Inspired by The classical channel on Pandora.
Next part of the story..before you flame yes it's in Temari's POV, but this isn't a Shikatema story and this will explain why..if you don't like it then don't read it. Flames will be ignored:)!
The sand is swirling around in the wind, spraying her legs harshly as if to distract her from the aching in her chest. She looks out of their bedroom window and leans against the frame. The whistling and whipping of the curtains distract her from the thoughts racing in her head and she crumples the letter in her palm.
"I'll be late, don't wait up."
It's their wedding night and she is alone after a beautiful ceremony. She reaches up to stroke her lips softly, she can still feel his lips against her own and it makes her heart flutter. She frowns as she looks over to the perfectly made bed; with its silky sheets and pillow shams, around the bed frame lace curtains billow and twist in the air, rose petals whisking up and out the open window. She walks out onto the balcony to watch the sand swirling around like tiny tornados, the moon casts a blue hue down and for a moment the desert looks like the ocean.
She doesn't know how long she stayed up to wait for him, after all it is their wedding night and she has planned something special, but she wakes up when she is placed onto the bed by her husband. Temari smiles up at him sleepily, and blushes because of what she is wearing. He doesn't seem to notice the red lace bra and matching lace underwear as he pulls his arms from beneath her. She bites her bottom lip and grabs the sleeves of his button down dress shirt, and she looks up at him with large eyes.
"I'm tired." he drawls out as she sits up, her hands clutching his sleeves tighter.
"But it's our wedding night," she says quietly, which is totally unlike her in every way. She is usually loud and out spoken with him, direct and forward, but she can't muster the courage for that now. Not when he looks at her with such a uncaring gaze. "Shouldn't we be celebrating." She bites her lip and pulls him gently onto the bed, he doesn't put up too much of a fight, but he isn't very cooperative either.
In frustration tears start to form at the edges of her eyes, and she frowns when her kisses and touches don't elicit a response.
"I'm trying to make love to you and you aren't even interested." She cries and pounds her fist against his chest, which makes him crack open one of his closed eyes to inspect her. "I want you to touch me, Shikamaru."
"I'm just tired." He tries to reassure her with a fake smile. Temari looks over at him with a small scowl that makes him laugh, and he strokes her arm awkwardly and coaxes her to lay down before doing so himself.
"Tomorrow then?" She asks quietly, his back is turned to her but she knows he isn't asleep yet. She scoots forward and curls against his back. He doesn't fight her when she wraps an arm around his waist, but he doesn't try to hold her hand back when she slips it inside of his.
This isn't what Temari imagined marriage to be like.
Every night is spent in the same manner, with a reluctant husband and a pleading wife. But he becomes less gentle about his rejection with time.
During the day he is off handling political matters and planning strategies and revising theories, and he stays gone well into the night. Every night he promises that he will give her what she wants whenever he is no longer tired, but Temari doesn't know when that day will come.
As she walks down the streets of Sunagakure she smiles at the people passing by. She is proud of her husband because he has made her village safe and secure, she is proud of his achievements and is honored to be his wife. People turn to her with reverence not only because her brother is the Kazikage, but because her husband is the reason for their increasing happiness. As she approaches the Kage's tower she looks up toward the balcony and sees her brother and her husband looking down over the sandy plains. She turns and looks to where Shikamaru is pointing and she wonders what it is they're discussing. Probably some way of improving security, or more plans to expand the village perimeter to allow more housing, Shikamaru is always thoughtful in these ways. She smiles and waves up at them when they look her direction, and she receives a nod from them both.
With a bounce in her step she makes her way up the tower stairs to see them, of course her own duties are similar to Shikamaru's, but only when they are sent to different locations as representatives. She also acts as an advisor along with her younger brother Kankuro, but Gaara has been consulting her husband more often lately. When she enters The Kage's office she sits in her husband's chair and looks over a few documents, and that's when she discovers a letter. It isn't signed and is completely blank on the envelope, but when she opens it the scent of flowers wafts up into her face.
Oh! I forgot to mention in my last letter that the fawns are doing well and are growing to be big and strong, I suppose that's to be expected. All of the deer are alive and well, except for two bucks that were fatally wounded during the rut season. Anyways, Your mother says she misses your help on the farm, and we also miss you dearly. When are you coming home to visit? From your last letter it seems like you're in dire need of a reprieve. We're waiting here patiently for you to return.
The boys have started to walk now, it's so hard to chase after all three at a time, but thankfully enough Chouji is a great retriever, and your mother likes to stop by and help out too. We are going to stay with mom for a few more months, that is until I can afford my own apartment. I wish you'd stop sending us money though Shikamaru..please stop.
Anyways I included a family photo we had taken on their first birthday. I'm sorry that you couldn't make it, but don't be upset over it.
Temari stared at the curving script for a long moment before looking back into the envelope. A small photo was tucked between a piece of parchment. On it sat a woman with her three sons sitting in her lap. All of the boys had their eyes half lidded, but the one in the middle was giving an incredibly large yawn, while the other two seemed to be already half asleep. She smiled as she placed the photo back in place. The children were beautiful and just adorable, but something made her feel a pang of jealousy. She knew that the woman used to be his teammate, but why did Shikamaru write to her? It was innocent enough, but this letter seemed to be a response, and in the beginning she had mentioned that she had forgotten to include this information in her previous letter. In the pit of her stomach, a strange feeling began to sprout. Before she could be discovered she placed the letter back into the envelope and resealed it, placing it in the same area at she had found it in, and began to look through the various plans on his desk. After all, she had every right to look through his things. She was his wife as well as a representative to her nation.
It was that night that Shikamaru came home that Temari suggested that they try to have a child. The elders had been hounding her for months already, but each time she would tell them she just wasn't ready yet.
Shikamaru would give her a look, but didn't make a comment when this would come up during a meeting. She knew it would embarrass him if she told them the truth, so she lied.
"I want a child." She told him, she was pulling on her pajamas with her back turned to him, but she knew what expression he was giving her.
"I'm too busy, the village is in a tough spot right now and your brother needs my full attention."
Temari scowled as she turned towards him, "You act like you're the one who would be carrying it around and caring for it."
It was Shikamaru's turn to scowl at her, and his expression made her back away. He sat on the bed and covered his legs with the sheets before replying.
"You act like it's your sole responsibility. Being a parent is more than selfish desire."
Temari scoffed and laid down in the bed, ripping the sheets off of him and curling them around her body. "How would you know what being a parent is like? I practically raised my brothers when my mother died! You don't think I know sacrifice? Who are you to say that I want a child only for my own benefit? The elders want us to have a child too if you've forgotten!"
Shikamaru glowered at her and started to respond before shutting his mouth, Temari glared over at him as he grabbed the corner of the sheet and jerked his rightful half back.
"I don't understand why you don't want to make love to me," she mumbles. "why are we even married?" She starts to cry as she turns over, and she hears him shift uncomfortably on the matress. Crying usually gets her what she wants with him(besides with this one issue), he can't take it when a woman cries, and he usually gives in to whatever she desires.
"Just give me a little more time," He says quietly and his hand is awkwardly stroking her shoulder like always. His touches are forced and foreign. The only time he has even remotely showed any sign of affection was when he kissed her on their wedding day, but even now Temari is questioning whether or not he did that willingly. "I promise I'll give you a child soon...just wait."
And then his hand is gone and he has turned away from her, and his breath is falling in an evenness that means sleep has consumed him.
Temari decides then that she can wait, he is a busy man, so she could wait a little longer.
It's their one year anniversary and he forgot all about it, which suits Temari fine. She is lounging on the bed when he stumbles into the dark room. He looks confused by all of the lit candles scattered about the room as he walks towards the light switch. He closes the door behind him and tries to make his way through the dark. Temari smiles and quietly gets off the matress. She walks up behind him and slips her arms around his waist, her hands sliding up his chest. His hand stops short of the switch and he groans. She pulls him towards the bed and gives him a gentle shove to make him fall back onto the matress. She smiles at his scowl, his face dancing with shadow in the dimly lit room.
"Do you know what today is?" She asks quietly as she straddles his lap. He looks up at her obliviously as she starts to unzip his vest, he doesn't let her remove it but she doesn't mind. It's farther than he usually lets her go. She can tell by the look that suddenly crosses his features that he has finally figured out his mistake.
"I'm sorry." He says that but his voice betrays him. He isn't sorry at all.
"It's been a full year since we got married and you haven't kept your promise Shikamaru."
He frowns up at her and averts his eyes. "I'm not ready."
Temari smiles down at him sadly, "I am. I've been ready for a long time." She begins to move her hips in small circles, her arousal causing her to gasp and moan ontop of him. When his hands come up to grasp her she feels an immeasurable happiness bubble in her heart. "You don't have to do anything," She whispers as she leans in to capture his lips in a hungry kiss, but he doesn't reciprocate her actions. This doesn't deter her however, as she has faced his defenses before. "I'll do all the work baby, please." She whimpers as she kisses down his cheek to his chin, but is shoved gently off of him.
"I'm not ready to raise children yet."
Temari frowns at him and sits up huffing, her hair in disarray.
"You won't have to do anything," she pleads with him, but he moves to the other side, on the edge of the bed he starts to take off his sandals without answering her. "I'll do everything!" She shouts as she stands up on her knees and crawls toward him. She wraps her arms around his neck and presses her body to his back. Her hands pull off his vest and his shirt for him and she crawls back, pulling him to lay down. "Who said we even had to have children right away? I can take medicine for that. I don't understand why you don't want me...am I not beautiful enough?"
"You're plenty beautiful." He answers truthfully.
"Then why don't you want me? You've never even tried to touch me!" She grabs his hand and places it on her breast. "What would you like me to do?" She drops his hand and runs her fingers through her hair. "Do you want me to grow out my hair? Is short hair ugly to you? I'll do it if that's what you want." She maneuvers herself around so that she is straddling him again. "Do you want to be in control? You can do whatever you want to me Shikamaru." Her voice is desperate and pleading as she looks down at his handsome face. "You haven't tried to touch me once...is there...something wrong down there?" She asks as she starts to unbutton his pants.
She has never gotten this far, and as she slides off of his lap to pull his pants down to his ankles she blushes, the first penis she has ever seen. It's kind of small and limp, not like she had imagined them to be at all. And Shikamaru cries out in surprise when she takes it gently into her hand and begins to lightly stroke it. It starts to harden in her hand and she gasps in surprize when it weeps into her palm. It's grown quite large in only a matter of moments, and Shikamaru is gasping and groaning as she pumps his length.
"Does this feel good?" She asks quietly as she watches the skin moving over and back with her ministrations. His member jerks in her hand and the wild smell is almost intoxicating. She leans forward to give it an experimental lick, and that's when Shikamaru pulls away from her and makes his way to their bathroom where he locks himself in for almost half an hour. Temari can hear the water running, but no steam curls out from the crack under the door. She lays on the bed and tries to release the feeling of tightness in her core, but her own hands aren't enough so she gives up and turns onto her side. She falls asleep shortly before he exits the bathroom and climbs into the bed.
They're visiting Konoha for the first time since their marriage. It's been three years since her husband has set foot in his home village. He smiles when the gates come into view, and Temari feels happy for him. She's happy that he is smiling, even if it isn't because of her. When they enter the gates they're greeted by Kotetsu and Izumo, Temari doesn't know their names, but Shikamaru calls out to them and they exchange a few words.
It doesn't take long for them to check in with Naruto at the Hokage tower, and soon they're on their way to the Nara household. They are walking down the central street, the largest and most direct path to his home, when three blonde haired boys run out from a shop on the corner. They laugh and scream as they chase each other, but suddenly they turn and their faces light up.
"Baa-chan!" They scream as they run past Temari, and she can't help but to look back to whoever it is they are shouting for. A woman in her late forties bends down to embrace them, her short strawberry blonde hair covering her face.
At her side, Shikamaru stiffens. She looks over at him and gives the arm wrapped around hers a gentle squeeze, and that's when she sees her. Her blonde locks falling over her right eye, her arm raised in greeting. Shikamaru just stares at her for a long time before raising his own hand for a small wave, and Temari starts to feel a familiar twinge in the pit of her stomach.
The blonde jogs over to them and smiles brightly, and Temari can't help but smile back at her, after all...it isn't like she's done anything.
"Temari." Ino bows and gives a strange smile, it doesn't meet her eyes and seems practiced.
"Yamanaka." Temari says with a slight bow, and she watches the woman like a hawk as she greets her husband.
"Shika."
Temari grits her teeth at the casual sound, like it is an every day meeting...like it is instinct to seem so comfortable, but after all..they were teammates for years. She looks over at her husband who gives a small smile, it's genuine and he looks...happy. His eyes are shining and he even seems excited to see her, but that's to be expected, right? It's been over three years since he has returned to his home.
"Ino, it's good to see you."
And then Temari is forgotten as they fall into a conversation about the people and the places that she has no idea about. The children and the older woman come to join them. The boys hide behind their mother, and Temari can't help but to think that there is something familiar about them, something she should notice. She is in the middle of half of a realization when she is interrupted, and she forgets about it immediately.
"Temari," Ino says as she turns to her, and emerald eyes meet teal ones for the first time since their meeting. "Would you and Shikamaru like to join us for dinner? It isn't much, but we'd be happy to have your company."
Temari looks over at her husband, who is staring at the blonde with a confused expression, and nudges him slightly to get his attention. "Don't we need to go see your mother? I'm sure she would like to see you on your first day back in the village." but Temari doesn't care about that really, she just wants the uneasiness in her heart to fade away, she wants to get away from the woman and her multitude of children. She looks up at Ino with an apologetic smile, "Maybe another day? We will be here for a few weeks."
"Of course!" Ino says as she blushes and nods, "I totally forgot that you two would be busy."
Out of the corner of her eye she sees her husband's smile falter, and the small victory starts to leave a bitter taste in her mouth.
After saying their goodbyes they head for the Nara complex once again, Shikamaru's smile does not return for the remainder of the walk..
Yoshino Nara answers the door with a bright smile, and she embraces her daughter-in-law with a warm hug. When she disengages her smile wilts into a frown as she reaches up to tug on her sons ear and scold him for not coming home more often.
"Maaaaa.." Shikamaru grumbles as he is released, he rubs his ear and Temari suppresses a giggle as they're led inside.
"Your bags arrived around noon and I expected you here much earlier!" The older woman says as she leads them down a long hallway, they come to a flight of stairs and head up to the second floor. Yoshino carries a lantern as to light the hallway, and with Shikamaru's help, hangs it up in the middle of the ceiling on a hook, so that the corridor was sparsely lit. "Sorry about the darkness, but Shikaku never got around to installing the electricity on this level." Her smile is sad and Temari touches her shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't worry about it," she says softly because just the mention of her deceased father-in-law is enough to shroud the house in a palpable depression. "When I was growing up sand storms prevented our village from having electricity for many years. Infact, most of my nights were spent in candle light."
Yoshino nods to her and gives a soft sigh before turning back down the corridor, there's really no need to say anything more. They begin to walk down the hallway when Temari almost trips, she gives a startled cry as she reaches out to grab ahold of anything near. Beside her, Shikamaru reaches over to grab her elbow. It startles her at first, but then she realizes that the hallway is warped and the floor is uneven, so she doesn't reprimand him for keeping her steady.
"Careful." He says quietly, but sternly enough that she can tell she has annoyed him. She swears that she hears him whisper something along the lines of "troublesome."
She scowls at him and pulls her elbow free, and instead decides to use the wall as support. She can tell that this has aggravated him more, but she knows he won't say anything to her about it. He never says much of anything to her.
They reach their room shortly, and his mother informs them that she already made Konohamaru (who delivered the bags to her home earlier) bring the bags up to the room.
"I'll leave you two to get comfortable," she says with a smile, before turning to her son." Dinner will be ready in an hour and you'd better come down washed up and ready to help out."
Shikamaru groans as he ushers his mother out of the room, and Temari places a hand over her mouth to hide her smile.
"Maybe I should ask your mother for some pointers over dinner," she says quietly, but she knows he can hear her. "Then maybe I could get you to help out around the house."
He gives her a grunt before putting his bag on the bed. He immediately starts to toss his clothes into a large dresser resting against the wall. It's hard to see in the room, but her eyes begin to adjust and she can see the large queen sized bed pushed against the wall, a large window with wooden blinds nestled behind the head board. Across the room is the door the entered through, and the large dresser is situated on the other side of the bed. It isn't too big of a room, but it serves it's purpose well enough.
Ignoring her bag Temari crawls onto the matress and leans against the head board. She reaches up and twists the blinds so that the fading sunlight can illuminate the room. Her husband's shadow dances and flickers as he moves about the room, and Temari watches his every movement closely. His shoulders are slumped and relaxed, the muscles in his arms less tense than usual, and even his face has lost it's usual tightness. This is more like the man she married three years ago, the relaxed and always in control man, and not the stressed tense mess that she has come to know as of late. Her heart swells as she takes in the sight, it's something she hasn't seen for a while.
She stands up from the bed and walks around to his side, where she touches his arm softly. He turns towards her and looks at her expectantly.
"I'm happy that you're glad to be home." She says as she leans up to kiss his cheek, and she embraces him for a moment before turning towards the door. "I'll go help your mom, you just relax."
She misses the look of confusion that crosses his features as she walks out the door, but in that moment all of her anxiety is washed away, because Shikamaru looks relieved.
She makes her way slowly down the stairs, and after a few wrong turns she finds the kitchen. It has been quite a few years since her last visit to this home, and the size of it always makes her a little disoriented. Although the Naras are not one of the most prominent clans of the village, they still have quite a bit of land. Most of their property is devoted to the deer that they raise, but this house is quite large. She smiles at Yoshino as she enters the kitchen, and she washes her hands before turning to the woman. She admires the quaintness of the room, with its soft yellow walls and old lace accents. It's one of those country kitchens that one can adore, but not really desire in their own home, or at least that is Temari's opinion.
A long oval table is situated over by the back door, with six chairs placed around the edges. Black and white photographs are hung up sparsely around the room, and Temari walks over to one that catches her eye. There are four people in the photo, three young children and a man with dark hair and a cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. She immediately recognizes her husband and his blonde teammate, and the chubby boy beside them seems quite familiar too. She smiles as she touches the dusty glass and rubs it clear. Her husbands scowl makes her laugh quietly, but something about the photo strikes a nerve, so she turns away from it.
"You come here to help or not?" Yoshino asks loudly, to which Temari can only smile nervously and nod.
They fall into a rhythm of moving around each other. Setting plates and utensils and dishing out food. They don't really talk much, unless Temari asks for direction, but that's okay. Temari likes that Yoshino doesn't tip toe around her, it's refreshing. When the table is finally set Temari walks up the stairs to retrieve her husband, and she find him fast asleep on their bed. She smiles as she walks quietly up to his side of the bed and sits down, leaning over to look at him tenderly. He looks so sweet when he is sleeping, she thinks to herself as she places a hand on the matress by his shoulder. She leans forward and kisses his forehead, and he grunts at her quietly. He is still asleep, she knows because his breathing hasn't changed yet, and she reaches up with one of her hands to stroke his hair softly.
"Wake up." She says softly, and he leans into the warmth of her hand. These are the few moments that she receives his affection, and she treasures them dearly, even if he does it unknowingly in his sleep.
She leans down again to kiss his lips softly, and his eyes flutter open and immediately he is staring up at her unintelligibly.
"It's time to eat." She says just as his mother begins to shout from the kitchen for him to "get his lazy butt down stairs", and Temari laughs when he rolls his eyes and groans loudly. He doesn't make a move to get up though, because she is leaning over him still, and after a few moments his eyebrows knit together.
Temari sighs and leaves the room before she has to explain that she has fallen more in love with him in that moment before he opened his eyes...he is a completely different person when he is asleep.
During dinner the topic of children comes up, and Temari shifts uncomfortably in her chair. Shikamaru just dodges the questions easily with an excuse or total ignorance, but the way his mother looks at him makes her feel ashamed.
"It's not his fault," Temari says quietly, which makes both of the dark haired persons at the table look over at her. "It's mine..so please don't hassle him about it."
Yoshino starts to give her a haughty retort, but instead her face softens sadly. For the first time that night, the older woman keeps her thoughts to herself.
When they finally retire for the night Temari changes into her pajamas in the adjoining restroom. She looks at her reflection in the mirror. She strokes her two long pigtails thoughtfully, and she contemplates leaving them up so that she won't have to fix her hair tomorrow., but she pulls them down. It's been almost three years since she stopped cutting her hair, and it falls down to her waist easily as she runs her fingers through it.
She misses her old hair style, but she keeps it long because she has observed Shikamaru's distaste for short haired girls. He thinks they are trying to be too boyish, he said that once..or something along those lines. She turns her head from left to right and admires herself. She likes the way she looks, more like a woman and less like a spike haired child. She smoothes her hands over her silky tank top and adjusts her sleeping shorts before walking out to the bedroom.
She notices how his eyes flicker over to her for a moment, and he lowers his book slightly when she climbs onto the bed. She knows he is expecting her to pounce on him (like she usually would), but she doesn't. He looks over at her as she tucks herself within the sheets and says,
"You look different."
Temari turns onto her side and glances up at him, and he lifts an eyebrow at her.
"What do you mean?"
He scowls and turns back to reading his book, but not too long afterwards he says, "Your hair..it's nice."
Temari smiles and inches towards him, and by the stiffening of his body she knows he has noticed.
"Don't worry," she says as she wraps an arm around his middle. "I'm not going to jump you."
His body doesn't relax however, and she sighs as she pulls away from him. She turns away as she closes her eyes, and if he responds or even cares that she has pulled away..she doesn't know it. She is fast asleep in moments.
They are walking down the street three days later when they bump into Ino again just outside her apartment, but this time there is a man with her. He seems quite familiar to Temari, but she doesn't know who he is until her husband embraces him.
"Hey Chouji."
"Shikamaru! How've you been?" Chouji asks as they pull away from each other.
Temari smiles at him and bows when he turns to her, and she blushes when he compliments her hair. "Thank you, Chouji-San." She says, and she can tell by the look he gives her that he is surprised. She knows why he thinks she is acting strange, she even thinks that she is too. Before her marriage she was blunt and opinionated..but these few years of silence and solitude...these years of self consciousness have changed her. She feels like a breeze now, instead of a slicing wind.
Ino smiles at everyone and invites them in. "The boys are napping so we will have grown up time."
Temari is led on by the three, although she desires to be anywhere but the platinum blonde's home.
They walk up the rusty metal stairs and Temari bites her lip, she doesn't know why her stomach is deciding to revolt against her. Her head starts to swim with vertigo when they reach the door, and she steadies herself on her husband's arm. She doesn't know why her body feels so strange, but she feels like she is going to be sick everytime she looks at Ino. Beside her, Shikamaru casts her a strange look, one more of curiosity that concern, but Ino reaches out and touches her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" She asks quietly, there is genuine concern in her eyes..and something else resides there too. Temari simply nods and releases her hold on Shikamaru, but she doesn't miss the look that is passed between them.
They enter the house and are invited to sit down. It's a nice and cozy sized apartment. The walls are painted a pale lime green, and the furniture is a soft beige. White lacey curtains accent the windows and pictures clutter the walls and every available surface. They are all photos of Ino's children, and Temari starts to feel an aching in her chest. She doesn't want to be here, she doesn't want to sit here, all she wants is to go home. But Shikamaru wants to be here, it's obvious by the way he talks to his former teammates.
Temari sits quietly and only speaks when she is spoken to. She knows she is being childish, but she feels jealous of this woman; the woman who can make her husband smile, the woman who has lots of pictures, the woman who has children. Temari bites her lip and tries to suppress her resentment. It isn't right of her, but she is so jealous of this woman's life. Even though she has no husband she has three wonderful children, and Temari has a husband and not a child of her own.
In the background Ino is asking everyone if they want tea, but Temari declines only with a shake of her head. She hears Shikamaru tell her that he would like a cup, and she glances over at him with a raised brow. He hates tea, absolutely dislikes it..or so she thought. She watches him take the cup from their host's hands, and she doesn't miss how his fingers brush against hers affectionately. It's the last straw, she doesn't know if she is imagining things..or if everything is suddenly becoming clear.
Anger swells up in her breast and she suddenly stands, looking down at him with eyes slanted. She is almost on the verge of tears when she turns to Ino, who seems quite shocked.
"I've got to go," she says as she crosses the room swiftly. "I don't feel well." Which isn't what she wants to say at all. She wants to speak all of her suspicions and her envy and her dislike, but that's not something she can force herself to do now. At one time she would've spoken out against him, both of them, but now...she just can't. Before the door closes she hears a man's voice, Chouji's, ask Shikamaru if she will be alright.
"She'll be fine." He says right before the door is shut, and tears fall from her eyes.
She walks down the road without caring who sees the tears, not many people are out and walking about anyway. When she reaches the Nara property she turns off of the road and wanders into the woods. She runs through branches and bushes and thorns without stopping, without feeling the pain that they cause her. Suspicion and jealousy are the seeds that bubble out from her mind and take root in her heart. She shouts suddenly and grabs a stick, hitting it against the things she passes in a blind fury. Her husbands reluctant attitude! The expressions of those children! The secrets behind Ino's eyes! The pictures! The letters! Her arms and legs are bleeding from being scraped against the thick under brush, but she doesn't care. She falls to her knees when she finally breaks through in a large clearing, oblivious to the hundreds of eyes watching her from the shadows. Her hands sink into the tall grass as she cries and releases the contents of her stomach, the fowl smell making her vomit again and again until she is only heaving. She lays down into the softness of the grass, her only comfort is the sweet smell of flowers wafting over the fowl stench of her bile, she cries herself into unconsciousness, unable to get up from her overexertion of blind fury.
She wakes up when she is being nudged harshly in the back, and she weakly turns towards her aggressor. Wide brown eyes blink at her, big lashes flutter as the beast brings it's hoove down to prod her again. Temari slowly sits and looks at the fawn in awe, her hand reaching out to touch it's soft fur. She pets it's nose and smiles when it licks and grabs her hand with it's lips.
"I'd be careful if I were you," A woman's voice calls from behind, Temari turns to see her mother-in-law approaching her. "Mothers are very protective of their young and will attack if they're unfamiliar with you." Her weathered hand is held infront of Temari's face and she takes it into her own dirty one. "You're such a mess." She fusses as she helps her up, and everything starts to rush back to her at once. She had almost forgotten why she was out there in the first place. "From the way you were screaming I suppose you've finally discovered my son's secret, or at least you were starting to."
Temari looks into the deep brown eyes of Yoshino in shock, and she starts to sputter as the woman pats her shoulder softly. "I'll tell you everything." The older woman says, and suddenly Temari's heart ways a thousand pounds and her legs won't move. Tears start to fall from her eyes as the words sink into her bones. Shikamaru's secret? Before she can voice all of her fears and suspicions Yoshino is speaking.
"They've always been in love," her eyes are glazed in thought, and Temari's heart clenches at her words. "They didn't know it at first, but I suppose that's how it always is. Who knows when they figured it out, but if you do the math it looks like those children were made before you were even engaged. I knew my son was acting strangely when we gave him the news...I should've known that it was something...that it wasn't just his normal attitude. I was blind to it, and for that I apologize. I should've stopped this whole mess before it even started, but I was thinking of my son's future. I wanted to do what was best for him. I figured out that Ino's children were my grand children after the two of you were married. Infact, I even feel like an idiot for not seeing it sooner. I should've known, all I should've done was just really take a look at them. Now it's so obvious that almost everyone in the village can see it, but what I wanted to tell you was that it happened before you. Please don't throw your marriage away because of something that happened before your engagement. Shikamaru can never take that back, and his feelings for his children...and maybe even his feelings for Ino will never change, but I want you to think about this before you do anything irrational: Why is he still married to you? My son never does anything that he doesn't believe is right. Even if he doesn't love you..there is a reason that you two are married. You should talk with him about this, but don't do it while you're upset."
Temari nods in understanding, but still the feelings inside of her heart claw at her. They tell her to be angry, but looking at his mother..taking a breath and really analyzing the situation before her, she realizes that it's out of her power to change. "He isn't much of a talker." She finally says, and Yoshino wraps an arm around her and leads her towards the house without a comment on that, because she had eighteen years with him before he was married, and she knew that from the moment he said his first word.
"Let's get you cleaned up." She says instead, and Temari gives a dry laugh as she looks down at her dirty hands. She can smell her vomit and sweat and it is almost enough to make her sick again, so she doesn't argue.
In the bathroom Temari sinks her nose down into the water, and closes her eyes. She tries to push the information out of her head, but still it lingers. The anger and resentment..the jealousy...it isn't gone, and she doesn't know how she is going to face him when he arrives, but she decides that she isn't going to loose her husband now. She will fight for him, and those are her last thoughts before she leaves the tub and gets dressed. Yoshino calls her down for dinner, Shikamaru mustve arrived sometime during her three hour bath. She sits across from her husband and doesn't look at him, but she can suppress her anger enough that the meal is pleasant.
As they lay in bed with all of the lights out she whispers over her shoulder, " We're going home in three days after we have our meeting with the council." Her tone leaves no room for argument, and she goes to sleep for the first time since their arrival without suspicion filling her heart.
Instead it is filled with a stubbornness and a desire to become everything he could want in a wife, and with her mind set on this goal: she sleeps soundly.
Its on the last night that Temari wakes up alone, and she reaches out to feel the cool sheets. Immediately she thinks that he has gone to the restroom, but there isn't even the faintest bit of light coming from beneath the door. She sits up and then swings her legs over the side of the bed. Quietly she reaches for her bathrobe, she'd hate for his mother to see her in her less than appropriate pajamas (not that they do anything to inspire her husband), so she wraps it around herself as she exits the bedroom. After searching the whole second floor she decides to try the kitchen because sometimes he slips out of bed to find something sweet, but he isn't in the kitchen. A strange sense of urgency fills her heart and she reaches out with her senses, trying to locate his chakra. She is very familiar with it, and when she senses it coming from the forest behind the house her heart begins to settle down, that is before she realizes that there is another chakra signature nearby. What if he is being attacked? She wonders as his chakra flares up. Forgetting that she has no weapons on her person she dashes out the back door, bare foot and robe flapping in the harsh wind. It looks like it is going to rain by the way the clouds are rumbling and moving quickly across the sky. When she reaches the forest she hops into the trees and suppresses her chakra, she wants the element of surprise if she is going to have to attack any enemy. It is when the rain starts to fall and she stops to rest under the cover of a thick branch that she spots her husband. His back is turned to her and he is slightly hunched over, but he is moving slightly, and she reaches her hand up to hold in her shocked scream.
Anger boils up in her heart and she reaches down for her kunai pouch, only to find that her leg is bare. She bites her lip as hard as she can, drawing blood as the two figures wrestle on the forest floor. She can see a wave of platinum blonde hair as they seperate for a moment, and she can hear the faint sound of voices but they are unintelligible over the sound of the pouring rain. Disgust and hatred fill up her heart and she clenches her fists as angry tears fall down her face. Not able to watch for a moment longer she bounds back towards the house blindly, she shirks off the soaked robe and leaves it to hang uselessly on a forgotten branch, and that's when she realizes that she is falling. She is just about to jump down to the ground before her foot slips, and she lands awkwardly on her side. The breath is forced out of her lungs when she hits the ground, and for a few moments she lays stunned in the cold wet grass before pushing herself up. Tears fall freely from her eyes as she curls up on herself. After a few moments her breath returns and she struggles to her feet, looking for all she is worth like she just stumbled away from death. She makes her way to the house and climbs the stairs, shivering and panting..completely ignoring his distraught mother.
"What happened?" She asks as she helps Temari up the stairs, but she won't speak.
Temari walks straight into the bathroom where Yoshino leans against the frame, she looks back at the empty bed for a moment before speaking.
"Did you have a fight?"
Temari wraps a towel around her head before wordlessly pushing past her mother-in-law to start packing her bags.
"I'm going to head out first." She says quietly, before she pulls her rain gear over her head.
"Are you insane? It's storming outside!" Yoshino moves to the door and closes it. "Just wait till tomorrow! Think this through!"
Temari shakes her head and brushes past the woman easily, her pack slung over her shoulder as she descends the stairs. When they reach the front door she bows to her. "Thank you for kindly inviting me to stay in your home." Before she made her way out.
Behind her Yoshino shouts out in frustration and slams the door, and Temari doesn't care what she does next. She doesn't care if Shikamaru ever follows her, she doesn't care if she ever makes it home, she just wants to get away.
The driving rain pelts her harshly for four hours as she traverses the fire country, and it takes her three days to arrive in Suna at top speed, she never once took a break.
Shikamaru arrived half a day after she had to find their home completely torn apart, and when he asked her about it she never even turned to him. She only sighed and looked away from him when he would sit down beside her, and she didn't leave the house for almost two months.
Then suddenly one day she decided that it was stupid for her to mope around, the extent of Shikamaru's curiousness had far passed, he didn't care about the damage he unknowingly caused her. He hardly returned home at night any longer, but instead decided to sleep at the office. So finally, Temari decided to get herself back together, she decided to follow through with her decision to make him fall in love with her. Set on changing her station, she began to slowly clean each part of the house, and throw away the things she had broken in her rage. It was during her cleaning that she decided that she wouldn't call him out on cheating on her, after all, she wasn't completely compassionless. She understood that he was in love with someone else, that she had torn him away from her unknowingly, but decided that it wasn't going to faze her. When she finished cleaning the house she put on one of her finer black kimonos and exited the house with full intention of bringing him home. It was late in the afternoon, and she walked into his office without knocking and without hesitation. Her brother Kankuro looked up at her as she entered, and immediately all conversation stopped.
"Leave." she said calmly to Kankuro, who scowled and crossed his arms over his chest defensively.
Before he could retort Shikamaru shifted in his chair and stood to lead him out, the brunette man with the purple tattoos on his face grumbled as he was escorted out the door. Shikamaru turned back to her expectantly, looking like he expected to be beaten and pummeled into the ground.
"Come home." She said, trying to sound as assertive as possible. She didn't want him to see how weak and powerless she really was, she wanted him to see how strong she wanted to be.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her as he made his way to his desk, and she followed him.
"Didn't you hear what I said?" She practically growled, which caused Shikamaru to stop in his tracks. "I said let's go home. Now."
To her surprise he stopped before he sat back down into his chair, and he turned towards her.
"Alright, troublesome."
Things went back exactly to normal between them when they finally settled down into their daily lives. She began to drop subtle hints that she was on to him, and he started to straighten himself up and try not to argue with her as much as possible. Temari felt that she was finally beginning to break through with him, and sometimes he would even return her hugs or even plant a kiss on her forehead. And although he would randomly be sent to Konoha to discuss treaty plans and meet with the council, Temari thought that maybe he was being faithful. That maybe he was starting to return her affection..
But it was only months later that Temari learned of Ino's second pregnancy.
So like I mentioned before this isn't ShikaTema so if you have any problems..don't read it. :)!
For the rest of you I hope you enjoyed this at least a little. Temari isn't that bad of a girl...although I agree that she isn't meant for Shikamaru. InoxShika foreverrrr:D. Longest chapter yet? I think so, lol.
To clarify things the next chapter is going to be about Shihoko, who is Ino and Shikamaru's DAUGHTER, if you're confused about this information please refer back to chapter one, :)! Shihoko is also the child Ino is pregnant with at the end of this very chapter.
Review if you liked, don't if you didn't.
if you see any errors or have any questions please consult me about them. :)
also I've changed my mind about the plot from how i saw it work out originally...so if some of the people who I discussed this story with get confused by future chapters...then I'm sorry but that's how it goes, lol.
Was this any good? Please let me know.