This will be the last chapter of this story. Thank you for reading it and reviewing I hope you enjoyed it. Oh, and keep a lookout. There might be a sequel...

(Five Years Later)

Temari stared at her reflection in the mirror, not believing that the woman staring back was indeed herself. The pure white kimono was trimmed with light purple flowers around the hem and the sleeves. Her blonde hair was piled in a bun on top of her head with small ringlets cascading around her face. She had applied a light touch of make-up, something she almost never did. White sandals replaced the black ones she normally wore.
"Am I ready for this? I don't know if I am." Temari swallowed hard. Her stomach was in knots. Her palms were getting sweaty. For a second, she thought she was going to faint.
"Temari?"
The kunoichi turned around and was relieved to see her youngest brother, in the usual Kazekage garb, standing there. "Gaara. What are you doing back here? Is it time already?"
The redhead shook his head. "No, not yet. Ten more minutes."
"Oh..."
Gaara studied his sister for a moment. He had never seen her so nervous before. She was pacing back and forth, only pausing occasionally to peer in the mirror. "Sit down."
"I can't. I just...Oh, Gaara. I hate to admit it, but I'm scared..." She released a slow breath. The Kazekage remained silent, knowing that she would continue to talk. "I mean, Father wasn't very kind to any of us. Sure, he pretended to love us, but it was just a mask he wore to look good in the eyes of the village. I suppose I'm just afraid that Shikamaru will turn out to be the exact same way."
"You're afraid he will treat you in the manner of how Father did? Is that what you're saying?"
"In a word, yes. I don't know why I'm scared of it now. We've been dating for about five years and he's never hurt me..."
"It's only your nerves talking, Temari. Don't worry. He won't hurt you. But if he does, you can be sure he'll hear about it. Besides, he loves you, right?" At her nod, he went on. "And if he loves you, he won't hurt you."
Temari stared at Gaara. He was growing up before her eyes. It seemed like just yesterday he was a bloodthirsty thirteen year old. But now, he was a mature eighteen year old. He'd been Kazekage for four years now and Suna had never experienced a growth in military power like what was happening now. Tears stung her eyes as she realized that after today, she would no longer be living in Suna. She would no longer be there to look after her brothers.
"I can't go through with this." She walked over to the window.
"Why not? Temari, you don't have to worry. Come on. What happened to my big sister who wasn't afraid of anything?"
"She's taking a vacation."
"..." He turned towards the door. "All right. I'll be back."
"Wait! Where are you going?" Temari called out.
"To tell everyone the wedding is off."
"Don't you dare! I am getting married today. Everyone is here, Gaara. Besides, I'm not going to humiliate Shikamaru like that. I said yes to his proposal and I meant it. I love him too much to back out now, even if I now have a case of pre-wedding jitters."
Gaara smiled. "Good." He laughed softly at the look on her face.
"You did that on purpose. You little sneak." Her smile softened. "I guess I can't call you little anymore, can I? You're now taller than I am...But to me, you'll always be my little brother." A tear slid down her cheek.
Gaara silently crossed over and hugged her. "And no matter what, you'll always be my big sister."
The two siblings stood there quietly until the door opened once more and their other brother poked his head in. "It's almost time." Kankuro observed them then decided to join them. He wasn't usually one for family togetherness, but this would be the last time that all three of them would have the same last name.
"Tem, you don't have to worry. If he ever does anything to upset you, just tell me and he'll be in a million pieces faster than he can say 'ouch'." He winced as her fist connected with his arm. "Hey, don't hurt me. I was trying to make you feel better."
"Thanks." Temari smiled at her brothers. "Look, before it's time, I want to talk to you two. Kankuro, make sure you help Gaara in any way he needs." She paused. "But if he needs advice about girls, you better let me handle that. And Gaara, just be yourself and don't worry about what anyone else says. Oh, yeah. You better grab Sakura quickly or some other boy is going to capture her heart." She grinned as he turned a light crimson. "I love you both. If you two ever need something, just send a messenger and I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Don't worry so much, Tem. We can take care of ourselves. We aren't invalids." The puppet master rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, which is why you nearly burned the house down trying to cook last month." Gaara muttered.
Temari burst out laughing. "And you complained about my cooking!"
"Hey, at least I tried. And I'm surprised that your cooking tastes like food instead of road kill. Of course, you did take cooking classes so you could impress Shikamaru." Kankuro doubled over in pain as his sister's elbow dug into his stomach. "Hey! That was a compliment!"
"Yeah, whatever."
All of a sudden, the door burst open and Naruto was framed in the doorway. "Hey, you guys! It's time! You're late!" Then he was gone just as soon as he had come.
Temari blinked. "Was that...Naruto?"
"Saying that the wedding is going to be starting now?" Kankuro asked.
"Yes. We had better get going." Gaara stated. "You ready, Temari?"
She took a deep breath and managed to fake a smile. "As ready as I'll ever be. Let's do this." Her heart pounded as the three of them heard the music begin to play. In just a few moments, she would no longer be Temari no Sabaku, but Temari Nara. Her heart pounded with excitement and nervousness. "I really hope I am ready for this. I'm twenty-one. He's eighteen. Is he too young to get married?"
But there was no time to think about that now. She and her brothers were standing in front of Shikamaru. She swallowed hard when the pastor (A/N: priest?) spoke.
"Who gives this woman to this man?"
Gaara and Kankuro looked at each other. Temari had not been able to decide whom she wanted to walk her down the aisle so she had chosen both of them. But she had declared it was none of her concern which one of them did the talking.
"You two discuss it between yourselves. Just as long as I get married, I'm okay with it." She had firmly stated, glancing at Gaara. Her youngest brother had been leery of her marrying that "lazy bum of a ninja", but Temari had refused to listen to him.
"Look, Shikamaru will provide for me. He has a solid job as a tactician. Sure, he may be younger than I am, but age doesn't matter when it comes to love."
It had taken time, but Temari finally managed to persuade Gaara that Shikamaru did not intend to break up their little family. Of course, Temari had threatened to kill Shikamaru if he didn't try to talk to Gaara and convince Gaara that he wasn't the bad guy.
It was Shikamaru's mother, Yoshino, who disliked the marriage more than anyone else. Yoshino had expressed her concern about her son marrying an older woman. Temari assumed that that was just an excuse and the real reason was because of her history with past men. Shikaku had actually taken a liking to her almost immediately. He knew that she would be good for Shikamaru and that he would be good for her. Yoshino accepted the younger woman when she heard that Temari's brother was the Kazekage and that a marriage between Suna and Konoha ninja would make the alliance stronger.
Temari jerked back to the present when Gaara cleared his throat. "I do." He turned to Shikamaru. "But if you ever hurt her, I'll take her away from you and you'll never see her again."
Slight laughter rippled across the room. Temari just felt like disappearing. Shikamaru, however, didn't seem phased by the threat at all. He just smiled.
"You have my word, Gaara. I will never hurt your sister." The shadow ninja said softly.
Temari breathed a sigh of relief when Kankuro and Gaara hugged her. Shikamaru took her hand and gave her a soft smile. He didn't say anything but he didn't need to. His black eyes spoke volumes. Staring into them, she saw the promise of a wonderful future. A future where she was loved. A future where they would raise a family. A future where they would grow old together.
A tear sparkled at the corner of her eye. He frowned and brushed it away. "You okay?" He whispered.
She nodded. "Thank you, Shikamaru. Thank you for loving me."
He gently kissed her forehead. "You're welcome." He said softly. "You're welcome."
Temari squeezed his hand tighter and thought about how this had come to pass. It was all because she had kissed him in a tree after defeating Tayuya. She chuckled. "Now that would be an interesting story to tell to our children and grandchildren. I guess we have Tayuya to thank for bringing us together." A small thrill of delight coursed through her body. She was unaware of everything except the man standing before her. She didn't remember saying a single thing and was surprised when the pastor (A/Npriest?) announced that Shikamaru could kiss the bride.
Shikamaru smothered a yawn with his hand. "Finally." He muttered. "I was about to fall asleep." He grinned at the look Temari gave him.
"Well, you heard him." She hissed. "Kiss me."
He groaned. "We're married for ten seconds and already you're bossing me around. Troublesome woman..." But he nevertheless leaned down and captured her lips with his. Twenty seconds later, he pulled apart. "I think we just broke the record for the longest kiss in a wedding." Everyone laughed.
"It is my pleasure to introduce to you, for the very first time, Shikamaru and Temari Nara."
They turned towards the crowd, their hands clasped together. She turned sideways to look at him. "You know something?"
"Hmmm?"
"I love you."
"I love you, too, troublesome woman." Shikamaru once again kissed her. Everything faded away into the background as they focused on each other. They didn't hear Naruto yelling at them to "get a room." They didn't hear Sakura and Ino arguing about who was going to catch the bouquet. They didn't hear Chouji complaining that he was hungry.
They could only hear the silent promises they whispered to each other. Promises of love. Promises of forever.