Sorry to say this but it has to be said: I will not be updating for little over two months. I've got about a month of exams coming up and I need atleast one month dedicated to studying and thats what I'm going to do. So you shouldn't really expect an update until about June 9 the earliest. If you really want to know the exact day you'd have to add he story to your story alerts or what ever but I'll tell you, I'm seriously not updating until June.

I am not abandoning the story.

No, don't own Naruto and I never will.

Chapter 15 - the last nights

Laughter echoed through Temari's room. Kiba was there once again and they were both lying in her bed talking.

"Then he was like 'No Temari! Not the fan man! Not the fan' and was running all around my apartment."

"Gaara said that?"

"No actually that was Kankuro but Gaara was running and trying to be calm about 'Temari, that thing is metal, imma kill you if you hit me with that.'"

"'Imma'?" Kiba asked with a raised brow. Temari nodded and he laughed heartily. He tried imagining Gaara saying that but it just wasn't working. "I think you're exaggerating."

"I'm not. When I hit Gaara in the leg he fell on the floor and told me off that I was evil and I'm lucky we're related or I'd be 'suffering' for this 'insubordination'."

"You are definitely joking." Kiba said not believing a word but enjoying it all.

"No, I'm not!" she protested before continuing her story. "Then when I hit Kankuro in the head he screamed 'you cracked my skull open you bitch!' then I yelled back at him 'shut up you conniving wench!' and he yelled 'wench? How come?'. So then I shouted 'I don't know but get out.' and shoved him and Gaara through the door."

"Your family is interesting." he said around a yawn. A faint smile dulled by tiredness graced his lips as he stared at her.

"Yours is crazy." she countered

"Mine is energetic. Yours is crazy." he clarified poking her in the cheek.

"They're both crazy."

"That's what you say." he said poking her again.

"Whatever. Do you know that after all of that they had the audacity to tell me I had to go to this formal dinner party thing in two days?" she said watching as with every word his eyes closed a little more.

"Really?" was the muttered reply. Sleep was rapidly claiming him. Sixteen hours of guard duty constantly on high alert and on your feet did that to a person. To add to that they had been talking for almost two hours now.

"Yea and Gaara dyed his hair in sand purple and pink swirl and Kankuro suddenly wears dresses everywhere he goes." she lied watching him.

"Don't dye your hair. I like it blond." he muttered reaching out to pat her head, completely misunderstanding her.

"I said Gaara dyed his hair pink and purple swirls." she repeated.

"That's not true." he grumbled after a moment of thought.

"Obviously. Just checking if you were awake." she said discreetly watching as his face scrunched in distaste. "I also said Kankuro started wearing dresses everywhere."

He answered in an unrecognisable mumble.

"What?" she asked only to be met with more unrecognisable garble. "Go to sleep Kiba."

There was a short snort and she watched in the semi-dark of the room as he relaxed behind closed eyes and his breath evened out. He really was an attractive person.

Temari carefully shifted closer to him and hesitantly reached out a hand to touch his cheek lightly. She trailed a finger down the Inuzuka marking under her finger. He didn't move seemingly already in a deep sleep. Her finger trailed across to his lips and she was drawn to them. They were just there before she was sure of what she was doing, she levered herself up on her elbow to be able to reach him. The moonlight from the window was once again highlighting his hair in silver. She leaned down softly and lightly pressed her lips to his. She pulled away to see his eyes still closed but he was smirking. Caught.

"Irresistible even in my sleep." he muttered in a sleepy voice and she slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Jerk." she said even as she snuggled into his chest. His arms wrapped around her easily. "Where's Akamaru?"

He sighed. "He couldn't come. Do you plan on letting me sleep?"

"You would be warm if you had him." she left off the 'then you wouldn't have to be here'. Why did he have to catch her? He'd never let her live it down once he was awake enough to taunt her.

"Seriously?" he asked shifting to look at her. "Do you not plan on letting me sleep?"

"Whatever." she grumbled not looking at him.

"Good night to you too." he said lying down again. There was a moment's pause before he heard the barest whisper of 'good night'.

XXXXX

The next night, Kiba slipped into Temari's room to emptiness. She was not in the room but he could sense her chakra in the rest of the apartment. He slipped out of the room being completely silent. He ghosted across the room to the door on his left. He paused in front of the door judging the amount of force to use. He then proceeded to kick the door down with one swift swing of his foot.

"Tema-" he shouted as the door banged open. Seeing Temari bent on her hands and knees in only her towel with so much creamy skin exposed, a smirk slid into place on his face and his tone dropped deeper "-ri".

Her shocked expression shifted to one of anger quickly as she glared at him her face burning into a red colour. A feeling of impending doom washed over him even as Temari rose with a snarl.

"YOU!" she shouted launching herself at him and landing a flying kick to his jaw sending him reeling over the back of her sofa a couple feet back. He was half way off the floor when he saw a shadow of movement out of the corner of his eye and looked up.

"Oh shit!" he commented when he saw Temari coated in righteous fury wielding her fan (that she pulled from who-knows-where) like a club, coming down for a skull shattering strike. Kiba was barely able to avoid the fan but the centre table had no such luck and was split in half.

"Temari?" he asked carefully as she lifted her fan again. She lunged at him and he immediately took off running. "What are you doing?"

"Stay still you bastard!" she yelled, hot on his heels

"Hell no!" he yelled back dodging another swing of the fan. She followed each one up quickly with another. "Why the hell are you chasing me? Are you trying to cream me with that thing?"

"Yes!" she screamed swinging her fan even harder. It was obvious she wasn't going up stop until she hit him.

"Temari?" a voice called from the other side of the front door. They both froze and Temari recognised it as Kankuro's voice. "Are you ok?

"Yup, just caught a cricket. Victory is mine!" she answered with a pathetic excuse. Both she and Kiba were still frozen in place.

"Um. Ok." he said uncertainly. "Well I'm going out so enjoy your cricket."

"Yup." Temari answered and they listened keenly as Kankuro walked away from the door. Kiba was about to heave a sigh of relief when Temari swung her fan once again and he erupted in pain. "Sucka!"

XX

"How was supposed to know it was the bathroom?" he whined putting the pack of ice she handed him on his cheek, where she had kicked him. His back was on fire where she had hit him with the fan.

"You think that's the only thing I'm mad at you for?" She asked with barely concealed anger. "I'm angry at you for this!"

She pointed to the red mark adorning her neck.

"I was wondering how I even managed to get that there without you waking up." he commented awed at his own doing. He tilted his head to the side questioningly. "Are you that comfortable with me in such close quarters?"

Temari shot him a glare but didn't answer, choosing to fold her arms angrily instead.

"Could you not do that?" he asked and eying her wearily. She was still in her towel and her crossed arms were not helping to hide her generous bust. If anything they enhanced it. "Do you plan on ever dressing yourself or have you decided to go all Amazonian on me and wear your towel and only your towel everywhere?"

"No wonder it's so chilly." she said walking away and into her room with a thoughtful expression. Kiba stared after her disbelievingly.

How does one not realise they are wearing only a towel or more importantly how did it not fall off in all her running and jumping and manhandling? Not to mention how had he not seen anything, not even a glimpse? Oh, that's right; he was running for his life, no time to check out the girl in a towel. Curses to self-preservation. Look how far that got him. His back was killing.

"You do know today is my last day right?" Kiba asked when she came back from her room. "The mission ended tonight."

"Wow so you're going back tomorrow." she commented walking over to where he sat in her sofa.

"Yea." he said adjusting the pack of ice.

"Don't your teammates wonder where you are?" she asked turning him by his shoulders so that his back was to her.

"Nope." he answered as he allowed her to lift his shirt to look at his back. He winced slightly at the pain shifting caused but continued speaking. "Usually I have my break alone tonight but we're pretty much free to do anything we want. The one that's actually rested is out doing who knows what and the other one is relaxing in our little quarters that only has one small bed. For all they know I have another mission to take care of."

"Outside of your ANBU gear?" Temari asked with a raised brow as she began to poke the bruise. It's was a huge one.

"Yup and now I can say I got this nasty bruise while on that mission when they ask why I can't move anymore." he said cheerfully looking over his shoulder at her. "Thank you for authenticating my fake mission and nearly making me a cripple."

"Big words Kiba." she congratulated still checking the bruise.

"I am not an idiot Temari. Besides you learn things when you're on the same team as Shino. I know way too much about bugs for someone not an Aburame. It's almost creepy." he said and Temari smiled from behind him.

"I know how you feel. I know so much about puppets that I don't care to know. Knowing about poisons isn't so bad though." she stood pulling him with her. "Go lie down. I've got some stuff that will make it heal faster."

He had barely made it into the bed before she was back with a small jar. She rolled him onto his stomach and pushed the shirt up again.

"Do you do this for every guy you slap with that demon fan?" Kiba asked as her hands worked magic on his aching back.

"Only the ones I like and don't call my fan a demon." she answered delivering a hard poke to his back. I'm going to have to do some maintenance on it because of you.

"I never told you to hit me with it or to split the table in two with it."

"The table wouldn't have been split if you'd just taken the hit like a man."

"No ninja purposefully takes a hit like that. That's suicide." he told her strongly. "You should call that the Temari Strike of Death."

"The Temari Strike of Death." she repeated. "Not bad. I like it."

"Hey. You're very good at this." he murmured out seconds later.

"I'm just getting the ointment in."

"Nope. You were done with that a little while now, you just like touching me." he said smiling into the pillow already happily half asleep

"Keep fooling yourself." she said but he was almost right. She had gotten comfortable with what she was doing and hadn't realised she had already done what she was supposed to be doing. She gave him one more rub before pulling his shirt back down and shifted to stare at him from her sitting position.

"You're so tired." she muttered running a hand through his hair.

XX

Temari woke the next morning to an empty room. She rolled onto her side to a crunching sound. She sat up pulling the offending bit of paper from under her. It was a quick note from Kiba.

Temari

Had to leave earlier than usual to travel back to Konoha. We won't be seeing each other for at least a month and a half so I'm going to miss your bed and you of course (mostly the bed :) kidding). I have taken something of yours just like you took my shirt (hope you like its smell now by the way).

Kiba

Temari was out if her bed immediately digging through her drawers. She moved from one to the next searching for what could possibly be missing. Suddenly she knew what it was and only one thought processed for Temari at that moment:

'Those were my favourite shorts.'