Chapter 52
Off to see Kakashi
Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru and Temari returned to the leaf village about mid afternoon. Hinata and Temari hadn't seen the village in a few weeks and were surprised at the progress.
"Look at how far they've come," Temari exclaimed, the village looked like it was over half way done. They continued walking through looking at the village until Hinata announced that she was going to head home to see her family.
"I need to see my father and my sister, if feels like I haven't seen them in such a long time." She said.
"I'll walk you," Naruto offered as he turned to go with Hinata, "See you guys later," he waved to Shikamaru and Temari.
Once they were gone Shikamaru and Temari were left alone together to talk about all that had happened and how to approach their plans for the future.
"Do you want to sit down for a minute and talk before we visit Kakashi?" He asked her.
"Yeah, it's probably a good idea to make a plan before we go in there, but there's something I wanted to talk about." She started. She was happy that Shikamaru didn't freak out when she dropped the 'M' word on him, it showed her that he really was serious about her. She also knew that if they did decide to be together this was an issue they would have to resolve before going any further, which was an added layer of complication. Although she felt secure that they would have a great relationship, she didn't want to just jump into getting married. She wanted to take her time to date him and get to know him better. She wasn't sure how to lay this out for Shikamaru.
"Sure, what's on your mind Temari," he asked her.
"I know this is a big step Shikamaru, for both of us. We seem like we haven't even started dating yet but we're practically engaged to be married." She was afraid to see a disappointed look on his face, but he didn't look disappointed at all.
"I was thinking the same thing," he said as a look of relief washed over Temari. "It's just that we have to deal with what's ahead before we can date, sorry it's such a drag Temari." He said.
"But we have to be sure before we present this course to your Hokage Shikamaru," She replied.
"I am sure Temari, I've looked at this several different ways. No matter how we approach this, we will always have to face this, whether it's now or later." He gave her a puzzled look, wondering what was on her mind.
"Is there any path that you considered that doesn't have a 'we' involved…" she looked like she was deep in thought.
"No, there isn't. Look Temari, if you've changed your mind…" he started, wondering if she thought she had made a mistake.
"I haven't changed my mind, I just wanted to make sure that we want the same thing. I want to have a chance to date you, I don't want to just jump into this. I'm sure it's what I want eventually, and to know that you see the same thing for us is good." She smiled at him.
"Are we ready to see Kakashi now?" He asked her, standing up.
"No, I have a few more questions for you first." She sat rooted in place.
He sat back down and was ready to listen.
"Where will I be staying since I might be here on a permanent basis? Will your villagers accept this? What about your mom?" She asked, he could hear a little panic in her voice.
"Hey, we will work those details out with Kakashi, but you will have a place before the end of the night, and the villagers will gladly accept you. You helped in the alliance and came back to spearhead rebuilding our village. As for my mom, let me talk to her, okay, and then we can have dinner together so she can meet you." He replied as he held out his hand for hers.
She placed her hand in his and he pulled her up from her seat. He held her hand as they walked through the village and over to see Kakashi, the 6th Hokage.