Temari found herself reluctantly to follow him - there she stood, in front of the semi-detached house he said, located in one of the most affluent suburbs of the city. The white walls and dark coloured roof tile spelled traditional quite upfront - and Temari was definitely not traditional.

"Your parents are gonna hate me," she shook her head. "I shouldn't have listened to you, I should've worn something more reserved…"
"You already look much more reserved than you usually are," Shikamaru said as he eyed the dark purple dress she wore with a pair of low heels, part of her blonde hair was braided up and part of it let down; she wore a pair of pearl earrings and wore nearly minimal makeup. "I like that look on you."

"Are you calling me a slut most of the time?" She walked up and held him by the collar of his shirt, Shikamaru raised his hand and sighed, shaking his head as a drop of sweat rolled down his face.

"No, no," he said as Temari loosened her grip. He straightened his shirt and sighed again.
"Don't worry, it won't be as troublesome as you thought." He smiled at her.
"Wait until we're finished with this," she hissed.

Shikamaru led her through the driveway as they approached the door, he pulled out the keys and shoved them into his pocket after he had unlocked the door.

Temari gasped as he took her hand and opened the door.

"Hey-" before she could protest, they had already stepped foot into the doorway.

"We're home," he said, his voice echoed in the hallways of the house.

"Sorry for the trouble," she immediately said, shooting a death glare at Shikamaru, who pretended not to notice.

She could hear thumping footsteps from a distance, a woman emerged, her dark brown hair tied neatly into a low ponytail, she was wearing a dark green blouse and cream-coloured pencil skirt, complete with home slippers. The woman walked up to her, her almond shaped eyes rounder than that of Shikamaru, yet some of her features reminded Temari of the man standing next to her.

She noticed that Shikamaru and her were holding hands, she arched an eyebrow as she broke into a warm smile.

"Oh my, you're the movie star Temari-san!" She approached her, Temari slipped her hand out of Shikamaru's and attempted to offer it for a shake, instead, the woman took both of her hands and held them in hers. "You look even more beautiful in real life than in the movies!"

"Thank you, er, Mrs. Nara." she replied with a smile, nervously eyeing Shikamaru, who was looking at the women with great amusement.

"Please, just call me Yoshino!" She turned to Shikamaru and smirked. "You've got quite a catch, huh?"

"Mom, geez," he lowered his head and scratched its back. "Troublesome."

"Eh, we bought you some gift," Temari eyed Shikamaru as he offered his mother a nice cream paper bag. "It's some snacks."
"Perfect, just in time, I've made some fresh tea, come on in!" She took the bag from her son.

They removed their shoes and followed Yoshino into the living room, Temari was slightly stunned to see Shikamaru's father sitting there, almost like an older, more rugged replica of him, reading the newspaper as his wife sat down next to him.

"Look Shikaku, your son's girlfriend's here, she's a movie star."

Shikaku put down his newspaper and stood up, he smiled and offered his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Temari."

"The pleasure's mine, Mr. Nara." She smiled back at him, he waved his head and asked them to sit.

Temari sat down next to Shikamaru, gently sipping on the tea as his mother stared at her with a smile.

"So, how did you meet?" She asked, as the younger couple stared at each other.

"We," Shikamaru bit down on his lip, swallowing a gasp as Temari stepped onto his foot.

"We met at a friend's party."

Technically it's true, if it wasn't for Ino and Kankuro's respective insistence, they wouldn't have ended in the club that night, and he wouldn't have spilled his beer all over her.

Shikamaru frowned and nodded, eyeing her and his parents, his father smiled thoughtfully.

"That's great," she smiled. "Dinner's almost ready now, I'll shout for you guys when it's done."

His father uttered a sound of agreement. Temari stood up.

"I think I'm gonna go help out Mrs. Nara in the kitchen," before Shikamaru could say anything, she walked away and followed his mother.

His father cleared his throat and blinked at Shikamaru. "I'm surprised, Shikamaru."

"Huh?"
"You don't seem like the flashy type, dating someone as high-profile as a movie star." He sighed softly and smiled. "I thought you'd date someone more like-"

"She's more than that, much more," he smiled, cutting his father off.

"Remember what you said before when you're still little," his father smiled fondly.

"I do," he chuckled. "I guess I've grown up, and I've found my answer to that stupid question I asked you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru smiled as Temari and Yoshino emerged from the kitchen. "Why you married mom."

They settled down around the dinner table - his mother was obviously pleased, he cooked him his favourite meal - char-grilled mackerel with pickled vegetables and rice on the side.

"Dig in, it's just an ordinary family meal, sorry for it being shabby." His mother was really, really happy.

Temari obliged as the hosts began to eat.

"It's really good, Mrs. Nara."

"Oh, just call me Yoshino!" She giggled happily, pouring her husband another glass of beer.

Temari nodded, she froze for a moment as Shikamaru took her hand beneath the table. She slapped him gently on the knee, but he took her hand again.

"You look so cute when you're nervous," he smirked.

"Nara Shikamaru," Temari said with a smile, her eyes glinted with deadly intent. "When we finish dinner, I'll have you murdered."

A shudder went down his back as he retracted his hand and buried his face in his meal.

The maids cleared the table as they sat in the living room.

"The mochis you bought are really delicious, Temari," Yoshino complemented and Temari smiled at her.

"Shikamaru mentioned that you like sweets, and Mr. Nara like tea, so I brought you tea leaves and mochi."

"You don't have to, no next time," Yoshino winked and laughed. Shikaku smiled in agreement.

Shikamaru found Temari staring at his parents fondly, there was a smile on her face, but the expression she had was not happiness, something was missing.

He held her hand and stared at her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired," she smiled back at him.

"Do you want to go home?" He looked concerned, smiling at her.

"Oh, Temari," Yoshino arched an eyebrow as she stared at the clock. "It's already almost nine, don't worry, Shikamaru will take you home."

He nodded as she stood up after him.

"It's great meeting you," she nodded at his parents.

His father cleared his throat and smiled at her. "Do come more often, Temari-san."

"Please do! I will make your favourite dish next time," Yoshino smiled, she held her hand at the doorway.

"Thank you very much," she smiled. "See you."

Shikamaru walked her to the car and opened the door for her.

"See, I told you they'll like you." He smiled as he drove.

Temari nodded, staring out of the window as the car flew by.

Shikamaru said nothing until they pulled up at the entrance of her apartment building.

She walked out of the car, Shikamaru followed her.

"Something's bothering you." He said, arching an eyebrow as she turned towards him.

"No," Temari looked away, encircling herself with her arms.

Shikamaru reached over and took her hand.

"It's not a question, I know." He blinked and stared into her green eyes.

Temari felt something warm, as if something was melting inside of her.

"Your parents," she could not help but smile at him. "They seem like really nice people."

She sighed softly. "I am a bit envious, I guess," she paused. "I wish I have parents like that."

He pulled her close to him and planted a kiss onto her forehead, Temari felt a strange surge of warmth as his lips lingered upon her.

He finally parted from her, smirking as his hand rested at her back.

"They can be your parents too."

Temari's face turned pink as she pushed him gently. "You-you wish!"

"Of course I do," he laughed and held her hand. "Come on, I will go up with you."

He pressed onto his car key and locked the door.

Unknown to them, hiding in the dark, lurks curious lens that targeted them, the sounds of the shutter almost a continuous hymn.

"This is gonna make me a fortune," muttered the paparazzo, who smiled as he looked at the photos he took.

Author's Note:

Another chapter! Sorry I've been busy and can't update as frequent as I wanted to ... I hope you enjoy this new chapter! I will try to update as much and as frequent as possible! Stay tuned xoxo

V.S.V