9: Lemons

She was still getting used to the constant breeze and greenery of Konoha compared to her hometown. She'd been living here with her soon-to-be husband for three months now, and while she loved the village it was so different to hers that she couldn't help feeling homesick. She walked around the Sunday morning market greeting the shopkeepers she'd gotten to know recently and buying the essentials for their new house.

She stopped by the fruit vendor's stall looking at the huge variety of fruit and veg that was on offer. Konoha was a lot more fertile than her desert home, and she was always astounded at the colour and freshness or random produce she had never even seen before in her life. Tomatoes, peaches, oranges, pears, leafy greens, strawberries and more all stood out to her but she was more mesmerized by the smell that was coming from nearby.

She followed her nose, feeling a lot like Kiba, sniffing a little as she went until she found the source of the smell. She stopped at the lemonade stall in front of her and breathed in the heavenly citrus scent deeply. Lemons were something that Suna imported for special festivals or during the summer to cool the residents down. The smell of lemons took her back to the sweltering heat of Sunan summers and made her feel at home for one of the first times since she moved here.

She immediately bought a dozen of the luxury fruit and rushed home.

Shikamaru came back from being out with Ino doing wedding planning for the third time this week; the woman was more invested in his wedding than either himself or his bride but he couldn't complain. If he thought he had it bad, Temari had it ten times worse. He could even smell the fresh fragrance of lemons from the hallway, and immediately called out her name, confused.

"Tem?"

"In the kitchen!" She yelled back, and he walked in as she stood grating zest over her drink, smelling the grater like a mad woman.

"Are you... okay?" he asked warily. He knew full well that his fiancé was a surprising person by nature but he had to admit this was weird even for her.

"I'm fine. Look what I found! And they were so cheap," Temari said, sipping her freshly squeezed lemonade. "Mmmmm..." she sighed contentedly as she drank, sucking the straw so hard it indented.

He laughed as he reached for the jug she seemed to have been squeezing all afternoon based on the pile of carved out lemons on the counter and the all-around mess in the kitchen. Temari was a great cook but she couldn't keep a worktop clean to save her life. "You know, lemons are cheap in Konoha because no-one wants them. They're sour and bitter."

"Then don't drink my juice, smartass." She swatted his hand away from the jug and took another sip. "I think they're delicious. These were like a special treat back home."

He couldn't help but feel his heart sink a little bit when he heard her say 'home'. It still hurt him a little bit that she didn't see Konoha as her home, not because he was being childish but because it hurt him to know she still felt homesick and he was the reason for it.

"They remind me of summer in Suna. Everyone would have lemon ice or lemonade or something lemon flavoured." She trailed off when she saw something like hurt in his eyes. He was looking at the floor, rubbing the back of his neck like he always did when he felt guilty. "Hey," she got his attention, "what's going on?"

"Do you still get homesick that much?" he asked sheepishly. She looked him in the eyes; she wasn't expecting that.

"Um, I guess... why?"

"I just, I know it's stupid, but I feel really guilty every time you feel like you're missing Suna or your brothers. I just want to know you're really okay with all this. It's not too late to rethink things."

"Shikamaru, don't be ridiculous. Of course I'm going to get homesick I've been here for three months. But I don't regret anything. I'm excited, plus it makes sense for us to live here. I was practically living here anyway." She handed him the lemonade as a peace offering; she really didn't feel like fighting tonight. "Okay?"

"Okay." He said sipping the drink. He almost spat it out. "Oh my god! How much sugar did you put in this?"

"A teaspoon, why?" she said stone-faced.

"A teaspoon of sugar in a jug of lemons is like drinking pure acid. We need to do something about your taste buds."

"Maybe it tastes better this way," she smirked, leaning in and kissing him lightly.

"Nope, now you taste sour and bitter. Totally ruined kissing for me." He went to the sink and downed a full two glasses of water.

"Well, I think you've never tasted better." she said coyly, looking over her shoulder at him as she poured more into her cup.

"Seriously? A lemon fetish? You really are the weirdest person I know." He came up behind her and kissed her cheek.

"Not true," Temari sniggered, "Ino and Sai have this weird sex-painting fetish, where they coat their bodies in..."

"Ew gross she's like my sister, stop talking! How do you even know that?" Shikamaru asked, mortified.

"Ino talks," Temari said, visibly traumatised, "a lot."