13: Surprise

"Thanks for this," she said giving him a warm smile from across the table and reaching out for his hand. It was the first time she'd been in Konoha for her birthday and although she'd never been big on birthdays it was always something she had shared in some shape or form with her family. Running between the two villages was taking its toll on her, even more so now that she was with Shikamaru and constantly wanted to be around him. It just made it even harder to do her job.

He smiled back at her and took her hand in his. "Anytime. Happy birthday Tem." He kissed her hand lightly and she swore she felt herself blush as if it was their first date all over again.

They walked back to his place down the streets of Konoha as everyone else got on with their preparations for the upcoming festival. Lanterns and lights were strung up across the streets which lit up the sky with a soft, pink and orange glow. She kept her hands in her pockets and walked separately from Shikamaru in public; it just seemed natural to her to not be all mushy around everyone else. She took in the sights and he didn't say much but that was okay. She never needed constant conversation or anything, most of the time she just enjoyed his company.

They got to his door and he took out his keys while she waited and looked around the Nara complex; a modest close of beautifully carved wooden buildings of which Shikamaru's was one of the smaller ones. His parents' house was by far the biggest and most ornate. As she spun her head back to see what was taking him so long she was caught off-guard by his lips on hers. In the half-cold outdoors his warm lips felt welcoming and soft, and she kissed him back with the same firm tenderness that he used. She didn't want to open her eyes after he broke away and stayed dazed for a short while. When she finally opened her eyes he had a cheeky grin on his face and laced his fingers into hers. "What was that for?" she asked while he opened the door and tugged her arm to pull her inside.

"Just, because. Can't I kiss my girlfriend on her birthday?" She could practically hear the smile on his face as he talked. He was being a little weird but if she was honest that wasn't totally unheard of for Shikamaru. He changed moods a lot and sometimes was a lot more expressive than others. And besides, she wasn't one to comment on changing temperaments so she let it slide.

He chucked his keys on the table and walked inside without turning any of the lights on. She followed him through into his kitchen where she saw a small lantern with a candle burning inside it. "Where did that come from?" she asked, walking up to it in wonder. It was small and orange-pink just like the ones outside except this was a floating lantern. The markings in the side were ornate and artful and let out small strips and patterns of light.

"Why don't we take it outside?" She eyed him up suspiciously. Something was definitely going on and he was acting very weird about it.

"You're not doing a great job at answering my questions, you know." She nonetheless followed him into his backyard. She was not expecting what she saw.

"SURPRISE!" She almost jolted from the sudden noise of party poppers, streamers, whistles and of course her shouting friends all gathered around a whole collection of mini lanterns. They all came running at her and piled on top of her before she could even get a glance at their faces. She was laughing so hard from the shock and the swarm of bodies climbing on her that she was almost wheezing out of breath. She could see right above her Ino and Sakura, followed by Kiba and Naruto and several others from Shikamaru's class who she'd become friends with over the years.

"Oh my god what is everyone doing here?" she laughed as she regained some composure and brushed herself off.

"Surprise party of course! Can't let you do a birthday without the proper procedure now could we? Speaking of which..." Kiba trailed off, looking over her shoulder.

She turned around to see her boyfriend's face lit up by candles on her favourite cake as he carried it towards her. She could see his little smile from knowing she'd love that cake; she sometimes hated how well he knew her but not tonight. With the cacophony of awful singing behind her, she dug into the best birthday cake she'd ever tasted.

"So you really had no idea?" Sakura asked incredulously, pointing out all the ways they'd almost messed up and let it slip they were planning this.

"Not at all, you guys are good secret party planners." She took another bite of her third helping of cake.

"We didn't plan anything," Ino said suggestively wiggling her eyebrows, "it was all Shikamaru." Temari was speechless. That lazy boy organizing this whole party? And managing to keep it a secret from her for weeks? He really willing to get off his ass for her, she thought lovingly. She felt her chest swell a little bit looking at him finally relaxing and enjoying himself for the first time this evening. She smiled a bit and went back to her conversation.

As the evening came to a close the group all gathered around the lanterns and held one up each between a few of them. Temari held up her own from Shikamaru but she let him get in on it; he had planned this whole thing anyway.

"I can't believe you planned a whole party for me." She looked at him, illuminated by the orange glow of the lantern, the light catching his strong jaw and defined features. She didn't know if it was the lighting or the alcohol or the fact he couldn't deny he cared about her now but he'd never looked so attractive before.

"Well, there's no one else I'd ever bother planning one for. Way too much trouble. But it was worth it for the look on your face." She smiled up at him and shook her head in disbelief. She was going to owe this guy big time but that was okay if it meant he kept giving her this treatment.

"3, 2, 1, let go!" Everyone released their lanterns into the sky and watched them float away into the dark, six little orange specks among the stars.

"Thank you, for all this. This is amazing; no one's ever done anything like this for me before." She hooked her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a long kiss. Usually she'd feel embarrassed doing this in front of everyone but she didn't care today. She was too happy to care. She ignored the whoops and whistles behind them as she tried to convey every inch of her emotion to him; and to try and make him feel just as loved as she did right now.

They pulled apart slightly breathless and he tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear as he held her face. "Happy birthday Tem. I love you." It wasn't the first time he'd said it but it felt exactly the same.

"I love you too." She gave him a small peck before Kiba and the rest were breaking up their moment and dragging them back to the party.