Chapter 6

"It figures my brother would fall for a woman who's more tempting than anyone living here in Konoha."

"You'll find your heart with someone one day, son."

Shikamaru smiled at his mother's comforting words to his brother but slowly lost the will to when his father walked in with a deer tail. It had been killed a few hours before by an unknown source.

"I saved his medicinal parts for the hospital, but these random killings need to stop."

"I'll set up night watch if you need me to, dad."

"Thanks, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru was glad to do it, especially if it meant peace for his mind to think on his current problem.

The herd of deer lay folded in their spindly legs on shredded grasses and hay. They looked like soft rocks in the moonlight, slowly stirring as they breathed. Shikamaru smiled at the memories of watching and learning about them while growing up. With each passing year he trained and was granted more responsibility regarding his family's business. He was thankful for the great leadership of his father and the tenderness that accompanied him: Shikamaru's mother. If he wanted anything, it was someone to love and share his life with, just like his parents.

He was lighting a cigarette when he saw a shadow pass by a pile of wood near a clump of trees. Within minutes he had the intruder frozen and called his father out. They turned in the culprit, finding out that the guy was killing their deer because he thought the deer were getting into his garden.

After a short time, Shikamaru found out what was getting into the man's garden; rabbits.

Shikamaru walked into the front door of the house as the light of day breached over the horizon. He slipped his sandals off and rubbed his tired eyes.

"Oh, dear, you must be exhausted. Why don't you take the day off and rest?"

"I'm fine, mom," he sighed and patted the hand she had rested on his arm.

She smiled and nodded before going into the kitchen to make breakfast.

Without meaning to, Shikamaru slept the whole day instead of taking a power nap.

Shikamaru walked up the steps to Temari's apartment and stopped when he saw her leaning on the railing looking out over some smaller buildings.

"Ready?"

Temari turned her head towards him but didn't move from the railing.

"Join me?"

He smirked, proceeded up the final steps and joined her. Unintentionally their arms were touching but they didn't move apart.

"It's a great day to get those errands finished before I send the next set of papers to Gaara." Temari stuck to small talk even though she hated it. She hated the restriction. It meant she was limited, and there was nothing more annoying than limits.

"It is a nice day," Shikamaru stated without commitment.

"Was there anything you needed to get done today?"

"Nothing I can't do while escorting you," he commented without looking at her.

Temari's face showed her question but she refrained from asking him.

"I can go by myself if you don't want to be with me."

"Let's get going," he stated as he stood up.

Temari felt her patience waning quickly. "If you're going to ignore my comments, then you can ignore my plans for the day, too."

Grabbing her fan, she turned and left him on the landing without so much as her perfume wafting in the air.

'He's such an exasperating man.' Temari picked up some groceries while she did her assigned tasks. She steamed about her conversation with Shikamaru but didn't know what else to do. She was tempted to find TenTen or another woman to hash it out with…venting typically helped…but she'd never really gotten close to any of the Konoha females. Her fingers flipped through some papers Iruka had left for her at the academy when she heard a noise beside her.

Temari looked up and yet saw no one. She felt someone's presence but wasn't sure who it was. She wasn't even sure if she should be worried. Not feeling as though she should be cautious, she continued.

"Is this your last stop?"

Temari halted. "What do you want, Shikamaru?"

"I want to know if you're done for the day." He stood up from leaning on a tree trunk but kept his arms crossed.

Temari nodded then moved further away from him but, before she realized what was happening, her feet couldn't take another step. She sensed the same statue-like numbness when fighting this infuriating man during the chunnin exams.

'He didn't dare…'

She forced her body with all her strength to turn to face him for an explanation. A smirk played on his lips while a suspicious look came into his eyes.

'What is the meaning of this?' Temari questioned herself, scared to ask him because of his answer.

He started taking steps forward and she was being pulled toward him against her will. She shot him an evil glare to maintain a shred of her dignity. Against everything she knew about him, she also thought her glare would make him release her...no luck.

The dark shadow on the ground confirmed her thoughts.

Within seconds, the distance between them diminished, and she came close enough to feel his body heat. She was about to say something, but he stopped her.

"Shh…" The sound he made from his lips made a tingle crawl up her spine and she felt every bone tremble seconds after it passed.

As he lifted his hand to her face, hers did the same toward his.

Her breath held in her chest heavily.

He took his other hand and placed it on her waist, pulling both of them closer to each other.

'…ittai?' Before she could think or process what to do, his lips captured hers. As this happened, the shadow released her.

Though she was able to move away, she stayed, returning the kiss.

When they parted slightly, she kept her eyes closed in an effort to keep the moment to memory. Shikamaru smiled and wondered where this cuteness came from when Temari was typically more of the alluring type.

"That was a smooth move," she admitted, finally opening her eyes to see him smirk back at her.

"Yeah, it wasn't too bad for last minute, was it?"

Temari played with his vest collar to avoid staring into his shadowy eyes. She occasionally found herself at a loss for words in their dark depths.

"I have my answer."

"Tell me."

"I'm yours."