A/N: Hey Guys! Here's the next chapter and it's early! Woohoo! First of all, I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed. If I haven't replied to your review, you can be sure I'll get to it! Secondly, I'd like to tell you all that I have no idea how Japanese currency works. I've been relying on Google's built in calculator to do the work for me but I don't know if it's right. That's why I decided to put it in euro but write yen, if that makes sense?

On another note, I've got a new idea for a ShikaTema AU. I know, I know. I said I would get my other ideas done first and I intend to. That's not stopping me from writing down notes in the middle of the day. I think I need to get one of those clip board thingys where I post all my little ideas and rearrange them on a daily basis and then freak out when someone touches it... Yup.. Definitely. Oh and please take the time to point out any of my (many) mistakes if you catch them. I still can't catch all the little typos by myself! It's so annoying :P

Thank you Sunaprincess7 for all your kind words and conversation!

At first, when I see you cry,
Yeah it makes me smile,
I go ahead and smile.

--Smile - Lily Allen


Chapter 5

"Four thousand, six hundred and eleven yen.. Along with a bit of change," said Ino, holding their collectings in her hand. The others clapped when she smiled and placed the money in a small cardboard box. They were standing at a small table, still in the parking lot of the carwash watching the day slowly turn to night. The girls were freezing, having yet to change back into their normal clothes. Temari couldn't help but shiver as a breeze blew across her back. Her teeth were chattering and she used what warmth her hands could give her, rubbing them up and down her arms. Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru pulled off his jumped and handed it to her. She stared at it for a few moments before looking up at him, meeting his onyx eyes. He sighed once more.

"It's not diseased. You can wear it until you go to get changed," he said as though she was stupid. She scowled and grabbed it off of him, ignoring Ino's wide smile and Kiba's wink. It was warm; all Shikamaru's body heat still circulating around it. She sighed in contentment, hugging the large jumper to her. It smelled like forest, rain and cinnamon, all wrapped up together. It was Shikamaru's scent and for some reason, Temari felt completely relaxed.

The group walked towards the warehouse where they had deposited all of their items, moaning about the pains in their arms from scrubbing dirt ridden vehicles. At one stage, an old woman walking her dog asked if they could wash the mutt; It resulted in Sakura being chased and Kiba almost wetting himself from laughing so hard.

The warehouse door was already open and the girls went around the back to change into their normal clothing. Vayna trailed behind, talking to Shikamaru. Temari didn't know why but she glared at the black haired girl, eyes narrowing into slits. When she realised what she was doing, she promptly stopped with a startled expression and walked in beside Tenten. The brunette had been her source of friendship during the "carwash episode" as Shikamaru liked to call it and they were relatively comfortable in each others presence.

They dressed quickly, desperate to get out of the cold and into something warm. Temari kept Shikamaru's jumper on her, if only to annoy him a little. And besides, it was very warm already and she didn't have the patience to wait until her own clothes were warm too. When they walked out, Shikamaru noticed that Temari still had his jumped on but didn't say anything, instead, walking to his car. What was worse was that Vayna followed him.

"Are you coming Temari?" asked Shikamaru, opening his own door. Temari momentarily forgot that her car was still out of petrol and nodded once, making her way over. Vayna looked from one to the other before speaking.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything. Shikamaru is taking me home too. You don't mind, do you Temari?" she asked, a completely innocent look on her face. Temari wanted to scowl at the insinuation but managed to refrain from doing so.

"Not at all. Why would I mind?"

Vayna didn't answer but climbed into the seat beside Shikamaru, leaving Temari to sit in the back like a third wheel. She felt ridiculous and thought about asking someone else to drive her home, but turning around, she realised everyone had already left. Typical.

The drive home was.. loud. Vayna didn't shut up for more than ten seconds, babbling about absolutely nothing. Shikamaru didn't seem to mind. Either that or he just wasn't listening. Temari assumed it to be the latter but Vayna didn't seem to pick up on that. They arrived outside a huge house, ornamental pearls hanging from the porch with decorative flowers laying in the garden. Vayna smiled and kissed Shikamaru on the cheek before skipping out of the car with a quick word of thanks. Temari wanted to rip the girls tonsils from her throat.

She stayed seated in the back, not wanting to give Vayna the satisfaction of knowing that she wanted to sit in the front. Shikamaru didn't question it but spoke as soon as the car began to accelerate.

"My parents' house is near enough to here. Do you mind if I stop in quickly to pick up some of my clothes before I bring you home?" he asked, glancing at her in the rear view mirror. She shook her head.

"No, I'm in no hurry. I thought you lived with your parents," she said, looking at him curiously. He nodded, his eyes still on the road.

"I did. I kind of still do. I have an apartment if that's what you mean but I'm the heir of the clan. I'll have to move back someday."

She nodded in understanding and they didn't speak during the journey to his compound. The house was huge, extending back from a huge front garden with all sorts of rare plants. Most of them looked like herbs and their were few flowers along the pathway leading up to the main door. Temari watched from the back window as Shikamaru knocked on the door and a few seconds later, light flooded the porch's step and he walked inside. She was only outside for five minutes before light re-flooded the steps and a man older but no less alike than Shikamaru knocked on her window. She rolled it down quickly, completely amused by his likeness.

"The wife wants you inside. I'm really sorry for this," he said, scratching his goatee lightly. Temari groaned internally. She didn't want to have to be nice to his parents. That was the worst thing about making new friends. Are Shikamaru and I friends? Doubtful.

He opened the door of the car and she stepped out. "You must be Temari," he said, not waiting for a confirmation, "I'm Shikaku; Shikamaru's father."

They reached the steps and Temari had to blink a few times so her eyes could readjust to the light. The walls were cream with a light green border, marble tiles on the floor. The outside of the compound, in all its glory, was nothing compared to the interior. Everything was shining, from the glittering work tops of the kitchen to the door of the entrance. Shikaku led her through the house and into what looked like a living area. A woman with dark brown hair in a low ponytail sat on the sofa and stood up when she saw her husband and Temari enter. She had a pale cream apron on over a salmon house dress and crossed the room in three confident strides.

"You must be Temari. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Yoshino, Shikamaru's mother. He's told me so much about you."

From behind, Shikamaru rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Liar," she heard him whisper and couldn't help but smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too. Shikamaru is always singing his mother's praises. You've raised a fine son," she said, barely keeping back her snicker. Shikamaru mouthed something along the lines of "don't encourage her," but Temari didn't take any notice. Yoshino was beaming at her, eyes narrowed critically none the less. At that moment, Temari realised she was wearing Shikamaru's jumper and she felt her cheeks burn. I'm so stupid...

Even though Shikamaru told his mother that Temari had to get home, she insisted on the blonde staying for dinner. Temari tried to come up with an excuse but to no avail. Yoshino knew every trick in the book. An hour later found them half way through their meal, silence raining around them. Yoshino occasionally spoke, asking questions about Temari as though no one else was in the room. For example;

"How many sexual relationships have you been in?" to which Shikamaru would groan and drop his head into whatever plate was below him while his father chuckled. Temari answered all of her questions without skipping a beat. If Yoshino thought that Temari was in some way "involved" with Shikamaru, she would continue to let her think so.

The dinner past (painfully) slow and Yoshino insisted that Temari join them for dinner again some time soon. As Shikamaru walked her back out to the car, he assured her that she would never have to go through that hell again if he could help it. Temari just laughed. She actually enjoyed Yoshino when she wasn't asking her how much sex she had had.

From where they stood in front of the car, they could hear Yoshino talking to Shikaku at the porch. She didn't try to whisper what she was saying.

"She's such a nice girl. Shikamaru needs someone like her. And a photographer too! That's much better. At least their kids will inherit some talent!"

Shikamaru groaned and Temari's eyes widened. As what Yoshino had said registered in her brain, she had a vision of what their kids would like like... And it was NOT cool. She shivered at the thought. Weird pineapple haired babies that would attract scum like Vayna...

They drove in silence, not wanting to disturb the nice peace from the late night. The traffic worked in their favour, only a few cars on the road in the dim light from the street lamps. Arriving outside Temari's house, Shikamaru pulled the car to a stop.

"You've got a nice place," he said, looking at the fine glazed glass from where he sat. Temari stiffened.

"Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?" she asked, praying he would say no. The words just came spewing out of her mouth and before she could amend her mistake, Shikamaru nodded slowly.

"Sure."

She groaned internally, praying that Gaara wasn't inside. He liked to visit sometimes late at night because he had trouble sleeping and found her fish tank to be very entertaining. He suffered from insomnia as a teenager and still hadn't quite gotten used to the idea of sleep. He would sit for hours, staring at her three gold fish as the swam around the tank, over and over again. What was weird was that he never grew bored. As a photographer, you're told to look beneath the underneath but Temari couldn't fathom what was so interesting about the fish.

She opened the front door with her silver key and waited to hear the sound of movement but none came. Matsuri must be staying with Gaara tonight. She often stayed over, making him hot chocolate to see if that would help his sleep deprivation. But that wasn't the only thing Temari suspected they were up to..

Shikamaru glanced around the interior of her house. The saying, "you can't judge a book by its cover" seemed pretty accurate. There were photos everywhere, in piles leading up the stairs, hanging from the coat rack behind the door, covering the walls down both hallways and there were plenty on the floor. Enough so that Shikamaru had to be careful where he stood.

"I like to keep things in plain view," said Temari, seeing his eyes widen at the mess, "It saves time so I don't need to go looking for them. I know where everything is."

He nodded, rubbing the back of his head. "Wouldn't it be easier, and cleaner, to keep everything in neat piles though?" he asked.

Temari smiled. "People who's rooms and houses are clean are just too lazy to look for something." Shikamaru had to agree with her on that aspect. Once, when he was seven, he lost one of his toys somewhere in his room and it took a day and a half to find it. His room was never messy again after that day. Something bit him from a pile of clothes as he was cleaning and he swore he would adopt personal hygiene.

Temari led him through the door on the right, just opposite the stairs. The house was fairly small, judging by the size, he would say there were two bedrooms. It was almost cottage like; even with the two storeys, it felt traditional.

Old. That was another word Shikamaru could use to describe the house. It wasn't old as in "been here for centuries" but old as in "made that way". There were antiques sitting on the mantle piece in the living room which was the only surface not inhabited by pictures.

"Tea? Coffee?" she asked, dropping her camera bag into one of the arm chairs sitting around the unlit fire. He nodded once, "Tea is fine, thanks."

Temari walked into the adjoining kitchen, separated only by a revolving door. He could hear the sounds of cups clinking against each other and presses being opened and closed. The blonde called from the kitchen.

"Feel free to walk around. But stay out of my bedroom, perv," she said, smiling to herself. She received the desired effect. A small "tsh" and "troublesome woman".

Shikamaru did as he was told, taking his time to roam around the house, letting his hand move over the smooth surface of the wood top. Everything was dusty, as though she rarely stayed here, even though it was her home. He always imagined Temari to be the type to live in a high rise apartment, top of the range everything. What he didn't expect was to find Temari as traditional. He didn't think she would like Japanese culture or history but the pictures on the wall of great battles fought and victories obtained told a different story. She called him back into the living room where she set two cups of steaming tea onto the table, avoiding the images scattered around it as she did so.

"There's sugar in that bowl," she said, pointing to an ornamentally curved glass. He nodded, thanking her briefly before adding a tea spoon of sugar into his cup. Temari didn't have any sugar. He suspected that the granules were too sweet for her. Chuckling at the thought of her cringing, he sipped his tea. It was so warm, filling up his insides with fire but in a refreshing way.

"I added spice and jasmine to it. I hope it doesn't taste rotten," she said, drinking her own tea in large gulps. He shook his head, sipping it again. It was actually quite nice.

"No, I like it," he said, placing the cup gently onto the table. "Where do you get your spices?" She placed her own empty cup onto the table too before answering.

"I was born in Sunagakure. There's a small shop there that sells different spices and I get them delivered to me. It feels like home in a way," she said. Shikamaru nodded thoughtfully. He realised that Temari wasn't from Konoha but the idea of her living so far away was different. He would have suspected that she came from one of the smaller towns in the desert, closer to Konoha. Sunagakure was a city, famous for its exotic foods and amazing night life. Temari's home contradicted that. It was traditional while her birth place wasn't.

A half an hour later found them sitting at the kitchen table, laughing at the memory of Kiba's face when their first customer in the carwash was a man. He looked severely disappointed. A plate of cookies sat between them.

"Have you any idea who would have a grudge against Ino?" said Temari, taking a cookie from the pile. She had made them last night and hadn't been bothered to eat them by herself.

"There are few people that don't like her. Mostly girls. A woman named Tayuya was supposed to be the photographer for the photo-shoot but when I told Ino about you, she thought you would be better. She's had a grudge against Ino, and me for that matter, ever since," he said, tapping his chin thoughtfully, "Ino also went out with Sasuke for a little while. She was receiving death threats from a girl named Karin for ages."

Temari nodded. Interesting... They would have to tell the police officer what they knew or suspected. Shikamaru already seemed to have a plan thought out.

A few minutes later, Shikamaru stood up followed by Temari. "I should be getting home. I forgot to feed my fish this morning and I don't want them to die on me."

Temari decided not to tell him about her own fish. I have nothing in common with him, she decided. She wasn't going to change that. She nodded, smirking to herself before walking him to the door.

"Tomorrow, the police are calling by the studio to investigate the break-in. Will you be going to work?" he asked her. She nodded twice.

"Yeah. I think Ino needs all the support she can get. And the longer I work on this case, the less jobs I'll get," she replied, grinning. Shikamaru chuckled and walked outside, pressing the button on his keys that opened up his car. He waved once to Temari who was standing at her door and she closed it when he was out of sight.

She strolled back inside, fed her fish and wandered up to her bedroom. A goodnight sleep to release her stiff muscles would do the world of good. She couldn't suppress the small smile that graced her face at the thought of work tomorrow.

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