready to crash on her bed. But as she entered her room, she saw the beautifully wrapped box Shikamaru had given her. Suddenly, she became nervous, her heart was hammering inside her chest.

She sat down by the edge of the bed and placed the box on her lap. Her fingers traced the light patterns on the beige wrapper before she carefully removed it. Inside was a light brown box with a seal.

With shaking hands, she released it and when she opened the box, her breath caught in her throat. Tears were blurring her vision as stared down at the content, but because she was afraid of ruining it with her tears, she quickly dried her eyes and finally pulled out the content that stunned her into silence.

She held up the beautiful emerald green kimono, admiring the soft fabric. Her eyes traced the intricate emblem on the back, her chest constricting with different emotions.

She looked down inside the box and found a small note.

'This isn't the official event, but it's one step closer to it. You don't have to rush for an answer. I'll wait till you get back here. I love you, Tem.'

She smiled tearfully, placing the note back inside the box and looking at the green kimono on her bed.

The green kimono with the Nara Clan emblem.

She laughed a little, wiping away her tears.

"Now, who's the crybaby."

AN: The mini series title is so long but I think it works well.? Or not. Okay, I'm still working on it. I might change or not. But anyway, so yes. I've been having this idea of Shikamaru asking Temari to marry him multiple times before he finally asks her properly and they get married. So I was playing with that idea when I wrote this chapter.

I hope you all liked it. Have a nice day!