A/N: A little FYI - this fic is written in British English (I'm from the UK, you see...) but I'm using the American version of 'mum', i.e. 'mom', because in order to write Shikamaru as if he were speaking English, I imagine the dub (which obviously uses American voice actors). I hope this doesn't bother or confuse any of you! Enjoy this fluffy chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Shikamaru was still reeling from his first kiss with Temari, otherwise known as his first kiss full-stop. He couldn't believe he let her make the first physical move, but at least he'd finally bucked up the courage to make her officially his. And that was good enough for him.

This new aspect of their relationship had given him a million questions to think about. Should they hold hands? Do they tell their parents? What about Temari's imminent return to Suna? Everything was foreign to him.

He posed these ideas to her as he lay on the bed in her hotel room, his arms folded behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. Temari sat at her desk, in the middle of signing paperwork. "That's why you came here so early?"

"Well, it's new to the both of us," he reasoned. "I just wanted to check we were on the same page."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. No hand-holding or other PDA until we've told our families, I want them to hear it from us, not Naruto or Konoha's gossip column. As for my leaving…we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I have no immediate plans to go just yet."

He agreed, but didn't disguise his disappointment very well. He too didn't relish the idea of becoming the talk of the village, citing it as "far too troublesome", but he did want to hold her hand and plant unexpected kisses on her forehead and sling a lazy arm around her because she was finally his, and he couldn't begin to explain how that made him feel.

"Well, I'm sure my mom would love to meet y-"

"There's no need," she said quickly. "It's still early days. Let's just enjoy it for now, okay?"

He was surprised at how little she wanted to discuss the matter, but she made a good point. So for now, it was their little secret to keep.

"If that's what you want," Shikamaru smiled. "So, what do you want to do today?"

She looked at him blankly. "Well, I didn't realise you were coming over, so I have no idea. Honestly, I was just gonna spend the day finishing all these documents."

His face fell slightly, but he was careful not to make it apparent. "I guess I'll leave you to it, then."

"See you later," she said absently, absorbed in her work.

He got up to leave and began walking across to the door, then paused and turned to look at her. She was beautiful, whatever she was doing. A small piece of him hoped she would drop everything to spend time with him, but he knew full well she was a privilege, not an entitlement. He sighed quietly.

"Don't forget, there's a mee-"

Shikamaru interrupted that thought with his lips pressed against hers, softly and carefully. He had snuck up behind her chair, brushed his fingers against her chin and gently turned her face upwards to meet his. Temari's eyes widened in surprise, before she relaxed into the all-but-too-brief contact.

When they parted, she failed miserably to hide her reddening cheeks. "That was rude," she said, although her voice cracked with shyness and embarrassment.

"Sorry, what was it you were saying?" he grinned slyly.

"I…can't remember."

He laughed. "A kiss is all it takes, huh?"

She slapped his shoulder playfully. "I'll bet it was important, and then you'll regret it."

"Not for a second."

And with that, he waltzed out of her room, satisfied that he'd left her with something to think about.

It was nine-thirty when Shikamaru knocked on Temari's door again. This time, however, there was no response.

"Temari?" he called. Nothing.

After five minutes of waiting and saying her name outside the door, he was starting to get worried. With a little effort, he went over the roof of the apartment building and climbed down onto the balcony he remembered she had. The French doors were wide open; it wasn't like her to leave them unlocked once it was dark. Slowly, he crept into her room.

He exhaled in relief. There she was, slumped over her desk, having clearly fallen asleep on the job. Even though there was a sliver of drool from her lips and her face was unnaturally squished against the wood, she still looked so cute. Not that Shikamaru could ever describe her as that to her face, because she'd probably punch his lights out.

Silently, he lifted her out of her chair and set her down in her bed. She stirred slightly, then her soft, barely audible snoring resumed. Wow, Shikamaru thought. For a shinobi, she sure as hell sleeps deeply.

She'd stayed in the same casual, indoor attire all day, so he simply pulled the covers over her. As he reached to take out her hair ties in the hopes of making her more comfortable, her eyes snapped open.

"Who are you?!" she screamed, and without hesitating, she punched the intruder in the stomach.

"Eugh!" Shikamaru choked, doubling over and falling to his knees. He clutched his torso. "Goddammit, Temari, take it easy."

She gasped and sat up in her bed. "Holy crap, Nara! I'm so sorry, I didn't recognise you at first."

"Yeah, no kidding," he said, wincing at the pain. "Or is this how you greet all your boyfriends?"

She smiled apologetically. "Actually, you're the first."

He looked up from the ground momentarily and for a second forgot the throbbing impact of her fist. "Really?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't see why you're surprised," she smirked. "I'm not that much older than you. Besides, I've always been too busy training."

"But surely Princess Temari was courted by a few suitors in her time?" he replied, although in his head he really didn't enjoy the idea of some average-looking brat hitting on her. Or worse, a decent-looking brat. Who was rich.

She laughed. It was the most natural, musical sound. "Not so much courted as sent their files for review. Each of which I declined."

He finally summoned the energy to stand up and sit further down from her on her bed. "How come?"

"I told you, I wasn't interested in a relationship. I wanted to become stronger than any man, so why would I settle for someone who would believe for the rest of our lives that he was better than me? Or worse, that he owned me?" she looked down at her hands, which were fiddling together. "The elders, my brothers, the prospective husbands - it was only ever a business deal to them. For my whole life, I was expected to marry whoever the council wanted me to. I almost resigned myself to the idea of a loveless, purely political marriage."

"So…what made you change your mind?"

"Well, the reason I became Suna's ambassador was to help relations and organise the Chunin exams, but I also just wanted to escape the mounting pressure the elders were putting on me. Coming to Konoha every now and again for a month or so at a time took my mind off it, helped me re-focus on what was important. And somewhere along the way, I realised there's not much anyone can do to stop me making my own life decisions."

"That's all?"

She looked at him curiously. "What more do you expect me to say?"

He looked up at the ceiling. "Oh, I don't know…you came to Konoha, met a certain dashing young gentleman and fell head over heels in love with him."

She scoffed loudly. "You wish. You were a lazy, apathetic deadbeat back then. You still are in some ways."

He deliberately pulled a long face. "At least I never tried to destroy the village," he countered cheekily.

"Do you want me to punch you in the stomach again?"

He flinched. "No, ma'am."

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Well, I've spent the last two years keeping things friendly between our two villages, doesn't that count for something?"

"I guess," Shikamaru conceded. "But you're telling me that in all your years of having the higher-ups essentially advertise your chastity, not a single guy took your fancy?"

She shrugged. "Like I said, it's just a transaction to them. None of them went out of their way to prove they were interested in me, rather than my connections."

"No one in Konoha, either?"

"Yeah, let's get involved with the Kazekage's sister who once tried to Shukaku the Leaf Village into oblivion, that sounds like fun," she said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry," Shikamaru mumbled. "Do people still treat you like an outsider?"

"Of course," she responded automatically. "So long as I wear the Suna headband, I'll always get a few sceptical looks. But it's gotten much better, especially since the war alliance."

He looked straight into her eyes, trying to convey how serious he was through a mere expression. "You're one of us," he assured her. "You're important to Konoha. You're important…to me."

She felt another flush come on, but quickly suppressed it in favour of a smirk. "Who knew, the lazy, apathetic deadbeat is a romantic."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm trying, at least," he huffed. "Unlike you, who didn't even show up for our date this evening."

Suddenly Temari realised what the time was. "Ten…Shikamaru, I really am so sorry. I must've dozed off midway through my work, and so I didn't wake up in time, and then…" before she continued with her outpouring of remorse, she noticed for the first time this evening that he was in her room. "Wait a second. How the hell did you get in here?"

Crap, Shikamaru thought. Tread carefully. Your stomach is still fairly sensitive.

"When you didn't show up at nine like we agreed, I came here to see if you were around. I called for you, but obviously you were asleep, so I started getting worried that something had happened. I came in via the balcony doors which you'd left completely open, only to find you passed out at your desk from exhaustion. So I did the courteous thing and tucked you in to bed, only for you to attack me when I tried to let your hair down."

He waited anxiously for her to digest the information. Unexpectedly, she chuckled. "Didn't anyone ever tell you? Never mess with a girl's hair."

He shook his head derisively. "I was only trying to make you more comfortable. I know when I fall asleep with my ponytail in place, it hurts like hell the next morning."

"Doesn't matter. You wake the girl up and let her do it herself, or just leave her be."

"Women," he retorted. "Such troublesome creatures."

She took his hand in her own, to his surprise. "Thank you for putting up with my fatigue, and even transferring me to my bed. Really, it means a lot."

"It's okay. I know how hard you work. I would take a nap too, if I were you."

A hiccup of laughter escaped her throat. "I'll make it up to you, sometime. Let's do this dating thing right."

He nodded and got up from the bed. "Well, I better be going. You've had a long day, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Wait," she stopped him, hanging onto his hand. "Stay."

"Temari, it's getting late-"

"No, I don't mean stay a little longer. I mean stay the night."

He looked at her with a mixture of shock and confusion. "Why?"

"I feel bad for standing you up tonight," she explained. "As a result, I missed a really great time with my boyfriend. I'd like to claim those hours back now."

Shikamaru was conflicted. Though he knew nothing particularly intimate was going to happen, he still thought it spelled trouble…and then some. But with each passing second, he found it all the more difficult to leave. Maybe it was something to do with how amazing it sounded to hear her call him her "boyfriend". Or perhaps the fact that earlier she seemed indifferent as to whether he was here or not, and now she consciously desired his presence.

"What happened to 'doing this dating thing right'?" he smirked.

"Eh, we were never ones for rules, anyway."